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N1 Provisioning Server 3.1, Blades Edition, Control Center Management Guide

Chapter 5 Image Management

This chapter describes how to manage global and account software images using the Administration screen.

Note –

This chapter assumes that you have already created a baseline set of software images by using the command-line interface or by using the Image Wizard as described in Creating and Managing Images Using the Image Wizard in N1 Provisioning Server 3.1, Blades Edition, System Administration Guide.

This chapter includes the following topics:

Image Overview

The following two types of images are used in the Control Center.

You create a baseline set of software images initially by using the following methods.

After you create these images, use the Account Tools section of the Administration screen to manage them in the Control Center.

The image management features in the Control Center Account Tools include the following options:

Note –

Click Synchronize System, located near the bottom of the Tools Bar, whenever you add or change global software images using the command-line interface to make these images available to the Control Center.

Image Management

The Image Management option provides you with a list of software images within the I-Fabric to help you keep track of these images on an ongoing basis. Images that you created from the command-line interface or by using the Image Wizard or the Snapshot tool appear in the Image Management screen as shown in Figure 5–1. See Chapter 3, Managing Software Images in N1 Provisioning Server 3.1, Blades Edition, System Administration Guide for information about command-line and Image Wizard procedures. See Creating, Managing, and Using Account Images

Figure 5–1 Image Management Screen

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You can filter the list of images by image type by clicking the Global Image Tab or Account Image Tab. You can further filter the list by choosing a specific I-Fabric. You can also change the sort order of images by clicking the column headings.

ProcedureHow To Change an Account Image Name

Steps

  1. Select the name in the Image Name field from the Account Images tab.

  2. Enter the new name and click Commit Name Change.

    The new image name is displayed in the Image Name field and also appears in server configuration dialogs.

    Note –

    You cannot change the name of a global image.

ProcedureHow To Add OS or Application Profiles to An Image

Use Image Properties to associate operating system and application software profiles to images. OS and application software profiles are created in the Software Profiles page. Click Software Profiles on the Tools Bar to access the Software Profiles page.

Steps

  1. Create a snapshot image if one does not exist.

  2. Click Admin on the navigation bar.

    The Administration screen appears.

  3. Click Image Management on the tools bar.

  4. Select an image name from the list, either from the Global Images tab or the Account Images tab.

  5. In the Installed Software section in the Image Properties tab, click Add.

    The Select Operating System/Application screen appears.

    Note –

    If the add button is not available, you need to create an application or OS image or account application image through the Software Profiles button in the tools bar.

  6. In the Operating Systems tab, select the appropriate operating system from the list and click Add Selected.

  7. Click the Applications tab and select the appropriate applications from the list and click Add Selected.

  8. Click Close to return to the Image Management screen.

ProcedureHow To Delete Image Properties

The following procedure shows you how to disassociate an operating system or application software profile from an image.

Steps

  1. Select the operating system or application from the Installed Software list.

  2. Click Delete.

ProcedureHow To Delete an Account Image

If account images are not in use by any farms, you can delete those images from the Image Management screen.

Steps

  1. In the Account Images tab, select an image name.

  2. Verify that the image is not in use by using the Farm Usage tab.

  3. If the image is not in use, click Delete.

Finding an Image

Because you can manage hundreds of software images, to remember image names or attributes can be difficult. The Find an Image feature enables you to query the database for potential image matches.

ProcedureHow To Find an Image

Steps

  1. Click Admin on the navigation bar.

    The Administration screen appears.

  2. Click Find an Image.

    The Find an Image screen appears as shown in Figure 5–2.

    Figure 5–2 Find an Image Screen

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  3. Filter the image list by using the following search parameters:

    Parameter

    Description

    Image Name 

    Software image with this name. Select Exact String to match the name. 

    Date Range 

    Software images that were created within a date range. 

    Size Range 

    Software images that were created within a size range in MB. 

    Storage Type 

    Software images that were created for SAN, local, dual, or all storage types. 

    Image Type 

    Software images that are global, for a specific account, or for images that are both global and accounts. 

    Archive Type 

    Any disk image, Flash image, or JumpStart image. 

    Account 

    Software images for a specific account. 

    I-Fabric 

    Software images for a specific I-Fabric. 

    Server Hardware 

    Software images for specific hardware. 

    Operating System 

    Software images with this operating system. 

    Attribute 

    Filters operating system by attribute. 

    Applications 

    Images with this application. 

    Attribute 

    Filters applications by attribute. 

