For full information on OpenManage Essentials, go to the main page at:

www.DellTechCenter.com/OME

Last update:  3/26/2012

OpenManage Essentials 1.0.1 FAQ’s

Sections:

1.0               Install

2.0               Tasks

3.0               Discovery

4.0               Inventory

5.0               Health

6.0               System Update

7.0               Reports

8.0               Preferences

9.0               Troubleshooting

10.0            Misc

 

1.0   Install

 

1.1 Q: Can I upgrade my OME 1.0 Open Eval installation to the new OME 1.0.1 version?

A: Yes.  When OME 1.0.1 ships, you will be able to easily install it over your 1.0 Open Eval instance.

1.2 Q: I cannot install OpenManage Essentials using a remote SQL Database Named instance?

A: SQL Server with named instances requires ‘SQL Server Browser’ service to be running to connect remotely.

1.3 Q: Will OpenManage Essentials support SQL Server ‘evaluation’ edition?

A: No, SQL Server ‘evaluation’ edition is not supported because this is a prerelease version.

1.4 Q:  What if I see this error when I launch the console – “HTTP Error 500.19 - Internal Server Error the requested page cannot be accessed because the related configuration data for the page is invalid.”

A:  Remove/Disable the XPress compression scheme from the configuration using the command below:

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe set config -section:system.webServer/httpCompression /-[name='xpress']

OR

Add an attribute of "precondition= "64bitness" for this module entry so that it loads only in 64bit application pools

 

1.5 Q: What if IPMI is disabled after installing BMC Utility?

A: Try restarting DSM Essentials Network Monitor Service, DSM Essentials Task Manager service and restart IIS.

 

 

2. 0 Tasks

2.1 Q: What troubleshooting can I do if a software update task or remote task fails to be created or executed?

A: Make sure DSM Essentials Task Manager service is running in Windows services

Email Alert Action

2.2 Q: Why am I not receiving emails after setting up email alert action?

A:  If you have an Antivirus Client installed on your system, you will need to configure it to allow emails.

2.3 Q: Does OME support Power control options for 8G servers?

 

A: Yes, Power ON (option available in Server Power Options Task), and Power OFF (option available when used in IPMI command line task, in Arguments field use: chassis power off) works on 8G servers with BMC.

Note: If the 8G server has a DRAC4 over BMC, make sure the DRAC4 IP is pingable in Troubleshoot tool using IPMI protocol. If the RMCP ping fails, the power tasks will likely be failing. This simple check will also help to know if the connection to the RAC devices for any generation server is passed.

 

 

 

3.0 Discovery

3. 1 Q: What troubleshooting can I do if a discovery task fails to be created or executed?

A: Make sure DSM Essentials Task Manager service is running in Windows services

3.2 Q: Why are devices discovered with WMI getting classified as Unknown?

A: WMI discovery will classify a device as unknown when the credentials for a user account in the Administrators group (not Administrator) is supplied for the discovery range in some caes.

If you are seeing this issue, read the following KB article and apply the registry work around described therein. So far, this applies to managed nodes with Windows Server 2008 R2.

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;951016

3.3 Q. My ESXi servers are getting classified as unknowns.

A. If you are using ESXi 5.0 update 1, please install OM 7.0 VIB available at

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/555/DriverDetails/DriverFileFormats?DriverId=VPTVV

You can also try increasing the timeout (setting to 10)  and retry(setting to 4) values in the WS-MAN page for discovery wizard.

 

3.4 Q: What is the most important thing to know about Discovery?

A: You must install Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (aka OMSA) on all of the PowerEdge Servers that you want to discover and manage using SNMP protocol.  OMSA can be installed from the OME console.

You can also discover PowerEdge Servers using WMI without OMSA installed.

Your servers will not be classified as a "Dell Computer", but rather, "Unknown" or just "Computer".  Management capabilities in OpenManage Essentials are limited if OMSA is not installed.

