IBM Smart Virtual Appliance for Oracle E-Business Suite on AIX........ Vishal Agarwal Ravisankar Shanmugam IBM Oracle International Competency Center January 2014 Copyright IBM Corporation, 2014. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective holders
Table of contents Abstract...1 Introduction...1 Background... 1 Efficiency comparison (results)*... 2 IBM virtualization technologies overview... 3 IBM SmartCloud Entry... 3 IBM PureFlex and Flex System Manager... 3 IBM Image Construction and Composition Tool... 6 Test setup...7 Architecture... 7 Software stack... 8 Oracle E-Business Suite Smart Virtual Appliance...8 Infrastructure requirements... 8 Using rack-mounted Power Systems servers... 9 Using Pureflex Systems servers... 9 Oracle EBS Smart Virtual Appliance creation and deployment workflow... 10 Create base Oracle EBS 12.1.3 virtual images... 10 Create IBM Smart Virtual Appliances for Oracle EBS... 11 Appendix...36 A) Common VMControl operations using IBM Systems Director or FSM... 36 Creating VMControl image repository on the SAN storage pool... 36 Capturing virtual server... 39 Deploying virtual appliance... 46 Importing an OVA into the image repository... 49 B) Common ICCT operations... 53 Installing ICCT... 53 Configuring cloud provider... 55 Importing virtual server images... 59 Applying software bundle... 61 Capture virtual server image/appliance... 63 Exporting virtual appliance as OVA... 64 C) Sample Oracle EBS 12.1.3 software bundles... 67 Oracle EBS database software bundle... 67 Oracle EBS applications software bundle... 69 Terminology...75 References...76 About the authors...78 Trademarks and special notices...79
Abstract This white paper introduces the building process and usage scenario of IBM Smart Virtual Appliance for Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 for IBM Power Systems platform with AIX using IBM Flex System Manager (FSM), IBM Image Construction and Composition Tool (ICCT) and IBM SmartCloud Entry (SCe). The virtual appliance approach helps in automating the entire provisioning workflow, and thereby dramatically reduces the overall time taken to deploy a certain workload, and helps provide a more predictable outcome one that drastically reduces the risk of human setup errors. While IBM SCe provides the virtual server management capabilities using underlying IBM FSM or Systems Director (SD) infrastructure management capabilities, IBM ICCT takes this management functionality a step further and offers a software bundle paradigm that essentially brings the software-reuse capability to virtual servers. Using this building-block approach, it is possible to create software bundles that build on top of one another and make it possible to dynamically create new custom smart virtual appliances, having differing configurations, through a simple drag-and-drop interface. For instance, using re-usable software bundles, a virtual appliance with say IBM AIX 7.1, Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and IBM Websphere Application Server 8.5 can be created without actually installing or configuring any of these software pieces (OS, database, application server) manually. Once the smart virtual appliance is created, it can be deployed like a regular virtual server/appliance, or exported in the Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) format, which can be used for deployment on a generic compliant system. In this whitepaper, we provide a detailed walk-through of the recommended approach for creation and deployment of Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 smart virtual appliance using IBM SCe, IBM FSM and IBM ICCT, along with the test setup details and operational efficiencies recorded in the test setup at the IBM Oracle International Competency Center Lab. We also provide sample Oracle EBS software bundles for the database and application tiers along with this whitepaper to IBM customers and business partners on request on an as-is basis for both training and test deployment purposes (see associated disclaimer on page 81 and in the Trademark and special notices section at the end of this paper). This paper assumes that the infrastructure elements required or referenced for creation and deployment of the virtual appliances, such as SCe, FSM, ICCT and Virtual I/O server (VIOS) are available. Further setup details of these components can be obtained through the IBM white papers, websites, or Redbooks referenced in the References section of this whitepaper. Note: please be advised that a valid Oracle software license is required when following the virtual-appliance based Oracle E-Business Suite software installation and deployment approach as described above. Customers who use the OVA to conduct repeated deployments must ensure that they have the proper Oracle software licensing to cover the multiple deployments. Introduction Background Server virtualization is fast gaining acceptance and popularity due to its ability to increase speed of deployment, enable workload consolidation, improve resource utilization and ease management. IBM PowerVM provides a secure and scalable server virtualization environment for AIX, IBM i, and Linux applications built upon the advanced RAS features and leading performance of the Power Systems platform. 1
Virtual appliances are custom pre-integrated virtual server software images that include the necessary software elements and configurations to optimally serve a certain workload. It is often desirable to have an ability to deploy such workloads rapidly under a variety of situations such as application development testing, validating a solution proof-of-concept, staging, creating demos, or perhaps even for quick redeployments in case of node failures. One example of a workload where rapid provisioning is often desired is for the Oracle E-Business Suite system, comprising of application and database tiers. Presently, a typical Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 software provisioning activity encompasses the following tasks: provisioning and installing the base operating system, carrying out a number of preinstallation and operating environment configuration tasks, installing the Oracle EBS12.1.1 database and application tier software, and carrying out a large number of Oracle EBS 12.1.3 upgrade tasks which include both application tier and database (Oracle Database 11g Release 2) upgrades. In order to replicate the environment, user must carry out the necessary pre and post cloning procedures manually. Through the smart virtual appliance approach, we provide customers with the ability to create virtual server images for both database and application tier, which can be deployed with new network configuration settings through a self-service portal, without needing deeper understanding of the Oracle EBS cloning procedures. As illustrated in the efficiency comparison chart below, substantial time and effort savings can be realized through the smart virtual appliance approach. Moreover, since the process is automated, there is little (if any) room for human error, thereby leading to more predictable outcomes. Efficiency comparison (results)* Table 1 and Table 2 below show an operational efficiency comparison between traditional and virtual appliance based approaches for provisioning an Oracle EBS DB and Application Tier: Task Initial deployment* * Repeat deployment 1) Provisioning virtual servers and installing AIX 2 hour Not Applicable 2) Configuring environment and installing Oracle EBS 12.1.1 DB tier ¾ hour Not Applicable 3) Configuring environment and installing Oracle EBS 12.1.1 Apps tier 1 hour Not Applicable 4) Upgrading Oracle EBS DB and Apps tier to 12.1.3 2 days Not Applicable 5) Replicating/cloning setup: provisioning virtual servers and installing AIX configuring OS environment pre-cloning, copying installation directories and data files, and post-cloning Not Applicable > 5 hours** Total time taken to complete Oracle EBS 12.1.3 setup ~ 2.5 days** > 5 hours** Table 1. Provisioning of Oracle EBS 12.1.3 servers using traditional (manual) approach 2
