Dell OpenManage Essentials 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. © 2012 Dell Inc.
Contents Notes, Cautions, and Warnings...................................................................................................2 1 About OpenManage Essentials..............................................................................................13 What's New in This Release...................................................................................................................................13 2 Installing OpenManage Essentials....................................................
Dashboard..............................................................................................................................................................29 OpenManage Essentials Heading Banner.......................................................................................................29 Home Portal Reports........................................................................................................................................29 Device by Status..........................
WMI Configuration Options..............................................................................................................................48 Storage Configuration.............................................................................................................................................49 Storage Configuration Options.........................................................................................................................49 WS-Man Configuration....................
Non-Compliant Systems...................................................................................................................................65 Device Search........................................................................................................................................................65 Query Results...................................................................................................................................................66 Creating Device Group.....
Viewing Alert Trap Forward Action..................................................................................................................83 Handling Alerts.......................................................................................................................................................83 Flagging an Alert..............................................................................................................................................
Viewing the System Update Page........................................................................................................................103 Understanding Server BIOS Firmware and Drivers Sources...............................................................................104 Choosing the Right Source for Updates...............................................................................................................104 Selecting an Update Catalog Source...................................
Working With Sample Remote Tasks Use Cases.................................................................................................123 Use Cases in Remote Tasks...........................................................................................................................123 Device Capability Matrix.......................................................................................................................................124 17 Remote Tasks — Reference..........................
MSI Return Code............................................................................................................................................148 E-mail Alert Action................................................................................................................................................148 Discovery..............................................................................................................................................................148 Inventory......
Editing a Discovery Range Group...................................................................................................................171 Enabling a Discovery Range or Discovery Range Group...............................................................................171 Disabling a Discovery Range or Discovery Range Group..............................................................................172 Creating a Discovery Exclude Range............................................................
About OpenManage Essentials 1 OpenManage Essentials is a hardware management application that provides a comprehensive view of Dell systems, devices, and components in the enterprise’s network. With OpenManage Essentials, a web-based and one‑to‑many systems management application for Dell systems and other devices, you can: • Discover and inventory the systems. • Monitor systems’ health. • View and manage system alerts. • Perform system updates. • View hardware inventory and compliance reports.
2 Installing OpenManage Essentials Installation Prerequisites and Minimum Requirements For a list of supported platforms, operating systems, and browsers, see the Dell OpenManage Essentials Support Matrix at support.dell.com/manuals. To install OpenManage Essentials, you require local system administrator privileges and the system you are using must meet the criteria mentioned in Minimum Recommended Hardware and Minimum Requirements.
Minimum Requirements Table 1.
NOTE: The password for the typical install, auto generated SQL Server login account, is controlled by the application and different on every system. For the highest level of security, it is recommended that you use a domain service account that is specified during custom installation for SQL Server. At runtime, when the OpenManage Essentials website determines that it has an invalid certificate or certificate binding; the self-signed certificate is regenerated.
2. – Dell License Manager—Select to install the Dell license manager. Dell License Manager is a one-to-many license deployment and reporting tool for managing the Dell iDRAC 7 licenses. – Documentation—Click to view the online help. – View Readme—Click to view the readme file. To view the latest readme, go to support.dell.com/manuals. In Dell OpenManage Install, select Dell OpenManage Essentials and click Install.
NOTE: If you have multiple database instances running on a selected database server, you can specify the required database instance name to configure the Essentials database with it. For example, using (local) \MyInstance, you are configuring Essentials database on a local server and MyInstance named database instance. 4. Verify the installation settings in the Ready to Install the Program page and the click Install.
4. In the message Uninstalling OpenManage Essentials removes the OpenManage Essentials database. Do you want to retain the database?, click Yes to retain the database or click No to remove it. Upgrading OpenManage Essentials From Version 1.0.1 to Version 1.1 1. Double-click the OpenManage Essentials executable file. The Dell OpenManage Install screen is displayed. The following options are available: 2.
– Warning—This warning condition disables the Typical installation but not an Upgrade of the feature later during installation. Also, later during installation, use the Custom installation setup type to select the feature – Information—This informational condition will not affect the Typical selection of a feature.
Setting Up and Configuring VMware ESXi 5 Before setting up and configuring VMware ESXi 5, ensure that you have ESXi 5 build 474610 or later. If you do not have the required build, download the latest build from vmware.com. 1. Download the latest version (7.1) of Dell OpenManage offline bundle for ESXi from support.dell.com. 2. If you have enabled SSH, copy the file using WinSCP or a similar application to the /tmp folder on the ESXi 5 host. 3.
Getting Started With OpenManage Essentials 3 Logging On to OpenManage Essentials To log on to OpenManage Essentials: • From the management station desktop, click the Essentials icon. • From the management station desktop, click Start → All Programs → Dell OpenManage Applications → Essentials → Essentials. • From a local or remote system, launch a supported browser.
Figure 1. OpenManage Essentials Home Portal 1. Logo and banner 2. Menu items 3. Console area 4. Add a report to the home portal 5. Save the current home portal layout 6. Load the last saved home portal layout 7. Load the default home portal layout 8. Refresh the home portal page 9. Launch the online help Customizing Portals You can change the layout of the portal page to accomplish the following: • Display additional available reports. NOTE: This option is only available in the Home portal.
For more information on the: • Home portal, see OpenManage Essentials Home Portal Reference. • Device portal, see Devices Reference. • Discovery and inventory portal, see Discovery And Inventory Reference. • Reports portal, see Reports Reference. . Displaying Additional Available Reports and Graphs Charts have drill-down feature. To view additional reports and graphs, click the icon on the top right corner.
• In report tables, use the drag and drop option or funnel options to filter for the required data and use right-click options to perform various tasks. Saving and Loading the Portal Layout To save and load the portal layout, click the icon. All the current layout settings and visible reports on the portal are saved on the portal page. To load the previous portal layout, click the icon. Updating the Portal Data To refresh the portal page manually, click the icon.
• Tabbed Document—To move the component into a tab in the portal page. Select the control to dock a floating component. You can create a tabbed view by docking a pane within other panes or dock a pane at the top, bottom, left, or right side of the main window. You can resize panes and all panes will fill the selected area when docked. To move the component to the side bar, click the icon and to restore it, select the component and click the icon. To create filters in a report grid, click the icon.
