2.2 Installing Separate Appliances for a Large Installation

In a large installation, the Filr software, the MySQL database, and the search index each run as a separate appliance.

Running the Filr software, the MySQL database, and the search index as separate appliances allows each component to have access to more server memory, disk space, and CPU resources. There can be multiple Filr appliances and multiple search index appliances. There can be only one database appliance.

You should have already installed the Filr appliance, as described in Section 2.1, Installing the Filr Appliance. The following sections describe how to install the search index appliance and the MySQL database appliance. If you have an existing MySQL database that you want to use as the Filr database, you must make certain changes on the database to configure it to work with Filr.

You must configure the MySQL database appliance to change the database administrator password before you configure the Filr appliance for the first time.

2.2.1 Installing the Search Index Appliance

Downloading the Search Index Appliance and Configuring the Virtual Environment

You need to download the search index appliance and configure the virtual environment where you plan to run the appliance. This includes configuring system resources and so forth.

The process of downloading the search index appliance and configuring the virtual environment differs depending on which virtual environment you plan to use to run the search index appliance.

VMware Configuration

  1. Download the Lucene search index software (Filrsearch-version.ovf.zip) to your management workstation.

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  2. Extract the Filrsearch-version.ovf.zip file on your management workstation until the Filrsearch-version file folder appears.

  3. In the vSphere client, click File > Deploy OVF Template.

  4. Browse to and select the .ovf file in the Filrsearch-version file folder.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Click Next again.

  7. In the Name field, rename the Filr appliance to a name of your choosing, then click Next.

  8. Click Next to accept the default for the disk format.

  9. Click Finish.

  10. Create a separate VMware hard disk (Hard Disk 2) for the appliance. If you do not create a separate VMware hard disk as described here, you cannot update to a new version of the appliance.

    1. In the vSphere client, right-click the virtual machine that you just created, and for which you want to create secondary storage, then click Edit Settings.

      The Virtual Machine Properties page is displayed.

    2. On the Hardware tab, click Add.

      The Add Hardware dialog box is displayed.

    3. Select Hard Disk, then click Next.

    4. Leave Create a new virtual disk selected, then click Next.

    5. Specify the amount of hard disk space that you want to allocate. The recommended minimum differs depending on the nature of your Filr environment.

      To see a formula to calculate the storage requirement for your environment, see Table 1-2, Search Index Appliance Storage.

    6. In the Disk Provisioning section, select either Thick Provision Eager Zeroed or Support clustering features such as Fault Tolerance, depending on the VMware version that you are running.

    7. In the Location section, select Specify a datastore or datastore cluster, then click Browse.

    8. Select a datastore, then click OK.

    9. Click Next.

    10. In the Virtual Device Node section, select SCSI (1:0) from the drop-down list.

    11. In the Mode section, select Independent, select Persistent, then click Next.

    12. Click Finish.

  11. Increase the amount of memory that VMware allocates for the appliance.

    The default is 4 GB. This default is appropriate for a system that has a few hundred to 1,000 users. You should increase this if your user count exceeds 1,000. Novell also recommends 2 CPUs.

    IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

    At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

    1. In the Virtual Machine Properties window, select Memory, then increase the setting to a suitable size for your environment.

    2. Click OK to exit the Virtual Machine Properties window.

  12. Power on the appliance.

    IMPORTANT:If you are planning to use a separate VMware hard disk to store your Filr files, do not power on the appliance until you have created the hard disk, as described in Step 10.

  13. Continue with Installing the Search Index Appliance.

Xen Configuration

  1. Log in to the host server either locally or from a remote workstation.

    You can use the following command to log in to the host server from a remote workstation on Linux:

    ssh -X root@host_ip_address

    You must use the -X in the command in order to display the GUI installation program. The steps in this section use the GUI installation program to configure the server.

  2. Navigate to the /var/lib/xen/images directory on the host server.

  3. Create a new directory inside the images directory where you can download the Filr software.

    The name of this directory must be the same as the name that you plan to use for your Filr virtual appliance. For example, if you plan to name the Filr appliance FilrSearch1, the name of this new directory must also be FilrSearch1.

