Prepare the deployment host¶

../_images/installation-workflow-deploymenthost.png

When you install OpenStack in a production environment, we recommend using a separate deployment host that contains Ansible and orchestrates the OpenStack-Ansible (OSA) installation on the target hosts. In a test environment, we recommend using one of the infrastructure target hosts as the deployment host.

To use a target host as a deployment host, follow the steps in Prepare target hosts on the deployment host.

Install the operating system¶

Install one of the following supported operating systems on the deployment hosts:

Configure at least one network interface to access the Internet or suitable local repositories.

Configure the operating system¶

Install additional software packages and configure Network Time Protocol (NTP). Before you begin, we recommend upgrading your system packages and kernel.

Update package source lists:
```
# apt-get update
```
Upgrade the system packages and kernel:
```
# apt-get dist-upgrade
```
Reboot the host.
Install additional software packages if they were not installed during the operating system installation:
```
# apt-get install aptitude build-essential git ntp ntpdate \
  openssh-server python-dev sudo
```
Configure NTP to synchronize with a suitable time source.

Configure the network¶

Ansible deployments fail if the deployment server can’t use Secure Shell (SSH) to connect to the containers.

Configure the deployment host (where Ansible is executed) to be on the same layer 2 network as the network designated for container management. By default, this is the br-mgmt network. This configuration reduces the rate of failure caused by connectivity issues.

The following network information is used as an example:

Select an IP address from this range to assign to the deployment host.

Install the source and dependencies¶

Install the source and dependencies for the deployment host.

Clone the latest stable release of the OpenStack-Ansible Git repository in the /opt/openstack-ansible directory:
```
# git clone -b TAG https://git.openstack.org/openstack/openstack-ansible
/opt/openstack-ansible
```
Change to the /opt/openstack-ansible directory, and run the Ansible bootstrap script:
```
# scripts/bootstrap-ansible.sh
```

Configure SSH keys¶

Ansible uses SSH with public key authentication to connect the deployment host and target hosts. To reduce user interaction during Ansible operations, do not include passphrases with key pairs. However, if a passphrase is required, consider using the ssh-agent and ssh-add commands to temporarily store the passphrase before performing Ansible operations.