Network Services Tasks

This chapter contains the following sections:

Add Account

Summary
Description
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Account Name Enter the name of the bare metal agent account gen_​text_​input Y
Description Enter the description of the bare metal agent account
Bare Metal Agent uses different interfaces for management and PXE traffic Check if the bare metal agent uses different network interfaces for management and PXE traffic
Management Address Enter the management network IP address for the bare metal agent gen_​text_​input Y
PXE Interface Address Enter the PXE network IP address for the bare metal agent Y
Login ID Enter the user name for the bare metal agent gen_​text_​input Y
Password Enter the password for the bare metal agent password Y
Enable Samba service for Windows PXE Samba service is used for Windows PXE boot.​ Check if you want to use bare metal agent for Windows installation.​
Samba Password Enter the password for the Samba service password
Confirm Samba Password Confirm the password for the Samba service password
Location Enter the location of the bare metal agent, such as a physical location
Set As Default Bare Metal Agent Check if the bare metal agent needs to be set as the default BMA
Start Bare Metal Agent services after adding Account Check if you want to start bare metal agent services after adding the account
Database Address Choose the IP address of the inventory database node if you are configuring the bare metal agent for the Cisco UCS Director multi-node deployment UCSDIPAddress​List Y
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​BMA_​ID BMA ID that was created while adding BMA Account bare_​metal_​agent

BMA OS Image Provision

Summary
Provision OS image item in BMA.
Description
This task allows you to provision the OS image item in Bare Metal Agent. The OS image avaialble in the OS image repository of the selected Bare Metal Agent can be provisioned. Upon successful image provisioning, the image template files, such as the PXE configuration and kick start files, are available in the Bare Metal Agent. The provisioned image, configuration files can be used to PXE boot the bare metal.
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Select BMA Account Choose the bare metal agent account to provision the OS image bare_​metal_​agent Y
OS Image Name Choose the OS image from the uploaded OS images list.​ OS image is used to provision the catalog.​ gen_​text_​input Y
OS Type Choose the OS type of the image selected bma​Provision​Os​Type​List​Provider Y
Catalog Name Enter the catalog name to be used for the current provisioned image gen_​text_​input Y
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​BMA_​ID BMA ID that was created while adding BMA Account bare_​metal_​agent
OUTPUT_​OS_​IMAGE_​PATH OS Image Path in BMA's OS image repository bare_​metal_​agent
OUTPUT_​OS_​CATALOG_​NAME Catalog name as provistion in BMA.​ gen_​text_​input

BMA OS Image Upload

Summary
Upload OS image to BMA.
Description
This task allows you to upload the OS image to Bare Metal Agent. OS image can be uploaded to the Bare Metal Agent from a local file or from a webserver location. Upon successful image upload, the image is available for provisioning. If the image file with the same image name and OS type already exists or if the connection to web server is not accessible, the image upload fails.
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Select BMA Account Choose the bare metal agent account bare_​metal_​agent Y
OS Image Label Enter the name of the OS image gen_​text_​input Y
OS Type Choose the OS type of the image bma​Os​Type​List​Provider Y
OS Image Upload Type Choose the type of upload from the options.​ For example: DESKTOP FILE / WEB SERVER PATH.​ Use the desktop file option to upload the file from the local disk.​ Use the webserver path option to specify the web server path where the ISO images are stored.​ gen_​text_​input
HTTP/HTTP(s) URL Enter the HTTP or HTTPS URL of the OS image if the upload type is WEB SERVER PATH.​ For example: http://centos.​mirror.​net.​in/centos/7/isos/x86 64/Cent​OS-7-xyz.​iso.​ gen_​text_​input
Local File Localtion Local file Location of the OS Image gen_​text_​input
Checksum(MD5) Checksum of the file to be checked.​ MD5 checksum.​ gen_​text_​input
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​BMA_​ID BMA ID that was created while adding BMA Account bare_​metal_​agent
OUTPUT_​OS_​IMAGE_​PATH OS Image Path in BMA's OS image repository bare_​metal_​agent

Configure DHCP

Summary
Description
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Select BMA Account Choose the bare metal agent to the configure DHCP service bare_​metal_​agent Y
DHCP Subnet Enter the DHCP subnet in IPv4 address format to configure the DHCP.​ For example: 192.​168.​1.​0 Y
DHCP Netmask Enter the DHCP net mask.​ For example: 255.​255.​255.​0 Y
DHCP Start IP Enter the DHCP start IP address range in IPv4 address format.​ For example: 192.​168.​1.​2 Y
DHCP End IP Enter the DHCP end IP address range in IPv4 address format.​ For example: 192.​168.​1.​252 Y
Router IP Address Enter the router IP address in IPv4 address format.​ For example: 192.​168.​1.​1
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​BMA_​ID BMA ID that was created while adding BMA Account bare_​metal_​agent

Configure Interface

Summary
Description
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Select Bare Metal Agent Account Choose the bare metal agent account to configure the network interface bare_​metal_​agent Y
Interface Name Enter the network interface name Y
IP Address Enter the network interface IP address in IPv4 address format Y
Subnet Mask Enter the network interface subnet mask Y
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​BMA_​ID BMA ID that was created while adding BMA Account bare_​metal_​agent

DNS name to IP Resolver

Summary
Resolve a DNS name to an IP Address.
Description
This task queries the DNS server for the IP address of a given domain name. The task caches the resolved IP. By default, to protect against DNS spoofing attacks, the cache never refreshes. If the IP address is changed on the DNS server, the task provides the old (now incorrect) IP. The task can be forced to refresh the cache by configuring the cache time. The cache time is configured by setting a property in the Java security properties file. Warning: Changing Java security properties has serious security implications. Do not change this property unless you are sure that your network is safe from DNS spoofing attacks. To change the property:
  1. In the /opt/bin/jre/lib/security/java.security file, find the property networkaddress.cache.ttl.
  2. Uncomment the line that sets the networkaddress.cache.ttl property.
  3. Set networkaddress.cache.ttl to the number of seconds to cache an address for. A value of 60 to 600 or higher is recommended.
  4. Restart UCSD services.
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
DNS Name Enter the DNS name gen_​text_​input Y
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​HOST_​DNS_​NAME Host DNS Name gen_​text_​input
OUTPUT_​HOST_​IP_​ADDRESS Host IP Address resolved by the Setup PXE task.​ gen_​text_​input

IP Address to DNS name Resolver

Summary
Resolve an IP Address to a DNS name.
Description
This task queries the DNS server for the domain name of a specified IP address.
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
IP Address Enter the IP address in IPv4 address format gen_​text_​input Y
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​HOST_​DNS_​NAME Host DNS Name gen_​text_​input
OUTPUT_​HOST_​IP_​ADDRESS Host IP Address resolved by the Setup PXE task.​ gen_​text_​input

Monitor PXE Boot

Summary
Description
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
PXE Request ID Enter the PXE request ID to be monitored for completion gen_​text_​input Y
Max Wait time (Hours) Choose the maximum wait time in hours Y
Outputs
No Outputs

Remove PXE Boot Setup

Summary
Remove a PXE boot setup.
Description
This task releases the setup used for PXE Boot for a selected PXE boot ID.
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
PXE Boot Id Enter the PXE Boot ID gen_​text_​input Y
Clean this IP Address in All other PXE Requests Check this option to clean up the IP Address used in this PXE request from all other PXE requests Boolean
Outputs
No Outputs

Service Status

Summary
Description
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Select Bare Metal Agent Account Choose the bare metal agent account bare_​metal_​agent Y
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​BMA_​ID BMA ID that was created while adding BMA Account bare_​metal_​agent

Setup PXE Boot

Summary
Set up PXE boot request parameters.
Description
This task specifies PXE boot request parameters such as OS Type, Host Name, Server IP Address Range, MAC Address, NetMask, Gateway, Name Server, Password, and Time Zone. Output of this task is the PXE Request ID.
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Network Boot Manager Choose the network boot manager Network​Boot​Manager​List
OS Type Choose the OS to be installed gen_​text_​input Y
Server MAC Address Enter the MAC addresses of the server as a comma-separated list of MAC addresses gen_​text_​input Y
IP configuration type Choose the type of IP configuration.​ For example: Static or DHCP.​ IPConfig​Type
Server Address Enter the IP address range of the server.​ For example: 192.​168.​0.​1-192.​168.​0.​255,192.​168.​1.​20 gen_​text_​input Y
Server Net Mask Enter the server net mask gen_​text_​input Y
Server Host Name Enter the server hostname gen_​text_​input Y
Server Gateway Enter the server gateway gen_​text_​input Y
Server Name Server Enter the name server gen_​text_​input
Management VLAN Enter the management VLAN gen_​text_​input
Root Password Enter the root password password Y
Timezone Choose the time zone gen_​text_​input Y
Additional Parameters Enter additional parameters to customize the answer files.​ The Additional Parameters table takes the key-value pair of each additional parameter.​
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​PXE_​BOOT_​ID PXE Boot ID that was created for setup pxe boot request gen_​text_​input
OUTPUT_​HOST_​IP_​ADDRESS Host IP Address resolved by the Setup PXE task.​ gen_​text_​input

Setup PXE Boot With BMA Selection

Summary
Description
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Network Boot Manager Choose the network boot manager Network​Boot​Manager​List
Target BMA Choose the bare metal agent account gen_​text_​input
OS Type Choose the OS to be installed gen_​text_​input Y
Server MAC Address Enter the MAC addresses of the server as a comma-separated list of MAC address gen_​text_​input Y
IP configuration type Choose the type of IP configuration.​ For example: Static or DHCP.​ IPConfig​Type
Server Address Enter the IP address range of the server.​ For example: 192.​168.​0.​1-192.​168.​0.​255,192.​168.​1.​20.​ gen_​text_​input Y
Server Net Mask Enter the server net mask gen_​text_​input Y
Server Host Name Enter the server hostname gen_​text_​input Y
Server Gateway Enter the server gateway gen_​text_​input Y
Server Name Server Enter the name server gen_​text_​input
Management VLAN Enter the management VLAN gen_​text_​input
Root Password Enter the root password password Y
Timezone Choose the time zone gen_​text_​input Y
Additional Parameters Enter additional parameters to customize the answer files.​ The Additional Parameters table takes the key-value pair of each additional parameter.​
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​PXE_​BOOT_​ID PXE Boot ID that was created for setup pxe boot request gen_​text_​input
OUTPUT_​HOST_​IP_​ADDRESS Host IP Address resolved by the Setup PXE task.​ gen_​text_​input

Setup PXE Boot for Virtual SAN

Summary
Setup PXE Boot for Virtual SAN.
Description
This task allows you to Setup PXE Boot for Virtual SAN.
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Network Boot Manager Choose the network boot manager Network​Boot​Manager​List
Target BMA Choose the bare metal agent account BMA
OS Type Choose the OS to be installed OSType Y
Server MAC Address Enter the MAC addresses of the server as a comma separated list of MAC addresses gen_​text_​input Y
IP configuration type Choose the type of IP configuration.​ For example: Static or DHCP.​ IPConfig​Type
Server Address Enter the IP address range of the server.​ For example: 192.​168.​0.​1-192.​168.​0.​255,192.​168.​1.​20.​ gen_​text_​input Y
Server Net Mask Enter the server net mask gen_​text_​input Y
Server Host Name Enter the server hostname gen_​text_​input Y
Server Gateway Enter the server gateway gen_​text_​input Y
Server Name Server Enter the name server gen_​text_​input
Management VLAN Enter the management VLAN gen_​text_​input
Root Password Enter the root password password Y
Timezone Choose the time zone Timezone Y
Additional Parameters Enter additional parameters to customize the answer files.​ The Additional Parameters table takes the key-value pair of each additional parameter.​
ESXi Boot Order Choose the ESXi boot order ESXi​Boot​Order
Server Model Enter the server model gen_​text_​input
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​PXE_​BOOT_​ID PXE Boot ID that was created for setup pxe boot request gen_​text_​input
OUTPUT_​HOST_​IP_​ADDRESS Host IP Address resolved by the Setup PXE task.​ gen_​text_​input

Setup Windows PXE Boot

Summary
Description
Inputs
Input Description Mappable To Type Mandatory
Network Boot Manager Choose the network boot manager Network​Boot​Manager​List
Target BMA Choose the bare metal agent account gen_​text_​input
OS Type Choose the OS to be installed gen_​text_​input Y
Server MAC Address Enter the MAC addresses of the server as a comma separated list of MAC addresses gen_​text_​input Y
OS Flavor Name Enter the OS flavor name gen_​text_​input Y
Organization Name Enter the organization name gen_​text_​input Y
Product Key Choose the product key for Windows baremetal_​windows_​license_​pool Y
Host Name Enter the server host name gen_​text_​input Y
Administrator Password Enter the administrator password gen_​text_​input Y
Confirm Password Enter the administrator password for confirmation gen_​text_​input Y
IP configuration type Choose the type of IP configuration.​ For example: Static or DHCP.​ IPConfig​Type
Server Address Enter the IP address range of the server.​ For example: 192.​168.​0.​1-192.​168.​0.​255,192.​168.​1.​20.​ gen_​text_​input
Server Net Mask Enter the server net mask gen_​text_​input
Server Gateway Enter the server gateway gen_​text_​input
Server Name Server Enter the name server gen_​text_​input
Timezone Choose the time zone gen_​text_​input Y
Disk Partition Size (GB) Enter the disk partition size in GB gen_​text_​input Y
Additional Parameters Enter additional parameters to customize the answer files.​ The Additional Parameters table takes the key-value pair of each additional parameter.​
Outputs
Output Description Type
OUTPUT_​PXE_​BOOT_​ID PXE Boot ID that was created for setup pxe boot request gen_​text_​input
OUTPUT_​HOST_​IP_​ADDRESS Host IP Address resolved by the Setup PXE task.​ gen_​text_​input