MaxRep: Cannot access the MaxRep Engine RMM3 port after configuring the RMM3 network settings

Asset ID:	1-72-2058026.1
Update Date:	2015-09-28
Keywords:

Solution Type Problem Resolution Sure

Solution 2058026.1 : MaxRep: Cannot access the MaxRep Engine RMM3 port after configuring the RMM3 network settings

Applies to:

Pillar Axiom Replication Engine (MaxRep) - Version 2.0 to 2.0 [Release 2.0]
Information in this document applies to any platform.

Symptoms

After installing a new MaxRep R2 machine and configuring the RMM3 network settings, the RMM3 port is not accessible on the customer network and not accessible using a laptop directly connected to the RMM3 port using a standard ethernet Cat-5E cable.

Cause

The cause of the issue is due to setting ETH0 IP configuration settings for the Baseboard LAN Configuration in the BIOS which can cause loss of network connectivity to the RMM3 port.

It is correct to configure the RMM3 network configuration settings either in the BIOS or set in the the Remote Management Module, but not the ETH0 network configuration settings.

Solution

The solution outlined below is to go over how to correctly configure the RMM3 and ETH0 network configurations separately. Please identify the RMM3 and ETH0 ports along with the IP settings and login credentials before proceeding, for more information refer to <Document 1518633.1> Pillar Axiom: MaxRep Engine default IP and Password

How to configure the network settings for the RMM3 port

There are two options to set the RMM3 port network settings, you can either connect a laptop directly to the RMM3 port to access the Remote Management Module or access the machine BIOS to set the RMM3 network settings. Choose one of these options to correctly set the RMM3 network settings.

Set the RMM3 port network settings using a laptop

Connect a laptop directly connected to the RMM3 port using a standard Cat-5E ethernet cable.
Modify the laptop network adapter settings, set a static IP address that is different than the IP address set for the RMM3 port and that is within a valid IP address range. Set the subnet mask of the laptop network adapter to be the same value as the subnet mask set for the RMM3 port. Do not set a gateway address for the laptop network adapter. Save the changes.
On the laptop open a command prompt and ping the IP address of the RMM3 port and make sure there are successful ping replies.
Open a web-browser, in the URL type the IP address of the RMM3 port. There will be a login prompt to log into the Remote Management Module.
Log into the Remote Management Module as root user.
Navigate to the "Configuration" tab -> from the left menu click "Network".
In the main page next to "LAN Channel" select the drop down menu and choose "Intel(R) RMM3".

NOTE: Do NOT select "Baseboard Mgmt", there should be no IP settings configured for it.
Select radio button "Use the following IP address" and set the new RMM3 IP network settings.
Click "Save" button to save the changes.

At this point test network connectivity to the RMM3 port using a laptop or by connecting the RMM3 port to the external network.

Set the RMM3 port network settings in the BIOS

Connect a VGA monitor and USB keyboard to the MaxRep machine.
Power on the MaxRep machine (or reboot it), during initial boot a message will appear to press the F2 key to enter Setup (may have to wait a few minutes before seeing the message).
Once the message appears press the F2 key and hold it down for about 5 seconds then release.
Wait until the system boots into the BIOS.
Once in the BIOS use the arrow key and navigate to "Server Management" -> "BMC LAN Configuration" and hit Enter.
In the next window change the IP settings for "Intel (R) RMM3 LAN Configuration" to the new RMM3 IP settings, the IP source should be set to Static.

NOTE: Do NOT set any network settings under "Baseboard LAN Configuration" the IPs should all be 0
Once the RMM3 IP network settings are correctly configured press the F10 key to save the changes and exit the BIOS

At this point the machine will boot up completely and you may test network connectivity to the RMM3 port using a laptop or by connecting the RMM3 port to the external network. To test network connectivity using a laptop refer to the previous section on how to Set the RMM3 port network settings using a laptop following Steps 1-4.

