Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter 1.7 Version 1.7 ...€¦ · Management Plug-in. Make...
Transcript of Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter 1.7 Version 1.7 ...€¦ · Management Plug-in. Make...
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter
Version 1.7
Release Notes
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
ii
This document is for informational purposes only and may contain typographical errors and
technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any
kind.
© 2013 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell and its affiliates cannot be responsible for errors or omissions
in typography or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel and
Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft,
Windows, and Windows Server are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this
document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims
proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.
June 2013| Rev 1.0
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
iii
Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 5
BIOS/iDRAC Co-requirement for Lifecycle Controllers .......................................................... 5
Hardware and software requirements ............................................................................. 7
Supported browsers .................................................................................................. 8
Space required for provisioned storage ........................................................................... 9
PowerEdge 12th generation servers .............................................................................. 9
PowerEdge 11th generation servers ............................................................................. 10
PowerEdge 10TH generation servers ............................................................................ 11
PowerEdge 9TH generation servers .............................................................................. 11
Port information ..................................................................................................... 12
Upgrade Repository Path information ............................................................................ 13
User notes ............................................................................................................ 13
Open issues and resolutions ........................................................................................ 16
Corrected Problems ................................................................................................. 27
Tables
Table 1. BIOS for Dell PowerEdge 11TH generation servers ................................................... 5
Table 2. BIOS for Dell PowerEdge 12TH generation servers ................................................... 6
Table 3. For deployment ........................................................................................... 6
Table 4. For management ......................................................................................... 6
Table 5. Management support .................................................................................... 7
Table 6. Hypervisor deployment versions ....................................................................... 8
Table 7. VMware Version Support ................................................................................ 9
Table 8. Feature Support .......................................................................................... 9
Table 9. VMware version support ................................................................................ 10
Table 10. Feature support ......................................................................................... 11
Table 11. VMware version support ................................................................................ 11
Table 12. Feature support ......................................................................................... 11
Table 13. VMware version support ................................................................................ 11
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
iv
Table 14. Feature Support ......................................................................................... 11
Table 15. Virtual appliance ........................................................................................ 12
Table 16. Managed nodes .......................................................................................... 12
Table 17. Upgrade Repository Path information. .............................................................. 13
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
5
Introduction
This file contains updated information for your Dell™ Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter and any
other technical documentation included with Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter software.
NOTE: Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter is available from
http://www.dell.com/vcenterplugin.
The Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter documentation includes:
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Version 1.7. Quick Install
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Version 1.7. User’s Guide
Context-sensitive help pages display by the user interface
This Release Notes file
BIOS/iDRAC Co-requirement for Lifecycle Controllers
The following BIOS, iDRAC, and Lifecycle Controller versions are required to enable Management Plug-
in features. These versions must match in order for the Management Plug-in to function properly.
Note: We recommend that you use Server Update Utility (SUU), Repository Manager, or Lifecycle
Controller's Platform update functionality to update your servers to one of these baselines before using
The Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter. Upgrade these in the order listed below.
BIOS for Dell PowerEdge 11TH generation servers Table 1.
Server Version
PowerEdge R210 1.8.2
PowerEdge R210II 1.3.1
PowerEdge R310 1.8.2
PowerEdge R410 1.9.0
PowerEdge R415 1.8.6
PowerEdge R510 1.9.0
PowerEdge R515 1.8.6
PowerEdge R610 6.1.0
PowerEdge R710 6.1.0
PowerEdge R710 6.1.0
PowerEdge R715 2.3.0
PowerEdge R810 2.5.0
PowerEdge R815 2.3.0
PowerEdge R910 2.5.0
PowerEdge M610 6.1.0
PowerEdge M610x 6.1.0
PowerEdge M710HD 5.0.1
PowerEdge M910 2.5.0
PowerEdge M915 2.6.0
PowerEdge T110 1.8.2
PowerEdge T310 1.8.2
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
6
Server Version
PowerEdge T410 1.9.0
PowerEdge T610 6.1.0
PowerEdge T710 6.1.0
BIOS for Dell PowerEdge 12TH generation servers Table 2.
System BIOS version
T320 1.0.1
T420 1.0.1
T620 1.2.6
M420 1.2.4
M520 1.2.6
M620 1.2.6
M820 1.2.6
R320 1.2.4
R420 1.2.4
R520 1.2.4
R620 1.2.6
R720 1.2.6
R720xd 1.2.6
R820 1.1.5
For deployment Table 3.
