Troubleshooting provisioning issues

The following topics provide information and workarounds related to provisioning:

(HP-UX or AIX) Provision Job canceled

If the Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) node goes down during execution of an HP-UX or AIX Provision Job, the job is canceled. If this occurs, you can execute the Provision Job again.

(SUSE 8) Provisioning SUSE 8 SP4 has problems

The procedure for provisioning SUSE 8 SP4 is different than the normal procedure. Check the support website for updated instructions.

JumpStart process fails because it cannot find a rules.ok file

Provisioning through JumpStart does not work properly in a Domain Name Server (DNS) environment. In an environment where DNS is listed first or second in the host line of /etc/nsswitch.conf, the scripts that generate the fields in /etc/hosts, /etc/ethers, and /etc/bootparams fill in the computer's name with FQDN. The JumpStart process fails when it tries to find the rules.okfile. To fix this problem, use the BMC Server Automation Console to specify FQDN as the computer name.

(Solaris) Problems with Additional Profile Entries section in a Solaris system package

Provisioning does not parse the Additional Profile Entries section of a Solaris system package to ensure that restricted flash archive keywords are not used in the text area. Restricted keywords should not be used in this field.

(ESX 3.x) Datastore and storage created even when not requested

ESX 3.x provisioning creates a datastore and storage by default even though no instructions were given in the system package to create the datastore and storage.

(ESX 2.5 on XEON) Incorrect boot image used for virtual instances

OS detection for WinPE-based provisioning can send an incorrect boot image for virtual instances. With ESX 3.0, it is possible to define the type of CPU virtualization (either 32- or 64-bit) while defining the instance. With ESX 2.5, this is not an option as all instances are 32-bit. As a result, ESX 2.5 running on XEON-based hardware always detects the instance as the underlying 64-bit CPU when the hardware probe is done. To fix this problem, disable the 64-bit image as a default and only enable the 32-bit image.

(PXE) Network information window appears during provisioning

If you are using the DHCP server to assign IP addresses (not the network.ini file) and if the server fails to assign the network details due to slow initialization of network cards on the target machine, edit the BLAssignNetDetails.vbs file and increase the ATTEMPTS and DELAY values to allow for initialization time. For example, you might increase ATTEMPTS from 2 (the default) to 5 and DELAY from 10 (the default) to 30. The BLAssignNetDetails.vbs file resides in the /provisioning/winpe subdirectory you created by unzipping the provision-files.zip file.

(PXE) Provisioning fails when the PXE server is on a different subnet than the target device

In a certain environment, provisioning might fail if the PXE server and the target devices to provision are on different IP subnets. In such an environment, specifying a multicast address during the configuration of the PXE server does not allow proper communication between the PXE server and the target servers for provisioning, and multicast is not setup in the network.

Workaround: During configuration of the PXE server (either through the GUI or through the blasadmin utility or editing the pxe.conf file), specify the unicast IP address for the PXE server, rather than a multicast address.

(PXE) Provisioning fails when the PXE service is on the same server as the DHCP server or DHCP is not on the same server as PXE

During installation, the installer issues a prompt if the DHCP and PXE services are on the same system. If the option is not selected correctly, or DHCP is added or removed from the PXE server, then there is additional configuration you need to perform:

• If DHCP and PXE are on the same system:  Set DHCP Option 60 (PXEClient) and ensure the -Dblx.bmlistendhcp option is set to false in the NSH/br/blpxe script or HKLM\Software\BladeLogic\PXE Server\PXE key.
• If DHCP and PXE are on different systems: Ensure that the DHCP Option 60 (PXEClient) is not set, and set the -Dblx.bmlistendhcp option is set to true in the NSH/br/blpxe script or HKLM\Sofware\BladeLogic\PXE Server\PXE key

For more information please see Configuring a DHCP server on Linux or Configuring a DHCP server on Windows.

Network configuration window appears during a WinPE boot

If the network configuration window appears during a WinPE boot, it might be because the DHCP server is taking longer than usual to assign IP addresses. The boot might continue normally if you close the network configuration window immediately after it appears. If you are using the DHCP server to assign IP addresses (not the network.ini file) and if the server fails to assign the network details due to slow initialization of network cards on the target machine, edit the BLAssignNetDetails.vbs file and increase the ATTEMPTS and DELAY values to allow for initialization time. For example, you might increase ATTEMPTS from 2 (the default) to 5 and DELAY from 10 (the default) to 30. The BLAssignNetDetails.vbs file resides in the /provisioning/winpe subdirectory you created by unzipping the provision-files.zip file.

BMC provisioning removes preexisting entries from NIM database

If a machine already exists in the NIM database prior to provisioning with the BMC BladeLogic system, the provisioning process removes it from the database regardless of whether the provisioning job execution was successful.

iDRAC device details do not appear on the console

The content editor of the console does not display device details for iDRAC devices. Details such as CPU Count, CPU Family, CPU Speed, and RAM show a value of 0.

Injecting driver into a WinPE image has problem

To inject a driver into a WinPE image during image creation, do not include spaces in the path to the .infdriver file. This is true for driver paths in the Driver.txtfile and any driver paths you add with the Select Driver Files dialog box. This limitation is imposed because Windows AIK accepts Drivers.txt as a space separated file.

Provisioning fails: driver bundle contents

The provisioning process fails if the driver bundle being copied includes a directory with a dot in its name.

Solaris provisioning process issues errors: scripts not found

The Solaris provisioning process might issue errors about not finding the begin and finish scripts. In most cases, these errors are incorrect, the files are indeed found, and the provisioning process continues successfully.

(Windows) Saving system package as XML file causes an exception 

If you create Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 system packages without specifying any values, saving the system package as an XML file results in an exception. You can update the empty Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 system package with required field values and then save it as an XML file.

(Linux Kernel 2.6) PXE server experiences problems 

To run the PXE server on Linux Kernel 2.6 (Red Hat/SUSE), you must disable the IPV6 stack on the interface where the PXE server is configured, as follows:

1. Add the following two lines, if they are not already present, to /etc/modprobe.conf:

alias net-pf-10 off
alias ipv6 off

2. Reboot the server.