Step 1

Configure the first node's basic information.

1. SSH into the node using CIMC management IP and use the connect host command to connect to the node's console.

   C220-WZP23150D4C# connect host
   CISCO Serial Over LAN:
   Press Ctrl+x to Exit the session

   After connecting to the host, press Enter to continue.

2. After you see the Nexus Dashboard setup utility prompt, press Enter.

   Starting Nexus Dashboard setup utility
   Welcome to Nexus Dashboard 4.1.1
   Press Enter to manually bootstrap your first master node...

3. Enter and confirm the admin password

   This password will be used for the rescue-user CLI login as well as the initial GUI password.

   Admin Password:
   Reenter Admin Password:

4. Enter the management network information.

   Management Network:
     IP Address/Mask: 192.168.9.172/24
     Gateway: 192.168.9.1

   Note	If you want to configure pure IPv6 mode, enter the IPv6 in the above example instead.

5. Review and confirm the entered information.

   You will be asked if you want to change the entered information. If all the fields are correct, enter the capital letter N to proceed. If you want to change any of the entered information, enter y to re-start the basic configuration script.

   Please review the config
   Management network:
     Gateway: 192.168.9.1
     IP Address/Mask: 192.168.9.172/24
   
   Re-enter config? (y/N): N

Step 2

Wait for the process to complete.

Please wait for system to boot: [#########################] 100%
System up, please wait for UI to be online.

System UI online, please login to https://192.168.9.172 to continue.

Step 3

Open your browser and navigate to https://<node-mgmt-ip> to open the GUI.

Step 4

Enter the requested information in the Basic Information page of the Cluster Bringup wizard.

1. For Cluster Name, enter a name for this Nexus Dashboard cluster.

   The cluster name must follow the RFC-1123 requirements.

2. For Select the Nexus Dashboard Implementation type, choose either LAN or SAN then click Next.

Step 5

Enter the requested information in the Configuration page of the Cluster Bringup wizard.

1. (Optional) If you want to enable IPv6 functionality for the cluster, put a check in the Enable IPv6 checkbox.

2. Click +Add DNS provider to add one or more DNS servers, enter the DNS provider IP address, then click the checkmark icon.

3. (Optional) Click +Add DNS search domain to add a search domain, enter the DNS search domain IP address, then click the checkmark icon.

4. (Optional) If you want to enable NTP server authentication, put a check in the NTP Authentication checkbox.

5. If you enabled NTP authentication, click + Add Key, enter the required information, and click the checkmark icon to save the information.

   • Key–Enter the NTP authentication key, which is a cryptographic key that is used to authenticate the NTP traffic between the Nexus Dashboard and the NTP servers. You will define the NTP servers in the following step, and multiple NTP servers can use the same NTP authentication key.

   • ID–Enter a key ID for the NTP host. Each NTP key must be assigned a unique key ID, which is used to identify the appropriate key to use when verifying the NTP packet.

   • Authentication Type–Choose authentication type for the NTP key.

   • Put a check in the Trusted checkbox if you want this key to be trusted. Untrusted keys cannot be used for NTP authentication.

   For the complete list of NTP authentication requirements and guidelines, see General prerequisites and guidelines.

   If you want to enter additional NTP keys, click + Add Key again and enter the information.

6. If you enabled NTP authentication, click +Add NTP Host Name/IP Address, enter the required information, and click the checkmark icon to save the information.

   • NTP Host–Enter an IP address; fully qualified domain names (FQDN) are not supported.

   • Key ID–Enter the key ID of the NTP key you defined in the previous substep.

     If NTP authentication is disabled, this field is grayed out.

   • Put a check in the Preferred checkbox if you want this host to be preferred.

   Note

   If the node into which you are logged in is configured with only an IPv4 address, but you have checked Enable IPv6 in a previous step and entered an IPv6 address for an NTP server, you will get the following validation error: This is because the node does not have an IPv6 address yet and is unable to connect to an IPv6 address of the NTP server. You will enter IPv6 address in the next step. In this case, enter the other required information as described in the following steps and click Next to proceed to the next page where you will enter IPv6 addresses for the nodes.

   If you want to enter additional NTP servers, click +Add NTP Host Name/IP Address again and enter the information.

7. For Proxy Server, enter the URL or IP address of a proxy server.

   For clusters that do not have direct connectivity to Cisco cloud, we recommend configuring a proxy server to establish the connectivity. This allows you to mitigate risk from exposure to non-conformant hardware and software in your fabrics.

   You can click +Add Ignore Host to enter one or more destination IP addresses for which traffic will skip using the proxy.

   The proxy server must have these URLs enabled:

   dcappcenter.cisco.com
   svc.intersight.com
   svc.ucs-connect.com
   svc-static1.intersight.com
   svc-static1.ucs-connect.com

   If you do not want to configure a proxy, click Skip Proxy then click Confirm.

8. (Optional) If your proxy server requires authentication, put a check in the Authentication required for Proxy checkbox and enter the login credentials.

9. (Optional) Expand the Advanced Settings category and change the settings if required.

   Under advanced settings, you can configure these settings:

   • App Network–The address space used by the application's services running in the Nexus Dashboard. Enter the IP address and netmask.

   • Service Network–An internal network used by Nexus Dashboard and its processes. Enter the IP address and netmask.

   • App Network IPv6–If you put a check in the Enable IPv6 checkbox earlier, enter the IPv6 subnet for the app network.

   • Service Network IPv6–If you put a check in the Enable IPv6 checkbox earlier, enter the IPv6 subnet for the service network.

   For more information about the application and service networks, see General prerequisites and guidelines.

10. Click Next.

Step 6

In the Node Details page, update the first node's information.

