CISCO UCS Installation and

Configuration
Table of Content
1. Configuring Fabric Interconnect
2. Configure server ports to discover Chassis and Blades
3. Configure LAN Uplink ports
4. Configuring uplink ports in port channel
5. Configure FC ports through Configuring Unified Ports
6. Create Pools (5 types) UUID, IP, WWPN, WWNN and MAC
7. Create Boot Policy and Local Disk Policy
8. Create Service Profiles
9. Assign Service Profiles to Cisco UCS blades
10. Power On each UCS blade and mount ISO image
11. Downloading Cisco UCS VIC Drivers
12. Installing Cisco UCS VIC Drivers
a) Installing Windows Drivers during OS Install
b) Installing Windows Drivers After OS Installation
c) Updating Existing Windows Drivers
d) Driver installation procedure Redhat and SuSE Linux
13. Call Logging Procedure
14. Priority and Escalation matrix
15. Device Serial Nos installed in NDCSP
16. Blade Servers WWNs and Management IP details
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Configuring Fabric Interconnect

1. Connect the Laptop to the Console interface of Fabric Interconnect A with the
Cisco Serial cable.
2. Power-On Fabric Interconnect A.
3. Wait for the boot sequence of Fabric Interconnect A to complete, you will know
the console connection is OK because boot messages will appear in the terminal
software window.
4. You are ready to begin when, Enter the configuration method. (console or gui)
? appears. Enter console.
5. You have chosen to setup a new Fabric interconnect. Continue? (y/n):
appears. Enter y.
6. Enforce strong password? (y/n) appears. Enter y.
7. Enter and confirm the admin password.
8. Is this Fabric interconnect part of a cluster (select no for standalone)?
(yes/no) appears. Enter yes.
9. Enter the switch fabric (A/B) appears. Enter A.
10. Enter the system name: appears. Enter Desired Host Name.
11. Physical Switch Mgmt0 IPv4 address: appears. Enter IP Address.
12. Physical Switch Mgmt0 IPv4 netmask: appears. Enter Subnet Mask.
13. IPv4 address of the default gateway: appears. Enter Gateway.
14. Cluster IPv4 address: appears. Enter IP Address.

Note : Points from 15 to 18 are optional and can be configured as per

requirement.

15. Configure the DNS Server IPv4 address (yes/no): appears.

16. DNS Server IPv4 address: appears.
17. Configure the default domain name? (yes/no): appears.
18. Default domain name?: appears.
19. Following configurations will be applied: appears with all of the settings from
steps 9 to 18.
20. Apply and save the configuration(select no if you want to re-enter)?
(yes/no): appears. Enter yes. Fabric Interconnect A will then apply the
configuration and present a login prompt FI HOST NAME-A login:.
21. Connect the Laptop to the Console interface of Fabric Interconnect B with the
Cisco Serial cable.
22. Power-On Fabric Interconnect B.

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23. Wait for the boot sequence of Fabric Interconnect B to complete, you will know
the console connection is OK because boot messages will appear in the terminal
software window.
24. You are ready to begin when, Enter the configuration method. (console or gui)
? appears. Enter console.
25. Installer has detected the presence of a peer Fabric interconnect. This Fabric
interconnect will be added to the cluster. Continue (y/n)? appears. Enter y.
This is detection is through the HA cabling.
26. Enter the admin password for the peer Fabric interconnect: appears. Enter
the admin password set at step 7.
27. Connecting to peer Fabric interconnect done appears.
28. Retrieving config from peer Fabric interconnect done appears.
29. Physical Switch Mgmt0 IPv4 address: appears. Enter IP Address.
30. Apply and save the configuration(select no if you want to re-enter)?
(yes/no): appears. Enter yes. Fabric Interconnect B will then apply the
configuration and present a login prompt UCSFAB-B login:. Login with the
admin account to the prompt UCSFAB-B#. Configuration OK.
31. Disconnect the Laptop and serial cable, you do not need it anymore.
32. Make sure you can ping IP Address of both the FIs along with Cluster IP.
33. From this PC open a Java-enabled Browser and enter the URL http://Cluster IP
Address; and connect.

From the Browser click the button Launch UCS Manager and accept any Java security
warnings. The Java plugin should download and open automatically with a login
prompt. Enter the admin credentials configured in step 7. You should be presented
with the UCS Manager Interface. The system is now ready for policy configuration.

FI Host Name and IP Configuration Details

Devices in Row 6 Rack 11:

FI-07-WH-P1R6R1n2-A - 10.249.67.14
FI-07-WH-P1R6R1n2-B - 10.249.67.15
Cluster IP - 10.249.67.16

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UCS Manager Interface

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Configure server ports to discover Chassis and Blades (from
Fabric Interconnects to Chassis FEX IO Modules)
1. Log in to the UCSM using web browser after the UCS 5108 chassis is connected
to the fabric interconnects.
2. Go to the Primary Fabric interconnect and under Fixed Module, click on the ports
connected to fabric A (under Unconfirmed ports) and click Configure as Server
Port.
3. Do the same step for the Subordinate Fabric Interconnect as under Fixed Module,
click on the ports connected to fabric B (under Un configured ports) and click
Configure as Server Port.

4. With the Server Ports being configured, the UCS Chassis will be discovered and appear
in the UCS Manager. Each Server will have to be Acknowledged, just browse to each
chassis and select each server highlighted in RED and click the Acknowledge button.

Note : We have connected 10Gbps link from each IOM of each Chassis to respective FIs
and configured first 8 ports on Fixed Module as server port on each FI to discover all
the 4 chassis.

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Configure LAN Uplink ports (from Fabric Interconnects to
Upstream Switch)

1. Log in to the UCSM using web browser after the UCS 5108 chassis is connected
to the fabric interconnects.
2. Select the Equipment tab and expand the Equipment tree to Fabric Interconnects.
3. Select Fabric Interconnect A and check that the Status Ethernet Mode and FC
Mode are End Host. If either is set to Switch Mode, simply select the Set Ethernet
End-Host Mode or Set FC End-Host Mode links.
4. Check that Server, LAN SFP+ modules appear in the Ethernet ports list.
5. Right mouse click on each port and select Configure as Uplink Port for connections to
the LAN core.

6. Do the same for Fabric Interconnect B as we did for Primary FI to enable LAN UPLINK
Ports.

Note : UPLINK ports are configured on Fixed Module of each FI as 23, 24, 25 and 26 in VPC.

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Configuring uplink ports in port channel

1. Log in to the UCSM using web browser after the UCS 5108 chassis is connected
to the fabric interconnects.
2. Once the LAN Uplink Ports are enabled, launch the LAN Uplinks Manager and select
the Create Port Channel button to configure Port Channel to the Core LAN Switches.
Refer to Screenshot below. Each Port Channel configuration will have a total of 2 (1+1),
4 (2+2) or 8 (4+4) uplinks from Fabric Interconnect A and Fabric Interconnect B.

3. Now, we will have a UCS Manager screen with Green activated, error free links
from the Fabric Interconnect to the LAN Core and UCS Chassis FEX modules.

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Configure FC ports through Configuring Unified Ports (from
Fabric Interconnects to SAN Switches)

1. Log in to the UCSM using web browser after the UCS 5108 chassis is connected
to the fabric interconnects.
2. Unified Ports, or UP, gives the ability to configure any of the 32 fixed ports or 16 ports
on the expansion module as either 1G, 10G Ethernet or 4G, 8G Fiber Channel. All that it
is required is that you have the correct SFP needed for the specific port type.
3. Here is a screen shot with the Configure Unified Ports action highlighted.

4. When you click the Configure Unified Ports action this message pops up

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5. When you click yes the Configure Unified Ports window appears.

6. The window has 2 buttons at the bottom for configuring the 32 fixed ports and another
for configuring the 16 expansion ports.
7. By default the slider is in the right most position. In this position all of the ports are in
the Unconfirmed Ethernet mode.
8. In my environment I wanted ports 29-32 on the fixed module to be FC and the rest to be
Ethernet.
9. To accomplish this I went to the fixed module page and dragged the slider to the left.

Note : Ports 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 on each FI is configured as FC UPLINK for SAN
connectivity.

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We have configured each SAN port on FI-A in VSAN 10 , FCOE VLAN 3701 whereas on FI-B
VSAN 20 , FCOE VLAN 3702.

