Adding a network interface to your PureApplication VM: RedHat

Previously I described how you can add an additional network interface to an existing AIX LPAR on PureApplication System. The instructions are similar if you want to add an interface to an existing RedHat 6.x VM. You should follow the same procedure in the UI to add the new interface to the virtual machine. An asynchronous job is scheduled to add the address; after the job completes, take note of the MAC address and IP address:

new-address

Then, login to the virtual machine. Locate the network interface by finding its MAC address, and configure it using the new IP address and the subnet mask for the associated IP group:

[virtuser@ipas-pvm-073-020 ~]$ sudo bash
bash-4.1# ifconfig -a | fgrep -i 00:50:56:8f:1e:a4
eth2      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:50:56:8F:1E:A4
bash-4.1# ipcalc -bn 172.20.72.4 255.255.248.0
BROADCAST=172.20.79.255
NETWORK=172.20.72.0
bash-4.1# cat > /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth2 << EOF
> TYPE=Ethernet
> DEVICE=eth2
> BOOTPROTO=none
> BROADCAST=172.20.79.255
> NETMASK=255.255.248.0
> NETWORK=172.20.72.0
> STARTMODE='auto'
> USERCONTROL='no'
> ONBOOT=yes
> _nm_name='static-eth2'
> IPADDR=172.20.72.4
> EOF
bash-4.1# ifup eth2
Determining if ip address 172.20.72.4 is already in use for device eth2...
bash-4.1#

This configuration will persist across reboot.

Business cards

Business cards

In the age of LinkedIn and mobile apps like Bump (now defunct), it may seem like business cards are becoming obsolete. Up to this point in time I’ve never felt the need to create a business card for myself.

However, I learned on my recent trip to Southeast Asia that the giving and receiving of business cards is very much alive and well. In this region of the world it is an important way of showing honor and respect.

In Southeast Asia, when you give and receive a business card, you should hold it with both hands, with the card facing the recipient. When you receive a card, you should read it carefully and slowly. If you are sitting down to a meeting, you should place the cards you have received in front of you for the duration of the meeting. And you should always keep cards in a card case, not in your pocket.

So, in order to prepare for future trips, I’ve finally printed my own set of business cards and bought a card case.

The PureApplication family grows

The PureApplication family grows

Congratulations to my fellow PureApplication team members for their achievement in releasing IBM PureApplication Software for US Federal Services this month!

Previously, PureApplication was available in four forms: PureApplication System, a fully integrated appliance with x86 and POWER models; PureApplication Service, running in the IBM SoftLayer public cloud; PureApplication Software, allowing customers to use the PureApplication engine in their own VMWare or PowerVC private clouds; and PureApplication Software on Azure, supporting deployment to the Microsoft Azure public cloud.

Beginning this month, IBM now has PureApplication Software offerings for Amazon’s GovCloud and Commercial Cloud Services (C2S) cloud regions. PureApplication is the premier way to deploy IBM middleware to Amazon EC2.

Multiplication tables

Multiplication tables

For some time now, we’ve been using the BigBrainz math game to help the kids practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.

I’m very impressed with the game. The little bit of artificial stress that is added when your math fact is crucial to defeating a “boss” seems to really help reinforce their memorization compared to flash cards!

Asher has made enormous progress in just the last week on his multiplication tables with daily BigBrainz practice. If you’re looking for a simple and fun way to reinforce multiplication tables and other math facts for your children, I highly recommend BigBrainz.

Fortune

We went shopping for Christmas presents recently and also stopped for dinner at a local Chinese buffet. The kids and I were planning to play chess once we were back home. I was amused to find this fortune in my cookie:

fortune

I think it was trying to tell me that I was to play the white pieces.

Deploying a pattern across multiple PureApplication Software VLANs

PureApplication System supports the deployment of your pattern instance across multiple cloud groups using externally managed deployments. You can use this as a way to achieve physical separation of the virtual machines in your deployment onto different compute nodes, and also to achieve network separation of the tiers into different VLANs.

PureApplication Software does not currently support multi-cloud deployments, so in order to achieve physical separation of your workload tiers you must deploy them as separate patterns. However, PureApplication Software does support network separation of the virtual machines of a single pattern instance by selecting different IP groups for each virtual machine.

In order to select different IP groups for each virtual machine, you must click the Prepare to Deploy button instead of the Quick Deploy button when deploying your pattern:

prepare-to-deploy

The next screen will present you with a list of the virtual machines in your deployment. If you hover your mouse over any of the virtual machines, you will see details of the network interfaces and, if applicable, storage volumes:

distribute

Click on the pencil icon to bring up a dialog that allows you to configure the network interfaces and storage. In this dialog you can select any of the IP groups that are enabled in your environment profile:

ipgroup

Once you have selected the IP groups for each set of virtual machines, you can click Deploy to complete the deployment of the pattern.

PureApplication System Integration

I’m happy to report the publication of a new IBM Redbook, Integrating PureApplication System into an Existing Datacenter, to which I had the privilege of contributing.

In this Redbook we cover a variety of topics, from planning and installation of your PureApplication System, to various forms of post-installation integration with your existing processes. We even cover PureApplication-to-PureApplication integration in the form of multi-system management and deployment.

Bluemix Local on PureApplication System

Bluemix Local on PureApplication System

I’d like to offer my congratulations to a number of my PureApplication colleagues for the successful release last month of their work to support BlueMix Local on PureApplication System.

While you may have missed it in the original announcement of Bluemix Local, PureApplication System is the premier home for deploying Bluemix Local on-premise, because it combines Bluemix with the strengths of PureApplication, including unified hardware and firmware management and Call Home.