Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration For Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Version 2.
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Copyright © 2014 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Contents 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................7 What's New in This Release.....................................................................................................................................7 Existing Features and Functionalities....................................................................................................................... 8 Supported Operating Systems..........
Configuring Target Systems................................................................................................................................... 18 To Enable CSIOR for Earlier Server Generations:............................................................................................ 18 To Enable CSIOR for PowerEdge 12G Servers:................................................................................................ 18 Auto-Discovery and Handshake......................................
Platform Restore for a Collection............................................................................................................................41 Exporting the System Profiles in a Collection.................................................................................................. 41 Importing the System Profiles in a Collection.................................................................................................. 42 Configuring Part Replacement Properties for a Collection..
Dell Auto-Discovery Network Setup Specification................................................................................................ 64 Upgrade or Repair Issues....................................................................................................................................... 64 Troubleshooting the Viewing and Exporting of Lifecycle Controller Logs..............................................................64 Issues and Resolutions.............................................
1 Introduction Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration (DLCI) for Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager (Configuration Manager), Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (Configuration Manager) and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (Configuration Manager) enables the administrators to leverage the remote enablement capabilities of Dell Lifecycle Controller, available as part of the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC).
New Support Functionality Verison 6.3, VMware ESXi 5.5, VMware ESXi 5.1 U1 HDD using DLCI from Configuration Manager. Existing Features and Functionalities Table 2. Features and Functionalities Feature Functionality Configure and install operating system on PowerEdge 12G You can configure PowerEdge 12G or 11G servers using servers and PowerEdge 11G servers. Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration through Lifecycle Controller.
Feature Functionality You can also compare the applied NIC/CNA profiles against the NIC/CNA configurations of the systems and generate comparison reports. For more information, see: • • • Configuring NICs and CNAs for a System. Applying a NIC or CNA Profile on a Collection. Comparing NIC Or CNA Profiles Against Systems in a Collection.
Feature Functionality Config Utility This feature enables you to configure a collection of systems by using the remote enablement capabilities of Lifecycle Controller. For more information, see Using the Configuration Utility. Launching the iDRAC Console This feature enables you to launch the iDRAC console from the Task Viewer and from a system in the collection that contains Dell PowerEdge 11G or 12G systems. For more information, see Launching the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller Console.
Use Case Scenarios 2 This section describes typical use cases and tasks that you can perform with Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr). Common Prerequisites Before working on the user scenarios, it is recommended that you complete the following prerequisites. • • • • • • In Configuration Manager 2012, make sure that the system is discovered and present under Assets and Compliance → Devices → All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers.
Prerequisites • Common Prerequisites • RAID controller and firmware that supports Local Key Management Workflow 1. Launch the System Viewer utility on the Configuration Manager console for a particular system. For more information, see System Viewer Utility. 2. Select RAID Configuration on the System Viewer utility to load the RAID configuration of the system. For more information, see Viewing and Configuring RAID. 3. Launch Array Builder to create a RAID profile.
• Install Dell Server Deployment Pack version 2.1, available as an plugin and then create a task sequence using Dell Server Deployment Pack to apply drivers from Lifecycle Controller. For more information, see Applying Drivers From Lifecycle Controller. • Apply drivers from a Configuration Manager repository, for more information, see Dell Server Deployment Pack documentation available at dell.com/support/manuals.
Before You Begin Before you begin exporting the system profile for a single system or a collection: • Make sure that operations such as firmware update, operating system deployment, and firmware configurations are not running. • After you deploy the operating system using Lifecycle controller, the Original Equipment Manufacturer Drive (OEMDRV) is open for 18 hours as the Lifecycle Controller does not have the status of the operating system installation.
Before You Begin Before you begin importing the backup file to a system or collection, ensure that: • User Data is not present in the backup image file. If you overwrite the existing configuration with the backup image file, the user data is not restored. • During import, operations such as firmware update, operating system deployment, and firmware configurations are not running. • After you deploy the operating system using Lifecycle controller, the OEMDRV is open for 18 hours.