FI-A

FI-B

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Create Pools (5 types) UUID, IP, WWPN, WWNN and MAC

Creating UUID Pool

1. In the Pools section of the Server tab, select the UUID Suffix Pools object, right
mouse click and select Create a Block of UUID Suffixes
2. Name the UUID Pool and click on Add to add the UUIDs to the named Pool.

3. Create a Pool as per requirement and click on OK.

Creating IP Pool for Blade KVM Requirement

1. Navigate to Server Tab and to Management IP Pool (ext - Mgmt)

2. Right Click on Pool and add Click on create Block of IP Addresses.

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3. Add the assigned IP addresses and Gateway address and click OK

Note: Pools Created for Out Band Management:- 10.249.67.64 10.249.67.111

Creating WWNN Pool

1. Choose the SAN tab in navigation pane

2. Right click WWNN Pool and click choose create WWNN Pool
3. UCS Manager doesnt populate any of the WWN field. However it only accept the values
in accordance with WWN standards. So, create a pool of WWNs.

Creating WWPN Pool

1. Choose the SAN tab in navigation pane

2. Right click WWPN Pool and click choose create WWPN Pool
3. UCS Manager doesnt populate any of the WWPN field. However it only accept the
values in accordance with WWPN standards. So, create 2 different pools of WWPNs for
HBA1 and HBA2.

Creating MAC Pool

1. Choose the LAN tab in navigation pane

2. Right click on MAC Pool and click choose create new MAC Pools
3. Create 2 different MAC Pools for NIC1 and NIC2.

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Creating Policies (Boot Policy and Local Disk Policy)

1. Choose Servers Tab in navigation pane and select Boot Policy

2. Right click and select create new Boot Policy
3. Name the Boot policy and add the required boot order e.g. CD-ROM / Local HDD / SAN
4. Now, select the Local Disk Policy and right click to create a new policy
5. Name the Policy and select the RAID level from drop down menu.
6. Once done, click on Finish to complete the wizard.

Create Service Profiles

1 From the server tab in the navigation tab, select the organization for which a new
service profile will be created.
2 In the content pane, click the link for create service profile (Expert).
3 Name the service profile and optionally provide a description. Also select the UUID
POOL to assign a management IP to the service profile.

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4 Click next and select the WWNN Pool to assign WWNN no to the service profile.

5 Click the add button to create the first HBA.

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6 Create vHBA for Fabric A and define the configuration parameters for Fabric A

7 Create vHBA for Fabric A and define the configuration parameters for Fabric A

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8 Click Next and switch to Expert view for Networking to configure vNICs

9 Click the ADD button to open the dialog box and define a new network card

10 Define Properties of vNIC for Fabric A

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11 Define Properties of vNIC for Fabric B

12 For "vNIC/vHBA Placement" setting, use "Let System Perform Placement".

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13 Click Next and Define the Boot Order.

14 Click Next to assign the service profile to an existing blade or we can choose to assign
the same later.

15 Click on Finish to complete the service profile creation wizard.

Note : We have configured 5 vNICs and 2 vHBAs in each Service Profile.

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Assign Service Profiles to Cisco UCS blades
1. Navigate to Equipment tab and select the chassis Blade
2. In the content menu, select the service profile to be mapped with the server.

3. In FSM tab, we can see the progress and wait till it get complete 100%

Power On blade server and mount ISO image

1. Select the server and click on power on from the content Menu
2. In the Service Profile section of the Server tab, select each unique Service Profile,
right mouse click and select KVM Console. The KVM Console for that Service
Profile will now open, accept any Java security warnings that appear.

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3. In the KVM Console window, select the Virtual Media tab, click on activate virtual
device and then the MAP CD/DVD button

4. Browse the ISO image

5. Click on Map the device

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6. Press the Reset button and select the KVM screen and wait for the installation
process to begin.

