Using USB NIC to Manage OEM Appliances Abstract This Whitepaper provides information on OS – BMC pass through functionality via USB NIC Interface. System management and Firmware updates via USB-NIC channel when iDRAC has no physical network connectivity and there is no network connectivity between host OS and iDRAC.
Revisions Date Description August 2018 Initial release Acknowledgements This paper was produced by the following members of the Dell EMC storage engineering team: Author: Abhishek Raj, Ganesh Viswanathan Support: Other: The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Table of contents 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................5 2 Enabling USB NIC feature............................................................................................................................................6 2.1 Dell EMC OEM Identity Module .............................................................................................................
Executive summary This white paper is intended to provide information on OS-to-BMC passthrough functionality using the USB NIC interface on the 13th and 14th generation of Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. You can access OS-to-BMC feature by two channels—shared LOM and USB NIC. In this document, we discuss the USB NIC channel. USB NIC feature provides a unique functionality to access the iDRAC web interface and command-line interface through host operating system without knowing the IP address of the iDRAC.
1 Introduction USB NIC feature is available on all PowerEdge systems. It enables access to iDRAC interfaces including the web interface, CLI (RACADM), Redfish, WSMan, and SSH. Following are some of the key aspects of this features: Enables you to access iDRAC through the host OS without knowing the iDRAC IP address. Provides access to the iDRAC using USB NIC IP address. Especially helpful when there is no physical network connection to iDRAC or there is no management station available.
2 Enabling USB NIC feature You can enable the USB NIC features using the following: 2.1 Dell EMC OEM Identity Module iDRAC web interface Command line interface (RACADM) F2 setup screen at POST Dell EMC OEM Identity Module Dell EMC OEM Identity module (IDM) is a software that provides enhanced branding, customization, and configuration. USB NIC feature can be enabled using custom identity module used by OEM customers. You can request custom identity modules using the DellYourID website www.
2.2 iDRAC web interface 2.2.1 13th generation systems 1. Log in to iDRAC web interface. 2. Navigate to Overview iDRAC Settings Network OS to iDRAC Pass-through. 3. For Pass through Configuration, select USB NIC and save the settings. 2.2.2 14th generation systems Same setting as 13G. 2.3 Command line interface (RACADM) Local RACADM: RACADM set iDRAC.OS-BMC.AdminState enabled Remote RACADM: RACADM –r -u -p set iDRAC.OS-BMC.AdminState enabled 2.
3 Applications of USB NIC When no management station is available to manage the servers through iDRAC IP: Access iDRAC interfaces through the operating system. Access iDRAC web interface by entering the USB NIC IP address in the web browser. Access iDRAC through SSH using USB NIC IP address. Access iDRAC through RACADM, Redfish, and WinRM commands using USB NIC IP address. All iDRAC functionalities remain same through USB NIC interface.
WSMan can also be used for the firmware updates. Redfish can be used for iDRAC and BIOS attributes management. It currently does not support repository-based updates. Install non-DUP format software when system does not have physical network connectivity: When system has no physical iDRAC network connectivity, use USB NIC feature to install or update software that is not in DUP format and cannot be run directly on the host OS. For example, when the installer is in .pm, d7, or d9 file format.
4 Repository-based firmware updates using RACADM over SSH You can perform repository-based firmware updates by establishing a SSH connection to iDRAC using USB NIC IP address and sending RACADM commands directly to the server via SSH interface. It is best to use a TFTP server with USB NIC OS IP address locally in the host OS. This process eliminates the need for having RACADM software installed on the server. Example: racadm update -f Catalog.xml -e 169.254.0.2/Repo/MyCatalog -a TRUE -t TFTP 4.
5 Contact information For further questions about this document or the feature, contact your account manager or the Dell EMC OEM representative.
