Setting up the environment for an OpenShift installation

Installing Fedora on the provisioner node
Preparing the provisioner node for OKD installation
Configuring networking
Retrieving the OKD installer
Extracting the OKD installer
Optional: Creating an FCOS images cache
Configuring the install-config.yaml file
Manifest configuration files
Creating a disconnected registry
Validation checklist for installation
Deploying the cluster via the OKD installer
Following the installation
Verifying static IP address configuration
Preparing to reinstall a cluster on bare metal
Additional resources

Installing Fedora on the provisioner node

With the configuration of the prerequisites complete, the next step is to install Fedora 35 on the provisioner node. The installer uses the provisioner node as the orchestrator while installing the OKD cluster. For the purposes of this document, installing Fedora on the provisioner node is out of scope. However, options include but are not limited to using a RHEL Satellite server, PXE, or installation media.

Preparing the provisioner node for OKD installation

Perform the following steps to prepare the environment.

Procedure

Create a non-root user (kni) and provide that user with sudo privileges:

# useradd kni

# passwd kni

# echo "kni ALL=(root) NOPASSWD:ALL" | tee -a /etc/sudoers.d/kni

# chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/kni

Create an ssh key for the new user:

# su - kni -c "ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f /home/kni/.ssh/id_rsa -N ''"

Install the following packages:

$ sudo dnf install -y libvirt qemu-kvm mkisofs python3-devel jq ipmitool

Modify the user to add the libvirt group to the newly created user:
```
$ sudo usermod --append --groups libvirt <user>
```

Restart firewalld and enable the http service:

$ sudo systemctl start firewalld

$ sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=http --permanent

$ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Start and enable the libvirtd service:
```
$ sudo systemctl enable libvirtd --now
```

Create the default storage pool and start it:

$ sudo virsh pool-define-as --name default --type dir --target /var/lib/libvirt/images

$ sudo virsh pool-start default

$ sudo virsh pool-autostart default

Create a pull-secret.txt file:
```
$ vim pull-secret.txt
```
In a web browser, navigate to Install OpenShift on Bare Metal with installer-provisioned infrastructure. Click Copy pull secret. Paste the contents into the pull-secret.txt file and save the contents in the kni user’s home directory.

Configuring networking

Before installation, you must configure the networking on the provisioner node. Installer-provisioned clusters deploy with a baremetal bridge and network, and an optional provisioning bridge and network.

You can also configure networking from the web console.

Procedure

Export the baremetal network NIC name:
```
$ export PUB_CONN=<baremetal_nic_name>
```

Configure the baremetal network:

$ sudo nohup bash -c "
    nmcli con down \"$PUB_CONN\"
    nmcli con delete \"$PUB_CONN\"
    # RHEL 8.1 appends the word \"System\" in front of the connection, delete in case it exists
    nmcli con down \"System $PUB_CONN\"
    nmcli con delete \"System $PUB_CONN\"
    nmcli connection add ifname baremetal type bridge con-name baremetal
    nmcli con add type bridge-slave ifname \"$PUB_CONN\" master baremetal
    pkill dhclient;dhclient baremetal
"

The ssh connection might disconnect after executing these steps.

Optional: If you are deploying with a provisioning network, export the provisioning network NIC name:
```
$ export PROV_CONN=<prov_nic_name>
```

Optional: If you are deploying with a provisioning network, configure the provisioning network:

$ sudo nohup bash -c "
    nmcli con down \"$PROV_CONN\"
    nmcli con delete \"$PROV_CONN\"
    nmcli connection add ifname provisioning type bridge con-name provisioning
    nmcli con add type bridge-slave ifname \"$PROV_CONN\" master provisioning
    nmcli connection modify provisioning ipv6.addresses fd00:1101::1/64 ipv6.method manual
    nmcli con down provisioning
    nmcli con up provisioning
"

The ssh connection might disconnect after executing these steps.

The IPv6 address can be any address as long as it is not routable via the baremetal network.

Ensure that UEFI is enabled and UEFI PXE settings are set to the IPv6 protocol when using IPv6 addressing.

