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NetApp Console setup and administration

Manually install the Console agent in Azure

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To manually install the Console agent on your own Linux host, you need to review host requirements, set up your networking, prepare Azure permissions, install the Console agent, and then provide the permissions that you prepared.

Before you begin

Step 1: Review host requirements

The Console agent software must run on a host that meets specific operating system requirements, RAM requirements, port requirements, and so on.

Note The Console agent reserves the UID and GID range of 19000 to 19200. This range is fixed and cannot be modified. If any third-party software on your host is using UIDs or GIDs within this range, the agent installation will fail. NetApp recommends using a host that is free of third-party software to avoid conflicts.
Dedicated host

The Console agent is not supported on a host that is shared with other applications. The host must be a dedicated host. The host can be of any architecture that meets the following size requirements:

  • CPU: 8 cores or 8 vCPUs

  • RAM: 32 GB

  • Disk space: 165 GB is recommended for the host, with the following partition requirements:

    • /opt: 120 GiB of space must be available

      The agent uses /opt to install the /opt/application/netapp directory and its contents.

    • /var: 40 GiB of space must be available

      The Console agent requires this space in /var because Docker or Podman are architected to create the containers within this directory. Specifically, they will create containers in the /var/lib/containers/storage directory. External mounts or symlinks do not work for this space.

Hypervisor

A bare metal or hosted hypervisor that is certified to run a supported operating system is required.

Operating system and container requirements

The Console agent is supported with the following operating systems when using the Console in standard mode or restricted mode. A container orchestration tool is required before you install the agent.

Operating system Supported OS versions Supported agent versions Required container tool SELinux

a

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

9.1 to 9.4

8.6 to 8.10

  • English language versions only.

  • The host must be registered with Red Hat Subscription Management. If it's not registered, the host can't access repositories to update required 3rd-party software during agent installation.

3.9.50 or later with the Console in standard mode or restricted mode

Podman version 4.6.1 or 4.9.4

View Podman configuration requirements.

Supported in enforcing mode or permissive mode

  • Management of Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems is NOT supported by agents that have SELinux enabled on the operating system.

Ubuntu

24.04 LTS

3.9.45 or later with the NetApp Console in standard mode or restricted mode

Docker Engine 23.06 to 28.0.0.

Not supported

22.04 LTS

3.9.50 or later

Docker Engine 23.0.6 to 28.0.0.

Not supported
Azure VM size

An instance type that meets the CPU and RAM requirements above. We recommend Standard_D8s_v3.

Disk space in /opt

100 GiB of space must be available

The agent uses /opt to install the /opt/application/netapp directory and its contents.

Disk space in /var

20 GiB of space must be available

The Console agent requires this space in /var because Docker or Podman are architected to create the containers within this directory. Specifically, they will create containers in the /var/lib/containers/storage directory. External mounts or symlinks do not work for this space.

Step 2: Install Podman or Docker Engine

Depending on your operating system, either Podman or Docker Engine is required before installing the agent.

Example 1. Steps
Podman

Follow these steps to install and configure Podman:

  • Enable and start the podman.socket service

  • Install python3

  • Install the podman-compose package version 1.0.6

  • Add podman-compose to the PATH environment variable

  • If using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, verify that your Podman version is using Aardvark DNS instead of CNI

Note Adjust the aardvark-dns port (default: 53) after installing the agent to avoid DNS port conflicts. Follow the instructions to configure the port.
Steps

  1. Remove the podman-docker package if it's installed on the host.

    dnf remove podman-docker
rm /var/run/docker.sock

  2. Install Podman.

    You can obtain Podman from official Red Hat Enterprise Linux repositories.

    For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9:

    sudo dnf install podman-2:<version>

    Where <version> is the supported version of Podman that you're installing. View the supported Podman versions.

    For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8:

    sudo dnf install podman-3:<version>

    Where <version> is the supported version of Podman that you're installing. View the supported Podman versions.

  3. Enable and start the podman.socket service.

    sudo systemctl enable --now podman.socket

  4. Install python3.

    sudo dnf install python3

  5. Install the EPEL repository package if it's not already available on your system.

  6. If using Red Hat Enterprise:

    This step is required because podman-compose is available from the Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository.

    For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9:

    sudo dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm

    For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8:

    sudo dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm

  7. Install podman-compose package 1.0.6.

    sudo dnf install podman-compose-1.0.6
    Note Using the dnf install command meets the requirement for adding podman-compose to the PATH environment variable. The installation command adds podman-compose to /usr/bin, which is already included in the secure_path option on the host.

