Dell iDRAC Service Module 6.0.1.0 User’s Guide

Frequently asked questions

This section lists some frequently asked questions about the iDRAC Service Module (iSM).

How do I know that the iSM is running on my system?

To verify that the iSM is installed on your system,

On the Microsoft Windows operating system, run the command service.msc. Check the list of services for the service named DSM iDRAC Service Module.
On the Linux operating system, run the command /etc/init.d/dcismeng status. If iSM is installed and running, the status is displayed as running.

NOTE:Use the systemctl status dcismeng.service command instead of the init.d command to check if the iSM is installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems.

How do I know which version of the iSM I have on my system?

To check the version of the iSM installed on the system, click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features. The version of the installed iSM is listed in the Version tab. You can also check the version by go to My Computer > Uninstall or change a program.

On the Linux operating system, run the following command:

rpm -qa | grep dcism

On the VMware ESXi 8.0 operating system, run the following command:

esxcli software vib get --vibname=dellism

What is the minimum permission level required to install iSM?

To install iSM, you must have operating system administrator level privileges.

I see the message "The iSM is unable to communicate with iDRAC using the OS to iDRAC Pass-through channel" in the operating system log files, even when the OS to iDRAC Pass-through over USBNIC is configured properly. Why do I get this message?

iSM uses the OS to iDRAC Pass-through over USBNIC to establish communication with iDRAC. Sometimes, the communication is not established though the USBNIC interface is configured with the correct IP endpoints. This may happen when the host operating system routing table has multiple entries for the same destination mask and the USBNIC destination is not listed as the first one in routing order.

NOTE:You might observe the message mentioned above even after the communication has started.

Table 1. Routing order detailsThe following table provides information about the routing order.
Destination	Gateway	Genmask	Flags	Metric	Use Iface
default	10.94.148.1	0.0.0.0	UG	1024	0 em1
10.94.148.0	0.0.0.0	255.255.255.0	U	0	0 em1
link-local	0.0.0.0	255.255.255.0	U	0	0 em1
link-local	0.0.0.0	255.255.255.0	U	0	0 enp0s20u12u3

In the example enp0s20u12u3 is the USBNIC interface. The link-local destination mask is repeated, and the USBNIC is not the first one listed. This results in the connectivity issue between iSM and iDRAC over the OS to iDRAC Pass-through. To troubleshoot the connectivity issue, ensure that the iDRAC USBNIC IPv4 address—by default it is 169.254.1.1—is reachable from the host operating system. If it is not reachable from the host operating system do one of the following:

Change the iDRAC USBNIC address on a unique destination mask.
Delete the unwanted entries from the routing table to ensure that USBNIC is chosen by route when the host wants to reach the iDRAC USBNIC IPv4 address.

Whenever I try to install iSM, the following error message is displayed: This operating system is not supported.

iSM can be installed only on supported operating systems. For information about operating systems that are supported, see Supported operating systems.

Where do I find the Replicated LifeCycle log on my operating system?

To view the replicated Lifecycle log files:

Table 2. Operating system and locationOperating system location.
Operating System	Location
Microsoft Windows	Event viewer > Windows Logs > <Existing group or Custom folder>. All the iSM Lifecycle log files are replicated under the source name iDRAC Service Module.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux	/var/log/messages
VMware ESXi	/var/log/syslog.log

What is the default SNMP protocol configured in iSM to send alerts in Linux operating systems?

By default, the SNMP multiplexing protocol (SMUX) is configured in iSM to send alerts.

SMUX is not supported on my system. Which protocol should I configure to send alerts?

If SMUX is not supported on your system, Agent-x is used as a default protocol.

How do I configure iSM to use the Agent-x protocol to send alerts by default?

You can configure Agent-x as the default protocol using ./Enable-iDRACSNMPTrap.sh 1/agentx –force command. If –force is not specified, ensure that the net-SNMP is configured and restarts the snmpd service.

What are the Linux-dependent packages or executables I should install while completing the Linux installation?

To view the list of Linux-dependent packages, see Linux dependencies.

