Deploying Cloud Native Qumulo on Azure with Terraform

This section explains how to deploy Cloud Native Qumulo (CNQ) on Azure by creating the persistent storage and the cluster compute and cache resources with Terraform. It also provides recommendations for Terraform deployments and information about post-deployment actions and optimization.

For an overview of CNQ on Azure, its prerequisites, and limits, see How Cloud Native Qumulo Works.

The azure-terraform-cnq-<x.y>.zip file (the version in the file name corresponds to the provisioning scripts, not the version of Qumulo Core) contains comprehensive Terraform configurations that let you deploy Azure Storage Accounts and then create a CNQ cluster with 3 to 24 instances and have fully elastic compute and capacity.

Prerequisites

This section explains the prerequisites to deploying CNQ on Azure.

To allow your Qumulo instance to report metrics to Qumulo, your Azure Virtual Network must have outbound Internet connectivity through a NAT gateway or a firewall. Your instance shares no file data during this process.
Important
Connectivity to the following endpoints is required for a successful deployment of a Qumulo instance and quorum formation:
- api.missionq.qumulo.com
- api.nexus.qumulo.com
Before you configure your Terraform environment, you must sign in to the az CLI.

Azure role assignments in your target subscription must include the following:
- Reader
- Contributor

How the CNQ Provisioner Works

The CNQ Provisioner is an Azure Compute instance that configures your Qumulo cluster and any additional Azure environment requirements.

The Provisioner stores all necessary state information in Azure App Configuration (on the left navigation panel, click Operations > Configuration Explorer) and shuts down automatically when it completes its tasks.

Step 1: Deploying Cluster Persistent Storage

This section explains how to deploy the Azure Storage Accounts that act as persistent storage for your Qumulo cluster.

Log in to Nexus and click Downloads > Cloud Native Qumulo Downloads.
On the Azure tab and, in the Download the required files section, select the Qumulo Core version that you want to deploy and then download the corresponding Terraform configuration, Debian package, and host configuration file.
In an Azure Storage Account Container named qumulo, create the images directory. Within this directory, create another directory with the Qumulo Core version as its name. The following is an example path:
```
my-storage-account/qumulo/images/7.2.3.2
```
Tip
Make a new subdirectory for every new release of Qumulo Core.
Copy qumulo-core.deb and host_configuration.tar.gz into the directory named after the Qumulo Core version (in this example, it is 7.2.3.2).
Copy azure-terraform-cnq-<x.y>.zip to your Terraform environment and decompress it.
Navigate to the persistent-storage directory and take the following steps:
1. Run the terraform init command.
  
  Terraform prepares the environment and displays the message Terraform has been successfully initialized!
2. Review the terraform.tfvars file.
  - Specify the deployment_name and the correct az_subscription_id for your cluster’s persistent storage.
  - Specify the correct az_location for your cluster’s persistent storage.
  - Leave the soft_capacity_limit at 1000.
3. Use the az CLI to authenticate to your Azure account.
4. Run the terraform apply command.
  
  Terraform displays the execution plan.
5. Review the Terraform execution plan and then enter yes.
  
  Terraform creates resources according the execution plan and displays:
  - The names of the created persistent storage accounts
  - Your persistent storage resource group’s unique name
  For example:
```
Outputs:

persistent_storage_accounts = [
  "ab5cdefghij1",
  "ab4cdefghij2",
  "ab3cdefghij3",
  "ab2cdefghij4",
]
persistent_storage_resource_group = "mynamePStore-abcde"
```
  Tip
  You will need the persistent_storage_resource_group value to deploy your cluster.

Step 2: Deploying Cluster Compute and Cache Resources

This section explains how to deploy compute and cache resources for a Qumulo cluster by using a Ubuntu AMI and the Qumulo Core .deb installer.

Important

Provisioning completes successfully when the Provisioner shuts down automatically. If the Provisioner doesn't shut down, the provisioning cycle has failed and you must troubleshoot it. To monitor the provisioner's status, you can watch the Terraform status posts in your terminal or in Azure App Configuration (on the left navigation panel, click Operations > Configuration Explorer).
The first variable in the example configuration files in the azure-terraform-cnq repository is deployment_name. To help avoid conflicts between resource groups and other deployment components, Terraform ignores the deployment_name value and any changes to it. Terraform generates the additional deployment_unique_name variable; appends a random, 7-digit alphanumeric value to it; and then tags all future resources with this variable, which never changes during subsequent Terraform deployments.
If you plan to deploy multiple Qumulo clusters, give the q_cluster_name variable a unique name for each cluster.

To add service endpoints to your Virtual Network, take the following steps:
1. In the Azure Portal, click Virtual Network.
2. On the left panel, click Settings > Service endpoints.
3. On the Service endpoints page, add the Microsoft.KeyVault and Microsoft.Storage service endpoints to your Virtual Network.
Important
It isn’t possible to deploy your cluster without these endpoints.
Navigate to the azure-terraform-cnq-<x.y> directory and then run the terraform init command.

Terraform prepares the environment and displays the message Terraform has been successfully initialized!
In terraform.tfvars, fill in the values for all variables.