  4. Change to the directory that you just created. For example, /var/lib/xen/images/FilrSearch1.

  5. Download the Filr software (Filrsearch-version.xen.tar.gz) to the following directory on the host server:

    /var/lib/xen/images

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  6. Untar the Filrsearch-version.xen.tar.gz file in the directory where you downloaded the file, as described in Step 5.

    You can use the following command to untar the file:

    tar -Sxvzf Filrsearch-version.xen.tar.gz

    A filr -version directory is created, which contains a .raw file that you will use to run the virtual image.

  7. From the host server, run the following command to launch the GUI configuration menu:

    vm-install

    The Create a Virtual Machine wizard is displayed.

  8. Click Forward.

  9. Select I have a disk or disk image with an installed operating system, then click Forward.

  10. Leave SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 selected, then click Forward.

  11. Rename the virtual machine by clicking Name of Virtual Machine, then specifying a new name in the Name field. Then click Apply. For example, FilrSearch1.

  12. Configure the amount of memory that Xen allocates for the Filr appliance.

    1. On the Summary page, click Hardware, then specify the following information:

      Available Memory: Displays the amount of memory that is available on the host server.

      Maximum Memory: 4 GB is the recommended minimum for a system that has a few hundred to 1,000 users. You should increase this if your user count exceeds 1,000.

      IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

      At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

      Virtual Processors: Specify 2 CPUs. At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap.

    2. Click Apply.

  13. Configure the bootable disk image:

    1. On the Summary page, click Disks.

    2. Click Harddisk.

    3. On the Virtual Disk page, specify the following information:

      Source: Click Browse, then browse to the .raw file that you untared in Step 6.

      Protocol: Select file:.

      Size (GB): The default size is 40.1 GB. This cannot be changed.

      Create Sparse Image File: This option is not available.

      Read-Only Access: Do not select this option.

    4. Click OK.

  14. Create a separate Xen hard disk (Hard Disk 2) for the appliance. This is the location where you will store your Filr files (files that are located in users’ My Files area). If you do not create a separate Xen hard disk as described here, you cannot update to a new version of Filr.

    1. On the Summary page, click Disks.

    2. Click Harddisk.

    3. On the Virtual Disk page, specify the following information:

      Source: Click Browse, then browse to the location of a datastore where you want Filr files to be stored.

      Protocol: Select file:.

      Size (GB): Specify the amount of hard disk space that you want to allocate. The recommended minimum differs depending on the nature of your Filr environment.

      To see a formula to calculate the storage requirement for your environment, see Table 1-2, Search Index Appliance Storage.

      For more detailed information about the type of information that is stored here, see Table 1-2, Search Index Appliance Storage.

      Create Sparse Image File: Select this option.

      Read-Only Access: Do not select this option.

  15. Click OK > Apply.

  16. Click OK to save your changes and to create the virtual machine.

  17. Power on the appliance (virtual machine).

    IMPORTANT:Do not power on the appliance until you have created a separate Xen hard disk for the appliance, as described in Step 14.

  18. Continue with Installing the Search Index Appliance.

Hyper-V Configuration

  1. Log in to the host server either locally or from a remote workstation.

    You can use Windows Remote Desktop to log in to the host server from a remote workstation.

  2. Create a new directory in the location where you want each virtual machine to reside (for example, C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks). In a later step, you will download the Filr software to this directory.

    As a best practice, give this directory the same name as the name that you plan to use for your Filr virtual appliance. For example, if you plan to name the Filr appliance FilrSearch1, the name of this new directory should also be FilrSearch1.

  3. Download the Filr software (Filrsearch-version.vhd.zip) to the directory on the host server that you created in Step 2.

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  4. Extract the Filrsearch-version.vhd.zip file to the directory on the host server that you created in Step 2.

  5. Open the Hyper-V Manager.

  6. In Hyper-V Manager, right-click the disk name in the Action Pane where you want to create the new virtual machine, then click New > Virtual Machine.

    The New Virtual Machine Wizard is displayed.

  7. Click Next after you have reviewed the Before You Begin page.

  8. In the Name field, specify a name for the new virtual machine. For example, FilrSearch1.

  9. Click Next.

  10. In the Startup memory field, specify the amount of memory (in MB) to allocate to the virtual machine. 4 GB is the recommended minimum for a system that has a few hundred to 1,000 users. You should increase this if your user count exceeds 1,000. Novell also recommends 2 CPUs.

    IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

    At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

  11. Click Next.

  12. On the Configure Networking page, select the networking card of your choice, then click Next.

  13. Configure the bootable disk image:

    1. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, select Use an existing virtual hard disk, then browse to the .vhd file that was in the downloaded .zip file that you extracted in Step 4.

    2. Click Open to select the file, then click Next.

  14. Click Finish.

  15. Create a separate Hyper-V hard disk (Hard Disk 2) for the appliance. This is the location where you will store your Filr files (files that are located in users’ My Files area). If you do not create a separate Hyper-V hard disk as described here, you cannot update to a new version of Filr.

    1. In Hyper-V Manager, right-click the disk that you just created, then click Settings.

    2. In the Hardware section, select IDE Controller 1, select Hard Drive, then click Add.

    3. Select Virtual hard disk, then click New.

    4. Review the Before You Begin page, then click Next.

    5. On the Choose Disk Format page, select VHD, then click Next.

    6. On the Choose Disk Type page, select Fixed size, then click Next.

    7. On the Specify Name and Location page, specify the following information, then click Next:

      Name: Specify a name for the hard disk. For example, FilrDisk2.

      Location: Specify the location where you want the hard drive to be located.

  16. On the Configure Disk page, select Create a new blank virtual hard disk, then specify the amount of hard disk space that you want to allocate. The recommended minimum differs depending on the nature of your Filr environment.

    To see a formula to calculate the storage requirement for your environment, see Table 1-2, Search Index Appliance Storage.

  17. Click Next.

  18. Review the summary information, then click Finish.

  19. Click Apply > OK.

  20. Right-click the virtual machine, then click Start.

    IMPORTANT:Do not start the appliance until you have created a separate Hyper-V hard disk for the appliance, as described in Step 15.

  21. Right-click the virtual machine, then click Connect.

  22. Continue with Installing the Search Index Appliance.

Installing the Search Index Appliance

  1. After you have downloaded the search index appliance, configured the virtual environment, and powered on the appliance, click the Console tab.

  2. After the appliance starts, select your preferred keyboard layout in the Keyboard Language drop-down, then accept the license agreement. (You can change the language the license agreement is displayed in from the License Language drop-down.)

  3. Specify the following network information:

    Root password and confirmation: The root password for your Search Index appliance. The root username is case-sensitive and should not be capitalized.

    Vaadmin password and confirmation: The preferred user to use when logging in to the appliance. The username is case-sensitive and should not be capitalized.

    Hostname: The fully qualified DNS host name associated with the appliance’s IP address. For example, myFilr.mynetwork.example.com.

    IP Address: The static IP address for the appliance. For example, 172.17.2.3.

    Network Mask: The network mask associated with the appliance’s IP address. For example, 255.255.255.0.

    Gateway: The IP address of the gateway on the subnet where your Filr virtual appliance is located. For example, 172.17.2.254.

    DNS Servers: The IP address of a primary DNS server for your network. For example, 172.17.1.1.

    NTP Server: The IP address or DNS name of the reliable external Network Time Protocol (NTP) server your OES server uses. For example, time.example.com.

    Region: Your local region.

    Time Zone: Your local time zone.

    NOTE:After installation, if you are not able to access the appliance and you need to change any of these settings, you can use the VACONFIG utility from the command prompt. For more information, see Section D.1, Using VACONFIG to Modify Network Information.

  4. Click Next.

  5. Select the data storage location. This is the location (/vastorage) where information specific to the appliance is stored and is used when the appliance is upgraded. Each appliance has its own /vastorage location.

    • Hard Disk (recommended): This option is recommended for both small and large deployment scenarios. You should have already assigned a hard disk to the virtual machine before you choose this option, as described in Step 10. If you have not already assigned a hard disk, click Power Off Virtual Machine, modify the virtual machine settings to add a hard disk, then power on the virtual machine.

    • Remote NFS: Do not select this option when installing the search index appliance. The search index appliance is not supported with Remote NFS. If you plan to have multiple Lucene index servers, be aware that load balancing is not supported between index servers. Rather, the purpose of having multiple Lucene index servers is to provide fault tolerance or backup in the event that one index server fails.

