Frequently Asked Questions

What to do if playbook execution fails due to external (network, hardware etc) failure

Re-run the playbook whose execution failed once the issue is resolved.

Why is the provisioning status of my node object stuck at ‘powering-on’?

Cause:

  • Hardware issues (Auto-reboot may fail due to hardware tests failing)

Resolution:

  • Resolve/replace the faulty hardware and PXE boot the node.

Why are the status and admin_mac fields not populated for specific target nodes in the cluster.nodeinfo table?

Causes:

  • Nodes do not have their first PXE device set as designated active NIC for PXE booting.

  • Nodes that have been discovered via SNMP or mapping file have not been PXE booted.

Resolution:

  • Configure the first PXE device to be active for PXE booting.

  • PXE boot the target node manually.

Why is the provisioning status of my node object stuck at ‘installing’?

Cause:

  • Disk partition may not have enough storage space per the requirements specified in input/provision_config (under disk_partition)

  • The provided ISO may be corrupt.

  • Hardware issues

Resolution:

  • Add more space to the server or modify the requirements specified in input/provision_config (under disk_partition)

  • Download the ISO again, verify the checksum and re-run the provision tool.

  • Resolve/replace the faulty hardware and PXE boot the node.

How to add a new node for provisioning

  1. Using a mapping file:

    • Update the existing mapping file by appending the new entry (without the disrupting the older entries) or provide a new mapping file by pointing pxe_mapping_file_path in provision_config.yml to the new location.

    • Run provision.yml.

  2. Using the switch IP:

    • Run provision.yml once the switch has discovered the potential new node.

Why does splitting an ethernet Z series port fail with “Failed. Either port already split with different breakout value or port is not available on ethernet switch”?

Potential Cause:

  1. The port is already split.

  2. It is an even-numbered port.

Resolution:

Changing the breakout_value on a split port is currently not supported. Ensure the port is un-split before assigning a new breakout_value.

How to enable DHCP routing on Compute Nodes:

To enable routing, update the primary_dns and secondary_dns in provision_config.yml with the appropriate IPs (hostnames are currently not supported). For compute nodes that are not directly connected to the internet (ie only host network is configured), this configuration allows for internet connectivity.

What to do if the LC is not ready:

  • Verify that the LC is in a ready state for all servers: racadm getremoteservicesstatus

  • PXE boot the target server.

Is Disabling 2FA supported by Omnia?

  • Disabling 2FA is not supported by Omnia and must be manually disabled.

Is provisioning servers using BOSS controller supported by Omnia?

Provisioning server using BOSS controller is now supported by Omnia 1.2.1.

How to re-launch services after a control-plane reboot while running provision.yml

After a reboot of the control plane while running provision.yml, to bring up xcatd services, please run the below commands:

systemctl restart postgresql.service

systemctl restart xcatd.service

How to re-provision a server once it’s been set up by xCAT

  • Use lsdef -t osimage | grep install-compute to get a list of all valid OS profiles.

  • Use nodeset all osimage=<selected OS image from previous command> to provision the OS on the target server.

  • PXE boot the target server to bring up the OS.

How many IPs are required within the PXE NIC range?

Ensure that the number of IPs available between pxe_nic_start_range and pxe_nic_end_range is double the number of iDRACs available to account for potential stale entries in the mapping DB.

What are the licenses required when deploying a cluster through Omnia?

While Omnia playbooks are licensed by Apache 2.0, Omnia deploys multiple softwares that are licensed separately by their respective developer communities. For a comprehensive list of software and their licenses, click here .