vSMP Foundation Quick Start Guide · -end Virtualization Company Disclaimer ScaleMP reserves the right to change any products described herein at any time, and without prior notice

© 2018 - ScaleMP Page 1

The High-end Virtualization Company

Quick Start Guide

vSMP Foundation 8.x series



Disclaimer ScaleMP reserves the right to change any products described herein at any time, and without prior notice. ScaleMP assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the use of the products described herein, except as expressly agreed to in writing by ScaleMP. The use and purchase of this product does not convey a license under any patent rights, copyrights, trademark rights, or any intellectual property rights of ScaleMP. Nothing hereunder constitutes a representation or warranty that using any products in the manner described herein will not infringe any patents of third parties.

Trademark Acknowledgements ScaleMP, Versatile SMP, vSMP Foundation and all ScaleMP product names are trademarks of ScaleMP. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

© ScaleMP 2018



Table of Contents

Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Introduction to vSMP Foundation ................................................................................................................................................ 6 Selective Scaling ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

vSMP Foundation VM Complex – Hardware Setup ...................................................................................................................... 7 Prerequisites for Booting from a USB Flash Memory Device ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Prerequisites for Booting from a Network ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7 BIOS Configuration................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Where to Go from Here? ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Software Setup – Booting from USB Flash Memory Device ......................................................................................................... 9 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Preparing the USB Flash Memory Devices ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Installing the USB Flash Memory Devices ................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 First Boot with vSMP Foundation and System Activation ...................................................................................................................................................... 10 Where to Go from Here? ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Software Setup – Booting from a Network ................................................................................................................................. 11 Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Installing and Activating the License Server ........................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Creating Boot Images ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Adding the Boot Images to the PXE Server Configuration...................................................................................................................................................... 12 Booting with vSMP Foundation ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Where to Go from Here? ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Requesting a System Key from ScaleMP ..................................................................................................................................... 13

vSMP Foundation Boot Process .................................................................................................................................................. 14 Where to Go from Here? ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Operating System Installation for System Expansion Mode ....................................................................................................... 16 Supported Operating Systems ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Starting the Operating System Installation – System Expansion ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Operating System Installation Target..................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 First Boot after Initial Operating System Installation ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 Where to Go from Here? ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

vSMP Productivity Pack (vSMPPP) .............................................................................................................................................. 17 Ensure License Agent is Running ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 20

Initial System Use........................................................................................................................................................................ 21 System Testing ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Running Examples and Following Best Practices .................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Where to Go from Here ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21

Software Update ......................................................................................................................................................................... 22 VM booting from USB ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22 VM booting from network (PXE) ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 22



About This Guide

This quick start guide introduces vSMP Foundation for new users. It walks you through the basic steps required to install vSMP Foundation and create an aggregated virtual machine (VM), and install and configure an operating system, up to the point of running applications on the aggregated platform. In addition, it provides a brief introduction to basic administration tasks and pointers to more detailed information in other manuals.

Revision History

This manual is revised with each release of the product or whenever else necessary. The table below provides you with the revision history of this manual.

Revision Description

20120424 New version of vSMP Foundation 4.0

20120817 Adjustments to vSMP Productivity Pack

20130403 Adjustments to vSMP Foundation 5.0

20130527 Adjustments to vSMP Foundation license server installation

20130830 Adjustments to include instructions for vSMP Foundation Free installation





Intended Audience

This guide is intended for system administrators who install or maintain vSMP Foundation software as well as end-users who use vSMP Foundation systems and are familiar with Linux.

Additional Available Resources

Additional resources are available at ScaleMP’s support portal at http://support.scalemp.com, as well as the knowledge base at http://www.scalemp.com/helpdesk/knowledgebase.php. A valid login to the website is required to access all of the support resources, so we recommend registering to the site before you begin the installation process.

Feedback

If you have comments about this documentation, you feedback is appreciated at [email protected].

http://support.scalemp.com/

http://www.scalemp.com/helpdesk/knowledgebase.php

mailto:[email protected]



Glossary

Virtual Machine (VM) A software-based execution environment that mimics the hardware to a degree that software designed to run on the hardware can run on the VM unchanged.

vSMP vSMP stands for “Versatile SMP” – ScaleMP’s software-based architecture for high-end computing.

vSMP Foundation vSMP Foundation is the software implementation of the vSMP architecture. vSMP Foundation creates a Virtual Machine (hence, vSMP Foundation VM) to implement the Versatile SMP architecture.

vSMP Foundation Free A feature-limited edition of vSMP Foundation that is available to download at no cost from ScaleMP’s web-site. The capabilities of vSMP Foundation Free listed at http://www.scalemp.com/product-comparison.

vSMP Foundation Advanced Platform

A premium-feature edition of vSMP Foundation. The capabilities of vSMP Foundation Advanced Platform listed at http://www.scalemp.com/product-comparison.

Native Mode An operating system running on an x86 server without vSMP Foundation. In this mode, the operating system runs directly on the hardware.

Aggregated Mode An operating system running on a vSMP Foundation VM.

Board/Node An x86 server that is used to run vSMP Foundation.

VM Complex A set of boards running in Aggregated Mode. One or more VM complexes can co-exist on a single network fabric. A VM Complex typically has more than two boards, but can have just one board for setup reasons.

Primary Board/Node The board that is responsible for the VM complex initialization. It is essentially the first board in a VM complex

Secondary Board/Node Every board that is part of a VM complex and is not the Primary Board.

vSMP Foundation Image Manager A tool used to create vSMP Foundation boot images. Use of vSMP Foundation Image Manager is mandatory when loading vSMP Foundation from network.

vSMP Foundation Device A flash memory device, typically USB, which contains the vSMP Foundation boot image.

vSMP Foundation Network Boot A process where vSMP Foundation boot image is loaded from a network using a DHCP/PXE/TFTP protocols. vSMP Foundation Network Boot is available as part of vSMP Foundation Advanced Platform.

vSMPPP ScaleMP’s vSMP Productivity Pack. A utility used to optimally configure the OS running on a VM complex.

vSMP Foundation System Settings The system configuration screen for vSMP Foundation. It can be accessed by pressing F5 during VM initialization, or by editing the boot image used in the case of a network boot.

Serial Number A unique number associated with a specific Installation of a vSMP Foundation.

System Identification An string that uniquely identifies each vSMP Foundation installation for license generation purposes.

System Key A string that contains a license. It is generated by ScaleMP and being used during vSMP Foundation installation.

CSum A string used to verify that the Serial Number, System Identification and System Key were entered correctly.

http://www.scalemp.com/product-comparison

http://www.scalemp.com/product-comparison



Introduction to vSMP Foundation

vSMP Foundation is a software that aggregates servers and makes them appear to the operating system as a single large system. It lies between the BIOS and the operating system and uses high-speed interconnects between common-off-the-shelf (COTS) servers. vSMP Foundation uses an InfiniBand fabric and delivers a completely transparent VM; no additional device drivers are required and no modifications to the operating system or the applications are necessary.

Each server participating in a VM complex loads vSMP Foundation from a flash memory device or PXE network boot device. vSMP Foundation then aggregates the available compute, memory and I/O resources of each system and presents a VM with those resources to the operating system. vSMP Foundation VM provides the operating system with the required x86 facilities to enable efficient use of this coherent shared-memory system.

Selective Scaling vSMP Foundation can aggregate only part of the system resources. The two most common usage modes are System Expansion and Memory Expansion.

All the CPUs, memory and I/O of multiple systems are aggregated into one system.

Memory of multiple systems is aggregated into one system. Computing does not extend beyond the primary board's CPUs.

Designed for compute-intensive applications. Designed for applications requiring a large memory footprint, but that are not CPU intensive or have limited compute scalability.

Enables server consolidation and departmental computing. Enables addressing large amounts of RAM for analytics and big-data applications.

Alternative to traditional, expensive multiprocessing (SMP or NUMA) systems.

In-memory computing which provides applications with a performance boost with license-cost protection.

It is recommended to use the appropriate vSMP Foundation VM according to the requirements of the main application to be used. Having unutilized resources (such as hundreds of idle CPUs) will degrade system performance owing to OS limitations.

NOTE:

vSMP Foundation Free only provide Memory Expansion. For System Expansion please

contact your reseller or ScaleMP sales.



vSMP Foundation VM Complex – Hardware Setup

The following are the hardware requirements for a vSMP Foundation VM setup:

• x86 servers certified for vSMP Foundation. An up-to-date list of certified hardware can be found at http://www.scalemp.com/spec/.

• vSMP Foundation software provided by ScaleMP. It can be found at http://www.scalemp.com/downloads/vSMP_Foundation/.

• InfiniBand host channel adapters (HCA) installed on each server or available on-board. One or more InfiniBand HCAs per board are supported.

• InfiniBand fabric: All the HCAs must be connected to the same InfiniBand fabric. Boards that are not part of a vSMP Foundation complex can share the same InfiniBand fabric with boards running vSMP Foundation.

• Console access to the designated primary board, either by a way of serial (physical or over-LAN) or VGA (directly connected or via a virtual or remote KVM). Console access to the secondary boards is not required but is preferred.

NOTE:

You will need InfiniBand HCAs to install and setup vSMP Foundation.

Prerequisites for Booting from a USB Flash Memory Device • USB flash memory devices matching the number of servers to be used are required. Any USB flash memory device

with a capacity above 256 MB can be used. ScaleMP recommends using high quality USB flash memory devices small enough to fit inside the server. USB flash memory devices can be purchased as part of your order for vSMP Foundation. In such a case you should receive a package with the requested devices. USB flash memory devices are not necessary when performing a network boot.