 

3.5 Q: Why do my Servers appear under the "Unknown" node in the device tree?

A: Systems discovered with SNMP only, and without OMSA installed on them, will be classified as "Unknown" and displayed under the "Unknown" device group.  If you have confirmed that OMSA is correctly installed on the managed node, then check the SNMP settings.  Note that SNMP community strings are *case sensitive*.

Bring up services.msc on the managed node and go to the properties page for "SNMP Service".

On the Security tab, there is a radio button for "Accept SNMP Packets from any host" and "...packets from these hosts".  You need to be sure and specify your OME server here, or select the radio button for "any host".  If you select "any host" consult the Microsoft documentation for any security implications.

For Linux machines, make sure to run '/etc/init.d/dataeng enablesnmp' followed by '/etc/init.d/dataeng restart'

Finally, the Dell Troubleshooting Tool, installed as part of OME, is very useful in helping with Discovery problems.

 

3.6 Q: Are there any considerations when trying to discover servers that have

                Windows 2008 as the operating system?

A: When using SNMP, in order to discover a system that is running Windows

Server 2008, the "Network discovery" feature must be enabled.

  

Perform the following steps to enable "Network discovery" on the target

server:

a) Navigate to the target system's Control Panel

b) Select "Network and Sharing Center"

c) In the "Sharing and Discovery" section, set "Network discovery" to "On"

 

 

3.7 Q: Looking at my systems, I see "System Is Down" for a server - can you tell me how this is determined? And also, how often is it re-checked?

 

A: The connection state shows 'ON or 'OFF' under device summary table in the LHS. When the system /device is removed from the network either power off or NIC cable removed then the state for the system is shown as 'system is down'. Basically when the server is not pingable we see server as down. By default polling for connection state is 1 hour. User has option to configure the frequency of polling.

 

3.8 Q: What troubleshooting can I do if a server is showing up as unknown or not returning inventory data even after SNMP is enabled and OMSA is installed on the target server?

A: Make sure DSM SA Data Manager service is running in Windows services on the target server.  If it is stopped, restart the service and re-run the inventory task.

 

 

 

4. 0 Inventory

4. 1 Q: What troubleshooting can I do if an inventory task fails to be created or executed?

A: Make sure DSM Essentials Task Manager service is running in Windows services

4.2 Q:  What do I need to do if I do not see any inventory data for a Dell Server running ESXi 5.0?

A: To properly discover, inventory and classify a Dell Server running ESXi 5.0 you must install OpenManage Offline Bundle and VIB 6.5 A02 from support.dell.com which will be available in Q4 2011.

 

 

5.0 Health

5.1 Q: Does OMSA need to be installed on a server to retrieve health status?

A: For servers discovered via WMI where OMSA is not installed and running, health status will only be what the OS provides.  For maximum hardware health status you should install OMSA

                6.0 System Update

6.1 Q: I can’t load a Dell catalog for software update or am getting errors when trying to run software update tasks, what might be the problem?

1. A:  First, try downloading the catalog to the OpenManage Essentials system directly or use an SUU DVD in the local system drive.
2. Browse for catalog.xml file on the local system or DVD (not on a file share.  It is possible to use a file share, but for troubleshooting, do not use file share)
3. Load catalog and verify it shows as loaded in OpenManage Essentials.  You may also wish to try using the FTP download to get the latest catalog for troubleshooting purposes if you can’t load other catalogs.
4. Now create software update tasks.  If tasks fail, more information can be found in the task details.
5. Try setting all internet explorer security settings to LOW if tasks will not run when executed.

 

6.2 Q: What do I need to do if Linux servers show under 'Non--Inventoried systems' even after I performed inventory on the discovered Linux servers 'N' number of times?

A: Please follow the below steps to resolve this problem:
For RHEL 5.5, SLES10, SLES11
1. Mount OMSA6.5 DVD in the Linux server
2. Install 'srvadmin-cm' rpm.
3. Restart OMSA services.
4. Make sure OMSA inventory collector is working fine(Run ./invcol -outc=/home/inv.xml from /opt/dell/srvadmin/sbin/invcol location)
5. Re-inventory the Linux server in OME.
6. Now the Linux server will be either listed under 'Compliant sytems' or 'Non-Compliant systems'.

