Dell Lifecycle Controller 1.4 User Manual

Dell Lifecycle Controller
Remote Services
Version 1.4
User’s Guide
Notes and Cautions
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.
____________________
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July 2010
Contents
1Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Why Use Remote Services? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Web Services for Management
What’s New in Remote Services 1.4. . . . . . . . . . . 13
Remote Services Features and Support Information
Other Documents You May Need
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
. . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2 Getting Started with
Remote Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Prerequisites for Using Remote Services . . . . . . . . 17
Web Services Setup
WinRM Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
OpenWSMan Client
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3 Remote Services Operations. . . . . . . . . . 19
Managing Auto-Discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Configuring DHCP/DNS
Auto-Discovery Configuration
Connecting to Provisioning Server for
Initial Credential Deployment. . . . . . . . . . . . 22
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
. . . . . . . . . . . 20
Contents 3
Remotely Reinitiating Auto-Discovery in New Environments
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Managing Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Using Custom Certificates
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Deploying the Operating System
Operating System Deployment Features
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
. . . . . . 27
Remote Operating System
Deployment Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Operating System Deployment Typical Use Case Scenario
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Staging and Booting to Operating System
Image on vFlash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Using Remote Update
Benefits of Remote Update
Supported Devices
Scheduling Remote Update
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Remote Scheduling Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Managing Part Replacement
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Using Remote Firmware Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Instant Firmware Inventory
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Supported Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Firmware Inventory Using WS-Management
Retrieving Hardware Inventory
Exporting Hardware Inventory
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
. . . . . . . . . . . 43
. . . 41
Viewing and Exporting Hardware Inventory after Resetting Lifecycle Controller
. . . . . . . . . 43
4 Contents
Lifecycle Log
Exporting Lifecycle Log
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Deleting Configuration and
Resetting to Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Managing NICs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Displaying the NIC Inventory
. . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Displaying the NIC Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Setting the NIC Attributes
Deleting the Pending Values
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
. . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Managing vFlash SD Card
Displaying the Inventory of vFlash SD Card
Displaying the Partitions on vFlash SD Card
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
. . . . 47
. . . . 47
Creating and Modifying a
Partitions on vFlash SD Card . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Managing RAID Configuration
Displaying the RAID Controllers
Creating a Virtual Disk
Managing BIOS and Boot Configuration
Displaying the Inventory of BIOS Attributes
Setting the BIOS Attributes
One Time Boot
Using Job Control
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
. . . . . . . . . . 48
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
. . . . . . . . 50
. . . . 50
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Scheduling Separate Jobs for Multiple Actions
Running Multiple Target Jobs
Specifying the Start time and Until time
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
. . . . . . . . . . . 53
. . . . . . 53
4 Remote Services Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Operating System Deployment Profile . . . . . . . . . 55
Operating System Deployment Methods
Lifecycle Controller Management Profile
Auto-Discovery Methods
Lifecycle Log Methods
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
. . . . . . 55
. . . . . . . . 56
Contents 5
Hardware Inventory Methods . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Simple NIC Profile
Simple NIC Methods
BIOS and Boot Management Profile
BIOS and Boot Management Methods
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
. . . . . . . . . . . 59
. . . . . . . 60
Persistent Storage Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
RAID Profile
Hardware Inventory Profiles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
RAID Methods
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Job Control Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Job Control Methods
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
A Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Auto-Discovery LCD Messages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
B Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . 77
C Schema
6 Contents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Lifecycle Log Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
D Easy-to-use System
Component Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Contents 7
8 Contents
1