Version Version number/Release date
iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 11th generation servers
3.35 for Modular, 1.85 for Rack or Tower
Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 11th generation servers
1.5.2 or later
Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers
1.0.0.3017 or later
iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers
1.00.0 or later
For management Table 4.
Version Version number/Release date
iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 11th generation servers
3.35 for Modular, 1.85 for Rack or Tower
Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 11th generation servers
1.5.2 or later
Lifecycle Controller for Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers
1.0.0.3017 or later
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
7
Version Version number/Release date
iDRAC version for Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers
1.00.0 or later
Hardware and software requirements
The following support matrix tables detail the VMware version and Management Plug-in functional
support for Dell PowerEdge 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th generation Dell servers.
OpenManage 6.4 agent or greater - SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Blink Server LED,
View/Clear SEL logs
Lifecycle Controller 1.5.2 or later - BIOS/Firmware Updates, Bare metal Deployment,
Hardware Configuration, Change Configuration Settings
iDRAC Express/Enterprise - Power On a Server, Link and Launch iDRAC
OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) Agent — Required for all Dell servers prior to
Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers
The manual installation of the OMSA agent on Dell PowerEdge 11th Generation hosts is
no longer required on all ESX/ESXi hosts prior to the Dell Management Plug-in
installation. The OMSA agent is installed automatically during deployment. In addition,
the Dell Management Plug-in provides options to install OMSA as part of acquiring host
compliance.
For the management, we support the following:
Management support Table 5.
Hypervisor version OMSA version
ESX 4.1 OMSA 6.5
ESXi 4.1 OMSA 6.5 VIB
ESX 4.1 U1 OMSA 6.5
ESXi 4.1 U1 OMSA 6.5 VIB
ESX 4.1 U2 OMSA 7.0
ESXi 4.1 U2 OMSA 7.0 VIB
ESXi 4.1 U3 OMSA 7.2 VIB
ESX 4.1 U3 OMSA 7.2
ESXi 5.0 OMSA 7.1 VIB
ESXi 5.0 U1 OMSA 7.1 VIB
ESXi 5.0 U2 OMSA 7.3 VIB
ESXi 5.1 OMSA 7.1 VIB
ESXi 5.1 U1 OMSA 7.3 VIB
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
8
For Hypervisor deployment, we support the following:
Hypervisor deployment versions Table 6.
Hypervisor version OMSA version Notes
ESX 4.1 OMSA 6.5 Limited to servers with native drivers included in VMware ESX ISO
ESXi 4.1 OMSA 6.5 VIB Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusion
ESX 4.1 U1 OMSA 6.5 Limited to servers with native drivers included in VMware ESX ISO
ESXi 4.1 U1 OMSA 6.5 VIB Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusion
ESX 4.1 U2 OMSA/ 7.0 Limited to servers with native drivers included in VMware ESX ISO
ESXi 4.1 U2 OMSA 7.0 VIB Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusion
ESX 4.1 U3 OMSA/ 7.2 Limited to servers with native drivers included in VMware ESX ISO
ESXi 4.1 U3 OMSA 7.2 VIB Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusion
ESXi 5.0 OMSA 7.0 VIB Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusion
ESXi 5.0 U1 OMSA 7.1 VIB Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusions
ESXi 5.0 U2 OMSA 7.3 Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusions
ESXi 5.1 OMSA 7.1 VIB Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusions
ESXi 5.1 U1 OMSA 7.3 Use the Dell Custom ISO for driver inclusions
Supported browsers
Access the Administration Portal and the Dell Management Plug-in using the following browsers:
Internet Explorer 7.0.x, 8.0.x, and 9.0.x set to not use a proxy when communicating with the Dell
Management Plug-in. Make sure to set your default browser to Internet Explorer.
Note: Document Mode and Bowser Mode must be set to the right IE version. Press F12 to set them.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
9
Space required for provisioned storage
The Dell Management Plug-in virtual appliance requires 36.083 GB of disk space for provisioned
storage.
PowerEdge 12th generation servers
VMware Version Support Table 7.
Model VMware versions
R220 R320 R420 R520 R620 R720 R720XD R820 R920 M420 M520 M620 M820 T320 T620
ESX Classic, ESXi Installable
Feature Support Table 8.
