Prerequisites

Before you deploy on-prem hosts in Azure, ensure that you have completed the following:

• Setting up a Microsoft Azure account and creating a resource manager in Azure. For information, refer to the Microsoft Azure documentation.
• Downloading the .vhd package from the BloxOne Cloud Services Portal. For information, see Downloading VHD Packages.
• Optionally, installing the Microsoft Azure CLI if you want to use the CLI to deploy the on-prem host. For information, see How to install the Azure CLI.

Known Limitations

• The DHCP service is not officially supported yet.
• You cannot update network configuration through the Cloud Services Portal.

Supported Azure VM Flavors 

Deploying On-Prem Hosts in Microsoft Azure

Before deploying the on-prem host, you must first download the .vhd package from the BloxOne Cloud Services Portal, and then upload it to the Azure storage account. If you prefer to deploy the on-prem host using the Azure CLI, ensure that you install the Azure CLI on Linux.

To deploy an on-prem host in Microsoft Azure, complete the following:

1. Set up a Microsoft Azure account and create a resource manager in Azure. For information, refer to the Microsoft Azure documentation.
2. Download the .vhd package from the Infoblox Cloud Services Portal. For information, see Downloading VHD Packages.
3. Upload the .vhd package to your Azure storage account. For information see Uploading VHD to Azure Storage Account.
4. Deploy the on-prem host in Azure. For information, see Deploying On-Prem Hosts in Azure.

Downloading VHD Packages

To download the .vhd package, complete the following:

1. Log in to the Cloud Services Portal.

2. Go to Administration -> Downloads.

3. On the Downloads page, click Download Package for OVA in the On-Prem Hosts section.

4. Choose Download Package for Azure (60 GB Disk) from the drop-down menu.

5. Click Download Package for VM, and then save the .vhd file on your system.
   
   
   
   

Uploading VHD to Azure Storage Account

After you have downloaded the Azure .vhd package from the Cloud Services Portal, you can upload the package to your Azure storage account using the Docker commands (if you have a Docker environment) or Azure commands.

Using Docker Commands

In your Docker environment, enter the following commands:

docker run --rm -v <abs-path-to-the-dir-of-vhd>:/vhd -v $HOME/.azure:$HOME/.azure infoblox/azurevhdutils upload --localvhdpath /vhd/<your-local-fixed-size-vhd-name>.vhd --stgaccountname <mystorageaccount> --stgaccountkey <get-it-from-storage-acc-access-keys> --containername <mycontainer> --blobname bloxone.vhd

Using Azure Commands

To use the Azure commands, you need to first build the Azure-vhd-utils binary from Git. The Azure-vhd-utils binary can be built from the public Git repo at https://github.com/microsoft/azure-vhd-utils.

To build the Azure-vhd-utils binary, complete the following: 

1. Run the mkdir ~/tmp command to make a temporary directory.
2. Run the cp -r ~/upload/src/github.com/Microsoft/azure-vhd-utils ~/tmp command to copy azure-vhd-utils to the temporary directory.
3. Run the cd ~/tmp/azure-vhd-utils command.
4. Run the make command to install azure-vhd-utils.
   If the command displays the if exec: "gcc": executable file not found in $PATH error message, run the export CGO_ENABLED="0" command and then run the make command again.
5. Run the sudo cp azure-vhd-utils /usr/bin/ command.

After you have built the Azure-vhd-utils binary, run the following command to upload the .vhd file to Azure using the following format:

azure-vhd-utils upload --localvhdpath <local_path> --stgaccountname <storage_account> --stgaccountkey <account_key>
--containername <container_name> --blobname <image_name>

Deploying On-Prem Hosts in Azure

After you have successfully uploaded the .vhd file to the Azure storage account, you can deploy the on-prem host in Azure using one of the following methods:

• Microsoft Azure CLI. For information, see Using the Azure CLI to Deploy the On-Prem Host.
• Microsoft Azure Portal: For information, see Using the Azure Portal to Deploy the On-Prem Host.

Using the Azure CLI to Deploy the On-Prem Host

To deploy the on-prem host using the Azure CLI, complete the following:

1. If you haven't already done so, install the Azure CLI. For information, see see How to install the Azure CLI.
2. Run the az login command in the Azure CLI to generate an authentication token. 
3. The CLI opens your default browser and loads the sign-in page. If the CLI does not open the browser for you, open a browser window and log in to https://microsoft.com/devicelogin using the authentication token you obtained from Azure. For more information, see Sign in with Azure CLI.
4. Sign in using your account credentials.
5. Run the following command at the CLI prompt:
   az vm create --resource-group <> --name <> --os-type Linux --storage-account <> --storage-container <> --image "https://<storage_account_name>.blob.core.windows.net/<storage>/<container_blob_name>/<image_name>" --os-disk-name <>  --size Standard_F4s_v2 --admin-username azureuser --admin-password Infoblox@123 --use-unmanaged-disk --location westus --custom-data <> --public-ip-address ""
   

The following is a sample CLI command with values:

az vm create --resource-group onprem-qa-west --name bloxone-test-vm --os-type Linux --storage-account onpremqa --storage-container testing  --image "https://onpremqa.blob.core.windows.net/testing/bloxone_2.6_b.vhd" --os-disk-name bloxone-test-vm --size Standard_F4s_v2 --admin-username azureuser --admin-password Infoblox@123 --use-unmanaged-disk --location westus --custom-data userdata_1.yaml --public-ip-address ""

Using the Azure Portal to Deploy the On-Prem Host

To deploy the on-prem host using the Azure Portal, complete the following:

1. Log in to your Azure Portal.
2. Go to Images, and click Create to create an image from the .vhd package in the storage account.
3. Enter all the relevant fields. In the Storage blob field, ensure that you navigate to and locate the .vhd file you uploaded to the storage account.
4. Click Review + Create to review the image before you create it.
   
   
   
   
5. Create a virtual machine using the image you created. In the Size field, ensure that you select the supported flavor, which is Standard_F4S.
   
   
6. In the Custom data field, ensure that you add the parameters that are specific to your on-prem host. You can download a YML file and customize your user data file. You can then copy the information and past it here. For information about the YML file and supported parameters, see YML and JSON Templates.
   
   
   
   Optionally, you can use custom data with http proxy as shown below:
   
   
7. Click Review + Create to launch the on-prem host.

8. To check the current status of the on-prem host, you can go to Manage -> On-Prem Hosts in the Cloud Services Portal. For more information about the host status, see Viewing On-Prem Host Status.
   

   Note

   You cannot use the IP Interface Settings In the Cloud Services Portal to modify IP configurations for the on-prem host in Azure. Instead, use the options provided in the Azure Cloud Portal to change IP configurations for the on-prem host.