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Create vContainer VM Instance on AWS

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To create a vContainer host, you must create a virtual machine (VM)vinstance for it. This article describes how to create a VM instance on Amazon AWS. You can also create the VM on a server running the vSphere ESXi Hypervisor software or the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) Hypervisor software.

To create the vContainer VM instance on Amazon AWS, first create a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). The VPC is a self-contained environment in which you build the infrastructure you need in order to build your network.

Plan your network addressing carefully before creating the VPC. The VPC can use addresses only in the range you specify, and once you create a VPC, you cannot modify it. If your network addressing requirements change, you must delete the VPC and create a new one.

To create a vContainer host on Amazon AWS:

  1. Create a VPC.
  2. Configure subnets in the VPC.
  3. Deploy the vContainer VM instance.
  4. Create and configure two additional network interfaces.

Create a VPC

Plan your network address blocks carefully before creating the VPC. Once you create a VPC, you cannot modify it. To make any changes to the network addressing, you must delete the VPC and create a new one.

  1. Log in to AWS. In the Networking section of the AWS home page, click VPC.

  1. In the screen that opens, click Start VPC Wizard.
  2. In the Select a VPC Configuration screen, select VPC with Single Public Subnet.


 

  1. In the VPC with a Single Public Subnet screen:
    1. In the IP CIDR Block field, enter the desired IP addressing block. Note that the VPC can only use the addresses contained within the block of IP addresses you enter.
    2. In the VPC name field, enter the name of the VPC.
    3. In the Public subnet field, specify a public subnet from within the IP CIDR block.
    4. Click Create VPC.


 

Wait a few minutes until the VPC Dashboard displays the VPC Successfully Created message.

 

  1. In the left pane of the VPC Dashboard screen, select the VPC you just created in the Filter by VPC drop-down.

The VPC is successfully created and the State field indicates that it is available.


 

Configure Subnets in the VPC

Create a minimum of three subnets, one for each of the three network interfaces to be configured on the vContainer VM. One interface is for management of the vContainer VM, one is for management of the vSmart controllers contained in the vContainer VM, and one is for transport for the vSmart controllers contained in the vContainer VM.

  1. In the left pane of the VPC Dashboard screen, click Subnets in the left pane.


     
  2. Click Create Subnet.
  3. In the Create Subnet screen:
    1. In the Name tag field, enter a name for the subnet.
    2. In the VPC field, select the VPC you just created.
    3. In the CIDR block field, enter the desired IP addressing block from the available address range in the VPC.
    4. Click Yes, Create.


       
  4. Repeat steps 1 - 3 above for each additional subnet.

Deploy the vContainer VM Instance

You are now ready to deploy the vContainer VM instance. Click the links in the left pane to see the VPC's route tables, internet gateways, and DHCP options.


 

To deploy the vContainer VM instance:

  1. Click the Services tab at the top of the screen.
  2. In the Services drop-down, select EC2 to open the EC2 Dashboard.
  3. Click Launch Instance.


 

  1. In the Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) screen, click the search field to browse to the Viptela AMI. Then click Select.
    The Viptela AMI is private; contact your Viptela sales representative to request the AMI.


 

  1. In the Choose an Instance Type screen, select the instance type that best meets your needs per the table below. The minimum requirement is 2 vCPUs.
    Then click Next: Configure Instance Details.

     

    EC2 Instance Types for the vContainer VM

      vCPU Memory (GB) Instance Storage (GB)
    General Purpose — Current Generation

    m4.large

    		 2 8

    EBS only
    m4.xlarge 4 16 EBS only
    m4.2xlarge 8 32 EBS only
    m4.4xlarge 16 64 EBS only
    m4.10xlarge 40 160 EBS only
    Compute Optimized — Current Generation

    c4.large

    		 2 3.75 EBS only
    c4.xlarge 4 7.5 EBS only
    c4.2xlarge 8 15 EBS only
    c4.4xlarge 16 30 EBS only
    c4.8xlarge 36 60 EBS only
    c3.large 2 3.75 2 x 16 SSD
    c3.xlarge 4 7.5 2 x 40 SSD
    c3.2xlarge 8 15 2 x 80 SSD
    c3.4xlarge 16 30 2 x 160 SSD
    c3.8xlarge 32 60 2 x 320 SSD
  1. In the Configure Instance Details screen:
    1. In the Network drop-down, select the VPC you just created.
    2. In the Subnet drop-down, select the subnet for your first interface.
    3. Click Next: Add Storage.
       

