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nCloud User Guide

This guide will help you to learn how to request for the Virtual

Machine Deployments and Automation in nCloud.

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Contents:

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3

Getting Started .................................................................................................. 3

TIP 1: How to request for ADM account ............................................................. 4

TIP 2: How to request the New VM ..................................................................... 6

1) Virtual Machine Services ............................................................................ 6

2) Cluster Services ..................................................................................... 14

3) Database Services .................................................................................. 18

4) Application Services ............................................................................... 22

5) Cloud Services ........................................................................................ 26

TIP 3: How to Check the Request Status ......................................................... 27

a) VM Provisioning Request Status ............................................................... 27

TIP 4: Firewall Request .................................................................................... 27

TIP 5: How to access the VM ........................................................................... 27

a) Accessing Windows Servers ...................................................................... 27

b) Accessing Linux Servers ........................................................................... 30

TIP 6: How to Manage the VM ......................................................................... 32

a) Power On ............................................................................................... 32

b) Shutdown ............................................................................................. 32

c) Reboot .................................................................................................. 32

c) Create / Revert / Delete Snapshot ............................................................ 32

TIP 7: nCloud Service Desk; ............................................................................. 33

a) Contact Us ............................................................................................ 33

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Introduction:-

nCloud is an on premise Private Cloud setup by NUS Information Technology to provide Compute resources

and pre-build middleware, Web and Database stack for NUS department to subscribe. The on premise Private

Cloud have been design to support 99% infrastructure availability and options to support critical workloads that

can be deployed across multiple sites to fulfil disaster recovery requirement.

More applications services (Platform as a Services) will be added to the Service Catalogue for NUS IT staff to

subscribe in future. The nCloud portal will eventually allow NUS IT staff to subscribe to selected compute

resources from public cloud services in near future.

Getting Started:-

1. Navigate to the self-service portal login page by using this URL https://nCloud.nus.edu.sg

2. Login with you NUSNET account Username and Password. (Note: If you get any login issues, please contact the support team)

3. Once you login, below would be the Landing page. (Note: You can refer to this page for nCloud upcoming announcements in the “Message Board” and “My Inbox” for your request approval status.)

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TIP 1: How to request for ADM account:-

The administrative (ADM) account is used only for VM login. It’s used by both staff and vendors for logging into the VM remotely to perform administrative related tasks.

Launch the web browser and enter the URL - https://myitservices.nus.edu.sg/.

Search for ① “Accounts” then click on ② “Sub-Categories”.

A new menu will be loaded with Available Requests to select.

Click and choose ① “ADM/SVC Account – Create” then click ② “Request Now”

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1. Account Type – From the dropdown button please select ADM

2. Manager’s Approval Mail Attached – Check the checkbox, A manager’s approval email is needed in order

to facilitate or approve the request

3. Attachments – Click on the (+) button to attach manager approval. A new window will appear from here

locate/browse and attach the email approval for the account creation. Then press OK.

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4. Primary Owner Contact – This check box can be ignored this is only needed for service account

5. NUSNET ID – Fill in the needed field and input the NUS contact of the vendor.

6. Agreement – Check the checkbox on which you agree to give consent to collect my business or personal

date for the purpose of follow-up

TIP 2: How to request the New VM:-

Please ensure the below mentioned pre-requisites are met before requesting the VM.

An active ADM account for accessing the VM.

1 Virtual Machine Services:-

Click the Catalog tab -> Virtual Machine Services

Virtual Machine Services:-

This service allows the requester to request SDDC to provision a pre-configured, hardened Operating System. Various T-Shirt size of Compute resources is available for requester to choose from depending on the project requirement and the requester can request for multiple of up to 3 VMs if they have having the same T-shirt requirement.

We have the following services available:-

a. CentOS 7.5 Base b. RHEL 7.5 Base c. Windows 2016 Base

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Procedure for CentOS 7.5 and RHEL 7.5 VMs:-

1.1 Select the Base OS (CentOS/RHEL) by clicking on the Request button.

1.2 The below page would be displayed. Kindly enter the Description and Reason for request as shown in the below example.

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Note: - You can request for multiple of up to 3 VMs if they have having the same T-shirt requirement by entering in the deployment field.

1.3 Please fill in the necessary details for the new virtual machine request by clicking on the below tab.

1.4.1 Size – Specify the required CPU and Memory size of the VM.

1.4.2 Select Environment – Select the appropriate Environment.

1.4.3 Select Backup Policy - Virtual machines are backed up on daily basis with default 7 days retention. Requester can request for longer retention period with following options.