For more information, see README.pdf in azure-terraform-cnq-<x.y>.zip.
Run the terraform apply command.

Terraform displays the execution plan.

Review the Terraform execution plan and then enter yes.

Terraform creates resources according the execution plan and displays:

Your deployment’s unique name
The IP address for your Provisioner
The floating IP addresses for your Qumulo cluster
The primary (static) IP addresses for your Qumulo cluster
The Qumulo Core Web UI endpoint

For example:

Outputs:

deployment_unique_name = "mynameCompute-ABCDEFG"
provisioner = {
  "provisioner_ip_address" = "203.0.113.0"
  "qumulo_cluster_floating_ips" = [
    "203.0.113.42",
    "203.0.113.84",
    ...
  ]
}
...
qumulo_primary_ips = [
  "203.0.113.1",
  "203.0.113.2",
  "203.0.113.3",
  "203.0.113.4"
]
...
qumulo_private_url_node1 = "https://203.0.113.10"

To log in to your cluster’s Web UI, use the endpoint from the Terraform output as the endpoint and the username and password that you have configured during deployment as the credentials.

Important
If you change the administrative password for your cluster by using the Qumulo Core Web UI, qq CLI, or REST API after deployment, you must add your new password in Azure App Configuration (on the left navigation panel, click Operations > Configuration Explorer).

You can use the Qumulo Core Web UI to create and manage NFS exports, SMB shares, snapshots, and continuous replication relationships You can also join your cluster to Active Directory, configure LDAP, and perform many other operations.
Mount your Qumulo file system by using NFS or SMB and your cluster’s DNS name or IP address.

Step 3: Performing Post-Deployment Actions

This section describes the common actions you can perform on a CNQ cluster after deploying it.

Adding a Node to an Existing Cluster

Important
To add a node to an existing cluster, the total node count must be greater than that of the current deployment.

Edit terraform.tfvars and change the value of q_node_count to a new value.
Run the terraform apply command.
Terraform displays the execution plan.

Review the Terraform execution plan and then enter yes.

Terraform changes resources according the execution plan and displays an additional primary (static) IP for the new node. For example:
```
qumulo_primary_ips = [
  "203.0.113.1",
  "203.0.113.2",
  "203.0.113.3",
  "203.0.113.4",
  "203.0.113.5"
]
```
To ensure that the Provisioner shut downs automatically, review the last-run-status parameter in Azure App Configuration (on the left navigation panel, click Operations > Configuration Explorer).
To check that the cluster is healthy, log in to the Qumulo Core Web UI.

Increasing the Soft Capacity Limit for an Existing Cluster

Increasing the soft capacity limit for an existing cluster is a two-step process:

Configure new persistent storage parameters.
Configure new compute and cache deployment parameters.

Step 1: Set New Persistent Storage Parameters

Edit the terraform.tfvars file in the persistent-storage directory and set the q_cluster_soft_capacity_limit variable to a higher value.
Run the terraform apply command.

Review the Terraform execution plan and then enter yes.

Terraform creates new Azure Storage Accounts as necessarydocker run -ti –user $(id -u):$(id -g) –entrypoint /bin/bash -v $(pwd):/src docs-builder -c “bundle update –bundler; bundle install” and displays:
- The names of the created persistent storage accounts
- Your persistent storage resource group’s unique name
- The new soft capacity limit
For example:
```
Outputs:

persistent_storage_accounts = [
  "ab5cdefghij1",
  "ab4cdefghij2",
  "ab3cdefghij3",
  "ab2cdefghij4",
]
persistent_storage_resource_group = "mynamePStore-abcde"
...
soft_capacity_limit = "1000 TB"
```

Step 2: Update Existing Compute and Cache Resource Deployment

Navigate to the root directory of the azure-terraform-cnq-<x.y> repository.
Run the terraform apply -var-file config-standard.tfvars command.

Review the Terraform execution plan and then enter yes.

Terraform updates the necessary roles and Azure Storage Account policies, adds Azure Storage Accounts to the persistent storage list for the cluster, increases the soft capacity limit, and displays the Apply complete! message.

When the Provisioner shuts down automatically, this process is complete.

Deleting an Existing Cluster

Deleting a cluster is a two-step process:

Delete your Cloud Native Qumulo resources.
Delete your persistent storage.

Caution

When you no longer need your cluster, you must back up all important data on the cluster safely before deleting the cluster.
When you delete your cluster's cache and computer resources, it isn't possible to access your persistent storage anymore.

Step 1: To Delete Your Cluster’s Cloud Native Qumulo Resources

Back up your data safely.
Run the terraform destroy command.

Review the Terraform execution plan and then enter yes.

Terraform deletes all of your cluster’s CNQ resources and displays the Destroy complete! message and a count of destroyed resources.

Step 2: To Delete Your Cluster’s Persistent Storage

Navigate to the persistent-storage directory.
Run the terraform destroy command.

Review the Terraform execution plan and then enter yes.

Terraform deletes all of your cluster’s persistent storage and displays the Destroy complete! message and a count of destroyed resources.