Model VMware versions
R220 R320 R420 R520 R620 R720 R720XD R820 R920 M420 M520 M620 T320 T620
SNMP alerts, BIOS/Firmware Updates, Hardware Inventory, Power on server, Bare Metal Deployment, Hardware Configuration, Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs, Link and Launch iDRAC, Change Configuration Settings, Warranty Information
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
10
PowerEdge 11th generation servers
VMware version support Table 9.
Model VMware versions
R210, R310, T410 ESX Classic
R210 II R410 R415 R510 R515 R610 R710 R715 R810 R815 R905 R910 M1000e M610 M710 M710D M910 M915 T610 T710
ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
11
Feature support Table 10.
Model Features
R210, R210II, R310, T410, R410, R415, R510, R515, T610, R610, M1000e, M610, T710, R710, M710, M710HD, R810, R905, R910, M910, M915, R715, R815
SNMP alerts, BIOS/Firmware Updates, Hardware Inventory, Power on server, Bare Metal Deployment, Hardware Configuration, Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs, Link and Launch iDRAC, Change Configuration Settings, Warranty Information
PowerEdge 10TH generation servers
VMware version support Table 11.
Model VMware versions
R200, T300, R300, M600 ESX Classic
M605, T605, M805, R805, R900, R905, M905 ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded
Feature support Table 12.
Model Features
R200, T300, R300, M600, M605, T605, M805, R805, R900, M905
SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Power on server, Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs, Link and Launch iDRAC, Warranty Information
PowerEdge 9TH generation servers
VMware version support Table 13.
Model VMware versions
PE1950 I/II ESX Classic
PE1950 III ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded
PE1955 ESX Classic
PE2900 I/II ESX Classic
PE2900 III ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded
PE2950 I/II ESX Classic
PE2950 III ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded
PE2970 ESX Classic, ESXi Embedded
PE6950 ESX Classic
Feature Support Table 14.
Model Features
All supported PowerEdge 9th generation servers SNMP alerts, Hardware Inventory, Power on server, Blink Server LED, View/Clear SEL logs, Link and Launch iDRAC, Warranty Information
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
12
Port information
NOTE: When deploying the OMSA agent using the Fix non-compliant vSphere hosts link available from
the Compliance window in the Dell Management Center, the Dell Management Plug-in starts the http
Client service and enables port 8080 on and releases after ESXi 5.0 to download OMSA VIB and install it.
Once the OMSA installation is completed, the service automatically stops and the port is closed.
Virtual appliance Table 15.
Port Number
Protocols Port Type Maximum Encryption
Level
Direction Usage Configurable
21 FTP TCP None Out FTP command client
No
53 DNS TCP None Out DNS client No
80 HTTP TCP None Out Dell Online Data Access
No
80 HTTP TCP None In Administration Console
No
162 SNMP Agent
UDP None In SNMP Agent (server)
No
443 HTTPS TCP 128-bit In HTTPS server No
443 WSMAN TCP 128-bit In/Out iDRAC/OMSA communication
No
4433 HTTPS TCP 128-bit In Auto Discovery No
2049 NFS UDP/TCP None All Public Share No
4001-4004 NFS UDP/TCP None All Public Share No
5432 Postgres TCP 128-bit All PostgreSQL No
11620 SNMP Agent
UDP None In SNMP Agent (server)
No
Managed nodes Table 16.
Port Number
Protocols Port Type Maximum Encryption
Level
Direction Usage Configurable
162, 11620 SNMP UDP None Out Hardware Events No
443 WSMAN TCP 128-bit In iDRAC/OMSA communication
No
4433 HTTPS TCP 128-bit Out Auto Discovery No
2049 NFS UDP None All Public Share No
4001-4004 NFS UDP None All Public Share No
443 HTTPS TCP 128-bit In HTTPS server No
8080 HTTP TCP In HTTP server; downloads the OMSA VIB and fixes non-compliant vSphere hosts
No
50 RMCP UDP/TCP 128-bit Out Remote Mail Check Protocol
No
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
13
Port Number
Protocols Port Type Maximum Encryption
Level
Direction Usage Configurable
51 IMP UDP/TCP None N/A IMP Logical Address Maintenance
No
5353 mDNS UDP/TCP All Multicast DNS No
631 IPP UDP/TCP None Out Internet Printing Protocol (IPP)
No
69 TFTP UDP 128-bit All Trivial File Transfer
No
111 NFS UDP/TCP 128-bit In SUN Remote Procedure Call (Portmap)
No
68 BOOTP UDP None Out Bootstrap Protocol Client
No
Upgrade Repository Path information
When you upgrade, you may need to update the path for the location of the RPMs. Make sure you point
to the folder location according to the chart below:
Upgrade Repository Path information. Table 17.
