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Virtual Machine (VM) Installation

Configuring a Link as a Virtual Switch

Steps
  1. Go to Network/Interfaces.
  2. In the Ethernet Link Configuration table, from the Virtual Switch selection list, select Enable located on the same row as the link you wish to enable for the virtual switch.
  3. Click Apply.
Result


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Adding a Virtual Machine

Before you begin
The VirtualSwitch parameter must be configured to enable the link you wish to use to contact the virtual machine. Refer to Configuring a Link as a Virtual Switch .

You must have a virtual machine licence and the VM service must be started.

Caution: It is a best practice to create the Virtual Machine in a test environment. If not enough memory is allocated and swap is disabled, the Virtual Machine will stop, and the installation will need to be restarted from the beginning.
Steps
  1. Go to System/VM.
  2. In the Virtual Machine Creation table, complete the Vm Name field.
    Note: Vm names must be unique.
  3. In the Ram(Mb) field, enter the amount of RAM required to run the virtual machine.
    Caution: To reduce the wear-and-tear of the Solid State Drive, make sure to allocate the maximum amount of RAM possible to the virtual machine.
    Note: For instance, 87.5% of the actual available RAM, or 1.5 Gb for units with 2 Gb of RAM, 3.5 Gb with 4 Gb of RAM and for 7 Gb with 8 Gb of RAM.
  4. Complete the Storage(Gb) field.
    Note: 10 Gb is the maximum value one can allocate in a typical Sentinel equipped with a 16 Gb Solid State Drive.
  5. From the Image Format selection list, choose the format of the image.
    Note:
    • Use QCOW2 for space efficiency and flexibility.
    • Use RAW for improved performance
  6. From the Nb Cores selection list, select the number of cores the virtual machine will be using.
    IMPORTANT: It is not possible to modify the settings (RAM, name, etc.) once the virtual machine has been created. The only way to change the settings, is to delete the virtual machine and to create it once again.
  7. Click .
    Note: A maximum of 2 virtual machines can be added.
Result
The virtual machine will be displayed in both the Virtual Machine Configuration and the Virtual Machine Status tables.

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Configuring the VM Network Adapter (VirtIO)

Before you begin
Configuring the Network Adapter is optional. By default, it is set to E 1000 (Intel 82545EM emulated network interface card). However, for enhanced network performance, the network adapter can be set to VirtIO, provided it is supported by the guest OS as paravirtualised drivers are required.
Steps
  1. Go to System/VM.
  2. From the Network Adapter drop down list, select VirtIO.
    Note: Please refer to the OS documentation for specific information regarding VirtIO.
  3. Click Apply.
Result

The virtual machine Network Adapter will be set to VirtIO.



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Installing the Virtual Machine OS using a USB External Device

Before you begin
Make sure your USB external device contains the Operating System installation media, is bootable, and is connected. When downloading an OS that provides architecture choices you need to choose either AMD64 (64 bit OS) or i386/i686 (32 bit OS). Basically you need to choose the architecture for an INTEL processor.
Steps
  1. Go to System/VM.
  2. In the Virtual Machine Configuration table, in the Vnc Id field, indicate the unique id of the virtual machine.
  3. From the Usb field, select All.
  4. Click .
  5. Open the VNC Client located on a computer of the network connected to the unit.
    Note: UltraVNC Viewer, TightVNC Viewer and VNC Viewer are presently supported.
  6. Enter the IPAddressOftheUnit:VNCid
    Note: For example 192.168.0.12:1
  7. From the VNC client, wait for the following message to display "Press F12 for boot menu". If too late, restart the VM by clicking the button.
  8. Press F12, then select the USB device.
  9. Follow the on-screen instructions.
    Caution:
    To reduce the wear-and-tear of the Solid State Drive:
    • On Linux OS, disable memory swapping or at least set swappiness to 0.
    • On Windows OS, disable the virtual memory.
    Note: If the Solid State Drive fails because it is inadequately used by a third party software or the operating system, the warranty of the Mediatrix unit will no longer be valid.
    Note: The installation can take more than an hour depending on the image you are installing.
Result

The virtual machine will be started only if it is started manually



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Disabling Swap on Linux

Context
Disabling swapping in the Operating System will optimise the virtual machine in such a way to reduce the wear-and-tear of the Solid State Drive.
Note: If the Solid State Drive fails because it is inadequately used by a third-party software or the operating system, the warranty of the Mediatrix unit will no longer be valid.
Steps
  1. Open the VNC Client located on a computer of the network connected to the unit.
    Note: UltraVNC Viewer, TightVNC Viewer and VNC Viewer are presently supported.
  2. Open .../etc/sysctl.conf file
  3. Add vm.swappiness = 0 to the file.
  4. Open ... /etc/fstab.
  5. Add noatime to the following lines
    1. § UUID=32b414c0-This-is-an-example / ext4 defaults, noatime 1 1
    2. § UUID=b4598e44-This-is-an-example /boot ext4 defaults, noatime 1 2
  6. Comment out
    1. § # UUID=72355f7a-497d-This-is-an-example swap swap defaults 0 0
  7. Use the Shutdown command and then restart the Virtual Machine.
    IMPORTANT: Do no use the Linux reboot command as the filesystem may not get mounted properly.
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Setting the Virtual Machine to Automatic Start

Context

If the virtual machine you wish to start requires resources equivalent to the available resources on the unit, then it will not be possible to start another virtual machine. It is only possible to start a virtual if there are enough resources on the unit.

Steps
  1. Go to System/VM.
  2. In the Virtual Machine Configuration table, from the Startup dropdown list, select Auto.
  3. Click Apply.
Result
When the Vm Service is started, the virtual machine will also be started.

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Setting the Virtual Machine to Manual Start

Context
Manually starting the virtual machine can be useful when installing the virtual machine to check if the installation was done properly. However, on a day to day usage, the virtual machine should be set to start automatically. Refer to Setting the Virtual Machine to Automatic Start.
Note: If the virtual machine you wish to start requires resources equivalent to the available resources on the unit, then it will not be possible to start another virtual machine. It is only possible to start a virtual machine if there are enough resources available on the unit.
Steps
  1. Go to System/VM.
  2. In the Virtual Machine Configuration table, from the Startup dropdown list, select Manual.
  3. Click Apply.
Result
The virtual machine will be started only if it is started manually. In the Virtual Machine Status, Started will be displayed under the State column.

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Online Help

If you are not familiar with the meaning of the fields and buttons, click Show Help, located at the upper right corner of the Web page. When activated, the fields and buttons that offer online help will change to green and if you hover over them, the description will bedisplayed.

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DGW Documentation

Mediatrix devices are supplied with an exhaustive set of documentation.

Mediatrix user documentation is available on the Media5 Documentation Portal.

Several types of documents were created to clearly present the information you are looking for. Our documentation includes:
  • Release notes: Generated at each GA release, this document includes the known and solved issues of the software. It also outlines the changes and the new features the release includes.
  • Configuration notes: These documents are created to facilitate the configuration of a specific use case. They address a configuration aspect we consider that most users will need to perform. However, in some cases, a configuration note is created after receiving a question from a customer. They provide standard step-by-step procedures detailing the values of the parameters to use. They provide a means of validation and present some conceptual information. The configuration notes are specifically created to guide the user through an aspect of the configuration.
  • Technical bulletins: These documents are created to facilitate the configuration of a specific technical action, such as performing a firmware upgrade.
  • Hardware installation guide: They provide the detailed procedure on how to safely and adequately install the unit. It provides information on card installation, cable connections, and how to access for the first time the Management interface.
  • User guide: The user guide explains how to customise to your needs the configuration of the unit. Although this document is task oriented, it provides conceptual information to help the user understand the purpose and impact of each task. The User Guide will provide information such as where and how TR-069 can be configured in the Management Interface, how to set firewalls, or how to use the CLI to configure parameters that are not available in the Management Interface.
  • Reference guide: This exhaustive document has been created for advanced users. It includes a description of all the parameters used by all the services of the Mediatrix units. You will find, for example, scripts to configure a specific parameter, notification messages sent by a service, or an action description used to create Rulesets. This document includes reference information such as a dictionary, and it does not include any step-by-step procedures.
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Copyright Notice

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This document contains information that is proprietary to Media5 Corporation.

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