Products & Services

Our standard cancellation terms is that our clients must provide a minimum of 30 days’ notice before a service can be cancelled. The 30 days’ notice period is outlined in our terms and conditions:

"This Agreement shall come into effect upon the date of this Agreement and, subject to the provisions of this Agreement shall continue in force for an initial term of 1 month from the date the Services are available to the Client and indefinitely after that until terminated by either party giving not less than 30 days prior written notice to expire on or after the expiry date of the initial term."

If you have a contract on your server or any bespoke agreements made with our Sales team, the standard 30 day cancellation terms may not apply to you.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.

We do offer cloud hosting. We offer and can provision any client with an Enterprise Cloud Server (Virtual Machine) on our shared platform (public cloud).

Our Enterprise Cloud Servers are hosted on our CloudSure platform and can be provisioned in the time it takes to install the operating system.

Alternately, you can use one of our dedicated servers to build your own cloud (private cloud); or you can even mix the two to create a Hybrid Cloud environment. Which option would be best for your requirements depends on how much storage space, memory capacity and processor power you require.

Both options are available through our MyServers Shop; where you can see what specifications we offer and the applicable pricing.

If you have any questions, or require more detail, please feel free to get in touch and one of our team members will be happy to help.

We do indeed offer shared storage space. We have our own replicated SAN platform, which we can use to provide you with storage space that can be connected to your server, as a network drive.

Our shared storage is hosted on SAN devices that are off-site, which means that your backed-up data would be protected from either network or power failures within the data-centre your server is hosted in

Alternatively, you can take out your own dedicated SAN device or an additional dedicated server, which are more cost effective options when there is a larger storage requirements (above 2TB of storage space).

If you are thinking about using shared storage as a back-up option, please see the section on “What back-up options do you offer?” to see what other back-up option we offer.

Please be aware that our shared NAS option is currently only available at selected data centre sites within our infrastructure. If you are interested in a shared storage, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to advise if this is available within your server’s data centre, currently.

Please contact us to discuss what your storage requirements are and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

Our latest Enterprise Cloud Servers are hosted within our CloudSure platform.

Our CloudSure platform has been built with no single points of failure. It uses the latest generation server technology, runs on the latest version of Enterprise Plus licensed VMware ESXi, and uses only high-end Dell EMC SAN devices for storage.

The Enterprise Cloud Servers utilises our Bare Metal rapid provisioning and set up service, allowing us to deploy you a new VM within a click of a button. Our CloudSure platform allow us to hand over the entire virtual server and its compute power to a single customer. With no virtualisation or hypervisor, you get full configurability to exactly meet your specifications. Our setup eliminates the potential for performance lag, sometimes experienced by virtualisation hypervisors, caused by sharing resources.

Increasing demands for greater processing power are being driven by the big data explosion; we offer an effective and powerful cloud option – providing you with root access and exclusive control.

If you wish to discuss cloud platforms further, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

One of the hosting packages we offer is ‘Shared Colocation’. You can find this package through our MyServers Shop.

To understand what ‘Shared Colocation’ is, you must first understand what colocation hosting involves. Colocation differs from dedicated hosting, as colocated devices belong to the client, while dedicated devices belong to the hosting company and access to these devices are leased to our clients.

Our shared colocation package involves a client buying their own hardware devices (e.g. a server) through a third party, configuring the devices with their own data and configuration, and then sending the device to one of our UK data-centres to be hosted. The hosting company, us, simply supply the necessary network and power connections.

The benefits of colocated hosting is that you have more control over what hardware is used in your setup. However, unlike with dedicated servers, the hosting company is not responsible for the hardware of any colocated devices. With colocated devices, we are not responsible for replacing any faulty hardware; we are responsible for our infrastructure only. This also means that a client with a colocated device would need to have a greater understanding of hardware; as they would be responsible for their device’s maintenance.

The ‘Shared’ part of our shared colocation package refers to the fact that the colocated devices would be hosted within a rack shared by multiple clients; opposed to a client being provided with an entire rack/part of a rack devoted to their equipment.

If you have any further questions about our Shared Colocation package, or wish to discuss if a colocated or dedicated device would be better for you, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

Cancelling your colo server and arranging collection, we offer the below options:

• We can de-rack server and have it ready for collection free of charge.
• We can de-rack server, and safely package it. Please note Packaging is chargeable to £30 per box, if required we can also provide you with package dimensions. You will be required to arrange your own courier service/costs. We accept pre-paid postage stickers sent via tickets to be attached if needed

We can only store equipment in our goods-out area for 7 days. If the equipment is stored for longer than 1 week, a fee of £25 per week, per device will be added to your account.

Before collection please note and provide info:

• Will, you (or another named individual) or a courier company be collecting the device. Photographic identification will be required for named individuals collecting.
• You will be required to pay outstanding invoices/account balance before we can release any equipment as being part of our policy

Site address & contact details can be found below:

DC5

RapidSwitch,IOMART
Spectrum House
Clivemont Road,
Maidenhead,
SL6 7FW

Tel: 01753 471 040

DC3

iomart hosting

2-6 Fishergate

Nottingham

NG1 1FY

DC9

Redstation Limited
2 Frater Gate Business Park
Gosport Hampshire,

PO13 0GW 

We offer 24x7, all year round support and our teams are always happy to help with any issues or queries you may have.

Our ticketing system is constantly monitored by multiple support teams, who will always promptly respond to any of your questions or support requests raised through our ticketing system. So if you have any issues or questions, which are not answered here in our FAQ section, please feel free to raise a support ticket through MyServers, and a member of our team will be happy to help you.

We also have a support phone line which also operates 24x7, all year round. Our phone number can be found on our MyServers control panel. If the issue is urgent and/or you wish to talk to a member of our team on the phone, the please feel free to use our support line. We would always suggest raising a support ticket first, before phoning our support line, so we can use this ticket as a basis of any actions that need to be taken as a result of the call.

We have a dedicated customer services team, which work Monday to Friday 9:00-17:00 (GMT/BST), who are always happy to assist with all manner of enquiries, from upgrades and support requests, to service migrations and pre-sales assistance.

Outside of weekly office hours and at weekends you can escalate any urgent enquiries to a member of the support team via our ticketing system or phone line.

The customer services team and our support teams are there to help, so please feel free to utilise them - our primary aim is your full satisfaction with our service.

There are two main ways to reduce the price of your service; without down-grading any of your products or services.

The first is to enter into a contract term for the service - usually between 12 and 36 months. The price reduction will increase in correlation with contract term increases. This can be applied to both existing and new server orders.

The second is to pay an upfront setup fee to reduce the on-going monthly price of the server. The larger the setup fee, the lower the on-going monthly fee. If you are trying to reduce the monthly cost of a server after the activation date, in some instances, you can still pay a ‘set-up’ fee to reduce the cost.

If you are interested in either of these two options, please feel to raise a ticket through the MyServers control panel setting out the terms you would be interested in, and one of the members of our team will be in touch to discuss this with you.

It varies on a case by case basis, but it is usually possible to pay a setup fee or 'additional contribution', in order to reduce the on-going monthly fee of the server.

This often occurs when a trial project turns into a longer term investment, or perhaps if your client is trailing your own services before committing to a longer term agreement.

If you are interested in paying a setup fee for the server, please get in touch and a member of our team will be happy to discuss this with you.

As a managed infrastructure provider, we do not backup the data on our customer’s servers by default. Taking back-ups of data and configuration is the responsibility of the client, but with this being said, we do have a number of backup solutions you can choose from.

See below in the “What back-up options do you offer?” section for more details on what back-up options we currently offer; or please contact us with your requirements and we will assist with choosing the best backup solution.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

Yes, we strongly encourage all our clients to always back-up any important data or configuration that they would not want to lose, on a regular basis, to a device that is external from their primary server(s).

Due to the nature of hardware, there is always an unavoidable possibility that a component of your set-up may become faulty; which may lead to data loss. We will always replace any faulty hardware that we are alerted to, however, we cannot recover any data that may be loss due to this hardware failure. As a managed infrastructure service provider, we are not responsible for any data loss; so it is our client’s responsibility to make sure any data of theirs is backed up in a manor that minimises the chances of their data being lost.

If you have any questions about back-ups or need help with a back-up solution, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

We offer a variety of back-up options, to cater to a variety of needs. Which one would be best for you, depends on your requirements. Please read through the following options, to see which one best meets your requirements:

Additional server – One option would be to have an additional dedicated server set-up with us; working as a back-up / fail over server.

Both your main server and your additional backup sever would have a VLAN connection, connecting the two servers together. The additional server would be entirely managed by yourselves; so it would be up to you to configure your new dedicated backup server to your requirements, and to setup and install any backups/failovers between the two servers.

The benefits of having an additional server are that the additional server can have as much storage space as is required; if your primary server were to fail, you would have complete server redundancy, and you would always have access to your configuration and data through your secondary server (or vice versa); and you can have multiple servers connected to the back-up server, through the single VLAN, meaning you could have one back-up server for multiple devices.

The pricing of this option would depend on the required hardware specifications of the additional server; but you can use our shop to judge pricing based on specification. Having an additional server set-up is often the most cost effective option and is one of the most popular options amongst our clients.

Shared NAS Space – Another option would be to have space allocated from one of our shared NAS device platform; and have this space connected to your server as a network drive. This is only an option if 2TB or less of back-up space is required. Also, this option is currently only available at certain data centres within our infrastructure. If this is an option you may be interested in, please get in touch to see if this option is available at the data centre your server is hosted at.

Our shared NAS devices are an off-site backup option, which is relatively affordable for low amounts of storage space (2TBs or less). The NAS space would be mapped to your server as a network drive; so it would be easy for you to access from your server. As the NAS device is off-site, your backed-up data would be protected from either network or power failures within the data-centre your server is hosted in. However, this can often be more expensive than taking out a second dedicated server with us when you need to backup multiple devices, as multiple servers cannot see the same shared NAS backup space; which means if you have multiple servers with us, each server would require its own NAS space.

A Dedicates NAS Device – A third option would be to have a dedicated NAS device hosted within our data-centre.

A dedicated NAS unit would be a storage device, independent from your main server, which has a large amount of scalable storage space. This option is best for client’s who require a very large amount of data to be stored; but is one of our more expensive options. It is often more cost effective to have an additional dedicated server set-up with us; with large amount of storage space. If you would prefer a dedicated NAS device, please let us know and a member of our team will be happy to discuss this with you.

The benefits of having a dedicated NAS device are that multiple devices can be attached to the NAS device through a vLAN, it has the largest amount of storage capacity out of all our back-up options and the amount storage space within the NAS unit is continually scalable, as most NAS chassis allow for expansion units to be attached.

Avamar Backup Solution – Our last backup option is our Bare Metal Restore (BMR) RapidStore Avamar backup package.

The Avamar backup package is our complete enterprise level backup solution. It takes off-site backups, so your backed-up data would be protected from either network or power failures within the data-centre your server is hosted in; allows multiple servers to be backed-up to the same RapidStore account; puts you (the client) in control of the back-ups, allowing you to manage your own back-up account, take any back-ups or restores that are required, on-demand; it works quickly; and can store as much or as little data as you want. The storage amount is set by a monthly allowance, but you can go above your monthly allocated storage allowance if required; however, overage charges will be allocated when this occurs. This option is best for client’s who require less than 2TB of data stored and require an easy-to-use solution; but, due to its nature, is a more expensive option. Please note, Avamar is not compatible with Debian or Ubuntu operating systems.

Please contact us with your requirements and any questions you may have about our back-up options, and we will assist with choosing the best backup solution.

Yes, certainly. The transfer method depends on the type of domain, so is handled manually by a member of our team. If you want to transfer a domain in/out, please raise a support ticket through your MyServers control panel and we will be happy to help.

Simply let us know what domain you wish to transfer to us and we will explain the relevant process.

We do not charge for transferring domains out. Domains transferred in may incur a mandatory renewal fee on transfer, which is outside of our control and applicable to all registrars.

If you wish to transfer any domains or have any questions about the transferal process, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

All domain renewals can be carried out via the MyServers control panel. Unless you have chosen not to, you will receive a notice to say that the domain is going to expire and it’s up to you whether you would like to renew the domain or not.

In some cases you can setup your domain to auto renew in the MyServers control panel. If, for some reason, the auto-renewal option is not available to you, please let us know which domain you are looking to renew in a support ticket and we will setup the domain to auto-renew for you.

If you have any questions, please get in touch via a ticket and a member of our team will be happy to help.

We do offer DNS hosting.

We can provide DNS-only hosting for customers with domains registered elsewhere for a fee; or customers who have a domain registered through us can use our free DNS hosting service.

Please note that our 100% uptime guarantee isn't applicable to our DNS hosting platform.

If you are interested in DNS hosting with us or if you have any further questions, please raise a ticket through your MyServers control panel, and a member of our team will be in touch.

1. Click “My Domains”

2. Click “Register Domains”

3. Enter a name and select the top-level domain (TLD) in the dropdown menu.

4. Click “Check Availability”

5. Select the domain(s) you would like to purchase.

6. Click “Choose Domains”

We always aim to deploy new server orders as quickly as possible; as we know how crucial it can be for our client’s to have their new devices up and running as soon as possible. The specific ETA for your new device is dependent on whether the device ordered was a pre-built device, a customer order or a large deployment.

Our dedicated systems infrastructure is largely automated - as it resides within our Bare Metal system - and is designed in a way which allows us to deploy systems with as little human intervention as possible. With this in mind, our servers are pre-built to set specifications, which are designed to match the configurations listed on our MyServers shop. We refer to these as pre-built chassis. If you have ordered a new ‘Pre-Built Chassis’ or ‘Dedicated Server’ through our MyServers shop, or if you have purchased a pre-built chassis listed by a member of our customer service/sales team, your server will use one of these pre-built chassis and will allow us to use our automated system to its full potential. Due to this, these server will be ready within 42 hours of the order being received; however, most of these types of servers are deployed within 4 hours of the order being place.

Our Enterprise Cloud Servers also utilise our automated Bare Metal systems; thus have the same deployment window as our pre-built chassis of 42 hours, however, are normally deployed within 4 hours.

If you have ordered a custom dedicated server, through our sales or customer services teams, we will still aim to get the server deployed within 42 hours; however, due to the ‘custom’ aspect of the order, these deployments often take longer to deploy than pre-built server.

If you have ordered a large or complicated deployment through us (multiple servers, firewalls, SANs, etc), as this is a larger and/or more complex deployment, the deployment will more than likely take longer to provision. If you need an ETA for a larger deployment, please feel free to get in touch, and we will try provide you with an ETA as accurately as possible.

If you have any questions about an order you have placed, feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

There are several different ways of accessing a server remotely. How you access your server depends on what operating system has been installed onto your server and if you were provided with any OOB remote management access to your device.

Credentials for any operating system, control panel and/or OOB remote management installed onto your server can be found on the IS/VS page of your new server. As soon as your server has been deployed and activated, full instructions on how to access your server will be sent to you via email and through our MyServers portal.

Below are some examples of ways in which you can access your new server, depending on the configuration of the device.

Windows Server Operating System - If you have ordered a server with the Windows Server operating system installed onto it, you will be able to access your server through the Remote Desktop Connection Windows software, or through a similar piece of RDP software, remotely.

If you decide to use Remote Desktop Connection to access your server, first navigate to the IS/VS page of your new server, which can be found under the My Servers tab on MyServers. You now need to take a note of the default IP address of your server, which you can find by clicking on Show All in-line with IPv4 Addresses. The default IP address is the one with a green tick in the Def column.

You then need to open Remote Desktop Connection and enter the server’s default external IP address into the Computer text box and then press Connect.

You now need to enter the credentials for the server’s operating system. To find the credentials for the Windows OS, return to the IS/VS page of the server and locate RDP within the Credentials table, then press the button. Then enter these credentials into the Remote Desktop Connection software username and password fields and press Ok. You may need to press ‘Use another account’ before you are able to enter a username.

You should now have accessed the server’s operating system. If this is the first time you are logging in to this device, we would strongly suggest changing the password to something secure and to something you will remember. Please note, the credentials for the server’s operating system will be automatically removed from MyServers after a short period of time (normally 7 - 14 days).

If you need further help, please feel free to get in touch through a ticket, and a member of our team will be able to help.

Linux Operating System (CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian) - If you have ordered a server with a Linux operating system installed (e.g. CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu), you will be able to access your server through a SSH client, such as PuTTY.

If you decide to use PuTTY to access your server, first navigate to the IS/VS page of your new server, which can be found under the My Servers tab of MyServers. You now need to take a note of the default IP address of your server, which you can find by clicking on Show All in-line with IPv4 Addresses. The default IP address is the one with a green tick in the Def column.

You then simply need to open PuTTY and enter the server’s default external IP address into the Host Name text box. After entering the IP address, make sure that SSH is selected in the below radius boxes and enter the access port number in the Port box. For all our Linux OS installs, the default port number of 22 is used. Then press Open.

You will have now accessed the server’s Linux Operating System. Now you need to enter the credentials for the server’s operating system. To find the credentials for the Linux OS, return to the IS/VS page of the server and locate SSH within the Credentials table, then press the button. Now enter the username into the PuTTY shell and press Enter; then enter the password and press Enter. Please note, as you enter the password, no characters will appear to show that you are typing.

You should now have logged into the server’s operating system. If this is the first time you are logging in to this device, we would strongly suggest changing the password to something secure and to something you will remember. Please note, the credentials for the server’s operating system will be automatically removed from MyServers after a short period of time (normally 7 - 14 days).

If you need further help, please feel free to get in touch through a ticket, and a member of our team will be able to help.

VMware ESXI - If you have ordered a server with VMware ESXI installed, you will be able to remotely access your server through a compatible web-browser.

To access your server, first navigate to the IS/VS page of your new server, which can be found under the My Servers tab. You now need to take a note of the default IP address of your server, which you can find by clicking on Show All in-line with IPv4 Addresses. The default IP address is the one with a green tick in the Def column.

You then need to open a compatible web-browser and enter the server’s default external IP address into the URL box (most popular web-browsers should be compatible).

You will have now accessed the server’s login screen. You now need to enter the credentials for the server’s operating system. To find the credentials for the ESXI OS, return to the IS/VS page of the server and locate SSH within the Credentials table, then press the button. Now enter the username and password in the VMware control panel.

You should now have logged into the server’s operating system. If this is the first time you are logging in to this device, we would strongly suggest changing the password to something secure and to something you will remember. Please note, the credentials for the server’s operating system will be automatically removed from MyServers after a short period of time (normally 7 - 14 days).

If you need further help, please feel free to get in touch through a ticket, and a member of our team will be able to help.

OOB Remote Management - If you have ordered a server with OOB Remote Management (e.g. iDRAC, iLO, IPMI), you will be able to access your server through a compatible web-browser.

To remotely access your server, first navigate to the IS/VS page of your new server, which can be found under the My Servers tab of MyServers. You now need to take a note of the remote management’s IP address/URL and credentials. Locate LOM/HTTPs within the Credentials table and then pressing the button to see the credentials and the IP address/URL (shown as location) for the remote management software.

You then need to open a compatible web-browser and enter the remote management’s IP address/web-address into the URL box (most popular web-browsers should be compatible).

You will have now accessed the remote management’s login screen (please note, you may need advance beyond some privacy warnings). You now need to enter the credentials. Please note, depending on the make and model of your server, the below may look different from what your remote management’s software looks like.

You should now have logged into the server’s remote management system. If this is the first time you are logging in to this device, we would strongly suggest changing the password to something secure and to something you will remember. Please note, the credentials for the server’s remote management will be automatically removed from MyServers after a short period of time (normally 7 - 14 days).

