Run Easy Install

Follow this guide to run the Easy Install utility after racking and cabling the cluster hardware and configuring the switches. VAST Cluster Installation Workflow

Important
Follow a prepared plan for the specific installation when completing all fields. Specifically, specific input values for your installation should be specified in the Easy Install Wizard Settings tab of your site survey. The field descriptions below are intended as guidance to help you implement a planned configuration.
VAST Cluster Deployment Overview

Connect to a CNode Tech Port, Copy Package, SSH to Management CNode

Configure the Ethernet interface on your laptop to be on the following subnet: 192.168.2.0/24.
Connect your laptop to the technician port on any one of the CNodes. This CNode will become the Management CNode.
Technician Port Location: Cascade Lake model CNode
Technician Port Locations on Ice Lake model CBox Rear Panel - Port Position Varies with CNode Position
Run the following commands to copy the VAST Cluster package file (e.g. release-5.0.0-123456.vast.tar.gz) to the CNode.
```
scp <package file path> vastdata@192.168.2.2:/vast/bundles/
```
Where <package file path> is the local path to the package file.
Note
Make sure there is only one VAST Cluster package file located at /vast/bundles/.
You'll be prompted for the password on running each command. The default password is vastdata.

username@host:~$ ssh vastdata@192.168.2.2
[vastdata@localhost ~]$ cd /vast/bundles
[vastdata@localhost bundles]$ vast_bootstrap.sh

Confirm the action:

Are you sure you want to reimage? this will wipe the current system [Y/n] Y
unpacking release-5.0.0-123456.vast.tar.gz, this may take a while

The script extracts the package files and runs the VAST Management Server (VMS) container.

When the vast_bootstrap.sh script is complete, the following message is displayed:
```
bootstrap finished, please connect at https://192.168.2.2
```
While still connected to the technician port, open a web browser on your laptop and browse to https://192.168.2.2.
The VAST Web UI opens and displays the VAST DATA - End User License Agreement.
Click I Agree.
The login page appears.
Log in using the default admin user and password:
- Username: admin
- Password: 123456
The Cluster Install dialog appears, presenting the Included nodes screen.
At this stage, the Easy Install utility attempts to discover the CNodes and DNodes that comprise the cluster.
Tip
Nodes are discoverable provided the switches were configured before you began running Easy Install.

Included Nodes

The Included nodes screen shows all discovered nodes in the DBox and CBox tabs. The nodes are grouped by the DBox and CBox in which they are housed. By default, they are all included in the installation.

Note
If nodes are not discovered, the switches in the cluster require configuration.

Do the following:

In the DBox tab, in the DNodes network topology field, select the network infrastructure mode to configure on all DNode NICs, depending on the type of the cluster's internal network:
- ETH. Sets the DNode interfaces to Ethernet mode. Supports Ethernet infrastructure for the internal network.
- IB. Sets the DNode interfaces to InfiniBand mode. Supports InfiniBand infrastructure for the internal network.
In the DBox and CBox tabs, expand each DBox and CBox and review the details of the DNodes to verify that all nodes are discovered. For each DNode, its IP address, host name, and OS version is displayed.
Review any errors that may have been detected during validation with any of the discovered nodes.
To review any hardware errors that were detected, click Show Errors at the bottom of the screen. Errors may pertain to CPU, memory, disks, NVRAMs, port connectivity, or licensing issues.
The error text refers to the affected node, enabling you to match each error to a node listed above. To identify the position of the affected node, hover over a node to see where it is located in its CBox or DBox.
Resolve any issues before continuing with the installation. In the event that faulty hardware was received in the shipment, consult VAST Support on how to proceed.
The following options are available:
- Remove and either fix and reinsert, or replace a faulty component with a new one.
  After replacing, click Discover Now to repeat host discovery and validation. Check again the discovered hosts and errors.
- Exclude nodes.
  In case of critical errors that cannot be resolved on site before continuing, you can identify the affected node and exclude it from the installation. Report the errors to VAST Support and arrange return and replacement of hardware. Replacement nodes can be added to the cluster once it is already active.
  To exclude a node:
  1. Uncheck the node you want to exclude (using the checkbox to the left of the CNode/DNode name).
  2. Verify that the Excluded: field shows the correct count of excluded nodes.
Continue when no errors remain, or when any remaining errors are determined not to be critical to the installation.

In the DBox tab, review and/or configure the following for each DNode:

Subsystem

Leave the default value (0) unless the installation requires multiple subsystems. If needed, hover to reveal the edit button () and set the subsystem per DNode per the plan.

The subsystem is used in the formation of the IP addresses that are allocated to the nodes for the cluster's internal network. Multiple subsystems expand the number of IP addresses that are available for allocation. The default setting is 0 for all DNodes and CNodes, which configures a single subsystem. A single subsystem enables the allocation of up to 254 IP addresses. There are three internal IP addresses allocated to each CNode and to each DNode.

Follow the installation plan for the cluster and allocate a subsystem to each node as planned.

Valid range: 0-63.

Network Type

This is automatically set to match the global DNode network topology setting that appears at the top of the tab. This setting determines the mode configured on the DNode's NICs for connectivity to the cluster's internal network.

In the CBox tab, review and/or configure the following for each CNode:

Subsystem

Leave the default value (0) unless the installation requires multiple subsystems. If needed, hover to reveal the edit button () and set the subsystem per CNode per the plan.

Follow the installation plan for the cluster and allocate a subsystem to each node as planned.

Valid range: 0-63.

External Network Type

This setting determines the network modes for the CNode NICs. Verify that the setting is correct for each CBox and CNode and change if needed.

In some installations, CNode configuration is not homogeneous and you need to set different network types for different CNodes.

Note
Only those Network Type options are shown that are compatible with the DNode network topology set in the DBox tab. If you are not able to set the CNode network types correctly, verify that the DNode network topology is configured correctly. The CNode NICs that are connected to the cluster's internal network always need to be set to the same mode as the DNode network topology.

If all CNodes on all CBoxes require the same external network mode, select the mode from the Define per all dropdown:

IB if all CNode external NIC ports are connected to InfiniBand networks and not to an Ethernet network.
ETH if all CNode external NIC ports are connected to Ethernet networks and not to an InfiniBand network.
IB ETH if all CNodes' external NICs have a left^* port connected to an external InfiniBand network and a right port connected to an external Ethernet network.
ETH IB if all CNodes' external NICs have a left port connected to an external Ethernet network and a right port connected to an external Infiniband network.

Otherwise, if there is variation between the CNodes or the CBoxes, choose one of the following for the CBox:

IB if all CNode external NIC ports on the CBox are connected to InfiniBand networks and not to an Ethernet network.
ETH if all CNode external NIC ports on the CBox are connected to Ethernet networks and not to an InfiniBand network.
IB ETH if all CNodes on the CBox have an external NIC with its left port connected to an external InfiniBand network and its right port connected to an external Ethernet network.
ETH IB if all CNodes on the CBox have an external NIC with its left port connected to an external Ethernet network and its right port connected to an external InfiniBand network.
MIX. If the CBox has CNodes that need to be configured with different external network types. Then set the network type as needed for each CNode:
- IB if the CNode external NIC is connected to InfiniBand networks and not to an Ethernet network.
- ETH if the CNode external NIC is connected to Ethernet networks and not to an InfiniBand network.
- IB ETH if the CNode has an external NIC with its left port connected to an external InfiniBand network and its right port connected to an external Ethernet network.
- ETH IB if the CNode has an external NIC with its left port connected to an external Ethernet network and its right port connected to an external InfiniBand network.

^* Left and right refer to the left and right from the perspective of the technician facing the ports.

Note
With the ETH IB option, the IB port supports either HDR or EDR cable speed. With the IB ETH setting, the IB port is limited to EDR cable speed.

External Eth MTU

(field shown if applicable)

For dual-NIC CNodes where a NIC is directly connected to an external Ethernet network, use this field to set the MTU for that Ethernet network.

External IB MTU

(field shown if applicable)

For dual-NIC CNodes where a NIC is directly connected to an external InfiniBand data network, use this field to set the MTU for that InfiniBand network.

Default: 2044

Take care to set a supported MTU for the NIC mode:

If NB IB type is Connected, the maximum IB NB MTU is 65520.
If NB IB type is Datagram, the maximum IB NB MTU is 4092.

External IB type

(field shown if applicable)

Sets the type(s) of external InfiniBand network(s) that the CNode is connected to:

Connected (default)
Datagram

Skip NIC

(field shown if applicable)

If CNodes are dual-NIC CNodes and have NICs that are not in use (not connected to any network), use this field to specify which NIC is not connected on each CNode and henceshould not be included in the network configuration.

For each CBox, choose one of the following:

Internal. If the NIC to the right of the CNode panel (used for internal connectivity in the default scheme) is not connected on all CNodes in the CBox.
Note
Not available for Ice Lake CBoxes.
External. If the NIC to the left of the CNode panel (used for external connectivity in the default scheme) is not connected on all CNodes in the CBox.
Note
This is the only available and valid option for an unconnected NIC on Ice Lake CNodes. In the case of Ice Lake models, when facing the rear panel, the NIC that can be unconnected is the left NIC on the two right CNodes; it's the right NIC on the two left CNodes.
No (default). Leave this option selected if both NICs are connected on all CNodes in the CBox.
MIX. If the configuration is not uniform across all CNodes in the CBox. Then set the Skip NIC setting as needed for each CNode:
- Internal. If the NIC to the right of the CNode panel (used for internal connectivity in the default scheme) is not connected.
  Note
  Not available for Ice Lake CBoxes.
- External. If the NIC to the left of the CNode panel (used for external connectivity in the default scheme) is not connected.
  Note
  This is the only available and valid option for an unconnected NIC on Ice Lake CNodes. In the case of Ice Lake models, when facing the rear panel, the NIC that can be unconnected is the left NIC on the two right CNodes; it's the right NIC on the two left CNodes.
- No (default). Leave this option selected if both NICs are connected.

Reverse nics

(field shown if applicable)

Note
This setting is not applicable for Ice Lake models of CBox.

Use this setting if the CNode is a dual-NIC CNode and the network connectivity scheme for the NICs needs to be reversed from the default.

In the default scheme, the left NIC is dedicated to the external network. The two QSFP28 ports on the left NIC are connected to the client data network switches. The right NIC is dedicated to the internal network and its ports are connected to the cluster switches. If your installation plan follows this default connectivity scheme for a given CNode, do not enable Reverse nics for that CNode.

Enable Reverse nics on a CNode only if this scheme is reversed in according to your installation plan. In the reverse scheme, the left NIC QSFP28 ports on each CNode connect to the cluster switches while the right NIC ports connect to the client network switches (external to the cluster).

For each CBox, choose one of the following:

Yes. To enable Reverse nics on all CNodes on the CBox.
No. To disable Reverse nics on all CNodes on the CBox.
MIX, If the setting should not be uniform across the CNodes in the CBox. Then select Yes or No as appropriate for each CNode.

Click Continue to general settings.
The General settings screen appears.

General Settings

In the General settings screen, do the following:

Complete the fields in the Required settings pane:

Important
You may find that Easy Install fills the field values from a previous installation. You can use the Clear all settings button to clear all filled values and make sure you don't set the wrong values for the current installation.

Note
To reset the pane's required fields to their defaults, click the Restore to defaults button in the top right corner of the pane.

