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Overview

About This Guide

This guide describes how to complete pre-deployment preparation, management node installation, management node HA setup, basic service checks, first login, and environment initialization for ZSphere.

Figure 1. Installation Process


Intended Audience

This guide is intended for administrators, implementation engineers, and O&M engineers who are responsible for deploying and initializing ZSphere. Readers should be familiar with server hardware, basic networking, operating system installation, and virtualization infrastructure deployment.

Installation Modes

ZSphere provides three installation modes. Each includes different components and is intended for different scenarios.

Installation Mode Installed Content Applicable Scenario
Management Node Mode
  • Base operating system
  • Dependencies such as MariaDB and CloudBus message bus
 Suitable for installing a management node for the virtualization platform.
Compute Node Mode
  • Base operating system
  • Virtualization components such as libvirt and QEMU
 Suitable for installation as nodes other than the management node, for example:
  • Compute nodes
  • Standalone image storage, distributed image storage, and monitoring nodes of distributed image storage
  • Distributed storage nodes and monitoring nodes of distributed storage
Expert Mode Base operating system

Planning and Preparation

Before installing ZSphere, complete hardware, network, software package, and server configuration preparation to ensure that the servers can boot from the installation media and meet the deployment requirements for management nodes, compute nodes, and subsequent business resources.

This chapter describes the basic conditions that must be confirmed before deployment, including hardware requirements, network planning, software package preparation, installation media creation, and server configuration. After completing these preparations, you can start installing the management node.

Hardware Requirements

Basic Hardware Requirements

The server configuration, including CPU, memory, storage capacity and NIC performance, determines the business capacity of ZSphere.

  • Basic demonstration environment: The server must have at least 4 CPU cores and 8 GB of memory.
  • Production environment:
    • Management node configuration: In small-scale scenarios, the server must have at least 8 CPU cores, 16 GB of memory, and 240 GB of storage.

      The actual hardware configuration requirements depend on your business scale. For details, contact official technical support.

    • Compute node configuration: The actual hardware configuration requirements depend on your business scale. For details, contact official technical support.

Recommended Hardware Configuration

The following table lists the recommended server hardware configuration for both basic demonstration environments and production environments:

Device Configuration
Server CPU
  • x86 architecture: 64-bit. Supports Intel VT-x or AMD-V hardware virtualization features (such as Intel VMX or AMD/Hygon SVM).
  • ARM architecture: 64-bit. Supports hardware virtualization features.
Memory No special requirements. DDR4 or higher specification memory is recommended.
Motherboard Standard dual-socket server motherboard.
RAID Controller Supports SAS/SATA RAID 0/1/10 and passthrough mode.
Disk No special requirements. Select HDD or SSD based on capacity and performance requirements.
Network Ports
  • Management port: 1 × 1 GbE RJ45
  • Business port: 1 × 10 GbE SFP+
Network Switch
  • At least one 1 GbE switch. 10 GbE switch is recommended.
  • Multiple Category 5 or higher network cables.

Hardware Planning

You need to plan your server resources according to your production needs. In a large data center with sufficient resources, we recommend deploying two servers as management nodes to control the entire virtualization platform. These two management nodes provide high availability. If one management node fails, the system automatically triggers a high availability switchover within seconds. This ensures the management service remains continuously available. In a small data center, you can use a single server as the management node.

The remaining servers act as compute nodes. In a large data center, you can select multiple compute nodes to act as image storage. This expands the total image storage capacity and improves throughput. In a small data center, the image storage can share a server with the management node.

Network Planning

A typical data center consists of several servers with different functions and two independent network environments.
Figure 2. Network Planning


  • The management network uses dual Gigabit networks for managing hardware resources related to the virtualization platform. The business network uses dual 10-Gigabit networks for virtual machine service traffic. You can configure network speeds based on your actual business requirements.
  • If you use network storage such as NFS or distributed storage, you need also plan an additional storage network to handle storage traffic.
  • We recommend that you maintain consistent NIC naming across all servers and use NICs with the same name to carry the same type of network traffic. For example, all management network traffic use the em1 NICs.
  • If you use a VLAN network, you need to configure the corresponding VLAN network communication on the switch in advance.
  • ZSphere automatically assigns IP addresses to virtual machines. You need to reserve an IP range that does not conflict with the system and ensure this range does not conflict with any existing DHCP services in your network environment.

Prepare Software Packages

Software Package Description

ZSphere ISO is built on Helix, a self-developed virtualization kernel that runs between the infrastructure layer and upper-layer guest operating systems. Helix integrates hardware drivers, macro kernel components, virtual agents, and other required components. When guest operating systems access underlying hardware resources, Helix masks differences across heterogeneous hardware, removes the dependency on physical hardware drivers, and improves hardware compatibility, reliability, availability, scalability, and performance in the virtualization environment.

Installing ZSphere does not require Internet access or a yum repository. The installation can be completed offline.

Software Package List

The following table lists the software packages used to install ZSphere:

Server Architecture Software Package Name
x86 ZStack-ZSphere-x86_64-DVD-5.1.0-H84r.iso
ZStack-ZSphere-x86_64-DVD-5.1.0-KylinV10SP3.iso
ARM ZStack-ZSphere-aarch64-DVD-5.1.0-H22e.iso
ZStack-ZSphere-aarch64-DVD-5.1.0-KylinV10SP3.iso
Note: After obtaining the software, use an MD5 checksum tool to verify the checksum and ensure that the software is complete and intact.

Create Installation Media

After obtaining the ZSphere ISO image file, write the ISO image to a USB drive so that the physical server can boot the installer from the USB drive.

You can create the installation media with Rufus or Fedora Media Writer based on your local operating system and tool preference. After the installation media is created, set the USB drive as the boot media in the server BIOS or boot menu.

Create a USB Drive with Rufus

After you obtain the ISO package, you can use Rufus to burn the ISO image to a USB drive.

Procedure

  1. Select an ISO image.
    1. Connect your USB drive and open Rufus.
    2. In the Boot Selection drop-down list, choose Disk or ISO image.
    3. Click SELECT to open the ISO image file that you obtained.
    Figure 3. Select ISO Image


  2. Burn the image.
    1. After selecting the ISO image, keep the other options at their default settings and click START.
    2. Confirm the warning message.
      Note: Burning the image will format the data on the USB drive. If you have important data on your USB drive, make sure to back it up before formatting.
    3. Click OK, and Rufus will burn the ISO image to the USB drive.
    Figure 4. Burn the Image


What to do next

After the burning process completes, you can use the USB drive as a boot disk. ZStack-ZSphere supports booting in Legacy mode or UEFI mode.

Create a USB Drive with Fedora Media Writer

After you obtain the ISO package, if you are using the Kylin operating system, we recommend using Fedora Media Writer to burn the ISO image.

Procedure

  1. Select an ISO image.
    1. Connect your USB drive and open Fedora Media Writer.
    2. Click Custom Image to open the ISO image file that you obtained.
  2. Burn the image.
    1. After selecting the ISO image, keep the other options at their default settings and click Write Disk.
      Note: Burning the image will format the data on the USB drive. If you have important data on your USB drive, make sure to back it up before formatting.

What to do next

After the burning process completes, you can use the USB drive as a boot disk. ZStack-ZSphere supports booting in Legacy mode or UEFI mode.

Configure Servers

Server Configuration Check

Based on your actual network planning, rack, cable, and power on the servers and network equipment. Then, start the servers, enter BIOS, and verify the following:

  • The installation process overwrites all data, so confirm that you have backed up all disks in the servers.
  • Enter the server BIOS and enable CPU VT and Hyper-Threading (HT) options.
  • Configure the appropriate RAID level in the RAID controller to provide data redundancy.
  • Set the USB drive as the first boot device.

For information about how to change server configurations, refer to your hardware vendor documentation.

Install the Management Node

The management node hosts ZSphere management services, Web UI, and basic control services. It is the entry point for completing platform deployment and managing resources after deployment.

Select an installation method based on your network planning and deployment scenario. In production environments, bonded NIC deployment is typically used to improve management network reliability. In simple verification scenarios or single-NIC environments, you can use single NIC deployment. If you need to configure the management node from a text interface after installation, use the TUI installation path.

