SupportAssist Enterprise Version 4.00.06 User's Guide March 2021 Rev.
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. © 2021 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contents Chapter 1: Overview...................................................................................................................... 8 How SupportAssist Enterprise works............................................................................................................................. 8 System information collected by SupportAssist Enterprise......................................................................................
Add virtual machine.......................................................................................................................................................... 42 Add converged or hyperconverged infrastructure appliance................................................................................. 43 Add Web-Scale appliance.......................................................................................................................................... 44 Add data storage device......
Resume support case activities..................................................................................................................................... 72 Close support case............................................................................................................................................................73 Cases...................................................................................................................................................................
Contact Details................................................................................................................................................................. 101 Configure contact information................................................................................................................................ 101 Configure automated parts dispatch preferences..............................................................................................
Device correlation............................................................................................................................................................122 Association view ............................................................................................................................................................. 123 Detection of hardware issues in attached storage devices..................................................................................
1 Overview SupportAssist Enterprise is an application that automates technical support for your Dell EMC server, storage, and networking devices. SupportAssist monitors your devices and proactively detects hardware issues that may occur. Depending on your service contract, SupportAssist also automates support request creation for issues that are detected on the monitored devices.
● Configuration information—Interfaces, VLAN, Data Center Bridging (DCB), spanning tree, and stacking ● Identity information—System name, domain name, and IP address ● Event data—Windows event logs, core dump, and debug logs You can also access and view the system information collected by SupportAssist. For information about viewing the collected system information, see View or download collection from Devices page.
Table 1. SupportAssist Enterprise capabilities and Dell service contracts SupportAssist Enterprise capability Description Basic Hardware ProSupport ProSupport Plus, ProSupport Flex for Data Center, or ProSupport One for Data Center determines that a part must be replaced to resolve the issue, a replacement part is dispatched to you based on the dispatch preferences provided in SupportAssist Enterprise.
2 Use case scenarios I want SupportAssist Enterprise to automatically identify and inventory the devices in my environment. SupportAssist Enterprise version 4.00.06 enables you to monitor up to 4250 devices.
I want to use SupportAssist Enterprise to assign parts dispatch information for my devices based on the business unit or site. SupportAssist Enterprise enables you to group your devices. A device group enables you to provide contact and shipping information that is applicable only for the devices in that group. See Device grouping. NOTE: Parts dispatch is available only for servers that have an active ProSupport, ProSupport Plus, ProSupport One, or ProSupport Flex service entitlement.
I change the credentials for a specific device type, it is automatically applied for all the devices in the group. A credential profile enables you to automatically assign credentials for one or more devices instead of entering the credentials for each device manually. For more information about credential profiles and account credentials, see Managing device credentials.
I want to inventory all the devices associated with a primary device in my data center. The Deep Discovery capability in SupportAssist Enterprise enables you to inventory all the devices associated with a primary device in your data center. When you add a device in SupportAssist Enterprise, you can enable deep discovery to inventory all the associated devices. See Deep discovery. I want to suspend SupportAssist Enterprise monitoring for my devices during a planned maintenance activity.
I want to integrate SupportAssist Enterprise with my data center tools and applications. You can enable REST API interfaces to integrate SupportAssist Enterprise with your data center tools and applications. See Enable or disable API interface settings.
3 Downloading SupportAssist Enterprise SupportAssist Enterprise is available in OVF and VHD formats. Depending on your hypervisor, you can download and deploy the required format. To download SupportAssist Enterprise, you must have a business enterprise account. The business enterprise account also enables you to access other related software download and support pages available for SupportAssist Enterprise.
2. Click Log in. The Sign In page is displayed. 3. In the Create an Account section, enter the required details, and click Create Account. 4. A verification mail is sent to your email address. Click the Verify Email link in the email. An OTP is sent to your email address and you are prompted to complete the OTP verification process. 5. Enter the OTP and click Validate Account. The account is validated, and the process to create a business enterprise account is initiated. 6.
a. b. c. d. Enter the country and contact details of your organization. Select your preferred language. Click Submit. Select your organization from the displayed results and click Submit. A business enterprise account is created. 7. Click Generate key. The Generate key page is displayed with site details of your devices. 8. Select the required site. 9. Enter a four-digit PIN, and click Generate key. An access key is generated and sent to your email address. 10. Click Done.
4 Deploying SupportAssist Enterprise Dell EMC SupportAssist Enterprise is available as a virtual appliance that can be deployed on a hypervisor to monitor your devices and minimize the downtime. The virtual appliance is available in OVF and VHD formats. This section provides the minimum requirements and the steps to deploy the OVF and VHD files using the VMware vSphere Web Client and Microsoft Hyper-V Manager respectively. NOTE: You can deploy the OVF file only on a vCenter Server.
To change the amount of processor resources allocated to a VM by using the shares, reservations, and limits settings, see the following: ● ○ For ESX, see the "Allocate CPU Resources" section in the VMware vSphere documentation at docs.vmware.com. ○ For Hyper-V, see the "Hyper-V CPU Scheduling" blog post at msdn.microsoft.com. ○ For other virtual environments, see the respective documentation.
