Dell iDRAC6 Enterprise add-on

[The Gecko]

I've got a Dell R710 at home, but without the iDRAC6 Enterprise add-on. Is it as simple as "buy it, plug it in, and it works" ? Or am I going to have to worry about license keys, online registration, or bios updates?

 

[Stanza]

On my R310 I had to get both the basic and the Advanced iDRAC's (as it didn't come with either...

Not sure about the R710 if it comes with the basic one to begin with or not?? but yes they are just plug n play devices.

Ebay for a cheap one from China and pop it in

 

[ItsChrisG]

Do you already have the iDRAC6 Express module?
If not, just pick up both Enterprise and Express for ~$50 on ebay

and yes - thats all there is to it

 

[The Gecko]

Yes, my R710 already has the express module. Sounds like I am out of excuses!

 

[Patrick]

I had this one: New Remote Access DRAC Enterprise K869T for Dell PowerEdge R410 R610 R710 iDRAC6 | eBay for a Dell R220 and it did not work even though it was the right physical size :-/

 

[The Gecko]

Uh-oh. So what would you guys do?

 

[ItsChrisG]

Live without iDRAC then I guess... ?
IIRC, the R220 modules are different than the R610/R710/R510 ones.
I've bought multiple off eBay and havent had issues

 

[Hrast]

The R220 is a different generation of server which uses an iDRAC7 as opposed to an iDRAC6. I'm waiting on two iDRAC6 Enterprise units to get show up so I can install them in a couple of R815s at work.

 

[Patrick]

Live without iDRAC then I guess... ?
IIRC, the R220 modules are different than the R610/R710/R510 ones.
I've bought multiple off eBay and havent had issues

Yea that is right. A bit frustrating since it is the right form factor and looks like it is the right component set compared to what is on the motherboard.

I would spend the $30 and get one on ebay for your server.

 

[Dajinn]

I agree with everyone here, iDRAC is quite a handy utility and doesn't hit you with paywalls after owning the hardware like HP's iLO.

 

[marv]

I have 3 pieces of R210 II with DRAC6 Embedded BMC. I bought
Dell iDRAC6 Express Remote Access Card PowerEdge R510 R515 Y383M JPMJ3 iDRAC
Dell Server iDRAC6 Remote Access DRAC Enterprise PowerEdge R410 R510 R610 R710

After I set up IP in iDRAC bios, I saw ARP on my router, but was not able to reach management (telnetting to 22/80/443 did not work). Not sure if there is any way to make it working or I just wasted 150 USD ?

 

[Dajinn]

Did you set the iDRAC for "dedicated" management and use DHCP or did you set a static IP?

On my R610s literally all I had to do was do those two things and I was able to access it.

 

[marv]

I used static IP. As I said, router had ARP, so configuration was applied, but no further communication. Could integrated BMC have to do something with it ? It runs on one of those integrated NICs, i never tried to access/configure it. Or maybe BIOS upgrade is needed ? I will have to spend more time with it :/

 

[Hrast]

Other than making sure its set to use the Dedicated port and of course, pulling a cable into that port, I'm not sure what else you'd need to do. Does it say iDRAC6 Enterprise or Express during POST?

I'll let you know how my install goes on my R815's, the modules came in last night.

 

[Hrast]

I'll let you know how my install goes on my R815's, the modules came in last night.

Install went fine after re-racking the two switches above the servers I was adding these to (one was just sitting on top of it. Thanks past me!) Other than having to remove two quad port nics to be able to get the piggyback board in the right place, had no issues on the hardware side. The only changes made on the system side was to set the iDrac port to Dedicated instead of Shared, and I updated the IP address to put them on the correct network.