Workflow 1. To view the Lifecycle Controller logs of a single target system, launch the System Viewer utility. To view the Lifecycle Controller logs of a collection of systems, launch the Config Utility. For more information, see System Viewer Utility or Configuration Utility. 2. Select View Lifecycle Controller Logs on the System Viewer utility or the Config Utility. 3. For a single system, see Viewing Lifecycle Controller Logs. 4.
Using Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration 3 This chapter discusses the various operations that you can perform after you install Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration on Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (Configuration Manager). Before you begin using Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Configuration Manager, ensure that the target system is auto-discovered and present in the All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers collection on the Configuration Manager console.
Configuring Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration With Dell Connections License Manager Confirm that these prerequisites are available: • Site Server or Configuration Manager console components of Configuration Manager 2007 or Configuration Manager 2012 are installed and configured. • Dell Connections License Manager application is installed and configured with a valid license. To configure Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration with Dell Connections License Manager. 1.
3. Select Collect system inventory on Restart (CISOR). Auto-Discovery and Handshake The auto-discovery and handshake feature enables the iDRAC on target systems to locate the provisioning service and establish communication with the Site Server. The Dell Provisioning service provisions a management account and updates Configuration Manager with the new system.
12. Create a Lifecycle Controller Boot Media. For more information, see Creating a Lifecycle Controller Boot Media. Applying Drivers From the ConfigMgr Repository To apply drivers from the ConfigMgr repository: Apply driver packages for the selected operating systems in ConfigMgr. For more information on applying driver packages, see Dell Server Deployment Pack for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager User’s Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals.
The progress bar is displayed. 10. On completion, close the wizard. System Viewer Utility The System Viewer utility allows you to perform various operations from the source system to a single target system discovered under All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers on the Configuration Manager console. This utility works on a one-to-one relationship and you can perform the operations on target systems one at a time.
NOTE: You can launch Config Utility for any collection. 2.
Task Viewer The Task Viewer is an asynchronous component that hides in the task bar and displays the status of tasks handled by the Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for ConfigMgr. All the tasks are displayed in the Task Viewer. For example, longrunning tasks such as operating system deployment, or applying firmware updates to systems. The Task Viewer maintains a queue of tasks and displays up to twenty tasks at one time.
You can also use the GUI to configure the security. For more information, see Using the Graphical User Interface. Validating a Dell Factory-Issued Client Certificate on the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller for Auto-Discovery This security option requires that a system being discovered by the provisioning website during the discovery and handshake process has a valid factory-issued client certificate which is deployed to the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller.
Using Import.exe to Update Target System Information If you have discovered systems with Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Configuration Manager version 2.0.1 and updated the firmware after upgrading to version 2.1, then you must re-discover the systems if you have changed their hostname during operating system deployment. To avoid re-discovering the systems and avail the hostname change functionality: 1. Launch the command prompt on the target system. 2. Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\D
4. 5. You can: • Add new controllers and define rules for them, or edit the default controller and define the rules. For more information, see Controllers. • Add or edit variable conditions for the default controller or the controller that you add. For more information, see Variable Conditions. • Create new arrays from a variable condition, if required. For more information, see Arrays. • You can create an array, add additional disks, hot spares, or global hot spares to the array.
Deleting a Controller To delete a controller: 1. Select the controller and click Controllers → Delete Controller . A warning informing that all the attached arrays and disks will be deleted is displayed. 2. Click Yes to delete or No to cancel. NOTE: At least one controller is required on the server. If there is only one controller and you delete it, a message is displayed that the default controller was inserted because the last controller was deleted.
Array elements contain logical drives and physical disks. Adding a New Array To add a new array: 1. Under a variable condition, select a variable condition and click Arrays→ New Array. The Array Settings window is displayed. 2. Set the required RAID level from the Desired RAID Level drop-down menu. 3. On RAID levels 50 and 60, enter the span length of the array. 4. Click OK to apply the array, or Cancel to return to Array Builder. Editing an Array To edit an array: 1.