Upgrade from Upgrade folder
Latest Latest --greatest Latest—greatest--greatest
1.0.1 x
1.5.0 x
1.5.1 x
1.6.0 x
1.7.0 x
User notes
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter only supports BIOS mode to auto-deploy
hypervisor on the target server. Make sure that you have BIOS mode selected in the
reference hardware profile prior to applying the Hypervisor profile. If there is no
hardware profile selected, then make sure to manually configure the boot mode as
BIOS and reboot the server prior to applying the hypervisor profile.
After the deployment of ESXi finishes, the server shows a purple screen as shown below
with the error “Two file systems with the same UUID have been detected. Make sure
you do not have two ESXi installations.”
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
14
This is a known issue from VMware and the resolution is in the VMware knowledge base
article found here:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displa
yKC&externalId=2000476
or here:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displa
yKC&externalId=1035107
Incorrect warning is displayed on the vCenter Summary tab when the hypervisor was
deployed and root password set to non-default as shown in the screen below.
This is a known issue from VMware and the resolution is to remove the host from the
VMware tree and re-add it back with the correct root password.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
15
Incorrect warning is displayed. Figure 1.
Time stamps are converted to the user’s local time zone and the Dell Management Plug-
in displays Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time offsets.
If you run a security scanner tool (such as Nessus) against the Server Administrator Web
server, certain security warnings against port 1311 running the Server Administrator
Web server may be displayed. These warnings have been investigated by Dell
engineering and are determined to be false positives.
If the proxy settings are provided in the configuration, then the proxy settings are used
to access the Repository URL provided in the Administration Portal. However, if the URL
to the Update Repository is an internal URL, then disable the proxy setting. If you do not
disable the internal proxy setting, then the appliance attempts to connect to the URL
with the proxy.
A hardware profile created using a reference server with a certain BIOS version could
cause deployment to fail. Some BIOS versions do not give accurate information for
certain BIOS settings, such as the Embedded NIC1 and NIC2 settings. When a server
with BIOS version is used as a reference server in a hardware profile, the fields are
ignored both by the UI and by deployment. A problem could arise, however, if the
settings in question are required to have a certain value for deployment to complete
successfully.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
16
The solution to this issue is to use a server with an up to date BIOS as a reference
server for a hardware profile.
Note: Servers being used for deployment should also have updated BIOS. If deployment
tries to apply settings to a server with problematic BIOS, deployment fails. Currently
the BIOS version is not checked for compliance, but it is displayed on the server
compliance page. Warnings are displayed on the hardware profile reference server and
BIOS settings pages, as well as when they select a deployment template with an
affected hardware profile during deployment.
To resolve this issue, use one of the BIOS versions in Tables 1 and 2 on pages 4 and 5.
Open issues and resolutions
The following section lists the open issues and resolutions with the Dell Management Plug-in for
VMware vCenter 1.7:
Issue 1: Using Dell Management Plug-in to update an Intel Network card with the firmware version of
13.5.2 is not supported.
Description: There is a known issue with Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers and some Intel
Network cards with the firmware version of 13.5.2. Updating some models of Intel network cards at
this version of firmware fails when the firmware update is applied using the Lifecycle Controller.
Resolution/Workaround: Customers with this version of firmware must update the network driver
software using an operating system. If the Intel Network card has a version of firmware other than
13.5.2, you can update using Dell Management Plug-in. For more information, see
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/b/techcenter/archive/2013/03/20/intel-network-
controller-card-with-v13-5-2-firmware-cannot-be-upgraded-using-lifecycle-controller-to-v13-5-6.aspx
Note: When using the one-to-many firmware update, avoid selecting Intel network adapters that are at
version 13.5.2, as this will fail and stop the update task from updating remaining servers.
Version Affected: All
Issue 2: Using the Dell Management Plug-in to upgrade a Broadcom NetXtreme II 10Gigabit Ethernet
adapter (BCM57712) from firmware version of 6.2.x or less, or downgrade to a firmware version of
6.2.x or less is not supported.
Resolution/Workaround: There is a known issue with the Broadcom NetXtreme II 10Gigabit Ethernet
adapter (BCM57712) where updating the adapter from firmware version of 6.2.x or less, or downgrade
to a firmware version of 6.2.x or less fails when the update is applied using the Lifecycle Controller.
When attempting to perform this update using the Dell Management Plug-in, the update may
incorrectly show that it completed successfully; however, the firmware update will have failed and
remain at the previous level. One way to successfully update the adapter software for the Broadcom
NetXtreme II 10Gigabit Ethernet adapter (BCM57712) is for customers to update the adapter firmware
from an operating system.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
17
Version Affected: All
Issue 3: While running the Firmware Update wizard, at the datacenter or cluster level, an error
message “The firmware repository file does not exist or is invalid.” may display. This may be due to
a daily background process that was unable to download and cache the catalog file from the
repository. This occurs if the catalog file is not reachable at the time the background process runs. .
Resolution/Workaround: After resolving any catalog connectivity issues that may exist, you can re-
initiate the background process by changing the firmware repository location and then setting it back
to the original location. Allow about 5 minutes for the background process to complete.
Version Affected: All
Issue 4: After completing the firmware updates using the Dell Management Plug-in, an inventory may
not be automatically initiated on the updated servers. The firmware versions displayed may show
previous values until a new inventory has completed. .
Resolution/Workaround: Verify inventory has completed successfully following a firmware update
and prior to viewing firmware versions or scheduling any new firmware update jobs.
Version Affected: All
Issue 5: Sometimes no hosts are listed after running the Connection Profile Wizard, even when there
are hosts managed on the vCenter.
Description: Sometimes no hosts are listed in the “Associated Hosts” page of create or update of
Connection Profile Wizard and the text “No Dell Hosts were found” is displayed even if there are hosts
managed on the vCenter. This issue is intermittant and the issue is due the caching on the browser.
Resolution/Workaround: The issue is resolved by clearing the browser cache. Press the F12 key on the
IE browser and then select the Cache->Clear Browser Cache
Version Affected: All
Issue 6: When Installing the Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter I see the following error and
cannot proceed.
“Network card 'VirtualE1000' has a DVPort backing, which is not supported. This could be because the
host does not support VDS or because the host has not joined a VDS.”
Resolution/Workaround: Set the network interface to the VM Network during the OVF installation.
Then once the virtual machine is created remap the networking to the VDS port group.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
18
Version Affected: All
Issue 7: Run inventory job prior to initiating firmware updates.
Description: When conducting firmware updates on Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers, update
jobs may have been scheduled for components that were not updatable using the Lifecycle Controller,
and thus are not updatable from within the Dell Management Plug-in.
Resolution/Workaround: Dell recommends that you run an inventory job after upgrading to this
version, and prior to initiating firmware updates.
Version Affected: All
Issue 8: The PCI Slots overview may show a total of zero slots for Dell PowerEdge 12th
generation blade servers deployed to a VRTX chassis.
Description: Under the Dell Server Management Tab, Hardware Inventory Information, PCI
Slots section, the PCI Slots Total may incorrectly display a value of zero on Dell PowerEdge
12th generation servers inside a VRTX chassis. This is due to a defect, which is in recent
versions of the BIOS. This BIOS defect will be addressed in a future BIOS release.
Resolution/Workaround: None.
Version Affected: All
Issue 9: The NIC connection status is not reflected correctly on Dell PowerEdge 12th
generation servers.
Description: Under the Dell Server Management Tab, Hardware Inventory
Information, NICs section, the Network Interface Cards may incorrectly display a
connected status of NO on Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers. This is due to a
defect, which is in recent versions of the Lifecycle Controller firmware. This Lifecycle
Controller defect will be addressed in a future Lifecycle Controller firmware release.
Resolution/Workaround: None.
Version Affected: All
Issue 10: Navigating away from a firmware update by selecting another host in the
datacenter tree causes the update to fail.
Description: Navigating away from the firmware update page by selecting another host in the
datacenter tree causes the update to fail. The update fails by not entering Maintenance mode and the
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
19
reboot tasks will fail to initiate.
Resolution/Workaround: You must not navigate away from the wizard until it closed before selecting any
another host in the inventory.
Version Affected: All
Issue 11: The Service Tag is not displaying during a firmware update.
Description: In the firmware inventory and on the Select Update Bundles tab, the Service Tag
information is not displaying for Dell PowerEdge 11th generation servers. This information is not
displayed if vCenter does not provide the Service Tag
Resolution/Workaround: You can view the Service Tag information on the Host Overview page where
you launched the firmware update.
Version Affected: All
Issue 12: ESX / ESXi deployment fails on servers having a PERC S300 boot controller.
