Lifecycle Controller Remote Services Quick Start Guide
Lifecycle Controller Remote Services Quick Start Guide
Start Guide
June 2021
Rev. A00
Notes, cautions, and warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid
the problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
Copyright © 2019 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its
subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................. 4
Benefits of using iDRAC with Lifecycle Controller...................................................................................................... 4
Benefits of using Lifecycle Controller Remote Services............................................................................................5
Key features..........................................................................................................................................................................5
Licensed features in Lifecycle Controller...................................................................................................................... 6
New in this release.............................................................................................................................................................. 6
About iDRAC RESTful API with Redfish and Web Service API................................................................................ 6
About Lifecycle Controller API......................................................................................................................................... 6
About one-to-many management....................................................................................................................................7
Contents 3
1
Introduction
Dell Lifecycle Controller provides advanced embedded systems management to perform various systems management tasks
using a Graphical User Interface (GUI). It is delivered as part of the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) out-of-
band solution and embedded Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) applications in the latest Dell servers. iDRAC works
with the UEFI firmware to access and manage every aspect of the hardware, including component and subsystem management
that is beyond the traditional Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) capabilities.
It is developed on the industry standard interfaces such as:
● Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) platform
● Web Services for Management (WSMAN) interface
● Redfish management interface
Dell Lifecycle Controller Remote Services includes WSMAN and iDRAC RESTful API with Redfish management interfaces. It
helps to perform remote deployment, configuration, and updates integrated with Dell OpenManage Essentials and partner
consoles. It can be accessed over the network using the secure web services interfaces and can be used by applications and
scripts. Also, it provides a single view of all the system settings that can be imported and exported from the server to perform
one-to-many cloning operations.
Using Remote Services, you can perform the following tasks:
● Enable management consoles to perform one-to-many bare-metal server provisioning.
● Identify and authenticate the attached Dell system to the network.
● Integrate one‑to-many management consoles and reduce the manual steps to perform server setup and management.
● Deploy an operating system, perform remote update and inventory, and automate the setup and configuration.
Topics:
• Benefits of using iDRAC with Lifecycle Controller
• Benefits of using Lifecycle Controller Remote Services
• Key features
• Licensed features in Lifecycle Controller
• New in this release
• About iDRAC RESTful API with Redfish and Web Service API
• About Lifecycle Controller API
• About one-to-many management
4 Introduction
● Increased Efficiency— Automates the server configuration management using Dell OpenManage Essentials and Dell partner
consoles, which enables efficient administration as server deployments scale.
For more information about iDRAC, see the iDRAC User's Guide available at https://www.dell.com/idracmanuals .
Key features
You can perform the following systems management tasks using Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services:
● Install operating systems and drivers
● Manage licensing
● Perform server firmware update including IDSDM, NVDIMM, BOSS adapters, BIOS, iDRAC/LC, backplane and enclosure
controllers, RAID, NIC/CNA, Fibre Channel host bus adapters, PCIe SSDs, SAS HDDs and SSDs, and SATA HDD
● Perform part replacement and automatic restore of server configuration
● Get hardware inventory information
● Get and set NIC/CNA, Fibre Channel host bus adapters (FC-HBA), PCIe SSDs, and RAID configuration
● Get and set BIOS configuration and BIOS passwords
● Full export of Lifecycle log and add work notes
● Export current- and factory-shipped hardware inventory log
● Manage, attach, and boot to vFlash SD card partitions
● Lock the controllers using the local key
● Export and import the server profile
● Import server license
● View firmware details during server update
● Schedule and track the status of the update and configuration
● Import and export Server Configuration Profiles file that contains information about a component configuration
● Out-of-band server performance monitoring
● Enhance security using hash password
● View logs, monitoring, and server information, and configure the network parameters of a server using a mobile device
● Delete server-related information
● View the managed system using Physical Computer System View
● Manage the web server certificate
● Configure the USB management port
● View SupportAssist Collection to resolve business-critical issues
● Replace motherboard using Import Server Profile feature
Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services features are based on the type of license you purchase. The available licenses are Basic
Management, iDRAC Express, iDRAC Express for Blades, or iDRAC Enterprise. Only licensed features are available in the iDRAC
web interface and Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services. For more information about managing licenses, see iDRAC User’s
Guide. For more information about Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services licensing, see Licensable Features.
Introduction 5
Licensed features in Lifecycle Controller
The Web Services-Management (WSMAN) License and Privilege Specification encompasses all the license and privilege
information required to utilize the WSMan API provided by the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) with Lifecycle
Controller.
Lifecycle Controller is delivered as part of the iDRAC (Express and Enterprise licenses, and vFlash SD card feature) starting
with the 11 th generation of PowerEdge servers. On 12 th , 13 th , and 14 th generation of PowerEdge servers, the vFlash feature is
included with the iDRAC Enterprise license, so you need not separately license vFlash with Lifecycle Controller 2.0 and later. The
12 th , 13 th , and 14 th generation of PowerEdge servers use only Express or Enterprise licensing.
The Lifecycle Controller management capabilities are partitioned into distinct areas and represented by the Dell Common
Information Model (DCIM) profile specifications that provide comprehensive details about each manageability feature or
capability. These features may be free, partially licensed, or fully licensed. Also, the accessibility of a feature is defined by
the credentials provided with the WSMAN request and maps to the user-assigned privilege credentials, such as administrator- or
read-only access.
