VMware ESXi Software on Dell PowerEdge Servers Systems Management Guide

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if instructions are not followed. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

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Information in this document is subject to change without notice. 2008 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, OpenManage, PowerVault, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc.; VMware, ESX Server and VMotion are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions; Intel is a registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Microsoft and Windows are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own. September 2008 Rev. A02

Contents

Introduction . Overview

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Common Information Model Remote Management

Simple Network Management Protocol

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Install and Configure Systems Management Components First Boot Setup and Configuration Management Station Setup ESXi Software Configuration . Systems Management Use Cases Alert Monitoring

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Discovery and Health Monitoring Using VI Client Change Management Remote Management

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Troubleshooting, Logging, and Diagnostics Advanced System Configuration . Troubleshooting and Known Issues Appendix

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Systems Management features comparison between ESX software with OpenManage and ESXi software .

Contents

Contents

Introduction
VMware ESXi software is the next generation virtualization software that comes integrated with Dell PowerEdge servers. By integrating VMware virtualization, Dell has taken a major step toward simplifying deployment and management of virtualized environments. Unlike traditional ESX Server, ESXi Server does not have a service console, helping reduce the installation footprint of the software and allowing the hypervisor to be directly installed on the servers internal flash storage. ESXi ships pre-installed on certain Dell servers. No additional software installation is needed on the server for systems management. With minimal configuration, users will be able to monitor and manage their virtualization environment. This document provides an overview of the systems management architecture in VMware ESXi software on Dell PowerEdge systems. Detailed steps to install and configure the server and tools to manage the server are provided, including troubleshooting tips and known issues. For more information on setting up ESXi with your Dell PowerEdge server, refer to the VMware ESXi Dell Solutions Guide at support.dell.com. For information on managing the virtualization environment, refer to the VMware documentation at www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vi_pages/vi_pubs_35_3i_e.html.

Overview
Common Information Model
To help reduce the system footprint and simplify deployment, ESXi does not have a traditional service console management interface where Dell OpenManage agents are installed. Instead, to provide the required hardware manageability, VMware has incorporated standard Common Information Model (CIM) management profiles into the virtualization software. The CIM framework is an open standard that defines a framework on how managed hardware elements in a server are represented. The CIM framework consists of CIM providers developed by hardware vendors to enable monitoring and managing of the hardware device. By representing the hardware elements using standard CIM, ESX provides any management tool implementing the

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same open standards the ability to manage the server. The hardware management data is provided to management applications via CIM XML as well as WSMAN. VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client has been enhanced to provide hardware health status of various hardware devices. VMware Infrastructure Client uses CIM XML, a protocol to read hardware information provided by the CIM providers. Each of the monitored hardware devices are listed along with the health status. Future Dell Systems Management applications will make use of WSMAN for hardware management on ESXi.

Simple Network Management Protocol

In addition to CIM, hardware health alerts are available through standard Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps. Administrators may now monitor and manage the hardware through any management application that supports any of these standard protocols. Dell OpenManage IT Assistant may be used to monitor the PowerEdge servers running ESXi through SNMP . VMware has developed remote command line (RCLI) tool to configure the SNMP agent in ESXi. This tool is available for download for Windows, Linux and also as a Virtual Appliance. The RCLI tool can be downloaded from the VMware website at www.vmware.com/download/vi/drivers_tools.html.

Remote Management
PowerEdge servers may also be remotely managed through the Dell Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) and Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC). Both BMC and DRAC use the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) for out-of-band remote access. The BMC can be accessed by using the BMC Management Utilities (BMU), a collection of software applications that enable remote management of Dell systems equipped with a BMC. BMU include the following components: IPMItool with Dell extensions, IPMI Shell, and Serial-Over-LAN Proxy (SOL Proxy). IPMItool is a CLI utility that helps in configuring and managing devices using the IPMI version 1.5 and later. IPMItool supports out-of-band (OOB) remote access (over a LAN or through the serial port) to a single system at a time. DRAC can be accessed via its web served GUI as well as SSH and the racadm command line interface. IT Assistant can be utilized in conjunction with the

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BMCs IPMI over LAN interface for limited network discovery and health monitoring. Its event console can also receive and act upon SNMP Platform Event Traps (PETs) that are generated by the BMC.
Figure 1-1. Systems Management Overview With VMware ESXi

The following table lists the common use cases in systems management and the tools used to perform the task:
Use Case Deployment and Configuration Tools Needed VMware ESXi comes pre-installed on Dell PowerEdge servers. There is no need to utilize the System Build and Update Utility (SBUU) to install ESXi. Note that the SBUU does not create or install Virtual Machine (VM) images. The Dell Deployment Toolkit (DTK) and SBUU may be used to configure the BIOS, storage, and DRAC prior to booting into ESXi. The server can also be configured at boot time by pressing <F2> to enter BIOS setup, <Ctrl><M> to configure the RAID controller, and <Ctrl><E> to configure the BMC/DRAC features.

