Dell Management Plug-In for VMware vCenter User's Guide Version 1.
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. 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. © 2013 Dell Inc.
Contents Notes, Cautions, and Warnings................................................................................................... 2 1 Overview.......................................................................................................................................9 Dell Management Plug-in For VMware vCenter.......................................................................................................9 Key Features..................................................................
Setting Up The Firmware Repository ...............................................................................................................30 Server Security Settings For Deployment........................................................................................................ 31 About Host, Bare Metal, and iDRAC Compliance Issues........................................................................................32 Running The Fix Non-Compliant vSphere Hosts Wizard........................
Provisioning Overview............................................................................................................................................ 61 Understanding Deployment Job Times...................................................................................................................62 Server States Within The Deployment Sequence.................................................................................................. 62 Downloading Custom Dell ISO Images...............
Updating The Virtual Appliance Software Version.......................................................................................... 82 Downloading Troubleshooting Bundle.............................................................................................................82 Setting Up The HTTP Proxy.............................................................................................................................. 83 Setting Up The NTP Servers............................................
Can The Dell Management Plug-in Support ESX/ESXI with Lockdown Mode Enabled?.................................94 Inventory is Failing on Hosts ESXi 4.0 Update2 and ESXi Update 3 in Lockdown Mode After a Reboot..........95 When I tried to use lockdown mode, it failed...................................................................................................95 What Setting Should I Use For UserVars.CIMoeMProviderEnable With ESXi 4.1 U1?....................................
1 Overview Dell Management Plug-in For VMware vCenter VMware vCenter is the primary console used by IT administrators to manage and monitor VMware vSphere ESX/ESXi hosts. In a standard virtualized environment, VMware alerts and monitoring are used to prompt an administrator to launch a separate console to resolve hardware issues.
• Integrates with standard vCenter authentication, rules, and permissions.
Dell Management Plug-in Configuration 2 The following sections provide step-by-step instructions for the Dell Management Plug-in initial configuration. Upgrade, uninstallation, and security role information are also covered in the following sections. Security Roles And Permissions The Dell Management Plug-in stores user credentials in an encrypted format. It does not provide any passwords to client applications to avoid any improper requests that could lead to issues.
Access Control Authentication, Authorization, And Roles The Dell Management Plug-in uses the vSphere Client's current user session and the stored administration credentials for the virtual appliance to perform vCenter operations. The Dell Management Plug-in uses the vCenter server's built-in roles and privileges model to authorize user actions with the virtual appliance and the vCenter managed objects (hosts and clusters). Figure 3.
Figure 4. Dell Infrastructure Deployment Role The privileges this role provides are Create Template, Configure HW Configuration Profile, Configure Hypervisor Deployment Profile, Configure Connection Profile, Assign Identity, and Deploy. Dell.
• • • • • Dell.Configuration.
– • Blink LED, Clear LED, Configure OMSA URL from the Dell Server Management tab – Launch OMSA Console – Launch iDRAC Console – Display and clear SEL log Dell.Inventory.
3 Understanding How To Configure or Edit the Dell Management Plug-in After you complete the basic installation of the Dell Management Plug-in, you can proceed to configure the appliance using one of two methods. Although using the Configuration Wizard is the most common method used, you can also accomplish this through the appliance's Settings page in the Dell Management Center.
• vSphere Host and Bare Metal Server Compliance This section provides more information and lets you view details about non-compliant hosts or bare metal servers or run the wizards to fix them. • Inventory Schedule In this section, you can learn more about inventory scheduling. • Warranty Data Retrieval Schedule • Licensing • Events and Alarms Settings This section lets you learn more or view/change warranty schedules. This section lets you learn more about licensing.
– – For iDRACs already configured and enabled for Active Directory on which you want to use Active Directory, select the Use Active Directory check box; otherwise skip down to configure the iDRAC credentials. * In the Active Directory User Name text box, type the user name. Type the username in one of these formats: domain\username or domain/username or username@domain. The user name is limited to 256 characters. Refer to Microsoft Active Directory documentation for user name restrictions.
* In the Password text box type the password. The password is limited to 127 characters. NOTE: For servers that do not have either an iDRAC Express or Enterprise card, the iDRAC test connection result states Not Applicable for this system. NOTE: The OMSA credentials are the same credentials used for ESX and ESXi hosts. * In the Verify Password text box, type the password again.
