Users Guide

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Understanding Auto-Discovery
Auto-Discovery is the process of adding a Dell PowerEdge 11th or 12th Generation bare-metal server into a pool of
available servers for use by the Dell Management Plug-in. Once a server is discovered, use it for hypervisor and
hardware deployment. This appendix provides sufficient information about Auto-Discovery to help you with system
configuration. Auto-Discovery is a Lifecycle Controller feature for setting up a new server and registering it using a
console. The advantages of using this capability include removing the need to do cumbersome manual local
configuration of a new server and enabling an automated way for a console to discover a new server that was
connected to the network and plugged into power.
Auto-Discovery is sometimes referred to as Discovery and Handshake after the process it performs. When a new server
with the Auto-Discovery feature enabled is plugged in to AC power and connected to the network, the Dell server’s
Lifecycle Controller attempts to discover a deployment console that was integrated with the Dell provisioning server.
Auto-Discovery then initiates a handshake between the provisioning server and the Lifecycle Controller.
Dell Management Plug-in is a deployment console with an integrated provisioning server. The location of the
provisioning server is provided to the iDRAC using different methods. The IP address or host name for the provisioning
server location is set to the IP address or host name of the Dell Management Plug-in appliance virtual machine.
NOTE: A new server configured for Auto-Discovery attempts to resolve the location of the provisioning server
every 90 seconds over a period of 24 hours, after which you can manually reinitiate Auto-Discovery.
When the Auto-Discovery request is received by the Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter, it validates the SSL
certificate and then initiates any optionally configured security procedures, such as client side security certificates and
validation against a white list. A second validation request from the new server returns temporary username/password
credentials to be configured on the iDRAC. Subsequent calls are initiated by the Dell Management Plug-in for VMware
vCenter, which gathers information about the server, remove the temporary credentials, and configure more permanent
user-defined credentials for administrative access
If Auto-Discovery was successful, the deployment credentials provided in the Settings > Deployment Credentials page
at the time of discovery are created on the target iDRAC. Then the Auto-Discovery feature is turned off. The server
should now appear in the pool of available bare-metal servers under Deployment in the Dell Management Center.
Auto-Discovery Prerequisites
Before attempting to discover Dell PowerEdge 11th or 12th Generation bare-metal servers, install the Dell Management
Plug-in. Only Dell PowerEdge 11th Generation or later servers with iDRAC Express or iDRAC Enterprise can be
discovered into the Dell Management Plug-in’s pool of bare-metal servers. Network connectivity from the Dell bare-
metal server’s iDRAC to the Dell Management Plug-in virtual machine is required.
NOTE: Hosts with existing hypervisors should not be discovered into the Dell Management Plug-in, instead, add the
hypervisor to a connection profile, and then reconciled with the Dell Management Plug-in using the Host
Compliance Wizard
For Auto-Discovery to occur, the following conditions must be met:
• Power: Connect the server to the power outlet. The server does not need to be powered on.
• Network connectivity: The server’s iDRAC must have network connectivity and must communicate with the
provisioning server over port 4433. You can obtain the IP address using a DHCP server or manually specify it in
the iDRAC Configuration Utility.
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