Chapter 1. Overview

Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers

Overview of the Server Software

Cisco Integrated Management Controller

Overview of the Cisco IMC User Interface

Cisco IMC Home Page

Navigation and Work Panes

Toolbar

Cisco Integrated Management Controller Online Help Overview

Logging into Cisco IMC

Logging out of Cisco IMC

Chapter 2. Installing the Server OS

OS Installation Methods

KVM Console

Installing an OS Using the KVM Console

PXE Installation Servers

Installing an OS Using a PXE Installation Server

Booting an Operating System from a USB Port

Chapter 3. Managing Chassis

Viewing Chassis Summary

Viewing Power Supply Properties

Viewing Cisco VIC Adapter Properties

Viewing SAS Expander Properties

Enabling 6G or 12G Mixed Mode on a SAS Expander

Viewing Storage Properties

Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Chapter 4. Managing the Server

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

Configuring a Server to Boot With a One-Time Boot Device

Creating a Server Asset Tag

Power Capping

Enabling Power Characterization

Enabling Power Capping

Power Profiles

Configuring Standard Power Profiles Settings

Configuring Advanced Power Profile Settings

Resetting Power Profiles to Default

Power Monitoring

Viewing Power Monitoring Summary

Viewing the Power Statistics in a Chart

Downloading Power Statistics and Server Utilization Data

Configuring the Power Restore Policy

Configuring the Fan Policy

DIMM Black Listing

Enabling DIMM Black Listing

Configuring Main BIOS Settings

Configuring Advanced BIOS Settings

Configuring Server Management BIOS Settings

Entering BIOS Setup

Clearing the BIOS CMOS

Restoring BIOS Manufacturing Custom Settings

BIOS Profiles

Uploading a BIOS Profile

Activating a BIOS Profile

Deleting a BIOS Profile

Backing up a BIOS Profile

Viewing BIOS Profile Details

Chapter 5. Viewing Server Properties

Viewing CPU Properties

Viewing Memory Properties

Viewing PCI Adapter Properties

Viewing Storage Properties

Viewing TPM Properties

Viewing a PID Catalog

Chapter 6. Viewing Sensors

Viewing Power Supply Sensors

Viewing Fan Sensors

Viewing Temperature Sensors

Viewing Voltage Sensors

Viewing Current Sensors

Viewing LED Sensors

Viewing Storage Sensors

Chapter 7. Managing Remote Presence

Configuring Serial Over LAN

Configuring Virtual Media

Creating a Cisco IMC Mapped vMedia Volume

Viewing Cisco IMC-Mapped vMedia Volume Properties

Removing a Cisco IMC-Mapped vMedia Volume

Remapping an Existing Cisco IMC vMedia Image

Deleting a Cisco IMC vMedia Image

KVM Console

Launching KVM Console

Virtual KVM Console (HTML Based)

Comparison Between Java Based KVM and HTML5 Based KVM

Configuring the Virtual KVM

Enabling the Virtual KVM

Disabling the Virtual KVM

Chapter 8. Managing User Accounts

Configuring Local Users

Password Expiry

Configuring Password Expiry Duration

Enabling Password Expiry

LDAP Servers

Configuring the LDAP Server

Configuring LDAP Settings and Group Authorization in Cisco IMC

Setting User Search Precedence

LDAP Certificates Overview

Viewing LDAP CA Certificate Status

Exporting an LDAP CA Certificate

Downloading an LDAP CA Certificate

Testing LDAP Binding

Deleting an LDAP CA Certificate

Viewing User Sessions

Chapter 9. Configuring Chassis Related Settings

Managing Server Power

Pinging a Hostname/IP Address from the Web UI

Toggling the Locator LEDs

Selecting a Time Zone

Chapter 10. Configuring Network-Related Settings

Server NICs

Configuring Server NICs

Overview to Common Properties Configuration

Configuring Common Properties

Configuring IPv4

Configuring IPv6

Connecting to a VLAN

Connecting to a Port Profile

Configuring Individual Settings

Network Security

Configuring Network Security

Network Time Protocol Service Setting

Configuring Network Time Protocol Settings

Chapter 11. Managing Network Adapters

Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Viewing Storage Adapter Properties

Guidelines for Managing vHBAs

Viewing vHBA Properties

Modifying vHBA Properties

Creating a vHBA

Deleting a vHBA

vHBA Boot Table

Creating a Boot Table Entry

Deleting a Boot Table Entry

vHBA Persistent Binding

Viewing Persistent Bindings

Rebuilding Persistent Bindings

Guidelines for Managing vNICs

Viewing vNIC Properties

Modifying vNIC Properties

Creating a vNIC

Deleting a vNIC

Overview of Cisco usNIC

Viewing and Configuring Cisco usNIC using the Cisco IMC GUI

Viewing usNIC Properties

Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability for vNICs

Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability on a vNIC

Removing iSCSI Boot Configuration from a vNIC

Exporting the Adapter Configuration

Importing the Adapter Configuration

Restoring Adapter Defaults

Resetting the Adapter

Chapter 12. Managing Storage Adapters

Self Encrypting Drives (Full Disk Encryption)

Enabling Controller Security

Modifying Controller Security

Disabling Controller Security

Switching Controller Security Between Local and Remote Key Management

Creating Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives

Creating Virtual Drive from an Existing Drive Group

Setting a Virtual Drive to Transport Ready State

Setting a Virtual Drive as Transport Ready

Clearing a Virtual Drive from Transport Ready State

Importing Foreign Configuration

Clearing Foreign Configuration

Clearing a Boot Drive

Enabling JBOD Mode

Disabling a JBOD

Retrieving Storage Firmware Logs for a Controller

Clearing Controller Configuration

Restoring Storage Controller to Factory Defaults

Preparing a Drive for Removal

Undo Preparing a Drive for Removal

Making a Dedicated Hot Spare

Making a Global Hot Spare

Removing a Drive from Hot Spare Pools

Toggling Physical Drive Status

Setting a Physical Drive as a Controller Boot Drive

Initializing a Virtual Drive

Set as Boot Drive

Editing a Virtual Drive

Deleting a Virtual Drive

Hiding a Virtual Drive

Starting Learn Cycles for a Battery Backup Unit

Viewing Storage Controller Logs

Viewing SSD Smart Information for MegaRAID Controllers

Cisco Flexible Flash

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

Chapter 13. Configuring Communication Services

Configuring HTTP

Configuring SSH

XML API for Cisco IMC

Enabling the XML API

IPMI Over LAN

Configuring IPMI over LAN

SNMP

Configuring SNMP Properties

Configuring SNMP Trap Settings

Sending a Test SNMP Trap Message

Managing SNMP Users

Configuring SNMP Users

Configuring a Server to Send Email Alerts Using SMTP

Configuring SMTP Server For Receiving Email Alerts

Adding SMTP Email Recipients

Chapter 14. Managing Certificates and Server Security

Managing the Server Certificate

Generating a Certificate Signing Request

Creating a Self-Signed Certificate

Creating a Self-Signed Certificate Using Windows

Uploading a Server Certificate

Key Management Interoperability Protocol

Viewing Secure Key Management Settings

Creating a Client Private Key and Client Certificate for KMIP Configuration

Downloading a Client Certificate

Exporting a Client Certificate

Deleting a Client Certificate

Downloading a Root CA Certificate

Exporting a Root CA Certificate

Deleting a Root CA Certificate

Downloading a Client Private Key

Exporting a Client Private Key

Deleting a Client Private Key

Testing the KMIP Server Connection

Restoring the KMIP Server to Default Settings

Deleting KMIP Login Details

Chapter 15. Managing Firmware

Cisco IMC Firmware

Viewing Firmware Components

Updating the Firmware

Activating the Firmware

Chapter 16. Viewing Faults and Logs

Viewing the Fault Summary

Viewing Faults History

Viewing the Cisco IMC Log

Viewing System Event Logs

Viewing Logging Controls

Sending the Cisco IMC Log to a Remote Server

Configuring the Cisco IMC Log Threshold

Sending a Test Cisco IMC Log to a Remote Server

Chapter 17. Server Utilities

Exporting Technical Support Data

Downloading Technical Support Data to a Local File

Resetting to Factory Default

Exporting and Importing the Cisco IMC Configuration

Exporting the Cisco IMC Configuration

Importing the Cisco IMC Configuration

Generating Non Maskable Interrupts to the Host

Adding or Updating the Cisco IMC Banner

Viewing Cisco IMC Last Reset Reason

Downloading Hardware Inventory to a Local File

Exporting Hardware Inventory Data to a Remote Server

Uploading a PID Catalog

Activating a PID Catalog

Chapter 18. Troubleshooting

Recording the Last Boot Process

Recording the Last Crash

Downloading a DVR Player

Playing a Recorded Video Using the DVR Player on the KVM Console

Appendix A. BIOS Parameters by Server Model

Main Tab for C460 M4 Servers

Advanced Tab for C460 M4 Servers

Server Management Tab for C460 M4 Servers

Main Tab for C220M4 and C240M4 Servers

Advanced Tab for C220M4 and C240M4 Servers

Server Management Tab for C220M4 and C240M4 Servers

Main Tab for C3160 Servers

Advanced Tab for C3160 Servers

Server Management Tab for C3160 Servers

Appendix B. BIOS Token Name Comparison for Multiple Interfaces

BIOS Token Name Comparison for Multiple Interfaces

Preface

Audience

Conventions

Related Cisco UCS Documentation

Copyright Page

Chapter 1. Overview

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers

- Overview of the Server Software

- Cisco Integrated Management Controller

- Overview of the Cisco IMC User Interface

Overview of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers

The Cisco UCS C-Series rack-mount servers include the following models:

- Cisco UCS C220 M4 Rack-Mount Server

- Cisco UCS C240 M4 Rack-Mount Server

- Cisco UCS C3160 Rack-Mount Server

- Cisco UCS C460 M4 Rack-Mount Server

Note

To determine which Cisco UCS C-Series rack-mount servers are supported by this firmware release, see the associated Release Notes. The C-Series release notes are available at the following URL: Click Here

Overview of the Server Software

The Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Server ships with the Cisco IMC firmware.

Cisco IMC Firmware

Cisco IMC is a separate management module built into the motherboard. A dedicated ARM-based processor, separate from the main server CPU, runs the Cisco IMC firmware. The system ships with a running version of the Cisco IMC firmware. You can update the Cisco IMC firmware, but no initial installation is needed.

Server OS

The Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers support operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Oracle and so on. For more information on supported operating systems, see the Hardware and Software Interoperability for Standalone C-series servers at Click Here . You can use Cisco IMC to install an OS on the server using the KVM console and vMedia.

Note

You can access the available OS installation documentation from the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap at Click Here .

Cisco Integrated Management Controller

The Cisco IMC is the management service for the C-Series servers. Cisco IMC runs within the server.

Note

The Cisco IMC management service is used only when the server is operating in Standalone Mode. If your C-Series server is integrated into a UCS system, you must manage it using UCS Manager. For information about using UCS Manager, see the configuration guides listed in the Cisco UCS B-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap at Click Here .

Management Interfaces

You can use a web-based GUI or SSH-based CLI or an XML-based API to access, configure, administer, and monitor the server. Almost all tasks can be performed in either interface, and the results of tasks performed in one interface are displayed in another. However, you cannot do the following:

- Use Cisco IMC GUI to invoke Cisco IMC CLI

- View a command that has been invoked through Cisco IMC CLI in Cisco IMC GUI

- Generate Cisco IMC CLI output from Cisco IMC GUI

Tasks You Can Perform in Cisco IMC

You can use Cisco IMC to perform the following chassis management tasks:

- Power on, power off, power cycle, reset and shut down the server

- Toggle the locator LED

- Configure the server boot order

- View server properties and sensors

- Manage remote presence

- Create and manage local user accounts, and enable remote user authentication through Active Directory

- Configure network-related settings, including NIC properties, IPv4, VLANs, and network security

- Configure communication services, including HTTP, SSH, IPMI Over LAN, and SNMP

- Manage certificates

- Configure platform event filters

- Update Cisco IMC firmware

- Monitor faults, alarms, and server status

- Set time zone and view local time

- Install and activate Cisco IMC firmware

- Install and activate BIOS firmware

- Install and activate CMC firmware

You can use Cisco IMC to perform the following server management tasks:

- Manage remote presence

- Create and manage local user accounts, and enable remote user authentication through Active Directory

- Configure network-related settings, including NIC properties, IPv4, VLANs, and network security

- Configure communication services, including HTTP, SSH, IPMI Over LAN, and SNMP

- Manage certificates

- Configure platform event filters

- Update Cisco IMC firmware

- Monitor faults, alarms, and server status

- Set time zone and view local time

No Operating System or Application Provisioning or Management

Cisco IMC provisions servers, and as a result, exists below the operating system on a server. Therefore, you cannot use it to provision or manage operating systems or applications on servers. For example, you cannot do the following:

- Deploy an OS, such as Windows or Linux

- Deploy patches for software, such as an OS or an application

- Install base software components, such as anti-virus software, monitoring agents, or backup clients

- Install software applications, such as databases, application server software, or web servers

- Perform operator actions, including restarting an Oracle database, restarting printer queues, or handling non-Cisco IMC user accounts

- Configure or manage external storage on the SAN or NAS storage

Overview of the Cisco IMC User Interface

The Cisco IMC user interface is a web-based management interface for Cisco C-Series servers. The web user interface is developed using HTML5 with the eXtensible Widget Framework (XWT) framework. You can launch the user interface and manage the server from any remote host that meets the following minimum requirements:

- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher

- Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista, Apple Mac OS X v10.6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0 or higher operating systems

- Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2

Note

In case you lose or forget the password that you use to log in to Cisco IMC, see the password recovery instructions in the Cisco UCS C-Series server installation and service guide for your server. This guide is available from the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap at Click Here .

- Cisco IMC Home Page

- Navigation and Work Panes

- Toolbar

- Cisco Integrated Management Controller Online Help Overview

- Logging into Cisco IMC

- Logging out of Cisco IMC

Cisco IMC Home Page

When you first log into Cisco IMC GUI, the user interface looks similar to the following illustration:

Navigation and Work Panes

The Cisco Integrated Management Controller GUI comprises the Navigation pane on the left hand side of the screen and the Work pane on the right hand side of the screen. Clicking links on the Chassis, Compute, Networking, Storage or Admin menu in the Navigation pane displays the associated tabs in the pane on the right.

The Navigation pane header displays action buttons that allow you to view the navigation map of the entire GUI, view the index, or select a favorite work pane to go to, directly. The Pin icon prevents the Navigation pane from sliding in once the Work pane displays.

The Favorite icon is a star shaped button which allows you to make any specific work pane in the application as your favorite. To do this, navigate to the work pane of your choice and click the Favorite icon. To access this work pane directly from anywhere else in the application, click the Favorite icon again.

The GUI header displays information about the overall status of the chassis and user login information.

The GUI header also displays the total number of faults (indicated in green or red), with a Bell icon next to it. However, clicking this icon displays the summary of only the critical and major faults of various components. To view all the faults, click the View All button to display the Fault Summary pane.

Note

User interface options may vary depending on the server.

The Navigation pane has the following menus:

- Chassis Menu

- Compute Menu

- Networking Menu

- Storage Menu

- Admin Menu

Chassis Menu

Each node in the Chassis menu leads to one or more tabs that display in the Work pane. These tabs provides access to the following information:

Chassis Menu Node Name

Work Pane Tabs Provide Information About...

Summary

Server properties, Chassis status, Cisco IMC information, and Server Utilization.

Inventory

CPU, memory, PCI adapters, power supplies, cisco VIC adapters, network adapters, storage, SAS expander, and TPM.

Sensors

Power supply, fan, temperature, voltage, current, LED readings, and storage.

Power Management

Power cap configuration and power monitoring.

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

Faults and Logs

Fault summary, fault history, system event log, Cisco IMC logs, and logging controls.

Compute Menu

The Compute menu contains information about the server, and the following information is displayed in the Work pane.

Compute Menu Node Name

Work Pane Tabs Provide Information About...

Remote Management

KVM, virtual media, and Serial over LAN settings.

BIOS

The installed BIOS firmware version and the server boot order.

Troubleshooting

Bootstrap processing, Crash recording, and a player to view the last saved bootstrap process.

Power Policies

Power restore policy settings.

PID Catalog

CPU, memory, PCI adapters, and the HDD details.

Networking Menu

Each node in the Networking menu leads to one or more tabs that display in the Work pane. These tabs provides access to the following information:

Networking Menu Node Name

Work Pane Tabs Provide Information About...

General

Adapter card properties, firmware, external ethernet interfaces, and actions to export or import configurations, and reset status.

vNICs

Host ethernet interfaces information such as name, CDN, MAC address, MTU and individual vNIC properties.

vHBAs

Host fibre channel interfaces information such as name, WWPN, WWNN, boot, uplink, port profile, channel number, and individual vHBA properties.

Storage Menu

Each node in the Storage menu corresponds to the LSI MegaRAID controllers or Host Bus Adapters (HBA) that are installed in theCisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers. Each node leads to one or more tabs that display in the Work pane and provide information about the installed controllers.

Storage Menu Node Name

Work Pane Tabs Provide Information About...

Controller Info

General information about the selected LSI MegaRAID controller or HBA.

Physical Drive Info

General drive information, identification information, and drive statusl

Virtual Drive Info

General drive information, RAID information, and physical drive information.

Battery Backup Unit

Backup battery information for the selected MegaRAID controller.

Storage Log

Storage messages.

Admin Menu

Each node in the Admin menu leads to one or more tabs that display in the Work pane. These tabs provides access to the following information:

Admin Menu Node Name

Work Pane Tabs Provide Information About...

User Management

Locally-defined user accounts, Active Directory settings, and current user session information.

Networking

NIC, IPv4, IPv6, VLAN, and LOM properties, along with network security settings.

Communication Services

HTTP, SSH, XML API, IPMI over LAN, and SNMP settings.

Certificate Management

Security certificate information and management.

Firmware Management

Cisco IMC and BIOS firmware information and management.

Utilities

Technical support data collection, system configuration import and export options, and restore factory defaults settings.

Device Connector

Starship management and network settings.

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

Toolbar

The toolbar displays above the Work pane.

Button Name

Description

Refresh

Refreshes the current page.

Host Power

Displays the drop-down menu for you to choose power options.

Launch KVM

Displays the drop-down menu to launch the Java based or HTML based KVM console.

Ping

Launches the Ping Details pop-up window.

Reboot

Enables you to reboot Cisco IMC.

Locator LED

Allows you to turn on or turn off the locator LED.

Cisco Integrated Management Controller Online Help Overview

The GUI for the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (Cisco IMC) software is divided into two main sections, a Navigation pane on the left and a Work pane on the right.

This help system describes the fields on each Cisco IMC GUI page and in each dialog box.

To access the page help, do one of the following:

- In a particular tab in the Cisco IMC GUI, click the Help icon in the toolbar above the Work pane.

- In a dialog box, click the Help button in that dialog box.

Note

For a complete list of all C-Series documentation, see the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap available at the following URL: Click Here .

Logging into Cisco IMC

Procedure

Step 1

In your web browser, type or select the web link for Cisco IMC.

Step 2

If a security dialog box displays, do the following:

1. Optional: Check the check box to accept all content from Cisco.

2. Click Yes to accept the certificate and continue.

Step 3

In the log in window, enter your username and password.
Tip:
When logging in for the first time to an unconfigured system, use admin as the username and password as the password.

The following situations occur when you login to the Web UI for the first time:

- You cannot perform any operation until you change default admin credentials on the Cisco IMC Web UI.

- You cannot close or cancel the password change pop-up window and opening it in a tab or refreshing the browser page will continue to display the pop-up window. This pop-up window appears when you login after a factory reset.

- You cannot choose the word 'password' as your new password. If this creates problems for any scripts you may be running, you could change it to password by logging back into the user management options, but this is ENTIRELY at your own risk. It is not recommended by Cisco.

Step 4

Click Log In.

Logging out of Cisco IMC

Procedure

Step 1

In the upper right of Cisco IMC, click Log Out.
Logging out returns you to the Cisco IMC log in page.

Step 2

(Optional)Log back in or close your web browser.

Chapter 2. Installing the Server OS

This chapter includes the following sections:

- OS Installation Methods

- KVM Console

- PXE Installation Servers

- Booting an Operating System from a USB Port

OS Installation Methods

C-Series servers support several operating systems. Regardless of the OS being installed, you can install it on your server using one of the following tools:

- KVM console

- PXE installation server

KVM Console

The KVM console is an interface accessible from Cisco IMC that emulates a direct keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) connection to the server. The KVM console allows you to connect to the server from a remote location.

Instead of using CD/DVD or floppy drives physically connected to the server, the KVM console uses virtual media, which are actual disk drives or disk image files that are mapped to virtual CD/DVD or floppy drives. You can map any of the following to a virtual drive:

- CD/DVD or floppy drive on your computer

- Disk image files (ISO or IMG files) on your computer

- USB flash drive on your computer

- CD/DVD or floppy drive on the network

- Disk image files (ISO or IMG files) on the network

- USB flash drive on the network

You can use the KVM console to install an OS on the server.

Note

When launching the KVM Console from Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows Server 2003, the browser will report that it cannot download a required file. If this occurs, click the browser Tools menu and select Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab and, in the Security section, uncheck the checkbox for "Do not save encrypted pages to disk." Launch the KVM Console again.

- Installing an OS Using the KVM Console

Installing an OS Using the KVM Console

Note

This procedure describes only the basic installation steps. Detailed guides for installing Linux, VMware, and Windows can be found at this URL: Click Here .

Before You Begin

- Locate the OS installation disk or disk image file.

- You must log in as a user with admin privileges to install an OS.

Procedure

Step 1

Load the OS installation disk into your CD/DVD drive, or copy the disk image files to your computer.

Step 2

If Cisco IMC is not open, log in.

Step 3

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 4

In the Compute menu, select a server.

Step 5

In the work pane, click the Remote Management tab.

Step 6

In the Remote Management pane, click the Virtual KVM tab.

Step 7

In the Actions area, click Launch KVM Console.
The KVM Console opens in a separate window.

Step 8

From the KVM console, click the VM tab.

Step 9

In the VM tab, map the virtual media using either of the following methods:

- Check the Mapped check box for the CD/DVD drive containing the OS installation disk.

- Click Add Image, navigate to and select the OS installation disk image, click Open to mount the disk image, and then check the Mapped check box for the mounted disk image.

Note:
You must keep the VM tab open during the OS installation process. Closing the tab unmaps all virtual media.

Step 10

Reboot the server and select the virtual CD/DVD drive as the boot device.
When the server reboots, it begins the installation process from the virtual CD/DVD drive. Refer to the installation guide for the OS being installed to guide you through the rest of the installation process.

What to Do Next

After the OS installation is complete, reset the LAN boot order to its original setting. Always follow your OS vendors recommended configuration, including software interoperability and driver compatibility. For more information on driver recommendations and installation, follow the Cisco UCS Hardware Compatibility list here:

Click Here

PXE Installation Servers

A Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) installation server allows a client to boot and install an OS from a remote location. To use this method, a PXE environment must be configured and available on your VLAN, typically a dedicated provisioning VLAN. Additionally, the server must be set to boot from the network. When the server boots, it sends a PXE request across the network. The PXE installation server acknowledges the request, and starts a sequence of events that installs the OS on the server.

PXE servers can use installation disks, disk images, or scripts to install an OS. Proprietary disk images can also be used to install an OS, additional components, or applications.

Note

PXE installation is an efficient method for installing an OS on a large number of servers. However, considering that this method requires setting up a PXE environment, it might be easier to use another installation method.

- Installing an OS Using a PXE Installation Server

Installing an OS Using a PXE Installation Server

Before You Begin

- Verify that the server can be reached over a VLAN.

- You must log in as a user with admin privileges to install an OS.

Procedure

Step 1

Set the boot order to PXE first.

Step 2

Reboot the server.
If a PXE install server is available on the VLAN, the installation process begins when the server reboots. PXE installations are typically automated and require no additional user input. Refer to the installation guide for the OS being installed to guide you through the rest of the installation process.

What to Do Next

After the OS installation is complete, reset the LAN boot order to its original setting. Always follow your OS vendors recommended configuration, including software interoperability and driver compatibility. For more information on driver recommendations and installation, follow the Cisco UCS Hardware Compatibility list here:

Click Here

Booting an Operating System from a USB Port

All Cisco UCS C-series servers support booting an operating system from any USB port on the server. However, there are a few guidelines that you must keep in mind, prior to booting an OS from a USB port.

- To maintain the boot order configuration, it is recommended that you use an internal USB port for booting an OS.

- The USB port must be enabled prior to booting an OS from it.

By default, the USB ports are enabled. If you have disabled a USB port, you must enable it prior to booting an OS from it. For information on enabling a disabled USB ports, see topic Enabling or Disabling the Internal USB Port in the server-specific installation and service guide available at the following link:

Click Here .

- After you boot the OS from the USB port, you must set the second-level boot order so that the server boots from that USB source every time.

Chapter 3. Managing Chassis

This chapter includes the following sections:

Viewing Chassis Summary

By default when you log on to the Cisco UCS C-Series rack-mount server, the Summary pane of the Chassis is displayed in the Web UI. You can also view the Chassis summary when in another tab or working area, by completing the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Summary.

Step 3

In the Server Properties area of the Chassis Summary pane, review the following information:

Name

Description

Product Name field

The model name of the server.

Serial Number field

The serial number for the server.

PID field

The product ID.

UUID field

The UUID assigned to the server.

BIOS version field

The version of the BIOS running on the server.

Description field

A user-defined description for the server.

Asset Tag field

A user-defined tag for the server. By default, the asset tag for a new server displays Unknown.

Step 4

In the Cisco IMC Information area of the Chassis Summary pane, review the following information:

Name

Description

Hostname field

A user-defined hostname for the Cisco IMC. By default, the hostname appears in CXXX-YYYYYY format, where XXX is the model number and YYYYYY is the serial number of the server.

IP Address field

The IP address for the Cisco IMC.

MAC Address field

The MAC address assigned to the active network interface to the Cisco IMC.

Firmware Version field

The current Cisco IMC firmware version.

Current Time field

The current date and time according to the Cisco IMC clock.

Note:
Cisco IMC gets the current date and time from the server BIOS when the NTP is disabled. When NTP is enabled, Cisco IMC gets the current time and date from the NTP server. To change this information, reboot the server and press F2 when prompted to access the BIOS configuration menu. Then change the date or time using the options on the main BIOS configuration tab.

Local Time field

The local time of the region according to the chosen time zone.

Timezone field

Allows you to select a time zone by clicking on the Select Timezone option. 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

In the Chassis Status area of the Chassis Summary pane, review the following information:

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.

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.

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

Step 6

In the Server Utilization area of the Chassis Summary pane, review the following information in a graphical representation:

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.

Viewing Power Supply Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory work pane, click the Power Supplies tab and review the following information for each power supply:

Name

Description

Device ID column

The identifier for the power supply unit.

Status column

The status of the power supply unit.

Input column

The input into the power supply, in watts.

Output column

The maximum output from the power supply, in watts.

FW Version column

The firmware version for the power supply.

Product ID column

The product identifier for the power supply assigned by the vendor.

Viewing Cisco VIC Adapter Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory work pane, click the Cisco VIC Adapters tab and review the following high level information:

Name

Description

Slot Number column

The PCI slot in which the adapter is installed.

Serial Number column

The serial number for the adapter.

Product ID column

The product ID for the adapter.

Cisco IMC Enabled column

Whether the adapter is able to manage Cisco IMC. This functionality depends on the type of adapter installed and how it is configured. For details, see the hardware installation guide for the type of server you are using.

Description column

Description of the adapter.

Viewing SAS Expander Properties

Before You Begin

The server must be powered on, or the properties will not display.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory work pane, click the SAS Expander tab and review the following information:

Name

Description

ID column

The product ID of the expander.

Name column

The name of the expander.

Firmware Version column

The firmware version the expander uses.

Secondary Firmware Version column

The secondary firmware version of the expander.

Hardware Revision column

The hardware version of the expander.

SAS Address column

The SAS address of the expander.

Server Up Link Speed column

Up link speed received with the LSI RAID Controller.

Note:
This is available only on some C-Series servers.

Note:
You can view up to four speed levels for Server 1 and 2 respectively using the Filter icon on the top right hand corner of the SAS Expander table. Select the Tick mark next to the speed filter to view the individual speed in the table.

- Enabling 6G or 12G Mixed Mode on a SAS Expander

Enabling 6G or 12G Mixed Mode on a SAS Expander

You can enable or disable a 6 gigabyte or 12 gigabyte mixed mode speed support for a card using this option, which is a toggle button.

Note

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory working area, click the SAS Expander tab.

Step 4

In the SAS Expander working area, click Enable 6G-12G Mixed Mode.

Step 5

(Optional)Click Disable 6g-12G Mixed Mode to disable the feature.

Viewing Storage Properties

Before You Begin

The server must be powered on, or the properties will not display.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory work pane, click the Storage tab and review the following information:

Name

Description

Controller field

PCIe slot in which the controller drive is located.

PCI Slot field

The name of the PCIe slot in which the controller drive is located.

Product Name field

Name of the controller.

Serial Number field

The serial number of the storage controller.

Firmware Package Build field

The active firmware package version number.

Product ID field

Product ID of the controller.

Battery Status field

Status of the battery.

Cache Memory Size field

The size of the cache memory, in megabytes.

Health field

The health of the controller.

Details field

Link to the details of the controller.

Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Before You Begin

The server must be powered on, or the properties will not display.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory work pane, click the Network Adapters tab and review the following information:

Name

Description

Slot column

The slot in which the adapter is installed.

Product Name column

The product name for the adapter.

Number of Interfaces column

The number of interfaces for the adapter.

External Ethernet Interfaces

ID—The ID for the external ethernet interface.

MAC Address—The MAC address for the external ethernet interface.

Chapter 4. Managing the Server

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Enabling DIMM Black Listing

- BIOS Profiles

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the BIOS tab, click the Configure Boot Order tab.

Step 3

In the BIOS Properties area, click Configure Boot Order.
A dialog box with boot order instructions appears.

Step 4

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 PCH Storage

- Add UEFI SHELL

- Add NVME

- Add Local CDD

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 5

Click Save Changes.
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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the BIOS tab, click the Configure Boot Order tab.

Step 3

In the BIOS Properties area, click Configure Boot Order.
A dialog box with boot order instructions appears.

Step 4

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. Enter a value within the range 1 - 255, or M.

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

The slot in which the device is installed. Enter a value within the range 1 - 255.

- 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.

MAC Address

MAC address of the server.
Note:
This option is available only on some C-Series servers.

Port field

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

Enter a number between 0 and 255.

To add the SAN boot device, click Add SAN Boot, 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. Enter a value between 1 and 255.

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.

Save Changes button

Adds the device to the Boot Order table, and saves the changes.

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 Boot, 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. Enter a value between 1 and 255, or L.

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.

Save Changes button

Adds the device to the Boot Order table, and saves the changes.

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.

Save Changes 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.

Save Changes 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.

Save Changes 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.

Save Changes 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

- RAID controller for UCS Storage (SLOT-MEZZ)

- Host Bus Adapter (HBA)

Enabling UEFI Secure Boot

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

In the BIOS Properties area of the Configure Boot Order tab, 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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the BIOS tab, click the Configure Boot Order tab.

Step 3

In the BIOS Properties area, click Configure Boot Order.
This area displays the boot order devices configured through Cisco IMC as well as the actual boot order used by the server BIOS.

The Configured Boot Devices section displays the boot order (Basic or Advanced) configured through Cisco IMC. If this configuration changes, Cisco IMC sends this boot order to BIOS the next time that server boots. The Basic configuration allows you to specify only the device type. The Advanced configuration allows you to configure the device with specific parameters such as slot, port and LUN.

To change the configured boot order, or to restore the previously configured boot order, administrators can click the Configure Boot Order button. To have these changes take effect immediately, reboot the server. You can verify the new boot order by refreshing the BIOS tab.

Note:   This information is only sent to BIOS the next time the server boots. Cisco IMC does not send the boot order information to BIOS again until the configuration changes.

The Actual Boot Devices section displays the boot order actually used by BIOS when the server last booted. The actual boot order will differ from the configured boot order if either of the following conditions occur:

- The BIOS encounters issues while trying to boot using the configured boot order.

- A user changes the boot order directly through the BIOS. To override any manual changes, you can change the configured boot order through Cisco IMC and reboot the server.

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

Configuring a Server to Boot With a One-Time Boot Device

You can configure a server to boot from a particular device only for the next server boot, without disrupting the currently configured boot order. Once the server boots from the one time boot device, all its future reboots occur from the previously configured 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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the BIOS tab, click the Configure Boot Order tab.

Step 3

In the BIOS Properties area, select an option from the Configured One Time Boot Device drop-down.

Note:
The host boots to the one time boot device even when configured with a disabled advanced boot device.

Creating a Server Asset Tag

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 Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Summary.

Step 3

In the Server Properties area, update the Asset Tag field.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Power Capping

Important:
This section is valid only for some UCS C-Series servers.

Power capping determines how server power consumption is actively managed. When you enable power capping option, the system monitors power consumption and maintains the power below the allocated power limit. If the server cannot maintain the power limit or cannot bring the platform power back to the specified power limit within the correction time, power capping performs actions that you specify in the Action field under the Power Profile area.

Once power capping is enabled, you can configure multiple power profiles to either have standard or advanced power profiles with defined attributes. If you choose a standard power profile, you can set the power limit, correction time, corrective-action, suspend period, hard capping, and policy state (if enabled). If you choose an advanced power profile, in addition to the attributes of the standard power profile, you can also set the domain specific power limits, safe throttle level, and ambient temperature based power capping attributes.

Note

The following changes are applicable for Cisco UCS C-Series release 2.0(13) and later:

- After upgrading to the 2.0(13) release, power characterization automatically runs during the first host power on. Subsequent characterization runs only if initiated as described in section Run Power Characterization section.

- Also, when a server is power cycled and there is a change to the CPU or DIMM configurations, power characterization automatically runs on first host boot. For any other hardware change like PCIe adapters, GPU or HDDs, power characterization does not run. The characterized power range is modified depending on the components present after the host power cycle.

The Run Power Characterization option in the Power Cap Configuration Tab of the Web UI power cycles the host and starts power characterization.

Enabling Power Characterization

You can enable power characterization only on some Cisco UCS C-Series servers.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

In the Power Cap Configuration tab, click the Run Power Characterization link.
A confirmation box appears that says the host is going to be either powered on or rebooted depending on the current power state. Review the message and click OK to close the dialog box.

You can verify the progress of the power characterization in the Status field. The status can be one of the following:

- Not Run—When power characterization has not been run at all since the factory reset.

- Running—When a power characterization process is in progress.

- Completed Successfully—When a power characterization has run successfully.

- Using Defaults—After running the power characterization, if the system fails to obtain the valid values, it uses default value as the recommended maximum and minimum power for power capping.

After power characterization action is performed, the platform power limit range is populated under the Recommended Power Cap area as a minimum and maximum power in watts.

Enabling Power Capping

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

Before You Begin

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

- Run power characterization.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

Check the Power Capping check box.
Note:
This is the global option to enable or disable power capping. You must enable this option if you want to configure power profile settings.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Power Profiles

You can configure multiple profiles and set the attributes. These profiles are configured by using either the web UI or CLI. In the web UI, the profiles are listed under the Power Capping area. In the CLI, the profiles are configured when you enter the power-cap-config command. You can configure the following power profiles for power capping feature:

- Standard—Enables you to set a power limit for the platform domain.

- Advanced—Enables you to set various attributes such as the power limiting policy, fail-safe power limiting policy, and the ambient temperature-based power limiting policy.

- Configuring Standard Power Profiles Settings

- Configuring Advanced Power Profile Settings

- Resetting Power Profiles to Default

Configuring Standard Power Profiles Settings

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

Before You Begin

- You must enable power capping.

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

In the Power Profiles area, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the profile selected to set the attributes for power capping.

Enable Profile check box

Enables the power profile for editing.

Allow Throttle check box

If checked, it forces the processor to use more aggressive power management mechanisms such as, CPU the throttling states (T-states) and memory bandwidth throttling to maintain the power limit, in addition to the regular internal mechanisms.

Correction Time field

The time in seconds in which the platform power should be brought back to the specified power limit before taking the action specified in the Action field.

The range is from 1 and 600.

This range varies depending on the server PSU value.

Note:
The supported minimum correction time for all PSU models is 1 second, except for DPST-1400AB and DPST-1200DB PSU models for which the supported minimum correction time is 3 seconds.

Action drop-down list

The action to be performed if the specified power limit is not maintained within the correction time.

- Alert—Logs the event to the Cisco IMC SEL.

- Alert and Shutdown—Logs the event to the Cisco IMC SEL, and gracefully shuts down the host.

Power Limit check box

The power limit for the server.

Enter power in watts within the range specified.

Set Hard Cap check box

If checked, ensure that no platform consumption occurs beyond the set power capping value. The platform power consumption is maintained at a safe offset margin below the configured power cap value.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Configuring Advanced Power Profile Settings

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

Before You Begin

- You must enable power capping.

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

From the Power Profiles table in the Power Cap Configuration tab, choose the Advanced profile. In addition to the standard profile settings, the Domain Specific Power Limit, Safe Throttle Level, and Ambient Temperature Based Power Capping areas are displayed.

Step 4

In the Domain Specific Power Limit area, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

CPU field

The power limit for the CPU.

Enter power in watts within the range specified.

Memory field

The power limit for the memory.

Enter power in watts within the range specified.

Platform field

The power limit for the platform.

Enter power in watts within the range specified.

Step 5

In the Suspend Period area, click Configure to configure a suspend period for a specific time period and day.

Step 6

In the Safe Throttle Level area, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Failsafe Timeout field

The safe throttle policy that is applied when power capping is impacted due to internal faults such as missing power readings for platforms or CPUs.

Enter value in seconds

CPU field

The throttling level for the CPU.

The range is from 0 to 100 percentage.

Memory field

The throttling level for the memory.

The range is from 0 to 100 percentage.

Platform field

The throttling level for the platform.

The range is from 0 to 100 percentage.

Step 7

In the Ambient Temperature Based Power Capping area, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Platform Temp Trigger field

The inlet (front panel) temperature sensor value in Celsius.

Note:
When the inlet temperature on the platform exceeds the specified limit, the system uses the thermal power value as the power capping limit.

Thermal Power Limit field

The power limit to be maintained in watts.

Step 8

Click Save Changes.

Resetting Power Profiles to Default

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

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

In the Power Profiles area, click the Reset Profiles to Default button.
Note:   This action resets all the power profile settings to factory default values and disables power capping.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Power Monitoring

Power monitoring is initiated from the time the host is either powered on or booted. This feature collects the power consumption statistics for a platform, CPU, and memory domains and provides a minimum, maximum, and averaged reading for the duration that is being collected. These readings can be used to calculate the power consumption trends of the domains. Cisco IMC collects and stores these power consumption statistic values to plot graphs for various time periods (such as an hour, a day, and a week).

