We have some Dell PowerEdge 1950’s with Dell’s server remote access device, the DRAC. Previously, this DRAC system provided remote console using a java applet – worked fine once you had the jvm installed, even on Linux.
I think since DRAC version 5, they’ve replaced this with some custom plugin they’ve written and it’s appalling. Firstly, whilst there is a Linux version I’ve not been able to make it even install. Looking at their installer code, it just couldn’t have ever come close to working unless the quality testing department (ha!) were running their browsers as root, though it still wouldn’t work. So I’m assuming Dell have no Linux QA.
So, I run Windows in a virtual machine and use Internet Explorer. Well, I get a bit further here. I can use the remote console – for about 24 hours. After that it stops working and I need to ssh in and reset the DRAC hardware. Cute feature huh. And on top of this, it regularly crashes Internet Explorer 6 and 7.
We’ve spoken at length to Dell about this and they’ve been unable to reproduce it. We experience it continually with 3 separate DRAC cards (the only version 5 ones we own) and have tested it with many different operating systems and browsers.
I’m really just stunned. This hardware is there for when your server is broken, or dying, or otherwise inaccessible – i.e: usually in an emergency. To have to dick around with substandard DCRAP from Dell is ridiculous, especially when the older software worked almost perfectly.
We’ll be going back to Dell to have them sort this out somehow (though we’ve spent a LOT of time already with them), but I guess our options are limited.
John Leach is a human being living in Leeds, UK.
October 19th, 2007 at 20:15
No shit, man. This is the least well thought out piece of production hardware I’ve ever seen. If, like me, you’re in a hard core unix shop, you’re just screwed.
October 22nd, 2007 at 08:54
Actually, DRAC3 required you to install some trojan horse (supporting only few systems), exposing a VNC server. It couldn’t be used to access BIOS, which is the thing I’m using remote consoles for.
I haven’t seen the 4th iteration of DRAC, but DRAC5 isn’t so bad at it (they finally managed to make the console redirection all hardware). I can’t use it myself (“** this browser is not compatible with the Digital Video Viewer”), but I’ve seen it under Windows and from the green screens I assume it’s a rebranded Avocent software (Dell has a long history of rebranding Avocent remote console software for their remote console switches, which we have to use with crappy DRAC3). Now all there’s left is downloading the original, which for sure is supporting more OS-es and browsers.
April 14th, 2008 at 22:23
I have seen the exact same behaviour on my servers here. I can access the console sometimes with IE6 but after some time that quits working as well. So far I haven’t contacted DELL support about it but I am always reluctant to contact any customer support line…
If someone knows a fix, please let us know!
cheers,
Harald
March 10th, 2009 at 15:39
Having managed lots of these DRACs in production, they are fine, but have limitations you have to accept (if you are buying from Dell). One of the limitations being that they need to be periodically reset.
So you have leave SSH open so you can ssh to the DRAC, do a drac-admin reset, and then SSL will work. For a while.
March 16th, 2009 at 00:14
Compared to HP iLO, IBM RAC the Dell DRAC’s are a bloody nightmare even for windows installers at least if your trying to do it through ssh port tunneling by SSHing into the drac card directly the main problem is the DRAC5 cards seem to underpowered to manage both the SSH tunnels and clicking on things in the web interface.
May 22nd, 2009 at 17:17
I’m stunned. I have only one issue with our DRACs and am ok with that issue given how useful these things are in an emergency. The issue is that whether I use the correct JVM or not I still can’t get the console to work with any browser on OSX.
I absolutely can’t live with the machines having DRACs. The sales guy sold us four machines the other day without DRACs and they are like the black sheep that everybody hates.
September 29th, 2009 at 18:02
Clearly @chuckaman, you’re using DRAC4.
DRAC5 with their crappy-ass active-x-based console xidget is an unspeakable nightmare.
We have thousands of the damn things, and I have yet to EVER get a console by way of DRAC on a single one of them. They’re WORSE than useless, because management thinks they’re great (even though it’s been repeatedly demonstrated that they’re a piece of crap — i’ve never figured out what bone they take out of managers head that allows them to be looking directly at something that’s NOT working, and be convinced it somehow is. Literally, the response has been ‘well you must just have the settings on that one set up differently’, even though they’ve been shown the same thing again and again.)
October 22nd, 2009 at 08:36
I hear you guys, my management recently made the wise decision to switch from HP to Dell servers and they are a living nightmare! The DRAC is absolute garbage and ours are continually failing, all firmware is up to date yet the active x plugin no longer works.
They are CRAP!!!
October 23rd, 2009 at 13:33
We just upgraded all of ours to the latest firmware, which now (again) provides a java applet version of the console app – which actually works! We’ve also not had any stop responding and need rebooting for a long time.
So some of the problems are sorted.
We’ve also found that you can interact with them using ipmi tools, rather than having to install all their awful Linux stuff. Which is nice.
They’re not great, but they’re getting better.