6.3 Q: What order are packages installed on a system?

A: Packages are applied in the following order.

 

1.Driver

2.Firmware

3.Firmware ES

4.BIOS

5.Application

 

6.4 Q: What do I need to do when I see this error “Attempted to perform an unauthorized operation.” when performing a catalog import task?

 

A: The user needs to modify the permissions of the folder on the network share to allow the local user access.  When you are in a workgroup and not on a domain, access to a network share will be restricted so if you need to utilize a network share you will need to make sure OME is running on a machine on a domain.  The OME user has to be authenticated on the domain and the network share has to be authenticated on that domain as well.

 

When using Repository manager as you catalog source make sure that the packages associated with the RM generated catalog are present in the same folder as the catalog.

If the packages are not present in that folder you would see an invalid path result for the packages.

 

6.5 Q:  How do I configure Internet Explorer with Enhanced Security Configuration to ensure OpenManage Essentials can utilize all features that use resources from Dell Online?

A: To insure that these features work in the Dell Open Manage Essentials console on an environment with Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration enabled. The user needs to add *.dell.com to the Trusted sites zone.

Import Catalog and System Update require internet access when the user selects Dell Online as the source.

The warranty report also uses Dell Online resources to retrieve information and also will not return data without it.

6.6 Q: When I try to run system updates in OME I get the following error- “Access to path ‘C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\SysMgt\Essentails\SystemUpdate is denied”.

6. 7 Q: Why does System update task show as failed in spite of successfully updating the server?

A: After executing the software update task which requires target server to be restarted,

                if target server does not come up within 30 minutes the task will show as failed in spite

                of successfully updating the server.  In that case you will have to run the inventory

                for the server separately to see the updated version on inventory page

                and compliance report.

 

6.8 Q: Why am I not seeing software inventory for a server or why does the server show up in the non-inventory state even though I executed an inventory task against it?

A: Do the following:

-          Make sure OMSA is installed the server.

-          Check:

C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt\cm\invcol\invcol

If you remove or rename the above directory, inventory collector generates the log files without any issues.

6.9 Q: I have OME installed and successfully discovered and inventoried my 11G servers. I downloaded the update catalog and have identified some servers that our non-compliant. When I run the update task it goes to 100% complete in less than 2 seconds and no update occurs.....any ideas?

 

A: Providing full control NTFS permissions to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\SysMgt\Essentials\SystemUpdate folder has corrected the problem. The job runs successfully now.

 

 

7.0 Reports

7.1 Q:  Why is Virtual Machine Information and Virtual Machine Host Product information Tables missing in ESX Sever Device Details?

A: The SNMP agent for this system may not be properly configured and is not returning any data for the VMWARE OID.

7.2 Q: On the Reports page, why does Device name shows as IP Address instead of the actual Device Name?

A: The IP address will be displayed instead of device names only when devices from which the alerts received is not discovered in OME.

 

7.3 Q: What do I need to do if the warranty report is not getting populated after running inventory?

A:  This can happen if OME cannot communicate with Dell Warranty websites if you have enhanced security configuration enabled for Internet Explorer. You can add api.dell.com and lt.dell.com websites to the trusted list for warranty report to work. Alternatively you can disable the enhanced security configuration.

 

 

 

 

 

8.0 Preferences

8.1 Q: Can I increase the console maximum timeout setting from 6 hours.

A: No, 6 hours is the maximum timeout setting.  The session timeout gives the application the ability to clean up the database.

9.0 Troubleshooting

9.1 Q: Where can I find the logs to help troubleshoot install issues?

A: Check the ‘InstallUtil.log’ file for any install issues.     

This file is located in your windows temp directory.

9.2 Q: What do I need to do if I see this message "You do not have permissions to alter these settings.  Please contact your system administrator. "

A: If you used a domain account to install OpenManage Essentials you will need to add that account to the local administrators group and run iisreset from the command line.

