Summary: iDRAC is the backend of PTAgent which provides hardware monitoring functionality on VxRail Gen3 appliance. This article describes required settings on iDRAC.


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InstructionsPart of VxRail Manager hardware monitor function relies on the proper communication with PTAgent and iDRAC.

This article lists the default iDRAC settings that cannot be changed.
  • OS to iDRAC Pass-through // iDRAC management GUI > Overview > iDRAC settings > Network > OS
    • State: Enabled
    • Pass-through mode: USB NIC
    • USB NIC IP address: 169.254.0.1
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  • Services // iDRAC management GUI > Overview > iDRAC settings > Network > Services
    • Web Server
      • HTTPS: 443
      • SSL Encryption: 128-bits or higher
      • TLS Protocol: TLS 1.1 and higher
    • SSH
      • Status: Enabled
      • Port number: 22
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  • Remote RACADM
    • Status: Enabled
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4.0.0 - 4.0.310:      
  • iDRAC users // iDRAC management GUI > Overview > iDRAC settings > User Authentication > Local Users
    • vxadmin, assigned as Administrator
iDRAC user list
4.0.400 - 4.5.x:      
  • iDRAC users // iDRAC management GUI > Overview > iDRAC settings > User Authentication > Local Users
    • vxpsvc, assigned as Administrator
    • PTAdmin, assigned as Administrator
4.5 users
User privileges for above users:
user privileges
  • Special needs for G560/560F
iDRAC Settings > Connectivity > Network > Network Settings > NIC Selection = LOM1
iDRAC GUI configuration > BIOS settings > Integrated Devices: Embedded NIC1 = enabled

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**Note: After making the above changes, run command "esxcfg-nics -l " on the node to verify that the embedded NIC appears as vmnic0. If it does not, then a RASR reset of the node may be necessary (refer to KB article 527626: VxRail: Build validation fails on VxRail G560 with error message: "An unknown validation error occurred in VlanLiveValidator" for more information).

A good example:
#esxcfg-nics -l
Name    PCI Device    Driver     Admin Status  Link Status  Speed  Duplex  MAC Address         MTU  Description
------  ------------  ---------  ------------  -----------  -----  ------  -----------------  ----  -------------------------------------------------
vmnic0  0000:04:00.0  igbn       Up            Up            1000  Full    50:9a:4c:69:41:de  1500  Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection <<<<<
vmnic1  0000:18:00.0  i40en      Up            Up           10000  Full    3c:fd:fe:54:8f:e0  1500  Intel(R) Ethernet Controller X710 for 10GbE SFP+
vmnic2  0000:18:00.1  i40en      Up            Up           10000  Full    3c:fd:fe:54:8f:e2  1500  Intel(R) Ethernet Controller X710 for 10GbE SFP+
vmnic3  0000:5e:00.0  i40en      Up            Down             0  Half    3c:fd:fe:2d:fd:e0  1500  Intel(R) Ethernet Controller X710 for 10GbE SFP+
vmnic4  0000:5e:00.1  i40en      Up            Down             0  Half    3c:fd:fe:2d:fd:e2  1500  Intel(R) Ethernet Controller X710 for 10GbE SFP+
vusb0   Pseudo        cdc_ether  Up            Up              10  Half    50:9a:4c:69:3b:27  1500  Unknown Unknown