Dell Drac 5 User Manual

							Using GUI Console Redirection171
Once installed, the browser will not prompt for that plug-in installation again, 
as long as the target DRAC5 firmware does not contain a newer version of the 
plug-in.
Why does the console redirection session end when I reboot my terminal?
When the DRAC 5 NIC settings are in shared or shared with failover 
mode, a system reset causes the LAN On Motherboard (LOM) to reset. On 
networks that have switches with the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) enabled, 
this causes the connection between the management station and the client to 
be re-established after approximately ten to fifteen seconds. As a result, 
connectivity with the remote system is lost and a connection lost error 
message is displayed on the console redirection and virtual media clients. 
If you access the DRAC GUI at this time, you will receive Page Not Found 
error message. 
To work around this issue:
 Use the DRAC 5 dedicated NIC for connection over the network.
 Disable STP on the network switches.  
						

							172Using GUI Console Redirection 
						

							Using and Configuring Virtual Media173
Using and Configuring Virtual 
Media
Overview
The Virtual Media feature provides the managed system with a virtual 
CD drive, which can use standard media from anywhere on the network. 
Figure 10-1 shows the overall architecture of virtual media. 
Figure 10-1. Overall Architecture of Virtual Media
Using Virtual Media, administrators can remotely boot their managed 
systems, install applications, update drivers, or even install new operating 
systems remotely from the virtual CD/DVD and diskette drives. 
 NOTE: Virtual media requires a minimum available network bandwidth of 128 Kbps.
Managed System Management Station
DRAC 5 Remote CD
Virtual FloppyVirtual CD
Remote Floppy Network 
						

							174Using and Configuring Virtual Media
The managed system is configured with a DRAC 5 card. The virtual CD and 
floppy drives are two electronic devices embedded in the DRAC 5 that are 
controlled by the DRAC 5 firmware. These two devices are present on the 
managed system’s operating system and BIOS at all times, whether virtual 
media is connected or disconnected. 
The management station provides the physical media or image file across the 
network. When you launch the RAC browser for the first time and you access 
the virtual media page, the virtual media plug-in is downloaded from the 
DRAC 5 Web server and is automatically installed on the management 
station. The virtual media plug-in must be installed on the management 
station for the virtual media feature to function properly. 
When virtual media is connected, all virtual CD/floppy drive access requests 
from the managed system are directed to the management station across the 
network. Connecting virtual media is identical to inserting media into virtual 
devices. When virtual media is not connected, virtual devices on the 
managed system appear as two drives without media installed in the drives. 
Table 10-1 lists the supported drive connections for virtual floppy and virtual 
optical drives.
 NOTE: Changing virtual media while connected could stop the system boot 
sequence.
Table 10-1. Supported Drive Connections
Supported Virtual Floppy Drive 
ConnectionsSupported Virtual Optical Drive 
Connections
Legacy 1.44 floppy drive with a 1.44 
floppy disketteCD-ROM, DVD, CDRW, combination 
drive with CD-ROM media
USB floppy drive with a 1.44 floppy 
disketteCD-ROM image file in the ISO9660 
format
1.44 floppy image USB CD-ROM drive with CD-ROM 
media. 
						

							Using and Configuring Virtual Media175
Installing the Virtual Media Plug-In
The virtual media browser plug-in must be installed on your management 
station to use the virtual media feature. After you open the DRAC 5 user 
interface and launch the Virtual Media page, the browser automatically 
downloads the plug-in, if required. If the plug-in is successfully installed, the 
Virtual Media page displays a list of floppy diskettes and optical disks that 
connect to the virtual drive.
Windows-Based Management Station
To run the virtual media feature on a management station running the 
Microsoft Windows operating system, install a supported version of Internet 
Explorer with the ActiveX Control plug-in. Set the browser security to 
Medium or a lower setting to enable Internet Explorer to download and 
install signed ActiveX controls.
See Supported Web Browsers for more information.
Additionally, you must have administrator rights to install and use the virtual 
media feature. Before installing the ActiveX control, Internet Explorer may 
display a security warning. To complete the ActiveX control installation 
procedure, accept the ActiveX control when Internet Explorer prompts you 
with a security warning.
Linux-Based Management Station
To run the virtual media feature on a management station running the Linux 
operating system, install a supported version of Mozilla or Firefox. If the 
virtual media plug-in is not installed or if a newer version is available, a dialog 
box appears during the installation procedure to confirm the plug-in 
installation on the management station. Ensure that the user ID running the 
browser has write permissions in the browsers directory tree. If the user ID 
does not have write permissions, you cannot install the virtual media plug-in. 
See the Dell Systems Software Support Matrix on the Dell Support website at 
support.dell.com for more information. 
						

