• Installation and Configuration
• First Steps
• Console Configuration
• Step 1
• Step 2
• Community Keywords
• Step 3
• Step 4
• Kerberosed SSH
• Step 5
• Step 6
• Step 7
• Step 8
• Step 9
• Step 10
• Step 11
• Post Configuration
• Web Configuration
• Cacti Configuration
• perfSONAR BUOY Configuration
• PingER Configuration
• Disk Verification
• Global Service Directory
• Cacti
• PingER
• Java Owamp Client
• NPAD
• NDT
• Service Test
• FAQ
• Last Updated

Installation and Configuration

The following guide describes in detail the steps required to set up the perfSONAR Network Performance Toolkit. It is important to follow each step in order. Upon getting stuck, consult the FAQ at the end of this document.

First Steps

1. Download the the latest from:
• http://www.perfsonar.net/download/bundles/pS-NPToolkit/current.iso
• http://www.perfsonar.net/download/bundles/pS-NPToolkit/current.md5
2. Verify the MD5 sum:
• md5sum -c pS-NPToolkit-2.0.iso
3. Burn the ISO to a CD-ROM
4. Configure the computer to boot from CD
• This may require changes to the computer's BIOS to ensure the CD is recognized before an existing harddisk
• The BIOS may be entered when the computer boots by using a key combination (F12 in some cases, Del in others - consult a manual if unsure or pay close attention to the boot process to enter setup).
5. Insert the CD-ROM into the tray and boot the system
• The computer will boot with some typical messages, after this it will enter the boot and customization process.
• 
• The boot process will proceed after this screen where typical linux startup messages will be seen.
• 

Console Configuration

After the boot process, there will be a menu of options.

Each step will be explained here with pictures where applicable.

Step 1

To properly store configuration information and stored measurement data, a drive must be configured to act as storage. Normally we would expect the onboard disk to fill this role, but optionally a external drive such as a USB flash device may be used. There are minimal requirements for the storage:

• Should be large enough to hold configuration files and measurement data
• Minimum of a gigabyte for short term use
• Much larger recommended (80G) for long term deployment
• Should be in the ext3 format
• If the disk is already formatted, the software will use existing space and WILL NOT delete or corrupt existing data.
• If not, there will be an option to format the disk before use.
• See also FAQ for issues regarding disk formatting.

The following images demonstrate the steps of this particular configuration option.

• First select a drive to use. In this example there is only one disk available.
• 
• In this screen the option to format was selected. Note that reboot will be required.
• 
• Similar to the previous step, the option to format was not selected (the disk in this case was already readable). After the saving step the menu will re-appear.
• 

Step 2

There are some basic items that are useful to all services from both a customization point of view (e.g. personalized web pages and menus) as well as a global discovery point of view (e.g. finding specific data for a specific institutions resources).

Community Keywords

A particular question, Enter the communities of interest, can be confusing to answer for new users. This particular question is trying to associate some loosely coupled labels to the data that the perfSONAR NPToolkit disk will be making available to the larger world. Think of this step similar to assigning labels to photos or music. Some examples of valid answers are:

• Internet2 - The data made available somehow connects the Internet2 backbone
• LHC (CMS, ATLAS, etc.) - The disk is part of the LHC deployment structure
• eVLBI - The disk is a part of the larger telescope community
• MAX - A connector of member of the MAX gigapop

Use as many community names as necessary to properly categorize the data from the installation. The menu will appear after this step is completed.

Step 3

There are built in accounts for this installation:

• knoppix - user level permissions
• root - administrator permissions

These accounts must have the password set before leaving the configuration as they can be a security risk if let untouched.

After this step, the menu will appear again.

Step 4

All services are enabled by default with the exception of SSH. This screen allows the administrator to turn off or on services before starting, thus allowing the disk use to be customized for specific circumstances. The first screen lists the current services (disk defaults).

This is the appearance after enabling SSH.

Kerberosed SSH

Note that there are packages available on the disk that are capable of running ssh through Kerberos (a requirement of many LHC site installations). If the installation site has such requirements, ssh may be enabled after some configuration.

The requirement for kerberized SSH means that your Institution runs own PKI infrastructure. If your are not the sysadmin of the monitoring box then please consult with responsible person about PKi credentials for this host.

