DRAC III firmware 3.37 causes console redirection to fail?

Question

I have encountered an issue with our Dell 2650's DRAC III card after performing an update of the firmware from version 3.12 to 3.37 (which I believe is the most current version). I can open the RAC management interface by browsing to the DRAC's IP address, but when I try to open the console redirection app, I'm given a message that the "console redirection feature is unavailable." This I find particularly intriguing, because the console redirection feature worked just fine on version 3.12.

I've checked to make sure that the RAC services are indeed running, everything looks good except for the console redirection failure.

If anyone can either a) tell me how to fix the console redirection of version 3.37 or b) provide me with a way of downgrading the firmware version of the card back to 3.12, I'd appreciate it!

ATTENTION DELL REPS: Based on some other threads I've seen, this apparently has been an issue now over the last couple revisions of the firmware for this hardware. What's the status of getting a working firmware package for the PE2650?

divot2001 · Answer

Just downgrade the RAC3 firmware to v.3.35 using the web console or update package (no restart required) and reset the DRAC to restore complete functionality.   If you are trying to use OpenManage then you clearly have OpenManage Server Administrator installed so you can run 'racadm racreset' to reset the DRAC with the 3.35 firmware.  Again no restart is needed.   You may want to clear the browser's cache and close/reopen the web interface if you receive any XML related errors due to the firmware update.

Steve9642 · Answer

After contacting Dell support, I was given a link to download the 3.12 firmware. After installing the old firmware, the console redirection worked fine again.

The download link they gave me was: http://ftp.us.dell.com/esm/RAC-FRMW-R76710.exe

They've still not figured out why versions 3.35 or 3.37 kills the console redirection feature of the DRAC III. If nothing else, I hope the above link helps anyone else out who does a firmware update and encounters a similar issue!

divot2001 · Answer

Update Package- Windows - v.3.35 http://ftp.us.dell.com/esm/RAC_FRMW_WIN_R113524.EXE   Update Package- Linux - v.3.35 http://ftp.us.dell.com/esm/RAC_FRMW_LX_R113524.BIN   You shouldn't run such an old release of the firmware.  I use the above links all the time so just run the appropriate one for your operating system.    Don't forget to run the command 'racadm racreset' or you'll need to restart the server.

Normunds_K · Answer

DRAC III firmware 3.35 works for me (on PE 6650 with w2k3 server).   One issue though is that via Openmanage Server manager (several version of server manager tried, including the latest 5.2) certain settings can't be configured, like smtp relay for drac.   RACADM command-line utility still works for this.   I don't want to jump into conclusions, but it seems rather clear that this type of hardware is no longer a priority for developers.. pity

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DRAC III firmware 3.37 causes console redirection to fail?

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