Task PREPARATION: VIRTUAL APPLIANCE CREATION TASKS Initial deployment Repeat deployment*** 1) Complete Oracle EBS 12.1.3 setup ~ 2.5 days Not Applicable 2) Pre-clone Oracle EBS 12.1.3 and capturing base DB/App images 1 hour Not Applicable 3) Create DB/App SW bundles, extend base images with SW bundles and capture smart virtual appliances VIRTUAL APPLIANCE DEPLOYMENT 2 hours Not Applicable 1) Deploying the Oracle EBS Database Tier and Apps Tier smart virtual appliances (includes automatic post-cloning setup) Total time taken in repeat deployments 20 min 20 min 20 min (~ 15x faster than traditional deployment) Table 2. Provisioning of Oracle EBS 12.1.3 servers using IBM Virtual Appliance approach * Performance is based on measurements and projections in a controlled environment. The actual results a user will experience may vary significantly depending upon considerations such as systems and software expertise, resource availability, etc. Therefore, no assurance can be given that an individual user will achieve similar efficiency results. In general, the time taken for provisioning infrastructure and installing/configuring software varies from site to site and depends on human factors as well. The timings used here are based on authors own experiences. Additional human errors in provisioning, installation, or configuration could lead to delays and will affect results. ** In test setup and assuming transfer of roughly 300GB of data at about 40 MBps. *** Smart virtual appliance creation tasks are one-time activities, which aren t needed during repeat deployments. IBM virtualization technologies overview IBM SmartCloud Entry The IBM SmartCloud Entry is a self-service portal for the Cloud end-user that complements IBM Systems Director VMControl, and various other cloud implementations. The SmartCloud Entry enables you to work with virtual appliances and workloads focusing on the end-user s perspective, rather than the IT or systems administrator s perspective. Self-service capabilities simplify the process of executing many common public or private Cloud operations such as: Provisioning and de-provisioning servers (process known as deploying) Drafting and cloning deployments Taking deployment snapshots Starting up and shutting down servers Resizing existing servers IBM PureFlex and Flex System Manager The PureFlex System is a fully integrated system with unified management of compute, storage, networking and virtualization resources that utilize built in patterns of expertise based on IBM's decades of experience and thousands of client deployments. 3
Figure 1. IBM PureFlex System IBM Flex System Manager is a single point of control for management of physical and virtual compute, storage and networking resources. It provides smart provisioning, upward integration of hardware management functions with VMware vcentre or Microsoft System Centre, mobile management to monitor infrastructure from anywhere using ios, Android and Blackberry mobile devices. Also it can manage up to 16 IBM Flex System virtualized chassis, 224 compute nodes, and a total of 5000 end points from a single Flex System Manager. Figure 2. IBM Flex System Manager IBM Flex System Manager is designed to help you get the most out of your IBM PureFlex System while automating repetitive tasks. IBM Flex System Manager can reduce the number of manual navigational steps for typical management tasks. From simplified system setup procedures with wizards and built-in expertise to consolidated monitoring for all of your physical and virtual resources (compute, storage, and networking), IBM Flex System Manager provides core management functionality along with automation so you can focus your efforts on business innovation. IBM Flex System Manager has the following key features: 4
Optimizing your workload management through built-in expertise - With a workload-optimized approach, you can decrease infrastructure costs and improve service levels. You can create and modify system pools using virtual workloads, make dynamic virtual workload adjustments, and move workloads within system pools, resulting in an optimized virtual environment with increased resilience to cope with planned or unplanned down time. A system pool is a group of virtualized system components that are managed as a single entity, allowing you to manage the pools with the simplicity of managing a single system, which is an essential capability for moving to cloud computing and a dynamic infrastructure. Managing all of your resources with one solution - Beginning with deployment through maintenance, upgrades, and problem resolution, IBM Flex System Manager is designed to provide all of the key management functions for your integrated IT resources from a single, easy to use interface. From your office or remotely through a secure connection, you can manage your compute, storage, network and virtualized resources. Compute - Auto discovery and setup wizards make deploying compute nodes quick and easy using the IBM Flex System Manager. After it is deployed, IBM Flex System Manager provides real-time updates for compute node health summaries. With the ability to define performance thresholds to trigger alerts, you can automate responses to potential problems help keep your critical business applications running at peak performance. IBM Flex System Manager can detect many problems with essential system resources and recover automatically. IBM Flex System Manager can also perform trend analysis to forecast and prevent future problems that otherwise might lead to expensive system outages. Storage - IBM Flex System Manager helps you address storage management challenges from device deployment and through the data life cycle. Storage deployment capabilities in the IBM Flex System Manager include storage device discovery and simple logical and physical device configuration from a single interface. IBM Flex System Manager can provide physical and logical storage topology views and can show relationships between storage and server resources, giving you the ability to track key resources based on their business usage. Provisioning capabilities include image management for simple virtual machine creation, deployment and cloning. You can also manage storage system pools for data life cycle management and storage placement based on business policies. Networking - Networking resources allow your virtualized compute and storage resources to communicate and function in the cloud. IBM Flex System Manager delivers end-to-end network management for your PureFlex System from a single tool. IBM Flex System Manager supports automated network discovery to speed deployments. It also offers a graphical view of the network from the integrated user interface. Network resources are pooled and virtualized. With logical network profiles, you can quickly and easily specify the network connectivity characteristics of a virtual machine. IBM Flex System Manager supports automatic provisioning and simple movements of 5
virtual LANs for virtual machines. You can manage MAC addresses for virtual network interface cards. IBM Flex System Manager provides detailed network usage and performance statistics for virtual machines and physical compute nodes so you can track valuable network resources and manage them based on your business needs. Virtualization - The basic virtualization functions in the IBM Flex System Manager begin with the ability to create and manage virtual servers from pooled resources. IBM Flex System Manager takes this capability further through the application of built-in expertise to make provisioning and deployment of virtual machines fast and easy. After virtual machines are deployed, the virtualization features of IBM Flex System Manager are designed to help you manage these virtualized resources efficiently. Automation features such as dynamic virtual machine placement, automated optimization, and resource balancing simplify virtualization management. IBM Flex System Manager also helps you keep your virtual machines up and running with support for non-disruptive updates, virtual machine mobility, and a range of other resilience features. IBM Image Construction and Composition Tool The Image Construction and Composition Tool is the IBM tool for smart virtual appliance creation. Its intuitive user interface is easy to use and the tool hides the complexities of image creation and packaging. Using the tool you can import a running Virtual Machine as so called base image. In addition, the tool allows you to package software components such as middleware or end-user applications into self-described containers called bundles. The base image is then extended with one or more bundles to create a deployable image. In other words, the tool synchronizes (merges) the content of a base image with the software components contained in bundles. The build and composition process is always performed in the context of a given Cloud Provider. A Cloud Provider is an abstraction layer that isolates Image Construction and Composition Tool from peculiarities of any given hypervisor. For example, the PowerVM Cloud Provider communicates with a target PowerVM hypervisor to perform basic image management tasks such as provision a virtual machine, start it, stop it, etc. Once the image has been synchronized (bundles installed in the base image), the tool can capture and export the final virtual appliances as an Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) which can then be imported and used for deployment through IBM System Director VMControl, IBM Flex System Manager, or IBM SmartCloud Entry on IBM Power Systems, or IBM PureSystems servers. Figure 3 below illustrates various steps in the smart virtual appliance creation process using IBM Image Construction and Composition Tool. In step 1, an OS specialist creates a base virtual server (LPAR), installs the OS (AIX) on it and configures basic services (if any). Then, using IBM Systems Director VMControl (step 2), she captures this base virtual server into the image repository. The software specialist creates a software bundle (step 3) using ICCT. The image builder (step 4) selects the base virtual server image and a software bundle to extend it. Extending a virtual server image with a software bundle creates a new interim virtual server and installs the software bundle on it (step 5), which can then be captured and stored in the image repository (step 6). This stored virtual server image is called the virtual appliance, which may then be deployed or exported (step 7) in an OVA 6
format. The exported OVA may be transferred to remote PureSystems or Power systems server, imported and deployed as new virtual servers (step 8). Figure 3. End to end smart virtual appliance creation process using IBM ICCT Test setup Architecture For this paper, an IBM Pureflex system with POWER7 processors was used with VIOS configured. An IBM Storwize V7000 was used for providing storage volumes to Virtual Servers and these volumes were supplied to logical partitions (Virtual Servers) through NPIV mechanism. 7
IBM PureFlex System IBM Image Construction and Composition Tool (ICCT) IBM SmartCloud Entry (SCE) IBM Storwize V7000 with Flashcopy Virtual AIX Server Create VAs Virtual AIX Server Deploy VAs SAN Storage Array Store virtual appliances Storage Pool IBM Flex System Manager (FSM) Physical management appliance Manage servers, network, storage, image reps etc. Deploy VAs Pre-configured with FSM IBM Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) Virtual AIX/VIOS Server Virtualize network/storage EBS DB/App Nodes Virtual AIX Servers Created manually or deployed using FSM/SD/SCE Figure 4. Test environment architecture/setup Software stack AIX Virtual servers Software Component 7.1 TL01 SP08 Release Version Flex System Manager (FSM) 1.2.1 FSM VMControl Plug-In 2.4.2.1-201302071803 FSM Storage Control Plug-In 4.2.2.143 Virtual I/O servers 2.2.2.1 Image Construction and Composition Tool (ICCT) 2.2.0.0-20130215-0820-26 IBM Storwize V7000 micro code 6.3.0.4 (build 54.8.1207100000) SmartCloud Entry 3.1.0.0-201305131252 Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 Table 3. Software used in the test setup Oracle E-Business Suite Smart Virtual Appliance Infrastructure requirements In order to build and use smart virtual appliances using the approach that is illustrated in the following sections, a certain infrastructure configuration must be available. The following components need to be installed and configured before we proceed with creating a software bundle, or capturing, extending or deploying a smart virtual appliance using ICCT with the IBM PowerVM cloud provider backed by a 8
Storage Copy Services based image repository. Additional details on setting up the environment can be obtained by referring to white papers and resources listed in the References section. Using rack-mounted Power Systems servers 1. Install IBM Systems Director 6.3.1 (or later) on an AIX virtual server, and activate the VMControl and StorageControl plug-ins. 2. Discover and inventory the HMC, managed system as well as the connected VIOS. 3. Create a storage pool on the SAN storage with sufficient storage for storing both interim and final virtual server images (virtual appliances). 4. Install and configure the SMI-S provider on a Linux server for the SAN fabrics (SAN switches). Note this may or may not be required, depending on the SAN storage/switch used. 5. Discover and add the SAN storage system and the SAN fabric using IBM Systems Director StorageControl. Once this is done, capture the Farm inventory. 6. Use the mksvcsshrsap command to create an SSH Remote Service Access Point (RSAP) connection for the SAN Volume Controller (SVC) family of storage subsystems. This connection enables the use of FlashCopy by IBM Systems Director or FSM VMControl, which decreases the amount of time it takes to copy data between storage volumes. 7. Create the image repository on the SAN storage pool: a. Install the VMControl CAS subagent (e.g. CommonAgentSubagent_VMControl) on the VIOS and inventory the VIOS. b. Create the image repository by selecting the right storage pool through the VMControl Create Image Repository feature. 8. Install and configure ICCT and SCe on AIX virtual server(s). Using Pureflex Systems servers 1. Discover and inventory the Power compute node that would host the Oracle EBS workload; also discover and inventory the configured VIOS on the compute node. 2. Create a storage pool on the SAN storage with sufficient storage for storing both interim and final virtual server images (virtual appliances). 3. Discover and add the SAN storage system and the SAN fabric using IBM Systems Director StorageControl. Once this is done, capture the Farm inventory. 4. Use the mksvcsshrsap command to create an SSH Remote Service Access Point (RSAP) connection for the SAN Volume Controller (SVC) family of storage subsystems. This connection enables the use of FlashCopy by IBM Systems Director or FSM VMControl, which decreases the amount of time it takes to copy data between storage volumes. 5. Create the image repository on the SAN storage pool by selecting the right storage pool through the VMControl Create Image Repository feature. 6. Install and configure ICCT and SCe on AIX virtual server(s). 9
Oracle EBS Smart Virtual Appliance creation and deployment workflow a Install Oracle EBS 12.1.1 DB and Apps software on AIX 7.1, and upgrade to 12.1.3 b Execute pre-clone procedures on both Oracle EBS 12.1.3 DB and Apps nodes, and bring down all Oracle services on both nodes c Using FSM or SD, capture and store Oracle EBS 12.1.3 DB and Apps nodes virtual server images in cloud provider image repository d g Install/configure ICCT for the cloud provider where VAs will created and stored e Create or import the IBM provided Oracle EBS DB and Apps software bundles f Extend the base Oracle EBS DB and Apps images with DB and Apps software bundles respectively, and synchronize Capture the extended virtual images (VAs) back into cloud provider image repository i j Import IBM Smart VAs for Oracle EBS exported in OVA format into FSM/SD Install/configure SCe for the cloud provider where VAs are stored and will be deployed k Configure Oracle EBS DB tier deploy-time parameters and deploy DB node using SCe, FSM or SD l Configure Oracle EBS Apps tier deploy-time parameters and deploy Apps node using SCe, FSM or SD h Export VAs in Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) format to different AIX/Power environment Create Base Oracle EBS Virtual Images (FSM/SD) Create IBM Smart Virtual Appliances for Oracle EBS (ICCT) Deploy IBM Smart Virtual Appliances for Oracle EBS (SCe/FSM/SD) One time activity Can leverage existing Oracle EBS implementations Approximate time Fresh installation: 2.5 days Existing Oracle EBS 12.1.3: 1 hour One time activity IBM provided S/W bundles can be directly imported Virtual Appliances can be archived and transported Approximate time: 2 hours No need to re-create VAs for re-deployments Virtual Appliances can be deployed with SD, FSM or SCe Apps tier waits for DB tier to come up before initiating self-configuration Approximate time: 20 min FSM SD ICCT SCe Flex System Manager Systems Director Image Construction and Composition Tool Smart Cloud Entry Optional Table 4. Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 Smart Virtual Appliance Creation and Deployment Stages and Workflow Figure 4 above depicts the different stages and steps involved in the creation and usage of the Oracle EBS Smart Virtual Appliance. Here is the description of the various steps mentioned in the workflow above. Create base Oracle EBS 12.1.3 virtual images 1. Oracle EBS 12.1.3 Install Install Oracle EBS 12.1.1 DB and Apps software on AIX 7.1, and upgrade to 12.1.3. The software bundles accompanying this whitepaper are designed for separate DB and App tier configuration. Refer to My Oracle Support Knowledge Documents 761569.1 and 1058763.1 on installing and upgrading Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 and Database 11g Release 2. Note that IBM is also planning to release an Oracle EBS install and upgrade document tentatively titled at the time of writing this whitepaper Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 install hints and tips for AIX environments. The whitepaper is planned for release around Q1 2014. 2. Pre-cloning Oracle EBS 12.1.3 setup Execute pre-clone procedures on both Oracle EBS 12.1.3 DB and Apps nodes, and bring down all Oracle services on both nodes. Refer to Oracle support note 406982.1 for the pre-cloning procedure. 10
3. Capture Oracle EBS 12.1.3 DB and App virtual server images [optional] Using FSM or SD, capture and store Oracle EBS 12.1.3 DB and Apps nodes virtual server images in cloud provider image repository. Refer to the Appendix section of this whitepaper on how to capture a virtual server image using FSM or Systems Director. Alternatively, the live virtual server images may be captured or kidnapped, directly through ICCT as well. Create IBM Smart Virtual Appliances for Oracle EBS 4. Install ICCT Install/configure ICCT for the cloud provider where the virtual appliances will created and stored. Refer to the Appendix in this whitepaper on how to install and configure ICCT. 5. Create/Import software bundles Create or import the DB and Apps software bundles into ICCT. Here are the steps involved in creating software bundles for DB and Apps tier: Database tier software bundle: a) Select Images and Bundle > Build and Manage Software Bundles option and click on the New Bundle icon to initiate bundle creation. b) Provide software bundle details, similar to the details below: c) Provide an appropriate and unique Universal ID, specify the bundle version and add details of products included in the software bundle. 11
d) Provide software bundle requirements. In this example, we only specify AIX 7.x as the base operating system requirement. 12
e) Provide the software bundle install operation configuration details. The install operation configuration takes place during an image synchronization operation. During this phase, an interim virtual server is created and the install operation configuration files copied to it and executed. Note There are no install operation configuration for either the database or the applications tier software bundles, since we require the base images to have the DB and apps software installed and configured. f) Provide the software bundle deploy time configuration details. The software bundle s deploy time configuration details are applied after the base virtual image has been extended and the resulting image captured. The deploy time configuration typically involves configuring the installed software for the new virtual server on which deployment is taking place. 13
The deploy time configuration script for the database tier software bundle has the following arguments and default values: Name Label Default Value b Oracle DB base location /d01/ora h Oracle home /d01/ora/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1 s Oracle DB SID VIS t UTL file directory /d01/tmp p Apps password apps u Oracle DB user oracle Note: The deploy time configuration script is written to accept arguments through command line. The dependencies list includes setting certain network parameters. Specifying the list of dependencies here provides a mechanism to specify the order in which the deploy time configuration. Specifically, the following dependencies are specified in this example: activate.vmc.network-interface 14
activate.vmc.system-networking activate.vmc.system g) For the database software bundle the Firewall and Reset configurations can be ignored. Applications tier software bundle a) Select Images and Bundle > Build and Manage Software Bundles option and click on the New Bundle icon to initiate bundle creation. b) Provide software bundle details, similar to the details below: c) Provide an appropriate and unique Universal ID, specify the bundle version and add details of products included in the software bundle. 15
d) Provide software bundle requirements. In this example, we only specify AIX 7.x as the base operating system requirement. e) Provide the software bundle install operation configuration details. The install operation configuration takes place during an image extend operation. During this phase, an interim virtual server is created and the install operation configuration files copied to it and executed. 16
Note: There is no install operation configuration for either the database or the applications tier software bundles, since we require the base images to have the DB and apps software installed and configured. f) Provide the software bundle deploy time configuration details. The software bundle s deploy time configuration details are applied after the base virtual image has been extended and the resulting image captured. The deploy time configuration typically involves configuring the installed software for the new virtual server on which deployment is taking place. The deploy time configuration script for the applications tier software bundle has the 17