After installation, check the ZSphere service status and determine whether to set up management node HA based on business continuity requirements.

Bonded NIC Deployment

To meet the requirements for network port bandwidth capacity and high reliability, NIC bonding must be configured in production environments. Since the operating system installation process is identical for both x86 and ARM servers, this chapter uses x86 servers to introduce the detailed installation procedure.

Procedure

  1. Select the boot option.
    Enter the ISO boot interface and choose the default option to start the operating system installation. You can select based on your actual situation, but we recommend using the graphical user interface (GUI) for installation. If the server does not have a VGA port and only supports serial connections, you can use either VNC or text mode installation methods.
    • GUI method
    • VNC method
    • Text mode method
    Figure 5. System Boot


  2. Review the installation configuration summary.
    This page displays the system installation configuration. You can modify the configuration as needed. By default, ZSphere is configured with the following settings:
    • Keyboard: English (US)
    • Language Support: English (United States)
    • Time & Date: Asia/Shanghai (UTC+8). We recommend that you check the host's time in advance and configure it to the current time and time zone.
    Figure 6. System Installation Interface


  3. Select the installation mode.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Software Selection.
    2. On the SOFTWARE SELECTION page, choose the installation mode.
      Set the servers for management nodes to Management Node mode. Set the other servers to Compute Node mode.
    3. After selecting the installation mode, click Done.
    Figure 7. Select Installation Mode


  4. Configure the disk partitions.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Installation Destination to enter the INSTALLATION DESTINATION page.
    2. For Device Selection, we recommend that you only configure the system disk. After the system is installed, you can configure other disks.
    3. For Storage Configuration, we recommend selecting Automatic to automatically configure the disk partitions.
      If you need to manually configure disk partitions, refer to the following guidelines based on the BIOS boot mode:
      • UEFI Mode:
        • /boot: This directory stores the core files needed for Linux boot. We recommend allocating 1 GB of space.
        • /boot/efi: This directory stores the UEFI boot files. We recommend allocating 500 MB.
        • swap: This is the swap area. We recommend allocating 32 GB.
        • /: This is the root directory for the Linux system. We recommend allocating all remaining space.
      • Legacy Mode:
        • /boot: This directory stores the core files needed for Linux boot. We recommend allocating 1 GB of space.
        • swap: This is the swap area. We recommend allocating 32 GB.
        • /: This is the root directory for the Linux system. We recommend allocating all remaining space.
      Note:
      • The above values represent the recommended partition sizes for ZSphere (total disk capacity should be greater than 300 GB).
      • In Legacy mode, if the system disk capacity exceeds 2 TB, you need to configure a BIOS boot partition to support GPT partitioning. UEFI mode does not have this limitation and supports GPT partitioning.
    4. Review the configuration and click Done.
    Figure 8. Configure Disk Partitions


  5. Add a bond device.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Network & Host Name.
    2. On the NETWORK & HOST NAME page, click the + button at the bottom left of the page. This will open the Add device dialog. From the drop-down list, choose Bond, then click Add.
    Figure 9. Add Bond Device


  6. Add a Bond Slave.
    1. In the Bond configuration dialog, adjust the Connection name as needed.
      Note: Make sure the Connection name matches the Interface name.
      Figure 10. Adjust Connection Name


    2. On the Bond configuration window, click Add to add a bond slave.
      Figure 11. Add Bond Slave


    3. In the Choose a Connection Type dialog, choose a connection type from the drop-down list, such as Ethernet, and then click Create....
      Figure 12. Select Bond Slave Connection Type


    4. On the Ethernet tab of the Editing bond0 slave1 dialog, click Device and select the Slave device you want to bind, such as ens3 (corresponding MAC address). Keep the other options as default or customize them as needed, then click Save.
      Figure 13. Select Bond Slave Device


  7. Select the Bond mode.
    In the Bond configuration dialog, choose the bond mode from the Mode drop-down list as needed, such as Active backup. Keep the other options as default or customize them as needed, then click Save.
    Figure 14. Select Bond Mode


  8. Disable IPv4 on the original NIC.
    1. Select the original NIC, such as Ethernet (ens3), and click Configure.
      Figure 15. Configure Original NIC


    2. The Editing ens3 dialog pops up. Click IPv4 Settings to access the IPv4 Settings tab. Change the Method parameter value to Disabled, then click Save.
      Figure 16. Disable IPv4


  9. Configure a static IP address for Bond.
    1. On the NETWORK & HOST NAME page, choose the bond device, such as Bond (bond0), and then click Configure.
    2. The Editing bond0 dialog pops up. click IPv4 Settings to access the IPv4 Settings tab. Change the Method parameter value to Manual to switch the IP address acquisition method to manual.
      Note: You can configure the IP address acquisition method as needed, including using DHCP for automatic acquisition or specifying it manually.
    3. Click Add to add an IP address entry. Configure the IP address, netmask, and gateway as needed, then click Save to save the configuration.
    Figure 17. Configure Bond Static IP Address


  10. Configure the NIC to activate automatically.
    In the Editing bond0 dialog, click General to access the General tab. Select the Connect automatically with priority checkbox to set the NIC to activate automatically, then click Save.
    Figure 18. Configure NIC to Activate Automatically


  11. Complete the Bond configuration.
    1. Check the Bond configuration settings. Ensure that On is enabled and that you have configured the IP address. Also, make sure the Bond Slave (such as ens3) is set to On. Otherwise, ZSphere will not be installed properly.
    2. Review the configuration and click Done to return to the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page.
    Figure 19. Check Bond Configuration


  12. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Root Password to set the root password for the operating system.
  13. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Begin Installation to begin installing the operating system.

Single NIC Deployment

The operating system installation process is identical for both x86 and ARM servers. This chapter uses x86 servers to introduce the detailed installation procedure.

Procedure

  1. Select the boot option.
    Enter the ISO boot interface and choose the default option to start the operating system installation. You can select based on your actual situation, but we recommend using the graphical user interface (GUI) for installation. If the server does not have a VGA port and only supports serial connections, you can use either VNC or text mode installation methods.
    • GUI method
    • VNC method
    • Text mode method
    Figure 20. System Boot


  2. Review the installation configuration summary.
    This page displays the system installation configuration. You can modify the configuration as needed. By default, ZSphere is configured with the following settings:
    • Keyboard: English (US)
    • Language Support: English (United States)
    • Time & Date: Asia/Shanghai (UTC+8). We recommend that you check the host's time in advance and configure it to the current time and time zone.
    Figure 21. System Installation Interface


  3. Select the installation mode.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Software Selection.
    2. On the SOFTWARE SELECTION page, choose the installation mode.
      Set the servers for management nodes to Management Node mode. Set the other servers to Compute Node mode.
    3. After selecting the installation mode, click Done.
    Figure 22. Select Installation Mode


  4. Configure the disk partitions.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Installation Destination to enter the INSTALLATION DESTINATION page.
    2. For Device Selection, we recommend that you only configure the system disk. After the system is installed, you can configure other disks.
    3. For Storage Configuration, we recommend selecting Automatic to automatically configure the disk partitions.
      If you need to manually configure disk partitions, refer to the following guidelines based on the BIOS boot mode:
      • UEFI Mode:
        • /boot: This directory stores the core files needed for Linux boot. We recommend allocating 1 GB of space.
        • /boot/efi: This directory stores the UEFI boot files. We recommend allocating 500 MB.
        • swap: This is the swap area. We recommend allocating 32 GB.
        • /: This is the root directory for the Linux system. We recommend allocating all remaining space.
      • Legacy Mode:
        • /boot: This directory stores the core files needed for Linux boot. We recommend allocating 1 GB of space.
        • swap: This is the swap area. We recommend allocating 32 GB.
        • /: This is the root directory for the Linux system. We recommend allocating all remaining space.
      Note:
      • The above values represent the recommended partition sizes for ZSphere (total disk capacity should be greater than 300 GB).
      • In Legacy mode, if the system disk capacity exceeds 2 TB, you need to configure a BIOS boot partition to support GPT partitioning. UEFI mode does not have this limitation and supports GPT partitioning.
    4. Review the configuration and click Done.
    Figure 23. Configure Disk Partitions


  5. Start configuring the NIC.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Network & Host Name to access the NETWORK & HOST NAME page.
    2. Select a NIC from the list on the left, such as Ethernet (ens3).
    3. Click Configure.
    Figure 24. Configure NIC


  6. Configure a static IP address for the NIC.
    1. In the Editing ens3 dialog, click IPv4 Settings.
    2. For Method, choose the IP address acquisition method as needed. For example, select Manual to specify the IP address manually.
    3. Click Add to add an IP address entry, and configure the IP address, netmask, and gateway as needed.
    Figure 25. Configure Static IP Address


  7. Configure the NIC to activate automatically.
    1. In the Editing ens3 dialog, click General, then select the Connect automatically with priority checkbox to set the NIC for automatic activation.
    2. Review the configuration and click Save.
    Figure 26. Configure NIC to Activate Automatically


  8. Complete the NIC configuration.
    1. Return to the NETWORK & HOST NAME page, and confirm that you have selected the correct NIC and that the NIC status is ON.
    2. Click Done to return the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page.
    Figure 27. Check NIC Configuration


  9. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Root Password to set the root password for the operating system.
  10. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Begin Installation to begin installing the operating system.

