Symptoms

Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller Service Module Expands iDRAC management into supported host operating systemsProvides OS-related information to the iDRACLightweight software service with minimal host footprint The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller(iDRAC) Service Module (iSM) is a lightweight optional software application that can be installed on PowerEdge servers. The iDRAC Service Module complements iDRAC interfaces: User Interface (UI), RACADM CLI, Redfish, and Web Service Management (WS-MAN) with additional monitoring data The iDRAC Service Module architecture uses IP socket communication and provides additional systems management data (OS/device driver) to iDRAC and presents one-to-many consoles with access to systems management data through OS standard interfaces. Features Enhancements Download Resources Community iDRAC7 iDRAC8 iDRAC9 Features of iDRAC Service Module Operating system information Server Administrator shares operating system information and hostname with iDRAC. The iSM provides similar information such as host OS name, server host IP address information, OS version, Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) with iDRAC. The network interfaces on the host OS are also displayed. By default, this monitoring feature is enabled. This feature is available even if Server Administrator is installed on the host OS. Lifecycle Controller log replication into operating system Replicates the Lifecycle Controller (LC) logs to the OS logs. All events that have the OS Log option as the target (in the Alerts page or in the equivalent RACADM or WSMAN interfaces) are replicated in the OS log using iSM. This process is similar to the System Event Log (SEL) replication performed by Server Administrator. The default set of logs to be in the OS logs is the same as the logs configured for SNMP traps/alerts. Only the events logged in the LC log after iSM was installed are replicated to the OS Log. If Server Administrator is installed, the monitoring feature is disabled to avoid duplicate SEL entries in the OS log. Automatic system recovery feature The Automatic System Recovery feature is a hardware-based timer, which is used to reset the server if there is a hardware failure. The feature can perform automatic system recovery operations such as reboot, power cycle, or power off after a specified time interval. This feature is enabled only when the operating system watchdog timer is disabled. If Server Administrator is installed, the monitoring feature is disabled to avoid duplicate watchdog timers. Windows Management Instrumentation Providers Windows Management Instrumentation Providers available with iSM exposes hardware data through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). WMI is extensions to the Windows Driver Model that provides an operating system interface through which instrument components provide information and notification. WMI is Microsoft's implementation of the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) and Common Information Model (CIM) standards from the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) to manage Server hardware, operating systems and applications. WMI Providers helps to integrate with Systems Management Consoles such as Microsoft System Center and enables scripting to manage Microsoft Windows Servers. SupportAssist collection The SupportAssist collection feature in iDRAC collects information about the hardware, OS, and relevant application data and compresses this information. Using iSM 2.0 or later versions, the OS Collector tool automatically collects relevant OS and hardware information, but you must do it manually. NVMe PCIe SSD device removal support Removal of a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIE) Solid-State Device (SSD) without shutting down or rebooting the system. When removing a device, all the activities associated with the device must be stopped to prevent data loss. To prevent loss of data use the Prepare to Remove option, which stops all the device-associated background activities, after which allows the removal of the NVMe PCIe SSD. Remote iDRAC hard reset Via iDRAC, monitor the supported servers for critical system hardware, firmware, or software issues. Infrequently, an iDRAC may become unresponsive. Previously, a customer would have to turn off the server by unplugging the power from the server. Now, by using the Remote iDRAC hard reset feature, if an iDRAC becomes unresponsive, perform a remote iDRAC reset operation without having to shut