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Dell OpenManage ClientInstrumentation Version 8.1

User’s Guide


Notes and Cautions NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of

your computer.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if instructions are not followed.

____________________

Information in this publication is subject to change without notice.© 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: Dell™, the DELL logo, Dell Precision™, OptiPlex™, and Latitude™ are trademarks of Dell Inc. Microsoft®, Windows®, Windows Server® and Windows Vista® 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 publication to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

2012 - 05


Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

OMCI Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

OMCI Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CIM 2.17 Schema Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

BIOS Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

WMI Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Event Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Remote Shut Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Access to System Information using WMI-CIM Protocol and WSMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Compilation of Detailed Asset Information . . . . . 10

Remote Wake-Up Configurability. . . . . . . . . . 10

Remote Modification of System Settings . . . . . . 11

Monitoring of System Health and Reports Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

What's New in this Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Other Documents You May Need . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Obtaining Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2 Standards and Protocols Used in OMCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

CIM and WMI Technology Overview . . . . . . . . . . 13

Contents 3


CIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

WMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

WSMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Hardware Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4 User Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Scenario 1: Asset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

SCCM Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Scenario 2: Configuration Management. . . . . . . . . 20

Scenario 3: Health Monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Monitoring System Events Through Windows Event Viewer or CIM Indication. . . . . . . . . . . 21

Scenario 4: Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Battery Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

BIOS Management Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Boot Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Base Desktop Mobile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Log Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Physical Asset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

System Memory Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5 Using Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Polling Interval Setting .ini File Into Installer . . . . . . 25

4 Contents


Support for RAID Status Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Support Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for Dell Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Support for Detecting Advance Format Drives . . . . . 26

6 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Unable to Remotely Connect to WMI . . . . . . . . . . 27

Installation Failure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Contents 5


6 Contents


1IntroductionClient Instrumentation refers to software applications that enable remote management of a client system. The Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation (OMCI) software enables remote management application programs to access the client’s system information, monitor the status, or change the state of the system such as shutting it down remotely. Through standard interfaces, OMCI uses key system parameters allowing administrators to manage inventory, monitor system health, and gather information on deployed Dell client systems.

This document provides an overview of OMCI and its various features.

OMCI OverviewOMCI enables Dell client systems to be managed using the Common Information Model (CIM) standard, which is a system management protocol. CIM reduces your total cost of ownership, improves security, and provides a holistic approach to manage all devices including clients, servers, storage, network, and software devices.

OMCI can also be accessed through Web Services for Management Standards (WSMAN).

OMCI contains the underlying driver set that collects system information from a number of different sources on the client computer, including the BIOS, CMOS, System Management BIOS (SMBIOS), System Management Interface (SMI), operating system, APIs, DLLs, and registry settings. OMCI fetches this information through the CIM Object Manager (CIMOM) interface of the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) stack.

OMCI enables IT administrators to remotely collect asset information, modify CMOS settings, receive proactive notification of potential fault conditions, and get alerts to potential security breaches.

OMCI is used to gather asset inventory from the system including BIOS settings through CIM implementation. It can be integrated into a console such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager by directly accessing the CIM information, through an integration with DCM, or

Introduction 7


through other console vendors who have implemented Client Instrumentation integration. Additionally, custom scripts can be created to target key areas of interest at the administrator’s discretion. These scripts can be used to monitor inventory, BIOS settings, and system health.

OMCI ArchitectureOMCI data provider collects the system information data and stores the information in the proprietary XML format. The data manager is a service that loads these providers based on request. OMCI CIM provider layer abstracts the interface to different CIMOM implementations. The input is a combination of XML and XSL data in proprietary form, while the output is a CIM object instance based on Management Profiles. The WSMAN that serves as the channel protocol, requests the data from CIMOM and transmits it to the console.

The OMCI architecture has several layers that are integrated with the Microsoft WMI stack:

• WMI application layer — Consists of management applications such as Dell Client Manager and other standards-based management tools, and WMI applications such as Microsoft SMS, LANDesk, and WMI Tools. The applications in this layer are consumers of the system's management data supplied by OMCI. These applications request client information and alerts through WSMAN/CIM Object Manager (CIMOM).

