Cisco UCS C-Series
Contents
1 Introduction
The Kemp LoadMaster load balancing solution is specifically optimized for the UCS C-Series Rack Servers, enabling customers to deploy full-feature, high-performance load balancers. This can reduce network design complexity as well as increased performance. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers deliver unified computing in an industry-standard form factor to reduce total cost of ownership and increase agility. The Kemp solution is designed to handle load balancing for application-to-application connections for external/internet based connections to web services.
This document describes the steps required to install the Kemp LoadMaster software on a Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Server.
PXE and USB booting options are also supported by the LoadMaster installation ISO file.
1.1 Pre-requisites
The following pre-requisites are required:
A Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Server.
An ISO image with the LoadMaster software.
The ISO image can be downloaded from www.kemptechnologies.com/ucs.
For a standalone LoadMaster one IP-address on an untagged LAN is required. Three IP-addresses are required for a HA pair.
The boot order on the C-Series Blade Server should be configured as follows:
1. HDD
2. CDROM
2 Installing LoadMaster on the Cisco UCS C-Series Server
The following steps must be completed to install the LoadMaster software on the Cisco C-Series Server. These steps must be completed on the jump host, where the LoadMaster installation ISO image is located.
2.1 Configure the Boot Options and Open the KVM Console
First, open the KVM console for the C-Series server by following the steps below:
1. In a web browser, log in to the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC).
2. Select the Server tab on the left.
3. Select BIOS.
4. In the Actions area, click Configure Boot Order.
5. Set the Boot Order to HDD, then CDROM.
6. Click Apply.
7. In the Server tab, select Summary.
8. In the Actions area, click Launch KVM Console. The KVM will open in a new window.
2.2 Create a Virtual CD-ROM with Installation Media
1. Select the Virtual Media tab.
2. Click the Add Image... button.
3. Navigate to and select the Operating System (OS) installation disk image (ISO).
4. Click Open to mount the disk image.
5. Select the Mapped checkbox for the mounted disk image.
2.3 Boot the Server
The server is now ready to be booted to complete the installation procedure.
1. Click the Boot Server option on the KVM console. The server is booted from the previously mapped virtual CD.
2. Press F6 on your keyboard when prompted and select the virtual CD/DVD drive as the boot device in the KVM console.
The server should boot from the virtual CD.
2.4 Install the LoadMaster
Once the server boots from the virtual CD, as described in the Boot the Server section, the LoadMaster installation process automatically begins.
For further information on the different boot options that are available, refer to the Bare Metal Boot Options, Technical Note.
The serial number should be automatically pulled from the LoadMaster. If it is not, please enter it when prompted.
1. Select select disk/partition and press OK.
2. Select the target disk for installation and press OK.
3. Select delete existing partition(s) and press OK.
4. Select start installation and press OK.
5. Press OK. The installation should complete successfully.
2.5 Boot the Installed LoadMaster
Before rebooting the server, unmount the installation media by deselecting the Mapped checkbox in the Virtual Media tab.
The server is now ready to be rebooted with the LoadMaster software installed on the local disk. Within the KVM console, select the Ctrl-Alt-Del option from the Macros drop-down menu.
The server should now begin to boot from the local disk.
On initial deployment, DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 both run to attempt to obtain an IP address. If the LoadMaster obtains an IP address using DHCP, take note of it because this is how you will access the LoadMaster.
If the LoadMaster does not obtain an IP address using DHCP the static IP address of 192.168.1.101 is assigned and the LoadMaster must be manually configured using the console.
Refer to the Configuring the LoadMaster Using the Console section for further information regarding manually configuring the LoadMaster.
After a successful boot, a login prompt will appear. Log in using the LoadMaster user credentials. The default login details are as follows:
- lb100 login: root
- password: 1fourall
2.6 License and Configure the LoadMaster
The LoadMaster must now be configured to operate within the network configuration.
1. In an internet browser, enter the IP address that was previously noted.
Ensure to enter https:// before the IP address.
2. A warning may appear regarding website security certificates. Please click the continue/ignore option.
3. The LoadMaster End User License Agreement screen appears.
Please read the license agreement and, if you are willing to accept the conditions therein, click on the Agree button to proceed.