down the server. Administrative privileges on the host OS required to use this feature. By default, the remote iDRAC hard reset feature is enabled. iDRAC access using Host OS Using Dell’s PowerEdge Servers, manage the hardware or the firmware of a device through iDRAC by configuring an iDRAC dedicated network. Through the dedicated network port, access the iDRAC interfaces such as UI, WSMAN, RACADM, and Redfish client. The prerequisite to manage the hardware or the firmware is to have a dedicated connection between a device and the supported iDRAC interface. The iDRAC access using Host OS feature, connect to an iDRAC interface from an OS IP or host irrespective of the connection between a device and an iDRAC dedicated network. This feature monitors the hardware or firmware even if the iDRAC is not connected to the servers. In-band support for iDRAC SNMP alerts Using iDRAC, an out-of-band server management and monitoring tool, the SNMP traps/alerts can be recorded in the log. However, from a host OS systems management using in-band agent perspective, the preference is more on the SNMP alert received from the host OS than the traps received from iDRAC. When an SNMP alert is received from iDRAC, it would be challenging to determine the source of the alert as it is from an iDRAC IP and not the system IP. Starting iSM 2.3, you can receive SNMP alerts from the host OS which is similar to the alerts by iDRAC. Enable WSMAN remotely With the WMI information feature, you can connect to the host Microsoft Windows WMI namespace to monitor the system hardware. The WMI interface on the host is enabled by default, and you can access it remotely. However, if you want to access the WMI interfaces using WINRM’s WMI adapter, you have to enable it manually as it is not enabled by default. Using this feature, you can access the WINRM WMI namespaces remotely by enabling it during installation.Note: System Management does not add any new features to WSMAN. iDRAC Service Module factory install for Microsoft Windows (Customer opt-in) iSM can now be factory installed for the Microsoft Windows operating system. By having iSM pre-installed, you can quickly access critical logs and support documents. When a Microsoft Windows operating system factory installation is selected, you can opt in to install iSM from the available options. iSM - Enabled - Provides factory installation of iSM in the Windows OSiSM - Disabled - Customers who do not want to have iSM installed in the OS should select this option S.M.A.R.T Monitoring S.M.A.R.T monitoring feature supports hard disk drives enabled with SATA in AHCI mode. It has integrated capability to monitor S.M.A.R.T alerts through iDRAC supported auditing methods for hard drives under SATA Chipset controller. Previously an open-source utility monitored the alerts to the hard drives set in RAID Mode. FullPowerCycle FullPowerCycle feature provides a way to reset the server auxiliary power. An increasing amount of server hardware runs on server auxiliary power; and troubleshooting of some server issues requires you to physically unplug the server power cable to reset the hardware running on auxiliary power. This leads to someone having to physically unplug/plug the power cables, which lead to a significant cost and hassle for customers and support personnel. The FullPowerCycle feature enables the administrator to connect or disconnect the auxiliary power remotely without visiting the data center. This feature is supported on iDRAC9. Correlation of software events to hardware failures for Microsoft S2D The event log for hardware storage pool alerts or events are monitored through iSM with Server Storage correlation feature. The server storage subsystem is monitored when Dell storage controllers are used in RAID mode. But in Storage Spaces (SS) or Storage Space Direct (S2D), the server storage subsystem is monitored in a pass-through mode or the SATA chipset is used to create the storage pool. With this feature, the hardware-defined alerts covered by Life-Cycle log and software-defined alerts covered by OS logs are merged and the alerts are registered in the iDRAC Lifecycle logs. This feature is installed with the iDRAC Service Module package and is enabled by default. User can change the preferences in the iDRAC settings. As part of the monitoring, iSM audits the logs for potential failures and warnings. iSM embeds the SS correlation events on the Host to an equivalent LC event. iSM SupportAssist Disk Auto Dispatch As part of predictive alerting, if the server matches one of the following SNMP