9.3 Q: When I try to run system updates in OME I get the following error- “Access to path ‘C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\SysMgt\Essentails\SystemUpdate is denied”.

9.5   Q: What do I need to do if all SNMP traps from an ESXi 5 host show up in OME as unknown?

A:  You have to change the hardware event source in the SNMP config on the ESXi 5 host from CIM to IPMI. Run the following commands:

vicfg-snmp.pl --username root --password <yourpassword> --server <yourserver> --hwsrc sensors

The output of the --show command then should be:

Current SNMP agent settings:
Enabled  : 1
UDP port : 161

Communities :
public

Notification targets :
<myOMEservername>@162/public

Options :
EnvEventSource=sensors

9.6 Q: What do I need to do if the warranty report is not getting populated after running inventory?

A:  This can happen if OME cannot communicate with Dell Warranty websites if you have enhanced security configuration enabled for Internet Explorer. You can add api.dell.com and lt.dell.com websites to the trusted list for warranty report to work. Alternatively you can disable the enhanced security configuration.

 

9.7 Q: Why is OME unable to create a connection to SQL Server?

A: This is only 1 of many possible solutions:

 

Make sure TCP/IP is enabled using SQL Server Configuration Manager

Start Menu \ All Programs \ Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 \ Configuration Tools \ SQL Server Configuration Manager

 

Under SQL Server Network Configuration select ‘Protocols’ for each instance.

Set the TCP/IP to Enabled

 

 

 

 

10. Misc.

10.1 Q: What ports and protocols are needed to be opened for proper access to the Essentials server?

A: Many ports and protocols...snmp, http, https, omremote, rpc, smb, 2607… and also add exe file copy over http. 

 

10.2 Q: What are SNMP “authentication traps”?

A: An authentication trap is sent when the SNMP agent is hit with an inquiry with a community name it does not recognize. These are case-sensitive also.

The traps are useful to know if someone is probing your system, although its better nowadays to just sniff packets and find out the community name that way.

If you use multiple community names on the network, and some management might overlap, people may want to turn these off as they become false positives (annoyances).

From MS (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc959663.aspx):

Send Authentication Traps. When an SNMP agent receives a request that does not contain a valid community name or the host that is sending the message is not on the list of acceptable hosts, the agent can send an authentication trap message to one or more trap destinations (management systems). The trap message indicates that the SNMP request failed authentication. This is a default setting.

10.3 Q: Where can I get the files used to install OMSA?

A: See below links:

Microsoft Windows

 

               Install and upgrades

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-WIN-6.5.0-2247_A01.10.exe

 

               Major Upgrades

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-DUP-WIN-6.5.0-2247_A01.8.exe

 

               Minor Upgrades

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-SP-WIN-6.5.0-2247_A01.12.msp

 

Citrix XenServer

Version 5.6

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.XenServer56_A01.11.iso

 

VMware ESXi

Version 4.1

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-6.5.0-2247.VIB-ESX41i_A01.zip

 

Linux Distribution

Bundle containing the below listed packages ( they can also be downloaded individually)

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247_A01.15.tar.gz

 

VMware ESX

Version 4.1

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.ESX41.i386_A01.tar.gz

 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Version 5 i386

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.RHEL5.i386_A01.3.tar.gz

 

Version 5 x86 and x64

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.RHEL5.x86_64_A01.4.tar.gz

 

Version 6 x86 and x64

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.RHEL6.x86_64_A01.5.tar.gz

 

SUSE Linux Enterprise

 

Version 10 i386

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.SLES10.i386_A01.13.tar.gz

 

Version 10 x86 and x64

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.SLES10.x86_64_A01.6.tar.gz

 

Version 11 i386

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.SLES11.i386_A01.14.tar.gz

 

Version 11 x86 and x64

ftp://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.5.0-2247.SLES11.x86_64_A01.7.tar.gz

 

10.4 Q. Why are the alerts and task schedules in OME display a timestamp which is off by 1 hour?

A. Check the location settings for the server in “Regional and language settings” under control panel to make sure the location for the server and date/time formats are set appropriately for the region where the server is located.