Note

You cannot create additional statistics collection policies or delete the existing monitoring policies. You can only modify the default policies.

- Viewing Power Monitoring Summary

- Viewing the Power Statistics in a Chart

- Downloading Power Statistics and Server Utilization Data

Viewing Power Monitoring Summary

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

On the Work pane, click the Power Monitoring tab.

Step 4

In the Power Monitoring Summary area, review the following information:
The following tables display the power consumed by the system and its components since the last time it was rebooted.

Name

Description

Monitoring Period

The time of monitoring the power consumed by the system since the last time it was rebooted.

The monitoring period is displayed in Day HH:MM:SS format.

Step 5

In the Platform area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Current

The power currently being used by the server, CPU, and memory in watts.

Minimum

The minimum number of watts consumed by the server, CPU, and memory since the last time it was rebooted.

Maximum

The maximum number of watts consumed by the server, CPU, and memory since the last time it was rebooted.

Average

The average amount of power consumed by the server, CPU, and memory in watts over the defined period of time.

Step 6

In the CPU area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Current

The power currently being used by the CPU in watts.

Minimum

The minimum number of watts consumed by the CPU since the last time it was rebooted.

Maximum

The maximum number of watts consumed by the CPU since the last time it was rebooted.

Average

The average amount of power consumed by the server, CPU, and memory in watts over the defined period of time.

Step 7

In the Memory area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Current

The power currently being used by the memory, in watts.

Minimum

The minimum number of watts consumed by the memory since the last time it was rebooted.

Maximum

The maximum number of watts consumed by the memory since the last time it was rebooted.

Average

The average amount of power consumed by the memory in watts over the defined period of time.

Step 8

In the Chart Properties area, review and update the chart, component, and view the power consumption details.

Name

Description

Chart Settings

Enables you to configure the chart properties and the way data is displayed in the chart.

Download Power Statistics and Server Utilization Data

Enables you to download the power statistics and host server utilization information. The files are downloaded to your local download folder.
Note:
If the file size of the already downloaded statistics file is less than 256 KB, then when you download, another set of files is downloaded, one for the power statistics and the other for host server utilization. If the size of the existing files exceeds 256 KB, then the next set of files overwrites the existing ones.

Name

Description

Chart drop-down list

Allows you to collect the trends of power consumption from every server for the selected duration. This can be one of the following:

- Last One Hour— Plots the chart for every five minutes

- Last One Day—Plots the chart for every hour from the current time.

- Last One Week—Plots the chart for each day.

Component drop-down list

The component for which you want to view the power consumption over the selected duration. This can be one of the following:

- Platform

- CPU

- Memory

- All

Plot button

Displays the power consumed by the selected component for the specified duration.

Chart/Table View (Appears on mouse-over)

Select to view power monitoring summary in either Chart or Table view.

Chart Type (Appears on mouse-over)

Select the type of chart you wish to view. This could be one of the following:

- Column Chart— Power monitoring data appears as a column.

- Line Chart— Power monitoring data appears in lines.

Current check box

If checked, the chart displays the current power consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Average check box

If checked, the plot displays the average amount of power consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Maximum check box

If checked, the plot displays the maximum number of watts consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Minimum check box

If checked, the plot displays the minimum number of watts consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Viewing the Power Statistics in a Chart

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

Before You Begin

- You must enabled power capping.

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

In the work pane, click the Power Monitoring tab.

Step 4

On the Power Monitoring tab, review and update the chart, component, to view the power consumption details.

Name

Description

Chart drop-down list

Allows you to collect the trends of power consumption from every server for the selected duration. This can be one of the following:

- Last One Hour— Plots the chart for every five minutes

- Last One Day—Plots the chart for every hour from the current time.

- Last One Week—Plots the chart for each day.

Component drop-down list

The component for which you want to view the power consumption over the selected duration. This can be one of the following:

- Platform

- CPU

- Memory

- All

Maximum check box

If checked, the plot displays the maximum number of watts consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Minimum check box

If checked, the plot displays the minimum number of watts consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Average check box

If checked, the plot displays the average amount of power consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Current check box

If checked, the chart displays the current power consumed by the selected component for the selected duration.

Plot button

Displays the power consumed by the selected component for the specified duration.

The power reading chart plots power consumption values of different components for the selected duration. These power consumption values are captured from the time that the host is powered on. When a power profile is enabled, the power limit is plotted in the chart as a red line. This plot can be used to determine the power consumption trend of the system. To view the configured power limit values of a particular domain, move the mouse over these trend lines.

If choose the Standard profile, the trend line represent the power limit. If you choose the Advance profile, it represents the power limit for CPU, memory, and platform depending on your power profile configuration.

Note:
These trend lines are not displayed if the profile is disabled on the Power Cap Configuration tab.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

Downloading Power Statistics and Server Utilization Data

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

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Power Management.

Step 3

In the Work pane, click the Power Monitoring tab.

Step 4

In the Power Monitoring tab, click Download Power Statistics and Server Utilization Data
The files are downloaded to your local download folder.

Note:
If the file size of the already downloaded statistics file is less than 256 KB, then when you download, another set of files is downloaded, one for the power statistics and the other for host server utilization. If the size of the existing files exceeds 256 KB, then the next set of files overwrites the existing ones.

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the Power Policies tab.

Step 3

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.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the Power Policies tab.

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 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.

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

- Low Power—This is the default policy. 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.

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 Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory pane, click the Memory 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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

In the Configure BIOS tab, click the Main tab.

Step 4

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 5

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 6

You can reset the parameters or restore the default values using the buttons at the bottom of the Main tab. The available options are:

Name

Description

Save button

Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters 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 button

Resets 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.

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

In the Configure BIOS tab, click the Advanced tab.

Step 4

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 5

In the Advanced tab, update the relevant 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 6

After you updated the fields, perform the following actions:

Name

Description

Save button

Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs and closes the dialog box.

Reset 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.

Configuring Server Management BIOS Settings

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

In the Configure BIOS tab, click Server Management.

Step 4

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 5

In the Server Management tab, update the relevant 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 6

Complete your action with the following options:

Name

Description

Save button

Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters on all three tabs and closes the dialog box.

Reset 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.

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Enter BIOS Setup.

Step 4

Click OK at the prompt. Enables enter BIOS setup. On restart, the server enters the BIOS setup.

Clearing the BIOS CMOS

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Clear BIOS CMOS.

Step 4

Click OK to confirm. Clears the BIOS CMOS.

Restoring BIOS Manufacturing Custom Settings

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 Compute menu.

Step 2

In the Compute menu, select a server.

Step 3

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 4

In the Actions area, click Restore Manufacturing Custom Settings.

Step 5

Click OK to confirm.

BIOS Profiles

On the Cisco UCS server, default token files are available for every server platform, and you can configure the value of these tokens using the Graphic User Interface (GUI), CLI interface, and the XML API interface. To optimize server performance, these token values must be configured in a specific combination.

Configuring a BIOS profile helps you to utilize pre-configured token files with the right combination of the token values. Some of the pre-configured profiles that are available are virtualization, high-performance, low power, and so on. You can download the various options of these pre-configured token files from the Cisco website and apply it on the servers through the BMC.

You can edit the downloaded profile to change the value of the tokens or add new tokens. This allows you to customize the profile to your requirements without having to wait for turnaround time.

- Uploading a BIOS Profile

- Activating a BIOS Profile

- Deleting a BIOS Profile

- Backing up a BIOS Profile

- Viewing BIOS Profile Details

Uploading a BIOS Profile

You can upload a BIOS profile either from a remote server location or through a browser client.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

Click the Configure BIOS Profile tab.

Step 4

To upload the BIOS profile using a remote server location, in the BIOS Profile area, click the Upload button.

Step 5

In the Upload BIOS Profile dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Upload BIOS Profile from 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 BIOS profile information is available. Depending on the setting in the Upload BIOS Profile from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

Path and Filename field

The path and filename of the BIOS profile on the remote server.

Username field

Username of the remote server.

Password field

Password of the remote server.

Upload button

Uploads the selected BIOS profile.

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.

Step 6

To upload the BIOS profile using a browser client, in the BIOS Profile area, click the Upload button.

Step 7

In the Upload BIOS Profile dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

File field

The BIOS profile that you want to upload.

Browse button

Opens a dialog box that allows you to navigate to the appropriate file.

What to Do Next

Activate a BIOS profile.

Activating a BIOS Profile

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the BIOS tab.

Step 3

Click the Configure BIOS Profile tab.

Step 4

Select a BIOS profile from the BIOS Profile area and click Activate.

Step 5

At the prompt, click Yes to activate the BIOS profile.

Deleting a BIOS Profile

Before You Begin

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

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 BIOS tab.

Step 4

Select a BIOS profile from the BIOS Profile area and click Delete.

Step 5

At the prompt, click OK to delete the BIOS profile.

Backing up a BIOS Profile

Before You Begin

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

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 BIOS tab.

Step 4

Select a BIOS profile from the BIOS Profile area and click Take Backup.

Step 5

At the prompt, click OK to take a backup of the BIOS profile.

What to Do Next

Activate a BIOS profile.

Viewing BIOS Profile Details

Before You Begin

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

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 BIOS tab.

Step 4

Select a BIOS profile from the BIOS Profile area and click Details.

Step 5

Review the following information in the BIOS Profile Details window:

Name

Description

Token Name column

Displays the token name of the BIOS profile.

Display Name column

Displays the user name of the BIOS profile.

Profile Value column

Displays the value that was provided in the uploaded file.

Actual Value column

Displays the value of the active BIOS configuration.

Chapter 5. Viewing Server Properties

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Viewing CPU Properties

- Viewing Memory Properties

- Viewing PCI Adapter Properties

- Viewing Storage Properties

- Viewing TPM Properties

- Viewing a PID Catalog

Viewing CPU Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory pane, click the CPUs tab.

Step 4

Review the following information for each CPU:

Name

Description

Socket Name field

The socket in which the CPU is installed.

Vendor field

The vendor for the CPU.

Status field

The status of the CPU.

Family field

The family to which this CPU belongs.

Speed field

The CPU speed, in megahertz.

Number of Cores field

The number of cores in the CPU.

Signature field

The signature information for the CPU.

Number of Threads field

The maximum number of threads that the CPU can process concurrently.

Viewing Memory Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory pane, click the Memory tab.

Step 4

In the Memory Summary area, review the following summary information about memory:

Name

Description

Memory Speed field

The memory speed, in megahertz.

Failed Memory field

The amount of memory that is currently failing, in megabytes.

Total Memory field

The total amount of memory available on the server if all DIMMs are fully functional.

Ignored Memory field

The amount of memory currently not available for use, in megabytes.

Effective Memory field

The actual amount of memory currently available to the server.

Number of Ignored DIMMs field

The number of DIMMs that the server cannot access.

Redundant Memory field

The amount of memory used for redundant storage.

Number of Failed DIMMs field

The number of DIMMs that have failed and cannot be used.

Memory RAS Possible field

Details about the RAS memory configuration that the server supports.

Memory Configuration field

The current memory configuration. This can be one of the following:

- Maximum Performance—The system automatically optimizes the memory performance.

- Mirroring—The server maintains two identical copies of the data in memory. This option effectively halves the available memory on the server, as one half is automatically reserved for mirrored copy.

- Lockstep—If the DIMM pairs in the server have an identical type, size, and organization and are populated across the SMI channels, you can enable lockstep mode to minimize memory access latency and provide better performance.

DIMM location diagram

Displays the DIMM or memory layout for the current server.

Step 5

In the DIMM Black Listing area, view the overall status of a DIMM and also enable DIMM black listing.

Name

Description

Overall DIMM Status field

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

- Good—The DIMM status is available.

- Severe Fault— The DIMM status when uncorrectable ECC errors are present.

Enable DIMM Black List checkbox

Check this option to enable DIMM black listing.

Step 6

In the Memory Details table, review the following detailed information about each DIMM:
Tip:
Click a column header to sort the table rows, according to the entries in that column.

Name

Description

Name column

The name of the DIMM slot in which the memory module is installed.

Capacity column

The size of the DIMM.

Channel Speed column

The clock speed of the memory channel, in megahertz.

Channel Type column

The type of memory channel.

Memory Type Detail column

The type of memory used in the device.

Bank Locator column

The location of the DIMM within the memory bank.

Manufacturer column

The vendor ID of the manufacturer. This can be one of the following:

- 0x2C00—Micron Technology, Inc.

- 0x5105—Qimonda AG i. In.

- 0x802C—Micron Technology, Inc.

- 0x80AD—Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

- 0x80CE—Samsung Electronics, Inc.

- 0x8551—Qimonda AG i. In.

- 0xAD00—Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

- 0xCE00—Samsung Electronics, Inc.

Serial Number column

The serial number of the DIMM.

Asset Tag column

The asset tag associated with the DIMM, if any.

Part Number column

The part number for the DIMM assigned by the vendor.

Visibility column

Whether the DIMM is available to the server.

Operability column

Whether the DIMM is currently operating correctly.

Data Width column

The amount of data the DIMM supports, in bits.

Viewing PCI Adapter Properties

Before You Begin

The server must be powered on, or the properties will not display.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory pane, click the PCI Adapters tab.

Step 4

In the PCI Adapters area, review the following information for the installed PCI adapters:

Name

Description

Slot ID column

The slot in which the adapter resides.

Product Name column

The name of the adapter.

Option ROM Status column

Indicates the Option ROM status. This can be one of the following:

- Loaded—Data is available in the card.

- Unloaded—Data is not available in the card.

- Load Error—Card is present and Option ROM is enabled. But Option ROM failed to load due to an error in the card.

Firmware Version column

The firmware versions of the adapters.

Note:
The firmware versions are displayed only for adapters that provide versions through the standard UEFI interface. For example, Intel LOM and Emulex Adapters.

Vendor ID column

The adapter ID assigned by the vendor.

Sub Vendor ID column

The secondary adapter ID assigned by the vendor.

Device ID column

The device ID assigned by the vendor.

Sub Device ID column

The secondary device ID assigned by the vendor.

Viewing Storage Properties

Before You Begin

The server must be powered on, or the properties will not display.

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 Storage tab's Storage area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Controller field

PCIe slot in which the controller drive is located.

PCI Slot field

The name of the PCIe slot in which the controller drive is located.

Product Name field

Name of the controller.

Serial Number field

The serial number of the storage controller.

Firmware Package Build field

The active firmware package version number.

Product ID field

Product ID of the controller.

Battery Status field

Status of the battery.

Cache Memory Size field

The size of the cache memory, in megabytes.

Health field

The health of the controller.

Details field

Link to the details of the controller.

Viewing TPM Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Inventory.

Step 3

In the Inventory pane, click the TPM tab

Step 4

Review the following information:

Name

Description

Version column

The TPM version. This field displays NA if the TPM version details are not available.

Presence column

Presence of the TPM module on the host server.

- Equipped—The TPM is present on the host server.

- Empty—The TPM does not exist on the host server.

Model column

The model number of the TPM. This field displays NA if the TPM does not exist on the host server.

Enabled Status column

Whether or not the TPM is enabled.

- Enabled—The TPM is enabled.

- Disabled—The TPM is disabled.

- Unknown—The TPM does not exist on the host server.

Vendor column

The name of the TPM vendor. This field displays NA if the TPM does not exist on the host server.

Active Status column

Activation status of the TPM.

- Activated—The TPM is activated.

- Deactivated—The TPM is deactivated.

- Unknown—The TPM does not exist on the host server.

Note:   In some C-series servers that have installed TPM version 2.0, Active Status is displayed as NA.

Serial column

The serial number of the TPM. This field displays NA if the TPM does not exist on the host server.

Ownership column

The ownership status of TPM.

- Owned—The TPM is owned.

- Unowned—The TPM is unowned.

- Unknown—The TPM does not exist on the host server.

Note:   In some C-series servers that have installed TPM version 2.0, Ownership status is displayed as NA.

Revision column

Revision number of the TPM. This field displays NA if the TPM does not exist on the host server.

Viewing a PID Catalog

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute tab.

Step 2

In the Compute working area, click the PID Catalog tab.

Step 3

In the Summary area, review the following summary information about the PID catalog:

Name

Description

Upload Status field

The download status of the PID catalog. It can be any of the following:

- Download in Progress

- Download Successful

- Download Error - TFTP File Not Found

- Download Error - Connection Failed

- Download Error - Access Denied

- Download Error - File Not Found

- Download Error - Download Failed

- Activation Successful

- Error - Unknown

- N/A

Activation Status field

The activation status of the PID catalog.

Current Activated version field

The activated version of the PID catalog.

Step 4

In the CPU table, review the following information about CPU:

Name

Description

Socket field

The socket in which the CPU is installed.

Product ID field

The product ID for the CPU.

Model field

The model number of the CPU

Step 5

In the Memory table, review the following information about memory:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the memory slot.

Product ID field

The product ID for the memory slot assigned by the vendor.

Vendor ID field

The ID assigned by the vendor.

Capacity field

The size of the memory.

Speed (MHz) field

The memory speed, in megahertz.

Step 6

In the PCI Adapters table, review the following information about PCI adapter:

Name

Description

Slot column

The slot in which the adapter resides.

Product ID column

The product ID for the adapter.

Vendor ID column

The adapter ID assigned by the vendor.

Sub Vendor ID column

The secondary adapter ID assigned by the vendor.

Device ID column

The device ID assigned by the vendor.

Sub Device ID column

The secondary device ID assigned by the vendor.

Step 7

In the HDD table, review the following information about HDD:

Name

Description

Disk field

The disk of the hard drive.

Product ID field

The product ID for the hard drive.

Controller field

The system-defined name of the selected Cisco Flexible Flash controller. This name cannot be changed.

Vendor field

The vendor for the hard drive.

Model field

The model of the hard drive.

Chapter 6. Viewing Sensors

This chapter includes the following sections:

Viewing Power Supply Sensors

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Sensors working area, click the Power Supply tab.

Step 4

Review the following sensor properties for power supply:
Properties Area

Name

Description

Redundancy Status field

The power supply redundancy status.

Threshold Sensors Area

Name

Description

Sensor Name column

The name of the sensor

Sensor Status column

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

- Unknown

- Informational

- Normal

- Warning

- Critical

- Non-Recoverable

Reading column

The current power usage, in watts.

Warning Threshold Min column

The minimum warning threshold.

Warning Threshold Max column

The maximum warning threshold.

Critical Threshold Min column

The minimum critical threshold.

Critical Threshold Max column

The maximum critical threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Min column

The minimum non-recoverable threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Max column

The maximum non-recoverable threshold.

Discrete Sensors Area

Name

Description

Sensor Name column

The name of the sensor.

Sensor Status column

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

- Unknown

- Informational

- Normal

- Warning

- Critical

- Non-Recoverable

Reading column

The basic state of the sensor.

Viewing Fan Sensors

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Sensors working area, click the Fan tab.

Step 4

Review the following fan sensor properties:

Name

Description

Sensor Name column

The name of the sensor

Sensor Status column

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

- Unknown

- Informational

- Normal

- Warning

- Critical

- Non-Recoverable

Speed (RPMS) column

The fan speed in RPM.

Warning Threshold Min column

The minimum warning threshold.

Warning Threshold Max column

The maximum warning threshold.

Critical Threshold Min column

The minimum critical threshold.

Critical Threshold Max column

The maximum critical threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Min column

The minimum non-recoverable threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Max column

The maximum non-recoverable threshold.

Viewing Temperature Sensors

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Sensors working area, click the Temperature tab.

Step 4

Review the following temperature sensor properties:

Name

Description

Sensor Name column

The name of the sensor

Sensor Status column

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

- Unknown

- Informational

- Normal

- Warning

- Critical

- Non-Recoverable

Temperature column

The current temperature, in Celsius.

Warning Threshold Min column

The minimum warning threshold.

Warning Threshold Max column

The maximum warning threshold.

Critical Threshold Min column

The minimum critical threshold.

Critical Threshold Max column

The maximum critical threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Min column

The minimum non-recoverable threshold.

Viewing Voltage Sensors

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Sensors working area, click the Voltage tab.

Step 4

Review the following voltage sensor properties:

Name

Description

Sensor Name column

The name of the sensor

Sensor Status column

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

- Unknown

- Informational

- Normal

- Warning

- Critical

- Non-Recoverable

Voltage (V) column

The current voltage, in Volts.

Warning Threshold Min column

The minimum warning threshold.

Warning Threshold Max column

The maximum warning threshold.

Critical Threshold Min column

The minimum critical threshold.

Critical Threshold Max column

The maximum critical threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Min column

The minimum non-recoverable threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Max column

The maximum non-recoverable threshold.

Viewing Current Sensors

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Sensors working area, click the Current tab.

Step 4

Review the following current sensor properties:

Name

Description

Sensor Name column

The name of the sensor

Sensor Status column

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

- Unknown

- Informational

- Normal

- Warning

- Critical

- Non-Recoverable

Temperature (C) column

The current temperature, in Celsius.

Warning Threshold Min column

The minimum warning threshold.

Warning Threshold Max column

The maximum warning threshold.

Critical Threshold Min column

The minimum critical threshold.

Critical Threshold Max column

The maximum critical threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Min column

The minimum non-recoverable threshold.

Non-Recoverable Threshold Max column

The maximum non-recoverable threshold.

Viewing LED Sensors

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Sensors working area, click the LEDs tab.

Step 4

Review the following LED sensor properties:

Name

Description

Sensor Name column

The name of the sensor

LED Status column

Whether the LED is on, blinking, or off.

LED Color column

The current color of the LED.

For details about what the colors mean, see the hardware installation guide for the type of server you are using.

Viewing Storage Sensors

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Storage tab's Storage Sensors area, view the following storage-related statistics for the server:

Name

Description

Name column

The name of the storage device.

Status column

A brief description of the storage device status.

Chapter 7. Managing Remote Presence

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Configuring Serial Over LAN

- Configuring Virtual Media

- KVM Console

- Launching KVM Console

- Virtual KVM Console (HTML Based)

- Comparison Between Java Based KVM and HTML5 Based KVM

- Configuring the Virtual KVM

Configuring Serial Over LAN

Serial over LAN enables the input and output of the serial port of a managed system to be redirected over IP. Configure and use serial over LAN on your server when you want to reach the host console with Cisco IMC.

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure serial over LAN.

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Presence pane, click the Serial over LAN tab.

Step 5

In the Serial over LAN Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enabled check box

If checked, Serial over LAN (SoL) is enabled on this server.

Baud Rate drop-down list

The baud rate the system uses for SoL communication. This can be one of the following:

- 9600 bps

- 19.2 kbps

- 38.4 kbps

- 57.6 kbps

- 115.2 kbps

Com Port drop-down list

The serial port through which the system routes SoL communication.

Note:
This field is only available on some C-Series servers. If it is not available, the server always uses COM port 0 for SoL communication.

You can select one of the following:

- com0—SoL communication is routed through COM port 0, an externally accessible serial port that supports either a physical RJ45 connection to an external device or a virtual SoL connection to a network device.

If you select this option, the system enables SoL and disables the RJ45 connection, which means that the server can no longer support an external serial device.

- com1—SoL communication is routed through COM port 1, an internal port accessible only through SoL.

If you select this option, you can use SoL on COM port 1 and the physical RJ45 connection on COM port 0.

Note:
Changing the Com Port setting disconnects any existing SoL sessions.

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

SSH Port filed

The port through which you can access Serial over LAN directly. The port enables you to by-pass the Cisco IMC shell to provide direct access to SoL.

The valid range is 1024 to 65535. The default value is 2400.

Note:
Changing the SSH Port setting disconnects any existing SSH sessions.

Step 6

Click Save Changes.

Configuring Virtual Media

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure virtual media.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute tab.

Step 2

In the Compute tab, click the Remote Management tab.

Step 3

In the Remote Management tab, click the Virtual Media tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Media Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enabled check box

If checked, virtual media is enabled.

Note:
If you clear this check box, all virtual media devices are automatically detached from the host.

Active Sessions field

The number of virtual media sessions that are currently running.

Enable Virtual Media Encryption check box

If checked, all virtual media communications are encrypted.

Low Power USB enabled check box

If checked, low power USB is enabled.

If the low power USB is enabled, after mapping the ISO and rebooting the host, the virtual drives appear on the boot selection menu.

But, while mapping an ISO to a server that has a UCS VIC P81E card and the NIC is in Cisco Card mode, this option must be disabled for the virtual drives to appear on the boot selection menu.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

- Creating a Cisco IMC Mapped vMedia Volume

- Viewing Cisco IMC-Mapped vMedia Volume Properties

- Removing a Cisco IMC-Mapped vMedia Volume

- Remapping an Existing Cisco IMC vMedia Image

- Deleting a Cisco IMC vMedia Image

Creating a Cisco IMC Mapped vMedia Volume

Before You Begin

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

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management tab, click the Virtual Media tab

Step 5

In the Current Mappings area, click Add New Mapping.

Step 6

In the Add New Mapping dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Volume field

The identity of the image mounted for mapping.

Mount Type drop-down list

The type of mapping. This can be one of the following:

Note:
Ensure that the communication port of the mount type that you choose is enabled on the switch. For example, when you are using CIFS as your mount type, ensure port 445 (which is its communication port) is enabled on the switch. Similarly, enable ports 80 for HTTP, 443 for HTTPS and 2049 for NFS when you use them.

- NFS—Network File System.

- CIFS—Common Internet File System.

- WWW(HTTP/HTTPS)—HTTP-based or HTTPS-based system.

Note:
Before mounting the virtual media, Cisco IMC tries to verify reachability to the end server by pinging the server.

Remote Share field

The URL of the image to be mapped. The format depends on the selected Mount Type:

- NFS—Use serverip:/share.

- CIFS—Use //serverip/share.

- WWW(HTTP/HTTPS)—Use http[s]://serverip/share.

Remote File field

The name and location of the .iso or .img file in the remote share.

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

- guest

- username=VALUE—ignored if guest is entered.

- password=VALUE—ignored if guest is entered.

- sec=VALUE

The protocol to use for authentication when communicating with the remote server. Depending on the configuration of CIFS share, VALUE could be one of the following:

- None—No authentication is used

- Ntlm—NT LAN Manager (NTLM) security protocol. Use this option only with Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2012 R2.

- Ntlmi—NTLMi security protocol. Use this option only when you enable Digital Signing in the CIFS Windows server.

- Ntlmssp—NT LAN Manager Security Support Provider (NTLMSSP) protocol. Use this option only with Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2012 R2.

- Ntlmsspi—NTLMSSPi protocol. Use this option only when you enable Digital Signing in the CIFS Windows server.

- Ntlmv2—NTLMv2 security protocol. Use this option only with Samba Linux.

- Ntlmv2i—NTLMv2i security protocol. Use this option only with Samba Linux.

If you are using WWW(HTTP/HTTPS), leave the field blank or enter the following:

- noauto

Note:
Before mounting the virtual media, Cisco IMC tries to verify reachability to the end server by pinging the server.

- username=VALUE

- password=VALUE

User Name field

The username for the specified Mount Type, if required.

Password field

The password for the selected username, if required.

Step 7

Click Save.

Viewing Cisco IMC-Mapped vMedia Volume Properties

Before You Begin

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

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management tab, click the Virtual Media tab

Step 5

Select a row from the Current Mappings table.

Step 6

Click Properties and review the following information:

Name

Description

Add New Mapping button

Opens a dialog box that allows you to add a new image.

Properties button

Opens a dialog box that allows you to view or change the properties for the selected image.

Unmap button

Unmaps the mounted vMedia.

Last Mapping Status

The status of the last mapping attempted.

Volume column

The identity of the image.

Mount Type drop-down list

The type of mapping.

Remote Share field

The URL of the image.

Remote File field

The exact file location of the image.

Status field

The current status of the map. This can be one of the following:

- OK—The mapping is successful.

- In Progress—The mapping is in progress.

- Stale—Cisco IMC displays a text string with the reason why the mapping is stale.

- Error—Cisco IMC displays a text string with the reason for the error.

Removing a Cisco IMC-Mapped vMedia Volume

Before You Begin

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

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management tab, click the Virtual Media tab

Step 5

Select a row from the Current Mappings table.

Step 6

Click Unmap.

Remapping an Existing Cisco IMC vMedia Image

Before You Begin

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

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management tab, click the Virtual Media tab

Step 5

Select a row from the Current Mappings table.

Step 6

Click Remap.

Deleting a Cisco IMC vMedia Image

Before You Begin

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

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management tab, click the Virtual Media tab

Step 5

Select a row from the Current Mappings table.

Step 6

Click Delete.

KVM Console

The KVM console is an interface accessible from Cisco IMC that emulates a direct keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) connection to the server. The KVM console allows you to connect to the server from a remote location.

Instead of using CD/DVD or floppy drives physically connected to the server, the KVM console uses virtual media, which are actual disk drives or disk image files that are mapped to virtual CD/DVD or floppy drives. You can map any of the following to a virtual drive:

- CD/DVD or floppy drive on your computer

- Disk image files (ISO or IMG files) on your computer

- USB flash drive on your computer

- CD/DVD or floppy drive on the network

- Disk image files (ISO or IMG files) on the network

- USB flash drive on the network

You can use the KVM console to install an OS on the server.

Note

When launching the KVM Console from Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows Server 2003, the browser will report that it cannot download a required file. If this occurs, click the browser Tools menu and select Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab and, in the Security section, uncheck the checkbox for "Do not save encrypted pages to disk." Launch the KVM Console again.

Launching KVM Console

You can launch the KVM console from either the Home page or from the Remote Management area.

Procedure

Step 1

To launch the console from Home page, in the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Summary.

Step 3

From the tool bar, click Launch KVM and select Java based KVM or HTML based KVM.

Step 4

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 5

In the Compute menu, select a server.

Step 6

In the work pane, click the Remote Management tab.

Step 7

In the Remote Management pane, click the Virtual KVM tab.

Step 8

In the Virtual KVM tab, click Launch Java based KVM console or Launch HTML based KVM console.

Step 9

Click the URL link displayed in the pop-up window (HTML based KVM console only) to load the client application. You need to click the link every time you launch the KVM console.

Virtual KVM Console (HTML Based)

The KVM console is an interface accessible from Cisco IMC that emulates a direct keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) connection to the server. It allows you to connect to and control the server from a remote location and to map physical locations to virtual drives that can by accessed by the server during this KVM session.

File Menu

Menu Item

Description

Capture to File button

Opens the Save dialog box that allows you to save the current screen as a JPG image.

Exit button

Closes the KVM console.

View Menu

Menu Item

Description

Keyboard

Displays the virtual keyboard for the KVM console, which you can use to input data.

Refresh

Updates the console display with the server's current video output.

Full Screen

Expands the KVM console so that it fills the entire screen.

Macros Menu

Choose the keyboard shortcut you want to execute on the remote system.

Menu Item

Description

Server Macros menu

Displays the server side macros downloaded from the Cisco IMC, if any. If no server side macros have been downloaded, then the menu item is disabled.

Static Macros menu

Displays a predefined set of macros.

User Defined Macros menu

Displays the user-defined macros that have been created.

Manage button

Opens the Configure User Defined Macros dialog box, which allows you to create and manage macros.
System-defined macros cannot be deleted.

Tools Menu

Menu Item

Description

Session Options

Opens the Session Options dialog box that lets you specify:

- Scaling—Specify whether or not you want to maintain the aspect ratio of the screen. Check or uncheck the Maintain Aspect Ratio checkbox (checked by default).

- The mouse acceleration to use on the target system. The default is Absolute positioning (Windows, Newer Linux & MAC OS X). Other options are:

- Relative Positioning, no acceleration

- Relative Positioning (RHEL, Older Linux)

Session User List

Opens the Session User List dialog box that shows all the user IDs that have an active KVM session.

Chat

Opens the Chat box to communicate with other users.

Power Menu

Menu Item

Description

Power On System button

Powers on the system.

This option is disabled when the system is powered on and it is enabled when the system is not powered.

Power Off System button

Powers off the system from the virtual console session.

This option is enabled when the system is powered on and disabled when the system is not powered on.

Reset System (warm boot)button

Reboots the system without powering it off.

This option is enabled when the system is powered on and disabled when the system is not powered on.

Power Cycle System (cold boot) button

Turns off system and then back on.

This option is enabled when the system is powered on and disabled when the system is not powered on.

Boot Device Menu

Name

Description

No Override

Clicking this option enables the host to boot to the first device configured.

Boot Device list

A list of boot devices that the server uses to boot from only for the next server boot, without disrupting the currently configured boot order. Once the server boots from the one time boot device, all its future reboots occur from the previously configured boot order. A maximum of 15 devices are displayed on the KVM console.

Virtual Media Menu

Name

Description

Activate Virtual Devices

Activates a vMedia session that allows you to attach a drive or image file from your local computer or network.

Map CD/DVD

You can map a CD or a DVD image from your local machine and map the drive to the image.

Note:
This option is available when you click Activate Virtual Devices.

Map Removable Disk

You can map a removable disk image from your local machine and map the drive to the image.

Note:
This option is available when you click Activate Virtual Devices.

Map Floppy Disk

You can map a floppy disk image from your local machine and map the drive to the image.

Note:
This option is available when you click Activate Virtual Devices.

Help Menu

Name

Description

Help Topics

Clicking this option brings you back to this window.

About KVM Viewer

Displays the version number of the KVM viewer.

Settings

The Settings icon is located on the top right hand corner of the HTML KVM viewer window.

Name

Description

Logged in as:

Displays your user role ID.

Host Name

Displays the host name.

Log Out

Allows you to log out of the KVM viewer.

Comparison Between Java Based KVM and HTML5 Based KVM

The following table lists the differences between Java based KVM and HTML5 based KVM.

Menu Option

Action

Available in Java Based KVM

Available in HTML5 Based KVM

File

Open

Yes

Yes

Capture to file

Yes

Yes

Paste Text from Clipboard

Yes

No

Paste Text from File

Yes

No

Exit

Yes

Yes

View

Refresh

Yes

Yes

Fit

Yes

No

Video-Scaling

Yes

No

Full-Screen

Yes

Yes

Mini-Mod

Yes

No

Macros

Server Macros

Yes

Yes

Static Macros

Yes

Yes

User Defined Macros

Yes

Yes

Manage

Yes

Yes

Tool

Session Option

Yes

Yes

Single Cursor

Yes

No

Stats

Yes

No

Session User List

Yes

Yes

Chat

Yes

Yes

Recorder/Playback Controls

Yes

No

Export Video

Yes

No

Power

Power On

Yes

Yes

Power OFF

Yes

Yes

Reset System

Yes

Yes

Power Cycle system

Yes

Yes

Mini-Mod

Yes

Yes

Virtual Media

Create Image

Yes

No

Activate Virtual Devices

Yes

Yes

Physical Device Mapping

Yes

No

Configuring the Virtual KVM

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure the virtual KVM.

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management pane, click the Virtual KVM tab.

Step 5

On the Virtual KVM tab, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Enabled check box

If checked, the virtual KVM is enabled.

Note:
The virtual media viewer is accessed through the KVM. If you disable the KVM console, Cisco IMC also disables access to all virtual media devices attached to the host.

Max Sessions drop-down list

The maximum number of concurrent KVM sessions allowed. You can select any number between 1 and 4.

Active Sessions field

The number of KVM sessions running on the server.

Remote Port field

The port used for KVM communication.

Enable Video Encryption check box

If checked, the server encrypts all video information sent through the KVM.

Enable Local Server Video check box

If checked, the KVM session is also displayed on any monitor attached to the server.

Step 6

Click Save Changes.

- Enabling the Virtual KVM

- Disabling the Virtual KVM

Enabling the Virtual KVM

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to enable the virtual KVM.

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management pane, click the Virtual KVM tab.

Step 5

On the Virtual KVM tab, check the Enabled check box.

Step 6

Click Save Changes.

Disabling the Virtual KVM

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to disable the virtual KVM.

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 Remote Management tab.

Step 4

In the Remote Management pane, click the Virtual KVM tab.

Step 5

On the Virtual KVM tab, uncheck the Enabled check box.

Step 6

Click Save Changes.

Chapter 8. Managing User Accounts

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Configuring Local Users

- Password Expiry

- Configuring Password Expiry Duration

- Enabling Password Expiry

- LDAP Servers

- Viewing User Sessions

Configuring Local Users

The Cisco IMC now implements a strong password policy wherein you are required to follow guidelines and set a strong password when you first log on to the server for the first time. The Local User tab displays a Disable Strong Password button which allows you to disable the strong password policy and set a password of your choice by ignoring the guidelines. Once you disable the strong password, an Enable Strong Password button is displayed. By default, the strong password policy is enabled.

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure or modify local user accounts.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click the Local User Management tab.

Step 4

To configure or modify a local user account, click a row in the Local User Management pane and click Modify User.

Step 5

In the Modify User Details dialog box, update the following properties:

Name

Description

ID field

The unique identifier for the user.

Enabled check box

If checked, the user is enabled on the Cisco IMC.

Username field

The username for the user.

Enter between 1 and 16 characters.

Role field

The role assigned to the user. This can be one of the following:

- read-only—A user with this role can view information but cannot make any changes.

- user—A user with this role can perform the following tasks:

- View all information

- Manage the power control options such as power on, power cycle, and power off

- Launch the KVM console and virtual media

- Clear all logs

- Toggle the locator LED

- Set time zone

- Ping

- admin—A user with this role can perform all actions available through the GUI, CLI, and IPMI.

Change Password check box

If checked, when you save the changes the password for this user will be changed. You must check this box if this is a new user name.

New Password field

The password for this user name. When you move the mouse over the help icon beside the field, the following guidelines to set the password are displayed:

- The password must have a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 14 characters.

- The password must not contain the User's Name.

- The password must contain characters from three of the following four categories:

- English uppercase characters (A through Z).

- English lowercase characters (a through z).

- Base 10 digits (0 through 9).

- Non-alphabetic characters (!, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, -, _, , =, '').

These rules are meant to define a strong password for the user, for security reasons. However, if you want to set a password of your choice ignoring these guidelines, click the Disable Strong Password button on the Local Users tab. While setting a password when the strong password option is disabled, you can use between 1- 20 characters.

Confirm New Password field

The password repeated for confirmation purposes.

Step 6

Enter password information.

Step 7

Click Save Changes.

Password Expiry

You can set a shelf life for a password, after which it expires. As an administrator, you can set this time in days. This configuration would be common to all users. Upon password expiry, the user is notified on login and would not be allowed to login unless the password is reset.

Note

When you downgrade to an older database, existing users are deleted. The database returns to default settings. Previously configured users are cleared and the database is empty, that is, the database has the default username - 'admin' and password - 'password'. Since the server is left with the default user database, the change default credential feature is enabled. This means that when the 'admin' user logs on to the database for the first time after a downgrade, the user must mandatorily change the default credential.