● The server must connect to the following destinations to ensure connectivity to the Global and enterprise servers: ○ https://esrs3.emc.com ○ https://esrs3-core.emc.com ○ https://esrs3-dr.emc.com ○ https://esrs3-coredr.emc.com ○ https://esr3gduprd01.emc.com ○ https://esr3gduprd02.emc.com ○ https://esr3gduprd03.emc.com ○ https://esr3gduprd04.emc.com ○ https://esr3gduprd05.emc.com ○ https://esr3gduprd06.emc.com ○ https://esr3ghoprd01.emc.com ○ https://esr3ghoprd02.emc.com ○ https://esr3ghoprd03.emc.
Table 4. Network bandwidth requirements Devices Monitoring Collecting System Information LAN bandwidth* WAN bandwidth** 1 No Yes 10 Mbps 5 Mbps 20 Yes Yes 0.5 Gbps 10 Mbps Up to 100 Yes Yes 0.5 Gbps 10 Mbps Up to 300 Yes Yes 0.5 Gbps 10 Mbps Up to 1000 Yes Yes 1 Gbps 20 Mbps Up to 4000 Yes Yes 1 Gbps 20 Mbps * Network bandwidth that is required for monitoring and collecting system information from devices within a single site.
NOTE: The minimum startup memory that you must provide is 16,384 MB. 7. On the Configure Networking page, from the Connection list, select the network adapter and click Next. 8. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, select Use an existing virtual hard disk, click Browse to select the VHD file, and then click Next. 9. Verify the details that are displayed on the Summary page and click Finish. The virtual machine is created and is displayed in the Virtual Machines list. 10.
5. If there is more than one datastore available on the host, the Select storage page displays such datastores. Select the location to store the virtual machine (VM) files and click Next. 6. On the License agreements page, read the license agreement, click I agree, and then click Next. 7. On the Deployment options page, perform the following: a. From the Network mappings list, select the network the deployment template must use. b. For Disk provisioning, select Thin. c. Click Next. 8.
5 Getting started with SupportAssist Enterprise SupportAssist Enterprise automates technical support from Dell EMC for your devices. Depending on your requirement, you can deploy and set up SupportAssist Enterprise to automate technical support for one or more of your devices.
NOTE: You must enter the same password that you entered for the root account while deploying SupportAssist Enterprise. 4. Click Sign In. The License Agreement page is displayed. 5. Read the terms and conditions and click Accept. The Create an admin account page is displayed. 6. Perform the following steps: a. Enter the username and password for the administrator account. NOTE: The administrator account username is case-sensitive and must be the same as the one configured during deployment. b.
9. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed with details of the primary contact and parts dispatch information. 10. Click Finish. The Site Health page is displayed. Next steps Configure the SMTP settings to receive email notifications from SupportAssist Enterprise. See Configure SMTP server settings. Reset administrator password Prerequisites You must have root access to the server on which SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed. Steps 1.
Table 6. Network connection test Column Description Description Describes the purpose of each test. Status Displays an icon and a message that indicates the connectivity status. The possible statuses are: ● ● In Progress—The connectivity test is in progress. ● Connected—The connectivity test is successful. ● Last Verified Not Configured (applicable only for the SMTP Server test)—The SMTP server settings are not configured in SupportAssist Enterprise.
SupportAssist Enterprise service status There are multiple RESTful and Core services running as part of SupportAssist Enterprise. The Service Status page lists these services, and their status. In the SupportAssist Enterprise header area, click the user name link and then click Service Status to view the Service Status page. The following table describes the information that is displayed on the Service Status page. Table 8.
● You can disable the automatic collection of system information when a support case is created. See Enable or disable automatic collection of system information on support case creation. ● You can also prevent the upload of collections. See Enable or disable automatic upload of collections. NOTE: In most cases, part or all of the system information collected by SupportAssist Enterprise is required by Technical Support to properly diagnose issues and provide an appropriate resolution.
6 Site health SupportAssist Enterprise enables you to view the overall site health connectivity and status of your devices. Site health contains key connectivity result information that enables you to identify and prioritize the most important issues on your site. The following table describes the information that is displayed on the Site Health page. Table 9.
Table 9.
7 Adding devices Adding devices prepares SupportAssist Enterprise to automate support from Dell EMC technical support for your devices. To use SupportAssist Enterprise to either monitor hardware issues or collect system information from your devices, you must add your devices in SupportAssist Enterprise. For the complete list of devices types and device models that you can add in SupportAssist Enterprise, see the SupportAssist Enterprise Version 4.00.06 Support Matrix available at https://www.dell.
NOTE: SupportAssist Enterprise may not be compatible with all models of a supported device type. For the list of supported device types and corresponding models, see the SupportAssist Enterprise Version 4.00.06 Support Matrix available at https://www.dell.com/serviceabilitytools. Table 10.
