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Getting Started with Cisco Intersight v3
Published: March 31, 2022
Talking points
    About

    About

    This Solution

    Cisco Intersight is a cloud operations platform that delivers intelligent visualization, optimization, and orchestration for applications and infrastructure across multi-cloud environments. Intersight offers a new paradigm that allows traditional infrastructures to be operated and maintained with the agility of cloud-native infrastructure. Conversely Intersight provides cloud-native environments with many of the proven stability and governance principles inherent to traditional infrastructure.

    Cisco Intersight has deep integration with Cisco UCS and HyperFlex systems allowing for remote deployment, configuration, and ongoing maintenance. The model-based deployment works for a single system in a remote location or hundreds of systems in a data center and enables rapid, standardized configuration and deployment. It also streamlines maintaining those systems whether you are working with small or large configurations.

    Cisco Intersight includes an API that supports the OpenAPI Specification, a powerful definition format to describe RESTful APIs. Support for the OpenAPI specification provides access to an interoperable REST API with tools that automate the generation of the Intersight API documentation (intersight.com/apidocs), API schemas, and SDKs. The Intersight API includes fully functional Python and PowerShell SDKs.

    It is also possible to add other endpoint devices such as Pure Storage devices and VMware vCenter into Cisco Intersight via the deployment of Cisco Intersight Assist. You can then use the workflow designer to deploy/configure Pure Storage and VMware vSphere components. In this instant demonstration, you will have access to the dCloud Cisco Intersight account for a period of 2 hours. You will have access to review a selection of infrastructure we use to provide dCloud demonstrations, including Cisco UCS domains, HyperFlex clusters, Pure Storage and VMware vCenter systems.

    In this instant demonstration, you will have access to the dCloud Cisco Intersight account for a period of 2 hours.

    Intersight manages a variety of Cisco dCloud infrastructure (including server HyperFlex clusters, Cisco UCS Domains, VMware vCenters, Pure FlashArrays, NetApp, and Kubernetes) in our data center locations across the world.

    Limitations

    This demonstration provides a framework for explaining many of the features and benefits of Cisco Intersight, but does not provide administrative access to managed targets.

    The available managed infrastructure is real and will vary over time, but dCloud endeavor to always provide access to a good variety of infrastructure to showcase the latest features of Intersight.

    Intersight is provided as SaaS and updated each week, therefore, this guide can become outdated; it will be updated quarterly.

    Requirements

    Google Chrome is the recommended browser for this demonstration. Always start your session via the dCloud Catalog, when you click View, the system generates unique credentials and automatically authenticates you to Intersight.

    Scenarios

    Scenarios

    Infrastructure Operations

    Infrastructure status awareness is foundational to successful management. Intersight tracks the health of the devices (targets) it manages, monitoring for issues and raising relevant items as Intersight alarms. The initial dashboard views provide an immediate consolidated view of the status of the managed infrastructure.

    Cisco Intersight is continuously receiving new feature updates and improvements.

    You may be offered a site tour to introduce the UI and announce new features.

    Procedure

    If you are offered a site tour - you may:

    • Complete the tour by clicking Take a Site Tour.
    • Proceed to the dashboard by clicking Close.

    The Intersight Dashboard displays information about the physical dCloud UCS Domains (including all Fabric Interconnect and Servers), and HyperFlex Clusters, that have been registered and are currently under management by Intersight (pre-set dashboards including Storage, Fabric Interconnect, Servers, and Hyperflex Clusters), as well as some high-level information about alarms.

    Example:

    Dashboard

    Cisco Intersight provides a dashboard that spans Cisco UCS and Cisco HyperFlex systems. You can create, customize, rename, and manage multiple dashboard views by adding, removing, or rearranging widgets on the dashboard.

    Procedure

     1   

    Click your Username > User Preferences.

     2   

    User Preferences allow you to change the screen theme from light to dark, or change the language.

     3   

    Click Cancel.

     4   

    Click the Settings icon in the top ribbon and then, select Settings to view the abilities and permissions allowed for the user type.

    Example:
     5   

    In the upper ribbon, click the global Alarms icon to expand the alarms menu.

     6   

    Click View All to view the alarms table - you can filter by severity, search, export, or page through the alarm listing.

     7   

    From the menu, select MONITOR and click the Servers tab.

    This displays a summary of information for the account.

    Example:

    Adding and Removing Dashboards

    Procedure

     1   

    From the menu, select MONITOR and click the Servers tab.

    This displays a summary of information for the account. (Check out Storage, Fabric interconnects, Hyperflex Clusters, and Workload Optimizer dashboards, if needed.)

    Example:
     2   

    Click the plus to show how you can add a new dashboard.

    Example:
     3   

    Check Servers in the Filters list.

    Example:
     4   

    Hover the mouse on Server HCL Status Summary and then, click Select.

    Example:
     5   

    In the Preview panel, click Add Widget.

    Example:
     6   

    Close the Widget Library window.

     7   

    Click the gear icon next to the newly created dashboard.
     8   

    Click Rename.

    Example:
     9   

    Enter the new dashboard title HCL and then, click Rename.

    Example:

    Server Operations

    Regardless if a UCS server is deployed in standalone mode, Fabric Interconnect-attached mode (UCS Manager), or in the new Intersight Managed Mode (IMM), you can perform all the day-to-day operations of the server from Intersight. Intersight is often referred to as the front door for UCS server operations, providing a single-entry point for control and configuration of all UCS server types and generations.

    A Device Connector-maintained connection provides a mechanism for secure communications between a target and Intersight. This connection enables Intersight to carry out server operations on the selected target. Common operations range from gathering simple inventory information to configuring very specific BIOS settings on a target server. The ability to perform such a wide range of high and low-level tasks, all within Intersight, reduces the daily administrative burden for a server administrator.

    Procedure

     1   

    From the left-menu, select OPERATE > Servers.

     2   

    Click in the Add Filter bar and scroll down to select the user-defined tag called HX Cluster.

    Example:
     3   

    Select LON-HX-Cluster-02 to see a customized list of servers based on the membership of the HyperFlex cluster.