    For more information about the type of data that is stored here, see Data Storage for the Appliance.

  6. Click Next.

  7. Specify the following options for hard disk data storage location:

    Hard Drive: Select the hard drive you are using.

    If you created a secondary VMware hard disk for this appliance as described in Step 10, it is automatically detected and sdb is displayed as the hard drive. Accept the defaults for the other options on this page and skip to Step 8.

    Use an existing partition: Select this option to use an existing partition.

    Create a new partition: Select this option to create a new partition.

    Partition size: Specify the partition size.

    Filesystem type: Specify the type of file system.

  8. Click Configure.

    The appliance might take a few minutes to install. When the installation is complete, you see a message telling you that the appliance is now ready to configure.

  9. (Recommended) Create a cluster of Lucene index server appliances (no more than two is recommended). Having multiple Lucene index server appliances provides fault tolerance or backup in the event that one index server fails.

    1. Install another Lucene index server appliance, as described in this section (Section 2.2.1, Installing the Search Index Appliance).

    2. Log in to the Filr appliance administration and configure Lucene for High Availability, as described in Section 4.5, Changing Your Search Index Configuration.

  10. Set a password for the search index appliance. You can also change other configuration options for the search index appliance.

    For information about how to change the search index appliance password and other configuration options, see Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

  11. Continue with installing the database appliance, as described in Section 2.2.2, Installing the MySQL Database Appliance.

2.2.2 Installing the MySQL Database Appliance

NOTE:The MySQL database appliance is not intended for enterprise installations. If your organization has an existing MySQL database, it is recommended that you configure Filr to use the existing database.

If you already have a MySQL database server that you want Filr to use, you can skip this section and continue with Section 2.2.3, Configuring an Existing MySQL Database.

Filr cannot be used with MySQL 5.6 and later.

Downloading the MySQL Database Appliance and Configuring the Virtual Environment

You need to download the MySQL database appliance and configure the virtual environment where you plan to run the appliance. This includes configuring system resources and so forth.

The process of downloading the MySQL database appliance and configuring the virtual environment differs depending on which virtual environment you plan to use to run the MySQL database appliance.

VMware Configuration

  1. Download the MySQL database software (MySQL.x86_64-version.ovf.zip) to your management workstation.

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  2. Extract the MySQL.x86_64-version.ovf.zip file on your management workstation until the MySQL-version file folder appears.

  3. In the vSphere client, click File > Deploy OVF Template.

  4. Browse to and select the .ovf file in the MySQL-version file folder.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Click Next again.

  7. In the Name field, rename the Filr appliance to a name of your choosing, then click Next.

  8. Click Next to accept the default for the disk format.

  9. Click Finish.

  10. Identify the location where you want to store your Filr files. This can be an NFS mount point or a VMware hard disk.

    • If you choose to have a VMware hard disk, continue with Step 11. (Recommended)

    • If you choose to have an NFS mount point, continue with Step 12. You will make this selection during the initial configuration of the appliance.

  11. Create a separate VMware hard disk (Hard Disk 2) for the appliance:

    1. In the vSphere client, right-click the virtual machine that you just created, and for which you want to create secondary storage, then click Edit Settings.

      The Virtual Machine Properties page is displayed.

    2. On the Hardware tab, click Add.

      The Add Hardware dialog box is displayed.

    3. Select Hard Disk, then click Next.

    4. Specify the amount of hard disk space that you want to allocate. A minimum of 100 GB is recommended, but this might be more for your environment.

      To see a formula to calculate the storage requirement for your environment, see Table 1-3, MySQL Database Appliance Storage.

    5. Leave Create a new virtual disk selected, then click Next.

    6. In the Disk Provisioning section, select either Thick Provision Eager Zeroed or Support clustering features such as Fault Tolerance, depending on the VMware version that you are running.

    7. In the Location section, select Specify a datastore or datastore cluster, then click Browse.

    8. Select a datastore, then click OK.

    9. Click Next.

    10. In the Virtual Device Node section, select SCSI (1:0) from the drop-down list.

    11. In the Mode section, select Independent, select Persistent, then click Next.

    12. Click Finish.

  12. Increase the amount of memory that VMware allocates for the appliance.

    The default is 4 GB. This default is appropriate for a system that has a few hundred to 1,000 users. You should increase this if your user count exceeds 1,000. Novell also recommends 2 CPUs.

    IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

    At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

    1. In the Virtual Machine Properties window, select Memory, then increase this setting to a suitable size for your environment.

    2. Click OK to exit the Virtual Machine Properties window.

  13. Power on the appliance.

    IMPORTANT:If you are planning to use a separate VMware hard disk to store your Filr files, do not power on the appliance until you have created the hard disk, as described in Step 11.

  14. Continue with Installing the MySQL Database Appliance.

Xen Configuration

  1. Log in to the host server either locally or from a remote workstation.

    You can use the following command to log in to the host server from a remote workstation on Linux:

    ssh -X root@host_ip_address

    You must use the -X in the command in order to display the GUI installation program. The steps in this section use the GUI installation program to configure the server.

  2. Navigate to the /var/lib/xen/images directory on the host server.

  3. Create a new directory inside the images directory where you can download the Filr software. The name of this directory must be the same name as the name that you plan to use for your Filr virtual appliance. For example, if you plan to name the Filr appliance FilrDatabase1, the name of this new directory must also be FilrDatabase1.

  4. Change to the directory that you just created. For example, /var/lib/xen/images/FilrDatabase1.

  5. Download the Filr software (MySQL.x86_64-version.xen.tar.gz) to the following directory on the host server:

    /var/lib/xen/images

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  6. Untar the MySQL.x86_64-version.xen.tar.gz file in the directory where you downloaded the file, as described in Step 5.

    You can use the following command to untar the file:

    tar -Sxvzf MySQL.x86_64-version.xen.tar.gz

    A filr -version directory is created, which contains a .raw file that you will use to run the virtual image.

  7. From the host server, run the following command to launch the GUI configuration menu:

    vm-install

    The Create a Virtual Machine wizard is displayed.

  8. Click Forward.

  9. Select I have a disk or disk image with an installed operating system, then click Forward.

  10. Leave SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 selected, then click Forward.

  11. Rename the virtual machine by clicking Name of Virtual Machine, then specifying a new name in the Name field. Then click Apply. For example, FilrDatabase1.

  12. Configure the amount of memory that Xen allocates for the Filr appliance.

    1. On the Summary page, click Hardware, then specify the following information:

      Available Memory: Displays the amount of memory that is available on the host server.

      Maximum Memory: 4 GB is the recommended minimum for a system that has a few hundred to 1,000 users. You should increase this if your user count exceeds 1,000.

      IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

      At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

      Virtual Processors: Specify 2 CPUs. At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap.

    2. Click Apply.

  13. Configure the bootable disk image:

    1. On the Summary page, click Disks.

    2. Click Harddisk.

    3. On the Virtual Disk page, specify the following information:

      Source: Click Browse, then browse to the .raw file that you untared in Step 6.

      Protocol: Select file:.

      Size (GB): The default size is 40.1 GB. This cannot be changed.

      Create Sparse Image File: This option is not available.

      Read-Only Access: Do not select this option.

    4. Click OK.

  14. Create a separate Xen hard disk (Hard Disk 2) for the appliance. This is the location where you will store your Filr files (files that are located in users’ My Files area). If you do not create a separate Xen hard disk as described here, you cannot update to a new version of Filr.

    1. On the Summary page, click Disks.

    2. Click Harddisk.

    3. On the Virtual Disk page, specify the following information:

      Source: Click Browse, then browse to the location of a datastore where you want Filr files to be stored.

      Protocol: Select file:.

      Size (GB): Specify the amount of hard disk space that you want to allocate. A minimum of 100 GB is recommended, but this might be more for your environment.

      To see a formula to calculate the storage requirement for your environment, see Table 1-3, MySQL Database Appliance Storage.

      Create Sparse Image File: Select this option.

      Read-Only Access: Do not select this option.

  15. Click OK > Apply.

  16. Click OK to save your changes and to create the virtual machine.

  17. Power on the appliance (virtual machine).

    IMPORTANT:Do not power on the appliance until you have created a separate Xen hard disk for the appliance, as described in Step 14.