• The USB flash memory device must be set as the primary boot device in the BIOS of every board.

NOTE:

You will need USB Flash Memory Devices to setup vSMP Foundation and vSMP

Foundation Free.

Prerequisites for Booting from a Network • License server: A Linux server, which host the license server. The License server must run on a physical system and

not on any type of virtual-machine.

• DHCP/PXE/TFTP server: A server that will host the images that will be used to boot the boards designated for the vSMP Foundation complex. An existing server may be used if it accessible over network by the vSMP Foundation complex. The DHCP/PXE/TFTP server can reside on the same server as the license server.

• The network interface controller (NIC) associated with the PXE network boot must be set as the primary boot device in the BIOS of every board.

NOTE:

vSMP Foundation Network Boot is available only as part of vSMP Foundation

Advanced Platform.

http://www.scalemp.com/spec/

http://www.scalemp.com/downloads/vSMP_Foundation/



BIOS Configuration For vSMP Foundation to operate properly, several BIOS settings across all boards must be identical. Before changing any of the BIOS settings, it is recommended to restore the BIOS settings on all the boards to their factory default. The BIOS on the all boards should have the following settings:

• Enable hardware virtualization (sometimes called “Virtualization Technology”, “Secure Virtual Machine Mode”, “VMX support”, or “SVM support”) if such an option exists.

• Intel servers only: o Enable VT for Direct IO (VT-D) o Enable hyper-threading support if you are planning on using hyper-threading. Note that disabling hyper-

threading is possible from vSMP Foundation. See examples of BIOS settings below:

Sample Intel BIOS screenshot Sample AMD BIOS screenshot

Where to Go from Here? You should now setup vSMP Foundation to load on your hardware:

• If you are intending to boot from USB flash memory devices, go to Software Setup – Booting from USB Flash Memory Device.

• If you are intending to boot from a network, go to Software Setup – Booting from a Network.



Software Setup – Booting from USB Flash Memory Device

Overview The following table lists each stage necessary to boot from a USB flash memory device and the expected results of each stage.

Stage Expected Results

Preparing the USB flash memory devices.

USB flash memory devices are loaded with the vSMP Foundation image and connected to each board in the system. The BIOS of each of the boards is configured to boot from those devices.

Initial boot with vSMP Foundation and system activation.

• Primary and secondary boards boot successfully from USB flash memory devices.

• The primary board can connect to all the secondary boards.

• A validated system key is received from ScaleMP and accepted by the system.

• The VM boot device is set at the vSMP Foundation system settings screen.

Preparing the USB Flash Memory Devices The vSMP Foundation software image needs to be copied to a flash memory devices. The following process is used to load the software:

• Download the vSMP Foundation installer (file name format vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh or vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.free.sh) from http://www.scalemp.com/downloads/vSMP_Foundation/latest and verify its MD5 checksum.

• Install vSMP Foundation to each of the needed USB flash memory devices. o Insert the devices into the USB ports and run the installer:

# vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh in -b

o The installer will display the list of available boot devices and allow you to choose one device or several which will be prepared to boot vSMP foundation. You can use this to prepare all your devices on one machine at the same time or one by one.

# ./vsmp_installer-8.5.1955.1.sh in -b ScaleMP vSMP Foundation version 8.1.1145.8 found the following bootable media: ## Block Device Vendor and Model Number Serial Number Size (GB/GiB) 01 /dev/sdb JetFlash Transcend 1GB 3T68PIXX 1.025 / 1.001 02 /dev/sdc JetFlash Transcend 2GB VV71XVXI 2.019 / 1.995 03 /dev/sdd JetFlash Transcend 2GB UHQE8PN4 2.019 / 1.995 Please select devices to install vSMP Foundation: - device list (1,3,4 or 1-3 or combination of both e.g. 1,2-4,5) - all devices (a) Devices (q or <ENTER> to quit): 1-2 /dev/sdb (Transcend 1GB 3T68PIXX): installing.. /dev/sdb (Transcend 1GB 3T68PIXX): done. /dev/sdc (Transcend 2GB VV71XVXI): installing.. /dev/sdc (Transcend 2GB VV71XVXI): done.

NOTE:

Make sure to select the appropriate vSMP Foundation installer file:

- vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.free.img - vSMP Foundation Free

- vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.img - vSMP Foundation

You will not be able to activate your software if you use the wrong vSMP

Foundation image file will be used.