Password Set Time

A 'Password set time' is configured for every existing user, to the time when the migration or upgrade occurred. For new users (users created after an upgrade), the Password Set time is configured to the time when the user was created, and the password is set. For users in general (new and existing), the Password Set Time is updated whenever the password is changed.

Configuring Password Expiry Duration

Before You Begin

- You must enable password expiry.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the Local User Management pane (opens by default), click Password Expiration Details.

Step 4

In the Password Expiration Details dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Enable Password Expiry check box

Checking this box allows you to configure the Password Expiry Duration. Uncheck the check box to disable it.

Password Expiry Duration field

The time period that you can set for the existing password to expire (from the time you set a new password or modify an existing one). The range is between 1 to 3650 days.

Password History field

The number of occurrences when a password was entered. When this is enabled, you cannot repeat a password. Enter a value between 0 to 5. Entering 0 disables this field.

Notification Period field

Notifies the time by when the password expires. Enter a value between 0 to 15 days. Entering 0 disables this field.

Grace Period field

Time period till when the existing password can still be used, after it expires. Enter a value between 0 to 5 days. Entering 0 disables this field.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

Step 6

Optionally, click Reset Values to clear the text fields and reset the values you entered. Click Restore Defaults to revert to the default settings.

Enabling Password Expiry

Before You Begin

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the Local User Management pane (opens by default), click Password Expiration Details.

Step 4

In the Password Expiration Details dialog box, check the Enable Password Expiry check box.
The Password Expiry Duration text field becomes editable and you can configure the duration by entering a number in days.

What to Do Next

Configure password expiry duration.

LDAP Servers

Cisco IMC supports directory services that organize information in a directory, and manage access to this information. Cisco IMC supports Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), which stores and maintains directory information in a network. In addition, Cisco IMC supports Microsoft Active Directory (AD). Active Directory is a technology that provides a variety of network services including LDAP-like directory services, Kerberos-based authentication, and DNS-based naming. The Cisco IMC utilizes the Kerberos-based authentication service of LDAP.

When LDAP is enabled in the Cisco IMC, user authentication and role authorization is performed by the LDAP server for user accounts not found in the local user database. The LDAP user authentication format is username@domain.com.

By checking the Enable Encryption check box in the LDAP Settings area, you can require the server to encrypt data sent to the LDAP server.

- Configuring the LDAP Server

- Configuring LDAP Settings and Group Authorization in Cisco IMC

- Setting User Search Precedence

- LDAP Certificates Overview

Configuring the LDAP Server

The Cisco IMC can be configured to use LDAP for user authentication and authorization. To use LDAP, configure users with an attribute that holds the user role and locale information for the Cisco IMC. You can use an existing LDAP attribute that is mapped to the Cisco IMC user roles and locales or you can modify the LDAP schema to add a new custom attribute, such as the CiscoAVPair attribute, which has an attribute ID of 1.3.6.1.4.1.9.287247.1.

Important:
For more information about altering the schema, see the article at Click Here .

Note

This example creates a custom attribute named CiscoAVPair, but you can also use an existing LDAP attribute that is mapped to the Cisco IMC user roles and locales.

If you are using Group Authorization on the Cisco IMC LDAP configuration, then you can skip Steps 1-4 and perform the steps listed in the Configuring LDAP Settings and Group Authorization in Cisco IMC section.

The following steps must be performed on the LDAP server.

Procedure

Step 1

Ensure that the LDAP schema snap-in is installed.

Step 2

Using the schema snap-in, add a new attribute with the following properties:

Properties

Value

Common Name

CiscoAVPair

LDAP Display Name

CiscoAVPair

Unique X500 Object ID

1.3.6.1.4.1.9.287247.1

Description

CiscoAVPair

Syntax

Case Sensitive String

Step 3

Add the CiscoAVPair attribute to the user class using the snap-in:

1. Expand the Classes node in the left pane and type U to select the user class.

2. Click the Attributes tab and click Add.

3. Type C to select the CiscoAVPair attribute.

4. Click OK.

Step 4

Add the following user role values to the CiscoAVPair attribute, for the users that you want to have access to Cisco IMC:

Role

CiscoAVPair Attribute Value

admin

shell:roles="admin"

user

shell:roles="user"

read-only

shell:roles="read-only"

Note:
For more information about adding values to attributes, see the article at Click Here .

What to Do Next

Use the Cisco IMC to configure the LDAP server.

Configuring LDAP Settings and Group Authorization in Cisco IMC

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 Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click LDAP.

Step 4

In the LDAP Settings area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enable LDAP check box

If checked, user authentication and role authorization is performed first by the LDAP server, followed by user accounts that are not found in the local user database.

Base DN field

Base Distinguished Name. This field describes where to load users and groups from.

It must be in the dc=domain,dc=com format for Active Directory servers.

Domain field

The IPv4 domain that all users must be in.

This field is required unless you specify at least one Global Catalog server address.

Enable Encryption check box

If checked, the server encrypts all information it sends to the LDAP server.

Enable Binding CA Certificate check box

If checked, allows you to bind the LDAP CA certificate.

Timeout (0 - 180) seconds

The number of seconds the Cisco IMC waits until the LDAP search operation times out.

If the search operation times out, Cisco IMC tries to connect to the next server listed on this tab, if one is available.

Note:
The value you specify for this field could impact the overall time.

User Search Precedence

Allows you to specify the order of search between the local user database and LDAP user database. This can be one of the following:

- Local User Database (Default setting)

- LDAP User Database

Note:
If you checked the Enable Encryption and the Enable Binding CA Certificate check boxes, enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the LDAP server in the LDAP Server field. To resolve the FQDN of the LDAP server, configure the preferred DNS of Cisco IMC network with the appropriate DNS IP address.

Step 5

In the Configure LDAP Servers area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Pre-Configure LDAP Servers radio button

If checked, the Active Directory uses the pre-configured LDAP servers.

LDAP Servers fields

Server

The IP address of the 6 LDAP servers.

If you are using Active Directory for LDAP, then servers 1, 2 and 3 are domain controllers, while servers 4, 5 and 6 are Global Catalogs. If you are not Active Directory for LDAP, then you can configure a maximum of 6 LDAP servers.

Note:
You can provide the IP address of the host name as well.

Port

The port numbers for the servers.

If you are using Active Directory for LDAP, then for servers 1, 2 and 3, which are domain controllers, the default port number is 389. For servers 4, 5 and 6, which are Global Catalogs, the default port number is 3268.

LDAPS communication occurs over the TCP 636 port. LDAPS communication to a global catalog server occurs over TCP 3269 port.

Use DNS to Configure LDAP Servers radio button

If checked, you can use DNS to configure access to the LDAP servers.

DNS Parameters fields

Source

Specifies how to obtain the domain name used for the DNS SRV request. It can be one of the following:

- Extracted—specifies using domain name extracted-domain from the login ID

- Configured—specifies using the configured-search domain.

- Configured-Extracted—specifies using the domain name extracted from the login ID than the configured-search domain.

Domain to Search

A configured domain name that acts as a source for a DNS query.

This field is disabled if the source is specified as Extracted.

Forest to Search

A configured forest name that acts as a source for a DNS query.

This field is disabled if the source is specified as Extracted.

Step 6

In the Binding Parameters area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Method

It can be one of the following:

- Anonymous—requires NULL username and password. If this option is selected and the LDAP server is configured for Anonymous logins, then the user can gain access.

- Configured Credentials—requires a known set of credentials to be specified for the initial bind process. If the initial bind process succeeds, then the distinguished name (DN) of the user name is queried and re-used for the re-binding process. If the re-binding process fails, then the user is denied access.

- Login Credentials—requires the user credentials. If the bind process fails, the user is denied access.

By default, the Login Credentials option is selected.

Binding DN

The distinguished name (DN) of the user. This field is editable only if you have selected Configured Credentials option as the binding method.

Password

The password of the user. This field is editable only if you have selected Configured Credentials option as the binding method.

Step 7

In the Search Parameters area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Filter Attribute

This field must match the configured attribute in the schema on the LDAP server.

By default, this field displays sAMAccountName.

Group Attribute

This field must match the configured attribute in the schema on the LDAP server.

By default, this field displays memberOf.

Attribute

An LDAP attribute that contains the role and locale information for the user. This property is always a name-value pair. The system queries the user record for the value that matches this attribute name.

The LDAP attribute can use an existing LDAP attribute that is mapped to the Cisco IMC user roles and locales, or can modify the schema such that a new LDAP attribute can be created. For example, CiscoAvPair.

Note:
If you do not specify this property, the user cannot login. Although the object is located on the LDAP server, it should be an exact match of the attribute that is specified in this field.

Nested Group Search Depth (1-128)

Parameter to search for an LDAP group nested within another defined group in an LDAP group map. The parameter defines the depth of a nested group search.

Step 8

(Optional)In the Group Authorization area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

LDAP Group Authorization check box

If checked, user authentication is also done on the group level for LDAP users that are not found in the local user database.

If you check this box, Cisco IMC enables the Configure Group button.

Nested Group Search Depth (1-128)

Parameter to search for an LDAP group nested within another defined group in an LDAP group map. The parameter defines the depth of a nested group search.

Group Name column

The name of the group in the LDAP server database that is authorized to access the server.

Group Domain column

The LDAP server domain the group must reside in.

Role column

The role assigned to all users in this LDAP server group. This can be one of the following:

- read-only—A user with this role can view information but cannot make any changes.

- user—A user with this role can perform the following tasks:

- View all information

- Manage the power control options such as power on, power cycle, and power off

- Launch the KVM console and virtual media

- Clear all logs

- Toggle the locator LED

- Set time zone

- Ping

- admin—A user with this role can perform all actions available through the GUI, CLI, and IPMI.

Configure button

Configures an active directory group.

Delete button

Deletes an existing LDAP group.

Step 9

Click Save Changes.

Setting User Search Precedence

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 Admin tab.

Step 2

On the Admin tab, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click the LDAP tab.

Step 4

In the LDAP Settings area's User Search Precedence field, select Local User Database or LDAP User Database.
This field allows you to specify the order of search between the above options. Local User Database is the default option.

What to Do Next

LDAP Certificates Overview

Cisco C-series servers allow an LDAP client to validate a directory server certificate against an installed CA certificate or chained CA certificate during an LDAP binding step. This feature is introduced in the event where anyone can duplicate a directory server for user authentication and cause a security breach due to the inability to enter a trusted point or chained certificate into the Cisco IMC for remote user authentication.

An LDAP client needs a new configuration option to validate the directory server certificate during the encrypted TLS/SSL communication.

- Viewing LDAP CA Certificate Status

- Exporting an LDAP CA Certificate

- Downloading an LDAP CA Certificate

- Testing LDAP Binding

- Deleting an LDAP CA Certificate

Viewing LDAP CA Certificate Status

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click the LDAP tab.

Step 4

In the Certificate Status area, view the following fields:

Name

Description

Download Status

This field displays the status of the LDAP CA certificate download.

Export Status

This field displays the status of the LDAP CA certificate export.

Exporting an LDAP CA Certificate

Before You Begin

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

You should have downloaded a signed LDAP CA Certificate before you can export it.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click the LDAP tab.

Step 4

Click the Export LDAP CA Certificate link.
The Export LDAP CA Certificate dialog box appears.

Name

Description

Export to Remote Location

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate from a remote location and export it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the LDAP CA certificate file should be exported. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the certificate from the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Export to Local Desktop

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate stored on a drive that is local to the computer and export it.

Step 5

Click Export Certificate.

Downloading an LDAP CA Certificate

Before You Begin

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

- You must enable Binding CA Certificate to perform this action.

Note

Only CA certificates or chained CA certificates must be used in Cisco IMC. By default, CA certificate is in .cer format. If it is a chained CA certificate, then it needs to be converted to .cer format before downloading it to Cisco IMC.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click the LDAP tab.

Step 4

Click the Download LDAP CA Certificate link.
The Download LDAP CA Certificate dialog box appears.

Name

Description

Download from remote location radio button

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate from a remote location and download it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the LDAP CA certificate file should be stored. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the file to the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Download through browser client radio button

Selecting this option allows you to navigate to the certificate stored on a drive that is local to the computer running the Cisco IMC GUI.

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays a Browse button that lets you navigate to the file you want to import.

Paste Certificate content radio button

Selecting this option allows you to copy the entire content of the signed certificate and paste it in the Paste certificate content text field.

Note:
Ensure the certificate is signed before uploading.

Download Certificate button

Allows you to download the certificate to the server.

Testing LDAP Binding

Before You Begin

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

Note

If you checked the Enable Encryption and the Enable Binding CA Certificate check boxes, enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the LDAP server in the LDAP Server field. To resolve the FQDN of the LDAP server, configure the preferred DNS of Cisco IMC network with the appropriate DNS IP address.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click the LDAP tab.

Step 4

Click the Test LDAP Binding link.
The Test LDAP CA Certificate Binding dialog box appears.

Name

Description

Username field

Enter the user name.

Password field

Enter the corresponding password.

Step 5

Click Test.

Deleting an LDAP CA Certificate

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click the LDAP tab.

Step 4

Click the Delete LDAP CA Certificate link and click OK to confirm.

Viewing User Sessions

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click User Management.

Step 3

In the User Management pane, click Session Management.

Step 4

In the Sessions pane, view the following information about current user sessions:

Name

Description

Terminate Session button

If your user account is assigned the admin user role, this option enables you to force the associated user session to end.

Note:
You cannot terminate your current session from this tab.

Session ID column

The unique identifier for the session.

User name column

The username for the user.

IP Address column

The IP address from which the user accessed the server. If this is a serial connection, it displays N/A.

Type column

The type of session the user chose to access the server. This can be one of the following:

- webgui— indicates the user is connected to the server using the web UI.

- CLI— indicates the user is connected to the server using CLI.

- serial— indicates the user is connected to the server using the serial port.

Action column

This column displays N/A when the SOL is enabled and Terminate when the SOL is disabled. You can terminate a session by clicking Terminate on the web UI.

Chapter 9. Configuring Chassis Related Settings

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Managing Server Power

- Pinging a Hostname/IP Address from the Web UI

- Toggling the Locator LEDs

- Selecting a Time Zone

Managing Server Power

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 Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Summary.

Step 3

In the toolbar above the work pane, click the Host Power link.

Step 4

From the drop-down list, select one of the following options:

Actions

Description

Power ON

Powers on the chosen server.

Power Off

Powers off the chosen server, even if tasks are running on that server.

Important:
If any firmware or BIOS updates are in progress, do not power off or reset the server until those tasks are complete.

Power Cycle

Powers off and powers on chosen server.

Hard Reset

Reboots the chosen server.

Shut Down

Shuts down the chosen server if the operating system supports that feature.

Pinging a Hostname/IP Address from the Web UI

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the toolbar above the work pane, click the Ping icon.

Step 2

In the Ping Details dialog box, update the following fields:

Actions

Description

*Hostname/IP Address field

Hostname or IP address you want to reach out to.

*Number of Retries field

The maximum number of retries allowed to ping the IP address. The default value is 3. The valid range is from 1 to 10.

*Timeout field

The maximum response time for a pinging activity. The default value is 10 seconds. The valid range is from 1 to 20 seconds.

Ping Status field

Displays results of the pinging activity.

Details button

Displays details of the pinging activity.

Ping button

Pings the IP address.

Cancel button

Closes the dialog box without pinging.

Step 3

Click Ping.

Toggling the Locator LEDs

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 Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Summary.

Step 3

In the toolbar above the work pane, click the Locator LED link.

Step 4

Select Turn On Locator LED or Turn Off Locator LED.

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 Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, 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.

Chapter 10. Configuring Network-Related Settings

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Configuring IPv4

- Configuring IPv6

- Connecting to a VLAN

- Connecting to a Port Profile

- Configuring Individual Settings

Server NICs

NIC Mode

The NIC mode setting determines which ports can reach the Cisco IMC. The following network mode options are available, depending on your platform:

- Dedicated—The management port that is used to access the Cisco IMC.

- Cisco Card—Any port on the adapter card that can be used to access the Cisco IMC. The Cisco adapter card has to be installed in a slot with Network the Communications Services Interface protocol support (NCSI).

NIC Redundancy

The following NIC redundancy options are available, depending on the selected NIC mode and your platform:

- active-active—If supported, all ports that are associated with the configured NIC mode operate simultaneously. This feature increases throughput and provides multiple paths to the Cisco IMC.

- active-standby—If a port that is associated with the configured NIC mode fails, traffic fails over to one of the other ports associated with the NIC mode.

Note

If you choose this option, make sure that all ports associated with the configured NIC mode are connected to the same subnet to ensure that traffic is secure regardless of which port is used.

The available redundancy modes vary depending on the selected network mode and your platform. For the available modes, see the Hardware Installation Guide (HIG) for the type of server you are using. The C-Series HIGs are available at the following URL: Click Here

Configuring Server NICs

Configure a server NIC when you want to set the NIC mode and NIC redundancy.

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure the NIC.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the NIC Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description Cisco IMC

NIC Mode drop-down list

The ports that can be used to access Cisco IMC. This can be one of the following:

- Dedicated—The management port that is used to access the Cisco IMC.

- Cisco Card—Any port on the adapter card that can be used to access Cisco IMC. The Cisco adapter card has to be installed in a slot with Network the Communications Services Interface protocol support (NCSI).

VIC Slot drop-down list

The VIC slot that can be used for management functions in Cisco card mode. This can be one of the following:

For C220 M4 servers, VIC slot options are as follows:

- Riser 1—Slot 1 is selected.

- Riser 2— Slot 2 is selected.

- FLEX LOM—Slot 3 (MLOM) is selected.

For C240 M4 servers, VIC slot options are as follows:

- Riser 1—Slot 2 is the primary slot, but you can also use slot 1.

- Riser 2— Slot 5 is the primary slot, but you can also use slot 4.

- FLEX LOM—Slot 7 (MLOM) is selected.

The following options are available only on some UCS C-Series servers:

- 4

- 5

- 9

- 10

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

SIOC Slot

Displays the Cisco IMC network mode. Based on the card present in the System IO Controller (SIOC1), network mode could be either 1 or 2.

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

NIC Redundancy drop-down list

The available NIC redundancy options depend on the selected NIC mode and the model of the server that you are using. If you do not see a particular option, it is not available for the selected mode or server model.

This can be one of the following:

- active-active—If supported, all ports that are associated with the configured NIC mode operate simultaneously. This feature increases throughput and provides multiple paths to Cisco IMC.

- active-standby—If a port that is associated with the configured NIC mode fails, traffic fails over to one of the other ports associated with the NIC mode.

Note:
If you choose this option, make sure that all ports associated with the configured NIC mode are connected to the same subnet to ensure that traffic is secure regardless of which port is used.

MAC Address field

The MAC address of the Cisco IMC network interface that is selected in the NIC Mode field.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Overview to Common Properties Configuration

Hostname

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enhancement is available with the addition of the hostname to the DHCP packet, which can either be interpreted or displayed at the DHCP server side. The hostname, which is now added to the options field of the DHCP packet, sent in the DHCP DISCOVER packet that was initially sent to the DHCP server.

The default hostname of the server is changed from ucs-c2XX to CXXX-YYYYYY, where XXX is the model number and YYYYYY is the serial number of the server. This unique string acts as a client identifier, allows you to track and map the IP addresses that are leased out to Cisco IMC from the DHCP server. The default serial number is provided by the manufacturer as a sticker or label on the server to help you identify the server.

Dynamic DNS

Dynamic DNS (DDNS) is used to add or update the resource records on the DNS server from Cisco IMC. You can enable Dynamic DNS by using either the web UI or CLI. When you enable the DDNS option, the DDNS service records the current hostname, domain name, and the management IP address and updates the resource records in the DNS server from Cisco IMC.

Note

The DDNS server deletes the prior resource records (if any) and adds the new resource records to the DNS server if any one of the following DNS configuration is changed:

- Hostname

- Domain name in the LDAP settings

- When DDNS and DHCP are enabled, if the DHCP gets a new IP address or DNS IP or domain name due to a change in a network or a subnet.

- When DHCP is disabled and if you set the static IP address by using CLI or web UI.

- When you enter the dns-use-dhcp command.

Dynamic DNS Update Domain— You can specify the domain. The domain could be either main domain or any sub-domain. This domain name is appended to the hostname of the Cisco IMC for the DDNS update.

Configuring Common Properties

Use common properties to describe your server.

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure common properties.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the Common Properties area, update the following properties:

1. In the Management Hostname field, enter the name of the host.
By default, the hostname appears in CXXX-YYYYYY format, where XXX is the model number and YYYYYY is the serial number of the server.

Note:
If DHCP is enabled, the DHCP DISCOVER packet sent out will also carry the Cisco IMC hostname in it.

2. Check the Dynamic DNS check box.

3. In the Dynamic DNS Update Domain field, enter the domain name.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Configuring IPv4

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure IPv4.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the IPv4 Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enable IPv4 check box

If checked, IPv4 is enabled.

Use DHCP check box

If checked, Cisco IMC uses DHCP.

Management IP Address field

The management IP address. An external virtual IP address that helps manage the CMCs and BMCs.

Subnet Mask field

The subnet mask for the IP address.

Gateway field

The gateway for the IP address.

Obtain DNS Server Addresses from DHCP check box

If checked, Cisco IMC retrieves the DNS server addresses from DHCP.

Preferred DNS Server field

The IP address of the primary DNS server.

Alternate DNS Server field

The IP address of the secondary DNS server.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Configuring IPv6

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure IPv6.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the IPv6 Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enable IPv6 check box

If checked, IPv6 is enabled.

Use DHCP check box

If checked, the Cisco IMC uses DHCP.

Note:
Only stateful DHCP is supported.

Management IP Address field

Management IPv6 address.

Note:
Only global unicast addresses are supported.

Prefix Length field

The prefix length for the IPv6 address. Enter a value within the range 1 to 127. The default value is 64.

Gateway field

The gateway for the IPv6 address.

Note:
Only global unicast addresses are supported.

Obtain DNS Server Addresses from DHCP check box

If checked, the Cisco IMC retrieves the DNS server addresses from DHCP.

Note:
You can use this option only when the Use DHCP option is enabled.

Preferred DNS Server field

The IPv6 address of the primary DNS server.

Alternate DNS Server field

The IPv6 address of the secondary DNS server.

Link Local Address field

The link local address for the IPv6 address.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Connecting to a VLAN

Before You Begin

You must be logged in as admin to connect to a VLAN.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the VLAN Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enable VLAN check box

If checked, the Cisco IMC is connected to a virtual LAN.

Note:
You can configure a VLAN or a port profile, but you cannot use both. If you want to use a port profile, make sure that this check box is not checked.

VLAN ID field

The VLAN ID.

Priority field

The priority of this system on the VLAN.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Connecting to a Port Profile

Before You Begin

You must be logged in as admin to connect to a port profile.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the Port Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Auto Negotiation check box

Using this option, you can either set the network port speed and duplex values for the switch, or allow the system to automatically derive the values from the switch. This option is available for dedicated mode only.

- If checked, the network port speed and duplex settings are ignored by the system and Cisco IMC retains the speed at which the switch is configured.

- If unchecked, you can configure the network port speed and duplex values.

Admin Mode Area

Network Port Speed field

The network speed of the port. This can be one of the following:

- 10 Mbps

- 100 Mbps

- 1 Gbps

The default value is 100 Mbps. In the Dedicated mode, if you disable Auto Negotiation, you can configure the network speed and duplex values.

Note:

- Before changing the port speed, ensure that the switch you connected to has the same port speed.

- Network port speed of 1 Gbps is unavailable on the C220 and C240 M3, and C22 and C24 M3 servers.

Duplex drop-down list

The duplex mode for the Cisco IMC management port.

This can be one of the following:

- Half

- Full

By default, the duplex mode is set to Full.

Operation Mode Area

Displays the operation network port speed and duplex values.

If you checked the Auto Negotiation check box, the network port speed and duplex details of the switch are displayed. If unchecked, the network port speed and duplex values that you set at the Admin Mode are displayed.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Configuring Individual Settings

Before You Begin

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the Individual Settings area, review and update the following fields for CMC 1, CMC 2, BMC 1 and BMC 2 in their respective areas:

Name

Description

Hostname field

The user-defined hostname. By default, the hostname appears in CXXX-YYYYYY format, where XXX is the model number and YYYYYY is the serial number of the server.

MAC Address field

The MAC address of the component.

IPv4 Address field

The IPv4 address of the component.

IPv6 Address field

The IPv6 address of the component.

Link Local Address field

The link local address for the component's IPv6 address.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

What to Do Next

Network Security

The Cisco IMC uses IP blocking as network security. IP blocking prevents the connection between a server or website and certain IP addresses or ranges of addresses. IP blocking effectively bans undesired connections from those computers to a website, mail server, or other Internet servers.

IP banning is commonly used to protect against denial of service (DoS) attacks. Cisco IMC bans IP addresses by setting up an IP blocking fail count.

Configuring Network Security

Configure network security if you want to set up an IP blocking fail count.

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure network security.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Networking pane, click Network Security.

Step 3

In the IP Blocking Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enable IP Blocking check box

Check this box to enable IP blocking.

IP Blocking Fail Count field

The number of times a user can attempt to log in unsuccessfully before the system locks that user out for a specified length of time.

The number of unsuccessful login attempts must occur within the time frame specified in the IP Blocking Fail Window field.

Enter an integer between 3 and 10.

IP Blocking Fail Window field

The length of time, in seconds, in which the unsuccessful login attempts must occur in order for the user to be locked out.

Enter an integer between 60 and 120.

IP Blocking Penalty Time field

The number of seconds the user remains locked out if they exceed the maximum number of login attempts within the specified time window.

Enter an integer between 300 and 900.

Step 4

In the IP Filtering area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enable IP Filtering check box

Check this box to enable IP filtering.

IP Filter fields

To provide secure access to the server, you can now set a filter to allow only a selected set of IPs to access it. This option provides four slots for storing IP addresses (IP Filter 1, 2, 3, and 4). You can either assign a single IP address or a range of IP addresses while setting the IP filters. Once you set the IP filter, you would be unable to access the server using any other IP address.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

Network Time Protocol Service Setting

By default, when Cisco IMC is reset, it synchronizes the time with the host. With the introduction of the NTP service, you can configure Cisco IMC to synchronize the time with an NTP server. The NTP server does not run in Cisco IMC by default. You must enable and configure the NTP service by specifying the IP/DNS address of at least one server or a maximum of four servers that function as NTP servers or time source servers. When you enable the NTP service, Cisco IMC synchronizes the time with the configured NTP server. The NTP service can be modified only through Cisco IMC.

Note

To enable the NTP service, it is preferable to specify the IP address of a server rather than the DNS address.

Configuring Network Time Protocol Settings

Configuring NTP disables the IPMI Set SEL time command.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Networking.

Step 3

In the Networking pane, click NTP Setting.

Step 4

In the NTP Settings area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Enable NTP

Check this box to enable the NTP service.

Server 1

The IP/DNS address of one of the four servers that act as an NTP server or the time source server.

Server 2

The IP/DNS address of one of the four servers that act as an NTP server or the time source server.

Server 3

The IP/DNS address of one of the four servers that act as an NTP server or the time source server.

Server 4

The IP/DNS address of one of the four servers that act as an NTP server or the time source server.

Status message

Indicates whether or not the server is able to synchronize its time with the remote NTP server. This can be one of the following:

- synchronized to NTP server (RefID) at stratum 7— When the NTP service is enabled and multiple or individual IPv4 or IPv6 based NTP servers are added.

- unsynchronized — When the NTP service is enabled and an unknown or unreachable server is added.

- NTP service disabled — When the NTP service is disabled.

Note:
If you move the mouse over the help icon, a pop-up is displayed that explains what Stratum stands for.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

Chapter 11. Managing Network Adapters

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Viewing Network Adapter Properties

- Viewing Storage Adapter Properties

- Resetting the Adapter

Viewing Network Adapter Properties

Before You Begin

- The server must be powered on, or the properties will not display.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Networking menu, click Adapter Card 1 or Adapter Card 2.

Step 3

In the Adapter Card Properties area, review the following information:

Name

Description

PCI Slot field

The PCI slot in which the adapter is installed.

Vendor field

The vendor for the adapter.

Product Name field

The product name for the adapter.

Product ID field

The product ID for the adapter.

Serial Number field

The serial number for the adapter.

Version ID field

The version ID for the adapter.

Hardware Revision field

The hardware revision for the adapter.

Cisco IMC Management Enabled field

If this field displays yes, then the adapter is functioning in Cisco Card Mode and passing Cisco IMC management traffic through to the server Cisco IMC.

Configuration Pending field

If this field displays yes, the adapter configuration has changed in Cisco IMC but these changes have not been communicated to the host operating system.

To activate the changes, an administrator must reboot the adapter.

ISCSI Boot Capable field

Whether iSCSI boot is supported on the adapter.

CDN Capable field

Whether CDN is supported on the adapter.

usNIC Capable field

Whether the adapter and the firmware running on the adapter support the usNIC.

Description field

A user-defined description for the adapter.

You can enter between 1 and 63 characters.

Enable FIP Mode check box

If checked, then FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) mode is enabled. FIP mode ensures that the adapter is compatible with current FCoE standards.

Note:
We recommend that you use this option only when explicitly directed to do so by a technical support representative.

Enable LLDP check box

If checked, then Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) enables all the Data Center Bridging Capability Exchange protocol (DCBX) functionality, which includes FCoE, priority based flow control.

By default, LLDP option is enabled.

Note:
We recommend that you do not disable LLDP option, as it disables all the DCBX functionality.

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

Enable VNTAG Mode check box

If VNTAG mode is enabled:

- vNICs and vHBAs can be assigned to a specific channel.

- vNICs and vHBAs can be associated to a port profile.

- vNICs can fail over to another vNIC if there are communication problems.

Port-0 drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

- 10 Gbps

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

- Auto

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

- Auto— For Cisco UCS VIC 13xx (or later generation) adapter series, the Auto value allows the adapter to determine the speed of the port based on the transceiver module inserted into the port.

Note:
On adapters that support 40 Gbps speed, Auto is the default option.

Note:
You need to choose 40 Gbps as the port speed if you are using a 40 Gbps switch.

Port-1 drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

- 10 Gbps

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

- Auto

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

- Auto— For Cisco UCS VIC 13xx (or later generation) adapter series, the Auto value allows the adapter to determine the speed of the port based on the transceiver module inserted into the port.

Note:
On adapters that support 40 Gbps speed, Auto is the default option.

Note:
You need to choose 40 Gbps as the port speed if you are using a 40 Gbps switch.

Training Link - 0 check box

If checked, link training for port-0 is enabled.
Note:
Is supported only if port speed of 40 Gbps on port-0 is selected.

Training Link - 1 check box

If checked, link training for port-1 is enabled.
Note:
Is supported only if port speed of 40 Gbps on port-1 is selected.

PCI Link field

In a single server dual SIOC setup, depending on the information in the PCI slot field, this indicates the vNICs and vHBA of that adapter associated with the server. For example, if the PCI Slot displays 2, and the PCI Link field displays Server-1 as the field value, it indicates that vNICs and vHBA of adapter-2 are PCI linked to the server 1 host.

Step 4

In the Firmware area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Running Version field

The firmware version that is currently active.

Backup Version field

The alternate firmware version installed on the adapter, if any. The backup version is not currently running. To activate it, administrators can click Activate Firmware in the Actions area.

Note:
When you install new firmware on the adapter, any existing backup version is deleted and the new firmware becomes the backup version. You must manually activate the new firmware if you want the adapter to run the new version.

Startup Version field

The firmware version that will become active the next time the adapter is rebooted.

Bootloader Version field

The bootloader version associated with the adapter card.

Status field

The status of the last firmware activation that was performed on this adapter.

Note:
The status is reset each time the adapter is rebooted.

Step 5

In the External Ethernet Interfaces area, review the following information:

Name

Description

ID column

The uplink port ID.

MAC Address column

The MAC address of the uplink port.

Link State column

The current operational state of the uplink port. This can be one of the following:

- Fault

- Link Up

- Link Down

- SFP ID Error

- SFP Not Installed

- SFP Security Check Failed

- Unsupported SFP

Encap column

The mode in which adapter operates. This can be one of the following:

- CE—Classical Ethernet mode.

- NIV—Network Interface Virtualization mode.

Admin Speed column

The data transfer rate for the port. This can be one of the following:

- 1 Gbps

- 10 Gbps

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

- Auto

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

Note:
You need to choose 40 Gbps as the port speed if you are using a 40 Gbps switch.

Operating Speed column

The operating rate for the port. This can be one of the following:

- 1 Gbps

- 10 Gbps

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

- Auto

- 40 Gbps

- 4 x 10 Gbps

Note:
You need to choose 40 Gbps as the port speed if you are using a 40 Gbps switch.

Training Link column

Indicates if link training is enabled on the port.

Connector Present column

Indicated whether or not the connector is present. This can be one of the following:

- Yes—Connector is present.

- No—Connector not present.

Note:
This option is only available for some adapter cards.

Connector Supported column

Indicates whether or not the connector is supported by Cisco. This can be one of the following:

- Yes—The connector is supported by Cisco.

- No—The connector is not supported by Cisco.

If the connector is not supported then the link will not be up.
Note:
This option is only available for some adapter cards.

Connector Type column

The type of the connector.
Note:
This option is only available for some adapter cards.

Connector Vendor column

The vendor for the connector.
Note:
This option is only available for some adapter cards.

Connector Part Number column

The part number of the connector.
Note:
This option is only available for some adapter cards.

Connector Part Revision column

The part revision number of the connector.
Note:
This option is only available for some adapter cards.

Viewing Storage Adapter Properties

Before You Begin

- The server must be powered on.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Controller area, the Controller Info tab displays by default.

Step 4

In the Work pane's Health/Status area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Composite Health field

The combined health of the controller, the attached drives, and the battery backup unit. This can be one of the following:

- Good

- Moderate Fault

- Severe Fault

- N/A

Controller Status field

The current status of the controller. This can be one of the following:

- Optimal — The controller is functioning properly.

- Failed — The controller is not functioning.

- Unresponsive — The controller is down.

RAID Chip Temperature field

Temperature of the controller in degree centigrade.

TTY Log Status field

The current status of the TTY log download. This can be one of the following:

- Not Downloaded

- In Progress

- Complete

Step 5

In the Firmware Versions area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Product Name field

The name of the MegaRAID controller.

Serial Number field

The serial number of the MegaRAID controller.

Firmware Package Build field

The active firmware package version number.

For the firmware component version numbers, see the Running Firmware Images area.

Step 6

In the PCI Info area, review the following information:

Name

Description

PCI Slot field

The name of the PCIe slot in which the controller is located.

Vendor ID field

The PCI vendor ID, in hexadecimal.

Device ID field

The PCI device ID, in hexadecimal.

SubVendor ID field

The PCI subvendor ID, in hexadecimal.

SubDevice ID field

The PCI subdevice ID, in hexadecimal.

Step 7

In the Manufacturing Data area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Manufactured Date field

The date the MegaRAID card was manufactured, in the format yyy-mm-dd.

Revision No field

The board revision number, if any.

Step 8

In the Boot Drive area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Boot Drive field

The number of the boot drive.

Boot Drive is PD field

If this field displays true, the boot drive is a physical drive.

Step 9

In the Running Firmware Images area, review the following information:

Name

Description

BIOS Version field

The BIOS option PROM version number.

Firmware Version field

The active firmware version number.

Preboot CLI Version field

The pre-boot CLI version number.

WebBIOS Version field

The Web BIOS version number.

NVDATA Version field

The non-volatile data (NVDATA) version number.

Boot Block Version field

The boot block version number.

Boot Version field

The firmware boot loader version number on the LSI controller.

Step 10

In the Startup Firmware Images area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Startup BIOS Version field

The BIOS option PROM version that will become active when the host server reboots, if different from the current version.

Startup Firmware Version field

The firmware version that will become active when the host server reboots, if different from the current version.

Startup Preboot CLI Version field

The pre-boot CLI version that will become active when the host server reboots, if different from the current version.

Startup WebBIOS Version field

The Web BIOS version that will become active when the host server reboots, if different from the current version.

Startup NVDATA Version field

The non-volatile data version that will become active when the host server reboots, if different from the current version.

Startup Boot Block Version field

The boot block version that will become active when the host server reboots, if different from the current version.

Startup Boot Version field

The firmware boot loader version that will become active when the host server reboots, if different from the current version.

Step 11

In the Virtual Drive Count area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Virtual Drive Count field

The number of virtual drives configured on the controller.

Degraded Drive Count field

The number of virtual drives in a degraded state on the controller.

Offline Drive Count field

The number of virtual drives that have failed on the controller.

Step 12

In the Physical Drive Count area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Disk Present Count field

The number of physical drives present on the controller.

Degraded Disk Count field

The number of physical drives in a degraded state on the controller.

Failed Disk Count field

The number of physical drives that have failed on the controller.

Step 13

In the Settings area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Predictive Fail Poll Interval field

The number of seconds between predictive failure polls.

During each poll, the controller examines the Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) data on all physical drives to determine if any is about to fail.

Rebuild Rate field

The rate at which the controller rebuilds degraded RAID volumes.

This rate is shown as a percentage of the total bandwidth available.

Patrol Read Rate field

The rate at which the controller performs a background read of the physical drives looking for inconsistent data.

This rate is shown as a percentage of the total bandwidth available.

Consistency Check Rate field

The rate at which the controller scans the virtual drives looking for redundant data inconsistencies and fixing them.

This rate is shown as a percentage of the total bandwidth available.

Reconstruction Rate field

The rate at which virtual drives are reconstructed when the capacity or RAID level needs to be changed.

This rate is shown as a percentage of the total bandwidth available.

Cache Flush Interval field

The number of seconds waits before flushing the cache memory to the physical drives.

Max Drives To Spin Up At Once field

The number of drives that can be spun up simultaneously after the server is powered on.

Delay Among Spinup Groups field

The number of seconds to wait before the controller spins up the next set of drives.

Physical Drive Coercion Mode field

Whether the controller rounds the size of physical drives down to a round number. This can be one of the following:

- None—The controller does not do any rounding.

- 128 MB—Drive sizes are rounded down to the closest multiple of 128 MB.

- 1GB—Drive sizes are rounded down to the closest multiple of 1GB.

Cluster Mode field

If this field displays true, the drives on this controller are shared with controllers on other servers.

Battery Warning field

If this field displays true, missing battery warnings are disabled.

ECC Bucket Leak Rate field

The error correcting code (ECC) single-bit error bucket leak rate, in minutes.

With ECC, the controller increments an error counter when it encounters a single bit error while reading from a physical drive. The controller decrements the error counter each time the number of minutes defined in this field passes.

If the error counter reaches a system-defined maximum, the controller sends an event message to the system.

Expose Enclosure Devices field

If this field displays true, enclosure devices are visible to the host drivers.

Maintain PD Fail History field

If this field displays true, the controller remembers which physical drives were determined to be bad across server reboots.

Enable Copyback on SMART field

If this field displays true, the controller copies the contents of the drive to a spare drive if Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) reports an error.

