Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 i

Contents

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1

1.1 ThinkAgile VX Models........................................................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Helpful links ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 ThinkAgile VX Management options .................................................................................................................. 3

1.3.1 Lenovo XClarity Administrator ............................................................................................................... 3 1.3.2 Lenovo XClarity Integrator .................................................................................................................... 4

2 VX Deployment Planning .......................................................................................... 5

2.1 VX deployment architecture ............................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 vSAN Implementation Planning ......................................................................................................................... 8

3 VX Server setup ...................................................................................................... 11

3.1 Server package contents ................................................................................................................................. 12 3.2 Cable the server .............................................................................................................................................. 12

3.2.1 Connect to power ................................................................................................................................ 12 3.2.2 Connect to the network ....................................................................................................................... 12 3.2.3 Connect to storage .............................................................................................................................. 12

3.3 Power on the server......................................................................................................................................... 13 3.4 Power off the server......................................................................................................................................... 13 3.5 Set the network connection for the Lenovo XClarity Controller ........................................................................ 13

4 Installing and configuring vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) ............................. 15

4.1 Using the ThinkAgile Installer .......................................................................................................................... 15 4.2 Downloading and setting up the ThinkAgile Installer ....................................................................................... 15 4.3 Running the ThinkAgile Installer ...................................................................................................................... 16

4.3.1 Before you begin ................................................................................................................................. 16 4.3.2 Running the ThinkAgile Installer.......................................................................................................... 17 4.3.3 License tab .......................................................................................................................................... 17 4.3.4 Hardware tab....................................................................................................................................... 17 4.3.5 Hosts tab ............................................................................................................................................. 18 4.3.6 vCenter tab ......................................................................................................................................... 18 4.3.7 Review tab .......................................................................................................................................... 18 4.3.8 Status tab ............................................................................................................................................ 18 4.3.9 Troubleshooting the ThinkAgile Installer ............................................................................................. 19

4.4 Installing and configuring VCSA manually ....................................................................................................... 19 4.5 Adding the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster to an existing VCSA instance .......................................................... 20

5 Installing and Configuring Lenovo XClarity Administrator ................................. 21

5.1 Deploying Lenovo XClarity Administrator ........................................................................................................ 21 5.2 Managing ThinkAgile VX Series Servers ......................................................................................................... 22

6 Installing and Configuring Lenovo XClarity Integrator ........................................ 23

6.1 Deploying Lenovo XClarity Integrator for VMware vCenter ............................................................................. 23

7 Updating firmware .................................................................................................. 25

7.1 Important terminology ...................................................................................................................................... 25 7.2 Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager ............................................................................................................ 26 7.3 Lenovo XClarity Controller ............................................................................................................................... 26 7.4 Lenovo XClarity Administrator ......................................................................................................................... 26

ii Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

Appendix A. Getting help and technical assistance .................................................... 27

Appendix B. Trademarks ............................................................................................... 29

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 1

1 Introduction

The ThinkAgile VX Series appliances provide the building block for implementing a VMware vSAN hyperconverged infrastructure cluster. The appliances have been certified and validated by Lenovo by following the test procedures outlined by VMware to meet the requirements for performance and scalability. The ThinkAgile VX appliances ship from Lenovo with VMware ESXi hypervisor preinstalled. The platform is designed to simplify vSAN deployment and management for customers through predefined server configurations optimized around specific types of workloads, while conforming to best practices and compliance guidelines for vSAN.

A VMware vSAN cluster requires a minimum of three or more servers. The best practice is to use three or more servers of the same machine type and hardware configuration to provide a balanced and high-performance solution.

The VX appliances are designed to utilize the following Lenovo system management tools to simplify the management, monitoring, and life cycle updates:

1. Lenovo XClarity Administrator provides firmware compliance functionality to ensure that the VX Series servers are running the appropriate level of firmware for Lenovo XClarity Controller, UEFI, PCIe devices, and disks.

2. Lenovo XClarity Integrator provides VMware vCenter plug-in functionality so that ThinkAgile VX Series servers can be managed directly from VMware vCenter.

This document describes the installation and configuration procedure for the ThinkAgile VX series appliances to implement a vSAN cluster using the available tools.

2 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

1.1 ThinkAgile VX Models

Table 1 below lists all the ThinkAgile VX models available and their corresponding CTO numbers. You will find the user guides for the individual machine types from this list under the Lenovo product documentation.

Machine Type

CTO Model # Form Factor CTO NAME

7Y11 7Y11CTO1WW 2U4N ThinkAgile VX Enclosure

7Y12 7Y12CTO1WW 2U4N ThinkAgile VX3720

7Y13 7Y13CTO1WW 1U ThinkAgile VX3320

7Y13 7Y13CTO2WW 1U ThinkAgile VX2320

7Y14 7Y14CTO1WW 2U ThinkAgile VX5520

7Y14 7Y14CTO2WW 2U ThinkAgile VX7520

7Y14 7Y14CTO3WW 2U ThinkAgile VX3520-G

7Y91 7Y91CTO1WW 2U4N ThinkAgile VX Appliance Enc.

7Y91 7Y91CTO2WW 2U4N ThinkAgile VX Certified Enc.

