Nodegrid Manager software is installed from an ISO file. The installation procedure is a three-stage process: 

1. Creating a virtual machine;
2. Booting from the ISO file in order to install the software;
3. Restarting and booting from the newly created virtual machine.

Creating a Virtual Machine (for ESXi 6)

1. Log in to the vSphere Web Client;
2. Click on Hosts and Clusters;
3. Select the host and then Actions to Add New Virtual Machine;
4. Follow the steps to Create a New Virtual Machine;
5. Enter a Name for the Virtual Machine;
6. Select the cluster, host, vApp or resource pool to run this virtual machine;
7. Select the Destination Datastorage;
8. Select ESXi 6.0 or later for the compatibility for the virtual machine;
9. Select Linux as Guest OS Family;
10. Select Other 3.x Linux (64-bit) as Guest OS Version;
11. Have the following VM Hardware Settings (recommended):
1. CPU: 2
2. Memory: 8GB
   
3. Hard Disk: 40GB (Note: do not select a disk size of exactly 50GB as it will cause 'parted' to fail to partition the install disk)
   
4. SCSI controller type: LSI Logic Parallel
5. Network Adapter type: E1000
6. New CD/DVD Drive: Datastore ISO File and select the ISO file for the CD/DVD Media
   
12. (optional) Add Network (New Device) and set it E1000 adapter type;
13. Finish. 

Installing Nodegrid Manager

To install your Nodegrid Manager software, follow the steps below: 

1. Click on Action and Open Console of the virtual machine;
2. Power On the virtual machine;
3. The virtual machine console server software will start with a boot prompt. At the boot prompt, you can hit ENTER or wait. The image will be decompressed and then loaded;
4. Once the image has booted, follow the instructions on the console. You must accept the EULA in order to proceed with the installation;
5. The installation process will copy the files into the virtual machine and automatically reboot the system in order to start Nodegrid Manager. Click ENTER to boot the image or wait for the image to boot automatically;
6. After booting the image, your new copy of NodeGrid Manager will be available and ready to be configured.

Initial Nodegrid Manager Setup

After the Nodegrid Manager is powered on you will be presented with the login prompt. 

The default administrator user name is admin and the default password is admin.

Admin user can access the Nodegrid Manager via console of virtual machine, through the web interface (HTTPS) or CLI (SSH). Other access methods can be enabled via Nodegrid Manager configuration.

The super user is root and the default password is root. The root user has SHELL access to the Linux OS. The root user access is ONLY available via console of the virtual machine.

By default, Nodegrid Manager is set with DHCP IP configuration. If your network has a DHCP server, type ifconfig command at the shell prompt to see the IP address of your Nodegrid Manager (if you have logged in as admin, type shell first, then sudo su -).  

If no DHCP server is available on your network, or you want to change from dynamic to static IP, configure the network parameters using CLI instructions as follows (if you have logged in as root, please log out and log back in as admin):

[admin@nodegrid /]# cd settings/network_connections/ETH0/

[admin@nodegrid ETH0]# set ipv4_mode=static

[+admin@nodegrid ETH0]# set ipv4_address=10.0.0.10 ipv4_bitmask=24  ipv4_gateway=10.0.0.1

[+admin@nodegrid ETH0]# show

name: ETH0

type: ethernet

ethernet_interface = eth0

connect_automatically = yes

set_as_primary_connection = yes

enable_lldp = no

ipv4_mode = static

ipv4_address = 10.0.0.10

ipv4_bitmask = 24

ipv4_gateway = 10.0.0.1

ipv4_dns_server =

ipv4_dns_search =

ipv6_mode = address_auto_configuration

ipv6_dns_server =

ipv6_dns_search =

[+admin@nodegrid ETH0]# commit

[admin@nodegrid ETH0]# exit

To continue configuring the Nodegrid Manager, open a web browser and enter the Nodegrid Manager IP address in the address field (either the static IP or the IP from DHCP Server). Press Enter to access the Nodegrid Manager web portal and log in as admin user.

From the main page, go to System :: License, click the Add button, enter the license information and click on Save button.

Then you can add network devices. Refer to the articles on how to add managed devices in our Knowledge base.