Overview

The Dell Lifecycle Controller provides advanced embedded systems management and is delivered as part of iDRAC Express card and embedded Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) applications in the 11 generation Dell servers. It includes a 1GB managed and persistent storage that embeds systems management features in addition to the iDRAC features. You can further upgrade to iDRAC Enterprise and the vFlash SD card reader. A vFlash SD card enables hosting of customized and bootable service images.
The Dell Lifecycle Controller Remote Services management in a one-to-many method. Web Service for Management (WS-Management) protocol based web services interface for remote server provisioning and management through the iDRAC. The interface is aimed at include remote operating system (OS) deployment, remote update and inventory, and automating the setup and configuration of new Dell systems remotely.
Remote services are accessible over the network using a secured web services interface and can be programmatically utilized by applications and scripts. Remote services enable management consoles to perform one-to-many bare metal server provisioning. The combination of the Auto-discovery feature to identify and authenticate the attached Dell system to the network and integration with one-to-many management consoles reduces the manual steps required for server provisioning.
Remote services enables the Dell Management Console, the Dell Modular Chassis Management Controller, partner consoles, customer home grown consoles and scripts to remotely perform systems management tasks such as:
Install operating systems and drivers
Perform BIOS firmware updates
Perform component firmware updates
Get hardware inventory information
Get and set NIC and RAID configuration
Remote Services is available using
simplifying many tasks, some of which
further enable remote systems
th
Overview 7
Get and set BIOS configuration
Export lifecycle log and add user comments
Export hardware inventory log
Manage, attach, and boot to vFlash SD card partitions
Schedule and track the status of the update and configuration jobs

Why Use Remote Services?

Remote services offer the following benefits and features:
Leverages your existing console for one-to-many server provisioning.
Does not utilize operating system resources on the managed system.
Provides a secure communication path for management.
Reduces manual intervention and improves efficiency while provisioning servers.
Allows scheduling configuration changes and updates, thereby reducing maintenance shutdown time.
•Enables access.
Enables integration to consoles through WS-Management interfaces.
OS-agnostic software update.
PowerShell
and scripting for command line interface (CLI)

Web Services for Management

WS-Management is a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)-based protocol designed for systems management. It is published by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) and provides an interoperable protocol for devices to share and exchange data across networks. The WS-Management implementation complies with the DMTF WS-Management specification version 1.1.0.
Dell Lifecycle Controller - Remote Services uses WS-Management to convey DMTF Common Information Model (CIM)-based management information; the CIM information defines the semantics and information types that can be manipulated in a managed system. Dell utilizes the WS­Management interface to allow remote access to the hardware lifecycle
8 Overview
operations. The Dell-embedded server platform management interfaces are organized into profiles, where each profile defines the specific interfaces for a particular management domain or area of functionality. Additionally, Dell has defined a number of model and profile extensions that provide interfaces for additional capabilities. The data and methods available through WS­Management are provided by the Lifecycle Controller - Remote Services’ instrumentation interface mapped to the following DMTF profiles and Dell extension profiles:

Standard DMTF

Base Server
Base Metrics
— Defines CIM classes for representing the host server.
— Defines CIM classes for providing the ability to model
and control metrics captured for managed elements.
Host LAN Network Port —
Defines CIM classes for representing a
network port that provides a LAN interface to a host system, its associated
controller, and network interfaces.
Service Processor
USB Redirection —
— Defines CIM classes for modeling service processors.
Defines CIM classes for describing information about
USB redirections. For keyboard, video, and mouse devices, this profile
should be used if the devices are to be managed as USB devices.
Physical Asset
— Defines CIM classes for representing the physical aspect
of the managed elements.
SM CLP Admin Domain
— Defines CIM classes for representing
CLP’s configuration.
Power State Management
— Defines CIM classes for power
control operations.
Command Line Protocol Service
— Defines CIM classes for representing
CLP’s configuration.
IP Interface —
Defines CIM classes for representing an IP interface of a
managed system.
DHCP Client —
Defines CIM classes for representing a DHCP client and
its associated capabilities and configuration.
DNS Client —
Defines CIM classes for representing a DNS client in a
managed system.
Overview 9
Record Log
Role Based Authorization
SMASH Collections
— Defines CIM classes for representing different type of logs.
— Defines CIM classes for representing roles.
— Defines CIM classes for representing
CLP’s configuration.
Profile Registration
— Defines CIM classes for advertising the profile
implementations.
Simple Identity Management
— Defines CIM classes for representing
identities.

