Clusters

Overview

Infrastructure > Clusters is for creating and managing Kubernetes Clusters, Morpheus manager Docker Clusters, KVM Clusters, or Cloud specific Kubernetes services such as EKS, AKS and GKE.

Cluster Types

Name

Description

Provider Type

Kubernetes Cluster

Provisions by default a Kubernetes cluster consisting of 1 Kubernetes Master and 3 Kubernetes Worker nodes. Additional system layouts available including Master clusters. Custom layouts can be created.

Kubernetes

Docker Cluster

Provisions by default a Morpheus controlled Docker Cluster with 1 host. Additional hosts can be added. Custom layouts can be created. Existing Morpheus Docker Hosts are automatically converted to Clusters upon 4.0.0 upgrade.

Docker

EKS Cluster

Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) Clusters

Kubernetes

AKS Cluster

Azure AKS (Azure Kubernets Service) Clusters

Kubernetes

Ext Kubernetes

Brings an existing (brownfield) Kubernetes cluster into Morpheus

Kubernetes

GKE Cluster

Google Cloud GKE (Google Kubernetes Engine) Clusters

Kubernetes

MVM Cluster

Morpheus Virtual Machines, a KVM-based virtualization solution. This Cluster type is currently in open beta. See the detailed section below on MVM Clusters for complete use documentation.

KVM

Note

Refer to clusterLayouts for supported Clouds per Cluster Type.

Requirements

  • Morpheus Role permission Infrastructure: Clusters > Full required for Viewing, Creating, Editing and Deleting Clusters.

  • Morpheus Role permission Infrastructure: Clusters > Read required for Viewing Cluster list and detail pages.

Cluster Permissions

  • Cluster Permissions

    Each Cluster has Group, Tenant and Service Plan access permissions settings (“MORE” > Permissions on the Clusters list page).

  • Namespace Permissions

    Individual Namespaces also have Group, Tenant and Service Plan access permissions settings

MVM Clusters

Important

MVM clusters are currently in an open beta. They are not part of the standard Morpheus license and are licensed as a separate product. During the open beta, all Morpheus appliances will be able to provision one MVM cluster with up to three nodes for testing purposes. MVM is not yet ready for production workloads and should only be used on a test basis. Expect that MVM Cluster capabilities, as well as this documentation, will change significantly over the coming months.

MVM virtualization solution is a hypervisor clustering technology utilizing KVM. Beginning with just a few basic Ubuntu boxes, Morpheus can create a cluster of hypervisor hosts complete with monitoring, failover, easy migration of workloads across the cluster, and zero-downtime maintenance access to hypervisor host nodes. All of this is backed by Morpheus Tenant capabilities, a highly-granular RBAC and policy engine, and Instance Type library with automation workflows.

Features

Host Features

  • Automated MVM cluster provisioning

  • CEPH storage configuration for multi-node clusters

  • CEPH summary, a high-level dashboard of CEPH components and status

  • DRS, automatic rebalancing of clusters based on resource consumption

  • Compatibility validation of network and storage devices at time of cluster provisioning

  • Hypervisor console

  • Configuration and deployment of OVS networks (VLANs)

  • Cluster and individual host monitoring

  • Add hosts to existing clusters

  • Console support for cluster hosts

  • Add, edit and remove networks and data stores from clusters

  • Gracefully take hosts out of service with maintenance mode

  • Migration of workloads across hosts

  • Configurable automatic failover of running workloads when a host is lost

  • Ability to add and provision to fibre channel storage resources or iSCSI storage resources via GFS2 or OCFS2 filesystem

  • Integration with Morpheus costing

  • Governance through Morpheus RBAC, Tenancy, and Policies

VM Features

  • Workload provisioning and monitoring (Linux or Windows workloads)

  • Console support for running workloads

  • Affinity placement, pin VMs to hosts

  • Brownfield discovery of existing VMs

  • Reconfigure VM sizing

  • Disk migration across datastores

  • UEFI support

  • Migration of VMs across hosts

  • Configure automatic failover for individual VMs in the event a host is lost

  • Reconfigure running workloads to resize plan, add/remove disks, and add/remove network interfaces

  • Backup and restore MVM workloads, with optional synthetic full backups

  • Clone VMs

  • Take snapshots and revert to snapshots

  • Morpheus library and automation support

  • Integration with Morpheus costing features

Base Cluster Details

An MVM cluster using the hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) Layout consists of at least three hosts. Physical hosts are recommended to experience full performance of the MVM solution. In smaller environments, it is possible to create an MVM cluster with three nested virtual machines, a single physical host (non-HCI only), or a single nested virtual machine (non-HCI only) though performance may be reduced. With just one host it won’t be possible to migrate workloads between hosts or take advantage of automatic failover. Currently, a host must be a pre-existing Ubuntu 22.04 box with environment and host system requirements contained in this section. Morpheus handles cluster configuration by providing the IP address(es) for your host(s) and a few other details. Details on adding the cluster to Morpheus are contained in the next section.