• OMCI CIM Provider — Lies beneath the CIMOM and contains two CIM providers, which is registered with the CIMOM:

– The instance/method provider implements an interface that enables utility operations such as create, delete, modify, and query.

– The indication provider implements an interface for WMI indications (or events).

When the CIMOM receives a request for information, it routes the request to the appropriate provider. Both Dell and Microsoft providers exist in this layer, and they provide information on system devices. The providers send management application requests from the CIMOM to the data router.

• OMCI Data Manager — A service that loads data provider based on request from the upper layer.

8 Introduction


• Data Provider — Collects system information like hardware, drivers, and operating system data, and stores them in the proprietary XML format.

For example, a management console in the WMI application layer requests the available processor information on a client system. The WMI application layer makes the request over the network to the CIMOM on the client system. The CIMOM passes the request to the OMCI CIM provider and data manager. The data manager loads the corresponding data provider, which gets the information and stores it in a proprietary format. The information is then returned (through the same path in reverse) to the management console.

FeaturesThe key features of OMCI are:

• CIM 2.17 schema support

• BIOS configuration

• WMI security

• Event reporting

• Remote shutdown

• Access to system information using WMI-CIM protocol and WSMAN

• Compilation of detailed asset information

• Remote wake-up configurability

• Remote modification of system settings

• Monitoring of system health and reports status

CIM 2.17 Schema SupportOMCI conforms to the CIM 2.17 Schema, and includes two WMI providers:

• Dell WMI Indication Provider/Polling Agent

• Dell WMI Instance/Method Provider

BIOS ConfigurationOMCI provides the ability to perform configuration of a system’s BIOS, including management of its boot order.

Introduction 9


WMI SecurityWMI provides for user authentication before granting access to CIM data and methods. Access privileges are enforced by Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) security and CIMOM. Access, whether full or limited, can be granted to users on per-namespace basis. There is no class implementation or property-level security. By default, users who are members of the administrators group have full local and remote access to WMI.

WMI security can be configured using the WMI Control available in the Computer Management console under the Services and Applications section. Right-click WMI Control, and then click Properties. You can configure namespace-specific security from the Security tab. WMI Control can also be executed from the Start menu or the command prompt,by running wmimgmt.msc.

Event ReportingOMCI detects events on Dell systems and can alert the local user and network administrator to potential failures, configuration changes, and chassis intrusions. These events are displayed by a system management application program such as Dell Client Manager (DCM).

Remote Shut DownOMCI supports remote system shut down and restart.

Access to System Information using WMI-CIM Protocol and WSMANOMCI provides access to system information such as BIOS revision and system model through WMI using CIM. The WSMAN protocol can also be used to access this information through WMI.

Compilation of Detailed Asset InformationOMCI provides access to detailed inventory information such as processors, PCI devices, and batteries.

Remote Wake-Up ConfigurabilityOMCI supports configuration of remote wake-up settings. Remote wake-up is a function of the client system and Network Interface Card (NIC).

10 Introduction


Remote Modification of System SettingsOMCI allows IT administrators the ability to retrieve and set Dell business client BIOS settings such as USB port configuration, boot order, and NIC settings.

Monitoring of System Health and Reports StatusOMCI monitors the system health such as fan status and reports the status of such through NT event log entries and CIM events.

What's New in this Release• Support for the new Dell Latitude, Precision Workstation, and Optiplex

systems.

• Support Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for Dell client systems.

• Support for RAID status report.

• Support for detecting Advance Format drives.

• Support for the following new tokens:

– Stealth Mode

– Fan Control Override

– Multi-Display

– Auto on Control Days

– Signed Firmware Update

– Battery Management Tokens

Other Documents You May NeedIn addition to this User's Guide, you can access the following guides available at support.dell.com/manuals. On the Manuals page, click SoftwareSystems Management. Select the appropriate product link on the right side to access the documents.

