Overview of OS Provisioning

The OS provisioning plug-in solution reduces the cost and complexity of provisioning an operating system on “bare metal” hardware. This solution automates the manual error-prone processes involved in installing an operating system, without requiring any relocation of the hardware. The plug-in solution not only automates provisioning at a single chassis or system level, but also automates the provisioning of your data centers. This solution provides greater deployment flexibility for system administrators and end users. The solution enables you to automate routine system administration tasks that use off-the-shelf software. The provisioning process is similar, regardless of the hardware, operating system, or underlying technology that you are deploying.

The OS provisioning plug-in solution is based on the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System (N1 Grid SPS) product. The N1 Grid SPS product provides a set of command-line tools and graphical user interfaces. The provisioning software tools enable you to more easily provision an operating system on bare metal hardware that is distributed across a network. Using this approach, you can view the act of provisioning the operating system as a service just like any other software service that is available over the network. You can invoke the OS provisioning feature through a web browser or through the command line.

The system administrator can automatically provision the required operating system on a server without even having to connect to the server. In most circumstances, the OS provisioning plug-in solution does not require that you type a command at the target system's prompt (for example, OBP) or turn on and off power switches. This automated hands-free installation is invaluable for administrators trying to install several hundred machines. Thus, you can push an operating system onto a host from a centralized location rather than initiating the request from the host.

The OS provisioning plug-in solution not only provides a better infrastructure software provisioning solution but also addresses a broader scope of provisioning issues, such as tracking installation history, archiving, and version management. The solution addresses both image life cycle management and server life cycle management. This solution provides a common operational flow by abstracting the intricacies of the different operating system installation mechanisms.