Server patterns are used to quickly provision or preprovision
multiple servers (rack and tower servers and compute nodes) from a
single set of defined configuration settings.
Before you
begin
After the 90-day free trial expires, you can continue to use XClarity Administrator to manage and monitor your hardware for free; however,
you must purchase full-function-enablement licenses for each managed
server that supports XClarity Administrator advanced functions to
continue using the server configuration function. Lenovo XClarity Pro provides entitlement to service and support and the full-function-enablement
license. For more information about purchasing Lenovo XClarity Pro, contact your Lenovo representative or authorized business
partner. For more information, see Installing the full-function enablement license.
Review Configuration considerations for important information
about configuration support for specific servers and devices.
About this
task
You can use server patterns in XClarity Administrator to configure local storage, I/O adapters, boot order,
and other baseboard management controller and Unified Extensible Firmware
Interface (UEFI) settings on managed servers. Server patterns also
integrate support for virtualizing I/O addresses, so you can virtualize
server fabric connections or repurpose servers
without disruption to the fabric. You can also initiate SAN-zoning
change requests in advance of receiving new hardware by virtualizing
(preconfiguring) Fibre Channel addresses.
Procedure
The following figure illustrates the workflow for configuring managed
servers. The solid arrows indicate actions taken by you. The dashed
arrows indicate actions that are performed automatically by
XClarity Administrator.

- Create address pools.
An address pool is a
defined set of address ranges. Lenovo XClarity Administrator uses address pools to assign IP and I/O addresses to individual
servers when the server patterns are deployed to those servers.For more information about creating address pools, see Defining address pools.
- Create category patterns.
A
category pattern groups together related
firmware settings and can be reused in multiple server patterns. You
can create patterns for the following firmware categories:
- System information
- Management interfaces
- Devices and I/O ports
- FC boot targets
- I/O adapter ports
For more information about category patterns, see Working with server patterns.
- Create a server pattern.
A server pattern represents pre-OS server
configurations, including local storage configuration, I/O adapter
configuration, boot settings, and other baseboard management controller
and UEFI firmware settings. A server pattern is used as an overall
pattern to quickly configure multiple servers at one time.
You
can define multiple server patterns to represent different configurations
that are used in your data center.
When defining a server pattern,
select category patterns and address pools as needed to construct
the desired configuration for a specific group of servers. A category
pattern groups together related configuration settings that can be
reused by multiple server patterns.
You can create a server
pattern from scratch for Converged, Flex System, NeXtScale, and System
x servers to define the desired configuration before the hardware
arrives. Or, you can create a server pattern from an existing managed
server. When you create a server pattern from an existing server, XClarity Administrator learns category patterns from the selected server.
For more information about creating server patterns, see Creating a server pattern.
- Deploy the server pattern.
You can deploy a server pattern to one or more individual
servers or to groups of servers at the same firmware
level. For example, you can deploy a server pattern to a chassis
so all the compute nodes in that chassis are configured the same.
During deployment, XClarity Administrator creates a server profile for each server to which the
server pattern was deployed. Each server profile represents the specific configuration for a single server. It inherits
settings from the server pattern and also contains server-specific
information (such as assigned IP addresses and MAC addresses). Because
the server profile inherits settings from the server pattern, if you
change the server pattern, changes are automatically updated in the
server profile. This way, you can maintain common configurations in
one place.

You can deploy a server pattern
to:
- Existing servers. A server profile is created for each
server. The server profile is activated after the associated server
is rebooted.
- Empty bays in an existing chassis. A server profile is
created for each empty bay. The server profile that is associated
with the empty bay can then be activated after the compute node is
physically installed.
- Placeholder for a chassis that you do not yet have. You
can pre-provision compute nodes in a chassis that you do not yet have
by defining a placeholder chassis to act as a
target for the server pattern before the hardware arrives. The placeholder
chassis bundles all of the server profiles that are created for each
empty compute-node bay. So, when the hardware arrives, you can assign
the server profiles to all compute nodes in the new chassis by deploying
the placeholder chassis to the new chassis. Each server profile is
activated after the associated compute node is rebooted.
Note: You can deploy a server pattern
to multiple servers; however, multiple patterns cannot be deployed
to a single server.
Attention:
- Ensure that all target servers
are at the same firmware level. When you learn a pattern from a specific
server, the pattern contains configuration settings for the versions
of firmware that are installed on that server.
- The settings on a server can become
out of compliance with its server profile if settings are changed
without using Configuration Patterns or if an issue occurred during
deployment, such a firmware issue or an invalid setting. You can determine
the compliance status of each server from the Configuration Patterns:
Server Profiles page.
For more information about deploying a server pattern,
see Deploying a server pattern to a server and Deploying a placeholder chassis.
- Modify server configuration by editing the server pattern.
You use server patterns to control a common configuration
from a single place. You no longer update settings directly on servers.
Instead, you update category patterns and server patterns, and the
changes are automatically deployed to all associated profiles and
their servers.
For more information about editing a server pattern,
see Modifying a server pattern.