Prerequisites

Before deploying Lyra Platform, ensure you have access to the required services and your environment meets these requirements.

1. Rancher Management Server

REQUIRED: Rancher is used to manage Kubernetes clusters and deploy Lyra Platform via Helm charts.

System Requirements

To install Rancher, you need a dedicated Linux server with Docker:

Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, RHEL 8+, or similar)
Docker: Docker Engine installed and running
Network: Dedicated management server (recommended to be separate from Kubernetes cluster nodes)

Why Separate from Kubernetes Cluster?

Best Practice: Install Rancher on a dedicated Linux system that is NOT part of the Kubernetes cluster you will manage. This provides:

Management interface remains available even if cluster has issues
Easier troubleshooting and maintenance
Better security isolation
Ability to manage multiple clusters from one Rancher instance

Install Docker

If Docker is not yet installed on your Rancher management server:

# Ubuntu/Debian
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh

# Verify installation
docker --version

# Enable Docker to start on boot
sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

Note: After Docker is installed, you'll need registry access (see next section) before installing Rancher.

2. Registry Access

REQUIRED: You need access to Lyra's container registry to pull the application images.

Registry Information

Registry URL: registry.lyra.ovh
Container Images Project: lyra (contains all application images)
Helm Charts Project: lyra-charts (contains deployment charts)

Getting Access

Contact the Lyra team to receive your registry credentials:

Username and password/token
Pull permissions for required projects

Verify Access

Once you receive your credentials, verify you can access the registry:

# Login to registry
docker login registry.lyra.ovh
Username: [your-username]
Password: [your-password]

# Verify access to projects
curl -u "[your-username]:[your-password]" \
  https://registry.lyra.ovh/api/v2.0/projects/lyra/repositories

Expected response: JSON list of available repositories in the lyra project

Install Rancher

Once you have verified registry access, you can now install Rancher.

Option A: Using Lyra Registry (Recommended)

First, check available Rancher versions in the registry:

# List available Rancher versions
curl -u "[your-username]:[your-password]" \
  https://registry.lyra.ovh/v2/lyra/rancher/tags/list

# Or using the API with formatted output
curl -u "[your-username]:[your-password]" \
  https://registry.lyra.ovh/api/v2.0/projects/lyra/repositories/rancher/artifacts | jq -r '.[].tags[].name'

Then pull and run Rancher with a specific version:

# Login to registry (already done in previous step)
docker login registry.lyra.ovh

# Pull Rancher from Lyra registry (use specific version)
docker pull registry.lyra.ovh/lyra/rancher:v2.12.2

# Run Rancher from Lyra registry
sudo docker run -d \
  --name rancher \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  -p 80:80 -p 443:443 \
  --privileged \
  registry.lyra.ovh/lyra/rancher:v2.12.2

# Check Rancher is running
docker ps | grep rancher

Option B: Using Docker Hub (Alternative)

If you prefer to use the official Rancher image from Docker Hub:

# Pull and run Rancher from Docker Hub
sudo docker run -d \
  --name rancher \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  -p 80:80 -p 443:443 \
  --privileged \
  rancher/rancher:latest

# Check Rancher is running
docker ps | grep rancher

Access Rancher UI

Note: Rancher takes several minutes to fully start. During initialization, you may see log messages like "API Aggregation not ready" - this is normal.

Monitor the startup process:

# Watch Rancher logs
docker logs -f rancher

# Wait for this message: "Bootstrap Password:"
# This indicates Rancher is ready

Once Rancher is ready:

Open browser to https://your-rancher-server-ip
You will see the Rancher login screen

Retrieve the bootstrap password:

# Using container name (simplest method)
sudo docker logs rancher 2>&1 | grep "Bootstrap Password:"

# Or automatically using container ID (if you need it)
sudo sh -c 'docker logs $(docker ps -q -f name=rancher) 2>&1 | grep "Bootstrap Password:"'

Copy the password from the output
Login with the bootstrap password
Complete the initial setup wizard:
Set Password: Choose to use a randomly generated password or set your own secure password
Server URL: Set the Rancher server URL (e.g., https://your-rancher-server-ip or your domain)
Accept Terms: Review and accept the End User License Agreement (EULA) and Terms & Conditions
Rancher is now ready to import or create Kubernetes clusters

Important: You must complete this initial setup on first login for security and proper configuration.

Typical startup time: 2-5 minutes depending on server resources

3. Server Resources

Lyra Platform requires a Kubernetes cluster with adequate server resources.