Installing the USB Flash Memory Devices The flash memory devices loaded with vSMP Foundation software should be inserted into a USB 2.0 (EHCI) port (preferred) or USB 1.0 (UHCI). In most systems, a suitable internal USB port is available for that purpose. Ensure the primary boot device on the BIOS of each server is set to the flash memory device loaded with the vSMP Foundation image.

http://www.scalemp.com/uploads/shared/vSMPFoundation/5.0.75.32/vsf_lmgr_installer-5.0.75.32.sh


http://www.scalemp.com/uploads/shared/vSMPFoundation/5.0.75.32/vsf_lmgr_installer-5.0.75.32.sh



NOTE:

If the USB flash memory device inserted into a USB 1.0 (UHCI) port, it may not

reside behind a USB hub.

First Boot with vSMP Foundation and System Activation This section is required if you are booting a System expansion or Memory expansion environments. If you are will be running Flash expansion system (FLX) – skip this section and go directly to the vSMP Foundation Boot Process section. Once you have installed the USB flash memory devices and configured the BIOS of each of the boards, power-cycle all the boards. When booting for the first time the following will displayed on all the boards:

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (secondary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 15) Please press <P> to set this board as the Primary Board: keyboard, video and mouse of the system will be available on this board only. Serial Number is required to continue.

On the board you wish to designate as the primary board (referred as board in the following screenshot), press P to make that board the primary board. No action is required on the remaining boards that will become secondary boards. Next, enter your serial number and CSum (received from ScaleMP or your reseller), and then press C to confirm. Use backspace for corrections.

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (secondary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 15) System Serial Number: 12345678 CSum: 53568 Press <ENTER> to confirm Serial Number and CSum or fix by <BACKSPACE>

At this point, the System Identification and CSum will be provided and you will be prompted to enter the System Key.

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (secondary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 15) System Serial Number: 12345678 CSum: 53568 System Identification: YM3J3-9QBJK-6SH18-7468P-KIB8G-L17 CSum: 44454 Please use the above to obtain System Key at http://www.scalemp.com/activate System Key:

With a valid System Key the VM will be ready to continue with the boot process:

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (secondary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 15) System Serial Number: 12345678 CSum: 53568 System Identification: YM3J3-9QBJK-6SH18-7468P-KIB8G-L17 CSum: 44454 Please use the above to obtain System Key at http://www.scalemp.com/activate System Key: 4L5ZD-PMILF-HEM7B-63BVU-92P6H-D41 OK System Key validated (system will continue in 5 seconds).

Where to Go from Here? Continue with section Requesting a System Key from ScaleMP and then with section vSMP Foundation Boot Process.



Software Setup – Booting from a Network

Overview The following table lists each stage necessary to prepare a vSMP Foundation complex to boot from a network and its expected results.

Stage Expected Results

Installing and activating the license server.

Network license server is ready to provide license to vSMP Foundation.

Creating boot images. Boot images with the required configuration are ready for primary and secondary boards.

Adding the boot images to the PXE server configuration.

DHCP and PXE server are ready to boot the primary board and secondary board(s) using PXE.

Initial boot with vSMP Foundation.

• Primary and secondary boards boot successfully from PXE.

• The primary board can connect to all the secondary boards.

• The VM boot device is set at the vSMP Foundation system settings screen.

Installing and Activating the License Server The license server allows the creation of VMs when booting from network. The following process is used to install and activate the license server:

• Download vSMP Foundation installer (file name format is vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh) from http://www.scalemp.com/downloads/vSMP_Foundation/latest and verify its MD5 checksum.

• Run the installer on the designated license server as root. The serial number and the checksum values you received when you purchased the software must be specified in the command line using the following format:

vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh in -m <SERIAL> <CSUM>

o In the case of upgrading an existing license server installation the installer can be executed without the serial number using the using the following format.

vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh in -mq

The following depicts a successful execution of the installer:

# ./vsmp_installer-8.5.1955.1.sh in -m 12345678 53568 Please enter absolute install path or press Enter to default [/opt/ScaleMP/vsf_lmgr]: Installing... Restarting vsf_lmgr (via systemctl): [ OK ] The license server was installed successfully. In order to request a license from ScaleMP, login to the ScaleMP support page at http://www.scalemp.com/product-activation?act=activate and enter the following details to request a license: System identification: W0253-00X19-99XB4-68XD3-12345-678 CSum: 12729

• Use the resulting System Identification in order to request a network license from ScaleMP as described in section Requesting a System Key from ScaleMP.

• Verify the license server installation by accessing the server with a browser at address http://<license server IP>:5054.

NOTE:

The License server must run on a physical system and not on any type of virtual-

machine.




Creating Boot Images This section instructs you how to generate the boot images for primary and secondary boards required to setup your first VM. It is assumed you do not have any other VMs running on the same fabric during the setup process below.

• Use the installer to create boot images for the primary board (.p file) and secondary board (.s file) from the vSMP Foundation image (.img). You can use the following command to create the appropriate images:

# vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh bo –k board_type=primary –k license_mgr=<license server IP or hostname>:5053

Two boot images will be created in the current directory: o vSMP-X.X.X.X.img.p to use with the primary board. o vSMP-X.X.X.X.img.s to use with the secondary board(s).

