Setting up a multiple database provisioning environment

In a large, distributed provisioning environment, you might find it efficient to use multiple Application Servers, where each Application Server connects to a different database.

The topics in this section provide instructions for setting up a multiple database provisioning environment.

 

The following figure shows an example implementation of a multiple database provisioning environment:

Sample multidatabase implementation
g_v95_multidatabase1resize.png

To set up a multidatabase provisioning environment, you specify information about the default database and one or more nondefault databases.

When you installed the PXE server, you provided information about one of the databases that you are using. The database that you specified during the PXE server installation process is the default database.

For example, (see Sample Database Implementation) assume that when you installed the PXE server, you specified Database1. Therefore Database1 is the default database. Database2 and Database3 are nondefault databases.

Note

System packages based on blade.img are not supported in a multiple database provisioning environment

Before you begin

  • If you are upgrading from a single-database environment to a multidatabase environment, remove DHCP options 211 and 212 from your DHCP configuration. See Configuring-the-DHCP-server.
  • You must know the IP address and port number for the default database and each nondefault database.
  • This procedure assumes that you have installed and configured the PXE and TFTP servers and now want to reconfigure the PXE server for a multiple database provisioning environment.

To configure the PXE server for a provisioning environment that includes multiple Application Servers, each connected to a different database

  1. Start the PXE/TFTP Server Configuration tool. See Configuring-the-PXE-and-TFTP-servers.
  2. On the PXE Options tab, select Use pxe.conf file.
  3. On the PXE MAS Optionstab, perform the following steps:
    1. Check Set Multi Database Mode Enabled.
    2. (optional) Modify the device cache options.
      • Device Cache Refresh Interval: (optional) Specifies how often the PXE server updates the device cache. Specify an interval in seconds. The default is 300.
         For performance reasons, the PXE server maintains a cache of imported devices and their associated databases. The PXE server creates this cache during initialization, then updates it periodically, as specified by the Device Cache Refresh Interval.
      • Minimum Time for Cache Refresh: (optional) The minimum time that the PXE server must wait between cache refreshes. Specify a time in seconds. The default is 60.
         If a device goes online and the PXE server does not find its MAC address in the cache, the PXE server performs a refresh to try to find it. This parameter prevents the thrashing that might occur if a large number of devices go online simultaneously.
    3. Leave the Single Database Mode DB Name field empty.
    4. To disable automatic discovery of devices, check Device Auto Discovery Disabled.
       Autodiscovery is the process by which an unknown device, when it boots from the PXE server, automatically becomes known to the BMC Server Automation system. Disabling autodiscovery allows the PXE server to address only devices that are known.
  4. On the PXE MAS Data Sourcestab, perform the following:
    1. Select the default database and click Edit UpdateIcon.gif
      .
    2. In the Edit PXE MAS Data Source dialog box, type the IP address and port of the default database and click OK.
    3. For each nondefault database that you want to include in provisioning environment, click Add UpdateIcon.gif
      .
    4. Select SQL Server or Oracle.

    5. Provide the information listed in the following table:

      PXE database configuration information for multiple databases

  5. On the Diagnostics tab, click Run to check the configuration. 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
  6. When you have finished configuration changes, click OK.
  7. To have configuration changes take effect, stop and restart the PXE server.
  8. After the BMC Server Automation Console is running, manually import all of the devices you want to provision.
     In a multidatabase environment, when devices boot up and connect to the network, they do not automatically appear as imported devices within the BMC Server Automation Console. Instead, you must use the console to manually import devices before they boot up or are connected to the network.
     Using the example in Sample Database Implementation, you would use the BMC Server Automation Console connected to Application Server 1 to manually add the devices in Device Group 1.
     After the BMC Server Automation Console is running, manually import all of the devices that you want to provision.
     For information about manually importing devices, see Importing-and-managing-devices.

Switching back from multi-database mode to single-database mode

If you have set up your provisioning environment for multidatabase use, you can switch back to single-database mode.

For example, you might have added multiple databases to the PXE server's PXE MAS data sources and now you want to run in single-database mode with any one of these databases.

This procedure varies slightly depending on whether the single database that you want to use is the default database:

To switch back from multidatabase mode to single-database mode if the single database is the default database

  1. Start the PXE/TFTP server configuration tool. See Configuring-the-PXE-and-TFTP-servers.
  2. On the PXE Options tab, clear Use pxe.conf file.
  3. On the PXE MAS Optionstab, perform the following steps:
    1. Clear Set Multi Database Mode Enabled.
    2. For Single Database Mode DB Name, delete the database name.
  4. On the PXE MAS Data Sources tab, delete all databases: default and nondefault.
  5. When you have finished configuration changes, click OK.
  6. For configuration changes to take effect, stop and restart the PXE server.
  7. Configure the DHCP server for 211 and 212 scope options. See Adding predefined options.

To switch back from multi-database mode to single-database mode if the single database is not the default database

  1. Start the PXE/TFTP server configuration tool. See: Configuring-the-PXE-and-TFTP-servers.
  2. On the PXE MAS Optionstab, perform the following steps:
    1. For Single Database Mode DB Name, type the database name.
    2. Clear Set Multi Database Mode Enabled.
  3. When you have finished configuration changes, click OK.
  4. For configuration changes to take effect, stop and restart the PXE server.
  5. Configure the DHCP server for 211 and 212 scope options. See Adding predefined options.

 

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