OME New Feature Requests/Recommendations

Great list!  Thanks for posting.  My laptop battery is low, so if I only get to part of the list, I will finish up tomorrow. :)

Thanks,

Rob

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I have been using OME for the past couple weeks and have really been impressed with some of its abilities.  That being said, I have started a list of Feature Requests/Recommendations that I think could really help OME's usability.  Some are small annoyances, others could be categorized as major changes.  I am interested to see what the community thinks.  Maybe we can get some of these implemented or at least on the list for the next release.  Let me know what you think! Copy and Paste - Due to the fact that most of the interface is Silverlight, I find myself not being able to copy and paste when I really need to such as when I am on the Device Details page.  For example, what if I want to copy the Service Tag under Device Information?  I can't.  Why? I know, it is a  bit of a bother.  Try the export icon top/right of the screen.  It will export to HTML and you can copy/paste from there.  We are looking at better options. A Back Button from the Device Details Page - So this is a usability thing and I can see how if you use the interface differently, it is unneeded.  When I am on the Device Summary Page and I double-click a device, I go to the Device Details page.  What if I want to go back to the Device Summary Page?  There is no option for this except to either A) Click a different Device Group and then click the Device group where the server is or B) expand the tree and find the server in the list.  I am managing hundreds of servers with OME and using the tree makes if difficult to narrow my results down.  What i would like to see is a simple "Back to Device Summary" button at the top or the Device Details page that takes me back to where I was. OR I would like to when you double click on a device, it opens the Detail page, BUT at the same time it expands the Device Group Tree and highlights the Device for me. (Please let me know if this needs more explanation) Ok, I understand this request.  Will pass along. Customizable Headers - When on the Devices Summary page for a Device Group, I would like to be able to Customize what headers are shown.  Currently, you see Health Status, Connection Status, Device Name, etc..  What if I wanted to see the OS from this view? or the RAC IP addresses?  I would like to have a Column Chooser option here (if that is possible). Ok, I understand this request.  Will pass along. Some explanation about the Statuses...why is it red/yellow/unknown? - The interface is filled with Icons with little to no explanation of what they mean.  I see a Red X.  That means some is wrong....but what?  I would like be able to either click on the icon or at least mouseover it and get some indication of what the big Red X means.  This is particularly annoying when it is the Unknown (?) icon.  Does that mean the version is wrong?  What version do I need?  Where can I download it?  Is the server communicating incorrectly with OME?  I would like to see some type of explanation of what the problem is AND how to fix it. So a server has a Red-X in the device tree.  You should right click and launch the element manager (for a server, launch OMSA/Server Administrator).  The element manager will give you the details on the critical state. Unknown status generally means there is some trouble communicating with the health agent on the device (e.g., snmp).  Let me see if one of our whitepapers goes into more background on this. Application Launch Tools (and others) for the Device Details Page - When I double click a device from the Device Summary page, I get all the information about the device, which is awesome.  What I do not get is the ability (from this screen) to RDP or Refresh the Inventory or any other of the Right-Click tasks that are provided to me on the previous screen.  I am aware that this can be addressed by finding the Device in the tree view and Right-clicking it there, but again, if I arrived at the Device Details screen by double-clicking the Device on the Device Summary page,  I have to go back, expand the tree, find the server (out of 400+ servers), and then right click.  I would like to see buttons across the top of the Device Details page that are similar to a toolbar with options like: Refresh Inventory, Connect using RDP, Open OMSA, Open DRAC, Add to Group, Blink....and eventually....Power On/Off (without going into DRAC), Configure DRAC IP (if not already configured), Run Remote Task (with a dropdown of remote tasks), etc..  It would be particularly useful if this was also customizable to allow me to add 'bookmarks' to custom Remote Tasks.  For example, I have a Remote Tasks that allows me to clear the SEL Log.  I can add a button to this toolbar that allows me simply click the button and it automatically schedules the task. Ok, interesting.  Most folks just use the tree and RDP from there.  But got it...thx. Firmware Recommendations from the Device Details page - I would like to see an additional column under the Firmware Information section on the Device Details page that shows whether or not the version that is installed is Compliant.  And if the version that is installed is not compliant, I would like to see a button that I can easily click to begin the update process (and maybe another column that tells me whether the update will require a reboot?).   We may have something like this in the next version to be released soon. Links to Order Replacement Parts - I would like to see a column (where appropriate) that links me to the Dell Parts page for the part in question.  For example, OMSA is reporting that I have a bad DIMM in slot 4 and I would like to replace it.  I would like to be able to open the Device Details page, scroll down to the Memory section, find the DIMM and click an "Order Replacement" Link that takes me directly to the page where I can order the replacement.  Yeah, we have the FRU table with that info, but no links to order the parts.  This has been considered. Deploy/Update OMSA - Not a lot of explanation needed here.  I know this is possible using a Remote Task, but I would like to see the ability to natively update OMSA to the latest possible version for the hardware of the Device. This has been discussed.  Good to have this feedback. This list is growing everyday, so I will probably add some more on down the line.  I would like to make it clear that OME is awesome and provides REAL value in its current state, but there are small shortcomings that, if addressed, would really change the playing field. I look forward to hearing what Dell and the TechCenter Community has to say about these suggestions. Lots of good items here.  Thanks for taking the time.  We will (really) send this to OME marketing for consideration. Thanks,  Casey