1.4.3..1 Daily Backup with 7 days retention 1.4.3..2 Daily Backup with 14 days retention

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1.4.3..3 Daily Backup with 30 days retention

1.4.4 Select Network Type – Select the appropriate Network Type.

Intranet Accessible: This workload is only accessible within campus network.

Externally Accessible: This workload is accessible from internet.

1.4.5 Select Network – Select the appropriate Network

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Intranet Network.

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as externally

accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Internet Network.

If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT & Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Intranet Network.

If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT & Network type has been chosen as externally accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Internet Network.

1.4.6 Select Department: Select the appropriate Department.

1.4.7 Select Tier: Select the appropriate Tier (Application/Web/Database).

1.4.8 Select Project: Select the appropriate Project.

1.4.8..1 If your project not listed in the drop down list, kindly contact nCloud support team.

1.4.9 VM Usage Duration: Select the appropriate options.

1.4.9..1 Permanent: There is no VM usage duration explicitly defined. 1.4.9..2 Temporary: The VM usage duration is 180 days + 7days grace

period after which the VM will be destroyed.

1.4.10 Enter the ADM account: Enter the valid ADM account.

1.4.10..1 If you don’t have an ADM Account, please follow TIP 1: How to request for ADM account.

1.4.11 ADM account password: You need to enter the password only for Linux flavoured

machines.

1.4.12 Is Apps Critical: Select the appropriate options.

1.4.12..1 YES: For highly critical applications 1.4.12..2 NO: For less critical applications

1.4.13 NUSIT managed OS: Select the appropriate options.

1.4.13..1 YES: The VM will be managed by NUSIT. 1.4.13..2 NO: The VM will be managed by Wipro.

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1.5 Click on save button if you want to save the information in Draft.

1.6 Click the Submit button when the request can be processed.

Procedure for Windows 2016 VMs:-

1.4 Select the Base OS (Windows 2016) by clicking on the Request button.

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1.5 The below page would be displayed. Kindly enter the Description and Reason for request as shown in

the below example.

Note: - You can request for multiple of up to 3 VMs if they have having the same T-shirt requirement by entering in the deployment field.

1.6 Please fill in the necessary details for the new virtual machine request by clicking on the below tab.

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1.6.1 Size – Specify the required CPU and Memory size of the VM.

1.6.2 Select Environment – Select the appropriate Environment.

1.6.3 Select Backup Policy - Virtual machines are backed up on daily basis with default 7 days retention. Requester can request for longer retention period with following options.

1.6.3..1 Daily Backup with 7 days retention 1.6.3..2 Daily Backup with 14 days retention 1.6.3..3 Daily Backup with 30 days retention

1.6.4 Select Network Type – Select the appropriate Network Type.

Intranet Accessible: This workload is only accessible within campus network.

Externally Accessible: This workload is accessible from internet.

1.6.5 Select Network – Select the appropriate Network

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Intranet Network.

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as externally

accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Internet Network.

If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT and Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Intranet Network.

If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT and Network type has been chosen as externally accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Internet Network.

1.6.6 Select Department: Select the appropriate Department.

1.6.7 Select Tier: Select the appropriate Tier (Application/Web/Database).

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1.6.8 Select Project: Select the appropriate Project.

1.6.8..1 If your project not listed in the drop down list, kindly contact nCloud support team.

1.6.9 VM Usage Duration: Select the appropriate options.

1.6.9..1 Permanent: There is no VM usage duration explicitly defined. 1.6.9..2 Temporary: The VM usage duration is 180 days + 7days grace

period after which the VM will be destroyed.

1.6.10 Enter the ADM account: Enter the valid ADM account.

1.6.10..1 If you don’t have an ADM Account, please follow TIP 1: How to request for ADM account.

1.6.11 ADM account password: For Windows it is Not Applicable.

1.6.12 Is Apps Critical: Select the appropriate options.

1.6.12..1 YES: For highly critical applications 1.6.12..2 NO: For less critical applications

1.6.13 NUSIT managed OS: Select the appropriate options.

1.6.13..1 YES: The VM will be managed by NUSIT. 1.6.13..2 NO: The VM will be managed by Wipro.

1.7 Click on save button if you want to save the information in Draft.

1.8 Click the Submit button when the request can be processed.

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2 Cluster Services:-

2.4 Click the Catalog tab -> Cluster Internet Services or Cluster Intranet Services

Cluster Internet Services:- This service allows the requester to request SDDC to provision a pair (up to maximum of 6 member VMs) of pre-configured, hardened CentOS 7.3 Operating System. SDDC will auto provision a pair of Highly Available (HA) load balancer with pre-assigned public accessible Virtual IP (VIP) which can load balance layer 4 TCP traffic across its members VMs. Cluster Intranet Services:- This service allows the requester to request SDDC to provision a pair (up to maximum of 6 member VMs) of pre-configured, hardened CentOS 7.3 Operating System. SDDC will auto provision a pair of Highly Available (HA) load balancer with pre-assigned NUS Intranet Virtual IP (VIP) which can load balance layer 4 TCP traffic across its members VMs.

