Dell Drac 5 User Manual

							Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 561
Connecting to the Managed System Through the 
Local Serial Port or Telnet Management Station 
(Client System)
The managed system provides access between the DRAC 5 and the serial port 
on your system to enable you to power on, power off, or reset the managed 
system, and access logs.
The serial console is available on the DRAC 5 through the managed system 
external serial connector. Only one serial client system (management station) 
may be active at any given time. The telnet and SSH consoles are available on 
the DRAC 5 through the DRAC modes (see DRAC Modes). Up to four 
telnet client systems and four SSH clients may connect at any given time. 
The management station connection to the managed system serial or telnet 
console requires management station terminal emulation software. See 
Configuring the Management Station Terminal Emulation Software for 
more information.
The following subsections explain how to connect your management station 
to the managed system using the following methods:
 A managed system external serial port using terminal software and a DB-9 
or a null modem cable
 A telnet connection using terminal software through the managed system 
DRAC 5 NIC or the shared, teamed NIC
Table 4-10. Terminal Mode Settings Page Buttons
Button Description
PrintPrint the Terminal Mode Settings page.
RefreshRefresh the Terminal Mode Settings page.
Go Back to Serial Port 
ConfigurationReturn to the Serial Port Configuration page.
Apply ChangesApply the terminal mode settings changes. 
						

							62Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 5
Connecting the DB-9 or Null Modem Cable for the 
Serial Console
To access the managed system using a serial text console, connect a DB-9 null 
modem cable to the COM port on the managed system. Not all DB-9 cables 
carry the pinout/signals necessary for this connection. The DB-9 cable for this 
connection must conform to the specification shown in Table 4-11.
 NOTE: The DB-9 cable can also be used for BIOS text console redirection.
Configuring the Management Station Terminal 
Emulation Software
Your DRAC 5 supports a serial or telnet text console from a management 
station running one of the following types of terminal emulation software:
 Linux Minicom in an Xterm
 Hilgraeve’s HyperTerminal Private Edition (version 6.3)
 Linux Telnet in an Xterm
 Microsoft
® Telnet
Perform the steps in the following subsections to configure your type of terminal 
software. If you are using Microsoft Telnet, configuration is not required.
Table 4-11. Required Pinout for DB-9 Null Modem Cable
Signal Name DB-9 Pin 
(server pin)DB-9 Pin 
(workstation pin)
FG (Frame Ground) – –
TD (Transmit data) 3 2
RD (Receive Data) 2 3
RTS (Request To Send) 7 8
CTS (Clear To Send) 8 7
SG (Signal Ground) 5 5
DSR (Data Set Ready) 6 4
CD (Carrier Detect) 1 4
DTR (Data Terminal Ready) 4 1 and 6 
						

							Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 563
Configuring Linux Minicom for Serial Console Emulation
Minicom is the serial port access utility for Linux. The following steps are 
valid for configuring Minicom version 2.0. Other Minicom versions may differ 
slightly but require the same basic settings. Use the information in Required 
Minicom Settings for Serial Console Emulation to configure other versions 
of Minicom.
Configuring Minicom Version 2.0 for Serial Console Emulation
 NOTE: To ensure that the text displays properly, Dell recommends that you use an 
Xterm window to display the telnet console instead of the default console provided 
by the Linux installation.
1To start a new Xterm session, type xterm & at the command prompt.
2In the Xterm window, move your mouse arrow to the lower right-hand 
corner of the window and resize the window to 80 x 25. 
3If you do not have a Minicom configuration file, go to the next step.
If you have a Minicom configuration file, type 
minicom  and skip to step 17.
4At the Xterm command prompt, type minicom -s.
5Select Serial Port Setup and press .
6Press  and select the appropriate serial device (for example, 
/dev/ttyS0).
7Press  and set the Bps/Par/Bits option to 57600 8N1.
8Press  and set Hardware Flow Control to Ye s and set Software Flow 
Control
 to No.
9To  e x i t  t h e  Serial Port Setup menu, press .
10Select Modem and Dialing and press .
11In the Modem Dialing and Parameter Setup menu, press  
to clear the 
init, reset, connect, and hangup settings so that they are blank.
12Press  to save each blank value.
13When all specified fields are clear, press  to exit the Modem 
Dialing and Parameter Setup
 menu.
14Select Save setup as config_name and press .
15Select Exit From Minicom and press . 
						