If you need further help, please feel free to get in touch through a ticket, and a member of our team will be able to help.

You are more than welcome to have any operating system you wish running our dedicated servers; however, I am afraid that the only operating systems we are able to install are the ones available through our MyServers Shop. If you do want an operating system running on your server that is not available through our shop, we do offer the option for you to install any operating system you wish onto a server.

If you do want to install your own OS onto a new server you are ordering, you are able to select the ‘Install Your Own OS’ option on the MyServers Shop, under the OS option.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

The only Operating System which we would install onto a dedicated server, which supports cPanel is CentOS. If you would like to have a system with cPanel installed, we would need to install CentOS on this system first.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

Some software that we (iomart) have developed is installed on any Dedicated Server which we install an Operating System on, but they are nothing to be concerned about,    These tools are installed to work with our automated system and allow us to automate some of our support tasks; allowing us to more effectively host your platform and provide support. Going forward, they will also allow you to make changes to your Dedicated Server, through our MyServers panel, at a touch of a button.    Any tools and software installed on your system would have been deployed during our OS build process.
These tools are installed to work with our automated system and allow us to automate some of our support tasks; allowing us to more effectively host your platform and provide continuous support.
Since GDPR regulations our system automatically removes credentials from the control panel, forcing us to make sure customers are taking note of these when builds are handed over.
Please rest assured our policy is very security-driven and at no point would we ever access your server at any point.   One example of software we installed is called Octopus; which is an SPLA tool we developed. For more details on this specific piece of software, please search Octopus on our FAQ. 

We do have a UK price-match policy against any competitors with a comparable service level, subject to a review by our sales team.

If you'd like us to price match a server simply contact us with the specifications and supplier, and we will take it from there. If you can also provide us with a link to where this device is advertised, this can also help speed up the process.

Due to the significant difference in operating costs in Europe and other continents, we cannot price match non-UK suppliers.

We offer three main ranges of dedicated servers on a permanent basis; Value, Plus and Premium. These packages differ in regards to the minimum and maximum specifications of the server hardware provided within these packages and the cost associated with the devices. Which package would be best for you, depends on your requirements, what you plan to use your server for and your budget.

Our Value range provides you with a dedicated server that represents exceptional value for money. You will get access to your own dedicated server that can have up to 64GB of RAM, dual or quad core processors, and up to four hard drives or SSDs. They provide the upgraded performance of dedicated hardware, if you are migrating from a VPS. Our value range of dedicated servers are ideally suited for website hosting, application development, and small e-commerce sites.

The Plus range represents high-performing, latest-generation hardware, without moving into enterprise level grade attributes and features. The plus ranges’ dedicated servers are dual 20 core processor systems, with 128GB of RAM as standard (which can be upgraded up to 1TB of RAM), and can support large amounts of storage. These systems are our most popular package, as they offer performance and scalability without significant cost. Ideal for any application requiring additional resources and performance beyond the value range.

Finally, the Premium range is the pinnacle of hardware choice. The premium range servers come with enterprise-grade features such as flash-cache RAID cards and fibre-channel card support, they support up to 1.5TB of RAM, have quad 56 / 64 processors, redundant power supplies and support up to 24 drives. These systems are ideal for clients who require the highest level of performance for the systems they will be running.

In addition to the Value, Plus and Premium packages, we also regularly offer special deals through our MyServers portal Shop, under the Dedicated Servers section, including servers that have a lower specification and price then our Value range. We also have a new ‘Pre-Built chassis’ section on our MyServers Shop. This section lists set specification of server with set prices. With this in mind, please check our shop for our latest full range of servers that we are currently providing.

If you wish to discuss alternative specification dedicated servers, or have any questions about the packages / servers we offer, please feel free to raise a ticket through our MyServers control panel and a member of our team will be happy to help.

Of course! As well as the set server specifications listed on our MyServer Shop, we also can also provision servers with customer specified specifications, to provide a tailored product to our client’s needs. This allows our customers to have more control over the configuration of their new devices, beyond the options available through the shop.

The specifications on our MyServers shop are our ‘pre-built’ servers; which means they are already built to the correct specifications and just require small configuration changes and an operating system installed. We also offer ‘custom build’ servers, which offer a wider variety in specifications then the ones listed on our website, and can be used to tailor a system to your specific needs. Please note, however, custom build servers incur additional fees and can require more build time, compared to our pre-built servers.

Simply contact us with a custom configuration you have in mind and our sales team will be happy to help. Also, if you have any further questions, please feel free to get in touch.

Certainly - we can either provide you with a KVMoIP session, or you can use an OOB remote console session (if your server has OOB remote management setup) to install your own operating system remotely onto the server.

You can either mount an ISO file through your OOB remote management software onto your server, or you can provide us with a link to a downloadable ISO file and we will attach this to your server using a bootable USB drive. Please note that attaching an ISO file through a USB drive incur a fee.

When ordering a new dedicated server through our shop, just select Install Your Own OS as the OS option, and once the server is ready we will hand it over to you, so that you can install your OS.

If you want to install your own OS onto an existing dedicated server on which we originally installed an OS, you’re more than welcome to do so, but please get in touch so that we can update our notes.

If you have any questions about installing an operating system, please feel free to get in touch.

How many drives do I need for each RAID option?

See below how many drives you need for each RAID configuration we offer:

No RAID / JBOD - if you order No RAID, will we configure every drive in the server as its own volume. The amount of drives ordered does not matter.

RAID 0 – If you select RAID 0 in our shop, every drive in the server will be put into a single RAID 0 Virtual Disk. Any number of drives can be put into a RAID 0; but not multiple types (e.g. 250GB SSDs + 2TB HDDs). Please note, the more drives in a RAID 0, the greater chance of data loss.

RAID 1 – For a single RAID 1 configuration, you will need to choose a chassis with 2 drives.

RAID 5 – 3 to 16 drives can be put into a single RAID 5.

RAID 6 – 4 to 32 drives can be put into a single RAID 6.

RAID 10 – You need 4 drives for a RAID 10 or any even quantity of drives above 4 (4x drives, 6x drives, 8x drives, etc.).

RAID 0 (2 Arrays) – You need at least 2 drives to select this option. If you choose this option with only one type of drive, the drives will be split equally between the two RAID 0s. If you choose this option with two types of drives (e.g. 250GB SSDs + 2TB HDDs), each type of drive will be added to its own RAID 0.

RAID 5 (2 Arrays) – You need at least 6 drives for 2x RAID 5 arrays. If you are ordering a chassis with more than one type of drive (e.g. 250GB SSDs + 2TB HDDs), you will need at least 3 of each type of drive.

RAID 6 (2 Arrays) – You need at least 8 drives for 2x RAID 6 arrays. If you are ordering a chassis with more than one type of drive (e.g. 250GB SSDs + 2TB HDDs), you will need at least 4 of each type of drive.

RAID 10 (2 Arrays) – You need 8 drives for 2x RAID10 arrays or any even quantity of drives above 8 (8x drives, 10x drives, 12x drives, etc.).

RAID 1 + RAID 10 – You will need at least 6 drives or any even number of drives above 6 (6x drives, 8x drives, 10x drives, etc.). 2 drives will be put into a RAID1; the rest will be put into a RAID 10. The OS (if ordered), will be installed on the RAID 1.

RAID 1 + RAID 1 + RAID 10 - You will need at least 8 drives or any even number of drives above 6 (8x drives, 10x drives, etc.). 2 drives will be put into the first RAID1, then another 2 drives into the second RAID 1, and then the rest will be put into a RAID 10. The OS (if ordered), will be installed on the first RAID 1.

RAID 10 + RAID 1 - You will need at least 6 drives or any even number of drives above 6 (6x drives, 8x drives, 10x drives, etc.). 2 drives will be put into a RAID1; the rest will be put into a RAID 10. The OS (if ordered), will be installed on the RAID 10.

RAID 1 + RAID 5 – You will need at least 5 drives. 2 drives will be put into a RAID1; the rest will be put into a RAID 5. The OS (if ordered), will be installed on the RAID 1.

RAID 1 + RAID 6 – You will need at least 6 drives. 2 drives will be put into a RAID1; the rest will be put into a RAID 6. The OS (if ordered), will be installed on the RAID 1.

Remote management (also known as OOB or LOM) is a device on a server’s motherboard that allows you to remotely access your server, independently from the server’s operating system, and provides functionality that helps you deploy (if you want to install your own OS), update, monitor and maintain your server.

Key features include power management, virtual media access, hardware monitoring and remote console capabilities; all available through an OOB remote management control panel, accessible through a supported web browser. It provides our customers with the ability to configure and work on a server as if they were on site, with a screen, keyboard and mouse attached to the server.

We encourage our clients to order Remote Management with their server, as it allows the device’s administrator (our client’s) to check the status of their hardware, as it can be used to identify hardware related issues and can be used to identify the necessary information to have any faulty hardware replaced. It also allows the device’s administrator to be able to start a virtual console at any time; providing the user greater control over their device, 24/7, and replaces the need for KVMoIP devices.

The version and generation of OOB remote management provisioned on a device will depend on the manufacturer, generation and model of the server that you are provided. Examples include iDRAC for Dell EMC PowerEdge servers and iLO for HPE ProLiant servers. All our OOBs come with the necessary licenses; as an example, iDRACs will have the Enterprise license installed.

We offer both dedicated and shared OOB connections. See the “What is the difference between Shared and Dedicated OOB Remote Management?” section of the FAQ, for more details on this.

When ordering a dedicated server, you are able to choose OOB (out-of-bounds) Remote Management (shared or dedicated) as a specification option with most of our server packages. We can also provide OOB remote management to most live servers, but this will involve a short amount of downtime on the server, for our technicians to configure the connection. If you want OOB remote management added to your server, please feel free to get in touch through a support ticket, and a member of our team will be happy to help.