Enable Copyback to SSD on SMART Error field

If this field displays true, the controller copies the contents of an SSD card to a spare card if SMART reports an error.

Native Command Queuing field

If this field displays true, Native Command Queuing (NCQ) is disabled.

JBOD field

If this field displays true, JBOD is enabled.

Enable Spin Down of Unconfigured Drives field

If this field displays true, the controller spins down unconfigured drives.

Enable SSD Patrol Read field

If this field displays true, the controller performs patrol reads on SSD cards.

Auto Enhanced Import field

If this field displays true, foreign configurations are automatically imported when the controller boots.

Step 14

In the Capabilities area, review the following information:

Name

Description

RAID Levels Supported field

The RAID levels supported by the controller. This can be one or more of the following:

- Raid 0—Simple striping.

- Raid 1—Simple mirroring.

- Raid 5—Striping with parity.

- Raid 1E—Integrated offset strip mirroring

- Raid 6—Striping with two parity drives.

- Raid 10—Spanned mirroring.

- Raid 50—Spanned striping with parity.

- Raid 60—Spanned striping with two parity drives.

- Raid srl-03—Spanned secondary RAID level

- Raid 00—Spanned striping.

- Raid 1e-rlq0—Integrated adjacent strip mirroring with no span.

- Raid 1e0-rlq0—Integrated adjacent strip mirroring with span.

Step 15

In the HW Configuration area, review the following information:

Name

Description

SAS Address field

A MegaRAID controller can have up to 16 serial-attached SCSI (SAS) addresses. This field displays the first 8 SAS addresses, if they are in use.

BBU Present field

If this field displays true, the battery backup unit is present.

NVRAM Present field

If this field displays true, the NVRAM is present.

NVRAM Size field

The size of the NVRAM, in kilobytes.

Serial Debugger Present field

If this field displays true, a serial debugger is attached to the RAID card.

Memory Present field

If this field displays true, memory is present.

Flash Present field

If this field displays true, flash memory is present.

Flash Size field

The size of the flash memory, in megabytes.

Memory Size field

The size of the memory, in megabytes.

Cache Memory Size field

The size of the cache memory, in megabytes.

Number of Backend Ports field

The number of SATA or SAS ports on the controller.

Step 16

In the Error Counters area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Memory Correctable Errors field

The number of correctable errors in the controller memory.

Memory Uncorrectable Errors field

The number of uncorrectable errors in the controller memory.

Guidelines for Managing vHBAs

When managing vHBAs, consider the following guidelines and restrictions:

- The Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card and Cisco UCS VIC 1225 Virtual Interface Card provide two vHBAs (fc0 and fc1). You can create up to 16 additional vHBAs on these adapter cards.

Note

If Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) mode is enabled for the adapter, you must assign a channel number to a vHBA when you create it.

- When using the Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card or Cisco UCS VIC 1225 Virtual Interface Card in an FCoE application, you must associate the vHBA with the FCoE VLAN. Follow the instructions in the Modifying vHBA Properties section to assign the VLAN.

- After making configuration changes, you must reboot the host for settings to take effect.

Viewing vHBA Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the vHBAs pane, click fc0 or fc1.

Step 4

In the General area of vHBA Properties, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the virtual HBA.

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

Target WWNN field

The WWNN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWNN, select AUTO. To specify a WWNN, click the second radio button and enter the WWNN in the corresponding field.

Target WWPN field

The WWPN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWPN, select AUTO. To specify a WWPN, click the second radio button and enter the WWPN in the corresponding field.

FC SAN Boot check box

If checked, the vHBA can be used to perform a SAN boot.

Enable Persistent LUN Binding check box

If checked, any LUN ID associations are retained in memory until they are manually cleared.

Uplink Port field

The uplink port associated with the vHBA.

Note:
This value cannot be changed for the system-defined vHBAs fc0 and fc1.

MAC Address field

The MAC address associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the MAC address, select AUTO. To specify an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in the corresponding field.

Default VLAN field

If there is no default VLAN for this vHBA, click NONE. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094 in the field.

Class of Service drop-down list

The CoS for the vHBA.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6 being the highest priority.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Rate Limit field

The data rate limit for traffic on this vHBA, in Mbps.

If you want this vHBA to have an unlimited data rate, select OFF. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter an integer between 1 and 10,000.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

PCIe Device Order field

The order in which this vHBA will be used.

To let the system set the order, select ANY. To specify an order, select the second radio button and enter an integer between 0 and 17.

EDTOV field

The error detect timeout value (EDTOV), which is the number of milliseconds to wait before the system assumes that an error has occurred.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 100,000. The default is 2,000 milliseconds.

RATOV field

The resource allocation timeout value (RATOV), which is the number of milliseconds to wait before the system assumes that a resource cannot be properly allocated.

Enter an integer between 5,000 and 100,000. The default is 10,000 milliseconds.

Max Data Field Size field

The maximum size of the Fibre Channel frame payload bytes that the vHBA supports.

Enter an integer between 256 and 2112.

Channel Number field

The channel number that will be assigned to this vHBA.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,000.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Port Profile drop-down list

The port profile that should be associated with the vHBA, if any.

This field displays the port profiles defined on the switch to which this server is connected.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Step 5

In the Error Recovery area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Enable FCP Error Recovery check box

If checked, the system uses FCP Sequence Level Error Recovery protocol (FC-TAPE).

Link Down Timeout field

The number of milliseconds the uplink port should be offline before it informs the system that the uplink port is down and fabric connectivity has been lost.

Enter an integer between 0 and 240,000.

Port Down I/O Retries field

The number of times an I/O request to a port is returned because the port is busy before the system decides the port is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255.

I/O Timeout Retry field

The time period till which the system waits for timeout before retrying. When a disk does not respond for I/O within the defined timeout period, the driver aborts the pending command, and resends the same I/O after the timer expires.

Enter an integer between 1 and 59.

Port Down Timeout field

The number of milliseconds a remote Fibre Channel port should be offline before informing the SCSI upper layer that the port is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 240,000.

Step 6

In the Fibre Channel Interrupt area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Interrupt Mode drop-down list

The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:

- MSIx—Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) with the optional extension. This is the recommended option.

- MSI—MSI only.

- INTx—PCI INTx interrupts.

Step 7

In the Fibre Channel Port area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

I/O Throttle Count field

The number of I/O operations that can be pending in the vHBA at one time.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,024.

LUNs per Target field

The maximum number of LUNs that the driver will export. This is usually an operating system platform limitation.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,024. The recommended value is 1024.

LUN Queue Depth field

The number of commands that the HBA can send or receive in a single chunk per LUN. This parameter adjusts the initial queue depth for all LUNs on the adapter.

Default value is 20 for physical miniports and 250 for virtual miniports.

Step 8

In the Fibre Channel Port FLOGI area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

FLOGI Retries field

The number of times that the system tries to log in to the fabric after the first failure.

To specify an unlimited number of retries, select the INFINITE radio button. Otherwise select the second radio button and enter an integer into the corresponding field.

FLOGI Timeout field

The number of milliseconds that the system waits before it tries to log in again.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 255,000.

Step 9

In the Fibre Channel Port PLOGI area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

PLOGI Retries field

The number of times that the system tries to log in to a port after the first failure.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255.

PLOGI Timeout field

The number of milliseconds that the system waits before it tries to log in again.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 255,000.

Step 10

In the SCSI I/O area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

CDB Transmit Queue Count field

The number of SCSI I/O queue resources the system should allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 8.

CDB Transmit Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each SCSI I/O queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 512.

Step 11

In the Receive/Transmit Queues area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

FC Work Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 128.

FC Receive Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each receive queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 128.

Modifying vHBA Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the vHBAs pane, click fc0 or fc1.

Step 4

In the General area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the virtual HBA.

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

Target WWNN field

The WWNN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWNN, select AUTO. To specify a WWNN, click the second radio button and enter the WWNN in the corresponding field.

Target WWPN field

The WWPN associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the WWPN, select AUTO. To specify a WWPN, click the second radio button and enter the WWPN in the corresponding field.

FC SAN Boot check box

If checked, the vHBA can be used to perform a SAN boot.

Enable Persistent LUN Binding check box

If checked, any LUN ID associations are retained in memory until they are manually cleared.

Uplink Port field

The uplink port associated with the vHBA.

Note:
This value cannot be changed for the system-defined vHBAs fc0 and fc1.

MAC Address field

The MAC address associated with the vHBA.

To let the system generate the MAC address, select AUTO. To specify an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in the corresponding field.

Default VLAN field

If there is no default VLAN for this vHBA, click NONE. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094 in the field.

Class of Service drop-down list

The CoS for the vHBA.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6 being the highest priority.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Rate Limit field

The data rate limit for traffic on this vHBA, in Mbps.

If you want this vHBA to have an unlimited data rate, select OFF. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter an integer between 1 and 10,000.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

PCIe Device Order field

The order in which this vHBA will be used.

To let the system set the order, select ANY. To specify an order, select the second radio button and enter an integer between 0 and 17.

EDTOV field

The error detect timeout value (EDTOV), which is the number of milliseconds to wait before the system assumes that an error has occurred.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 100,000. The default is 2,000 milliseconds.

RATOV field

The resource allocation timeout value (RATOV), which is the number of milliseconds to wait before the system assumes that a resource cannot be properly allocated.

Enter an integer between 5,000 and 100,000. The default is 10,000 milliseconds.

Max Data Field Size field

The maximum size of the Fibre Channel frame payload bytes that the vHBA supports.

Enter an integer between 256 and 2112.

Channel Number field

The channel number that will be assigned to this vHBA.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,000.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Port Profile drop-down list

The port profile that should be associated with the vHBA, if any.

This field displays the port profiles defined on the switch to which this server is connected.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Step 5

In the Error Recovery area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Enable FCP Error Recovery check box

If checked, the system uses FCP Sequence Level Error Recovery protocol (FC-TAPE).

Link Down Timeout field

The number of milliseconds the uplink port should be offline before it informs the system that the uplink port is down and fabric connectivity has been lost.

Enter an integer between 0 and 240,000.

Port Down I/O Retries field

The number of times an I/O request to a port is returned because the port is busy before the system decides the port is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255.

I/O Timeout Retry field

The time period till which the system waits for timeout before retrying. When a disk does not respond for I/O within the defined timeout period, the driver aborts the pending command, and resends the same I/O after the timer expires.

Enter an integer between 1 and 59.

Port Down Timeout field

The number of milliseconds a remote Fibre Channel port should be offline before informing the SCSI upper layer that the port is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 240,000.

Step 6

In the Fibre Channel Interrupt area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Interrupt Mode drop-down list

The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:

- MSIx—Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) with the optional extension. This is the recommended option.

- MSI—MSI only.

- INTx—PCI INTx interrupts.

Step 7

In the Fibre Channel Port area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

I/O Throttle Count field

The number of I/O operations that can be pending in the vHBA at one time.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,024.

LUNs per Target field

The maximum number of LUNs that the driver will export. This is usually an operating system platform limitation.

Enter an integer between 1 and 1,024. The recommended value is 1024.

LUN Queue Depth field

The number of commands that the HBA can send or receive in a single chunk per LUN. This parameter adjusts the initial queue depth for all LUNs on the adapter.

Default value is 20 for physical miniports and 250 for virtual miniports.

Step 8

In the Fibre Channel Port FLOGI area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

FLOGI Retries field

The number of times that the system tries to log in to the fabric after the first failure.

To specify an unlimited number of retries, select the INFINITE radio button. Otherwise select the second radio button and enter an integer into the corresponding field.

FLOGI Timeout field

The number of milliseconds that the system waits before it tries to log in again.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 255,000.

Step 9

In the Fibre Channel Port PLOGI area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

PLOGI Retries field

The number of times that the system tries to log in to a port after the first failure.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255.

PLOGI Timeout field

The number of milliseconds that the system waits before it tries to log in again.

Enter an integer between 1,000 and 255,000.

Step 10

In the SCSI I/O area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

CDB Transmit Queue Count field

The number of SCSI I/O queue resources the system should allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 8.

CDB Transmit Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each SCSI I/O queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 512.

Step 11

In the Receive/Transmit Queues area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

FC Work Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 128.

FC Receive Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each receive queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 128.

Step 12

Click Save Changes.

Creating a vHBA

The adapter provides two permanent vHBAs. If NIV mode is enabled, you can create up to 16 additional vHBAs.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, choose one of these actions:

- To create a vHBA using default configuration settings, click Add vHBA.

- To create a vHBA using the same configuration settings as an existing vHBA, select that vHBA and click Clone vHBA.

The Add vHBA dialog box appears.

Step 4

In the Add vHBA dialog box, enter a name for the vHBA in the Name entry box.

Step 5

Click Add vHBA.

What to Do Next

- Reboot the server to create the vHBA.

- If configuration changes are required, configure the new vHBA as described in Modifying vHBA Properties.

Deleting a vHBA

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the Host Fibre Channel Interfaces area, select a vHBA or vHBAs from the table.

Note:   You cannot delete either of the two default vHBAs, fc0 or fc1.

Step 4

Click Delete vHBAs and click OK to confirm.

vHBA Boot Table

In the vHBA boot table, you can specify up to four LUNs from which the server can boot.

Creating a Boot Table Entry

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the Fibre Channel Interfaces area, scroll down to the Boot Table area.

Step 4

Click the Add Boot Entry button to open the Add Boot Entry dialog box.

Step 5

In the Add Boot Entry dialog box, review the following information and perform the actions specified:

Name

Description

Target WWPN field

The World Wide Port Name (WWPN) that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Enter the WWPN in the format hh:hh:hh:hh:hh:hh:hh:hh.

LUN ID field

The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Enter an ID between 0 and 255.

Add Boot Entry button

Adds the specified location to the boot table.

Reset Values button

Clears the values currently entered in the fields.

Cancel button

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

Deleting a Boot Table Entry

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the Fibre Channel Interfaces area, scroll down to the Boot Table area.

Step 4

In the Boot Table area, click the entry to be deleted.

Step 5

Click Delete Boot Entry and click OK to confirm.

vHBA Persistent Binding

Persistent binding ensures that the system-assigned mapping of Fibre Channel targets is maintained after a reboot.

Viewing Persistent Bindings

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the vHBAs pane, click fc0 or fc1.

Step 4

In the Persistent Bindings dialog box, review the following information:

Name

Description

Index column

The unique identifier for the binding.

Target WWPN column

The target World Wide Port Name with which the binding is associated.

Host WWPN column

The host World Wide Port Name with which the binding is associated.

Bus ID column

The bus ID with which the binding is associated.

Target ID column

The target ID on the host system with which the binding is associated.

Rebuild Persistent Bindings button

Clears all unused bindings and resets the ones that are in use.

Close button

Closes the dialog box and saves your changes.

Step 5

Click Close.

Rebuilding Persistent Bindings

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vHBAs tab.

Step 3

In the vHBAs pane, click fc0 or fc1.

Step 4

In the Fibre Channel Interfaces area, scroll down to the Persistent Bindings area.

Step 5

Click the Rebuild Persistent Bindings button.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm.

Guidelines for Managing vNICs

When managing vNICs, consider the following guidelines and restrictions:

- The Cisco UCS P81E Virtual Interface Card and Cisco UCS VIC 1225 Virtual Interface Card provide two default vNICs (eth0 and eth1). You can create up to 16 additional vNICs on these adapter cards.

Note

If Network Interface Virtualization (NIV) mode is enabled for the adapter, you must assign a channel number to a vNIC when you create it.

- After making configuration changes, you must reboot the host for settings to take effect.

Cisco C-series servers use Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) for packet transfers. RoCE defines the mechanism of performing RDMA over ethernet, based on the similar mechanism of RDMA over Infiniband. However, RoCE, with its performance oriented characteristics, delivers a superior performance compared to traditional network socket implementation because of the lower latency, lower CPU utilization and higher utilization of network bandwidth. RoCE meets the requirement of moving large amount of data across networks very efficiently.

The RoCE firmware requires the following configuration parameters provided by Cisco UCS Manager for better vNIC performance:

- Queue Pairs

- Memory Regions

- Resource Groups

Guidelines and Limitations for SMB Direct with RoCE

- Microsoft SMB Direct with RoCE is supported:

- On Windows 2012 R2.

- On Windows 2016.

- Cisco UCS C-Series server does not support more than 4 RoCE-enabled vNICs per adapter.

- Cisco UCS C-Series server does not support RoCE with NVGRE, VXLAN, VMQ, or usNIC.

- Maximum number of queue pairs per adapter is 8192.

- Maximum number of memory regions per adapter is 524288.

- RoCE configuration is supported between Cisco adapters. Interoperability between Cisco adapters and third party adapters is not supported.

Important:
It is required to configure the no-drop QOS policy settings at the switches in the RDMA traffic path.

Viewing vNIC Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 3

In the vNICs pane, click eth0 or eth1.

Step 4

In the Ethernet Interfaces pane's vNIC Properties area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name for the virtual NIC.

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

CDN field

The Consistent Device Name (CDN) that you can assign to the ethernet vNICs on the VIC cards. Assigning a specific CDN to a device helps in identifying it on the host OS.
Note:
This feature works only when the CDN Support for VIC token is enabled in the BIOS.

MTU field

The maximum transmission unit, or packet size, that this vNIC accepts.

Enter an integer between 1500 and 9000.

Uplink Port drop-down list

The uplink port associated with this vNIC. All traffic for this vNIC goes through this uplink port.

MAC Address field

The MAC address associated with the vNIC.

To let the adapter select an available MAC address from its internal pool, select Auto. To specify an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in the corresponding field.

Class of Service drop-down list

The class of service to associate with traffic from this vNIC.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6 being the highest priority.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Trust Host CoS check box

Check this box if you want the vNIC to use the class of service provided by the host operating system.

PCI Order field

The order in which this vNIC will be used.

To specify an order, enter an integer within the displayed range.

Default VLAN field

If there is no default VLAN for this vNIC, click NONE. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094 in the field.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

VLAN Mode drop-down list

If you want to use VLAN trunking, select TRUNK. Otherwise, select ACCESS.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Rate Limit field

If you want this vNIC to have an unlimited data rate, select OFF. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a rate limit in the associated field.

Enter an integer between 1 and 10,000 Mbps.

You can enter an integer between 1 and 40,000 Mbps for VIC 13xx controllers.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Enable PXE Boot check box

Check this box if the vNIC can be used to perform a PXE boot.

Channel Number field

Select the channel number that will be assigned to this vNIC.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

PCI Link field

The link through which vNICs can be connected. These are the following values:

- 0 - The first cross-edged link where the vNIC is placed.

- 1 - The second cross-edged link where the vNIC is placed.

Note:

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

Port Profile drop-down list

Select the port profile that should be associated with the vNIC.

This field displays the port profiles defined on the switch to which this server is connected.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Enable Uplink Failover check box

Check this box if traffic on this vNIC should fail over to the secondary interface if there are communication problems.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Enable VMQ check box

Check this box to enable Virtual Machine Queue (VMQ).

Note:
Ensure that VMQ is not enabled when SR-IOV or netflow option is enabled on the adapter.

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

Enable aRFS check box

Check this box to enable Accelerated Receive Flow steering (aRFS).

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

Enable NVGRE check box

Check this box to enable Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation.

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

- This option is available only on C-Series servers with Cisco VIC 1385 cards.

Enable VXLAN check box

Check this box to enable Virtual Extensible LAN.

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

- This option is available only on C-Series servers with Cisco VIC 1385 cards.

Advanced Filter check box

Check this box to enable advanced filter options in vNICs.

Failback Timeout field

After a vNIC has started using its secondary interface, this setting controls how long the primary interface must be available before the system resumes using the primary interface for the vNIC.

Enter a number of seconds between 0 and 600.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Step 5

In the Ethernet Interrupt area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Interrupt Count field

The number of interrupt resources to allocate. In general, this value should be equal to the number of completion queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 514.

Coalescing Time field

The time to wait between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.

Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. To turn off interrupt coalescing, enter 0 (zero) in this field.

Coalescing Type drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

- MIN—The system waits for the time specified in the Coalescing Time field before sending another interrupt event.

- IDLE—The system does not send an interrupt until there is a period of no activity lasting as least as long as the time specified in the Coalescing Time field.

Interrupt Mode drop-down list

The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:

- MSI-X—Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) with the optional extension. This is the recommended option.

- MSI—MSI only.

- INTx—PCI INTx interrupts.

Step 6

In the Ethernet Receive Queue area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Receive Queue Count field

The number of receive queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Receive Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each receive queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Step 7

In the Ethernet Transmit Queue area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Transmit Queue Count field

The number of transmit queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Transmit Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Step 8

In the Completion Queue area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Completion Queue Count field

The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 512.

Completion Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each completion queue.

This value cannot be changed.

Step 9

In the TCP Offload area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Enable TCP Segmentation Offload check box

If checked, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. This option may reduce CPU overhead and increase throughput rate.

If cleared, the CPU segments large packets.

Note:
This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).

Enable TCP Rx Offload Checksum Validation check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU validates all packet checksums.

Enable TCP Tx Offload Checksum Generation check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.

Enable Large Receive check box

If checked, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. This option may reduce CPU utilization and increase inbound throughput.

If cleared, the CPU processes all large packets.

Step 10

In the Receive Side Scaling area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Enable TCP Receive Side Scaling check box

Receive Side Scaling (RSS) distributes network receive processing across multiple CPUs in multiprocessor systems.

If checked, network receive processing is shared across processors whenever possible.

If cleared, network receive processing is always handled by a single processor even if additional processors are available.

Enable IPv4 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv4 networks.

Enable TCP-IPv4 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv4 networks.

Enable IPv6 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv6 networks.

Enable TCP-IPv6 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.

Enable IPv6 Extension RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for IPv6 extensions.

Enable TCP-IPv6 Extension RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.

Modifying vNIC Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 3

In the vNICs pane, click eth0 or eth1.

Step 4

In the Ethernet Interfaces pane's vNIC Properties area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name for the virtual NIC.

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

CDN field

The Consistent Device Name (CDN) that you can assign to the ethernet vNICs on the VIC cards. Assigning a specific CDN to a device helps in identifying it on the host OS.
Note:
This feature works only when the CDN Support for VIC token is enabled in the BIOS.

MTU field

The maximum transmission unit, or packet size, that this vNIC accepts.

Enter an integer between 1500 and 9000.

Uplink Port drop-down list

The uplink port associated with this vNIC. All traffic for this vNIC goes through this uplink port.

MAC Address field

The MAC address associated with the vNIC.

To let the adapter select an available MAC address from its internal pool, select Auto. To specify an address, click the second radio button and enter the MAC address in the corresponding field.

Class of Service drop-down list

The class of service to associate with traffic from this vNIC.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6 being the highest priority.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Trust Host CoS check box

Check this box if you want the vNIC to use the class of service provided by the host operating system.

PCI Link field

The link through which vNICs can be connected. These are the following values:

- 0 - The first cross-edged link where the vNIC is placed.

- 1 - The second cross-edged link where the vNIC is placed.

Note:

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

- This option is available only on C-Series servers with Cisco VIC 1385 cards.

PCI Order field

The order in which this vNIC will be used.

To let the system set the order, select Any. To specify an order, select the second radio button and enter an integer between 0 and 17.

Default VLAN field

If there is no default VLAN for this vNIC, click NONE. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a VLAN ID between 1 and 4094 in the field.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

VLAN Mode drop-down list

If you want to use VLAN trunking, select TRUNK. Otherwise, select ACCESS. When the VLAN is set to ACCESS mode, any frame received from the specified default VLAN (1-4094) that is received from the switch with a TAG removes that TAG when it is sent to the host OS through the vNIC.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Rate Limit field

If you want this vNIC to have an unlimited data rate, select OFF. Otherwise, click the second radio button and enter a rate limit in the associated field.

Enter an integer between 1 and 10,000 Mbps or 40,000 Mbps depending on the adapter card you choose.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

Enable PXE Boot check box

Check this box if the vNIC can be used to perform a PXE boot.

Channel Number field

Select the channel number that will be assigned to this vNIC.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Port Profile drop-down list

Select the port profile that should be associated with the vNIC.

This field displays the port profiles defined on the switch to which this server is connected.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Enable Uplink Failover check box

Check this box if traffic on this vNIC should fail over to the secondary interface if there are communication problems.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Enable VMQ check box

Check this box to enable Virtual Machine Queue (VMQ).

Note:
Ensure that VMQ is not enabled when SR-IOV or netflow option is enabled on the adapter.

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

Enable aRFS check box

Check this box to enable Accelerated Receive Flow steering (aRFS).

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

Enable NVGRE check box

Check this box to enable Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation.

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

- This option is available only on C-Series servers with Cisco VIC 1385 cards.

Enable VXLAN check box

Check this box to enable Virtual Extensible LAN.

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

- This option is available only on C-Series servers with Cisco VIC 1385 cards.

Failback Timeout field

After a vNIC has started using its secondary interface, this setting controls how long the primary interface must be available before the system resumes using the primary interface for the vNIC.

Enter a number of seconds between 0 and 600.

Note:
VNTAG mode is required for this option.

Step 5

In the Ethernet Interrupt area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Interrupt Count field

The number of interrupt resources to allocate. In general, this value should be equal to the number of completion queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 514.

Coalescing Time field

The time to wait between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.

Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. To turn off interrupt coalescing, enter 0 (zero) in this field.

Coalescing Type drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

- MIN—The system waits for the time specified in the Coalescing Time field before sending another interrupt event.

- IDLE—The system does not send an interrupt until there is a period of no activity lasting as least as long as the time specified in the Coalescing Time field.

Interrupt Mode drop-down list

The preferred driver interrupt mode. This can be one of the following:

- MSI-X—Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) with the optional extension. This is the recommended option.

- MSI—MSI only.

- INTx—PCI INTx interrupts.

Step 6

In the Ethernet Receive Queue area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Receive Queue Count field

The number of receive queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Receive Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each receive queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Step 7

In the Ethernet Transmit Queue area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Transmit Queue Count field

The number of transmit queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Transmit Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Step 8

In the Completion Queue area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Completion Queue Count field

The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 512.

Completion Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each completion queue.

This value cannot be changed.

Step 9

In the TCP Offload area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Enable TCP Segmentation Offload check box

If checked, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. This option may reduce CPU overhead and increase throughput rate.

If cleared, the CPU segments large packets.

Note:
This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).

Enable TCP Rx Offload Checksum Validation check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU validates all packet checksums.

Enable TCP Tx Offload Checksum Generation check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.

Enable Large Receive check box

If checked, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. This option may reduce CPU utilization and increase inbound throughput.

If cleared, the CPU processes all large packets.

Step 10

In the Receive Side Scaling area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Enable TCP Receive Side Scaling check box

Receive Side Scaling (RSS) distributes network receive processing across multiple CPUs in multiprocessor systems.

If checked, network receive processing is shared across processors whenever possible.

If cleared, network receive processing is always handled by a single processor even if additional processors are available.

Enable IPv4 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv4 networks.

Enable TCP-IPv4 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv4 networks.

Enable IPv6 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled on IPv6 networks.

Enable TCP-IPv6 RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.

Enable IPv6 Extension RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for IPv6 extensions.

Enable TCP-IPv6 Extension RSS check box

If checked, RSS is enabled for TCP transmissions across IPv6 networks.

Step 11

Click Save Changes.

Creating a vNIC

The adapter provides two permanent vNICs. You can create up to 16 additional vNICs.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 3

In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, choose one of these actions:

- To create a vNIC using default configuration settings, click Add vNIC.

- To create a vNIC using the same configuration settings as an existing vNIC, select that vNIC and click Clone vNIC.

The Add vNIC dialog box appears.

Step 4

In the Add vNIC dialog box, enter a name for the vNIC in the Name entry box.

Step 5

(Optional)In the Add vNIC dialog box, enter a channel number for the vNIC in the Channel Number entry box.
Note:
If NIV is enabled on the adapter, you must assign a channel number for the vNIC when you create it.

Step 6

Click Add vNIC.

What to Do Next

If configuration changes are required, configure the new vNIC as described in Modifying vNIC Properties.

Deleting a vNIC

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 3

In the Host Ethernet Interfaces area, select a vNIC from the table.

Note:   You cannot delete either of the two default vNICs, eth0 or eth1.

Step 4

Click Delete vNIC and click OK to confirm.

Overview of Cisco usNIC

The Cisco user-space NIC (Cisco usNIC) feature improves the performance of software applications that run on the Cisco UCS servers in your data center by bypassing the kernel when sending and receiving networking packets. The applications interact directly with a Cisco UCS VIC second generation or later generation adapter, such as the , which improves the networking performance of your high-performance computing cluster. To benefit from Cisco usNIC, your applications must use the Message Passing Interface (MPI) instead of sockets or other communication APIs.

Cisco usNIC offers the following benefits for your MPI applications:

- Provides a low-latency and high-throughput communication transport.

- Employs the standard and application-independent Ethernet protocol.

- Takes advantage of lowlatency forwarding, Unified Fabric, and integrated management support in the following Cisco data center platforms:

- Cisco UCS server

- Cisco UCS VIC second generation or later generation adapter

- 10 or 40GbE networks

Standard Ethernet applications use user-space socket libraries, which invoke the networking stack in the Linux kernel. The networking stack then uses the Cisco eNIC driver to communicate with the Cisco VIC hardware. The following figure shows the contrast between a regular software application and an MPI application that uses Cisco usNIC.

Kernel-Based Network Communication versus Cisco usNIC-Based Communication

Viewing and Configuring Cisco usNIC using the Cisco IMC GUI

Before You Begin

You must log in to the Cisco IMC GUI with administrator privileges to perform this task. Click Play on this video to watch how to configure Cisco usNIC in CIMC.

Procedure

Step 1

Log into the Cisco IMC GUI.
For more information about how to log into Cisco IMC, see Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Integrated Management Controller GUI Configuration Guide.

Step 2

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 3

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 4

In the vNICs pane, click eth0 or eth1.

Step 5

In the Ethernet Interfaces area, select the usNIC area.

Step 6

In the Properties area, review and update the following fields:

Name

Description

Name

The name for the vNIC that is the parent of the usNIC.

Note:
This field is read-only.

usNIC field

The number of usNICs assigned to the specific vNIC.

Enter an integer between 0 and 225.

To assign additional usNICs to a specified vNIC, enter value higher than the existing value.

To delete usNICs from a specified vNIC, enter value smaller than the existing value.

To delete all the usNICs assigned to a vNIC, enter zero.

Transmit Queue Count field

The number of transmit queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Receive Queue Count field

The number of receive queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Completion Queue Count field

The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 512.

Transmit Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Receive Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each receive queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Interrupt Count field

The number of interrupt resources to allocate. In general, this value should be equal to the number of completion queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 514.

Interrupt Coalescing Type drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

- MIN—The system waits for the time specified in the Coalescing Time field before sending another interrupt event.

- IDLE—The system does not send an interrupt until there is a period of no activity lasting as least as long as the time specified in the Coalescing Time field.

Interrupt Coalescing Timer Time field

The time to wait between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.

Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. To turn off interrupt coalescing, enter 0 (zero) in this field.

Class of Service field

The class of service to associate with traffic from this usNIC.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6 being the highest priority.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

TCP Segment Offload check box

If checked, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. This option may reduce CPU overhead and increase throughput rate.

If cleared, the CPU segments large packets.

Note:
This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).

Large Receive check box

If checked, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. This option may reduce CPU utilization and increase inbound throughput.

If cleared, the CPU processes all large packets.

TCP Tx Checksum check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.

TCP Rx Checksum check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU validates all packet checksums.

Step 7

Click Save Changes.
The changes take effect upon the next server reboot.

Viewing usNIC Properties

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 3

In the vNICs pane, click eth0 or eth1.

Step 4

In the Host Ethernet Interfaces pane's usNIC Properties area, review the information in the following fields:

Name

Description

Name

The name for the vNIC that is the parent of the usNIC.

Note:
This field is read-only.

usNIC field

The number of usNICs assigned to the specific vNIC.

Enter an integer between 0 and 225.

To assign additional usNICs to a specified vNIC, enter value higher than the existing value.

To delete usNICs from a specified vNIC, enter value smaller than the existing value.

To delete all the usNICs assigned to a vNIC, enter zero.

Transmit Queue Count field

The number of transmit queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Receive Queue Count field

The number of receive queue resources to allocate.

Enter an integer between 1 and 256.

Completion Queue Count field

The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, the number of completion queue resources you should allocate is equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 512.

Transmit Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each transmit queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Receive Queue Ring Size field

The number of descriptors in each receive queue.

Enter an integer between 64 and 4096.

Interrupt Count field

The number of interrupt resources to allocate. In general, this value should be equal to the number of completion queue resources.

Enter an integer between 1 and 514.

Interrupt Coalescing Type drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

- MIN—The system waits for the time specified in the Coalescing Time field before sending another interrupt event.

- IDLE—The system does not send an interrupt until there is a period of no activity lasting as least as long as the time specified in the Coalescing Time field.

Interrupt Coalescing Timer Time field

The time to wait between interrupts or the idle period that must be encountered before an interrupt is sent.

Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. To turn off interrupt coalescing, enter 0 (zero) in this field.

Class of Service field

The class of service to associate with traffic from this usNIC.

Select an integer between 0 and 6, with 0 being lowest priority and 6 being the highest priority.

Note:
This option cannot be used in VNTAG mode.

TCP Segment Offload check box

If checked, the CPU sends large TCP packets to the hardware to be segmented. This option may reduce CPU overhead and increase throughput rate.

If cleared, the CPU segments large packets.

Note:
This option is also known as Large Send Offload (LSO).

Large Receive check box

If checked, the hardware reassembles all segmented packets before sending them to the CPU. This option may reduce CPU utilization and increase inbound throughput.

If cleared, the CPU processes all large packets.

TCP Tx Checksum check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packets to the hardware so that the checksum can be calculated. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU calculates all packet checksums.

TCP Rx Checksum check box

If checked, the CPU sends all packet checksums to the hardware for validation. This option may reduce CPU overhead.

If cleared, the CPU validates all packet checksums.

Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability for vNICs

When the rack-servers are configured in a standalone mode, and when the VIC adapters are directly attached to the Nexus 5000 and Nexus 6000 family of switches, you can configure these VIC adapters to boot the servers remotely from iSCSI storage targets. You can configure Ethernet vNICs to enable a rack server to load the host OS image from remote iSCSI target devices.

To configure the iSCSI boot capability on a vNIC:

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

- To configure a vNIC to boot a server remotely from an iSCSI storage target, you must enable the PXE boot option on the vNIC.

Note

You can configure a maximum of 2 iSCSI vNICs for each host.

Configuring iSCSI Boot Capability on a vNIC

You can configure a maximum of 2 iSCSI vNICs for each host.

Before You Begin

- To configure a vNIC to boot a server remotely from an iSCSI storage target, you must enable the PXE boot option on the vNIC.

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 3

In the vNICs pane, click eth0 or eth1.

Step 4

In the Ethernet Interfaces area, select the iSCSI Boot Properties area.

Step 5

In the General Area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the vNIC.

DHCP Network check box

Whether DHCP Network is enabled for the vNIC.

If enabled, the initiator network configuration is obtained from the DHCP server.

DHCP iSCSI check box

Whether DHCP iSCSI is enabled for the vNIC. If enabled and the DHCP ID is set, the initiator IQN and target information are obtained from the DHCP server.

Note:
If DHCP iSCSI is enabled without a DHCP ID, only the target information is obtained.

DHCP ID field

The vendor identifier string used by the adapter to obtain the initiator IQN and target information from the DHCP server.

Enter a string up to 64 characters.

DHCP Timeout field

The number of seconds to wait before the initiator assumes that the DHCP server is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 60 and 300 (default: 60 seconds)

Link Timeout field

The number of seconds to wait before the initiator assumes that the link is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255 (default: 15 seconds)

LUN Busy Retry Count field

The number of times to retry the connection in case of a failure during iSCSI LUN discovery.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255. The default is 15.

IP Version field

The IP version to use during iSCSI boot.

Step 6

In the Initiator Area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

A regular expression that defines the name of the iSCSI initiator.

You can enter any alphanumeric string as well as the following special characters:

- . (period)

- : (colon)

- - (dash)

Note:
The name is in the IQN format.

IP Address field

The IP address of the iSCSI initiator.

Subnet Mask field

The subnet mask for the iSCSI initiator.

Gateway field

The default gateway.

Primary DNS field

The primary DNS server address.

Secondary DNS field

The secondary DNS server address.

TCP Timeout field

The number of seconds to wait before the initiator assumes that TCP is unavailable.

Enter an integer between 0 and 255 (default: 15 seconds)

CHAP Name field

The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) name of the initiator.

CHAP Secret field

The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) shared secret of the initiator.

Step 7

In the Primary Target Area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the primary target in the IQN format.

IP Address field

The IP address of the target.

TCP Port field

The TCP port associated with the target.

Boot LUN field

The Boot LUN associated with the target.

CHAP Name field

The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) name of the initiator.

CHAP Secret field

The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) shared secret of the initiator.

Step 8

In the Secondary Target Area, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the secondary target in the IQN format.

IP Address field

The IP address of the target.

TCP Port field

The TCP port associated with the target.

Boot LUN field

The Boot LUN associated with the target.

CHAP Name field

The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) name of the initiator.

CHAP Secret field

The Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) shared secret of the initiator.

Name

Description

Configure ISCSI button

Configures iSCSI boot on the selected vNIC.

Unconfigure ISCSI button

Removes the configuration from the selected vNIC.

Reset Values button

Restores the values for the vNIC to the settings that were in effect when this dialog box was first opened.

Cancel button

Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

Step 9

Click Save Changes.

Removing iSCSI Boot Configuration from a vNIC

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

In the Adapter Card pane, click the vNICs tab.

Step 3

In the vNICs pane, click eth0 or eth1.

Step 4

In the Ethernet Interfaces area, select the iSCSI Boot Properties area.

Step 5

Click the Unconfigure ISCSI button at the bottom of the area.

Exporting the Adapter Configuration

The adapter configuration can be exported as an XML file to a remote server which can be one of the following:

- TFTP

- FTP

- SFTP

- SCP

- HTTP

Before You Begin

Obtain the remote server IP address.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

Click the Adapter Card tab.
The General tab appears.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the General tab, click Export Configuration.
The Export Adapter Configuration dialog box opens.

Step 4

In the Export Adapter Configuration dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Export to drop-down list

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

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

Server IP/Hostname field

The IPv4 or IPv6 address, or hostname of the server to which the adapter configuration file will be exported. Depending on the setting in the Export to drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

Path and Filename field

The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when exporting the file to the remote server.

Username

The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Password

The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Step 5

Click Export Configuration.

Importing the Adapter Configuration

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

Click the Adapter Card tab.
The General tab appears.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the General tab, click Import Configuration.
The Import Adapter Configuration dialog box opens.

Step 4

In the Import Adapter Configuration dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Import from drop-down list

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

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

Server IP/Hostname field

The IPv4 or IPv6 address, or hostname of the server on which the adapter configuration file resides. Depending on the setting in the Import from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

Path and Filename field

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

Username

The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Password

The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Step 5

Click Import Configuration. The adapter downloads the configuration file from the specified path on the TFTP server at the specified IP address. The configuration will be installed during the next server reboot.