4. If using the Online licensing method, fill out the fields and click License Now.
If you are starting with a trial license, there is no need to enter an Order ID. If you are starting with a permanent license, enter the Kemp Order ID# if this was provided to you.
If using the Offline Licensing method, select Offline Licensing, obtain the license text, paste it into the License field and click Apply License.
For detailed instructions on how to register for a Kemp ID and license the LoadMaster, refer to the Licensing, Feature Description on the Kemp Documentation Page.
5. If you entered an Order ID, a screen appears that provides a list of available licenses for that order ID, in addition to any licenses registered for the Kemp ID based on the LoadMaster platform type. Select the license type you want to apply to this LoadMaster.
If the license type you want is not displayed, please contact your Kemp representative.
6. Click Continue.
7. The login screen appears, enter the bal user name and the password.
8. In the screen informing you that the password has changed, press the Continue button.
9. If your machine has shipped with a temporary license you should get a warning informing you that a temporary license has been installed on your machine and for how long the license is valid.
10. Click OK .
11. You should now connect to the Home screen of the LoadMaster.
12. Go to System Configuration > Network Setup in the main menu.
13. Click the eth0 menu option within the Interfaces section.
14. In the Network Interface 0 screen, enter the IP address of the eth0 interface, the network facing interface of the LoadMaster, in the Interface Address input field.
15. Click the Set Address button.
16. Click the eth1 menu option within the Interfaces section.
17. In the Network Interface 1 screen, enter the IP address of the eth1 interface, the farm-side interface of the LoadMaster, in the Interface Address input field.
18. Click on the Set Address button.
This interface is optional, depending on the network configuration.
19. Click on the Local DNS Configuration > Hostname Configuration menu option.
20. In the Hostname configuration screen, enter the hostname into the Current Hostname input field.
21. Click the Set Hostname button.
22. Click the Local DNS Configuration > DNS Configuration menu option.
23. In the DNS configuration screen, enter the IP address(es) of the DNS Server(s) which is used to resolve names locally on the LoadMaster into the DNS NameServer input field.
24. Click the Add button.
25. Enter the domain name that is to be prepended to requests to the DNS nameserver into the DNS NameServer input field.
26. Click the Add button.
27. Click the System Configuration > Network Setup > Default Gateway menu option.
28. In the DNS configuration screen, enter the IP address of the default gateway into the IPv4 Default Gateway Address input field.
If you have an IPv6 Default Gateway, please enter the value in the IPv6 Default Gateway Address input field.
29. Click the Set IPv4 Default Gateway button.
The LoadMaster is now fully installed and ready to be used. For further information on how to configure and implement the Virtual LoadMaster, please refer to the LoadMaster documentation which can be downloaded from the http://kemptechnologies.com/documentation page.
3 Configuring the LoadMaster Using the Console
If the LoadMaster does not automatically obtain an IP address using DHCP, or if you would prefer to configure the LoadMaster using the console, then the following configuration steps must be completed before starting the LoadMaster.
1. Login into the LoadMaster using the console with the following settings:
- lb100 login: bal
- Password: 1fourall
2. Enter the IP address of the eth0 interface, the network facing interface of the LoadMaster, in the input field within the Network Side Interface Address dialog box.
3. Press OK.
4. Enter the IP address of the default gateway in the input field of the Default Gateway dialog box.
5. Press OK.
6. Once these are set, a prompt will appear asking to connect to the web interface at the newly configured IP address. In an internet browser enter the IP address of the eth0 entered in Step 2.
Ensure to enter https:// before the IP address.
7. A warning may appear regarding website security certificates. Please click the continue/ignore option.
8. The LoadMaster End User License Agreement screen appears.
9. Please read the license agreement and, if willing to accept the conditions therein, click on the Agree button to proceed.
10. If the machine has shipped with a temporary license, a warning will appear informing that a temporary license has been installed on the machine and for how long the license is valid.
11. Click OK.
12. The home screen of the LoadMaster should appear.
The LoadMaster is now fully installed and ready to be used. For further information on how to configure and implement the Virtual LoadMaster, please refer to the LoadMaster documentation which can be found here: https://kemptechnologies.com/documentation.
References
Unless otherwise specified, the below documents can be found at http://kemptechnologies.com/documentation
Licensing, Feature Description
Bare Metal Boot Options, Technical Note
Last Updated Date
This document was last updated on 21 February 2022.