How do I Install OMSA on a Windows platform?

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Accepted Answer

Dell EMC’s OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) application is a free tool which Dell provide, enabling Dell PowerEdge users to have greater control over their server. OMSA is downloadable through Dell’s support website and is compatible with most of the latest Operating systems and with most PowerEdge chassis. OMSA compatibility is based on the Dell PowerEdge server’s generation and the version of Windows Server installed onto the server. See below to see what server generation Vs. what Operating System OMSA supports.

Dell PowerEdge Generation	Compatible with Windows Server 2012 & 2012 R2	Compatible with Windows Server 2016
Dell PowerEdge 11th Gen (R_10)	Yes	Not Supported*
Dell PowerEdge 12th Gen (R_20)	Yes	Yes
Dell PowerEdge 13th Gen (R_30)	Yes	Yes
*There is no officially supported version of OMSA for Windows Server 2016 for 11th Gen servers. However, you may be able to install the 12th generation version for 2016 onto a 11th Gen server. Please note, compatibility issues may arise from doing this. Also, iomart (or any company within the iomart group) are not responsible for any issues caused by performing this action, and Dell EMC would advise not to perform this action.

Please note that OpenManage Server Administrator is a free piece of software supplied by Dell EMC. As such iomart (and any company within the iomart group; including RapidSwitch and Redstation) are not responsible for this software, nor are they responsible for any effects downloading, installing or using this software may have on your platform. We can only advise you to use OMSA and provide you with advice on how to do so; the choice to download, install and use the software must be your own. Also, as a managed infrastructure provider, we do not officially support OMSA; as such we will not be able to install, use or configure this software.

The Dell OMSA product is downloaded through Dell’s website, on their Product Support – Drivers & Downloads page, found here:

Dell Product Support - Drivers & Downloads

First, open up this page on your server’s web-browser.

Once you are on the Drivers & Downloads page, you now need to select the model of you server. To find the model of your server, while on the MyServers control panel, press the My Servers button.

Then click on the name of the server you wish to install OMSA onto.

On this page, under Service Description, you will be able to see the make and model of this server. In my example below, you can see that the server is a Dell PowerEdge R220.

Now you know the model of your device, you can enter the model of your server on the Dell Support website, by typing the chassis’ model in the search bar and then pressing the green arrow. Please type in the chassis model in the same format as shown in the image below; ‘PowerEdge R---‘.

You should now be presented with the chassis’ Drivers & Downloads page. If you are presented with a list of search results, however, please look through the results and click on your chassis model. Once you are on the Drives & Downloads page you should now select the Operating System which is installed on the server. Do this in the Operating System drop-down box.

Now in the Keyword search box enter ‘OMSA’. Then select Systems Management in the Category drop-down box.

Now find the Dell EMC OpenManage Server Administrator Managed Node for Windows within the list of downloadable software and click on the download button. The software installer file will now download onto your server.

Once the OMSA file has been downloaded onto your Windows server, you can begin to install the software. Start by unpacking the downloaded Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Managed Node file. You will need a program capable of un-zipping files installed on your server, such as WinZip.

Once the file is un-zipped, run the autorun.exe/setup.exe file, found within the OpenManage > Windows folder of the download, to begin the installation wizard.

If the Dell Open Manage Install window appears and prompts you to choose what utility to install, select Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (Standalone Server Management) and click install.

On some versions of OMSA, this screen may not appear and you will be able to skip this step.

The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator prerequisite status screen will now run and display the prerequisite checks for the managed system.

Once it has completed scanning for prerequisite information, it will list any errors or warnings that it encountered. You should resolve all error and warning situations before continuing the installation. Some errors are correctible by simply clicking on the blue text within the error. Once you are ready to install OMSA, click Install Server Administrator.

The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Install Wizard now appears. Click Next to begin to proceed.

The Dell End User License Agreement now appears. Please read through this agreement. If you wish to proceed, select the ‘I Accept’ option and then click Next.

You now need to select the type of installation required. There are two options:

Typical: All program features will be installed in the default install location.
Custom: Choose which features you want installed and choose the installation directory.

If you wish to perform a typical install, meaning you wish to install all features and you are happy for the software to be installed in the default location, select Typical and then press next.

If you wish to perform a custom installation, select Custom and click Next to continue.

This guide will show you how to perform a Custom install; however, if you are performing a Typical install, once you have pressed next, simply press install to start the installation.

If you have selected a custom install, you can now select the features to install. If you want to change a feature so that it is set to be installed or set to be not to be installed, simply click on the icon next to the feature, and then select the option you wish to change it to.

Once you have finished selecting which features you wish to install, you can now check the destination folder. This current install destination is shown under ‘Install to’.

If you wish to change the folder where the software will be installed, press the change button, then us the box that appears to select the destination folder and then press OK.

When you have finished selecting which features you wish to be installed and once you have selected the destination folder, press Next to proceed.

If you are performing a custom installation, you may now be able to select the Alert Messaging Type. There are two options:

Enhanced Message Format.
Traditional Message Format.

You can see the descriptions for each format within the installation wizard box. Select which message format you wish to use and then press Next.

You can now start the installation. To begin the installation, click Install.

The installation process will begin.

Once the installation has completed, click Finish to exit the installer.

Dell EMC’s OpenManage System Administrator will now be installed onto your server. You can then use this software to manage and monitor the hardware within this server. You may need to restart your server before you can access the OpenManage application, however.

If you have any further questions about OMSA, please look through our FAQ section. If our FAQ page does not have the answer, please feel free to raise a support ticket, and we will be happy to help.