Requirements for a Satellite Connector

Required permissions

You must have Administrator access to the Satellite service in IAM access policies to do the steps in IBM Cloud.

Required host systems

Minimum one x86 Docker host in your own infrastructure to run the Connector container. See Minimum requirements.

Setting up a Satellite Connector

These steps automatically add the Satellite Connector user endpoints that correspond to the connection that you create in Cloud Pak for Data as a Service.

1. Access the Create connector page in IBM Cloud from one of these places:

   • Log in to the Connectors page in IBM Cloud.
   • In Cloud Pak for Data as a Service:
     1. Go to the project page. Click the Assets tab.
     2. Click New asset > Connect to a data source.
     3. Select the Cloud Pak for Data as a Service connector.
     4. In the Create connection page, scroll down to the Private connectivity section, and click the IBM Cloud Satellite tile.
     5. Click Configure Satellite and then log in to IBM Cloud.
     6. Click Create connector.

2. Follow the steps for Creating a Connector.

3. Set up the Connector agent containers in your local Docker host environment. For high availability, use three agents per connector that are deployed on separate Docker hosts. It is best to use a separate infrastructure and network connectivity for each agent. Follow the steps for Running a Connector agent.
   The agents will appear in the Active Agents list for the connector.

4. In Cloud Pak for Data as a Service, go back to the Create connection page. In the Private connectivity section, click Reload, and then select the Satellite Connector that you created.

5. Click Test Connection to verify that you can connect from Cloud Pak for Data as a Service to the data source using the Satellite Connector.

6. Save the connection. A Satellite Connector endpoint corresponding to the connection is automatically created.

In the Satellite Connectors dashboard in IBM Cloud, for each connection that you create, a user endpoint is added in the Satellite Connector. The name of the user endpoint that is automatically added will look like ep-<XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX>. To see which endpoint corresponds to the connection that you created in Cloud Pak for Data as a Service, check the Destination FQDN or IP and Destination port values in the endpoint details.

Requirements for a Satellite location

Required permissions

You must be the Admin in the IBM Cloud account to do the tasks in IBM Cloud.

Required host systems

You need at least three computers or virtual machines in your own infrastructure to act as Satellite hosts. Confirm the host system requirements. (The IBM Cloud docs instructions for additional features such as Red Hat OpenShift clusters and Kubernetes are not required for a connection in Cloud Pak for Data as a Service.)

Setting up a Satellite location

Configure the Satellite location in IBM Cloud.

• Task 1: Create a Satellite location
• Task 2: Attach the hosts to the Satellite location
• Task 3: Assign the hosts to the control plane
• Task 4: Create the connection secured with a Satellite location
• Maintaining the Satellite location

Task 1: Create a Satellite location

A Satellite location is a representation of an environment in your infrastructure provider, such as an on-prem data center or cloud. To connect to data sources in Cloud Pak for Data as a Service, you need three computers or virtual machines. To create the Satellite location:

1. Access the Create a Satellite location setup page in IBM Cloud from one of these places:

   • Log in to IBM Cloud, and select Create location.
   • In Cloud Pak for Data as a Service:
     1. Go to the project page. Click the Assets tab.
     2. Click New asset > Connect to a data source.
     3. Select the connector.
     4. In the Create connection page, scroll down to the Private connectivity section, and click the IBM Cloud Satellite tile.
     5. Click Configure Satellite and then log in to IBM Cloud.
     6. Click Create location.
        
        These instructions follow the On-premises & edge template. Depending on your infrastructure, you can select a different template. Refer to the template instructions and the information at Understanding Satellite location and hosts in the IBM Cloud docs.

2. Click Edit to modify the Satellite location information:

   • Name: You can use this field to differentiate between different networks such as my US East network or my Japan network.

   • The Tags and Description fields are optional.

   • Managed from: Select the IBM Cloud region that is closest to where your host machines physically reside.

   • Resource group: is set to default by default.

   • Zones: IBM automatically spreads the control plane instances across three zones within the same IBM Cloud multizone metro. For example, if you manage your location from the wdc metro in the US East region, your Satellite location control plane instances are spread across the us-east-1, us-east-2, and us-east-3 zones. This zonal spread ensures that your control plane is available, even if one zone becomes unavailable.

   • Red Hat CoreOS: Do not select this option. Leave it cleared or as No.

   • Object storage: Click Edit to enter the exact name of an existing IBM Cloud Object Storage bucket that you want to use to back up Satellite location control plane data. Otherwise, a new bucket is automatically created in an Object Storage instance in your account.

3. Review your order details, and then click Create location.

   A location control plane is deployed to one of the zones that are located in the IBM Cloud region that you selected. The control plane is ready for you to attach hosts to it.

Task 2: Attach the hosts to the Satellite location

Attach three hosts that conform to the host requirements to the Satellite location.

Task 3: Assign the hosts to the control plane

To assign the hosts:

1. From the Satellite Locations dashboard, click the name of your location.

2. For each host, click the overflow menu () and then select Assign. Assign one host to each zone.

Task 4: Create the connection secured with a Satellite location

To create the secure connection:

1. In Cloud Pak for Data as a Service, go to the project page. Click the Assets tab.

2. Click New asset > Connect to a data source.

3. Select the connector.

4. In the Create connection form, complete the connection details. The hostname or IP address and the port of the data source must be available from each host that is attached to the Satellite location.

5. Click Reload, and then select the Satellite location that you created.

In the Satellite Locations dashboard in IBM Cloud, for each connection that you create, a link endpoint is created with Destination type Location, and Created by Connectivity in the Satellite location. The name of the user endpoint that is automatically added will look like ep-<XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX>. To see which endpoint corresponds to the connection that you created in Cloud Pak for Data as a Service, check the Destination FQDN or IP and Destination port values in the endpoint details.

Maintaining the Satellite location

• The host attach script expires one year from the creation date. To make sure that the hosts don't have authentication problems, download a new copy of the host attach script at least once per year.
• Save the attach script in case you attach more hosts to the location in the future. If you generate a new host attach script, it detaches all the existing hosts.
• Hosts can be reclaimed by detaching them from the Satellite location and reloading the operating system in the infrastructure provider.