Installing Operating Systems

Introduction

The Cisco UCS SCU has integrated device drivers including RAID drivers to seamlessly install operating systems on supported RAID logical arrays without additional load driver steps or devices such as the USB.

The Cisco UCS SCU supports OS installation on the following:

  • Virtual disks

  • NVMe device

  • M.2 device

  • Disks in JBOD mode

  • SD Cards

  • SW RAID


    Note

    This is available only on Cisco UCS M5, M6, M7 and M8 servers.

Note

Before you begin the operating system installation, be sure that you have disabled the Watchdog Timer. If this feature is enabled and the value is set for a time duration that is less than the time needed to install the OS, the operating system installation process is interrupted. This Watchdog Timer feature automatically reboots or powers off the server after the specified time duration.

Installing Linux Server Operating System

Perform this procedure to install Linux Server OS.

Procedure

Step 1

Select Install OS in the left navigation pane.

The Install Operating System page displays all the OS installation options.

Step 2

In the General area, select the OS vendor and version that you would like to install.

  1. Under the Select OS area, from the Select Vendor drop-down list, select the desired Linux OS vendor from the following list.

    • Red Hat

    • SuSE

    • Ubuntu

    • Oracle

    • Rocky Linux

  2. From the Select Version drop-down list, select the desired Linux version.

Step 3

In the Enter OS Image Details area, select the protocol that you want to use to install the OS. Enter the fields that are displayed based on the selected protocol.

  • File Location: The location of the image file.

  • Mount Options: Industry standard mount options. For NFS, CIFS, and HTTP/S, leave the field blank or enter the required mount options as a comma-separated list.

  • Username: The user name of the server. This field is not applicable for NFS.

  • Password: The password of the server. This field is not applicable for NFS.

Step 4

Click Validate & Proceed.

Step 5

In the Installation Target area, select the target disk where you want to install the OS.

Step 6

If you want to install the OS on a local storage, select the Local Storage tab, then select either the Physical Drives tab or the Virtual Drives tab.

The following information is displayed:

Physical Drives

Name

Description

Name

Name of the physical drive.

Size (GiB)

Size of the physical drive.

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Serial Number

Serial number of the physical drive.

Virtual Drives

Name

Description

VD Id

ID of the virtual drive.

Name

Name of the virtual drive.

Controller Slot

Controller slot details.

Size (GiB)

Size of the virtual drive.

Device Node

Details of the device node.

RAID PDs

The physical disks that are grouped together in a RAID array.

Step 7

Select the desired physical drive or virtual drive.

Step 8

If you want to install the OS on a SAN storage, select the SAN Storage tab, then select either the iSCSI tab or the Fibre Channel tab.

The following information is displayed:

iSCSI

Name

Description

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Initiator MAC

Initiator MAC Address.

Target IQN

Name of the target in the IQN format.

LUN

The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Size (GiB)

Size of target LUN.

Fibre Channel

Name

Description

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Host WWPN

The host World Wide Port Name with which the binding is associated.

LUN

The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Size (GiB)

Size of target LUN.

Step 9

Select the desired target.

Step 10

Click Review & Install.

Step 11

Review the summary and click Install.

The OS installation confirmation message is displayed.

Step 12

Click Proceed to confirm the OS installation.

If you have selected the CIMC/KVM Mapped vMedia protocol, the Execution Flow status shows Pending, and the following warning message is displayed in the OS Install - Map OS ISO popup.

Unmap SCU ISO & Map OS ISO

Perform the below steps to proceed with the OS installation.

  1. Select Virtual Media.

  2. Select the SCU ISO file to be unmapped.

  3. Click Confirm in the Warning popup.

  4. Select Virtual Media > vKVM-Mapped vDVD or CIMC-Mapped vDVD..

  5. If you select vKVM-Mapped vDVD, in the Map Virtual Media - CD/DVD window, click Browse to open the required OS ISO file and click Map Drive.

  6. If you select CIMC-Mapped vDVD, in the Map Virtual Media - CD/DVD window, select NFS, CIFS, or HTTP/S, enter the File Location, Mount Options, Username and Password, and click Map Drive.

The Execution Flow status shows In progress.

Step 13

In the Basic Configuration area, do the following:

  1. From the Keyboard drop-down list, select the desired language.

  2. From the Timezone drop-down list, select the desired time zone.

  3. From the Language drop-down list, select the desired language.

Step 14

In the Package Selection area, select the applicable packages.

Step 15

In the Network Settings area, enter the following details:

  1. Select the IPv4 Settings or IPv6 Settings tab.

  2. To enable IPv4 or IPv6, select the appropriate toggle button.

    These tabs display the link status of available network interfaces and the corresponding MAC address, Link Status, IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, and DNS.

  3. To edit the any of the network setting value, double-click the corresponding row and column.

  4. After editing the field, press Enter.

Step 16

In the Driver Selection area, select the check box for the drivers that you want to install from the table.

Step 17

Click Next.

Step 18

Click Install.

