Phoenix is an ISO-based installer that you can use to perform the following installation tasks on bare-metal hardware one node at a time:
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Configuring hypervisor settings, virtual switches, and so on after you install a hypervisor on a replacement host boot disk. This option does not require you to include AOS and hypervisor installers in the Phoenix ISO image.
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Installing the Controller VM, which runs AOS. This option requires you to include the AOS installer in the Phoenix ISO image.
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Installing the hypervisor on a new or replacement node. This is an alternative to installing the hypervisor by the use of the hypervisor manufacturer's ISO and reduces the two-step procedure—that of first installing the hypervisor and then installing AOS (by the use of the Phoenix ISO image)—to a single-step procedure of installing both software, at once, by the use of only the Phoenix ISO image. However, this option requires you to include the hypervisor ISO image and the AOS installer files in the Phoenix ISO image.
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Repairing the CVM.
For information about Phoenix ISO images, see Phoenix ISO Image. For information about how to use a Phoenix ISO image, see Installing the Controller VM and Hypervisor by Using Phoenix.
Note:
Phoenix is typically not necessary or recommended for imaging a single node. Use Phoenix to image a single node only when using Prism or Foundation is not a viable option, such as in some hardware replacement scenarios. Following are the recommended software for imaging, even when you want to image a single node:
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Foundation. See Imaging Bare Metal Nodes.
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Prism web console. This functionality requires AOS 4.5 or later. See the "Expanding a Cluster" section in the Web Console Guide.
Both software also install the hypervisor during the imaging process.
The following procedures describe how to obtain the ISO images you need and how to install a hypervisor and AOS on a new or replacement node. The procedures also describe how to configure a hypervisor after hypervisor boot disk replacement.
The procedures to perform depend on your hardware manufacturer. A summary is provided for each hardware platform. Each summary outlines the tasks that you need to perform, and each step in the summary includes a reference to the associated procedure. After performing a procedure that is referenced in the summary, return to the summary and perform the next procedure.
Phoenix ISO Image
The utility of a Phoenix ISO image depends on the software it includes. If the Phoenix ISO image includes AOS installer files, you can use the ISO image to install AOS. If it includes a hypervisor ISO, you can use it to install the hypervisor. There are two ways to obtain a Phoenix ISO: you can download the Phoenix ISO image from the Nutanix support portal or generate a Phoenix ISO image on a Foundation VM instance.
Phoenix ISO Image Available On the Nutanix Support Portal
Downloading a Phoenix ISO Image
This procedure describes how to download the Phoenix ISO image that you can use to configure the hypervisor after a host boot disk replacement procedure. The ISO image is available on the Nutanix support portal.
To download the Phoenix ISO image from the Nutanix support portal, do the following:
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Open a web browser and log in to the Nutanix support portal: http://portal.nutanix.com.
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In the Downloads menu, click Phoenix.
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On the Phoenix page, click the name of the Phoenix ISO image in the Download column.
More details on this procedure: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Field-Installation-Guide-v3-12:v31-node-image-phoenix-t.html