Create an Appliance

Create an appliance by selecting an application, cloud provider, region for hosting the appliance, and configure the cluster.

Currently, appliances on Azure can use Altair Drive storage. Other cloud platforms do not support integration with Altair Drive.

The process of creating an appliance is as follows:
  • Select an appliance model, to create an appliance.
  • Provide a name for the appliance.
  • Select an application (batch or interactive) from the list. You can choose one or more applications from the list.
  • Set the application arguments and the its values.
  • Select the cloud provider from the list.
  • Select the region for hosting the appliance.
  • Configure the cluster by selecting the nodes and other details for the cluster.
  • Create and deploy the appliance.
  1. Launch NavOps.
    The list of appliances is displayed.


    Figure 1. Appliances

    The list displays the Appliance Name, Model Name that is selected for this appliance, Cloud Provider of the appliance, Appliance State, Nodes Count and Uptime (number of days the appliance is up and running).

    Note: Click to change the column list that is displayed.
  2. Click New Appliance on the top to create a new appliance.
    The appliance models are displayed.


    Figure 2. Appliance Models

    The information about the model is provided with its version and its keywords.

    Click Detail to view more information about the model.

    Note: Currently, if you choose Azure, the virtual appliance will be integrated with Altair Drive. Data from the applications will be available through Altair Drive. This feature is not supported on other cloud providers.
  3. Click Select to use this model to create an appliance.
    The appliance model details is displayed.


    Figure 3. Appliance Model Details
  4. Click in My appliance.


    Figure 4. Name for the Appliance
  5. Enter a name for the appliance.


    Figure 5. Appliance Name
  6. Click Please select one to select an application from the list.


    Figure 6. Add Application
    The list of batch and interactive application is listed in the left pane.


    Figure 7. Application List
    Choose one or multiple applications from the list.
    Tip: Interactive application (Altair NavOps) information is displayed below the application icon.
  7. Click Add.


    Figure 8. Add an Application
    The application is added and displayed in the Applications section.


    Figure 9. Added Application
    Note: Click to remove the application from the application table.
  8. Click Select a cloud infrastructure to select the cloud infrastructure and to define the region.


    Figure 10. Cloud Infrastructure
  9. Select the Cloud Infrastructure.


    Figure 11. Add Cloud Infrastructure
  10. Select a region for your cloud infrastructure.


    Figure 12. Region for Cloud Infrastructure
    Tip: You can also select the region for your cloud infrastructure using the Region drop down list.

    The number of Altair Units required by the appliance is calculated.

  11. Click to configure the cluster.


    Figure 13. Add Cluster
    The list of instance type available in the cloud for the selected application is displayed.


    Figure 14. List of Instance Type for the Application
    The instance type list displays the Instance Type Name and its configuration parameters like CPU Cores, RAM, GPU Cores and Infiniband network interconnect.
    Note: The instance list displayed is the cluster configuration provided by the selected cloud infrastructure.
  12. Select an Instance Type from the list.
    The selected instance type is added for the application.


    Figure 15. Cluster Instance Type
    Tip: You can choose multiple cluster configuration for an application.
    Note: Click to remove the instance type.
  13. Click Parameters at the top to configure the cluster parameters and its values.
    Select Undeploy on error to undeploy the appliance when there is an error during the deployment.
  14. Click Create.


    Figure 16. Create Appliance
    The appliance instance is created.


    Figure 17. Create Appliance
  15. Choose one of the following options:
    • Click Create to create an appliance and deploy it at a later time.
      Note: This only creates an appliance and does not start the appliance.
    • Click Create and Deploy to automatically deploy the appliance after creation.
    • Click Cancel to modify the appliance details.
    The new appliance is displayed in the Appliances list.


    Figure 18. Updated Appliance List

    A series of notifications are displayed providing the information about deploying the appliance and scripts running to create the cluster.

    Note: You can also click to view the notifications and the steps that are performed.
Now you can Start an Appliance.