Dell Extensions

Dell Active Directory Client Version 2.0.0
— Defines CIM and Dell extension classes for configuring the Active Directory client and the local privileges for Active Directory groups.
Dell Virtual Media
— Defines CIM and Dell extension classes for
configuring Virtual Media. Extends the USB Redirection Profile.
Dell Ethernet Port
— Defines CIM and Dell extension classes for configuring NIC Side-Band interface for the NIC. Extends the Ethernet Port Profile.
Dell Power Utilization Management
— Defines CIM and Dell extension classes for representing the host server’s power budget and for configuring/monitoring the host server’s power budget.
Dell OS Deployment
— Defines CIM and Dell extension classes for
representing the configuration of operating system deployment features.
Dell Software Update Profile
— Defines CIM and Dell extensions for representing the service class and methods for updating BIOS, component firmware, Lifecycle Controller firmware, Diagnostics, and Driver Pack.
Dell Software Inventory Profile
— Defines CIM and Dell Extensions for representing currently installed BIOS, component firmware, Diagnostics, Unified Server Configurator, and Driver Pack versions. Also provides representation of versions of BIOS and firmware update images available in Lifecycle Controller for rollback and re-installation.
Dell Job Control Profile
— Defines CIM and Dell extensions for managing jobs generated by update requests. Jobs can be created, deleted, modified and aggregated into job queues to sequence and perform multiple updates in a single reboot.
10 Overview
Dell Lifecycle Controller Management Profile
— Defines CIM and Dell extensions for getting and setting attributes for managing Auto-Discovery, Part Replacement, managing Lifecycle Log, and hardware inventory export.
Active Directory Client Profile — Defines the configuration of the Active Directory client service and the groups managed by this service.
Power Supply Profile
— Defines the power supplies for manageability
and describes the power supplies in a redundant configuration.
Power Topology Profile
— Defines a hierarchy of power sources; power
supplies and external power domains, and their redundancies.
SMASH Collections Profile
— Defines the collections that support Systems Management - Command Line Protocol (SM-CLP) target addressing.
Virtual Media Profile
— Provides the capability to manage virtual media sessions and devices that utilize the USB redirection services provided by the iDRAC service processor.
Dell RAID Profile
— Describes the classes, properties and methods for
the representation and configuration of RAID storage.
Dell Simple NIC Profile
— Describes the classes, properties and methods
for the representation and configuration of the NIC network controllers.
Dell Persistent Storage Profile
— Describes the classes, properties and methods to represent and manage the partitions on the vFlash SD card on Dell platforms.
Dell BIOS and Boot Management Profile
— Describes the classes, properties and methods to represent the configuration of the system BIOS setup and to manage the boot order of the system.
Dell CPU Profile
— Describes the properties and interfaces for executing systems management tasks related to the management of processors in a managed system.
Dell Fan Profile
— Describes the properties and interfaces for executing systems management tasks related to the management of fans in a managed system.
Dell iDRAC Card Profile
— Describes the properties and interfaces for executing systems management tasks related to the management of basic properties of iDRAC card.
Overview 11
Dell Memory Info Profile
executing systems management tasks related to the management of memories (DIMMs) in a system.
Dell PCI Device Profile
executing systems management tasks related to the management of PCI devices in a system.
Dell Power Supply Profile
executing systems management tasks related to the management of power supplies in a system.
Dell System Info Profile
executing systems management tasks related to the management of the host system.
Dell Video Profile
systems management tasks related to the management of video controllers in a system.
The Lifecycle Controller - Remote Services WS-Management implementation uses SSL on port 443 for transport security, and supports basic authentication. Web services interfaces can be utilized by leveraging client infrastructure such as Windows WinRM and Powershell CLI, open source utilities like WS-MANCLI, and application programming environments like Microsoft .NET.
— Describes the properties and interfaces for
— Describes the properties and interfaces for
— Describes the properties and interfaces for
— Describes the properties and interfaces for
— Describes the properties and interfaces for executing
12 Overview

What’s New in Remote Services 1.4

Auto-Discovery with LCD status
Certificate management
Hardware inventory
NIC configuration
RAID configuration
BIOS configuration
Enhanced job/task control features
Part replacement with firmware update and configuration recovery
vFlash SD card management
Lifecycle log management

