Dell SupportAssist Enterprise 1.x software Quick Start Guide
Dell SupportAssist Enterprise 1.x is a powerful tool that automates technical support for your Dell servers, storage, and networking devices. It proactively monitors your Dell devices and detects potential hardware issues, opening support cases and sending notifications to you. Additionally, it collects and sends system information to Dell for enhanced support. You can also use it to monitor hardware issues on devices managed by OpenManage Essentials or Microsoft System Center Operations Manager.
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SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1
Quick Setup Guide
June 2017
Rev. A00
Notes, cautions, and warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
Copyright © 2017 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.
Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
1
Getting started with SupportAssist
Enterprise
SupportAssist Enterprise is an application that automates technical support for your Dell server, storage, and networking devices. SupportAssist Enterprise monitors your Dell devices and proactively detects hardware issues that may occur. When a hardware issue is detected, SupportAssist Enterprise automatically opens a support case with Technical Support and sends you an email notification. The system information required for troubleshooting the issue is automatically collected by SupportAssist
Enterprise and sent securely to Technical Support. The collected system information helps Technical Support to provide you an enhanced, personalized, and efficient support experience. SupportAssist Enterprise capability also includes a proactive response from Technical Support to help you resolve the issue.
Additionally, SupportAssist Enterprise can monitor hardware issues that may occur on devices that you are managing by using
OpenManage Essentials or Microsoft System Center Operations Manager.
NOTE: In this document, the term local system refers to the system where SupportAssist Enterprise is installed; remote device refers to any other device in your environment.
This document provides the information required to setup SupportAssist Enterprise for monitoring the local system and a single remote device.
After you successfully complete the setup:
● SupportAssist Enterprise can monitor the local system for hardware issues.
● You can use SupportAssist Enterprise to collect and send troubleshooting system information from the local system or the remote device to Dell.
Topics:
•
Setting up SupportAssist Enterprise for the local system
•
Setting up SupportAssist Enterprise for a remote device
•
Logging in to SupportAssist Enterprise
•
•
System information collection settings
•
Starting the collection of system information from a device
•
Uploading a collection from a disconnected site
•
SupportAssist Enterprise user groups
•
Related documents and resources
Setting up SupportAssist Enterprise for the local system
About this task
Installing SupportAssist Enterprise enables you to start the collection and upload of system information from the local system.
To allow SupportAssist Enterprise to monitor the local system for hardware issues, you must complete the registration and perform additional tasks.
Steps
1. Download the SupportAssist Enterprise installation package. See
Downloading the SupportAssist Enterprise installation package .
NOTE: For information on the supported operating systems and minimum requirements for installing SupportAssist
Enterprise, see the SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 User’s Guide at https://www.dell.com/serviceabilitytools .
2. Install SupportAssist Enterprise. See
Installing SupportAssist Enterprise on Windows or
Installing SupportAssist Enterprise on
.
Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise 3
.
CAUTION: Completing the registration is a prerequisite to experience the full benefits of SupportAssist
Enterprise. Without registration, you can only use SupportAssist Enterprise to manually start the collection and upload of system information from your devices to Dell. Until registration is completed,
SupportAssist Enterprise can neither monitor your devices for hardware issues nor automatically collect system information.
4. Perform the following if you want SupportAssist Enterprise to monitor the local system for hardware issues:
.
b. Configure SNMP settings of the local system. See
Configuring SNMP settings of the local system
.
c. Enable monitoring of the local system. See
Enabling monitoring of the local system
.
Downloading the SupportAssist Enterprise installation package
About this task
Installation of SupportAssist Enterprise is supported on a virtual machine or a PowerEdge server running either a Windows or
Linux operating system. You can download the appropriate installation package depending on the operating system running on the server where you want to install SupportAssist Enterprise.
Steps
1. Visit Dell.com/SupportAssist .
The Dell SupportAssist portal is displayed.
2. In the Available Versions section, click the Learn More link that is displayed under SupportAssist for servers, storage and networking .
The SupportAssist for servers, storage and networking page is displayed.
3. In the Downloads section, under SupportAssist Enterprise , do one of the following based on the installation package that you want to download:
● For the Windows installation package, click the Windows Management Server link.
● For the Linux installation package, click the Linux Management Server link.
The Drivers Details page is displayed in a new web browser window.
4. In the Available formats section, click the Download File link that is displayed under File Format: Application .
Download of the SupportAssist Enterprise installation package is initiated.
Installing SupportAssist Enterprise on Windows
Steps
1. Right-click the SupportAssist Enterprise installer package, and then click Run as administrator .
The Preparing to Install page is displayed briefly, and then the Welcome to SupportAssist Enterprise Installer page is displayed.
