Backbone Fabric Controller 3.5 New Features
This is to provide a preview of new capabilities with BFC 3.5
1. Bare Metal Install (BMI)
2. Network Diagnostics During Discovery
3. Grid Node Selection
4. SAN Support
5. VLAN Enhancements
6. BFC API
7. Additional Features
1. Bare Metal Install (BMI)
BMI Allows the BFC to be installed on a server that does not have an existing OS
Installation via:
DVDs
USB Stick
USB Hard Disk (GA)
BXE boot of installation ISO
Installer installs CentOS 5.5 and BFC 3.5
Two ISOs for the installation (two DVDs)
CentOS/GPL packages
BFC
BFC installed and running at completion
Bare Metal ISO Tool
Provides for the creation of a single USB stick or ISO (for pxe installation)
2. Network Diagnostics During Discovery
Many issues with grid installation can be averted by verifying network capabilities of servers during discovery
Discovery code now does the following checks:
NICs,VLANs connectivity to the BFC via external/backbone network
More than 2 NICs available but not all of them have been plugged in (in case of high-availability networks)
STP on the backbone network
NICs do not meet the required throughput of more than 100 mbps
Servers are quarantined if they violate any of the above checks
Additional inventory gathered
Interface, interface speed, switch, switch type, switch protocol, STP port
3. Grid Node Selection
The BFC now allows servers to be selected for the grid based on tags and/or properties of the servers
BFC 3.0 - 3.1 selected servers for the user.BFC 3.5 allows the user to specify which servers should be selected for the grid, based on:
"Tags" that are assigned to individual servers
Tags are user defined strings (e.g. "Jon Red's servers")
Can be applied to multiple servers at a time
Servers can have multiple tags
"Smart Tags" use inventoried properties of servers
CPU cores
CPU speed
Memory
Total disk capacity
"Smart Tags" define a query which matches servers
Example: "Gold Servers" = servers with >= 4 cpu cores and >= 8 gb ram
As a smart tag is created, matching servers are updated in real time
Smart tags allow for more robust replacement of servers
Grid can specify smart tag(s) and tags in combination to get desired servers
As tags are applied matching servers are updated in real time
Separate SLA and tag values can be specified for Xen and VMware
Users can update tags post grid creation, and any new servers allocated to the grid will have to match the updated tags (existing servers are not kicked out)
Grids now have minimum hardware requirements for Xen and VMware
Enforced during grid create and adding servers even if no tags/smart tags are specified
Servers in existing pre-3.5 grids are not affected
5. SAN Support
The BFC now allows a grid to be configured to use NFS-mounted storage
Users can specify external storage on a per-grid basis
For 3.5, NFS-mounted storage only
Storage must be on the backbone network
User can test connectivity to storage (but test does not have to pass)
Storage location is not changeable post grid creation
BFC prevents external storage setup on pre-3.5 grids
Users can also specify a default storage location
Configured in Administration > General
Becomes the default for all grids
Multiple grids can use the same location (grid data stored in different directories)
6. VLAN Enhancements (GA)
The BFC now allows application IPs to be specified on a per-VLAN basis
VLANs are set up in the network configuration area of the BFC
Same IP ranges can be configured across multiple VLANs
VLANs can be "tagged"
VLAN IDs are managed to prevent conflicts
Grids can then select Application IP ranges from the configured VLANs
The BFC ensures that VLAN ranges are not used by more than one grid
A grid does not have to use VLANs
7. BFC API
Users can now script grid creation and update operations
All Grid list, create, update, delete operations supported
List versions and hotfixes
Secure, RESTful interface using JSON
Clients can be written in Python, Java, shell, etc.
Simplified/reduced parameter grid create
Grid operations such as starting, stopping, and applying hot fixes
8. Additional Features
Other new features available in 3.5
Imaging timeouts shortened where possible
More feedback to user regarding deployment steps
Ability to force a server to be manually powered
Frequently servers have power controllers whose IPMI implementations are unreliable
Forcing a server to be manually powered reduces errors/noise that the admin has to investigate
This section contains the following topics:
Backbone Fabric Controller 3.5 New Features
BFC 3.0 and 3.1 - Node Imaging Timeout Setting
BFC 3.5: Bare Metal Install with the BMI ISO Tool
BFC 3.5: Network Diagnostics at Install and Discovery
BFC 3.5.x Passphrase Check Scripts
BFC: Correcting Issues Booting from pxe
BFC: Troubleshooting Hotfix Not Displaying
BFC DB Replica to a USB Thumb Drive
BFC Finding and Cleaning Orphaned IP Pools
BFC Hostname and External IP Change Script
BFC - To Change Replica DB Location
Brownbag Session - 2012-02-09 - Backbone Fabric Controller 3.1: Logging
Brownbag Session - 2012-02-23 - Backbone Fabric Controller 3.1: Install, BFC Users, and Scripting
Brownbag Session - 2012-04-05 - Backbone Fabric Controller 3.1: BFC/AppLogic Interaction
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Copyright © 2012 CA.
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