 

  1. In the Add Storage screen, enter the desired size in the Size (GIB) field (the minimum is 10 GB) for the device /dev/sdc. This partition of the vContainer host is used to hold the vSmart controller images. Then click Next: Tag Instance.
     


 

  1. In the Tag Instance screen, enter the desired Key and Value. Then click Next: Configure Security Group.


 

  1. In the Configure Security Group screen, add rules to configure your firewall settings. These rules apply to outside traffic coming into your vContainer host. To add rules:
    1. In the Type drop-down, select SSH.
    2. In the Source drop-down, select My IP.
    3. Click Review and Launch.



 

  1. In the Review Instance Launch screen, click Launch.


 

  1. In the Select an existing key pair screen:
    1. In the drop-down field, Select Proceed without a key pair.
    2. Click the acknowledgement check box.
    3. Click Launch Instances.



Wait a few minutes as the instance initializes. Then click the instance ID to view the running instance.

 

The vContainer VM instance has been launched.

 

Create and Configure Two Additional Network Interfaces

Create two additional network interfaces. The vContainer VM needs a minimum of three interfaces: one for its own management, one for management of the vSmart controllers it contains, and one for transport for the vSmart controllers it contains.

  1. In the EC2 Dashboard screen, select Network Interfaces in the left pane. Then click Create Network Interface.


     
  2. In the Create Network Interface screen:
    1. In the Description field, enter a description of the network interface.
    2. In Subnet drop-down, select one of the available subnets that you created in the VPC in the section above, Configure Subnets in the VPC.
    3. In Security groups, select the appropriate security group you created in the section above, Deploy the vContainer VM Instance.
    4. Click Yes, Create.



Verify that the status of the new interface is available.

 

  1. Select the interface you created. In the Actions drop-down, select Manage Private IP Addresses.


 

  1. Add a private IP address. In the Manage Private IP Addresses screen:
    1. Click Assign new IP. This is a secondary IP address which will be assigned to the vSmart controllers configured as containers in the vContainer host.
    2. Repeat this step for each additional private address.


 

  1. When you finish assigning new IP addresses, click Yes, Update.


 

  1. To close the Manage Private IP Addresses screen, click the x in the upper right corner. To see the IP addresses you assigned in the previous step, select Network Interface in the left pane, then click the Details tab.


 

  1. To attach the instance to the interface:
    1. Select the interface.
    2. In the Actions drop-down, select Attach.
    3. In the Attach Network Interface screen, select the EC2 instance that is running. This is the instance you just created.
    4. Click Attach.


 

The secondary IP addresses configured on this first additional interface are configured to be the management interface of the vSmart controllers configured as containers in the vContainer host.

  1. Repeat Steps 1 - 7 to create a second additional interface for the transport interface of the vSmart controllers configured as containers in the vContainer host.


 

  1. Configure elastic IP addresses. Elastic IP addresses are public addresses reachable from the Internet. Configure an elastic IP for every IP address on the network interfaces of the vContainer host that needs to be reachable from the internet:
    1. In the EC2 Dashboard, select Elastic IPs in the left pane.


       
    2. Click Allocate New Address.
    3. In the Allocate New Address screen, click Yes, Allocate.


       
    4. In the Allocate New Address screen, select View Elastic IP.


       
    5. Select the elastic IP.
    6. In the Actions drop-down, select Associate Address.


       
    7. In the Associate Address screen:
      1. In the Instance field, enter the name of the EC2 instance you just created.
      2. In the Private IP Address drop-down, select the IP address to associate with this elastic IP.
      3. Click Associate.



 

The private IP address is now associated with the elastic IP.

 

  1. Repeat Step 9 for each private address that needs to be associated with an elastic IP.
  2. In the EC2 Dashboard, click Instances to view the details of the instance. The first interface, eth0, is always the management interface for the vContainer host. The second and third interfaces, eth1 and eth2, are configured in VPN 0 and are for management and transport for the vSmart controllers configured as containers in the vContainer host. Make sure that the primary public IP address of eth0 has an elastic IP address assigned. This is the address from which the internet can reach the vContainer VM.



 

The vContainer VM instance is launched and configured.

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