Administrator Guide

Technical support and resources
ID 483
5.4.1 Parts Replacement
iDRAC automatically saves both the firmware image and configuration settings for NIC cards, RAID
controllers, and Power Supply Units (PSUs). After a field replacement of these parts, the user can select the
“Parts Replacement” option in F10. This option restores the firmware and configuration to the replaced item.
This functionality saves critical time and ensures a consistent configuration and security policy.
5.4.2 Easy Restore (for System Board Replacement)
System board replacements can be time-consuming and affect productivity. iDRAC offers the ability to backup
and restore a PowerEdge server configuration to minimize the effort to replace a failed system board.
There are two ways the PowerEdge server can backup and restore:
o PowerEdge servers automatically backs up system configuration settings.
o These items include BIOS, iDRAC, NIC, Service Tag, licenses, Credential Vault, and UEFI
diagnostics.
o These items are securely stored in memory on the control panel.
o Firmware is not backed up due to space limitations.
o After a system board replacement, Easy Restore prompts the user at boot to restore the data.
o If no reply is entered, the iDRAC automatically restores the information.
o For a more comprehensive backup, a user can back up the system configuration, including the
installed firmware.
o Configuration and firmware are backed up for BIOS, RAID, NIC, iDRAC, and other
components.
o The backup operation also includes the hard disk configuration data, system board, and
replaced parts.
o The backup creates a single file that can be stored on local or network share (CIFS, NFS,
HTTP, or HTTPS).