HPE 804353-B21 Getting Started Guide
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Overview
Page 1
HPE Synergy Composer
HPE Synergy, the first Composable Infrastructure, empowers IT to create and deliver new value instantly and continuously. It
HPE Synergy Composer manages Composable Infrastructure and delivers “infrastructure-as-code”
composes compute, storage, and fabric pools into any configuration for any application using a single interface. It also enables
applications from bare metal to virtualized to containers. HPE Synergy makes IT an internal partner to rapidly launch new business.
HPE Synergy Composer, powered by HPE OneView, manages the Composable Infrastructure to deliver:
• Fluid pools of resources, where a single infrastructure of Compute, Storage, and Fabric boots up ready for workloads and
demonstrates self-assimilating capacity,
• Software-defined intelligence, with its single interface that precisely composes logical infrastructures at near-instant
speeds, orchestrates template-driven frictionless operations, and
• Unified API access, which enables simple line-of-code programming of every infrastructure element, for easy automation of
IT operational processes and effortless automation of applications through infrastructure deployment.
Fluid pools of resources
HPE Synergy Composer eliminates complexity and empowers IT to orchestrate a single infrastructure of compute, storage, and
fabric pools with a single interface to assemble and re-assemble resources into any configuration. By delivering flexible pools of
compute, storage, and fabric in a single infrastructure, all the resources needed to run an application are instantly available.
Additional capacity self-assimilates into larger flexible pools, which makes scaling simple and automated. Hardware and operational
complexity does not increase with growth, ensuring IT can achieve economies of scale and efficiency.
Software-defined intelligence
HPE Synergy Composer delivers software-defined intelligence for IT to quickly and confidently make frictionless changes to the
infrastructure. Templates define how the infrastructure needs to be configured, and the infrastructure’s software-defined intelligence
implements the needed changes programmatically without human intervention. This dramatically reduces operational complexity
and cost while increasing service availability.
Software-defined intelligence is a paradigm shift in how infrastructure is managed. HPE Composer can automatically implement
change operations via a template using a single interface to significantly reduce manual interactions and human errors. This
empowers IT to configure development, test, and production environments with precision, accuracy, and speed.
Unified API
The Unified API in HPE Synergy Composer delivers automation by providing a single interface to discover, search, inventory,
configure, provision, update, and diagnose the composable infrastructure in a heterogeneous environment. This aggregates and
hosts internal IT infrastructure to present physical resources like virtual and public cloud resources.
Traditional environments can automate their operational processes and design their workflow around enterprise needs. Developers
can also programmatically control the infrastructure to create a hyper-connected data center. DevOps tools can provision instantly
and programmatically, without needing a detailed understanding of the underlying physical elements. The Unified API is a fully
programmable interface which will integrate into popular management tools and applications.
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Overview
Page 2
What's New
HPE Synergy Composer, powered by HPE OneView, manages the Composable Infrastructure of HPE Synergy.
supported, including
Transport Layer Security (TLS) versions, which provide cryptographic protocols for communications security over computer
These enhanced capabilities are provided in this version of Synergy Composer:
Security
• Cryptography validation and certification for Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 is
support for Commercial National Security Algorithm (CNSA) Suite algorithms.
• All iLO Security modes/states are supported (iLO5 HighSecurity, FIPS, and CNSA Suite B) with on-line and off-line firmware
updates for all iLO5 security modes, including updates using SUT 2.2.0 and SUM 8.2.0 with Gen10 compute modules.
•
networks, can be customized via the REST API by selectively disabling TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1.
Template and Profile Enhancements
• BIOS Settings can be modified/updated while the compute module hardware is powered-on (and are compatible with on-
line assign/un-assign operations) with the new BIOS Settings becoming effective at the next power-on.
• Cluster Profiles and Rolling Cluster Updates provide cluster provisioning via server profile templates for VMware ESX
clusters, which can be accessed through the user interface or the REST API (for easy integration with workflow engines).
• Firmware Rolling Cluster Updates are supported for ESX environments with Virtual Connect, providing updates to virtual
hosts (in an ESX virtual cluster) in a rolling fashion.
Firmware Updates
• Offline iLO NAND-based updates for Gen10 servers can be used to dramatically reduce firmware update times.
• Gen10 high-security/FIPS modes are supported for firmware and driver updates
Storage
• Brocade Fibre Channel 16Gb interconnect modules support data volumes with profile- and template- driven SAN storage
management (but without boot-from-SAN configuration).
• 3PAR large-volume and compression support enables provisioning of storage volumes up to 64TiB utilizing 3PAR volume
compression for optimal flash storage usage.
Virtual Connect
• Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) integration with Synergy Virtual Connect is supported for Synergy systems.
• Port Mirroring on downlinks is supported.
Supportability and Remote Support
• Email notifications can be configured for opening/closing support cases and for contract/warranty expirations.
• Remote device access to Synergy Composer can be enabled (with the customer’s permission) for an HPE support
technician to securely connect for troubleshooting and issue resolution.
HPE Synergy Composer also provides enhanced integrations for popular software applications, such as:
• HPE OneView for Azure Log Analytics for hybrid cloud infrastructure management of on-premises HPE hardware and
firmware inventory, health status, and alert analysis using cloud-based Microsoft Log Analytics.
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Standard Features
3
HPE Synergy Composer is the primary appliance for managing Synergy systems. This hardware appliance is powered by HPE
Infrastructure as
HPE Synergy Composer manages Composable Infrastructure with software-defined intelligence to present an
nd
High Availability
HPE Synergy Composer is the management heart of HPE Synergy. It is the management appliance that
without oversubscription issues. A dedicated management plane using 1GbE or 10GbE also helps prevent
OneView and is designed with hardware failover -- allowing a redundant Composer appliance to take over control and keep your
critical infrastructure up and running.
Code
‘infrastructure as code’ view of fluid resource pools to developers and users.
HPE Synergy Composer provides native infrastructure management for assembling and re-assembling fluid
pools of compute, storage, and fabric resources to meet any workload.
Detailed configuration information can
be saved as templates and then re-applied, enabling the physical infrastructure to be managed like software.
‘Infrastructure as code’ provides on-demand delivery and support of applications and services with consistent
governance, compliance, and integration.
This represents a paradigm shift in managing infrastructure. Software-defined architecture auto-discovers a
self-assimilates all HPE Synergy resources for immediate use with template-driven operations. This
intelligence increases the speed, efficiency, and reliability of operations.
The HPE Synergy Composer consolidates management of the entire system domain: HPE Synergy Frames,
HPE Synergy Compute modules, HPE Synergy Storage modules, HPE Image Streamer, and HPE Fabric
modules. Composer also deploys, monitors, and updates the infrastructure from one interface and one Unified
API (which is also in HPE OneView). IT groups can deploy infrastructure for traditional, virtualized, and cloud
environments. And resources can be updated, flexed, and redeployed in a frictionless manner without service
interruptions.
Lifecycle
Management
provisions, monitors, updates, and repairs your composable infrastructure. HPE Composer provides
management of the HPE Synergy ‘ready-to-run’ infrastructure with embedded licensing so that licensing
concerns are invisible to you as a user.
High availability management
The HPE Synergy management infrastructure is designed for high availability (HA) operation. Redundancy is
designed into all aspects of the management system. For example, pairs of HPE Composer appliances provide
failover (active-standby) for enterprise high availability. Also, Frame Link Modules define the multi-frame
management ring and are redundantly implemented for HA operation.
Security
The HPE Synergy management platform provides a holistic basis for security.
• Separation of the data and management (or ‘control’) planes provides maximum control.
• User identifications and authorizations comply with the best known security practices.
• Role-based access control (RBAC) and Scope-based access control (SBAC) can be utilized.
• Identities can be verified through 2-factor authentication.
• Certificate management assures proper validations.
• SNMPv3 and Secure boot protocols prevent unauthorized access.
• Cryptography validation and certification for Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2
is available, including support for Commercial National Security Algorithm (CNSA) Suite algorithms.
• Single-sign-on (SSO) to iLO is supported and tracked via audit logs.
• Provisioning control assures standardization in mass deployments.
• Management appliances are security-hardened and have encryption of critical data.
• Backup and Recovery for the management appliance is handled in a secure manner.
Separation of Data and Management planes
provides optimal bandwidth to maintain control at all times
Page
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Standard
Page 4
malicious takeovers in Denial of Service (DoS) attacks.
The Synergy management infrastructure itself knows what has failed. For example, if a
networks) are available in the user interface. Visibility into other data and inventory elements is always
Features
Industry-standard enterprise Directory Services are utilized to confirm user identification and to control access
to compute resources. This allows one administrator to quickly set up authentication and authorization for
each user, as appropriate to their responsibilities and organizational associations, for specific categories of
compute resources. Role-based access control (RBAC) restricts system access to authorized users. A separate
role for server firmware operators is provided for profile management and basic break-fix operations.
Single-sign-on (SSO) to iLO is provided in HPE Composer. All user actions are logged in an audit log. Options
for LDAP/AD-based directory services authentication and authorization are also supported.
Provisioning control is provided for general deployment and provisioning use in HPE Synergy. Both general
provisioning and HPE Image Streamer avoid use of PXE Boot with its known security issues.
Management appliances are security-hardened with limited open ports, limited access to the command
prompt, and a restricted "kiosk" graphical user interface (which prevents access to the underlying operating
system and other software). Sensitive data on the appliance is encrypted and data downloaded from the
appliance is encrypted by default (e.g. support dumps, backup files).
Management appliance backup
Appliance backups for HPE Composer provide both automated and scheduled ‘push’ backups. The user
supplies access to a backup repository system, and the backup is ‘pushed’ to that location at regular intervals.
Remote locations and a regular schedule for backups can be specified. Backup processes also utilize a specific
user role which does not permit access to other resource views and tasks. Backup files are also encrypted and
contain configuration settings and management data, which avoids the need to create separate backup files
for the appliance and its database files. Backups can be created while the management appliance is online, and
the backup process can be scheduled from outside the management appliance with file collection set
according to your site’s policies.
Monitoring, health, and maintenance
HPE Composer provides a streamlined, modern alert management architecture that simplifies monitoring.
When managed resources are added to the appliance, they are automatically discovered, inventoried, and set
up for monitoring, including the automatic registration of SNMP traps and scheduling of health data collection.
For example, HPE Synergy compute modules are monitored immediately without requiring additional
configuration or discovery steps.
All monitoring and management of data center devices is agentless and out-of-band for increased security
and reliability. No OS software is required, no open SNMP ports on the host OS are required, and zero
downtime updates can be performed for these embedded agents.
HPE Composer also provides proactive alert notifications via email. Administrators can configure alert filters
and email identifications to match new alerts to filter criteria and then send an email to the identified contact.
You can also view all alerts, filter your alerts, and search your alerts using HPE Smart Search. Alerts can be
assigned to specific users and annotated with notes from administrators. Notifications or traps can be
automatically forwarded to enterprise monitoring consoles or to centralized SNMP trap collectors.
Self-diagnostic capabilities allow HPE Synergy Composer to be aware if a hardware component is
misconfigured or failing.
module is not properly seated or a component fails, HPE Synergy acknowledges the event and notifies
administrators.
Dashboard
Customizable dashboard capabilities allow you to select and display important inventory, health, or
configuration information. This can also be used to define custom queries for new dashboard displays. More
detailed information and additional views of firmware revisions and hardware inventory (servers, storage, and
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Standard
Page 5
available through the user interface and Unified REST API -- info that can also be found using HPE Smart
Easy setups, Quick-
Synergy systems are quickly available for use because of auto-discovery, simplified setup processes, and self-
Compute
The HPE Synergy 12000 Frame is the foundation of HPE Synergy solution. It is designed to run today’s
accept multiple generations of compute, storage, fabric, and management modules.
Features
Search.
to-use
assimilating system capability.
Auto-discovery
HPE Synergy systems perform automated discovery of physical resources. Everything in the management
network is automatically discovered upon insertion or upon being linked into the network fabric. All linked
frames in a domain are automatically discovered, resources are created for them in HPE Composer, and they
are put into a monitored state. New resources are self-assimilated into the managed environment.
Specific capabilities for auto-discovery include:
• Discovery and inventory of each linked frame and its components that are connected on that same
frame with the HPE Composer (including Frame Link Modules, compute modules, fans, power
supplies) without the user having to supply any IP or toe-tag information,
• Discovery of each interconnect from the Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) with its device data (Serial
number, DNS name, Base Mgmt MAC address, Base WWN),
• Automatic placement of discovered frames into a ‘monitored’ state,
• Resilience to add frames or remove frames (for example, if link cables are disconnected),
• Issuance of alerts for configured frames that are 'missing' from communications, and
• Detection of errors and diagnostic information about error conditions.
Simplified setup
The HPE Synergy setup process is a guided installation experience, which steps the user through the process.
HPE Synergy also incorporates an installation technician mode for faster and easier setups. This mode allows
setup technicians to verify that hardware is correctly installed and is free of configuration errors -- before the
systems are handed over to the infrastructure administrator for configuration. This mode enables setup
technicians to perform all their typical tasks:
• Racking and cabling the frames and supplied power,
• Viewing the hardware inventory and health status,
• Viewing newly-added frames in HPE OneView as soon as the new frame is installed, powered on, and
link cables are correctly in place, and
• Troubleshooting of any hardware faults.
Technicians can perform all their necessary installation tasks without being given unlimited administrative
access to the systems.
Self-assimilating systems
Software-defined infrastructure assembles and re-assembles resources to eliminate complexity and to
orchestrate fluid pools of resources. Templates capture best practices and efficiently use resources, including
creation of logical infrastructures to provision at near-instant speeds and meet application needs. Selfassimilation of additional capacity into larger flexible pools reduces operational complexity as hardware
environments grow. This results in
simple and automated scaling to achieve economies of scale and efficiency.
The result is that HPE Synergy systems are easy to set-up and bring-under management!
Management
compute and data-intensive applications and next-generation mobile-first, cloud-native applications.
HPE Synergy Frame combines compute, storage, and fabric in a single physical intelligent infrastructure which
uses HPE Synergy Composer to flexibly compose those resources. The Synergy Frame easily scales by linking
into larger groups (or domains) of frames to form a dedicated management network, and it is also designed to
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Standard
Page 6
socket compute modules plug into the Synergy Frame
the physical infrastructure
HPE Synergy Composer, powered by HPE OneView, provisions
as a single solution stack. And all firmware update operations in HPE Composer will not impact your
Features
Composable compute resources of two-socket and fourto provide the performance, scalability, density optimization, storage simplicity, and configuration flexibility to
power a variety of workloads. Compute modules give flexibility in processor choices, storage options, and
simplified I/O to power demanding workloads and to increase virtual machine density.
The HPE Synergy Composer consolidates management of the entire system domain, including compute
modules. The HPE Synergy architecture lets IT quickly and accurately configure the entire infrastructure in
one step, using one interface.
Powerful templates
HPE Synergy Composer templates are the most powerful in the industry -- comprehending compute, storage,
and fabrics. (With Image Streamer, the deployed software state can also be captured.) These powerful
templates define how the HPE Synergy infrastructure needs to be configured, and then the infrastructure’s
software-defined intelligence implements the needed changes programmatically without human intervention.
This significantly reduces operational complexity and cost, while increasing service availability.
The unique definition of each Synergy compute module is captured by Composer into a server profile. The
server profile is a logical software construct that defines the server configuration for a given workload.
Detailed configuration information (such as BIOS, firmware, boot order, RAID, and storage configs) of multiple
similar server profiles can be saved as a template and then be re-applied to manage
like software (“infrastructure as code”).
Powerful templates in HPE Composer also provide “monitor, flag, and remediate” capabilities which can be
used to enforce configuration compliance in server profiles. Multiple server profiles created from a single
template can be monitored for configuration compliance. When inconsistencies are detected, an alert is
generated to indicate that the offending profile is out-of-compliance with its template and that it needs
remediation. Likewise, when updates are made at the template level, all profiles derived from that template are
flagged as inconsistent and as needing remediation. The user then has complete control over the remediation
process to bring individual modules or multiple systems back into compliance. Template operations can also
be used from the graphical user interface or from the Unified API using PowerShell or Python scripts.
