ITA FAQ

In Rack view, select an asset, and then click the Asset Visual icon.     Asset Visual, Front   Under Asset Visual, FRONT, click Edit. Browse to the asset image. Adjust the image. Click Save.     Asset Visual, Rear   Under Asset Visual, REAR, click Edit. Browse to the asset image. Adjust the image. Click Save.     Asset visuals in rack view   To see the asset visuals in rack view:   Click Overlays. Select Visuals.    

Before starting the IT Advisor upgrade process, it is recommended that you:   Take a fresh backup that can be used to rebuild the setup if/when needed. Save in a safe place, not on the ITA server.   Verify that the server and the application are running as expected.  You can verify in the server Webmin interface https://<ITA server>:10000 in the EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Status option. It should say Running.   Check that there is enough free disc space on the server, specially on the root '/' and /tmp partition. Considering that running a backup and an upgrade need at least 20 GB free disc space.   If possible, test the upgrade on a dedicated test server before applying on the production setup. When running the upgrade, use the offline iso if the server does not have internet access.  

The latest version of IT Advisor is available to customers with an active software support contract only. Customers with an active support contract can get access to newly released product updates on the EcoStruxure IT Entitlements portal. Log in and then click Software Updates. More information... If the ITA update files are not available in EcoStruxure IT Entitlements, contact your local technical support to verify your support contract and get access to the update file(s) you need.   Upgrading to the latest ITA version     From version 9.3.x   Upgrade or backup/restore A direct upgrade to 9.3.x/9.4.x/9.5.x is supported   From version 9.1.x     Upgrade or backup/restore A direct upgrade to 9.2.x is supported. A direct upgrade from 9.1.x/9.2.x to 9.3.0 is supported if the server has internet access during the upgrade. Upgrade to version 9.3.x is not supported with offline version. Take a backup of the solution, perform a fresh install, and then restore the backup.   From version 9.0.x     Backup/restore only The database and OS is updated to a later version in ITA 9.1.x/9.2.x, so updating from 9.0.x requires a clean installation of the latest version of ITA. Backup your ITA 9.0.x setup and then restore the backup file.   See Upgrading from DCO 8.x to IT Advisor How to add a license in IT Advisor   Recommendations and best practices   Do the upgrade test on a test setup, especially if the setup contains custom integrations. When you are satisfied with the successful upgrade, apply on the production setup. Take a fresh backup file and save somewhere safe before doing any major changes and/or upgrading the setup. Make sure the server and application is running fine before doing the upgrade. This can be verified in the server Webmin Status page https://<ITA server IP>:10000. Go to EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Status. Make sure there is enough free disc space at ‘/’ partition. The upgrade file(s) are usually large. approximately 2+ GB, so the installer may need at least 5 GB free storage capacity to do the job.   Saving a backup file from existing setup (ITA server)   Log in to the ITA web client https://<ITA server IP> Go to Administration > Backup and Restore. Select Schedule Backup. Enter a comment. such as Pre-upgrade, and then click OK.   Setting up a new server with a clean installation of ITA   For the entire installation process, see Installing IT Advisor (on-premises)   Restoring the backup file on the new server   Upload the backup file to the new server default backup file(s) location: /data/backup. Log in to the ITA web client https://<ITA server IP> Go to Administration > Backup and Restore. Select the Restore option for your backup file Note: The Backup and Restore page also has an Upload Backups option to upload your backup file.   Upgrading using the latest ISO file   Depending on the and complexity of the setup, an update may take at least 15 minutes. Make sure you have a fresh backup file saved on a remote location.   Download the .iso file from a location provided by the support team. Copy the SHA256 key from the same location. Upload the .iso file to the server and place it in the  /data folder. Log in to Webmin https://<ITA server IP>:10000 In the left menu, select EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Upgrade. In Full path to local EcoStruxure IT Advisor Installer file, select the uploaded .iso file from the  /data folder. In SHA256 checksum from the download page copy and paste the SHA256 checksum from the downloaded file. Click Upgrade.   ITA_upgrade_360021141258.JPG   IMPORTANT: Before starting the upgrade, make sure you have enough free disc space (at least 5 GB) specially on the root '/' partition.    Do not interrupt the upgrade process! You can open a new browser window or tab and check the server application status in Webmin. Go to EcoStruxure IT Advisor >  Status.   When you have completed the update, you can launch the web client and download the ITA desktop client installer if needed.   

