Users Guide
Table Of Contents
- Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 9 User's Guide
- Contents
- Overview of iDRAC
- 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
- Accessing Redfish API Guide
- Logging in to iDRAC
- Force Change of Password (FCP)
- Logging into iDRAC using OpenID Connect
- Logging in to iDRAC as local user, Active Directory user, or LDAP user
- Logging in to iDRAC as a local user using a smart card
- Logging in to iDRAC using Single Sign-On
- Accessing iDRAC using remote RACADM
- Accessing iDRAC using local RACADM
- Accessing iDRAC using firmware RACADM
- Simple 2-Factor Authentication (Simple 2FA)
- RSA SecurID 2FA
- Viewing system health
- Logging in to iDRAC using public key authentication
- Multiple iDRAC sessions
- Secure default password
- Changing the default login password
- Enabling or disabling default password warning message
- Password Strength Policy
- IP Blocking
- Enabling or disabling OS to iDRAC Pass-through using web interface
- Enabling or disabling alerts using RACADM
- Setting up managed system
- Setting up iDRAC IP address
- Modifying local administrator account settings
- Setting up managed system location
- Optimizing system performance and power consumption
- Setting up management station
- Configuring supported web browsers
- Configuring Internet Explorer
- Configuring Mozilla Firefox
- Configuring web browsers to use virtual console
- Viewing localized versions of web interface
- Updating device firmware
- Updating firmware using iDRAC web interface
- Scheduling automatic firmware updates
- Updating device firmware using RACADM
- Updating firmware using CMC web interface
- Updating firmware using DUP
- Updating firmware using remote RACADM
- Updating firmware using Lifecycle Controller Remote Services
- Updating CMC firmware from iDRAC
- Viewing and managing staged updates
- Rolling back device firmware
- Easy Restore
- Monitoring iDRAC using other Systems Management tools
- Support Server Configuration Profile — Import and Export
- Secure Boot Configuration from BIOS Settings or F2
- BIOS recovery
- Plugin Management
- Configuring iDRAC
- Viewing iDRAC information
- Modifying network settings
- Cipher suite selection
- FIPS mode
- Configuring services
- Using VNC client to manage remote server
- Configuring front panel display
- Configuring time zone and NTP
- Setting first boot device
- Enabling or disabling OS to iDRAC Pass-through
- Obtaining certificates
- Configuring multiple iDRACs using RACADM
- Disabling access to modify iDRAC configuration settings on host system
- Delegated Authorization using OAuth 2.0
- Viewing iDRAC and managed system information
- Viewing managed system health and properties
- Configuring Asset Tracking
- Viewing system inventory
- Viewing sensor information
- Monitoring performance index of CPU, memory, and input output modules
- Idle Server Detection
- GPU (Accelerators) Management
- Checking the system for Fresh Air compliance
- Viewing historical temperature data
- Viewing network interfaces available on host OS
- Viewing network interfaces available on host OS using RACADM
- Viewing FlexAddress mezzanine card fabric connections
- Viewing or terminating iDRAC sessions
- Setting up iDRAC communication
- Communicating with iDRAC through serial connection using DB9 cable
- Configuring BIOS for serial connection
- Enabling RAC serial connection
- Enabling IPMI serial connection basic and terminal modes
- Switching between RAC serial and serial console while using DB9 cable
- Communicating with iDRAC using IPMI SOL
- Communicating with iDRAC using IPMI over LAN
- Enabling or disabling remote RACADM
- Disabling local RACADM
- Enabling IPMI on managed system
- Configuring Linux for serial console during boot in RHEL 6
- Configuring serial terminal in RHEL 7
- Supported SSH cryptography schemes
- Communicating with iDRAC through serial connection using DB9 cable
- Configuring user accounts and privileges
- iDRAC user roles and privileges
- Recommended characters in user names and passwords
- Configuring local users
- Configuring Active Directory users
- Prerequisites for using Active Directory authentication for iDRAC
- Supported Active Directory authentication mechanisms
- Standard schema Active Directory overview
- Configuring Standard schema Active Directory
- Extended schema Active Directory overview
- Configuring Extended schema Active Directory
- Extending Active Directory schema
- Installing Dell extension to the Active Directory users and computers snap-in
- Adding iDRAC users and privileges to Active Directory
- Configuring Active Directory with Extended schema using iDRAC web interface
- Configuring Active Directory with Extended schema using RACADM
- Testing Active Directory settings
- Configuring generic LDAP users
- System Configuration Lockdown mode
- Configuring iDRAC for Single Sign-On or smart card login
- Prerequisites for Active Directory Single Sign-On or smart card login
- Configuring iDRAC SSO login for Active Directory users
- Enabling or disabling smart card login
- Configuring Smart Card Login
- Using Smart Card to Login
- Configuring iDRAC to send alerts
- Enabling or disabling alerts
- Filtering alerts
- Setting event alerts
- Setting alert recurrence event
- Setting event actions
- Configuring email alert, SNMP trap, or IPMI trap settings
- Configuring WS Eventing
- Configuring Redfish Eventing
- Monitoring chassis events
- Alerts message IDs
- iDRAC 9 Group Manager
- Managing logs
- Monitoring and managing power in iDRAC
- iDRAC Direct Updates
- Inventorying, monitoring, and configuring network devices
- Inventorying and monitoring network devices
- Inventorying and monitoring FC HBA devices
- Inventorying and monitoring SFP Transceiver devices
- Telemetry Streaming
- Serial Data Capture
- Dynamic configuration of virtual addresses, initiator, and storage target settings
- Supported cards for IO Identity Optimization
- Supported NIC firmware versions for IO Identity Optimization
- Virtual or Remote assigned Address and Persistence Policy behavior when iDRAC is set to Remote-Assigned Address mode or Console mode
- System behavior for FlexAddress and IO Identity
- Enabling or disabling IO Identity Optimization