7Y92 7Y92CTO1WW 2U4N ThinkAgile VX3720 Appliance

7Y92 7Y92CTO2WW 2U4N ThinkAgile VX 2U4N Node

7Y93 7Y93CTO1WW 1U ThinkAgile VX3320 Appliance

7Y93 7Y93CTO2WW 1U ThinkAgile VX2320 Appliance

7Y93 7Y93CTO3WW 1U ThinkAgile VX7320N Appliance

7Y93 7Y93CTO3WW 1U ThinkAgile VX 1U Node

7Y94 7Y94CTO1WW 2U ThinkAgile VX5520 Appliance

7Y94 7Y94CTO2WW 2U ThinkAgile VX7520 Appliance

7Y94 7Y94CTO3WW 2U ThinkAgile VX3520G Appliance

7Y94 7Y94CTO5WW 2U ThinkAgile VX 2U Node

Table 1. List of ThinkAgile VX Models

1 Introduction 3

1.2 Helpful links

You might find the following links helpful:

Warranty lookup Lenovo ServerProven Lenovo open source projects

Lenovo product guides (Lenovo Press) Lenovo Configuration and Options Guide ThinkAgile VX Best Recipes

Lenovo Support Lenovo forums Drivers and Firmware Updates Best Practices

Lenovo security advisories

1.3 ThinkAgile VX Management options

Multiple management interfaces are available for managing your ThinkAgile VX Series appliance.

1.3.1 Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Lenovo XClarity Administrator is a centralized, resource-management solution that simplifies infrastructure management, speeds responses, and enhances the availability of Lenovo systems and solutions. It runs as a virtual appliance that automates discovery, inventory, tracking, monitoring, and provisioning for server, network, and storage hardware in a secure environment.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator provides a central interface to perform the following functions for all managed endpoints:

1. Manage and monitor hardware. Lenovo XClarity Administrator provides agent-free hardware management. It can automatically discover manageable endpoints, including server, network, and storage hardware. Inventory data is collected for managed endpoints for an at-a-glance view of the managed hardware inventory and status.

2. Configuration management. You can quickly provision and pre-provision all of your servers using a consistent configuration. Configuration settings (such as local storage, I/O adapters, boot settings, firmware, ports, and Lenovo XClarity Controller and UEFI settings) are saved as a server pattern that can be applied to one or more managed servers. When the server patterns are updated, the changes are automatically deployed to the applied servers.

3. Firmware compliance and updates. Firmware management is simplified by assigning firmware- compliance policies to managed endpoints. When you create and assign a compliance policy to managed endpoints, Lenovo XClarity Administrator monitors changes to the inventory for those endpoints and flags any endpoints that are out of compliance.

4. When an endpoint is out of compliance, you can use Lenovo XClarity Administrator to apply and activate firmware updates for all devices in that endpoint from a repository of firmware updates that you manage.

5. Operating System deployment. You can use Lenovo XClarity Administrator to manage a repository of operating-system images and to deploy operating-system images to up to 28 managed servers concurrently.

6. Service and support. You can manually collect diagnostic files, open a problem record, and send diagnostic files to the Lenovo Support Center.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator can be integrated into external, higher-level management and automation platforms through open REST application programming interfaces (APIs). Using the REST APIs, Lenovo XClarity Administrator can easily integrate with your existing management infrastructure. In addition, you can automate tasks using the PowerShell toolkit or the Python toolkit.

4 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

The latest version of the Lenovo XClarity Administrator is available at: https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/zh/documents/lnvo-lxcaupd

Documentation for Lenovo XClarity Administrator is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.lenovo.lxca.doc%2Faug_product_page.html

1.3.2 Lenovo XClarity Integrator

Lenovo also provides the following integrators that you can use to manage Lenovo servers from higher-level management tools:

1. Lenovo XClarity Integrator for VMware vCenter

2. Lenovo XClarity Integrator Microsoft System Center

For more information about Lenovo XClarity Integrator, see: https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/data-center/software/systems-management/xclarity-integrators

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 5

2 VX Deployment Planning

A typical VMware vSAN deployment consists of three or more servers configured as part of a single vSAN (single-site) cluster.

Each server contributes storage to the vSAN cluster from its local disks. vSAN uses a combination of high-speed, low-latency flash (solid state) disks for data caching and a set of either solid-state (SSD) or spinning hard disk (HDD) drives as its capacity tier. Based on the disk types used, there are two kinds of vSAN deployment:

1. Hybrid Cluster – The server provides a combination of solid-state disks (SSDs) for caching and hard disk drives (HDDs) for storage capacity.

2. All-Flash Cluster – The server provides SSDs for caching and SSDs for storage capacity.

The following figure provides a conceptual view of the vSAN architecture. All of the necessary services to create and manage the vSAN software defined storage are provided by the vSphere (ESXi) operating system and vCenter. Hence, you don’t need to install any additional pieces of software on top of a standard VMware ESXi cluster. The shared datastore is mounted across all nodes in the cluster and is accessible to the virtual machines, hence enabling a hyperconverged model from the ThinkAgile VX systems.

Figure 1. A conceptual view of the vSAN architecture1

1 https://storagehub.vmware.com/t/vmware-vsan/vmware-r-vsan-tm-design-and-sizing-guide/

6 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

2.1 VX deployment architecture

When deploying a ThinkAgile VX Series solution, the best practice is to use three or more servers of the same machine type and configuration to provide a balanced and high-performance solution.

The systems are connected through switches for management and data:

1. A dedicated management network is used by the Lenovo XClarity Administrator to communicate with the Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC) on each of the ThinkAgile VX Series servers.