If you have any question, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

If you wish for Remote Management (e.g. iDRAC, iLO or IPMI) to be configured on a new server you are ordering with us, you simply need to request Remote Management through the MyServers Shop when ordering the server, or request for remote management to be installed when discussing the server specifications with a member of our team. If you wish for the Remote Management to be configured on an existing device, please feel free to raise a support ticket requesting Remote Management to be installed, and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

Configuring a server’s iDRAC/iLO/IPMI consists of powering down the server and configuring the remote management software within the system’s setup/BIOS menu. If a dedicated Remote Management connection is required, the set up process also consist of connecting a new network cable, and configuring our networking infrastructure.

Please note that the iDRAC component is unique to Dell servers, the iLO component is unique to HP servers and IPMI is unique to SuperMicro servers; so iDRAC, iLO or IPMI are only available on our Dell PowerEdge, HP Proloiant and SuperMicro servers respectively.

When ordering/requesting remote management for your server, you will be supplied with two options, dedicated remote management or shared remote management. Please see our section on what is the difference between shared and dedicated remote management, for more details.

If you have any further questions about Remote Management, 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.

We offer two types of OOB remote management: ‘Shared’ and ‘Dedicated’ remote management. The main difference between the two is the network cable and connection which is used to provide this service.

A dedicated OOB will have its own network cable running from a dedicated switch port to a dedicated OOB port on the server. The benefits of the dedicated connection is that it means your OOB connection will be independent of the server’s other connections; meaning that if there is a hardware failure with the switch port, network cable or NIC port which causes your server to go offline, you would still have access to your server through the OOB connection. It also means that traffic would not be shared between this connection’s primary purpose and the OOB management connection.

A shared connection will share the network cable, switch port and a port on the server with one of your server’s other connections; usually the server’s primary external connection. The benefit of a shared connection is that it is cheaper; due to the fact that it shares the infrastructure and hardware of the server’s other connections.

If you are interesting in upgrading your package so that it includes OOB remote management, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

If ordering a new server, you can select an OOB connection under Remote Management.

If you have any question, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

An OOB Session will give you temporary access to your server’s OOB (also know as LOM, iDRAC, or IMPI). For more information on what OOB is, please read “What is Remote Management”.

If your server has a Dedicated OOB connection configured and is connected to one of our switches (known as our Remote Management service), the connection will be left disabled as default.

We do this as OOBs left enabled and open to the internet can leave the server open to being compromised. So, as a security measure, we disable the connected switch port to remove its network access; meaning that no one can use it to access the server.

Booking an OOB session will temporarily enable the switch port and allow you to access the server’s OOB, then automatically disable itself after a set amount of time. You can also turn all your OOB connections On or Off using the MyServers control panel (see “How do I enable or disable all my OOB connections?” for instructions on how to do this).

To request a temporary OOB session on a single server, which has a Dedicated OOB connection, follow these steps:

1. Log into your MyServers control panel.

2. Click on the My Servers tab along the top (or within the burger menu on the mobile version).

3. Click on the package reference of the server you want to enable the OOB on.

Then on the right-hand side (or the bottom of the page on the mobile version), click on Support and then OOB Request.

4. You can now configure the OOB session. Start off by choosing whether the session should start immediately or at a specific date and time; then choose how long the session will last.

5. Then press Save.

Either at the selected start time or within a couple of seconds, the switch port attached to your Dedicated OOB port will enable and your OOB session will be accessible. Then, after the selected duration, the switch port will automatically disable and your OOB will no longer be accessible.

If you have any issues accessing your OOB, please raise a support ticket and our engineers will be happy to help.

If your servers have a Dedicated OOB connections configured and they are connected to our switches (either because you order Remote Management with your server, or because we supplied it free of charge), the connection will be left disabled as default.

We do this as OOBs left enabled and open to the internet can leave the server open to being compromised. So, as a security measure, we disable the connected switch port to remove its network access; meaning that no one can use it to access the server.

You can turn all your OOB connections On or Off using the MyServers control panel.

Please note that turning on the OOB ports of your servers permanently can be considered a security risk for your devices. If you plan on leaving them all on, we recommend putting some security measures in place to secure the OOB.

To either turn your OOB connections all On or Off, follow these instructions:

1. Log into your MyServers control panel.

2. Click on the My Servers tab along the top (or within the burger menu on the mobile version).

3. Now click on My OOB Devices

5. You will now see a list of servers with a Dedicated OOB connection, attached to our top of the rack switches. You will also be able to see the current status of each OOB connection. To enable all the OOB connections, click on Enable All OOB Ports. To Disable all OOB connections, click on Disable all OOB Ports.

6. All the switch ports attached to your server’s OOB ports will now either enable or disable. Please not that this process can take a while if you have a large number of servers.

Due to recent Java updates, there is now compatibility issues between some versions of the iDRAC remote console tool and some versions of Java, which causes an error to show when trying to start a remote console session.

Please make sure you are running a supported Java version on your home / work computer. This may involve updating / rolling back the version of Java that is currently installed on your computer.

You will be able to find which version of Java will work with your server’s iDRAC online. Simply search the version of iDRAC your server uses (e.g. iDRAC8), which you can find through the iDRAC’s control panel, along with “what Java version works with”. Due to continuing Java updates, I am afraid we are not able to keep an updated list of what versions of Java works with what versions of iDRAC.

Please also make sure you apply the relevant security acceptations to your Java software. You can add the security exceptions with the following method:

Open "Configure Java”.

Select the "Security" tab. Then press "Edit Site List" under "Exception Site List".

You now need to add the URL for the iDRAC to the exception site list. To do this, first press “Add”. Then type in the URL of your iDRAC, which will be the iDRAC’s IP address proceeded by “https://” (e.g. https://1.1.1.1).

Once you have done this, you should also add the iDRAC’s URL again, however, this time with the http protocol (opposed to https); by pressing “Add” and then entering the iDRAC’s IP address proceeded by “http://” (e.g. http://1.1.1.1). When adding an http address, it will bring up a security message as this is a less secure protocol, so you will need to press Continue to proceed.

Once you have entered both exceptions, press OK on the Exception list and then on the Java Control Panel.

You should now be able to start a remote console through your iDRAC control panel.

If you are still experiencing problems once you have applied the above, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

Dell EMC’s Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) is the Dell PowerEdge version of a ‘Remote Management’ tool. Remote management tools have been developed to enable their users to have greater administrative control over their devices remotely.

Dell’s iDRAC is a hardware and software component which exist on most Dell EMC 11th generation or newer PowerEdge servers. It can also be added to older Dell PowerEdge servers; but our ability to provide this is limited. If you request to have Remote Management installed on your server, and your server is a Dell EMC PowerEdge, your server will be configured with iDRAC.

When iDRAC is configured on a Dell server, the user can access the iDRAC remotely through a web-based GUI portal, through a dedicated IPv4 address configured on the iDRAC. Once you have accessed and logged in to a server’s iDRAC control panel, you can use the iDRAC portal to check the current status of your server and its hardware, to run operations/tasks on your server, and to start a remote Virtual Console.

We encourage our clients to order Remote Management with their server (thus iDRAC with a Dell server), as it allows the device’s administrator to check the status of their hardware, as it can be used to identify hardware related issues and can be used to identify the necessary information to have any faulty hardware replaced. Dell EMC’s iDRAC also allows the device’s administrator to be able to start a virtual console at any time; providing the user greater control over their device, 24/7, and replaces the need for KVMoIP devices.

The iDRAC’s available functionality is based on licensing. To access all of the iDRAC’s functions, your server must be configured with an iDRAC Enterprise license. If you purchase remote management through us, your server will be configured with an iDRAC Enterprise license as part of the package.

Please note that the iDRAC component is unique to Dell servers, so iDRAC is only available on our Dell PowerEdge servers. Servers manufactured by other companies use other forms of remote management, similar to iDRAC. Some other examples include iLO for HPE ProLiant servers and IPMI for SuperMicro servers. This means that the form of remote management provided depends on the make and model of the server.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

When an Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) is configured on a Dell PowerEdge server, the iDRAC is accessed through any compatible web-browser (most popular web-browsers should be compatible), using the iDRAC’s configured IPv4 address. As long as there are no firewall rules associated with the iDRAC’s connection or IPv4 address, or as long as the firewall rules are configured to allow you to access the iDRAC from your remote device, you should be able to access the iDRAC remotely on your home/work computer, or on another device configured within the same network as the server. Simply enter the iDRAC’s configured IPv4 Address into your web-browser’s URL box.

If you are presented with any security warnings, you should be able to proceed beyond them, to access the iDRAC’s login screen. You should now be presented with the Dell iDRAC control panel login screen. You can now enter the Username and Password for the iDRAC, and then press Submit. If the iDRAC connection has recently been configured on your device by a technician, you will be able to find the credentials of the iDRAC in the MyServers panel, in the Credentials section of the IS page for the server, under the name of LOM/https.

Once you have entered the credentials and pressed submit, you will be presented with the iDRAC’s control panel home page. You can now use the iDRAC to check the health of your server and the device’s hardware, to run operations/tasks on the server, or to start a virtual console. We would recommend familiarising yourself with the control panel and the configuration of the server once you have logged into it for the first time; so if an error does occur in future, you already understand how your server should be configured and how to use the iDRAC application.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

One of the main benefits of an iDRAC is that it allows you to check the current health of your server and allows you to check the current status of your server’s hardware.

Please note that this section uses iDRAC8 as an example, but the process set out below applies to both iDRAC7 and iDRAC8. Different generations of servers use different version of iDRAC; you can identify the iDRAC version your server is using when you log in to the iDRAC control panel. Older versions of iDRAC will have less functionality, so the below may not apply to these older versions. For support with older versions of iDRAC, if the below does not help, please see Dell EMC’s support website or please feel free to raise a support ticket through your MyServers control panel, and we will be happy to help.

When you first login to the iDRAC portal, you will be you will be presented with the current health status of the server. If there are currently any errors with the server’s health, they will be displayed here. Please note, the health of the server’s storage and several other main components (e.g. CPU, memory) are not shown here, so you will need to check this separately later; which is outlined further down.

As you can see from my example above, all the listed components/items have a green tick next to them, which indicates that there are currently no errors with the server’s health in relation to these items. The status of each component is represented by an icon. There are four statuses within the iDRAC portal:

Icon	Status	Description
	OK	The component is working as normal and is healthy.
	Non-Critical Warning	These errors normally indicate a problem which is not service impacting, but still require prompt attention.
	Failed / Critical Warning	The component has either failed or has a critical warning. If a critical error has occurred, the error must be addressed as soon as possible.
	Unknown Status	The status of this component is unknown.

If an error does appear within the system’s health in this section, how you go about identifying the specific error and how you proceed is dependent on what type of component has an error. Click on the name of the monitored item to find out more details about this device and its error.

Please use our FAQ to see how to check for/investigate errors relating to storage, processors and memory, using iDRAC. For investigating errors with pieces of hardware not outlined within this FAQ, information on this can be found through Dell EMC’s support website, or you can raise a support ticket and we will be happy to help.

Once you have finished checking the server’s health, you should also check the ‘Recent Logged Events’ section, for any errors that may have occurred recently. It is good practice to check the error log, as errors that have occurred historically but then cleared will not show in the server health section. The log is towards the bottom of the main iDRAC control panel home page (Overview).

Any errors which have recently occurred with your server will be present here. In my example above, you can see that Drive 3 was removed.

If an error does appear within the recent logged event, how you identify the specific error and how you proceed is dependent on what type of component has an error.

Please see below how to investigate some specific pieces of hardware. For investigating errors with pieces of hardware not outlined within this FAQ, information on this can be found through Dell EMC’s support website, or you can raise a support ticket and we will be happy to help.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

Due to the nature of hardware, you should regularly check the status of the storage of your devices, to make sure no errors have occurred with the server’s virtual or physical drives. If you identify that an error has occurred with the storage of your Dell PowerEdge server, you can use your iDRAC to identify which piece of hardware has an error, and use this information to decide on what action you wish to take next.

Please note that this section uses iDRAC8 as an example, but the process set out below applies to both iDRAC7 and iDRAC8. Different generations of servers use different version of iDRAC; you can identify the iDRAC version your server is using when you login to the iDRAC control panel. Older versions of iDRAC will have less functionality, so the below may not apply. For support with older versions of iDRAC, if the below does not help, please see Dell EMC’s support website or please feel free to raise a support ticket through your MyServers control panel, and we will be happy to help.

To check for errors relating to storage, click on Storage in the left hand side panel of the iDRAC, after you have logged in.

You will now be presented with the status of the Physical Disks within the server in a diagram. You can use this to identify if all your drives are online or if any of them have encountered an error. In my example below, you can see that 1 disk has been removed and 3 drives are online.

To find out more details about your physical drives, click on Physical Disks under Summary of Disks. Here you will be able to see a list of all the physical drives configured with the chassis, their details and their status. In my example below you can see that 3 drives are online, but the fourth drive has been removed.

If an error has occurred, you can use this information to help inform your decision on what action you wish to be taken. If you wish for a drive to be replaced, please see the section on having a drive replaced using iDRAC, for more details on how to get a faulty drive replaced using the information on iDRAC.

Now you can check the status of the Virtual Disks. To do this, return to Storage and then click on Virtual Disks.

You will now be presented with all the Virtual Disks (or RAID arrays) configured within the server, their details and their status. In my example below, you can see that there are two Virtual Disks; one with an error and one that is operating normally.

If an error has occurred with a Virtual Disk, this is normally caused by a physical drive having an error or failing, which you should have been able to identify on the physical disk page. You can use this information to help you decide what action you wish to be taken. If you wish for a drive to be replaced, please see the section on having a drive replaced using iDRAC, for more details on how to get a faulty drive replaced using the information found on the iDRAC portal.

Using the information outlined above you should now know the status of the storage within your server. If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

Due to the nature of hardware, you should regularly check the components of servers, especially the server’s memory and CPU, to make sure no errors have occurred. The iDRAC control panel allows you to check the status of the system’s memory and CPU(s). If you do identify that an error has occurred with your server, you can use your iDRAC to identify which piece of hardware has an error, and use this information to decide what action you wish to be taken next. See below how to use iDRAC to check the status of the memory and CPU(s) within the chassis.

Please note that this section uses iDRAC8 as an example, but the process set out below applies to both iDRAC7 and iDRAC8. Different generations of servers use different version of iDRAC; you can identify the iDRAC version your server is using when you log in to the iDRAC control panel. Older versions of iDRAC will have less functionality, so the below may not apply. For support with older versions of iDRAC, if the below does not help, please see Dell EMC’s support website or please feel free to raise a support ticket through your MyServers control panel, and we will be happy to help.

Memory - The memory component refers to all the RAM (also referred to as memory) configured within the chassis. First, to check for errors relating to memory, click on Hardware in the left hand side panel and then click on Memory.

You will now be presented with the details of the system’s memory; including the memory’s attributes, a list of the individual RAM sticks present, the RAM stick’s details and their status. Here you should be able to identify if there is any errors with any of the RAM sticks currently configured within the server. If a stick of RAM ever does become faulty, you will be able to find the details of the faulty RAM here, unless it becomes completely faulty and no longer shows on this page.

If you wish for a faulty stick of RAM to be replaced, please let us know all the details found within the Individual Memory Details section, so we can easily identify the faulty stick of RAM. If possible, a screenshot of this page would also be helpful. Please see the section on getting faulty RAM replaced using iDRAC for more details.

CPU – The CPU (or processor) page lists all the processors within the server, their details, and their current status. To check the status of the CPU(s) within the chassis, click on hardware in the left hand side panel and then CPU.

You will now be presented with the list of CPU(s) within the server. If you wish to find out more details about a processor you can click on the button in-line with it. If an error does ever occur with a processor, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to investigate this for you. If there is more than one processer installed in your server, please provide us with the faulty CPU’s name (e.g. CPU 1), so our technicians can easily identify which processor needs replacing. For more details on getting a faulty CPU replaced, please see the section on getting a CPU replaced using iDRAC.

If you do encounter a physical drive with an error and you wish for this drive to be replaced, you will need to provide as much of the following information as possible about the failed drive, to allow our technicians to correctly identify which drive needs replacing:

1. The failed drive’s Serial Number

2. Type of drive (e.g. SSD, SATA HDD, etc.)

3. Capacity

4. Product ID

5. Physical Drive Bay Number

This information will aid the technician in locating the failed drive and swapping it with the correct replacement drive.

Please note that this section uses iDRAC8 as an example, but the process set out below applies to both iDRAC7 and iDRAC8. Different generations of servers use different version of iDRAC; you can identify the iDRAC version your server is using when you log in to the iDRAC control panel. Older versions of iDRAC will have less functionality, so the below may not apply.

You can use the iDRAC control panel to locate the required information above. To do this, you must first access the iDRAC control panel and log in. Once you have logged in, click on storage in the left hand side panel and then physical disks.

You will now be presented with a list of physically drives configured within the server. Once you have found the physical drive with the error, you will be able to click the button to find more details about this drive, including the details required by our technicians to physically locate the drive. See the image below as an example of how to find the necessary information from the details of a physical drive:

You can supply the above information in a support ticket, requesting for this faulty drive to be replaced, and the technician should be able to identify the drive which needs to be replaced. You can also supply a screenshot similar to the one above for your failed drive; as the technician can use this information to better locate the failed drive.

In addition to providing the information above, the iDRAC control panel on most servers will also allow you to set the drive to ‘blink’, which can be used to help the technician locate the appropriate drive. To get the drive to blink, while on the page which lists all the physical disk, click on Identify. Then tick the box for the drive you wish to blink, which would be the faulty drive, and then press blink. This will then make the LED light on the drive’s caddy blink.

If you are able to set the drive to blink, please inform the technicians in the support ticket that you have done so. Some chassis may not allow you to perform this action. If you cannot set the drive bay to blink, this is most likely not a non-hot-swappable chassis, meaning this is not required.

When the technicians have completed any drive swap, you can use this same process to set the drive to ‘un-blink’, using the ‘un-blink’ button, to stop the drive bay from blinking. It is important to do this, to make sure this drive bay isn’t still blinking during any further drive changes at a later date, as this may lead to some confusion.

Once you provide all this information in a support ticket and set the drive bay to blink (if possible), the local technicians will be able to look into swapping the failed drive.

If the drive is missing from the iDRAC control panel monitoring completely (opposed to having an error), then you will not be able to provide the necessary information listed above to get the drive replaced, nor set the drive bay to blink. Instead, you can provide the information on all the drives still present on the iDRAC portal and their details, so that by process of illumination the technicians can replace the missing drive.

Once you have provided all the information from the drives that are still present, the technicians should be able to identify the missing drive and replace it.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

If you do encounter an error related to the server’s memory (RAM) and you wish for a RAM stick to be replaced, you will need to provide as much of the following information as possible, to allow our technicians to correctly identify which RAM stick needs replacing:

1. The failed RAM stick’s DIMM slot number (i.e. the Connector Name)

2. The failed RAM stick’s size

3. The failed RAM stick’s type

This information will aid our technician in locating the failed RAM stick and swapping it with the correct replacement RAM.

Please note that this section uses iDRAC8 as an example, but the process set out below applies to both iDRAC7 and iDRAC8. Different generations of servers use different version of iDRAC; you can identify the iDRAC version your server is using when you log in to the iDRAC control panel. Older versions of iDRAC will have less functionality, so the below may not apply.

You can use the iDRAC control panel find the above required information. After logging in to iDRAC, click on Hardware in the left hand side panel, and then click on Memory.

Here you will be able to see a list of the RAM sticks attached to the motherboard, their status, their connector names, their type and their size. If a stick of RAM appears with an error, you will need to simply need to supply all the information about this RAM stick that appears in this table, in a support ticket, so that the technician can identify the failed DIMM and replace it. You can also supply a screenshot of this page.