  8. If using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, verify that your Podman version is using NetAvark with Aardvark DNS instead of CNI.

    1. Check to see if your networkBackend is set to CNI by running the following command:

      podman info | grep networkBackend

    2. If the networkBackend is set to CNI, you'll need to change it to netavark.

    3. Install netavark and aardvark-dns using the following command:

      dnf install aardvark-dns netavark

    4. Open the /etc/containers/containers.conf file and modify the network_backend option to use "netavark" instead of "cni".

    If /etc/containers/containers.conf doesn't exist, make the configuration changes to /usr/share/containers/containers.conf.

  9. Restart podman.

    systemctl restart podman

  10. Confirm networkBackend is now changed to "netavark" using the following command:

    podman info | grep networkBackend
Docker Engine

Follow the documentation from Docker to install Docker Engine.

Steps

  1. View installation instructions from Docker

    Follow the steps to install a supported Docker Engine version. Do not install the latest version, as it is unsupported by the Console.

  2. Verify that Docker is enabled and running.

    sudo systemctl enable docker && sudo systemctl start docker

Step 3: Set up networking

Ensure that the network location where you plan to install the Console agent supports the following requirements. Meeting these requirements enables the Console agent to manage resources and processes within your hybrid cloud environment.

Azure region

If you use Cloud Volumes ONTAP, the Console agent should be deployed in the same Azure region as the Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems that it manages, or in the Azure region pair for the Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems. This requirement ensures that an Azure Private Link connection is used between Cloud Volumes ONTAP and its associated storage accounts.

Learn how Cloud Volumes ONTAP uses an Azure Private Link

Connections to target networks

The Console agent requires a network connection to the location where you're planning to create and manage systems. For example, the network where you plan to create Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems or a storage system in your on-premises environment.

Outbound internet access

The network location where you deploy the Console agent must have an outbound internet connection to contact specific endpoints.

Endpoints contacted from computers when using the web-based NetApp Console

Computers that access the Console from a web browser must have the ability to contact several endpoints. You'll need to use the Console to set up the Console agent and for day-to-day use of the Console.

Prepare networking for the NetApp console.

Endpoints contacted from the Console agent

The Console agent requires outbound internet access to contact the following endpoints to manage resources and processes within your public cloud environment for day-to-day operations.

The endpoints listed below are all CNAME entries.

Endpoints Purpose

https://management.azure.com
https://login.microsoftonline.com
https://blob.core.windows.net
https://core.windows.net

To manage resources in Azure public regions.

https://management.chinacloudapi.cn
https://login.chinacloudapi.cn
https://blob.core.chinacloudapi.cn
https://core.chinacloudapi.cn

To manage resources in Azure China regions.

https://mysupport.netapp.com

To obtain licensing information and to send AutoSupport messages to NetApp support.

https://signin.b2c.netapp.com

To update NetApp Support Site (NSS) credentials or to add new NSS credentials to the NetApp Console.

https://api.bluexp.netapp.com
https://netapp-cloud-account.auth0.com
https://netapp-cloud-account.us.auth0.com
https://console.netapp.com
https://components.console.bluexp.netapp.com
https://cdn.auth0.com

To provide features and services within the NetApp Console.

https://bluexpinfraprod.eastus2.data.azurecr.io
https://bluexpinfraprod.azurecr.io

To obtain images for Console agent upgrades.

  • When you deploy a new agent, the validation check tests connectivity to current endpoints. If you use previous endpoints, the validation check fails. To avoid this failure, skip the validation check.

    Although the previous endpoints are still supported, NetApp recommends updating your firewall rules to the current endpoints as soon as possible. Learn how to update your endpoint list.

  • When you update to the current endpoints in your firewall, your existing agents will continue to work.
Proxy server

NetApp supports both explicit and transparent proxy configurations. If you are using a transparent proxy, you only need to provide the certificate for the proxy server. If you are using an explicit proxy, you'll also need the IP address and credentials.

  • IP address

  • Credentials

  • HTTPS certificate

Ports

There's no incoming traffic to the Console agent, unless you initiate it or if it is used as a proxy to send AutoSupport messages from Cloud Volumes ONTAP to NetApp Support.

  • HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443) provide access to the local UI, which you'll use in rare circumstances.

  • SSH (22) is only needed if you need to connect to the host for troubleshooting.

  • Inbound connections over port 3128 are required if you deploy Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems in a subnet where an outbound internet connection isn't available.

    If Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems don't have an outbound internet connection to send AutoSupport messages, the Console automatically configures those systems to use a proxy server that's included with the Console agent. The only requirement is to ensure that the Console agent's security group allows inbound connections over port 3128. You'll need to open this port after you deploy the Console agent.

Enable NTP

If you're planning to use NetApp Data Classification to scan your corporate data sources, you should enable a Network Time Protocol (NTP) service on both the Console agent and the NetApp Data Classification system so that the time is synchronized between the systems. Learn more about NetApp Data classification

Step 4: Set up Console agent deployment permissions

You need to provide Azure permissions to the Console agent by using one of the following options:

  • Option 1: Assign a custom role to the Azure VM using a system-assigned managed identity.

  • Option 2: Provide the Console agent with the credentials for an Azure service principal that has the required permissions.

Follow the steps to prepare permissions for the Console agent.

Create a custom role for Console agent deployment

Note that you can create an Azure custom role using the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or REST API. The following steps show how to create the role using the Azure CLI. If you would prefer to use a different method, refer to Azure documentation

Steps

  1. If you're planning to manually install the software on your own host, enable a system-assigned managed identity on the VM so that you can provide the required Azure permissions through a custom role.

    Microsoft Azure documentation: Configure managed identities for Azure resources on a VM using the Azure portal

  2. Copy the contents of the custom role permissions for the Connector and save them in a JSON file.

  3. Modify the JSON file by adding Azure subscription IDs to the assignable scope.

    You should add the ID for each Azure subscription that you want to use with the NetApp Console.

    Example

    "AssignableScopes": [
"/subscriptions/d333af45-0d07-4154-943d-c25fbzzzzzzz",
"/subscriptions/54b91999-b3e6-4599-908e-416e0zzzzzzz",
"/subscriptions/398e471c-3b42-4ae7-9b59-ce5bbzzzzzzz"

  4. Use the JSON file to create a custom role in Azure.

    The following steps describe how to create the role by using Bash in Azure Cloud Shell.

    1. Start Azure Cloud Shell and choose the Bash environment.

    2. Upload the JSON file.

      A screenshot of the Azure Cloud Shell where you can choose the option to upload a file.

    3. Use the Azure CLI to create the custom role:

      az role definition create --role-definition Connector_Policy.json
Service principal

Create and set up a service principal in Microsoft Entra ID and obtain the Azure credentials that the Console agent needs.

Create a Microsoft Entra application for role-based access control

  1. Ensure that you have permissions in Azure to create an Active Directory application and to assign the application to a role.

    For details, refer to Microsoft Azure Documentation: Required permissions

  2. From the Azure portal, open the Microsoft Entra ID service.

    Shows the Active Directory service in Microsoft Azure.

  3. In the menu, select App registrations.

  4. Select New registration.

  5. Specify details about the application:

    • Name: Enter a name for the application.

    • Account type: Select an account type (any will work with the NetApp Console).

    • Redirect URI: You can leave this field blank.

  6. Select Register.

    You've created the AD application and service principal.

Assign the application to a role

  1. Create a custom role:

    Note that you can create an Azure custom role using the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or REST API. The following steps show how to create the role using the Azure CLI. If you would prefer to use a different method, refer to Azure documentation

    1. Copy the contents of the custom role permissions for the Console agent and save them in a JSON file.

    2. Modify the JSON file by adding Azure subscription IDs to the assignable scope.

      You should add the ID for each Azure subscription from which users will create Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems.

      Example

      "AssignableScopes": [
"/subscriptions/d333af45-0d07-4154-943d-c25fbzzzzzzz",
"/subscriptions/54b91999-b3e6-4599-908e-416e0zzzzzzz",
"/subscriptions/398e471c-3b42-4ae7-9b59-ce5bbzzzzzzz"

    3. Use the JSON file to create a custom role in Azure.

      The following steps describe how to create the role by using Bash in Azure Cloud Shell.

      • Start Azure Cloud Shell and choose the Bash environment.

      • Upload the JSON file.

        A screenshot of the Azure Cloud Shell where you can choose the option to upload a file.

      • Use the Azure CLI to create the custom role:

        az role definition create --role-definition Connector_Policy.json

        You should now have a custom role called Console Operator that you can assign to the Console agent virtual machine.

  2. Assign the application to the role:

    1. From the Azure portal, open the Subscriptions service.

    2. Select the subscription.

    3. Select Access control (IAM) > Add > Add role assignment.

    4. In the Role tab, select the Console Operator role and select Next.

    5. In the Members tab, complete the following steps:

      • Keep User, group, or service principal selected.

      • Select Select members.

        A screenshot of the Azure portal that shows the Members page when adding a role to an application.

      • Search for the name of the application.

        Here's an example:

        A screenshot of the Azure portal that shows the Add role assignment form in the Azure portal.

      • Select the application and select Select.

      • Select Next.

    6. Select Review + assign.

      The service principal now has the required Azure permissions to deploy the Console agent.

      If you want to deploy Cloud Volumes ONTAP from multiple Azure subscriptions, then you must bind the service principal to each of those subscriptions. In the NetApp Console, you can select the subscription that you want to use when deploying Cloud Volumes ONTAP.

Add Windows Azure Service Management API permissions

  1. In the Microsoft Entra ID service, select App registrations and select the application.

  2. Select API permissions > Add a permission.

  3. Under Microsoft APIs, select Azure Service Management.

    A screenshot of the Azure portal that shows the Azure Service Management API permissions.

  4. Select Access Azure Service Management as organization users and then select Add permissions.

    A screenshot of the Azure portal that shows adding the Azure Service Management APIs.

Get the application ID and directory ID for the application

  1. In the Microsoft Entra ID service, select App registrations and select the application.

  2. Copy the Application (client) ID and the Directory (tenant) ID.

    A screenshot that shows the application (client) ID and directory (tenant) ID for an application in Microsoft Entra IDy.

    When you add the Azure account to the Console, you need to provide the application (client) ID and the directory (tenant) ID for the application. The Console uses the IDs to programmatically sign in.

Create a client secret

  1. Open the Microsoft Entra ID service.

  2. Select App registrations and select your application.

  3. Select Certificates & secrets > New client secret.

  4. Provide a description of the secret and a duration.

  5. Select Add.

  6. Copy the value of the client secret.

    A screenshot of the Azure portal that shows a client secret for the Microsoft Entra service principal.

Result

Your service principal is now setup and you should have copied the application (client) ID, the directory (tenant) ID, and the value of the client secret. You need to enter this information in the Console when you add an Azure account.

Step 5: Install the Console agent

After the pre-requisites are complete, you can manually install the software on your own Linux host.

Before you begin

You should have the following:

  • Root privileges to install the Console agent.

  • Details about a proxy server, if a proxy is required for internet access from the Console agent.

    You have the option to configure a proxy server after installation but doing so requires restarting the Console agent.

  • A CA-signed certificate, if the proxy server uses HTTPS or if the proxy is an intercepting proxy.

Note You cannot set a certificate for a transparent proxy server when manually installing the Console agent. If you need to set a certificate for a transparent proxy server, you must use the Maintenance Console after installation. Learn more about the Agent Maintenance Console.
About this task

The installer that is available on the NetApp Support Site might be an earlier version. After installation, the Console agent automatically updates itself if a new version is available.

Steps

  1. If the http_proxy or https_proxy system variables are set on the host, remove them:

    unset http_proxy
unset https_proxy

    If you don't remove these system variables, the installation fails.

  2. Download the Console agent software from the NetApp Support Site, and then copy it to the Linux host.

    You should download the "online" agent installer that's meant for use in your network or in the cloud.

  3. Assign permissions to run the script.

    chmod +x NetApp_Console_Agent_Cloud_<version>

    Where <version> is the version of the Console agent that you downloaded.

  4. If installing in a Government Cloud environment, disable the configuration checks. Learn how to disable configuration checks for manual installations.

  5. Run the installation script.

     ./NetApp_Console_Agent_Cloud_<version> --proxy <HTTP or HTTPS proxy server> --cacert <path and file name of a CA-signed certificate>

    You'll need to add proxy information if your network requires a proxy for internet access. You can add either a transparent or explicit proxy. The --proxy and --cacert parameters are optional and you won't be prompted to add them. If you have a proxy server, you will need to enter the parameters as shown.

    Here is an example configuring an explicit proxy server with a CA-signed certificate:

     ./NetApp_Console_Agent_Cloud_v4.0.0--proxy https://user:password@10.0.0.30:8080/ --cacert /tmp/cacert/certificate.cer

    --proxy configures the Console agent to use an HTTP or HTTPS proxy server using one of the following formats:

    • http://address:port

    • http://user-name:password@address:port

    • http://domain-name%92user-name:password@address:port

    • https://address:port

    • https://user-name:password@address:port

    • https://domain-name%92user-name:password@address:port

      Note the following:

      • The user can be a local user or domain user.

