The previous page was about setting up the Oracle VM Server and Oracle VM Manager software. This part is about configuring your private cloud using Oracle VM Manager.
Setting up your cloud
Now that we have the Oracle VM Servers installed, and the Oracle VM Manager ready, it is time to set up the server pool, storage, network, and of course the virtual machines. The following all takes place on the Oracle VM Manager web interface. This is located at http://<your ovmm server>:7001/ovm/console
First discover your servers. Remember that I advised to keep the password for the OVS Agent the same on all servers: this makes the discovery less work. In the hardware Section, right click Unassigned Servers and chose Discover Servers. In this screen you can fill in the IP-range of where the VM Servers are located, and fill in the OVS Agent’s password for all servers.
The Discover Servers screen in Oracle VM Manager
After the discovery, your Oracle VM Server nodes can be found under the “Unassigned Servers” section on the Hardware page.
Server Pool
Now it is time to create the Server Pool. In this example I make a non-clustered server pool, consisting of all my current server machines. In the Hardware section, right click on Resources and select Create Server Pool to create a Server Pool.
Creating a Server Pool in Oracle VM Manager
Repository creation
Now that we have a Server Pool , we need some storage. In the Home screen, select the Repository tab and create a new Repository. In my example I use NFS network storage.
Repository creation screen in Oracle VM Manager
This repository must be presented (“mounted”) on your Oracle VM Servers in your Server Pool. Note that therefore the NFS storage server must be resolvable and accessible from the servers in your Server Pool. The final result is a Server Pool with assigned storage!
Overview of the Server Pool and its Storage
Networking
In my example, I use old disused hardware (obsolete laptops). These machines only have one NIC. I therefore have only one network configured in my private cloud. To make this network available to the virtual machines, you have to assign this network to virtual machines. Go in the Hardware screen to Networks and edit your network (in my case “192168.11.0′). You have to enable “Virtual Machine’ (and of course assign it to your servers if you hadn’t done so already).
Network Settings in Oracle VM Manager
Server Pool policy
You can assign policies to your Server Pool. There are two of them. I’m especially fond of the Distributed Power Management policy which basically consolidates your running virtual machines on as least hardware as possible, and shutting down server nodes when they are not needed (and starting them again when they are needed). This is the reason you should enable Wake-On-LAN on your Oracle VM Servers. If you dont have Wake-On-LAN, you shouldn’t use this policy! You can enable policies by right clicking your Server Pool and choosing ”Edit Policies”.
Server Pool Distributed Power Management Policy
So know you have your own private cloud. But it isn’t doing much yet. On the next page I will continue with importing Oracle’s VM templates which are available from Oracle’s eDelivery site.
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