The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.
This chapter includes the following sections:
Configuring BIOS Settings
Cisco UCS provides two methods for making global modifications to the BIOS settings on servers in an instance. You can create one or more BIOS policies that include a specific grouping of BIOS settings that match the needs of a server or set of servers, or you can use the default BIOS settings for a specific server platform.
Both the BIOS policy and the default BIOS settings for a server platform enable you to fine tune the BIOS settings for a server managed by Cisco UCS Manager.
Depending upon the needs of the data center, you can configure BIOS policies for some service profiles and use the BIOS defaults in other service profiles in the same Cisco UCS instance, or you can use only one of them. You can also use Cisco UCS Manager to view the actual BIOS settings on a server and determine whether they are meeting current needs.
The following table lists the main server BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
The following table lists the processor BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
The following table lists the Intel Directed I/O BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
Name | Description |
---|---|
VT for Directed IO |
Whether the processor uses Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d). This can be one of the following: |
Interrupt Remap |
Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Interrupt Remapping. This can be one of the following: |
Coherency Support |
Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Coherency. This can be one of the following: |
ATS Support |
Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Address Translation Services (ATS). This can be one of the following: |
Pass Through DMA Support |
Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Pass-through DMA. This can be one of the following: |
The following table lists the RAS memory BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
Name | Description |
---|---|
Memory RAS Config |
How the memory reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) is configured for the server. This can be one of the following:
|
NUMA |
Whether the BIOS supports NUMA. This can be one of the following:
|
Mirroring Mode |
Memory mirroring enhances system reliability by keeping two identical data images in memory. This option is only available if you choose the mirroring option for Memory RAS Config. It can be one of the following: |
Sparing Mode |
Sparing optimizes reliability by holding memory in reserve so that it can be used in case other DIMMs fail. This option provides some memory redundancy, but does not provide as much redundancy as mirroring. The available sparing modes depend on the current memory population. This option is only available if you choose sparing option for Memory RAS Config. It can be one of the following:
|
LV DDR Mode |
Whether the system prioritizes low voltage or high frequency memory operations. This can be one of the following:
|
The following table lists the serial port BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
Name | Description |
---|---|
Serial Port A |
Whether serial port A is enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following: |
The following table lists the USB BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
Name | Description |
---|---|
Make Device Non Bootable |
Whether the server can boot from a USB device. This can be one of the following: |
The following table lists the PCI configuration BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
Name | Description |
---|---|
Max Memory Below 4G |
Whether the BIOS maximizes memory usage below 4GB for an operating without PAE support, depending on the system configuration. This can be one of the following:
|
Memory Mapped IO Above 4Gb Config |
Whether to enable or disable memory mapped I/O of 64-bit PCI devices to 4GB or greater address space. Legacy option ROMs are not able to access addresses above 4GB. PCI devices that are 64-bit compliant but use a legacy option ROM may not function correctly with this setting enabled. This can be one of the following: |
The following table lists the boot options BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
Name | Description |
---|---|
Boot Option Retry |
Whether the BIOS retries NON-EFI based boot options without waiting for user input. This can be one of the following: |
Intel Entry SAS RAID |
Whether the Intel SAS Entry RAID Module is enabled. This can be one of the following: |
Intel Entry SAS RAID Module |
How the Intel SAS Entry RAID Module is configured. This can be one of the following: |
The following tables list the server management BIOS settings that you can configure through a BIOS policy or the default BIOS settings:
Name | Description |
---|---|
Assert Nmi on Serr |
Whether the BIOS generates a non-maskable interrupt (NMI) and logs an error when a system error (SERR) occurs. This can be one of the following:
|
Assert Nmi on Perr |
Whether the BIOS generates a non-maskable interrupt (NMI) and logs an error when a processor bus parity error (PERR) occurs. This can be one of the following:
|
OS Boot Watchdog Timer |
Whether the BIOS programs the watchdog timer with a predefined timeout value. If the operating system does not complete booting before the timer expires, the CIMC resets the system and an error is logged. This can be one of the following:
This feature requires either operating system support or Intel Management software. |
OS Boot Watchdog Timer Timeout Policy |
What action the system takes if the watchdog timer expires. This can be one of the following:
This option is only available if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer. |
OS Boot Watchdog Timer Timeout |
What timeout value the BIOS uses to configure the watchdog timer. This can be one of the following:
This option is only available if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer. |
Name | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|
Console Redirection |
Allows a serial port to be used for console redirection during POST and BIOS booting. After the BIOS has booted and the operating system is responsible for the server, console redirection is irrelevant and has no effect. This can be one of the following:
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Flow Control |
Whether a handshake protocol is used for flow control. Request to Send / Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) helps to reduce frame collisions that can be introduced by a hidden terminal problem. This can be one of the following:
|
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BAUD Rate |
What BAUD rate is used for the serial port transmission speed. If you disable Console Redirection, this option is not available. This can be one of the following:
|
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Terminal Type |
What type of character formatting is used for console redirection. This can be one of the following:
|
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Legacy OS Redirect |
Whether redirection from a legacy operating system, such as DOS, is enabled on the serial port. This can be one of the following:
|
The BIOS policy is a policy that automates the configuration of BIOS settings for a server or group of servers. You can create global BIOS policies available to all servers in the root organization, or you can create BIOS policies in sub-organizations that are only available to that hierarchy.
To use a BIOS policy, do the following:
During service profile association, Cisco UCS Manager modifies the BIOS settings on the server to match the configuration in the BIOS policy. If you do not create and assign a BIOS policy to a service profile, the server uses the default BIOS settings for that server platform.
Cisco UCS Manager includes a set of default BIOS settings for each type of server supported by Cisco UCS. The default BIOS settings are available only in the root organization and are global. Only one set of default BIOS settings can exist for each server platform supported by Cisco UCS. You can modify the default BIOS settings, but you cannot create an additional set of default BIOS settings.
Each set of default BIOS settings are designed for a particular type of supported server and are applied to all servers of that specific type which do not have a BIOS policy included in their service profiles.
Unless a Cisco UCS implementation has specific needs that are not met by the server-specific settings, we recommend that you use the default BIOS settings that are designed for each type of server in the instance.
Cisco UCS Manager applies these server platform-specific BIOS settings as follows:
You can modify the default BIOS settings provided by Cisco UCS Manager. However, any changes to the default BIOS settings apply to all servers of that particular type or platform. If you want to modify the BIOS settings for only certain servers, we recommend that you use a BIOS policy.
Note |
Cisco UCS Manager pushes BIOS configuration changes through a BIOS policy or default BIOS settings to the CIMC buffer. These changes remain in the buffer and do not take effect until the server is rebooted. We recommend that you verify the support for BIOS settings in the server that you want to configure. Some settings, such as Mirroring Mode and Sparing Mode for RAS Memory, are not supported by all Cisco UCS servers |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
Step 4 | Right-click BIOS Policies and select Create BIOS Policy. |
Step 5 |
On the Main page of the Create BIOS Policy wizard, enter a name for the BIOS policy in the Name field. This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters, and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved. |
Step 6 |
In the Create BIOS Policy wizard, do the following to configure the BIOS settings:
|
Step 7 | After you have configured all of the BIOS settings for the policy, click Finish. |
We recommend that you verify the support for BIOS settings in the server that you want to configure. Some settings, such as Mirroring Mode and Sparing Mode for RAS Memory, are not supported by all Cisco UCS servers
Unless a Cisco UCS implementation has specific needs that are not met by the server-specific settings, we recommend that you use the default BIOS settings that are designed for each type of server in the instance.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
Step 4 | Expand BIOS Defaults and select the server model number for which you want to modify the default BIOS settings. |
Step 5 |
In the Work pane, click the appropriate tab and then click the desired radio button or make a choice from the drop-down list to modify the defult BIOS settings: For descriptions and information about the options for each BIOS setting, see the following topics. Not all BIOS settings are available for each type of server.
|
Step 6 | Click Save Changes. |
Follow this procedure to see the actual BIOS settings on a server.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. |
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Choose the server for which you want to view the actual BIOS settings. |
Step 4 | On the Work pane, click the Inventory tab. |
Step 5 | Click the Motherboard subtab. |
Step 6 |
In the BIOS Settings area, click the Expand icon to the right of the heading to open that area. Each tab in the BIOS Settings area displays the settings for that server platform. Some of the tabs contain subtabs with additional information. |
Configuring Boot Policies
The boot policy determines the following:
For example, you can choose to have associated servers boot from a local device, such as a local disk or CD-ROM (VMedia), or you can select a SAN boot or a LAN (PXE) boot.
You must include this policy in a service profile, and that service profile must be associated with a server for it to take effect. If you do not include a boot policy in a service profile, the server uses the default settings in the BIOS to determine the boot order.
Changes to a boot policy may be propagated to all servers created with an updating service profile template that includes that boot policy. Reassociation of the service profile with the server to rewrite the boot order information in the BIOS is auto-triggered.
When you create a boot policy, you can add one or more of the following to the boot policy and specify their boot order:
Boot type |
Description |
||
---|---|---|---|
SAN boot |
Boots from an operating system image on the SAN. You can specify a primary and a secondary SAN boot. If the primary boot fails, the server attempts to boot from the secondary. We recommend that you use a SAN boot, because it offers the most service profile mobility within the system. If you boot from the SAN when you move a service profile from one server to another, the new server boots from the exact same operating system image. Therefore, the new server appears to be the exact same server to the network. |
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LAN boot |
Boots from a centralized provisioning server. It is frequently used to install operating systems on a server from that server. |
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Local disk boot |
If the server has a local drive, boots from that drive.
|
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Virtual media boot |
Mimics the insertion of a physical CD-ROM disk (read-only) or floppy disk (read-write) into a server. It is typically used to manually install operating systems on a server. |
Note |
You can also create a local boot policy that is restricted to a service profile or service profile template. However, except for iSCSI boot, we recommend that you create a global boot policy that can be included in multiple service profiles or service profile templates.
Tip |
We recommend that the boot order in a boot policy include either a local disk or a SAN LUN, but not both, to avoid the possibility of the server booting from the wrong storage type. If you configure a local disk and a SAN LUN for the boot order storage type and the operating system or logical volume manager (LVM) is configured incorrectly, the server might boot from the local disk rather than the SAN LUN. For example, on a server with Red Hat Linux installed, where the LVM is configured with default LV names and the boot order is configured with a SAN LUN and a local disk, Linux reports that there are two LVs with the same name and boots from the LV with the lowest SCSI ID, which could be the local disk. |
If you are creating a boot policy that boots the server from a SAN LUN and you require reliable SAN boot operations, you must first remove all local disks from servers associated with a service profile that includes the boot policy.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
Step 4 |
Right-click Boot Policies and select Create Boot Policy. The Create Boot Policy wizard displays. |
Step 5 |
Enter a unique name and description for the policy. This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters, and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved. |
Step 6 |
(Optional)To reboot all servers that use this boot policy after you make changes to the boot order, check the Reboot on Boot Order Change check box. In the Cisco UCS Manager GUI, if the Reboot on Boot Order Change check box is checked for a boot policy, and if CD-ROM or Floppy is the last device in the boot order, deleting or adding the device does not directly affect the boot order and the server does not reboot. |
Step 7 |
(Optional)To ensure that Cisco UCS Manager uses any vNICs or vHBAs in the order shown in the Boot Order table, check the Enforce vNIC/vHBA Name check box. If you do not check this check box, Cisco UCS Manager uses the priority specified in the vNIC or vHBA. |
Step 8 |
To add a local disk, virtual CD-ROM, or virtual floppy to the boot order, do the following:
|
Step 9 | To add a LAN boot to the boot order, do the following: |
Step 10 |
To add a SAN boot to the boot order, do the following:
|
Include the boot policy in a service profile and/or template.
After a server is associated with a service profile that includes this boot policy, you can verify the actual boot order in the Boot Order Details area on the General tab for the server.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the Boot Policies node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the policy you want to delete and select Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring IPMI Access Profiles
This policy allows you to determine whether IPMI commands can be sent directly to the server, using the IP address. For example, you can send commands to retrieve sensor data from the CIMC. This policy defines the IPMI access, including a username and password that can be authenticated locally on the server, and whether the access is read-only or read-write.
You must include this policy in a service profile and that service profile must be associated with a server for it to take effect.
An IPMI profile requires that one or more of the following resources already exist in the system:
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
Step 4 | Right-click IPMI Profiles and select Create IPMI Profiles. |
Step 5 | In the Create IPMI Profile dialog box: |
Step 6 | In the IPMI Profile Users area of the navigator, click +. |
Step 7 |
In the User Properties dialog box:
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Step 8 | Repeat Steps 6 and 7 to add another user. |
Step 9 | Click OK to return to the IPMI profiles in the Work pane. |
Include the IPMI profile in a service profile and/or template.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | In the Servers tab, expand |
Step 3 | Expand the IPMI Profiles node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the profile you want to delete and select Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Local Disk Configuration Policies
This policy configures any optional SAS local drives that have been installed on a server through the onboard RAID controller of the local drive. This policy enables you to set a local disk mode for all servers that are associated with a service profile that includes the local disk configuration policy.
The local disk modes include the following:
You must include this policy in a service profile, and that service profile must be associated with a server for the policy to take effect.
Before you create a local disk configuration policy, consider the following guidelines:
Do not include HDDs and SSDs in a single server or RAID configuration.
An upgrade from an earlier Cisco UCS firmware release to release 1.3(1i) or higher has the following impact on the Protect Configuration property of the local disk configuration policy the first time servers are associated with service profiles after the upgrade:
After you upgrade the Cisco UCS instance, the initial server association proceeds without configuration errors whether or not the local disk configuration policy matches the server hardware. Even if you enable the Protect Configuration property, Cisco UCS does not protect the user data on the server if there are configuration mismatches between the local disk configuration policy on the previous service profile and the policy in the new service profile.
Note |
If you enable the Protect Configuration property and the local disk configuration policy encounters mismatches between the previous service profile and the new service profile, all subsequent service profile associations with the server are blocked. |
Any servers that are already associated with service profiles do not reboot after the upgrade. Cisco UCS Manager does not report any configuration errors if there is a mismatch between the local disk configuration policy and the server hardware.
When a service profile is disassociated from a server and a new service profile associated, the setting for the Protect Configuration property in the new service profile takes precedence and overwrites the setting in the previous service profile.
Do not include HDDs and SSDs in a single RAID configuration.
If a blade server or rack-mount server in a Cisco UCS instance includes a MegaRAID storage controller, do not configure the local disk configuration policy in the service profile for that server with the Any Configuration mode. If you use this mode for servers with a MegaRAID storage controller, the installer for the operating system cannot detect any local storage on the server.
If you want to install an operating system on local storage on a server with a MegaRAID storage controller, you must configure the local disk configuration policy with a mode that creates a RAID LUN (RAID volume) on the server.
After RAID1 clusters are migrated, you need to associate a service profile with the server. If the local disk configuration policy in the service profile is configured with Any Configuration mode rather than RAID1, the RAID LUN remains in "inactive" state during and after association. As a result, the server cannot boot.
To avoid this issue, ensure that the service profile you associate with the server contains the identical local disk configuration policy as the original service profile before the migration and does not include the Any Configurationmode.