      • For a domain user, you must use the ASCII code for a \ as shown above.

      • The Console agent doesn't support user names or passwords that include the @ character.

      • If the password includes any of the following special characters, you must escape that special character by prepending it with a backslash: & or !

        For example:

        http://bxpproxyuser:netapp1\!@address:3128

--cacert specifies a CA-signed certificate to use for HTTPS access between Console agent and the proxy server. This parameter is required for HTTPS proxy servers, intercepting proxy servers, and transparent proxy servers.

+
Here is an example configuring a transparent proxy server. When you configure a transparent proxy, you don't need to define the proxy server. You only add a CA-signed certificate to your Console agent host:

+

 ./NetApp_Console_Agent_Cloud_v4.0.0 --cacert /tmp/cacert/certificate.cer

  1. If you used Podman, you'll need to adjust the aardvark-dns port.

    1. SSH to the Console agent virtual machine.

    2. Open podman /usr/share/containers/containers.conf file and modify the chosen port for Aardvark DNS service. For example, change it to 54.

      vi /usr/share/containers/containers.conf
...
# Port to use for dns forwarding daemon with netavark in rootful bridge
# mode and dns enabled.
# Using an alternate port might be useful if other DNS services should
# run on the machine.
#
dns_bind_port = 54
...
Esc:wq

    3. Reboot the Console agent virtual machine.

  2. Wait for the installation to complete.

    At the end of the installation, the Console agent service (occm) restarts twice if you specified a proxy server.

Note If the installation fails, you can view the installation report and logs to help you fix the issues. Learn how to troubleshoot installation issues.

  1. Open a web browser from a host that has a connection to the Console agent virtual machine and enter the following URL:

    https://ipaddress

  2. After you log in, set up the Console agent:

    1. Specify the organization to associate with the Console agent.

    2. Enter a name for the system.

    3. Under Are you running in a secured environment? keep restricted mode disabled.

      You should keep restricted mode disabled because these steps describe how to use the Console in standard mode. You should enable restricted mode only if you have a secure environment and want to disconnect this account from backend services. If that's the case, follow steps to get started with the NetApp Console in restricted mode.

    4. Select Let's start.

If you have Azure Blob storage in the same Azure subscription where you created the Console agent, you'll see an Azure Blob storage system appear on the Systems page automatically. Learn how to manage Azure Blob storage from NetApp Console

Step 6: Provide permissions to NetApp Console

Now that you've installed the Console agent, you need to provide the Console agent with the Azure permissions that you previously set up. Providing the permissions enables the Console to manage your data and storage infrastructure in Azure.

Custom role

Go to the Azure portal and assign the Azure custom role to the Console agent virtual machine for one or more subscriptions.

Steps

  1. From the Azure Portal, open the Subscriptions service and select your subscription.

    It's important to assign the role from the Subscriptions service because this specifies the scope of the role assignment at the subscription level. The scope defines the set of resources that the access applies to. If you specify a scope at a different level (for example, at the virtual machine level), your ability to complete actions from within the NetApp Console will be affected.

    Microsoft Azure documentation: Understand scope for Azure RBAC

  2. Select Access control (IAM) > Add > Add role assignment.

  3. In the Role tab, select the Console Operator role and select Next.

    Note Console Operator is the default name provided in the policy. If you chose a different name for the role, then select that name instead.

  4. In the Members tab, complete the following steps:

    1. Assign access to a Managed identity.

    2. Select Select members, select the subscription in which the Console agent virtual machine was created, under Managed identity, choose Virtual machine, and then select the Console agent virtual machine.

    3. Select Select.

    4. Select Next.

    5. Select Review + assign.

    6. If you want to manage resources in additional Azure subscriptions, switch to that subscription and then repeat these steps.

What's next?

Go to the NetApp Console to start using the Console agent.

Service principal
Steps

  1. Select Administration > Credentials.

  2. Select Add Credentials and follow the steps in the wizard.

    1. Credentials Location: Select Microsoft Azure > Agent.

    2. Define Credentials: Enter information about the Microsoft Entra service principal that grants the required permissions:

      • Application (client) ID

      • Directory (tenant) ID

      • Client Secret

    3. Marketplace Subscription: Associate a Marketplace subscription with these credentials by subscribing now or by selecting an existing subscription.

    4. Review: Confirm the details about the new credentials and select Add.

Result

The Console agent now has the permissions that it needs to perform actions in Azure on your behalf.