What to Do Next

Reboot the server to apply the imported configuration.

Restoring Adapter Defaults

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

Click the Adapter Card tab.
The General tab appears.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the General tab, click Reset To Defaults and click OK to confirm.
Note:
Resetting the adapter to default settings sets the port speed to 4 X 10 Gbps. Choose 40 Gbps as the port speed only if you are using a 40 Gbps switch.

Resetting the Adapter

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Networking menu.

Step 2

Click the Adapter Card tab.
The General tab appears.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the General tab, click Reset and click Yes to confirm.
Note:
Resetting the adapter also resets the host and requires a reformat.

Chapter 12. Managing Storage Adapters

This chapter includes the following sections:

Self Encrypting Drives (Full Disk Encryption)

Cisco IMC supports self encrypting drives (SED). A special hardware in the drives encrypts incoming data and decrypts outgoing data in real-time. This feature is also called Full Disk Encryption (FDE).

The data on the drive is encrypted on its way into the drive and decrypted on its way out. However, if you lock the drive, no security key is required to retrieve the data.

When a drive is locked, an encryption key is created and stored internally. All data stored on this drive is encrypted using that key, and stored in encrypted form. Once you store the data in this manner, a security key is required in order to un-encrypt and fetch the data from the drive. Unlocking a drive deletes that encryption key and renders the stored data unusable. This is called a Secure Erase. The FDE comprises a key ID and a security key.

The FDE feature supports the following operations:

- Enable and disable security on a controller

- Create a secure virtual drive

- Secure a non-secure drive group

- Unlock foreign configuration drives

- Enable security on a physical drive (JBOD)

- Clear secure SED drives

- Clear secure foreign configuration

Scenarios to consider While Configuring Controller Security in a Dual SIOC Environment

Note

Dual SIOC connectivity is available only on some servers.

Controller security can be enabled, disabled, or modified independently. However, local and remote key management applies to all the controllers on the server. Therefore security action involving switching the key management modes must be performed with caution. In a scenario where both controllers are secure, and you decide to move one of the controllers to a different mode, you need to perform the same operation on the other controller as well.

Consider the following two scenarios:

- Scenario 1—Key management is set to remote; both controllers are secure and use remote key management. If you now wish to switch to local key management, switch the key management for each controller and disable remote key management.

- Scenario 2—Key management is set to local; both controllers are secure and use local key management. If you now wish to switch to remote key management, enable remote key management and switch the key management for each controller.

If you do not modify the controller security method on any one of the controllers, it renders the secure key management in an unsupported configuration state.

- Enabling Controller Security

- Modifying Controller Security

- Disabling Controller Security

- Switching Controller Security Between Local and Remote Key Management

Enabling Controller Security

This option is available only on some C-series servers.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Controller Info area, click Enable Drive Security.

Step 4

In the Enable Drive Security dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Controller Security field

Indicates that the controller is disabled.

Key Management field

Indicates whether the key is remotely managed or locally managed. This can be one of the following:

- Remote Key Management radio button— Controller security key is configured or managed using the remote KMIP server.

Note:
If you choose this option, you do not have to specify the existing security key but you have to provide the key ID and the security key for local management.

- Local Key Management radio button— Controller security is configured locally.

Security Key Identifier field

The current key ID.

Security Key field

Security key used to enable controller security. If you wish to change the current security key, enter the new key here.

Note:
Once you change the security key, a Secure Key Verification pop-up window appears where you need to enter the current security key to verify it.

Confirm Security Key field

Re-enter the security key.

Suggest button

Suggests the security key or key ID that can be assigned.

Step 5

Click Save.
This enables controller security.

Modifying Controller Security

This option is available only on some C-series servers.

Before You Begin

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

- You must have first enabled controller security to modify it.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Controller Info area, click Modify Drive Security.

Step 4

In the Modify Drive Security dialog box, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Controller Security field

Indicates whether or not controller security is enabled. This can be one of the following:

- True— Controller security is enabled.

- False— Controller security is disabled.

Key Management field

Indicates whether the key is remotely managed or locally managed. This can be one of the following:

- Remote Key Management radio button— Controller security key is configured or managed using the remote KMIP server.

Note:
If you choose this option, you do not have to specify the existing security key but you have to provide the key ID and the security key for local management.

- Local Key Management radio button— Controller security is configured locally.

Security Key Identifier field

The current key ID.

Security Key field

Security key used to enable controller security. If you wish to change the current security key, enter the new key here.

Note:
Once you change the security key, a Secure Key Verification pop-up window appears where you need to enter the current security key to verify it.

Confirm Security Key field

Re-enter the security key.

Suggest button

Suggests the security key or key ID that can be assigned.

Save button

Saves the data.

Cancel button

Cancels the action.

Step 5

Click Save.
This modifies the controller security settings.

Disabling Controller Security

This option is available only on some C-series servers.

Before You Begin

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

- You must have first enabled controller security to disable it.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Controller Info area, click Disable Drive Security.

Step 4

Click OK in the confirmation pop-up window.
This disables controller security.

Switching Controller Security Between Local and Remote Key Management

This task allows you to switch controller security from local management to remote management, and from remote to local management.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Controller Info area, to switch the controller security from remote to local management, click Switch to Local Key Management.

Note:   When you switch from remote to local key management, ensure that you disable KMIP secure key management first.

Step 4

(Optional)Similarly, if you want to switch the controller security from local to remote management, click Switch to Remote Key Management.

Step 5

Click OK to confirm.

Creating Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives.
The Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives dialog box displays.

Step 4

In the Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives dialog box, select the RAID level for the new virtual drives:
This can be one of the following:

- Raid 0—Simple striping.

- Raid 1—Simple mirroring.

- Raid 5—Striping with parity.

- Raid 6—Striping with two parity drives.

- Raid 10—Spanned mirroring.

- Raid 50—Spanned striping with parity.

- Raid 60—Spanned striping with two parity drives.

Step 5

In the Create Drive Groups area, choose one or more physical drives to include in the group.
Use the >> button to add the drives to the Drive Groups table. Use the << button to remove physical drives from the drive group.

Note:

- The size of the smallest physical drive in the drive group defines the maximum size used for all the physical drives. To ensure maximum use of space for all physical drives, it is recommended that the size of all the drives in the drive group are similar.

- Cisco IMC manages only RAID controllers and not HBAs attached to the server.

- You must have multiple drive groups available to create virtual drives for certain RAID levels. While creating drives for these RAID levels, the create drive option is available only if the required number of drives are selected.

Step 6

In the Virtual Drive Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Virtual Drive Name field

The name of the new virtual drive you want to create.

Read Policy drop-down list

The read-ahead cache mode.

Cache Policy drop-down list

The cache policy used for buffering reads.

Strip Size drop-down list

The size of each strip, in KB.

Write Policy drop-down list

This can be one of the following

- Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.

- Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.

- Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.

Disk Cache Policy drop-down list

This can be one of the following

- Unchanged— The disk cache policy is unchanged.

- Enabled— Allows IO caching on the disk.

- Disabled— Disallows disk caching.

Access Policy drop-down list

This can be one of the following

- Read Write— Enables host to perform read-write on the VD.

- Read Only— Host can only read from the VD.

- Blocked— Host can neither read nor write to the VD.

Size field

The size of the virtual drive you want to create. Enter a value and select one of the following units:

- MB

- GB

- TB

Step 7

Click the Generate XML API Request button to generate an API request.

Step 8

Click Close.

Step 9

Click Create Virtual Drive.

Creating Virtual Drive from an Existing Drive Group

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group.
The Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group dialog box displays.

Step 4

In the Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group dialog box, select the virtual drive whose drive group you want to use to create a new virtual drive.

Step 5

In the Virtual Drive Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Virtual Drive Name field

The name of the new virtual drive you want to create.

Read Policy drop-down list

The read-ahead cache mode.

Cache Policy drop-down list

The cache policy used for buffering reads.

Strip Size drop-down list

The size of each strip, in KB.

Write Policy drop-down list

This can be one of the following

- Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.

- Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.

- Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.

Disk Cache Policy drop-down list

This can be one of the following

- Unchanged— The disk cache policy is unchanged.

- Enabled— Allows IO caching on the disk.

- Disabled— Disallows disk caching.

Access Policy drop-down list

This can be one of the following

- Read Write— Enables host to perform read-write on the VD.

- Read Only— Host can only read from the VD.

- Blocked— Host can neither read nor write to the VD.

Size field

The size of the virtual drive you want to create. Enter a value and select one of the following units:

- MB

- GB

- TB

Step 6

Click the Generate XML API Request button to generate an API request.

Step 7

Click Close.

Step 8

Click Create Virtual Drive.

Setting a Virtual Drive to Transport Ready State

You can move a virtual drive from one MegaRAID controller to another using the Set Transport Ready feature. This allows all the pending IOs of the virtual drive to complete their activities, hide the virtual drive from the operating system, flush cache, pause all the background operations, and save the current progress in disk data format, allowing you to move the drive. When you move a virtual drive, all other drives belonging to the same drive group inherit the same change as the moved drive.

When the last configured physical drive on the group is removed from the current controller, the drive group becomes foreign and all foreign configuration rules apply to the group. However, the Transport Ready feature does not change any foreign configuration behavior.

You can also clear a virtual drive from the Transport Ready state. This makes the virtual drive available to the operating systems.

Following restrictions apply to a transport ready virtual drive:

- Only a maximum of 16 transport ready drive groups are currently supported.

- This feature is not supported on high availability.

- A virtual drive cannot be set as transport ready under these conditions:

- When a virtual drive of a drive group is being reconstructed

- When a virtual drive of a drive group contains a pinned cache

- When a virtual drive of a drive group is marked as cacheable or associated with a cachecade virtual drive

- If a virtual drive is a cachecade virtual drive

- If a virtual drive is offline

- If a virtual drive is a bootable virtual drive

Setting a Virtual Drive as Transport Ready

Before You Begin

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

- The virtual drive must be in optimal state to enable transport ready.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA Controller.

Step 3

On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive that you want set as transport ready.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Set Transport Ready.
The Set Transport Ready dialog box displays.

Step 6

Update the following properties in the dialog box:

Name

Description

Initialize Type drop-down list

Allows you to select the initialization type using which you can set the selected virtual drive as transport ready. This can be one of the following:

- Exlude All— Excludes all the dedicated hot spare drives.

- Include All— Includes any exclusively available or shared dedicated hot spare drives.

- Include Dedicated Hot Spare Drive— Includes exclusive dedicated hot spare drives.

Set Transport Ready button

Sets the selected virtual drive as transport ready.

Cancel button

Cancels the action.

Note:   When you set a virtual drive to transport ready all the physical drives associated with it are displayed as Ready to Remove.

Clearing a Virtual Drive from Transport Ready State

Before You Begin

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

- The virtual drive must be transport ready.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive to set as transport ready.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Clear Transport Ready.
This reverts the selected transport ready virtual drive to its original optimal state.

Importing Foreign Configuration

When one or more physical drives that have previously been configured with a different controller are inserted into a server, they are identified as foreign configurations. You can import these foreign configurations to a controller.

Important:
You cannot import a foreign configuration in the following two scenarios:

1. When the secure virtual drive was created on server 1 (from which you want to import the configuration) using the remote key, and on server 2 (to which you want to import) using the local key.

2. When server 2 is configured with another KMIP server, which is not a part of the server 1 KMIP server cluster.

In order to import the foreign configuration in these scenarios, change the controller security on server 2 from local key management to remote key management, and use the same KMIP server from the same cluster where the server 1 KMIP is configured.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the RAID controller area, the Controller Info tab displays by default.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Import Foreign Config.
Note:
If KMIP is not enabled, a Secure Key Verification dialog box is displayed, prompting you to enter a security key to initiate the foreign configuration import process.

If KMIP is enabled, the Secure Key Verification dialog box is displayed with the following note: "If drive security has been enabled via remote key management, specifying Security key is optional. Click on verify to start foreign configuration import."

This allows you to click Verify without entering the Security Key, and initiate import.

Step 4

Click OK to confirm.

Clearing Foreign Configuration

Important:
This task clears all foreign configuration on the controller. Also, all configuration information from all physical drives hosting foreign configuration is deleted. This action cannot be reverted.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller. In the RAID Controller area, the Controller Info tab displays by default.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Clear Foreign Config.

Step 4

Click OK to confirm.

Clearing a Boot Drive

Important:
This task clears the boot drive configuration on the controller. This action cannot be reverted.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller. In the RAID Controller area, the Controller Info tab displays by default.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Clear Boot Drive.

Step 4

Click OK to confirm.

Enabling JBOD Mode

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select an unconfigured good drive.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Enable JBOD.

Step 6

Click Ok to confirm.

Disabling a JBOD

Note

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

Before You Begin

JBOD option must be enabled for the selected controller.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select a JBOD drive.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Disable JBOD.

Step 6

Click Ok to confirm.

Retrieving Storage Firmware Logs for a Controller

This task retrieves the storage firmware logs for the controller and places it in the /var/log location. This ensures that this log data is available when Technical Support Data is requested.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the working area, the Controller Info tab displays by default.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Get Storage Firmware Log.

Step 4

Click OK to confirm.
Important:
Retrieving storage firmware logs for a controller could take up to 2-4 minutes. Until this process is complete, do not initiate exporting technical support data.

Clearing Controller Configuration

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Controller Info area, click Clear All Configuration.

Step 4

Click OK to confirm.
This clears the existing controller configuration.

Restoring Storage Controller to Factory Defaults

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

In the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the Controller Info area, click Set Factory Defaults.

Step 4

Click OK to confirm.
This restores the controller configuration to factory defaults.

Preparing a Drive for Removal

Note

You can perform this task only on physical drives that display the Unconfigured Good status.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to remove.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Prepare for Removal.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm.

Undo Preparing a Drive for Removal

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

On the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select a drive with a status of Ready to Remove.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Undo Prepare for Removal.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm.

Making a Dedicated Hot Spare

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

On the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select an unconfigured good drive you want to make a dedicated hot spare.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Make Dedicated Hot Spare.
The Make Dedicated Hot Spare dialog box displays.

Step 6

In the Virtual Drive Details area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Virtual Drive Number drop-down list

Select the virtual drive to which you want to dedicate the physical drive as hot spare.

Virtual Drive Name field

The name of the selected virtual drive.

Make Dedicated Hot Spare button

Creates the dedicated hot spare.

Cancel button

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

Step 7

Click Make Dedicated Hot Spare to confirm.

Making a Global Hot Spare

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select an unconfigured good drive you want to make a global hot spare.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Make Global Hot Spare.

Removing a Drive from Hot Spare Pools

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.

Step 3

On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select the global or dedicated hot spare you want to remove from the hot spare pools.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Remove From Hot Spare Pools.

Toggling Physical Drive Status

Before You Begin

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

- The controller must support the JBOD mode and the JBOD mode must be enabled.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to set as unconfigured good.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Set State as Unconfigured Good.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm that the JBOD mode be disabled.
The Set State as JBOD option is enabled.

Step 7

To enable the JBOD mode for the physical drive, click Set State as JBOD.

Step 8

Click OK to confirm.
The Set State as Unconfigured Good option is enabled.

Setting a Physical Drive as a Controller Boot Drive

Before You Begin

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

- The controller must support the JBOD mode and the JBOD mode must be enabled.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to set as boot drive for the controller.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Set as Boot Drive.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm.

Initializing a Virtual Drive

All data on a virtual drive is lost when you initialize the drive. Before you run an initialization, back up any data on the virtual drive that you want to save.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive that you want to initialize.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Initialize.
The Initialize Virtual Drive dialog box displays.

Step 6

Choose the type of initialization you want to use for the virtual drive.
This can be one of the following:

- Fast Initialize—This option allows you to start writing data to the virtual drive immediately.

- Full Initialize—A complete initialization is done on the new configuration. You cannot write data to the new virtual drive until the initialization is complete.

Step 7

Click Initialize VD to initialize the drive, or Cancel to close the dialog box without making any changes.

Step 8

To view the status of the task running on the drive, in the Operations area, click Refresh.
The following details are displayed:

Name

Description

Operation

Name of the operation that is in progress on the drive.

Progress in %

Progress of the operation, in percentage complete.

Elapsed Time in secs

The number of seconds that have elapsed since the operation began.

Set as Boot Drive

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive from which the controller must boot.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Set as Boot Drive.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm.

Editing a Virtual Drive

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drives area, click Edit Virtual Drive.

Step 5

Review the instructions, and then click OK. The Edit Virtual Drive dialog box displays before prompting you to take a backup of your data.

Step 6

From the Select RAID Level to migrate drop-down list, choose a RAID level.
See the following table for RAID migration criteria:

Name

Description

Select RAID Level to migrate drop-down list

Select the RAID level to which you want to migrate. Migrations are allowed for the following RAID levels:

- RAID 0 to RAID 1

- RAID 0 to RAID 5

- RAID 0 to RAID 6

- RAID 1 to RAID 0

- RAID 1 to RAID 5

- RAID 1 to RAID 6

- RAID 5 to RAID 0

- RAID 6 to RAID 0

- RAID 6 to RAID 5

When you are migrating from one raid level to another, the data arms of the new RAID level should be equal to or greater than the existing one.

In case of RAID 6, the data arms will be number of drives minus two, as RAID 6 has double distributed parity. For example, when you create RAID 6 with eight drives, the number of data arms will be 8 – 2 = 6. In this case, if you are migrating from RAID 6 to RAID 0, RAID 0 must have a minimum of six drives. If you select lesser number of drives then Edit or Save button will be disabled.

If you are adding, you can migrate to RAID 0 as you will not be deleting any drives.

Note:
RAID level migration is not supported in the following cases:

- When there are multiple virtual drives in a RAID group.

- With a combination of SSD/HDD RAID groups.

Step 7

From the Write Policy drop-down list in the Virtual Drive Properties area, choose one of the following:

- Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.

- Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.

- Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.

Step 8

Click Save Changes.

Deleting a Virtual Drive

Important:
This task deletes a virtual drive, including the drives that run the booted operating system. So back up any data that you want to retain before you delete a virtual drive.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drives area, select the virtual drive you want to delete.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Delete Virtual Drive.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm.

Hiding a Virtual Drive

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

On the RAID Controller area, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Virtual Drives area, select the virtual drive you want to hide.

Step 5

In the Actions area, click Hide Drive.

Step 6

Click OK to confirm.

Starting Learn Cycles for a Battery Backup Unit

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click the Battery Backup Unit tab.

Step 4

From the Actions pane, click Start Learn Cycle.
A dialog prompts you to confirm the task.

Step 5

Click OK.

Viewing Storage Controller Logs

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.

Step 3

In the RAID Controller area, click Storage Log tab and review the following information:

Name

Description

Time column

The date and time the event occurred.

Severity column

The event severity. This can be one of the following:

- Emergency

- Alert

- Critical

- Error

- Warning

- Notice

- Informational

- Debug

Description column

A description of the event.

Viewing SSD Smart Information for MegaRAID Controllers

You can view smart information for a solid state drive. Complete these steps:

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.

Step 2

On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID Controller.

Step 3

On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.

Step 4

In the Smart Information area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Power Cycle Count field

Number of power cycles that the drive went through from the time it was manufactured.

Power on Hours field

Total number of hours that the drive is in the 'Power On' mode.

Percentage Life Left field

The number of write cycles remaining in a solid state drive (SSD). For instance, if an SSD is capable of 100 write cycles during its life time, and it has completed 15 writes, then the percentage of life left in the drive is 85%. Each percentage range is represented in a different color. For instance, green for 75% to 100% and red for 1 to 25%.

Wear Status in Days field

The number of days an SSD has gone through with the write cycles.

SSD vendors provide a finite number of writes per day on the SSD, based on which, you can calculate the total number of years the SSD would continue to work.

Operating Temperature field

The current temperature of the drive at which the selected SSD operates at the time of selection.

Percentage Reserved Capacity Consumed field

The total capacity (out of the percentage reserved for it) consumed by the SSD.

Time of Last Refresh field

Time period since the drive was last refreshed.

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:

Click Here

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 card to the server, and then upgrade its firmware to the latest version.

- 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

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

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.

Chapter 13. Configuring Communication Services

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Configuring HTTP

- Configuring SSH

- Configuring a Server to Send Email Alerts Using SMTP

Configuring HTTP

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 Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the HTTP Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

HTTP/S Enabled check box

Whether HTTP and HTTPS are enabled on the Cisco IMC.

Redirect HTTP to HTTPS Enabled check box

If enabled, all attempts to communicate via HTTP are redirected to the equivalent HTTPS address.

We strongly recommend that you enable this option if you enable HTTP.

HTTP Port field

The port to use for HTTP communication. The default is 80.

HTTPS Port field

The port to use for HTTPS communication. The default is 443

Session Timeout field

The number of seconds to wait between HTTP requests before the Cisco IMC times out and terminates the session.

Enter an integer between 60 and 10,800. The default is 1,800 seconds.

Max Sessions field

The maximum number of concurrent HTTP and HTTPS sessions allowed on the Cisco IMC.

This value may not be changed.

Active Sessions field

The number of HTTP and HTTPS sessions currently running on the Cisco IMC.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

Configuring SSH

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure SSH.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the SSH Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

SSH Enabled check box

Whether SSH is enabled on the Cisco IMC.

SSH Port field

The port to use for secure shell access. The default is 22.

SSH Timeout field

The number of seconds to wait before the system considers an SSH request to have timed out.

Enter an integer between 60 and 10,800. The default is 1,800 seconds.

Max Sessions field

The maximum number of concurrent SSH sessions allowed on the Cisco IMC.

This value may not be changed.

Active Sessions field

The number of SSH sessions currently running on the Cisco IMC.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

XML API for Cisco IMC

The Cisco Cisco IMC XML application programming interface (API) is a programmatic interface to Cisco IMC for a C-Series Rack-Mount Server. The API accepts XML documents through HTTP or HTTPS.

For detailed information about the XML API, see Cisco UCS Rack-Mount Servers Cisco IMC XML API Programmer’s Guide.

Enabling the XML API

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 Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the XML API Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

XML API Enabled check box

Whether API access is allowed on this server.

Max Sessions field

The maximum number of concurrent API sessions allowed on the Cisco IMC.

This value may not be changed.

Active Sessions field

The number of API sessions currently running on the Cisco IMC.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

IPMI Over LAN

Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) defines the protocols for interfacing with a service processor embedded in a server platform. This service processor is called a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) and resides on the server motherboard. The BMC links to a main processor and other on-board elements using a simple serial bus.

During normal operations, IPMI lets a server operating system obtain information about system health and control system hardware. For example, IPMI enables the monitoring of sensors, such as temperature, fan speeds and voltages, for proactive problem detection. If server temperature rises above specified levels, the server operating system can direct the BMC to increase fan speed or reduce processor speed to address the problem.

Configuring IPMI over LAN

Configure IPMI over LAN when you want to manage the Cisco IMC with IPMI messages.

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 Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the IPMI over LAN Properties area, update the following properties for BMC 1, BMC 2, CMC 1, or CMC 2:

Name

Description

Enabled check box

Whether IPMI access is allowed on this server.

Privilege Level Limit drop-down list

The highest privilege level that can be assigned to an IPMI session on this server. This can be one of the following:

- read-only—IPMI users can view information but cannot make any changes. If you select this option, IPMI users with the "Administrator", "Operator", or "User" user roles can only create read-only IPMI sessions, regardless of their other IPMI privileges.

- user—IPMI users can perform some functions but cannot perform administrative tasks. If you select this option, IPMI users with the "Administrator" or "Operator" user role can create user and read-only sessions on this server.

- admin—IPMI users can perform all available actions. If you select this option, IPMI users with the "Administrator" user role can create admin, user, and read-only sessions on this server.

Encryption Key field

The IPMI encryption key to use for IPMI communications.

Randomize button

Enables you to change the IPMI encryption key to a random value.

Step 4

Click Save Changes.

SNMP

The Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers support the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for viewing server configuration and status and for sending fault and alert information by SNMP traps. For information on Management Information Base (MIB) files supported by Cisco IMC, see the MIB Quick Reference for Cisco UCS at this URL: Click Here .

Configuring SNMP Properties

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 Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the Communications Services pane, click the SNMP tab.

Step 4

In the SNMP Properties area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

SNMP Enabled check box

Whether this server sends SNMP traps to the designated host.

Note:
After you check this check box, you need to click Save Changes before you can configure SNMP users or traps.

SNMP Port field

The port on which Cisco IMC SNMP agent runs.

Enter an SNMP port number within the range 1 to 65535. The default port number is 161.

Note:   The port numbers that are reserved for system calls, such as 22,23,80,123,443,623,389,636,3268,3269 and 2068, cannot be used as an SNMP port.

Access Community String field

The default SNMP v1 or v2c community name Cisco IMC includes on any SNMP get operations.

Enter a string up to 18 characters.

SNMP Community Access drop-down list

This can be one of the following:

- Disabled — This option blocks access to the information in the inventory tables.

- Limited — This option provides partial access to read the information in the inventory tables.

- Full — This option provides full access to read the information in the inventory tables.

Note:   SNMP Community Access is applicable only for SNMP v1 and v2c users.

Trap Community String field

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

Enter a string up to 18 characters.

Note:   This field is visible only for SNMP v1 and v2c users. SNMP v3 users need to use SNMP v3 credentials.

System Contact field

The system contact person responsible for the SNMP implementation.

Enter a string up to 64 characters, such as an email address or a name and telephone number.

System Location field

The location of the host on which the SNMP agent (server) runs.

Enter a string up to 64 characters.

SNMP Input Engine ID field

User-defined unique identification of the static engine.

SNMP Engine ID field

Unique string to identify the device for administration purpose. This is generated from the SNMP Input Engine ID if it is already defined, else it is derived from the BMC serial number.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

What to Do Next

Configure SNMP trap settings.

Configuring SNMP Trap Settings

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 Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the Communications Services pane, click the SNMP tab.

Step 4

Click on Trap Destinations tab.

Step 5

In the Trap Destinations area, you can perform one of the following:

- Select an existing user from the table and click Modify Trap.

- Click Add Trap to create a new user.

Note:
If the fields are not highlighted, select Enabled.

Step 6

In the Trap Details dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

ID field

The trap destination ID. This value cannot be modified.

Enabled check box drop-down list

If checked, then this trap is active on the server.

Version drop-down list

The SNMP version and model used for the trap. This can be one of the following:

- V2

- V3

Trap Type radio button drop-down list

The type of trap to send. This can be one of the following:

- Trap: If this option is chosen, the trap will be sent to the destination but you do not receive any notifications.

- Inform: You can choose this option only for V2 users. If chosen, you will receive a notification when a trap is received at the destination.

User drop-down list

The drop-down list displays all available users, select a user from the list.

Trap Destination Address field

Address to which the SNMP trap information is sent. You can set an IPv4 or IPv6 address or a domain name as the trap destination.

Port

The port the server uses to communicate with the trap destination.

Enter a trap destination port number within the range 1 to 65535.

Step 7

Click Save Changes.

Step 8

If you want to delete a trap destination, select the row and click Delete.
Click OK in the delete confirmation prompt.

Sending a Test SNMP Trap Message

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 Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the Communication Services pane, click SNMP.

Step 4

In the Trap Destinations area, select the row of the desired SNMP trap destination.

Step 5

Click Send SNMP Test Trap.
An SNMP test trap message is sent to the trap destination.

Note:
The trap must be configured and enabled in order to send a test message.

Managing SNMP Users

Before You Begin

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

- SNMP must be enabled.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the Communications Services pane, click the SNMP tab.

Step 4

In the User Settings area, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Add User button

Click an available row in the table then click this button to add a new SNMP user.

Modify User button

Select the user you want to change in the table then click this button to modify the selected SNMP user.

Delete User button

Select the user you want to delete in the table then click this button to delete the selected SNMP user.

ID column

The system-assigned identifier for the SNMP user.

Name column

The SNMP user name.

Auth Type column

The user authentication type.

Privacy Type column

The user privacy type.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

Configuring SNMP Users

Before You Begin

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

- SNMP must be enabled.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the Communications Services pane, click the SNMP tab.

Step 4

In the User Settings area, perform one of the following actions:

- Select an existing user from the table and click Modify User.

- Select a row in the Users area and click Add User to create a new user.

Step 5

In the SNMP User Details dialog box, update the following properties:

Name

Description

ID field

The unique identifier for the user. This field cannot be changed.

Name field

The SNMP username.

Enter between 1 and 31 characters or spaces.

Note:
Cisco IMC automatically trims leading or trailing spaces.

Security Level drop-down list

The security level for this user. This can be one of the following:

- no auth, no priv—The user does not require an authorization or privacy password.

- auth, no priv—The user requires an authorization password but not a privacy password. If you select this option, Cisco IMC enables the Auth fields described below.

- auth, priv—The user requires both an authorization password and a privacy password. If you select this option, Cisco IMC enables the Auth and Privacy fields.

Auth Type drop-down

The authorization type. This can be one of the following:

- MD5

- SHA

Auth Password field

The authorization password for this SNMP user.

Enter between 8 and 64 characters or spaces.

Note:
Cisco IMC automatically trims leading or trailing spaces.

Confirm Auth Password field

The authorization password again for confirmation purposes.

Privacy Type drop-down

The privacy type. This can be one of the following:

- DES

- AES

Privacy Password field

The privacy password for this SNMP user.

Enter between 8 and 64 characters or spaces.

Note:
Cisco IMC automatically trims leading or trailing spaces.

Confirm Privacy Password field

The authorization password again for confirmation purposes.

Step 6

Click Save Changes.

Step 7

If you want to delete a user, select the user and click Delete User.
Click OK in the delete confirmation prompt.

Configuring a Server to Send Email Alerts Using SMTP

The Cisco IMC supports email-based notification of server faults to recipients without relying on the SNMP. The system uses the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send server faults as email alerts to the configured SMTP server.

A maximum of four recipients is supported.

- Configuring SMTP Server For Receiving Email Alerts

- Adding SMTP Email Recipients

Configuring SMTP Server For Receiving Email Alerts

Configure the SMTP properties and add email recipients on the Mail Alert tab to receive email notifications for server faults.

Before You Begin

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

Procedure

Step 1

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the Communications Services pane, click the Mail Alert tab.

Step 4

In the SMTP Properties area, update the following properties.

Name

Description

SMTP Enabled checkbox

If checked, it enables the SMTP service.

SMTP Server Address field

Allows you to enter the SMTP server address.

SMTP Port field

Allows you to enter the SMTP port number. The default port number is 25.

Minimum Severity to Report drop-down list

Allows you to choose the minimum severity level for receiving the email alert. This can be one of the following:

- Condition

- Warning

- Minor

- Major

- Critical

If you choose a minimum severity level, the mail alerts are sent for that level and the other higher severity levels. For example, if you choose 'Minor' as the minimum severity level, you will receive email alerts for the minor, major, and critical fault events.

Step 5

In the SMTP Recipients area, do the following:

1. Click the Add (+) button to add the email recipients to whom notifications should be sent. Enter the email ID and click Save.
To delete an email recipient, select the email recipient and click the Delete (X) button.

2. Click Send Test Mail to check whether the email recipient you added is reachable. If the email address and the SMTP settings are valid, a confirmation pop-up window appears with the message that an email has been sent. If the settings are not valid, a confirmation pop-up window appears with the message that no email has been sent. The Reachability column indicates whether test mails have been sent successfully to the email recipient. The Reachability column has one of the following values:

- Yes (if the test mail has been sent successfully)

- No (if the test mail has not been sent successfully)

- na (if no test mail has been sent)

Step 6

Click Save Changes.

Adding SMTP Email Recipients

Add email recipients on the Mail Alert tab to receive email notifications for server faults.

Before You Begin

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

- Configure the SMTP server properties in the SMTP Properties area. See Configuring SMTP Server For Receiving Email Alerts

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Communication Services.

Step 3

In the Communications Services pane, click the Mail Alert tab.

Step 4

In the SMTP Recipients area, do the following:

1. Click the Add (+) button to add the email recipients to whom notifications should be sent. Enter the email ID and click Save.

2. Click Send Test Mail to check whether the email recipient you added is reachable. If the email address and the SMTP settings are valid, a confirmation pop-up window appears with the message that an email has been sent. If the settings are not valid, a confirmation pop-up window appears with the message that no email has been sent. The Reachability column indicates whether test mails have been sent successfully to the email recipient. The Reachability column has one of the following values:

- Yes (if the test mail has been sent successfully)

- No (if the test mail has not been sent successfully)

- na (if no test mail has been sent)

Chapter 14. Managing Certificates and Server Security

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Managing the Server Certificate

- Generating a Certificate Signing Request

- Creating a Self-Signed Certificate

- Creating a Self-Signed Certificate Using Windows

- Uploading a Server Certificate

- Key Management Interoperability Protocol

Managing the Server Certificate

You can generate a certificate signing request (CSR) to obtain a new certificate, and you can upload the new certificate to the Cisco IMC to replace the current server certificate. The server certificate may be signed either by a public Certificate Authority (CA), such as Verisign, or by your own certificate authority. The generated certificate key length is 2048 bits.

Note

Before performing any of the following tasks in this chapter, ensure that the Cisco IMC time is set to the current time.

Procedure

Step 1

Generate the CSR from the Cisco IMC.

Step 2

Submit the CSR file to a certificate authority that will issue and sign your certificate. If your organization generates its own self-signed certificates, you can use the CSR file to generate a self-signed certificate.

Step 3

Upload the new certificate to the Cisco IMC.
Note:
The uploaded certificate must be created from a CSR generated by the Cisco IMC. Do not upload a certificate that was not created by this method.

Generating a Certificate Signing Request

Note

Do not use special characters (For example ampersand (&)) in the Common Name and Organization Unit fields.

Before You Begin

- You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure certificates.

- Ensure that the Cisco IMC time is set to the current time.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click the Generate New Certificate Signing Request link.
The Generate New Certificate Signing Request dialog box appears.

Step 4

In the Generate New Certificate Signing Request dialog box, update the following properties:

Name

Description

Common Name field

The fully qualified name of the Cisco IMC.

By default the CN of the servers appears in CXXX-YYYYYY format, where XXX is the model number and YYYYYY is the serial number of the server.

When you upgrade to latest version, CN is retained as is.

Organization Name field

The organization requesting the certificate.

Organization Unit field

The organizational unit.

Locality field

The city or town in which the company requesting the certificate is headquartered.

State Name field

The state or province in which the company requesting the certificate is headquartered.

Country Code drop-down list

The country in which the company resides.

Email field

The email contact at the company.

Signature Algorithm

Allows you to select the signature algorithm for generating certificate signing request. This can be one of the following:

- SHA384

- SHA1

- SHA256

- SHA512

The default signature algorithm selected for generating certificate signing request is SHA384.

Self Signed Certificate check box

Generates a Self Signed Certificate.
Warning:   After successful certificate generation, the Cisco IMC Web GUI restarts. Communication with the management controller may be lost momentarily and you will need to re-login.

Note:
If enabled, CSR is generated, signed and uploaded automatically.

Note:
If Self-signed certificate is enabled, ignore steps 5 and 6.

Step 5

Click Generate CSR.
The Opening csr.txt dialog box appears.

Step 6

Perform any one of the following steps to manage the CSR file, csr.txt:

1. Click Open With to view csr.txt.

2. Click Save File and then click OK to save csr.txt to your local machine.

What to Do Next

- Submit the CSR file to a certificate authority that will issue and sign your certificate. If your organization generates its own self-signed certificates, you can use the CSR file to generate a self-signed certificate.

- Ensure that the certificate is of type Server.

Creating a Self-Signed Certificate

As an alternative to using a public Certificate Authority (CA) to generate and sign a server certificate, you can operate your own CA and sign your own certificates. This section shows commands for creating a CA and generating a server certificate using the OpenSSL certificate server running on Linux. For detailed information about OpenSSL, see Click Here .

Note

These commands are to be entered on a Linux server with the OpenSSL package, not in the Cisco IMC.

Before You Begin

- Obtain and install a certificate server software package on a server within your organization.

- Ensure that the Cisco IMC time is set to the current time.

Procedure

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

openssl genrsa -out CA_keyfilename keysize

Example:

# openssl genrsa -out ca.key 2048

This command generates an RSA private key that will be used by the CA.
Note:   To allow the CA to access the key without user input, do not use the -des3 option for this command.

The specified file name contains an RSA key of the specified key size.

Step 2

openssl req -new -x509 -days numdays -key CA_keyfilename -out CA_certfilename

Example:

# openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -key ca.key -out ca.crt

This command generates a new self-signed certificate for the CA using the specified key. The certificate is valid for the specified period. The command prompts the user for additional certificate information.

The certificate server is an active CA.

Step 3

echo "nsCertType = server" > openssl.conf

Example:

# echo "nsCertType = server" > openssl.conf

This command adds a line to the OpenSSL configuration file to designate the certificate as a server-only certificate. This designation is a defense against a man-in-the-middle attack, in which an authorized client attempts to impersonate the server.

The OpenSSL configuration file openssl.conf contains the statement "nsCertType = server".

Step 4

openssl x509 -req -days numdays -in CSR_filename -CA CA_certfilename -set_serial 04 -CAkey CA_keyfilename -out server_certfilename -extfile openssl.conf

Example:

# openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in csr.txt -CA ca.crt -set_serial 04
-CAkey ca.key -out myserver05.crt -extfile openssl.conf

This command directs the CA to use your CSR file to generate a server certificate.

Your server certificate is contained in the output file.

Step 5

openssl x509 -noout -text -purpose -in <cert file>

Example:

openssl x509 -noout -text -purpose -in <cert file>

Verifies if the generated certificate is of type Server.
Note:
If the values of the fields Server SSL and Netscape SSL server are not yes, ensure that openssl.conf is configured to generate certificates of type server.

Step 6

If the generated certificate does not have the correct validity dates, ensure the Cisco IMC time is set to the current time, and regenerate the certificate by repeating steps 1 through 5.

(Optional) Certificate with the correct validity dates is created.

This example shows how to create a CA and to generate a server certificate signed by the new CA. These commands are entered on a Linux server running OpenSSL.

# /usr/bin/openssl genrsa -out ca.key 2048
Generating RSA private key, 2048 bit long modulus
.............++++++
.....++++++
e is 65537 (0x10001)
# /usr/bin/openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -key ca.key -out ca.crt
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [GB]:US
State or Province Name (full name) [Berkshire]:California
Locality Name (eg, city) [Newbury]:San Jose
Organization Name (eg, company) [My Company Ltd]:Example Incorporated
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:Unit A
Common Name (eg, your name or your server's hostname) []:example.com
Email Address []:admin@example.com
# echo "nsCertType = server" > openssl.conf
# /usr/bin/openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in csr.txt -CA ca.crt -set_serial 01 -CAkey ca.key -out server.crt -extfile openssl.conf
Signature ok
subject=/C=US/ST=California/L=San Jose/O=Example Inc./OU=Unit A/CN=example.com/emailAddress=john@example.com
Getting CA Private Key
#

What to Do Next

Upload the new certificate to the Cisco IMC.