Awesome!  Can't wait for that.  I also remembered a simple one that I forgot to mention yesterday.  

Global Search Menu

       - I would like to see a Search Box that lives at the top of the screen (top right-hand corner, under the "Support | Help | About" menus).

Update:

Just noticed that we already added this feature in the next release of OME (v1.1).  So look for that.

Rob

... B) expand the tree and find the server in the list...

We added this exact feature that it will auto-navigate you in the tree (first instance) to the selection when you double click on it in the grid.

Yep, on our list for sure.  That won't hit in the next release (a few weeks away).  But on our list for strong consideration for the following.  I'm hoping it makes it.

Rob

Hi there.

Got it.  Yeah, I will pass this one along too.

One thing you can do (though it probably doesn't do exactly what you are looking for) is to right click on the All Devices node and create a new group.  Then you can click exactly what Unknown devices you want to put in the group.  It does not _move_ them to the new group and they will still be in the Unknown group.  But it might help some folks depending on exactly what they are trying to do.

Thanks for the idea,

Rob

Here is one more feature request I didn't see in the OP's list (maybe I missed it) - ability to manually assign/reassign device type. 

We are currently using v1.1, and a lot of our devices are coming up as unknowns. It would be great to be able to manually put these devices in the groups that they belong. 

Another Feature Request would be the ability to Have the home portal show only "Not Acknowledged" alerts In the "Alerts by Severity" report and the alert report . I can Group the alerts but the Alerts by Severity Pie chart shows all alerts. The only way to clear the alerts that I have found is to Delete them, and then I lose the history.

Hi Mike, sure I will pass this along.  

Though not for the pie chart, you can also click on the filter icon next to acknowledge and filter those out, so the alerts that are acknowledged will not show up in the grid.

I think the next step for us would be to have that reflected in the pie chart on the portal.

Thanks,

Rob

A companion suggestion to being able to change columns in the overall list view, It would be really awesome to be able to see more details on warranty status on the main manage device list. Right now I have to go to reports, go to warranty information and filter the list to the machine I want. Or take the service tag to the website. I find myself jumping back and forth very often when almost all the other reports are on that main details portal.

Thanks for the post.

When you say "overall list view" can you be more specific on the screen?  Do you mean the device inventory page?

Also, for the next release, we will be extending warranty to include an 'alert' when the warranty gets within a specified range.

Regards,

Rob

Ok, yeah, I think I comprehend the request now.  I will send it over to the team for consideration.

Best regards,

Rob

Yes, the device inventory page. Right now checking warranty status is something you have to dig for and almost all the rest of the "Report" side stuff is already listed on that page.