- SSD Wear Threshold
- Configuring persistence policy settings
- Managing storage devices
- Understanding RAID concepts
- Supported controllers
- Supported enclosures
- Summary of supported features for storage devices
- Inventorying and monitoring storage devices
- Viewing storage device topology
- Managing physical disks
- Managing virtual disks
- RAID Configuration Features
- Managing controllers
- Configuring controller properties
- Importing or auto importing foreign configuration
- Clearing foreign configuration
- Resetting controller configuration
- Switching the controller mode
- 12 Gbps SAS HBA adapter operations
- Monitoring predictive failure analysis on drives
- Controller operations in non-RAID mode or HBA mode
- Running RAID configuration jobs on multiple storage controllers
- Manage Preserved cache
- Managing PCIe SSDs
- Managing enclosures or backplanes
- Choosing operation mode to apply settings
- Viewing and applying pending operations
- Storage devices — apply operation scenarios
- Blinking or unblinking component LEDs
- Warm reboot
- BIOS Settings
- Configuring and using virtual console
- Supported screen resolutions and refresh rates
- Configuring virtual console
- Previewing virtual console
- Launching virtual console
- Using virtual console viewer
- eHTML5 based virtual console
- HTML5 based virtual console
- Synchronizing mouse pointers
- Passing all keystrokes through virtual console for Java or ActiveX plug-in
- Using iDRAC Service Module
- Using USB port for server management
- Using Quick Sync 2
- Managing virtual media
- Managing vFlash SD card
- Configuring vFlash SD card
- Managing vFlash partitions
- Using SMCLP
- Deploying operating systems
- Troubleshooting managed system using iDRAC
- Using diagnostic console
- Viewing post codes
- Viewing boot and crash capture videos
- Viewing logs
- Viewing last system crash screen
- Viewing System status
- Hardware trouble indicators
- Viewing system health
- Checking server status screen for error messages
- Restarting iDRAC
- Reset to Custom Defaults (RTD)
- Erasing system and user data
- Resetting iDRAC to factory default settings
- SupportAssist Integration in iDRAC
- Frequently asked questions
- System Event Log
- Custom sender email configuration for iDRAC alerts
- Network security
- Telemetry streaming
- Active Directory
- Single Sign-On
- Smart card login
- Virtual console
- Virtual media
- vFlash SD card
- SNMP authentication
- Storage devices
- GPU (Accelerators)
- iDRAC Service Module
- RACADM
- Permanently setting the default password to calvin
- Miscellaneous
- Use case scenarios
- Troubleshooting an inaccessible managed system
- Obtaining system information and assess system health
- Setting up alerts and configuring email alerts
- Viewing and exporting System Event Log and Lifecycle Log
- Interfaces to update iDRAC firmware
- Performing graceful shutdown
- Creating new administrator user account
- Launching servers remote console and mounting a USB drive
- Installing bare metal OS using attached virtual media and remote file share
- Managing rack density
- Installing new electronic license
- Applying IO Identity configuration settings for multiple network cards in single host system reboot
Viewing post codes
Post codes are progress indicators from the system BIOS, indicating various stages of the boot sequence from power-on-reset,
and allows you to diagnose any faults related to system boot-up. The Post Codes page displays the last system post code prior
to booting the operating system.
To view the Post Codes, go to Maintenance > Troubleshooting > Post Code.
The Post Code page displays the system health indicator, a hexadecimal code, and a description of the code.
Viewing boot and crash capture videos
You can view the video recordings of:
● Last three boot cycles — A boot cycle video logs the sequence of events for a boot cycle. The boot cycle videos are
arranged in the order of latest to oldest.
● Last crash video — A crash video logs the sequence of events leading to the failure.
This is a licensed feature.
iDRAC records fifty frames during boot time. Playback of the boot screens occur at a rate of 1 frame per second. If iDRAC is
reset, the boot capture video is not available as it is stored in RAM and is deleted.
NOTE:
● You must have Access Virtual Console or administrator privileges to playback the Boot Capture and Crash Capture
videos.
● The video capture time displayed in the iDRAC GUI video player may differ from the video capture time displayed in
other video players. The iDRAC GUI video player displays the time in the iDRAC time zone while all other video players
display the time in the respective operating system time zones.
NOTE:
● The reason for the delay in boot capture file availability is because the boot capture buffer is not full after the host boot.
● Default /inbox SLES/RHEL video players do not support the MPEG-1 video decoder. You need to install a MPEG
decoder supported video player and play the files.
● MPEG-1 format videos are not supported in MAC OS native player.
To view the Boot Capture screen, click Maintenance > Troubleshooting > Video Capture.
The Video Capture screen displays the video recordings. For more information, see the iDRAC Online Help.
NOTE:
When embedded video controller is disabled and server has add-on video controller, then certain latency is expected
with respect to boot capture. Hence, End of Post Messages of a video will be recorded in next capture.
Configuring video capture settings
To configure the video capture settings:
1. In the iDRAC Web interface, go to Maintenance > Troubleshooting > Video Capture.
The Video Capture page is displayed.
2. From the Video Capture Settings drop-down menu, select any of the following options:
● Disable — Boot capture is disabled.
● Capture until buffer full — Boot sequence is captured until the buffer size has reached.
● Capture until end of POST — Boot sequence is captured until end of POST.
3. Click Apply to apply the settings.
Viewing logs
You can view System Event Logs (SELs) and Lifecycle logs. For more information, see Viewing System Event Log and Viewing
Lifecycle log.
Troubleshooting managed system using iDRAC
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