Installing the CTERA Main Portal Server with CloudFormation
AWS CloudFormation allows you to deploy a CTERA portal without the need to manually manage the different resources, such as EBS volumes or a security group’s settings.
To manually install a CTERA Portal server, see Manually Installing the CTERA Main Portal Server.
Requirements Summary
In order to install the main CTERA Portal with CloudFormation, you need the following:
Main server CloudFormation templateAWS KeypairLatest AMI. See Requirements for the AWS platform: for instruction about how to receive the latest AMI from CTERA.Note: A template for the database replication server is not currently available. To create a database replication server, see Manually Installing the CTERA Main Portal Server.
Availability
Installation using CloudFormation is supported in the following regions:
Oregon, United StatesNorth Virginia, United StatesDublin, IrelandTokyo, JapanFor installation in all other regions, either contact CTERA Support to see if it is possible to install CTERA Portal in your region using CloudFormation, or refer to Manually Installing the CTERA Main Portal Server.
Permissions
In order to deploy a portal using CloudFormation, the following permissions are required for the AWS account:
iam:CreateRoleiam:DeleteRoleiam:PutRolePolicyiam:DeleteRolePolicyiam:AddRoleToInstanceProfileiam:CreateInstanceProfileiam:DeleteInstanceProfileiam:GetRoleiam:PassRolecloudformation: alls3:PutObjects3:ListBuckets3:GetObjects3:CreateBucketec2: alllambda: allInstallation Workflow
Use the following workflow to install CTERA Portal on each server.
3 Optionally, associate your CTERA Portal instance with an Elastic IP Address. See Optionally Obtaining an Elastic IP Address for the CTERA Portal Instance.
7 For the first server you install, follow all of the steps in Configuring the CTERA Portal Master Server.
8 For any additional servers besides the master server, configure the server as an additional server as described in Installing Additional CTERA Portal Servers.
Creating the CTERA Portal
1 From your Amazon Web Services account, sign in to the AWS Management Console.
2 Select Management Tools > CloudFormation.
3 In the Stack screen click Create Stack.
The Create stack > Specify Template screen is displayed.
4 Under Specify template, select the Upload a template file option, click Choose file and specify the JSON template for the main server you received from CTERA Support.
Note: CTERA recommends that you do not change the template or use an unofficial template.
5 Click Next.
The Create stack > Specify stack details screen is displayed.
6 Specify the following:
Stack name – A unique name to identify this stack.
Instance Details – The Subnet, Instance Type and Key Pair for the instance.
EBS Volume Details – Specify the Volume Size and Provisioned IOPS. CTERA recommends at least 2000 IOPS for a production environment.
7 Click Next.
The Create stack > Configure stack options screen is displayed.
8 Optionally, specify Tags, key-value pairs, for resources in your stack.
9 Click Next.
The Create stack > Review screen is displayed.
The instance is ready for review.
10 To create the instance check the acknowledgment check box at the bottom of the page and click Create.
The stack assembly process creates a portal with the predefined assembly flow defined in the CloudFormation template. The AMI, which is the core source of the assembly flow, adjusts together with other resources such as EBS volumes to the specifications described in the previous steps.
After initialization, the newly created portal is installed and is displayed in the list of active instances.
Note: Stack creation can take up to 20 minutes.
11 Click the stack name and select the Outputs tab, and then use the URL in the Value column to access the portal.
12 A notification is displayed in your web browser, asking you to confirm the portal's security certification. Proceed to the site.