Registering servers via Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP)

Severs can be registered automatically via the ztp process. If you prefer to add the servers via a manual process consult this guide: Managing Servers

For this process to work automatically end-to-end, the following conditions must be met:

  1. DHCP must be enabled on the IPMI/iDRAC/ILO. This is usually configured like this from the factory.

  2. The default credentials must be set (eg. for dell it is root/calvin) or the server must have a matching username/credentials pair configured in the Servers > Server Zero Touch credential tab.

  3. The server must have a relatively recent BMC firmware version. Check the HCL for details on what is the minimum supported version for your vendor.

  4. The OOB network must transport the DHCP requests of the servers to the Site Controller. Consult Deploying the site controller for setup details.

If the server does not have the default credentials configured and no matching username/password is found for the MAC or serial number, but does have DHCP enabled, the server will appear in the list of servers but will remain in the *Registering state and a message will be displayed in the server’s overview page specifying that the server is waiting for credentials. Click on the message to provide the server’s IPMI/iDRAC/ILO credentials.

By default server BMCs are allocated IPs from the OOB subnet pools, in order. To specify which IPs to be allocated based on DHCP option 82 - the OOB switch port identifier, configure a mapping in the Subnets > OOB Subnets > Click on OOB subnet > DHCP Option 82. tab.

As part of this process the following operations are performed on the server:

  1. The server is registered

  2. A server is set in unavailable

  3. If configured, the server can move to available automatically and the server type will also be associated