Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.0.1 User's Manual

Dell™

Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter

Version 1.0.1 Update 1

User’s Guide

Notes and Cautions

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if instructions are not followed.

____________________

Information in this document is subject to change without notice.

© 2011 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.

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and Windows Vista

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Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

October 2011

Contents

1 Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter

. . . . .

9

Key Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

How Does the Plug-in Help With vCenter Administration?

10

Plug-In Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2 Plug-In Configuration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Security Roles and Permissions

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Data Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Access Control Authentication, Authorization, and

Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

Privileges

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18

Complete Configuration Wizard - Create System Connection

Profiles

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

Create and Assign Connection Profiles

. . . . . .

21

Events and Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25

Proxy Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

Schedule an Inventory Job

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

Warranty Data Retrieval . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27

Deployment Credentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27

Firmware Repository

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

OpenManage Server Administrator URL . . . . . .

29

Immediately Run an Inventory . . . . . . . . . . .

30

Set Up an OMSA Trap Destination

. . . . . . . . .

31

Contents 3

4

Download Firmware Updates and Make Available .

31

Configure Dell iDRAC Auto Discovery and Initial

Start-up, and Disable/Enable User ID and Password

36

NFS Share Configuration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39

Uninstalling Dell Management Plug-In for VMware vCenter

39

Upgrading Dell Management Plug-In for VMware vCenter

40

Upgrading from Version 1.0 to 1.0.1

. . . . . . . . .

40

Upgrading from Trial Version 1.0.1 to Full Product

Version 1.0.1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

Upgrading Dell Management Plug-in from 1.0.1 to 1.0.1

Update 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

Upgrading Dell Management Plug-in using VCenter 5

42

3 End-to-End Hardware Management

. . .

45

Monitoring

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45

Configure Event and Alarm Settings . . . . . . . .

45

Set up an OMSA trap destination

. . . . . . . . . .

46

View Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

47

Inventory

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

47

Managing Connection Profiles . . . . . . . . . . .

48

Schedule and Run Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . .

50

Display Server Hardware Configuration and Status

51

Display System Event Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . .

54

Advanced Host Management

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55

Server Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55

Server-Based Management Tools

. . . . . . . . .

56

Proactive Systems Management . . . . . . . . . .

56

Warranty Retrieval

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

57

Display Server Warranty Information . . . . . . . .

57

Contents

Proxy Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

58

4 Zero-Touch Hardware Provisioning and

Deployment

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

61

Hardware Prerequisites

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

61

Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

62

Understanding Deployment Job Times

. . . . . . . . .

63

Server States Within the Deployment Sequence

. . . .

63

Configure a Hardware Profile

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

64

Setting Collect System Inventory on Restart (CSIOR) on a Clone Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

65

Create New Hardware Profile . . . . . . . . . . .

65

Managing Hardware Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . .

68

Configure a Hypervisor Profile

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

69

Create New Hypervisor Profile

. . . . . . . . . . .

70

Managing Hypervisor Profiles . . . . . . . . . . .

71

Building a Deployment Template

. . . . . . . . . . . .

72

Managing Deployment Templates . . . . . . . . .

72

Running the Deployment Wizard

. . . . . . . . . . . .

73

Managing Deployment Jobs Using the Deployment

Job Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

75

Server Security Settings for Deployment

. . . . . . . .

76

5 Firmware Updates

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

79

Enter Global Firmware Repository Location

. . . . . .

79

Update Individual Server Firmware

. . . . . . . . . . .

80

Contents 5

6

6 Management Plug-In Administration

. .

83

Web-based Administration Portal

. . . . . . . . . . . .

83

vCenter Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

83

Virtual Appliance Management . . . . . . . . . . .

85

Global vCenter Alert Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . .

88

Plug-in Database Backup and Restore . . . . . . .

89

Console View

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

91

Configure Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . .

91

Change Virtual Appliance Administration Password

91

Set Local Time Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

91

Reboot Virtual Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

91

Reset Virtual Appliance to Factory Settings . . . .

92

Refresh Console Tab View . . . . . . . . . . . . .

92

ReadOnly User Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

92

7 Troubleshooting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

93

Upgrade

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

93

Common Questions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

93

Bare-Metal Deployment

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

98

Auto-Discovery and Handshake Prerequisites . . .

98

Hardware Configuration Failure . . . . . . . . . .

98

Enabling Auto-Discovery on a Newly-Purchased

System

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

99

Contacting Dell

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

100

Where to get additional help for this software

. . . .

100

Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Related information

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

100

Contents

A Virtualization-Related Events

. . . . . . . .

103

Index

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

111

Contents 7

8 Contents

1

Overview


VMware vCenter is the primary console used by IT administrators to manage and monitor VMware vSphere ESX/ESXi hosts. In a standard virtualized environment, VMware alerts and monitoring are used to prompt an administrator to launch a separate console to resolve hardware issues. Today, using the Dell management Plug-In for VMware vCenter, administrators have new capabilities to manage and monitor Dell hardware within the virtualized environment, such as:

• Alerting and environment monitoring

• Single server monitoring and reporting

• Firmware updates

• Enhanced deployment options

Key Features

Dell customers can use the Management Plug-In to perform:

• Inventory—Inventory key assets, perform configuration tasks, and provide cluster and datacenter views of Dell platforms.

• Monitoring and Alerting—Detect key hardware faults, perform virtualization-aware actions (for example, migrate workloads or place host in maintenance mode), and provide proactive resolution based on hardware events.

• Firmware Updates—Update Dell hardware to the most updated version of

BIOS and firmware.

Overview 9

10

• Deployment and Provisioning—Create hardware profiles, hypervisor profiles, and deploy any combination of the two on bare-metal Dell

PowerEdge 11th generation servers, remotely and without PXE—using vCenter.

• Service Information—Retrieve warranty information from Dell online.

How Does the Plug-in Help With vCenter

Administration?

Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter provides additional virtualization functionality that supplements the current vCenter administration functions:

• Compresses tasks and adds management processes, such as firmware updates and bare-metal deployment, to the vCenter Server Administration

Portal.

• Organizes deployment of multiple bare-metal servers without requiring

Preboot Execution Environment (PXE).

• Provides additional intelligence (inventory, events, alarms) to diagnose server problems.

• Integrates with standard vCenter authentication, rules, and permissions.

Plug-In Features

The following are high-level features of the Dell Plug-in for VMWare vCenter:

• Monitor Dell platforms using the standard vCenter event and alarm subsystem

• Perform advanced hardware management and configuration

• Perform zero touch deployment of hypervisors on bare-metal systems without using PXE

• Build hardware and hypervisor profiles

• Perform firmware updates

• Troubleshoot infrastructure issues

• Report at the Datacenter and Cluster view—export to CSV file

Overview

• Integrate plug-in capabilities with standard vCenter roles and permissions

The following diagram provide an architectural overview of a typical Dell

Management Plug-In deployment, including the communication paths between the various components.

Figure 1-1. Architecture Overview

Overview 11

12 Overview

2

Plug-In Configuration

The following sections provide step-by-step instructions for the plug-in initial configuration. Upgrade, uninstallation, and security role information is also covered in this chapter.

Security Roles and Permissions

The Dell Management Plug-In encrypts and stores sensitive user credential information. It does not provide any passwords to client applications to avoid any improper requests that could lead to issues. The database back-ups are fully encrypted using custom security phrases, and therefore the data cannot be misused.

Data Integrity

Communication between the Plug-in, virtual appliance, administration console, and vCenter is accomplished using SSL/HTTPS. The Plug-in can generate an SSL certificate used for trusted communication between vCenter and the appliance. It also verifies and trusts the vCenter server's certificate before communication and Plug-In registration. The Dell Administration

Portal uses security procedures to avoid improper requests while the keys are transferred back and forth from the administration console and back-end services. This type of security causes cross-site request forgeries to not be successful.

A secure administration console session has a five minute idle minute, and the session is only valid in the current browser window and/or tab. If the user tries to open the session in a new window or tab, a security error is created that asks for a valid session. This action also prevents the user from clicking any malicious URL that could try to attack the administration console session.

Plug-In Configuration 13

Figure 2-1. Error Message

Access Control Authentication, Authorization, and Roles

The Dell Management Plug-In uses the vSphere client's current user session and the stored administration credentials for the appliance to perform vCenter operations. The administration and the appliance consoles are also accessible by using a strong administration password. The Plug-in uses the vCenter server's built-in roles and privileges model to authorize user actions with the appliance and the vCenter managed objects (hosts and clusters).

The Plug-in creates the roles and privileges displayed in Figure 2-2 during

registration.


Figure 2-2. vCenter Roles and Privileges

Dell Operational Role

Contains the privileges/groups required to do general appliance and vCenter operations including firmware update, hardware inventory, restart host, put host to maintenance mode, create vCenter task.


Figure 2-3. Dell Operational Role

16

This role contains the following privilege groups and individual privileges.

• Privilege Group - Dell.Configuration

– Privilege - Perform Host-Related Tasks, Perform VCenter-Related

Tasks, Configure SelLog, Configure ConnectionProfile, Configure

ClearLed, Firmware Update

• Privilege Group - Dell.Inventory

– Privilege - Configure Inventory, Configure Warranty Retrieval,

Configure ReadOnly

• Privilege Group - Dell.Monitoring

Plug-In Configuration

– Privilege - Configure Monitoring, Monitor

• Privilege Group - Dell.Reporting (Not used)

– Privilege - Create a Report, Run a Report

Dell Infrastructure Deployment

This role contains the privileges specifically related to the hypervisor deployment features.

Figure 2-4. Dell Infrastructure Deployment Role

This role contains the following privilege groups and individual privileges.

• Dell.Deploy-Provisioning


18

– Privilege - Create Template, Configure HW Configuration Profile,

Configure Hypervisor Deployment Profile, Configure Connection

Profile, Assign Identity, Deploy

Privileges

Every action performed by the Plug-in is associated to a privilege. The following sections list the available actions and the associated privileges.

• Dell.Configuration.Perform VCenter-Related Tasks

– Exit and enter maintenance mode

– Get the vCenter user group to query the permissions

– Register and configure alerts, for example enable/disable alerts on the event settings page

– Post events/alerts to vCenter

– Configure event settings on the event settings page

– Restore default alerts on the event settings page

– Check DRS status on clusters while configuring alerts/events settings

– Reboot host after performing update or any other configuration action

– Monitor vCenter tasks status/progress

– Create vCenter tasks, for example firmware update task, host configuration task, and inventory task

– Update vCenter task status/progress

– Get host profiles

– Add host to data center

– Add host to cluster

– Apply profile to host

– Get CIM credentials

– Configure hosts for compliance

– Get the compliance tasks status

• Dell.Inventory.Configure ReadOnly

– Get all vCenter hosts to construct the vCenter tree while configuring connection profiles


– Check if the host is a Dell server when the tab is selected

– Get the vCenter's Address/IP

– Get host IP/Address

– Get the current vCenter session user based on the vSphere client session ID

– Get the vCenter inventory tree to display the vCenter inventory in a tree structure.

• Dell.Monitoring.Monitor

– Get host name for posting the event

– Perform the event log operations, for example get the event count, or change the event log settings

– Register, unregister, and configure events/alerts

– Receive SNMP traps and post events

• Dell.Configuration.Firmware Update

– Perform firmware update

– Load firmware repository and DUP file information on the firmware update wizard page

– Query firmware inventory

– Configure firmware repository settings

– Configure staging folder and perform update using the staging feature

– Test the network and repository connections

• Dell.Deploy-Provisioning.Create Template

– Create, display, delete, and edit deployment templates

• Dell.Configuration.Perform Host-Related Tasks

– Blink LED, Clear LED, Configure OMSA URL from the Dell Tab

– Launch OMSA Console

– Launch iDRAC Console

– Display and clear SEL log

• Dell.Inventory.Configure Inventory

– Display system inventory in the Dell Tab


– Get storage details

– Get power monitoring details

– Create, display, edit, delete, and test connection profiles on the connection profiles page

– Schedule, update, and delete inventory schedule

– Run inventory on hosts

Complete Configuration Wizard - Create System

Connection Profiles

1 Click the Dell Management Center icon.

2 The configuration wizard displays. The following settings are required: a Create and assign a connection profile to a single host for Plug-in communication; a connection profile may be assigned to more than one host. f b c d e

Configure default events and alarm settings.

Configure any required HTTP proxy settings used to access Dell online.

Schedule an inventory job to gather managed Dell Host server information.

Schedule a job to retrieve warranty and other information.

Enter the URL for the OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA)

Web user interface so that it can be launched from within vCenter.


Figure 2-5. Management Center Configuration Wizard

3 Complete the configuration wizard by entering the required information; see the following sections for more details.

Create and Assign Connection Profiles

1 Click Create New in the configuration wizard. The new connection profile wizard displays.

2 Enter a name and description (optional) for the new connection profile, then click Next.


Figure 2-6. New Connection Profile Wizard

3 Select hosts that have the same iDRAC and ESX/ESXi host credentials.

Figure 2-7. Select Hosts

22

4 A Credentials window is displayed. Information on the required iDRAC and OMSA credentials is provided. Click Next.

NOTE: The OMSA credentials are the same credentials used for ESX and

ESXi hosts.


