Navigating the WEBUI
Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment 7.1.1 Navigating the WEBUI
In this module, you will navigate the product WEBUI and see the sections and the options available inside each section. You will also learn about the main product functions that you can use through the WEBUI pages.
WEBUI sections
WEBUI sections Six available sections plus a Welcome Page
The Web interface is divided into six sections: Server status; Server parameters; Server history; OS deployment; Advanced features; Server log files; plus a Welcome Page. You can access these components in two different ways: by clicking their respective icons in the main frame of the Web interface; by using the menu provided in the left frame of the Web interface.
Welcome page (1 of 2)
Welcome page (1 of 2) Error check: Logs Disk space Third-party software required
You can access the Welcome page by clicking the Tivoli® Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment server name at the top left side of the product WEBUI. The Welcome page has a summary of your server status and information about whether the requirements for operating system deployment are being met. More precisely, you can see reports about errors that have been encountered recently on the server and whether there is enough space for the server processing. You can also find out whether you created at least one Linux® unattended profile and one Linux clone profile.
Welcome page (2 of 2)
Welcome page (2 of 2) WinPE 2 engine Prerequisite for Windows deployments Hardware environments created for the various Scripting Toolkit tools
On the Welcome page, you can find information about the machine where you are opening the product WEBUI. You can see if it is a Windows® machine with the Web Interface Extension running and WAIK 32-bit installed. This setup is required to create a WinPE2 software module to deploy unattended and clone Windows profiles. If the WinPE2 software module has not been created, you can click Make one now and follow the wizard. The WinPE software module is the standard product layer for the Windows deployments. You can also see if you created hardware environments and configurations for the various hardware vendors.
WinPE 2 engine
WinPE 2 engine All Windows deployments are based on WinPE For Windows deployments, you must create a WinPE package
As mentioned before, WinPE is the environment where the Windows deployment runs. You can create WinPE from the Welcome page. A software module entry is added to the Software modules WEBUI page after the creation process is finished.
Server status section
General system information Summary of errors that happened in the past 30 minutes Network connections information Web interface extension status on the machine where you are opening the browser Server status section
The Server status section is subdivided into four subsections: General information, Installation check, Network connections, and Web interface extension. General information contains general server information, such as the OS deployment server version, the number of active targets, and the last warning messages. Installation check provides a summary of all errors that have happened in the past 30 minutes. They are presented in distinct sections representing their associated log file. Network connections displays the active connections onto the OS deployment server. They are presented with three different links: Unicast connections, Multicast connections, and HTTP connections. The numbers Traffic IN and Traffic OUT are in kilobytes (total number of KB seen on this connection). Web interface extension displays the status of the Web interface extension on the computer that is running the browser. If you are opening the browser from a machine different from the Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment where you have not installed the Web interface extension yet, you have a red status. You can download the Web Interface Extension installation package for the specific operation system type to install it.
Server parameters section
Server parameters section Customize the server settings, such as the server debug level Set the access rights for the users accessing the WEBUI and define authentication domains Manage the server hierarchy in a multiserver environment (parent and child servers) and start the replication
The Server parameters section is for the OS configuration of the Provisioning server. The section is divided into five subsections. Server configuration provides read and write access to the main server OS configuration parameters. HTTP console security allows you to change the administrator name and password. You can also create security roles to secure access to the OS deployment server through the Web interface. Predefined channels is the location to define TCP tunnels and authentication domains. Hardware handling provides information about the known compatibility and incompatibility of hardware devices with Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment. Server replication is the subsection where you can replicate parent and child servers.
Improving the deployment efficiency with network share
Improving the deployment efficiency with network share Useful for Vista deployments that use large WIM files ? Share the folder containing the Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment partition directory Note: When using this configuration, the download is in unicast mode Deployment scheme Configuration and
On the OS Configuration page inside the Server parameters section, you can configure a shared directory to improve the image transfer efficiency during Microsoft® Vista/2008 deployments. Generally, a Windows Vista/2008 profile contains a WIM file greater in size than 1 GB and this file must be transferred from the server to the target system during the deployment. You can set the server shared repository folder containing the image files using the Relative directory for the shared repository field. Then, you can set the option Download files with a network share when applicable to Yes in the scheme that you will use for your deployment. The image transfer is always executed in unicast mode when using a network share configuration.
Server history section
Server history section Statistics for the server and the operating system deployments Objects and configuration modification history Scheduled, running, and completed tasks
The Server history section helps you monitor the tasks of your OS deployment server. The section is divided into four subsections. Server statistics contains three pages that show graphically the load of the deployment server. Deployment statistics shows you, in tabular form, when deployments were performed. The time span might be the last 24 hours, the last month, or the last two years. You can select to view successful or failed deployments by OS configuration, by deployment scheme, by computer model, or by administrative group. Modification history keeps track of creations, deletions, and modifications. This tracking is used for OS configurations, system profiles, deployment schemes, and software modules. For every update, the page displays the date and time of the update, the author, the item description, and the version number. Tasks page includes the performed actions. Examples of tasks are deployment, creation of cloning profiles, and detection of the operating system that is currently on a target. You can also see a description, an execution and an expiration date, current state, and progress rate. To cancel a task, select Cancel task from the contextual menu when a target is selected. You can export the log files for a specific task. To do that, you expand the task by clicking plus sign (+) and right-clicking the target. Then, you select the option to export the debug data. It will export the logs (both the server and tasks logs) into a .cab file.
