How do I use iDRAC to check my server’s hardware?

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.