Figure 2-8. Credential Window

5 The iDRAC Credential window is displayed. Enter the iDRAC administrator user name and password, and click Next.

Figure 2-9. Enter iDRAC Credentials

6 The OMSA Agent Credential window is displayed. Enter the OMSA agent root password and click Next.


Figure 2-10. Enter OMSA Agent Credentials

7 On the Test Connection Profile page select one or more hosts associated with the connection profile, and click Test Selected. Click Abort Tests to cancel the test.

NOTE: For servers that do not have either an iDRAC Express or Enterprise card, the iDRAC test connection result will state Not applicable for this system.


Figure 2-11. Test Connection

8 Once the test completes, click Save.

9 To add connection profiles for additional hosts, repeat the previous steps.

10 When finished adding additional host, click Save and Continue.

Events and Alarms

To select event posting options and enable, disable, or restore alarms:

1 Select the appropriate Event Posting Level.

• Do not post any events - Block hardware events.

• Post All Events - Post all hardware events.

• Post only Critical and Warning Events - Post only critical or warninglevel hardware events.

• Post only Virtualization-Related Critical and Warning Events - Post only virtualization-related critical and warning events; this is the default event posting level.

2 Select the Enable Alarms for Dell Hosts check box to enable all hardware alarms and events.

3 Click Restore Default Alarms to restore the default vCenter alarm settings for all managed Dell servers; it may take up to a minute before the change takes effect.


4 Click Save and Continue to apply the changes and continue with the wizard.

NOTE: Dell hosts that have alarms enabled respond to critical events by entering maintenance mode. Click Continue to accept this change, or click

Cancel.

Proxy Settings

1 To use a proxy server, enter a DNS-resolved host name or IP address for

Proxy Server Address. To not use a proxy server, skip to step 4.

2 Enter the Proxy Port number.

3 Select the Credentials Required check box, if needed. Enter a Proxy User

Name, Proxy Password, and Proxy Verify Password.

4 Click Save and Continue to apply the changes and continue with the wizard.

Schedule an Inventory Job

Within the configuration wizard on the Inventory Schedule page, enter the time to run the inventory weekly at a specific time and on selected days.

NOTE: It is recommended to schedule a weekly inventory job at minimum; otherwise, hardware information displayed in the Plug-in may be outdated. The inventory job consumes minimal resources and will not degrade host performance.

The inventory collects the hardware and status attributes including asset, server hardware, network, power monitoring, firmware identification, software applications, and storage information.

1 Select the On Selected Days: radio button, and then select the check box for the day of the week and enter the time. Click the Clear button to clear the entries.

2 Select the Do not run inventory on Dell hosts radio button to not run an inventory; this option is not recommended.


Figure 2-12. Inventory schedule

3 Select the Run inventory at the end of the wizard [Recommended] check box to automatically run the inventory task once the wizard is complete.

4 Click Save and Continue to apply the changes and continue.

Warranty Data Retrieval

Warranty settings control when warranty information is retrieved from Dell online by enabling or disabling the schedule and then setting a specific day and time to retrieve warranty updates.

1 Select the On Selected Days radio button to select the day and time for the warranty retrieval job.

2 Select the Do not retrieve Warranty Data radio button to not retrieve the data; this setting is not recommended.


Deployment Credentials

Deployment credentials are used to securely communicate with a bare-metal system, using the iDRAC6 from initial discovery until the end of the deployment process. Once deployment completes, the credentials are changed to those in the connection profile matched to the bare-metal system from the Deployment wizard.


28

If the deployment credentials are changed, all newly discovered systems from that point on will be provisioned with the new credentials; however, the credentials on servers discovered prior to the change are not affected.

The user name should be 16 characters or less (only ASCII printable characters).

The password should be 20 characters or less (only ASCII printable characters).

1 Enter User name.

2 Enter Password.

3 Enter Verify Password. Passwords must match.


Firmware Repository

Firmware repository settings contain the firmware catalog location used to update deployed servers. There are two location types:

• Dell online (ftp.dell.com) - Uses the default firmware update repository of

Dell online (ftp.dell.com) with a required staging folder. The plug in will download selected firmware updates and store them in the staging folder, and then they are applied as necessary.

• Local/shared repository - Created with the Dell Repository Manager™ application. These local repositories should be located on Windows-based file shares.

To use Dell Online:

1 Select the Dell online (ftp.dell.com) radio button to use the Dell online repository location. Perform the following steps: a Enter the Staging Folder Location using the following format: b

host:/share or \\host\share

NOTE: When using a firmware repository on a network share, it must reside on a CIFS or NFS share that is accessible to the virtual appliance. Credentials are required for accessing CIFS share (to add domain to user name field if required.)

If using a CIFS share for the staging folder, enter the User Name,

Password, and Verify Password; the passwords must match. These fields are only active when entering a CIFS share.


c Click Begin Test to validate your entries.


To use a local/shared repository:

1 Select the Shared Network Folder radio button to use a local/shared repository location. Perform the following steps: a Enter the Catalog File Location using the following format: host:/share/filename.xml, host:/share/filename.gz,

\\host\share\filename.xml,

\\host\share\filename.gz

b If using a CIFS share, enter the User Name, Password, and Verify

Password; the passwords must match. These fields are only active when entering a CIFS share

NOTE: The @ character is not supported for use in shared network folder user names/passwords.



OpenManage Server Administrator URL

Enter the OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) URL. The OMSA software can be used to:

• Manage vCenter elements (detailed sensor/component-level health information).

• Clear command logs and system event logs (SELs).

• Obtain NIC statistics.

• Make sure that the plug-in captures events from a selected host.

1 Enter the full URL including the https designation, and click Finish.

To launch OMSA within the Dell appliance, the OMSA Web Server must be installed and configured. See the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator

Installation Guide for the version of OMSA in use for instructions on how to install and configure the Web Server.


Immediately Run an Inventory

1 Once the configuration wizard is complete, click Job Queue  Inventory

Run Now to immediately run an inventory job.

2 Click Refresh to see the status of the inventory job.

Figure 2-13. Job queue

30

3 Navigate to the Host and Cluster view, click on any Dell host, then click the Dell tab. The following info should be available:

• Overview Page

• System Event Log

• Hardware Inventory

• Storage

• Firmware

• Power Monitoring

• Warranty Status

The following host commands will work within the Dell tab or by rightclicking on a host:

• Blink Indicator Light

• Run Firmware Update Wizard

• Launch Remote Access

• Launch OMSA


• Launch CMC

• Renew Warranty

• Proactive Systems Management

Figure 2-14. Dell Tab in vSphere

Set Up an OMSA Trap Destination

1 Link and Launch the OMSA user interface, or navigate to the OMSA UI agent from a Web browser (https://<HostIP>:1311/).

2 Log in to the interface, and select the Alert Management tab.

3 Select the Platform Events option at the top of the tab.

4 Click the grey Configure Destinations button, and click the Destination1 link.

5 Select the Enable Destination check box.

6 Enter the plug-in appliance IP address in the Destination IP Address field.

7 Click Apply Changes.

Download Firmware Updates and Make Available

This functionality is only available for 11th generation Dell servers that have either an iDRAC Express or Enterprise card.


1 Download a Dell Update Package (DUP) executable file (.EXE) from

http://support.dell.com.

2 Put the DUP on a Windows share drive that the vCenter host can access.

3 From Dell tab, select Firmware  Run Firmware Update Wizard.

4 To use the Load a single firmware update from a file option: a Enter the file path in the following format:

\\<host accessible share path>\<FileName>.exe a b c b Enter the user name and password in a domain format that has access to the share drive.

c

Continue to step 7.

Alternatively, to use the Update from repository option:

Select the Update from repository radio button.

Make sure you have a network connection to ftp.dell.com.

Click Next, and continue to step 5.


Figure 2-15. Load a single firmware update from a file

Figure 2-16. Update from repository

5 Select the bundle for your host and click Next.


Figure 2-17. Select update source bundle

6 Select the desired firmware updates and click Next.

Figure 2-18. Select firmware updates

7 Select the desired restart option and click Finish:

• Enter maintenance mode, apply updates, and restart - Host goes into maintenance mode. If the host cannot enter maintenance mode, then the host is not restarted and the update is applied during the next reboot.


• Apply updates on next reboot - To avoid a service interruption, it is recommended that the host enters maintenance mode before the reboot.

• Apply updates and force reboot without entering maintenance mode

- The update is applied, and a reboot occurs even if the host is not in maintenance mode. This method is not recommended.

Figure 2-19. Select restart option and finish

8 To verify that the update was successful, rerun the Inventory job using Job

Queue Run Now, and review the Overview page to see the new versions.


Configure Dell iDRAC Auto Discovery and Initial Start-up, and

Disable/Enable User ID and Password

NOTE: For auto discovery and handshake to run, all users with admin-level access must be disabled. Additionally, if the deployment credentials in the appliance match those of an existing user, then the password of the existing user will be changed to match the appliance credentials.

1 Log in to the iDRAC user interface.

2 Click Remote Access in the left tree menu.

3 Click Network/Security in the main pane - upper tabs.

Figure 2-20. Remote Access and Network/Security

4 Click on the Users subtab, and select the user to edit by selecting the user

ID link.


Figure 2-21. Select a user to edit

5 Make sure that the Configure User radio button is selected, and continue to the next page.


Figure 2-22. Configure user

38

6 To disable a user, uncheck the Enable User check box and click Apply. To enable a user, check the Enable User check box and click Apply.

7 Manually close the iDRAC user interface, then reboot the system and log back in.

8 When the system reboots, enter ctrl-E when the iDRAC IP address is displayed, and then go to LAN USER CONFIGURATION and set the

AutoDiscovery Flag to Enable; make sure the iDRAC administrator accounts are disabled. Alternatively, to set up the network for auto discovery and handshake, refer to the Dell Auto-Discovery Network Setup

Specification located at: http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/Lifecycle+Controller

9 Enter the plug-in appliance IP address in the Provisioning server field, and click enter and save to initiate discovery and initial start-up.

Installation and configuration is complete, and the Dell Management Plug-In is ready for use.


NFS Share Configuration

To use NFS shares with the Management Plug-In for backup and restore operations, firmware updates and as a staging folder, there are certain configuration items that must be completed. CIFS shares do not require additional configuration.

1 Edit /etc/exports to add: /share/path <appliance ip>(rw) *(ro)

This allows the virtual appliance full read and write access to the share, but limits all other users to read only.

2 Start nfs services: service portmap start service nfs start service nfslock status

NOTE: The steps above may vary depending on the Linux distribution in use.

3 If any of the services were already running: exportfs -ra

Uninstalling Dell Management Plug-In for

VMware vCenter

To remove the Plug-in, it must be unregistered from the vCenter server using the Admin Portal:

1 Launch a browser window, and enter the Admin Portal URL displayed in the Console tab. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<ApplianceIPAddress>/DellAdminPortal/index.html

2 Click VCENTER REGISTRATION in the left pane. Click Unregister to unregister the Management Plug-in.

3 The Plug-in is now removed.


Upgrading Dell Management Plug-In for VMware vCenter

There are four upgrade scenarios for the Dell Management Plug-In:

• "Upgrading from Version 1.0 to 1.0.1" on page 40

• "Upgrading from Trial Version 1.0.1 to Full Product Version 1.0.1" on page 41

• "Upgrading Dell Management Plug-in from 1.0.1 to 1.0.1 Update 1" on page 41

• "Upgrading Dell Management Plug-in using VCenter 5" on page 42

NOTE: Perform an appliance backup before you begin the upgrade. The backup can be performed using the Administration Console, see "Plug-in Database

Backup and Restore" on page 85 for more information.

Upgrading from Version 1.0 to 1.0.1

1 From the Administration Portal, select VCENTER REGISTRATION -

UNREGISTER to unregister the 1.0 appliance version from any vCenter instances to which it is registered.

2 From the Administration Portal, select BACKUP AND RESTORE to backup the virtual appliance data to a network share location.

3 Shut down the 1.0 appliance from the vSphere client.

4 Deploy the new 1.0.1 appliance OVF from the vSphere client; set the administration password and configure networking through the appliance console user interface.

NOTE: If the 1.0.1 appliance is using the same IP address as the 1.0 version, clear the Internet Explorer cache.

5 To upgrade to the 1.0.1 full product version, launch another browser window, and enter the Admin Portal URL displayed in the Console tab.

The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<ApplianceIPAddress>/DellAdminPortal/index.html

6 The Administration Console login window displays. Enter the password and click Login.


7 There is a Dell_Management_Center_license.bin file included in the product download package. This file contains your product license, and must be uploaded to your appliance. To upload the license file, click

Upload License.

8 On the Upload License window, click the Browse button to navigate to the license file. Click Upload to upload the license file.

9 Restore the 1.0 user data that was backed up from the network share to the

1.0.1 appliance using 1.0.1 Administration Portal.

10 Register the new 1.0.1 appliance to the vCenter instances.

11 Close and re-open any vSphere Client instances that are running, to reload the new security certificate used for 1.0.1 appliance communication.

