ClearCube A6108 User manual

ClearCube Technology, Inc. 3700 W Parmer Lane Austin, TX 78727 [phone] www.clearcube.com
A6108 Blade PC Quick Start Guide
A6108
components
The table and picture below show each major A6108 Blade PC component.
NumberPart Function
1 Power button
and indicator Button:
Press to power on and power off blade. Press and hold for 3 seconds to force power off.
Indicator:
Button is illuminated (solid) when power is on.
Button blinks slowly to indicate blade is in Sleep power state.
2 Reset button and HDD indicator Button:
Press to reset blade power.
Indicator:
Button flashes to indicate hard drive activity.
3 USB Dual USB 2.0 port
4 Video Access and Pull TabProvides access to select video and pull tab for removal from
chassis
5 Storage drive carrier Holds up to two storage drives, connecting directly to SATA
connectors inside the blade. Does not support hot-swap operation.
1. The A6108 Blade PC components
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Introduction
About this guide
This quick start guide shows the components and features of A6108 Blade PCs; how to install
and remove blades from an A-series chassis; how to view pre-OS video; how to implement
Intel®AMT; and provides references to additional information about Aseries blades, A-series
chassis, and to information about using PCoIP®technology.
A6108 overview
A6108 blades are 6U high, single-slot blades that mount in an A3100 chassis. The A3100
chassis provides power, network interfaces, and a USB port for each blade.
The picture below shows zero clients connected to A6108-series blades in an A3100 chassis.
2. An example deployment of A6108-series blades and zero clients
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Power management
Storage drives and carrier
Power on and
power off
The power button is located on the top portion of the front panel, shown as 1 in Figure 1 on page 1.
•Power on: After inserting a blade in a chassis or connecting power for configuration outside of a
chassis, press the power button to power on the blade.
Result: The blade powers on and the power indicator (1) is illuminated.
•Power off: Press and hold the power button for about 3 seconds to power off a blade.
Result: The blade powers off and the power indicator (1) turns off.
Reset power
The reset button is located on the bottom portion of the front panel, shown as 2 in Figure 1 on page 1.
When a blade is powered on, press the reset button to reset power.
Result: The blade powers down, the power indicator (1) turns off, and the blade powers on again.
About blade
storage drives
A6108 blades use carrier free hot swappable bays for drives—such as hard disk drives (HDD), solid
state drives (SSD), self-encrypting drives (SED), and hybrid drives (SSHD).
NOTE: A6018 blades does support hot-swap replacement of drives. When hot swapping hard drives,
make certain that the OS drive is not removed..
Storage drives do not require power cables or data cables when inserting in bays. Power and data
connectors are housed inside the blade—insert and fully seat the carrier and fasten with screws.
The picture below shows the storage drive carrier.
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Continued on next page
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Storage drives and carrier, Continued
Drive order
The picture below shows how storage drives are ordered in the storage drive carrier.
3. Drive order in the storage drive carrier
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Installation in A3100 chassis
Continued on next page
Inserting and
removing
The A3100 chassis (shown in Figure 2, above) provides redundant power, network ports (Ethernet
and dedicated PCoIP), and a USB port for all blades in a chassis.
The table below shows how to install and remove an A6108 blade from an A3100 chassis.
Step Action
1 Open the chassis front bezel by pressing in on the latch on the upper-right side of the
chassis.
NOTE: When pressing the latch to open the front bezel, hold the bezel with one hand to ensure that
the bezel does not fall.
2 From the top, pull the bezel toward you and lift up to remove it.
3 Hold the blade so the D-shaped handle in the front of the blade is upright and is facing you.
Align the blade with the top and bottom guides in the chassis and slowly insert the blade.
Result: When fully seated, the blade is flush with the front edge of the bottom guide bracket.
NOTE: There is slight resistance when blade connectors are inserted into backplane connectors.
4 Replace the bezel after inserting your blades.
5 Optionally, press the power button on the front panel to power on the blade.
6 To remove a blade after powering down, pull gently on the finger pull handle until the
blade slides out of the chassis.
NOTE: Support both ends of the blade when you remove it completely from the chassis. Remember
to replace the chassis front bezel.
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Installation in A3100 chassis, Continued
A3100 Chassis Ports and Protocol Support
Additional steps
The list below shows some additional deployment and setup steps you can take.
