DRAC III or ERA/O Kit ContentsDell™ Remote Access Controller Installation and Setup Guide
DRAC III or ERA/O Kit Contents
Remote Access Controller Features
Platform and Operating System Support
Supported Remote Access Connections
Event Notification Through Remote Access Ports
Remote Access Security Features
Obtaining Technical Assistance
The Dell™ Remote Access Card III (DRAC III), Dell Embedded Remote Access (ERA), and the Dell Embedded Remote Access Option (ERA/O) are systems management hardware and software solutions designed to provide remote management capabilities for Dell PowerEdge™ systems. Collectively, these solutions are known as remote access controllers (RACs).
The ERA controller is embedded in some systems; the DRAC III and ERA/O controllers are available options on others. The DRAC III, ERA, and ERA/O enable you to remotely manage and monitor the system through a network, optional modem (DRAC III only), or optional serial connection (DRAC III only), even when the system is down.
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NOTE: The DRAC III, ERA, and ERA/O controllers are referred to collectively as RACs in the rest of this document, except where distinctions are necessary. Information that applies to a specific RAC uses the name of that RAC (DRAC III, ERA, or ERA/O) explicitly. Information that refers to "the RAC" or "a RAC" applies to all of the controllers. |
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NOTE: ERA is embedded in the system and does not have a kit. |
Your DRAC III or ERA/O kit includes:
Your RAC offers a complete hardware and software solution for remote systems management. A RAC provides remote access to an inoperable system, allowing you to get the system up and running as quickly as possible. A RAC provides alert notification when the system is down and allows you to remotely restart the system. In addition, a RAC logs the probable cause of system crashes and saves the most recent crash screen.
The DRAC III is a 33-MHz PCI card with its own microprocessor and memory. ERA and ERA/O use a proprietary bus and also have their own microprocessor and memory. Under normal operating conditions, a RAC is powered by the system in which it is installed. DRAC III, however, can operate indefinitely from an external power adapter or for up to 30 minutes from an onboard backup battery if the system loses power. AC power and battery backup are not available on ERA or ERA/O.
A RAC provides alerts if a problem is detected and can possibly prevent a system crash. By communicating with the system's ESM, a RAC reports warnings or errors related to voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds.
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NOTE: Throughout the remainder of this document, the system in which a RAC is installed or embedded is referred to as the managed system. A remote system that accesses a RAC is referred to as a management station. The term system console refers to a system's keyboard, mouse, and monitor. |
A RAC offers the following features:
Using Server Administrator, you can access a RAC through the managed system's normal network connection and configure the RAC properties, such as RAC users and alerting options.
If the managed system goes down or becomes otherwise unresponsive, or if you just want to check sensor monitor status when the system is running, you can access a RAC's Web-based remote access interface to perform crash recovery actions or to get system information.
Console redirection means that the RAC grants control of the managed system's mouse and keyboard to the management station's mouse and keyboard, and directs the managed system's monitor display (text or graphics) to the managed systems monitor. During console redirection, the management station is connected to a RAC through the RAC NIC, modem (DRAC III only), or serial port (DRAC III only using the optional VT-100 cable).
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NOTE: Console redirection using a DRAC III and the VT-100 cable supports the display of text only at a management station. Console redirection under any other configuration allows a management station to display the managed system's GUI. |
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NOTE: If a power failure occurs, the DRAC III can operate from battery power for up to 30 minutes. AC adapter power and battery power are not available on ERA and ERA/O. |
The following sections provide information about platforms and operating systems that support a RAC.
RACs support the following PowerEdge platforms: 1650, 2650, 4600, 6600, 6650, and 7150.
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NOTE: See your racread.txt file for updated platform support information. |
RACs currently support the following operating systems:
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NOTE: If a management station and a managed system are both running Windows NT and are part of a cluster configuration, they must both have the same service pack installed. |
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NOTE: If NetWare is running on the managed system, console redirection is displayed as text only. |
RACs come with software components that provide a set of services for each supported operating system. The services interface with RAC hardware to allow the following functions:
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Software Component |
Description |
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Firmware | RAC firmware executes on a RAC independently of the managed system's operating system. It also includes networking utilities, an embedded Web server, and an embedded file system. It provides software interfaces to all the embedded systems management functions provided by the BMC, to event handling, and to RAC configuration, and it supports preboot console redirection. |
Managed system software | RAC managed system software includes the software that executes on the managed system under various operating systems and interfaces RAC software with other managed system software. It includes device drivers, agents, libraries, and installation programs that provide a network communications path so that Server Administrator can configure the RAC and read hardware sensors, and a service that provides graphical console redirection screens when the system is running. |
Management station software | RAC management station software provides discovery of the DRAC III address book and correlation of all RACs with managed system addresses, a launching point for the Web-based interface, dial-up connection to a DRAC III, and reception of RAC-generated asynchronous events. |
RAC Web-based interface | A RAC's Web-based user interface consists of Java applets executing in a remote Web browser that communicates with the RAC firmware. The Java applets are loaded into the browser from the embedded Web server in the RAC firmware. The browser connects directly to a RAC when you enter a RAC IP address. |
It is recommended that you use the Server Administrator software to configure and use RACs.
Configuration interfaces are used to configure a RAC. Remote access interfaces are used to access the managed system through a RAC.