Install with TUI

This chapter describes the complete procedure for deploying a Compute Node from an ISO, configuring the management network as a bond in the TUI, and installing the management node on that compute node.

Procedure

  1. Select the boot option.
    Enter the ISO boot interface and choose the default option to start the operating system installation. You can select based on your actual situation, but we recommend using the graphical user interface (GUI) for installation. If the server does not have a VGA port and only supports serial connections, you can use either VNC or text mode installation methods.
    • GUI method
    • VNC method
    • Text mode method
    Figure 28. System Boot


  2. Enter the INSTALLATION SUMMARY wizard.
    After the installation boot screen loads automatically, the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page appears. On this page, focus on the following three configuration items: Installation Destination, Software Selection, and Root Password.
    Figure 29. INSTALLATION SUMMARY Overview


  3. Configure Installation Destination.
    1. Click Installation Destination.
    2. Under Local Standard Disks, select a disk to use as the system disk.
    3. Keep Storage Configuration set to the default Automatic.
    4. Click Done in the upper-left corner to return.
    Figure 30. Select the System Disk


  4. Configure Software Selection.
    1. Click Software Selection.
    2. Under Base Environment, select Compute Node for the compute node mode.
    3. Click Done in the upper-left corner to return.
    Figure 31. Select the Compute Node Mode


  5. Configure the Root Password.
    1. Click Root Password.
    2. Enter and confirm the root password.

      The password must meet the strength requirements indicated by the prompt.

    3. Click Done to return.
  6. Start the installation and wait for it to finish.

    Verify that all items marked with red boxes are configured (no yellow warning bars remain), and click Begin Installation in the lower-right corner to start the installation.

    Figure 32. Begin Installation


    The installation completes automatically and requires no manual intervention. After the installation finishes, the system reboots and the TUI appears.

  7. Enter the TUI main screen and complete root authentication.
    The TUI is divided into four information areas:
    • NODE INFO: Node uptime, load, CPU, and memory usage.
    • DISK INFO: Disk mount points and capacity.
    • NIC INFO: NIC names and IP addresses. The default NIC, such as ens3, is displayed at first boot.
    • VM INFO: List of virtual machines on the current node.
    The shortcut keys are shown at the bottom of the screen:
    • <F2> System Configuration: Enter system configuration.
    • <F12> Reboot/Poweroff: Reboot or shut down the system.
    Figure 33. TUI Screen


    1. Press F2 to enter system configuration. The ROOT PASSWORD authentication dialog box appears.
    2. Enter the root password and press Enter to confirm.
    Figure 34. Enter the Root Password for Authentication


  8. Open the Configure Networks settings.
    After authentication, the System Configuration menu appears.
    1. Use the arrow keys to select Configure Networks, and then press Enter.
    2. In the CONFIGURE NETWORKS dialog box that appears, select the physical NIC to configure (for example, ens3).
    3. Switch the keyboard to uppercase.
    4. Press the A key to trigger the Link <A>ggregation operation.
      Note: Make sure the keyboard is in uppercase mode. Otherwise, pressing A will not start the bond creation process.
    Figure 35. Select a NIC and Trigger Link Aggregation


  9. Select the bond mode.
    1. In the CONFIGURE BOND dialog box that appears, select a bond mode.
    2. This chapter uses Active-Backup as an example. Press Enter to confirm.
    Figure 36. Select the Active-Backup Bond Mode


  10. Name the bond and select slave NICs.
    The CONFIGURE BOND SLAVE dialog box appears. Configure the following settings.
    1. In BOND NAME, enter a name for the bond, for example, bond0.
    2. In Select SLAVES, use the arrow keys to navigate to the target NIC and press Space to select it.

      A selected NIC is marked with [X].

    3. After selecting all required NICs, press Enter to confirm.
    Figure 37. Enter the Bond Name and Select Slave NICs


  11. Confirm the bond configuration.
    The CONFIGURE BOND NETWORK CONFIRM warning dialog box appears with the following message:
    Be careful! Changing the network configuration may cause failure!
If you know what you are doing, then enter 'Y' to continue!
    1. Switch the keyboard to uppercase.
    2. Press the Y key to confirm the configuration.
      Figure 38. Confirm the Bond Network Configuration


    3. When the operation is successful, the SUCCESS dialog box appears with the message Network configuration is changed successfully!. Press Enter to close it.
      Figure 39. Bond Created Successfully


  12. Select the bond to configure its IP.
    You return to the Configure Networks dialog box.
    1. In the NIC list, select the bond created in the previous step (for example, bond0).
    2. Press Enter to enter the IP configuration.
    Figure 40. Select bond0 to Configure the IP Address


  13. Configure the management network IP address.
    1. In the CONFIGURE NETWORK dialog box, enter the following fields as shown in the example:
      • VLAN ID: Enter the VLAN ID of the management network. Leave it empty if no VLAN is used.
      • IP ADDR: Enter the management network IP address, for example, 172.26.215.195.
      • NETMASK: Enter the subnet mask, for example, 255.255.0.0.
      • GATEWAY(DEF): Enter the default gateway, for example, 172.26.0.1.
    2. Press Enter to confirm.
    Figure 41. IP Configuration Example


  14. Confirm the IP configuration.
    1. Press Enter to submit. The CONFIGURE NETWORK CONFIRM confirmation dialog box appears.
    2. Switch the keyboard to uppercase.
    3. Press the Y key to confirm.
      Figure 42. Confirm the IP Configuration


    4. The SUCCESS dialog box appears. Press Enter to close it.
      Figure 43. IP Configuration Succeeded


  15. Open the Install ZStack option.
    1. Press Esc to return to the System Configuration menu.
    2. Use the arrow keys to select Install ZStack.
    3. Press Enter.
    Figure 44. Open the Install ZStack Option


  16. Confirm the management node installation.
    The INSTALL ZStack warning dialog box appears with the following message:
    This process will install a brand new ZStack, please confirm
    1. Type the full string install zstack.
    2. Press Enter to confirm.
    Figure 45. Confirm the Management Node Installation


  17. Wait for the management node installation to complete.

    The screen enters a waiting state and displays the message Please wait.... Wait for the installation to complete.

    Figure 46. Management Node Installation in Progress


  18. After the installation is complete, view the TUI main screen.
    After the management node installation completes, the information on the TUI main screen changes as follows:
    • DISK INFO: New mount points such as /var/lib/zstack and /usr/local/zstack are added.
    • NIC INFO: A new docker0 interface (related to the management service) is displayed, along with the configured bond0 and its IP address (for example, 172.26.215.195).
    Figure 47. TUI Main Screen After Installation


  19. Verify the management node status from the command line.
    1. Press Ctrl + Alt + F2 to switch to the command line login screen.
    2. Log in as the root user.
    3. Run the following command to query the management node status: 
      [root@localhost ~]# zstack-ctl status
      When the management node is running, the expected output is as follows:
      MN status: Running
UI status: Running
    Figure 48. Verify the Management Node Status from the Command Line


Set Up Management Node HA

Management node HA improves the availability of the ZSphere management plane. After management node HA is configured, if the active management node becomes unavailable, the standby management node can continue to provide management services.

