Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) helps

administrators manage the hardware and software

resources of Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers running

Microsoft® Windows® or Linux operating systems.

Administrators can install OMSA locally on Linux-based sys-

tems using a set of functionally related Red Hat® Package

Manager (RPM™) files or a set of support scripts that provide

both interactive and noninteractive modes. They can also

perform remote deployments using tarballs available for

download from the Dell Web site, third-party applications

such as Altiris® Deployment Solution™ software, and custom

yum (Yellowdog Updater, Modified) repositories.

OMSA supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5 and

Novell® SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server 9 and 10. OMSA 5.0 and

later includes OpenIPMI hardware management drivers; the

Dell PowerEdge Installation and Server Management CD con-

tains the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) driv-

ers required for all certified platforms along with Dynamic

Kernel Module Support (DKMS) packages, which enable OMSA

to run on custom recompiled kernels. Storage functionality may

require non–open source drivers on some platforms.

Local deployment methods The Linux installation files for OMSA are located in the

/srvadmin/linux directory on the Dell PowerEdge Installation

and Server Management CD. The RPM packages are digitally

signed using a GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) key; administrators

can verify the integrity of these packages by importing the

GPG key from the CD using the following command in the

/srvadmin/linux directory:

rpm --import RPM-GPG-KEY

The key can also be imported from publicly available key

servers or from lists.us.dell.com/linux-security-publickey.txt.

RPM installationThe /srvadmin/linux/custom directory consists of sets of

functionally related RPM selections for different operating

systems contained in add-RAC3, add-RAC4, add-RAC5,

add-storageservices, add-webserver, and srvadmin-base

subdirectories. The three add-RAC subdirectories contain

RPM files to enable racadm-based systems management, the

add-storageservices subdirectory contains RPM files provid-

ing Dell OpenManage Storage Services functionality, and the

add-webserver subdirectory contains RPM files providing the

Web server required for the Dell OpenManage Web browser–

based interface. The srvadmin-base subdirectory contains

the basic files required to install a functional command-

line-based OMSA; it also includes an openipmi subdirec-

tory with a DKMS version of the OpenIPMI driver, which

might be necessary when a required driver version is not

installed on the system. Administrators can view the details

of a particular RPM file in a given folder with the command

Related Categories:

Dell OpenManage

Dell PowerEdge servers

Novell SUSE Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Systems management

VMware

Visit www.dell.com/powersolutions

for the complete category index.

Installing Dell OpenManage Server Administrator on Linux PlatformsAdministrators can choose from an array of different methods when installing Dell OpenManage™ Server Administrator 5.2 on supported Linux® operating systems. This article outlines the available local and remote deployment methods and how administrators can use them in enterprise environments.

By O. R. Senthil KumaRan

RajKumaR V. j.

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, may 2007. Copyright © 2007 Dell inc. all rights reserved.

systeMs ManageMent

DELL POWER SOLUTIONS | may 20071

rpm -qpi packagename.rpm. Figure 1

shows the results for the srvadmin-isvc RPM file.

For more information, see the Dell OpenManage

Server Administrator User’s Guide.

Administrators can install OMSA using RPM

packages by entering the command rpm -ivh

*.rpm in the /srvadmin/linux/custom direc-

tory. The files in this directory are arranged to

meet installation prerequisites. Administrators

should keep in mind that srvadmin-base instal-

lations fail if the necessary IPMI driver version

is not present on the system. The openipmi

subdirectory of the srvadmin-base folder

provides the required version; administrators

can upgrade their version of the OpenIPMI

driver from this directory with the command

rpm -Uvh openipmi-*.rpm. Scripts inside

the RPM files also load the OpenIPMI module

into the OS kernel.

Which add-RAC subdirectory is relevant

depends on the Dell Remote Access Controller

(DRAC) installed on the system (see Figure 2).

If no DRAC is present, the DRAC RPM files are

still installed, and racadm functionality for the

local system should be available when the

DRAC is attached and services have been

launched; in this case, only remote racadm

functionality can be used from the files installed

on the system.

Linux operating systems installed using

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant should

include all required RPM files; however, other

installations may need these files installed

manually. The /srvadmin/linux/RPMS directory

and its supportRPMS subdirectory provide sets

of RPM files for different operating systems that

can be called by support scripts during scripted

OMSA installations. If a dependency causes an

installation to fail, administrators should look

for the missing RPM file in the supportRPMS

subdirectory.

Following installation, administrators can

start the installed services without rebooting by

using the command srvadmin-services.sh

start.

scripted installation Administrators can also install OMSA on Linux

systems by using the four support scripts in the

/srvadmin/linux/supportscripts directory:

srvadmin-install.sh, srvadmin-openipmi.sh,

srvadmin-services.sh, and srvadmin-uninstall.

sh. Each script provides an interactive and a

noninteractive mode. The interactive mode can

be helpful to inexperienced administrators,

taking them through the installation process

step-by-step; the noninteractive mode is useful

for automated installations and remote deploy-

ments. Administrators can start the interactive

mode of any OMSA support script with the

Name : srvadmin-isvc Relocations: /opt/dell/srvadmin

Version : 5.2.0 Vendor: Dell Inc

Release : 240 Build Date: Thu 16 Nov 2006 07:22:22 PM IST

Install Date : (not installed) Build Host: omi-vm2-bldlx32.aus.amer.dell.com

Group : System/Configuration/Hardware Source RPM: srvadmin-isvc-5.2.0-240.nosrc.rpm

Size : 3664740 License: Commercial

Signature : DSA/SHA1, Thu 16 Nov 2006 07:27:34 PM IST, Key ID ca77951d23b66a9d

Packager : ominstall@dell.com

URL : http://support.dell.com

Summary : Instrumentation Service, 5.7.0

Description :

Server Administrator provides a suite of systems management information for keeping supported systems on

your network healthy. Server Administrator Instrumentation Service provides fault management information,

prefailure information, and asset and inventory information to management applications.

The Instrumentation Service monitors the health of the system and provides rapid access to detailed

fault and performance information about the hardware on supported systems. The Instrumentation Service

requires installation of Systems Management Device Drivers.

Figure 1. Package details for the srvadmin-isvc RPM file

Figure 2. Racadm functionality for RPM files in the three add-RAC subdirectories

Directory Remote racadm functionality Local racadm functionality

add-RaC3 DRaC iii DRaC iii

add-RaC4 DRaC iii and DRaC 4 DRaC 4

add-RaC5 DRaC iii, DRaC 4, and DRaC 5 DRaC 5

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, may 2007. Copyright © 2007 Dell inc. all rights reserved. 2www.dell.com/powersolutions

www.dell.com/powersolutions

command sh srvadmin-scriptname.sh,

or view the command-line options that facilitate

the noninteractive mode with the command sh

srvadmin-scriptname.sh -h.

The srvadmin-install.sh script is used for

installing OMSA. Figure 3 shows the results of

running srvadmin-install.sh in interactive mode;

the script is designed to detect the current

system state and only request information nec-

essary to complete the installation. Figure 4

shows the results of viewing this script’s non-

interactive command-line options.

The other three scripts support OMSA

installation:

• Srvadmin-openipmi.sh: This is the OpenIPMI

driver helper utility for OMSA, which checks

the installed driver version and can install

an updated version from the OpenIPMI RPM

file on the Dell PowerEdge Installation and

Server Management CD, if necessary. If the

host system is custom compiled, then the

DKMS framework rebuilds the OpenIPMI

RPM for the kernel and runs a scripted

installation.

• Srvadmin-services.sh: This script starts the

installed services following installation.

• Srvadmin-uninstall.sh: This script helps

uninstall OMSA from the host; however, it

uninstalls only srvadmin RPM files, not

custom RPM files installed independently

from the supportRPMS subdirectory or

upgraded OpenIPMI RPM files, which might

be used by other applications.

Remote deployment methodsIn addition to noninteractive scripted OMSA

installations, administrators can use remote

deployment methods facilitated by downloadable

tarballs, Altiris Deployment Solution, and yum

repositories.

##############################################

Server Administrator Custom Install Utility

##############################################

Components for Server Administrator Managed Node Software:

[ ] 1. Server Administrator CLI

[ ] 2. Server Administrator Web Server

[ ] 3. Storage Management

[ ] 4. All

Enter the number to select a component from the above list.

Enter q to quit.

Enter :

Figure 3. Interactive mode for the srvadmin-install.sh script

Usage: srvadmin-install.sh [OPTION]...

Server Administrator Custom Install Utility.

This Utility will run in the interactive mode if no options are given and runs silently if one or more

options are given.

Options:

[-x|--express] installs all components (including 'RAC', if available)

any other options passed will be ignored.

[-b|--base] installs 'Base' components

[-s|--storage] installs 'Storage' components, including 'Base'

[-r|--rac] installs applicable 'RAC' components, including 'Base'

[-w|--web] installs 'Web Server' components, including 'Base'

[-u|--update] update applicable Server Administrator components

[-a|--autostart] start the installed services after components have been installed.

[--prefix PATH] installs the selected components as specified in the 'PATH'

This option can be used along with any of the options stated above

[-h|--help] displays this help text.

Figure 4.Noninteractive mode command-line options for the srvadmin-install.sh script

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, may 2007. Copyright © 2007 Dell inc. all rights reserved.

systeMs ManageMent

DELL POWER SOLUTIONS | may 20073

Downloadable tarballs OMSA is available as a set of downloadable

tarballs from support.dell.com. These packages

contain the RPM files, installation scripts, and

documentation in a tar zipped format. The pack-

age includes a script called setup.sh in the

top-level folder that works similarly to the

srvadmin-install.sh script. Figure 5 shows the

command-line options for this script, which admin-

istrators can use to install specific components

individually. The script returns exit codes verifying

operation results, which are listed in Figure 6.

altiris Deployment solution Administrators can use third-party deployment

software such as Altiris Deployment Solution to

distribute and install OMSA. To do so with Altiris

Deployment Solution, administrators should

launch the application and import the

OpenManage_Jobs.bin file from the /srvadmin/

support/Altiris directory on the Dell PowerEdge

Installation and Server Management CD, then

specify a destination folder. They may need to

modify the Run Script and Copy File tasks to

match the specific environment. Once the file is

imported, administrators can schedule the job

to run on supported Dell systems managed from

Altiris Deployment Solution.

yum repositoryThe RPM network installation feature facilitates

setting up a custom yum repository to install

OMSA on multiple servers. Administrators can

use the yum or Update 2 methods on supported

Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems.

An unofficial yum repository is maintained

by the Dell Linux Engineering team at

linux.dell.com/repo/software.

Flexible deployment on Linux-based systemsAdministrators can choose from multiple

ways of installing Dell OpenManage Server

Administrator on Linux-based systems, including

RPM-based and scripted deployments for local

installation along with downloadable packages,

third-party software such as Altiris Deployment

Solution, and custom yum repositories. Taking

advantage of these options can provide

increased flexibility when installing OMSA in

enterprise data centers.

O. R. Senthil Kumaran is a senior engineering

analyst working with the Test Engineering team

of the Dell Product Group at the Bangalore

Development Center. He has a bachelor’s degree

in Computer Science and Engineering from

National Engineering College, Tamil Nadu.

Rajkumar V. J. is a senior engineering analyst

working with the Dell OpenManage Install team

of the Dell Product Group at the Bangalore

Development Center. He has a bachelor’s degree

in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian

Institute of Technology, Madras.

Options:

[-x|--express] installs all components (including 'RAC', if

available)

any other options passed will be ignored.

[-b|--base] installs 'Base' components

[-s|--storage] installs 'Storage' components, including 'Base'

[-r|--rac] installs applicable 'RAC' components, including 'Base'

[-w|--web] installs 'Web Server' components, including 'Base'

[-u|--update] update applicable Server Administrator components

[-a|--autostart] start the installed services after components

have been installed.

[--prefix PATH] installs the selected components as specified

in the 'PATH'. This option can be used along

with any of the options stated above

[-h|--help] displays this help text.

Figure 5. Command-line options for the setup.sh script

Figure 6. Exit codes for the setup.sh script

exit code Description0 Operation successful

1 Platform not supported

2 minimum OS dependencies not met

3 upgrade not supported (currently installed version is the latest)

4–49 Various fatal errors

100–199 RPm installation error (number of RPm files that did not install)

200–254 RPm upgrade error (number of RPm files that did not upgrade)

255 installation aborted following kill signal

QUICK LINKS

Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User’s Guide:support.dell.com/support/edocs/

software/svradmin

Dell Linux Engineering team mailing lists: lists.us.dell.com

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, may 2007. Copyright © 2007 Dell inc. all rights reserved. 4www.dell.com/powersolutions

www.dell.com/powersolutions