Discovering Ibm Xseries Appliances; Using Families And Groups In The Tree View - IBM eServer xSeries 135 Installation Manual

Discovering IBM xSeries appliances

Any IBM xSeries appliance server that is running and is connected to the same subnet
as the system running the Advanced Appliance Configuration Utility console is
automatically discovered when you start the Advanced Appliance Configuration
Utility console. Discovered appliances appear in the Advanced Appliance
Configuration Utility console Tree View pane (in the left pane of the Advanced
Appliance Configuration Utility console window). Each appliance appears in two
locations in the tree view:
• In the tree view under All Appliances.
• In one of the following portions of the tree view:
— In a family
If the discovered appliance fits the requirements of a family, it automatically
appears as part of a family.
Note:
— In the Orphaned Appliances group
If the discovered appliance does not fit a previously configured Family, it is
placed in the Orphaned Appliances group.
— In the Orphaned Externally Configured Appliances group
Appliances that are running the Advanced Appliance Configuration Utility
agent but have a network configuration that was not set by the Advanced
Appliance Configuration Utility agent or console appear in the Orphaned
Externally Configured Appliances group. If an appliance is contained in the
Orphaned Externally Configured Appliances group, you can use the Adopt
By First Matching Family function to add it to a previously defined family.
For more information, see "Using the Adopt by First Matching Family
function" on page 22.

Using families and groups in the tree view

Families specify the parameters that the Advanced Appliance Configuration Utility
uses to automatically categorize discovered appliances and to configure them with
the appropriate network settings. Family rules are defined solely by appliance type or
purpose. Each family can contain only one type of appliance. The only way to
automatically apply predetermined network settings to newly installed and
discovered appliance servers is to create and use families.
Appliance servers that match the rules criteria for a family group can be automatically
configured to use predefined network settings. A family can be defined to
automatically assign IP settings (such as primary gateway and DNS server addresses,
assigning an IP address from a specified IP address range, and specifying a subnet
mask). Host names for discovered appliances can also be defined so that they are
allocated using either a prefix or serial number.
The Advanced Appliance Configuration Utility is not the only way to configure
network settings. For example, you can configure network settings using Appliance
System Manager or by attaching a keyboard and mouse to the appliance and using a
Linux command line or other configuration utility on the server. If the appliance
network settings have been configured by a method other than using the Advanced
Appliance Configuration Utility, the appliance will be discovered by the Advanced
Appliance Configuration Utility and it will be added to an appropriate family, if one
If a discovered appliance fits the requirements of more than one
family, it is automatically added to the first appropriate family that
is listed in the tree view, starting from the top of the tree. For
information on how to move appliances between families, see
"Using families and groups in the tree view".
Chapter 4. Appliance configuration programs
19