Dell R6xx, 7xx series servers (iDRAC and Console)

Here are two clues that will help you plan for installing the new Dell server families.

They seem to be great servers... lots of capacity for RAM, lots of CPU strength, and I love the rack mounting rail system. I also like the iDRAC service processors.

What's not to like? The back of the chassis is too thick (or the DE9 console port is recessed too far). Either way, most of the serial console adapters (DE9 to RJ45) won't fit well, and provide reliable connections, unless you grind down the cases of the adapters. And, since the adapter vendors don't offer to sell you a "trimmed" version, that job is going to cost you extra, somehow. Hey, maybe we can get the intern to do it? ;-)

I'm *really* glad that the serial consoles are still on the back of the servers, but if you are going to put them there, it seems to me that making the serial adapters fit should be part of the plan to have them on the server.

The one adapter I've found that works on the R620 series servers is from Cyclades (ADB0036). Yes, you can still get them from CDW. Fortunately, our latest batch went into racks with Cyclades TS2000. But, I did need to modify SO MANY of the Lantronix adapters that I made a custom jig for a Dremel router, to get consistent results.

Clue number two: On the R620, ttyS0 goes tot he iDRAC, and ttyS1 goes to the DE9 on the rear of the server. You will need to start an agetty for BOTH of these, if you want to be able to use both of them.

My other big projects are nearly done, and I plan to post much more often this summer. Thanks for reading.

All Together Now...

You use Console Servers to manage the serial ports of various devices, right? So, it only makes sense that a 'Best Practice' would be to connect the console ports of your Console Servers to a port on a console server, so you can monitor the Console Servers, too, right?

BUT, to do this 'right', you need to connect it to another, different console server. After all, when do you really need to use the console? When the machine is having a problem, and WHEN THE DEVICE REBOOTS! (All Caps used for emphasis...sorry if I offended anyone. ;-) When the device reboots, your serial console is how you see what the machine is doing until it gets going sufficiently for the network to be of use to you. So, if you connect your serial port to another port on the same Console server, you can monitor it when all is going well, but when things go badly, you've just lost your console access as well.

Tonight, I hit a bit of a snag...because I had connected some Console Server console ports to other "nearby" Console Servers. (Imagine 18" console jumper cables...why not, the 'different' units were close enough.) "What could be the problem with that", I had thought.

Tonight was the night to upgrade the software on this set of Console Servers...complete with systematic reboots between revision levels. Doing the three in parallel, to take advantage of 'cut-and-paste' to minimize the chances for typographical errors. Halfway through the reboots, I stop seeing progress...because the reboot of Console Server A had taken out the console access for Console Server B...

So, I type this note as I wait for the Console Servers to reboot and for my console access to stabilize again, and I consider whether my tie would have been worth the extra ~125 feet of cable to make the console runs to diversely-disparate Console Servers, to minimize the chance of a 'cluster service' outage taking out closely-grouped Console Servers. Food for thought.

-Z-