  18. Continue with Installing the MySQL Database Appliance.

Hyper-V Configuration

  1. Log in to the host server either locally or from a remote workstation.

    You can use Windows Remote Desktop to log in to the host server from a remote workstation.

  2. Create a new directory in the location where you want the virtual machine to reside (for example, C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks). In a later step, you will download the Filr software to this directory.

    As a best practice, give this directory the same name as the name that you plan to use for your Filr virtual appliance. For example, if you plan to name the Filr appliance FilrDatabase1, the name of this new directory should also be FilrDatabase1.

  3. Download the Filr software (MySQL.x86_64-version.vhd.zip) to the directory on the host server that you created in Step 2.

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  4. Extract the MySQL.x86_64-version.vhd.zip file to the directory on the host server that you created in Step 2.

  5. Open the Hyper-V Manager.

  6. In Hyper-V Manager, right-click the disk name in the Action Pane where you want to create the new virtual machine, then click New > Virtual Machine.

    The New Virtual Machine Wizard is displayed.

  7. Review the Before You Begin page, then click Next.

  8. In the Name field, specify a name for the new virtual machine. For example, FilrDatabase1.

  9. Click Next.

  10. In the Startup memory field, specify the amount of memory (in MB) to allocate to the virtual machine. 4 GB is the recommended minimum for a system that has a few hundred to 1,000 users. You should increase this if your user count exceeds 1,000. Novell also recommends 2 CPUs.

    IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

    At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

  11. Click Next.

  12. On the Configure Networking page, select the networking card of your choice, then click Next.

  13. Configure the bootable disk image:

    1. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, select Use an existing virtual hard disk, then browse to the .vhd file that was in the downloaded .zip file that you extracted in Step 4.

    2. Click Open to select the file, then click Next.

  14. Click Finish.

  15. Create a separate Hyper-V hard disk (Hard Disk 2) for the appliance. This is the location where you will store your Filr files (files that are located in users’ My Files area). If you do not create a separate Hyper-V hard disk as described here, you cannot update to a new version of Filr.

    1. In Hyper-V Manager, right-click the disk that you just created, then click Settings.

    2. In the Hardware section, select IDE Controller 1, select Hard Drive, then click Add.

    3. Select Virtual hard disk, then click New.

    4. Review the Before You Begin page, then click Next.

    5. On the Choose Disk Format page, select VHD, then click Next.

    6. On the Choose Disk Type page, select Fixed size, then click Next.

    7. On the Specify Name and Location page, specify the following information, then click Next:

      Name: Specify a name for the hard disk. For example, FilrDisk2.

      Location: Specify the location where you want the hard drive to be located.

  16. On the Configure Disk page, select Create a new blank virtual hard disk, then specify a size for the hard disk. The recommended minimum is 100 GB. A minimum of 100 GB is recommended, but this might be more for your environment.

    To see a formula to calculate the storage requirement for your environment, see Table 1-3, MySQL Database Appliance Storage.

  17. Click Next.

  18. Review the summary information, then click Finish.

  19. Click Apply > OK.

  20. Right-click the virtual machine, then click Start.

    IMPORTANT:Do not start the appliance until you have created a separate Hyper-V hard disk for the appliance, as described in Step 15.

  21. Right-click the virtual machine, then click Connect.

  22. Continue with Installing the MySQL Database Appliance.

Installing the MySQL Database Appliance

  1. After you have downloaded the MySQL database appliance, configured the virtual environment, and powered on the appliance, click the Console tab.

  2. After the appliance starts, select your preferred keyboard layout in the Keyboard Language drop-down, then accept the license agreement. You can change the language the license agreement is displayed in from the License Language drop-down.

  3. On the Configuration page, specify the following network information:

    Root password and confirmation: The root password for your database appliance. The root username is case-sensitive and should not be capitalized.

    Vaadmin password and confirmation: The preferred user to use when logging in to the appliance. The username is case-sensitive and should not be capitalized.

    Hostname: The fully qualified DNS host name associated with the appliance’s IP address. For example, myFilr.mynetwork.example.com.

    IP Address: The static IP address for the appliance. For example, 172.17.2.3.