Description: Deployments of Dell Management Plug-in using different ESX/ESXi versions on Dell
PowerEdge servers with the PERC S300 boot controller failed. The Dell Customized ESX/ESXi operating
systems do not carry the driver for the PERC S300 boot controller, which causes the boot
controller/HDD not to be recognized during operating system installation.
Resolution/Workaround: Servers with PERC S300 boot controllers are not supported for Dell
Management Plug-in deployments.
Version Affected: All.
Issue 13: NPE is thrown when trying to register the Dell Management Plug-in.
Description: The registration of Dell Management Plug-in fails after upgrade to version 1.5.1 even if there is no earlier Dell Management Plug-in registered and the vCenter locale is one of the supported locales. The issue happens since some SQL scripts failed to execute during RPM update. Resolution/Workaround: It is recommended that you take backup before performing any RPM upgrade. Install the previous version of plugin prior to the upgrade and restore the DB. Now repeat the process of upgrade using RPM upgrade. Version Affected: All
Issue 14: The RAID topology does not support a dedicated hotspare in the reference topology and
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
20
also does not support a dedicated hotspare while applying a hardware profile.
Description: Raid Topology does not support a dedicated hotspare in the reference topology and also
does not support dedicated hotspare while applying hardware profile.
Resolution/Workaround: If you need a dedicated hotspare in reference topology, set up the RAID
outside of the Dell Management Plug-in.
Version Affected: All
Issue 15: Firmware download fails when trying to downgrade firmware from Q4 block release.
Description: The firmware downgrade will fail sometimes if the user is trying to downgrade LC,
IDRAC and other firmware at the same time.
Resolution/Workaround: downgrade LC first and then downgrade the rest of the firmware once LC
firmware downgrade is completed.
Issue 16: Connection profile association not shown in host compliance page when inventory is not able
to get iDRAC IP for the host.
Description: If while running inventory, the iDRAC is non-responsive and it is not able to get iDRAC IP,
the inventory will fail and on the host compliance page the host is shown as not associated with the
connection profile.
Resolution/Workaround: Reset the iDRAC to fix the issue of iDRAC not being responsive and then
rerun the inventory. If the inventory is able to get the iDRAC IP, then the host will be associated with
the correct connection profile.
Version Affected: 1.6 and later
Issue 17: A Communication Error Message is displayed after clicking the Firmware link from vSphere Client. Description: If you have a slow network speed (9600BPS), you may get a Communication Error
Message as shown below after clicking on the Firmware link in vSphere Client for the Dell
Management Plug-in. The Communication Error Message is caused when the connection times out
(which was initiated by the Microsoft Internet Explorer) while trying to obtain the Software Inventory
list. For Microsoft Internet Explorer 8/9/10, the default “Receive Time out” value is set to 10
seconds.
Resolution/Workaround: Use the follow steps to fix the issue:
1. Open RegEdit. 2. Navigate to the following location:
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
21
KHEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings. 3. Add a new DWORD value for ReceiveTimeout.
4. Set the value to 30 seconds (30000) [This may need to try higher value in your environment]. 5. Exit RegEdit. 6. Restart Internet Explorer.
Note: Just opening a new Internet Explorer window is not enough. You must restart the Internet Explorer browser.
7.
The error that displays when the value is set too low is:
Version Affected: 1.5 and later.
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
22
Issue 18: After deploying ESX 4.1u3(800380), OMSA is not configured. Description: ESX 4.1 base, U1, U2, and U3 all require SSH to be enabled on Dell PowerEdge 11th
generation servers at the time when inventory is run to determine if the OMSA is configured correctly.
If Dell Management Plug-in was used to deploy ESX 4.1 base, u1, u2, u3, it installs and configures
OMSA correctly. However, since SSH is not enabled, it shows the host as Not configured on the host
compliance page. In addition, if ESX 4.1 was installed outside and OMSA was installed and configured
using Dell Management Plug-in, and then the user turned off SSH later, the host shows as “Not
configured.” The system must have SSH enabled to show the correct status.
Resolution/Workaround: Either the user has to ignore the wrong status or keep SSH enabled at all
times.
Version Affected: 1.5 and later.
Issue 19: Deployment with IPV6 enabled may add host to vCenter with IPV6 address. Description: If an IPV6 address was used to add the host to the vCenter, then the inventory will fail
on that host.
Resolution/Workaround: The workaround is to remove the host from the connection profile, remove
the host from the vCenter tree, then add the host back to the vCenter tree using the hostname, and
then add the newly added host to the connection profile.
