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How to Install Vyatta

Need help or have questions about installing Vyatta software? Check the videos, instructions and examples on this page and if you are still looking for help visit the Vyatta Install forum

Vyatta University Training

Video: Vyatta Software Installation

Vyatta Documentation

For detailed Vyatta documentation, refer to http://www.vyatta.org/documentation

 

Installing Vyatta Core on Bare Metal Systems

After downloading a Vyatta ISO image from http://www.vyatta.org/downloads, burn to a CD-ROM using your CD burning software of choice.

Running the Vyatta Core Live CD

The Vyatta LiveCD ISO is a bootable live CD, which means that you can evaluate the system simply by booting the CD. The system will run without destroying any data on your local hard drive. This makes for an ideal way to evaluate the system without having to find spare hardware. When you're done experimenting, you can simply remove the CD-ROM and reboot. When you want to create a more permanent environment, you can install Vyatta to persistent device, using the instructions below. 

Once you have booted the CD, you can login as vyatta with default password of vyatta. 

Installing to Persistent Device

There are two types of installations that can be performed on a persistent device:

• Image-based install -- with this method, you can install multiple versions of the Vyatta system as images and switch between the images simply and easily.

• Disk-based install – unlike an image-based install, a disk-based install uses a traditional layout of files on the disk. Additional system images may be added at a later time to a system created using a disk-based install.

 
Image-Based Install

To perform an image-based install, you run the install-image command from a running LiveCD system. The system can be installed to any persistent device, such as a hard disk, USB stick, or compact Flash.

Make sure you have a minimum of 1 GB of free space on your hard disk, USB stick, or Flash card for a root partition. A minimum of 2 GB of free space is recommended for a production installation. Then, find out the device name onto which the software is to be installed.

NOTE: The installation process reformats the specified partition, so it is critical to specify the correct partition.

If you want to install onto a USB stick, check the BIOS setup of your hardware to confirm that it supports the ability to boot from a USB device. Then perform the following steps:

1 Create and run the Vyatta LiveCD.

2 Login as user vyatta with password vyatta and run the install-image command.

3 Remove the LiveCD.

4 Make sure your BIOS is configured to boot from the persistent device the system was installed to.

5 Reboot the system.

6 Test your installation. 
 
 
Disk-Based Install

To perform a disk-based install, you run the install-system command from a running LiveCD system. The system can be installed to any persistent device, such as a hard disk, USB stick, or compact Flash.

Make sure you have a minimum of 1 GB of free space on your hard disk, USB stick, or Flash card for a root partition. A minimum of 2 GB of free space is recommended for a production installation. Then, find out the device name onto which the software is to be installed.

NOTE: The installation process reformats the specified partition, so it is critical to specify the correct partition.

If you want to install onto a USB stick, check the BIOS setup of your hardware to confirm that it supports the ability to boot from a USB device. Then perform the following steps:

1 Create and run the Vyatta LiveCD.

2 Login as user vyatta with password vyatta and run the install-system command.

3 Remove the LiveCD.

4 Make sure your BIOS is configured to boot from the persistent device the system was installed to.

5 Reboot the system.

6 Test the installation. 
 

Installing Vyatta Core in a Virtualized Environment

If you’re deploying Vyatta Core on a hypervisor such as VMWare ESX/ESXi or Citrix XenServer, you’ll want to use the Vyatta virtualization ISO (virt-ISO). Similar to the LiveCD ISO, the virt-ISO provides a bootable ISO, except it also includes virtual machine tools and other optimizations to deliver the best possible experience for users running Vyatta on a virtual machine. Hypervisor-specific instructions for installing Vyatta Core are below:

Installing Vyatta Core in XenServer 5.x

The following example uses a Vyatta virtualization ISO named "vyatta-virt.iso" and the instructions are for XenServer 5.5, but in general they should work for another Xenserver 5.x release (e.g XenServer 5.6).

After downloading the Vyatta Core virt-iso, create a new storage repository containing the .iso on the XenServer server, using XenCenter. The following commands will move "vyatta-virt.iso" to a local storage repository on the server's console:

     scp <vyatta-virt.iso> /var/opt/xen/iso_import

     xe sr-create name-label=ISOs type=iso device-config:location=/var/opt/xen/iso_import device-config:legacy_mode=true content-type=iso

     (optional) xe-mount-iso-sr /var/opt/xen/iso_import 

Then, using XenCenter, create a new VM:

     - "Other install media"

     - Name:"vyatta-virt"

     - Location:"ISO Image"

     - CPU & Memory: "1" / "512"

     - Virtual Disk: "4"

