Set Up Azure

Proceed only if...

  1. You have completed all the checks on your current TOS Classic system and the results indicate you are ready to set up your target machine.
  2. Your target platform meets all general and platform-specific prerequisites.
  3. You have available all IP, DNS and other information needed to set up the server and TOS Aurora. We recommended putting this information in your worksheet and sharing with relevant administrators.

Otherwise, go back.

In this step you will:

  • Prepare an Azure VM ready to install TOS Aurora

Overview

This procedure is for the setting up of an Azure VM ready to create a TOS Aurora cluster on it or to add it as a node to an existing TOS Aurora cluster.

Procedure Flow

Complete the steps below in sequence.

For additional help, refer to the Microsoft Azure official documentation - Create a Linux virtual machine in the Azure portal

  1. Log in to your Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Marketplace and create a VM.

  3. Under the Basics tab, enter/select the following information:

    • Subscription - your Azure subscription name
    • Resource Group - your Azure resource group name
    • Virtual Machine Name - a name of your choice to identify the VM e.g. myVirtualMachine-0
    • Region - select from the list
    • Image - select one of the following from the list:

      • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6, 8.8, or 8.9

      • Rocky Linux 8.6, 8.8, or 8.9

    • Size - select CPUs and memory as advised by your account team
    • Authentication type - select SSH public key
    • User name - enter azureuser
    • SSH public key source - select generate new key pair
    • Key pair name - use the default name provided

  4. Under the Disks tab, enter/select the following information

    • OS disk type - select Premium SSD
    • Encryption - default

  5. Select Create and attach a new disk.

  6. Enter the disk details:

    • Enter a Name of your choice.

    • Set Host caching to Read/write.

    • Select a storage type Take into consideration that TOS requires 7,500 IOPS and the throughput expected will average 250MB/s with bursts of up to 700MB/s.

    • Set Storage Size GiB to the disk space sizing requirement given to you by your account team.

  7. Save the disk defintions.

  8. If you want a public IP:

    • Select the Networking tab
    • Under Public IP, click Create new.
    • Enter a name.
    • Select SKU - Standard.

  9. Under the Tags tab, create two tags, replacing <your name> and <your environment name> with names of your choice:

    • owner: <your name>
    • env: <your environment name>
  10. Click Review and Create
  11. Click Create. The generate new key pair prompt appears.
  12. Generate a new key pair. Click Download private key and create resource. The private key will be downloaded to your PC as a file with suffix .pem. It will be needed to log into the VM console.

  13. Navigate to the directory on your PC that contains the .pem file just downloaded (<pem_key_name>) and change its permissions to prevent other users from running it.

    If your PC is running on a Linux-like operating system:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# chmod 400 <pem_key_name>
    chmod 400 <pem_key_name>

  14. You can now log in to the VM console whenever required.

    Log in to the Azure VM console where <pem_key_name> is the name of the .pem file downloaded previously from the Azure portal, <azureuser> is the name of your Azure user on the VM and <IP> is its private or public IP. The private and optional public IPs can be seen on the Networking tab.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# ssh -i <pem_key_name> <azureuser>@<IP>
    ssh -i <pem_key_name> <azureuser>@<IP>
  15. In the portal, select the newly created VM and then select the Networking tab.

  16. Select Add inbound port rule and create a rule with the properties below:

    • Source: Any
    • Source port ranges: *
    • Destination: Any
    • Destination port ranges: 31443, 31617, 31514, 31099, 31843, 30161, 30514, 31161 - see Ports and Services to see why
    • Protocol: Any
    • Action: Allow
    • Priority: 310
    • Name: TOS_Aurora or other name of your choice
    • Description: TOS_Aurora or other description of your choice
There is a step in this procedure that will cause the system to reboot, with access only from the Azure Serial Console until the machine is rebooted for the second time. Before starting, make sure you have access to the Azure Serial Console.

