Back to Contents Page

Introduction

Dell™ OpenManage™ Baseboard Management Controller Utilities User's Guide

  Supported Systems

  BMC Configuration and Management Tasks

  BMC Configuration and Management Tools

  Other Dell Documents You May Need

  Obtaining Technical Assistance

The Dell™ systems' baseboard management controller (BMC) monitors the system for critical events by communicating with various sensors on the system board and sends alerts and logs events when certain parameters exceed their preset thresholds. The BMC supports the industry-standard Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification, enabling you to configure, monitor, and recover systems remotely. The BMC provides the following features:

• Access through the system's serial port and integrated NIC
  
  
• Fault logging and SNMP alerting
  
  
• Access to the system event log (SEL) and sensor status
  
  
• Control of system functions including power on and power off
  
  
• Support that is independent of the system's power or operating state
  
  
• Text console redirection for system setup, text-based utilities, and operating system consoles
  
  
• Access to Linux Enterprise server serial console interfaces by using Serial over LAN (SOL).
  
  

Dell provides several distinct utilities and programs for accessing the BMC to perform management activities. The following BMC interfaces allow you to configure and manage your system through the BMC:

• The BMC Management Utility allows remote, out-of-band LAN and/or serial port power control, event log access, and console redirection.
  
  
• The Remote Access Configuration Utility enables configuring BMC in a pre-operating system environment.
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage™ Deployment Toolkit SYSCFG utility provides a powerful command line configuration tool.
  
  
• Dell OpenManage Server Administrator allows remote, in-band access to event logs, power control, and sensor status information and provides the ability to configure the BMC.
  
  
• Command Line Interface (CLI) tools provide a command line tool for sensor status information, System Event Log (SEL) access, and power control.
  
  

Additionally, the BMC can be accessed by standard, off-the-shelf terminal or terminal emulator utilities that allow access to sensor status information and power control.

What's New in BMC Management Utility 3.0

The BMC Management Utility (BMU) 3.0 has the following new features:

• IPMItool command line interface available for Dell x8xx, x9xx, and xx0x systems running supported Microsoft® Windows® and Linux systems.
  
  
• New commands to manage the LCD display in x9xx and xx0x systems.
  
  
• New commands to monitor your system's power.
  
  
• Added support for Windows Server® 2008 (includes Standard, Enterprise, and Web editions.)
  
  

NOTE: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is scheduled to be available in the first half of 2008. For latest information, see http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/default.mspx.

Supported Systems

The BMC management features documented in this guide are supported on the following Dell systems:

• 800
  
  
• 830
  
  
• 840
  
  
• 850
  
  
• 860
  
  
• SC1425
  
  
• SC1435
  
  
• 1800
  
  
• 1850
  
  
• 1855
  
  
• 1900
  
  
• 1950
  
  
• 1955
  
  
• 2800
  
  
• 2850
  
  
• 2900
  
  
• 2950
  
  
• 2970
  
  
• 6800
  
  
• 6850
  
  
• 6950
  
  
• T105
  
  
• R900
  
  
• Dell PowerVault™ NX1950
  
  
• PowerVault 100
  
  
• PowerVault 500
  
  
• PowerVault 600
  
  

NOTE: All references in this document to x9xx systems also apply to the PowerVault NX1950, PowerVault 500, and PowerVault 600 systems. All references to the PowerEdge 840 system also apply to the PowerVault 100 system.

BMC Configuration and Management Tasks

The following sections document the basic tasks needed to set up and configure the BMC on a managed system in preparation for using the BMC Management Utility. These basic tasks are:

• Configuring the BMC
  
  
• Managing the BMC
  
  

Configuring the BMC

To configure the BMC on a managed system in a pre-boot environment, you can use:

• Dell Deployment Toolkit (DTK)
  
  
• Remote Access Configuration Utility
  
  
• Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) 5 graphical user interface (GUI)
  
  
• command line interface (CLI)
  
  

from a management station depending on the scope of your required configuration tasks. Alternately, you can configure the BMC on a managed system with a running operating system using the Server Administrator home page GUI or CLI. See "Baseboard Management Controller Configuration" for more information.

Managing the System Using BMC

To manage the BMC in a pre-boot environment, or to access the BMC of a system, you can use the BMC Management Utility. See "Using the BMC Management Utility." To configure the BMC on a system with a running operating system or to perform everyday BMC management tasks, you can use the GUI on the Server Administrator home page. See the Server Administrator User's Guide for more information about using Server Administrator to manage your system's BMC functions. Figure 1-1 shows the configuration matrix for BMC.

Figure 1-1. BMC Configuration Matrix

BMC Action on Event

If you plan to use your system's BMC to perform actions when events occur, you must follow the BMC Action on Event configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1. BMC Action on Event Configuration Guidelines

Basic BMC Alerting Over a LAN

If you plan to use your system's BMC to send alerts (Platform Event Traps), you must follow the BMC configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-2.

NOTE: The LAN-sharing depends on the NIC selection configuration option. The available options are Shared and Failover, and if a RAC card is present, the additional option available is Dedicated. See the NIC Selection option in the table in "Remote Access Configuration Utility Options" section for more information on Shared, Failover, and Dedicated.

NOTE: The Dedicated NIC selection option is available only if you are using Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) 5.

Table 1-2. BMC LAN Alerting Configuration Guidelines

IPMI Shell Over a LAN

Table 1-3 lists the actions you can perform, if you plan to use the BMC Management Utility's IPMI Shell or IPMItool to access your system's BMC over a LAN.

Table 1-3. BMC LAN Access Configuration Guidelines 

IPMI Shell Over the Serial Cable

If you plan to use the BMC Management Utility's IPMI Shell to access your system's BMC over a serial cable, you must follow the BMC configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-4.

NOTE: Console redirection does not apply to BMC when using the serial interface.

Table 1-4. BMC Serial Configuration Guidelines 

SOL Proxy Over a LAN

If you plan to use the BMC Management Utility's SOL Proxy to access your system's console over a LAN, you must follow the BMC configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-5.

Table 1-5. BMC SOL Configuration Guidelines 

BMC Configuration and Management Tools

Using the Remote Access Configuration Utility

The Remote Access Configuration Utility provides basic BMC setup and configuration functions that can be accessed during system boot. Use the Remote Access Configuration Utility for initial BMC setup and configuration only. For advanced configuration tasks, you must use the Deployment Toolkit SYSCFG utility or Server Administrator Version 2.0 or later.

NOTE: The Remote Access Configuration Utility is called the BMC Setup Module in the Dell PowerEdge x8xx systems.

Using Deployment Toolkit

The Deployment Toolkit (DTK) SYSCFG utility provides a powerful Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) and Linux command-line interface for locally configuring your system's BMC as part of an initial deployment. Use the DTK SYSCFG utility to set all supported BMC features. Additionally, you can use the Deployment Toolkit utilities to capture and replicate system settings on similar systems. See Configuring Your BMC Using the Deployment Toolkit Utility for more information on how to install and set up the DTK SYSCFG utility.

Using the BMC Management Utility

The BMC Management Utility provides a command-line interface to your remote management station to manage BMC-supported functions. Use the BMC Management Utility to manage your BMC from a remote management station and as your managed system's emergency management console. The utility gives you the option of using either a command line interface (IPMI Shell) or a SOL Proxy to access and manage the BMC. To use the BMC Management Utility, you must perform the following tasks:

• Configure BMC using the Remote Access Configuration Utility, the DTK SYSCFG utility, or Server Administrator.
  
  
• Install the BMC Management Utility on a management station.
  
  

See "Configuring Your Managed System" for instructions on configuring the BMC on a managed system in preparation for using the BMC Management Utility.

Using Server Administrator

The Server Administrator provides a convenient and easy-to-use GUI for remotely configuring or managing your system's BMC on a system running a supported operating system. You can use the Server Administrator to configure the most relevant BMC features, such as Platform Event Filter (PEF) parameters and alert destinations. Additionally, Server Administrator can be used as a command line interface. Server Administrator requires that the system has an operating system installed and functioning. As a result, Server Administrator is best suited for everyday BMC management tasks, and is not an option for performing pre-boot setup or accessing the BMC as an emergency management console. To use Server Administrator, you must perform the following tasks:

• Install Server Administrator on the managed system.
  
  
• Access the Server Administrator home page remotely or locally from a supported browser on a management station.
  
  
• Configure BMC remotely or locally on the managed system.
  
  

See the Dell OpenManage™ Server Administrator User's Guide and Command line Interface User's Guide on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com, the Dell Systems Documentation CD, or the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD for more information about using Server Administrator to configure and manage your system BMC.

Other Dell Documents You May Need

In addition to this User's Guide, you can find the following guides either on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com or on the Dell Systems Documentation CD and the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD:

• The Dell OpenManage Quick Installation Guide provides additional information about installing the BMC Management Utility on a management station.
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User's Guide provides additional information about using Server Administrator to manage your system's BMC.
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit User's Guide provides additional information about installing and using the DTK utilities.
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit Command Line Interface Reference Guide provides a complete list of all valid BMC-related command-line options, suboptions, and arguments.
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage IT Assistant User's Guide provides information about how to monitor and manage a large number of client and server systems on a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN).
  
  
• The Dell system User's Guide provides supplemental information about configuring your BIOS settings with the System Setup Program, as well as instructions for configuring your system to use console redirection.
  
  

Additionally, the Dell OpenManage readme.txt file provides the latest available information for the installation and operation of the programs and utilities used to manage your system through the BMC. The readme is available on the Dell Systems Console and Agent CD, the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD, and on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Obtaining Technical Assistance

If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide or if your product does not perform as expected, help tools are available to assist you. For more information about these help tools, see "Getting Help" in your system's Installation and Troubleshooting Guide or the Hardware Owner's Manual.

Additionally, Dell Enterprise Training and Certification is available; see www.dell.com/training for more information. This service may not be offered in all locations.

Back to Contents Page