Procedure for Cluster VMs:-

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2.5 Select the Base OS with LB by clicking on the Request button.

2.6 The below page would be displayed. Kindly enter the Description and Reason for request as shown in the below example.

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2.7 Please fill in the necessary details for the new cluster service request.

2.7.1 Size – Specify the required CPU and Memory size of the VM.

2.7.2 Select Department: Select the appropriate Department.

2.7.3 Select Tier: Select the appropriate Tier (Application/Web).

2.7.4 Select Project: Select the appropriate Project.

2.7.5 Enter the ADM account: Enter the valid ADM account.

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If you don’t have an ADM Account, please follow TIP 4: How to request for ADM account.

2.7.6 ADM account password: You need to enter the password only for Linux flavoured

machines. For Windows it is Not Applicable.

2.8 Click on save button if you want to save the information in Draft.

2.9 Click the Submit button when the request can be processed.

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3 Database Services:-

3.4 Click the Catalog tab -> Database Services

Database Services:-

nCloud database services provide preconfigured and partially hardened MS SQL 2016 standard database running on Windows Server 2016. These VM’s are ready-made machine images that already include an optimized installation of the database.

Below is the existing offering of DB from nCloud,

MS SQL 2016 Standard Edition running on Windows Server 2016.

Procedure for Database VMs:-

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3.5 Select the Base OS with LB by clicking on the Request button.

3.6 The below page would be displayed. Kindly enter the Description and Reason for request as

shown in the below example.

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3.7 Please fill in the necessary details for the new Database service request.

3.7.1 Size – Specify the required CPU and Memory size of the VM.

3.7.2 Select Environment – Select the appropriate Environment.

3.7.3 Select Backup Policy - Virtual machines are backed up on daily basis with default 7 days retention. Requester can request for longer retention period with following options.

3.7.3.1 Daily Backup with 7 days retention 3.7.3.2 Daily Backup with 14 days retention 3.7.3.3 Daily Backup with 30 days retention

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3.7.4 Select Network Type – Select the appropriate Network Type.

Intranet Accessible: This workload is only accessible within campus network.

Externally Accessible: This workload is accessible from internet.

3.7.5 Select Network – Select the appropriate Network

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Intranet Network.

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as externally

accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Internet Network.

If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT & Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Intranet Network.

3.7.6 If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT & Network type has been chosen as Externally accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Internet Network

3.7.7 Select Department: Select the appropriate Department.

3.7.8 Select Tier: Select the appropriate Tier (Application/Web).

3.7.9 Select Project: Select the appropriate Project.

3.7.10 Enter the ADM account: Enter the valid ADM account.

If you don’t have an ADM Account, please follow TIP 4: How to request for ADM account.

3.7.11 ADM account password: You need to enter the password only for Linux flavoured

machines. For Windows it is Not Applicable.

3.8 Click on save button if you want to save the information in Draft.

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3.9 Click the Submit button when the request can be processed.

4 Application Services:-

4.4 Click the Catalog tab -> Application Services

Application Services:-

IIS Web Server and LAMP Stack are the two application services that are currently being offered by nCloud Services. More applications stack will be added in future.

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NUS IT build the standardize and preconfigured IIS (Internet Information Services) Windows servers to serve requested HTML pages or files. IIS works through a variety of standard languages and protocols. IIS supports HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SMTP and NNTP.

NUS IT build the standardize and preconfigured LAMP stack. LAMP Stack is an archetypal model of web service stacks, named as an acronym of the names of its original four open-source components: the Linux operating system, the Apache HTTP Server, the MySQL relational database management system (RDBMS), and the PHP programming language. The LAMP components are largely interchangeable and not limited to the original selection

Procedure for Application VMs:-

4.5 Select the Base OS with LB by clicking on the Request button.

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4.6 The below page would be displayed. Kindly enter the Description and Reason for request as

shown in the below example.

4.7 Please fill in the necessary details for the new Database service request.

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4.7.1 Size – Specify the required CPU and Memory size of the VM. 4.7.2 Select Environment – Select the appropriate Environment.

4.7.3 Select Backup Policy - Virtual machines are backed up on daily basis with default 7 days

retention. Requester can request for longer retention period with following options.

