Installing the Technical Support Appliance

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TSA includes preinstalled software. It is packaged and distributed as an image for VMware installations or as a VHDX image for Microsoft® Hyper-V installations. For VMware, TSA can be installed by using the VMware web interface (for ESXi). For Hyper-V, TSA can be installed by using the Hyper-V Manager. This section provides the steps for installing TSA using either of these methods.

Installing using VMware ESXi web interface

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Before you begin

TSA requires supported versions of VMware ESXi to be loaded to control the hardware.

About this task

Follow these steps to install the TSA image.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the ESXi system through the VMware ESXi web interface.
  2. Click Create/Register VM. The New virtual machine wizard displays.
    Figure 1. Create / Register VM
    Create / Register VM
  3. On the Select creation type screen, select the Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file option and click Next.
    Figure 2. Select creation type
    Creation Type
  4. On the Select OVF and VMDK files screen, click inside the Click to select files or drag/drop box and select the image file that you have downloaded from Fix Central. Enter a unique name for your virtual machine or you can use the default value, then click Next.
    Figure 3. Select OVF and VMDK files
    OVF and VMDK
  5. On the Select storage screen, from the displayed list, select a data store in which to store the configuration and disk files. Then, click Next.
    Figure 4. Select storage
    Select storage
  6. On the Deployment options screen, select network mappings from the VM Network drop-down list.
    Figure 5. Deployment options
    Deployment Options
  7. Select the Thick option for disk provisioning, then click Next.
  8. On the Ready to complete screen, review all the settings that you have specified. If you want to make any changes click Back and make changes to the relevant options. If you are satisfied, click Finish.
    Important: Do not refresh your browser while the virtual machine is being deployed.
    Figure 6. Review settings selection
    Review Settings
    The TSA virtual machine is installed on your system.
  9. In the TSA console, enter the ibmtsa login as tsausr and Password as configTsa.
  10. Required: To change the login password, continue with the steps that are listed in the section Changing tsausr password (required).
  11. To complete the installation, continue with the steps that are listed in the section Configuring the network details.

Installing TSA on Microsoft Hyper-V

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Before you begin

Before you set up and use TSA on Hyper-V, ensure that you meet the following prerequisites:
  • Hyper-V Server version currently supported by Microsoft (Example, Hyper-V Server 2019)
  • Hyper-V Manager
  • Virtual Network Switch has been created through Hyper-V Manager

About this task

Follow these steps to install TSA on Hyper-V.

Procedure

To install TSA on Hyper-V, follow these steps:
  1. After downloading the TSA image, extract the ibmtsa_3100.vhdx file from the ibmtsa_3100.zip file and move it to a directory on the Hyper-V server.
  2. Start the Hyper-V Manager and connect to the Hyper-V server from the client system.
  3. Click Browse and select the image that is saved on your system.
    Figure 7. Hyper-V Manager
    Hyper-V Manager
  4. From the Action menu, select New → Virtual Machine. The New Virtual Machine Wizard displays.
  5. Enter the Name for the new virtual machine and click Next.
    Figure 8. Virtual Machine Name
    VM Name
  6. Select Generation 1 as the generation of the virtual machine and click Next.
    Figure 9. Specify Generation
    Specify Generation
  7. Enter Startup memory as 16384 MB and click Next.
    Figure 10. Startup Memory
    Startup Memory
  8. Select a preconfigured virtual switch and click Next.
    Figure 11. Configure Networking
    Configure Networking
  9. Select the Use an existing virtual hard disk option and browse for the ibmtsa_3100.vhdx file that you copied to Hyper-V server in Step 2 and click Next.
    Figure 12. Connect Virtual Hard Disk
  10. In the Summary page, review the settings and click Finish.
    Figure 13. Summary
    Summary
  11. The new virtual machine is added under the Hyper-V Manager. Select the virtual machine, go to Action menu and click Start.
    Figure 14. Hyper-V Manager
    Hyper-V Manager
  12. From the Action menu, select Connect to start a console session. In the TSA console, enter the ibmtsa login as tsausr and Password as configTsa.
  13. Required: To change the login password, continue with the steps that are listed in the section Changing tsausr password (required).
  14. To complete the installation, continue with the steps that are listed in the section Configuring the network details.

Changing tsausr password (required)

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For security purposes, it is recommended that the password for tsausr be changed from its initial value. Follow these steps to change the tsausr password.

Procedure

  1. Select option 2) Change tsausr password from the TSA Config Menu.
    Figure 15. Change Password
    TSA Config Menu
  2. Enter the new password at the New password prompt. Enter the same password at the Retype new password prompt. The new password must be at least 7 characters long.
    Figure 16. New Password
    New Password

Configuring the network details

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Procedure

  1. Select option 1) Setup network configuration from the TSA Config Menu.
    Figure 17. Setup network configuration
    Config Menu
  2. Enter the following network configuration details.
    Figure 18. Network Configuration
    Network Configuration
    1. Enter IPTYPE = {static|dhcp}. Enter static or dhcp. If static, follow these steps, else go through the dhcp configuration steps in the section, Configuring the DHCP network details
      IPTYPE: static
      Enter Hostname(default=ibmtsa). You can change the default host name. Ensure that the host name you use is unique.
      Enter IP Address.
      Enter Netmask and Enter Gateway.
      Enter network domain of system for DNS usage (optional).
      Enter DNS 1(optional), Enter DNS 2(optional), and Enter DNS 3(optional).
      The specified network configuration details are displayed for confirmation.
    2. Enter [y|n] to confirm or discard the network configuration. Entering y saves the network configuration and restarts the system automatically.
      Note: For any incorrect configuration, you can change the details. Enter n to ignore the current settings and restart the configuration from step 2.a
    3. The system restarts in 15 seconds for the new network configuration to take effect.
    4. Access TSA from the browser by using secure HTTP with the host name or IP address that is entered above.
      For example, https://<hostname | IP address>.
      Note: On the first connection, your browser might display a security exception. You must accept the security certificate and continue to login to TSA.
      Note: To modify the basic network settings for TSA through the user interface, follow the steps in Configuring basic network settings. To configure the advanced network settings, follow the steps in Configuring advanced network settings.
  3. Setup the Technical Support Appliance using the steps that are listed in Setting up the Technical Support Appliance

Results

After you successfully set up TSA, see Setting up discovery and transmission to IBM