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Use Case Health Monitoring

Tools Needed VI Client may be used to monitor the health information of various hardware components. IT Assistant, DRAC, and the BMU can also be used for limited health monitoring.

Alert Monitoring The event console feature of IT Assistant may be used to monitor hardware and virtual machine traps generated from ESXi as well as SNMP Platform Event Traps generated by the BMC. Change Management SBUU may be used to update the BIOS and firmware of the PE server. SBUU does not support updating of device drivers for ESXi or virtual machines. VMware update manager is used to update the ESXi image which could contain updated device drivers for the system. Troubleshooting, The system log and management agent log may be retrieved using Logging, and VI Client or may be viewed from the terminal. Diagnostics The BMC System Event Log (SEL) is available using DRAC, IT Assistant, or the BMU. Diagnostics can be performed using Dell offline diagnostics tools. Remote Management Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) provides lights out remote management functionality.

NOTE: Each of these use cases and various operations for these use cases are explained in detail in "Systems Management Use Cases" on page 11.

Install and Configure Systems Management Components

First Boot Setup and Configuration
VMware ESXi comes pre-installed on supported Dell PowerEdge servers. For steps to setup and configure ESXi on PowerEdge server, refer to VMware ESXi Dell Solutions Guide at support.dell.com. Make sure that the DRAC is configured as per the steps in the document.

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Management Station Setup

The Management Station is the system from which one or more systems running ESXi will be managed. The management station can also be used to manage systems not running ESXi. The management station is required to support some but not all of the identified use cases, and typically contains the following set of management tools: IT Assistant Baseboard Management Utilities VMware Infrastructure Remote Command Line Interface (RCLI) VMware Infrastructure Client VMware VirtualCenter Server (optional)

Based on number of systems and devices to be managed and the hardware configuration of the management station, it may be desirable to install IT Assistant and VirtualCenter Server on separate systems. Figure 1-2 shows the various components required to manage ESXi on PowerEdge Servers.
Figure 1-2. Systems Management Components in VMware ESXi

Refer to the following documents to install and configure the management tools: IT Assistant User's Guide: support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/ smitasst
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Baseboard Management Utilities User's Guide: support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smbmcmu VMware Infrastructure Remote Command Line Interface (RCLI): www.vmware.com/download/vi/drivers_tools.html VMware Infrastructure Client: www.vmware.com/support/pubs VMware VirtualCenter Server: www.vmware.com/support/pubs

ESXi Software Configuration

ESXi must be configured to enable monitoring of the server using SNMP To . configure SNMP in ESXi: 1 Configure the SNMP settings in ESX Server by using VMware RCLI. The following commands must be executed from the server where VMware RCLI is installed:
a

Configure the SNMP setting using the following command: vicfg-snmp --server <ESX_IP_Address> --username root --password <password> -c <community_name> -t <ITAIP>@162/<community_name>

Enable SNMP using the following command: vicfg-snmp --server <ESX_IP_Address> --username root --password <password> -E

To view the SNMP configuration, execute the following command: vicfg-snmp --server <ESX_IP_Address> --username root --password <password> -s

2 Perform discovery and inventory of the server using IT Assistant.

a b

Perform discovery and inventory of the ESX server system interface using SNMP Perform discovery and inventory of the DRAC interface using IPMI. For more information, refer to the IT Assistant User Guide at www.support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smitasst/.

Once discovered, the ESX server is ready to be monitored using IT Assistant. SNMP traps from the ESX server can be received in IT Assistant.

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3 Execute the following VMware RCLI command to verify that IT Assistant is configured to receive SNMP traps from ESXi: vicfg-snmp --server <ESX_IP_Address> --username root --password <password> -T

Systems Management Use Cases

The following section describes how various system management tasks and operations can be done in a VMware ESXi environment on PowerEdge servers.

