Solutions for the virtual eraFeaturesection

Streamlining systems management withDell Management Console 1.1

As IT complexity increases, efficient and

effective management of distributed

and disparate resources is paramount.

Dell Management Console powered

by Altiris from Symantec is a comprehensive

systems management tool designed to help IT

organizations streamline and simplify systems

management tasks.

Dell Management Console consolidates many

key systems management functions into a unified

console. The base offering, available as a software

download at no additional cost, provides a unified

view into the IT infrastructure and supports

management tasks such as discovery, inventory,

monitoring, and updating of both Dell and non-

Dell hardware, including servers, storage, clients,

network switches, and printers. Dell Management

Console is based on the open, modular Symantec

Management Platform architecture, enabling

functional enhancement through plug-ins.

The recent release of Dell Management

Console 1.1 expands the software’s functionality to

include power monitoring and out-of-band (OOB)

updating of server BIOS and firmware, in addition

to existing automated features such as warranty

reporting. By helping to streamline, simplify, and

automate key systems management tasks, Dell

Management Console 1.1 helps IT organizations

enhance data center efficiency, reduce systems

management costs, and increase application

performance and availability.

Consolidating systems management into a unified viewIT administrators are often bogged down by the

burden of managing complex and disparate systems.

In many environments, administrators have to use

a multitude of management tools, which can make

visibility into and management of the entire IT

infrastructure cumbersome and difficult.

By aggregating systems management tasks

into a consolidated, easy-to-use tool, Dell

Management Console provides IT managers

with a comprehensive, unified view of their IT

Dell™ Management Console powered by Altiris™ from Symantec™ consolidates multiple systems management tasks into a unified, easy-to-use console. Dell Management Console 1.1 enhances this functionality with features including power monitoring, out-of-band update capabilities for server BIOS and firmware, and automated warranty reporting.

By Todd Rodgers and Tad Walsh

Power Solutionsonline exclusivedell.com/powersolutions

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2010 Issue 2. Copyright © 2010 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.1 2010 Issue 02 | dell.com/powersolutions

infrastructures. In particular, Dell Management

Console offers administrators multiple views of the

IT infrastructure, including device tree, graphical

report, and exportable table views, with drill-down

capabilities that enable in-depth visibility into

configuration and inventory data, such as software

patch revisions and compliance information.

Administrators can use Dell Management Console

to perform key systems management tasks such

as discovery, inventory, monitoring, and updating

from a single console, helping avoid the need to

use multiple tools and multiple interfaces. Dell

Management Console can also be used to automate

key management tasks, helping to streamline systems

management and increase efficiency.

Dell Management Console is built using open

standards and a modular, extensible platform based

on the Symantec Management Platform architecture.

Basic hardware management is available out of

the box, and functionality can be easily extended

through plug-in modules to add advanced OS and

application management. Modules currently available

include support for management of applications

such as Microsoft® SQL Server®, Microsoft Exchange,

Microsoft Office, and Oracle® database software.

Additional modules include the Altiris Server

Management Suite™, Altiris Client Management

Suite™, Symantec Backup Exec™ System Recovery,

Symantec Backup Exec Infrastructure Manager,

Symantec Endpoint Protection Integration

Component, Bay Dynamics™ IT Analytics™ for Dell

Management Console, and Altiris Deployment

Solution™ for Dell Servers 7.1 plug-ins.

By giving administrators comprehensive visibility

into their IT infrastructures and supporting not

only standard systems management functionality

but also a comprehensive range of advanced

functions across the enterprise IT infrastructure,

Dell Management Console helps administrators

enhance the efficiency of systems management in

their IT environments. (For information on using Dell

Management Console as a framework for learning

the fundamentals of systems management on Dell

PowerEdge™ servers, see the “Hands-on training”

sidebar in this article.)

Capitalizing on advanced Dell Management Console 1.1 features Dell Management Console 1.1 offers features

designed to further streamline and simplify

enterprise systems management. Along with the

Hands-on trainingDell offers a three-day instructor-led course, Dell Management Console – Hands-On Installation, Configuration, and Management, designed to provide in-depth instruction on the functionality of Dell Management Console, which is part of the Dell OpenManage™ suite of systems management tools.

Through a series of hands-on lab activities using Dell PowerEdge servers, participants experience installation, configuration, and troubleshooting techniques based on real-world issues. For more information, visit the Dell Education Services Web site at learndell.com and learndell.com/server.

“ By helping to streamline, simplify, and automate key systems management tasks, Dell Management Console 1.1 helps IT organizations enhance data center efficiency, reduce systems management costs, and increase application performance and availability.”

