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Setting up the installation environment

Complete the following actions to make the environment installation ready:

  • Verify Domain Name System (DNS) for applications
  • Create a realm and configure BMC Helix Single Sign-On
  • Create an external IP for Elasticsearch

Before you begin

Before you perform the BMC Helix ITSM installation, make sure that you have installed BMC Helix Platform Common Services.

Related topic

Performing the BMC Helix Service Management installation

 

Verifying DNS for applications

Make sure that you configure DNS for the BMC Helix Service Management applications so that you can access the applications by using the following URL format. The target of DNS entries must be the external load balancer serving the Ingress controller.

  • Mid Tier - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Mid Tier integration - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-int.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Smart IT - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-smartit.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Smart Reporting - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-sr.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Innovation Studio - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-is.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Innovation Suite REST API or CMDB - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-restapi.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Reporting - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-reporting.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
    The platform-sr pod is not available in Compact and Small deployment sizes, and the reporting URL does not apply to these sizes.
  • Atrium Web Services - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-atws.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Digital Workplace - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-dwp.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Digital Workplace Catalog - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-dwpcatalog.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Live Chat - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-vchat.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Openfire Chat - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-chat.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
  • Support Assistant tool - <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-supportassisttool.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
    For example, if CUSTOMER_SERVICE=itsm, ENVIRONMENT=poc, and CLUSTER_DOMAIN=aus-ranch.bmc.com, the Mid Tier URL will be itsm-poc.aus-ranch.bmc.com

Before installing BMC Helix Service Management, make sure that you decide on the application domain and URLs. If you need to make changes after installation, you will have to reinstall BMC Helix Service Management.

Warning

Important

The platform and application URLs support only the HTTPS protocol.
(Controlled availability customers only) For CORE deployment, you only require the Mid tier, Innovation Studio, and Innovation Suite REST API or CMDB URLs.

You must specify the same CUSTOMER_SERVICE and ENVIRONMENT parameter values to the deployment pipeline while performing the installation.

Warning

Important

When the <ENVIRONMENT> value is prod for production environments, use the URL format by excluding -<ENVIRONMENT>

For example, the URL format for Mid Tier production environment is <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>

The URL format for Smart IT production environment is <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-smartit.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>

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To configure BMC Helix Single Sign-On

Make sure that BMC Helix Single Sign-On is installed during the BMC Helix Platform services deployment. Configure BMC Helix Single Sign-On by performing the following steps:

  1. Log in to BMC Helix Single Sign-On.
  2. On the menu, click Tenant.
    RSSO2.png
  3. Click PinIcon.png under the Action column to select the SAAS_TENANT. 
    "Tenant SAAS_TENANT is selected" confirmation message is displayed on the screen.
  4. On the main menu, click Realm.
  5. Click Add Realm.

  6. In the General tab, enter the following details:

    Field

    Value

    Realm ID

    <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>

    For example, if CUSTOMER_SERVICE=itsm, ENVIRONMENT=poc, the field value is itsm-poc

    Application Domain(s)

    List of the following Innovation Suite application URLs separated by comma:
    <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-atws.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-dwpcatalog.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-restapi.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-is.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-sr.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-dwp.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-smartit.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-chat.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-vchat.<cluster domain>, <CUSTOMER_SERVICE>-<ENVIRONMENT>-int.<CLUSTER_DOMAIN>
    itsm-poc-atws.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-dwpcatalog.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-restapi.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-is.itsm-cluster.bmc.com,  itsm-poc-sr.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-dwp.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-smartit.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-chat.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-vchat.itsm-cluster.bmc.com, itsm-poc-int.cluster.bmc.com

    Tenant

    BMC Helix Platform tenant name.

    Specify the tenant name that you view in the List of Tenants page on the Tenant tab. For example, photon2.170

    The following image shows an example:
    Add Realm.png

  7. Click the Authentication tab and enter the following details:

    Field

    Value

    Authentication Type

    Select Authentication Type as AR Server

    Host

    platform-user-ext.<namespace>

     Replace the namespace with the BMC Helix Innovation Suite namespace.

