Setting Up a HyperFlex Pod

Prerequisites

Before you configure this integration, you must complete the prerequisites in Cisco UCS Director and Cisco HyperFlex System.

Cisco HyperFlex System Prerequisites

The following prerequisites must be completed in your Cisco HyperFlex System before you integrate it with Cisco UCS Director:

Prerequisite

Link to Documentation

Install the Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series node.

Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series Install and Upgrade Guides

Install and configure the Cisco HyperFlex System software.

Cisco HyperFlex Systems Getting Started Guide

Create the Cisco HX Data Platform clusters in VMware vCenter.

Cisco HyperFlex Systems Getting Started Guide

Cisco UCS Director Prerequisites

The following prerequisites must be completed in Cisco UCS Director before you integrate your Cisco HyperFlex System:

Prerequisite

Link to Documentation

Install Cisco UCS Director.

Cisco UCS Director Installation Guides

(Optional) Install Cisco UCS Director Bare Metal Agent.

Cisco UCS Director Installation Guides

Install the Cisco UCS Director licenses.

Cisco UCS Director Installation Guides

Create the required groups and users.

Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide

HyerFlex Pod Configuration

When you log in to Cisco UCS Director, the Converged screen is displayed. This screen displays the currently configured pods in your environment. From this screen, you can add a new pod, or you can select a pre-existing pod and view the resource details within the pod.

You can create pods manually or by using a guided setup wizard.

Add All Servers with the HyperFlex Pod Configuration Wizard

The HyperFlex Pod Configuration wizard guides you through the creation of a pod in Cisco UCS Director for your Cisco HyperFlex System. It automatically adds all servers in a Cisco UCS Manager account. If you use this wizard, there is no option to add only certain servers to the pod. For configuring HyperFlex pod using guided setup wizard, see Creating a HyperFlex Pod in Cisco UCS Director

Add Either Selected Servers or All Servers with a Manual Setup

A manual setup enables you to add either selected servers or all servers in a Cisco UCS Manager account based on the number of physical server licenses purchased. For manual configuration of HyperFlex pod, see Manual Configuration of HyperFlex Pod in Cisco UCS Director

After you complete the pod configuration, your Cisco HyperFlex System is available for datastore management and for VM provisioning.

Creating a HyperFlex Pod in Cisco UCS Director

Before You Begin

You must complete all prerequisites in Prerequisites.

    Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Administration > Guided Setup.
    Step 2   Double-click HyperFlex Pod Configuration to launch the wizard.

    If the Guided Setup screen launches when you open Cisco UCS Director, check the box for the HyperFlex Pod Configuration wizard and click Submit. You can then move to Step 4.

    Step 3   On the Overview screen, review the content and click Next.
    Step 4   On the Pod screen, do one of the following and then click Next.
    • Click the Add button and complete the fields to create a new HyperFlex pod.
    • From the Pod drop-down list, choose an existing HyperFlex pod.
    Step 5   On the VMware screen, do the following:
    1. From the Accounts drop-down list, choose one of the following:

      • An existing VMware cloud account

      • Select to create a new VMware cloud account

    2. If you chose Select, complete the fields in the Create New Account area.

      To create a new account, you need the following:

      • Cloud name

      • vCenter or host address

      • Credential policy or the user ID and password for a valid vCenter account with administrative or root privileges

      • Port used to access the vCenter address

      • Access URL

      The remaining fields on the screen are optional.

    3. Click Next.
    Step 6   On the Cisco UCS Manager screen, do the following:
    1. From the Accounts drop-down list, choose one of the following:

      • An existing Cisco UCS Manager account.

      • Select to create a new Cisco UCS Manager account

    2. If you chose Select, complete the fields in the Create New Account area.

      To create a new account, you need the following:

      • IP address or FQDN of Cisco UCS Manager

      • Username and password for a valid Cisco UCS Manager account with administrative privileges

      • Transport type

      • Port used to access that address

      The remaining fields on the screen are optional.

      Note   

      This process automatically adds all the servers to the pod. If the number of licenses are less than the number of servers, you receive an error message. To resolve this issue, cancel the guided setup wizard, and instead configure the HyperFlex Pod manually. See Manual Configuration of HyperFlex Pod in Cisco UCS Director.

    3. Click Next.
    Step 7   On the Cisco HyperFlex screen, complete the fields to create a Cisco HX Data Platform account for the pod.

