New installation not showing Initial Configuration” wizard

[marvine]

Hi,

I'm new and gonna try starwind vsan HCI but when i configured everything and want to login to the CVM i don't get the Initial Configuration” wizard.
This is known ?

https://www.starwindsoftware.com/resour ... roxmox-ve/ this is de guide im following

Sincerly,
Marvin

[yaroslav (staff)]

Can you please provide the screenshot of what you see when browsing to the Management IP?

[ddubick]

Did you ever figure this out? I'm having the same problem where after login to the brand new CVM that I am not prompted with the Initial Configuration Wizard as shown in the quick setup documents that I was sent along with the installation package.

[yaroslav (staff)]

Please share a screenshot of what you see when you reach the CVM IP. Please also include the screenshot of the blue TUI.
You need to set up the management IP first in TUI (i.e., the blue console of the VM). Then you need to type it in the browser. There is no login, in other words.
The only login that is made before the wizard is TUI (i.e., the blue console of the VM).

[ddubick]

The VM console window just has a login prompt and logging in with user/rds123RDS just drops me at a command prompt.

https://imgur.com/a/ZfCWwGq

When I go to https://192.168.2.127:9090 I get a login screen not the Initial Configuration wizard and if I log in a get to a UI but nothing matches what's in the setup document.

https://imgur.com/nKcJwTF
https://imgur.com/5FVIuY8

[ddubick]

I figured it out.... when I signed up for Virtual HCI Appliance Free the link I went sent for the download apparently sent me the VSAN files....

I went back and signed up for the Virtual HCI Appliance 30 day trial and I was sent the right qcow2 file which then works fine with the Virtual HCI Appliance Free license I was sent with the original signup.

Now everything is matching the setup document I was sent with the first signup as well.

[yaroslav (staff)]

Glad it worked!

[ddubick]

Well I got it working but I'm still confused that there are many places where it's saying that functionality is limited by the free license.

The only reason I was installing this software was the comparison chart showing the only difference between the free and paid software was the support plan (free being community support only).

Even one of the features which I was excited to try - NVMe-oF - which the comparison chart shows as AVAILABLE in the free version seems to be blocked.

I'm wondering if I was sent the wrong license file as well since it does say 'vSAN Free'.

[yaroslav (staff)]

So, I am confused now... is it trial or Free?
Not only support is missing for Free edition but also ui (LUN view in particular).
NVMe-oF is available only as a part of tech preview. It needs a special key and the build which is sent to you after filling this form https://www.starwindsoftware.com/techni ... ew-program.
You can get support with the tech preview key, but you will be sticking with 20084 build.
AFAIK, they plan to lock NVMe-oF for free users...

[ddubick]

Maybe things have gotten confused here. I'll outline everything.

What I want and requested
- Starwind Virtual HCI Appliance Free.
What I was send in email
- Software Download seemed to be VSAN, NOT Virtual HCI Appliance
- Quick Start Guide was for Virtual HCI Appliance Free
- Key labelled as Virtual HCI Appliance Free but seems to be for VSAN Free?
What I then tried
- Requested Virtual HCI Appliance 30 day trial
What I got in email
- Software download was Virtual HCI Appliance
What I installed
- Installed Virtual HCI Appliance from second email.
- Applied 'free' license I got in first email
Where I'm at
Software seems to be working but certain features are not enabled with the 'free' license I have applied.

If NVMe-oF requires a special tech preview license and does not plan to be a part of the free tier then why does this page state that NVMe-oF is a part of the free version? https://www.starwindsoftware.com/vhca-free-vs-paid

[yaroslav (staff)]

Good point, that's what I pointed out earlier and they said that wording will be changed "later, when it is released".
Sorry for any confusion and thanks for pointing it out here!

[SlothCroissant]

Can confirm, this process is *not* clear or easy to understand. I requested a free vHCI license (I've trialed SAN&NAS previously, wanted to check out the latest and greatest to see if things have gotten easier), and I think I keep getting sent vSAN instead?

I have the same experience as above. The provided .zip is "StarWind_vHCI_KVM_scripts.zip", however when I boot to the provided .qcow2 in KVM, I get only the Cockpit UI with "Virtual SAN" as the title - no configuration wizard. I cannot modify any networking, etc. None of the guides show the Cockpit UI like this, it's all the StarWind config UI.

I tried to download both the "free" and "30-day trial" versions of vHCI, with the same result.

Also, the .zip has a whole pile of files that make zero sense to me - why do I see a random Ansible YAML file or two, some HTML (but no actual .html file), and no README to even remotely explain what any of this is for? So frustrating trying to navigate StarWind's offerings, which is a shame as the experience for many seems to have been brilliant, I'm always thinking "I should try this out", then I end up in a rabbit hole of confusion each time.

Code: Select all

~/Downloads/StarWind_vHCI_KVM_scripts
❯ tree
.
├── 01-starwind.brand
│   ├── branding.properties
│   ├── bundled
│   │   └── dashboard.js
│   ├── common.css
│   ├── dashboard.css
│   ├── images
│   │   ├── bg-plain.jpg
│   │   ├── hyperconvergence.svg
│   │   ├── logo.png
│   │   └── spinner.png
│   ├── messages.properties
│   ├── webadmin.css
│   ├── welcome_page.template
│   └── welcome.css
├── apply_starwind_brand.yml
├── check_logging_collectors.yml
├── cockpit.tar
├── CVM-0.qcow2
├── CVM-0.txt
├── fix_ansible.yml
├── fix_check_logging.yml
└── node_predeploy.sh

Can someone point out what I'm doing wrong here? What port is the management UI supposed to be on?

[yaroslav (staff)]

I am sorry to read that deployment's been tricky for you.
VSAN = vHCI in a nutshell. vHCI comes with additional scripts and stuff bundled to facilitate VSAN deployment, but the service is the same. You can ask your account manager about the differences are.
What you can do is ask for some clarification and assistance. You are always welcome to reach out to the person who shared the key with you. It is a real person who is glad to help.
If you've armed trial key, reach out to your account manager for more convenient trialing. Forum is not the fastest place to get help from given the time constraint of 30 days. For NVMe-oF public beta, you can reach out to the same person; they will put you in contact with the tech team anyway.

[ddubick]

When I reached out to the person that emailed me the software/key I was told that the free software has no support and to ask in the community forums (even though I clearly explained what I thought was an issue with the files/keys I was sent)... Which is why I posted here.

[yaroslav (staff)]

Noted, thanks.
That's why I'd suggest sticking with the TRIAL key for the sake of testing.