Hardware Requirements

  • Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04

  • CPU: One or more 64-bit x86 CPUs, 1.5 GHz minimum with Intel VT or AMD-V enabled

  • Memory: 4 GB minimum. For non-converged Layouts, configure MVM hosts to use shared external storage, such as an NFS share or iSCSI target. Converged Layouts utilize Ceph for clustered storage and require a 4 GB minimum memory per Ceph disk

  • Disk Space: For converged storage, a data disk of at least 500 GB is required for testing. More storage will be needed for production clusters. An operating system disk of 15 GB is also required. Clusters utilizing non-converged Layouts can configure external storage (NFS, etc.) while Morpheus will configure Ceph for multi-node clusters

  • Network Connectivity: MVM hosts must be assigned static IP addresses. They also need DNS resolution of the Morpheus appliance and Internet access in order to download and install system packages for MVM dependencies, such as KVM, Open vSwitch (OVS), and more

Note

Ubuntu 22.04 uses netplan for networking and it is the responsibility of the customer to establish recommended networking configurations prior to provisioning an MVM cluster. To configure a static IP address, change into the directory holding the config files (cd /etc/netplan) and edit the existing configuration file (/etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml or /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml or /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml). If desired, backup the existing configuration prior to editing it (cp /etc/netplan/<file-name>.yaml /etc/netplan/<file-name>.yaml.bak). For additional information on configuration file formatting, refer to netplan documentation. Once the configuration is updated, validate and apply it (netplan try). The try command will validate the configuration and apply it if it’s valid. If invalid, it will automatically be rolled back.

Note

Clustered storage needs as much network bandwidth as possible. Network interfaces of at least 10 Gbps with jumbo frames enabled are required for clustered storage and for situations when all traffic is running through the management interface (when no compute or storage interface is configured). It’s highly likely that performance will be unacceptable with any lower configurations.

MVM Network Communication Ports

Description

Source

Destination

Port

Protocol

Morpheus Agent communication with the Morpheus appliance

MVM Host

Morpheus appliance server

443

TCP

MVM host configuration and management

Morpheus appliance server

MVM Host

22

TCP

MVM interhost communication for clustered deployments

MVM Host

MVM Host

22

TCP

Morpheus server SSH access for deployed virtual machines

Morpheus appliance server

MVM-hosted virtual machines

22

TCP

Morpheus server WinRM (HTTP) access for deployed virtual machines

Morpheus appliance server

MVM-hosted virtual machines

5985

TCP

Morpheus server WinRM (HTTPS) access for deployed virtual machines

Morpheus appliance server

MVM-hosted virtual machines

5986

TCP

Ceph Storage

MVM Host

MVM Host

3300

TCP

Ceph Storage

MVM Host

MVM Host

6789

TCP

Ceph MDS/OSD

MVM Host

MVM Host

6800-7300

TCP

Example Cluster Deployment

In this example cluster, each host box consists of:

  • 4 vCPU

  • 16 GB memory

  • 20 GB OS boot disk

  • 250 GB data disk (deployed to /dev/sdb)

  • 3 network interfaces for management, storage, and compute traffic (set to eth0, eth1, and eth2, respectively, in this example. Your environment may differ.)

Note

250 GB data disks used in this example are simply for demonstration purposes. A typical test cluster should consist of at least 500 GB storage and more will be required for production. Do not raid disks on physical servers. Currently, only one data disk may be used, which is given in the DATA DEVICE configuration during cluster setup. In the very near future, an update will be provided to allow multiple data disks to be used. These will be added to the total Ceph storage in one large volume. Until that update, only one data disk may be given in the configuration.

MVM clusters must also live in Morpheus-type Clouds (See Infrastructure > Clouds). A pre-existing Morpheus Cloud may be used or a new Cloud could be created to handle MVM management.

Provisioning the Cluster

As mentioned in the previous section, this example is starting with three provisioned Ubuntu 22.04 boxes. I also have a Morpheus-type Cloud to house the cluster. Begin the cluster creation process from the Clusters list page (Infrastructure > Clusters). Click + ADD CLUSTER and select “MVM Cluster”.

../../_images/createClusterClosed.png

Morpheus gives the option to select a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) LAYOUT or non-HCI. In this example, the HCI Layout is used (requires a three-node minimum). Next, configure the names and IP addresses for the host boxes (SSH HOST). The SSH HOST name configuration is simply a display name in Morpheus, it does not need to be a hostname. By default, configuration space is given for three hosts which is what this example cluster will have. You must at least configure one and it’s possible to add more by clicking the (+) button. The SSH PORT is pre-configured for port 22, change this value if applicable in your environment. Next, set a pre-existing user on the host boxes (SSH USERNAME and SSH PASSWORD) and SSH KEY. Use a regular user with sudo access.

../../_images/createClusterTop.png

In the next part of the modal, you’ll configure the storage devices and network interfaces. When Ceph initializes, it needs to be pointed to an initial data device. Configure this in the DATA DEVICE field. At this time, only one device may be given but in the near future, an update will allow for multiple devices to be configured which would be added to the total Ceph storage as one large volume. Find your disk name, if needed, with the lsblk command. In my case, the target device is located at /dev/sdb.

Though not strictly required, it’s recommended to have separate network interfaces to handle cluster management, storage traffic, and compute. In this example case, eth0 is configured as the MANAGEMENT NET INTERFACE which handles communication between the cluster hosts. eth1 is configured as the STORAGE NET INTERFACE and eth2 is configured as the COMPUTE NET INTERFACE. The COMPUTE VLANS field can take a single value (ex. 1) or a range of values (ex. 22-25). This will create OVS port group(s) selectable as networks when provisioning workloads to the cluster. If needed, you can find your network interface names with the ip a command.