2. A redundant 10Gbps Ethernet network is used for VMware vSphere management and vSAN data traffic. The redundant Ethernet network is implement through two top-of-rack switches, such as the Lenovo ThinkSystem NE1032 RackSwitch.

For more information about the Lenovo ThinkSystem NE1032 RackSwitch, see the following website: https://lenovopress.com/lp0605-lenovo-thinksystem-ne1032-rackswitch

Figure 2 shows a typical ThinkAgile VX Series network architecture.

Figure 2. VMware vSAN Network Architecture

2 VX Deployment Planning 7

You can optionally separate the ESXi management and vMotion traffic and the vSAN storage traffic into their own physical networks. This will help with ensuring that the vSAN storage traffic does not have any network bottleneck due to the other traffic types running on the same network. In implementing a separate vSAN network you would need additional network ports on the server. To allow for redundancy, you will then require 4x 10Gbps ports on the server. Correspondingly, you will either need two additional network switches, or can share the same two ToR switches by isolating the ESXi management and vMotion network and the vSAN network into their own VLANs.

When the network is configured as described above, the vSAN cluster will have two virtual switches (vSwitches) created on every node in the cluster inside the ESXi server as shown in the following two figures.

Figure 3. vSwitch0 configuration

Figure 3 shows the vSwitch0 configuration with the two virtual network interfaces (vmnics) attached to the vSwitch as the uplink ports. In addition, there will be two port groups created on the vSwitch, one for the ESXi management network and the other for the virtual machine communication, shown in the picture as “Management Network” and “VM Network” respectively. Also note that there will be a VM Kernel adapter (vmk0) that is created for the management network with an IP address (either static or dynamic) that needs to be assigned by the user during the deployment process described later in the document.

Figure 4. vSwitch1 configuration

As shown in Figure 4 similar to vSwitch0, a second virtual switch (vSwitch1) is created with the two additional virtual network ports. There will be a single vSAN network port group and a VM kernel adapter for the vSAN traffic.

Note: If you don’t dedicate a separate network for the vSAN storage traffic, you will not see a second vSwitch, vSwitch1. Instead, the single vSwitch0 will have another port group and VM kernel adapter for the vSAN traffic. Hence, the ESXi management, vMotion, and vSAN traffic types will share the same physical network adapters.

8 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

2.2 vSAN Implementation Planning

As described in the previous section, implementing vSAN will require some network planning. In addition to wiring your network as described, you also need to reserve IP addresses, hostnames, and other network related parameters for various ESXi, vCenter, and vSAN settings. Use Table 2 provided below to write down these parameters.

Table 2. Table of network configuration parameters for vSAN deployment

ThinkAgile VX Servers

XCC IP address XCC host name ESXi IP address ESXi host name

Node 1

Node 2

Node 3

User ID/ Password

User ID:

USERID (Default) Password:

PASSW0RD (Default)

User ID:

root (Default) Password:

Virtual Appliances (VMs)

IPV4 Host name User ID Password

vCenter Server

XClarity Administrator

XClarity Integrator

Infrastructure

Domain name

DNS/NTP

Default Gateway

2 VX Deployment Planning 9

Virtual Network

For information about the VM Kernel, see:

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.networking.doc/GUID-D4191320-209E-4CB5- A709-C8741E713348.html

Physical Adapters VM kernel Adapter

vSwitch 0

vSwitch 1

VLAN Name VLAN ID VLAN Portgroup Assigned vSwitch

vSAN IP address Network prefix

Node 1

Node 2

Node 3

VM Kernel Adapter Services

vMotion Provisioning FT

Logging Management

vSphere Replication

vSphere Replication

NFC vSAN

Adapter 1

Adapter 2

10 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 11

3 VX Server setup

Use the server setup checklist to ensure that you have performed all tasks that are required to set up your server.

The server setup procedure varies depending on the configuration of the server when it was delivered. In some cases, the server is fully configured and you just need to connect the server to the network and an AC power source, and then you can power on the server. In other cases, the server needs to have hardware options installed, requires hardware and firmware configuration, and requires an operating system to be installed.

The following steps describe the general procedure for setting up a server:

1. Unpack the server package. See Server package contents on page 12.

2. Set up the server hardware.

a. If necessary, install the server into a standard rack cabinet by using the rail kit shipped with the server. See the Rack Installation Guide that comes with optional rail kit.

b. Connect the Ethernet cables and power cords to the server. See section 3.2 for cabling instructions.

c. Power on the server. See “Power on the server” on page 13.

3. Connect the Lenovo XClarity Controller to the management network. See “Set the network connection for the Lenovo XClarity Controller” on page 13.

4. If no DHCP server is available to assign IP addresses to the appliances, or if you intend to use static IP addresses for the appliances, make sure that you assign an IP address to each appliance through ESXi.

For information about assigning IP addresses through ESXi, see: Configuring IP Settings for ESXi.

5. Install and configure VMware. See “Installing and configuring VCSA manually” on page 19.

12 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

3.1 Server package contents

When you receive your server, verify that the shipment contains everything that you expected to receive.

Figure 5. Server package contents

The server package includes the following items:

Note: Items marked with asterisk (*) are available on some models only.

1. Server

2. Rail kit*. Detailed instructions for installing the rail kit are provided in the package with the rail kit.

3. Cable management arm*

4. Material box, including items such as accessory kit, power cords* and documentation

3.2 Cable the server

Attach all external cables to the server. Typically, you will need to connect the server to a power source, to the data network, and to storage. In addition, you will need to connect the server to the management network.