You will need to configure three partitions: /opt, /tmp and /var, as well as a separate disk for etcd. The /opt partition will contain your data, which will increase over time. Most of your available disk space should be allocated to this partition and the minimum is determined by the load model parameter (small, medium, large) provided by your account team. Minimum sizes for all partitions:

Minimum Partition Sizes

/opt/

(Small)*

/opt/

(Medium)*

/opt/

(Large)*

/tmp/

 

/var/

 

etcd
Central cluster / remote cluster primary data node / HA data nodes 80 GB 170 GB 370 GB 25 GB 200GB 128 GB
Worker node (central and remote clusters) 70 GB 70 GB 70 GB 25 GB 60 GB N/A

*Small, medium and large refer to the load model parameter provided by your account team.

We recommend allocating /opt partition all remaining disk space after you have partitioned the other directories.

  1. Log in to the Azure VM console where <pem_key_name> is the name of the .pem file downloaded previously from the Azure portal, <azureuser> is the name of your Azure user on the VM and <IP> is its private or public IP. The private and optional public IPs can be seen on the Networking tab.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# ssh -i <pem_key_name> <azureuser>@<IP>
    ssh -i <pem_key_name> <azureuser>@<IP>

  2. List the disks to verify the new disk has been added. 

    [<ADMIN> ~]# lsblk -o NAME,HCTL,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT | grep -i "sd"
    lsblk -o NAME,HCTL,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT | grep -i "sd"

    The output will appear similar to the example below, where "sdc" is the disk you just added.

    sda     2:0:0:0      30G
├─sda1              500M /boot
├─sda2               29G /
├─sda14               4M
└─sda15             495M /boot/efi
sdb     3:0:1:0     128G
└─sdb1              128G /mnt/resource
sdc     5:0:0:0     2T

  3. Create a new volume group:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# parted /dev/sdc --script mklabel gpt mkpart xfspart xfs 0% 100%
    parted /dev/sdc --script mklabel gpt mkpart xfspart xfs 0% 100%
    [<ADMIN> ~]# vgcreate VolGroup01 /dev/sdc1
    vgcreate VolGroup01 /dev/sdc1

  4. Create and mount an XFS partition for /tmp. 

    [<ADMIN> ~]# lvcreate -L +<size>G -n LogVol01 VolGroup01
    lvcreate -L +<size>G -n LogVol01 VolGroup01
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol01
    mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol01
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol01 /tmp
    mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol01 /tmp

    where <size> is the partition size in GB; the minimum size appears at the beginning of this section.

  5. Create and mount an XFS partition for /mnt/newvar:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# mkdir -p /mnt/newvar
    mkdir -p /mnt/newvar
    [<ADMIN> ~]# lvcreate -L +<size>G -n LogVol02 VolGroup01
    lvcreate -L +<size>G -n LogVol02 VolGroup01
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol02
    mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol02
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol02 /mnt/newvar
    mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol02 /mnt/newvar

    where <size> is the partition size in GB; the minimum size appears at the beginning of this section.

  6. Create and mount an XFS partition for /opt, allocating all remaining disk space; the minimum size appears at the beginning of this section. Note that the -l parameter below requires a lowercase 'L', whereas the two previous uses of lvcreate above use uppercase. 

    [<ADMIN> ~]# lvcreate -l +100%FREE -n LogVol03 VolGroup01
    lvcreate -l +100%FREE -n LogVol03 VolGroup01
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol03
    mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol03
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol03 /opt
    mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol03 /opt

  7. Edit file fstab. For example:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# vi /etc/fstab
    vi /etc/fstab

    Add lines: 

    /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol01  /tmp xfs defaults 1 2
/dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol02  /var xfs defaults 1 2
/dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol03  /opt xfs defaults 1 2

    Save and close.

