Online Insertion and Removal

Online Insertion and Removal

Online Insertion and Removal

The Online Insertion and Removal (OIR) feature in Cisco Intersight allows you to insert or remove server blades and other components such as, Input Output Modules (IOM), fans and power supply units. The insertion or removal is done transparently and without disrupting other components in the chassis. The OIR feature ensures better service and platform management.

OIR support is enabled for:

  • Blade server

  • Blade and rack server sub-components - hard disk drives, NVMe drives, network adapters, storage controllers, CPU, DIMM

  • Rack server fans and power supply units

  • Chassis fans and power supply units

  • Chassis enclosures and IOM

  • Chassis and IOM cable changes

  • FI fans and power supply units

  • FEX fans and power supply units

OIR for Blade Server

The blade server scenarios supported for OIR are as follows:

Scenario

Explanation

Expected User Action

Insertion of a new server when no previous server exists

In the case of a new server, the identity information of the server, such as vendor, model, and serial number, is not available in the Intersight database. A deep discovery is triggered and the server is added to the inventory.

Insertion of a new server when a previous server exists

The new blade’s lifecycle is set to ReplacementPendingUserAction, and a corresponding alarm is raised.

For more information on the generated alarms, see Cisco Intersight Alarms Reference Guide.

The user needs to remove or rediscover the previous server in order to discover the new server.

Removal of a server

When an inventoried server is removed, an alarm is raised to alert you to the missing server.

For more information on the generated alarms, see Cisco Intersight Alarms Reference Guide.

If you are permanently removing a server, it is recommended that you decommission the server before removing it. After decommissioning the server, click on the Fabric Interconnect name in the list view. It takes you to the Fabric Interconnects Details View. Go to Connections > Decommissioned > Servers, select the Remove action for permanent removal of the server.

If the server is not decommissioned before physical removal, it will appear as disconnected in the inventory. Use the Remove action to remove the server from the inventory and clear the alarm.

Reinsertion of a server

Reinsertion is when you remove a server and reinsert it in the same slot and chassis. On reinsertion, a discovery is triggered and the inventory is updated.

Ensure you wait at least 20 seconds before reinserting a blade server after removal to prevent incorrect fault alerts due to residual voltage.

Migration of a server

Migration of a server is when you remove a server and insert it into a different slot in the same chassis, or into a different chassis.

Note

 

If a blade is migrated from a different domain or account, it is treated as Removed from the old domain/account and Newly Inserted in the new domain/account.

On migration of a server, an alarm is raised and you need to run rediscover of blade to update the inventory. Rediscover decommissions the old inventory and triggers a discovery to discover the server in the new location.

The following table lists the various logical states of the servers and the corresponding allowed and blocked actions:

Lifecycle State

Expected User Action to resolve the migration state

Blocked Actions

ReplacementPendingUserAction

Rediscover the blade server

All other operations

Removed

Remove the blade server

  • Power operations

  • Firmware upgrade

  • All other system operations

Replaced

Remove the server

  • Power operations

  • Firmware upgrade

  • All other system operations

Moved

Rediscover the server

  • Power operations

  • Firmware upgrade

  • All other system operations

MovedAndReplaced

Rediscover the server

  • Power operations

  • Firmware upgrade

  • All other system operations


Note

Managing sub-targets that are part of multiple targets: When assigning sub-targets to a Resource Group, if a Warning icon appears next to a server, it could be because the server was not gracefully removed. This can lead to multiple instances of the same server being displayed as sub-targets. In such cases, you must remove the server from the inventory and clear the alarm as described in the Removal of the Blade server scenario. See also, Understanding Sub-Targets.

OIR for Storage Controller, CPU, and DIMM

The OIR for storage controller, CPU, and DIMM can be done as follows:

  1. - For rack servers, disconnect the server from the power supply.

    - For blade servers, power off the server and remove it from the chassis.

  2. Remove, insert, or replace the components.

  3. - For rack servers, reconnect the server to the power supply.

    - For blade servers, insert the server into the chassis and power it on.

Server discovery is triggered automatically and the inventory is updated.

OIR for Network Adapter

The OIR for network adapter scenarios can be done as follows:

  1. Decommission the server.

  2. - For rack servers, disconnect the server from the power supply.

    - For blade servers, power off the server and remove it from the chassis.

  3. Remove, insert, or replace the adapter.


    Note

    • When you remove an MLOM or a PCIe primary adapter, you need to reset to factory defaults for the server to be discovered.

