Problems with Dell hardware support

Mon Jul 14 10:48:56 CDT 2008

I forgot to mention that the driver for the LSI based raid controllers
is standard in the Linux 2.6 based kernel (don't know about 2.4).  It is
called mptctl and you should be able to either modprobe it or build a
custom kernel if it's not enabled in your debian distribution. Under
redhat there is a file called /etc/rc.modules which can be created to
run modeprobe from early in the boot sequence, I'm not sure how to do
this under debian. My sense is that OMSA will see your devices under
debian once you do this.

Nataraj

On Mon, 2008-07-14 at 14:26 +0100, Dr A V Le Blanc wrote:
> Dear Ms Warburton,
> 
> I've been asked to mention to you some of the problems we have with Dell's
> hardware support.  I'll use as an instance the case of a poweredge
> with the tag number 8ZY2N2J.  This machine was reported to Dell on
> June 30 because it was reported to have a faulty disk drive.  On that
> day I gave to our operator Andy Fox, who liaises with Dell, the following
> information from the System Event Log on the DRAC card:
> 
> The server's system event log has this entry:
> 
> Record:      30
> Date/Time:   06/29/2008 08:54:49
> Source:      system
> Severity:    4
> Description: Storage Drive 2: drive slot sensor for Storage, drive fault was asserted
> 
> The person we contacted asked us to run some diagnostics.  First he sent
> us a URL for some windows executables.  We replied that we don't have
> windows on this machine; we have Debian Linux.  He informed us that
> this is not a supported operating system.  Well, we knew this.  He asked
> us whether we knew that we could 'easily' convert this to a supported
> version of Linux.  I confess, I found this rather insulting, as I know
> very well that getting all of our software to work on another version of
> Linux is by no means trivial, and we would have the serious problem of
> supporting it afterwards.  I currently look after some 73 Dell servers,
> none of which runs an OS supported by Dell.
> 
> I might add that Dell's OMSA 5.4.0 is installed on this machine, but
> it seems to be unable to see the disk drives or the Raid array.
> 
> Anyway, we have offered to try to run diagnostics from a floppy disk or
> CD if we were given one.  We received two URLs, one to a 32-bit diagnostics
> CD and one for poweredge diagnostics.  We can easily boot a DOS floppy
> image, but neither of these .exe files runs in DOS mode; they require
> windows.  I know this because I've tried both of them.  I have access
> to windows machines, but not as administrator.  One of these programs,
> if you run it on the NT box, complains that it must be run as administrator.
> The other runs and produces some other .exe files, but these also refuse
> to run unless you are an administrator.
> 
> Dell also sent us a URL for a shell script that is supposed to write an
> ISO image.  This shell script fails.
> 
> So, you should understand that we have not been able in several days to
> get access to a single diagnostic program that we were able to run on
> our sick server.  Someone at Dell finally sent a disk to us, and we
> replaced the disk.  Before replacing the disk, the Raid controller software
> that is accessible at boot time said that the old disk had failed.  After
> replacing the disk, the software said for about 90 minutes that the
> disk was rebuilding, but at the end of this process the controller says
> that the raid array is degraded.
> 
> We contacted Dell again, first by email on Friday July 11, to which
> we received no answer, and then again today.  The response from the
> contact person was:
> 
> (1)  There is no way to force the raid array to work normally on this
>      machine without either reinitialising it or installing a supported
>      operating system.  I believe this is simply false.
> 
> (2)  He accuses us of having REFUSED to run diagnostics on the machine.
>      We have been trying desperately for two weeks to obtain a diagnostic
>      program which we could run, but with no success.
> 
> (3)  He tells me that I can create a live CD based on various things
>      from which I can somehow run Dell diagnostics.
> 
> Dell's hardware support for people who do not run supported OSes is
> notoriously poor, but that is no reason to insult us.
> 
> I am a person who has received considerable help from Dell employees online,
> though various mailing lists, but rarely from your telephone support.  I'd
> like to suggest a few simple things that might help other people like me
> -- and if you don't believe there are other people like me, I can easily
> give you a few URLs.
> 
> (1)  Please, when a hardware problem is reported to Dell, the support person
>      should BEGIN by asking what operating system and version we are running.
>      This would avoid wasting days sending us inappropriate executables.
> 
> (2)  Please don't suggest to someone who is reporting a hardware fault
>      that he should change to a different operating system.  This is
>      rather simple minded, and does not create a favourable impression
>      of the intelligence or understanding of the contact person.
> 
> (3)  Please, in the future, any CD or floppy disk images which contain
>      diagnostic programs should also be available in ISO or floppy
>      image format, so that those of us who don't have access to a
>      suitable windows system can try things without being asked to
>      jump through hoops first.  You can even say that these are not
>      'officially supported' images; we don't care.  What we want
>      is to be asked to do something doable.
> 
> (4)  Each of the messages I have received from Dell support claims that
>      I can fill out a satisfaction survey.  I have not yet seen such a
>      survey, but I think I can say that I am grateful to whoever sent
>      the replacement disk, but otherwise the service is completely
>      inadequate, and the support skills of the person who dealt with
>      this particular query could do with some polishing.
> 
> Yours,
> 
>      Dr Owen V Le Blanc
>      I T Services
>      University of Manchester
> 
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