Hail Mary - OpenStack Deployment with Kolla-Ansible

A streamlined OpenStack deployment project using Kolla-Ansible for rapid cloud infrastructure setup. This project provides a "Hail Mary" approach to quickly deploy a functional OpenStack cloud with minimal complexity.

🚀 Overview

Hail Mary is designed to deploy OpenStack using Kolla-Ansible in a simplified, production-ready configuration. It automates the entire deployment process from initial server setup to a fully functional OpenStack cloud.

What This Project Does

• Automated Server Setup: Creates necessary users and network bridges
• OpenStack Deployment: Deploys core OpenStack services using Kolla-Ansible
• Simplified Configuration: Minimal, focused setup for quick deployment
• Production-Ready: Uses proven Kolla-Ansible technology with best practices

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Controller    │    │    Compute      │
│   (server1)     │    │   (server2)     │
├─────────────────┤    ├─────────────────┤
│ • Keystone      │    │ • Nova Compute  │
│ • Glance        │    │ • Neutron Agent │
│ • Nova API      │    │ • OVS           │
│ • Neutron       │    │                 │
│ • Horizon       │    │                 │
│ • MariaDB       │    │                 │
│ • RabbitMQ      │    │                 │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

📋 Prerequisites

System Requirements

• Operating System: Ubuntu 20.04+ or similar Linux distribution
• Python: 3.12 or higher
• SSH Access: Password-less SSH access to target servers
• Network: Public IP addresses for both controller and compute nodes
• Hardware:
  • Controller: 8GB+ RAM, 4+ CPUs, 50GB+ storage
  • Compute: 8GB+ RAM, 4+ CPUs, 50GB+ storage

Required Tools

• uv - Python package manager
• Ansible
• SSH key pairs for server access

🛠️ Installation & Setup

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/OmGuptaIND/hail-mary.git
cd hail-mary

2. Install Dependencies

# Install Python dependencies using uv
make install

This will install:

• kolla-ansible - OpenStack deployment tool
• ansible - Automation platform
• Supporting libraries (cliff, stevedore, pbr)

3. Configure SSH Keys

Ensure your SSH keys are properly set up in the keys/ directory:

keys/
├── controller/
│   ├── stack          # Private key for controller
│   └── controller.pub # Public key for controller
├── compute/
│   ├── stack          # Private key for compute
│   └── compute.pub    # Public key for compute
└── stack/
    ├── stack          # Stack user private key
    └── stack.pub      # Stack user public key

4. Update Inventory

Edit kolla-configs/inventory.ini to match your server configuration:

[control]
server1 ansible_host=YOUR_CONTROLLER_IP ansible_user=stack ansible_ssh_private_key_file=/path/to/keys/controller/stack

[compute]
server2 ansible_host=YOUR_COMPUTE_IP ansible_user=stack ansible_ssh_private_key_file=/path/to/keys/compute/stack

5. Configure Global Settings

Update kolla-configs/etc/kolla/globals.yml with your network settings:

# Update these IPs to match your environment
kolla_internal_vip_address: "YOUR_CONTROLLER_IP"
kolla_external_vip_address: "YOUR_CONTROLLER_IP"

# Network interface (usually br-ex)
network_interface: "br-ex"
neutron_external_interface: "br-ex"

🚀 Deployment Process

Phase 1: Server Preparation

1. Create Stack User

   make create-user

   This creates the stack user on all servers with proper sudo privileges.

2. Setup Network Bridge

   make create-bridge

   Creates the br-ex bridge interface required for OpenStack networking.

3. Test Connectivity

   make ping

   Verifies Ansible can connect to all servers.

Phase 2: OpenStack Deployment

1. Bootstrap Servers

   make bootstrap

   Prepares servers for OpenStack installation (installs Docker, configures services).

2. Run Pre-checks

   make prechecks

   Validates the environment before deployment.

