The Integrated Virtual Media Command Line Interface (iVMCLI) utility is a command-line interface that provides virtual media features from the management station to iDRAC6 in the remote system. Using iVMCLI and scripted methods, you can deploy your operating system on multiple remote systems in your network.
This section provides information on integrating the iVMCLI utility into your corporate network.
Before You Begin
Before using the iVMCLI utility, ensure that your targeted remote systems and corporate network meet the requirements listed in the following sections.
Remote System Requirements
iDRAC6 is configured in each remote system.
Network Requirements
A network share must contain the following components:
Operating system files
Required drivers
Operating system boot image file(s)
The image file must be an operating system CD or a CD/DVD ISO image with an industry-standard, bootable format.
Creating a Bootable Image File
Before you deploy your image file to the remote systems, ensure that a supported system can boot from the file. To test the image file, transfer the image file to a test system using iDRAC6 Web user interface and then reboot the system.
The following sections provide specific information for creating image files for Linux and Windows systems.
Creating an Image File for Linux Systems
Use the Data Duplicator (dd) utility to create a bootable image file for your Linux system.
To run the utility, open a command prompt and enter the following:
dd if=<input-device> of=<output-file>
For example:
dd if=/dev/sdc0 of=mycd.img
Creating an Image File for Windows Systems
When choosing a data replicator utility for Windows image files, select a utility that copies the image file and the CD/DVD boot sectors.
Preparing for Deployment
Configuring the Remote Systems
Create a network share that can be accessed by the management station.
Copy the operating system files to the network share.
If you have a bootable, preconfigured deployment image file to deploy the
operating system to the remote systems, skip this step.
If you do not have a bootable, preconfigured deployment image file, create the file. Include any programs and/or scripts used for the operating system deployment procedures.
For example, to deploy a Microsoft® Windows® operating system, the image file may include programs that are similar to deployment methods used by Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS).
When you create the image file, do the following:
Follow standard network-based installation procedures.
Mark the deployment image as "read only" to ensure that each target system boots and executes the same deployment procedure.
Perform one of the following procedures:
Integrate
IPMItool and the Virtual Media command line interface (iVMCLI) into your existing operating system deployment application. Use the sample
ivmdeploy script as a guide to using the utility.
Use the existing ivmdeploy script to deploy your operating system.
NOTE: ivmdeploy internally uses the iVMCLI and ipmitool. You should have IPMI over LAN privilege to use this tool. Also, the virtual media should be in the attached state when using the ivmdeploy script.
Deploying the Operating System
Use the iVMCLI utility and the ivmdeploy script included with the utility to deploy the operating system to your remote systems.
Before you begin, review the sample ivmdeploy script included with the iVMCLI utility. The script shows the detailed steps needed to deploy the operating system to remote systems in your network.
The following procedure provides a high-level overview for deploying the operating system on targeted remote systems.
List iDRAC6 IP addresses of the remote systems that will be deployed in
the ip.txt text file, one IP address per line.
Insert a bootable operating system CD or DVD into the client media drive.
Run ivmdeploy at the command line.
To run the ivmdeploy script, enter the following command at the command prompt:
<idrac-user> is iDRAC6 user name—for example, root
<idrac-passwd> is the password for iDRAC6 user—for example, calvin
<iso9660-img> is the path to an ISO9660 image of the operating system installation CD or DVD
<path> is the path to the device containing the operating system installation CD or DVD
The ivmdeploy script passes its command line options to the iVMCLI utility. See "Command Line Options" for details about these options. The script processes the -r option slightly differently than the iVMCLI -r option. If the argument to the -r option is the name of an existing file, the script reads iDRAC6 IP addresses from the specified file and runs the iVMCLI utility once for each line. If the argument to the -r option is not a filename, then it should be the address of a single iDRAC6. In this case, the -r works as described for the iVMCLI utility.
The ivmdeploy script supports installation only from a CD/DVD or a CD/DVD ISO9660 image. If you need to install from a floppy disk or a floppy disk image, you can modify the script to use the iVMCLI-f option.
Using the Virtual Media Command Line
Interface Utility
The Virtual Media Command Line Interface (iVMCLI) utility is a scriptable command-line interface that provides virtual media features from the management station to iDRAC6.
The iVMCLI utility provides the following features:
NOTE: When virtualizing read-only image files, multiple sessions may share the same image media. When virtualizing physical drives, only one session can access a given physical drive at a time.
Removable media devices or image files that are consistent with the Virtual Media plug-ins
Automatic termination when iDRAC6 firmware boot once option is enabled
Secure communications to iDRAC6 using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
Before you run the utility, ensure that you have Virtual Media user privilege to iDRAC6.
CAUTION: It is recommended to use the interactive flag '-i' option, when starting up the iVMCLI command line utility. This ensures tighter security by keeping the username and password private because on many Windows and Linux operating systems, the username and password are visible in clear text when processes are examined by other users.
If your operating system supports administrator privileges or an operating system-specific privilege or group membership, administrator privileges are also required to run the iVMCLI command.
The client system's administrator controls user groups and privileges, thereby controlling the users who can run the utility.
For Windows systems, you must have Power User privileges to run the iVMCLI utility.
For Linux systems, you can access the iVMCLI utility without administrator privileges by using the sudo command. This command provides a centralized means of providing non-administrator access and logs all user commands. To add or edit users in the iVMCLI group, the administrator uses the visudo command. Users without administrator privileges can add the sudo command as a prefix to the iVMCLI command line (or to the iVMCLI script) to obtain access to iDRAC6 in the remote system and run the utility.
Installing the iVMCLI Utility
The iVMCLI utility is located on the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD, which is included with your Dell™ OpenManage™ system management software kit. To install the utility, insert the DVD into your system, and follow the on-screen instructions.
The Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD contains the latest systems management software products, including diagnostics, storage management, remote access service, and the RACADM utility. This DVD also contains readme files, which provide the latest systems management software product information.
The Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD also includes ivmdeploy—a sample script that illustrates how to use the iVMCLI and RACADM utilities to deploy software to multiple remote systems.
NOTE: The ivmdeploy script is dependent upon the other files that are present in its directory when it is installed. If you want to use the script from another directory, copy all the files with it.
Command Line Options
The iVMCLI interface is identical on both Windows and Linux systems. The utility uses options that are consistent with the RACADM utility options. For example, an option to specify iDRAC6 IP address requires the same syntax for both RACADM and iVMCLI utilities.
Command-line syntax is case-sensitive. See "iVMCLI Parameters" for more information.
If the remote system accepts the commands and iDRAC6 authorizes the connection, the command continues to run until either of the following occurs:
The iVMCLI connection terminates for any reason.
The process is manually terminated using an operating system control. For example, in Windows, you can use the Task Manager to terminate the process.
iVMCLI Parameters
iDRAC6 IP Address
-r <iDRAC-IP-address>[:<iDRAC-SSL-port>]
This parameter provides iDRAC6 IP address and SSL port, which the utility needs to establish a Virtual Media connection with the target iDRAC6. If you enter an invalid IP address or DDNS name, an error message displays and the command terminates.
<iDRAC-IP-address> is a valid, unique IP address or iDRAC6 Dynamic Domain Naming System (DDNS) name (if supported). If <iDRAC-SSL-port> is omitted, port 443 (the default port) is used. The optional SSL port is not required unless you change iDRAC6 default SSL port.
iDRAC6 User Name
-u <iDRAC-user-name>
This parameter provides iDRAC6 user name that will run Virtual Media.
The <iDRAC-user-name> must have the following attributes:
Valid user name
iDRAC6 Virtual Media User permission
If iDRAC6 authentication fails, an error message displays and the command terminates.
iDRAC6 User Password
-p <iDRAC-user-password>
This parameter provides the password for the specified iDRAC6 user.
If iDRAC6 authentication fails, an error message displays and the command terminates.
Floppy/Disk Device or Image File
-f {<device-name> | <image-file>}
where <device-name> is a valid drive letter (for Windows systems) or a valid device file name, including the mountable file system partition number, if applicable (for Linux systems); and <image-file> is the filename and path of a valid image file.
This parameter specifies the device or file to supply the virtual floppy/disk media.
For example, an image file is specified as:
-f c:\temp\myfloppy.img (Windows system)
-f /tmp/myfloppy.img (Linux system)
If the file is not write-protected, Virtual Media may write to the image file. Configure the operating system to write-protect a floppy image file that should not be overwritten.
For example, a device is specified as:
-f a:\ (Windows system)
-f /dev/sdb4 # 4th partition on device/dev/sdb (Linux system)
If the device provides a write-protection capability, use this capability to ensure that Virtual Media will not write to the media.
Omit this parameter from the command line if you are not virtualizing floppy media. If an invalid value is detected, an error message displays and the command terminates.
CD/DVD Device or Image File
-c {<device-name> | <image-file>}
where <device-name> is a valid CD/DVD drive letter (Windows systems) or a valid CD/DVD device file name (Linux systems) and <image-file> is the file name and path of a valid ISO-9660 image file.
This parameter specifies the device or file that will supply the virtual CD/DVD-ROM media:
For example, an image file is specified as:
-c c:\temp\mydvd.img (Windows systems)
-c /tmp/mydvd.img (Linux systems)
For example, a device is specified as:
-c d:\ (Windows systems)
-c /dev/cdrom (Linux systems)
Omit this parameter from the command line if you are not virtualizing CD/DVD media. If an invalid value is detected, an error message is listed and the command terminates.
Specify at least one media type (floppy or CD/DVD drive) with the command, unless only switch options are provided. Otherwise, an error message displays and the command terminates and generates an error.
Version Display
-v
This parameter is used to display the iVMCLI utility version. If no other non-switch options are provided, the command terminates without an error message.
Help Display
-h
This parameter displays a summary of the iVMCLI utility parameters. If no other non-switch options are provided, the command terminates without error.
Manual Display
-m
This parameter displays a detailed "man page" for the iVMCLI utility, including descriptions of all of the possible options.
Encrypted Data
-e
When this parameter is included in the command line, iVMCLI will use an SSL-encrypted channel to transfer data between the management station and iDRAC6 in the remote system. If this parameter is not included in the command line, the data transfer is not encrypted.
iVMCLI Operating System Shell Options
The following operating system features can be used in the iVMCLI command line:
stderr/stdout redirection — Redirects any printed utility output to a file.
For example, using the greater-than character (>) followed by a filename overwrites the specified file with the printed output of the iVMCLI utility.
NOTE: The iVMCLI utility does not read from standard input (stdin). As a result, stdin redirection is not required.
Background execution — By default, the iVMCLI utility runs in the foreground. Use the operating system's command shell features to cause the utility to run in the background. For example, under a Linux operating system, the ampersand character (&) following the command causes the program to be spawned as a new background process.
The latter technique is useful in script programs, as it allows the script to proceed after a new process is started for the iVMCLI command (otherwise, the script would block until the iVMCLI program terminates). When multiple iVMCLI instances are started in this way, and one or more of the command instances must be manually terminated, use the operating system-specific facilities for listing and terminating processes.
iVMCLI Return Codes
0 = No error
1 = Unable to connect
2 = iVMCLI command line error
3 = RAC firmware connection dropped
English-only text messages are also issued to standard error output whenever errors are encountered.
