Manually Creating Ubuntu Linux Jumphost VM on Nutanix AHV

Below is walkthrough for manually creating a Linux VM on Nutanix AHV to support the various deployment scenarios.

Prerequisites

• Existing Nutanix AHV Subnet configured with IPAM
• Existing Linux OS machine image (i.e., Ubuntu 22.04 LTS ) with cloud-init service enabled. If not existing, See Upload Generic Cloud Image into Prism Central example.
• SSH Private Key for inital cloud-init bootstrapping. If not existing:
• On MacOS/Linux machine, See Generate a SSH Key on Linux example.
• On Windows machine, See Generate a SSH Key on Windows example.

Jumphost VM Requirements

The following jumphost resrouces are recommended for the jumphost VM:

• Supported OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
• Resources:
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• Cores Per CPU: 4 Cores
• Memory: 16 GiB
• Storage: 300 GiB

Upload Generic Cloud Image into Prism Central

• Navigate to Prism Central > Infrastructure > Compute & Storage > Images

• On Select Image tab, Click Add Image > Select URL Button > Input Image

  https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/22.04/release/ubuntu-22.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
  

• Click Add URL > Click Next > Accept Remaining Defaults

• Click on Save

Generate a SSH Key on Linux

• Run the following command to generate an RSA key pair.

  ssh-keygen -t rsa
  

• Accept the default file location as ~/.ssh/id_rsa

• The keys will be available in the following locations:

  ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub 
  ~/.ssh/id_rsa
  

Create Linux VM using Prism Central

Run following commands from Prism Central UI.

• Select Infrastructure (via App Switcher Dropdown) > Click Compute & Storage > Click VMs > Click Create VM
• On Configuration Tab:
• Input Name (i.e., nai-llm-jumphost)
• Number of VMs (i.e., 1) > Select Cluster > Update VM Properties (See Jumphost VM Requirements)
• Click Next and enter the following details:
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• Cores Per CPU: 4 Cores
• Memory: 16 GiB

• Storage:300 GiB

• On the Resources Tab:, do the following:

• Under Disks > Attach Disk > Select Clone from Image > Select Image (ex. ubuntu-22.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img) > Update Capacity (See Jumphost VM Requirements) > Click Save
• Under Networks > Attach to Subnet > Select Subnet > Select DHCP Enabled Network > Select Assign with DHCP > Click Save

• Select Legacy Bios Mode > Click Next > Accept Remaining Defaults > Click Create VM

• On Management Tab:

• Under Guest Customization > Select Cloud-Init (Linux) on Script Type dropdown

• Copy and Paste cloud-init YAML config script (example below) > Accept Remaining Defaults

  Tip

  When copying and pasting <ssh-rsa-public-key> from a terminal, make sure not to include any new lines. Consider the following command to removes new lines:

  cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | tr -d '\n'
  

  Warning

  Make sure to update the following attributes of the VM:

  • hostname:
  • <ssh-rsa-public-key> line under ssh-authorized-keys: attribute

  #cloud-config
  hostname: nai-llm-jumphost
  package_update: true
  package_upgrade: true
  package_reboot_if_required: true
  packages:
    - open-iscsi
    - nfs-common
    - linux-headers-generic
  runcmd:
    - systemctl stop ufw && systemctl disable ufw
  users:
    - default
    - name: ubuntu
      groups: sudo
      shell: /bin/bash
      sudo: ['ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL']
      ssh-authorized-keys:
      - <ssh-rsa-public-key>
  

• Click on Create VM

Once the jumphost VM has been created:

• Navigate to Prism Central > Select Infrastructure > Select Compute & Storage
• Click on VMs
• Filter VM Name (i.e., nai-llm-jumphost)
• Select VM > Actions > Power On

• Click on VM and Find IP Address in the NIC tab

• Validate that VM is accessible using ssh:

  ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa ubuntu@<ip-address>
  

Install nai-llm utilities

We have compiled a list of utilities that needs to be installed on the jumphost VM to use for the rest of the lab. We have affectionately called it as nai-llm utilities. Use the following method to install these utilities:

1. SSH into Linux VM

   ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa ubuntu@<ip-address>
   

2. Clone Git repo and change working directory

   git clone https://github.com/nutanix-japan/sol-cnai-infra
   cd $HOME/sol-cnai-infra/
   

3. Run Post VM Create - Workstation Bootstrapping Tasks

   sudo snap install task --classic
   task ws:install-packages ws:load-dotfiles --yes -d $HOME/sol-cnai-infra/
   source ~/.bashrc
   

4. Change working directory and see Task help

   cd $HOME/sol-cnai-infra/ && task
   

   $ cd $HOME/sol-cnai-infra/ && task
   # command output
   task: bootstrap:silent
   
   Silently initializes cluster configs, git local/remote & fluxcd
   
   See README.md for additional details on Getting Started
   
   To see list of tasks, run `task --list` or `task --list-all`
   
   dependencies:
   - bootstrap:default
   
   commands:
   - Task: bootstrap:generate_local_configs
   - Task: bootstrap:verify-configs
   - Task: bootstrap:generate_cluster_configs
   - Task: nke:download-creds 
   - Task: flux:init