Monitor Dell DRAC 5 Using SNMP

Mark Berry March 2, 2011

I want to use the SNMP checks in GFI MAX Remote Management to monitor my Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), version 5. The Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Version 6.2 SNMP Reference Guide (PDF) is the main reference on Dell SNMP.

PowerEdge 1500SC: Bogus Memory and Linux Errors

Mark Berry November 1, 2010

Sometimes the trickiest errors are the ones you should ignore.

I’m running PBX in a Flash, based on CentOS 5.2, on a Dell PowerEdge 1500SC. Back in February, I got a segmentation fault error and after some discussion on the PBX in a Flash forum, concluded that I needed to replace the hardware or at least the memory. Now I’m not so sure.

Windows 7 UAC Blocks DRAC II Web Console

Mark Berry October 22, 2010

You have an old Dell server with a DRAC II remote access card. You just installed Windows 7 and you want to control the DRAC II from that desktop. You’ve installed the Dell Management Station and Client Web Console on the Windows 7 machine. When you run the DRAC II Client Web Console, the ActiveX component starts fine, but once you try to connect to the server, you get this message:

Fixing DRAC 5 Error: Remote Access Controller initialization failure

Mark Berry March 4, 2010

I recently got a good eBay deal on a DRAC 5 remote access card for my Dell PowerEdge 2900 server.

Well it seemed like a good deal until I installed the card and got this message on bootup:

Remote Access Controller detected
!!*** Error: Remote Access Controller initialization failure***
RAC virtual USB devices may not be available...

Monitor Bandwidth with PRTG and a PowerConnect 2824 Switch

Mark Berry January 3, 2010

The previous post described basic setup of the Dell PowerConnect 2824 switch. One of the reasons I bought this switch is its ability to “mirror” a port. This allows a properly-configured computer to sniff all the packets going through the mirrored port. If you mirror the port that goes to your external router, you should be able to monitor all the traffic between your router and all internal computers.

Setting up the switch and the free PRTG Network Monitor was pretty easy. Setting up the computer itself (an old Windows XP Home box) took some fiddling. Here in brief are the steps.

Setting Up a Dell PowerConnect 2824 Switch

Mark Berry December 30, 2009

I recently purchased a Dell PowerConnect 2824 switch for use at a client site. The switch has some great features for the price, but the setup instructions are very wrong. I finally gave up and called Dell Support. As soon as the technician saw the 28xx model number, he knew why I was calling; he said about 75% of the calls on these models are due to the incorrect documentation.

Buying an OptiPlex with vPro from Dell Outlet

Mark Berry December 22, 2008

About a year ago, I bought a Dell OptiPlex 755 for a client. The machine came with Intel Advanced Management Technology (iAMT) with vPro. I soon discovered that has a killer feature:  it has a little web server built into the hardware that allows me to remotely power the machine off and on. That's right, out-of-band power management built into the motherboard! For someone who does remote IT administration, that feature can be invaluable. I decided I would definitely look for iAMT/vPro on future purchases.

Dell Outlet has some great deals on OptiPlexes. When you follow the link from the Outlet to the OptiPlex 755 Desktop Product Details, vPro is mentioned six times. It's obviously a major feature of the OptiPlex 755. Intel's list of vPro Skus also confirms that vPro is included on every OptiPlex 755 form factor. vPro is a feature of certain processors, so I made sure that I bought a machine with a vPro-capable processor (an E8350).

Long story short, the computer I received did not have iAMT or vPro. The setup options were simply missing from the systems management BIOS.