    Example:
     4   

    Click on dCloud-LON-HX-3.

    This drills down into General details of the specific server.
     5   

    Point out the Front View of the server in the properties.

    Example:
     6   

    Click the Rear View to see a different Intersight-rendered view of the server.

     7   

    Click the Top View to see a different Intersight-rendered view of the server.

     8   

    Click Inventory to see real inventory information on the server, including CPUs, Network Adapters, and Storage Controllers.

     9   

    Click HCL to check the status of the supported combination of hardware, operating system and drivers.

    Note: 

    Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) compliance is essential to mitigate the impact of service issues caused by running unsupported combinations of server hardware and software on Cisco UCS and HyperFlex systems. Intersight flags hardware compatibility issues for a given server after checking a combination of components against the Cisco HCL database. In particular, Intersight assesses compatibility against the following:

    • Operating System (OS) version

    • Server hardware model

    • Processor type

    • Firmware version

    • Adapter model/ driver version
     10   

    Click Get Recommended Drivers to see the recommendations for this OS vendor and version, and this OS collection of hardware and firmware.

    The provided link goes to Cisco.com software repository where you can download the recommended drivers.
     11   

    Click Close to close the Recommended Drivers pop up.

    Management Modes

    The UCS architecture for blade servers (and FI-attached rack-mount servers) uses a pair of Fabric Interconnect switches as the network infrastructure for the servers. The combination of a pair of these Fabric Interconnect switches and the servers that are attached to them is referred to as a UCS Domain.

    Servers can be managed in the following ways:

    • Intersight Managed

    • UCS Manager

    • Standalone

    Procedure

     1   

    In the left menu, click Operate > Servers.

     2   

    In the Filters bar, select Management Mode and then, select Standalone.

    The software filters the list to those servers operating in Standalone mode.
     3   

    Drill down and explore functionality as desired.

    Standalone servers are connected to Intersight via a Device Connector running on their Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) card. From Intersight, you can automate, configure, and provision UCS Servers in Standalone mode through server profiles.
     4   

    Return to the Servers view, and filter for Management Mode: UCS Manager to show all servers and blades that are connected to Fabric Interconnects and managed this way.

    With UCS Manager, you use Intersight to perform day-to-day operations on traditional UCS Manager (UCSM) Domain infrastructure such as powering on, powering off, accessing the vKVM, updating firmware, and so forth. This provides a consistent operational model for standalone rack servers, traditional UCS Domains, as well as the newer architecture: Intersight Managed.
     5   

    Return to the Servers view, and this time filter for Management Mode: Intersight to review servers in Intersight mode.

    Intersight Mode is a new architecture that unifies the capabilities of the UCS Systems and the cloud-based flexibility of Intersight, thus combining the management experience for the standalone and Fabric Interconnect attached systems. It enables the complete configuration of multiple UCS Domains and servers directly from Intersight. It introduces a new implementation of concepts that are previously introduced with Cisco UCS Manager and moves ownership of the policy model into Cisco Intersight.
     6   

    Click one of the servers to review details of the hardware.

    This image shows a Cisco UCS 210c M6 Compute Node installed in a UCS X-Series chassis. Note that the node's position is highlighted.

    Explore the other tabs as desired.
     7   

    Explore the chassis information.

    1. Click the chassis that is named RTP-UCS-WS-Pod-01-1.

      Example:

    2. Explore the General, Inventory, and Connection tabs.

      Example:
     8   

    In the General tab, select the UCS Domain RTP-UCS-WS-Pod-01.

    The Fabric Interconnect view displays showing the associated Fabric Interconnects.
     9   

    Click one of the Fabric Interconnects to drill down and review its configuration.

    The configuration is applied using the UCS Domain Profile.
     10   

    In the left menu, click Configure > Profiles.

    This section holds the configuration profiles for HyperFlex, UCS, and Kubernetes which can all be deployed and managed from Intersight.
     11   

    Open UCS Domain Profiles and then, UCS-WS-Domain-Profile-01.

    Note: 

    The profile may display on the second page.

    A Domain Profile configures a Fabric Interconnect pair through reusable policies, allows for configuration of the ports and port channels, and configures the VLANs and VSANs in the network. It defines the characteristics of, and configures, ports on Fabric Interconnects.

     12   

    Open UCS Doman Configuration and review the configured Domain Policies.

    Domain policies in Cisco Intersight allow you to configure various parameters for UCS Fabric Interconnects, including port configuration, network control settings, and VLAN and VSAN settings. You can assign a domain policy to any number of domain profiles to provide a configuration baseline.
     13   

    In the left menu, click Configure > Policies.

    Here, a full list of created Policies displays which you can use for UCS, HyperFlex, and Kubernetes configuration.

    UCS Server Profiles Overview

    In Cisco Intersight, a Server Profile enables resource management by streamlining policy alignment, and server configuration. You can create Server Profiles using the Server Profile wizard or you can import the configuration details of C-series servers in standalone mode and FI-attached servers in Intersight Managed Mode (IMM), directly from Cisco IMC. You can create Server Profiles using the Server Profile wizard to provision servers, create policies to ensure smooth deployment of servers, and eliminate failures that are caused by inconsistent configuration. The Server Profiles wizard groups the server policies into the following four categories to provide a quick Summary View of the policies that are attached to a profile.

    • Compute Policies - BIOS, Boot Order, and Virtual Media

    • Network Policies - Adapter Configuration, iSCSI Boot, LAN Connectivity, and SAN Connectivity policies

      The LAN Connectivity policy requires you to create Ethernet Network Policy, Ethernet Adapter Policy, and Ethernet QoS Policy. When you attach a LAN Connectivity policy to a server profile, the software assigns the addresses of the MAC address Pool, or the static MAC address, automatically.

      Note: You can only attach a LAN Connectivity policy that has a static MAC address to only one server profile.

      The SAN Connectivity policy requires you to create Fiber Channel Network Policy, Fiber Channel Adapter Policy, and Fiber Channel QoS Policy. When you attach a SAN Connectivity policy to a server profile, the software automatically assigns the addresses of the WWPN and WWNN Pools, or the static WWPN and WWNN addresses.

