###################################################################### DELL(TM) CHASSIS MANAGEMENT CONTROLLER (CMC) ###################################################################### This document contains updated information about the Dell Chassis Management Controller (CMC). For more information about CMC, including installation and configuration information, see the "Dell Chassis Management Controller Firmware Version 1.0 User's Guide" and the "Dell OpenManage(TM) Server Administrator User's Guide." These documents are located on the Dell Support website at "support.dell.com" and with your Product Documentation CD. ###################################################################### TABLE OF CONTENTS ###################################################################### This file contains the following sections: * Criticality * Minimum Requirements * Release Highlights * Known Issues for CMC * Known Issues for Documentation ###################################################################### CRITICALITY ###################################################################### 2 - Recommended ###################################################################### MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ###################################################################### The following subsections list operating systems that are compatible with the CMC. ====================================================================== SUPPORTED SYSTEMS ====================================================================== CMC is supported on the following Dell PowerEdge(TM) systems in the Dell PowerEdge M1000-e system enclosure: * Dell PowerEdge M600 and M605. ====================================================================== SUPPORTED WEB BROWSERS ====================================================================== * Microsoft(R) Internet Explorer 6.0 (32-bit) with SP1 for Windows 2000 Server family. * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (32-bit) with SP2 for Windows XP and Windows Server(R) 2003 family. * Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows Vista(R), Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 family. * Mozilla Firefox 1.5 (32-bit). * Mozilla Firefox 2.0 (32-bit). ============================================= FIRMWARE VERSIONS ============================================= * CMC Firmware Version: 1.10 This is a maintenance release for CMC Firmware Version 1.0. ###################################################################### RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS ###################################################################### Fixes and Enhancements in 1.10 ---------------------------------------- * Support for optional upgrade FlexAddress feature. The FlexAddress feature is an optional upgrade that allows the chassis to assign WWN/MAC (World Wide Name/Media Access Control) addresses to Fibre Channel and Ethernet devices. Chassis-assigned WWN/MAC addresses are globally unique, and specific to a server slot within a given chassis. This feature allows the chassis to assign a WWN/MAC address (Chassis Assigned IDs) that stays with a particular slot in the chassis. If a server is replaced, the FlexAddress for the slot remains the same for that given server slot. If the server is inserted into a new slot or chassis, the server-assigned WWN/MAC is used unless the FlexAddress feature is enabled for the new slot. If you remove the server, it will revert to the server-assigned address. * CMC will block any user attempt to upload a non-Web server certificate. A user error will be returned. * If a user has uploaded a non-Web server certificate using CMC firmware version 1.01, after a firmware install and reboot of 1.10, the non-Web server certificate will be removed. ##################################################################### FLEXADDRESS ##################################################################### * FlexAddress: Before installing the SD card into the CMC module, verify the write-protection latch is in the "unlock" position. The FlexAddress feature cannot be activated if the SD card is write protected. * FlexAddress: The system BIOS must be upgraded prior FlexAddress installation. A warning icon will be displayed on the server health page if FlexAddress installation if performed prior to upgrading the system BIOS. Once the system BIOS is updated, the server module must be power cycled before the chassis-assigned MAC addresses will be accepted by the server module. The CMC will display that chassis-assigned MACs are configured, but the server will be using the server-assigned MAC configuration. * FlexAddress: If you issue a CMCCHANGEOVER or RACRESET and then log into the CMC Web GUI, the FlexAddress Webpage could take a minute to update the changed configurations. * FlexAddress: If a chassis with a single CMC is downgraded with firmware prior to 1.10, the FlexAddress feature and configuration will be removed. Once the CMC firmware is upgraded