Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.5 Owner's Manual

Dell Management Plug-In

for VMware vCenter

Version 1.5

Release Notes

This file contains updated information for your Dell™ Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter and any

Version

Version Number/Release Date

BIOS version

Release date 3/21/2011 or later

iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 11th
generation servers

3.20 for Modular, 1.80 for Rack or Tower

Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 11th
generation servers

1.5.1 or later

Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 12th
generation servers

Any

iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 12th
generation servers

1.00.0

Version

Version Number/Release Date

BIOS version

Release date 3/21/2011 or later

iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 11th
generation servers

3.02 for Modular, 1.54 for Rack or Tower

Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 11th
generation servers

1.4.0 or later

Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 12th
generation servers

Any

iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 12th
generation servers

1.00.0

other technical documentation included with Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter software.

NOTE: Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter, including Server Administrator, is available from

www.dell.com/vcenterplugin.

The Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter documentation includes:

 Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Version 1.5 Quick Install
 Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Version 1.5 User’s Guide
 Context-sensitive help pages display by the user interface
 This Release Note file

BIOS/iDRAC Co-requirement for Lifecycle Controllers

The following BIOS, iDRAC, and Lifecycle Controller versions are required to enable Management Plug-In
features. These versions must match in order for the Management Plug-in to function properly.

Note: We recommend that you use SUU, Repository Manager, or Lifecycle Controller's Platform
update functionality to update your servers to one of these baselines before using The Dell
Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter. Upgrade these in the order listed below.

Table 1 – For Deployment

Table 2 – For Management

2 | P a g e

Hardware and Software Requirements

Hypervisor Version

OMSA version

ESX 4.0 U2

OMSA 6.4

ESXi 4.0 U2

OMSA 6.4 VIB

ESX 4.0 U3

OMSA 7.0

ESXi 4.0 U3

OMSA 7.0 VIB

ESX 4.1

OMSA 6.5

ESXi 4.1

OMSA 6.5 VIB

ESX 4.1 U1

OMSA 6.5

ESXi 4.1 U1

OMSA 6.5 VIB

ESX 4.1 U2

OMSA 7.0

ESXi 4.1 U2

OMSA 7.0 VIB

ESXi 5.0

OMSA 7.0 VIB

The following support matrix tables detail the VMware version and Management Plug-in functional support
for Dell PowerEdge 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th generation Dell servers.

 OpenManage 6.4 agent or greater - SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Blink Server LED, View/Clear

SEL logs

 Lifecycle Controller 1.5.1 or later - BIOS/Firmware Updates, Bare metal Deployment, Hardware

Configuration, Change Configuration Settings

 iDRAC Express/Enterprise - Power On a Server, Link and Launch iDRAC

OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) Agent — Required for all Dell servers prior to Dell
PowerEdge 12th generation servers

 The manual installation of the OMSA agent on Dell PowerEdge 11

required on all ESX/ESXi hosts prior to the Dell Management Plug-in installation. With this release,
the OMSA agent is installed automatically during deployment. In addition, the Dell Management
Plug-in provides options to install OMSA as part of acquiring host compliance.

For the management, we support the following:

Table 1 – Management Support

th

Generation hosts is no longer

3 | P a g e

For Hypervisor deployment, we are able to support the following:

Hypervisor Version

OMSA version

Notes

ESX 4.1

OMSA 6.5

Limited to servers with native
drivers included in VMware ESX
ISO

ESXi 4.1

OMSA 6.5 VIB

Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver
inclusion

ESX 4.1 U1

OMSA 6.5

Limited to servers with native
drivers included in VMware ESX
ISO

ESXi 4.1 U1

OMSA 6.5 VIB

Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver
inclusion

ESX 4.1 U2

OMSA/ 7.0

Limited to servers with native
drivers included in VMware ESX
ISO

ESXi 4.1 U2

OMSA 7.0 VIB

Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver
inclusion

ESXi 5.0

OMSA 7.0 VIB

Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver
inclusion

Table 2 – Hypervisor Deployment Versions

 Note: Product test may at their discretion test key platforms (example, test rack only if tower

equivalent exists).

Administration Portal Supported Browsers

Access the Administration Portal using the following browsers:

Internet Explorer 7.0.x, 8.0.x, and 9.0.x set to not use a proxy when communicating with the Dell

Management Plug-in.

4 | P a g e

Space Required for Provisioned Storage

MODEL

VMWARE VERSION(S)

T620, R620, M620, R720, R720XD

ESX Classic, ESXi Installable

MODEL

FEATURE(S)

T620, R620, M620, R720, R720XD

SNMP alerts, BIOS/Firmware Updates,
Hardware Inventory, Power on server, Bare
Metal Deployment, Hardware Configuration,
Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs, Link and
Launch iDRAC, Change Configuration Settings,
Warranty Information

MODEL

VMWARE VERSION(S)

T110, R210, T310, R310, T410

ESX Classic

R210 II, R410, R415, R510, R515, T610, R610,
M1000e, M610, T710, R710, M710, M710D,
R810, R910, M910, M915, R715, R815

ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded

MODEL

FEATURE(S)

T110

SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Blink Server
LED, View/Clear SEL logs, Warranty Information

R210, R210II, T310, R310, T410, R410, R415,
R510, R515, T610, R610, M1000e, M610, T710,
R710, M710, M710HD, R810 R910, M910,
M915, R715, R815

SNMP alerts, BIOS/Firmware Updates,
Hardware Inventory, Power on server, Bare
Metal Deployment, Hardware Configuration,
Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs, Link and
Launch iDRAC, Change Configuration Settings,
Warranty Information

The Dell Management Plug-in virtual appliance requires the following amount of disk space for provisioned
storage:

PowerEdge 12th GENERATION SERVERS

Table 7 - VMware Version Support

Table 8 - Feature Support

PowerEdge 11th GENERATION SERVERS

Table 5 - VMware Version Support

Table 6 - Feature Support

5 | P a g e

PowerEdge 10TH GENERATION SERVERS

MODEL

VMWARE VERSION(S)

T100, T105, R200, T300, R300, M600

ESX Classic

M605, T605, M805, R805, R900, R905, M905

ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded

MODEL

FEATURE(S)

T100, T105

SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Power on
server, Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs,
Warranty Information

R200, T300, R300, M600, M605, T605, M805,
R805, R900, M905

SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Power on
server, Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs,
Link and Launch iDRAC, Warranty Information

MODEL

VMWARE VERSION(S)

PE1950 I/II

ESX Classic

PE1950 III

ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded

PE1955

ESX Classic

PE2900 I/II

ESX Classic

PE2900 III

ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded

PE2950 I/II

ESX Classic

PE2950 III

ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded

PE2970

ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded

PE6950

ESX Classic

MODEL

FEATURE(S)

All supported PowerEdge 9th generation servers

SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Power on
server, Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs,
Link and Launch iDRAC, Warranty Information

Table 3 - VMware Version Support

Table 4 - Feature Support

PowerEdge 9TH GENERATION SERVERS

Table 1 - VMware Version Support

Table 2 – Feature Support

6 | P a g e

User Notes

 After the deployment of ESXi finishes, the server shows a purple screen as shown below with the

error Two filesystems with the same UUID have been detected. Make sure you do not have two
ESXi installations.

This is a known issue from VMWare and the resolution is in the VMWare knowledge base article found
here:

http://www.vm-help.com/esx41/file_system_UUID.php

 Incorrect warning is displayed on the VCenter Summary tab when the hypervisor was deployed and

root password set to non-default as shown in the screen below.

This is a known issue from VMWare and the resolution is to remove the host from the VMWare tree and
re-add it back with the correct root password.

7 | P a g e



Time stamps are converted to the user’s local time zone and the Dell Management Plug-in
displays Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time offsets.



If you run a security scanner tool (such as Nessus) against the Server Administrator Web
server, certain security warnings against port 1311 running the Server Administrator Web
server may be displayed. These warnings have been investigated by Dell engineering and are
determined to be false positives.



If the proxy settings are provided in the configuration, then the proxy settings are used to
access the Repository URL provided in the Administration Portal. However, if the URL to the
Update Repository is an internal URL, then disable the proxy setting. If you do not disable the
internal proxy setting, then the appliance attempts to connect to the URL with the proxy.



