Defining repositories

LCM uses the repository model to configure target nodes to download DataStax Enterprise software packages using apt or yum.

Lifecycle Manager (LCM) uses the repository model to configure target nodes to download DataStax Enterprise (DSE) software packages using apt or yum.

LCM supports provisioning DSE on target nodes that do not have direct, unfettered internet access with which to download software. Proxies, private-repositories, and manually configured repositories are all important tools in such environments.

The following options are available for configuring a repository:
  • Access DataStax repo: DataStax provides official package repositories hosting the DSE software packages for all supported platforms. To access the official repository, all target nodes must have outbound internet access to datastax.com, either directly or through an https proxy.
    Note: Credentials for a DataStax Academy account are required to download software from the official repository.
  • Access private repo: Some users choose to locally mirror the official DataStax repository and host the DSE software packages in their own apt- or yum-compatible repository. This scenario is common in cases where outbound internet access is restricted, or where policy requires software to be installed from locally-managed sources. Mirrors of the DSE software packages must be created and updated externally from LCM, but LCM can configure target nodes to access pre-existing repositories. This type of repository supports custom URLs for the repository root and for the package signing key. When an http or https proxy is configured for outbound network access, it can optionally be bypassed for this type of repository, as private repositories are often on the same local network as target nodes. An optional username and password can be provided, and whether those fields are necessary depends on how the managed repository mirror is configured.
  • Manually configured repo: Organizations that use a configuration management system other than LCM to configure package repositories, such as those that require configuring a repository externally from LCM, or if their DataStax packages are mirrored to a Red Hat Satellite channel can operate their repositories independently of LCM.

Repositories are only applied at the cluster level in the Clusters workspace. Datacenters and nodes inherit the repository from the cluster. If you require a different repository per datacenter, read more about a potential workaround in this Knowledge Base article.

For a complete discussion of provisioning to targets with limited internet access, see this Knowledge Base article.

For further instructions, see Configuring repositories.