2. Click Next .
The License Agreement page is displayed.
3. Read about the information that SupportAssist Enterprise collects from devices, and select I Agree .
4. Read the Dell End User License Agreement , select I Agree , and then click Install .
The Installing Dell SupportAssist Enterprise page is displayed, and then the Installation Completed page is displayed.
5. Click Finish .
The SupportAssist Enterprise Login page opens in a web browser window.
NOTE: If the system where SupportAssist Enterprise is installed is a member of a domain, you must enter the user name in the [Domain\Username] format. For example, MyDomain\MyUsername . You can also use a period [ . ] to indicate the local domain. For example, .\Administrator .
6. Type the Windows operating system user name and password, and then click Login .
The SupportAssist Enterprise Registration Wizard is displayed.
4 Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise
Next steps
(Optional) Complete the registration of SupportAssist Enterprise. See
Registering SupportAssist Enterprise
.
If you want to use SupportAssist Enterprise to only collect and send system information to Dell, you may skip the registration and follow the instructions in
Starting the collection of system information from a device
.
Installing SupportAssist Enterprise on Linux
Steps
1. Open the terminal window on the system running the Linux operating system.
2. Browse to the folder where the SupportAssist Enterprise installation package is available.
3. Perform one of the following:
● Type chmod 744 supportassistenterprise_1.1.0.bin
and press Enter.
● Type chmod +x supportassistenterprise_1.1.0.bin
and press Enter.
4. Type ./supportassistenterprise_1.1.0.bin
and press Enter.
The Welcome to the Dell SupportAssist Enterprise Installer message is displayed.
5. To continue, type c .
The SupportAssist Enterprise License Agreement is displayed.
6. Read the license agreement and type y to start the installation.
7. Type the user name and password of a user with root privileges, and then click Login .
The SupportAssist Enterprise Registration Wizard is displayed.
NOTE: To access SupportAssist Enterprise from a remote system, open the following web address by using a web browser: https://<IP address or host name of the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is installed>:5700/SupportAssist .
Next steps
(Optional) Complete the registration of SupportAssist Enterprise. See
Registering SupportAssist Enterprise
.
If you want to use SupportAssist Enterprise to only collect and send system information to Dell, you may skip the registration and follow the instructions in
Starting the collection of system information from a device
.
Registering SupportAssist Enterprise
Steps
1. On the Welcome page of the registration wizard, click Next .
SupportAssist Enterprise verifies connectivity to the internet.
2. On the Registration page, provide the company name, country/territory, first name, last name, phone number, alternate phone number (optional), and email address in the appropriate fields, and click Next .
SupportAssist Enterprise connects to Dell and completes the registration. If the registration is successful, the Summary page is displayed.
3. Click Finish .
The SupportAssist Enterprise Devices page is displayed.
After successful registration, a confirmation email is sent to the primary SupportAssist Enterprise contact.
If SupportAssist Enterprise is installed on a PowerEdge server, the local system is automatically added on the Devices page.
To allow SupportAssist Enterprise to monitor your local system, you must Install or upgrade OMSA , Configure SNMP settings , and Enable monitoring .
Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise 5
Installing or upgrading OMSA on the local system
Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) is required for monitoring hardware issues that may occur on the local system.
Prerequisites
You must be logged in to SupportAssist Enterprise with elevated privileges. For information on the SupportAssist Enterprise user
privileges, see SupportAssist Enterprise user groups
.
Steps
1. On the Devices page, select the local system.
The device overview pane is displayed at the right side of the Devices page.
2. From the Tasks list, select Install / Upgrade OMSA .
The Status column displays the status of the OMSA installation or upgrade.
Configuring SNMP settings of the local system
Configuring SNMP settings is required for monitoring hardware issues that may occur on the local system.
Prerequisites
You must be logged in to SupportAssist Enterprise with elevated privileges. For information on the SupportAssist Enterprise user
privileges, see SupportAssist Enterprise user groups
.
Steps
1. On the Devices page, select the local system.
The device overview pane is displayed at the right side of the Devices page.
2. From the Tasks list, select Configure SNMP .
The Status column displays the status of the SNMP configuration.
Enabling monitoring of the local system
Enabling monitoring allows SupportAssist Enterprise to detect hardware issues that may occur on the local system.
Prerequisites
.
Steps
1. Point to Devices and click View Devices .
The Devices page is displayed.
2. Select the local system.
The device overview pane is displayed at the right side of the Devices page.
3. In Monitoring , select Enable .
Setting up SupportAssist Enterprise for a remote device
To set up SupportAssist Enterprise for monitoring or collecting system information from a remote device, add the remote device in SupportAssist Enterprise.
