7.7. Managing Containers

This section contains information on how to create, use, and manage Virtuozzo containers.

7.7.1. Container Toolbar Overview

In Virtuozzo Automator, the container toolbar provides quick access to the following operations:

  • In the Configure drop-down menu:

    Option

    Description

    General Settings

    Change the container name, description, OS template version and start-up options.

    Password

    Change the container root password.

    Network

    Change the container hostname, IP address, DNS server IP address and search domains and configure the mode of the Virtual Network adapters.

    Shaping

    Configure the network bandwidth of the outgoing traffic for this container.

    Resources

    Change the resources share allocated to the container.

    Firewall

    Activate the firewall and configure its mode.

    Apply Template

    Configure the container resources by changing the template the container is based on.

  • In the Maintenance drop-down menu:

    Option

    Description

    Resources Monitor

    Get the detailed information on the container resource consumption.

    Back Up

    Configure all the parameters of the backup operation and perform this operation on the current container.

    Repair

    Save important data from the damaged container and repair the container by creating a new temporary container.

    Reinstall

    Recover the original state of the container in case you have unintentionally modified, replaced, or deleted any file that is part of an application or OS template, and the action has brought about the container malfunction.

    Migrate

    Move the container to another physical server.

  • In the Operate drop-down menu:

    Option

    Description

    Start/Stop

    Start or stop the container. Depending on the container state, only that operation is accessible that complies with its current state.

    Restart

    Restart the container.

    Suspend

    Suspend the container: a suspended container stays put, and so its processes and services do, to be later resumed from the checkpoint. Suspending containers is a good method to disengage the Hardware Node recourses for a certain period of time or saving the state of current operations which can be quickly launched again afterwards. Remember, that repairing, restarting and reinstalling a suspended container can change the saved state of the container, so these actions are not recommended for suspended containers.

    Power Off

    If you wish to stop your virtual environment, bear in mind that there is a two-minute timeout for the virtual environment shutdown scripts to be executed. If the virtual environment is not stopped in two minutes, the system forcibly kills all the processes in the virtual environment. The virtual environment will be stopped in any case, even if it is seriously damaged. To avoid waiting for two minutes if you are operating a virtual environment that is known to be corrupt, you may use the Power Off link.

Note

The availability of the start/stop/restart/suspend operations depends on the container current status.

  • In the Manage drop-down menu:

Option

Description

Open Console

Log in to the container via the built-in VNC console.

Software

Install new applications to or uninstall existing ones from the container.

Services

Manage the services running on the container except for the xinetd-dependent services.

Files

Manage the container files and folders.

Backups

Back up the container, renew or remove the existing backup, restore the container.

Power Panel Policies

Assign new policies and manage the existing policy rules for Power Panel usage.

Note

This feature is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

Clone

Create a container clone.

Clone to Template

Clone a container to template.

Delete

Remove the container if you don’t need it any more.

  • In the Log in… drop-down menu:

Option

Description

Open Power Panel

Log in to the container via Virtuozzo Power Panel.

Note

This feature is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

Open Plesk Panel

Log in to the container via the Plesk control panel.

7.7.2. Container Dashboard Overview

The container dashboard is divided into four sections, each reflecting the following container details:

Status

The section shows:

  • The current status of the container.

  • The current status of the templates and packages. The container software which does not suggest updating is marked as Up-to-date.

  • The hostname of the physical server where the container is hosted (it is possible to migrate the container to another one).

  • The container last 1, 5, and 15 minutes system load averages.

  • The total period of time during which the container has been on without rebooting or stopping.

  • The last performed and next scheduled backups.

General Settings

The section shows container name and ID (to set new, click Change), configuration sample (to change, click Change), OS template (to update, click Update), and installed application templates (to add or remove, click Add/Remove).

Network Configuration

The section shows:

  • the container hostname (if set);

  • the information on the IP addresses of the container eth (bridged) and venet0 (routed) interfaces. The information is available only if the IP addresses were set during the container creation.

Resource Alerts

The section provides information on the container resource consumption:

  • green circle: the container operates normally,

  • yellow circle: some container resource is approaching its soft limit,

  • red circle: some container resource has exceeded its soft limit.

For details on resource alerts, refer to Viewing Infrastructure Alert Logs.

Resources

The section shows a consumption summary for container’s CPU, memory, and disk shares. The Resources column lists these resources, the Used, Free, and Total columns display the corresponding values in percentage terms and in diagrams. The percent value is calculated not in proportion to the total value on the Hardware Node, but in proportion to the quota on using the resource by the container.

7.7.3. Creating Containers

Having chosen to create a container as described in Starting to Create Virtual Environments, you can proceed to define general and network settings, customize and validate resource settings, install applications, and review the resulting configuration. This section describes these operations in detail.

7.7.3.1. Defining General Settings

The second page of the New Container wizard enables you to define the container general settings that are divided into several groups for your convenience. You can choose between creating a single container and multiple containers by entering the necessary number on the first step of the container creation wizard, and it is only in the latter case that the Multiple Container Configuration group is displayed.

The General Configuration group enables you to perform the following operations:

  • Provide a name and a description for the container; available when configuring settings for a single container only. If you need a specific name and description for one of containers created simultaneously, you can assign them after the containers are created (see Adjusting Container Configuration and Advanced Settings).

  • Choose an OS template and its version you wish the container to be based on.

  • Start the container after its creation;

The Multiple Container Configuration group appears if you are creating more than one container at a time. Following is an explanation of the five drop-down menus that you find in this group:

  • Container IDs

    Option

    Description

    Assign container IDs automatically

    Virtuozzo Automator will assign container IDs randomly.

    Assign container IDs starting from a specified one

    On the following screen, you will be able to specify the container ID for the first container created. Other container IDs will be assigned based on the sequential incrementation of this first container ID.

    Set container IDs manually

    On the following screen, you will be able to specify the container IDs manually for each container.

  • Names

    Option

    Description

    Assign names based on a specified template

    On the following screen you will be able to specify a template for assigning container names, with the container ID as the changing part.

    Set names manually for every Container

    On the following screen you will be able to specify the container names manually for each container.

  • Hostnames

    Option

    Description

    Assign hostnames based on a specified template

    On the following screen you will be able to specify a template for assigning container hostnames, with the container ID as the changing part.

    Set hostnames manually for every container

    On the following screen you will be able to specify the container hostnames manually for each container.

  • Routed Interface IP Addresses

    Option

    Description

    Assign according to the container template

    The host-routed interface settings are taken from the container template used to create the containers. These settings just define if the host-routed interface is created inside the containers (one interface in each container). If it is created, its IP address is taken from the global IP addresses pool.

    Get from the global IP addresses pool

    The IP addresses for the host-routed interfaces will be taken from the global pool of IP addresses (that can be configured on the IP Address Pool tab of the Setup > Network screen).

    Assign from a specified IP addresses range

    On the following screen you will be able to specify the IP address for the first container created. All the remaining container IP addresses will be assigned based on the sequential incrementation of this first IP address.

    Specify manually for every container

    On the following screen you will be able to specify the IP addresses manually for each container.

  • Bridged Interface IP addresses

    Option

    Description

    Assign according to the container template

    The bridged interface settings are taken from the container template used to create the containers. These settings define the number of bridged interfaces to be created inside each container, and if this number is 1 or more, whether their IP addresses are received from the DHCP server or is taken from the global IP addresses pool.

    Get from the DHCP server

    The IP addresses for the bridged interfaces will be received from the DHCP server.

    Get from the global IP addresses pool

    The IP addresses for the bridged interfaces will be taken from the global pool of IP addresses (that can be configured on the IP Address Pool tab of the Setup > Network screen).

    Assign from a specified IP addresses range

    On the following screen you will be able to specify the IP address for the first container created. All the remaining container IP addresses will be assigned based on the sequential incrementation of this first IP address.

    Specify manually for every container

    On the following screen you will be able to specify the IP addresses manually for each container.

In the Administrative Password group, you should define and confirm the root password. You will need this password to access the container in the future.

Note

Remember that each virtual environment user with the privileges of an administrator exercises full control over his/her virtual environment, has his/her own user credentials (name and password) to access the virtual environment and enjoys an unlimited access to other user accounts inside this virtual environment, i.e. s/he has any right granted to a privately owned physical server as opposed to the physical server administrator’s authority or the rights of the other virtual environments users in regard to the given virtual environment. Any virtual environment user can be a member of an Active Directory domain (e.g. access any of the network shares to which the virtual environment user has rights).

The Advanced Configuration group allows you to do the following:

  • Specify the container ID, a 32-bit (ranging from 0 to 4294967295) integer number over 100. This option is available only if you are creating a single container.

    Warning

    When deciding on a container ID, do not use the ID of any container that was ever present in the system unless you are sure that no data belonging to the old container remains on the physical server. The fact is that the administrator of the newly-created container might have access to these data in this case, i.e. to the backups of the old container, its logs, statistics, etc.

  • Specify the paths to the container Private Area and Root Directory;

  • Have the container started on every boot of the physical server.

To enable/disable any of the features listed under the Advanced Configuration group, select/clear the corresponding check box.

The Remote Display group allows you to configure the settings to be used to remotely control a container via the VNC protocol.

Choose the settings in the Remote Display Service list:

  • Enabled with default settings. Use physical server’s network settings (shown on physical server’s Network pane).

  • Enabled with custom settings. Use your own settings. In this case, specify the following parameters:

    Parameter

    Description

    IP Address

    The IP address of the server where the container is hosted.

    Port

    A unique port number to be used by the container. It must be a numeric value in the 5700-6900 range.

  • Disabled. Forbid connections to the container via the VNC protocol.

If required, set a password to secure the VNC connection.

(For Virtuozzo 6 servers) The Offline Management group allows you to set the offline service options by selecting the appropriate option. Offline Service of the corresponding container ensures the container manageability by means of one or more offline services from any browser at its own IP address. After offline service is enabled for the container, one port of its IP address becomes permanently active whatever the container state. You can:

  • Disable the offline service of the container.