events: PDR16 and PDR63, a recommendation is sent from Dell support using email regarding the work order of the predictive failure or a bad disk block such as SSD's subject to the prevailing licensing terms and conditions. To work order parts, a service address to Dell support is required. This feature is available only on Windows and Linux operating systems. iDRAC UI Launcher Launch the iDRAC user interface from the local system by double-clicking the iDRAC user interface Launcher icon. The iDRAC UI login page opens in the default browser and iDRAC credentials can be used to log in to the iDRAC home page. This is supported only on the Microsoft Windows operating systems. Single sign on (SSO) to iDRAC UI from Host OS administrators desktop The single sign-on (SSO) feature enables an authenticated operating system administrator to directly access the iDRAC web interface without requiring login using separate iDRAC administrator credentials. Enhanced security between iSM and iDRAC communication using TLS protocol Starting iSM 3.4, the data communication between iSM and iDRAC happens through TLS protected USBNIC INET sockets. This ensures protection of all the data that transports from iDRAC to iSM over USBNIC. iSM and iDRAC use self-signed certificates to control Authentication. The self-signed certificates have 10 years of validity. Fresh self-signed certificates are generated while installing iSM every time. Enhancements to Dell iDRAC Service Module Dell is constantly improving its Dell iDRAC Service Module. Platforms iDRAC Service Module 5.4.0.0 supports the following PowerEdge 14G, 15G, and 16G servers on all supported operating systems. Support Dell PlatformsPowerEdge 14G ServersPowerEdge 15G ServersPowerEdge 16G ServersPowerEdge C4140PowerEdge C6520PowerEdge C6600PowerEdge C6420PowerEdge C6525PowerEdge C6615PowerEdge FC640PowerEdge MX750cPowerEdge C6620PowerEdge M640PowerEdge R250PowerEdge HS5610PowerEdge M640pPowerEdge R350PowerEdge HS5620PowerEdge MX740cPowerEdge R450PowerEdge MX760cPowerEdge MX840cPowerEdge R550PowerEdge R260PowerEdge R240PowerEdge R650PowerEdge R360PowerEdge R340PowerEdge R650xsPowerEdge R660PowerEdge R440PowerEdge R750PowerEdge R660xsPowerEdge R540PowerEdge R750xaPowerEdge R760PowerEdge R640PowerEdge R750xsPowerEdge R760xaPowerEdge R740PowerEdge R6515PowerEdge R760xd2PowerEdge R740xdPowerEdge R6525PowerEdge R760xsPowerEdge R740xd2PowerEdge R7515PowerEdge R860PowerEdge R840PowerEdge R7525PowerEdge R960PowerEdge R940PowerEdge T150PowerEdge R6615PowerEdge R940xaPowerEdge T350PowerEdge R6625PowerEdge R6415PowerEdge T550PowerEdge R7615PowerEdge R7415PowerEdge XE8545PowerEdge R7625PowerEdge R7425PowerEdge XR11PowerEdge T160PowerEdge T140PowerEdge XR12PowerEdge T360PowerEdge T340PowerEdge XR4510cPowerEdge T560PowerEdge T440PowerEdge XR4520cPowerEdge XE8640PowerEdge T640 PowerEdge XE9640PowerEdge XE2420 PowerEdge XE9680PowerEdge XE7420 PowerEdge XR5610PowerEdge XE7440 PowerEdge XR7620Precision R7920 PowerEdge XR8000 PowerEdge XR8610t PowerEdge XR8620t Precision R7960 New Features in Dell iDRAC Service Module 5.4.0.0 Software RAID configuration supports renaming, reconfiguring, and viewing the maximum size for reconfiguring the virtual disk.New OS support: Ubuntu Server 24.04​, Windows Server 2025 New and enhanced features Functional area Feature descriptionSummary of benefitsSoftware RAIDSoftware RAID configurationSoftware RAID configuration supports renaming, reconfiguring, and viewing the maximum size for reconfiguring the virtual disk. Supported Enterprise 64-bit operating systems and Hypervisors: Windows Server 2025Windows Server 2022Windows Server 2019Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.10Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15SP6VMware vSphere (ESXi) 8.0 U3VMware vSphere (ESXi) 7.0 U3Ubuntu Server 24.04Debian 11 Community support Supported RTOS on PowerEdge R650, PowerEdge R660, PowerEdge R750, PowerEdge R760, PowerEdge XR11, PowerEdge XR12, PowerEdge XR5610, and PowerEdge XR8000 servers: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.10Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 Supported Client operating systems on Precision R7920 and Precision R7960: Microsoft Windows 10 22H2Microsoft Windows 11 21H2/22H2/23H2Red Hat Enterprise Linux 98.6Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 See the latest version of Dell iDRAC Service Module Release Notes for the complete list of enhancements and limitations, fixed issues, and known issues.See the Dell Technologies iDRAC Service Module for the complete list of all versions of iSM.

