Configure Oracle Cloud Platform Cloud Bursting

Create the necessary components in Oracle Cloud that are required for cloud bursting and then create a Control cloud bursting scenario.

Create an Oracle Cloud User Account

Create an Oracle Cloud user account so that you can later create a cloud account in Control.

You must already have signed up for an Oracle Cloud account and have an associated tenancy.

Oracle documentation can be found at Adding Users and Resource Identifiers.

An Oracle user account must be created to add an Oracle cloud account to Control. Once this task is complete, you should have the following information stored in a file:
  • The user account's Oracle Cloud ID (OCID).
This information is necessary to create a cloud account in Control.
  1. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  2. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  3. Click Identity > Users.
  4. Click Create User.
  5. Enter the following to create the user:
    1. For NAME, enter a name for the user.
      The name can be anything meaningful to your organization, e.g., pc_clouduser.
    2. For DESCRIPTION, enter a description of the user.
  6. Click Create.
    The user account is created and displayed in the users list.
  7. Click Show located under the name of the user.
    The user account's OCID is displayed.
  8. Click Copy to copy the OCID.
  9. Store the OCID to a file.
    The OCID is used later to create a cloud account in Control.
  10. Click Group from the menu located on the left-hand side of the web page.
  11. Click Create Group.
  12. Enter the following:
    1. For Name, enter Administrators.
    2. For Description, enter a description for the group.
    3. Click Submit.
    The group is created and is displayed in the Groups list.
  13. Click on the name of the group.
  14. Click Add User to Group.
    1. For User, select the user that was previously created (e.g., pc_clouduser).
    2. Click Add.
  15. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  16. Click Identity > Policies.
  17. Click Create Policy.
    1. For Name, enter a name for the policy.
    2. For Policy Versioning, enable Keep Policy Current.
    3. For Policy Statements, enter: ALLOW GROUP Administrators to manage all-resources IN TENANCY
    4. Click Create.

Generating an SSH Public for the Oracle Cloud User

Use OpenSSL to create a private and public key in a PEM format for the previously created Oracle Cloud user.

If you're using Windows, you'll need to install Git Bash for Windows and run the commands with that tool.
Use OpenSSL to generate an API signing key pair in a PEM format. Once this task is complete, you should have the following information stored in a file:
  • The RSA public key's fingerprint.
  1. Generate a private key by executing the following command:
    openssl genrsa -out oracle_private_key.pem 2048
    Note: It is recommended to change the permissions on this file so that only you have read/write access.
    The private key is used later to create a cloud account in in Control.
  2. Generate the public key by executing the following command:
    openssl rsa -pubout -in oracle_private_key.pem -out oracle_public_key.pem
  3. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  4. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  5. Click Identity > Users.
  6. Click the name of the previously created user (e.g., pc_clouduser).
  7. Click Add Public Key.
  8. Copy and paste the contents of the public RSA key file.
  9. Click Add.
    A fingerprint is generated.

    Pubiic Key Fingerprint
    Figure 1. Public Key Fingerprint
  10. Copy the fingerprint.
  11. Store the fingerprint to a file.
    The fingerprint is used later to create a cloud account in Control.

Obtain the Root Compartment Identifier

Obtain the Oracle Cloud identifier of the root compartment so that you can later create a cloud account in Control.

You must already have signed up for an Oracle Cloud account and have an associated tenancy.

Oracle documentation can be found at Understand Compartments.

When your tenancy is provisioned, a root compartment is created for you. Compartments can be used to organize and isolate your resources to make it easier to manage and secure access to them. Your root compartment holds all of your cloud resources. You can think of the root compartment like a root folder in a file system. The first time you sign in to the Oracle Cloud Console and select a service, you will see your root compartment. All the resources required for cloud bursting will be contained in this root compartment. You will need the root compartment's resource identifier to add an Oracle cloud account to Control. Once this task is complete, you should have the following information stored in a file:
  • The compartment's Oracle Cloud ID (OCID).
  1. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  2. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  3. Click Identity > Compartments.
  4. Click Show located under the name of the root compartment.
    The compartment's OCID is displayed.
  5. Click Copy to copy the OCID.
  6. Store the OCID to a file.
    The OCID is used later to create a cloud account in Control.

Obtain the Tenancy Identifier

Obtain the Oracle Cloud identifier of the tenancy that you can later create a cloud account in Control.

You must already have signed up for an Oracle Cloud account and have an associated tenancy.
You will need the tenancy's Oracle Cloud identifier to add an Oracle cloud account to Control. Once this task is complete, you should have the following information stored in a file:
  • The tenancy's Oracle Cloud ID (OCID).
  1. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  2. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  3. Click Administration > Tenancy Details.
  4. Under Tenancy Information, click Show located to the right of OCID:

    Tenancy OCID
    Figure 2. Tenancy OCID
    The tenancy's OCID is displayed.
  5. Click Copy to copy the OCID.
  6. Store the OCID to a file.
    The OCID is used later to create a cloud account in Control.

Add an Oracle Cloud Account

Add an existing Oracle Cloud account to Control so that you can create a cloud bursting scenario or an appliance.

You must have created an Oracle Cloud user and added a public key for the user.
You should have the following information stored in a file:
  • User OCID generated when creating the Oracle user.
  • Tenancy OCID.
  • Root compartment OCID.
  • Fingerprint of the public key generated for the Oracle user.
  • RSA private key that was generated for the Oracle user.

This information is necessary to create a cloud account in Control. If you do not have this information see Create an Oracle Cloud User Account, Generating an SSH Public for the Oracle Cloud User, Obtain the Root Compartment Identifier and Obtain the Tenancy Identifier.

  1. Login to Control.
  2. Click the Cloud tab.
  3. Click Cloud from the Infrastructure menu located on the left-hand side of the web page.
  4. Click .
  5. Enter the following to add a cloud account:
    1. For Account name, enter any name for the cloud account.
      The name can be anything meaningful to your organization, e.g., oracle_cloudaccount.
    2. For User OCID, enter the user OCID generated when creating the Oracle cloud user.
    3. For Tenant OCID, enter the tenancy OCID .
    4. For Compartment OCID, enter the root compartment OCID.
    5. For Fingerprint, enter the fingerprint generated when adding the public SSH key for the Oracle user.
    6. For Private Key, enter the generated RSA private key.
  6. Click Create account.

Create a Virtual Cloud Network

Create a Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) so that you can perform cloud bursting.

You must already have signed up for an Oracle Cloud account and have an associated tenancy.

Oracle documentation can be found at Overview of Networking and Creating a Virtual Cloud Network.

An Oracle VCN must be created to create a bursting scenario in Control.
  1. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  2. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  3. Click Networking > Virtual Cloud Networks.
  4. Choose a region based on the geographical location of your users.

    Select a Region
    Figure 3. Select a Region
  5. ClickCreate Virtual Cloud Network.
  6. Enter the following to create a VNC:
    1. For CREATE IN COMPARTMENT, select the root compartment.
    2. For NAME, enter a name for the VNC.
      The name can be anything meaningful to your organization, e.g., bursting_vnc.
    3. Enable CREATE VIRTUAL CLOUD NETWORK PLUS RELATED RESOURCES.
      Choosing this option automatically creates a VCN with a CIDR block 10.0.0.0/16, an internet gateway, a route rule to enable traffic to and from the internet gateway, the default security list, the default set of DHCP options, and one public subnet per availability domain.
  7. Click Create Virtual Cloud Network.
    A summary of the VNC, internet gateway, default route table and subnets is displayed.
  8. Click Close.
    A list of VNCs is displayed.
  9. Click the name of the VNC.
    The subnets are displayed. A subnet is created for each availability domain (data center) located in the previously selected region.

    Virtual Machine Subnets and Associated Availability Domain
    Figure 4. Virtual Machine Subnets and Associated Availability Domain
Next, create a virtual machine that is hosted in one of the region's availability domains.