Before setting up management node HA, prepare two servers on which the management node service has been installed, and plan the management network, business network, and VIP in advance. You can complete the setup from the user interface, or follow the CLI workflow to install the operating system, configure networks, and install the HA suite in sequence.

Set Up with the UI

Before you begin

  • You must install management node services on the selected two servers. For installation instructions, see Install the Management Node.
  • Ensure both management nodes have gateway addresses on the same network segment and have consistent NIC names.
  • Ensure both management nodes are running the same version.
  • Ensure the operating system type and architecture are supported and both management nodes run compatible operating system types.
  • Ensure both management nodes use the same license type.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the UI management interface of either management node.
    For a new environment that has not been initialized:
    1. In the Welcome to Initialization Wizard dialog, click Next. The system automatically detects the management node HA status.
    2. In the Set Up MN HA dialog, click Go to MN Ops.
    3. A new browser tab opens displaying the MN Ops page.
    Figure 49. Go to MN Ops from the Initialization Page


    For an existing environment:
    1. In the navigation pane, choose Reliability > MN Monitoring.
    2. On the MN Monitoring page, click Go to MN Ops.
    3. A new browser tab opens displaying the MN Ops page.
    Figure 50. Go to MN Ops from the MN Monitoring Page


  2. On the MN Monitoring page in MN Ops, click Set Up MN HA.
    Figure 51. MN Monitoring


  3. In the Set Up MN HA dialog, complete configuring MN, reviewing configuration, and setting up MN HA.
    1. For Configure MN, set the following parameters:
      • VIP: Configure the VIP for accessing the management interface of the management node environment.
        Note: Ensure the VIP is in the same network segment as the active management node IP.
      • Active MN IP: Display the IP address of the active management node. Specify the SSH username and password for the active management node.
      • Standby MN IP: Specify the IP address, SSH username, and SSH password for the standby management node.
        Note:
        • Ensure the standby management node IP is in the same network segment as the active management node IP.
        • When setting up management node HA, the management node password can contain English letters, numbers, and these special characters: -=[];,./~!@#$%^&*()_+|{}:<>?`. If your password does not meet this rule, update it before setting up management node HA.
      • Time Sync Server: Uses the active management node IP as the time synchronization server by default.
      • Force Sync: Disabled by default. If the databases between active and standby management nodes cannot synchronize automatically, run the zsha2 installation command forcibly on the active management node.
      • Database Password: If left blank, the initial database password will be used by default. If the password has been changed, enter the new password here.
      Figure 52. Configure MN


    2. Click Next.
      The system automatically checks if the requirements for addition are met.
    3. In the Review Configuration step, check the resource information of both active and standby management nodes.
      Note:
      1. Upon confirmation, the system will automatically back up databases from active and standby management nodes before proceeding.
      2. During this process, the active and standby MNs will shut down and the standby MN's database will be overwritten by the active MN's database. Proceed with caution.
      3. If you find that the standby management node contains more resources during the resource comparison, and you want to preserve these resources, we recommend that you select the Switch Active/Standby MNs checkbox. When selected, this option switches the roles of active and standby management nodes, using the resource-rich standby management node as the active management node to set up management node HA.
      Figure 53. Review Configuration


    4. Enter the confirmation information. Then, click OK.
    5. In the Set Up MN HA step, view the addition progress and task results.
      Figure 54. Set Up MN HA


  4. After the addition completes successfully, click Go to VIP to access the platform management interface through the VIP.
    Figure 55. Go to VIP


Set Up with the CLI

If you cannot set up management node HA from the user interface, or if you need finer-grained configuration during server deployment, you can set up management node HA from the CLI.

To set up management node HA from the CLI, complete the following operations in sequence:

  1. Install the operating system on both selected servers.
  2. Configure the management network.
  3. Configure the business network.
  4. Install the HA suite.

After completing these operations, log in to ZSphere through the VIP and check the management node HA service status.

Install the Operating System

In this scenario, you need to install the management node mode on both selected servers.

Procedure

  1. Select the boot option.
    Enter the ISO boot interface and choose the default option to start the operating system installation. You can select based on your actual situation, but we recommend using the graphical user interface (GUI) for installation. If the server does not have a VGA port and only supports serial connections, you can use either VNC or text mode installation methods.
    • GUI method
    • VNC method
    • Text mode method
    Figure 56. System Boot


  2. Select the installation mode.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Software Selection.
    2. On the SOFTWARE SELECTION page, choose the installation mode.
      Set the servers for management nodes to Management Node mode. Set the other servers to Compute Node mode.
    3. After selecting the installation mode, click Done.
    Figure 57. Select Installation Mode


  3. Configure the disk partitions.
    1. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Installation Destination to enter the INSTALLATION DESTINATION page.
    2. For Device Selection, we recommend that you only configure the system disk. After the system is installed, you can configure other disks.
    3. For Storage Configuration, we recommend selecting Automatic to automatically configure the disk partitions.
      If you need to manually configure disk partitions, refer to the following guidelines based on the BIOS boot mode:
      • UEFI Mode:
        • /boot: This directory stores the core files needed for Linux boot. We recommend allocating 1 GB of space.
        • /boot/efi: This directory stores the UEFI boot files. We recommend allocating 500 MB.
        • swap: This is the swap area. We recommend allocating 32 GB.
        • /: This is the root directory for the Linux system. We recommend allocating all remaining space.
      • Legacy Mode:
        • /boot: This directory stores the core files needed for Linux boot. We recommend allocating 1 GB of space.
        • swap: This is the swap area. We recommend allocating 32 GB.
        • /: This is the root directory for the Linux system. We recommend allocating all remaining space.
      Note:
      • The above values represent the recommended partition sizes for ZSphere (total disk capacity should be greater than 300 GB).
      • In Legacy mode, if the system disk capacity exceeds 2 TB, you need to configure a BIOS boot partition to support GPT partitioning. UEFI mode does not have this limitation and supports GPT partitioning.
    4. Review the configuration and click Done.
    Figure 58. Configure Disk Partitions


  4. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Root Password to set the root password for the operating system.
  5. On the INSTALLATION SUMMARY page, click Begin Installation to begin installing the operating system.

Configure the Management Network

About this task

The following tables list the network information for the management nodes and the VIP settings for Keepalived communication in this scenario.
Server NIC 1 NIC 2 Bond Bridge IP Address Netmask Gateway
MN 1 eth0 eth1 bond0 br_bond0 192.168.195.200 255.255.0.0 192.168.0.1
MN 2 eth0 eth1 bond0 br_bond0 192.168.196.125 255.255.0.0 192.168.0.1
- IP Address Netmask
VIP 192.168.199.151 255.255.0.0
Note:
  • The VIP is used to log in to the UI of the management node. Avoid using the VIP for SSH logins to the management nodes.
  • The above data is for example only. You need to modify it based on your actual deployment environment.
  • The gateway must be provided by physical network devices and will also serve as network status arbitration detection.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the MN 1 operating system and run the following commands. 
    # Create the bonded NIC bond0
[root@localhost ~]# zs-bond-lacp -c bond0

# Add NICs eth0 and eth1 to bond0
[root@localhost ~]# zs-nic-to-bond -a bond0 eth0
[root@localhost ~]# zs-nic-to-bond -a bond0 eth1

# After configuring the link aggregation, you need to set up LACP aggregation on the corresponding switch ports.

# Create the bridge br_bond0 and specify network IP, netmask, and gateway
[root@localhost ~]# zs-network-setting -b bond0 192.168.195.200 255.255.0.0 192.168.0.1

# Check if the aggregated port bond0 was created successfully
[root@localhost ~]# zs-show-network
...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Bond Name  | SLAVE(s)        | BONDING_OPTS                                     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| bond0      | eth0            | miimon=100 mode=4 xmit_hash_policy=layer2+3        |
|            | eth1            |                                                    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2. Log in to the MN 2 operating system and run the similar configuration commands.
    Note:
    • After adding eth0 and eth1 to bond0, you need to configure LACP aggregation on the corresponding switch ports. Otherwise, network communication will be disrupted.
    • After creating the bridge through bond0, the bridge will be named as br_bond0 to provide management network services.
    • You need to configure the bridge's IP address, netmask, and gateway according to your actual network environment.
    • Once you complete the management network configuration, use the ping command to test it. If configured correctly, the management network IP addresses of the two management nodes should be able to ping each other.
    • A 10 Gigabit or higher bandwidth is recommended for the management network. A 1 Gigabit bandwidth is acceptable if the network is deployed independently.