    To create a new account, you need the following:

    • Cluster management IP address

    • Username and password for a valid HyperFlex account with administrative privileges

    • Transport type

    • Port used to access the cluster address

    • HTTPS port and SSH port that use the same HyperFlex credentials

    Step 8   On the Summary screen, review the status of each item that you configured in the wizard.
    Step 9   Click Close if all items on the Summary screen are acceptable. To update your configuration, click Back.

    Manual Configuration of HyperFlex Pod in Cisco UCS Director

    Before You Begin

    Complete all prerequisites in Prerequisites.

    Verify that base licenses and server licenses to add Cisco UCS Manager and VMware accounts are available.

      Step 1   Create (or select a pre-existing) a HyperFlex pod. See Adding a Pod.

      When selecting pod Type, choose HyperFlex pod from the drop-down list.

      Step 2   Add (or select a pre-existing) a VMware account. See Creating a Cloud.
      Step 3   Add (or select a pre-existing) a Cisco UCS Manager account. See Adding a Cisco UCS Manager Account.

      When selecting Server Management, choose Selected Servers from the drop-down list to add specific servers to the HyperFlex pod.

      Step 4   Add (or select a pre-existing) a HyperFlex account. See Adding a HyperFlex Account

      Adding a Pod

        Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Administration > Physical Accounts.
        Step 2   Click the Pods tab.
        Step 3   Click Add.
        Step 4   In the Add Pod dialog box, 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.

        Creating a Cloud

        When creating a cloud, you can specify a datacenter and clusters in one of the following ways:

        • Within the credential policy

        • In the VMware Datacenter and VMware Cluster fields

        • From the Discover Datacenters / Clusters check box


        Note

        Either a datacenter within the credential policy or the VMware datacenter and VMware cluster can be selected. Specifying the datacenter in the Add Cloud dialog box and in the credential policy form results in an error.

          Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Administration > Virtual Accounts.
          Step 2   Choose the Virtual Accounts tab.
          Step 3   Click Add (+).
          Step 4   In the Add Cloud dialog box, complete the following fields:
          Name Description

          Cloud Type drop-down list

          Displays the available cloud types. Choose VMware.

          Note   

          The following fields are displayed when VMware is chosen. Other cloud types display fields that are specific to that cloud type.

          Cloud Name field

          The cloud name. The name cannot include single quotes.

          Note   

          Each cloud requires a unique name in Cisco UCS Director. Once a cloud has been added, all reports refer to the cloud using the Cloud Name.

          Server Address field

          The vCenter server address

          Use Credential Policy check box

          Check this 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. You can also click Add to create a new credential policy.

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

          Server User ID field

          The vCenter server username.

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

          Server Password field

          The vCenter server password.

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

          Server Access Port field

          The server port number.

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

          Server Access URL field

          The URL for the server access.

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

          VMware Datacenter field

          The data center name on the vCenter account.

          VMware Cluster field

          The name of the VMware cluster in the vCenter account.

          This name allows you to discover, monitor, and manage the specified pod's resources. Leave the field blank if the entire vCenter account is managed by Cisco UCS Director.

          Discover Datacenters / Clusters check box

          Check this box to discover and use any VMware datacenters and associated VMware clusters.

          Select Datacenters / Clusters field

          Check the associated datacenters and clusters you want to use.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Discover Datacenters / Clusters check box.

          Enable SRM check box

          Check this box to enable Site Recovery Manager (SRM) for the account.

          Primary SRM Server Address field

          The IP address of the primary SRM server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Enable SRM check box.

          Primary SRM Server User ID field

          The user ID for the primary SRM server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Enable SRM check box.

          Primary SRM Server Password field

          The password of the user for the primary SRM server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Enable SRM check box.

          Primary SRM Server Access Port field

          The port number for the primary SRM server. For SRM version 6.0, enter 9086 as the port number.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Enable SRM check box.

          Remote SRM Server User ID field

          The user ID for the remote SRM server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Enable SRM check box.

          Remote SRM Server Password field

          The password of the user ID for the remote SRM server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Enable SRM check box.

          Use SSO check box

          Check this check box to use Single Sign-On (SSO) for authentication.

          The SSO option is only available for Virtual SAN (VSAN). SSO credentials are required for VM provisioning using storage profiles on the Virtual SAN cluster.

          SSO Server Address field

          The IP address of the Single-Sign On server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Use SSO check box.

          SSO Server User ID field

          The user ID for the SSO server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Use SSO check box.