Prerequisites
● You must be logged in to SupportAssist Enterprise with elevated privileges. For information on the SupportAssist Enterprise user privileges, see
SupportAssist Enterprise user groups
.
6 Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise
● The remote device must be reachable from the local system.
●
About this task
You can perform the following steps to add a remote server in SupportAssist Enterprise.
NOTE: You can also add a supported storage, networking, or chassis device in SupportAssist Enterprise. For detailed information on adding devices individually based on the device type, see the SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 User's
Guide at Dell.com/ServiceabilityTools .
Steps
1. Point to Devices and click View Devices .
The Devices page is displayed.
2. Click Add Devices .
The Add Single Device or Import Multiple Devices wizard is displayed.
3. From the Device Type list, ensure that Server / Hypervisor is selected.
4. Type the IP address or host name of the server in the appropriate field.
NOTE: Dell recommends that you enter the host name of the server. If the host name is not available, you can enter the
IP address of the server.
5. Click Next .
The Device Credentials page is displayed.
6. Type the user name and password of the server in the appropriate fields and click Next .
The Discovering Device page is displayed until SupportAssist Enterprise identifies the server.
If the device is discovered successfully, the Assign Device Group (Optional) page is displayed. Otherwise, an appropriate error message is displayed.
7. If desired, from the Assign Other Group list, select a device group to which you want to assign the device.
8. Click Finish .
The device is added to the device inventory and the Summary page is displayed.
9. Click OK to close the Add Single Device wizard.
Logging in to SupportAssist Enterprise
Steps
1. Open SupportAssist Enterprise.
The SupportAssist Enterprise Login page opens in a new web browser window.
2. Type the user name and password in the appropriate fields.
NOTE: You must provide the user name and password of a user account that has elevated or normal privileges in
.
NOTE: If the system where SupportAssist Enterprise is installed is a member of a domain, you must enter the user name in the [Domain\Username] format. For example, MyDomain\MyUsername . You can also use a period [ . ] to indicate the local domain. For example, .\Administrator .
3. Click Login .
The SupportAssist Enterprise Devices page is displayed.
Viewing cases and devices
Steps
1. To view the support cases that are open for the devices you have added in SupportAssist Enterprise, point to Cases and click View Cases .
Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise 7
2. To view the devices that you have added in SupportAssist Enterprise, point to Devices and click View Devices .
You can also view the status of the SupportAssist Enterprise functionality on each monitored device on the Devices page. If there is an issue with the device setup or configuration, the device displays a warning or error status. The error status may be displayed as a link that you can click to view a description of the issue and the possible resolution steps.
System information collection settings
By default, SupportAssist Enterprise automatically collects system information from devices at periodic intervals. The system information is also automatically collected when a support case is created for an issue that is detected on a device. If the security policy of your company restricts sending some or all of the collected system information outside of your company network, you can use the configuration options available in SupportAssist Enterprise to:
● Disable the automatic collection of system information from devices when a support case is created or updated
● Disable the periodic collection of system information from all devices
● Disable the collection of identity information from all devices
● Disable the collection of software information and the system log from all devices
● Disable the automatic upload of collections
For more information about the system information collection settings, see the “Configuring collection settings” section in the
SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 User’s Guide at Dell.com/ServiceabilityTools .
Starting the collection of system information from a device
You can use SupportAssist Enterprise to collect and send the system information from a device to Dell.
Prerequisites
You must be logged in to SupportAssist Enterprise with elevated privileges. For information on the SupportAssist Enterprise user
privileges, see SupportAssist Enterprise user groups
.
Steps
1. Point to Devices and click View Devices .
The Devices page is displayed.
2. Select a device from which you want to collect and send system information to Dell.
The Start Collection link is enabled.
3. Click Start Collection .
The Name / IP address column on the Devices page displays a progress indicator and message that indicate the status of the collection and upload of the system information.
Uploading a collection from a disconnected site
About this task
When internet connectivity is available, SupportAssist Enterprise automatically collects and sends system information from your devices to Dell. If the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is installed does not have internet connectivity, you can choose to manually upload collections to Dell.
Steps
1. Perform a collection from the device. See
Starting the collection of system information from a device .
2. Access the collection file by using one of the following methods:
● For collections from a storage, networking, chassis, or multiple device only — In the Collections page, select the collection and in the collection overview pane, click Download File .
8 Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise
● If SupportAssist Enterprise is installed on a Windows operating system — Browse to C:\Program
Files\Dell\SupportAssist\reports and locate the collection .zip
file.
● If SupportAssist Enterprise is installed on a Linux operating system — Browse to /opt/dell/supportassist/ scripts/reports and locate the collection .zip
file.
