Preferred way to provision IPs to VM nodes

Support
#1

Hello guys,

I wish to know if you have any suggestions for a provisioning workflow that
I wish to initiate on our VM ecosystem.

What is the best way to provide a static address automatically?

Lets say I have several networks on my VMware infrastructure, does this
mean that I now need to create them all as subnets in Foreman or can I
import them?
And if so, how will I know how to provide a free IP to a new node?

If you have a better way about setting static IP to nodes on multiple
networks ill love to hear them :slight_smile:

Cheers,
Michael.

#2

Hi Michael,

I'm not sure this matters much as to whether it's physical or virtual
infrastructure, but I use Foreman to manage dhcp on the datacenter
networks. For servers that we wish not to rely on the DHCP/Smart-Proxies,
we use a custom puppet module to set their network information to be
equivalent to what Foreman/DHCP set it to during provisioning.

That custom module is parameter driven Foreman can pass parameters to it.
The custom module is using another puppet module [1] that uses resources to
define the network config, and a fact called default_gateway.rb [2].

From there all the work is done from Foreman sample host yaml looks like:

··· --- classes: netwrapper: parameters: netwrapper_method: static

And this will ensure that the network stays configured as a static IP.
Flip that parameter to dhcp or dynamic and the host will return to a dhcp
config, and Foreman/DHCP will serve its ip address.

Does that help? I don’t think there’s anything proprietary in the
netwrapper module, I can look into publishing it publicly, but it’s a very
simple module.

[1] https://github.com/razorsedge/puppet-network.git
[2] https://github.com/kwilczynski/facter-facts.git

On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 9:50:02 AM UTC-4, Lev Michael wrote:

Hello guys,

I wish to know if you have any suggestions for a provisioning workflow
that I wish to initiate on our VM ecosystem.

What is the best way to provide a static address automatically?

Lets say I have several networks on my VMware infrastructure, does this
mean that I now need to create them all as subnets in Foreman or can I
import them?
And if so, how will I know how to provide a free IP to a new node?

If you have a better way about setting static IP to nodes on multiple
networks ill love to hear them :slight_smile:

Cheers,
Michael.

#3

Hello Sean,
Thanks for the reply!

Basically, I use Chef but I think I can get the idea. I have also got some
info from IIRC.

Please correct me if I got it wrong, I am trying to arrange a workflow:

  1. First provide a "Provisioning NIC" using Foreman DHCP.
  2. Provide a second NIC with no address but assign it to a VM network
    from Foreman.
  3. Run basic provisioning on that node.
  4. Use a CM to:
    1. Remove th "provisioning" NIC.
    2. Provide the "real" primary NIC an address.
    3. Disable the DHCP flag on it.

I am still new to Foreman soi I am afraid I am not sure about passing
parameters from-to Foreman to-form my CM.

cheers,
Michael.

(I will also look around in the chef wrappers).

··· On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 4:15:54 PM UTC+2, Sean Alderman wrote: > > Hi Michael, > > I'm not sure this matters much as to whether it's physical or virtual > infrastructure, but I use Foreman to manage dhcp on the datacenter > networks. For servers that we wish not to rely on the DHCP/Smart-Proxies, > we use a custom puppet module to set their network information to be > equivalent to what Foreman/DHCP set it to during provisioning. > > That custom module is parameter driven Foreman can pass parameters to it. > The custom module is using another puppet module [1] that uses resources to > define the network config, and a fact called default_gateway.rb [2]. > > From there all the work is done from Foreman sample host yaml looks like: > --- > classes: > netwrapper: > parameters: > netwrapper_method: static > > > And this will ensure that the network stays configured as a static IP. > Flip that parameter to dhcp or dynamic and the host will return to a dhcp > config, and Foreman/DHCP will serve its ip address. > > Does that help? I don't think there's anything proprietary in the > netwrapper module, I can look into publishing it publicly, but it's a very > simple module. > > [1] https://github.com/razorsedge/puppet-network.git > [2] https://github.com/kwilczynski/facter-facts.git > > On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 9:50:02 AM UTC-4, Lev Michael wrote: >> >> Hello guys, >> >> I wish to know if you have any suggestions for a provisioning workflow >> that I wish to initiate on our VM ecosystem. >> >> What is the best way to provide a static address automatically? >> >> Lets say I have several networks on my VMware infrastructure, does this >> mean that I now need to create them all as subnets in Foreman or can I >> import them? >> And if so, how will I know how to provide a free IP to a new node? >> >> If you have a better way about setting static IP to nodes on multiple >> networks ill love to hear them :) >> >> Cheers, >> Michael. >> >> >> >>
#4

