:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT
[id="block-storage-configuration-generation-helper-tool_{context}"]

= About the {block_storage} configuration generation helper tool

[role="_abstract"]
Creating the right {block_storage_first_ref} configuration files to deploy by using Operators can
sometimes be complex. There is a helper tool that can create a draft of the files from a `cinder.conf` file.

This tool is not meant to be an automation tool. You can use the tool to get a general understanding of how to create the configuration files, or to point out some potential pitfalls and reminders.

[IMPORTANT]
The tool requires the `PyYAML` Python package to be installed (`pip
install PyYAML`).

This link:helpers/cinder-cfg.py[cinder-cfg.py script] defaults to reading the
`cinder.conf` file from the current directory (unless `--config` option is used)
and outputs files to the current directory (unless `--out-dir` option is used).

In the output directory, you always get a `cinder.patch` file with the Cinder-
specific configuration patch to apply to the `OpenStackControlPlane` custom resource, but you might also get an additional file called `cinder-prereq.yaml` with some
`Secrets` and `MachineConfigs`, and an `openstackversion.yaml` file with the
`OpenStackVersion` sample.

Example of an invocation setting input and output explicitly to the defaults for
a Ceph backend:

----
$ python cinder-cfg.py --config cinder.conf --out-dir ./
WARNING:root:The {block_storage} is configured to use ['/etc/cinder/policy.yaml'] as policy file, please ensure this file is available for the control plane {block_storage} services using "extraMounts" or remove the option.

WARNING:root:Deployment uses Ceph, so make sure the Ceph credentials and configuration are present in OpenShift as a secret and then use the extra volumes to make them available in all the services that would need them.

WARNING:root:You were using user ['nova'] to talk to Nova, but in podified using the service keystone username is preferred in this case ['cinder']. Dropping that configuration.

WARNING:root:ALWAYS REVIEW RESULTS, OUTPUT IS JUST A ROUGH DRAFT!!

Output written at ./: cinder.patch
----

The script outputs some warnings to let you know that you might need to do some things
manually, such as add the custom policy or provide the Ceph configuration files, and
also let you know that the service_user was removed.

A different example when using multiple backends, one of them being a 3PAR FC
could be:

----
$ python cinder-cfg.py --config cinder.conf --out-dir ./
WARNING:root:The {block_storage} is configured to use ['/etc/cinder/policy.yaml'] as policy file, please ensure this file is available for the control plane Block Storage services using "extraMounts" or remove the option.

ERROR:root:Backend hpe_fc requires a vendor container image, but there is no certified image available yet. Patch will use the last known image for reference, but IT WILL NOT WORK

WARNING:root:Deployment uses Ceph, so make sure the Ceph credentials and configuration are present in OpenShift as a secret and then use the extra volumes to make them available in all the services that would need them.

WARNING:root:You were using user ['nova'] to talk to Nova, but in podified using the service keystone username is preferred, in this case ['cinder']. Dropping that configuration.

WARNING:root:Configuration is using FC, please ensure all your OpenShift nodes have HBAs or use labels to ensure that Volume and Backup services are scheduled on nodes with HBAs.

WARNING:root:ALWAYS REVIEW RESULTS, OUTPUT IS JUST A ROUGH DRAFT!!

Output written at ./: cinder.patch, cinder-prereq.yaml
----

In this case there are additional messages. The following list provides an explanation of each one:

* There is one message mentioning how this backend driver needs external vendor
dependencies so the standard container image will not work. Unfortunately this
image is still not available, so an older image is used in the output patch file
for reference. You can then replace this image with one that you build or
with a Red Hat official image once the image is available. In this case you can
see in your `cinder.patch` file that has an `OpenStackVersion` object:
+
[source,yaml]
----
apiVersion: core.openstack.org/v1beta1
kind: OpenStackVersion
metadata:
  name: openstack
spec:
  customContainerImages:
    cinderVolumeImages:
      hpe-fc:
        containerImage: registry.connect.redhat.com/hpe3parcinder/openstack-cinder-volume-hpe3parcinder17-0
----
+
The name of the `OpenStackVersion` must match the name of your `OpenStackControlPlane`, so in your case it may be other than `openstack`.

* The FC message reminds you that this transport protocol requires specific HBA
cards to be present on the nodes where Block Storage services are running.
* In this case it has created the `cinder-prereq.yaml` file and within the file
there is one `MachineConfig` and one `Secret`. The `MachineConfig` is called `99-master-cinder-enable-multipathd` and like the name suggests enables multipathing on all the OCP worker nodes. The `Secret` is
called `openstackcinder-volumes-hpe_fc` and contains the 3PAR backend
configuration because it has sensitive information (credentials). The
`cinder.patch` file uses the following configuration:
+
[source,yaml]
----
   cinderVolumes:
      hpe-fc:
        customServiceConfigSecrets:
        - openstackcinder-volumes-hpe_fc
----