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Networking and Security

Updated Sep 15, 2023 ·

Overview​

The following steps are the applicable on all three nodes.

To login to each node:

  • Controller node:

    ssh -i ~/.ssh/vbox jmeden@10.0.0.11

  • Compute node:

    ssh -i ~/.ssh/vbox jmeden@10.0.0.21

  • Storage node:

    ssh -i ~/.ssh/vbox jmeden@10.0.0.31

Grant Passwordless Sudo to User​

Edit the sudoers file:

sudo visudo

Add your username at the end:

jmeden ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL

This will your user to run any command with sudo without a password prompt. You can test this by running:

sudo su

Hosts File Configuration (Basic Name Resolution)​

Edit /etc/hosts on all nodes to include the other nodes:

sudo vi /etc/hosts

Example:

127.0.0.1 localhost
# 127.0.1.1 ---> If this present, remove or comment out
10.0.0.11 controller
10.0.0.21 compute1
10.0.0.31 block1

This allows simple hostname-based pinging between nodes.

Optional: In production, use proper DNS instead.

(OUTDATED) Disable Predicatable Network Interface Names​

info

This step is not necessary in newer Ubuntu versions. You can skip this step.

To revert to traditional interface names (e.g., eth0), edit the GRUB configuration file:

sudo vi /etc/default/grub

Then add this:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0"

This forces:

  • enp0s3 → eth0
  • enp0s8 → eth1
  • enp0s9 → eth2

This was commonly done in:

  • Ubuntu 14.04 / 16.04
  • Older OpenStack guides
  • Legacy documentation

(OUTDATED) Configure Network Interfaces​

info

This step is not necessary in newer Ubuntu versions. You can skip this step.

Note: enp0s* corresponds to traditional eth0, eth1, eth2. Do not rename unless necessary; OpenStack will work with enp0s*.

Below is a sample Netplan configuration for the controller node:

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    enp0s3:       # Host-only (management)
      addresses:
        - 10.0.0.11/24
      gateway4: 10.0.0.1
      nameservers:
        addresses:
          - 8.8.8.8
          - 1.1.1.1

    enp0s8:       # Provider network
      dhcp4: no
      optional: true
      addresses: []

    enp0s9:       # Internet access (NAT Network)
      dhcp4: yes
  • Controller: .11 on management, provider manual, internet via DHCP
  • Compute: .21 on management, provider manual, internet via DHCP
  • Block: .31 on management, provider manual, internet via DHCP

Apply the config:

sudo netplan apply

Verify interfaces:

ip a
ping -c3 10.0.0.21
ping -c3 8.8.8.8

Verify Network Configuration​

Perform the following on each node:

  1. Check the interface addresses:

    ip a

    You should see:

    InterfaceIPStatus
    enp0s310.0.0.11✅ UP
    enp0s810.10.10.11✅ UP
    enp0s910.0.2.17 (DHCP)✅ UP

  2. Check the default route:

    ip route

    Sample output:

    default via 10.0.2.1 dev enp0s9 proto dhcp src 10.0.2.17 metric 100 
    10.0.0.0/24 dev enp0s3 proto kernel scope link src 10.0.0.11
    10.0.2.0/24 dev enp0s9 proto kernel scope link src 10.0.2.17 metric 100
    10.0.2.1 dev enp0s9 proto dhcp scope link src 10.0.2.17 metric 100   
    10.10.10.0/24 dev enp0s8 proto kernel scope link src 10.10.10.11     
    192.168.1.1 via 10.0.2.1 dev enp0s9 proto dhcp src 10.0.2.17 metric 100

    Most important line:

    default via 10.0.2.1 dev enp0s9

    This means:

    • ✔ Internet traffic goes out NAT (correct)
    • ✔ Management network has NO gateway (correct)
    • ✔ Provider network isolated (correct)

    The extra line is just VirtualBox NAT internal routing. Ignore it.

    192.168.1.1 via 10.0.2.1

  3. Check DNS:

    resolvectl status

    The output is coming from VirtualBox NAT DHCP. Perfectly fine.

    Current DNS Server: 192.168.1.1
        DNS Servers: 192.168.1.1

    You can also run:

    cat /etc/resolv.conf

    Output:

    nameserver 127.0.0.53
    options edns0 trust-ad
    search .

    That’s systemd-resolved stub. Normal for Ubuntu. DNS is working correctly.

If you got the same configurations, then that means:

  • ✔ Correct 3-NIC separation
  • ✔ Correct routing
  • ✔ Correct DNS
  • ✔ Static management & provider
  • ✔ DHCP internet
  • ✔ No conflicting gateways

Verify Connectivity​

From any node, test:

# Ping other OpenStack nodes
ping -c3 10.0.0.11
ping -c3 10.0.0.21
ping -c3 10.0.0.31

# Ping the hostnames
ping -c 3 controller
ping -c 3 compute1
ping -c 3 block1

# Ping internet
ping -c3 8.8.8.8
ping openstack.org

Notes:

  • All nodes should reach each other and the internet.
  • SSH should work from host to all nodes

Install Basic Linux Utilities​

Update and upgrade first:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

If prompted to load the new kernel, press Ok.

Leave the default. Press tab to select Ok and press Enter.

Next, install useful utilities:

sudo apt install -y vim htop glances curl wget net-tools
  • vim: text editing
  • htop/glances: system monitoring
  • curl/wget: download files
  • net-tools: legacy networking commands (ifconfig, etc.)

Finally, reboot to apply kernel updates:

sudo reboot

Optional Firewall Configuration​

Ubuntu minimal installs typically have the firewall disabled.

Check status:

sudo ufw status

If needed, enable firewall and allow OpenStack-related ports.

For lab setups, you can leave it disabled to avoid blocking inter-node communication.

Next Steps​

Next, install the infrastructure services and Openstack repository packages.

See Infrastructure Services.