Users Guide

Overview of OpenManage Integration with
Microsoft Windows Admin Center
Dell EMC OpenManage Integration with Microsoft Windows Admin Center (OMIMSWAC) enables IT administrators to manage
PowerEdge servers as hosts, Microsoft Failover Clusters created with PowerEdge servers, and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI)
created by using Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server or Dell EMC Integrated System for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI.
OMIMSWAC simplifies the tasks of IT administrators by remotely managing the PowerEdge servers and clusters throughout their life
cycle. For more information about the features and benefits of OMIMSWAC, see the documentation at Dell.com/OpenManageManuals.
What is new in this release
● 'CPU core management' feature enables CPU cores for distributions in an HCI (AS HCI and WS HCI) cluster or individual nodes. This
feature gives you the ability to configure the CPU core count to achieve the right balance between power and performance optimal
for workloads. This feature helps you to keep the Total Cost of Ownership for Hybrid cloud at an optimal level.
● 'Expand Cluster' feature that enables you to prepare nodes for cluster expansion. This feature helps you to identify and prepare right
nodes for a cluster that follow Dell EMC recommendations, which can be later added into the cluster. This feature is supported in
Failover clusters and HCI clusters.
● Hardware symmetry check has been renamed as HCI configuration profile check.
● Supports YX5X PowerEdge servers with Intel platforms.
● Enhancements:
○ Updating firmware, BIOS, and drivers of individual nodes part of an Azure Stack HCI cluster using the server extension tool is
suboptimal and not recommended by Dell Technologies. This version has introduced this restriction to help maintain the cluster
homogeneity.
○ Supports health and inventory retrieval when the port number other than the default port 443.
○ Enhanced HCI configuration policy checks to ensure a minimum of 5% of cache capacity available in clusters to improve cluster
performance.
Key features of OMIMSWAC
● OMIMSWAC provides a simplified solution for IT administrators to efficiently manage the following:
○ Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers running on supported Windows operating systems.
○ Dell EMC Integrated System for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI (also known as Azure Stack HCI or AS HCI) created using AX nodes
from Dell Technologies.
○ Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server (also known as Windows Server HCI or WS HCI) created using Storage
Spaces Direct Ready Nodes or combinations of AX nodes and Storage Spaces Direct Ready Nodes.
○ Microsoft Failover Clusters created with Dell EMC PowerEdge servers running supported Windows Server operating system.
● Inventory/Monitoring—Provides information about overall Health, Hardware inventory, and iDRAC inventory of nodes including
component-level information of all supported Dell EMC platforms.
● iDRAC console—View iDRAC information of PowerEdge servers. For out-of-band management, you can directly launch the iDRAC
console from Windows Admin Center.
● Cluster creation (Integrated Cluster Deploy and Update)—Supports integrated Firmware, BIOS, and Drivers installation while creating
Azure Stack HCI cluster. Also, performs HCI configuration profile check to keep hardware configuration of cluster nodes inline with
Dell EMC recommended hardware configuration.
● Update management—
○ Online catalogs—Support for creating firmware baselines by using the following online catalogs when OMIMSWAC is connected
to the Internet:
￭ Dell EMC Enterprise Catalog-Contains firmware updates for PowerEdge servers and PowerEdge server nodes in a cluster.
￭ Update Catalog for Microsoft HCI solutions-Contains firmware updates for AX nodes and Storage Spaces Direct Ready
Nodes and nodes in Windows Server HCI and Azure Stack HCI clusters.
￭ Dell EMC MX Solution Catalog for PowerEdge MX Modular.
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