Turbonomic

This blog post aims to give you the helpful links and resources you need to get started with IBM Turbonomic. As a first-time user, it can be difficult navigating the plethora of resources available to you. We hope this narrows it down to the most useful for getting up and running quickly!

Step 1: (If you haven’t already) Request a demo to get a license key

Yep, sorry, we’re old school (for the moment). If you haven’t already, you’ll need to get a license key so the best thing to do is request a demo here so we can chat and make sure you’re on track for success. Our team will give you the license key with necessary instructions and answer any additional questions you may have—we’re here to help!

You can also dive into the product right now using the Turbonomic live sandbox, but the benefit of getting Turbonomic stood up in your own environment is to see it in action with your own data—there’s nothing like taking that first Turbo action and realizing, “Hey… this thing actually does what they say it does!” ;-)

Step 2: Meanwhile… Install Turbonomic

Note that you’ve got a couple of options for how to install:

Step 3: Use the license key and log in

Once you’ve got your license key, follow the instructions here: License Installation and First-time Login.

Step 3: Additional configurations

With the Turbonomic instance installed there are additional configurations to be set. Below you’ll see what’s required and important but be sure to check out the full list of configurations here.

Step 4: Adding targets 

A Turbonomic instance that’s not connected to what you have in your environment doesn’t do much. Since we want to optimize for performance and cost, we need to give the system the data to generate the right actions and mechanisms / privileges to execute or automate those actions—i.e. add “targets.”

Adding targets is straightforward and generally done directly from the UI. You can reference the documentation on how to add (or remove) targets for more extensive information. 

The one notable exception is if you’re adding a Kubernetes target because you need to essentially spin up a pod in your cluster to “talk” to the Turbonomic. Check out the KubeTurbo Wiki here.

For all other targets, the process is generally as follows. From the Turbonomic homepage, click on “Settings” in the menu on the left.

Next, click on “Target Configuration”

Then, click on “New Target”

From there you’ll see a list of the types of targets you can add, pick a category and then select a target. For example, to add AWS click on “Public Cloud” and then select “AWS” (or Azure or Google… you get the idea :-) ).

Once you fill out the fields listed, click “Add.”

Note that in this demo instance we have 1 Applications and Databases target (Instana), 9 Public Cloud targets (a mix of AWS, Azure, and GCP), and 6 Cloud Native targets (all Kubernetes).

As you add targets, the Turbonomic supply chain will populate with the relevant entities and map out their relationships.

Step 5: Learn more and take actions!

We’ve highlighted a few key documentation articles for you here, but there’s lots more to explore as you familiarize yourself with the product. For example, Actions are at the heart of realizing value with Turbonomic—learn more about the types of actions and how to operationalize them with Policies.

And, of course, our team is always here to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your Turbonomic rep with questions, or post a question in the IBM Turbonomic community.