If you are the sysadmin:

• If you deployed this disk on already configured linux box with existing host credentials then mount host system root disk ( usually /UNIONFS/dev/sda1 or /UNIONFS/dev/hda1 ) as /UNIONFS/media/sda1 and copy /UNIONFS/media/sda1/etc/krb5.conf and /UNIONFS/media/sda1/etc/krb5.keytab files to /etc/ directory. Then edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config file according to your Institution's security policy.

For example in case of Fermilab it is required to prohibit all kinds of authentication except for Kerberos ticket exchange and GSSAPI.

• If you deployed this disk on fresh box without any OS or without any host credentials then you should comply with your home Institution's security policy and apply for host registration and host's Kerberos credentials. Usually that means downloading krb5.conf file from some inranet location in the /etc/ deirectory and creating /etc/krb5.keytab.

Step 5

Section 5 allows a finer grain of control over user accounts. The first screen lists the available options.

The first option is to add a new user, pictured below:

The second option removes users. Note that when a user does not exist the option will respond appropriately.

This shows a proper removal of a user.

The last option is to change the password for a user. Note that in the event a user doesn't exist a proper error message will be displayed.

The final image shows a proper password change.

After done, the menu will re-appear.

Step 6

In this step the BWCTL tool will be configured. It is recommended that very liberal and permissive rules are entered to allow maximum functionality.

After finishing, the menu will appear again.

Step 7

To properly run several measurement tools, NTP is required. This step allows the user to pick NTP services from a list.

It is recommended that 3 to 4 close servers are selected for timekeeping. Do not choose more than this because it may confuse NTP.

After selection is completed, the menu will re-appear.

Step 8

In this step the OWAMP tool will be configured. It is recommended that very liberal and permissive rules are entered to allow maximum functionality.

After finishing, the menu will appear again.

Step 9

This is an optional step that can be called to configure a static IP address (instead of DHCP). Note that this step will take some time to complete due to use of various network configuration tools.

The menu will come back after completion.

Step 10

This step is also optional, and allows the user to change the timezone. The first image shows that the default is EST/EDT:

The screen below shows the first stage after choosing the change the zone, selecting a region.

After selecting a region, localities will be printed to the screen.

Finally we choose a new (or in this case the same) timezone.

The menu will appear after this.

Step 11

The final step allows the user to select the advertised interface. This simply means the interface that will be registered to the global directories.

After this step the menu will appear again.

Post Configuration

After exiting the menu, the machine may require a reboot.

If this is the case, please do so. When the machine comes back up then simply exit the configuration (all menu items should be green or magenta). After performing all of these steps and exiting the menu the bootup process will start:

The user will be faced with a prompt where loggin through the user accounts is possible:

There are some additional steps that can now be taken to configure some other services, specifically the perfSONAR services.

Web Configuration

Once the machine has booted it is now accessible via the static IP or a DHCP address. To see the address use the /sbin/ifconfig command from the console:

Once the contact information is known, use a web browser to view the status of the disk, e.g. visit http://HOST_OR_ADDRESS* or https://HOST_OR_ADDRESS* (https is the default, and all communication will be redirected to there):

There are several GUIs that can be used configure services (note: to do this logging in as the knoppix or other users added in Step 5 above is required. Root cannot log in):

• https://HOST_OR_ADDRESS/admin/pinger
• Used to configure hosts for the PingER tool
• 
• https://HOST_OR_ADDRESS/admin/perfsonarbuoy
• Used to configure hosts for the perfSONAR-BUOY Bandwidth and Latency Tester
• 
• https://HOST_OR_ADDRESS/admin/cacti
• Used to configure SNMP Hosts for the perfSONAR SNMP MA
• 

Cacti Configuration

Please visit NPToolkitCacti for complete instructions regarding setting up Cacti for the polling of SNMP enabled network elements.

perfSONAR BUOY Configuration

Please visit NPToolkitPerfSONARBUOY for complete instructions on using the perfSONAR-BUOY configuration GUI to manage the scheduled polling of bandwidth and latency hosts.

PingER Configuration

Please visit NPToolkitPingER for complete instructions on using the PingER administrative GUI to manage the scheduled latency tests to remote sites.