Cluster name	A name for the cluster.
PSNT	The cluster's PSNT. A PSNT is an asset identifier that links the components of a cluster.
Management VIPVAST Cluster Deployment Overview	A virtual IPv4 or IPv6 address configured on the management interfaces on all CNodes. VAST Management System (VMS) listens on this IP. The IP should be on the management subnet. Click within the field or choose Expand to display an IP address entry dialog. Enter the IP address and click +Add. The entry is added to the IPV4 or IPV6 list respectively. Click Save Changes to close the dialog.
MGMT IPv4 CIDRVAST Cluster Deployment Overview	The IPv4 mask for the management subnet in CIDR notation. Complete this field if an IPv4 address is specified in the Management VIP field.
MGMT IPv6 CIDRVAST Cluster Deployment Overview	The IPv6 prefix length for the management subnet. Complete this field if an IPv6 address is specified in the Management VIP field.
External gatewayVAST Cluster Deployment Overview	The IPv4 or IPv6 address of the default gateway for the management network. Click within the field or choose Expand to display an IP address entry dialog. Enter the IP address and click +Add. The entry is added to the IPV4 or IPV6 list respectively. Click Save Changes to close the dialog.
Management network	This field specifies the management network topology:VAST Cluster Deployment Overview Inband. Management is on the data network. Outband. Management is isolated from the data network.
DNS IPs	The IPv4 or IPv6 address(es) of any DNS servers that will forward DNS queries to the cluster. Click within the field or choose Expand to display an IP address entry dialog. Enter the IP address(es) and click +Add. The entry or entries are added to the IPV4 or IPV6 list respectively. Click Save Changes to close the dialog.
CNode management external IP pool	The IP pool from which to assign IPs for the management network to all CNodes. The pool should contain enough IPs for all CNodes in the cluster. VAST Cluster Deployment Overview To add IPs: Click inside the field. A CNode management external IP pool dialog appears. At the top of the dialog, a message appears telling you how many IPs to add. Add an IPv4 or IPv6 address, a series of IPs separated by commas, or a range of IPs using a hyphen to indicate a range of values for the final octet. For example, 173.30.200.104-105 Click +Add. Repeat the previous two steps as needed until all IPs in the pool are entered. Click Save Changes. The IPs are added to the field. For example, for an installation with one CBox, there are four CNodes, so you need to supply four IPs that were designated for the management external IP pool in the installation plan. The recommendation "You should add exactly 4 IPs" is displayed.
DNode management external IP pool	The IP pool from which to assign IPs for the management network to all DNodes. The pool should contain enough IPs for all DNodes in the cluster. To add IPs: Click inside the field. A DNode management external IP pool dialog appears. At the top of the dialog, a message appears telling you how many IPs to add. Add an IPv4 or IPv6 address, a series of IPs separated by commas, or a range of IPs using a hyphen to indicate a range of values for the final octet. For example, 173.30.200.104-105 Click + Add. Repeat the previous two steps as needed until all IPs in the pool are entered. Click Save Changes. The IPs are added to the field. For example, for an installation with one Mavericks DBox, there are two DNodes, so you need to supply two IPs that were designated for the management external IP pool in the installation plan. The recommendation "You should add exactly 2 IPs" is displayed.

In the lower part of the General Settings screen, click Start with General Settings to display the General Settings pane.

In the General Settings pane, make the settings as needed for your installation:

Note
To reset the pane's required fields to their defaults, click the Restore to defaults button in the top right corner of the pane.

