Chapter 3. Deploying a Red Hat Enterprise Linux image as a virtual machine on Microsoft Azure

Procedure

1. Convert the image from qcow2 to raw format.

   $ qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O raw <image-name>.qcow2 <image-name>.raw

2. Create a shell script with the following content.

   #!/bin/bash
   MB=$((1024 * 1024))
   size=$(qemu-img info -f raw --output json "$1" | gawk 'match($0, /"virtual-size": ([0-9]+),/, val) {print val[1]}')
   rounded_size=$((($size/$MB + 1) * $MB))
   if [ $(($size % $MB)) -eq  0 ]
   then
    echo "Your image is already aligned. You do not need to resize."
    exit 1
   fi
   echo "rounded size = $rounded_size"
   export rounded_size

3. Run the script. This example uses the name align.sh.

   $ sh align.sh <image-xxx>.raw

   • If the message "Your image is already aligned. You do not need to resize." displays, proceed to the following step.
   • If a value displays, your image is not aligned.

4. Use the following command to convert the file to a fixed VHD format.

   The sample uses qemu-img version 2.12.0.

   $ qemu-img convert -f raw -o subformat=fixed,force_size -O vpc <image-xxx>.raw <image.xxx>.vhd

   Once converted, the VHD file is ready to upload to Azure.

5. If the raw image is not aligned, complete the following steps to align it.

   1. Resize the raw file by using the rounded value displayed when you ran the verification script.

      $ qemu-img resize -f raw <image-xxx>.raw <rounded-value>

   2. Convert the raw image file to a VHD format.

      The sample uses qemu-img version 2.12.0.

      $ qemu-img convert -f raw -o subformat=fixed,force_size -O vpc <image-xxx>.raw <image.xxx>.vhd

      Once converted, the VHD file is ready to upload to Azure.

Procedure

1. Import the Microsoft repository key.

   $ sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc

2. Create a local Azure CLI repository entry.

   $ sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[azure-cli]\nname=Azure CLI\nbaseurl=https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/azure-cli\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc" > /etc/yum.repos.d/azure-cli.repo'

3. Update the dnf package index.

   $ dnf check-update

4. Check your Python version (python --version) and install Python 3.x, if necessary.

   $ sudo dnf install python3

5. Install the Azure CLI.

   $ sudo dnf install -y azure-cli

6. Run the Azure CLI.

   $ az

Procedure

1. Authenticate your system with Azure and log in.

   $ az login

   Note

   If a browser is available in your environment, the CLI opens your browser to the Azure sign-in page. See Sign in with Azure CLI for more information and options.

2. Create a resource group in an Azure region.

   $ az group create --name <resource-group> --location <azure-region>

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ az group create --name azrhelclirsgrp --location southcentralus
   {
     "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp",
     "location": "southcentralus",
     "managedBy": null,
     "name": "azrhelclirsgrp",
     "properties": {
       "provisioningState": "Succeeded"
     },
     "tags": null
   }

3. Create a storage account. See SKU Types for more information about valid SKU values.

   $ az storage account create -l <azure-region> -n <storage-account-name> -g <resource-group> --sku <sku_type>

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ az storage account create -l southcentralus -n azrhelclistact -g azrhelclirsgrp --sku Standard_LRS
   {
     "accessTier": null,
     "creationTime": "2017-04-05T19:10:29.855470+00:00",
     "customDomain": null,
     "encryption": null,
     "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/azrhelclistact",
     "kind": "StorageV2",
     "lastGeoFailoverTime": null,
     "location": "southcentralus",
     "name": "azrhelclistact",
     "primaryEndpoints": {
       "blob": "https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/",
       "file": "https://azrhelclistact.file.core.windows.net/",
       "queue": "https://azrhelclistact.queue.core.windows.net/",
       "table": "https://azrhelclistact.table.core.windows.net/"
   },
   "primaryLocation": "southcentralus",
   "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
   "resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp",
   "secondaryEndpoints": null,
   "secondaryLocation": null,
   "sku": {
     "name": "Standard_LRS",
     "tier": "Standard"
   },
   "statusOfPrimary": "available",
   "statusOfSecondary": null,
   "tags": {},
     "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts"
   }

4. Get the storage account connection string.

   $ az storage account show-connection-string -n <storage-account-name> -g <resource-group>

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ az storage account show-connection-string -n azrhelclistact -g azrhelclirsgrp
   {
     "connectionString": "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=azrhelclistact;AccountKey=NreGk...=="
   }

5. Export the connection string by copying the connection string and pasting it into the following command. This string connects your system to the storage account.

