How to Manually Run the Deployment Toolkit Tools in Automation

Sometimes it is helpful to run the Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit (DTK) tools manually. This can be because of a need to troubleshoot an issue, or perhaps just to hand craft a system. Either way it can be burdensome to download the DTK from the Dell website and create your own CD to boot from to give you access to the utilities.

This article explains how you can use the pre-boot environments in Deployment Solution to access the tools. This way you can set up the environment so you can use the DTK tools manually. You will be able to experiment with the tools and better understand how they can be used to accomplish your tasks. If you use the remote console feature of the DRAC these tools can be run manually without ever visiting the physical system.

Overview

First we'll go over the process of setting up the pre-boot environment for Linux and then WinPE. Then we'll go over the various tools that come with the DTK.

Pre-requisites

This article requires Deployment Solution 6.8 SP2 and Deployment Solution for Dell Servers 3.0. I presume you have already installed both. I also presume you have installed the x86 Linux and WinPE files and set up a Linux and WinPE automation pre-boot image. The installation of Deployment Solution for Dell Servers 3.0 should have created a PXE image called "Dell Linux v3" for Linux and "Dell WinPE v3" for WinPE. If these images do not exist you will need to use the Configuration Wizard that comes with Deployment Solution for Dell Servers to create them. Note: If you are not using PXE you don't need to worry about the creation of the Dell images, you just need to make sure you create your boot disks/automation partitions with the Dell OEM extensions.

Linux

Setting up the Linux environment is fairly simple and straight forward. A script has been provided to do most of the work for you, you just have to know where to find things. First we need to boot a system into Linux automation. This can be done using the new Wait task. To create a Wait task do the following:

1. Create a new job and give it a name, I named mine Linux wait
   
   

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2. Click add and select "Wait..."
   
   

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3. Set the automation pre-boot environment to "Dell Linux v3 (32-bit)"
   
   

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Now drag and drop your new Wait task onto a server, I'll use a PE2950 for my example. Once the system boots do the following:

First time only

These only need to be done the first time you boot the first system. You shouldn't ever have to do these again. These steps just change the formatting of setenv.sh to Linux formatting, and give it run privileges. Again, once you have already done this, you shouldn't have to do it again for any other systems. Run the following commands from the Linux prompt in the order shown:

1. cd /mnt/ds/dell/ascripts/linux
2. /mnt/ds/Dell/Toolkit/linux/bin/rmcrl setenv.sh setenv2.sh
3. mv setenv2.sh setenv.sh
4. chmod 755 setenv.sh

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Note: Substitute "/mnt/ds" for the mount point you specified for the Deployment share when you created your Linux image if you didn't leave it as the default value.

Setting up the environment

Now you're ready to actually set up the environment. These steps need to be done each time you boot a system. Run the following commands from the Linux prompt in the order shown:

1. cd /mnt/ds/dell/ascripts/linux
2. for VAR in `./setenv.sh 50`; do eval declare -x $VAR; done

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Notice that the "`" on the last command is a backtic not a quote, located on the same key as the ~. The last command will take about 30 seconds to run. Once it is done the tools are all set up.

WinPE

Like Linux there is a script you can use to get the WinPE environment ready. This is even easier than Linux was. We'll start off by making a Wait task that will keep us in WinPE automation for as long as we want. To create a WinPE wait task do the following:

1. Create a new job and give it a name, I named mine WinPE wait
   
   

   Click to view.

2. Click add and select "Wait..."
   
   

   Click to view.

3. Set the automation pre-boot environment to "Dell WinPE v3 (32-bit)"
   
   

   Click to view.

Now drag and drop your new Wait task onto a server, I'll use a PE2900 now. Once the system boots do the following:

1. Make the minimized command prompt window visible. We'll type our commands here. It is important to note that if this window is closed for any reason the system will reboot. There will be nothing that can be done to stop it.
   
   

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2. Type cd \Dell\ascripts\WinPE
3. Now type: "SetDell_winpe.bat 50"
   
   

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Once SetDell returns the environment is set up along with all the environment variables. When you run a tool you will have to change to the \Dell\Toolkit\WinPE directory. The directory the tools reside in is not in the path, you could put it in the path if you wanted.

DTK Tools summary

Now we'll go over some of the tools that come with the DTK and how to use them. This is by far not exhaustive. I'm simply including the commands I use the most. For a complete list refer to the document DTK23CLI.pdf located in [Deployment share]\Dell\Tookit\DOCS.

syscfg

Function: Configures BIOS and BMC settings (DRAC settings are available in 9th generation systems)

Sample command lines:

raidcfg

Function: Configures RAID controllers

Sample command lines:

RAID levels supported by raidcfg

For exact virtual disks sizes refer to this page: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/s...

racadm

Function: Configures DRACs in 8th generation and older systems

Sample command lines:

rac5/racadm

Function: Configures DRAC5s (9th generation systems only)

For sample command lines see racadm above

Now you're on your way to utilizing the advanced features of the DTK. I typically experiment with the capabilities of the DTK tools manually using the above methods, then create a script that will allow me to automate the tools for use on a large collection of servers. If you have any questions, or notice any errors let me know.