• The Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Reference Guide provides detailed information on all Client Instrumentation classes, properties, and their descriptions.

Introduction 11


• The Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Quick Installation Guide provides information on installing Client Instrumentation.

• The Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation SNMP Reference Guide provides Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Management Information Base (MIB) applicable to OMCI.

• The Dell Client Solution (DCS) that includes Dell-specific hardware and BIOS inventory information, helps configure and update BIOS, supports remote shutdown and remote wakeup, and provides hardware health monitoring.

• The Glossary provides information about the terms used in this document.

Obtaining Technical AssistanceIf at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide, or if your product does not perform as expected, different types of help are available. For more information see "Getting Help" in your system's Setup Guide.

Additionally, Dell Enterprise Training and Certification is available; see dell.com/training for more information. This service may not be offered in all locations.

12 Introduction


2Standards and Protocols Used in OMCIOMCI uses Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and enables WSMAN protocols.

CIM and WMI Technology OverviewThe Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) is the industry-recognized standards body that leads the development, adoption, unification of management standards (including CIM, and ASF), and initiatives for desktop, enterprise, and Internet environments.

CIMThe CIM, created by the DMTF as part of the Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) initiative, provides a unified view of physical and logical objects in the managed environment.

The following are important CIM details:

• CIM is an object-oriented data model for describing management information. CIM describes the way the data is organized, not necessarily the transport model used to transport the data. The most prevalent transport method is the WMI.

• CIM-capable management applications gather information from a variety of CIM objects and devices, including client and server systems, network infrastructure devices, and applications.

• The CIM specification details mapping techniques for improved compatibility with other management protocols.

• The CIM data model abstracts and describes all elements in a network environment. The CIM schema provides the actual data model descriptions and arranges the network into a series of managed objects, all interrelated and broadly classified.

Standards and Protocols Used in OMCI 13


• The CIM schema is defined by the Managed Object Format (MOF) file, which provides a standardized model for describing management information between clients in a management system. The MOF file is not bound to a particular implementation, and it allows the interchange of management information between many different management systems and clients.

WMIWMI is Microsoft's implementation of the Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) effort. It is implemented on the Microsoft Windows platforms. WMI supports CIM and Microsoft specific CIM extensions.

WMI includes:

• A powerful set of native services such as query-based information retrieval and event notification.

• Extensive scripting capabilities via the Windows Scripting Host (WSH).

• The CIMOM, which is the interface and manipulation point for CIM objects and information.

• The repository, where CIMOM stores management data.

In the OMCI architecture, CIMOM and the repository are represented by the Microsoft WMI Object Manager. The CIMOM is the interface and manipulation point for CIM objects and information. It acts as a facilitator in gathering information and manipulating object properties. Microsoft has implemented this component as the Windows management (winmgmt) service. The CIMOM is a software middle layer that mediates interactions between high-level management applications and the lower levels of instrumentation, such as OMCI and other providers. The CIMOM ensures that data supplied by providers is presented to management applications in a uniform and provider-independent way. The CIMOM does this, in part, by using the Component Object Model (COM) Application Programming Interface (API) for communication with providers and management applications.

The repository is a binary file where the CIMOM stores management data. Such data includes information from the compiled Managed Object Format (MOF) file(s), including the CIM class definitions, properties, qualifiers, and hierarchical relationships. Instance data, as it becomes available, is also stored here.

14 Standards and Protocols Used in OMCI


WMI provides a scripting interface. Using VBScript or JScript, you can write scripts that connect to WMI services locally or remotely, retrieve information, or execute methods. Most OMCI tasks can be scripted as OMCI is implemented through WMI. For the sample VBScript scripts, see the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Reference Guide available at support.dell.com/manuals.

NOTE: To connect remotely to WMI services, you must have administrative rights on both the local and remote systems.

For more information about WMI, see the microsoft.com.