following arguments and default values: Name Label Default Value b Oracle DB base location /d02/oracle/vis h Oracle DB hostname localhost d Oracle DB domain localdomain P Oracle DB port 1521 t Oracle DB connection test timeout in minutes 60 s Oracle DB SID oracle u Oracle DB user oracle a Oracle Apps user apps p Apps password apps Note: The deploy time configuration script is written to accept arguments through command line. The dependencies list includes setting certain network parameters. Specifying the list of dependencies here provides a mechanism to specify the order in which the deploy time configuration. Specifically, the following dependencies are specified in this example: activate.vmc.network-interface activate.vmc.system-networking activate.vmc.system g) For the applications software bundle the Firewall and Reset configurations can be ignored. 6. Apply software bundles Extend the base DB and Apps images with the DB and Apps software bundles respectively, and synchronize. During an extend/synchronize process an interim virtual server is created where the base image is instantiated and install configuration scripts executed. At the end of the synchronize process, the base image has all the configure time automation scripts in place for invocation during deployment. Refer to the Appendix section on how to extend base images with software bundles. 7. Capture Virtual Appliance Capture the extended Oracle EBS virtual images (VAs) back into cloud provider image repository. Refer to the Appendix section on how to capture the extended base images (or virtual appliances). 8. Export VA into OVA format Export the Virtual Appliances in Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) format to different AIX/Power environment. Once exported into an OVA format, a VA can be archived and/or transported into a remote location and imported into a different Power/Pureflex environment. Refer to the Appendix section on how to export a VA into OVA format. 9. Deploy IBM Smart Virtual Appliances for Oracle EBS 10. Import Oracle EBS OVAs [optional] Import Oracle EBS VAs exported in OVA format into FSM/SD. Refer to the Appendix section of this whitepaper on how to import an OVA into FSM/SD. 18
11. Install/Configure SCe [optional] Install/configure SCe for the cloud provider where VAs are stored and will be deployed. SCe is an optional mechanism for deploying VAs since FSM or SD can also be used for VA deployment. Refer to the IBM Redbook titled Implementing IBM SmartCloud Entry on IBM PureFlex System for SCe installation and configuration details. 12. Deploy DB tier VA Using FSM or Systems Director Configure Oracle EBS DB tier deploy-time parameters and deploy DB node using FSM or SD. Refer to the Appendix section of this whitepaper for general directions on deploying a VA using FSM/SD. Notice the configuration time parameters specific to the DB tier VA under the PostCloneDB section on the product settings screen in the FSM/SD deployment process below. In this example, using the post-clone procedures embedded in the VA, during deployment the DB tier automatically configures itself for the new IP configuration i.e. icc-170 (or 9.52.156.170). Using SmartCloud Entry Configure Oracle EBS DB tier deploy-time parameters before deploying DB node. a) Select the Oracle EBS DB virtual appliance from under images tab. 19
b) Select the Configure task to configure VA properties 20
c) Configure Oracle EBS DB VA properties. First select the deployment target server and specify the desired processor and memory configurations. Specify the network configuration. Note that in the example here, we re using a network configuration called EBS VA Network. This network configuration can be created from under SmartCloud Entry Portal s Configuration > Network setting. Now, while SCe can automatically use an IP address from the IP pool specified in the 21
network configuration, we manually specify one here because the database tier needs to be accessed by the application tier and the two can not be configured with arbitrary IP addresses. After the network settings, we specify the system storage and Oracle EBS DB software bundle specific parameters. Note that PostCloneDB parameters were specified in ICCT while creating the software bundle. 22
Finally, specify the storage connection type (NPIV/vSCSI), provide root password, configure storage mappings, and save the VA configuration. 23
d) Once the VA has been configured for deployment, select the VA again from images tab and click Deploy e) Set the workload characteristics such as name, description, and other basic settings. Click Deploy to initiate workload provisioning or VA deployment. 24
f) Click on the Instances tab to see progress of the VA deployment tasks. Select the instance to get further deployment details. g) It usually takes about 3-4 minutes for the instance to get deployed, however the postcloning tasks complete within about 10 minutes of initiating VA deployment. 25
Once the Oracle EBS database tier virtual appliance is deployed, the database instance and listener processes automatically come up and operations can be validated by connecting to the database. 13. Deploy Apps Tier VA Using FSM or Systems Director Configure Oracle EBS applications tier deploy-time parameters and deploy applications node using FSM or SD. Refer to the Appendix section of this whitepaper for general directions on deploying a VA using FSM/SD. Notice the configuration time parameters specific to the applications tier VA under the PostCloneApp section on the product settings screen in the FSM/SD deployment process below. In this example, using the post-clone procedures embedded in the VA, during deployment the app tier automatically configures itself for the new IP configuration i.e. icc-169 (or 9.52.156.169). 26
Using SmartCloud Entry Configure Oracle EBS applications tier deploy-time parameters before deploying applications node. a) Select the Oracle EBS applications virtual appliance from under images tab. b) Select the Configure task to configure VA properties. 27
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c) Configure Oracle EBS App VA properties. First select the deployment target server and specify the desired processor and memory configurations. Specify the network configuration. Note that in the example here, we re using a network configuration called EBS VA Network. This network configuration can be created from under SmartCloud Entry Portal s Configuration > Network setting. Now, while SCe can automatically use an IP address from the IP pool specified in the network configuration, we manually specify one here because the database tier needs 29
to be accessed by the application tier and the two can not be configured with arbitrary IP addresses. After the network settings, we specify the system storage and Oracle EBS App software bundle specific parameters. Note that PostCloneApp parameters were specified in ICCT while creating the software bundle. Important: Do update the Oracle DB hostname and Oracle DB domain parameters. Without specifying these parameters, the applications tier would not be able to connect to the DB tier and carry out the post-cloning procedures. 30
Finally, specify the storage connection type (NPIV/vSCSI), provide root password, configure storage mappings, and save the VA configuration. 31
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d) Once the VA has been configured for deployment, select the VA again from images tab and click Deploy. e) Set the workload characteristics such as name, description, and other basic settings. Click Deploy to initiate workload provisioning or VA deployment. 33
f) Click on the Instances tab to see progress of the VA deployment tasks. Select the instance to get further deployment details. 34