OpenManage Essentials Home Portal — Reference 4 Dashboard This dashboard page provides a snapshot of the managed devices that include servers, storage, switches, and so on. You can filter the view based on the devices by clicking the Filter by: drop-down list. You can also add a new group of devices from the dashboard by clicking Add New Group from the Filter by: drop-down list. OpenManage Essentials Heading Banner The banner displays the Critical and Warning icons including the number of devices.
• • • • • • PCI Device Information Server Components and Versions Server Overview Storage Controllers Task Status ESX Information Device by Status Device by status provides device status information in a pie chart format. Click a segment of the pie chart to view the device summary. Field Description Unknown Health status of these devices are not known. Normal These devices are working as expected. Warning These devices display behaviors that are not normal and further investigation is required.
Field Description • Ranges-Select to filter based on the selected range. Task Status Provides a list of currently executing and previously run tasks and their status. The task status grid on this page shows the status of just discovery, inventory, and tasks. However, the main portal shows all types of task statuses. Schedule View From Schedule View you can: • View tasks that are scheduled to occur and tasks that are completed.
5 Discovering and Inventorying Devices Perform Discovery and Inventory in order to manage your network devices. Supported Devices and Protocols Table 3.
Protocol / Mechanism Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Web ServicesManagement (WSMAN) Administrator health only) Application launch: warranty Dell servers without OpenManage Server Administrator installed Windows/ Hyper‑V Discovery (Unknown) Discovery Correlation Classification Hardware inventory Application launch • • Remote desktop Warranty Linux/VMware ESX Discovery (Unknown) NS NS VMware ESXi NS NS Discovery Correlation Classification Hard
Supported Operating Systems (Servers) Protocols and Features Matrix Protocol / Mechanism Dell servers with OpenManage Server Administrator installed Windows /Hyper-V Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Command Line Interface (CLI)a NS OpenManage Server Administrator CLI Deploy OpenManage Server Administrator Server Updates • • • Linux/ VMware ESX NS BIOS Firmware Driver OpenManage Server Administrator CLI Deploy OpenManage Server Administrator Server Updates • • • BIOS Firmware Drive
Supported Operating Systems (Storage) Protocols and Features Matrix Table 4.
Legend and Definitions • NS: Not Supported • Discovery: Capability to discover the device on the network. • Correlation: Capability to correlate: – Discovered server and DRAC, iDRAC, or BMC devices. – Discovered modular systems or switches. – ESX, ESXi, or Hyper-V host and guest virtual machines. • Classification: Capability to classify the devices by type. For example, servers, network switches, storage, and so on.
1. Details from the last discovery and inventory task run. 2. Details of previously discovered and inventoried devices. 3. Details of tasks and their status. Configuring a Discovery and Inventory Task 1. From OpenManage Essentials, either click Manage → Discovery and Inventory → Common Tasks → Add Discovery Range or click Manage → Discovery and Inventory → Common Tasks → Add Discovery Range Group. 2. In Discovery Range Configuration: a) Provide the group name if you selected Add Discovery Range Group.
– To schedule the task to run at a later time, select Do not perform discovery or inventory, and refer to the Scheduling a New Discovery Task or Scheduling a New Inventory Task sections. – Review your selections in the Summary screen and click Finish. To change any of the parameters in previous configuration screens, click Back. When complete, click Finish. Changing the Default SNMP Port SNMP uses the default UDP port 161 for general SNMP messages and UDP port 162 for SNMP trap messages.
Discovery Speed Slider Bar This control, also known as the discovery throttle, controls how fast discovery occurs and how much network and system resources are consumed for discovery by controlling the: • Number of discovery threads that are allowed to run at any one time. • Delay in between the communicating devices during a network ping sweep, in milliseconds. NOTE: Each tick on the throttle control equals 10% and the range is from 10% to 100%.
1. Click Manage → Discovery and Inventory → Common Tasks → Status Schedule. 2. In Status Polling, select Enable Status Polling and provide the polling parameters including time and performance. 3. Click Finish.
Discovery And Inventory — Reference 6 From the Discovery and Inventory Portal page, you can: • View graphical reports on devices and Dell servers discovered and inventoried. • Manage discovery ranges for devices and Dell servers. • Configure discovery, inventory, and status polling for devices and Dell servers.
Field Description Inventory Last Run at Displays the time and date information for the last run inventory. Inventory Range Displays the IP Address range or host name. Devices Inventoried Displays information on number of devices inventoried. Discovered Versus Inventoried Devices Provides a graphical report of number of devices and Dell servers discovered or inventoried. You can use this report to ascertain the discovered devices and Dell servers that are unclassified.
Field Description • • • • • • Is equal to—Select to create the same as logic. Is not equal to —Select to create the different from logic. Is Less than—Select to find a value that is less than the value you provide. Is less than or equal to—Select to find a value that is less than or equal the value you provide. Is greater than or equal to—Select to find a value that is greater than or equal to the value you provide. Is greater than—Select to find a value that is greater than the value you provide.
the IP address, IP address range, or host name for the discovery process. For more information, see Discovery Configuration Options. Discovery Configuration Options Field Description Group Name Specifies the group name for a set of devices. IP address / range Specifies the IP address or IP address range. The following are examples of valid discovery range type address specifications (* is the wildcard character, meaning all possible addresses in the specified range): • • • • • • 193.109.112.* 193.
Field Description Import Select this option to import host names and IP addresses from a file that is in CSV format. However, you can import only 500 line items per task. You can import different discovery ranges with different subnet masks. For example, 192.168.10.10, 255.255.255.128, 10.10.1.1, 255.255.0.0, and 172.16.21.1, 255.255.128.0. You can use an Active Directory export file in a.CSV format as input. You can also create a .
SNMP Configuration Options Field Description Enable SNMP discovery Enables or disables the SNMP protocol for discovery range (subnet.) Get community Specifies or edits the community name for SNMP get calls from the OpenManage Essentials user interface. The Get Community is a read-only password that SNMP agents installed on managed devices use for authentication. The Get Community allows OpenManage Essentials to browse and retrieve SNMP data. This field is case-sensitive.