6 Introduction
Lifecycle Controller also supports local one-to-one system management tasks through a graphical user interface (GUI) using
the server’s Keyboard Video Mouse (KVM) or the Virtual Console in iDRAC for operating system installation, updates,
configuration, and for running diagnostics on single and local servers. This eliminates the need for multiple option ROMs for
hardware configuration. For more information, see iDRAC User's Guide available at https://www.dell.com/idracmanuals .
Introduction 7
2
Operations using Remote Services
Using Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services, you can perform the following operations:
● Deploy and Configure
● Monitor
● Maintain
● Create and schedule jobs
Topics:
• Deployment and configuration
• Monitor
• Maintain
Monitor
Using various Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services capabilities, you can monitor a system throughout its lifecycle. Current and
factory-shipped hardware inventory, Lifecycle Log, System Event Log, Firmware Inventory are some of the features that help
you monitor the system.
Maintain
Using various Lifecycle Controller-Remote Services capabilities, you can maintain the health of a system throughout its
Lifecycle. You can use features such as remote firmware management, part replacement, server profile import or export, and
provisioning server to maintain a system.
WSMAN Profiles
Profiles describe the behavior of each feature and necessary classes, properties, methods, and configurable management
attributes that represent the feature. The Profile documents explain the features that are supported in the Lifecycle Controller-
Remote Services provided within the context of the CIM architecture. Profile specifications are organized around different
management areas or domains.
XML schemas
The Lifecycle Controller XML Schema Guide provides interpretation of XML used by the Lifecycle Controller to describe various
Lifecycle Controller output XML content such as:
● Logs
● Configuration results
● Hardware Inventory
● Attributes
● Server Configuration Profiles
NOTE: To view Lifecycle Controller XML Schema Guide, go to API Reference Guide section at https://www.dell.com/
support/article/sln311809.
* indicates that the feature is supported only on latest available PowerEdge servers.
API clients
Following are links to various API clients:
● WinRM Scripting API, MSDN
● Advanced REST Client for Google Chrome
● Postman REST Client for Google Chrome
● cURL command line interface
● Python requests library for Redfish operations
● Redfishtool
● Openwsman CLI
● Windows PowerShell blog
● Windows PowerShell ScriptCenter
● Intel WSMAN Java Client Library
● To ensure a secure connection, Dell recommends using TLS 1.1 and higher.
● By default, iDRAC is configured to use TLS1.1. If you are using any older versions of Windows, install the required
windows updates and modify the registry for TLS 1.1 or the latest version.
● To use TLS 1.1, you must have the WSMAN CLI v2.6.0. If you want to use an older version of WSMAN CLI, you should
change the iDRAC TLS setting to TLS 1.0.
● When you compile invoke commands in WSMAN 2.6.0, use & as a separator. Comma (,) is not a supported seperator.
Topics:
• Related Documentation
• Accessing documents from Dell support site
• Contacting Dell
Related Documentation
In addition to this guide, you can refer to the following guides available at https://www.dell.com/support or https://
www.dell.com/idracmanuals:
● The Lifecycle Controller Online Help provides information about the fields available on the GUI and the descriptions for the
same. To view the online help information in Lifecycle Controller user interface, click Help in the upper-right corner, or press
<F1>.
● The Lifecycle Controller Release Notes is available with the product. To read the Release Notes in Lifecycle Controller user
interface, click About, and then click View Release Notes. A web version is also given to provide last-minute updates to
the system or documentation or advanced technical reference material intended for users or technicians.
● The Dell iDRAC Licensing White paper at Dell TechCenter. This document provides an overview of iDRAC digital licensing
and how the latest licensing is different from iDRAC available in the PowerEdge servers. The white paper also provides
information about iDRAC Express and other Enterprise value offerings.
● The Lifecycle Controller Remote Services For PowerEdgeServers Quick Start Guide provides information about using remote
services.
● The Systems Management Overview Guide provides brief information about the various Dell software available for
performing systems management tasks.
● The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) User’s Guide provides information about configuring and using iDRAC
for rack, tower, and blade servers to remotely manage and monitor a system and the system’s shared resources through a
network.
● The Dell Repository Manager User’s Guide provides information about creating customized bundles and repositories that
include Dell Update Packages (DUPs) for systems running supported Microsoft Windows operating systems.
● The "Lifecycle Controller Supported Dell Systems and Operating Systems" section in the Dell Systems Software Support
Matrix provides the list of Dell systems and operating systems that you can deploy on target systems.
● The PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) 9 User's Guide provides specification and configuration-related information about
the PERC 9 controllers.
● The Glossary provides information about the terms used in this document.
● The Dell OpenManage Server Update Utility User's Guide provides information about using the DVD-based application for
identifying and applying updates to the system.
The following system documents are available to provide more information:
● The safety instructions that are included with a system provide important safety and regulatory information. For additional
regulatory information, see the Regulatory Compliance home page. Warranty information may be included within this
document or as a separate document.
● The Rack Installation Instructions included with a rack solution describe how to install a system into a rack.
Contacting Dell
NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact information on your purchase invoice, packing
slip, bill, or Dell product catalog.
Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country and product, and
some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer service issues:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support
2. Select your support category.
3. Verify your country or region in the Choose a Country/Region drop-down list at the bottom of the page.
4. Select the appropriate service or support link based on your need.