What is automated provisioning / RDP?

Automated provisioning

So what exactly is the automated provisioning of software and hardware? It means little or no human intervention. In other words, the process of installation or deployment is laid out for administrators in the form of images, scripts, or batch files. The only requirement is for the administrator to power on the server, perhaps execute a couple of scripts or batch files, and/or respond to a minimal number of prompts for configuration information. The process is fully automated so that there are no chances of data-entry errors or choosing wrong options that could render your application inoperable.

The technology that can achieve this level of automation is the ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP). RDP is a new generation of server deployment software. The software contains Altiris Deployment Solution integrated with the HP SmartStart Scripting Toolkit that manages the server deployment via a central console and provides imaging or scripting for server and application deployment.

In short, you configure the server the way it should be configured: capture an image of the server, then deploy or re-deploy the image onto servers as many times as necessary with the same results each and every time. This provides the consistency offered by the use of RDP. The key benefit is that it gives IT administrators the ability to easily deploy servers in an unattended, automated fashion. More general benefits include improved overall consistency of configurations across servers and reduced IT resource requirements during server deployments.

For more detailed information on ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP), see the following:

•ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP) home page: http://www.hp.com/go/rdp

•Quickspecs: http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11053_na/11053_na.html

Figure 2. ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack

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