Disk Verification

Once the machine has booted it is now accessible via the static IP or a DHCP address. To see the address use the /sbin/ifconfig command from the console:

Once he contact information is known, use a web browser to view the status of the disk, e.g. visit http://HOST_OR_ADDRESS* or https://HOST_OR_ADDRESS* (https is the default, and all communication will be redirected there anyway):

There are also several GUIs linked directly from this page that can be used to view the status of services:

Global Service Directory

Through the power of the Global Lookup Service (gLS) there are several GUIs available on the disk that can be used to display and locate services from around the world (including the newly set up instance after some requisite registration time). The main interface is directory.cgi:

• View services by category
• Includes links to GUIs when applicable
• 

Note that many GUIs take advantage of caching techniques to limit the scope and frequency of the information queries: e.g. do not use this as a real-time information source.

Cacti

This is a non-administrative view of cacti data. This link can be shared with individuals and does not require a username or password.

PingER

This GUI can be used to view the data of the on-board PingER instance or that of any other remote service. Note that this GUI has a lot more power for selecting the time range and data sources than some of the Service Test tools.

Java Owamp Client

The Java version of an OWAMP Client (jowping) has a simple interface that can be used to perform owamp tests to the onboard or any other OWAMP server.

NPAD

In addition to being a performance tool, NPAD features a web interface that can be used to locate the results of past tests.

NDT

In addition to being a performance tool, NDT features a web interface that contains other relevant information.

Service Test

The serviceTest.cgi script is able to test simple perfSONAR tasks to a variety of services; namely the three services included on this disk:

• perfSONAR-BUOY
• 
• PingER
• 
• SNMP MA
• 

Also note that if something is not configured properly, the following error condition can be seen:

FAQ

• Q: How do I logon to the console?
• A: The NPToolkit console is accessed by logging in as the user knoppix. In Step 3 it was required that the password for this user and root were changed; use the values entered here to log in. If other users were entered in Step 5 they may also log in.

• Q: How do I get an X-windows environment?
• A: The NPToolkit was designed for hands-off operations, so it boots into the console mode by default. For users interested in working in an XWindows environment, KDE is available. To bring the system up in X11 mode log in as knoppix, or any other valid user, and run the startx command.

• Q: Where can I ask questions or report bugs?
• A:
• For questions, email to performance-node-users at internet2 dot edu. You may also join the mailing list by visiting https://mail.internet2.edu/wws/subrequest/performance-node-users
• For bugs, report at http://code.google.com/p/perfsonar-ps/issues/list . Label the bug as Component-NPToolkit, or state in the bug description the issue involves the NPToolkit.

• Q: How do I configure the SNMP MA?
• A: The SNMP MA is pre-configured to use the Cacti SNMP collection system. A step by step guide to configuring cacti is available in NPToolkitCacti.

• Q: How do I configure the hosts PingER pings?
• A: There's an included GUI for configuring the sites PingER should collect ping between. A step by step guide to configuring PingER is available in NPToolkitPingER.

• Q: How do I configure the hosts perfSONAR-BUOY pings?
• A: There's an included GUI for configuring the sites perfSONAR-BUOY should perform OWAMP/BWCTL tests between. A step by step guide to configuration is available in NPToolkitPerfSONARBUOY.

• Q: How do I test that my services are working?
• A: There is a self status page available on every installation: https://HOST. See also Service Test for information on the self testing.

• Q: What should I enter for the Communities of interest configuration question?
• A:
• This question can be confusing to answer for new users. The goal is to associate some loosely coupled labels to the data that the perfSONAR NPToolkit disk will be making available to the larger world. Think of this step similar to assigning labels to photos or music. Some examples of valid answers are:
• Internet2 - The data made available somehow connects the Internet2 backbone
• LHC (CMS, ATLAS, etc.) - The disk is part of the LHC deployment structure
• eVLBI - The disk is a part of the larger telescope community
• MAX - A connector of member of the MAX gigapop
• Use as many community names as necessary to properly categorize the data from the installation.

• Q: How do I enable jumbo frames so that it survives a reboot?
• A: Add a line like "ifconfig eth0 mtu 9000" to the bottom of the file "/etc/rc.local".

• Q: What can I do if see errors like the following after booting up the CD:

ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hda: no DRQ after issuing MULTWRITE_EXT
ide0: reset: success

• A: A solution found by one user was to make a change in his BIOS. By default, their SuperMicro motherboard was configured to see SATA drives as IDE so they had to change it to see the drive as SATA. For the SuperMicro motherboard, they changed the BIOS option 'Serial ATA -> Native Mode Operation' from the default value of 'Auto' to 'Serial ATA'. If this does not solve your issue send an email the users list and we can try and figure out what's happening.

Last Updated

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