Remote Services Features and Support Information

The Remote Services features supported by a Dell server depend on the system configuration. Table 1-1 shows the product classifications for Remote Services. For example, for a Dell system y71x series, y denotes letters such as M, R, or T; and x denotes numbers.
Table 1-1. Product Classification for Lifecycle Controller Remote Services
Dell System Series
y11x No Options Embedded BMC NA
Options
Available Systems Management Device
Available Remote Services Features
Overview 13
Table 1-1. Product Classification for Lifecycle Controller Remote Services
Dell System Series
y21x to y51x
Options
Standard Embedded BMC NA
Optional
Available Systems Management Device
Embedded BMC + iDRAC6 Express Card
Embedded BMC + iDRAC6 Express card + iDRAC6 Enterprise card
Available Remote Services Features
Platform Update, Hardware Configuration, Driver Repository, Remote OS Deployment, Remote Update, Remote Configuration, View and Export Hardware Inventory, Auto-Discovery, View and Export Lifecycle Log, and Add a Comment to Lifecycle Log.
iDRAC6 Express - adds Platform Update, Hardware Configuration, Driver Repository, Remote OS Deployment, Remote Update, Remote Configuration, View and Export Hardware Inventory, Auto-Discovery, View and Export Lifecycle log, and Add a Comment to Lifecycle Log.
iDRAC6 Enterprise - adds Full Remote Management, Dedicated NIC port, Virtual KVM, Part Replacement, and vFlash SD Card Management.
14 Overview
Table 1-1. Product Classification for Lifecycle Controller Remote Services
Dell System Series
y61x to y91x
1. For Dell modular systems — BMC, iDRAC6 Express card, and iDRAC6 Enterprise card are included as standard configurations.
Options
Standard
Optional
Available Systems Management Device
Embedded BMC with iDRAC6 Express card
Embedded BMC with iDRAC6
1
Express card + iDRAC6 Enterprise card
Available Remote Services Features
Hardware Diagnostics, Platform Update, Hardware Configuration, Driver Repository, Remote OS Deployment, Remote Update, Remote Configuration, View and Export Hardware Inventory, Auto-Discovery, View and Export Lifecycle Log, and Add a Comment to Lifecycle Log.
iDRAC6 Express - Hardware Diagnostics, Platform Update, Hardware Configuration, Driver Repository, Remote OS Deployment, Remote Update, Remote Configuration, View and Export Hardware Inventory, Auto­Discovery, View and Export Lifecycle Log, and Add a Comment to Lifecycle Log.
iDRAC6 Enterprise - adds Full Remote Management, Dedicated NIC port, Virtual KVM, Part Replacement, and vFlash SD Card Management.
For information on the supported systems and operating systems, see the Dell Systems Software Support Matrix at support.dell.com/manuals.
See the Glossary at support.dell.com/manuals for terms used in this document.
Overview 15

Other Documents You May Need

In addition to this guide, you can access the following guides available at
support.dell.com/manuals. On the Manuals page, click Software  Systems Management. Click on the appropriate product link on the right-side to
access the documents.
•The
•The
•The
There are additional implementation guides, white papers, profile specifications, class definition (.mof) files, and code samples you may require apart from this user’s guide. See:
Lifecycle Controller page on Dell TechCenter —
Lifecycle Controller WS-Management Script Center
Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 6 (iDRAC6) Enterprise for
Blade Servers User Guide
using an iDRAC6 for blade servers to remotely manage and monitor your system and its shared resources through a network.
Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 6 (iDRAC6) User Guide
provides complete information about configuring and using an iDRAC6 for rack and tower servers to remotely manage and monitor your system and its shared resources through a network.
Glossary
delltechcenter.com/page/Lifecycle+Controller
delltechcenter.com/page/Scripting+the+Dell+Lifecycle+Controller
provides information about the terms used in this document.
provides information about configuring and
•MOFs and Profiles
•DTMF Web site
Dell Lifecycle Controller Remote Services WS-Management Release Notes
16 Overview
delltechcenter.com/page/DCIM.Library
dmtf.org/standards/profiles/
2

Getting Started with Remote Services

This section describes some of the prerequisites that will help you get started with the Remote Services functionality and use the new features effectively, for better results.

Prerequisites for Using Remote Services

Web Services Setup

Ensure that the following conditions are met while setting the system:
Use the following tools to access Remote Services:
Windows-based client WinRM that is already installed in the
operating system, else you can download it from
support.microsoft.com/kb/968930
Linux-based clients like the open-source OpenWSMan based CLI.
For more information, see
Java-based client such as open-source project
information, see
Ensure that you know the IP address of the systems on your network. You will also need to be able to connect to iDRAC. See the iDRAC documentation at
Ensure the proper network configuration for client and managed server. Verify the connectivity with the ping utility. Then ensure that the client and network allows HTTP and SSL protocols.
wiseman.dev.java.net
support.dell.com/manuals
openwsman.org
.
.
Wiseman
.
for more information.
. For more

WinRM Client

You will need to install the WinRM Client on your console to be able to use the Remote Services functionality. Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 contain a standard component called WS-Management. This component contains the WinRM client. For Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Server 2003, you can download and install this component from support.microsoft.com/kb/968929. You need local administrator privileges for installation.
Getting Started with Remote Services 17
You must configure the client for the connection. For more information, see the Lifecycle Controller 1.4 Web Services Interface Guide.

