Using Cisco UCSPE

UCSPE is packaged on a CentOS Linux-based VM. Keep in mind that the system boot time is long compared to regular Linux VMs as UCSPE and UCSM services are initialized before the VM can be used. Once the UCSPE VM is operational, it can be managed through a web browser or through a VM console CLI session. UCSM 3.1 added support for an HTML5 interface in addition to the previous Java-based interface. The HTML5 interface provides a similar look and functionality to the Java-based interface without requiring Java.

For web-based access, type the management IP as it appears in the VM console into the browser:

The web interface is pided into two main panes. On the left-hand side is the navigation pane, and on right-hand side is the main work pane. The navigation pane has the Equipment tab, as shown in the preceding screenshot, and is used to manage the UCSPE features, hardware inventory, and system reboots and launch UCS Manager. The work pane has two options: to launch UCS Manager or KVM Manager, using the Java-based interface or the HTML5 interface.

The other management option is CLI access, which is available from the VM console. CLI access provides a driven console interface for making the aforementioned changes.

For system hardware changes, the Equipment option needs to be selected under the Inventory tab in the navigation pane. The Equipment option is used to add, remove, and modify all chassis, blade servers, and rack-mount servers. For any hardware changes, a reboot of the UCSPE and UCSM services is required. For all system changes requiring a services reboot, for example, a Factory Reset option can be selected under the power menu for Equipment.

The next figure shows the Factory Reset configuration change, and these are the three steps required to complete this task:

1. Click on the Equipment tab in the navigation pane and select the power menu in the work pane:

1. Select the Factory Reset option in the work pane:

1. Click on the Yes button to factory reset UCSPE:

UCSPE provides the following icon options to manage the infrastructure and switch between inventory management and UCS Manager:

The following table describes the purpose of each of these icons: