Dell Drac 5 User Guide
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Using GUI Console Redirection171 Adjusting the Video Quality The Video Viewer provides video adjustments that allow you to optimize the video for the best possible view. Click Help for more information. To automatically adjust the video quality: 1 Access the Viewer Menu Bar. See Accessing the Viewer Menu Bar on page 168. 2Click Tools and select Automatic Video Adjust (for Native plug-in) or Video Settings (for Java plug-in) to automatically adjust the video quality of the Viewer window. To manually adjust the video quality: 1 Access the Viewer Menu Bar. See Accessing the Viewer Menu Bar on page 168. 2Click Tools and select Manual Video Adjust (for Native plug-in) or Vi d e o Settings (for Java plug-in). 3In the Manual Video Adjust window, click each video adjustment button and adjust the controls as needed. 4When finished, click Close to exit the Manual Video Adjust dialog box. When you manually adjust the video quality, observe the following guidelines: • To prevent the mouse pointers from desynchronizing, adjust the horizontal setting so the remote system’s desktop is centered in the session window. • Reducing the Pixel Noise Ratio setting to zero causes multiple video refresh commands that generates excessive network traffic and flickering video in the Video Viewer window. Dell recommends that you adjust the Pixel Noise Ratio setting at a level that provides optimal system performance and pixel enhancement while minimizing network traffic.
172Using GUI Console Redirection Synchronizing the Mouse Pointers When you connect to a remote Dell system using Console Redirection, the mouse acceleration speed on the remote system may not synchronize with the mouse pointer on your management station, causing two mouse pointers to appear in the Video Viewer window. To synchronize the mouse pointers: 1 Access the Viewer Menu Bar. See Accessing the Viewer Menu Bar on page 168. 2Click Tools and select Session Options. 3Click the Mouse tab, select your management station’s operating system, and click OK. 4Click Tools and select Manual Video Adjust. 5Adjust the horizontal controls so the remote system’s desktop appears in the center of the session window. 6Click OK. When using Linux (Red Hat or Novell), the operating system’s default mouse settings are used to control the mouse arrow in the DRAC 5 Console Redirection screen. NOTE: On Linux (Red Hat or Novell) systems, there are known mouse arrow synchronization issues. To minimize mouse synchronization problems, ensure that all users use the default mouse settings. For information on disabling the console redirection, see Disabling DRAC 5 Remote Virtual KVM on page 214.
Using GUI Console Redirection173 Using Power Control Option The Power Control option allows you to do the following on the managed system: • Power on the system • Power off the system • Reset the system • Power cycle the system To control power on the managed system: 1 Access the Viewer Menu Bar. See Accessing the Viewer Menu Bar on page 168. 2Click Tools and then click Po w e r Co n t r ol. 3Click any of the options provided: • Power on the system. • Power off the system. • Reset the system. Restart the system without powering it off. • Power cycle the system. Restart the system after powering it off. A pop-up window is displayed. 4Click Ye s and click OK. Frequently Asked Questions Can a new remote console video session be started when the local video on the server is turned OFF? Ye s . Why does it take 15 seconds to turn OFF the local video on the server after requesting to turn OFF the local video? It gives a local user an opportunity to take any action before the video is switched OFF. Is there a time delay when turning ON the local video? No, once a local video turn ON request is received by DRAC 5 the video is turned ON instantly.
174Using GUI Console Redirection Can the local user also turn OFF the video? Yes, a local user can use racadm CLI (local) to turn OFF the video. Can the local user also turn ON the video? Yes, the user should have racadm CLI installed on the server and only if the user is able to access the server over an RDP connection, such as terminal services, telnet, or SSH. The user can then log on to the server and can run racadm (local) to turn ON the video. My local video is turned OFF and for some reason my DRAC 5 is not accessible remotely and the server is not accessible with RDP, telnet, or SSH. How do I recover the local video? The only way to recover the local video in this case is by removing the AC power cord from the server, draining the server flee power and reconnecting the AC power cord; this will bring back the local video on the server monitor. Also, the DRAC 5 configuration is changed to local video ON (default). The DRAC 5 needs to be reconfigured if the local video needs to be turned OFF again. Does switching OFF the local video also switch OFF the local keyboard and mouse? No, switching OFF the local video only switches OFF the video going from the server’s monitor output connector; it will not switch off the keyboard and mouse connected locally to the server. Does turning off the local server video turn off the video on the remote vKVM session? No, turning the local video ON or OFF is independent of the remote console session. What privileges are needed for a DRAC 5 user to turn ON or OFF the local server video? Any user with DRAC 5 configuration privileges can turn the local server video ON or OFF. How can I get the current status of the local server video?
