Configuration and Discovery

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The following sections describe how to configure and discover a Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Rack Server for monitoring by SL1 using the "Cisco: UCS Standalone Rack Server" PowerPack:

Prerequisites for Monitoring Cisco UCS Standalone Rack Servers

In order to monitor Cisco UCS standalone rack servers in SL1 using the "Cisco: UCS Standalone Rack Server" PowerPack, you must know the username and password for a web service user on the rack servers you want to monitor.

Configuring a SOAP/XML Credential

To configure SL1 to monitor UCS rack servers, you must first create a SOAP/XML credential. This credential allows the Dynamic Applications in the "Cisco: UCS Standalone Rack Server" PowerPack to automatically discover and align to your UCS rack servers. An example SOAP/XML credential that you can edit for your own use is included in the "Cisco: UCS Standalone Rack Server" PowerPack.

To create a SOAP/XML credential:

  1. Go to the Credentials page (Manage > Credentials).
  2. Locate the "UCS Standalone - Example" credential, then click its Actions icon () and select Duplicate from the drop-down field. The "UCS Standalone - Example copy" credential appears.
  3. Click the Action icon () for the "UCS Standalone - Example copy" credential, then select Edit. The Edit Credential page appears.

    4. Edit SOAP/XML credential for Cisco Standalone Rack Server

  4. Enter values in the following fields:
  • Name. Enter a new name for the credential. This field is required.
  • All Organizations. Toggle on (blue) to align the credential to all organizations, or toggle off (gray) and then select one or more specific organizations from the Select the organizations the credential belongs to drop-down field to align the credential with those specific organizations.
  • Timeout. Enter the time, in milliseconds, after which SL1 will stop trying to communicate with the UCS Standalone Rack Server device. The default value is 20000. This field is required.
  • URL. Type "https://%D/nuova"
  • HTTP Auth User. Enter the username for the UCS Standalone server.
  • HTTP Auth Password. Enter the password for the UCS Standalone server.
  • Embed Value [%1]. Enter the username. This field is required.
  • Embed Value [%2]. Enter the password. This field is required.
  • Embed Value [%3]. If you are using a proxy server, enter the UCS Standalone server name in this field as defined in your dsm.sys file. If this field is left unchanged, it's assumed that you're connecting directly to the UCS Standalone server instance.
  • Embed Value [%4]. If you are using an SSH/Key credential for public/private key access, enter the credential ID of the SSH/Key credential in this field. Otherwise, leave this field blank.
  1. Click Close.

Configuring a SOAP/XML Credential in the SL1 Classic User Interface

To monitor Cisco UCS rack servers, you must configure a SOAP/XML credential for the UCS web service. This credential enables the Dynamic Applications in the "Cisco: UCS Standalone Rack Server" PowerPack to automatically discover and align to your UCS rack servers.

The PowerPack includes an example SOAP/XML credential that you can edit for your own use.

To do so:

  1. Go to the Credential Management page (System > Manage > Credentials).
  2. Locate the UCS Standalone - Example credential and click its wrench icon (). The Edit SOAP/XML Credential modal page appears.
  3. Supply values in the following fields:
  • Profile Name. Type a name for the credential.
  • Content Encoding. Type "application/x-www-form-urlencode"
  • URL. Type "https://%D/nuova".
  • Embed Value [%1]. Type the username for a web service user on your UCS rack server.
  • Embedded Password [%P]. Type the password for the user account on your UCS rack server.
  1. Click the Save As button.

Discovering a UCS Rack Server

To monitor your Cisco UCS Standalone Rack Server system, you must run a discovery session to discover the server on which Cisco UCS Standalone Rack Server is installed.

To create and run a discovery session that will discover a Cisco UCS Standalone Rack Server appliance:

  1. Go to the Devices page () or the Discovery Sessions page (Devices > Discovery Sessions) and click the Add Devices button.
  2. Click the Unguided Network Discovery Workflow button. Additional information about that requirements for discovery appears in the General Information pane to the right.