to 1.10 or later, the FlexAddress feature will need to be reactivated and configured by the user. * After a CMC reset, the CMC may require up to 30 seconds after the serial login prompt is displayed before RACADM commands will be accepted. Commands issued prior to that time may receive the message "ERROR: Unable to perform requested operation." * FlexAddress: Using Wake-On-LAN (WOL) with FlexAddress. When the FlexAddress feature is deployed for the first time, it requires a power-down and power-up sequence for FlexAddress to take effect. FlexAddress on Ethernet devices is programmed by the server module's BIOS. In order for the server module's BIOS to program the address, it need to be operational which requires the server module to be powered up. Once the power-down and power-up sequence completes, the FlexAddress feature is available for Wake-On-LAN (WOL) function. Users may perform the power-down and power-up sequence on the server module to fully deploy FlexAddress using either the iDRAC or CMC interface. * When changing from a server-assigned MAC address to chassis-assigned MAC address on Linux Based operating systems, additional configuration steps may be required. o SLES 9 and SLES 10: Users may need to run YAST (Yet another Setup Tool) on their Linux system to configure their Network devices and then restart the network services. o RHEL 4 and RHEL 5: Users will need to run Kudzu, a utility to detect and configure new/changed hardware on the system. Kudzu will present the user with The Hardware Discovery Menu, it will detect the MAC address change as Hardware was removed and new Hardware added. * If a server module installed in a FlexAddress enabled slot contains a Qlogic or Emulex mezzanine card that has a BIOS firmware revision that is not the minimum version required, the server module BIOS will detect the incompatibility and alert the user of the problem by changing the server module health in the CMC to a red X. The FlexAddress Webpage for the server module may incorrectly show green check marks next to the chassis-assigned addresses for that module. The server module will use server-assigned MAC addresses despite the indications on the FlexAddress Webpage. ###################################################################### KNOWN ISSUES FOR BROWSERS ###################################################################### * In Internet Explorer Version 6, log data may not display and instead only a message of, "Loading Chassis Event Log..." is shown . Select Advanced Settings/Security and make sure the option, "Allow active content to run in files on My Computer" is NOT checked to fix this issue. * In Internet Explorer Version 6, if the security setting is set to restricted, the CMC User Interface on the Alert Management pages for Email Alerts and SNMP Traps will display a Security Information message that states that the page contains both secure and non-secure items and will ask if you want to continue. Select "Yes". This message is displayed because Internet Explorer Version 6 does not allow the use of hidden IFRAMES on secure (SSL) pages. (183022) ###################################################################### KNOWN ISSUES FOR CMC ###################################################################### * The Chassis Asset Tag information is incorrectly displayed in the Service Tag field on the Chassis LCD (218411) * RACADM CLI based command-line tool uses TFTP to transfer image files for all firmware updates. Only the default port for TFTP (69) is supported for transfers with version 1.0. (157754) * Clearing the CMC Log can take a long time. Allow up to one (1) minute for this operation to complete.(152860) * If the CMC is on a private network without access to the Internet and you are using Internet Explorer 6 SP 2 or Internet Explorer 7, you may experience delays of up to 30 seconds when using remote RACADM commands. (161019) * In the CMC User Interface, under Chassis -> Network/Security tab-> Network subtab, if the network speed is set to 1GB to match your network environment then the CMC will revert to Auto Negotiation internally to determine the network speed and Duplex Mode. It will not use the values set.(180871) * Using the RACADM command line utility to set the network speed to 1GB, will cause the CMC to revert to Auto Negotiation internally to determine the network speed and Duplex Mode. (180873) For Example, the following command will be ignored and Auto Negotiation will be attempted: racadm setniccfg -k 1000 full * Some USB-to-serial adapters can generate a large number of spurious interrupts when plugged in. If the adapter is connected to the CMC's serial port when this happens, the CMC can become overloaded when attempting to service these interrupts and may reboot. This problem is exacerbated when the serial cable is very long, causing voltage levels to drop and noise on the serial line to increase. To avoid this issue, Dell recommends first connecting the USB-to-serial adapter into the USB port, before connecting to the CMC. Dell also recommends disconnecting the adapter from the CMC before rebooting or performing other power management functions on a system that is attached to the CMC. (180373) * The "connect" to server command enables the user to access the server's serial port through CMC's serial port. After this connection the user will be able to see the server's console redirection through CMC's serial port. The following are the prerequisites for this feature: 1. The server should be powered on. 2. Serial redirection must be enabled in the servers BIOS Setup. 