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 BMC. 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 credentials 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.

  5. ZTP for servers must be enabled in MetalSoft (see below)

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 BMC 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 IPAM, OOB subnet name, 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

Enabling ZTP in MetalSoft

  1. Enable the DHCP OOB option in the Site Controller. Check that it is enabled on the Site > your site > Site Controllers. The Agent capabilities field should have an entry like this: dhcpOobEnabled: true;. If it is set to false, on a running Site Controller you need to edit the docker configuration and set DHCP_OOB=enabled. On a new Site Controller check the Enable DHCP OOB capability, click Generated Command and execute the command on the Site Controller.

  2. Go to Sites > your site > Configuration click to enable Enable Zero-Touch Registration

  3. Go to Fabrics > your fabric > Configuration click to enable Zero-Touch Provisioning Enabled

Configuring an OOB subnet

This is the subnet that we will use to allocate IPs to servers’s BMCs (IPAM, ILO etc)

  1. Go to IPAM > Subnets > Add subnet. Input the required IPv4 subnet.

Excluding IPs from the allocation

This will remove some IP ranges from being allocated automatically

  1. Go to IPAM > Subnets > your OOB subnet > IP Allocation

  2. Add your IPs in the Denylist Ranges

Responding to only certain MAC addresses

This will ensure the site controller does not respond to other MAC addresses on the network

  1. Go to Sites > your site > Configuration click Enable DHCP BMC MAC address whitelist

  2. Add the MAC addresses that the system will need to respond to in the whitelist

Forcing specific IPs to be allocated to specific MAC addresses

Normally the system will allocate IPs from the default OOB subnet

  1. Go to IPAM > Subnets > your OOB subnet >IP Allocation

  2. Add your mappings in the MAC / Circuit ID to IP mappings field