     - Virtual Interfaces: default

Next, using XenCenter, start the new VM. Then, on the VM's console, install the vyatta-virt iso using "install-system" command -

      install-system: ... "Would you like to set up config files to prepare for the conversion to PV domU? [No]: " yes
 
Optional -- after starting the VM and installing the vyatta-virt iso accordingly, shutdown the VM:
 
      shutdown
 
Restart the VM from the XenCenter console. Then, using XenCenter, select "xs-tools.iso" from the drop-down menu of the DVD drive (select "empty" after this step is done), and start the VM, on the VM’s console -
 
      mount /dev/cdrom /mnt
      dpkg -i /mnt/Linux/xe-guest-utilities_5.5.0-458_i386.deb
      umount /dev/cdrom /mnt
      shutdown
 
Then, using XenCenter, on the server's console -
 
Determine the UUID of the VM by running the following command:
 
      xe vm-list name-label=<VM-name>
 
where <VM-name> is the name that you have assigned to the VM. Use that UUID in the following commands:
 
      xe vm-param-set uuid=<uuid> HVM-boot-policy=
      xe vm-param-set uuid=<uuid> PV-bootloader=pygrub
 
Next, determine the UUID of the root filesystem virtual block device by running the following command:
 
      xe vbd-list vm-name-label=<VM-name>
 
Here again, <VM-name> is the name you have assigned to the VM. If the program displays more than one virtual block device, the first usually holds the root filesystem. Use the UUID of this device in the following command:
 
      xe vbd-param-set uuid=<uuid> bootable=true
 
Now the Vyatta Core VM is ready. XenCenter may need to be restarted in order to access the Vyatta Core VM’s console after the VM is started.
 
To create a template from a running Vyatta VM, open up the Vyatta configuration file i.e. /config/config.boot, cut out all the "interfaces ethernet" sections and save. Then shutdown your VM, right-click and select Convert to template. Then you can export the template, import on another server and/or simply clone for a new Vyatta installation.
 

Installing Vyatta Core in VMWare ESX/ESXi 4.x 

The following example uses a Vyatta virtualization ISO named “vyatta-virt.iso” and the instructions are for VMWare ESX/ESXi 4.0, but in general they should work for another VMWare 4.x release (e.g VMWare ESX/ESXi 4.1). 
 
Using the vSphere Client, upload the Vyatta Core virtualization ISO:
     - click "Inventory" and then the server
     - click "Configuration" tab
     - click Hardware/Storage
     - right click the datastore, then select "Browse Datastore..."
     - in the pop-up window, click "Upload files to this datastore"
 
Using the vSphere Client, create a new VM
     - Configuration: Custom
     - Name: "vyatta"
     - Datastore: default
     - Virtual Machine Version: 7
     - Guest OS: Linux/Other 2.6x Linux
     - CPU: "1"
     - Memory: "512"
     - Network: "2" / vmxnet3
     - SCSI Controller: default
     - Select a Disk: default
     - Create a Disk: "4"GB (thin provisioning and independent / persistent mode)
     - Advanced Options: Enable "Support VMI Paravirtualization"
 
Using the vSphere Client, right click the new VM, then go to "Edit Settings..." and do the following:
     - Click CD/DVD Drive 1
     - Select "Connect at power on"
     - Select Device Type: "Datastore ISO File"
     - Click "Browse..."
 
Using the vSphere Client, start the new VM. Then, in the VM's console -
      install-image:default
      shutdown
 
Using the vSphere Client, right click the new VM, go to "Edit Settings..." and do the following:
     - Click CD/DVD Drive 1
     - Unselect "Connect at power on"
     - Select Device Type: "Client Device"
 
Now the Vyatta Core VM is ready.
 
For ESX 3.5, the above instructions for ESX 4.0 apply, except you’ll be running the ESX 3.5 host, and the Ethernet interface type is flexible. Once you’ve created the VM, you can export to OVF template, edit the OVF file settings and change all instances of PCNet32 to VmxNet, then import it.

Vyatta Knowledge Base Articles

Vyatta Subscription Edition customers can consult a number of Knowledge Base articles that may help with certain aspects of installation.

HOW TO Create a Bootable LiveCD using Mac OS

HOW TO Create a Bootable LiveCD using Linux

HOW TO Create a Bootable LiveCD using Windows

HOW TO Create a Bootable router Image on a USB Memory Key

 

 

How to Update Software: 

Once you’ve installed Vyatta, you'll want to check for updates. For instructions on how to update your system, refer to http://www.vyatta.org/getting-started/how-to-update.