Dell POWEREDGE 1855 User Manual

Page 6

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

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console# copy tftp://hostname/path/to/the/

bootimage boot

Note: Best practices recommend saving extra copies of the

switch configurations on a TFTP server, especially before a firm-

ware upgrade.

The PowerConnect 5316M Ethernet switch module used in

the PowerEdge 1855 blade server chassis does not come equipped

with its own serial console port. Instead, the serial console can

be accessed as a module to which the DRAC/MC is connected.

Therefore, to use xmodem as the source for the management

station where the firmware image is stored, administrators must

perform the following steps from the DRAC/MC:

Ensure that the current shell interface is already at the

DRAC/MC command prompt. If not, switch back to the con-

text of the DRAC/MC command prompt by pressing the

Enter key, the tilde key, and the period key. Note: Press the

Shift key if the tilde character is located in the upper register

of the keyboard, and then press the period key.

At the DRAC/MC command prompt, issue the following

command:

DRAC/MC: racadm config –g cfgSerial

–o cfgSerialConsoleIdleTimeout 0x3000

Redirect the DRAC/MC serial console to the internal serial

console interface of the PowerConnect 5316M Ethernet switch

module in binary mode by entering the following command:

DRAC/MC: connect –b switch-N

where

is the chassis I/O module bay number in which the

PowerConnect 5316M Ethernet switch module is inserted.

Press the Enter key several times to ensure that the terminal

connection is successfully established and that the Ethernet

switch module prompt appears.

Note: To terminate the binary mode connection to the PowerConnect

5316M Ethernet switch module’s serial console, disconnect the

current session of the terminal.

Keeping blade server system software
components up-to-date

The modular design of blade servers, such as the Dell PowerEdge 1855

blade server, brings an added dimension to the traditional change-

management process. Today’s industry-leading change-management

and software distribution frameworks such as Altiris Patch Management

Solution and Microsoft SMS are designed to provide robust auto-

mated tools to manage updates on modules that reside on server

blades. Because these frameworks do not scale to manage the updates

of chassis management modules and I/O modules, updating blade

server chassis modules requires careful planning and deployment

such as the approach described in this article.

Narayan Devireddy is a development manager in the Dell Enterprise

Systems Management Software organization. He has 14 years of systems

management product development experience. Before joining Dell, Narayan

worked for Novell, Compaq, and Computer Associates in different capaci-

ties. He has an M.S. in Computer Science from Alabama A&M University.

Ruoting Huang is a development engineer in the Dell Enterprise Systems

Management Software organization. He focuses on parallel processing and

internetworking. Ruoting has an M.S. in Computer Science from the Asian

Institute of Technology.

For more information about configuring and using the DRAC/MC, refer to the Dell Remote Access Controller/Modular Chassis User’s Guide at support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smdrac3/dracmc.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N

Dell PowerEdge 1855 Systems User’s Guide:
support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/pe1855

Dell OpenManage:
www.dell.com/openmanage

Dell servers:
www.dell.com/servers