## Using Confluent without xCAT (recommended)

In confluent, configuration is organized as [attributes](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/user_reference/node_attributes/index.md>) on nodes. The attributes may be directly configured on a node or inherited from a group. Values may be a straightforward string or an expression as documented in the [attribute expressions](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/user_reference/attributeexpressions/index.md>) documentation.

To get started, it is suggested to use the `everything` group to set universal attributes. The `everything` group automatically exists and all defined nodes are automatically placed into it, in addition to manually specified and created groups. Usually a cluster uses the same username/password across the XCCs (xClarity Controllers). In such a case, it is suggested to set this data as attributes on the `everything` group:

```
nodegroupattrib everything console.method=ipmi
nodegroupattrib everything -p bmcuser bmcpass
```

The [`nodeattrib`](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/manuals/nodeattrib/index.md>) and [`nodegroupattrib`](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/manuals/nodegroupattrib/index.md>) commands can either accept `key=value` or `-p key1 key2`. The former allows fully non-interactive use, while the latter prompts interactively to prevent the username and password from being inadvertently on screen or stored in your shell history.

From there, adding a specific node using values from the group `everything` combined with node specific attributes could involve the following:

```
nodedefine n3 bmc=n3-xcc
```

Another common task is to create a custom group, with particular meaning to a specific environment. For example, here is creating a custom group called `rack1` and using the expression syntax to append '-xcc' to the end of the nodename to use as the XCC address:

```
nodegroupdefine rack1 location.rack=1
nodegroupdefine compute bmc={nodename}-xcc
```

These groups, like the `everything` group can hold any attribute, and may also use expressions or normal values. The process to create a node can include these groups:

```
nodedefine n1 groups=rack1,compute
```

At which point, `n1` has location and XCC address configured just by virtue of the nodes it was assigned to. Note that membership in the `everything` group is automatic, even if not listed in the groups for a node to be in, it will nevertheless be considered a member of that group.

At this point, there are a few alternative paths to proceed:

- Set up confluent to be able to deploy operating systems (recommended prior to auto-configuration if planning for OS deployment using confluent): [Preparing for Operating System Deployment](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/advanced_topics/confluentosdeploy/index.md>)
- Discovery is intended to help when IP addresses, usernames, and/or passwords are not configured yet. If these activities are otherwise handled in the environment, it is suggested to skip discovery and read: [Managing hardware using confluent](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/miscellaneous/manageconfluent/index.md>)
- If the IP addresses, usernames, and/or passwords need to be configured and it is desired to use physical location of equipment as the key, see: [Using switch based discovery for rackmount servers](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/advanced_topics/confluentswitchdisco/index.md>) or [Using enclosure based discovery for dense platforms](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/advanced_topics/confluentenclosuredisco/index.md>)
- If the IP addresses, usernames, and/or passwords need to be configured and it is desired to either use serial numbers, mac addresses, or otherwise manually review the available data to proceed, see: [Using `nodediscover assign`](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/advanced_topics/confluentnodeassign/index.md>)

## When used in conjunction with xCAT

If you wish to use xCAT to create the confluent configuration, see [Configuring confluent from xCAT](<https://hpc.lenovo.com/users/archive/xcatconfluentsetup/index.md>) The remainder of this document is mostly applicable to users working with confluent standalone directly rather than using xCAT to configure.