To set up a proxy server: 1. In the Configure HTTP Proxy window, do one of the following: – To not use a proxy server, click Save and Continue. – To use a proxy server, under Settings enter a Proxy Server Address. 2. Enter the Proxy Port number. 3. Select the Credentials Required check box, if needed. 4. If you selected Credentials Required, do the following: a) In the Proxy User Name text box, type the proxy user name. b) In the Proxy Password text box, type the proxy password.
2. – To not run warranty schedules, select Do not retrieve Warranty Data. If you selected On Selected Days, then do the following: a) Select the text box next to each day of the week that you want to run the warranty jobs. b) In the text box, enter the time in HH:MM format. The time you enter is your local time. Calculate the time difference you need to run the warranty jobs at the proper time. 3. To apply the changes and continue, click Save and Continue.
NOTE: The @ character is not supported for use in shared network folder user names/passwords. c) To validate your entries click Begin Test. 3. To save this selection and continue the Configuration Wizard, click Save and Continue. Enabling The OMSA Link [Wizard] To launch OpenManage Server Administator (OMSA) within the Dell Management Plug-in virtual appliance, the OMSA Web Server must be installed and configured.
• Lists the Dell Management Plug-in configuration settings. • Starts the initial Configuration Wizard that steps you through the Dell Management Plug-in features necessary to manage and deploy servers in VMware vCenter. • Starts the Dell Management Plug-in Administration Console that lets you perform vCenter registration, virtual appliance management, alert management, and backup/restore of the Dell Management Plug-in database.
NOTE: OMSA is only required on Dell servers prior to Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers. To enable the OMSA link: 1. In the Dell Management Plug-in → Settings → General under OMSA Launcher, click Edit. 2. Use the OMSA Web Server URL text box to enter the URL for OMSA. You must include the full URL including the HTTPS. 3. To save this URL, click Apply. For information about setting up an OMSA trap destination, see Setting Up An OMSA Trap Destination.
– – For iDRACs already configured and enabled for Active Directory on which you want to use Active Directory, select the Use Active Directory check box; otherwise skip down to configure the iDRAC credentials. * In the Active Directory User Name text box, type the user name. Type the username in one of these formats: domain\username or domain/username or username@domain. The user name is limited to 256 characters. Refer to Microsoft Active Directory documentation for user name restrictions.
* In the Password text box type the password. The password is limited to 127 characters. NOTE: For servers that do not have either an iDRAC Express or Enterprise card, the iDRAC test connection result states Not Applicable for this system. NOTE: The OMSA credentials are the same credentials used for ESX and ESXi hosts. * In the Verify Password text box, type the password again.
6. To save, click Save. About Proxy Configuration The proxy settings define the HTTP proxy and any required credentials used to retrieve information from the Web (including from Dell online), such as: • Enable or disable the proxy server • Enter the proxy server and port number needed • Define any required credentials - user name and password NOTE: Proxy passwords cannot exceed 31 characters.
Running Inventory Jobs To run an inventory job: 1. Once the Configuration Wizard is complete, click Job Queue → Inventory → Run Now to immediately run an inventory job. 2. To see the status of the inventory job, click Refresh. 3. Navigate to the Host and Cluster view, click on any Dell host, then click the Dell Server Management tab.
Viewing or Editing Deployment Credentials In Dell Management Center, you can edit the deployment credentials. Deployment credentials are used to securely communicate with a bare-metal system using the iDRAC from initial discovery, until the end of the deployment process. Once deployment completes, the credentials are changed to those in the connection profile matched to the bare-metal system from the deployment wizard.
c) To validate your entries click Begin Test. 4. Click Apply. Server Security Settings For Deployment Restrict the set of deployable servers using a white list. If a server is in the white list, it is provided with credentials during the Auto-Discovery and handshake process and is displayed in the list of servers that are used for deployment. The white list is maintained by manually adding server service tags, deleting service tags, or importing a list of service tags from a CSV file.
* When the We found these service tags in your file dialog displays, click Apply. The service tags are now displayed in the Service Tag list. Deleting Deployable Servers From A White List For information about security settings for deployable servers, see Server Security Settings For Deployment. To delete deployable servers from a white list: 1. In the Dell Management Center, in the left pane, select Settings. 2. In the right-pane, select Security. 3. In the Security window, click Edit. 4.
Running The Fix Non-Compliant vSphere Hosts Wizard Run the Fix Non-Compliant vSphere Hosts Wizard to fix non-compliant hosts. For information about compliance, see About Host And Bare Metal Compliance Issues. Some non-compliant ESXi hosts require reboots. An ESXi host reboot is required if OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) must be installed or updated. In addition, a reboot is required on any host that has never run CSIOR.