3. Not all keys will work, so the user has to provide appropriate escape sequences for "CTRL+ALT+DEL" etc. The initial redirection screen displays the necessary escape sequences. (184385) * If you setup Active Directory (AD) on the CMC using extended schema and the built-in Administrator privilege object and then attempt to login to the CMC User Interface using this AD account, after successful AD login, the user name and privilege level displayed on the right hand side of the User Interface below the "Log out" link is as a custom user rather than as the privilege as created on the AD side (example: Administrator, power user). (183449) * If you attempt to set the server slot name to a name greater than 15 characters (unsupported and documented in the CMC User's Guide) using the RACADM command line utility, then you will get the following generic error message: "ERROR: The specified object value is not valid". (181364) * If you attempt to set the DNS CMC Name or DNS Domain Name without the proper rules (Rules: start with an alphabetic character (a-z, A-Z) and follow by an alphanumeric (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) or a valid symbol (such as -)) using the RACADM command line utility, then the utility will display the following non-specific error message: "ERROR: Unable to perform requested operation". Enter valid values for the DNS names. (173204) * If a firmware update operation is attempted using the CMC User Interface that uses an invalid image file that is very small (few bytes), there will be no error message indicating the failure of this operation. Upload the valid image and restart the firmware update operation. (186170) * If the standby CMC firmware was previously updated and then later made active, you will see an entry in the CMC log (raclog) that states the firmware update was successful, but with the most recent time stamp. This is because the standby CMC cannot register its entries to the logs until it becomes active. (186858) ##################################################################### KNOWN ISSUES FOR USER INTERFACE ONLINE HELP ##################################################################### This section provides additional information about known issues with the CMC Firmware version 1.0 User Interfaces online help. * The help for the Services Management page located in the Chassis-> Network/Security tab->Services sub-tab of the CMC user interface in localized languages do not list the Telnet Port legal values. (179080) * The help for the Slot Names page located in the Chassis-> Servers -> Setup->Slot Names sub-tab of the CMC user interface in localized languages do not list the rules for the slot names, which are: (a) The beginning of the string cannot be Switch-, Fan-, PS-, KVM, DRAC/MC-, Chassis and Housing-Left/Right/Center, which are case insensitive. (b) ASCII characters between 32 and 126 are allowed, but excludes 34 ("). (c) Server-n, where n is 1 to 10, is not allowed except that Server-n is allowed for the n slot, which is case insensitive. Server-0n is different from Server-n, like Server-02 is different from Server-2. Therefore Server-2 is not allowed for any slot except the second one but Server-02 can be set in any slot. (178014) (d) Maximum allowed characters for the Slot Name is 15. (181364) * The help for the Server Status page located in the Chassis-> Servers ->Server 1-16 -> Properties tab->Status sub-tab of the CMC user interface in localized languages does not list the Slot Name, Present properties. It also has a reference to I/O module instead of servers under Health -> Informational section. (179718) * The help for the Chassis Power Management page located in the Chassis-> Power Management tab->Control sub-tab of the CMC user interface in localized languages refers to Power Off System as equivalent to pressing the power button when the power is "ON". This is not accurate since this action performs a graceful shutdown of the chassis and if any of the modules do not shutdown within the time period, they will remain on. (181069) * The help for the Identify page located in the Chassis-> Troubleshooting tab->Identify sub-tab of the CMC user interface in localized languages mentions the note: To blink or unblink the servers, you must have Log in to iDRAC privilege on the iDRAC of these servers. This is missing Server Administrator privilege on CMC and should be: To blink or unblink the servers, you