Configure the Business Network

About this task

The following table lists the configuration for the business network in this scenario.
Server NIC 1 NIC 2 Bond Bridge IP Address Netmask Gateway
MN 1 em1 em2 bond1 - - - -
MN 2 em1 em2 bond1 - - - -

Procedure

  1. Log in to the MN 1 operating system and run the following commands. 
    # Create the bonded NIC bond1
[root@localhost ~]# zs-bond-lacp -c bond1

# Add NICs em1 and em2 to bond1
[root@localhost ~]# zs-nic-to-bond -a bond1 em1
[root@localhost ~]# zs-nic-to-bond -a bond1 em2

# After configuring the link aggregation, you need to set up LACP aggregation on the corresponding switch ports.


# You do not need to create a bridge for business network

# Check if the aggregated port bond1 was created successfully
[root@localhost ~]# zs-show-network
...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Bond Name  | SLAVE(s)        | BONDING_OPTS                                     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| bond1      | em1            | miimon=100 mode=4 xmit_hash_policy=layer2+3        |
|            | em2            |                                                    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2. Log in to the MN 2 operating system and run the similar configuration commands.
    Note: After adding em1 and em2 to bond1, you need to configure LACP aggregation on the corresponding switch ports. Otherwise, network communication will be disrupted.

Install the HA Suite

After the operating system, management network, and business network are configured, install the HA suite to form a high availability environment with the two management nodes.

The HA suite supports the following installation methods:

Note: When installing the HA suite with the same configuration, the CLI method takes precedence over the configuration file method.

Install from the CLI

In this scenario, you have installed both servers as the ZSphere management nodes. To enable high availability for both nodes, you only need to install the HA suite on one of the nodes. If you install the HA suite on MN 1, MN 1 becomes the active management node and MN 2 becomes the standby management node.

Procedure

  1. Import the HA suite.
    Log in to the MN 1 operating system. Import the HA suite to MN 1 and unzip the HA suite.
    # Use scp to import HA suite to MN 1
[root@localhost ~]# ls
ZStack-ZSphere-Multinode-HA-Suite.tar.gz

# Unzip the suite to get two executable files: zsha2 and zstack-hamon
[root@localhost ~]# tar zxvf ZStack-ZSphere-Multinode-HA-Suite.tar.gz
zsha2 //Installation and management program for management node high availability
zstack-hamon //Monitoring program for management node high availability
  2. Initialize HA.
    Run the following command to install the HA suite on MN 1:
    [root@localhost ~]# chmod +x zsha2 zstack-hamon
[root@localhost ~]# ./zsha2 install-ha -nic br_bond0 -gateway 192.168.0.1 -slave "root:password@192.168.196.125" \
-vip 192.168.199.151 -myip 192.168.195.200 -db-root-pw zstack.mysql.password -time-server 192.168.196.125 -cidr 192.168.0.0/16 -yes
    Note:
    • After executing the installation command, the system will automatically back up the databases of the active and standby management nodes before proceeding with the installation.
    • To install the high availability suite, ensure that zsha2 and zstack-hamon are in the same directory. During the installation, zsha2 will automatically deploy zstack-hamon and the related configuration files.
  3. Check the management nodes status.
    After initializing the HA suite, run the following command to check the status of the management nodes:
    # Check the status of Management Node 1
[root@localhost ~]# zsha2 status
Status report from 192.168.195.200
=================================
Owns virtual address:            yes  // MN 1 has acquired the VIP. Only one management node can acquire the VIP at any given time.
Self 192.168.195.200 reachable:   yes // MN1 is reachable.
Gateway 192.168.0.1 reachable:    yes // Current gateway is reachable.
VIP 192.168.199.151 reachable:    yes // VIP is reachable.
Peer 192.168.196.125 reachable:   yes // MN 2 is reachable.
Keepalived status:               active // Keepalived service is active.
ZStack HA Monitor:               active // HA monitoring service is active.
MySQL status:                    mysqld is alive // Database is functioning normally.
MN status: Running [PID:6500] // Management node is operating normally.
UI status: Running [PID:9785] https://192.168.195.200:443 // UI is functioning normally.

Slave Status:
-------------
             Slave_IO_Running: Yes // Slave IO is running normally.
            Slave_SQL_Running: Yes // Slave SQL is running normally.
                   Last_Error:
        Seconds_Behind_Master: 0
                Last_IO_Error:
               Last_SQL_Error:

Warning: Permanently added '192.168.196.125' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
Status report from 192.168.196.125 // Check the status of Management Node 2
================================
Owns virtual address:            no
Self 192.168.196.125 reachable:    yes
Gateway 192.168.0.1 reachable:    yes
VIP 192.168.199.151 reachable:     yes
Peer 192.168.195.200 reachable:   yes
Keepalived status:               active
ZStack HA Monitor:               active
MySQL status:                    mysqld is alive

Slave Status:
-------------
             Slave_IO_Running: Yes
            Slave_SQL_Running: Yes
                   Last_Error:
        Seconds_Behind_Master: 0
                Last_IO_Error:
               Last_SQL_Error:

Note: visit ZStack UI with https://192.168.199.151:443
    Note: During the installation of the HA suite, SSH password-free login has been automatically configured for both management nodes.

Install from a Configuration File

In this scenario, you have installed both servers as the ZSphere management nodes. To enable high availability for both nodes, you only need to install the HA suite on one of the nodes. If you install the HA suite on MN 1, MN 1 becomes the active management node and MN 2 becomes the standby management node.

Procedure

  1. Import the HA suite.
    Log in to the MN 1 operating system. Import the HA suite to MN 1 and unzip the HA suite.
    # Use scp to import HA suite to MN 1
[root@localhost ~]# ls
ZStack-ZSphere-Multinode-HA-Suite.tar.gz

# Unzip the suite to get two executable files: zsha2 and zstack-hamon
[root@localhost ~]# tar zxvf ZStack-ZSphere-Multinode-HA-Suite.tar.gz
zsha2 //Installation and management program for management node high availability
zstack-hamon //Monitoring program for management node high availability
  2. Create the configuration file.
    Run the following commands to create the initialization configuration file for the HA suite:
    [root@localhost ~]# chmod +x zsha2 zstack-hamon
[root@localhost ~]# ./zsha2 sample-config > zs-install.config
[root@localhost ~]# cat zs-install.config
{
  "gateway": "192.168.0.1", // Arbiter gateway for active and standby management nodes
  "virtualIp": "192.168.199.151", // The VIP for Keepalived communication
  "myIp": "192.168.195.200", // Specify the local IP
  "peerIp": "192.168.196.125", // Specify the Peer management node IP
  "peerSshUser": "root", // Specify the SSH username for the Peer management node
  "peerSshPass": "password", // Specify the SSH password for the Peer management node
  "peerSshPort": 22, // Specify the SSH port for the Peer management node
  "dbRootPass": "zstack.mysql.password", // Specify the root password for the database on both management nodes (must be the same)
  "interface": "br_bond0", //Name of the physical device for configuring the VIP. Typically a management network bridge in production environments
  "timeServer": "192.168.196.125" //Specify the time synchronization server for unified time synchronization
}
  3. Initialize HA.
    Run the following command to install the HA suite:
    [root@localhost ~]# ./zsha2 install-ha -config zs-install.config
    Note:
    • After executing the installation command, the system will automatically back up the databases of the active and standby management nodes before proceeding with the installation.
    • To install the high availability suite, ensure that zsha2 and zstack-hamon are in the same directory. During the installation, zsha2 will automatically deploy zstack-hamon and the related configuration files.
  4. Check the management nodes status.
    After initializing the HA suite, run the following command to check the status of the management nodes:
    # Check the status of Management Node 1
[root@localhost ~]# zsha2 status
Status report from 192.168.195.200
=================================
Owns virtual address:            yes  // MN 1 has acquired the VIP. Only one management node can acquire the VIP at any given time.
Self 192.168.195.200 reachable:   yes // MN1 is reachable.
Gateway 192.168.0.1 reachable:    yes // Current gateway is reachable.
VIP 192.168.199.151 reachable:    yes // VIP is reachable.
Peer 192.168.196.125 reachable:   yes // MN 2 is reachable.
Keepalived status:               active // Keepalived service is active.
ZStack HA Monitor:               active // HA monitoring service is active.
MySQL status:                    mysqld is alive // Database is functioning normally.
MN status: Running [PID:6500] // Management node is operating normally.
UI status: Running [PID:9785] https://192.168.195.200:443 // UI is functioning normally.

