Recent support calls to Dell for hardware failures have resulted in them requiring us to generate Tech Support Reports. This is how you do it:

• First thing you need to be able to browse to http://server_name.bmc.inf.ed.ac.uk
• It should fail unless you've taken steps - it's on a private wire, so you need to somehow use a browser that can talk to the .bmc wire. Basically two options:

1. Run the browser on one of the console/network machines (hint, that's unlikely to work, as they don't typically have browsers installed)
2. Tunnel or proxy network traffic from your machine (running the browser) to a network/console machine.

• This is what I do. via ssh -D 8080 ifconsoles (if your server is at Appleton Tower, replace ifconsoles with atconsoles, similarly kbconsoles for KB).
• You then need to configre your browser to use a SOCKS proxy on "localhost:8080", so in FF go to Preferences -> Advanced -> Network -> "Configure how Firefox connects to the Internet -> Settings"
• That should enable you to see the idrac gui login screen.
• Initial login screen:
  
• Login with username root The password lives on the console server - best to confer with inf-unit at this point.
• Once you're in, follow the instructions the Dell rep has no doubt furnished you with. Something like this:

• Step 1:
  

• Step 2:
  

• Step 3:
  

• Step 4:
  

• Step 5:
  

• Step 6:
  

• Once you've generated your report, save it as a .zip file and send it back to Dell. You're on your own from here!
• Do remember to quit your tunnel, and remove your proxy from Firefox.

-- RichardBell - 15 Nov 2016