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Join vNIOS to Existing Grid
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Join vNIOS to Existing Grid

Owned by Shirly Tsang
Jul 12, 2024
5 min read

Infoblox vNIOS for AWS instances can be joined to existing Grids running on-premises, in AWS, or across multiple cloud platforms. The vNIOS for AWS instance must be able to communicate with the Grid Master using either private or public IP addressing. At a minimum, communication must be open over UDP ports 1194 and 2114.

Add New Infoblox Appliance to Grid

Prior to joining a new member to an existing Grid, the member needs to be added (defined) in the Grid. This can be done using the Grid Manager GUI or using the Infoblox API. This guide will demonstrate using the Grid Manager to add a new member.

  1. Login to the Grid Manager GUI of your existing Grid.

  2. Navigate to the Grid → Grid Manager → Members tab.

  3. Click the image-20240321-220421.png (add button) to add a new Grid member.

  1. In Step 1 of the Add Grid Member wizard, for Member Type, select Virtual NIOS from the dropdown.

  2. Enter a Host Name for the new member.

  3. Click Next.

  1. On Step 2, Select Standalone Member. Note: vNIOS for AWS instances are not supported for use in High Availability pairs.

  2. For the LAN1 interface, enter the private IP address of your vNIOS for AWS instance eth1 interface.

  3. Enter the Subnet Mask.

  4. Enter the Gateway address for your VPC subnet. Note: by default, AWS assigns the gateway the .1 IP address in a subnet.

  5. Click Save & Close.

Adding Grid Member Public IP: Complete these steps only if your vNIOS for AWS instance will communicate with the Grid Master using public IP addressing. If you are using VPN or other methods for private IP address communication, skip to the next section.

  1. Click the action menu next to your new Grid member. Select Edit.

  1. In the Grid Member Properties Editor, navigate to the Network → Advanced tab.

  2. Scroll down and select Enable NAT.

  3. Ensure No group is selected for NAT Group.

  4. Enter the public IP address of your instance for LAN1 in NAT Addresses.

  5. Click Save & Close.

For additional information on configuring network address translation (NAT) and NAT groups in your Grid, refer to NIOS documentation at https://docs.infoblox.com.

Join Appliance to Grid

An Infoblox vNIOS for AWS instance can be joined to the grid using the CLI or the Grid Manager GUI. To join a Grid, you will need to know the Grid Master’s IP address, the name of the Grid, and the Shared Secret used to authenticate the connection. In the Grid Manager, navigate to the Grid → Grid Manager → Members tab and click Grid Properties in the menu to review or change Grid name and Shared Secret.

Note: The Shared Secret is encrypted once it is saved. There is no recovery mechanism if it is lost. The value can be changed without any impact to any appliances online in your Grid. Any offline Grid members will need to be reset before being joined back to the Grid after any change is made to the Shared Secret. The default Shared Secret is “test”.

Join Using CLI

  1. Login to your vNIOS for AWS instance using an SSH client.

  2. Type the command set membership and press Enter.

  3. Enter the IP address of the Grid Master when prompted. Press Enter.

  4. Enter the Grid name when prompted if it is different from the default (Infoblox). Press Enter.

  5. Enter the Shared Secret when prompted. Press Enter.

  6. Verify that the join details are correct and enter y at confirmation prompts to begin the join process.

  1. Your vNIOS for AWS instance will restart and the SSH session will be closed. Monitor the join process from the Grid Manager on the Grid → Grid Manager → Members tab.

Join Using Grid Manager GUI

  1. Login to your vNIOS for AWS instance Grid Manager GUI.

  2. If the Grid Setup Wizard is displayed, click Cancel.

  3. Navigate to the Grid → Grid Manager → Members tab.

  4. In the vertical toolbar on the right-hand side of the page, click Join Grid.

  1. Enter the IP address of the Grid Master.

  2. Enter the Grid Name and Grid Shared Secret.

  3. Click OK.

  1. Your vNIOS for AWS instance will restart and the GUI session will be closed. Monitor the join process from the Grid Manager of your existing Grid on the Grid → Grid Manager → Members tab.

Adding SSH Keys for Administrators

After joining the vNIOS for AWS instance to your existing Grid, the local administrator is replaced by administrators configured in your Grid. With NIOS 8.5.2 and later, you will no longer be able to access your new instance through SSH until you configure a Grid administrator to use key-pair authentication. To enable SSH key authentication for an administrator:

  1. Login to your Grid Manager.

  2. Navigate to the Administration → Administrators → Admins tab. 

  3. Select the administrator you will use for SSH to the member and click the Edit icon.

  1. In the admin editor, click the check box for Use AWS SSH authentication keys.

  2. Use the dropdown for Authentication Method to select either Key pair or Key pair + Password.

  3. Click the image-20240321-220527.png (Add) next to Manage SSH Public Keys.

  1. Use the Upload dialog to Select and Upload your public key.

  1. Click Save & Close. You are now able to SSH to Grid members including your vNIOS for AWS instance using your private key.

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