Editing a server profile

Editing a server profile allows you to do the following tasks:

  • Manage the server hardware configuration separately from the actual server hardware. Capture significant portions of the server configuration in one place to simplify server configuration.

  • Reapply the configuration to the server hardware if the server hardware is serviced or replaced.

  • Define the server configuration prior to the server hardware installation.

Edit a server profile to change the settings associated with that profile. You can edit a server profile anytime after it has been created. You can also edit a server profile with an Error condition to make corrections.

When you edit a server profile, the state of the server changes. The appliance analyzes the changes and determines the actions to update the server. For example, if you change the BIOS settings but not the firmware baseline, the firmware is not updated. Only the requested changes are applied.

NOTE:

If you change the server settings or state using tools other than the appliance, the changes might not be detected or managed. These changes might be overwritten the next time the profile is edited.

Considerations for editing a server profile

  • Time to completion. Editing a profile is an asynchronous operation. Name and description changes take effect immediately, but other changes might take time to complete. If a profile is associated with a server profile template, changes can cause the profile to be out of compliance with its template. See Server profile consistency validation for more information.

  • Profile names must be unique.

  • Logical drive contents. When unassigning a server profile with local storage configured, the logical drive contents are at risk of being lost. To preserve the logical drive, physically remove the disk drives or make a copy of the contents of the logical drive so that you can reassign the profile at a later time.

  • BIOS settings are managed using the server profile and the settings on the server are overwritten when the server profile is applied.

    NOTE:

    The extended ambient temperature mode is controlled through the logical enclosure and not the server profile.

  • Identifiers. You cannot switch between virtual and physical identifiers for the following, unless you delete and recreate the profile connection:

    • Serial number/UUID (server profile)

    • MAC address

    • WWN

  • iSCSI initiator name. HPE OneView accepts 1-233 (letter, digit, and punctuation) characters in this field. However, some supported network adapters limit name length to 128 characters. The iSCSI initiator name is also used as the Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) name with managed volumes. Some storage systems may limit CHAP names to 64 characters. Exceeding the name length for such adapters and storage systems can prevent connection between a server and storage.

Server profile and operating system deployment plan settings

During redeployment, when you change the deployment plan in the server profile, the attribute values for the deployment settings are retained from the previous deployment plan. When the custom attributes of the previous deployment plan match with the attribute names and attribute type of the new deployment plan, the default values of the previous deployment plan are used as default while editing the server profile page.

When you select a new deployment plan on a server profile that lacks a server profile template, the custom attributes common to both the plans inherit the values from the old deployment plan. For attributes specific to the new deployment plan, the values from the new deployment plan are used as defaults. The system displays a validation error for attributes with constraints. If there is constraint violation, the attribute values are obtained from the old deployment plan.

Online Updates

To edit some server profile settings, the server hardware must be powered off; for others, the server hardware can remain powered on.

NOTE:

iLO settings are independent from server hardware and can be modified when the server is either powered on or off.

Server hardware is powered off

You can edit the following server profile settings, when the server hardware is powered off:

  • Reassign server profile from one server hardware to another server hardware.

  • Edit iSCSI initiator name.

  • Change OS deployment settings.

  • Create or delete connections.

  • Reconfigure local storage.

  • Edit boot settings.

Server hardware is powered on

You can edit the following server profile settings when the server hardware is powered on:

  • Profile name

  • Profile description

  • Profile affinity

  • Server Hardware
    NOTE:

    Only under some conditions can you assign or unassign a server, create a server profile, or delete a server profile while the server hardware is powered on.

    • There cannot be any connections managed by the profile.

    • OS deployment is not configured.

    • The "Firmware only" setting is not used.

    • There cannot be any Local Storage configured by the profile.

    • Boot settings cannot be managed.

    • BIOS settings can be managed.

    • The server serial number must be physical.

  • You can change the firmware while the server hardware is powered on as long as the "Firmware Only" setting is not used.

  • SAN Storage (using the connections that are already created only).

  • Server profile template selection.

  • BIOS settings. The BIOS settings become effective at the next server Power On Self-Test (POST).

  • Requested bandwidth for an existing connection.

  • Name of an existing connection.

  • Network and network set of an existing connection.

  • Change the pair of Ethernet connections to have either the same LAG or no LAG.

  • Create, attach, and edit storage volumes.

  • Create and remove SAS logical JBOD.

Exceptions to server profile setting rules when the server hardware is powered on

Following are the exceptions to the editing of the server profile settings while the server hardware is powered on:
  • Network or network connection is any of the following:

    • Bootable Fibre Channel

    • Bootable iSCSI

    • Ethernet configured for iSCSI boot

  • If the server is configured to boot using the storage path, that path cannot be disabled. You cannot create, attach, or edit storage volumes while the server hardware is powered on.

  • Unless the following conditions are true, you cannot remove SAS logical JBOD while the server hardware is powered on:

    • The controller has logical drives configured along with the JBODs.

    • The controller is managed manually.

HPE OneView saves the modifications to the profile while the server hardware is powered on so long as the modifications can be successfully applied.

In situations where the only failure is a modification to SAN storage, other modifications will still be saved in the profile configuration.

For more information, see the HPE OneView Support Matrix for Synergy