Creating a GCP NGCE cluster

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Procedure

Once the prerequisites for Next-Gen Cloud Edition (NGCE) GCP are set up, the deployment of a GCP NGCE cluster through Data Management Service can be completed in approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

To create the GCP NGCE cluster, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the Data Management Service and select DataProtect.
  2. Select Settings > DataPlatformfor Cloud.
  3. Click Deploy and select GCP.
  4. A Deployment Checklist dialog displays. Read through the details and click Close.

  5. In the Cloud Edition Name field, enter a name for this deployment workflow.
  6. In the GCP Credentials section, upload the Service Account Key file by either dropping the file in the Service Account JSON key file drop box or by clicking Choose a file.
  7. Click Verify.

  8. In the Cloud Environment Details section, provide the following information; and then click Continue.
    • Project ID: From the drop-down list, select the project in which the cluster needs to be deployed.
    • Region: From the drop-down list, select the GCP region where the IBM® cluster will run, for example: us-west1. For more information about GCP Regions, see the GCP documentation Regions and Zones.
    • Zone: From the drop-down list select the GCP zone where the IBM cluster will run, for example: us-west1-b. For more information about GCP Zones, see the GCP documentation Regions and Zones.
    • VPC: From the drop-down list, select the VPC network that the cluster instances must use.
    • Subnet: From the drop-down list, select a subnet in the chosen VPC that the GCP instances (nodes) of the IBM cluster must use.
    • VPC Connector: From the drop-down list, select the VPC connector to be used to deploy the NGCE.
    • Network Tag: Provide network tag names in a comma separated list. These network tags will be added to the node instances and allow you to make firewall rules and routes applicable to specific VM instances. Ensure that the network tags,
      • are limited to 63 characters
      • have only lower case letters, numbers and dashes
      • start and end with a lower-case letter
    • Label: Provide key value pairs to be added to the node instances. For more information, see GCP documentation Labeling Resources.
  9. In the IBM DataPlatform for Cloud Details section provide the following information:
    • Type: Select the type as Next Generation.
    • Cluster Name: The name of the IBM cluster. Specify a name up to 63 alphanumeric characters such as IBM1MyCompany. Hyphens are allowed but cannot be the first or last character. This is the name of the IBM cluster as displayed in the IBM UI and the IBM CLI.
    • Cluster Image: From the drop-down list, select the version of the IBM Cloud Edition you want to deploy.
    • Node Size: Select cluster configuration from the drop-down list:
      • Entry: 16 CPU 50 TiB capacity
      • Core: 16 CPU 100 TiB capacity
      • Archive: 16 CPU 200 TiB capacity
      • Performance: 32 CPU 100 TiB capacity
      • Original: 32 CPU 100 TiB capacity
      Note: For more information on the cluster configurations, see System Requirements.
    • Number of Nodes: Specify how many nodes are to be added to the cluster. For a production, at least 3 nodes are required. For test or demonstration purposes, you can select 1 or 2 nodes, however, the cluster will not tolerate node failures.
    • In GCP NGCE, the data backed up on the cluster is down-tiered to the GCP bucket. Configure the following properties for the bucket that will be used for down-tiering the data from the cluster:
      Note: Optionally, you can skip configuring the GCP bucket now and configure it once the cluster is up and running.
      • Project : The ID of the project in which the bucket is present.
      • Client Email ID: The email ID used for the project where the bucket is present.
      • Client Private Key File Path: The private key file path of the client in the specified project.
      • Bucket Name: The name of the bucket used by the client
        Note: NGCE only supports bucket that has the Storage Class set as Standard Storage. In GCP you must ensure to create a bucket with Storage Class as Standard Storage.
      • Tier Type: The tier type to be provided in the following format: Google <tier>-storage, for example, Google-standard-storage.
    • Fault Tolerance: Enable this option to tolerate the failure of a single node. This option is available only if the cluster has three or more nodes.
    • DNS Servers: Specify the IP address of the Domain Name System (DNS) servers that the IBM cluster should use and press Enter. You can specify multiple DNS Servers.
    • NTP Servers: Specify the NTP server name and press Enter. You can specify multiple NTP Server names.

      IBM recommends using the external Google Public Network Time Protocol (NTP) server and specifying multiple servers (time1.google.com, time2.google.com, time3.google.com, time4.google.com). Avoid using the pool.ntp.org or time.nist.org NTP servers, as they are sometimes unavailable and their IP addresses tend to change. If using an internal NTP server, use only one server (and no external servers). Specify the IP address or the Fully Qualified Domain Name of the NTP server(s). The IBM cluster uses the specified NTP server to synchronize the time on all nodes in the cluster.

    • Domain Names: Specify the fully qualified domain name for the IBM cluster and press Enter. You can specify multiple domain names.
    • Cluster Encryption: The cluster supports AES256 software encryption. If required, enable encryption to encrypt all the data that will be stored on the cluster. After a cluster has been created, cluster-level encryption is not editable. However, you can enable encryption at the storage domain level. You can also enable encryption while creating a storage domain. After a storage domain has been created, storage domain-level encryption is not editable.
  10. Click Deploy.
    The process of deploying the cluster into the GCP account begins. A message indicates deployment initiation and the cluster name is displayed in the list of Cloud Edition.
    Tip: You can cancel the deployment at any time by clicking the X to the right of the cluster name.