Before you use the olcnectl provision command to perform a deployment of Oracle Cloud Native Environment, set up the hosts you want to include in the environment and synchronize the time between them. Include a host to use for the installation (the operator node). The operator node must have the Oracle Cloud Native Environment Platform CLI (olcnectl) software package installed. SSH key-based authentication must also be set up between the operator node, and all other nodes to use in the deployment, including the Platform API Server node (which is likely to be the operator node).

To prepare for an installation:

1. Set up the nodes. Set up the nodes you want to use for the installation. See Hosts for information on the number and configuration of hosts you can use for an installation.

2. Set up SSH key-based authentication. Set up SSH key-based authentication for the user this is to be used to run the Platform CLI (olcnectl) installation commands. This sets up the login from the operator node to other nodes in the system. In a typical setup, this user needs a private key on the operator node and the corresponding public key on each Kubernetes node, and on the Platform API Server node. For information on setting up SSH key based authentication, see Set up SSH Key-based Authentication.

3. Set up the operator node. On the operator node, enable access to the Oracle Cloud Native Environment software package repository and install the Platform CLI (olcnectl) software package.

4. Configure any external firewall. If you're using an external firewall (hardware or software based), ensure the required ports are open on the firewall before you perform a quick installation. These ports must be open to provide communication between the nodes in the Kubernetes cluster. For information on the ports to be opened, see Installation.

   If you aren't using an external firewall, you don't need to perform this step. The required ports on the operator and Kubernetes nodes are automatically configured during the quick installation.