Managing Dell™ Systems That Run Novell® NetWare®

Enterprise Systems Group (ESG)

Dell OpenManage™

Systems Management

Dell White Paper

By Vipul Arvind

September 2002


Contents

Executive Summary 4

Introduction 5

Managing Servers with Dell OpenManage Server Administrator 6

Managing storage with Dell OpenManage Array Manager 7

Managing servers that have SCSI controllers 8

Enabling remote management with remote access cards 8

Installing/Upgrading/Uninstalling Server Administrator on NetWare Systems 10

Install/Upgrade 10

Interactive install (From NWConfig Utility) 11

Silent install (From Server Console, also used from automated scripts) 13

Uninstalling Server Administrator 13

Interactive uninstall (using the NWConfig Utility) 13

Silent uninstall (From Server Console) 14

Other Useful Documents and Web Sites on System Management 15

Useful Documents (Systems Management from Dell) 15

Useful Web-Sites (Systems Management from Dell) 16

Glossary 17

Conclusion 19

Author Biography 19

References: 19

Tables

Table 1: Features available from Dell to Manage Systems running Novell Netware 4

Figures

Figure 1: Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Home Page 5

Figure 2: Remote Management Hardware from Dell 7

Figure 3: General flow of Install process 10


September 2002 Page 19 Dell Enterprise Systems Group

Section 1

Executive Summary

Dell offers management capabilities for its servers that run on major platforms, including Microsoft® Windows®, Red Hat® Linux, and Novell® NetWare® operating systems. This paper describes several systems management features (See Table 1) and products for Dell systems running NetWare, with a special focus on Dell OpenManage™ Server Administrator.

Dell OpenManage Products (ISVs Included) / Support for Novell Netware
V 5.1
/ V 6.0
Dell OpenManage Server Administrator / Ö / Ö
Dell OpenManage Server Agent / Ö / Ö
Dell OpenManage Array Manager / Ö / Ö
Dell Remote Assistant Card (DRAC II) / Ö / Ö
Dell Remote Access Card (DRAC III) / Ö / Ö
Adaptec CIO Agent / Ö / X

Table 1: Features Available From Dell to Manage Systems Running Novell Netware

Section 2

Introduction

Dell provides several components to manage Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers running the Novell® NetWare ® operating system. The Dell OpenManage series of products allow administrators to locally and remotely manage systems that encompass many devices. The software and adapter cards discussed here support NetWare 5.1 and 6.0. The exception is the Adaptec CI/O™ agent, which supports only NetWare 5.1.

The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator program allows for the management and monitoring of an individual Dell server. It has a web browser interface, so users can perform a variety of actions locally or remotely – see Figure 1. These actions include:

·  The ability to perform configuration changes

·  Status reporting on the various components in the server

Server Administrator has been described in detail in other papers (see http://www.dell.com/us/en/biz/topics/vectors_2001-serveradministrator.htm and http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/topics/openmanage/omsa_paper.doc ).

This paper explains in detail the various system management features available from Dell to manage systems running Novell NetWare.

This paper is organized as follows:

1.  Managing servers with Dell OpenManage Server Administrator

This also includes details of how to:

·  Manage Storage

·  Manage Servers installed with SCSI Cards

·  Enable remote management with remote access cards

2.  Installing/Upgrading/Uninstalling Server Administrator on NetWare systems

This includes details of new features available with Install/Uninstall of Dell OpenManage Server Administrator for systems running Novell NetWare. This also includes various steps to install/uninstall Server Administrator.

Section 3

Managing Servers with Dell OpenManage Server Administrator

Dell OpenManage Server Administrator lets administrators manage their NetWare-based systems from a command line interface (CLI) through the operating system and from an integrated, Web browser-based graphical user interface (GUI). Figure 1 shows the Server Administrator home page. System administrators can locally and remotely manage systems on a network. The one-to-one system management provided by Server Administrator allows administrators to manage an individual server while focusing on their entire network.

Figure 1: Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Home Page

The capabilities of Server Administrator help manage Dell systems, and can help reduce total cost of ownership.

Administrators can manage the external storage attached to the server. Server Administrator maintains an audit trail of changes made to the server, monitors and reports server health, and provides asset and inventory information. Remote access capabilities include remote shutdown and restart, and remote management.