I created a custom folder in Windows Event Viewer, but the Lifecycle log files are not replicated in my custom folder. What do I have to do now to replicate the Lifecycle log files?

Ensure that you close the Windows Event Viewer after creating the custom folder. Open the Windows Event Viewer again to view the replicated Lifecycle log files.

I chose the custom install option from the Graphical User Interface during iSM installation and disabled a feature, but I am not able to enable the feature using any of the other interfaces. How do I enable the feature again?

On systems running Microsoft Windows, a feature that is enabled using the installer and disabled using any interface other than the installer can only be enabled using the same interface or the installer in Graphical User Interface mode.

For example, you may not be able to enable a feature that was disabled from the Graphical User Interface during iSM installation using the RACADM CLI commands.

I am seeing 169.254.0.2 as the source IP address in the iDRAC SNMP trap received through iSM. How do I troubleshoot the issue?

On the Linux operating system, the iDRAC SNMP traps received through the host operating system displays the hostname or source IP address as 169.254.0.2 instead of the actual host operating system name or IP address. This is determined by the operating system to populate the entry before rendering the trap to the user.

I have configured my OS to iDRAC Pass-through to LOM and when I try to run dcism-sync, the update operation is unsuccessful. What can be done?

OS to iDRAC Pass-through must be configured to use USB-NIC mode. This is a pre-requisite for iSM installation and update.

I can enable or disable the WMIInfo feature of iSM on Linux and VMware ESXi using RACADM and WS-Man commands. Does this impact my iSM configuration on the host operating system?

The WMIInfo feature of iSM is applicable only to Microsoft Windows operating systems. However, enabling or disabling this feature from any of the iDRAC interfaces on any operating system other than Microsoft Windows does not impact the iSM configuration on the host operating system.

If I delete the IP address of the USBNIC interface on the host operating system, then iSM is unable to communicate with iDRAC.

The iSM configures the host operating system USBNIC interface only once. Later, if you bring down the USBNIC interface on the host operating system by deleting the IP address, making the interface link down or disabling the IPV4 address on this interface, then iSM retains the user configuration and does not override the interface settings. To restore the communication between iSM and iDRAC, restart the iSM service on the host operating system.

After installing iSM using the batch file ISM_Win.BAT from the iDRAC exposed logical partition "SMINST" on the Microsoft Windows operating system, I see a console message saying "The system cannot find the file specified."

After iSM is installed successfully, the logical partition SMINST is unmounted from the host operating system. This message appears if the BAT script is invoked from the SMINST partition itself. The installation is successful. No action is required by the user.

Why is the NVMe prepare to remove operation unsuccessful on iDRAC?

The NVMe Prepare to remove operation on disk with storage capacity more than 5 TB takes more time to shutdown than expected. As a result, the preparation to remove job status is unsuccessful on iDRAC. However, the disk is removed from the operating system, and the correct status of the prepare to remove operation is reflected in the iSM operating system log.

iDRAC to OMSA SNMP alert mapping gets enabled when OMSA is running.

To disable iSM Host SNMP OMSA alert, restart the iDRAC Service Module.

"Signature not okay" (GPG key) error message is displayed during the installation of iSM on Linux operating system.

Install the Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG) key to verify the Linux DUP digital signature on your system. To install the GPG key, complete the following steps:

To download the GPG key, run the following command:

wget https://linux.dell.com//repo/pgp_pubkeys/0x1285491434D8786F.asc -O RPM-GPG-KEY

To import the public key to the gpg trust database, run the following command:
```
rpm --import RPM-GPG-KEY
```
Retry the installation.

How does iSM communicate with iDRAC?

iSM communicates with iDRAC using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) over Transmission Connect Protocol (TCP) in a client/server model. The communication is a point-to-point connection using link-local IP address. The interface supports IPv4 address. Both the iDRAC and host USBNIC interface addresses must be within the same subnet.

For example, if the iDRAC USBNIC interface is configured as 169.254.1.1 with subnet 255.255.255.0, then the USBNIC interface on the host must be configured as 169.254.1.2 with subnet 255.255.255.0. Ensure that there are no IP address conflicts between any two interfaces on the host operating system.