Deploy a Hardware Appliance

Two hardware appliances are available to work with the OpenNMS Portal: the Mini and the 1U. The installation process for both is almost identical. This procedure notes any appliance-specific tasks and characteristics.

Install Minion Appliance

We recommend that you use a monitor and keyboard during installation so that you can configure the IP address of the appliance in non-DHCP environments. This is optional if you are in a DHCP environment and know the IP address of the appliance.

To install a hardware appliance, follow these steps:

Unpack the Minion Appliance and set it up in your preferred location.
Plug the power cable and an Ethernet cable (not included with the 1U) into the appliance.
- 1U: You must use the jack on the left side on the back of the appliance (Gb1).
  
  1U (back)
- Mini: Use the LAN jack located on the back of the device.
  
  Mini (front (L) and back (R))
Connect the appliance to your main network router or switch using the Ethernet cable.
Connect a monitor and keyboard to the appliance.

Monitor and keyboard are optional if you are in a DHCP environment and know the IP address of the appliance. You can SSH to the Minion Appliance.
Plug the appliance into a power source and turn it on.
Wait for the Minion Appliance to start up and use the following credentials to sign in:
- Username: admin
- Password: opennms
When prompted, type a new secure password and sign in to the appliance again.
If required, use the terminal user interface (TUI) to set additional information:
- Static IP address and related information like the Default Gateway (if not using DHCP).
- System settings (hostname, NTP server, HTTP/S proxy).
- SNMP settings (location and contact).
Reboot if you are using an HTTP/S proxy.
Run a health check to verify your setup.
- We also recommend that you check that the appliance is connected to the Appliance Service.

The appliance takes approximately 2-5 minutes to reboot (about 2.5 minutes until you can SSH into it, and a bit longer before it appears in the OpenNMS Portal as online with a Minion).

Mini characteristics

The Mini has the following hardware characteristics:

The power LED on the front of the device indicates that it is receiving power; it does not indicate that the device is turned on.
When it turns on, a series of beeps sound in quick succession. This indicates that the device’s power-on self test passed successfully.
After the device has been shut off, the power LED will remain on. To restart the device, you must press the power button.

Check Appliance Service connection

After installation, you should confirm that the Minion Appliance is connected to the Appliance Service. Sign in to the OpenNMS Portal to view your appliance and its connection status.

You will see something similar to the following:

Status for single appliance—activated and online.

Shows the activation status of the appliance.

A green link symbol indicates that the appliance is activated; a red crossed link symbol indicates that it is not activated. For more information on appliance activation and subscriptions, see Activate Minion Appliance and Manage subscriptions.
Indicates the appliance state.

The appliance’s state can be one of the following:
- Online: Connected to the Appliance Service.
- Offline: Not connected to the Appliance Service.
Normally shows the Minion status.

Because you do not yet have a Minion installed, this area displays a button that you can click to add a Minion. After you Assign a Minion to an appliance this area displays the Minion’s status in relation to your Meridian instance.

For more information about status classifications, see the global status mapping table.

Connection troubleshooting

If your Minion Appliance is not connected to the Appliance Service, try the following:

Make sure that the appliance is powered on.
Check all cables to make sure that they are properly connected to the appliance.
Make sure that you have an IP address.
Check that you implemented the security and firewall rules correctly.

Next steps

After you deploy your Minion Appliance, you can configure it in the OpenNMS Portal. See the Getting Started section for information on adding new users, activating an appliance, and more.