Installing Cassatt Active Response and Control Node Setup: Single Control Node
Intended for use with Cassatt Active Response Standard Edition V5.1.
A control node is a server that you dedicate for exclusive use by Cassatt Active Response software. This article describes how to set up a single control node and install the Cassatt Active Response software.
Step 1: Gather required components
Use the following table to gather required hardware and software.
Procedures in this article assume you are using new hardware; if you are repurposing hardware, be sure to perform all of the steps, including reinstalling Red Hat ELAS, to be certain that all configuration options are properly set.
| Component |
Requirements |
| Server for control node |
A Dell DRAC/4, Dell DRAC/5, HP iLO, or HP iLO2 are recommended (especially if you may upgrade to dual control nodes), but any vendor is acceptable if it meets the following minimum configuration:
- Two 2.33-GHz quad-core CPUs (Intel or AMD)
- Three 35-Gbyte SCSI or SAS disks (SATA and IDE are not supported)
- RAID-5 disk controller
- 8.0 Gbyte RAM
- 2 Gigabit Ethernet, PXE-capable NICs
- DVD-ROM
- Console access to the hardware interface
- Latest recommended version of the BIOS for your hardware
- Monitor, keyboard, mouse
|
| Workstation for accessing Cassatt user interfaces |
The Active Response Controller and Policy Manager user interfaces require:
- One of the following browsers:
- Internet Explorer 6 or greater
- Mozilla Firefox 1.5-2.0
Firefox 3.0 is not supported because it autofills password fields from a cache. In some cases, the cached password is not the correct password for the field, which could expose a password to an unauthorized user.
- Adobe Flash Player 8 or greater (for viewing graphical reports)
|
| Cassatt Active Response software |
Version 5.1 |
| Red Hat ELAS software |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 4 Update 5 (32-bit distribution) |
| Network switch |
Gigabit Ethernet. For recommended vendors, see Recommended Hardware: Network Switches.
|
| Gateway |
1 gateway; a gateway with a firewall prevents Cassatt from answering DHCP requests from outside the Cassatt Active Response network. |
| Storage |
A RAID-5 local disk, NAS, or SAN.
Note that a SAN requires:
- An HBA that is compatible with your SAN hardware
- Dedicated partition on a LUN within the SAN for Cassatt
Active Response storage
|
top
Step 2: Review Cassatt Active Response installation options
There are a few options in the installation program that require special preparation. Review the following prompts from the installation script and complete any associated tasks.
- Do you want automatic discovery turned on so Cassatt discovers power controllers configured for DHCP?
Always select "No" during Cassatt Active Response installation. Automatic discovery is not supported for Standard Edition.
- Host name and port number for SMTP server
Setting up an email server is recommended for sending email notifications to users of events in the Active Response Controller.
- Will the system include Dell RAC or DRAC nodes?
Will the system include Sun nodes with ILOM power controllers?
If you will be using either type of nodes in your Cassatt implementation, now or in the future, you must install the appropriate packages prior to installing Cassatt Active Response; the installation program halts if you answer "yes" and these tools are not present. For Dell, install the Dell Linux Remote Access Utilities (which includes the Remote Access Control Administration program (RACADM)); for Sun ILOM nodes, install the IPMI package that comes with the OS.
top
Step 3: Calculate storage requirements
If using SAN or NAS, allocate 10 Gbytes for the base file system (system software, log files, and reporting) and 10 Gbytes for the database file system.
top
Step 4: Determine your network strategy
One of the most important steps prior to installation is to determine your network strategy. During installation, you will be prompted for the IP address range for the Cassatt network; upon completion of installation, Cassatt immediately starts using those IP addresses for node management. Review Network Addresses: Calculating Requirements and make sure you have the following information ready for installation:
- Control node IP address/CIDR prefix
- Gateway IP address
- Network VLAN number (if not using a single flat network)
- IP address range for the Cassatt Active Response network
- DNS server IP address
Step 5: Configure the gateway
Configure the gateway using the static IP address allocated from the Cassatt Active Response network.
Step 6: Cable and configure components
Using the following cabling diagram as a guideline, cable and configure the hardware components.
- Cable the control node to the network switch.
- Configure the control node switch port to allow the control node to communicate with your application network(s).
