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DRAC 4 Overview

Dell™ Remote Access Controller 4 Firmware Version 1.30 User's Guide

The Dell™ Remote Access Controller 4 (DRAC 4) is a systems management hardware and software solution designed to provide remote management capabilities, crashed system recovery, and power control functions for Dell PowerEdge™ systems.

By communicating with the system's baseboard management controller (BMC), the DRAC 4 can be configured to send you email alerts for warnings or errors related to voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. The DRAC 4 also logs event data and the most recent crash screen (for systems running the Microsoft® Windows® operating system only) to help you diagnose the probable cause of a system crash.

Depending on your system, the DRAC 4 hardware is either a daughter card (DRAC 4/I) or a half-length PCI card (DRAC 4/P). The DRAC 4/I and DRAC 4/P are identical except for the hardware differences (see "DRAC 4 Hardware Features").

The DRAC 4 has its own microprocessor and memory, and is powered by the system in which it is installed. The DRAC 4 may be preinstalled on your system, or available separately in a kit.

To get started with the DRAC 4, see "Installing and Setting Up the DRAC 4."

What's New in DRAC 4 in this Release?

For this release, DRAC 4 firmware version 1.30 supports the following:

• Secure Shell (SSH). For more information, see "Using the Secure Shell (SSH)."
  
  
• History buffer. For more information, see "Starting a Text Console."
  
  
• racadm vmdisconnect. For more information, see "vmdisconnect."
  
  
• ISO image support for Virtual Media
  
  

DRAC 4 Hardware Features

Figure 1-1 shows the DRAC 4/I hardware and Figure 1-2 shows the DRAC 4/P hardware.

Figure 1-1. DRAC 4/I Hardware Features

Figure 1-2. DRAC 4/P Hardware Features

Hardware Specifications

Power Requirements

Table 1-1 lists the power requirements for the DRAC 4.

Table 1-1. DRAC 4 Power Requirements

Connectors

NOTE: Installation instructions for the DRAC 4 hardware can be found in the Installing a Remote Access Card document or the Installation and Troubleshooting Guide that comes with your system. Ensure that you connect the management cable and the local video monitor (if present) to the DRAC 4/P in PCI slot 4.

The DRAC 4 provides a dedicated 10/100 Mbps RJ-45 NIC and a connector for mounting the card to the system board. The DRAC 4/P also provides a video connector, and a 30-pin Management Connector.

DRAC 4 Ports

Table 1-2 identifies the ports used by the DRAC 4. This information is required when opening firewalls for remote access to a DRAC 4.

Table 1-2. DRAC 4 Port Numbers 

Supported Remote Access Connections

Table 1-3 lists the features of each type of connection.

Table 1-3. Supported Remote Access Connections 

DRAC 4 Security Features

The DRAC 4 provides the following security features:

• Authentication for users through Microsoft Active Directory (optional) or hardware-stored user IDs and passwords
  
  
• Role-based authority allows specific privileges to be configured for each user
  
  
• User ID and password configuration through the Web-based interface or racadm CLI
  
  
• racadm CLI and Web-based interface operation supports SSL encryption of 128 bit and 40 bit (for countries where 128 bit is not acceptable)
  
  

NOTE: Telnet does not support SSL encryption.

• Session time-out configuration (in minutes) through the Web-based interface or racadm CLI
  
  
• Many of the commonly known DRAC 4 IP ports are configurable
  
  
• Secure Shell (SSH) that uses an encrypted transport layer for higher security. SSH is available on DRAC 4 firmware 1.30.
  
