Welcome to MetalSoft’s documentation!

MetalSoft is an intelligent bare metal automation software platform for managing data centers and equipment, from a single rack of servers or tens of thousands across the globe.

CloudPlex

• Getting started
  • Architecture
    • Network topology
      • Data plane logical network topology
      • Gateway management
        • MetalSoft-managed gateways
        • Externally managed gateways
    • User interfaces
      • Administrative interface
      • End-User interface
  • Deploying MetalSoft
    • Physical topology
      • Production rack cabling guide - No storage
      • Production rack cabling guide - data & storage fabrics on the same physical leaf switches
      • Production rack cabling guide - separate data & storage fabrics
      • Control plane (Management network) architecture
        • Bare metal Site Controller cabling
        • Virtual Site Controller, L2 connectivity
        • Virtual Site Controller, L3 connectivity
        • Site Controller cabling - PXE (legacy, deprecated)
    • Deploying the MetalSoft Global Controller
      • Kubernetes cluster compute requirements
      • Other requirements
      • Installing the MetalSoft controller kubernetes application
      • Required controller firewall configuration
        • Ports open for inbound from agents
        • Ports open for inbound from clients
        • Outbound traffic
          • For installing kubernetes
      • Inter-clustrer traffic
    • Deploying the MetalSoft Site Controller
      • Resource requirements
      • Other requirements
      • Bare metal Site Controller cabling
      • Virtual Site Controller, L2 connectivity
      • Virtual Site Controller, L3 connectivity
      • Site Controller cabling - PXE (legacy, deprecated)
      • Install the Datacenter Site Controllers on the DC Site Controllers machine
        • Option #1
        • Option #2
      • Site Controller firewall configuration
        • Ports open to inbound connections for virtual-media-based deployments
        • Ports open to inbound connections for zero-touch
        • Ports open for inbound for legacy deployments (PXE-based)
        • Outbound traffic
        • In-Band Access - Outbound from the Site Controllers perspective
    • Using the CLI
      • Installation
      • Getting the API key
      • Getting a list of supported commands
      • Getting started
      • The kubernetes-style ‘apply’ functionality
      • Condensed format
      • Using label instead of IDs
      • Permissions
      • Admin commands
      • Debugging information
      • Building the CLI
        • Updating the SDK
    • Registering switches via Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP)
      • How the ZTP process works
        • ONIE-based process
        • To manually set a compatible switch in ONIE mode
      • Cisco ACI ZTP process
      • Variable glossary
    • Registering servers via Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP)
    • Deploying MetalSoft to support legacy (PXE) deployments
      • Cabling
      • IP Allocation
      • Router configuration
      • Switch configurations
        • Out-of-band (OOB) Switch configuration
        • Top-of-Rack (ToR) switch configuration
      • Register (enroll) a switch
      • Pre-flight checklist
      • Configuring configuration for SSL enabled repository access
    • Deploying MetalSoft using OVAs
      • Download the images
      • Installing & configuring the Controller VM
        • 1. Deploy the Controller Appliance VM in ESXI
        • 2. Configure the IP of the controller image
        • 3. Setup a hosts file entry or a DNS record
        • 4. Access the controller
      • Installing & configuring the Agent VM
        • Configure the IP of the Agent
      • Connecting the Agent to the controller
      • Next steps
      • Restricted internet access
      • Restarting the agents
    • Deploying MetalSoft without switches
      • Environment configuration
      • Create the datacenter:
      • Create WAN subnets
      • Create a “dummy” switch
      • Install pre-requisites on the datacenter agent machine
      • Login to the docker repository. Username and password are provided by the Metalsoft team
      • Get the datacenter agent URL
      • Configure the datacenter agents
      • Branding support
    • Enabling end-users to create custom RAID configurations
    • Enabling traffic accounting
      • Redundancy, scalability and accuracy
  • Troubleshooting
