Is the Dell PowerEdge Installation and Server Management CD a bootable CD?
Yes, the CD is bootable. It boots into the Dell OpenManage™ Server Assistant operating system setup mode by default. After installing managed system software, if an operating system was previously installed, you will be given the option to boot from the operating system. It is recommended that you eject the CD to avoid booting into Server Assistant setup mode.
Where can I find the quick installation instructions?
The Quick Installation Guide comes as a small brochure with the CD kit. Also, you can find the guide on the Dell™ Support website, support.dell.com, and at the following location on the Dell PowerEdge Installation and Server Management CD:
where language is the appropriate language directory for you.
How do I install Dell OpenManage Server Administrator with only the CLI features?
By choosing not to install the Server Administrator Web server, you will get CLI features only.
What ports do Dell OpenManage applications use?
The default port used by Server Administrator is 1311. The default ports used by Dell OpenManage IT Assistant are 2606 (for the connection service) and 2607 (for the network monitoring service). These ports are configurable. See Table 2-1 in this guide for additional details.
Microsoft® Windows®
How do I perform a silent (unattended) upgrade from Dell OpenManage 4.3 to Dell OpenManage 4.x?
How do I prevent the system from rebooting after a silent (unattended) install/uninstall?
Use the optional command line switch
Reboot=ReallySuppress
Here is an example for the Management Station:
msiexec /i SysMgmt.msi /qb Reboot=ReallySuppress
What is an MSP service pack file? Should I upgrade my Dell OpenManage 4.3 version with the MSP file?
An MSP service pack file stores only the differences between an old version and a new version. It is much smaller in size than the upgrade file. You can either use the MSP file or the new MSI file to upgrade your Dell OpenManage 4.3. Using the MSP file is a good idea as it is more efficient.
Where can I find the MSI log files?
By default, the MSI log files are stored in the path defined by the %TEMP% environment variable.
I downloaded the Server Administrator files for Windows from the Dell support website and copied it to my own CD. When I tried to launch the SysMgmt.msi file, it failed. What is wrong?
MSI requires all installers to specify the MEDIAPACKAGEPATH property if the MSI file does not reside on the root of the CD.
This property is set to \srvadmin\windows\SystemsManagement for the managed system software MSI package. If you decide to make your own CD you must ensure that the CD layout stays the same. The SysMgmt.msi file must be located in the \srvadmin\windows\SystemsManagement directory on the CD. For more detailed information, go to
msdn.microsoft.com and search for: MEDIAPACKAGEPATH Property.
I cannot upgrade from Dell OpenManage 4.2 to the latest version of Dell OpenManage without uninstalling and losing my managed system software settings. Is there a way to upgrade to the latest version while preserving my managed system software settings?
Yes, but you must upgrade from Dell OpenManage version 4.2 to 4.3 first, before upgrading to a later version of Dell OpenManage. If you are working with Windows Server™ 2003, do not apply Service Pack 1 until you have completed the Dell OpenManage upgrade.
How do I perform an unattended operating system installation with the Installation and Systems Management CD?
You can install a Windows operating system on many systems using identical settings, which allows consistent configurations across all systems. To use this feature, it is necessary that the target Dell PowerEdge™ systems be configured identically, with the same hardware and operating system components. Any difference in configuration makes the replication feature unusable.
To perform unattended installations, do the following:
On the first system that is set up, ensure that the system's BIOS is set to boot from the CD.
Insert the Dell PowerEdge Installation and Server Management CD and reboot your system.
Follow the installation interview, which includes setting the date and time, configuring the
RAID controllers, selecting the operating system and specifying its settings, configuring the
hard drive, entering the network settings, and configuring Windows. If any information is
omitted, an unattended installation can still be accomplished, but the system will prompt you
for the missing information.
In the Installation Summary window, select Save Unattended Installation Script at
C:\unattended.tx, C:\txtsetup.oem and select Save Profile for Replication at C:\replication.
Click the Continue button.
Insert the appropriate operating system CD and follow the instructions to complete the
installation. Reboot the system to complete the installation.
When the installation is complete on the first server, copy the files from the C:\replication
directory to a diskette.
For each subsequent unattended installation, insert the disk containing the replication files
into the diskette drive and boot the system. The installation interview will be done
automatically. Then, insert the operating system CD to install the operating system, and
reboot the system to complete the installation.
What is the best way to use the Prerequisite Checker information?
The Prerequisite Checker is available for Windows. See the readme file \srvadmin\windows\PreReqChecker\readme.txt on the Dell PowerEdge Installation and Server Management CD for detailed information about how to use the Prerequisite Checker.
In the Prerequisite Checker screen, I get the message "An error occurred while attempting to execute a Visual Basic Script. Please confirm that Visual Basic files are installed correctly." What can I do to resolve this problem?
This error occurs when the prerequisite checker calls the Dell OpenManage script, vbstest.vbs (a visual basic script), to verify the installation environment, and the script fails.
The possible causes are:
Incorrect Internet Explorer Security Settings.
Ensure that Tools®Internet Options®Security®Custom Level®Scripting®Active Scripting is set to Enable
Ensure that Tools®Internet Options®Security®Custom Level®Scripting®Scripting of Java Applets is set to Enable.
Windows Scripting Host (WSH) has disabled the running of VBS scripts. WSH is installed during operating system installation, by default. WSH can be configured to prevent the running of scripts with a .VBS extension.
Right click My Computer on your desktop and click Open®Tools®Folder Options®File Types.
Look for the VBS file extension and ensure that File Types is set to VBScript Script File.
If not, click Change and choose Microsoft Windows Based Script Host as the
application that gets invoked to run the script.
WSH is the wrong version, corrupted, or not installed. WSH is installed during operating system installation, by default. Go to the following location for the current WSH to download:
msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/list/webdev.asp
Can I launch my installation without running the Prerequisite Checker? How do I do that?
Yes, you can. You can run the MSI directly from the \Windows\SystemsManagement folder. In general, it is not a good idea to bypass the prerequisite information as there could be important information that you would not know otherwise.
How do I know what version of systems management software is installed on the system?
Go to Start® Settings® Control Panel® Add/Remove programs and select Dell OpenManage Server Administrator. Select the link for support information.
What are the names of all the Dell OpenManage features under Windows?
The following table lists the names of all Dell OpenManage features and their corresponding names in Windows.
Table 11-1.
Dell OpenManage Features Under Windows
Feature
Name in Windows
Managed System Services
Server Administrator Instrumentation Service
Systems Management Data Manager
Systems Management Event Manager
Server Administrator
Secure Port Server
OM Common Services
Server Administrator Storage Management Service
Mr2kserv
Remote Access Controller Console (DRAC III)
Remote Access Controller (RAC) Service
RAC Win VNC
Remote Access Controller Console (DRAC 4)
Remote Access Controller 4 (DRAC 4)
Management Station Services
IT Assistant
IT Assistant Network Monitoring Service
IT Assistant Connection Service
ITA OM Common Services
Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)
SOLProxy
Red Hat® Enterprise Linux
How do I perform an unattended operating system installation with the Installation and Server Management CD?
You can install a Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system on many systems using identical settings, which is called a kickstart, and allows consistent configurations across all systems. To use this feature, the PowerEdge systems must be configured identically, with the same hardware and operating system installed. Any difference in configuration makes the replication feature unusable.
To perform unattended installations, do the following:
On the first server being set up, ensure that the server's BIOS is set to boot from the CD.
Insert the Installation and Server Management CD and reboot your server. Follow the
installation interview, which includes setting the date and time, configuring the RAID
controllers, selecting the operating system and specifying its settings, configuring the hard
drive, entering the network settings, and configuring Red Hat Enterprise Linux. If any
information is omitted, an unattended installation can still be accomplished, but the system
will prompt you for the missing information.
In the Installation Summary window, select Save Unattended Installation Script at
/root/install-ks.cfg and select Save Profile for Replication at /root/replication. Click the
Continue button.
Insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD and follow the instructions to complete
the installation. Reboot the system to complete the installation.
When the installation is complete on the first system, copy the files from the
/root/replication directory to a diskette.
For each subsequent unattended installation, insert the disk containing the replication files
into the diskette drive and boot the system. The installation interview will be done
automatically. Then, insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD to install the
operating system, and reboot the system to complete the installation.
I manually installed my Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 - x86_64 operating system and am seeing RPM dependencies when trying to install Server Administrator. Where could I find these dependent RPM files?
The dependent RPM files are on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD. For convenience, they are captured in one of the following directories corresponding to a supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems:
/srvadmin/linux/RPMS/RH3_i386
/srvadmin/linux/RPMS/RH3_x86_64
/srvadmin/linux/RPMS/RH4_i386
/srvadmin/linux/RPMS/RH4_x86_64
For instance, in the RH4_x86_64 subdirectory, execute the following command to install or update all the dependent RPM files:
rpm –Uvh /srvadmin/linux/RPMS/RH4_x86_64
You will then be able to continue with the Server Administrator installation.
Why am I getting a warning concerning the RPM package key during installation?
The RPM files are signed with a digital signature. To avoid this warning, you should mount the CD or package, and import the key using a command such as the following:
