Updated: SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Appliance 1.2.0 available

Continuing in our efforts to create the SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Appliance into a quick and easy way to deploy OpenStack, we have reached version 1.2.0. You can download the Standard or Embedded version. The major change in this version has to do with the consolidation of the logic code required to maintain both images and splitting out some obvious differences between the two appliances. The Embedded appliance now distinctly has the customer center registration and patch mirror process removed as part of the setup as it slowed down the deployment and ease of use it was intended to have. Although it still maintains its ease of use and deployment it is much quicker now and requires less required input to get OpenStack up and running. This is certainly ideal for quick testing and kicking the tires with SUSE Cloud and OpenStack. The Standard version is still the same, but again has all of the same logic rolled up into it, but the steps still remain the same. It is ideal for deploying SUSE Cloud into a production environment.

Standard v1.2.0: https://susestudio.com/a/Mrr6vv/suse-cloud-3-admin
Direct Download links for SUSE Cloud 3 Admin:

KVM Image

VMware Image

Preload USB Image

Preload ISO

Embedded v1.2.0: https://susestudio.com/a/Mrr6vv/suse-cloud-3-admin-embedded

Direct Download links for SUSE Cloud 3 Admin (Embedded):

KVM Image 

VMware Image

Preload USB Image

Disk Image

Preload ISO

The most updated guide will always be here
Changes from Github Project
1. consolidate as best I can first boot and init scripts

2. add a proper README.md

3. README and appliance guide don't distinguish between two types of appliances

4. documentation missing

5. don't require NCC (Customer Center Registration) / SMT registration by default on Embedded images

Enjoy!

Updated: SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Appliance 1.1.0 available

Continuing in our efforts to create SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Appliance into a quick and easy way to deploy OpenStack, we have reached version 1.1.0. You can download the Standard or Embedded version.

Standard v1.1.0: https://susestudio.com/a/Mrr6vv/suse-cloud-3-admin
Embedded v1.1.0: https://susestudio.com/a/Mrr6vv/suse-cloud-3-admin-embedded

Standard has a process which will mirror all of the required repositories for the Admin Server, and contains the SLES 11 SP3 / SUSE Cloud ISO's

Embedded has everything that the standard image has and all of the required patch and update repositories in the image ready for you to consume. It might take a little longer to download but might be worth the wait if you need something with everything included and you want a quick testing environment to play with.

Changes from Github Project
1. restructure files into proper kiwi build directories to make it easier to build from a checkout
2. shell code needs consistent indentation
3. add a proper README.md
4. eliminate disk wastage from rebuilding huge .txz
5. eliminate copy'n'paste between setup-suse-crowbar*
6. Provide sensible default network config as outlined in the Deployment Guide
7. mount SLES 11 SP3/Cloud ISOs permanently instead of extracting files once the appliance is deployed

Quickly Setting-up an OpenStack Cloud with the SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Appliance

In an effort to make OpenStack available to the non-tech user and appear much less of a heavy lifting project for them, I have created the SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Appliance. I have worked with so many partners, vendors, and customers deploying OpenStack with SUSE Cloud that the idea came to me that SUSE had some great tools that would enable me to create something that they could use to easily deploy, test, and discover OpenStack on their own without a whole lot of effort required. SUSE has integrated Crowbar/Chef as part of the installation framework for our enterprise OpenStack distribution – SUSE Cloud – to improve the speed of deploying and managing OpenStack clouds. This has allowed us to be flexible in our deployment when working with partners and software vendors and provide greater ease of use.

The creation of the SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Appliance is intended to provide a quick and easy deployment. The partners and vendors we are working with find it useful to quickly test their applications in SUSE Cloud and validate their use. Beyond those cases it has become a great tool for deploying your production private cloud based on OpenStack.

I have developed two different appliances and you can find them here:

Standard v1.0.1: SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Standard
Embedded v1.0.1: SUSE Cloud 3 Admin Embedded

Standard has a process which will mirror all of the requiredrepositories to the Admin Server.

Embedded has all of the required repositories in the image ready for you to consume. It might take a little longer to download, but might be worth the wait if you need something portable that can quickly load a private cloud.

This is version 1.0.x

Its important that you answer several questions before proceeding. You can find those questions in the SUSE Cloud 3 Deployment Guide

This Questionnaire will help you as a companion to the Deployment Guide. SUSE Cloud Questionnaire

This guide on using the appliance can help walk you through step by step. SUSE Cloud Admin Appliance Guide

- This version contains the GM version of SUSE Cloud 3
- Disabled IPv6 - Added motd (Message of the day) to reflect next steps
- Updated logos and wallpaper to align with product
- Updated init and firstboot process and alignment with YaST firstboot

Enjoy!

VMware Workstation 10.01 and kernel 3.14 patch

Download this patch

Then follow these steps from a terminal as root user

# cd /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source/
# cp vmnet.tar vmnet.tar.original
# tar xvf vmnet.tar vmnet-only/filter.c
# patch vmnet-only/filter.c < /location_of_filter.c.diff/kernel-3.14-vmware-filter.c.diff
# tar -uvf vmnet.tar vmnet-only/filter.c
# rm -rf vmnet-only/
# vmware-modconfig --console --install-all 

 Enjoy!

openSUSE 13.1 with kernel 3.14 and NVIDIA

Run the following.

Download this kernel patch

Download the NVIDIA driver version NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-331.49.bin

from root execute:
   # sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-331.49.bin --apply-patch kernel-3.14-nvidia.patch

Now install the custom NVIDIA Driver.
Enjoy!

Running Blackboard Collaborate (Elluminate!) on SUSE SLE11 and openSUSE 13.1

So if your struggling to get the full functionality out of Blackboard Collaborate. Usually your unable to get the Application Sharing to work properly, but there might be other reasons. Here are a few scripts that I have created that will allow Blackboard to run properly either with Oracle Sun Java 1.7 or with openJDK Java.

For openJDK Java 64bit:

1) Download this script
2) Copy the script prepare-openjdk-blackboard.sh to your system anywhere you prefer locally
3) Login as root
4) execute from your locally preferred location.
     # ./prepare-openjdk-blackboard.sh
5) Open Firefox and launch Blackboard Collaborate from the Guest or Chair Link and Select the webstart that shows up automatically. Enjoy Blackboard Collaborate on openJDK 64bit Java.

For Oracle SUN Java 64bit (Supported):

1) Download this script
2) Copy the script prepare-oracle-java-blackboard.sh to your system anywhere you prefer locally
3) Login as root
4) execute from your locally preferred location.
     # ./prepare-oracle-java-blackboard.sh
5) Open Firefox, and select Preferences. Applications. In the search box, type 'jnlp' In the drop down under Action, choose 'Use Other', and browse to /opt/java/64/jre1.7.0_51/bin/javaws
6) Launch Blackboard Collaborate from the Guest or Chair Link. Enjoy Blackboard Collaborate on 64bit Oracle SUN Java.

Enjoy!

Greetings OpenStack Planet!

Joining the OpenStack blogosphere. I will soon have some posts around SUSE Cloud. Stay tuned.
-C