Introduction ============ This document describes the steps to install an OPNFV Gambia reference platform using the Apex installer. The audience is assumed to have a good background in networking and Linux administration. Preface ======= Apex uses Triple-O from the RDO Project OpenStack distribution as a provisioning tool. The Triple-O image based life cycle installation tool provisions an OPNFV Target System (1 or 3 controllers, 0 or more compute nodes) with OPNFV specific configuration provided by the Apex deployment tool chain. The Apex deployment artifacts contain the necessary tools to deploy and configure an OPNFV target system using the Apex deployment toolchain. The Apex artifact is a python package capable of automating the installation of TripleO and other OPNFV components. An OPNFV install requires a "Jump Host" in order to operate. It is required to install CentOS 7 release to the Jump Host for traditional deployment, which includes the required packages needed to run ``opnfv-deploy``. If you already have a Jump Host with CentOS 7 installed, you may choose to skip the ISO step and simply install the (``python34-opnfv-apex*.rpm``) RPM. ``opnfv-deploy`` instantiates a Triple-O Undercloud VM server using libvirt as its provider. This VM is then configured and used to provision the OPNFV target deployment. These nodes can be either virtual or bare metal. This guide contains instructions for installing either method.