							176Using and Configuring Virtual Media
Running Virtual Media
 NOTICE: Do not issue a racreset command when running a Virtual Media session. 
Otherwise, undesired results may occur, including loss of data. 
Using Virtual Media, you can virtualize a diskette image or drive, enabling a 
floppy image, floppy drive, or optical drive on your management console to 
become an available drive on the remote system.
Supported Virtual Media Configurations
You can enable Virtual Media for one floppy drive and one optical drive. Only 
one drive for each media type can be virtualized at a time.
Supported floppy drives include a floppy image or one available floppy drive. 
Supported optical drives include a maximum of one available optical drive or 
one ISO image file.
Running Virtual Media Using the Web User Interface
Connecting Virtual Media
1Open a supported Web browser on your management station. See the 
Dell Systems Software Support Matrix on the Dell Support website at 
support.dell.com for more information
 NOTICE: Console Redirection and Virtual Media only supports 32-bit Web 
browsers. Using 64-bit Web browsers may generate unexpected results or 
failure of operations.
2Connect and log into the DRAC 5. See Accessing the Web-Based 
Interface for more information.
3Click the Media tab and then click Virtual Media.
The 
Virtual Media page appears with the client drives that can be 
virtualized.
 NOTE: The Floppy Image File under Floppy Drive (if applicable) may appear, 
as this device can be virtualized as a virtual floppy. You can select one optical 
drive and one floppy at the same time, or a single drive. 
 
NOTE: The virtual device drive letters on the managed system do not coincide 
with the physical drive letters on the management station.  
						

							Using and Configuring Virtual Media177
4If prompted, follow the on-screen instructions to install the virtual media 
plug-in.
5In the Attribute box, perform the following steps:
aIn the Va l u e column, ensure that the Attach/Detach status value is 
Attached.
If the value is 
Detached, perform the following steps:

Media tab, click Configuration.

Va l u e column, ensure that the Attach Virtual Media check 
box is selected.
 Click 
Apply Changes.

Virtual Media tab, click Vi r t u a l  M e d i a.

Va l u e column, ensure that the Attach/Detach status value 
is 
Attached.
bEnsure that the Current Status value is Not connected. If the Va l u e 
field displays connected, you must disconnect from the image or drive 
before reconnecting. This status denotes the current status of the 
Virtual Media connection on the current Web-based interface only.
cEnsure that the Active Session value is Available. If the Va l u e field 
display 
In Use, you must wait for the existing Virtual Media session to 
be released or terminate it by going to the Session Management tab 
under Remote Access and terminating the active Virtual Media 
session. Only one active Virtual Media session is allowed at one time. 
This session could have been created by any Web-based interface or 
VM-CLI utility.
dSelect the Encryption Enabled check box to establish an encrypted 
connection between the remote system and your management station 
(if desired).
6If you are virtualizing a floppy image or ISO image, select Floppy Image 
File
 or ISO Image File and enter or browse to the image file you want to 
virtualize. 
If you are virtualizing a floppy drive or an optical drive, select the button 
next to the drives that you want to virtualize.  
						

							178Using and Configuring Virtual Media
7Click Connect.
If the connection is authenticated, the connection status becomes 
Connected and a list of all connected drives is displayed. All available 
diskette images and drives you selected become available on the managed 
system’s console as though they are real drives.
 NOTE: The assigned virtual drive letter (for Microsoft® Windows® systems) 
or device special file (for Linux systems) may not be identical to the drive 
letter on your management console. 
 
