Installing and Configuring a Cisco APIC-EM Appliance

This chapter describes how to install the Cisco APIC-EM ISO image on the appliance and configure it.

Installing the Cisco APIC-EM Series Appliance in a Rack

Refer to Installing the Cisco APIC-EM Series Appliance in a Rack for information on safety guidelines, site requirements, and guidelines that you must observe before installing the Cisco APIC-EM series appliance.

Downloading the Cisco APIC-EM ISO Image

You can download the latest Cisco APIC-EM ISO image from Cisco.com

    Step 1   Go to the following URL address:

    http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​en/​us/​support/​cloud-systems-management/​one-enterprise-network-controller/​tsd-products-support-general-information.html

    You must already have valid Cisco.com login credentials to access this link.

    Step 2   Click Download Software for this Product.

    Proceed to download the ISO file to a secure location on your network.

    Installing the ISO Image on the Cisco APIC-EM Series Appliance

    After you download the ISO image, you can perform a fresh installation on your Cisco APIC-EM series appliance by using any of the following methods:

    • Install the ISO image using the CIMC Remote Management Utility.

      1. Configure CIMC.

      2. Install the Cisco APIC-EM software release remotely.

      You must configure the CIMC to perform this remote installation.

    • Install the ISO image using a USB flash drive.

      1. Create a bootable USB flash drive.

      2. Connect the USB flash device to the Cisco APIC-EM series appliance.

      3. Install the Cisco APIC-EM software release using the local KVM or remotely using the CIMC KVM.

    • Install the ISO using an external DVD drive with a USB port.

      1. Burn the ISO image on to a DVD.

      2. Connect the external USB DVD to the Cisco APIC-EM series appliance.

      3. Install the Cisco APIC-EM software release via the local KVM or remotely using the CIMC KVM.


    Note

    If your Cisco APIC-EM series appliance is running an earlier version of the controller software, you can upgrade it to the latest version by following the upgrade procedure using the GUI as described in the Release Notes for the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module. Currently, reimaging your existing Cisco APIC-EM series appliance to perform an upgrade to the latest release not supported.


    Note

    For installing the Cisco APIC-EM software release using a USB flash device or an external DVD with a USB port, the CIMC configuration is optional. Choose one of these options if you do not prefer a remote installation.

    Configuring CIMC

    You can perform all operations on Cisco APIC-EM series appliances using the CIMC. To do this, you must first configure an IP address and IP gateway to access the CIMC from a web-based browser.

      Step 1   Attach a keyboard and monitor to the USB ports on the rear panel of the appliance or by using a KVM cable and connector to access the appliance console.
      Step 2   Plug in the power cord.
      Step 3   Press the Power button to boot the server. Watch for the prompt to press F8 as shown in the following screen.

      Figure 1. CIMC Opening Screen

      Step 4   During bootup, press F8 when prompted to open the BIOS CIMC Configuration Utility. The following screen appears.

      Figure 2. CIMC Configuration Utility

      Step 5   In the Configuration Utility window, change the following fields as specified:

      • NIC mode—Select Dedicated.

      • IP (Basic)—Select IPV4.

      • CIMC IP—Enter the IP address of the CIMC.

      • Prefix/Subnet—Enter the subnet of the CIMC.

      • Gateway—Enter the Gateway address.

      • Pref DNS Server—Enter the preferred DNS server address, if available.

      • NIC Redundancy—None

      Step 6   Press F1 to specify additional settings.
      Step 7   Make the following changes on the Additional Settings window:

      • For Common Properties, enter a hostname for CIMC.

      • For Common Properties, turn off Dynamic DNS.

      • Turn off the Factory Defaults.

      • Enter the admin password. If you leave the password field blank, the default password is password.

      • Enter new Port Properties or accept the default.

      • Turn off the Port Profiles.

      Step 8   Press F10 to save the settings.
      Step 9   Press escape to exit and reboot the server.
      Step 10   After the settings are saved, open a browser and enter the following URL:

      https://CIMC_ip_address where CIMC_IP_address is the IP address that you entered in Step 5.

      What to Do Next

      Use CIMC to install the Cisco APIC-EM software release on a Cisco APIC-EM series appliance. For information about this procedure, see Using CIMC to Configure a Cisco APIC-EM Series Appliance.

      Creating a Bootable USB Drive

      Follow the procedure described below to create a bootable USB drive for the Cisco APIC-EM appliance.


