HP Integrity rx1620 SmartSetup Scripting Toolkit Deployment Guide: HP Integrit - Page 15
Planning the Deployment, Selecting a Workstation, Selecting a Boot Mechanism, SSTK boot device
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• The SSTK boot device is a CD, a network share, or a USB flash device-holds files that allow servers to boot to the toolkit environment. You can also use the SSTK boot device to hold the repository of scripts, utilities, configuration files, OS files, and application files. • The target servers are the machines you want to set up as replicas. Planning the Deployment This section provides guidance on the various ways in which you can set up three components: a workstation, a boot mechanism, and a repository. The server replication process depends on these components. Selecting a Workstation The workstation is any PC, equipped with a CD writer (and in some cases USB or PXE capability), running any distribution of Linux. You use the workstation to download the SSTK, unpack the SSTK software package, edit the sample scripts, and create a bootable device. You can also use the workstation to host the repository of custom scripts, utilities, hardware configuration files, OS files, and application files. Selecting a Boot Mechanism The SSTK supports three boot mechanisms-CD, USB flash or network boot via a PXE-enabled NIC. The boot mechanism holds the files that boot the server to the toolkit environment and run the main script. The main script gets configuration files, OS files, and application files from the repository, configures the hardware, and installs the software. You can also use a USB flash device, or a network share to host the repository, which gathers all run-time components in one place. Several factors affect your choice of the boot mechanism: • Capacity: The choice between CD and other devices is a function of the capacity of the disk. You may not be able to use a CD if you plan to host the repository (including the OS files along with the configuration files, scripts, and utilities) on the same device as the boot files (toolkit environment). • Flexibility: The choice between a CD and USB flash drive is determined by the flexibility you need from the toolkit environment and custom scripts. You can quickly edit the Linux boot loader configuration file, a script, or configuration file on a USB flash device though burning a new CD is more complicated. • Complexity: The choice between a network boot and a boot device depends on the scope and complexity of your deployment. If you plan to set up over a hundred servers at a time, you should invest in a PXE-enabled installation environment in which the HP Integrity servers boot over the network. On the other hand, if you plan to deploy your servers in more measured increments, the device drives may be an optimal solution. You could burn a dozen CDs at a time, insert each in an HP Integrity servers, reboot, and return to a dozen managed servers. Planning the Deployment 15