Field Description Password Provide password. Storage Configuration Enabling discovery of PowerVault MD or Dell|EMC arrays allows OpenManage Essentials to gather inventory and health information about the arrays. See Storage Configuration Options to discover PowerVault MD arrays or Dell|EMC devices. Storage Configuration Options Field Description Enable PowerVault MD array discovery Select to discover PowerVault MD array. This discovery configuration does not require credentials.
Field Description Trusted Site Select if the devices you are discovering is a trusted device. Certificate file Click Browse to traverse to the file location. SSH Configuration Use the SSH protocol to discover and inventory Linux-based servers. See SSH Configuration Options to configure the SSH configuration parameters. SSH Configuration Options Field Description Enable SSH Discovery Enables or disables the SSH protocol by discovery range. User name Enter the user name.
Field Description NOTE: The KG key is a public key that is used to generate an encryption key for use between the firmware and the application. The KG key value is an even number of hexadecimal characters. Timeout Specifies or edits the amount of time that OpenManage Essentials waits after issuing a get or set call before it considers the call failed. A valid range is from 1 to 60 seconds. The default is 5 seconds.
Field Description • • • • • • Exclude range — 193.109.112.* 193.104.20-40.* 192.168.*.* 192.168.2-51.3-91 Exclude range — 193.109.112.45-99 System IP address — 193.109.112.99 Exclude Range Name Add the exclude range name for the IP address / range. Host name Register to exclude from the discovery process by specifying the device's host name, for example, mynode.mycompany.com. NOTE: OpenManage Essentials does not check for invalid characters in the host name.
Field Description Enable Discovery Select to schedule device discovery. Configure Global Device Discovery interval Set the frequency of discovery in weekly or daily intervals. • • Every Week On—Specify the day or days to schedule discovery and the time for the discovery to begin. Every Days Hours interval—Specify the intervals between discovery cycles. The maximum discovery interval is 365 days and 23 hours.
Inventory Schedule Settings Field Description Enable Inventory Select to schedule inventory. Configure Global Inventory Polling Interval Set the frequency of the inventory in weekly or daily intervals. NOTE: OpenManage Essentials performs inventory only on devices that have already been discovered. • • Inventory Polling Speed Every Week On—Specify the day or days of the week that you want to schedule the inventory and the time that you want it to begin.
Field Description Minutes—Specify the number of minutes between device status polling cycles. The maximum discovery interval is 365 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes. Status Polling Speed Set the amount of resources available for accelerating the device status polling speed. The faster you set the status speed, the more resources are required, but less time is required to perform the status polling.
Managing Devices 7 OpenManage Essentials lists devices based on their types. For example, Dell PowerEdge servers are listed under the device type Servers. OpenManage Essentials contains a defined list of device types. The devices you discover and inventory are included under these device types. Unclassified devices are listed under the device type Unknown. You can create device groups with combinations of the defined device types. However, you cannot create a new device types.
NOTE: If a DRAC or iDRAC is discovered, it is displayed under the RAC group and not under the Servers group. If both DRAC/iDRAC and corresponding Server are discovered, they are correlated into a single device. The device is displayed in both the RAC and Servers group. NOTE: If the RAC on a Dell PowerEdge C server is discovered using IPMI, it is displayed under OOB Unclassified devices.
• Device Summary • OS Information • Software Agent Information • NIC Information • Virtual Machine Host Product Information • RAC Device Information • Processor Information • Memory Device Information • Firmware Information • Power Supply Information • Embedded Device Information • Device Card Information • Controller Information • Controller Battery Information • Enclosure Information • Physical Disk Information • Virtual Disk Information • Contact Information • Softwar
Viewing System Event Logs 1. Click Manage → Devices. 2. Expand the device type and select Hardware Logs. Searching for Devices Right-click All Devices at the top of the device tree and click Search Devices. You can also search for devices using logical arguments and save the queries for later. For example, to create a query to search for a server in critical state with an IP address containing values 10.35, and the power status as Power Up: 1.
4. In Device Selection, the selected devices are displayed. If required, add or remove additional devices. Click Next. 5. Review the summary and click Finish. Adding Devices to an Existing Group 1. Click Manage → Devices. 2. Right-click the device(s) and select Add to Existing Group. NOTE: If you are manually adding a device to a dynamic group, a message is displayed on the screen.
3. 62 Click the URL name to access the site.
Devices — Reference 8 This page provides the following information: • List of devices based on the device type, for example, HA clusters, servers, and so on. • Summary of devices and alerts. • Alerts generated for a particular device. • Health of devices based on the Normal, Critical, Unknown, and Warning types.
Alert Details Field Description Severity Alert severity based on Normal, Critical, Warning, and Unknown. Acknowledged Flagged status for an alert. Time Time at which the alert was generated in date and time format. Device IP address of the device. Details Lists the alert information. For example, System is down: Category Lists the alert category type, for example System Events. Source Lists the alert source name.
Field Description Source The Alert Source. Viewing Non-Compliant Systems To view non-compliant systems, click the Non-Compliant Systems tab. NOTE: Non-compliant systems are only available for device groups such as servers, RAC, and custom groups. It is not available for individual devices. Non-Compliant Systems The Non-Compliant Systems tab provides this information: Field Description System Name System’s domain name. Model Type The systems model name. For example, Dell PowerEdge.
• Delete a query Field Description Run Existing Query Select this option and then select a query from the dropdown list. Delete Query Select to delete a query after you complete the following action. Select the Run Existing Query option, then from the drop down list select the query that you want to delete. Create New Query Select this option to create a query and then enter a name for the query in the adjoining field.
Device Group Configuration Field Description Name Provide name of the new group. Parent The device under which this group is created. Description Provide description for the device group. Device Selection You can select predefined groups (device types), custom groups, specific devices, or a device query. To use device query, select a query from the list. Click New to create a new device query to search and assign the devices to the alert action. Click Edit to change the query logic.
9 Viewing Inventory Reports OpenManage Essentials provides pre-defined reports for all discovered and inventoried devices. With these reports, you can: • Consolidate information about devices in your environment. • Filter report data based on the devices by clicking the Filter by: drop-down list. You can also add a new group of devices from the dashboard by clicking Add New Group from the Filter by: drop-down list. • Export data for use in another application in the XML file format.