Using GUI Console Redirection175 The status is displayed on the Console Redirection Configuration page of the DRAC 5 web-based interface. The racadm CLI command racadm getconfig –g cfgRacTuning displays the status in the object cfgRacTuneLocalServerVideo. The status is also seen by the local user on the server LCD screen as “Video OFF” or as “Video OFF in 15”. Why is it that sometimes I do not see the “Video OFF” or “Video OFF in 15” status on the server LCD screen? The local video status is a low-priority message and will get masked if a high priority server event has occurred. The LCD messages are based on priority; you must resolve any high-priority LCD messages and once that event is cleared or resolved, the next low priority message is displayed. The server video message on the LCD screen is informational in nature. Where can I get more information on the Local Server Video feature? See the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals for a white paper discussing this feature. I see video corruption on my screen. How do I fix this issue? In the Console Redirection window, click Refresh to refresh the screen. NOTE: You may need to click Refresh several times to correct the video corruption. During Console Redirection, the keyboard and mouse are locked after hibernation on a Windows 2000 system. What caused this to happen? To resolve this issue, reset the DRAC 5 by running the racadm racreset command. I cannot see the bottom of the system screen from the Console Redirection window. Ensure that the management station’s monitor resolution is set to 1280x1024. During Console Redirection, the mouse is locked after hibernation on a Windows Server 2003 system. Why did this happen? To resolve this issue, select an operating system other than Windows for mouse acceleration from the virtual KVM (vKVM) window pull-down menu, wait 5 to 10 seconds, and then select Windows again. If the problem is not resolved, you must reset the DRAC 5 by running the racadm racreset command.
176Using GUI Console Redirection If the problem is still not resolved, you must reset the DRAC 5 by running the racadm racreset hard command. Why aren’t the vKVM keyboard and mouse working? You must set the USB controller to On with BIOS support in the BIOS settings of the managed system. Restart the managed system and press to enter setup. Select Integrated Devices, and then select USB Controller. Save your changes and restart the system. Why does the managed system console screen go blank when Windows has a blue screen? The managed system does not have the correct ATI video driver. You must update the video driver with the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD. Why do I get a blank screen on the remote console after completing a Windows 2000 installation? The managed system does not have the correct ATI video driver. The DRAC 5 Console Redirection will not run correctly on the SVGA video driver on the Windows 2000 distribution CD. You must install Windows 2000 using the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD to ensure that you have the latest, supported drivers for the managed system. Why do I get a blank screen on the managed system when loading the Windows 2000 operating system? The managed system does not have the correct ATI video driver. You must update the video driver by using the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD. Why do I get a blank screen on the managed system in the Windows full screen DOS window? The managed system does not have the correct ATI video driver. You must update the video driver by using the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD. Why can’t I enter BIOS setup by pressing the key? This behavior is typical in a Windows environment. Use your mouse to click on an area of the Console Redirection window to adjust the focus. To move the focus to the bottom menu bar of Console Redirection window, use the mouse and click one of the objects on the bottom menu bar.
Using GUI Console Redirection177 Why doesn’t the vKVM mouse sync when I use the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD to remotely install the operating system? Configure Console Redirection for the operating system that is running on the target system. 1 In the vKVM toolbar menu, click Tools and select Session Options. 2In the Session Options window, click the Mouse tab. 3In the Mouse Acceleration box, select the operating system that is running on the target system and click OK. Why doesn’t the vKVM mouse sync after coming back from hibernation on a Windows system? Select a different operating system for mouse acceleration on the vKVM window pull-down menu. Next, return to the original operating system to initialize the USB mouse device. 1 In the vKVM toolbar, click Tools and select Session Options. 2In the Session Options window, click the Mouse tab. 3In the Mouse Acceleration box, select another operating system and click OK. 4Initialize the USB mouse device. Why doesn’t the mouse sync in DOS when performing Console Redirection? The Dell BIOS is emulating the mouse driver as a PS/2 mouse. By design, the PS/2 mouse uses relative position for the mouse pointer, which causes the sync lag. DRAC 5 has a USB mouse driver, which allows absolute position and closer tracking of the mouse pointer. Even if DRAC 5 passes the USB absolute mouse position to the Dell BIOS, the BIOS emulation would convert it back to relative position and retain the behavior. Why doesn’t the mouse sync under the Linux text console? Virtual KVM requires the USB mouse driver, but the USB mouse driver is available only under the X-Window operating system.