Creating a Virtual Machine

Create a CentOS 7 virtual machine (VM) in Oracle Cloud.

You must already have signed up for an Oracle Cloud account, have an associated tenancy and have created a VNC in a region that is geographically close to your users. The VNC should have a subnet associated to each of the region's availability domains. If you have not created a VNC see Create a Virtual Cloud Network.

Virtual machines are hosted in availability domains (data centers) located in a region and are based on predefined VM shapes. Before proceeding, determine the VM shape that your site requires for cloud bursting based on the number of CPUs, memory, disk space, network bandwidth, and virtual network interface cards. While selecting the shape for a VM, consider the nature of the applications that you plan to deploy on the instance, the number of users that you expect to use the applications, and also how you expect the load to scale in the future. Remember to also factor in the CPU and memory resources that are necessary for the operating system.

Next, verify that your Oracle tenancy has the appropriate service limits for the VM shape and the region's availability domains Check Tenancy Service Limits.

  1. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  2. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  3. Click Compute > Instances.
  4. Choose the region where the previously created VNC is hosted.

    Select a Region
    Figure 5. Select a Region
  5. For COMPARTMENT, select the root compartment.

    Choose Compartment
    Figure 6. Choose Compartment
  6. Click Create Instance.
  7. Enter the following to create a virtual machine:
    1. For NAME, enter a name for the VM.
      The name can be anything meaningful to your organization, e.g., bursting_vm.
    2. For AVAILABILITY DOMAIN, choose one of the region's availability domains.

      The virtual machine is hosted in the chosen availability domain (data center). Choose the availability domain that best suits your site's cloud bursting requirements based on the machine type of the virtual machine (VM shape) and service limits.

    3. For BOOT VOLUME, enable ORACLE-PROVIDED OS IMAGE.
    4. For IMAGE OPERATING SYSTEM, choose CentOS 7.
    5. For SHAPE TYPE, enable VIRTUAL MACHINE.
    6. For SHAPE, select a VM shape.
      Choose the VM shape that best suits your site's cloud bursting requirements based on number of CPUs, memory, disk space, and network bandwidth.
    7. For IMAGE VERSION, select the latest available one.
    8. For BOOT VOLUME CONFIGURATION, enable CUSTOM BOOT VOLUME SIZE and enter a boot volume size in GBs.
    9. Enable PASTE SSH KEYS and copy the SSH public key (i.e., id_rsa.pub) of a user account that exists on your site's PBS Server and paste it.
      This user will have sudo rights and will be able to SSH into the VM to install the PBS MoM.
    10. For VIRTUAL CLOUD NETWORK, choose the VCN that was created for cloud bursting.
    11. For SUBNET, choose the subnet associated with the previously chosen availability domain.
  8. Click Create Instance.
    Creating the virtual machine may take some time. It is done when the state is "Running".

    Running Virtual Machine
    Figure 7. Running Virtual Machine

Check Tenancy Service Limits

Check the service limit for your tenancy before creating the components necessary for cloud bursting.

You must already have signed up for an Oracle Cloud account and have an associated tenancy.

When you sign up for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, a set of service limits are configured for your tenancy. The service limit is the quota or allowance set on a resource. For example, your tenancy is allowed a maximum number of compute instances (virtual machines) per availability domain. These limits are generally established with your Oracle sales representative when you purchase Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Oracle documentation can be found at Service Limits and Regions and Availability Domains.

When you reach the service limit for a resource, you receive an error when you try to create a new resource of that type. You cannot create a new resource until you are granted an increase to your service limit or you terminate an existing resource.

View your tenancy's limits to ensure that there are sufficient resources available in a region's availability domains.
  1. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  2. Choose the region where the previously created VNC is hosted.

    Select a Region
    Figure 8. Select a Region
  3. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  4. Click Governance > Service Limits.
  5. Scroll down to the Service Limits section.
  6. Click Compute.

    Availability domains (data centers) for the region are displayed. For each resource (VM shape) the number of nodes that can be burst in the corresponding availability domains are displayed. In the below example, three nodes can be burst in each data center in the us-phoenix-1 region for the VM Standard1.1 shape.


    Virtual Machine Type Limits
    Figure 9. Virtual Machine Type Limits
  7. Verify that the appropriate service limits are set for your tenancy based on the VM shape chosen for the virtual machine and the region's availability domains.
To request an increase a service limits for your tenancy see Requesting a Service Limit Increase.

Installing and Configuring the PBS MoM on the VM

Install the PBS MoM on the virtual machine and configure the VM per your site's environment.

Log into the VM using the default user "opc" and the private SSH key of the user account provided during the creation of the VM. For more information see Accessing an Instance from UNIX and UNIX-Like Systems.

A startup script is provided during the creation of the bursting scenario. This script is ran after a cloud node is burst and is used to set up the system environment so that nodes burst in the cloud can communicate with the PBS Server. A service specifically designed for cloud instance initialization is cloud-init and is utilized by Control when booting cloud nodes, therefore it must be installed on the VM. For more information about installing cloud-init, refer to the Cloudinit Documentation.

  1. Login to your site's PBS Server as the user account provided during the creation of the VM.
  2. SSH into the virtual machine using the default user "opc", the private SSH key of the user account provided during the creation of the VM and the External IP assigned to the VM.
    ssh -i PRIVATE_KEY_PATH opc@PUBLIC_IP_ADDR
    Where PRIVATE_KEY_PATH is the path to the file that contains the private SSH key of the user account provided during the creation of the VM and PUBLIC_IP_ADDR is the public IP address of the VM.

    Bursting Virtual Machine
    Figure 10. Bursting Virtual Machine
  3. Enter the command:
    sudo -i
  4. Copy the PBS Professional installation package to the VM.
  5. Using the PBS Professional Installation and Upgrade Guide, install and configure the PBS Professional MOM.
  6. Configure the VM for your site's environment such as mounting file systems, connecting it to the authentication service, installing any applications, etc.
  7. Install cloud-init.
  8. Connect the VM to your PBS Professional server and submit a job to ensure it is working as expected.

Create an OS Image

Create an image of the virtual machine configured per your site's requirements.

You must have already create a virtual machine, installed the PBS MoM on the VM and configured the VM per your site's environment.

Oracle documentation can be found at Managing Custom Images.

  1. Login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console.
  2. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  3. Click Compute > Instances.
    A list of virtual machines is displayed.
  4. Click the name of the virtual machine created for cloud bursting.
  5. Click Create Custom Image.
  6. Enter the following to create a custom image:
    1. For CREATE IN COMPARTMENT, select the root compartment.
    2. For NAME, enter a name for the image.
      The name can be anything meaningful to your organization, e.g., bursting_image.
  7. Click Create Custom Image.
    It may take some time to create the image. Do not proceed until the image is created.
You can now delete the virtual machine so that you are no longer charged for it.

Create an Oracle Cloud Bursting Scenario

Create an Oracle bursting scenario so that PBS execution nodes can be burst in the cloud.

Open a browser window and login to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure console. Open a second browser window and login to Control.

A startup script is provided during the creation of the bursting scenario. This script is ran after a cloud node is burst and is used to set up the system environment so that nodes burst in the cloud can communicate with the PBS Server. Use a cloud-init script for the startup script. For more information about writing cloud-init scripts, refer to the Cloudinit Documentation and Cloud Bursting Startup Script.

  1. Navigate to the Control browser window.
  2. Click the Cloud tab.
  3. Click Bursting from the Infrastructure menu located on the left-hand side of the web page.
  4. Click Add Bursting Scenario.
  5. Enter information about the bursting scenario such as name, cloud provider, cloud account, and geographic location.
    1. For Name, enter a name for the cloud bursting scenario.
    2. For Description, enter a description.
    3. For Cloud Account, choose a previously created Oracle cloud account from the list.
    4. For Region, select the availability domain where the cloud bursting virtual machine is hosted.

