Configuring UCS Chassis Policies

Chassis Policies

Chassis policies in Cisco Intersight allow you to configure various parameters of the chassis, including IP pool configuration, VLAN settings, SNMP authentication, and SNMP trap settings. A chassis policy can be assigned to any number of chassis profiles to provide a configuration baseline for a chassis.

To view the Chassis Policies table view, choose Configure > Policies.

The Chassis Policy creation wizard in Cisco Intersight has two pages:

  • General—The general page allows you to select the organization and enter a name for your policy. Optionally, include a short description and tag information to help identify the policy. Tags must be in the key:value format. For example, Org:IT or Site APJ

  • Policy Details—The policy details page has properties that are applicable to UCS Chassis Policies.

Chassis Policies can also be cloned by using the Policy Clone wizard with properties that are similar to the existing policies. The clone policy action is available on both the policies list and detailed views. For more information, see Cloning a Policy.

The following list describes the chassis policies that you can configure in Cisco Intersight.

  • IMC Access Policy—Enables you to configure and manage your network by mapping the IP pools to the chassis profile. This policy allows you to configure a VLAN and associate it with an IP address using the IP pool.


    Note

    Only In-Band configuration is supported for Chassis IMC Access Policy.

  • SNMP Policy—Configures the SNMP settings for sending fault and alert information by SNMP traps from the managed devices. SNMP Users or SNMP Traps configured previously on the managed devices are removed and replaced with users or traps that you configure in this policy. If you have not added any users or traps in the policy, the existing users or traps on the input/output module (IOM) are removed.

  • Power Policy—Enables the management of power usage for the chassis. This policy allows you to configure the redundancy mode of the Chassis Power Supply Units (PSUs) and allocate power to the chassis. You can view the redundancy health, redundancy mode, input power health, and output power health of the chassis in the properties section of the General tab on the Chassis details view page. For Cisco UCS X9508 Chassis, you can configure Power Save Mode and Dynamic Power Reallocation.

  • Thermal Policy—Allows the user to set the value of the Fan Control Mode for the chassis. The Fan Control Mode controls the speed of the chassis fan to maintain optimal server cooling.

Creating an IMC Access Policy

IMC Access policy allows to provide a VLAN ID and enables to associate it with an IP address from the selected IP pool.

  1. Log in to Cisco Intersight with your Cisco ID and select admin role.

  2. Choose Configure > Policies, and then select Create Policy.

  3. Select IMC Access, and then select Start.

  4. In the General page, configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Essential Information

    Organization

    Select the organization.

    Name

    Enter a name for your policy.

    Set Tags (optional)

    Enter a tag in the key value format.

    Description (optional)

    Enter a short description.

  5. On the Policy Details page, configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Essential Information

    VLAN ID

    Enter the VLAN ID to be used for server access over the inband network. The field value can be between 4 and 4093.

    IPv4 address configuration

    Select to determine the type of network for this policy.

    Note

     

    You can select only IPv4 address configuration or both IPv4 and IPv6 configurations.

    IPv6 address Configuration

    Select to determine the type of network for this policy. You can select only IPv6 address configuration or both IPv4 and IPv6 configurations.

    Important

     

    IPv6 is supported only on UCS-IOM-2408

    IP Pool

    Select IP Pool

    Click to view and select the IP pool list on the right pane.

  6. Click Create.


Note

The IMC Access policy is not supported for Cisco UCS X-Series Direct chassis (UCSX-9508) currently.

Creating an SNMP Policy

The SNMP policy configures the SNMP settings for sending fault and alert information by SNMP traps from the managed devices. This policy supports SNMP versions such as SNMPv1, SNMPv2(includes v2c), and SNMPv3. Any existing SNMP Users or SNMP Traps configured previously on the managed devices are removed and replaced with users or traps that you configure in this policy. If you have not added any users or traps in the policy, the existing users or traps on the input/output module (IOM) are removed.

Using the SNMP Policy you can enable or disable SNMP, specify the access and community strings, and provide the SNMP user details that is used to retrieve data.