Cause

Download and install of Dell iDRAC Service Module. Dell iDRAC Service Module is supported on most versions of Microsoft Windows, Linux, and ESXi operating systems for PowerEdge servers with iDRAC7, iDRAC8, and iDRAC9. See Supported Platforms for additional information about the supported platforms and operating systems. The specific version of iSM for your system varies based on the server model and the installed operating system. To download the latest version of iSM: Go to Dell.com/support and select the server model or enter the service tag.Select Drivers & DownloadsSelect the Operating System for your systemKeyword iSMDownload the latest revision provided for Dell iDRAC Service Module See the version-specific Dell Technologies iDRAC Service Module User's Guide then the Installing iDRAC Service Module topic for information about the software requirements, system requirements, and the steps to install, upgrade, and uninstall iSM.

Resolution

Resources for Dell iDRAC Service Module Community Engage in the Systems Management community to find: Boards to post questions and answersBlogs to read and comment on articlesIdea exchanges to improve products and vote for ideas that other community members have postedAnd more. Documentation See Dell iDRAC Service Module Documentation for the latest documentation. White Papers Software RAID features in iDRAC Service Module December 202420-page white paper This technical whitepaper provides information about the software RAID feature on iDRAC Service Module (iSM), and guides you through the steps to perform enumeration, configuration, and monitoring of the controllers, physical disks, and virtual disks that are attached to Dell PowerEdge servers. Read the white paper Dell iDRAC Service Module Security Configuration Guide January 202229-page security configuration guide This document describes the security configurations related to Dell iDRAC Service Module (iSM), and its installation, configuration, and functionality on the host operating system.Read the security configuration guide iDRAC Service Module - OS-based capabilities for Out-of-band management with iDRAC9 May 2021Twelve page white paper Summary of the latest enhancements that iDRAC Service Module (iSM) provides to out-of-band management with iDRAC9 to the customers in the Dell 14th and 15th generation PowerEdge servers.Read the white paper iDRAC Service Module - iDRAC Access over Host Operating System January 2017Seventeen page white paper This White Paper provides information about the usage and troubleshooting of iDRAC Access using Host Operating System features in iDRAC Service Module v2.3 or later.Read the white paper iDRAC Service Module - Enable In-Band iDRAC SNMP Alerts January 2017Thirteen page white paper This White Paper provides information about the usage, configuration, and troubleshooting of In-Band iDRAC SNMP Alerts in iDRAC Service Module v2.3 or later.Read the white paper iDRAC Service Module-How to perform an iDRAC CPU Hard Reset July 2016Eight page white paper This White Paper provides information about the usage and troubleshooting of the iDRAC CPU Hard Reset feature in iDRAC Service Module v2.3 or later.Read the white paper iDRAC Service Module 2.1 (min) on Ubuntu and Debian Linux Operating Systems September 2015Nineteen page white paper This White Paper provides information about the usage and troubleshooting of iDRAC Service Module v2.1 or later on Ubuntu and Debian Linux Operating systems.Read the white paper iDRAC Service Module - Windows Management Instrumentation April 2015Seventeen page white paper This White paper is about using iDRAC Service Module to monitor the various hardware profiles through the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) client interfaces such as Windows PowerShell, Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line, Windows Remote Management client (WINRM), WBEMTEST.Read the white paper Videos Initial installation - iDRAC Service Module Learn how to install the iDRAC Service Module from the iDRAC UI. November 2017 SupportAssist Collection in iDRAC Service Module 3.0.1 Learn how to do SupportAssist collection using iDRAC Service Module 3.0.1. November 2017 Enabling the 'iDRAC access using Host OS' feature on Microsoft Windows in iDRAC Service Module 2.4 Learn how to enable and configure the iDRAC access using Host OS feature on Microsoft Windows. July 2017 Install iDRAC Service Module on Microsoft Windows Nano OS Learn how to install the iDRAC Service Module on Microsoft Windows Nano operating systems. July 2017 Enabling iDRAC access using Host OS feature on Linux in iSM 2.4 Learn how to enable the Inband iDRAC Access for Linux systems. July 2017 Viewing iDRAC SNMP Traps received from the host OS on Linux in iSM 2.4 Learn how to view the iDRAC SNMP Traps received from the host OS on Linux operating systems. July 2017 Monitoring Dell servers through iDRAC Service Module using WMI Covers the process of monitoring Dell servers through iDRAC Service Module (iSM) using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for Dell Server Management Pack Suite version 6.3 in a Microsoft System Center Operations Manager or SCOM environment. October 2024

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