WSMANThe WS-Management (WSMAN) Protocol is a DMTF open standard defining a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)-based protocol for managing servers, devices, applications, and Web services. It uses data from CIMOM to facilitate the management.

WSMAN is a protocol that provides an abstraction layer to access the CIM information. The reason is that the console can use WSMAN to communicate to in-band or out-of-band systems to gather asset inventory and to set information or run methods. In the in-band part, the WSMAN layer also abstracts the operating system present underneath. For example, Windows or Linux. It uses the same commands. However, OMCI does not require WSMAN and it does not directly enable WSMAN as it is only a protocol.

For more information about managing WSMAN from DMTF, see dmtf.org/standards/wsman/.

For more information about enabling WS-Management based management of WMI on a Windows system, see msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384426%28v=VS.85%29.aspx.

For more information about the DMTF profiles used in OMCI, see the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Reference Guide at support.dell.com.

Standards and Protocols Used in OMCI 15


16 Standards and Protocols Used in OMCI


3System Requirements

Hardware Requirement

Software Requirements

Table 3-1. Hardware Requirements

Requirement Details

System Dell Optiplex, Precision Workstation or Latitude system with SMBIOS 2.3 or later

Table 3-2. Software Requirements

Requirement Details

Supported operating system Microsoft Windows 7

Microsoft Windows VistaMicrosoft Windows XP

NOTE: For Microsoft Windows XP, make sure that .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 or later is installed.

System Requirements 17


18 System Requirements


4User ScenariosThis chapter describes the various user scenarios of Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation (OMCI).

OMCI can be used for:

• Asset Management

• Configuration Management

• Health Monitoring

Scenario 1: Asset ManagementA company that uses many Dell systems has been unable to maintain accurate inventory information owing to changes in the business and Information Technology (IT) staff. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) requests a plan for identifying which systems can be migrated to Microsoft Windows Vista. This requires an assessment of the deployed systems to determine the size, scope, and financial impact of such a project. The information collection involves a significant effort. Deploying IT staff to each client system is expensive, in terms of man-hours and end-user interruptions.

Using OMCI on each Dell client system, the IT manager can quickly collect information remotely without dispatching IT staff to each system. Using tools such as Dell Client Manager or Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), the IT manager queries each client system over the network and collects information such as CPU type and speed, amount of memory, hard-drive capacity, BIOS version, and current operating system version. Once the information is collected, it can be analyzed to determine which systems can be upgraded to Windows Vista.

You can also get asset inventory through script or any WMI command line.

User Scenarios 19


SCCM IntegrationYou can integrate SCCM with OMCI by:

• Using the MOF file within OMCI 8.1 install package which contains all the OMCI 8.1 classes and import to ConfigMgr

The MOF is located in the install directory. The path is:

C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt\ssa\omacim\OMCI_SMS_DEF.mof

• Getting extending asset reporting capabilities using collections

Scenario 2: Configuration ManagementA company plans to standardize the client platform and manage each system through its life cycle. As part of this effort, it acquires a suite of tools, such as Dell Client Manager, and plans to automate the deployment of a new client operating system using the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE).

The challenge is to modify the boot order setting in the BIOS of each Dell computer without visiting the desktop. With OMCI installed on each client system, the company’s IT department has several options for modifying the boot order remotely. The Dell Client Manager is a management console that can be used to remotely modify BIOS settings on all Dell OptiPlex, Dell Precision Workstation, and Latitude systems. Another option is to write a VB script that changes the boot order setting for an example script on changing the boot order. The script can be delivered remotely over the network and run on each client system. For more information, see the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Reference Guide at support.dell.com.

Standardized configurations can provide significant cost savings for companies of all sizes. Many organizations deploy standardized client systems, but few manage the system configuration throughout the life of the computer. With OMCI installed on each client system, the IT department can lock down legacy ports to prevent use of unauthorized peripherals, or enable Wake On LAN (WOL) so the system can be revived from a sleep state during non-peak hours to perform systems management tasks.