A hardware profile created using a reference server with a certain BIOS version could cause
deployment to fail. Some BIOS versions do not give accurate information for certain BIOS
settings, such as the Embedded NIC1 and NIC2 settings. When a server with BIOS version is
used as a reference server in a hardware profile, the fields are ignored both by the UI and by
deployment. A problem could arise, however, if the settings in question are required to have
a certain value for deployment to complete successfully.

The solution to this issue is to use a server with an up to date BIOS as a reference server for a
hardware profile.

Note: Servers being used for deployment should also have updated BIOS. If deployment tries to apply
settings to a server with problematic BIOS, deployment fails. Currently the BIOS version is not checked
for compliance, but it is displayed on the server compliance page. Warnings are displayed on the
hardware profile reference server and BIOS settings pages, as well as when they select a deployment
template with an affected hardware profile during deployment.

8 | P a g e

To resolve this issue, use one of the following BIOS versions:

Issue 1: The NIC selected as the management NIC during the deployment process is not the active
management NIC after deployment.

Description: During the ESXi 5 deployment using any NIC other than NIC 0 may show up in vCenter after
deployment as the standby NIC with NIC 0 as the primary management network NIC.

Resolution/Workaround: Manually reconfigure management NICs in vCenter after deployment.

Version Affected: All

Issue 2: Rarely, an ESXi 4.1 U1 deployment fails on a PowerEdge server.

Description: The ESXi deployment log shows failure installing OMSA.

Resolution: This is a known VMware issue and VMware has provided a workaround to resolve the

issue as seen here:

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId
=1037190

Use these steps for a workaround:

- Logon to ESXi 4.1 U1.

- Manually create a directory /tmp.

- Logoff from the ESXi host.

- Manually add the host to vCenter.

- Go to Host Compliance page of Dell Management Center.

- Run the Compliance Check wizard.

Version Affected: All

R710, T610, R610, M610/ M710/ M610x, T710: 6.0.7

M710HD: 4.0.2

Open Issues and Resolutions

The following section lists the open issues and resolutions with the Dell Management Plug-In for VMware
vCenter 1.5.

9 | P a g e

Issue 3: Custom Raid Configuration from UI is misleading.

Description: If using customized settings from the reference server options in the hardware profile, the

RAID configuration task creates RAID1 on the first two drives of the integrated controller that are RAID 1
capable. In addition, if a candidate drive meets the criteria, then a dedicated hot-spare for RAID 1 array
is created.

Resolution: None.

Version Affected: All

Issue 4: On an R515, R815, or other AMD based Dell hardware, inventory is running continuously.

Description: OMSA may malfunction on certain AMD chipsets when not upgraded to the latest version.

Resolution: To resolve this issue, upgrade to the latest version of ESX or ESXi and install the latest
version of OMSA available.

Version Affected: All

Issue 5: When clicking on the Dell Server Management Tab or the Dell Management Center icon, the Dell

Management Plug-in throws an error saying the given vCenter <xyz> is not registered to the Dell
Management appliance.

Description: This error may happen when vCenter is registered with an FQDN such as vc1.us.dell.com
but the user opens their vSphere Client with the URL “vc1” or the IP aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd instead of using the
FQDN. In addition, this error may is seen if the Dell Management Plug-in is registered by IP and the user
opens the vSphere Client with a FQDN.

Resolution: For the Dell Management Plug-in to function properly, open the vSphere Client with the
same URL used to register the vCenter in the Dell Administration Portal.

Version Affected: 1.5

10 | P a g e

Issue 6: A non-compliant server shows a CSIOR status as Unknown.

Resolution: An unknown CSIOR state indicates a non-responsive iDRAC on the host. A manual iDRAC
reset on the host fixes this problem.

Version Affected: 1.5

Issue 7: The Launch OMSA link does not work in the vSphere Client Dell Tab when using Dell PowerEdge

12th generation servers.

Resolution: Install OMSA manually onto Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers, then the Launch OMSA
link will work.

Version Affected: 1.5

Issue 8: Hardware Profile for iDRAC/network settings has incorrect modifiable parameters.

Description: You can over write inside the combo boxes and save options that are not supposed to be

editable.

Resolution: None.

Version Affected: 1.5

Issue 9: Hypervisor installation fails.

Description: Hypervisor installation fails with the error The Job check status with ID of

DCIM_OSConcreteJob:1 failed with the following error message: Mount network share failed – incorrect
IP address or share name.

Resolution: Restart the appliance.

Version Affected: 1.5

11 | P a g e

Issue 10: VMware states that VMware Tools are Not Installed.

Description: : Some vCenter installations shows the VMware Tools status on the Dell Management Plug

In as Running but Not Installed. The VMware Tools are installed on the appliance, but do not report
status correctly.

Resolution: None.

Version Affected: 1.5

Issue 11: NFS mount remains mounted after deploy is completed using ESXi5.

Description: : After the hypervisor deployment is completed and the host is added to the VCenter tree,

there is an entry in the Summary page under the data sources called remote-install-location (inactive)
(unmounted) for the new host added.

Resolution: None.

Version Affected: 1.5

Issue 12: The Memory reported is in a different format between Dell PowerEdge 11th generation
servers and Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers.

Description: When memory is displayed in a table, they amounts display differently between Dell
PowerEdge 11th generation servers and Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers.

Resolution: None.

Version Affected: 1.5

Issue 13: PowerEdge 9th and 10th generation servers’ firmware versions

Description: For PowerEdge 9th and 10th generation servers, BIOS/BMC/DRAC firmware versions are

viewable only at the Cluster View level in vCenter or on the Overview page of the individual host view.
Firmware version information is not active in the individual host view under Firmware, and that page
appears grayed out.

Resolution: None.

Version Affected: 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.1 Update 1, 1.5

12 | P a g e

Issue 14: Details for tasks are not recorded in the task history.

Description: Details for tasks are not recorded in the task history.

Resolution: This is a known VMware issue; go to the Dell Management Center Plug-in logs to view the
details.

Version Affected: 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.1 Update 1, 1.5

Issue 15: When using the user interface and pressing <ENTER> while on a highlighted button does not
always activate the action.

Description: Using keyboard navigation and selecting highlighted buttons and pressing <ENTER>
sometimes does not activate the button. Keyboard navigation is not supported at this time.

Resolution: Use the mouse.

Version Affected: 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.1 Update 1, 1.5

Issue 16: The ESXI install leaves behind a file after installation.

Description: The ESXi install leaves behind a temporary file in the /store/resolv.conf (static IP only).

Resolution: None, there is no impact to the functionality of the software.

Version Affected: 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.1 Update 1, 1.5

Issue 17: Dell Management Center EXE file shows Unknown for Publisher.

Description: When you right-click on the executable file, no publisher (vendor name) is displayed.

Resolution: None

Version Affected: 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.1 Update 1, 1.5

Issue 18: The Connection Profile of vCenter selected in Hypervisor Profile is not used for Deployment.

Description: When using multiple vCenters, you have the option to create a deployment job from one

vCenter and add it to another vCenter by selecting the vCenter Instance and Destination Container in
the hypervisor profile. During the Deployment Wizard Connection Profile section, the connection
profiles from the vCenter selected in the hypervisor profile should be displayed. Instead, the connection
profiles from the vCenter currently in use, are shown. After a successful deployment the connection
profile is created on the vCenter used for the deployment job and it throws a warning that the hosts are
missing. Also, there will be no connection profile created on the target vCenter for the newly added

13 | P a g e

hosts.

Resolution: Remove the hosts from the connection profile of the vCenter used for deployment and

create a new connection profile on the target vCenter and add the host you just added to the target
VCenter.

Version Affected: 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.1 Update 1, 1.5

Bug # 2149

Issue 1: Unable to perform a single DUP update using a DUP from

OpenManageTM 7.0 with the DUP being renamed according to the Agile naming
convention.

Bug # 2152

Issue 2: The inventory did not run on host reboot with an ESX 4.0 U1 server
running OMSA 6.5 A01.

