Managing a Physical Infrastructure

This chapter contains the following sections:

About Managing a Physical Infrastructure

Cisco UCS Director enables you to manage both physical and virtual infrastructures. While managing a physical account, you would need to first create a site, and add a pod to the site. After you create this account, Cisco UCS Director discovers all components within the newly created physical account. Typically, the discovery process takes about 5 minutes. In the system, you can either add a new pod or you can use the default pod that is available. A physical account can be associated with the default pod or with one that you add.


Note

As an administrator, you can create either a physical account or a virtual account first in the system. A physical account in Cisco UCS Director has no dependency on a virtual (cloud) account.

Using the Converged View

The Converged view provides you with a graphical representation of the sites, and pods that you have configured in Cisco UCS Director. To access this view, choose Converged from the side navigation bar. If you have configured a site or multiple sites in the system, then this Converged view page displays a drop-down list from where you can select a site and view the pods that are associated with the site. However, you cannot add a site from this page. For information on adding a site, see Adding a Site. After you have added a site in the system, you can either add a pod from the Converged page, or you can add a pod from the Administration > Physical Accounts > Pods screen.

The Converged page, in addition to letting you view the pods associated with each site, also provides the following options:

  • Search—If your site has several pods, then you can use the search feature to locate a specific pod using the name as the search criteria.

  • Add, Edit and Delete—Use these options to add, modify or delete pods.

  • Collapse and expand the row of pods displayed for a site.

  • View specific account information of each pod:

    • If you select a pod, and mouse over an account, then all account details are displayed. Alternatively, you can click an account to view the detailed information.

    • Power status of the account - the power icon on the account indicates if the account is powered on or powered off. Green color indicates that it is powered on, and red color indicates that it is powered off.

Adding a Site

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Site Management.

Step 3

Click Add.

Step 4

On the Add Site screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Site Name field

A descriptive name for the site.

Description field

The description of the site, such as the location, significance, and so on.

Contact Name field

The name of the person responsible for this site.

Step 5

Click Submit.

Adding a Pod

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Pods.

Step 3

Click Add.

Step 4

On the Add Pod screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Name field

A descriptive name for the pod.

Type drop-down list

Choose the type of pod that you want to add. This can be one of the following:

  • Flexpod

  • VersaStack

  • Generic

  • ExpressPod Medium

  • VSPEX

  • ExpressPod Small

  • Vblock

  • HyperFlex

  • Virtual SAN Pod

The nongeneric pod types accommodate only specific physical and virtual components. A generic pod does not require a specific pod license. You can add any type of physical or virtual component to a generic pod. For more information about bundled pod licenses (FlexPod, Vblock, and VSPEX), which include the necessary individual device licenses to run a pod, see the Cisco UCS Director Installation and Upgrade Guides.

Note

 

Only VersaStack and Generic pods are supported in the IBM accounts in Cisco UCS Director.

Site drop-down list

Choose the site where you want to add the pod. If your environment does not include sites, you can omit this step.

Description field

(Optional) A description of the pod.

Address field

The physical location of the pod. For example, this field could include the city or other internal identification used for the pod.

Hide Pod check box

Check to hide the pod if you do not want it to show in the Converged Check View. You can continue to add or delete accounts from the pod.

For example, you can use this check box to ensure that a pod that does not have any physical or virtual elements is not displayed in the Converged View.

Step 5

Click Add.

What to do next

Add one or more accounts to the pod.

Adding a Physical Account

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Physical Accounts.

Step 3

Click Add.

Step 4

On the Add Account screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Pod drop-down list

Choose the pod to which this physical account belongs.

Category drop-down list

Choose the category type (Computing or Storage). If you chose Storage, continue to Step 6.

Account Type drop-down list

Choose from the following account types for this physical account:

  • UCSM

  • HP ILO

  • Cisco Rack Server (CIMC)

  • IPMI

Step 5

Click Submit.

Step 6

On the Add Account screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Authentication Type drop-down list

Choose from the following authentication types to be used for this account:

  • Locally Authenticated—A locally authenticated user account is authenticated directly through the fabric interconnect and can be enabled or disabled by anyone with admin or AAA privileges.

  • Remotely Authenticated—A remotely authenticated user account is any user account that is authenticated through LDAP, RADIUS, or TACACS+.

Server Management drop-down list

Choose how servers are managed by this account by selecting one of the following options:

  • All Servers

  • Selected Servers

Account Name field

A unique name for the physical account that you want to add.

Server Address field

The IP address of the server.

Use Credential Policy check box

Check this check box if you want to use a credential policy for this account rather than enter the information manually.

Credential Policy drop-down list

If you checked Use Credential Policy, choose the credential policy that you want to use from this drop-down list.

This field is only displayed if you choose to use a credential policy.

User ID field

The username for accessing this account.

This field is not displayed if you choose to use a credential policy.

Password field

The password associated with the username.

This field is not displayed if you choose to use a credential policy.

Transport Type drop-down list

Choose the transport type that you want to use for the account.

This can be one of the following:

  • HTTP

  • HTTPS

This field is not displayed if you choose to use a credential policy.

Port field

The server port number.

This field is not displayed if you choose to use a credential policy.

Description field

The description of the account.

Contact Email field

The contact email address for the account.

Location field

The location.

Service Provider field

The service provider’s name, if any.

Step 7

If this account is Storage, choose the appropriate account type: NetApp ONTAP, NetApp OnCommand, EMC VNX, EMC VMAX Solutions Enabler or WHIPTAIL.

Step 8

Click Add.

Adding a Multi-Domain Manager Account

You can add the following types of multi-domain manager accounts:

  • PNSC—Cisco Prime Network Services Controller account

  • DCNM—Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager account

  • UCS Central—Cisco UCS Central account

  • APIC—Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller account

  • EMC RecoverPoint account

  • EMC VPLEX account

Before you begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

Click Add.

