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Using the RACADM Command Line Interface

Dell™ Remote Access Controller 5 Firmware Version 1.0 User's Guide

  Using a Serial or Telnet Console

  Using RACADM

  Configuring Multiple DRAC 5 Cards

  Using the RACADM Utility to Configure the DRAC 5

  Frequently Asked Questions

The serial/telnet/ssh console provides a set of racadm commands. The racadm commands provide access to the text-based features supported by the DRAC 5 Web-based interface.

RACADM enables you to locally or remotely configure and manage your DRAC 5. RACADM runs on the management station and the managed system. RACADM is included on the Dell Systems Management Consoles CD.

You can use RACADM to write scripts to automatically configure multiple DRAC 5s. For more information about configuring multiple DRAC 5s, see "Configuring Multiple DRAC 5 Cards."

This section provides the following information:

• Using the serial and racadm commands. See "Using a Serial or Telnet Console" or "Using RACADM"
  
  
• Configuring your DRAC5 using the racadm command
  
  
• Using the racadm configuration file to configure multiple DRAC 5 cards
  
  

Using a Serial or Telnet Console

You can run the serial commands in Table 9-1 remotely using RACADM or from the serial/telnet/ssh console command prompt.

Logging into the DRAC 5

After you have configured your management station terminal emulator software and managed node BIOS, perform the following steps to log into the DRAC 5:

1. Connect to the DRAC 5 using your management station terminal emulation software.
   
   
2. Type your DRAC 5 user name and press <Enter>.
   

You are logged into the DRAC 5.

Starting a Text Console

After you have logged into the DRAC 5 through your management station terminal software with telnet or SSH, you can redirect the managed system text console by using connect com2, which is a telnet/SSH command. Only one connect com2 client is supported at a time.

To connect to the managed system text console, open a DRAC 5 command prompt (displayed through a telnet or SSH session) and type:

connect com2

From a serial session, you can connect to the managed system's serial console by pressing <Esc><Shift><Q>, which connects the managed system's serial port directly to the servers' COM2 port and bypasses the DRAC 5. To reconnect the DRAC 5 to the serial port, press <Esc><Shift><9>. The managed node COM2 port and the DRAC 5 serial port baud rates must be identical.

The connect -h com2 command displays the contents of the serial history buffer before waiting for input from the keyboard or new characters from the serial port.

NOTE: When using the -h option, the client and server terminal emulation type (ANSI or VT100) must be identical; otherwise, the output may be garbled. Additionally, set the client terminal row to 25.

The default (and maximum) size of the history buffer is 8192 characters. You can set this number to a smaller value using the command:

racadm config -g cfgSerial -o cfgSerialHistorySize <number>

Using RACADM

You can run the RACADM commands locally or remotely from the serial or telnet console command prompt or through a normal command prompt.

Use the racadm command to configure DRAC 5 properties, perform remote management tasks, or recover a crashed system.

To display the racadm subcommand list using RACADM, type:

racadm help

The subcommand list includes all commands that are supported by the DRAC 5.

Without options, the racadm command displays general use information. Type racadm help to display a list of all available subcommands. Type racadm help <subcommand> to list any syntax and command-line options for the subcommand.

The following sections provide information about how to use the racadm commands.

Using RACADM Remotely

NOTE: Configure the IP address on your DRAC 5 before using the racadm remote capability. For more information about setting up your DRAC 5 and a list of related documents, see "Installing and Setting Up the DRAC 5."

RACADM provides a remote capability option (-r) that allows you to connect to the managed system and execute racadm subcommands from a remote console or management station. To use the remote capability, you need a valid user name (-u option) and password (-p option), and the DRAC 5 IP address.

NOTE: The RACADM remote capability is supported only on management stations running Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (version 3 and version 4), and SUSE Linux operating systems.

