Users Guide

If all the Dell PowerEdge servers in the DHCP server pool are of the same model type and number, then a single SCP file (config.xml)
is required. The config.xml file name is used as the default SCP file name. In addition to .xml file, .json files can also be used with
14G systems. The file can be config.json.
The user can configure individual servers requiring different configuration files mapped using individual server Service Tags or server
models. In an environment that has different servers with specific requirements, different SCP file names can be used to distinguish each
server or server type. For example, if there are two server models to configure — PowerEdge R740s and PowerEdge R540s, use two
SCP files, R740-config.xml and R540-config.xml.
NOTE: iDRAC server configuration agent automatically generates the configuration filename using the server Service
Tag, model number, or the default filename — config.xml.
NOTE: If none of these files are on the network share, then the server configuration profile import job is marked as
failed for file not found.
Auto Config sequence
1. Create or modify the SCP file that configures the attributes of Dell servers.
2. Place the SCP file in a share location that is accessible by the DHCP server and all the Dell servers that are assigned IP address from
the DHCP server.
3. Specify the SCP file location in vendor-option 43 field of DHCP server.
4. The iDRAC while acquiring IP address advertises vendor class identifier. (Option 60)
5. The DHCP server matches the vendor class to the vendor option in the dhcpd.conf file and sends the SCP file location and, if
specified the SCP file name to the iDRAC.
6. The iDRAC processes the SCP file and configures all the attributes listed in the file.
DHCP options
DHCPv4 allows many globally defined parameters to be passed to the DHCP clients. Each parameter is known as a DHCP option. Each
option is identified with an option tag, which is a 1-byte value. Option tags 0 and 255 are reserved for padding and end of options,
respectively. All other values are available for defining options.
The DHCP Option 43 is used to send information from the DHCP server to the DHCP client. The option is defined as a text string. This
text string is set to contain the values of the SCP filename, share location and the credentials to access the location. For example,
option myname code 43 = text;
subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
# default gateway
option routers 192.168.0.1;
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
option nis-domain "domain.org";
option domain-name "domain.org";
option domain-name-servers 192.168.1.1;
option time-offset -18000; #Eastern Standard Time
option vendor-class-identifier "iDRAC";
set vendor-string = option vendor-class-identifier;
option myname "-f system_config.xml -i 192.168.0.130 -u user -p password -n cifs -s 2 -d
0 -t 500";
where, -i is the location of the Remote File Share and –f is the file name in the string along with the credentials to the Remote File Share.
The DHCP Option 60 identifies and associates a DHCP client with a particular vendor. Any DHCP server configured to take action based
on a client’s vendor ID should have Option 60 and Option 43 configured. With Dell PowerEdge servers, the iDRAC identifies itself with
vendor ID: iDRAC. Therefore, you must add a new ‘Vendor Class’ and create a ‘scope option’ under it for ‘code 60,’ and then enable the
new scope option for the DHCP server.
Configuring option 43 on Windows
To configure option 43 on Windows:
1. On the DHCP server, go to Start > Administration Tools > DHCP to open the DHCP server administration tool.
2. Find the server and expand all items under it.
3. Right-click on Scope Options and select Configure Options.
The Scope Options dialog box is displayed.
4. Scroll down and select 043 Vendor Specific Info.
Setting up managed system
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