•Insert Ethernet cables in the network ports located on the rear of the chassis.
NOTE: All network ports on the rear of the A3100 chassis (shown in the figure below) are active,
though not all indicator LEDs are illuminated.
•Install an operating system image appropriate for your environment.
NOTE: Custom images for ClearCube blades have specific requirements. Be sure to see the
technical bulletin specified below for more information.
•Set mass storage lockout on PCoIP host cards, which enables you to prohibit or restrict the use of
USB-based mass storage devices (such as flash drives) on ClearCube blades.
Expansion
Backplane
As noted above, the A3100 chassis provides power, network, and USB connections for A6108 blades.
The picture below shows the network connections on A3100 Chassis Expansion Backplane.
Network ports
and protocol
assignment
Network ports on the rear of the A3100 chassis support different features. The picture below shows
the rear of the chassis and shows protocol support for each network port.
4. The A3100 chassis and Expansion Backplane
Intel AMT Support
and Standard Ethernet!
"Primary Ethernet Port#
Dedicated PCoIP Port
Standard Ethernet
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12344!5/*6676!*()!
-89*(67'(!:*&;9<*(%
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BIOS and pre-OS video for configuration and imaging
Continued on next page
About pre-OS
video
In the A6108 architecture, host cards with PCoIP technology support local video and USB access at
the front of the blade.
To access A6108 pre-OS video (such as BIOS setup utility screens), the easiest method is to attach a
monitor directly to the front of the blade and use the two USB ports for keyboard and mouse. If
additional ports are needed, a USB hub is supported.
NOTE: If you are updating the BIOS, be sure to see “Flashing the motherboard BIOS” below.
Alternatively, you can use Intel®Active Management Technology (Intel®AMT) to view BIOS
screens after configuring Intel AMT on the blade (see “Using Intel® Active Management Technology
(Intel® AMT)” below).
As a second alternative, you can access the BIOS via PCoIP provided a connection can be established
before the boot sequence starts.
Before you
begin
These sections assume that you are configuring an A6108 blade outside of a chassis. From inside a
chassis, make sure all network and power cables are attached to the chassis.
Before you begin, be sure to have
•Ethernet cables
•a standard 120 V computer power cable (IEC 60320 C13 connector with NEMA 5-15 inlet)
•a DisplayPort®monitor, video cables, and power cables
•a USB keyboard and a mouse, and
NOTE: These instructions assume devices are connected to an imaging network or other network with a
DHCP server to provide IP addresses for the blade’s PCoIP host card and for the zero client. MAC
addresses are specified on labels on the side of the blade and on the zero client. To identify the host card to
connect to from the zero client, you might need to consult DHCP tables. DHCP tables should show each
device’s MAC address and the corresponding IP address assigned to the host card and the client.
Connecting
devices
The table below shows how to connect devices to view pre-OS video.
Step Action
1 Remove the blade from the chassis as described in “Inserting and removing” on page 4.
Place the blade on a stable surface, such as a bench or on the top of a desk.
2 Connect a USB keyboard and mouse to USB ports on the front of the blade.
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BIOS and pre-OS video for configuration and imaging, Continued
Continued on next page
Connecting
devices
(continued)
Step Action
3 Connect a monitor to the video connector on the front of the blade.
4 Optionally, connect the blade a network or imaging network.
If you are imaging from an imaging network, connect an Ethernet cable to the standard Ethernet
port on the rear of the blade (this is the bottom-most port when the blade is resting on a table as
shown below). Connect the other end of the cable to a switch connected to an imaging network.
5. Network ports on the rear of the blade
5 Connect a power cable to the power connector at the rear of the blade and then plug the
cable into a power outlet.
Next steps: power on devices and view pre-OS video.
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BIOS and pre-OS video for configuration and imaging, Continued
Continued on next page
Power on and
view video
This section assumes the blade is configured as described in the previous section. The table below
shows how to create a PCoIP session to view pre-OS video.
Step Action
1 Press the power button on the front of the blade to power it on.
2 The monitor will display the ClearCube boot logo – select the choice needed.
<DEL> or <F2> -- to enter BIOS Setup
<F7> -- to enter boot menu
Next steps: You can now deploy the A6108 blade. See the sections below for important details about
A6108 configuration, operation, and maintenance.
