Managing Blade Servers
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Managing Blade Servers

This chapter includes the following sections:

Blade Server Management

You can manage and monitor all blade servers in a Cisco UCS instance through Cisco UCS Manager. Some blade server management tasks, such as changes to the power state, can be performed from the server and service profile.

The remaining management tasks can only be performed on the server.

If a blade server slot in a chassis is empty, Cisco UCS Manager provides information, errors, and faults for that slot. You can also reacknowledge the slot to resolve server mismatch errors and to have Cisco UCS Manager rediscover the blade server in the slot.

Booting a Blade Server

Before You Begin

Associate a service profile with a blade server or server pool.


Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope org org-name  

Enters organization mode for the specified organization. To enter the root organization mode, type / as the org-name .

 
Step 2UCS-A /org # scope service-profile profile-name  

Enters organization service profile mode for the specified service profile.

 
Step 3UCS-A /org/service-profile # power up  

Boots the blade server associated with the service profile.

 
Step 4UCS-A /org/service-profile # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example boots the blade server associated with the service profile named ServProf34 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# scope org /
UCS-A /org* # scope service-profile ServProf34
UCS-A /org/service-profile* # power up
UCS-A /org/service-profile* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /org/service-profile #

Shutting Down a Blade Server

When you use this procedure to shut down a server with an installed operating system, Cisco UCS Manager triggers the OS into a graceful shutdown sequence.

Before You Begin

Associate a service profile with a blade server or server pool.


Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope org org-name  

Enters organization mode for the specified organization. To enter the root organization mode, type / as the org-name.

 
Step 2UCS-A /org # scope service-profile profile-name  

Enters organization service profile mode for the specified service profile.

 
Step 3UCS-A /org/service-profile # power down  

Shuts down the blade server associated with the service profile.

 
Step 4UCS-A /org/service-profile # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example shuts down the blade server associated with the service profile named ServProf34 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# scope org /
UCS-A /org # scope service-profile ServProf34
UCS-A /org/service-profile # power down
UCS-A /org/service-profile* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /org/service-profile #

Power Cycling a Blade Server

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope server chassis-num / server-num  

Enters chassis server mode for the specified blade server.

 
Step 2UCS-A /chassis/server # cycle {cycle-immediate | cycle-wait}  

Power cycles the blade server.

Use the cycle-immediate keyword to immediately begin power cycling the blade server; use the cycle-wait keyword to schedule the power cycle to begin after all pending management operations have completed.

 
Step 3UCS-A# commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example immediately power cycles blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A#  scope server 2/4
UCS-A /chassis/server # cycle cycle-immediate
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #

Performing a Hard Reset on a Blade Server

When you reset a server, Cisco UCS Manager sends a pulse on the reset line. You can choose to gracefully shut down the operating system. If the operating system does not support a graceful shut down, the server is power cycled. The option to have Cisco UCS Manager complete all management operations before it resets the server does not guarantee that these operations will be completed before the server is reset.

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope server chassis-num / server-num  

Enters chassis server mode for the specified server.

 
Step 2UCS-A /chassis/server # reset {hard-reset-immediate | hard-reset-wait}  

Performs a hard reset of the blade server.

Use the hard-reset-immediate keyword to immediately begin hard resetting the server; use the hard-reset-wait keyword to schedule the hard reset to begin after all pending management operations have completed.

 
Step 3UCS-A /server # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example performs an immediate hard reset of blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A#  scope server 2/4
UCS-A /chassis/server # reset hard-reset-immediate
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #

Acknowledging a Blade Server

Perform the following procedure if you need to have Cisco UCS Manager rediscover the server and all endpoints in the server. For example, you can use this procedure if a server is stuck in an unexpected state, such as the discovery state.

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# acknowledge server chassis-num / server-num  

Acknowledges the specified blade server.

 
Step 2UCS-A# commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example acknowledges server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A#  acknowledge server 2/4
UCS-A* # commit-buffer
UCS-A #

Removing a Blade Server from a Chassis

Before You Begin

Physically remove the server from its chassis before performing the following procedure.


Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# remove server chassis-num / server-num  

Removes the specified blade server.