Running The Fix Non-Compliant Bare Metal Server Wizard Run the Fix Non-Compliant Bare Metal Server Wizard to fix non-compliant bare metal servers. For information about compliance, see About Host And Bare Metal Compliance Issues. To run the Fix Non-Compliant Bare Metal Server Wizard: 1. In the Dell Management Center, in the left pane, click Compliance → Bare Metal Servers. 2. In the Bare Metal Servers window, view the non-compliant hosts, then click Fix Non-Compliant Bare Metal Servers. 3.
that are non-compliant due to the iDRAC license. If the Recheck Bare Metal Server Compliance link is disabled, that means there are no bare metal servers that are non-compliant due to the iDRAC license. 1. In Dell Management Center, in the left pane, click Compliance. 2. Expand Compliance, and click iDRAC License. Once you arrive to this page the compliance test runs. This is the same test that runs when you click Refresh. 3. If your license is out of date, click Purchase/Renew iDRAC License. 4.
12. Register the new current version appliance to the vCenter instances, see Registering a vCenter Server. 13. Close and reopen any vSphere Client instances that are running, to reload the new security certificate used for current version virtual appliance communication. 14. After verifying the current version virtual appliance is functioning properly in your environment, you may remove the 1.0 virtual appliance.
Product license The full product version contains a product license for up to three vCenters and the purchased number of host connections that are managed by the Dell Management Plug-in. When you upgrade from a demo license to a full product license, a new license XML file is included in the product license zip file (Dell_Management_Plug-in_<# of hosts>_license.zip) from the Dell website. Run the Dell_Management_Plug-in_<# of hosts>_license.exe to get the license XML file.
End-To-End Hardware Management 4 The goal of end-to-end hardware management is to provide the system health status and up-to-date infrastructure information that an administrator needs to respond to critical hardware events without leaving the Dell Management Center or vCenter.
Post only Critical and Warning Events Posts only events with either Critical or Warning criticality into related vCenters. Post only Virtualization-Related Critical and Warning Events Post Virtualization related events received from hosts into related vCenters. Virtualization related events are those that Dell has selected to be most critical to hosts running virtual machines. When you configure your Events and Alarms, you can enable them.
• Enabling The OMSA Link Deploying the OMSA Agent onto an ESX System Install the OMSA tar.gz on an ESX system to gather inventory and alert information from the systems. NOTE: Dell OpenManage agents are required on Dell hosts earlier than version 12G. You can install OMSA using the Dell Management Plug-in or manually to hosts prior to installing the Dell Management Plug-in. Details on manually installing the agents are at http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/eslvmwre/sysman/ sysman.
3. Select Alert Actions and make sure that any events to be monitored have the Broadcast Message option set, so that the events will be sent out. 4. Select the Platform Events option at the top of the tab. 5. Click the grey Configure Destinations button, and click the Destination link. 6. Select the Enable Destination check box. 7. Enter the Dell Management Plug-in appliance IP address in the Destination IP Address field. 8. Click Apply Changes. 9.
Displays information about the following hardware devices: – Field Replaceable Units (FRUs) such as DIMMs, system planar, power supplies, backplanes, controller cards, etc. – Memory - Number of slots available and in use, maximum capacity and amount of memory in use, and details on individual DIMMs. – Network Interface Cards (NICs) - Number of installed cards and details on individual NICs. – PCI Slots - Total available and number in use and details on individual slots.
Management Consoles The management consoles are used to launch external system management consoles, such as: • Click Remote Access Console to launch the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) Web user interface. • Click OMSA Console to launch the OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) user interface if it has been configured. See, Enabling The OMSA Link • Click Blade Chassis Console to launch the Chassis Management Controller (CMC) Web user interface.
NOTE: To make sure that the inventory contains up-to-date information, schedule the inventory job to run a minimum of once a week. The inventory job consumes minimal resources and does not degrade host performance.
– – 4. Server Information provides identification, hypervisor, and firmware information, such as: * Host name, power state, iDRAC IP address, Management IP address, connection profile in use, model, service tag and asset tag numbers, number of days left on the warranty, and when the last inventory scan was performed * Hypervisor, BIOS firmware, and iDRAC firmware versions Recent System Log Entries provide the 10 most recent system event log entries.
• An inventory task was not run on the server to collect the data, therefore there is nothing to display. • The number of host licenses is exceeded, and you must have additional licenses available in order for the inventory task to complete. • The server does not have the correct iDRAC license required for 12th generation servers and you must purchase the correct iDRAC licence. The Buy Now link is for purchasing the product for the first time and not for upgrades.
