Users Guide

Overview
The Dell Chassis Management Controller (CMC) for Dell EMC PowerEdge VRTX is a Systems Management hardware and software
solution for managing the PowerEdge VRTX chassis. The CMC has its own microprocessor and memory and is powered by the modular
chassis into which it is plugged.
CMC enables an IT administrator to:
• View inventory
• Perform configuration and monitoring tasks
• Remotely turn on and turn off chassis and servers
• Enable alerts for events on servers and components in the server module
• View and manage storage controller and hard disk drives in the VRTX chassis
• Manage the PCIe subsystem in the VRTX chassis
• Provide a one–many management interface to the iDRACs and I/O modules in the chassis
You can configure the PowerEdge VRTX chassis either with a single CMC, or with redundant CMCs. In redundant CMC configurations, if
the primary CMC loses communication with the chassis or the management network, a standby CMC takes over the chassis
management.
CMC provides multiple System Management functions for servers. Power and thermal management are the primary functions of CMC,
which are listed as follows:
• Enclosure-level real-time automatic power and thermal management.
○ CMC monitors system power requirements and supports the optional Dynamic Power Supply Engagement (DPSE) mode. This
mode enables CMC to improve power efficiency by setting the power supplies while the server in standby mode and dynamically
managing the load and redundancy requirements.
○ CMC reports real-time power consumption, which includes logging high and low points with a time stamp.
○ CMC supports setting an optional enclosure maximum power limit (System Input Power Cap), which alerts and takes actions such
as limiting the power consumption of servers, and/or preventing the turning on of new servers to keep the enclosure under the
defined maximum power limit.
○ CMC monitors and automatically controls the functions of cooling fans and blowers on the basis of actual ambient and internal
temperature measurements.
○ CMC provides comprehensive enclosure inventory and status or error reporting.
• CMC provides a mechanism for centralized configuration of the:
○ Network and security setting of the Dell PowerEdge VRTX enclosure.
○ Power redundancy and power ceiling settings.
○ I/O switch and iDRAC network settings.
○ First boot device on the server module.
○ I/O fabric consistency checks between the I/O module and servers. CMC also disables components, if required, to protect the
system hardware.
○ User access security.
○ Storage components, including the fault-tolerant mode for the storage controllers.
○ PCIe slots.
You can configure CMC to send email alerts or SNMP trap alerts for warnings or errors such as temperature, hardware misconfiguration,
power outage, fan speed, and blowers.
Topics:
• What is new in this release
• Key Features
• Chassis Overview
• Minimum CMC Version
• Supported Remote Access Connections
• Supported Platforms
• Supported web browsers
1
Overview 13