Table 10.
● 4—Add the device directly from the device user interface using the RESTful protocol and then enable remote access to manage the device using SupportAssist Enterprise. You can manage remote access permissions to the device using Policy Manager. For more information about the operations and configuration of policy manager, see the Secure Remote Services Policy Manager Operations Guide available at https://www.dell.com/support/home/product-support/product/emc-secureremote-services-virtual-edition/docs.
Next steps CAUTION: If the device is not configured to forward alerts, SupportAssist Enterprise cannot detect hardware issues that may occur on the device. For monitoring hardware issues that may occur on the device only, ensure that the device is configured to forward SNMP traps (alerts) to the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed. For instructions to configure alert forwarding, see Manually configuring SNMP settings.
Steps 1. Go to Devices > View Devices. The Devices page is displayed. 2. Click . The Add a single device window is displayed. 3. From the Device type list, select iDRAC. 4. Enter the hostname or IP address of the device. NOTE: It is recommended that you enter the hostname of the device. If the hostname is not available, you can enter the IP address of the device. 5. Optionally, enter a name for the device. The name that you enter is used to represent the device in SupportAssist Enterprise.
Add networking device Prerequisites ● The device must be reachable from the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed. ● Ports 22 and 161 must be open on the device. ● SSH and SNMP services must be running on the device. About this task Monitor your networking devices for hardware issues and collect system information. For the list of networking devices that you can add, see Supported devices and device models. Steps 1. Go to Devices > View Devices. The Devices page is displayed. . 2.
Next steps If a message is displayed stating that the device is added to the Staging group: 1. Ensure that all prerequisites for adding the device are met. 2. Perform inventory validation on the device. See Start inventory validation manually. Add server or hypervisor Prerequisites ● The device must be reachable from the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed. ● If the device is running a Linux operating system: ○ SSH service must be running on the device.
● If you did not enable deep discovery, from the Account credentials list, select the account that you want to assign to the device. To create a credentials account, click Create a new account in the Account credentials list and then click Create. See Add account credentials. 8. By default, the Enable monitoring, Configure SNMP settings, and Install or upgrade OMSA check boxes are selected to enable SupportAssist to monitor the device for hardware issues.
The Add a single device window is displayed. 3. From the Device type list, select Software. 4. From the Select a software type list, select the software type that you want to add. 5. Enter the hostname or IP address of the device. NOTE: It is recommended that you enter the hostname of the device. If the hostname is not available, you can enter the IP address of the device. 6. Optionally, enter a name for the device. The name that you enter is used to represent the device in SupportAssist Enterprise.
The name that you enter is used to represent the device in SupportAssist Enterprise. If you do not enter a name, the IP address or hostname is used to represent the device. 6. From the Account credentials list, select the account you want to assign to the device and click Next. To create a credentials account, click Create a new account in the Account credentials list and then click Create. See Add account credentials.
Add Web-Scale appliance Prerequisites ● The device must be reachable from the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed. ● Ports 9440 and 22 must be open on the device. ● For a web-scale appliance, firmware version 4.x or later must be installed on the device for the collection of system information. About this task Monitor hardware issues and collect system information from a web-scale appliance. Steps 1. Go to Devices > View Devices. The Devices page is displayed. 2. Click .
● For models other than the PS series, SC series, MD series, or NAS, at least one DNS server must be configured. About this task Monitor and collect system information from data storage devices. You can collect system information on demand and after deployment.
3. From the Device type list, select Data Storage. 4. From the Model type list, select Peer Storage (PS) / EqualLogic. 5. Enter the hostname or IP address of the device. NOTE: It is recommended that you enter the hostname of the device. If the hostname is not available, you can enter the IP address of the device. 6. Optionally, enter a name for the device. The name that you enter is used to represent the device in SupportAssist Enterprise.
3. From the Device type list, select Data Storage. 4. From the Model type list, select Storage Center (SC) / Compellent. 5. Enter the hostname or IP address of the device. NOTE: It is recommended that you enter the hostname of the device. If the hostname is not available, you can enter the IP address of the device. 6. Optionally, enter a name for the device. The name that you enter is used to represent the device in SupportAssist Enterprise.
The name that you enter is used to represent the device in SupportAssist Enterprise. If you do not enter a name, the IP address or hostname is used to represent the device. 7. From the Account credentials list, select the account you want to assign to the device and click Next. To create a credentials account, click Create a new account in the Account credentials list and then click Create. See Add account credentials.
● If you did not enable deep discovery, from the Account credentials list, select the account that you want to assign to the device. To create a credentials account, click Create a new account in the Account credentials list and then click Create. See Add account credentials. 9. Click Next. The Discovering Device page is displayed until SupportAssist Enterprise identifies the device. If the device is discovered successfully, the Assign Device Group (Optional) page is displayed.
9. Click OK. The Devices page is displayed. Next steps If a message is displayed stating that the device is added to the Staging group: 1. Ensure that all prerequisites for adding the device are met. 2. Perform inventory validation on the device. See Start inventory validation manually.