12 After verifying the 1.0.1 appliance is functioning properly in your environment, you may remove the 1.0 appliance.

Upgrading from Trial Version 1.0.1 to Full Product Version 1.0.1

1 Go to the Dell Web site and purchase the full product version.

2 The download will include the new full version product, and a new license file.

3 Launch another browser window, and enter the Admin Portal URL displayed in the Console tab. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<ApplianceIPAddress>/DellAdminPortal/index.html

4 The Administration Console login window displays. Enter the password and click Login.

5 There is a Dell_Management_Center_license.bin file included in the product download package. This file contains your product license, and must be uploaded to your appliance. To upload the license file, click

Upload License.

6 On the Upload License window, click the Browse button to navigate to the license file. Click Upload to upload the license file.

Upgrading Dell Management Plug-in from 1.0.1 to 1.0.1 Update 1

To upgrade to Dell Management Plug-in from 1.0.1 to 1.0.1. Update 1:


1 Launch a browser window, and enter the Admin Portal URL displayed in the vSphere vCenter Console tab for the virtual machine you want to configure or use the link from Dell Management Console ->Settings page. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<appliance IP address>

This navigates you correctly to the Admin Portal.

2 In the left pane of the Admin Portal, click APPLIANCE

MANAGEMENT.

3 To upgrade do one of the following:

• To use the default Update Repository Path, under Appliance

Settings, click Update Virtual Appliance, and then skip to step 7.

• To access the path to new downloaded RPMs, in the Appliance

Management page, click Edit.

4 In the Edit group, in the Update Repository Path text box, enter the path for the location of the RPMs for 1.0.1 Update 1.

5 To save this change, click Apply.

6 To to apply the update to the virtual appliance, under Appliance Settings, click Update Virtual Appliance.

7 In the Update Appliance dialog box, click Upgrade. Once you click

Upgrade you are logged off the Administrator Portal.

Upgrading Dell Management Plug-in using VCenter 5

Dell Management Plug-in version 1.0.1 does not support VCenter 5. If using a vCenter 5 only environment the Plug-in must be updated to 1.0.1 Update 1.

Doing the order other than the following procedure causes the Events not to appear correctly in VCenter 5 at the Host and DataCenter level.

NOTE: Use these steps only if your environment is exclusively vCenter 5. If in a mixed environment, then update the to Dell Management Plug-in 1.0.1 Update, see

"Upgrading Dell Management Plug-in from 1.0.1 to 1.0.1 Update 1" on page 41. If you

are using an older vCenter Server, then register your vCenter 5, and only use steps

1, 2, and 3.

To upgrade Dell Management Plug-in using vCenter 5:


1 Launch a browser window, and enter the Admin Portal URL displayed in the vSphere vCenter Console tab for the virtual machine you want to configure or use the link from Dell Management Console ->Settings page. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<appliance IP address>

This navigates you correctly to the Administration Portal.

2 Do one of the following:

• If your network requires a proxy server to access the network, in the

vCenter Registration page, register the Dell Management Plug-in by clicking Register New vCenter Server.

• If no proxy is required, skip to step 6.

3 In the Register New vCenter dialog box do the following:

• Under vCenter Name, in the vCenter Server IP or Hostname text box, enter the IP or hostname of the vCenter server.

• In the Description text box, enter an optional Description.

• Under Admin User Account, in the Admin User Name text box type the Admin user name.

• In the Password text box, type the password.

• In the Verify Password text box, re-type password.

• Click Register.

• Go to vCenter and verify the Dell Management Plug-in shows up.

4 In vCenter -> Dell Management Center -> Settings, set up your Proxy, see "Proxy Settings" on page 55.

5 Return to the Administrative Portal to Update the virtual appliance.

6 In the left pane of the Admin Portal, click APPLIANCE

MANAGEMENT.

7 To upgrade do one of the following:

• To use the default Update Repository Path, under Appliance

Settings, click Update Virtual Appliance, and then skip to step 10.

• To access the path to new downloaded RPMs, in the Appliance

Management page, click Edit.


8 In the Edit group, in the Update Repository Path text box, enter the path for the location of the RPMs for 1.0.1 Update 1.

9 To save this change, click Apply.

10 To to apply the update to the virtual appliance, under Appliance Settings, click Update Virtual Appliance.

11 In the Update Appliance dialog box, click Upgrade. Once you click

Upgrade you are logged off the Administrator Portal.

12 Once the update completes and the virtual appliance is back up, choose one of the following:

• If a proxy was used, then unregister the Dell Management Plug-in and re-register the it again by continuing to step 13. Not un-registering and re-registering causes Events not to appear correctly in VCenter 5 at the

Host and DataCenter level.

• If a proxy was not used and a vCenter 5 was never registered, then complete step 1, 2 and 3 to register a new vCenter 5 server.

13 To unregister,, open the Admin Portal (step 1) and go to the vCenter

Registration page, in the vCenter Server table that lists the servers, click

Unregister.

14 Re-register following the directions in step 3.


End-to-End Hardware Management

3

The goal of end-to-end hardware management is to provide the system health status and up-to-date infrastructure information that an administrator needs to respond to critical hardware events without leaving the management center or vCenter. End-to-end hardware management within the

Management Plug-In is broken down into four separate parts: monitoring, inventory, advanced host management, and warranty retrieval.

Monitoring

Datacenter and host system monitoring allows an administrator to monitor infrastructure health by displaying hardware (server and storage) and virtualization-related events on the Tasks & Events tab in vCenter.

Additionally, critical hardware alarms can trigger the plug-in to put the host system into a maintenance mode, and in certain cases migrate the virtual machines to another host system. The Dell Plug-In forwards OMSA alarms, and creates new ones for specific events. These alarms can then be used to trigger actions that vCenter allows, like a reboot, maintenance mode, or migrate. For examples, when a dual power supply fails and an alarm is created, the resulting action can be to migrate the VM on that machine to a new one.

To perform monitoring:

1 Configure the Event and Alarm settings

2 Configure OMSA trap destinations, if needed.

3 Use the Tasks&Events tab in vCenter to review event information

Configure Event and Alarm Settings

To select event posting options and enable, disable, or restore alarms:

1 From the management center, select Settings - Events and Alarms.

2 Click Edit to display the configuration options.

3 Select the appropriate Event Posting Level:

• Do not post any Events - Block hardware events.

• Post All Events - Post all hardware events.


• Post only Critical and Warning Events - Post only critical or warninglevel hardware events.

• Post only Virtualization-Related Critical and Warning Events - Post only virtualization-related critical and warning events; this is the

default event posting level. See Appendix A: Virtualization-Related

Events for more information.

NOTE: A critical event indicates actual or imminent data loss or system malfunction, and a warning event is not necessarily significant, but may indicate a possible future problem.

4 Select the Enable Alarms for Dell Hosts check box to enable all hardware alarms and events. In response to certain alarms and events, the plug-in will: a b

Put the host into maintenance mode and migrate all of the workloads off of the server in response to critical hardware events.

Put the host into maintenance mode only in response to less critical hardware events.

A pop-up window is displayed that states that any hosts that are outside of clusters, or do not have the Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) enabled could have virtual machines shut down during a critical event; the impacted servers are listed in the table. Click Continue to accept this change, or click Cancel.

5 Click Restore Default Alarms to restore the default vCenter alarm settings for all managed Dell servers.

6 Click Save to apply changes, or click Cancel to retain previous settings.

Set up an OMSA trap destination

This task should only be completed for host systems utilizing OMSA for event generation instead of iDRAC6; there is no additional configuration required for iDRAC6.

1 Either use the link to the OMSA user interface found in Settings -

General, or navigate to the OMSA agent from a Web browser

(https://<HostIP>:1311/).

2 Log in to the interface, and select the Alert Management tab.


3 Select Alert Actions and make sure that any events to be monitored have the Broadcast Message option set, so that the events will be sent out.

4 Select the Platform Events option at the top of the tab.

5 Click the grey Configure Destinations button, and click the Destination1 link.

6 Select the Enable Destination check box.

7 Enter the plug-in appliance IP address in the Destination IP Address field.

8 Click Apply Changes.

9 Repeat step 1 to step 8 to configure additional events.

View Events

To view events, either navigate to the vCenter Tasks&Events tab and select the Events view so that the selected level of events is displayed, or click on the parent node (cluster or datacenter) of the host or the root folder of the vCenter. Events will appear only on those nodes in the vSphere tree.

Inventory

Datacenter and host system inventory allows an administrator to view the current hardware configuration and status information for an individual or group of host systems. The information displayed includes:

• Asset information

• Server inventory

• Networking

• Overall global health

• Storage inventory

• Firmware inventory

An inventory of all host systems must be collected to display this information.

To perform an inventory on host systems, a connection profile that provides communication and authentication information must be created. Once the inventory is complete, the inventory results can be viewed for the entire datacenter or for an individual host system.

To perform host system inventory:

End-to-End Hardware Management 47

48

1 Create a Connection Profile.

2 Schedule and run an Inventory Job on all host systems.

3 Use either the individual host tab or see the datacenter/cluster/folder level to view datacenter or host system component-level status and information.

4 Use the Recent Tasks window below the individual host tab view to view system event log information for all inventoried host systems. If an inventory job has failed, the reason for the failure is also listed.

Managing Connection Profiles

Connection Profiles associate access and deployment credentials with a set of host systems and typically contain:

• Name and unique description (to help with profile management)

• A list of hosts associated with the connection profile

• iDRAC credentials

• OMSA agent credentials

To add a new connection profile:

1 From the management center, select Connection Profiles.

2 Under Available Profiles, click Create New. The New Connection Profile pop-up displays.

3 Enter the Profile Name and an optional Description that can be used to help manage custom connection profiles, and click Next. To stop adding a new profile, click Cancel, or to return to a previous section, click Back.

4 For Associated Hosts, select the hosts that will use the connection profile and click Next.

5 View the information about credentials and connection protocols and click

Next.

6 Enter the iDRAC credential information and click Next: a User Name, Password, and Verify Password; the passwords must match and use ASCII-printable characters only. See the Credentials

section of "Create and Assign Connection Profiles" on page 21 for

more information.

NOTE: Passwords cannot exceed 20 characters.

End-to-End Hardware Management

b For Certificate Check, select Enable to download and store the iDRAC certificate and validate it during all future connections, or select Disable to perform no check and not store the certificate.

7 Enter the in-band OMSA agent credential information and click Next: a User Name, Password, and Verify Password; the passwords must match.

NOTE: Passwords cannot exceed 31 characters.

NOTE: The OMSA credentials are the same credentials used for ESX and

ESXi hosts.

b For Certificate Check, select Enable to download and store the

OMSA certificate and validate it during all future connections, or select Disable to perform no check and not store the certificate.

8 The Test Connection window tests the entered iDRAC and OMSA agent credentials on the selected servers. Click Test Selected to begin the test; the other options are inactive. To stop the tests click Abort Tests.

9 Click Save to complete the profile.

To view or edit an existing connection profile:

1 From the management center, select Connection Profiles.

2 Select the profile to edit and click Edit/View.

3 The Connection Profile: Profile name window displays.

4 Select the profile section to edit/view, and make the appropriate changes:

• Profile Name and Description: Rename profile or change description

• Associated Hosts: Hosts using connection profiles

NOTE: When an existing server is added to a connection profile, an Inventory

Job must be manually run to update the management center with the new server’s information.

• iDRAC credentials: User name, password, and certificate check

• OMSA agent credentials: User name, password, and certificate check

5 Click Save to apply changes, or click Cancel to eliminate changes.

6 Click X (upper-right corner) to close the window.

To delete a connection profile:

1 Select a profile and click Delete; a message is displayed.


2 Click Delete on the message box to remove the profile, or click Cancel to cancel the delete action.

To test a connection profile:

1 Click Test Connection to test the entered iDRAC and OMSA agent credentials on the selected servers. Click Test Selected to being the test, and click Abort All Selected to cancel the testing.

To refresh the connection profiles:

Click Refresh.

NOTE: If a host is removed from vCenter, then it is removed from the connection profile.

Schedule and Run Inventory

The Inventory Schedule sets the time/day for running inventory jobs, such as:

• Weekly at a specific time and on selected days

• At a set time interval

A completed inventory is required to gather the data needed by the majority of the Management Plug-In features.

NOTE: To make sure that the inventory contains up-to-date information, the inventory job should run a minimum of once a week. The inventory job consumes minimal resources and does not degrade host performance.

To modify the inventory job schedule:

1 From the management center, select Settings - Inventory Schedule.

2 Click Edit to change the current schedule.

3 Select the On Selected Days: radio button, and then select the check box for the day of the week and enter the time. Click the Clear button to clear the entries.

4 Click Apply to change the inventory schedule, or click Cancel to cancel.

5 From the management center, select Job Queue and the Inventory

History tab.

6 Click Run Now to immediately run the inventory job.

7 To update the Details of Last Inventory Job, click Refresh.


Display Server Hardware Configuration and Status

Once the inventory job completes, to view the inventory for an entire datacenter:

1 From the vSphere client, under the Inventory heading select Hosts and

Clusters.