You can get device data such as power measurements, sensor/temperature values, and alarms into IT Advisor by associating devices from an integrated system such as IT Expert and Data Center Expert.   To associate This example illustrates how to associate a monitored device from the integrated external system.   In the ITA desktop client, go to Planning Device Association mode (1), then Unassociated Devices (2). Find the device that you want to associate. TIP: Use the Search filter (3) to locate the device. Search by device name, IP address, model name, etc.  Click the located device (4) and hold, then drag it to its model in ITA (5).   img1_360012267318.JPG   That's it! The device is associated and you can get device data from the integrated external system.   To verify, right click the associated device, and then go to Properties > External Systems > Device.   The device in this example, a rack PDU, displays the power data:   img2_360012267318.JPG   To unassociate    Go to Planning Device Association mode (1), Navigation (2). Find the device to unassociate (3). Right-click the device and then select the Unassociate from equipment option (4).   img3_360012267318.JPG  

A new ITA installation may contain a 30-day trial ITA base license which is valid from the time/day of the installation. You can install your purchased license key(s) at any time. Add or remove license key(s) in the ITA web client.   Log in to web client https:<ITA server>. Click the Configuration icon in the top right.  On the Licenses tab, enter your license key and click Add license.     It is recommended that you add the same amount of licenses for all modules. Otherwise, the module with the lowest license size will limit the rack count.   To delete a trial or expired license key, click the trash can icon, and then reply Yes to the message "Are you sure you want to delete the selected license key?"   See Upgrading IT Advisor

There is a change in ITA 9.1.9 that could cause an issue starting the desktop client.   When you update to ITA 9.1.9 or newer, make sure the SSL Certificate Common name has the correct server IP address defined in Webmin.   Log in to Webmin https://<ITA server IP>:10000 Go to EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Setup.  Make sure the SSL Certificate Common Name matches the ITA server's IP address. If you need to change this value, enter the ITA server IP address and click Setup to confirm the change. Note: This will cause the services to restart.   This change can also be applied after you update ITA to version 9.1.9 or newer.     ssl-certificate-common_4402409563409.JPG  

Some customers report problems running the ITA desktop client on new Mac OS such as Ventura. Installing a compatible JAVA version may resolve the issue.   Go to https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases/?version=8 Choose: Operating system: MacOS Package Type: JRE Download .pkg and install it. Start the ITA desktop client.