OS deployment section
OS deployment section Core section for the deployment features. From here, you can list the registered targets, create or customize the system profiles and the software modules, create or customize deployment schemes, and deploy target systems
The OS deployment section provides access to the main functions of Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment. You can manage targets and prepare and run deployments. The section is divided into four subsections: Target Monitor to manage the targets; Task template to manage screen layouts on the target and deployment schemes; System Profiles to manage the operating system profiles and OS configurations; Software modules to manage software to be deployed with an operating system. Because this is the core section in the product WEBUI, you will see the subsections in detail in the next slides.
OS deployment target monitor page
OS deployment target monitor page List the known systems with their deployment status and perform actions on those targets, for example, start a deployment Machines are known to the system: after their first network boot if manually registered (MAC, serial, UUID, IP)
From the OS Deployment > Target Monitor panel, you can perform several operations regarding the target systems. You can import a list of targets or register targets individually, view the targets by subnet, or customize the target details. You can also start a deployment, restore a snapshot profile on a target system, or capture its hardware configuration, that is capture the RAID and fiber channel information.
Additional features wizard
Additional features wizard In the Contextual actions menu you can list all the operations that can be done on the known target systems. You can send a deployment and manage the software module and OS configuration bindings. You can use additional features, like format the target disk, restore a snaphost image profile, or start a hardware capture task.
By right-clicking a target system or using the Contextual actions menu, you can select the Additional features option. A wizard opens in which you can perform the following operations: format the target disk; restore a snapshot image profile (only for Windows systems); capture the hardware parameters (for the RAID and fiber channel configuration). Each menu option selection starts the related task on the specific target system.
Deploying a target machine
Deploying a target machine Start an OS deployment on the selected machine
From the OS Deployment > Target Monitor page, you can start an operating system deployment on a target. To start the Deployment wizard, you select the machine and select the Deploy now option in the Contextual menu. Or, you right-click the target system.
Deployment wizard
Deployment wizard
In the Deployment wizard, you can deploy system profiles and software modules. You can also start hardware configuration tasks as predeployment operations or stand-alone operations. You create both a hardware environment for the specific hardware vendor and a hardware configuration to perform a hardware configuration.
Task templates page
Task templates page Idle Layout: Handling on unknown targets Deployment Schemes > Redeployment
On the Task templates page, you can create and customize deployment schemes. These schemes specify the way your predefined OS configurations are installed onto targets. Redeployment schemes are for the redeployment features. You can set the layouts for the various operations on the targets and customize the Idle State within the Idle Layout for handling unknown targets.
System profiles page
System profiles page System Profiles are operating system images created and stored in the file-based image repository
On the System profiles page, you can start a system profile creation for the supported operating systems or customize an existing system profile you created. You can also export profiles into .rad files (.RAD Export button) or import .rad files previously exported (.RAD Import button).
Quick overview of creating a system profile
Quick overview of creating a system profile An unattended system profile Have DVD/CD with the product key Install Web interface extension where your browser is running Select the correct folder Information about the OS is displayed Introduce all parameters related to this profile into the different panels in the Web console now or later A cloning system profile from a reference image file (WIM clone image) Have the files for Windows or Solaris Information about the OS is displayed Introduce all the parameters related to this profile into the different panels in the Web console now or later A cloning system profile from a reference machine Have a computer properly installed (OS and applications) For a Windows OS, you must sysprep the computer Reboot the computer The computer must boot onto the Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment server
This slide provides a quick overview of the options that are available in the Profile Wizard when you create a new system profile. You can create three system profile types: Unattended setup from a specific operating system image, such as a DVD/CD; Cloning from a reference image file, such as a WIM file or Solaris Flash Archive file; Cloning from a reference machine, such as an installed system (Windows or Linux on Intel®) that is previously prepared.
Editing the profile details
Editing the profile details
From the System profiles page, you can customize the profile and its OS configuration by right-clicking the specific system profile and editing the profile.
Example of changing the partition layout
Example of changing the partition layout Change disk and partition layout Modify device mapping Browse disk partitions
For example, in the Profile details, you can customize the partition layout (add new partitions, remove existing partitions, customize the partition), add new disks, and browse the image of the partitions.
Generating media
Generating media CD/DVD deployment USB deployment Network boot CD/DVD Network boot USB
On the System Profiles page, you can start the creation of a deployment media. You can select CD/DVD or USB key to install machines that are not connected to the network. Or, you can select network boot CD/DVD or USB key to emulate the PXE boot on target systems, for example, when the NIC on the target is not PXE-enabled.
OS deployment software modules page
OS deployment software modules page Software modules are applications and custom actions that can be performed during or after the OS installation
On the Software modules page, you can create and customize software modules to cover most of the software installation scenarios. These scenarios might include installation of Windows drivers, MSI applications, or custom actions for the various supported operating systems. You can customize the software modules to be installed during the operating system deployment or to be installed after the operating system has been installed and after additional reboots.
Advanced features section
Advanced features section Hardware configurations are pre-OS installation tasks (BIOS update, RAID configuration)
The Advanced features section includes the Hardware configuration page to create both hardware environments and hardware configurations.
Server log files section
Server log files section The user can access the server log files content and show the warning and errors encountered by the Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment server
The Server log files section helps in diagnosing problems and recording commands. Logs are color-coded. Blue indicates no warning or errors, yellow indicates warnings, red indicates errors. Logs are hierarchical. By clicking the expand sign, you can see more details. From the Server Log Files page, you can also clean the contents of the log files. You can either delete the content of individual server log files or perform a partial cleaning of all the server log files. You can also delete or perform a partial cleaning of all target log files. When you perform a partial cleaning of a log, you can keep the most recent content only.
Summary
Summary In this module, you learned how to: Navigate the product WEBUI Understand the sections that are available in the WEBUI Understand the main operations that can be done in each section
In this module, you learned how to: navigate the product WEBUI; understand the sections that are available in the WEBUI; understand the main operations that can be done in each section.
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