14.4 Editing Network Configurations

The Networks list shows the networks (that is, the virtual LANs) in your Cloud Manager zones. For each network in the list, the following information is provided:

  • Name: The network name. This is not configurable.

  • Zone: The Cloud Manager zone where the network resides.

  • Configured By: The role assigned to configure the network. This can be a Business Service Requestor, who can assign a static or DHCP-designated IP address, or a Cloud Provider, who can manually assign a static IP address or a DHCP-designated address, or who can delegate automatic IP address assignment through IPAM (IP address management).

  • Description: The description of the network, as defined by the Cloud Administrator.

In addition to summarizing the network information, the list lets you select a network to view and edit its details. This section includes information about editing networks already discovered in your Cloud Manager zones.

14.4.1 Editing the General Network Configuration

Roles that Can Perform This Task: Cloud Administrator

  1. On the main navigation bar, click Resources.

  2. Click the Networks tab.

  3. Select the network you want to modify, then click Edit.

  4. On the Edit Network dialog, select the General tab.

  5. In the Network area of the dialog, only the Description field is editable. Provide any additional information about the network, then click Save if you have no other changes to make to the network configuration.

  6. In the Network Assignment Method fields, provide the following information for the network:

    Network Configured By: You can specify how a NIC placed on the network is to be configured. It can be configured exclusively by you (the Cloud Provider), by a Business Service Requestor, or by using the network configuration defaults (defined in the System Configuration menu).

    • If you specify that the network is to be configured according to system defaults (Use System Defaults), the network uses the settings defined in the Configuration > Networks menu).

    • If you specify that the network can be configured by a business service requestor, Cloud Manager locks the field to allow a configuration setting where the requestor can assign a static IP or DHCP-generated IP address to a workload in a business service.

    • If you specify that the network must be configured exclusively by the cloud provider, this field provides some configuration options:

      • Static (Manual): By default, you must configure the NIC with a static IP address.

      • DHCP (Manual): This setting allows the automatic assignment of a DHCP address from the network to the network interface.

      • IPAM system (Automatic): This setting allows the NICs on the network to be automatically configured with an IP address assigned by an IP address management system (IPAM).

        For information about integrating the Nixu IPAM service with Cloud Manager, see Section B.0, Integrating Cloud Manager with the Nixu IP Address Management System.

        For information about setting up Cloud Manager native IPAM, see Section 14.4.3, Editing a Network’s IP Pool.

    The option to request a public address allows the user another, secondary address in addition to the primary NIC address. This secondary address is not provided by Cloud Manager. If the check box is selected when the pre-build stage of the workflow occurs, an administrator must either enter the configured public IP address in the adjacent field, or override the request by deselecting the check box.

    NOTE:If you use an IPAM system on your network, ensure that IPAM assigns the host name and IP configuration to the workload prior to the pre-build configuration step of the workflow.

    Changes made to NICs assigned to IPAM-managed networks during the pre-build configuration phase are properly assigned to the workload but are not reflected in the IP address pool. If you change the network to an IPAM-managed network during a pre-build configuration task, that workload does not receive an IP address.

  7. If you chose either the Static or the IPAM options as a Cloud Provider, in the Network Default fields, you can provide the NetMask, Gateway, DNS Servers, and Search Domains values for this network.

    NOTE:Cloud Manager allows only one default gateway, even on VMs with multiple NICs. If multiple NICs are present, only the default gateway is independent.

    Although you can add a unique gateway address for each NIC on a VM that is included in a business service, only the first gateway address is accepted when you synch the VM (that is, the other gateways use the same address as the first). Similarly, if you import an existing VM with multiple NICs, and only the first has a gateway address, that address is propagated to the other NICs.

14.4.2 Editing Network Associations

Roles that Can Perform This Task: Cloud Administrator

  1. On the main navigation bar, click Resources.

  2. Click the Networks tab.

  3. Select the network you want to modify, then click Edit.

  4. On the Edit Network dialog, click the Associations tab.

  5. (Optional) Enable organizations to use the network.

    1. Click the Organizations tab.

    2. Click Add to display the Add Organizations dialog.

    3. Select the organizations to which you want to assign the NIC.

      You can Shift-click and Ctrl-click to select multiple NICs.

    4. Click OK to add the selected organizations to the Organizations list.

      NOTE:You can select Associate with all Organizations and Business Groups if you want to associate this NIC with all business groups and all organizations that exist in the Cloud Manager environment.

      Only those NICs associated directly to a workload will be available for that workload.

  6. (Optional) Remove an organization’s access to the network.

    1. Click the Organizations tab.

    2. In the Organizations list, select the organization to remove.

      You can Shift-click and Ctrl-click to select multiple organizations.

    3. Click Remove.

  7. (Optional) Enable business groups to use the network.

    1. Click the Business Groups tab.

    2. Click Add to display the Add Business Groups dialog.

    3. Select the business groups to which you want to assign the NIC.

      You can Shift-click and Ctrl-click to select multiple NICs.

    4. Click OK to add the selected business groups to the Business Groups list.

  8. Remove a business group’s access to the network.

    1. Click the Business Groups tab.

    2. In the Business Groups list, select the business group to remove.

      You can Shift-click and Ctrl-click to select multiple business groups.

    3. Click Remove.

14.4.3 Editing a Network’s IP Pool

If the network is to be configured by you, the cloud provider, and you plan to use Cloud Manager’s native IP address management system, you can specify values for the NetMask and Gateway network defaults on the General tab. This pre-populates the network with a pool of IP addresses that the system can assign to specific NICs on the network.

NOTE:You still need to specify the domain settings of the network, even if network defaults pre-populate this IP pool. See Step 5b below for more information.

If, however, the network defaults are not specified, and the Network Assignment Method is set to be configured by the Cloud Provider and the source as IPAM, you can still manually define a range for a pool of IP addresses, along with an assigned host name of your choosing, and, if Linux, the domain name.

When a range of IP addresses is defined and listed as a pool, you can reserve one or more of those addresses so that they are not assigned to a NIC by the IPAM system.

To edit a network IP pool:

  1. On the main navigation bar, click Resources.

  2. Click the Networks tab.

  3. Select the network you want to modify, then click Edit.

  4. On the Edit Network dialog, click the Network tab.

  5. (Optional) Specify an IP Range for use by the network.

    1. Specify the IP Range:

      Start: Specify the IP address you want to use for the first (starting) address of the pool range. The first usable address usually begins with xxx.xxx.xxx.1

      End: Specify the IP address you want to use for the last (ending) address of the pool range. The last usable address is determined by the gateway prefix, if available.

    2. Specify the Domain Settings:

      Hostname Pattern: Specify a host name that can help to identify the VM assigned to the IP. Windows VMs can have a host name with a maximum of 15 characters. Linux VMs can have a host name with a maximum of 63 characters.

      By default, the field is populated with a optional, tokenized string value. Using a token is optional. The tokens substitute known values that can help you identify VMs in the pool according to a corresponding Cloud Manager object. For information about these tokens, see Host Name Assignment in Cloud Manager IPAM.

      Domain Name: Specify the default domain name to be used by Linux VMs on this network. This should be an easily recognizable and memorizable name.

  6. (Optional) Reserve an IP address or range of addresses for use by the network.

    1. Select the available IP address or addresses you want reserved in the IP pool.

      You can Shift-click and Ctrl-click to select multiple addresses.

    2. Click Reserve to reserve the formerly available addresses to the IP pool.

NOTE:It is possible to include the IP Addresses of newly discovered VMs in a Cloud Manager Orchestration zone in the IP address pool. See Host Name Assignment in Cloud Manager IPAM.

14.4.4 Host Name Assignment in Cloud Manager IPAM

For IP pools, Cloud Manager requires you to create host names within the following parameters:

  • Only valid characters can be included in the name: numbers, letters, and the dash (that is, the hyphen [-]) character.

  • Windows VMs can have a host name with a maximum of 15 characters.

  • Linux VMs can have a host name with a maximum of 63 characters.

