Managing Remote Presence

This chapter includes the following sections:

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.


Important

You cannot use native serial redirection and serial over LAN simultaneously.

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.

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.

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 Compute.

Step 2

In the Compute menu, select a server.

Step 3

Click the Remote Management tab.

Step 4

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

Step 5

In the vKVM Console Based vMedia 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 6

Click Save Changes.

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

    Note 

    The folder, which is shared, should have write permissions to use read-write option. Read-write option is available only for .img files.

  • 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.

Virtual KVM Console

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

Here are a few major advantages of using Cisco KVM Console:

  • The Cisco KVM console provides connection to KVM, SOL, and vMedia whereas the Avocent KVM provides connection only to KVM and vMedia.

  • In the KVM Console, the vMedia connection is established at the KVM Launch Manager and is available for all users.

  • The KVM console offers you an advanced character replacement options for the unsupported characters while pasting text from the guest to the host.

  • The KVM console provides you an ability to store the vMedia mappings on CIMC.

Instead of using CD/DVD or floppy drives physically connected to the server, the vKVM 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 vKVM console to install an OS on the server.

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 vKVM and select Java based vKVM or HTML based vKVM.

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 vKVM tab, click Launch vKVM console.

Step 9

Click the URL link displayed in the pop-up window to load the client application. You need to click the link every time you launch the vKVM console.

Virtual KVM Console (Java Based)

The vKVM console is an interface accessible from Cisco IMC that emulates a direct keyboard, video, and mouse (vKVM) 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 vKVM session.


Important

The vKVM console requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.5.0 or higher.

vKVM Tab

This tab provides command line access to the server. The menu options available in this tab are described below.

File Menu

Menu Item Description

Open

Opens the Open dialog box that allows you to select a file and play the video of the screen recording stored in that file.

Capture to File button

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

Paste Text From Clipboard button

Allows you to copy text from a clipboard to the server using the vKVM console.

Paste Text From File button

Allows you to copy text from a remote file to the server using the vKVM console.

Exit button

Closes the vKVM console.

View Menu

Macros Menu

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

Tools Menu

Menu Item Description

Session Options button, General tab

General tab in the Session Options dialog box allows you to specify whether all keystrokes are passed to the target system when the console is in Windowed mode. The default is no.

Session Options button, Mouse tab

The Mouse tab in the Session Options dialog box allows you to specify the following:

  • Termination Key—The key to use that will terminate single cursor mode. The default is F12.

  • Mouse Acceleration—Allows you to change the positioning of a USB mouse. The default is Absolute Positioning.
Note 

If you are experiencing mouse tracking issues between your system and the remote system, try changing the mouse acceleration mode.

If none of the modes solve the problem, you can use the Single Cursor tool to ignore the remote mouse in favor of the local mouse.

If that does not work, set this option to No Acceleration and then go into the operating system on the remote server and set mouse acceleration to None in the system settings.

Session Options button, Security tab

The Security tab in the Session Options dialog box allows you to specify the type of unsecured connections which will be accepted without user concurrence, and allows you to clear previously accepted connections.

Session Options button, Scaling tab

The Scaling tab in the Session Options dialog box allows you to specify whether the aspect ratio maintenance will be in effect when the console is in windowed mode or in full screen mode. The default is Windowed Mode.

Session Options button, Mini-Mode tab

The Mini-Mode tab in the Session Options dialog box allows you to specify the size of the vKVM/vMedia client when in Mini-Mode.

Session Options button, Video Recording tab

The Video Recording tab in the Session Options dialog box allows you to specify:

  • The maximum amount of disk space to be used by a single vKVM recording.

  • The amount of disk space to be used by the continuous recording buffer.

  • To select whether continuous recording is in effect or not.

Note 

The maximum persistent recording file size should be greater than or equal to continues recording capacity. The default value of persistent recording is 1000 megabytes.

Session Options button, Certificate tab

The Certificate tab in the Session Options dialog box displays the details of the certificate being used in the current session and allows you to set the name and path of the exported certificate file.

