White Papers

8 Dell EMC | Using USB NIC to Manage OEM Appliances
3 Applications of USB NIC
When no management station is available to manage the servers through iDRAC IP:
 Access iDRAC interfaces through the operating system.
 Access iDRAC web interface by entering the USB NIC IP address in the web browser.
 Access iDRAC through SSH using USB NIC IP address.
 Access iDRAC through RACADM, Redfish, and WinRM commands using USB NIC IP address.
 All iDRAC functionalities remain same through USB NIC interface.
When no physical connection to iDRAC network is available:
 Access iDRAC through host OS even when there is no physical network connectivity to the iDRAC
NIC.
 Access the iDRAC through host OS using USB NIC IP address.
 Access iDRAC using USB NIC IP address even when iDRAC NIC is disabled in the server.
Update the server firmware using a repository on a FTP, TFTP, CIFS, NFS, or HTTP(S) share:
 Perform batch updates through various iDRAC interfaces, including web interface, CLI, and API.
 Create a repository locally in the host OS and perform catalog-based updates using USB NIC IP
address.
 Use SSH to send RACADM commands to iDRAC thus eliminating the need of RACADM software.
 TFTP server setup in the host OS provides the easiest solution. USB NIC OS IP address can be used
as the TFTP server IP address that can communicate with USB NIC iDRAC IP address.
 To perform repository updates using other shares such as FTP, CIFS, NFS, and HTTP(S), iDRAC
needs external network connection and iDRAC network should be in same subnet as of the
external share.
When iDRAC web interface, SSH, and server NIC are disabled through identity module, and RACADM
software is not installed on host OS:
 Access iDRAC via WSMan and Redfish interfaces using USB NIC IP address.
 Use WinRM commands to access server attributes and perform firmware updates.
 Perform repository updates by creating a TFTP server locally in the host OS and accessing it through
USB NIC OS IP address.
 Use Redfish to access server attributes and perform non-repository-based firmware updates.
USB NIC feature removes the dependency on RACADM and local RACADM software:
 When iDRAC IP of the server is not known and RACADM software is not installed in the host OS, use
USB NIC IP address to access iDRAC web interface and SSH.
 Execute RACADM commands in the host OS via SSH to iDRAC using USB NIC IP address.
 Manage Dell OEM appliances shipped through Dell factory through USB NIC IP address without
manual interaction.
 Connect to iDRAC through SSH keys in host OS and send RACADM commands for server
monitoring and firmware updates without using any additional software in the host OS.
 Set up a local TFTP server in the host OS to schedule periodic updates using Dell Repository
Manager using scripts. While scheduling the firmware updates jobs, server reboot must be user
driven and not iDRAC driven as there may be unsaved data or ongoing process on the host.
Script should be customized to schedule server reboot as per user request.