The Dell™ Remote Access Card III (DRAC III) helps you monitor your systems by extending the system management capabilities of Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant and the Server Administrator. Using the DRAC III Web-based interface, you can remotely monitor and manage your system using a network or modem connection. A limited text-based interface is also available using VT-100 terminal emulation and the optional VT-100 cable.
This section provides basic information about using the DRAC III to monitor and manage your system, including:
Using the DRAC III Web-based interface to access system and session information, manage the DRAC III configuration, and perform remote access functions on the managed system.
Using the VT-100 interface for system access and management.
Supplementary information on ports, connecting to the DRAC III by modem, and system monitoring and alerting on Microsoft® Windows NT®.
The DRAC III Web-based interface can be accessed using one of the following Web browsers:
Internet Explorer version 5.x or later
Netscape Navigator version 6.x or later
After launching the Web-based interface and logging in with your DRAC III user name and password, you can use the interface to access the managed system.
The main screen that appears after you log into the DRAC III Web-based interface is the Properties window, which displays the following System and Session Information.
DRAC III Date/Time – Displays current time in one of two ways. In the interval of time between DRAC III startup and when the managed system event server is initialized, the time displayed is the time elapsed since the DRAC III startup. Startup time appears in the following format:
DSU+HH:MM:SS
After the managed system event system is initialized and exchanges local time information with the DRAC III, the time displayed is the local date and time. Local date and time appears in the following format:
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS GMT<+ | - >HH:MM
NOTE: The time zone is represented as hours and minutes east or west of GMT. West is
negative, east is positive.
Example:
2001-01-01 23:00:59 GMT - 14:30
Firmware Version – Displays the current firmware version level.
Firmware Updated – Displays the date and time that the firmware was last updated.
NOTE: The Firmware Updated field remains blank until a firmware update is performed.
Hardware Version – Displays the DRAC III hardware version level.
Current IP Address – Displays the IP address assigned to the DRAC III NIC.
Current IP Gateway – Displays the IP address of the switch or router currently servicing the DRAC III NIC.
Current IP Netmask – Displays the IP address of the subnet to which the DRAC III is connected.
PCMCIA Card Info – Displays specifications for the PCMCIA modem, if installed.
From the DRAC III Web-based interface main window, you can access sensor data generated by both the DRAC III and the managed system. To access sensor information, click the Sensors tab from the main window. From the Sensors window, the following options are available and discussed in the following sections:
Displays a summary of temperature and voltage values and status. Click the probe name for more information about that sensor.
DRAC III Temperature Sensors – Displays a temperature gauge that graphically represents the current temperature and normal operating threshold:
Green check mark – Normal
Yellow exclamation point – Noncritical maximum and minimum thresholds
Red "X" – Critical maximum and minimum thresholds
Blank – Indicates a disabled sensor
The thresholds are also displayed as numerical values in the top-right corner of the sensor details box. For definitions of sensor thresholds, see "Sensor Thresholds."
DRAC III Voltage Sensors – Displays a voltage gauge that graphically represents the current voltage and normal operating threshold:
Green check mark – Normal
Yellow exclamation point – Noncritical maximum and minimum thresholds
Red "X" – Critical maximum and minimum thresholds
Blank – Indicates a disabled sensor
The thresholds are also displayed as numerical values in the top-right corner of the sensor details box. For definitions of sensor thresholds, see "Sensor Thresholds."
Displays a summary of managed system sensors. For more information on a particular sensor, perform the following steps:
From the Server Sensors window, place a check mark in the Add box to the right of the
sensor.
The selected sensor appears in the Sensors to Poll box on the right side of the screen. To remove the sensor from the Sensors to Poll list, click X.
NOTE: You can monitor up to eight sensors at a time.
After you have selected all the sensors you want to monitor, click Monitor Selected
Sensors.
A summary of the eight sensors is displayed.
For more information on a specific sensor, click the probe name.
After clicking the probe name, a graphical temperature gauge is displayed that identifies the current reading and normal operating threshold for the probe:
Green check mark – Normal
Yellow exclamation point – Noncritical maximum and minimum thresholds
Red "X" – Critical maximum and minimum thresholds
Blank – Indicates a disabled sensor
The thresholds are also displayed as numerical values in the top-right corner of the sensor details box. For definitions of sensor thresholds, see "Sensor Thresholds."