Devices The Devices page displays the devices that you have added, and the status of the SupportAssist Enterprise functionality for each device. The default view shows all the devices that you have added. The following table describes the options that are displayed on the Devices page and the automatically generated inventory information. Table 11.
Table 11. Devices Options/Column Description ● Inventory validation Name/IP Address Displays the following information: ● Device name—Displays the name, hostname, serial number, or IP address depending on the information you have provided for the device. ● Collection status—When a collection occurs, a progress bar and a corresponding message are displayed to indicate the status of the collection.
● Need attention ○ Staging—Displays a status icon and a roll-up count of number of devices that are present in the group. ○ Inactive—Displays a status icon and a roll-up count of number of devices that are present in the group. ● Inventory validation ○ Success—Displays a status icon and the roll-up count of number of devices that were validated successfully. ○ Failed—Displays a status icon and the roll-up count of number of devices that were not validated successfully.
Table 12. Device overview pane (continued) Field Description Skyline integration (for vCenter) NOTE: This field is displayed only when at least one of the vCenter instance added in SupportAssist Enterprise is managed by VMware Skyline. Management status of the vCenter. The following status may be displayed: ● Active—vCenter is managed by VMware Skyline ● Inactive—vCenter is not managed by VMware Skyline Software version Version of the firmware installed on the device.
Table 12. Device overview pane (continued) Field Description ● Unable to configure SNMP—SupportAssist Enterprise is unable to configure the SNMP trap destination of the device. ● Unable to verify SNMP configuration— SupportAssist Enterprise is unable to verify the SNMP configuration of the iDRAC. ● Unable to install OMSA—Installation of OMSA could not be completed. ● OMSA not supported—Installation of OMSA is not supported.
Table 12. Device overview pane Field Description Device Inventory Validation The following are displayed: ● Date and time the periodic inventory validation was last performed. ● Type of the inventory validation. It also displays the status of the inventory validation tests. If the validation tests fail, then an error message is displayed.
8 Device grouping SupportAssist Enterprise has two predefined device groups—Default and Staging—that help you in managing the devices that you add. Depending on your requirement, you can also create custom device groups to manage certain devices as a group.
Create device group About this task After you add devices in SupportAssist, you can group them into separate groups. You can provide contact information, preferred contact time and method, and also part dispatch information for the devices in the group. NOTE: The device group parts dispatch information overrides the default parts dispatch information that is provided in the Contact Details page. If required, the replacement part is shipped with your consent to the address provided in the device group.
Steps 1. Go to Devices > Manage device groups. The Device groups page is displayed. 2. Select a device group. 3. From the Select group actions list, select Manage devices. The Manage devices window is displayed. 4. To add devices to the device group, select the devices in the Ungrouped devices pane and click The selected devices are moved to the Devices in current group pane. . 5.
9 Managing device discovery rules A device discovery rule enables you to discover and add devices that are present within one or more IP address ranges. Creating a device discovery rule helps you add multiple devices, and reduces the effort involved in adding each device individually.
a. Select Devices. b. Enter the hostname or IP address of devices as comma-separated values in the following formats: ● 10.34.10.2, 10.34.10.3, 10.34.10.22 ● hostname1, hostname2, hostname3 ● 10.34.10.22, hostname2, 10.34.10.24 7. Select one of the following: ● Run now—To discover the devices immediately. ● Run once—To discover the devices at a specific date and time. ● Recur—To schedule the discovery of devices at periodic intervals. 8. Click Next. The Discovering devices window is displayed.
NOTE: By default, the subnet mask value is 255.255.255.0. 4. To discover devices by using the hostname or IP addresses: a. Select Devices. b. Enter the hostname or IP address of devices as comma-separated values in the following formats: ● 10.34.10.2, 10.34.10.3, 10.34.10.22 ● hostname1, hostname2, hostname3 ● 10.34.10.22, hostname2, 10.34.10.24 5. Click Next. The Discovering Devices window is displayed. 6. Select or clear the devices types and the configuration settings. 7. Click Edit rule.
10 Managing device credentials SupportAssist Enterprise requires the device credentials to add devices and to collect system information. You can enter or assign credentials to a device by using one of the following methods: ● While adding a device ● By using the Edit option ● By assigning an account credential or a credential profile Topics: • • Account credentials Credential profiles Account credentials An account credential consists of the credentials of a specific device type.
○ Wireless controller NOTE: Enable password is required only when the networking device is configured with an enable password. ● For PeerStorage(PS) / EqualLogic devices, enter the user name, password, and community string of the device. NOTE: ○ Account credentials are mandatory for adding a Storage ME4 Series device. ○ Account credentials are not required for adding a Storage MD Series device. 6. Click Save. The account credentials are listed on the Manage Accounts Credentials page.
