Questions[drac](server)

I am annoyed that I have to launch a webbrowser just because I want to use the virtual console through the iDRAC6.

I managed to download viewer.jnlp and I can start the viewer with:

javaws viewer.jnlp

But it seems viewer.jnlp changes for each run. Specifically:

<argument>user=1234567890</argument>                                                   
<argument>passwd=123456789</argument>                                                  

My guess is that iDRAC6 makes a random user/password for each run and that this can be used only once.

I would much prefer, if I could simply do:

drac-virtual-console-viewer username password drac.ip.nr

Is there a tool for that?

Or is there a way I can download the viewer.jnlp given the username/password?

It seems other versions of the iDRAC support VNC, but I cannot get that to work on the iDRAC6. But if I could get that to work, it would also solve my problem.

System: Dell R815 iDRAC6

I have a PowerEdge R640 server. I was previously able to access the Web UI, but now I just get a never ending spinning wheel. I can ping the IP & SSH into it, but I'm not sure what to do once I'm in. Any suggestions on how I can access the UI again?

Is there a way to force my Dell BMCs and iDrac cards to only use the lanplus interface and not use the insecure "lan" interface. I understand that there are some "firewall" features in the IPMI spec. to restrict certain functions between chassis and such, but I don't know if it can be used in this manner.

Update: All out my boxes are in a switched environment. There is no NAT going on between my servers or my work desktop. I'm using ipmitool -I lanplus -H myhost -u root -p password -K sol activate" to talk to the serial console over IPMI.

update2: While I'm in a switched environment, I have no control of the switches. If I can't do it on the host or the idrac itself, then it's a non-starter.

I have a Dell PowerEdge server with iDRAC6 Express and a PERC 6/iR (LSI 1068e) SAS RAID Controller.

I'm a bit confused about what this means.

Is it possible to login remotely to change bios/RAID configuration?

If this is not possible what can the express version do?

I'm using Ubuntu. Is it possible to setup the RAID from within the operating system, without the annoying reboot?

My organization is primarily a Dell shop running Windows. Most are recent models that support IPMI 2.0. (Dell 1950, for example).

At a minimum I'd like to use IPMI to perform remote chassis power on/off, such as when a server is hung and no one is available at the NOC to hard boot it. Then, I'd like to see what else it can do.

Configuring it is not easy. I've tried the ipmiutil tool. I was able to view BMC configuration and configure it to some degree. I don't think I understand the configuration requirements well enough to know how to enable it. I'm also aware of an ipmitool tool, but it only runs on Unix/Linux.

What I'd like to do is share the same ethernet port for server OS and BMC, since it's an option, giving the BMC its own IP.

You may be thinking: "Doesn't Dell have a DRAC card that does IPMI and more?" Yes, and we have the DRAC 5 cards in all of these. Configuring that for remote power management has been just as much of a mystery.

Any direction would be greatly appreciated.