   $ export AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING="<storage-connection-string>"

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ export AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING="DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=azrhelclistact;AccountKey=NreGk...=="

6. Create the storage container.

   $ az storage container create -n <container-name>

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ az storage container create -n azrhelclistcont
   {
     "created": true
   }

7. Create a virtual network.

   $ az network vnet create -g <resource group> --name <vnet-name> --subnet-name <subnet-name>

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ az network vnet create --resource-group azrhelclirsgrp --name azrhelclivnet1 --subnet-name azrhelclisubnet1
   {
     "newVNet": {
       "addressSpace": {
         "addressPrefixes": [
         "10.0.0.0/16"
         ]
     },
     "dhcpOptions": {
       "dnsServers": []
     },
     "etag": "W/\"\"",
     "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/azrhelclivnet1",
     "location": "southcentralus",
     "name": "azrhelclivnet1",
     "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
     "resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp",
     "resourceGuid": "0f25efee-e2a6-4abe-a4e9-817061ee1e79",
     "subnets": [
       {
         "addressPrefix": "10.0.0.0/24",
         "etag": "W/\"\"",
         "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/azrhelclivnet1/subnets/azrhelclisubnet1",
         "ipConfigurations": null,
         "name": "azrhelclisubnet1",
         "networkSecurityGroup": null,
         "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
         "resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp",
         "resourceNavigationLinks": null,
         "routeTable": null
       }
     ],
     "tags": {},
     "type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks",
     "virtualNetworkPeerings": null
     }
   }

Procedure

1. Upload the VHD file to the storage container. It may take several minutes. To get a list of storage containers, enter the az storage container list command.

   $ az storage blob upload \
       --account-name <storage-account-name> --container-name <container-name> \
       --type page --file <path-to-vhd> --name <image-name>.vhd

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ az storage blob upload \
   --account-name azrhelclistact --container-name azrhelclistcont \
   --type page --file rhel-image-{ProductNumber}.vhd --name rhel-image-{ProductNumber}.vhd
   
   Percent complete: %100.0

2. Get the URL for the uploaded VHD file to use in the following step.

   $ az storage blob url -c <container-name> -n <image-name>.vhd

   Example:

   $ az storage blob url -c azrhelclistcont -n rhel-image-9.vhd "https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/azrhelclistcont/rhel-image-9.vhd"

3. Create the Azure custom image.

   $ az image create -n <image-name> -g <resource-group> -l <azure-region> --source <URL> --os-type linux

   Note

   The default hypervisor generation of the VM is V1. You can optionally specify a V2 hypervisor generation by including the option --hyper-v-generation V2. Generation 2 VMs use a UEFI-based boot architecture. See Support for generation 2 VMs on Azure for information about generation 2 VMs.

   The command may return the error "Only blobs formatted as VHDs can be imported." This error may mean that the image was not aligned to the nearest 1 MB boundary before it was converted to VHD.

   Example:

   $ az image create -n rhel9 -g azrhelclirsgrp2 -l southcentralus --source https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/azrhelclistcont/rhel-image-9.vhd --os-type linux

Procedure

1. Enter the following command to create the VM.

   $ az vm create \
       -g <resource-group> -l <azure-region> -n <vm-name> \
       --vnet-name <vnet-name> --subnet <subnet-name> --size Standard_A2 \
       --os-disk-name <simple-name> --admin-username <administrator-name> \
       --generate-ssh-keys --image <path-to-image>

   Note

   The option --generate-ssh-keys creates a private/public key pair. Private and public key files are created in ~/.ssh on your system. The public key is added to the authorized_keys file on the VM for the user specified by the --admin-username option. See Other authentication methods for additional information.

   Example:

   [clouduser@localhost]$ az vm create \
   -g azrhelclirsgrp2 -l southcentralus -n rhel-azure-vm-1 \
   --vnet-name azrhelclivnet1 --subnet azrhelclisubnet1 --size Standard_A2 \
   --os-disk-name vm-1-osdisk --admin-username clouduser \
   --generate-ssh-keys --image rhel9
   
   {
     "fqdns": "",
     "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/rhel-azure-vm-1",
     "location": "southcentralus",
     "macAddress": "",
     "powerState": "VM running",
     "privateIpAddress": "10.0.0.4",
     "publicIpAddress": "<public-IP-address>",
     "resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp2"

   Note the publicIpAddress. You need this address to log in to the VM in the following step.