2 From Hosts and Clusters, select the datacenter in the tree view and select the Management Plug-In tab.

3 An Overview of all hosts in the datacenter is displayed. Use the View dropdown to view an inventory category:

• Hardware: Field Replaceable Units

• Hardware: Processors

• Hardware: Memory

• Hardware: NICs

• Hardware: PCI Slots

• Hardware: Remote Access Card

• Storage: Physical Disks

• Storage: Virtual Disks

• Firmware

• Power Monitoring

• Warranty

4 Use the Filter text box to enter a filter for the inventory data.

5 Click Refresh to refresh the displayed inventory.

6 Click Export to export the inventory as a CSV file. A download location window is displayed; select the location to save the inventory and click

Save.

To view the inventory for a single host system:


Clusters.

2 From Hosts and Clusters, select the host system in the tree view and select the Management Plug-In tab.

3 An Overview of the selected host is displayed.


52

The Overview provides information on key host server attributes, including individual component health, identification, hypervisor, and firmware information.

• Component Health is a graphical representation of the status of all major host server components: system chassis, power supply, temperature, fans, voltage, processors, batteries, intrusion, hardware log, power management, and memory. The available status states are:

• Healthy (green check mark) - component operating normally

• Warning (yellow triangle with exclamation point) - component has a non-critical error

• Critical (red X) - component has a critical failure

• Unknown (question mark) - status is unknown for the component

A global health status is displayed in the upper-right header bar.

• Server Information provides Identification, Hypervisor, and

Firmware information, such as:

• Host name, power state, iDRAC IP address, console IP address, connection profile in use, model, service tag and asset tag numbers, number of days left on the warranty, and when the last inventory scan was performed

• Hypervisor, BIOS firmware, and iDRAC firmware versions

• Recent System Log Entries provide the 10 most recent system event log entries. Click Details to launch the System Event Log window that displays additional log details.

4 Select Hardware Inventory to display a list and further details on all components installed in host system, including :

• Field-replaceable units (FRUs) - DIMMS, system planar, power supplies, backplanes, controller cards, etc.

• Memory - Number of slots available and in use, maximum capacity and amount of memory in use, and details on individual DIMMs.

• Network Interface Cards (NICs) - Number of installed cards and details on individual NICs.

• PCI Slots - Total available and number in use, and details on individual slots.


• Power Supplies - Number present and details on individual PSUs.

• Processors - Number present and details on individual CPUs.

• Remote Access Card - IP address information, RAC type, and Web interface URL.

5 Select Storage to display a graphic and detailed view of the capacity and type of physical and virtual storage, including:

• Host system total storage, unconfigured, configured, and global hot spare disk capacity.

• List of how many of each storage component is present in the system.

• Component data table that contains detailed information on that component.

6 Select Firmware to display all Dell Lifecycle Controller firmware information including:

• Update name - BIOS, Dell Lifecycle Controller, power supply, etc.

• Update type - BIOS, firmware, or application.

• Individual update details - Version, installation time, if an update is in progress or the update status, and the update version. The update status and version only have data when an update is scheduled, and the update version is the firmware version to which the system will be updated.

7 Select Power Monitoring to display general power information, energy statistics, and reserve power information, including:

• Current power budget, profile, warning and failure thresholds

• Energy consumption, system peak power, and amperage statistics

• Reserve power and peak reserve capacity

8 Select Warranty Status to display system warranty information including:

• Warranty provider name and description of the warranty

• Start and end dates and how many days are left on the warranty

• Status of the warranty (active, inactive) and when the warranty information was last updated


54

Display System Event Logs

System Event Logs provide information based on the following criteria:

• Status - Info (blue exclamation point), Warning (yellow triangle with exclamation point), Error (red X)

• Time (Server Time)- time and date the event occurred

• Search text - specific message, server names, configuration settings, etc.

The severity levels are defined as:

• Info: The Management Plug-In operation completed successfully.

• Warning: The Management Plug-In operation partially failed, and was partially successful.

• Error: The Management Plug-In operation failed.

The log can be saved as an external CSV file.

To display the System Event Logs for all host systems:

1 From the management center, select Logs.

2 Click Refresh to update the log with the most recent data.

3 Click the All Categories drop-down menu to select a severity category to filter the log data: All Categories, Info, Warning, Error, or Security.

4 Click the Last Week drop-down menu to select a data range to filter the log data: Last week, Last Month, Last Year, or Custom Range.

If Custom Range is selected, Start Date and Stop Date drop-down menus are displayed. To set the customer date range: a b

Click the calendar wizard to populate the Start date.

Click the calendar wizard to populate End date. c Click Apply.

5 To control how the log is displayed, use the display controls to set the

Records per screen, go to a desired Page, and use the forward and backward page controls.

6 To export the entire Log contents to a comma-separated value (CSV) file, click Export. A download location window is displayed; select the location to save the log and click Save.

To display the System Event Logs for an individual host system:



Clusters.

2 From Hosts and Clusters, select the host system in the tree view and select the Management Plug-In tab. An Overview of the selected host is displayed.

3 From Recent System Log Entries click Details to launch the System

Event Log window that displays the System Event Log.

4 To update the System Event Log to make sure all of the latest entries are displayed, click Refresh Log.

5 To limit (filter) the number of event log entries: a Select the Search Filter text box, and enter a text string to dynamically filter the log entries. b Click X to clear the filter text box, and all event log entries will be displayed.

6 To clear all event log entries, click Clear Log. A pop-up message displays stating that all log entries are deleted after they are cleared. Click OK to clear the log entries, or click Cancel to cancel.

7 To export the event log to a CSV file, click Export. A download location window is displayed; select the location to save the system event log and click Save.

Advanced Host Management

The advanced host management tasks are host system-based actions that allow an administrator to identify a physical server in the datacenter environment, launch server-based management tools, and display server warranty information. All of these actions are initiated from the Management

Plug-In tab for an individual host system.

Server Identification

To assist in locating a physical server in a large physical datacenter environment, the front indicator light can blink for a set time period.


Clusters.


56


3 Under Host Commands, select Blink Indicator Light.

4 Select Blink On, and use the Timout drop-down menu to set the time period. Click OK to cause the light to start blinking.

5 To stop the light from continuing to blink, select Blink Off and click OK.

Server-Based Management Tools

There are two server-based management tools, iDRAC6/DRAC and OMSA, that can be launched from the Management Plug-In tab.

• Click Launch Remote Access to launch the iDRAC 6 user interface.

• Click Launch OMSA to launch the OpenManage Server Administrator user interface URL that was entered into the management center either during the initial configuration wizard or using Settings  General. The

URL is for the server administrator Web server, and must be installed on a

Windows-based management station.

• Click Launch CMC to launch the Chassis Management Controller user interface.

Proactive Systems Management

Proactive Systems Management is a free remote-support software that can be used to:

• Monitor potential hardware failures

• Alert you of potential problems within five minutes of detection

• Help uncover and analyze problems with automated diagnostics

• Provide proactive dispatch of qualified parts, direct from Dell

• Help accelerate resolution by automatically generating a support case when a hardware fault is detected

• Provide advanced notification of upcoming service contract expirations

• Provide a consolidated view of the IT environment

• Allow corrective action to be taken to minimize downtime

This software is a separate service that must be installed and configured outside of the Plug-In.


To display Proactive Systems Management links in the hosts view:

1 From the management console, select Settings - General.

2 Under Proactive Systems Management, click Edit.

3 Select the Show Proactive Systems Management login page in the Hosts

view check box. Click Apply.

4 A link to the Proactive Systems Management portal and one for a Learn

More Web site that contains additional details about the software are displayed under Proactive Systems Management.

Warranty Retrieval

Warranty retrieval provides the following information for Dell servers:

• Updated service warranty information, while only transmitting the host service tag

• Warranty information updated at scheduled intervals

• Secure transmission using a proxy server and credentials

• Information through a tested, secure connection

NOTE: The service tag information transmitted to Dell online is not stored.

To enable the warranty retrieval schedule:

1 Select Warranty Schedule under Settings, and click Edit.

2 Select the On Selected Days radio button to select the day and time for the warranty retrieval job.

3 Click Apply to change the warranty update schedule.

4 From the management center, select Job Queue and the Warranty History tab.

5 Click Run Now to immediately run the warranty retrieval job.

6 To update the Details of Last Warrant Job, click Refresh.

Display Server Warranty Information

Once the warranty job completes, to view the warranty information for an entire datacenter:


58


Clusters.

2 From Hosts and Clusters, select the datacenter in the tree view and select the Management Plug-In tab.

3 An Overview of all hosts in the datacenter is displayed. Use the View dropdown to select Warranty.

4 In the Filter text box, enter a filter for the warranty data.

5 Click Refresh to refresh the displayed inventory.

6 Click Export to export the inventory as a CSV file. A download location window is displayed; select the location to save the inventory and click

Save.

To view the warranty information for a single host system:


Clusters.


3 Select Warranty Status to display system warranty information including:

• Warranty provider name and description of the warranty

• The start and end dates and how many days are left on the warranty

• The status of the warranty (active, inactive) and when the warranty information was last updated

Proxy Settings

The proxy settings define the HTTP proxy and any required credentials used to retrieve information from the Web (including from Dell online), such as:

• Enable or disable the proxy server

• Enter the Proxy Server and Port Number needed

• Define any required credentials - User name and Password

NOTE: Proxy passwords cannot exceed 31 characters.

To configure the HTTP proxy:

1 Select Proxy under Settings, and click Edit.

2 Enter a DNS-resolved host name or IP address for Proxy Server Address.


3 Enter the Proxy Port number.

4 Select the Credentials Required check box, if needed. Enter a Proxy User

Name, Proxy Password, and Proxy Verify Password.

5 Click Apply to save the new settings.

To use the HTTP proxy when retrieving Web-based data:

1 Select the Use Proxy check box.

2 Click Test Connection to validate settings.

3 Click Apply.



4

Zero-Touch Hardware Provisioning and Deployment

Hardware Prerequisites

To successfully perform hardware provisioning and deployment, the physical servers must appear in the Deployment Wizard. All physical servers must meet the following prerequisites:

1 The server must be an 11G server. See the Dell Management Plug-In for

VMWare vCenter Version 1.0.1 Release Notes for specific hardware support information.

2 The server must have the minimum supported versions of iDRAC firmware, Lifecycle controller and BIOS. See the Dell Management Plug-

In for VMWare vCenter Version 1.0.1 Release Notes for specific hardware support information.

NOTE: If the firmware versions are older, there could be a two step process to upgrade to the minimum required versions. See the firmware documentation for detailed upgrade instructions.

3 If using add-on NICs, the system must have the host LOMs enabled; the

Plug-in allows deployment only onto a host LOM. The management NIC can be changed manually, and the system then added to vCenter.

4 If the iDRAC is in dedicated mode, its NIC must be enabled and the iDRAC should be able to communicate with the Plug-in.

5 CSIOR must be enabled, and a cold reboot performed on the system before initiating Auto Discovery to make sure that the retrieved data is current. A cold reboot requires that power is removed from the system, wait for a complete shut down of all components, and then reapply power.

See "Setting Collect System Inventory on Restart (CSIOR) on a Clone

Server" on page 65 for information on how to enable CSIOR.

6 To enable Auto Discovery and handshake, a server can be ordered with deployment and hardware provisioning enabled from the factory. The provisioning server Plug-in IP address information is either entered

Zero-Touch Hardware Provisioning and Deployment 61

manually, or the network can be configured to provide this information.

For the manual setup instructions, see "Configure Dell iDRAC Auto

Discovery and Initial Start-up, and Disable/Enable User ID and Password" on page 36 for more information. For network configuration instructions,

see "Enabling Auto-Discovery on a Newly-Purchased System" on page 99

for more information.

7 If the Plug-in is not used for hardware configuration, then make sure the following conditions are met prior to initiating hypervisor deployment:

• BIOS configuration needs to be set to change the VT flag to Enabled.

• The system needs to have a Virtual Disk for installation of the OS.

The Plug-in will not install the hypervisor to an internal SD card.

8 If the Plug-in is used for hardware configuration, the BIOS setting for VT is automatically enabled, even if BIOS configuration is not part of the hardware profile. Express/Clone RAID configuration will be required if a virtual disk is not already present on the target system.

9 The deployment process installs the OpenManage Server Administrator package on the target system, and will automatically configure the SNMP trap destination to point to the Dell Plug-in.

Overview

Once a physical inventory of the datacenter is complete, all auto-discovered bare-metal systems are available to the Management Plug-in for zero touch hardware provisioning and hypervisor deployment. To prepare for provisioning and deployment, you must:

1 Create a Hardware Profile - Contains the hardware settings gathered from a reference server that will be used to deploy new servers.

2 Create a Hypervisor Profile - Contains the hypervisor installation information needed for ESX/ESXi deployment.

3 Create a Deployment Template - Optionally contains a hardware profile, a hypervisor profile, or both; can be saved and reused as needed for all available datacenter servers.