      Note: A SAN Connectivity policy that has a static WWPN, or a static WWNN can be attached to only one server profile.

    • Storage Policies - SD Card and Storage policies

    • Management Policies - Device Connector, IPMI Over LAN, LDAP, Local User, Network Connectivity, SMTP, SNMP, SSH, Serial over LAN, Syslog, NTP, Certificate Management, and Virtual KVM policies

    For more information and descriptions of the policies, see the Server Policies section. For an example of the policy creation workflow, see Creating Network Policies.

    After creating Server Profiles, you can edit, clone, deploy, attach to a template, create a template, detach from template, or unassign them as required. From the Server Profiles table view, you can select a profile to view details in the Server Profiles Details view.

    • A server profile can be used to create a template. This template can then be used to create multiple profiles with same configurations and deployed on multiple servers.

    • While template creation, if you toggle ON the Attach UCS Server Profile to Profile Template button, the selected profile gets attached to the template under creation.

    Note: 

    Create a Template and Attach to Template actions can be performed only if a server profile is not attached to any template.

    If you keep the toggle button OFF, the selected profile's properties are carried to the template but the profile does not get attached to it.

    • You can attach a server profile to an existing template. This attachment overrides the configuration properties of the profile and replaces them with the template properties.

    • A server profile attached to a template cannot be modified. The modifications can be done in the associated template.

    • A server profile can be detached from a template and modified as per the requirements.

    • You can always reattach a detached server profile to a template.

    Examine a Standalone UCS Server Profile

    In this section, you will examine an existing UCS server profile. The profile is only an example. If you had administrative authority, you could create a more extensive profile to apply to servers.

    Procedure
     1   

    In the menu, under Configure, click Profiles and then, at the top of the Profiles display, click UCS Server Profiles.

    The list of server profiles displays. You see each profile that is in use, their status, and the server currently using the profile.

    For this demo, you will examine esxi-aci-11.dcv.svpod. The creator of the profile already claimed the deployed server that uses this profile.

     2   

    In the profile list, click esxi-aci-11.dcv.svpod.

    The profile General page displays.

    Under the Details section of the display, you see information such as the target platform, when the administrator deployed the server, and the server name.

    In the Configuration section of the display, in the General display, you see the policies used in this profile.

     3   

    At the end of each policy row, click the policy name to display the policy details.

    Example:

    This image shows the details for the BIOS policy.

    1. Scroll through the policy details to view the options that comprise the policy.

    2. Click as many policies as desired to see the details for each policy.

    These policies comprise the profile deployment.
     4   

    At the top of the server profile display, click Server.

    The server Details and Properties display.

    The Details portion of the display provides information such as the Management IP address, the server Serial number, and other information about the device.

    In the Properties display, you see the Front View of the server with the Health Overlay toggled on. You can switch to the Rear View or Top View using the tabs above the server image.

     5   

    At the top of the display, click Inventory.

    The server inventory displays, showing the Motherboard details and collapsed sections for other server details.

     6   

    (Optional) In the Inventory list, click on each section to view additional details about the server components.

    Connected TAC

    Targets that are managed by Intersight have access to Cisco support, which is known as the Technical Assistance Center (TAC). In the event of a system issue, this allows for seamless troubleshooting and often a hands-free resolution. These integrated support capabilities range from simple tasks such as viewing the contract and warranty status of a system to advanced, analytics-based operations such as proactively replacing parts based on automated pre-failure notifications.

    Often, one of the most frustrating tasks in information technology is contacting support when an issue or outage occurs. Intersight streamlines this process by allowing a case to be painlessly opened for the specific target from the Intersight interface. However, something does not have to break before users can use this intuitive function. From Intersight, support cases with Cisco TAC can be opened for a variety of reasons including:

    • A request for help in diagnosing an issue

    • A request for parts replacement (also known as an RMA)

    • To simply ask a question about the system or operations

    • To search for previously opened cases

    Intersight is directly linked to the Cisco Support Case Manager (SCM) tool so when a case is opened from Intersight, SCM is automatically launched and pre-populated with the device name and serial number.

    Procedure

     1   

    In the left menu, click Servers.

     2   

    In the Filters bar, select Health and then, select Critical.

    Example:

    Servers with Critical health issues display. If no servers are listed, there are none with Critical errors. If so, filter for Health: Warning.
     3   

    Select ... at the end of a row and then, click Open TAC Case.

    If you click Continue you are taken to Cisco Support to raise a TAC case for the critical server.
     4   

    Click Cancel.

    Proactive RMA Process

    Leveraging telemetry from connected products, Cisco can deliver a near effortless customer experience when products experience certain failures. Intersight will monitor systems in real-time for issues and notify if a match is found with any of the known issues that are part of the cloud-based back-end intelligence system. For these types of issues, such as DIMM failures, Intersight automatically detects the issue, auto-creates a support case, and auto-initiates a Return Material Authorization (RMA) to a customer, thereby creating a 100% proactive experience for Intersight users that have devices covered under a valid support contract.

    Launch Tunneled Virtual KVM (vKVM)

    Intersight provides the capability to launch Tunneled vKVM sessions for Cisco UCS C-Series M4, M5, and M6 servers, UCS S-Series, and Hyperflex HX-Series Edge Standalone M4 and M5 servers.

    Tunneled vKVM provides a way to access a server’s KVM console even if the user is not in the same network as the server and the KVM IP is not reachable, by tunneling the KVM traffic through Intersight. You must opt in to use this feature from the server's Device Connector page. To opt in, in Cisco IMC, navigate to Admin > Device Connector and toggle on Tunneled vKVM, to allow Tunneled vKVM session launch for servers from Intersight. This feature is available with Cisco Intersight Advantage and greater license tiers.