2. Start an SSH session and log in to the VM.

   [clouduser@localhost]$ ssh -i /home/clouduser/.ssh/id_rsa clouduser@<public-IP-address>.
   The authenticity of host ',<public-IP-address>' can't be established.
   Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
   Warning: Permanently added '<public-IP-address>' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
   
   [clouduser@rhel-azure-vm-1 ~]$

Procedure

1. Register your system.

   # subscription-manager register --auto-attach

2. Attach your subscriptions.

   • You can use an activation key to attach subscriptions. See Creating Red Hat Customer Portal Activation Keys for more information.
   • Alternatively, you can manually attach a subscription by using the ID of the subscription pool (Pool ID). See Attaching and Removing Subscriptions Through the Command Line.

3. Optional: To collect various system metrics about the instance in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console, you can register the instance with Red Hat Insights.

   # insights-client register --display-name <display-name-value>

   For information on further configuration of Red Hat Insights, see Client Configuration Guide for Red Hat Insights.

Procedure

1. Use the Gold Image to create a RHEL 9 VM in your Azure instance. For instructions, see Creating and starting the VM in Azure.
2. Start the created VM.

3. In the RHEL 9 VM, enable automatic registration.

   # subscription-manager config --rhsmcertd.auto_registration=1

4. Enable the rhsmcertd service.

   # systemctl enable rhsmcertd.service

5. Disable the redhat.repo repository.

   # subscription-manager config --rhsm.manage_repos=0

6. Power off the VM, and save it as a managed image on Azure. For instructions, see How to create a managed image of a virtual machine or VHD.
7. Create VMs by using the managed image. They will be automatically subscribed to RHSM.

Procedure

1. Ensure that kdump and other necessary packages are installed on your system.

   # dnf install kexec-tools

2. Verify that the default location for crash dump files is set in the kdump configuration file and that the /var/crash file is available.

   # grep -v "#" /etc/kdump.conf
   
   path /var/crash
   core_collector makedumpfile -l --message-level 7 -d 31

3. Based on the size and version of your RHEL virtual machine (VM) instance, decide whether you need a vmcore target with more free space, such as /mnt/crash. To do so, use the following table.

   Table 3.4. Virtual machine sizes that have been tested with GEN2 VM on Azure

   RHEL Version	Standard DS1 v2 (1 vCPU, 3.5GiB)	Standard NV16as v4 (16 vCPUs, 56 GiB)	Standard M416-208s v2 (208 vCPUs, 5700 GiB)	Standard M416ms v2 (416 vCPUs, 11400 GiB)
   RHEL 9.0 - RHEL 9.3	Default	Default	Target	Target

   • Default indicates that kdump works as expected with the default memory and the default kdump target. The default kdump target is /var/crash.
   • Target indicates that kdump works as expected with the default memory. However, you might need to assign a target with more free space.

4. If your instance requires it, assign a target with more free space, such as /mnt/crash. To do so, edit the /etc/kdump.conf file and replace the default path.

   $ sed s/"path /var/crash"/"path /mnt/crash"

   The option path /mnt/crash represents the path to the file system in which kdump saves the crash dump file.

   For more options, such as writing the crash dump file to a different partition, directly to a device or storing it to a remote machine, see Configuring the kdump target.

5. If your instance requires it, increase the crash kernel size to the sufficient size for kdump to capture the vmcore by adding the respective boot parameter.

   For example, for a Standard M416-208s v2 VM, the sufficient size is 512 MB, so the boot parameter would be crashkernel=512M.

   1. Open the GRUB configuration file and add crashkernel=512M to the boot parameter line.

      # vi /etc/default/grub
      
      GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="console=tty1 console=ttyS0 earlyprintk=ttyS0 rootdelay=300 crashkernel=512M"

   2. Update the GRUB configuration file.

      • In RHEL 9.2 and earlier:

        # grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

      • In RHEL 9.3 and later:

        # grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg --update-bls-cmdline

6. Reboot the VM to allocate separate kernel crash memory to the VM.