DevStack vs PackStack - Quick Notes

Key Differences

Aspect	DevStack	PackStack
Purpose	Development & Testing	POC & Small Production
OS	Ubuntu/Debian	RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
Method	Bash Scripts	Puppet Modules
Config File	local.conf	Answer file
Installation Time	15-30 minutes	30-60 minutes
Persistence	Temporary (lost on reboot)	Permanent
Production Use	No	Yes (limited scale)
Best For	Developers, CI/CD	Admins, Demos

---

DevStack Installation

Setup Stack User

# Create stack user
sudo useradd -s /bin/bash -d /opt/stack -m stack
echo "stack ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/stack
sudo su - stack

Clone & Configure

# Clone repository
git clone https://opendev.org/openstack/devstack
cd devstack

# Create local.conf
cat > local.conf << EOF
[[local|localrc]]
ADMIN_PASSWORD=secret
DATABASE_PASSWORD=\$ADMIN_PASSWORD
RABBIT_PASSWORD=\$ADMIN_PASSWORD
SERVICE_PASSWORD=\$ADMIN_PASSWORD
HOST_IP=<YOUR_IP>
EOF

Install

# Run installation
./stack.sh

# Source credentials after install
source openrc admin admin

Management Commands

./stack.sh      # Install/Start
./unstack.sh    # Stop services
./clean.sh      # Remove everything

---

PackStack Installation

Prerequisites

# Update system (RHEL/CentOS)
sudo yum update -y

# Install RDO repository
sudo yum install -y centos-release-openstack-yoga

# Disable NetworkManager
sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager
sudo systemctl stop NetworkManager

Install PackStack

# Install package
sudo yum install -y openstack-packstack

# Generate answer file (optional)
packstack --gen-answer-file=/root/packstack-answers.txt

Run Installation

# All-in-one quick install
sudo packstack --allinone

# OR with answer file
sudo packstack --answer-file=/root/packstack-answers.txt

# Source credentials after install
source /root/keystonerc_admin

---

PuTTY/SSH Connection

# Basic SSH connection
ssh user@<ip-address>

# Root access
ssh root@<ip-address>

# With private key
ssh -i /path/to/key.pem user@<ip-address>

System Requirements Check

nproc          # CPU cores (min 4)
free -h        # RAM (min 8GB)
df -h          # Disk space (min 50GB)
cat /etc/os-release  # OS version

---

When to Use What?

Use DevStack:

• Developing OpenStack features
• Quick testing environments
• Latest unreleased code
• Temporary setups

Use PackStack:

• Demo environments
• Persistent installations
• Red Hat ecosystem
• Small production deployments