  1. Log in to Cisco Intersight with your Cisco ID and select admin role.

  2. Choose Configure > Policies, and then select Create Policy.

  3. Select SNMP, and then select Start.

  4. In the General page, configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Essential Information

    Organization

    Select the organization.

    Name

    Enter a name for your policy.

    Set Tags (optional)

    Enter a tag in the key value format.

    Description (optional)

    Enter a short description.

  5. In the Policy Details page, configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Essential Information

    Enable SNMP

    Displays the state of the SNMP Policy on the endpoint. Enable this option for the endpoint to send SNMP traps to the designated host.

    Access Community String

    Enter the SNMPv1, SNMPv2 community string or the SNMPv3 username. This field allows maximum of 18 characters.

    Note

     

    If the field is empty, it indicates that the SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c users are disabled.

    Trap Community String

    Enter the SNMP community group name used for sending SNMP trap to other devices.

    Note

     

    This field is applicable only for SNMPv2c trap host or destination.

    SNMP Users

    Name

    Enter the SNMP username. This field must have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 31 characters.

    Security Level

    Select the security mechanism for communication between the agent and the manager that include:

    • AuthPriv

    • AuthNoPriv

    Auth Type

    Select SHA as the authorization protocol for authenticating the user

    Note

     

    The MD5 authorization protocol is not supported.

    Auth Password

    Enter the authorization password for the user.

    Auth Password Confirmation

    Enter the authorization password confirmation for the user.

    Privacy Type

    Select AES as the privacy protocol for the user.

    Privacy Password

    Enter the privacy password for the user.

    Privacy Password Confirmation

    Enter the privacy password confirmation for the user.

    SNMP Trap Destinations

    Enable

    Enable this option to allow and deploy the SNMP policy.

    SNMP Version

    Select v2 or v3 as the SNMP version for the trap.

    User

    Select the SNMP user for the trap. You can define maximum of 15 trap users.

    Note

     

    This field is applicable only to SNMPv3.

    Trap Type

    Select the trap type to receive a notification when a trap is received at the destination:

    • Trap

    • Inform

    Destination Address

    Provide the address to which the SNMP trap information can be sent. You are allowed to define maximum of 15 trap destinations.

    Port

    Enter the port number for the server to communicate with trap destination. The range is from 1 to 65535. The default is 162.

  6. Click Create.


Note

SNMP policy is not supported for Cisco UCS X-Series Direct chassis (UCSX-9508) currently.

Creating a Power Policy for Chassis

This policy enables configuration of power redundancy and power allocation for chassis.

  1. Log in to Cisco Intersight with your Cisco ID and select admin role.

  2. Choose Configure > Policies, and then select Create Policy.

  3. Select Power, and then select Start.

  4. On the General page, configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Essential Information

    Organization

    Select the Organization.

    Name

    Enter a name for your policy.

    Set Tags (Optional)

    Enter a tag in the key:value format. For example, Org: IT or Site: APJ.

    Description (Optional)

    Provide a short description

  5. On the Policy Details page, navigate to UCS Chassis tab.

  6. Configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Description

    Power Redundancy

    It sets the redundancy mode of the chassis power supplies. This mode determines the number of PSUs the chassis keeps as redundant.

    The various values that can be set for this mode are:

    Grid— Grid requires two power sources. If one source fails, the surviving power supplies on the other source provides power to the chassis.

    Not Redundant— Power Manager turns on the minimum number of PSUs required to support chassis power requirement. No redundant PSUs are maintained.

    N+1— Power Manager turns on the minimum number of PSUs required to support chassis power requirements and one additional PSU for redundancy.

    Note

     
    N+1 is the default power redundancy mode for the Cisco UCS X9508 chassis, applicable to any Cisco UCS X-Series server or to Cisco UCS X-Series Direct (UCSX-S9108-100G) under the following conditions:

    • When a chassis is being discovered for the first time in a domain.

    • When a previously decommissioned chassis is recommissioned.

    N+2— Power Manager turns on the minimum number of PSUs required to support chassis power requirements and two additional PSUs for redundancy.

