The Dell™ Remote Access Controller 4 (DRAC 4) is a systems management hardware and software solution designed to provide remote management capabilities, crashed system recovery, and power control functions for Dell PowerEdge™ systems.
By communicating with the system's base-board management controller (BMC), the DRAC 4 can be configured to send you email alerts for warnings or errors related to voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. The DRAC 4 also logs event data and the most recent crash screen (for systems running the Microsoft® Windows® operating system only) to help you diagnose the probable cause of a system crash.
Depending on your system, the DRAC 4 hardware is either a daughter card (DRAC 4/I) or a half-length PCI card (DRAC 4/P). The DRAC 4/I and DRAC 4/P are identical except for the hardware differences (see "DRAC Hardware Features").
The DRAC 4 has its own microprocessor and memory, and is powered by the system in which it is installed. The DRAC 4 may be preinstalled on your system, or available separately in a kit.
Figure 1-1 shows the DRAC 4/I hardware and Figure 1-2 shows the DRAC 4/P hardware.
Figure 1-1. DRAC 4/I Hardware Features
Figure 1-2. DRAC 4/P Hardware Features
Hardware Specifications
Power Requirements
Table 1-1 lists the power requirements for the DRAC 4.
Table 1-1. DRAC 4 Power Requirements
System Power
1.2 A on +3.3 V AUX (maximum)
550 mA on +3.3 V main (maximum)
0 mA on+5V main (maximum)
Connectors
NOTE: Installation instructions for the DRAC 4 hardware can be found in the Installing a Remote Access Card document or the Installation and Troubleshooting Guide that comes with your system. Ensure that you connect the management cable and the local video monitor (if present) to the DRAC 4/P in PCI slot 4.
The DRAC 4 provides a dedicated 10/100 Mbps RJ-45 NIC and a connector for mounting the card to the system board. The DRAC 4/P also provides a video connector, and a 30-pin Management Connector.
DRAC 4 Ports
Table 1-2 identifies the ports used by the DRAC 4. This information is required when opening firewalls for remote access to a DRAC 4.
Table 1-2. DRAC 4 Port Numbers
DRAC 4 Port Number
Used For
Ports on DRAC 4 listening for connection (server):
23
Telnet (configurable)
80
HTTP (configurable)
161
SNMP Agent (not configurable)
443
HTTPS (configurable)
3668
Virtual Media server (configurable)
5869
Remote racadm spcmp server (not configurable)
5900
Console Redirection (configurable)
Ports that DRAC 4 uses as a client:
25
SMTP (not configurable)
69
TFTP (not configurable)
162
SNMP trap (not configurable)
53
DNS
636
LDAP
3269
LDAP for global catalog (GC)
Supported Remote Access Connections
Table 1-3 lists the features of each type of connection.
Table 1-3. Supported Remote Access Connections
Connection
Features
DRAC 4 NIC
10/100 Mbps Ethernet
DHCP support
SNMP traps and email event notification
Dedicated network interface for the DRAC 4 Web-based interface
Support for Telnet console and racadm CLI commands including system boot, reset, power-on, and shutdown commands
Serial port
Support for Serial console and racadm CLI commands including system boot, reset, power-on, and shutdown commands
Support for text-only console redirection to a VT-100 terminal or terminal emulator
DRAC 4 Security Features
The DRAC 4 provides the following security features:
Authentication for users through Microsoft Active Directory (optional) or hardware-stored user IDs and passwords
Role-based authority allows specific privileges to be configured for each user
User ID and password configuration through the Web-based interface or racadm CLI
racadm CLI and Web-based interface operation supports SSL encryption of 128 bit and 40 bit (for countries where 128 bit is not acceptable)
NOTE: Telnet does not support SSL encryption.
Session time-out configuration (in minutes) through the Web-based interface or racadm CLI
Many of the commonly known DRAC 4 IP ports are configurable
Supported Platforms
The DRAC 4/I is supported on the following systems:
PowerEdge 1850
PowerEdge 2800
PowerEdge 2850
The DRAC 4/P is supported on the PowerEdge 1800.
