Selecting the required software for offline DSE installations with Lifecycle Manager

For offline DataStax Enterprise nodes, Lifecycle Manager must download software from several sources to be adapted for offline environments.

When Lifecycle Manager (LCM) deploys DataStax Enterprise (DSE) on a target node, LCM must download software from several sources to be adapted for offline environments.

Operating system packages

DataStax packages depend on packages provided by your operating system vendor. For offline DSE nodes, install and configure the operating system to install and update operating system packages.

If you haven't configured your operating system to install and update packages, use one of the following methods to provide offline access to operating system packages:

  • Proxy

    If configured, the proxy is used to download operating system packages.

  • Repository mirror

    Operating system packages are downloaded from the repository mirror if they are present.

  • Pre-Install

    If a manual method is available to install operating system packages outside of LCM, pre-install the operating system package. LCM confirms the package is present and will not attempt to download the package again.

Package signing key

DSE packages in .deb and .rpm format are signed with a DataStax-owned key. Target nodes use this key to ensure the DSE packages haven't been tampered with while passing through the network. The following methods can make this key available to offline nodes:

  • Proxy

    If configured, the proxy is used to download the package signing key.

  • Custom URL

    Download the signing-key outside of LCM and host it on an internal web server accessible to the target nodes. Configure a custom key by editing your repository in LCM.

Java runtime

LCM installs Oracle Java by default, which requires a custom download URL to be specified. For more, see Managing Java installs.

Oracle Java

Download the Oracle Java runtime, which can be made available in offline environments:

  • Custom URL

    Download the Oracle Java tarball outside of LCM and host it on an internal web server accessible to the target nodes. Configure LCM to use the custom URL for Oracle Java.

  • Pre-installed

    Install appropriately licensed and supported Java outside of LCM before running the install job. Ensure DSE and LCM can find the installed Java and configure LCM to not manage Java.

Oracle Unlimited Strength JCE Policy

If LCM installs Oracle Java, then LCM can optionally download and install the Oracle Unlimited Strength Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) Policy. The Unlimited Strength JCE Policy enables DSE to perform strong encryption. The options for making the JCE policy file available to offline targets are the same as the Oracle Java tarball.