Report Description Server Components and Versions Identifies BIOS, driver, and firmware versions on all discovered and inventoried servers Hard Drives Information Identifies serial number, revision, manufacturer, and bus type for hard drives. ESX Information Identifies ESX and ESXi virtual machine hosts and associated virtual machines. HyperV Information Identifies the HyperV virtual machine hosts and associated virtual machines. FRU Information Provides details on replaceable server components.
Figure 3. NIC Information Report Exporting Reports Exporting a report enables you to manipulate and reformat the data. To export a report: 1. In the Reports list, right-click on any report to display the Export option. 2. Scroll over the Export option to display supported formats. 3. Choose your preferred format (CSV, HTML, or XML) and provide a file name for the exported report.
10 Reports — Reference From Reports you can view the following: • Agent and Alert Summary • Server Overview • Server components and versions • Hard Drive Information • ESX Information • HyperV Information • FRU Information • Memory Information • Modular Enclosure Information • NIC Information • Hard Drives Inventory • PCI Device Information • Storage Controller Information • Warranty Information You can also filter the information based on a device or group by clicking Filter by
Field Description Processor Speed The speed of the processor. Total Cores The total number of cores present in the system. Total Memory The total memory installed on the system Server Components and Versions Field Description System Name Host name of the system. Service Tag Unique identification number assigned to the system. Model Type The system’s model name. For example PowerEdge R710. Description The software information.
Field Description Vendor The organization that supplies the hard drive. ESX Information Field Description Host Name The unique system’s name that identifies it on the network and the system in which embedded bare metal product is installed. System Type The system’s model information. VM Type The type of embedded bare-metal product installed on the system. For example, VMware ESX. Version The version of the embedded bare-metal that is installed on the system.
Field Description FRU Part Number The industry specific number that differentiates the type of FRU. Memory Information Field Description System Name Provide a name for this server power options task. Service Tag Unique identification number assigned to the system. System Type The system’s model name. For example PowerEdge R710. Memory Device Name The device’s named assigned by the manufacturer. For example, DIMMI_A. Memory Device Size (MB) The size of the memory device in GB.
NIC Information Field Description System Name The name of the system. System Type The system’s model name. For example, PowerEdge R710. NIC IP Address The unique IP address assigned to the NIC device. MAC Address A unique Media Access Control address (MAC address) identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. NIC Description Information on the NIC device.
Warranty Information Field Description System Name The unique system’s name that identifies it on the network. Enable the proxy setting for the warranty to Warranty data from support.dell.com. Device Model Type The system’s model information. Device Type The type of device, for example, server, Remote Access Controller. Shipped Date The date on which the device was sent from the factory. Service Tag A Dell specific unique bar code label identifier for a system.
Viewing Warranty Reports 11 Warranty information is available for devices with valid Service Tags, including clients, servers, switches, storage, and so on. Warranty information is automatically retrieved at the time devices are discovered. The Warranty Information report is unique among OpenManage Essentials reports as it requires Internet access to pull warranty information from the Dell warranty database. If you do not have internet access, no warranty information is populated.
12 Managing Alerts With OpenManage Essentials you can: • View alerts and alert categories • Manage alert actions • Configure alert log settings Viewing Alerts and Alert Categories To view the alerts page, from OpenManage Essentials, click Manage → Alerts. NOTE: Alerts for deleted devices are not displayed in the console. However, these alerts are not deleted from the database until the purge limits are reached. Viewing Alert Logs To view alert logs, click Manage → Alerts → Alert Logs.
Viewing Internal Alerts Before viewing internal alerts, ensure that you enable internal health alerts in the Alert Settings of the Preferences tab. See Alert Settings. To view internal alerts, click Manage → Alerts → Alert Logs → All Internal Alerts. All Internal Alerts is a reference to the internal alerts that OpenManage Essentials generates such as health status, system up or down, and so on. Viewing Alert Categories To view alert categories, click Manage → Alerts → Alert Categories.
Viewing E-Mail Alert Action To view the e-mail alert action: 1. Select Manage → Alerts → Alert Actions. 2. In Alert Actions, select Email. Viewing Alert Ignore Action To view the alert ignore action: 1. Select Manage → Alerts → Alert Actions. 2. In Alert Actions, select Ignore. Viewing Alert Trap Forward Action To view the alert trap forward action: 1. Select Manage → Alerts → Alert Actions. 2. In Alert Actions, select Trap Forwarding.
5. (Optional) By default the alert view filter is always active. To limit activity, in Date Time Association, enter a date range, time range, or days, and then click Next. 6. (Optional) In Acknowledged Association, set duration when this alert action is active, and then click Next. The default is always active. 7. In Summary, review inputs and click Finish. Configuring Alert Actions Alert actions occur on all alerts received by the OpenManage Essentials console.
7. By default the Email Notification is always active. To limit activity, in Date Time Association, enter a date range, time range, or days, and then click Next. 8. In Summary, review the inputs and click Finish. Ignoring Alerts Sometimes you will receive alerts you might want to ignore. For example, you may want to ignore multiple alerts generated when Send authentication trap is selected within the SNMP service on the managed node. To ignore an alert: 1.
Forwarding Alerts You may want to consolidate alerts from multiple management stations to one management station. For example, you have management stations in multiple locations and you want to view status and take action from one central location. For information about the behavior of forwarded alerts, see Forwarding Alerts Use Case. To create alert forwards: 1. Select Manage → Alerts → Common Tasks → New Alert Trap Forward Action. 2.
NOTE: If the SNMP v2 alert is forwarded from MS1 to MS2, the remote host is displayed as MNv2 because MS1 parses the extra OID along with the forwarded trap. Scenario 3 — Forwarding Alerts in the OMEssentials Format Using Either SNMP v1/v2 Protocol In this scenario, SNMP v1 alerts are sent from MNv1 to MS1 and then forwarded to MS2. If you try to retrieve the remote host of the forwarded alert, it is displayed as MS1.
Renaming Alert Categories and Alert Sources 1. Click Manage → Alerts → Alert Categories. 2. In Alert Categories, right-click any of the alert categories (under the Alert Category heading in the left pane) and select Rename. 3. Provide a name for the alert category and click OK.
