Install SUSE Manager in a Virtual Machine Environment Using SUSE Manager VM Image

This chapter provides procedures for deploying Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) or VMware images.

You will find the images for SUSE Manager 4.3 in various formats. They include SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 as the underlying operating system and the SUSE Manager software current at the time of build. Download the appropriate SUSE Manager image for your environment from https://download.suse.com/.

Using a tool such as Ignition to set up a root password is optional now. For more information about Ignition, see Boot Image Configuration Tools.

1. Virtual Machine Manager Settings

This section provides the required Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) settings for SUSE Manager. KVM combined with Virtual Machine Manager (virt-manager) will be used as a sandbox for this installation.

This table specifies the minimum requirements. These are suitable for a quick test installation, such as a server with one client. If you want to use a production environment, review the requirements listed in Hardware Requirements.
Virtual machine settings overview

Installation Method

Import Existing Disk Image

OS:

SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP4

Memory:

16 GB

CPU’s:

4

Virtual Disks:

VirtIO Disk 1

SUSE-Manager-Server.x86_64-4.3.10-KVM.qcow2

VirtIO Disk 2

101 GB for /var/spacewalk

VirtIO Disk 3

50 GB for /var/lib/pgsql

VirtIO Disk 4

4 GB for swap

Name:

suse-manager-test-setup

Network:

Bridge br0

For more information on SUSE Linux Enterprise Virtualization, see https://documentation.suse.com/sles/15-SP4/html/SLES-all/book-virtualization.html.

2. SUSE Manager Virtual Machine Creation - KVM

Create a virtual machine with three additional virtual disks required for the SUSE Manager storage partitions.

Procedure: Creating the VM and Additional Partitions with virt-manager

  1. In virt-manager, open File  New Virtual Machine.

  2. In the Create a new virtual machine dialog, select Import existing disk image and confirm with Forward.

  3. Enter the filename of the downloaded SUSE Manager KVM image and set SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP4 as the operating system. Confirm with Forward.

  4. Configure RAM and number of CPUs (at least 16 GB RAM and 4 CPUs). Confirm with Forward.

  5. Set the name of your VM and select the Customize configuration before install check box.

  6. From the Network selection drop-down menu select the configured bridge device.

  7. Confirm with Finish.

  8. In the overview dashboard, at the bottom of the left navigation bar, click Add Hardware to create additional virtual disks with the following specifications. These disks will be partitioned and mounted in Procedure: Preparing for SUSE Manager run.

    Storage size values are the absolute minimum—only suitable for a small test or demo installation. Especially /var/spacewalk/ may quickly need more space. Also consider to create a separate partition for /srv where Kiwi images are stored.
    VirtIO Storage Disks Name Sizing

    VirtIO Disk 2

    spacewalk

    500 GB

    VirtIO Disk 3

    pgsql

    100 GB

    VirtIO Disk 4

    swap

    4 GB

  9. Click Begin Installation to boot the new VM from the SUSE Manager image.

  10. At the JeOS Firstboot screen select Start to continue and check the following configuration options (keyboard layout, license agreement, time zone, password for root).

  11. When installation completes, log in as root.

  12. Proceed with Preparing Virtual Machine for SUSE Manager.

3. SUSE Manager Virtual Machine Creation - VMware

This sections describes VMware configurations, focusing on the creation of an extra virtual disk essential for the SUSE Manager storage partition within VMware environments.

Procedure: Creating the VMware Virtual Machine

  1. Download SUSE Manager Server .vmdk file. Then transfer a copy to your VMware storage.

  2. Make a copy of uploaded .vmdk file using VMware web interface. This will convert provided .vmdk file to the format suitable for vSpere hypervisor. Use this new copy as a base image for the virtual machine.

  3. Create and name a new virtual machine based on the Guest OS Family Linux and Guest OS Version SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 (64-bit).

  4. Add an additional Hard Disk 2 of 500 GB (or more).

  5. Configure RAM and number of CPUs (at least 16 GB RAM and 4 CPUs).

  6. Set the network adapter as required.

  7. Power on the VM.

  8. At the JeOS Firstboot screen select start to continue and check the following configuration dialogs (keyboard layout, license agreement, time zone, password for root).

  9. When installation completes log in as root.

  10. Proceed with Preparing Virtual Machine for SUSE Manager.

4. Preparing Virtual Machine for SUSE Manager

Before starting obtain your SUSE Manager Registration Code from SUSE Customer Center - https://scc.suse.com.

Procedure: Preparing for SUSE Manager run

  1. Log in as root.

  2. Register SUSE Manager with SCC. For example, replace <productnumber> with 4.3 and <architecture> with x86_64:

    SUSEConnect -e <EMAIL_ADDRESS> -r <SUSE_MANAGER_CODE> \
  -p SUSE-Manager-Server/<productnumber>/<architecture>

  3. Validate the authorized extensions by running the list extensions command:

    SUSEConnect --list-extensions

  4. Add SUSE Manager repositories:

    SUSEConnect -p sle-module-basesystem/15.4/x86_64
SUSEConnect -p sle-module-server-applications/15.4/x86_64
SUSEConnect -p sle-module-web-scripting/15.4/x86_64
SUSEConnect -p sle-module-suse-manager-server/<productnumber>/x86_64

  5. Prepare SUSE Manager storage: suma-storage command automatically prepares and configures previously created external storage for use with SUSE Manager. In the following command the first parameter is the device for SUSE Manager data, the second parameter is the device for the database.

    suma-storage /dev/vdb /dev/vdc

  6. The virtual machine is now ready for SUSE Manager to be set up.

For proceeding with SUSE Manager setup, see SUSE Manager Setup.