62 Zero-Touch Hardware Provisioning and Deployment

Once the deployment template is created, the Deployment Wizard can be used to gather the information necessary to create a scheduled job that provisions server hardware and deploys new hosts in vCenter. Lastly, the Job

Queue can be used to view job status and make changes to pending deployment jobs.

Understanding Deployment Job Times

Provisioning and deploying bare-metal servers can take between 30 minutes and a couple of hours to complete, depending on certain factors. When starting a deployment job, it is recommended that you plan your deployment time according to the guidelines provided.

The amount of time it takes to complete provisioning and deployment varies with deployment type, complexity, and number of deployment jobs running

simultaneously. Table 4-1 gives you guidelines of the approximate time a

deployment job may take.

Deployment jobs are run in batches of up to five concurrent servers, to improve time for the overall deployment job. The exact number of concurrent jobs depends on resources available.

Table 4-1. Approximate Deployment Time Scenarios

Deployment Type Approximate Time Per Deployment

Hypervisor only

Hardware only

Hypervisor and Hardware profiles

Between 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Up to 2 hours depending on the complexity and the RAID, BIOS, and boot options to configure

1 to 4 hours

Server States Within the Deployment Sequence

When an inventory job is run, auto-discovered bare-metal systems are classified in different states to help determine if the server is new to the datacenter or has a pending deployment job scheduled. Administrators can use these states to determine if a server should be included in a deployment job. The states are:

• Unconfigured - The server has contacted the Management Plug-In and is waiting to be configured.


• Configured - The server is configured with all hardware information required for a successful hypervisor deployment.

Configure a Hardware Profile

To configure server hardware settings, a hardware profile must be created. A hardware profile requires the following information:

• Boot Order - Boot device sequence, hard drive sequence, which can be edited only if the boot mode is set to BIOS

• BIOS Settings - Memory, processor, SATA, integrated devices, serial communications, embedded server management, power management, system security, and miscellaneous settings

• iDRAC Settings - Network, user list, and user configuration (IPMI/iDRAC privileges)

NOTE: For systems that have iDRAC Express, the iDRAC configuration cannot be extracted; therefore, the server should not be used as a reference server. If it is used as a target system, then no iDRAC configuration from the reference server will be applied.

• RAID Configuration - Displays the current RAID topology on the reference server at the time the hardware profile was extracted.

NOTE: If using the Customize settings from reference server option in the hardware profile, the RAID configuration task defaults to RAID1 on the first two drives of the integrated controller that are RAID1 capable. Additionally, a dedicated hot-spare for the RAID1 array is created if a candidate drive meeting the criteria exists.

NOTE: The Management Plug-In enables certain BIOS settings under the

Processor group in the BIOS on all deployed servers, regardless of the settings on the reference server. Before using a reference server to create a new hardware profile, it must have the Collect System Inventory On Restart (CSIOR) setting enabled and be restarted to provide accurate inventory and configuration information. See below for more information.


Setting Collect System Inventory on Restart (CSIOR) on a Clone Server

There are two methods for setting CSIOR: Locally on an individual host using the Dell Lifecycle Controller United Server Configurator (USC) user interface or remotely using a WS-Man script. For more information on scripting this functionality, see the Dell Tech Center and the DCIM Lifecycle

Controller Management Profile.

To enable CSIOR locally on a reference server:

1 Power on the system, and during POST press <F10> to launch USC.

2 Select Hardware Configuration - Part Replacement Configuration.

3 Enable the Collect System Inventory on Restart setting, and exit USC.

Create New Hardware Profile

To create a new hardware profile, an administrator enters reference server hardware configuration information. There are two ways to build a hardware profile:

• Select a reference server and select Clone Reference Server Settings to extract all BIOS, BOOT, RAID, and iDRAC configuration settings on that server at that instant and apply them to the target system. These settings cannot be customized by the user.

• Select a reference server and select Customize Settings from Reference

Server to extract all BIOS, BOOT, RAID, and iDRAC configuration settings on that server at that instant, and then customize them as needed before they are applied to a target system.

NOTE: Setting the RAID configuration to Customize mode creates a RAID1 array and a dedicated hot-spare when possible.

To create a new hardware profile:

1 From the management center, select Deployment - Deployment

Templates - Hardware Profile.

2 Click Create New. The Hardware Profile: Profile Name pop-up displays.

3 Enter the Profile Name and an optional Description that can be used to help manage custom hardware configurations.

4 Click Save. To continue, click Reference Server in the left pane. The

Reference Server window is displayed.


66

5 Click Edit, and the Reference Server window becomes active. Click

Browse.

6 A Servers pop-up displays; use the pop-up to highlight a server and click

Select. To clone the reference server, continue to the next step. To customize the reference server settings, go to step 8.

7 To extract all hardware settings from the reference server, select the Clone

Reference Server Settings radio button; no settings may be customized.

Click Save. A pop-up that states extracting the settings will take several minutes is displayed; click Continue. The settings are populated, and the selected server’s name, iDRAC IP address, and service tag are displayed in the Reference Server window. Go to step 15.

8 To provide the reference server hardware settings as defaults that can be customized, select the Customize Settings from Reference Server radio button. Click Save. A pop-up that states extracting the settings will take several minutes is displayed; click Continue. The settings are populated, and the selected server’s name, iDRAC IP address, and service tag are displayed in the Reference Server window.

9 Select Boot Order from the left pane. To include boot order information in the profile, select the Include Boot Order in this Hardware Profile check box. Expand Boot Order to display the boot order options, and click

Edit to make updates: a Use the Boot Mode drop-down menu to select either BIOS or UEFI. b c

Use the View/Configure drop-down menu under Boot Device

Sequence to display the available boot devices. To make changes to the boot device sequence displayed, select the device and click either

Move Up or Move Down.

Select Enabled in the Boot Retry Sequence drop-down menu so that the server automatically retries the boot sequence, or select Disabled to not retry the sequence.

d Click Save to save the changes, or Cancel to cancel the changes.

10 If the BIOS boot mode was selected in step 9, you can expand Hard Drive

Sequence to display the hard drive sequence options, and click Edit to make updates: a To make changes to the hard drive sequence displayed, select the device and click either Move Up or Move Down.

Zero-Touch Hardware Provisioning and Deployment

b Click Save to save the changes, or Cancel to cancel the changes.

11 Select BIOS Settings from the left pane. To include BIOS setting information in the profile, select the Include BIOS Settings in this

Hardware Profile check box. Expand a category to display the setting options, and click Edit to make updates to one of the following:

• Memory Settings

• Processor Settings

• SATA Settings

• Integrated Devices

• Serial Communication

• Embedded Server Management

• Power Management

• System Security

• Miscellaneous Settings

Once all updates are made for a category, click Apply to save the changes or click Cancel to cancel the changes.

NOTE: For detailed BIOS information, including setting options and explanations, refer to the Hardware Owner’s Manual for the selected server.

12 Select iDRAC Settings from the left pane, and select Network. To include network setting information in the profile, select the Include Network

Settings in this Hardware Profile check box. Expand a category to display the setting options, and click Edit to make updates to one of the following:

• Network

• Network Settings

• Virtual Media

Once all updates are made for a category, click Apply to save the changes or click Cancel to cancel the changes.

NOTE: For detailed iDRAC information, including setting options and explanations, refer to the iDRAC User’s Guide for the selected server.


68

13 Select iDRAC Settings from the left pane, and select User List. To include user list information in the profile, select the Include User List in this

Hardware Profile check box. Under iDRAC Local User List, select a task to do the following:

• Add User - Manually enter an iDRAC user and the required information. When finished, click Save to save your changes or

Cancel to cancel.

• Delete User - Delete the selected user. Select the check box for the user and click Delete, or click Cancel to cancel.

• Edit User - Manually edit an iDRAC user’s information. When finished, click Save to save your changes or Cancel to cancel.

NOTE: For detailed iDRAC information, including setting options and explanations, refer to the iDRAC User’s Guide for the selected server.

14 Select RAID Configuration from the left pane. To include RAID configuration information in the profile, select the Include RAID

Configuration in this Hardware Profile check box. The window is updated with all RAID information.

15 The profile is saved, and displays in the Hardware Profiles window under

Available Profiles.

Managing Hardware Profiles

There are several management actions an administrator can perform on existing hardware profiles, including viewing/editing, duplicating, renaming, deleting, and refreshing.

To view/edit a hardware profile:



2 Select a profile and click View/Edit. The Hardware Profile: Profile Name window displays.

3 Select the profile section to display or change, and make any necessary changes.

4 Click Save to apply changes, or click Cancel to cancel changes.

To duplicate a hardware profile:




2 Select a profile and click Duplicate. The Duplicate pop-up displays.

3 Enter a unique hardware profile name.

4 Click Apply to create a copy of the profile with the new name, or click


To rename a hardware profile:



2 Select a profile and click Rename. The Rename Profile pop-up displays.

3 Enter a unique hardware profile name.

4 Click Apply to use the new name, or click Cancel to cancel.

To delete a hardware profile:




3 Click Delete on the message box to remove the profile, or click Cancel to cancel.

NOTE: Deleting a hardware profile that is part of a running deployment task can cause the task to fail.

To display updated hardware profile information, from the management center, select Deployment - Deployment Templates - Hardware Profile and click Refresh.

Configure a Hypervisor Profile

To deploy and configure ESX/ESXi software to a server, a hypervisor profile must be created. A hardware profile requires the following information:

• The scriptable Reference ISO software media location on an NFS share

• vCenter instance that manages the deployed hosts, plus an optional host profile

• The destination cluster or datacenter where the plug-in deploys servers in vCenter


NOTE: The following naming convention must be used for the Reference ISO file name: host:/share/hypervisor.iso

\\host\share\hypervisor.iso

Create New Hypervisor Profile

To create a new hypervisor profile:


Templates - Hypervisor Profile.

2 Click Create New and the Hypervisor Profile: Profile Name pop-up displays.

3 Enter the Profile Name and an optional Description that can be used to help manage custom hypervisor profiles, and click Save.

4 Click Reference ISO in the left pane click Edit, and enter the following information: a Hypervisor Reference ISO: A hypervisor ISO image (ESX 4.1, ESXi

4.1 and ESXi 5.0 only) on a share location; a copy of this hypervisor image will be modified to permit a scripted installation. The reference

ISO location must be in the following format: b

• host:/share/hypervisor.iso

• \\host\share\hypervisor.iso

If using a CIFS share, enter the User Name, Password, and Verify

Password; the passwords must match.

5 Click Save to add the settings to the profile.

6 Click vCenter Settings in the left pane click Edit and enter:

• vCenter instance: Instance that will manage a host after deployment

• vCenter Destination Container: Datacenter or cluster that hosts the new physical server(s); click Browse to search for vCenter destinations

• vCenter Host Profile: A profile that encapsulates host configuration and helps to manage host configuration

7 Click Save to add the information to the profile.


Managing Hypervisor Profiles

There are several management actions an administrator can perform on existing hypervisor profiles, including viewing/editing, duplicating, renaming, deleting, and refreshing.

To view or edit a hypervisor profile:



2 Select a profile and click View/Edit. The Hypervisor Profile: Profile Name window displays.

3 Select the profile section to display or change, and make any necessary changes.

4 Click Save to apply changes, or click Cancel to cancel changes.

To duplicate a hypervisor profile:



2 Select a profile and click Duplicate. The Duplicate pop-up displays.

3 Enter a unique hypervisor profile name.

4 Click Apply to create a copy of the profile with the new name, or click


To rename a hypervisor profile:



2 Select a profile and click Rename. The Rename Profile pop-up displays.

3 Enter a unique hypervisor profile name.

4 Click Apply to use the new name, or click Cancel to cancel.

To delete a hypervisor profile:




3 Click Delete on the message box to remove the profile, or click Cancel to cancel.


72

CAUTION: Deleting a hypervisor profile that is associated with scheduled deployment jobs can cause the deployment jobs to fail.

To display updated hypervisor profile information, from the management center select Deployment - Deployment Templates - Hypervisor Profile and click Refresh.

Building a Deployment Template

A deployment template contains either a hardware profile, a hypervisor profile, or both. The Deployment Wizard uses this template to provision server hardware and deploy hosts within vCenter. To create a new deployment template:


Templates.

2 Click Create New. The Create New window displays; enter a name for the template and click Save.

3 Click Edit to complete the template. The right pane displays the

Hardware Profile and Hypervisor Profile drop-down menus.

4 From the Profile drop-down menu, choose a profile. There are several actions that can be performed on the selected profile: a Click View to display the hardware/hypervisor profile settings for the selected profile. b Click Create New to create a new hardware/hypervisor profile.

5 Enter an optional Description for the deployment template that can be used to help manage the templates.

6 Click Save to apply profile selections and save changes, or click Cancel to cancel.

Managing Deployment Templates

There are several management actions an administrator can perform on existing deployment templates, including duplicating, renaming, deleting, and refreshing.

To duplicate a deployment template:


Templates.


2 Select a template and click Duplicate.

3 Enter the template's new name and click Apply. If a template already exists with that name, the apply action will not be successful.

