Run a DSE OpsCenter Docker container

Docker is defined as a platform to help developers build, share, and run modern applications. Docker allows a developer to run images that are composed of software they wish to experiment with and try out. A Docker image is a read-only immutable template that defines how a container is instantiated. Then, a container, which is a runtime instance of a Docker image, is created to run on the local machine.

DataStax maintains images for many licensed products and open-source software on Docker Hub and IBM® Cloud Container Registry (ICR). These images can be used in development (non-production) or production environments.

This guide explains how to run DSE OpsCenter containers in concert with DataStax Enterprise (DSE) containers on the same host. You can adapt the commands and container networking for other deployment scenarios, such as a remote DSE cluster managed by an OpsCenter container.

For more information about DSE Docker images, see Run a DSE Docker container.

This guide assumes you are familiar with Docker images, containers, and compose scripts.

Prepare infrastructure

You need the following to download and run OpsCenter Docker images:

A recent version of one of the major web browsers.

OpsCenter doesn’t support Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge.
Docker Engine installed.
Appropriate resources and system settings to support the containers, as explained in Recommended settings for DataStax Enterprise (DSE) Docker containers.

Prepare the OpsCenter image

Find the latest release of OpsCenter 6.8 on IBM Fix Central:
1. Go to Fix Central.
2. In the Product selector field, begin typing IBM DataStax OpsCenter, and then select that option from the menu.
3. In the Release field, select the version that you want to install.
4. Click Continue.
5. On the Identify fixes page, click Continue to use the default Browse for fixes option.
6. On the Select fixes page, select the fix pack (OpsCenter version) you want to install, and then click Continue.
  
  Depending on the product and version, more fix packs might be available if you set the Platform filter to All, and then click Submit.
7. If prompted, sign in with your IBMid.
  
  An IBMid account with MFA enabled is required. If you don’t have one, create an IBMid account. If your organization uses Enterprise Federation (EF) for authentication with corporate credentials, see the IBMid EF documentation.
8. On the Download options page, select Download using your browser (HTTPS), and then click Continue.
9. Review the terms and conditions, and then click I agree to activate the download links.
Click the *-docker.tar.gz file from the list of options to download the file.
Load the Docker image into your local Docker image store, and then tag the image.

The tag can be any string that helps you identify the image in your local Docker image store, such as the OpsCenter version, the download date, or any custom identifier.

You can use Docker or skopeo:
Docker
Load the image from the *-docker.tar.gz file into your local Docker image store. If the file isn’t in your current working directory, provide the file path in the command.
docker load -i opscenter-6.8.47-docker.tar.gz
Copy the returned SHA256 hash:
Loaded image ID: sha256:1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef
Tag the image using the SHA256 hash and your preferred tag:
docker tag sha256:SHA256_HASH datastax/dse-opscenter:TAG
skopeo
Copy the image from the *-docker.tar.gz file to your local Docker image store and tag it. If the file isn’t in your current working directory, provide the file path in the command.
skopeo copy docker-archive:opscenter-6.8.47-docker.tar.gz docker-daemon:datastax/dse-opscenter:TAG

Verify that the image is loaded into your local Docker image store with the correct tag:

docker images

Result

REPOSITORY              TAG      IMAGE ID       CREATED        SIZE
datastax/dse-opscenter  6.8.47   3f2b7a1c9d0e   2 weeks ago    1.1GB

Start the OpsCenter container

The following steps explain how to start an OpsCenter container, and then use it to manage and monitor a DSE container:

Start the OpsCenter container, specifying a container name and your tagged image:
```
docker run -e DS_LICENSE=accept -d -p 8888:8888 -p 61620:61620 --name OPSCENTER_CONTAINER_NAME datastax/dse-opscenter:TAG
```
For a list of required arguments and common options for DataStax containers, see Options for docker run and docker compose.
Start a DSE container and link it to the OpsCenter container on the same Docker host.

If you have an existing DSE container, restart the container with the --link option.
```
docker run -e DS_LICENSE=accept --link OPSCENTER_CONTAINER_NAME:opscenter --name DSE_CONTAINER_NAME -d datastax/dse-server:TAG
```
In your browser, navigate to the OpsCenter UI at http://DOCKER_HOST_IP:8888, where DOCKER_HOST_IP is the IP address of the Docker host where your OpsCenter container is running.
In the OpsCenter UI, click Manage existing cluster.
In the Host name field, enter the DSE container IP address to allow OpsCenter to manage and monitor your DSE cluster that is running as a Docker container.

To get the DSE container IP address, run the following command on the Docker host:
```
docker inspect DSE_CONTAINER_NAME | grep '"IPAddress":'
```
Click Install agents manually.

The agent is already included with the DSE image, so no additional software installation is required.

The official DataStax images include the latest DataStax Agent version at the time of an official image build. If you require a version of the DataStax Agent that differs from the one included with the official image, you must build an image that includes the required versions.

Manage the OpsCenter container configuration

For information about managing the container and OpsCenter configuration, including custom images and mounted volumes, see Configure DataStax Enterprise (DSE) Docker containers.