Storage node on existing file server
-
I’d like to use an existing file server as a storage node but I know that the install scripts installs and sets up a few services… Some of these services are already running on my filesever. I am wondering what effect it will have on these.
The ones I am particularly concerned about are mysql and nfs.
-
What operating system is your existing file server?
-
Debian 9.4
-
The fog installer overwrites the
/etc/exportsfile. You can disable this functionality by settingblexports='0'in the/opt/fog/.fogsettingsfile.
Reference: https://wiki.fogproject.org/wiki/index.php?title=.fogsettings#NFS -
OK, any other services that it would affecft? I assume it will just create another db when it sees mysql already running?
-
@scorbin Just to be clear, you want a storage node right? Not a full FOG server?
If you want a storage node, you can by hand create a storage node. Or run the fog installer and then realign the bits. For a storage node, mysql is not installed.
What is installed is NFS, ftp, tftp (if you want pxe booting from storage node).
But before we go down this rabbit hole too much, what is the reason for wanting to use this file server as a storage node?
-
@george1421 My Fog server is a VM. My original plan was to have files served from my existing NFS server to the VM and fog would take care of business from there. I set everything up and attempted to image a machine and realized that during imaging fog mounts the images directory, or a child thereof, in order to do the imaging. As such NFS cannot share a share from another NFS server, as would be the case in this situation. So I figured I could make my existing NFS server a storage node and all would be good, at least that is the plan. I was kinda leaning toward create the storage node by hand but it sounds like if I back up my /etc/exports file and merge it with the final product after the install I should be golden. I figured it was just the mysql client that it installed if anything, just wanted to make sure.
-
@scorbin Fair enough on your use case. FOG can work in this configuration.
If you run the fog installer on your Debian server, expect that it will load vsftp, apache, fog application pages, php, nfs and tftp. Expect the fog server to step on all configuration files related to these services. If your existing file server doesn’t use anything but nfs, then just backing up your exports (and/or using the installer flag that Wayne mentioned) then knitting the config file afterwards should be OK. Fog does have a requirement to have the firewall off as well as selinx set to permissive.
Once all that is set you can use your fog server as the manager to your storage node. Actually you will want to flip the roles a bit. But first step is to get the debian server to act as a storage node.
-
@george1421 Awesome. Sounds like a plan then. Just curious… you said something about flipping the roles… What would you suggest? I was thinking about making my file server the entire FOG setup but figured with existing services running it would be easier to squeeze in just the storage node portion.
-
I am running the install for storage node now. I see that it needs openssh-server. I assume it just needs it present, so no modification of certs or configuration, correct?
-
@scorbin What you will do is, once you get your storage node setup, then you will go into the storage group where your master fog server is and your new storage node. Then untick the master node check box for your vm fog server, and then tick the master node check box for your storage node vm.
In this configuration your vm will become the supervisory node with all image capture and deploys going through your storage node. As I said once you get the traditional roles setup, we can then work on flipping them.
-
@scorbin right it just needs to be there to create the server self signed certificates.
-
@george1421 That is pretty much what I did to do to get it to capture the image. I think what I did could be considered equivelant but maybe you can weigh in on that.
What I did was create a new storage group with my fileserver in it, disabled the default storage group and switched my image to use the new storage group. It seems to be working. So now my VM is basically handling all the control, scheduling, info managment, and frontend and the file server is doing all of the file serving. Just wondering if you have a link to documentation on how to install by hand. I would like to create a puppet module at some point to install storage nodes and perhaps even the full fog system. -
@scorbin First, that method will work it will provide the same results. From a fog server standpoint, only master nodes in storage groups can capture images. The “intent” of storage nodes are deploy only. But as you can see if you know what you are doing you can tweak the design a bit.
As for an article for how to by hand install FOG. There really isn’t one. What you have setup is what the lawyers call an “unsupported configuration”. That’s not saying it won’t work perfectly, it is just not what the developers had envisioned. There is quite a bit of magic that goes on in the script to support the 6-8 different distributions. You can cut out quite a bit if you are only dealing with one OS. If you wanted to automate the install a bit, there is a hidden file in /opt/fog called .fogsettings If someone was to tweak (prepopulate) that file and then adjust the installer script a little, you could make an unattended install.
-
@george1421 Cool. Thanks a lot for all of your help.