Optional: If you are deploying with a provisioning network, configure the IPv4 address on the provisioning network connection:
```
$ nmcli connection modify provisioning ipv4.addresses 172.22.0.254/24 ipv4.method manual
```

ssh back into the provisioner node (if required):

# ssh kni@provisioner.<cluster-name>.<domain>

Verify the connection bridges have been properly created:

$ sudo nmcli con show

NAME               UUID                                  TYPE      DEVICE
baremetal          4d5133a5-8351-4bb9-bfd4-3af264801530  bridge    baremetal
provisioning       43942805-017f-4d7d-a2c2-7cb3324482ed  bridge    provisioning
virbr0             d9bca40f-eee1-410b-8879-a2d4bb0465e7  bridge    virbr0
bridge-slave-eno1  76a8ed50-c7e5-4999-b4f6-6d9014dd0812  ethernet  eno1
bridge-slave-eno2  f31c3353-54b7-48de-893a-02d2b34c4736  ethernet  eno2

Retrieving the OKD installer

Use the stable-4.x version of the installation program and your selected architecture to deploy the generally available stable version of OKD:

$ export VERSION=stable-4.11

$ export RELEASE_ARCH=<architecture>

$ export RELEASE_IMAGE=$(curl -s https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/$RELEASE_ARCH/clients/ocp/$VERSION/release.txt | grep 'Pull From: quay.io' | awk -F ' ' '{print $3}')

Extracting the OKD installer

After retrieving the installer, the next step is to extract it.

Procedure

Set the environment variables:

$ export cmd=openshift-baremetal-install

$ export pullsecret_file=~/pull-secret.txt

$ export extract_dir=$(pwd)

Get the oc binary:

$ curl -s https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/ocp/$VERSION/openshift-client-linux.tar.gz | tar zxvf - oc

Extract the installer:

$ sudo cp oc /usr/local/bin

$ oc adm release extract --registry-config "${pullsecret_file}" --command=$cmd --to "${extract_dir}" ${RELEASE_IMAGE}

$ sudo cp openshift-baremetal-install /usr/local/bin

Optional: Creating an FCOS images cache

To employ image caching, you must download the Fedora CoreOS (FCOS) image used by the bootstrap VM to provision the cluster nodes. Image caching is optional, but it is especially useful when running the installation program on a network with limited bandwidth.

The installation program no longer needs the clusterOSImage FCOS image because the correct image is in the release payload.

If you are running the installation program on a network with limited bandwidth and the FCOS images download takes more than 15 to 20 minutes, the installation program will timeout. Caching images on a web server will help in such scenarios.

If you enable TLS for the HTTPD server, you must confirm the root certificate is signed by an authority trusted by the client and verify the trusted certificate chain between your OKD hub and spoke clusters and the HTTPD server. Using a server configured with an untrusted certificate prevents the images from being downloaded to the image creation service. Using untrusted HTTPS servers is not supported.

Install a container that contains the images.

Procedure

Install podman:
```
$ sudo dnf install -y podman
```

Open firewall port 8080 to be used for FCOS image caching:

$ sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8080/tcp --zone=public --permanent

$ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Create a directory to store the bootstraposimage:
```
$ mkdir /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache
```

Set the appropriate SELinux context for the newly created directory:

$ sudo semanage fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_content_t "/home/kni/rhcos_image_cache(/.*)?"

$ sudo restorecon -Rv /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache/

Get the URI for the FCOS image that the installation program will deploy on the bootstrap VM:

$ export RHCOS_QEMU_URI=$(/usr/local/bin/openshift-baremetal-install coreos print-stream-json | jq -r --arg ARCH "$(arch)" '.architectures[$ARCH].artifacts.qemu.formats["qcow2.gz"].disk.location')

Get the name of the image that the installation program will deploy on the bootstrap VM:
```
$ export RHCOS_QEMU_NAME=${RHCOS_QEMU_URI##*/}
```

Get the SHA hash for the FCOS image that will be deployed on the bootstrap VM:

