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Overview of the Deploy Function | |
Deploying an Image and Configuring Target Systems |
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Predeployment | |
Reinstalling Images Over Existing Ones |
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Managing Configurations |
Deploying a system involves provisioning the system with an appropriate image and then configuring the system for a specific purpose. Remote Install provides provisioning and configuration capability that enables you to deploy multiple systems using a headless (that is, without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse attached to the target systems) and unattended method over the network.
To deploy a system, you must determine three elements: Service Tag, image name, and configuration name. A Service Tag is a unique Dell identification assigned to the system to be deployed. An image name represents the operating system image to be used to provision the system. A configuration name identifies the configuration (host name, IP address, and so on) to be applied to the system; it is not used if you are deploying an image that was captured for backup.
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NOTE: Remote Install can deploy images to up to 12 target systems simultaneously. |
Selecting an image name is optional for some system types. Selecting an image name implies overwriting the system with the selected image. Select an image name when repurposing or recovering the system. Skip specifying an image name if the system is a Dell preinstalled or locally-installed system. See "Terminology" for definitions of these system types.
You can register a system with Remote Install before you physically install the system. A system without hardware installed is virtual, and said to be in the Virtual state. See "Predeployment" for more information.
When Remote Install discovers a target system, it uses PXE to download a general bootstrap program (also called the active operating system) from a TFTP server to the target system RAM. After the download, the system is in the Detecting HW and OS state while the general bootstrap runs on the target system.
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NOTE: If Spanning Tree is enabled on a switch port that PXE is attempting to use, the inherent delay before the port starts forwarding packets can cause DHCP to time out. You must either disable Spanning Tree on that switch or turn on a feature that allows the port to begin forwarding packets immediately. An example of such a feature is "port fast learning" on Cisco switches. |
If the general bootstrap program does not detect an image, as would occur with a bare metal system, Remote Install places the system in the Wait for Deployment state. When Remote Install begins to download an image to a system in the Wait for Deployment state, it places the system in the Deploying Image state. After the image is deployed, Remote Install applies the preselected configuration and places the system in the Configuring state. After successful deployment and configuration, the system goes to the Up state.
If the bootstrap program detects an image, as with preinstalled or locally-installed systems, Remote Install boots those systems to their operating system and places them in the Wait for Configuration state. Remote Install then applies the preselected configuration and places the system in the Configuring state. After configuration, as with bare metal systems, the system goes to the Up state.
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NOTE: If the bootstrap program detects an operating system image on the target system, it boots to it. If the operating system boot then fails (for example, if the operating system files are corrupted), the system then goes to the Unmanaged state. The system will not be treated as a bare metal system. To deploy a new image to such a system, use the Predeployment method or format the system's hard drive before deployment. |
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NOTE: After a target system is configured properly, it will go to the Up state. Remote Install does not allow you to reconfigure a target system in the Up state. If you want to reconfigure such a system, delete the system from the image server and reinstall the agents on the target system or change its state to Admin; see "How do I Change a System's State to Admin?" |
All target systems require Remote Install agents to communicate with Remote Install image server. Locally-installed systems do not have the Remote Install agents installed. Such a system is in the Unmanaged state. To bring such a target system into the Remote Install environment, you must manually install Remote Install agents on the target system (see "Setting Up Target Systems"), delete the system from the system list (see "Systems → Properties→ List"), and reboot the system. When Remote Install discovers the system, it will be in either the Up state or the Wait for Configuration state.
If a system loses network communication with the image server, the system is placed in the Disconnected state.
Target systems must be in a preoperating-system state before preoperating-system tasks can begin. Such a state is called the Admin state. You can apply RAID packages to a system when it is in the Admin state; see "Configuring RAID."
If a deployment fails, the target system is placed in the Deployment Failure state. Check the Remote Install log files as described in "Viewing and Managing Logs" to determine the cause of the failure, eliminate it, then try the deployment again. Also check the troubleshooting information in "Deployment and Configuration Issues."
If the original target remains on the network, you must deploy a backup image to the same target system from which it was captured. Deploying a backup image to another system will not work properly unless the original target is removed from the network. A backup image must be deployed to a system that has at least as many hard drives as the original capture target, and just as with any deployment, the drives must equal or exceed the original capture target's drives in size.
The Predeploy operation creates virtual systems. Predeployment means to prepare a deployment task for a specific system first and then physically install that system at a later time. When Remote Install discovers the system, it provisions the system according to the predeployment instructions. If there is data on the system already, it is replaced when the new image is deployed; thus you can use predeployment to reinstall an image or install a new image on a system.
The "placeholder" system you create is called a virtual system. Preparing the deployment task before the physical installation requires entering the system's Service Tag, selecting an optional image name, selecting a configuration name, and then physically installing the system. Upon discovery of the system, Remote Install automatically deploys the image and applies the configuration you specified.
