Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Integrated Management Controller GUI Configuration Guide, Release 2.0

Viewing Overall Server Status

Procedure

Step 1

In the Overall Server Status area of the Navigation pane, click the blue health report link to refresh the Server Summary pane.

Step 2

(Optional)Review the following information in the Server Status area of the Server Summary pane:

Note

The following list shows all possible status fields. The actual fields displayed depend on the type of C-Series server that you are using.

Name

Description

Power State field

The current power state.

Overall Server Status field

The overall status of the server. This can be one of the following:

Memory Test In Progress—The server is performing a self-test of the installed memory. This condition normally occurs during the boot process.
Good
Moderate Fault
Severe Fault

Temperature field

The temperature status. This can be one of the following:

Good
Fault
Severe Fault

You can click the link in this field to view more temperature information.

Processors field

The overall status of the processors. This can be one of the following:

Good
Fault

You can click the link in this field to view more information about the processors.

Note

This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Overall DIMM Status field

The overall status of the memory modules. This can be one of the following:

Good
Fault
Severe Fault

You can click the link in this field to view detailed status information.

Power Supplies field

The overall status of the power supplies. This can be one of the following:

Good
Fault
Severe Fault

You can click the link in this field to view detailed status information.

Fans field

The overall status of the power supplies. This can be one of the following:

Good
Fault
Severe Fault

You can click the link in this field to view detailed status information.

HDD field

The overall status of the hard drives. This can be one of the following:

Good
Fault

You can click the link in this field to view detailed status information.

Note

This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Locator LED field

Whether the locator LEDs are on or off.

Front Locator LED field

Whether the front panel locator LED on the chassis is on or off.

Note

This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Overall Storage Status field

The overall status of all controllers. This can be one of the following:

Good
Moderate Fault
Severe Fault

Viewing a Server Utilization

You can view a server utilization only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click Summary.

Step 3

Review the following information in the Server Utilization area of the Server Summary pane:

Name	Description
Overall Utilization (%) field	The overall realtime utilization of CPU, memory, and IO (input and output) of the system in percentage.
CPU Utilization (%) field	The CPU or computation utilization of the system on all the available CPUs in percentage.
Memory Utilization (%) field	The memory utilization of the system on all the available memory (DIMM) channels in percentage.
IO Utilization (%) field	The IO resource utilization of the system in percentage.

Note

These utilization values are reported as a percentage of the total hardware bandwidth. These values may not match with the values being displayed by the host based resource monitoring software.

Toggling the Locator LED

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Turn On Locator LED. The LED indicator in the Locator LED field lights up and the physical locator LED on the server turns on and blinks.
Step 4	In the Actions area, click Turn Off Locator LED. The locator LED turns off.

Toggling the Front Locator LED for the Chassis

This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Turn On Front Locator LED button. The LED indicator in the Locator LED field lights up and the physical locator LED on the chassis turns on and blinks.
Step 4	In the Actions area, click Turn Off Front Locator LED. The front locator LED turns off.

Toggling the Locator LED for a Hard Drive

This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Sensors.
Step 3	In the Sensors pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 4	In the Storage table, find the hard disk drive (HDD) whose locator LED you want to change.
Step 5	In the LED Status column for that HDD, select the desired locator LED state from the drop-down list. If you select Turn On, the LED status indicator in this column lights up and the physical locator LED on the associated HDD turns on and blinks.

Selecting a Time Zone

Selecting a time zone helps you choose a local time zone so that you can view the local time rather than the default machine time. Cisco IMC Web UI and the CLI provide you options to choose and set a time zone of your choice.

Setting the time zone to your local time will apply the time zone variable to all the services that utilize the system timing. This impacts the logging information and is utilized in the following applications of the Cisco IMC:

Fault summary and fault history logs
Cisco IMC log
rsyslog

When you set a local time, the timestamp on the applications that you can view are updated with the local time that you have chosen.

Selecting a Time zone

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (Cisco IMC) Information area, click Select Timezone. Select Timezone screen appears.
Step 4	In the Select Timezone pop-up screen, mouse over the map and click on the location to select your time zone or choose your time zone from the Timezone drop-down menu.
Step 5	Click Save.

Server Boot Order

Using Cisco IMC, you can configure the order in which the server attempts to boot from available boot device types. In the legacy boot order configuration, Cisco IMC allows you to reorder the device types but not the devices within the device types. With the precision boot order configuration, you can have a linear ordering of the devices. In the web UI or CLI you can change the boot order and boot mode, add multiple devices under each device types, rearrange the boot order, set parameters for each device type.

When you change the boot order configuration, Cisco IMC sends the configured boot order to BIOS the next time that server is rebooted. To implement the new boot order, reboot the server after you make the configuration change. The new boot order takes effect on any subsequent reboot. The configured boot order remains until the configuration is changed again in Cisco IMC or in the BIOS setup.

Note

The actual boot order differs from the configured boot order if either of the following conditions occur:

BIOS encounters issues while trying to boot using the configured boot order.
A user changes the boot order directly through BIOS.
BIOS appends devices that are seen by the host but are not configured from the user.

Note

When you create a new policy using the configure boot order feature, BIOS tries to map this new policy to the devices in the system. It displays the actual device name and the policy name to which it is mapped in the Actual Boot Order area. If BIOS cannot map any device to a particular policy in Cisco IMC, the actual device name is stated as NonPolicyTarget in the Actual Boot Order area.

Note

When you upgrade Cisco IMC to the latest version 2.0(x) for the first time, the legacy boot order is migrated to the precision boot order. During this process, previous boot order configuration is erased and all device types configured before updating to 2.0 version are converted to corresponding precision boot device types and some dummy devices are created for the same device types. you can view these devices in the Configured Boot Order area in the web UI. To view these devices in the CLI, enter show boot-device command. During this the server's actual boot order is retained and it can be viewed under actual boot order option in web UI and CLI.

When you downgrade Cisco IMC prior to 2.0(x) verison the server's last legacy boot order is retained, and the same can be viewed under Actual Boot Order area. For example:

If you configured the server in a legacy boot order in 2.0(x) version, upon downgrade a legacy boot order configuration is retained.
If you configured the server in a precision boot order in 2.0(x), upon downgrade the last configured legacy boot order is retained.

Important:

Boot order configuration prior to 2.0(x) is referred as legacy boot order. If your running version is 2.0(x), then you cannot configure legacy boot order through web UI, but you can configure through CLI and XML API. In the CLI, you can configure it by using set boot-order HDD,PXE command. Even though, you can configure legacy boot order through CLI or XML API, in the web UI this configured boot order is not displayed.
Legacy and precision boot order features are mutually exclusive. You can configure either legacy or precision boot order. If you configure legacy boot order, it disables all the precision boot devices configured. If you configure precision boot order, then it erases legacy boot order configuration.

Configuring the Precision Boot Order

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure server the boot order.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click BIOS.

The BIOS page appears.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Configure Boot Order.

A dialog box with boot order instructions appears.

Step 4

Review the instructions, and then click OK.