Deleting a Logical Drive To delete a logical drive: 1. Select the logical drive and click Logical Drives→ Delete Logical Drive. A message is displayed to confirm the delete operation. 2. Click Yes to delete or No to cancel. Disks (Array Disks) Disks can be part of arrays (or the non-RAID disks node) and are of the following types: • Standard disks — These are the basic, non-defined disk type that make up the storage on arrays.
Using the Configuration Utility 4 This section describes the various operations that you can perform with the Dell Lifecycle Controller Configuration Utility. You can use the Config Utility from the ConfigMgr console to: • Create a new Lifecycle Controller boot media to deploy operating systems remotely. For more information, see Creating a Lifecycle Controller Boot Media. • Configure hardware and deploy the operating system on the target systems in the collection.
• In Configuration Manager 2007, under Computer Management → Collections. Right-click All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers and select Dell Lifecycle Controller → Launch Config Utility. NOTE: You can launch Config Utility for any collection. 2. In the Dell Lifecycle Controller Configuration Utility window, select Create new Lifecycle Controller Boot Media on the left-hand pane. 3. Click Browse and select the bootable ISO that you created.
Deploying Operating Systems You can deploy Windows and non-Windows operating systems on a collection and the operating system deployment is only supported for deploying operating systems on multiple servers. During the operating system deployment, the status and progress of installation is displayed in the DLCI task viewer. After installing the operating system, the system is added to a collection and is identified as Managed Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers .
• certmonger • pam_krb5 • krb5-workstation • perl-DBD-SQLite For deploying ESXi, use the Dell customized ISO available at dell.com/support/manuals. Provide the ISO share on a NFS share. This share is used by DLCI to extract the ISO and create a custom ISO. The custom ISOes are saved on the same share. It is recommended that the machine with the NFS share is not connected to the Internet. DLCI clears all the partitions on the target system before installing any non-Windows operating system.
In this case, the Next button is disabled and you can directly click Reboot targeted collection. The hardware configuration tasks are submitted based on the selections you made in the previous steps and you can view the status of tasks on Task Viewer. 13. If you want to deploy the operating system: • To deploy Windows operating systems: Select Windows Operating System, then select the advertisement to advertise the task sequence to the collection, and the operating system for deployment on the collection.
• – Click Browse to navigate to the file location where you have saved the catalog. Ensure that the catalog resides on a CIFS share that is accessible to the Dell Lifecycle Controller of the system. – Specify the User Name and Password to the CIFS share where your catalog resides if you want to update the firmware inventory from the catalog. You do not need to specify the user name and password if you are viewing or comparing against the catalog. FTP: ftp.dell.
Table 3. Broadcom Profile Settings 4. S.No Target Server Setting Profile Settings What is Applied 1. Dual Port NIC (partition disabled) Dual Port NIC Dual Port Quad Partition NIC Dual Port Quad Partition NIC Partition is enabled when the system reboots. 2. Dual Port NIC (partition disabled) Dual Port NIC Dual Port NIC Port level settings are applied when the system reboots. 3.
S.No Target Server Profile Settings What is Applicable • • 3. All attributes in IPv4 settings. Only vLAN ID and vLAN priority attributes from Advanced LAN settings. 3. Rack, Tower, or Blade system with Static IP address IPv4 Configuration attributes only. IPv4 address source is updated. 4. Rack, Tower, or Blade systems LAN Settings attributes only. Applied only to Rack and Tower systems and not to Blade systems. 5. Rack, Tower, or Blade systems Advanced LAN Settings attributes only.
To compare and update firmware inventory: 1. From the Configuration Manager console: • In Configuration Manager 2012, under Device Collections. • In Configuration Manager 2007, under Computer Management → Collections. Right-click All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers and select Dell Lifecycle Controller → Launch Config Utility. 2. From the left pane of the Dell Lifecycle Controller Configuration Utility, select Firmware Inventory, Compare, and Update. 3.
To view the hardware inventory: 1. From the Configuration Manager console: • In Configuration Manager 2012, under Device Collections. • In Configuration Manager 2007, under Computer Management → Collections. Right-click All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers and select Dell Lifecycle Controller → Launch Config Utility. 2. On the Dell Lifecycle Controller Configuration Utility, select Hardware Inventory.
To modify the credentials on Lifecycle Controllers: 1. From the Configuration Manager console: • In Configuration Manager 2012, under Device Collections. • In Configuration Manager 2007, under Computer Management → Collections. Right-click All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers and select Dell Lifecycle Controller → Launch Config Utility. 2. From the left pane of the Dell Lifecycle Controller Configuration Utility, select Modify Credentials on Lifecycle Controllers. 3.
You have updated the new user name and password credentials in the Configuration Manager Database. Viewing and Exporting Lifecycle Controller Logs for a Collection You can view the Lifecycle Controller logs for a collection in a readable format and save or export the logs to a .CSV file in a Unified Naming Convention (UNC) or Common Internet File System (CIFS) share. To view the Lifecycle Controller logs for a collection: 1.
When the backup files for a collection are created, the backup file for each system is created with the prefix you specify, followed by the service tag of the system. This is to manage the backup files created to ease out the restoring process. Importing the System Profiles in a Collection You can import the system profiles/backup files that you have created. This option is applicable only if you have created backup images/profiles of the systems in the collection.
• In Configuration Manager 2012, under Device Collections. • In Configuration Manager 2007, under Computer Management → Collections. Right-click All Dell Lifecycle Controller Servers and select Dell Lifecycle Controller → Launch Config Utility. 2. Select the Network Adapter Comparison Report option. 3. On the Network Adapter Comparison Report screen, click Browse and select the NIC/CNA profile file that you have applied to the collection. 4.
Using the Import Server Utility 5 This section describes the various activities that you can perform using the Import Server utility. This utility is installed when you install Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. For information on installing Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for ConfigMgr, see the Installation Guide.
– 4. New Line: 72.16.1.5 – New Line: 172.16.1.45 Click Next. The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) Authentication process verifies the iDRAC credentials you have provided when you install Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Configuration Manager against each of the iDRAC IP addresses you have specified. The grid displays the IP Address, name of the server, and the status of the authentication. You can provide user credentials authenticated on active directory.
5. Click Close. Importing System Variables To import system variables from an external file saved in .CSV format: 1. From Configuration Manager: • • On the Configuration Manager 2012 console: 1. Navigate to Assets and Compliance and right-click Devices. 2. Select Dell Lifecycle Controller → Import Dell PowerEdge Server. In the Configuration Manager 2007 console: 1. Navigate to Operating System Deployment → Computer Association. 2. 2.
Table 5. Action And Description 6. Action Description ADD Add the variable to the target system. Indicates that the variable is present on the file and not available on the system. DELETE Delete the variable from the target system. Indicates that the variable is not present on the file but available on the system. UPDATE Update the variable on the target system with the value from the .CSV file. Indicates to replace the variable on the system with the variable on the file. NONE Take no action.
Using the System Viewer Utility 6 This chapter describes the operations that you can perform with the System Viewer Utility. You can use the System Viewer Utility to: • View and edit the hardware configuration. For more information, see Viewing and Editing BIOS Configuration. • View and edit the RAID configuration. For more information, see Viewing and Configuring RAID. • Create and edit Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller configuration profiles for your system.
Creating a New Profile To create a new profile: 1. In the BIOS Configuration screen, select Create a New Profile and click Next. The BIOS Attributes tab displays the BIOS attributes and current settings of the system. The Boot Sequence tab displays the boot sequence information of the system. 2. In the BIOS Attributes tab, select the attributes to be included in your profile by selecting the check box against each attribute. If you check Select All, all the attributes in the list are selected.