Discovery and Health Monitoring Using VI Client

VMware Infrastructure Client has been enhanced to provide hardware health monitoring functionality with ESXi release. Health status of various hardware components are listed under ConfigurationHealth Status. VMware Infrastructure Client provides the health statuses for various hardware components in the server. The health status is either green (normal), yellow (warning), or red (critical). For some components the relevant hardware reading is reported. The following is a list of components reported by the VI Client: Individual Processor health status Memory health status Overall memory health status is reported. Health status at the individual memory DIMM is not available in this release. Storage controller health information Health status of storage controller battery Health status of physical disks attached to the controller Health status of RAID volumes (virtual disks) attached to the controller Health status of SAS PHY connections (or ports) Health status of various sensors for each physical disk

Storage components health status

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Power supply health status System level for system board status along with power consumed in watts Power supplies health status along with power consumed in watts, amps, and voltage

Voltage sensor health status along with reading (if applicable) Health status for all the fans in the system along with RPM readings Ambient temperature of the server with status Software Versions for software components including Dell storage controller driver firmware, VMware ESXi hypervisor, and Dell BIOS for the PowerEdge server

Health status of cable and interconnects Chassis intrusion status Watchdog timer status CMOS battery health status

VMware Infrastructure Client updates the health status by polling every 90 seconds. The heath status can be updated by clicking Refresh at the top right of the screen. The Power Reading sensors can be reset by clicking Reset Sensors at the top right of the screen. To configure the hardware components and to change the threshold of supported components, refer to "Advanced System Configuration" on page 14.

Alert Monitoring
IT Assistant can be configured to receive traps from ESXi. SNMP traps are generated by the server for the following: 1 Hardware Event Alerts:
a

For each of the component listed in the previous section, an SNMP trap is generated when status goes from green to yellow or green to red. These traps are generated by the ESXi software and delivered through the ESXi Management Network.

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SNMP Platform Event Traps (PETs) are generated using IPMI for hardware events. These traps are generated by the DRAC and delivered through the DRAC network interface. For virtual machine operations such as VM power-on and VM poweroff, SNMP traps are generated. These traps are generated by the ESXi software and delivered through the ESXi Management Network.

2 Virtual Machine Operations Alerts:

a

Change Management
Dell System Build and Update Utility (SBUU) provides a utility to perform BIOS and firmware updates on the server. SBUU is a bootable CD that ships with every PowerEdge server. The latest ISO image can be downloaded from support.dell.com. The PE server can be booted with SBUU, which has options to update the BIOS and firmware. The actual update files are available in Server Update Utility (SUU) DVD, which can be downloaded from support.dell.com. To perform BIOS and firmware updates to VMware ESXi using SBUU: 1 Migrate the VMs running on the server that requires update to another server using VMware VMotion technology. When VMotion is not configured, either power off the VMs or suspend the VMs as appropriate and perform a cold migration. 2 Shutdown the ESXi using VI Client or through the terminal user interface. 3 Boot the server using the bootable SBUU media. 4 Select the option to update the firmware and follow the wizard. Insert the SUU DVD when required and perform the updates. 5 Once the server is updated, reboot the server to ESXi. The VMs can now be powered on or migrated back to this server. BIOS and firmware updates can also be downloaded from support.dell.com as individual files. To perform the update, download the file and copy the contents to a DOS-bootable diskette. Boot the server from the diskette and run the update program. Using IT Assistant to install the BIOS and firmware updates to PowerEdge servers running VMware ESXi software is not supported.

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For the steps to upgrade the ESXi software, refer to the VMware ESXi Dell Solutions Guide at support.dell.com.

Troubleshooting, Logging, and Diagnostics

The system log, management log, and storage controller log can be viewed from the terminal. In addition to viewing, log files can also be retrieved and provided to Dell or VMware support using the VI Client. Using DRAC or IT Assistant, the System Event Log (SEL) can be obtained and viewed. The SEL can be viewed using the IPMItool utility: ipmitool -I lan -H<DRAC_IP_Address> -U <username> -P <password> sel list.

Remote Management
Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) is designed to allow anywhere, anytime "Lights Out" monitoring, troubleshooting, and server repairs/upgrades independent of the operating system status. Remote Access Controller is supported in VMware ESXi. For more information, refer to the Dell Remote Access Controller Users Guide at support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smdrac3.