Data Center Operation is no longer being updated. The last DCO version is 8.3.2. Note: DCO 8.3.8 contains the latest security updates. These instructions also apply to DCO 8.3.8 To get the most current features, upgrade to EcoStruxure IT Advisor (ITA).   From an installation and deployment point of view, EcoStruxure IT Advisor (ITA) is very similar to Data Center Operation (DCO). To upgrade DCO to ITA, you can:   Create a backup of DCO 8.3.2, copy the backup to a clean installation of IT Advisor, restore the backup. This option is required for customers migrating to ITA versions 9.1.0 or newer. OR Upgrade the existing DCO 8.3.2 server to IT Advisor using Webmin. This option is available to customers migrating from DCO to ITA versions 9.0.2 to 9.0.7. Customers who plan to migrate to ITA 9.1.0 or newer should plan to create a clean installation of ITA and restore their DCO backup. You must update DCO to version 8.3.2 before upgrading to IT Advisor. You must have an active support contract to get access to the ITA ISO files. For complete instructions, see Upgrading from DCO 8.x to IT Advisor.   The functionality of ITA vs DCO   Here is a list of modules that exist in ITA:   ITA with Colo features. This module contains the former DCO base and Colo base modules. Capacity Change Energy Cost. This module is merged into the base module and will no longer appear as a separate module. Energy Efficiency. This module was reintroduced in ITA 9.3.2, for on-premises deployments only. High Availability. This module is merged into the base module and will no longer appear as a separate module. Cooling Optimize. This integration was reintroduced in ITA 9.4.0. Installing a Cooling Optimize license in ITA is not required.   For clarification, here is a list of the modules that are not included in ITA:   DCO base and Colo base modules. These have been merged in ITA. IT Power Control Server Access Insight StruxureWare Lab client   Migrating a colo setup to ITA   Migrating a Colo setup with High Availability, Insight, and Energy Cost license keys   When you move from DCO to ITA, your Colo, High Availability, and Insight licenses are stripped out during the upgrade. When the transition (restoring a backup file) completes, you'll only be able to use the ITA web client until you add an ITA replacement license. Customers holding a valid support contract can get ITA replacement license at no cost.   The High Availability license is now part of the base ITA license, so that feature (for a DR node) will continue to be present after the transition, but you will not see the license in the License view anymore.   The Insight license is no longer available in ITA, however any custom reports you created using Insight will continue to work in ITA.   The base ITA license also includes the Energy Cost report that was previously a separate license in DCO/Colo. After migrating to ITA, you will see the Energy Cost report in the desktop client Reports view in ITA.

The IT Advisor Genome Library update package is available on EcoStruxure IT Entitlements for customers with a valid support contract. Contact support to verify your support contract if necessary.   Log in to EcoStruxure IT Entitlements. Go to the Knowledge Base > Software Updates and click EcoStruxure IT Advisor software download links. Note: The download links page is visible to customers with a valid support contract only. Download the latest genome update package. The Genome Library update feature in ITA uses the downloaded zip file as it is; you are not expected to unzip it. Open the ITA desktop client. In Planning Data Center mode, go to Tools > Preferences, and then select the Genome Library tab. Click Apply update file…, browse to the location of the downloaded file, and follow the wizard instructions to apply the update. The wizard guides you through selecting the changes, such as added, deleted and changed genomes. When you finish the wizard, your Genomes Library in ITA has been updated.

Yes, Active Directory and other integrations are available for the on-premises version of ITA.   For the hosted version, we have experience with custom integrations, which we typically do as custom projects. Contact support for assistance.

Customers holding a valid support contact can upgrade to IT Advisor from DCO. DCO license key(s) are merged in ITA.   Customers with Colo license key(s) need to contact support for a replacement ITA license key.   Colo features are included in the ITA base license.

A NetBotz 750 discovered in DCE 7.8.1 shows the temperature sensor data as expected in DCE. The temperature sensor data does not appear in ITA from the integrated DCE. This issue is usually DDF related. This context file netbotz750.context.xml may help to resolve the issue. How to apply the context file Open a web browser and go to http://<DCE server ip>/nbc/status/SensorContexts Click Choose File. Find the context file you saved, and then click Upload File.

  A valid support contract is required to download IT Advisor genomes. For information about genome requests, see the complete ITA genome policy.

When we create a work order, and the work order has tasks with different owners, are the owner of the later task notified when the earlier task is completed? Example: A work order may contain the following tasks: Install server in a rack (assigned to user1) Install OS (assigned to user2) a) If no dependencies or workflow set between the tasks, then there will be two email notifications that would be sent to all users defined in the work order: one email notification when the work order is created and then another email notification when the work order is completely executed. b) When the work order contains a well defined workflow - that is, dependencies between the tasks are set - when a user completes his/her task, the next task owner would be notified by email that the assigned work can now be started. This is illustrated below: mceclip2_360037636834.png The workflow contains: 'Start node' -> admin user task -> jef1/user1 assigned task -> jef2/user2 assigned task -> 'End node' When the work order is created, there will be sent separate email notifications to each user with details about his/her task. When a user (first in the chain) completes his/her task, then there will be email notification to the user in chain that user can now start the assigned work.