    Note

     

    This mode is supported only for Cisco-UCSX-9508 chassis.

    Power Save Mode

    Enable to place additional PSU capacity in Power Save mode, when the requested power is less than the available power.

    Note

     

    This property is supported only on the following:

    • Cisco-UCSX-9508 chassis with the minimum Cisco IMC firmware version of 4.2(1d).

    • Cisco-UCSB-5108 chassis with the minimum Cisco IMC firmware version of 4.3(2a).

    Dynamic Power Rebalancing

    Enable for dynamically reallocating power for the servers.

    When enabled, the power will be rebalanced across various chassis components including blades, Fans, IOMs/IFMs, and XFMs.

    Note

     

    This property is supported only on the following:

    • Cisco-UCSX-9508 chassis with the minimum Cisco IMC firmware version of 4.2(1d).

    • Cisco-UCSB-5108 chassis with the minimum Cisco IMC firmware version of 4.3(2a).

    Extended Power Capacity

    Sets the Extended Power Capacity of the Chassis. When this mode is enabled, power is borrowed from the redundant power supplies which increases the power available to the chassis.

    Note

     

    This property is supported only on Cisco-UCSX-9508 chassis with the minimum Cisco IMC firmware version of 4.2(1d).

    Power Allocation (Watts)

    Allows the user to set the maximum power a chassis can consume.

    The value can range from minimum of system requirement to maximum of available power.

    Deploying a policy with a Power Allocation of 0 will enable the chassis to utilize all available power according to the Power Redundancy mode.

    Note

     

    This property is supported only on the following:

    • Cisco-UCSX-9508 chassis with the minimum Cisco IMC firmware version of 4.2(1d).

    • Cisco-UCSB-5108 chassis with the minimum Cisco IMC firmware version of 4.3(2a).

    Note

    Note: In Not-redundant mode with Power Save mode enabled, if all the PSUs are powered off either simultaneously or nearly simultaneously, it may result in a service interruption or a reboot of the IOM.

    For more information, see Consideration for Non-Redundant Power Mode.

  7. Click Create.

Creating a Thermal Policy

This policy enables controlling the speed of the server fan.


Note

Thermal Policy is not supported for Cisco UCS Standalone M4 servers. For Cisco UCS B-Series and X-Series servers, assign a Thermal Policy at the Chassis Profile level.

  1. Log in to Cisco Intersight with Administrator role.

  2. Choose Configure > Policies, and then select Create Policy.

  3. Select Thermal, and then select Start.

  4. On the General page, configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Description

    Organization

    Select the Organization.

    Name

    Enter a name for your policy.

    Set Tags (Optional)

    Enter a tag in the key:value format. For example, Org: IT or Site: APJ.

    Description (Optional)

    Provide a short description.

  5. On the Policy Details page, configure the following parameters:

    Property

    Description

    Fan Control Mode

    Controls the fan speed of the server.

    Balanced

    The fan runs faster when needed based on the heat generated by the server. When possible, the fan returns to the minimum required speed.

    Balanced mode is the default mode. However, it is not recommended for servers equipped with Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) cards, as these cards can overheat easily.

    Low Power

    The fan runs at slightly lower minimum speeds than the Balanced mode, to consume less power when possible.

    High Power

    The fan is kept at higher speed to emphasize performance over power consumption.

    Note

     

    High Power mode is supported only for UCS X-Series chassis.

    Maximum Power

    The fan is always kept at the maximum speed. This option provides the most cooling and consumes most power.

    Note

     

    Maximum Power mode is supported only for UCS X-Series chassis.

    Acoustic

    The fan speed is reduced to reduce noise levels in acoustic-sensitive environments.

    Note

     

    Acoustic mode is supported only for UCS X-Series chassis.

    Maximum Cooling

    The fan runs at full speed to provide maximum cooling for the server, regardless of ambient temperature.

    Note

     

    Maximum Cooling mode is supported on Cisco UCS C-Series M7 and later servers, running on firmware version 4.3(5.250001) or later.

  6. Click Create.