In traditional enterprise IT environments where infrastructure is managed one functional area at a time, every
device (whether it’s servers, storage, or networking) is associated with a specific manager. If templates are
used to configure those devices, the templates are associated with a specific hardware device and IT teams
must configure each device. Provisioning an application across these multiple devices involves a complex
process of configuring a variety of different products with different tools. This is a time consuming and costly
undertaking which is also error prone because of the complexity.
In contrast, HPE Synergy templates bring intelligence into the infrastructure with a single interface that allows
end-to-end control of the entire infrastructure.
workloads using a template to the needs of the workload rather than to the needs of a particular device. This
template-based approach can also automatically provision multiple compute nodes without additional manual
operations. Templates provide significant “infrastructure as code” capabilities that speed provisioning and
accelerate your time-to-service.
Frictionless updates
Frictionless updates let you orchestrate firmware updates without impacting operations. Infrastructure
changes in HPE Synergy (like firmware updates for both fabric interconnects and compute) can be
implemented automatically through template-based operations to reduce downtime, manual operations, and
errors.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise aids the frictionless updates by providing a tested combinations of firmware and
drivers for Synergy management appliances (Synergy Management combinations) and Synergy frames and
compute modules (Synergy Custom SPP), in which all the firmware and system software are tested together
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Standard
Page 7
production network because they are performed entirely via the management network – which is a separate
Storage
HPE Synergy architecture employs a variety of internal and external storage options to provide fluid pools of
performance for local applications.
Features
network.
Templates are a powerful way to update and maintain your existing infrastructure. Templates have a “one-tomany” model with inheritance properties which associate settings from a single template with multiple server
profiles. A single template change can update multiple server profiles. HPE Composer then allows you to
choose how you perform firmware and OS driver updates for composable compute in HPE Synergy.
Application owners can apply updates instantly (on-demand) or they can stage updates to automatically take
effect at a later time. This allows administrators to control when applications or servers are taken offline in
order to target updates to different maintenance windows. Coordinating all these maintenance windows can
be extremely difficult, and the staged update process provides flexibility. The updated firmware is copied to
the compute modules, where it is stored until a convenient maintenance window is identified and at which
time the update is applied. Firmware deployments can also be scheduled from the server profile with
automated reboots.
An optional automated process allows users to perform an orchestrated (rolling) update throughout the entire
managed environment without disrupting any applications. The software-defined intelligence of ‘logical
enclosures’ enables multi-frame firmware updates across many diverse components: Frame Link Manager and
components, logical interconnects, and server profiles. These update processes include automated dashboardbased compliance reporting. And HPE Synergy Composer also allows use of the high-level Unified API to
automate these update tasks.
Management
resources for any workload, from traditional applications to cloud-native applications. HPE Synergy Composer
enables local and zoned direct attach storage (DAS), software-defined storage (SDS) solutions which feature
HPE StoreVirtual virtual storage array (VSA) software, and system-defined tier-1 flash HPE 3PAR StoreServ
storage area network (SAN) solutions. Third party SDS and SAN solutions will also be supported on Synergy,
but without full system composability.
Software-defined intelligence integrates storage options with server profiles to save you time and make you
more productive. This software-defined nature in HPE Composer enables you to:
• Attach storage to server profiles,
• View and manage your storage system and storage pools,
• Provision various types of SAN volumes from HPE 3PAR including thinly provisioned de-duplication
volumes and snapshot volumes,
• Provision iSCSI volumes from StoreVirtual VSAs, and
• Create volume templates to provision multiple volumes with the same configuration.
Server profile templates can also specify which server profile should boot from DAS, iSCSI, or Fibre Channel
volumes. Resulting server profiles generated from the template will indicate which volume is the boot target,
and compliance checks are included.
Direct attached storage (DAS) – local and zoned
Local direct attached storage (DAS) is managed by a Smart Array controller. Each compute module that is to
be connected to the storage module over the SAS fabric is required to have one Smart Array controller
(P542D or P416ie-m) in the Mezzanine #1 slot. Drives are then zoned to a server profile, including boot
volumes.