Finally, only one CPU TYPE is currently supported (x86_64) though this may change in the future. For CPU MODEL configuration, we surface the entire database of model configurations from libvirt. If unsure or if you don’t know of a specific reason to choose one or the other, select host-model which is the default option.

../../_images/createClusterBottom.png

At this point we’ve kicked off the process for configuring the cluster nodes. Drill into the Cluster detail page and click on the History tab. Here we can monitor the progress of configuring the cluster. Morpheus will run scripts to install KVM, install Ceph, install OVS, and to prepare the cluster. In just a short time, the cluster provisioning should complete and the cluster will be ready to deploy workloads.

Provisioning a Workload

At this point, the cluster is ready for workloads to be provisioned to it. The system default Ubuntu Instance Type contains a compatible Layout for MVM deployment. Add an Instance from the Instances list page (Provisioning > Instances). After selecting the Instance Type, choose a Group that allows for selection of the Morpheus-type Cloud containing the MVM cluster.

../../_images/groupCloud.png

After moving to the next tab, select a Plan based on resource needs. From the RESOURCE POOL field, select the desired MVM cluster. When configuring VOLUMES for the new workload, note that space can be claimed from the Ceph volume. Within NETWORKS, we can add the new workload to one of the VLANS set up as part of cluster creation. Finally, note that we can choose the HOST the workload should run on.

../../_images/configureTab.png

Review and complete the provisioning wizard. After a short time, the workload should be up and running. With a workload now running on the cluster, we can take a look at some of the monitoring, migration, failover, and other actions we can take for workloads running on MVM clusters.

Monitoring the Cluster

With the server provisioned and a workload running, take a look at the monitoring and actions capabilities on the cluster detail page (Infrastructure > Clusters, then click on the new MVM cluster). View cluster performance and resource usage (Summary and Monitoring tabs), drill into individual hosts (Hosts tab), see individual workloads (VMs tab), and more.

Moving Workloads Between Hosts

To manually move workloads between hosts, drill into the detail page for the VM (from the VMs tab of the cluster detail page). Click ACTIONS and select “Manage Placement”. Choose a different host and select from the following placement strategies:

  • Auto: Manages VM placement based on load

  • Failover: Moves VMs only when failover is necessary

  • Pinned: Will not move this workload from the selected host

../../_images/managePlacement.png

Within a short time, the workload is moved to the new host.

Adding hosts

The process of adding hosts to a pre-existing cluster is very similar to the process of provisioning the cluster initially. The requirements for the new worker node will be identical to the nodes initially added when the cluster was first provisioned. See the earlier sections in this guide for additional details on configuring the worker nodes.

To add the host, begin from the MVM Cluster detail page (selected from the list at Infrastructure > Clusters). From the Cluster detail page, click ACTIONS and select “Add Worker”. Configurations required are the same as those given when the cluster was first created. Refer to the section above on “Provisioning the Cluster” for a detailed description of each configuration.

Once Morpheus has completed its configuration scripts and joined the new worker node to the cluster, it will appear in a ready state within the Hosts tab of the Cluster detail page. When provisioning workloads to this Cluster in the future, the new node will be selectable as a target host for new Instances. It will also be an available target for managing placement of existing VMs running on the cluster.

Note

It’s useful to confirm all scripts related to creating the new host and joining the new host to the cluster completed successfully. To confirm, navigate to the detail page for the new host (Infrastructure > Clusters > Selected Cluster > Hosts Tab > Selected Host) and click on the History tab. Confirm all scripts, even those run on the pre-existing hosts, completed successfully as it’s possible the new host was added successfully (green status) but failed in joining the cluster. When such a situation occurs it may appear adding the new host was successful though it will not be possible to provision workloads onto it due to not joining the cluster successfully.

../../_images/addHost.png

Maintenance Mode

MVM cluster hosts can be easily taken out of service for maintenance when needed. From the host detail page, click ACTIONS and then click “Enter Maintenance.” When entering maintenance mode, the host will be removed from the pool. Live VMs that can be migrated will be moved to new hosts. VMs that are powered off will also be moved when possible. When a live VM cannot be moved (such as if it’s “pinned” to the host), the host will not go into maintenance mode until that situation is cleared. You could manually move a VM to a new host or you could power it down if it’s non-essential. After taking that action, attempt to put the host into maintenance mode once again. Morpheus UI provides a helpful dialog which shows you which VMs live on the host are to be moved as the host goes into maintenance mode. When maintenance has finished, go back to the ACTIONS menu and select “Leave Maintenance.”

../../_images/enterMaintenance.png

Failover

MVM supports automatic failover of running workloads in the event of the loss of a host. Administrators can control the failover behavior through the “Manage Placement” action on any running VM. From the VM detail page, click ACTIONS and select “Manage Placement”. Any VM with a placement strategy of “Auto” or “Failover” will be eligible for an automatic move in the event its host is lost. When the loss of a host does occur, the workload will be up and running from a different cluster host within just a short time if it’s configured to be moved during an automatic failover event. Any VMs pinned to a lost host will not be moved and will not be accessible if the host is lost. When the host is restored, those VMs will be in a stopped state and may be restarted if needed.

