Installing the virtual application

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This procedure applies only if you are installing the virtual application (.ova file).

Before you begin

You must be logged in as the appadmin user and use sudo to complete this task.

About this task

Before you begin, download the package for the Edge Gateway virtual application from IBM Support Fix Central.

The Edge Gateway .ova installation file is available from the apphost-<version>.run package, and the file name is apphost_<Red_Hat_OS_version>_<version>.ova. It is recommended to install the latest version to get newest features and security updates.

The Edge Gateway virtual appliance is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and runs on vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 6.7 U2 or later.

Edge Gateway is a self-contained server, which runs K3s Kubernetes. The following lists the default configuration, which you can modify during deployment:
  • 2 vCPUs
  • 4 GB memory
  • 100 GB thin provision disk
Important: Do not cancel the first boot script or restart the system until after the installation is complete. Otherwise, you might need to re-import the .OVA file or, if you cancel the script before a root password is set, you might not be able to access the system.

During the first boot script, you are prompted to provide passwords for root and appadmin accounts, and to verify or adjust the VM’s network configuration. When completed, the first boot script is removed and cannot be run a second time.

Before starting the procedure, make sure you know the IP address for each of your network adapters.

Procedure

  1. Open the VMware vSphere client.
  2. Select File > Deploy OVF Template.
  3. Browse to the location of the .ova file you downloaded and select the .ova file.
  4. When prompted, enter a name for the deployed template.
  5. When prompted by the Disk Format screen, select the Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed, Thick Provision Eager Zeroed, or Thin Provision option. If you choose one of the thick provisions, the Edge Gateway initially uses 100 gigabytes of storage. If you choose Thin Provision, the Edge Gateway initially begins using a small amount of gigabytes and grows over time.
  6. In the Ready to Complete screen, select the Power on after Deployment option and click Finish. A status bar appears during deployment. VMware notifies you when the Edge Gateway image successfully deploys.
  7. Click Close in the Deployment Completed Successfully dialog box.

    After the reboot, the first boot script starts automatically and installs the Edge Gateway image. This might take a few minutes.

  8. When prompted, enter a root password then enter a password for the appadmin account. For security, you should use a strong password with at least four character classes (for example, lowercase, uppercase, digits, symbols, and so on).
  9. When prompted, review the network and Kubernetes k3s cluster settings. You can choose to accept the default configuration or modify it.
    For example, you might want to use a static IP address instead of using DHCP. If you choose to use a static IP address, make sure that the host name resolves to that IP address, as the Edge Gateway does not automatically register the IP address in DNS. Also, enter the IP address in your Domain Name Server (DNS).
    The Kubernetes k3s cluster settings are listed as Cluster CIDR and Service CIDR, the default values of which are 10.42.0.0/16 and 10.43.0.0/16 respectively. You can change these to valid CIDR values, such as 10.45.0.0/16.
  10. Complete the following steps if you want to modify the settings:
    1. Start the NetworkManager text user interface (nmtui) tool by issuing the following command as the root:
      #nmtui
    2. To navigate, use the arrow keys or press Tab to step forwards and press Shift+Tab to step back through the options. Press Enter to select an option. The Space bar toggles the status of a check box. Edit the connection you want to modify:
    3. To use a static IP address, select the configuration and select Manual.
    4. Enter the IP address you want to use and your Domain Name Servers. Make sure that the host name resolves to that IP address. The Edge Gateway does not automatically register the IP address in DNS. Also, enter the IP address in your Domain Name Server (DNS).
    5. Save your settings and reboot the appliance.
    Note: If you are using a static IP address and if DNS is unavailable, you can append a mapping of the IP address to /etc/hosts. Otherwise, you might see performance issues, such as slow service startup or command execution, if the host name is not resolved to an IP address.
  11. If necessary, move the security updates file apphost-ova-security-update-<version>.run to the Edge Gateway system and install the security updates by running the following command: 
    sudo bash apphost-ova-security-update-<version>.run

Results

The Edge Gateway image is successfully installed.