Basic host configuration

Owned by Sergio L. Pascual (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 04, 2017 by Javier Celaya (Unlicensed)
4 min read

Once the distribution is installed, you need to apply a basic configuration to your first host, and create a flexVDI Manager instance to get all your physical resources under control. This operation is done with flexvdi-config, a text based tool which allows you to easily accomplish these tasks.

Running flexVDI Config

After installing the Host and rebooting for the first time, flexVDI will show a login prompt. To launch flexVDI Config, follow the following steps:

  1. Enter root as username, and the password configured during the installation.
  2. Enter flexvdi-config on the command line, and press enter.

 

[root@flexhost ~]# flexvdi-config

 

Initial configuration

The first time you run flexVDI Config, you'll be informed that an initial configuration will be applied for this Host. You can run this operation again by selecting the Initial option in the main menu, but this is rarely needed.

config_initial.png

Main menu

flexVDI Config main menu shows the following options:

  1. Network: network configuration, creation of virtual bridges, vLANs and bonding.
  2. Subscription: register the flexVDI Host in flexVDI portal to enable downloading software updates and flexVDI Manager.
  3. Update: update the software of this flexVDI Host.
  4. OCFS2: Configuration of shared storage.
  5. Manager: Installation and coniguration of flexVDI Manager.
  6. CIFS: Installation of a CIFS server on this flexVDI host to be used as ISO storage for the Guests Media Storage.

Network configuration

flexVDI 2.2 organizes guests in subnets with the help of virtual bridges. A virtual bridge communicates virtual machines among them and with other computers. All the machines that have a network interface connected to the same virtual bridge will be connected to each other, as if they were in the same network segment. Also, to access machines outside the host, one of its physical interfaces has to be attached to that virtual bridge. With the flexvdi-config tool, you can manage virtual bridges, setup bond and local VLAN interfaces, and configure the TCP/IP information of them all. In this first basic configuration we are going to create a single virtual bridge (vibr0) with one physical interface attached to it (eth0), and configure an IP address. Follow these steps:

  1. Select Network in the main menu.config_network.png
  2. Select Bridges.
  3. Select Create.

You will be informed that a new network bridge named virbr0 has been created. Upon returning to the screen of network bridges, you will see you have a new bridge with that name, without any assigned slave. An isolated network bridge like that can be useful to define a subnet of virtual machines without direct access to the outside.

config_network_bridge1.png

In order to attach a physical interface to the virtual bridge, just follow these steps:

  1. Select virbr0.
  2. Select Attach. A list of free network interfaces in that Host will be displayed. Select the one you want to use in order to provide network access to virtual machines (if you have any doubt, select eth0 and wire the first server interface).
    config_network_bridge2.png

Local VLAN management

In a complex network configuration, it may be interesting to separate network traffic in different VLANs. The LocalVLAN option lets you define interfaces that let the host access a VLAN on a virtual bridge. This step only provides VLAN access to the host, it is not needed to provide VLAN access to the flexVDI Manager or other virtual machines. To create a local VLAN interface on virbr0, follow these steps:

  1. Select Network in the main menu.
  2. Select LocalVLAN.
  3. Select Create.
  4. Select virbr0.
  5. Enter the ID of the VLAN.

A new network interface is created with the name virbr0.id, where id is the VLAN identifier. Thus, through this interface the host is now able to access the VLAN in that virtual bridge.

config_network_vlan.png

TCP IP Configuration

The TCP / IP submenu lets you define the IP network parameters associated with each interface. We will configure the network bridge virbr0 so that the host can access the Internet through it. This will allow us to update the host and download the flexVDI Manager image later. If you created a local VLAN interface in the previous step, configure that interface instead.

Warning

There is a known bug in the distribution flexVDI 2.2 is based on (CentOS 6.5) that affects the access to VLANs. If you want to access a VLAN through a virtual bridge, you MUST configure an IP address for that bridge too, even if it is not required or you will not use it.

  1. Select Network in the main menu.
  2. Select TCP / IP.
  3. You will see a list of all available network interfaces on the host:
    config_tcpip.png
  4. Select virbr0 and assign the appropriate network parameters for access to their corporate network. For example:config_tcpip_virbr0.png

DNS Configuration 

Finally, the DNS option of the Network menu allows you to configure DNS servers for host name resolution. Simply enter the DNS option, and configure the address of the name servers you want to use.

Applying network configuration changes

Once you have finished the previous steps, the network settings of your first flexVDI Host have been defined. To apply this configuration, you must leave the Network menu. Then flexVDI-config will state that network settings have changed, so it is required to restart the network service for the changes to take effect. Confirm that you want to perform the operation.

Registering this Host on flexVDI Network

In order to get software updates for the flexVDI Host and download the flexVDI Manager image, you need to register each flexVDI Host on the flexVDI Network. You need Internet access in this Host, and the credentials provided when you registered in the Customer Portal (https://portal.flexvdi.com). Just select Subscription on the main menu, and enter your credentials.

Updating the distribution

It is recommended to perform an upgrade of the distribution after registering in the flexVDI Network. To do this, select the Update operation from the main menu. flexVDI Config asks for confirmation, and will remind you that this operation requires Internet access and an active subscription to the flexVDI Network. If everything is correct, select Yes and the update process will begin:

config_update.png

Registration and software update through a HTTP proxy

If your hosts reach Internet through an HTTP proxy, you need to configure flexVDI Config to use it, BUT ONLY DURING THIS STEP. Some of the advanced configuration steps performed by flexVDI Config include http connections with other componentes of the platform, such as the flexVDI Manager. These connections will probably fail if performed through a proxy.

To use the proxy to perform this single task, do the following:

  • Close flexVDI Config.
  • Configure bash shell environment variables using this command:
[root@flexhost ~]# export http_proxy=http://proxyname:proxyport https_proxy=https://proxyname:proxyport
  • Now run flexvdi-config again from that shell