Full Linux® subscription for IBM Power Virtual Server (On-premises)

Configuring a data plane network

The pod is configured with a control plane network and data plane network when onboarded. The full Linux subscription setup is done through the data plane network. The data plane network connects the pod with your data center infrastructure. The data plane network and the control plane network do not interact with each other. Hence, for completing the full Linux subscription, use the data plane network on the pod. Set up connectivity between your data center and IBM Cloud either by using a site-to-site VPN for virtual private cloud (VPC) or by using IBM Cloud Direct Link 2.0.

Creating a proxy

A proxy setup is set up in a virtual private cloud (VPC) on IBM Cloud with a Virtual Switch Interface (VSI). Connect this VPC on IBM Cloud to the control plane network through IBM Cloud Direct Link 2.0 Connect or VPN connection.

The CentOS image is recommended for the proxy VSI.

To create a proxy setup, complete the following steps:

1. Open the Security groups for the VPC by navigation to the IBM Cloud dashboard > VPC Infrastructure > Networks > Security groups. For more information about security groups, see About security groups.

2. In the default Security group that is attached to your proxy, add 443, 8443, 80 and 3128 ports.

3. On the VSI, enable a floating IP temporarily. In the proxy instance, start a secure shell (SSH) connection by using this temporary IP address in the ssh command in the following format:

   ssh root@<external IP address>

   For example, ssh root@1.2.3.4

Install squid base

In the VSI, install squid by using the following commands:

1. sudo yum update -y
2. sudo yum install epel-release
3. sudo yum install squid

You must have root authority to run these commands. After the installation completes, the squid config file is stored in the /etc/squid/squid.conf location.

Configure the squid by using the following commands:

1. acl localnet "<CIDR of a subnet that you will deploy in the pod>" for example, 10.140.129.217/29
2. acl ibmprivate dst 161.26.0.0/16
3. acl ibmprivate dst 166.8.0.0/14

Also, look at the other entries and make necessary changes according to your environment.

Save the squid config file and restart the squid service by using the following commands:

1. sudo systemctl enable squid
2. sudo systemctl stop squid (optional)
3. sudo systemctl start squid

Completing the setup

To complete the setup process, follow these steps:

1. Deploy a network in the pod.

2. Connect the network externally by using a ticketing process with Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).

3. Deploy the LPAR (RHEL or SLES) for completing the full Linux subscription.

4. Connect to the LPAR by using one of the following methods:

   • From the console on the browser.
   • By using the SSH command from your data network.

5. Test the internal private address of the VSI on the VPC by using the ping command. For example, ping 10.240.0.4

6. To register your LPAR with the RHEL or SLES subscription on the satellite server, open the powervs-fls-readme.md file that is stored in the path /usr/share/powervs-fls and use the following command in the file:

   /usr/local/bin/rhel-cloud-init.sh

   /usr/local/bin/sles-cloud-init.sh

7. One of the parameters for the command represents the proxy IP. Set this proxy IP to the internal private IP of your proxy VSI. For example, 10.240.0.4. Set the port to 3128.

To check whether the setup is complete and the subscription is successful, check the log files, /var/log/powervs-fls.log and powervs-fls-dev.log. When the setup is completed successfully, you can use the commands, such as yum update -y, yum search <package>, yum install <package>.