    • Troubleshooting deploys using the Operation’s Graph (AFC tree)
    • Troubleshooting server registrations using the Operation’s Graph (AFC tree)
    • Event log archiving via Kafka
    • Managing custom ISO’s
      • To list custom ISO’s:
      • To create a custom iso:
      • To modify a custom iso
      • To delete a custom iso:
      • To boot a server from a custom ISO
      • To create a custom ISO
    • Post upgrade testing
      • User Management
        • Create new user
        • Create new user with admin role and ensure when logging in, user is directed to Admin UI
        • Send password recovery e-mail
        • Resend invitation e-mail
        • Block or Suspend a user
        • Check “forgot password” function on login page
        • If enabled, Check Sign up
      • Server Management
        • Test server can be powered on and off in the Admin UI
        • Re-register available server
        • Delete and register available server
        • Check VNC console works from Admin UI for a used server
        • Check Custom ISO boot works (combined Server Management/Infrastructure Editor)
      • Infrastructure Editor
        • Test deployment of instance array
        • If available, test deployment of drive array
        • If available, test deployment of shared drive
        • Check if a user can be added as a delegate to a deployed Infrastructure
        • Check VNC console works from Instance
  • Release notes
    • Version 6.2.1 - March 18, 2024
    • Version 6.2 - February 1, 2024
    • Version 6.1 - November 8, 2023
    • Version 6.0 - June 12, 2023
    • Version 5.3 - 1st of May 2023
    • Version 5.2 - 6 January 2023
    • Version 5.1 - 23 January 2023
    • Version 5.0 - 4 November 2022
    • Version 4.10.1 - 25 July 2022
    • Version 4.10 - 24 may 2022
    • Version 4.9 - 15 December 2021
    • Version 4.8.2 - 15 July 2021
    • Version 4.8.1 - 30 March 2021
    • Version 4.8 - 03 March 2021
    • Version 4.7 - 17 December 2020
    • Version 4.6 - 26 October 2020
    • Version 4.5 - 12 August 2020
    • Version 4.4 - 9 July 2020
    • Version 4.1 - 21 April 2020
    • Version 4.0 - 12 March 2020
• Configuration
  • Users and permissions
    • Authentication Overview
      • The Role parameter
      • The login flow
      • 2Factor (MFA) authentication
    • Managing users and permissions
      • User accounts
      • Role based access control (RBAC)
      • Users related permissions
        • Network profiles
      • Licenses related permissions
      • Firmware related permissions
      • Datacenter related permissions
      • Servers
      • Switches
      • Storage
      • IPAM Subnets
      • Infrastructures
      • OS Templates
      • Events & jobs
      • Workflows
      • Prices & Subscriptions
      • Reports
      • Utility
      • Deprecated permissions, do not use
      • Resource ownership
      • The “Billable” account
      • Credentials access - DEPRECATED
      • User limits
      • Suspend and unsuspend a user
      • Block and unblock user
      • Archiving an user
      • Delegation
        • Example scenario
        • Managing account delegation
        • Managing infrastructure delegation
    • Configuring LDAP authentication for Microsoft Active Directory
    • Configure SAML for OKTA
      • Step 1. Configuring Okta
      • Step 2. Configuring MetalSoft App for using Okta configuration.
  • Data centers
    • Adding a new datacenter
      • Creating a datacenter record using the UI
      • Creating a datacenter record using the CLI
      • Updating a datacenter configuration using the CLI
  • Networking
    • Networking overview
      • Important concepts of MetalSoft networking
      • An example setup
        • User-level Intent configuration
        • Admin-level configuration
      • How abstract operations define intents
      • MetalSoft Networks
      • MetalSoft Network profiles
      • Details on link-aggregation
      • How server interface indexes are allocated
    • Managing switches
      • Getting switch details using the CLI
      • Adding a switch using the CLI
      • Listing switches using the CLI
      • Editing switch configurations using the CLI
      • Deleting a switch using the CLI
      • Creating switch pairs
      • Operating without switches
    • Managing switch pairs
      • Create a switch pair
      • Listing switch pairs
      • Deleting switch pairs
    • IP address Management (IPAM)
      • How does it work?
      • WAN Subnets
        • Adding a WAN subnet
        • When are subnets allocated?
        • When are subnets freed?
      • WAN Gateways
      • Custom VLAN IDs and Subnets
      • Secondary IPs vs Primary IPs
    • Adding a new subnet pool
      • Adding a new subnet pool using the Admin UI
      • Adding a new subnet pool using the CLI
    • Managing network profiles
      • Creating a new network profile
        • Configuring a custom access mode VLAN for the switch ports
        • Allowing a VLAN ID to be trunked on the port
        • Specifying a custom subnet for a trunked VLAN
        • Extending a VLAN id to an External Connection on a border device
        • Aggregating links into M-LAG or LAG groups
        • Using a member of a link aggregation without link aggregation configured
        • Example configuration
      • Adding a network profile using the Admin UI
        • Creating a network profile with the cli:
        • Listing the existing network profiles:
      • Network profiles permissions
    • Adding a new external connection
    • Adding Cisco ACI APIC Switches in a new datacenter
      • Creating the datacenter
      • Adding ACI Switch Controller
        • Using UI
        • Using metalcloud-cli
        • Adding Shared VRF using metalcloud-cli
      • Add WAN subnet pool
      • Add OOB subnet pool.
    • Enabling Secondary IPs and/or VLANs on the WAN interface
      • Configuring the secondary interface in the kickstart file of the template
  • Servers
    • Servers overview
      • Lifecycle stages
      • General guidelines when registering servers
        • Determining cabling and other hardware issues
      • Registering servers that cannot be touched
      • Troubleshooting a stuck server registration process
        • Server lifecycle
          • Server states
          • Interact with the server states
          • Server cycles
        • Server types
          • Creating a new server type
          • Allocating a server type to a server
        • Adding a new server
        • Adding a new managed server
          • Adding a new managed server via the Add Server button
          • Adding a new managed server via the CLI
          • Adding a new server via Zero Touch
          • Default RAID configuration
        • Re-registering a server
        • Adding a new un-managed server
          • Adding a new un-managed server using the UI
          • Adding a new un-managed server via the CLI
          • Fields accepted
        • Managing server firmware
          • Mass firmware upgrades
          • Upgrading a server’s individual components
          • Enabling automatic firmware upgrades
        • Managing firmware catalogs
          • Preparing an HTTP repository
          • Configuring the CLI for managing firmware catalogs and firmware binaries
            • Repository-related variables
            • User-related variables
            • HP-related variables
          • Creating a firmware catalog record and uploading binaries
            • Dell example
            • CLI firmware-catalog create command behavior
            • Customizing a catalog
          • Vendor specific details
          • Periodic update
        • Managing Firmware baselines
          • Creating a firmware baseline
          • Editing a baseline
          • Removing a baseline
    • Server lifecycle
      • Server states
      • Interact with the server states
      • Server cycles
    • Server types
      • Creating a new server type
      • Allocating a server type to a server
    • Adding a new server
    • Adding a new managed server
      • Adding a new managed server via the Add Server button
      • Adding a new managed server via the CLI
      • Adding a new server via Zero Touch
      • Default RAID configuration
    • Re-registering a server
    • Adding a new un-managed server
      • Adding a new un-managed server using the UI
      • Adding a new un-managed server via the CLI
      • Fields accepted
    • Managing server firmware
      • Mass firmware upgrades
      • Upgrading a server’s individual components
      • Enabling automatic firmware upgrades
    • Managing firmware catalogs
      • Preparing an HTTP repository
      • Configuring the CLI for managing firmware catalogs and firmware binaries
        • Repository-related variables
        • User-related variables
        • HP-related variables
      • Creating a firmware catalog record and uploading binaries
        • Dell example
        • CLI firmware-catalog create command behavior
        • Customizing a catalog
      • Vendor specific details
      • Periodic update
    • Managing Firmware baselines
      • Creating a firmware baseline
      • Editing a baseline
      • Removing a baseline
  • Storage
    • Adding a new storage pool
      • Adding a new storage pool
    • Managing storage pools
      • Putting a storage pool in maintenance mode
      • Performing an emergency reboot of all connected servers
      • Cleaning up unused templates
  • Operating System Templates
    • Managing Operating System templates
      • Listing available source templates
      • Registering a new template
      • Checking if the template has been registered:
      • Customizing a template
      • Upgrading an existing template to a newer version
      • Building a new template from scratch
      • Building a new source template for legacy systems
    • Template language and variables
      • Example usage
      • Reference
      • Example objects and their content
    • Advanced OS deployment configurations
      • Enabling the virtual media based deploy mechanism and configuring it as default
      • Enabling the legacy PXE-based deploy mechanism and configuring it as default.
    • Managing OS templates for legacy deployment process (PXE)
      • An example install process
      • Creating a new OS template using the CLI
        • Choosing an architecture
      • Specifying a bootloader and config file
      • Specifying a custom config for iPXE
      • Associating assets with OS Templates
      • Important variables
    • OS templates simple asset template variables glossary (DEPRECATED)
      • Infrastructure variables
      • Pre-deploy stage variables
      • Post-deploy stage variables
      • Instance Array variables
      • Instance variables
      • IPv6 Variables
      • Drive Array variables
        • Deprecated drive array iSCSI options
      • Shared Drives
      • SNMP variables
      • Datacenter variables
      • Quarantine variables
      • General purpose variables
    • JSON Schema
      • Definitions
• Operation
  • Getting started
  • Concepts
    • Important concepts
    • Instance Arrays and Drive Arrays
    • Infrastructures
    • Servers and Instances
  • Managing infrastructures
    • Creating an infrastructure using the UI
    • Creating an infrastructure using the CLI
    • Listing infrastructures using the CLI
    • Changing an infrastructure’s properties using the UI
    • Deleting an infrastructure using the CLI
  • Managing instance arrays
    • Deploying an instance array using the Infrastructure Editor
    • Retrieving server access credentials using the UI
    • Deploying an instance array using the CLI
    • Retrieving server access credentials using the CLI
    • Checking the power status of all the instances in this instance array using the CLI
    • Rebooting an instance using the CLI
  • Managing networks
    • Using multiple links
    • Joining an existing network
    • Creating a LAN network
    • Advanced: Subnet pools
    • Advanced: Network profiles
      • To create a network profile as a user
      • To add additional trunk mode vlans to the same network profile
  • Managing drive arrays
    • Creating a drive array using the UI
    • Listing drive arrays of an instance array using the UI
    • Adding a new drive
    • Removing a drive
    • Expanding disk size
    • Creating a drive array using the CLI
    • Listing drive arrays of an infrastructure using the CLI
    • Deleting a drive array via the CLI
    • Manually logging into the iscsi target
  • Deploying Kubernetes on MetalSoft
    • Deploying Kubernetes using the UI:
      • Configure the node server types and count
      • Accessing the cluster
    • Setting up a sample application on Kubernetes
      • Deploying RedHat OpenShift, Rancher or other distributions of Kubernetes on MetalSoft
        • MetalSoft automatic DNS management
  • Using the CLI
    • Installation
    • Getting the API key
    • Getting a list of supported commands
    • Getting started
    • Kubernetes-style Apply support
    • Condensed format
    • Using label instead of IDs
    • Permissions
  • Connecting to linux servers through SSH
    • Locating access credentials and connecting
  • Connecting to Windows servers through RDP
    • Locating access credentials
    • Connect to your server via RDP.
    • Locate your RDP Rule
    • Creating Your IP Restrictions
  • Delegating access to an infrastructure
  • Retrieving the utilization report
    • The Detailed utilization report
    • Viewing server subscriptions (reservations)
    • Automating chargeback or billing in reselling scenarios
  • Configuring a custom RAID profile
  • Enabling two factor authentication (2FA) in Metalcloud
  • Manually managing iSCSI connections
    • Retrieving the drive array’s connection details from the UI
    • Retriving iscsi access credentials using the CLI
    • Logging into the iSCSI target from Linux (CentOS/Redhat)
    • Logging into a drive on Windows using PowerShell
    • Prepare and format disk in Powershell
    • Disconnect from all iscsi targets in Windows using Powershell Or Just disconnect Offline target
    • Disable indexing on a drive in Powershell
  • Setting delegation for reseller scenarios
    • Setting up users and permissions in a referral scenario when end-users own the infrastructures
    • Setting up users and permissions in a fully managed reseller scenario
    • Setting up users and permissions in a reseller scenario when end-users have access to infrastructures
  • Forcing specific servers at deploy
• Developer resources
  • Developer Getting Started
  • Connecting to the API
    • The API endpoint:
    • Retrieving my API key and connecting to the endpoint
    • API Reference
    • Authenticating to the API
      • Interacting with the API
        • Authenticating to the API
        • Object Schemas
        • IDs and labels
        • Decrypting credentials
  • Callbacks and post-install operations
    • Using Workflows to call outside systems
      • Add a deployment finished callback
        • Create an HTTP task for callback
        • Create a global workflow and add the task
      • Customizing operating system templates behavior
        • How OS deployment works
        • Changing the unattended install file
  • Using the Terraform provider
    • Using the Provider
  • Building a CI/CD pipeline
  • Integrating with a customer portal
    • Direct integration with an upstream customer portal
      • SAML-compatible ID service (Recommended)
      • LDAP-compatible ID service
      • Built-in authentication
        • Managing users via the API
        • Enabling user sign-up
    • Indirect integration with an upstream customer portal
    • Embedding the MetalSoft Remote Console into a customer portal
  • Embedding the remote console
    • Main components
    • Key Requirements:
  • Workflows
    • Managing workflows
      • Workflow execution contexts
      • Workflow usages
      • Creating a workflow
      • Listing workflows
      • Adding stages to a workflow
      • The behavior of WorkflowReference in instance array contexts
      • Workflow Variables
    • Managing workflow tasks
      • HTTP Request tasks
        • HTTPRequest cookie jar
      • Ansible Bundle workflow tasks
        • Ansible Bundle inventory file
        • Additional variables
        • How ansible gets executed
      • WorkflowReference stages
      • Listing stages
    • Managing variables and secrets
      • Referencing variables
      • Referencing secrets
      • Creating a variable from console input
      • Creating a variable using a pipe
      • Creating a secret from user input
      • Creating a secret from pipe
    • Using infrastructures with workflows
      • Attaching workflows
      • Empty infrastructures
      • Attaching a workflow to a instance array
      • Specifying certain server IDs
    • Sample workflow - Automatically adding a host to an external VMWare VCenter
      • Creating a Task for enroll into vCenter
      • Create a workflow
      • Add stages to workflow
      • Verify the stages
      • Add workflow to infrastructure
      • Deploy infrastructure
    • Adding workflows to every deploy
      • Creating a global workflow and calling another workflow
      • Creating a global workflow and adding tasks to it
      • Disabling or enabling the execution of a global workflow

Fabric Manager

• Fabric Manager
  • Fabric Manager Overview
  • Tutorials
    • Tutorial: Switch only operation with Dell Enterprise SONiC in GNS3
      • Prerequisites
      • Download and install the agent OVA
        • Configure the agent
      • Import metalsoft VM into GNS3
      • Build the topology in GNS3
      • Register the switch in MetalSoft using the CLI
      • Create a network profile
      • Adding the GNS3 PCs as un-managed servers
      • Provisioning a network using the self-service interface
      • Next steps
    • Tutorial - Dell Sonic Enterprise and Dell servers in a spine-leaf configuration
      • Cabling
      • Registering switches
      • Registering servers