g) It usually takes about four minutes for the instance to get deployed, however the postcloning tasks complete after about eight minutes of initiating VA deployment. Once the App VA has been successfully deployed, all the application services are configured and started automatically. One the Oracle EBS apps tier virtual appliance is deployed, all application tier services automatically come up and operations can be validated by logging into the Oracle EBS web portal. Note: It is not a hard requirement that the application tier must be deployed after the DB tier. Notice that we provide the DB node information during the App tier deploy configuration: Oracle DB hostname, Oracle DB domain, Oracle DB port, Oracle DB SID, etc. Using this information, during deployment the Application Tier tries to connect to the database tier before starting the post-clone configuration. So, if the database node is not yet configured and ready (from previous DB tier VA deployment step) the app node would not start configuring itself, since that would cause the postcloning procedure to fail. We can specify the time limit until which the app tier waits for the DB tier to be configured and ready in minutes using the Oracle DB connection test timeout in minutes parameter. It is therefore possible to simultaneously deploy both the DB and App tiers; the App tier would start self-configuration only after the DB tier is configured and listener services come up! Note: In case the VA deployment and network configuration takes more than about five minutes, disable or remove CAS fileset on the interim virtual server before capturing the VA after the extend operation (step f above). You may use `installp ug cas.agent` for remove the CAS agent completely. 35
Appendix A) Common VMControl operations using IBM Systems Director or FSM Creating VMControl image repository on the SAN storage pool In IBM Systems Director or IBM Flex System Manager, the captured or imported virtual server images are stored in a VMControl image repository. The image repository should be created before starting any VMControl operations such as capture or deploy. Before creating the image repository, certain preparation steps mentioned below should be carried out on IBM Systems Director or IBM Flex System manager and VIOS. Each VMControl Image repository is associated with a VIOS and in turn connects to the SAN Storage pool through Common Agent Services (CAS). Make sure the CAS agent on the VIOS is running. For example, In VIOS, execute startsvc director_agent which shows the status of the agent. If the CAS agent is not running, it starts the agent or if it was already running, it shows the status as Director Common Agent is already running. Discover and collect the inventories of VIOS in IBM Flex System Manager or Systems Director. It may require you providing login credentials of padmin user and its password to provide the access to the IBM Systems Director or Flex System Manager. Make sure the access status show OK instead of No Access. Install common repository subagent on the VIOS from IBM Systems Director or Flex System Manager. In IBM Flex System Manager or IBM Systems Director, Click Home Release Management Agents, this brings up a page with list of agents. Check mark the name CommonAgentSubagent_VMControl_CommonRepository-2.4.x. Click on Install Agent button and follow the wizard, specify the right VIOS as the target to install the agent. Collect the inventories of Host server, virtual server object of VIOS, Operating System object of VIOS, Storage server object (IBM V7000), FC Switch object and Farm object. Check the output of FSM or ISD command smcli dumpstcfg v to list all of the components such as SAN Configuration, FC switches, IBM V7000, Switch zones and accessibility of SAN Storage Pools to the VIOS and other virtual servers without any errors. After the above mentioned steps are completed, create image repository using one of the common tasks of VMControl. Navigate to VMControl page, click Virtual Appliance tab Create image repository (under common tasks). 36
On the next screen, it shows Welcome and click Next. On this screen, provide a name to the image repository. Click Next. The next screen shows a list of Virtual I/O servers. Pick one of them which will be the control point to administer the storage functions during the image capture, deploy and import operations. 37
Click Next. This screen lists the SAN storage pools available in the SAN Storage server which was added to FSM or IBM Systems Director as a data store component. Select one from the listed storage pools (which is visible through VIOS), the preferred storage pool where the image repository has to be kept. Click Next. This screen shows the summary of the input given for the image repository creation wizard. 38
Click Finish to create the image repository. The progress of the image repository creation can be monitored through the Task Management section. After the image repository is successfully created, it is shown in the VMControl main page. Capturing virtual server The Storage Copy Services (SCS) method can significantly decrease the capture and deploy times for a virtual appliance, especially when leveraging the underlying storage subsystem s FlashCopy feature. This is primarily due to fast data copying between different SAN volumes on the same storage subsystem; a NIM based approach suffers from the network bandwidth and latency issues. With SCS, both the capture and deploy processes usually take a few minutes to complete often less than a minute. This can be critical especially when there is a frequent requirement for capturing and deploying multiple virtual images in the data centers. A special requirement for capturing an AIX virtual server using the SCS method is that the virtual server activation engine (VSAE) needs to be enabled on it. The activation engine sets the proper deploy time IP and disk-name configuration on the virtual server. A virtual appliance that does not have the activation engine enabled when deployed may not have correct IP address or the disk name(s) and this may result in an in-operable virtual server. NOTE: this requirement can be ignored if the base AIX virtual server is kidnapped directly through ICCT. Here are the steps for installing and enabling activation engine: 1. Copy the file vmc.vsae.tar from the IBM Systems Director host or FSM to the AIX virtual server (say /tmp/vsae) and extract it. 39
Systems Director /opt/ibm/director/proddatat/activation-engine Flex System Manager /home/userid/activation-engine vmc.vsae.tar location on IBM Systems Director or Flex System Manager 2. Login to the AIX virtual server and go into the directory where vmc.vsae.tar has been un-tar d. 3. Do export JAVA_HOME=/usr/java5/jre 4. Run aix-install.sh 5. In case the AIX virtual server has been captured before and needs to be captured again, run the following commands: a. rm /opt/ibm/ae/ap/* b. rm /opt/ibm/ae/ar/* c. cp /opt/ibm/ae/as/vmc-network-restore/resetenv /opt/ibm/ae/ap/ovfenv.xml 6. From IBM Systems Director or FSM, discover and collect inventory the AIX virtual server. 7. Prepare the AIX virtual server to be captured by running the following command. This will prepare the virtual server for the capture and then shutdown the virtual server. Note that AE.sh takes argument in long format style, with double dashes --. /opt/ibm/ae/ae.sh --reset Caution: The above command will prepare the virtual server for capture and then shutdown the virtual server. If you have running application(s) in the virtual server, safely bring them down before running the command. 8. Wait for the virtual server to come to a complete halt and then capture the virtual server image using VMControl capture feature in IBM Systems Director or FSM. Using the SCS method, one or more SAN volume(s) assigned to the virtual server either through the Virtual I/O server s vscsi method or NPIV (N-Port ID virtualization) can be captured. While capturing the virtual server, the SAN volumes assigned to the virtual server will be copied to another set of volumes using fast FlashCopy method if the FlashCopy is enabled in the storage subsystem level as well as the SSH Remote Service Access Point (RSAP) connection for the IBM Storwize V7000 storage subsystem is enabled. The FlashCopy feature to the storage subsystems is a licensed feature. If the FlashCopy feature in the Storage Subsystem is enabled, while capturing the virtual server, the SAN disks assigned to the virtual server through Virtual I/O server are copied to the same sized target disks in the SAN storage pool which is associated with Image Repository. If you don t have the FlashCopy feature enabled, while capturing the virtual server, the same sized target disks are created in the SAN storage subsystem and assigned to the Virtual I/O server hosting the virtual server which is under capture process and the data is copied from the source disks (SAN disks assigned to the virtual server) to the target disks using the dd command. The same dd command is used while doing deploy process. In our setup, the IBM Storwize V7000 has the FlashCopy feature enabled and disks are copied using the FlashCopy. Once the pre-requisites are taken care of, capture the virtual server using the following steps: 40
