Users Guide

Frequently asked questions
1. Question: Can you provide information about licensing of Dell OpenManage Plug-in for Nagios XI?
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 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 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 system 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, by 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 the supported Dell devices’ hardware through an agent-free, out-of-
band method using iDRAC with LC (Dell PowerEdge servers), Dell Chassis, and Dell Storage Arrays. With this plug-in, you can get a
comprehensive hardware-level information about the discovered Dell devices (including overall and component-level health
monitoring) through SNMP and WS-MAN protocols as supported by the devices. The plug-in enables you to monitor alerts or events
(traps) generated from Dell 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.
8. Question: Where do I find the OpenWSMAN distribution and its Perl binding?
Answer: If the system has default Perl version (installed as part of operating system), go to “Build.opensuse.org/package/show/
Openwsman/openwsman” and download the OpenWSMAN library and its Perl binding.
If you have installed a Perl version other than the default version or the Perl binding is not available, then go to “Github.com/
Openwsman/openwsman” and follow the instructions to compile and use the Perl bindings.
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36 Frequently asked questions