Oracle Server X8-2 Platform Preparation

4 Oracle Server X8-2 Platform Preparation

Oracle Communications produces a variety of software products that run on the Oracle Server X8-2 platform, including Oracle session delivery applications.

Use your Hardware documentation to install and establish system management by way of Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM). Then use the steps below to prepare the Oracle X8-2 for session delivery software installation.

Note:

The ILOM Cable Connection procedure also displays ILOM cabling.

Confirm applicable firmware on the server.
- To check the firmware versions installed in the server, go to the ILOM web interface, and navigate to System Information, Firmware.
- Software and firmware versions qualified for use with Oracle Session Delivery products include:
  - ILOM—v4.0.3.34
  - BIOS— 51.01.01.00
Upgrade or downgrade the firmware on the server as necessary. Go to https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E81115_01/index.html for ILOM upgrade instructions.
Configure the BIOS settings. (Settings navigation may differ based on the BIOS version.)
1. Observe the boot procedure, logged to the console during bootup, and use the documented key sequence to interrupt the boot and display the BIOS configuration dialogs. For example, pressing the F2 key is a common way to enter BIOS configuration from a terminal application that supports function keys.
2. Navigate to the Boot menu and, depending on the software distribution you are using, set the USB or CD as the first device followed by the disk controller. (Navigation: Boot)
3. Disable Hyper-Threading. (Navigation: Advanced, Processor Configuration, Hyper-Threading)
  
  Note:
  Refer to Hyperthreading and CPU Affinity for Oracle guidelines on the use of Hyper-threading.
4. Disable CPU power limit. (Navigation: Advanced / CPU Power Management Configuration)
5. Disable C6 Reporting. (Navigation: Advanced / CPU Power Management Configuration, CPU C6 report)
6. Change Energy Performance to Performance. For example, set "ENERY_PERF_BIAS_CFG" mode to "PERF". (Navigation: Advanced / CPU Power Management Configuration, Energy Performance)
7. To decrease boot up time, Oracle recommends disabling Intel PXE Boot Agent for both onboard and NIC ethernet ports. Press F2 and navigate to Advanced, Network Stack Configuration. Then disable IPv4 PXE support.
  
  Note:
  PXE boot is not supported in this release.
8. Reboot the server.
Initialize the Hard Disk Drive.
1. Open the ILOM remote system console to observe the system's boot cycle, and interrupt the boot cycle to enter the MegaRAID configuration utility.
  
  Figure 4-1 Selecting RAID Configuration
2. Navigate the utility to establish your virtual drive's operation, initially including the Configure action.
  
  Figure 4-2 Begin RAID Configuration
3. Clear the configuration, regardless of the initial state.
  
  Figure 4-3 Clear Any Existing RAID Configuration
4. Access the menu from which you create a virtual drive.
  
  Figure 4-4 RAID - Create Virtual Drive
5. Set the RAID level to RAID-1.
  
  Figure 4-5 Set Drive to RAID1
6. Select your drives.
  
  Figure 4-6 RAID - Select Drives
7. It is common to select all drives at this point.
  
  Figure 4-7 Select All Drives
8. Save the RAID configuration.
  
  Figure 4-8 Save RAID Configuration
9. The system allows you to Confirm your configuration and continue with initialization.
  
  Figure 4-9 Initialize RAID Configuration
10. After the initialization completes, return to the Main Menu to Save and Exit.
  
  Figure 4-10 Exit RAID Configuration
Perform a cold shutdown by removing all system power.

Available Connections

Please read all of the information for each of the available connections prior to cabling the Oracle X8-2.

Port	Description	You Need:
NET (0-2)	From left to right: 1 GigE ports - Net 0 10 GigE ports - Net 1, Net 2 Enables you to connect the Netra X8-2 to your network.	A Category 6 (or better) Ethernet cable to connect to the NET 0 port to your network Network parameters such as an IP address (can be provided by DHCP services or assigned a static address in the OS) Additional Category 6 (or better) Ethernet cables and Ethernet addresses as needed for additional connections to NET 0, 1 and 2.
NET MGT	Provides a 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet connection to the Service Processor (SP) through an RJ-45 connector. The NET MGT port provides support connections to the SP using the Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) CLI and Web interface. By default, the NET MGT port is configured to use DHCP to automatically obtain an IP address. Alternatively, you can assign a static IP address to the NET MGT port. To use the NET MGT port, you must configure its network settings. When configured, use the NET MGT port IP address to log on to the device using a browser or secure shell.	Category 6 (or better) Ethernet cable to connect the NET MGT port to your network IP address for this port (required from DHCP or a static address)
SER MGT (COM1)	Provides a TIA/EIA-232 serial Oracle/Cisco standard connection to the SP through an RJ-45 connector. SER MGT (COM1) connects to either Service Processor by default, but can be redirected to the host. Default settings: 8N1: eight data bits, no parity, one stop bit 9600 baud (change to 115200 baud) Disable hardware flow control (CTS/RTS) Disable software flow control (XON/XOFF)	A terminal device (For example, terminal, connection to a terminal server, or computer such as a laptop running terminal emulation software) A cable to connect the terminal device to the SER MGT (COM1) port
USB	Provides USB3.0 connection to the computer. You can connect and disconnect USB cables to the USB port without affecting server operations.	Installation media Note: Maximum USB cable length: 5 meters

Cable the Oracle X8-2

After mounting the Oracle X8-2 in an equipment rack and installing all components, use the following instructions to connect all appropriate data cables to the ports before powering the system up and beginning the configuration.