$ export RHCOS_QEMU_UNCOMPRESSED_SHA256=$(/usr/local/bin/openshift-baremetal-install coreos print-stream-json | jq -r --arg ARCH "$(arch)" '.architectures[$ARCH].artifacts.qemu.formats["qcow2.gz"].disk["uncompressed-sha256"]')

Download the image and place it in the /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache directory:

$ curl -L ${RHCOS_QEMU_URI} -o /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache/${RHCOS_QEMU_NAME}

Confirm SELinux type is of httpd_sys_content_t for the new file:
```
$ ls -Z /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache
```
Create the pod:
```
$ podman run -d --name rhcos_image_cache \ (1)
-v /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache:/var/www/html \
-p 8080:8080/tcp \
quay.io/centos7/httpd-24-centos7:latest
```
1 Creates a caching webserver with the name rhcos_image_cache. This pod serves the bootstrapOSImage image in the install-config.yaml file for deployment.

Generate the bootstrapOSImage configuration:

$ export BAREMETAL_IP=$(ip addr show dev baremetal | awk '/inet /{print $2}' | cut -d"/" -f1)

$ export BOOTSTRAP_OS_IMAGE="http://${BAREMETAL_IP}:8080/${RHCOS_QEMU_NAME}?sha256=${RHCOS_QEMU_UNCOMPRESSED_SHA256}"

$ echo "    bootstrapOSImage=${BOOTSTRAP_OS_IMAGE}"

Add the required configuration to the install-config.yaml file under platform.baremetal:
```
platform:
  baremetal:
    bootstrapOSImage: <bootstrap_os_image>  (1)
```
1 Replace <bootstrap_os_image> with the value of $BOOTSTRAP_OS_IMAGE.

See the "Configuring the install-config.yaml file" section for additional details.

Configuring the install-config.yaml file

The install-config.yaml file requires some additional details. Most of the information teaches the installation program and the resulting cluster enough about the available hardware that it is able to fully manage it.

The installation program no longer needs the clusterOSImage FCOS image because the correct image is in the release payload.

Configure install-config.yaml. Change the appropriate variables to match the environment, including pullSecret and sshKey:

apiVersion: v1
baseDomain: <domain>
metadata:
  name: <cluster_name>
networking:
  machineNetwork:
  - cidr: <public_cidr>
  networkType: OVNKubernetes
compute:
- name: worker
  replicas: 2 (1)
controlPlane:
  name: master
  replicas: 3
  platform:
    baremetal: {}
platform:
  baremetal:
    apiVIP: <api_ip>
    ingressVIP: <wildcard_ip>
    provisioningNetworkCIDR: <CIDR>
    bootstrapExternalStaticIP: <bootstrap_static_ip_address> (2)
    bootstrapExternalStaticGateway: <bootstrap_static_gateway> (3)
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: ipmi://<out_of_band_ip> (4)
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
        bootMACAddress: <NIC1_mac_address>
        rootDeviceHints:
         deviceName: "/dev/disk/by-id/<disk_id>" (5)
      - name: <openshift_master_1>
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: ipmi://<out_of_band_ip> (4)
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
        bootMACAddress: <NIC1_mac_address>
        rootDeviceHints:
         deviceName: "/dev/disk/by-id/<disk_id>" (5)
      - name: <openshift_master_2>
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: ipmi://<out_of_band_ip> (4)
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
        bootMACAddress: <NIC1_mac_address>
        rootDeviceHints:
         deviceName: "/dev/disk/by-id/<disk_id>" (5)
      - name: <openshift_worker_0>
        role: worker
        bmc:
          address: ipmi://<out_of_band_ip> (4)
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
        bootMACAddress: <NIC1_mac_address>
      - name: <openshift_worker_1>
        role: worker
        bmc:
          address: ipmi://<out_of_band_ip>
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
        bootMACAddress: <NIC1_mac_address>
        rootDeviceHints:
         deviceName: "/dev/disk/by-id/<disk_id>" (5)
pullSecret: '<pull_secret>'
sshKey: '<ssh_pub_key>'