The Configure Boot Order dialog box is displayed.

Step 5

In the Configure Boot Order dialog box, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Add Boot Device table

The server boot options. You can add one or more of the following boot device and set parameters of the selected device:

Add Local HDD
Add PXE Boot
Add SAN Boot
Add iSCSI Boot
Add SD Card

Note
This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.
Add USB
Add Virtual Media
Add PCHStorage
Add UEFISHELL

Enable/Disable button

The visibility of a device by BIOS. The state can be one of the following:

Enabled— The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Disabled— The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.

Modify button

Modifies the attributes of the selected devices.

Delete button

Deletes the selected bootable device from the Boot Order table.

Clone button

Copies an existing device setting to a new device.

Re-Apply button

Reapplies the boot order configuration to BIOS when the last configured boot order source displays as BIOS.

Move Up button

Moves the selected device type to a higher priority in the Boot Order table.

Move Down button

Moves the selected device type to a lower priority in the Boot Order table.

Boot Order table

Displays the device types from which this server can boot, in the order in which the boot is attempted.

Save Changes button

Saves the changes to the configured boot order or reapplies a previously configured boot order.

Cisco IMC sends the configured boot order to BIOS the next time that server is rebooted.

Reset Values button

Resets the values of the configured boot order.

Close button

Closes the dialog box without saving any changes or reapplying the existing configuration.

If you choose this option, the actual boot order does not change the next time that server is rebooted.

Step 6

Click Save.

Additional device types might be appended to the actual boot order, depending on what devices you have connected to your server.

What to Do Next

Reboot the server to boot with your new boot order.

Managing a Boot Device

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to add device type to the server boot order.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click BIOS.

Step 3

In the Action area, click Configure Boot Order.

A dialog box with boot order instructions appears.

Step 4

Review the instructions, and then click OK.

The Configure Boot Order dialog box is displayed.

Step 5

In the Configure Boot Order dialog box, from the Add Boot Device table, choose the device that you want add to the boot order.

To add the local HDD device, click Add Local HDD, and update the following parameters:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the device.

Note

Once created, you cannot rename the device.

State drop-down list

The visibility of the device by BIOS. This can be one of the following:

Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot configuration.

Order field

The order of the device in the available list of devices.

Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.

Slot field

The slot in which the device is installed. The range depends on the C-Series servers:

For C220 M4 and C240 M4 servers, enter HBA.
For C460 M4 servers, enter a value within the range 1 - 255, or SAS.
For the other C-Series servers, enter a value within the range 1 - 255, or M.

Add Device button

Adds the device to the Boot Order table.

Cancel button

Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the PXE device, click Add PXE, and update the following parameters:

Name	Description
Name field	The name of the device. This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.
State drop-down list	The visibility of the device by BIOS. The state can be one of the following: Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration. Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Order field	The order of the device in the available list of devices. Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.
Slot field	For C220 M4 and C240 M4 servers, enter a number between 1 and 255, or L, or MLOM. For C3160 servers, enter a value between 1 and 255. For C460M4 servers, enter a value between 1 and 255, or L1, or L2. For the other C-Series servers, enter a value between 0 and 255, or L.
Port field	The port of the slot in which the device is present. Enter a number between 0 and 255.
Add Device button	Adds the device to the Boot Order table.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the SAN boot device, click Add SAN, and update the following parameters:

Name	Description
Name field	The name of the device. This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.
State drop-down list	The visibility of the device by BIOS. The state can be one of the following: Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration. Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Order field	The order of the device in the available list of devices. Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.
Slot field	The slot in which the device is installed. The range depends on the C-Series servers: For C220 M4 and C240 M4 servers, enter a number between 1 and 255, or MLOM. For C460M4 servers, enter a value between 1 and 255, or L1, or L2. For the other C-Series servers, enter a value between 1 and 255.
LUN field	Logical unit in a slot where the device is present. Enter a number between 0 and 255.
Add Device button	Adds the device to the Boot Order table.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the iSCSI boot device, click Add iSCSI, and update the following parameters:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the device.

This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.

State drop-down list

The visibility of the device by BIOS. The state can be one of the following:

Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.

Order field

The order of the device in the available list of devices.

Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.

Slot field

The slot in which the device is installed. The range depends on the C-Series servers:

For C220 M4 and C240 M4 servers, enter a number between 1 and 255, or L, or MLOM.
For C3160 servers, enter a value between 1 and 255.
For C460M4 servers, enter a value between 1 and 255, or L1, or L2.
For the other C-Series servers, enter a value between 1 and 255, or L.

Port field

The port of the slot in which the device is present.

Enter a number between 0 and 255.

Note

In case of a VIC card, use a vNIC instance instead of the port number.

Add Device button

Adds the device to the Boot Order table.

Cancel button

Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the SD card, click Add SD Card, and update the following parameters:

Note

This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Name	Description
Name field	The name of the device. This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.
State drop-down list	The visibility of the device by BIOS. This can be one of the following: Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration. Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot configuration.
Order field	The order of the device in the available list of devices. Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.
Add Device button	Adds the device to the Boot Order table.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the USB device, click Add USB, and update the following parameters:

Name	Description
Name field	The name of the device. This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.
Sub Type drop-down list	The subdevice type under a certain device type. This can be one of the following: CD FDD HDD
State drop-down list	The visibility of the device by BIOS. This can be one of the following: Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration. Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Order field	The order of the device in the available list of devices. Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.
Add Device button	Adds the device to the Boot Order table.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the virtual media, click Virtual Media, and update the following parameters:

Name	Description
Name field	The name of the device. This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.
Sub Type drop-down list	The subdevice type under a certain device type. This could be any one of the following: KVM Mapped DVD Cisco IMC Mapped DVD KVM Mapped HDD Cisco IMC Mapped HDD KVM Mapped FDD
State drop-down list	The visibility of the device by BIOS. The state can be one of the following: Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration. Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Order field	The order of the device in the available list of devices. Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.
Add button	Adds the device to the Boot Order table.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the PCH storage device, click PCH Storage, and update the following parameters:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the device.

This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.

State drop-down list

The visibility of the device by BIOS. This can be one of the following:

Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.

Order field

The order of the device in the available list of devices.

Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.

LUN field

Logical unit in a slot where the device is present.

Enter a number between 0 and 255
SATA in AHCI mode—Enter a value between 1 and 10
SATA in SWRAID mode—Enter 0 for SATA , and enter 1 for SATA

Note

SATA mode is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

Add Device button

Adds the device to the Boot Order table.

Cancel button

Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

To add the UEFI shell device, click Add UEFI Shell, and update the following parameters:

Name	Description
Name field	The name of the device. This name cannot be changed after the device has been created.
State drop-down list	The visibility of the device by BIOS. The state can be one of the following: Enabled—The device is visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration. Disabled—The device is not visible to BIOS in a boot order configuration.
Order field	The order of the device in the available list of devices. Enter between 1 and n, where n is the number of devices.
Add Device button	Adds the device to the Boot Order table.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without saving any changes made while the dialog box was open.