All Server Administrator software components reside on the managed server; the management console needs only a Web browser. This approach is designed to require little maintenance, and lets administrators who have an Internet or intranet connection manage the network from any local or remote location.

The Server Administrator CLI enables system administrators to run scripts on a group of servers, one server at a time. This capability assists group management by letting administrators generate and compile reports (such as inventory), and perform management activities without affecting users’ day-to-day operations.

Access to Server Administrator occurs through an HTTP secure (HTTPS) connection using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to protect the identity of the managed system. Novell NetWare operating systems compatible with Server Administrator use native Java™ SSL and SAS (Secure Authentication Services, which is built on Novell International Cryptographic Infrastructure, or NICI) to protect sensitive data transmitted over the socket connection when a user accesses the Server Administrator home page.

Dell OpenManage IT Assistant, installed on the management console, communicates with Dell OpenManage Server Administrator on the managed server to provide one-to-many system management in which one console manages many servers.

Managing storage with Dell OpenManage Array Manager

Dell OpenManage Array Manager provides a single interface to configure SCSI and Fibre Channel RAID, plus disk and volume management. Administrators can configure and manage local and remote storage devices attached to a server while the server is online and processing requests.

OpenManage Array Manager provides propagation of storage status and event capture and logging from all storage components that have the OpenManage array management agent on the managed server. The array management tool on the management console lets administrators perform the following:

·  Create and configure virtual disks (RAID arrays)

·  Manage RAID and non-RAID devices

·  Create partitions and volumes

OpenManage Array Manager supports all currently shipping and most legacy Dell PowerEdge servers and RAID controllers. See the ReadMe file included with the latest release for details.

Dell OpenManage IT Assistant includes integrated storage management. A single interface lets administrators launch array management utilities from IT Assistant and perform storage management operations.

Managing servers that have SCSI controllers

Adaptec Comprehensive Input/Output (CI/O) manages and monitors servers that have an Adaptec SCSI controller, which monitors the channels and devices configured on each channel. The managed server that has Adaptec SCSI controllers must have Dell instrumentation to use Adaptec CI/O agent features. To configure this component and use it from the management console, administrators must install Dell OpenManage Connections (For more information on Dell OpenManage Connections, please refer to the following document: http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/topics/openmanage/connections_overview.doc).

Enabling remote management with remote access cards

The Dell Remote Assistant Card II (DRAC II) and the Dell Remote Access Card III (DRAC III) – see Figure 2 – are PCI hardware interface cards that enable remote management of Dell PowerEdge servers. When DRAC II or DRAC III is installed on PowerEdge servers, administrators can manage those servers that may or may not be operational.

Figure 2: Remote Management Hardware from Dell

On systems running Novell NetWare, administrators should install DRAC II or DRAC III and the associated software on the managed server. From the management console, administrators can use OpenManage IT Assistant, OpenManage Server Administrator, and DRAC II Web Console to deploy the management capabilities provided by these cards, which let administrators:

·  Manage the server remotely through console redirect —and experience fast performance at high resolution

·  Perform an orderly shutdown for maintenance tasks and following critical component failure

·  Access the system after power failure using the onboard battery, although access may be limited

·  Reset and power up the server

·  Access the server internal logs to help identify the cause of a failure

Dell Remote Access Cards support both in-band and out-of-band communication modes. In-band mode allows communication with the card or the managed-server system through the managed-server system’s NIC connection. Out-of-band mode allows communication with the card or the managed-server system through the card’s remote access ports, which include Ethernet (embedded NIC), modem (optional), and VT 100 serial (optional). Establishing in-band communication with DRAC II requires Dell OpenManage IT Assistant.

DRAC II works with all Dell PowerEdge servers except the SC line, PowerEdge 1550, and PowerEdge 7150. DRAC III works with the PowerEdge 7150, PowerEdge 4600, PowerEdge 1650, PowerEdge 6600, PowerEdge 6650, and PowerEdge 2650.

Section 4

Installing/Upgrading/Uninstalling Server Administrator on NetWare Systems

Install/Upgrade

This section describes the features associated with install/uninstall of Server Administrator. The section also details the steps for doing an install/uninstall/upgrade (both interactive and silent mode).

