Infrastructure for provisioning

BMC Server Automation provisioning works with different provisioning technologies, depending on the type of server being provisioned.

Windows and Linux provisioning

PXE servers support Microsoft Windows and Linux provisioning jobs by providing boot-time services to target devices. Each target device must have access to a local PXE server, usually on the same LAN. The following diagram shows the elements of Windows and Linux provisioning.

Although PXE servers communicate with the database, the data volume of that communication is relatively low. It is acceptable to install geographically-removed PXE servers, which must communicate with the database over longer network legs.

The PXE server and the TFTP server must reside on the same physical server (or, in a virtualized environment, in the same virtual machine).

A provisioning target also needs access to the BMC Server Automation Application Server and a data store. Traffic to the Application Server is relatively light, so it is not necessary for the Application Server to be geographically proximate to the provisioning target. However, if the provisioning target will be retrieving files from a data store, it is preferable that the data store be local to the provisioning target.

Solaris provisioning

The Oracle Solaris JumpStart technology identifies a JumpStart boot server, a JumpStart Configuration Server, and a JumpStart install server, all of which can be (and commonly are) hosted on the same physical device. Unless using WAN boot configurations, JumpStart servers should be located on the same LAN as the Solaris servers being provisioned, but can be remote from the BMC Server Automation Application Server. To use a JumpStart server with provisioning jobs, you must install an RSCD agent on the JumpStart server.

AIX provisioning

The IBM AIX NIM technology requires a NIM Master server that is accessible by IP from the AIX servers being provisioned. To use a NIM Master with provisioning jobs, you must install an RSCD agent on the NIM Master server.

HP-UX provisioning

The HP-UX Ignite technology requires an Ignite Master server on the same LAN as the HP-UX servers being provisioned. To use an Ignite Master with provisioning jobs, you must install an RSCD agent on the Ignite Master server.