    3. RabbitMQ Unguided Network Discovery Workflow

  3. Click Select. The three-step wizard appears starting with the Step 1 Basic Information tab.
  4. Complete the following fields:
  • Discovery Session Name. Type a unique name for this discovery session. This name is displayed in the list of discovery sessions on the Discovery Sessions tab.
  • Description.Optional. Type a short description of the discovery session. You can use the text in this description to search for the discovery session on the Discovery Sessions tab.
  • Select the organization to add discovered devices to. Select the name of the organization to which you want to add the discovered devices.
  1. Click Next. The Step 2 Credential Selection tab of the wizard appears.
  2. On the Credential Selection tab, locate and select the SOAP/XML credential you created for Cisco UCS Standalone Rack Server appliances.
  3. Click Next. The Step 3 Discovery Session Details tab of the wizard appears.
  4. Complete the following fields:
  • List of IP/Hostnames. Type the IP address for the Cisco UCS Standalone Rack Server appliance.
  • Which collector will discover these devices?. Required. Select an existing collector to monitor the discovered devices.
  • Run after save. Toggle on (blue) to run this discovery session as soon as you save the session.
  • Advanced options. Click the down arrow () to complete the following fields:
    • Discover Non-SNMP. Toggle on (blue) to enable this setting.
    • Model Devices. Toggle on (blue) to enable this setting.
    • Select Device Template. If you configured a Cisco UCS Standalone Rack Server device template, select it here. Otherwise, leave the default selection.
  1. If you enabled the Run after save option, click the Save and Run button. The discovery session will run and the Discovery Logs page will display any relevant log messages. If the discovery session locates and adds any devices, the Discovery Logs page will include a link to the Device Investigator page for the discovered device.
  2. If you did not enable the Run after save option, click the Save and Close button. The Discovery Sessions page (Devices > Discovery Sessions) will display the new discovery session.

Discovering a UCS Rack Server in the SL1 Classic User Interface

To create and run a discovery session that will discover a UCS Rack Server, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to the Discovery Control Panel page (System > Manage > Classic Discovery or System > Manage > Discovery in the classic user interface).
  2. Click the Create button to create a new discovery session. The Discovery Session Editor window appears.
  3. Supply values in the following fields:
  • IP Address Discovery List. Type the IP address for the UCS Rack Server.
  • Other Credentials. Select the SOAP/XML credential that you created for the UCS Rack Server.
  • Initial Scan Level. Select 5. Deep Discovery.
  • Detection Method & Port. Select 443 - HTTPS. You can select additional ports, but you must include port 443 - HTTPS.
  • Discover Non-SNMP. Select this checkbox.
  1. Optionally, you can supply values in the other fields on this page. For more information about the other fields on this page, see the Discovery & Credentials section.
  2. Click the Save button and then close the Discovery Session Editor window.
  3. The discovery session you created displays at the top of the Discovery Control Panel page. Click its lightning-bolt icon () to run the discovery session.
  4. The Discovery Session window appears. After several minutes, the UCS Rack Server should be discovered with the appropriate Dynamic Applications aligned to it. Click its device icon () to view the Device Properties page for the UCS Rack Server server.

Cisco: UCS Standalone Rack Server Known Issues

The following known issues affect version 105 of the "Cisco: UCS Standalone Rack Server" PowerPack:

  • When discovering Cisco UCS Secure Network Server (SNS) devices, they may report a model name that prevents SL1 from correctly aligning Dynamic Applications to it. If SL1 fails to align any Dynamic Applications to the SNS device, you can manually align the following Dynamic Applications:

    • Cisco: UCS SA Cache
    • Cisco: UCS SA Domain Power Stats
    • Cisco: UCS SA Fan Configuration
    • Cisco: UCS SA Firmware Configuration
    • Cisco: UCS SA Management Interface Configuration
    • Cisco: UCS SA Memory Temp Stats
    • Cisco: UCS SA Motherboard Power Stats
    • Cisco: UCS SA Processor Temp Stats
    • Cisco: UCS SA PSU Configuration
    • Cisco: UCS SA Rack Configuration
    • Cisco: UCS SA Rack Unit MB Temp Stats
    • Cisco: UCS SA Server Utilization
    • Cisco: UCS SA Storage Config