Alerts — Reference 13 This page provides the following information: • • Common Tasks – Alert Log Settings – New Alert View Filter – New Alert Application Launch Action – New Alert Email Action – New Alert Ignore Action – New Alert Trap Forward Action Alert Logs – • • Alert View Filters * All Alerts * All Internal Alerts * Critical Alerts * Normal Alerts * Unknown Alerts * Warning Alerts Alert Actions – Application Launch – E-mail – Ignore – Trap Forwarding Alert Catego
Predefined Alert View Filters The following table lists the predefined alert view filters. Field Description All Alerts Select to view all the alerts. Critical Alerts Select to view all the systems that are critical. Normal Alerts Select to view normal alerts. Unknown Alerts Select to view alerts that OpenManage Essentials cannot categorize. Warning Alerts Select to view all the warnings. Select Continuous Updates to enable the user interface to update automatically when new alerts are received.
Field Description Category The categorization of the alert. Source The name of the alert source definition. Description The message contained in the alert. SNMP Enterprise OID Provides the enterprise OID (SNMP OID prefix) of the management information base (MIB) file that defines the event source that you want to monitor. SNMP Generic Trap OID Provides the generic trap ID of the SNMP trap that you want to monitor from the desired event source.
Severity This page provides a list of alert severity. Field Description Name Name of the item (applicable only for ignore action and view filter). Enabled Select to enable the alert action (applicable only for ignore action). Severity The alert types available. All Select to include all types of alerts. Unknown Select to include unknown alerts. Normal Select to include normal alerts. Warning Select to include warning alerts. Critical Select to include critical alerts.
Field Description Associated Date Range The alert date range criteria used when matching alerts. Associated Time Range The alert time range criteria used when matching alerts. Associated Days The alert days criteria used when matching alerts. Associate Acknowledge If enabled, uses the alert acknowledged flag when matching alerts. Alert Actions Alert actions are triggered when an incoming alert matches the specific criteria defined in the alert action.
Field Description Normal Select to include normal alerts. Warning Select to include warning alerts. Critical Select to include critical alerts. Application Launch Configuration Use this window to configure the application that you want to launch and to test the launch. NOTE: Alert actions are run when a matching alert is received so the alert application launch action is a script or batch file that does not require user interaction.
Field Description • • Executable Name (with the full path): C:\temp \createTroubleTicket.bat Argument: -arg1 –arg2 When the alert action is triggered, it runs the command C: \temp\createTroubleTicket.bat –arg1 -arg2 to perform the associated application launch alert action. VB script: When configuring vb script files as an alert action, provide the executable and arguments as follows. For example, if you have a script (createTroubleTicket.
Field Description Test Action Allows you to test the e-mail action. NOTE: After sending the test e-mail, verify that the email was received successfully and has the expected content. NOTE: Alert tokens are substituted at the time the alert action occurs. They are not substituted for a test action. NOTE: Certain paging vendors support alphanumeric paging through e-mail. OpenManage Essentials supports paging through the e-mail option.
Select groups or devices from the tree, you can use the query option to create a specific criteria for the selection. Device Query Options Field Description Select a query Select a query from the drop-down list. New Add a new query. Edit Edit an existing query. All Devices Select to include all the Devices that is managed in OpenManage Essentials. Clients Select to include client devices, such as desktops, portables, and workstations.
Field Description NOTE: It is possible to input a date range and days selection that will never produce a result. For example, 9/1/11 and Monday - since 9/1/11 was a Thursday, it will never match. If none of these are checked, it means the alert selection will have no date/time filter. Alert Action - Duplicate Alert Correlation Field Description Yes. Only duplicate alerts that match this filter will be executed.
Field Description Executable Name The name of the executable, script, or batch file to be used by the alert action. Arguments The command line arguments used when invoking the alert action. Associated Severity The alert severity criteria used when matching alerts. Associated Alert Categories The alert category criteria used when matching alerts. Associated Alert Sources The alert source criteria used when matching alerts.
Field Description Force10-Switch Select this category to include alerts for Dell Force10 switches. General Redundancy Select this category to include alerts for General Redundancy. HyperV Server Select this category to include alerts for HyperV Server. iDRAC Select this category to include alerts for iDRAC. Juniper-Switch Select this category to include alerts for Juniper switches. Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) Select this category to include alerts for KVMs.
Alert Source Each Alert Category contains alert sources. Click an alert category to view alert sources. Expand a category to view the list of alert sources, and select an alert source. Field Description Name The name of the new alert source, for example, myFanAlert. Type The protocol information. Catalog Provides the catalog information. Severity Specifies the severity assigned to the alert that is triggered if the alert source generates the specified SNMP trap.
Updating Server BIOS, Firmware, Drivers, and Applications 14 With the System Update feature in OpenManage Essentials, you can: • Upgrade and downgrade firmware, drivers, BIOS, application, and OpenManage Server Administrator. • Compare the drivers and firmware on the inventoried servers and modular blade enclosures with a source catalog and update them if needed. NOTE: System updates are only supported on a LAN and not over a WAN.
Figure 4. System Update Page 1. Compliance report. See Compliance Report 2. Tabbed systems information. See Compliant Systems, Non Compliant Systems, Non Inventoried Systems, and Issues and Resolutions. 3. System update tasks. See All System Update Tasks Understanding Server BIOS Firmware and Drivers Sources There are multiple sources for obtaining firmware and drivers for the servers. • Online source—Default option which obtains latest driver and firmware versions from ftp.dell.com.
Viewing Comparison Results Viewing Compliant Servers To view compliant servers: 1. Click Manage → System Update. 2. In System Update, select the Compliant Systems tab. Viewing Non-Compliant Servers To view non-compliant servers: 1. Click Manage → System Update. 2. In System Update, select the Non-Compliant Systems tab. The servers with drivers and firmware versions that are different from the catalog are displayed. Viewing Non-Inventoried Servers To view non-inventoried servers: 1.
Protocol Used for Server IP Discovery and Inventory Protocol Used for iDRAC IP Discovery and Inventory Preferred System Update Mode Selected in Advanced Settings Credentials for System Update Actual Update Mode NOTE: When an iDRAC IP is discovered using SNMP, iDRAC software inventory is not retrieved and all components are updated are using Server Administrator irrespective of the preferred system update mode selected.