1. For Cluster Connectivity, if your cluster is deployed in L3 HA mode, choose BGP. Otherwise, choose L2.

   BGP configuration is required for the persistent IP addresses feature used by telemetry. This feature is described in more detail in BGP configuration and persistent IP addresses and the "Persistent IP Addresses" sections of the Cisco Nexus Dashboard User Guide.

   Note	You can enable BGP at this time or in the Nexus Dashboard GUI after the cluster is deployed. All remaining nodes need to configure BGP if it is configured. You must enable BGP now if the data network of nodes have different subnets.

2. Click the Edit button next to the first node.

   The node's Serial Number, Management Network information, and Type are automatically populated, but you must enter the other information.

3. For Name, enter a name for the node.

   The node's Name will be set as its hostname, so it must follow the RFC-1123 requirements.

   Note	If you need to change the name but the Name field is not editable, run the CIMC validation again to fix this issue.

4. For Type, choose Primary.

   The first nodes of the cluster must be set to Primary. You will add the secondary nodes in a later step if required for higher scale.

5. In the Data Network area, enter the node's data network information.

   Enter the data network IP address, netmask, and gateway. Optionally, you can also enter the VLAN ID for the network. Leave the VLAN ID field blank if your configuration does not require VLAN. If you chose BGP for Cluster Connectivity, enter the ASN.

   If you enabled IPv6 functionality in a previous page, you must also enter the IPv6 address, netmask, and gateway.

   Note	If you want to enter IPv6 information, you must do so during the cluster bootstrap process. To change the IP address configuration later, you would need to redeploy the cluster. All nodes in the cluster must be configured with either only IPv4, only IPv6, or dual stack IPv4/IPv6.

6. If you chose BGP for Cluster Connectivity, then in the BGP peer details area, enter the peer's IPv4 address and ASN.

   You can click + Add IPv4 BGP peer to add addition peers.

   If you enabled IPv6 functionality in a previous page, you must also enter the peer's IPv6 address and ASN.

7. Click Save to save the changes.

Step 7

If you are deploying a multi-node cluster, in the Node Details page, click Add Node to add the second node to the cluster.

1. In the Deployment Details area, enter the CIMC IP Address, Username, and Password for the second node.

   Note	For Username for the second node, enter the admin user ID.

2. Click Validate to verify connectivity to the node.

   The node's serial number is automatically populated after CIMC connectivity is validated.

3. For Name, enter the name for the node.

   The node's name will be set as its hostname, so it must follow the RFC-1123 requirements.

4. For Type, choose Primary.

   The first 3 nodes of the cluster must be set to Primary. You will add the secondary nodes in a later step if required for higher scale.

5. In the Management Network area, enter the node's management network information.

   You must enter the management network IP address, netmask, and gateway.

   If you enabled IPv6 functionality in a previous page, you must also enter the IPv6 address, netmask, and gateway.

   Note	All nodes in the cluster must be configured with either only IPv4, only IPv6, or dual stack IPv4/IPv6.

6. In the Data Network area, enter the node's data network information.

   Enter the data network IP address, netmask, and gateway. Optionally, you can also enter the VLAN ID for the network. Leave the VLAN ID field blank if your configuration does not require VLAN. If you chose BGP for Cluster Connectivity, enter the ASN.

   If you enabled IPv6 functionality in a previous page, you must also enter the IPv6 address, netmask, and gateway.

   Note	If you want to enter IPv6 information, you must do so during the cluster bootstrap process. To change the IP address configuration later, you would need to redeploy the cluster. All nodes in the cluster must be configured with either only IPv4, only IPv6, or dual stack IPv4 and IPv6.

7. If you chose BGP for Cluster Connectivity, then in the BGP peer details area, enter the peer's IPv4 address and ASN.

   You can click + Add IPv4 BGP peer to add addition peers.

   If you enabled IPv6 functionality in a previous page, you must also enter the peer's IPv6 address and ASN.

8. Click Save to save the changes.

9. Repeat this step for the final (third) primary node of the cluster.

Step 8

(Optional) Repeat the previous step to enter information about any additional secondary or standby nodes.

Step 9

In the Node Details page, verify the information that you entered, then click Next.

Step 10

In the Persistent IPs page, if you want to add more persistent IP addresses, click + Add Data Service IP Address, enter the IP address, and click the checkmark icon. Repeat this step as many times as desired, then click Next.

Step 11

In the Summary page, review and verify the configuration information, click Save, and click Continue to confirm the correct deployment mode and proceed with building the cluster.

Step 12

Verify that the cluster is healthy.

After the cluster becomes available, you can access it by browsing to any one of your nodes' management IP addresses. The default password for the admin user is the same as the rescue-user password you chose for the first node. During this time, the UI will display a banner at the top stating "Service Installation is in progress, Nexus Dashboard configuration tasks are currently disabled".

After all the cluster is deployed and all services are started, you can look at the Anomaly Level on the Home > Overview page to ensure the cluster is healthy:

Alternatively, you can log in to any one node using SSH as the rescue-user using the password you entered during node deployment and using the acs health command to see the status:

• While the cluster is converging, you may see the following output:

  $ acs health
  k8s install is in-progress
  
  $ acs health
  k8s services not in desired state - [...]
  
  $ acs health
  k8s: Etcd cluster is not ready

• When the cluster is up and running, the following output will be displayed:

  $ acs health
  All components are healthy

Note

In some situations, you might power cycle a node (power it off and then back on) and find it stuck in this stage: deploy base system services This is due to an issue with etcd on the node after a reboot of the physical Nexus Dashboard cluster. To resolve the issue, enter the acs reboot clean command on the affected node.

Step 13

After you have deployed Nexus Dashboard, see the collections page for this release for configuration information.