The POST log is generated by the managed system and lists POST events recorded during the most recent system boot. To access the POST log, from the Logs window, click POST.
The contents of the POST log are written by the BIOS of the managed system and are overwritten during each system boot. The POST log provides the following information:
POST Code – A numerical identifier associated with a particular event that occurs during system boot.
Description – A brief description of the event identified by the POST code.
The RAC log is a persistent log maintained in the DRAC III firmware. To access the RAC log, from the Logs window, click RAC.
The log contains a list of user actions (such as log in and log out) and out-of-band alerts issued by the DRAC III. The oldest entries are overwritten when the log becomes full. If the DRAC III loses communication with the managed system, all entries that the DRAC III would have added to the Hardware log (such as power failure or DRAC III sensor alert) are added to the RAC log until communication is reestablished.
The RAC log provides the following information:
Severity – Displays one of the following conditions, indicated by color and icon:
Green check mark – Normal event
Yellow exclamation point – Warning event
Red "X" – Critical event
Date & Time – Displays the full date and time (for example, Thu Dec 13 14:41:47 2001). When the DRAC III is unable to communicate with the managed system, the letters "DSU" (DRAC III start up) appear before the time, followed by the elapsed time since the DRAC III was started.
User – Displays the name of the user logging into the DRAC III.
ID – Displays the identifying number of the message displayed.
Description – Displays a brief description of the event.
To clear the RAC log of all entries, click Clear Log in the top-right corner of the screen.
The Hardware log displays system-critical events that occur on the managed system. To access the Hardware log, from the Logs window, click Hardware.
The Hardware log is generated by ESM instrumentation on the managed system and by the DRAC III if you have configured it to monitor any managed system events. It includes date, time, and a description of each event generated by the ESM and other instrumentation on the managed system. You can configure the DRAC III to send numeric pages, alphanumeric pages, e-mail, or SNMP traps when specified events occur.
The Hardware log provides the following information:
Date & Time – Displays the date and time that the event occurred.
Description – Displays a brief description of the event.
TheBoot Path Analysis displays a log of operations performed and problems encountered during system boot. To access theBoot Path Analysis, from the Logs window, click Boot Path Analysis.
The Boot Path Analysis provides the following information:
Severity – Displays one of the following conditions, indicated by color and icon:
Green check mark – Successful POST
Yellow exclamation point – Failed, non-fatal POST
Red "X" – Failed, fatal POST
Question mark – Unknown POST code
POST Code – A numerical identifier associated with a particular event that occurs during system boot.
The DRAC III allows you to configure poll rates using the Web-based interface. To access the DRAC III configuration, click the Configuration tab from the DRAC III main window.
The Poll Rates option allows you to configure the time interval for the DRAC III to update specific information. To access Poll Rates, from the Configuration window, click Poll Rates.
Poll Rates configuration allows you to set the rate at which the DRAC III samples status information from its onboard sensors or from the ESM sensors on the managed system, and how often the DRAC III retrieves system information from the managed system. Use the Poll Rates option to change the frequency with which the following information is updated:
To access DRAC III Remote Access functions, click Remote Access from the DRAC III main window. From the Remote Access window, the following options are available:
The DRAC III allows you to remotely perform a variety of power management actions on the managed system such as graceful shutdown through the operating system, or a hard reset (equivalent to pressing the reset button). To access Server Reset Options, from the Remote Access window, click Server Reset Options.
From the Server Reset Options window, you can configure the following resets for the managed system by selecting from the following reset options and clicking Apply Reset Option:
NOTE: If the Graceful Server Shutdown or the Graceful Server Restart commands are issued to
systems running Novell® NetWare® 5.x or NetWare 6.x, an MS-DOS® prompt is displayed.
This prompt indicates that the operating system has been shut down, but the system must be
manually turned off and on using the power button. If either of these commands are issued to
systems running Red Hat Linux 7.1 or later, the operating system shuts down, and then displays
a message indicating it is okay to manually turn off or on the system using the power button.
Graceful Server Shutdown – Shuts down the managed system through the operating system.
