IPv6 notes

Service OS IPv6: Because of some limitations, in an IPv6 scenario the Service OS PXE boots using IPv4, and after that IPv6 is configured.

Difference between IPv6 Install and IPv4 + PINP IPv6 Install: In an IPv6 installation, the entire installation process is performed in an IPv6 environment, so you need an IPv6 media server. For IPv4 + PINP IPv6, the installation is performed in an IPv4 environment, and after installation is complete, the server is configured for IPv6.

SPARC Notes

For SPARC servers, network booting is supported using DHCP only.

There is no network boot menu for SPARC servers. They will boot in one of the Solaris Service OSs we have available depending on their model or will boot using the specified miniroot (or boot_archive) file if provided manually in the open boot console (with the -F option).

There are 4 Solaris SPARC miniroots available for Build Plan Provisioning:

•sparc.miniroot_s10u11 (based on Solaris SPARC 10 update 11)

•sparc.miniroot_s11.0 (based on Solaris SPARC 11.0 (or Solaris 11 11/11))

•sparc.miniroot_s11.1 (based on Solaris SPARC 11.1)

•sparc.miniroot_s11.2 (based on Solaris SPARC 11.2)

You can specify one of them with the -F option in the open boot console as part of the boot command:

ex: {0} ok boot net:dhcp -F **sparc.miniroot_s11.1**

If you want to change the root password of the Solaris SPARC Service OSs (default is 'opsware'), you have to update the hash in the /opt/opsware/boot/jumpstart-sparc-ogfs/Conf/sysidcfg file.

Managed boot clients

The Managed Boot Clients Web Extension allows you to create a server record with a pre-configured network boot option or configure network booting for an existing server record matched by a MAC address.

It also enables you to select a Build Plan to run automatically when the server reaches Maintenance mode. To do this, run the extension and perform the steps below.

  1. Define a server.

    You can also register an iLO with the target server during this step. Select “Enabled iLO Settings” for additional input.

  2. Select a boot image and a Build Plan

  3. Customize by adding custom attributes, if required, and press Start.

    After the Build Plan job completes, a Pre-Unprovisioned server record is created with any defined Custom Attributes.

    Note: The Managed Boot Clients Web Extension configures DCHP only on request. It does not support concurrent configuration for one or multiple devices. When configuring multiple devices, the same Managed Boot Clients process must be used.

    For the example above, the following CSV was used:

    `00:13:E8:9A:93:AA,pxe_image=winpe32,dhcp.ip=10.2.3.10,dhcp.hostname=m0010,customer=Opsware,dns_server=10.6.4.2,root_password=wealth`
    `00:13:E8:9A:93:AB,pxe_image=winpe32,dhcp.ip=10.2.3.11,dhcp.hostname=m0011,customer=Opsware,dns_server=10.6.4.2,root_password=wealth`
    `00:13:E8:9A:93:AC,pxe_image=winpe32,dhcp.ip=10.2.3.12,dhcp.hostname=m0012,customer=Opsware,dns_server=10.6.4.2,root_password=wealth`
    `00:13:E8:9A:93:AD,pxe_image=winpe32,dhcp.ip=10.2.3.13,dhcp.hostname=m0013,customer=Opsware,dns_server=10.6.4.2,root_password=wealth`

     

    The Managed Boot Clients Web Extension returned:

     

    MMBC: Multiple Devices

     

    Additionally, DHCP is configured in /etc/opt/opsware/dhcpd/dhcpd_mbc.conf:

    # Begin Opsware added hosts (do not edit)

    host showcasehostnamedevsahpcom {

    hardware ethernet 00:01:03:04:05:06;

    option host-name showcasehostname;

    fixed-address 192.168.59.13;

    }

    # End Opsware added hosts (do not edit)

    Smart boot

    This feature enables you to configure PXE boot for servers before registering or when already registered to an SA Core.

    PXE boot default option

    The default PXE boot option for new servers connecting to SA is linux7-64-ogfs. This is configurable in SA by setting a Custom Attribute on each facility in NGUI Administration.

    In the NGUI Administration console, open the facility and under Custom Attributes add OPSWpxeboot_default by providing the default PXE option as the value.

    PXE boot option for a server

    The PXE Boot option can be set as a Custom Attribute by MBC (while creating a new server record) or manually from NGUI (on an existing server record). This Custom Attribute specifies the PXE Boot option in which the server will boot. A server known by SA will be local booted if it does not have the Custom Attribute set. To enable this functionality, add or modify the OPSWpxeboot_option Custom Attribute on a server with the pxe option as the value.