  8. Set run level (runlevel) to 1. This is required to move directory /var and until the machine is rebooted, access will be possible only from the Azure Serial Console.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# init 1
    init 1

  9. Copy and backup your existing /var directory content.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# cp -apx /var/* /mnt/newvar
    cp -apx /var/* /mnt/newvar
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mv /var /var.old
    mv /var /var.old

  10. Unmount directory /mnt/newvar.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# umount /mnt/newvar
    umount /mnt/newvar

  11. Create and mount the new /var partition.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# mkdir /var
    mkdir /var
    [<ADMIN> ~]# mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol02 /var
    mount -t xfs /dev/mapper/VolGroup01-LogVol02 /var

  12. Reboot your machine.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# reboot
    reboot

  13. Verify partitions. The output should be similar to that below.

    # lsblk
sdc                         8:32   0    1T  0 disk
 └─sdc1                     8:33   0    1T  0 part
    ├─VolGroup01-LogVol01 253:0    0   32G  0 lvm  /tmp
    ├─VolGroup01-LogVol02 253:1    0  300G  0 lvm  /var
    └─VolGroup01-LogVol03 253:2    0  693G  0 lvm  /opt

  14. If you can see the three directories /tmp, /var and /opt as shown above, directory /var.old is no longer needed. To delete:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# rm /var.old -rf
    rm /var.old -rf

For additional help, refer to the MicrosoftAzure official documentation - Create a public load balancer to load balance VMs using the Azure portal and Configure port forwarding in Azure Load Balancer using the portal

  1. Log in to your Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Load Balancers.

  3. Select Create. The Create load balancer window appears.

  4. Enter the following details:

    • Resource Group - the Azure resource group specified for your VM
    • Name - a suitable name for the load balancer
    • Type: Public if you want a public IP address, otherwise Internal.
    • SKU: Standard
    • Public IP address: (When type is Public). This is different from the public IP address of your VM. If you already have an IP address for the load balancer, select Use existing and enter the IP, otherwise leave the default Create new.
    • Public IP address name : (When type is Public). Enter a suitable name to refer to the public IP address.
    • IP Address Assignment: (When type is Internal). Select Dynamic.
    • Availability zone: Select Zone redundant.

    • Tags. Specify two tags, replacing <your name> and <your environment name> with names of your choice. It is recommended to use the same values used for your VM:

      • owner: <your name>
      • env: <your environment name>

    Leave the default values for all other fields.

    Click Create.

  5. Select the load balancer you just created.
  6. Select Overview and note the public IP address; you will need this shortly.

  7. Configure the load balancer backend pool:

    1. Select Backend pools.
    2. Select Add. The Add backend pool window appears.

    3. Enter details:

      • Name - a suitable name of your choice for the backend pool
      • Virtual Network - your virtual network
      • Virtual Machines - add the VM you created previously

    4. Click Add at the bottom of the page. The pool will be added.

  8. Configure the load balancer health probe:

    1. Select Health Probes.
    2. Select Add. The Add health probe window appears.

    3. Enter details:

      • Name - a suitable name of your choice for the health probe
      • Protocol: TCP
      • Port: 31443
      • Interval: 5
      • Unhealthy threshold: 2

    4. Click Add at the bottom of the page. The health probe will be added.

  9. Configure load balancing rules:

    1. Select Load Balancing Rules.
    2. Select Add The Add load balancing rule window appears.

    3. Add a load balancing rule with the following values:

      • Name: Any name of your choice
      • Frontend IP address: Enter the public IP address of the loadbalancer, noted above from the overview
      • Protocol: TCP
      • Port: 443
      • Backend port: 31443
      • Backend pool: Select the backend pool added above
      • Health probe: Select the health probe added above
      • Leave other fields with their default values.

    4. Click Add at the bottom of the page. The rule will be added.

    5. Repeat steps b. to d. for additional load balancing rules, entering a suitable name for each, with protocol, port and backend port. All rules are listed below - see Ports and Services for more information.

      Protocol

      Source

      Target

      Purpose
      TCP 443 31443

      Mandatory
      TCP 61617 31617

      Remote collector connectivity
      TCP 9099 31099

      OPM devices
      TCP 8443 31843

      Remote collector connectivity

      TCP

      9090

      31090

      Remote collector connectivity

      TCP

      6514

      31514

      TCP syslogs
      UDP 514 30514

      UDP syslogs
      UDP 161 30161

      SNMP monitoring
      UDP 10161 31161

      SNMP monitoring
    6. Click OK.

