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HP BladeSystem specification for a c-Class provisioning
server blade
Executive summary............................................................................................................................... 3
Why server blades for the provisioning server? ....................................................................................... 3
Lower total cost of ownership (TCO)................................................................................................... 3
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Usage scenarios for the blade provisioning server ................................................................................. 19 Scenario 1 – mass deployment of c-Class server blades...................................................................... 19 Scenario 2 – deploying applications ................................................................................................ 20 Scenario 3 – managing multi-server blade infrastructure ............................................
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Executive summary This document specifies the design of an HP BladeSystem c-Class server blade that serves as a Microsoft® Windows® infrastructure server for provisioning line-of-business applications such as web servers, mail servers, database servers and other mission-critical applications. This specification outlines the use of this server blade design in several different scenarios as a modular component of a Windows infrastructure in support of line-of-business application deployment.
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Figure 1. HP StorageWorks SB40c storage blade Purpose of the provisioning server blade The main purpose of the provisioning server blade is to provide the following service(s): • Installation and deployment of applications to easily facilitate the management of your network in today’s environment with the least amount of effort • Automate provisioning of service/application/management updates using HP ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP) on Industry Standard HP ProLiant
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What is automated provisioning / RDP? Automated provisioning So what exactly is the automated provisioning of software and hardware? It means little or no human intervention. In other words, the process of installation or deployment is laid out for administrators in the form of images, scripts, or batch files. The only requirement is for the administrator to power on the server, perhaps execute a couple of scripts or batch files, and/or respond to a minimal number of prompts for configurat
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RDP and its underlying technologies Understanding the technologies behind RDP is necessary for proper implementation of HP server blade deployment. These include: DHCP, PXE, Bootworks, and AClient. Figure 3. RDP / PXE Technology DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) simplifies the administrative management of IP address configuration by automating address configuration for network clients. The DHCP standard provides for the use of DHCP servers, which are defined as any co
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PXE “PXE is defined on a foundation of industry-standard Internet protocols and services that are widely deployed in the industry, namely TCP/IP, DHCP, and TFTP. These standardize the form of the interactions between clients and servers. . . In brief, the PXE protocol operates as follows. The client initiates the protocol by broadcasting a DHCPDISCOVER containing an extension that identifies the request as coming from a client that implements the PXE protocol. Assuming that a DHCP server o
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HP BladeSystem requirements for hosting the server blade Figure 4. HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure, rear view Deployment Whether a small, medium, or large corporate network infrastructure, HP BladeSystem provides a faster, simpler, and lower cost way to build and configure in an IT infrastructure. The HP BladeSystem c-Class infrastructure of unified server, storage, network, power/cooling and management capabilities provides quick and easy delivery of applications and services while o
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administrator can take full, remote control of the enclosure and quickly complete the configuration. The c-Class blades are now ready for the operating system deployment from the RDP server. The c7000 enclosure houses the entire infrastructure for all HP BladeSystem components (server blades, blade network switches or pass-through modules, blade SAN switches or SAN pass-through modules, management modules, power supplies, and fans). In addition, the enclosure provides an integrated on-board
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Cooling fans (Rear side) HP Active Cool fan technology provides superior airflow, power and acoustic performance and is hot- pluggable for easy upgrades. From 4 up to 10 fans, must be installed in a specific order of fan bay locations per how many server blades are installed in the enclosure. Insight Display (Front side) For easy setup and configuration of the BladeSystem located in front of the unit. Onboard Administrator (Rear side) Total 2 for redundant Onboard Administration providin