3.2.1 Connect to power

Connect the server to power.

3.2.2 Connect to the network

Connect the server to the network.

3.2.3 Connect to storage

Connect the server to any storage devices.

3 VX Server setup 13

3.3 Power on the server

After the server performs a short self-test (power status LED flashes quickly) when connected to input power, it enters a standby state (power status LED flashes once per second).

The server can be turned on (power LED on) in any of the following ways:

1. You can press the power button.

2. The server can restart automatically after a power interruption.

3. The server can respond to remote power-on requests sent to the Lenovo XClarity Controller.

For information about powering off the server, see “Power off the server” on page 13.

3.4 Power off the server

The server remains in a standby state when it is connected to a power source, allowing the Lenovo XClarity Controller to respond to remote power-on requests. To remove all power from the server (power status LED off), you must disconnect all power cables.

To place the server in a standby state (power status LED flashes once per second):

Note: The Lenovo XClarity Controller can place the server in a standby state as an automatic response to a critical system failure.

1. Start an orderly shutdown using the operating system (if supported by your operating system).

2. Press the power button to start an orderly shutdown (if supported by your operating system).

3. Press and hold the power button for more than 4 seconds to force a shutdown.

When in a standby state, the server can respond to remote power-on requests sent to the Lenovo XClarity Controller. For information about powering on the server, see “Power on the server” on page 13.

3.5 Set the network connection for the Lenovo XClarity Controller

Before you can access the Lenovo XClarity Controller over your network, you need to specify how Lenovo XClarity Controller will connect to the network. Depending on how the network connection is implemented, you might need to specify a static IP address as well.

The following methods are available to set the network connection for the Lenovo XClarity Controller if you are not using DHCP:

1. If a monitor is attached to the server, you can use Lenovo XClarity Controller to set the network connection.

2. If no monitor attached to the server, you can set the network connection through the Lenovo XClarity Controller interface. Connect an Ethernet cable from your laptop to Lenovo XClarity Controller connector, which is located at the rear of the server.

Note: Make sure that you modify the IP settings on the laptop so that it is on the same network as the server default settings.

3. The default IPv4 address and the IPv6 Link Local Address (LLA) is provided on the Lenovo XClarity Controller Network Access label that is affixed to the Pull Out Information Tab.

4. If you are using the Lenovo XClarity Administrator Mobile app from a mobile device, you can connect to the Lenovo XClarity Controller through the Lenovo XClarity Controller USB connector on the front of the server. For the location of the Lenovo XClarity Controller USB connector, see the User Guide for the respective ThinkAgile VX server you are using.

14 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

Note: The Lenovo XClarity Controller USB connector mode must be set to manage the Lenovo XClarity Controller (instead of normal USB mode). To switch from normal mode to Lenovo XClarity Controller management mode, hold the blue ID button on the front panel for at least 3 seconds until its LED flashes slowly (once every couple of seconds).

To connect using the Lenovo XClarity Administrator Mobile app:

1. Connect the USB cable of your mobile device to the Lenovo XClarity Administrator USB connector on the front panel.

2. On your mobile device, enable USB tethering.

3. On your mobile device, launch the Lenovo XClarity Administrator mobile app.

4. If automatic discovery is disabled, click Discovery on the USB Discovery page to connect to the Lenovo XClarity Controller.

For more information about using the Lenovo XClarity Administrator Mobile app, see: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.lenovo.lxca.doc%2Flxca_usemobileapp.html

IMPORTANT: The Lenovo XClarity Controller is set initially with a user name of USERID and password of PASSW0RD (with a zero, not the letter O). This default user setting has Supervisor access. Change this user name and password during your initial configuration for enhanced security.

Complete the following steps to connect the Lenovo XClarity Controller to the network using the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager.

Step 1. Start the server.

Step 2. When you see <F1> Setup, press F1.

Step 3. Specify how the Lenovo XClarity Controller will connect to the network.

• If you choose a static IP connection, make sure that you specify an IPv4 or IPv6 address that is available on the network.

• If you choose a DHCP connection, make sure that the MAC address for the server has been configured in the DHCP server.

Step 4. Click OK to continue starting the server.

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 15

4 Installing and configuring vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA)

Several options are available to configure VCSA and add the ThinkAgile VX Series appliances as a cluster to VCSA.

1. Configure VCSA and add the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster using the ThinkAgile Installer

2. The ThinkAgile Installer is a wizard that you can use to perform basic configuration of VCSA and setting up the cluster. The ThinkAgile Installer makes several assumptions to provide an easy-to-use configuration method.

3. Install VCSA and configure the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster manually.

4. To perform advanced configuration functions for the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster, install VMware and configure the cluster manually. This method provides you with the most control over configuration options.

5. Create the cluster in an existing instance of VCSA.

If you already have an instance of VCSA running in your environment and that instance has network access to the ThinkAgile VX Series appliances, you can add the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster to that instance.

4.1 Using the ThinkAgile Installer

The ThinkAgile Installer is designed to simplify the deployment of a VMware vSAN cluster for ThinkAgile VX. You can use the ThinkAgile Installer to deploy the vSAN cluster to an existing vCenter instance, or to install a vCenter instance and deploy a vSAN cluster on a new instance. Use the following procedures to download and run the installer.

4.2 Downloading and setting up the ThinkAgile Installer

The ThinkAgile Installer is available on the Lenovo website. It is downloaded as an .OVA template that can be deployed to any vCenter instance or ThinkAgile VX host that is running in your network (and that has network access to the hosts that will be included in the vSAN cluster).

