A recently created reference architecture, running Microsoft SQL Server Big Data Clusters (BDC) on Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) on Dell EMC VxRail, demonstrates a fast and simple way to get started with big data workloads running on Kubernetes. It also shows how the containerized workloads ran using VxRail. 

SQL BDC on TKG on VxRail enables simplified servicing for cloud native workloads, and is designed to scale with business needs. Administrators can implement the policies for namespaces and manage access and quota allocation for application-focused management. All of this helps build a developer ready infrastructure with enterprise-grade Kubernetes with advanced governance, reliability, and security. 

This reference architecture also validated SQL BDC with Spark SQL TPC-DS benchmark optimized parameters. The test results showed that Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on VxRail provides linear scalability (for complex TPC-DS-like decision support workloads that use different query types) with predictable query response time and high throughput.

In the business value section for using SQL BDC and TKG on VxRail, based on the five measurements below. It's covered in more detail within the reference architecture. 

• Simplified installation of Kubernetes 
• Automated multi-cluster operations 
• Integrated platform services
• Open source alignment
• Production Ready

Cross-functional teams from Dell EMC VxRail, VMware, and Microsoft have reviewed the reference architecture for content and supportability. This can provide comfort for those wanting to run on Tanzu. Some notes from Microsoft Release notes from Cumulative Update 12 (CU12) of BDC):

SQL Server Big Data Clusters is supported as a workload. Microsoft provides support for the software components on the containers installed and configured by SQL Server Big Data Clusters only. Kubernetes itself, and other containers that may influence SQL Server Big Data Clusters behavior, are not supported by the (Microsoft) support team. For Kubernetes support please contact your certified Kubernetes distribution provider.

Note: This reference architecture provides general design and deployment guidelines of running Microsoft SQL Server Big Data Clusters on VMware Tanzu™ Kubernetes Grid™ on Dell EMC VxRail. The reference architecture also applies to any compatible hardware platforms running VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on vSAN™.

To wrap up, VxRail provides SQL BDC on Tanzu as a scalable and secure platform to deliver key business outcomes. This reference architecture highlights one of the first known support solutions built on Tanzu Kubernetes Grid to manage Kubernetes. The paper covers the spectrum on the build, testing, and expected performance on VxRail.

Resources:

• Running Microsoft SQL Server Big Data Clusters on VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid
• SQL Server Big Data Clusters platform release notes - SQL Server Big Data Clusters | Microsoft Docs  It's reformulated release notes, now simpler and focused on tested configurations and documenting known issues. 
• SQL Server Big Data Clusters CU12 release notes - SQL Server Big Data Clusters | Microsoft Docs  For every release starting with CU12, we will provide a dedicated article containing many details about what's new, fixes, and most importantly, an extensive list of what's under the hood.
• SQL Server Big Data Clusters cumulative updates history - SQL Server Big Data Clusters | Microsoft Docs  In this article, we will keep track of all previous update details.

Author: Vic Dery – Linkedin

Many customers are looking at Infrastructure as Code (IaC) as a better way to automate their IT environment, which is especially relevant for those adopting DevOps. However, not many customers are aware of the capability of accelerating IaC implementation with VxRail, which we have offered for some time already—Ansible Modules for Dell VxRail.

What is it? It's the Ansible collection of modules, developed and maintained by Dell, that uses the VxRail API to automate VxRail operations from Ansible.

By the way, if you're new to the VxRail API, first watch the introductory whiteboard video available on YouTube.

Ansible Modules for Dell VxRail are well-suited for IaC use cases. They are written in such a way that all requests are idempotent and hence fault-tolerant. This means that the result of a successfully performed request is independent of the number of times it is run.

Besides that, instead of just providing a wrapper for individual API functions, we automated holistic workflows (for instance, cluster deployment, cluster expansion, LCM upgrade, and so on), so customers don't have to figure out how to monitor the operation of the asynchronous VxRail API functions.  These modules provide rich functionality and are maintained by Dell; this means we're introducing new functionality over time. They are already mature—we recently released version 1.4.

Finally, we are also reducing the risk for customers willing to adopt the Ansible modules in their environment, thanks to the community support model, which allows you to interact with the global community of experts. From the implementation point of view, the architecture and end-user experience are similar to the modules we provide for Dell storage systems.

Getting Started

Ansible Modules for Dell VxRail are available publicly from the standard code repositories: Ansible Galaxy and GitHub. You don't need a Dell Support account to download and start using them.

Requirements

The requirements for the specific version are documented in the "Prerequisites" section of the description/README file.

