Configuring the PXE and TFTP servers

You can configure or reconfigure the PXE and TFTP servers using the PXE/TFTP Server Configuration tool. This topic includes the following sections:

About the PXE/TFTP Server Configuration tool

With the PXE/TFTP Server Configuration tool, you can:

• Set or change database connection parameters for the PXE/TFTP server.
• Configure the PXE server.
• Configure the TFTP server.
• Configure the PXE server for a multiple database provisioning environment.
• Run diagnostic tests that check the PXE/TFTP server configurations.

Before you begin

• The PXE server and TFTP server must be installed. See the following tasks:

  (Microsoft Windows)	Installing the PXE server (Windows)
  (Linux and UNIX)	Installing only the PXE server (Linux and UNIX)

• The DHCP server must be installed and configured. See Configuring the DHCP server.
• The TFTP server must be configured. See Setting up the TFTP server.

To configure the PXE and TFTP servers

1. Start the PXE/TFTP Server Configuration tool by performing one of the following actions:
   • (Microsoft Windows) At the end of the PXE installation, on the PXE Server Setup panel, check Configure the PXE server.
   • From the Windows Start menu, select Programs > BMC Software > BladeLogic Server Automation Suite > PXE Configuration tool.

   • Start the tool manually. From the directory where the PXE server is installed, run the blpxeconfscript:

     (Windows)	<installDirectory>\PXE\bin\blpxeconf.exe
     (Linux and UNIX)	<installDirectory>/NSH/bin/blpxeconf.sh

2. On the Database panel, review the database connection parameters set during PXE server installation and edit them if necessary.

   Note

   Ensure that the database specified on this panel is the database you specified during Application Server configuration. (The database that the PXE server uses must have information about the file server. The Application Server configuration identifies the file server and the directory where data is stored.)

   To specify database connection parameters, perform one of the following actions:

   • If you are not providing a custom connection string, provide information for all fields except Advanced.

   • To provide parameters in a custom connection string, provide information for: User ID, Password, and Advanced. See PXE database configuration information for multiple databases.

     
     PXE database configuration information

     Field	Description
     Database Type	Type of database you are using in conjunction with BMC BladeLogic (Oracle or SQL)
     Database Server	Name or IP address of the server running the database
     Database Port	Port that the database listens on. By default, the BMC Server Automation installation uses the following database ports: Oracle: 1521 SQL Server: 1433
     Database Name	Name of the SQL server database or the SID of the Oracle database.
     User ID	User name that the database needs to authenticate your connection.
     Password	Password assigned to the User ID
     Advanced	Select this option if you are providing a custom connection string. Then type the string in the text box. The string has the following format in the case of an Oracle database: jdbc:oracle:thin:@<descriptor>

     
     The following figure shows a sample Oracle RAC connection string:

     Example

     jdbc:oracle:thin:@(DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP) (HOST = oraracdb1-vip.ora1.bmc.com)(PORT = 1521)) (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP) (HOST = oraracdb2-vip.ora1.bmc.com) (PORT = 1521)) (LOAD_BALANCE = yes) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVER = DEDICATED) (SERVICE_NAME = oraracsrv)(FAILOVER_MODE = (TYPE = SELECT) (METHOD = BASIC)(RETRIES = 180) (DELAY = 1000))))

3. For PXE Options, provide the information listed in the following table:

   
   PXE Options

   Field	Description
   Use Pxe.conf	Specifies that the PXE server should use configuration settings in the pxe.conf file instead of the database. Check this option if you are configuring the PXE server for a multiple-database provisioning environment. See Setting up a multiple database provisioning environment.
   Interface to bind	Ethernet interface that the PXE server uses to listen, for example, eth0 or eth1. Type the name of an interface. (Current active interfaces are listed above this field.) If you do not specify a valid interface, the PXE server binds to all active interfaces.
   Multicast address	IP address of the multicast group that the PXE server listens on. By default, the BMC Server Automation PXE server listens on the multicast address of 224.1.5.1. Multicast addresses must fall in the range 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. If you check Use broadcast, you must set the Multicast address to the PXE server's IP address. This setting prevents the PXE server from continuing to use the multicast address.
   Listening port	Port on which the PXE server listens for connections from target machines being provisioned. By default, the PXE server listens on port 4011.
   Prompt timeout	Length of time (in seconds) that the boot prompt is displayed before the boot process begins. If the time-out expires without interruption, the default boot option runs automatically. If you enter 0, the boot prompt is not displayed.
   Domain	Domain of the PXE server.
   Use multicast	Check this option if the PXE server should listen to multicast requests. Then set the Multicast address.
   Use broadcast	Check this option if the PXE server should listen to broadcast requests. A broadcast transmits to an entire network and thus uses network bandwidth less efficiently than a multicast. If you check this option, enter the IP address of the PXE server for Multicast address.

4. For TFTP Options, provide the information listed in the following table:

   
   TFTP Options

   Field	Description
   IP Address	IP address that the TFTP server listens on.
   Base Directory	Base directory of the file system used to store operating system bootstrap programs to be downloaded.

5. ( optional ) Configure the PXE server for a multiple-database provisioning environment. Use both the PXE MAS Options and the PXE MAS Data Source tabs. (For information, see Setting up a multiple database provisioning environment.)
6. ( optional ) On the Diagnostics tab, click Runto check configuration parameters on the PXE and TFTP servers. The tests check:
   • Database connectivity.
   • PXE parameters, such as interface to bind, listening port, and TFTP server address.
   • TFTP parameters, such as tftp root. In addition, the TFTP test checks if the TFTP server can bind to its port.
   • Whether the DHCP server is already running. (A running DHCP server can be a problem because it keeps the PXE server from binding to bootp.)
   • PXE Multiple Application Server (MAS) configuration — The test checks to see if DHCP scope options are present.
     The Diagnostics Log displays test results and status messages. Test results show the status of the servers, as well as configuration problems and suggested solutions.
     The diagnostics tests also generate a log file: <installDirectory>/PXE/br/PxeDiag.log

Completing the setup

1. Set up the TFTP server. See Setting up the TFTP server.
2. Set up data stores. See Setting up a data store.
3. Stock the data store.
   The data store holds all operating system installation files for provisioning, as well as Windows plug-and-play drivers and BMC Server Automation RSCD agents. For more information, see Stocking the data store.
4. Set up all necessary agent installations and add them to the data store.
   The BMC Server Automation provisioning process installs an agent on all servers so that they can be managed with BMC Server Automation. For more information, see Preparing agents for provisioning.
5. Create boot image files.
   BMC Server Automation uses Windows PE and Gentoo Linux as boot environments for bare metal provisioning. If you are provisioning:
   • Windows computers, use WinPE.
   • Linux computers, use Gentoo Linux.
     Regardless of your target environment, you must create appropriate bootable image files. For information, see Provisioning servers.
6. (optional) Set up a multidatabase provisioning environment.
   In a large, distributed provisioning environment, you might find it more efficient to use multiple Application Servers accessing multiple databases. For information, see Setting up a multiple database provisioning environment.