Creating a Self-Signed Certificate Using Windows

Before You Begin

- You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure certificates.

- Ensure that the Cisco IMC time is set to the current time.

Procedure

Step 1

Open IIS Manager and navigate to the level you want to manage.

Step 2

In the Features area, double-click Server Certificate.

Step 3

In the Action pane, click Create Self-Signed Certificate.

Step 4

On the Create Self-Signed Certificate window, enter name for the certificate in the Specify a friendly name for the certificate field.

Step 5

Click Ok.

Step 6

(Optional)If the generated certificate does not have the correct validity dates, ensure the Cisco IMC time is set to the current time, and regenerate the certificate by repeating steps 1 through 5. Certificate with the correct validity dates is created.

Uploading a Server Certificate

You can either browse and select the certificate to be uploaded to the server or copy the entire content of the signed certificate and paste it in the Paste certificate content text field and upload it.

Before You Begin

- You must log in as a user with admin privileges to upload a certificate.

- The certificate file to be uploaded must reside on a locally accessible file system.

- Ensure that the generated certificate is of type server.

Note

You must first generate a CSR using the Cisco IMC Certificate Management menu, and you must use that CSR to obtain the certificate for uploading. Do not upload a certificate that was not obtained by this method.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Certificate Management.

Step 3

In the Actions area, click Upload Server Certificate.
The Upload Certificate dialog box appears.

Step 4

In the Upload Certificate dialog box, update the following properties:

Name

Description

File field

The certificate file you want to upload.

Browse button

Opens a dialog box that allows you to navigate to the appropriate certificate file.

Paste Certificate content radio button

Opens a dialog box that allows you to copy the entire content of the signed certificate and paste it in the Paste certificate content text field.

Note:
Ensure the certificate is signed before uploading.

Upload Certificate button

Allows you to upload the certificate.

Step 5

Click Upload Certificate.

Key Management Interoperability Protocol

Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) is a communication protocol that defines message formats to handle keys or classified data on a key management server. KMIP is an open standard and is supported by several vendors. Key management involves multiple interoperable implementations, so a KMIP client works effectively with any KMIP server.

Note

The KMIP feature is supported only on the C220 M4, C240 M4 and S3260 M4 servers.

Self-Encrypting Drives(SEDs) contain hardware that encrypts incoming data and decrypts outgoing data in realtime. A drive or media encryption key controls this function. However, the drives need to be locked in order to maintain security. A security key identifier and a security key (key encryption key) help achieve this goal. The key identifier provides a unique ID to the drive.

Different keys have different usage requirements. Currently, the responsibility of managing and tracking local keys lies primarily with the user, which could result in human error. The user needs to remember the different keys and their functions, which could prove to be a challenge. KMIP addresses this area of concern to manage the keys effectively without human involvement.

- Viewing Secure Key Management Settings

- Creating a Client Private Key and Client Certificate for KMIP Configuration

- Downloading a Client Certificate

- Exporting a Client Certificate

- Deleting a Client Certificate

- Downloading a Root CA Certificate

- Exporting a Root CA Certificate

- Deleting a Root CA Certificate

- Downloading a Client Private Key

- Exporting a Client Private Key

- Deleting a Client Private Key

- Testing the KMIP Server Connection

- Restoring the KMIP Server to Default Settings

- Deleting KMIP Login Details

Viewing Secure Key Management Settings

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Work pane, review the following field:

Name

Description

Enable Secure Key Management check box

If checked, allows you to enable the secure key management feature.

Step 5

In the Actions Area, review the following fields:

Name

Description

Download Root CA Certificate link

This allows you to download the root CA certificate to Cisco IMC.

Export Root CA Certificate link

This allows you to export the downloaded root CA certificate to a local file or remote server.

Delete Root CA Certificate link

This allows you to delete the root CA certificate.

Download Client Certificate link

This allows you to download the client certificate to Cisco IMC.

Export Client Certificate link

This allows you to export the downloaded client certificate to a local file or remote server.

Delete Client Certificate link

This allows you to delete the client certificate.

Download Client Private Key link

This allows you to download the client private key to Cisco IMC.

Export Client Private Key link

This allows you to export the downloaded root CA certificate to local file or remote server.

Delete Client Private Key link

This allows you to delete the root CA certificate.

Delete KMIP Login link

This allows you to delete the KMIP login details.

Step 6

In the KMIP Servers Area, review the following fields:

Name

Description

ID field

ID for the KMIP server configuration.

IP Address field

IP address of the KMIP server.

Port field

Communication port to the KMIP server.

Timeout field

Time period that Cisco IMC waits for a response from the KMIP server.

Delete button

Deletes the KMIP server configuration.

Test Connection button

Tests whether or not the KMIP connection was successful.

Step 7

In the KMIP Root CA Certificate Area, review the following fields:

Name

Description

Server Root CA Certificate field

Indicates the availability of the root CA certificate.

Download Status field

This field displays the status of the root CA certificate download.

Download Progress field

This field displays the progress of the root CA certificate download.

Export Status field

This field displays the status of the root CA certificate export.

Export Progress field

This field displays the progress of the root CA certificate export.

Step 8

In the KMIP Client Certificate Area, review the following fields:

Name

Description

Client Certificate field

Indicates the availability of the client certificate.

Download Status field

This field displays the status of the client certificate download.

Download Progress field

This field displays the progress of the client certificate download.

Export Status field

This field displays the status of the client certificate export.

Export Progress field

This field displays the progress of the client certificate export.

Step 9

In the KMIP Login Details Area, review the following fields:

Name

Description

Use KMIP Login check box

Allows you to choose whether or not to use KMIP login details.

Login name to KMIP Server field

User name of the KMIP server.

Password to KMIP Server field

Password of the KMIP server.

Change Password check box

Allows you to change the KMIP password.

New Password field

Allows you to enter the new password that you want to assign to the KMIP server.

Note:
This option is only visible when you enable the Change Password check box.

Confirm Password field

Enter the new password again in this field.

Note:
This option is only visible when you enable the Change Password check box.

Step 10

In the KMIP Client Private Key Area, review the following fields:

Name

Description

Client Private Key field

Indicates the availability of the client private key.

Download Status field

This field displays the status of the client private key download.

Download Progress field

This field displays the progress of the client private key download.

Export Status field

This field displays the status of the client private key export.

Export Progress field

This field displays the progress of the client private key export.

Creating a Client Private Key and Client Certificate for KMIP Configuration

As an alternative to using a public Certificate Authority (CA) to generate and sign a server certificate, you can operate your own CA and sign your own certificates. This section shows commands for creating a CA and generating a server certificate using the OpenSSL certificate server running on Linux. For detailed information about OpenSSL, see Click Here .

Note

These commands are to be entered on a Linux server with the OpenSSL package, not in the Cisco IMC.

Before You Begin

- Obtain and install a certificate server software package on a server within your organization.

- Ensure that the Cisco IMC time is set to the current time.

Procedure

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

openssl genrsa -out Client_Privatekeyfilename keysize

Example:

# openssl genrsa –out client_private.pem 2048

This command generates a client private key that will be used to generate the client certificate.

The specified file name contains an RSA key of the specified key size.

Step 2

openssl req -new -x509 -days numdays -key Client_Privatekeyfilename -out Client_certfilename

Example:

# openssl req -new -x509 -key client_private.pem -out client.pem -days 365

This command generates a new self-signed client certificate using the client private key obtained from the previous step. The certificate is valid for the specified period. The command prompts the user for additional certificate information.

A new self-signed client certificate is created.

Step 3

Obtain the KMIP root CA certificate from the KMIP server.

Refer to the KMIP vendor documentation for details on obtaining the root CA certificate.

What to Do Next

Upload the new certificate to the Cisco IMC.

Downloading a Client Certificate

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Download Client Certificate.

Step 5

In the Download Client Certificate dialog box, complete these fields:

Name

Description

Download From Remote Location radio button

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate from a remote location and download it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the client certificate file should be stored. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the file to the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Download Through Browser Client radio button

Selecting this option allows you to navigate to the certificate stored on a drive that is local to the computer running the Cisco IMC GUI.

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays a Browse button that lets you navigate to the file you want to import.

Paste Content radio button

Selecting this option allows you to copy the entire content of the signed certificate and paste it in the Paste Certificate Content text field.

Note:
Ensure the certificate is signed before uploading.

Exporting a Client Certificate

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Export Client Certificate.

Step 5

In the Export Client Certificate dialog box, complete these fields:

Name

Description

Export to Remote Location

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate from a remote location and export it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the certificate file should be exported. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the certificate from the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Export to Local File

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate stored on a drive that is local to the computer and export it.

Deleting a Client Certificate

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Delete Client Certificate.

Step 5

At the prompt, click OK to delete the client certificate, or Cancel to cancel the action.

Downloading a Root CA Certificate

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Download Root CA Certificate.

Step 5

In the Download Root CA Certificate dialog box, complete these fields:

Name

Description

Download From Remote Location radio button

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate from a remote location and download it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the root CA certificate file should be stored. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the file to the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Download Through Browser Client radio button

Selecting this option allows you to navigate to the certificate stored on a drive that is local to the computer running the Cisco IMC GUI.

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays a Browse button that lets you navigate to the file you want to import.

Paste Content radio button

Selecting this option allows you to copy the entire content of the signed certificate and paste it in the Paste Certificate Content text field.

Note:
Ensure the certificate is signed before uploading.

Exporting a Root CA Certificate

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Export Root CA Certificate.

Step 5

In the Export Root CA Certificate dialog box, complete these fields:

Name

Description

Export to Remote Location

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate from a remote location and export it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the certificate file should be exported. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the certificate from the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Export to Local File

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate stored on a drive that is local to the computer and export it.

Deleting a Root CA Certificate

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Delete Root CA Certificate.

Step 5

At the prompt, click OK or Cancel to delete the root CA certificate, or cancel the action.

Downloading a Client Private Key

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Download Client Private Key.

Step 5

In the Download Client Private Key dialog box, complete these fields:

Name

Description

Download From Remote Location radio button

Selecting this option allows you to choose the private key from a remote location and download it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the client private key should be stored. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate From drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the file to the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Download Through Browser Client radio button

Selecting this option allows you to navigate to the private key stored on a drive that is local to the computer running the Cisco IMC GUI.

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays a Browse button that lets you navigate to the file you want to import.

Paste Content radio button

Selecting this option allows you to copy the entire content of the signed private key and paste it in the Paste Private Key Content text field.

What to Do Next

Exporting a Client Private Key

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management tab, click Export Client Private Key.

Step 5

In the Export Client Private Key dialog box, complete these fields:

Name

Description

Export to Remote Location

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate from a remote location and export it. Enter the following details:

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

- Server IP/Hostname field — The IP address or hostname of the server on which the certificate file should be exported. Depending on the setting in the Download Certificate from drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

- Path and Filename field — The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when downloading the certificate from the remote server.

- Username field — The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

- Password field — The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Export to Local File

Selecting this option allows you to choose the certificate stored on a drive that is local to the computer and export it.

Deleting a Client Private Key

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management pane, click Delete Client Private Key.

Step 5

At the prompt, click OK or Cancel to delete the client private key, or cancel the action.

Testing the KMIP Server Connection

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the KMIP Servers area of the Secure Key Management tab, select a row by checking the check box and click Test Connection.

Step 5

If the connection is successful, a success message is displayed.

Restoring the KMIP Server to Default Settings

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the KMIP Servers area of the Secure Key Management tab, select a row by checking the check box and click Delete.

Step 5

At the prompt, click OK
This restores the KMIP server to its default settings.

Deleting KMIP Login Details

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Security Management.

Step 3

In the Security Management pane, click Secure Key Management.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Secure Key Management pane, click Delete KMIP Login.

Step 5

At the prompt, click OK to delete the KMIP login details, or Cancel to cancel the action.

Chapter 15. Managing Firmware

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Cisco IMC Firmware

- Viewing Firmware Components

- Updating the Firmware

- Activating the Firmware

Cisco IMC Firmware

You can manage the following firmware components from a single page in the web UI:

- Adapter firmware —The main operating firmware, consisting of an active and a backup image, can be installed from different interfaces such as:

- Host Upgrade Utility (HUU)

- Web UI — Local and remote protocols

- PMCLI —Remote protocols

- XML API — Remote protocols

You can upload a firmware image from either a local file system or a TFTP server.

- Bootloader firmware—The bootloader firmware cannot be installed from the Cisco IMC. You can install this firmware using the Host Upgrade Utility.

Firmware for the following individual components can be updated:

- BMC

- BIOS

- CMC

- SAS Expander

- Adapter

Firmware for the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) can also be installed from the same interfaces as the adapter firmware mentioned above.

Viewing Firmware Components

Procedure

Step 1

In the Admin menu, click Firmware Management.

Step 2

In the General tab's Firmware Management area, review the following information:

Name

Description

Update button

Opens a dialog box that allows you to install a firmware image file that is available to your local machine or on a remote server.

Activate button

Opens a dialog box that allows you to select which available firmware version you would like to activate on the server.

Important:
If any firmware or BIOS updates are in progress, do not activate new firmware until those tasks complete.

Component column

List of components available for which you can update the firmware.

Running Version column

The firmware version of the component that is currently active.

Backup Version column

The alternate firmware version installed on the server, if any. The backup version is not currently running. To activate it, click Activate.

Note:
When you install new firmware, any existing backup version is deleted and the new firmware becomes the backup version. You must manually activate the new firmware if you want the server to run the new version.

Bootloader Version column

The bootloader version associated with the boot-loader software of the component.

Status column

The status of the firmware activation on this server.

Progress in % column

The progress of the operation, in percentage.

Updating the Firmware

You can install the firmware package from a local disk or from a remote server, depending on the component you choose from the Firmware Management area. After you confirm the installation, BMC replaces the firmware version in the component's backup memory slot with the selected version.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Admin menu, click Firmware Management.

Step 2

In the Firmware Management area, select a component from the Component column and click Update. The Update Firmware dialog box appears.

Step 3

Review the following information in the dialog box:

Name

Description

Install Firmware through Browser Client radio button

If the firmware package resides on a local machine, click this radio button.

Install Firmware through Remote Server radio button

If the firmware package resides on a remote server, click this radio button.

Step 4

To install the firmware through the browser client, click Browse and navigate to the firmware file that you want to install.

Step 5

After you select the file, click Install Firmware.

Step 6

To update the firmware using remote server, select the remote server type from the Install Firmware from drop-down list. This could be one of the following:

- TFTP

- FTP

- SFTP

- SCP

- HTTP

Step 7

Depending on the remote server type you choose, enter details in the server's IP/Hostname and Image Path and Filename fields.
Once you install the firmware, the new image replaces the non-active image. You can activate the image after it is installed.

Important:
For FTP, SFTP, and SCP server types, you need to provide user credentials.

Step 8

Click Install Firmware to begin download and installation.

Activating the Firmware

Procedure

Step 1

In the Admin menu, click Firmware Management.

Step 2

In the Firmware Management area, select a component from the Component column and click Activate. The Activate Firmware dialog box appears.

Step 3

In the Activate Firmware dialog box, select the desired firmware image (radio button) to activate. This image becomes the running version.

Step 4

Click Activate Firmware.
Depending on the firmware image you chose, the activation process begins.

Important:
While the activation is in progress, do not:

- Reset, power off, or shut down the server

- Reboot or reset BMC

- Activate any other firmware

- Export technical support or configuration data

Chapter 16. Viewing Faults and Logs

This chapter includes the following sections:

Viewing the Fault Summary

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

In the Faults Summary tab, review the following information:

Actions Area

Name

Description

Total

Displays the total number of rows in the Fault Entries table.

Column drop-down list

Allows you to choose the columns you wish to be displayed.

Show drop-down list

Customize the way you want to view fault entries using filters. These can be:

- Quick Filter - Default view.

- Advanced Filter - Filter options to display the fault entries based on one or more criteria. Using the matching rule, you can view entries matching all the rules or any one combination of rules you specified in the Filter fields.

Click Go to view the entries matching the filter criteria that you set.

Click the Save icon to save the filter criteria that you set. This becomes a user-defined filter which you can use later.

Note:
The user-defined filter appears in the Manage Preset Filters dialog box.

- All - Displays all entries

- Manage Preset Filters - Displays user-defined filters. You can edit or remove the user-defined filter from this dialog box.

- List of pre-defined filters - Displays the system-defined filters.

Note:
You can use the Filter icon to hide or unhide the filter fields.

Fault Entries Area

Name

Description

Time

The time when the fault occurred.

Severity

This can be one of the following:

- Cleared - A fault or condition was cleared.

- Critical

- Info

- Major

- Minor

- Warning

Code

The unique identifier assigned to the fault.

DN

The distinguished name (DN) is a hierarchical representation of the device endpoint and its instance on the server.

Probable Cause

The unique identifier associated with the event that caused the fault.

Description

More information about the fault.

It also includes a proposed solution.

Viewing Faults History

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

In the Faults History tab, review the following information

Actions Area

Name

Description

Total

Displays the total number of rows in the Fault History table.

Column drop-down list

Allows you to choose the columns you wish to be displayed.

Show drop-down list

Customize the way you want to view fault history entries using filters. These can be:

- Quick Filter - Default view.

- Advanced Filter - Filter options to display the entries based on one or more criteria. Using the matching rule, you can view entries matching all the rules or any one combination of rules you specified in the Filter fields.

Click Go to view the entries matching the filter criteria that you set.

Click the Save icon to save the filter criteria that you set. This becomes a user-defined filter which you can use later.

Note:
The user-defined filter appears in the Manage Preset Filters dialog box.

- All - Displays all entries

- Manage Preset Filters - Displays user-defined filters. You can edit or remove the user-defined filter from this dialog box.

- List of pre-defined filters - Displays the system-defined filters.

Note:
You can use the Filter icon to hide or unhide the filter fields.

Faults History Area

Name

Description

Time

The time when the fault occurred.

Severity

This can be one of the following:

- Emergency

- Alert

- Critical

- Error

- Warning

- Notice

- Informational

- Debug

Source

The software module that logged the event.

Probable Cause

The unique identifier associated with the event that caused the fault.

Description

More information about the fault.

It also includes a proposed solution.

What to Do Next

Viewing the Cisco IMC Log

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

In the Cisco IMC Log tab, review the following information:

Actions Area

Name

Description

Clear Log button

Clears all log files.

Note:
This option is only available if your user ID is assigned the admin or user user role.

Total

Displays the total number of rows in the Cisco IMC Log table.

Column drop-down list

Allows you to choose the columns you wish to be displayed.

Show drop-down list

Customize the way you want to view Cisco IMC log entries using filters. These can be:

- Quick Filter - Default view.

- Advanced Filter - Filter options to display the log entries based on one or more criteria. Using the matching rule, you can view entries matching all the rules or any one combination of rules you specified in the Filter fields.

Click Go to view the entries matching the filter criteria that you set.

Click the Save icon to save the filter criteria that you set. This becomes a user-defined filter which you can use later.

Note:
The user-defined filter appears in the Manage Preset Filters dialog box.

- All - Displays all entries

- Manage Preset Filters - Displays user-defined filters. You can edit or remove the user-defined filter from this dialog box.

- List of pre-defined filters - Displays the system-defined filters.

Note:
You can use the Filter icon to hide or unhide the filter fields.

Cisco IMC Log Table

Name

Description

Time column

The date and time the event occurred.

Severity column

The event severity. This can be one of the following:

- Emergency

- Alert

- Critical

- Error

- Warning

- Notice

- Informational

- Debug

Source column

The software module that logged the event.

Description column

A description of the event.

Viewing System Event Logs

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

On the System Event Log tab, review the following information:

Actions Area

Name

Description

Clear Log button

Clears all events from the log file.

Note:
This option is only available if your user ID is assigned the admin or user user role.

Chassis drop-down list

Select a chassis or a server to view its logs.

Total

Displays the total number of rows in the System Event Log table.

Column drop-down list

Allows you to choose the columns you wish to be displayed.

Show drop-down list

Customize the way you want to view events using filters. These can be:

- Quick Filter - Default view.

- Advanced Filter - Filter options to display the events based on one or more criteria. Using the matching rule, you can view entries matching all the rules or any one combination of rules you specified in the Filter fields.

Click Go to view the entries matching the filter criteria that you set.

Click the Save icon to save the filter criteria that you set. This becomes a user-defined filter which you can use later.

Note:
The user-defined filter appears in the Manage Preset Filters dialog box.

- All - Displays all entries

- Manage Preset Filters - Displays user-defined filters. You can edit or remove the user-defined filter from this dialog box.

- List of pre-defined filters - Displays the system-defined filters.

Note:
You can use the Filter icon to hide or unhide the filter fields.

System Event Log Table

Name

Description

Time column

The date and time the event occurred.

Severity column

The severity field includes both text and a color-coded icon. For the icon, green indicates normal operation, yellow is informational, and warning, critical, and non-recoverable errors are shown in shades of red.

Description column

A description of the event.

Viewing Logging Controls

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

In the Logging Controls tab, review the following information:
Remote Logging

Name

Description

Enabled check box

If checked, the Cisco IMC sends log messages to the Syslog server named in the IP Address field.

Host Name/IP Address field

The address of the Syslog server on which the Cisco IMC log should be stored. You can set an IPv4 or IPv6 address or a domain name as the remote system address.

Port field

Enter a destination port number of the Syslog server within the range 1 to 65535. The default port number is 514.

Protocol field

The transport layer protocol for transmission of syslog messages. You can select one of the following:

- TCP

- UDP

Minimum Severity to Report field

Specify the lowest level of messages that will be included in the remote logs. You can select one of the following:

- Emergency

- Alert

- Critical

- Error

- Warning

- Notice

- Informational

- Debug

Note:   The Cisco IMC does not remotely log any messages with a severity below the selected severity. For example, if you select Error, then the Cisco IMC remote log contains all messages with the severity Emergency, Alert, Critical, or Error. It does not show Warning, Notice, Informational, or Debug messages.

Local Logging

This area displays only the Minimum Severity to Report drop-down list as shown in the table above. You can specify the lowest level of messages to be included in the local log

What to Do Next

Sending the Cisco IMC Log to a Remote Server

You can configure profiles for one or two remote syslog servers to receive Cisco IMC log entries.

Before You Begin

- The remote syslog server must be configured to receive logs from a remote host.

- The remote syslog server must be configured to receive all types of logs, including authentication-related logs.

- The remote syslog server's firewall must be configured to allow syslog messages to reach the syslog server.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

In either of the Remote Syslog Server areas, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Enabled check box

If checked, the Cisco IMC sends log messages to the Syslog server named in the IP Address field.

Host Name/IP Address field

The address of the Syslog server on which the Cisco IMC log should be stored. You can set an IPv4 or IPv6 address or a domain name as the remote system address.

Port field

Enter a destination port number of the Syslog server within the range 1 to 65535. The default port number is 514.

Step 4

(Optional)In the Minimum Severity to Report drop-down list, specify the lowest level of messages that will be included in the remote logs.
You can select one of the following, in decreasing order of severity:

- Emergency

- Alert

- Critical

- Error

- Warning

- Notice

- Informational

- Debug

Note:
Cisco IMC does not remotely log any messages with a severity below the selected severity. For example, if you select Error, then the Cisco IMC remote log will contain all messages with the severity Emergency, Alert, Critical, or Error. It will not show Warning, Notice, Informational, or Debug messages.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

Configuring the Cisco IMC Log Threshold

Before You Begin

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

In the Local Logging area, use the Minimum Severity to Report drop-down list to specify the lowest level of messages that will be included in the Cisco IMC log.
You can select one of the following, in decreasing order of severity:

- Emergency

- Alert

- Critical

- Error

- Warning

- Notice

- Informational

- Debug

Note:
Cisco IMC does not log any messages with a severity below the selected severity. For example, if you select Error, then the Cisco IMC log will contain all messages with the severity Emergency, Alert, Critical, or Error. It will not show Warning, Notice, Informational, or Debug messages.

Sending a Test Cisco IMC Log to a Remote Server

Before You Begin

- The remote syslog server must be configured to receive logs from a remote host.

- The remote syslog server must be configured to receive all types of logs, including authentication-related logs.

- The remote syslog server's firewall must be configured to allow syslog messages to reach the syslog server.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Chassis menu.

Step 2

In the Chassis menu, click Faults and Logs.

Step 3

In the Faults and Logs pane, click the Logging Controls tab.

Step 4

In the Action area, click Send Test Syslog.
A test Cisco IMC log is sent to the configured remote servers.

Chapter 17. Server Utilities

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Resetting to Factory Default

- Generating Non Maskable Interrupts to the Host

- Adding or Updating the Cisco IMC Banner

- Viewing Cisco IMC Last Reset Reason

- Downloading Hardware Inventory to a Local File

- Exporting Hardware Inventory Data to a Remote Server

- Uploading a PID Catalog

- Activating a PID Catalog

Exporting Technical Support Data

Perform this task when requested by the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). This utility creates a summary report containing configuration information, logs and diagnostic data that will help TAC in troubleshooting and resolving a technical issue.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Export Technical Support Data.

Step 4

In the Export Technical Support Data dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Export Technical Support Data to drop-down list

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

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

Server IP/Hostname field

The IP address or hostname of the server on which the support data file should be stored. Depending on the setting in the Export Technical Support Data to drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

Path and Filename field

The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when exporting the file to the remote server.

Note:
If the server includes any of the supported network adapter cards, the data file also includes technical support data from the adapter card.

Username

The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Password

The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Step 5

Click Export.

What to Do Next

Provide the generated report file to Cisco TAC.

Downloading Technical Support Data to a Local File

Perform this task when requested by the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). This utility creates a summary report containing configuration information, logs and diagnostic data that will help TAC in troubleshooting and resolving a technical issue.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Generate Technical Support Data for Local Download.

Step 4

In the Download Technical Support Data to Local File dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Generate Technical Support Data radio button

Cisco IMC disables this radio button when there is no technical support data file to download.

Click Generate to create the data file. When data collection is complete, click Download Technical Support Data to Local File in the Actions area to download the file.

Regenerate Technical Support Data radio button

Cisco IMC displays this radio button when a technical support data file is available to download.

To replace the existing support data file with a new one, select this option and click Regenerate. When data collection is complete, click Download Technical Support Data to Local File in the Actions area to download the file.

Download to local file radio button

Cisco IMC enables this radio button when a technical support data file is available to download.

To download the existing file, select this option and click Download.

Note:
If the server includes any of the supported network adapter cards, the data file also includes technical support data from the adapter card.

Generate and Download button

Allows you to generate and download the technical support data file.

Generate button

Allows you to generate the technical support data file.

Download button

Allows you to download the technical support data file after it is generated.

Step 5

Click Generate to create the data file. When data collection is complete, click Download Technical Support Data to Local File in the Actions area to download the file..

What to Do Next

Provide the generated report file to Cisco TAC.

Resetting to Factory Default

On rare occasions, such as an issue with the current running firmware or troubleshooting a server, you might require to reset the server components to the factory default. When this happens, all user-configurable settings are reset.

This procedure is not part of the normal server maintenance. After you reset the server components, you are logged off and must log in again. You might also lose connectivity and might need to reconfigure the network settings. Some of the inventory information might not be available during this transition.

When you reset the BMC to factory settings, the serial number is displayed in the Cisco IMCXXXXXX format, where XXXXXX is the serial number of the server.

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to reset the server components to factory defaults.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Reset to Factory Default.

Step 4

In the Reset to Factory Default dialog box, review the following information:

Name

Description

All checkbox

If checked, it resets all the components of the server to factory settings.

Expand to select the specific component that you want to reset to factory settings.

BMC checkbox

If checked, it resets the BMC to factory settings.
Note:
After you reset the BMC to factory settings, the serial number is displayed in the Cisco IMCXXXXXX format, where XXXXXX is the serial number of the server. Additionally, at the time of reset, the Cisco card mode is configured by default.

Storage checkbox

If checked, it resets all the available storage adapters to factory settings. When you reset a storage adapter, the data on the disk is not modified but the virtual drive meta data will be erased which may result in data loss. Expand to select the specific storage adapters that you want to reset to factory settings.

Note:
The host must be powered on to reset storage adapters to factory defaults.

VIC checkbox

If checked, it resets all the available VICs to factory settings.

Expand to select the specific VICs that you want to reset to factory settings.

Note:
The host must be powered on to reset VIC adapters to factory defaults.

Reset button

Resets the selected components to the factory settings.

Step 5

Click Reset to reset the selected components to the factory-default settings.
A reboot of Cisco IMC, while the host is performing BIOS POST (Power on Self Test) or is in EFI shell, powers down the host for a short amount of time. Cisco IMC powers on when it is ready. Upon restart, the network configuration mode is set to Cisco Card mode by default.

Exporting and Importing the Cisco IMC Configuration

To perform a backup of the Cisco IMC configuration, you take a snapshot of the system configuration and export the resulting Cisco IMC configuration file to a location on your network. The export operation saves information from the management plane only; it does not back up data on the servers. Sensitive configuration information such as user accounts and the server certificate are not exported.

You can restore an exported Cisco IMC configuration file to the same system or you can import it to another Cisco IMC system, provided that the software version of the importing system is the same as or is configuration-compatible with the software version of the exporting system. When you import a configuration file to another system as a configuration template, you must modify system-specific settings such as IP addresses and host names. An import operation modifies information on the management plane only.

The Cisco IMC configuration file is an XML text file whose structure and elements correspond to the Cisco IMC command modes.

When performing an export or import operation, consider these guidelines:

- You can perform an export or an import while the system is up and running. While an export operation has no impact on the server or network traffic, some modifications caused by an import operation, such as IP address changes, can disrupt traffic or cause a server reboot.

- You cannot execute an export and an import simultaneously.

You can perform an import or an export operation on the following features:

- Cisco IMC version

Note

You can only export this information.

- Network settings

- Technical support

- Logging control for local and remote logs

- Power policies

- BIOS - BIOS Parameters

Note

Precision boot is not supported.

- Communication services

- Remote presence

- User management - LDAP

- Event management

- SNMP

- Dynamic Storage Configuration

- Chassis Description

Exporting the Cisco IMC Configuration

Note

For security reasons, this operation does not export user accounts or the server certificate.

Before You Begin

Obtain the backup remote server IP address.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Export Configuration.

Step 4

In the Export Configuration dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Select Component for Export drop-down list

The component type. This can be one of the following:

- BMC

- VIC Adapter(s)

Depending on the component you choose, the configuration of that component is exported.

Export To drop-down list

The location where you want to save the XML configuration file. This can be one of the following:

- Local: Select this option and click Export to save the XML configuration file to a drive that is local to the computer running the Cisco IMC GUI..

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays a File Download dialog box that lets you navigate to the location to which the configuration file should be saved.

- Remote Server: Select this option to import the XML configuration file from a remote server.

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays the remote server fields.

Export To drop-down list

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

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

Server IP/Hostname field

The IPv4 or IPv6 address, or hostname of the server to which the configuration file will be exported. Depending on the remote server type selected in the Export to drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

Path and Filename field

The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when exporting the file to the remote server.

Username

The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Password

The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Passphrase

The passphrase that uses the AES256 algorithm to encrypt the LDAP and SNMP v3 user passwords in the exported configuration files. Enter a string of 6 to 127 characters. Do not enter the following characters: ! # $ & < > ? ; ' | ` ~ \ % ^ ( )"

Step 5

Click Export.

Importing the Cisco IMC Configuration

Before You Begin

If you want to restore the SNMP configuration information when you import the configuration file, make sure that SNMP is disabled on this server before you do the import. If SNMP is enabled when you perform the import, Cisco IMC does not overwrite the current values with those saved in the configuration file.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Import Configuration.

Step 4

In the Import Configuration dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Select Component for Import drop-down list

The component type. This can be one of the following:

- BMC

- VIC Adapter(s)

Depending on the component you choose, the configuration of that component is imported.

Import From drop-down list

The location of the XML configuration file. This can be one of the following:

- Local: Select this option to import the XML configuration file to a drive that is local to the computer running Cisco IMC GUI.

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays a Browse button that lets you navigate to the file you want to import.

- Remote Server: Select this option to import the XML configuration file from a remote server.

When you select this option, Cisco IMC GUI displays the remote server fields.

Import From drop-down list

Note:
These options are available only when you choose Remote.

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

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

Server IP/Hostname field

The IPv4 or IPv6 address, or hostname of the server on which the configuration file resides. Depending on the remote server type selected in the Import From drop-down list, the name of the field might vary.

Path and Filename field

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

Username

The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Password

The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Passphrase

The passphrase that uses the AES256 algorithm to encrypt the LDAP and SNMP v3 user passwords in the imported configuration files. Enter a string of 6 to 127 characters. Do not enter the following characters: ! # $ & < > ? ; ' | ` ~ \ % ^ ( )"

Note:
If you edit the encrypted sections in the configuration file and try to import it, the edits will be ignored and the import operation displays a partially successful message.

Step 5

Click Import.

Generating Non Maskable Interrupts to the Host

In some situations, the server might hang and not respond to traditional debug mechanisms. By generating a non maskable interrupt (NMI) to the host, you can create and send a crash dump file of the server and use it to debug the server.

Depending on the type of operating system associated with the server, this task might restart the OS.

Before You Begin

- You must log in as a user with admin privileges.

- The server must be powered on.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Generate NMI to Host.

Step 4

In the Generate NMI to Host dialog box, review the following information:

Actions

Description

Generate NMI to drop-down list

Allows you to select the server for which you want to generate the non maskable interrupt (NMI). This can be one of the following:

- Server 1

- Server 2

Step 5

Click Send.
This action sends an NMI signal to the host, which might restart the OS.

Adding or Updating the Cisco IMC Banner

You can add or update the Cisco IMC banner by entering important information such as copyright or customized messages. Complete the following steps:

Before You Begin

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Add/Update Cisco IMC Banner.

Step 4

In the Add/Update Cisco IMC Banner dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Banner (80 Chars per line. Max 2K Chars.) field

Enter copyright information or messages that you want to display on the login screen, before logging on to the Web UI or the command line interface.

Restart SSH checkbox

When checked, the active SSH sessions are terminated after you click the Save Banner button.

Step 5

Click Save Banner.

What to Do Next

Viewing Cisco IMC Last Reset Reason

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, view the following information under the Last Reset Reason area.

Name

Description

Component field

The component that was last reset.

Status field

The reason why the component was last reset. This can be one of the following:

- watchdog-reset—The watchdog-timer resets when the Cisco IMC memory reaches full capacity.

- ac-cycle— PSU power cables are removed (no power input).

- graceful-reboot— Cisco IMC reboot occurs.

Downloading Hardware Inventory to a Local File

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Generate Inventory Data.

Step 4

In the Generate Inventory Data dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Generate Inventory Data radio button

Cisco IMC displays this radio button when there is no hardware inventory data file to download.

Download to local file radio button

Cisco IMC enables this radio button when a inventory data file is available to download.

To download the existing file, select this option and click Download.

Step 5

Click Generate to create the data file. When data collection is complete, select the Download Inventory Data to Local File radio button and click Download to download the file locally.

Exporting Hardware Inventory Data to a Remote Server

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin menu.

Step 2

In the Admin menu, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Export Hardware Inventory Data to Remote.

Step 4

In the Export Hardware Inventory Data dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Export Hardware Inventory Data to drop-down list

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

- TFTP Server

- FTP Server

- SFTP Server

- SCP Server

- HTTP Server

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.

Server IP/Hostname field

The IP address or hostname of the server on which the data file should be stored. Depending on the setting in the Export Hardware Inventory Data to drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

Path and Filename field

The path and filename Cisco IMC should use when exporting the file to the remote server.

Username

The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Password

The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

Step 5

Click Export.

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 Admin tab.

Step 2

On the Admin tab, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Work pane, 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 4

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 5

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.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab.

Step 2

On the Admin tab, click Utilities.

Step 3

In the Work pane, click the Activate PID Catalog link.
The Activate PID Catalog dialog box appears. Complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Activate button

Allows you to activate the PID catalog.

Note:
The Activate PID Catalog link is greyed out when you log on to the system for the first time. It gets activated once you upload a PID catalog to the server. After you upload a PID file, the link remains active and you can activate the PID multiple times.

Chapter 18. Troubleshooting

This chapter includes the following sections:

- Recording the Last Boot Process

- Recording the Last Crash

- Downloading a DVR Player

- Playing a Recorded Video Using the DVR Player on the KVM Console

Recording the Last Boot Process

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the TroubleShooting tab.

Step 3

In the Bootstrap Process Recording area of the Troubleshooting tab, check Enable Recording check-box.
By default, this option is enabled.

Caution:
This task is for troubleshooting purpose, and might impact Cisco IMC performance if it is enabled all the time.

Step 4

(Optional)If you want to record the boot process until BIOS POST, then check Stop On BIOS POST check-box.

Step 5

Click Save Changes

Step 6

On the tool bar above the Work pane, click Power On Server.

Step 7

In the Actions area, of the Bootstrap Process Recording pane, click Play Recording.
A confirmation dialog box with instructions on supported Java version appears.

Step 8

Review the instructions and click Ok.
The DVR Player Controls dialog box opens. This dialog box plays the recording of the last boot process. If you have enabled Stop On BIOS POST option then the system plays the recording process only till BIOS POST.

This recording can be reviewed to analyze the factors that caused the system to reboot.

Step 9

In the Actions area of the Bootstrap Process Recording area, click Download Recording.
Follow the instructions to download.

Note:
The file is saved in a .dvc format to a local drive. You can view this recording using KVM player or an offline player. Every time you choose Download Recording option, the last boot process is recorded, it autogenerate the file name, and save it in the path specified earlier.

Step 10

Once the download is complete, you can select the file that you want play the video of the recording, and click Open. A DVR Player Controls window opens and plays the video of the selected file.

Recording the Last Crash

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Compute menu.

Step 2

In the work pane, click the TroubleShooting tab.

Step 3

In the Crash Recording area of the Troubleshooting tab, check the Enable Recording check-box.
Caution:
This task is for troubleshooting purpose, and might impact Cisco IMC performance if it is enabled all the time.

Step 4

Click Save Changes. Capture Recording button in the Actions area is enabled.

Step 5

(Optional)In the Actions area, click Capture Recording, to capture the recording of the system that crashed automatically.
Note:
If you choose this option, it overwrites the existing crash records file. Click OK to continue.

Step 6

Click Play Recording in the Actions area to view the recording of the operations that ran on the server.
A confirmation dialog box with instructions on supported Java version appears.

Step 7

Review the instructions and click Ok.
The DVR Player Controls dialog box appears. This dialog box plays the recording of the operations that ran on the server in the last few minutes. This recording can be reviewed to analyze the factors that caused system to crash.

Step 8

In the Actions area of the Crash Recording area, click Download Recording.
Follow the instructions to download.

Note:
The file is saved in a .dvc format to a local drive. You can view this recording using KVM player or an offline player. Every time you choose Download Recording option, the last crash process is recorded, it autogenerate the file name, and save it in the path specified earlier.