Steps 1. Go to Devices > Manage Credentials > Account Credentials. The Manage Account Credentials page is displayed. 2. Select the account credentials that you want to delete and click Delete. The Delete account credentials window is displayed. 3. Click Yes. Credential profiles A credential profile is a collection of account credentials of various device types. Credential profiles enable you to assign one set of credentials for each device type instead of entering the credentials for each device manually.
The Account credentials list is enabled for the device. 4. From the Account credentials list, select the account credentials that you want to assign to the device type. 5. Click Update. The credential profile is updated. Devices to which the credential profile is assigned are re-validated. Assign credential profile Prerequisites Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) must be enabled on the device. Steps 1. Go to Devices > View Devices. The Devices page is displayed. 2.
2. Select the credential profile that you want to delete and click Delete. The Delete Credential Profile window is displayed. 3. Click Yes.
11 Validating device inventory Site inventory validation verifies the availability of the following capabilities of SupportAssist Enterprise for your devices: ● Connectivity status—Verifies if the device has Internet connectivity and if the required ports are open on the device. It also verifies if the required credentials of the device are correct and available. ● Collection capability status—Verifies if the requirements for collecting system information are met on the device.
● iDRAC ● Chassis ● Data storage: ○ Fluid File System (Fluid FS) ○ Storage Center (SC) / Compellent ○ PowerVault ○ PeerStorage (PS) / EqualLogic ● Networking ● Software ● Converged infrastructure appliance: ○ Web Scale Steps 1. Go to Devices > View Devices. The Devices page is displayed. 2. Select one or more devices and click Validate inventory. SupportAssist Enterprise verifies the connectivity status of the devices.
Table 15. Validation test status Field Description ● Devices that are not be supported or monitored by SupportAssist Enterprise ● Devices added or discovered in SupportAssist Enterprise through the adapter ● Devices for which the connectivity test has failed ● Devices for which you have disabled monitoring The following table describes the information that is displayed in the history section on the Site inventory validation page: Table 16.
12 SupportAssist Enterprise cases A support case is automatically created when an issue is detected on devices that are monitored by SupportAssist. All the cases that are created by SupportAssist are displayed on the Cases page. NOTE: SupportAssist Enterprise does not create a support case for every alert that is received from a monitored device. A support case is created only if the alert type and number of alerts match the criteria that are defined by Dell EMC.
● If no support cases are available for the device or if SupportAssist is unable to retrieve the support case information, an appropriate message is displayed. Suspend support case activities for 24 hours Prerequisites Ensure that the support case was opened by SupportAssist Enterprise. About this task Request technical support to suspend activities that are related to a support case for 24 hours.
NOTE: The Resume Activity option is enabled only if you had previously requested to suspend notifications for the selected support case. The Resume support for the case window is displayed. 5. Optionally, enter the reason for requesting to resume activities for the support case. 6. Click OK. A message stating that the case status has been updated is displayed. 7. Click OK. The support case displays a Resumed status.
Table 17. Cases page (continued) Column name Description Search by list Search cases by a specific category of displayed data. Search term Enter the search keyword. NOTE: You must enter a minimum of three characters to perform the search. Case Options list Manage support cases that were opened by SupportAssist Enterprise. The following are the available options: ● Suspend Activity 24 hours—Request technical support to suspend activities that are related to a support case for 24 hours.
Table 17. Cases page Column name Description ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Support case generation method Device model Device operating system Alert ID, if available Alert description, if available Warranty status Resolution description Date opened The date and time the support case was opened. Service contract The Dell EMC service contract level for the device. The Service contract column may display: ● Unknown—SupportAssist Enterprise cannot determine the service contract.
13 Viewing collections SupportAssist Enterprise collects system information from each device that you have added and sends the information securely to the backend. Typically, the system information is collected as follows: ● Periodically—At regular intervals, depending on the predefined collection start date specified in the Preferences page. ● On case creation—When a support case is created for an issue that has been identified by SupportAssist Enterprise.
View or download collection from Devices page About this task The device overview pane lists the collections that have been performed on a specific device. You can select any collection that you want to view from the collections list. Steps 1. Go to Devices > View Devices. The Devices page is displayed. 2. Select the device for which you want to view collections. The device overview pane is displayed. 3. From the Collections list, select a collection date and time. 4.
○ Section Status—Displays an overview of the section-level information of a collection. This tab displays the status and description of each section of the collection. The number of items that are displayed in Section Status is dependent on the configuration of the device. The Section Status section also displays the count and status of the collection. The available statuses are: ￭ Success ￭ Failed ￭ Warning ● Bottom pane—Displays the collection details.
Table 18.
Table 18.
14 Configuring collection settings SupportAssist Enterprise automatically collects system information from all devices at periodic intervals. SupportAssist Enterprise also collects system information automatically from a device when a support case is created for an issue with the device. Depending on your preference, you can configure the following: ● Automatic collection of system information when a support case is created or updated.
