Cisco UCS Manager Server Management Guide, Release 4.0

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Updated:
April 10, 2020

Chapter: Server Pools

Server Pools

Configuring Server Pools

Server Pools

A server pool contains a set of servers. These servers typically share the same characteristics. Those characteristics can be their location in the chassis, or an attribute such as server type, amount of memory, local storage, type of CPU, or local drive configuration. You can manually assign a server to a server pool, or use server pool policies and server pool policy qualifications to automate the assignment.

If your system implements multitenancy through organizations, you can designate one or more server pools to be used by a specific organization. For example, a pool that includes all servers with two CPUs could be assigned to the Marketing organization, while all servers with 64 GB memory could be assigned to the Finance organization.

A server pool can include servers from any chassis in the system. A given server can belong to multiple server pools.

Creating a Server Pool

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click Servers.

Step 2

Expand Servers > Pools.

Step 3

Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the pool.

If the system does not include multitenancy, expand the root node.

Step 4

Right-click the Server Pools node and select Create Server Pool.

Step 5

On the Set Name and Description page of the Create Server Pool wizard, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Name field

The name of the server pool.

This name can be between 1 and 32 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object is saved.

Description field

A user-defined description of the server pool.

Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

Step 6

Click Next.

Step 7

On the Add Servers page of the Create Server Pool wizard:

  1. Select one or more servers from the Available Servers table.

  2. Click the >> button to add the servers to the server pool.

  3. When you have added all desired servers to the pool, click Finish.

Deleting a Server Pool

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click Servers.

Step 2

Expand Servers > Pools > Organization_Name.

Step 3

Expand the Server Pools node.

Step 4

Right-click the pool you want to delete and select Delete.

Step 5

If a confirmation dialog box displays, click Yes.

Adding Servers to a Server Pool

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click Servers.

Step 2

Expand Servers > Pools > Organization_Name.

Step 3

Right-click the pool to which you want to add one or more servers and select Add Servers to Server Pool.

Step 4

In the Add Servers to Server Pool dialog box, do the following:

  1. In the Servers table, select the servers that you want to add to the server pool.

    You can use the Shift key or Ctrl key to select multiple entries.

  2. Click the >> button to move those servers to the Pooled Servers table and add them to the server pool.

  3. Click OK.

Removing Servers from a Server Pool

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click Servers.

Step 2

Expand Servers > Pools > Organization_Name.

Step 3

Right-click the pool from which you want to remove one or more servers and select Add Servers to Server Pool.

Step 4

In the Add Servers to Server Pool dialog box, do the following:

  1. In the Pooled Servers table, select the servers that you want to remove from the server pool.

    You can use the Shift key or Ctrl key to select multiple entries.

  2. Click the << button to move those servers to the Servers table and remove them from the server pool.

  3. Click OK.

Configuring UUID Suffix Pools

UUID Suffix Pools

A UUID suffix pool is a collection of SMBIOS UUIDs that are available to be assigned to servers. The first number of digits that constitute the prefix of the UUID are fixed. The remaining digits, the UUID suffix, are variable. A UUID suffix pool ensures that these variable values are unique for each server associated with a service profile which uses that particular pool to avoid conflicts.

If you use UUID suffix pools in service profiles, you do not have to manually configure the UUID of the server associated with the service profile.

Creating a UUID Suffix Pool

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click Servers.

Step 2

Expand Servers > Pools.

Step 3

Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the pool.

If the system does not include multitenancy, expand the root node.

Step 4

Right-click UUID Suffix Pools and select Create UUID Suffix Pool.

Step 5

In the Define Name and Description page of the Create UUID Suffix Pool wizard, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Name field

The name of the UUID pool.

This name can be between 1 and 32 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object is saved.

Description field

The user-defined description of the pool.

Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

Prefix field

This can be one of the following:

  • Derived—The system creates the suffix.

  • other—You specify the desired suffix. If you select this option, Cisco UCS Manager GUI displays a text field where you can enter the desired suffix, in the format XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX.

Assignment Order field

This can be one of the following:

  • Default—Cisco UCS Manager selects a random identity from the pool.

  • Sequential—Cisco UCS Manager selects the lowest available identity from the pool.

Step 6

Click Next.

Step 7

In the Add UUID Blocks page of the Create UUID Suffix Pool wizard, click Add.

Step 8

In the Create a Block of UUID Suffixes dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name Description

From field

The first UUID in the block.

Size field

The number of UUIDs in the block.
Step 9

Click OK.

Step 10

Click Finish to complete the wizard.

What to do next

Include the UUID suffix pool in a service profile and/or template.

Deleting a UUID Suffix Pool

If you delete a pool, Cisco UCS Manager does not reallocate any addresses from that pool that were assigned to vNICs or vHBAs. All assigned addresses from a deleted pool remain with the vNIC or vHBA to which they are assigned until one of the following occurs:

  • The associated service profiles are deleted.

  • The vNIC or vHBA to which the address is assigned is deleted.

  • The vNIC or vHBA is assigned to a different pool.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click Servers.

Step 2

Expand Servers > Pools > Organization_Name.

Step 3

Expand the UUID Suffix Pools node.

Step 4

Right-click the pool you want to delete and select Delete.

Step 5

If a confirmation dialog box displays, click Yes.

Configuring IP Pools

IP Pools

IP pools are collections of IP addresses that do not have a default purpose. You can create IPv4 or IPv6 address pools in Cisco UCS Manager to do the following:

  • Replace the default management IP pool ext-mgmt for servers that have an associated service profile. Cisco UCS Manager reserves each block of IP addresses in the IP pool for external access that terminates in the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) on a server. If there is no associated service profile, you must use the ext-mgmt IP pool for the CIMC to get an IP address.