OpenWSMan Client

The OpenWSMan client is the WS-Management CLI that is part of the open-source project Openwsman. To download, build, install, and use the WS-Management CLI and OpenWSMan packages from sourceforge.net, see openwsman.org for download links.
NOTE: You must configure the client for the connection. For configuration details,
see the
Lifecycle Controller 1.4 Web Services Interface Guide
18 Getting Started with Remote Services
3

Remote Services Operations

This section describes the Remote Services features with high-level descriptions and sample tasks. For more information on the tasks, see the Use
Cases section in the individual profile documents at delltechcenter.com/page/DCIM.Library.

Managing Auto-Discovery

The Auto-Discovery feature allows newly installed servers to automatically discover the remote management console that hosts the Provisioning Server. The Provisioning Server provides custom administrative user credentials to the iDRAC so that the unprovisioned server can be discovered and managed by the management console.
When Auto-Discovery is enabled, the iDRAC6 requests an IP address from DHCP and either acquires the name of the Provisioning Server host and/or subsequently resolves the address through DNS. After acquiring the Provisioning Server host address, the iDRAC6 securely handshakes with the Provisioning Server before acquiring custom administrative account credentials. The iDRAC can now be managed through its newly acquired credentials to perform operations, such as remote operating system deployment.
If you ordered a Dell system with the Auto-Discovery feature Enabled (factory default setting is Disabled), then the iDRAC will be delivered with DHCP-enabled and no enabled user accounts. If the auto-discovery feature is set to Disabled, you can manually enable this feature and disable the default administrative account from the iDRAC6 Configuration Utility when booting your system.
For more information on auto-discovery, see the "Lifecycle Controller Management Profile" on page 56.

Configuring DHCP/DNS

Before adding your Dell system to the network and utilizing the Auto­Discovery feature, ensure that Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server/Domain Name System (DNS) are configured with added
Remote Services Operations 19
support for Auto-Discovery. There are several options for enabling the network environment to support discovery of the Provisioning Server host by unprovisioned servers.
One of the following prerequisites must be met for the Auto-Discovery feature to work properly:
The DHCP server provides a comma separated list of Provisioning Server locations using a vendor scope option of class LifecycleController option 1. These locations can be a hostname or IP address and optionally include a port. The iDRAC will resolve the hostname of the management console to an IP address with a DNS lookup.
The DNS server specifies a service option
_dcimprovsrv._tcp
that
will resolve to an IP address.
The DNS server specifies an IP address for a server with the known name
DCIMCredentialServer
.
For more information on configuring DHCP and DNS, see Lifecycle Controller Auto Discovery Network Setup Specification on the Dell Enterprise Technology Center at delltechcenter.com/page/Lifecycle+Controller.

