Build your own computing cloud system with Ubuntu

TipsMake.com - Are you intending to approach and test cloud computing technology? So start now. Through this article, we will step by step guide you to build a separate computing cloud system using Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) based on Eucalyptus platform .

Build your own computing cloud system with Ubuntu Picture 1

The system is made up of a cloud controller (Cloud Controller, also called front-end server) and one or more physical server controllers (Node Controller). Cloud controller for cloud computing computing environment management. You can install the default Ubuntu operating system, or create your own operating system image for virtualization. The physical server controller is where you can run the Virtual Machine (VM) version of the image file.

System requirements

At least two computers are needed to operate the cloud computing:

1. One machine acts as a front-end server (cloud controller or server cluster controller) with a minimum CPU configuration of 1 GHz speed, 512 MB memory, CD-ROM drive, 40 GB of free disk space , and Ethernet network adapter (Ethernet network adapter).
2. One or more machines as physical server controllers with CPU support virtualization technology (Virtualization Technology - VT), 1 GB memory, CD-Rom drive, 40 GB blank disk and Ethernet network card.

If you want to consult the list of Intel processors that support VT, click here. Or if using Windows, you can run the utility called SecurAble. On Linux, you can check by looking to see if 'vmx' or 'svm' is listed in the file / proc / cpuinfo . Run the command:

egrep '(vmx | svm)' / proc / cpuinfo.

However, it should be noted that this way only tells you if the system supports VT, the BIOS may still be set to disable it.

Prepare the installation process

First, use a computer with a CD burner or DVD burner to download the Ubuntu Server remix image file (we use version 9.10). Then, burn the ISO image file to a CD or DVD. If you plan to use the DVD, make sure the computer in the cloud has a DVD reader. If you are using Windows 7, you can open the ISO file and use the Windows burning utility. If not, you can download third party apps like DoISO.

Before proceeding with the installation, you need to make sure the participating computers are fully installed with necessary peripherals such as monitors, keyboards, and mice. Also, make sure the computers are networked so they can automatically configure the network connection.

Install Front-End server

The installation of front-end server is very simple. First, just insert the installation CD into the drive, in the boot menu select ' Install Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud ', press Enter . Select language and keyboard mode if necessary. When prompted, configure network settings.

When it comes to choosing Cloud Installation Mode cloud mode, press Enter to select the default option ' Cluster '. Next you will have to configure the time zone and partition settings. After partitioning the drive, the installation process will begin. After finishing, you will be prompted to initialize the user account.

Next, you will have to configure the proxy, automatically update and email. In addition, you must name the Eucalyptus Cluster. You will also set IP address information whereby the user will receive the dynamic address.

Install and register the physical server controller

This process is even easier. Again, first insert the installation disc into the drive, select ' Install Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud ' from the boot menu, press Enter . Set up general configuration if needed.

When it comes to selecting Cloud Installation Mode, the installer will automatically detect the existing server cluster and pre-select ' Node '. You just need to press Enter to continue. Setting the partition will be configured last.

Register the physical server controller

Before proceeding, you must know the physical server's IP address. Check with the following statement:

/ sbin / ifconfig

Next, you must install the ssh key of the front-end server for the physical server controller:

1. On the physical server controller, set a temporary password for eucalyptus users with the command:

   sudo passwd eucalyptus

2. On the front-end server, enter the following statement to copy the SSH key:

   sudo -u eucalyptus ssh-copy-id -i ~ eucalyptus / .ssh / id_rsa.pub eucalyptus @

3. Then, you can remove the eucalyptus account password on the physical server with the command:

   sudo passwd -d eucalyptus

4. After the physical server is ready and the key has been copied, run the following command from the front-end server to identify and add physical cloud computing servers to the cloud:

   sudo euca_conf --no-rsync --discover-nodes

Load user authentication information

Enter the following statements on the front-end server to create a new directory, export the compressed user credentials (User Credentials), then extract:

mkdir -p ~ / .euca
chmod 700 ~ / .euca
cd ~ / .euca
sudo euca_conf --get-credentials mycreds.zip
unzip mycreds.zip
cd -

User authentication information is also available via the web-based configuration utility. However, it will take more effort to download them and move to the server.

Setting up EC2 API and AMI tools

Now, you have to set up EC2 API and AMI tools on the front-end server. First, enter the following command to set up the Eucalyptus environment:

~ / .euca / eucarc

To do this automatically when you log in, enter the following statement to add the above statement to the ~ / .bashrc file :

echo "[-r ~ / .euca / eucarc] &&. ~ / .euca / eucarc" >> ~ / .bashrc

Next, to install the cloud computing user tool, enter the command:

sudo apt-get install ^ 31vmx32 ^ 4

To make sure everything is fine, enter the following statement to display the details of the server cluster available:

.~ / .euca / eucarc
euca-describe-availability-zones verbose

Access the web background control panel

You can now access the web-based configuration utility. From any computer on the same network, go to the following URL: https: //: 8443. The IP address of the cloud controller will be displayed immediately after logging in to the front-end server. Note that using HTTPS instead of just HTTP will be safer. You may encounter a security warning from a web browser because the server uses a self-signed authentication mechanism instead of a known processing mechanism by a CA (Certificate Authority). Ignore the warning by adding an exception. The connection will remain safe.

Authentication information when logged in is ' admin ' by default with both the Username and Password fields. When logging in for the first time, you will be prompted to set up a new password and email.

Photo settings

Now that you have set up a basic computing cloud, you can proceed to install the image. Open the web background control panel, click the Store tab, click the Install button for the image you want. The download process will start and then the image will automatically install. This will take a long time to complete.

Launch the image

Before launching the image on the physical server for the first time, run the following commands to create a double key (keypair) for SSH:

touch ~ / .euca / mykey.priv
chmod 0600 ~ / .euca / mykey.priv
euca-add-keypair mykey> ~ / .euca / mykey.priv

In addition, you need to open port 22 on the physical server using the following command:

euca-describe-groups
euca-authorize default -P tcp -p 22 -s 0.0.0.0/0

You can finally launch the image. The command to launch the image is on the web interface. Login to the web interface, click the Store tab and select the How to Run link with the image you want. It will display a popup with the correct statement.

The first time you run the instance, you will have to wait a while for the image to be saved. You can check the version status by running the command:

watch -n5 euca-describe-instances

When it converts the word 'pending' to 'running', reference the assigned IP address and connect to it:

IPADDR = $ (euca-describe-instances | grep $ EMI | grep running | tail -n1 | awk '{print $ 4}')
ssh -i ~ / .euca / mykey.priv ubuntu @ $ IPADDR

To cancel the SSH connection for the version, run the command:

INSTANCEID = $ (euca-describe-instances | grep $ EMI | grep running | tail -n1 | awk '{print $ 2}')
euca-terminate-instances $ INSTANCEID

Maintain cloud computing

At this point, you have a stable cloud of computing. If you encounter any problems during operation, you should consult the official documentation. Before stopping the article here, I would like to give you some additional working commands:

1. To restart the front-end server, run the command:
   sudo service eucalyptus [start | stop | restart]
2. To refresh the physical server, run the command:
   sudo service eucalyptus-nc [start | stop | restart]

Here is the location of some important files:

1. Log file:
   / var / log / eucalyptus
2. Configuration file:
   / etc / eucalyptus
3. Database:
   / var / lib / eucalyptus / db
4. Lock up:
   / var / lib / eucalyptus
   /var/lib/eucalyptus/.ssh