Complete the following steps to download and set up the ThinkAgile Installer.

Step 1. Download the ThinkAgile Installer from the ThinkAgile Installation download webpage.

Step 2. Deploy the virtual machine to an existing vCenter instance or ThinkAgile VX host.

For more information about deploying a virtual machine, see the VMware vSphere – Deploy an

OVF or OVA Template webpage.

Notes:

• You can accept all the defaults when you deploy the VM.

• Ensure that VM Network Adapters are configured with the required port groups.

Step 3. From VMware ESXi interface, set up the CD mount, and attach the ISO.

1. From the ThinkAgile Installer virtual machine, click Edit to display the Edit Settings dialog.

2. From the CD/DVD Drive 1 setting, select Datastore ISO file from the drop-down menu. The Datastore browser dialog is displayed.

3. Select the downloaded ISO image (for example, VMware-VCSA-all_<version>.ISO.

4. Select Connect next to the Datastore ISO file drop-down.

5. Click Save.

16 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

Step 4. Start the virtual machine, if not already started.

When you start the VM, the IPv4 address of the ThinkAgile Installer is displayed in the VM console

Step 5. Start the ThinkAgile Installer from your web browser by navigating to the IPv4 address that is shown in the VM console.

4.3 Running the ThinkAgile Installer

The ThinkAgile Installer is designed to simplify the deployment of a VMware vSAN cluster for ThinkAgile VX. You can use the ThinkAgile Installer to deploy the vSAN cluster to an existing vCenter instance, or to install a vCenter instance and deploy a vSAN cluster on a new instance.

The ThinkAgile Installer is deployed as a separate virtual machine.

Note: You can deploy the installer on a separate host, or you can deploy the installer on one of the hosts to be added to the VSAN cluster.

When deploying a new vCenter instance, the installer first deploys vCenter. After the deployment has been completed, the installer then creates a vSAN cluster. If vCenter cannot be successfully deployed, the vSAN deployment is not started.

4.3.1 Before you begin

Collect the following information:

1. Static IPv4 address to assign to a dedicated vSAN VMkkernel adapter on each ESXi host that is to be added to the VSAN cluster

2. Hostname, static IPv4 address, gateway, netmask, DNS server, and credentials for the ESXi hosts that are to be used to deploy the VSAN

3. VM data network to which to attach the vCenter

4. Data store to deploy the VM for vCenter

5. User name and password for the vCenter that you want to deploy

6. Ensure that you meet the following prerequisites before running the ThinkAgile Installer

7. All hosts must be powered on and connected to a network that is reachable from the host where the ThinkAgile Installer is located.

8. Each host must have an IPv4 address. You can use a DHCP sever to assign IP addresses, or you can assign a static IP address through ESXi.

9. The vCenter deployment must use a static IPv4 address. Deployment with DHCP is a current known limitation.

10. The static IP addresses must not be used by other resources.

11. The vCenter name must be unique (must not already exist). The fully qualified hostname must also be unique.

12. The name of the new vCenter must be set to the same value as the hostname of the vCenter and the site name for the deployment (for example, vcsa08.thinkagile.com).

13. If the baseboard the management controller is connected to a separate management network, then the ThinkAgile Installer must be connected to both the ESXi server network and the separate management network; otherwise, the ThinkAgile Installer cannot retrieve the machine type and serial number for the ESXi server.

4 Installing and configuring vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 17

Networking:

14. If there are only two uplinks, vnic0 and vnic1 are assigned to vSwitch0.

15. If there are four uplinks, vnic0 and vnic2 are assigned to vSwitch0, and vnic1 and vnic3 are assigned to vSwitch1.

16. If there are four uplinks, and vnic1 is already assigned to vSwitch0, the deployment will fail. Either unassign vnic1, or assign vnic1 to a second virtual switch.

17. Several configuration options related to the networking and vSAN deployment are available when you manually deploy a vSAN cluster. However, when you use the ThinkAgile Installer, the installer automatically creates up to two standard virtual switches (vSwitch) based on the number of network adapters that are installed.

18. If only one network adapter is installed, the ThinkAgile Installer modifies vSwitch 0 to create a vmk interface to support Management, vMotion, Replication, and vSAN traffic.

19. If two network adapters are installed, the ThinkAgile Installer creates a second virtual switch (vSwitch 1). It creates a vmk interface (vmk0) on vSwitch 0 that is attached to port 0 and port 2 of the network adapters. The vmk0 interface supports Management and vMotion traffic. It also creates a vmk interface on vSwitch 1 that is attached to port 1 and port 3 of the network adapters. The vmk1 interface supports vSAN traffic.

4.3.2 Running the ThinkAgile Installer

To run the ThinkAgile Installer from your web browser, navigate to the IPv4 address shown in the VM console.

Note: When you run ThinkAgile Installer for the first time, you will need to accept the certificate. The certificate is a value security certificate and all communication is encrypted. However, it is signed by a Lenovo certificate authority; therefore, it is not listed in the trusted certificate chain for your browser.

The ThinkAgile Installer provides several pages that you can use to specify configuration options for the vSAN deployment.

4.3.3 License tab

Obtaining VMware licenses is your responsibility. VMware includes a 60-day trial license, but you will need to ensure that you obtain a valid license after that period.

4.3.4 Hardware tab

On this page, select the hosts that will be used for the vSAN deployment and provide the ESXi credentials for accessing those hosts.

All ThinkAgile VX servers that are discovered in your network are displayed on this page. You should select at least three hosts to deploy your vSAN cluster. For each host, you specify the ESXi user name and password. You must validate that the credentials before proceeding.

Notes:

• If the user name and password are the same for all hosts, click Populate credentials for all hosts to enter the credentials one time and apply those credentials to all selected hosts.

• Discovery might take a long time depending on the number and size of the networks. If the web interface times out or displays that no ThinkAgile VX servers are found, refresh the page. If servers are discovered after the web interface times out, refreshing the page displays the newly discovered servers.

• If ThinkAgile VX servers are not discovered, ensure that the ThinkAgile Installer has access to all networks to which the servers are connected.

18 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

4.3.5 Hosts tab

On this page, specify the vSAN host settings, such as the vSAN IPv4 address and the subnet mask in CIDR format.

Note: For more information about Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR), see the Classless Inter-

Domain Routing webpage.

If the IP addresses for the hosts in the vSAN cluster are sequentially numbered, click Populate IP addresses to enter a starting IP address (rather than having to repeatedly type in the IP address.)

4.3.6 vCenter tab

On this page, specify the details of the vCenter instance on which the vSAN cluster will be deployed. You can choose to connect to an existing vCenter instance, or the ThinkAgile Installer can create a new vCenter instance based on the configuration information that you provide.

• Connect to an existing vCenter. If you choose to connect to an existing vCenter instance, specify the information about the vCenter instance, such as vCenter name, IP address or hostname, credentials, datacenter name, and cluster name.

• Deploy a new vCenter instance. If you choose to deploy a new vCenter appliance, specify the following information:

– Host network settings. Specify the network settings for the host on which the vCenter appliance will be deployed, such as IPv4 address or hostname, access credentials, port group, and datastore name.

– vCenter appliance network settings. Specify the network settings to be applied to the vCenter appliance, such as the IPv4 address or hostname, IP settings, gateway and subnet mask.

– Single sign-on credentials. For more information about vCenter Single Sign On, see the Configuring vCenter Single Sign On webpage.

– Login credentials. Specify the password for the vCenter appliance and whether or not SSH is enabled.

4.3.7 Review tab

On this page, all of the settings that you specified are listed for your review. Make sure that the settings are correct.

When you click Next, the settings are validated and any issues are displayed for your resolution. Click the Back button to make any corrections that might be needed. After the settings have been validated, the vSAN cluster creation process begins. If you chose to create a vCenter appliance, it is created as well.

4.3.8 Status tab

On this page, the status of the vSAN creation process is displayed. If there are issues, see ThinkAgile Installer Event Codes for information about resolving issues.

Note: The vSAN creation process can take up to an hour to complete.

4 Installing and configuring vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 19

4.3.9 Troubleshooting the ThinkAgile Installer

If the vCenter deployment fails:

1. Verify whether the vCenter name already exists.

2. Verify that the datastore does not exist.

3. Verify that the ISO image from the vCenter site is mounted to the CD-ROM drive of the VX Installer virtual machine.

4. Verify that the IP address not already in use.

5. Verify that the ESXi host details (such as IP address and credentials) are valid.

6. Verify that there are not communication issues with the ESXi host.

If the vSAN deployment fails:

1. Verify that the ESXi host details (such as IP address and credentials) are valid.

2. Verify that the VSAN IP addresses are not already in use.

3. Verify that the disks on the host are not already claimed as part of a vSAN disk group.

4.4 Installing and configuring VCSA manually

You can manually install and configure VCSA, which includes adding the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster to VCSA.

Note: For more information about downloading and installing VCSA, see the following VMware article: http:// pubs.vmware.com/horizon-cloud-onprem-13/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.hconprem.install.doc%2FGUID- 5530A6E5-B5AA-496D-9F4B-1909676933D1.html

Complete the following steps to configure VCSA and add the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster manually:

1. Go to the VX Best Recipe website to download the VCSA Installer.

https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/zh/solutions/ht505302

2. Download the VCSA Installer to a Microsoft Windows-based system that has network connectivity to the ThinkAgile VX Series appliances.

3. Mount the VCSA ISO image file.

4. On the mounted ISO image, locate and run the installer executable at <VCSA ISO mount location>\vcsa-ui-installer\win32\installer. exe

5. Click Install to begin the Stage 1 installation process (deploy the OVA file). For instructions on deploying the OVA file, see the following website: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.install.doc/GUID-39B42E70-9241- 45AA-A0FB-2F369418501A.html

6. Follow the steps until the Stage 1 installation process is complete and click Finish.

7. After deployment is complete, click Continue to begin the Stage 2 installation process (setting up VCSA). For instructions on deploying the OVA file, see the following website: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.install.doc/GUID-CA114526-A413- 4219-9FA7-F5A9E9ACA357.html

8. Create a Datacenter.

For instructions on creating a Datacenter, see the following website: http://pubs.vmware.com/horizon-cloud-onprem-13/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.hconprem.install.doc%2FGUID-6ABEB595-D9CC-4E1F-A4EC-F256525461A3.html

20 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

9. Create a Cluster.

For instructions on creating a cluster, see the following website: http://pubs.vmware.com/horizon-cloud-onprem-13/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.hconprem.install.doc%2FGUID-FDB08AD3-284C-485C-B2A9-6BF3D7866813.html

10. Add the ThinkAgile VX Series hosts to the Cluster.

4.5 Adding the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster to an existing VCSA instance

If you already have an existing instance of VCSA, you can add the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster to that instance.