  4. Click Find Image to display the list of images that match your query.

Software Profiles

Depending on your I-Fabric implementation, you might be responsible for creating and managing hundreds of images. Hence, a complete description of each image is useful for you to distinguish one image from another. Software Profiles enables you to create and view a list of all operating systems and applications in use in your I-Fabrics so that you can apply these labels to the description of the image. There are four types of profiles:

ProcedureHow To Create Global Operating System and Application Profiles

Steps

  1. Log into the Control Center Administration screen.

  2. Click Software Profiles on the Tools Bar.

    The Software Profiles screen appears as shown in Figure 5–3.

    Figure 5–3 Software Profiles Screen

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  3. In the Global Operating Systems tab, click Add and enter the name of the operating system.

  4. Enter a value for each attribute in your list.

    Note –

    Attributes are configurable, so your list might be different than the one shown here.

    1. To add an attribute to the list, click Add Attributes and enter the attribute label.

    2. To delete an attribute from the list, select the attribute and click Delete Attribute.

      Note –

      The attribute you add or delete applies to all images of the same category. For example, if you add attribute A to global OS OS1, attribute A will appear for global OS OS2.

  5. Click Commit Changes when you are finished entering attribute information.

  6. Continue entering global operating system names and attribute information.

  7. Click the Global Applications tab and repeat the process for global software applications.

ProcedureHow To Create Account Operating System and Application Profiles

Steps

  1. Select the appropriate account from the Current Account drop-down list in the upper right-hand side of the screen.

  2. In the Account Operating Systems tab, click Add and enter the name of the operating system.

  3. Enter a value for each attribute in your list.

    Note –

    Attributes are configurable, so your list might be different than the one shown here.

    1. To add an attribute to the list, click Add Attributes and enter the attribute label.

    2. To delete an attribute from the list, select the attribute and click Delete Attribute.

      Note –

      Attribute is global to all images of the same type.

  4. Click Commit Changes when you are finished entering attribute information.

  5. Continue entering account operating system names and attribute information.

  6. Click the Account Applications tab and repeat the process for account software applications.

Data and Application Migration

Depending on what software is installed and configured to run at boot in the disk image, you have a number of remote access options for the servers in your farm. Typical options for servers include Telnet, Secure Shell (SSH), file transfer protocol (FTP), and so on. You can use these mechanisms to load data and software remotely. Alternatively, you can load from tapes or DVD-ROMs.

Also, if you have other active farms in the same account from which you would like to migrate data and access information, the snapshot mechanism is an effective way to move software and data from farm to farm.

Following are three example migration methods:

Creating, Managing, and Using Account Images

After you migrate your data and applications, you can create master images for each disk in the server through a process called snapshot. The result of the snapshot process is a stable image on disk from which a server can successfully boot and run. The snapshot, or a copy of a server disk in an active farm, is added into an account-level library of images. You can create an account image by using the snapshot mechanism for any combination of software and data present on a server disk.

If you choose, a disk snapshot request can automatically shut down a server to ensure that the resulting image is a stable, production-ready replication of the original image. During the last step of a snapshot request, the server is started up again automatically. Alternatively, you can manually shut down a server to take a snapshot, or take a snapshot without shutting down a server. If you snapshot a local disk, the server is shutdown by the system.

Note –

If you want to issue a farm update request after taking a snapshot, first ensure that the server has successfully restarted before you issue a farm update request. Otherwise, the farm update fails. To ensure that the server has restarted, execute the ping ip_address command.

Account images can be created by using the command-line or by using the Image Wizard. See Chapter 3, Managing Software Images in N1 Provisioning Server 3.1, Blades Edition, System Administration Guide. Account images can also be created by using the snapshot tool in the Control Center. See Snapshot Best Practices.

Another type of image, called a global image, can be used by any farm in any account. However, when you use the snapshot tool to create a software image, the image is the result of a snapshot of a disk in use within a farm and is therefore account specific.

Note –

For more information on managing global images, see Chapter 3, Managing Software Images in N1 Provisioning Server 3.1, Blades Edition, System Administration Guide.

In addition to software images, the Control Center enables you to take a snapshot of the configuration of load balancers. The snapshot is for element failover purposes. The snapshot images cannot be used to copy configurations to other load balancers.

If you choose to allow the software to automatically shut down the server to take a snapshot of an image, change an image, or delete a disk of an Active farm server, the following process occurs:

This process normally takes 25 to 35 minutes for a 750 MB volume for local storage.