Sorry, but I don't know anything about how chef works. The puppet module
setup I have just manages a linux systems ifcfg-ethX interface files and
changes them depending on how that parameter is set.

Perhaps someone on the list familiar with chef can address the specifics to
that piece. With Puppet, there's only so much that Foreman can do as an
External Node Classifier. One thing it can't do - and this is not
Foreman's fault but the design of Puppet - is define Puppet resources.
Foreman can define Puppet Classes and feed data to them. Unfortunately, I
can't translate between Puppet and Chef features, so I'll defer to someone
with that expertise.

··· On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 10:57:32 AM UTC-4, Lev Michael wrote: > > Hello Sean, > Thanks for the reply! > > Basically, I use Chef but I think I can get the idea. I have also got > some info from IIRC. > > Please correct me if I got it wrong, I am trying to arrange a workflow: > > > 1. First provide a "Provisioning NIC" using Foreman DHCP. > 1. Provide a second NIC with no address but assign it to a VM network > from Foreman. > 2. Run basic provisioning on that node. > 3. Use a CM to: > 1. Remove th "provisioning" NIC. > 2. Provide the "real" primary NIC an address. > 3. Disable the DHCP flag on it. > > I am still new to Foreman soi I am afraid I am not sure about passing > parameters from-to Foreman to-form my CM. > > cheers, > Michael. > > (I will also look around in the chef wrappers). > > On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 4:15:54 PM UTC+2, Sean Alderman wrote: >> >> Hi Michael, >> >> I'm not sure this matters much as to whether it's physical or virtual >> infrastructure, but I use Foreman to manage dhcp on the datacenter >> networks. For servers that we wish not to rely on the DHCP/Smart-Proxies, >> we use a custom puppet module to set their network information to be >> equivalent to what Foreman/DHCP set it to during provisioning. >> >> That custom module is parameter driven Foreman can pass parameters to >> it. The custom module is using another puppet module [1] that uses >> resources to define the network config, and a fact called >> default_gateway.rb [2]. >> >> From there all the work is done from Foreman sample host yaml looks like: >> --- >> classes: >> netwrapper: >> parameters: >> netwrapper_method: static >> >> >> And this will ensure that the network stays configured as a static IP. >> Flip that parameter to dhcp or dynamic and the host will return to a dhcp >> config, and Foreman/DHCP will serve its ip address. >> >> Does that help? I don't think there's anything proprietary in the >> netwrapper module, I can look into publishing it publicly, but it's a very >> simple module. >> >> [1] https://github.com/razorsedge/puppet-network.git >> [2] https://github.com/kwilczynski/facter-facts.git >> >> On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 9:50:02 AM UTC-4, Lev Michael wrote: >>> >>> Hello guys, >>> >>> I wish to know if you have any suggestions for a provisioning workflow >>> that I wish to initiate on our VM ecosystem. >>> >>> What is the best way to provide a static address automatically? >>> >>> Lets say I have several networks on my VMware infrastructure, does this >>> mean that I now need to create them all as subnets in Foreman or can I >>> import them? >>> And if so, how will I know how to provide a free IP to a new node? >>> >>> If you have a better way about setting static IP to nodes on multiple >>> networks ill love to hear them :) >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Michael. >>> >>> >>> >>>
#5

Thanks Sean again for the reply.

