Manage Dell Hardware in a Virtual Environment Using OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter This Dell Technical White Paper gives an overview of using OpenManage Integration to streamline the time, tools and tasks to deploy, manage and update Dell servers in a virtual environment Matthew Paul Kaushal Gala Michael Regert October 2013 A Dell Technical White Paper
Revisions Date Description October 2013 Ported to new Dell template THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. © 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. For more information, contact Dell.
Table of contents Revisions ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 3 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 2 OpenManage Integration Architecture and Strategy ................................................
1 Executive Summary OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter offers extensive functionality to manage Dell hardware from vCenter client. Delivered as a simple virtual appliance,the OpenManage Integration has no dependencies on complex or expensive external frameworks.
2 OpenManage Integration Architecture and Strategy OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter is a virtual appliance in Open Virtualization Format (OVF). It can be installed on any ESX/ESXi host that is managed by a vCenter Server. A virtual appliance is a virtual machine image that contains software designed to run inside a virtual machine.
3 Managing Dell Hosts OpenManage Integration provides deep level details for inventory, monitoring, and alerting of Dell hosts within vCenter and recommends or performs vCenter actions based on Dell hardware events. From vSphere Desktop or Web Client’s “Hosts and Clusters” icon, users can view detailed Server and Storage information of Dell hosts either at Host level or at Cluster/DataCenter level by clicking on the Dell tab.
In order to make the Dell Tab work and Dell events to show up in the vCenter “Tasks and Events” pane, users need to make sure to configure OpenManage Integration. First click on the Dell Management Center icon from the vSphere Client Home page and then go through the Configuration Wizard for the initial setup (Fig. 3). The inventory job must be run at least once (Fig. 4).
OpenManage Integration registers predefined Alarms with recommended actions within vCenter which will be triggered by Dell hardware events. By default, all Dell Alarms will be disabled. These alarms can be enabled through the Configuration Wizard or Dell Management Center Settings->Events and Alarms.
4 Updating BIOS and Firmware for Dell Hosts Within the vCenter console, users can view and perform BIOS or Firmware updates from the Dell tab at the host or cluster level. This feature will work for Dell 11th and 12th generation of servers that have Lifecycle controller firmware version 1.5.1 or higher with either iDrac express or iDrac enterprise. The feature will be grayed out for any Dell 9th or 10th generation of servers.
If the user already knows which component to update and has already downloaded the single Dell Update Package (DUP) from http://support.dell.com. they can use the option “Load a single firmware update from a file” at host level firmware update in vSphere Desktop Client to update a single component. In order to use this option, the DUP is put on a share that is accessible from the virtual appliance as well as the host. The required user name and password is entered to access the file.
5 Deploying Hypervisor and Configuring New Servers A key feature of theOpenManage Integration provides zero-touch deployment and provisioning of Dell servers without using PXE. It includes the initial handshake, hardware configuration, hypervisor deployment and registration of the server with the appropriate vCenter console.
Figure 8 Selecting undeployed servers from Deployment Wizard Figure 9 Assigning network identification to servers from Deployment Wizard Manage Dell Hardware in a Virtual Environment Using OpenManage Integration for VMware vCenter
6 Conclusion The integration of the OpenManage Integration and the VMware vCenter provides a comprehensive, automated, end-to-end physical and virtual system management platform. It enables host update and deployment solutions based on easy-to-use graphical user interfaces. It hides the complexity associated with manual processes and avoids the need to jump between multiple tools.