The software enables you to decide whether the server should be shutdown during a snapshot. If you choose to let the software perform a shutdown during a snapshot, the server is removed from monitoring and shut down. A snapshot of the specified disk is made, the server is rebooted, and reregistered the server with monitoring.

However, if you do not want to let the software do the shutdown, the software just takes the snapshot of the disk. The software does not perform any steps related to server shutdown.

For a local disk snapshot, you are not provided with any options. The server is always shutdown automatically.

If you shut down the server manually, a failed device request is generated if the server is still being monitored. To avoid this failed request, before the server is shutdown, unregister the server from monitoring and subsequently register the server on the server's command-line interface.

Run the following command on the server to unregister the server from monitoring:


opt/terraspring/sbin/tsprmonitor -stop \
[ Minutes to reboot (default 20 minutes) ] [ -c]

Running this tool on the server stops monitoring while you shut down the server for the specified amount of time in minutes. The default is 20 minutes. You can run this tool again to extend the time as required. To start the monitoring process again, reboot the server.

The -c option gives you the option to wait for a confirmation that the request to stop monitoring is confirmed. If you use the -c option, tsprmonitor returns with the confirmation that the server is not be monitored. Without the option, you should wait for ten minutes before rebooting the server.

Managing Account Images

The Image Management option in the Account screen provides you with a list of account software images within the I-Fabric to help you keep track of these images on an ongoing basis.

Note –

The Image Management option in the Account screen is very similar to the Image Management option in the Administration screen described in Chapter 4, Managing Software Images.

Account images that you created by using the command-line interface or by using the Image Wizard or by using the snapshot feature in the Control Center appear in this screen as shown in Figure 5–4. See Chapter 5, Image Management for information about command-line options and Image Wizard menus.

Snapshot Best Practices

For ease of image management, you can do the following tasks:

ProcedureHow To Manage Account Images

Steps

  1. From the Navigation Bar, click Account.

  2. Click Image Management to view the Account Image Management screen shown in Figure 5–4.

    Figure 5–4 Account Image Management Screen

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  3. Filter the images by clicking the Show unused images only check box.

    This option displays software images that are not currently deployed.

    The Image List displays the following information about the images: Image Name, Creation Date, Server Hardware, Size (in GB), I-Fabric, and current State.

  4. Click a specific software image to display additional information.

    1. Click the Image Properties tab to see information about the operating system and applications associated with the image.

    2. Click the Image Usage tab to display image usage details.

  5. Click Delete to delete the software image from the account.

  6. Click Close to exit.

Managing Account Software Profiles

End users, as well as administrators, can be responsible for managing multiple software images. However, end users do not have access to the Administration screen. Instead, end users use the Software Profiles option from the Account screen to create software profiles.

Note –

The process of creating an account software profile is very similar to creating software profiles by using the Administration screen as described in Software Profiles.

ProcedureHow To Manage Account Software Profiles

Steps

  1. From the Navigation Bar, click Account.

  2. Click Software Profile.

    The Account Software Profiles screen appears.

  3. In the Account Operating System tab, click Add.

  4. Type the operating system name in the field provided.

  5. For each attribute listed, enter an appropriate value.

  6. Click Commit Changes when you have finished entering information.

    Note –

    The list of attributes is configured in the Administration Software Profiles screen. Refer to Software Profiles for information on how to change this list.

  7. In the Account Applications tab, click Add.

  8. Type the application name in the field provided.

  9. For each attribute listed, enter an appropriate value.

  10. Click Commit Changes when you have finished entering information.

  11. Click Close.

Using an Account Software Image

The account software image can be used to change or update the contents of volumes in active farms.

Caution – Caution –

An image update overwrites the selected disk volumes on all servers in the group. You lose all existing data on these volumes and all servers reboot.

ProcedureHow To Use an Account Software Image

Steps

  1. Select an Active farm, and open the farm in the Editor.

  2. Right-click the server on which to deploy a software image and click Configure

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  3. The Configure: Server screen appears.

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  4. In IDE Storage tab, click Select.

    The Select Disk Image screen appears.

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  5. Filter the image list by using the following fields:

    • Image Name–displays the software image with this name.

    • Date Range–displays software images that were created within the date range.

    • Image Type–displays software images that are global, for a specific account, or for images that are both global and account.

    • Operating System–select an operating system from the drop-down list.

    • Applications–displays specific applications.

    • Archive Type–select Any, Disk, Flash, or JumpStart archive type.

