H3C UniSystem

OS Deployment Best Practices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The information in this document is subject to change without notice.

Contents

Introduction· 2

Application scenario· 2

Technical implementation mechanism·· 2

Example: Configuring UniSystem OS deployment 3

Configuration requirements· 3

Procedure overview· 3

Preparing for the configuration· 4

Collecting SDS log information· 4

Installing and logging to the UniSystem VM version· 5

Configuration procedure· 7

Adding servers· 7

Uploading the system image file· 8

Uploading a REPO (optional) 10

Creating a host name pool 13

Creating an IPv4 address pool (optional) 14

Creating a server template· 15

Applying a server template· 19

Verifying the configuration· 21

FAQs· 22

 

Introduction

This document introduces the best practices for OS deployment of servers through UniSystem, including installing the UniSystem VM version, adding servers to UniSystem for management, and creating and using server complication templates, to avoid possible problems encountered in operation. This makes the operation smoother and improves the OS deployment efficiency.

Application scenario

This solution is applicable to the initial server deployment scenario where the OSs and drivers are installed in bulk on servers. The hardware configuration and related information of servers can be collected in advance, and configuration templates applicable to multiple servers can be created and applied, simplifying the OS deployment process.

Technical implementation mechanism

UniSystem OS deployment is implemented based on server templates.

As shown in Figure 1, a server template separates the hardware from configurations on a server, achieving logical virtualization of a physical server. Server templates include HDM configuration templates, BIOS configuration templates, connection settings, RAID configuration templates, and system configuration templates. To deploy an operating system, RAID configuration templates, and system configuration templates are used.

·     RAID settings: You can create a logical drive, delete a logical drive, and one-key create RAID 0. One-key creating RAID 0 means to use the remaining physical drives that have not been added to any RAID array to create RAID 0 or simple volume.

·     OS settings: The mainstream operating systems, including Windows Server, Red Hat Linux Enterprise, SUSE Linux Enterprise, CentOS, VMware ESXi, Ubuntu, and H3C CAS can be newly installed. The Red Hat Linux Enterprise, CentOS, and VMware ESXi operating systems support image cloning.

A server configuration template can be bulk applied to multiple servers. This feature enables fast OS deployment before server onboarding, improving O&M efficiency.

Figure 1 Server configuration template

Example: Configuring UniSystem OS deployment

Configuration requirements

Use UniSystem to install operating systems, storage controllers, and drivers on servers in bulk. This document describes an example of installing the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 (64-bit) operating system on two H3C UniServer R4900 G5 servers, with both installing a RAID-LSI-9361-8i(2G)-1-X storage controller in Slot 3. Figure 2 shows the current network diagram.

Figure 2 Network diagram

 

Procedure overview

To ensure successful deployment, the following five phases to deploy a system need to be considered.

Table 1 Procedure overview

Phase	Description
Detailed information collection	Collect the current server environment information according to the information collection template
Evaluation and analysis	Plan the OS deployment according to the collected information.
Template preparation	Prepare an operating system image, specify RAID settings and system information, and create a server template according to the evaluation and analysis result.
Deployment execution	Apply the server template to execute RAID settings and OS deployment.
Verification and testing	After an operating system is deployed, log in to the OS and view information. Make sure the OS is normally deployed.

 

Preparing for the configuration

Collecting SDS log information

To ensure smooth OS deployment, you need to plan the overall service first, including the type of operating system to be installed and network planning.

To apply a server template of UniSystem successfully, the server model, storage controller model, storage controller slot, and drive location must be the same as the configuration in the template. Therefore, you need to know and plan in detail the server hardware before deployment.

Table 2 shows an example of the information to be collected.

 

NOTE: Pay attention to the following aspects when collecting server information: ·     Make sure the devices added in bulk are newly deployed. If there are operating systems and services running on the devices, performing an OS deployment task may cause the original data to lose. ·     Each information collection table corresponds to one server template. If different items exist, you need to create a new table.

 

Table 2 Information collection table

Item	Information example	Remarks
HDM IP address	192.168.50.137/16	Configure this IP address correctly to ensure normal communication between the server's HDM and UniSystem.
	192.168.0.27/16
HDM username	admin	-
HDM password	Password@_	-
Server model	H3C UniServer R4900 G5	One server corresponds to at least one server template.
Storage controller model	RAID-LSI-9361-8i(2G)-1-X	For storage information, see 0.
Storage controller slot	Slot3	This information needs to be collected for models that can install multiple storage controllers.
Drive slot number	Front 0 and Front 1	The actual drive location must be the same as that configured in the template for subsequent application of the template. Check and evaluate whether multiple templates are needed.
OS	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 (64-bit)	Before installation, ensure the OS and server are compatible.
Username	user	-
Password	Password: Password@_	-
OS IP address	IP address range: 192.168.3.10 to 192.168.3.20 Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0	To set a static system IP address, you need to create an address pool in advance or use DHCP.

 

Installing and logging to the UniSystem VM version

Installation environment requirements

The UniSystem VM version can be installed into the VM software (such as VirtualBox) under any operating system, or directly installed into the VMware ESXi 6.5/6.7 operating systems.

The table below shows the hardware requirements.

Table 3 Hardware requirements of the VM

CPU core	Memory	Available disk space	NIC
8 cores or more	32 GB and above	500 GB and above	1 or more

 

Obtaining the installation package

Log in to the H3C official website, and go to Support > Resource Center > Software Download > Servers > Management Software > UniSystem to download the UniSystem installation package. Three types of UniSystem installation packages are available. As a best practice, download the .ova file, which is suitable to be installed on the VMware ESXi system or a VM software. UniSystem will run automatically after installation.

Installing UniSystem VM version can avoid installation and startup failures that may occur due to environmental factors. UniSystem has integrated related environment configurations into the VM installation package, and you only need to configure the IP addresses.

Installing UniSystem on a VMware ESXi system

1.     Enter the VMware ESXi system screen, right-click Virtual Machines from the left navigation pane, and then click Create/Register VM.

2.     On the Select Creation Type page that opens, select Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file, and then click Next.

3.     On the Select OVF and VMDK files page, specify a name for the VM to be created, upload the local .ova UniSystem installation file, and then click Next.

4.     On the Select Storage page, select the destination data storage, and then click Next.

5.     On the Deployment options page, configure the Network mappings and Disk provisioning parameters, and then click Next.

6.     On the Ready to complete page, verify the VM deployment settings and click Finish to start the deployment.

7.     After the VM deployment is complete, the VM automatically starts and proceeds to install and run UniSystem.

8.     (Optional) Log in to the web interface of the VM. After UniSystem starts up on the VM, click the  icon in the upper right corner to change the IP address settings for UniSystem. Set the IP address to one that can communicate with the managed device. In this example, the IP address is changed to 192.168.1.72, and the subnet mask is set to 255.255.0.0.

Logging in to UniSystem

Use the browser on a UniSystem client's PC to access the UniSystem server. UniSystem provides a friendly graphical user interface (GUI). To log in to UniSystem:

1.     Open a UniSystem client browser, enter http://192.168.1.72 in the address bar, and then press Enter to access the UniSystem login page, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 UniSystem login web page

 

2.     On the login page, enter a username and password. The default UniSystem login username is admin and the default login password is Password@_.

3.     Click Log In.

Figure 4 UniSystem home page

 

CAUTION: By default, a user will be logged out automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity. In such as case, you need to enter your username and password to log in to the management page.

 

Configuration procedure

Adding servers

You can add servers to UniSystem manually, through auto discovery, or through bulk import.

As a best practice, use bulk import if you need to add multiple devices. To add servers in bulk, collect the server's HDM IP address, username, and password in advance, prepare the device list file according to the template, and then bulk import the servers to UniSystem. As a best practice, add a label for servers for the convenience of subsequent bulk operations.

1.     Select Menu > Devices > Server List to enter the page.

2.     Click Manage Labels, and then select Create Label. On the dialog box that opens, enter a label name.

3.     Click Add, and select Bulk Import, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Adding servers in bulk

 

4.     Click Download Template. Table 4 lists the supported templates, which are in TXT, XLSX, and XLS formats.

Table 4 Supported templates

Template	Remarks
template-1.txt	Template in TXT format. Each row represents a device in the format of "IP address, username, password, port number (optional)". For an HDM device, specify the IP address, username, password, and port number (optional). For a FIST SMS device, just specify the IP address.
template-2.xlsx	Template in XLSX format. Each row represents a device with the device type, IP address, username, password, and port number (optional) listed sequentially from column 1 to column 5. For an HDM device, specify the device type, IP address, username, password, and port number (optional). For a FIST SMS device, just specify the device type and IP address.
template-3.xls	·     Template in XLS format. Each row represents a device with the device type, IP address, username, password, and port number (optional) listed sequentially from column 1 to column 5. For an HDM device, specify the device type, IP address, username, password, and port number (optional). For a FIST SMS device, just specify the device type and IP address.

 

5.     Enter the device information in the template, as shown in Figure 6. Be sure to enter the correct and effective IP addresses.

Figure 6 Entering device information in the template

 

6.     In the Upload File field, click … to select the import file, and then click Open, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7 Selecting files

 

7.     Click Upload to upload the file. Then, you can view the devices to be updated in the device list.

8.     Select the created label aaa from the Label drop-down list.

9.     Select the devices to be added, and click OK. Then, the system starts to add devices in bulk.

10.     After adding devices in bulk, the page opens. To go back to the server list, click Back in the upper left corner of the page.

Uploading the system image file

Restrictions and cautions

·     When the free space is less than 10 GB, you cannot upload images. In this case, as a best practice, delete the images that are not needed.

·     When UniSystem runs in a Windows operating system, for an uploaded image file to be used properly, you must run UniSystem as an administrator.

·     The name of an image file can contain up to 64 characters, including the file extension.

·     For the upload to succeed, make sure the name of the image to be uploaded is different from the name of any image on the image list.

·     For the upload to succeed, do not refresh the page during the upload process.

·     To avoid exceptions during operating system installation, make sure the image file to be uploaded is downloaded from its official website and has not been edited.

Procedures

1.     Select Menu > Templates > Images to enter the page shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 Image management

 

2.     Click Upload in the upper right corner of the image list. The Upload Image dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9 Uploading an OS image

 

3.     Click Browse. In the dialog box that opens, select the image file to upload.

4.     Click Upload to upload the OS image file to the UniSystem server, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10 Uploading the image

 

5.     After the upload is completed, you can view that the OS image file is displayed on the image management page, as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11 Uploaded successfully

 

Uploading a REPO (optional)

To upload a REPO to UniSystem for image management, the corresponding operating system and peripheral driver should be contained in the REPO so that the operating system and driver can be installed synchronously. If no driver is selected, the available driver in the built-in driver list integrated into iFIST will be installed by default during the template application process. For more information on the iFIST built-in driver list, see H3C Servers iFIST User Guide. If the driver package to be installed already exists in the built-in driver list of iFIST, skip this section.

Building a custom REPO

The REPO customization page is http://supportrepo.h3c.com/repo-en.htm.

1.     Access the REPO customization web page. Figure 12 shows the four supported customization methods. This example updates driver during OS installation, so Driver Customization is selected.

Figure 12 Customizing a REPO

 

2.     Enter the Driver Customization page, click Advanced Filter, configure related information of the driver, and then click Search, as shown in Figure 13.

¡     Select Rack Server for Product Type.

¡     Select R4900 G5 for Product Model.

¡     Select Storage Controller:RAID-LSI-9361-8i(2G)-1 for Component Description.

¡     Select Linux for OS Type.

¡     Select Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 8.2 (Ootpa) for OS Version.

Figure 13 Advanced filter

 

3.     Select the target components in the component list, and then click Add to Resource Library. The number of selected component update files is displayed over the box at the bottom right of the page, as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14 Adding components to the resource library

 

4.     Click the box icon at the bottom right of the page. In the dialog box that opens, confirm the resource list, as shown in Figure 15.

5.     Enter the Repository Name and Repository Version, and select the REPO component to be exported.

6.     Click Download to export the custom REPO.

Figure 15 Exporting from the resource library

 

Uploading a repository

1.     Click Menu > Templates > Repository.

2.     Click Add Repository. On the dialog box that opens, as shown in Figure 16, select a path type. When uploading a REPO image from the storage path of the UniSystem client, select Local Path for the type.

Figure 16 Adding a repository

 

3.     Click Upload. On the dialog box that opens (in Figure 17), click Browse and select the target repository. Then, click OK.

Figure 17 Uploading a REPO

 

4.     After a repository is added, the system starts to inventory the repository, as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18 Inventorying the repository

 

5.     After the inventory is complete, click the repository name to view its details. In the component list, you can view the components in the REPO, as shown in Figure 19.

Figure 19 Viewing REPO details

 

Creating a host name pool

1.     Click Menu > Templates > Address Pools.

2.     Select the Host Name Pools tab, and then click Create to enter the page shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20 Creating a host

 

3.     Enter the pool name, prefix, and suffix.

4.     Click Add. On the dialog box that opens, enter the host name range name, start index, and end index.

5.     To add more host name ranges, repeat the step above.

6.     Click OK and then the host name pool is created, as shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21 Creating the host name pool successfully

 

Creating an IPv4 address pool (optional)

 

NOTE: If you obtain an OS IP address through DHCP, skip this section. An IPv4 address pool allocates static IPv4 addresses during OS installation.

 

1.     Click Menu > Templates > Address Pools.

2.     Click the IPv4 Address Pools tab, and then click Create to enter the page shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22 Creating an IPv4 address pool

 

3.     Enter the IPv4 subnet ID, subnet mask, and gateway (optional).

4.     Click Add in the Address Ranges area. On the dialog box that opens, enter the address range name, start IP, and end IP.

5.     To add more address ranges, repeat the step above.

6.     Click OK.

Figure 23 Creating an IPv4 address pool successfully

 

Creating a server template

Basic information

1.     To create a server configuration template, click Menu > Templates > Server Templates to enter the page shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24 Server templates page

 

2.     Click Add.

3.     In the Basic Info area, enter a name for the server template, and select the compatible server model from the drop-down list, as shown in Figure 25.

Figure 25 Adding a server template

 

Configuring a RAID array

 

NOTE: ·     Make sure the storage controllers to be configured are of the same model as those installed during deployment. If multiple storage controllers are installed, make sure the corresponding slots have storage controllers of the matching models on the servers to be configured. ·     Make sure the RAID member drives are present and operating properly.

 

1.     Select whether to enable Retain Matching Logical Drives in the RAID Settings area. If you do not enable this option, UniSystem will delete the existing logical drives on a server. To retain a logical drive on a server, enable this option. If you enable this option to retain a logical drive on a server, make sure the logical drive's member drives and RAID level match those of a logical drive configured in this area. As this deployment is new, do not enable this option.

 

NOTE: ·     After you enable Retain Matching Logical Drives, UniSystem will retain a logical drive on a server if the logical drive's member drives and RAID level match those of a logical drive configured in this area. UniSystem will not modify the retained logical drives, even if the RAID name in the configuration file for a retained logical drive is different from the actual RAID name. ·     To install an operating system to a retained logical drive through system settings, make sure the RAID name of the target drive in the OS settings area is the same as the original RAID name of the retained logical drive.

 

2.     Click Add Storage Controller, as shown in Figure 26. On the dialog box that opens, configure relative parameters, including the Slot Number (this parameter is available when the selected server models support multiple storage controllers), Vendor Type, and Model.

Figure 26 Configure the RAID

 

3.     Click Configure. On the dialog box that opens, click Add Logical Drive, as shown in Figure 27.

4.     UniSystem will automatically generate the RAID name. You can edit the RAID name as needed. The default RAID name logicVolume0 is used here.

5.     Select the RAID 0 for RAID Level. According to the collected drive location information, select Front 0 and Front 1 for Logical Drive, and then click OK.

Figure 27 Selecting physical drives

 

Table 5 Parameters for RAID settings

Parameter	Remarks
One-Key RAID 0	Select this option to use the remaining physical drives that have not been added to any RAID array to create RAID 0 or simple volume. Some storage controllers do not support the One-Key RAID 0 option.
RAID Name	Name of the RAID array (logical drive). On the same storage controller, the RAID names must be unique.
RAID Level	Level of the logical drive. The available RAID levels depend on the storage controller model. The supported RAID levels are RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, RAID 50, and simple volume.
Physical Drive	Physical drives used to create the logical drive.
PDPerArray	Number of physical drives per sub RAID array. This parameter is required only for a RAID 50 array on an LSI controller.

