Dell PowerEdge M1000e Chassis Management Controller Firmware Version 5.1 User’s Guide

What happens if a feature card is removed?

There is no visible change if a feature card is removed. Feature cards can be removed and stored or may be left in place.

What happens if a feature card that was used in one chassis is removed and put into another chassis?

The Web interface displays the following error message:

This feature card was activated with a different chassis. It must be removed before accessing the FlexAddress feature.

Current Chassis Service Tag = XXXXXXXX

Feature Card Chassis Service Tag = YYYYYYYY

An entry is added to the CMC log that states:

cmc <date timestamp> : feature 'FlexAddress@YYYYYYYY' not activated; chassis ID='XXXXXXXX'

What happens if the feature card is removed and a non-FlexAddress card is installed?

No activation or modifications to the card should occur. The card is ignored by CMC. In this situation, the $racadm featurecard -s command returns the following message:

No feature card inserted

ERROR: can't open file

If the chassis service tag is reprogrammed, what happens if there is a feature card bound to that chassis?

• If the original feature card is present in the active CMC on that or any other chassis, the Web interface displays the following error message:

  This feature card was activated with a different chassis. It must be removed before accessing the FlexAddress feature.

  Current Chassis Service Tag = XXXXXXXX

  Feature Card Chassis Service Tag = YYYYYYYY

  The original feature card is no longer eligible for deactivation on that or any other chassis, unless Dell Service re-programs the original chassis service tag back into a chassis, and CMC that has the original feature card is made active on that chassis.

• The FlexAddress feature remains active on the originally bound chassis. The binding of that chassis feature is updated to reflect the new service tag.

Is an error message displayed if two feature cards are installed in the redundant CMC system?

No, there is no error message displayed. The feature card in the active CMC is active and installed in the chassis. The second card is ignored by CMC.

Does the SD card have a write protection lock on it?

Yes it does. Before installing the SD card into the CMC module, verify the write protection latch is in the unlock position. The FlexAddress feature cannot be activated if the SD card is write protected. In this situation, the $racadm feature -s command returns this message:

No features active on the chassis. ERROR: read only file system

What happens if there is no SD card in the active CMC module?

The $racadm featurecard -s command returns this message:

No feature card inserted.

What happens to FlexAddress feature if the server BIOS is updated from version 1.xx to version 2.xx?

The server module needs to be powered down before it can be used with FlexAddress. After the server BIOS update is complete, the server module does not get chassis-assigned addresses until the server has been power cycled.

What happens if a chassis with a single CMC is downgraded with firmware prior to 1.10?

• The FlexAddress feature and configuration is removed from the chassis.
• The feature card used to activate the feature on this chassis is unchanged, and remains bound to the chassis. When this chassis’s CMC firmware is subsequently upgraded to 1.10 or later, the FlexAddress feature is reactivated by reinserting the original feature card (if necessary), resetting CMC (if feature card was inserted after firmware upgrade was completed), and reconfiguring the feature.

What happens if a CMC unit is replaced with one that has firmware prior to 1.10 in a chassis with redundant CMCs?

In a chassis with redundant CMCs, if a CMC unit is replaced with one that has firmware prior to 1.10, the following procedure must be used to ensure the current FlexAddress feature and configuration is NOT removed:

• Ensure the active CMC firmware is always version 1.10 or later.
• Remove the standby CMC and insert the new CMC in its place.
• From the Active CMC, upgrade the standby CMC firmware to 1.10 or later.

How can a SD card be recovered if the SD card was not in the chassis when the deactivation command was executed on the FlexAddress?

The issue is that the SD card cannot be used to install FlexAddress on another chassis if it was not in CMC when the FlexAddress was deactivated. To recover use of the card, insert the card back into a CMC in the chassis that it is bound to, reinstall FlexAddress, and then deactivate FlexAddress, again.

The SD card is properly installed and all the firmware or software updates are installed. The FlexAddress is active, but the server deployment screen does not display the options to deploy it? What is wrong?

This is a browser caching issue. Shut down the browser and relaunch.

What happens to FlexAddress if I need to reset my chassis configuration using the RACADM command, racresetcfg?

The FlexAddress feature will still be activated and ready to use. All fabrics and slots are selected as default.

After disabling only the FlexAddressPlus feature (leaving FlexAddress still activated), why does the racadm setflexaddr command on the (stillactive) CMC fail?

If the CMC subsequently becomes active with the FlexAddressPlus feature card still in the card slot, the FlexAddressPlus feature gets re-activated, and the slot or fabric flexaddress configuration changes can resume.