  1. If you are not currently logged in as user root, do so now.

    [<ADMIN> ~]$ su -
    su -

  2. If you want to change the host name or IP of the machine, do so now. Once TOS Aurora has been installed, changing the host name or IP address will require reinstalling - see Changing IP Address/Host Names. To change the host name, use the command below, replacing <mynode> with your preferred name.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# hostnamectl set-hostname <mynode>
    hostnamectl set-hostname <mynode>

  3. Modify the environment path to run TOS CLI commands without specifying the full path (/usr/local/bin/tos). 

    [<ADMIN> ~]# echo 'export PATH="${PATH}:/usr/local/bin"' | sudo tee -a /root/.bashrc > /dev/null
    echo 'export PATH="${PATH}:/usr/local/bin"' | sudo tee -a /root/.bashrc > /dev/null

  4. Synchronize your machine time with a trusted NTP server. Follow the steps in Configuring NTP Using Chrony.

  5. Configure the server timezone.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# timedatectl set-timezone <timezone>
    timedatectl set-timezone <timezone>

    where <timezone> is in the format Area/Location. Examples: America/Jamaica, Hongkong, GMT, Europe/Prague. List the time-zone formats that can be used in the command.

    [<ADMIN> ~]# timedatectl list-timezones
    timedatectl list-timezones

  6. Upgrade the kernel:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# dnf upgrade
    dnf upgrade

  7. Disable SELinux:

    • If file /etc/selinux/config exists, edit and change the value of SELINUX to disabled:

      SELINUX=disabled
    • If the file doesn't exist or SELINUX is already set to disabled, do nothing.
  8. Reboot the machine and log in.
  9. Install Wireguard. This is needed to encrypt communication between nodes (machines) within the cluster. See Install Wireguard and follow the steps for your Linux distribution.
  10. Reboot the machine and log in.

  11. Install tmux and rsync:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# dnf install -y rsync tmux
    dnf install -y rsync tmux

  12. Disable the firewall:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# systemctl stop firewalld
    systemctl stop firewalld
    [<ADMIN> ~]# systemctl disable firewalld
    systemctl disable firewalld

  13. Create the TOS Aurora load module configuration file /etc/modules-load.d/tufin.conf. Example using vi:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# vi /etc/modules-load.d/tufin.conf
    vi /etc/modules-load.d/tufin.conf

  14. Specify the modules to be loaded by adding the following lines to the configuration file created in the previous step. The modules will then be loaded automatically on boot.

    br_netfilter
    wireguard
    overlay
    ebtables
    ebtable_filter
    br_netfilter wireguard overlay ebtables ebtable_filter

  15. Load the above modules now:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# cat /etc/modules-load.d/tufin.conf |xargs modprobe -a 
    cat /etc/modules-load.d/tufin.conf |xargs modprobe -a

    Look carefully at the output to confirm all modules loaded correctly; an error message will be issued for any modules that failed to load.

  16. Check that Wireguard has loaded correctly. 

    [<ADMIN> ~]# lsmod |grep wireguard
    lsmod |grep wireguard

    The output will appear something like this:

    wireguard              201106  0
ip6_udp_tunnel         12755  1 wireguard
udp_tunnel             14423  1 wireguard

    If Wireguard is not listed in the output, contact support.

  17. Create the TOS Aurora kernel configuration file /etc/sysctl.d/tufin.conf. Example using vi:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# vi /etc/sysctl.d/tufin.conf
    vi /etc/sysctl.d/tufin.conf

  18. Specify the kernel settings to be made by adding the following lines to the configuration file created in the previous step. The settings will then be applied on boot. 

    net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 1
    fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 1048576
    fs.inotify.max_user_instances = 10000
    net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
    net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 1 fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 1048576 fs.inotify.max_user_instances = 10000 net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1

  19. Apply the above kernel settings now:

    [<ADMIN> ~]# sysctl --system
    sysctl --system
For maximum security, we recommend only installing official security updates and security patches for your Linux distribution, as well as the RPMs specifically mentioned in this section.

Can I Proceed?

Continue to the next step only if...

  • You have completed the setup described above.