This three-node cluster has three VMs running on the first host:

../../_images/threeRunningWorkloads.png

Each of these VMs is configured for a different failover strategy. When the host is lost, we should expect to see the first two VMs moved to an available host (since they have the “Auto” and “Failover” placement strategies, respectively). We should not see the third VM moved.

../../_images/auto.png ../../_images/failover.png ../../_images/pinned.png

After loss of the host these three VMs were running on, we can see the lost host still has one associated VM in a stopped state. The other two VMs are running on a second host which is still available.

../../_images/lostNode.png ../../_images/liveNode.png

When the lost host returns, the moved VMs will come back to their original host. The third VM is associated with this host as well and is in a stopped state until it is manually restarted.

Adding an NFS Datastore

Existing NFS shares can be used with Morpheus MVM clusters for virtual machine storage. These are added and viewed from the Storage tab of the MVM cluster detail page and, once added and active, become selectable as targets for virtual machine storage.

Note

Ensure NFS is properly configured to allow all of the MVM hosts to access the shared directory, including permissions to read and write. For backup purposes, it’s also helpful to give Morpheus access to NFS.

Start by navigating to the Storage tab of the MVM cluster detail page. Make sure the Data Stores subtab is also selected. Here you will see a list of existing datastores with some additional information, such as type, capacity, and status. Click ADD. Enter the NAME for the datastore in Morpheus and select the TYPE as NFS Pool. Note that the datastore name cannot be changed once it has been created. This will update the available fields to include the additional fields needed to integrate the NFS server. Enter the SOURCE HOST which is the hostname or the IP address of the NFS server. Finally, enter the SOURCE DIRECTORY which is the directory path of the NFS share. Click SAVE.

Once the modal is saved, it will take a few minutes to initialize the new datastore and show a successful online status in Morpheus. Once this initialization process is completed, the datastore can now be used as VM storage for cluster.

../../_images/addNfsDatastore.png

Image Prep (Windows)

This section will go through the steps to prepare a Windows image which can be successfully provisioned to MVM clusters. Additionally, this image can serve as a template from which additional images and Morpheus Library items can be built. In this example case, we’ll start from downloading a Windows Server 2019 ISO directly from the Microsoft download center and go all the way through to creating a new Instance Type in Morpheus that users can provision on-demand.

With the Windows ISO already downloaded, begin by uploading the ISO as a Virtual Image in Morpheus. Virtual Images are added in Library > Virtual Images. Click + ADD and then choose “ISO.” Before adding the file itself, set the following configurations on the Virtual Image:

  • NAME: A name for the Virtual Image in Morpheus, such as “Windows Server 2019 ISO”

  • OPERATING SYSTEM: “windows server 2019”

  • MINIMUM MEMORY: Filters out Service Plans at provision time which do not meet the minimum value. For this image type, I’ve set 4 GB

In addition to the above, there are a number of checkbox configurations here (many of them are in the expandable “Advanced” section), some of which are checked by default. They should all be unchecked except for “VIRTIO DRIVERS LOADED?” within the “Advanced” expandable section.

With the configurations set, it’s time to upload the ISO to Morpheus. Keep in mind that if you do not specify a bucket in which the file should be uploaded, it will be uploaded to the appliance itself. If you choose to do this, be sure you have enough space to store the images you need. Within the UPLOAD VIRTUAL IMAGE modal is a large dropzone labeled “Drop Files Here.” You can drag and drop the ISO file here or you can click the button labeled “Add File” and browse for it. A progress bar will appear, wait until the file is completely uploaded before you save and dismiss the modal. After the file has completely uploaded, click SAVE CHANGES.

../../_images/progress.png

Next, we’ll provision a VM from the ISO using the built-in MVM Instance Type. Once running, we will configure the VM to any specific requirements and convert it to a template. Navigate to Provisioning > Instances and click + ADD. On the TYPE tab of the Instance provisioning wizard, we select the Instance Type to provision. In this case, select “MVM” and click NEXT.

../../_images/provisionMvmInstanceType.png

On the GROUP tab, select the Group and Cloud containing the target MVM Cluster and provide a name for the new Instance. In my case, I have an automatic naming policy setting my Instance name, but depending on your appliance configuration you may need to enter a custom name. Click NEXT.

../../_images/groupTab.png

On the CONFIGURE tab, first select the IMAGE. Select the Windows server ISO that was uploaded in the previous step. Based on the minimum memory configuration that was set on the Virtual Image, Plans which are too small will be filtered out. Among compatible Plans, select one that meets your requirements. Next, set the RESOURCE POOL, which is the MVM cluster you’re targeting. Configure disks and disk sizes, as well as network details (this will vary based on MVM cluster configuration). Finally, select the HOST, which is the MVM host within the cluster that the new Instance should initially be provisioned onto.

../../_images/configTabTop.png

As a final step, we need to also expand the “Advanced Options” section and make sure “ATTACH VIRTIO DRIVERS” is checked. This will attach an ISO containing the VirtIO drivers which we’ll use later. Click NEXT.

../../_images/configTabBottom.png

The final two tabs of the wizard, AUTOMATION and REVIEW, do not require any configuration changes though you may want to review the Instance settings on the final tab. When done, click COMPLETE.