    Network Mask: The network mask associated with the appliance’s IP address. For example, 255.255.255.0.

    Gateway: The IP address of the gateway on the subnet where your database appliance is located. For example, 172.17.2.254.

    DNS Servers: The IP address of a primary DNS server for your network. For example, 172.17.1.1.

    NTP Server: The IP address or DNS name of the reliable external Network Time Protocol (NTP) server your OES server uses. For example, time.example.com.

    Region: Your local region.

    Time Zone: Your local time zone.

    NOTE:After installation, if you are not able to access the appliance and you need to change any of these settings, you can use the VACONFIG utility from the Filr command prompt. For more information, see Section D.1, Using VACONFIG to Modify Network Information.

  4. Click Next.

  5. Select the data storage location. This is the location (/vastorage) where information specific to the appliance is stored and is used when the appliance is upgraded. Each appliance has its own /vastorage location.

    • Hard Disk (recommended): This option is recommended for both small and large deployment scenarios. You should have already assigned a hard disk to the virtual machine before you choose this option, as described in Step 11 in VMware Configuration. If you didn’t, power off this virtual machine, modify the virtual machine settings to add a hard disk, then power on the virtual machine.

    • Remote NFS: Use a remote NFS location only in a large deployment scenario, where you plan to configure all Filr servers (Filr, Filr Search, and MySQL) as separate virtual machines.

      IMPORTANT:Before you choose this option, you must configure NFS on the remote linux server by setting the rw and no_root_squash options on the remote directory.

      For detailed information about how to configure NFS on the remote Linux server, see Section B.0, Setting Up Remote NFS for the Filr Data Storage Location.

    For more information about the type of data that is stored here, see Data Storage for the Appliance.

  6. Click Next.

  7. (Conditional) If you selected Hard Disk in Step 5, specify the following options:

    Hard Drive: Select the hard drive you are using.

    If you created a secondary VMware hard disk for this appliance as described in Step 11 in VMware Configuration, it is automatically detected and sdb is displayed as the hard drive. Accept the defaults for the other options on this page and skip to Step 9.

    Use an existing partition: Select this option to use an existing partition.

    Create a new partition: Select this option to create a new partition.

    Partition size: Specify the partition size.

    Filesystem type: Specify the type of file system.

  8. (Conditional) If you selected Remote NFS in Step 5, specify the following options:

    NFS Server Hostname: Specify the hostname of the NFS server.

    Windows servers are not supported.

    Remote Directory: Specify the path to the remote directory.

    The directory path for the remote directory that you specify here cannot be the same as the path that you specify when configuring the path for the Filr or search index appliances.

  9. Click Configure.

    The appliance might take a few minutes to install. When the installation is complete, you see a message indicating that the appliance is now ready to configure.

  10. Configure the MySQL database appliance to change the database administrator password, as described in Section 6.1, Configuring the MySQL Database Appliance.

    IMPORTANT:You must do this before you configure the Filr appliance for the first time.

  11. Continue with Section 3.0, Configuring Filr for the First Time.

2.2.3 Configuring an Existing MySQL Database

When configuring Filr to use an existing MySQL database rather than the database appliance, Filr supports MySQL 5.0.96 through 5.5.x.

IMPORTANT:Filr cannot be used with MySQL 5.6 and later.

If you want to use an existing MySQL database as the Filr database, you must make some changes on the database to configure it to work with Filr.

  1. Make the following changes on the MySQL server:

    [client] 
default-character-set = utf8

    [mysqld]
character-set-server = utf8
max_connections = 900
transaction-isolation = READ-COMMITTED
expire_logs_days = 7

    The expire_logs_days setting is optional, but is recommended. It is used to clean up mysql-bin-* files. If these files are not cleaned up on a regular basis, they can begin to consume a significant amount of disk space in the vastorage directory.

  2. Uncomment the InnoDB tables section.

  3. Increase the buffer pool size to approximately 60 percent of the amount of RAM that has been allocated to the dedicated MySQL server.

    For example, a dedicated MySQL server with 4 GB of RAM should have a buffer pool size of 2560 MB, as follows:

    innodb_buffer_pool_size = 2560M

  4. Continue with Section 3.0, Configuring Filr for the First Time.