Installation documentation

If you have a suggestion or a question that is not resolved in this documentation, please contact the Carme Team:

carme@itwm.fraunhofer.de

Note: The documentation provided here allows you to install Carme-demo. We do not recommend this installation in production-mode.

This documentation is divided in the following sections:

Introduction

• What is Carme-demo
• System requirements
• Features and next release

Basic options

• How to install Carme-demo
• How to access Carme-demo
• How to use Carme-demo
• How to remove Carme-demo

Advanced options

• How to customize the config file
• How to configure an already existing MySQL/MariaDB
• How to configure an already existing SLURM
• What to do if the install fails
• What to do if the uninstall fails
• How to install WSL in a Windows device
• How to install Carme-demo in a Windows device considering a WSL test environment
• How to set SSH keys in a cluster

What is Carme-demo

Carme-demo is a simplified version of Carme. It excludes advanced features that are relevant in production mode.

Carme-demo is easy to install. You can test it in Debian and RedHat based systems (including WSL). Give it a try and enjoy.

In detail:

Features	Carme-demo	Carme
LDAP	Set in Debian / Not set in RedHat	Required
Authentication	Login + 2FA	Login + 2FA
Multi-users	Set	Set
GPUs/CPUs	Set	Set
TLS	Not set	Set
Projects App	Not Set	Set
Management Scripts	Not Set	Set
IDEs/Tools	JupyterLab and Code-Server	JupyterLab, Code-Server, GPI, and more
Cluster	supports 1 head-node and >1 compute-nodes	supports a login-node, a head-node, backup-nodes, and compute-nodes

System requirements

For an optimal installation, your system must fulfill the following requirements:

• Linux Base Distribution
  • Ubuntu 20.04-focal, 22.04-jammy, and 24.04-noble.
  • Debian 11-bullseye, 12-bookworm.
  • Rocky 9
• Devices
  • Laptops, PCs, RPis, VMs using Linux or WSL. Windows users, refer to: How to install Carme-demo in a Windows device considering a WSL test environment.
• Clusters
  • All nodes must have the same timezone.
  • In all nodes, the user must have the same user ID and group ID.
  • The cluster must include 1 head-node and >1 compute-nodes.
  • SSH access from the head-node to itself must be set for the root user. Neither password nor passphrase is allowed, use SSH keys. Refer to: How to set SSH keys in a cluster.
  • SSH access from the head-node to the compute-nodes must be set for the root user. Neither password nor passphrase is allowed, use SSH keys. How to set SSH keys in a cluster.
  • The head-node and the compute-nodes must share the /home and /opt directories, e.g., use NFS.
  • For GPUs. nvidia-smi must be installed in the compute nodes.

Features & next release

Carme-demo v1.0 (current version)

• Is installed in single devices and clusters.
• Is a multi-user software stack in Debian based systems / single-user software stack in RedHat based systems.
• Does not include a TLS configuration. It is a localhost install. Access is granted via SSH tunnel. Refer to: How to access Carme-demo.
• Is set to work with CPUs and GPUs.
• Adapts to already existing SLURM and MySQL management tools in the system.
• Works without a login-node (in clusters, only 1 head-node is required).

Carme-demo v1.1 (next release)

• Adapts to an already existing LDAP user management tool in both, Debian and RedHat based systems. For more information, refer to our Roadmap.

How to install Carme-demo

Carme-demo is easy to install. Once your cluster or your single device is set with the system requirements, you are ready to go.

Windows users:

• Require WSL, refer to: How to install WSL in a Windows device. Once installed, you can proceed with the steps given here.
• if you already have WSL, but you don’t want to use it to test Carme-demo, then you can create a test environment that can be easily removed. Refer to: How to install Carme-demo in a Windows device considering a WSL test environment.

Step 1: Clone the repo

As root user, in the terminal type (in clusters use the head-node):

git clone -b demo-1.0 --single-branch https://github.com/CarmeTeam/Carme.git /opt/Carme

Note: The repo must be cloned to the /opt/Carme directory.

