Due to an issue with a customer bricking a C6100 node I ended up getting in to a conversation with various people at Dell about these cloud servers. After a bit of back and forwards between a Senior Engineer at Dell and myself and we came up with a few statements we were both happy with that highlight the situation with the Dell C6100s on EBay which have been causing lots of customer confusion and Dell a bit of a headache with support.
Here they are;
• Dell Data Center Services (DCS) produced a number of hardware builds for big clients and tailored them for their clients specific needs on both a hardware and BIOS / Firmware / Software levels.
• Dell produced a PowerEdgeC (PEC) C6100 after seeing the success of the original DCS versions but it was designed and built to a single specification (rather than customer specific variations like the DCS builds).
• The DCS builds most likely have more than just BIOS / BMC / FC differences, but have actual hardware differences.
• Information on these builds is proprietary to the clients they were built for and so Dell is unable to release the documentation or firmware to the public domain.
• Dell will not and does not recommend using PowerEdgeC firmware/drivers on a DCS box, as they do not know what may have been provided for any individual system to the original customer.
• As a DCS build is not the same as a PEC build, it is recommend that the customer verify with the reseller what they are actually purchasing. If the customer needs to be at a specific firmware level (which again does not exist in the public domain for DCS builds) and wants to use PEC firmware, then it is suggested, that it would be beneficial for the customer to receive a known good working system that is running the requested firmware from the seller.
• Dell does not provide any support for Used or Resold DCS systems.
• Dell has released an online document that describes the differences between Dell Data Center Solutions Systems and Dell PowerEdgeC systems and how end users can determine which type of system that buyers / perspective buyers can use to check their units and see if they are PoweredgeC or DCS versions. The link is: What is the difference between Dell Data Center Solutions (DCS) Systems and Dell PowerEdge C Systems | Dell US
One more thing to add to this lot is that the C6100-X23-TY3 is a Regulatory Model designation and could apply to either a DCS version or a PowerEdgeC version.
My main takeaways from our discussions are;
I would like to thank the person working at tell for taking the time to try and clarify the position regarding the C6100 servers for the community and potential buyers.
We both hope this will help potential buyers and owners alike.
RB
Here they are;
• Dell Data Center Services (DCS) produced a number of hardware builds for big clients and tailored them for their clients specific needs on both a hardware and BIOS / Firmware / Software levels.
• Dell produced a PowerEdgeC (PEC) C6100 after seeing the success of the original DCS versions but it was designed and built to a single specification (rather than customer specific variations like the DCS builds).
• The DCS builds most likely have more than just BIOS / BMC / FC differences, but have actual hardware differences.
• Information on these builds is proprietary to the clients they were built for and so Dell is unable to release the documentation or firmware to the public domain.
• Dell will not and does not recommend using PowerEdgeC firmware/drivers on a DCS box, as they do not know what may have been provided for any individual system to the original customer.
• As a DCS build is not the same as a PEC build, it is recommend that the customer verify with the reseller what they are actually purchasing. If the customer needs to be at a specific firmware level (which again does not exist in the public domain for DCS builds) and wants to use PEC firmware, then it is suggested, that it would be beneficial for the customer to receive a known good working system that is running the requested firmware from the seller.
• Dell does not provide any support for Used or Resold DCS systems.
• Dell has released an online document that describes the differences between Dell Data Center Solutions Systems and Dell PowerEdgeC systems and how end users can determine which type of system that buyers / perspective buyers can use to check their units and see if they are PoweredgeC or DCS versions. The link is: What is the difference between Dell Data Center Solutions (DCS) Systems and Dell PowerEdge C Systems | Dell US
One more thing to add to this lot is that the C6100-X23-TY3 is a Regulatory Model designation and could apply to either a DCS version or a PowerEdgeC version.
My main takeaways from our discussions are;
- Get the service tag and check on Dells site for warranty (found - it's a PowerEdgeC, not found - It's a DCS).
- If you want the firmware etc updated, get it done as part of the buying agreement and put the risk in the sellers hands.
I would like to thank the person working at tell for taking the time to try and clarify the position regarding the C6100 servers for the community and potential buyers.
We both hope this will help potential buyers and owners alike.
RB
(post #24 - the last one) and that is where this all started and ended up with me talking to people from Dell at different levels until I managed to find this extra helpful person who wanted to clear a few issues up.