OpenStack Cloud Computing Cookbook: Over 100 practical recipes to help you build and operate OpenStack cloud computing, storage, networking, and automation , Fourth Edition

OpenStack can be interacted with in a number of ways – from using the Horizon (the OpenStack control panel) web interface to, the power of the command line to using third -party software, all of which are transparently integrated with OpenStack. In this chapter, we will introduce the OpenStack Command-Line Interface (CLI) and see how to configure it for use with your installation of OpenStack. The OpenStack command-line tools, like the vast majority of OpenStack, are written in Python. This means that there is a direct dependency on Python being available on the computer that will be running the clients.

When we interact with OpenStack, we are technically making REST API calls to the services that run the Service APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). A REST API defines a set of functions that developers can perform requests and receive responses via HTTP protocol such as GET and POST. The OpenStack command-line clients translate your intuitive commands...

In order to be able to install the required OpenStack client tools under Windows, we must first prepare our Windows desktop machine with Python. The following applies to Windows 10.

There are a number of OpenStack clients available that are used to interact with OpenStack from the command line. Historically, each service in OpenStack has its own client. For example, the OpenStack Compute project, Nova, has its own nova client. Similarly, the OpenStack networking project, Neutron, also has its own client called neutron client. And so on.

Officially, there is a convergence to using one client: the OpenStack client. However, not all commands and features are available under this one tool. Moreover, the OpenStack client still requires each individual project command-line tool installed to function; however, it provides a more consistent interface without the need to remember each individual project name.

The OpenStack tools are configured by setting environment variables in your shell or desktop.

Configuring your Windows environment for use with OpenStack requires a little more effort – but the basic premise remains: we're configuring our desktop so that it has access to environment variables, as well as ensuring that our tools, written in Python, are able to execute properly.

This section outlines common OpenStack networking tasks for quick reference only. For more details on using Neutron and how Neutron works – including details of when and where to use features such as Floating IPs and Routers, refer to Chapter 4, Neutron – OpenStack Networking.

This section outlines a number of common commands that can be run when operating with instances (for example, virtual machines). For more detailed information and explanation of each task, refer to Chapter 5, Nova – OpenStack Compute.

This section outlines a number of steps, intended as a quick overview only, when operating against the OpenStack Image service (known as Glance). For more detailed information and explanation of each task, refer to Chapter 6, Glance – OpenStack Image Service.

openstack image create
    --container-type bare
    --disk-format qcow2
    --public
    --file
 /path/to/cirros-0.3.5-x86_64-disk.img

This section outlines a number of common steps to take for a number of common actions using the OpenStack Identity service. This is intended as a quick reference guide only. For more detailed information and explanation of each task, refer to Chapter 3, Keystone – OpenStack Identity Service.

openstack project create development

openstack user create
    --domain default
    --password password123
    --enable
    developer

This section outlines a number of common tasks using the OpenStack Block and Object Storage service. For more information on storage, refer to Chapter 7, Cinder – OpenStack Block Storage and Chapter 8, Swift – OpenStack Object Storage.

openstack volume create --size 5 my5GVolume

openstack server add volume my5GVolume 58ea640b-16ba-447c-85db-952174d70f7c

This section outlines a number of common tasks using the OpenStack Orchestration (Heat) service to launch stacks (orchestrated environments using Heat). For more information on Heat and orchestration, refer to Chapter 9, OpenStack Orchestration Using Heat and Ansible.

openstack stack create
    --template myStack.yml
    --environment myStack-Env.yml
    myStack

openstack stack list

openstack stack delete myStack