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Downloading Cisco UCS VIC Drivers
This procedure describes how to download the UCS Drivers ISO bundle, which contains most
Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card drivers.
Procedure
1. In a web browser, navigate to http://www.cisco.com.
2. Under Support, click All Downloads.
3. In the product selector, click Products, then click Unified Computing and Servers.
4. If prompted, enter your Cisco.com username and password to log in.
You must be signed in to download Unified Computing System (UCS) drivers.
5. Choose your server. Cisco UCS drivers are available for both Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server
Software and Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount UCS-Managed Server Software.
6. Click Unified Computing System (UCS) Drivers.
7. Click the Release Notes link to view the latest version of the Release Notes.
8. For each driver ISO that you want to download, do the following:
a) Click the link for the release that you want to download.
b) The latest release version is selected by default. Choose your download method and follow
the prompts to complete your driver download.

Installing Cisco UCS VIC Drivers

Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card drivers for Windows can installed in the following ways:
During a new Windows OS installation.
After OS installation using the Device Manager.
Administrative privileges are required to install and update Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card
drivers.

Installing Windows Drivers during OS Install

If you are installing Windows on a SAN LUN, you must install Cisco VIC drivers for Windows
during the OS installation. If you do not provide the drivers during OS installation, the system
will not be able to detect the SAN LUN.
If Windows is being installed on the local hard disk, it is not required that you install the drivers
during OS installation. You can install the drivers after completing the OS installation.
Procedure
Step 1 Start the Windows installation using the installation DVD or virtual media.
Step 2 On the Where do you want to install Windows screen, click Load Driver.
Step 3 Browse to the driver and click OK. The driver appears in the Select the drive to be
installed window.
Step 4 Confirm that the correct driver is displayed on the Select the drive to be installed screen
and click Next.
Step 5 Continue with your Windows installation on the SAN LUN or select SAN LUN on the
Where do you want to install Windows? screen.

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Installing Windows Drivers After OS Installation
Procedure
Step 1 Choose Device manager
Step 2 Right-click the Ethernet or Fibre Channel device and choose Update driver software.
Step 3 Click Browse my computer for driver software.
Step 4 Click Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
Step 5 On the Select your drivers type from the list below window, leave Show All Devices
selected and click Next.
Step 6 On the Select the device driver you want to install for this hardware window, click Have
Disk.
Step 7 On the Install from Disk window, Browse for the driver and click OK.
Step 8 Click Next on the Select the device driver you want to install for this hardware screen.
Step 9 Click Close to exit the wizard.

Updating Existing Windows Drivers

Step 1 Start the Device Manager.
a) Right-click My Computer.
b) choose Manage.
c) choose Device Manager.

Step 2 Expand the adapter.

For the eNIC driver, expand Network Adapters.
For the fNIC driver, expand Storage Controllers.

Step 3 In the Devices list, right-click the adapter and choose Update Driver Software.
The Update Driver Software window opens.

Step 4 In the How do you want to search for driver software? area, choose Browse my
computer for driver software.

Step 5 Choose your adapter and click Next.

Step 6 In the Install from Disk window, browse to the driver file and click OK.

Step 7 Click OK in the restart pop up to reboot the server.

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Driver installation procedure Redhat and SuSE Linux
This section describes how to install a driver on Redhat and SuSE Linux systems. Here is a list of
commands used in order to check the current driver version and OS release:

Command Description
modinfo driver_name Displays driver version for the specified driver
modinfo enic Displays the Ethernet driver for the Cisco VIC
adapter
modinfo fnic Displays the FC NIC driver for the Cisco VIC
adapter
modinfo megaraid_sas Displays the LSI MegaRAID driver version
lsmod -l Lists currently-loaded drivers in the kernel
cat /etc/redhat-release Shows the Redhat release
cat /etc/SuSE-release Shows the SUSE release

This example shows that an ENIC driver version of 2.1.2.41 is installed on Redhat Enterprise Linux Release
6.2.

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Install the Driver
Drivers in Redhat and SuSE Linux are installed with the Redhat Package Manager (RPM). Use this
command in order to install the driver:-
rpm -ihv driver-name.rpm

Driver Name Reference Table

Command Description
enic Cisco VIC Ethernet NIC
fnic Cisco VIC FC NIC
qle or qla Qlogic adapter
lpfc Emulex HBA (light pulse)
be2net Emulex Ethernet NIC
igb or ixgbe Intel NICs
bnx Broadcom adapter
megaraid LSI MegaRAID

Note:- For ESX need to download customize ISO image from Cisco site and for Linux driver will
detect automatically.

End of Document

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