The following sections describe how host names are assigned in Cloud Manager IPAM.

Host Name Tokenized Strings

In the Host Name field, you can specify tokenized strings that Cloud Manager later substitutes with information from its system:

Token

Notes

%Short_IP%

In an IP address of the format a.b.c.d, the short IP is the last part of the address, which is d

%Long_IP%

In an IP address of the format a.b.c.d, the long IP is the last two parts of the address, separated by a dash: c-d

%Org_Name%

  • “All lowercase” token is %org_name%

  • “All uppercase” token is %ORG_NAME%

%BG_Name%

  • “All lowercase” token is %bg_name%

  • “All uppercase” token is %BG_NAME%

%BS_Name%

  • “All lowercase” token is %bs_name%

  • “All uppercase” token is %BS_NAME%

%WL_Name%

  • “All lowercase” token is %wl_name%

  • “All uppercase” token is %WL_NAME%

%Org_ID%

The value of the %Org_ID% token might collide with the IP value (see %Short_IP% or %Long_IP% above). Because Cloud Manager truncates the host name after token replacement, keeping the wrong instance of the number is possible.

%BG_ID%

The value of the %BG_ID% token might collide with the IP value (see %Short_IP% or %Long_IP% above). Because Cloud Manager truncates the host name after token replacement, keeping the wrong instance of the number is possible.

%BS_ID%

The value of the %BS_ID% token might collide with the IP value (see %Short_IP% or %Long_IP% above). Because Cloud Manager truncates the host name after token replacement, keeping the wrong instance of the number is possible.

%WL_ID%

The value of the %WL_ID% token might collide with the IP value (see %Short_IP% or %Long_IP% above). Because Cloud Manager truncates the host name after token replacement, keeping the wrong instance of the number is possible.

Cloud Manager analyzes either a token (or a combination of tokens) or a string you have specified and then truncates that string or substituted token value to fit the character length limitation of the host name.

In this truncation process, Cloud Manager follows hierarchical rules as it brings the name into character-length compliance. That is, if the conditions of the first rule are satisfied, it executes the next rule, and so on, until compliance is reached.

IMPORTANT:Cloud Manager considers the IP address forms a critical part of host name, so if you specify one of the IP address forms in a token, Cloud Manager identifies it as a “string to keep” in the truncated name:, so the %Short_IP% value or the %Long_IP% value is a “string to keep.” Any other strings or tokens surrounding the “string to keep” are considered either a prefix or a suffix to this string:

PrefixStringToKeepSuffix

If you specify both the Short_IP and Long_IP tokens in the field, the Long_IP token is retained and the Short_IP token is available for truncation.

Rules for Host Name Truncation

  1. Delete any invalid characters (including spaces) from the strings. Valid characters include the following only:

    • numbers

    • letters (upper or lowercase)

    • the dash (that is, the hyphen [-]) character

  2. The string does not contain an IP token value (“stringToKeep”). Perform a simple truncate. That is, delete all trailing characters beyond the 15/63 limit.

  3. The string contains an IP token value (“stringToKeep”). Truncate the suffix in the string until the host name value is in compliance.

  4. The suffix has been fully truncated and the host name length is still not in compliance. Truncate the prefix until the host name value is in compliance, then replace the last character in the prefix with a dash.

Host Name Token Substitution and Truncation Examples

The following table shows the result of Cloud Manager retaining the “string to keep” and truncating to a normal, compliant host name length.

Token

Token Substitution and Normalization

%BS_Name%-%Short_IP%

LAMP-127

%Org_Name%-%Long_IP%

Linux: DigitalAirlines-67-122

Windows: DigitalA-67-122

14.4.5 Recovering IPAM Configuration Data

Cloud Manager includes a Karaf command that attempts to recover IPAM configuration data for all workloads whose IPAM configuration information has been cleared because more than one entry existed in IPAM for one network.

Run the following command from the Karaf shell: 

cm:recover-ipam-releasedata

You can add the -b business service ID option to the command if you want to recover IPAM configuration data for all workloads in a business service. For more options for this command, use the --help option.