To view host power monitoring: 1. In vSphere Client, select your host, then select the Dell Server Management tab. 2. In the left pane, under Host Information, click Power Monitoring. 3. In the Power Monitoring page, view the power for this host. Displaying The Entire Datacenter Hardware Configuration And Status You must complete an inventory job prior to displaying the entire datacenter hardware configuration and status.
• Deleting A Connection Profile • Testing A Connection Profile • Refreshing A Connection Profile Viewing Or Editing An Existing Connection Profile After you have configured a connection profile, you can edit the profile name, description, associated hosts, and iDRAC and OMSA Agent credentials. To view or edit an existing connection profile: 1. From the Dell Management Center, select Connection Profiles. 2. Under Available Profiles, select the profile to view or edit and then click Edit/View. 3.
7. Click Next. 8. In the Host Credentials page, under Credentials, do one of the following: – – For hosts already configured and enabled for Active Directory on which you want to use Active Directory, select the Use Active Directory check box; otherwise skip down to configure your Host Credentials. * In the Active Directory User Name text box, type the user name. Type the username in one of these formats: domain\username or domain/username or username@domain.
Testing A Connection Profile To test a connection profile: 1. In the Dell Management Center, select Connection Profiles. 2. Under Available Profiles, to test the entered iDRAC and host root credentials on the selected servers, select the connection profile and then click Test Connection. 3. Use the check boxes to select the hosts you want tested, and then click Test Selected. 4. To abort all selected tests and cancel the testing, click Abort All Tests. 5. To exit, click Done.
To display logs in Dell Management Center: 1. From the Dell Management Center, in the left pane, select Log. 2. To update the log with the most recent data, click Refresh. 3. To select a severity category to filter the log data, in the All Categories drop-down list select one of the following: All Categories, Info, Warning, Error, or Security. 4.
About Firmware Updates The location where servers receive firmware updates is a global setting that is available in the Dell Management Center. The firmware repository is set up in the Dell Management Center, but updates are run on the specific Dell Host tab in vSphere Client. Firmware repository settings contain the firmware catalog location used to update deployed servers. There are two location types: Dell (ftp.dell.com) Uses the firmware update repository of Dell (ftp.dell.com).
NOTE: To safeguard against browser timeout issues, change the default timeout to 30 seconds. For information on changing the default timeout setting, see How Come I see an Error Message Displayed After Clicking the Firmware Update Link in the Troubleshooting section of the User’s Guide. To run the Firmware Update Wizard: 1. In vSphere Client → Dell Server Management tab → Host Information, click Firmware → Run Firmware Update Wizard. 2.
To update older firmware versions: 1. In vSphere Client, on the Dell Server Management tab, under Host Actions, click Run Firmware Update Wizard. The Update Required dialog displays when your host is at a lower level of firmware than the wizard supports. You will either be asked to download and run an ISO file or be given a bundle of updates to run. 2.
7. Click Next. 8. In the Select Updated Bundles page, select the update bundles using the check boxes. 9. Click Next. 10. In the Select the Systems/Components to Update page, use the check boxes to select the components to upgrade or downgrade. If you want to downgrade, select the Allow components to be downgraded check box. NOTE: If you select all components and some remain unselected, that means that there are no upgrades available for those components.
Here you can find the following details: – Service Tag – iDRAC IP – Status – Warnings – Firmware Update Job Details – Start Time – End Time. 5. If you want to abort a scheduled firmware update that is not running, in the same line as the job you want to abort, click Abort. 6. If you want to purge scheduled firmware updates, click Purge Job Queue. You can only purge jobs that are completed or scheduled. 7. Select the Older than date and job Status, and click Apply.
• If you are on a blade system, launch the CMC to launch the Chassis Management Controller user interface. If you are not on a blade system, this does not display.
– The start and end dates and how many days are left on the warranty – The warranty status (active or inactive) and when warranty information was last updated 59
Hardware Management 5 Prerequisites: To successfully perform hardware provisioning and deployment, the physical servers must appear in the Deployment Wizard. All physical servers must meet the following prerequisites: • • • • • • • • See the Dell Management Plug-In for VMWare vCenter Release Notes for specific hardware support information. The server must have the minimum supported versions of iDRAC firmware, Lifecycle controller and BIOS.
