Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC) Support on ThinkSystem Servers

Most Lenovo ThinkSystem servers contain an integrated service processor, XClarity Controller (XCC), which provides advanced service-processor control, monitoring, and alerting functions. The XCC consolidates the service processor functionality, super I/O, video controller, and remote presence capabilities into a single chip on the server system board. The XCC is based on the Pilot4 XE401 baseboard management controller (BMC) using a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 service processor.

Figure 1. ThinkSystem servers include the XClarity Controller integrated service processor

There are three levels of features of XCC: Standard, Advanced and Enterprise:

XClarity Controller Standard offers the following capabilities:

• Gathering and viewing system information and inventory
• Monitoring system status and health
• Alerting and notifications
• Event logging
• Configuring network connectivity
• Configuring security
• Updating system firmware
• Configuring server settings and devices
• Real-time power usage monitoring
• Remotely controlling server power (Power on, Power off, Restart)
• Managing FoD activation keys
• Redirecting serial console via IPMI
• Capturing the video display contents when an operating system hang condition is detected 
• FIPS 140-2 compliant encryption

XClarity Controller Advanced Upgrade adds the following functionality to the Standard features:

• Remotely viewing video with graphics resolutions up to 1920x1200 at 60 Hz with 16 bits per pixel
• Remotely accessing the server using the keyboard and mouse from a remote client
• Ability to record and replay the video from a remote control session
• Remotely deploying an operating system
• Component replacement logs
• Syslog alerting
• Redirecting serial console via SSH
• Security Key Lifecycle Manager (SKLM)
• IP Address blocking
• Displaying graphics for real-time and historical power usage data and temperature

XClarity Controller Enterprise Upgrade adds the following functionality to the Advanced features:

• Capping power usage
• Mapping the ISO and image files located on the local client as virtual drives for use by the server
• Mounting the remote ISO and image files via HTTPFS, CIFS, and NFS
• Collaborating across up to six users of the virtual console
• Virtual console chat
• Ability to capture and replay the server’s boot-up video
• Ability to capture and replay the server's video information leading up to the point where the operating system may hang or crash.
• Out-of-band (OOB) performance monitoring - System performance metrics
• Controlling quality and bandwidth usage of the virtual console

There are two ways to access the XCC management processor remotely:

• Command-line interface. To access the CLI interface, use SSH to log in to the management processor.
• Web-based interface. To access the web-based interface, point your browser to the IP address for the management processor. The new intuitive interface includes at-a-glance visualizations and simple access to common system actions. The dashboard is shown in the following figure.

Figure 2. Lenovo XClarity Controller dashboard

XCC can also be managed locally from the XClarity Mobile app on a phone or table. The mobile device is physically attached to the server via a USB cable connected to a front USB port with XClarity Controller access.

The steps to enable this tethering function are as follows:

1. If you haven't done so already, install the XClarity Mobile app on your mobile device.
2. Enable USB Management on the server, by holding down the ID button for 3 seconds (or pressing the dedicated USB management button if one is present)
3. Connect the mobile device via a USB cable to the server's USB port with the management symbol
4. In iOS or Android settings, enable Personal Hotspot or USB Tethering
5. Launch the XClarity Mobile app

Models of ThinkSystem servers come with either XClarity Controller Standard, Advanced or Enterprise, depending on the server type and the model. The servers will be delivered with the stated version already active. The following table shows the field upgrades available for models that come with XCC Standard or XCC Advanced.

Important considerations:

• If you will be using XClarity Administrator for tasks such as remote control and OS deployment then the XCC Enterprise level must be used on the server.
• Lenovo ThinkSystem XClarity Controller Enterprise license includes license for Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager

* The Enterprise Upgrade requires that XCC already be at the Advanced level. If the server currently has XCC Standard, you must first apply the XCC Standard to Advanced Upgrade before applying the XCC Advanced to Enterprise Upgrade.

For configure-to-order (CTO) models, you can specify the XCC level you require by selecting the appropriate XCC feature code as listed in the following table:

• XCC Standard - if both AVUT and AUPW are not in the order
• XCC Advanced - select feature AVUT
• XCC Enterprise - select feature AUPW

The following table shows what level of XCC is included with each ThinkSystem server.

* Most models include XCC Standard, however some country-specific models have Advanced or Enterprise levels. Check the model tables in the server product guide for specifics.
** Most models include XCC Advanced or Enterprise. Check the model tables in the server product guide for specifics.

For more information, consult these resources:

• XClarity product web page
• TCP/IP Ports Used by XCC
• XClarity Controller online documentation
• XClarity Controller Redfish REST API documentation
• XClarity Controller Overview videos:
  • Playlist item 6: Lenovo XClarity Mobile App demo
  • Playlist item 10: Lenovo XClarity Controller Overview