Version Affected: 1.6 and later
Issue 20: Using localhost for hostname causes problems identifying the source of SNMP alerts.
Description: Starting with ESXi 5.1, a value of localhost for the hostname causes problems in
identifying the source of SNMP alerts. The use of localhost is not supported and a Fully Qualified
Domain Name FQDN should be used instead.
Resolution/Workaround: When deploying an ESXi 5.1 server using DHCP, it is strongly recommended
that a combination of a DHCP reservation based on the selected NIC MAC addresses, and a DNS host
entry using the reservation’s IP address be configured. The MAC address is visible from the
Deployment Wizard’s Server Identification screen, Network Interface drop-down, and provided to help
identify the network interfaces. The DHCP reservation and DNS entry should be created for the
server prior to scheduling the deployment, and if properly configured should set the hostname to the
value from DNS.
Version Affected: 1.6 and later
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
23
Issue 21: Balloon driver or vMotion is not functioning as expected.
Description: VMware tools are out of date causing potential issues like the balloon driver or vMotion
not to functioning as expected.
Resolution/Workaround: Tools can be updated by powering the virtual machine down and changing
the virtual machine type to Linux/Centos 32 bit. Once the virtual machine comes back online do an
automatic upgrade of the tools. Detailed steps are located at our tech center site:
http://www.DellTechCenter.com/DMPVV
Version Affected: 1.6 and later
Issue 22: Deployments failure error message seen on R210 II machines.
Description: Timeout issue on R210 II systems produces a hypervisor deployments failure error due to
failure of BIOS to boot from attached ISO.
Resolution/Workaround: Manually install hypervisor on the machine.
Version Affected: 1.5.1, 1.6
Issue 23: Dell Management Plug-in gets a security error message.
Description: Although the SSL Certificate is valid on a vCenter and user credentials are correct,
a user encounters an error message saying , “There are either too many Virtual Management
Console connections or an incorrect user name or password or session ID, or an incorrect SSL
certificate. Please verify these items and try again.”
Resolution/Workaround: This happens due to an invalid session in vCenter. Simply closing and
re-opening the vSphere client resolves seeing this error message. You can check your session by
clicking “Sessions” under Administration in the vSphere Client for advanced troubleshooting.
Version Affected: 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
24
Issue 24: Unable to boot to service partition while deploying OS ISO.
Description: Hypervisor deployments are failing on Dell 11th and 12th generation servers with this
error displayed on the screen during POST: “Warning: Unable to boot to Service Partition.”
There is a BIOS issue to identify the network ISO when there is a local USB CD-ROM installed on
the system and that USB CD-ROM is the only USB mass storage device plugged into the system.”
Resolution/Workaround: Remove the local USB CD-ROM (note that not all local CD-ROM would
expose this issue), or plug in additional USB floppy or USB key on the system, or attach the
virtual media (virtual floppy and virtual CD) from the iDRAC.
Version Affected: 1.5.1, 1.6
Issue 25: A firmware update fails with an error message saying that USC is in use and it should
be retried after 30 seconds.
Description: During a firmware update if the update fails with error message “If USC is in use,
wait until USC has exited and retry the action. Otherwise retry after 30 seconds to check if
network connectivity caused this error.”
Resolution/Workaround: To fix this issue, reset iDRAC and wait until iDRAC boots back up
properly and try the firmware update again.
Version Affected: 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 26: Events from different vCenter posted to another vCenter from a shared Dell
Management Plug-in Appliance.
Description: This situation can occur when a bare-metal server that was deployed in one
vCenter is rediscovered again as bare-metal server but then selected for a hypervisor deployed
in another vCenter.
This situation occurs if the host that was already on one of the registered vCenters was added to
another registered vCenter. In this case the host on first vCenter appears as disconnected.
Resolution/Workaround: Remove the host from the first vCenter where it is now showing as
disconnected.
Version Affected: 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 27: The inventory ran and failed after servers were removed from the connection profile.
Description: The Inventory attempted to run after servers were removed from the connection
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
25
profile and failed.
Resolution/Workaround: If an inventory job is started, and hosts are removed from the
connection profile, then this issue appears. The system needs to make sure the inventory job is
finished or that no Inventory job is running when hosts are removed from Connection Profile.
Version Affected: 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 28: The NIC selected as the management NIC during the deployment process is not the
active management NIC after deployment.