Click on the newly provisioning Instance from the Instances list page. Since this image is being provisioned for the first time, the image must be uploaded to the MVM host. This can take a little bit of time but any future attempts to provision workloads from this image will skip this step. Wait for the Instance to fully complete and appear in a green “Ready” status.

Once the Instance has fully finished provisioning, launch a console session by clicking ACTIONS and then “Open Console.” This will open a new window with a console session into the VM.

../../_images/initialConsole.png

After selecting the language, click “Next.” On the following screen, click “Install Now.” This will begin the Windows setup process on our new VM. You’ll next select the operating system type you wish to install. For this example, I’m installing 2019 standard with desktop experience. Click “Next.”

../../_images/chooseOs.png

Accept the licensing terms and click “Next.”

../../_images/eula1.png

On the next screen, choose a custom install.

../../_images/clickInstall.png

The next screen asks where Windows should be installed and may be empty. Click “Load Driver” to locate the mounted disk image containing the VirtIO drivers. The search should return a number of VirtIO SCSI controller packages for various Windows flavors. Select the proper package for the Windows version being installed. Click “Next.”

../../_images/selectVirtioPackage.png

After a moment, we’re back at the screen asking where Windows should be installed. We should see the disk(s) of size and type selected at the time the VM was provisioned. Select the proper disk and click “Next.” The Windows installation will now begin. Once Windows has fully installed, proceed to the next step.

../../_images/selectDisk.png

Following installation, Windows will restart and prompt for an Administrator user password. Set the password and log in as Administrator. Currently, there are no network interfaces configured. We need to install the VirtIO drivers to get this machine onto the network. We have a disk image mounted with the driver installer so we need to navigate to that drive and launch the installer. Open Windows Explorer and locate the drive in the side bar. In my case, it’s the E: drive. Right-click on virtio-win-gt-x64 and select “Install.”

../../_images/windowsExp.png

Step through the installer. Simply click “Next” or “Install” through each step, there are no configuration changes needed. Once the installer has completed, click “Finish.” Next, complete the same process for virtio-win-guest-tools` going all the way through until the installer has completed. You can confirm we now have a network interface by opening a Command Prompt session and using the ipconfig command. One network adapter should be listed.

../../_images/showInterface.png

We can now eject the two virtual disks, drives D: and E: in my case. Then, launch Windows Security so we can disable firewalls. Turn off firewall for domain, private network, and public network.

../../_images/winDefender.png

Next, back in Command Prompt, run winrm quickconfig to configure winrm. Within Services, ensure that winrm (Windows Remote Management) is set to automatic on startup. Right-click on the Start button and select Run. Enter “sysprep” and click OK. In the Windows Explorer window that appears, right-click on sysprep and click “Run as Administrator”. Under “Shutdown Options”, choose Quit and click OK. If this is set to shutdown, Morpheus will simply restart the VM. Once this is completed, a new file Sysprep_succeeded.tag appears in Windows Explorer.

../../_images/sysprepComplete.png

We’re now done configuring Windows and the console window can be closed. We’ll move on to creating a template from the VM we just configured. Begin by opening an SSH session into the Morpheus appliance server. Confirm jq is up to date on the appliance box (apt install jq). Then, go ahead and stop the running Windows VM. We can do this from the Instance detail page in Morpheus. Click ACTIONS and then “Stop Server.” Still on the Instance detail page, click ACTIONS and then “Import as Image.” This will perform a snapshot and create a new Virtual Image (Library > Virtual Images).

../../_images/importImage.png

The Virtual Image is not usable until it’s in an active status and the UI indication may display an active status even before it’s fully ready. If it’s “SAVING” or “QUEUED,” it is still being prepared and saved. To determine the current status of the Virtual Image, check with a call to Morpheus API like the one below. When the return output lists a status of “Active,” the image is ready to be provisioned from.

curl -k --request GET --url https://xx.xx.xx.xx/api/virtual-images/<id>
--header 'accept: application/json' --header 'authorization: Bearer xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx' |
jq '.virtualImage.status'

Once saved, additional configurations are needed on the Virtual Image in Morpheus. Edit the new Virtual Image and check the following configurations:

  • MINIMUM MEMORY: Set as appropriate

  • SYSPREPPED/GENERALIZED IMAGE?: Checked

  • INSTALL AGENT?: Checked

  • USERNAME: Remove if present

  • PASSWORD: Remove if present

  • VIRTIO DRIVERS LOADED?: Checked

All other checkbox-type configurations not mentioned in the above list should be unchecked. Click SAVE CHANGES.

At this point all image preparation steps are completed. Morpheus library items can now be created from this image by adding new Node Types, Layouts, and Instance Types. The complete steps for building a library item go beyond the scope of this particular guide but more detail on that process is available elsewhere in Morpheus UI documentation. Once the library items are created, new Instances may be provisioned complete with Morpheus Agent installed.

Kubernetes Clusters

Requirements

  • Agent installation is required for Master and Worker Nodes. Refer to Morpheus Agent section for additional information.