Step 9

Once the download is complete, you can select the file that you want play the video of the recording, and click Open. A DVR Player Controls window opens and plays the video of the selected file.

Downloading a DVR Player

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click Troubleshooting.

Step 3

In the Player area of the Troubleshooting tab, click Download Player.

Step 4

Follow the instructions to download. These files are saved to your local drive as a zipped file in a .tgz file format.
The offline player is stored for Windows, Linux, and MAC.

Step 5

Extract the zip file. The zip file generally gets saved below the bootstrap file, and its name follows the format offline.tgz

Step 6

Open the script file that you want to review the video recording.
Note:
If you want to play the recording for Windows, then ensure that the Java version running on your system and in the script file are the same. If the Windows script file fails to play the recording, then follow these steps:

1. Extract the Windows script file to your desktop.

2. Open the file using notepad.

3. Search for jre, and replace the Java version to match the version running on your system. By default, the Java version is set to jre7.

4. Save the file. After you update the Java version, you can delete the extracted files from your desktop.

Note:
Verification of Java version is required only for Windows OS. For Linux and MAC, the Java version is picked automatically.

Step 7

Navigate to the folder in which these files are downloaded and open the script file that you want to play the video recording. The DVR player is launched, playing the video of the operations that ran on the server.

Playing a Recorded Video Using the DVR Player on the KVM Console

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.

Step 2

On the Server tab, click Sensors.

Step 3

In the Remote Presence pane, click the Virtual KVM tab.

Step 4

In the Actions area of the Virtual KVM tab, click Launch KVM Console.
Note:
You can also launch KVM console by clicking Launch KVM Console button on the toolbar displayed above the Work pane.

The KVM Console opens in a separate window.

Step 5

On the KVM Console window, choose Tools > Recorder /Playback Controls. A DVR Player Controls window opens.

Step 6

On the DVR Player Controls window, click Open button.

Step 7

Choose the file that you want to play the recording, and click Open. The DVR player is launched, playing the video of the operations that ran on the server.

Appendix A. BIOS Parameters by Server Model

This appendix contains the following sections:

Main Tab for C460 M4 Servers

Main BIOS Parameters

Name

Description

Reboot Host Immediately checkbox

Upon checking, reboots the host server immediately. You must check the checkbox after saving changes.

TPM Support

TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is a microchip designed to provide basic security-related functions primarily involving encryption keys. This option allows you to control the TPM Security Device support for the system. It can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The server does not use the TPM.

- Enabled—The server uses the TPM.

Note:
We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Power ON Password Support drop-down

This token requires that you set a BIOS password before using the F2 BIOS configuration. If enabled, password needs to be validated before you access BIOS functions such as IO configuration, BIOS set up, and booting to an operating system using BIOS. It can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Support is disabled.

- Enabled—Support is enabled.

Actions Area

Name

Description

Save button

Saves the settings for the BIOS parameter 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 button

Resets 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.

Advanced Tab for C460 M4 Servers

Reboot Server Option

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.

Processor Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Whether the processor uses Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows multithreaded software applications to execute threads in parallel within each processor. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not permit hyperthreading.

- Enabled—The processor allows for the parallel execution of multiple threads.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Number of Enabled Cores

Allows you to disable one or more of the physical cores on the server. This can be one of the following:

- All—Enables all physical cores. This also enables Hyper Threading on the associated logical processor cores.

- 1 through n—Specifies the number of physical processor cores that can run on the server. Each physical core has an associated logical core.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Execute Disable

Classifies memory areas on the server to specify where application code can execute. As a result of this classification, the processor disables code execution if a malicious worm attempts to insert code in the buffer. This setting helps to prevent damage, worm propagation, and certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not classify memory areas.

- Enabled—The processor classifies memory areas.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Intel VT

Whether the processor uses Intel Virtualization Technology (VT), which allows a platform to run multiple operating systems and applications in independent partitions. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not permit virtualization.

- Enabled—The processor allows multiple operating systems in independent partitions.

Note:
If you change this option, you must power cycle the server before the setting takes effect.

Intel VT-d

Whether the processor uses Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not use virtualization technology.

- Enabled—The processor uses virtualization technology.

Intel(R) Interrupt Remapping drop-down list

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Interrupt Remapping. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support remapping.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d Interrupt Remapping as required.

Intel(R) Passthrough DMA drop-down list

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Pass-through DMA. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support pass-through DMA.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d Pass-through DMA as required.

Intel VT-d Coherency Support

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Coherency. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support coherency.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d Coherency as required.

Intel VT-d ATS Support

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Address Translation Services (ATS). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support ATS.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d ATS as required.

CPU Performance

Sets the CPU performance profile for the server. The performance profile consists of the following options:

- DCU Streamer Prefetcher

- DCU IP Prefetcher

- Hardware Prefetcher

- Adjacent Cache-Line Prefetch

This can be one of the following:

- Enterprise—All options are enabled.

- High Throughput—Only the DCU IP Prefetcher is enabled. The rest of the options are disabled.

- HPC—All options are enabled. This setting is also known as high performance computing.

- Custom—All performance profile options can be configured from the BIOS setup on the server. In addition, the Hardware Prefetcher and Adjacent Cache-Line Prefetch options can be configured in the fields below.

Hardware Prefetcher

Whether the processor allows the Intel hardware prefetcher to fetch streams of data and instruction from memory into the unified second-level cache when necessary. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The hardware prefetcher is not used.

- Enabled—The processor uses the hardware prefetcher when cache issues are detected.

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetcher

Whether the processor fetches cache lines in even/odd pairs instead of fetching just the required line. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor only fetches the required line.

- Enabled— The processor fetches both the required line and its paired line.

DCU Streamer Prefetch

Whether the processor uses the DCU IP Prefetch mechanism to analyze historical cache access patterns and preload the most relevant lines in the L1 cache. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not try to anticipate cache read requirements and only fetches explicitly requested lines.

- Enabled—The DCU prefetcher analyzes the cache read pattern and prefetches the next line in the cache if it determines that it may be needed.

DCU IP Prefetcher

Whether the processor uses the DCU IP Prefetch mechanism to analyze historical cache access patterns and preload the most relevant lines in the L1 cache. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not preload any cache data.

- Enabled—The DCU IP prefetcher preloads the L1 cache with the data it determines to be the most relevant.

Direct Cache Access Support

Allows processors to increase I/O performance by placing data from I/O devices directly into the processor cache. This setting helps to reduce cache misses. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Data from I/O devices is not placed directly into the processor cache.

- Enabled—Data from I/O devices is placed directly into the processor cache.

Power Technology

Enables you to configure the CPU power management settings for the following options:

- Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

- Intel Turbo Boost Technology

- Processor Power State C6

Power Technology can be one of the following:

- Custom—The server uses the individual settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above. You must select this option if you want to change any of these BIOS parameters.

- Disabled—The server does not perform any CPU power management and any settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above are ignored.

- Energy Efficient—The server determines the best settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above and ignores the individual settings for these parameters.

Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

Whether the processor uses Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology, which allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency. This technology can result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor never dynamically adjusts its voltage or frequency.

- Enabled—The processor utilizes Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology and enables all supported processor sleep states to further conserve power.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Whether the processor uses Intel Turbo Boost Technology, which allows the processor to automatically increase its frequency if it is running below power, temperature, or voltage specifications. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not increase its frequency automatically.

- Enabled—The processor utilizes Turbo Boost Technology if required.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor C3 Report

Whether the BIOS sends the C3 report to the operating system. When the OS receives the report, it can transition the processor into the lower C3 power state to decrease energy usage while maintaining optimal processor performance. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—BIOS does not send C3 report.

- Enabled—BIOS sends the C3 report, allowing the OS to transition the processor to the C3 low power state.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor C6 Report

Whether the BIOS sends the C6 report to the operating system. When the OS receives the report, it can transition the processor into the lower C6 power state to decrease energy usage while maintaining optimal processor performance. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The BIOS does not send the C6 report.

- Enabled—The BIOS sends the C6 report, allowing the OS to transition the processor to the C6 low power state.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor Power State C1 Enhanced

Whether the CPU transitions to its minimum frequency when entering the C1 state. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The CPU continues to run at its maximum frequency in C1 state.

- Enabled—The CPU transitions to its minimum frequency. This option saves the maximum amount of power in C1 state.

P-STATE Coordination

Allows you to define how BIOS communicates the P-state support model to the operating system. There are 3 models as defined by the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification.

- HW_ALL—The processor hardware is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a package).

- SW_ALL—The OS Power Manager (OSPM) is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a physical package), and must initiate the transition on all of the logical processors.

- SW_ANY—The OS Power Manager (OSPM) is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a package), and may initiate the transition on any of the logical processors in the domain.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

SINGLE_PCTL drop-down list

Facilitates single PCTL support for better processor power management. This can be one of the following:

- No

- Yes

Config TDP drop-down list

Allows you to configure the Thermal Design Power (TDP) settings for the system. TDP is the maximum amount of power allowed for running applications without triggering an overheating event. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the TDP settings. This is the default value.

- Enabled—Enables the TDP settings.

Energy Performance Tuning

Allows you to choose BIOS or Operating System for energy performance bias tuning. This can be one of the following:

- OS— Chooses OS for energy performance tuning.

- BIOS— Chooses BIOS for energy performance tuning.

Energy Performance

Allows you to determine whether system performance or energy efficiency is more important on this server. This can be one of the following:

- Balanced Energy

- Balanced Performance

- Energy Efficient

- Performance

Package C State Limit

The amount of power available to the server components when they are idle. This can be one of the following:

- C0 state—The server provides all server components with full power at all times. This option maintains the highest level of performance and requires the greatest amount of power.

- C1 state—When the CPU is idle, the system slightly reduces the power consumption. This option requires less power than C0 and allows the server to return quickly to high performance mode.

- C3 state—When the CPU is idle, the system reduces the power consumption further than with the C1 option. This requires less power than C1 or C0, but it takes the server slightly longer to return to high performance mode.

- C6 state—When the CPU is idle, the system reduces the power consumption further than with the C3 option. This option saves more power than C0, C1, or C3, but there may be performance issues until the server returns to full power.

- C7 state—When the CPU is idle, the server makes a minimal amount of power available to the components. This option saves the maximum amount of power but it also requires the longest time for the server to return to high performance mode.

- No Limit—The server may enter any available C state.

Extended APIC

Allows you to enable or disable extended APIC support. This can be one of the following:

- XAPIC—Enables APIC support.

- X2APIC—Enables APIC and also enables Intel VT-d and Interrupt Remapping .

Workload Configuration

Allows you to set a parameter to optimize workload characterization. This can be one of the following:

- Balanced— Chooses balanced option for optimization.

- I/O Sensitive— Chooses I/O sensitive option for optimization.

Note:
We recommend you to set the workload configuration to Balanced.

IIO Error Enable drop-down list

Allows you to generate the IIO-related errors. This can be one of the following:

- Yes

- No

Memory Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Select Memory RAS

How the memory reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) is configured for the server. This can be one of the following:

- Maximum Performance—System performance is optimized.

- Mirroring—System reliability is optimized by using half the system memory as backup.

- Lockstep—If the DIMM pairs in the server have an identical type, size, and organization and are populated across the SMI channels, you can enable lockstep mode to minimize memory access latency and provide better performance. This option offers better system performance than Mirroring and better reliability than Maximum Performance but lower reliability than Mirroring and lower system performance than Maximum Performance.

DRAM Clock Throttling

Allows you to tune the system settings between the memory bandwidth and power consumption. This can be one of the following:

- Balanced— DRAM clock throttling is reduced, providing a balance between performance and power.

- Performance—DRAM clock throttling is disabled, providing increased memory bandwidth at the cost of additional power.

- Energy Efficient—DRAM clock throttling is increased to improve energy efficiency.

Low Voltage DDR Mode

Whether the system prioritizes low voltage or high frequency memory operations. This can be one of the following:

- Power Saving Mode—The system prioritizes low voltage memory operations over high frequency memory operations. This mode may lower memory frequency in order to keep the voltage low.

- Performance Mode—The system prioritizes high frequency operations over low voltage operations.

Closed Loop Therm Throt drop-down list

Allows for the support of Closed-Loop Thermal Throttling, which improves reliability and reduces CPU power consumption through the automatic voltage control while the CPUs are in the idle state. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables closed loop thermal throttling.

- Enabled—Enables closed loop thermal throttling. This is the default value.

Channel Interleaving

Whether the CPU divides memory blocks and spreads contiguous portions of data across interleaved channels to enable simultaneous read operations. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines what interleaving is done.

- 1 Way—Some channel interleaving is used.

- 2 Way

- 3 Way

- 4 Way—The maximum amount of channel interleaving is used.

Rank Interleaving

Whether the CPU interleaves physical ranks of memory so that one rank can be accessed while another is being refreshed. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines what interleaving is done.

- 1 Way—Some rank interleaving is used.

- 2 Way

- 4 Way

- 8 Way—The maximum amount of rank interleaving is used.

Patrol Scrub

Whether the system actively searches for, and corrects, single bit memory errors even in unused portions of the memory on the server. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The system checks for memory ECC errors only when the CPU reads or writes a memory address.

- Enabled—The system periodically reads and writes memory searching for ECC errors. If any errors are found, the system attempts to fix them. This option may correct single bit errors before they become multi-bit errors, but it may adversely affect performance when the patrol scrub is running.

Demand Scrub

Whether the system corrects single bit memory errors encountered when the CPU or I/O makes a demand read. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— Single bit memory errors are not corrected.

- Enabled— Single bit memory errors are corrected in memory and the corrected data is set in response to the demand read.

Altitude

The approximate number of meters above sea level at which the physical server is installed. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines the physical elevation.

- 300 M—The server is approximately 300 meters above sea level.

- 900 M—The server is approximately 900 meters above sea level.

- 1500 M—The server is approximately 1500 meters above sea level.

- 3000 M—The server is approximately 3000 meters above sea level.

QPI Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

QPI Link Frequency Select

The Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) link frequency, in gigatransfers per second (GT/s). This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines the QPI link frequency.

- 6.4 GT/s

- 7.2 GT/s

- 8.0 GT/s

QPI Snoop Mode

The Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) snoop mode. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the QPI snoop mode.

- Cluster on Die—Enables Cluster On Die. When enabled LLC is split into two parts with an independent caching agent for each. This helps increase the performance in some workloads. This mode is available only for processors that have 10 or more cores. It is the best mode for highly NUMA optimized workloads.

- Auto—The CPU automatically recognizes this as Early Snoop mode. This is the default value.

USB Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Legacy USB Support

Whether the system supports legacy USB devices. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—USB devices are only available to EFI applications.

- Enabled—Legacy USB support is always available.

- Auto—Disables legacy USB support if no USB devices are connected.

Port 60/64 Emulation

Whether the system supports 60h/64h emulation for complete USB keyboard legacy support. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—60h/64 emulation is not supported.

- Enabled—60h/64 emulation is supported.

You should select this option if you are using a non-USB aware operating system on the server.

All USB Devices

Whether all physical and virtual USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—All USB devices are disabled.

- Enabled—All USB devices are enabled.

USB Port: Rear

Whether the rear panel USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the rear panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are not detected by the BIOS and operating system.

- Enabled—Enables the rear panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are detected by the BIOS and operating system.

USB Port: Internal

Whether the internal USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the internal USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are not detected by the BIOS and operating system.

- Enabled—Enables the internal USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are detected by the BIOS and operating system.

USB Port: KVM

Whether the KVM ports are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the KVM keyboard and/or mouse devices. Keyboard and/or mouse will not work in the KVM window.

- Enabled—Enables the KVM keyboard and/or mouse devices.

USB Port: vMedia

Whether the virtual media devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the vMedia devices.

- Enabled—Enables the vMedia devices.

xHCI Mode

Whether the xHCI controller legacy support is enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the xHCI controller legacy support.

- Enabled—Enables the xHCI controller legacy support.

PCI Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Memory Mapped I/O Above 4GB

Whether to enable or disable MMIO above 4GB or not. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The server does not map I/O of 64-bit PCI devices to 4GB or greater address space.

- Enabled—The server maps I/O of 64-bit PCI devices to 4GB or greater address space.

Note:
PCI devices that are 64-bit compliant but use a legacy option ROM may not function correctly with this setting enabled.

SR-IOV Support drop-down list

Whether SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization) is enabled or disabled on the server. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—SR-IOV is disabled.

- Enabled—SR-IOV is enabled.

Serial Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Out-of-Band Mgmt Port

Allows you to configure the COM port 0 that can be used for Windows Emergency Management services. ACPI SPCR table is reported based on this setup option. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Configures the COM port 0 as a general purpose port for use with the Windows Operating System.

- Enabled—Configures the COM port 0 as a remote management port for Windows Emergency Management services.

Console Redirection

Allows a serial port to be used for console redirection during POST and BIOS booting. After the BIOS has booted and the operating system is responsible for the server, console redirection is irrelevant and has no effect. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—No console redirection occurs during POST.

- COM 0—Enables console redirection on COM port 0 during POST.

- COM 1—Enables console redirection on COM port 1 during POST.

Terminal Type

What type of character formatting is used for console redirection. This can be one of the following:

- PC-ANSI—The PC-ANSI terminal font is used.

- VT100—A supported vt100 video terminal and its character set are used.

- VT100+—A supported vt100-plus video terminal and its character set are used.

- VT-UTF8—A video terminal with the UTF-8 character set is used.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Bits per second

What BAUD rate is used for the serial port transmission speed. If you disable Console Redirection, this option is not available. This can be one of the following:

- 9600—A 9,600 BAUD rate is used.

- 19200—A 19,200 BAUD rate is used.

- 38400—A 38,400 BAUD rate is used.

- 57600—A 57,600 BAUD rate is used.

- 115200—A 115,200 BAUD rate is used.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Flow Control

Whether a handshake protocol is used for flow control. Request to Send / Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) helps to reduce frame collisions that can be introduced by a hidden terminal problem. This can be one of the following:

- None—No flow control is used.

- Hardware RTS/CTS—RTS/CTS is used for flow control.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Putty KeyPad

Allows you to change the action of the PuTTY function keys and the top row of the numeric keypad. This can be one of the following:

- VT100—The function keys generate ESC OP through ESC O[.

- LINUX—Mimics the Linux virtual console. Function keys F6 to F12 behave like the default mode, but F1 to F5 generate ESC [[A through ESC [[E.

- XTERMR6—Function keys F5 to F12 behave like the default mode. Function keys F1 to F4 generate ESC OP through ESC OS, which are the sequences produced by the top row of the keypad on Digital terminals.

- SCO—The function keys F1 to F12 generate ESC [M through ESC [X. The function and shift keys generate ESC [Y through ESC [j. The control and function keys generate ESC [k through ESC [v. The shift, control and function keys generate ESC [w through ESC [{.

- ESCN—The default mode. The function keys match the general behavior of Digital terminals. The function keys generate sequences such as ESC [11~ and ESC [12~.

- VT400—The function keys behave like the default mode. The top row of the numeric keypad generates ESC OP through ESC OS.

Redirection After BIOS POST

Whether BIOS console redirection should be active after BIOS POST is complete and control given to the OS bootloader. This can be one of the following:

- Always Enable—BIOS Legacy console redirection is active during the OS boot and run time.

- Bootloader—BIOS Legacy console redirection is disabled before giving control to the OS boot loader.

LOM and PCIe Slots Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

CDN Support for VIC

Whether the Ethernet Network naming convention is according to Consistent Device Naming (CDN) or the traditional way of naming conventions. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— CDN support for VIC cards is disabled.

- Enabled— CDN support is enabled for VIC cards.

Note:
CDN support for VIC cards work with Windows 2012 or the latest OS only.

PCI ROM CLP

PCI ROM Command Line Protocol (CLP) controls the execution of different Option ROMs such as PxE and iSCSI that are present in the card. By default, it is disabled.

- Enabled— Enables you to configure execution of different option ROMs such as PxE and iSCSI for an individual ports separately.

- Disabled—The default option. You cannot choose different option ROMs. A default option ROM is executed during PCI enumeration.

PCH SATA Mode

This options allows you to select the PCH SATA mode. This can be one of the following:

- AHCI—Sets both SATA and sSATA controllers to AHCI mode.

- Disabled—Disables both SATA and sSATA controllers.

- LSI SW Raid— Sets both SATA and sSATA controllers to raid mode for LSI SW Raid

All Onboard LOM Ports

Whether all LOM ports are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—All LOM ports are disabled.

- Enabled—All LOM ports are enabled.

LOM Port n OptionROM

Whether Option ROM is available on the LOM port designated by n. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for slot n is not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROM for slot n is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for legacy only.

All PCIe Slots OptionROM

Whether the server can use Option ROM present in the PCIe Cards. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for slot n is not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROM for slot n is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for legacy only.

PCIe Slot:n OptionROM

Whether the server can use the Option ROMs present in the PCIe Cards. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for slot n is not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROM for slot n is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for legacy only.

PCIe Slot:MLOM OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the MLOM slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:HBA OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the HBA slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:N1 OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the SSD:NVMe1 slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:N2 OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the SSD:NVMe2 slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:N2 OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the SSD:NVMe2 slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:HBA Link Speed

PCIe SlotHBALinkSpeed

This option allows you to restrict the maximum speed of an adapter card installed in PCIe HBA slot. This can be one of the following:

- Auto— System selects the maximum speed allowed.

- GEN1—2.5GT/s (gigatransfers per second) is the maximum speed allowed.

- GEN2—5GT/s is the maximum speed allowed.

- GEN3—8GT/s is the maximum speed allowed.

- Disabled—The maximum speed is not restricted.

BIOS Configuration Dialog Box Button Bar

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.

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.

Server Management Tab for C460 M4 Servers

Reboot Server Option

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.

Server Management BIOS Parameters

Name

Description

FRB-2 Timer

Whether the FRB2 timer is used by Cisco IMC to recover the system if it hangs during POST. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The FRB2 timer is not used.

- Enabled—The FRB2 timer is started during POST and used to recover the system if necessary.

OS Watchdog Timer

Whether the BIOS programs the watchdog timer with a specified timeout value. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The watchdog timer is not used to track how long the server takes to boot.

- Enabled—The watchdog timer tracks how long the server takes to boot. If the server does not boot within the length of time specified in the OS Boot Watchdog Timer Timeout field, the Cisco IMC logs an error and takes the action specified in the OS Boot Watchdog Policy field.

OS Watchdog Timer Timeout

If OS does not boot within the specified time, OS watchdog timer expires and system takes action according to timer policy. This can be one of the following:

- 5 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 5 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 10 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 10 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 15 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 15 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 20 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 20 minutes after it begins to boot.

Note:
This option is only applicable if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer.

OS Watchdog Timer Policy

What action the system takes if the watchdog timer expires. This can be one of the following:

- Do Nothing—The server takes no action if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

- Power Down—The server is powered off if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

- Reset—The server is reset if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

Note:
This option is only applicable if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer.

BIOS Configuration Dialog Box Button Bar

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.

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.

Main Tab for C220M4 and C240M4 Servers

Main BIOS Parameters

Name

Description

Reboot Host Immediately checkbox

Upon checking, reboots the host server immediately. You must check the checkbox after saving changes.

TPM Support

TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is a microchip designed to provide basic security-related functions primarily involving encryption keys. This option allows you to control the TPM Security Device support for the system. It can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The server does not use the TPM.

- Enabled—The server uses the TPM.

Note:
We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Power ON Password Support drop-down

This token requires that you set a BIOS password before using the F2 BIOS configuration. If enabled, password needs to be validated before you access BIOS functions such as IO configuration, BIOS set up, and booting to an operating system using BIOS. It can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Support is disabled.

- Enabled—Support is enabled.

Actions Area

Name

Description

Save button

Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters 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 button

Resets 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.

Advanced Tab for C220M4 and C240M4 Servers

Reboot Server Option

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.

Processor Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Whether the processor uses Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows multithreaded software applications to execute threads in parallel within each processor. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not permit hyperthreading.

- Enabled—The processor allows for the parallel execution of multiple threads.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Number of Enabled Cores

Allows you to disable one or more of the physical cores on the server. This can be one of the following:

- All—Enables all physical cores. This also enables Hyper Threading on the associated logical processor cores.

- 1 through n—Specifies the number of physical processor cores that can run on the server. Each physical core has an associated logical core.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Execute Disable

Classifies memory areas on the server to specify where application code can execute. As a result of this classification, the processor disables code execution if a malicious worm attempts to insert code in the buffer. This setting helps to prevent damage, worm propagation, and certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not classify memory areas.

- Enabled—The processor classifies memory areas.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Intel VT

Whether the processor uses Intel Virtualization Technology (VT), which allows a platform to run multiple operating systems and applications in independent partitions. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not permit virtualization.

- Enabled—The processor allows multiple operating systems in independent partitions.

Note:
If you change this option, you must power cycle the server before the setting takes effect.

Intel VT-d

Whether the processor uses Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not use virtualization technology.

- Enabled—The processor uses virtualization technology.

Intel VT-d Interrupt Remapping

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Interrupt Remapping. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support remapping.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d Interrupt Remapping as required.

Intel VT-d PassThrough DMA

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Pass-through DMA. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support pass-through DMA.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d Pass-through DMA as required.

Intel VT-d Coherency Support

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Coherency. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support coherency.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d Coherency as required.

Intel VT-d ATS Support

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Address Translation Services (ATS). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support ATS.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d ATS as required.

CPU Performance

Sets the CPU performance profile for the server. The performance profile consists of the following options:

- DCU Streamer Prefetcher

- DCU IP Prefetcher

- Hardware Prefetcher

- Adjacent Cache-Line Prefetch

This can be one of the following:

- Enterprise—All options are enabled.

- High Throughput—Only the DCU IP Prefetcher is enabled. The rest of the options are disabled.

- HPC—All options are enabled. This setting is also known as high performance computing.

- Custom—All performance profile options can be configured from the BIOS setup on the server. In addition, the Hardware Prefetcher and Adjacent Cache-Line Prefetch options can be configured in the fields below.

Hardware Prefetcher

Whether the processor allows the Intel hardware prefetcher to fetch streams of data and instruction from memory into the unified second-level cache when necessary. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The hardware prefetcher is not used.

- Enabled—The processor uses the hardware prefetcher when cache issues are detected.

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetcher

Whether the processor fetches cache lines in even/odd pairs instead of fetching just the required line. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor only fetches the required line.

- Enabled— The processor fetches both the required line and its paired line.

DCU Streamer Prefetch

Whether the processor uses the DCU IP Prefetch mechanism to analyze historical cache access patterns and preload the most relevant lines in the L1 cache. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not try to anticipate cache read requirements and only fetches explicitly requested lines.

- Enabled—The DCU prefetcher analyzes the cache read pattern and prefetches the next line in the cache if it determines that it may be needed.

DCU IP Prefetcher

Whether the processor uses the DCU IP Prefetch mechanism to analyze historical cache access patterns and preload the most relevant lines in the L1 cache. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not preload any cache data.

- Enabled—The DCU IP prefetcher preloads the L1 cache with the data it determines to be the most relevant.

Direct Cache Access Support

Allows processors to increase I/O performance by placing data from I/O devices directly into the processor cache. This setting helps to reduce cache misses. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Data from I/O devices is not placed directly into the processor cache.

- Enabled—Data from I/O devices is placed directly into the processor cache.

Power Technology

Enables you to configure the CPU power management settings for the following options:

- Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

- Intel Turbo Boost Technology

- Processor Power State C6

Power Technology can be one of the following:

- Custom—The server uses the individual settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above. You must select this option if you want to change any of these BIOS parameters.

- Disabled—The server does not perform any CPU power management and any settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above are ignored.

- Energy Efficient—The server determines the best settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above and ignores the individual settings for these parameters.

Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

Whether the processor uses Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology, which allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency. This technology can result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor never dynamically adjusts its voltage or frequency.

- Enabled—The processor utilizes Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology and enables all supported processor sleep states to further conserve power.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Whether the processor uses Intel Turbo Boost Technology, which allows the processor to automatically increase its frequency if it is running below power, temperature, or voltage specifications. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not increase its frequency automatically.

- Enabled—The processor utilizes Turbo Boost Technology if required.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor C3 Report

Whether the BIOS sends the C3 report to the operating system. When the OS receives the report, it can transition the processor into the lower C3 power state to decrease energy usage while maintaining optimal processor performance. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—BIOS does not send C3 report.

- Enabled—BIOS sends the C3 report, allowing the OS to transition the processor to the C3 low power state.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor C6 Report

Whether the BIOS sends the C6 report to the operating system. When the OS receives the report, it can transition the processor into the lower C6 power state to decrease energy usage while maintaining optimal processor performance. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The BIOS does not send the C6 report.

- Enabled—The BIOS sends the C6 report, allowing the OS to transition the processor to the C6 low power state.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor Power State C1 Enhanced

Whether the CPU transitions to its minimum frequency when entering the C1 state. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The CPU continues to run at its maximum frequency in C1 state.

- Enabled—The CPU transitions to its minimum frequency. This option saves the maximum amount of power in C1 state.

P-STATE Coordination

Allows you to define how BIOS communicates the P-state support model to the operating system. There are 3 models as defined by the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification.

- HW_ALL—The processor hardware is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a package).

- SW_ALL—The OS Power Manager (OSPM) is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a physical package), and must initiate the transition on all of the logical processors.

- SW_ANY—The OS Power Manager (OSPM) is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a package), and may initiate the transition on any of the logical processors in the domain.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Boot Performance Mode drop-down list

Allows the user to select the BIOS performance state that is set before the operating system handoff. This can be one of the following:

- Max Performance—Processor P-state ratio is maximum

- Max Efficient— Processor P-state ratio is minimum

Energy Performance Tuning

Allows you to choose BIOS or Operating System for energy performance bias tuning. This can be one of the following:

- OS— Chooses OS for energy performance tuning.

- BIOS— Chooses BIOS for energy performance tuning.

Energy Performance

Allows you to determine whether system performance or energy efficiency is more important on this server. This can be one of the following:

- Balanced Energy

- Balanced Performance

- Energy Efficient

- Performance

Package C State Limit

The amount of power available to the server components when they are idle. This can be one of the following:

- C0 state—The server provides all server components with full power at all times. This option maintains the highest level of performance and requires the greatest amount of power.

- C1 state—When the CPU is idle, the system slightly reduces the power consumption. This option requires less power than C0 and allows the server to return quickly to high performance mode.

- C3 state—When the CPU is idle, the system reduces the power consumption further than with the C1 option. This requires less power than C1 or C0, but it takes the server slightly longer to return to high performance mode.

- C6 state—When the CPU is idle, the system reduces the power consumption further than with the C3 option. This option saves more power than C0, C1, or C3, but there may be performance issues until the server returns to full power.

- C7 state—When the CPU is idle, the server makes a minimal amount of power available to the components. This option saves the maximum amount of power but it also requires the longest time for the server to return to high performance mode.

- No Limit—The server may enter any available C state.

Extended APIC

Allows you to enable or disable extended APIC support. This can be one of the following:

- XAPIC—Enables APIC support.

- X2APIC—Enables APIC and also enables Intel VT-d and Interrupt Remapping .

Workload Configuration

Allows you to set a parameter to optimize workload characterization. This can be one of the following:

- Balanced— Chooses balanced option for optimization.

- I/O Sensitive— Chooses I/O sensitive option for optimization.

Note:
We recommend you to set the workload configuration to Balanced.

CPU HWPM drop-down list

Enables the Hardware Power Management (HWPM) interface for better CPU performance and energy efficiency. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The P-States are controlled the same way as on predecessor processor generations.

- Native Mode—HWPM works with the operating system through a software interface.

- OOB Mode—The CPU autonomously controls its frequency based on the operating system energy efficiency.

CPU Autonomous Cstate drop-down list

Enables CPU Autonomous C-State, which converts the HALT instructions to the MWAIT instructions. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—CPU Autonomous C-state is disabled. This is the default value.

- Enabled—CPU Autonomous C-state is enabled.

Processor CMCI drop-down list

Allows the CPU to trigger interrupts on corrected machine check events. The corrected machine check interrupt (CMCI) allows faster reaction than the traditional polling timer. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables CMCI.

- Enabled—Enables CMCI. This is the default value.

Memory Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Select Memory RAS

How the memory reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) is configured for the server. This can be one of the following:

- Maximum Performance—System performance is optimized.

- Mirroring—System reliability is optimized by using half the system memory as backup.

- Lockstep—If the DIMM pairs in the server have an identical type, size, and organization and are populated across the SMI channels, you can enable lockstep mode to minimize memory access latency and provide better performance. This option offers better system performance than Mirroring and better reliability than Maximum Performance but lower reliability than Mirroring and lower system performance than Maximum Performance.

NUMA

Whether the BIOS supports Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The BIOS does not support NUMA.

- Enabled—The BIOS includes the ACPI tables that are required for NUMA-aware operating systems. If you enable this option, the system must disable Inter-Socket Memory interleaving on some platforms.

Channel Interleaving

Whether the CPU divides memory blocks and spreads contiguous portions of data across interleaved channels to enable simultaneous read operations. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines what interleaving is done.

- 1 Way—Some channel interleaving is used.

- 2 Way

- 3 Way

- 4 Way—The maximum amount of channel interleaving is used.

Rank Interleaving

Whether the CPU interleaves physical ranks of memory so that one rank can be accessed while another is being refreshed. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines what interleaving is done.

- 1 Way—Some rank interleaving is used.

- 2 Way

- 4 Way

- 8 Way—The maximum amount of rank interleaving is used.

Patrol Scrub

Whether the system actively searches for, and corrects, single bit memory errors even in unused portions of the memory on the server. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The system checks for memory ECC errors only when the CPU reads or writes a memory address.

- Enabled—The system periodically reads and writes memory searching for ECC errors. If any errors are found, the system attempts to fix them. This option may correct single bit errors before they become multi-bit errors, but it may adversely affect performance when the patrol scrub is running.

Demand Scrub

Whether the system corrects single bit memory errors encountered when the CPU or I/O makes a demand read. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— Single bit memory errors are not corrected.

- Enabled— Single bit memory errors are corrected in memory and the corrected data is set in response to the demand read.

Altitude

The approximate number of meters above sea level at which the physical server is installed. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines the physical elevation.

- 300 M—The server is approximately 300 meters above sea level.

- 900 M—The server is approximately 900 meters above sea level.

- 1500 M—The server is approximately 1500 meters above sea level.

- 3000 M—The server is approximately 3000 meters above sea level.

QPI Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

QPI Link Frequency Select

The Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) link frequency, in gigatransfers per second (GT/s). This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines the QPI link frequency.

- 6.4 GT/s

- 7.2 GT/s

- 8.0 GT/s

QPI Snoop Mode

The Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) snoop mode. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU automatically recognizes this as Early Snoop mode.

- Early Snoop—The distributed cache ring stops can send a snoop probe or a request to another caching agent directly. This mode has lower latency and it is best for workloads that have shared data sets across threads and can benefit from a cache-to-cache transfer, or for workloads that are not NUMA optimized.

- Home Snoop—The snoop is always spawned by the home agent (centralized ring stop) for the memory controller. This mode has a higher local latency than early snoop, but it provides extra resources for a larger number of outstanding transactions.

- Home Directory Snoop— The home directory is an optional enabled feature that is implemented at both the HA and iMC logic in the processor. The goal of the directory is to filter snoops to the remote sockets and a node controller in scalable platforms and 2S and 4S configurations.

- Home Directory Snoop with OSB— In the Opportunistic Snoop Broadcast (OSB) directory mode, the HA could choose to do speculative home snoop broadcast under very lightly loaded conditions even before the directory information has been collected and checked.

- Cluster on Die—Enables Cluster On Die. When enabled LLC is split into two parts with an independent caching agent for each. This helps increase the performance in some workloads. This mode is available only for processors that have 10 or more cores. It is the best mode for highly NUMA optimized workloads.

USB Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Legacy USB Support

Whether the system supports legacy USB devices. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—USB devices are only available to EFI applications.

- Enabled—Legacy USB support is always available.

- Auto—Disables legacy USB support if no USB devices are connected.

Port 60/64 Emulation

Whether the system supports 60h/64h emulation for complete USB keyboard legacy support. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—60h/64 emulation is not supported.

- Enabled—60h/64 emulation is supported.

You should select this option if you are using a non-USB aware operating system on the server.

xHCI Mode

Whether the xHCI controller legacy support is enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the xHCI controller legacy support.

- Enabled—Enables the xHCI controller legacy support.

xHCI Legacy Support drop-down list

Whether the system supports legacy xHCI controller. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables xHCI legacy support.

- Enabled—Enables xHCI legacy support. This is the default value.

All USB Devices

Whether all physical and virtual USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—All USB devices are disabled.

- Enabled—All USB devices are enabled.

USB Port: Rear

Whether the rear panel USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the rear panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are not detected by the BIOS and operating system.

- Enabled—Enables the rear panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are detected by the BIOS and operating system.

USB Port: Front

Whether the front panel USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the front panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are not detected by the BIOS and operating system

- Enabled—Enables the front panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are detected by the BIOS and operating system.

USB Port: Internal

Whether the internal USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the internal USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are not detected by the BIOS and operating system.

- Enabled—Enables the internal USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are detected by the BIOS and operating system.

USB Port: KVM

Whether the KVM ports are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the KVM keyboard and/or mouse devices. Keyboard and/or mouse will not work in the KVM window.

- Enabled—Enables the KVM keyboard and/or mouse devices.

USB Port: vMedia

Whether the virtual media devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the vMedia devices.

- Enabled—Enables the vMedia devices.

PCI Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Memory Mapped I/O Above 4GB

Whether to enable or disable MMIO above 4GB or not. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The server does not map I/O of 64-bit PCI devices to 4GB or greater address space.

- Enabled—The server maps I/O of 64-bit PCI devices to 4GB or greater address space.

Note:
PCI devices that are 64-bit compliant but use a legacy option ROM may not function correctly with this setting enabled.

Sriov

Whether SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization) is enabled or disabled on the server. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—SR-IOV is disabled.

- Enabled—SR-IOV is enabled.

ASPM Support drop-down list

Allows you to set the level of ASPM (Active Power State Management) support in the BIOS. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—ASPM support is disabled in the BIOS.

- Force L0s—Force all links to L0 standby (L0s) state.

- Auto—The CPU determines the power state

NVMe SSD Hot-Plug Support drop-down list

Allows you to replace an NVMe SSD without powering down the server. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—NVMe SSD hot-plug support is disabled. This is the default value.

- Enabled—NVMe SSD hot-plug support is enabled.

VGA Priority drop-down list

Allows you to set the priority for VGA graphics devices if multiple VGA devices are found in the system. This can be one of the following:

- Onboard—Priority is given to the onboard VGA device. BIOS post screen and OS boot are driven through the onboard VGA port.

- Offboard—Priority is given to the PCIE Graphics adapter. BIOS post screen and OS boot are driven through the external graphics adapter port.

- Onboard VGA Disabled—Priority is given to the PCIE Graphics adapter, and the onboard VGA device is disabled.

Serial Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Out-of-Band Mgmt Port

Allows you to configure the COM port 0 that can be used for Windows Emergency Management services. ACPI SPCR table is reported based on this setup option. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Configures the COM port 0 as a general purpose port for use with the Windows Operating System.

- Enabled—Configures the COM port 0 as a remote management port for Windows Emergency Management services.

Console Redirection

Allows a serial port to be used for console redirection during POST and BIOS booting. After the BIOS has booted and the operating system is responsible for the server, console redirection is irrelevant and has no effect. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—No console redirection occurs during POST.

- COM 0—Enables console redirection on COM port 0 during POST.

- COM 1—Enables console redirection on COM port 1 during POST.

Terminal Type

What type of character formatting is used for console redirection. This can be one of the following:

- PC-ANSI—The PC-ANSI terminal font is used.

- VT100—A supported vt100 video terminal and its character set are used.

- VT100+—A supported vt100-plus video terminal and its character set are used.

- VT-UTF8—A video terminal with the UTF-8 character set is used.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Bits per second

What BAUD rate is used for the serial port transmission speed. If you disable Console Redirection, this option is not available. This can be one of the following:

- 9600—A 9,600 BAUD rate is used.

- 19200—A 19,200 BAUD rate is used.

- 38400—A 38,400 BAUD rate is used.

- 57600—A 57,600 BAUD rate is used.

- 115200—A 115,200 BAUD rate is used.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Flow Control

Whether a handshake protocol is used for flow control. Request to Send / Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) helps to reduce frame collisions that can be introduced by a hidden terminal problem. This can be one of the following:

- None—No flow control is used.

- Hardware RTS/CTS—RTS/CTS is used for flow control.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Putty KeyPad

Allows you to change the action of the PuTTY function keys and the top row of the numeric keypad. This can be one of the following:

- VT100—The function keys generate ESC OP through ESC O[.

- LINUX—Mimics the Linux virtual console. Function keys F6 to F12 behave like the default mode, but F1 to F5 generate ESC [[A through ESC [[E.

- XTERMR6—Function keys F5 to F12 behave like the default mode. Function keys F1 to F4 generate ESC OP through ESC OS, which are the sequences produced by the top row of the keypad on Digital terminals.

- SCO—The function keys F1 to F12 generate ESC [M through ESC [X. The function and shift keys generate ESC [Y through ESC [j. The control and function keys generate ESC [k through ESC [v. The shift, control and function keys generate ESC [w through ESC [{.

- ESCN—The default mode. The function keys match the general behavior of Digital terminals. The function keys generate sequences such as ESC [11~ and ESC [12~.

- VT400—The function keys behave like the default mode. The top row of the numeric keypad generates ESC OP through ESC OS.

Redirection After BIOS POST

Whether BIOS console redirection should be active after BIOS POST is complete and control given to the OS bootloader. This can be one of the following:

- Always Enable—BIOS Legacy console redirection is active during the OS boot and run time.

- Bootloader—BIOS Legacy console redirection is disabled before giving control to the OS boot loader.

LOM and PCIe Slots Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

CDN Support for VIC

Whether the Ethernet Network naming convention is according to Consistent Device Naming (CDN) or the traditional way of naming conventions. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— CDN support for VIC cards is disabled.

- Enabled— CDN support is enabled for VIC cards.

Note:
CDN support for VIC cards work with Windows 2012 or the latest OS only.

PCI ROM CLP

PCI ROM Command Line Protocol (CLP) controls the execution of different Option ROMs such as PxE and iSCSI that are present in the card. By default, it is disabled.

- Enabled— Enables you to configure execution of different option ROMs such as PxE and iSCSI for an individual ports separately.

- Disabled—The default option. You cannot choose different option ROMs. A default option ROM is executed during PCI enumeration.

PCH SATA Mode

This options allows you to select the PCH SATA mode. This can be one of the following:

- AHCI—Sets both SATA and sSATA controllers to AHCI mode.

- Disabled—Disables both SATA and sSATA controllers.

- LSI SW Raid— Sets both SATA and sSATA controllers to raid mode for LSI SW Raid

All Onboard LOM Ports

Whether all LOM ports are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—All LOM ports are disabled.

- Enabled—All LOM ports are enabled.

LOM Port n OptionROM

Whether Option ROM is available on the LOM port designated by n. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for slot n is not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROM for slot n is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for legacy only.

All PCIe Slots OptionROM

Whether the server can use Option ROM present in the PCIe Cards. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for slot n is not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROM for slot n is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for legacy only.

PCIe Slot:n OptionROM

Whether the server can use the Option ROMs present in the PCIe Cards. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for slot n is not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROM for slot n is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for legacy only.

PCIe Slot:MLOM OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the MLOM slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:HBA OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the HBA slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:N1 OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the SSD:NVMe1 slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:N2 OptionROM

This options allows you to control the Option ROM execution of the PCIe adapter connected to the SSD:NVMe2 slot. This can be one of the following:

- Enabled—Executes both legacy and UEFI Option ROM.

- Disabled—Both legacy and UEFI Option ROM will not be executed.

- UEFI Only—Executes only UEFI Option ROM.

- Legacy Only—Executes only Legacy Option ROM.

PCIe Slot:HBA Link Speed

PCIe SlotHBALinkSpeed

This option allows you to restrict the maximum speed of an adapter card installed in PCIe HBA slot. This can be one of the following:

- Auto— System selects the maximum speed allowed.

- GEN1—2.5GT/s (gigatransfers per second) is the maximum speed allowed.

- GEN2—5GT/s is the maximum speed allowed.

- GEN3—8GT/s is the maximum speed allowed.

- Disabled—The maximum speed is not restricted.

BIOS Configuration Dialog Box Button Bar

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.

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.

Server Management Tab for C220M4 and C240M4 Servers

Reboot Server Option

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.

Server Management BIOS Parameters

Name

Description

FRB-2 Timer

Whether the FRB2 timer is used by Cisco IMC to recover the system if it hangs during POST. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The FRB2 timer is not used.

- Enabled—The FRB2 timer is started during POST and used to recover the system if necessary.

OS Watchdog Timer

Whether the BIOS programs the watchdog timer with a specified timeout value. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The watchdog timer is not used to track how long the server takes to boot.

- Enabled—The watchdog timer tracks how long the server takes to boot. If the server does not boot within the length of time specified in the OS Boot Watchdog Timer Timeout field, the Cisco IMC logs an error and takes the action specified in the OS Boot Watchdog Policy field.

OS Watchdog Timer Timeout

If OS does not boot within the specified time, OS watchdog timer expires and system takes action according to timer policy. This can be one of the following:

- 5 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 5 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 10 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 10 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 15 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 15 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 20 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 20 minutes after it begins to boot.

Note:
This option is only applicable if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer.

OS Watchdog Timer Policy

What action the system takes if the watchdog timer expires. This can be one of the following:

- Do Nothing—The server takes no action if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

- Power Down—The server is powered off if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

- Reset—The server is reset if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

Note:
This option is only applicable if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer.

BIOS Configuration Dialog Box Button Bar

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.

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.

Main Tab for C3160 Servers

Main BIOS Parameters

Name

Description

Reboot Host Immediately checkbox

Upon checking, reboots the host server immediately. You must check the checkbox after saving changes.

TPM Support

TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is a microchip designed to provide basic security-related functions primarily involving encryption keys. This option allows you to control the TPM Security Device support for the system. It can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The server does not use the TPM.

- Enabled—The server uses the TPM.

Note:
We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Actions Area

Name

Description

Save button

Saves the settings for the BIOS parameters 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 button

Resets 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.

Advanced Tab for C3160 Servers

Reboot Server Option

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.

Processor Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Whether the processor uses Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows multithreaded software applications to execute threads in parallel within each processor. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not permit hyperthreading.

- Enabled—The processor allows for the parallel execution of multiple threads.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Number of Enabled Cores

Allows you to disable one or more of the physical cores on the server. This can be one of the following:

- All—Enables all physical cores. This also enables Hyper Threading on the associated logical processor cores.

- 1 through n—Specifies the number of physical processor cores that can run on the server. Each physical core has an associated logical core.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Execute Disable

Classifies memory areas on the server to specify where application code can execute. As a result of this classification, the processor disables code execution if a malicious worm attempts to insert code in the buffer. This setting helps to prevent damage, worm propagation, and certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not classify memory areas.

- Enabled—The processor classifies memory areas.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Intel VT

Whether the processor uses Intel Virtualization Technology (VT), which allows a platform to run multiple operating systems and applications in independent partitions. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not permit virtualization.

- Enabled—The processor allows multiple operating systems in independent partitions.

Note:
If you change this option, you must power cycle the server before the setting takes effect.

Intel VT-d

Whether the processor uses Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not use virtualization technology.

- Enabled—The processor uses virtualization technology.

Intel VT-d Coherency Support

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Coherency. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support coherency.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d Coherency as required.

Intel VT-d ATS Support

Whether the processor supports Intel VT-d Address Translation Services (ATS). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not support ATS.

- Enabled—The processor uses VT-d ATS as required.

CPU Performance

Sets the CPU performance profile for the server. The performance profile consists of the following options:

- DCU Streamer Prefetcher

- DCU IP Prefetcher

- Hardware Prefetcher

- Adjacent Cache-Line Prefetch

This can be one of the following:

- Enterprise—All options are enabled.

- High Throughput—Only the DCU IP Prefetcher is enabled. The rest of the options are disabled.

- HPC—All options are enabled. This setting is also known as high performance computing.

- Custom—All performance profile options can be configured from the BIOS setup on the server. In addition, the Hardware Prefetcher and Adjacent Cache-Line Prefetch options can be configured in the fields below.

Hardware Prefetcher

Whether the processor allows the Intel hardware prefetcher to fetch streams of data and instruction from memory into the unified second-level cache when necessary. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The hardware prefetcher is not used.

- Enabled—The processor uses the hardware prefetcher when cache issues are detected.

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetcher

Whether the processor fetches cache lines in even/odd pairs instead of fetching just the required line. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor only fetches the required line.

- Enabled— The processor fetches both the required line and its paired line.

DCU Streamer Prefetch

Whether the processor uses the DCU IP Prefetch mechanism to analyze historical cache access patterns and preload the most relevant lines in the L1 cache. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not try to anticipate cache read requirements and only fetches explicitly requested lines.

- Enabled—The DCU prefetcher analyzes the cache read pattern and prefetches the next line in the cache if it determines that it may be needed.

DCU IP Prefetcher

Whether the processor uses the DCU IP Prefetch mechanism to analyze historical cache access patterns and preload the most relevant lines in the L1 cache. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not preload any cache data.

- Enabled—The DCU IP prefetcher preloads the L1 cache with the data it determines to be the most relevant.

Direct Cache Access Support

Allows processors to increase I/O performance by placing data from I/O devices directly into the processor cache. This setting helps to reduce cache misses. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Data from I/O devices is not placed directly into the processor cache.

- Enabled—Data from I/O devices is placed directly into the processor cache.

Power Technology

Enables you to configure the CPU power management settings for the following options:

- Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

- Intel Turbo Boost Technology

- Processor Power State C6

Power Technology can be one of the following:

- Custom—The server uses the individual settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above. You must select this option if you want to change any of these BIOS parameters.

- Disabled—The server does not perform any CPU power management and any settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above are ignored.

- Energy Efficient—The server determines the best settings for the BIOS parameters mentioned above and ignores the individual settings for these parameters.

Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

Whether the processor uses Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology, which allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency. This technology can result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor never dynamically adjusts its voltage or frequency.

- Enabled—The processor utilizes Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology and enables all supported processor sleep states to further conserve power.

We recommend that you contact your operating system vendor to make sure the operating system supports this feature.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Whether the processor uses Intel Turbo Boost Technology, which allows the processor to automatically increase its frequency if it is running below power, temperature, or voltage specifications. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The processor does not increase its frequency automatically.

- Enabled—The processor utilizes Turbo Boost Technology if required.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor Power State C6

Whether the BIOS sends the C6 report to the operating system. When the OS receives the report, it can transition the processor into the lower C6 power state to decrease energy usage while maintaining optimal processor performance. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The BIOS does not send the C6 report.

- Enabled—The BIOS sends the C6 report, allowing the OS to transition the processor to the C6 low power state.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Processor Power State C1 Enhanced

Whether the CPU transitions to its minimum frequency when entering the C1 state. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The CPU continues to run at its maximum frequency in C1 state.

- Enabled—The CPU transitions to its minimum frequency. This option saves the maximum amount of power in C1 state.

Frequency Floor Override

Whether the CPU is allowed to drop below the maximum non-turbo frequency when idle. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— The CPU can drop below the maximum non-turbo frequency when idle. This option decreases power consumption but may reduce system performance.

- Enabled— The CPU cannot drop below the maximum non-turbo frequency when idle. This option improves system performance but may increase power consumption.

P-STATE Coordination

Allows you to define how BIOS communicates the P-state support model to the operating system. There are 3 models as defined by the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification.

- HW_ALL—The processor hardware is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a package).

- SW_ALL—The OS Power Manager (OSPM) is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a physical package), and must initiate the transition on all of the logical processors.

- SW_ANY—The OS Power Manager (OSPM) is responsible for coordinating the P-state among logical processors with dependencies (all logical processors in a package), and may initiate the transition on any of the logical processors in the domain.

Note:
Power Technology must be set to Custom or the server ignores the setting for this parameter.

Energy Performance

Allows you to determine whether system performance or energy efficiency is more important on this server. This can be one of the following:

- Balanced Energy

- Balanced Performance

- Energy Efficient

- Performance

Memory Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Select Memory RAS

How the memory reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) is configured for the server. This can be one of the following:

- Maximum Performance—System performance is optimized.

- Mirroring—System reliability is optimized by using half the system memory as backup.

- Lockstep—If the DIMM pairs in the server have an identical type, size, and organization and are populated across the SMI channels, you can enable lockstep mode to minimize memory access latency and provide better performance. This option offers better system performance than Mirroring and better reliability than Maximum Performance but lower reliability than Mirroring and lower system performance than Maximum Performance.

DRAM Clock Throttling

Allows you to tune the system settings between the memory bandwidth and power consumption. This can be one of the following:

- Balanced— DRAM clock throttling is reduced, providing a balance between performance and power.

- Performance—DRAM clock throttling is disabled, providing increased memory bandwidth at the cost of additional power.

- Energy Efficient—DRAM clock throttling is increased to improve energy efficiency.

NUMA

Whether the BIOS supports Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA). This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The BIOS does not support NUMA.

- Enabled—The BIOS includes the ACPI tables that are required for NUMA-aware operating systems. If you enable this option, the system must disable Inter-Socket Memory interleaving on some platforms.

Low Voltage DDR Mode

Whether the system prioritizes low voltage or high frequency memory operations. This can be one of the following:

- Power Saving Mode—The system prioritizes low voltage memory operations over high frequency memory operations. This mode may lower memory frequency in order to keep the voltage low.

- Performance Mode—The system prioritizes high frequency operations over low voltage operations.

DRAM Refresh rate

Allows you to set the rate at which the DRAM cells are refreshed. This can be one of the following:

- 1x—DRAM cells are refreshed every 64ms.

- 2x—DRAM cells are refreshed every 32ms.

- 3x—DRAM cells are refreshed every 21ms.

- 4x—DRAM cells are refreshed every 16ms.

- Auto—DRAM cells refresh rate is automatically chosen by the BIOS based on the system configuration. This is the recommended setting for this parameter.

Channel Interleaving

Whether the CPU divides memory blocks and spreads contiguous portions of data across interleaved channels to enable simultaneous read operations. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines what interleaving is done.

- 1 Way—Some channel interleaving is used.

- 2 Way

- 3 Way

- 4 Way—The maximum amount of channel interleaving is used.

Rank Interleaving

Whether the CPU interleaves physical ranks of memory so that one rank can be accessed while another is being refreshed. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines what interleaving is done.

- 1 Way—Some rank interleaving is used.

- 2 Way

- 4 Way

- 8 Way—The maximum amount of rank interleaving is used.

Patrol Scrub

Whether the system actively searches for, and corrects, single bit memory errors even in unused portions of the memory on the server. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The system checks for memory ECC errors only when the CPU reads or writes a memory address.

- Enabled—The system periodically reads and writes memory searching for ECC errors. If any errors are found, the system attempts to fix them. This option may correct single bit errors before they become multi-bit errors, but it may adversely affect performance when the patrol scrub is running.

Demand Scrub

Whether the system corrects single bit memory errors encountered when the CPU or I/O makes a demand read. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— Single bit memory errors are not corrected.

- Enabled— Single bit memory errors are corrected in memory and the corrected data is set in response to the demand read.

Altitude

The approximate number of meters above sea level at which the physical server is installed. This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines the physical elevation.

- 300 M—The server is approximately 300 meters above sea level.

- 900 M—The server is approximately 900 meters above sea level.

- 1500 M—The server is approximately 1500 meters above sea level.

- 3000 M—The server is approximately 3000 meters above sea level.

QPI Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

QPI Link Frequency Select

The Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) link frequency, in gigatransfers per second (GT/s). This can be one of the following:

- Auto—The CPU determines the QPI link frequency.

- 6.4 GT/s

- 7.2 GT/s

- 8.0 GT/s

SATA Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

SATA Mode

Mode of operation of Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) Solid State Drives (SSD).

- Disabled— All SATA ports is disabled, and drivers are not enumerated.

- IDE Mode— Mode of operation follows previous hardware standards of Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface

- AHCI Mode—The default mode. Drives operate according to newer standard of Advance Host Controller Interface(AHCI).

USB Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Legacy USB Support

Whether the system supports legacy USB devices. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—USB devices are only available to EFI applications.

- Enabled—Legacy USB support is always available.

- Auto—Disables legacy USB support if no USB devices are connected.

Port 60/64 Emulation

Whether the system supports 60h/64h emulation for complete USB keyboard legacy support. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—60h/64 emulation is not supported.

- Enabled—60h/64 emulation is supported.

You should select this option if you are using a non-USB aware operating system on the server.

All USB Devices

Whether all physical and virtual USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—All USB devices are disabled.

- Enabled—All USB devices are enabled.

USB Port: Rear

Whether the rear panel USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the rear panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are not detected by the BIOS and operating system.

- Enabled—Enables the rear panel USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are detected by the BIOS and operating system.

USB Port: Internal

Whether the internal USB devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the internal USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are not detected by the BIOS and operating system.

- Enabled—Enables the internal USB ports. Devices connected to these ports are detected by the BIOS and operating system.

USB Port: KVM

Whether the KVM ports are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the KVM keyboard and/or mouse devices. Keyboard and/or mouse will not work in the KVM window.

- Enabled—Enables the KVM keyboard and/or mouse devices.

USB Port: vMedia

Whether the virtual media devices are enabled or disabled. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Disables the vMedia devices.

- Enabled—Enables the vMedia devices.

PCI Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

PCI ROM CLP

PCI ROM Command Line Protocol (CLP) controls the execution of different Option ROMs such as PxE and iSCSI that are present in the card. By default, it is disabled.

- Enabled— Enables you to configure execution of different option ROMs such as PxE and iSCSI for an individual ports separately.

- Disabled—The default option. You cannot choose different option ROMs. A default option ROM is executed during PCI enumeration.

ASPM Support

Allows you to set the level of ASPM (Active Power State Management) support in the BIOS. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—ASPM support is disabled in the BIOS.

- Force L0s—Force all links to L0 standby (L0s) state.

- Auto—The CPU determines the power state.

Serial Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Out-of-Band Mgmt Port

Allows you to configure the COM port 0 that can be used for Windows Emergency Management services. ACPI SPCR table is reported based on this setup option. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—Configures the COM port 0 as a general purpose port for use with the Windows Operating System.

- Enabled—Configures the COM port 0 as a remote management port for Windows Emergency Management services.

Console Redirection

Allows a serial port to be used for console redirection during POST and BIOS booting. After the BIOS has booted and the operating system is responsible for the server, console redirection is irrelevant and has no effect. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—No console redirection occurs during POST.

- COM 0—Enables console redirection on COM port 0 during POST.

- COM 1—Enables console redirection on COM port 1 during POST.

Terminal Type

What type of character formatting is used for console redirection. This can be one of the following:

- PC-ANSI—The PC-ANSI terminal font is used.

- VT100—A supported vt100 video terminal and its character set are used.

- VT100+—A supported vt100-plus video terminal and its character set are used.

- VT-UTF8—A video terminal with the UTF-8 character set is used.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Bits per second

What BAUD rate is used for the serial port transmission speed. If you disable Console Redirection, this option is not available. This can be one of the following:

- 9600—A 9,600 BAUD rate is used.

- 19200—A 19,200 BAUD rate is used.

- 38400—A 38,400 BAUD rate is used.

- 57600—A 57,600 BAUD rate is used.

- 115200—A 115,200 BAUD rate is used.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Flow Control

Whether a handshake protocol is used for flow control. Request to Send / Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) helps to reduce frame collisions that can be introduced by a hidden terminal problem. This can be one of the following:

- None—No flow control is used.

- Hardware RTS/CTS—RTS/CTS is used for flow control.

Note:
This setting must match the setting on the remote terminal application.

Putty KeyPad

Allows you to change the action of the PuTTY function keys and the top row of the numeric keypad. This can be one of the following:

- VT100—The function keys generate ESC OP through ESC O[.

- LINUX—Mimics the Linux virtual console. Function keys F6 to F12 behave like the default mode, but F1 to F5 generate ESC [[A through ESC [[E.

- XTERMR6—Function keys F5 to F12 behave like the default mode. Function keys F1 to F4 generate ESC OP through ESC OS, which are the sequences produced by the top row of the keypad on Digital terminals.

- SCO—The function keys F1 to F12 generate ESC [M through ESC [X. The function and shift keys generate ESC [Y through ESC [j. The control and function keys generate ESC [k through ESC [v. The shift, control and function keys generate ESC [w through ESC [{.

- ESCN—The default mode. The function keys match the general behavior of Digital terminals. The function keys generate sequences such as ESC [11~ and ESC [12~.

- VT400—The function keys behave like the default mode. The top row of the numeric keypad generates ESC OP through ESC OS.

Redirection After BIOS POST

Whether BIOS console redirection should be active after BIOS POST is complete and control given to the OS bootloader. This can be one of the following:

- Always Enable—BIOS Legacy console redirection is active during the OS boot and run time.

- Bootloader—BIOS Legacy console redirection is disabled before giving control to the OS boot loader.

LOM and PCIe Slots Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

CDN Support for VIC

set CdnEnable

Whether the Ethernet Network naming convention is according to Consistent Device Naming (CDN) or the traditional way of naming conventions. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— OS Ethernet Networking Identifier is named in a default convention as ETH0, ETH1 and so on. By default, CDN option is disabled.

- LOMS Only— OS Ethernet Network identifier is named in a consistent device naming (CDN) according to the physical LAN on Motherboard(LOM) port numbering; LOM Port 0, LOM Port 1 and so on.

Note:
CDN is enabled for LOM ports and works with Windows 2012 or the latest OS only.

All PCIe Slots OptionROM

Whether the server can use Option ROM present in the PCIe Cards. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for all PCIe slots are not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROMs for all the PCIe slots are available.

- UEFI Only—The Opiton ROMs for slot n are available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n are available for legacy only.

PCIe Slot:n OptionROM

Whether the server can use the Option ROMs present in the PCIe Cards. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The Option ROM for slot n is not available.

- Enabled—The Option ROM for slot n is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The Option ROM for slot n is available for legacy only.

PCIe Mezzanine OptionROM

Whether the PCIe mezzanine slot expansion ROM is available to the server. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled— The Option ROM for slot M is not available.

- Enabled— The Option ROM for slot M is available.

- UEFI Only—The Option ROM for slot M is available for UEFI only.

- Legacy Only—The expansion slot for slot M is available for legacy only.

SIOC1 Link Speed

System IO Controller 1 (SIOC1) add-on slot 1 link speed.

- GEN1— Link speed can reach up to first generation.

- GEN2—The default link speed. Link speed can reach up to second generation.

- GEN3— Link speed can reach up to third generation.

- Disabled—Slot is disabled, and the card is not enumerated.

SIOC2 Link Speed

System IO Controller 2 (SIOC2) add-on slot 2 link speed.

- GEN1— Link speed can reach up to first generation.

- GEN2—The default link speed. Link speed can reach up to second generation.

- GEN3— Link speed can reach up to third generation.

- Disabled—Slot is disabled, and the card is not enumerated.

Mezz Link Speed

set PcieSlotMLinkSpeed

Mezz link speed. This can be one of the following:

- GEN 1— Link speed can reach up to first generation.

- GEN 2— Link speed can reach up to second generation.

- GEN 3—The default link speed. Link speed can reach up to third generation.

- Disabled—Slot is disabled, and the card is not enumerated.

Server Management Tab for C3160 Servers

Reboot Server Option

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.

Server Management BIOS Parameters

Name

Description

FRB-2 Timer

Whether the FRB2 timer is used by Cisco IMC to recover the system if it hangs during POST. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The FRB2 timer is not used.

- Enabled—The FRB2 timer is started during POST and used to recover the system if necessary.

OS Watchdog Timer

Whether the BIOS programs the watchdog timer with a specified timeout value. This can be one of the following:

- Disabled—The watchdog timer is not used to track how long the server takes to boot.

- Enabled—The watchdog timer tracks how long the server takes to boot. If the server does not boot within the length of time specified in the OS Boot Watchdog Timer Timeout field, the Cisco IMC logs an error and takes the action specified in the OS Boot Watchdog Policy field.

OS Watchdog Timer Timeout

If OS does not boot within the specified time, OS watchdog timer expires and system takes action according to timer policy. This can be one of the following:

- 5 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 5 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 10 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 10 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 15 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 15 minutes after it begins to boot.

- 20 Minutes—The OS watchdog timer expires 20 minutes after it begins to boot.

Note:
This option is only applicable if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer.

OS Watchdog Timer Policy

What action the system takes if the watchdog timer expires. This can be one of the following:

- Do Nothing—The server takes no action if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

- Power Down—The server is powered off if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

- Reset—The server is reset if the watchdog timer expires during OS boot.

Note:
This option is only applicable if you enable the OS Boot Watchdog Timer.

Appendix B. BIOS Token Name Comparison for Multiple Interfaces

This appendix contains the following section:

- BIOS Token Name Comparison for Multiple Interfaces

BIOS Token Name Comparison for Multiple Interfaces

The following table lists the BIOS token names used in the XML, CLI and Web GUI interfaces. You can use this list to map the names across these interfaces.

Note

The parameters that are available depend on the type of Cisco UCS server you are using.

BIOS Token Group

BIOS Token Name

XML Object

CLI and Web GUI Object

Main

TPM Support

biosVfTPMSupport/

vpTPMSupport

TPMAdminCtrl

Process Configuration

Intel(R) Hyper-Threading Technology

biosVfIntelHyperThreadingTech/

vpIntelHyperThreadingTech

IntelHyperThread

Number of Enable Cores

biosVfCoreMultiProcessing/

vpCoreMultiProcessing

CoreMultiProcessing

Execute Disable

biosVfExecuteDisableBit/

vpExecuteDisableBit

ExecuteDisable

Intel(R) VT

biosVfIntelVirtualizationTechnology/

vpIntelVirtualizationTechnology

IntelVT

Intel(R) VT-d

biosVfIntelVTForDirectedIO/

vpIntelVTForDirectedIO

IntelVTD

Intel(R) VT-d Coherency Support

biosVfIntelVTForDirectedIO/

vpIntelVTDCoherencySupport

CoherencySupport

Intel(R) VT-d ATS Support

biosVfIntelVTForDirectedIO/

vpIntelVTDATSSupport

ATS

CPU Performance

biosVfCPUPerformance/

vpCPUPerformance

CpuPerformanceProfile

Hardware Prefetcher

biosVfHardwarePrefetch/

vpHardwarePrefetch

HardwarePrefetch

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetcher

biosVfAdjacentCacheLinePrefetch/

vpAdjacentCacheLinePrefetch

AdjacentCacheLinePrefetch

DCU Streamer Prefetch

biosVfDCUPrefetch/

vvpStreamerPrefetch

DcuStreamerPrefetch

DCU IP Prefetcher

biosVfDCUPrefetch/

vpIPPrefetch

DcuIpPrefetch

Direct Cache Access Support

biosVfDirectCacheAccess/

vpDirectCacheAccess

DirectCacheAccess

Power Technology

biosVfCPUPowerManagement/

vpCPUPowerManagement

CPUPowerManagement

Enhanced Intel Speedstep(R) Technology

biosVfEnhancedIntelSpeedStepTech/

vpEnhancedIntelSpeedStepTech

EnhancedIntelSpeedStep

Intel(R) Turbo Boost Technology

biosVfIntelTurboBoostTech/

vpIntelTurboBoostTech

IntelTurboBoostTech

Processor Power state C6

biosVfProcessorCState/

vpProcessorCState

ProcessorC6Report

Processor Power state C1 Enhanced

biosVfProcessorC1E/

vpProcessorC1E

ProcessorC1E

Frequency Floor Override

biosVfCPUFrequencyFloor/

vpCPUFrequencyFloor

CpuFreqFloor

P-STATE Coordination

biosVfPStateCoordType/

vpPStateCoordType

PsdCoordType

Energy Performance

biosVfCPUEnergyPerformance/

vpCPUEnergyPerformance

CpuEngPerfBias

Memory Configuration

Select Memory RAS

biosVfSelectMemoryRASConfiguration/

vpSelectMemoryRASConfiguration

SelectMemoryRAS

DRAM Clock Throttling

biosVfDRAMClockThrottling/

vpDRAMClockThrottling

DRAMClockThrottling

NUMA

biosVfNUMAOptimized/

vpNUMAOptimized

NUMAOptimize

Low Voltage DDR Mode

biosVfLvDIMMSupport/

vpNUMAOptimized

LvDDRMode

DRAM Refresh rate

biosVfDramRefreshRate/

vpDramRefreshRate

DramRefreshRate

Channel Interleaving

biosVfMemoryInterleave/

vpChannelInterLeave

ChannelInterLeave

Rank Interleaving

biosVfMemoryInterleave/

vpRankInterLeave

RankInterLeave

Patrol Scrub

biosVfPatrolScrub/

vpPatrolScrub

PatrolScrub

Demand Scrub

biosVfDemandScrub/

vpDemandScrub

DemandScrub

Altitude

biosVfAltitude/

vpAltitude

Altitude

QPI Configuration

QPI Link Frequency Select

biosVfQPIConfig/

vpQPILinkFrequency

QPILinkFrequency

Cluster on Die

biosVfCODEnable/

vpCODEnable

CODEnable

Snoop Mode

biosVfEarlySnoop/

vpEarlySnoop

EarlySnoop

SATA Configuration

SATA Mode

Not supported

SATAMode

Onboard Storage

Onboard SCU Storage Support

biosVfOnboardStorage/

vpOnboardSCUStorageSupport

DisableSCU

Onboard SCU Storage SW Stack

biosVfOnboardStorageSWStack

vpOnboardSCUStorageSWStack

PchScuOromSelect

USB Configuration

Legacy USB Support

biosVfLegacyUSBSupport/

vpLegacyUSBSupport

LegacyUSBSupport

Port 60/64 Emulation

biosVfUSBEmulation/

vpUSBEmul6064

UsbEmul6064

All USB Devices

biosVfUSBPortsConfig/

vpAllUsbDevices

AllUsbDevices

USB Port:Rear

biosVfUSBPortsConfig/

vpUsbPortRear

UsbPortRear

USB Port:Front

biosVfUSBPortsConfig/

vpUsbPortFront

UsbPortFront

USB Port:Internal

biosVfUSBPortsConfig/

vpUsbPortInternal

UsbPortInt

USB Port:KVM

biosVfUSBPortsConfig/

vpUsbPortKVM

UsbPortKVM

USB Port:Vmedia

biosVfUSBPortsConfig/

vpUsbPortVMedia

UsbPortVMedia

USB Port:SD Card

biosVfUSBPortsConfig/

vpUsbPortSDCard

UsbPortSdCard

xHCI Mode

biosVfPchUsb30Mode/

vpPchUsb30Mode

PchUsb30Mode

PCI Configuration

PCI ROM CLP

Not Supported

PciRomClp

MMIO above 4GB

biosVfMemoryMappedIOAbove4GB/

vpMemoryMappedIOAbove4GB

MemoryMappedIOAbove4GB

ASPM Support

biosVfASPMSupport/

vpASPMSupport

ASPMSupport

VGA Priority

biosVfVgaPriority/

vpVgaPriority

VgaPriority

Serial Configuration

Console Redirection

biosVfConsoleRedirection/

vpConsoleRedirection

ConsoleRedir

Terminal Type

biosVfConsoleRedirection/

vpTerminalType

TerminalType

Bits per second

biosVfConsoleRedirection/

vpBaudRate

BaudRate

Flow Control

biosVfConsoleRedirection/

vpFlowControl

FlowCtrl

Putty KeyPad

biosVfConsoleRedirection/

vpPuttyKeyPad

PuttyFunctionKeyPad

Redirection After BIOS POST

biosVfConsoleRedirection/

vpLegacyOSRedirection

RedirectionAfterPOST

LOM and PCIe Slots Configuration

PCH SATA Mode

biosVfSataModeSelect/

vpSataModeSelect

SataModeSelect

All Onboard LOM Ports

biosVfSataModeSelect/

vpSataModeSelect

AllLomPortControl

LOM Port 0 OptionROM

biosVfLOMPortOptionROM/

vpLOMPort0State

LomOpromControlPort0

LOM Port 1 OptionROM

biosVfLOMPortOptionROM/

vpLOMPort1State

LomOpromControlPort1

All PCIe Slots OptionROM

biosVfPCIOptionROMs/

vpPCIOptionROMs

PcieOptionROMs

PCIe Slot:n OptionROM

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlotnState

PcieSlotnOptionROM

PCIe Mezzanine OptionROM

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlotMezzState

PcieMezzOptionROM

PCIe Slot:1 Link Speed

or
SIOC1 Link Speed

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlot1LinkSpeed

PcieSlot1LinkSpeed

PCIe Slot:2 Link Speed

or
SIOC2 Link Speed

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlot2LinkSpeed

PcieSlot2LinkSpeed

PCIe Slot:MLOM OptionROM

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlotMLOMState

PcieSlotMLOMOptionROM

PCIe Slot:HBA OptionROM

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlotHBAState

PcieSlotHBAOptionROM

PCIe Slot:N1 OptionROM

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlotN1State

PcieSlotN1OptionROM

PCIe Slot:N2 OptionROM

biosVfPCISlotOptionROMEnable/

vpSlotN2State

PcieSlotN2OptionROM

Server Management

FRB-2 Timer

biosVfFRB2Enable/

vpFRB2Enable

FRB-2

OS Watchdog Timer

biosVfOSBootWatchdogTimer/

vpOSBootWatchdogTimer

OSBootWatchdogTimer

OS Watchdog Timer Timeout

biosVfOSBootWatchdogTimerPolicy/

vpOSBootWatchdogTimerPolicy

OSBootWatchdogTimerTimeout

OS Watchdog Timer Policy

biosVfOSBootWatchdogTimerTimeOut/

vpOSBootWatchdogTimerPolicy

OSBootWatchdogTimerPolicy

Boot Order Rules

biosVfUCSMBootOrderRuleControl/

vpUCSMBootOrderRule

UCSMBootOrderRule

Preface

This preface includes the following sections:

- Audience

- Conventions

- Related Cisco UCS Documentation

Audience

This guide is intended primarily for data center administrators with responsibilities and expertise in one or more of the following:

- Server administration

- Storage administration

- Network administration

- Network security

Conventions

Text Type

Indication

GUI elements

GUI elements such as tab titles, area names, and field labels appear in this font.

Main titles such as window, dialog box, and wizard titles appear in this font.

Document titles

Document titles appear in this font.

TUI elements

In a Text-based User Interface, text the system displays appears in this font.

System output

Terminal sessions and information that the system displays appear in this font.

CLI commands

CLI command keywords appear in this font.

Variables in a CLI command appear in this font.

[ ]

Elements in square brackets are optional.

{x | y | z}

Required alternative keywords are grouped in braces and separated by vertical bars.

[x | y | z]

Optional alternative keywords are grouped in brackets and separated by vertical bars.

string

A nonquoted set of characters. Do not use quotation marks around the string or the string will include the quotation marks.

< >

Nonprinting characters such as passwords are in angle brackets.

[ ]

Default responses to system prompts are in square brackets.

!, #

An exclamation point (!) or a pound sign (#) at the beginning of a line of code indicates a comment line.

Note

Means reader take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to material not covered in the document.

Tip

Means the following information will help you solve a problem. The tips information might not be troubleshooting or even an action, but could be useful information, similar to a Timesaver.

Timesaver

Means the described action saves time. You can save time by performing the action described in the paragraph.

Caution

Means reader be careful. In this situation, you might perform an action that could result in equipment damage or loss of data.

Warning

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

This warning symbol means danger. You are in a situation that could cause bodily injury. Before you work on any equipment, be aware of the hazards involved with electrical circuitry and be familiar with standard practices for preventing accidents. Use the statement number provided at the end of each warning to locate its translation in the translated safety warnings that accompanied this device.

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

Related Cisco UCS Documentation

Documentation Roadmaps

For a complete list of all B-Series documentation, see the Cisco UCS B-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap available at the following URL: Click Here .

For a complete list of all C-Series documentation, see the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Documentation Roadmap available at the following URL: Click Here .

For information on supported firmware versions and supported UCS Manager versions for the rack servers that are integrated with the UCS Manager for management, refer to Release Bundle Contents for Cisco UCS Software.

Other Documentation Resources

Follow Cisco UCS Docs on Twitter to receive document update notifications.

Full Cisco Trademarks with Software License

THE SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRODUCTS IN THIS MANUAL ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL STATEMENTS, INFORMATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS MANUAL ARE BELIEVED TO BE ACCURATE BUT ARE PRESENTED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. USERS MUST TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR APPLICATION OF ANY PRODUCTS.

THE SOFTWARE LICENSE AND LIMITED WARRANTY FOR THE ACCOMPANYING PRODUCT ARE SET FORTH IN THE INFORMATION PACKET THAT SHIPPED WITH THE PRODUCT AND ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY THIS REFERENCE. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SOFTWARE LICENSE OR LIMITED WARRANTY, CONTACT YOUR CISCO REPRESENTATIVE FOR A COPY.

The Cisco implementation of TCP header compression is an adaptation of a program developed by the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) as part of UCB's public domain version of the UNIX operating system. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1981, Regents of the University of California.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER WARRANTY HEREIN, ALL DOCUMENT FILES AND SOFTWARE OF THESE SUPPLIERS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS" WITH ALL FAULTS. CISCO AND THE ABOVE-NAMED SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OR ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL CISCO OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR LOSS OR DAMAGE TO DATA ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS MANUAL, EVEN IF CISCO OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: Click Here . Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)