Preparing the Installation Configuration File (Optional)

You can optionally create a configuration file that contains all of the network settings and passwords you collected in Gathering Information. This configuration file, zen_config.yaml, is a template file located in /opt/stratus/install that you modify for your specific configuration. This option is useful for planning out and entering all of the configuration entries before starting the BMC configuration or software installation, especially if you intend to install more than one system with similar parameters.

An example of the zen_config.yaml template file follows. (Your template file may contain minor differences.)

# SYSTEM INFORMATION
system_id:                                       # Use '$SYSTEM-ID$' to include in hostname construction
system_domain:                                   # Use '$SYSTEM-DOMAIN$' to include in hostname construction
system_nameserver:                               # Use '$NAMESERVER$ to use this for nameserver fields below or '--NONE--'

# Information shared by all components on the 1G ztC Endurance management network
# BMCs, Standby, Management VM
zenmgmt_gateway:                                 # IPV4/V6 address or None (for dhcp)
zenmgmt_netmask:                                 # IPV4 subnet address or None (for dhcp/ipv6/(if prefix supplied in ip))
zenmgmt_ipv6_prefix:                             # IPV6 prefix or None (for dhcp/ipv4/(if prefix supplied in ip))


# BMC
bmca_hostname: $SYSTEM-ID$bmca.$SYSTEM-DOMAIN$   # BMCA hostname (may be a fully qualified domain name)
bmcb_hostname: $SYSTEM-ID$bmcb.$SYSTEM-DOMAIN$   # BMCB hostname (may be a fully qualified domain name)
bmc_netproto:                                    # BMC IP protocol ('dhcp' or 'static')
bmca_eth0:                                       # BMC A eth 0 IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp)
bmca_eth1:                                       # BMC A eth 1 IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp)
bmcb_eth0:                                       # BMC B eth 0 IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp)
bmcb_eth1:                                       # BMC B eth 1 IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp)

# Standby
standbya_hostname:  $SYSTEM-ID$a.$SYSTEM-DOMAIN$ # Standby A hostname (may be a fully qualified domain name)
standbyb_hostname:  $SYSTEM-ID$b.$SYSTEM-DOMAIN$ # Standby B hostname (may be a fully qualified domain name)
standby_netproto:                                # Standby IP protocol ('dhcp' or 'static')
standbya_ipaddr_1:                               # Standby IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp) for A eno1
standbya_ipaddr_2:                               # Standby IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp) for A eno2
standbyb_ipaddr_1:                               # Standby IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp) for B eno1
standbyb_ipaddr_2:                               # Standby IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp) for B eno2
standby_nameserver: $NAMESERVER$                 # Standby IPV4/V6 address or '--NONE--' (for dhcp)

# ESX
esx_hostname: $SYSTEM-ID$.$SYSTEM-DOMAIN$        # ESX hostname (may be a fully qualified domain name)
esx_bootproto:                                   # IP protocol ('dhcp' or 'static')
esx_ipaddr:                                      # IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp)
esx_gateway:                                     # IPV4/V6 address or None (for dhcp)
esx_netmask:                                     # IPV4 subnet address or None (for dhcp/ipv6/(if prefix supplied in ip))
esx_ipv6_prefix:                                 # IPV6 prefix or None (for dhcp/ipv4/(if prefix supplied in ip))
esx_nameserver: $NAMESERVER$                     # IPV4/V6 address or '--NONE
esx_keyboard:                                    # ESX keyboard type (e.g. US Default)
esx_iso:                                         # ESX ISO path/URL

# Management VM
mgmtvm_netproto:                                 # IP protocol ('dhcp' or 'static')
mgmtvm_ipaddr:                                   # IPV4/V6 address(ipaddr/prefix) or None (for dhcp)
mgmtvm_nameserver:      $NAMESERVER$             # IPV4/V6 address or '--NONE--'
mgmtvm_domainname:      $SYSTEM-DOMAIN$          # DNS suffix name or '--NONE--'
mgmtvm_name:            $SYSTEM-ID$-ZTCmgmt      # Management VM name (default: <ESXi hostname>-ZTCmgmt)

# ASN
asn_enabled:                                     # Indicates whether Support Notifications over ASN are enabled ('yes' or 'no')
asn_asset_id:                                    # Asset Identifier

# EOF

You use the same configuration file for Configuring the BMC Network Settings, Installing VMware ESXi and Deploying the Management VM, or Updating Network IP Configuration Settings.

If you exit out of the installation script before completing the installation process, the system automatically saves a copy of your latest configuration entries in a configuration file with a time-stamped file name in the current working directory.

Use either the vi text editor or the nano text editor in the Standby OS to modify the configuration file. If you are unfamiliar with these text editors, it is important to understand the different modes and keyboard shortcuts to use them properly and avoid mistakes.

  • To learn more about vi, see help resources on the web. For example:

https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/get-started-vi-editor

  • To learn more about the nano text editor, see help resources on the web. For example:

https://www.nano-editor.org/docs.php
Note: To use privileged commands in the zenadmin account, you need to add the sudo directive. If you open a file in vi or nano without sudo, you will be unable to save the configuration file in its original, privileged directory.

Additional considerations:

  • Consider making a copy of the original configuration file before modifying it. For example, sudo cp filename filename.orig.

  • If you forgot to use the sudo directive, and the system does not allow you to save the configuration file, you can save your changes to a file in the /home/zenadmin directory. Later, you can specify the configuration file's path name on the command line, or you can simply specify its file name if /home/zenadmin is the current working directory.

  • When typing entries in the configuration file, you must add a space between the colon (:) and the entry text. For example, bmca_eth0: 10.10.40.32.

  • When you are typing and moving around the file, be careful not to insert any unsupported characters or text that would prevent the installation script from properly reading the file.

  • Avoid modifying the configuration file in other operating systems or word processors that might add unsupported line feeds or special characters. Use only a plain text editor such as vi or nano.