    • If the GPUs are swapped to a different slot without server decommission, you will receive the NodeUnknownPCIeCardPresentOnRiser alarm. For more information, see Cisco Intersight Alarms Reference Guide.

  4. - For rack servers, reconnect the server to the power supply.

    - For blade servers, insert the server into the chassis and power it on.

  5. Recommission the server.

Server discovery is automatically triggered, and the inventory is updated.

An alternate scenario for network adapter support is:

  1. - For rack servers, disconnect the rack server from the power supply.

    - For blade servers, power off the blade server and remove it from the chassis.

  2. Remove, insert, or replace the components.


    Note

    When you remove an MLOM or PCIe primary adapter, you need to restore to factory defaults for the server to be discovered.

  3. - For rack servers, reconnect the server to the power supply.

    - For blade servers, insert the server into the chassis and power it on.

In the above scenario, a replacement alarm is raised that requires a decommission and recommission of the server, to complete the replacement process.


Note

Extender adapter UCSB-MLOM-PT-01 is not in scope for online insertion and replacement. It is required to decommission and recommission the server after adding or removing UCSB-MLOM-PT-01.

OIR for IOM

The IOM scenarios supported for OIR are captured in the table below.

Scenario

Expected User Action

Reseating the IOM

Automatic

Replacing the IOM with the same model and with the original connectivity

Automatic

Adding additional cable to existing IOM to increase bandwidth

Modify the Port policy to configure new server ports and deploy the domain profile again.

Removing cable(s) from an already discovered IOM

Modify the Port policy to remove server ports and deploy the domain profile again.

Replacing 2204 IOM with 2208 IOM

The inventory is automatically updated.

If more cable connections are added to the Fabric Interconnect, modify the Port policy to configure new server ports, and deploy the domain profile again.

Note

 

Always replace the IOMs one by one, so as not to disrupt the server traffic.

Replacing a 2208 IOM with a 2204 IOM

The inventory is automatically updated.

If some cable connections are removed from the Fabric Interconnect, modify the Port policy to unconfigure the unused server ports, and deploy the domain profile again.

Note

 

Always replace the IOMs one by one, so as not to disrupt the server traffic.

Removing a cable from both the IOMs and connecting to a new directly attached rack

  1. Unconfigure the server ports used by the IOM and deploy the domain profile again.

  2. Remove the cables and connect them physically to the rack.

  3. Configure the server port and redeploy the domain profile.

The rack server is automatically discovered and inventoried. The original chassis or IOM will be in a disconnected state. Decommission the chassis if it is intended for removal.

Removing the cable from the directly attached rack and connect to the IOM

  1. Unconfigure the server ports used by the rack and deploy the domain profile again.

  2. Remove the cables and connect them physically to the IOM.

  3. Configure the server port and redeploy the domain profile.

The chassis or IOM is automatically discovered and inventoried. The original rack server will be in a disconnected state. Decommission the rack server if it is intended for removal.

Moving the cables from IOM to new Fabric Interconnect ports

If you want to use a different Fabric Interconnect port to connect to IOM, modify the Port policy with new server ports, and redeploy the domain profile.

Note

 

Unconfigure the previous port if not intended for use and configure the new port.

Switch cables between Fabric Interconnect and IOM in different chassis

Note

 

Change the server port that is being used.

  1. Unconfigure the port and redeploy the domain profile.

  2. Make the required port changes.

  3. Configure the server port and redeploy the domain profile.

Swapping IOMs in the same chassis

Note

 

There is a connectivity change and the IOM and Fabric Interconnect are switched.

  1. After the swap, rediscover the chassis.

  2. Rediscover the blade.

  3. Redeploy the server profile.

Replacing a chassis (Chassis RMA)

  1. From the Chassis Table View, decommission the old chassis when it is still connected, using the Decommission action.

  2. Modify the Port policy to unconfigure the server ports that were connected to the old chassis, and then deploy the domain profile.

  3. Go to Connections > Decommissioned > Chassis page and remove the old chassis using the Remove action.

  4. Disconnect the cabling to physically remove the old chassis.

  5. Connect the cabling between the new chassis and the Fabric Interconnect.

  6. Modify the Port policy to configure the server ports that are connected to the new chassis, and then deploy the domain profile.

  7. Wait for the completion of the chassis discovery, chassis inventory, and blade discovery workflows to see the updated inventory.

Note