Monitoring Dell PowerEdge Servers with Hardware Sentry KM

Introduction

You can monitor the hardware health of your Dell PowerEdge servers, from 11th generation (11G) up to the latest generation (17G), in BMC Helix Operations Management using Hardware Sentry KM.

Depending on the server generation and management capabilities, you will use either out-of-band (agentless) or in-band (agent-based) monitoring.

In the sections that follow, you will learn how to identify the appropriate monitoring method based on your server generation and how to configure it in BMC Helix Operations Management.

Step 1: Identify the Server Generation

Before monitoring your Dell PowerEdge server, you must first identify its server generation, as it determines:

• whether out-of-band (agentless) monitoring is supported through iDRAC
• which monitoring protocols can be used (HTTP/REST, SNMP, or in-band agents).

To identify the server generation, look at the middle digit of the model number. This digit maps directly to the PowerEdge generation and the corresponding iDRAC version.

For example, in the model name PowerEdge R750 with iDRAC9, the middle digit (5) indicates that it is a rack-mounted PowerEdge server (R) using iDRAC9, and that it belongs to the 15th generation (15G).

The tables below provide non-exhaustive examples of Dell PowerEdge platforms, grouped by server type and generation. In each model name, the generation digit is highlighted in red to show how the middle digit maps directly to the PowerEdge generation and the associated iDRAC version.

Rack Servers (R) and Hyperconverged Servers (XC)

Modular Systems — MX Series (MX7000 Platform)

Blade Modular Systems — M Series (M1000e Platform)

Step 2: Configure Your Monitoring Policy in BMC Helix Operations Management

Using Out-of-Band Monitoring via iDRAC

Requirements

Before configuring a monitoring policy in BMC Helix Operations Management, make sure that:

• Hardware Sentry KM v11.4.x or v20.x is installed on the host where the PATROL Agent is running
• The required Java version is available on the same host:
  • Java 1.8.x or later for Hardware Sentry KM v11.4.x
  • Java 11 or later for Hardware Sentry KM v20.x
• You know the iDRAC IP address or hostname and have valid credentials to access the iDRAC management interface
• You know the Dell PowerEdge server hostname or FQDN, which is used by BMC Helix Operations Management or TrueSight Operations Management to identify the monitored device.

Note: Out-of-band monitoring via iDRAC requires a remote host configuration.
Localhost-based configurations are not supported.

Via iDRAC using the HTTP/REST Protocol (Modern PowerEdge 14G to 17G and later)

Before configuring your monitoring policy, run the command below to validate your settings:

curl -k -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u <username> -X GET https://<hostname>:443/redfish/v1
    

Replace <username>, <hostname>, <port> with appropriate values. Port is 443 by default. You’ll be prompted to enter the Password

If the command is successful:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Operations Management or BMC TrueSight Operations Management.

2. Create a new monitoring policy or edit an existing one:

   • Specify the general properties and agent selection criteria
   • Add a monitoring configuration
   • Select the Hardware solution

3. In the Hardware Configuration section, click Add to create a new Device, then provide the:

   • Internal ID: A unique identifier for the device in the policy (avoid special characters)
   • Hostname/IP Address(es): The hostname or IP address of the iDRAC management interface
   • Device Type: Select the appropriate type (e.g., Management Card/Chip, Blade Chassis, ESXi)
   • Associated Device FQDN(s): The hostname or FQDN of the server whose hardware is monitored through iDRAC

   

Via iDRAC using the SNMP Protocol

Before configuring a monitoring policy in BMC Helix Operations Management, make sure that:

• You know the iDRAC IP address or hostname and have valid credentials to access the iDRAC management interface
• You know the Dell PowerEdge server hostname or FQDN, which is used by BMC Helix Operations Management or TrueSight Operations Management to identify and associate the monitored device (for example, linking it with ESXi server monitoring)
• SNMP polling (port 161) is configured in iDRAC.

First, use MS_HW_matsya-module-snmpclient.jar to confirm that SNMP is properly configured in iDRAC (SNMP v3 in our example):

java -jar MS_HW_matsya-module-snmpclient.jar -v3 -host:<idrac-host-or-idracip> -authType:<MD5|SHA> -username:<authusername> -password:<password> -privType:<DES|AES> -privpassword:<password>  -getNext:<OID>

Where <idrac-host-or-idracip> is the IP or HOSTNAME of the iDRAC management interface. If using the authentication protocol V3, choose either MD5 or SHA for the authentication type.

In the example below, we are testing the SNMPV3 polling communication on iDRAC 10.0.11.34 using SHA as authType, snmpv3user and its password xxxxxx, and AES as PrivType:

java -jar MS_HW_matsya-module-snmpclient.jar -v3 -host:10.0.11.34 -authType:SHA -username:snmpv3user -password:xxxxxxx -privType:AES -privpassword:xxxxxxxx -getNext:1.3.6.1.4.1.674.10892.5.4

If the above commands are successful:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Operations Management or BMC TrueSight Operations Management.

2. Create a new monitoring policy or edit an existing one:

   • Specify the general properties and agent selection criteria
   • Add a monitoring configuration
   • Select the Hardware solution

3. In the Hardware Configuration section, click Add to create a new Device, then provide the:

   • Internal ID: A unique identifier for the device in the policy (avoid special characters)
   • Hostname/IP Address(es): The hostname or IP address of the iDRAC management interface
   • Device Type: Select the appropriate type (e.g., Management Card/Chip, Blade Chassis, ESXi)
   • Associated Device FQDN(s): The hostname or FQDN of the server whose hardware is monitored through iDRAC.

