Today I’m working on a PowerEdge R430 which has been in it’s box way too long. There were some firmware updates, etc. but also no OS or anything.
I took to installing Dell’s customized ESXi 6.0 U2
With the dell servers, they have a great offering of VIBs to help integrate their management services. For this server, I’ll be installing the Dell iDRAC Service Module on ESXi 6.0 U2 on a PowerEdge R430.
The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) Service Module is a lightweight optional software application that can be installed on Dell 12th Generation Server or greater with iDRAC7
It complements iDRAC interfaces – Graphical User Interface (GUI), Remote Access Controller Admin (RACADM) CLI and Web Service Management (WSMAN) with additional monitoring data.
The basic need for this integration is bridging the gap between iDRAC and ESXi. This will allow your ESXi host to report statistics and logs to/from the iDRAC, allow automatic system recovery due to failure, and more.
Before the module was installed, I would see an error in places that required this integration.
RAC0690: The iDRAC Service Module is not installed on the operating system of the server. Install the Service Module and retry the operation.
The version I downloaded is `ISM-Dell-Web-2.3.0-223.VIB-ESX60i_A00.zip` [Download]
To install this, you’ll need SSH enabled on your host.
Assuming this is enabled and you’ve uploaded the ZIP file to
datastore1 you can copy + paste this command to install it.esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/ISM-Dell-Web-2.3.0-223.VIB-ESX60i_A00.zip
Otherwise replace with the path to the file in your datastore.
After you reboot your host and the integration module initializes, you’ll be able to see some more things in your iDRAC:
Host Network Interfaces:
Here you would see any of the VMKernel adapters you’ve configured on your host. I only have one, but if you have many, this can be really helpful.
Service Module Setup
Here you can configure things like Automated System Recovery and Lifecycle controller log replication.
– I’m not able to use these features because I have the OpenManage ServerAdministrator VIB installed on this host.
iDRAC Network Interface
Within vSphere, I now have a vSwitch that’s dedicated to the iDRAC.
Here I can attach certain VMs to the iDRAC vSwitch
Through the dedicated network port, you can access the iDRAC interfaces such as GUI, WSMAN, RACADM, and Redfish client.
This is a very brief overview of some basic features added from installing this integration.
I hope this helps.
7 Comments
Mukesh · May 14, 2019 at 7:25 pm
Hi We are using distributed switch rather than standard switch. ISM install successfully in ESXi 7.6 but within IDRAC keeps showing not running. On another site we have standard switch and ISM works fine on that site.
Also is there a way to avoid IP address conflict as all the server has ISM installed got IP address 169.254.0.2 and getting lost of error reporting.
Manuel Roccon · March 21, 2019 at 5:33 pm
Hi,
i’ve installed iDRAC module in VMware ESXI 6.7 update 1. I see IDRAC vmk1 network adapter like image. But how i can access to GUI from VM? I must assign network to vms?
Thanks
Chad · September 21, 2017 at 7:30 am
After installing this it has caused more headaches than anything else and I’d like to remove it. What is the best way to uninstall it cleanly and all the components?
Tyler Woods · September 21, 2017 at 7:41 am
I’m sorry for that!
Please check your installed VIBs with
esxcli software vib listand then remove it withesxcli software vib remove --vibname=VIB-NAMEand fill in the name (VIB-NAME) of the VIB from the list which you would like to remove.chad · September 21, 2017 at 3:43 pm
thank you sir….that removed the vmkernal adapter but it left the physical adapter listed (the one labeled vusb0). is that expected?
Tyler Woods · October 4, 2017 at 2:38 pm
I’d imagine that should go away immediately if not after a few tweaks. Did you end up finding a solution?
Mitchell · November 3, 2017 at 3:10 pm
Chad,
Can you expand on the problems you encountered after installing this? I’m considering installing this for the M630 blades I have in my M1000e chassis, and am interested in your experiences.