- Overview
- Product Documentation
- CML Release Notes
- Getting Started
- CML 2.1 User Guide
- CML User's Guide
- Overview of CML 2.x
- Using CML and the HTML5 UI
- Dashboard
- Workbench
- Adding Nodes to a Lab
- Starting, Stopping, and Wiping Nodes
- Deleting Nodes
- Creating Links
- Rules for Creating Links and Interface Overprovisioning
- Adding Interfaces and Overprovisioning
- Overprovisioning Interfaces with Link Creation
- Starting Simulations
- Connecting to a Node's Console
- Setting CPU limit on node
- Launch sequencing and CPU limiting
- Stopping Simulations
- External Connectivity for Simulations
- Link Packet Capture
- Breakout Tool
- Custom VM Images
- Creating a New Node Definition
- CML 2.1 Admin Guide
- Resources
Bare Metal Installation¶
The bare metal installation process is semi-automated, similar to the OVA deployment as a CML VM.
You have a copy of the CML controller ISO file and refplat ISO file on your local machine. The server where you plan to install CML must be configured for UEFI boot mode.
Procedure
The CML controller ISO file is a bootable installer disc.
With a UCS Server, you can use the CIMC’s KVM console to mount the ISO file remotely as a mapped CD/DVD drive.
Note
There is a bug in CIMC that makes the process of copying files from the mapped ISO file to the disk take much longer. The bug affects only HTML5-based KVM console. Therefore, we recommend using CIMC’s Java-based console.
Boot your server from the installer disc. With CIMC, you would choose UEFI and the KVM-mapped DVD option.
Wait until the installation finishes.
When the installation process finishes, it will “eject” the ISO and reboot. When the server reboots, we recommend that you power it down or otherwise stop the boot process until you can mount the refplat ISO file. See the next step.
The server will use its normally-configured boot order. Ensure that the server is set to boot from the hard drive where you installed CML.
Again using the CIMC KVM console, mount the refplat ISO file remotely as a mapped CD/DVD drive. Do not set your system to boot from the mapped CD/DVD drive. Boot from the hard disk to start your new CML instance.
To complete the initial set-up script for the CML installation, you will need access to the server’s console so that you can configure the initial CML accounts and the CML server’s networking. You may work on the server’s local console to complete these steps, or you may use the CIMC virtual KVM console.
Your CML server will require that the reference platforms are accessible during the initial set-up steps. If you forgot to mount the refplat ISO file before rebooting the server, you can do it during the installation. You may need to press Retry multiple times before the refplat ISO is mounted, and the initial set-up script recognizes that the reference platforms are available.
Optional: To copy the reference platforms to the server’s disk, run the following command at the server’s console:
sudo /usr/local/bin/copy-refplat-iso-to-disk.sh
While this step is optional, it is recommended. It is normally not simple or practical to mount the refplat ISO file remotely as a DVD drive on a bare metal server. Using an actual, physical DVD disk with the reference paltforms is not supported because it provides unacceptably slow performance. The most practical solution for bare metal installations is to copy the reference platform images from the refplat ISO to the CML server’s local disk.
Note that the script requires that all labs on your CML server are stopped and wiped. Therefore, it is best to copy the reference platform images to disk as soon as you finish the initial installation steps. Once the copy-refplat-iso-to-disk.sh script completes, it will “eject” or unmount the refplat ISO and then restart the services on the CML server. Ensure that no one is trying to use the CML server while the script is running.
Depending on the network and disk speeds, it can take several minutes to a couple of hours to copy the entire contents of the refplat ISO to your CML server’s disk. It is safe to restart the script if it fails or is stopped. It will avoid overwriting files and will intelligently resume copying a partially-copied qcow2 file.
Once you have mounted the refplat ISO and rebooted your server, you are ready to complete the initial system configuration. Continue the installation with the Intial Set-Up section.