Protocol Used for Server IP Discovery and Inventory Protocol Used for iDRAC IP Discovery and Inventory Preferred System Update Mode Selected in Advanced Settings Credentials for System Update Actual Update Mode NOTE: When an iDRAC IP is discovered using WSMAN, the iDRAC software inventory is retrieved and the components are updated using iDRAC. However, if drivers are present in addition to BIOS, firmware, and applications, then all the components are updated using Server Administrator and not iDRAC.
8. If you do not want to apply the changes immediately, clear After update, if required, reboot the device. Changes are not activated until the next time you reboot. 9. If you want to skip the signature and hash check on the system update package, select Skip Signature and Hash Check. 10. Enter the operating system administrative or iDRAC credentials for the managed server. Examples: In a Windows domain environment, enter and password.
Issue Resolution The server does not have Server Administrator installed on it or is discovered using SSH. This issue occurs if: Deploy Server Administrator on this server. Discover and run inventory using either SNMP or WMI protocol. • • A Windows-based server without Server Administrator is discovered using WMI. A Linux-based server with or without Server Administrator is discovered using SSH.
System Update — Reference 15 You can access the following: • System Update page – • Summary * Compliance Report * System Update Tasks * Tasks Execution History – Compliant Systems – Non Compliant Systems – Non-Inventoried Systems – All System Update Tasks – Issues and resolutions for updates Catalog Section – Select a Catalog Source – View Active Catalog Filter Options Filter Option Description Is equal to Select to create the same as logic.
Filter Option Description Is less than Select to find a value that is less than the value you provide. Is less than or equal to Select to find a value that is less than or equal to the value you provide. Is greater than Select to find a value that is greater than the value you provide.
Field Description • • OpenManage Server Administrator—Allows you to update all components on the systems. iDRAC—Allows you to update only the BIOS, firmware, and applications. NOTE: You can set one of the update modes as the default mode but the actual update mode depends on the protocol used and the components that are being updated. For more information, see System Update Use Case Scenarios.
Field Description System Name System’s domain name. Model Type The systems model name. For example, Dell PowerEdge. Operating System The operating system that is installed on the system. Service Tag A unique identifier, that provides the service lifecycle information. Update Method Displays the update methods such as OpenManage Server Administrator and iDRAC. Discovered Time Time and date of discovery. Inventory Time Time and date of inventory.
Field Description Package Name The name of the software update. Set the Task Schedule Run Now Select this option if you want to run the task when you click Finish. After update if required, reboot the device. Select to reboot after the software update task is complete. Set Schedule Select to schedule a task at a required date and time. Click the icon to set date and time. Skip Signature and Hash Check Select this option to skip the signature and hash check on the system update package.
Issues and Resolutions Field Description System Name Displays the system’s domain name. Reason Displays the issue associated with the server. Recommendation Displays the resolution to resolve the issue. Task Execution History Lists the details of the system update tasks. Field Description Status Information on the task if enabled or disabled. Task Name The name of the task. Start Time Time and date at which the system update task started. % Completed The task’s progress information.
Dell Update Package A Dell Update Package (DUP) is a self-contained executable in a standard package format that updates a single software element on the system. DUPs are software utilities provided by Dell to update specific software components on Dell PowerEdge systems, Dell desktops, and Dell laptops. The customized bundles and repositories are made up of DUPs based on operating systems supported, update types, form factor, and line of business.
Managing Remote Tasks 16 About Remote Tasks With the Remote Tasks feature in OpenManage Essentials, you can: • Run commands on local and remote systems, run batch files and executable files on the local systems, and schedule local and remote tasks. NOTE: The files must be located on the system with OpenManage Essentials installed and not on the remote system. • Change power status for a system. • Deploy OpenManage Server Administrator on systems. • View the remote tasks.
– 6. Select server targets for running the commands. Only applicable targets are displayed by default. For more information, see the Device Capability Matrix. On Schedule and Credentials, provide user credentials, and set schedule for the tasks from available options, and then click Finish. For more information, see Command Line Task. Managing RACADM Command Line Tasks RACADM command line tasks are used to run commands on remote DRACs and iDRACs.
– To write all the detected errors to the log file, select Include errors. On Task Target, do one of the following: 8. – Select a query from the drop-down list or create a new query by clicking the New button. – Select targets for running the commands. On Schedule and Credentials, enter the local administrator credentials with privileges to run commands on the OpenManage Essentials system. Set schedule for the task(s) and then click Finish. 9.
– 4. Select server targets for running the commands. On Schedule and Credentials, set the schedule parameters, provide target credentials, and then click Finish. For more information, see Server Power Options. Deploying Server Administrator You can create tasks to deploy OpenManage Server Administrator on servers installed with Windows or Linux operating systems. You can also plan a date and time to schedule the OpenManage Server Administrator deploy task.
Operating System Package OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.RHEL5.x86_64_A01.4.tar.gz.sign Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.RHEL6.x86_64_A01.5.tar.gz OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.RHEL6.x86_64_A01.5.tar.gz.
NOTE: To use this command, you must enter the local system credentials. • Sample-Generic Command Local—Enable this use case to run a command or script on system with OpenManage Essentials. NOTE: To use this command, you must enter the local system credentials. • Sample-IPMI Command—Enable this use case to receive information about the power status of a server. • Sample-Remote Command—Enable this use case to view the system summary through Server Administrator.
The device capability matrix below provides information about the type of remote tasks supported on devices when the device capabilities are overridden.
Remote Tasks — Reference 17 From Remote Tasks you can: • Run commands on local and remote systems, batch files and executable files on the local systems, and schedule local and remote tasks. • Change power status for a system. • Deploy OpenManage Server Administrator on systems. • View the remote tasks.
Field Description Task Label Type of task that is run, for example; for a command line task the options displayed are Remote Server Administrator Command, Generic Command, IPMI Command, and RACADM Command Line. Last Run The last time and date information when the task was run. Created On The time and date on which the task was created. Updated On The time and date information when the task was run. Updated By The name of the user.
Field Description NOTE: Make sure that the shutdown option is configured for the operating system before you perform a graceful shutdown using this option. If you use this option without configuring it on the operating system, it reboots the managed system instead of performing a shutdown operation • • Shutdown OS first . Power Off—Powers off the system. Power On—Powers on the system. This option works only on target systems that contain RAC.