   

Using OpenManage Enterprise – Modular (OME-M)

Dell PowerEdge MX Series are modular compute sleds designed to operate inside the Dell MX7000 chassis. Each compute sled is managed at the node level via iDRAC, while OpenManage Enterprise – Modular (OME-M) provides centralized, chassis-level, out-of-band management and monitoring for all MX components.

In this configuration, hardware monitoring is performed out-of-band via OME-M using the HTTP/REST (Redfish) protocol. OME-M acts as the single entry point to monitor both the MX7000 chassis and all associated MX compute sleds.

Requirements

Before configuring a monitoring policy in BMC Helix Operations Management, make sure that:

• You know the hostname or IP address of OpenManage Enterprise – Modular (OME-M)
• You have valid credentials to authenticate to OME-M
• Port 443 is enabled (default port for HTTPS)

First, run the below command to validate your settings:

curl -k -u <username> -H "Accept: application/json" https://<ome-m-host>/api/DeviceService/Devices
    

Replace:

• <ome-m-host> by OpenManage Enterprise - Modular hostname or IP
• <username> by a user authorized to connect the OpenManage Enterprise - Modular API.

You will be prompted to enter the password.

In the example below, <10.0.203.239> is the OME-M IP address, <patrol> is the user to connect the OpenManage Enterprise - Modular API.

Procedure

If the above command is successful:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Operations Management or BMC TrueSight Operations Management.

2. Create a new monitoring policy or edit an existing one:

   • Specify the general properties and agent selection criteria
   • Add a monitoring configuration
   • Select the Hardware solution

3. In the Hardware Configuration section, click Add to create a new Device, then provide the:

   • Internal ID: A unique identifier for the device in the policy (avoid special characters)
   • Hostname/IP Address(es): The hostname or IP address of the OpenManage Enterprise - Modular hostname
   • Device Type: Select the appropriate type (e.g., Management Card/Chip, Blade Chassis, ESXi)

Using In-Band Monitoring (Agent-Based) with Dell OMSA

OMSA (OpenManage Server Administrator) is Dell’s in-band hardware management software that runs inside the operating system. It provides:

• Full hardware visibility (storage, RAID, power, thermal, sensors)
• Monitoring via SNMP, IPMI, or WBEM

OMSA is required for:

• PowerEdge 11G and earlier, where the iDRAC interface does not provide sufficient out-of-band monitoring capabilities.
• PowerEdge 12G servers when complete hardware coverage is needed.

Because OMSA runs inside the OS, monitoring is unavailable if the OS is down.

Using SNMP and OMSA Agent

To monitor the old generation of Dell PowerEdge servers, you need to install Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) on your Dell PowerEdge server. This hardware agent covers all hardware aspects of Dell PowerEdge servers: temperatures, fans, power supplies, controllers, physical disks, processors, memory modules, etc. A good way to check if Dell OMSA is properly installed and configured is to connect to its Web interface. Typically, the URL to connect to is ‹hostname>:1311/

Dell OpenManage Server Administrator can be downloaded from Dell’s Website.

Monitoring Prerequisites

• The Dell PowerEdge server runs Microsoft Windows or a supported distribution of Linux
• SNMP is running on the server (Windows SNMP service, or snmpd daemon on Linux). SNMP versions 1, 2c, and 3 (which needs a valid username/password) must be supported at least in read-only mode.
• SNMP is to be configured to allow requests from localhost with at least a community string enabled in read mode.

Installation procedure

On the Dell PowerEdge server to be monitored, install:

• the appropriate version of the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator agent (it depends on the operating system, its version and the processor architecture).
• the PATROL Agent
• Hardware Sentry KM v.10.2 or higher. Refer to Hardware Sentry User Guide for more details.

Configuration on Microsoft Windows systems

On Microsoft Windows systems, there is no specific configuration required for Hardware Sentry to discover and monitor the hardware of Dell PowerEdge servers.

Configuration on Linux systems

On Linux systems, the SNMP community configured in the snmpd daemon may not be “public”. In such a case, it is essential to verify that the SNMP community version selected to communicate with the SNMP agent installed on the monitored host is correct. Refer to Hardware Sentry User Guide for more details.

The monitoring of the network cards does not rely on Dell’s agent but on certain Linux command line utilities:

• ifconfig
• ethtool
• mii-tool

Root privileges required

Both ethtool and mii-tool require root privileges. This means that Hardware Sentry KM needs to be configured to either execute commands as root or to use sudo for the ethtool and mii-tool programs. Sudo avoids the need to provide the KM with the password or the root account, but it requires the proper configuration of the /etc/sudoers file with your root account. The monitoring of the network cards will not work properly until the root account credentials are provided or the KM has been configured to use sudo.

Discovered Components and Monitored Parameters

Once the monitoring method and protocol are selected, Hardware Sentry KM automatically activates the appropriate connectors and collects hardware data accordingly.

The table below summarizes the monitoring approaches, the corresponding Hardware Sentry connectors, and the hardware information collected.

Appendix

Monitoring Glossary

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