Adding the Boot Images to the PXE Server Configuration The same method that is used to boot a memdisk image with PXE is used to boot a vSMP Foundation boot image. For more information about memdisk, see http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/MEMDISK. Below are example PXELINUX configuration files for vSMP Foundation boot images. In these two examples, the configuration file assumes you have memdisk in the default tftpboot directory (usually /tftpboot) and that there is a vsmp directory containing the images created earlier (in this case /tftpboot/vsmp).

Primary Board

default vsmp label vsmp kernel memdisk append initrd=vsmp/vSMP-X.X.X.X.img.p

Secondary Board(s)

default vsmp label vsmp kernel memdisk append initrd=vsmp/vSMP-X.X.X.X.img.s

Booting with vSMP Foundation Ensure the primary boot device on the BIOS of each server is set to the NIC connected to the PXE server. Power cycle all the boards and let PXE load the vSMP Foundation images.

Where to Go from Here? Continue with section vSMP Foundation Boot Process.

http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/MEMDISK



Requesting a System Key from ScaleMP

In order to generate a new system key or a network license (license for required to run vSMP Foundation), go to http://www.scalemp.com/support/product-activation/ and fill the requested information. Site registration is required to complete this step. http://www.scalemp.com/support/, sign in, and then click on Product Activation.

Fill in and submit the product activation form. After submitting the System Identification and the CSum, a request will be sent to the ScaleMP server, an email message acknowledging the request will be sent to you, and the request will be processed. Once your request has been processed, an email message will be sent to you containing either a personalized system key or instructions describing how to add the license to the license server. Please contact the ScaleMP support team for further license requests or license errors at [email protected].

http://www.scalemp.com/support/product-activation/

http://www.scalemp.com/support/




vSMP Foundation Boot Process

The boot process, after entering the System Key when booting from USB flash memory device or when booting from network, is the same. vSMP Foundation will search for secondary boards (unless it is working in Flash expansion mode), listing them as they are found on the InfiniBand fabric.

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (primary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 19) Searching for secondary boards (system boards: 32, minimum: 2) Finding secondary boards (4/32): 0a:00.0#2=>19:20.23.24

Once all resources specified in the license have been found, the system will continue the boot process. The screen on each of the secondary boards should display that they are connected.

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (secondary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 20) Configuring system OK Connected to primary board (0a:00.0#2) OK (ID: 19) Secondary Board - use primary board display

If you are booting from USB flash memory devices, the primary board will present the option to modify the system settings by pressing F5.

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (primary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 19) Searching for secondary boards (system boards: 32, minimum: 2) Finding secondary boards (4/32): 0a:00.0#2=>19:20.23.24 Enumerating secondary boards: 0a:00.0#2=>19:20.23.24 Connecting to secondary boards (40Gb/s): 0a:00.0#2=>19:20.23.24 Current system configuration: Boards: 4 Processors: 8, Cores: 32 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5410 @ 2.33GHz Stepping 06 Memory (MB): 26528 (out of 32752), Cache: 3152, Private: 3072 Link Rate: 40Gb/s: Press <F5> for system settings / diagnostics (continuing in 5 seconds)

In the system settings dialog use the Page Down key to switch to the Boot tab. Next, press I to get a list of bootable devices.

ScaleMP vSMP Foundation Version 5.1.135.43 ┌────────┬─────────┌────────┐────────────┬─────────────┐ │ System │ Hardware│ Boot │Diagnostics │ Partitioner │ ────────────────────┘ └────────────────────────────────────────────────── 0: ┌─────────────Board 0a:00.0#2=>19 Devices────────────┐ │[HDD] HITACHI HUS151436VLS300 │ 1: │[PCI03:00.0] PXE boot (vid=14e4, did=164c) │ │[Board 0a:00.0#2=>19:20 Devices] │ 2: │[Board 0a:00.0#2=>19:23 Devices] │ │[Board 0a:00.0#2=>19:24 Devices] │ 3: └───────────Use arrows and ENTER to select───────────┘ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── I: Insert a boot device to the list R: Remove boot device from the list +,-: Move a boot device up and down the list ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Arrows: Navigate PgUp, PgDn: Switch Tab ESC: Exit Enter: Select F10: Save and exit (c) Copyright 2003-2013 ScaleMP



Set the boot device to load the Linux distribution installation media (DVD-ROM or network) to start the operating system installation. Press F10 to save your selection and continue. The system will then pass control to the operating system installer.

