When to use a server profile

A server profile allows you to do the following tasks:
  • Manage the server hardware configuration separately from the actual server hardware. Capture significant portions of the server configuration in one place to simplify server configuration.

  • Reapply the configuration to the server hardware if the server hardware is serviced or replaced.

  • Define the server configuration before the server hardware is installed.

Depending on the hardware environment, you can configure the following settings:
  • OS Deployment (optional):

    • Specify the OS deployment plan and deployment settings to install and configure the operating system on the specified server hardware based on the supplied values. The deployment plan that you select defines the display of the deployment settings. Deployment settings help you to customize the deployed operating system such as OS password, hostname, IP address, and so on.

  • Firmware (optional):
    • Specify the Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) version and the installation method to install the firmware and drivers while the server is powered on (the updates are applied over the management network).

    • Specify to install the firmware without drivers regardless of whether the server is powered on or off (the server hardware will be powered on to install the firmware).

    • Specify the activation schedule for the SUT-based installation methods.

  • BIOS settings (optional):
    • Specify the BIOS settings to apply on the selected server hardware.

  • iLO settings (optional):
    • Specify the iLO settings to apply on the selected server hardware.

  • Boot Order (optional):
    • Specify the BIOS boot order or UEFI boot order to apply on the selected server hardware.

  • Local Storage configuration (optional):
    • Configure the disk drives directly connected to the integrated and mezzanine Smart Array controllers with a specific RAID level to create a logical volume.

    • Configure multiple logical volumes depending on the number of disk drives supported by the server hardware.

    • Specify the local storage configuration.

  • Connections (required for Virtual Connect):
    • Describes which Ethernet networks and Fibre Channel SANs are accessible by the server hardware.

    • Describes boot configuration options.

    • Describes how Virtual Connect technology virtualizes the connections and provides the ability to have MAC Addresses and WWNs set on a server bay. The virtualized MACs and WWNs presented to the networks remain constant when the underlying hardware components change.

  • Storage Attachments:
    • Lists the storage volumes that are accessible by the server hardware, and supports creation of new StoreServ, StoreVirtual, and Nimble storage volumes, which are accessible using Fibre Channel, FCoE, Ethernet, or iSCSI protocols.

    • The volume attachments using Fibre Channel fabric attach or FCoE will automatically be zoned based on the target ports defined for each path.

    • For iSCSI volume attachments, a Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) can be used to authenticate the storage system by using a Mutual CHAP name (MCHAP) and a password. For StoreVirtual, the storage system can likewise authenticate the server by using an MCHAP and a secret. All StoreVirtual storage volumes are configured to use both CHAP and MCHAP authentication by default. Nimble volumes are configured to use CHAP authentication by default, because Nimble does not support MCHAP. The CHAP and MCHAP credentials (names and secrets) are automatically generated by the server.

More information