Remote Management (OOB / LOM) - iDRAC

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.