Loading vSMP Foundation........................................ OK vSMP Foundation 5.1.135.43 (Aug 18 2013 19:06:42) Initializing backplane... OK Loading configuration.. OK (primary) Checking board.. OK Configuring backplane.. OK (ID: 19) Searching for secondary boards (system boards: 32, minimum: 2) Finding secondary boards (4/32): 0a:00.0#2=>19:20.23.24 Enumerating secondary boards: 0a:00.0#2=>19:20.23.24 Connecting to secondary boards (40Gb/s): 0a:00.0#2=>19:20.23.24 Current system configuration: Boards: 4 Processors: 8, Cores: 32 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5410 @ 2.33GHz Stepping 06 Memory (MB): 26528 (out of 32752), Cache: 3152, Private: 3072 Link Rate: 40Gb/s: Boot device: [HDD] HITACHI HUS151436VLS300 Loading Operating System ([HDD])

NOTE:

If not configured otherwise (using the boot tab of the vSMP foundation

configuration screen), vSMP Foundation will attempt to boot the guest OS using

the following sequence (boot order): (1) The first CDROM in the primary node

(if exists and has bootable media); (2) the first Hard Disk in the primary node;

and (3) the first NIC on the primary node.

Where to Go from Here? You should proceed with the operating system installation:

• If you are setting up your system as Memory Expansion (such as vSMP Foundation Free), or as a Flash expansion (FLX) then you should proceed with a standard OS installation. An updated list of supported operating systems can be found at http://www.scalemp.com/spec/.

• If you are setting up your system for System Expansion, continue with section Operating System Installation for System Expansion Mode followed by the installation of vsmptools and vSMP Productivity Pack as described in the section vSMP Productivity Pack (vSMPPP).

NOTE:

When vSMP Foundation is loaded from USB flash memory devices, vSMP Foundation

will always default to boot in Memory Expansion, even if license allows for

Systems Expansion.

This allows a smooth Operating System installation process, as well as booting

an already installed Operating System prior to installation of vSMP Productivity

Pack.

Once the vSMP Productivity Pack is installed, vSMP Foundation will default to

System Expansion if vSMP Foundation is loaded from USB flash memory devices.

Once the Operating System is installed you should install vsmptools to allow control of the VM from the operating system as well as the vSMP Foundation license agent which is required to allow the system to run with full performance and functionality. Installation of vsmptools is described in the section vSMP Productivity Pack (vSMPPP).

http://www.scalemp.com/spec/



Operating System Installation for System Expansion Mode

Supported Operating Systems An updated list of supported operating systems can be found at www.scalemp.com/technology/spec. ScaleMP provides an automated operating system configuration utility for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its clones including CentOS and Scientific Linux. For manual configuration guidelines for other Linux distributions, please contact ScaleMP at [email protected].

Starting the Operating System Installation – System Expansion If your license supports System Expansion, please take the next steps for a smooth Operating System installation process:

• If loading vSMP Foundation from a USB flash memory devices – Expansion Mode in system settings should be set to Memory Expansion (the default for first-time installation). vSMP Foundation will change the Expansion Mode to System Expansion upon completion of vSMP Productivity Pack installation.

• If loading vSMP Foundation from network – set a single board VM. Once the Operating System and vSMP Productivity Pack are installed, larger number of boards could be used.

Operating System Installation Target The installation of your chosen distribution of Linux should proceed as it would on any x86 server. Notice that all devices (NICs, HDDs, etc) of all boards are visible to the operating system installer. ScaleMP highly recommends that the root file system is installed on a volume that only uses drive from the primary board (or at least on a single board). This allows booting the system in various configurations, while still being able to use the same operating system installation.

First Boot after Initial Operating System Installation Once the operating system is installed on a local disk, and the system is rebooted, enter the vSMP Foundation System Settings by pressing F5. Switch to the Boot tab again to change the boot device to the device the operating system is located on. To do this, press I and select the device from the list displayed (e.g. HDD0).

Where to Go from Here? If you are setting up your system for System Expansion, continue with the installation of vsmptools and vSMP Productivity Pack as described in the section vSMP Productivity Pack (vSMPPP).

http://www.scalemp.com/technology/spec/




vSMP Productivity Pack (vSMPPP)

vSMPPP is the automated operating system configuration utility provided by ScaleMP for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its clones including CentOS and Scientific Linux. Instructions for an offline installation of vSMPP for vSMP deployments that do not have internet access follow in the section “Offline Installation of vSMPPP”. For manual configuration guidelines for other Linux distributions, please contact ScaleMP at [email protected]. Please note that vSMPPP should not be installed on Memory Expansion VMs. Once your vSMP system is running, download the vSMPPP installation script (with file name format vsmppp_install-[version].sh) from http://www.scalemp.com/downloads/vsmppp/.

• Run the install script as root (make sure that any pre-requisites it requires, such as dialog, are installed on your installation media). You can run the script with the following command:

# ./vsmppp_install-[version].sh

• Start vSMPP as root with the following command:

# vsmppp

Follow the instructions on the screen (see screenshot below). Press Enter for vSMPPP to download required packages from ScaleMP.