							64Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 5
16At the command shell prompt, type minicom .
17To expand the Minicom window to 80 x 25, drag the corner of the window.
18Press , ,  to exit Minicom. 
 NOTE: If you are using Minicom for serial text console redirection to configure the 
managed system BIOS, it is recommended to turn on color in Minicom. To turn on 
color, type the following command:
 minicom -c on
Ensure that the Minicom window displays a command prompt such as 
[DRAC 5
oot]#. When the command prompt appears, your connection 
is successful and you are ready to connect to the managed system console 
using the connect serial command.
Required Minicom Settings for Serial Console Emulation
Use Table 4-12 to configure any version of Minicom.
Configuring HyperTerminal for Serial Console Redirection
HyperTerminal is the Microsoft Windows serial port access utility. To set the 
size of your console screen appropriately, use Hilgraeve’s HyperTerminal 
Private Edition version 6.3. 
To configure HyperTerminal for serial console redirection:
1
Start the HyperTerminal program.
2Type a name for the new connection and click OK.
Table 4-12. Minicom Settings for Serial Console Emulation
Setting Description Required Setting
Bps/Par/Bits 57600 8N1
Hardware flow control Yes
Software flow control No
Terminal emulation ANSI
Modem dialing and 
parameter settingsClear the init, reset, connect, and hangup settings so 
that they are blank
Window size 80 x 25 (to resize, drag the corner of the window) 
						

							Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 565
3Next to Connect using:, select the COM port on the management station 
(for example, COM2) to which you have connected the DB-9 null modem 
cable and click 
OK.
4Configure the COM port settings as shown in Table 4-13.
5Click OK.
6Click File → Properties, and then click the Settings tab.
7Set the Telnet terminal ID: to ANSI.
8Click Terminal Setup and set Screen Rows to 26.
9Set Columns to 80 and click OK.
The HyperTerminal window displays a command prompt such as [DRAC 
5
oot]#. When the command prompt appears, your connection is 
successful and you are ready to connect to the managed system console using 
the connect com2 serial command.
Configuring Linux XTerm for Telnet Console Redirection
Use the following guidelines when performing the steps in this section:
 When you are using the connect com2 command through a telnet console 
to display the System Setup screens, set the terminal type to 
ANSI in 
System Setup and for the telnet session.
 To ensure that the text is properly displayed, Dell recommends that you 
use an Xterm window to display the telnet console instead of the default 
console provided by the Linux installation.
Table 4-13. Management Station COM Port Settings
Setting Description Required Setting
Bits per second 57600
Data bits 8
Parity None
Stop bits 1
Flow control Hardware 
						

							66Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 5
To run telnet with Linux:
1
Start a new Xterm session.
At the command prompt, type
 xterm &
2
Click on the lower right-hand corner of the XTerm window and resize the 
window to 80 x 25. 
3Connect to the DRAC 5 in the managed system. 
At the Xterm prompt, type 
telnet 
Enabling Microsoft Telnet for Telnet Console Redirection
 NOTE: Some telnet clients on Microsoft operating systems may not display the 
BIOS setup screen correctly when BIOS console redirection is set for VT100 
emulation. If this issue occurs, update the display by changing BIOS console 
redirection to ANSI mode. To perform this procedure in the BIOS setup menu, 
select Console Redirection 
→ Remote Terminal Type → ANSI.
1Enable Te l n e t in Windows Component Services.
2Connect to the DRAC 5 in the management station.
Open a command prompt, type the following, and press :
telnet :
where IP address is the IP address for the DRAC 5 and port number 
is the telnet port number (if you are using a new port).
Configuring the Backspace Key For Your Telnet Session
Depending on the telnet client, using the  key may produce 
unexpected results. For example, the session may echo ^h. However, most 
Microsoft and Linux telnet clients can be configured to use the 
 key.
To configure Microsoft telnet clients to use the  key:
1
Open a command prompt window (if required).
2If you are not running a telnet session, type:
telnet
If you are running a telnet session, press .  
						

							Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 567
3At the prompt, type:
set bsasdel
The following message appears:
Backspace will be sent as delete.
To configure a Linux telnet session to use the  key:
1
Open a command prompt and type:
stty erase ^h
2
At the prompt, type:
telnet
Using a Serial or Telnet Console
Serial and telnet commands, and RACADM CLI can be typed in a serial or 
telnet console and executed on the server locally or remotely. The local 
RACADM CLI is installed for use by a root user only. 
Running Telnet Using Windows XP or Windows 2003
If your management station is running Windows XP or Windows 2003, you 
may experience an issue with the characters in a DRAC 5 telnet session.This 
issue may occur as a frozen login where the return key does not respond and 
the password prompt does not appear. 
To fix this issue, download hotfix 824810 from the Microsoft Support website 
at support.microsoft.com. See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 824810 for 
more information. 
Running Telnet Using Windows 2000
If your management station is running Windows 2000, you cannot access 
BIOS setup by pressing the  key. To fix this issue, use the telnet client 
supplied with the Windows Services for UNIX
® 3.5—a recommended free 
download from Microsoft. Go to www.microsoft.com/downloads/ and search 
for Windows Services for UNIX 3.5. 
						