Auto-Discovery Configuration

To manually enable the Auto-Discovery feature:
1
Press
<Ctrl><e> when prompted within 5 seconds during system
start-up.
The
iDRAC6 Configuration Utility page
appears.
2
Enable
3
Enable
4
Navigate to
5
Select
6
Select
7
Navigate to
a
NIC
(for modular system only.)
DHCP
.
LAN Parameters
Domain Name
DNS Server
LAN user configuration
Select
Account Access
from DHCP and select On.
from DHCP select On.
and select
This disables the default administrative account.
b
Select
Auto-Discovery
.
20 Remote Services Operations
.
.
Disabled
.
c
Select
Enable
to enable the Auto-Discovery feature.
NOTE: Auto-Discovery feature will not run if the administrator
accounts are enabled.
8
Save and exit iDRAC6 Configuration Utility.
9
Restart your system.
Auto-Discovery Workflow
This is the Auto-Discovery workflow once it is configured and enabled:
1
Plug in your new Dell system to your network.
2
Plug-in the power cables to turn on the system.
3
iDRAC starts, acquires the Provisioning Server IP addresses/hostnames from DHCP/DNS and announces itself to the Provisioning Server.
4
The Provisioning Server validates and accepts the secure handshake session from the iDRAC.
5
The Provisioning Server provides custom user credentials with administrator privileges to iDRAC.
6
iDRAC receives and completes the secure handshake.
With enhancements to the Auto-Discovery process you can:
Configure the provisioning server host address through the iDRAC Configuration utility, Unified Server Configurator (USC), or using WinRM commands instead of using DHCP or DNS.
Remotely reinitiate Auto-Discovery in new environments.
Upload custom client and server certificates using WS-Management.
Remote Services Operations 21
Viewing the Discovery Status on the System
You can view the status of the Discovery and Handshake on the LCD (running, stopped, suspended, or complete.)
After the system is connected to the network:
Use the Auto-Discovery setup on iDRAC Option ROM (CTRL+E) to set the Auto-Discovery status, save and exit. The LCD displays the status as running.
If the discovery process is running, you can view its progress code that corresponds to how far the last attempt reached (i.e. whether Discovery and Handshake is blocked because the NIC is disabled, or an administrator account is enabled, and so on). You can also view the time left before timeout. For example, a menu item could be added for Auto-Discovery at the same level as iDRAC network setting.

Connecting to Provisioning Server for Initial Credential Deployment

This feature allows you to directly connect to a specified Provisioning Server host for handshake and registration of the new server on the network. You can manually configure USC console, or through a web services request using WS-Management, or iDRAC6 configuration utility, or preset at the factory.
Set Provisioning Server Using a WS-Management Request
The Provisioning Server IP address property is set by invoking the SetAttribute() method on the DCIM_LCService class through WS- Management. See the profile specific chapters in this user guide for command line examples of Microsoft WinRM SetAttribute() invocations or in the Lifecycle Controller 1.4 Interface Guide on the Dell TechCenter wiki at delltechcenter.com/page/Lifecycle+Controller.
The following conditions apply to using a command to set the provisioning server IP address/hostname:
When issuing the racadm racresetcf or updating iDRAC6, ensure to enable the Preserve Configuration option while resetting the iDRAC6 to defaults. If this option is disabled, the provisioning server IP/hostname is erased.
the provisioning server IP address or host name
through the
22 Remote Services Operations
Auto-Discovery feature does not use the newly set provisioning server IP address/hostname for any handshakes in progress, but is used only during the next handshake process.
Auto-Discovery feature supports setting multiple IP addresses and/or hostnames using the following format:
The string is a list of IP addresses and/or hostnames and ports
separated by comma.
Hostname can be fully qualified.
IPv4 address – starts with ‘(‘ and ends with ‘)’ when specified at the
same time with a hostname.
Each IP address or hostname can be optionally followed by a ‘:’ and a
port number.
Examples of valid strings are - hostname, hostname.domain.com.
Setting Provisioning Server using the USC Console
1
Press
<F10> System Services
when prompted within 5 seconds during
system startup.
The
Unified Server Configurator Lifecycle Controller Enabled
screen
appears.
2
Navigate to
iDRAC6 Configuration
3
Use the
4
Navigate to the
5
Enter the IP/hostname string of the Provisioning Server host.
6
Click
7
Click
8
Click
Hardware Configuration
Next
button to navigate to the
Provisioning Server Addresses
Next
and then click
Finish
.
Exit and Reboot
. Confirm exit.
.
Apply
->
Configuration Wizard
LAN User Configuration
->
screen.
screen.
.
Set Provisioning Server using iDRAC6 Configuration Utility
1
Press
<Ctrl+e>
The
iDRAC6 Configuration Utility
when prompted within 5 seconds during system start-up.
screen appears.
Remote Services Operations 23
2
Navigate to the
Provisioning Server
3
Type the IP/hostname string of the Provisioning Server host and click
Enter
.
4
Save and Exit the iDRAC6 Configuration Utility.
LAN User Configuration
.
screen and select the

Remotely Reinitiating Auto-Discovery in New Environments

This feature allows you to reinitiate Auto-Discovery through WS­Management, even though Auto-Discovery may have taken place earlier. Use this feature to move a server from one data center to another. The Auto­Discovery settings are persisted along with the credentials used for discovery.
When the server is powered on in the new data center, Auto-Discovery will run according to the settings, and will download the new user credentials for the new data center.
NOTE: The Auto-Discovery uses WS-Management, so the iDRAC administrator or
iDRAC user with Execute Server Command privilege is required.
The supported WS-Management interface to reinitiate Auto-Discovery includes these options:
Whether Auto-Discovery will run immediately or at the next AC power cycle. This is a required input.
Provisioning Server IP address/hostname. This is optional.
Regardless of the options you specify, the following operations are performed as part of the Auto-Discovery initiation:
Enable NIC (modular servers)
•Enable IPv4
•DHCP enable
Disable all administrator accounts
Disable Active Directory
Get DNS server address from DHCP
Get DNS domain name from DHCP
24 Remote Services Operations
The described interfaces are specified in the Dell Lifecycle Controller Management Profile available at delltechcenter.com/page/DCIM+Extensions+Library. Managed Object Format (MOF) files for related class and method definitions are also available in the Dell TechCenter DCIM Extensions Library area. The interfaces are:
ReinitiateDHS(ProvisioningServer, ResetToFactoryDefaults, PerformAutoDiscovery)
ProvisioningServer
information. This could be an IP address or a hostname.
ResetToFactoryDefaults
indicate whether the current configuration data needs to be deleted prior to the next cycle of Auto-Discovery. Only specifying value is not supported. then set iDRAC for Auto-Discovery. iDRAC will not be available until the Auto-Discovery provisioning process is complete and the iDRAC receives the new credentials.
PerformAutoDiscovery:
Auto-Discovery cycle should be performed: immediately or at the next boot. Select to run it the next time you boot your system.
SetAttribute(ProvisioningServer)
ProvisioningServer:
address/host name.
ClearProvisioningServer():
property. No input parameters are required.
FALSE
: optional parameter to indicate the Provisioning Server
: required parameter (
will cause an error message indicating the parameter
TRUE
will reset iDRAC to the default values and
required parameter to indicate when the next
Now
to run the Auto-Discovery cycle immediately; select
parameter to indicate the Provisioning Server IP
Method to clear the Provisioning Server
TRUE
TRUE
will be accepted;
or
FALSE
) to
Next

Managing Certificates

Using Custom Certificates

You can now transfer custom-defined certificates to the iDRAC6, and create a unique certificate based on the service tag of your system to ensure enhanced security. You can also have the factory preset the system with the certificate of your choice using the Custom Factory Install (CFI) process available from Dell.
Remote Services Operations 25
Creating Custom Trusted Root Client Certificates for the Provisioning Server
The DownloadClientCerts() method on the DCIM_LCService class can be called to generate a custom signed Auto-Discovery client certificate. The method takes as input a Certificate Authority generated key certificate and related hash and password parameters. The key certificate provided is used to sign a certificate containing the system service tag as the Common Name(CN). The method returns a job ID that can be used to check the success of the download, generation, and installation of the Auto-Discovery client certificate. For examples of command line invocations using WinRM and WSMANCLI see the Lifecycle Controller 1.4 Web Services Interface Guide.
Providing Custom Server Certificates using WS-Management
The DownloadServerPublicKey() method on the DCIM_LCService class can be called to transfer a Provisioning Server public key certificate. The Provisioning Server public key can be used as part of mutual authentication between the Auto-Discovery client and the provisioning server. The method takes as input a Provisioning Server public key certificate and related hash and hash type parameters. The method returns a job ID that can be used to check the success of the processing and installation of the Provisioning Server public key. For examples of command line invocations using see the Lifecycle Controller 1.4 Web Services Interface Guide. DCIM Profile specification and related MOF files are available at Dell TechCenter wiki in the DCIM Extension Library area (delltechcenter.com/page/DCIM.Library.)
Deleting the Custom Certificates Using WS-Management
You can delete the custom certificate that is part of the managed server supplied from the factory. Using this feature, you can wipe all the custom signed certificates from the server, whenever required.
NOTE: This feature does not delete the factory certificates.
Custom Server Public Key Deletion using WS-Management
Use the DeleteAutoDiscoveryServerPublicKey() method on the DCIM_LCService class to delete the CA certificate that is used to validate or authenticate server certificates.
Custom Client Certificate Deletion using WS-Management
26 Remote Services Operations
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