CNodes IPMI pool	An IP pool from which to assign an IP to the IPMI interface of each CNode. Set this IP pool if and only if the planned deployment uses the standard IPMI network configuration.VAST Cluster Deployment Overview If you are deploying B2B IPMI networking, do not configure this IP pool. Configure a B2B template instead (see step 4).VAST Cluster Deployment Overview The CNodes will be assigned IPMI IPs in the same order as they are assigned management external IPs. The CNode that receives the first IP in the management external IP pool receives the first IP in the CNodes IPMI pool and so on. To add IPs: Click inside the field. A CNodes IPMI Pool dialog appears in the IP pool area. Add an IPv4 or IPv6 address, a series of IPs separated by commas, or a range of IPs using a hyphen to indicate a range of values for the final octet. For example, 173.30.200.111-113 Click +Add. Repeat the previous two steps as needed until all IPs in the pool are entered. Click Save Changes. The IPs are added to the field.
DNodes IPMI pool	An IP pool from which to assign an IP to each IPMI interface. For Mavericks DBoxes, provide an IP per DNode. For CERES DBoxes, provide an IP per DTray. This is half of the number of DNodes. Set this IP pool if and only if the planned deployment uses the standard IPMI network configuration.VAST Cluster Deployment Overview If you are deploying B2B IPMI networking, do not configure this IP pool. Configure a B2B template instead (see step 4).VAST Cluster Deployment Overview The DNodes will be assigned IPMI IPs in the same order as they are assigned management external IPs. The DNode that receives the first DNode IP in the management external IP pool receives the first IP in the DNodes IPMI pool and so on. (For CERES DNodes, the IPMI IP is duplicated on both DNodes in each DTray. Otherwise, the order is the same in principle.) To add IPs: Click inside the field. A DNodes IPMI Pool dialog appears in the IP pool area. Add an IPv4 or IPv6 address, a series of IPs separated by commas, or a range of IPs using a hyphen to indicate a range of values for the final octet. For example, 173.30.200.111-113 Click +Add. Repeat the previous two steps as needed until all IPs in the pool are entered. Click Save Changes. The IPs are added to the field. Examples: 173.30.200.114,173.30.200.115
IPMI default gateway	The IP of a default gateway for the IPMI interfaces on the CNodes and DNodes, if different from the management network default gateway. Examples: 173.30.200.1
DNS search domains	Enter the domains on your data network on which client hosts may reside. If you provide these, you will be able to specify hosts by name instead of IP when setting up export policies, call home settings, webhook definitions and so on. VAST Cluster will use these domains to look up host IPs on the DNS server.
Internal Eth MTU	If the cluster's internal network infrastructure is Ethernet, then use this field to set the MTU size for the CNode and DNode internal network interfaces. The MTU should be aligned with the switches. Default: 9216 For installations with dual-NIC CNodes, see also Eth NB MTU.
Internal IB MTU	If the cluster's internal network infrastructure is Infiniband, then use this field to set the MTU size for CNode and DNode internal network interfaces. Default: 2044 Take care to set a supported MTU for the NIC mode: If IB type is Connected, the maximum IB NB MTU is 65520. If IB type is Datagram, the maximum IB NB MTU is 4092.
NTP server	The IP(s) of any NTP server(s) that you want to use for time keeping. Enter a comma-separated list of IPs. For example: 172.30.100.10
Customer IP	An IP on the client data network. This IP is used to test connectivity.
Management inner VIP	A virtual IP on the internal network that is used for mounting the VMS database. Default: 172.16.4.254
B2B template	B2B is a networking configuration option that isolates the IPMI network from the management network. A B2B IP is generated per node as 192.168.3.x, where x is a node index. Optionally, you can set a different B2B template. For example, if you set the B2B template to be 10.250.100 then the B2B IPs will be 10.250.100.x. Default: 192.168.3
Selected IB type	The mode of the InfiniBand interfaces: Connected (default) Datagram Set this to match the InfiniBand type of the internal VAST network, if applicable.
License	Enter the license key for the cluster. If no license key is entered, a temporary 30 days license is installed.
Encryption	Enables encryption of data at rest on the cluster. Encryption of Data at Rest VAST Cluster encryption of data at rest is implemented using the VAST Data FIPS Object Module for OpenSSL, which is certified compliant with the requirements of FIPS 140-2. The NIST validation for the module can be found at https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-module-validation-program/certificate/4107.
Similarity	Enabled by default. Enables similarity-based data reduction on the cluster. This can also be enabled or disabled after installation. Similarity-Based Data Reduction
DBox HA	Enables NVRAM High Availability (HA) for DBoxes. Support for DBox NVRAM HA is limited. Before enabling this feature, review its usage and limitations. It is possible to enable the feature at a later time after installation, although it will cause a drive layout rewrite.DBox High Availability
B2B IPMI	Enables auto configuring the IPMI ports on the nodes with IP addresses according to the B2B template.

Go to the Customized Network Settings pane and make the settings as needed for your installation:

Note
To reset the pane's required fields to their defaults, click the Restore to defaults button in the top right corner of the pane.

