Patrick Boyd writes: > You should look at USC 1.3 and the latest DRAC for your system. There exists > a WSMAN interface through the DRAC to do just what you are saying. > Here is the user's guide: > http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smusc/smlc/lc_1_3/en/index.htm > > You want the "Remote Update" section. >
I had looked into the WS-MAN interfaces before to automate installation of the OS without relying on PXEboot, but as a Linux person, was pretty much stymied by the Windows-centric-ness of the WS-MAN stuff. I know that there is an openwsman.org Linux implementation, but when the Dell manuals have instructions like "Use the appropriate WS-MAN client to send a method invocation request to the iDRAC IP address. The WS-MAN command includes the UpdateFromURI() method on the DCIM_SoftwareInstallationService" I really yearn for some concrete examples using the Linux tools. (That example is from the 1.3 manual - when I looked at 1.2 there wasn't even that much.) In my previous post to this list (which got no reply) [http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/linux-poweredge/2009-September/040276.html] I wrote: > The new System Services / Unified Server Configurator and Lifecycle > Controller available with the iDRAC6 on the R610/R710 described at > http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/lifecycle+controller seems like it > would be a nice alternative to PXEboot installs, which aren't possible > for me to use once systems have been deployed. > > However, I don't seem to be able to figure out how I can use this on a > deployed system to do a network install (RHEL 5.4). The Systems > Services GUI out of the BIOS/UEFI isn't available to me on a deployed > system, as I won't have VGA console access (only serial console via IPMI > SOL or DRAC SSH - this is not an iDRAC6 Enterprise) and in any case > although I see the FTP option for firmware (and driver?) DUP updates, > the OS install only talks about "inserting OS installation disc" and > since the iDRAC6 Express doesn't support virtual or flash media that > doesn't seem very promising for a network install either. > > The Auto-Discovery stuff looks nice (especially for pre-deployment > "manufacturing" system installs) but in the deployment environment all I > can get is a DHCP allocated IP address without any DNS support at all - > no DHCP vendor options, no DNS SRV or default provisioning hostname > (DCIMCredentialServer). I haven't found anything that indicates that I > can point the System Services at a statically configured IP address for > configuration (and even if I could, this doesn't seem like it would give > me the media-less OS install any more than the Systems Services GUI. > > Can anybody provide any pointers on how I might accomplish an OS > installation using this new technology when I have only an iDRAC6 > Express with a DHCP allocated IP address (and a static IP for the RHEL > 5.4 host) and a (manually configured) IP address of a nearby host that > can provide a CD-ROM image as a network share and/or run the > provisioning server (is that part of OMSA?) > And, in particular, before I spend the necessary days setting this stuff up and understanding it all (let alone scripting the desired installation) I would like to know whether the BootToNetworkISO() function is supported on iDRAC6 Express, or whether it requires the virtual media support only found on the iDRAC6 Enterprise. My previous impression was that it was not possible, but reading the 1.3 manual with separate methods to support vFlash raises my hopes somewhat. // @alex -- mailto:[email protected] _______________________________________________ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list [email protected] https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