  • Access to Cloud Front, Image copy access and permissions for System and Uploaded Images used in Cluster Layouts

    Image(s) used in Cluster Layouts must either exist in destination cloud/resource or be able to be copied to destination by Morpheus, typically applicable for non-public clouds. For the initial provision, Morpheus System Images are streamed from Cloud Front through Morpheus to target destination. Subsequent provisions clone the local Image.

  • System Kubernetes Layouts require Master and Worker nodes to access to the following over 443 during K8s install and configuration:

  • Morpheus Role permission Infrastructure: Clusters > Full required for Viewing, Creating, Editing and Deleting Clusters.

  • Morpheus Role permission Infrastructure: Clusters > Read required for Viewing Cluster list and detail pages.

Creating Kubernetes Clusters

Provisions a new Kubernetes Cluster in selected target Cloud using selected Layout.

Note

When deploying a highly-available Kubernetes cluster, it’s important to note that Morpheus does not currently auto-deploy a load balancer. Additionally, when Morpheus runs the kubeadm init command in the background during cluster provisioning, it also sets the --control-plane-endpoint flag to the first control plane node. This is a hard-coded behavior. To accomplish a highly-available cluster, users may wish to update the configured control plane endpoint, such as to a DNS name pointing to a load balancer. We are currently investigating updates to the product that would allow the user to specify such a DNS name prior to kicking off cluster provisioning. Additionally, users can circumvent this issue by configuring and deploying their own custom Cluster Layouts.

Morpheus maintains a number of default Kubernetes Cluster Layouts which are updated frequently to offer support for current versions. AKS & GKE Kubernetes versions will dynamically update to the providers supported versions. Morpheus also supports creation of custom Kubernetes Cluster Layouts, a process which is described in detail in a later section.


To create a new Kubernetes Cluster:

  1. Navigate to Infrastructure > Clusters

  2. Select + ADD CLUSTER

  3. Select Kubernetes Cluster

  4. Select a Group for the Cluster

  5. Select NEXT

  6. Populate the following:

    CLOUD

    Select target Cloud

    CLUSTER NAME

    Name for the Kubernetes Cluster

    RESOURCE NAME

    Name for Kubernetes Cluster resources

    DESCRIPTION

    Description of the Cluster

    VISIBILITY
    Public

    Available to all Tenants

    Private

    Available to Master Tenant

    LABELS

    Internal label(s)

  7. Select NEXT

  8. Populate the following:

    Note

    VMware sample fields provided. Actual options depend on Target Cloud

    LAYOUT

    Select from available layouts. System provided layouts include Single Master and Cluster Layouts.

    PLAN

    Select plan for Kubernetes Master

    VOLUMES

    Configure volumes for Kubernetes Master

    NETWORKS

    Select the network for Kubernetes Master & Worker VM’s

    CUSTOM CONFIG

    Add custom Kubernetes annotations and config hash

    CLUSTER HOSTNAME

    Cluster address Hostname (cluster layouts only)

    POD CIDR

    POD network range in CIDR format ie 192.168.0.0/24 (cluster layouts only)

    WORKER PLAN

    Plan for Worker Nodes (cluster layouts only)

    NUMBER OF WORKERS

    Specify the number of workers to provision

    LOAD BALANCER

    Select an available Load Balancer (cluster layouts only) }

    User Config
    CREATE YOUR USER

    Select to create your user on provisioned hosts (requires Linux user config in Morpheus User Profile)

    USER GROUP

    Select User group to create users for all User Group members on provisioned hosts (requires Linux user config in Morpheus User Profile for all members of User Group)

    Advanced Options
    DOMAIN

    Specify Domain override for DNS records

    HOSTNAME

    Set hostname override (defaults to Instance name unless an Active Hostname Policy applies)

  9. Select NEXT

  10. Select optional Workflow to execute

  11. Select NEXT

  12. Review and select COMPLETE

    • The Master Node(s) will provision first.

    • Upon successful completion of VM provision, Kubernetes scripts will be executed to install and configure Kubernetes on the Masters.

      Note

      Access to the sites listed in the Requirements section is required from Master and Worker nodes over 443

    • After Master or Masters are successfully provisioned and Kubernetes is successfully installed and configured, the Worker Nodes will provision in parallel.

    • Provision status can be viewed:

      • From the Status next to the Cluster in Infrastructure > Clusters

      • Status bar with eta and current step available on Cluster detail page, accessible by selecting the Cluster name from Infrastructure > Clusters

    • All process status and history is available - From the Cluster detail page History tab, accessible by selecting the Cluster name from Infrastructure > Clusters and the History tab - From Operations - Activity - History - Individual process output available by clicking i on target process

  13. Once all Master and Worker Nodes are successfully provisioned and Kubernetes is installed and configured, the Cluster status will turn green.

    Important

    Cluster provisioning requires successful creation of VMs, Agent Installation, and execution of Kubernetes workflows. Consult process output from ``Infrastructure > Clusters - Details and morpheus-ui current logs at Administration - Health - Morpheus Logs for information on failed Clusters.