NOTE: If the Graceful Server Shutdown command is issued to systems running Windows
NT, the operating system shuts down, and then displays a message indicating it is okay to
manually turn off the system using the power button.
Graceful Server Restart – Shuts down and restarts the managed system through the operating system.
NOTE: When using Graceful Server Restart, Reset, and Server Power Cycle options with
console redirection, you must allow approximately two minutes for the managed system to
restart before attempting to log back into the system remotely. This time allows the
managed system time to reestablish a connection with the console redirection service.
Reset – Resets the system (equivalent to pressing the reset button); the power is not turned off by this function.
Server Power Cycle – Turns off the system power and turns it on again (equivalent to pressing the power button twice).
Server Power On – Turns on the system power (equivalent to pressing the power button).
Server Power Off – Turns off the system power (equivalent to pressing the power button).
The Remote Floppy Boot option, available under all supported 32-bit Windows operating systems and Red Hat Linux 7.1 or later, allows you to boot a managed system from a diskette image stored on a TFTP server or on the DRAC III. To access Remote Floppy Boot, from the Remote Access window, click Remote Floppy Boot.
Using the Remote Floppy Boot option, you can boot a managed system into a temporary command prompt environment to run diagnostic programs or utilities. After the managed system boots, you can use console redirection to interact with the command prompt environment.
Before using the Remote Floppy Boot option, you must first do one of the following:
Create the diskette boot image file and then copy it to a logical drive. Under Microsoft Windows® operating systems, the DRAC III offers two utilities to create the image file:
RemoteFloppyUtility.exe (a GUI utility), and remotefloppy.exe (a command-line utility). For more information, see "Creating and Copying Image Files for Remote Floppy Boot."
Load the diskette boot image from a file that resides on a TFTP server or your local file system. The DRAC III can load the diskette boot image into its firmware using TFTP. After the image is loaded, the DRAC III can boot the managed system from the image.
NOTE: You must have a TFTP server running to download boot image files to the DRAC
III. Many TFTP servers are available both commercially or free on the Internet. If you do
not already have a TFTP server running, it is recommended that you use one of the TFTP
servers on the Microsoft website at www.microsoft.com.
NOTE: The maximum size of the image used for remote floppy boot is 1.44 MB.
The following subsections provide procedures for using the RemoteFloppyUtility.exe and remotefloppy.exe utilities to create an image file for Remote Floppy Boot.
Under Choose Action, select the action you want to perform.
Copy Image From Drive Letter To Filename – Copies a boot image from a logical drive (can be a RAM drive or physical drive) to the path and file name specified.
Copy Image From Filename To Drive Letter – Copies a boot image from a path and file name specified to a logical drive.
Perform one of the following:
In the Filename field, specify the path and filename of the boot image file.
-OR-
Click Browse to open a standard Windows file browser and select the location and name of the boot image file.
The default boot image filename is bootimg.bin.
From the Drive Letter drop-down menu, select the drive letter designation for the
source or target diskette drive.
The default diskette drive letter is A.
Click Begin Copy to start the image transfer.
The Progress Indicator shows the percent complete of the transfer, and the Status window shows status and error messages that may occur during the transfer.
Click Clear to clear the Status window.
Click Clear All to reset all options to their default values.
-p Put existing file image onto a target disk floppy.
-d <drive> Drive letter containing floppy disk.
The drive letter must contain ':'.
The default drive letter is "a:".
-f <filename> Filename of boot file. The default filename is "BOOTIMG.BIN".
-v Version information will be displayed to the user.
-h Usage syntax will be displayed to the user.
The -c (create) and -p (put) parameters are required and mutually exclusive; you must select one or the other. The -d, -f, -v, and -h parameters are all optional. The -v and -h parameters are used alone to display the version of the utility and the help screen.
Type the appropriate command to create or put the boot image file.
For example, if you want to create an image file named BOOTIMG.BIN from a boot image residing on logical drive A:, use the following command:
remotefloppy.exe -c
Using another example, if you want to put an image file named BOOT1.BIN on logical drive B:, use this command:
remotefloppy.exe -p boot1.bin
After you create or put the desired .bin files, close the command prompt window.