NOTE: To receive the full benefits of the support, reporting, and maintenance offering of the ProSupport Plus, ProSupport Flex for Data Center, or ProSupport One for Data Center service contract for a device, automatic collection of system information must be enabled. Steps 1. Go to Settings > Preferences. The Preferences page is displayed. 2. In the Collect system state information section, select or clear When a new support case is created. NOTE: By default, this option is selected. 3. Click Apply.
NOTE: If your devices have an active ProSupport Plus, ProSupport Flex for Data Center, or ProSupport One for Data Center service contract and you have disabled collection of identification information, you will not receive some reporting information about your devices. NOTE: If you have disabled the collection of identity information from the devices, the identity information such as hostname, IP address, and so on, are replaced by tokenized values.
15 Using SupportAssist Enterprise to collect and send system information SupportAssist Enterprise automates the collection of system information from your devices both periodically and on case creation. If required, you can also manually start the collection and upload of system information to Dell EMC at any time. You can choose to start the collection of system information from a single device or multiple devices.
Manually collect system information from specific device Prerequisites Ensure that you have completed setting up SupportAssist Enterprise. See Set up SupportAssist Enterprise to collect and send system information. About this task When a support case is opened or updated for a device, SupportAssist Enterprise automatically collects and uploads the system information to the backend. If necessary, you can also manually start the collection of system information from a device.
7. Click OK. The collection progress status is displayed in the Multiple Device Collection pane. If the collection is completed successfully, the Collections page displays the details of the collection. You can also download the multiple device collection from the Collections page. NOTE: You cannot initiate any other task on the devices until the collection is complete. Upload collection About this task Use the Upload option available in the Collections page to upload collections to the backend.
Multiple Device Collection window The Multiple Device Collection window enables you to provide details about the multiple device collection that you want to initiate. The following table describes the items displayed in the Multiple Device Collection window. Table 19. Multiple Device Collection window Field Description Collection Name (Optional) Name that you want to assign to the collection.
16 Extensions Extensions enable you to inventory and add devices that you manage using a systems management console such as Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise. An adapter is an extension available in SupportAssist Enterprise. It acts as an interface between SupportAssist and the systems management console. It enables SupportAssist to inventory and retrieve alerts from supported devices that you manage by a systems management console, instead of adding each device individually.
NOTE: One OpenManage Enterprise adapter can inventory and add devices from multiple OpenManage Enterprise instances. Steps 1. Go to Extensions > Manage Adapters. The Adapters page is displayed. 2. Click Set Up Adapter. The Set up adapter window is displayed. 3. From the Adapter type list, select the required adapter type. 4. Perform the following: a. Enter the hostname or IP address of the server where the systems management console is installed. b. Optionally enter a name for the adapter.
Steps 1. Go to Extensions > Manage Adapters. The Adapters page is displayed. 2. Select the adapter that you want to edit and click Edit. The Edit Adapter window is displayed. 3. Edit the required details and click Update. The details of the adapter are updated.
Table 20. Adapters Field Delete Description Delete an adapter. See Delete adapter. Name Name that you have provided for the adapter and the hostname or IP address of the server where the adapter is set up. Type Adapter type. Managed devices Total number of devices that are added through the adapter. Console Version Version of the system management console. Status Status of the adapter. The status of an adapter may be: ● Connected—SupportAssist can connect successfully to the adapter.
If at least one of the vCenter instances added in SupportAssist Enterprise is managed by Skyline, the following information is displayed: ● Name/IP Address—Name or IP address of the vCenter instance. ● UUID—A unique alpha-numeric identifier that allows Dell EMC to recognize the vCenter instance. ● Status—Management status of the vCenter instance.
17 Active sessions When a technical support agent remotely accesses your device to run scripts or transfer files, the session information is displayed in SupportAssist Enterprise while it is in progress. Topics: • • • • Active Active Active Active remote sessions file transfer sessions remote scripts connect homes Active remote sessions The Active remote sessions tab displays information about troubleshooting or device-specific tasks that are being performed by a technical support agent.
Table 22. Active file transfer sessions Column Description File name Name of the file being transferred. File size (kb) Size of the file being transferred. Transfer type Channel through which file transfer is being initiated. Transfer rate (MiBs) Rate at which the file is being transferred. Remaining time Time remaining to complete the file transfer. Percentage complete Progress of file transfer.
18 Configuring SupportAssist Enterprise settings The Settings tab enables you to configure the following: ● Collection of system information ● Email notifications ● Internet connection settings for the servers on which SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed ● Internet connection settings for the servers on which Policy Manager is installed ● SMTP server ● Connect Home ● Contact and shipping information ● TechDirect integration ● VMware tools Topics: • • • • • • • • Configure proxy server settings Policy Man
NOTE: The proxy settings are saved only if SupportAssist Enterprise can connect to the proxy server.
The following table describes information about the options that are displayed in the SupportAssist Enterprise Application pane: Table 25. SupportAssist Enterprise Application pane Section Description Collect system state information ● Select a day of a month when SupportAssist Enterprise can automatically collect system information at 11 p.m. from all the devices.