  

Supported Platforms

The DRAC 4/I is supported on the following systems:

• PowerEdge 1850
  
  
• PowerEdge 2800
  
  
• PowerEdge 2850
  
  

The DRAC 4/P is supported on the following systems:

• PowerEdge 800
  
  
• PowerEdge 1800
  
  
• PowerEdge 6800
  
  
• PowerEdge 6850
  
  

Supported Operating Systems

The DRAC 4 currently supports the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Standard Edition SP1, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1, Windows Server 2003 Web Edition SP1, Windows Server 2003 x64, Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 SP1
  
  
• Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  
  
• Novell® NetWare® 6.5 (SP1 or later)
  
  
• Red Hat® Enterprise Linux AS, ES, and WS (version 2.1)
  
  
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, ES, and WS (version 3) for Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel EM64T) and Intel x86
  
  
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (version 4) for Intel x86 and Intel EM64T
  
  

NOTICE: Currently, the Virtual Media feature is not supported under any version of the Novell NetWare operating system. NetWare drivers ignore the virtual drives and do not make them available to the system.

Supported Web Browsers

NOTE: The Console Redirection feature requires that you have installed a supported Java Virtual Machine (JVM). For a list of the supported JVM plug-ins, see the DRAC 4 readme on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com on the Systems Management documentation Web page.

NOTICE: The Virtual Media client requires that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer if using a Windows operating system.

• 32-bit versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows
  
  
• 32-bit versions of Mozilla 1.6 or later on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  
  

NOTE: When you are using Internet Explorer on systems running Microsoft Windows, to view localized versions of the DRAC 4 Web-based interface, open the Windows Control Panel, double-click the Regional Options icon, and select the desired locale from the Your locale (location) drop-down menu.

Features

The following is a list of features available on the DRAC 4.

• Dynamic registration of the DRAC 4 name in the Domain Name System (DNS).
  
  
• Remote management and monitoring of a system through the DRAC 4 Web-based interface, serial connection, or telnet connection.
  
  
• Configuring Microsoft Active Directory service software to give you access to the DRAC 4, allows you to add and control the DRAC 4 user privileges of your existing users in your Active Directory software.
  
  
• Console redirection feature that allows you to remotely use the managed system keyboard, video, and mouse functions.
  
  
• Virtual Media feature that enables the managed system to remotely access a diskette or CD located on the management station.
  
  
• Access to the system event log (SEL) and DRAC 4 logs and last crash screen (of the crashed or unresponsive system) independent of the operating system state.
  
  
• Integrated launch of the DRAC 4 interface from Server Administrator and IT Assistant.
  
  
• Ability to alert you to potential problems on the managed system by sending either an email message or an SNMP trap through the DRAC 4 NIC to a management station.
  
  
• Ability to configure the DRAC 4 and update DRAC 4 firmware locally or remotely using the racadm command-line utility, a scriptable interface.
  
  
• Ability to perform power management functions, such as shutdown and reset, remotely from a management console.
  
  
• Password-level security management and SSL encryption.
  
  
• Role-based authority that provides assignable permissions for different systems management tasks.
  
  

Other Documents You May Need

In addition to this User's Guide, the following documents provide additional information about the setup and operation of the DRAC 4 in your system:

• DRAC 4 online help provides information about using the Web-based interface.
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage IT Assistant User's Guide and the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Reference Guide provide information about IT Assistant.
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator's User's Guide provides information about installing and using Server Administrator.
  
  

The following system documents are also available to provide more information about the system in which your DRAC 4 is installed:

The Product Information Guide provides important safety and regulatory information. Warranty information may be included within this document or as a separate document.

• The Rack Installation Guide and Rack Installation Instructions included with your rack solution describes how to install your system into a rack.
  
  
• The Getting Started Guide provides an overview to initially set up your system.
  
  
• The User's Guide provides information about system features and technical specifications.
  
  
• The Installation and Troubleshooting Guide describes how to troubleshoot the system and install or replace system components.
  
  
• Systems management software documentation describes the features, requirements, installation, and basic operation of the software.
  
  
• Operating system documentation describes how to install (if necessary), configure, and use the operating system software.
  
  
• Documentation for any components you purchased separately provides information to configure and install these options.
  
  
• Updates are sometimes included with the system to describe changes to the system, software, and/or documentation.
  
  

NOTE: Always read the updates first because they often supersede information in other documents.

Release notes or readme files may be included to provide last-minute updates to the system or documentation or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians. See your DRAC 4 readme for more information about the DRAC 4. This readme is available on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com along with this guide on the Systems Management documentation Web page.

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