Users Guide

Overview of iDRAC

The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) is designed to make you more productive as a system administrator and

improve the overall availability of Dell EMC servers. iDRAC alerts you to system issues, helps you to perform remote

management, and reduces the need for physical access to the system.

iDRAC technology is part of a larger data center solution that increases availability of business critical applications and

workloads. The technology allows you to deploy, monitor, manage, configure, update, and troubleshoot Dell EMC systems from

any location without using any agents or an operating system.

Several products work with the iDRAC to simplify and streamline IT operations. Following are some of the tools:

● OpenManage Enterprise

● OpenManage Power Center Plug in

● OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter

● Dell Repository Manager

iDRAC is available in the following variants:

● iDRAC Basic — Available by default for 100-500 series servers

● iDRAC Express — Available by default on all 600 and higher series of rack or tower servers, and all blade servers

● iDRAC Enterprise — Available on all server models

● iDRAC Datacenter — Available on all server models

Topics:

• Benefits of using iDRAC

• Key features

• New features added

• How to use this guide

• Supported web browsers

• iDRAC licenses

• Licensed features in iDRAC9

• Interfaces and protocols to access iDRAC

• iDRAC port information

• Other documents you may need

• Contacting Dell

• Accessing documents from Dell support site

Benefits of using iDRAC

The benefits include:

● Increased Availability — Early notification of potential or actual failures that help prevent a server failure or reduce recovery

time after failure.

● Improved Productivity and Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) — Extending the reach of administrators to larger

numbers of distant servers can make IT staff more productive while driving down operational costs such as travel.

● Secure Environment — By providing secure access to remote servers, administrators can perform critical management

functions while maintaining server and network security.

● Enhanced Embedded Management through Lifecycle Controller — Lifecycle Controller provides deployment and simplified

serviceability through Lifecycle Controller GUI for local deployment and Remote Services (WSMan) interfaces for remote

deployment integrated with Dell OpenManage Enterprise and partner consoles.

For more information about Lifecycle Controller GUI, see Lifecycle Controller User's Guide and for remote services, see Lifecycle

Controller Remote Services Quick Start Guide available at https://www.dell.com/idracmanuals.

16 Overview of iDRAC