          SSO Server Password field

          The password of the user ID for the SSO server.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Use SSO check box.

          SSO Server Access URL field

          The URL for SSO server access.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Use SSO check box.

          SSO Server Access Port field

          The port number. For vCenter version 5.x, enter 7444 as the port number.

          Note   

          This field is visible only when you check the Use SSO check box.

          Description field

          The description of the cloud.

          Contact Email field

          The contact email address for the cloud.

          Location field

          The location.

          Pod drop-down list

          Choose the converged infrastructure pod.

          When you choose a pod name, the VMware cloud account is made available in the converged infrastructure stack.

          Note   

          You cannot add more than one virtual account to a virtual SAN pod.

          Service Provider field

          The service provider’s name.

          Step 5   Click Add.

          Adding a Cisco UCS Manager Account

          Before You Begin

          Add the pod to which this Cisco UCS Manager account belongs.

            Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Administration > Physical Accounts.
            Step 2   Click the Physical Accounts tab.
            Step 3   Click Add.
            Step 4   In the Add Account dialog box, do the following:
            1. From the Pod drop-down list, choose the pod to which this account belongs.
            2. From the Category Type drop-down list, choose Computing.
            3. From the Account Type drop-down list, choose UCSM.
            4. Click Submit.
            Step 5   In the Add Account dialog box, complete the following fields:
            Name Description

            Authentication Type drop-down list

            Choose the type of authentication to be used for this account. This can be one of the following:

            • 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 you want to have the servers in this account managed. This can be one of the following:

            • All Servers—All servers are managed. This option is the default. If you choose this option, all servers are added in the Managed state.

            • Selected Servers—Only selected servers are managed. You can add and remove servers from the managed server list as needed. If you choose this option, all servers are added in the Unmanaged state.

            Account Name field

            A unique name that you assign to this account.

            Server Address field

            The IP address of Cisco UCS Manager. For a cluster configuration, this is the virtual IP address.

            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 the Use Credential Policy check box, 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 that this account will use to access Cisco UCS Manager. This username must be a valid account in Cisco UCS Manager.

            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.

            UCS Authentication Domain field

            The authentication domain for the remotely authenticated account.

            This field is not displayed if you are using a locally authenticated account or if you choose to use a credential policy.

            Transport Type drop-down list

            Choose the transport type that you want to use for this 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 port used to access Cisco UCS Manager.

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

            Description field

            (Optional) A description of this account.

            Contact Email field

            The email address that you can use to contact the administrator or other person responsible for this account.

            Location field

            The location of this account.

            Service Provider field

            (Optional) The name of the service provider associated with this account, if any.

            Step 6   Click Add.

            Cisco UCS Director tests the connection to Cisco UCS Manager. If that test is successful, it adds the Cisco UCS Manager account and discovers all infrastructure elements in Cisco UCS Manager that are associated with that account, including chassis, servers, fabric interconnects, service profiles, and pools. This discovery process and inventory collection cycle takes approximately five minutes to complete.

            The polling interval configured on the Administration > System > System Tasks tab specifies the frequency of inventory collection.

            Adding a HyperFlex Account

              Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Administration > Physical Accounts.
              Step 2   Choose the Physical Accounts tab.
              Step 3   Click Add.
              Step 4   In the Add Account dialog box, complete the following fields:
              Name Description

              Pod drop-down list

              Choose the HyperFlex pod to which this physical account belongs.

              Category drop-down list

              Choose Storage.

              Account Type drop-down list

              Choose HyperFlex.

              Step 5   Click Submit.
              Step 6   In the Add Account dialog box, complete the following fields:
              Name Description

              Account Name field

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

              Description field

              A description of the account.

              Cluster Management IP Address field

              The HyperFlex cluster management IP address.

              Use Credential Policy check box

              Check this 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.

              Username 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.

              HTTPs Port field

              Enter server port number that you want to use for the account.

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

              SSH Port field

              Enter SSH port number to execute CLI commands.

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

              Contact field

              The contact email address for the account.

              Location field

              The location.

              Step 7   Click Add.

              Cisco UCS Director tests the connection to Cisco HyperFlex. If that test is successful, it adds the account and discovers all infrastructure elements that are associated with that account. This discovery process and inventory collection cycle takes approximately five minutes to complete.

              The polling interval configured on the Administration > System > System Tasks tab specifies the frequency of inventory collection.