The Dell™ Remote Access Controller 5 (DRAC 5) is a systems management hardware and software solution designed to provide remote management capabilities, crashed system recovery, and power control functions for Dell systems.
By communicating with the system's baseboard management controller (BMC), the DRAC 5 (when installed) can be configured to send you e-mail alerts for warnings or errors related to voltages, temperatures, intrusion, and fan speeds. The DRAC 5 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.
The DRAC 5 has its own microprocessor and memory, and is powered by the system in which it is installed. The DRAC 5 may be preinstalled on your system, or available separately in a kit.
Table 1-1 lists the power requirements for the DRAC 5.
Table 1-1. DRAC 5 Power Specifications
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: The DRAC 5 hardware installation instructions can be found in the Installing
a Remote Access Card document or the Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
included with your system.
The DRAC 5 includes one onboard 10/100 Mbps RJ-45 NIC, a 50-pin management cable, and a 44-pin MII cable. See Figure 1-1 for the DRAC 5 cable connectors.
The 50-pin management cable is the main interface to the DRAC that provides connectivity to USB, serial, video, and an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus. The 44-pin MII cable connects the DRAC NIC to the system's motherboard. The RJ-45 connector connects the DRAC NIC to an out-of-band connection when the DRAC 5 is configured in Dedicated NIC mode.
Depending on your requirements, you can use the management and MII cables to configure your DRAC in three separate modes. See "DRAC Modes" for more information.
DRAC 5 Ports
Table 1-2 identifies the ports used by the DRAC 5 that listen for a server connection. Table 1-3 identifies the ports that the DRAC 5 uses as a client. This information is required when opening firewalls for remote access to a DRAC 5.
Dedicated network interface for the DRAC 5 Web-based interface
Support for telnet/ssh 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 5 Standard Features
The DRAC 5 provides the following features:
Two-factor authentication, which is provided by the Smart Card logon. The two-factor authentication is based on what the users have (the Smart Card) and what they know (the PIN).
User authentication through Microsoft Active Directory (optional) or hardware-stored user IDs and passwords
Role-based authority, which enables an administrator to configure specific privileges for each user
User ID and password configuration through the Web-based interface or RACADM CLI
Dynamic Domain Name System (DNS) registration
Remote system management and monitoring using a Web-based interface, serial connection, remote RACADM, or telnet connection.
Support for Active Directory authentication — Centralizes all DRAC 5 user ID and passwords in Active Directory using Standard Schema and Extended Schema.
Console Redirection — Provides remote system keyboard, video, and mouse functions.
Virtual Media — Enables a managed system to access a media drive on the management station.
Access to system event logs — Provides access to the system event log (SEL), DRAC 5 log, and last crash screen of the crashed or unresponsive system that is independent of the operating system state.
Dell OpenManage software integration — Enables you to launch the DRAC5 Web-based interface from Dell OpenManage Server Administrator or IT Assistant.
RAC alert — Alerts you to potential managed node issues through e-mail messages or an SNMP trap using the Dedicated, Shared with Failover, or Shared NIC settings.
Local and remote configuration — Provides local and remote configuration using the RACADM command-line utility.
Remote power management — Provides remote power management functions from a management console, such as shutdown and reset.
IPMI support.
Standards-based management with IPMI over LAN and SM-CLP.
Sensors for monitoring power consumption. The DRAC 5 uses this data to depict system power consumption through charts and statistics.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption — Provides secure remote system management through the Web-based interface.
Password-level security management — Prevents unauthorized access to a remote system.
Role-based authority — 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 5 in your system:
DRAC 5 online help provides information about using the Web-based interface.
The Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant User's Guide provide information about IT Assistant.
The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator's User's Guide provides information about installing and using Server Administrator.
The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator SNMP Reference Guide documents the Server Administrator SNMP management information base (MIB). The MIB defines variables that extend the standard MIB to cover the capabilities of systems management agents.
The Dell OpenManage Baseboard Management Controller Utilities User's Guide provides information about configuring the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), configuring your managed system using the BMC Management Utility, and additional BMC information.
The Dell Update Packages User's Guide provides information about obtaining and using Dell Update Packages as part of your system update strategy.
The Dell Systems Software Support Matrix provides information about the various Dell systems, the operating systems supported by these systems, and the Dell OpenManage components that can be installed on these systems.
The following system documents are also available to provide more information about the system in which your DRAC 5 is installed:
The Product Information Guide provides important safety and regulatory information. For additional regulatory information, see the Regulatory Compliance home page at www.dell.com/regulatory_compliance. 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 of system features, setting up your system, and technical specifications.
The Hardware Owner's Manual provides information about system features and 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.