Supported Operating Systems
The DRAC 4 currently supports the following operating systems:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Novell® NetWare® 6.5 (Service Pack [SP] 1 or later) and NetWare 5.1 (SP 7 or later) operating systems
Red Hat® Enterprise Linux AS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS (version 2.1) operating systems
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS (version 3.0) operating systems
NOTICE: Currently, the Virtual Media feature is not supported under any version of the Novell NetWare operating system. NetWare drivers ignore the virtual drives and do not make them available to the system.
Supported Web Browsers
NOTE: The Console Redirection feature requires that you have installed a supported Java Virtual Machine (JVM). For a list of the supported JVM plug-ins, see the DRAC 4 readme on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com on the Systems Management documentation web page.
NOTICE: The Virtual Media client requires that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer if using a Windows operating system.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows
Mozilla 1.5 or later on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
NOTICE: The Virtual Media client is not supported on Netscape 7.02.
Netscape Navigator 7.02 and 7.1 on Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
NOTE: When you are using Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator on systems running Microsoft Windows, to view localized versions of the DRAC 4 Web–based interface, open the Windows Control Panel, double-click the Regional Options icon, and select the desired locale from the Your locale (location) drop-down menu.
Features
The following is a list of features available on the DRAC 4.
Dynamic registration of the DRAC 4 name in the Domain Name System (DNS).
Remote management and monitoring of a system through the DRAC 4 Web–based interface, serial connection, or telnet connection.
Configuring Microsoft Active Directory service software to give you access to the DRAC 4, allows you to add and control DRAC 4 user privileges to your existing users in your Active Directory software.
Console redirection feature that allows you to remotely use the managed system keyboard, video, and mouse functions.
Virtual Media feature that enables the managed system to remotely access a diskette or CD located on the management station.
Access to the system event log (SEL) and DRAC 4 logs and last crash screen (of the crashed or unresponsive system) independent of the operating system state.
Integrated launch of the DRAC 4 interface from Server Administrator and IT Assistant.
Ability to alert you to potential problems on the managed system by sending either an email message or an SNMP trap through the DRAC 4 NIC to a management station.
Ability to configure the DRAC 4 and update DRAC 4 firmware locally or remotely using the racadm command-line utility, a scriptable interface.
Ability to perform power management functions, such as shutdown and reset, remotely from a management console.
Password-level security management and SSL encryption.
Role-based authority that provides assignable permissions for different systems management tasks.
Other Documents You May Need
In addition to this User's Guide, the following documents provide additional information about the setup and operation of the DRAC 4 in your system:
DRAC 4 online help provides information about using the Web-based interface.
The Dell OpenManage IT Assistant User's Guide and the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Reference Guide provide information about IT Assistant.
The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator's User's Guide provides information about installing and using Server Administrator.
The following system documents are also available to provide more information about the system in which your DRAC 4 is installed:
The Product Information Guide provides important safety and regulatory information. Warranty information may be included within this document or as a separate document.
The Rack Installation Guide and Rack Installation Instructions included with your rack solution describes how to install your system into a rack.
The Getting Started Guide provides an overview to initially set up your system.
The User's Guide provides information about system features and technical specifications.
The Installation and Troubleshooting Guide describes how to troubleshoot the system and install or replace system components.
Systems management software documentation describes the features, requirements, installation, and basic operation of the software.
Operating system documentation describes how to install (if necessary), configure, and use the operating system software.
Documentation for any components you purchased separately provides information to configure and install these options.
Updates are sometimes included with the system to describe changes to the system, software, and/or documentation.
NOTE: Always read the updates first because they often supersede information in other documents.
Release notes or readme files may be included to provide last-minute updates to the system or documentation or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians. See your DRAC 4 readme for more information about the DRAC 4. This readme is available on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com along with this guide on the Systems Management documentation web page.