- If using SAN or NAS, cable the storage to the control node.
top
Step 7: Configure network connectivity and boot order
Follow these steps to enable network connectivity for the control node, and set the boot order to the correct sequence for installing Red Hat ELAS and Cassatt Active Response software (in the next sections).
- Power on the control node.
- During the boot sequence, press the keyboard key to access the BIOS.
- Set the boot order so "CD-ROM" comes before "hard drive"; this is required for installing Cassatt Active Response software on the node. Be aware that if you are not installing Red Hat ELAS from CD, you'll have to set the boot order for the Red Hat ELAS installation (to whatever order is required), and then reset it back to CD-ROM before installing Cassatt Active Response.
- Ensure that at least one NIC (more is better for redundancy) is set to Ethernet = Enabled. This is required for network connectivity after the control node boots. Most servers default to Ethernet = Enabled; if you are recommissioning a server, always verify this setting to avoid problems.
- Ensure that PXE is disabled on both NICs.
- Set the remaining BIOS settings as required by your site, as long as those settings do not adversely affect the integrated devices and boot order settings.
- Save the changes and exit.
Step 8: Install the operating system
Follow these steps to install the operating system. If you are using an existing server with Red Hat ELAS installed, you must reinstall Red Hat ELAS and format the devices for Cassatt Active Response.
Install the Red Hat ELAS operating system on the control nodes using the instructions in Control Node: Installing Red Hat ELAS. When you get to the section entitled Disk Partitioning Setup, use the following guidelines.
| Local disk partitions |
Minimum size |
Type |
| / |
6,000 Mbytes (Standard Edition)
32,000 Mbytes (Premium Edition) |
ext3 |
| /boot |
100 Mbytes |
ext3 |
| swap |
As a general guideline, set swap to approximately 3 times the control node's physical memory. |
swap |
| /mnt/cassatt-base |
Create these partitions only if using local disk for storage. The names are only examples—the Cassatt Active Response installation creates the symbolic links /cassatt and /cassatt/database, so do not use these names for local disk partitions. |
ext3 |
| /mnt/cassatt-db |
ext3 |
top
Step 9: Configure access to Cassatt Active Response filesystems
If you are using SAN or NAS, you must configure access to the Cassatt Active Response filesystems; during installation, you'll be prompted to specify their mount points. See Control Node: Configuring Storage Access.
Step 10: Optional: configure user authentication
Refer to User Authentication and Management.
Step 11: Install the Cassatt Active Response software
The Cassatt Active Response installation program installs files on the local disk of the control node, and on the Cassatt Active Response shared storage device; you can edit all inputs prior to starting the installation.
Follow these steps to install Cassatt Active Response on the control node:
- Insert the Cassatt Active Response CD into the control node.
- Log into the control node as the root user and open a shell window.
- Mount the /cassatt file system.
mount /cassatt
- If the CD-ROM is not already mounted, enter the following command:
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
- Navigate to the installation program.
cd /mnt/cdrom
- Start the installation program.
./ccinstall
- Verify that the control node is running using the following command:
/opt/cassatt/bin/cccoreservice status
You should see the following message:
"server is up and running...collage-core is running"
To reinstall Cassatt Active Response after an initial installation, run ccuninstall first, then run ccinstall.
Step 12: Logging into the Cassatt Active Response Controller and Policy Manager
After installing Cassatt Active Response, you can access the Cassatt Active Response Controller and Policy Manager from any computer with network access to the control node.
| For this user interface... |
Open a supported browser and enter this URL... |
Default login information |
| Cassatt Active Response Controller |
http://<control_node_IPaddress>
Where:
<control_node_IPaddress> is the Cassatt Active Response control node's IP address. If you are using Cassatt Active Response Data Center Edition and dual control nodes, use the virtual IP address (the common IP address used by both control nodes). |
username: admin
password: changeme |
| Policy Manager |
http://<control_node_IPaddress>:82
Where:
<control_node_IPaddress> is the Cassatt Active Response control node's IP address. If you are using Cassatt Active Response Data Center Edition and dual control nodes, use the virtual IP address (the common IP address used by both control nodes). |
username: admin
password: changeme |
top
Was this article useful? Tell us what you think.
Email infocentral@cassatt.com.
|