Table 26. Device and Network pane Field Description Data storage: Peer Storage (PS)/ EqualLogic ● Select Diagnostic data (Diags collection) to collect diagnostic information from the device. ● Select Inter array connectivity test (Ping Test) to collect the ping test result from the device. Data storage: PowerVault Select Support data to collect support data from the device. Software: HIT Kit/VSM for VMware Select Advanced logs to collect logs from the device.
Table 27. Types of email notifications (continued) Type of email notification When the email notification is sent Origin of the email notification collected system information from the device to the backend. Inactive notification SupportAssist Enterprise is not monitoring any device and no device has been added in the past 30 days. SupportAssist server hosted by Dell EMC Connectivity test alert At 11 p.m. each day (date and time as on the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed).
Table 27. Types of email notifications Type of email notification When the email notification is sent Origin of the email notification Parts dispatch address confirmation Replacement part is ready to be dispatched. SupportAssist Enterprise application Administrator account status Administrator account is locked after Customer defined SMTP server five failed attempts. An email notification is also sent when the account is unlocked.
2. In the API interface section, depending on your requirement, select, or clear Enable API interfaces for SupportAssist. 3. Click Apply. Contact Details The Contact Details page enables you to view and edit the primary and secondary contact information. You can also enable or disable automated parts dispatches of replacement parts.. To configure your contact details, see Configure contact information. To configure your parts dispatch preferences, see Configure automated parts dispatch preferences.
NOTE: Contact details of the primary and secondary contact must be unique. 4. Click Apply. Sign in to TechDirect from SupportAssist Enterprise Steps 1. Go to Settings > TechDirect login. The TechDirect Integration page is displayed. 2. Click Sign In. The Dell Account Sign In window is displayed. 3. Enter the email address and password and click Sign In. The OTP is displayed. NOTE: If you had already signed in to any Dell EMC portal on the web browser, the OTP for the signed in account is displayed.
The alert file is then compressed and sent to the backend using one of the following methods: ● Managed File Transfer (MFT)—By default, alert files are sent to the backend through MFT. ● ESRS—If file transfer is unsuccessful through MFT, the files are sent through ESRS. ● FTPS or Email—If both MFT and ESRS are unavailable, the files are uploaded to the backend through FTPS or email. The files are uploaded through FTPS or email only if they are enabled for the Connect Home service.
● HTTPS ● FTP ● Email By default, all the services are enabled. You can disable the services depending on your requirement. NOTE: Before you disable a service, ensure that none of your devices are using that service. Steps 1. Go to Settings > Connect Home. The Connect Home Configuration (Outgoing) page is displayed. 2. Click the Advanced Settings tab. 3. In the Connect Home Listener Configuration section, clear the service that you want to disable.
Steps 1. Go to Settings > VMware Tools. The VMware Tools Configuration page is displayed. 2. Select Enable or Disable depending on your requirement. 3. Click Apply.
19 Audit overview SupportAssist Enterprise records and saves all the events and activities performed using SupportAssist for your reference. The records are classified as Activity, Connect Home, File Transfer, File Transfer Permission, and Remote Script audits.
The Connect home audit page displays the details of files that are transferred through the Connect Home service to the backend. From the Refine by pane, you can search for the logs by a specific date range, file name, transport type, notification type, or result. Click a log to view additional details such as date, model, and serial number. Click to save the data displayed on the page in a CSV file. Click to refresh the data displayed on the page.
● Remote Scripting File transfer permissions are available only for the following devices types and device models: ● Data protection ● Converged infrastructure appliances other than Web scale model ● Hyperconverged infrastructure appliances ● Data storage devices other than the Peer Storage (PS) or EqualLogic, Storage Center (SC) or Compellent, Fluid File System (Fluid FS), and PowerVault models The File transfer permission audit page displays details about the changes that are performed in these permission
20 Logs The Download Logs page provides logs of the following SupportAssist services: ● ConnectEMC ● REST services ● ESRS agent ● Apache ● SAE application and REST services The log files contain the date and time the log file was generated as the file name. The log files are automatically compressed and saved every 24 hours. Click the log file to initiate the download process. NOTE: The Download Logs page displays logs for the services run during the last 30 days.
21 Maintenance mode overview The maintenance mode functionality suspends the alert processing and automatic case creation capability of SupportAssist Enterprise, thereby preventing the creation of unnecessary support cases during an alert storm or a planned maintenance activity. If an alert storm is received from a monitored device, SupportAssist Enterprise automatically places the device in maintenance mode.
● If a device is placed in automated maintenance mode, the device continues to remain in automated maintenance mode for 30 minutes even if the global-level maintenance mode is enabled and then disabled. Topics: • • Enable or disable global-level maintenance mode Enable or disable device-level maintenance mode Enable or disable global-level maintenance mode Steps 1. In the SupportAssist header area, click About. The About page is displayed. 2.
22 Offline mode overview The offline mode feature suspends the alert processing and automatic case creation capability of SupportAssist Enterprise, thereby preventing the creation of unnecessary support cases during planned maintenance activity.