Overview to UEFI Secure Boot

You can use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) secure boot to ensure that all the EFI drivers, EFI applications, option ROM or operating systems prior to loading and execution are signed and verified for authenticity and integrity, before you load and execute the operating system. You can enable this option using either web UI or CLI. When you enable UEFI secure boot mode, the boot mode is set to UEFI mode and you cannot modify the configured boot mode until the UEFI boot mode is disabled.

Note

If you enable UEFI secure boot on a nonsupported OS, on the next reboot, you cannot boot from that particular OS. If you try to boot from the previous OS, an error is reported and recorded the under system software event in the web UI. You must disable the UEFI secure boot option using Cisco IMC to boot from your previous OS.

Important:

Also, if you use an unsupported adapter, an error log event in Cisco IMC SEL is recorded. The error messages is displayed that says:

System Software event: Post sensor, System Firmware error. EFI Load Image Security Violation. [0x5302] was asserted .

UEFI secure boot is supported on the following components:

Components	Types
Supported OS	Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2012 R2
Broadcom PCI adapters	5709 dual and quad port adapters 57712 10GBASE-T adapter 57810 CNA 57712 SFP port
Intel PCI adapters	i350 quad port adapter X520 adapter X540 adapter LOM
QLogic PCI adapters	8362 dual port adapter 2672 dual port adapter
Fusion-io
LSI	LSI MegaRAID SAS 9240-8i LSI MegaRAID SAS 9220-8i LSI MegaRAID SAS 9265CV-8i LSI MegaRAID SAS 9285CV-8e LSI MegaRAID SAS 9285CV-8e LSI MegaRAID SAS 9266-8i LSI SAS2008-8i mezz LSI Nytro card

Enabling UEFI Secure Boot

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click BIOS.

Step 3

In the BIOS Properties area, check UEFI Secure Boot checkbox.

Note

If checked, the boot mode is set to UEFI secure boot. You cannot modify the Configure Boot Mode until UEFI secure boot option is disabled.

If you enable UEFI secure boot on a nonsupported OS, on the next reboot, you cannot boot from that particular OS. If you try to boot from the previous OS, an error is reported and recorded under the system software event in the web UI. You must disable the UEFI secure boot option by using Cisco IMC to boot from your previous OS.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

What to Do Next

Reboot the server to have your configuration boot mode settings take place.

Disabling UEFI Secure Boot

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click BIOS.
Step 3	In the BIOS Properties area, uncheck the UEFI Secure Boot check box.
Step 4	Click Save Changes.

What to Do Next

Reboot the server to have your configuration boot mode settings take place.

Viewing the Actual Server Boot Order

The actual server boot order is the boot order actually used by BIOS when the server last booted. The actual boot order can differ from the boot order configured in Cisco IMC.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click BIOS.

The BIOS page appears.

Step 3

In the Actual Boot Order area of BIOS page, review the list of boot devices in the order actually used by BIOS when the server last booted.

All devices present during the last boot are listed in a linear order. You can expand the device string name to view the attributes of that particular device.

Note

BIOS discovers devices that do not match any configurations in a configured boot order, and lists them as NonPolicyTarget devices in a device list.

Resetting the Server

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Hard Reset Server. A dialog box with the message Hard Reset the Server? appears.
Step 4	Click OK.

Shutting Down the Server

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Shut Down Server. A dialog box with the message Shut Down the Server? appears.
Step 4	Click OK.

Powering On the Server

Note

If the server was powered off by any means other than through Cisco IMC, it will not become active immediately when powered on. The server will remain in standby mode until Cisco IMC completes initialization.

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Power On Server. A dialog box with the message Power on the server? appears.
Step 4	Click OK.

Powering Off the Server

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Power Off Server. A dialog box with the message There is an update available for Chassis Firmware, would you like to continue? appears. Clicking OK powers off the server and updates the system firmware.
Step 4	Click OK.

Power Cycling the Server

Before You Begin

You must log in with user or admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click Summary.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Power Cycle Server. A dialog box with the message Power Cycle the Server? appears.
Step 4	Click OK.

Configuring the Power Restore Policy

The power restore policy determines how power is restored to the server after a chassis power loss.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click Power Policies.

Step 3

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 4

In the work pane, click the Power Policies tab.

Step 5

In the Power Restore Policy area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Power Restore Policy drop-down list

The action to be taken when chassis power is restored after an unexpected power loss. This can be one of the following:

Power Off—The server remains off until it is manually restarted.
Power On—The server is allowed to boot up normally when power is restored. The server can restart immediately or, optionally, after a fixed or random delay.
Restore Last State—The server restarts and the system attempts to restore any processes that were running before power was lost.

Power Delay Type drop-down list

If the selected policy is Power On, the restart can be delayed with this option. This can be one of the following:

fixed—The server restarts after a fixed delay.
random—The server restarts after a random delay.

Note

This option is available only for some C-Series servers.

Power Delay Value field

If a fixed delay is selected, once chassis power is restored and the Cisco IMC has finished rebooting, the system waits for the specified number of seconds before restarting the server.

Enter an integer between 0 and 240.

Note

This option is available only for some C-Series servers.

Step 6

Click Save Changes.

Fan Control Policies

Fan Control Policies enable you to control the fan speed to bring down server power consumption and noise levels. Prior to these fan policies, the fan speed increased automatically when the temperature of any server component exceeded the set threshold. To ensure that the fan speeds were low, the threshold temperatures of components are usually set to high values. While this behavior suited most server configurations, it did not address the following situations:

Maximum CPU performance

For high performance, certain CPUs must be cooled substantially below the set threshold temperature. This required very high fan speeds which resulted in higher power consumption and increased noise levels.
Low power consumption

To ensure the lowest power consumption, fans must run very slowly, and in some cases, stop completely on servers that support it. But slow fan speeds resulted in servers overheating. To avoid this situation, it is necessary to run fans at a speed that is moderately faster than the lowest possible speed.

With the introduction of fan policies, you can determine the right fan speed for the server, based on the components in the server. In addition, it allows you to configure the fan speed to address problems related to maximum CPU performance and low power consumption.

Following are the fan policies that you can choose from:

Balanced

This is the default policy. This setting can cool almost any server configuration, but may not be suitable for servers with PCIe cards, since these cards overheat easily.
Performance

This setting can be used for server configurations where maximum fan speed is required for high performance. With this setting, the fan speeds will run at the same speed or higher speed than that of the Balanced fan policy.
Low Power

This setting is ideal for minimal configuration servers that do not contain any PCIe cards.
High Power

This setting can be used for server configurations that require fan speeds ranging from 60 to 85%. This policy is ideal for servers that contain PCIe cards that easily overheat and have high temperatures. The minimum fan speed set with this policy varies for each server platform, but is approximately in the range of 60 to 85%.
Maximum Power

This setting can be used for server configurations that require extremely high fan speeds ranging between 70% to 100%. This policy is ideal for servers that contain PCIe cards that easily overheat and have extremely high temperatures. The minimum fan speed set with this policy varies for each server platform, but is approximately in the range of 70 to 100%.

