OVA: Installing the vCenter Image for On-prem Environments

The first step to installing Turbonomic is to deploy the VM that will host the platform. For vCenter environments, IBM delivers an OVA image for each bi-weekly release.

Note:
The OVA image can be installed in your on-prem environment as:

  • A standalone platform that manages both on-prem and cloud targets

  • A secure client that enables a SaaS server in the public cloud to manage on-prem targets

This topic outlines the steps to install the image as a standalone platform. For instructions on installing the image as a secure client, see Secure Client Deployment: OVA.

Note:

For minimum requirements, 128 GB of memory for the VM that hosts Turbonomic is recommended. However, if you plan to manage a smaller environment (10,000 VMs or less), you can install on a VM that provides 64 GB of memory.

If you plan to install a VM with 64 GB of memory, then you must modify the default for VM memory.

To install the Turbonomic OVA:

  1. Download the Turbonomic installation package.

    The email you received from IBM includes links to the Turbonomic download pages. You can get the installation package from there.

    The installation package includes the turbonomic_t8c-<version>-<XXXXXXXXXXXXXX>.ova file

    where <version> is the Turbonomic version number and <XXXXXXXXXXXXXX> is the timestamp.

    For example: turbonomic-t8c-8.0.5-20190916164429000.ova

    The OVA file deploys as a VM with the Turbonomic components already installed.

  2. Import the OVA file into your datacenter.

    Use the vCenter Server client to import the OVA into your environment.

  3. Deploy the Turbonomic VM.

    Configure the VM that was deployed from the OVA file.

    If you want to deploy a VM with 64 GB of memory, manually modify the default value for Memory:

    1. Right-click the VM and select Edit Settings.

    2. Type 64 for Memory.

    3. Click OK to save the settings.

    4. Power on the VM.

  4. Open the remote console.

    For the Turbonomic VM that you just deployed:

    1. Choose the Summary tab.

    2. Click Launch Remote Console.

  5. Set up the Turbonomic System Administrator account.

    1. In the remote console, log in with the following default credentials:

      • Username: turbo

        Do not use the account name, root.

      • Password: vmturbo

        Then, you will be prompted to enter a new password.

    2. Enter your new password.

      The new password must comply with the strong password policy (a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and a symbol). Only you will know this new password.

      Note:

      Be sure to save the changes account credentials in a safe place. For security reasons, this is the only account that can access and configure the Turbonomic VM.

    3. Enter your new password again to verify it.

  6. Update the root password.

    The platform uses the root account for certain processes, such as rolling up log messages in /var/log/messages. To ensure the account credentials are current, you must change the password:

    1. Open a SuperUser session.

      • In the remote console, enter su -

      • At the password prompt, enter the default password: vmturbo

    2. Reset a new password.

      After you log in as root with the default password, the system prompts you for a New password. This new password must comply with the strong password policy (a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and a symbol). Only you will know this new password.

      Note:

      Be sure to save the root account credentials in a safe place.

    3. Exit the SuperUser session.

      Enter exit.

  7. Set up the static IP address.

    Operation and management of the Turbonomic platform both require a static IP address for the VM. The installed VM includes the ipsetup script to perform this task. To run the script, run the following command:

    sudo /opt/local/bin/ipsetup

    When the script runs, it requests the following inputs. Proxy servers are not supported with the secure client so they cannot be configured.

    Note:

    Provide values for these fields; otherwise, the installation can fail or your VM can be unreachable.

    • Required: Do you want to use DHCP or set a static IP...

      Choose static

    • Required: Please enter the Hostname for this machine

    • Required: Please enter the IP Address for this machine

    • Required: Please enter the network mask for this machine

    • Required: Please enter the Gateway address for this machine

    • Required: Enter DNS Server(s) IP Address for this machine

    • Required: Do you want to configure a proxy server? (y/n)

      Choose n

    Make a note of the IP address that you provide.

  8. Perform other necessary configuration steps, and then install the Turbonomic components.

    To perform the required and important configuration steps for the Turbonomic instance, see General Configuration Tasks.

    To install the Turbonomic components, see Deploying the Turbonomic Components.