Step 4

On the Add Account screen, choose the account type from the drop-down list.

Step 5

Click Submit.

Step 6

On the Multi-Domain Manager Account screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Account Name field

Choose the account name to which this multi-domain manager account belongs.

Description field

(Optional) The description of the account.

Server Address field

Enter the IP address of the server managing the multi-domain manager account.

Account Name field

A unique name for the physical account that you want to add.

Server Address field

The IP address of the server.

User ID field

The username for accessing this account.

Password field

The password associated with the username.

Transport Type drop-down list

Choose the transport type that you want to use for the account. This can be one of the following:

  • http

  • https

Port field

The server port number. The default port is 443.

Contact Email field

(Optional) The contact email address for the account.

Location field

(Optional) The location.

Step 7

Click Submit.

Adding a Network Element

In order to create a virtual server that supports load balancing, first add a network element in Cisco UCS Director. After a Load Balancer is added as a network element in Cisco UCS Director, it appears on the Managed Network Element screen.

Before you begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Managed Network Elements.

Step 3

Click Add Network Element.

Step 4

On the Add Network Element screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Pod drop-down list

Choose the pod to which the network element belongs.

Device Category drop-down list

Choose the device category for this network element. For example: F5 Load Balancer.

Device IP field

The IP address for this device.

Protocol drop-down list

Choose the protocol to be used. The list may include the following:

  • Telnet

  • SSH

  • HTTP

  • HTTPS

Note

 

When working with an F5 load balancer device, HTTP and HTTPS are the only valid selections.

Port field

The port to use.

Login field

The login name.

Password field

The password associated with the login name.

Step 5

Click Submit.

Adding the F5 Load Balancer triggers the system task inventory collection. The polling interval configured on the System Tasks screen specifies the frequency of inventory collection.

What to do next

To modify or edit a virtual server, choose the server, and then click Modify. To remove a virtual server, choose the server, and then click Delete.

Enabling DHCP Logging

Before you begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, choose the Network Service Agents.

Step 3

Click Embedded Network Services.

Step 4

On the Embedded Network Services screen, check the Enable DHCP Logging.

Configuring Inventory Data Collection Schedule for Physical Accounts

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Physical Accounts.

Step 3

Click Inventory Scheduler.

Step 4

On the Inventory Scheduler screen, complete the required fields, including the following:

Name Description

Task Type drop-down list

Displays the available task types. ChooseUCS Inventory Collector, UCS Monitoring DataCollector Task, or Virtual SAN Ready Node Qualification Task.

System tasks field

Choose the system tasks.

Step 5

Click Next and complete the required fields, including the following:

Name

Description

Task Execution drop-down list

ChooseEnable.

Schedule Type drop-down list

Specify the schedule type. It can be one of the following options:

  • Fixed Delay—Implies the time period between the completion of one task execution and the initiation of the next task execution.

  • Fixed Rate—Implies the time period between successive tasks executions. If there is a delay in the execution of one task or if one task takes longer to execute than its scheduled time, it results in delays in subsequent task executions. These tasks will not run concurrently.

Hours

Choose a number from the dropdown list.

If you chose Fixed Delay as the schedule type, then this number indicates the time gap, in hours, between the completion of one task exection and the initiation of the next task execution.

If you chose Fixed Rate, then this number indicates time period, in hours, between successive task executions.

Enable Custom Frequency check box

Check this check box to enable a custom frequency for the system task.

Recurrence Type drop-down list

Specify the recurrence schedule. It can be one of the following:

  • No End

  • Only Once

This field is displayed only when you check the Enable Custom Frequency check box.

Start Time field

Specify the date and time for the recurrence schedule.

This field is displayed only when you check the Enable Custom Frequency check box.

Frequency drop-down list

Choose a frequency. It can be one of the following:

  • Hourly

  • Daily

  • Weekly

  • Monthly

Note

 

This field is displayed only when you select No End in the Recurrence Type drop-down list.

Frequency Interval drop-down list

Choose a frequency interval from the drop-down list. The values in this list vary depending on the frequency you have specified.

This field is displayed only when you check the Enable Custom Frequency check box.

Step 6

Click Submit.

Testing Connectivity

You can test connectivity for managed network elements, virtual accounts, and physical accounts.

Testing Connectivity of Managed Network Elements

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Managed Network Elements.

Step 3

Click the row with the pod for which you want to test connectivity.

Step 4

Click Test Connection.

Testing the Connection to a Physical Account

You can test the connection at any time after you add an account to a pod.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Multi-Domain Managers screen, click the row of the account for which you want to test the connection.

Step 4

Click Test Connection.

Step 5

When the connection test has completed, click Close.

What to do next

If the connection fails, verify the configuration of the account, including the username and password. If the username and password are correct, determine whether there is a network connectivity problem.

Enabling Device Discovery

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

On the Physical Accounts page, click Discovered Devices.

Step 3

Click Setup Discovery.

Step 4

On the Setup Discovery screen, check Enable Discovery.

Step 5

On the Setup Discovery screen, complete the IP address range field and determine if the default values for the following fields are adequate for your environment:

Name

Description

Enable Discovery check box

The check box is checked by default to enable device discovery for this account.

IP Range field

The IP address range for device discovery. (For example, 10.1.1.1-10.1.1.12 )

TCP Timeout (ms) field

The TCP timeout (ms) (default value is 2000 ms).

SNMP Timeout (ms) field

The SNMP timeout (ms) (default is 1500 ms).

SNMP Community Strings field

The SNMP community string (default is public).

Step 6

Click Submit.