How to configure the network settings for the ETH0 port

Configuring ETH0 port network settings requires access to the MaxRep host console. To access the MaxRep host console log into the the Remote Management Module through the RMM3 port as root user -> click "Remote Control" and select "Launch Console", or connect a VGA monitor and USB keyboard to the MaxRep machine to access the host console.

Log into the host console as root user, below is what the host login prompt looks like:

CentOS release 5.5 (Final)
Kernel 2.6.18-194.32.1.el5 on an x86_64

maxrep1 login: root
Once logged in as root user verify the hostname is set properly, if not, set it using the hostname command:

# hostname <hostname>

NOTE: <hostname> is the replication Engine hostname.
Set the gateway address in the network configuration file:

# vi /etc/sysconfig/network
After setting the gateway address cat the file to verify the changes have been saved:

# cat /etc/sysconfig/network
NETWORKING=yes
NETWORKING_IPV6=no
HOSTNAME=maxrep1.company.com
GATEWAY=172.20.191.1

NOTE: The hostname and gateway will vary depending on customer environment. The output above is an example.
Make sure all replication engines are added in the /etc/hosts file

# vi /etc/hosts
Then cat /etc/hosts file to verify the changes have been saved:

# cat /etc/hosts
# Do not remove the following line, or various programs
# that require network functionality will fail.
127.0.0.1 localhost
#
# Public IPs
#
172.20.191.181 maxrep1 maxrep1.company.com
172.20.191.182 maxrep2 maxrep2.company.com
172.20.191.183 maxrep3 maxrep3.company.com
172.20.191.184 maxrep4 maxrep4.company.com

NOTE: The hostname and IP addresses will vary from implementation to implementation and will be defined by the customer specifications. The output above is an example
Set the DNS domainname and server in the /etc/resolv.conf file:

# vi /etc/resolv.conf
Then cat the /etc/resolv.conf to verify the changes have been saved:

# cat /etc/resolv.conf
Search company.com
Nameserver 172.20.191.3

NOTE: The DNS domainname and the Domain Server will vary from implementation to implementation and will be defined by the customer specifications.
Set the IP address, broadcast address, netmask, and network for ETH0.

# cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/
# vi ifcfg-eth0

NOTE: The IP address, broadcast address, netmask, and network will vary from implementation to implementation and will be defined by the customer specifications.
Cat file ifcfg-eth0 to verify the changes have been saved

# cat ifcfg-eth0
# Intel Corporation 82571EB Gigabit Ethernet Controller
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=static
BROADCAST=172.20.191.255
DHCPCLASS=
HWADDR=00:1E:67:09:88:34
IPADDR=172.20.191.181
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
NETWORK=172.20.191.0
ONBOOT=yes

NOTE: The output above is an example
Bring the ETH0 port online

# ./ifup eth0
Use ifconfig to confirm the ETH0 port is online:

# ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1E:67:09:8E:24
          inet addr:172.20.191.183 Bcast:172.20.191.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::21e:67ff:fe09:8e24/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
          RX packets:44136 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:14350 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:5695509 (5.4 MiB) TX bytes:2825978 (2.6 MiB)
          Memory:b1d20000-b1d40000

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback
          inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
          RX packets:429985 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:429985 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:70550423 (67.2 MiB) TX bytes:70550423 (67.2 MiB)

NOTE: The IP address, broadcast address, netmask, and network will vary from implementation to implementation. The output is an example.
To ensure the network configuration is complete, the network service should be restarted

# service network restart
Shutting down interface eth0:             [ OK ]
Shutting down loopback interface:         [ OK ]
Bringing up loopback interface:           [ OK ]
Bringing up interface eth0:               [ OK ]

At this point the ETH0 network configuration is complete and customer should verify that they can connect to ETH0 on their network.

For any additional information on how to configure networking on MaxRep please refer to the MaxRep Best Practice PDF Guide that is attached to <Document 1518633.1> Pillar Axiom: MaxRep Engine default IP and Password

References

<NOTE:1518633.1> - Pillar Axiom: MaxRep Engine default IP and Password
<NOTE:1489033.1> - Pillar Axiom: MaxRep BIOS update bulletin.

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