Single Cursor button

Turns on the single cursor feature, which offsets mouse alignment issues encountered on some remote operating systems. When you turn this feature on, the mouse pointer is trapped within the viewer window.

To turn the feature off, press the termination key specified in the Session Options dialog box. The default is F12.

Stats button

Opens the Stats dialog box, and the Live vKVM displays the following:

  • The statistics of the vKVM session.

  • Frame rate measured in the number of frames per second.

  • Bandwidth measured in the number of KBs per second.

  • Compression measured in the percentage of compression being used.

  • Packet rate measured in number of packets per second.

Kbd/Mouse USB Reset button that resets the USB connection. You can reset the USB with or without the vMedia activation to reset all the USB devices connected to the server.

Note 

The following message is displayed when you click the USB reset button: Resetting the USB connection can affect keyboard and mouse. Click Yes to reset the USB connection.

When vMedia is activated, the Stats dialog box displays the following:

  • Transfer rate of vMedia measured in data transported per second.

  • The type of local device or image file to which the host server device is mapped.

  • The elapsed time of the device to map.

  • The number of bytes sent or received by the server.

Session User List button

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

Chat button

Communicates with other Virtual Console users through a chatting interface available within the Virtual Console viewer. Chat is not supported for all Cisco UCS servers.

Note 

The chat window cannot be minimized and the chat history is not stored once the window is closed. You can chat even if the server is powered off.

Recorder /Play Controls button

Opens the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) for recording and playback of vKVM video. In the floating Record/Playback toolbar, the following functions are available:

  • Play/Pause

  • Fast Forward

  • Rewind or Skip Back

  • Slider

  • Return to Start

  • Go to End

  • Live Mode

  • Record/Stop Recording

  • Open

Export Video button

Opens the Export Video dialog box that allows you to specify:

  • The source file, downloaded from the web UI, or created using the vKVM record capability.

  • The destination file with specified format such as MOV.

  • The resolution for exporting movie file. The default resolution is 640 x 480 and the recommended resolution should be 1024 x 768.

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 vKVM console.

Virtual KVM Console

The vKVM console is an interface accessible from Cisco IMC that emulates a direct keyboard, video, and mouse (vKVM) 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 vKVM session.

File Menu

Menu Item Description

Paste Text From File / Send Text

Opens the dialog box that allows you to paste content.

Capture to File

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

Exit

Closes the vKVM console.

View Menu

Menu Item Description

Keyboard

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

Refresh

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

Full Screen

Expands the vKVM 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

Static Macros menu

Displays a predefined set of macros.

Manage

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).

  • Mouse Acceleration: 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)

  • Paste Text: Allows you to select to paste text from clipboard or a file.

Session User List

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

Chat

Opens the Chat box to communicate with other users.

Stats

Opens the Stats dialog box, and the Live vKVM displays the following:

  • Frame Rate: Frame rate measured in the number of frames per second.

  • Bandwidth: Bandwidth measured in the number of KBs per second.

  • Compression: Compression measured in the percentage of compression being used.

  • Packet Rate: Packet rate measured in number of packets per second.

When vMedia is activated, the Virtual Media dialog box displays the following:

  • Target Device: The type of local device.

  • Mapped to: The type of local device or image file to which the host server device is mapped.

  • Duration: The elapsed time of the device to map.

  • Read Bytes: The number of bytes sent or received by the server.

Play Controls

Opens Cisco vKVM Playback window that allows you to choose a .dvc file.

Power Menu

Menu Item Description

Power On System

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

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)

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)

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 vKVM console.

Virtual Media Menu

Name Description

Create Image

Note 

This option is available only if you use the Google Chrome web browser.

Allows you to create an ISO image. Drag and drop files or folders in the Create Image dialog box; these files or folders are converted to an ISO image. You can use the Download ISO Image button to save the ISO image to your local machine.

Activate Virtual Devices

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

Help Menu

Name Description

Help Topics

Clicking this option brings you back to this window.

About vKVM Viewer

Displays the version number of the vKVM viewer.

Settings

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

Name Description

Logged in as:

Displays your user role name.

Cisco IMC Host Name

Displays the host name.

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

Yes

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

In the vKVM Properties area 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

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.