Configuration interfaces access a RAC through the managed system's NIC connection or through the managed system's console. Remote access interfaces access a RAC through a remote access port on the RAC.
For DRAC III, the remote access ports are the DRAC III NIC, the optional modem, or the serial port. For ERA and ERA/O, the remote access port is the ERA or ERA/O NIC only.
Remote access is particularly important when the managed system is down and cannot be accessed through its NIC. Separate user interfaces are available for both of types of connections, which include the following:
Server Administrator provides a comprehensive, one-to-one systems management solution from an integrated, Web browser-based GUI, and from a command-line interface (CLI). Server Administrator is designed to enable system administrators to both locally and remotely manage systems on a network.
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NOTE: For DRAC III, an address book system resides on the management station and contains the IP address and telephone number of the DRAC III. This module is supported under Windows NT and Windows 2000. |
The RAC command-line interface runs on the managed system and allows you to configure a RAC outside the Server Administrator. For more information, see "racadm Utility."
The Option ROM interface enables you to configure your RAC network settings during the managed system's boot sequence. For more information, see "Configuring the RAC Network Settings Using the Option ROM."
A RAC's remote access interface enables you to remotely access and manage the host system. You access this interface by using a RAC's Ethernet port or the DRAC III optional modem. The remote access interface is supported on Internet Explorer 5.x or later and on Netscape Navigator 6.x or later. For more information, see "Connecting to the Remote Access Interface."
The VT-100 text-menu interface is an application that resides in DRAC III firmware and enables you to access a DRAC III using VT-100 terminal hardware or terminal emulation software.
A RAC supports the following remote access connections:
An important feature of a RAC is its ability to notify you when a system fails. To do this, a RAC sends an alert using one or more of its remote access port connections. The DRAC III can send an alphanumeric page, numeric page, e-mail, or SNMP trap to preconfigured destinations. ERA and ERA/O can send e-mail and SNMP traps.
Because RAC firmware has an embedded Web server, you can connect to a RAC from a management station and receive events that occur on the managed system without installing any software on the management station other than a supported Web browser.
After receiving an alert, you can view the event log to determine the nature of the problem. The Web browser connects to a RAC using the 10- or 100-Mbps Ethernet NIC on a LAN/WAN or the optional PCMCIA modem (DRAC III only), both of which are located on the RAC.
A RAC also captures the system console screen in the event of a system crash to assist you in analyzing the cause of the failure. To get the system up and running again, you can perform a remote reset or power cycle and view the boot process through the RAC Web-based (remote access) interface.
RAC firmware constantly monitors the IPMI hardware log to determine when to generate an event. Two basic types of events exist:
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NOTE: For paging events to be sent, the DRAC III must have the PCMCIA modem installed. |
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NOTE: The e-mail event is sent to a specified e-mail address on an SMTP server. |
You can configure a RAC to notify different users of different events. When a RAC detects a new event, the firmware tests the event against each user's event filter and sends an event notification to the appropriate users. For instructions on configuring alert notifications, see "Installing and Configuring the Software."
You can also configure RAC firmware to determine which events should generate SNMP traps. After it is configured, a RAC sends the SNMP traps through the LAN to the IP address specified in the RAC configuration data. DRAC III also sends the trap through dial-up networking. The telephone number, user name, password, and IP address to which the dial-out trap is sent are specified by the RAC configuration data.
RACs support encrypted password authentication for TCP/IP NIC connections.
DRAC III provides VT-100 connection capabilities. Password encryption is not used for this type of connection because the VT-100 connection is a direct-connect terminal emulation, and as such, does not warrant encryption. Terminal security is provided by nonencrypted authentication of the user name and password. The firmware prevents display of the password on the terminal. System power management features (such as reset and power cycle) and text console redirection are provided through the VT-100 interface. Access to a graphical operating system is not available.
DRAC III supports CHAP encryption for PPP modem connections.
RAC Web-based remote access interface content is proprietary and provides no direct access to the managed system's operating system. Typically, remote access to the RAC is used when no administrator is locally logged in to the managed system. If an administrator logs in locally, operating system access is protected by standard operating-system security measures.
When a remote user accesses a RAC and performs a console redirection, a pop-up notification box appears at the managed system's console stating that remote console redirection is occurring. Clicking OK closes this notification box.
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NOTE: If you are performing console redirection from a remote location and you do not want anyone to interfere with the managed system at its location, you can remotely disable the managed system's console. |
A RAC's Web-based remote access interface requires a valid login. When establishing a remote connection to a RAC, the user enters a user name and password at the remote console. The password is then encrypted and sent to the RAC. The RAC receives the user name and encrypted password and begins authentication. The password saved by the RAC for this user name is also encrypted. It is then compared with the encrypted password received from the remote user. If there is a match, the user is validated and access to the RAC is granted. No other commands are recognized until validation occurs (except for online help).
After you enter your name and password, all additional information is transmitted without encryption.
In addition to this User's Guide, the following documents are available on your documentation CD or on a product-specific CD (if the applicable CD supports your language), or at the Dell | Support website at support.dell.com.
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The System Information document provides important safety and regulatory information. Warranty information might be included within that document or as a separate document. |
RAC document:
DRAC III document:
PowerEdge documents:
You may also have one or more of the following documents included with your system:
If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide or if your product does not perform as expected, a number of tools are provided to assist you. For more information on these help tools, see "Getting Help" in your system Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.