20 User Scenarios


Scenario 3: Health MonitoringA user receives read error messages while trying to access certain files on the client-system hard drive. The user reboots the system and the files now appear to be accessible. The user disregards the initial problem because it appears to have resolved itself. Meanwhile, OMCI queries the hard drive with the problem for a predicted failure and passes a SMART alert to the management console. It also displays the SMART error to the local user. The alert indicates several read/write errors are occurring in the hard drive. The IT department of the company recommends that the user take a backup of critical data files immediately. A service technician is dispatched with a replacement drive.

The hard drive is replaced before it fails, preventing user downtime, a help desk call, and a technician trip to the desktop to diagnose the problem.

Monitoring System Events Through Windows Event Viewer or CIM IndicationOMCI supports the monitoring events through the following procedures:

• Pulling the log through WMI class DCIM_LogEntry.

• Monitoring CIM indication through DCIM_AlertIndication class.

• Monitoring the event through SNMP.

For details, see the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Reference Guide.

User Scenarios 21


Scenario 4: ProfilesIT administrators are required to manage Dell client system in multi-vendor and distributed enterprise environments. They face challenges as they must master diverse set of tools and applications while managing several desktop and mobile client systems in various networks. To reduce the cost of meeting these requirements and represent the management data provided, the industry-standard DMTF and DCIM-OEM profiles are implemented in OMCI. Some of the DMTF profiles are explained below.

For more information, see the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Reference Guide at support.dell.com.

Battery Profile1 Determine the status of the battery by enumerating/getting the instance of

the class DCIM_Battery.

2 Determine the estimate run time and see the estimated charge remaining.

3 Check if the health information of the battery can be determined using the properties Operational Status and HealthState of the class DCIM_Battery.

4 Get additional information about the health of a battery using DCIM_Sensor.CurrentState property or the CIM_NumericSensor.CurrentState property.

BIOS Management Profile1 Determine the BIOS version by enumerating the instance of the class

DCIM_BIOSElement.Version

2 Check whether BIOS attribute value can be modified or not. Get the instance of the class, DCIM_BIOSAttribute.

The attribute can be modified if the property, IsReadOnly is set to FALSE.

3 Set the system password. Run the CIM_BIOSService.SetBIOSAttribute() method and set the SystemPwd to AttributeName and password value to AttributeValue parameters.

4 Set the BIOS or Admin password. Run the CIM_BIOSService.SetBIOSAttribute() method and set the AdminPwd to AttributeName and password value to AttributeValue parameters.

22 User Scenarios


5 Run the DCIM_BIOSService.SetBIOSAttribute() method and specify the AttributeName and AttributeValue parameters.

6 To modify a BIOS Attribute when BIOS/Admin password is set, run the DCIM_BIOSService.SetBIOSAttribute() method and specify the AttributeName, AttributeValue, and current BIOS password as the AuthorizationToken input parameter.

7 Determine if the BIOS/Admin or System/Boot password is already set or not. Enumerate DCIM_BIOSPassword.

8 The property, IsSet, indicates if the two instances for bios and boot are set or not.

Boot Control1 Change the sequence of boot items in the Legacy and UEFI boot list.

2 Enable or disable the boot items of the Legacy and UEFI boot list.

3 Find the current boot configuration computer by enumerating the instances of the class DCIM_ElementSettingData whose IsCurrent property is set to 1. The DCIM_BootConfigSetting instance, referenced by this association instance, represents the current boot configuration.

Base Desktop Mobile1 Determine the system model, service tag, and serial number by

enumerating the instance of the class DCIM_ComputerSystem.

2 Turn off the power on your system. Run the DCIM_ComputerSystem.RequestStateChange() method and set the RequestedState parameter value as 3.

3 Restart the System. Run the DCIM_ComputerSystem.RequestStateChange() method and set the RequestedState parameter value as 11.

