Use offline download in AKS on Azure Stack HCI and Windows Server
Applies to: AKS on Azure Stack HCI 22H2, AKS on Windows Server
If you have unreliable internet connectivity at your deployment location or you need to scan files and images for security and compliance before deploying, you can use offline downloading to install or update from a local path. There are two ways that you can use this feature: onsite or offsite. Onsite means that you download the AKS on HCI images at the same location in which you deploy. Offsite means that you download the AKS on HCI images to a different location (where you may have better internet connectivity), use a tool of your choice to transfer the images to your deployment site, and then install or update locally.
In both onsite and offsite scenarios, the latest change ensures that all the zip/cab files of different versions are extracted during the install/update process. This process takes less space than before, which required files to be extracted prior to install/upgrade and stored on the cluster storage.
Before you begin
The following prerequisites are required:
- The latest release of the AKS-HCI PowerShell module.
- Open PowerShell as an administrator.
- Make sure you have satisfied all the system requirements prerequisites.
Use offline download to install onsite
Step 1: Prepare your machine(s) for deployment
Run the following command to check every physical node to see if all the requirements to install AKS on HCI are satisfied.
Initialize-AksHciNode
Step 2: Configure the deployment to use offline download and download the images
In the configuration step, use Set-AksHciConfig to enable offline downloading with the -offlineDownload parameter. Then, specify the local path with the -stagingShare parameter. This is where the images are downloaded.
Set-AksHciConfig -offlineDownload $true -mode full -stagingShare c:\akshciimages -imageDir c:\clusterstorage\volume1\Images -workingDir c:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\ImageStore -cloudConfigLocation c:\clusterstorage\volume1\Config -vnet $vnet -cloudservicecidr "172.16.10.10/16"
Note
This command is an example. You must replace the parameter arguments with those that fit your deployment. You must also set your vnet settings. See step 2 in this quickstart. This example downloads in full mode. For more download modes, see the descriptions for the -mode parameter in Set-AksHciConfig.
Step 3: Ensure that offline download is enabled and the local path is correct
You can make sure that offline download is enabled and that the local path is correct by running the following command:
Get-AksHciConfig | ConvertTo-Json
The output shows that offlineDownload is set to true, and the stagingShare value is the local path.
Step 4: Log into Azure and configure the registration settings
Run the following command with your Azure subscription information:
Set-AksHciRegistration -subscriptionId "<subscriptionId>" -resourceGroupName "<resourceGroupName>"
Step 5: Start the new deployment
Run the following command to start the deployment:
Install-AksHci
Use offline download to upgrade onsite
Step 1: Get available AKS on HCI host updates
Check if there is an available update by running the following command:
Get-AksHciUpdates
Step 2: Turn on offline download
If you do not already have offline downloading turned on, run the following command with the local path to which you want the images to be downloaded. You can check if offline downloading is set to true with the correct local path by running Get-AksHciConfig | ConvertToJson and checking the values. If it is set to true and the local path is correct, skip to step 3.
Enable-AksHciOfflineDownload -stagingShare <your path>
Step 3: Download the upgrade images
Run the following command to download the images. This example downloads in full mode. For more download modes, see the descriptions of the -mode parameter in Get-AksHCiRelease.
Get-AksHciRelease -mode full
Step 4: Start the AKS on HCI host update
Run the following command to start the update:
Update-AksHci
Use offline download to install offsite
With the offsite functionality, you download the images to a different location of your choice. This could be a location where you have a more reliable and secure connection.
Step 1: Set the offsite configurations
Run the following command at your offsite location with the version of AKS on HCI that you need:
Set-AksHciOffsiteConfig -version <String> -stagingShare <String>
Step 2: Download the images
Run the following command to download the images. This example downloads in full mode. For more download modes, see the descriptions of the -mode parameter in Get-AksHCiRelease.
Get-AksHciRelease -mode full
Step 3: Transfer the images onsite to where you will deploy
In this step, use your tool of choice to transfer the images so that they are available in a local directory onsite where AKS on HCI are deployed.
Step 4: Configure the deployment onsite
Set your configuration, make sure to use the -offlineDownload flag, and set your path to where AKS on HCI looks for the images during install:
Set-AksHciConfig -offlineDownload $true -offsiteTransferCompleted $true -stagingShare c:\akshciimages -imageDir c:\clusterstorage\volume1\Images -workingDir c:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\ImageStore -cloudConfigLocation c:\clusterstorage\volume1\Config -vnet $vnet -cloudservicecidr "172.16.10.10/16"
Note
This command is an example. Replace the parameter arguments to ones that fit your deployment. You must also set your vnet settings. See step 2 in this quickstart.
Step 5: Ensure that offline download is on and the local path is correct
You can make sure that offline download is enabled, and that the local path is correct by running the following command:
Get-AksHciConfig | ConvertTo-Json
The output shows that offlineDownload is set to true, and the stagingShare value is the local path.
Step 6: Log into Azure and configure the registration settings
Run the following command with your Azure subscription information:
Set-AksHciRegistration -subscriptionId "<subscriptionId>" -resourceGroupName "<resourceGroupName>"
Step 7: Start the new deployment
Run the following command to start the deployment:
Install-AksHci
Use offline download to upgrade offsite
With the offsite functionality, you download the images to a different location of your choice. This could be a location where you have a more reliable and secure connection.
Step 1: Set the offsite configuration
Run the following command at your offsite location with the version of AKS on HCI that you need:
Set-AksHciOffsiteConfig -version <String> -stagingShare <String>
Step 2: Download the images
Run the following command with the upgrade version that you need to download the images. This example downloads in full mode. For more download modes, see the descriptions of the -mode parameter in Get-AksHCiRelease.
Get-AksHciRelease -mode full
Step 3: Transfer the images onsite to where you will deploy
In this step, use your tool of choice to transfer the images so that they are available in a local directory onsite where AKS on HCI is deployed.
Step 4: Enable offline download
If you do not already have offline downloading enabled, run the following command to enable offline downloading, and provide the correct path to where the images are located:
Enable-AksHciOfflineDownload -stagingShare <your path> -offsiteTransferCompleted $true
Step 5: Start the update
Run the following command below to start the update:
Update-AksHci
Next steps
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