    Intersight KVM SSO extends Intersight RBAC to launch Tunnelled Virtual KVM from Intersight without requiring secondary authentication with Cisco IMC local user credentials. For Cisco UCS C-Series and Hyperflex HX-Series Edge Standalone M5 servers with firmware version 4.1(3a) or later releases, you can launch the Tunneled vKVM directly from Cisco Intersight using SSO authentication. For all other platform types, and servers that are running with firmware version older than 4.1(3a), you must authenticate using the Cisco IMC local user credentials to start the session.

    Review the following important requirements and considerations:

    • Tunneled vKVM is supported only for Cisco UCS C-Series Standalone M4, M5, and M6 servers, UCS S-Series, and Hyperflex HX-Series Edge Standalone M4 and M5 servers with an Advantage or Premier license.

    • You must have an Account Administrator or Server Administrator role.

    • There can be only one Tunneled vKVM session per server.

    • Any changes to a user’s access privileges will reflect in the currently active Tunneled vKVM sessions.

    Procedure
     1   

    Click OPERATE > Servers then, in the Add Filter area, choose SITE and then, select RTP.

     2   

    In the Server list, look for the server named esxi-aci-11.dcv.svpod and then, click for more options.

    Note: Only the Intersight account with administrative rights can see more options as shown. For this demo, the user can only see the Launch IMC option.
    Example:
     3   

    Click Launch IMC to open the CIMC page in a new tab.

    The Cisco® Integrated Management Controller (IMC) is a baseboard management controller that provides embedded server management for Cisco UCS® C-Series Rack Servers and Cisco UCS S-Series Storage Servers. The Cisco IMC enables system management in the data center and across distributed branch-office locations.

    What to do next

    If you had the correct authorizations, you would return to the server list page to select Launch Tunneled vKVM option to cross launch vKVM. You can only perform this step if you have Intersight administrative rights and Tunneled vKVM is enabled on the IMC Device Connector. Unfortunately, for this demo, you are unable to show this step.

    If you had authority, at this point you would enable Tunneled vKVM on IMC Device Connector, as shown in the following image.

    Managing and Deploying Hyperflex and UCS

    HyperFlex (HX) is Cisco's internally developed hyper-converged storage solution that is integrated into the Intersight operational model. One of the core strengths and differentiators of HyperFlex is that it is built on top of the UCS architecture, combining software-defined storage, software-defined compute, and software-defined networking, all from a single vendor with years of best practices built into all three layers. Instead of reading through hundreds of pages of best practice guides or validated designs, HyperFlex is deployed from Cisco-provided templates with all the configuration best practices (such as BIOS settings, jumbo frames, network segmentation, QoS, etc.) baked in, without burdening the operator with much complexity.

    This template-driven approach, delivering pre-integrated, consistently configured hyperconverged storage, compute, and network, with validated best practices built-in and single-vendor support through Cisco, is all operationally driven from Intersight. More details on the operational benefits of HX within Intersight can be found in the following sections of this scenario. Cisco Intersight has deep integration with Cisco UCS and HyperFlex systems allowing for remote deployment, configuration, and ongoing maintenance, this scenario provides an introduction.

    Managing

    Cisco Intersight has deep integration with Cisco UCS and HyperFlex systems allowing for remote deployment, configuration, and ongoing maintenance, this scenario provides an introduction.

    A Device Connector-maintained connection provides a mechanism for secure communications between a target and Intersight. This connection enables Intersight to carry out server operations on the selected target. Common operations range from gathering simple inventory information to configuring very specific BIOS settings on a target server. The ability to perform such a wide range of high and low-level tasks, all within Intersight, reduces the daily administrative burden for a server administrator.

    Procedure

     1   

    Click Operate > Servers.

     2   

    Add a filter to the listing.

    1. In the Add Filter field, enter HX and then, select HX Cluster.

    2. Select the cluster LON-HX-Cluster-02

    Example:
     3   

    Click the … next to one of the servers.

     4   

    Click Launch UCSM.

    Example:

    This connects you to the UCSM and allows you manage any UCSM configuration from the Intersight-launched UI.
     5   

    Return to Intersight tab.

     6   

    From the menu select OPERATE > Hyperflex Clusters.

    This displays summary information on the connected Hyperflex Clusters.
     7   

    Click any of the Hyperflex Clusters from the list, for example - LON-HX-Cluster-02, it will bring up HyperFlex Cluster Details View.

    Example:
     8   

    Click the Capacity Runway tab.

    The Capacity Runway view displays the Storage Runway and Utilization Trend. The details on this page enable you to monitor the storage utilization to manage capacity planning. If the storage utilization exceeds 76%, add additional drives or nodes to expand capacity.

     9   

    Go back to the list of Hyperflex Clusters by click Hyperflex Clusters again from the menu.

     10   

    Click the three dots at the right of the row and select to Launch HyperFlex Connect for the cluster.

    Example:
     11   

    Click System Information from the HyperFlex Connect menu.

    Example:

    This displays detailed overview information on the cluster.
     12   

    Select Nodes to take a look at the node information for the cluster.

     13   

    Select Disks to see the disk information for the cluster.

     14   

    Review the other views of HX Connect as desired.

     15   

    Return to the Intersight tab.

     16   

    Click OPERATE > Fabric Interconnects.

    This view displays information on the fabric interconnects for each domain connected into Intersight.
     17   

    Select a Healthy FI.

    1. In the Add Filter bar, click and select Name and then, enter dCloud-LON-HX to search.

    2. Select either of the FI in the search result.
     18   

    From the … menu, select Launch UCS Manager.

    Example:

    Note: Some of our FIs are not always connected to Intersight as they are used by Scheduled demos and will only be connected when used in an active session.

    Deploying

    Cisco Intersight provides an installation wizard to install, configure, and deploy Cisco HyperFlex Edge and HyperFlex with FI clusters. The wizard constructs a pre-configuration definition of your cluster, called a HyperFlex Cluster Profile. This definition is a logical representation of the HyperFlex nodes in your HyperFlex cluster. HyperFlex Cluster Profiles are built on policies which define the sets of rules and operating characteristics such as the node identity, interfaces, and network connectivity. After gathering the node configuration settings to build an HyperFlex Cluster Profile, the installation wizard validates and deploys the HyperFlex Cluster Profile.