4 Determine the power state of the system.

5 Determine the number of processors in the system by querying for instances of DCIM_Processor, which are associated with the Central Instance through the DCIM_SystemDevice association.

6 Get the system time. Run the DCIM_TimeService.ManageTime() method and set the GetRequest parameter as True.

User Scenarios 23


7 Check the health status of Managed element.

Log Record1 Identify the Log by the name by selecting the DCIM_RecordLog instance

in which the ElementName property corresponds to the desired name.

2 Find the individual log entries. Get all the instances of DCIM_LogEntry that are associated with the given instance of DCIM_RecordLog through the DCIM_LogManagesRecord association. Sort the instances based on the RecordID.

3 Check whether record logs are enabled or not by enumerating the instance of the class DCIM_RecordLog whose property Enabledstate=2 (represents Enabled) and EnabledState=3 (represents disabled)

4 Sort the Log Records Based on the Time Stamp of the Log Entry. Get all the instances of DCIM_LogEntry that are associated with the given instance of DCIM_RecordLog through the DCIM_LogManagesRecord association. Sort the instances of DCIM_LogEntry based on the CreationTimeStamp property value in last in first out (LIFO) order.

5 Clear logs by running the ClearLog() method for the given instance of the DCIM_RecordLog.

Physical Asset1 Obtain the physical inventory for all devices within a system.

2 Obtain the physical inventory for a system chassis.

3 Determine the part number of a failing component.

4 Determine whether the slot is empty or not.

System Memory Profile1 Find the memory information of the system.

2 Find the physical memory information of the system.

3 Check the total system memory size.

4 Check the total available system memory size.

5 Check the total physical system memory size.

6 Check the health status of system memory.

24 User Scenarios


5Using Dell OpenManage Client InstrumentationYou can use the information provided by Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation (OMCI) by accessing:

• root\dellomci namespace (legacy)

• root\dcim\sysman (standard)

OMCI provides the information through classes in these namespaces. For details about the classes, see the Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation Reference Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.

Polling Interval Setting .ini File Into InstallerYou can change the polling interval for events such as fan probe, temperature probe, voltage probe, current probe, disk increase/decrease, memory increase/decrease, processor increase/decrease and disk capacity, using the files dcsbdy32.ini or dcsbdy64.ini.

The dcsbdy32/64.ini file is present in the following location:

<OMCI installed location>\Dell\SysMgt\omsa\ini

NOTE: The numbers in the .ini file are the multiple numbers of 23 seconds. The default polling interval for disk capacity and SMART alert is 626 seconds (the real time = 626 X 23 seconds which is close to three hours).

Support for RAID Status ReportOMCI enables you to get the RAID configuration information and monitor the RAID functionality for Dell Optiplex, Precision Workstation, and Latitude systems with hardware and driver support. You can use RAID classes to get the details about RAID levels, driver information, controller configuration, and controller status.

Using Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation 25


Support Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for Dell SystemsOMCI supports SNMP for monitoring and managing Dell client systems such as notebooks, desktops, and workstations. The MIB file is shared between OMCI and Server Administrator. As OMCI currently employs an OID that is traditionally used as a Dell server OID consoles may identify systems as servers instead of notebooks, desktops or workstations, collectively known as clients.

For more information, see The Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation SNMP Reference Guide support.dell.com/manuals.

Support for Detecting Advance Format DrivesDell client systems are transitioning to Advanced Format (AF) drives for larger storage capacity and to address the limitations with 512-byte sector hard drives (HDDs). Hard drives transitioning to 4k sectors maintain backward compatibility, while the current AF hard drive, also known as 512e hard drives, match 512-byte SATA and operate at 4k. During the transition, you may encounter performance issues such as partition mis-aligned drives in the client systems resulting in failure of sector-based encryption software packages that handle 512e drives. OMCI enables you identify if the hard drive on a system is 4k AF drive, which helps prevent the issues mentioned above.