Data Vlan	For Ethernet configurations, enter the VLAN to isolate the cluster's internal network from the data network. In case of a conflicting use of the default VLAN, enter a different VLAN that is not already used on the client network. Default: 69 Example: 108
Subnet	Sets a custom subnet for the cluster's internal network. Default: 172.16 The Data VLAN isolates the internal network from the external network. If you anticipate IP address collisions with the default subnet, such as in an IB configuration, you can set a custom subnet. Each CNode and DNode is allocated three IP addresses for three networks within the subnet. These are generated within the subnet from a combination of: An index called the subsystem for the CNodes (0 by default) and for the DNodes (0 by default), which is a starting value for the third octet for the first internal network. A subnet mask called the data netmask, which determines the size of the subnet for each of the internal networks for the CNodes and for the DNodes. The default and recommended data netmask is 255.255.192.0. An index per CNode and DNode. These indexes can be configured. By default, they start with 1 for CNodes and 100 for DNodes. (See Start index cnode and Start index dnode). The IPs for these interfaces are generated on the nodes as subnet.subsystem.x, where x is an index per node. For example, if the subnet is 10.200, with the default subsystem, data netmask 255.255.192.0 and start indexes, the following IPs are generated for the internal network interfaces on the first DNode: 10.200.0.100, 10.200.64.100, 10.200.128.100. The following IPs are generated for the internal network interfaces on the first CNode: 10.200.0.1, 10.200.64.1, 10.200.128.1. IPs for the equivalent interfaces for subsequent CNodes and DNodes are incremented from these. The subnet mask for the internal network is 255.255.192.0. Each DNode and CNode is configured with three interfaces on the network.
Docker IP	Specifies a docker bridge IP (used internally) in case it needs to be changed from the default due to IP conflicts. Default: 172.17.0.1
Docker CIDR	Specifies a docker bridge IP subnet as a CIDR index in case it needs to be changed from the default due to IP conflicts. Default: 16
Hostname Prefix	Specifies a non-default prefix for all hostnames, if preferred.
Technician interface CNode	Changes the IP configured on the technician interface on the CNodes. Default: 192.168.2.2
Start index CNode	Sets the start value for the indexes appended to internal IPs for the CNodes (see also Subnet). Default: 1
Technician interface DNode	Changes the IP configured on the technician interface on the DNodes.
Start index DNode	Sets the start value for the indexes appended to internal IPs for the DNodes (see also Subnet). Default: 100

Go to the Call Home pane and make settings as needed for your installation.

The Call Home feature sends non-sensitive data from your VAST Cluster to the VAST support server to enable us to provide proactive analysis and fast response on critical issues. The collected data is sent by HTTPS to a VAST Data AWS S3 bucket that we maintain for this purpose.

Note
To reset the pane's required fields to their defaults, click the Restore to defaults button in the top right corner of the pane.

Complete the General Setup fields:

Customer	Your customer name.
Site	The name of the site where the cluster is installed.
Location	The location of the site.
Max upload concurrency	The maximum number of parts of a file to upload simultaneously to the AWS S3 bucket. Valid values: A positive integer, 1 or higher Default: 1

Complete the Intervals Setup fields:

Log frequency	The frequency with which system logs and traces are sent to the support server. If disabled, the data is not sent.
Bundle frequency	The frequency with which VMS metadata and metrics are sent to the support server. If disabled, the data is not sent.
Enabled	When enabled, VAST Cluster sends alerts to the VAST support server.

Under Proxy Setup, enter proxy server details if you would like the data to be sent through your own proxy server.

Complete the Misc fields:

Verify SSL	Enables SSL verification. Disable if, for example, you are sending the call home data through a proxy server that does not have an SSL certificate recognized by VAST Cluster. VAST Cluster recognizes SSL certificates from a large range of widely recognized certificate authorities (CAs). VAST Cluster may not recognize an SSL certificate signed by your own in-house CA.
Prod mode	Sets the production support server as the destination for call home bundles. It's essential to enable this setting.
Support channel	Enables VAST Data Support to run remote call home bundle collection commands on the cluster.
Obfuscated	Obfuscates data in call home bundles, metrics and heartbeats. The following types of information are replaced with a non-reversible hash: file and directory names, IP addresses, host names, user names, passwords, MAC addresses.
Aggregated	Saves an aggregated call home bundle file on the management CNode.
Upload via VMS	Uploads a non-aggregated call home bundle via VMS. Otherwise, the upload is done from each node. Note For aggregated call home bundles, the upload is always via VMS. Enabling this option requires a proxy to be set up.
Compress Method	Sets the compression method used to compress call home bundles: zstd (default) gzip

If needed, go to the Advanced settings pane to configure advanced settings.
Caution
Do not change Advanced settings unless guided to do so by VAST Support.
Review the settings you made and ensure that they match the installation plan.
When you're ready to proceed, click Submit.
The installation begins.
Select Activities from the left navigation menu to navigate to the Activities page and monitor the task progress.
The task name is cluster_deploy.
When installation is done, the cluster_deploy task state changes to COMPLETED and the cluster status displayed at the top left of the page changes to Online:
You can now disconnect from the technician port. The cluster's VAST Web UI is now accessible by browsing to the configured management VIP from network locations that have network access to the management VIP.
To begin managing the cluster, browse to the management VIP and log in using the default user name admin and password 123456.