The easiest way to get started with OpenStack development is to use DevStack. DevStack is a collection of shell scripts that help to set up an OpenStack installation. This installation is not typically used in production, but it serves as an environment to hack OpenStack - as hackability is important in OpenStack. DevStack can also be useful if you want to experiment with OpenStack.
If your choice of hypervisor is XenServer, it is now even easier to get started with DevStack, as a tested XVA Virtual Appliance is built on a daily basis.
This XVA is created with the following script. The networking component is nova-network, with FlatDHCP manager.
In this blog, I will guide you through the steps on how to get the mentioned XVA up and running on a XenServer installation.
The process consists of 2 steps:
- Install the appliance and the supplemental pack
- Start the appliance
I assume a XenServer 6.2 installation with ext type storage. As XenServer is now fully opensource, it could be downloaded from xenserver.org. During installation, make sure, you enable thin provisioning, so that your XenServer will use ext type storage. To check if your installation is using ext type storage, use the following command:
xe sr-list name-label="Local storage" params=type --minimal
The command should return ext. If it does not return ext, but something else, you will
need to change your SR type to ext (See http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx116324)
It is also recommended to have at least 6 gigabytes of memory in that physical machine. 1 gigabyte is required for Dom0, 3 gigabytes are recommended for the DevStack VM, and the rest will be used to launch OpenStack VMs.
The other requirement for running the DevStack XVA is to have a DHCP service running on your network.
The DevStack XVA consists of two components:
- A Supplemental Pack - containing XenServer modifications
- The appliance itself
We build these in pairs, and it is important to install a matching pair. Navigate to the following location with your browser:
http://downloads.vmd.citrix.com/OpenStack/
As an example, I will pick 10-15-2013 (it is the latest as of writing this
blog post). In this case it means, that the plugin Supplemental Pack is located
at:
http://downloads.vmd.citrix.com/OpenStack/novaplugins-10_15_2013.iso
and the XVA is located at:
http://downloads.vmd.citrix.com/OpenStack/devstack-10_15_2013.xva
Now, log in to your XenServer to download and install the plugins:
wget "http://downloads.vmd.citrix.com/OpenStack/novaplugins-10_15_2013.iso"
xe-install-supplemental-pack novaplugins-10_15_2013.iso
The following output is displayed:
Installing 'nova plugins'...
Preparing... ########################################### [100%]
1:openstack-xen-plugins ########################################### [100%]
Creating /images
Creating /var/run/sr-mount/c558e24a-b1c5-a3b6-3c1d-e1d6ee89297c/os-images
Setting up symlink: /images -> /var/run/sr-mount/c558e24a-b1c5-a3b6-3c1d-e1d6ee89297c/os-images
Generating a new rsa keypair for root
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Your identification has been saved in /root/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
41:70:9f:d0:f7:2c:0f:86:f0:59:30:02:86:19:24:ae root@jaglan
Autenticating root's key
Warning: Permanently added 'localhost' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
Trust relation working
Pack installation successful.
Note that in addition to installing the plugins that match the virtual appliance, the RPM will create directories used by the plugins, and create an RSA key so the host can ssh into itself to allow the resize functionality to work. If you are deploying multiple XVAs then you will need to copy this key across to the other appliances as well as making the changes to devstack needed to connect the OpenStack services.
The next step is to download and install the virtual appliance:
wget "http://downloads.vmd.citrix.com/OpenStack/devstack-10_15_2013.xva"
xe vm-import filename=devstack-10_15_2013.xva
Now you have a devstack virtual machine installed on your XenServer, ready to launch. After the import, the xva should be removed from dom0's filesystem:
rm devstack-10_15_2013.xva
If you are using XenCenter, just start the DevStackOSDomU VM, look at its
console, and enter your XenServer's password when prompted. As stack.sh is
completed, press Enter to display the login parameters.
If you don't use XenCenter, log in to XenServer and type:
xe vm-start vm=DevStackOSDomU
At this point, DevStack VM is started, and stack.sh is running inside. As
the XenServer's password is required for OpenStack to communicate with the
hypervisor, we need to take a look at the console of the VM. I like to do it
from the console, so first I need the domain id of the VM:
xe vm-list name-label=DevStackOSDomU params=dom-id --minimal
This will print out the domain id. With the domain id, I can query the VNC port:
xenstore-read /local/domain/[put domain id here]/console/vnc-port
And by opening a new terminal on my local PC, I can access the vnc console with:
vncviewer -via root@jaglan.eng.hq.xensource.com localhost:5902
On the console, you should see the output of stack.sh, and it will stop at
some point to ask for the XenServer's password. Enter the password for your
XenServer. After the password input, stack.sh will carry on, and as it is
finished, you'll see:
stack.sh completed in XXX seconds.
Press Enter to get to the login prompt. The VM's IP address and the DevStack run's status should be displayed on the console:
OpenStack VM - Installed by DevStack
Management IP: 10.219.2.149
DevStack run: SUCCEEDED
DevStackOSDomU login:
Now, you can use the management IP to connect to Horizon from a web browser.
Log in with admin/citrix, and enjoy stacking!
If you want to access the VM, use stack/citrix as login/password.
All the scripts that used to generate the xva are available from our qa repository:
https://github.com/citrix-openstack/qa