Synnefo » ./kamaki

Creating Servers (Virtual Machines)

===================================

A `server` (also known as `virtual machine`), is created based on a registered

`image` and a hardware setup (also known as `flavor`).

Create a virtual server

-----------------------

List available flavors

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki flavor list -l

    1 C1R128D1drbd

        SNF:disk_template: drbd

        disk:              1

        id:                1

        links:

                href: https://example.com/cyclades/compute/v2.0/flavors/1

                rel:  bookmark

                . . . . . . .

                href: https://example.com/cyclades/compute/v2.0/flavors/1

                rel:  self

        name:              C1R128D1drbd

        ram:               128

        vcpus:             1

    2 C1R128D1plain

        SNF:disk_template: plain

        disk:              1

        id:                2

        links:

                href: https://example.com/cyclades/compute/v2.0/flavors/2

                rel:  bookmark

                . . . . . . .

                href: https://example.com/cyclades/compute/v2.0/flavors/2

                rel:  self

        name:             C1R128D1plain

        ram:              128

        vcpus:            1

List available images

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki image list

    f1r57-1m4g3-1d Debian Base Alpha

    53c0nd-1m4g3-1d Beta Debian Base

Let's pick the `C1R128D1drbd` (id: 1) flavor and the `Debian Base Alpha` (id:

f1r57-1m4g3-1d) image to create a new virtual server called 'My First Server'

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server create --name='My First Server' --flavor-id=1 --image-id=f1r57-1m4g3-1d

    accessIPv4:

    accessIPv6:

    addresses:

    adminPass:       Y0uW0nt5eeMeAg4in

    attachments:

    config_drive:

    created:         2013-06-19T12:34:47.362078+00:00

    diagnostics:

    flavor:

            id:    1

    hostId:

    id:              141

    image:

            id:    f1r57-1m4g3-1d

    key_name:        None

    metadata:

                   os:    debian

                   users: root

    name:            My First Server

    progress:        0

    security_groups:

                      name: default

    status:          BUILD

    suspended:       False

    tenant_id:       s0m3-u53r-1d

    updated:         2013-06-19T12:34:48.512867+00:00

    user_id:         s0m3-u53r-1d

.. note:: The adminPass field is not stored anywhere, therefore users would

    rather write it down and change it the first time they use the virtual

    server

Wait for the virtual server with id 141 to build (optional)

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server wait 141

    <bar showing build progress, until 100%>

    Server 141 is now in ACTIVE mode

Destroy the virtual server (wait is still optional)

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server delete 141 --wait

    <bar showing destruction progress, until 100%>

    Server 141 is now in DELETED mode

Inject ssh keys to a debian server

----------------------------------

Assume that the servers build from the image `Debian Base Alpha` accept ssh

connections. We need to build servers that can log us as root without a

password. This can be achieved if the `/root/.ssh/authorized_keys` file exists

and contains the public key of the current user.

Assume that the public key file of the current user is located at

`/home/someuser/.ssh/id_rsa.pub` . We need to inject this file as

`/root/.ssh/authorized_keys` while creating the virtual server.

Luckily, Synnefo fully supports the OpenStack suggestion for file injections on

virtual servers and kamaki features the **-p** argument (p stands for

`PERSONALITY` and is the term used in the respective

`respective OpenStack <http://docs.openstack.org/api/openstack-compute/2/content/CreateServers.html>`_ description).

The syntax of the -p argument is something called "the personality string"::

    -p <local file path>[,<remote path>[,<remote owner>[,<remote group>[,<mode>]]]]

    e.g.,

    -p /home/someuser/.ssh/id_rsa.pub,/root/.ssh/authorized_keys,root,root,0777

.. note:: In case of omitting an optional part of the personality string, the

    default behavior depends on the remote server, e.g., for a debian image we

    expect the file to have root ownership, if the ownership is not specified.

Create a virtual server while injecting current user public key to root account

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server create --name='NoPassword Server' --flavor-id=1 --image-id=f1r57-1m4g3-1d -p /home/someuser/.ssh/id_rsa.pub,/root/.ssh/authorized_keys

    accessIPv4:

    accessIPv6:

    addresses:

    adminPass:       Th1s1s4U5elessTh1ngN0w

    attachments:

    config_drive:

    created:         2013-06-19T12:34:47.362078+00:00

    diagnostics:

    flavor-id:    1

    hostId:

    id:              142

    image-id:     f1r57-1m4g3-1d

    key_name:        None

    metadata:

                    os:    debian

                    users: root

    name:           No Password Server

    progress:        0

    status:          BUILD

    suspended:       False

    tenant_id:       s0m3-u53r-1d

    updated:         2013-06-19T12:34:48.512867+00:00

    user_id:         s0m3-u53r-1d

When the virtual server is ready, get the virtual servers external IP from the

web UI. Let's assume the IP is 123.456.78.90 .

.. code-block:: console

    $ ssh root@123.456.78.90

    Linux remote-virtual server-4241 2.6.32-5-amd64 #1 SMP XXXX x86_64

    The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;

    the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the

    individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

    Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent

    permitted by applicable law.

    root@remote-virtual server-4241:~# ls -l .ssh/

    total 4

    -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 399 Jun 19 12:34 authorized_keys

    root@remote-virtual server-4241:~#

You can now log to your remote virtual server as root, without a password. Well done!

