Installation manual

The second install method uses the Server Administrator RPM packages provided in the custom directories and the

Linux rpm command. Write Linux scripts that install Server Administrator locally or across a network on single or

multiple systems.

Using a combination of the two install methods is not recommended and may require that you manually install the

required Server Administrator RPM packages provided in the custom directories, using the Linux rpm command.

For information on supported platforms and supported operating systems, see the

Dell Systems Software Support Matrix

at support.dell.com/manuals.

Software License Agreement

The software license for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version of the Dell OpenManage

software is located on the

Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation

DVD. Read the license.txt file.

By installing or copying any of the files on the Dell-provided media, you are agreeing to the terms in this file. This file is

also copied to the root of the software tree where you install the Dell OpenManage software.

Server Administrator Device Drivers

Server Administrator includes two device drivers for Linux: Systems Management Base Driver (dcdbas) and BIOS

Update Driver (dell_rbu). Server Administrator uses these drivers to perform the systems management functions on

supported Linux operating systems. Depending on the system, Server Administrator loads one or both of these drivers if

required.

The device drivers for Linux are released as open source under the GNU General Public License v2.0. They are available

in Linux kernels from kernel.org starting with kernel 2.6.14.

If the Server Administrator drivers are available with the operating system, Server Administrator uses those versions of

the drivers. If the Server Administrator drivers are not available with the operating system, Server Administrator uses its

Dynamic Kernel Support (DKS) feature to build the drivers when needed.

Dynamic Kernel Support

If required, Server Administrator includes DKS, a feature that Server Administrator uses to build its device drivers

automatically for a running kernel.

If you see the following message during Server Administrator Device Drivers startup, then Server Administrator has

attempted to use the DKS feature, but was unable to use the feature because certain prerequisites were not met:

Building <driver> using DKS... [FAILED]

where <driver> is dcdbas or dell_rbu

NOTE: Server Administrator logs messages to the /var/log/messages log file.

To use DKS, identify which kernel is running on the managed system, and check the DKS prerequisites.

Determining the Running Kernel

The system displays a message identifying the running kernel.

1. Log in as root.

2. Type the following command at a console: uname -r

3. Press <Enter>.

The system displays a message identifying the running kernel.