 
Step 2UCS-A# commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example removes blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A#  remove server 2/4
UCS-A* # commit-buffer
UCS-A #
What to Do Next

If you physically re-install the blade server, you must re-acknowledge the slot to have Cisco UCS Manager rediscover the server.

For more information, see Acknowledging a Blade Server.

Decommissioning a Blade Server

This procedure decommissions a server and deletes it from the Cisco UCS configuration. The server hardware physically remains in the Cisco UCS instance. However, Cisco UCS Manager ignores it and does not list it with the other servers.

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# decommission server chassis-num / server-num  

Decommissions the specified blade server.

 
Step 2UCS-A# commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example decommissions blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# decommission server 2/4
UCS-A* # commit-buffer
UCS-A #

Turning On the Locator LED for a Blade Server

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope server chassis-num / server-num  

Enters chassis server mode for the specified chassis.

 
Step 2UCS-A /chassis/server # enable locator-led  

Turns on the blade server locator LED.

 
Step 3UCS-A /chassis/server # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example turns on the locator LED for blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# scope server 2/4
UCS-A /chassis/server # enable  locator-led
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #

Turning Off the Locator LED for a Blade Server

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope server chassis-num / server-num  

Enters chassis mode for the specified chassis.

 
Step 2UCS-A /chassis/server # disable locator-led  

Turns off the blade server locator LED.

 
Step 3UCS-A /chassis/server # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example turns off the locator LED for blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# scope chassis 2/4
UCS-A /chassis/server # disable  locator-led
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #

Resetting the CMOS for a Blade Server

On rare occasions, troubleshooting a server may require you to reset the CMOS. This procedure is not part of the normal maintenance of a server.

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope server chassis-num / server-num  

Enters chassis server mode for the specified chassis.

 
Step 2UCS-A /chassis/server # reset-cmos  

Resets the CMOS for the blade server.

 
Step 3UCS-A /chassis/server # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example resets the CMOS for blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# scope server 2/4
UCS-A /chassis/server # reset-cmos
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #

Resetting the CIMC for a Blade Server

On rare occasions, such as an issue with the current running firmware, troubleshooting a server may require you to reset the CIMC. This procedure is not part of the normal maintenance of a server. After you reset the CIMC, the server boots with the running version of the firmware for that server.

Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope server chassis-num / server-num  

Enters chassis server mode for the specified chassis.

 
Step 2UCS-A /chassis/server # scope CIMC  

Enters chassis server CIMC mode

 
Step 3UCS-A /chassis/server/CIMC # reset  

Resets the CIMC for the blade server.

 
Step 4UCS-A /chassis/server/CIMC # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

 

The following example resets the CIMC for blade server 4 in chassis 2 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# scope server 2/4
UCS-A /chassis/server # scope CIMC
UCS-A /chassis/server/cimc # reset
UCS-A /chassis/server/cimc* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server/cimc #

Recovering the Corrupt BIOS on a Blade Server

On rare occasions, an issue with a blade server may require you to recover the corrupted BIOS. This procedure is not part of the normal maintenance of a server. After you recover the BIOS, the blade server boots with the running version of the firmware for that server.

Before You Begin
Important:

Remove all attached or mapped USB storage from a server before you attempt to recover the corrupt BIOS on that server. If an external USB drive is attached or mapped from vMedia to the server, BIOS recovery fails.


Procedure
 Command or ActionPurpose
Step 1UCS-A# scope server chassis-id / server-id  

Enters chassis server mode for the specified blade server in the specified chassis.

 
Step 2UCS-A /chassis/server # recover-bios version ignorecompcheck  

Loads and activates the specified BIOS version.

To activate the firmware without making sure that it is compatible first, include the ignorecompcheck keyword. We recommend that you use this option only when explicitly directed to do so by a technical support representative.

 
Step 3UCS-A /chassis/server # commit-buffer  

Commits the transaction.

 

The following example shows how to recover the BIOS:

UCS-A# scope server 1/7
UCS-A /chassis/server # recover-bios S5500.0044.0.3.1.010620101125
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #