How do I install Bright under VMWare ESXi 5.x?

You can follow this guide:

This article is being updated. Please be aware the content herein, not limited to version numbers and slight syntax changes, may not match the output from the most recent versions of Bright. This notation will be removed when the content has been updated.

Upload the Bright ISO image into the datastore

Host ESXi network configuration

Create a virtual machine for the head node

Install a Bright 7.0 head node

Install a Bright 7.0 compute node

Troubleshooting

Upload the Bright ISO image into the datastore

Open the vSphere Web Client, switch to “Home” tab and click on “Storage”.

Select the Datastore, switch to “Manage -> Files”, then click on “Upload a file to the Datastore.

Note:

The Bright ISO image can also be uploaded into the datastore via scp:

Host ESXi network configuration

Open the vSphere Web Client, switch to “Home” tab and click on “Host and Cluster”.

Select the Host ESXi and click on “Manage -> Network”, then click on “Add host networking”.

Select “Virtual Machine Port Group for a Standard Switch”, then click on “Next” button.

Select “New standard switch”, then click on “Next” button.

Click on “Next” button, then confirm that there a physical network adapter is not needed for this switch.

Insert the Network label, then click on “Next” and “Finish”.

Select “vSwitch0”, then click on “VM Network”.

Click on “Edit settings”, then rename the Network label in “VM external Network”.

Create a virtual machine for the head node

Open the vSphere Web Client, switch to “Home” tab and click on “Host and Cluster”.

Select the Host ESXi and click on “Create a new virtual machine”.

Select “Create a new virtual machine”, then click on “Next” button.

Choose the Name of the VM, then click on “Next” button.

Select the Host ESXi where the VM is to be created, then click on “Next” button.

Select the datastore, then click on “Next” button.

Chose the last “VMware virtual machine version”, then click on “Next” button.

Choose “Linux” as the guest operating system and “Other (64-bit)” as the version.

Choose the appropriate disk size and increase the memory to 2GB.

Add the second Network Adapter.

Set the first Network Adapter as “VM Internal Network” to be used as an internal interface.

Set the second Network Adapter as “VM External Network” to be used as an external interface.

Choose “Datastore ISO File” from CD/DVD menu. Navigate to the location of the Bright ISO image, then click “Ok” button and flag “Connect…”.

Click “Next” and “Finish” button to create the VM.

Install a Bright 7.0 head node

Power on the “Bright 7.0” virtual machine, then open the Console.

Select the “Install Bright Cluster Manager” option.

Once the installer starts, you can continue installing the head node as described in the Bright 7.0 Installation Manual (section 3.3).

Install a Bright 7.0 compute node

Create a new virtual machine in the same way that the head node was created, except that:

you won’t need to connect the Bright ISO image to the CD/DVD Device.

you’ll need to configure only one network adapter as “VM Internal Network”.

you’ll need to re-configure the boot order to start with Network (PXE).

Click on “Edit Virtual Machine Settings” and switch on “VM Options”.

Flag “Force BIOS setup” in the “Boot Options” section, then click “Next” button.

Power on the “Compute Node” virtual machine, then open the console.

Set “Network boot from Intel E1000” as first.

Save the configuration and exit.

The virtual machine will restart, and it should PXE boot directly from the head node.

Troubleshooting
 

1 – When trying to boot a compute node, the following error is displayed:

Failed to detect boot interface

Can’t configure the ethernet device used for booting.

You should probably insert the correct module into the ramdisk.

Boot failed.

This error means that the kernel module for the virtual network interfaces was included into the software image used for the node. You can determine which module is required by checking which modules are loaded in the head node. Once you determine the name of the module, you can add it to the software image as described in http://support.brightcomputing.com/manuals/7.3/admin-manual.pdf#subsection.5.8.5

For example:

[root@bright ~]# cmsh -c "softwareimage use default-image; kernelmodules; add vmxnet3; commit"

2 – When booting the compute node, at the node installer step, the following error is displayed:

Failed to create disk layout

This error is described in more detail in http://support.brightcomputing.com/manuals/7.3/admin-manual.pdf#subsection.5.8.6 and in this case it probably means the driver for the virtual hard disk was not included in the software image. Follow the same steps described in the previous case.

For example:

[root@bright ~]# cmsh -c "softwareimage use default-image; kernelmodules; add vmw_pvscsi; commit"