      Note

      As an example, this procedure uses the Rufus freeware utility (version 2.6.818) to create a bootable USB drive. The URL for the Rufus freeware utility download is located at: https:/​/​rufus.akeo.ie/​

      Before You Begin

      The bootable USB drive should have a minimum capacity of at least 8 GB.

        Step 1   Download a freeware utility to create a bootable USB drive to your laptop or desktop.

        After download, open and install the utility.

        Note   

        The Rufus freeware utility will open and self-install.

        Step 2   Connect your USB drive to your laptop or desktop where you downloaded the utility.

        After connecting your USB drive, the utility GUI appears.

        Enter or choose the following values for the bootable USB drive:

        • Partition scheme and target system type: MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI

        • File system: FAT32

        • Cluster size: 4096 bytes

        • Quick format

        • Create a bootable disk using FreeDOS

        • Create extended label and icon files

        Note   

        For the Rufus freeware utility, do not change the displayed values in the GUI.

        Step 3   For the Rufus freeware utility, click the Click to select image icon in the middle of the GUI.
        Step 4   Browse to the Cisco APIC-EM ISO image on your network and select it.
        Step 5   Click Start to begin copying the ISO image to the USB drive.

        This action creates the USB drive as a bootable USB drive with the Cisco APIC-EM ISO image installed.

        Step 6   Remove the bootable USB drive from the laptop or desktop and use it wherever you will install the controller.
        What to Do Next

        Insert the bootable USB drive into the server or appliance where you will install the controller.

        Prerequisites for Configuring Cisco APIC-EM Series Appliance

        Cisco APIC-EM series appliances are preinstalled with the latest Cisco APIC-EM software.

        Make sure that you identify all of the following configuration settings for your deployment before proceeding:

        • Hostname

        • IP address for the Gigabit Ethernet 0 (eth0) interface

        • Netmask

        • Default gateway

        • Domain Name System (DNS) domain

        • Primary name server

        • Primary Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers


          Note

          We recommend three NTP servers for the deployment.

        • HTTPS proxy server

        • Controller GUI username

        • Controller GUI password

        • Linux (Grapevine) username

        • Linux (Grapevine) password


        Note

        For details about the differences between the controller (GUI) admin user and the Linux (Grapevine) admin user, see Admin User Right Differences.

        Cisco APIC-EM Configuration Wizard Parameters

        When the Cisco APIC-EM software configuration begins, an interactive configuration wizard prompts you to enter required parameters to configure the controller.


        Note

        Ensure that the DNS and NTP servers are reachable before you run the configuration wizard and whenever a Cisco APIC-EM host reboots in the deployment.

        Table 1 Cisco APIC-EM Configuration Wizard Parameters

        Configuration Wizard Prompt

        Description

        Example

        Host IP address

        Must be a valid IPv4 address for the host.

        This IP address is used for the network adapter (eth0) on the host and connects to the external network or networks. For multiple network adapters, have several IP addresses available.

        10.0.0.12

        (Optional) Virtual IP address

        Must be a valid IPv4 address.

        This virtual IP address is used for the network adapter (eth0) on the host. You should only configure a virtual IP address, if you are setting up a multi-host deployment.

        10.12.13.14

        Netmask IP address

        Must be a valid IPv4 netmask.

        255.255.255.0

        Default Gateway IP address

        Must be a valid IPv4 address for the default gateway.

        10.12.13.1

        Primary server

        Must be a valid IPv4 address for the primary server.

        10.15.20.25

        Note   

        Enter either a single IP address for a single primary server, or multiple IP addresses separated by spaces for DNS servers.

        Primary NTP server

        Must be a valid IPv4 address or hostname of a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.

        10.12.13.10

        Enter either a single IP address for a single NTP primary server, or multiple IP addresses separated by spaces for several NTP servers. We recommend that you configure three NTP servers for your deployment.

        Add/Edit another NTP server

        Must be a valid NTP domain.

        10.12.13.11

        Allows you to configure multiple NTP servers.

        Note   

        We recommend that you configure three NTP servers for your deployment.

        HTTPS proxy server

        Must be a valid IPv4 address for the HTTPS proxy with port number.

        https://209.165.200.11:3128

        Admin Username

        Identifies the administrative username used for GUI access to the Cisco APIC-EM controller.