  6. Click Update Image List to display the list of images that match your query.

  7. Select an appropriate software image.

  8. Click OK.

    When you change the image on a disk, a warning message is displayed to alert you that the server will be shut down or rebooted for your request to complete successfully.

  9. Click OK to apply the disk image or Cancel to terminate the process.

  10. Click OK to exit the Server configuration screen.

Creating an Account Image By Using Snapshot

There are three different image archive types.

Before you begin the snapshot process, build the image to the desired specification.

ProcedureHow To Create an Account Image By Using Snapshot

Steps

  1. Open an active farm in the Editor, and right-click the server and select Snapshot Image.

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  2. The Configure: Disks dialog appears.

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  3. In Show, select the server to be used to create the image from the list.

  4. Select the disk for which you wish to create a snapshot.

  5. Click Snapshot Disk.

    The Snapshot: Image dialog box appears.

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    1. In Name, enter a unique image name that does not include backslash, apostrophe, double quote, or angle bracket characters.

    2. In Archive Type, select the archive radio button to indicate the type of image to snapshot.

    3. In Availability, select For Use With Any Server Hardware to indicate that any architecture is allowed at the time of deployment. This might be used with raw disk data that is server independent.

    4. In Server, select Shutdown During Snapshot to indicate whether that you want the software to automatically reboot the server.

      Note –

      If you click this option, the software performs a shutdown during a snapshot. The server is removed from monitoring an, shut down. A snapshot of the specified disk is made, the server is rebooted and the server is re-registered with monitoring.

      If you do not want to let the software do the shutdown, the software just takes the snapshot of the disk.

  6. Configure the Image Software Profile to describe the content of the snapshot.

    Note –

    This action is a way to catalog the contents of the image and does not affect the actual data content of the snapshot image.

  7. In Operating System, select the operating system name that best describes the OS contained on the image from the list and click the Add arrow to display it in the installed section.

    If the appropriate operating system is not included in the list, click the Add to List button to display the Add: Operating System dialog as shown in Figure 5–5.

    Figure 5–5 Add: Operating System Screen

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  8. Click to select an attribute and enter a value that is appropriate for this attribute.

    When you have entered all values, click OK to save your changes and close the window. Attributes can be customized, so your list might vary from the one shown in Figure 5–5.

  9. In Application List, select the name of the application from the list and click the Add arrow to display the application in the installed section.

    Continue adding applications as necessary to reflect the actual software contained on the image. If the appropriate applications are not included in the list, click the Add to List button to display the Add: Application dialog as shown in Figure 5–6.

    Figure 5–6 Add: Application Screen

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  10. Click to select an attribute and enter the value that is appropriate to this attribute.

    When you have entered all values, click OK to save your changes and close the window. Attributes can be customized, so your list might vary from the one shown in Figure 5–6.

  11. Click OK to validate the information and submit the request, or click Cancel to abort.

    If the software is shutting down your server, a message displays that informs you that the server will be shut down during the snapshot process and prompts whether you want to proceed.

  12. Click OK to proceed and create the image.

    After the software image is created, the image is available as part of a library of account images that you can deploy on any server in farms within the account.

    Note –

    You might not see the snapshot you just created in the list of images in the server group if the snapshot is still in progress. You can check your request status by following the instructions in the section Viewing Farm Details.

    After the software image is created, the image is available to deploy on any server in farms within the account.

Load Balancer Snapshot

The Control Center also allows you to snapshot the configuration of load balancers of Active farms. Taking a snapshot requires user access privileges. Unlike server snapshot (used for copying disk images), the load balancer snapshot mechanism is provided strictly to allow automatic failover of these elements to the previous configuration. Therefore, you cannot copy a load balancer image to another.

Any changes made to the load balancer configuration from the device's command line is not reflected in the Control Center configuration window. However, the snapshot mechanism captures the complete configuration, that is, all of your configurations made through the Control Center and directly through the device's command line.

If the element subsequently fails, the Control Center automatically replaces the element and restores all of your configurations using the snapshot image, which contains changes made through the Control Center and directly through the device's command line. Therefore, you are required to take a snapshot of the element whenever you make changes through the element command line.

ProcedureHow To Snapshot Load Balancer

Steps

  1. Open an Active farm in the Editor, and right-click a load balancer element.

  2. Select Snapshot.

    The Snapshot Configuration screen appears.

  3. Click Snapshot Now to request the server to snapshot the current load balancer.

    Caution – Caution –

    If you make any changes at the element command line after you snapshot an image, you are required to take a snapshot of the element again because it is not reflected in Control Center configuration dialog.