Dell MP Suite, version 5.0.1. Part I: Let’s Start

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Postings in the same series:
Part II - Know What’s In Place
Part III – Server Monitoring
Part IV – The Verdict

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Since August the 21st a new MP for monitoring all kinds of Dell hardware has been released, version 5.0.1, the Dell Server Management Pack Suite. Since there aren’t many postings to be found on this latest release of this MP suite, I have decided to add my own two cents here. Let’s start since there is much to tell.

Too much actually so I have decided to write a small series of postings about this MP.

The name of the MP contains the word ‘suite’ and indeed it is since it covers many different kinds of hardware manufactured by Dell:

1. MPs for monitoring Dell server hardware
   (PowerEdge series: 9G, 10G, 11G and 12G with Server Out-of band monitoring and chassis blade correlation. PowerVault series: 9G, 10G and 11G);
2. MPs for monitoring the Chassis Management Controller
   (CMC, DRAC,/MC);
3. MPs for monitoring the Remote Access Controllers
   (DRAC 5, iDRAC 6 & 7);
4. MPs for monitoring and inventory of the blade servers within a chassis.

Per hardware item to be monitored there are multiple MPs to be imported. Some of them are required where as others are adding more monitoring ‘power’ to the mix. Even though many of this MPs are compatible with SCOM R2 (and even SCE which is understandable since it runs the SCOM R2 engine), for additional monitoring power OM12 is required.

Out-Of Band Monitoring & OM12
Dell refers to this additional monitoring power as ‘Out-Of-Band-Monitoring’ for which an additional Microsoft MP is required, the MP for WS-Management and SMASH Device Discovery, to be found here. This MP adds a new template to OM12, which enables discovery and management of WS-Management/SMASH compliant devices.

Basically meaning without OM12 and the additional MP delivered by Microsoft, Out-Of-Band-Monitoring’  won’t fly. Only import this MP when you run OM12 and your organization requires the Out-Of-Band Monitoring as offered by Dell. Otherwise leave that MP for what it is.

RTFM & Only Import What Your Organization Requires
As goes for any MP, the Dell MP Suite comes with a detailed technical guide (Installation_Guide.pdf) which might be a challenge to read and comprehend. None the less, Read The Friendly Manual and only start importing and tuning the MPs contained in this suite when you know what you’re doing and what MPs you really require.

Don’t import all the MPs but map them according the requirements of your business. This way you keep your OM12/SCOM R2 environment clean and sharp without collecting (tons) of information no one ever looks into…

Another must-read is the text file with the name Readme.txt. As the name of the file implies please read it since the file contains the latest info before this MP was made publicly available. Especially the section ‘Open Issues and Resolutions’ is good to read, since it might save you a lot of work before or after you have imported MPs of this suite.

Installation & What Actually Happens Under The Hood
The Dell MP Suite can be downloaded from here. It’s a single exe file (Dell_Server_Management_Pack_Suite_v5.0.1_A00.exe) which unpacks itself in the default folder C:\Dell Management Packs\Server Management Pack\5.0.1.

It puts these three files there:

1. Installation_Guide.pdf (RTFM );
2. Readme.txt (RTFM as well);
3. Dell_Server_Management_Pack_Suite_x86_x64.exe (the file containing all the MPs and related Dell framework).

On purpose I have put the file containing the MPs as the last one in this list since RTFM of those two files is really crucial here…

When the guides are read the installation file can be run on a Management Server, in my case an OM12 MS. Run the file with an account which has OM12/SCOM R2 Admin permissions. Just go through the wizard and follow the instructions. This screen might seem a bit strange but all you need is a valid account which will be granted access to the Dell Device Helper COM+ application:

After some time (it might take a few minutes, be patient) the Dell MPs are unpacked in the folder C:\Program Files\Dell Management Packs\Server Mgmt Suite\5.0.1:

As you can see, there is a lot to monitor. Perhaps too much?

And not just that. While the setup was running, three Dell MPs were imported into your OM12/SCOM R2 environment as well:

In your Monitoring View you’ll see this:

So these three MPs are the real foundation for many of the other MPs to be imported. And on top of it all, here is the Dell Device Helper COM+ application (run DCOMCNFG.EXE from the start menu):

And here is the account you added during setup (right click the Dell Device Helper COM+ application and select Properties > go to tab Identity):

Oh, and the COM+ application is running:

As you can see a lot of stuff happens when double clicking the file Dell_Server_Management_Pack_Suite_x86_x64.exe and we haven’t even started with importing the Dell MPs yet!

In the next posting of this new series I’ll tell more about the MPs which can be imported and introduce a phased approach in the monitoring of your Dell hardware. So stay tuned and see you all next time.