Discovery Mechanisms

Depending on the values provided in input/provision_config.yml, target nodes can be discovered in one of three ways:

switch_based

Omnia can query known switches (by SNMPv3 username/password) for information on target node MAC IDs.

Pros	Cons
The entire discovery process is totally automatic.	Users need to enable IPMI on target servers.
Admin IP, BMC IP and Infiniband IP address configuration is automatic on the target nodes.	Servers require a manual PXE boot after the first run of the provision tool.
Re-provisioning of servers will be automatic.
PXE booting servers is supported via split ports on the switch.

For more information regarding switch-based discovery, click here

mapping

Manually collect PXE NIC information for target servers and manually define them to Omnia using a mapping file using the below format:

pxe_mapping_file.csv

SERVICE_TAG,HOSTNAME,ADMIN_MAC,ADMIN_IP,BMC_IP
XXXXXXXX,n1,xx:yy:zz:aa:bb:cc,10.5.0.101,10.3.0.101
XXXXXXXX,n2,aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff,10.5.0.102,10.3.0.102

Pros	Cons
Easily customizable if the user maintains a list of MAC addresses.	The user needs to be aware of the MAC/IP mapping required in the network.
	Servers require a manual PXE boot if iDRAC IPs are not configured.

For more information regarding mapping files, click here

bmc

Omnia can also discover nodes via their iDRAC using IPMI.

Pros	Cons
Discovery and provisioning of servers is automatic.	For iDRACs that are not DHCP enabled (i.e., Static), users need to enable IPMI manually.
Admin, BMC and Infiniband IP address configuration is automatic on the OIM.	Servers require a manual PXE boot after the first run of the provision tool.
LOM architecture is supported (including cloud enclosures: C6420, C6520, C6620).

For more information regarding BMC, click here

If you have any feedback about Omnia documentation, please reach out at omnia.readme@dell.com.