must have Server Administrator privilege on CMC or Log in to iDRAC privilege on the iDRAC of these servers. (175595) * The help for the User Configuration page located in the Chassis-> Network/Security tab-> Users sub-tab-> click User ID number of the CMC user interface in localized languages does not have the Super User listed under the CMC User Privileges section. The super user privilege is currently reserved for future use. (180734) * The help for the Power Budget Status page located in the Chassis-> Power Management tab-> Budget Status sub-tab of the CMC user interface in localized languages describes the Standby DC Power Capacity as: Indicates the amount of power (in watts) available to be provided by Power Supplies that are in standby mode. This power can be allocated to any hardware modules that are either added to the chassis or brought online. This needs to be: Indicates the amount of standby power (in watts) that is available in the event of a Power Supply fault or Power Supply removal from system. This field may show readings when the system has four or more power supplies and you have enabled Dynamic Power Supply Engagement. NOTE: It is possible to see a PSU in standby mode but not contribute to the Standby DC Power Capacity value. In this case the watts from this PSU are contributing to Total DC Power Available for Allocation value. (182571) * The help for the Server Power Throttling Enabled on the Power Management Budget/Redundancy configuration page located in the Chassis-> Power Management tab->Configuration sub-tab of the CMC user interface in all languages needs to explain that the power will be siphoned from lower priority servers in the order of increasing slot numbers. Currently the help reads: Enables (when checked) the CMC to siphon power from lower priority servers when power is needed for the entire chassis. In this case, the servers are allowed to continue operating at a degraded performance level rather than shut down. This needs to be: Enables (when checked) the CMC to siphon power from lower priority servers in the order of increasing slot number (slot 1 to 16) when power is needed for the entire chassis. In this case, the servers are allowed to continue operating at a degraded performance level rather than shut down. (186703) * The help for Power Management Budget/Redundancy configuration page located in the Chassis-> Power Management tab->Configuration sub-tab of the CMC user interface in all languages refers to "System Max AC Power Limit (2768 - 7928)" field displayed on the User Interface as "Enclosure Max Power Limit" and "System AC Power Warning Threshold (2500 - 7130)" field on the User Interface as "Power Warning Threshold". In addition the "System Max AC Power Limit (2768 - 7928)" needs to have the following detailed explanation: System Max AC Power Limit is the max AC power that the system is allowed to draw from incoming AC power supply source. It can be configured by the user if and only if the value exceeds the AC Power equivalent (i.e. 15% higher than the DC allocated power value) of the currently allocated DC Power to Servers and Chassis Infrastructure. If an attempt is made by the user to configure the value such that it falls below the AC power equivalent of the currently allocated DC Power to Servers and Chassis Infrastructure the attempt would not be successful. In other words, users are NOT allowed to configure an AC power limit that is less than what is currently allocated to the servers and infrastructure as that would result in blades being automatically powered down. The DC power allocated to Servers and Chassis Infrastructure can be found in the User Interface on the Chassis -> Power Management-> Power Budget status page under Power Budgeting section or via CLI RACADM utility command (racadm getpbinfo). User can, however, power OFF one or more server(s) to lower the current DC Power allocation and re-attempt setting a lower value for System Max AC Power Limit (if desired) or simply configure the limit prior to powering on the server blades. NOTE: Please refer to the Datacenter Capacity Planner (DCCP) tool at www.dell.com/calc for capacity planning.(186670) * The help for the Power Budget Status page located in the Chassis-> Power Management tab-> Budget Status sub-tab of the CMC user interface describes the Priority default value as 5. This needs to be 1. (191163) ##################################################################### KNOWN ISSUES FOR DOCUMENTATION ##################################################################### None. ###################################################################### Information in this document is subject to change without notice. (C) 2008 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. Trademarks used in this text: "Dell", "Dell OpenManage", and "PowerEdge" are trademarks of Dell Inc.; "Microsoft", "Windows", "Windows Vista", "Windows Server", and "Active Directory" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own. June 2008