To set up BMC Server Automation in an IBM PowerVM environment, you:

• install a special AIX agent on an LPAR of an AIX server that you will use as a proxy server
• add the IBM Frame as an agentless managed object to the BMC Server Automation Console
• use the BMC Server Automation Console to perform configuration tasks that complete the setup.

The proxy server makes an SSH connection to the Hardware Management Console (HMC) and then executes HMC commands to obtain the specified frame and its child assets (LPAR/VIO) configurations.

Step 1: Review minimum requirements for IBM PowerVM environments

System requirements

To employ BMC Server Automation in an IBM PowerVM virtual environment, you must have the following minimum hardware and software:

• one IBM frame (POWER 5 or POWER 6)
• one HMC (version 6 or later) which manages the frame
• one AIX server (version 5.1 or later) to act as a proxy server for the frame

The Application Server should be allowed SSH/Telnet access to the HMC.

Required access and privileges

Note the following required permissions for an IBM PowerVM virtual environment:

• The HMC user should have a task role of hmcsuperadmin.
• The Resource Role assigned for the user should have access to the frame/Managed System/Power VM that is enrolled in BMC Server Automation as the agentless managed object.
• The VIO Server should be accessible using the viosvrcmd command (Connection from the HMC to the virtual I/O server partition over an RMC session) to execute the VIO server commands. This access is required to fetch VIOS additional configuration information, such as adapter mappings.

Step 2: Install the AIX server agent

1. Install the RSCD agent on the AIX server that will act as the proxy server, as described in Installing only the RSCD agent (Linux and UNIX). Be sure to install the RSCD agent that is specifically designated for use with an AIX server. 

   Tip

   Because the IBM frame agentless managed object is managed through a proxy, do not overload the proxy server. Best practice is to map one IBM frame agentless managed object to one proxy host. However, if you are using a single proxy server to host multiple agentless managed objects, note that all of the agentless managed objects using the proxy host must be running the same version of the IBM configuration object.

2. Open the /usr/lib/rsc/exports file and edit the last line so it reads:
    rw,user=root*

Step 3: Add the AIX server and IBM frame object to BMC Server Automation

To create the IBM frame object

1. From within the BMC Server Automation Console, add the AIX proxy server as a managed server to a server group (right-click a server group and select Add Server).
2. Right-click the server group in the Servers folder.
3. Select Virtualization > Add IBM Frame to add an IBM frame agentless device to BMC Server Automation.
4. On the Add a new Agentless Managed Object - Properties page, add the name or IP address of the IBM frame as mentioned in the HMC (for example, Frame-55A-LEX).
5. Optionally, add a brief description.
6. Under Properties, locate the AGENTLESS_MANAGED_OBJECT_PROXY_HOST* property.
7. Edit the property value by browsing to the name of the AIX server as the proxy host.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Finish.
    The frame is added to the folder you specified.

To set the connection properties for the IBM frame

1. In the BMC Server Automation Console, select Configuration > Property Dictionary View.
2. Browse the Built-in Property Classes > Connection class.
3. Click the Instances tab and edit the new Connection instance.
    When you add the agentless managed object, BMC Server Automation automatically creates a Connection instance with the name Connection_ agentlessManagedObjectName (where agentlessManagedObjectName is the name of the IBM frame object). This instance contains the connection details to the IBM frame.
4. Set the following properties for the newly added Connection instance:

1. Save this instance.
2. Browse the Built-in Property Classes > Virtualization class.
    For each IBM frame that has been added, there is a corresponding instance already created under the Instances tab.
3. Edit the corresponding Virtualization instance by setting the VIRTUAL_ENTITY_CONNECTION property to point to the correct Connection instance for the frame (the Connection instance that you edited previously in this procedure).
4. Save this instance.
5. Distribute the IBM configuration object on the IBM frame server:
   1. From the BMC Server Automation Console, navigate to the Jobs folder.
   2. Right-click a job group and select New > Administration Task > Distribute Configuration Objects.
   3. Provide a name for the Job and click Next.
   4. Expand the Global Configuration Objects list, select the IBM Configuration object, and add it to the Selected Configuration Objects section. Click Next.
   5. On the Targets panel, select the IBM frame agentless managed object.
   6. Click Finish, and execute the job.
       For details, see Distributing configuration objects.
      You can now use the BMC Server Automation Console to Live browse the IBM frame server and access the IBM Configuration node.
      For more information about adding a server and setting its properties, see Adding a server to the system in the BMC Server Automation online documentation.