RACADM Synopsis

racadm -r <RAC IP Address> -u <username> -p <password> <subcommand> <subcommand options>

racadm -i -r <RAC IP Address> <subcommand> <subcommand options>

For example:

racadm -r 192.168.0.120 -u root -p calvin getsysinfo

racadm -i -r 192.168.0.120 getsysinfo

If the HTTPS port number of the RAC has been changed to a custom port other than the default port (443), the following syntax must be used:

racadm -r <RAC IP Address>:<port> -u <username> -p <password> <subcommand> <subcommand options>

racadm -i -r <RAC IP Address>:<port> <subcommand> <subcommand options>

RACADM Options

Table 9-1 lists the options for the racadm command.

Table 9-1. racadm Command Options 

Enabling and Disabling the RACADM Remote Capability

NOTE: It is recommended that you run these commands on your local system.

The RACADM remote capability is enabled by default. If disabled, type the following command to enable:

racadm config -g cfgRacTuning -o cfgRacTuneRemoteRacadmEnable 1

To disable the remote capability, type:

racadm config -g cfgRacTuning -o cfgRacTuneRemoteRacadmEnable 0

RACADM Subcommands

Table 9-2 provides a description of each racadm subcommand that you can run in RACADM. For a detailed listing of racadm subcommands including syntax and valid entries, see "RACADM Subcommand Overview."

When entering a RACADM subcommand, prefix the command with racadm. For example:

racadm help

Table 9-2. RACADM Subcommands 

RACADM Error Messages

For information about racadm CLI error messages, see "Frequently Asked Questions" in this chapter.

Configuring Multiple DRAC 5 Cards

Using RACADM, you can configure one or more DRAC 5 cards with identical properties. When you query a specific DRAC 5 card using its group ID and object ID, RACADM creates the racadm.cfg configuration file from the retrieved information. By exporting the file to one or more DRAC 5 cards, you can configure your controllers with identical properties in a minimal amount of time.

NOTE: Some configuration files contain unique DRAC 5 information (such as the static IP address) that must be modified before you export the file to other DRAC 5 cards.

To configure multiple DRAC 5 cards, perform the following procedures:

1. Use RACADM to query the target DRAC 5 that contains the appropriate configuration.
   

NOTE: The generated .cfg file does not contain user passwords.

Open a command prompt and type:

racadm getconfig -f myfile.cfg

NOTE: Redirecting the RAC configuration to a file using getconfig -f is only supported with the local and remote RACADM interfaces.

2. Modify the configuration file using a simple text editor (optional).
   
   
3. Use the new configuration file to modify a target RAC.
   

In the command prompt, type:

racadm config -f myfile.cfg

4. Reset the target RAC that was configured.
   

In the command prompt, type:

racadm reset

The getconfig -f racadm.cfg subcommand requests the DRAC 5 configuration and generates the racadm.cfg file. If required, you can configure the file with another name.

You can use the getconfig command to enable you to perform the following actions:

• Display all configuration properties in a group (specified by group name and index)
  
  
• Display all configuration properties for a user by user name
  
  

The config subcommand loads the information into other DRAC 5s. Use config to synchronize the user and password database with Server Administrator

The initial configuration file, racadm.cfg, is named by the user. In the following example, the configuration file is named myfile.cfg. To create this file, type the following at the command prompt:

racadm getconfig -f myfile.cfg

NOTICE: It is recommended that you edit this file with a simple text editor. The racadm utility uses an ASCII text parser. Any formatting confuses the parser, which may corrupt the racadm database.

Creating a DRAC 5 Configuration File

The DRAC 5 configuration file <filename>.cfg is used with the racadm config -f <filename>.cfg command. The configuration file is a simple text file that allows the user to build a configuration file (similar to an .ini file) and configure the DRAC 5 from this file. You may use any file name, and the file does not require a .cfg extension (although it is referred to by that designation in this subsection).

The .cfg file can be:

• Created
  
  
• Obtained from a racadm getconfig -f <filename>.cfg command
  
  
• Obtained from a racadm getconfig -f <filename>.cfg command, and then edited
  
  

NOTE: See "getconfig" for information about the getconfig command.

