Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Introduction

N1 System Manager Maintenance Tasks

This section provides overviews of the major repetitive tasks that you can use the N1 System Manager to perform when you have completed the tasks described in the previous sections. After your provisionable servers have been discovered, you can perform the tasks described in the following sections:

Install Firmware Updates on Servers

Updating the firmware on the provisionable servers is a primary administrative task. Installing a firmware update on a provisionable server for the first time is a two-step process:

Import the firmware update into the N1 System Manager. The N1 System Manager must have system access to the firmware update before the update can be installed on the provisionable servers.

By using the create firmware command, you can import a firmware update from a web site or an accessible file system on the management server. Once a firmware update is imported, you can display it in the browser interface under Shortcuts, or you can use the show firmware command.
Install the firmware update on the appropriate provisionable servers by using the browser interface or the load server or load group commands.

See Managing Firmware SP, BIOS, and ALOM Updates in Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Administration Guide for details.

Install an OS on the Provisionable Servers

The capability of installing an OS on multiple provisionable servers from a single interface is one of the core features of the N1 System Manager. Installing an OS on a provisionable server for the first time is a three-step process:

The N1 System Manager must have system access to an OS distribution before it can be installed on the provisionable servers. Import the OS binary (or OS distribution) into the N1 System Manager. By using the create os command, you can import an OS distribution from the actual OS installation CD-ROMs or DVD or an ISO image. Once imported, you can use the show os command to view the available OS distributions on the N1 System Manager.

See Managing OS Distributions in Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Administration Guide for details.
An OS profile specifies which operating system components to install, which additional files and programs to install with the operating system, and configuration information such as root password and disk partitioning specifications. Create an OS profile, which is a template that specifies how to install an OS distribution. OS profiles enable you to install and configure a group of servers consistently. You create one or more OS profiles depending on how many different ways the servers need to be installed.

Note –
A default OS profile is automatically created for each newly created OS distribution, with the same name as the OS distribution.

The browser interface provides a step-by-step wizard to help you create an OS profile. You can also create an OS profile using the command line. In both instances, once an OS profile is created, you can display it in the browser interface under Shortcuts or by using the show osprofile command.

See To Create an OS Profile in Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Administration Guide for details.
The browser interface provides a step-by-step wizard to help you install an OS distribution on a provisionable server. Install the OS distribution through an OS profile on a single server or group of servers. You can also use the load server or load group commands.

See Installing OS Distributions by Deploying OS Profiles in Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Administration Guide for details.

After you perform step 1 for an particular OS and create the appropriate OS profiles mentioned in step 2, installing an OS becomes a single step, even on multiple servers.

Install OS Updates on Provisionable Servers

Once you have an OS installed on a provisionable server, the N1 System Manager enables you to install OS updates, which consist of either Solaris packages and patches or RedHat RPMs depending on the OS on the provisionable server. Installing OS updates on servers for the first time is a two-step process:

The N1 System Manager must have system access to the OS update before the update can be installed on the provisionable servers. Import the required OS update into the N1 System Manager.

Use the create update command to import an OS update from a web site or from an accessible file system on the management server. Once an OS update is imported, you can display it in the browser interface under Shortcuts or you can use the show update command.
Install the OS update on the appropriate provisionable servers by using the browser interface or the load server or load group commands.

See Managing Packages, Patches, and RPMs in Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Administration Guide for details.

Track N1 System Manager Jobs

Each major action you take in the N1 System Manager starts a job. You can use the job log to track status on a currently running action or to verify whether a job has finished. Monitoring jobs is especially useful for N1 System Manager actions that might take a long time to finish, such as installing an OS distribution on one or more provisionable servers.

You can track jobs through the Jobs tab in the browser interface or the show job command. If your are using the browser interface, the number of running jobs is displayed in the Masthead at the top of the page.

See Managing Jobs in Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Administration Guide for details on managing and tracking jobs.

Monitor the Provisionable Servers

The N1 System Manager provides monitoring of hardware health attributes, OS resource utilization attributes, file systems, and network connectivity. Polling intervals and threshold values can be modified for monitored OS resource utilization attributes. Monitoring enables you to track the status of all your provisionable servers from a single access point.

Note –

By default, hardware health is monitored on a discovered server. You must enable monitoring to be able to view a server's OS resource utilization.

For more information on monitoring, see Chapter 5, Monitoring Your Servers, in Sun N1 System Manager 1.1 Administration Guide.