Chapter 2. Configuring Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Lenovo XClarity Administrator virtual appliances are connected to CloudForms by adding physical-infrastructure providers. Physical-infrastructure providers enable you to manage and interact with devices that are managed by Lenovo XClarity Administrator. After the physical-infrastructure provider is added, the servers that are managed by the Lenovo XClarity Administrator are registered in CloudForms. Managed devices can be monitored, configured, and updated using Lenovo XClarity Administrator. The physical-infrastructure provider surfaces information about these managed devices and the Lenovo XClarity Administrator instance.

2.1. Setting up Lenovo XClarity Administrator

For information about downloading and setting up Lenovo XClarity Administrator, see Installing and setting up Lenovo XClarity Administrator in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.

Note: You can use all available features in Lenovo XClarity Administrator for free for up to 90 days. After 90 days, you can continue to use Lenovo XClarity Administrator to manage and monitor your hardware for free; however, you must purchase a full-function-enablement license to continue using Lenovo XClarity Administrator to configure your hardware using Configuration Patterns and to deploy operating systems. Lenovo XClarity Pro provides entitlement to service and support and the full-function-enablement license for Lenovo XClarity Administrator. For more information about purchasing Lenovo XClarity Pro, contact your Lenovo representative or authorized business partner.

2.2. Discovering and managing hardware using Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Lenovo XClarity Administrator can discover manageable devices in your environment by performing an SLP discovery for devices that are on the same IP subnet as Lenovo XClarity Administrator. A specified IP address or range of IP addresses also can be used, or information can be imported from a spreadsheet, a process that is known as a bulk import. Discovery options can be accessed by clicking Hardware > Discover and Manage New Devices from the menu bar. Discovered devices can then be managed by Lenovo XClarity Administrator. During the management process, you are asked for login credentials for the management controller of the target servers and given the option to create a recovery account for the servers. For more information about discovering and managing devices, see the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.

Note:

  • Ensure that the devices that you intend to manage are supported by Lenovo XClarity Administrator. For information about supported devices, see Supported devices in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.
  • Ensure that firmware for all devices that you intend to manage using Lenovo XClarity Administrator are at the required levels. For more information about supported firmware levels, see Supported firmware in the Lenovo XClarity Administrator online documentation.