Deploy physical and virtual servers

Are you looking for bare-metal deployment of your new ProLiant servers? Interested in an automated solution to deploy hundreds of servers at the same time? Planning to virtualize your infrastructure and deploy virtual machines?

Insight Control offers various options to deploy your infrastructure.

For an automated, simple-to-use solution for bare-metal deployment and configuration of your physical servers with an OS or virtualization platform use Insight Control server deployment. HP Insight Control:

• Provides a fast, easy-to-use, drag-and-drop solution for deploying standard server configurations and software builds in an automated and consistent fashion from a remote console.
• Facilitates the installation, configuration, and deployment of high-volumes of servers through an intuitive, comprehensive console, using either scripting or imaging technology.
• Makes deploying a server as easy as selecting one, a few or hundreds of target servers and selecting predefined images or scripts and click "Run".

Click here for the release notes and support matrix of latest version Insight Control server deployment

Click here for all the knowledge base articles of Insight Control server deployment

For a simple, cost-effective solution for deploying virtual machines using template method, use Insight Control virtual machine management. You can create virtual machine templates and deploy multiple virtual machines in a consistent manner.

If you are using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager in your environment, Insight Control provides a complete deployment solution for HP ProLiant servers through Microsoft System Center OSD.

Key benefits of  Insight Control server deployment

Provides a fast, easy-to-use, drag-and-drop solution for deploying standard server configurations and software builds in an automated fashion from a remote console

• Automation produces reliable and consistent configurations across multiple servers, and even multiple sites, while lowering overall IT resource requirements during large scale deployments
• Establishes virtual presence and control for server deployments and redeployments within the data center or at remote locations, eliminating the need for IT personnel to be physically present
• Simplifies server deployment allowing companies to rapidly respond to changing workloads
• Reduces support, maintenance and training costs with a consistent and easy to use set of deployment and configuration management tools
• Provides deployment functionality for ProLiant DL 100 series servers, ProLiant ML and DL 300, 500 and 700 Series servers, ProLiant BL servers and select HP Integrity servers
• Included ProLiant Integration Module (PIM) and Integrity Integration Module (IIM) provide the latest optimized drivers, and pre-built deployment jobs and scripts using SmartStart and SmartSetup technologies, for easy deployment
• Drag-and-drop deployment tools work with Integrity servers and Integrity blades too. Use the Integrity Integration Module to deploy Integrity entry-class servers and c-Class server blades with Microsoft Windows operating systems
• Operating system integration is a snap with HP supplied pre-OS environments and configuration events for Linux further simplifying the initial OS deployment and driver integration steps all in an automated fashion
• Through support for deployment of VMware ESX and Microsoft Hyper-V hosts, Insight Control caters to the quickly emerging needs of datacenters deploying virtual servers
• Unique features designed for HP blade servers: server deployment is the recommended deployment solution for the ProLiant BL line of servers. Insight Control enables rapid serviceability with unique rip-and-replace features.
• Pre-failure alerts enable proactive replacement of server blades for service. New server blades automatically assume the personality of the previous server based on location (bay, enclosure, rack).
• Server blades are easy to identify by physical location in racks - blades are displayed in the console with easy to understand icons of rack, enclosure, bay.
• With virtual rack-enclosure-bay features, users can now assign an event to be executed the first time a blade is inserted into a specific bay

Ideal environment for Insight Control server deployment

Data center environments that regularly need to deploy new servers

High-density server environments require high-volume automated deployment options: Insight Control provides this through its easy-to-use graphical user interface.

The advent of headless servers requires an easy method for server deployment: by fully leveraging HP's unique lights-out capabilities HP Insight Control offers full control of headless servers.

Users require rapid, scalable deployment solutions: thanks to its built-in multi-casting capabilities, HP Insight Control server deployment easily scales to very large environments needing to deploy hundreds of servers at the same time.

Customers require a sophisticated but easy-to-implement server deployment solution so any level within the IT staff can use it: thanks to its drag-and-drop user interface HP Insight Control can be used by all IT staff, while clear access-right designations will avoid tampering by unauthorized personnel.

Larger organizations with decentralized locations

Customers needing a method for unattended server deployment. HP Insight Control enables remote deployment and remote operations such as switching the server on and off or rebooting. Only physical operations such as installing the server into the rack, connecting the server to network, and reading the server's iLO network information tag need be done by on-site IT staff.

Migrate physical and virtual servers

Upgrading or replacing your existing server with new ProLiant servers? Looking for a solution to migrate workloads from existing servers to HP ProLiant servers or virtual machines? HP makes it easy with HP Insight Control server migration. Replicate the server you know and trust virtually or physically, with the only solution of its kind from a server vendor.

HP Insight Control server migration provides an automated, accurate and affordable way to migrate existing servers and their content to the latest HP BladeSystem or ProLiant servers or the latest virtualization platforms from VMware, Microsoft, and Citrix. Physical or virtual, the fastest and easiest way to migrate your servers is with HP Insight Control server migration. With server migration you can migrate operating system, applications, settings and data from one server to another, instead of manually redeploying these elements on a new server.

Insight Control includes unlimited migrations to each Insight Control-licensed server and offers the following types of migrations:

Key benefits of Insight Control server migration

One migration tool for all your ProLiant physical & virtual migration needs

• Supports migrations from any x86 server (regardless of vendor, physical or virtual) to HP ProLiant or BladeSystem with a supported OS or a supported VM-type
• Destination can be a supported ProLiant DL, ML, or BladeSystem server or a supported virtual machine
• Heterogeneous virtualization platform support: the ability to migrate between virtualization environments; VMWare ESX, or ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer

Automated migration process saves time and reduces errors

• All data, operating system, applications, & settings are transferred automatically, reducing chances for errors
• Support for concurrent migrations reduces the time required for multiple migrations
• The only migration solution designed specifically for HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers; includes all the needed drivers for ProLiant servers
• HP ProLiant servers & components are tested & verified for all migration scenarios

Support for migrating in SAN environments

• Migrate old servers to new "boot-from-SAN" HP BladeSystem servers
• Migrate SAN connections from old servers to the new replacement servers

Ideal environment for Insight Control server migration

Customers looking to replace or upgrade their servers for technology transitions to next generation ProLiant servers for newer features, such as faster processors, better memory scalability, better storage or NIC controllers or better remote and power management, but do not want to change the OS and application and want to preserve all of their settings.

In situations where customers want to upgrade to a server with the new small form factor drives and do not have the ability to just physically move the drives from one server to the other to enable the migration.

Customers who are transitioning from rack servers to HP BladeSystem servers but do not want to change the OS and application and want to preserve all of their settings.

For customers who find it more cost effective to purchase a new server than to extend the warranty on their existing server. For customers who lease their servers and want an easy way to replace their existing server hardware with new hardware at the end of a lease period.

Customers implementing server virtualization:

• P2V migrations to move physical servers to VMware, Microsoft or Citrix virtual platforms
• V2V migration support allows customers running VMware  ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix Xenserver virtual machines to easily convert between platforms as needed
• V2ProLiant migrations allows customers to migrate a virtual machine to a physical server for support or performance reasons