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Using the Lenovo XClarity Mobile app

Lenovo XClarity Administrator offers a mobile app for Android and iOS devices. You can use the Lenovo XClarity Mobile app to securely monitor physical systems, get real-time status alerts and notifications, and take action on common system level tasks. The app can also connect directly via an enabled USB port to a ThinkSystem server and provide virtual LCD capability.

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video linkLenovo XClarity Mobile app overview
Using the XClarity Mobile app, you can perform the following activities:
  • Configure network settings and properties
  • View the status summary of each connected XClarity Administrator.
  • View the status summary of all managed devices.
  • Display graphical views (maps) for chassis, rack servers, and storage devices.
  • View resource groups that are defined on the XClarity Administrator.
  • View rack-switch port information and change configured port status.
  • Monitor the inventory and detailed status of each managed device.
  • Monitor audit events, hardware and management events, alerts, and jobs.
  • Turn on or off the location LED on a managed device.
  • Power on, power off, restart, or reseat a managed device.
  • Trigger the collection of diagnostic data.
  • View device warranty information and status
  • Set up automatic problem notification through Call Home.
  • View the summary of open service tickets and delete service tickets
  • Push event notifications to your mobile device (see Forwarding events to mobile devices).
  • View the summary of active users and system resource usage
  • Send feedback about this mobile app to Lenovo Support.
  • Connect your mobile device directly to a ThinkSystem server to manage the server using the XClarity Mobile app (for devices that support USB tethering).
  • Download Lenovo XClarity Controller service data when the mobile device is connected to a ThinkSystem server.
You can also connect your mobile device directly to ThinkSystem servers and then launch the XClarity Mobile app and log in to the server’s baseboard management controller using the same web and CLI credentials. A menu of additional information and actions is available, including:

  • Service

    • Share summary information using email or other means that is provided by the mobile device

    • Clear the event and audit log

    • Download the event and audit log to the mobile-device local storage or transmitting the log by any means that is provided by the mobile device

    • Download the BMC FFDC service file to the mobile-device local storage or transmitting the file by any means that is provided by the mobile device

    • View historical graph data for power, thermal and system usage

    • Enable "One-Touch" service mode, which provides an immediate summary of active alerts and critical device information

  • Configuration and Initial Setup

    • Manage a new device using the selected XClarity Administrator

    • Configure server properties, such as location and contact information for initial setup

    • View and changing the IPv4 and IPv6 BMC network interface settings

    • Specify boot order and one-time boot settings

    • Change the front panel USB port assignment

    • View the number of server reboots and total power on hours

  • Power Actions

    • Power the server on or off, restarting the server, or triggering NMI

    • Reset the BMC

Tip
After the app is open, you must refresh the app to see the updated status, inventory, events, and jobs.

Prerequisites​

  • iOS tablets are supported at iPhone screen-resolution only. Android tablets are not currently supported.

  • The following mobile operating systems are supported:

    • Android 10 and later

    • iOS 15 and later

      Note
      Facial recognition that is used on iPhone X/XR/XS devices is not supported.

  • Ensure that a network connection is available from your mobile device to the XClarity Administrator instances. This might require the use of a VPN solution. See your network administrator for assistance.

  • Import the CA certificate for each XClarity Administrator instance.

    Important
    All connections to XClarity Administrator use HTTPS. However, there must be a valid certificate chain before the connection is considered trusted and data can be passed to the mobile device. To create a trusted certificate chain, you must import the XClarity Administrator self-signed certificate authority (CA) into the mobile device.

    To import the self-signed CA certificate for each XClarity Administrator instance into the mobile device, complete the following steps.

    1. Download the CA certificate to a local system:

      1. Connect to the XClarity Administrator instance using a web browser on your local system.
      2. From the XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Administration > Security to display the Security page.
      3. Click Certificate Authority under the Certificate Management section. The Certificate Authority page is displayed.

      4. Click Download Certificate Authority Root Certificate.

        Attention
        Normally, it is not necessary to click Regenerate Certificate Authority Root Certificate to complete this process. Doing so might disrupt communication with managed devices unless the correct procedure is followed. For more information, see Working with security certificates.

      5. Click Save as der or Save as pem to save the CA certificate as a DER or PEM file on your local system. PEM format works in most cases.

    2. Transfer the CA certificate file to your mobile device, for example, by using an accessible storage repository (such as Dropbox™), email, or file transfer through a connected cable.

    3. Import the trusted CA certificate:

      • (Android) Typically this is done by selecting Settings > Security > Install from phone storage, and then selecting the certificate file that you downloaded.

        Important
        If your successfully installed CA certificate is not signed by a third party, the Network may be monitored by an unknown third-party message is displayed on Android devices. Because the CA certificate is generated in your trusted environment, this message can be safely ignored. Ensure that the message is for the XClarity Administrator CA certificate before ignoring the message.

      • (iOS) Open the email on your mobile device, and click the document link in the email to import the trusted CA certificate.

      Attention
      For iOS 10.3 and later, imported certificates are not trusted by default. To trust the certificates, select Settings > General > About > Certificate Trust Settings, and then enable the certificate trust.

Installing and setting up​

  1. Download the XClarity Mobile app from iTunes App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).

  2. To install the app, follow instructions on the mobile device.

    Important
    A mobile OS-level security code to unlock screen access is required to use the XClarity Mobile app. If one is not already set up, you are instructed to set one up during installation.

  3. Click Settings to add or edit connections to multiple XClarity Administrator instances using the automatic discovery or by providing an IP address and user credentials, set a PIN code for the app, change the event and audit log settings, and select your preferred language.