3.7.3.4 Daily Backup with 7 days retention 3.7.3.5 Daily Backup with 14 days retention 3.7.3.6 Daily Backup with 30 days retention

4.7.4 Select Network Type – Select the appropriate Network Type.

Intranet Accessible: This workload is only accessible within campus network.

Externally Accessible: This workload is accessible from internet.

4.7.5 Select Network – Select the appropriate Network

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Intranet Network.

If Environment is Production and Network type has been chosen as Externally

accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Production Internet Network.

If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT and Network type has been chosen as Intranet accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Intranet Network.

4.7.6 If Environment is Development/QAT/SIT and Network type has been chosen as Externally accessible then you will get a dropdown option to select Development Internet Network

4.7.7 Select Department: Select the appropriate Department.

4.7.8 Select Tier: Select the appropriate Tier (Application/Web).

4.7.9 Select Project: Select the appropriate Project.

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4.7.10 Enter the ADM account: Enter the valid ADM account.

If you don’t have an ADM Account, please follow TIP 4: How to request for ADM account.

4.7.11 ADM account password: You need to enter the password only for Linux flavoured

machines. For Windows it is Not Applicable.

4.8 Click on Storage Tab if you want to add the additional storage disk/device.

4.9 Click on save button if you want to save the information in Draft.

4.10 Click the Submit button when the request can be processed.

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5 Cloud Services:-

5.1 Click the Catalog tab -> Cloud Services

The Cloud Services under in progress. We will keep you posted once it’s live.

TIP 3: How to Check the Request Status:-

VM Provisioning Request Status:

you'll be able to see the virtual machine request and its status in the Requests tab. The tab will show the request state as it moves through the provisioning process.

Click the Requests tab in the portal Press the Refresh Data button to refresh the status. Monitor the progress until Status changes to Successful. You may have to click Refresh Data

several times before the request has completed.

Once the request has been completed we'll be able to view the new virtual machine under Items.

Click the Items tab within the portal Note the addition of our newly provisioned machine

TIP 4: Firewall Request:-

Firewall change request submission guide: https://nusit.nus.edu.sg/services/enterprise_infra/firewall-requests/

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TIP 5: How to access the VM:-

Please ensure the below mentioned pre-requisites are met before accessing the VM.

An active NUSNET account for staff or visitor

Granted for Web VPN access for visitor account

An active ADM account for staff or visitor

Granted login rights to ADM account on the server

Accessing Windows Servers

Once the pre-requisites are all met, login to Web VPN before proceeding to access the VM.

For staff account – https://webvpn.nus.edu.sg

For visitor account – https://webvpn.nus.edu.sg/va8

Double click on the JumpMe.rdp (Be sure you are already connected to the VPN)

A pop up window will appear as shown below.

Enter your ADM credentials and password, click OK.

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A pop up window will appear as shown below, click YES.

Click OK.

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Remote desktop connection window will appear. Input the server name or IP address and the remote

desktop port to login to your server, click Connect.

Accessing Linux Servers

Once the pre-requisites are all met, login to Web VPN before proceeding to access the VM.

a. For staff account – https://webvpn.nus.edu.sg

b. For visitor account – https://webvpn.nus.edu.sg/va8

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Once connected to VPN open up a SSH terminal of your choice. Input the server FQDN name or IP address to login.

Input your ADM credentials and password to access the server.

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TIP 6: How to Manage the VM:-

Power On:-

Power on the machine. If the machine was suspended, normal operation resumes from the point at which the machine was suspended.

Select Items > Deployment. Click Actions in the machine name row or select the machine and click Actions on its machine page. Click Power On

Shutdown:-

Shut down the guest operating system and power off the machine. VMware Tools must be installed on the machine to use this action.

Select Items > Deployment. Click Actions in the machine name row or select the machine and click Actions on its machine page. Click Shutdown

Reboot:-

Reboot the guest operating system on a vSphere virtual machine. VMware Tools must be installed on the machine to use this action.

Select Items > Deployment. Click Actions in the machine name row or select the machine and click Actions on its machine page. Click Reboot

Create Snapshot:-

Create a snapshot of the virtual machine. If you are allowed only two snapshots and you already have them, this option is not available until you delete a snapshot.

Select Items > Deployment. Click Actions in the machine name row or select the machine and click Actions on its machine page. Click Create Snapshot

Delete Snapshot:-

Delete a snapshot of the virtual machine.

Select Items > Deployment. Click Actions in the machine name row or select the machine and click Actions on its machine page. Click Delete Snapshot

Revert Snapshot:-

Revert to a previous snapshot of the machine. You must have an existing snapshot to use this action.

Select Items > Deployment. Click Actions in the machine name row or select the machine and click Actions on its machine page. Click Revert Snapshot

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TIP 7: nCloud Service Desk