The OS Installation window is displayed with the following message:

Are you sure you want to proceed with the OS installation?

Warning: OS installation will clear the disk contents, take a backup before proceeding.

Host power cycle is required to proceed with OS installation.

The Power cycle post installation check box is enabled by default.

Step 19

Click Proceed.

When the installation begins, a task is created in the Task Summary page. For more information, see Viewing Task Summary.

Installing Windows Server Operating System

Perform this procedure to install Windows Server OS.

Procedure

Step 1

Select Install OS in the left navigation pane.

The Install Operating System page displays all the OS installation options.

Step 2

In the General area, select the OS and version that you would like to install.

  1. Under the Select OS area, from the Select Vendor drop-down list, select Microsoft.

  2. From the Select Version drop-down list, select the desired Windows version.

Step 3

In the Enter OS Image Details area, select the protocol that you want to use to install the OS. Enter the fields that are displayed based on the selected protocol.

  • File Location: The location of the image file.

  • Mount Options: Industry standard mount options. For NFS, CIFS, and HTTP/S, leave the field blank or enter the required mount options as a comma-separated list.

  • Username: The user name of the server. This field is not applicable for NFS.

  • Password: The password of the server. This field is not applicable for NFS.

Step 4

Click Validate & Proceed.

Step 5

In the Installation Target area, select the target disk where you want to install the OS.

Step 6

If you want to install the OS on a local storage, select the Local Storage tab, then select either the Physical Drives tab or the Virtual Drives tab.

The following information is displayed:

Physical Drives

Name

Description

Name

Name of the physical drive.

Size (GiB)

Size of the physical drive.

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Serial Number

Serial number of the physical drive.

Virtual Drives

Name

Description

VD Id

ID of the virtual drive.

Name

Name of the virtual drive.

Controller Slot

Controller slot details.

Size (GiB)

Size of the virtual drive.

Device Node

Details of the device node.

RAID PDs

The physical disks that are grouped together in a RAID array.

Step 7

Select the desired physical drive or virtual drive.

Step 8

If you want to install the OS on a SAN storage, select the SAN Storage tab, then select either the iSCSI tab or the Fibre Channel tab.

The following information is displayed:

iSCSI

Name

Description

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Initiator MAC

Initiator MAC Address.

Target IQN

Name of the target in the IQN format.

LUN

The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Size (GiB)

Size of target LUN.

Fibre Channel

Name

Description

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Host WWPN

The host World Wide Port Name with which the binding is associated.

LUN

The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Size (GiB)

Size of target LUN.

Step 9

Select the desired target.

Step 10

Click Review & Install.

Step 11

Review the summary and click Install.

The OS installation confirmation message is displayed.

Step 12

Click Proceed to confirm the OS installation.

If you have selected the CIMC/KVM Mapped vMedia protocol, the Execution Flow status shows Pending, and the following warning message is displayed in the OS Install - Map OS ISO popup.

Unmap SCU ISO & Map OS ISO

Perform the below steps to proceed with the OS installation.

  1. Select Virtual Media.

  2. Select the SCU ISO file to be unmapped.

  3. Click Confirm in the Warning popup.

  4. Select Virtual Media > vKVM-Mapped vDVD or CIMC-Mapped vDVD..

  5. If you select vKVM-Mapped vDVD, in the Map Virtual Media - CD/DVD window, click Browse to open the required OS ISO file and click Map Drive.

  6. If you select CIMC-Mapped vDVD, in the Map Virtual Media - CD/DVD window, select NFS, CIFS, or HTTP/S, enter the File Location, Mount Options, Username and Password, and click Map Drive.

The Execution Flow status shows In progress.

Step 13

In the Basic Configuration area, do the following:

  1. From the Keyboard drop-down list, select the desired language.

  2. From the Timezone drop-down list, select the desired time zone.

  3. From the Language drop-down list, select the desired language.

  4. In the Organization field, enter a name of the organization of the administrator.

  5. In the Workgroup field, enter a workgroup name.

  6. In the Host name field, enter a Windows host.

  7. From the Auto logon drop-down list, select ON or OFF.

  8. In the Product key field, enter OS license key.

Step 14

In the Package Selection area, select the applicable packages.

Step 15

In the Network Settings area, enter the following details:

  1. Select the IPv4 Settings or IPv6 Settings tab.

  2. To enable IPv4 or IPv6, select the appropriate toggle button.

    These tabs display the link status of available network interfaces and the corresponding MAC address, Link Status, IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, and DNS.

  3. To edit the any of the network setting value, double-click the corresponding row and column.

  4. After editing the field, press Enter.

Step 16

In the Driver Selection area, select the check box for the drivers that you want to install from the table.

Step 17

Click Next.

Step 18

Click Install.

OS Installation window is displayed with the following message:

Are you sure you want to proceed with the OS installation?

Warning: OS installation will clear the disk contents, take a backup before proceeding.

Host power cycle is required to proceed with OS installation.

The Power cycle post installation check box is enabled by default.