  • Replace the management inband or out-of-band IP addresses for the CIMC.


Note

You cannot create iSCSI boot IPv6 pools in Cisco UCS Manager.

You can create IPv4 address pools in Cisco UCS Manager to do the following:

  • Replace the default iSCSI boot IP pool iscsi-initiator-pool. Cisco UCS Manager reserves each block of IP addresses in the IP pool that you specify.

  • Replace both the management IP address and iSCSI boot IP addresses.


Note

The IP pool must not contain any IP addresses that were assigned as static IP addresses for a server or service profile.

Creating an IP Pool

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click LAN.

Step 2

In the LAN tab, expand LAN > Pools > Organization_Name .

Step 3

Right-click IP Pools and select Create IP Pool.

Step 4

In the Define Name and Description page of the Create IP Pool wizard, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Name field

The name of the IP address pool.

This name can be between 1 and 32 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object is saved.

Description field

The user-defined description of the IP address pool.

Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

Assignment Order field

This can be one of the following:

  • Default—Cisco UCS Manager selects a random identity from the pool.

  • Sequential—Cisco UCS Manager selects the lowest available identity from the pool.

Step 5

Click Next.

Step 6

In the Add IPv4 Blocks page of the Create IP Pool wizard, click Add.

Step 7

In the Create a Block of IPv4 Addresses dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name Description

From field

The first IPv4 address in the block.

Size field

The number of IP addresses in the pool.

Subnet Mask field

The subnet mask associated with the IPv4 addresses in the block.

Default Gateway field

The default gateway associated with the IPv4 addresses in the block.

Primary DNS field

The primary DNS server that this block of IPv4 addresses should access.

Secondary DNS field

The secondary DNS server that this block of IPv4 addresses should access.

Step 8

Step 9

Click Next.

Step 10

In the Add IPv6 Blocks page of the Create IP Pool wizard, click Add.

Step 11

In the Create a Block of IPv6 Addresses dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name Description

From field

The first IPv6 address in the block.

Size field

The number of IP addresses in the pool.

Prefix

The network address prefix associated with the IPv6 addresses in the block.

Default Gateway field

The default gateway associated with the IPv6 addresses in the block.

Primary DNS field

The primary DNS server that this block of IPv6 addresses should access.

Secondary DNS field

The secondary DNS server that this block of IPv6 addresses should access.

Step 12

Click OK.

Step 13

Click Finish to complete the wizard.

What to do next

Include the IP pool in a service profile and template.

Adding a Block to an IP Pool

You can add blocks of IPv4 or IPv6 addresses to IP pools.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click LAN.

Step 2

In the LAN tab, expand LAN > Pools > Organization_Name .

Step 3

Expand the IP Pools node.

Step 4

Right-click the desired IP pool and select one of:

  • Create Block of IPv4 Addresses
  • Create Block of IPv6 Addresses
Step 5

Complete the fields in the appropriate dialog box.

  1. In the Create a Block of IPv4 Addresses dialog box, complete the following fields:

    Name Description

    Name column

    The range of IPv4 addresses assigned to the block.

    From column

    The first IPv4 address in the block.

    To column

    The last IPv4 address in the block.

    Subnet column

    The subnet mask associated with the IPv4 addresses in the block.

    Default Gateway column

    The default gateway associated with the IPv4 addresses in the block.

    Primary DNS column

    The primary DNS server that this block of IPv4 addresses should access.

    Secondary DNS column

    The secondary DNS server that this block of IPv4 addresses should access.

  2. In the Create a Block of IPv6 Addresses dialog box, complete the following fields:

    Name Description

    Name column

    The range of IPv6 addresses assigned to the block.

    From column

    The first IPv6 address in the block.

    To column

    The last IPv6 address in the block.

    Prefix column

    The network address prefix associated with the IPv6 addresses in the block.

    Default Gateway column

    The default gateway associated with the IPv6 addresses in the block.

    Primary DNS column

    The primary DNS server that this block of IPv6 addresses should access.

    Secondary DNS column

    The secondary DNS server that this block of IPv6 addresses should access.

Step 6

Click OK.

Deleting a Block from an IP Pool

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click LAN.

Step 2

In the LAN tab, expand LAN > Pools > Root .

Step 3

Expand the IP Pools node.

Step 4

Expand the pool for which you want to delete a block of IP addresses.
Step 5

Right-click the IP address block that you want to delete and select Delete.

Step 6

If a confirmation dialog box displays, click Yes.

Deleting an IP Pool

If you delete a pool, Cisco UCS Manager does not reallocate any addresses from that pool that were assigned to vNICs or vHBAs. All assigned addresses from a deleted pool remain with the vNIC or vHBA to which they are assigned until one of the following occurs:

  • The associated service profiles are deleted.

  • The vNIC or vHBA to which the address is assigned is deleted.

  • The vNIC or vHBA is assigned to a different pool.

Procedure

Step 1

In the Navigation pane, click LAN.

Step 2

In the LAN tab, expand LAN > Pools > Organization_Name .

Step 3

Expand the IP Pools node.

Step 4

Right-click the IP pool you want to delete and select Delete.

Note 

You cannot delete the default pools ext-mgmt and iscsi-initiator-pool.

Step 5

If a confirmation dialog box displays, click Yes.

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