  • Enable the offline service of the container via the offline service settings operating on the physical server. Whenever you need to manage the container offline, its offline service settings will be brought into synchronization with those in effect on the physical server. Should any service be removed from the default services list, the container will be unable to be managed via the service off the list. This option subscribes the container to the default offline services.

  • Manually compose the container offline services list. You can select the service(s) you would like the container to be subscribed to in the corresponding checkbox(es).

The Feature Management group allows you to toggle various features supported in Linux-based containers.

The Device Access Management group allows you to set access rights for devices attached to the container.

The Permissions group lets you create one or more permissions for the containers to be created. As any permission is by definition a combination of a user or a group of users and a role in respect of a certain Virtuozzo Automator object, you can indicate the corresponding user/group and role in the provided fields, thus creating a permission with respect to the containers being created. To add more permissions, click the green plus sign to the right of the fields.

Click Next to submit the settings and move on to the next New Container wizard stage.

7.7.3.2. Specifying Multiple Container IDs, IP Addresses, and Hostnames

The New Containers: Multiple Configuration screen comes after determining the general container settings.

You need to set the following:

  • Container IDs. Depending on what you have specified on the General Settings screen, you will let Virtuozzo Automator assign container IDs automatically or will need to manually specify the starting container ID, or every container ID.

  • Container Names and Hostnames.

    When assigning container names and hostnames, remember that both fields should contain the @ctid@ tags. Those tags will be automatically replaced with suitable IDs for all containers you are creating. For example, if you are creating 4 containers and have entered MYCT@ctid@ in the hostname field, and 105 is the highest container ID on the hardware node, then containers with the following hostnames will be created: MYCT106, MYCT107, MYCT108, and MYCT109.

  • Network parameters.

    The IP addresses can be assigned, if at all, either manually or on the “start from the one specified” basis, which means entering an IP address only once for the 1st container of the containers you are creating, with all the rest of the containers IP addresses being calculated from this one. If you are creating 4 containers and have entered 10.10.0.1 to the IP Address / Subnet Mask field, then the containers will be created with these IP addresses: 10.10.0.1, 10.10.0.2, 10.10.0.3, and 10.10.0.4.

Click Next to proceed to customizing container resources.

7.7.3.3. Configuring Network Parameters When Creating Containers

The Network Configuration page lets you define all the major network parameters of the container you are creating. For more information, see Configuring Container Network Parameters.

7.7.3.4. Customizing Resource Settings When Creating Containers

The Resources Customization screen allows you to adjust the resources the container being created. For more information, see the descriptions of CPU, disk, and memory resources in Resources Overview.

7.7.3.5. Validating Resource Configuration

The system resource control parameters have complex interdependencies, or constraints. Violation of these interdependencies can be catastrophic for the container. In order to ensure that the container under creation does not break them, it is important to validate the container configuration file before creating containers on its basis.

The utility checks constraints on the resource management parameters and displays all the constraint violations found. There can be three levels of violation severity, represented by the following icons on the container dashboard:

Severity

Description

image1 Recommendation

A non-critical suggestion for the container or physical server operations. The configuration is valid in general; however, if the system has enough memory, it is better to increase the settings as advised.

image2 Warning

A constraint is not satisfied, and the configuration is invalid. The container applications may not have optimal performance or may fail in an ungraceful way.

image3 Error

An important constraint is not satisfied, and the configuration is invalid. The container applications have increased chances to fail unexpectedly, to be terminated, or to hang.

After setting the reasonable values for the parameters, the container can be safely run.

7.7.3.6. Installing Applications into Containers

The New Containers: Application Selection page of the New Container wizard allows you to choose applications to install them to the container directly after its creation. All available applications that can be added to the container are listed in the Available Applications table in the left part of the displayed page. The type and number of applications vary depending on the OS template the container will be based on, i.e. only those applications are displayed that are compatible with the container OS template.

To add the applications you need to the container, tick the check boxes opposite the applications you wish to add and click the >> button. After that, the applications appear in the Scheduled for Installation table in the right part of the page. To remove any application from the container being created, tick its check box in the Scheduled for Installation table and click the << button. If you are not sure what applications you need to add to the container, you can add them after the container has been created, as is described in Managing Container Applications.

After you have selected the applications to be installed and checked their dependencies, click the Next button.

7.7.3.7. Reviewing Container Configuration

The last page of the New Container wizard lets you review the major settings of the container configuration you provided on the previous steps. If you are satisfied with the information entered, click Create to start creating the container. Otherwise, you can return to the previous steps by clicking the Back button and change the corresponding parameters.

7.7.4. Managing Container Files and Folders

For a running container, you can navigate inside its directory structure, list the files and directories and perform all essential file operations on the File Manager page. The main information on the directory/drive contents is presented in the form of a table.

Column

Description

Type

The type of the object: a folder or a file.

Name

The name of the directory or file.

Size

The size of the file.

Modified

The date and time of the last modification of the directory or file.

Permissions

The first symbol in this column indicates if this is a directory (the letter d) or not (the minus sign). The following three symbols designate the permissions that the owner of the directory/file has on it, then go another three symbols for the permissions of the users belonging to the group assigned to the directory/file, and the final set of three symbols denotes the permissions of all the rest. The symbols in each of the set express consecutively the following permissions: read, write, and execute. The presence of a letter (correspondingly, r, w, or x) indicates that the permission is given, and the minus sign - that it is absent.

User

The owner of the file/directory.

Group

The users’ group that has certain permissions on the file/folder. These permissions are presented by the 5th through 7th symbols in the Permissions column.

Actions

Hyperlinks for performing certain operations with the directory or file (see below).

Note

If the container is being repaired, the file manager root directory (/) corresponds to the /repair directory of the temporary container, in other words, it represents the root directory of the problem container, not that of the newly-created one.

Apart from viewing a list of files and directories with their essential properties, you are able to perform the following operations:

  • Create a new folder in the current directory;

  • Create a new text file in the current directory;

  • Edit existing text files;

  • Upload a file from your local computer to the current container directory;

  • Download a file from the current container directory to your local computer (by clicking the diskette icon in the Actions column);

  • Copy any number of files or folders to another directory inside the container;

  • Move any number of files or folders to another directory inside the container;

  • Edit the properties of any folder or file;

  • Remove any number of files or folders by selecting them and following the Remove link.

To perform a certain operation (e.g. copying) on a number of directories or files, tick the corresponding check boxes. The uppermost check box allows you to select all the directories and files at once.

7.7.4.1. Creating Folder

On the Create Folder screen, you can add a new folder and specify its name in the Folder Name field. Upon finishing the operation, click Create to save the changes. The new folder will be created in the current directory (designated above the field).

You can access the Create Folder screen from the File Manager section by clicking the Create Folder button.

7.7.4.2. Creating Text File

The Create File page allows you to create simple text files directly inside the container, without uploading them from your local computer.

In the Specify File section, you should enter the name of the file to be created in the current directory (this directory is indicated under the page heading) to the Name field and, optionally, type the text of the file in the Content field. Click Create when you are finished to create the new file.

7.7.4.3. Editing Text File

Virtuozzo Automator allows you to edit any text file inside your container directly through the Virtuozzo Automator interface. The Edit File page can be accessed by clicking on the right icon in the Actions column for the corresponding text file on the File Manager page.

This page presents the contents of the file in an editable field. Make your modifications and click Submit to write a new version of the file.

7.7.4.4. Uploading File to Container

The current version of Virtuozzo Automator allows you to upload external files to the container, up to ten files at a time. The Upload File page is displayed after clicking the Upload File link on the File Manager page.

Click the Browse button, navigate to the local file you wish to upload and double-click it. The path to the file will be displayed in the corresponding Specify File field. Another way of indicating the file is to enter this path manually.

When you click Upload, the files that you have specified will be uploaded to the current directory inside the container. For your reference, this directory is indicated above the Specify File group.

7.7.4.5. Copying Files and Folders Inside Container

The Copy Files page, where you can perform the copy operation, gets displayed after you have selected one or more files and/or folders by ticking the corresponding check boxes on the File Manager page and clicking Copy.

On the Copy Files page, click Select and, in the pop-up window, navigate to the folder where you want to copy the files and/or folders, check the radio button to the left of it, and press Select. The path to the target folder will be displayed in the Destination Path field. Click Copy to begin the copy process.

7.7.4.6. Moving Files and Folders Inside Container

The Move Files page, where you can perform the move operation, gets displayed after you have selected one or more files and/or folders by ticking the corresponding check boxes on the File Manager page and clicked Move.

On the Move Files page, click Select and, in the pop-up window, navigate to the folder where you want to move the files and/or folders, check the radio button to the left of it, and press Select. The path to the target folder will be displayed in the Destination Path field. Click Move to begin the move process.

7.7.4.7. Editing File or Folder Properties

The page where you can view and edit some properties of a certain file or folder is accessible by clicking the leftmost icon in the Actions column for the corresponding file or folder on the File Manager page.

The information is given on the following file or folder general properties, whether editable or not:

Field

Description

Editable

Name

The name of the file or folder.

Yes.

Path

The path to the file or folder inside the container.

No. See Moving Files and Folders Inside Container for information on how to change the path.

Size

The size of the file. To save the time needed to open the page, a link is given for a folder to calculate its overall size.

No.

Modified

The date and time of the last modification of the file or folder.

No.

You can also change such file/folder properties as permissions and ownership.

When you click Submit on the Change Properties page, your changes will be applied to the given file or folder.

7.7.5. Managing and Monitoring Container Resources

To open the Container Monitor subtab, go to Infrastructure > physical server > container > Resources tab > Container Monitor subtab.

The Container Monitor screen shows the graphical statistics on CPU, memory and disk resource consumption in percentage, i.e. how much of the physical server resources this container consumes.

Also, the Container Monitor screen allows viewing the disk and traffic incoming/outgoing statistics for the specified period.

Each resource has its own colour on the chart. If you need to monitor the changes only for one resource, whatever it is, you can disable the others. Use the Select Graph subsection.

The chart shows the changes for the defined period. In the Graph Period subsection, select whether to show the data for a particular date, month, year or for any other period of time. To implement the changes, click Apply. The chart will change its appearance.

Partially, the information on resource consumption is available on the container Summary page.

The Export Data link allows you to export the graphical data in the CSV format.

Note

The container network and system resources can also be monitored via SNMP. For more information, see Monitoring Virtuozzo Objects via SNMP.

7.7.5.1. Resources Overview

The Overview subtab summarizes the current CPU, system and disk usage by the container in the following table:

Column

Description

CPU

CPU Usage shows current CPU utilization in percent.

Load Average for the CPU usage is the average number of active processes for the past 1, 5, and 15 minutes, respectively. Value 0.0 means that the CPU is idle, 1.0 that the CPU is fully used. Value 2.0 denotes that the CPU load exceeds the nominal value by two times.

Memory Usage

This is a cumulative figure presenting the average consumption of a number of critical memory-related parameters by your container.

Disk Usage

Disk Space is a total amount of disk space allocated to the container. When the space used by the container hits the soft limit (or reaches 100% on the percent bar), the container can be allowed additional disk space up to the hard limit during the grace period.

Disk Inodes is a total number of disk inodes (files, directories, and symbolic links) allocated to the container. When the number of inodes used by the container hits the soft limit, the container can create additional inodes up to the hard limit during the grace period.

The information on the disk and memory usage is organized as follows:

Column

Description

Resource

The name of the resource: memory, disk space or disk inodes.

Used

Consumed amount of memory, disk size or the number of inodes.

Free

Available amount of memory, disk size or the number of inodes.

Total

The total amount of memory, disk size or the number of inodes.

7.7.5.2. CPU Resources

The CPU-related resource management is based on the following parameters:

Parameter

Description

cpuunits

This is a positive integer number that determines the minimal guaranteed share of the CPU time your virtual environment will receive.

cpulimit cpulimit_mhz

This is a positive number indicating the CPU time, in percent or megahertz, the corresponding virtual environment is not allowed to exceed.

burst_cpulimit

The CPU power limit, in percent, the virtual environment cannot exceed. The limitations set in this parameter are applied to the virtual environment when it exceeds the limit specified in the burst_cpu_avg_usage parameter.

burst_cpu_avg_usage

The CPU usage limit, in percent, set for the virtual environment. This limit is calculated as the ratio of the current virtual environment CPU usage to the CPU limit (i.e to the value of the CPULIMIT parameter) set for the virtual environment. If the limit is not specified, the full CPU power of the physical server is considered as the CPU limit. Upon exceeding the burst_cpu_avg_usage limit, the burst_cpulimit limit is applied to the virtual environment.

cpus

The number of CPUs set to handle all the processes inside the given virtual environment. By default, any virtual environment is allowed to consume the CPU time of all processors on the physical server.

7.7.5.3. Disk Resources

The disk-related resource management is based on the following parameters:

Parameter

Description

diskspace

Total size of disk space consumed by the virtual environment.

When the space used by the virtual environment hits the soft limit, the virtual environment can allocate additional disk space up to the hard limit during the grace period indicated by the quotatime parameter value.

diskinodes

Total number of disk inodes (files, directories, and symbolic links) allocated by the virtual environment. When the number of inodes used by the virtual environment hits the soft limit, the virtual environment can create additional inodes up to the hard limit during the grace period indicated by the quotatime parameter value.

quotaugidlimit

Number of user/group IDs allowed for the virtual environment internal disk quota. If set to 0, UID/GID quota will not be enabled.

quotatime

The grace period for the disk quota overusage defined in seconds. The virtual environment is allowed to temporarily exceed its quota soft limits for no more than the QUOTATIME period.

ioprio

The virtual environment priority for disk I/O operations. The allowed range of values is 0-7. The greater the priority, the more time the virtual environment has for writing to and reading from the disk. The default virtual environment priority is 4.

iolimit

The bandwidth the virtual environment is allowed to use for its disk input and output operations.

iopslimit

The maximum number of disk input and output operations per second a container is allowed to perform.

7.7.5.4. Memory Resources

This screen displays information on the memory-based or system-based virtual environment resources, or both, depending on your memory configuration:

  • If the memory management mode is enabled for the virtual environment, it can be allocated memory in much the same way as a certain amount of physical memory is installed on a physical computer. This is the recommended mode for managing virtual environments for most administrators.

  • If the system management mode is enabled, the virtual environment’s performance depends on the values of quite a number of fine-grained parameters. The primary parameters are the starting point for defining the relative power of a virtual environment. The secondary parameters are dependent on the primary ones and are calculated from them according to a set of constraints. The auxiliary parameters help improve fault isolation among applications in a virtual environment and the way applications handle errors and consume resources.

  • If both resource management modes are used, the more restrictive value is taken into account each time the system makes the decision whether to allocate this or that resource to the virtual environment.

Memory parameters

Parameter

Description

slmmemorylimit

An approximation of the size of the physical memory allocated to the virtual environment. In other words, the virtual environment performance is similar to the performance of a physical computer with as much physical memory installed as is indicated in this parameter.

Primary system parameters

Parameter

Description

numproc

The maximal number of threads the virtual environment may create.

vmguarpages

The memory allocation guarantee, in pages. r applications are guaranteed to be able to allocate additional memory so long as the amount of memory accounted as privvmpages (see the auxiliary parameters) does not exceed the configured barrier of the vmguarpages parameter. Above the barrier, additional memory allocation is not guaranteed and may fail in case of overall memory shortage.

avnumproc

The average number of threads.

numtcpsock

The number of TCP sockets (PF_INET family, SOCK_STREAM type). This parameter limits the number of TCP connections and, thus, the number of clients the server application can handle in parallel.

Note

This parameter is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

numothersock

The number of sockets other than TCP ones. Local (UNIX-domain) sockets are used for communications inside the system. UDP sockets are used, for example, for Domain Name Service (DNS) queries. UDP and other sockets may also be used in some very specialized applications (SNMP agents and others).

Note

This parameter is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

Secondary system parameters

Parameter

Description

privvmpages

The size of private (or potentially private) memory allocated by an application. The memory that is always shared among different applications is not included in this resource parameter.

tcpsndbuf

The total size of send buffers for TCP sockets, i.e. the amount of kernel memory allocated for the data sent from an application to a TCP socket, but not acknowledged by the remote side yet.

Note

This parameter is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

tcprcvbuf

The total size of receive buffers for TCP sockets, i.e. the amount of kernel memory allocated for the data received from the remote side, but not read by the local application yet.

Note

This parameter is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

othersockbuf

The total size of UNIX-domain socket buffers, UDP, and other datagram protocol send buffers.

Note

This parameter is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

dgramrcvbuf

The total size of receive buffers of UDP and other datagram protocols.

Note

This parameter is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 containers.

Auxiliary system parameters

Parameter

Description

lockedpages

The memory not allowed to be swapped out (locked with the mlock() system call), in pages.

shmpages

The total size of shared memory (including IPC, shared anonymous mappings and tmpfs objects) allocated by the processes of a particular virtual environment, in pages.

numfile

The number of files opened by all virtual environment processes.

numflock

The number of file locks created by all virtual environment processes.

numpty

The number of pseudo-terminals, such as an ssh session, screen or xterm applications, etc.

numsiginfo

The number of siginfo structures (essentially, this parameter limits the size of the signal delivery queue).

numiptent

The number of IP packet filtering entries.

The information on the available parameters is presented in the table with the following columns:

Column

Description

Parameter

The name of the resource parameter.

Current Usage

Indicates the consumption of the corresponding resource by the container at the moment of calling the current Virtuozzo Automator page. The units in which the consumption is measured are specified in the Units column. If the current usage is not available (n/a), it means that either the container is not running, or the nature of the resource does not suggest its changing over time.

Soft Limit

The limit on the consumption of the given resource by the container that can be exceeded only if the system is not fully loaded. The units in which the limit is measured are specified in the Units column.

Hard Limit

The limit on the consumption of the given resource by the current container that cannot be exceeded under any circumstances. The units in which the limit is measured are specified in the Units column.

Units

The units in which the resource values are measured.

Description

The description of the resource parameter.

7.7.5.5. Changing Container Resource Parameters

This screen allows you to adjust the resources of the selected virtual environment. For more information, see the descriptions of CPU, disk, and memory resources in Resources Overview.

7.7.5.6. Changing Disk Quota for Multiple Containers

You can specify a new disk quota for a bunch of your containers at once on the Configure: Set Container Disk Limits page.

The Containers Disk Usage Current Statistics table lets you take in the current disk quota and usage for all the selected containers at a single glance.

In the Change Containers Disk Quota group there are three major options to set a defined disk quota for the containers:

  • Use the Set Disk Quota to option to specify an exact size of the disk space each container is allowed to consume.

  • Use the Increase Disk Quota by option to have the quota increased by a specified amount for each container. So, if two or more containers had different disk quotas before, the latter will remain different because the increase is the same.

  • Use the Decrease Disk Quota by option to have the quota decreased by a specified amount for each container. So, if two or more containers had different disk quotas before, the latter will remain different because the decrease is the same.

To further tune the disk usage, set the inodes limit you think is reasonable for the total number of files you have or are going to have on each container disk. In the Change Containers Disk Inodes Limit group you can:

  • Set an inodes density value and use the Calculate the disk inodes limit using the inodes per KB ratio option;

  • Set an inodes limit value to depend on the current container inodes density;

  • Manually enter an inodes limit value.

Just enter the desired number into the corresponding field, choose the proper units of measurements and click Submit.

Note

When performing the operation, bear in mind that the disk quota for a container cannot be less than the size of the disk space already occupied by this container (you can learn it from the Resources table on the Summary tab).

The two remaining options in both groups speak for themselves - select Set unlimited Disk Quota/Inodes to remove any disk space/inodes restrictions for the selected containers, or select Do not change Disk Quota/Inodes Limit to leave the current disk space restrictions intact.

7.7.5.7. Applying New Container Templates

Any container is configured by means of its own container template (a configuration file used as an archetype to reproduce all its settings for a container based on it). The Apply template to Container page enables you to change the container template the container is based on and, thus, to change all the resources the container may consume and/or allocate at once.

In the Original Container template table at the top of the page, you can view the name and description of the current container template the container is based on.

The Select Library Container template table allows you to choose another configuration template to base the container on by selecting the radio button against the corresponding container template. All available container templates listed are supplied with the following information: the name and brief description of the container template.

To facilitate working with container templates, you can filter the container templates shown in the Select Library Container template table. To do that, click Show Search, enter search patterns in the search fields, and click Search. To change what search fields are displayed, click Customize. To view all available container templates, click Reset Results. To show or hide columns, click Select Columns and set or clear the respective checkboxes..

The Advanced Options group allows you to have the container restarted if the parameters setup for the selected template requires restarting.

Note

Before applying a new container template to a container, make sure you are aware of the resource values defined in this container template and to be set for the container. Detailed information on container templates is provided in Managing Container Templates.

Applying New Container Template to Multiple Containers

You can specify a new container template for a bunch of your containers at once on the Configure: Apply Container template page.

You should select the relevant container template on the Container templates list, then click Next to choose from the template parameters to be applied to the containers, if needed.

7.7.6. Viewing Container Logs

7.7.6.1. Viewing Container Task Logs

The Tasks subtab lists recent operations on the selected container. For more details on information shown, see Viewing Infrastructure Task Logs.

7.7.6.2. Viewing Container Alert Logs

The Alerts subtab lists resource consumption alerts for the selected container. For more details on information shown, see Viewing Infrastructure Alert Logs.

7.7.6.3. Viewing Container Event Logs

The Events subtab lists status changes of the selected container. For more details on information shown, see Viewing Infrastructure Event Logs.

7.7.7. Adjusting Container Template Resource Parameters for Multiple Containers

The Configure: Review Resources page allows you to specify what resource parameters from the selected template should be applied to the containers. You can decide whether a parameter needs to be applied by selecting the corresponding check box.

For the description of resources, refer to these subsections:

7.7.8. Managing Container Services and Processes

Virtuozzo Automator allows you to manage services and processes inside containers in a number of ways. You can:

  • Open a list of principal services inside your container through the System Services link with the opportunity to start, stop, restart any of them and control their autostart option.

  • Open a list of processes running inside the container by clicking the System Processes link with the opportunity to send various signals to any of the processes.

  • Create or change your firewall settings by clicking on the Firewall link.

  • If the name-based hosting is enabled on the physical server, you can edit the Name-Based Hosting settings for this container.

7.7.8.1. Managing Container Services

The System Services SysV subtab is used to view all the services you are running on the container except for the xinetd-dependent services. To see the xinetd-dependent services list, click the System Services Xinetd subtab.

By default, 20 services are displayed on a page. To change the number of services shown per page, click the appropriate link below the table. You can also filter the services shown in the System Services table. To do that, click Show Search, enter search patterns in the search fields, and click Search. To change what search fields are displayed, click Customize. To show or hide columns, click Select Columns and set or clear the respective checkboxes.

The System Services SysV screen presents a table reflecting the services inside the container and providing the following information:

Column

Description

Name

The system ID of the service executable file.

Status

Indicates whether the service is running or not. A green arrow means that the service is running; a red cross - that it is stopped.

Autostart

If there is a green tick in this column, this service is started automatically on the container startup; if a red cross - it is not.

With the help of the Virtuozzo Automator toolbar you can perform the following actions on any service in the table:

  • Start the service by selecting its check box and clicking Start Service.

  • Restart the service by selecting its check box and clicking Restart Service.

  • Stop the service by selecting its check box and clicking Stop Service.

  • Enable/disable the autostart feature by selecting the service(s) and clicking Enable/Disable Autostart.

All the above and a service description are available on the screen which opens by clicking the name of the service in the Name column.

Managing xinetd-Dependent Services

The System Services Xinetd subtab is used to view all the services you are running on this container that are dependent on the xinetd service. To see the other services, click the System Services SysV subtab.

By default, 20 services are displayed on a page. To change the number of services shown per page, click the appropriate link below the table. You can also filter the services shown in the System Services table. To do that, click Show Search, enter search patterns in the search fields, and click Search. To change what search fields are displayed, click Customize. To show or hide columns, click Select Columns and set or clear the respective checkboxes.

The System Services Xinetd page presents a table reflecting the xinetd-dependent services inside the container and providing the following information:

Column

Description

Name

The system ID of the service executable file.

Status

Indicates whether the service is enabled or not. A green arrow means that the service is enabled; a red cross - that it is disabled.

Autostart

If there is a tick in this column, the xinetd service is started automatically on the container startup, so is the given service; if a cross, it is not.

You can perform the following actions on any service in the table:

  • Enable the service by selecting its check box and clicking on the Enable button on the Virtuozzo Automator toolbar. Only disabled services are subject to this action.

  • Disable the service by selecting its check box and clicking on the Disable button on the Virtuozzo Automator toolbar. Only enabled services are subject to this action.

Viewing Service Details

The Service Details screen provides the principal information on the given service and lets you manage it.

The following information is provided:

  • The description of the service;

  • Whether the service is running or stopped;

  • Whether the service is started automatically on the container startup or not.

You may perform the following actions on any such service:

  • Stop the service by clicking the Stop Service button. Only running services are subject to this action.

  • Restart the service by clicking the Restart Service button. Only running services are subject to this action.

  • Start the service by clicking the Start Service button. Only stopped services are subject to this action.

  • Enable/disable the autostart feature by clicking the Enable Autostart/Disable Autostart button, correspondingly.

Viewing xinetd-Dependent Service Details

The Service Details screen provides the principal information on the given service and lets you manage it.

As the service is dependent on the xinetd service, i.e. xinetd is charged with launching the service when necessary, you can only either enable or disable such a service — depending on its current state — by clicking the Enable/Disable Service button, correspondingly. Moreover, the xinetd service must be running to perform any such action; otherwise, the operation will result in an error. You cannot manage the autostart feature of xinetd-dependent services, as its value is inherited from the xinetd service.

7.7.8.2. Managing Container Processes

You can see and manage processes inside a running container on the System Processes page accessible by clicking Service > System Processes. The following table describes information on processes shown on the page.

Column

Description

PID

The process ID.

%CPU

The percent of the CPU time the process is currently using.

%MEM

The percent of the RAM size the process is currently using.

Command

The command that is used to launch the process.

Nice

The relative priority of the process assigned to it by the user. The negative values mean that the user has manually increased the priority, the positive values - that they have decreased it.

Pri

The absolute priority of the process assigned to it by the process scheduler. The range is from 0 (the highest priority) to 39 (the lowest priority). The usual process priority is 30.

RSS

(Resident Segment Size) The size of physical memory the process really uses (in Kilobytes).

Stat

The state of the process. The possible states are: R - runnable, on the run queue; S - sleeping; T - traced or stopped; D - uninterruptable sleep; Z - defunct, “zombie”. If two letters are shown, the second letter means the following: W - has no resident pages; < - high-priority process; N - low-priority task; L - has pages locked in memory; s - the process is a session leader; + means the process is in the foreground process group of its control terminal.

Time

The total amount of the CPU time the process has used so far.

User

The user the process belongs to.

To have the information in the table refreshed automatically with the current values, click the Enable Autorefresh button. It is worthy to note that only the table on the current page is refreshed, which takes much less resources in comparison with refreshing the whole Virtuozzo Automator page.

Note

The table is available only for a running container.

You may select any number of processes by ticking the check boxes against the corresponding processes (tick the uppermost check box to select all the processes at once) and send them a standard signal. Choose the needed signal on the drop-down menu and click the Send Signal button. The following signals can be sent:

  • SIGHUP - is a hang-up signal. It is often used to ask a daemon process to re-read its configuration.

  • SIGTERM - sends the termination signal to the process. This is the best way to give the process a chance for an orderly shutdown and proper data saving. As the process might be able to catch this signal and stay alive, you may have to make use of the sigkill or sigint signals.

  • SIGCONT - continues the process causing it to resume.

  • SIGSTOP - stops (suspends) the process. The process will still be on the task list.

  • SIGINT - causes the process to immediately interrupt. The signal is very close to sigkill, the difference being that, unlike sigkill, it can be caught by the process and ignored if the process gets out of hand. In this case you should send sigkill to shut down the process.

  • SIGKILL - unconditionally kills the process. Mind that sending sigkill to any process removes any chance for it to do a tidy cleanup and shutdown, which might have unfortunate consequences.

7.7.9. Managing Container Applications

Applications can either be added to the container by means of the corresponding Virtuozzo templates or installed in the container as individual software packages.

The Applications subtab of the container Software tab allows you to do the following:

  • view the applications added to the container as application templates as well as their up-to-date status.

  • if some of the applications are not up to date (i.e. the updated versions of the corresponding templates or template packages are available on the physical server), update them by clicking the Update Container Software button on the toolbar.

  • add more applications available on the physical server or delete unnecessary ones by clicking Manage Applications and performing these actions on the screen that opens.

7.7.9.1. Managing Container Application Templates

The Manage Applications button on the Applications subtab of the container Software tab opens the screen that allows you to manage applications available to the container. On this page, you can:

  • View the applications already installed in the container. These applications are listed in the Installed/Scheduled Applications table in the right part of the page.

  • Install new applications to the container. To add any of the applications from the Available Applications table to the container, tick the corresponding check boxes and click on the >> button. After that, the applications appear in the Installed/Scheduled Applications table in the right part of the page. Clicking the Submit button starts the installation process.

  • Delete those applications from the container that are not needed any more. To remove any application, tick the corresponding check box in the Installed/Scheduled Applications table and click on the << button. After that, the application appears in the Available Applications table in the left part of the page. Click the Submit button to start the deletion process.