The .cfg file is first parsed to verify that valid group and object names are present and that some simple syntax rules are being followed. Errors are flagged with the line number that detected the error, and a simple message explains the problem. The entire file is parsed for correctness, and all errors are displayed. Write commands are not transmitted to the DRAC 5 if an error is found in the .cfg file. The user must correct all errors before any configuration can take place. The -c option may be used in the config subcommand, which verifies syntax only and does not perform writes to the DRAC 5.

Use the following guidelines when you create a .cfg file:

• If the parser encounters an indexed group, it is the value of the anchored object that differentiates the various indexes.
  

The parser reads in all of the indexes from the DRAC 5 for that group. Any objects within that group are simple modifications when the DRAC 5 is configured. If a modified object represents a new index, the index is created on the DRAC 5 during configuration.

• The user cannot specify a desired index in a .cfg file.
  

Indexes may be created and deleted, so over time the group may become fragmented with used and unused indexes. If an index is present, it is modified. If an index is not present, the first available index is used. This method allows flexibility when adding indexed entries where the user does not need to make exact index matches between all the RACs being managed. New users are added to the first available index. A .cfg file that parses and runs correctly on one DRAC 5 may not run correctly on another if all indexes are full and you must add a new user.

• Use the racresetcfg subcommand to configure all DRAC 5 cards with identical properties.
  

Use the racresetcfg subcommand to reset the DRAC 5 to original defaults, and then run the racadm config -f <filename>.cfg command. Ensure that the .cfg file includes all desired objects, users, indexes, and other parameters.

NOTICE: Use the racresetcfg subcommand to reset the database and the DRAC 5 NIC settings to the original default settings and remove all users and user configurations. While the root user is available, other users' settings are also reset to the default settings.

Parsing Rules

• All lines that start with '#' are treated as comments.
  

A comment line must start in column one. A '#' character in any other column is treated as a # character.

Some modem parameters may include # characters in its string. An escape character is not required. You may want to generate a .cfg from a racadm getconfig -f <filename>.cfg command, and then perform a racadm config -f <filename>.cfg command to a different DRAC 5, without adding escape characters.

Example:

#

# This is a comment

[cfgUserAdmin]

cfgUserAdminPageModemInitString=<Modem init # not a comment>

• All group entries must be surrounded by "[" and "]" characters.
  

The starting "[" character denoting a group name must start in column one. This group name must be specified before any of the objects in that group. Objects that do not include an associated group name generate an error. The configuration data is organized into groups as defined in "DRAC 5 Property Database Group and Object Definitions."

The following example displays a group name, object, and the object's property value.

Example:

[cfgLanNetworking] -{group name}

cfgNicIpAddress=143.154.133.121 {object name}

• All parameters are specified as "object=value" pairs with no white space between the object, =, or value.
  

White spaces that are included after the value are ignored. A white space inside a value string remains unmodified. Any character to the right of the '=' is taken as is (for example, a second '=', or a '#', '[', ']', and so forth). These characters are valid modem chat script characters.

See the example in the previous bullet.

• The .cfg parser ignores an index object entry.
  

The user cannot specify which index is used. If the index already exists, it is either used or the new entry is created in the first available index for that group.

The racadm getconfig -f <filename>.cfg command places a comment in front of index objects, allowing the user to see the included comments.

NOTE: The user may create an indexed group manually using the following command: racadm config -g <groupName> -o <anchored object> -i <index 1-16> <unique anchor name>

• The line for an indexed group cannot be deleted from a .cfg file.
  

The user must remove an indexed object manually using the following command:

racadm config -g <groupName> -o <objectName> -i <index 1-16> ""

NOTE: A NULL string (identified by two "" characters) directs the DRAC 5 to delete the index for the specified group.

