Dell C6100 XS23-TY3 2U 4-Node (8 CPU) Cloud Server

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techwerkz

New Member
Aug 20, 2013
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Fort Myers, FL
www.techwerkz.com
Ya, I am going to test a JBOD setup in FreeNAS shortly to see if it detects correctly. One node will be FreeNAS running RAID 10 with the 9260 6x4TB, this will be the node the other ESX hosts will use as their datastore (iSCSI). Another node on another chassis will be a JBOD setup just for backup purposes for the first NAS. That is the one I wanted to use 4TB and the onboard controller.

So either way this testing should be good.
 

s0lid

Active Member
Feb 25, 2013
259
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Tampere, Finland
Oh right, if you wish to access the jviewer with firefox or similar that doesn't fully support the BMC.
Just login with your browser, type https://{addressgoeshere}/Java/jviewer.jnlp and remember to click cancel when it asks about logging out but yes on leave page window.
 

ephro

New Member
Sep 13, 2013
2
2
3
Hey all, I recently got a C6100 and was trying to update the bios from 1.17. Something went wrong with the MegaRac and now whenever I try to update the firmware from there I get this error.



I tried resetting, power cycling, etc to reset it, but it always thinks it's in update mode. Anyone have any ideas on how to clear it?

--edit--

I also wanted to add if I go to https://X.X.X.X/page/UI_firmware_update.html directly it looks like this.


 
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wdethoma

New Member
Sep 30, 2013
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Just ordered one of these and I have a simple question. Do I need a USB KVM switch so that I can use all 4 nodes with just one keyboard, mouse and monitor or is there another way of doing it? Thanks
 

NetWise

Active Member
Jun 29, 2012
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Edmonton, AB, Canada
Just ordered one of these and I have a simple question. Do I need a USB KVM switch so that I can use all 4 nodes with just one keyboard, mouse and monitor or is there another way of doing it? Thanks
You'd need a KVM. This is 4 separate computes in a shared chassis for drives and power only.
 

PersonalJ

Member
May 17, 2013
127
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Just ordered one of these and I have a simple question. Do I need a USB KVM switch so that I can use all 4 nodes with just one keyboard, mouse and monitor or is there another way of doing it? Thanks
Yes, but you generally will want to control the servers over the network rather than a kvm switch.
 

wdethoma

New Member
Sep 30, 2013
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To use the IPMI java keyboard, I need to connect the nics of the nodes between each of them, correct?? or use a network switch
 

PersonalJ

Member
May 17, 2013
127
11
18
To use the IPMI java keyboard, I need to connect the nics of the nodes between each of them, correct??
To use the management interface you can either configure it to share your server's network connection or use the dedicated management port and configure the management interface to use the dedicated port rather than the shared port default in the BIOS. You will connect them to a network switch, you could connect the dedicated management port to another client device with a crossover cable, but a switch would be much simpler.
 
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xexe

Member
Sep 30, 2013
88
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8
Hello,

Can anyone help with IPMI issue.
I can't launch the virtual console (in Chromer and FF, while IE doesn't want to get to login screen), here is screenshot - http://s23.postimg.org/w71rkloiz/IPMI_C6100.png
With some tweaking, I'll be able to launch but I can only view, without any interaction.
I tried on both BMC v1.33 and v1.17

I also tried IPMI View, screenshot - View image: IPMI View
As you see there are no KVM console.

Can some1 suggest what should be done?

P.S. issue with C6100 XS23-TY3 (with all 4 nodes)
P.S.S. already tried Java 7 v25 (32bit), Java 7 v21 (32 + 64 bit), Java 7 v40 (32 + 64 bit).
 
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techwerkz

New Member
Aug 20, 2013
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Fort Myers, FL
www.techwerkz.com
IPMI on these servers can be really annoying at times. Here are some of the things I have come across the past few weeks:

1.) The self signed certificate is 512 bit RSA. This presents a big problem trying to open the website with a newer version of IE. If you try to connect to the web console on IE you will not have any option to continue forward. This can be fixed by opening an elevated command prompt and typing in "certutil -setreg chain\minRSAPubKeyBitLength 512". This will allow 512 bit keys, but block all keys less than 512 bits. By default 1024 is the limit (not sure when this changed, but this holds true on all my Win7 computers).

