VM Creation

It is time to create the Node Wizard demo VM.

1. The Node Wizard needs an encrypted password to set up the user account in the VM. I'll install the mkpasswd utility and then use it to generate a hash from my password.

   dev-user@local-dev:~$ sudo apt install whois
   dev-user@local-dev:~$ mkpasswd
   Password: YourPassword
   $y$j9T$wGRgLBMeecXudQJjJ4BMk.$j3Eil5Pxykb.babzriPpAvOnbfbG8iAfRr0SqfvF9P/

2. Next, I will create the JSON file that describes my VM. The JSON file contains values for memory, core counts, OS variants, user accounts, and much more. The command node-client -desc vmcreate can provide more information about the JSON file format.

   dev-user@local-dev:~$ nano Node-Wizard-demo1.json
   {
       "vm_mem":"8",
       "vm_core":"4",
       "vm_img_size":"128",
       "os_variant":"ubuntu22.04",
       "vm_img_type":"local",
       "localpath"  :"/storage/VM/images/",
       "fstype"     :"xfs",
       "ipaddr":"192.168.7.206/18",
       "username":"dev-user",
       "passwd":"$y$j9T$wGRgLBMeecXudQJjJ4BMk.$j3Eil5Pxykb.babzriPpAvOnbfbG8iAfRr0SqfvF9P/"
   }

3. It's finally time to create the VM. Typically, you would use virt-install to begin the setup, connect with VNC, and click through multiple OS installation menus. I did that on this server to set up my other VMs. Now, the Node Wizard handles those steps on our behalf. If you have ever set up many VMs on multiple hosts, you'll see how much easier Node Wizard is compared to alternative methods.

   dev-user@local-dev:~$ node-client -c vmcreate -S 192.168.6.206 -v Node-Wizard-demo1 -f ./Node-Wizard-demo1.json
   
   Starting install...
   Retrieving 'vmlinuz'                                        |    0 B  00:00 ...
   Retrieving 'initrd'                                         |    0 B  00:00 ...
   Allocating 'Node-Wizard-demo1.img'                          |    0 B  00:00 ...
   Creating domain...                                          |    0 B  00:00
   
   Domain is still running. Installation may be in progress.
   You can reconnect to the console to complete the installation process.
   
   VM [Node-Wizard-demo1] installation is started. To check the status using vnc, use -c vncdisplay

   It will take a few minutes for the VM to be created. If you want, the automated installation can be monitored via VNC. The Node Client can provide the VNC port.

   dev-user@local-dev:~$ node-client -c vncdisplay -S 192.168.6.206 -v Node-Wizard-demo1
   5900

   Otherwise, I check the VM status with the Node Client. Here, the Node Client is also reporting on all my existing VMs. Once the new VM, Node-Wizard-demo1, is finished installing, the VM will be in a shut-off state.

   dev-user@local-dev:~$ node-client -c list -S 192.168.6.206
   vm name               vm state
   ------------------    -------------
   Node-Wizard-demo1     running
   VM1                   running
   VM2                   running
   Server1               running
   Server2               running
   Server3               running
   
   ...
   
   dev-user@local-dev:~$ node-client -c list -S 192.168.6.206
   vm name               vm state
   ------------------    -------------
   Node-Wizard-demo1     shut-off
   VM1                   running
   VM2                   running
   Server1               running
   Server2               running
   Server3               running

4. Once the installation is finished, I can start the Node-Wizard-demo1, connect to it, and begin work.

   dev-user@local-dev:~$ node-client -c vmstart -S 192.168.6.206 -v Node-Wizard-demo1
   dev-user@local-dev:~$ ssh dev-user@192.168.7.206

Node Wizard can handle so much more than just automated VM creation. It offers:

• snapshots
• templates
• attaching host devices like GPUs and network devices such as Virtual Functions
• VM life cycle management
• network storage via Ceph RDB

For more information, see Node Client usage page. Thanks for walking along as I set up my two hosts with Node wizard and Node client.