      Virtual Machine Availability Domain
      Figure 11. Virtual Machine Availability Domain
  6. Click Next.

Enter information about the Oracle resources necessary to burst in the cloud.

  1. For Domain name, provide the domain name of your organization for the cloud bursting network.
    altair.com, burst.altair.com
  2. For Hostname prefix, enter a prefix for the names of the burst nodes.
    If "node" is entered , the cloud bursting nodes will be available to PBS Professional as node1, node2, node3, etc.
  3. Navigate to the cloud provider browser window.
  4. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  5. Click Networking > Virtual Cloud Networks.
  6. Click the name of the VCN create for cloud bursting.
  7. Locate the subnet associated with the availability domain where the cloud bursting virtual machine is hosted.

    Subnet and Associated Availability Domain
    Figure 12. Subnet and Associated Availability Domain
  8. Click Show located under the name of the subnet.
    The subnet's OCID is displayed.
  9. Click Copy to copy the OCID.
  10. Navigate to the Control browser window.
  11. For Subnet OCID, paste the subnet's OCID copied from Oracle.
  12. Navigate to the cloud provider browser window.
  13. Click located in the upper left-hand corner of the web page.
  14. Click Compute > Custom Images.
    A list of custom images is displayed.
  15. Locate the custom image created from the cloud bursting virtual machine.
  16. Click the Show link below the name of the image to view the OCID.
  17. Click Copy to copy the OCID of the image.
  18. Navigate to the Control browser window.
  19. For OS Image URI, paste the link copied from Oracle.
  20. Enable Add public IP to VMs if you need to connect to the cloud bursting nodes from the internet.
    It is recommended to leave this disabled.
  21. For Cloud-init script, click Browse, browse for the startup script file and select it.
    This script will run after a cloud node is burst.
  22. Add public SSH keys for any users that you want to have access to the burst nodes:
    1. Login to the PBS Professional Server.
    2. Copy the public SSH key for the user.
      Public key files are usually stored in /.ssh in the user's home directory.
    3. Navigate to the Control browser window.
    4. Click Add to add the public key.
    5. For Public SSH keys, paste the public SSH key.
    6. Repeat steps a through e to add additional public SSH keys.
    The public keys are copied to each burst node for secure connectivity.
  23. For Idle time before unbursting, enter the minimum time that a cloud node can be idle before it is unburst.

    It is expressed as an integer whose units are in seconds.

  24. For Tags, enter a key-value pair to add a label to the cloud node and press ENTER.
    A tag is a label that is assigned to a cloud node. Tags enable cloud nodes to be categorized in different ways, for example, by purpose, owner, or environment.
    The key-value pair must be entered as key:value. The key must be less than 36 characters and the value must be less than 43 characters. The length of both the key + value should be less than 80 characters. Valid values are alphanumeric, dash (-) and an underscore ( _ ).
    Once the tag is added, it will appear within its own bubble.

    Key-Value Tag
    Figure 13. Key-Value Tag
  25. Repeat the previous step to add more tags.

    Additional Tags
    Figure 14. Additional Tags
    Tip: To remove a tag click on the 'x' located within the tag bubble.
  26. Click Next.
  27. Select the instance types to enable for the bursting scenario by clicking the Enabled checkbox located to the far right of the instance type name.
    If an attempt is made to burst nodes with a disabled instance type, the node is not burst and the below message is displayed in the PBS Server logs (if bursting through PBS), the Cloud logs and through the Cloud component user interface.
    TYPE is not enabled

    Where TYPE is the instance type used when attempting to burst the node.

    Tip: Deselect an instance type by disabling the Enabled checkbox.
  28. Click Instantiate scenario.
Once the scenario created, it is recommended to Add a Token and Add Quotas and Alerts. When adding a token, an API key is generated that is required for bursting. Quotas define bursting limits such as the maximum number of cloud nodes to burst.