To delete a deployment template:


Templates.

2 Select a template and click Delete.

3 Click Delete on the message box to delete the template, or click Cancel to cancel.

NOTE: Deleting a hardware profile that is part of a running deployment task can cause the task to fail.

To rename a deployment template:


Templates.

2 Select a template click Rename to display the Rename Template pop-up.

3 Enter the template's new name and click Apply. If a template already exists with that name, the apply action will not be successful.

To display all updated deployment templates, from the management center select Deployment - Deployment Templates and click Refresh.

Running the Deployment Wizard

The Deployment Wizard steps you through the bare-metal server deployment process of:

• Selecting undeployed servers

• Using a deployment template (hardware and hypervisor profiles combination)

• Assigning identification to the deployed servers

• Matching a desired connection profile to each server

• Scheduling the server deployment jobs to run

• Displaying the Job Queue where you can manage deployment jobs.

NOTE: Deployment of ESXi to internal Secure Digital (SD) cards is not supported.


Use the Next and Back controls to navigate through the wizard panels.

The Deployment Wizard steps you through each phase of the deployment process:

1 From the management center, select Deployment - Deployment Wizard.

The Select Servers window is displayed.

2 Select Servers assigns non-deployed servers to this deployment job. Select the servers using the check boxes and click Next.

3 Deployment Template selects/creates a deployment template in one of several ways:

• Select an existing deployment template under Available Templates.

Information for the selected template populates the right pane.

• Select an existing deployment template and click Edit to change one or both associated profiles.

• Click Create New to define a new template.

Once the deployment template is selected/created, click Next.

4 Server Identification assigns deployed servers new names and network identification.

a Click Non-Compliant Servers to display a list of servers that do not meet the minimum requirements for firmware, BIOS, or have other issues; click Details for additional information. Once the systems are updated, click Check Compliance to retest and verify fixes. Click

Refresh to refresh the list, and click Abort All Test to cancel the testing.

b c d

Click ^ to expand and view individual server information.

Under Host Name and NIC, enter a Fully Qualified Host Name for the server. In the NIC Management Tasks drop-down menu, select the NIC that will be used for managing the server.

Enter IP addresses, subnet mask and other network information, or select the Obtain using DHCP check box. e Repeat for all servers to deploy, or select the Apply settings to all

selected servers check box.

Once server identification information is entered, click Next.


5 Connection Profile automatically assigns servers to connection profiles after the deployment job completes. a a

Select the Assign all servers to the same connection profile radio button, and select the connection profile from the drop-down menu to assign all servers to the same existing profile. To create a new profile, click New and to view or edit the select profile click View/Edit.

Click View to display the selected connection profile settings. b Select the Select a Connection Profile for each Server radio button, and select an individual connection profile for each server from the drop-down menu.

Once a connection profile is selected, click Next.

6 Schedule sets the schedule for the deployment job. There are several options of when to run the deployment job: immediately, schedule the deployment job to run on a selected date and time, hold deployment job and manually start it.

a Determine when to run a deployment job by entering a date and time:

• Click Schedule server(s) for deployment.

• Use the calendar control to select the date.

• Enter the time of day:

Immediately: Click Deploy server(s) now.

Postpone job: Click Create deployment job, but put on hold; with this option, only the schedule can be modified and all other deployment job options cannot be changed. b Enter a Job Name and Job Description. c Click Finish.

7 Now that the deployment wizard is complete, you can manage deployment jobs using the Job Queue.

8 Click Non-Compliant Servers to display a list of non-compliant servers that must have a firmware update before the wizard can be completed.

Managing Deployment Jobs Using the Deployment Job Queue

To mange deployment jobs using the Job Queue:


1 From the management center, select Job Queue- Deployment Jobs.

2 To update Deployment Jobs Details click Refresh. Updated deployment job information—status, scheduled time, name, description, collection size, and progress summary—is displayed.

3 Click Details to display a Deployment Job Details pop-up window that contains detailed information on the servers included in the deployment job such as:

• Service tag

• iDRAC IP address

• Server status

• If any warnings occurred

• Deployment job details

• Start and End time

To display full information for each item in the pop-up’s table, hover over the item and an additional text pop-up is displayed.

4 Click Modify to display a pop-up to either put a selected job on hold or to enter an updated schedule.

5 Click Abort to abort the deployment job; click Abort Job on the displayed message to abort, or click Do Not Abort Job to cancel.

NOTE: Any deployment jobs that are in progress cannot be aborted.

6 Click Purge Job Queue to display the Purge Deployment Job Queue window. Select the Older than: date and job Status, and click Apply. The select jobs are then cleared from the queue.

Server Security Settings for Deployment

The set of deployable servers can be restricted using a white list. If a server is in the white list, it is provided with credentials during the auto-discovery and handshake process and shows up in the list of servers that can be used for deployment. The white list can be maintained by manually adding server service tags, deleting service tags, or importing a list of service tags from a

CSV file.


NOTE: A CSV-delimited file can be used to import servers, and can contain multiple records on different lines where each record has one or more service tags separated by commas.

To enable a server white list:

1 Select Security under Settings, and click Edit.

2 Select the Enforce Server White List check box to use the white list to restrict server deployment.

3 Click Apply, and The server white list is: setting changes to ENABLED.

To add servers to the white list:

1 Click Edit, and then click Add Server.

2 When the Enter service tags to add to the white list pop-up displays, enter the service tags.

3 Click Continue to add the tags.

4 To import a list of service tags, click Import White List.

5 When the Select File to Upload (client IP address) displays, navigate to the CSV file and click Open.

6 When the We found these service tags in your file pop-up displays, click

Apply.

To delete servers from the white list:

1 To delete an individual server, click the service tag check box and click

Delete Selected.

2 To delete all servers, click the Service Tag check box and then click Delete

Selected.

3 Click Apply when the Are you sure you want to delete the selected service

tags pop-up displays to finish the delete, or click Cancel to cancel.

4 Click Apply to complete the changes to the white list.



5

Firmware Updates

The location where servers receive firmware updates is a global setting that is available in the management center. It can also be a local setting, used only on an individual server. By having the ability to determine the firmware update location, different updates can be applied to different sets of servers.

Enter Global Firmware Repository Location

Firmware repository settings contain the firmware catalog location used to update deployed servers. There are two location types:

• Dell online (ftp.dell.com) - Uses the default firmware update repository of

Dell online (ftp.dell.com) with a required staging folder. The Plug-in will download selected firmware updates and store them in the staging folder, and then they are applied as necessary.

• Local/shared repository - Created with the Dell Repository Manager™ application. These local repositories should be located on Windows-based file shares.

NOTE: Using the latest version of Dell Repository Manager to create an update repository is recommended. Once the repository is created, save it to a location that the registered hosts can access. Repository passwords cannot exceed 31 characters.

To enter the repository location and credentials:

1 From the management center, select Settings - Firmware Repository and click Edit.

2 Select the Dell online (ftp.dell.com) radio button to use the Dell online repository location. Perform the following steps: a Enter the Staging Folder Location using the following format:

host:/share or \\host\share

NOTE: When using a firmware repository on a network share, it must reside on a CIFS or NFS share that is accessible to the virtual appliance. Credentials are required for accessing CIFS share (add domain to user name field if required.) The user must have read and write access on the share.

79 Firmware Updates

80 b a

If using a CIFS share for the staging folder, enter the User Name,

Password, and Verify Password; the passwords must match. These fields are only active when entering a CIFS share.


3 Select Shared Network Folder radio button to use a local/shared repository location. Perform the following steps:

Enter the Catalog File Location using the following format: host:/share/filename.xml, host:/share/filename.gz,

\\host\share\filename.xml,

\\host\share\filename.gz

b If using a CIFS share, enter the User Name, Password, and Verify

Password; the passwords must match. These fields are only active when entering a CIFS share.

NOTE: The @ character is not supported for use in shared network folder user names/passwords.


4 Click Apply. The repository update location is now saved.

Update Individual Server Firmware

To perform a firmware update for the host system:

1 From the Dell tab, select Run Firmware Update Wizard to launch the window.

2 For Select an Update Source, select the update source:

• Load a single firmware update from a file - Enter the UNC path to a

Dell Update File (DUP) that is an executable file (.EXE); the path must be accessible to the Management Plug-In virtual appliance and iDRAC. Enter the required user name and password to access the file, and click

Next. Skip to step 5.

• Update from a repository - Use the default firmware update repository of Dell Online (ftp.dell.com) that is used with a required staging folder. The Plug-in will download selected firmware updates from Dell

Online and store them in the staging folder, and then they are applied

Firmware Updates

as necessary. A local repository created with Dell Repository Manager that is accessible on a network shared folder may also be used. Click the radio button and click

Next. Continue to step 3.

NOTE: If the required staging folder is not configured, an error is generated.

3 Select the update bundle from the drop-down menu, and click Next.

4 Select the updates to apply from the bundle, and click Next. Updates with the same version are disabled, and updates with a lower version will attempt a downgrade action.

5 Select the server restart method and click Finish:

• Enter maintenance mode, apply update(s), and reboot - The host is put into maintenance mode before applying the update. If the host cannot enter maintenance mode, then it will automatically reboot and the update is applied after the reboot completes.

• Apply Update(s) after next reboot - The update is applied after the next full reboot. To avoid service interruptions, it is recommended that the host is first put into maintenance mode before a reboot is attempted. Until the updates are applied, no further update job will be accepted by the host system’s iDRAC.

• Apply update(s) and force reboot without entering maintenance

mode - The update is applied and a reboot occurs even if the host system is not in maintenance mode. This option is not recommended.

6 To verify that the update was successful, rerun the Inventory Job using Job

Queue Run Now, and review the Overview page to see the new versions.

Firmware Updates 81

82 Firmware Updates

6

Management Plug-In

Administration

Administration of the Management Plug-in and its virtual environment is achieved by using two additional administration portals: a Web-based administration portal and the Console view for an individual server. Through the use of these two portals, global settings for vCenter management, plug-in database backup and restore, and reset/restart actions can be entered and used across all vCenter instances.

Web-based Administration Portal

The Web-based administration portal provides several key pieces of functionality: vCenter server registration and management, virtual appliance management, global vCenter alert settings, and backup and restore settings.

vCenter Registration

The vCenter Registration window allows you to register a vCenter server, and to upload a license. When a new Management Plug-In is installed, it must be registered with the vCenter server on which it is installed. To register a new vCenter server:

1 Launch a browser window and enter the Administration Portal URL displayed in the Console tab. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<ApplianceIPAddress>/DellAdminPortal/index.html

2 Click VCENTER REGISTRATION in the left pane. Click Register New

vCenter Server to register a new server.

3 Enter the user name, password, and vCenter IP address. Click Apply to register the Plug-in, or click Cancel to cancel.

To modify the administrator login for the registered vCenters:

1 Launch a browser window and enter the Administration Portal URL displayed in the Console tab. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive:


https://<ApplianceIPAddress>/DellAdminPortal/index.html

2 Click VCENTER REGISTRATION in the left pane. The registered vCenters are displayed in a table. Click Modify under Credentials to display the Modify Admin Acct window.

3 Enter the User Name, Password, and Verify Password; the passwords must match. Click Apply to change the password, or Cancel to cancel the change.

To update the SSL certificates for the registered vCenters:


2 Click VCENTER REGISTRATION in the left pane. The registered vCenters are displayed in a table. Click Update to update the certificates.

3 When a new client accesses

To unregister a vCenter:


2 Click VCENTER REGISTRATION in the left pane. The registered vCenters are displayed in a table. Click Unregister to display the unregister pop-up; click Unregister to complete the process.

When a new Management Plug-In is installed, the license file included in the download package must be uploaded using the administration portal. To upload the license file:



2 Click VCENTER REGISTRATION in the left pane. The registered vCenters are displayed in a table. Click Upload License to display the upload license pop-up; click the Browse button to navigate to the license file. Click Upload to upload the license file.

NOTE: If the license file is modified, or edited in any way, the appliance will view it as corrupted and the file will not work.

Virtual Appliance Management

Virtual appliance management contains the Management Plug-in network, version, NTP, and HTTPS information, and allows an administrator to:

• Restart the virtual appliance

• Update the virtual appliance, and configure an update repository location

• Generate a troubleshooting bundle that contains appliance logging information.

• Enter Network Time Protocol (NTP) settings

• Upload and manage HTTPS certificates

To restart the virtual appliance:

NOTE: Restarting the appliance will log out the user from the Administration

Portal and the Plug-In will be unavailable until the appliance and its services are active.


2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Restart the

Virtual Appliance to restart the Management Plug-In virtual appliance.

3 On the Restart Virtual Appliance pop-up, click Apply to restart the appliance or click Cancel to cancel.

To configure an update repository location, and update the virtual appliance:

NOTE: Perform a backup prior to an update of the virtual appliance to make sure all data is protected.

Management Plug-In Administration 85


2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Edit next to

Appliance Update. Enter the update repository host name or IP address into the active field. Click Apply. Once the update location is saved, click

Cancel to exit.

