Installing BMC Helix Platform services 22.2.01

The following services provided by BMC Helix Platform are used by BMC Helix Service Management:

• Infrastructure services
• Common services
• BMC Helix Dashboards
• BMC Helix ITSM Insights

Before you begin

1. Create a namespace.

   Expand to see the steps:

   1. Run the following command. The namespace must be a DNS-1123 label. That is, it must consist of lowercase alphanumeric characters or '-', and must start and end with an alphanumeric character.

      kubectl create ns <namespace>
   2. Verify that nothing is installed in the namespace in which you plan to deploy the product.

      1. Run the following command:

         kubectl get all -n <namespace_created_earlier_in_this_procedure>

      2. Make sure that the following message is displayed:

         No resources found.

   For EFK logging

   Create a namespace called bmc-helix-logging by using the following command:

   kubectl create ns bmc-helix-logging

   The Elasticsearch, FluentD, and Kibana services are installed in this namespace. These services are required to access logs from the pods that are running on BMC Helix Platform.

2. Configure the ingress controller.

   Expand to see the steps:

   1. Identify the configmap name by running the following command:

      kubectl get cm -n <ingress_nginx_namespace>

   2. Change the configmap name to use the configmap in your environment by running the following command:

      kubectl edit cm <ingress_nginx_configmap> -n  <ingress_nginx_namespace>
      
      data:
        enable-underscores-in-headers: "true"
        proxy-body-size: 250m
        server-name-hash-bucket-size: "1024"
        ssl-redirect: "false"
        use-forwarded-headers: "true"
       worker-processes: "40"

      Note

      The configurations shown above are mandatory. Apart from these, you can retain any other configurations as per your requirement.

3. The following host names must be created with a DNS entry that points to the load balancer. The property names are used in the infra.config and deployment.config files during deployment. Make sure that the URLs are in the same domain.

   Description	Product	Format	Example	Must be configured in the load balancer?	Must have a DNS entry?	File name	Property name
   Host for Helix RSSO	All	<any unique string>.$DOMAIN	mycomputer-rsso.lab.bmc.com	Yes	Yes	configs/infra.config	LB_HOST
   Host for tenant management system	All	<any unique string>.$DOMAIN	mycomputer-tms.lab.bmc.com	Yes	Yes	configs/infra.config	TMS_LB_HOST
   MinIO storage URL	All	<any unique string>.$DOMAIN	mycomputer-minio.lab.bmc.com	Yes	Yes	configs/infra.config	MINIO_LB_HOST
   Tenant URL	All	$COMPANY_NAME-$TENANT_TYPE-$ENVIRONMENT.$DOMAIN	acme-private-poc.lab.bmc.com	Yes	Yes	configs/deployment.config for ENVIRONMENT and configs/infra.config for the others	COMPANY_NAME TENANT_TYPE ENVIRONMENT DOMAIN
   Discovery Appliance URL	BMC Helix IT Operations Management  BMC Helix Continuous Optimization	$COMPANY_NAME-disc-$TENANT_TYPE-$ENVIRONMENT.$DOMAIN	acme-disc-private-poc.lab.bmc.com	No	Yes	configs/deployment.config for ENVIRONMENT and configs/infra.config for the others	COMPANY_NAME TENANT_TYPE ENVIRONMENT DOMAIN
   BMC Helix Continuous Optimization	BMC Helix Continuous Optimization	$COMPANY_NAME-optimize-$TENANT_TYPE-$ENVIRONMENT.$DOMAIN	acme-optimize-private-poc.lab.bmc.com	No	Yes	configs/deployment.config for ENVIRONMENT and configs/infra.config for the others	COMPANY_NAME TENANT_TYPE ENVIRONMENT DOMAIN

To deploy the BMC Helix Platform services

1. Log in to the controller or bastion machine from where the Kubernetes cluster is accessible.
2. Download the deployment manager BMC_Helix_Platform_Services_for_Service_Management_Version_22.2.01.zip from BMC Electronic Product Distribution (EPD) and extract it, if you haven't already.
   The ZIP file contains the following files:
   
   • helix-on-prem-deployment-manager-22.2.01.sh—This file contains the deployment manager.

1. • jsons_22201_002.bzip2—This file contains the fix for the incorrect deployment file repository location issue.

1. • hotfix-22.2.01.001-17.tar.gz—This file contains the 22.2.01 hotfix 1 artifacts.
2. Download the only_ITSM_configs_22201_003.tar.xz file from EPD, if you haven't already.
   This file contains the latest deployment size templates.
   To download the files from EPD, see Downloading-the-installation-files.

1. Go to the directory where you downloaded the deployment manager from the EPD and give the execute permission to the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager-22.2.01.sh file.
   

2. Self-extract the deployment manager. Run the following command:

   ./helix-on-prem-deployment-manager-22.2.01.sh
   cd helix-on-prem-deployment-manager
3. If you are installing BMC Helix Platform services on Kubernetes 1.24 version, perform the following steps:
   1. Navigate to the commons directory.
   2. Open the preinstall-checker.sh file.
   3. Comment the code for Kubernetes version check.

