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12154
February 23rd, 2011 09:00
Intro to Dell Systems Management?
I haven't gotten into Systems Management for Dell servers yet and am trying to find a starting point to learn the technologies, software, and best practices, ideally from basic to advanced so the research is all inclusive. BUT, only for the stuff that comes with the servers, like the BMC, the iDRAC6 Enterprise, and any software that ships or is available free. I don't intend to purchase any additional products, IP KVM's, consulting services or anything like that.
Has Dell prepared anything of that nature or does one have to piece it all together manually? Speaking of manuals, I went to the support page, then to Manuals and to Syste4ms maagement and there's a host of subpages with user guides, version tracking etc. but what I'm curious about is how many of the listed products are outdated and/or replaced by something new. Example, there are about 4 or 5 different "systems update utilities" of one sort or another, some specify for servers or clients but some just say "systems" when you read the Intro sections.
I can understand that if you follow and work with Dell sysmgmt products over the years that it's probably easy to follow all this progression but for a newcomer, it kind of seems like Dell may not really be putting it all together in a logical fashion. I get the feeling there is a lot of overlapping functionality in these products but there's no clear indication of what is the most current and what has become outdated, short of reading every User Guide there is.
Please advise! :)
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theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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February 23rd, 2011 09:00
You could go to LearnDell.com and purchase a learning course that would probably start with the latest stuff, but what I would do, is go to the Drivers and Downloads section of support.dell.com and look at what is available for the servers you have. Then start your studying/experimenting/learning from there, asking us specific questions as you go. Dell puts out a manual for every revision of every utility, so you kind of have to know what the lastest utility and/or version (or the most relevant to your situation) to start learning it.
Some of us who have been around this stuff for a long time may not know exactly where to start without writing a book on the subject :), but given some kind of direction, we might be able to point you in the right direction (what do you need to manage, what do you want/need to do/accomplish, what systems do you have, etc.).
viProCon
11 Posts
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February 23rd, 2011 09:00
I just want to add to my post by again emphasizing the FREE options (Ok, they're not free, their cost is built into the servers/systems you buy but anyway). Anytime I browse any Dell solutions I am always led to something that's being sold to me with no clear discintion between the stuff that costs more money and the stuff that doesn't. All I need to look at for now is what can I accomplish sysmgmt-wise with the stuff that comes with the servers out of the box, or by way of a free download. Afterwards if I want more functionality I'll look into what else is offered. Thanks!
james.coley
6 Posts
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February 24th, 2011 09:00
One more link that might prove to be useful:
http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/Dell+OpenManage+Downloads+Explained
james.coley
6 Posts
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February 24th, 2011 09:00
Paying for training in order to comprehend the available free product offerings seems counter-intuitive. :emotion-4:
Here's the current pointer to the different OpenManage Releases: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/omswrels/index.htm
The OpenManage components most people are going to care about:
theflash1932
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February 24th, 2011 09:00
"Paying for training in order to comprehend the available free product offerings seems counter-intuitive."
Sure, which is why I didn't "recommend" it - it isn't necessary - but as the author noted, these products are not "free" but covered by the cost of the server hardware, so if he wants or needs to get down and dirty and quickly learn and implement it, he should at least know it's an option.
viProCon
11 Posts
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February 24th, 2011 18:00
That's a good idea about just going to the site to see what's available on new systems and basing research on those findings - hopefully the web people will not have just put everything in one big list including the old stuff.
As to the LearnDell stuff, maybe I'm just spoiled by other vendors but as a Dell reseller if they want me to sell their stuff I shouldn't really have to pay to learn it. We'll see, for the most part it's not hard t learn it's just a question of sifting through the unnecessary material on a limited time budget. I'll still check it out though.
viProCon
11 Posts
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February 24th, 2011 18:00
Sorry I flew past some of the other posts before I replied I've bookmarked all the links provided and will follow-up with those when the clock allows it - meanwhile it's good to know you guys are ready to fire off helpful advice - this being my first crack at the Dell forums I was worried it'd be one of those ones where you get 1 in 10 posted replied to - even less if yours is a wordy one.
Not to knock Dell at all, but they might want to look at how Symantec does forums, with the rewards system and all that. Otherwise it's just good to know the sysmgmt forum can be relied on as a good resource.
Once I have more of an idea of what management products I'll be using I'll definitely be on here with more specific questions. Thanks again guys.
theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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February 24th, 2011 19:00
"Not to knock Dell"
I'll do it :) I HATE the format of Dell's forums. They're slow to load, there's too much useless junk, you can only see the post you reply to rather than the whole thread as you compose, and what's the point of showing a person's number of posts? Anyway ... there, I've said it, and I'll sleep better having done so :) I think Experts-Exchange is a great example of how to better implement a support forum.
Take care!