Configuring nodes for management

How to configure the newly installed nodes so that they are monitored and added to the OpenShift cluster. For nodes that contribute to storage, add them to the storage cluster.

Before you begin

Meet the following prerequisites for all node types in the specified sequence:

  1. Ensure switches are in healthy state and connections between node and switches are correct.
  2. The purchased quantity of nodes are delivered to your location with the following information:
    • For Compute-storage nodes, the received new node must have a specific number of NVMe drives. That is, the new node must have the same number of disks as the ones that are already there.
    • All new nodes must have a MAC address from IBM.
      Note: Update your Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) Configuration to include reservations for all nodes in the IBM Fusion HCI. For more information about the prerequisite, see Setting up DHCP for IBM Fusion HCI and Setting up DNS. In case of Static IP, you must update the DNS for the new nodes. For more information about the prerequisites, see Setting up Static IP and Setting up DNS. These configurations are based on the MAC addresses shared with you by IBM.
  3. Ensure that the IBM Support Representative inserted the nodes in the appropriate rack slots and connected the network and power cables as per the wiring prescription of IBM Fusion HCI rack.
  4. The IBM Fusion appliance is up and running.
  5. Red Hat® OpenShift® is up and running and the existing nodes are healthy.
  6. When you add a node to Red Hat OpenShift, the operation might get stuck for a long time in the node network configuration policy creation stage. To avoid this issue, do the steps that are mentioned in the troubleshooting section before you add the node. For the workaround steps, see Node issues.
  7. Naming convention of nodes that are added: compute-<rackid>-<rack unit number>.<domainname>

    For a single rack, the rackid is always 1. For multi-rack, rackid is the rack number where the node is added. For an example guidance for the base system, see host name conventions.

Upsizing when backup or restore is in progress
When a backup or restore job is in progress, you must not upsize the nodes. For scale-out or scale-up operation, turn off the IBM Fusion backup or restore jobs, if any. Do not back up or restore when an upsize action is in progress.
Upsize nodes to brand-new racks
  1. Upsize node must be powered on only on a running IBM Fusion HCI (stage 2 complete). Otherwise, keep the upsized node powered off (remove the power cables from the node).
  2. Complete the installation.
  3. Plug-in the power and switch on the node.

About this task

  • The following node types are supported in this release:
    • Compute-only and compute-storage server model servers are 9155-C10 (32 core node), 9155-C14 (64 core node), 9155-D10 (32 core node), 9155-D14 (64 core node).
    • 9155-G03 and 9155-DG1 for GPU node.
    For hardware configuration of compute-storage or compute-only nodes, see Hardware overview.
  • In IBM Fusion HCI rack, when nodes are added they must be added into the lowest available rack position to maintain mechanical stability.
  • Allowed node configuration combinations for high-availability multi-rack:
    • Select same number of nodes from all three racks. A minimum of three nodes are required for the configuration.
    • For scale out, add an equal number of storage nodes from each rack.
    • For scale up, add same number of disks across each rack.
    Note: Do not deviate from these specification as it can result in an imbalanced configuration of a Data Foundation cluster.

Procedure

  1. After a node is physically added to a rack, networking is done, and powered on, log in to IBM Fusion HCI user interface.
  2. Go to Infrastructure > Nodes.
  3. Check whether the node you added to the physical hardware is available in the Discovered nodes tab.
    If there are any errors in the configuration, then Error connecting to node message gets displayed in the State column. All of the error conditions have built-in retries. Whenever the event persists for a longer duration, support tickets get raised to check the appliance. If the condition is transient, it recovers automatically. Otherwise, IBM Support checks the appliance.
  4. To add a node to the OpenShift cluster, select the nodes and click Add to cluster.
  5. In the Add node window, go through the node name and serial number of the nodes to include in the cluster and click Add to confirm.
  6. Go to the Configured nodes tab to see whether the newly added node is in the list with the State as Adding to OpenShift.
    Note: If the node is compute-only and the storage is Global Data Platform, proceed with adding it to the storage cluster. If the storage is Fusion Data Foundation, add the node to the OpenShift Container Platform cluster, then skip all subsequent steps in this procedure.
  7. When all the nodes are ready for storage configuration, add them to the storage cluster: This final step allows workloads on the nodes to access storage, so complete this step before stateful workloads are scheduled on the nodes.
    Option Description
    Global Data Platform To configure node for Global Data Platform, do the following steps:
    1. Go to the Global Data Platform page.

      The following notification is displayed: 

      Nodes are ready for storage
      The Storage status of the nodes in the Nodes list is Ready for storage and the Type is Storage.
    2. Click Configure nodes link in the notification.
    3. In the Configure <node type> nodes window, click Install.

      The Storage status of the nodes in the Nodes list changes to Installing Storage software. After the configuration is complete, a success notification is displayed and the Storage status of the node changes to Ready.

    4. Repeat steps for the remaining available node types one by one.
    Fusion Data Foundation
    1. Go to Local storage page.
    2. Click Add nodes.

      If nodes are available for addition, it is enabled.

    3. In the Add storage nodes page, go through the details and Add.

      After the selected nodes are added successfully, the status of the node changes to Ready.

  8. To verify storage nodes, do the following steps:
    1. Go to the node details page.
    2. In the Inventory tab, go to Disks tab.
    3. Check the new size. Also, check whether the disk information reflects the newly added drive.
    4. Check the total disk count and Raw capacity after you add the disk.
      1. Go to Infrastructure > Dashboard.
      2. In the Disks tile, check total disk count and Raw capacity.