Evolution of Intelligence System Management Dell OME 4.0 Release
Tue, 31 Oct 2023 15:30:28 -0000
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Why were the films Star Wars episodes 4, 5, and 6 released before episodes 1, 2, and 3? In charge of the schedule, Yoda was!
At Dell, we like to keep things simple, so we released version 4.0 of OpenManage Enterprise following on from release 3.10. For customers new to OpenManage Enterprise, often referred to as OME, it is Dell’s management console solution, offering comprehensive lifecycle management for Dell PowerEdge servers and so much more.
Designed to simplify, OpenManage Enterprise offers you the ability to orchestrate and automate repetitive server management tasks at scale. Customers have a choice of:
- Using the OME GUI
- Integrating the data from OME into VMware virtual center or Microsoft System Center via plugins
- Leveraging the rich restful API that offers 100% the features of the GUI offering Infrastructure as code for DevOps teams
Capabilities can be extended with additional plugins, ranging from automated Dell support case creation via the Services plugin to detailed and granular firmware updating via the Update Manager plugin. With Ansible modules, Terraform support, and Service Now integration, OME supports multiple ways to extend orchestration.
Combining OpenManage Enterprise with Dell CloudIQ utilizes the power of AIOps to detect server metrics anomalies. Trends can be analyzed and forecasted for capacity, power, and processing. Server security can be proactively improved using intuitive security policies and automated relevant CVE alerting. Adding server telemetry to data from other Dell infrastructure collected by CloudIQ gives you end to end management with predictive analytics to reduce risk by addressing problems before they have an impact.
Server power usage can be optimized to support sustainability by using the Power Manager plugin to maximize visibility and management of servers’ power consumption. You can review consumption and set power strategies using telemetry visualization and reports on power utilization, power costs, CO2 emissions, thermal data, GPU data, and performance metrics. Power Manager also supports analysis of power data by virtual machines, components, individual servers, racks, or even entire data centers. The plugin can automatically respond to power and thermal events to limit issues. With built-in idle server detection and reporting, hunting down underutilized zombie servers becomes easy.
OpenManage Enterprise strengthens servers’ cybersecurity defenses, covering elements from highlighting and deploying the latest firmware updates to configuration drift detection. With support for LDAP, Microsoft AD, iDRAC password rotation, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) with RSA SecurID, and CyberArk credential provider, management is a breeze.
OpenManage Mobile, a mobile app that provides monitoring capabilities from an Android or Apple phones, extends OpenManage Enterprise into your pockets. The app enables you to receive push alerts from OpenManage Enterprise, view server configuration details, and even view and control server consoles on mobile devices. Say hello to managing your servers from almost anywhere!
Following are the highlights of new features for OME 4.0 and associated plugins updates. For more details, visit the OME and plugin support pages in the Resources section.
OME 4.0
- OME can now access iDRAC passwords via CyberArk vault
- OME can now create encrypted credentials to access iDRAC and rotate them automatically
- Local Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) with RSA SecurID
- Support new server platforms (see OME Support Matrix for details)
- New generation PowerEdge servers
- New XR/XE/XC/VxRail platforms
- TLS 1.3 support
- Secure Boot (appliance allows only OS distribution provided signed binaries to run at startup)
PowerManager plugin 3.2 (for OME 4.0)
- GPU power and thermal data
- Visualization of multivariate data to observe patterns and trends in server telemetry data
- AMPs readings from Grid A and B (when more than one power supply is deployed)
- BIOS system profile and workload profile reporting
OpenManage Enterprise integration For VMware vCenter or OMEVV (for OME 4.0)
- Support for the vSphere 8.0 U2
- Support for non-clustered hosts baseline profiles, firmware compliance, and application of firmware updates
- Apply System Profile to baremetal hosts (System Profile = Deployment Template of OME)
- vLCM support for standalone hosts
- OMMP 3.0 new management park for VMware Aria Operations for OMEVV plugin
Update Manager plugin 1.5 (for OME 4.0)
- Set the Baseline to any Repository Version
- Automate Repository Refresh on server or component update, such as add/remove
- Compare and report different repositories
OME Integration for Microsoft Systems Center Plugin (OMEMSSC) 1.2
- SCOM Web Console Support
- SCOM Alert Auto Resolution
- SCOM Resource Pool Management
CloudIQ Plugin (CIQP) 2.0
OME Services Plugin (OME-S) 4.0
Are you getting the maximum benefits from Dell OpenManage? As I always say, where there are servers, there's a server management need!
Resources
- OpenManage Enterprise white papers and videos: Support page
- OpenManage Documentation: User Guide, API Guide and support matrix etc
- OpenManage Enterprise API: Dell Technologies Developer
- OpenManage Ansible Modules and example API scripts: GitHub OpenManage Ansible
- Dell System Management Info Hub: Tech notes, videos, infographics
Author: Mark Maclean, OpenManage Technical Marketing Engineering
Linkedin : uk.linkedin.com/in/markmacleandell