Technical Whitepaper Deployment and Migration of Boot from SAN Configuration using Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise version 3.3.1 Abstract This technical whitepaper illustrates deployment of the boot from SAN configurations on servers and the migration of these deployed configurations to identical servers using OpenManage Enterprise.
Revisions Date Description March 10, 2020 Initial release Acknowledgements This paper was produced by the following: Author: Sreejaya Thazhe Veedu Support: Raghu Chozhan Viswanathan (InfoDev) The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Table of contents Revisions.............................................................................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................................2 Executive summary.....................................................................................................................
Executive summary Configuring the newly added servers for a boot from SAN operation is often a repetitive and a time-consuming process in a data center. Using Dell OpenManage Enterprise, the newly added systems can be configured easily to operate in a specific SAN protocol. Dell OpenManage Enterprise optimizes this process for the following scenarios: 1. Configuration of servers to support Boot from SAN using iSCSI, FCoE or FC protocols. 2.
1 Boot from SAN operation using OpenManage Enterprise – basic requirements The following requirements must be met to configure the newly added servers for a boot from SAN operation using OpenManage Enterprise: 5 • An active OpenManage Enterprise Advanced license is needed. For more information on OpenManage Licenses, see OpenmanageEnterprise Licensing Guide. • For PowerEdge servers with iDRAC version lesser than 2.52.52.52, SMBv1 should be enabled in OpenManage Enterprise.
2 Configure boot from SAN operation using OpenManage Enterprise – overview OpenManage Enterprise provisions the configuration of servers to support boot from SAN using iSCSI, FCoE or FC protocols using the ‘stateless’ computing concepts. It applies virtual identities like virtual iSCSI MAC address, user‐defined iSCSI IQNs and iSCSI IP addresses. Similarly, in case of FCoE and FC protocols, OMEnterprise applies virtual identities such as FIP MAC address, virtual Worldwide Port Name to the target servers.
3 Configure boot from SAN with the iSCSI protocol The following steps are used to create an iSCSI SAN configuration. Step 1: Create a base system. A 'base system' is an existing server discovered in OME, which is already configured or is readied for a onetime boot from SAN configuration. The template derived from this system is treated as a 'golden' template and is used for deployment on the newly added servers. Step 2: Capture template from the base system.
To configure the iSCSI boot parameters on the base system: 1. Configure Virtualization mode as NPAR under Device Level Configuration. NPAR technology is implemented on modern Broadcom and QLogic CNAs which allows splitting a single physical NIC in to multiple NICs. Hence this configuration is vendor specific, see the documentation provided by the vendor for more details. 2. Set Boot Protocol as UEFI iSCSI HBA under NIC Configuration. 3. Enable iSCSI Offload mode under Partition 3 Configuration. 4.
6. The iSCSI target parameters contain the Target IP address, Boot LUN, iSCSI Name etc. These values are not assigned via DHCP, as the General parameters are set to static. 7. Once the Initiator and Target iSCSI parameters are configured, the base system is then available for connection with the storage target LUN. However, this configuration uses the physical identities hardwired to the NIC card and the data is prone to loss in case of failure.
3.2 Capture the base system template Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via FC In this step, a configuration template of the ‘base’ system is captured by OpenManage Enterprise. This template is used for setting up the target servers’ system configuration after the necessary identity pool and target attributes required for booting from SAN are associated.
3.3 Create an iSCSI-defined identity pool Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via iSCSI An Identity Pool provides a collection of unique attribute values such as MAC Address, IP Address, WWPN, WWNN, and so on for Ethernet, iSCSI, FC, and FCoE.
4. On the Ethernet page of the wizard, select the Include virtual Ethernet MAC Addresses check box and enter a unique Starting Virtual MAC address and the range in Number of virtual MAC Identities. Click Next. 5. On the iSCSI page, Select the Include virtual iSCSI MAC Addresses check box and enter a unique Starting Virtual MAC address and a range for Number of iSCSI MAC addresses.
3.4 Associate the iSCSI-defined identity pool with the captured base system template Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via iSCSI Identity pool association is a critical step in the ‘stateless’ deployment. In this step, the base system template is linked with the iSCSI identity pool, which would be applied to the target servers’ NIC ports during deployment.
3.5 Deploy the base system template Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via iSCSI Deploying templates is the process of applying configuration settings to remote devices. In this step the captured base system template along with the associated Identity pool is deployed on the selected identical targets.
4. The Boot to Network ISO page allows you to install the specified OS post deployment. a. Select the Share type as CIFS/ NFS. b. Provide the path to the OS image in the ISO path input box in “/OS-Images/OS-file.iso” format. c. Provide the Share IP address and Credentials that can be accessed from OM Enterprise console. Note: Providing Boot to Network ISO is optional if the Storage LUN already has an Operating System installed. 5. Click Next. On the Virtual Identities page, click on Reserve Identities.
With the completion of reserve identities, all the iSCSI supported NIC ports are intended to be auto assigned with virtual iSCSI MAC address, IQN and IP address. User can manually enter the first and second storage target array details. 6. On the Schedule page, select the option Run Now to run the deployment job immediately or select a convenient date and time to schedule the deployment.