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HP Active Cool Fan Figure 8. HP Active Cool Fan: Part number: 412140-B21 HP c7000 Enclosure Power Supply HP c7000 Enclosure Power Supply: Part number: 412138-B21 Table 2. HP c-Class Power Specification Power input type (one of the following) Integrated in enclosure: Single or 3-Phase power options for maximum power configuration flexibility. Additional power supplies (up to six) can be added to your enclosure, allowing the BladeSystem to grow with your changing needs. Three typ
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HP ProLiant BL480c server blade (Up to 8 in a single c7000 enclosure): Figure 9. HP ProLiant BL480c Server Blade Table 3. HP ProLiant BL480c Server Blade Specification Processor Dual-Core Intel Xeon® Processor 5140 2.33 GHz / 1333MHz FSB Memory 4GB (4x1 GB) PC2-5300 DDR2 (up to 48GB) Storage 4 @ 72GB 10K SAS 2.5 Hot-Plug Hard Drive; RAID 5 Storage Controller HP Smart Array P400i Networking Two (2) embedded NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapters One (1) embedded NC326i D
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Infrastructure bill of materials (BOM) c7000 enclosure, power, OA, fan, and blade switch bill of materials (BOM) Table 4. HP Bill of Materials – *Check for the latest releases and part numbers Quantity Part Number* Description 1 412152-B21 BLc7000 Enclosure 1 410917-B21 HP c7000 GbE2c Ethernet Blade Switch 1 412142-B21 HP Redundant Onboard Administrator Option 4 412140-B21 HP Active Cool Fan 4 412138-B21 HP c7000 Enclosure Power Supply HP ProLiant BL480c bill of materials (BO
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Initial deployment of provisioning server blade Before you begin configuring the enclosure and blade, it is helpful to reiterate some assumptions made earlier. This provisioning server will act as the DHCP Server, the PXE Server, and the HP RDP Provisioning Server. Many organizations may already have an existing DHCP Server in place. If a DHCP Server already exists within your infrastructure, just be sure to point to that DHCP Server during the time of HP Altiris RDP software installation.
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Figure 11. First Time Setup Wizard Once the enclosure is configured, insert the c-Class blade in the slot and wait for the OA to recognize it. Insert your operating system CD into the laptop or desktop CD/DVD ROM drive. The server blade will use the laptop/desktop CD/DVD drive as its virtual media device to boot from. Once the OA detects the blade, click on the Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) link for that particular blade. Then click on the Integrated Remote Console link. At this point,
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Configuring the initial server blade Before you install HP ProLiant Essentials RDP 3.1 or later on the initial c-Class blade, be sure you have the following core requirements installed: • DHCP configured with IP Scope activated • Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 (Will install during RDP installation if not already installed) • Microsoft Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) 2000 + SP3a or later (Disregard if SQL Server is already installed on a different server) Insert the HP ProLiant Essentials Rapid
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The server will reboot once all the core pre-installation requirements are installed. Upon rebooting, accept the default File server path and insert the appropriate license file. On the Deployment Server Information window, install the Deployment Server on the local machine (c-Class initial server blade). Insert the appropriate static IP address of the server and type the user name and password. It should look something like Figure 13. Figure 13. Example deployment server window 17
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Install the Deployment Database on the local machine with eXpress as the default database name. Select the Windows NT Authentication. Keep the default locations for installing the Pre-boot Operating System files for the WinPE x86 and x64. Select to install PXE Server on the local machine and select Windows PE pre-boot operating system as the default PXE boot menu. The PXE Server Information window should look similar to Figure 14. Figure 14. Example PXE Server Information window You
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Usage scenarios for the blade provisioning server The three basic IT scenarios hosted on this server blade are: 1. Mass deployment of HP ProLiant BL c-Class servers within an organization that is looking for automation in order to reduce errors and reduce the amount of time to deploy servers. 2. Deploying applications using advanced imaging and scripting technology/methodology. 3. Managing a multi-server blade infrastructure can be a challenging task without the right provisioning tool. T
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Figure 15. Usage Scenario 1 Scenario 2 – deploying applications The blade specific provisioning server provides a strategy/solution for rapidly deploying applications (Microsoft Windows Server 2003, BizTalk Server, SQL Server) on HP ProLiant BL c-Class servers using ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack. By providing automated systems provisioning (a key component of the HP Adaptive Infrastructure strategy) for applications, customers are better equipped to easily, effectively, a