 

6.     Click OK.

Configuring system parameters

1.     In the OS Settings area, click Configure. On the dialog box that opens, configure a system configuration system.

2.     In this example, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 (64-bit) operating system is to be installed, so select Linux as the operating system, and select the corresponding OS file and image file.

Figure 28 Selecting an OS image

 

3.     Select Manually Configure to configure the system settings.

4.     Enter a host name pool, set a password for a root user, and set a username and password for a common user.

5.     Select the language of the OS to be installed. Options include Chinese and English. In this example, Chinese is selected.

6.     Configure the IPv4 and IPv6 network types. In this example, select static for the IPv4 network type. Click Select, and then select the IPv4 address pool configured in "Creating an IPv4 address pool (optional)."

Figure 29 Configuring OS-related parameters

 

7.     Select a target drive to install the operating system. In this example, the logical drive created in "Configuring a RAID array" is selected.

8.     If necessary, select the driver to be installed from the repository, as shown in 0. Select a driver to be installed, and then click OK.

 

NOTE: If no driver is selected, the available driver in the built-in driver list integrated into iFIST will be installed by default during the template application process. For more information on the iFIST built-in driver list, see H3C Servers iFIST User Guide.

 

9.     Confirm the configuration in the template, and then click OK

Applying a server template

Powering off servers in bulk

1.     Click Menu > Devices > Server List.

2.     To apply a server configuration template, servers must be powered off. To power off servers, click the target servers, click More, select Power Control, and then select Graceful Power-Off, as shown in Figure 30.

Figure 30 Power management

 

3.     On the dialog box that opens, select I have read and understood the consequences of this operation, and then click OK.

Configuring a server

1.     Click Menu > Deployment > Servers > Apply Server Templates.

2.     Select the target servers and click Apply Server Template, as shown in Figure 31.

Figure 31 Applying a server template

 

3.     In the dialog box that opens, select the server template, select I have read the template application-related restrictions and guidelines, and then click OK.

4.     After a server template is applied to servers, the Templates Application Status tab opens, displaying the template application progress.

Figure 32 Viewing the application status

 

5.     As shown in Figure 33, the server template is successfully applied to the two servers.

Figure 33 Application configuration completed

 

Verifying the configuration

1.     Click Menu > Devices > Server List.

2.     Click H5 KVM in the Actions column of the device.

3.     On the OS login page, enter the username and password configured in the server template to enter the OS, and verify that you can log in to and use the system successfully.

FAQs

During the actual OS deployment, typical questions and guidelines are as follows:

Downloading an OS image file correctly

·     To avoid exceptions during operating system installation, make sure the image file to be uploaded is downloaded from its official website and has not been edited.

·     To identify OS and server compatibilities, contact Technical Support.

Filling in the server template correctly

When configuring RAID settings in the server template, you need to fill in information according to the actual environment, such as the storage controller model and drive slot number. You can query the information on the HDM storage management page.

Failed application of configurations

1.     Symptom 1

A prompt displaying "Fail.Server hardware not match template. Physical disk Front 11 not found under controller:3" appears.

¡     Possible causes

The RAID configuration information in the UniSystem server configuration template is incorrect.

¡     Solution

Log in to the HDM storage management page, and verify whether the storage controller model, slot number, and drive location are the same as that in the server template. If not, modify related information in the server template. If yes, verify whether the physical drives are displayed in the logical view of the corresponding storage controller. For example, the number of logical drivers is 2, but not displayed in the logical view of the corresponding storage controller. In this case, check whether the physical cables are properly connected and whether the status of the physical drivers is normal.

2.     Symptom 2

A prompt displaying "Server hardware not match template. Unable get all storage info" appears.

¡     Possible causes

UniSystem fails to obtain the storage information.

¡     Solution

Log in to the HDM storage management page, and verify that the information of the storage controller and the physical driver is displayed normally. If not, verify whether the storage controller and physical drive are connected, and check whether the cables are properly connected.