Bug # 2258

Issue 3: Unable to remove associated hosts from a connection profile.

Bug # 2268

Issue 4: The firmware update tasks fail saying "Failed to get update job status
from IDRAC." However, the components are updated successfully.

Bug # 2275

Issue 5: The Repository Update job task stays stuck In Progress saying that the

job scheduler will schedule it at the time specified. Each time a Force Reboot
was used, it consistently reproduced this situation.

Bug # 2288

Issue 6: The deployed hosts were not added to the connection profile.

Bug # TFS 1331

Issue 7: Events are not listed correctly in VCenter 5 when viewed from the host

and datacenter levels. This issue happens if you register the Dell Management
Plug-in version 1.0.1 on VCenter 5 and then upgrade to Dell Management Plug­in 1.0.1 Update 1. .

Bug # TFS 1283

Issue 8: The VCenter Destination Container browse dialog box sometimes lists
datacenters and clusters more than once.

Bug # TFS 1225

Issue 9: The Dell tab shows wrong installation dates.

Bug #DF484706

Issue 10: If the proxy test failed, try to ping the Web site that you used to test
proxy to make sure the Web site is not down.

Bug #DF484657

Issue 11: When you don’t select an option on the last page of the firmware

update using the Single Firmware Update method, the default behavior is
applied the update on next reboot.

Corrected Problems

The following problems were reported in earlier releases of the Dell Management Plug-In and have been
corrected in this release:

14 | P a g e

Bug #DF483486

Issue 12: It is possible to save the Events and Alarms settings while the Restore

Default Alarms method is still running. Clicking Restore Default Alarms calls the
method immediately, but does not block the UI - it just disables the Restore
Default Alarms button. Saving while the call is still in progress may result in an
error where the Save spinner does not close, locking the user out of the UI.

Bug #DF483507

Issue 13: When you place your cursor over the Server Status for a non-compliant
bare-metal server, the tooltip shows incorrect information.

Bug #DF484729

Issue 14: Update failed when selecting LC and Diags update when doing a BIOS
or firmware update.

Bug #DF436769

Issue 15: When doing a repository base update, downgrades may appear with
criticality as recommended or urgent.

Bug #DF420817

Issue 16: If you view the Plug-in information on vCenter, the vendor (Dell) and
description information is not displayed

Bug #DF478478

Issue 17: The Inventory Schedule Edit screen comes up scrambled during first
pass through.

Bug #DF424620

Issue 18: There is a text alignment issue on the Job Queue – Deployment Jobs
screen.

Bug #DF448456

Issue 19: Reference ISO path should not be truncated.

Bug #CR470639

Issue 20: When doing a firmware update, the Dell Management Plug- does not
resolve domain names on behalf of LC.

Bug #DF465228

Issue 21: Run now on job queue should be enabled after completing the
Configuration Wizard.

Bug #DF484071

Issue 22: Event filter settings are lost when migrating from 1.0 to 1.0.1.

Bug #CR458456

Issue 23: Storage information on the Dell Tab only calls out global hot spares.

15 | P a g e

Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2012 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, Dell Precision™, OptiPlex™, Latitude™, PowerEdge™, PowerVault™, PowerConnect™,
OpenManage™, EqualLogic™, KACE™, FlexAddress™ and Vostro™ are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel®, Pentium®, Xeon®, Core™ and Celeron®
are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. AMD® is a registered trademark and AMD Opteron™, AMD
Phenom™, and AMD Sempron™ are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft®, Windows®, Windows Serv er®, MS-DOS® and

Windows Vista® are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Red Hat
Enterprise Linux® and Enterprise Linux® are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Novell® is a
registered trademark and SUSE ™ is a trademark of Novell Inc. in the United States and other countries. Oracle® is a registered trademark of Oracle
Corporation and/or its affiliates. Citrix®, Xen®, XenServer® and XenMotion® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc.
in the United States and/or other countries. VMware®, Virtual SMP®, vMotion®, vCenter®, and vSphere® are registered trademarks or trademarks
of VMWare, Inc. in the United States or other countries.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this publication 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.

March 2012

16 | P a g e