Slave Status:
-------------
             Slave_IO_Running: Yes // Slave IO is running normally.
            Slave_SQL_Running: Yes // Slave SQL is running normally.
                   Last_Error:
        Seconds_Behind_Master: 0
                Last_IO_Error:
               Last_SQL_Error:

Warning: Permanently added '192.168.196.125' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
Status report from 192.168.196.125 // Check the status of Management Node 2
================================
Owns virtual address:            no
Self 192.168.196.125 reachable:    yes
Gateway 192.168.0.1 reachable:    yes
VIP 192.168.199.151 reachable:     yes
Peer 192.168.195.200 reachable:   yes
Keepalived status:               active
ZStack HA Monitor:               active
MySQL status:                    mysqld is alive

Slave Status:
-------------
             Slave_IO_Running: Yes
            Slave_SQL_Running: Yes
                   Last_Error:
        Seconds_Behind_Master: 0
                Last_IO_Error:
               Last_SQL_Error:

Note: visit ZStack UI with https://192.168.199.151:443
    Note: During the installation of the HA suite, SSH password-free login has been automatically configured for both management nodes.

Manage ZSphere Services

Check MN Service Status

You can use the zstack-ctl status command to check the running status of the services related to the ZSphere management node.
[root@localhost ~]# zstack-ctl status
ZSTACK_HOME: /usr/local/zstack/apache-tomcat/webapps/zstack
zstack.properties: /usr/local/zstack/apache-tomcat/webapps/zstack/WEB-INF/classes/zstack.properties
log4j2.xml: /usr/local/zstack/apache-tomcat/webapps/zstack/WEB-INF/classes/log4j2.xml
PID file: /usr/local/zstack/management-server.pid
log file: /usr/local/zstack/apache-tomcat/logs/management-server.log
version: 5.1.0 (ZStack-enterprise 5.1.0)
MN status: Running [PID:123135]
UI status: Running [PID:795] https://10.0.0.254:443
You can also use the zstack-ctl ui_status command to check the status of the Web UI separately.
[root@localhost ~]# zstack-ctl ui_status
UI status: Running [PID:8459] https://10.0.0.254:443

Change MN Service Status

If you need to restart the management node service without restarting the Web UI service during use, run the following command:
zstack-ctl restart_node
It is not recommended to stop and restart all services at once during use. If you must restart all services, you can run the following command:
zstack-ctl stop && zstack-ctl start
If the management node stops services due to maintenance or other issues, you need to start the services manually. To start the ZSphere service, run the following command:
# This command will start both the management node and Web UI services
[root@localhost ~]#zstack-ctl start

Check Service Status of MN HA

You can run the zsha2 status command to check if the zsha2 service is running normally.

Export Log of MN HA

You can run the following commands to collect logs related to zsha2 service:
[root@localhost ~]# zsha2 collect-log
Collecting logs ...
Collected log: zsha2-log-2018-09-17T154358+0800.tgz

# Unpack the log archive
[root@localhost ~]# tar zxvf zsha2-log-2021-01-17T154358+0800.tgz
tmp/zsha2-log588815976/
tmp/zsha2-log588815976/zsha2-status.log
tmp/zsha2-log588815976/zstack-ha.log
tmp/zsha2-log588815976/keepalived.data
tmp/zsha2-log588815976/zs-vip-192.168.199.151.log
tmp/zsha2-log588815976/keepalived_status.log

Log in to ZSphere

The platform uses HTTPS protocol by default and automatically redirects to port 443. You can simply enter the management node IP address in your browser to access the UI.

Before you begin

  • For a better experience, we recommend using Chrome 67 or later version with minimum screen resolution of 1280 × 900 px.
  • If the web page fails to load, check whether both the management node and UI service are running properly.

Procedure

  1. In a browser, enter the management node IP address in this format: https://management_node_ip.
    For a dual management node environment, use the VIP to access the UI.
  2. Enter your username and password.
    On your first login, the default username is admin and the initial default password is password.
  3. Click Log In.

What to do next

  • For more information about login policies, HTTPS/HTTP access, unified authentication, and certificates, see Security.
  • After the first login, continue to initialize ZSphere based on your deployment objective.

Initialize ZSphere

After you log in to ZSphere for the first time, you can use the initialization wizard to create basic resources so that the environment is ready for adding hosts, configuring storage, and creating virtual machines.

You can initialize the environment through the following methods:

  • Initialize manually
  • Restore from backup data

Notes during the initialization:

  • If you exit the Wizard midway, you will not be able to enter the Wizard again.
  • If no resources are created during the initialization, you can initialize the environment again from the Dashboard page.
  • If you accidentally exit the Wizard, you can delete the data center and re-enter the initialization wizard from the Dashboard page.
    Note: Deleting a data center will delete clusters, hosts, networks, and data storage resources, along with all subordinate resources of each resource. Proceed with caution.

Initialize Manually

You can follow the wizard to initiate a new environment by creating necessary resources, including data center, cluster, host, data storage, image storage, image and distributed port group.

Procedure

  1. In the Welcome to Initialization Wizard dialog, choose Initialize Manually.
  2. Click Next.
  3. On the Initialize Manually page, create a data center.
    1. Enter a name and description for the data center.
    2. Click OK.
  4. Create a cluster.
    1. Enter a name for the cluster.
    2. Select a CPU architecture for the cluster. Options include x86_64 and aarch64.
    3. Click OK.
  5. Add a host.
    1. Enter a name for the host.
    2. Enter the host IP address, SSH port, SSH username, and SSH password.
      Note: The host architecture must match the cluster's CPU architecture, otherwise host addition to the cluster will fail.
    3. Click OK.
      The addition process may take several minutes to complete.
  6. Add a data storage.
    1. Enter a name for the data storage.
    2. Select a data storage type. Options include local storage, ZCE distributed storage, and ZHPS distributed storage.
      • Local storage: Set mount path and host disk configurations.
        Note:
        • Avoid system directories such as /, /dev/, /proc/, /sys/, /usr/bin, and /bin for mount path. Using system directories might cause the hosts unable to work properly.
        • Host disk configuration will format the selected disks and completely erase all partitions, file systems, and data on the disk.
      • ZCE distributed storage: Set whether to enable key authentication, add monitoring node, and specify image cache pool, storage pool, and storage network.
        Note: Make sure the key authentication configuration is consistent with the platform configuration. Otherwise, virtual machine creation may fail.
      • ZHPS distributed storage: Enter IP address, port, username, and password. Add a storage pool.
      • ZBS distributed storage: Add MDS nodes and Enter the pool name of the storage pool.
    3. Click OK.
  7. Add an image storage.
    1. Enter a name for the image storage.
    2. Select the image storage type. Options include standalone image storage and distributed image storage.
      • Standalone image storage: Enter the image storage IP address, SSH port, username, and password. Complete the disk configurations, including addition method, mount path, whether to retrieve existing image, image sync network, and data network.
        Note:
        • If you select free disk for addition method, this configuration will format the selected disks and completely erase all partitions, file systems, and data on the disk.
        • Avoid system directories such as /, /dev/, /proc/, /sys/, /usr/bin, and /bin for mount path. Using system directories might cause the image storage unable to work properly.
      • Distributed image storage: Configure the monitoring node, including monitoring node IP address, SSH port, username, and password. Specify an image storage pool UUID as needed. If not specified, the platform creates one automatically.
    3. Click OK.
  8. Add an image.
    1. Select the image path. Options include URL and local file.
    2. Enter a name for the image.
    3. Select the image type. Options include system image and disk image.
    4. Select the image format. Options include qcow2, iso, vmdk, and raw.
    5. Click OK.
  9. Create a distributed port group.
    1. Enter a name for the distributed port group.
    2. Select the distributed switch for the distributed port group. Options include default switch and new switch.
      • Default switch: Automatically created based on host configuration when adding the first host to a cluster. Primarily used for host management network. You can reuse this switch for both management network and business networks.
      • New switch: To realize network separation between management network and business network, you can create a distributed switch as needed. This option is recommended for production environment. If you select this option, you need to configure aggregated interface configuration, uplink name, bond mode, hash policy, and host NC.
    3. Select the VLAN type. Options include none and standard VLAN.
      You need to specify a VLAN ID when selecting standard VLAN.
    4. Choose whether to enable the DHCP service.
      When enabled, you need to configure the network range method (IP range or CIDR), gateway, IP allocation policy, and DHCP IP.
    5. Enter a DNS.
    6. Click OK.
  10. The Manual Initialization Complete dialog appears. Click OK.
    You have completed the necessary resource creations for environment initialization. You may now start using the platform.