Zoned direct attached storage (DAS) utilizes the HPE D3940 Storage Module. This double-wide module fits
within the HPE Synergy frame to provide pooled storage for composable infrastructure. The HPE D3940
Storage Module also provides large storage capacities. Each storage module has 40 drives (up to 153TB for
SSD or 80TB for HDD), and HPE Synergy Composer can zone up to 71 storage drives to any P542D
controller (Gen9 only) or up to 200 drives to a P416ie-m controller (Gen10 only) to any compute module in
the same frame. For DAS-centric workloads, the non-blocking SAS fabric allows full utilization of flash storage
QuickSpecs
HPE Synergy Composer
Standard
Page 8
status of storage systems. Storage systems are also monitored to ensure that they are synchronized with
Features
Software-defined storage (SDS) – StoreVirtual VSA
HPE StoreVirtual VSA is a software-defined storage solution that virtualizes underlying hardware to create
scale-out cluster of shared capacity with enterprise storage features and simple management. This software
product option allows you to take advantage of automated sub-LUN tiering for performance on a highlydense, scalable storage platforms while maintaining the flexibility required for VMs and virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI) solutions.
The scale-out storage architecture of HPE StoreVirtual VSA on HPE Synergy allows the consolidation of DAS
resources from multiple frames into a single pool of shared storage. All available capacity and performance is
aggregated and accessible to every volume in the cluster. Multiple HPE StoreVirtual VSAs running on multiple
compute modules with zoned DAS attached can create a clustered pool of storage with highly-available data
volumes protected using network RAID. Adding more StoreVirtual VSAs to the cluster grows the storage pool.
SDS volumes created using the native HPE StoreVirtual interface can be exported to the managed iSCSI
initiator and then utilized with the iSCSI initiator automation to connect hosts to shared pools of storage.
See HPE StoreVirtual VSA for more information.
External Arrays connected via Storage Area Networks (SAN) – 3PAR Storage Systems
HPE 3PAR Storage is part of the overall HPE Composable Storage family. HPE Composer provides softwaredefined intelligence for HPE 3PAR Storage Systems to be provisioned, grown, and recycled on-demand for
use in compute composition, as defined by profiles and templates. Frictionless changes are implemented
quickly using template-based operations. HPE Composer enables 3PAR storage resources to be aggregated
and disaggregated in a fluid manner, and with flexible ratios. HPE 3PAR storage is managed with softwaredefined intelligence through HPE Synergy Composer to deliver assured service-levels for traditional uses,
virtualization, and IT-as-a-Service.
A variety of storage area network (SAN) topologies are available for use with HPE Synergy. HPE Synergy
Composer provides SAN management compatibility with switched fabric, direct attach, and vSAN topologies
with dynamic connectivity between HPE Synergy systems and HPE 3PAR StoreServ Storage Systems. HPE
Composer discovers the SAN paths and provides connectivity services for the following types of Fibre Channel
(FC), Fibre Channel-over-Ethernet (FCoE), and mixed FC/FCoE SAN infrastructures:
• SANs managed through the HPE B-Series SAN Network Advisor software (connected to an HPE B-
series FC SAN configuration),
• SANs managed through Brocade Network Advisor (BNA) software (connected to a Brocade FC SAN
configuration), and
• Managed directly through a switch in the SAN (connected to HPE 5900 family FC and FCoE SAN
configurations).
HPE Synergy allows you to bring a SAN Manager, and the SAN infrastructure associated with that SAN
Manager, under management of the HPE Synergy Composer. HPE Synergy Composer can discover SANconnected servers and HPE 3PAR Storage Systems. You can then attach server profiles to SAN volumes on
that 3PAR storage system through existing SAN connections or through the automated SAN zoning services
of HPE Synergy Composer. HPE Composer can also automatically configure SAN zoning through server
profile volume attachments.
Boot-from-SAN
HPE Composer allows users to select a managed volume as the boot target using a simplified server profile
boot configuration. This action enables the software-defined intelligence in HPE OneView to internally
perform the “cut and paste” functions. The user configures the connections as bootable, and then selects a
managed volume from which to boot. Boot-from-SAN capabilities are available for HPE StoreServ (FC/FCoE)
volumes and HPE StoreVirtual (iSCSI) volumes on HPE Synergy with HPE Virtual Connect.
Storage monitoring, connectivity, and synchronization
HPE Composer monitors storage systems and issues alerts when there is a change in health or connectivity
Loading...