Minimum Requirements (Development/Testing)

Component	Quantity	CPU	Memory	OS Disk (`/dev/sda`)	Storage Disks (Ceph/Rook)
Control Plane Nodes	1 node	2 cores	4GB	50GB+	Not required
Worker Nodes	3+ nodes	8+ cores per node	16GB+ per node	50GB+ per node	1x 100GB+ disk per node (e.g., `/dev/sdb`)

Recommended for Production

Component	Quantity	CPU	Memory	OS Disk (`/dev/sda`)	Storage Disks (Ceph/Rook)
Control Plane Nodes (HA)	3 nodes	4 cores per node	8GB per node	100GB+ per node	Not required
Worker Nodes	5+ nodes	16+ cores per node	32GB+ per node	100GB+ per node	1-3x 500GB+ disks per node (e.g., `/dev/sdb`, `/dev/sdc`, `/dev/sdd`)

Important Notes: - OS Disk: Used only for operating system and Kubernetes components (typically /dev/sda) - Storage Disks: Raw/unformatted disks used exclusively by Ceph/Rook for persistent storage (all disks except /dev/sda) - Control Plane Nodes: Manage the cluster and should be dedicated to control plane workloads only - High Availability: For production, always use 3 control plane nodes

Alternative: Control Plane as Worker Node

For smaller deployments, you can configure control plane nodes to also run application workloads by removing the default taint. This reduces the total number of nodes required.

Benefits: - Fewer servers required (can start with 3 nodes instead of 4+) - Lower infrastructure costs - Simplified management for small deployments

Considerations: - Control plane and application workloads compete for resources - Less isolation between control plane and workloads - Not recommended for high-traffic production environments - Still need 3 control plane nodes for high availability

Example Configuration:

Deployment Type	Control Plane Nodes	Dedicated Worker Nodes	Total Nodes
Dedicated (Recommended)	3 nodes (HA)	5+ nodes	8+ nodes
Control Plane as Worker	3 nodes (HA + Worker)	0 nodes	3 nodes
Hybrid	3 nodes (HA + Worker)	2-3 nodes	5-6 nodes

To enable workloads on control plane nodes:

# Remove taint from control plane nodes to allow workload scheduling
kubectl taint nodes <control-plane-node-name> node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane:NoSchedule-
kubectl taint nodes <control-plane-node-name> node-role.kubernetes.io/master:NoSchedule-

When to use this approach: - ✅ Development and testing environments - ✅ Small production deployments with limited resources - ✅ Edge deployments with hardware constraints - ❌ High-traffic production environments - ❌ Environments requiring strict isolation

4. Required Tools

Install these tools on your workstation/deployment machine:

Docker

docker --version
# Required: 20.10+

Why: Used only if you need to build custom images (not typical)

kubectl

kubectl version --client
# Required: 1.24+

Why: Kubernetes cluster management

Helm

helm version
# Required: 3.10+

Why: Lyra is deployed via Helm chart

Git

git --version
# Required: 2.30+

Why: Version control and deployment scripts

Pre-Installation Checklist

Before proceeding to installation, verify:

1. Rancher Management Server

[ ] Rancher server is running
[ ] Can access Rancher UI
[ ] Rancher is configured and ready

2. Registry Access

[ ] Registry credentials received
[ ] Can login to registry.lyra.ovh
[ ] Can see lyra and lyra-charts projects

3. Kubernetes Cluster

[ ] Kubernetes cluster is created via Rancher
[ ] Control plane nodes: 1 (min) or 3 (HA production)
[ ] Worker nodes: 3+ nodes in Ready state
[ ] Each worker node has storage disk(s) for Ceph/Rook
[ ] kubectl can connect to cluster

4. Required Tools

[ ] kubectl installed and configured
[ ] Helm 3.10+ installed
[ ] Git installed

Quick Verification Commands

Run these commands to verify your environment:

# 1. Registry access
docker login registry.lyra.ovh

# 2. Kubernetes connection
kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes

# 3. Check available disks on worker nodes
# SSH to a worker node and run:
lsblk

Getting Help

If you don't meet these prerequisites:

Missing Registry Access → Contact Lyra team for registry credentials
No Rancher Server → Install Docker and Rancher (see Section 1)
No Kubernetes Cluster → Create cluster via Rancher UI
Disk Configuration Questions → Ensure each worker has raw/unformatted storage disks

Next Steps

✅ Prerequisites met?

Proceed to: Kubernetes Setup

Need assistance? Contact Lyra support or open an issue