Adding Application Templates to Multiple Containers

It is possible to add one or more application templates simultaneously to a multitude of containers on the Configure: Add Software to Containers page (accessible by selecting the containers on the list, clicking Configure and selecting the Add Software to Containers option). The available templates are listed in the Select Applications to Install group. There are two conditions for being able to add the templates listed under that group to the containers in question:

  1. They should be installed on all the physical servers where the respective containers are situated.

  2. They should be compatible with all the containers for which this operation is performed.

Select the check boxes beside those applications that you want to add to the containers. You also have the option to start those containers that are stopped to be able to add the templates to them. Otherwise, the templates will not be added to the containers that are not running.

Click Next to review your operation details and start the software installation.

Removing Application Templates From Multiple Containers

It is possible to remove one or more application templates simultaneously from a multitude of containers on the Configure: Remove Software From Containers page (accessible by selecting the Containers on the list, clicking Configure and selecting the Remove Software From Containers option). The templates that are added to all the containers in question and thus can be removed from all of them are listed in the Select Applications to Remove group.

Select the check boxes beside those applications that you want to remove from the containers. You also have the option to start those containers that are stopped to be able to remove the templates from them. Otherwise, the templates will not be removed from the containers that are not running.

Click Submit to start the software uninstallation.

7.7.9.2. Managing Container Software Packages

Virtuozzo Automator enables you to install, update, and uninstall rpm and deb packages in containers based on EZ OS templates.

Note

The container you want to manage software packages in has to be running.

You can obtain the information on the packages currently installed in the container in the Installed Packages table, presented as follows:

Column

Description

Name

The name of the package.

Epoch

Indicates the version of a deb package or the version of an rpm package in case the version of the rpm package is not available.

Version

The version of an rpm package.

Arch

The processor architecture; if the column shows the “noarch” value, the packet is likely to be either non-executable or contain documentation.

Summary

A short description of the package.

Status

Shows if there is a fresher version of the package: Up-to-date or Update Found.

The Installed Packages table displays from 10 up to 80 packages; the default number is 20 and can be changed by clicking 10, 40, or 80 on top of the table. To see the next portion of packages, click either the number of the page next to the one you are having at the moment, or next (or last, to view the last page).

If the status of a package in the Installed Packages table suggests that an update is available, you can select this package and click the Update link on the Virtuozzo Automator toolbar. To update all those packages that you can see on the page, select the uppermost check box and click Update. If you need to run update for all the packages installed in the container, do not select anything - simply click the Update All icon on the toolbar.

To uninstall a package, select it (or select the uppermost check box to uninstall all the packages listed on the page), and click Uninstall.

Installing Software Packages in Container

On the Install New Packages screen you can obtain the following information on the packages:

Column

Description

Name

The name of the package.

Epoch

Indicates the version of a deb package or the version of an rpm package in case the version of the rpm package is not available.

Version

The version of an rpm package.

Arch

The processor architecture; if the column shows the “noarch” value, the packet is likely to be either non-executable or contain documentation.

The Available Packages table can display 10, 20, 40 or 80 packages, the default number is 20 and can be changed by clicking 10, 40, or 80 on top of the table. To see the next portion of packages, click either the number of the page next to the one you are having at the moment, or next (or last, to view the last page).

To install a package, select its check box (or the uppermost check box, to install all the packages shown in the table) and click Install.

7.7.9.3. Updating Container Software

The Update Software page allows you to update the OS and application packages in the given container directly. The Update Software page is available on clicking the Update Container Software link on the toolbar, which becomes visible if you are currently located on the Application Templates subtab of the container Software tab.

The page will display the relevant information in one of two ways:

  • If no updated templates for the given container have been installed on the physical server or no updated packages are found in the repository, the page just informs you of this fact.

  • If updated packages for the given container can be found in the repository, you are able to select the packages that you wish to update inside the container.

Two options for customizing the update process are available on clicking the Configure Updating group:

  • The Force software update option tells the system to perform the update even if unresolved dependencies are met during the process.

  • The Jump over several upgrades instead of adding them sequentially option can be used if two or more sequential updates are found for this or that template.

Click Update to update the templates/packages you have selected for the given container.

Updating Software in Multiple Containers

The OS and application packages can be updated simultaneously in a multitude of containers directly. All the currently available OS and application packages updates will be installed to the selected containers. This is done on the Configure: Upgrade Containers Software page.

Two actions for customizing the update process are available on clicking the Configure Updating group:

  • The Force software update action tells the system to perform the update even if unresolved dependencies are met during the process.

  • There is no way to update a stopped container. If some of the containers you selected for updating are not running, select the Start the stopped Containers check box. The containers that are not running will then be started only to be updated and stopped again.

Click Update to update the selected containers. To return to the previous page, or cancel upgrading click Back and Cancel, accordingly.

7.7.10. Managing Plesk Control Panel

You can install the Plesk control panel on a Virtuozzo server as a template and then add this template to any container hosted on the server.

After the template is installed, the Plesk control panel can be managed on the Control Panels subtab of the container Software tab.

For Virtuozzo 6 servers, the legacy Plesk EZ templates (pp12-*, pp11-*, and pp10-*) are included in the EZ template repository. You need only to install the Plesk control panel in the container to start using it.

7.7.10.1. Installing Plesk Control Panel

To be able to manage containers with Plesk, you need to install the Plesk application templates on the Virtuozzo server where the required container is hosted and then install the Plesk control panel into the container itself.

To install the Plesk application templates on Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 7, do as follows:

  1. On Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 7, add the /etc/yum.repos.d/plesk-ez-templates.repo repository with the following lines:

    [plesk-ez-templates]
    name=Plesk EZ templates
    baseurl=http://autoinstall.plesk.com/ez-templates/
    enabled=1
    gpgcheck=1
    gpgkey=http://autoinstall.plesk.com/plesk.gpg
    
    [ez-templates.vz6]
    name=Virtuozzo - EZ templates
    mirrorlist=http://updates.virtuozzo.com/mirrors/templates-x86_64
    enabled=0
    gpgcheck=0
    gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/PARALLELS_GPG_KEY
    
    [ez-templates-32.vz6]
    name=Virtuozzo - EZ templates (32 bits)
    mirrorlist=http://updates.virtuozzo.com/mirrors/templates-i386
    enabled=0
    gpgcheck=0
    gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/PARALLELS_GPG_KEY
    

    Note

    Plesk does not provide the legacy panel EZ templates for Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 7. However, you can install the legacy Plesk panel at your own risk:

    1. Add the Virtuozzo 6 EZ templates repositories to Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 7 by enabling ez-templates.vz6 and ez-templates-32.vz6 in the /etc/yum.repos.d/plesk-ez-templates.repo file.

    2. Create the required link with ln -s /etc/vz/vz.conf /etc/sysconfig/vz.

  2. On Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 7, install the Plesk application template compatible with the container OS template. For example, to install the Plesk Onyx EZ templates for the CentOS 7 container, execute

    # yum install pp17-*centos-7-x86_64-ez
    

    To install the legacy Plesk EZ templates for CentOS 6, execute

    # yum install pp12-*centos-6-x86_64-ez
    
  3. On the Management Node, install the Plesk plugin for VA Control Center:

    # yum install va-cc-plesk
    

Now you can install the Plesk control panel into a container. However, make sure that the following prerequisites are met:

  1. The Plesk application template on the physical server must be compatible with the current container OS template.

  2. The container must have a hostname and a host-routed IP address specified.

  3. The container must have enough available resources (no less than is set in the /etc/opt/pva/cc/pvacc.conf configuration file).

To install Plesk in a container, open container’s Software > Control Panels subtab and click Install. On the Install Plesk Control Panel screen that opens, click Install.

7.7.10.2. Working with Plesk Control Panel

To start working in Plesk, click Manage on container’s Software > Control Panels subtab.

Logging In to Plesk Control Panel

Having installed the Plesk control panel inside the container, you can click Log In to Plesk on the Control Panels subtab or Log in… > Open Plesk Panel on the toolbar to start a Plesk control panel session. A new browser window with the Plesk control panel will open, and you will be able to start managing the container.

Note

  1. Before logging in to the Plesk control panel, make sure the container is running and the ports listed in the Plesk KB article are opened inside it.

  2. No user name and password are required to log in since you have already been identified by your Virtuozzo Automator user credentials.

To log in to the legacy Plesk control panel, you can also use legacy VA Power Panel. This requires enabling the Plesk service in the container offline management settings (see Defining General Settings). After clicking the Log In to Plesk link, the user is redirected to Power Panel with several Plesk addons inside.

Changing Plesk Administrator Password

Note

Changing passwords regularly is recommended to improve container security.

To change the Plesk administrator’s password, click Change Password on the Plesk Control Panel page, then type and retype the new password in the corresponding fields. The password must be at least 5 characters long and difficult enough to guess. Click Change to apply the changes.

7.7.11. Cloning Containers

You can create a complete copy of a particular container (in respect of all the container data and resource parameters), or a container clone. This is a good means to save your time since you do not bother about setting the container configuration parameters and the like. Moreover, you can create a number of container clones at a sitting by opening the containers page, selecting the ones to be cloned and clicking the Clone link.

The option is available on the Clone Container page which enables you to define the name, hostname, password, and set the advanced settings for the container being created.

The General Settings section enables you to:

  • Provide a name for the container clone.

The Network Settings section lets you:

  • Set a hostname of the container. Mind that the range of symbols for the container hostname is limited. The hostname should consist of a-z, 0-9, _, and may have a point in the middle. The number of symbols should not exceed 256.

In the New Password section, you can set a new password for the container clone. In this case you provide the password in the Administrative password field and confirm it in the field below. You can leave the field blank though to use the password from the cloned container. The password is needed to access the container in the future.

The Advanced Settings section lets you:

  • Specify the container ID, a 32-bit (ranging from 0 to 4294967295) integer number over 100;

  • Start the container after cloning.

(For Virtuozzo 6 servers) The Offline Management group allows you to set the offline service options by selecting the appropriate option. Offline Service of the corresponding container ensures the container manageability by means of one or more offline services from any browser at its own IP address. After offline service is enabled for the container, one port of its IP address becomes permanently active whatever the container state. You can:

  • Disable the offline service of the container.