178Using GUI Console Redirection I am still having issues with mouse synchronization. Ensure that the target system’s desktop is centered in the console redirection window. 1 In the vKVM toolbar, click Tools and select Manual Video Adjustment. 2Adjust the horizontal and vertical controls as needed to align the desktop in the console redirection window. 3Click Close. 4Move the target system’s mouse cursor to the top left corner of the console redirection window, and then move the cursor back to the center of the window. 5Repeat step 2 through step 4 until both cursors are synchronized. Why doesn’t the vKVM mouse and keyboard work when changing mouse acceleration for different operating systems? The USB vKVM keyboard and mouse are inactive from 5 to 10 seconds after changing the mouse acceleration. The network load can sometimes cause this operation to take longer than normal (more than 10 seconds). Why cant I see the bottom of the server screen from the vKVM window? Ensure that the server screen resolution is 1280 x 1024 pixels at 60 Hz with 128 colors. Why cant I use a keyboard or mouse while installing a Microsoft operating system remotely by using DRAC5 Console Redirection? When you remotely install a supported Microsoft operating system on a system with Console Redirection enabled in the BIOS, you receive an EMS Connection Message that requires you to select OK before you can continue. You cannot use the mouse to select OK remotely. You must either select OK on the local system or restart the remotely managed system, reinstall, and then turn Console Redirection Off in the BIOS. This message is generated by Microsoft to alert the user that Console Redirection is enabled. To ensure that this message does not appear, always turn off Console Redirection in the BIOS before installing an operating system remotely.
Using GUI Console Redirection179 Why does console redirection fail to show the operating system boot menu in the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean versions of Microsoft Windows 2000? On systems running Windows 2000 that can boot to multiple operating systems, change the default boot operating system by performing the following steps: 1 Right-click the My Computer icon and select Properties. 2Click the Advanced tab. 3Click Startup and Recovery. 4Select the new default operating system from the Startup list. 5In the Show list for box, type the number of seconds that the list of choices should be displayed before the default operating system automatically boots. Why doesn’t the Num Lock indicator on my management station reflect the status of the Num Lock on the remote server? When accessed through the DRAC 5, the Num Lock indicator on the management station does not necessarily coincide with the state of the Num Lock on the remote server. The state of the Num Lock is dependent on the setting on the remote server when the remote session is connected, regardless of the state of the Num Lock on the management station. Why do multiple Session Viewer windows appear when I establish a console redirection session? You are configuring a console redirection session to the local system. Reconfigure the session to a remote system. If I am running a console redirection session and a local user accesses the remote system, do I receive a warning message? No. If a local user accesses the system, he/she can override your actions without sending a warning. How much bandwidth do I need to run a console redirection session? Dell recommends a 5 MB/sec connection for good performance. A 1 MB/sec connection is required for minimal performance.
180Using GUI Console Redirection What are the minimum system requirements for my management station to run console redirection? The management station requires an Intel Pentium III 500 MHz processor with at least 256 MB of RAM. What are the maximum number of console redirection sessions that I can run on a remote system? The DRAC 5 supports up to two simultaneous console redirection sessions. Why do I have mouse synchronization problems? On Linux (Red Hat or Novell) systems, there are known mouse arrow synchronization issues. To minimize mouse synchronization problems, ensure that all users use the default mouse settings. How can I install a Web browser on my management station that has a read- only file system? If you are running Linux and your management station has a read-only file system, a browser can be installed on a client system without requiring a connection to a DRAC 5. By using the native plug-in installation package, the browser can be manually installed during the client setup phase. CAUTION: In a read-only client environment, if the DRAC 5 firmware is updated to a newer version of the plug-in, the installed virtual media plug-in becomes inoperative. This is because earlier plug-in features are not allowed to function when the firmware contains a newer plug-in version. In this case, you are prompted for plug-in installation. Since the file system is read-only, the installation fails and the plug-in features are not available. To obtain the plug-in installation package: 1 Log into an existing DRAC 5. 2Change the URL in the browsers address bar, from: https:///cgi-bin/webcgi/main to: https:///plugins/ # Be sure to include the trailing slash.