1) From IBM Systems Director or FSM web console, select System Configuration > VMControl > Virtual Appliances > Capture. Review the welcome screen messages and proceed to next step. 2) Enter the name of the Virtual Appliance. 3) Select Virtual Server. Workload implies capturing more than one virtual server. In some scenarios, the whole setup such as DB tier, Middle tier/application tier may need to be captured and bundled as an virtual appliance image. In our scenario, only one virtual server is to be captured. 4) While many virtual servers are listed, use Search field to list the particular virtual server to be captured. 41
5) In case there are multiple image repositories configured, select the repository where the virtual server image is to be stored. 6) Select disks that need to be captured as part of the virtual appliance. Also provide descriptions for the disks to provide aid during deployment. 7) Provide description for the virtual network. 8) Select an existing parent version tree or create new one. 42
9) Review the summary of the specified capture options. 10) Validate settings in the summary page and click Finish to capture virtual server. Once the capture process is initiated, the progress of the operation can be monitored in the Display Properties Logs of a pop-up menu or from Task Management Active and Scheduled Jobs. 43
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10) The captured image is displayed under the Virtual Appliances tab in the VMControl main page. 45
Deploying virtual appliance Once a virtual server image is captured, it can be deployed using IBM Systems Director VMControl, IBM Flex System Manager or other IBM cloud provisioning applications such as IBM SmartCloud Entry. 1) Log into IBM Systems Director server and select Systems Configuration > VMControl sub-section from the side-bar. The captured image can be found in the virtual appliances list. Select the virtual appliance to be deployed from the list and click on Deploy Virtual Appliance from the menu bar above. 2) Select the target managed system where the virtual server is to be deployed. 3) Provide a unique workload name for the new virtual server. 46
4) Specify if suspend and resume functionality needs to be enabled. 5) Select the disks from the captured virtual appliance that are to be deployed and specify the storage connection - Virtual SCSI or NPIV, and the storage pool where the disks are to be mapped. 6) Specify the Network Mapping. 7) Specify general networking and product specific deploy time parameters. Note that the software bundle parameters that appear at the end of the list may vary from one product (or VA) to another. 47
8) Validate the details in the summary screen and click finish to deploy. 9) Monitor the deploy task progress until completion. Once successfully deployed, log onto the newly deployed virtual server and validate the software bundle deploy time configuration. Note that it might take a few minutes before the newly created system gets the right IP and hostname. 48
Importing an OVA into the image repository A virtual server image that has been exported in an Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) format can be transported and imported on another Power/PureFlex server using IBM Systems Director or FSM. 49
Before starting the import, have the exported OVA file in a host system which can be accessed through the web or copy the OVA file into a local directory in the host where the Systems director is installed or mount the remote file system where the OVA file is located into the Systems Director host. Extract the.zip file using the jar command, don t use unzip command. For example, jar -xvf icon_image_aix60g_3gtmp_oracle_1_0_0.ova.zip. This extracts the zip file and a file with.ovf extension can be seen, that is the file which has the information about the virtual image and Meta data. 1) To start the import of the OVA, click the Import button as shown in the previous page. Click next on the welcome screen and provide the.ovf file with full path name in the input field on the next screen. The details of the OVF can be seen by clicking View Details button. 50
2) Check Import without digital signature. 3) It shows the name of the OVA image and its description. 4) Create a new version or select a virtual appliance to be the parent of the new virtual appliance. 51
5) Review the summary and click Finish to import. 6) Click Finish to start the import of the OVA. The log of the import action can be seen in the next screen or go to Task Management of the Systems Director main page and click Active and Scheduled Jobs to list the running jobs and their status and logs. 52
7) While importing the image, it creates a volume in the storage server with the same size as the volume which had the image before. Upon completion of the import process, the imported OVA can be seen on the VMControl page. If there are two identical names are listed, the one highlighted is the one which was imported. If you click it, it would show the date stamp and the version of the virtual image. B) Common ICCT operations Installing ICCT The following section describes the standard installation and configuration aspects of the ICCT tool, and explores some common functions such as defining a cloud provider, importing a virtual image from the cloud provider, capturing a Virtual Appliance, and extending, syncing and re-capturing of a captured image. The cloud provider used for the purpose of this whitepaper is a PowerVM cloud provider, which is functionality offered through IBM FSM application with VMControl plug-in. Also, the image repository being employed here for importing or capturing images is an SCS repository. Here are the minimum recommended settings for creating the AIX LPAR that would host an ICCT configuration. Assigned Processing Processing Unit: 0.2, Virtual Processor: 2-core, Weight: 128 Assigned Memory Disk space (in addition to OS) 4 GB 1) 4 GB for product installation 2) Appropriate disk space for software bundles 3) /home/padmin (VIOS): at least as large as the largest image 4) SCP target: twice as large as the largest image 53
At least (1) Virtual SCSI adapter Virtual Adapter At least (1) Virtual Ethernet adapter AIX 7.1 TL01 SP03 Software Versions ICCT 2.2.0.0 IBM Java SDK V6 or later Port 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) must not be in use by other Other applications 1. If a previous version of ICCT is already installed on a system, it needs to be uninstalled as follows: a. /opt/ibm/installationmanager/eclipse/tools/imcl uninstall com.ibm.cloud.icon b. In case enablement bundle changes are to be imported during the install or existing ICCT settings such as cloud provider configuration, software bundles and images are not to be used, remove contents of the /drouter director. Do NOT remove the /drouter directory or mount point itself. rm fr /drouter/* c. Delete contents of the directory where ICCT is installed (usually, /opt/ibm/icon) rm fr /opt/ibm/icon/* 2. Obtain the required installation packages. The exact version details may differ but broadly the following packages are required: IBM Installation Manager (IM): agent.installer.aix.motif.ppc_1.5.0.20110909_1200.zip ICCT installation binaries: ICCT_Install_2.2.0.0-26.zip 3. Carry out installation in the following order: a. Install IBM Installation Manager, unless already installed # mkdir /tmp/im # cp agent.installer.aix.motif.ppc_1.5.0.20110909_1200.zip /tmp/im # cd /tmp/im # unzip agent.installer.aix.motif.ppc_1.5.0.20110909_1200.zip #./installc log <log file> acceptlicense b. Install ICCT # mkdir /tmp/icct # cp ICCT_Install_2.2.0.0-26.zip /tmp/icct # cd /tmp/icct c. Review and edit icon/icon_silent_install_response_file.xml. Encrypted password value W1/InvbYRrDPmkV1uIu00g== corresponds to Passw0rd in plain-text. Make sure icon_silent_install_response_file.xml has the following lines: <repository location='/tmp/icct/icon'> <data key='cic.selector.os' value='aix'/> <data key='cic.selector.arch' value='ppc64'/> And does not have the following line: (remove if it does) <data key='cic.selector.ws' value='gtk'/> d. # /opt/ibm/installationmanager/eclipse/tools/imcl input /tmp/icct/icon/icon_silent_install_response_file.xml acceptlicense 54