.. note:: There is no reason to limit injections to ssh keys. Users with an

    adequate understanding of the remote OS are encouraged to prepare and

    inject all kinds of useful files, e.g., **lists of package sources**,

    **default user profiles**, **device mount configurations**, etc.

Clusters of virtual servers

---------------------------

A virtual cluster is a number of virtual servers which have names starting with

the same prefix e.g., *cluster1*, *cluster2*, etc. This prefix acts as the

cluster name. Still, users must be careful not to confuse cluster servers with

other servers that coincidentally have the same prefix (e.g.,

*cluster_of_stars*).

First, let's create a cluster of 4 servers. Each server will run the image with

id *f1r57-1m4g3-1d* on the hardware specified by the flavor with id *1*. The

prefix of the cluster will be "my cluster "

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki

    $ kamaki server

    $ kamaki server create --name="my cluster " --flavor-id=1 --image=if1r57-1m4g3-1d --cluster-size=4 --wait

    ... <omitted for clarity>

    adminPass:       S0mePassw0rd0n3

    flavor-id: 1

    id: 322

    image-id: f1r57-1m4g3-1d

    name: my cluster 1

    [progress bar waiting server to build]

    Server 321: status is now ACTIVE

    ... <omitted for clarity>

    adminPass: S0mePassw0rdTwo

    flavor-id: 1

    id: 321

    image-id: f1r57-1m4g3-1d

    name: my cluster 2

    [progress bar waiting server to build]

    Server 322: status is now ACTIVE

    ... <omitted for clarity>

    adminPass: S0mePassw0rdThree

    created: 2013-06-19T12:34:55.362078+00:00

    flavor0id: 1

    id: 323

    image-id: f1r57-1m4g3-1d

    name: my cluster 3

    [progress bar waiting server to build]

    Server 323: status is now ACTIVE

    ... <omitted for clarity>

    adminPass:  S0mePassw0rdFour

    created: 2013-06-19T12:34:59.362078+00:00

    flavor-id: 1

    id: 324

    image-id: f1r57-1m4g3-1d

    name: my cluster 4

    [progress bar waiting server to build]

    Server 324: status is now ACTIVE

.. note:: The virtual servers can be created asynchronously. To activate

    asynchronous operations, set max_theads to some value greater than 1.

    Default is 1, though.

    .. code-block:: console

        # Create a cluster using multithreading (4 threads)

        $ kamaki server create --name="my cluster " --flavor-id=1 --image=if1r57-1m4g3-1d --cluster-size=4 --wait --threads=4

.. note:: the *- - wait* argument is optional, but if not used, the *create*

    call will terminate as long as the servers are spawned, even if they are

    not built yet.

.. warning:: The server details (password, etc.) are printed in

    **standard output** while the progress bar and notification messages are

    printed in **standard error**

Now, let's see our clusters:

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server list --name-prefix 'my cluster '

    321 my cluster 2

    322 my cluster 1

    323 my cluster 3

    324 my cluster 4

For demonstration purposes, let's suppose that the maximum resource limit is

reached if we create 2 more servers. We will attempt to expand "my cluster" by

4 servers, expecting kamaki to raise a quota error.

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server create --name="my cluster " --flavor-id=1 --image-id=f1r57-1m4g3-1d --cluster-size=4 --wait

    Failed to build 4 servers

    Found 2 matching servers:

    325 my cluster 1

    326 my cluster 2

    Check if any of these servers should be removed

    (413) REQUEST ENTITY TOO LARGE overLimit (Resource Limit Exceeded for your

    account.)

    |  Limit for resource 'Virtual Machine' exceeded for your account.

    Available: 0, Requested: 1

The cluster expansion has failed, but 2 of the attempted 4 servers are being

created right now. It's up to the users judgment to destroy or keep them.

First, we need to list all servers:

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server list --name-prefix="my cluster "

    321 my cluster 2

    322 my cluster 1

    323 my cluster 3

    324 my cluster 4

    325 my cluster 1

    326 my cluster 2

.. warning:: Kamaki will always create clusters by attaching an increment at

    the right of the prefix. The increments always start from 1.

Now, our cluster seems messed up. Let's destroy it and rebuilt it.

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server delete --cluster "my cluster " --wait

    [progress bar waiting server to be deleted]

    Server 321: status is now DELETED

    [progress bar waiting server to be deleted]

    Server 322: status is now DELETED

    [progress bar waiting server to be deleted]

    Server 323: status is now DELETED

    [progress bar waiting server to be deleted]

    Server 324: status is now DELETED

    [progress bar waiting server to be deleted]

    Server 325: status is now DELETED

    [progress bar waiting server to be deleted]

    Server 326: status is now DELETED

.. note:: *delete* performs a single deletion if fed with a server id, but it

    performs a mass deletion based on the name, if called with --cluster

While creating the first cluster, we had to write down all passwords 

The passwords for each server are printed on the console while creating them.

It would be far more convenient, though, if we could massively inject an ssh

key into all of them. Let's do that!

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server create --name="my new cluster " --flavor-id=1 --image-id=f1r57-1m4g3-1d --cluster-size=4 --wait --personality=/home/someuser/.ssh/id_rsa.pub,/root/.ssh/authorized_keys,root,root,0777

    ... <output omitted for clarity>

Now, let's check if the cluster has been created.

.. code-block:: console

    $ kamaki server list --name-prefix="my new cluster "

    321 my new cluster 1

    322 my new cluster 2

    323 my new cluster 3

    324 my new cluster 4

We now have a cluster of 4 virtual servers and we can ssh in all of them

without a password.