    Procedure

     1   

    Select CONFIGURE > Profiles from the side menu.

     2   

    Select the cluster LON-HX-Cluster-02.

    Example:

    This is the identity of a HX Cluster which was created and deployed successfully through Intersight.
     3   

    Click Overview to view the details about the HX Cluster Profile.

    Example:

    In the Overview page, you see the Hypervisor version, HyperFlex version, a list of nodes, and the Health status of the cluster.

     4   

    Click any of the nodes to see more information about the node.
     5   

    Click Profile to see HX Cluster information.

    Under Details you see HX Data Platform version, Storage Network VLAN ID, Server Firmware Version, Storage Network VLAN Name information.

    You can navigate through the Cluster, Backup, Nodes, and Results tabs under Configuration.

    Note: 

    The Cluster and Backup tabs contain no data for this demo.

    For example, click Nodes to show Cluster management IP, List of the nodes information including Name, Model, Hypervisor IP, Storage Controller IP, and so on.

    Example:
     6   

    Click on CONFIGURE > Policies from the side menu.

    A listing of the created Policies and Usage is provided.
     7   

    Click UCS Server for Platform Type to display the policies created for the servers within the account.

    Example:

    In Cisco Intersight, a Server Profile enables resource management by streamlining policy alignment, and server configuration. You can create Server Profiles using the Server Profile wizard or you can import the configuration details of a C-Series server directly from Cisco IMC. You can create Server Profiles using the Server Profile wizard to provision servers, create policies to ensure smooth deployment of servers, and eliminate failures that are caused by inconsistent configuration. The Server Profiles wizard groups the server policies into the following 4 categories to provide a quick summary view of the policies that are attached to a profile.

     8   

    From the menu, return to Configure > Profiles.

     9   

    Click the UCS Server Profile tab to display the server profiles.

     10   

    Click on the profile name to see details on the profile.

    Note: The profile listed in the image may be missing from the list. Select any available profile to see the configuration.

    Example:

    The Boot, NTP, User, and BIOS policies are used in the creation of the service profile. In production, users can create these profiles and specify how the policy is configured (for example, the User policy can be set to enforce a strong password or to mandate that a password not be reused within five password changes). When the service profile is applied to a blade or a server, the policies are applied.

     11   

    Click the page icon to the right of any policy to expand the details for the policy.

    Example:
     12   

    From the menu, select ADMIN > Targets.

    Example:

    This view provides a full listing of endpoints targets are claimed to the Intersight account.
     13   

    Click the Add Filter bar and select Type to see the available device types.

    Example:
     14   

    From the types, select UCS Domain to display the specific UCS domains and the pair of fabric interconnects in that domain connected into Intersight.

    Example:

    Cisco Intersight Workload Engine Overview

    A Next-Generation Private Cloud Architecture for Modern Cloud-Native Workloads

    With Cisco® Intersight Workload Engine, customers no longer must cobble together

    • Open-source distributions

    • Excessive virtualization licenses

    • Multiple management panes

    • Disparate hardware

    to support their enterprise service applications on-premises. The seamless integration of Cisco Intersight®, Intersight Workload Engine, Intersight Kubernetes Service, and HyperFlex® Data Platform (HXDP) eliminates the complexity and risk that is associated with integration at different layers of the infrastructure and application. This makes the cloud-native journey for enterprise applications faster, more predictable, and more cost effective. You also get full stack support SLAs from Cisco's industry-leading Technical Assistance Center (TAC) teams.

    Intersight Workload Engine (IWE) adds an enterprise virtualization extension at no additional licensing cost to the Intersight Kubernetes Service (IKS) Advantage tier. For customers, this means a simplified deployment of their Kubernetes clusters automating their networking, storage, compute, virtualization, and operating systems that are all done in the Cisco Intersight Cloud Operations Platform.

    This delivers cloud elasticity and agility for Kubernetes services on-premises while maintaining the strict hardening and security standards expected in enterprise deployments.

    Benefits

    Simplify operations
    Address any application workload with an all-in-one integrated platform, including hypervisor, operating system, Kubernetes clustering, and storage.
    Unify VM and container management
    Manage clusters from the cloud using one control point for upgrades, capacity expansion, repairs, and security with Cisco Intersight Cloud Operations Platform.
    Reduce costs
    Use infrastructure efficiently with a purpose-built hypervisor without adding the cost of third-party virtualization solutions.
    Intersight Kubernetes Service integration
    Automate balancing and optimization according to Kubernetes best practices.
    Full-stack cloud management
    Simplify day-2 upgrades and enable faster resolution of issues with full stack visibility.

    Key Features

    • Fully automated installer integrated in Cisco Intersight

    • Operating system software that is maintained in Cisco Intersight repositories and automatically deployed on Intersight Workload Engine nodes

    • Hypervisor with support for features like VM scheduling, VM migration, and CPU over-subscription

    • Clustering software deployed with multiple control nodes to deliver system resiliency

    • Automatically configured resilient network connectivity and segmented virtual networking for separation of system, user, and storage traffic

    • Persistent enterprise storage based on Cisco HyperFlex deployed within Intersight Workload Engine nodes

    • Unified Intersight management including inventory viewing, monitoring, and alerting at node, storage, and VM levels

    • Connected TAC and secure access shells for cluster administration and support

    • Node maintenance mode to allow for replacement of defective node components

    Examine the Intersight Workload Engine (IWE) Configuration

    In this scenario, you examine the IWE configuration that is deployed for a specific cluster.

    Procedure

     1   

    In the menu, under OPERATE, click HyperFlex Clusters.

    The list of HyperFlex clusters displays.

    For this demo, you examine the configuration of the lon-iwe-01 cluster.

     2   

    View the overview of the HyperFlex cluster.

    1. In the cluster list, click lon-iwe-01.

      The Overview page displays.

      The overview is divided into three sections: Details, General, and Events.

