Dell iDRAC 7 Enterprise Upgrade from Basic & Express for 12th Gen Value Platforms (200-500 series )

iDRAC7 12^th Generation licensing summary

At a high level, the features and offerings for iDRAC are similar between iDRAC6 and iDRAC7. Dell provides three main offerings: Basic Management, Express, and Enterprise. As in Dell’s 11th generation servers, Basic Management (called BMC in 11th generation) is the default for servers 200-500 series. For 600 series and above, iDRAC Express is the default offering that is part of the base configuration. It does not require a license to be installed, backed up, or managed. Express offers embedded tools, console integration, and simplified remote access.

However, most IT administrators want a deeper, more inclusive solution that allows them to manage servers as if they were physically near the Server, and this is available by upgrading to the Enterprise license level, which is fully digital.

Because all 600-series servers ship with iDRAC7 Express enabled, customers can take advantage of the features and benefits provided by iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller 2.0 technology. Customers with 200-500 series can also upgrade their systems to either Express or Enterprise by simply installing a license key. A physical part is required on 200-500 series to enable dedicated NIC and vFlash. Dell offers an online portal to keep track all of your iDRAC licenses; for example, which servers have Express, Enterprise, or even Trial licenses. In the unlikely event of motherboard failure, Dell also stores a copy of the key and makes it available to you in an online License Management portal 

NEW -- Dell iDRAC Service Module

The integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) Service Module is an optional, lightweight software application that can be installed on Dell 12th Generation Servers with iDRAC7 to provide additional systems management information. This lightweight agent runs in the host operating system and provides monitoring functionality similar to OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA). This new offering bridges the gap between iDRAC's monitoring coverage and that which the full OMSA agent provides today. Some of the key features include:

·         Lifecycle Controller Log replication in OS log (for Server Hardware Information via the OS/Hypervisor Log itself)

·         Watchdog functions for dependent iDRAC monitoring functions:
- Host name
- OS Name
- OS Version

n.b. the memory footprint of the iSM is 3-5MB. For comparison, OMSA occupies 100+ MB.