In general, you need a Linux-based server with the supported Ansible and Python versions. Before installing the modules, you have to install a corresponding, lightweight Python SDK library named "VxRail Ansible Utility," which is responsible for the low-level communication with the VxRail API. You must also meet the minimum version requirements for the VxRail HCI System Software on the VxRail cluster.

This is a summary of requirements for the latest available version (1.4.0) at the time of writing this blog:

Installation

You can install the SDK library by using git and pip commands. For example:

git clone https://github.com/dell/ansible-vxrail-utility.git

cd ansible-vxrail-utility/
pip install .

Then you can install the collection of modules with this command:

ansible-galaxy collection install dellemc.vxrail:1.4.0

Testing

After the successful installation, we're ready to test the modules and communication between the Ansible automation server and VxRail API.

I recommend performing that check with a simple module (and corresponding API function) such as dellemc_vxrail_getsysteminfo, using GET /system to retrieve VxRail System Information.

Let's have a look at this example (you can find the source code on GitHub):

 
Note that this playbook is run on a local Ansible server (localhost), which communicates with the VxRail API running on the VxRail Manager appliance using the SDK library. In the vars section, , we need to provide, at a minimum, the authentication to VxRail Manager for calling the corresponding API function. We could move these variable definitions to a separate file and include the file in the playbook with vars_files. We could also store sensitive information, such as passwords, in an encrypted file using the Ansible vault feature. However, for the simplicity of this example, we are not using this option.

After running this playbook, we should see output similar to the following example (in this case, this is the output from the older version of the module):

Cluster expansion example

Now let's have a look at a bit more sophisticated, yet still easy-to-understand, example. A typical operation that many VxRail customers face at some point is cluster expansion. Let's see how to perform this operation with Ansible (the source code is available on GitHub):

In this case, I've exported the definitions of the sensitive variables, such as vcpasswd, mgt_passwd, and root_passwd, into a separate, encrypted Ansible vault file, sensitive-vars.yml, to follow the best practice of not storing them in the clear text directly in playbooks.

As you can expect, besides the authentication, we need now to provide more parameters—configuration of the newly added host—defined in the vars section. We select the new host from the pool of available hosts, using the PSNT identifier (host_psnt variable).

This is an example of an operation performed by an asynchronous API function. Cluster expansion is not something that is completed immediately but takes minutes. Therefore, the progress of the expansion is monitored in a loop until it finishes or the number of retries is passed. If you communicated with the VxRail API directly by using the URI module from your playbook, you would have to take care of such monitoring logic on your own; here, you can use the example we provide.

You can watch the operation of the cluster expansion Ansible playbook with my commentary in this demo: 

Getting help

The primary source of information about the Ansible Modules for Dell VxRail is the documentation available on GitHub. There you'll find all the necessary details on all currently available modules, a quick description, supported endpoints (VxRail API functions used), required and optional parameters, return values, and location of the log file (modules have built-in logging feature to simplify troubleshooting— logs are written in the /tmp directory on the Ansible automation server). The GitHub documentation also contains multiple samples showing how to use the modules, which you can easily clone and adjust as needed to the specifics of your VxRail environment.

There's also built-in documentation for the modules, accessible with the ansible-doc command.

Finally, the Dell Automation Community is a public discussion forum where you can post your questions and ask for help as needed.

Conclusion 

I hope you now understand the Ansible Modules for Dell VxRail and how to get started. Let me quickly recap the value proposition for our customers. The modules are well-suited for IaC use cases, thanks to automating holistic workflows and idempotency. They are maintained by Dell and supported by the Dell Automation Community, which reduces risk. These modules are much easier to use than the alternative of accessing the VxRail API on your own. We provide many examples that can be adjusted to the specifics of the customer’s environment.

Resources

To learn more, see these resources:

• On-demand recording of the recent Tech Exchange Live session: "Infrastructure as Code with VxRail," where I dive a bit deeper into the Ansible Modules for VxRail, and my colleague Steffen from VMware discusses the basics of Terraform integration with VxRail.
• Ansible Modules for Dell VxRail on GitHub, which is the central code repository for the modules. It also contains complete product documentation and examples.
• Try the new VxRail API Hands-on-Lab available in the Dell Technologies Demo Center, which we introduced at Dell Technologies World earlier this year. Module 3: Cluster Expansion or Scaling Out allows you to get hands-on experience with the modules without the need to have access to a VxRail system. Your Dell account team can help you access the lab.

The following links provide additional information:

• YouTube video: Ansible Modules for Dell VxRail
• Dell Automation Community
• YouTube video: Level up your HCI automation with VxRail API
• Blog: VxRail API—Updated List of Useful Public Resources
  
  

Author: Karol Boguniewicz, Senior Principal Engineering Technologist, VxRail Technical Marketing
Twitter: @cl0udguide