Installing IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud on Microsoft Azure

 The IBM Spectrum® Virtualized for Public Cloud installation is offered through Azure Marketplace as a Bring Your Own License (BYOL).

Before you can install IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud, ensure you complete the following prerequisites:

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites are required for IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud cluster in Microsoft Azure.

Set up a Microsoft Azure subscription

In Microsoft Azure to access Azure APIs and resources, a valid subscription must be created. A subscription is a container that includes a pair of subscription keys that allow access to services and APIs within Microsoft Azure. Without valid subscription keys, request to access resources that are used by IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud cluster are denied. In the Microsoft Azure documentation, see Create Subscriptions.

Obtain IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud for Microsoft Azure license

Several licensed offerings are available through IBM® Passport Advantage®(PPA) and Advanced Administrative System (AAS). For descriptions of all license options forIBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud, see Obtaining the IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud license.

Plan networking

For a hybrid-cloud deployment between an on data center and IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud cluster in Microsoft Azure, requires specific planning for network connections. For more information, see Planning networking for Microsoft Azure.

Plan security

In addition to user roles and access management, ensure that the connection between an on-premises data center and IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud cluster in Microsoft Azure is protected. For more information, see Planning security access control on Microsoft Azure.

Plan Azure virtual machines (VMs)

The IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud deployment installs three Azure virtual machines as part of the installation. These VMs consist of two D-Series VMs that are provisioned for two nodes and a single, fixed-sized B-Series VM that is dedicated as a quorum node. For the D-Series VMs provisioned for the nodes in the cluster, the template supports three types with different sizes and properties for different workloads. For more information, see Planning Azure virtual machines (VM).

Planning Azure managed disks

Azure managed disks are block-level storage volumes that provide disk-based data storage for the IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud deployment. You can select the type of Azure managed disks that are used with IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud for storage provisioning. A minimum of two Azure managed disks are required for initial cluster creation from Azure Marketplace. After the installation, more disks can be created in the same resource group where the cluster was created either using Azure portal or Azure command-line interface (CLI). The cluster will automatically detect such disks which can be later used for creating storage pools. The cluster can support up to 31 managed disks. For more information, see Planning Azure managed disks.

Planning access to your deployment

Basic deployment of IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud creates a private virtual network exclusively. To access the private network from outside of that network requires planning and configuring an appropriate access method for your environment. For an all in cloud implementation additional access methods can be configured. For more information, see Planning access to deployment.

1. Registering resource providers for your subscription
   Before you can deploy IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud in Microsoft Azure, ensure that you have all the required resource providers that are defined at the subscription level.
2. Creating user roles in Microsoft Azure
   Before you can deploy IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud in Microsoft Azure, create the necessary installer user role with the right permissions for installation and management of IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud resources on Microsoft Azure.
3. Creating SSH keys
   As part of the installation of IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud software on virtual machines in Microsoft Azure, you need to generate Secure Shell (SSH) key pair and add the associated public keys to your node configuration.
4. Deploying IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud on Microsoft Azure
   The IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud installation templates use Azure Resource Manager to simplify provisioning and management on Microsoft Azure cloud environment. These templates are available through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
5. Verifying the IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud deployment
   After IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud installation is successfully deployed in Microsoft Azure, an email confirmation is sent to the email address that was specified in the Azure Marketplace with details on the configuration. If you do not receive email after successful deployment, it can indicate that the email address that was specified in the template is not valid. It can also indicate that your network's email server rejected the connection from the Microsoft Azure address. You can also verify the successful deployment in Microsoft Azure.
6. Completing post-installation tasks
   After you install IBM Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud in Microsoft Azure, you need to access your installation and run system setup. However, depending on the use case you are implementing, different tasks are required.