Complete the following steps to add the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster to an existing instance of VCSA:

1. Optionally, Create a new Datacenter.

For instructions on creating a Datacenter, see the following website: http://pubs.vmware.com/horizon-cloud-onprem-13/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.hconprem.install.doc%2FGUID-6ABEB595-D9CC-4E1F-A4EC-F256525461A3.html

2. Create a Cluster.

For instructions on creating a cluster, see the following website: http://pubs.vmware.com/horizon-cloud-onprem-13/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.hconprem.install.doc%2FGUID-FDB08AD3-284C-485C-B2A9-6BF3D7866813.html

3. Add the ThinkAgile VX Series hosts to the Cluster.

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 21

5 Installing and Configuring Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Lenovo XClarity Administrator is a centralized, resource-management solution that simplifies infrastructure management, speeds responses, and enhances the availability of Lenovo server systems and solutions. It runs as a virtual appliance that automates discovery, inventory, tracking, monitoring, and provisioning for server, network, and storage hardware in a secure environment.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator is used to perform the following functions for the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster:

1. Deployment

2. Managing hardware

3. Managing the rack

4. Configuration Patterns

5. Repository

6. Compliance policies

7. Updating the management server

8. Apply/Activate

For more information about Lenovo XClarity Administrator, see the following website: https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/data-center/software/systems-management/xclarity/

5.1 Deploying Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Use this information to deploy Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Before you begin, make sure that you download the Lenovo XClarity Administrator from Lenovo. Refer to the ThinkAgile VX Best Recipe to determine the correct version to be downloaded.

Complete the following steps to deploy Lenovo XClarity Administrator.

Step 1. Download the Lenovo XClarity Administrator image.

The currently supported version of Lenovo XClarity Administrator is available at the following website: https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/zh/solutions/ht505302

Step 2. Access the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) that is used to manage the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster.

Step 3. Right-click the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster and click Deploy OVF Template.

Step 4. Browse to find the .OVA image that you downloaded and click Next.

Step 5. Enter a name for the VM and choose a datacenter or folder where the VM will be installed.

Step 6. Select the resource (ThinkAgile VX Series cluster).

Step 7. Select the networks.

• For the private network, choose the management network (Lenovo XClarity Controller traffic).

• For the public network, choose the data network.

Step 8. Verify your settings and click Finish.

Step 9. After the OVF template is fully deployed, power on the VM.

22 Installation and Management Guide for ThinkAgile VX Series Appliances

5.2 Managing ThinkAgile VX Series Servers

After deploying Lenovo XClarity Administrator, enable it to manage the ThinkAgile VX Series servers in the cluster.

Complete the following steps to enable the management of the ThinkAgile VX Series servers by Lenovo XClarity Administrator:

Step 1. Access Lenovo XClarity Administrator.

Information about accessing the Lenovo XClarity Administrator is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxca.doc/setup_accesslxca.html

Step 2. Perform the initial setup of Lenovo XClarity Administrator. Information about performing initial setup is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxca.doc/setup_configurelxca.html

Step 3. Manage the ThinkAgile VX Series servers.

Information about managing servers from Lenovo XClarity Administrator is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxca.doc/server_manage.html

Step 4. Optionally, add the rack in which the ThinkAgile VX Series servers are install to Lenovo XClarity Administrator.

Information about adding rack views to Lenovo XClarity Administrator is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxca.doc/racks_manage.html

Step 5. Add the ThinkAgile VX Series firmware packages to the Lenovo XClarity Administrator firmware repository.

From the Lenovo XClarity Administrator web interface, you can download, install, and manage firmware updates for managed ThinkAgile VX Series servers. To update the firmware:

1. Obtain the firmware update from the VX Best Recipe page.

https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/zh/solutions/ht505302

2. Follow these instructions to import the firmware update into the repository.

http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxca.doc/update_acquirefw.html

Step 6. Create server patterns for the ThinkAgile VX Series servers.

A server pattern represents pre-OS server configuration, including local storage, I/O adapter, SAN boot, and other baseboard-management-controller and UEFI firmware settings. Server patterns also integrate support for virtualizing I/O addresses so that you can virtualize server fabric connections or repurpose servers without disruption. A server pattern is used as an overall pattern to quickly configure multiple servers at one time.

You can create a server pattern that could be applied to all of the ThinkAgile VX Series in the cluster.

Note: Consider creating the server pattern from an existing server to save time. Information about creating a server pattern is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxca.doc/server_addserverpattern.html

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 23

6 Installing and Configuring Lenovo XClarity Integrator

Lenovo XClarity Integrator for VMware vCenter is an extension to VMware vCenter and provides system administrators with enhanced management capabilities for ThinkAgile VX Series appliances. Lenovo XClarity Integrator for VMware vCenter expands the management capabilities of VMware vCenter by integrating Lenovo hardware management functionality.

Lenovo XClarity Integrator is used to perform the following functions for the ThinkAgile VX Series cluster:

1. Deployment

2. Certificates

3. Navigating in your browser :9443

4. Requesting BMC and Host access

5. Configuration Patterns

6. Compliance Policy

7. Rolling System Reboot

8. Rolling System Update

9. Viewing inventory

10. KVM

For more information about Lenovo XClarity Integrator, see the following website: https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/data-center/software/systems-management/xclarity-integrators/

6.1 Deploying Lenovo XClarity Integrator for VMware vCenter

Use this procedure to install Lenovo XClarity Integrator for VMware vCenter.