For example, assume you are deploying a system with a Service Tag of "7UNKX" with an image of Microsoft® Windows® 2000 identified as "BaseW2K" as an application server identified as "W2Kconfig." You would select "7UNKX" as a system name, "BaseW2K" as the image name, and "W2Kconfig" as the configuration name. When a system with the Service Tag "7UNKX" is connected to the network and discovered by Remote Install, the "BaseW2K" image is automatically deployed and the configuration "W2Kconfig" is automatically applied to the system.
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NOTE: You cannot change the configuration assigned to a system in the Virtual state. You must remove the virtual system and then add it back with a new configuration. |
The Configure operation assigns a configuration name to each system that is waiting for configuration. For all systems except preinstalled systems, you perform configuration in the context of a deployment, so the section "Deploying an Image and Configuring Target Systems" describes the actual application of a configuration. For a preinstalled system, the system boots to its operating system and does not go to the Waiting for Deployment state. However, the system does go the Waiting for Configuration state to wait for you to apply a configuration.
If the configuration changes before it is applied to the system, Remote Install applies the current configuration. For example, if you use Predeployment to define how a system will be configured, then change the relevant configuration, and then later the system is actually deployed, the system will acquire the configuration with the changes.
You can create, delete, clone, and edit configurations as described in "Systems→ Configure→ Configure."
Deploying and configuring target systems is the most important feature of Remote Install. This section describes how to deploy images and configure target systems based on the following types of systems (see "Terminology" for definitions of these classifications):
See also "Reinstalling Images Over Existing Ones."
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NOTE: If Spanning Tree is enabled on a switch port that PXE is attempting to use, the inherent delay before the port starts forwarding packets can cause DHCP to time out. You must either disable Spanning Tree on that switch or turn on a feature that allows the port to begin forwarding packets immediately. An example of such a feature is "port fast learning" on Cisco switches. |
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NOTE: A few reboots might be required for Remote Install to complete a deployment and configuration. |
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NOTE: If you are deploying an image which was captured for backup, you must either deploy it to the same target system from which it was captured, or the original system must be removed from the network to avoid host name and IP address conflicts. See "Deploying a Backup Image" for the complete requirements. |
A bare-metal system is a system without an operating system installed. Two methods exist for deploying an operating system to a bare-metal system: using the Systems→ Deploy→ Deployment function or the Systems→ Deploy→ Predeployment function.
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NOTE: (*) indicates a required field or task. |
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NOTE: If you are deploying an image containing the Windows Server 2003 operating system and the image was not captured from a Dell-installed system, you may need to activate or reactivate the operating system after you perform a deployment. See "Windows Server 2003 WPA Process" for more information. |
This function is an automatic deployment function that enables you to assign an image and configuration to a Service Tag before the hardware is physically installed on the network.
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NOTE: (*) indicates a required field or task. |
When hardware with a Service Tag that matches that of the virtual system is connected to the network and powered up, Remote Install deploys the image and configuration assigned to that hardware.
A locally-installed system is a target system that has had its operating system installed from the Server Assistant CD or a vendor operating system CD. To bring a locally-installed target system into the management network of the image server, you must install the Remote Install agents on the target system.
Two options are available when installing the Remote Install agents: Configure or Do Not Configure. Select Do Not Configure for locally-installed target systems that you have already configured and for which you want to retain that configuration. Select Configure if, despite any existing configuration, you want to change the configuration during deployment. See "Setting Up Target Systems."
After you install the Remote Install agents, the system reboots one or more times and then goes to the Up or Wait for Configuration state, depending upon whether you selected Do Not Configure or Configure, respectively, when you installed the agents.
If you selected the Configure option, you must use the Systems→ Configure function to specify a configuration to apply to the system.
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NOTE: (*) indicates a required field or task. |
If configuration fails, the target system is placed in the Invalid Configuration state. Check the Remote Install log files as described in "Viewing and Managing Logs" to determine the cause of the failure, edit the configuration file, and then reapply the configuration file to the system. Note that Remote Install tolerates some configuration problems, such as a failure in the user script; these failures are noted in the logs without causing the system to enter the Invalid Configuration state.
A preinstalled system is a system that has had a predetermined system image installed at Dell. For a preinstalled system, the Remote Install agents installation program is already preloaded at Dell. After you install the agents on the preinstalled system, you can deploy a preinstalled target system in the same way as a locally-installed target system.
You can reinstall an image over an existing image after the system has been brought under Remote Install management. This allows you to restore a system to a known good state or change the purpose of a server simply by applying a new image.
You can reinstall images using two methods: the Systems→ Deploy→ Predeployment function or the Systems→ Deploy→ Deployment function.
Remote Install ignores data already installed on the system and installs the new image over the old one.
Follow the steps for the Systems→ Deploy→ Deployment function for bare-metal target systems. However, ensure that the target systems that you select to deploy are in the Admin state. See "How do I Change a System's State to Admin?." If you have difficulty getting such a deployment to work, reformat the target system hard drive before deploying the image.