Introduction to DNS, SNMP and LDAP for OpenStack
Duration: 5 Days
Course Background
The aims of this course are to explore the networking aspects of cloud computing with OpenStack. Whether configuring networks in the cloud or configuring classical networks the host configuration details are crucial to realising a stable and well behaved network. The essential topics include
- Assignment of IP addresses to interfaces - both real and virtual
- Configuring DNS correctly - both for real and virtual interfaces
- Configuration authentication correctly - e.g. via LDAP or via Microsoft's Active Directory Services
- Providing of network and server level management information via SNMP
The following quote from the OpenStack networking pages summarises the challenges involved
"Today's datacenter networks contain more devices than ever beforeservers, network equipment, storage systems and security appliances — many of which are further divided into virtual machines and virtual networks. The number of IP addresses, routing configurations and security rules can quickly grow into the millions. Traditional network management techniques fall short of providing a truly scalable, automated approach to managing these next-generation networks. At the same time, users expect more control and flexibility with quicker provisioning."
The aims of this course are to clear the cobwebs and explore the important nooks and crannies of DNS, LDAP and SNMP, starting with the fundamementals of non-virtualised systems and then going on to explore the situation in virtualised OpenStack deployments. It sounds so simple, yet the reality is somewhat different. Certainly when troubleshooting difficult problems it is often necessary to dig down to the fundamentals and then work upwards. Hopefully after completing this course attendees should be better prepared to both configure DNS, LDAP and SNMP in the cloud and to troubleshoot associated networking problems. In addition the course will also consider IPTables and Firewalls in the cloud.
Course Prerequisites and Target Audience
Attendees are assumed to have a good basic knowledge of networking and TCP/IP as well as having a basic knowledge of OpenStack setup and configuration.
Course Outline
- Intensive overview of TCP/IP - both IPv4 and IPv6
- Assigning IP addresses not in the cloud
- ARP - and MAC to IP address resolution in IPv4
- Dynamic vs Static IP address assignment
- Dynamic address assignment - DHCP and IPv4
- Dynamic address assignment in IPv6
- The links with DNS - both IPv4 and IPv6
- Network interfaces with multiple IP addresses
- Dynamic IP address assignment and VLANs
- Overview of Cloud Computing and OpenStack
- Installing and configuring OpenStack
- Automated deployment and configuration
- Remote management
- Cloud controller design
- Compute nodes and choice of Hypervisor
- Storage concepts and storage back ends
- Network design - IP address planning, network topology design, networking services
- Installing and configuring virtual machines and virtual networks
- OpenStack Networking - Neutron
- Neutron ML2 (Modular Layer 2) plugins
- OpenStack DHSP server - dnsmasq
- DNS
- DNS protocol principles
- DNS and IPv6
- DNS and dynamic IP address assignment
- Dynamic address assignment in IPv6
- The links with DNS - both IPv4 and IPv6
- Network interfaces with multiple IP addresses
- Dynamic IP address assignment and VLANs
- DNS server implementations - Bind9 and PowerDNS
- OpenStack - novs-dns - PowerDNS
- OpenStack - moniker - Bind9
- DNSSec
- LDAP
- LDAP - Concepts, theory and origins in X500
- LDAP on Linux
- LDAP and Microsoft Active Directory Services
- Setting up OpenStack to work with LDAP
- SNMP
- SNMP - Concepts and protocol
- Overview of ASN.1
- SNMP MIBs - Public and Proprietary
- Evolution of SNMP - SNMP v1.x, 2.x 3.x
- SNMP management stations
- Introduction to system and network monitoring - SNMP and Nagios
- Installing and configuring SNMP agents in OpenStack systems
- Firewalls
- Firewalls - Concepts and implementations
- Stateful vs. non-stateful filtering
- IPTables
- OpenStack - Neutrino - Firewall as a Service
- PuppetLabs and automation of openstack deployment
- Overview of PuppetLabs
- Overview of PuppetLabs modules for OpenStack
- PuppetLab - OpenStack case studies