Sun N1 System Manager 1.3 Site Preparation Guide

Sun N1 System Manager Hardware and OS Requirements

The information in this section will help you determine what operating system, hardware, and storage resources must be allocated or acquired to implement the N1 System Manager system.

This section discusses the following topics:

Management Server Requirements

N1 System Manager management server hardware and operating software minimum requirements are listed in the following table. See Table 2–9 for specific management server sizing information based on the number of servers that are to be managed.

Caution –

Dedicate the N1 System Manager management server only to the N1 System Manager software. Do not install other applications on the management server. The management server must not be managed by any system management software such as N1 System Manager, Sun Management Center, Sun Control Station, or any other management system.

Table 2–1 Management Server Disk Space and RAM Requirements


Disk Space	RAM
72 Gbytes minimum for all management servers	4 Gbytes minimum for all management servers

Table 2–2 SPARC-based Management Server Supported Hardware and Operating Systems


Type	Operating System
Netra^TM 240, 440	Solaris Version 10, 64 bit Solaris Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit
Sun Fire^TM T1000, T2000	Solaris Version 10 HW2, 64 bit Solaris Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit
Sun Fire^TM V210, V240, V440	Solaris Version 10, 64 bit Solaris Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit
Sun Fire^TM V490	Solaris Version 10, 64 bit Solaris Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit

Table 2–3 X86 and X64–based Management Server Supported Hardware and Operating Systems


Type	Operating System
Sun Fire X2100	Solaris x64 Version 10 HW1, 64 bit Solaris x64 Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 AS Update 6, 32–bit and 64–bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 AS Update 2, 32–bit and 64–bit
Sun Fire X4100 and X4200	Solaris x64 Version 10 HW1, 64 bit Solaris x64 Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 AS Update 5, 32–bit and 64–bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 AS Update 1, 64–bit
Sun Fire V20z and V40z	Solaris x64 Version 10 HW1, 64 bit Solaris x64 Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 AS Updates 2 through 4, 32-bit and 64-bit, single core only Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 AS Update 5, 32-bit and 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 AS Update 1, 32-bit and 64-bit

A minimum of 3.0 Gbytes should be allocated for each OS distribution you plan to provision.

On a Solaris-based management server, OS distributions are stored as follows:
- Linux OS distributions are stored in /var/opt/SUNWscs/share/allstart
- Solaris OS distributions are stored in /var/js
On a Linux-based management server, OS distributions are stored as follows:
- Linux OS distributions are stored in /var/opt/sun/scs/share/allstart/
- Solaris OS distributions are stored in /var/opt/sun/scs/share/allstart/jumpstart/

Note –

If the server you have chosen for the management server has only two network interfaces, consider installing a third 10/100 or 10/100/1000 NIC in the N1 System Manager. A third NIC enables you to assign the management, provisioning, and data networks to separate network interfaces, and simplifies administrative tasks. The example diagrams and configurations in this document assume that an additional NIC has been installed in the management server.

Manageable Server Requirements

N1 System Manager manageable server hardware and operating software requirements are listed in the following tables.

Table 2–4 Manageable Server Disk Space and RAM Requirements


Disk Space	RAM
12 Gbytes minimum for all manageable servers	512 Mbytes minimum, 1 Gbyte recommended for all manageable servers

Table 2–5 SPARC-Based Manageable Server Supported Hardware and Operating Systems


Type	Provisionable OS
Sun Netra^TM 240 and 440	Solaris 10 GA and later Solaris 9 Update 7 and Update 8
Sun Fire^TM V210, V240, and V440	Solaris 10 GA and later Solaris 9 Update 7 and Update 8
Sun Fire^TM V490	Solaris 9 9/05 Solaris 10 3/05
Sun Fire^TM V890	Solaris 9 9/05 Solaris 10 3/05
Sun Fire T1000 and T2000	Solaris 10 HW2 and later

Table 2–6 X86 and X64 Based Manageable Server Supported Hardware and Operating Systems


Type	Provisionable OS
Sun Fire V20z and V40z	Solaris x64 Version 10 HW1, 64 bit Solaris x64 Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 WS, ES, and AS, Updates 1 through 4, 32-bit and 64-bit, single core only Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 WS, ES, and AS, Updates 5 through 6, 32-bit and 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 WS, ES, and AS, 32-bit, single core only Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 WS, ES, and AS, update 1, 32-bit and 64 bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP1 and SP2, 64–bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 4/05 HW, 9/05, and 9/05 HW, 32 bit MS Windows 2003 SE, 2003 EE, 2003 WE 32-bit only Windows 2003 SE, 2003 EE 64-bit only Windows 2000S, 2000AS 32-bit only
Sun Fire X2100 with the 8081A IPMI 1.5 Remote Management Card: Part Number: 371-0743	Solaris x64 Version 10 HW1. 64 bit Solaris x64 Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 WS, ES, and AS Update 6 or greater, 32–bit and 64–bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 WS, ES, and AS Update 2, 32–bit and 64–bit SUSE Linux Professional 9.2 and 9.3, 64–bit Windows 2003 SE, 2003 EE 64-bit Windows 2003 SE, 2003 EE, SP1 32-bit
Sun Fire X4100 and X4200	Solaris x64 Version 10 HW1, 64 bit Solaris x64 Version 10 Update 1, 64 bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 WS, ES, and AS, Update 5 and Update 6, 32–bit and 64–bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 WS, ES, and AS Update 1 and Update 2, 64–bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP1 through SP3, 64 bit Windows 2003 SE, 2003 EE 64-bit Windows 2003 SE, 2003 EE, SP1 32-bit

Note –

OS discovery, OS monitoring, and software update management are not supported for managed servers running the Windows operating system. For further information about OS discovery, see Chapter 4, Discovering Manageable Servers, in Sun N1 System Manager 1.3 Discovery and Administration Guide. For further information about OS monitoring, see Chapter 6, Monitoring Servers and Server Groups, in Sun N1 System Manager 1.3 Discovery and Administration Guide.

Manageable Server Firmware Requirements

The following tables list the supported manageable server firmware versions by machine type. Refer to each server's hardware documentation for firmware verification and upgrade procedures.

Note –

You can also verify a managed server's firmware version as described in To List the Firmware Updates Installed on a Managed Server in Sun N1 System Manager 1.3 Operating System Provisioning Guide. This requires that Sun N1 System Manager 1.3 has been installed and configured, and the server has been discovered.

Table 2–7 SPARC-based Manageable Server Firmware Requirements


Provisionable Server	Management Port	Minimum	Best Practice
Netra 240 and 440	ALOM	1.4	1.5.3
Sun Fire T1000	ALOM	6.1.0	6.1.1
Sun Fire T2000	ALOM	6.0.1	6.1.1
Sun Fire V210, V240, and V440	ALOM	1.4	1.5.3
Sun Fire V490 and V890	RSC	RSC 2.2.3	RSC 2.2.3 See Managed Server Limitations
Sun Fire V490 and V890 RSCboot		2.2.2	2.2.2
Sun Fire V490 and V890 Open Boot Prom (OBP)		4.18.6	4.18.6

Table 2–8 x86-based Manageable Server Firmware Requirements


Provisionable Server	Management Port	Minimum	Best Practice
Sun Fire V20z and V40z	SP	Service Processor: 2.1.0.5	Service Processor: 2.4.0.8
Sun Fire V20z BIOS		1.33.5.2	1.34.6.2
Sun Fire V40z BIOS		1.27.4	2.34.6.2
Sun Fire X2100	SP	4.0.9	4.11
Sun Fire X2100 BIOS		1.0.0	1.0.9 See Managed Server Limitations
Sun Fire X4100 and X4200	ILOM	1.0.0	1.1
Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 BIOS		0ABGA022	0ABGA031
Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 SP		6464	9306

Managed Server Limitations

This section lists managed server hardware and network configuration limitations.

If your N1 System Manager provides only a management network or only a provisioning network, then the N1 System Manager operates in a restricted mode when installed. N1 System Manager provides two default security roles with specific privileges assigned for the restricted mode of operation. For further information, see:
Sun Fire V20z

If the V20z BIOS version is less than 1.33.5.2, then OS deployment will fail for a V20z that was discovered using OS type. Discovery cannot determine the server and platform type when the V20z BIOS version is less than 1.33.5.2.
Sun Fire V490 and V890

The N1 System Manager serial console and firmware update features are not available for the V490 and V890 servers.
Sun Fire X2100
- The X2100 BIOS version 1.0.7 does not allow OS provisioning.
- The N1 System Manager serial console and firmware update features are not available for the X2100 server.

Microsoft Windows Image Server Requirements

If you plan to provision a Windows operating system to one or more managed servers, you must install and configure a Windows Remote Installation Services (RIS) server. The Windows RIS server must be running one of the following operating systems:

Windows 2003 Server Enterprise edition with Service Pack 1 (32-bit edition only)
Windows 2003 Server Standard edition with Service Pack 1 (32-bit edition only)

For information about installing and configuring a Windows RIS server, see Setting Up a Windows Remote Installation Services Server.

Recommended Switch Configuration

You can use a single VLAN-programmable switch to provide the management, provisioning, and data network infrastructure. However, for ease of management, you should install one VLAN-programmable switch for the management network, and a second VLAN-programmable switch for the provisioning and data network. Each management, provisioning, and data network should be assigned to separate subnets and VLANs.

Note –

In order to support firmware updates for the Sun Fire V20z and V40z servers, the management network switch should be configured to auto-negotiate link speed.

Ethernet connectivity recommendations

The management network should be a 10/100 connection.
The provisioning and data networks should be a 10/100/1000 (1 Gbyte) connection.

Considerations:

The management network should be on a private subnet to ensure security.
The provisioning network should be on a private subnet to ensure security.
The data network should be on a public subnet accessible by the management server, manageable servers, and the corporate network.

Due to the use of the DHCP protocol and the bandwidth requirements for OS provisioning, you might need to isolate the data network from the provisioning network.
OS provisioning of Linux might fail if a delay occurs in the transmission of data between the management server and the manageable server. A long delay can result if the spanning tree option is enabled for the switch port connected to the manageable server port used for provisioning. To address this issue, you can disable the spanning tree option for the switch or for the switch ports connected to the manageable servers. Refer to your switch documentation for instructions about how to disable the spanning tree feature on your switch.