NOTE: Before using this procedure, you must create a diskette boot image and make it
available locally or on a TFTP server. See the previous sections for more information.
To boot a managed system from a remote diskette image, perform the following steps:
From the DRAC III Web-based interface main window, click Remote Access, and then
click Remote Floppy Boot.
Check the status of the remote floppy boot in the Status Text on the bottom-left
corner of the screen.
The following is an example of status text:
Remote Floppy Enabled: No Image Loaded: No
Boot From: Remote Floppy, One Time
Mode: Read Only
Before you can initiate a remote floppy boot, you must load the image and then enable the remote floppy boot feature.
If Remote Floppy Enabled is No, perform the following steps; otherwise, proceed to
step 4.
From the Commands box, click Set Remote Floppy
State.
Select Enabled, and then click Apply Remote Floppy Boot
Changes.
A feedback (progress) message appears, followed by the remote floppy boot status. Remote Floppy Enabled should now read Yes.
If Image Loaded is No, perform the following steps; otherwise, proceed to step 5.
At the top of the Remote Floppy Boot window, select Insert Remote
Floppy.
In the Get Image From group, select one of the following options:
TFTP Server – Selecting this option indicates that you want to download a boot image file from a TFTP server system and load that image into the DRAC III. You must specify the TFTP server's IP Address and the image File. The default image file name is bootimg.bin.
Local File – Selecting this option indicates that you want to load a boot image from a file on the management station (the system running the DRAC III Web-based interface). Type the local file path and file name in the text box.
Click Apply Remote Floppy Boot Changes.
A Command in progress message appears in the Status Text, followed by the remote floppy boot status. Image Loaded should now read Yes.
NOTE: If at any time you want to save the boot image loaded into the DRAC III to a local
file, select Copy Remote Floppy to Local System File, type a file path into the text box, and
then click Apply Remote Floppy Boot Changes.
In the Remote Floppy Persistence Options group, select one of the following
options:
Always Boot From Remote Floppy – Select this option to always boot the DRAC III managed system from the boot image loaded into the DRAC III. This option is useful if you anticipate having to reboot the system more than once during the current diagnostic and recovery attempt.
Boot From Remote Floppy One Time – Select this option to boot the DRAC III managed system from the boot image exactly once. If you select this option, you must reselect and reapply changes (by clicking Apply Remote Floppy Boot Changes) to your remote floppy boot parameters.
Boot From the Physical Boot Device – Select this option to boot the DRAC III managed system from its usual boot device, such as diskette drive A. This option is useful if, for example, you have previously used one of the image file creation utilities to copy a boot image to a diskette and have placed it in the diskette drive in the event you need to perform a remote floppy boot.
The Command in progress message appears, followed by the remote floppy boot status. Boot From should now reflect your selection, such as Always Boot From Remote
Floppy.
If you want to make any changes to the remote diskette boot image loaded in
firmware, such as modifying a batch file, perform the following step; otherwise
proceed to step 6.
In the Remote Floppy Boot window, select Set Remote Floppy
Mode, select Read/Write, then click Apply Remote Floppy Boot
Changes.
The Command in progress message appears, followed by the remote floppy boot status.
Remote Floppy Mode should now read Read/Write.
From the Remote Access window, click Console
Redirect.
In the Console Redirect window, change to the A drive, which points to the diskette
boot image loaded in the DRAC III. Use the dir command to view the contents of the
image.
You may now make modifications to the image, such as using the edit command to edit a batch file.
From the Remote Access window, click Server Reset
Options.
From the Server Reset Options window, select a reboot options and click
OK. (For
more information, see "Server Reset Options.")
When prompted, confirm that you want to perform the action.
The Console Redirect option allows you to use the display, mouse, and keyboard on a local management station to control the corresponding devices on the remote managed system. To access the Console Redirect window, from the Remote Access window, click Console Redirect.
NOTE: For graphical redirection, the managed system is performing the redirection process;
therefore, a percentage of available microprocessor time is consumed when the process is active.
It is recommended that you stop console redirection when not needed so that the system is
available to perform its normal tasks. In addition, Dell recommends that you run the managed
system in a low-resolution graphics mode, such as 800 x 600, and at a maximum of 256 colors
to minimize the redirection task.
