Installing Concert Optimize

Install Turbonomic to power Concert Optimize, then complete the Concert platform settings to attach it to the platform hub. When you install Turbonomic to support Concert Optimize, you must configure platform-specific settings, in addition to the regular product installation.

Before you begin

Before you install Turbonomic to support Concert Optimize, make sure that you completed the following Concert platform installation steps.

  1. Install the platform hub.
  2. Install the data access layer (optional).

    The data access layer aggregates data across capabilities and supports platform-level queries and AI features. You do not need it if you plan to use only Concert Optimize. You do need it if you plan to use Concert Optimize with other capabilities, such as Concert Observe or Concert Protect.

Step 1: Install Turbonomic and enable the platform gateway

The platform gateway is the set of Turbonomic installation settings that prepares your Turbonomic instance to connect to the platform hub. Use the --gw flag when you run the Turbonomic installation script.

  1. Install Turbonomic by following the Turbonomic deployment documentation for your deployment type.
    For OVA deployments, add the following flag to the standard t8cInstall.sh installation script.
    t8cInstall.sh --gw
    This flag enables configuration to prepare Turbonomic to attach to the platform hub to support Concert Optimize.
  2. Record the Turbonomic instance URL. You need this value when you attach the product to the platform hub.

Step 2: Create the default admin user and customize the CR (non-OVA only)

Concert Optimize requires at least one administrator user before any user can sign in. In non-OVA Turbonomic deployments, the installation does not create an administrator user. Until you create one, users cannot open Optimize from the Concert platform UI.

After you create the administrator user, update the custom resource (CR) to apply platform-specific settings.

OVA deployments do not require these steps. The OVA installation script creates the administrator user and applies the required settings automatically. If you are using an OVA deployment, skip this section.

  1. Run the following command to get the platform gateway service address. 
    kubectl get svc nginx
  2. Open the returned external address or hostname in a browser.
  3. Create an administrator username and password when prompted.
  4. Go to Settings > License and add your Turbonomic license as described in the Turbonomic license management documentation.

    When you purchase Concert platform, IBM Passport Advantage includes a temporary Turbonomic license in the license keys .zip file.

  5. Create a TLS secret for the ingress gateway.
    You can use certificates issued by your organization's certificate authority (CA) or self-signed certificates. For example:
    kubectl create secret tls nginx-ingressgateway-certs \
    --cert="${CERT_DIR}/tls.crt" \
    --key="${CERT_DIR}/tls.key" \
    -n "{your_namespace}"
    • Replace CERT_DIR with the directory that contains your TLS certificate (tls.crt) and private key (tls.key).

    • Replace {your_namespace} with the namespace where you installed Turbonomic.

    The CR you customize in the next step references this secret.

  6. Download the platform-enabled sample CR.

    curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/t8c-operator/refs/tags/8.20.3/deploy/samples/platform/gw/charts_platform_gw_v1_xl_cr.yaml

    This sample CR includes all the required platform-specific settings. You customize it further to meet the needs of your environment.

  7. Customize the CR for your environment.

    • Replace HUB_URL with the URL for the platform hub. You can find this value in the Access Information section of the setup command output that was generated when you installed the platform hub. The value is listed as Hub URL:.
    • Replace PLATFORM_GW_HOST with the full IP address of the host where you installed Turbonomic.
    • For more information about customizing the CR for your environment, see Updating Kubernetes cluster deployments in the Turbonomic documentation.

    Make sure to save the file when you finish editing.

  8. After you update and save the CR, apply it to your deployment.
    kubectl apply -f charts_v1_xl_cr.yaml -n {your_namespace}

    Replace {your_namespace} with the namespace where you installed Turbonomic.

Deployment starts for all the Turbonomic pods. Depending on the environment, the deployment might take from 5 to 20 minutes. Give the pods time to start and then validate the update before you proceed.

Step 3: Install other platform capabilities (optional)

Follow the product-specific instructions to install any other platform capabilities that you intend to use, such as Concert Observe or Concert Protect.