      Details
      Lists overview information about the cluster such as the health of the cluster, name, HyperFlex version, up time, storage utilization, and so on.
      General
      Provides details about resources and utilization, hosts and VMs, and the node details. The node information includes the name, health, and model of the node.
      Events
      Any events that are raised in the cluster appear in this section.
     3   

    View the Operate information.

    1. At the top of the display, click Operate.

      The Operate page opens displaying the Hosts page.

      The Hosts page lists the nodes in the cluster and provides information about the capacity and utilization of the CPUs and Memory for each node in the cluster. This display lets you see, at a glance, if there is a need to add another host to the cluster.

    2. Under Sections, click Virtual Machines.

      Note: 

      To better see the name, expand the column.

      You see the VMs within the cluster and details about each VM. In this cluster there are two VMs, and you can see the details for each one.

    3. Under Sections, click Storage Containers.

      You see the containers for this cluster, in this case one, and the configured capacity and utilization.

    4. Under Sections, click Drives.

      Note: It may take a few seconds for the display to refresh because of the graphical view displayed in the default page.

      This display shows the status, composition, and capacity of the drives within the cluster. You also see which nodes use a particular drive.

      If desired, in the Drives display, you can click Table View to view the information in tabular format.

     4   

    View the Profile information.

    1. At the top of the display, click Profile.

      The system displays the profile details and a section to view the profile configuration.

      The Details contains information about the profile that is used by the cluster. The data includes the storage network VLAN ID, the server firmware version, the storage client VLAN ID, and so on.

    2. In the Configuration section, click Nodes.

      This display includes the Cluster Management IP Address, the Hypervisor Network IP Address, and the MAC Prefix Address.

      For each node, the display contains the Hypervisor Address, the Storage Controller IP Address, and other useful details.

     5   

    At the top of the display, click Capacity Runway.

     6   

    View the Performance details.

    1. At the top of the display, click Performance.

      You see the performance graphs for IOPS, Throughput, and Latency.

    2. Click the Select Interval field to show you can select different timeframes.

      Example:

      The default of Last 24 Hours may not be sufficient for determining if there were any performance problems that occurred. This capability lets you determine what occurred during longer time periods.

     7   

    At the top of the display, click Health Check.

    There is no data to display because a health check was not run on this cluster.

    Intersight Virtualization Services

    A cloud operations platform should be capable of operating infrastructure across multiple cloud targets, including the on-premises private cloud. Inventory collection, visibility, and orchestration of resources are examples of Intersight’s support for such environments, referred to as Intersight Virtualization Services (IVS).

    IVS is made possible with the Device Connector and Intersight Assist Service detailed in the Foundations chapter of this book. To recap, the Assist Service is embedded in the Intersight Appliance and allows Intersight to communicate with on-premises resources, such as VMware vCenter, within a customer’s private network. This communication is proxied and secured using the same durable websocket provided by the Device Connector described throughout this book.

    Once a hypervisor manager such as vCenter is claimed into Intersight as a target via the Assist Service, all of its resources fall within the purview of Intersight cloud operations.

    Deploy and manage virtual machines on premises or in the cloud, view general inventory information pertaining to VMware vCenter virtual machines, and run essential workflows on virtualization objects.

    Procedure

     1   

    Click OPERATE > Virtualization tab from the Menu.

    You can find a list of Datacenters, Clusters, Hosts, Virtual Machines and Datastores which are associated with the vCenter.

    Example:
     2   

    Click on the Datacenters tab for each datacenter.

    It will show the total number of Datastores, Networks, Clusters, Hosts, Virtual Machines as well as the IP address of the Hypervisor Manager.

     3   

    Select any of the Datacenters, for example-dCloud-RTP-VDI.

     4   

    Drill down to show more details about the Clusters, Hosts, Virtual Machines and Datastores associated with this Datacenter.

    Example:
     5   

    Go back to the Datacenters view.

     6   

    Click on Clusters tab.

    Example:

    It will show a list of the Clusters with an overview of Total Cores, CPU Capacity, CPU Utilization, Memory Capacity and Memory Utilization info.

     7   

    Click on any of the Clusters to drill down more information.
     8   

    Click Hosts tab.

    It will show a list of the Hosts registered with an overview of CPU Capacity, CPU Utilization, Memory Capacity, Memory Utilization and Number of CPUs info.

     9   

    Click on any of the Hosts to drill down more details if you want.
     10   

    Move on to Virtual Machines tab.

    It will show a list of the VMs deployed with CPU Utilization and Memory Utilization info. Click any of the VM to drill down for more info if you want.

     11   

    Click on the Datastores tab.

    It will show a list of the datastores created with Storage Capacity and Storage Utilization info. Click on any of the Datastores to drill down further details as like.

    Traditional Storage Operations

    In addition to the powerful management capabilities that Intersight provides for Cisco HyperFlex hyper-converged systems, Intersight can also provide enhancements for traditional storage arrays from external storage targets such as Pure Storage, Hitachi Data Systems, and NetApp.

    These traditional storage targets are claimed using a similar process to other on-premises targets via the Admin > Targets page in Intersight (see below). They are claimed via the Assist function of the Intersight Appliance and managed using the integrated storage management capabilities available from the Operate > Storage page in Intersight.

    Pure FlashArray

    This scenario reviews the management of a Pure FlashArray.

    Procedure

     1   

    Click OPERATE > Storage from the menu, you can find a list of the Pure Storage devices from four different sites.

    Example:
     2   

    Click any Pure device, for example, pure-lon.

    Example:
     3   

    Under General, it shows overview information of Pure Storage, for example: Model of the PureArray, Purify version, Capacity size, Array Summary, etc. Click Inventory to view more details.

    Example:
     4   

    From the list of Hosts (It shows all the hosts that are connected to host array, and to which it is providing storage), click any of that, for example, aci-hx-esxi-03.

    Example:
     5   

    Navigate through different tabs, General, Host Ports, Connected Volumes, and Protection Groups for more information of the Host.

     6   

    Choose Host Groups from the menu, select any Host Groups from the list and then, drill down for more information.