26 Using Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation


6Troubleshooting

Unable to Remotely Connect to WMIIf Common Information Model (CIM) information for a remote client computer system is not available to the management application or if a remote BIOS update that uses Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) fails, the following error messages may be displayed:

• Access Denied

• Win32:RPC server is unavailable

If these error messages are displayed,

1 Verify that the client system is connected to the network, at the command prompt on the server, type:

ping <Host Name or IP Address> and press <Enter>.

2 Perform the following steps if both the server and the client system are in a domain:

a Verify that the domain administrator account has administrator privileges for both systems.

b If you are using IT Assistant on the server, run the IT Assistant ConfigServices utility (configservices.exe available in the /bin directory of the IT Assistant installation directory). Configure IT Assistant to run under the domain administrator account, and verify that DCOM and CIM are enabled. See the IT Assistant User’s Guide for information.

c If you are using IT Assistant, use the domain administrator account to configure the IT Assistant subnet discovery for the client system. If the system has already been discovered, remove the system from the list of discovered systems, configure subnet discovery for it, and then rediscover it. See the IT Assistant User’s Guide for information.

Perform the following steps if both the server and the client system are in a workgroup (not in a domain):

Troubleshooting 27


a If the client system is running the Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition operating system and the server is running Windows Server 2000, verify that Windows Server 2000 Service Pack 2 or later is installed on the server.

b If the client system is running a version of Windows XP and is not part of a domain, edit the registry to allow remote connection with administrative privileges.

CAUTION: Back up your system data files before making changes to the registry. Editing the registry incorrectly may render your operating system unusable.

3 Edit the registry change on the client system. Click StartRun, then type regedit, and click OK. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\

CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa

4 Set the forceguest value to 0 (by default it is 1). Unless you modify this value, the user remotely connecting to the system has guest privileges only, even if the supplied credentials should provide administrative privileges.

a Create an account on the client system with the same user name and password as an administrator account on the system running your WMI management application.

b If you are using IT Assistant, run the IT Assistant ConfigServices utility (configservices.exe found in the /bin directory under the IT Assistant installation directory). Configure IT Assistant to run under a local administrator account, which is also now an administrator on the remote client. Also, verify that DCOM and CIM are enabled. For more information, see the IT Assistant User’s Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.

c If you are using IT Assistant, use the administrator account to configure subnet discovery for the client system. Enter the user name as <client machine name>\<account name>. If the system has already been discovered, remove the system from the list of discovered systems, configure subnet discovery for it, and then rediscover it. For more information, see the IT Assistant User’s Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.

28 Troubleshooting


5 Perform the following steps to modify user privilege levels for connecting remotely to a system’s WMI:

a Click StartRun, type compmgmt.msc, and then click OK.

b Navigate to WMI Control under Services and Applications.

c Right-click WMI Control and click Properties.

d Click the Security tab and select DellOMCI under the Root tree.

e Click Security.

f Select the specific group or user that you want to control access and use the Allow or Deny check box to configure the permissions.

6 Perform the following steps to connect to a system’s WMI (root\dellomci) from a remote system using WMI CIM Studio:

a Install WMI tools along with CIM Studio on the local system and install Dell OMCI on the remote system.

b Configure the system’s firewall accordingly for WMI Remote Connectivity. For example, open the TCP ports 135 and 445 in Windows Firewall.

c Set the Local Security setting to Classic - local users authenticate as themselves for Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts in the Local Security Policy.

d In case of Windows Vista, disable UAC on the system.

e Connect to the system’s WMI (root\dellomci) from a remote system using WMI CIM Studio. For example, \\10.94.174.167\root\dellomci

f Enter the Administrator credentials of the target remote system if prompted.

For more information, see the applicable Microsoft documentation at http://msdn.microsoft.com.

Troubleshooting 29


Installation FailureIf you are unable to complete OMCI installation, make sure:

• You have administrative rights on the target system.

• The target system is a Dell system with SMBIOS version 2.3 or later.

The system must be running the supported Microsoft Windows operating system.

30 Troubleshooting

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