        We recommend that the username be three to eight characters in length and be composed of valid alphanumeric characters (A–Z, a–z, or 0–9).

        admin2780

        Admin Password

        Identifies the administrative password that is used for GUI access to the Cisco APIC-EM controller. You must create this password because there is no default. The password meet the following requirements:

        • Eight character minimum length.

        • Does NOT contain a tab or a line break.

        • Does contain characters from at least three of the following categories:

          • Uppercase alphabet

          • Lowercase alphabet

          • Numeral

          • Special characters (for example, ! or #)

        MyIseYPass2

        Linux Username

        Identifies the Linux (Grapevine) username used for CLI access to the Grapevine root and clients.

        The default is 'grapevine' and cannot be changed.

        Linux Password

        Identifies the Linux (Grapevine) password that is used for CLI access to the Grapevine roots and clients. You must create this password because there is no default. The password meet the following requirements:

        • Eight character minimum length.

        • Does NOT contain a tab or a line break.

        • Does contain characters from at least three of the following categories:

          • Uppercase alphabet

          • Lowercase alphabet

          • Numeral

          • Special characters (for example, ! or #)

        MyGVPass01

        Using CIMC to Configure a Cisco APIC-EM Series Appliance

        After you configure the CIMC for your appliance, you can use it to manage a Cisco APIC-EM series appliance. You can perform all operations including BIOS configuration through the CIMC.

        Before You Begin

        Ensure that you have connected and powered up the appliance by following the recommended procedures in this guide.

        Ensure that you have configured the CIMC on your appliance. For information about this procedure, see Configuring CIMC

        Ensure that you have the Cisco APIC-EM ISO image on the client machine from which you are accessing the CIMC or you have a bootable USB with the image for installation.

        Ensure that you have your Cisco APIC-EM program parameter information available and the requirements ready for deployment (for example, NTP servers).

          Step 1   Connect to the CIMC for appliance management.

          Connect the Ethernet cables from the LAN to the appliance using the ports selected by the Network Interface Card (NIC) Mode setting. The active-active and active-passive NIC redundancy settings require you to connect to two ports.

          Step 2   Use a browser and the IP address of the CIMC to log in to the CIMC Setup Utility.

          The IP address is based on the CIMC configuration that you made.

          The default username for the server is admin. The default password is password.
          Step 3   Click Launch KVM Console in the CIMC GUI .
          Step 4   Use your CIMC credentials to log into the KVM console.
          Step 5   Click Virtual Media on the KVM Console menu bar.
          Step 6   Click Activate Virtual Devices from the Virtual Media drop down menu.
          Step 7   Browse to the Cisco APIC-EM ISO image in the Virtual Media - Map CD/DVD window.
          Step 8   Once the Cisco APIC-EM ISO image appears in the Drive/Image File field, click the Map Device button.

          The Read Only check box should be checked in this window.

          Step 9   Choose Macros | Static Macros | Ctrl-Alt-Del to boot the Cisco APIC-EM series appliance using the ISO image. A screen similar to the one shown in the following figure appears.

          Figure 3. CIMC Window

          Step 10   Press F6 to bring up the boot menu. A screen similar to the following one appears.

          Figure 4. Boot Device Window

          Step 11   Choose the DVD that you mapped and press Enter.

          After pressing Enter, the Cisco APIC-EM ISO software and files are installed on your appliance.

          After these files are installed, the Ubuntu screen briefly appears. Next, the Cisco APIC-EM configuration wizard starts.

          Step 12   Proceed to configure the Cisco APIC-EM using the wizard.

          If the configuration wizard does not start, then enter the config_wizard command initiate the configuration process.

          See the “Configuring Cisco APIC-EM as a Single Host Using the Wizard” section in the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Deployment Guide, for information about the configuration wizard process.

          After you are done with the configuration wizard and have rebooted, the Cisco APIC-EM GUI Login window appears. The Cisco APIC-EM is now ready to use.

          What to Do Next

          At the Cisco APIC-EM GUI Login window, you are prompted to enter the web-based admin login credentials (username and password) to access the Cisco APIC-EM user interface. You can initially access the web interface by using the GUI admin user’s username and password that you defined during the setup process.

          After you log in to the Cisco APIC-EM user interface, you can then configure your controller settings including discovery credentials, SNMP values, and certificates. See the " Configuring the Cisco APIC-EM Settings" chapter in the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Deployment Guide, for information about configuring the controller settings.