Flashing the
motherboard
BIOS
The A6108 BIOS is available from the ClearCube Support site. The BIOS download includes detailed
instructions about how to flash the motherboard BIOS. After flashing the BIOS, be sure to remove the
AC power cable, clear the CMOS, reconnect AC power, and power on the blade. Return to the BIOS
setup screen and press F3 to load default BIOS settings, and then press F4 to save and exit BIOS.
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Using Intel®Active Management Technology (Intel®AMT)
About Intel
AMT
Intel AMT enables administrators to manage supported blades remotely (including when blades are
powered off) using an AMT management console.
A6108 blades support Release 12.0 and above.
Requirements
The table below details Intel AMT requirements.
BIOS settings Blades that are managed remotely using Intel AMT must have settings enabled in
the Intel AMT BIOS extension (see the sections below for information).
Management Console Administrators must manage AMT devices using an AMT management
console, which can be browser based or be installed on a system. Installation requirements vary
depending on the AMT management console you choose.
There are many management consoles available, such as the Intel browser-based utility, VNC®Viewer
Plus, and Spiceworks®. Be sure to choose a console that supports your management objectives.
Network The A3100 chassis supports Intel AMT through the primary Ethernet port only. See
Figure 5 and Figure 6 above for more information.
Supported
features
A6108 blades support all Intel AMT features except for KVM over IP.
Default login
credentials
The list below shows default Intel AMT credentials:
•Default Intel AMT password is admin.
NOTE: Change this password immediately after first login.
•Default Intel AMT user is admin.
Accessing Intel
ME BIOS
extension
Intel AMT settings are located in the Intel Management Engine BIOS extension. Intel AMT is
enabled by default in A-series blades.
NOTE: Though AMT is enabled, you must activate network access to enable management console
connections (see “Activate Network Access” below).
To access the BIOS extension:
Step Action
1 Remove the blade from the chassis and configure as shown in “BIOS and pre-OS video for
configuration and imaging” above.
2 Power on the blade.
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Using Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT),
Continued
Accessing Intel
ME BIOS
extension
(continued)
Step Action
3 Press CTRL+P during startup (this is the same time you would press, for example, DEL to
display the BIOS setup utility).
4 Use the keyboard to select MEBx Login and press ENTER. If this is your first time logging
in, use the credentials listed in “Default login credentials” above (otherwise, enter your AMT
password). Make any changes appropriate for your environment. If your management console
requires a user name to perform Intel AMT commands, use the user name listed above.
Next steps: Activate network access as shown below to enable management console connections.
Activate
Network Access
This assumes that devices in your environment use dynamic IP addresses. If devices in your
environment use static IP addresses, specify an address in the Network Setup menu in the Intel(R)
AMT Configuration menu noted below.
The steps below enable an AMT management console to connect to a blade. Perform these steps on
each blade you will manage from an AMT management console.
Step Action
1 Log in to the AMT BIOS extension as shown in the section above.
2 Select Intel(R) Standard Manageability Configuration and press ENTER.
3 Select Activate Network Access and press ENTER.
Result: A message is displayed. Press Yon your keyboard.
4 Press ESC to return to the main menu.
5 Select MEBx Exit and press ENTER. Continue by pressing Yon your keyboard.
Result: The blade boots to the operating system.
6 Power off the blade and return it to an A3100 chassis.
You can now use an AMT management console to perform AMT operations on the blade during any
power state.
To access the Intel®Active Management Technology Web interface from a supported browser, enter
the IP address of the blade’s primary network interface and port 16992 in the following format
(including the final forward slash): http://nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn:16992/, where nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn is the
device’s IP address. If you have not changed the default user, use the name shown in “Default login
credentials” above.
For more
information
See Intel®Active Management Technology (Intel®AMT) Start Here Guide, available at
www.intel.com. To find the document, search for the title shown above.
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Related information and Support
Related
information
The table below shows documents about A6108 configuration, operation, and maintenance topics.
For information about … See …
Creating custom operating system images Tech Bulletin TB00265, Operating System Image
Requirements
Blade and chassis setup, operation, upgrades, and maintenanceA-Series Blade and Chassis User’s
Guide
PCoIP device configuration and administration PCoIP System User’s Guide
All documentation is located at http://www.clearcube.com/support/.
Contacting
Support
Web www.clearcube.com/support/
Email [email protected]
Toll-free [phone]
Direct [phone]
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WEEE Disposal Guidelines
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