  • Enable the offline service of the container via the offline service settings operating on the physical server. Whenever you need to manage the container offline, its offline service settings will be brought into synchronization with those in effect on the physical server. Should any service be removed from the default services list, the container will be unable to be managed via the service off the list. This option subscribes the container to the default offline services.

  • Manually compose the container offline services list. You can select the service(s) you would like the container to be subscribed to in the corresponding checkbox(es).

By default, the Offline Service radio button is set to the option used by the container being cloned. You can change it to use another offline service mode for the new container.

Note

The rest of the container general settings are copied from the cloned container by default.

Click Clone to initiate the creation of the container clone or Customize to set up the remaining network settings of the new container.

7.7.11.1. Configuring Clone Network Parameters

The Clone Container - Configure Network screen allows you to define what Virtual Network adapters the new container will use and to configure the settings of these adapters. For more information, see Configuring Container Network Parameters.

After deciding on the necessary parameters, click Clone to start the cloning procedure.

7.7.11.2. Cloning Multiple Containers

One of the easiest methods of creating new containers of a certain type or particular configuration is cloning the old ones. Cloned containers are exact replicas of the prototypes and can be created on the Clone Containers screen where you can:

  • Specify a name and a hostname for each new container clone. The number of sections to set these parameters is equal to the number of containers you want to clone. Mind that the range of symbols for the container hostname is limited. The hostname should consist of a-z, 0-9, _, and may have a point in the middle. The number of symbols should not exceed 256.

  • If you need to start the clones immediately after they are created, select the Start the Containers after cloning check box in the Post Procedures section.

After entering the necessary data, click Clone to begin the cloning procedure, otherwise click Cancel.

7.7.12. Migrating Containers

The cases when you need to move your containers from one physical server to another can be quite numerous. A migration can be performed to distribute the workload between physical servers, etc. On the Migrate Containers screen, you need to select the physical server you are going to move the container to and select some additional options.

Note

  1. The physical server must be registered in the infrastructure. If you need to migrate containers to a physical server that has not been registered yet, this has to be done first.

  2. You can migrate only stopped and suspended Virtuozzo 6 containers to Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 7.

  3. Migration of Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 7 virtual environments to Virtuozzo 6 servers is not supported.

  4. If remote display is configured in the container to be migrated live, it is recommended to either disable this feature until live migration is finished or revert its configuration to the default by selecting Configure General Settings > Remote Display Service > Enabled with Default Settings.

Irrespective of the container state, the following options are available in the Migration Options section:

  • Perform migration with Container restart. By default, if the container is running before the migration, it will be migrated live. But you can also perform offline migration by selecting this option. In this case, the container will be stopped before migration and restarted automatically when migration is over. This can be useful if online migration fails (for example, when the source and destination servers have incompatible processors).

  • Remove the private areas from the source Hardware Node after the migration. You can remove the containers private areas (the directories to store the containers files and other data) from the source physical server when the migration is finished, which lets you free some disk space. On the other hand, you might want to leave the private areas on the source physical server intact until you ascertain the migrated container operates normally.

  • Do not start the Container after the migration. When offline migration is complete, the container is automatically restarted. If needed, you can leave it stopped to perform some additional operations on it by choosing this option.

    Note

    This option applies only to offline migration.

  • Force the migration. Ignore possible conflicts in IP addresses applications. The container migration happens even if its IP address might cause conflicts on the destination physical server or if the templates the container uses are not installed there. Keep in mind that though it is possible to force the migration of such a container, it might not be able to start on the destination physical server until the problems with IP addresses and/or templates are resolved.

Click the Migrate button if you are ready to initiate the containers migration, otherwise click Cancel.

7.7.12.1. Migrating Container to Virtuozzo Physical Servers

To migrate a container to a Virtuozzo physical server, do the following:

  1. In the Migration From section, choose the Virtuozzo 6 or 7 physical server that will host the container from the To Hardware Node drop-down list.

  2. Specify the settings in the Migration Options section, if needed.

  3. Click Migrate to continue.

7.7.12.2. Migrating Physical Servers to Containers

Note

This feature is only supported for Virtuozzo 6 servers.

Virtuozzo Automator provides you with an effective tool - Virtuozzo Transporter - for a fast and reliable migration from a physical server to a container. Migration of a stand-alone physical server to a virtual environment may be useful for a server using its available resources only partially, as the usage of the resources on the physical server hosting virtual environments is distributed efficiently among the virtual environments. Therefore the physical server is never idle at the same time allotting the virtual environments enough resources to operate. You can benefit from the physical server to virtual environment migration by:

  • Cutting down administrative and operations costs. Decreasing the number of physical servers under management reduces administrative overhead, as well as rack space, power, and hardware replacement costs.

  • Reducing downtime costs. virtual environment allows you to back up your production environment, which can be rapidly deployed in the event of a system failure.

  • Optimizing resource utilization. Each server under management is fully used; its resources are not wasted.

Improving standardization. Deployment of standard hardware allows for improved security and reliability across your organization’s network as well as the streamlined management that virtual infrastructure brings. The migration procedure is rendered easy and smooth with the help of Virtuozzo Transporter which can be invoked by clicking Operate > Migrate Server to Container on the physical server toolbar.

Setting Up Connection to Physical Servers

The starting point of the migrating procedure with Virtuozzo Transporter is establishing a connection to the physical server you wish to migrate.

To do this you need to specify the server IP address or hostname in the IP Address or Hostname field. The IP address and hostname should be the ones the server is recognized by on a network. After you have filled in the server coordinates, you have to provide the administrator’s credentials (in the Administrator Name and Administrator Password fields) you use to log in to the migrating server. The default user name is root, unless you have created a different user account. In this case you are expected to enter the user name you have adopted for a new user account. Mind that the new user must have the scope of rights the root user is endowed with. Finally, specify the physical server that will host the target container. If there is only one physical server that can host the container, it will be filled in by default, and the field is grayed out.

After you have entered all the required information, click Connect to set up a connection to the server.

Note

To secure a successful connection, the source physical server should have either of the following ports open: 4434 or 4435, and port 22.

Reviewing Physical Server Configuration

In the second step Virtuozzo Transporter allows you to check the configuration of the server you are going to migrate into a container. This is necessary for you to verify that you are connected to exactly the same server you wish to migrate.

The information on the server is divided into three groups.

The Hardware Information table includes:

Name

Description

Architecture

The architecture of the server CPU(s).

CPU

The number, name and power of the processor(s) installed on the physical server.

Operating Memory

The physical memory: the total physical memory available, the amount of the server physical memory used and the amount of free memory still remaining.

Swap Memory

The swap partition data: the total swap partition size, the swap memory used and the amount of the free swap memory.

The Network Information tells you the server hostname and the network interface details, such as the server IP address(es) and the network adapter type(s).

The Disk Partitions section yields the following information:

Name

Description

Name

The name of the partition on the server disk.

Mounted

The mount point of the partition described.

Type

The file system type.

Block Size

The block size of the partition file system.

Total Blocks

The number of the blocks in the file system.

Used Blocks

The number of the blocks used.

Free Blocks

The number of the blocks still available for data storage.

Total Inodes

The overall number of the inodes in the partition.

Used Inodes

The number of the inodes used.

Free Inodes

The number of inodes free to use.

After you have reviewed the physical server system information, click Next to proceed to the customization of the server migration procedure.

Customizing Migration Procedure

In the third step you have an opportunity to edit the details of the migration process. On this page you can tune your physical server migration by:

  • Indicating your Linux distribution in the Distribution Selection section before migrating a physical server (the option is required). Virtuozzo Transporter tries to identify the migrated server distribution automatically, but the potential danger here may be its failure to do so. This is likely to make it impossible to carry out certain post-migration operations on the container into which the physical server has been migrated. Therefore, to cut out the risk, you must prompt the wizard your server distribution by selecting the corresponding name in the Select the Distribution drop-down menu.

  • Choosing a user/group quota partition to migrate. As a server administrator, you might have already divided your hard disk into partitions to be used by different users/groups and set a corresponding quota for the usage thereof. Since all the file systems are copied to a single partition in the container, your user/group quota parameters configuration may be lost. Therefore you are allowed to choose a partition you wish to save the quota values for and specify it in the Quota migration section. To do this, you have to select the partition name on the drop-down menu. Note that if you have more than one partition you have allocated for non-root users, the quota parameters setup will be lost for the partitions other than the one you have indicated in this section. In this case you will need extra post-migration user/group, or second-level quota parameters setting up.

    Note

    Although the partition migration with quotas proceeds smoothly in most cases, we recommend that you check all the partition quotas after the physical server migration and adjust them, if needed.

  • Excluding paths from copying them to the container in the Exclude Paths section. This option allows you to avoid migrating the data you do not need. You can single out such paths yourself or in some cases you will be prompted to do so by the relevant warning, advising you to exclude a certain path. The droppable path should be provided in the blank field in this section. You can add more paths to skip by clicking the plus icon to the right of the field. Clicking the cross icon near the field will remove the field with the path entered.

  • Stopping the services before the migration by means of the Stop Services section. This is highly recommended to prevent the running services from modifying any files which might hamper the migration. To stop the services, click their checkboxes.

After you have done all the necessary customization, click Next to move on to the fourth page where you can configure the container to migrate your physical server to.

Configuring Destination Containers

The Virtuozzo Transporter: Configure Container page allows you to configure a container into which you can migrate your physical server.

By default, most container parameters, such as container hostname, IP address(es), DNS server(s) and hostname lookup parameters are inherited from the physical server and are displayed on this page in the appropriate fields. By editing these parameters you can apply your own values. Mind though that you do so at your own risk, and if you are not quite expert in the matter, the recommendation is to leave the default settings. On this page you can verify or edit container general settings that are divided into three groups for your convenience: configuration parameters, network parameters, and advanced parameters.

The Configuration group enables you to perform the following operations:

  • Select a container sample you want the container to be based on.

  • Choose an OS template and its version you wish the container to be based on. By default, Virtuozzo Automator automatically searches for the most compatible OS template. However you can change the OS template if needed.

