Dell Console
You can communicate with the console 'port' of Dell servers viathe iDRAC in a number of ways.
Our m1000e has an iKVM, which allowsyou to talk to the console (see p185)at the data center. That's practical for initializing thechassis management controller (CMC), but not useful otherwise. Obviously,it's good in a panic, too.
The best remote way to connect to m620s is via the Java Console. You connect by:
This will prompt you for a password.
Java Console
If you have an iDRAC Enterprise license, you can use VNC to connectto your iDRAC. We don't so we have to use the built-in VNC consolewritten in Java that's built into the iDRAC. It doesn't work out ofthe box unless you are on the same net as you iDRAC, unfortunately,which isn't the case.
Apr 25, 2018 - Hi, For Dell servers, the Service Tag is used in place of Serial Number for all auto-discovery systems. However, the redfish API reports.
We don't want our iDRAC directly connected to the Internet. Wealso don't want to hang out in a data center -- rather noisyespecially when the m1000e boots. This means we have totunnel our console ports via ssh. Unfortunately, theJava console is not aware that we are doing that, and it doesn'twork by simply clicking on
Launch Virtual Console
in the iDRAC webGUI.We wrote a simple wrapper calledidrac-java-console,which does the work of fixing up the JLNP filecreated by the iDRAC. It's a bit of a hack, but works withour verison (2.15.10.10) of the iDRAC firmware. If there's enoughinterest, we'll generalize it. ThePython docstringtells you how to use the program.
Once setup, you'll be able to see the console. This is usefulif you haven't installed one of these puppies before. (Wouldyou be reading this if you were an expert at configuring Dell blades?)
Java Console Gotchas
- Don't turn on Single Cursor mode. It can completely take over your computerto the point where you have to hard reboot.
- Soemtimes keystrokes no longer are sent to the DRAC. Not sure what'sgoing on, but you have to reboot.
Dell has said that it is better to use Windows for the Java Console.
idrac-m620-setup.sh
We've enacpsulated all the m620 setup codein idrac-m620-setup.sh, which is a sequence offunctions you can selectively execute, including
ra
.Serial over LAN (SOL) Console
One of the things you want to be able to do is connect to theconsole port of the computer so you can configure the BIOS andsuch.
Serial over LAN is a standard protocol in theIntelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI),which is a set of protocols for communicating out-of-band with thecomputer system via the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC),aka. Dell's iDRAC. One of the protocols is Serial over LAN (SOL)console.
You can connect to the SOL console in a number of ways. The mostpopular (and the one Dell recommends) isipmitool. This isavailable as an rpm for CentOS.
Unfortunately,
ipmitool
is a bit lame. Here's an example output:That's it. You don't get any more information, because nothing ishappening. You don't know if the machine is booted, hung in theboot, or whatever. SOL doesn't have the ability to retrieve history.It's still useful to have, especially when you aren't in a positionto use a GUI so let's configure it.
If you reboot the device, you can can get into the console soyou might want to use both the Java and serial consoles side by side,since the Java console loses the ability to enter keystrokes.
Configuring ipmitool (and SOL console)
You can't just use ipmitool, however. You first have to configurethe iDRAC to allow it. There are some gotchas.
First you have to configure IPMI over the LAN using racadam.Others hand edit the BIOS,but we're trying to be fully automated here.
Here's the command to turn on Dell's
IPMILan
feature;Unlike many other BIOS configuration options, this takes effectimmediately. SeeRACADM Command Line Reference Guide iDRAC7 (p278)for a complete description of this command.
SerialCommSettings
Before you can use the SOL console, you have to set theSerialCommSettings. Let's get them first:
This might be how your SerialCommSettings are set by default. We wantto turn on console redirection. Just tobe sure, we'll use all the possibleracadm commands to set this up (in bash):
SerialCommSettings ssh to drac
racadm set iDRAC.SSH.Enable 1
You need to commit the changes with a job:
Learn jobs work on the iDRAC to see why this mightnot work the first time.
CentOS 7 Serial Console (Serial1Com2Serial2Com1)
To test:
To enable:
Dell Key Mappings
When you are connected to ssh
console com2
, you can get to various things this way:ESC-1
F1ESC-2
System Setup (F2)ESC-0
Lifecycle Controller (F10)ESC-!
BIOS Boot (F11)ESC-@
PXE Boot
This doesn't seem to work:
Use the <ESC><R><ESC><r><ESC><R> key sequence for <Ctrl><Alt><Del>
I have an iDRAC7 that came with an Express License. I have purchased an Enterprise license. What do I need to do to activate the license on my iDRAC7?
asciiphil
asciiphilasciiphil
2 Answers
You'll have to go through the DRAC's web interface to apply it. (I've tried using
radacm
from a Linux install on the system--racadm license import -f <filename>
should work--but I keep getting told that my iDRAC doesn't support racadm
commands.)From the BIOS, press F2 to enter System Setup and go to 'iDRAC Settings'. Configure its network and its user account. Exit the system setup, saving your changes as prompted, and let the system reboot. Once the DRAC is accessible on the network, visit it with a web browser, log in, and go to the Overview > Server > Licenses page. On the 'iDRAC' line, under the 'License Options' drop-down menu, click 'Import'. Select the license XML file you obtained earlier and click 'Apply'.
At this point you should reboot your system once more, as the documentation indicates that some features may not be available until the system has been fully power cycled.
asciiphilasciiphil
First I test the racadm account locally:
racadm getsysinfo
And if that works drop the XML file on that systems desktop and do the following:
racadm license import -f 'C:somepathlic.xml' -c idrac.embedded.1
You should see the license type output afterwards.
heyjonheyjon