DELL SERVER E-SUPPORT TOOL 1.0 (X19 Release)

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DELL SERVER E-SUPPORT TOOL 1.0 (X19 Release)

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This document contains the latest update information for
Dell Server E-Support Tool 1.0 (DSET).

NOTE: This is a pre-release version of this software provided "as-is" for
the purpose of evaluation. Please read the License Agreement (Dell_License)
for further information.

Recommended Hardware & Software Requirements
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* Dell PowerEdge(TM) 300, 350, 500SC, 600SC, 650, 700, 750, 1300, 1400SC,
  1500SC, 1550, 1600SC, 1650, 1655MC, 1750, 1800, 1850, 2300, 2400, 2450,
  2500, 2550, 2600, 2650, 2800, 2850, 4300, 4350, 4400, 4600, 6300, 6350, 6400,
  6450, 6600, 6650, 8450 (PowerEdge 7150 and 3250 are not supported).
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux (AS, ES, WS) 3.0 (does not support i386_64)
* Red Hat Linux 8.0 and 9.0 (limited support)
* Mozilla 0.9.9 or newer, Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer, or Netscape 7.0
  (to view reports)
* A minimum of 64 megabytes (MB) of random-access memory (RAM)
* A minimum of 50 MB of free hard-disk space (includes temporary files).
  More disk space may be needed when using advanced features (see below).

What Is New or Changed?
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* Added Storage Services components that now collect information on supported
  RAID/SCSI controllers, hard drives, virtual drives/containers and enclosures
* Added Field Replacable Unit (FRU) data such as serial #, part #, revision
* Added command line options
* Added backup to compress reports in tar.gz format if ZIP was not installed

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OVERVIEW
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Dell Server E-Support Tool (DSET) provides the ability to collect hardware,
storage and operating system information of a Dell PowerEdge or PowerVault
server. This information is consolidated into a single "System Configuration
Report" that can be useful for troubleshooting or inventory collection of a
system. The browser user interface provides a convenient means to view specific
data through hierarchical menu trees.

DSET is intended to be a small, non-intrusive tool that does not require a
reboot of the system to provide full functionality. DSET can collect
information about Linux drivers, services, network settings, etc. as well as
system logs. DSET will also collect extended hardware information such
as processors, memory, PCI cards, ESM log, BIOS/firmware versions and system
health (fan/voltage levels).

Installation Instructions
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DSET must be installed using Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) and with root
privileges. Install DSET with the following command:

rpm -Uhv delldset-1.0-X19.i386.rpm

The default installation path is /usr/lib/dell/dset. However, the package
is relocatable and can be installed to a different path by adding the
rpm option "--prefix <newpath>" at the end of the above command.

To uninstall DSET enter the following command:

rpm -e delldset

Usage Instructions
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To create a DSET System Configuration Report run the command "dellsysteminfo"
from any terminal shell prompt. You must have "super-user" (su) privileges to
create a report. DSET will provide status as it collects various
hardware, storage and software information. DSET may prompt the user for
optional customer information during the first report run. This information
assists Dell Technical Support in handling technical issues. Once complete
a single report file called "DSET Report of '<computer name> Tag-<service tag>
-<model name>'" will be copied to the current logged-in user's home directory
(typically /root). The report file is archived and compressed using Linux ZIP
and is lightly encrypted with the password "dell" (all lowercase letters).

The report contents can be viewed by uncompressing the report archive file
with any standard ZIP utility including WinZIP or the built-in Linux "unzip" utility:

unzip <reportname> -d <new directory>

The various configuration data files that were collected are organized into
a structure of folders. However, launch the web interface file "dsetreport.htm"
with any current web browser (such as Mozilla, Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer,
or Netscape 7.0 or newer). The DSET web interface categorizes data into
a hierarchical tree for convenience.

Note: The DSET web interface does not display all data collected from a system.
Browse the report's folder structure under "/data" to view specific specialized
data files.

The PowerEdge ESM hardware log can also be cleared with the command
"clearesmlog".

Note: DSET must be run by a user logged in as root or a superuser (su).

Advanced Features
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DSET also contains advanced features only available from the DSET CLI
(command-line interface). The DSET CLI has the following syntax:

   dellsysteminfo [options]

Options:

-f <filepath/filename>

Specify an alternative path for the report file to be saved. Either add a
"/" at the end of the absolute path or make sure the directory already exists
to have DSET use the default detailed report filename. Otherwise optionally
specify a filename

--nohardware

Skip gathering data for all components under the "System" main category

--nostorage

Skip gathering data for all components under the "Storage" main category

--nosoftware

Skip gathering data for all components under the "Software" main category

--time

Adds date and time to create a unique DSET archive filename if using
Windows Scheduling features with the DSET CLI. This allows multiple report
"snapshots" to be saved to a specified directory.

Known Issues
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* Uninstalling OMSA 1.x will corrupt the DSET installation. DSET must be
  reinstalled.

* System Configuration Reports created from a Linux system cannot be
  imported into the DSET for Windows web interface. View the "dsetreport.htm"
  web interface file already embedded within the report ZIP archive.

* DSET must be installed on a partition that has write permissions for DSET to
  write temporary files. /usr/lib must also have write permissions for DSET
  to load temporary components

* Dsetreport.htm should not be opened directly within a Gnome 1.4 Nautilus
  window as the category links are reported as broken. This is a Nautilus bug
  with Red Hat AS 2.1. Use Mozilla instead.

* "dellsysteminfo not found" error occurs. This occurs after using rpm -U to
  upgrade DSET from Release X18 to a newer release. Fixed in Release X19.
  You must explicity uninstall Release X18 using "rpm -e delldset" before
  installing the newer release.
 
* Storage information will not be gathered if OpenManage Server Administrator
  (OMSA) is installed but Storage Management Services (SMS) are not also installed.
  Upgrade to OMSA 1.9 or newer (as part of the OpenManage 4.1 suite) and
  make sure to also install SMS
 
* DSET is not compatible with Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) 4.1 because of an
  acknowledged RPM bug that doesn't handle certain RPM install variables. RPM 4.1
  is the default version for Red Hat Linux 8.0. For DSET to install and load
  hardware and storage libraries, please upgrade to errata containing RPM 4.2
  or newer.

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Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
(C) 2004 Dell Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Trademarks used in this text: "Dell" and "Dell OpenManage" are
trademarks of Dell Incorporated; "Microsoft," "Windows,"
"Windows NT," and "MS-DOS" are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation; "Intel" and "Pentium" are registered trademarks of
Intel Corporation. "Red Hat" is a registered trademark of Red Hat Inc.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to
refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their
products. Dell Incorporated disclaims any proprietary
interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

October 2004  Rev. 1.0