    Port

    Port Number – 46262

  8. Click Add.

The following video clip shows how to configure BMC Helix Single Sign-On: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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To enable realm identification by using patterns

You can control user access to BMC Helix Service Management applications based on user name patterns or IP ranges. Perform the following steps to enable the realm identification by using a pattern for user login:

  1. Log in to BMC Helix Single Sign-On.
  2. On the menu, click Tenant.
  3. From the list of tenants, click the Edit icon corresponding to the tenant for which you want to enable the authentication.
    Edit tenant.png
  4. On the Edit Tenant page, select the MSP server side check box, and click Save.
    Enable pattern authentication.png
  5. Go to the Realm tab.
  6. On the Realm Configuration page, navigate to the MSP tab, and click Add.
    Add MSP configuration.png
  7. On the MSP Configuration page, specify the values for the following fields:
    FieldDescription
    Pattern

    Specify the user name pattern or the IP range to authenticate users.

    Important: 

    • You can use multiple patterns for a realm.
    • Make sure that each pattern is unique. You cannot use the same pattern for more than one realm. 
    • For multiple patterns, the first upper match is selected by the system while authentication.
    • The user name pattern value must contain #login as a keyword. 
      For example, to allow login for all users with the domain local.com, the pattern is 
      #login.endsWith("@local.com").
    • To use the IP range for authentication, make sure that you are using BMC Helix Platform Common Services version 25.4 or later.
    • The IP range pattern value must contain #clientIPRange as a keyword. 
      Multiple IP example: #clientIPRange.include("xx.xxx.xxx.xx","xx.xxx.xxx.xx")
      IP range example: #clientIPRange.include("xxx.xx.xxx-xxx.xx-xxx")
    RealmSelect the realm for which you want to apply the pattern.
    ActionsClick ✔ to activate the pattern authentication.

    MSP configuration.png

  8. Click Save.

When a user accesses the URL, a textbox labeled Username and a Submit button is displayed. If the user name matches the defined pattern, the user is redirected to the login screen. If the user name does not match the pattern, the following error message is displayed:
Invalid username format. Please try again.

To create an external IP for FTS_ELASTICSEARCH

Elasticsearch is deployed when you install BMC Helix Platform services. You can leverage Elasticsearch to provide Full Text Search capabilities in BMC Helix Innovation Suite by using one of the following options:

  • Use service name during BMC Helix Service Management installation
    To leverage Full Text Search capabilities, during BMC Helix Service Management installation, use the value opensearch-logs-data.<BMC Helix Platform namespace> in FTS_ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTNAME parameter value.

  • Use external IP during BMC Helix Service Management installation
    Perform the following steps to create an external IP for Elasticsearch:

    1. Log in to the BMC Deployment Engine which is your Jenkins server.

    2. Run the following command:

      kubectl expose service opensearch-logs-data -n <BMC Helix Platform namespace> --name=elastic-loganalytics-ext --external-ip=<EXT IP>

      The following table describes the parameters used in the command:

      Parameter name

      Description

      BMC Helix Platform namespace

      Specify the namespace where BMC Helix Platform Common Services are deployed.

      EXT IP

      Specify the IP address of any worker node in your Kubernetes cluster.

      This IP is used as the FTS_ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTNAME parameter value during BMC Helix Innovation Suite installation.

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To create an External IP for LOGS_ELASTICSEARCH

BMC Helix Innovation Suite Fluent Bit uses the Elasticsearch host deployed in the BMC Helix Logging namespace. You can leverage EFK service capabilities in BMC Helix Innovation Suite by using one of the following options:

  • Use service name during BMC Helix Service Management installation
    To use the Elasticsearch host, during BMC Helix Service Management installation, use the service name as efk-elasticsearch-data-hl.<BMC Helix Logging namespace> in LOGS_ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTNAME parameter value.
  • Use external IP during BMC Helix Service Management installation
    Perform the following steps to create an external IP for LOGS_ELASTICSEARCH:

    1. Log in to the BMC Deployment Engine which is your Jenkins server.

    2. Run the following command:

      kubectl expose service efk-elasticsearch-data-hl -n <BMC Helix Logging namespace> --name=elastic-logging-ext --external-ip=<EXT IP>

      The following table describes the parameters used in the command:

      Parameter name

      Description

      BMC Helix Logging namespace

      Specify the namespace where BMC Helix Logging services are deployed.

      EXT IP

      Specify the IP address of any worker node in your Kubernetes cluster.

      This IP is used as the LOGS_ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTNAME parameter value during BMC Helix Innovation Suite installation.

      Make sure that this IP address is different from the one used for FTS_ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTNAME.

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Where to go from here

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If you are finished performing the BMC Helix Service Management installation, return to the appropriate installation or upgrade process:

 

 

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BMC Helix Service Management Deployment 25.4.01