Create a Hardware Profile Contains the hardware settings gathered from a reference server that is used to deploy new servers. See Creating A New Hardware Profile. Create a Hypervisor Profile Contains the hypervisor installation information needed for ESX/ESXi deployment. See Creating A New Hypervisor Profile. Create a Deployment Template Optionally contains a hardware profile, a hypervisor profile, or both. You can save and reuse these profiles as needed for all available datacenter servers.
NOTE: The Dell Management Plug-in ISO does not contain the required ESXi ISO images for deployment. You must download these images to a location that is accessible during deployment or your deployment may fail. 1. Navigate to support.dell.com. 2. Browse to the Drivers & Downloads page in your language, and then do one of the following: – To select the drivers using the Service Tag or Express Service Code, under Yes, in the text box enter the service tag or express service code, and then click Submit.
NOTE: There are two RAID configuration options configured in the Hardware Profile: 1. Apply RAID1 + create a dedicated hot spare, applicable. Use this option if you want to apply default RAID configuration settings to the target server. The RAID configuration task defaults to RAID1 on the first two drives of the integrated controller that are RAID1 capable. Additionally, a dedicated hot-spare for the RAID1 array is created if a candidate drive meeting the criteria exists. 2.
c. In the Boot Retry Sequence drop-down list, select Enabled so that the server automatically retries the boot sequence, or select Disabled to not retry the sequence. d. Click Save to save the changes, or Cancel to cancel the changes. 13. If the BIOS boot mode was selected, you can expand Hard Drive Sequence to display the hard drive sequence options, and click Edit to make updates: – To make changes to the hard drive sequence displayed, select the device and click either Move Up or Move Down.
– Apply RAID1 + create a dedicated hot spare, applicable. Use this option if you want to apply default RAID configuration settings to the target server. The RAID configuration task defaults to RAID1 on the first two drives of the integrated controller that are RAID1 capable. Additionally, a dedicated hot-spare for the RAID1 array is created if a candidate drive meeting the criteria exists. – Clone RAID configuration from the reference Server .
About Managing Hardware Profiles Hardware profiles define a server's hardware configuration using a reference server. From the Dell Management Center, there are several management actions you can perform on existing hardware profiles, including: • Viewing or Editing A Hardware Profile • Duplicating Hardware Profiles • Renaming A Hardware Profile • Deleting A Hardware Profile • Refreshing Hardware Profiles Viewing Or Editing A Hardware Profile To view or edit a hardware profile: 1.
Refreshing An Updated Hardware Profile To refresh an updated hardware profile: 1. In the Dell Management Center, select Deployment → Deployment Templates → Hardware Profiles. 2. Click Refresh. The updated hardware profile information displays. Creating A New Hypervisor Profile To deploy and configure ESX/ESXi to a server, a hypervisor profile must be created.
– vCenter Instance: Displays the server instance that manages a host after deployment. – vCenter Version: Displays the current version. – vCenter Destination Container: Datacenter or cluster that hosts the new physical servers; click Browse to search for vCenter destinations. – vCenter Host Profile: Select a profile that encapsulates host configuration and helps to manage host configuration. To add the information to the profile, click Save. 8.
Figure 5. Example VLAN network. In this example network, the Dell Management Plug-in is on VLAN 5, while the vCenter and the VMkernal of the ESXi hosts being deployed are on VLAN 10. Because the Dell Management Plug-in does not support multi-VLAN homing, VLAN 5 must route to VLAN 10 for all systems to communicate to each other correctly. If routing is not enabled between these VLANs, then the deployment fails. Viewing Or Editing Hypervisor Profiles To view or edit hypervisor profiles: 1.
Renaming Hypervisor Profile To rename a hypervisor profile: 1. In the Dell Management Center, select Deployment → Deployment Templates → Hypervisor Profiles. 2. On the Hypervisor Profiles page, select a profile and click Rename. 3. In the Rename dialog box, enter a unique hypervisor profile name. 4. Click Apply to use the new name, or click Cancel to cancel.
Managing Deployment Templates From the Dell Management Center, there are several management actions you can perform on existing deployment templates, including: • Building Deployment Templates • Duplicating Deployment Templates • Renaming Deployment Templates • Deleting A Deployment Template Duplicating Deployment Templates To duplicate a deployment template: 1. In the Dell Management Center, select Deployment → Deployment Templates . 2.
• Displaying the Job Queue where you can manage deployment jobs. NOTE: If you’re deploying a hardware profile only, then the new Global Settings, Server Identification, and Connection Profile pages are skipped and you go directly to the Schedule Job page.
