ManageIQ Installation in Docker: Cloud Management Made Simple

ManageIQ is Red Hat's open-source cloud management platform that provides comprehensive hybrid cloud automation. With Docker, you can deploy ManageIQ quickly and efficiently across any environment where Docker runs.

What is ManageIQ?

ManageIQ offers powerful cloud management capabilities:

• Hybrid Cloud Management: Manage public and private clouds from one interface
• Infrastructure Discovery: Automatically discover and inventory resources
• Policy Enforcement: Implement governance and compliance policies
• Cost Optimization: Track and optimize cloud spending
• Automation: Integrate with Ansible for workflow automation

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure Docker is installed on your system.

Install Docker

Follow the official Docker installation guide for your operating system.

Start Docker Service

# Using systemctl (modern Linux distributions)
sudo systemctl start docker

# Or using service command
sudo service docker start

Verify Docker is running:

sudo docker --version

Step 1: Pull ManageIQ Docker Image

Download the official ManageIQ image from Docker Hub:

# Pull latest stable version
sudo docker pull manageiq/manageiq

# Or pull specific version
sudo docker pull manageiq/manageiq:gaprindashvili-4

Verify Image Download

List downloaded images to confirm:

sudo docker images

You should see the ManageIQ image in the output:

REPOSITORY              TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED             SIZE
manageiq/manageiq      latest              abc123def456        2 weeks ago         2.1GB

Step 2: Run ManageIQ Container

Deploy ManageIQ in a Docker container:

# Run with latest image
sudo docker run --privileged -d -p 8443:443 manageiq/manageiq

# Or run with specific version
sudo docker run --privileged -d -p 8443:443 manageiq/manageiq:gaprindashvili-4

Command Breakdown

• --privileged: Grants extended privileges to the container
• -d: Runs container in detached mode (background)
• -p 8443:443: Maps host port 8443 to container port 443
• manageiq/manageiq: The Docker image to run

Verify Container Status

Check if the container is running:

sudo docker ps

Example output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE               COMMAND                  STATUS         PORTS                   NAMES
abc123def456   manageiq/manageiq   "/usr/bin/entrypoint…"   Up 2 minutes   0.0.0.0:8443->443/tcp   mystifying_tesla

Step 3: Access ManageIQ Web Interface

Once the container is running, access ManageIQ through your web browser:

Login Details

• URL: https://127.0.0.1:8443
• Username: admin
• Password: smartvm

Note: You may see a security warning about the SSL certificate. This is normal for the self-signed certificate included with ManageIQ.

Initial Setup

After logging in, you'll need to complete the initial setup:

1. Accept License Agreement
2. Set up Database (automatic with Docker deployment)
3. Configure Regions (optional for multi-region deployments)
4. Add Cloud Providers (AWS, Azure, OpenStack, etc.)

Step 4: Container Management

Save Container State

Commit changes to create a custom image:

# Get container ID
CONTAINER_ID=$(sudo docker ps -q --filter ancestor=manageiq/manageiq)

# Commit container changes
sudo docker commit $CONTAINER_ID my-custom-manageiq

# Tag the image
sudo docker tag my-custom-manageiq my-custom-manageiq:v1.0

This preserves:

• Configuration changes
• Added providers
• Custom policies
• User data

Best Practices

1. Resource Planning

ManageIQ requires adequate resources:

• Minimum: 4GB RAM, 2 CPU cores
• Recommended: 8GB RAM, 4 CPU cores
• Storage: 50GB+ for database and logs

2. Security Considerations

• Change default passwords immediately
• Use HTTPS in production
• Implement proper authentication (LDAP/SAML)
• Regular security updates

3. Backup Strategy

# Backup database
sudo docker exec $CONTAINER_ID pg_dump -U postgres vmdb_production > backup.sql

# Backup entire container
sudo docker export $CONTAINER_ID > manageiq-backup.tar

Conclusion

Docker makes ManageIQ deployment straightforward and portable. With this containerized approach, you can quickly set up a powerful cloud management platform for hybrid infrastructure automation.

The Docker deployment is perfect for:

• Development and testing environments
• Proof of concept implementations
• Small to medium deployments
• Quick evaluation of ManageIQ capabilities

Start managing your hybrid cloud infrastructure today with ManageIQ on Docker!