A clean installation of Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Edition in a Hyper-V cluster should be configured to fulfil the roles of domain controller, storage, and compute node. This is accomplished by installing a service (ExtilityService) on each of the machines in the cluster, using the setup application supplied by Flexiant. 

Required information

Before running the setup application, ensure you have:

• Configured your Windows installation appropriately, with networking and machine names set up as required.
• Obtained the following information:
  • The file path of your share folder, for example C:\san-share.

  • The HYPERV_HOST_SWITCH value in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server. 

    This is only required information if you are using VLAN networking in your Hyper-V cluster.

  • The VNODE_MANAGEMENT_SWITCH value in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server.

    This is only required information if you are using PVIP networking in your Hyper-V cluster.

  • The VNODE_EXTERNAL_SWITCH value in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server.

    This is only required information if you are using PVIP networking in your Hyper-V cluster.

  • The HYPERV_AGENT_PORT value in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server.

  • The HYPERV_PASSWORD value in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server. 

Using the setup application

The setup application is used both to install ExtilityService and to update it on compute nodes. The service can be updated on domain controllers and storage gateways by re-running the setup application. 

To install and use the setup application:

1. Log in as the local administrator.
   
   
2. Install the configuration application on each physical machine in your Hyper-V cluster by performing the following steps:
   
   1. Download the setup.exe file for the configuration application. The setup.exe file is available at the following address:
      http://<Node network IP address of Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator management box>:1080/cluster-config/setup.exe
   2. Once you have downloaded the setup.exe file, open it and follow the instructions to install the application. The application should be installed to the C:\extilityagent\ folder.
      After the installation is finished, a shortcut to Extility Configuration is created on the desktop.

3. After installation completes, the setup application is launched. Should the setup application fail to launch, double click the shortcut to launch it.

4. Do one of the following depending on whether the ExtilityService service is already installed on the machine:

   ExtilityService service installed	Dialog displayed	Do this
   No		Select the required machine role from the drop down. Do the following: To configure the machine as a domain controller: In the Domain name text box, enter the name of the domain to create. In this example, the domain name is HYPERV. In the Password text box, enter the password to use for the local administrator. In this example, the password to be used is Password1234. Click the Next button. On the confirmation dialog box, click the OK button. Wait for the machine to reboot. Once the machine starts up again, the domain HYPERV has been created and other machines can be added to it. To configure the machine as a storage gateway:  These instructions assume that you have configured a machine to act as domain controller. If you have not already done so, you need to configure a machine to act as the domain controller before configuring a machine as a storage gateway.   Log in as the domain administrator and run the ExtlConfig application as described above. In the Domain name text box, enter the name of the domain to join. In this example, the domain name is HYPERV. In the Domain Admin Password text box, enter the password to use for the domain administrator. In this example, the password to be used is Password1234.  In the Password text box, enter the password to use for the local administrator. In this example, the password to be used is Password1234.  Click the Next button. In the Share name text box, enter the share path of the storage unit. In this example, the share name is vms. In the Share folder text box, enter the file path of the share folder. In this example, the file path is C:\san-share. Click the Next button. On the confirmation dialog box, click the OK button. Wait for the machine to reboot. Once the machine has rebooted, log in as the domain administrator and run the setup application again. When the Configuration complete dialog box is displayed, click the OK button to close it.  The storage device is now ready to use.   To configure the machine as a compute node: These instructions assume that you have configured a machine to act as domain controller. If you have not already done so, you need to configure a machine to act as the domain controller before configuring a machine as a compute node.   Log in as the domain administrator and run the ExtlConfig application as described above. In the Domain name text box, enter the name of the domain to join. In this example, the domain name is HYPERV. In the Domain AdminPassword text box, enter the password to use for the domain administrator account. In this example, the password to be used is Password1234. In the Password text box, enter the password to use for the local administrator account. In this example, the password to be used is Password1234. Click the Next button. Configure the networking mode to be used for virtual machines. Hyper-V supports both PVIP (Public Virtual IP) and VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) networking modes. For instructions on how to configure your required networking mode, see the table below.  If you set up both PVIP and VLAN networking using the same external switch, both the PVIP external switch and the VLAN virtual switch should use the same network card. In the example below, both the PVIP external switch and the VLAN virtual switch are set to public-network. Therefore, the Network card drop down menu for both of these switches should be set to the same value, in this example Ethernet 5. Networking mode Setup instructions PVIP Select the Public Virtual IP (PVIP) check box. In the Management Switch text box, enter the name for VNODE_MANAGEMENT_SWITCH in /etc/extility/config/vars. In this example, the name of the switch is vSwitch0. From the Network card drop down menu, select a physical network card for the Management Switch, for example Ethernet 3. In the External Switch text box, enter the name for VNODE_EXTERNAL_SWITCH in /etc/extility/config/vars. In this example, the name of the switch is public-network. From the Network card drop down menu, select a physical network card for the External Switch, for example Ethernet 5. VLAN Select the Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) check box. In the Virtual Switch text box, enter the name for HYPERV_HOST_SWITCH in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server. In this example, the name of the switch is public-network. From the Network card for VM drop down menu, select a physical network card, for example Ethernet 5. If you want to use different network cards for PVIP external and VLAN then you must also give them different switch names, otherwise when you change one network card the other will also change. In the Agent port text box, enter the port number for HYPERV_AGENT_PORT in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server. In the Agent key text box, enter the password for HYPERV_PASSWORD in /etc/extility/config/vars on the cluster control server. Click the Next button. On the confirmation dialog box, click the OK button. Wait for the machine to reboot. Once the machine has rebooted, log in as the domain administrator and run the ExtlConfig application again. When the Set Password dialog is displayed, enter and confirm your password for the domain administrator. Start the Extility Agent for Windows service. When the Configuration complete dialog box is displayed, click the OK button to close it. The devices in the cluster have now been configured appropriately and the cluster is ready to use. If you plan to use PVIP networking in your Hyper-V cluster, take the following additional steps: Log in to the Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator cluster control server for your Hyper-V cluster. Edit /etc/extility/local.cfg and add or edit the variable PVIP_ON_HYPERV so that it has the value 1. Run the following command:  build-config -a This command will disrupt the operation of your cluster while it is running. To minimise disruption, we recommend that this command is run when the cluster is not in use. Monitor the output of /var/log/extility/combined-java.log until the build-config command completes. Once build-config has successfully completed, log in to the Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator UI and edit the nodes in the cluster. Each node in the cluster will have an additional VNode IP field in the Configuration section on the Configuration sub-tab.    Edit the configuration of the node and add in the appropriate VNode IP. This should be a free IP on the node network. For information about how to edit the configuration of a node, see Managing Nodes.
   Yes		To update the agent account:  Updating the agent account on a node only affects the local node.   Click the Update Agent Account button. Amend the username and password of the account as required.   Click the Update button. To update the agent key:  The agent key is the HYPERV_PASSWORD value in /etc/extility/config/vars on the management server of Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator.  Ensure that the correct value is used for the agent key. If the key is entered incorrectly, Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator will be unable to communicate with the node(s) affected until the correct key is entered. Updating the agent key on a node only affects the local node.   Click the Update Agent Key button. Amend the agent key as required. The current key is the value of HYPERV_PASSWORD in /etc/extility/config/vars on the Flexiant Cloud Orchestrator management server. Click the Update button.  To configure a new machine role, follow the instructions above as though the service is not running on the machine.