    Example:
     7   

    Choose Volumes from the menu, check provisioned size, snapshots, created date and time, and Serial number for the list of Volumes, and then, click any of the Volumes to drill down more information.

    Example:
     8   

    Go through the other tab from the menu to check for more information on Protection Groups, Controllers, Drives, and Ports.

    Example:

    NetApp Storage Integration

    This scenario goes through the information Cisco Intersight displays about managed NetApp Storage clusters.

    Procedure

     1   

    In the menu, under Operate, click Storage.

    You see a list of all managed storage devices.
     2   

    In the storage list, click any cluster with NetApp in the Vendor column.

    This scenario selected rtp-nas-01.

    In the General tab display, you see information like the model number of the network-attached storage, the capacity, the utilization, and the performance metrics for the last 27 hours.

     3   

    Display the Logical details.

    1. At the top of the display, click Inventory.

      Cisco Intersight displays the volume list for the selected cluster.

      In this cluster, you see that there are multiple volumes. The volumes have different total capacities and, at a glance, you can see the utilization and performance of the individual volumes.

    2. Under Logical, click Aggregates.

      Because there are no LUNs configured for this NetApp cluster, there is no reason to display that area.

      There is only a single aggregate for this cluster and those details display.

    3. Under Logical, click Storage VMs.

      You see the two storage VMs attached to the cluster. These VMs use the NFS protocol.

    4. Under Logical, click Export Policies.

      You see the export policies that are associated with the storage VMs.

    5. Under Logical, click Licenses and then, in the Licenses list, click More (+5).

      You see the active protocols this cluster.
     4   

    Display the Hardware details.

    1. Under Hardware, click Nodes.

      The single node attached to this cluster displays.

    2. Under Hardware, click Disks.

      You see the three disks that are attached to the cluster.
    You have shown details about a Cisco Intersight managed NetApp Storage cluster.

    Intersight Cloud Orchestrator

    Cisco Intersight Cloud Orchestrator simplifies orchestration and automation for infrastructure and workloads across hybrid cloud by providing an easy-to-use workflow designer. Based on a library of curated, multi-domain tasks (custom or provided by Cisco), it enables users to create workflows, quickly and easily, without being coding experts! This enables quick and easy automation and deployment of any infrastructure resource, from servers, to VMs and the network, taking away some of the complexity of operating your hybrid IT environment.

    The ICO workflow designer provides:

    • Low or no-code workflow creation with a modern, drag-and-drop user experience with control flow support. The workflow designer includes policy-based, built-in tasks for Cisco UCS®, virtualization, and other Cisco® devices. A Software Development Kit (SDK) enables Cisco technology partners to build their own ICO tasks to develop custom solutions.

    • Rollback capabilities to selectively undo a workflow’s tasks in the event of failure, or to deprovision infrastructure, which when done manually can often take longer and be more error prone than straight provisioning.

    • Extensibility with a task designer that expands the functionality of currently supported targets or can be used to create new ones. ICO currently supports Web API with more integration options to come.

    With Cisco Intersight Cloud Orchestrator you can truly evolve your automation strategy to provide consistent experience across on-premises resources and public clouds.

    Procedure

     1   

    In the side menu, click CONFIGURE > Orchestration.

    Example:

    In addition to a library of supported tasks, Intersight Orchestrator provides a list of sample workflows that you can use to build your workflows. The workflows table view displays a read-only list of workflows with a name, description, version, last execution status, and validation information and the last updated.

     2   

    Click the Sample Workflows tab, and choose any workflow, for example, New VMFS Datastore, which opens the Workflow Designer.

    Example:

    The following options are available:

    • Mapping: Displays the relationship between the task inputs and the outputs of the selected workflow. Information on workflow inputs and workflow outputs is also displayed.

    • Properties: Displays workflow details, inputs, and outputs.

    • JSON View: Displays the JSON view of the workflow definition

    • History: Status of the executed/in-progress workflows

    • Execute: Displays the Enter Workflow Input window.
     3   

    Click Mapping tab.

    This displays the relationship between the task inputs and the outputs of the selected workflow. Information on workflow inputs and workflow outputs is also displayed.

     4   

    Click the Code tab which displays the JSON view of the workflow definition.

    Example:

    Review Example Workflow

    This scenario examines an example workflow which configures a NetApp Storage appliance, provisions a VMware Datastore and deploys a Virtual Machine.

    Because the demo uses a read-only environment, you cannot create a workflow but examining the existing workflow shows how you set up a deployment.

    Procedure

     1   

    Under Configure, click Orchestration and when the display updates, in the display, click My Workflows.

    The list of workflows the demo implements displays.
     2   

    In the workflow list, click NetApp-ICO.

    The display opens to the Designer display. However, before examining the workflow, you examine the General details.

     3   

    At the top of the display, click General.

    This is where, if you had administrative rights, you define the Workflow Inputs.

     4   

    Scroll through the General display to view the inputs available.

    These inputs include Strage Device, Storage IP Address, Storage IP Address Netmask, and so on.

     5   

    At the top of the page, click Designer to return to the workflow design.

    The green tasks indicate the items that are related to configuring the storage for a cluster. The purple tasks configure the cluster-virtualized objects.

    The workflow goes starts with configuring a new storage VM through creating a new Virtual Machine on the virtualization side. Using a workflow prevents misconfiguring the NetApp cluster by providing a step-by-step configuration path for each new cluster.

     6   

    Click a workflow task to show that task detail.

    Example:

    This provides you with details about the selected task.

    1. In the detail display, click Inputs and then click Outputs to see the details about inputs to and outputs from the task.

      Note: Do not expand Mapped Task Inputs in the Outputs details because the expansion does not display correctly.

    2. (Optional) Click other tasks to examine the task details.
     7   

    At the top of the display, click Mapping.

    The workflow maps display.

    This display maps each workflow to the various task inputs, which then points to the various task outputs. You can click each workflow to see the relationships indicated by arrows.

    Note: 

    The arrows are more visible in light mode.
     8   

    At the top of the display, click Code.