3.6 Boot to SAN via iSCSI Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via iSCSI After a successful deployment of the base system template, the ‘initiator’ parameters from the identity pool are associated to the target server ports making them ready for an iSCSI boot from the associated ISO image. The progress of the Deployment job is displayed on the Task Execution page as shown below.
Similarly, the iSCSI target parameters such as the IP address and iSCSI Name, that had 0.0.0.0 values prior to deployment, are also successfully associated with the attribute values from identity pool assignments to be efficiently connected to the Initiator. The Host is successfully discovered in the storage array and the volume with specified LUN ID is mapped to the host. 18 Deployment and Migration of Boot from SAN Configuration using Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise version 3.3.
Server boots into the OS and the LUN is visible for installation. 19 Deployment and Migration of Boot from SAN Configuration using Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise version 3.3.
4 Configuring servers for boot from SAN with FC Protocol The following steps are used to create an FC SAN configuration. Step 1: Create a base system. A 'base system' is an existing server discovered in OME, which is already configured or is readied for a one-time boot from SAN configuration. The template derived from this system is treated as a 'golden' template and is used for deployment on the newly added servers. Step 2: Capture template from the base system.
Follow the below mentioned steps to configure the FC Boot parameters of the base system: 1. Enable the Set Boot from SAN on all the FC ports. Note: The storage target WWPN is entered, and the Fiber devices are scanned manually. However, this section will be later automated by OpenManage Enterprise in deployment process. 2. Once the FC Target parameters are provided, the base system is now available for connection with the Storage Target LUN.
4.2 Capture the base system template Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via FC A template of the base system, which is specifically designated for use as prototype for setting up system configuration, is captured in OpenManage Enterprise. Using this ‘golden’ template, OpenManage Enterprise can associate the identity pool and target attributes required for booting from SAN on the target systems.
5. Click Finish. To view the progress of created job, click the Jobs tab under Monitor. Select the respective job and click on the View Details on the right pane to view the execution history of the job. A job is created. Once the job is successfully completed, the ‘base’ system template is listed in the Deploy page (Configuration > Deploy). 4.
4. On the Fiber Channel page of the wizard, select the Include FC Identities check box and enter a unique Postfix (6 Octets) and the range for the number of WWPN/WWNN Address. Click Next. 5. Click Next and Finish to complete the identity pool creation. The Identity pool summary displays the details of the added identity attributes. 24 Deployment and Migration of Boot from SAN Configuration using Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise version 3.3.
4.4 Associate an FC-defined identity pool to the captured base system template Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via FC Identity pool association is a critical step in the ‘stateless’ deployment. In this step the base system template is linked with the FC identity pool, which would be applied to the target servers’ FC ports during deployment.
4.5 Deploy the base system template Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via FC Deploying templates is the process of applying configuration settings to remote devices. In this step, the captured base system template along with the associated Identity pool is deployed on the selected identical targets.
4. The Boot to Network ISO page allows you to install the specified OS post deployment. a. Select the Share type as CIFS/ NFS. b. Provide the path to the OS image in the ISO path input box in “/OS-Images/OS-file.iso” format. c. Provide the Share IP address and credentials that can be accessed from the OpenManage Enterprise console. Note: Providing Boot to Network ISO is optional if the Storage LUN already has an Operating System installed. 5. Click Next.
Note: The FC initiator ports are intended to be auto assigned with virtual WWPN, user should manually enter the first and second storage target array details. 6. On the Schedule page, select the option Run Now to run the deployment job immediately or select a convenient date and time to schedule the deployment. Note: After the completion of deployment job, the physical FC identities of the target server/s are replaced by the reserved virtual identities from the Identity pool.
4.6 Booting to SAN via FC Creation of a Base System Capture Template Identity Pool Creation Associate Identities Deploy Template Booting to SAN via FC Target systems are ready for an FC boot after a successful base system template deployment. When the deployment job completes the Initiator parameters (WWPNs) from the identity pool are associated to respective FC ports and the ISO image is associated for OS installation. The progress of the Deployment job can be viewed on the Task Execution page.
• The host is successfully discovered in the storage array and the volume with specified LUN ID is mapped to the host. • The LUN is visible for OS installation. Deployment and Migration of Boot from SAN Configuration using Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise version 3.3.
5 Migration of Identities in OpenManage Enterprise Migration is the process of removing the virtual identities from a failed server (source) and deploying them to an identical target server. As explained in the previous topics, the identities assigned by OpenManage Enterprise are virtual and are not physically 'tied' to a server.
3. Select an identical target server to migrate the profile. 4. Uncheck Force migration. Note: Force Migration is selected to forcefully remove the identities from the source server. When the source server is not reachable or is in a critical state, user can forcibly detach the assigned identities from the source server using this option. 5. Select the option Run Now if you wish to run the job immediately or the deployment can be scheduled. A ‘migration’ task is created.