┌────────────vSMP Productivity Pack 4.0.345.0──────────────┐ │ Welcome to vSMP Producitivity Pack (vSMPPP). │ │ │ │ This utility allows you to optimally configure your │ │ system. │ │ │ │ vSMPPP will connect to the repository listed below to │ │ get the latest content: │ │ http://www.scalemp.com/vsmppp │ │ │ │ For more information visit: │ │ http://support.scalemp.com │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ < OK > │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


http://www.scalemp.com/downloads/vsmppp/



Select Install/Update and press Enter to install all the recommended packages and tune your vSMP system.

┌───────────────────────Main Menu (vSMP Productivity Pack 4.0.345.0)───────────────────────┐ │ 0 components are installed │ │ 0 updates are available │ │ 23 components are not installed │ │ │ │ vSMP Productivity Pack is connected to the repository at: http://www.scalemp.com/vsmppp │ │ │ │ The next screen will allow you to select which components to Install/Update or Uninstall │ │ Please use the menu below to proceed. │ │ │ │ Component Status Version Description │ │┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ ││bind-udev Not installed 2.0-02 Bind udev To Board 0 ││ ││bind-X Not installed 2.0-04 Bind X Server to Board 0 ││ ││disable-directory... Not installed 2.0-03 Optimize Directory Notification... ││ ││examples Not installed 2.0-01 Application Examples ││ ││getinfo Not installed 2.1-1 A tool to collect system... ││ ││kernel Not installed 2.6.32... vSMP Foundation RHEL tuned kernel ││ ││libhoard Not installed 2.0-04 Hoard Library ││ ││libhugetlbfs Not installed 2.0-02 libhugetlbfs Library ││ ││libvsmpclib Not installed 2.0-03 vSMP Foundation Preload Library ││ ││lmgr-agent Not installed 2.0-03 A license manager client ││ ││mpich2 Not installed 3.5.16-02 vSMP Foundation Optimized MPICH2... ││ ││numabind Not installed 2.0-03 Rule based affinity setting utility ││ ││service-trim Not installed 2.0-01 Tune Startup Services ││ ││setup-hugetlbfs Not installed 2.0-01 hugetlbfs Support ││ ││setup-node-local... Not installed 2.0-01 Node Local Bonding Setup ││ ││setup-ramfs Not installed 2.0-01 ramfs Support ││ ││setup-software-raid0 Not installed 2.0-01 Software RAID 0 ││ ││shm-settings Not installed 2.0-03 Optimize Shared Memory Settings ││ ││swapoff Not installed 2.0-04 Disable swap partitions ││ ││vm-overcommit Not installed 2.0-03 ptimize VM Overcommit Settings ││ ││vsmptools Not installed 4.0.225.29 vsmpctl and all its variations ││ ││xfsprogs Not installed 2.0-02 XFS Filesystem Utilities ││ │└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│ │ │ │ │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ <Install/Update> < Uninstall > < Configure > < Exit > │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Press Enter to continue installing all recommended components.

┌─────────────────────────────────────Install/Update────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Please select the components to be installed/updated │ │ │ │ Component Status Version Description │ │┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ ││[*] bind-udev Not installed 2.0-02 Bind udev To Board 0 ││ ││[*] bind-X Not installed 2.0-04 Bind X Server to Board 0 ││ ││[*] disable-directory... Not installed 2.0-03 Optimize Directory Notification ││ ││[*] examples Not installed 2.0-01 Application Examples ││ ││[*] getinfo Not installed 2.1-1 A tool to collect system... ││ ││[*] kernel Not installed 2.6.32... vSMP Foundation RHEL tuned kernel ││ ││[*] libhoard Not installed 2.0-04 Hoard Library ││ ││[*] libhugetlbfs Not installed 2.0-02 libhugetlbfs Library ││ ││[*] libvsmpclib Not installed 2.0-03 vSMP Foundation Preload Library ││ ││[*] lmgr-agent Not installed 2.0-03 A license manager client ││ ││[*] mpich2 Not installed 3.5.16-02 vSMP Foundation Optimized... ││ ││[*] numabind Not installed 2.0-03 Rule based affinity setting... ││ ││[*] setup-node-local... Not installed 2.0-01 Node Local Bonding Setup ││ ││[ ] setup-software-raid0 Not installed 2.0-01 Software RAID 0 ││ ││[*] shm-settings Not installed 2.0-03 Optimize Shared Memory Settings ││ ││[*] vm-overcommit Not installed 2.0-03 Optimize VM Overcommit Settings ││ ││[*] vsmptools Not installed 4.0.225 vsmpctl and all its variations ││ │└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ <Continue> < Back > < Help > │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘



Packages will then be downloaded.

┌────────────────────────Download──────────────────────────┐ │ Downloading getinfo-2.1-1.tar.bz2... │ │ │ │ │ │ Speed:142KB/s │ │ 1600KB of 3660KB │ │ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ 45% │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Packages will then be installed and the system tuned.

┌─────────────────────────Install Progress───────────────────────────┐ │ getinfo: │ │ Downloading getinfo-2.1-1.tar.bz2...done. │ │ Verifying MD5SUM...OK. │ │ Extracting getinfo-2.1-1.tar.bz2...done. │ │ Running pre-install....done. │ │ Running install....done. │ │ Running post-install.... │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Once complete, vSMPPP will display a summary.

┌───────────Install Summary (Use PgUp/PgDn to navigate)──────────────┐ │ Logs from this run will be saved in │ │ /opt/ScaleMP/vsmppp/log/vsmppp_install_20130527121107.tar.bz2 │ │ ============================================================== │ │ getinfo: │ │ Downloading getinfo-2.1-1.tar.bz2...done. │ │ Verifying MD5SUM...OK. │ │ Extracting getinfo-2.1-1.tar.bz2...done. │ │ Running pre-install....done. │ │ Running install....done. │ │ Running post-install....done. │ │ ============================================================== │ │ libhoard: │ │ Downloading libhoard-2.0-04.tar.bz2...done. │ │ Verifying MD5SUM...OK. │ │ Extracting libhoard-2.0-04.tar.bz2..done. │ │ Running pre-install....done. │ │ Running install.....done. │ │ Running post-install....done. │ │ ============================================================== │ │ libhugetlbfs: │ │ Downloading libhugetlbfs-2.0-02.tar.bz2...done. │ │ Verifying MD5SUM...OK. │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────17%──┤ │ < OK > │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Completing vSMPPP Installation Once you have completed the configuration of the system with vSMPPP, a reboot of the system is required for all the settings to take effect.

Offline Installation of vSMPPP If the system you install vSMPPP on does not have Internet access, perform the following steps before continuing with the installation as described above:

• Download the vSMPP media file (with file name format vsmppp20_xxx.bz2) from http://scalemp.com/downloads/vsmppp/.

• Copy it to a directory of your choice accessible from the system and extract it there. You can use the following command to extract it:

http://scalemp.com/downloads/vsmppp/



# tar jxf vsmppp20_xxx.bz2

• After launching vSMPPP, select “Configure” and enter the location of the local install files using the following format file://[directory location]. For example, if the local install files are located at “/tmp/vsmppp20_20120422080356”, you would enter file:///tmp/vsmppp20_20120422080356/. Note

that there are three forward slashes (character “/”) after the word “file” in the command.

Ensure License Agent is Running This is only necessary for vSMP deployments that were configured to boot vSMP Foundation from a network and not those booting from USB flash memory devices. First, verify that the state set for the license server is Active. This can be found in the output of the following command:

# vsmpversion

Next, execute:

# service vsf_lmgr status

If this service is not running, start it with the following command:

# service vsf_lmgr start

If this service is not installed, install it using vSMPPP.



Initial System Use

System Testing Once the system has rebooted after installing vSMPPP or after manually configuring the system, ScaleMP recommends that you run basic configuration and performance tests of the system and provide the results to ScaleMP for system configuration verification.

• In order to do this, run the following command as root:

# getinfo.sh

• This script will collect information about your system configuration, as well as run basic performance tests. It should take between 30 to 50 minutes, depending on your system size.

Upload the tar file produced by getinfo to a new support ticket which can be opened at http://support.scalemp.com/helpdesk, and request to verify system configuration and performance in the ticket. ScaleMP’s support team will review the results and provide feedback if necessary.

Running Examples and Following Best Practices As part of the installation of vSMPPP, a set of examples for running typical scenarios are installed under “/opt/ScaleMP/examples”. Each directory includes run-scripts, source code and README files. Best practices for running applications with vSMP Foundation can be found at http://www.scalemp.com/support/docs. This location includes both generic and application specific guidelines.

Where to Go from Here Additional documentation as well as an online knowledgebase can be found at http://support.scalemp.com. Topics covered include:

• Installing vSMP Foundation for Cloud Deployments

• Troubleshooting and Diagnostics

• Advanced Configuration

• Best Practices for Running Applications on a System Aggregated with vSMP Foundation


http://www.scalemp.com/support/docs




Software Update

VM booting from USB • Download latest vSMP Foundation installer (file name format is vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh) from

http://www.scalemp.com/downloads/vSMP_Foundation/latest

• Grant execution permission to the installer file (vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh)

• As root, execute the installer

vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh up

• Follow the instructions on screen, and reboot the VM upon successful completion of the upgrade process.

VM booting from network (PXE) • Download latest vSMP Foundation installer (file name format is vsmp_installer-X.X.X.X.sh) from


• Perform the steps in the “Creating Boot Images” of this guide.



Documents

vSMP Foundation Quick Start Guide · -end Virtualization Company Disclaimer ScaleMP reserves the right to change any products described herein at any time, and without prior notice