Description: During the ESXi 5 deployment using any NIC other than NIC 0 may show up in
vCenter after deployment as the standby NIC with NIC 0 as the primary management network
NIC.
Resolution/Workaround: Manually reconfigure management NICs in vCenter after deployment.
Version Affected: All
Issue 29: Rarely, an ESXi 4.1 U1 deployment fails on a PowerEdge server.
Description: The ESXi deployment log shows failure installing OMSA.
Resolution: This is a known VMware issue and VMware has provided a workaround to resolve the
issue as seen here:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&exte
rnalId=1037190
Use these steps for a workaround:
- Logon to ESXi 4.1 U1.
- Manually create a directory /tmp.
- Logoff from the ESXi host.
- Manually add the host to vCenter.
- Go to Host Compliance page of Dell Management Center.
- Run the Compliance Check wizard.
Version Affected: All
Issue 30: On an R515, R815, or other AMD based Dell hardware, inventory is running
continuously.
Description: OMSA may malfunction on certain AMD chipsets when not upgraded to the latest
version.
Resolution: To resolve this issue, upgrade to the latest version of ESX or ESXi and install the
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
26
latest version of OMSA available.
Version Affected: All
Issue 31: A non-compliant server shows a CSIOR status as Unknown.
Resolution: An unknown CSIOR state indicates a non-responsive iDRAC on the host. A manual
iDRAC reset on the host fixes this problem.
Version Affected: 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 32: The Launch OMSA link does not work in the vSphere Client Dell Tab when using Dell
PowerEdge 12th generation servers.
Resolution: Install OMSA manually onto Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers, then the
Launch OMSA link will work.
Version Affected: 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 33: Hypervisor installation fails.
Description: Hypervisor installation fails with the error The Job check status with ID of
DCIM_OSConcreteJob:1 failed with the following error message: Mount network share failed –
incorrect IP address or share name.
Resolution: Restart the appliance.
Version Affected: 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 34: NFS mount remains mounted after deploy is completed using ESXi5.
Description: : After the hypervisor deployment is completed and the host is added to the
vCenter tree, there is an entry in the Summary page under the data sources called remote-
install-location (inactive) (unmounted) for the new host added.
Resolution: None.
Version Affected: 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 35: The Memory reported is in a different format between Dell PowerEdge 11th generation
servers and Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers.
Description: When memory is displayed in a table, they amounts display differently between
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
27
Dell PowerEdge 11th generation servers and Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers.
Resolution: None.
Version Affected: 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.6 and later
Issue 36: Details for tasks are not recorded in the task history.
Description: Details for tasks are not recorded in the task history.
Resolution: This is a known VMware issue; go to the Dell Management Center Plug-in logs to
view the details.
Version Affected: All
Issue 37: When using the user interface and pressing <ENTER> while on a highlighted button does not
always activate the action.
Description: Using keyboard navigation and selecting highlighted buttons and pressing <ENTER>
sometimes does not activate the button. Keyboard navigation is not supported at this time.
Resolution: Use the mouse.
Version Affected: All
Issue 38: The ESXI install leaves behind a file after installation.
Description: The ESXi install leaves behind a temporary file in the /store/resolv.conf (static IP only).
Resolution: None, there is no impact to the functionality of the software.
Version Affected: All
Corrected Problems
The following problems were reported in earlier releases of the Dell Management Plug-In and have
been corrected in this release:
Issue Description
Issue 1 Could not access vCenter using the fqdn or dns short name
Issue 2 NullPointerException is thrown during the Deploymnent Minimal ISO if eth0 is missing
Issue 3 Perc H700 RAID controller is not listed for FW update using repository method
Issue 4 Dell Management Plug-in for vCenter Product Page for Chinese is not functional
Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter version 1.7 Release Notes
28
Issue 5 R810, Broadcom NetXtreme II FW missing from ftp.dell.com
Issue 6 R810, PERC H700 FW update not listed with local report.
Issue 7 A user saw a message saying that there was a missing or expired 11th
generation server license.
Issue 8 Custom Raid Configuration from UI is misleading.
Issue 9 Hardware Profile for iDRAC/network settings has incorrect modifiable parameters.
Issue 10 The Connection Profile of vCenter selected in Hypervisor Profile is not used for Deployment.
Issue 11 When clicking on the Dell Server Management Tab or the Dell Management Center icon, the Dell Management Plug-in throws an error saying the given vCenter <xyz> is not registered to the Dell Management appliance.