Skip to main content

iDRAC 8/7 v2.30.30.30 User’s Guide

PDF

Interfaces and protocols to access iDRAC

The following table lists the interfaces to access iDRAC.

NOTE: Using more than one interface at the same time may generate unexpected results.

Table 1. Interfaces and protocols to access iDRAC
Interface or Protocol	Description
iDRAC Settings Utility	Use the iDRAC Settings utility to perform pre-OS operations. It has a subset of the features that are available in iDRAC web interface along with other features. To access iDRAC Settings utility, press `<F2>` during boot and then click iDRAC Settings on the System Setup Main Menu page.
iDRAC web Interface	Use the iDRAC web interface to manage iDRAC and monitor the managed system. The browser connects to the web server through the HTTPS port. Data streams are encrypted using 128-bit SSL to provide privacy and integrity. Any connection to the HTTP port is redirected to HTTPS. Administrators can upload their own SSL certificate through an SSL CSR generation process to secure the web server. The default HTTP and HTTPS ports can be changed. The user access is based on user privileges.
RACADM	Use this command-line utility to perform iDRAC and server management. You can use RACADM locally and remotely. Local RACADM command-line interface runs on the managed systems that have Server Administrator installed. Local RACADM communicates with iDRAC through its in-band IPMI host interface. Since it is installed on the local managed system, users are required to log in to the operating system to run this utility. A user must have a full administrator privilege or be a root user to use this utility. Remote RACADM is a client utility that runs on a management station. It uses the out-of-band network interface to run RACADM commands on the managed system and uses the HTTPs channel. The –r option runs the RACADM command over a network. Firmware RACADM is accessible by logging in to iDRAC using SSH or telnet. You can run the firmware RACADM commands without specifying the iDRAC IP, user name, or password. You do not have to specify the iDRAC IP, user name, or password to run the firmware RACADM commands. After you enter the RACADM prompt, you can directly run the commands without the racadm prefix.
Server LCD Panel/Chassis LCD Panel	Use the LCD on the server front panel to: View alerts, iDRAC IP or MAC address, user programmable strings. Set DHCP Configure iDRAC static IP settings. For blade servers, the LCD is on the chassis front panel and is shared between all the blades. To reset iDRAC without rebooting the server, press and hold the System Identification button for 16 seconds.
CMC web Interface	In addition to monitoring and managing the chassis, use the CMC web interface to: View the status of a managed system Update iDRAC firmware Configure iDRAC network settings Log in to iDRAC web interface Start, stop, or reset the managed system Update BIOS, PERC, and supported network adapters
Lifecycle Controller	Use Lifecycle Controller to perform iDRAC configurations. To access Lifecycle Controller, press <F10> during boot and go to System Setup > Advanced Hardware Configuration > iDRAC Settings . For more information, see Lifecycle Controller User’s Guide available at dell.com/idracmanuals.
Telnet	Use Telnet to access iDRAC where you can run RACADM and SMCLP commands. For details about RACADM, see iDRAC RACADM Command Line Interface Reference Guide available at dell.com/idracmanuals. For details about SMCLP, see Using SMCLP . NOTE: Telnet is not a secure protocol and is disabled by default. Telnet transmits all data, including passwords in plain text. When transmitting sensitive information, use the SSH interface.
SSH	Use SSH to run RACADM and SMCLP commands. It provides the same capabilities as the Telnet console using an encrypted transport layer for higher security. The SSH service is enabled by default on iDRAC. The SSH service can be disabled in iDRAC. iDRAC only supports SSH version 2 with DSA and the RSA host key algorithm. A unique 1024-bit DSA and 1024-bit RSA host key is generated when you power-up iDRAC for the first time.
IPMITool	Use the IPMITool to access the remote system’s basic management features through iDRAC. The interface includes local IPMI, IPMI over LAN, IPMI over Serial, and Serial over LAN. For more information on IPMITool, see the Dell OpenManage Baseboard Management Controller Utilities User’s Guide at dell.com/idracmanuals. NOTE: IPMI version 1.5 is not supported.
VMCLI	Use the Virtual Media Command Line Interface (VMCLI) to access a remote media through the management station and deploy operating systems on multiple managed systems.
SMCLP	Use Server Management Workgroup Server Management-Command Line Protocol (SMCLP) to perform systems management tasks. This is available through SSH or Telnet. For more information about SMCLP, see Using SMCLP.
WS-MAN	The LC-Remote Service is based on the WS-Management protocol to do one-to-many systems management tasks. You must use WS-MAN client such as WinRM client (Windows) or the OpenWSMAN client (Linux) to use the LC-Remote Services functionality. You can also use Power Shell and Python to script to the WS-MAN interface. Web Services for Management (WS-Management) are a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)–based protocol used for systems management. iDRAC uses WS–Management to convey Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Common Information Model (CIM)–based management information. The CIM information defines the semantics and information types that can be modified in a managed system. The data available through WS-Management is provided by iDRAC instrumentation interface mapped to the DMTF profiles and extension profiles. For more information, see the following: Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services User’s Guide available at dell.com/idracmanuals. Lifecycle Controller Integration Best Practices Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals. Lifecycle Controller page on Dell TechCenter — delltechcenter.com/page/Lifecycle+Controller Lifecycle Controller WS-Management Script Center — delltechcenter.com/page/Scripting+the+Dell+Lifecycle+Controller MOFs and Profiles — delltechcenter.com/page/DCIM.Library DTMF website — dmtf.org/standards/profiles/