In IT Advisor, licenses are solely rack based. Only modeled rack equipment is counted as a used license. Racks in a store room are not counted as a used license.

Administrators can give users the option to use single sign on as the authentication method for EcoStruxure IT applications.    Important All users using single sign on must be part of same EcoStruxure IT organization. An administrator user is created when you sign up for EcoStruxure IT and is automatically placed in the Default User Group. When you invite users to join your organization, they are automatically added to the Default User Group. To enable single sign on: Specify a Default User Group. Create or invite users. Specifying a default user group To specify an existing user group as the Default User Group: Log in to EcoStruxure IT. Go to Administration > User Groups. Click the user group you want to designates as the Default User Group and click Set as Default User Group. To create a new user group to be the Default User Group: Log in to EcoStruxure IT. Go to Administration > User Groups. Add a new user group and click Set as Default User Group. Creating users Users are automatically added to the Default User Group when they log in to EcoStruxure IT for the first time. You can also invite users to join your organization. The user will automatically be added to the Default User Group you specified. Go to Administration > Users > Add User > Single Sign On. Enter the email address and full name of the individual you want to invite. All users must use single sign on as their authentication method. If you want to change that, you can disable it in Administration > Users. Select the user you want to sign in using their username and password option. Select Edit user and remove Force User to Use Single Sign On.  Reset the user's password.  Single Sign On  Web client On the web client login page, click LOG IN WITH ECOSTRUXURE IT. Capture1_360006652078.JPG Desktop client Start EcoStruxure IT Advisor.  Go to Advanced Settings and Select Use SSO. Now you can click LOG IN WITH ECOSTRUXURE IT. Note: When you log in using SSO for the first time, your browser might block a pop-up window. This results in the desktop client waiting for authentication. You can click on a blocked pop-up and allow opening it for this site.  Capture2_360006652078.JPG    

These instructions apply to the OS user on the ITA server, that is, the user used during the ITA server installation process, and not the ITA user on the desktop and web clients. To reset the user password on the ITA server: Insert the ITA installation media (USB key, DVD, or out-of-band management (OOM) interface) and reboot the server and ensure the ITA installation media is booted up. In the installation boot menu select Troubleshooting and then select Rescue a CentOS system. In rescue mode you are presented with 4 options. Type 1 for 1) Continue and press <return>. When you see Rescue Mount, press <return> and type chroot /mnt/sysimage . To change the password type  passwd <username>  where  <username>  is the name of the user created during setup. Type the new password. To exit chroot type: exit . Reboot the server by typing reboot . Remember to remove the ITA installation media. 106205195_1152x250_360012049097.gif

Reset your password to regain access to the web or desktop client of IT Advisor. You can have another user with administrative credentials reset your password in the ITA web client Administration > Users option. Select the user and then Reset Password. If no other user has an administrator account, or you are the only user, contact your local technical support for assistance.

  Data Center Operation   EcoStruxure IT Advisor From DCO 8.3.2 to ITA 9.0.2 and newer From DCO 8.3.1 to ITA 9.0.0 and newer From DCO 8.3.0 to ITA 9.0.0 and newer

If the NFS utility is not installed on your IT Advisor or DCO server, you'll see an error when you try to add NFS as a mount type. Failed to save mount : NFS Error - mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on xxxx, missing codepage or helper program, or other error (for several filesystems (e.g. nfs, cifs) you might need a /sbin/mount. helper program) In some cases useful info is found in syslog - try dmesg | tail or so. Resolution SSH into the server and run the following command to install the required packages: sudo yum -y install nfs-utils Note: The ITA or DCO server must have internet access.