Multi-site FOG Install w/ 1 Database

[Psycholiquid]

Simple instructions on how to setup a multi-site FOG environment with one database for better data handling. This will be a work in progress so please bear with me as I write this. I will remove this line once complete. This guide will be using trunk not release. So if you are uncomfortable with the extra steps please be aware things can go wrong and should not be used if you are dependent upon everything working all the time.

Hardware / software used:

ESXi Server
VM with 1 CPU, 1 GB of memory, and 2 HDDs (One for the OS and one for the Images)((This is a personal preference))
Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS 64bit

Prep information needed:

(These settings can be obtained from a network admin if you are not currently that person)
IP address used for the server
Netmask
Gateway
DNS addresses (Always good to have more than one if possible)(Will need in order to resolve hosts names later)

Installing Linux OS

Start by choosing your OS that will be used for your FOG environment. For this guide we will be using Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS. This will be installed without a GUI for a smaller footprint and better utilization of the server.

Download the ISO. Either burn the ISO to disk or mount the ISO in your VM. Once mounted and VM is turned on run through the install process.

Setting up network during install will help you later so setup the network for static if given the option (Basically either unplug the network card physically or disconnect your network connection on your VM. Choose to setup your network manually. (Personal preference, if you are comfortable with using DHCP for a server by all means do so.) Setup your IP, netmask, gateway and DNS make sure you have this information readily available for later.

Fill out your hostname (Name of the server). Fill out Domain name, This will be the name of your domain unless you dont have one.

Example: domain.net or domain.local

Now for user setup, this will be your admin user. There has been some confusion on what to name the user. This can be any name you want, however you can not use fog as a username. This is reserved for the fog software and should be avoided as to not cause problems in the future. a good login would could be one of the following but is only a suggestion not a template to work off of.

Usernames:
ladmin
fogadmin
admin
god
ITGod
Jeepsrock
Thisisenoughofusernames (See what I did there LOL)

So setup your username in the following order:

Name of user (Generic name)
Account login (actual login name)
Password (Shhhh its a secret)

Encrypting your home directory. I am personally not in the business of caring whether or not it is encrypted due to my network being segmented and secure. However if you are in doubt encrypt. Better to be safe than sorry.

Now set your timezone (EST/GMT/CST/PST).

Disk setup and partitioning

For ease of use in this document we will be using “Guided - use entire disk and setup LVM”. The reasoning for this is in case we want to resize the disk later. It is much easier to deal with if you go ahead and setup LVM in the first place rather than mess with gparted or other forms of partitioning. Choose your disk setup for the OS (In my case the 16 gig Disk) and leave the other disk alone for now.

You will be asked to write changes to the disk and configure LVM. Choose Yes. Use the whole volume for the partitioning. Then choose to write changes to disk at the end. The install will begin running other scripts and installing needed software. Near the end of the install you will be asked for proxy information. Enter proxy if you have one. If there is no proxy hit enter for blank. More install actions will take place and you will be presented to choose how updates are applied. Choose one and press enter.

Once everything is installed and setup in its most basic form you will be ask if you would like to install other features. For ease of use I choose OpenSSH server for ease of use later. It will allow you to connect to your server via SSH using putty or other such software which will take place later in this guide. So for the purposes of this guide choose Open SSH server and press enter.

Important Note Do not choose and other options in this screen unless you know what you are doing. Some of these options can cause issues with the FOG install later.

Lastly you will be asked to "Install GRUB Bootloader into MBR. Allow this and the install will finish up. Remove the CD from the drive or disconnect the Drive from the VM and press enter to reboot into the installed OS.

(Further editing coming…)

[Psycholiquid]

First Login

Once your install is complete you will login as the user you setup in the first page. Take note of the time, date, and version of your OS. The OS will need to be upgraded and updated before we start the FOG install process. We will also be adding a few software applications which will be used later in this guide.

Example:

Start by upgrading the OS to the latest version. run the following command:

sudo apt-get upgrade

You will be asked for the root password, this will be the same password you setup with the user you created and logged in with. This will upgrade the OS version to the latest.

Now update the software installed to the latest by running the following command:

sudo apt-get update

This should not ask you for the password unless you have rebooted since upgrading. If it does enter and press enter.

We will now install subversion. This software will allow us to install the FOG trunk software. this will be the development FOG. Again this can introduce bugs and can also render FOG unusable until the Development teams finds and eliminates the bug. This is not an instant fix and could take days before it is fixed. Please if you cannot wait do not use the trunk version. Install subversion by the following command:

sudo apt-get install subversion

You will be ask if you would like to install once the files are verified, Type Y and press enter.

Setting up Imaging drive. This will be a second drive. this is done for the purpose of having it separated from the OS in case of OS failure. This will allow reinstall and he images will remain undamaged. the drive will be mounted to a folder and presented as the contents of the folder.

First start by creating a folder to hold images in the root of the OS the prompt should look something like this “ladmin@testfog:/$”

Where ladmin = the user, testfog = the server, and /$ is the current location. If you are not in the root type “cd /” this will put you into the root of the drive.

Now that we are at the root of the drive lets make a images folder by typing the following:

sudo mkdir images

Currently trying to determine the best way to explain formatting, partitioning, and mounting a drive into /images.
**** Editing the partitioning of the drive and file system set****
**** Editing the partitioning of the drive and file system set****
**** Editing the partitioning of the drive and file system set****
**** Editing the partitioning of the drive and file system set****
**** Editing the partitioning of the drive and file system set****
**** Editing the partitioning of the drive and file system set****
**** Editing the partitioning of the drive and file system set****

Now lets mount the drive to the folder with the following command:

sudo mount /dev/sdb /images

Now we have all we need in order to install FOG from the trunk and start setting up for imaging.

[Psycholiquid]

Claiming for further editing

[Psycholiquid]

Claiming for further editing

[Psycholiquid]

Claiming for further editing

[Psycholiquid]

Claiming for further editing

[Psycholiquid]

Claiming for further editing

OK lets try this again, going to start working on this again. Got tied up in other work functions and was torn away form this.

[Wayne Workman]

wiki Hash tagging this for future addition to the WiKi