NOTE: If the update location is on an external network, such as the Dell FTP site, then a proxy must be entered for the Plug-In using the Settings -> Proxy page in the main console.

3 Click Update Virtual Appliance to update the appliance to the software version listed under Available Version. An Update Appliance pop-up displays, listing the current and available versions. An appliance backup must be performed prior to an update, and all other management center and administration portal sessions must be closed. Click Upgrade to begin the update.

4 The system is locked down and put into maintenance mode. When the update is complete, the appliance page displays showing the new version installed.

To generate a troubleshooting bundle that contains virtual appliance logging information:


2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Generate

Troubleshooting Bundle to display the troubleshooting bundle pop-up.

3 Click the Download Troubleshooting Bundle link to either open or save a zip file that contains appliance logging information. This information can be used to assist in troubleshooting issues, or sent to Technical Support.

4 Click Close once the bundle is saved to exit.


Network Time Protocol (NTP) can be used to synchronize the virtual appliance and host systems clocks to that of a NTP server. To enter NTP server information:


2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Edit for

NTP.

3 Select the Enabled check box to enable NTP. Enter the host name or IP address for a Preferred and Secondary NTP Server and click Apply.

4 Once the NTP server locations are saved, click Cancel to exit.

HTTPS Certificates can be used for secure communication between the virtual appliance and the host systems. To set-up this type of secure communication, a certificate signing request must be sent to a certificate authority and then the resulting certificate is uploaded using the

Administration Portal. There is also a default certificate that is self-signed and can be used for secure communication; this certificate is unique to every installation.

To upload a certificate:


2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Upload

Certificate for HTTPS Certificates. An upload certificates pop-up is displayed; click OK.

3 Click Browse to select the certificate to upload, and click Upload. The certificate must use PEM format. Click Cancel to cancel the upload.

To restore the default (self-signed) certificate:



88

2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Restore

Default Certificate for HTTPS Certificates. A restore default certificate pop-up is displayed; click Apply.

To generate a signing request:


2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Generate

Certificate Signing Request for HTTPS Certificates. A pop-up displays stating that if a new request is generated certificates created using the previous CSR can no longer be upload to the appliance. Click Continue to continue with the request, or Cancel to cancel.

3 Enter the Common Name, Organizational Name, Organizational Unit,

Locality, State Name, Country and Email for the request. Click Continue and the request is completed. Use the download link to download the new

CSR for use.

Global vCenter Alert Settings

Alert management allows an administrator to enter global settings for how alerts are stored for all vCenter instances. To enter global vCenter alert settings:

1 Launch a browser window, and enter the Administration Portal URL displayed in the Console tab. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<ApplianceIPAddress>/DellAdminPortal/index.html

2 Click ALERT MANAGEMENT in the left pane; the current vCenter alert settings are displayed. Click Edit to enter new settings.

3 Enter numeric values for the following items:

• Maximum number of alerts

• Number of days to retain alerts

• Timeout for duplicate alerts (seconds)

4 Click Apply to save your changes, or click Cancel to cancel.

Management Plug-In Administration

Plug-in Database Backup and Restore

The backup and restore function backs up the plug-in database to a remote share from which it can be restored at a later date. Profiles, templates, and host information are included in the backup. It is recommended that you schedule automatic backups to guard against data loss.

To configure backup and restore:

1 Launch a browser window, and enter the Administration Portal URL displayed in the Console tab. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https://<ApplianceIPAddress>/DellAdminPortal/index.html

2 Click BACKUP AND RESTORE in the left pane, and the current backup and restore settings are displayed. Click the top Edit button to enter new backup location settings.

3 Enter the Share, User Name, Password, Encryption Password, and Verify

Password for the backup location. Click Apply to save your changes or


4 Click the bottom Edit button to enter a backup schedule. Click the

Enabled radio button for Schedule backups are currently to enable the backups.

5 Select the days of the week check boxes for Backups will occur on these

days to select the backup days.

6 Enter a 24-hour local time (hh:mm) for At this time, and click Apply to save your changes or Cancel to cancel.

To perform an immediate backup:


2 Click BACKUP AND RESTORE in the left pane and the current backup and restore settings are displayed. Click Backup Now and a backup pop-up is displayed.

3 Enter a Folder Path (CIFS/NFS Format), User Name, Domain, Password, and Encryption Password for the backup.


4 Click Apply to save your changes and perform the backup, or click Cancel to cancel.

To schedule automatic backups:


2 Click BACKUP AND RESTORE in the left pane and the current backup and restore settings are displayed. Click Edit for Automatic Scheduled

Backup to make the fields active.

3 Select the Enabled radio button to enable the backups. Select the check box for the days of the week and enter the time in 24 hour format

(hh:mm). Click Apply.

4 The Next Backup will populate with the date and time of the next scheduled backup.

To restore the database from a backup:


2 Click BACKUP AND RESTORE in the left pane and the current backup and restore settings are displayed. Click Restore Now and a restore pop-up is displayed.

3 Enter a Backup File Path (CIFS/NFS Format), or use the Browse button to navigate to a folder location .

4 Enter the User Name, Password, and Encryption Password for the backup.

5 Click Apply to save your changes and perform the restore operation, or click Cancel to cancel. The restore operation will cause the virtual appliance to reboot after it is complete.


Console View

The console view provides the ability to configure network settings, change the administration password, set the local time zone, reboot the virtual appliance, reset the virtual appliance to the factory settings, and refresh the virtual appliance console view.

Configure Network Settings

To configure network settings:

1 Select the plug-in virtual machine, click the Console tab, select Configure

Network, then press <Enter>.

2 Enter the desired network settings under Edit Devices or under Edit DNS

configuration, then click Save & Quit. To not make any changes, click

Quit.

Change Virtual Appliance Administration Password

To change the virtual appliance administration password:

1 Select the plug-in virtual machine and click the Console tab, then select

Change Admin Password and press <Enter>.

2 Enter the Current Admin Password and press <Enter>.

3 Enter a new password for Enter new Admin Password and press <Enter>.

4 Enter the new password again for Please Confirm Admin Password and press < Enter>. The administration password is changed.

Set Local Time Zone

To set the virtual appliance local time zone:


Set Time Zone and press <Enter>.

2 Use the Timezone Selection window to select the desired time zone and click OK. To cancel changes click Cancel. The time zone is updated.

Reboot Virtual Appliance

To reboot the virtual appliance:



Reboot this Virtual Appliance and press <Enter>.

2 The following message is displayed:

If there are any processes running on this appliance they will be terminated by this action.

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Enter y to reboot or n to cancel. The appliance is rebooted.

Reset Virtual Appliance to Factory Settings

To reset the virtual appliance to the factory settings:


Reset this Virtual Appliance to Factory Settings and press <Enter>.

2 The following notice is displayed:

This operation is completely Irreversible if you continue you will completely reset *this* appliance to its original settings. All changes you have made to this appliance will be Lost. Are you sure you wish to Reset this Appliance to

Factory Settings?

Enter y to reset or n to cancel. The appliance is reset to the original factory settings.

NOTE: When the virtual appliance is reset to factory settings, any updates made to the Network Configuration are preserved; these settings are not reset.

Refresh Console Tab View

To refresh the Console view, select Refresh and press <Enter>.

ReadOnly User Role

There is an unprivileged user role called readonly with shell access for diagnostic purposes. The readonly user has limited privileges to run the mount. The readonly user's password is set to the same as the admin.


7

Troubleshooting

Upgrade

I backed up my 1.0 appliance, powered it off, deployed 1.0.1 and tried to restore my database. The Plug-in is disabled. What do I do?

The 1.0 appliance must be unregistered before it is powered off. Follow the supported upgrade procedure in this book for more details.

I backed up my 1.0 appliance, unregistered it, deployed 1.0.1 and registered it, and then restored the database. An unknown error was displayed when I tried to start the Plug-in Management Console in vSphere. What do I do?

Power off the 1.0.1 appliance and power on the 1.0 appliance. Follow the supported upgrade procedure in this book for more details.

I unregistered my 1.0 appliance, backed up the database, deployed 1.0.1 and registered it, and then restored the database. When I start the Plug-in Management

Console, I get a message that states the vCenter is not registered. The

Administration Portal has no registered vCenters displayed, and when I try to register one I get an error message that says it is registered already. What do I do?

You must manually unregister the extension by accessing the vCenter

Managed Object browser. Then you must re-register the vCenter with the

Plug-in using the Administration Portal.

Common Questions

How do I test event settings by using OMSA to simulate a temperature hardware fault?

To make sure that events are functioning correctly:

1 Navigate to Alert Management  Platform Events in the OMSA user interface.

2 Select the Enable Platform Event Filter Alerts check box.

93 Troubleshooting

3 Scroll down to the bottom, and click Apply Changes.

4 To make sure that a specific event is enabled, such as temperature warning, select Main System Chassis from the tree view on the left.

5 Select Temperatures under Main System Chassis.

6 Select the Alert Management tab, and select Temperature Probe Warning.

7 Select the Broadcast a Message check box, and select Apply Changes.

8 To cause the temperature warning event, select Main System Chassis from the tree view on the left.

9 Select Temperatures under Main System Chassis.

10 Select the System Board Ambient Temp link, and select the Set to Values radio button.

11 Set the Maximum Warning Threshold to below the current listed reading; for example if the current reading is 27, set the threshold to 25.

12 Select Apply Changes, and the temperature warning event is generated.

To cause another event, restore the original settings using the same Set to

Values option. Events are generated as warnings, and then to a normal state.

If everything is working properly, navigate to the vCenter Tasks & Events tab, and select the Events view; a temperature probe warning event should be displayed.

NOTE: There is a filter for duplicate events; if you try to trigger the same event too many times in a row, you will only receive one event. Allow at least 30 seconds between events to see all events.

94 Troubleshooting

Figure 7-1. Simulated temperature event

I have the OMSA agent installed on a Dell host system, but I still get an error message that OMSA is not installed. What should I do?

To resolve this issue, install OMSA with the Remote Enablement component on the host system. If you are using the command line to install OMSA, make sure to specify the -c option. If OMSA is already installed, reinstall it with the -c option and restart the service: srvadmin-install.sh -c srvadmin-services.sh restart

For an ESXi host, you must install OMSA VIB using the VMware Remote

CLI tool, and reboot the system.

Why do I see auto-discovered systems without model information in the deployment wizard?

This usually indicates that the firmware version installed on the system does not meet recommended minimums.

Troubleshooting 95

96

In some cases, a firmware update may not have registered on the system; cold booting the system or reseating the blade fixes this problem. The newlyenabled account on the iDRAC must be disabled and auto-discovery reinitiated to provide model info and NIC information to the plug-in.

Can the plug-in support ESX/ESXi with Lockdown mode enabled?

No. Lockdown mode is not supported in this release.

What setting should I use for UserVars.CIMoenProviderEnabled with ESXi 4.1 U1?

UserVars.CIMoemProviderEnabled must be set to 1.

Can the plug-in support multiple vCenters in linked mode?

No. The Plug-in does not support multiple vCenters in linked mode.

I am using a reference server to create a Hardware Profile, but it failed. What should I do?

Check to make sure that minimum recommended versions of iDRAC firmware, Lifecycle Controller firmware, and BIOS are installed.

To make sure that the data retrieved from the reference server is current, enable Collect System Inventory On Restart (CSIOR), and restart the

reference server prior to extraction of data. See "Setting Collect System

Inventory on Restart (CSIOR) on a Clone Server" on page 65 for more

information.

I am attempting to deploy ESX/ESXi on a blade server, and the deployment job failed.

What should I do?

1 Make sure the ISO location (NFS path) and staging folder paths are accurate.

2 Make sure the NIC selected during assignment of server identity is on the same network as the Dell appliance.

3 If using static IP assignment, make sure the network information provided

(including subnet mask and default gateway) is accurate. Also, make sure the IP address is not already assigned on the network.

4 Make sure at least one Virtual Disk is seen by the system; ESXi does not install to the internal SD module.

Troubleshooting

The NFS share is set up with the ESX/ESXi ISO, but deployment fails with errors mounting the share location. What should I do?

1 Check the NFS setup to make sure complete read/write access is configured for the staging folder.

2 If a staging folder is not used, make sure the location of the original ISO has full read/write access.

3 If the error message indicates that permissions were denied to the root user for mounting the NFS share, then the issue could stem from a known issue with installing ESX on a slow network. Append additional sub-directories for the staging folder.

How do I force removal of the Dell appliance?

If the Plug-in Admin Portal cannot be used to unregister the appliance, force removal as follows:

1 Go to https://<vcenter_server_IPaddress>/mob

2 Click Content.

3 Click ExtensionManager.

4 Click UnregisterExtension.

5 Enter the extension key to unregister com.dell.plugin.Dell Management

Plug-in, then click Invoke method.

6 In the vSphere client, power off the plug-in appliance and delete it.

I entered a password in the BACKUP NOW screen of the Administration Console and clicked Apply, but I am getting an error message that the Encryption Password is invalid. What should I do?

If you are using the low resolution monitor, the Encryption Password field will not be visible from the BACKUP NOW screen. You must scroll down the page to enter the encryption password.

I clicked the Dell Tab, or Dell Management Center icon from the vSphere client, and

I get a 404 ERROR PAGE NOT FOUND error. What should I do?

Check if the appliance is running; if not, then restart it from the vSphere client. Wait for a few minutes for the appliance Web service to start, and refresh the page. If the error continues, try and ping the appliance using the


IP address or fully-qualified domain name from a command line. If the ping does not resolve, review your network settings to make sure they are correct.

My firmware update failed, what do I do?

Check the appliance logs to see if the tasks timed out. If so, iDRAC needs to be reset by performing a cold reboot. Once the system is up and running, check to see if the update was successful by either running an inventory or using the Firmware tab.

My vCenter registration failed, what can I do?

vCenter registration can fail due to communication issues, therefore if you are experiencing these issues one solution is to use a static IP address. To use a static IP address, in the Console tab of the Plug-in virtual machine and select

Configure Network -> Edit Devices and enter the correct gateway and

FQDN (fully-qualified domain name). Enter the DNS server name under

Edit DNS Config.

NOTE: Make sure that the appliance can resolve the DNS server you entered.

Bare-Metal Deployment

Auto-Discovery and Handshake Prerequisites

• Prior to running auto-discovery and handshake, make sure that iDRAC and

Lifecycle Controller firmware and BIOS versions meet the minimum recommendations.

• CSIOR must have run at least once on the blade.

Hardware Configuration Failure

• Before initiating a deployment task, ensure the system has completed

CSIOR and is not in the process of rebooting.

• It is highly recommended that BIOS configuration be run in Clone mode, so that the reference server is an identical system.

• In Custom mode, the Plug-in does not manage dependencies between

BIOS attributes.

98 Troubleshooting

• Some controllers do not allow creation of a RAID 0 array with one drive.

This feature is supported only on high-end controllers, and the application of such a hardware profile can cause failures.

Enabling Auto-Discovery on a Newly-Purchased System

The auto-discovery feature of a host system is not enabled by default; instead, enablement must be requested at the time of purchase.

If auto-discovery was not requested at the time of purchase, it can be enabled as follows:

1 During the boot process, press ctrl-E. The iDRAC setup screen displays.

2 Enable the NIC (blade servers only).

3 Enable auto-discovery.

4 Enable DHCP.

5 Disable admin accounts.

6 Enable Get DNS server address from DHCP.

7 Enable Get DNS domain name from DHCP.

8 In the Provisioning Server field, enter:

<Dell Management Plug-in appliance IP address>:4433

If auto-discovery enablement is requested at the time of purchase, DHCP is enabled on the iDRAC and admin accounts are disabled. It is not necessary to configure a static IP address for the iDRAC; it will get one from a DHCP server on the network. To make use of the auto-discovery feature, a DHCP server or a DNS server (or both) must be configured to support the discovery process. CSIOR has already been run by factory process.

For more information on how to set up a network to support auto-discovery, see the Dell Auto-Discovery Network Setup Specification at http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/xBUlrs4t%2B2TzbrwqYkblvQ%3D%3D2

62254


100

Contacting Dell

NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog.

Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options.

Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer service issues:

1 Visit support.dell.com.

2 Select your support category.

3 If you are not a U.S. customer, select your country code at the bottom of the page, or click All to see more choices.

4 Select the appropriate service or support link based on your need.

Where to get additional help for this software

View or download Dell virtualization documentation: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/eslvmwre/.

Dell vCenter Plug-In Frequently Asked Questions http://i.dell.com/sites/content/business/solutions/virtualization/en/Docu ments/dell-management-plugin-vmware-vcenter-faq.pdf


Related information

• View or download VMware vSphere 4d for Dell PowerEdge Servers

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/eslvmwre/VS/index.htm.

• View or download Dell server documentation for PowerEdge™ Servers at: http://support.dell.com/support/systemsinfo/documentation.aspx?c= us&l=en&s=gen&~subcat=88&~cat=12.

• Dell OpenManage System Administrator documents http://support.dell.com/support/systemsinfo/documentation.aspx?c= us&l=en&s=gen&~subcat=108&~cat=6.

• Dell common glossary

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/SOFTWARE/common/glossary.pdf.

Troubleshooting

• Dell Lifecycle Controller documentation http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smusc/smlc/.

• Dell Lifecycle Controller Overview http://content.dell.com/us/en/enterprise/d/business~solutions~whitepa pers~en/Documents~lifecycle-controller-dell.pdf.aspx.


102 Troubleshooting

A

Virtualization-Related Events

The following table contains the virtualization-related critical and warning events, including event name, description and severity level.

Event Name

Dell - Current sensor detected a warning value

A current sensor in the specified system exceeded its warning threshold.

Warning No action

Dell - Current sensor detected a failure value

Description

A current sensor in the specified system exceeded its failure threshold.

Severity Recommended Action

Error Put the system into maintenance mode

Dell - Current sensor detected a nonrecoverable value

A current sensor in the specified system detected an error from which it cannot recover

Error

Dell - Redundancy regained

Dell - Redundancy degraded

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value

Info

No action

No action

A redundancy sensor in the specified system detected that one of the components of the redundancy unit has failed but the unit is still redundant.

Warning No action

Virtualization-Related Events 103

Event Name

Dell - Redundancy lost

Dell - Power supply returned to normal

Dell - Power supply detected a warning

Dell - Power supply detected a failure

Dell - Power supply sensor detected anon-recoverable value

Dell - Memory

Device Status warning

Dell - Memory

Device error

Description

A redundancy sensor in the specified system detected that one of the components in the redundant unit has been disconnected, has failed, or is not present.

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value


Error

Info

Put the system into maintenance mode

No action

A power supply sensor reading in the specified system exceeded a userdefinable warning threshold.

Warning No action

A power supply has been disconnected or has failed.

Error

A power supply sensor in the specified system detected an error from which it cannot recover.

Error


No action

Warning No action A memory device correction rate exceeded an acceptable value.

A memory device correction rate exceeded an acceptable value, a memory spare bank was activated, or a multibit ECC error occurred.


104 Virtualization-Related Events

Event Name Description

Dell - Fan enclosure inserted into system

Dell - Fan enclosure removed from system

Sensor returned to normal value.

A fan enclosure has been removed from the specified system.

Severity

Info

Warning

Dell - Fan enclosure removed from system for an extended amount of time

A fan enclosure has been removed from the specified system for a user-definable length of time.

Dell - Fan enclosure sensor detected a non-recoverable value

A fan enclosure sensor in the specified system detected an error from which it cannot recover.

Error

Error

Dell - AC power has been restored

Dell - AC power has been lost warning

Dell - An AC power cord has lost its power

Dell - Processor sensor returned to a normal value

Dell - Processor sensor detected a warning value

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value.

Info No action

An AC power cord has lost its power, but there is sufficient redundancy to classify this as a warning.

Warning No action

No action An AC power cord has lost its power, and lack of redundancy requires this to be classified as an error.

Error

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value

Info No action

A processor sensor in the specified system is in a throttled state.

Warning

Recommended Action

No action

No action

No action

No action

No action


Event Name

Dell - Processor sensor detected a failure value

Description

A processor sensor in the specified system is disabled, has a configuration error, or experienced a thermal trip.


Error No action

Dell - Processor sensor detected a non-recoverable value

Dell - Device configuration error

Dell - Battery sensor returned to a normal value

Dell - Battery sensor detected a warning value

Dell - Battery sensor detected a failure value

Dell - Battery sensor detected a nonrecoverable value

A processor sensor in the specified system has failed.

A configuration error was detected for a pluggable device in the specified system.

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value

Error

Error

Info

No action

No action

No action

A battery sensor in the specified system detected that a battery is in a predictive failure state.

Warning No action

No action A battery sensor in the specified system detected that a battery has failed.

Error

A battery sensor in the specified system detected that a battery has failed.

Error No action


Event Name

Dell - Thermal shutdown protection has been initiated

Dell - Temperature sensor returned to a normal value

Description

This message is generated when a system is configured for thermal shutdown due to an error event.

If a temperature sensor reading exceeds the error threshold for which the system is configured, the operating system shuts down and the system powers off. This event may also be initiated on certain systems when a fan enclosure is removed from the system for an extended period of time.

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value.


Error

Info

No action

No action

Dell - Temperature sensor detected a warning value

Dell - Temperature sensor detected a failure value

A temperature sensor on the backplane board, system board,

CPU, or drive carrier in the specified system exceeded its warning threshold.

Warning No action

A temperature sensor on the backplane board, system board, or drive carrier in the specified system exceeded its failure threshold value.



Event Name

Dell - Temperature sensor detected a non-recoverable value

Dell - Fan sensor returned to a normal value

Description

A temperature sensor on the backplane board, system board, or drive carrier in the specified system detected an error from which it cannot recover.

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value


Error

Info

No action

No action

Dell - Fan sensor detected a warning value

Dell - Fan sensor detected a failure value

Dell - Fan sensor detected a nonrecoverable value

Dell - Voltage sensor returned to a normal value

Fan Sensor reading in the host <x> exceeded a warning threshold value.

Warning

A fan sensor in the specified system detected the failure of one or more fans.

Error

Error

No action


No action A fan sensor detected an error from which it cannot recover.

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value

Info No action

Dell - Voltage sensor detected a warning value

Dell - Voltage sensor detected a failure value

A voltage sensor in the specified system exceeded its warning threshold

Warning No action

A voltage sensor in the specified system exceeded its failure threshold.



Event Name

Dell - Voltage sensor detected a nonrecoverable value

Description

A voltage sensor in the specified system detected an error from which it cannot recover.


Error No action

Info No action Dell - Current sensor returned to a normal value

Sensor Returned to

Normal Value.

Dell - Storage: storage management error

Storage management has detected a device independent error condition.

Dell - Storage:

Controller warning

A portion of the physical disk is damaged.

Error

Warning


No action

Dell - Storage:

Controller failure

Dell - Storage:

Channel Failure

Dell - Storage:

Enclosure hardware information

Dell - Storage:

Enclosure hardware warning

Dell - Storage:

Enclosure hardware failure

Dell - Storage: Array disk failure

A portion of the physical disk is damaged

Channel failure.

Enclosure hardware information.

Enclosure hardware warning.

Enclosure hardware error.

Array disk failure.

Error

Error

Info

Warning

Error

Error

Dell - Storage: EMM failure

EMM failure.

Error

Dell - Storage: power supply failure

Power supply failure.

Error



No action

No action






Event Name

Dell - Storage: temperature probe warning

Dell - Storage: temperature probe failure

Dell - Storage: Fan failure

Dell - Storage: Fan failure

Dell - Storage:

Battery warning

Description

Physical disk temperature probe warning, too cold or too hot

Physical disk temperature probe error, too cold or too hot.

Fan failure.

Fan failure.

Battery warning.

Severity

Warning

Error

Error

Recommended Action

No action




Warning No action

Dell - Storage:

Virtual disk degraded warning

Virtual disk degraded warning.

Dell - Storage:

Virtual disk degraded failure

Virtual disk degraded failure.

Dell - Storage:

Temperature probe information

Temperature probe information

Warning

Error

Info

No action


No action

Dell - Storage: Array disk warning

Dell - Storage: Array disk information

Array disk warning.

Array disk information.

Warning

Info

No action

No action

Dell - Storage: Power supply warning

Power supply warning. Warning No action


Index

C connection profiles

create new, 48

contacting Dell, 100

create new

connection profiles, 48

hardware profiles, 65

hypervisor profiles, 70

F features

high-level functionality, 9

firmware

scheduling updates, 79

updates for Dell hardware, 9

D

Dell

contacting, 100

Dell plug-in

database backup and restore, 89

uninstalling, 39

upgrade, 40

What is it?, 9

deployment templates

managing, 72

deployment wizard

overview, 73

documentation

Dell PowerEdge servers, 100

Lifecycle Controller (LCC), 101

OpenManage Server

Administrator (OMSA), 100

VMware vSphere, 100

G glossary

Dell corporate, 100

H hardware faults

alerting, 9

hardware management, 45

hardware profiles

create new, 65

managing, 68

hypervisor profiles

create new, 70

managing, 71

I inventory

displays in vCenter, 9

Index 111

L

LCC - Lifecyle Controller

documentation, 101

M managing

deployment templates, 72

hardware profiles, 68

hypervisor profiles, 71

S scheduling

server firmware updates, 79

server deployment

states, 63

using profiles, 10

servers

deployment states, 63

scheduling firmware updates, 79

support

contacting Dell, 100

system event logs

displaying, 54

O

OMSA - OpenManage Server

Administrator

documentation, 100

overviews

deployment wizard, 73

zero-touch provisioning/deployment, 62

T

telephone numbers, 100

terminology

Dell corporate, 100

P

phone numbers, 100 plug-in, see Dell plug-in

PowerEdge servers

documentation, 100

U uninstalling

Dell plug-in, 39

upgrade

Dell plug-in, 40

R remote operations

deployment and provisioning, 10

V

VMware

vSphere documentation, 100

Index 112

W warranty information

Dell online, 10

Index 113

Index 114

No results