Users Guide

Frequently asked questions

1. Question: Can you provide information about licensing of Dell EMC OpenManage Plug-in for Nagios XI?

Answer: You can install and use this plug-in for free.

2. Question: What are the Dell EMC hardware models supported by the plug-in?

Answer: For the list of supported Dell EMC platforms, see Support matrix.

3. Question: I have an earlier generation of servers (9th Generation – 11th Generation) in my data center. Can I still monitor them using

the plug-in?

Answer: No, you cannot monitor earlier generations of servers (9th Generation through 11th Generation) using this plug-in. You can

only monitor Dell EMC servers through iDRAC with LC, supported for 12th and later generations of PowerEdge servers using this plug-

in. There are other plug-ins available on Nagios Exchange using which you can monitor earlier generation of servers.

4. Question: What is the difference between in-band versus out-of-band (OOB) method of monitoring Dell EMC servers?

Answer: There are two ways to monitor Dell EMC servers, one is by using in-band method through software called OpenManage

Server Administrator (OMSA) installed on a server operating system and the other is out-of-band method through iDRAC with LC.

iDRAC with LC, a hardware, is on the server motherboard and iDRAC with LC enables system administrators to monitor and manage

Dell EMC servers regardless of whether the machine is powered on, or if an operating system is installed or functional. The technology

works from any location and without the use of software agents like OMSA. By contrast, in-band management, that is, OMSA must be

installed on the server being managed and only works after the machine is booted and the operating system is running and functional.

The OMSA software has its limitations such as it does not allow access to BIOS settings or the reinstallation of the operating system

and cannot be used to fix problems that prevent the system from booting.

5. Question: Can I monitor Dell EMC servers using OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) agent instead of iDRAC with LC using

this plug-in?

Answer: No, by using this plug-in, you cannot monitor Dell EMC servers using OMSA agent. However, there are other plug-ins

available on Nagios Exchange using which you can achieve the same. For more information, regarding the list of available Dell EMC

Plug-ins, visit URL: exchange.nagios.org/directory/Plugins/Hardware/Server-Hardware/Dell.

6. Question: How is this plug-in different from other plug-ins available on the Nagios Exchange site?

Answer: The primary functionality of this plug-in is to monitor the supported Dell EMC devices’ hardware through an agent-free, out-

of-band method using iDRAC with LC (PowerEdge servers), Dell EMC Chassis, and Dell EMC Storage Arrays. With this plug-in, you

can get a comprehensive hardware-level information about the discovered Dell EMC devices (including overall and component-level

health monitoring) through SNMP and WSMan protocols as supported by the devices. The plug-in enables you to monitor alerts or

events (traps) generated from Dell EMC devices and supports web console launch for the same to perform further troubleshooting,

configuration, and management activities. Some of the capabilities provided here are not available in other plug-ins present on Nagios

Exchange.

7. Question: What are the languages supported by the plug-in?

Answer: The plug-in currently supports only English language.

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