Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
On Fri, January 29, 2010 12:10, Matt Domsch wrote: > On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 10:17:21AM +, Stroller wrote: >> Since this is a concern, where does Dell stand upon source releases? > > Dell uses and contributes to open source software in a lot of ways - > including using the SBLIM and openwsman stack on Linux for future systems > management projects. The iDRAC itself is running Linux (yes, source code > is available, minus any non-open-source components of course). But there > are also components which are not open source licensed, for a variety of > reasons (strategic choice, license by the authors if not Dell, ...). > Over time we have made more and more of our systems management software > either open source or at least more Linux-friendly, and I expect that > trend to continue. > The overall hardware segment support for Linux is quite spotty, and IMHO Dell is one of the brighter spots. In addition to their active Linux support for their server and laptop product lines, they also contribute, for instance, Matt. Who pretty much wrote DKMS, contributes to maintenance of a number of kernel modules, and sits on the Fedora Projects board. He's wired in pretty high at Dell these days, and I trust what he says here. ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 10:17:21AM +, Stroller wrote: > > On 27 Jan 2010, at 04:02, Matt Domsch wrote: > > ... Lifecycle Controller is really > > quite slick, and there's no concern with having the "right" Linux > > environment to run. > > Since this is a concern, where does Dell stand upon source releases? Dell uses and contributes to open source software in a lot of ways - including using the SBLIM and openwsman stack on Linux for future systems management projects. The iDRAC itself is running Linux (yes, source code is available, minus any non-open-source components of course). But there are also components which are not open source licensed, for a variety of reasons (strategic choice, license by the authors if not Dell, ...). Over time we have made more and more of our systems management software either open source or at least more Linux-friendly, and I expect that trend to continue. -- Matt Domsch Technology Strategist, Dell Office of the CTO linux.dell.com & www.dell.com/linux ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
On 27 Jan 2010, at 04:02, Matt Domsch wrote: > ... Lifecycle Controller is really > quite slick, and there's no concern with having the "right" Linux > environment to run. Since this is a concern, where does Dell stand upon source releases? I recently picked up an older model Power Edge, and was a little miffed at myself on discovering that the array management software was only available as binaries. I'm not a volume customer, by any means, but one of my sites will be buying a new Linux server hopefully within the next few days. It'll surely be a Dell because you're reasonably priced and easy to buy from (we looked at Solaris a while back, before they sold out, and not only did they turn out to be expensive, but they didn't really want to talk to us in the first place). You're nearly certain of our business right now, however source releases would be nice and assure our interest in Dell in the future - source is very reassuring from the point of view of long-term support, and ensures the widest choice of distros. Stroller. ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
On 27-01-10 05:02, Matt Domsch wrote: > On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 10:10:55PM -0800, Ian Forde wrote: >> And the floppy thing? In fact, the whole BIOS/any-firmware upgrade via >> floppy thing? Industry-wide? I mean, *seriously*? These are supposed >> to be "enterprise" systems. I try to order them without floppy drives >> (even if one could get them WITH them in the first place) and without >> CD/DVD drives (which, depending upon the Dell server model, may or may >> not always be possible). Anyone running a lights-out data center can >> tell you that the money you save on leaving the DVD drive out on the >> purchase, while not small, adds up when talking about 1000, 100, or even >> 50 servers. Heck - even at 10 servers, PXE installations should be the >> norm. So to be told that one has to use a DOS floppy is a little... >> well... grating... > > This is exactly why 11G PowerEdge servers includes Lifecycle > Controller, which itself can download BIOS and firmware updates for > all system components directly from ftp.dell.com (or a local > repository if you prefer) and update the whole system. It does so > from a pre-OS environment (UEFI actually) so that it works regardless > of what OS you have on your disks. > > While the OpenManage team is working to make more Linux-native > firmware update utilities available, Lifecycle Controller is really > quite slick, and there's no concern with having the "right" Linux > environment to run. > > So, go get yourself several new 11G PowerEdge servers (e.g. the R610, > R710 class) today! :-) > Matt, We have a lot of M610's and did not know we have a lifecycle controller ;-). I just tested it and press F10 and it works interactively . Before i search for technical documents and read a lot of docs. Can this process be automated? I mean: - Can we setup an pxeconfig file or something similar. The machine reboots updates the firmware and reboots and starts the OS again. Regards, PS) We already do bios updates within the OS (Debian) Thanks to the dell_rbu kernel module for several DELL modesl 1850/1950/M600/M610 -- * Bas van der Vliese-mail: b...@sara.nl * * SARA - Academic Computing Services Amsterdam, The Netherlands * ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
RE: support.dell.com out to lunch?
> -Original Message- > This is exactly why 11G PowerEdge servers includes Lifecycle > Controller, which itself can download BIOS and firmware > updates for all system components directly from ftp.dell.com > (or a local repository if you prefer) and update the whole > system. It does so from a pre-OS environment (UEFI actually) > so that it works regardless of what OS you have on your disks. [schnipp] > So, go get yourself several new 11G PowerEdge servers (e.g. > the R610, R710 class) today! :-) Sure! I'd love to! :) BTW, can I trade in my 400+ old PE2950 at the same time and get some kind of reward for messing with the &%#@&#%$ DRAC5, Altiris, DTK, ITA over the past 3 years?! ;) It is/was driving me mad from time to time. I *love* the new UEFI Lifecycle option to update the servers. Better late then never, I guess. Thanks, Chris. ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 12:21:31PM +0100, christian.pe...@kpn.com wrote: > > -Original Message- > > Dell have a ISO image you can loop-back mount which will > > update all the firmware for all of your hardware in one go, > > under Linux[1]. > > Yes I also use that, although I'd like to build it into a separate > LiveCD-like image that i can just PXE boot and run unattended so that it > updates everything. > > You can find the SUU DVD ISO images at > http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/ > > Be aware that lately, they come in multiple 1.5GB images that you need to > stick back together to form a usuable ISO. ;) > I use 'cat part1 part2 part3 > SUU_latest.iso' on Linux. Yep. We kept running into problems where people couldn't reliably download >2GB files, so they're split up. -- Matt Domsch Technology Strategist, Dell Office of the CTO linux.dell.com & www.dell.com/linux ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 10:10:55PM -0800, Ian Forde wrote: > And the floppy thing? In fact, the whole BIOS/any-firmware upgrade via > floppy thing? Industry-wide? I mean, *seriously*? These are supposed > to be "enterprise" systems. I try to order them without floppy drives > (even if one could get them WITH them in the first place) and without > CD/DVD drives (which, depending upon the Dell server model, may or may > not always be possible). Anyone running a lights-out data center can > tell you that the money you save on leaving the DVD drive out on the > purchase, while not small, adds up when talking about 1000, 100, or even > 50 servers. Heck - even at 10 servers, PXE installations should be the > norm. So to be told that one has to use a DOS floppy is a little... > well... grating... This is exactly why 11G PowerEdge servers includes Lifecycle Controller, which itself can download BIOS and firmware updates for all system components directly from ftp.dell.com (or a local repository if you prefer) and update the whole system. It does so from a pre-OS environment (UEFI actually) so that it works regardless of what OS you have on your disks. While the OpenManage team is working to make more Linux-native firmware update utilities available, Lifecycle Controller is really quite slick, and there's no concern with having the "right" Linux environment to run. So, go get yourself several new 11G PowerEdge servers (e.g. the R610, R710 class) today! :-) Thanks, Matt -- Matt Domsch Technology Strategist, Dell Office of the CTO linux.dell.com & www.dell.com/linux ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
RE: support.dell.com out to lunch?
One problem for the floppy misunderstanding might be. If you go to Dell download page and use the 'download' button on the right hand side, in some case you'll find the floppy image linked to that button by default. But if you use the name link (ie Perc6/e adapter) in the 'applies to:' section of that row you'll always get a list of all available formats. Jens -Original Message- From: linux-poweredge-boun...@dell.com [mailto:linux-poweredge-boun...@dell.com] On Behalf Of Mark Watts Sent: 25 January 2010 12:13 To: Ian Forde Cc: linux-poweredge-Lists Subject: Re: support.dell.com out to lunch? > And the floppy thing? In fact, the whole BIOS/any-firmware upgrade > via floppy thing? Hmm what? I've not used a floppy or dd hackery for ages. Dell have a ISO image you can loop-back mount which will update all the firmware for all of your hardware in one go, under Linux[1]. Works a charm. Mark. [1] I've only used it on CentOS/RHEL. To download it, view the driver list for your server and expand the "Systems Management" tab. You're looking for the "Dell Server Updates" ISO, which should have "SUU" in the filename. -- Mark Watts BSc RHCE MBCS Senior Systems Engineer, Managed Services Manpower www.QinetiQ.com QinetiQ - Delivering customer-focused solutions GPG Key: http://www.linux-corner.info/mwatts.gpg ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
Mark Watts wrote: > Dell have a ISO image you can loop-back mount which will update all the > firmware for all of your hardware in one go, under Linux[1]. > Works a charm. > I thought that still didn't handle updates for e.g. hard drive firmware? Tim. ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
RE: support.dell.com out to lunch?
> -Original Message- > Dell have a ISO image you can loop-back mount which will > update all the firmware for all of your hardware in one go, > under Linux[1]. Yes I also use that, although I'd like to build it into a separate LiveCD-like image that i can just PXE boot and run unattended so that it updates everything. You can find the SUU DVD ISO images at http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/ Be aware that lately, they come in multiple 1.5GB images that you need to stick back together to form a usuable ISO. ;) I use 'cat part1 part2 part3 > SUU_latest.iso' on Linux. Chris. ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
> And the floppy thing? In fact, the whole BIOS/any-firmware upgrade via > floppy thing? Hmm what? I've not used a floppy or dd hackery for ages. Dell have a ISO image you can loop-back mount which will update all the firmware for all of your hardware in one go, under Linux[1]. Works a charm. Mark. [1] I've only used it on CentOS/RHEL. To download it, view the driver list for your server and expand the "Systems Management" tab. You're looking for the "Dell Server Updates" ISO, which should have "SUU" in the filename. -- Mark Watts BSc RHCE MBCS Senior Systems Engineer, Managed Services Manpower www.QinetiQ.com QinetiQ - Delivering customer-focused solutions GPG Key: http://www.linux-corner.info/mwatts.gpg signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
> Heck - even at 10 servers, PXE installations should be the > norm. So to be told that one has to use a DOS floppy is a little... > well... grating... Good thing you can 'dd' the floppy image to a USB stick and boot off that these days ;-) The hard part is figuring out how to get the floppy image out of the .EXE file... Cheers, Adam. ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
On Sat, 2010-01-23 at 20:57 -0500, Scott Ehrlich wrote: > support.dell.com reportedly runs IIS version 6. As a > test/experiment, it would be interesting to see how it might respond > if it ran Apache, be it for Windows, Linux, BSD, etc. If apache were > faster, then it would be interesting to see speed and reliability if > the OS changed to, say, Linux. That would be nice. At that point I suspect that there would be internal Dell escalation tickets regarding, "What is the DOS floppy crap to upgrade firmware?" And OMSA 6.2 wouldn't crap out saying "No Controllers Detected" for very long. Grumble grumble... I'd just like to note that this list has been very helpful to me in maintaining my production and dev Dell systems at work, so I'm grateful that it exists. I have very few issues with Dell these days. However, the OMSA 6.2 situation has made me *very* cautious of upgrading on prod machines. (I've already been bitten by it on one R200 and one PE1950 box.) Tomorrow I'm getting a motherboard replaced on the *THIRD* of 5 PowerEdge 1950 boxes that we purchased within the last couple of years. And the floppy thing? In fact, the whole BIOS/any-firmware upgrade via floppy thing? Industry-wide? I mean, *seriously*? These are supposed to be "enterprise" systems. I try to order them without floppy drives (even if one could get them WITH them in the first place) and without CD/DVD drives (which, depending upon the Dell server model, may or may not always be possible). Anyone running a lights-out data center can tell you that the money you save on leaving the DVD drive out on the purchase, while not small, adds up when talking about 1000, 100, or even 50 servers. Heck - even at 10 servers, PXE installations should be the norm. So to be told that one has to use a DOS floppy is a little... well... grating... Okay. Back to your regularly scheduled broadcast. Thanks for reading. Back to my cave now... -Ian ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
Maybe they just finally put the poor thing out of its misery... ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
Hi, On Sat, 23 Jan 2010, Scott Ehrlich wrote: > support.dell.com reportedly runs IIS version 6. As a > test/experiment, it would be interesting to see how it might respond > if it ran Apache, be it for Windows, Linux, BSD, etc. If apache were > faster, then it would be interesting to see speed and reliability if > the OS changed to, say, Linux. Seconded very much. Viele Gruesse Eberhard Moenkeberg (emoe...@gwdg.de, e...@kki.org) -- Eberhard Moenkeberg Arbeitsgruppe IT-Infrastruktur E-Mail: emoe...@gwdg.de Tel.: +49 (0)551 201-1551 - Gesellschaft fuer wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Goettingen (GWDG) Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Goettingen URL:http://www.gwdg.de E-Mail: g...@gwdg.de Tel.: +49 (0)551 201-1510Fax:+49 (0)551 201-2150 Geschaeftsfuehrer: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Neumair Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender: Dipl.-Kfm. Markus Hoppe Sitz der Gesellschaft: Goettingen Registergericht: Goettingen Handelsregister-Nr. B 598 - ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
support.dell.com reportedly runs IIS version 6. As a test/experiment, it would be interesting to see how it might respond if it ran Apache, be it for Windows, Linux, BSD, etc. If apache were faster, then it would be interesting to see speed and reliability if the OS changed to, say, Linux. Scott On Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 8:46 PM, James Bensley wrote: > I have checked your link and yes its going slow for me also. In said > situation try http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ > > Also I find in general dell.com isn't the fastest website by any stretch. > > -- > Regards, > James ;) > > Mike Ditka - "If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn't have > given us arms." - > http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mike_ditka.html > > ___ > Linux-PowerEdge mailing list > Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com > https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge > Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq > ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
I have checked your link and yes its going slow for me also. In said situation try http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ Also I find in general dell.com isn't the fastest website by any stretch. -- Regards, James ;) Mike Ditka - "If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn't have given us arms." - http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mike_ditka.html ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
Re: support.dell.com out to lunch?
Yes. In addition, 'Drivers and Downloads' is DOA with 404 errors... Jefferson Ogata wrote: > Anyone else seeing incredible slowness from support.dell.com the last > couple of days? > > ___ > Linux-PowerEdge mailing list > Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com > https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge > Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq > > ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
support.dell.com out to lunch?
Anyone else seeing incredible slowness from support.dell.com the last couple of days? ___ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
