Garden-Tiller

A highly portable and comprehensive lab validation suite for OpenShift deployments. This toolkit verifies that remote lab environments meet all prerequisites for successful OpenShift cluster deployments.

Overview

Garden-Tiller uses Ansible, Python, and Shell scripts to validate:

• Bare metal hardware configuration
• Network connectivity and configuration
• Storage subsystems
• Required infrastructure services (DNS, DHCP, NTP)
• Internet/proxy access

Features

• Comprehensive Validations: Covers all aspects of infrastructure required for OpenShift
• Portable: Designed to run on RHEL 8/9 with minimal dependencies
• Containerized: Can run in Podman containers for development or OpenShift for production
• Resilient: Uses PyBreaker library for circuit breaking and fault handling
• Detailed Reporting: Generates HTML reports with diagrams showing lab topology
• Remediation: Suggests fixes for identified issues
• Vendor Specific Tools: Enhanced functionality for Dell iDRAC and other vendor BMCs

Prerequisites

• RHEL 8 or RHEL 9 (or compatible Linux distribution)
• Ansible Core 2.12 or higher
• Python 3.9 or higher
• Standard Linux utilities
• Podman (optional, for containerized execution)

Quick Start

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone --recursive https://github.com/thinko/garden-tiller.git
   cd garden-tiller

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Create your inventory file or modify the sample:

   cp -r inventories/sample inventories/my-lab
   # Edit inventories/my-lab/hosts.yaml with your lab details

4. Run the validation suite:

   ./check-lab.sh --inventory inventories/my-lab/hosts.yaml

Usage

./check-lab.sh [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -i, --inventory INVENTORY  Specify the inventory file to use
  -t, --tags TAGS           Run only specific validation tags (comma separated)
  -s, --skip-tags TAGS      Skip specific validation tags (comma separated)
  -v, --verbose             Increase verbosity
  -p, --podman              Run validations in a Podman container
  -c, --check               Run in check mode (dry run)
  -h, --help                Show this help message

Available validation tags:
  oobm, ipmi, dell, idrac, hpe, ilo, firmware, mac, network, raid, dns, dhcp, timesync, internet, all

Example:
  ./check-lab.sh --inventory ./inventories/my-lab/hosts.yaml --tags network,dns,dhcp

Dell iDRAC Integration

Garden-Tiller includes specialized support for Dell servers equipped with iDRAC management controllers, providing enhanced validation capabilities:

Dell iDRAC Features

• Advanced Hardware Inspection: Deep hardware validation using Dell's Redfish API
• Firmware Compliance: Validation of firmware versions against requirements
• Network Configuration: Verification of NIC bonding, VLAN configurations, and link states
• iDRAC Settings: Validation of NTP, DNS, and other critical iDRAC settings
• Service Tag Collection: Automated collection of Dell service tags and warranty information

Using Dell iDRAC Features

To leverage these capabilities, specify the BMC type as idrac in your inventory:

all:
  hosts:
    dell-server-01:
      bmc_address: 192.168.1.101
      bmc_username: root
      bmc_password: calvin
      bmc_type: idrac   # Enables Dell-specific functionality

Run Dell-specific validations with:

./check-lab.sh --inventory inventories/my-lab/hosts.yaml --tags dell,idrac

HPE iLO Integration

Garden-Tiller provides specialized support for HPE ProLiant servers equipped with Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) management controllers:

HPE iLO Features

• Comprehensive Hardware Inspection: Deep hardware validation using proliantutils
• Firmware Compliance: Validation of firmware versions against minimum requirements
• Power Management: Verification of server power status and configuration
• Health Status: Monitoring of server health and component status
• Boot Configuration: Validation of boot settings for proper PXE or disk booting

Using HPE iLO Features

To leverage these capabilities, specify the BMC type as ilo in your inventory:

all:
  hosts:
    hpe-server-01:
      bmc_address: 192.168.1.102
      bmc_username: Administrator
      bmc_password: password
      bmc_type: ilo   # Enables HPE-specific functionality
      min_ilo_firmware: "2.61"  # Optional: specify minimum firmware version

Run HPE-specific validations with:

./check-lab.sh --inventory inventories/my-lab/hosts.yaml --tags hpe,ilo

Testing BMC Connectivity

BMC connectivity can be tested using the standard playbooks:

# Test OOBM connectivity for all hosts
ansible-playbook -i inventories/hosts.yaml playbooks/01-validate-oobm.yaml

This validates BMC connectivity before running the full validation suite.

Containerized Execution

To build and run the containerized version:

# Build the container
podman build -t garden-tiller:latest -f docker/Dockerfile .

# Run validations in container
./check-lab.sh --inventory inventories/my-lab/hosts.yaml --podman

Directory Structure

.
├── check-lab.sh                # Main entry script
├── inventories/                # Ansible inventories
│   └── sample/                 # Sample inventory structure
├── playbooks/                  # Ansible playbooks for each validation
├── roles/                      # Ansible roles
├── library/                    # Custom Ansible modules
├── filter_plugins/             # Custom Ansible filters
├── scripts/                    # Utility scripts
├── docker/                     # Containerization files
└── reports/                    # Generated reports (HTML/PDF)

License

BSD 3-Clause License. See LICENSE for details.