Advanced System Configuration

This section describes some of the commonly performed hardware configuration operations on the server and steps to perform such operations.
BIOS Configuration

BIOS configurations are performed by pressing <F2> during the boot process. DTK tools can be used to configure BIOS on multiple servers. Configuring the BIOS while ESXi is running is not supported.
Storage Configuration

Storage configurations, including creating and configuring RAID volumes, hot spares etc, are performed by pressing <Ctrl><R> during the boot process and invoking the OptionROM menu. Configuring the storage while ESXi is running is not supported. 14

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Front Panel LCD Settings

Using the IPMItool utility on the OpenManage CD, invoke the ipmitool command to get and set front panel LCD information. For the various options available, use: ipmitool -I lan -H <DRAC_IP_Address> -U <username> -P <password> delloem lcd help To identify a particular server in a rack of servers, use the following command: ipmitool -I lan -H <DRAC_IP_Address> -U <username> -P <password> chassis identify This command will blink the LCD for 15 seconds.
Ambient Temperature Configuration

VMware Infrastructure client reports ambient temperature. Alerts will be generated when the ambient temperature breaches the threshold values. Use the following ipmitool command to change the default thresholds values. To learn about the various options supported, use the following command: ipmitool -I lan -H <DRAC_IP_Address> -U root -P <password> sensor thresh "Ambient Temp" help
Other Sensor Values

The ipmitool command can also be used to report other sensor information in the server. To learn about the various options supported, use the following command: ipmitool -I lan -H <DRAC_IP_Address> -U root -P <password> sensor help
Accessing Sensor Values Remotely

Use the following ipmitool command to access the sensor values of ESXi: ipmitool I lan H <DRAC_IP_Address> -U root P <password> sdr where sdr stands for Sensor Data Records. Similarly, there are multiple options to get different BMC values using ipmitool. See the manpage of ipmitool for more details.

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TROUBLESHOOTING AND KNOWN ISSUES

This section describes known issues and workarounds.
IT Assistant Problem IT Assistant categorizes the server as Unknown Description IT Assistant lists the ESXi under Unknown category in the Devices hierarchy. Resolution This occurs when the DRAC/BMC is not discovered and inventoried by IT Assistant. Make sure that the DRAC/BMC interface is appropriately configured and the IP address is added to the range that IT Assistant queries for IPMI based discovery. This is a known issue for this release. VMware ESXi does not have all the MIBs implemented.

IT Assistant does not list the server under VMware ESX Server category IT Assistant SNMP shows up as unknown IT Assistant does not report server hardware information under Device details

IT Assistant lists the ESXi under Servers category in the Devices hierarchy and not under VMware ESX Server.

SNMP traps from IT Assistant This issue is seen in IT are not categories and are listed Assistant version 8.1. Update to as Unknown. IT Assistant version 8.2 or later. IT Assistant does not enumerate all the hardware information under Device details. It does not perform an inventory of ESXi. Hardware inventory of ESXi is not supported. On a typical server hardware configuration, inventory is made available by OpenManage agents running on the PE server. OpenManage Server Administrator agents are not supported in ESXi and hence hardware inventory using IT Assistant is not supported.

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Storage Problem Health status of components in MD1000/MD1120 is not available in VI Client RAID10 virtual disks show up as "RAID Level Unknown" in VI Client PERC Battery health status is not properly reported in VI Client VI Client does not report Critical Array Assert for the removed drive on PE1950 VI Client reports Critical Array Assert for all physical drives in a logical volume if one physical drive fails Description Health status of hardware components like fans, controller, and power supply of MD1000/MD1120 is not available in VI Client. Resolution MD1000/MD1120 is not supported with ESXi. Health status of hardware components of MD1000/MD1120 is not implemented in ESXi.

The RAID level 10 is shown as This is a known issue with this "RAID Level Unknown" Logical release of ESXi. Volume in VI Client.

When battery health status becomes critical, the battery status sensor is removed from the VI Client.

This is a known issue with this release of ESXi.

When a drive is removed from a This is a known issue with this configured Logical Disk in SAS release of ESXi. 6i/R, VI Client does not show the Critical Array Assert for the failed drive. VI Client reports Critical Array This is a known issue with this Assert for all physical drives in a release of ESXi. logical volume if one physical drive fails.

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Storage Problem VI Client does not report memory error conditions in PE805 Description Memory health status is shown as green even if System Event Log (SEL) files show the error "Mem ECC Warning: Memory sensor, transition to critical from less severe (DIMM_B4) was asserted". Resolution This is a known issue with this release of ESXi. Memory failure errors can be seen from the "System Event Log (SEL)" section of the DRAC webpage. The SEL files can also be viewed by going to https://<IP address of ESX Server host>/host/ipmi_sel. This might not be the latest SEL record.

VI Client reports "Rebuild in Progress" assert for all the physical drives on SAS6i/R controller

When a rebuild is occurring for This is a known issue with this release of ESXi. a single drive on a SAS6i/R controller, all of the drives are shown as Rebuild In Progress Assert.

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APPENDIX
Systems Management Features Comparison between ESX Software with OpenManage and ESXi Software
This section compares the system management capabilities of ESX Server 3 with OpenManage and ESXi.
Systems Management Feature
Deployment

ESX Server 3 with OpenManage Supported by boot time utilities and DTK. Supported by SBUU. Supported through the OpenManage media or through IT Assistant. ESX

ESXi

Configuring the BIOS, storage, and DRAC Installing ESX Server software Installing OpenManage software after the installation of ESX Systems Management Feature
Health Monitoring

Supported by boot time utilities and DTK. Not required. ESXi is preinstalled in the server. OpenManage Server Administrator is not supported in ESXi. ESXi

Processor health status

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Available through VI Client.

System battery status

Available through Available through VI Client OpenManage Server and DRAC. Administrator and DRAC. Available through Available through VI Client OpenManage Server and DRAC. Administrator and DRAC. Available through Available through VI Client OpenManage Server and DRAC. Administrator and DRAC.

Fan status with RPM reading Intrusion

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Systems Management Feature

Health Monitoring (continued)

ESX

ESXi

Memory

Individual memory status is available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Overall memory status is available in VI Client. Individual memory status is not available through VI Client. Available through VI Client. Available through VI Client and DRAC. Power statistics can be reset using ipmitool. Available through VI Client. Threshold values and configuration are available only through ipmitool. Available through VI Client and DRAC.

Network Connectivity

Power Supply Status Available through including power consumed OpenManage Server in amps, voltage and watts, Administrator and DRAC. with power statistics Ambient Temperature with Available through threshold settings OpenManage Server Administrator.

Voltage status

CPU, riser, and several system board voltages are available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Battery status including battery state, predicted capacity size, learn state, next learn time, maximum learn delay, and configuring learn tasks are available in OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Storage: Battery status Battery status is available in VI Client. Battery state, predicted capacity size, learn state, next learn time, maximum learn delay, and configuring learn tasks are not available in VI Client. Available through VI Client.

Controller status

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Systems Management Feature

Health Monitoring (continued)

ESX

ESXi

Firmware and driver versions

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Driver version available in VI Client. Only storage controllers and physical disks firmware versions are available in VI Client. Other firmware versions are not available in VI Client, but are available during boot process. Available through VI Client. Available through VI Client.

Physical drive status and Available through state (ready, rebuilding, OpenManage Server offline etc) Administrator. Virtual disk status and state Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Systems Management Feature

Alert Monitoring

ESX

ESXi

SNMP Alert Monitoring

Alerts are generated by OpenManage Server Administrator and can be viewed using IT Assistant.

Alerts are generated by ESXi and can be viewed using IT Assistant. The alerts generated by ESXi may have less hardware information than the alerts generated by OpenManage agents.

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Systems Management Feature

Inventory

ESX

ESXi

Processor Information including brand, processor version, current speed, core count, model, stepping information, 64-bit support, HyperThreading (HT), Virtualization Technology (VT), Demand Based Switching (DBS), and Execute Disable (XD). Cache information including status, level, max size, installed size, type, location, write policy, set associativity, and error correction. Firmware Version: BIOS version

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Processor brand, processor version, current speed, core count, model, and Processor brand, processor processor cache version, current speed, core information are available in count, model, and stepping VI Client. information are also available in IT Assistant.

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator, IT Assistant, and DRAC. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator, IT Assistant, and DRAC.

Available through VI Client.

Baseboard management controller firmware version DRAC firmware version

Not available through VI Client; available only during boot process. Not available through VI Client; available through the DRAC web interface or ipmitool. Available through VI Client.

Storage controller firmware version

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Systems Management Feature

Inventory (continued)

ESX

ESXi

Physical disk firmware version

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator, IT Assistant, and DRAC. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator, IT Assistant, and DRAC. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant.

Available through VI Client.

Backplane firmware version

Not available through VI Client; available only during boot process. Not available.

Memory information including installed capacity, maximum capacity, slots available, slots used, ECC type, DIMM type, DIMM Bank Name, DIMM AssetTag Name, DIMM Failure Mode, DIMM Form Factor, DIMM Device Name, DIMM Device Type, Device Manufacturer Name, Device Part Number Name, and Device Serial Number Name Network information including IP Address, MAC address, vendor, description, and TOE capability

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and VI Client.