Step 4: Attach Optimize to the platform hub

Attach Optimize and any other platform capabilities that you plan to use to the platform hub so users can open these capabilities from the platform navigation. Follow the steps in Installing capability products to attach Concert Optimize and any other capability products that you installed.

Step 5: Configure platform AI settings and authentication

Complete the platform installation process by configuring your watsonx.ai account, registering AI agents, and configuring single sign-on authentication.

  1. Install and configure watsonx.ai to support platform AI features.
  2. Register your required AI agents with the platform hub.
  3. Configure platform authentication.

Step 6: Enable Optimize AI features

To enable Optimize AI features in self-hosted deployments, update the custom resource (CR) for your Turbonomic deployment to provide the details of your platform watsonx.ai account and project.

  1. Create the turboai-secret secret in the namespace where you installed Turbonomic.
    kubectl create secret generic turboai-secret \
  -n <turbo-namespace> \
  --from-literal=.env.secrets="watsonx.api_key=<api-key>"
    • Replace <turbo-namespace> with the namespace where you installed Turbonomic.
    • Replace <api-key> with the API key for your Concert platform watsonx.ai account. This account must have a minimum of the Editor role within the platform watsonx.ai project.
  2. Edit the Turbonomic CR to apply your watsonx.ai details.
    1. Run the following command to edit the CR 
      kubectl edit xl -n <turbo-namespace>
    2. Under spec.global, add the following configuration.
      global:
  turboai:
    config:
      env.parameters:
        env_name: on-prem
        feedback.enabled.override: false
        flags.a2a_enabled.override: true
        flags.intent.action_execution_flow.override: true
        flags.intent_identification.override: true
        mcp.api.host: mcp-turbo-api
        mcp.api.max_connection_retries: "3"
        mcp.api.port: "8000"
        mcp.api.timeout: "30.0"
        mcp.api.transport: streamable-http
      watsonx.host: <watsonx-runtime-host>
      watsonx.project_id: <watsonx-project-id>
      • Replace <watsonx-runtime-host> with the hostname of your watsonx.ai runtime, for example us-south.ml.cloud.ibm.com.
      • Replace <watsonx-project-id> is the ID of the Concert platform watsonx.ai project.
    3. Under spec, add or update the following setting.
      turboai:
  enabled: true
    The resulting structure resembles the following example:
    spec:
  turboai:
    enabled: true

  global:
    turboai:
      config:
        env.parameters:
          env_name: on-prem
          feedback.enabled.override: false
          flags.a2a_enabled.override: true
          flags.intent.action_execution_flow.override: true
          flags.intent_identification.override: true
          mcp.api.host: mcp-turbo-api
          mcp.api.max_connection_retries: "3"
          mcp.api.port: "8000"
          mcp.api.timeout: "30.0"
          mcp.api.transport: streamable-http
        watsonx.host: <watsonx-runtime-host>
        watsonx.project_id: <watsonx-project-id>
  3. Save the CR.
  4. Verify that the CR includes the new settings.
    kubectl get xl -n <turbo-namespace> -o yaml
  5. Wait for the operator to reconcile the changes and create or update the Turbonomic AI pods, then run the following command to verify whether the pods are running.
    kubectl get pods -n <turbo-namespace>

Step 7: Connect Optimize to the data access layer (optional)

Complete the following steps only if you installed the data access layer and you want Concert Optimize to share data with other Concert platform capabilities. These steps are only required for multiple-capability installations.

  1. Log in to Concert platform as an admin user and click Optimize in the main navigation menu
  2. In the Optimize sidebar menu, go to Settings > User management.
  3. Go to the External authentication tab.
  4. Click Add New external user.
  5. Enter _ibm_platformcore_internal_user as the username and select the Observer role.

    Do not add a group or designate as report editor.

  6. Click Save.

Next steps

Your Concert Optimize instance is now connected to the data access layer. To configure data collection and verify the end-to-end installation, see Post-installation tasks and next steps.