6. Click OK to close the Custom Attribute Editor and go back to the BIOS Attributes tab. Editing an Existing BIOS Attribute To edit an existing BIOS attribute, follow the step 2 to step 5 of Editing an Existing Profile. Changing the BIOS Boot Sequence and Hard Disk Drive Sequence To change the BIOS boot sequence and hard disk drive sequence: 1. In the BIOS Configuration screen, select Create a New Profile or Edit an Existing Profile, and click Browse to browse for the profile. 2.
NOTE: For more information on the various parameters that you can set for the above attributes, see the Dell Lifecycle Controller Unified Server Configurator/Unified Server Configurator-Lifecycle Controller Enabled Version 1.5 User’s Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals. 5. Click the Users tab. 6. You can add a user account or edit an existing user account. Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller has 16 users out of which you can configure 15.
Configuring NICs and CNAs for a System This feature enables you to configure the different attributes of specific network interface cards (NICs) or converged network adapters (CNAs) in the system and save them to a profile. You can create NIC or CNA profiles for a system but the profiles can be applied only to a collection. This feature enables NIC partitioning in the collection. Each type of NIC is associated with a template.
Scanning a Collection You can scan a Collection and identify configured adapters and list the NIC or CNA profiles to edit them. To scan a collection: 1. On the System Viewer utility, click Network Adapter Configuration. 2. Select Scan collection to identify adapters and click Next. NOTE: Before the utility scans the collection a warning is displayed that indicates that the process may take a long time.
8. Click OK to save the configurations. Configuring NIC and iSCSI Parameters You can configure the NIC and iSCSI parameters from the Port Settings screen. To configure the NIC and iSCSI parameters: 1. In the Port Settings screen, on the NIC tab, specify the following parameters: • Select All — Select to check all the options available for NIC. • Boot protocol — Select the protocol for booting the system. You can choose from PXE, iSCSI, or FCoE.
5. Select the adapter you want to edit and click Configure. For more information on configuring the adapter, see Configuring Adapters. 6. If you want to remove any of the adapters from the profile, select the adapter and click Remove. 7. You can also click Add to add an adapter to the profile. For more information, see step 4 in Creating a NIC or CNA Profile. 8. Click Save as profile to save the modified NIC profile.
Comparing Hardware Configuration Profile This feature enables you to compare and report the BIOS or Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller configuration profiles that are applied on a system. To compare the hardware configuration profile: 1. On the System Viewer utility, click Compare Hardware Configuration Profile. 2.
Column Description only in the case of a collection of systems and not a single system. No. This is the sequence number of the log. Category The category of the Lifecycle Controller Log. For example, Configuration Service, iDRAC, Inventory, and so on. ID This is the ID associated with an error message. Click the hyperlink to get more information on the error and the recommended action. You can periodically download the latest message registry from the Dell support website available at dell.
The message registry does not contain detailed information for user defined Logs of type Work notes (for example, WRK001) or Logs with category Other. To download the latest 12G Message Registry on the system where you have installed Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for ConfigMgr: 1. Go to the www.delltechcenter.com/LC. 2. On the Lifecycle Controller page, click the Attribute Registries and Event/Error Reference link. 3. In the Dell Event / Error Message Reference section, click English (2.1). 4.
For more information on updating you firmware versions, see Comparing and Updating the Firmware Inventory. Exporting the System Profile You can create a backup of the firmware and configuration and export it to an Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller vFlash Card or a Network share. This feature backs up the following: • Hardware and firmware inventory such as BIOS, LOMs, and Storage Controllers (RAID level, virtual disk, and controller attributes).
NOTE: If you have specified a file name that is the same as an earlier backup file, the utility prompts you to specify a different file name to avoid overwriting an existing file. If the same file name prefix is given at the System Level and also at the Collection Level, for a same share location, it is overwritten without a prompt. 5. Click Next. A summary screen is displayed. 6. Click Finish to submit the backup process to the task viewer. The following message is displayed: Task submission complete.