Restore from Backup Data

In the event of a disaster in the local data center, you can rely on the platform's database backup data to rebuild the data center and restore business. You can quickly restore the whole environment from an existing platform database backup using the initialization wizard.

Before you begin

You have at least one valid platform backup.

Procedure

  1. In the Welcome to Initialization Wizard dialog, choose Restore from Backup Data.
  2. Click Next.
  3. In the Restore from Backup Data dialog, set the following parameters to complete server configurations:
    Parameter Description
    Backup Storage IP Enter the IP address of the backup storage that stores the platform backup data.
    URL URL of the backup storage.
    SSH Port SSH port of the backup storage. Default is 22.
    Username Username of the backup storage.
    Password Password of the backup storage.
  4. Click Test Connection to validate network connectivity to the backup storage.
  5. After successful connection, set the following parameters to complete backup data configurations:
    Parameter Description
    Database Backup Select platform backup data.
    Note: To avoid management node start failure due to insufficient licensed quota, select the appropriate data to restore. You can click Update License to renew your licensed quota.
  6. Review the configuration and click OK.
  7. In the Restore Platform Database dialog, enter the database root password and click OK.
    Note: Restoring the platform database requires a management node restart, during which the management interface will be unavailable. This process takes a few minutes and does not affect your resources.
  8. After the platform database is successfully restored, click Log in Again.

What to do next

After platform database recovery, all resources on the platform will be recovered to the state at which the backup is created. Click Scan Backup Data in the local backup storage to obtain real-time backup data.

Overview

About This Document

This document describes how to prepare for an upgrade, upgrade a management node environment, upgrade a management node HA environment, and perform post-upgrade checks in a deployed ZSphere environment.

Intended Audience

This document is intended for administrators, implementation engineers, and operations engineers who upgrade and maintain ZSphere environments. Readers should understand the current deployment mode, management node access method, and basic Linux command-line operations.

Upgrade Paths

Select an upgrade path based on whether management node HA is configured in the current environment.

Environment Type Upgrade Path
ZSphere environment without management node HA Prepare for the upgrade, upgrade the management node environment, and then perform post-upgrade checks and handling.
ZSphere environment with management node HA Prepare for the upgrade, upgrade the HA suite and management node on the management node where the VIP resides, and then perform post-upgrade checks and handling.

Prepare for Upgrade

Before upgrading ZSphere, confirm the current environment version, prepare the required upgrade packages, and complete the required protection operations.

Procedure

  1. Check the current environment version and operating system version. 
    [root@localhost ~]# zstack-ctl status
[root@localhost ~]# cat /etc/redhat-release
  2. Obtain the installation and upgrade packages.
    Download the zstack-upgrade script, ISO package, installation and upgrade package, and management node HA suite as needed.
  3. Disable the HA policy.
    Before the upgrade, disable the global switch for VM high availability to avoid accidentally triggering VM HA during the upgrade. Enable the HA policy manually after the upgrade is complete.
    1. Log in to ZSphere.
    2. Click Reliability > HA Policy to go to the HA Policy page.
    3. Disable the HA policy switch.
  4. Back up the database and upgrade script.
    Log in to the management node operating system and run the following commands to back up the database and upgrade script for emergency recovery.
    # Back up the database to the /var/lib/zstack/mysql-backup/ directory
[root@localhost ~]# zstack-ctl dump_mysql --file-name zstack-db-backup

# Back up the upgrade script to the /root/ directory
[root@localhost ~]# cp /usr/local/bin/zstack-upgrade /root/zstack-upgrade-bk

Upgrade the Management Node Environment

This task applies to a ZSphere environment where management node HA is not configured.

Before you begin

Before performing this task, complete Prepare for Upgrade.

About this task

After preparing for the upgrade, log in to the management node operating system and select an offline upgrade method based on the prepared upgrade packages.

Procedure

  1. Select an offline upgrade method to upgrade ZSphere.

    • Recommended method: upgrade the local repository and management service.

      [root@zstack-1 opt]# zstack-upgrade ZStack-ZSphere-x86_64-DVD-5.1.0-H84r.iso

    • Step-by-step method: upgrade the local repository first, and then upgrade the management service.

      [root@zstack-1 opt]# zstack-upgrade -r ZStack-ZSphere-x86_64-DVD-5.1.0-H84r.iso
[root@zstack-1 opt]# bash ZStack-ZSphere-installer-5.1.0.bin -u -P MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
    Note:
    • If the database root password uses the system default password, you can omit the -P MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD parameter.
    • Before running the zstack-upgrade command, make sure that the prepared ISO matches the current upgrade path to avoid overwriting the local repository with an unmatched ISO.

What to do next

After the upgrade is complete, continue with Post-Upgrade Checks and Handling.

Upgrade the Management Node HA Environment

This task applies to a ZSphere environment where management node HA is configured.

Before you begin

Before performing this task, complete Prepare for Upgrade.

Procedure

  1. Obtain the IP address of the management node where the VIP resides.
    Run the following command to obtain the IP address of the management node where the VIP resides. In the returned results, the node whose VIP value is yes is the management node where the VIP resides.
    [root@localhost ~]# zsha2 status
  2. Unpack the HA suite and grant executable permissions.
    On the management node where the VIP resides, run the following commands in sequence to unpack the HA suite and grant executable permissions to the zsha2 and zstack-hamon files.
    # Unpack the HA suite
[root@localhost ~]# tar zxvf ZStack-ZSphere-Multinode-HA-Suite.tar.gz

# Grant executable permissions
[root@localhost ~]# chmod +x zsha2 zstack-hamon
  3. Upgrade the HA suite.
    On the management node where the VIP resides, run the following command to upgrade the HA suite.
    [root@localhost ~]# ./zsha2 upgrade-ha
  4. Run the zsha2 version command to check whether the commit id matches the one in the latest version package.
  5. Upgrade ZStack-ZSphere.
    On the management node where the VIP resides, run the following command to upgrade the virtualization platform.
    zsha2 upgrade-mn -peerpass password ZStack-ZSphere-x86_64-DVD-5.1.0-H84r.iso
    Note: -peerpass is optional. You can use it to specify the SSH login password of the peer management node.

What to do next

After the upgrade is complete, continue with Post-Upgrade Checks and Handling.

Post-Upgrade Checks and Handling

After the upgrade is complete, clear the browser cache, restore the HA policy as needed, and check service status and version information.

Procedure

  1. Clear the browser cache manually.
    To ensure that new features work properly, log in to the UI management interface after the upgrade is complete and press Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R to clear the browser cache manually.
  2. Enable the HA policy as needed.
    If you disabled the global switch for VM high availability before the upgrade, go to Reliability > HA Policy and enable the HA policy after the upgrade is complete and the environment is running properly.
  3. Check the management node service status and version information. 
    [root@localhost ~]# zstack-ctl status
[root@localhost ~]# zstack-ctl ui_status
[root@localhost ~]# cat /etc/redhat-release
  4. If you upgraded a management node HA environment, check the management node HA service status and version information. 
    [root@localhost ~]# zsha2 status
[root@localhost ~]# zsha2 version

Glossary

Data Center

A data center is the largest resource namespace within a virtualization platform, including resources such as clusters, hosts, data storage, distributed switches, and distributed port groups.

