Overview

The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) is designed to make Server administrators more productive and improve the overall availability of Dell servers. iDRAC alerts administrators to Server issues, helps them perform remote Server management, and reduces the need for physical access to the Server.

iDRAC with Lifecycle controller technology is part of a larger datacenter solution that helps keep business critical applications and workloads available at all times. The technology allows administrators to deploy, monitor, manage, configure, update, troubleshoot and remediate Dell servers from any location, and without the use of agents. It accomplishes this regardless of operating system or Hypervisor presence or state.

Key Features

Inventory and Monitoring

• View managed Server health.
• Inventory and monitor network adapters and storage subsystem (PERC and direct attached storage) without any operating system agents.
• View and export system inventory.
• View sensor information such as temperature, voltage, and intrusion.
• Monitor CPU state, processor automatic throttling, and predictive failure.
• View memory information.
• Monitor and control power usage.
• Support for SNMPv3 gets.
• For blade servers: launch Chassis Management Controller (CMC) Web interface, view CMC information, and WWN/MAC addresses.
• NOTE: CMC provides access to iDRAC through the M1000E Chassis LCD panel and local console connections. For more information, see Chassis Management Controller User’s Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals.
• View network interfaces available on host operating systems.
• View inventory and monitor information and configure basic iDRAC settings using iDRAC Quick Sync feature and a mobile device.

Deployment

• Manage vFlash SD card partitions.
• Configure front panel display settings.
• Manage iDRAC network settings.
• Configure and use virtual console and virtual media.
• Deploy operating systems using remote file share, virtual media, and VMCLI.
• Enable auto-discovery.
• Perform Server configuration using the export or import XML profile feature through RACADM and WS-MAN. For more information, see the Lifecycle Controller Remote Services Quick Start Guide.
• Configure persistence policy for virtual addresses, initiator, and storage targets.
• Remotely configure storage devices attached to the system at run-time.
• Perform the following operations for storage devices:
• Physical disks: Assign or unassign physical disk as a global hot spare.
• Virtual disks:
• Create virtual disks.
• Edit virtual disks cache policies.
• Check virtual disk consistency.
• Initialize virtual disks.
• Encrypt virtual disks.
• Assign or unassign dedicated hot spare.
• Delete virtual disks.
• Controllers:
• Configure controller properties.
• Import or auto-import foreign configuration.
• Clear foreign configuration.
• Reset controller configuration.
• Create or change security keys.
• PCIe SSD devices:
• Inventory and remotely monitor the health of PCIe SSD devices in the Server.
• Prepare the PCIe SSD to be removed.
• Securely erase the data.
• Set the Backplane mode (unified or split mode).
• Blink or unblink component LEDs.
• Apply the device settings immediately, at next system reboot, at a scheduled time, or as a pending operation to be applied as a batch as part of the single job.

Update

• Manage iDRAC licenses.
• Update BIOS and device firmware for devices supported by Lifecycle Controller.
• Update or rollback iDRAC firmware and lifecycle controller firmware using a single firmware image.
• Manage staged updates.
• Backup and restore Server profile.
• Access iDRAC interface over direct USB connection.
• Configure iDRAC using Server Configuration Profiles on USB device.

Maintenance and Troubleshooting

• Perform power related operations and monitor power consumption.
• Optimize system performance and power consumption by modifying the thermal settings.
• No dependency on OpenManage Server Administrator for generation of alerts.
• Log event data: Lifecycle and RAC logs.
• Set email alerts, IPMI alerts, remote system logs, WS eventing logs, and SNMP traps (v1, v2c, and v3) for events and improved email alert notification.
• Capture last system crash image.
• View boot and crash capture videos.
• Out-of-band monitor and alert the performance index of CPU, memory, and I/O modules.
• Configure warning threshold for inlet temperature and power consumption.
• Use iDRAC Service Module to:
• View Operating System (OS) information.
• Replicate Lifecycle Controller logs to operating system logs.
• Automatic system recovery options.
• Populate Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) information.
• Integrate with Technical Support Report. This is applicable only if iDRAC Service Module Version 2.0 or later is installed. For more information, see Generating Tech Support Report.
• Prepare to Remove NVMe PCIe SSD. For more information, see Preparing to Remove PCIe SSD .
• Generate technical support report in the following ways:
• Automatic — Using iDRAC Service Module that automatically invokes the OS Collector tool.
• Manual — Using OS Collector tool.

Secure Connectivity

Securing access to critical network resources is a priority. iDRAC implements a range of security features that includes:

• Custom signing certificate for Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate.
• Signed firmware updates.
• User authentication through Microsoft Active Directory, generic Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Directory Service, or locally administered user IDs and passwords.
• Two-factor authentication using the Smart–Card logon feature. The two-factor authentication is based on the physical smart card and the smart card PIN.
• Single Sign-on and Public Key Authentication.
• Role-based authorization, to configure specific privileges for each user.
• SNMPv3 authentication for user accounts stored locally in the iDRAC. It is recommended to use this, but it is disabled by default.
• User ID and password configuration.
• Default login password modification.
• Set user passwords and BIOS passwords using one way hash format for improved security.
• SMCLP and Web interfaces that support 128-bit and 40-bit encryption (for countries where 128 bit is not acceptable), using the SSL 3.0 standard.
• Session time-out configuration (in seconds).
• Configurable IP ports (for HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Console, and Virtual Media).
• NOTE: Telnet does not support SSL encryption and is disabled by default.
• Secure Shell (SSH) that uses an encrypted transport layer for higher security.
• Login failure limits per IP address, with login blocking from that IP address when the limit is exceeded.
• Limited IP address range for clients connecting to iDRAC.

Dedicated Gigabit Ethernet adapter available on rack and tower servers (additional hardware may be required).