Complete the following steps to deploy Lenovo XClarity Integrator.

Step 1. Download the Lenovo XClarity Integrator image.

The currently supported version of Lenovo XClarity Integrator is available at the following website: https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/zh/solutions/ht505302

Step 2. Install Lenovo XClarity Integrator.

Information about installing Lenovo XClarity Integrator is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxci_vcenter.doc/vcenter_install_esxi.html

IMPORTANT: When configuring network access during the initial setup, use the following instructions: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxci_vcenter.doc/vcenter_admin_ confignetworkaccess.html

After you configure network access, Lenovo XClarity Integrator will restart and you will need to use the new IP address to access Lenovo XClarity Integrator.

Step 3. Configure Lenovo XClarity Integrator and Lenovo XClarity Administrator.

Note: Make sure that you connect to VMware vCenter Server Appliance using port 9443 when you are working with Lenovo XClarity Integrator.

Information about configuring Lenovo XClarity Integrator is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxci_vcenter.doc/vcenter_install_config_lxci.html

Step 4. Manage the cluster by requesting access to the BMC of each of the servers in the cluster.

Information about requesting BMC access is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxci_vcenter.doc/vcenter_using_vsphere_web_ client_request_imm_access.html

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© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 25

7 Updating firmware

The VX Best Recipe details the supported firmware levels for the ThinkAgile VX Series servers. https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/zh/solutions/ht505302

You can use the tools listed here to update the most current firmware listed on the ThinkAgile VX Best Recipe site for your server and the devices that are installed in the server as. All code levels must be contained within the same Best Recipe Release.

Best practices related to updating firmware is available at the following location: https://lenovopress.com/lp0656-lenovo-thinksystem-firmware-and-driver-update-best-practices

7.1 Important terminology

1. In-band update. The installation or update is performed using a tool or application within an operating system that is executing on the server’s core CPU.

2. Out-of-band update. The installation or update is performed by the Lenovo XClarity Controller collecting the update and then directing the update to the target subsystem or device. Out-of-band updates have no dependency on an operating system executing on the core CPU. However, most out-of-band operations do require the server to be in the S0 (Working) power state.

3. On-Target update. The installation or update is initiated from an Operating System executing on the server’s operating system.

4. Off-Target update. The installation or update is initiated from a computing device interacting directly with the server’s Lenovo XClarity Controller.

5. UpdateXpress System Packs (UXSPs). UXSPs are bundled updates designed and tested to provide the interdependent level of functionality, performance, and compatibility. UXSPs are server machine-type specific and are built (with firmware and device driver updates) to support specific Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) operating system distributions. Machine-type-specific firmware-only UXSPs are also available.

See Table 3 to determine the best Lenovo tool to use for installing and setting up the firmware.

Table 3. Summary of available Lenovo tools for firmware updates

Tool In-band update

Out-of- band

update

On- target update

Off- target update

Graphical user

interface

Command- line interface

Supports UXSPs

Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager

Limited to core system firmware only.

√ √ √ √

Lenovo XClarity Controller

Supports core system firmware and most advanced I/O option firmware updates

√ √ √ √

Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Supports core system firmware and I/O firmware updates

√ √ √ √

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7.2 Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager

From Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, you can update the Lenovo XClarity Controller firmware, the UEFI firmware, and the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager software.

Note: By default, the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager Graphical User Interface is displayed when you press F1. If you have changed that default to be the text-based system setup, you can bring up the Graphical User Interface from the text-based system setup interface.

Additional information about using Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager to update firmware is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/index.jsp?topic=%2FLXPM%2Fplatform_update.html

7.3 Lenovo XClarity Controller

If you need to install a specific update, you can use the Lenovo XClarity Controller interface for a specific server.

Notes:

– To perform an in-band update through Windows or Linux, the operating system driver must be installed and the Ethernet-over-USB (sometimes called LAN over USB) interface must be enabled.

Additional information about configuring Ethernet over USB is available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.lenovo.systems.management.xcc.doc%2FNN1ia_c_configuringUSB.html

– If you update firmware through the Lenovo XClarity Controller, make sure that you have downloaded and installed the latest device drivers for the operating system that is running on the server.

Specific details about updating firmware using Lenovo XClarity Controller are available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.lenovo.systems.management.xcc.doc%2FNN1ia_c_manageserverfirmware.html

7.4 Lenovo XClarity Administrator

If you are managing multiple servers using the Lenovo XClarity Administrator, you can update firmware for all managed servers through that interface. Firmware management is simplified by assigning firmware- compliance policies to managed endpoints. When you create and assign a compliance policy to managed endpoints, Lenovo XClarity Administrator monitors changes to the inventory for those endpoints and flags any endpoints that are out of compliance.

Specific details about updating firmware using Lenovo XClarity Administrator are available at: http://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/com.lenovo.lxca.doc/update_fw.html

© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 27

Appendix A. Getting help and technical assistance

If you need help, service, or technical assistance or just want more information about Lenovo products use the Lenovo Support Plan for ThinkAgile VX.

Details for the ThinkAgile VX Support Plan are available at the following site: https://support.lenovo.com/us/zh/solutions/ht505725

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© Copyright Lenovo, 2018 29

Appendix B. Trademarks

LENOVO and THINKAGILE are trademarks of Lenovo.

Intel and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2018 Lenovo

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