Note

Although you set a fan policy in Cisco IMC, the actual speed that the fan runs at is determined by the configuration requirements of the server. For example, if you set the fan policy to Balanced, but the server includes PCIe cards that overheat easily, then the speed of the fans on the server is adjusted automatically to the required minimum fan speed to prevent the overheating. If you have set a fan speed configuration higher than required, the system retains the selected fan speed. The Applied Fan Policy displays the actual fan speed that runs on the server.

The Configuration Status displays the status of the configured fan policy. This can be one of the following:

SUCCESS —The selected fan policy matches the actual fan speed that runs on the server.
PENDING —The configured fan policy is not in effect yet. This can be due to one of the following:
- The server is powered off
- The BIOS POST is not complete
FAN POLICY OVERRIDE—Overrides the specified fan speed with the actual speed determined by the configuration requirements of the server.

Configuring the Fan Policy

You can determine the right fan policy based on the server configuration and server components.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click Power Policies.

Step 3

In the Configured Fan Policy area, select a fan policy from the drop-down list. It can be one of the following:

Name

Description

Fan Policy drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

Balanced—This is the default policy. This setting can cool almost any server configuration, but may not be suitable for servers with PCIe cards as these cards overheat easily.
Performance—This setting can be used for server configurations where maximum fan speed is required for high performance. With this setting, the fan speeds run at the same speed or higher speed than that of the fan speed set with the Balanced fan policy.
Low Power—This setting is ideal for minimal configuration servers that do not contain any PCIe cards.
High Power—This setting can be used for server configurations that require fan speeds ranging from 60% to 85%. This policy is ideal for servers that contain PCIe cards that overheat easily and have high temperatures. The minimum fan speed set with this policy varies for each server, but it is approximately in the range of 50 to 85%.
Maximum Power—This setting can be used for server configurations that required extremely high fan speeds ranging from 70% to 100%. This policy is ideal for servers that contain PCIe cards that overheat easily and have very high temperatures. The minimum fan speed set with this policy varies for each server, but it is approximately in the range of 70 to 100%.

Applied Fan Policy field

The actual speed of the fan that runs on the server.

When the configured fan policy is not in effect, it displays N/A. The configured fan policy takes effect when the server is powered on and the POST is complete.

Configuration Status field

The configuration status of the fan policy. This can be one of the following:

SUCCESS —The fan speed set by you matches the actual fan speed that runs on the server.
PENDING —The configured fan policy is not in effect yet. This can be due to one of the following:
- The server is powered off
- The BIOS POST is not complete
FAN POLICY OVERRIDE—Overrides the specified fan speed with the actual speed determined by the configuration requirements of the server.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

PID Catalog Overview

Currently the product ID (PID) catalog on a standalone rack server is updated only with a new Cisco IMC image, or a new container. This means that even if a new device is added to the server, the PID catalog remains outdated until a new Cisco IMC image is produced.

Effective with this release, you can update just the PID catalog, independently, without having to update the Cisco IMC or container. You can download a signed PID update package using FTP, TFTP, SFTP, HTTP, and SCP. Once downloaded, the signed PID update package is verified, and a new 'pid-update-catalog.xml' is generated. This XML file replaces the existing catalog.xml when you use the show* - pid command.

The PID catalog update involves the following steps:

Creation of PID update package
Security and signing of the package
Secure generic update of the catalog

Uploading a PID Catalog
Activating a PID Catalog

Uploading a PID Catalog

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to upload a PID catalog.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory pane, click the PID Catalog tab.

Step 4

In the Actions area, click the Upload PID Catalog link.

The Upload PID Catalog dialog box appears.

Depending on the location of the catalog file, choose one of the options.

Step 5

In the Upload PID Catalog from Local File dialog box, click Browse and use the Choose File to Upload dialog box to select the catalog file that you want to upload.

Name	Description
File field	The PID catalog file that you want to upload.
Browse button	Opens a dialog box that allows you to navigate to the appropriate file.

Step 6

In the Upload PID Catalog from Remote Server dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Upload PID Catalog from Remote Server drop-down list

The remote server type. This can be one of the following:

TFTP
FTP
SFTP
SCP
HTTP

Server IP/Hostname field

The IP address or hostname of the server on which the PID catalog information is available. Depending on the setting in the Upload PID Catalog from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

Path and Filename field

The path and filename of the catalog file on the remote server.

Username field

Username of the remote server.

Password field

Password of the remote server.

Upload button

Uploads the selected PID catalog.

Note

If you chose SCP or SFTP as the remote server type while performing this action, a pop-up window is displayed with the message Server (RSA) key fingerprint is <server_finger_print _ID> Do you wish to continue?. Click Yes or No depending on the authenticity of the server fingerprint.

The fingerprint is based on the host's public key and helps you to identify or verify the host you are connecting to.

Cancel button

Closes the wizard without making any changes to the firmware versions stored on the server.

Activating a PID Catalog

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to activate a PID catalog.
The Upload Status of a PID catalog must be displayed as Yes.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory pane, click the PID Catalog tab.

Step 4

In the Actions area, click the Activate PID Catalog link.

A confirmation box appears. Select Yes or No to activate the PID catalog or cancel activation.

Note

The Activate PID Catalog link is greyed out when you log on to the system for the first time. It gets activated only after you upload a PID catalog to the server.

Cisco Flexible Flash

Some C-Series Rack-Mount Servers support an internal Secure Digital (SD) memory card for storage of server software tools and utilities. The SD card is hosted by the Cisco Flexible Flash storage adapter.

The SD storage is available to Cisco IMC as a single hypervisor (HV) partition configuration. Prior versions had four virtual USB drives. Three were preloaded with Cisco UCS Server Configuration Utility, Cisco drivers and Cisco Host Upgrade Utility, and the fourth as user-installed hypervisor. A single HV partition configuration is also created when you upgrade to the latest version of Cisco IMC or downgrade to the prior version, and reset the configuration.

For information about the Cisco software utilities and packages, see the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap at this URL:

http://www.cisco.com/go/unifiedcomputing/c-series-doc

Card Management Feature in the Cisco Flexible Flash Controller

The Cisco Flexible Flash controller supports management of both single and two SD cards as a RAID-1 pair. With the introduction of card management, you can perform the following tasks:

Note

If you want to upgrade from version 1.4(5e) to 1.5(4) or higher versions, you must first upgrade to version1.5(2) and then upgrade to a higher version of Cisco IMC.
Reset the Cisco Flexible Flash controller to load the latest Flex Flash firmware after every Cisco IMC firmware upgrade.

Action	Description
Reset Cisco Flex Flash	Allows you to reset the controller.
Reset Partition Defaults	Allows you to reset the configuration in the selected slot to the default configuration.
Synchronize Card Configuration	Allows you to retain the configuration for an SD card that supports firmware version 253 and later.
Configure Operational Profile	Allows you to configure the SD cards on the selected Cisco Flexible Flash controller.

RAID Partition Enumeration

Non-RAID partitions are always enumerated from the primary card and the enumeration does not depend on the status of the primary card.