Cluster

A logical collection of a group of hosts (compute nodes).

Host

A host is an x86 or ARM physical server running a KVM virtualization hypervisor, providing resources such as computing, networking, and storage to virtual machines.

Virtual Machine Group

A logical grouping of virtual machines based on business needs.

Virtual Machine

A virtual machine is a virtualized host running on a physical host, capable of running an operation system and applications just like a physical host.

Disk

A disk provides storage space for a virtual machine. Disks are categorized into system disks and data disks.

System Disk

A system disk provides support for the system operations of a virtual machine.

Data Disk

A data disk provides extended storage space for a virtual machine.

Image

An image is a template file used by virtual machines or disks. Images are categorized into system images and disk images.

Image Storage

An image storage is a virtualized resource that provides storage space for image template files used by virtual machines or disks. An image storage can be categorized into standalone image storage and distributed image storage.

Standalone Image Storage

A standalone image storage stores image files through image slices and support incremental storage.

Distributed Image Storage

A distributed image storage stores image files through distributed block storage.

Data Storage

A data storage is a virtualized resource that provides storage space for virtual machines and their application data. A data storage can be categorized into local storage and network shared storage.

Local Storage

A local storage is storage resource constructed using the physical storage space of one or more hosts.

Netowrk Shared Storage

A storage system used for remote storage of virtual machines and their application data, accessible concurrently by hosts over a network.

Distributed Switch

A virtual switching device that provides unified virtual network management and monitoring for virtual machines within a cluster.

Distributed Port Group

A logical grouping of ports on a distributed switch, used for port configuration.

vNUMA Configuration

vNUMA uses CPU pinning to passthrough the topology of associated host physical NUMA (pNUMA) nodes to a virtual machine, generating a topology of virtual NUMA (vNUMA) nodes for the virtual machine. This topology enables a vCPU on a vNUMA node to primarily access the local memory and thus improves VM performance.

NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access)

Non-uniform memory access (NUMA) is a computer memory design where the memory access time depends on the memory location relative to the CPU. Under NUMA, a processor can access its own local memory faster than non-local memory and thus improves VM performance.

pNUMA Node (physical NUMA Node)

A pNUMA node (physical NUMA node) is a host NUMA node predefined based on the host NUMA architecture. It is used to manage the CPUs and memory of the host.

pNUMA Topology (physical NUMA Topology)

A pNUMA topology (physical NUMA topology) is the topology of the host NUMA nodes predefined by the CPU vendor based on the host NUMA architecture.

vNUMA Node (virtual NUMA Node)

A vNUMA node (virtual NUMA node) is generated by passing-through associated pNUMA nodes via CPU pinning. It is used to manage the CPUs and memory of a virtual machine.

vNUMA Topology (virtual NUMA Topology)

A vNUMA topology (virtual NUMA topology) is the topology of VM NUMA nodes generated by passing-through associated pNUMA nodes via CPU pinning.

Local Memory

Local memory is the memory that a CPU (pCPU or vCPU) accesses through the Uncore iMC (Integrated Memory Controller) of the same NUMA (pNUMA or vNUMA) node. Compared with accessing non-local memory, accessing local memory has lower latencies.

CPU Pinning

CPU pinning assigns the virtual CPUs (vCPUs) of a virtual machine to specific physical CPUs (pCPUs) of the host, which improves VM performance.

EmulatorPin Configuration

EmulatorPin assigns all other threads than virtual CPU (vCPU) threads and IO threads of a virtual machine to physical CPUs (pCPUs) of the host so that these threads run on assigned pCPUs.

Snapshot

A snapshot is a point-in-time capture of data status in a disk.

VM Scheduling Policy

A VM scheduling policy is a resource orchestration policy based on which virtual machines are assigned to hosts to achieve the high performance and high availability of businesses.

Management Node

A physical host where the system is installed, providing UI management and virtualization platform deployment capabilities.

Compute Node

Also known as a host, it is a physical server that provides computing, networking, and storage resources for virtual machines.

iSCSI Storage

iSCSI storage is an SAN storage that uses the iSCSI protocol for data transmission. You can add an iSCSI SAN block as a SAN storage or passthrough the block to a virtual machine.

FC Storage

FC storage is an SAN storage that uses the FC technology for data transmission. You can add an FC SAN block as a SAN storage or passthrough the block to a virtual machine.

NVMe Storage

A type of storage implemented via the NVMe-oF (NVMe over fabrics) protocol. You can add a block device configured from an NVMe storage as SAN storage.

Management Network

A management network is used to manage physical resources in the platform. For example, you can create a management network to manage access to hosts, data storage, and image storage.

Security Group

A security group provides security control services for VM NICs. It filters the ingress or egress TCP, UDP, and ICMP packets of VM NICs based on the specified security rules.

MN Monitoring

Management Node (MN) monitoring allows you to view the health status of each management node when you use multiple management nodes to achieve high availability.

Alarm

An alarm is used to monitor the status of time-series data and events and respond to the status change. Alarms can be categorized into resource alarm and event alarm.

Message Template

A message template specifies the text template of a resource alarm message or event alarm message sent to an SNS system.

Endpoint

An endpoint is a method that users obtain subscribed messages.

Alarm Message

An alarm message is a message sent the time when an alarm is triggered.

Operation Task

An operation task is a chronological record of operations on the specified objects and their operation results.

HA Task

HA task logs generated when the platform executes high availability procedures in accordance with the enabled HA policy.

Scheduling Task

Scheduling task logs generated when the platform executes dynamic resource scheduling operations after the cluster DRS is enabled.

Event

Event monitors and records all activities on the platform. You can use this feature to implement operation tracking, security analysis, troubleshooting, and automatic O&M.

Backup Plan

You can create a backup plan to back up local virtual machines or platform databases to a specified backup storage on a regular basis.

Local Backup Data

Local backup data of virtual machines or platform databases is stored in the local backup storage.

Local Backup Storage

A local backup storage is located at the local data center and is used to store local backup data.

Remote Backup Storage

A remote backup storage is located at the a remote data center and is used to store remote backup data.

Tag

A tag is used to mark resources. You can use a tag to search for and aggregate resources.

Custom Attribute

Custom attributes are user-defined key-value pairs in the platform that extend the resource tagging and management capabilities.

Single Sign-On

The Single Sign-On service supports seamless access to SSO systems. Through the service, related users can directly log in to the platform and manage resources.

Console Proxy

Console proxy allows you to log in to a virtual machine by using the IP address of a proxy.

AccessKey Management

An AccessKey pair is a security credential that one party authorizes another party to call API operations and access its resources in the platform. AccessKey pairs shall be kept confidential.

IP Blocklist/Allowlist

An IP blocklist or allowlist identifies and filters IP addresses that access the platform. You can create an IP allowlist or blocklist to improve access control of the platform.

User Management

A user can be created by the admin or synchronized from an authentication system. A user is managed by the admin. Resources created by a user are managed by the user.

Theme and Appearance

You can customize the theme and appearance of the platform.

Email Server

If you select Email as the endpoint of an alarm, you need to set an email server. Then alarm messages are sent to the email server.

Log Server

A log server receives management node logs or platform operation logs sent from the virtualization platform for centralized retention, search, and analysis.

System Parameters

System parameters allow you to configure settings that take effect on the whole platform.

HA Policy

HA Policy is a mechanism that ensures sustained and stable running of the business if virtual machine are unexpectedly stopped or are errored because of errors occurring to compute, network, or storage resources associated with the virtual machines. By enabling this feature, you can customize VM HA policies to ensure your business continuity and stability.

Bare Metal Template

With bare metal templates, preconfigured files can be quickly generated to achieve unattended bulk OS installation for bare metal instances.

Bare Metal Cluster

A bare metal cluster consists of bare metal chassis.

Deployment Server

An independent server used for providing PXE services and console proxies for bare metal chassis.

Bare Metal Chassis

Bare metal chassis is used to create bare metal instances and can be universally identified by the BMC interface and IPMI configuration.

Bare Metal Instance

A virtualized instance of bare metal chassis.
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