Automatic filesystem image creation (iSCSI and NFS)

The automatic-image-creation is used to automatically create NFS and iSCSI (software initiated) filesystem images.

Install from NFS to NFS

Create an empty mount point for the image on an nfs storage-server.
Create an filesystem-image in the qrm-server gui for the empty image.
Add the following filesystem-image parameters:

INSTALL_IMAGE=true;
INSTALL_FROM_TARGET_IP_ADDRESS=[your-storage-server-ip];
INSTALL_FROM_TARGET_PATH=[full-path-to-the-empty-image-dir-on-the-storage-server];

Create and assign/start a virtual-environment using thie above create filesystem-image. The node will boot, mount source and target, copy source to target, umount and start the new created image.
Remove the INSTALL_IMAGE=true; parameter from the filesystem-image configuration

Install from NFS to ISCSI

Create an "empty" iscsi-lun/iscsi-block-device on the iscsi-target.
Create an filesystem-image in the qrm-server gui for the empty image.
Add the following filesystem-image parameters:

ISCSI_TARGET_NAME=[target-name];
ISCSI_ROOT_PARTITION=1;
ISCSI_LUN=0;
ISCSI_ROOT_FS_TYPE=ext3;
ISCSI_PORT=3260;
ISCSI_HBA=0;
INSTALL_IMAGE=true;
INSTALL_FROM_TARGET_IP_ADDRESS=[your-storage-server-ip];
INSTALL_FROM_TARGET_PATH=[full-path-to-the-empty-image-dir-on-the-storage-server];

(Note: ISCSI_PORT defaults to 3260 if not specified. additionally, an implicit parameter named ISCSI_INITIATOR contains the image identifier)

Create and assign/start a virtual-environment using thie above create filesystem-image. The node will boot, mount source and target, copy source to target, umount and start the new created image.
Remove the INSTALL_IMAGE=true; parameter from the filesystem-image configuration.

Validating/fixing ISCSI filesystem-images

To validate and/or fix ISCSI filesystem-images the following parameters can be used in the filesystem-image configuration page :

ISCSI_TARGET_NAME=node4
ISCSI_ROOT_PARTITION=1
ISCSI_LUN=0
ISCSI_ROOT_FS_TYPE=ext3
ISCSI_PORT=3260
ISCSI_HBA=0
ISCSI_INITIATOR=iqn.1987-05.com.cisco:01.fca433984997
VALIDATE_IMAGE=true
VALIDATE_AND_FIX_IMAGE=true

Additional to the regular ISCSI-parameter needed to connect the filesystem-image

VALIDATE_IMAGE and VALIDATE_AND_FIX_IMAGE can be set to validate/fix it during start-up.

VALIDATE_IMAGE and VALIDATE_AND_FIX_IMAGE should be set to false or being removed from the filesystem-image configuration after the validation.

Technical Details

The automatic image creation happens during assignment of a Virtual Environment. The booting node will mount the "source" and "target" as configured by the parameters in the filesystem image configuration in the qrm-server.

"source" -> where to get the image-content from (from nfs-export)

"target" -> where to install the image-content to (to nfs-export or to iscsi-lun)

Then it will copy "source" to "target". After the copying phase finished it will umount "source" and "target" and continue with the regular startup of "target"(the new created image).

Knowledge Base / Known Issues

After image-creation (at least) the parameter INSTALL_IMAGE=true; should be disabled/removed from the filesystem-image environment in the QRM-server gui