To view the contents of an indexed group, use the following command:

racadm getconfig -g <groupName> -i <index 1-16>

• For indexed groups the object anchor must be the first object after the "[ ]" pair. The following are examples of the current indexed groups:
  

[cfgUserAdmin]

cfgUserAdminUserName=<USER_NAME>

If you type racadm getconfig -f <myexample>.cfg, the command builds a .cfg file for the current DRAC 5 configuration. This configuration file can be used as an example and as a starting point for your unique .cfg file.

Modifying the DRAC 5 IP Address

When you modify the DRAC 5 IP address in the configuration file, remove all unnecessary <variable>=value entries. Only the actual variable group's label with "[" and "]" remains, including the two <variable>=value entries pertaining to the IP address change.

For example:

#

# Object Group "cfgLanNetworking"

#

[cfgLanNetworking]

cfgNicIpAddress=10.35.10.110

cfgNicGateway=10.35.10.1

This file will be updated as follows:

#

# Object Group "cfgLanNetworking"

#

[cfgLanNetworking]

cfgNicIpAddress=10.35.9.143

# comment, the rest of this line is ignored

cfgNicGateway=10.35.9.1

The command racadm config -f myfile.cfg parses the file and identifies any errors by line number. A correct file will update the proper entries. Additionally, you can use the same getconfig command from the previous example to confirm the update.

Use this file to download company-wide changes or to configure new systems over the network.

NOTE: "Anchor" is an internal term and should not be used in the file.

Using the RACADM Utility to Configure the DRAC 5

NOTE: You must be logged in as user root to execute RACADM commands on a remote Linux system.

The DRAC 5 Web-based interface is the quickest way to configure a DRAC 5. If you prefer command-line or script configuration or need to configure multiple DRAC 5s, use RACADM, which is installed with the DRAC 5 agents on the managed system.

To configure multiple DRAC 5s with identical configuration settings, perform one of the following procedures:

• Use the RACADM examples in this section as a guide to create a batch file of racadm commands and then execute the batch file on each managed system.
  
  
• Create the DRAC 5 configuration file as described in "RACADM Subcommand Overview" and execute the racadm config subcommand on each managed system using the same configuration file.
  
  

Before You Begin

You can configure up to 16 users in the DRAC 5 property database. Before you manually enable a DRAC 5 user, verify if any current users exist. If you are configuring a new DRAC 5 or you ran the racadm racresetcfg command, the only current user is root with the password calvin. The racresetcfg subcommand resets the DRAC 5 back to the original defaults.

NOTICE: Use caution when using the racresetcfg command, as all configuration parameters are reset to the original defaults. Any previous changes are lost.

NOTE: Users can be enabled and disabled over time. As a result, a user may have a different index number on each DRAC 5.

To verify if a user exists, type the following command at the command prompt:

racadm getconfig -u <username>

OR

type the following command once for each index of 1–16:

racadm getconfig -g cfgUserAdmin -i <index>

NOTE: You can also type racadm getconfig -f <myfile.cfg> and view or edit the myfile.cfg file, which includes all DRAC 5 configuration parameters.

Several parameters and object IDs are displayed with their current values. Two objects of interest are:

# cfgUserAdminIndex=XX

cfgUserAdminUserName=

If the cfgUserAdminUserName object has no value, that index number, which is indicated by the cfgUserAdminIndex object, is available for use. If a name appears after the "=", that index is taken by that user name.

NOTE: When you manually enable or disable a user with the racadm config subcommand, you must specify the index with the -i option. Observe that the cfgUserAdminIndex object displayed in the previous example contains a '#' character. Also, if you use the racadm config -f racadm.cfg command to specify any number of groups/objects to write, the index cannot be specified. A new user is added to the first available index. This behavior allows more flexibility in configuring multiple DRAC 5s with the same settings.

Adding a DRAC 5 User

To add a new user to the RAC configuration, a few basic commands can be used. In general, perform the following procedures:

1. Set the user name.
   
   
2. Set the password.
   
   
3. Set the user privileges.
   
   
4. Enable the user.
   
   

Example

The following example describes how to add a new user named "John" with a "123456" password and LOGIN privileges to the RAC.

racadm config -g cfgUserAdmin -o cfgUserAdminUserName -i 2 john

racadm config -g cfgUserAdmin -o cfgUserAdminPassword -i 2 123456

racadm config -g cfgUserAdmin -i 2 -o cfgUserPrivilege 0x00000001

racadm config -g cfgUserAdmin -i 2 -o cfgUserAdminEnable 1

To verify, use one of the following commands:

racadm getconfig -u john

racadm getconfig –g cfgUserAdmin –i 2

Removing a DRAC 5 User

When using RACADM, users must be disabled manually and on an individual basis. Users cannot be deleted by using a configuration file.

The following example illustrates the command syntax that can be used to delete a RAC user:

racadm config -g cfgUserAdmin -o cfgUserAdminUserName -i <index> ""

A null string of double quote characters ("") instructs the DRAC 5 to remove the user configuration at the specified index and reset the user configuration to the original factory defaults.

Testing Email Alerting

The RAC email alerting feature allows users to receive email alerts when a critical event occurs on the managed system. The following example shows how to test the email alerting feature to ensure that the RAC can properly send out email alerts across the network.

racadm testemail -i 2

NOTE: Ensure that the SMTP and Email Alert settings are configured before testing the email alerting feature. See "Configuring E-Mail Alerts" for more information.

Testing the RAC SNMP Trap Alert Feature

The RAC SNMP trap alerting feature allows SNMP trap listener configurations to receive traps for system events that occur on the managed system.

The following example shows how a user can test the SNMP trap alert feature of the RAC.

racadm testtrap -i 2

Before you test the RAC SNMP trap alerting feature, ensure that the SNMP and trap settings are configured correctly. See the testtrap and testemail subcommand descriptions to configure these settings.

Enabling a DRAC 5 User With Permissions

To enable a user with specific administrative permissions (role-based authority), first locate an available user index by performing the steps in "Before You Begin." Next, type the following command lines with the new user name and password.

NOTE: See Table B-2 for a list of valid bit mask values for specific user privileges. The default privilege value is 0, which indicates the user has no privileges enabled.

racadm config -g cfgUserAdmin -o cfgUserAdminPrivilege -i <index> <user privilege bitmask value>

Configuring DRAC 5 Network Properties

To generate a list of available network properties, type the following:

racadm getconfig -g cfgLanNetworking

To use DHCP to obtain an IP address, use the following command to write the object cfgNicUseDhcp and enable this feature:

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgNicUseDHCP 1

The commands provide the same configuration functionality as the option ROM at boot-up when you are prompted to type <Ctrl><e>. For more information about configuring network properties with the option ROM, see "Configuring DRAC 5 Network Properties."

The following is an example of how the command may be used to configure desired LAN network properties.

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgNicEnable 1

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgNicIpAddress 192.168.0.120

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgNicNetmask 255.255.255.0

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgNicGateway 192.168.0.120

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgNicUseDHCP 0

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSServersFromDHCP 0

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSServer1 192.168.0.5

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSServer2 192.168.0.6

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSRegisterRac 1

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSRacName RAC-EK00002

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSDomainNameFromDHCP 0

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSDomainName MYDOMAIN

NOTE: If cfgNicEnable is set to 0, the DRAC 5 LAN is disabled even if DHCP is enabled.

DRAC Modes

The DRAC 5 can be configured in one of three modes:

• Dedicated
  
  
• Shared
  
  
• Shared with failover
  
  

Table 9-3 provides a description of each mode.

Table 9-3. DRAC 5 NIC Configurations

Frequently Asked Questions

Table 9-4 lists the frequently asked questions and answers.

Table 9-4. Using the serial and racadm Commands: Frequently Asked Questions 

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