Occasionally, if a RAM stick completely fails, it may not appear on this page with an error, but might actually be missing from this page all together. As an example, if your server is meant to be configured with 4x 16GB RAM sticks (or 64Gb of memory in total), but only 3x 16GB RAM sticks are appearing, then it is quite likely that a stick has completely failed and needs replacing. If this is the case, you will not be able to find the information above on the failed RAM stick to get it replaced. Instead, you can provide the information on all the RAM sticks that are present without errors, so our technicians can locate the failed DIMM through a process of elimination. You can also supply a screenshot of the Individual Memory Details section.

Once you have provided all the above information in a support ticket, the technicians should be able to locate and replace the faulty RAM stick.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

If you do encounter an error related with a server’s CPU and you wish for it to be replaced, and if there is more than one CPU in this server, you will need to provide as much of the following information as possible to allow our technicians to correctly identify which CPU needs replacing:

1. The failed CPU’s name (i.e. the Connector Name/ Slot Number)

2. The failed CPU’s Make and Model (i.e. Processor Brand information)

If your server only has one CPU installed, we do not require this information to locate and replace the CPU. Please feel free to raise a support ticket and we will be happy to help.

If you do have more than one CPU in the server, this information will aid our technician in locating the failed CPU and swapping it with the correct replacement CPU.

Please note that this section uses iDRAC8 as an example, but the process set out below applies to both iDRAC7 and iDRAC8. Different generations of servers use different version of iDRAC; you can identify the iDRAC version your server is using when you log in to the iDRAC control panel. Older versions of iDRAC will have less functionality, so the below may not apply.

You can use the iDRAC control panel to find the above necessary information. To do this, once you are logged in to the iDRAC, press Hardware in the left hand side panel and then press CPU.

Here you will be able to see a list of the CPUs installed in the server, their make and model, their connector name and their specifications. If a CPU appears with an error, you will need to supply all the information about this CPU that appears in this table, in a support ticket, so that our technician can correctly identify the failed processor and replace it. You can also supply a screenshot of this page.

Occasionally, if a CPU completely fails, it may not appear on this page with an error but might actually be missing from this page all together. If this is the case, then you will not be able to find the information above on the failed CPU to get it replaced. Instead, you can provide the information on all the CPUs that are present without errors, so our technicians can locate the failed processor through a process of elimination. You can also supply a screenshot of this page.

Once you have provided all the above information in a support ticket, the technicians should be able to locate and replace the faulty CPU.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

One of the main benefits of having an iDRAC configured on your server is that it allows you to stat a Virtual Console. To start a virtual console through iDRAC, first log in to the control panel, and then press Launch within the Virtual Console Preview Section.

A jnlp file will now be download.

Please note that some older version of iDRAC will name the file “viewer.jnlp([iDRAC’s IP address]@0@idrac…)”; if this is the case, you will have to rename the file to remove everything within the brackets, so the file is just called “viewer.jnlp”.

Now open up the viewer.jnlp file.

The iDRAC virtual console uses the Java application to work. What happens now depends on your Java version and the Java setup on the PC you are accessing the iDRAC on. Depending on the Java settings, a Security Warning box may now appear. If this is the case press Continue. Then a couple of options to run the application may appear; press Run until the virtual console starts.

The virtual console should now start. You can now use this Virtual Console to perform tasks such as troubleshooting, the operating system installs and system configuration.

Due to recent Java updates, there is compatibility issues between iDRAC remote console sessions and some versions of Java, which can cause an error to show when trying to start a remote console session. If this is the case, please use the “I receive an error when trying to access my iDRAC’s Remote Console; how can I fix this?” section of our FAQ to see how to address this issue.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

Another advance of an iDRAC is that it allows the user to attach media remotely. Once example of when this would be used is to upload an operating system ISO file, so that the user can install an operating system onto the server.

To attach remote media to a server through iDRAC, first log in to the iDRAC’s control panel and then start a remote console. If you are not sure how to do this, please use our FAQ to find information on how to perform these actions. Now click Attached Media at the top of the virtual console screen. Then click on Connect Virtual Media.

The virtual media function will then take a couple of seconds to initialise. How you proceed now depends on the type of media you are remotely attaching to the server. Click Virtual Media again, and this time click either ‘Map Removable Disk’ or ‘Map CD/DVD’, depending on the type of media you wish to attach. One of the main reasons for attaching virtual media through iDRAC is to allow the user to attach an OS ISO to the server, to install an OS. If this is why you are using the iDRAC to attach virtual media, you should select Map CD/DVD.

You will now be able to use the window that appears to browser for the file you wish to attach. Press Browse, then select the appropriate file and then pressing Open. Once this has been done, press Map Device.

You have now mapped the virtual media to the server. You should now be able to access this content through the server. If you have attached an ISO to install a new operating system, you should now be able to access this media through the boot menu.

If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, 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.

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "System Tab" and select "Overview" in the dropdown menu. 

2. You will then see different tabs associated with server hardware and components.

3. This option will show what current battery components are present and actively working.

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "System Tab" and select "Overview" in the dropdown menu. 

2. You will then see different tabs associated with server hardware and components.

3. In the "Cooling" tab shown below, you will see options to check "Fans" & "Temperatures" 

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "System Tab" and select "Overview" in the dropdown menu. 

2. You will then see different tabs associated with server hardware and components.

3. In the "CPU's" tab shown below, you will see options to check CPU processor information & processor cache information.

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "System Tab" and select "Overview" in the dropdown menu. 

2. You will then see different tabs associated with server hardware and components.

3. In the "Memory" tab shown below, you will see options to check Memory DIMM SLOT information, including the total amount of RAM and if any sticks faulty etc.

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "System Tab" and select "Overview" in the dropdown menu. 

2. You will then see different tabs associated with server hardware and components.

3. In the "Network Devices" tab shown below, you can see NIC connections and check what type of network card is installed and MAC address.

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "Storage" and select "Physical Disks Tab" in the dropdown menu. 

2. As shown in the diagram above you can see all the individual disks and all useful information related to them, of which is the blink drive function which allows technicians to identify faulty drives and replace via hot-swapping.

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "Configuration" tab and select "Power" dropdown menu shown below. You can now see the options to power off, power-cycle etc.

1. When on the main "dashboard", Navigate over to the "Configuration" and select "licensing options" in the dropdown menu. 

Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) is the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) version of ‘Remote Management’. If you purchase Remote Management with your server or request to have Remote Management installed on your server, and your server is a HPE ProLiant server, your server will be configured with iLO.

HPE’s iLO is a hardware component, which exist on most HPE ProLiant servers, which allow the user to have greater administrative control over their devices remotely. When iLO is configured on a HPE server, you can access the iLO remotely through a web-based GUI portal, through a dedicated IPv4 address configured on the iLO. Once you have accessed and logged in to a server’s iLO, you can use the iLO portal to check the current status of your server and its hardware, to run operations/tasks on your server, and to start a Remote Console.

We encourage our clients to order Remote Management with their server (thus iLO with a HPE server), as it allows the user to check the status of their hardware, which means that it can be used to identify hardware related issues and provide the necessary information to have this hardware replaced. HPE’s iLO also allows our clients to be able to start a remote console at any time; meaning that they do not have to wait for a KVMoIP to setup and providing the user greater control, 24/7.

Please note that the iLO component is unique to HPE servers, so iLO is only available on our HPE ProLiant servers. Servers manufactured by other companies use other forms of remote management, similar to iLO. Some other examples include iDRAC for Dell PowerEdge servers and IPMI for SuperMicro servers. This means that the form of remote management provided depends on the make and model of the server.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

If Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) is configured on a HP ProLiant server, you can access the iLO through any compatible web-browser, using the iLO’s configured IPv4 address. As long as there are no firewall rules associated with the iLO’s connection, or as long as the firewall rules are configured to allow you to do so, you should be able to access the iLO remotely, on your home/work computer or on another device within this network. Simply enter the iLO’s configured IPv4 Address into your web-browser’s URL box.

If you are presented with any security warnings, you should be able to proceed beyond on them. You should now be presented with the HPE iLO login screen. You can now enter the Username and Password for the iLO; then press Submit. If the iLO connection has recently been configured by our technicians, you will be able to find the credentials of the iLO in the MyServers panel, in the Credentials section of the IS page for the server, with the name of LOM/https.

Once you have entered the credentials and pressed submit, you will be presented with the iLO’s control panel. You can now use the iLO to check the health of your server and its hardware, to run operations/tasks on the server, or to start a remote console. We would recommend familiarising yourself with the control panel and the configuration of the server after you have logged in for the first time; so if an error does occur in future, you already understand how your server should be configured and how to use the application.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

One of the main benefits of iLO is that it allows you to check the current health of your server and allows you to check the current status of your server’s hardware.

Please note that this section uses iLO 4 as an example. Different generations of HPE servers use different version of iLO. You can identify the iLO version your server is using when you log in to the iLO control panel. Older versions of iLO may have less functionality and the portal may look different to the examples shown in this FAQ; so the below may not apply to these older versions.

When you first login to the iLO portal, you will be you will be presented with the current health status of the server. If there are currently any errors with the server’s health, an error will appear next to System Health.

To find out more specific information about the health of the system you can click on System Health, which will bring up a list of monitored components within the server. Here you will be able to see the current status of each monitored sub-system.

If an error does appear within the system’s health in this section, how you identify the specific error and how you proceed is dependent on what type of component has an error. Click on the name of the monitored item to find out more details. For investigating errors with pieces of hardware not outlined within this FAQ, information can be found through HPE’s support website, or you can raise a support ticket and we will be happy to help.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

Due to the nature of hardware, you should regularly check the storage of your servers, to make sure no errors have occurred with the server’s virtual or physical drives. If you identify that an error has occurred with the storage of your server, you can use your iLO to identify which specific piece of hardware has an error, and use this information to decide on what action you wish to take next.