The flow that I wish to know about is how does it usually goes when a node
is needed to be provisioned using one NIC and it's network and then a
primary NIC is needed to be used "for real" (and the "provision" NIC is not
needed later on).

A nice feature would have been when you will can select an imported network
from the VMware and then select a free IP using a drop-down.
might be asking too much but there might be a better way to do this, or a
better practice.

Thanks,
Michael.

··· On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 5:35:56 PM UTC+2, Sean Alderman wrote: > > Sorry, but I don't know anything about how chef works. The puppet module > setup I have just manages a linux systems ifcfg-ethX interface files and > changes them depending on how that parameter is set. > > Perhaps someone on the list familiar with chef can address the specifics > to that piece. With Puppet, there's only so much that Foreman can do as an > External Node Classifier. One thing it can't do - and this is not > Foreman's fault but the design of Puppet - is define Puppet resources. > Foreman can define Puppet Classes and feed data to them. Unfortunately, I > can't translate between Puppet and Chef features, so I'll defer to someone > with that expertise. > > On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 10:57:32 AM UTC-4, Lev Michael wrote: >> >> Hello Sean, >> Thanks for the reply! >> >> Basically, I use Chef but I think I can get the idea. I have also got >> some info from IIRC. >> >> Please correct me if I got it wrong, I am trying to arrange a workflow: >> >> >> 1. First provide a "Provisioning NIC" using Foreman DHCP. >> 1. Provide a second NIC with no address but assign it to a VM network >> from Foreman. >> 2. Run basic provisioning on that node. >> 3. Use a CM to: >> 1. Remove th "provisioning" NIC. >> 2. Provide the "real" primary NIC an address. >> 3. Disable the DHCP flag on it. >> >> I am still new to Foreman soi I am afraid I am not sure about passing >> parameters from-to Foreman to-form my CM. >> >> cheers, >> Michael. >> >> (I will also look around in the chef wrappers). >> >> On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 4:15:54 PM UTC+2, Sean Alderman wrote: >>> >>> Hi Michael, >>> >>> I'm not sure this matters much as to whether it's physical or virtual >>> infrastructure, but I use Foreman to manage dhcp on the datacenter >>> networks. For servers that we wish not to rely on the DHCP/Smart-Proxies, >>> we use a custom puppet module to set their network information to be >>> equivalent to what Foreman/DHCP set it to during provisioning. >>> >>> That custom module is parameter driven Foreman can pass parameters to >>> it. The custom module is using another puppet module [1] that uses >>> resources to define the network config, and a fact called >>> default_gateway.rb [2]. >>> >>> From there all the work is done from Foreman sample host yaml looks like: >>> --- >>> classes: >>> netwrapper: >>> parameters: >>> netwrapper_method: static >>> >>> >>> And this will ensure that the network stays configured as a static IP. >>> Flip that parameter to dhcp or dynamic and the host will return to a dhcp >>> config, and Foreman/DHCP will serve its ip address. >>> >>> Does that help? I don't think there's anything proprietary in the >>> netwrapper module, I can look into publishing it publicly, but it's a very >>> simple module. >>> >>> [1] https://github.com/razorsedge/puppet-network.git >>> [2] https://github.com/kwilczynski/facter-facts.git >>> >>> On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 9:50:02 AM UTC-4, Lev Michael wrote: >>>> >>>> Hello guys, >>>> >>>> I wish to know if you have any suggestions for a provisioning workflow >>>> that I wish to initiate on our VM ecosystem. >>>> >>>> What is the best way to provide a static address automatically? >>>> >>>> Lets say I have several networks on my VMware infrastructure, does this >>>> mean that I now need to create them all as subnets in Foreman or can I >>>> import them? >>>> And if so, how will I know how to provide a free IP to a new node? >>>> >>>> If you have a better way about setting static IP to nodes on multiple >>>> networks ill love to hear them :) >>>> >>>> Cheers, >>>> Michael. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>