Intra-Kubernetes Cluster Port Requirements

The table below includes port requirements for the machines within the cluster (not for the Morpheus appliance itself). Check that the following ports are open on Control-plane and Worker nodes:

Control-plane node(s)

Protocol

Direction

Port Range

Purpose

Used By

TCP

Inbound

6443

Kubernetes API Server

All

TCP

Inbound

6783

Weaveworks

TCP

Inbound

2379-2380

etcd server client API

kube-apiserver, etcd

TCP

Inbound

10250

kubelet API

Self, Control plane

TCP

Inbound

10251

kube-scheduler

Self

TCP

Inbound

10252

kube-controller-manager

Self
Worker node(s)

Protocol

Direction

Port Range

Purpose

Used By

TCP

Inbound

10250

kubelet API

Self, Control plane

TCP

Inbound

30000-32767

NodePort Services

All

Adding Worker Nodes

  1. Navigate to Infrastructure - Clusters

  2. Select v MORE for the target cluster

  3. Select ADD (type) Kubernetes Worker

    NAME

    Name of the Worker Node. Auto=populated with ${cluster.resourceName}-worker-${seq}

    DESCRIPTION

    Description of the Worker Node, displayed in Worker tab on Cluster Detail pages, and on Worker Host Detail page

    CLOUD

    Target Cloud for the Worker Node.

  4. Select NEXT

  5. Populate the following:

    Note

    VMware sample fields provided. Actual options depend on Target Cloud

    SERVICE PLAN

    Service Plan for the new Worker Node

    NETWORK

    Configure network options for the Worker node.

    HOST

    If Host selection is enabled, optionally specify target host for new Worker node

    FOLDER
    Optionally specify target folder for new Worker node
    Advanced Options
    DOMAIN

    Specify Domain override for DNS records

    HOSTNAME

    Set hostname override (defaults to Instance name unless an Active Hostname Policy applies)

  6. Select NEXT

  7. Select optional Workflow to execute

  8. Select NEXT

  9. Review and select COMPLETE

Note

Ensure there is a default StorageClass available when using a Morpheus Kubernetes cluster with OpenEBS so that Kubernetes specs or HELM templates that use a default StorageClass for Persistent Volume Claims can be utilised.

Kubernetes Cluster Detail Pages

The Kubernetes Cluster Detail page provides a high degree of monitoring and control over Kubernetes Clusters. This includes monitoring of all nodes in the Cluster, kubectl command line, account and role control, workload management, and more. The upper section of the page (which is persistent regardless of the currently-selected tab) provides high level costing and monitoring information, including a current aggregate metric for the CPU, memory and storage use.

../../_images/clusterDetail.png

The upper section also includes the ACTIONS menu which includes the following functions:

  • REFRESH: Forces a routine sync of the cluster status

  • PERMISSIONS: View and edit the Group, Service Plan, and Tenant access permissions for the cluster

  • VIEW API TOKEN: Displays the API token for the cluster

  • VIEW KUBE CONFIG: Displays the cluster configuration

  • RUN WORKLOAD: Run deployments, stateful sets, daemon sets, or jobs and target them to a specific namespace

  • UPGRADE CLUSTER: Upgrade the cluster to a higher version of Kubernetes

  • ADD KUBERNETES WORKER: Launches a wizard which allows users to configure a new worker for the cluster

Additional monitoring and control panes are located within tabs, some of which contain subtabs.

The summary tab contains high-level details on health and makeup of the cluster.

../../_images/clusterSummary.png

Adding External Kubernetes Clusters

Morpheus supports the management and consumption of Kubernetes clusters provisioned outside of Morpheus. These are referred to as External Kubernetes Clusters in Morpheus UI. This could be used, for example, to onboard and manage OpenShift clusters. In order to fully integrate the Kubernetes cluster with the Morpheus feature set, you may need to create a service account for Morpheus. Without first taking that step, some features may not work fully, such as listing all namespaces. The process for creating a service account and integrating the Cluster with Morpheus is described here.

First, create the Service Account within the Kubernetes cluster:

kubectl create serviceaccount morpheus

Next, create the Role Binding:

kubectl create clusterrolebinding morpheus-admin \
--clusterrole=cluster-admin --serviceaccount=default:morpheus \
--namespace=default

With those items created, we can gather the API URL and the API token which will be used to add the existing cluster to Morpheus in the next step:

kubectl config view --minify | grep server | cut -f 2- -d ":" | tr -d " "

SECRET_NAME=$(kubectl get secrets | grep ^morpheus | cut -f1 -d ' ')
kubectl describe secret $SECRET_NAME | grep -E '^token' | cut -f2 -d':' | tr -d " "

After finishing those steps, we can now create the external cluster in Morpheus. Navigate to Infrastructure > Clusters. Click + ADD CLUSTER and then select “External Kubernetes Cluster”. Set the following fields, you will have to advance through the pages of the wizard to see all fields indicated:

  • GROUP: A previously created Morpheus Group

  • CLOUD: A previously-integrated Cloud

  • CLUSTER NAME: A friendly name for the onboarded cluster in Morpheus UI

  • RESOURCE NAME: The resource name will be pre-pended to Kubernetes hosts associated with this cluster when shown in Morpheus UI

  • LAYOUT: Set an associated Layout

  • API URL: Enter the API URL gathered in the previous step

  • API TOKEN: Enter the API Token gathered in the previous step

  • KUBE CONFIG: Enter Kubeconfig YAML to authenticate the cluster

The above are the required fields, others may be optionally configured depending on the situation. Complete the wizard and Morpheus will begin the process of onboarding the existing cluster into management within Morpheus UI. Once things are finalized and statuses are green, the cluster can be monitored and consumed as any other cluster provisioned from Morpheus.