4. Starting and stopping ICCT Assuming ICCT is installed in /opt/ibm/icon, run the following command to start ICCT: # /opt/ibm/icon/start.sh Similarly, to stop ICCT, run the following command: # /opt/ibm/icon/stop.sh Verify that ICCT is installed and running successfully by logging onto the ICCT portal: https://<icct host>/. Note that the default username and password are: admin and Passw0rd. Configuring cloud provider The cloud provider used for the purpose of this white paper is a PowerVM cloud provider, which is functionality offered through IBM FSM or IBM Systems Director application with VMControl plug-in. Verify that ICCT is installed and running successfully by logging onto the ICCT portal: https://<icct host>/. Note that the default username and password are: admin and Passw0rd. The first time the ICCT portal is accessed, the user is prompted to provide cloud provider creation details. This wizard may also be opened at a subsequent stage by clicking on Administrator > Manage Cloud Provider > New Cloud Provider. 1) 2) Provide a cloud provider name and description. The cloud provider type that needs to be selected for an IBM Systems Director/VMControl or FSM backend is PowerVM Express. 55
3) Provide the hostname and login credentials for IBM Systems Director or FSM that would be used at the back-end for various image capturing and deployment activities. 4) Once the IBM Systems Director instance is accessed successfully, a choice of target hypervisors is presented. Each cloud provider is associated with a single hypervisor, which needs to be selected here. NOTE: Network configuration details are crucial for successful image capture, extend and sync operations. The primary and secondary DNS servers are queried by ICCT to do reverse hostname lookups while creating interim virtual server images for the extended images (i.e. new virtual images with a software bundle). That hostname is then used for naming the interim virtual server or LPAR, and also for hostname setup on the interim virtual server. In case the hostname isn t resolved, virtual server names might appear as: sys-aa-bb-ccdd.domain.com, where aa-bb-cc-dd are the octets of the IP address being used. 56
5) Review the cloud provider settings and click on Done to create the cloud provider. 1) Once a cloud provider is configured, choose Administrator > Manage cloud providers menu option to select and configure an image repository. 57
2) Select the cloud provider from the list of cloud providers. Choose the Repositories tab and click on the pen icon to configure repository access credentials. 3) In addition to providing the repository credentials, the Storage Volume Controller (IBM Storwize V7000) credentials also need to be updated, along with the private key. This private key is the same one created in the IBM Systems Director and uploaded to the user superuser in the IBM Storwize V7000. Note that this key creation is described in the section Adding IBM Storwize V7000 into the IBM Systems Director Storage Control in this document. 58
4) If the repository credentials are valid, the credentials column below will reflect a value of Yes. Importing virtual server images Once the image repository is successfully configured, we can import virtual appliances or images that exist on the image repository, through the cloud provider. 1) Select Images and Bundles > Build and manage images option. 2) Select Import from cloud provider option. This brings up the list of virtual images that are available in the image repository for importing. Import a base AIX image that has been updated with vmc.vsae package. Note that if a live virtual server (LPAR) is kidnapped, i.e. captured directly from ICCT, the VSAE enablement is done automatically by ICCT. 59
3) Select the desired image and provide login credentials that ICCT can later use for logging into the virtual image and installing the software bundle. 4) Once an image is successfully imported, its attributes can be reviewed by clicking on the image name. Note that the imported image does NOT have the Activation Framework. 60
Applying software bundle 1) Select the base image to be extended by selecting the Images and bundles > Build and manage images menu option. 2) Click on the extend icon to extend the image and provide details for the extended image. 3) Click on the Start Editing icon and then the Add bundle button on the resulting screen to select the software bundle. Then choose the bundle that needs to be added to the base image. 4) Update any install or deploy time parameters. 61
5) Click on the save icon and verify the list of software bundles as well as products in the resulting image. Note that the image status at this point is out-of-sync, which implies that the software bundle hasn t actually been applied on the base image. Click on the synchronize icon to apply the software bundle on the base AIX image, and provide the username and password for the base AIX image. 7) Wait until the image is successfully synchronized. 62
Capture virtual server image/appliance Having an image successfully synchronized means that the software bundle contained in it is installed on it. Click on the capture icon to capture the image. Note that this action would shutdown the virtual server, take the virtual server s image, store it on the configured image repository, delete the interim virtual server and release its IP for future use. 63
Exporting virtual appliance as OVA The Image construction and composition tool (ICCT) is used for building a virtual image with multiple software components in it. For example, AIX 7.1 operating system, application binaries, install and configuration scripts can be bundled together as a virtual image and kept in the image repository for repeated deployment within the same datacenter environment, or the virtual image can be exported from the image repository to another server using ICCT functionality. The ICCT exports the image in Open 64
Virtualization Appliance (OVA) format to a specified location in another remote host using Secure Copy Protocol (SCP). The following screens show the steps for exporting the Virtual Image export using ICCT. In ICCT web GUI, click on Images and bundles Build and manage images, this lists the images on the left side of the screen. These images are extended images with additional software components or base image(s) which were captured from a virtual server, saved in the Image repository and imported into the ICCT catalog. Click on the image which needs to be exported. On the right side, the details of the image which is selected are shown. Click on the symbol located in the right top corner of ICCT. This symbol pops up a window for getting the remote host name and location where the exported image will be stored. The remote host can be any host with enough storage space to accommodate the exporting image. Make sure the Secured Copy Protocol (SCP) can be done between Virtual I/O server and the remote host, otherwise set up the secured shell environment on the remote host. 65