Platform Installation

Installation Checklist

Before proceeding with the installation, gather the following information and files:

1. Determine the following:

   1. What subnet Platform manages

   2. Which network interface on the server is connected to that subnet

2. Use the following Linux command to find the interface name:

   ifconfig

3. Document any IP addresses not to be leased by Platform (reserved range).
   For example, for HSRP ranges: x.x.x.1-x.x.x.3 or x.x.x.252-x.x.x.254

4. Determine the number of nodes (chassis) anticipated for this cluster and select a subnet range for the IP addresses (dynamic range).
   For a cluster of 10 chassis, the subnet range may be: x.x.x.240 - x.x.x.249

5. Download the latest bundle from the Downloads section on the DataCore Support Portal: Swarm-VERSION-DATE.zip

6. Transfer the Swarm components (ZIP files) to the Platform server:

   • Platform Server (non-OVA install) — caringo-platform-VERSION.zip

   • Service Proxy (To host the Swarm Storage UI if Content Gateway is not available) — serviceproxy-VERSION.zip

   • Swarm Storage — storage-VERSION.zip

Offline Installation

The Platform server normally requires Internet access for 3 main reasons:

1. Downloading software during initial installation

2. Downloading ephemeral boot images used during chassis enlistment and commissioning

3. Downloading additional software packages used for hardware interrogation during commissioning

There are some scenarios in which these actions can be blocked:

• The Platform server has no access to the internet.

• The Platform server may have internet access restricted through various means, like proxies or secure gateways

• The Internet connectivity may be inconsistent or inadequate for large downloads.

If you are installing the Platform server under these conditions, verify offline (-o) flag is added when installing the software or running reinit.sh. (v10.0). When installing via the OVA and running the re_init.sh script, while reason #1 above does not apply, the offline (-o) flag configures the Platform server to operate without Internet connectivity for reason #2 and #3 above.

Install from OVA

1. Import the OVA file into your ESXi/vSphere environment. During the import process, add any network interfaces and configure as necessary.

2. Once the OVA is imported and booted for the first time, configure the networking as necessary within the OS. You can ssh into the Platform server using the following username/password: caringoadmin/caringo

3. Once the networking configuration completes and validates, run the following command where STORAGE_NIC_IP is the static IP of the NIC connected to the storage network:

   sudo /opt/reinit.sh -i STORAGE_NIC_IP

4. When the reinit.sh script has finished, reboot the Platform Server.

Install from ZIP

1. SSH into the Platform server.

2. If the system is missing unzip capability, install it before proceeding: 

   sudo apt-get install unzip

3. Unzip the package into an empty non-temporary directory and change directories into it:

4. Run the self-extracting installation script as a user with root privileges. For the following commands, use the interface name (such as ens192) found in step 2 of the Installation Checklist, above.
   Run as follows for physical hardware or within a container:

   Add the -e flag for VMware ESXi virtual machines:

   For the complete command help, run the script without arguments: ./installplatform.sh 

5. Once installation completes, the CLI binary is installed, and it can be run from anywhere.

Initialize the Platform Server

1. Unless installing in offline mode, verify there is at least 300 MB space available to run the bootstrap command, which downloads updates from the Internet.

2. Once you have the interface name, list all available CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing, or supernetting) network addresses:

3. Run the bootstrap command for the Swarm Platform environment, which includes preparing Swarm Storage for deployment to managed nodes. 

   • Path — The Swarm Storage ZIP file for this command is located in the \Storage folder within the Swarm-VERSION-DATE.zip download. The filename has this form: storage-VERSION-x86_64.zip. You may change the version of Swarm Storage at any point after the bootstrap completes.

   • Version — Version of Swarm Storage, in the form #.#.#.

   • DHCP Subnet — The DHCP subnet CIDR calculated above. The platform list subnets command provides the proper format:

     Example

     If the storage subnet is 192.168.68.x, then use 192.168.68.0/24

   • Dynamic Range — Use the dynamic range IPs you found in step 4 of the Installation Checklist, above.

4. Create a reserved IP range so the IP addresses cannot be allocated for Storage nodes if there are other IP addresses on the same network not managed by Swarm Platform:

    

5. Upload a valid license for Swarm to boot successfully before deploying Swarm.