1	Scale the worker machines based on the number of worker nodes that are part of the OKD cluster. Valid options for the `replicas` value are `0` and integers greater than or equal to `2`. Set the number of replicas to `0` to deploy a three-node cluster, which contains only three control plane machines. A three-node cluster is a smaller, more resource-efficient cluster that can be used for testing, development, and production. You cannot install the cluster with only one worker.
2	When deploying a cluster with static IP addresses, you must set the `bootstrapExternalStaticIP` configuration setting to specify the static IP address of the bootstrap VM when there is no DHCP server on the `baremetal` network.
3	When deploying a cluster with static IP addresses, you must set the `bootstrapExternalStaticGateway` configuration setting to specify the gateway IP address for the bootstrap VM when there is no DHCP server on the `baremetal` network.
4	See the BMC addressing sections for more options.
5	Set the path to the installation disk drive, for example, `/dev/disk/by-id/wwn-0x64cd98f04fde100024684cf3034da5c2`.

Create a directory to store the cluster configuration:
```
$ mkdir ~/clusterconfigs
```
Copy the install-config.yaml file to the new directory:
```
$ cp install-config.yaml ~/clusterconfigs
```

Ensure all bare metal nodes are powered off prior to installing the OKD cluster:

$ ipmitool -I lanplus -U <user> -P <password> -H <management-server-ip> power off

Remove old bootstrap resources if any are left over from a previous deployment attempt:

for i in $(sudo virsh list | tail -n +3 | grep bootstrap | awk {'print $2'});
do
  sudo virsh destroy $i;
  sudo virsh undefine $i;
  sudo virsh vol-delete $i --pool $i;
  sudo virsh vol-delete $i.ign --pool $i;
  sudo virsh pool-destroy $i;
  sudo virsh pool-undefine $i;
done

Additional `install-config` parameters

See the following tables for the required parameters, the hosts parameter, and the bmc parameter for the install-config.yaml file.

Table 1. Required parameters
Parameters	Default	Description
`baseDomain`		The domain name for the cluster. For example, `example.com`.
`bootMode`	`UEFI`	The boot mode for a node. Options are `legacy`, `UEFI`, and `UEFISecureBoot`. If `bootMode` is not set, Ironic sets it while inspecting the node.
`bootstrapExternalStaticIP`		The static IP address for the bootstrap VM. You must set this value when deploying a cluster with static IP addresses when there is no DHCP server on the `baremetal` network.
`bootstrapExternalStaticGateway`		The static IP address of the gateway for the bootstrap VM. You must set this value when deploying a cluster with static IP addresses when there is no DHCP server on the `baremetal` network.
`sshKey`		The `sshKey` configuration setting contains the key in the `~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub` file required to access the control plane nodes and worker nodes. Typically, this key is from the `provisioner` node.
`pullSecret`		The `pullSecret` configuration setting contains a copy of the pull secret downloaded from the Install OpenShift on Bare Metal page when preparing the provisioner node.
metadata: name:		The name to be given to the OKD cluster. For example, `openshift`.
networking: machineNetwork: - cidr:		The public CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) of the external network. For example, `10.0.0.0/24`.
compute: - name: worker		The OKD cluster requires a name be provided for worker (or compute) nodes even if there are zero nodes.
compute: replicas: 2		Replicas sets the number of worker (or compute) nodes in the OKD cluster.
controlPlane: name: master		The OKD cluster requires a name for control plane (master) nodes.
controlPlane: replicas: 3		Replicas sets the number of control plane (master) nodes included as part of the OKD cluster.
`provisioningNetworkInterface`		The name of the network interface on nodes connected to the `provisioning` network. For OKD 4.9 and later releases, use the `bootMACAddress` configuration setting to enable Ironic to identify the IP address of the NIC instead of using the `provisioningNetworkInterface` configuration setting to identify the name of the NIC.
`defaultMachinePlatform`		The default configuration used for machine pools without a platform configuration.
`apiVIP`		(Optional) The virtual IP address for Kubernetes API communication. This setting must either be provided in the `install-config.yaml` file as a reserved IP from the MachineNetwork or pre-configured in the DNS so that the default name resolves correctly. Use the virtual IP address and not the FQDN when adding a value to the `apiVIP` configuration setting in the `install-config.yaml` file. The IP address must be from the primary IPv4 network when using dual stack networking. If not set, the installer uses `api.<cluster_name>.<base_domain>` to derive the IP address from the DNS.
`disableCertificateVerification`	`False`	`redfish` and `redfish-virtualmedia` need this parameter to manage BMC addresses. The value should be `True` when using a self-signed certificate for BMC addresses.
`ingressVIP`		(Optional) The virtual IP address for ingress traffic. This setting must either be provided in the `install-config.yaml` file as a reserved IP from the MachineNetwork or pre-configured in the DNS so that the default name resolves correctly. Use the virtual IP address and not the FQDN when adding a value to the `ingressVIP` configuration setting in the `install-config.yaml` file. The IP address must be from the primary IPv4 network when using dual stack networking. If not set, the installer uses `test.apps.<cluster_name>.<base_domain>` to derive the IP address from the DNS.