23 Manually configuring SNMP settings Configuring the SNMP settings (alert destination) of a device ensures that SupportAssist Enterprise receives alerts from the device. SupportAssist Enterprise can automatically configure the SNMP settings of Dell EMC servers. For Dell EMC chassis, networking, and storage devices you must manually configure the SNMP settings. For information about configuring alert destinations for PowerEdge VRTX, PowerEdge FX2, and PowerEdge M1000E chassis, go to https://www.dell.
The script file is supported only on devices running the following operating systems: ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 (32-bit and 64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7 (32-bit and 64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.8 (32-bit and 64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.9 (32-bit and 64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.10 (32-bit and 64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.11 (32-bit and 64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1 (64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2 (64-bit) ● Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
● ● ● ● ● Configuration Audit Updates Warning Critical 5. In the Alerts and Remote System Log Configuration section, ensure that all fields in the SNMP Trap column are selected. 6. Click SNMP and Email Settings. 7. In the IP Destination List section, select the State option to enable the alert destination field. You can specify up to eight destination addresses. For more information about the options, see the iDRAC Online Help. 8.
24 Maintaining SupportAssist Enterprise capability The changes that occur in your company IT setup over a period may require configuration or updates in SupportAssist Enterprise. To maintain SupportAssist Enterprise capability over a period for all your devices, you may be required to: ● Enable monitoring of devices. See Enable or disable device monitoring.
Install or upgrade OMSA using SupportAssist Enterprise Prerequisites You must have read-write access to the system drive of the target device. About this task To monitor a server for hardware issues, the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) agent must be installed and running on the server. If OMSA is either not installed or requires an upgrade on a device, the Status column on the Devices page displays an appropriate message.
NOTE: Configuring SNMP by using SupportAssist Enterprise is not supported on devices running the following operating system or hypervisors: ● Oracle Enterprise Linux ● VMware ESXi ● Oracle Virtual Machine Steps 1. Go to Devices > View Devices. The Devices page is displayed. 2. Select the device where you want to configure the SNMP settings. NOTE: If SupportAssist Enterprise does not support the configuration of SNMP on the device that you have selected, the Configure SNMP option is disabled.
2. Select the device for which you want to perform deep discovery. The device overview pane is displayed. 3. From the Tasks list, select Perform deep discovery. The Perform deep discovery window is displayed. NOTE: If deep discovery is not applicable for a device, the Perform deep discovery option is disabled. 4. Select a credential profile and click Next. The device is revalidated and the associated devices are discovered.
25 Other useful information This chapter provides additional information that you may require while using SupportAssist Enterprise.
● Alert generation capabilities of OMSA and iDRAC are not the same. In the yx3x or later PowerEdge servers, the alert generation capabilities of OMSA and iDRAC are almost similar. However, alerts from chipset and software RAID are available only through OMSA. ● Recommendations for operating system and software component versions are available only if the devices with a ProSupport Plus, ProSupport Flex for Data Center, or ProSupport One for Data Center service contract is monitored through OMSA.
ensures that alerts from the device are forwarded to the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed. SupportAssist Enterprise can also automatically configure the SNMP settings of a device such that the device forwards alerts to the server where SupportAssist Enterprise is deployed. You can allow SupportAssist Enterprise to configure the SNMP settings of the device while adding the device or later. The status of the SNMP configuration is displayed in the Status column on the Devices page.
Association view The Devices page supports two types of views for displaying the list of devices: ● Default view—Displays all available devices as a list ● Association view—Displays all available devices as groups based on their association. This view enables you to view a primary device and its associated devices as a group The following table lists the grouping of devices in the association view: Table 34.
As with any system that is modified for custom solutions, it is recommended that all SupportAssist Enterprise features are validated to ensure proper operation with those modifications. Access SupportAssist Enterprise application logs About this task SupportAssist Enterprise saves system events and log messages in the following locations: ● var logs ● The deployment logs folder: /var/lib/docker/volumes/saede_logs/_data A new log file is created daily at 11:59 p.m.
5. Add one of the following based on your preference: ● %root ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL — To grant permission to all users in the root group. ● user_name ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL — To grant permission to only a specific user. 6. Save the /etc/sudoers file. Update SupportAssist Enterprise SupportAssist Enterprise checks if any updates are available when you log in to SupportAssist Enterprise. If ● ● ● you have deployed SupportAssist Enterprise version 4.
26 SupportAssist Enterprise resources This section provides information about the documentation resources and other useful links that provide more information about SupportAssist Enterprise. Table 35. SupportAssist Enterprise resources For more information about See Minimum requirements, deployment methods, and product features SupportAssist Enterprise Version 4.00.06 User's Guide List of supported devices, protocols, firmware versions, and operating systems SupportAssist Enterprise Version 4.00.
27 Contacting Dell EMC About this task NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact information about your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell EMC product catalog. Dell EMC provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country or region and product, and some services may not be available in your area.
