HP Insight Control Server Provisioning 7.3 Update 1 Build Plans Reference Guide

Summary

Insight Control (IC) server provisioning provides OS Build Plans, scripts, packages, and configuration files that are used

to deploy operating systems, configure hardware, and update firmware.

OS build plans are the way tasks get done in IC server provisioning. These are the items you actually run to cause actions

like installing a server or updating firmware to happen. OS build plans are simply a collection of ordered steps and

parameters associated with those steps that when placed together, in the proper order, can perform just about any

action you require. IC server provisioning comes ready to run, with sample build plans and build plan steps that are

designed to work right out of the box. These sample build plans are very important, because they demonstrate the steps

needed to perform the most common deployment related operations. Although you can create your own build plans

from scratch, it is expected that most users will start with one of the provided samples and modify it to perform the

functions they need.

This document provides detailed information on:

 the architecture of OS Build Plans,

 what OS Build Plans, scripts, packages, and configuration files are available in the appliance library,

 how to use the scripts parameters, and

 best practices when using these objects.

This technical white paper presumes that the reader is familiar with IC server provisioning. For IC server provisioning

installation information, refer to HP Insight Control Server Provisioning Installation Guide. IC server provisioning

documentation can be found at www.hp.com/go/insightcontrol/docs.

OS Build Plans

Although build plans are referred to as OS Build Plans, they do much more than operating system deployment. For

example, build plans can also be used to:

 Configure a target server’s hardware.

 Capture a target server’s hardware configuration, so that the same configuration can later be applied to other

servers.

 Update the firmware on a target server.

 Install software on a target server with a running operating system.

 Add scripts to perform additional tasks on the target server after it has been installed.

Since build plans are simply ordered steps, just about anything that can be done by a script, can be done in a build plan.

IC server provisioning provides four types of sample build plans:

ProLiant Hardware

Build plans labeled with ProLiant HW perform hardware-related functions on target servers such as booting the target

server to the proper service OS, or capturing or configuring hardware settings.

ProLiant Operating System

Build plans labeled with ProLiant OS deploy an operating system to target servers either via scripted or image

installation.

ProLiant Software

Build plans labeled with ProLiant SW perform functions on target servers to update the firmware or install/update

software on target servers running a production operating system.

ProLiant Combination

Beginning with IC server provisioning release 7.2.2, build plans labeled with ProLiant COMBO perform a combination of

functions on target servers, such as hardware-related configurations, deploying an operating system, and installing

software.