Chapter 5. Scaling a user-provisioned cluster with the Bare Metal Operator


After deploying a user-provisioned infrastructure cluster, you can use the Bare Metal Operator (BMO) and other metal3 components to scale bare-metal hosts in the cluster. This approach helps you to scale a user-provisioned cluster in a more automated way.

5.1. About scaling a user-provisioned cluster with the Bare Metal Operator

You can scale user-provisioned infrastructure clusters by using the Bare Metal Operator (BMO) and other metal3 components. User-provisioned infrastructure installations do not feature the Machine API Operator. The Machine API Operator typically manages the lifecycle of bare-metal nodes in a cluster. However, it is possible to use the BMO and other metal3 components to scale nodes in user-provisioned clusters without requiring the Machine API Operator.

5.1.1. Prerequisites for scaling a user-provisioned cluster

  • You installed a user-provisioned infrastructure cluster on bare metal.
  • You have baseboard management controller (BMC) access to the hosts.

5.1.2. Limitations for scaling a user-provisioned cluster

  • You cannot use a provisioning network to scale user-provisioned infrastructure clusters by using the Bare Metal Operator (BMO).

    • Consequentially, you can only use bare-metal host drivers that support virtual media networking booting, for example redfish-virtualmedia and idrac-virtualmedia.
  • You cannot scale MachineSet objects in user-provisioned infrastructure clusters by using the BMO.

5.2. Configuring a provisioning resource to scale user-provisioned clusters

Create a Provisioning custom resource (CR) to enable Metal platform components on a user-provisioned infrastructure cluster.

Prerequisites

  • You installed a user-provisioned infrastructure cluster on bare metal.

Procedure

  1. Create a Provisioning CR.

    1. Save the following YAML in the provisioning.yaml file:

      apiVersion: metal3.io/v1alpha1
      kind: Provisioning
      metadata:
        name: provisioning-configuration
      spec:
        provisioningNetwork: "Disabled"
        watchAllNamespaces: false
      Note

      OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 does not support enabling a provisioning network when you scale a user-provisioned cluster by using the Bare Metal Operator.

  2. Create the Provisioning CR by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f provisioning.yaml

    Example output

    provisioning.metal3.io/provisioning-configuration created

Verification

  • Verify that the provisioning service is running by running the following command:

    $ oc get pods -n openshift-machine-api

    Example output

    NAME                                                  READY   STATUS    RESTARTS        AGE
    cluster-autoscaler-operator-678c476f4c-jjdn5          2/2     Running   0               5d21h
    cluster-baremetal-operator-6866f7b976-gmvgh           2/2     Running   0               5d21h
    control-plane-machine-set-operator-7d8566696c-bh4jz   1/1     Running   0               5d21h
    ironic-proxy-64bdw                                    1/1     Running   0               5d21h
    ironic-proxy-rbggf                                    1/1     Running   0               5d21h
    ironic-proxy-vj54c                                    1/1     Running   0               5d21h
    machine-api-controllers-544d6849d5-tgj9l              7/7     Running   1 (5d21h ago)   5d21h
    machine-api-operator-5c4ff4b86d-6fjmq                 2/2     Running   0               5d21h
    metal3-6d98f84cc8-zn2mx                               5/5     Running   0               5d21h
    metal3-image-customization-59d745768d-bhrp7           1/1     Running   0               5d21h

5.3. Provisioning new hosts in a user-provisioned cluster by using the BMO

You can use the Bare Metal Operator (BMO) to provision bare-metal hosts in a user-provisioned cluster by creating a BareMetalHost custom resource (CR).

Note

Provisioning bare-metal hosts to the cluster by using the BMO sets the spec.externallyProvisioned specification in the BareMetalHost custom resource to false by default. Do not set the spec.externallyProvisioned specification to true, because this setting results in unexpected behavior.

Prerequisites

  • You created a user-provisioned bare-metal cluster.
  • You have baseboard management controller (BMC) access to the hosts.
  • You deployed a provisioning service in the cluster by creating a Provisioning CR.

