Sendense Documentation

CloudStack Deployment Checklist

Everything CloudStack needs before Sendense goes live: user and role, the STYPE OS type, templates, offerings, networks, and snagent readiness.

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CloudStack Deployment Checklist

Everything CloudStack needs before Sendense goes live: user and role, the STYPE OS type, templates, offerings, networks, and snagent readiness.

ReadyCurrentcloudstackdeploymentchecklistprerequisites

Overview

These are the CloudStack-side prerequisites for a Sendense deployment. Some apply to every deployment, some only when snagent is deployed, and some only when CloudStack is a restore or replication destination - each item below says which.

Operator responsibility

Sendense does not create or verify these prerequisites automatically. Missing items surface as failures in the workflows that depend on them, so work through the checklist before going live.

The Three Requirements People Miss

STYPE OS type
Create a custom CloudStack OS Type named exactly STYPE (all capitals) and apply it to every SNA hosted in CloudStack - and to the SHA if it runs in CloudStack. It is how the snagent host agent identifies Sendense appliances on a host; without it, the host agent discovers zero SNAs and does not process their backup or disk-attachment events. Required whenever snagent is deployed.
Cloned role with getPathForVolume
Assign the dedicated Sendense user a cloned Tenant Admin role and add getPathForVolume as an explicit Allow rule. Sendense uses it to resolve the real storage path for volumes during host-assisted operations; without it, resolution falls back to a limited form that is not sufficient for QCOW NFS backup. Treat it as mandatory wherever snagent is deployed.
Custom offerings for restore and replication
Create a custom compute offering with root disk size 0 (a fixed root disk at or below the template size makes CloudStack reject VM creation - error 4350) and a custom disk offering for replica and restore disks. Both are required before restores and replication patterns can deploy VMs.

Credentials And Connectivity

  • API URL captured, including the /client/api path. [always]
  • API Key and Secret Key generated for a dedicated Sendense CloudStack user. [always]
  • Credential entered in the SHA GUI under Settings, Credentials. [always]
  • SHA and SNA can reach the CloudStack Management API on TCP 443 or TCP 8080. [always]

User, Role, And Permissions

  • Dedicated Sendense user created in the correct tenant or account. [always]
  • Tenant Admin role cloned and assigned to the Sendense user. [always]
  • getPathForVolume added to the cloned role as an explicit Allow rule. [always; mandatory with snagent]

Zone And Networks

  • Zone exists and is selectable. [always]
  • Network exists and is Implemented or Allocated. [always]
  • DHCP-enabled guest network available for controller appliances. [restore and replication]

Templates And Offerings

  • Failover VM template is Ready with a root disk smaller than 2 GB, so CloudStack can size the recovered root disk from the source VM. [restore and replication]
  • Sendense Controller template imported into the target zone and visible to the API user. [restore and replication]
  • Custom compute offering created with root disk size 0. [restore and replication]
  • Custom disk offering created for replica and restore disks. [restore and replication]
  • Offering used by Sendense VMs meets the recommended minimum of 2 vCPU and 4096 MB RAM. [always]

STYPE And Appliance Identity

  • Custom OS type named exactly STYPE created in CloudStack. [with snagent]
  • STYPE applied to every SNA hosted in CloudStack. [with snagent]
  • STYPE applied to the SHA if the SHA runs in CloudStack. [always]
  • SHA VM pre-exists and is Running when the SHA is a CloudStack VM - volume attachment operations depend on it. [always]

snagent Host Readiness

  • Backend is QCOW NFS, ZFS, or LINSTOR DRBD - RAW Block does not use snagent. [with snagent]
  • snagent deployment approved on the relevant Ubuntu KVM/libvirt hosts. [with snagent]
  • snagent hosts have outbound TCP 443 to the SHA. [with snagent]

Network And Firewall Baseline

  • Administrators reach the SHA on TCP 443.
  • SNA appliances reach the SHA on outbound TCP 443.
  • SHA and SNA reach the CloudStack Management API on TCP 443 or TCP 8080.
  • SHA and SNA reach VMware vCenter/ESXi on TCP 443 where VMware sources apply.

Related Docs

CloudStack KVM OverviewHow Sendense protects CloudStack KVM environments with SNA, EBA-ST, and the optional snagent host agent.snagent Hypervisor Host AgentThe CloudStack KVM hypervisor host agent used for efficient host-assisted changed-block tracking.Infrastructure RequirementsPlanning requirements for appliances, repositories, platform access, and recovery targets.Replication PatternsThe policy layer for controller-backed replication and disaster-recovery target readiness.