Users Guide
Table Of Contents
- Lifecycle Controller User's Guide
- Introduction
- Using Lifecycle Controller
- Operating system deployment
- Monitor
- Hardware inventory view and export
- About view and export current inventory
- About view and export factory-shipped inventory
- Viewing hardware inventory — current or factory shipped
- Exporting hardware inventory — current or factory shipped
- Viewing or exporting hardware inventory after part replacement
- Viewing or exporting current inventory after resetting Lifecycle Controller
- Lifecycle Controller log
- Firmware update
- Configure
- System control panel access options
- Configuring iDRAC
- Configuring system time and date
- Configuring RAID
- Configuring RAID using software RAID
- Creating a secure virtual disk on a RAID controller
- Key encryption
- Local key encryption mode
- Breaking mirrored drives
- System setup — Advanced Hardware Configuration
- Collect system inventory on restart
- Configuring a local USB drive
- Configuring NFS and CIFS servers
- Conditions while configuring HTTP or HTTPS server
- Maintain
- Easy-to-use system component names
- Using the system setup and boot manager
- Troubleshooting and frequently asked questions
SupportAssist Collection
If you have to work with Dell technical support on an issue with a server but the security policies restrict direct Internet
connection, you can provide technical support with necessary data to facilitate successful troubleshooting of the problem
without having to install any software or download tools from Dell and without having access to the Internet from the server
operating system or Lifecycle Controller. You can send the report from an alternate system and make sure that the data
collected from your server is not viewable by unauthorized individuals while sending it to technical support.
You can generate a health report of the server and using Lifecycle Controller, you can export the report to a location on the
management station (local) or to following shared network location:
● CIFS - Common Internet File System
● NFS - Network File Share
● USB
● HTTP / HTTPS
You can then share this report directly with technical support.
Lifecycle Controller allows you to collect data from the following options:
● System Information
● Debug logs
● Storage logs
● SMART Data logs - SMART logs are collected in a file and added as part of SupportAssist collection. This feature sends
SMART data for SATA disk to support assist in order to analyze the connected SATA disk.
NOTE: You need to select Storage logs to collect SMART data.
● Operating System and Application Data - Operating System (OS) and Application Data option will also be enabled if
iDRAC Service Module (iSM) is installed and running in OS and OS Collector (OSC) is present in iDRAC. As OSC is factory
installed, it will be present in iDRAC unless it is removed by user via System Erase or LC Wipe. You can select this option
to retrieve either cached or live data. Live data collection from OS required iDRAC Service Module (iSM) to be installed and
running in the OS. For more information on collecting Operating System and Application Data using the OS collector tool
in iDRAC, see the iDRAC User's Guide available at https://www.dell.com/idracmanuals .
● Telemetry reports
NOTE: This feature needs Datacenter License.
SupportAssist Collection is exported in the standard ZIP format. The report contains information that is similar to the
information available in the DSET report such as:
● Hardware and inventory for all components
● System, Lifecycle Controller, and component attributes
● BIOS boot order information
● Installed and available component firmware versions
● Fresh Air and component statistics (for applicable servers)
● Operating system and application information
● Active Lifecycle Controller logs (archived entries are not included)
● Component hardware logs
● Trace logs
● Storage controller logs
After Lifecycle Controller exports the SupportAssist Collection file, you can delete information that you do not want to share
with technical support. Each time the data is collected, an event is recorded in the Lifecycle Controller Log. The event includes
information such as the interface used, the date and time of export, and iDRAC user name.
Exporting the SupportAssist Collection
Before exporting a report, make sure that:
● Collect System Inventory On Reboot (CSIOR) is enabled.
● You have login and server control rights.
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Maintain