NOTE: If the NetWare operating system is running on the managed system, console redirection
will be displayed as text-only.
Console redirection provides the following functions:
Preboot text, video, and keyboard redirection
Post-boot graphics, video, keyboard and mouse redirection
Seamless operation between preboot and post-boot screens
NOTE: When switching between preboot and post-boot screens, it may take several minutes for
screen content to appear because the DRAC III must first connect to the DRAC III services on
the managed system.
The following buttons are available for use in the Console Redirect window:
Close – Use this button to exit the Console Redirect window.
Refresh – Use this button to completely update the entire remote system-screen viewport.
CtrlAltDel – Use this button to send the <Ctrl><Alt><Delete> key combination to the remote system.
To apply the <Alt> key to the next keystroke sent to the remote system, click the Alt check box.
To apply the <Ctrl> key to the next keystroke sent to the remote system, click the Ctrl check box.
Help – Use this button to open the online help for the Console Redirect screen.
Enable Local Console – Use this button to enable the managed system's console keyboard and mouse functions when the console is redirected. This button operates only when the managed system is running Windows, and does not operate during system boot.
Create Snapshot – Use this button to capture the current remote system screen to a .jpg file on the local system. A dialog box is displayed to allow you to save the .jpg file to a specified location.
For Red Hat Linux, the VNC service (RACVNC) does not display the actual primary system console of the managed system. Instead, RACVNC provides a virtual desktop that the remote user can use to execute systems management applications. This virtual desktop has all of the capabilities of any desktop that might be displayed at the actual managed system's console. This model is the generally accepted model for remote management for Red Hat Linux or UNIX®—to provide a remote desktop.
Only one shared systems management desktop is provided for console redirection through the DRAC III. Therefore, all remote user-created console redirection sessions through the DRAC III share the same desktop. If multiple management station users create console redirection sessions at the same time, they simultaneously share the same desktop.
The Last Crash Screen option displays the most recent crash screen, allowing you to obtain information on events leading up to the system crash. This information is saved in DRAC III memory and made available for remote display. To access Last Crash Screen, from the Remote Access window, click Last Crash Screen.
NOTE: If no crash screen is available, the message No previously captured last
crash screen is available is displayed.
The Debug option allows you to configure and perform DRAC III debugging and diagnostic tests for network and paging on the DRAC III or managed system. To access DRAC III Debug functions, from the DRAC III main window, click Debug. From the Debug window, the following options are available:
The Network Debug option allows you to perform debugging tasks for network and paging. To access the Network Debug window, from the Debug window, click Network Debug. From the Network Debug window, the following information and options are available.
NOTE: After clicking one of the following options and clicking Submit, results of the debug
tasks will be displayed in the Status Text box at the bottom of the page.
ARP – Displays the content of the ARP table (ARP entries may not be added or deleted).
IPConfig – Displays the contents of the network interface table.
Dump Trace Log – Displays a UNIX-style system log. This log is a volatile, memory-resident log that contains time-stamped entries.
NetStat – Prints the contents of the routing table. If the optional interface number is provided in the text field to the right of the NetStat option, NetStat prints additional information regarding the traffic across the interface, buffer usage, and other network interface information.
Ping – Verifies that the destination IP address is reachable from the DRAC III with the current routing-table contents. A destination IP address must be entered in the field to the right of this option. An ICMP echo packet is sent to the destination IP address based on the current routing-table contents. If the destination matches one of the demand-dial database destination IP addresses, and the demand-dial connection is not currently active, the packet is queued, and an attempt is made to bring up the demand-dial connection.
NOTE: In the case of nonactive demand-dial connections, ping might report a failure because it
usually takes more than five seconds to establish a demand-dial connection. If ping is retried
after the connection is established, the packet is passed across the link. Even when the
connection is established, it is still possible that the destination system is not reachable and able
to respond to the ICMP echo. However, if the destination system is reachable and able to
respond within five seconds, ping reports success on attempts after the connection is established.
The Command Debug option allows you to manually input debug commands. To access the Command Debug window, from the Debug window, click Command Debug. From the Command Debug window, you may use any of the following case-sensitive commands. To activate a command, click Submit. Command responses are displayed in the Status Text box at the bottom of the page.
