Table of Contents
A project to learn about and hack on hscloud
Aims (in order of priority)
- build a “crash cloud” which can be used for experiments.
- mikedlr wants to learn a bit about how hscloud works.
- mikedlr wants to learn if it's possible to make hscloud easier to hack on
- mikedlr wants to make hscloud a bit easier to hack on
- mikedlr (and q3k) want there to be more people who can look after hscloud
- mikedlr (at the suggestion of q3k) wants there to be a crash cloud that can be tested on
- mikedlr wants to make an hscloud administrator teaching materials which make it easy to become an admin
todo tasks
See also
https://issues.hackerspace.pl/issues/76
- get a server we can run this on
- * able to run multiple virtuals
- * with admin right to install virtualization etc
- *
- process:
- get connected to the switch next to the servers via SSH, with a socks proxy (-d)
- identify machines that might be free
- see in NetBox what machines are appropriate - exist don't have role
- login to machines by going to their management address - check they are powered down but can be powered up
- burn nixos from download site to USB
- plug in to usb on server
- power on and boot - connect to console
- machine comes up but fails to get IP address 'cos no DHCP
- check and if needed make physical connection from machine to switch
- get and IP address and the switch configured
- manually add IP address, default route and resolver config
- set SSH password for nixos account.
- login remotely
- install colmena
- start to work on building config
- upgrade bios if required - dangerous and probably avoid
- get NixOS on a USB pen drive or
- set up NixOS image on a SMB server so that it can be mounted as virtual CD
- install NixOS
- get a router we can configure to integrate with this
- set up VMs with external network access
- get a k8s cluster running on the VMs as a copy of existing hscloud
- experiment / hack
done tasks
- discuss this initially: - Done - got some suggestions from q3k and radex. - make a small crash cloud not a duplicate of hscloud since most services can't split between kubernetes anyway.
instructions
https://code.hackerspace.pl/hswaw/hscloud/src/branch/master/cluster/doc/admin.md
* to setup get a machine and install Nixos on it (any configuration it says) add machine configuration to cluster/machines directory **
selected difficulties
* NixOS is not easily dockerizable because the privilage model requires a special daemon which runs as root. This should instead run as a non root nix user and give access through that * If you install two bootloaders, one by accident first which ends up with priority, NixOS silently respects that and doesn't place it's own bootloader to run, which means changes don't take effect * Not clear about NixOS debugging - never managed to get prompt inside the machine
Technical understanding
* Hscloud is a social concept - the idea that we are able to run a cloud for all the hackers. * Hscloud is implemented on kubernetes on metal
sources of info
* todo list on redmine (which) * hscloud page