PowerEdge: How to Install OpenManage Server Administrator on VMware to Collect Logs

This article describes the installation process of OpenManage Server Administrator VIB (OMSA) on VMware ESXi 6.x.

Table of Contents

1. Download Dell OpenManage Server Administrator vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB).
2. Upload VIB to Datastore
3. Rebooting the Host
4. OMSA Download and Installation for Windows
5. Collecting logs with SupportAssist Enterprise

Download Dell OpenManage Server Administrator vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB)

To download Dell OpenManage Server Administrator vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB) according to your ESXi version and your server model.

1. Go to Dell Support > Driver and Downloads page and enter your server model, or enter service tag.
2. Click Drivers & Downloads Tab.
3. Select your Operating System.
4. Keyword OMSA 
5. Download the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB) for your ESXi version. 

Figure 1: Download OMSA for VMware.

Upload VIB to Datastore

1. Extract the ".zip" file that is downloaded from Drivers & Downloads and extract all files.
2. Take note of the location of the .vib file
3. Select the Host
4. Click Storage 
5. In the Storage panel, select the required Datastore
6. Click Data Store Browser
   
   
   Figure 2: Screenshot of Data Store Browser 
7. On Datastore Browser, click Upload icon and then Upload File.

1. Extract the ".zip" file that is downloaded from Drivers & Downloads and extract all files.
2. Take note of the location of the .vib file
3. Click "Manage" on the navigator pane on left.
4. Click the "Package" tab and click "Install Update."
5. Fill out the file path on the installation window.
   
   Figure 3: Install and Update the Zip File from Drivers & Downloads
    
6. Go to the ".vib" file, for example, /vmfs/volumes/[datastore_name]/cross_dell-openmanage-esxi_9.3.0.ESXi670-3465.vib
   
   

Figure 4: Go to the VIB File.

7. Reboot the Host to complete the install

VIB Installation using SSH

1. Select the host.
2. In Actions drop-down, select Enable SSH

Figure 5: Screenshot of VIB Installation Using SSH

3. Access the host with root user using the SSH Console in the actions drop-down or programs like PuTTY (or any SSH client tool).

Figure 6: Screenshot of SSH Console Selection

4. Install the VIB with the command line below. Check the correct path according to your installation package.

esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/[datastore_name]/cross_dell-openmanage-esxi_9.3.0.ESXi670-3465.vi

If you are using the offline bundle, use below command.

esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/[datastore_name]/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-9.3.0-3465.VIB-ESX67i_A00.zip 

On some installations like ESXi 5.1, the ZIP file must be located in /var/log/VMware. This can be uploaded to that patch using FileZilla.

If the installation succeeds, the below screen is displayed:

Figure 7: Screenshot of Successful Installation

Rebooting the Host
 

1. On the Host, right-click and select Reboot.
   
   

OMSA Download and Installation for Windows

To access the Dell OpenManage web interface from any system on the same network as the host, download and install OpenManage Server Administrator on your management or client system that is used to access the remote OMSA. 

1. Go to Dell Support > Driver and Downloads page and enter your server model, or enter service tag.
2. Click Drivers & Downloads Tab.
3. Select your Operating System.
4. Keyword OMSA 

Once downloaded, extract and install the file from the C:\OpenManage\windows folder.

1. After the installation, open the OpenManage Server Administrator shortcut on the desktop
   
   

2. Provide the IP address of the ESXi host, user (root), and password. Ensure the option "Ignore certificate warnings" is checked.

Figure 10: Screenshot of Ignore Certificate Warnings Checkbox.

Figure 11: Screenshot of Remote OpenManage Server Administrator 

Collect logs with SupportAssist Enterprise.

Once the VIB is installed on the VMware server, the log collection can be started from the SupportAssist Enterprise console. 

The console must be installed on a different server. A virtual machine can be used for this. 

Once the console is installed, the next step is to discover and add the server in the SAE console. Once this is done, the button "Start SupportAssist Collection" is available for use.