Step 2: Create the config file

cd /opt/Carme && bash config.sh

Note: You don’t need to modify the config file unless you want to customize it:

• How to configure an already existing MySQL/MariaDB.
• How to configure an already existing SLURM.
• How to customize the config file.

Step 3: Run the installation script

bash start.sh

Note: If the install fails, refer to: What to do if the install fails.

How to access Carme-demo

• In single-devices or in the head-node, open a web browser and type:

  localhost:10443
  

• To remotely access Carme-demo, use SSH tunnel. In your remote device proceed as follows:

  • Open the terminal and type:

    ssh <username>@<IP> -NL 9999:localhost:10443
    

    Note: IP refers to the head-node or the single device IP.

  • Then, open the web browser and type:

    localhost:9999
    

How to use Carme-demo

Refer to the following link:

• Carme-demo user documentation

How to remove Carme-demo

Carme-demo is easy to remove. In the terminal type (in clusters use the head-node):

cd /opt/Carme && bash end.sh

Note: If the uninstall fails, refer to: What to do if the uninstall fails.

• Carme-demo does NOT uninstall an already existing MySQL/MariaDB. It only removes the frontend database.

• Carme-demo does NOT uninstall an already existing SLURM. It only removes Carme scripts.

How to customize the config file

bash config.sh creates and customizes the config file /opt/Carme/CarmeConfig.start. If advanced customization is needed, you can manually do so.

Below we show all the config file variables:

USER/ADMIN

Variable	Definition
CARME_UID="1000"	Linux user uid, e.g., id -u ubuntu.
CARME_USER="ubuntu"	Linux user.
CARME_HOME="/home/ubuntu"	Linux user home folder.
CARME_GROUP="ubuntu"	Linux user group, e.g., id -gn ubuntu.
CARME_USERS="single"	Single-user software stack. Do not modify this variable.
CARME_SYSTEM="multi"	The system is a cluster. For single devices consider CARME_SYSTEM="single".
CARME_TIMEZONE="Europe/Berlin"	Choose your timezone, i.e., timedatectl list-timezones.

PASSWORDS

Variable	Definition
CARME_PASSWORD_USER="usrpwd"	Single-user software stack does not require this variable.
CARME_PASSWORD_MYSQL="mysqlpwd"	MySQL root password. Change this passsword if you use an already existing MySQL/MariaDB.
CARME_PASSWORD_SLURM="slurmpwd"	SLURM password to control the database slurm_acct_db. Change this password if you use an already existing SLURM.
CARME_PASSWORD_DJANGO="djangopwd"	Carme-frontend password to control the database webfrontend.