Following is the behavior of the RAID partition enumeration when there are two cards in the Cisco Flexible Flash controller:

Scenario

Behavior

Single card

RAID partitions are enumerated if the card is healthy, and if the mode is either Primary or Secondary-active.

Dual paired cards

RAID partitions are enumerated if one of the cards is healthy.

When only one card is healthy, all read/write operations occur on this healthy card. You must use UCS SCU to synchronize the two RAID partitions.

Dual unpaired cards

If this scenario is detected when the server is restarting, then neither one of the RAID partitions is enumerated.

If this scenario is detected when the server is running, when a user connects a new SD card, then the cards are not managed by the Cisco Flexible Flash controller. This does not affect the host enumeration. You must pair the cards to manage them. You can pair the cards using the Reset Partition Defaults or Synchronize Card Configuration options.

Upgrading from Single Card to Dual Card Mirroring with FlexFlash

You can upgrade from a single card mirroring to dual card mirroring with FlexFlash in one of the following methods:

Add an empty FlexFlash to the server, and then upgrade the SD firmware version from prior versions to the latest version

For information on how to complete this task, see
Upgrade the FlexFlash firmware to the latest version and then add an empty card to the server.

Prior to using either of these methods, you must keep in mind the following guidelines:

To create RAID1 mirroring, the empty card that you want to add to the server must be of the exact size of the card that is already in the server. Identical card size is a must to set up RAID1 mirroring.
Ensure that the card with valid data in the Hypervisor partition is marked as the primary healthy card. You can determine this state either in the Cisco IMC GUI or from the Cisco IMC CLI. To mark the state of the card as primary healthy, you can either use the Reset Configuration option in the Cisco IMC GUI or run the reset-config command in the Cisco IMC CLI. When you reset the configuration of a particular card, the secondary card is marked as secondary active unhealthy.
In a Degraded RAID health state all read-write transactions are done on the healthy card. In this scenario, data mirroring does not occur. Data mirroring occurs only in the Healthy RAID state.
Data mirroring is only applicable to RAID partitions. In the C-series servers, only Hypervisor partitions operate in the RAID mode.
If you have not configured SD cards for use with prior versions, then upgrading to the latest version loads the latest 253 firmware and enumerates all four partitions to the host.

While upgrading versions of the FlexFlash, you may see the following error message:

Unable to communicate with Flexible Flash controller: operation ffCardsGet, status CY_AS_ERROR_INVALID_RESPONSE”

In addition, the card status may be shown as missing. This error occurs because you accidently switched to an alternate release or a prior version, such as 1.4(x). In this scenario, you can either revert to the latest version, or you can switch back to the FlexFlash 1.4(x) configuration. If you choose to revert to the latest Cisco IMC version, then the Cisco FlexFlash configuration remains intact. If you choose to switch back to the prior version configuration, you must reset the Flexflash configuration. In this scenario, you must be aware of the following:

If multiple cards are present, and you revert to a prior version, then the second card cannot be discovered or managed.
If the card type is SD253, then you must run the reset-config command twice from the Cisco IMC CLI - once to reload the old firmware on the controller and to migrate SD253 to SD247 type, and the second time to start the enumeration.

Configuring the Flexible Flash Controller Properties

After you upgrade to the latest verison of Cisco IMC or downgrade to a prior version, and reset the configuration, the server will access HV partition only.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives, or power down the host prior to starting this task

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.

Step 3

In the Controller Info tab, click Configure Operational Profile.

Step 4

In the Operational Profile dialog box, update the following fields:

Table 1 Operational Profile Fields for C220, C240, C22, C24, C460 M4

Name

Description

Controller field

The system-defined name of the selected Cisco Flexible Flash controller.

This name cannot be changed.

Virtual Drives Enabled field

The virtual drives that can be made available to the server as a USB-style drive.

A check box against single HV partition is displayed.

Note

In the prior versions, four check boxes against each virtual drive are displayed. If you have created single partition and downgraded to prior version of Cisco IMC, other virtual drives are displayed even though only HV is valid.

RAID Primary Member field

The slot in which the primary RAID member resides.

RAID Secondary Role field

The value must be secondary-active.

I/O Read Error Threshold field

The number of read errors that are permitted while accessing the Cisco Flexible Flash card. If the number of read errors exceeds this threshold on a card, the card is marked unhealthy.

To specify a read error threshold, enter an integer between 1 and 255. To specify that the card should never be disabled regardless of the number of errors encountered, enter 0 (zero).

I/O Write Error Threshold field

The number of write errors that are permitted while accessing the Cisco Flexible Flash card. If the number of write errors exceeds this threshold on a card, the card is marked unhealthy.

To specify a write error threshold, enter an integer between 1 and 255. To specify that the card should never be disabled regardless of the number of errors encountered, enter 0 (zero).

Clear Errors check box

If checked, the read/write errors are cleared when you click Save Changes.

Note

The following table is valid only for C220 M4 and C240 M4 servers.
In the Mirror mode, Slot1 Read/Write Error Threshold is applicable to both the SD cards, if two cards are present.
In the Util Mode, Slot1 Read/Write Error Threshold is applicable to the card in slot 1 and Slot2 Read/Write Error Threshold is applicable to the card in slot 2.

Table 2 Operational Profile Fields for C220 M4, C240 M4
Name	Description
Controller field	The system-defined name of the selected Cisco Flexible Flash controller. This name cannot be changed.
Firmware Operating Mode field	The current firmware operating mode. This can be one of the following: Mirror Util
SLOT-1 Read Error Threshold field	The number of read errors that are permitted while accessing Slot 1 of the Cisco Flexible Flash card. If the number of read errors exceeds this threshold on a card, the card is marked unhealthy. To specify a read error threshold, enter an integer between 1 and 255. To specify that the card should never be disabled regardless of the number of errors encountered, enter `0` (zero).
SLOT-1 Write Error Threshold field	The number of write errors that are permitted while accessing Slot 1 of the Cisco Flexible Flash card. If the number of write errors exceeds this threshold on a card, the card is marked unhealthy. To specify a write error threshold, enter an integer between 1 and 255. To specify that the card should never be disabled regardless of the number of errors encountered, enter `0` (zero).
SLOT-2 Read Error Threshold field	The number of read errors that are permitted while accessing Slot 2 of the Cisco Flexible Flash card. If the number of read errors exceeds this threshold on a card, the card is marked unhealthy. To specify a read error threshold, enter an integer between 1 and 255. To specify that the card should never be disabled regardless of the number of errors encountered, enter `0` (zero).
SLOT-2 Write Error Threshold field	The number of write errors that are permitted while accessing Slot 2 of the Cisco Flexible Flash card. If the number of write errors exceeds this threshold on a card, the card is marked unhealthy. To specify a write error threshold, enter an integer between 1 and 255. To specify that the card should never be disabled regardless of the number of errors encountered, enter `0` (zero).

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

Configuring the Flexible Flash Controller Firmware Mode

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives, or power down the host prior to starting this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 2	On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Configure Firmware Mode.
Step 4	Click OK in the confirmation box. Switches the controller firmware mode from the current firmware mode to the other.

Configuring the Flexible Flash Controller Cards

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives, or power down the host prior to starting this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Configure Cards. Configure Cards dialog box appears.

Step 4

In the Configure Cards dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Mirror radio button

Select this option to configure the card to RAID 1 mirror configuration. When you configure the cards in the mirror mode, the following situations occur:

The card in the selected slot is marked as mirror-primary healthy.
The card in the other slot is marked as mirror-secondary unhealthy.
One RAID partition is created. The RAID status is in degraded state until the sync is complete.
The card read/write error counts and read/write threshold are set to 0.
Host connectivity could be disrupted.

Enter the following:

Mirror Partition Name field—The name that you want to assign to the partition.

Auto Sync checkbox—If selected, data from the selected primary card will sync automatically with the secondary card.

Note

There must be two cards for you to choose this option.
If this option is selected, data on the secondary card is erased and overwritten by the data on the primary card.
The status of this is displayed under the Physical Driver Info tab.

Select Primary Card drop-down—Slot that you want to set as the primary card. This can be one of the following:
- Slot1
- Slot2

Util radio button

Select this option to configure the card in Util mode. When you configure the cards in the Util mode, the following situations occur:

The card in the selected slot creates four partitions that has a partition each for the utilities: SCU, HUU, Drivers and one partition that can be used by the user and the card is marked healthy.
The card in the other slot, if it exists, creates a single partition and the card is marked healthy.
The card read/write error counts and read/write threshold are set to 0.
Host connectivity could be disrupted.
The configured cards will be paired.

Enter the following:

User Partition Name field—The name that you want to assign to the fourth partition of the Util card.
Non Util Card Partition Name field—The name that you want to assign to the single partition on the second card, if it exists.
Select Util Card drop-down—Slot that you want to set for Util. This can be one of the following:
- Slot1
- Slot2
- None—Applicable only when the server has one SD card.

Step 5

Click Save.

The cards are configured in the chosen mode.

Booting from the Flexible Flash Card

You can specify a bootable virtual drive on the Cisco Flexible Flash card that overrides the default boot priority the next time that the server is restarted, regardless of the default boot order defined for the server. The specified boot device is used only once. After the server has rebooted, this setting is ignored. You can choose a bootable virtual drive only if a Cisco Flexible Flash card is available. Otherwise, the server uses a default boot order.

Note

Before you reboot the server, ensure that the virtual drive that you select is enabled on the Cisco Flexible Flash card. Go to the Storage tab, choose the card, and then go to the Virtual Drive Info subtab.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click BIOS.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Configure Boot Override Priority. The Boot Override Priority dialog box appears.
Step 4	From the Boot Override Priority drop-down list, choose a virtual drive to boot from.
Step 5	Click Apply.

Resetting the Flexible Flash Controller

In normal operation, it should not be necessary to reset the Cisco Flexible Flash. We recommend that you perform this procedure only when explicitly directed to do so by a technical support representative.

Note

This operation will disrupt traffic to the virtual drives on the Cisco Flexible Flash controller.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Procedure

Step 1	On the Storage Adapters pane, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 2	In the Cisco FlexFlash pane, click the Controller Info tab.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Reset FlexFlash Controller.
Step 4	Click OK to confirm.

Enabling Virtual Drives

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 2	On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 3	Click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
Step 4	In the Virtual Drive Info tab, click Enable/Disable Virtual Drive(s).
Step 5	In the Enable/Disable VD(s) dialog box, select the virtual drives that you want to enable.
Step 6	Click Save. The selected virtual drives are enabled to the host.

Erasing Virtual Drives

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 2	On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 3	Click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
Step 4	In the Virtual Drive Info tab, click Erase Virtual Drive(s).
Step 5	In the Erase Virtual Drive(s) dialog box, select the virtual drives that you want to erase.
Step 6	Click Save. Data on the selected virtual drives is erased.

Syncing Virtual Drives

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.
Cards must be in mirror mode.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 2	On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 3	Click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
Step 4	In the Virtual Drive Info tab, click Sync Virtual Drive.
Step 5	Click OK in the confirmation dialog box. Syncs the virtual drive hypervisor with the primary card.

Adding an ISO Image Configuration

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.
The cards must be configured in Util mode.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives, or power down the host prior to starting this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.

Step 3

Click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drive Info tab, select the virtual drive for which you want to add an image, click Add Image.

Step 5

In the Add Image dialog box, update the following fields:

Name	Description
Volume field	The identity of the image mounted for mapping. This can be one of the following: SCU HUU Drivers
Mount Type drop-down list	The type of mapping. This can be one of the following: NFS—Network File System. CIFS—Common Internet File System.
Remote Share field	The URL of the image to be mapped. The format depends on the selected Mount Type: NFS—Use `serverip:/share path`. CIFS—Use `//serverip/share path`.
Remote File field	The name and location of the .iso file in the remote share. Following are the example of remote share files: NFS — `/softwares/ucs-cxx-scu-3.1.9.iso` CIFS — `/softwares/ucs-cxx-scu-3.1.9.iso`
Mount Options field	Industry-standard mount options entered in a comma separated list. The options vary depending on the selected Mount Type. If you are using NFS, leave the field blank or enter one or more of the following: `ro` `rw` `nolock` `noexec` `soft` `port=VALUE` `timeo=VALUE` `retry=VALUE` If you are using CIFS, leave the field blank or enter one or more of the following: `soft` `nounix` `noserverino`
User Name field	The username for the specified Mount Type, if required.
Password field	The password for the selected username, if required.

Step 6

Click Save.

Updating an ISO Image

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.
This task is available only when the cards are configured in Util mode.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives, or power down the host prior to starting this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.

Step 3

Click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drive Info tab, select the virtual drive on which you want to update the image, click Update Image.

Note

SCU and HUU update may take up to an hour and the drivers update may take up to five hours.

Unmapping an ISO Image

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.
Cisco Flexible Flash must be supported by your platform.

Note

This task results in the host re-scanning all the virtual drives, and a loss of virtual drive connectivity. We recommend that you configure the Cisco Flexible Flash controller properties before using any virtual drives, or power down the host prior to starting this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 2	On the Storage tab, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 3	Click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
Step 4	In the Virtual Drive Info tab, select the virtual drive for which you want to un map the image, click Unmap Image.

Resetting the Cisco Flexible Flash Card Configuration

When you reset the configuration of the slots in the Cisco Flexible Flash card, the following situations occur:

The card in the selected slot is marked as primary healthy.
The card in the other slot is marked as secondary-active unhealthy.
One RAID partition is created.
The card read/write error counts and read/write threshold are set to 0.
Host connectivity could be disrupted.

If you upgrade to the latest version and select reset configuration option, a single hypervisor (HV) partition is created, and the existing four partition configurations are erased. This may also result in data loss. You can retrieve the lost data only if you have not done any data writes into HV partition, and downgrade to prior version.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Storage Adapters pane, click Cisco FlexFlash.