4. Prepare for password encryption:

   Expand to see the steps:

   1. Go to the commons/certs directory and open the secrets.txt file.

   2. Add the following passwords to this file:
   3. Save the secrets.txt file

   Troubleshooting tip

   Make sure that you provide all passwords in the secrets.txt file. Even if a single password is not added in the secrets.txt file, the deployment fails with an error.

   Sample secrets.txt file

   # cat commons/certs/secrets.txt
   #Please put the passwords in this file
   IMAGE_REGISTRY_PASSWORD=password123
   SMTP_PASSWORD=""
   SMART_SYSTEM_PASSWORD=password123
   PG_PASSWD=Test2020

   ################## End OF THE FILE ####################
5. To apply the fix for the incorrect deployment file repository location issue, perform the following steps:
   1. Copy the jsons_22201_002.bzip2 file in the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager directory.
      

   2. Unzip the file by running the following command:
      

      tar xvf jsons_22201_002.bzip2

      After you unzip the file, the following folders are replaced in the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager/Products directory:

      • aiops
      • common-services
      • helixdashboard-services
      • intelligentautomation
      • intelligentintegrations
      • itsminsight-services
      • monitor
      • platform
6. Update the deployment size templates.
   1. In the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager directory, copy the only_ITSM_configs_22201_003.tar.xz file.
      

   2. Extract the only_ITSM_configs_22201_003.tar.xz file by using the following command:

      tar xvf only_ITSM_configs_22201_003.tar.xz

      After you unzip the file, the following folders are replaced with the new deployment size templates in the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager directory.
      

      • configs/
      • configs/compact.config
      • configs/compact.json
      • configs/compact_jvm.config
      • configs/small.config
      • configs/small.json
      • configs/small_jvm.config

7. In the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager/configs/infra.config file, modify the following parameters that are environment-specific.

   Important

   • The following load balancer hosts are required. You do not need any subdomains.
     • LB_HOST
       Ensure that the LB_HOST value is not the same as the tenant URL.

   • • TMS_LB_HOST
     • MINIO_LB_HOST
     • Tenant URL that is derived based on the following parameters from the infra.config file:
       $COMPANY_NAME-$TENANT_TYPE-$ENVIRONMENT.$DOMAIN

   • Make sure that you have created a storage class.

8. In the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager/configs/deployment.config file, modify the following parameters:

9. To install the product, run the following command:

   ./deployment-manager.sh

10. When asked, enter a password of your choice for encryption or decryption.

    This password is used to encrypt all passwords that you added in the commons/certs/secrets.txt file.

    Important

    Save this password. The deployer uses this password in all future product deployments.

    What happens next?

    1. The deployer encrypts all passwords that you added in the secrets.txt file.
    2. The deployer creates a commons/certs/secrets.config file and adds all the encrypted passwords to it.
    3. The deployer deletes the secrets.txt file.

    
    

    What happens if I need to change the encryption password?

    Perform these steps if you forget the encryption password or if you need to change it:

    1. Delete the commons/certs/secrets.config file.
    2. In thecommons/certs directory, create secrets.txt file, and specify the encryption password.
    3. Run the deployer again.
    4. When asked, enter a password of your choice for encryption or decryption.
       The deployer creates a new secrets.config file with the new encryption password.

After the BMC Helix Platform services are deployed, the tenant administrator receives the following emails:

• An email with details about the BMC Helix Platform account
• An email to change the BMC Helix Platform account password at the first login

After the installation, you can see the Elasticsearch, Fluentd, and Kibana pods in the bmc-helix-logging namespace. You can access Kibana with the following URL:

http://<masternodeip>:5601/ 

All installation logs are located in the following directory:

helix-on-prem-deployment-manager/logs

To apply the hotfix

1. Log in to the controller or bastion machine from where the Kubernetes cluster is accessible.

2. In the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager/configs/deployment.config file, make sure that the INFRA and _RSSO parameter values are set to yes.
   

   Important

   The INFRA and _RSSO parameter values must be set to yes. All other parameters in the file must be set to value no.

3. Extract the hotfix-22.2.01.001-17.tar.gz file that you downloaded from EPD by using the following command:

   tar xvf hotfix-22.2.01.001-17.tar.gz

4. Navigate to the hotfix directory by using the following command:

   cd hotfix

5. If you are not using BMC Helix ITSM Insights, disable the aif chart installation in this hotfix by commenting the following line in the hotfix/new-service-list.config file:
   

   ITSMINSIGHT_SERVICES=aif-core-service,aif-ticket-service

6. Run the hotfix script file hf_script.sh by using the following command and pass the full path of the previous deployment manager directory.

   bash hf_script.sh </path/to/directory/22.2.01>/helix-on-prem-deployment-manager

   This command creates a copy of the helix-on-prem-deployment-manager directory. 
   For example:

   bash hf_script.sh /data/22.2.01/helix-on-prem-deployment-manager

   This command creates a new directory named helix-on-prem-deployment-manager_HF1 at /data/22.2.01

   After the hotfix script execution is complete, the Please enter password for encryption/decryption command prompt is displayed.

7. Enter the password.

Sample configuration files

Where to go from here