							68Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 5
Using the Secure Shell (SSH)
It is critical that your system’s devices and device management are secure. 
Embedded connected devices are the core of many business processes. If 
these devices are compromised, your business may be at risk, which requires 
new security demands for command line interface (CLI) device management 
software.
Secure Shell (SSH) is a command line session that includes the same 
capabilities as a telnet session, but with improved security. The DRAC 5 
supports SSH version 2 with password authentication. SSH is enabled on the 
DRAC 5 when you install or update your DRAC 5 firmware.
You can use either PuTTY or OpenSSH on the management station to 
connect to the managed system’s DRAC 5. When an error occurs during the 
login procedure, the secure shell client issues an error message. The message 
text is dependent on the client and is not controlled by the DRAC 5.
 NOTE: OpenSSH should be run from a VT100 or ANSI terminal emulator on 
Windows. Running 
OpenSSH at the Windows command prompt does not result in 
full functionality (that is, some keys do not respond and no graphics are displayed).
Only four SSH sessions are supported at any given time. The session time-out 
is controlled by the cfgSsnMgtSshIdleTimeout property as described in 
the DRAC 5 Property Database Group and Object Definitions.
To enable the SSH on the DRAC 5, type:
racadm config -g cfgSerial -o cfgSerialSshEnable 1
To change the SSH port, type:
racadm config -g cfgRacTuning -o cfgRacTuneSshPort 
 
For more information on cfgSerialSshEnable and 
cfgRacTuneSshPort properties, see DRAC 5 Property Database Group 
and Object Definitions.
The DRAC 5 SSH implementation supports multiple cryptography schemes, 
as shown in Table 4-14. 
						

							Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 569
 NOTE: SSHv1 is not supported.
Configuring the DRAC 5 Network Settings
 NOTICE: Changing your DRAC 5 Network settings may disconnect your current 
network connection.
Configure the DRAC 5 network settings using one of the following tools:
 Web-based Interface — See Configuring the DRAC 5 NIC
 RACADM CLI — See cfgLanNetworking

Dell Remote Access Configuration Utility — See Configuring Your 
System to Use a DRAC 5
 NOTE: If you are deploying the DRAC 5 in a Linux environment, see Installing 
RACADM. Table 4-14. Cryptography Schemes
Scheme Type Scheme
Asymmetric Cryptography Diffie-Hellman DSA/DSS 512-1024 (random) bits 
per NIST specification
Symmetric Cryptography
 AES256-CBC 
 RIJNDAEL256-CBC 
 AES192-CBC 
 RIJNDAEL192-CBC 
 AES128-CBC 
 RIJNDAEL128-CBC 
 BLOWFISH-128-CBC 
 3DES-192-CBC 
 ARCFOUR-128 
Message Integrity HMAC-SHA1-160 
 HMAC-SHA1-96 
 HMAC-MD5-128 
 HMAC-MD5-96
Authentication Password 
						

							70Advanced Configuration of the DRAC 5
Accessing the DRAC 5 Through a Network
After you configure the DRAC 5, you can remotely access the managed 
system using one of the following interfaces:
 Web-based interface

 Telnet Console
 SSH 

Table 4-15 describes each DRAC 5 interface.
Table 4-15. DRAC 5 Interfaces
Interface Description
Web-based interface Provides remote access to the DRAC 5 using a graphical 
user interface. The Web-based interface is built into 
the DRAC 5 firmware and is accessed through the NIC 
interface from a supported Web browser on the 
management station.
For a list of supported Web browsers, see Supported 
Web Browsers.
RACADM Provides remote access to the DRAC 5 using a 
command line interface. RACADM uses the managed 
system’s IP address to execute RACADM commands 
(racadm remote capability option [-r]).
NOTE: The racadm remote capability is supported only on 
management stations. For more information, see 
Supported Web Browsers.
NOTE: When using the racadm remote capability, you 
must have write permission on the folders where you are 
using the racadm subcommands involving file operations, 
for example:
racadm getconfig -f 
or:
racadm sslcertupload -t 1 -f 
c:\cert\cert.txt subcommands