Procedure

  1. Create a configuration file for the bare-metal node. Depending if you use either a static configuration or a DHCP server, choose one of the following example bmh.yaml files and configure it to your needs by replacing values in the YAML to match your environment:

    • To deploy with a static configuration, create the following bmh.yaml file:

      ---
      apiVersion: v1
      kind: Secret
      metadata:
        name: openshift-worker-<num>-network-config-secret 1
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      type: Opaque
      stringData:
        nmstate: | 2
          interfaces: 3
          - name: <nic1_name> 4
            type: ethernet
            state: up
            ipv4:
              address:
              - ip: <ip_address> 5
                prefix-length: 24
              enabled: true
          dns-resolver:
            config:
              server:
              - <dns_ip_address> 6
          routes:
            config:
            - destination: 0.0.0.0/0
              next-hop-address: <next_hop_ip_address> 7
              next-hop-interface: <next_hop_nic1_name> 8
      ---
      apiVersion: v1
      kind: Secret
      metadata:
        name: openshift-worker-<num>-bmc-secret
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      type: Opaque
      data:
        username: <base64_of_uid> 9
        password: <base64_of_pwd>
      ---
      apiVersion: metal3.io/v1alpha1
      kind: BareMetalHost
      metadata:
        name: openshift-worker-<num>
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      spec:
        online: true
        bootMACAddress: <nic1_mac_address> 10
        bmc:
          address: <protocol>://<bmc_url> 11
          credentialsName: openshift-worker-<num>-bmc-secret
          disableCertificateVerification: false
        customDeploy:
          method: install_coreos
        userData:
          name: worker-user-data-managed
          namespace: openshift-machine-api
        rootDeviceHints:
          deviceName: <root_device_hint> 12
        preprovisioningNetworkDataName: openshift-worker-<num>-network-config-secret
      1
      Replace all instances of <num> with a unique compute node number for the bare-metal nodes in the name, credentialsName, and preprovisioningNetworkDataName fields.
      2
      Add the NMState YAML syntax to configure the host interfaces. To configure the network interface for a newly created node, specify the name of the secret that has the network configuration. Follow the nmstate syntax to define the network configuration for your node. See "Preparing the bare-metal node" for details on configuring NMState syntax.
      3
      Optional: If you have configured the network interface with nmstate, and you want to disable an interface, set state: up with the IP addresses set to enabled: false.
      4
      Replace <nic1_name> with the name of the bare-metal node’s first network interface controller (NIC).
      5
      Replace <ip_address> with the IP address of the bare-metal node’s NIC.
      6
      Replace <dns_ip_address> with the IP address of the bare-metal node’s DNS resolver.
      7
      Replace <next_hop_ip_address> with the IP address of the bare-metal node’s external gateway.
      8
      Replace <next_hop_nic1_name> with the name of the bare-metal node’s external gateway.
      9
      Replace <base64_of_uid> and <base64_of_pwd> with the base64 string of the user name and password.
      10
      Replace <nic1_mac_address> with the MAC address of the bare-metal node’s first NIC. See the "BMC addressing" section for additional BMC configuration options.
      11
      Replace <protocol> with the BMC protocol, such as IPMI, Redfish, or others. Replace <bmc_url> with the URL of the bare-metal node’s baseboard management controller.
      12
      Optional: Replace <root_device_hint> with a device path when specifying a root device hint. See "Root device hints" for additional details.
    • When configuring the network interface with a static configuration by using nmstate, set state: up with the IP addresses set to enabled: false:

      ---
      apiVersion: v1
      kind: Secret
      metadata:
        name: openshift-worker-<num>-network-config-secret
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
       # ...
      interfaces:
        - name: <nic_name>
          type: ethernet
          state: up
          ipv4:
            enabled: false
          ipv6:
            enabled: false
      # ...
    • To deploy with a DHCP configuration, create the following bmh.yaml file:

      ---
      apiVersion: v1
      kind: Secret
      metadata:
        name: openshift-worker-<num>-bmc-secret 1
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      type: Opaque
      data:
        username: <base64_of_uid> 2
        password: <base64_of_pwd>
      ---
      apiVersion: metal3.io/v1alpha1
      kind: BareMetalHost
      metadata:
        name: openshift-worker-<num>
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      spec:
        online: true
        bootMACAddress: <nic1_mac_address> 3
        bmc:
          address: <protocol>://<bmc_url> 4
          credentialsName: openshift-worker-<num>-bmc
          disableCertificateVerification: false
        customDeploy:
          method: install_coreos
        userData:
          name: worker-user-data-managed
          namespace: openshift-machine-api
        rootDeviceHints:
          deviceName: <root_device_hint> 5
      1
      Replace <num> with a unique compute node number for the bare-metal nodes in the name and credentialsName fields.
      2
      Replace <base64_of_uid> and <base64_of_pwd> with the base64 string of the user name and password.
      3
      Replace <nic1_mac_address> with the MAC address of the bare-metal node’s first NIC. See the "BMC addressing" section for additional BMC configuration options.
      4
      Replace <protocol> with the BMC protocol, such as IPMI, Redfish, or others. Replace <bmc_url> with the URL of the bare-metal node’s baseboard management controller.
      5
      Optional: Replace <root_device_hint> with a device path when specifying a root device hint. See "Root device hints" for additional details.
      Important

      If the MAC address of an existing bare-metal node matches the MAC address of the bare-metal host that you are attempting to provision, then the installation will fail. If the host enrollment, inspection, cleaning, or other steps fail, the Bare Metal Operator retries the installation continuously. See "Diagnosing a duplicate MAC address when provisioning a new host in the cluster" for additional details.

  2. Create the bare-metal node by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f bmh.yaml

    Example output

    secret/openshift-worker-<num>-network-config-secret created
    secret/openshift-worker-<num>-bmc-secret created
    baremetalhost.metal3.io/openshift-worker-<num> created

  3. Inspect the bare-metal node by running the following command:

    $ oc -n openshift-machine-api get bmh openshift-worker-<num>

    where:

    <num>

    Specifies the compute node number.

    Example output

    NAME                    STATE       CONSUMER   ONLINE   ERROR
    openshift-worker-<num>  provisioned true

  4. Approve all certificate signing requests (CSRs).

    1. Get the list of pending CSRs by running the following command:

      $ oc get csr

      Example output

      NAME        AGE   SIGNERNAME                                    REQUESTOR                                         REQUESTEDDURATION CONDITION
      csr-gfm9f   33s   kubernetes.io/kube-apiserver-client-kubelet   system:serviceaccount:openshift-machine-config-o
      perator:node-bootstrapper   <none>              Pending

    2. Approve the CSR by running the following command:

      $ oc adm certificate approve <csr_name>

      Example output

      certificatesigningrequest.certificates.k8s.io/<csr_name> approved

Verification

  • Verify that the node is ready by running the following command:

    $ oc get nodes

    Example output

    NAME        STATUS   ROLES           AGE     VERSION
    app1        Ready    worker          47s     v1.24.0+dc5a2fd
    controller1 Ready    master,worker   2d22h   v1.24.0+dc5a2fd

5.4. Optional: Managing existing hosts in a user-provisioned cluster by using the BMO

Optionally, you can use the Bare Metal Operator (BMO) to manage existing bare-metal controller hosts in a user-provisioned cluster by creating a BareMetalHost object for the existing host. It is not a requirement to manage existing user-provisioned hosts; however, you can enroll them as externally-provisioned hosts for inventory purposes.

Important

To manage existing hosts by using the BMO, you must set the spec.externallyProvisioned specification in the BareMetalHost custom resource to true to prevent the BMO from re-provisioning the host.

Prerequisites

  • You created a user-provisioned bare-metal cluster.
  • You have baseboard management controller (BMC) access to the hosts.
  • You deployed a provisioning service in the cluster by creating a Provisioning CR.

Procedure

  1. Create the Secret CR and the BareMetalHost CR.

    1. Save the following YAML in the controller.yaml file:

      ---
      apiVersion: v1
      kind: Secret
      metadata:
        name: controller1-bmc
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      type: Opaque
      data:
        username: <base64_of_uid>
        password: <base64_of_pwd>
      ---
      apiVersion: metal3.io/v1alpha1
      kind: BareMetalHost
      metadata:
        name: controller1
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      spec:
        bmc:
          address: <protocol>://<bmc_url> 1
          credentialsName: "controller1-bmc"
        bootMACAddress: <nic1_mac_address>
        customDeploy:
          method: install_coreos
        externallyProvisioned: true 2
        online: true
        userData:
          name: controller-user-data-managed
          namespace: openshift-machine-api
      1
      You can only use bare-metal host drivers that support virtual media networking booting, for example redfish-virtualmedia and idrac-virtualmedia.
      2
      You must set the value to true to prevent the BMO from re-provisioning the bare-metal controller host.
  2. Create the bare-metal host object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f controller.yaml

    Example output

    secret/controller1-bmc created
    baremetalhost.metal3.io/controller1 created

Verification

  • Verify that the BMO created the bare-metal host object by running the following command:

    $ oc get bmh -A

    Example output

    NAMESPACE               NAME          STATE                    CONSUMER   ONLINE   ERROR   AGE
    openshift-machine-api   controller1   externally provisioned              true             13s

5.5. Removing hosts from a user-provisioned cluster by using the BMO

You can use the Bare Metal Operator (BMO) to remove bare-metal hosts from a user-provisioned cluster.

Prerequisites

  • You created a user-provisioned bare-metal cluster.
  • You have baseboard management controller (BMC) access to the hosts.
  • You deployed a provisioning service in the cluster by creating a Provisioning CR.

Procedure

  1. Cordon and drain the node by running the following command:

    $ oc adm drain app1 --force --ignore-daemonsets=true

    Example output

    node/app1 cordoned
    WARNING: ignoring DaemonSet-managed Pods: openshift-cluster-node-tuning-operator/tuned-tvthg, openshift-dns/dns-
    default-9q6rz, openshift-dns/node-resolver-zvt42, openshift-image-registry/node-ca-mzxth, openshift-ingress-cana
    ry/ingress-canary-qq5lf, openshift-machine-config-operator/machine-config-daemon-v79dm, openshift-monitoring/nod
    e-exporter-2vn59, openshift-multus/multus-additional-cni-plugins-wssvj, openshift-multus/multus-fn8tg, openshift
    -multus/network-metrics-daemon-5qv55, openshift-network-diagnostics/network-check-target-jqxn2, openshift-ovn-ku
    bernetes/ovnkube-node-rsvqg
    evicting pod openshift-operator-lifecycle-manager/collect-profiles-27766965-258vp
    evicting pod openshift-operator-lifecycle-manager/collect-profiles-27766950-kg5mk
    evicting pod openshift-operator-lifecycle-manager/collect-profiles-27766935-stf4s
    pod/collect-profiles-27766965-258vp evicted
    pod/collect-profiles-27766950-kg5mk evicted
    pod/collect-profiles-27766935-stf4s evicted
    node/app1 drained

  2. Delete the customDeploy specification from the BareMetalHost CR.

    1. Edit the BareMetalHost CR for the host by running the following command:

      $ oc edit bmh -n openshift-machine-api <host_name>
    2. Delete the lines spec.customDeploy and spec.customDeploy.method:

      ...
        customDeploy:
          method: install_coreos
    3. Verify that the provisioning state of the host changes to deprovisioning by running the following command:

      $ oc get bmh -A

      Example output

      NAMESPACE               NAME          STATE                    CONSUMER   ONLINE   ERROR   AGE
      openshift-machine-api   controller1   externally provisioned              true             58m
      openshift-machine-api   worker1       deprovisioning                      true             57m

  3. Delete the host by running the following command when the BareMetalHost state changes to available:

    $ oc delete bmh -n openshift-machine-api <bmh_name>
    Note

    You can run this step without having to edit the BareMetalHost CR. It might take some time for the BareMetalHost state to change from deprovisioning to available.

  4. Delete the node by running the following command:

    $ oc delete node <node_name>

Verification

  • Verify that you deleted the node by running the following command:

    $ oc get nodes

    Example output

    NAME          STATUS   ROLES           AGE     VERSION
    controller1   Ready    master,worker   2d23h   v1.24.0+dc5a2fd

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