DRAC cards on PE-840 and PE-2900

[Michael Simpson]

On 4/8/08, Louis-David Mitterrand
<vindex+lists-linux-poweredge at apartia.org> wrote:
> On Tue, Apr 08, 2008 at 11:40:29AM +0100, Michael Simpson wrote:
> > On 4/8/08, Louis-David Mitterrand
> > <vindex+lists-linux-poweredge at apartia.org> wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Why is there a IPMI configuration menu in my 840 and 2900 server's bios
> > > even when the actual DRAC cards are absent?
> >
> > Hi there
> > because they contain a Baseboard Management Controller which supports IPMI 1.5
>
> What does the DRAC card allow that this Baseboard Controller doesn't?
>


The main thing that i use it for is the "lights out" management
features on a separate subnet from the main computer.
I love being able to alter the bios settings remotely.I can set up a
server, leave it in the datacenter with a rescue cd in the cdrom
drive, tell it to boot from the HD and if the os ever gets b0rked then
i can tell it to boot from the rescue cd and sort things from there.
Never had to use it yet but it is a handy backup as the datacenter is
many miles away.
I understand that installation from local media can also be done using the DRAC.

I am sure that the other benefits will be detailed in the usual place

mike