3. Deploy OpenStack

   kolla-ansible deploy --configdir /path/to/hail-mary/kolla-configs/etc/kolla -i /path/to/hail-mary/kolla-configs/inventory.ini

4. Post-deployment Setup

   kolla-ansible post-deploy --configdir /path/to/hail-mary/kolla-configs/etc/kolla -i /path/to/hail-mary/kolla-configs/inventory.ini

🎯 What Gets Deployed

Core Services

• Keystone: Identity and authentication service
• Glance: Image service for VM templates
• Nova: Compute service for virtual machines
• Neutron: Networking service with Open vSwitch
• Horizon: Web-based dashboard
• Placement: Resource placement service

Database & Messaging

• MariaDB: Database backend (standalone mode)
• RabbitMQ: Message queue service

Network Configuration

• Provider Networks: Disabled (using tenant networks)
• Network Type: VXLAN for tenant networks, flat for external
• Bridge Interface: br-ex for external connectivity

🔧 Configuration Details

Network Architecture

• Internal Network: VXLAN-based tenant networks
• External Network: Flat network via br-ex bridge
• VIP Address: Single IP for both internal and external access
• Load Balancer: Disabled (single controller setup)

Security Features

• SSH key-based authentication
• Passwordless sudo for stack user
• Isolated network segments
• Standard OpenStack security groups

📁 Project Structure

hail-mary/
├── README.md                 # This file
├── pyproject.toml           # Python dependencies
├── makefile                 # Automation commands
├── ansible.cfg              # Ansible configuration
├── requirements.txt         # Python requirements
├── uv.lock                  # Dependency lock file
├── keys/                    # SSH keys for servers
├── kolla-configs/           # Kolla-Ansible configuration
│   ├── inventory.ini        # Server inventory
│   └── etc/kolla/
│       └── globals.yml      # Global OpenStack settings
├── kolla-ansible/           # Kolla-Ansible source (submodule)
└── playbooks/               # Custom Ansible playbooks
    ├── create-user/         # User setup playbook
    └── create-bridge/       # Network bridge setup

🔍 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. SSH Connection Failed

   • Verify SSH keys are in the correct location
   • Check server connectivity: ping <server_ip>
   • Ensure stack user exists and has proper permissions

2. Bridge Creation Failed

   • Verify the physical interface name (eno1 by default)
   • Check if OpenVSwitch is installed
   • Ensure sufficient privileges for network operations

3. Bootstrap Failed

   • Check Docker installation and permissions
   • Verify internet connectivity for package downloads
   • Review /var/log/kolla/ for detailed error logs

4. Deployment Failed

   • Review Ansible output for specific errors
   • Check container logs: docker logs <container_name>
   • Verify resource requirements (CPU, memory, disk)

Useful Commands

# Check container status
docker ps -a

# View Kolla logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/kolla/*.log

# Restart failed containers
docker restart <container_name>

# Clean deployment (start over)
kolla-ansible destroy --yes-i-really-really-mean-it

# Generate admin credentials
kolla-ansible post-deploy
source /etc/kolla/admin-openrc.sh

🌐 Accessing OpenStack

After successful deployment:

1. Horizon Dashboard: http://<controller_ip>/
2. Admin Credentials: Found in /etc/kolla/admin-openrc.sh
3. API Endpoints: Listed in the deployment output

Default Login

• Username: admin
• Password: Generated during deployment (check /etc/kolla/passwords.yml)

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature-name
3. Make your changes and test thoroughly
4. Submit a pull request with detailed description

📄 License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

🆘 Support

• Issues: Report bugs and feature requests on GitHub Issues
• Documentation: Kolla-Ansible Official Docs
• Community: OpenStack Community

🔗 Related Projects

• Kolla-Ansible - Official OpenStack deployment tool
• OpenStack - Open source cloud computing platform
• Ansible - Automation platform

---

Note: This is a simplified deployment suitable for development, testing, and small production environments. For large-scale production deployments, consider additional high-availability and security configurations.