    SA provisioning-supplied CD boot images

    SA Provisioning provides several service operating system boot CD images (ISOs) that you can burn to CD/DVD. These images enable you to bring a server into maintenance without having configured DHCP.

    You can also configure these ISO images in virtual machine CD-ROM drives or mount them using iLO Virtual Media or similar technology.

    To download the desired ISO, open the SA Client and in the Navigation Pane, go to the Library tab then select the “By Folder” view and navigate to:

    /Opsware/Tools/OS Provisioning/

    /Opsware/Tools/OS Provisioning/WinPE

    Select the desired ISO image and from the Actions menu select Export software...

    After booting the CD, you can use the boot configuration screen to enter all the information needed to bring a server into Maintenance mode. The settings that you specify here are preserved on the server in the hpsa_netconfig custom attribute.

    Maintenance mode Linux OS static boot configuration screen:

    Maintenance mode Windows PE OS static boot configuration screen:

    Embedded OS booting (Intelligent Provisioning)

    Embedded OS booting is supported only for HPE ProLiant Gen8 or newer models. This boot method’s advantage is that you can move a server into Maintenance mode without enabling network booting or configuring DHCP as long as you provide static IP information.

    Note that embedded OS booting must be initiated from the SA-provided “Boot” step and you can boot either a 64-bit maintenance mode Windows PE or Linux OS. See the “Boot” step description for more details.

    iLO support

    iLO support is provided by SA to enable operations like:

    • Power control
    • Querying or changing the one-time boot option
    • Querying or changing the server boot mode (Legacy or UEFI) for UEFI capable HPE ProLiants
    • Instructing HPE ProLiant Gen8 or newer model servers to boot from the embedded OS (Intelligent Provisioning)

    iLO support is enabled in SA, either automatically (see iLO Auto-discovery) or through manual registration when an iLO manager is associated with a server.

    iLO Auto-discovery

    When bringing an HPE ProLiant server with iLO 2 or newer into a Maintenance mode OS, SA automatically starts an iLO registration job to associate an iLO manager with that server.

    As part of this process, a new iLO user is created, hp_automatic_integration_user, with a strong random password. If the iLO is unregistered or the server record is deleted, this iLO user will also be removed (if connectivity to the iLO is still available).

    If the iLo port is changed from 443 you must configure twist to bypass the SA gateway by adding twist.ilo.direct_connection=true in /etc/opt/opsware/twist/twist_custom.conf.

    Manual registration

    To register iLOs manually:

    1. Select Add iLO Device from the drop-down menu in the SA Client’s Unprovisioned Servers list:

    2. Specify the iLO IP address or hostname, port, and credentials. You may also need to select a different SA Realm if iLO connectivity is only available to SA Agent gateways from a specific realm. Note also that you can register multiple iLOs if they share credentials.

    After iLO registration completes, a new server record is created and associated with an iLO manager. However, a new server record will not be created if an existing server matches the one discovered by the iLO.

    For IPv4:

    For IPv6:

    See “Exploring Servers and Device Groups in the SA Client” in the SA 10.50 User Guide.

    Customizing a target server for Build Plans

    Before you perform SA Provisioning on a target server, you can do some customization for the target server.

    Using custom attributes

    Custom attributes allow you to control the behavior or outcome of a Build Plan without modifying the SA provided baseline Build Plans.

    To see the list of supported Custom Attributes, in the SA Client Navigation pane, set the View to By Type and open a Build Plan. In the Views pane, select the Custom Attributes view to see each set of custom attributes with a blank value. Depending on the customization the attribute targets, you may want to set it to different resources.

    Note that a Custom attribute must have a non-blank value in order for it to be considered present on a resource.

    During a Build Plan execution, custom attributes are searched in order on the following resources:

    • Server
    • Device Group
    • Customer
    • Realm
    • Facility
    • Build Plan

    Using device groups

    Device groups allow you to customize a Build Plan run using Custom Attributes on more than one server. SA supports two types of device groups:

    • Dynamic

      Device membership in a dynamic device group is defined by a device membership policy from the beginning and its group membership is recalculated periodically. See “About Dynamic Device Groups” in the SA 10.50 User Guide.

    • Static

      Static device group device membership is based on your specification.

      Build Plans also support modifying the membership of a static device group using the Add to Device Group step. See “About Static Device Groups” in the SA 10.50 User Guide.

    The following example shows a dynamic device group that only targets servers that have an iLO manager:

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