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2010 Issue 2. Copyright © 2010 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. dell.com/powersolutions | 2010 Issue 02 2

Solutions for the virtual eraFeaturesection

warranty reporting feature introduced in Dell

Management Console 1.0.2, key features in

Dell Management Console 1.1 include server

power monitoring and OOB updating capabilities

for BIOS and firmware.

Power monitoring

Monitoring power consumption and ensuring

peak performance from server resources can be

a critical challenge for IT administrators. Often,

administrators have little or no visibility into server

power utilization, making it difficult to optimize

for energy efficiency. Dell Management Console 1.1

supports server power monitoring, enabling

administrators to observe server power utilization

and make informed decisions that can lead to

reduced power consumption and reduced energy

costs (see Figure 1).

The power monitoring feature collects

power usage information from Dell PowerEdge

servers configured with Power Management

Bus (PMBus) and Dell OpenManage Server

Administrator software. Dell Management

Console 1.1 displays power utilization in several

ways, such as real-time monitoring and summary

reporting views, and can display information

using a variety of metrics such as watts, kilowatt-

hours, and BTU-hours. Historical trends and

summary reports can be displayed over a range

of time periods including hours, days, weeks, or

longer periods. Dell Management Console 1.1

can also collect and display power utilization for

multiple servers at once.

By enabling administrators to view both real-

time and historical power utilization data, Dell

Management Console 1.1 helps them closely

and accurately monitor server power utilization,

enabling them to effectively manage servers. For

example, administrators may choose to upgrade

servers to reduce power consumption, or distribute

applications in different configurations to enhance

performance.

Out-of-band updating

Traditionally, server BIOS and firmware must

be updated in band—that is, through the OS.

Unfortunately, in-band updates can significantly

reduce application performance, and the ability

to perform BIOS and firmware patch updates is

dependent on whether the OS is supported. Dell

Management Console 1.1 supports OOB update

capabilities for BIOS and firmware (see Figure 2).

With OOB update capabilities, Dell Management

Console 1.1 can apply BIOS and firmware patches

for supported PowerEdge servers independent of

the OS. The OOB update capability is supported

on 11th-generation PowerEdge servers with

Lifecycle Controller 1.3.

The OOB firmware and BIOS updating capability

has several key features designed to streamline

patching and enhance efficiency. For example,

Dell Management Console 1.1 can automatically

Dell Management Console at the Dell TechCenter

Visit the Dell TechCenter for the latest on Dell Management Console, including video demos, white papers, blog posts, and more.

delltechcenter.com/page/ dell+management+console

Figure 1. Power monitoring in Dell Management Console: Power consumption management in real time

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2010 Issue 2. Copyright © 2010 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.3 2010 Issue 02 | dell.com/powersolutions

Todd Rodgers is a senior

systems engineer and field

systems management

specialist at Dell with nearly

20 years of experience in

the IT industry.

Tad Walsh is outbound

marketing manager for

systems management

solutions in the Dell

Enterprise Product Group.

search for available updates and alert administrators.

Download and installation of BIOS and firmware

updates can be scheduled to minimize application

disruption—for example, at night when application

activity is low—or staged and distributed on a

schedule. Additionally, updates can be tasked on

a one-to-many basis instead of updating each

server in sequence, and patching can be tasked

in band through the OS if desired. By helping

avoid OS dependence and supporting custom-

scheduled staging and distribution of patches, Dell

Management Console 1.1 OOB update capabilities

for BIOS and firmware can reduce application

disruption and enhance server uptime.

Warranty reporting

Monitoring hardware warranty tags and ensuring

that hardware warranties are up-to-date can also

be a management challenge. To help streamline

warranty management, Dell Management

Console 1.1 offers robust warranty reporting

functionality by automatically gathering warranty

and expiration information from PowerEdge

servers and Dell client devices and keeping track

of warranty expiration dates and warranty service

calls throughout the life cycle of the hardware.

Dell Management Console 1.1 also enables

administrators to view contract information

for servers and clients directly from the Dell

Management Console interface.

Warranty reporting enables administrators

to make proactive decisions, such as renewing

warranties in a timely fashion or upgrading to new

hardware based on automated alerts. The warranty

reporting capability also helps reduce the time

required to track down warranty and call records

and helps ensure that hardware stays within the

warranty period.

Advancing systems management efficiency By consolidating systems management tasks into

a unified, easy-to-use console, Dell Management

Console 1.1 gives organizations comprehensive

visibility into their IT environments and enables

them to streamline and automate key systems

management functions such as discovery, inventory,

and patch management. This comprehensive

systems management tool also helps organizations

cost-effectively enhance systems management,

energy efficiency, and application availability.

Figure 2. Patch management in Dell Management Console: Out-of-band update support for BIOS and firmware

Dell systems management:dell.com/openmanage

Learn more

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2010 Issue 2. Copyright © 2010 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. dell.com/powersolutions | 2010 Issue 02 4