Deployment Wizard Step 3: Global Settings You can deploy hypervisor to either a hard drive or an Internal Dual SD Module. If an Internal Dual SD Module is available on at least one of the servers selected, the Internal Dual SD Module option button is enabled. The drop-down list is disabled until the Internal Dual SD Module option button is selected. Toggling the option buttons should enable/ disable the drop-down list. 1.
4. Click ^ to expand and view individual server information. 5. Under Host Name and NIC, enter a Fully Qualified Host Name for the server. 6. In the NIC Management Tasks drop-down list, select the NIC that will be used for managing the server. 7. Enter IP addresses, subnet mask, and other network information, or select the Obtain using DHCP check box. 8. If deploying to a network that requires a VLAN ID, select the VLAN check box and then enter the VLAN ID.
3. Click Finish. 4. Now that the deployment wizard is complete, you can manage deployment jobs using the Job Queue. 5. To display a list of non-compliant servers that must have a firmware update before the wizard can be completed, click Non-Compliant Servers. Related Tasks: • Managing Deployment Jobs Using Deployment JobQueue Understanding Job Queue The Job Queue manages server deployment and inventory retrieval jobs, such as: • Displaying the submitted server deployment jobs.
NOTE: Any deployment jobs that are in progress cannot be aborted. 7. To display the Purge Deployment Job Queue window, click Purge Job Queue. Select the Older than date and job Status, and click Apply. The select jobs are then cleared from the queue. Adding A Server Manually You can manually add a server that has not been added by the discovery process. Once it is added, the server shows up in the list of servers in the Deployment Wizard. 1.
Console Administration 6 Administration of the Dell Management Plug-in and its virtual environment is achieved by using two additional administration portals: • Web-based Administration Console • Console view for an individual server (the appliance virtual machine console). Through the use of these two portals, global settings for vCenter management, Dell Management Plug-in database backup and restore, and reset/restart actions can be entered and used across all vCenter instances.
b) In the Description text box, enter an optional description. 4. Under Admin User Account, do the following: a) In the Admin User Name text box, enter the administrator's user name. b) In the Password text box, enter the password. c) In the Verify Password text box, enter the password again. 5. Click Register. Modifying The vCenter Administrator Login To modify the vCenter administrator login: 1.
Uploading A Dell Management Plug-in License To The Administration Console To upload a Dell Management Plug-in license to the Administration Portal: 1. Launch a browser window and enter the Administration Console URL displayed in the vSphere vCenter Console tab for the virtual machine you want to configure or use the link from the Dell Management Console → Settings page. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https:// 2. In the left pane, click VCENTER REGISTRATION.
CAUTION: Perform a backup prior to an update of the virtual appliance to make sure all data is protected. See, Managing Backup and Restore. 1. Launch a browser window and enter the Administration Console URL displayed in the vSphere vCenter Console tab for the virtual machine you want to configure or use the link from the Dell Management Console → Settings page. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https:// 2. In the left pane, click APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT. 3.
Setting Up The HTTP Proxy You can set up the HTTP proxy settings using the Administration Console or the Dell Management Console. 1. Launch a browser window, and enter the Administration Console URL displayed in the vSphere vCenter Console tab for the virtual machine you want to configure or use the link from Dell Management Console → Settings page. The URL uses the following format and is case sensitive: https:// 2. In the left pane, click Appliance Management. 3.
4. Enter the Common Name, Organizational Name, Organizational Unit, Locality, State Name, Country and Email for the request. Click Continue. 5. Click Download, and then save the resulting HTTPS certificate to an accessible location. Uploading An HTTPS Certificate You can use HTTPS Certificates for secure communication between the virtual appliance and host systems.
4. – Maximum number of alerts – Number of days to retain alerts – Timeout for duplicate alerts (seconds) To save your settings, click Apply, or click Cancel to cancel. Managing Backup And Restore Managing backup and restore is accomplished from the Administrative Console.
https:// 2. In the left pane, click BACKUP AND RESTORE. 3. To edit the backup and restore settings, click Edit Automatic Scheduled Backup (this makes fields active). 4. To enable the backups, click Enabled. 5. Select the check boxes for the days of the week for which you want to run the backup. 6. In the Time for Backup (24 Hour Time Format, HH:mm) text box, enter the time in HH:mm format. The Next Backup populates with the date and time of the next scheduled backup. 7.
Understanding vSphere Client Console Tab The Console tab is found within the vSphere Client. The Console tab works hand and hand with the Administration Console. The Console tab provides the ability to configure network settings, change the administration password, set the local time zone, reboot the virtual appliance, reset the virtual appliance to the factory settings, and refresh the virtual appliance console view. Once you access the console screen, VMware vSphere Client takes control of your cursor.
Rebooting Virtual Appliance To reboot the virtual appliance: 1. In vSphere Client, select the Dell Management Plug-in virtual machine, and then click the Console tab. 2. Select Reboot this Virtual Appliance and press . 3. The following message is displayed: If there are any processes running on this appliance they will be terminated by this action. Are you sure you wish to do this? 4. Enter y to reboot or n to cancel. The appliance is rebooted.
Troubleshooting 7 Use this section to find answers to troubleshooting questions. Upgrading Issues I backed up my appliance, powered it off, deployed the most current version of the Dell Management Plug-in and tried to restore my database. The Dell Management Plug-in is disabled. What do I do? The appliance must be unregistered before it is powered off. Follow the supported upgrade procedure in this book for more details.
Why did my system not enter maintenance mode when I performed a one-to-many firmware update? Some firmware updates do not require rebooting the host. In that case, the firmware update is performed without putting the host into maintenance mode. After upgrading to 1.7.0, some of the alarms appear disabled. What do I do? New alarms were added in the 1.7.0 version of the Dell Management Plug-in. When the upgrade to 1.7.0 is completed, the new alarms are registered in the disabled mode.
Figure 6. Firmware link communication error 1. Open Microsoft Registry Editor (Regedit). 2. Navigate to the following location: KHEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings 3. Add a DWORD value for ReceiveTimeout. 4. Set the value to 30 seconds (30000) [This value may need to be a higher value in your environment]. 5. Exit Regedit. 6. Restart Internet Explorer. NOTE: Just opening a new Internet Explorer window is not enough. Restart the Internet Explorer browser.
What Are The Required Port Settings For The Dell Management Plug-in? Use these port settings for the Dell Management Plug-in. Table 3. Virtual Appliance Ports Port Number Protocols Port Type Max.
What are the Minimum requirements for successful installation and operation of the virtual appliance? The following settings outline the minimum appliance requirements: • • Physical RAM: 3 GB. Reserved Memory: 1 GB NOTE: For optimal performance Dell recommends 3 GB. • • Disk: 32.5 GB. CPU: 2 virtual CPUs.
enable CISOR and reboot host. If the CISOR was already enabled, then login to the iDRAC console, reset iDRAC, wait for few minutes, and then refresh the Firmware Update page in VMware vSphere client. How Do I Test Event Settings By Using OMSA To Simulate A Temperature Hardware Fault? To make sure that events are functioning correctly: 1. Navigate to Alert Management → Platform Events in the OMSA user interface. 2. Select the Enable Platform Event Filter Alerts check box. 3.
Inventory is Failing on Hosts ESXi 4.0 Update2 and ESXi Update 3 in Lockdown Mode After a Reboot. Lockdown Mode requires ESXi 4.1 or later. If you are using an earlier ESXi version, when a host is rebooted for any reason during Lockdown Mode, inventory continues failing unless you perform the following steps on host after a reboot. The workaround steps for ESXi 4.0 Update2 and Update3 are: 1.
Why Are My Hypervisor Deployments Failing On R210 II Machines? A timeout issue on R210 II systems produces a hypervisor deployments failure error due to the failure of the BIOS to boot from attached ISO. To resolve this issue, manually install hypervisor on the machine. Why Do I See Auto-discovered Systems Without Model Information In The Deployment Wizard This usually indicates that the firmware version installed on the system does not meet recommended minimums.
My Firmware Update Failed. What Do I Do? Check the virtual appliance logs to see if the tasks timed out. If so, iDRAC needs to be reset by performing a cold reboot. Once the system is up and running, check to see if the update was successful by either running an inventory or using the Firmware tab. My vCenter Update Failed. What Can I Do? vCenter registration can fail due to communication issues, therefore if you are experiencing these issues one solution is to use a static IP address.
Auto-Discovery and Handshake Prerequisites • Prior to running auto-discovery and handshake, make sure that iDRAC and Lifecycle Controller firmware and BIOS versions meet the minimum recommendations. • CSIOR must have run at least once on the system or iDRAC. Hardware Configuration Failure • Before initiating a deployment task, make sure the system has completed CSIOR and is not in the process of rebooting.
Dell Management Plug-in For VMware vCenter Related Information • View or download Dell server documentation for PowerEdge™ Servers at: http://www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals • Dell OpenManage System Administrator documents http://www.dell.com/support/Manuals • Dell Lifecycle Controller documentation http://www.dell.
