DELL MX7000 PowerEdge MX I O Modules User Manual

DELL MX7000 PowerEdge MX I O Modules

Specifications

• Product Group: PowerEdge
• Model: MX7000
• Feature: At-the-Box Serial Access to Management Firmware

Product Information

The PowerEdge MX7000 comes with a Management Module that provides chassis management. This technical white paper describes the step-by-step at-the-box serial access feature of the chassis management firmware. A typical use of the serial access feature is for troubleshooting purposes when remote access to the management firmware is not available.

Preparation

What do you need?
To prepare for serial access, you need the correct cable for connection. You will need a micro-USB to USB cable (Figure-1) long enough to connect your client system to the micro-USB port in the Management Module.

Where to connect?
The micro-USB port (Figure-2) for serial access is in the Management Module located at the rear of the chassis. If you see two Management Modules, look for the module that has the LED under i lit.

What do you need in the client?
You can use any serial terminal client application of your choice, such as Tera Term or PuTTY.

Windows Client Host
If your client host system is running Windows, the default serial device driver should work. Open the Device Manager (type devmgmt.msc from the command line) to determine which COM port Windows has created for your serial connection. If Windows is not able to see the serial COM port or it is present but you are not able to connect, you may have to manually install the device driver. You can get this driver from a 3rd party vendor. Search for “cypress semiconductor usb serial driver download”. Look for the driver download link. After the manual driver installation, you should see the COM port for your connection (example in Figure-3).

Linux Client Host
If your client host system is running Linux, the device driver to connect to the serial interface should already be installed. There is an extra step, however, that is required to correctly recognize the Management Module serial device. The USB serial device is recognized by Linux as a Thermometer device and loads the  cytherm kernel module. The following steps help to correctly recognize the Management Module serial device.

1. Add this entry “blacklist them” to the file /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf. This will prevent loading the incorrect driver.
2. Next, connect the serial cable to the host system. If you have already connected the serial cable, you will need to unload the incorrect driver with the command “sudo rmmod cytherm”. Then re-connect the serial cable to the host system. If you see  /dev/ttyACM0, then you are ready to connect. The 0 means it is the first serial device discovered.

Product Usage Instructions

Serial Console
When a serial connection is established to the Management  Module, the serial client application will be presented with the serial console’s main menu (Figure 4). It is populated with the available components to which serial connections can be made. On the  upper right corner of the menu, it shows which Management Module you are connected to (the Active or the Standby). When you are finished, you may simply disconnect the cable and exit the serial client application.

FAQ

• Q: What cable do I need for serial access?
  A: You will need a micro-USB to USB cable.

• Q: Where is the micro-USB port for serial access located?
  A: The micro-USB port is located in the Management Module at the rear of the chassis.

• Q: Which client terminal application can I use?
  A: You can use any serial terminal client application of your choice, such as Tera Term or PuTTY.

• Q: How do I install the serial device driver on Windows?
  A: The default serial device driver should work on Windows. If not, manually install the driver from a 3rd party vendor.

• Q: How do I correctly recognize the Management Module serial device on Linux?
  A: Follow the provided steps in the Linux Client Host section to correctly recognize the Management Module serial device.

Tech Note by:

• Kristopher Gilly
• Shashwat Jnawali
• Christopher Poblete

SUMMARY

• PowerEdge MX7000 comes with a Management Module that provides chassis management.
• This technical white paper describes the step-by-step “at the box” serial access feature of the chassis management firmware.
• A typical use of the serial access feature is for troubleshooting purposes when remote access to the management firmware is not available.

Preparation

What do you need?
To prepare for serial access, you need the correct cable for connection. You will need a “micro-USB to USB” cable (Figure-1) long enough to connect your client system to the micro-USB port in the  Management Module.4

Where to connect?

• The micro-USB port (Figure 2) for serial access is in the Management
• Module located at the rear of the chassis. If you see two Management
• Modules, look for the module that has the LED under “i” lit.

What do you need in the client?
You can use any serial terminal client application of your choice, such as Tera Term or PuTTY.