● If the collection was performed by a Remote Collector — Log in to the server where the Remote Collector is set up.
Browse to X\bin\Collections\<Appropriate Collection ID folder>\Results\html folder , where
X is the drive where the Remote Collector is installed, and locate the collection .zip file.
3. Copy and paste the collection .zip
file to another system that has internet connectivity.
4. Visit https://techdirect.dell.com/fileUpload/
The Dell EMC Technical Support File Upload page is displayed.
5. Type the Service Tag of the device.
6. Type your company name, contact name, Service Request #, email address, Dell contact email, and address in the appropriate fields.
NOTE: If you do not have a Service Request number, contact Technical Support to open a service request.
7. Click Choose File and browse to select the collection .zip
file.
8. Click Submit .
SupportAssist Enterprise user groups
SupportAssist Enterprise maintains security rights through the following user groups that are created during the installation of
SupportAssist Enterprise:
● SupportAssistAdmins — Members of this group have elevated or administrative privileges required for performing both basic and advanced functions in SupportAssist Enterprise.
○ When SupportAssist Enterprise is installed on Windows, members of the Local Administrators group are automatically added to the SupportAssistAdmins user group.
○ When SupportAssist Enterprise is installed on Linux, root users are automatically added to the SupportAssistAdmins user group. Members of the Linux root group also have elevated privileges in SupportAssist Enterprise.
● SupportAssistUsers — Members of this group have normal privileges required for performing only basic functions in
SupportAssist Enterprise.
○ When SupportAssist Enterprise is installed on Windows, members of the Windows Users group are automatically added to the SupportAssistUsers .
○ When SupportAssist Enterprise is installed on Linux, members of the Linux users group have normal privileges in
SupportAssist Enterprise.
You can also add users to either of the SupportAssist Enterprise user groups based on your preference. For more information on
SupportAssist Enterprise user groups, see the SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 User’s Guide at Dell.com/ServiceabilityTools ..
Related documents and resources
In addition to this guide you can access the following guides available on the Dell Support website.
Table 1. Related documents
Document title
SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 Online Help
SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 User's Guide
SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 Quick Setup Guide
SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 Reportable Items
SupportAssist Enterprise Version 1.1 Release Notes
OpenManage Server Administrator Installation Guide
OpenManage Server Administrator User’s Guide
How to access the document
Click the help icon in the SupportAssist Enterprise user interface.
1. Visit Dell.com/ServiceabilityTools .
2. Click SupportAssist Enterprise .
3. Click Manuals .
Visit Dell.com/OpenManageManuals and click OpenManage
Server Administrator .
Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise 9
Table 1. Related documents (continued)
Document title iDRAC User’s Guide
How to access the document
Visit Dell.com/idracmanuals .
Video tutorials
You can access the following video tutorials related to SupportAssist Enterprise.
Table 2. Video tutorials
Video title
SupportAssist Enterprise: Installing and Registering
(Windows)
SupportAssist Enterprise: Installing and Registering (Linux)
SupportAssist Enterprise: Checking for Cases
SupportAssist Enterprise: Importing Multiple Devices
SupportAssist Enterprise: Revalidating a Device
SupportAssist Enterprise: Testing Case Creation
SupportAssist Enterprise: Monitoring the Local System
SupportAssist Enterprise: Adding Devices
SupportAssist Enterprise: Case Management
SupportAssist Enterprise: Managing Device Groups
SupportAssist Enterprise: Testing Network Connectivity
SupportAssist Enterprise: Viewing Collections
SupportAssist Enterprise: Collecting System Information
SupportAssist Enterprise: Uploading Collections from a
Disconnected Site
SupportAssist Enterprise: Setting up OpenManage Essentials adapter
SupportAssist Enterprise: Setting up System Center
Operations Manager adapter
SupportAssist Enterprise: Setting up Remote Collector
SupportAssist Enterprise: Creating Account Credentials
SupportAssist Enterprise: Creating Credential Profiles
How to access the videos
Visit the Dell TechCenter channel on YouTube, and click
Playlist . On the playlist, click SupportAssist Enterprise .
SupportAssist community
You can also find video tutorials, peer-to-peer questions, user’s guides, and other useful information on the Dell SupportAssist
Enterprise community forum at Dell.com/SupportAssistGroup .
Contacting Dell
Prerequisites
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.
10 Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise
About this task
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:
Steps
1. Go to Dell.com/support.
2. Select your support category.
3. Verify your country or region in the Choose a Country/Region drop-down list at the bottom of the page.
4. Select the appropriate service or support link based on your need.
Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise 11
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