Embedded Files
Adding a Debian virtual machine to a Nutanix Cluster is straight forward:
Login to Prism Element for individual clusters or Prism Central servicing several clusters at once
Provision a virtual machine with the Debian iso
Launch the VM and configure it
Login to Prism element
Login to Prism element
Go to the virtual IP address for your cluster and specify port 9440. For example: https://192.168.128.50:9440
Enter your username and password
Click the right arrow to login (remember, every 30 days you will be prompted to change your password. Even in isolated lab environments, follow good practices of using complex passphrases)
To upload to the image service, first click on the down caret to the right of Home and then click on VM
Next, click on "Create VM"
In the Create VM, complete the following fields:
Name - enter the name that will show up in Nutanix Prism
Description - enter meaningful information that will allow you to know at a glance exactly what this virtual machine is and will be doing
Time zone - set the time zone for the VM
vCPUs - specify how many CPU cores the virtual machine will have
After entering this information, scroll downwards to continue.
Next, specify the number of cores, RAM, and decide which BIOS to use:
The number of cores per vCPU can be a number from 1 to the number of cores on the CPU. Best practice is to keep it at 1 unless you have an unusual licensing agreement that penalizes you for the number of CPUs the operating system can access
Specify the RAM in Gigabytes - do not provision less than 4. Additionally, when planning to upgrade to the next release, we have witnessed the best results when the RAM is at least 6 Gigabytes
BIOS
Legacy - traditional systems use legacy BIOS, older operating systems may require a legacy BIOS
UEFI - more recent operating systems support UEFI and some now require UEFI
Click on the edit icon to configure the virtual CD-ROM.
Next, the virtual CD-ROM will be configured.
Under "Operation", select "Clone from Image Service"
Under "Bus Type", select IDE.
Under "Image", select the Debian image. In this case, it is Debian 12.6 ("Bookworm").
Lastly, click the Update button to make the CD-ROM configuration active.
Click on "+ Add New Disk" to add a drive to the VM.
In the Add Disk Window, complete the details for the first virtual disk for the virtual machine:
Type is Disk
Operation is "Allocate on Storage Container"
Bus Type is "SCSI"
Storage Container - choose which storage container you want to use. In our case, we created a container called "myContainer" and will place the VM there.
Set the size to the maximum capacity you expect to need. NOTE: the actual size of the disk will only the blocks that are written. In Nutanix, all volumes are thin provisioned because the underlying file system operates completely differently from VMware and Hyper-V. In a later article, we will cover the details of the file system.
Index is "Next Available"
Afterwards, click the Add button
Upon returning to the Create VM dialog window, click the "Add new NIC" to add a network adapter to the VM.
When adding the virtual network interface ("NIC"), two choices need to be made:
A subnet must be chosen for the network adapter
The network adapter will either be connected to the network or disconnected.
Both of these settings can be altered later if necessary. Click the Add button after setting both of these settings.
After adding one or more virtual adapters, the final step is to click the Save button!
To start the VM, right-click the VM ("Demo Debian") and select Power On.
Right-click the VM ("Demo Debian") and select Launch Console.
During the first boot, "Graphical Install" will be selected. Click in the window and press Enter.
Select the language the virtual machine should use and click the Continue button in the bottom right to continue.
Select the time zone region where your virtual machine is located. Then click the Continue button.
Select the keyboard layout and click the Continue button.
The installer will load the software from the virtual CD-ROM. After locating the install files, the installer will prompt for a name for the virtual machine. In this example, "demodebian" has been entered. After entering a name, click the Continue button.
Enter the domain that the virtual machine will be participating in on the network for domain name resolution.Â
Enter a passphrase for root. Make sure to use a complex password of letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols. In addition, make sure it is at least 13 characters long. Even in labs or at home, high quality complex passphrases should be used.
After entering the password, click on the Continue button.
Best practice is to not login as root in Linux. Instead, a separate userid will need to be created. This userid will be able to use the sudo command to run commands temporarily with the same permissions as root. Enter your name (or the name of the person who will use the account and click the Continue button.
A similar window will appear, enter the userid that will be used to login to the virtual machine and click the Continue button.
Enter a passphrase for this user account. Make sure to use a complex password of letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols. In addition, make sure it is at least 13 characters long. Even in labs or at home, high quality complex passphrases should be used.
After entering the password, click on the Continue button.
Configure the time zone and click the Continue button.
Next, select the partition approach. For simplicity, choose "Guided, use entire disk".
If encryption is a key requirement then I recommend investigating Nutanix encryption. Nutanix has encryption at rest and in-flight between nodes when the storage fabric is replicated
The one virtual disk we have will be selected by default. Click the Continue button.
The default partitioning scheme is to put everything into a single partition. This is best for quick and easy installations. Click the continue button.
The installer will present what the configuration will be. By default it will be correct. Click the Continue button.
The installer will present a window to confirm the new partition scheme should be written. Select "Yes" and then click the Continue button.
Now the installer begins adding software to the virtual machine.
For our demonstration Debian install we do not have any additional installation media. Click the Continue button.
To retrieve updates from the most local servers, select the region that is most appropriate for your virtual machine's location.
Select the closest location for your virtual machine. If none of the locations are close then select the default one at the top: deb.debian.org
If the virtual machine will need to retrieve updates from the Internet through a proxy server then enter the proxy server's details in this window. Afterwards, click the Continue button.
If no proxy information is needed then just click the Continue button.
The installer will continue with installation after the proxy server information (or blank if none) is provided. With the proxy settings in place, the installer will follow the best practice of downloading updates for the operating system and installing them. This will provide a base operating system that has all of the available security patches.
Next, the installer will prompt about providing anonymous usage information. By default, Debian chooses "No". This is completely up to you. After making your decision, click the Continue button.
The default software for Debian includes the GNOME desktop and system utilities. Other desktop environments, web server, and ssh server can be selected in this window. Choose the options that fit the planned use of this virtual machine and click the Continue button.
The installer will follow the best practice of downloading the latest version of the software including any available security patches. After a few minutes of unpacking files and installing software, the installer will prompt asking if the GRUB boot loader should be installed. The default answer is "Yes". Click the Continue button.
The installer will prompt for where to install GRUB. By default, the installer specifies it will be installed manually. Instead, select the virtual disk listed.
After the GRUB boot loader has been installed, the CD will be removed as a default installation source, and then the Debian operating system will be ready. Click the Continue button to restart the virtual machine.
Congratulations, the virtual machine is ready for use!!!
Click on the userid and enter the password to login. Once logged in, the desktop environment will have a few configuration steps to be followed. First, verify the language to be used and click Next.
Select the keyboard language and click Next.
Decide whether or not the virtual machine's location will be provided in the browser. Depending on how the virtual machine will be used, this may or may not be desired.
After deciding, click the Next button to continue.
Next, Debian will offer the opportunity to add the user's identity to the environment. Select the identity provider the users who use the system will need.
Congratulations, the first time login setup has completed! Click the blue button to begin using Debian!
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