NOTE: Virtual Media may not function properly on Windows operating system 
clients that are configured with Internet Explorer Enhanced Security. To 
resolve this issue, see your Microsoft operating system documentation or 
contact your administrator.
Disconnecting Virtual Media
Click Disconnect to disconnect all virtualized images and drives from the 
management station. All virtualized images or drives disconnect and are no 
longer available on the managed system.
Attaching and Detaching the Virtual Media Feature 
The DRAC 5 Virtual Media feature is based on USB technology and can take 
advantage of the USB plug and play features. DRAC 5 adds the option to 
attach and detach the virtual devices from the USB bus. When the devices 
are detached, the operating system or BIOS cannot see any attached drives. 
When the virtual devices are attached, the drives are visible. Unlike DRAC 4, 
where the drives could only be enabled or disabled at the next system boot, 
DRAC 5 virtual devices can be attached or detached at any time. 
The virtual devices can be attached or detached using a Web browser, local 
racadm, remote racadm, telnet, and serial port. To configure virtual media 
using a Web browser, you can navigate to the Media page and then to the 
Configuration page where you can change settings and apply them.You may 
also specify the Virtual Media Port Number and the Virtual Media SSL Port 
Number. In addition, you can enable or disable the Virtual Flash and the 
Boot Once feature.
 NOTE: To enable the Boot Once feature, go to the BIOS Setup and manually 
change the boot order during system reboot. 
						

							Using and Configuring Virtual Media179
Auto-Attaching Virtual Media
DRAC 5 firmware version 1.30 and later support the auto-attach virtual 
media feature. When you enable this feature, DRAC 5 will automatically 
attach a virtual device to the system only when a device is virtualized 
(connected) on a supported client.
The DRAC 5 will detach the virtual media devices when the virtual media 
session is disconnected
Attaching, Auto-Attaching, and Detaching Virtual Media using the Web browser
To Attach the virtual media feature, do the following:
1
Click System-> Media-> Configuration
2Select the Va l u e check box for Attach Virtual Media
3Click Apply Changes
To Detach the virtual media feature, do the following:
1
Click System-> Media-> Configuration
2De-select the Va l u e check box for Attach Virtual Media
3Click Apply Changes
Attaching, Auto-Attaching, and Detaching Virtual Media using RACADM
To Attach the virtual media feature, open a command prompt, type the 
following command, and press : 
racadm config -g cfgRacVirtual -o cfgVirMediaAttached 1 
To Detach the virtual media, open a command prompt, type the following 
command, and press : 
racadm config -g cfgRacVirtual -o cfgVirMediaAttached 0 
To Auto-Attach the virtual media, open a command prompt, type the 
following command, and press : 
racadm config -g cfgRacVirtual -o cfgVirMediaAttached 2
Booting From Virtual Media
On supported systems, the system BIOS enables you to boot from virtual optical 
drives or virtual floppy drives. During POST, enter the BIOS setup window 
and verify that the virtual drives are enabled and listed in the correct order. 
						

							180Using and Configuring Virtual Media
To change the BIOS setting:
1
Boot the managed system.
2Press  to enter the BIOS setup window. 
3Scroll to the boot sequence and press .
In the pop-up window, the virtual optical drives and virtual floppy drives 
are listed with the standard boot devices.
4Ensure that the virtual drive is enabled and listed as the first device with 
bootable media. If required, follow the on-screen instructions to modify 
the boot order. 
5Save the changes and exit.
The managed system reboots.
The managed system attempts to boot from a bootable device based on 
the boot order. If virtual device is connected and a bootable media is 
present, the system boots to the virtual device. Otherwise, the system 
overlooks the device—similar to a physical device without bootable media.
Installing Operating Systems Using Virtual Media 
This section describes a manual, interactive method to install the operating 
system on your management station that may take several hours to complete. 
A scripted operating system installation procedure using Virtual Media may 
take less than 15 minutes to complete. See Deploying Your Operating 
System Using VM-CLI for more information.
1
Verify the following:
 The operating system installation CD is inserted in the management 
station’s CD drive.
 The local CD drive is selected.
 You are connected to the virtual drives.
2Follow the steps for booting from the virtual media in the Booting From 
Virtual Media section to ensure that the BIOS is set to boot from the CD 
drive that you are installing from.
3Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.