Trending Topics

Implement and configure AWS Backup for VMware Cloud on AWS VM workloads

Image
In our previous post we saw the design of the AWS Backup on VMC. In this post we’re going through the implementation steps As per the design and best practice, we are going to use the ENI for the Backup traffic CREATE A VPC ENDPOINT  TO CREATE AN INTERFACE ENDPOINT FOR AN AWS SERVICE 1. Open the Amazon VPC console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/vpc    2. In the navigation pane, choose Endpoints 3. Choose Create endpoint 4. Name the endpoint   5. For Service category, choose AWS services 6. For Service name, search “ Backup ” and select “ backup-gateway ” service from the dropdown 7. For VPC, select the VPC which we used for SDDC deployment and extension 8. To create an interface endpoint for Amazon S3, you must “uncheck” Additional settings, Enable DNS name. This is because Amazon S3 does not support private DNS for interface VPC endpoints 9. For  Subnets , select one subnet per Availability Zone which we used for SDDC VMC selection  10. For Security group , sel

Setup a Kickstart Server


1. Install and configure the DHCPD server

02. Install tftp server and enable TFTP service
a. yum install tftp-server
    b. Enable TFTP server. 
       vi /etc/xinetd.d/tftp and change disable to 'no'
    c. service xinetd restart
03. Install syslinux if not already installed
a. yum install syslinux
04. Copy needed files from syslinux to the tftpboot directory
cp /usr/lib/syslinux/pxelinux.0 /tftpboot
    cp /usr/lib/syslinux/menu.c32 /tftpboot
    cp /usr/lib/syslinux/memdisk /tftpboot
    cp /usr/lib/syslinux/mboot.c32 /tftpboot
    cp /usr/lib/syslinux/chain.c32 /tftpboot
04. Create the directory for your PXE menus
mkdir /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg
05. For each "Release" and "ARCH" Copy vmlinuz and initrd.img from /images/pxeboot/ directory on "disc 1" of that $Release/$ARCH to /tftpboot/images/RHEL/$ARCH/$RELEASE
mkdir -p /tftpboot/images/RHEL/i386/4.3
    mkdir -p /tftpboot/images/RHEL/i386/5.5
    mkdir -p /tftpboot/images/RHEL/x86_64/4.3
    mkdir -p /tftpboot/images/RHEL/x86_64/5.5
For RHEL 5.5 x86_64, do the following
mount /dev/cdrom /cdrom
    cd /cdrom/images/pxeboot
    cp vmlinuz initrd.img /tftpboot/images/RHEL/x86_64/5.5
Do the above for all releases and ARCH you want to kickstart from this server.
06. Add this to your existing or new /etc/dhcpd.conf.
Note: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of your PXE server
allow booting;
    allow bootp;
    option option-128 code 128 = string;
    option option-129 code 129 = text;
    next-server xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx; 
    filename "/pxelinux.0";
07. Restart DHCP service
# service dhcpd restart
08. Create Simple or Multilevel PIXIE menu. Create a file called "default" in /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg directory. A Sample file named "isolinux.cfg" is found on the boot installation media in "isolinux" directory. Copy this file as default and edit this file as per requirement. A sample default file is given bellow.
default menu.c32
prompt 0
timeout 300
ONTIMEOUT local

MENU TITLE PXE Menu

LABEL Pmajic
        MENU LABEL Pmajic
        kernel images/pmagic/bzImage
        append noapic initrd=images/pmagic/initrd.gz root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk_size=100000

label Dos Bootdisk
        MENU LABEL ^Dos bootdisk
        kernel memdisk
        append initrd=images/622c.img

LABEL RHEL 5 x86 eth0
        MENU LABEL RHEL 5 x86 eth0
        KERNEL images/RHEL/x86/5.5/vmlinuz
        APPEND initrd=images/RHEL/x86_64/5.5/initrd.img ramdisk_size=10000 
               ks=nfs:xx.xx.xx.xxx:/ ksdevice=eth1

LABEL RHEL 5 x86_64  eth0
        MENU LABEL RHEL 5 x86_64  eth0
        KERNEL images/RHEL/x86_64/5.5/vmlinuz
        APPEND initrd=images/RHEL/x86_64/5.5/initrd.img ramdisk_size=10000 
               ks=nfs:xx.xx.xx.xxx:/ ksdevice=eth1
09. Install the kickstart Configurator tool. This tool will be helpful to create the kickstart configuration file.
yum install system-config-kickstart
10. Create the kickstart config file. This file can be created using kickstart Configuration Tool. A Sample file anaconda-ks.cfg based on current installation of a system is placed in /root directory. We can also use this /root/anaconda-ks-cfg as the configuration file. Copy this file to the location specified in the default file. Make sure the directory is NFS exported if you are using NFS for installing the OS.
11. Modify the kickstart configuration file as per requirement. If you are using NFS for installation, Make sure to copy the ISO images of Linux disks to any NFS server and NFS export the directory. This server/directory details need to be specified in the jumpstart configuration file.
12. After creating the KS configuration files and copying the ISO images, the installation can be started.

Popular posts from this blog

HOW TO EDIT THE BCD REGISTRY FILE

Image
The BCD registry file controls which operating system installation starts and how long the boot manager waits before starting Windows. Basically, it’s like the Boot.ini file in earlier versions of Windows. If you need to edit it, the easiest way is to use the Startup And Recovery tool from within Vista. Just follow these steps: 1. Click Start. Right-click Computer, and then click Properties. 2. Click Advanced System Settings. 3. On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. 4. Click the Default Operating System list, and edit other startup settings. Then, click OK. Same as Windows XP, right? But you’re probably not here because you couldn’t find that dialog box. You’re probably here because Windows Vista won’t start. In that case, you shouldn’t even worry about editing the BCD. Just run Startup Repair, and let the tool do what it’s supposed to. If you’re an advanced user, like an IT guy, you might want to edit the BCD file yourself. You can do this
Read more

DNS Scavenging.

                        DNS Scavenging is a great answer to a problem that has been nagging everyone since RFC 2136 came out way back in 1997.  Despite many clever methods of ensuring that clients and DHCP servers that perform dynamic updates clean up after themselves sometimes DNS can get messy.  Remember that old test server that you built two years ago that caught fire before it could be used?  Probably not.  DNS still remembers it though.  There are two big issues with DNS scavenging that seem to come up a lot: "I'm hitting this 'scavenge now' button like a snare drum and nothing is happening.  Why?" or "I woke up this morning, my DNS zones are nearly empty and Active Directory is sitting in a corner rocking back and forth crying.  What happened?" This post should help us figure out when the first issue will happen and completely avoid the second.  We'll go through how scavenging is setup then I'll give you my best practices.  Scavenging s
Read more

AD LDS – Syncronizing AD LDS with Active Directory

Image
First, we will install the AD LDS Instance: 1. Create and AD LDS instance by clicking Start -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Setup Wizard. The Setup Wizard appears. 2. Click Next . The Setup Options dialog box appears. For the sake of this guide, a unique instance will be the primary focus. I will have a separate post regarding AD LDS replication at some point in the near future. 3. Select A unique instance . 4. Click Next and the Instance Name dialog box appears. The instance name will help you identify and differentiate it from other instances that you may have installed on the same end point. The instance name will be listed in the data directory for the instance as well as in the Add or Remove Programs snap-in. 5. Enter a unique instance name, for example IDG. 6. Click Next to display the Ports configuration dialog box. 7. Leave ports at their default values unless you have conflicts with the default values. 8. Click N
Read more