Table 2. Optional Parameters
Parameters	Default	Description
`provisioningDHCPRange`	`172.22.0.10,172.22.0.100`	Defines the IP range for nodes on the `provisioning` network.
`provisioningNetworkCIDR`	`172.22.0.0/24`	The CIDR for the network to use for provisioning. This option is required when not using the default address range on the `provisioning` network.
`clusterProvisioningIP`	The third IP address of the `provisioningNetworkCIDR`.	The IP address within the cluster where the provisioning services run. Defaults to the third IP address of the `provisioning` subnet. For example, `172.22.0.3`.
`bootstrapProvisioningIP`	The second IP address of the `provisioningNetworkCIDR`.	The IP address on the bootstrap VM where the provisioning services run while the installer is deploying the control plane (master) nodes. Defaults to the second IP address of the `provisioning` subnet. For example, `172.22.0.2` or `2620:52:0:1307::2`.
`externalBridge`	`baremetal`	The name of the `baremetal` bridge of the hypervisor attached to the `baremetal` network.
`provisioningBridge`	`provisioning`	The name of the `provisioning` bridge on the `provisioner` host attached to the `provisioning` network.
`architecture`		Defines the host architecture for your cluster. Valid values are `amd64` or `arm64`.
`defaultMachinePlatform`		The default configuration used for machine pools without a platform configuration.
`bootstrapOSImage`		A URL to override the default operating system image for the bootstrap node. The URL must contain a SHA-256 hash of the image. For example: `https://mirror.openshift.com/rhcos-<version>-qemu.qcow2.gz?sha256=<uncompressed_sha256>;`.
`provisioningNetwork`		The `provisioningNetwork` configuration setting determines whether the cluster uses the `provisioning` network. If it does, the configuration setting also determines if the cluster manages the network. `Disabled`: Set this parameter to `Disabled` to disable the requirement for a `provisioning` network. When set to `Disabled`, you must only use virtual media based provisioning, or bring up the cluster using the assisted installer. If `Disabled` and using power management, BMCs must be accessible from the `baremetal` network. If `Disabled`, you must provide two IP addresses on the `baremetal` network that are used for the provisioning services. `Managed`: Set this parameter to `Managed`, which is the default, to fully manage the provisioning network, including DHCP, TFTP, and so on. `Unmanaged`: Set this parameter to `Unmanaged` to enable the provisioning network but take care of manual configuration of DHCP. Virtual media provisioning is recommended but PXE is still available if required.
`httpProxy`		Set this parameter to the appropriate HTTP proxy used within your environment.
`httpsProxy`		Set this parameter to the appropriate HTTPS proxy used within your environment.
`noProxy`		Set this parameter to the appropriate list of exclusions for proxy usage within your environment.

Hosts

The hosts parameter is a list of separate bare metal assets used to build the cluster.

Table 3. Hosts
Name	Default	Description

Installing Fedora on the provisioner node

Preparing the provisioner node for OKD installation

Configuring networking

Retrieving the OKD installer

Extracting the OKD installer

Optional: Creating an FCOS images cache

Configuring the install-config.yaml file

Configuring the install-config.yaml file

Additional install-config parameters

Hosts

Additional `install-config` parameters