DATABASE

Variable	Definition
CARME_DB="yes"	Installs MySQL/MariaDB. CARME_DB="no" uses an already existing MySQL/MariaDB. If you choose to install MySQL/MariaDB, but you already have MySQL/MariaDB installed, then Carme will ask you if you want to reinstall the database management tool.
CARME_DB_SERVER="mysql"	Uses MySQL. amd64 architectures use MySQL. arm64 architectures use MariaDB. If you prefer MariaDB in amd64, then consider CARME_DB_SERVER="mariadb".
CARME_DB_DEFAULT_NAME="webfrontend"	Carme-frontend database name. If you are using an already existing MySQL/MariaDB, then check that the database name webfrontend is not used in a different project. If it is, then change the name. Note that Carme does NOT overwrite an existing webfrontend database. It will only add Carme tables to it.
CARME_DB_DEFAULT_NODE="head-node"	Head-node name, i.e., hostname -s. In single-devices CARME_DB_DEFAULT_NODE="localhost". If you are using an already existing MySQL/MariaDB, consider the hostname where your database server containing the webfrontend database is installed.
CARME_DB_DEFAULT_HOST="head-node"	Head-node name, i.e., hostname -s. In single-devices CARME_DB_DEFAULT_HOST="localhost". If you are using an already existing MySQL/MariaDB, consider the hostname where your database server containing the webfrontend database is installed.
CARME_DB_DEFAULT_USER="django"	User name to handle webfrontend database.
CARME_DB_DEFAULT_PORT=3306	MySQL/MariaDB port where webfrontend exits. If you use a different port, then change it accordingly.
CARME_DB_SLURM_NAME="slurm_acct_db"	SLURM accounting database name. If you are using an already existing SLURM, then Carme will use your already existing slurm_acct_db database. Carme does NOT overwrite/modify your already existing database, this is managed by SLURM only.
CARME_DB_SLURM_NODE="head-node"	Head-node name, i.e., hostname -s. In single-devices CARME_DB_SLURM_NODE="localhost". If you are using an already existing MySQL/MariaDB, consider the hostname where your database server containing the slurm_acct_db database is installed.
CARME_DB_SLURM_HOST="head-node"	Head-node name, i.e., hostname -s. In single-devices CARME_DB_SLURM_HOST="localhost". If you are using an already existing MySQL/MariaDB, consider the hostname where your database server containing the slurm_acct_db database is installed.
CARME_DB_SLURM_USER="slurm"	SLURM user name to handle slurm_acct_db database. If you are using an already existing SLURM, then this user is set in your SLURM configuration.
CARME_DB_SLURM_PORT=3306	MySQL/MariaDB port where slurm_acct_db exists. If you use a different port, then change it accordingly.

SLURM

Note: Advanced SLURM features can be implemented manually.

Variable	Definition
CARME_SLURM="yes"	Installs SLURM. CARME_SLURM="no" uses an already existing SLURM. If you choose to install SLURM, but you already have SLURM installed, then Carme will ask you if you want to reinstall the workload management tool.
CARME_SLURM_CLUSTER_NAME="mycluster"	Is your SLURM cluster name. Choose the name that you want. If you are using an already existing SLURM, then your cluster name is given with sacctmgr show cluster.
CARME_SLURM_PARTITION_NAME="carme"	Is your SLURM partition name. Choose the name that you want. If you are using an already existing SLURM, you may have more than one partition.
CARME_SLURM_ACCELERATOR_TYPE="cpu"	Enforces Carme-demo to work with CPUs only. (GPUs will be included in the next Carme-demo release).
CARME_SLURM_SLURMCTLD_PORT=6817	Is the SLURM controller port. If you use an already existing SLURM, this port may be different. Refer to SlurmctldPort in your slurm.conf to know you actual port.
CARME_SLURM_SLURMD_PORT=6818	Is the SLURM daemon port. If you use an already existing SLURM, this port may be different. Refer to SlurmdPort in your slurm.conf to know you actual port.

VENDORS

Note: Mambaforge, Singularity, and Go are installed in /opt/Carme/Carme-Vendors, Traefik proxy is installed in the container image opt/Carme/Carme-ContainerImage/Carme-Proxy-Container/proxy.sif. If you have similar vendors in your system, they won’t interfere with Carme-Vendors. Carme-Vendors must be installed in your system.

Variable	Definition
MAMBAFORGE_VERSION=23.11.0-0	Go to https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge/releases to choose a different mambaforge version.
SINGULARITY_VERSION=3.11.4	Go to https://github.com/sylabs/singularity/releases to choose a different singularity version.
PROXY_VERSION=2.11.2	Go to https://github.com/traefik/traefik/releases to choose a different traefik version.
GO_VERSION=1.20.6	Go to https://go.dev/dl/ to choose a different go version.

FRONTEND

Variable	Definition
CARME_FRONTEND_KEY="..."	Carme-frontend security key. To create a new one, go to https://djecrety.ir. Note that your key must not contain the character ".
CARME_FRONTEND_NODE="head-node"	Head-node name, i.e., hostname -s. In single devices CARME_FRONTEND_NODE="localhost".
CARME_FRONTEND_URL="localhost"	Default URL. Do not modify this variable.
CARME_FRONTEND_IP="10.0.0.27"	Head-node IP, i.e., hostname -I. In single devices CARME_FRONTEND_IP="127.0.0.1".
CARME_FRONTEND_ID="Carme"	Carme-frontend ID. Do not modify this variable.
CARME_FRONTEND_PORT=8888	Carme-frontend port. If you are already using port ` 8888`, choose a different one.

BACKEND

Variable	Definition
CARME_BACKEND_NODE="head-node"	Head-node name, i.e., hostname -s. In single devices CARME_BACKEND_NODE="localhost".
CARME_BACKEND_PORT=56798	Carme-backend port. If you are already using port ` 56798`, choose a different one.

NODES

Variable	Definition
CARME_NODE_LIST="cnode1 cnode2"	List of compute-nodes names, i.e., hostname -s. In single devices CARME_NODE_LIST="localhost".
CARME_NODE_FS="yes"	Do not modify this variable.
CARME_NODE_SSHD="yes"	Do not modify this variable.
CARME_NODE_SSD_PATH="/scratch"	Creates a scratch directory. Do not modify this variable.
CARME_NODE_TMP_PATH="/tmp"	Uses the tmp directory. Do not modify this variable.

How to configure an already existing MySQL/MariaDB

If you already have MySQL/MariaDB installed in your system, then when you run bash config.sh, choose no when requested if you want to install a database management tool. The rest is handled by Carme.

How to configure an already existing SLURM

If you already have SLURM installed in your system, then when you run bash config.sh, choose no when requested if you want to install SLURM. The rest is handled by Carme.

What to do if the install fails

The install is made of 10 sub-scripts that are run in order. You must not alter this order:

1. install_system.sh
2. install_database.sh
3. install_slurm.sh
4. install_vendors.sh
5. install_certs.sh
6. install_frontend.sh
7. install_backend.sh
8. install_base.sh
9. install_scripts.sh
10. install_proxy.sh

• These 10 sub-scripts are stored in /opt/Carme/Carme-Install.

• When your installation fails, the script exits with an error. You can identify to which sub-script the error is related. Once fixed, you can rerun start.sh or you can continue with the installation running the sub-script and following the order, e.g., if the install stopped at install_certs.sh, then:

  cd /opt/Carme/Carme-Install && bash install_certs.sh
  

  Note: Carme-demo install scripts can be run multiple times.

• If you don’t know how to solve the error, please contact us at carme@itwm.fraunhofer.de.

What to do if the uninstall fails

The uninstall is made of 8 sub-scripts that are run in order. You must not alter this order:

1. remove_proxy.sh
2. remove_base.sh
3. remove_backend.sh
4. remove_frontend.sh
5. remove_certs.sh
6. remove_vendors.sh
7. remove_slurm.sh
8. remove_database.sh

• These 8 sub-scripts are stored in /opt/Carme/Carme-Install.

• When your uninstall fails, the script exits with an error. You can identify to which sub-script the error is related. Once fixed, you can rerun end.sh or you can continue with the uninstall running the sub-script and following the order, e.g., if the uninstall stopped at remove_certs.sh, then:

  cd /opt/Carme/Carme-Install && bash remove_certs.sh
  

  Note: Carme-demo uninstall scripts can be run multiple times.

• If you don’t know how to solve the error, please contact us at carme@itwm.fraunhofer.de.

How to install WSL in a Windows device

Open the Windows PowerShell and type:

wsl --install

Note: By default, Ubuntu Linux is installed.

In the process you will be asked to:

Enter new UNIX username:
password:

Once the installation completes, you have access to the Ubuntu terminal. If you open a new PowerShell, type wsl.exe to access the Ubuntu terminal.

To install Carme-demo, you must be a root user. In the terminal type:

sudo su 

Carme is installed in the /opt directory, then:

cd /opt

Now, you are ready to clone the repo and install Carme-demo. Follow the steps given in How to install Carme-demo.

If you don’t want to install Carme-demo in your active WSL, you can create a test environment considering a separate WSL distribution. Refer to: How to install Carme-demo in a Windows device considering a WSL test environment.

How to install Carme-demo in a Windows device considering a WSL test environment

e.g., choose one of the following versions:

• Ubuntu 20.04 test environment
• Ubuntu 22.04 test environment
• Rocky 9 test environment

Ubuntu 20.04 test environment

Open the Windows PowerShell.

To download the WSL tar file for Ubuntu 20.04, type:

Invoke-WebRequest https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/focal/release/ubuntu-20.04-server-cloudimg-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz -OutFile ubuntu-20.04-server-cloudimg-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz

Import the tar file as a new Ubuntu distribution:

wsl --import carme-ubuntu20.04 carme-ubuntu20.04 ubuntu-20.04-server-cloudimg-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz

Delete the tar file:

Remove-Item -Recurse ubuntu-20.04-server-cloudimg-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz

Access the terminal of the new Ubuntu distribution:

wsl -d carme-ubuntu20.04

Now you are in the Ubuntu terminal, enable systemd and then exit back to the PowerShell:

cat << 'EOF' >> /etc/wsl.conf
[boot]
systemd=true
EOF
exit

In the PowerShell, restart the new distribution:

wsl --terminate carme-ubuntu20.04
wsl -d carme-ubuntu20.04

Now you are back to the Ubuntu terminal. Add a new user (in this example the new user is ubuntu):

adduser --gecos "" --disabled-password ubuntu
echo "ubuntu:password" | chpasswd

Clone the repository to the /opt/Carme directory:

git clone -b demo-1.0 --single-branch https://github.com/CarmeTeam/Carme.git /opt/Carme

Change into the /opt/Carme directory and then start the installation:

cd /opt/Carme/ && bash config.sh && bash start.sh

Once the installation is finished, you can access Carme-demo. Open a browser and type in the URL box:

localhost:10443

If the installation fails, refer to: What to do if the install fails.

To test Carme-demo, refer to: How to use Carme-demo. Once you finish testing Carme-demo, you can discard the distribution:

wsl --terminate carme-ubuntu20.04
wsl --unregister carme-ubuntu20.04
Remove-Item -Recurse carme-ubuntu20.04

If you like Carme-demo, you can install it in your main WSL distribution. In the PoweShell type wsl.exe and follow the steps given in: How to install Carme-demo.

Ubuntu 22.04 test environment

Open the Windows PowerShell.

To download the WSL tar file for Ubuntu 22.04, type:

   Invoke-WebRequest https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/wsl/releases/22.04/current/ubuntu-jammy-wsl-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz -OutFile ubuntu-jammy-wsl-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz

Import the tar file as a new Ubuntu distribution:

wsl --import carme-ubuntu22.04 carme-ubuntu22.04 ubuntu-jammy-wsl-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz

Delete the tar file:

Remove-Item -Recurse ubuntu-jammy-wsl-amd64-wsl.rootfs.tar.gz

Access the terminal of the new Ubuntu distribution:

wsl -d carme-ubuntu22.04

Now you are in the Ubuntu terminal, enable systemd and then exit back to the PowerShell:

cat << 'EOF' >> /etc/wsl.conf
[boot]
systemd=true
EOF
exit

In the PowerShell, restart the new distribution:

wsl --terminate carme-ubuntu22.04
wsl -d carme-ubuntu22.04

Now you are back to the Ubuntu terminal. Add a new user (in this example the new user is ubuntu):

adduser --gecos "" --disabled-password ubuntu
echo "ubuntu:password" | chpasswd

Clone the repository to the /opt/Carme directory:

git clone -b demo-1.0 --single-branch https://github.com/CarmeTeam/Carme.git /opt/Carme

Change into the /opt/Carme directory and then start the installation:

cd /opt/Carme/ && bash config.sh && bash start.sh

Once the installation is finished, you can access Carme-demo. Open a browser and type in the URL box:

localhost:10443

If the installation fails, refer to: What to do if the install fails.