  • Select the Customize resource settings checkbox, which allows you to adjust resource parameters on the next page of the wizard. This operation is optional.

The Network group lets you do the following to define the network parameters:

  • Verify the container hostname. Mind that it is inherited from the physical server. Changing the hostname may result in future conflicts and malfunction.

  • Assign an IP address to it. You can set several IP addresses for the container by clicking the plus icon to the right of the IP Address field. At the same time, clicking the cross icon near the IP Address field will remove the corresponding IP address assigned to the container.

  • Enter one or more DNS servers that this container is supposed to use in the DNS server IP address field or leave it blank. By clicking the plus or cross icons you can add/remove, accordingly, the DNS servers IP addresses for the container being configured. Note that the static values in these fields might be overridden if the container gets the DNS servers from the DHCP server when operating in the bridged network mode.

  • Define a list for hostname lookup in the Search domain field or leave it blank. The search list is normally determined by the domain name(s); by default, it contains the local domain name(s) only. You can also add external domain names for a particular container. A search query is performed by attempting to use each item in the list in turn until a match is found. Note that this process may be slow and may generate a lot of network traffic if the servers for the listed domains are not local, and that the query might time out if no server is available for one of the domains. Note also that the static values in these fields might be overridden if the container gets the search domains from the DHCP server when operating in the bridged network mode.

The Advanced group helps to specify the container ID, a 32-bit (ranging from 0 to 4294967295) integer number over 100. To enable the feature, select its check box.

Click Next to submit the settings and go on to the next Migration wizard stage.

Configuring Network Parameters When Migrating Containers

This step lets you define all the major network parameters of the container you are migrating the physical server to. For more information, see Configuring Container Network Parameters.

Customizing Resource Settings When Migrating Containers

The Virtuozzo Transporter: Container Resources Customization page, where you can check or edit the future container resource parameters, can only be displayed if you have selected the Customize resource settings check box on the previous step.

Note

The default resource parameters are calculated with a 150% allowance made for the physical server maximum load. However if you are sure you need to increase the available resources, you can do so by entering new values in the appropriate fields.

Reviewing Configuration and Setting Post-migration Start/Stop Option

In the final step you can review the physical and virtual environments configuration details. To revise or change any of these, please, go Back.

You are also offered to automatically stop the physical server and start the container after migration. Stopping the physical server and starting the container after migration is necessary to avoid a possible conflict between the physical and virtual environments due to the identical network and other settings. However you can skip the option and do the work manually right after the migration before managing the virtual environment if you want to check the migration results, e.g. compare the files in the source migrated machine and target virtual environment.

When you are ready, click Migrate to start the physical server to virtual environment migration.

Note

If you press Cancel on certain steps, and the migration wizard exits, there may remain a temporary directory on the physical server that you should remove manually. The name of the directory is /var/vzagent.tmp.

7.7.13. Reinstalling Containers

Container reinstallation means recovering the original state of a container in case you have unintentionally modified, replaced, or deleted any file that is part of an application or OS template, and the action has brought about the container malfunction. The container reinstallation process restores these files as they were at the time when the container was created or when other applications were added to the container afterwards, if so.

Reinstallation is likely to bring about some irrevocable changes to your container, therefore, to be on the safe side, it is recommended to back up your container before reinstallation.

Click Prepare to Reinstall on the Reinstall: Introduction page to review the available options and to decide whether you really need to reinstall your container and in what way.

Note

In order to be reinstalled, each container has to be stopped first. If a container is not stopped, the corresponding screen will inform you of the fact. In this case follow the Stop Container link in the Possible Solutions section. Afterwards it is recommended to refresh the page by clicking the Refresh this page link in the Other possible actions section.

7.7.13.1. Selecting Reinstallation Type

The page where you should choose the mode of reinstallation is displayed after you click Next on the Reinstall Container page. You shall select one of the two reinstallation options and specify whether to preserve or drop your container password database.

When selecting a reinstallation option, bear in mind that there is one thing both options have in common: the original files of the OS and applications templates are restored in the container. Pay attention to the fact that any customization changes you have made to these files will be lost during the container reinstallation. In case you have not seriously modified any system configuration files, reinstalling the original files is likely to solve many problems.

However, you have probably already filled the container with your personal files. If you are sure these files cannot cause problems or you need them in your container, select the first option - Keep the existing Container contents. In this case, your container is created anew with all existing files moved to the /old directory inside the container. You shall be sure there is enough disk space to perform this operation, otherwise, it will fail. Be prepared to move the necessary files from the /old directory to the new existing installation manually. If such files are numerous, this may prove a tedious task.

If you think you have nothing to lose at all, select the second option: Drop the existing Container contents. Your container will be erased and recreated from the original template(s). Naturally, all your personal files will be lost. That is why you should select this option only if you have no valuable data in your container or if you have a backup of your personal files elsewhere.

Pay attention to the Password Options group. The Keep the password database option retains the information on the container users and groups. Selecting the Drop the password database radio button will purge this information altogether and create only the root account with the password specified in the Set the administrative account password and Retype the password fields under the radio button. This option may prove useful if your container has got a corrupted password database.

When you are done, click Next to proceed to the Reinstall Container: Final confirmation page.

7.7.13.2. Confirming Reinstallation

Finally you shall confirm the reinstallation or give it up. The reinstallation option you have chosen at the previous step is displayed for you to have a last chance to revise what you are about to do. Click the Reinstall button to begin the reinstallation process.

Do not forget to start the container when the operation is complete. To see the current status of the operation, click the Details link.

7.7.14. Repairing Containers

Repairing a container is another way to solve problems with the container functioning. In Virtuozzo terminology, the container is mounted in the repair mode. This means that a new container is temporarily created from scratch with the same network and other parameters as the broken container, and the root directory of the broken container is mounted as /repair into the newly-created container. Thereafter, the administrator is supposed to connect to the new container via VNC or Virtuozzo Automator file manager using the network and login parameters of the broken container, go to the /repair directory, and perform one of the following actions:

  1. Find the personal data that needs to be saved and copy it to a safe location elsewhere. Do not copy your personal data directly into your new container, as it will be destroyed once you exit the repair mode. After quitting the repair mode, the broken container can be reinstalled and the personal data can further be loaded into it from the place where you have saved them.

  2. Identify the source of the problem and manually correct it. This method can be recommended to advanced container administrators, as it presupposes some technical expertise. And it is still recommended to save first your personal data in a safe location, just in case something goes wrong.

Note

When working inside the container being repaired by means of the Virtuozzo Automator file manager, the file manager root directory (/) corresponds to the /repair directory of the temporary container, in other words, it represents the root directory of the problem container, not that of the newly created one.

Clicking the Start Repair button on the Repair Container screen mounts the container in the repair mode. It is not necessary to stop the container beforehand; if the container is running at the moment of pressing the Start Repair button, it will be first automatically stopped.

When the page is refreshed after pressing the Start Repair button, click the Details link at the end of the The Container has been scheduled to start in the repair mode message to see if the repair mode has been successfully entered. Once the container enters the repair mode, connect to the new container via VNC or Virtuozzo Automator file manager and do what you deem reasonable inside the container. After closing the VNC session, click the Maintenance > Repair link on the container toolbar once again and press the Finish Repair button to exit the repair mode. After the repair mode is exited, the broken container starts running, and you may check the repairing effect.

7.7.15. Adjusting Container Configuration and Advanced Settings

The Configure page allows you to adjust the main settings for your containers. If the container was created singularly, you might have provided it with a name and a description. If the container was one of containers created as a group, providing names and descriptions were not available.

If you created a container by migrating a physical server into a container, the name and description fields were also left empty.

In the General Configuration group, you can specify the name or description of a container.

Use the Advanced group to:

  • Change container ID.

  • Have the container start disabled by selecting the Disable this Container check box.

  • Make the container automatically boot at physical server startup. For this purpose, select the Start on the Hardware Node boot check box.

The Remote Display group allows you to configure the settings to be used to remotely control a container via the VNC protocol. For more information, see Defining General Settings.

(For Virtuozzo 6 servers) The Offline Management group allows you to set the offline service options by selecting the appropriate option. For more information, see Defining General Settings.

The Feature Management group allows you to toggle various features supported in containers.

The Device Access Management group allows you to set access rights for devices attached to the container.

Press the Submit button to save the changes.

7.7.15.1. Adjusting General Configuration of Multiple Containers

There exist two configuration options that you may apply simultaneously to a multitude of containers. These options are whether the containers should be automatically started after the physical server is booted, and whether offline service is enabled for the containers. This is done on the Configure: Change Containers General Settings page. Select the desired options under the Change “Start on Hardware Node boot” to, Change “Offline Management service Enabled” to and Change “Container Enabled” to groups and click Submit for the changes to be applied to your containers.

7.7.16. Managing Container Templates

The Virtuozzo software allows you to create new containers on the basis of the configuration template files, called also container flavors.

The following configuration template files are provided:

  • basic - to be used for standard containers;

  • vswap.256MB - to be used for creating containers with 256 Mb of virtual RAM;

  • vswap.512MB - to be used for creating containers with 512 Mb of virtual RAM;

  • vswap.1024MB - to be used for creating containers with 1024 Mb of virtual RAM;

  • vswap.2048MB - to be used for creating containers with 2048 Mb of virtual RAM;

  • vswap.plesk - to be used for creating containers with the Plesk control panel;

  • confixx - to be used for creating containers that are to use the Confixx control panels.

You can perform a number of operations on container templates by using Virtuozzo Automator:

  • Create new container templates;

  • List the container templates currently existing on the physical server;

  • Copy container templates within the physical server;

  • Delete those container templates that are not needed any more;

  • Upload new templates onto the physical server.

7.7.16.1. Creating Container Templates

Creating a container template starts with defining the initial template configuration on the New Template: Begin screen which is accessible by clicking Templates in the Resource Library section in the left menu. Having decided on the template configuration, proceed to the general template settings.

Defining Container Template General Settings

The second page of the New Container Template wizard enables you to define the container general settings. In the General group, you should:

  • Enter a name for the container template being created.