Please note that this section uses iLO 4 as an example. Different generations of HPE servers use different version of iLO. You can identify the iLO version your server is using when you log in to the iLO control panel. Older versions of iLO may have less functionality and the portal may look different to the examples shown in this FAQ; so the below may not apply to these older versions.

To check for errors relating to storage, click on System Information on the left hand side of the iLO control pane and then click on Storage.

You will now be presented with the status of any Logical Drives (or RAID arrays) and any Physical Drives within the server; as well as the status and details of the RAID Controller. You will also be able to see all the details of the Logical and Physical Drives. Use can this information to identify the current status of the storage of your server.

In my example below, you can see that my server has two Logical Drives, four physical drives, and the drives are split so that there is two drives configured within each logical drive. You can also see that the Physical Drive in bay 4 has degraded, which has cause the status of Logical Drive 2 to also be degraded.

If an error has occurred, you can use this information to help you decide what action you wish to be taken. If you wish for a drive to be replaced, please see the section on having a drive replaced using iLO, for more details on how to get a faulty drive replaced using the information found through the iLO portal.

Using the above information you should now know the status of the storage of your server. If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

Due to the nature of hardware, you should regularly check the components of the server, especially the memory and CPU, to make sure no errors have occurred. iLO allows you check the status of the system’s memory and CPU(s), through the control panel. If you identify that an error has occurred with the memory or with a CPU of your server, you can use your iLO to identify which piece of hardware has an error, and use this information to decide on what action you wish to take next. See below how to use iLO to check the status of the memory and CPU(s) within the chassis.

Please note that this section uses iLO 4 as an example. Different generations of HPE servers use different version of iLO. You can identify the iLO version your server is using when you log in to the iLO control panel. Older versions of iLO may have less functionality and the portal may look different to the examples shown in this FAQ; so the below may not apply to these older versions.

Memory - The memory component refers to all the RAM within the chassis. First, to check for errors relating to memory, click on System Information in the left hand side panel and then click on Memory.

You will now be presented with the details of the system’s memory; including a list of the individual RAM sticks, the RAM stick’s details and their status. Here you should be able to identify if there is any errors with any of the RAM sticks currently configured within the server. If a stick of RAM ever does become faulty, you will be able to find the details of the faulty RAM here, unless it becomes completely faulty and no longer shows on this page.

If you wish for a faulty stick of RAM to be replaced, please let us know all the details found within the Memory Details section, so we can easily identify the faulty stick of RAM. If possible, a screenshot of this page would also be helpful. Please see the section on getting faulty RAM replaced using OMSA for more details.

CPU – The CPU (or processor) page, lists all the processors within the server, their details, and their current status. To check the status of the CPU(s) within the chassis, click on System Information and then Processors.

You will now be presented with the list of CPU(s) within the server, their details and their current status. If an error does ever occur with a processor within a server, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to investigate this for you. If there is more than one processer installed in your server, please provide the processor’s number in a support ticket (e.g. Processor 1), so our technicians can easily identify which processor needs replacing. For more details on getting a faulty CPU replaced, please see the section on getting a CPU replaced using iLO.

If you do encounter a physical drive with an error and you wish for this drive to be replaced, you will need to provide as much of the following information as possible about the failed drive, to allow the technicians to correctly identify which drive needs replacing:

1. Serial number

2. Type of drive (e.g. SSD, SATA HDD, etc.)

3. Capacity

4. Model

5. Physical Drive Bay Number

This information will aid the technician in locating the failed drive and swapping it with the correct replacement drive. You can use the iLO control panel to locate the required information above.

Please note that this section uses iLO 4 as an example. Different generations of HPE servers use different version of iLO. You can identify the iLO version your server is using when you log in to the iLO control panel. Older versions of iLO may have less functionality and the portal may look different to the examples shown in this FAQ; so the below may not apply to these older versions.

To do use iLO to find this information, you must first access the iLO control panel and log in. Once you have logged in, click on System Information and then Storage.

You will now be presented with a list of physically drives configured within the server. Once you have found the physical drive with the error, you will be able to find see the details required by our technicians to physically locate the drive. See the image below as an example of how to find the necessary information from the details of a physical drive:

You can supply the above information in a support ticket requesting for this faulty drive to be replaced. The technician should then be able to identify the drive which needs to be replaced. You can also supply a screenshot of the above; as the technician can also use this.

Once you provide all this information in a support ticket, the local technicians will be able to look into swapping the failed drive for you.

If the drive is missing from the iLO control panel monitoring completely (opposed to having an error), then you will not be able to provide the necessary information listed above to get the drive replaced. Instead, you can provide the information on all the drives still present on the iLO control panel and their details, so that by process of illumination our technicians can identify and replace the missing drive.

Once you have provided all the information from the drives that are still present, the technicians should be able to identify the missing drive and replace it.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

If you do encounter an error related to the server’s memory and you wish for a RAM stick to be replaced, you will need to provide as much of the following information as possible, to allow our technicians to correctly identify which RAM stick needs replacing:

1. The failed RAM stick’s DIMM slot number (i.e. the Memory Location + Socket)

2. The failed RAM stick’s size

3. The failed RAM stick’s type

This information will aid the technician in locating the failed RAM stick and swapping it with the correct replacement RAM. You can use the iLO control panel find the above required information.

Please note that this section uses iLO 4 as an example. Different generations of HPE servers use different version of iLO. You can identify the iLO version your server is using when you log in to the iLO control panel. Older versions of iLO may have less functionality and the portal may look different to the examples shown in this FAQ; so the below may not apply to these older versions.

To locate the required information above, after logging in to iLO, click on System Information and then Memory.

Here you will be able to see a list of the RAM sticks attached to the motherboard, their status, their location and socket number, their type and their size. If a stick of RAM appears with an error, you will need to simply need to supply all the information about this RAM stick that appears in this table, in a support ticket, so that our technician can identify the failed DIMM and replace it. You can also supply a screenshot of this page.

Occasionally, if a RAM stick completely fails, it may not appear on this page with an error, but might actually be missing from this page all together. As an example, if your server is meant to be configured with 4x 32GB RAM sticks (or 128Gb of memory in total), but only 3x 32GB RAM sticks are appearing, then it is quite likely that a stick has completely failed and needs replacing. If this is the case, you will not be able to find the information above on the failed RAM stick to get it replaced. Instead, you can provide the information on all the RAM sticks that are present without errors, so the technicians can locate the failed DIMM through a process of elimination. You can also supply a screenshot of this page.

Once you have provided all the above information in a support ticket, the technicians should be able to locate and replace the faulty RAM stick.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

If you do encounter an error related with a server’s CPU and you wish for it to be replaced, and if there is more than one CPU in this server, you will need to provide as much of the following information as possible to allow our technicians to correctly identify which CPU needs replacing:

1. The failed CPU’s number (e.g. Processor 1)

2. The failed CPU’s name (i.e. the Make and Model)

If your server only has one CPU installed, we do not require this information to locate and replace a CPU. Please feel free to raise a support ticket and we will be happy to help.

If you do have more than one CPU in the server, this information will aid the technician in locating the failed CPU and swapping it with the correct replacement CPU. You can use the iLO control panel to find the above necessary information.

Please note that this section uses iLO 4 as an example. Different generations of HPE servers use different version of iLO. You can identify the iLO version your server is using when you log in to the iLO control panel. Older versions of iLO may have less functionality and the portal may look different to the examples shown in this FAQ; so the below may not apply to these older versions.

To use iLO to locate this information, once you are logged in to the iLO, first click System Information and then Processors

Here you will be able to see a list of the CPUs installed in the server, their make and model, their identification number and their specifications. If a CPU appears with an error, you will need to supply all the information about this CPU that appears in this table and the processor number, in a support ticket, so that our technician can identify the failed processor and replace it. You can also supply a screenshot of this page.

Occasionally, if a CPU completely fails, it may not appear on this page with an error but might actually be missing from this page all together. If this is the case, then you will not be able to find the information above on the failed CPU to get it replaced. Instead, you can provide the information on all the CPUs that are present without errors, so the technicians can locate the failed processor through a process of elimination. You can also supply a screenshot of this page.

Once you have provided all the above information in a support ticket, the technicians should be able to locate and replace the faulty CPU.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

One of the main benefits of having iLO configured on your server is that it allows you to stat an Integrated Remote Console. The remote console provides you with the same controls you would have if you were stood at the server, with a keyboard, mouse and monitor attached.

To start a remote console through iLO, first log in to the control panel and then press Java Web Start in-line Integrated Remote Console. A jnlp file will now download.

Now open up the viewer.jnlp file.

The Java Web Start iLO remote console uses the Java application to work. What happens now depends on your Java version and your Java setup on the PC you are accessing the iLO on. Depending on the Java settings, a Security Warning box may now appear. If this is the case press Continue. You may also be asked if you want to run the Java application. If so, press run.

The virtual console will window should now start.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

Another advantage of having iLO configured on your server is that it allows the user to attach media remotely. One example of when this would be used is to upload an operating system ISO file; so the user can use this to install an operating system remotely.

To attach an ISO file to a server through iLO, first login to the iLO’s control panel and then start a remote console. If you are not sure how to do this, please use our FAQ to find information on how to perform these actions. Now click Virtual Drives at the top of the virtual console screen. Then click on ‘Image File CD/DVD-ROM’

A window will now appear allowing you to navigate your computer’s files. Select your ISO file and press Open.

You have now mapped the virtual media to the server. You should now be able to access this content through the server. If you have attached an ISO to install a new operating system, you should now be able to access this media through the boot menu.

If you have any further questions about iLO or Remote Management, 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.

SuperMicro’s Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IMPI) is SuperMicro’s version of a ‘Remote Management’ tool. Remote management tools have been developed to enable their users to have greater administrative control over their devices remotely.

SuperMicro’s IPMI is a hardware and software component which exist on most SuperMicro rack-mount servers. If you request to have Remote Management installed on your server, and your server is a SuperMicro server, it will be configured with IPMI.