To test Carme-demo, refer to: How to use Carme-demo. Once you finish testing Carme-demo, you can discard the distribution:

wsl --terminate carme-ubuntu22.04
wsl --unregister carme-ubuntu22.04
Remove-Item -Recurse carme-ubuntu22.04

If you like Carme-demo, you can install it in your main WSL distribution. In the PoweShell type wsl.exe and follow the steps given in: How to install Carme-demo.

Rocky 9 test environment

Open the Windows PowerShell.

To download the WSL tar file for Ubuntu 22.04, type:

   Invoke-WebRequest https://dl.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/9/images/x86_64/Rocky-9-Container-Base.latest.x86_64.tar.xz -OutFile Rocky-9-Container-Base.latest.x86_64.tar.xz

Import the tar file as a new Rocky distribution:

wsl --import carme-rocky9 carme-rocky9 Rocky-9-Container-Base.latest.x86_64.tar.xz

Delete the tar file:

Remove-Item -Recurse Rocky-9-Container-Base.latest.x86_64.tar.xz

Access the terminal of the new Ubuntu distribution:

wsl -d carme-rocky9

Now you are in the Rocky terminal, enable systemd and then exit back to the PowerShell:

dnf install systemd -y
cat << 'EOF' >> /etc/wsl.conf
[boot]
systemd=true
EOF
exit

In the PowerShell, restart the new distribution:

wsl --terminate carme-rocky9
wsl -d carme-rocky9

Now you are back to the Rocky terminal. Add a new user (in this example the new user is rocky):

dnf install -y 'dnf-command(config-manager)'
dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb
dnf install -y epel-release
dnf clean all
adduser rocky
echo "rocky:password" | chpasswd

Clone the repository to the /opt/Carme directory:

git clone -b demo-1.0 --single-branch https://github.com/CarmeTeam/Carme.git /opt/Carme

Change into the /opt/Carme directory and then start the installation:

cd /opt/Carme/ && bash config.sh && bash start.sh

Once the installation is finished, you can access Carme-demo. Open a browser and type in the URL box:

localhost:10443

If the installation fails, refer to: What to do if the install fails.

To test Carme-demo, refer to: How to use Carme-demo. Once you finish testing Carme-demo, you can discard the distribution:

wsl --terminate carme-rocky9
wsl --unregister carme-rocky9
Remove-Item -Recurse carme-rocky9

If you like Carme-demo, you can install it in your main WSL distribution. In the PoweShell type wsl.exe and follow the steps given in: How to install Carme-demo.

How to set SSH keys in a cluster

Let’s consider that your cluster is made of 1 head-node a 2 compute-nodes. In each node, hostname -s and hostname -I gives, e.g.,

node	hostname -s	hostname -I
head node	carmec0	10.0.0.1
compute node 1	carmec1	10.0.0.10
compute node 2	carmec2	10.0.0.11

Step 1: Modify /etc/hosts

In the head node, /etc/hosts should have:

127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.1.1       carmec0

10.0.0.1        carmec0
10.0.0.10       carmec1
10.0.0.11       carmec2

In the compute node 1, /etc/hosts should have:

127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.1.10      carmec1

10.0.0.1        carmec0
10.0.0.10       carmec1
10.0.0.11       carmec2

And in the compute node 2, /etc/hosts should have:

127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.1.1       carmec2

10.0.0.1        carmec0
10.0.0.10       carmec1
10.0.0.11       carmec2

Step 2: Create the SSH keys

In the head node, type:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -N="" -C "root@carmec0"

This creates your passphraseless ssh key in /root/.ssh/. Open the .pub key, i.e.,

cat id_ed25519.pub

Copy the output to /root/.ssh/authorized_keys in the head-node.

Copy the output to /root/.ssh/authorized_keys in the compute-nodes.

Congratulations! Now you can ssh from the head-node to itself considering ssh carmec0 and ssh localhost, and from the head-node to the compute-nodes considering ssh carmec1 and ssh carmec2.