Guide: Setting Up a Three-Node Nutanix CE 2.1 Cluster on Bare Metal

For me, hands-on home lab projects are the best way to explore and learn new technologies. With the release of Nutanix CE 2.1 on, I took the opportunity to standup a cluster on bare metal servers. This guide outlines the steps I followed to set up a three-node cluster using Nutanix CE 2.1.

The official Nutanix documentation for Getting Started with Community Edition is here:

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Server Requirements

You can find the official server requirements for the Community Edition here.

The RAM requirements can be quite challenging for a homelab, with a minimum system memory of 32GB needed. If you intend to run Prism Central, you’ll need an additional 24GB on a single node, not counting the memory required for any other VM workloads.

Below are the server specifications I used for this guide:

Prepare the Server

When beginning a new bare metal project, I start by resetting the server to its factory state, performing initial setup tasks, configuring remote console access, and updating the firmware. I’ve put together a detailed guide on my process, which you can find here: Initial Setup — Bare Metal Servers.

Network Settings

Plan and document the network layout.

Local DNS servers are not required, see “Create DNS Records” below.

Create reference documents

Plan and document the IP Address, FQDN, and default credentials.

Create DNS Records

Creating Public DNS records on a domain name removes the need for a local DNS server in your home lab. The cost of a domain name is around $10 per year. Using DigitalOcean’s free DNS service has the benefit of leveraging the certbot-dns-digitalocean plugin to automate DNS-01 challenges. Using the DNS-01 challenge will allow you to create Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, including wildcard certificates. For detailed instructions, follow this article for the process I use with DigitalOcean, certbot, and the certbot plugin.

Using the reference document, create your DNS A records.

Download Community Edition

To download the community edition, you to first have a Nutanix ID. You can create a Nutanix ID here:

Browse to the Download Community Edition forum post, log in, and download the Installer ISO.

Boot the CE 2.1 Installer

Boot server 1 to the CE 2.1 ISO downloaded in the previous step.

You can boot the ISO using Virtual Media through the iDRAC console or create a bootable USB using Rufus.

Using the bootable USB for large ISOs seems quicker than iDRAC Virtual Media.

Rufus Method

Download the portable version of Rufus and run the program to create a bootable USB.

Select the 8GB+ USB drive, select the phoenix.x86_64-fnd_5.6.1_patch-aos_6.8.1_ga.iso, and click start.

Once the device has been created, insert the USB drive into your server.

Installing Nutanix CE 2.1

Press F11 to Enter the Boot Manager.

Select the One-shot UEFI Boot Menu. Next, select your USB drive or Virtual Media.

Make your disk selections for the Hypervisor, CVM, and Data drives.

Fill in the network details using your reference documentation and DO NOT SELECT Create single-node-cluster, then select Next Page.

Read and scroll to the end of the EULA before selecting I accept the end user license agreement. Then click Start.

The installation can take over 20 minutes. You will be prompted to remove the boot media and reboot.

Post Installation — Set Host Password

Once the server reboots, it takes 10–15 minutes for the CVM to execute the initial configuration. Now is an excellent time to change the password on the hypervisor.

At the prompt, type in passwd and set up a new password.

CVM Password Change

While logged into the CVM, change the default password.

passwd

Repeat the process for the remaining two nodes

Configure the remaining nodes up to the password change before continuing to start at the Installing Nutainx CE 2.1 section above.

Once all three nodes have completed the installation up to this point, ssh into the CVM of one of the nodes.

Create the cluster by using the following example, including all the node CVM IPs separated by commas.

cluster -s 192.168.10.21,192.168.10.23,192.168.10.24 create

Once the cluster has been created, start the cluster.

cluster start

Once the cluster starts, create the cluster name.

ncli cluster edit-params new-name=ntnx

Set up the Virtual IP address for the cluster.

ncli cluster set-external-ip-address external-ip-address="192.168.10.27"

Login to the web console

Open a web browser and log in to https://prism.<cluster_name>.<domain>:9440

To bypass Your connection is not private in Chrome, type in thisisunsafe on your keyboard after clicking the red triangle. You will not see yourself typing.

Create a new password for the cluster admin account.

Enter your NEXT account (Nutanix ID) to register the cluster.

Congratulations! The cluster is up and running.

Configure Cluster Details

From the menu, select Home -> Settings.

Select Cluster Details and fill in the Cluster Name, FQDN, Virtual IP, and ISCSI Data Services IP. Then click Save.

Add additional Name Servers

Select Settings -> Name Servers and add any additional DNS servers if needed.

Create a Subnet

Select Settings -> Network Configuration and select “Create Subnet”

Fill in the details for your network.

Add NTP Servers

Add any NTP servers you would like to use.

Adding SSL Certificates

You can generate Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates by following the Generating Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates from DigitalOcean with the DNS-01 challenge article.

After creating your SSL Certificates, select Settings -> SSL Certificates. Then click Replace Certificates.

Select Import Key and Certificate

Select the Private Key Type, Private Key, Public Certificate, and CA Cert/Chain. Then click Import Files.

Open a new web browser and go to https://prism.<domain_name>:9440 to verify your valid SSL certificate.

Updating the cluster software

Go to Home -> LCM

Select LCM -> Inventory and select Perform Inventory

Make your preferred selections and click Proceed.

Wait for the Inventory task to complete.

After the Inventory process has been completed, click on Updates.

Select the desired updates and click View Update Plan.

Review the updated plan, and click Apply Updates.

Wait for the updates to complete.

After the update is completed, you should be on the latest release.

Creating a VM

Now that your cluster is up to date, you can create a VM.

First, upload an ISO by selecting Settings -> Image Configuration, then click Upload Image

Enter a Name for the image, select the Image Type, and select Upload a file, then click Save.

Once the upload is complete, the image will be listed on the Image Configuration page.

Select VM from the Menu and click + Create VM

Enter the VM Name, desired vCPU(s), Cores Per vCPU, Memory, and Boot Configuration.

Select + Add New Disk.

Select your desired Storage Container, enter the Disk Size, then Click Add.

Edit the CD-ROM by clicking the pencil.

Select the Operation, Clone from Image Service, and select your desired Image, then click Update.

Select + Add New NIC.

Select the desired subnet and click Add.

Finally, click Save to create the VM. Your VM should now appear in the VM Table.

Right-Click the VM Name and select Power On.

Once the VM is powered on, click Launch Console.

From the console, you can control your VM and continue the installation.

Congratulations, you have successfully set up a three-node Nutanix cluster on Bare Metal.

Instructions for Prism Central setup are available here: Installing Prism Central on Nutanix Community Edition 2.0

Good luck!