When IPMI is configured on a SuperMicro, the user can access the IPMI remotely through a web-based GUI portal, through a dedicated IPv4 address configured on the IPMI. Once you have accessed and logged in to a server’s IPMI control panel, you can use the IPMI portal to check the current status of your server and its hardware, to run operations/tasks on your server, and to start a Remote Console.

We encourage our clients to order Remote Management with their server (thus IMPI with a SuperMicro server), as it allows the device’s administrator to check the status of their hardware and as it can be used to identify hardware related issues. SuperMicro’s IPMI also allows the device’s administrator to be able to start a remote console at any time; providing the user greater control over their device, 24/7, and replaces the need for KVMoIP devices.

Please note that the IPMI component is unique to SuperMicro servers, so IPMI is only available on our SuperMicro servers. Servers manufactured by other companies use other forms of remote management, similar to IMPI. Some other examples include iLO for HPE ProLiant servers and iDRAC for Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. This means that the form of remote management provided depends on the make and model of the server.

If you have any further questions about IPMI or Remote Management, 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.

When an Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IMPI) is configured on a SuperMicro server, the IPMI is accessed through any compatible web-browser, using the IPMI’s dedicated configured IPv4 address. As long as there are no firewall rules associated with the IPMI’s connection or IPv4 address, or as long as the firewall rules are configured to allow you to access the IPMI from your device, you should be able to access the IPMI remotely on your home/work computer, or on another device configured within the same network as the server. Simply enter the IPMI’s configured IPv4 Address into your web-browser’s URL box.

If you are presented with any security warnings, you should be able to proceed beyond them. You should now be presented with the SuperMicro IPMI control panel login screen. You can now enter the Username and Password for the IPMI, and then press Submit. If the IPMI connection has recently been configured on your device by one of our technicians, you will be able to find the credentials of the IPMI in the MyServers panel, in the Credentials section of the IS page for the server, under the name of LOM/https.

Once you have entered the credentials and pressed submit, you will be presented with the IPMI’s control panel home page. You can now use the IPMI to check the health of your server and the device’s hardware, to run operations/tasks on the server, or to start a virtual console. We would recommend familiarising yourself with the control panel and the configuration of the server, once you have logged in to it for the first time, so if an error does occur in future, you already understand how your server should be configured and how to use the IPMI application.

If you have any further questions about IPMI or Remote Management, 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.

One of the main benefits of IPMI is that it allows you to check the current health of your server and allows you to check the current status of your server’s hardware.

Once you have logged into the IPMI portal, to navigate to the section regarding the server’s current status, click on Server Health. You will now see on the left hand side that Sensor Readings, Event Log, and Power Consumption appears. You can use the Sensor Readings and Event Log pages to evaluate the current status of the server and to check for historical issues. First, click on Sensor Readings.

You will now be presents with a list of all the components/services monitored by the system, their status and their readings. You will be able to use the information in this table to determine if any of the components currently have any errors. Please note that the server’s sensor reading page may not always be able to detect the status of the drives within the chassis. In my example below, you can see that the HDD Status reading is Not Present and its status is N/A.

Once you have checked the server’s current health, you should also check the event log of the server. It is good practice to check the event log, as errors that have occurred historically but then cleared will not show in the server health section. To do this, click on Event Log.

You will now be presented with a table that lists all the events, picked up by the server’s sensors, since the server was first powered on or since the event log was last cleared. You should be able to use this table to ascertain whether any components/services have recently developed any errors. Please note that if a component/service is not monitored by the server (e.g. as shown in my earlier example, the server’s drive status was not shown), it will most likely also not be shown in the server’s Event Log.

If an error does appear within either the Server Health or within the Event Log, please feel free to raise a support ticket and we will be happy to help. You can also supply us with a screenshot of where the error appears within IPMI, as this may help our team troubleshoot this issue.

If you have any further questions about IPMI or Remote Management, 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.

One of the main benefits of having an IPMI configured on your server is that it allows you to stat a Remote Console.

To start a remote console through IPMI, first log in to the control panel. Then press Remote Control, then Console Redirection and then press Launch Console.

A jnlp file will now download. Open the jnlp file.

The IPMI console uses the Java application to work. What happens now depends on your Java version and your Java setup on the PC you are accessing the IPMI on. Depending on the Java settings, a Security Warning box may now appear. If this is the case press Continue. Then an option to run the application may appear; press Run until the remote console starts, accepting any security risks.

The remote console should now start.

If you encountered any security errors, which meant that you could not start the remote console, you may have to add the IPMI’s IP to the list of excepted sites. To do this, follow these instructions:

Open "Configure Java”.

Select the "Security" tab. Then press "Edit Site List" under "Exception Site List".

You now need to add the URL for the IPMI to the exception site list. To do this, first press “Add”. Then type in the URL of your IPMI, which will be the IPMI’s IP address proceeded by “https://” (e.g. https://1.1.1.1).

Once you have done this, you should also add the IPMI’s URL again, however, this time with the http protocol (opposed to https); by pressing “Add” and then entering the IPMI’s IP address proceeded by “http://” (e.g. http://1.1.1.1). When adding an http address, it will bring up a security message as this is a less secure protocol, so you will need to press Continue to proceed.

Once you have entered both exceptions, press OK on the Exception list and then on the Java Control Panel.

If you are still experiencing problems once you have applied the above, please feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

If you have any further questions about IPMI or Remote Management, 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.

Another advantage of having IPMI configured on your server is that it allows the user to attach media remotely. One example of when this would be used is to upload an operating system ISO file, to install an operating system remotely, through the IPMI.

To attach an ISO file through IMPI, first login to the IPMI’s control panel and then start a remote console. If you are not sure how to do this, please use our FAQ to find information on how to perform these actions. Now click Virtual Media at the top of the remote console’s screen. Then click on Virtual Storage.

A Virtual Storage window will now appear. To attach an ISO file you now click on CDROM&ISO and then select the ISO File in Logical Drive Type (you can also select Web ISO if you are installing an ISO directly from a website; however, this guide will show you how to upload an ISO file locally stored on your PC).

Now press Open Image. You will now be able to use the Open window to select the ISO file you wish to attach. Navigate through your home/work computer’s files, select the ISO file, and then press Open.

The file’s name and location will now appear under Image File Name and Full Path. Next, press Plug in to attach the file.

You should now see a message appear under connection status history, which shows as “Plug-In OK!!”. You can now press OK.

You have now mapped the virtual media to the server. You should now be able to access this content through the server. If you have attached an ISO to install a new operating system, you should now be able to access this media through the boot menu.

If you have any further questions about IPMI or Remote Management, 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.

We have a wide range of SSL certificates from multiple providers that we can provide for domain, organisation, and extended validation certificates.

Contact us to discuss your requirements and we will provide the relevant options and prices for you. Please also feel free to get in touch if you have any further questions.

Absolutely. As our client’s businesses grow, so do their requirements for their dedicated server devices, so we are always happy to facilitate an upgrade to any dedicated device.

Some, indeed most of clients opt to take out additional dedicated servers with us. However, if you wish to upgrade the components of your current live server, a member of our team will be happy to discuss this with you and quote you the cost of any upgrade. If your current device is not capable of the increased specification you require, our support team will happily provide you with options available for you to upgrade and migrate to a higher specification of server.

Please feel free to raise a support ticket and we will be able to work out an upgrade option and process which best suites your needs; and discuss any associated cost.

There are several options available for someone who wishes to add storage to their server. Which one would be best for your server depends on your requirements, the current specification of your server, and the model of your dedicated server.

If you are looking to upgrade the storage space of your server as you wish to use this additional space for backups, please look at our “What back-up options do you offer?” section within the FAQ, as this will provide you with more details tailored to this scenario.

If you want to upgrade the storage of your server for other reasons, please see below for some examples of options you that we would suggest, dependent on your current server’s setup. Please also feel free to get in touch through a ticket and we will be happy to discuss what options are available to you.

One option would be to add additional drives of the required size to your server, in one or more of any available drive bays. This is the simplest and often the cheapest solution; however, your server must have available drive bays for this to be possible, the server and any RAID controller present must be compatible with the increased storage size and this also depends on how many drives / how much storage you wish to add.

A second option, which is often used when the above is not possible, would be to replace the drives that are currently in your server with larger drives. If this option is possible is dependent on how many drives you require, how much storage you wish to add, and the model of your server. This option is also a relatively cheap; however, replacing the drives of your server with larger drives would mean data loss; so you would need to re-build your server’s configuration and data from back-ups taken on an external device.

If the two options above are not feasible for one reason or another, another option that would be open to you would be to migrate to a new, higher specification server, which would be an upgrade on your current device and have a higher storage capacity.

Another option would be to have space from one of our shared NAS devices assigned to your server as a network drive. The benefit of this solution is that there are less restrictions caused by hardware and it means the data will be stored on a device which is separate to your server, within a geographically different site, protecting it from any hardware, network or power failure linked to your device. However, this option is only available for relatively smaller amounts of storage space, of 2TBs of less, and is currently only an available option within certain data centres within our hosting infrastructure.

If you require a large amount of storage space added to you server, another option would be to have a dedicated NAS device deployed and hosted with us, and attached to you server as an external storage device. This is one of the more expensive options; but benefits include having data on an external device within a different rack to your server, making it less likely to be effected by network, power and hardware failures which affect your main server; and NAS devices are scalable solutions which would allow you to upgrade the storage space the device in future, when required. You can also attach a single NAS storage unit to multiple servers; meaning you can use it as a storage unit for multiple servers.

A more cost effective way to increase storage space compared to a dedicated NAS device, when large amounts of storage is required, is to order an additional dedicated server. The benefit of this method is that you can order as much storage space as you require, your servers can be connected via a private VLAN and your data can be spread across multiple devices.

If you are interested in any of the above solutions, or if you wish to discuss an alternative solution, please feel free to get in touch through a ticket and we will be happy to discuss this with you.