UCS Fabric Interconnect Initial Configuration

Here’s a quick guide on how to perform the initial hardware install and config for a pair of UCS 6120XP Fabric Interconnects. These instructions should be valid for 6140′s as well.

Initial Cabling

You will need to make a few cable connections before starting. Each FI has four RJ-45 jacks on the left marked L1, L2, Mgmt0 and Mgmt1. L1 and L2 will be used for cluster traffic; they must be connected to the other FI (L1 to L1, L2 to L2). The mgmt0 interfaces are what we will manage UCS with and should be connected to your network (ideally a management VLAN). These interfaces will need an IP address each, as well as a Cluster IP that will generally be what is used for system management. For this example, we will use the following IP addresses:

• Fabric Interconnect A: 10.10.10.2
  
• Fabric Interconnect B: 10.10.10.3
  
• Cluster IP: 10.10.10.1
  

Fabric Interconnect A Setup Script

Connect a serial cable from the Console port to a laptop or other management system and launch a terminal application. I’ve captured the entire initial setup script and it is shown below. Items in bold are non-default values:

           ---- Basic System Configuration Dialog ----

  This setup utility will guide you through the basic configuration of
  the system. Only minimal configuration including IP connectivity to
  the Fabric interconnect and its clustering mode is performed through these steps.

  Type Ctrl-C at any time to abort configuration and reboot system.
  To back track or make modifications to already entered values,
  complete input till end of section and answer no when prompted
  to apply configuration.


  Enter the configuration method. (console/gui) ? console

  Enter the setup mode; setup newly or restore from backup. (setup/restore) ? setup

  You have chosen to setup a new Fabric interconnect. Continue? (y/n): y

  Enforce strong password? (y/n) [y]:

  Enter the password for "admin": (hidden)
  Confirm the password for "admin": (hidden)

  Is this Fabric interconnect part of a cluster(select 'no' for standalone)? (yes/no) [n]: yes

  Enter the switch fabric (A/B) []: A

  Enter the system name:  UCSTEST

  Physical Switch Mgmt0 IPv4 address : 10.10.10.2

  Physical Switch Mgmt0 IPv4 netmask : 255.255.255.0

  IPv4 address of the default gateway : 10.10.10.254

  Cluster IPv4 address : 10.10.10.1

  Configure the DNS Server IPv4 address? (yes/no) [n]:

  Configure the default domain name? (yes/no) [n]: 

  Following configurations will be applied:

    Switch Fabric=B
    System Name=UCSTEST
    Enforced Strong Password=yes
    Physical Switch Mgmt0 IP Address=10.10.10.2
    Physical Switch Mgmt0 IP Netmask=255.255.255.0
    Default Gateway=10.10.10.254

    Cluster Enabled=yes
    Cluster IP Address=10.10.10.1

  Apply and save the configuration (select 'no' if you want to re-enter)? (yes/no): yes
  Applying configuration. Please wait.

  Configuration file - Ok


Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect
UCSTEST-A login:

Notice that the login prompt has named this system UCSTEST-A.

Fabric Interconnect B Setup Script

Now, connect the serial cable to the second FI. The config script is much simpler:

           ---- Basic System Configuration Dialog ----

  This setup utility will guide you through the basic configuration of
  the system. Only minimal configuration including IP connectivity to
  the Fabric interconnect and its clustering mode is performed through these steps.

  Type Ctrl-C at any time to abort configuration and reboot system.
  To back track or make modifications to already entered values,
  complete input till end of section and answer no when prompted
  to apply configuration.

 
Enter the configuration method. (console/gui) ? console

  Installer has detected the presence of a peer Fabric interconnect. This Fabric interconnect will be added to the cluster. Continue (y/n) ? y

  Enter the admin password of the peer Fabric interconnect: (hidden)
    Connecting to peer Fabric interconnect... done
    Retrieving config from peer Fabric interconnect... done
    Peer Fabric interconnect Mgmt0 IP Address: 10.10.10.2
    Peer Fabric interconnect Mgmt0 IP Netmask: 255.255.255.0
    Cluster IP address          : 10.10.10.1

  Physical Switch Mgmt0 IPv4 address : 10.10.10.3


  Apply and save the configuration (select 'no' if you want to re-enter)? (yes/no): yes
  Applying configuration. Please wait.

  Configuration file - Ok


Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnect
UCSTEST-B login:

Next Steps

You should now be able to point a web browser at your cluster IP and get the initial UCS page, from which you can launch the UCS Manager Java application.