Step 19

Click Proceed.

When the installation begins, a task is created in the Task Summary page. For more information, see Viewing Task Summary.

Installing ESXi Server Operating System

Perform this procedure to install ESXi Server OS.

Procedure

Step 1

Select Install OS in the left navigation pane.

The Install Operating System page displays all the OS installation options.

Step 2

In the General area, select the OS and version that you would like to install.

  1. Under the Select OS area, from the Select Vendor drop-down list, select VMware.

  2. From the Select Version drop-down list, select the desired ESXi version.

Step 3

In the Enter OS Image Details area, select the protocol that you want to use to install the OS. Enter the fields that are displayed based on the selected protocol.

  • File Location: The location of the image file.

  • Mount Options: Industry standard mount options. For NFS, CIFS, and HTTP/S, leave the field blank or enter the required mount options as a comma-separated list.

  • Username: The user name of the server. This field is not applicable for NFS.

  • Password: The password of the server. This field is not applicable for NFS.

Step 4

Click Validate & Proceed.

Step 5

In the Installation Target area, select the target disk where you want to install the OS.

Step 6

If you want to install the OS on a local storage, select the Local Storage tab, then select either the Physical Drives tab or the Virtual Drives tab.

The following information is displayed:

Physical Drives

Name

Description

Name

Name of the physical drive.

Size (GiB)

Size of the physical drive.

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Serial Number

Serial number of the physical drive.

Virtual Drives

Name

Description

VD Id

ID of the virtual drive.

Name

Name of the virtual drive.

Controller Slot

Controller slot details.

Size (GiB)

Size of the virtual drive.

Device Node

Details of the device node.

RAID PDs

The physical disks that are grouped together in a RAID array.

Step 7

Select the desired physical drive or virtual drive.

Step 8

If you want to install the OS on a SAN storage, select the SAN Storage tab, then select either the iSCSI tab or the Fibre Channel tab.

The following information is displayed:

iSCSI

Name

Description

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Initiator MAC

Initiator MAC Address.

Target IQN

Name of the target in the IQN format.

LUN

The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Size (GiB)

Size of target LUN.

Fibre Channel

Name

Description

Device Node

Details of the device node.

Host WWPN

The host World Wide Port Name with which the binding is associated.

LUN

The LUN ID that corresponds to the location of the boot image.

Size (GiB)

Size of target LUN.

Step 9

Select the desired target.

Step 10

Click Review & Install.

Step 11

Review the summary and click Install.

The OS installation confirmation message is displayed.

Step 12

Click Proceed to confirm the OS installation.

If you have selected the CIMC/KVM Mapped vMedia protocol, the Execution Flow status shows Pending, and the following warning message is displayed in the OS Install - Map OS ISO popup.

Unmap SCU ISO & Map OS ISO

Perform the below steps to proceed with the OS installation.

  1. Select Virtual Media.

  2. Select the SCU ISO file to be unmapped.

  3. Click Confirm in the Warning popup.

  4. Select Virtual Media > vKVM-Mapped vDVD or CIMC-Mapped vDVD..

  5. If you select vKVM-Mapped vDVD, in the Map Virtual Media - CD/DVD window, click Browse to open the required OS ISO file and click Map Drive.

  6. If you select CIMC-Mapped vDVD, in the Map Virtual Media - CD/DVD window, select NFS, CIFS, or HTTP/S, enter the File Location, Mount Options, Username and Password, and click Map Drive.

The Execution Flow status shows In progress.

Step 13

Perform the following in the VMware ESXi Custom Install page:

  1. In the Basic Configuration area, do the following:

    1. From the Keyboard drop down list, select the desired language.

      By default, the language is English.

    2. In the Root Password field, enter the root password.

    3. In the Confirm Root Password field, re-enter the root password.

    4. In the Product key field, enter the product license key.

  2. For Installation Disk area, perform the steps in Selecting an Installation Disk.

  3. For Network Settings area, perform the steps in Network Settings.

Selecting an Installation Disk

In the Installation Disk area, do the following:

Procedure

Select the radio button of the installation disk you wish to use.

Network Settings

Network Settings allows you to enter the network configuration settings for the onboard network adapters that are detected by the operating system during installation. These settings do not affect the network settings for the Cisco IMC. We recommend that you set different IP addresses for the operating system and Cisco IMC. The network interface column lists each network adapter detected by the Cisco UCS SCU. Your operating system may have a different name for the interface after you install the operating system.


Note

Only one of the active network should be configured, and this network interface becomes ESXi management network.

In the Network Settings area, do the following:

Procedure

Step 1

Select the IPv4 Settings or IPv6 Settings tab.

These tabs display the link status of available network interfaces and the corresponding MAC address, Link Status, IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, and DNS.

Step 2

To edit the any of the network setting value, double-click the corresponding row and column.

This activates the field for editing.

Step 3

After editing the field, click Save.

Step 4

(Optional) Select Review & Install to review the details and proceed with the installation.

Step 5

Click Next to proceed with the installation.