NOTE: Dell recommends that you use the debug selections in this group only under the direction
of Dell support personnel.
getsysinfo – Displays general DRAC III information, system information, or watchdog status information, depending upon which of the following command options are entered:
getsysinfo -d – Displays DRAC III information.
getsysinfo -s – Displays system information.
getsysinfo -w – Displays watchdog information.
getsysinfo -A – Eliminates the printing of data headers/labels.
getssninfo – Displays a list of currently active or pending users, and optionally includes summary session information. The summary session information lists the total number of sessions in each of the defined session states (Not Used, Preliminary, Unvalidated, Valid, and Invalid).
getssninfo -A – Eliminates the printing of data headers.
getssninfo -u – (User name) limits the printed output to only the detail session records for the given user name; if an asterisk (*) is entered as the user name, all users are listed; no summary information prints when this option is specified.
getd3sensors – Displays information about the sensors that are present on the DRAC III itself.
getd3sensors -s – Allows you to specify a single sensor to display; if no -s option is used, all sensors are displayed, one per line.
getd3sensors -AEh – Displays all DRAC III sensors as hexadecimal values without leading hexadecimal numbers.
coredump – Displays the last DRAC III crash information, including detailed information such as register values and a memory map recorded when the most recent DRAC III crash occurred, or the message No CORE dump available if no previous card crash has occurred, or if the data has been cleared with the coredumpdelete command.
coredumpdelete – Deletes the coredump stored in the DRAC III. This command clears the area reserved for persistent storage of card crash information regardless of whether or not any card crash information is currently stored in the area reserved for this information.
The Trace Level option allows you to set debugger trace levels to identify the types of messages being sent on the local network. To access the Trace Level window, from the Debug window, click Trace Level. From the Trace Level window, select one or more of the following options and click Submit.
CHAT – Traces the CHAT, a protocol used by PPP and numeric paging.
DHCP – Traces the DHCP packets sent and received.
IP – Traces IP packets sent and received on PPP links.
PPP – Traces PPP connection negotiation packets sent and received.
The Status Check option allows you to perform diagnostic tasks on the DRAC III or managed system. To access the Status Check window, from the Debug window, click Status Check. From the Status Check window, select one of the following options and click Submit.
Delete Core Dump – Clears the area reserved for persistent storage of card crash information regardless of whether any card crash information is currently stored in the area reserved for this information.
Display Last Core Dump – Displays the last DRAC III crash, including detailed information such as register values and a memory map recorded when the most recent DRAC III crash occurred, or the message No CORE dump available if no previous card crash has occurred, or if the data has been deleted.
Dump DRAC III Status – Provides a dump, status and general DRAC III board information.
The Update option allows you to update the DRAC III firmware into the DRAC III flash memory. To access the firmware update, from the DRAC III main window, click Update.
NOTE: The Firmware Updated field in the System Information window is blank until a
firmware update is performed.
The data included in the DRAC III firmware package includes the following:
DRAC III firmware code and data produced by code compilation
Expansion ROM image
Java user interface, HTML, JPEG, and other user interface data files (including VNC Java files, if applicable)
Default configuration files
NOTE: The firmware update retains the current DRAC III settings.
NOTE: You must have a TFTP system running to download firmware image files to the DRAC
III. Many TFTP systems are available both commercially for free on the Internet. If you do not
already have a TFTP system running, Dell recommends that you use one of the TFTP systems
that you can find on the Microsoft website at www.microsoft.com.
NOTE: Before beginning the firmware update, you must first download the latest firmware
version from Dell | Support at support.dell.com, and then upload it to a TFTP server.
To update your DRAC III firmware, perform the following steps:
From the DRAC III main window, click Update.
From the Firmware Update window, enter the firmware Filename (default is
firmimg.bin).
Specify the IP address for the TFTP server where the firmware image resides.
Click Update Firmware.
The DRAC III will reset after the firmware update is complete.
To access the online help in the DRAC III Web-based interface, from the main window, click Help. For more information about your DRAC III (such as version and build numbers), from the DRAC III main window, click About.
For information on using VT-100 terminal emulation with the DRAC III, including communication port settings, see the Information Update contained in your VT-100 serial cable kit.