../../_images/extKube.png

Docker Clusters

Provisions a new Docker Cluster managed by Morpheus.

To create a new Docker Cluster:

  1. Navigate to Infrastructure > Clusters

  2. Select + ADD CLUSTER

  3. Select Docker Cluster

  4. Populate the following:

    CLOUD

    Select target Cloud

    CLUSTER NAME

    Name for the Docker Cluster

    RESOURCE NAME

    Name for Docker Cluster resources

    DESCRIPTION

    Description of the Cluster

    VISIBILITY
    Public

    Available to all Tenants

    Private

    Available to Master Tenant

    LABELS

    Internal label(s)

  5. Select NEXT

  6. Populate the following (options depend on Cloud Selection and will vary):

    LAYOUT

    Select from available layouts.

    PLAN

    Select plan for Docker Host

    VOLUMES

    Configure volumes for Docker Host

    NETWORKS

    Select the network for Docker Master & Worker VM’s

    NUMBER OF HOSTS

    Specify the number of hosts to be created

    User Config
    CREATE YOUR USER

    Select to create your user on provisioned hosts (requires Linux user config in Morpheus User Profile)

    USER GROUP

    Select User group to create users for all User Group members on provisioned hosts (requires Linux user config in Morpheus User Profile for all members of User Group)

    Advanced Options
    DOMAIN

    Specify Domain for DNS records

    HOSTNAME

    Set hostname (defaults to Instance name)

  7. Select NEXT

  8. Select optional Workflow to execute

  9. Select NEXT

  10. Review and select COMPLETE

EKS Clusters

Provisions a new Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) Cluster in target AWS Cloud.

Note

EKS Cluster provisioning is different than creating a Kubernetes Cluster type in AWS EC2, which creates EC2 instances and configures Kubernetes, outside of EKS.

Morpheus currently supports EKS in the following regions: us-east-2, us-east-1, us-west-1, us-west-2, af-south-1, ap-east-1, ap-south-1, ap-northeast-3, ap-northeast-2, ap-southeast-1, ap-southeast-2, ap-northeast-1, ca-central-1, eu-central-1, eu-west-1, eu-west-2, eu-south-1, eu-west-3, eu-north-1, me-south-1, sa-east-1, us-gov-east-1, us-gov-west-1

Create an EKS Cluster

  1. Navigate to Infrastructure - Clusters

  2. Select + ADD CLUSTER

  3. Select EKS Cluster

  4. Populate the following:

    LAYOUT

    Select server layout for EKS Cluster

    PUBLIC IP
    Subnet Default

    Use AWS configured Subnet setting for Public IP assignment

    Assigned EIP

    Assigned Elastic IP to Controller and Worker Nodes. Requires available EIP’s

    CONTROLLER ROLE

    Select Role for EKS Controller from synced role list

    CONTROLLER SUBNET

    Select subnet placement for EKS Controller

    CONTROLLER SECURITY GROUP

    Select Security Group assignment for EKS Controller

    WORKER SUBNET

    Select Subnet placement for Worker Nodes

    WORKER SECURITY GROUP

    Select Security Group assignment for Worker Nodes

    WORKER PLAN

    Select Service Plan (EC2 Instance Type) for Worker Nodes

    User Config
    CREATE YOUR USER

    Select to create your user on provisioned hosts (requires Linux user config in Morpheus User Profile)

    USER GROUP

    Select User group to create users for all User Group members on provisioned hosts (requires Linux user config in Morpheus User Profile for all members of User Group)

    Advanced Options
    DOMAIN

    Specify Domain for DNS records

    HOSTNAME

    Set hostname (defaults to Instance name)

  5. Select NEXT

  6. Select optional Workflow to execute

  7. Select NEXT

  8. Review and select COMPLETE

GKE Clusters

Provisions a new Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Cluster in target Google Cloud.

Note

Ensure proper permissions exist for the Google Clouds service account to create, inventory and manage GKE clusters.

Create an GKE Cluster

  1. Navigate to Infrastructure - Clusters

  2. Select + ADD CLUSTER

  3. Select GKE Cluster

  4. Populate the following:

    CLOUD

    Select target Cloud

    CLUSTER NAME

    Name for the GKE Cluster

    RESOURCE NAME

    Name for GKE Cluster resources/hosts

    DESCRIPTION

    Description of the Cluster

    VISIBILITY
    Public

    Available to all Tenants

    Private

    Available to Master Tenant

    LABELS

    Internal label(s)

    LAYOUT

    Select cluster layout for GKE Cluster

    RESOURCE POOL

    Specify an available Resource Pool from the selected Cloud

    GOOGLE ZONE

    Specify Region for the cluster

    VOLUMES

    Cluster hosts volume size and type

    NETWORKS

    Select GCP subnet(s) and config

    WORKER PLAN

    Service Plan for GKE worker nodes

    RELEASE CHANNEL

    Regular, Rapid, Stable or Static

    CONTROL PLANE VERSION

    Select from available synced GKE k8’s versions

    NUMBER OF WORKERS

    Number of worker nodes to be provisioned

  5. Select NEXT

  6. Select optional Workflow to execute

  7. Select NEXT

  8. Review and select COMPLETE