Oracle qualified the following configurations of the Oracle X8-2.

Configuration A: One Four-port 10 GigE NIC
Configuration B: Two Four-port 10 GigE NICs (each of the three slots are qualified)
Configuration C: One QSFP NIC (in quad port mode only) and ONE Four-port 10 GigE NIC

Note:
The X8-2 does not support the 40G interface speed.

On board interfaces for all configurations include:

One RJ-45 serial management (SER MGT) port
One 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ-45 Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) service processor (SP) network management (NET MGT) port
One 1000BASE-T RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) port, labeled NET 0
Two 10/25GbE SFP+ Ethernet ports, labeled NET 1 and NET 2
Two 10GBASE-T RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports, labeled NET 1 and NET 2

Note:

The 10/25GbE SFP+ Ethernet NET 1 port is the HA port. When using an SFP+ port, network connectivity is disabled on the 10GBASE-T RJ-45 GbE (NET 1) Ethernet port.

Figure 4-11 Oracle X8-2 Configuration A (4x10 GigE NIC)

This image displays the rear view of the X8-2, per the image title,

Figure 4-12 Oracle X8-2 Configuration B (Two 4x10 GigE NICs)

Figure 4-13 Oracle X8-2 Configuration B (One QSFP and One 4x10 GigE NICs)

Caution:

Please review your Oracle X8-2 Product Notes. Notes for release 1.1.2 describes physical issues with some optical transceivers installed into an SFP28 port.

Oracle recommends using Category 6 (or better) for all Ethernet connections.

You do not need to use every port for proper operation.

Cable the Local Console

You can connect the Administration console to the local SER MGT (COM1) serial console port. You can also operate the console using serial emulation over ILOM.

To cable a console connection:

Connect a serial console cable with an RJ-45 connector to the SER MGT port.
Connect ethernet to the ILOM port and use serial emulation.

When configuring boot loader parameters, set the Console Device to COM1. Never use COM2 or VGA. The Oracle X8-2 server cannot boot the system when set to the default of VGA. You must change this bootparameter when deploying over this platform.

Refer to the section "Change Boot Parameters by Interrupting a Boot in Progress" within the Installation and Platform Preparation Guide to learn how to set your Console Device bootparameter to "COM1". Refer to the section Set Up a Remote Console (SSH) to learn how to run an SSH session via iLOM using Virtual Serial Port Emulation.

Follow this procedure to cable your console:

Locate the appropriate cables to connect to the Oracle X8-2.
To cable a serial connection, insert the serial console cable into the SER MGT (COM1) port.

Figure 4-14 Connecting to USB and SER MGT (COM1) Ports

Note:
Refer to the Oracle X8-2 hardware documentation for information on how to configure the terminal application to connect to the console, and how to establish communications with the Oracle X8-2.
For installation procedures, insert the USB stick in the USB port.
Lead the cables neatly away from the rear panel.
Plug in the cables to their respective destination components.

Connect ILOM to the Oracle X8-2

Use the following procedure to make a connection to the Oracle X8-2 Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) port. For a remote permanent connection to the Service Processor over the ILOM connection, use the rear panel NET MGT port.

Note:

Keep Ethernet cables separated from power cables by at least 60mm where possible and never run them in the same channel of the rack without segregation.

Category 6 (or better) Ethernet

Locate the cable to connect to the Oracle X8-2 for Communications.
Plug the RJ-45 connector into the ILOM port.

Figure 4-15 Connecting to ILOM over the Network
Lead the cable neatly away from the rear panel.
Connect the other end of the cable to the LAN.

Refer to the Oracle X8-2 hardware documentation for information about how to configure the Web browser application to connect to the console, and how to establish communications with the Oracle X8-2.

Install the Software on the X8-2

The Oracle Communications Session Router (OCSR) requires software installation when deployed on the Oracle X8-2.

Software installation to Oracle X8-2 includes the following high-level steps:

Insert your installation media into the USB slot or connect the ISO image by way of Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) virtual media.
Power on the Oracle X8-2.
Observe the startup process, and press F8 to enter the boot menu when it becomes available.
Select the bootable USB or ISO setting.

Note:
You may need to scroll through the list to reach the ISO setting.
Save and exit the boot menu.
The Oracle X8-2 starts the OCSR installation.
Change the Console Device boot parameter to COM1 during installation. If you miss this change during the installation, power on and off the device or catch the boot parameter interrupt and change as soon as possible.
Remove the USB media when prompted by the Oracle X8-2.
Allow the Oracle X8-2 complete the installation process and boot to the newly installed OCSR software.

Next Steps After the Software Installation

Oracle recommends the following steps after installation on the Oracle X8-2 platform on the OCSR.

Execute the OCSR format hard-disk command, per your requirements. See the "Formatting the Disk Volume" for reference and instructions. .
Turn off the OCSR using the Halt command. This provides a graceful software shutdown, after which the hardware is still powered on.
Power cycle the hardware using the power switch, a power controller, or by physically disconnecting and reconnecting the power cable.

To configure the OCSR, refer to the ACLI Configuration Guide.

Boot parameter changes to consider prior to service configuration include:

Set the Target Name to your preferred OCSR name.
Set the Console Device to COM1 (serial).
Set the IP Address to your preferred management port IP address.
Set the Netmask for your management port IP address.
Set the Gateway address for your management port IP address.

Note:

The boot parameters default Boot File is “/boot/bzImage”. Be aware that upgrading code includes obtaining images with, for example, an SCz prefix and the .bz file extension.