If a blade server or integrated rack-mount server has a MegaRAID controller, you must configure RAID settings for the drives in the Local Disk Configuration policy included in the service profile for that server.
If you do not configure your RAID LUNs before installing the OS, disk discovery failures might occur during the installation and you might see error messages such as “No Device Found.”
Do not configure or use JBOD mode or JBOD operations on any blade server or integrated rack-mount server with a MegaRAID storage controllers. JBOD mode and operations are not intended for nor are they fully functional on these servers.
A rack-mount server that has been integrated with Cisco UCS Manager can have a maximum of one RAID volume irrespective of how many hard drives are present on the server.
All the local hard drives in an integrated rack-mount server must be connected to only one RAID Controller. Integration with Cisco UCS Manager does not support the connection of local hard drives to multiple RAID Controllers in a single rack-mount server. We therefore recommend that you request a single RAID Controller configuration when you order rack-mount servers to be integrated with Cisco UCS Manager.
In addition, do not use third party tools to create multiple RAID LUNs on rack-mount servers. Cisco UCS Manager does not support that configuration.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. | ||||||||||||||
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . | ||||||||||||||
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
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Step 4 | Right-click Local Disk Config Policies and choose Create Local Disk Configuration Policy. | ||||||||||||||
Step 5 |
In the Create Local Disk Configuration Policy dialog box, complete the following fields:
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Step 6 | Click OK. |
This procedure describes how to change a local disk configuration policy from an associated service profile. You can also change a local disk configuration policy from the Policies node of the Servers tab.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. | ||||||||
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . | ||||||||
Step 3 |
Expand the organization that includes the service service profile with the local disk configuration policy you want to change. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
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Step 4 | Click the service profile that contains the local disk configuration policy you want to change. | ||||||||
Step 5 | In the Work pane, click the Policies tab. | ||||||||
Step 6 | In the Actions area, click Change Local Disk Configuration Policy. | ||||||||
Step 7 |
In the Change Local Disk Configuration Policy dialog box, choose one of the following options from the Select the Local Disk Configuration Policy drop-down list.
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Step 8 | Click OK. | ||||||||
Step 9 | (Optional)Expand the Local Disk Configuration Policy area to confirm that the change has been made. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the Local Disk Config Policies node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the policy you want to delete and select Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Scrub Policies
This policy determines what happens to local data and to the BIOS settings on a server during the discovery process and when the server is disassociated from a service profile. Depending upon how you configure a scrub policy, the following can occur at those times:
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. | ||||||||||
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . | ||||||||||
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
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Step 4 | Right-click Scrub Policies and select Create Scrub Policy. | ||||||||||
Step 5 |
In the Create Scrub Policy wizard, complete the following fields:
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Step 6 | Click OK. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the Scrub Policies node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the policy you want to delete and select Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Serial over LAN Policies
This policy sets the configuration for the serial over LAN connection for all servers associated with service profiles that use the policy. By default, the serial over LAN connection is disabled.
If you implement a serial over LAN policy, we recommend that you also create an IPMI profile.
You must include this policy in a service profile and that service profile must be associated with a server for it to take effect.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. | ||||||||||
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . | ||||||||||
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
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Step 4 | Right-click Serial over LAN Policies and select Create Serial over LAN Policy. | ||||||||||
Step 5 |
In the Create Serial over LAN Policy wizard, complete the following fields:
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Step 6 | Click OK. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the Serial over LAN Policies node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the policy you want to delete and select Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Server Autoconfiguration Policies
Cisco UCS Manager uses this policy to determine how to configure a new server. If you create a server autoconfiguration policy, the following occurs when a new server starts:
This policy requires that one or more of the following resources already exist in the system:
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. | ||||||||||||
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, click the Equipment node. | ||||||||||||
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the Policies tab. | ||||||||||||
Step 4 | Click the Autoconfig Policies subtab. | ||||||||||||
Step 5 |
On the icon bar to the right of the table, click +. If the + icon is disabled, click an entry in the table to enable it. |
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Step 6 |
In the Create Autoconfiguration Policy dialog box, complete the following fields:
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Step 7 | Click OK. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. |
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, click the Equipment node. |
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the Policies tab. |
Step 4 | Click the Autoconfig Policies subtab. |
Step 5 | Right-click the autoconfiguration policy that you want to delete and choose Delete. |
Step 6 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Server Discovery Policies
This discovery policy determines how the system reacts when you add a new server. If you create a server discovery policy, you can control whether the system conducts a deep discovery when a server is added to a chassis, or whether a user must first acknowledge the new server. By default, the system conducts a full discovery.
If you create a server discovery policy, the following occurs when a new server starts:
If you plan to associate this policy with a server pool, create server pool policy qualifications.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. |
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, click the Equipment node. |
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the Policies tab. |
Step 4 | Click the Server Discovery Policies subtab. |
Step 5 | Click the + icon on the table icon bar to open the Create Server Discovery Policy dialog box. |
Step 6 | In the Description field, enter a description for the discovery policy. |
Step 7 | In the Action field, select one of the following options: |
Step 8 | (Optional)To associate this policy with a server pool, select server pool policy qualifications from the Qualification drop-down list. |
Step 9 | (Optional)To include a scrub policy, select a policy from the Scrub Policy drop-down list. |
Step 10 | Click OK. |
Include the server discovery policy in a service profile and/or template.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. |
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, click the Equipment node. |
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the Policies tab. |
Step 4 | Click the Server Discovery Policies subtab. |
Step 5 | Right-click the server discover policy that you want to delete and choose Delete. |
Step 6 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Server Inheritance Policies
This policy is invoked during the server discovery process to create a service profile for the server. All service profiles created from this policy use the values burned into the blade at manufacture. The policy performs the following:
You cannot migrate a service profile created with this policy to another server.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. | ||||||||||
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, click the Equipment node. | ||||||||||
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the Policies tab. | ||||||||||
Step 4 | Click the Server Inheritance Policies subtab. | ||||||||||
Step 5 |
On the icon bar to the right of the table, click +. If the + icon is disabled, click an entry in the table to enable it. |
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Step 6 |
In the Create Server Inheritance Policy dialog box, complete the following fields:
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Step 7 | Click OK. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab. |
Step 2 | On the Equipment tab, click the Equipment node. |
Step 3 | In the Work pane, click the Policies tab. |
Step 4 | Click the Server Inheritance Policies subtab. |
Step 5 | Right-click the server inheritance policy that you want to delete and choose Delete. |
Step 6 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Server Pool Policies
This policy is invoked during the server discovery process. It determines what happens if server pool policy qualifications match a server to the target pool specified in the policy.
If a server qualifies for more than one pool and those pools have server pool policies, the server is added to all those pools.
This policy requires that one or more of the following resources already exist in the system:
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. | ||||||||||
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . | ||||||||||
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
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Step 4 | Right-click Server Pool Policies and select Create Server Pool Policy. | ||||||||||
Step 5 |
In the Create Server Pool Policy dialog box, complete the following fields:
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Step 6 | Click OK. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the Server Pool Policies node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the policy you want to delete and select Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configuring Server Pool Policy Qualifications
This policy qualifies servers based on the inventory of a server conducted during the discovery process. The qualifications are individual rules that you configure in the policy to determine whether a server meets the selection criteria. For example, you can create a rule that specifies the minimum memory capacity for servers in a data center pool.
Qualifications are used in other policies to place servers, not just by the server pool policies. For example, if a server meets the criteria in a qualification policy, it can be added to one or more server pools or have a service profile automatically associated with it.
You can use the server pool policy qualifications to qualify servers according to the following criteria:
Depending upon the implementation, you may configure several policies with server pool policy qualifications including the following:
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the Server Pool Policy Qualifications node and select Create Server Pool Policy Qualification. |
Step 5 | In the Create Server Pool Policy Qualification dialog box, enter a unique name and description for the policy. |
Step 6 |
(Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to their adapter configuration, do the following:
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Step 7 |
(Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to the chassis in which they physically reside, do the following:
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Step 8 |
(Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to both the chassis and slot in which they physically reside, do the following:
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Step 9 |
(Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to their memory configuration, do the following:
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Step 10 |
(Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to their CPU/Cores configuration, do the following:
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Step 11 |
(Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to their storage configuration and capacity, do the following:
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Step 12 | (Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to the model of the server, do the following: |
Step 13 | (Optional)To use this policy to qualify servers according to power group, do the following: |
Step 14 |
(Optional)To use this policy to qualify the rack-mount servers that can be added to the associated server pool, do the following:
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Step 15 | Verify the qualifications in the table and correct if necessary. |
Step 16 | Click OK. |
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the Server Pool Policy Qualifications node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the policy qualifications you want to delete and select Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Use this procedure to modify Server Pool Policy Qualifications by deleting one or more sets of qualifications.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the Server Pool Policy Qualifications node. |
Step 4 | Choose the policy you want to modify. |
Step 5 | In the Work pane, choose the Qualifications tab. |
Step 6 | To delete a set of qualifications: |
Step 7 | Click Save Changes. |
Configuring vNIC/vHBA Placement Policies
vNIC/vHBA placement policies are used to determine what types of vNICs or vHBAs can be assigned to the physical adapters on a server. Each vNIC/vHBA placement policy contains four virtual network interface connections (vCons) that are virtual representations of the physical adapters. When a vNIC/vHBA placement policy is assigned to a service profile, and the service profile is associated with a server, the vCons in the vNIC/vHBA placement policy are assigned to the physical adapters.
If you do not include a vNIC/vHBA placement policy in the service profile or you use the default configuration for a server with two adapters, Cisco UCS Manager defaults to the All configuration and equally distributes the vNICs and vHBAs between the adapters.
You can use this policy to assign vNICs or vHBAs to either of the two vCons. Cisco UCS Manager uses the vCon assignment to determine how to assign the vNICs and vHBAs to the physical adapter during service profile association.
Cisco UCS Manager maps every vCon in a service profile to a physical adapter on the server. How that mapping occurs and how the vCons are assigned to a specific adapter in a server with two adapters depends upon the type of server. You must consider this placement when you configure the vNIC/vHBA placement policy to assign vNICs and vHBAs to vCons.
Note |
vCon to adapter placement is not dependent upon the PCIE slot number of the adapter. The adapter numbers used for the purpose of vCon placement are not the PCIE slot numbers of the adapters, but the ID assigned to them during server discovery. |
In these blade servers, the adapters are numbered left to right, but vCons are numbered right to left. If the server has a single adapter, all vCons are assigned to that adapter. However, if the server has two adapters, the vCons are assigned to the adapters in reverse order, as follows:
For all other servers supported by Cisco UCS, the vCon assignment depends upon the number of adapters in the server, as follows:
Number of Adapters | vCon1 Assignment | vCon2 Assignment | vCon3 Assignment | vCon4 Assignment |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Adapter1 |
Adapter1 |
Adapter1 |
Adapter1 |
2 |
Adapter1 |
Adapter2 |
Adapter1 |
Adapter2 |
3 |
Adapter1 |
Adapter2 |
Adapter3 |
Adapter2 |
4 |
Adapter1 |
Adapter2 |
Adapter3 |
Adapter4 |
Cisco UCS Manager provides two options for assigning vNICs and vHBAs to vCons through the vNIC/vHBA placement policy: explicit assignment and implicit assignment.
With explicit assignment, you specify the vCon and, therefore, the adapter to which a vNIC or vHBA is assigned. Use this assignment option when you need to determine how the vNICs and vHBAs are distributed between the adapters on a server.
If you attempt to assign a vNIC or vHBA to a vCon that is not configured for that type of vNIC or vHBA, Cisco UCS Manager displays a message box to advise you of the configuration error.
During service profile association, Cisco UCS Manager validates the configured placement of the vNICs and vHBAs against the number and capabilities of the physical adapters in the server before assigning the vNICs and vHBAs according to the configuration in the policy. Load distribution is based upon the explicit assignments to the vCons and adapters configured in this policy.
If the adapters do not support the assignment of one or more vNICs or vHBAs, Cisco UCS Manager raises a fault against the service profile.
Note |
vCon to adapter assignment occurs in a round-robin order. This order means that vNICs are placed on the adapters in the following order: vnic-1, vnic-3, vnic-2, vnic-4. As a result, under the following circumstances, the PCIE order of vNICs can be different than the explicit assignment configured in Cisco UCS Manager:
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With implicit assignment, Cisco UCS Manager determines the vCon and, therefore, the adapter to which a vNIC or vHBA is assigned according to the capability of the adapter. Use this assignment option if the adaptor to which a vNIC or vHBA is assigned is not important to your system configuration.
To configure a vCon for implicit assignment, do the following:
During service profile association, Cisco UCS Manager verifies the number and capabilities of the physical adapters in the server and assigns the vNICs and vHBAs accordingly. Load distribution is based upon the capabilities of the adapters, and placement of the vNICs and vHBAs is performed according to the actual order determined by the system. For example, if one adapter can accommodate more vNICs than another, that adapter is assigned more vNICs.
If the adapters cannot support the number of vNICs and vHBAs configured for that server, Cisco UCS Manager raises a fault against the service profile.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
Step 4 | Right-click vNIC/vHBA Placement Policies and choose Create Placement Policy. |
Step 5 |
In the Create Placement Policy dialog box, do the following:
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Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. |
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . |
Step 3 | Expand the vNIC/vHBA Placement Policies node. |
Step 4 | Right-click the policy you want to delete and choose Delete. |
Step 5 | If Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes. |
Configure the vCons through a vNIC/vHBA placement policy or in the service profile with one of the following values:
If a vCon is configured for All, you can still explicitly assign a vNIC or vHBA to that vCon. However, you have less control with this configuration.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. | ||||||
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . | ||||||
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization which contains the service profile whose vNICs you want to explicitly assign to a vCon. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
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Step 4 | Expand . | ||||||
Step 5 | Click on the vNIC that you want to explicitly assign to a vCon. | ||||||
Step 6 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. | ||||||
Step 7 |
In the Virtual Host Interface Placement section, complete the following fields:
If you attempt to assign a vNIC to a vCon that is not configured for that type of vNIC, Cisco UCS Manager displays a message box to advise you of the configuration error. You must either assign the vNIC to another vCon or change the vCon configuration in the service profile. |
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Step 8 |
In the Order section, complete the following fields:
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Step 9 | Click Save Changes. |
Configure the vCons through a vNIC/vHBA placement policy or in the service profile with one of the following values:
If a vCon is configured for All, you can still explicitly assign a vNIC or vHBA to that vCon. However, you have less control with this configuration.
Step 1 | In the Navigation pane, click the Servers tab. | ||||||
Step 2 | On the Servers tab, expand . | ||||||
Step 3 |
Expand the node for the organization which contains the service profile whose vHBAs you want to explicitly assign to a vCon. If the system does not include multi-tenancy, expand the root node. |
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Step 4 | Expand . | ||||||
Step 5 | Click on the vHBA that you want to explicitly assign to a vCon. | ||||||
Step 6 | In the Work pane, click the General tab. | ||||||
Step 7 |
In the Virtual Host Interface Placement section, complete the following fields:
If you attempt to assign a vHBA to a vCon that is not configured for that type of vHBA, Cisco UCS Manager displays a message box to advise you of the configuration error. You must either assign the vHBA to another vCon or change the vCon configuration in the service profile. |
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Step 8 |
In the Order section, complete the following fields:
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Step 9 | Click Save Changes. |