Creating a Provision Job

A Provision Job applies a system package to a server and begins an unattended installation of the operating system. This topic contains the following sections:

• Before you begin
• To create a Provision Job
• Where to go from here

Before you begin

Before creating a Provision Job, you must:

• Configure an appropriate system package type. The system package type identifies the specific OS to install (for example, Windows 2003 Enterprise or Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 6.0). By configuring the system package type, you identify the path name of the installers, including the installers for the OS and for associated RSCD agents. For information, see System-Package-Types-tab.
• Create the system package for the Provision Job. A system package contains all of the instructions needed to install an operating system over the network with an unattended installation. For information, see System-package-panels-generic.
• Create a folder under the Jobs folder to store your Provision Jobs. To create a folder, right-click the Jobs folder and select New > Job Folder.

To create a Provision Job

1.  To start the Provision Job wizard, do either of the following:
   • In the Jobs folder, right-click a folder, and select New > Provision Job > OS_type.
   • In the Devices folder, expand the Imported folder, right-click one or more devices, and select New > Provision Job > OS_type. This option offers a convenient way to provision one or more devices immediately. The job wizard adds the device information into the job for you, and it checks the Execute Now option by default on the Schedules panel, which makes the job execute immediately after you finish the wizard.

2. Define the Provision Job, as described in the following table.

   Success

   Tip

   When you are familiar with the fields in the wizard, you can streamline some of the wizard selections by using parameterized properties in the system package definitions. For an example, see Example - How to use parameters to refer to system package properties.

   Panel	Description
   Provision Job - General
   Provision Job - System Package Properties
   Provision Job - Devices	The Devices panel lets you specify the devices, identified by MAC address, to provision the next time this Job executes. The panel also lets you provide network information, such as IP addresses and the DNS configuration, for those devices. Note: You can create and save a Provision Job without specifying any devices. You can open a saved Provision Job, add or change devices information, and save the changes. Then execute the Job to provision the new list of devices. Click here to see descriptions of the fields. IP Configuration The IP Configuration settings also appear in the system package. The IP Configuration settings you enter in a Provision Job override the settings in the system package. These options are used for IPv4 address configuration. Obtain IP address automatically Specifies that the network connection should obtain an IP address automatically from a DHCP server. Specify IP Manually (for each device) Specifies that the network connection should use the static IP addresses that you specify on the Devices list at the bottom of this panel. Specify IP Range Specifies a range of IP addresses that the system can use to assign a unique address to each device. Select this option and provide an address for Start IP and End IP of the range. The Devices list at the bottom of this panel displays the IP address assigned to each device. Subnet mask Specifies the subnet mask for the IP addresses in the range. Note: The Windows 2003 installer does not support three zeroes in any of the octets in the subnet mask. For example, if the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0, entering 255.255.255.000 for Subnet mask does not work. You must enter 255.255.255.0. Default gateway The address of the IP router that is used to forward traffic to destinations outside of the local network. Associated boot image (PXE devices only) From the Selected Boot Image list, select the boot image for provisioning the servers. Skip Linux Pre-Install For Red Hat Linux, SUSE, Citrix, and VMWare ESX, to skip using a pre-boot image and boot directly using the installer ramdisk and kernel, select this option. For information, see Using-the-Skip-Linux-Pre-Install-image-option IPv6 Configuration The IPv6 Configuration settings also appear in the system package for certain platforms that support IPv6 addresses. The IPv6 Configuration settings you enter in a Provision Job override the settings in the system package. Obtain IP address automatically Specifies that the network connection should obtain an IP address automatically from a DHCP server. Use the following IP address Specifies that the network connection should use the static IP addresses that you specify on the Devices list at the bottom of this panel. The IP address, IPv6 Subnet Prefix Length, and Default gateway fields only appear if you select this option. IP address Specifies an IP address that the system can use to assign a unique address to each device. The Devices list at the bottom of this panel displays the IP address assigned to each device. This field appears only when you select Use the following IP address option above. IPv6 Subnet Prefix Length Specifies the prefix length for the IPv6 address. This field appears only when you select Use the following IP address option above. Default gateway The address of the IP router that is used to forward traffic to destinations outside of the local network. This field appears only when you select Use the following IP address option above. DNS Configuration Obtain DNS server automatically Specifies that the network connection should obtain a DNS server automatically. Use the following DNS server addresses Specifies that the network connection should use the following DNS server addresses. The Primary DNS server and Secondary DNS server fields only appear if you select this option. Primary DNS server Enter the IPv6 address for the primary DNS server. This field appears only when you select Use the following DNS server address option above. Secondary DNS server Enter the IPv6 address for the secondary DNS server This field appears only when you select Use the following DNS server address option above. Devices to Provision Build the list of devices to provision by clicking Add , Delete , and Edit . When you click Add, the Add a New Device panel appears. Device Name Enter the IP address for the device. Computer Name Enter a unique name for the server. If you are provisioning multiple servers, the wizard names the first server using the name you provide, and then it appends sequential numbers to that base name for the other servers. For example, if you enter MyServer in the Computer Name field, the wizard uses MyServer for the first server, names the second server MyServer_1, the third server MyServer_2, and so on. (Windows only) Auto-generate Computer Name Select this option to allow the Windows installer to auto-generate the computer names. If you select this option, the Computer Name field is ignored. OM server name (Optional) Enter a different name to use in the TrueSight Server Automation Console for this server. This name must be resolvable to the IP address of the server. IP address The IPv4 address of the device. Subnet mask The subnet mask of the IPv4 device address. Default gateway The default gateway for the IPv4 device address. IPv6 address The IPv6 address of the device. IPv6 Subnet Prefix Length The IPv6 subnet prefix length IPv6 Gateway The IPv6 gateway for the IPv6 address. OS license The license information of the OS installed in the device.
   Provision Job - Job Settings (PXE only)
   Provision Job - Server Settings
   Provision Job - Default Notifications
   Provision Job - Schedules	The Provision Job Schedules panel lets you schedule a job to execute immediately or at a specific time in the future. The interface does not allow you to schedule a Provision Job for recurring executions. You can also define notifications that are issued when a job runs. You can open a job after you create it and schedule it for execution. If the job already executed, you can edit the job and schedule re-execution. For example, if a job was running and you canceled it, you could schedule the job to run again. Also see Reprovisioning-servers. Field definitions Execute job now Executes the job immediately after you finish a new job or save an edited job. If your system is configured to require approval for this job type, select Execute on Approval and then click Browse to display the Change Request Information dialog box. For more information, see Provision-Job-Execute-on-Approval-and-Change-Request-settings. Schedules To add a new schedule, click Add New Schedule . To delete an existing schedule, select it and click Remove Schedule . To modify an existing schedule, click Edit Schedule . Use the tabs on the scheduling window to provide the following categories of information: Scheduling Scheduled Job Notification Change Request Information This tab only appears when your system is configured to require approval for this job type. Where to go from here Provision-Job-Properties
   Provision Job - Properties
   Provision Job - Permissions

3. After completing the last step of the wizard, click Finish.
   A Provision Job is stored in the Jobs folder. You can open the job and edit it.

Where to go from here

Including-a-Batch-Job-in-a-system-package