Step 2

In the Cisco FlexFlash pane, click the Controller Info tab.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Reset Partition Defaults.

Step 4

In the Reset Partition Defaults dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Slot radio button

Select the slot for which you want to mark the card as primary healthy.

The card in the other slot, if any, is marked as secondary-active unhealthy.

Reset Partition Defaults button

Resets the configuration of the selected slot.

Cancel button

Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

Step 5

Click Yes.

Retaining Configuration of the Cisco Flexible Flash Cards

You can retain the configuration for an FlexFlash that supports firmware version 253 and later card in the following situations:

There are two unpaired FlexFlash
The server is operating from a single FlexFlash, and an unpaired FlexFlash is in the other slot.
One FlexFlash supports firmware version 253, and the other FlexFlash is unpartitioned.

When you retain the configuration, the following situations occur:

The configuration for the FlexFlash in the selected slot is copied to the other card.
The card in the selected slot is marked as primary healthy.
The card in the secondary slot is marked as secondary-active unhealthy.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Storage Adapters pane, click Cisco FlexFlash.

Step 2

In the Cisco FlexFlash pane, click the Controller Info tab.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Synchronize Card Configuration.

Step 4

In the Synchronize Card Configuration dialog box, update the following fields:

Name	Description
Slot radio button	Select the slot for which you want the configuration retained. The configuration is copied from the selected slot to the card in the other slot, and the card in the selected slot is marked as primary healthy.
Synchronize Card Configuration button	Copies the configuration from the selected card only if the selected card is of type SD253 and has single HV configuration.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

Step 5

Click Yes.

Adding an SD Card and Upgrading the Firmware to 1.5(4) Version

Procedure

Step 1	Insert the empty SD card into SLOT-2 of the server.
Step 2	Upgrade the Cisco IMC software version to release 1.5(4) and reboot Cisco IMC.
Step 3	In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 4	On the Storage Adapters pane, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 5	In the Controller Info tab, determine the state displayed for the Internal State field. The state should be displayed as WAIT_ON_USER.
Step 6	Click Reset FlexFlash Controller. Important: This option resets the partition enumeration to the host. Before you reset the FlexFlash controller, ensure that the SD card is not used from the host. When you reset the FlexFlash controller, the card in SLOT-1 is automatically marked as primary healthy, and the empty card in SLOT-2 is marked as secondary active unhealthy card. RAID health is indicated as Degraded. In this situation, all data transactions are written on the healthy card and data mirroring does not occur
Step 7	(Optional)To change the RAID health to healthy, launch Cisco UCS Server Configuration Utility (Cisco UCS SCU) on the host, and click Hypervisor Sync. This option mirrors data from the healthy card to the unhealthy card.

Upgrading Cisco IMC and SD Card Firmware Versions

SD storage is available to Cisco IMC version 1.5(4) as a single HV partition configuration, and it support firmware version 257. Prior releases had four-partition configuration, and supported firmware versions 247, 248, and 253. Cisco IMC version 1.5(4) supports all the SD card firmware versions prior to 257. For SD card with firmware version 253 and later, if you select Reset FlexFlash Controller option, the firmware version of these cards are upgraded to 257 automatically.

Upgrading from Cisco IMC Version 1.4(x) to 1.5(4)

The partition layout for the release 1.4(x) is significantly different from the release 1.5(4) so, automatic upgrades from Cisco IMC version 1.4(x) to 1.5(4) is not possible. If you upgrade Cisco IMC version 1.4(x) to 1.5(4) directly, then you are prompted to select Reset Partition Default option. If you select this option, a single HV partition configuration is created. This may result in data loss stored in the SD card. To retain the four partition configuration and the data stored on the SD card, Cisco recommends that you first upgrade the Cisco IMC version to 1.5(2) or 1.5(3) and then upgrade to 1.5(4) version. Select Reset FlexFlash Controller option.

Upgrading Cisco IMC, SD Card Firmware, and Adding a New SD Card

Before You Begin

The size of the empty card that you are adding should match the size of the existing card to successfully create a RAID1 mirror.
Ensure that the SD card with the valid data in the HyperVisor partition is marked as a primary healthy card. To mark a specific SD card as healthy, you can click Reset Partition Defaults. This results in the other card being marked as secondary active unhealthy card.

Procedure

Step 1	Upgrade the Cisco IMC software version to release 1.5(4) and reboot Cisco IMC.
Step 2	In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
Step 3	On the Storage Adapters pane, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 4	In the Controller Info tab, determine the state displayed for the Internal State field. The state should be displayed as WAIT_ON_USER.
Step 5	Click Reset FlexFlash Controller. Important: This option resets the partition enumeration to the host. Before you reset the FlexFlash controller, ensure that the SD card is not used from the host. When you reset the FlexFlash controller, the card in SLOT-1 is automatically marked as primary healthy, and the empty card in SLOT-2 is marked as secondary active unhealthy card. RAID health is indicated as Degraded. In this situation, all data transactions are written on the healthy card and data mirroring does not occur
Step 6	On the Storage Adapters pane, click Cisco FlexFlash.
Step 7	In the Controller Info tab, click Reset Partition Defaults, and select SLOT-1 are the primary slot. The card in SLOT-1 is automatically marked as primary healthy, and the empty card in SLOT-2 is marked as secondary active unhealthy card. RAID health is indicated as Degraded
Step 8	(Optional)To change the RAID health to healthy, launch Cisco UCS Server Configuration Utility (Cisco UCS SCU) on the host, and click Hypervisor Sync. This option mirrors data from the healthy card to the unhealthy card.

DIMM Black Listing

In Cisco IMC, the state of the Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM) is based on SEL event records. A DIMM is marked bad if the BIOS encounters a non-correctable memory error or correctable memory error with 16000 error counts during memory test execution during BIOS post. If a DIMM is marked bad, it is considered a non-functional device.

If you enable DIMM blacklisting, Cisco IMC monitors the memory test execution messages and blacklists any DIMM that encounters memory errors at any given point of time in the DIMM SPD data. This allows the host to map out those DIMMs.

DIMMs are mapped out or blacklisted only when Uncorrectable errors occur. When a DIMM gets blacklisted, other DIMMs in the same channel are ignored or disabled, which means that the DIMM is no longer considered bad.

Note

DIMMs do not get mapped out or blacklisted for 16000 Correctable errors.

Enabling DIMM Black Listing

Before You Begin

You must be logged in as an administrator.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.
Step 2	In the Compute menu, select a server.
Step 3	In the work pane, click the Inventory tab.
Step 4	In the Memory pane's DIMM Black Listing area, click the Enable DIMM Black List check box.

Configuring Main BIOS Settings

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click BIOS.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Configure BIOS.

Step 4

In the Configure BIOS Parameters dialog box, click the Main tab.

Step 5

Specify whether the server should be rebooted after you save your changes.

If you want your changes applied automatically after you click Save Changes, check the Reboot Host Immediately check box. Cisco IMC immediately reboots the server and applies your changes.

