Users Guide

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Frequently asked questions
1. Question: Can you provide information on Licensing of Dell OpenManage Plug-in for Nagios Core?
Answer: You can install and use this plug-in for free.
2. Question: What are the Dell hardware models supported by the plug-in?
Answer: For the list of supported Dell platforms, see Support Matrix.
3. Question: I have 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 servers through iDRAC with LC, supported
for 12th and later generations of Dell 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 servers?
Answer: There are two ways to monitor Dell 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 systems
administrators to monitor and manage dell 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 servers using OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) agent instead
of iDRAC with LC using this plug-in?
Answer: No, using this plug-in you cannot monitor Dell 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 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 Dell servers’ hardware through an
agent-free, out-of-band method using iDRAC with LC. With this plug-in, you can get a
comprehensive hardware-level information on Dell PowerEdge servers including overall and
component-level health monitoring through SNMP and WS-MAN protocols. The plug-in enables
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