Field Description NOTE: The KG key is a public key that is used to generate an encryption key for use between the firmware and the application; and is available only on Dell PowerEdge y9xx and later systems. The KG key value is an even number of hexadecimal characters. In the format, yxxx, y denotes alphanumeric characters and x denotes numbers. Deploy Server Administrator Task Select this option to create tasks to deploy Server Administrator on selected servers.
Field Description Task Target Select a query Select a query from the drop-down list. To create a new query, click New. Select the server(s) for this task to target Select the severs to which you want to assign this task. Schedule and Credentials Set schedule Select from these options: • • • Enter User Name and Password Activate Schedule—Select this option to activate a schedule for the task. Run now—Select this option to run the task immediately.
Field Description NOTE: The first time that OpenManage Essentials communicates with a managed device with Linux operating system, a key is generated and stored on both the devices. This key is generated per device and enables a trust relationship with the managed device. Output to file Select to enable output to a log file. This option captures standard output and writes it to the log file. If you select this option, enter the path name and file name of the log file. This option is disabled by default.
Field Description • Enter User Name and Password End By—To stop the task at the specified date and time. User Name—Provide in the format domain\user name or local host\user name. Password—Provide the password. Generic Command Field Description Task Name Enter a name for the task. By default, the task name is populated in the format: -.
Field Description • • • • • Activate Schedule—Select this option to activate a schedule for the task. Run now—Select this option to run the task immediately. Set schedule—Select this option to set a date and time for the task to run. Run Once—Select this option to run the task on the planned schedule only once. Periodic—Select this option to run the task frequently at specified intervals. – – – – Hourly—Select this option to run the task once every hour. Daily—To run the task once every day.
Field Description received to a ping request before the execution of the command, an error is written to the log file. Task Target Select a query Select a query from the drop-down list. To create a new query, click New. Select the server(s) for this task to target Select the severs to which you want to assign this task. Schedule and Credentials Set schedule Select from these options: • • • • • Activate Schedule—Select this option to activate a schedule for the task.
Field Description path name and file name of the log file. This option is disabled by default. Append Select to append output from the completed command to the specified file. If the file does not exist, it is created. Include errors Select to write all OpenManage Essentials-detected errors to the log file. For example, if no response is received to a ping request before the execution of the command, an error is written to the log file.
Managing Security Settings 18 Using Security Roles and Permissions OpenManage Essentials provides security through role-based access control (RBAC), authentication, and encryption. RBAC manages security by determining the operations run by persons in particular roles. Each user is assigned one or more roles, and each role is assigned one or more user privileges that are permitted to users in that role. With RBAC, security administration corresponds closely to an organization's structure.
Using Custom SSL Certificates (Optional) OpenManage Essentials default settings ensure that a secure communication is established within your environment. However, some users may prefer to utilize their own SSL certificate for encryption. To create a new domain certificate: 1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager by clicking Start → All Programs → Administrative Tools → Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. 2. Expand the and click Server Certificates → Sites. 3.
Managed Nodes Table 8.
Troubleshooting 19 OpenManage Essentials Troubleshooting Tool The OpenManage Essentials troubleshooting tool is a standalone tool that installs along with OpenManage Essentials. You can use the troubleshooting tool for a wide array of protocol related problems that are often at the root of discovery and alert issues. This tool provides the following protocol-specific diagnostics to identify the problem with the remote node: • Database—Fetches all the user defined databases present on the remote box.
1. Mount the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD (version 6.5 or later) on the Linux server. 2. Install srvadmin-cm rpm. 3. Restart OpenManage Server Administrator 6.5. 4. Make sure the OpenManage Server Administrator inventory collector is working from the location /opt/dell/ srvadmin/sbin/invcol, run /invcol -outc=/home/inv.xml. 5. Perform server inventory.
6. Start the SNMP services (service snmpd restart). Troubleshooting Receiving SNMP Traps If you encounter a problem receiving SNMP traps, perform the following steps to troubleshoot and fix the problem: 1. Check for network connectivity between the two systems. You can do this by pinging one system from another using the ping command. 2. Check the SNMP configuration on the managed node.
Frequently Asked Questions 20 Installation Question: How do I install OpenManage Essentials using a remote SQL database named instance? Answer: To connect remotely, the SQL Server with named instances requires a running SQL Server Browser service. Question: Will OpenManage Essentials support Microsoft SQL Server Evaluation edition? Answer: No, SQL Server Evaluation edition is not supported.
Table 9. Command Line Settings for MSI Installer Setting Result /i This command installs or configures a product. /i SysMgmt.msi – Installs the Server Administrator software. /i SysMgmt.msi /qn This command carries out a fresh installation of version 6.1. /x This command uninstalls a product. /x SysMgmt.msi – Uninstalls the Server Administrator software. /q[n|b|r|f] This command sets the user interface (UI) level. /q or /qn – no UI.
Customization Parameters REINSTALL and REMOVE customization CLI parameters provide a way to customize the exact software features to install, reinstall, or uninstall when running silently or unattended. With the customization parameters, you can selectively install, reinstall, or uninstall software features for different systems using the same unattended installation package.
This command runs the installation for managed system software, and uninstalls the Broadcom agent. This execution is in an unattended but not silent mode. NOTE: A Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) is 128 bits long, and the algorithm used to generate a GUID guarantees each GUID to be unique. The product GUID uniquely identifies the application. In this case, the product GUID for Server Administrator is {54C04D53-C3C3-46EA-A75F-7AFF4BEB727C}.
Answer: WMI discovery classifies a device as unknown when the credentials for a user account in the Administrators group (not Administrator) is supplied for the discovery range in some cases. If you are seeing this issue, read the KB article at support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;951016 and apply the registry work as described. This resolution applies to managed nodes with Windows Server 2008 R2.
the default website is enabled in IIS Question: What order are packages installed on a system? Answer: Packages are applied in the following order: 1. Driver 2. Firmware 3. Firmware ES 4.
– If required, change the suffix of the file for LOG_FILE_SUFFIX=ome_log.txt 4. Close the file and restart all DSM services. NOTE: Trace level of logging generates detailed logs.