Configuring Part Replacement Properties for a System The Part Replacement feature provides an automatic update of firmware, or configuration, or both of a newly replaced component in a system, to match that of the original part. The newly replaced components could include a PowerEdge RAID controller, NIC or power supply, to match that of the original part. This feature is disabled by default on Lifecycle Controller and may be enabled if required through Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration.
If you have updated the Part Replacement Attributes, sometimes the updates are not set immediately. Wait for couple of minutes and check to see if the updates are set.
Troubleshooting 7 This chapter list the issues and steps to troubleshoot them. Configuring Dell Provisioning Web Services on IIS The installer configures the Dell Provisioning Web Services for Internet Information Services (IIS) automatically during installation. This section contains information to configure Dell Provisioning Web Services for IIS manually. Dell Provisioning Web Services Configuration for IIS 7.0 or IIS 7.5 To configure Dell provisioning web services for IIS 7.0 or IIS 7.5: 1.
Dell Auto-Discovery Network Setup Specification For information on auto-discovery error messages, descriptions, and response actions, see the Dell Auto-Discovery Network Setup Specification document at delltechcenter.com Upgrade or Repair Issues If you have upgraded or repaired the Dell Server Deployment Pack after installing Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for ConfigMgr 1.2 or later: 1. Copy the CustomReboot.vbs from [ConfigMgrRoot]\AdminUI\XmlStorage\Extensions\Bin\Deployment\ Dell \PowerEdge\LC\
Issues and Resolutions Issue 1 Issue: When you deploy an operating system on a target system with Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller configured in a shared network mode, the Windows PE environment may fail to startup on the network drivers, causing the system to restart before reaching the task sequence. Resolution: This is because the network does not assign IP addresses fast enough. To avoid this issue, ensure that you enable Spanning Tree and Fast Link on the network switch.
R2 uses a Windows PE 3.0 or later based boot image created with Windows AIK 2.X or later. For more information, see the Microsoft Technet site at technet.microsoft.com. Issue 7 Issue: If the target system has an older version of BIOS that does not support a particular method, the following error message is displayed in the DLCTaskManager.log file: Installed BIOS version does not support this method. Resolution: Update the BIOS to the latest supported version.
Issue 12 Issue: During Discovery and Handshake, the DPS.log displays numerous createDellCollecions() Either Connection Mgr param is NULL or Collection not yet created messages. Resolution: This issue occurs when the account entered to access ConfigMgr does not have permissions to create collections. For more information on setting permissions, see Dell Auto-Discovery Network Setup Specification.
Issue 18 Issue: When you are updating the systems with the latest firmware, if the Dell Update Packages (DUPS) take longer than 50 minutes to download over a WAN, then the update task may fail. Resolution: If you face this problem, then you must copy the repository that contains the updates to the local network of the systems you are updating. Issue 19 Issue: If you have discovered systems with Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for ConfigMgr version 1.0 or 1.
Dell Connections License Manager Status Messages During Autodiscovery, licensing related information is logged in Configuration manager for each server. Alert Message Alert State Cause License is not in the required format. Warning The license file has insufficient capacity. • • Resolution If the license was issued to you from the Dell license portal, contact customer The license file has incorrect entitlement ID. support and ask for a license replacement.
Alert Message Alert State Cause Resolution configure Connections License Manager for DLCI. Either Dell Connections License Manager is not configured or not accessible; by default, all systems are imported to Unmanaged Dell Lifecycle Controller Collections Warning The Dell Connections License Manager details are not configured. Current usage of license has exceeded the total capacity Warning Licenses on Dell Get more licenses from Dell Connections License License Portal.
Related Documentation and Resources 8 For more information on ConfigMgr such as installation, features, and functionalities, see the Microsoft TechNet site at technet.microsoft.com. In addition to this guide, you can access the following guides available at dell.com/support/manuals. On the Manuals page, click Software and Security → System Management.