Connecting directly to ThinkSystem servers​

Lenovo Think System servers include a front panel USB port that you can use to connect to your mobile device to provide similar capabilities that were available on the LCD system-information display panel on other Lenovo servers.

To manage a ThinkSystem server by directly connecting to server, complete these steps.

  1. Switch the server front panel USB from host to BMC by performing one of the following steps.

    1. From the management controller CLI, run the usbfp command

    2. From the management controller web interface, click BMC Configuration > Network > Front Panel USB Port Management.

    3. Hold the blue ID location LED on the front panel for at least 3 seconds until the light blinks every couple of seconds.

  2. Connect your phone USB cable to the front panel USB port on the ThinkSystem server.

  3. On your mobile device, enable USB tethering.

    1. For iOS, click Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot.

    2. For Android, click Settings > Mobile hotspot and tethering > USB tethering.

  4. On your mobile device, launch the XClarity Mobile app.

  5. If automatic discovery is disabled, click Discovery on the USB Discovery page to connect to the server’s management controller and collect information, including inventory, health, firmware, network configuration, and a list of the latest active events.

Tips

  • Ensure that you use a high-quality USB cable that supports data and power. Be aware that some cables that are supplied with mobile devices are only for charging purposes.

    Note
    To connect to ThinkSystem SD530, you must also use a high-quality micro USB to USB cable or adapter.

  • The USB-attached server must be powered on to report the full set of voltage, temperature, and usage statistics in the summary status cards.

  • If the USB-attached server does not have an external “blue identification” LED/button on the front panel, you must use the management controller web interface or CLI to change the front panel USB port management selection, if needed.

  • Changes made to the management-controller network interface from the XClarity Mobile app take effect immediately without requiring management controller to be restarted. For example, if the IPv4 interface is changed from a static address to DHCP, the interface immediately obtains a DHCP assigned address.

  • On the Newsfeed tab, the “Latest active events” card initially displays up to three active events that are listed on the management controller’s Active Events tab. On the mobile app, if you tap that card, all of the active events are displayed. Note that this is a list of active and resolved events, not a full list of all events.

Using demonstration mode​

You can enable Demonstration Mode on the Settings page to populate the XClarity Mobile app with demo data for two XClarity Administrator instances, including racks and chassis. In this mode, you can view the status summary of the XClarity Administrator instances, view detailed status and inventory of devices, and monitor events and alerts. However, management actions, such as powering on and off, are not supported.

Note

  • You can enable demonstration mode only when there are no connections to actual XClarity Administrator instances.

  • You cannot add connections to actual XClarity Administrator instances while demonstration mode is enabled.

Searching​

You can use the Search field to display managed devices with a specific name or status (Critical, Warning, or Normal). For example, if you search for crit, only managed devices in the Critical status and with names that include crit are displayed.

Resolving issues​

Installation issues:

  • The Android mobile app is "signed" with a secure key to enhance security. The secure key size was increased in the new release. Because the signed app does not match the earlier apps signature, the Android installation security process prevents the automatic update.

    To update the mobile app, uninstall the current version of the mobile app, download the latest version of the Android app from the app store, and reinstall the app. On most Android devices, the app can be uninstalled using the Settings > Applications > Application Manager menu item.

Connectivity issues:

  • The USB tethering function in iOS 14, 14.0.1, and 14.0.2 is not working correctly, and therefore, the Lenovo XClarity Mobile app tethering function is not available for these iOS versions. This affects only the USB-attached handheld management in the datacenter. Remote management using mobile devices that support cellular and Wi-Fi communications are not affected and can be used to connect and collect data from XClarity Administrator and to perform management actions on managed devices.

    If the USB-attached handheld management function is needed, do not upgrade to iOS 14.

    This notification will be updated when Apple resolves the issue with iOS 14.

  • XClarity Mobile requires an available network connection from your mobile device to the XClarity Administrator instances. This might require the use of a VPN solution. See your network administrator for assistance.

  • Connections from your mobile device to each XClarity Administrator instance require a trusted certificate chain. See the online documentation for instructions to download and install the trusted CA certificates on your mobile device.

    If your successfully installed CA certificate is not signed by a third party, the Network may be monitored by an unknown third-party message is displayed. Because the CA certificate is generated in your trusted environment, this message can be safely ignored. Ensure that the message is for the XClarity Administrator CA certificate before ignoring the message.

  • When switching your mobile device from a virtual private network (VPN) to a local network or vice versa, you might see the message The secure gateway has rejected the connection attempt. A new connection attempt to the same or other secure gateway is needed, which requires reauthentication. Log on to Lenovo XClarity Mobile to continue using the app.

Security issues:

  • If you forget your PIN code, uninstall and reinstall the XClarity Mobile app. Then, re-establish all connections.

  • If you clear credentials on an Android device, the encryption key is erased. You must re-establish all connections.

Event issues:

  • By default, the event log shows hardware and management events that were received in the last 24 hours, and the audit log shows audit events that were received in the last 2 hours. If no events were received during the selected time periods, then the event log and audit log are not shown on the Monitoring page in XClarity Mobile.

  • If you set up event forwarding in XClarity Administrator to send events to an email account, links in the email might not work on Android devices. Ensure that your version of Android and your email app support hyperlinks. If hyperlinks are unsupported, use another email app.

Help system issues:

  • On some devices, the help system does not scale correctly to the size of the screen. Use the help-system controls to maximize and then minimize the page.