Virtualization—Related Events for Dell Poweredge 11th and 12th Generation Servers 8 The following table contains the virtualization-related critical and warning events, including event name, description and severity level. Table 7. Dell PowerEdge 11th and 12th Generation Server Events Event Name Description Severity Recommended Action Dell-Current sensor detected a warning value A current sensor in the specified system exceeded its warning threshold.
Dell - Power supply detected a failure A power supply has been disconnected or has failed. Dell - Power supply sensor A power supply sensor in detected a non-recoverable the specified system value detected an error from which it cannot recover. Error Put the system into maintenance mode Error No action Dell - Memory Device Status warning A memory device correction Warning rate exceeded an acceptable value.
Dell - Processor sensor detected a failure value A processor sensor in the specified system is disabled, has a configuration error, or experienced a thermal trip. Error No action Dell - Processor sensor A processor sensor in the Error detected a non-recoverable specified system has failed. value No action Dell - Device configuration error A configuration error was detected for a pluggable device in the specified system.
carrier in the specified system exceeded its warning threshold. Dell - Temperature sensor detected a failure value Error Put the system into maintenance mode Dell - Temperature sensor A temperature sensor on detected a non-recoverable the backplane board, value system board, or drive carrier in the specified system detected an error from which it cannot recover.
independent error condition. Dell - Storage: Controller warning Controller warning. Refer to Warning the Tasks & Events tab on the vSphere client for details. No action Dell - Storage: Controller failure Controller failure. Refer to the Tasks & Events tab on the vSphere client for details. Error Put the system into maintenance mode Dell - Storage: Channel Failure Channel failure.
Dell - Storage: Array disk warning Array disk warning. Warning No action Dell - Storage: Array disk information Array disk information. Info No action Dell - Storage: Power supply warning Power supply warning.
Dell - Watchdog Power cycle Watchdog Power cycle error No Action Dell - System Power Exceeds PSU Wattage System Power Exceeds PSU error Wattage No Action Dell - System Power Exceeds Error Cleared System Power Exceeds Error Cleared info No Action Dell - Power Supply Inserted Power Supply Inserted info No Action Dell - Internal Dual SD Module is present Internal Dual SD Module is present info No Action Dell - Internal Dual SD Module is online Internal Dual SD Module is online info No Act
Dell - Integrated Dual SD Module information Integrated Dual SD Module information info No Action Dell - Integrated Dual SD Module redundancy information Integrated Dual SD Module redundancy information info No Action Dell - Network failure or critical event Network failure or critical event error No Action Dell - Network warning Network warning warning No Action Dell - Network information Network information info No Action Dell - Physical disk failure Physical disk failure error No A
Understanding Auto-Discovery A Auto-Discovery is the process of adding a Dell PowerEdge 11th or 12th Generation bare-metal server into a pool of available servers for use by the Dell Management Plug-in. Once a server is discovered, use it for hypervisor and hardware deployment. This appendix provides sufficient information about Auto-Discovery to help you with system configuration. Auto-Discovery is a Lifecycle Controller feature for setting up a new server and registering it using a console.
• Additional network settings: If using DHCP, enable the Get DNS server address from DHCP setting so that DNS name resolution can occur. • Provisioning service location: The iDRAC must know the IP address or host name of the provisioning service server. • Account access disabled: Enable the administrative account access to the iDRAC and if there are any iDRAC accounts with administrator privileges, first disable them from within the iDRAC web console.
NOTE: If for some reason the Auto-Discovery did not complete successfully, there is no way to connect to the iDRAC remotely. Remote connection would require that you have enabled a non-admin account on the iDRAC. If there is no enabled account present on the iDRAC, then the only way to access the iDRAC is to login to the box locally and enabling the account on the iDRAC. 1. Enter the iDRAC IP address into a browser. 2. Log in to the iDRAC Enterprise GUI. 3.
18. To Exit, on your keyboard, press ESC. 19. Use the arrow keys to select LAN User Configuration. 20. Use the arrow Keys to select Provisioning Server. 21. Press Enter. 22. Enter the IP address of the host. 23. Press ESC. 24. Use arrow keys to select Account Access. 25. Use the space bar to toggle the option to Disable. 26. Use the arrow keys to select Auto-Discovery. 27. Use the space bar to toggle the option to Enabled. 28. From your keyboard, press ESC. 29. Press ESC again.
15. Press ESC. 16. In the Warning Screen, to confirm Exit, click Yes.