Windows Client Host

• If your client host system is running Windows, the default serial device driver should work. Open the Device Manager (type “devmgmt.msc” from command line) to determine which COM port Windows has created for your serial connection.
• If Windows is not able to see the serial COM port or it is present but you are not able to connect, you may have to manually install the device driver. You can get this driver from a 3rd party vendor. Search for “cypress semiconductor usb serial driver download”. Look for the driver download link. After the manual driver installation, you should see the COM port for your connection (example in Figure 3).

Linux Client Host

• If your client host system is running Linux, the device driver to connect to the serial interface should already be installed.
• There is an extra step however that is required to correctly recognize the Management Module serial device.
• The USB serial device is recognized by Linux as a “Thermometer” device and loads the cytherm kernel module. The following steps help to correctly recognize the Management Module serial device.
• First, add this entry “blacklist cytherm” to the file “/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf”. This will prevent loading the incorrect driver.
• Next, connect the serial cable to the host system. If you have already connected the serial cable, you will need to unload the incorrect driver with the command “sudo rmmod cytherm”.
• Then re-connect the serial cable to the host system. If you see “/dev/ttyACM0” then you are ready to connect. The “0” means it is the first serial device discovered.

**Serial Console

**

Serial Console Menu
When a serial connection is established to the Management Module, the serial client application will be presented with the serial console’s main menu (Figure-4). It is populated with the available components to which serial connections can be made. On the upper right corner of the menu, it shows which Management Module you are connected to (the Active or the Standby). When you are finished, you may simply disconnect the cable and exit the serial client application.
The following sections describe each selection in the Main menu.

Chassis manager firmware console

• Choosing option (A) from the Main menu takes you to the Chassis Manager firmware console. A serial session will open and a login prompt is displayed.
• On successful login, you will have access to the Chassis Manager’s firmware racadm interface. To end the session, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-A Ctrl-X”. If using minicom in Linux, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-A Ctrl-A Ctrl-X”. Upon exit, you will see the Main menu.

I/O module firmware console

• Choosing option (B) from the Main menu takes you to the I/O Module Console menu (Figure-5). The menu shows you the available I/O modules that support the serial interface.
• Prior to selecting an I/O module, you will have the option to toggle the connection mode to either “binary” or non-binary” using option (B) from the  menu. In “binary” mode, the terminal control characters from the client application are passed through the serial session.
• Upon selection of an I/O module, a serial session will open and a login prompt is displayed. On successful login, you will have access to the I/O  module firmware command line.
• PowerEdge Product Group  © 2018 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell, EMC and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries To end a non-binary session, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-\”.
• To end a binary session requires an extra step. The extra step is to login to the Chassis Manager’s web interface and go to Home > Troubleshoot > Terminate Serial Connection

Server serial console
Choosing option (C) from the Main menu takes you to the Sled Host Serial Console menu (Figure-6). The menu shows you the available server host in a sled present in the chassis.

• Prior to selecting a server sled, you will have the option to toggle the connection mode to either “binary” or non-binary” using option (B) from the menu. In “binary” mode, the terminal control characters from the client application are passed through the serial session.
• Upon selection of a server sled, you will get access to the serial command line interface of the operating system running on the sled.
• To end a non-binary session, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-\”.
• This exit sequence can be configured from the sled’s iDRAC  UI.
• To end a binary session requires an extra step. The extra step is to login to the Chassis Manager’s web interface and go to Home > Troubleshoot > Terminate Serial Connection.

Server management firmware console

• Choosing option (D) from the Main menu takes you to the iDRAC Serial Console menu (Figure-7). The menu shows you the available iDRAC present in the chassis. iDRAC is the systems management firmware for a compute sled.
• Choosing one of the iDRAC entry, you will be taken to the iDRAC Firmware console. A login prompt will be displayed.
• On successful login, you will have access to the iDRAC firmware racadm interface. To end the session, type “exit”  and will return to the Main menu

© 2018 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell, EMC and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries

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