Install

This guide outlines the steps for a self-hosted deployment of Private Cloud Director. Before installing, refer to the Pre-requisites section to ensure all required prerequisites are met.

Concepts

Management Cluster

As part of the installation process, the Self-Hosted version of Private Cloud Director creates a Kubernetes cluster using the physical servers that you use to deploy it on. We refer to this cluster as the management cluster. The Private Cloud Director management plane then runs as a set of Kubernetes pods and services on this management cluster.

Nodelet

Nodelet is a software agent that is installed and run on each management cluster node as a component of Self-hosted Private Cloud Director . The nodelet agent is responsible for functions such as installation and configuration of multiple Kubernetes services including etcd, containerd, docker, networking, webhooks etc.

Infra Region vs Workload Regions

Read Tenants & Regions to understand the concepts of regions and infra region in Private Cloud Director.

Any commands below that reference YOUR_USER_AGENT_KEY refer to the user agent key that you must request from Platform9, as specified in the Pre-requisites.

Download Installer

airctl is the command-line installer for Self-hosted Private Cloud Director. Run the following commands only on one of the management cluster hosts to download airctl along with the required installer artifacts.

All the following steps should be performed by a non-root user.

Step 1: Download the Installer Script

Run the following command to download the installer script and required artifacts into your home folder:

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Step 2: Make the Installer Executable

Set the execute permissions to the installation script.

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Step 3: Run the Installation Script

Execute the installer with the specified version. This runs the installer using the version number found in version.txt.

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Step 4: Add airctl to System Path

Add airctl to the system path to use it globally by creating a symlink in /usr/bin folder.

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Configure airctl

Run the following command to generate a configuration file, which will be used to deploy the Self-hosted Private Cloud Director management cluster.

You can choose between a single-master or multi-master management cluster, depending on your installation type (POC or production).

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Following are the input parameters for the command:

  1. du-fqdn - Specify the base FQDN you would like to use for product_name. For eg pcd.mycompany.com

  2. external-ip4 - Specify the VIP to be used for the management plane here.

  3. ipv4-enabled - Enable the IPv4 networking for the cluster.

  4. master-ips - Specify a comma separated list of IP addresses for the master nodes you'd like to use for the management cluster. We recommend minimum 3 master nodes for a production environment. These nodes act as worker nodes as well.

  5. worker-ips (optional) - If you'd like to add worker nodes to the management cluster, then specify the comma separated list of IP addresses for worker nodes here.

  6. master-vip-interface - Specify the name of the network interface to be used for the Virtual IP of master nodes. Note that each master node must have it's default network interface named with this name.

  7. master-vip4 - Specify the Virtual IP to be used for the management cluster. This will be used to serve the management Kubernetes cluster's API server.

  8. master-vip-vrouterid - This is optional. If unspecified, one will randomly be generated and can be found in the updated cluster spec saved in the directory that contains the state of the management server (see 'Important Directories' section for directory location). It is recommended to specify one if you plan to deploy multiple Kubernetes clusters in the same VLAN to avoid collision.

  9. regions - Specify one or more region names as a space-separated list for regions you would like to create in your Private Cloud Director setup. When specifying more than one regions the list needs to be enclosed in "". The final FQDN for your Private Cloud Director deployment will use a combination of your base FQDN and your region name. For example, if your base FQDN is pcd.mycompany.com and you specified a single region name here as region1, the final FQDN for your deployment will be pcd-region1.mycompany.com.

  10. storage-provider - Specify the CSI storage provider that should be used to store any persistent state for the management cluster. If not specified, hostpath-provisioner storage provider option will be selected as default.

    1. For custom as the storage provider, copy provider specific CSI yaml files to /opt/pf9/airctl/conf/ddu/storage/custom/ locally. airctl will configure the dependencies reading the yaml files at this path and use the provided storage class for provisioning volumes for Private Cloud Director components. The StorageClass Kubernetes Custom Resource supplied here will be renamed to be called pcd-sc and set as the default storage class on your management cluster.
    2. Alternatively, you can create the storage provider resources and storage class out of band prior to running airctl start on the management cluster. Ensure that the storage class is named pcd-sc in this case. If this is done, airctl will skip reading the yaml files at custom path. We also recommend creating a test pod with a persistent volume to ensure correct connectivity and configuration is in place first.
    3. For non-production environments and where custom storage provider is not available/required, select hostpath-provisioner.

  11. nfs-ip, nfs-share - If using hostpath-provisioner as storage provider, NFS server IP and mount location must be provided.

    1. You should have an NFS server pre-configured before selecting this option.

If you plan to deploy a single-master management cluster (not recommended for production), enter the same master node IP for both VIP for management cluster and VIP for management plane fields above.

This command generates two configuration file templates:

  • /opt/pf9/airctl/conf/nodelet-bootstrap-config.yaml – Contains the configuration required to bootstrap the management cluster.
  • /opt/pf9/airctl/conf/airctl-config.yaml – Contains the configuration for the management plane.

To avoid passing the configuration file as a command-line option when running airctl commands, copy /opt/pf9/airctl/conf/airctl-config.yaml to your $HOME directory.

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Proxy Configuration (Optional)

If your environment uses a network proxy, set the required values in the /opt/pf9/airctl/conf/helm_values/kplane.template.yml file as shown below:

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The list of I.P. addresses in the no_proxy list should include the master-ips, worker-ips, external-ip4, master-vip4 along with any other addresses for which the traffic should not be routed via proxy server.

Also, to ensure that containerd honors the proxy values and allows the creation of the Private Cloud Director management cluster, update the proxy values on all management plane nodes as shown below:

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Deploy Management Cluster

Next, deploy the management cluster for your Private Cloud Director environment.

Step 1: Run Pre-Checks

Before creating the management cluster, run the following command to perform pre-checks and resolve any issues identified:

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Optionally, configure AWS Credentials for airctl backup

Before creating the cluster, ensure that the AWS credentials required for S3 backup are available by creating the following file.

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When you create this file before cluster deployment, the system automatically creates a Kubernetes secret named aws-credentials in the pf9-utils namespace. You need this secret to upload backups to your S3 bucket.

Without this file, you must manually create or patch the aws-credentials secret in the pf9-utils namespace after cluster creation.

Step 2: Deploy the Kubernetes Cluster

Run the following command to deploy the Kubernetes cluster:

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Step 3: Validate Cluster Health

Once the cluster is created, verify that it is functioning properly and that all nodes are healthy:

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Please refer to /var/log/pf9/nodelet.log for troubleshooting any issues with the management cluster creation.

Install Management Plane

Now that the management cluster is created, run the following commands to install and configure the Private Cloud Director self-hosted management plane.

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It may take up to 45 minutes for all services to be deployed.

Monitor Deployment Progress

You can track the progress of the management plane deployment by checking the logs of the du-install pod as a root user:

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Alternatively, to check specific pods:

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Please refer to airctl-logs/airctl.log for logs in case of any issues with airctl start command.

Check Management Plane & Region Status

To verify the status of the management plane and its regions, run:

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Obtain UI Credentials

Once the installation is complete, you can retrieve the credentials for the Private Cloud Director UI by running the following command:.

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If you do not have a working internal DNS that resolves the management plane FQDN to its IP address, you must manually update the /etc/hosts file on your local machine and any new host you want to add to the management cluster.

Use the following command to check if the necessary entry exists:

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After updating the hosts file, open your web browser and log into the UI using the provided credentials. Then, follow the steps in the Getting Started guide to configure your hosts and set up your Private Cloud Director environment.

Important Files & Directories

The following directories contain various log and state files related to the Private Cloud Director self-hosted deployment.

Directories:

  • /opt/pf9/airctl – Contains all binaries, offline installers, Docker image tar files, miscellaneous scripts, and configuration files for airctl.
  • /opt/pf9/pf9-kube – Managed by Nodelet. Stores binaries and scripts used to manage the management cluster.
  • /etc/nodelet – Contains configuration files for Nodelet and certificates generated by it.
  • ~/airctl-logs/ – Stores all logs related to the deployment.

Files:

  • /opt/pf9/airctl/conf/airctl-config.yaml – Contains configuration information for the management plane.
  • /opt/pf9/airctl/conf/nodelet-bootstrap-config.yaml – Stores configuration required to bootstrap the management cluster.
  • /var/log/pf9/nodelet.log – Log file for troubleshooting issues with management cluster creation.
  • ~/airctl-logs/airctl.log – Log file for troubleshooting issues with management plane creation.
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  Last updated on Jul 11, 2025
Next to read:
Upgrade Management Plane and Hosts
On This Page
InstallConceptsDownload InstallerStep 1: Download the Installer ScriptStep 2: Make the Installer ExecutableStep 3: Run the Installation ScriptStep 4: Add airctl to System PathConfigure airctlProxy Configuration (Optional)Deploy Management ClusterStep 1: Run Pre-ChecksStep 2: Deploy the Kubernetes ClusterStep 3: Validate Cluster HealthInstall Management PlaneMonitor Deployment ProgressCheck Management Plane & Region StatusObtain UI CredentialsImportant Files & DirectoriesDirectories:Files: