Dell Drac 5 User Manual

Using and Configuring Virtual Media181
Using Virtual Media When the Server’s Operating System Is Running
Windows-Based Systems
On Windows systems, the virtual media drives are automounted and 
configured with a drive letter. 
Using the virtual drives from within Windows is similar to using your physical 
drives. When you connect to the media at a management station, the media 
is available at the system by clicking the drive and browsing its content.
Linux-Based Systems
On Linux systems, the virtual...

182Using and Configuring Virtual Media
Enabling Virtual Flash
To enable Virtual Flash, open a command prompt, type the following 
command, and press :
racadm config -g cfgRacVirtual -o 
cfgVirMediaKeyEnable 1
Disabling Virtual Flash
To disable Virtual Flash, open a command prompt, type the following 
command, and press :
racadm config -gcfgRacVirtual -o cfgVirMediaKeyEnable 0
Storing Images in a Virtual Flash
The Virtual Flash can be formatted from the managed host. If you are 
running the Windows...

Using and Configuring Virtual Media183
4Using the format command, format the drive with the /s switch to transfer 
the system files to the Virtual Flash. 
For example:
format /s x
where x is the drive letter assigned to Virtual Flash.
5Shut down the system and remove the bootable floppy or CD from the 
appropriate drive.
6Turn on the system and verify that the system boots from Virtual Flash to 
the 
C:\ or A:\ prompt.
Using the Virtual Media Command Line Interface 
Utility
The Virtual Media Command Line...

184Using and Configuring Virtual Media
For Windows systems, you must have Power User privileges to run the 
VM-CLI utility.
For Linux systems, you can access the VM-CLI utility without administrator 
privileges by using the sudo command. This command provides a centralized 
means of providing non-administrator access and logs all user commands. To 
add or edit users in the VM-CLI group, the administrator uses the visudo 
command. Users without administrator privileges can add the sudo command 
as a...

Using and Configuring Virtual Media185
All command-line syntax are case sensitive. See VM-CLI Parameters for 
more information. 
If the remote system accepts the commands and the DRAC 5 authorizes the 
connection, the command continues to run until either of the following occurs: 
 The VM-CLI connection terminates for any reason.
 The process is manually terminated using an operating system control. For 
example, in Windows, you can use the Task Manager to terminate the 
process. 
VM-CLI Parameters
DRAC...

186Using and Configuring Virtual Media
DRAC User Password 
-p  
This parameter provides the password for the specified DRAC 5 user. 
If DRAC 5 authentication fails, an error message displays and the command 
terminates. 
Floppy/Disk Device or Image File 
-f { | }
where 
 is a valid drive letter (for Windows systems) or a 
valid device file name, including the mountable file system partition number, 
if applicable (for Linux systems); and 
 is the filename and 
path of a valid image file.
This parameter...

Using and Configuring Virtual Media187
CD/DVD Device or Image File 
-c { | }
where 
 is a valid CD/DVD drive letter (Windows systems) 
or a valid CD/DVD device file name (Linux systems) and 
 is 
the file name and path of a valid ISO-9660 image file.
This parameter specifies the device or file that will supply the virtual 
CD/DVD-ROM media: 
For example, an image file is specified as:
-c c:	emp\mydvd.img (Windows systems)
-c /tmp/mydvd.img (Linux systems)
For example, a device is specified as:
-c d:\...

188Using and Configuring Virtual Media
Encrypted Data
-e
When this parameter is included in the command line, the VM-CLI utility 
will use an SSL-encrypted channel to transfer data between the management 
station and the DRAC 5 in the remote system. If this parameter is not 
included in the command line, the data transfer is not encrypted. 
VM-CLI Operating System Shell Options 
The following operating system features can be used in the VM-CLI 
command line:
 stderr/stdout redirection — Redirects any...

Using and Configuring Virtual Media189
Deploying Your Operating System Using VM-CLI
The Virtual Media Command Line Interface (VM-CLI) utility is a 
command-line interface that provides Virtual Media features from the 
management station to the DRAC 5 in the remote system. Using VM-CLI 
and scripted methods, you can deploy your operating system on multiple 
remote systems in your network. 
This section provides information on integrating the VM-CLI utility into 
your corporate network.
Before You Begin...

190Using and Configuring Virtual Media
Network Requirements
You must have a network share containing:
 Operating system files
 Required drivers
 Operating system boot image file(s)
The image file must be a floppy image or CD/DVD ISO image with an 
industry-standard, bootable format. 
Creating a Bootable Image File 
Before you deploy your image file to the remote systems, ensure that a 
supported system can boot from the file. To test the image file, transfer the 
image file to a test system using the...