Frequently asked questions

What to do if playbook execution fails due to external (network, hardware etc) failure

Re-run the playbook whose execution failed once the issue is resolved.

Why is the provisioning status of my node object stuck at ‘powering-on’?

Cause:

• Hardware issues (Auto-reboot may fail due to hardware tests failing)

Resolution:

• Resolve/replace the faulty hardware and PXE boot the node.

Why don’t IPA commands work after setting up FreeIPA on the cluster?

Cause:

Kerberos authentication may be missing on the target node.

Resolution:

Run kinit admin on the node and provide the kerberos_admin_password when prompted. (This password is also entered in input/security_config.yml.)

Why are the status and admin_mac fields not populated for specific target nodes in the cluster.nodeinfo table?

Causes:

• Nodes do not have their first PXE device set as designated active NIC for PXE booting.

• Nodes that have been discovered via SNMP or mapping file have not been PXE booted.

Resolution:

• Configure the first PXE device to be active for PXE booting.

• PXE boot the target node manually.

Why does the provision.yml fail at ‘provision validation: Install common packages for provision’ on RHEL nodes running 8.5 or earlier?

Cause:

• sshpass is not available in any of the repositories on the control plane.

Resolution:

• Enable RedHat subscription or ensure that sshpass is available to install or download to the control plane (from any local repository).

Why is the provisioning status of my node object stuck at ‘installing’?

Cause:

• Disk partition may not have enough storage space per the requirements specified in input/provision_config (under disk_partition)

• The provided ISO may be corrupt.

• Hardware issues

Resolution:

• Add more space to the server or modify the requirements specified in input/provision_config (under disk_partition)

• Download the ISO again, verify the checksum and re-run the provision tool.

• Resolve/replace the faulty hardware and PXE boot the node.

Why does the ‘Fail if LDAP home directory exists’ task fail during user_passwordless_ssh.yml?

Cause: The required NFS share is not set up on the control plane.

Resolution:

If enable_omnia_nfs is true in input/omnia_config.yml, follow the below steps to configure an NFS share on your LDAP server:

• From the manager node:

  1. Add the LDAP server IP address to /etc/exports.

  2. Run exports -ra to enable the NFS configuration.

• From the LDAP server:

  1. Add the required fstab entries in /etc/fstab

  2. Mount the NFS share using mount manager_ip: /home/omnia-share /home/omnia-share

Why does the ‘Import SCP from a local path’ task fail during idrac.yml?

Cause: The target server may be hung during the booting process.

Resolution: Bring the target node up and re-run the script.

Why does the ‘Verify primary_dns is reachable’ task fail during provision.yml?

Currently, the primary_dns value stored in input/provision_config.yml cannot be part of any of the subnets (admin_nic_subnet, ib_nic_subnet and bmc_nic_subnet) also defined in input/provision_config.yml.

Ex: If the primary_dns is set to 10.15.0.7, the subnet 10.15.0.0 cannot be used for admin_nic_subnet, ib_nic_subnet or bmc_nic_subnet.

Why is the node status stuck at ‘powering-on’ or ‘powering-off’ after a control plane reboot?

Cause: The nodes were powering off or powering on during the control plane reboot/shutdown.

Resolution: In the case of a planned shutdown, ensure that the control plane is shut down after the compute nodes. When powering back up, the control plane should be powered on and xCAT services resumed before bringing up the compute nodes. In short, have the control plane as the first node up and the last node down.

For more information, click here

Why do subscription errors occur on RHEL control planes when rhel_repo_local_path (in input/provision_config.yml) is not provided & control plane does not have an active subscription?

For many of Omnia’s features to work, RHEL control planes need access to the following repositories:

1. AppStream

2. BaseOS

3. CRB

This can only be achieved using local repos specified in rhel_repo_local_path (input/provision_config.yml) OR having an active, available RedHat subscription.

Note

To enable the repositories, run the following commands:

subscription-manager repos --enable=codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms
subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-appstream-rpms
subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-baseos-rpms

Verify your changes by running:

yum repolist enabled

Why does the task: Initiate reposync of AppStream, BaseOS and CRB fail?

Potential cause: The repo_url, repo_name or repo provided in rhel_repo_local_path (input/provision_config.yml) may not be valid.

Omnia does not validate the input of rhel_repo_local_path.

Resolution: Ensure the correct values are passed before re-running provision.yml.

What to do if PXE boot fails when discovering target nodes via switch_based discovery

1. Rectify any probable causes like incorrect/unavailable credentials (switch_snmp3_username and switch_snmp3_password provided in input/provision_config.yml), network glitches or incorrect switch IP/port details.

2. Run the clean up script by:

   cd utils
   ansible-playbook control_plane_cleanup.yml
   

3. Re-run the provision tool (ansible-playbook provision.yml).

How to add a new node for provisioning

1. Using a mapping file:

   • Update the existing mapping file by appending the new entry (without the disrupting the older entries) or provide a new mapping file by pointing pxe_mapping_file_path in provision_config.yml to the new location.

   • Run provision.yml.

2. Using the switch IP:

   • Run provision.yml once the switch has discovered the potential new node.

Why does the task: ‘BeeGFS: Rebuilding BeeGFS client module’ fail?

Potential cause: BeeGFS version 7.3.0 is in use.

Resolution: Use BeeGFS client version 7.3.1 when setting up BeeGFS on the cluster.

Why does splitting an ethernet Z series port fail with “Failed. Either port already split with different breakout value or port is not available on ethernet switch”?

Potential Cause:

1. The port is already split.

2. It is an even-numbered port.

Resolution:

Changing the breakout_value on a split port is currently not supported. Ensure the port is un-split before assigning a new breakout_value.

How to enable DHCP routing on Compute Nodes:

To enable routing, update the primary_dns and secondary_dns in provision_config.yml with the appropriate IPs (hostnames are currently not supported). For compute nodes that are not directly connected to the internet (ie only host network is configured), this configuration allows for internet connectivity.

What to do if the LC is not ready:

• Verify that the LC is in a ready state for all servers: racadm getremoteservicesstatus

• PXE boot the target server.

Is Disabling 2FA supported by Omnia?

• Disabling 2FA is not supported by Omnia and must be manually disabled.

Is provisioning servers using BOSS controller supported by Omnia?

Provisioning server using BOSS controller is now supported by Omnia 1.2.1.

How to re-provision a server once it’s been set up by xCAT

• Use lsdef -t osimage | grep install-compute to get a list of all valid OS profiles.

• Use nodeset all osimage=<selected OS image from previous command> to provision the OS on the target server.

• PXE boot the target server to bring up the OS.

How many IPs are required within the PXE NIC range?

Ensure that the number of IPs available between pxe_nic_start_range and pxe_nic_end_range is double the number of iDRACs available to account for potential stale entries in the mapping DB.

What are the licenses required when deploying a cluster through Omnia?

While Omnia playbooks are licensed by Apache 2.0, Omnia deploys multiple softwares that are licensed separately by their respective developer communities. For a comprehensive list of software and their licenses, click here .

If you have any feedback about Omnia documentation, please reach out at omnia.readme@dell.com.