Deploy omnia_core¶

Install the omnia_core Podman container on your Omnia Infrastructure Manager (OIM). The omnia_core container encapsulates the Ansible toolchain and all Omnia playbooks, providing a reproducible and isolated control plane for cluster management.

Overview¶

The omnia_core deployment process consists of three stages:

Clone the Omnia repository from Dell's artifact repository.
Build the container images using the build_images.sh script.
Install the omnia_core service using omnia.sh --install.

Once installed, omnia_core runs as a systemd-managed Podman container that starts automatically on boot.

Prerequisites¶

Requirement	Details
Operating system	RHEL 8.8+ / 9.2+ or Rocky Linux 8.x / 9.x on the OIM
RAM	Minimum 64 GB (128 GB recommended for clusters > 100 nodes)
Disk	Minimum 256 GB free (SSD recommended)
Network interfaces	At least 2 NICs: one for the admin network, one for the BMC/iDRAC network
Podman	Podman 4.x or later installed (`dnf install -y podman`)
Internet access	Required to clone the repository and pull base container images
Git	Git 2.x or later (`dnf install -y git`)

Note

Ensure that SELinux is set to permissive or enforcing with the appropriate container policies. Disabling SELinux is not recommended in production environments.

Procedure¶

Log in to the OIM as root or a user with sudo privileges:
Run on: OIM host
```
ssh root@<oim-ip-address>
```
Clone the Omnia repository from Dell's artifact repository:
Run on: OIM host
```
cd /opt
git clone https://github.com/dell/omnia.git
cd omnia
```
Note

To use a specific release, check out the corresponding tag:
Run on: OIM host
```
git checkout v2.1.0.0
```
Build the container images using the provided build script:
Run on: OIM host
```
bash build_images.sh core
```
This builds the omnia_core container image locally. The build process takes approximately 10-15 minutes depending on network speed and hardware.
Install the omnia_core service:
Run on: OIM host
```
bash omnia.sh --install
```
This script:
- Creates the omnia_core Podman container.
- Registers it as a systemd service (omnia_core.service).
- Mounts the necessary volumes for configuration and playbook storage.
- Starts the container automatically.

Verify the service is running:

Run on: OIM host

systemctl status omnia_core.service

Expected output:

Expected output on: OIM host

● omnia_core.service - Omnia Core Container
  Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/omnia_core.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
  Active: active (running) since ...

Verification¶

Check the container is running:
Run on: OIM host
```
podman ps --filter name=omnia_core
```
You should see a running container named omnia_core.
Enter the omnia_core container and verify Ansible is available:
Run on: OIM host
```
podman exec -it -u root omnia_core bash
```
Run on: omnia_core container
```
ansible --version
```
Verify playbooks are accessible:
Run on: omnia_core container
```
ls /omnia/*.yml
```
You should see the key playbooks: omnia_startup.yml, input_validator.yml, credentials_utility.yml, prepare_oim.yml, local_repo.yml, discovery.yml, and others.
Verify input directory exists:
Run on: omnia_core container
```
ls /opt/omnia/input/project_default/
```

Next Steps¶

Create Mapping File -- Create the PXE mapping file for node discovery.
Configure Inputs -- Configure Omnia input files.
Configure Credentials -- Set up encrypted credentials.

Troubleshooting¶

Container fails to start Check the Podman logs for detailed error output:

Run on: OIM host

podman logs omnia_core

systemd service not found Re-run the installation script:

Run on: OIM host

bash omnia.sh --install

Build fails with network errors Ensure the OIM has internet access and DNS is configured correctly:

Run on: OIM host

ping -c 3 github.com
cat /etc/resolv.conf

Podman not installed Install Podman from the default OS repositories:

Run on: OIM host

dnf install -y podman
systemctl enable --now podman.socket

Insufficient disk space Check available disk space. At least 256 GB is required:

Run on: OIM host

df -h /opt