If you want to apply your changes at a later time, clear the Reboot Host Immediately check box. Cisco IMC stores the changes and applies them the next time the server reboots.

Note

If there are existing BIOS parameter changes pending, Cisco IMC automatically overwrites the stored values with the current settings when you click Save Changes.

Step 6

In the Main tab, update the BIOS settings fields.

The BIOS parameters available depend on the model of the server that you are using. For descriptions and information about the options for each BIOS setting, see:

BIOS Parameters by Server Model

Step 7

(Optional)You can reset the parameters or restore the default values using the buttons at the bottom of the Configure BIOS Parameters dialog box.

The available options are:

Name	Description
Save Changes button	Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs and closes the dialog box. If the Reboot Host Immediately check box is checked, the server is rebooted immediately and the new BIOS settings go into effect. Otherwise the changes are saved until the server is manually rebooted.
Reset Values button	Restores the values for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs to the settings that were in effect when this dialog box was first opened.
Restore Defaults button	Sets the BIOS parameters on all three tabs to their default settings.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

Important:

The buttons in this dialog box affect all BIOS parameters on all available tabs, not just the parameters on the tab that you are viewing.

Step 8

Click Save Changes.

Configuring Advanced BIOS Settings

Note

Depending on your installed hardware, some configuration options described in this topic may not appear.

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click BIOS.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Configure BIOS.

Step 4

In the Configure BIOS Parameters dialog box, click the Advanced tab.

Step 5

Specify whether the server should be rebooted after you save your changes.

If you want your changes applied automatically after you click Save Changes, check the Reboot Host Immediately check box. Cisco IMC immediately reboots the server and applies your changes.

If you want to apply your changes at a later time, clear the Reboot Host Immediately check box. Cisco IMC stores the changes and applies them the next time the server reboots.

Note

If there are existing BIOS parameter changes pending, Cisco IMC automatically overwrites the stored values with the current settings when you click Save Changes.

Step 6

In the Advanced tab, update the BIOS settings fields.

The BIOS parameters available depend on the model of the server that you are using. For descriptions and information about the options for each BIOS setting, see:

BIOS Parameters by Server Model

Step 7

(Optional)You can reset the parameters or restore the default values using the buttons at the bottom of the Configure BIOS Parameters dialog box.

The available options are:

Name	Description
Save Changes button	Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs and closes the dialog box. If the Reboot Host Immediately check box is checked, the server is rebooted immediately and the new BIOS settings go into effect. Otherwise the changes are saved until the server is manually rebooted.
Reset Values button	Restores the values for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs to the settings that were in effect when this dialog box was first opened.
Restore Defaults button	Sets the BIOS parameters on all three tabs to their default settings.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

Important:

The buttons in this dialog box affect all BIOS parameters on all available tabs, not just the parameters on the tab that you are viewing.

Step 8

Click Save Changes.

Configuring Server Management BIOS Settings

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click BIOS.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Configure BIOS.

Step 4

In the Configure BIOS Parameters dialog box, click the Server Management tab.

Step 5

Specify whether the server should be rebooted after you save your changes.

If you want your changes applied automatically after you click Save Changes, check the Reboot Host Immediately check box. Cisco IMC immediately reboots the server and applies your changes.

If you want to apply your changes at a later time, clear the Reboot Host Immediately check box. Cisco IMC stores the changes and applies them the next time the server reboots.

Note

If there are existing BIOS parameter changes pending, Cisco IMC automatically overwrites the stored values with the current settings when you click Save Changes.

Step 6

In the Server Management tab, update the BIOS settings fields.

The BIOS parameters available depend on the model of the server that you are using. For descriptions and information about the options for each BIOS setting, see:

BIOS Parameters by Server Model

Step 7

(Optional)You can reset the parameters or restore the default values using the buttons at the bottom of the Configure BIOS Parameters dialog box.

The available options are:

Name	Description
Save Changes button	Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs and closes the dialog box. If the Reboot Host Immediately check box is checked, the server is rebooted immediately and the new BIOS settings go into effect. Otherwise the changes are saved until the server is manually rebooted.
Reset Values button	Restores the values for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs to the settings that were in effect when this dialog box was first opened.
Restore Defaults button	Sets the BIOS parameters on all three tabs to their default settings.
Cancel button	Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

Important:

The buttons in this dialog box affect all BIOS parameters on all available tabs, not just the parameters on the tab that you are viewing.

Step 8

Click Save Changes.

Entering BIOS Setup

Before You Begin

The server must be powered on.
You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click BIOS.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Enter BIOS Setup.
Step 4	Click Enable. Enables enter BIOS setup. On restart, the server enters the BIOS setup.

Restoring BIOS Manufacturing Custom Defaults

In instances where the components of the BIOS no longer function as desired, you can restore the BIOS set up tokens and parameters to the customized manufacturing default values.

Note

This action is only available for some C-Series servers.

Before You Begin

The server must be powered off.
You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure

Step 1	In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
Step 2	On the Server tab, click BIOS.
Step 3	In the Actions area, click Restore Manufacturing Custom Defaults.
Step 4	Click OK.

Bias-Free Language

Results

Chapter: Managing the Server

Managing the Server

Viewing Overall Server Status

Viewing a Server Utilization

Toggling the Locator LED

Toggling the Front Locator LED for the Chassis

Toggling the Locator LED for a Hard Drive

Selecting a Time Zone

Selecting a Time zone

Server Boot Order

Configuring the Precision Boot Order

Managing a Boot Device

Overview to UEFI Secure Boot

Enabling UEFI Secure Boot

Disabling UEFI Secure Boot

Viewing the Actual Server Boot Order

Resetting the Server

Shutting Down the Server

Powering On the Server

Powering Off the Server

Power Cycling the Server

Configuring the Power Restore Policy

Fan Control Policies

Configuring the Fan Policy

PID Catalog Overview

Uploading a PID Catalog

Activating a PID Catalog

Cisco Flexible Flash

Card Management Feature in the Cisco Flexible Flash Controller

RAID Partition Enumeration

Upgrading from Single Card to Dual Card Mirroring with FlexFlash

Configuring the Flexible Flash Controller Properties

Configuring the Flexible Flash Controller Firmware Mode

Configuring the Flexible Flash Controller Cards

Booting from the Flexible Flash Card

Resetting the Flexible Flash Controller

Enabling Virtual Drives

Erasing Virtual Drives

Syncing Virtual Drives

Adding an ISO Image Configuration

Updating an ISO Image

Unmapping an ISO Image

Resetting the Cisco Flexible Flash Card Configuration

Retaining Configuration of the Cisco Flexible Flash Cards

Adding an SD Card and Upgrading the Firmware to 1.5(4) Version

Upgrading Cisco IMC and SD Card Firmware Versions

Upgrading Cisco IMC, SD Card Firmware, and Adding a New SD Card

DIMM Black Listing

Enabling DIMM Black Listing

Configuring Main BIOS Settings

Configuring Advanced BIOS Settings

Configuring Server Management BIOS Settings

Entering BIOS Setup

Restoring BIOS Manufacturing Custom Defaults

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