2.) AdBlockPlus on Chrome doesn't like IPMI. It will load the login page, let you login, then nothing will load. Disable ABP for that specific address should allow you to continue.

3.) Whatever browser you decide to use, make sure you allow popups on the IPMI page. When opening the Java console it will pop open a small window that launches the jnlp file.

4.) I have had no issues with Java 7, and would suggest that you use the latest version of Java for security purposes.

5.) It was posted on the previous page, but if you login to the web page, you can then manually launch the jnlp file by browsing to https://{addressgoeshere}/Java/jviewer.jnlp. Open the file, and accept all the security warnings.

6.) This is probably the biggest one I have not seen posted anywhere and took me a good bit to figure out. I had an issue on 2 nodes that were both dissimilar, but each were causing me troubles connecting to IPMI in some way. The first server would respond to ICMP, but the web interface would not load. The second server would login to the web interface, but when opening the KVM console I would face an error message that said "Connection failed." which would then close the console. To fix this issue I had to first install ipmitool on another server on the LAN (I used a 13.04 Ubuntu Server running on ESX), so it was a simple sudo apt-get install ipmitool. I then ran the command (assumes default user/pass) "ipmitool -H {IPaddress} -U root -P root shell". This should give you a shell to the IPMI showing as ipmitool>. From there I ran the command "mc reset cold" which will reset the management controller itself. After the cold reset of the controller both issues went away.

If I find anything else with the BMC, I will post it. For now these are some tips I can give. I really hope the last one helps someone, because it took a long time to figure out how to fix that. Not having direct hands on when configuring servers is a nightmare at times.
 

techwerkz

New Member
Aug 20, 2013
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Fort Myers, FL
www.techwerkz.com
You would need a low profile PCIe SSD and there is limited depth. I do not have exact dimensions.
Sucks. I don't have hands on with these servers. They were shipped to my colleague who has been doing the hands on, while I do all remote configuration. I really want to run a PCI-E SSD for IOPS, the mSATA adapter cards all seem to be 1x which is almost a bottleneck.

This is the card I was going to try:
Newegg.com - Refurbished: Manufacturer Recertified OCZ RevoDrive 3 series RVD3-FHPX4-240G.RF PCI-E 240GB PCI-Express 2.0 x4 MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

If I don't use the mezzanine slot, this measures 6" depth which is not as long as the LSI RAID cards, and 4" high, which is 1.25" taller than those cards. It might be a close fit to the heatsink and memory, but I will have it measured out Monday.

Unless someone else can oblige over the weekend.
 

TonkaChase

New Member
Sep 20, 2013
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Thank you ALL for the time and energy that is put into this forum...I recently found this community and am looking forward to participating and contributing where I can...the information you guys share is incredible! I am grateful to have found such an fantastic place!!!

Wondering if I can get some current feedback on the DCS vs. Non-DCS C6100 XS23-TY3's?

I have read every post in this thread (and most of any other threads relating to the C6100), and did see where some had discussed some of the issues of BIOS updates and other Firmware issues, and it appears there has been some workarounds on this...it seemed it was a hot topic, but then appeared to have gone to a lull...I am unclear as to if it got quiet because it became a non issue because it was overcome or what?

Also the idea that some of these still had some warranty left, and that some members actual got those transferred was very appealing...yet, that didn't get a lot of traction in the posts after the initial few posts.

Some time has passed since you guys first started discussing these gems, and some of the sellers have gone through the initial inventory they had...so if anyone has a lead on a good vendor with current inventory, I am looking to grab 2-3 or these, I would appreciate the lead...

Also not sure if this should be a separate post, as this wonderful post has gotten quite long (please feel free to move it, if that is appropriate)

I appreciate all that you guys do! Any feedback on DCS vs. non-DCS units would be greatly appreciated...

Chase
 

Clownius

Member
Aug 5, 2013
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Well i recent had delivered my second C6100 and a single node im keeping as a pair between the 2 C6100's i have. Neither appears on Dells website. So probably DCS versions.

I haven't checked the first C6100 yet.

But honestly i havent felt the need to update BIOS etc. Everything just worked for what i wanted on the first C6100. I guess the question is do you need to update BIOS etc or are you like me in only caring that things work with a basic setup.