Getting public IP of my DRAC 5

Hello Rahul

1. Why it cannot be configured with DHCP service (With my modem router connecting to internet as the provider).

It sounds like the DRAC is having a difficult time saving the DHCP information. I would recommend resetting the DRAC to default and attempting again. I would recommend against using a DHCP address since you need to know the IP address to the DRAC to be able to connect. If you configure it for DHCP then it could change.

2. How is it possible (Without having a static address for its NIC) to get the public IP address of its NIC? 3. How to set it up with my DynDNS account?

This functionality has nothing to do with the DRAC. This has to do with your personal network, and an understanding of how networks operate.

To accomplish what you are wanting to do then I would suggest using port forwarding on your switch/router. Here is an example of a way to configure it:

• Find out what your public IP address is. You probably only have one public IP address. This is not something you program into the DRAC. I would recommend going to http://www.ipchicken.com/ It will list your external/public IP address. I will use 72.1.1.1 as an example.
• Make up a port, it does not have to be anything specific, but it should be a port that is not used by anything else. I will use port 4444 in this example. After you find out your public IP and make up a port then register that with dyndns. It will look like this 72.1.1.1:4444
• After you have registered the DNS name with that IP address then when you type in that DNS name to a browser address it will direct you to the associated IP address(72.1.1.1:4444)
• The next step is to forward that port to your DRACs IP address. To do that log into your router. Every router is different so you will have to refer to your routers documentation on how to configure port forwarding. Forward port 4444 to the IP address of the DRAC(e.g. 192.168.100.1).

After you set all of that up you should be able to type in DYNDNSADDRESS to your web browser and be routed to your DRAC. Most internet service providers block inbound web traffic and some secure traffic. You will likely need to be on a business line with unrestricted transmission to perform this since the DRAC passes encrypted traffic and several types of traffic.

This is well outside the scope of support the DRAC was designed for, so I'm not sure if it will work. I have not tested this.

Thanks

am only wondering whether the "ipchicken.com" will get the IP address of the DRAC NIC as well

No, it only gets your public/external IP address. You cannot access your private IP address remotely. You can only access your public IP address over the WAN, so that is the only address you need. Your router/switch will route to addresses on your private network based on your network configuration, such as port forwarding.

The only address you can configure the DynDNS service to work with is your public/external IP.

Thanks

Hi Daniel - Thanks for the comprehensive answers. It may be another very basic question but I am only wondering whether the "ipchicken.com" will get the IP address of the DRAC NIC as well (Apart from the server NIC thats actually connected to the internet via modem/router)?

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for your quick responses. I tried with port forwarding rule and even saw the URL getting back to me with the certificate warning (Just what I get from within the LAN). But eventually it did not display the login page but said: "  took too long to respond. The website may be down, or you may be experiencing issues with your Internet connection."  So here are the steps I performed: 

1. I already have my hostname registered in DynDNS that resolves to its dynamic IP with the name as "hostname" (example). 

2. I made sure that the DRAC listens at port (SSL) 4433. 

3. Put a route in the modem/router to route all the requests coming for port 9999 to port 4433. (And then verified with "telnet hostname 9999")

4. On the web browser, I typed https://hostname:9999. It immediately asked me for certificate verification. And then I could also see the URL changing to: https://hostname:4433/cgi-bin/webcgi/login. However, as I mentioned above, after a few seconds I got the error response in the browser. 

Is it something to do with security bit the DRAC sends back that could be possibly blocked by the router? 

Thanks again, 

Rahul

Is it something to do with security bit the DRAC sends back that could be possibly blocked by the router?

It sounds like everything is set up correctly. I can't say for sure what the problem is, but my first guess would be that your ISP is blocking the traffic. I would suggest contacting your ISP and asking them if they block any type of traffic or ports.

Thanks