Available through VI Client. MAC address cannot be seen through VI Client. TOE information is N/A. Not available.

Port information such as Available through port type, external name, OpenManage Server base I/O address, IRQ level, Administrator. Connector Type, and maximum speed Slots information including slot ID, adapter installed in the slot, and data bus width Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Not available.

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Systems Management Feature

Inventory (continued)

ESX

ESXi

System Asset information including Acquisition, Depreciation, Extended Warranty, Lease, Maintenance, Outsource, Support, Service Contract, Warranty, System, and Owner Physical drive information including status, name, failure predicted, Tasks, Type, Capacity, Used RAID Disk Space, Available RAID Disk Space, Hot Spare, Vendor ID, Product ID, Revision, Serial No, Manufacture Day, Manufacture Week, Manufacture Year, SAS Address, Bus Type, Serial Number, Part Number, Channel, Target ID, Vendor Name, Enclosure ID, LUN ID, Size (GB), Model Number, and Revision Virtual disk information including Cache Policy, Target ID, Device Name, Write Policy, Layout, Size (GB), Name, Read Policy, Stripe Size (MB), and Stripe Size (Bytes)

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant.

Not available.

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant.

Vendor Name, Size, Bus type, State, Product ID, Revision, Write Cache, S.M.A.R.T status and Operations are available through OptionROM (requires server reboot).

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant.

Available through OptionROM (requires reboot of the server).

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Systems Management Feature

Inventory (continued)

ESX

ESXi

Enclosure information

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator and IT Assistant.

External enclosures like PowerVault MD1000 and MD1120 are not supported with ESXi. Not applicable.

OpenManage agent information

Field Replaceable Unit Available through IT information including FRU Assistant. Device Name, Serial Number, Part Number, Revision, Manufacturer, and Manufacturing Date

Available through ipmitool. Memory FRU information is not available.

Systems Management Feature

Change Management

ESX

ESXi

BIOS and firmware updates Dell Update Packages (DUPs) are used for online update of the server. SBUU can also be used to update the server.

Dell SBUU can be used to update the server. Requires server reboot to start the update process.

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Systems Management Feature Logs Hardware logs (or Embedded Systems Management logs)

ESX

ESXi

Troubleshooting, Logging and Diagnostics

Available through OpenManage Server Administrator, IT Assistant DRAC.

Available through DRAC and IT Assistant. The SEL files can also be viewed by going to https://<IP address of ESX Server host>/host/ipmi_sel. This might not be the latest SEL record. See Alert Management. Available through VI Client. Available through VI Client. Not available for ESXi. The server can be rebooted to a supported Linux environment to use DSET. Dell diagnostics tools are supported offline.

Alert logs (SNMP alerts) See Alert Management. Storage Controller logs Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through VI Client. Supported with ESX 3 Server software.

ESX log files Dell System Extraction Tool (DSET)

Dell Diagnostics

Dell diagnostics tools are supported offline.

Systems Management Feature

Remote Management

ESX

ESXi

DRAC BMU Utilities

Fully supported. Fully supported.

Fully supported. Fully supported.

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Systems Management Feature

Hardware Configuration

ESX

ESXi

BIOS configuration

Available through boot option and OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through boot option, OpenManage Server Administrator, and DRAC. Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server).

Available through boot option. Available through boot option and DRAC.

DRAC setting configuration

Storage: Creating, and delete virtual disks Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server). Not supported. Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server). Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server). Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server). Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server). Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server). Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server).

Reconfigure virtual disks Not supported. and capacity expansions Check consistency in virtual disks Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Assign and unassign hot Available through spares OpenManage Server Administrator. Blink and unblink virtual Available through disks and physical disks OpenManage Server Administrator. Slow and fast initialize virtual disks Change policy in a virtual disk Naming and renaming virtual disks Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

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Systems Management Feature

ESX

ESXi

Hardware Configuration (continued)

Configure physical disks Available through to be online or offline OpenManage Server Administrator. Setting patrol read mode Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Set rebuild rate Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator. Available through OpenManage Server Administrator.

Available through OptionROM (requires reboot for the server). Not supported.

Not supported.

Export controller log information Set Consistency rate for the controller Set BGI rate for the controller Set reconstruction rate for the controller

Available through VI Client. Not supported.

Not supported.

Not supported.

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