Preferences — Reference 21 In the Preferences page, you can configure the OpenManage Essentials console. You can set the SMTP and proxy server information, adjust session timeout, database maintenance schedules, restart services, create custom URL menu items, enable or disable internal alerts, observe daylight savings time, and enable or disable the ActiveX features. NOTE: After modifying the console settings, click Apply to save the changes.
Field Description also displays whether the server's time zone is observing daylight savings or is in standard time zone time. Proxy Settings (used for System Update and Warranty) Use Proxy Settings Enable the use of proxy settings for internet access for System Update and Warranty. Domain \ User name The domain and user name of the proxy user. Password User's proxy password. Proxy Server Address or Name The IP address or server name of the proxy server.
Custom URL Settings Field Description Name Displays the name assigned to the URL. Device Type Displays the device type associated with the URL. Custom URL Displays the URL. Date Created Displays the date the URL was created. Date Updated Displays the date the URL was updated.
22 Logs — Reference From tools you can: • View User Interface Logs • View Application Logs • Export Discovery Logs to File System—Export the logs that were generated while discovering devices. User Interface Logs Field Description Enabled Enable or disable logging of User Interface. Disable to increase performance. Log Asynchronous Calls Enable or disable logging for threading and asynchronous update method calls. Turn on both Log Asynchronous Calls and Informational to view update calls.
Application Logs Field Description Severity The severity of the recorded deviation in application’s behavior. Time The time at which this behavior occurred. Message Information on the behavior.
23 Extensions The Extensions page provides a list of links to partner products. This page provides information about the product, detects if the product is installed, and allows you to launch the product if it is installed. NOTE: You may require ActiveX to detect some extensions. To enable ActiveX, see Console Settings in the Preferences page. Field Description Name Displays the name of the tool. Description Displays the description of the tool. Launch Displays the link if the product is installed.
24 Right-Click Actions The following tables lists all the right-click actions that are available in OpenManage Essentials. NOTE: The right-click options displayed in OpenManage Essentials are dependent on your access privilege. You must have administrator access to see all the options. Schedule View Field Description Create New Task Displays the following options: • • • Export Calendar Server Power Options Deploy Server Administrator Task Command Line Task Allows you to export the calendar in a .
Field Description Troubleshoot If the Troubleshooting Tool is installed, then select this option to launch the Troubleshooting Tool. The Troubleshooting Tool is disabled by default. To enable the Troubleshooting Tool, see Preferences Reference. Refresh Inventory Select to run inventory on the device. Refresh Status Select to run a status check on the device. Add to New Group Select to add the device to a group. Add to Existing Group Select to add the device to an existing group.
Field Description Rename Select to rename action or alert filter. Clone Select to create a copy of an action or alert filter. Delete Select the alert to delete the alerts. Alerts Field Description Details Select to view the details of alerts. Acknowledge Select to set or clear alerts. Delete Select to delete alerts. Ignore Select to ignore alert filter action on the selected devices. Export Select to export alert information in CSV or HTML formats.
Tutorials 25 You can use the tutorials for the setup options you need to complete when configuring OpenManage Essentials for the first time.
Using OpenManage Essentials Command Line Interface 26 Launching the OpenManage Essentials Command Line Interface Click Start → All Programs → OpenManage Applications → Essentials → Essentials Command Line Interface. Creating a Discovery Profile Input File CLI commands that create discovery ranges or discovery groups require an XML-based file that defines the parameters for discovery protocols such as SNMP, WMI, Storage, WS-Man, SSH, and IPMI.
2 4 623 Certificate.
Name SubnetMask 192.168.2.2 255.255.254.0 192.168.3.3 255.255.128.0 192.168.3.4 255.255.128.0 Specifying Input Files in PowerShell To use input files in PowerShell, specify the location of the file in the command line.
Removing a Discovery Range Description: The Remove-DiscoveryRange command allows you to remove a discovery range. Enter the ranges either using an xml file or by specifying the range. For more information about the RangeList.xml file, see Specifying IPs, Ranges, or Host Names Using XML or CSV Files. Commands: • PS> Remove-DiscoveryRange -Range • PS> Remove-DiscoveryRange -RangeList Examples: • PS> Remove-DiscoveryRange-Range 10.35.0.1, 10.120.1.
Editing a Discovery Range Description: The Set-ModifyDiscoveryRange command allows to edit existing discovery ranges. This command targets the existing specified discovery range(s) and replaces the protocol information with the information specified in the DiscoveryProfile.xml file. For more information about the DiscoveryProfile.xml and RangeList.xml files, see Creating a Discovery Profile Input File and Specifying IPs, Ranges, or Host names Using XML or CSV Files.
Disabling a Discovery Range or Discovery Range Group Description: The Set-DisableDiscoveryRange command allows you to disable a discovery range or a discovery range group. Enter the ranges either using an xml file or by specifying the range. For information about the RangeList.xml file, see Specifying IPs, Ranges, or Host names Using XML or CSV Files. Commands: • PS> Set-DisableDiscoveryRange -Range • PS> Set-DisableDiscoveryRange -RangeList
Running a Discovery, Inventory, and Status Polling Tasks Description: The Set-RunDiscovery, Set-RunInventory, Set-RunDiscoveryInventory, and SetRunStatusPoll commands allows you to perform discovery, inventory and status polling on a discovery range or discovery range group. Enter the ranges either using an xml file or by specifying the range. For more information about the RangeList.
Stopping a Running Discovery Range or Group Description: For any range, only one type of task, such as discovery, discovery and inventory, or status polling, can run at a given time. The Set-StopTask command allows you to stop a task associated with a discovery range or the tasks associated with the ranges belonging to a discovery range group. Commands: • PS> Set-StopTask -Range • PS> Set-StopTask -GroupName Examples: • PS> Set-StopTask -Range 10.35.1.
• PS> Add-DevicesToCustomGroup –GroupName -DeviceList • PS> Add-DevicesToCustomGroup –GroupName -Devices Examples: PS> Add-DevicesToCustomGroup –GroupName MyServers –DeviceList .\Samples \DeviceList.xml or PS> Add-DevicesToCustomGroup –GroupName MyServers –Devices PE2900-WK28-ZMD, PWRCODE.US.DELL.COM, HYPERVISOR, M80504-W2K8 Example of a DeviceList.xml file: ManualShelf © 2013-2024