    Intersight displays the code that implements the configuration that is defined by the workflow.

    If desired, scroll through to see how the code implements the various objects and values.
     9   

    At the top of the display, click History to see when the workflow and tasks were implemented or changed.

     10   

    View the results of running the workflow.

    1. In the menu, under Operate, click Virtualization and then, in the resulting Datacenters display, click dCloud-LON-VDI.

      Example:

    2. In the dCloud-LON-VDI display, click Datastores to display the list of datastores.

      In the list, you see the data store that the workflow created, icodemo-netapp-ds.

    3. Click icodemo-netapp-ds to display the data store details.

      You see details like the storage capacity, the Hypervisor manager name, and IP address.

    4. At the top of the display, click Virtual Machines to display the virtual machine created using the VM template in the workflow.

    Cisco Intersight Workload Optimizer (IWO)

    Cisco Intersight Workload Optimizer radically simplifies application resource management with a single tool that dynamically optimizes resources in real time to ensure application performance. IWO continuously optimizes critical IT resources, resulting in more efficient use of existing infrastructure and lower operational costs on-premises and in the cloud. IWO takes the guesswork out of planning for the future by quickly modeling what-if scenarios based on the real-time environment.

    IWO continuously analyzes workload consumption, costs, and compliance constraints and automatically allocates resources in real time. IWO assures workload performance by giving workloads the resources they need when they need them. IWO helps capacity planning and workload placement across multiple cloud environments.

    IWO is a real-time decision engine that ensures the health of applications and lowers costs across your on-premises and public cloud environments. The intelligent software continuously analyzes workload demand, resource consumption, resource costs, and policy constraints to determine an optimal balance. IWO has an AIOps toolset that makes recommendations for operators and triggers workload placement and resource allocations in your data center and the public cloud, fully automating real-time optimization.

    IWO arms infrastructure and operations teams with visibility, insights, and actions that ensure SLAs are met while improving the bottom line. Application and DevOps teams get comprehensive situational awareness so they can deliver high-performing and continuously available applications.

    Intersight Workload Optimizer Introduction

    This scenario provides an introduction to Intersight Workload Optimizer (IWO) and how you can view all the components that comprise an application and how they perform. To learn more about IWO, see Cisco Intersight Workload Optimizer v1.

    Procedure

     1   

    In the menu, under OPTIMIZE, click Overview.

     2   

    Choose a View to see overviews of your environment.

    APPLICATION
    See your environment in the context of your Business Applications.
    ON-PREM
    See details for the on-premises environment. Notice that the Supply Chain excludes cloud entities and only shows the entities that are on-premises.
    CLOUD
    See details for the cloud environment, including pending actions, a listing of your cloud accounts by cost, the locations of the cloud datacenters that you are using, estimated costs, and other cost-related information.

    The IWO dashboard displays showing the Application information for all the devices claimed by Intersight.

    Note: 

    It may take a while for the dashboard to display because of the amount of component information to show.

    The APPLICATION view presents your environment in the context of your Business Applications (on page 86). See the overall health of your applications, examine any performance and compliance risks, and execute the actions that Intersight Workload Optimizer recommends to address these risks.

    The circles in the supply chain indicate the overall health of each component. Red indicates a critical problem while yellow indicates a minor problem. Green means that the component is healthy with no outstanding actions. The time widget at the top right allows you to switch the amount of data to display to different timeframes.

    Other widgets on the right show Pending Actions and other data that you can directly access by clicking the links.

     3   

    Display the application data.

    Note: If you do not see sufficient information for any components, switch the timeframe from 24H to 7D.

    1. Scroll down the supply chain to show the components that comprise the application.

    2. Hover on some of the components to see a brief summary of the component data.

      Example:

    3. Click a component to display details about the component.

      Example:

      The display contains any pending actions for the volumes, the overall health, and other salient information about the chosen component.

    4. In this example, at the top of the detail display, click List of Volumes to display the volume list.

      At the end of the list loaded, there appears a Show More button if there are more items to display.

      The color at the beginning of the row indicates, in this example, the health of each volume.

    5. At the top of the display, click Actions to display a list of pending actions.

      In this example, the actions are for individual volumes and also show what the impact is of the outstanding action.

    6. (Optional) If desired, repeat 3.c through 3.e for other components.

    7. Click X to close the details.

     4   

    Under Pending Actions, click Scaling Actions and when you finish reviewing, click X.

    The list of pending scaling actions displays. The severity of the actions highlights the beginning of the road. If you click > at the end of the row, you see details about the action and what you must do.

     5   

    Display the on-premises portion of the application.

    1. At the top of the Overview display, click On-Prem

      ON-PREM view shows an overview of your on-premises environment. If you don't have any workload on the public cloud, then you should use this as your starting point for an Intersight Workload Optimizer session. If you have a hybrid environment (on-premises and on the public cloud), then you can refer to this view to see a detailed on-premises overview.

      The on-premises components display. Previously, you viewed the components for the combined on-premises and cloud components of the application. Selecting On-Prem shows only the parts of the application that run in your environment.

      The widgets in this display differ from the Application display because they are configured to show information relevant to the on-premises portion of the application. For example, Top Clusters by Headroom shows the clusters that have the most capacity for the running application.

    2. (Optional) If desired, show details for the on-premises portion of the application as you did in 3.c through Step 4.

     6   

    At the top of the display, click Widget Gallery and when you finish showing the widget gallery, click X.

    The Widget Gallery lets you add more widgets to the dashboard using templates. This capability allows you to expand the information in the dashboard so you can see data relevant to help you analyze the performance of the application.

    You can add widgets to any of the dashboards.
     7   

    In the menu, under OPTIMIZE, click More.

    The list of component displays with the Virtual Machines component selected.

    Notice that the display includes the list of selected component, in this case, virtual machines. If you click > at the end of any of the rows in the list, you get more details about that selected virtual machine. If you click the entry itself, you also see where the specific component is in the supply chain.

    You can also use the Search field to filter the list to specific items in the list.

     8   

    (Optional) Click any other components in the More list to see the list of those components.

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