  • Give a brief description of the container template.

  • Select on the pop-up menu the OS template and its version the container template will be based on. If you do not want the container template to depend on any specific OS template, leave this field intact.

The information provided in the General group will be displayed in the Container templates table and Container Summary table.

The Advanced group allows you to make the container that will be based on this container template automatically start on the physical server boot.

(For Virtuozzo 6 servers) The Offline Management group allows you to set the offline service options by selecting the appropriate option. Offline Service of the corresponding container ensures the container manageability by means of one or more offline services from any browser at its own IP address. After offline service is enabled for the container, one port of its IP address becomes permanently active whatever the container state. You can:

  • Disable the offline service of the container.

  • Enable the offline service of the container via the offline service settings operating on the physical server. Whenever you need to manage the container offline, its offline service settings will be brought into synchronization with those in effect on the physical server. Should any service be removed from the default services list, the container will be unable to be managed via the service off the list. This option subscribes the container to the default offline services.

  • Manually compose the container offline services list. You can select the service(s) you would like the container to be subscribed to in the corresponding checkbox(es).

The Feature Management group allows you to toggle various features supported in containers.

The Device Access Management group allows you to set access rights for devices attached to the container.

After you have provided the necessary information, click on the Next button.

Configuring Network Parameters When Creating Container Templates

The New Template: Network page lets you define all the major network parameters of the container you are creating. For more information, see Configuring Container Network Parameters.

After you have provided the necessary information, click Next.

Customizing Resource Settings When Creating Container Templates

Next, you will be presented with the New Template: Resources screen allowing you to adjust resource parameters for the containers based on the template being created. For more information, see the descriptions of CPU, disk, and memory resources in Resources Overview.

Choosing Applications

On the fifth page you can choose one or more applications that will be automatically added to the container created from the current template configuration. All applications available on your physical server are listed in the Available Applications table in the left part of the displayed page. The number of applications vary depending on the OS template the container will be based on, i.e. only those applications are displayed that are compatible with the given OS template.

To add any applications to the container template, tick the check boxes opposite the applications in the Available Applications table and click the >> button. After that, the applications appear in the Included Applications table in the right part of the page. Ticking one or several check boxes opposite the corresponding applications in the Included Applications table and clicking the << button removes the applications from the container template.

After you have selected the applications to be added to and/or removed from the container template, click the Next button.

Note

This window is displayed only if you have chosen the OS template (on the first page of the wizard) the container template will be based on.

Reviewing Template Configuration

The last screen of the New Container template wizard lets you review all the data you provided on the previous steps. If you are satisfied with the entered information, click Create to start creating the container template. Otherwise, you can return to the previous steps by clicking the Back button and change the corresponding parameters.

7.7.16.2. Creating New Templates by Splitting Physical Server

It is possible to create a container configuration file that roughly represents a given fraction of the physical server. Splitting the physical server allows you to share your physical server resources equally between a certain number of containers based on this configuration file. You may use the option to create identical containers on your physical server and distribute the resources available on a fair basis between them. Or you can simply benefit from it to easily create a new container template with a certain share of the physical server resources to use it later for one or more containers. A special two-step Split Hardware Node wizard will guide you through the process.

Specifying General Parameters

On this page of the Split Hardware Node wizard, you are asked to set the general parameters for the container template being created. Please enter the relevant information into the following fields:

Section

Field

Information to Provide

HN Selection

Hardware Node

Select the Virtuozzo Automator physical server you want to split.

Virtual Environment Template Configuration

Name (required)

The name of the virtual environment template you are going to create by splitting your physical server.

Description (optional)

Any relevant additional information about the template that may be helpful to identify the template at once.

Number of Virtual Environments

Number (required)

The number of virtual environments among which you want to divide the physical server resources.

The Offline service, Starting container on the physical server boot and Choosing OS template parameters are disabled by default. However, you can switch on these options later on for the container created and edit its name and description.

Checking Container Template Resource Parameters

The Split Hardware Node: Final page allows you to review the resource parameters that are going to be allotted to the container template being created. The resources are grouped by their relations to five computer subsystems: CPU Parameters, Disk Quota, Primary System Parameters, Secondary System Parameters and Auxiliary System Parameters. Information on the container parameters is presented in the table with the following columns:

Column

Description

Soft Limit

The limit on the consumption of the given resource by the container that once reached or exceeded can lead to grave problems inside the container. Depending on the considered parameter, either some process might be killed at any time in the container, or the next resource allocation request might be refused to it. However, the container is allowed to temporarily exceed its quota soft limit for the Disk Space and Disk Inodes resources without any damage to the container processes for the grace period, set in the quotatime parameter in the Disk Quota table.

Hard Limit

The limit on the consumption of the given resource by the current container that cannot be exceeded in any circumstances.

Units

The units in which the value of the Soft Limit and/or Hard Limit column is measured.

For more details on resources, see Editing Container Templates.

To edit the resource parameters values that do not meet your demand, go Back to change the number of containers you have split your physical server into. If you are satisfied with the resources allocation, click Submit to initiate the creation of the container template with the parameters you have set and reviewed.

Note

Later on, you can configure any of the resource parameters of the newly created container template.

7.7.16.3. Cloning Containers to Templates

The Clone to Template page allows you to create a template of the chosen container.

With this option, you can have a functioning container and its clone with the template characteristics at the same time.

Before you create a template, you should decide where to store it:

  • Clone Container to Library Template. In this case, the template will be placed to the Resource Library folder accessible to all users who have enough rights. In future, these users will be able to create a container using this template and to place it on any physical server.

  • Clone Container to Local Template. In this case, the template will be created locally on the same physical server the container belongs to. Such a template is visible from the hosting physical server only. To find the list of such templates, click Container Flavors on the the physical server toolbar. In future, the container created from this template will be placed on this physical server.

When you click Clone, the process of cloning starts. If you have chosen to create a library template, you will find it in the Resource Library > Templates folder. If you have chosen to create a local template of the container, you will find it in the local library on the physical server the container initially belonged to.

7.7.16.4. Operations on Local Container Templates

Click Manage > Container Flavors on the physical server toolbar to monitor and manage the state of all the templates stored locally on this physical server. This is a storage for local templates only.

The templates are listed in the table that has two columns: Name and Description. To add or remove any of the columns, use the Select Columns button above the table.

The Search section also comprises two fields: Name and Description. This allows you to search the templates according to any of the parameters. If you use only some of these fields, you can add or remove them according to your needs with the help of the Customize button. If you do no need the search section at all, just hide it with the Hide Search button below the table. To restore the Search section, click the Show Search button that appears on the place of the Hide Search one.

On the Container Flavors page, you can perform any of the following actions:

  • Create a clone of the template and store it in the Library (the Clone to Library button);

  • Create a clone of the template and store it on the same physical server (the Clone button);

  • Delete a template (the Delete button).

To perform an action, you should select one or more templates by enabling the check box in the left column.

If you click a template name, the template Summary page will open.

7.7.16.5. Editing Container Templates

The template dashboard allows you to edit the given container template as follows:

  • change the name, the description, and the operating system of the current container template;

  • change the operating system, or its version run by the current container template;

  • define container template network settings;

  • adjust resource parameters for the container template;

  • specify if the container based on the given container template should start on the physical server boot;

  • enable/disable the offline service for any Virtuozzo 6 container based on the given container template;

  • add applications and remove them from the container template.

Configuring General Settings

The General Settings page enables you to change the basic properties of the container template:

Column

Description

Name

The name of the container template.

Description

The description of the container template.

OS Template

The operating system the container template is based on.

Memory Management Mode

The memory management mode that will be used inside the container based on this template. For more details on memory management configuration, see Editing Container Templates.

Applications Included

All applications included in the container template.

In the General group, you can:

  • Change the name of the container template it will be referred to by typing a new name in the Name field. This name will be displayed in the Container template and Container Summary tables.

  • Edit the description of the container template in the Description field. The information entered in the field will be provided in the Container templates and Container Summary tables.

  • Change the operating system or its version the container template is based on. This change will be reflected in the Container template and Container Summary tables.

The Advanced group allows you to make the container that will be based on this template automatically start on the physical server boot.

(For Virtuozzo 6 servers) The Offline Service group allows you to set the offline service options by selecting the appropriate radio button. Offline service settings ensure the manageability of the container based on this template by means of one or more offline services from any browser at its own IP address. After offline service is enabled for the container, one port of its IP address becomes permanently active whatever the container state. You can:

  • Disable the offline service of the container.

  • Enable the offline service of the container via the offline service settings operating on the physical server. Whenever you need to manage the container offline, its offline service settings will be brought into synchronization with those in effect on the physical server. Should any service be removed from the default services list, the container will be unable to be managed via the service off the list. This option subscribes the container to the default offline services.

  • Manually compose the container offline services list. You can select the services you would like the container to be subscribed to in the corresponding check boxes.

After you have made the necessary changes, click Submit.

Configuring Network Parameters When Editing Container Templates

On the screen opened after clicking the Network tab, you can change the default network settings which will be active for all the containers you will create on the base of the template you are configuring. For more information, see Configuring Container Network Parameters.

After you have provided the necessary information, click the Submit button.

Customizing Resource Settings When Editing Container Templates

On the Configure Resources page you can manage the resource parameters for the currently selected container template. For more information, see the descriptions of CPU, disk, and memory resources in Resources Overview.

Adding Applications to Templates

On the Applications Templates page, you can choose those applications that will be included in the corresponding container template. These applications will be automatically installed in all the containers created on the basis of this container template.

All available applications that can be added to the container template are listed in the Available Applications table in the left part of the displayed page. To add any of them to the container template, tick the check boxes opposite the applications you wish to add and click the >> button. After that, these applications appear in the Included Applications table in the right part of the page.

At the same time, you may want to exclude one or several applications from the container template which, you are sure, will be of no use to you. To remove any application from the container template, tick its check box in the Included Applications table in the right part of the Applications page and click on the << button.

After you have selected the application(s) to be added to or removed from the container template, click on the Submit button.