Infoblox recommends  that you dedicate the minimum system requirements to the NIOS-X server you plan to deploy. The dedicated resources cannot be shared with or used for other non-Infoblox applications. Sharing resources will negatively affect the performance of your Infoblox services. For information about the minimum system requirements and port usage, see the following:

• NIOS-X Connectivity and Service Requirements
  
• Minimum System Requirements for NIOS-X Servers
• Supported Platforms for NIOS-X Servers

Prerequisites

Before deploying a NIOS-X server and enabling Infoblox services, ensure that you prepare the deployment environment according to the requirements for the supported platforms and open all necessary ports for unrestricted outbound access. For details, see NIOS-X Connectivity and Service Requirements.

Before you start the deployment, consider the following:

• Set up Hyper-V on your Windows server. For information, refer to the Microsoft documentation.
  
• The recommended resources required for the VHD on Hyper-V deployment are 8 vCPU and 16GB of memory. For details, see Minimum System Requirements for NIOS-X Servers.
• Ensure that your Hyper-V environment meets the minimum deployment requirements.

Installing VHD Image on Hyper-V

1. Log in to the Infoblox Portal.
2. Go to Administration > Downloads.
3. On the Downloads page > NIOS-X (BloxOne) Servers section, select Download Package for HyperV Gen 2 or Download Package for Azure/HyperV Gen 1.
4. Click Download Package.
5. Create the following directory on your system: <WORK-DIR>/hyperv-images.
6. Download the VHD for Gen1 or VHDX for Gen2  to the <WORK-DIR>/hyperv-images work folder and rename the image file by entering the following:
   cp <WORK-DIR>/hyperv-images/<bloxone vhd/vhdx image>.vhd[x] <WORK-DIR>/hyperv-images/bloxone.vhd[x]

Note: If you want to create multiple Hyper-V instances, you must repeat the process by downloading the VHD image and renaming the image file for each Hyper-V instance or create a separate copy of the VHD image downloaded from the Infoblox Portal for each Hyper-V instance. For example, if we want to deploy two Hyper-V instances for BloxOne, create two copies of the image for each instance and use the copied image respectively. Instance 1: copy C:/Users/Administrator/hyperv-images/BloxOne_OnPrem_Azure_v3.4.1.vhd C:/Users/Administrator/hyperv-images/bloxone-1.vhd. Instance 2: copy C:/Users/Administrator/hyperv-images/BloxOne_OnPrem_Azure_v3.4.1.vhd C:/Users/Administrator/hyperv-images/bloxone-2.vhd.
   
   
7. Complete the following to create the seed image metadata.iso for cloud-init:
   1. Create the following directory: <WORK-DIR>/cloud-init.
      
   2. Create the network-config file in the <WORK-DIR>/cloud-init directory based on your network requirements, such as <WORK-DIR>/cloud-init/"network-config". The following is a sample of the network-config file:
ethernets:
  eth0:
    addresses: [ 192.168.xxx.11/24 ]
    dhcp4: False
    gateway4: 192.168.xxx.1
    nameservers:
      addresses: [52.119.40.100]
version: 2
      
      Note: Ensure that you save the network-config file or any cloud-init files without an extension. You can use " " around the file name to define no extension for the file.


   3. In the seed image for cloud-init, edit the <WORK-DIR>/cloud-init/user-data file to include information such as the join token for connecting the NIOS-X server to the Infoblox Portal. To obtain a join token,, see  Creating Join Tokens. For information on how to use the user-data file, see Appendix B: YML and JSON Templates.
      

      


   4. Create the <Work-Dir>/cloud-init/meta-data file to add the instance id to the HyperV instance:

      {

      "instance-id": ""

      }
      
      Note: Ensure that the "instance-id" is blank, as shown in the above example.
      
      

   5. Download the ADK tool from Microsoft support Oscdimg. For more information, refer to the Microsoft documentation.
   6. Generate the metadata.iso by running the following commands:
      • Set Oscdimg.exe path to environment variable or got to CD “C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\Oscdimg>” Path
      • Oscdimg <WORK-DIR>\cloud-init <WORK-DIR>\hyperv-images\metadata.iso -lCIDATA -d -n
        
        
8. On Hyper-V Manager, open your Hyper-V server:
   
   
   
9. Create a new virtual machine:
   
   
   
   
10. The New Virtual Machine Wizard appears. Click Next.
    
    
    
    
11. Enter the name of the VM, and then click Next.
    
    
    
    
12. Select Generation1 (for VHD image) or Generation 2 (for VHDX image), and then click Next.
    
    
    
    
13. Increase memory size to 16384 (16 GB). Ideally, it should be 16GB, as described in Minimum System Requirements.
    
    
    
    
14. Configure network with proper adapter, and then click Next.
    
    
    
    
15. Select Use an existing virtual hard disk and click Browse to locate the VHD image you downloaded from the Infoblox Portal.
    
    
    
    
16. Review the Summary, and then click Finish.
    
    
    
    
17. Once the NIOS-X virtual server is deployed, go to the settings of the server and select  IDE Controller 1 > DVD Drive for Gen 1  or  Add Hardware > SCSI Controller >  DVD Drive for Gen 2.
18. Select Image file and click Browse to locate the metadata.iso file (the cloudinit config file), and then click Apply.
    
    
    
    
    
    
19. For Gen 2, select Security and deselect the Enable Secure Boot checkbox to disable secure boot;
    
    
    
    
    
20. To increase the disk size of the VM, complete the following:
    
    Select the virtual disk under Hard Disk, click Edit, and then click OK:
    
    
    
    In the Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard, select Choose Action > Expand, and then click Next:
    
    
    
    Select Configure Disk, and then enter the new disk size. Click Next.
    
    
    
    In the Summary section , review the configuration, and then click Finish. You can also click Previous to go back some step to correct your configuration.
    
    
    
    
21. Start the NIOS-X virtual server and wait a few minutes for the server to become active.
    
    
    
    You have now successfully deployed the NIOS-X server. It might take a few minutes for the server and the Infoblox Portal to connect.
    
    
22. To check the current status of the NIOS-X server, go to Configure > Servers in the Infoblox Portal. For more information about the server status, see Viewing Server Information.
    

Deploying VHD on Hyper-V Using PowerShell Commands

1. Create a virtual machine:
   New-VM -Name "<VMName>"  -NoVHD  -Generation "1 or 2" -MemoryStartupBytes 16GB  -SwitchName "<Virtual Switch Name>"

Configure memory and CPU:
   Set-VM -Name “VMName”  -ProcessorCount 8


2. Download the VHD image from the Infoblox Portal and copy it to the local path:
   $OsDiskInfo = Get-Item artefacts/<bloxone vhd image>.vhd
Copy-Item -Path $OsDiskInfo -Destination <WORK-DIR>/hyperv-images/bloxone.vhd
   
   
3. Add the VHD image to the NIOS-X virtual server:
   Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName <VMName> -Path "<WORK-DIR>\hyperv-images\bloxone.vhd"


4. Change the boot order:
   Set-VMDvdDrive -VMName <VMName>  -Path "<WORK-DIR>\hyperv-images\metadata.iso"


5. Disable Secure Boot option and change the boot  order for Gen 2:

   Set-VMFirmware -VMName $VMName -EnableSecureBoot Of

   ADD-VMDvdDrive -VMName $VMName -Path "<WORK-DIR>\hyperv-images\metadata.iso"
   

6. Configure VM Disk Size as required:

   Resize-VHD -Path <VHD/VHDX> 750GB
   
   

7. Start the NIOS-X virtual server:
   Start-VM -Name “$VMName”