Dell™ Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Version 1.0.
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. Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Contents 1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Key Features . 9 . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 How Does the Plug-in Help With vCenter Administration? 10 Plug-In Features 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plug-In Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Security Roles and Permissions . 10 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 . . . . . . . . . Upgrading from Trial Version 1.0.1 to Full Product Version 1.0.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proxy Settings 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zero-Touch Hardware Provisioning and Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Hardware Prerequisites . Overview . 58 Understanding Deployment Job Times . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Server States Within the Deployment Sequence . Configure a Hardware Profile .
Management Plug-In Administration Web-based Administration Portal . vCenter Registration . . . . . . . . . . . 83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Virtual Appliance Management. Global vCenter Alert Settings . . . . . . . . . . . 85 . . . . . . . . . . . 88 . . . . . . 89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Plug-in Database Backup and Restore . Console View. 83 . . Configure Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Virtualization-Related Events Index . . . . . . . . 103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents
1 Overview Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter 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.
• 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.
• 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.
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.
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.
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 This role contains the following privilege groups and individual privileges. • Privilege Group - Dell.Configuration – • Privilege Group - Dell.Inventory – • 16 Privilege - Perform Host-Related Tasks, Perform VCenter-Related Tasks, Configure SelLog, Configure ConnectionProfile, Configure ClearLed, Firmware Update Privilege - Configure Inventory, Configure Warranty Retrieval, Configure ReadOnly Privilege Group - Dell.
– • 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.
– 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.
• • • – 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.
– 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
c Click Begin Test to validate your entries. 2 Click Save and Continue to apply the changes and continue. 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.
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 3 Navigate to the Host and Cluster view, click on any Dell host, then click the Dell tab.
• 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://: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.
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: \\\.exe b Enter the user name and password in a domain format that has access to the share drive. c Continue to step 7.
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: • 34 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.
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.
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 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.
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 (rw) *(ro) This allows the virtual appliance full read and write access to the share, but limits all other users to read only.
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.
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 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:// This navigates you correctly to the Admin Portal. 2 In the left pane of the Admin Portal, click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT.
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:// This navigates you correctly to the Administration Portal.
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.
3 End-to-End Hardware Management 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.
• 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
• 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.
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.
1 From the vSphere client, under the Inventory heading select Hosts and 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.
2 From Hosts and Clusters, select the host system in the tree view and select the Management Plug-In tab. 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
End-to-End Hardware Management
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.
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.
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.
• 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.
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 to launch USC.
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.
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.
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.
1 From the management center, select Deployment - Deployment Templates - 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 Cancel to cancel. To rename a hardware profile: 1 From the management center, select Deployment - Deployment Templates - Hardware Profile. 2 Select a profile and click Rename. The Rename Profile pop-up displays.
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: 1 From the management center, select Deployment - Deployment 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.
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: 1 From the management center, select Deployment - Deployment Templates - 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.
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.
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: 1 From the management center, select Deployment - Deployment 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.
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.
5 Connection Profile automatically assigns servers to connection profiles after the deployment job completes. 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. a Click View to display the selected connection profile settings.
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.
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.
Zero-Touch Hardware Provisioning and Deployment
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.
b 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. 3 Select 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.
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.
Firmware Updates
Management Plug-In Administration 6 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.
https:///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.
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.
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:///DellAdminPortal/index.html 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.
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: 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:///DellAdminPortal/index.html 2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane. Click Edit for NTP. 3 Select the Enabled check box to enable NTP.
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: 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:///DellAdminPortal/index.html 2 Click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT in the left pane.
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.
4 Click Apply to save your changes and perform the backup, or click Cancel to cancel. To schedule automatic backups: 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:///DellAdminPortal/index.html 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.
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 .
1 Select the plug-in virtual machine and click the Console tab, then select Reboot this Virtual Appliance and press . 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
• 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.
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.
• 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.
Troubleshooting
Virtualization-Related Events A The following table contains the virtualization-related critical and warning events, including event name, description and severity level. Event Name Description Severity Recommended Action Dell - Current sensor A current sensor in the Warning detected a warning specified system value exceeded its warning threshold. No action Dell - Current sensor A current sensor in the Error detected a failure specified system value exceeded its failure threshold.
Event Name Description Dell - Redundancy lost A redundancy sensor Error in the specified system detected that one of the components in the redundant unit has been disconnected, has failed, or is not present. Put the system into maintenance mode Dell - Power supply returned to normal Sensor Returned to Normal Value No action Dell - Power supply detected a warning A power supply sensor Warning reading in the specified system exceeded a userdefinable warning threshold.
Event Name Description Severity Recommended Action Dell - Fan enclosure Sensor returned to inserted into system normal value. Info No action Dell - Fan enclosure A fan enclosure has removed from system been removed from the specified system. Warning No action 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.
Event Name Description Dell - Processor sensor detected a failure value A processor sensor in Error the specified system is disabled, has a configuration error, or experienced a thermal trip. No action Dell - Processor sensor detected a non-recoverable value A processor sensor in the specified system has failed. Error No action Dell - Device configuration error A configuration error was detected for a pluggable device in the specified system.
Event Name Description Severity Recommended Action Dell - Thermal This message is Error shutdown protection generated when a has been initiated 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.
Event Name Description Dell - Temperature sensor detected a non-recoverable value A temperature sensor Error on the backplane board, system board, or drive carrier in the specified system detected an error from which it cannot recover. Dell - Fan sensor Sensor Returned to returned to a normal Normal Value value Severity Info Recommended Action No action No action Dell - Fan sensor detected a warning value Fan Sensor reading in Warning the host exceeded a warning threshold value.
Event Name Description Severity Recommended Action Dell - Voltage sensor A voltage sensor in Error detected a nonthe specified system recoverable value detected an error from which it cannot recover. No action Dell - Current sensor Sensor Returned to returned to a normal Normal Value. value Info No action Dell - Storage: Storage management storage management has detected a device error independent error condition.
Event Name Description Severity Recommended Action Dell - Storage: temperature probe warning Physical disk temperature probe warning, too cold or too hot Warning No action Dell - Storage: temperature probe failure Physical disk temperature probe error, too cold or too hot. Error Put the system into maintenance mode Dell - Storage: Fan failure Fan failure. Error Put the system into maintenance mode Dell - Storage: Fan failure Fan failure.
Index C F connection profiles create new, 48 features high-level functionality, 9 contacting Dell, 100 firmware scheduling updates, 79 updates for Dell hardware, 9 create new connection profiles, 48 hardware profiles, 65 hypervisor profiles, 70 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 OpenManag
L S LCC - Lifecyle Controller documentation, 101 scheduling server firmware updates, 79 M server deployment states, 63 using profiles, 10 managing deployment templates, 72 hardware profiles, 68 hypervisor profiles, 71 servers deployment states, 63 scheduling firmware updates, 79 O system event logs displaying, 54 OMSA - OpenManage Server Administrator documentation, 100 overviews deployment wizard, 73 zero-touch provisioning/deployment, 62 support contacting Dell, 100 T telephone numbers, 100 te
W warranty information Dell online, 10 Index 113
Index 114
