This white paper describes the detailed capabilities f the Chassis Management Cntrller s Blade BIOS Prfile Clning feature. Authr Crey Farrar
This dcument is fr infrmatinal purpses nly and may cntain typgraphical errrs and technical inaccuracies. The cntent is prvided as is, withut express r implied warranties f any kind. 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell and its affiliates cannt be respnsible fr errrs r missins in typgraphy r phtgraphy. Dell, the Dell lg, and PwerEdge are trademarks f Dell Inc. Intel and Xen are registered trademarks f Intel Crpratin in the U.S. and ther cuntries. Micrsft, Windws, and Windws Server are either trademarks r registered trademarks f Micrsft Crpratin in the United States and/r ther cuntries. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this dcument t refer t either the entities claiming the marks and names r their prducts. Dell disclaims prprietary interest in the marks and names f thers. August 2012 Rev 1.0 ii
Cntents Executive summary... 4 Intrductin... 4 Setup and Minimum System Requirements... 4 Navigating the GUI... 5 Adding a Prfile... 6 Managing BIOS Prfiles... 7 Applying BIOS Prfiles... 7 Prfile lgs and Lifecycle jb... 8 Cnclusin r Summary... 9 Figures Figure 1. Main BIOS Prfiles Page... 5 Figure 2. Add BIOS Prfile Page... 6 Figure 3. Manage BIOS Prfile Page... 7 Figure 4. Apply BIOS Prfile... 8 Figure 5. Recent Prfile Lg... 8 Figure 6. Lifecycle Cntrller Jbs Page... 9 iii
Executive summary This paper prvides infrmatin fr administratrs n the new Chassis Management Cntrller Blade BIOS clning feature. This capability prvides a faster and easier way t deply r change BIOS settings while keeping the settings cnsistent acrss multiple blades. Intrductin The CMC Blade BIOS prfile clning feature allws the user t apply all clneable BIOS settings frm a specified blade t ne r mre blades. Clneable BIOS settings are thse BIOS settings that can be mdified and are intended t be replicated acrss servers. The Blade BIOS clning feature is perfrmed nly frm the CMC GUI interface. This dcument cvers: Setup and Minimum System requirements Adding a prfile Managing prfiles Applying prfiles Lifecycle jb and lgs The CMC uses WSMAN cmmands t cmmunicate with the Lifecycle Cntrller n each blade in rder t retrieve r push the BIOS settings. The user selects ne blade, with its BIOS settings already cnfigured, t create a prfile that is stred n the CMC s Extended Strage card. This prfile can then be pushed t ther blades t change their BIOS settings. Setup and Minimum System Requirements CMC CMC FW 4.0 Extended Strage media installed and cnfigured Chassis Cnfiguratin Administratr Privilege t Add, Mdify, Delete, r Apply Prfiles Server Administratr Privilege t view BIOS settings frm a blade r saved prfile 11G Blades idrac6 FW 3.2 Lifecycle Cntrller 1.5 Cllect System Inventry On Rebt enabled 12G Blades idrac 7 FW 1.0.0 Lifecycle Cntrller 2 1.0.0 Cllect System Inventry On Rebt enabled 4
Navigating the GUI T access the BIOS prfile page navigate t Server Overview -> Setup -> Prfiles. This page is the central GUI page that allws yu t view current BIOS settings, apply and manage prfiles, and view prfile lgs. If a blade des nt supprt Lifecycle Cntrller then that blade is shwn but grayed ut. Figure 1. Main BIOS Prfiles Page 5
Adding a Prfile A prerequisite step befre creating the BIOS prfile is cnfiguring the BIOS n a blade that yu want t replicate t the ther blades. T accmplish this step, rebt the surce blade, enter the BIOS setup (F2 during POST), and cnfigure the BIOS settings t yur desired settings. Save the settings and allw the blade t rebt s that a new system inventry can be taken by the Lifecycle Cntrller. Frm the main BIOS Prfile page, click n the link labeled Add Prfile under the Optins f the Apply Prfile sectin, which takes yu t the screen sht shwn in Figure 2. Frm here yu can create the BIOS Prfile(s). The Prfile Name field is a shrt, unique, meaningful name fr the prfile. Yu can edit the name (maximum f 32 characters) any time in the future. The Descriptin field is an ptinal field with a maximum character limit f 132. Yu can als edit this field any time in the future. Clicking n the View link will shw the current values set n the crrespnding blade. Selecting the radi buttn frm the surce blade and clicking Save will save the current BIOS settings t the CMC extended strage media. Yu can save up t 16 BIOS prfiles. Figure 2. Add BIOS Prfile Page 6
Managing BIOS Prfiles Frm the main BIOS Prfile page, click n the link labeled Manage Prfile under the Optins f the Apply Prfile sectin, which takes yu t the screen sht shwn in Figure 3. Frm here yu can manage the BIOS Prfile(s). Yu can edit the name r descriptin f the prfile and yu can view what the saved BIOS settings are fr the prfile and yu can delete the prfile. Figure 3. Manage BIOS Prfile Page Applying BIOS Prfiles Frm the main BIOS Prfile page, yu can apply BIOS prfiles t the target blade(s) as shwn in figure 4. T apply a prfile, first select the desired prfile in the Prfile drp-dwn bx. Next, check the bx next t the blades that yu want t apply the prfile and then click n the Apply buttn. If the server is pwered ff, when a prfile is applied, it autmatically pwers up; therwise, if it is already pwered up, it rebts autmatically t start the Lifcycle Cntrller Jb. The blade bts int the Lifecycle Cntrller and execute the Cnfig BIOS jb. Once the jb is cmplete, the blade rebts with the newly set BIOS cnfiguratins. Yu need the blade t cmplete the Lifecycle Cntrller inventry cllectin during rebt in rder fr the new BIOS settings t be visible by external applicatins. When a prfile is created frm the surce blade, all readable BIOS settings are cllected and stred in the prfile. When yu apply the prfile, nt all f these settings are writeable t the target blade because f supprt fr all f the varius mdels and generatins f blades and varius versins f BIOS and Lifecycle Cntrller. The Prfile lg (figure 5) demnstrates hw many settings were writeable ut f the number f settings in the prfile. 7
Figure 4. Apply BIOS Prfile Prfile lgs and Lifecycle jb On the Main BIOS Prfile page yu can view the prfile lg sectin. This sectin describes when prfiles are created, edited, deleted, applied t blades, and any errrs that ccur during the apply prcess. The Recent Prfile Lg displays the last 10 entries as shwn in Figure 5. Yu can expand the listing t view the previus 100 entries. Clearing the CMC lg als clears the Prfile Lg. Figure 5. Recent Prfile Lg 8
The Lifecycle Cntrller Jb Page shws the status f the Rebt and BIOS Cnfig jbs fr each target blade (Figure 6). The Rebt jb is fr the first rebt t enter Lifecycle Cntrller t begin the BIOS cnfiguratin. The Cnfig.BIOS.BIOS.Setup.1-1 is the FQDD (Fully Qualified Device Descriptr) name fr the jb that cnfigures the BIOS. A manual refresh is required t get the latest status because this page des nt refresh autmatically. Figure 6. Lifecycle Cntrller Jbs Page Cnclusin r Summary This dcument prvides infrmatin n (A) the minimum requirements n bth the CMC and blade and (B) hw t Add, Delete, Mdify, and Apply Prfiles t multiple blades at nce. Cmpleting these prcesses in ne central lcatin enables yu t be mre prductive and efficient. 9