Server Discovery and Actions
After a chassis or FEX is discovered, the blade servers connected to the chassis or the rack servers connected to the FEX are automatically claimed and discovered. Chassis and FEX Discovery and Operations provides information about this process. For servers to be claimed and discovered, they must be in the factory default state.
For rack servers that are directly attached to the Fabric Interconnect, do the following after the Fabric Interconnect is claimed:
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Connect the server ports to both Fabric Interconnects. For example, ports 1 and 2 to FI-A and ports 3 and 4 to FI-B.
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Configure the server ports on both Fabric Interconnects.
The servers that are discovered appear on the Servers page.
Server Actions
The server actions enable you to manage the server. In Cisco Intersight, when you click on Servers, the Servers Table view is displayed. In Servers Table view page, click the ellipsis (…) icon to perform server actions.
You can perform the following operations to manage a server:
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Power
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Power On/Off—Turns on/off the power of the server.
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Power Cycle—Turns off and on for the server.
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Hard Reset—Reboots the server.
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Shut Down OS—Shuts down the server if supported by an operating system.
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System
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Turn On/Off Locator—Turns on/off the LED Locator.
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Reset CMOS—Resets the BIOS configuration settings to the original state hence helps in recovery when the server is not in a healthy state. The option to reset CMOS appears only when the server is powered off. For the reset to complete, the server must be powered on. There is an additional option to power on the server using the toggle button present in the Reset CMOS confirmation window.
Note
This option is available only for Intersight Managed Mode servers.
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Reset vKVM—Resets the vKVM on the server. Clicking this option triggers a workflow that restarts the vKVM server running on Cisco IMC. You can use this action when the launch of vKVM is failing or when a running vKVM becomes unresponsive.
Note
Reset vKVM is supported only on Firmware version 4.2(1a) and later. For earlier versions, Reboot Cisco IMC option should be used.
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Secure Erase—Initiates a workflow to delete all data from the server. This includes data on the BIOS, BMC, NVRAM, DIMM, eMMC, VIC, and storage disks components (except remote LUNs). During this time, disruptive server actions, such as power actions, OS installation, firmware upgrades, decommissioning, and server profile deployment are disabled.
Depending on the disk capacity, Secure Erase may take several hours to more than a day to complete. For more information, see Secure Data Deletion.
Warning
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This action will permanently delete all data from the server. This data will not be recoverable
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If Secure Erase is terminated before it is complete, data or drive corruption may occur.
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Lock Front Panel—Locks the physical power button on the server. For a server that already has the front panel locked, this option appears as Unlock Front Panel.
Note
This option is available only for Intersight Managed Mode servers.
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Rediscover—Rediscover rebuilds the server inventory and internal connectivity. The operation can be used following any module replacements, additions, or removals, as well as when a server is relocated to another slot, chassis, or replaced. This operation will not disrupt any ongoing traffic.
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Decommission—Decommissions the server and removes the server from the Cisco UCS configuration. However, the server hardware physically remains in the Cisco UCS instance.
You can view the decommissioned servers by selecting Operate > Fabric Interconnects and clicking on the Fabric Interconnect that has the decommissioned servers. Go to the Connections tab and in the Decommissioned section click Servers. Click the Ellipses (…) to view the Server Actions.
Click Recommission to recommission the server. When you recommission a rack server, you have the option to configure the server ID.
To trigger the Secure Erase action before decommissioning a server, select the Decommission Server With Secure Erase check box. Use this option only if you want to delete all data from the server before it is decommissioned. Depending on the disk capacity, Secure Erase may take several hours to more than a day to complete. For more information, see Secure Data Deletion.
Warning
Selecting the Decommission Server With Secure Erase check box will permanently delete all data from the server. This data will not be recoverable.
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Reboot Cisco IMC—Reboots the Cisco IMC.
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Certificate:
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Set KMIP Client Certificate–To Configure a KMIP client certificate to ensure secure communication between the KMIP server and Cisco IMC. For more information, see Configuring KMIP Client Certificate.
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IMC certificates–To configure the certificate and private key on the server from a third-party managed Certificate Authority(CA). This option is available only for Intersight Managed Mode servers. For more information, see the Creating a Certificate Management Policy section in Supported UCS Server Policies.
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Reset Memory Errors—Allows you to reset memory error counters for all Dual In-line Memory Modules (DIMMs) in a server to zero. After clearing errors, any DIMMs disabled due to prior uncorrectable errors will be re-enabled on the next boot, provided they encounter no further errors during Power-On Self-Test (POST).
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Set Asset Tag—Enables to set the custom asset tag.
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Set User Label—Allows you to set, update, or delete user labels for each server. It must be between 1 and 64 alphanumeric characters, containing only the following special characters: ! # $ % & * + , ( ) [ ] { } | / . ? @ _ : ; ~
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Download System Event Log—Downloads the system event logs of a selected server. These logs record server-related events, such as over and under voltage, temperature, and fan events.
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Clear System Event Log—Clears the system event logs of a selected server.
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Install Operating System—Perform an unattended OS installation on one or more Cisco UCS C-Series Standalone servers and Cisco Intersight Managed Mode (IMM) servers (C-Series, B-Series, and X-Series) from your centralized data center through a simple process. For more information, see Installing an Operating System.
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Upgrade Firmware—Perform a firmware upgrade. For more information, see the Firmware Upgrade.
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Launch IMC— Cross-launch Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) UI from Intersight. This action is available only for C-Series Standalone servers.
Note
Generate Technical Support Data for Local Download and Download Hardware Inventory Data to Local Download options are not supported in the cross-launched CIMC interface.
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Launch Virtual KVM—Launch the virtual keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) console directly for Fabric Interconnect-attached and Standalone server. Local network connectivity to the endpoint/server is required. For more information, see Launch Virtual KVM.
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Launch Tunneled Virtual KVM—Tunneled vKVM works by tunneling the KVM traffic through Intersight. You can launch Tunneled vKVM sessions for all servers in Intersight Managed Mode, Cisco UCS C-Series Standalone M4, M5, M6, M7, and M8 servers, UCS S-Series, and Hyperflex HX-Series Edge Standalone M4 and M5 servers. For more information, see Launch Tunneled Virtual KVM
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Start/Stop Alarm Suppression—Select the server and choose the Start Alarm Suppression option to silence the non-critical alarms, or select the Stop Alarm Suppression option to resume receiving all alarm notifications. For more information, see Alarm Suppression.
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Open TAC Case—Open a case to report an issue with the server.
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Set License Tier—Update the server to a new license tier. Updating license tier is not allowed on server(s) with an associated server profile. To move the license to another tier, unassign the profile from one or more selected servers and try again. For more information, see Multiple Licensing Tiers.
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Collect Tech Support Bundle—Collect the tech support bundle. An Account Administrator or a user with Support Services role can select the device and collect the tech support bundle file for the selected device. The downloaded file can be accessed by navigating to Admin > Tech Support Bundles section. This file can be shared with the TAC team for troubleshooting any issue.
Bulk Server Actions
On the Servers table page, you can perform the following operations to manage more than one server.
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Power
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Power On—Power on for one or more servers.
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Power Off—Turn power off for one or more servers.
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Power Cycle—Turns power off and on for one or more servers.
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Hard Reset—Reboot the server.
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Shut Down OS—Shuts down the server if supported by an operating system.
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System
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Turn On Locator—Turn on the LED Locator.
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Turn Off Locator—Turn off the LED Locator.
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Reset CMOS—Resets the BIOS configuration settings to the original state hence helps in recovery when the server is not in a healthy state. The option to reset CMOS appears only when the server is powered off. For the reset to complete, the server must be powered on. There is an additional option to power on the server using the toggle button present in the Reset CMOS confirmation window.
Note
This option is available only for Intersight Managed Mode servers.
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Reset vKVM—Resets the vKVM on the server. Clicking this option triggers a workflow that restarts the vKVM server running on Cisco IMC. You can use this action when the launch of vKVM is failing or when a running vKVM becomes unresponsive.
Note
This action is supported only on Firmware version 4.2(1a) and above. For lower versions, Reboot Cisco IMC option should be used.
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Lock Front Panel—Locks the physical power button on the server. For a server that already has the front panel locked, this option appears as Unlock Front Panel.
Note
This option is available only for Intersight Managed Mode servers.
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Reboot Cisco IMC—Reboots the Cisco IMC.
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Certificate:
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Set KMIP Client Certificate–To Configure a KMIP client certificate to ensure secure communication between the KMIP server and Cisco IMC. For more information, see Configuring KMIP Client Certificate.
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IMC certificates–To configure the certificate and private key on the server from a third-party managed Certificate Authority(CA). This option is available only for Intersight Managed Mode servers. For more information, see the Creating a Certificate Management Policy section in Supported UCS Server Policies.
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Reset Memory Errors—Allows you to reset memory error counters for all Dual In-line Memory Modules (DIMMs) in a server to zero. After clearing errors, any DIMMs disabled due to prior uncorrectable errors will be re-enabled on the next boot, provided they encounter no further errors during Power-On Self-Test (POST).
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Install Operating System—Perform an unattended OS installation on one or more Cisco UCS C-Series Standalone servers and Cisco Intersight Managed Mode (IMM) servers (C-Series, B-Series, and X-Series) from your centralized data center through a simple process. For more information, see Installing an Operating System.
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Upgrade Firmware—Perform a firmware upgrade. For more information, see the Firmware Upgrade.
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Start/Stop Alarm Suppression—Select the servers and choose the Start Alarm Suppression option to silence the non-critical alarms, or select the Stop Alarm Suppression option to resume receiving all alarm notifications. For more information, see Alarm Suppression.
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Set License Tier—Update one or more servers to a new license tier. Updating license tier is not allowed on server(s) with an associated server profile. To move the license to another tier, unassign the profile from one or more selected servers and try again. For more details, see Multiple Licensing Tiers.