Automated OS Install Tool for Cisco Intersight

The Automated OS Install Tool for Cisco Intersight automates the installation of operating systems on UCS servers managed by Intersight.

Prerequisites

1. Python 3.7 or higher installed, which can be downloaded from https://www.python.org/downloads/.

   • If you're installing for the first time on Windows, select the option "Add Python 3.x to PATH" during the installation.

2. Install the Cisco Intersight SDK for Python by running the following command:

   pip install intersight
   

   More information on the Cisco Intersight SDK for Python can be found at https://github.com/ciscodevnet/intersight-python.

3. [Optional] If you already have the Cisco Intersight SDK for Python installed, you may need to upgrade. An upgrade can be performed by running the following command:

   pip install intersight --upgrade --user
   

4. Clone or download the Automated OS Install Tool for Cisco Intersight repository by using the link on the main repository web page or by running the following command from the target directory if Git is locally installed:

   git clone https://github.com/ugo-emekauwa/intersight-os-installer
   

   If you are downloading the repository file as a zipped file, unzip the file once the download has completed.

5. Generate a version 3 or version 2 API key from your Intersight account.

   (a). Log into your Intersight account, click the Service Selector and select System.

   

   (b). Under the API section in the work pane, click API Keys.

   

   (c). In the API Keys section in the work pane, click the Generate API Key button.

   

   (d). In the Generate API Key window, enter a description or name for your API key.

   

   (e). In the Generate API Key window, under API Key Purpose, select a version 3 or version 2 API key.

   

   (f). In the Generate API Key window, click the Generate button.

   

   (g). In the Generate API Key window, a new API key will be generated. Copy the API Key ID and download the Secret Key to a secure location.

   

How to Use

1. Please ensure that the above Prerequisites have been met.

2. Within the unzipped Automated OS Install Tool for Cisco Intersight repository, navigate to the intersight_os_installer.py file.

3. Edit the intersight_os_installer.py file to set the key_id variable using the following instructions:

   (a). Open the intersight_os_installer.py file in an IDLE or text editor of choice.

   (b). Find the comment # MODULE REQUIREMENT 1 #.

   

   (c). Underneath, you will find the variable key_id. The variable is currently empty.

   

   (d). Fill in between the quotes of the key_id variable value with the ID of your API key. For example:

   key_id = "5c89885075646127773ec143/5c82fc477577712d3088eb2f/5c8987b17577712d302eaaff"

4. Edit the intersight_os_installer.py file to set the key variable using the following instructions:

   (a). Open the intersight_os_installer.py file in an IDLE or text editor of choice.

   (b). Find the comment # MODULE REQUIREMENT 2 #.

   

   (c). Underneath, you will find the variable key. The variable is currently empty.

   

   (d). Fill in between the quotes of the key variable value with your system's file path to the SecretKey.txt file for your API key. For example:

   key = "C:\\Keys\\Key1\\SecretKey.txt"

5. Edit the intersight_os_installer.py file to set all the configuration variable values using the following instructions:

   (a). Open the intersight_os_installer.py file in an IDLE or text editor of choice.

   (b). Find the comment # MODULE REQUIREMENT 3 #.

   

   (c). Underneath, you will find the instructions to edit the configuration variable values to match your environment. Each variable has a sample value for ease of use. The variable values to edit begin under the comment ####### Start Configuration Settings - Provide values for the variables listed below. #######.

   

   Completion of editing the configuration variable values is marked by the comment ####### Finish Configuration Settings - The required value entries are complete. #######.

   

6. Save the changes you have made to the intersight_os_installer.py file.

7. Run the intersight_os_installer.py file.

Demonstrations and Learning Labs

The Automated OS Install Tool for Cisco Intersight is used to power the following demonstrations and labs on Cisco dCloud:

• Running Gen AI and LLMs on Cisco UCS X-Series with NVIDIA GPUs
  
  

dCloud is available at https://dcloud.cisco.com, where Cisco product demonstrations and labs can be found in the Catalog.

Related Tools

Here are similar tools to help administer and manage Cisco UCS and Intersight environments.

• Cisco IMM Automation Tools
• UCS CIMC Certificate Renewal Tool

Author

Ugo Emekauwa

Contact Information

uemekauw@cisco.com or uemekauwa@gmail.com