The Installation program on the Dell OpenManage Systems Management CD lets administrators install Dell OpenManage products from a single point. The netware directory, located at the root level of the Systems Management CD, contains the files required for installation of OpenManage Server Administrator on servers running the NetWare operating system. For systems running Novell NetWare, the installation program offers many new features, some of which are summarized below:

·  System Type Detection: The installation program detects the system type (for example, Dell PowerEdge 2400 or PowerEdge 2500) and then installs the appropriate components for that particular system. The program supplies an appropriate message if it detects an unsupported system.

·  Hardware Detection: The installation program uses its own hardware detection mechanism prior to installing a particular piece of software. For example, if hardware detection does not find DRAC II or DRAC III, then software components that provide the management features for the card will not be installed.

·  Single Entry Point for Installation: The NWConfig utility requires only one initial script (omsetup.ips) file, present under the <CD Drive>:\netware directory. Administrators use this file to install the product. The installation program will detect the operating system version (NetWare 5.1 or 6.0) and will proceed accordingly (See Figure 3 for general flow of install process).

·  Upgrades: All Server Administrator components are upgraded transparently to the user. If the installation program detects a previous version of a component, it upgrades the component to the latest version while keeping the user preferences intact in configuration files.

Interactive install (From NWConfig Utility)

Figure 3: General flow of Install process

As stated, there is only one entry point; the following are the steps to install various Management software pieces from Dell.

  1. Insert the Systems Management CD into the system's CD drive.
  2. Type load cdrom and press <Enter>.
  3. If the volume name does not display, type volumes at the console prompt and press <Enter>.
  4. All available volumes display.
  5. Record the volume name for the CD drive.
  6. Type load nwconfig and press <Enter>.
  7. In the NetWare Configuration screen under Configuration Options, select Product Options and press <Enter>.
  8. On the Other Installation Actions menu, select Install a product not listed and press <Enter>.

NOTE: A dialogue box listing previously selected paths might appear after pressing <Enter>. Press <Esc> to close this dialogue box.

A default message appears, stating that the product is to be installed from drive A:\.

  1. Press <F3> to specify a different installation path.
    Erase A: and type the volume name and path:volume_name:netware
    (Where volume_name is the name of the volume assigned to the CD drive.)
  2. After you enter the path, press <Enter> to continue.
    A message appears, stating:
    Indicate which file groups you want installed.
    Server Administrator installs automatically.
  3. Select the other components you want to install.
    NOTE: Items selected for installation have an X next to them. Pressing <Enter> next to an item selects that item. Pressing the spacebar next to an item toggles the selection between selected and not selected.
  4. To accept the components you have selected and to continue with installation, press <F10>.

The installation of Server Administrator and the components you selected begins. Status messages appear.

The Systems Management Security Utility appears and asks whether you want to change the default security settings.

NOTE: The default root password is calvin.

Select one of the following options:

·  Press <y> to change the user password.

·  Press <n> if you want to add or change a user other than "root." You can change defaults for "root." You are prompted for a user name and password. When you are finished adding users, press <q> to return to the installation program.

·  Press <q> to quit the security utility and to accept default "root" security.

The installation of Server Administrator and the components you selected continues. Status messages appear.

When the installation of Server Administrator completes, press <Esc> twice and Performing a Silent Installation or Upgrade of Server Administrator.

Silent install (From Server Console, also used from automated scripts)

Use the following procedure to silently install Server Administrator for the first time or to upgrade to a more recent version of Server Administrator.

  1. Insert the Systems Management CD into the system's CD drive.
  2. Type load cdrom and press <Enter>.
  3. If the volume name does not display, type volumes at the console prompt and press <Enter>.
  4. All available volumes display.
  5. Record the volume name for the CD drive.
  6. Type load volume_name:\Netware\ominss32.nlm and press <Enter>.

The installation script installs all necessary files to the managed server. If you are upgrading to a more recent version of Server Administrator, the installation script will uninstall previously installed versions before installing the current version of Server Administrator.

<Enter> once to return to the console prompt and exit the NWConfig program.

Uninstalling Server Administrator

You can uninstall Server Administrator from your system, using the Product Options menu in the NWConfig utility, or using the silent uninstallation script provided on the Systems Management CD.