The Dell Remote Access Controller or DRAC is an out-of-band management platform on certain Dell servers. The platform may be provided on a separate expansion card, or integrated into the main board; when integrated, the platform is referred to as iDRAC.

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It uses mostly separate resources to the main server resources, and provides a browser-based or command-line interface (or both) for managing and monitoring the server hardware.

The Dell Remote Access Controller or DRAC is an out-of-band management platform on certain Dell servers. The platform may be provided on a separate expansion card, or integrated into the main board; when integrated, the platform is referred to as iDRAC. It uses mostly separate resources to the main server resources, and provides a browser-based or command-line interface (or both) for managing. It helps perform remote server management and it feels like you are physically in front of your server. IDRAC has several versions and below we will highlight the key features of iDRAC 7 Enterprise. IDRAC 7 Enterprise allows you to: View the health of your server; View memory information; View and export system inventory. Dell iDRAC 9 Enterprise License Compatible for Remote Management of PowerEdge R440, R640, R740, R740XD, T340, T440, and T640 Servers 4.6 out of 5 stars 3 $199.00.

Features[edit]

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The controller has its own processor, memory, network connection, and access to the system bus. Key features include power management, virtual media access and remote console capabilities, all available through a supported web browser or command-line interface. This gives system administrators the ability to configure a machine as if they were sitting at the local console (terminal).

The DRAC interfaces with baseboard management controller (BMC) chips, and is based on the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) 2.0 standard, which allows use of IPMI out-of-band interfaces such as IPMI Over LAN.^[1]

Versions[edit]

The Dell Remote Access Controllers (DRAC) and the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controllers (iDRAC) come in different versions, where a new (i)DRAC version is often linked to a new generation of Poweredge servers.

The hardware is often integrated on the motherboard of the server, and the combined product is termed iDRAC, where the 'i' is for integrated. When iDRAC Express is used, the software and hardware systems management functions are shared with one of the server's on-board network interfaces using a unique IP address. By contrast, iDRAC Enterprise version features a dedicated physical network interface.

iDRAC version 7 was introduced in conjunction with the release of Dell PowerEdge generation 12 servers in March 2012, and is only available on 12th generation models.^[2] Unlike previous versions the functionality of iDRAC 7 is the same for rack, tower and blade-servers.

An overview of the different versions:^[3]

Type	Family	Year	Server	Comments
DRAC II^[4]	2	1999	N/A	Extra card
DRAC III^[5]	3	2002
DRAC iV^[6]	4	2005	Generation 8
DRAC 5^[7]	5	2006	Generation 9	Extra card, virtual console requires Firefox 1.5
iDRAC 6 embedded	6	2008	First version for blade servers	Integrated on motherboard on all servers
iDRAC 6 Express	6	2008	Standard on all midrange systems
iDRAC 6 Express	6	2008	Blade servers^[8]
iDRAC 6 Enterprise^[9]	6	2008	Additional software features in combination with express; vFlash SD card slot
iDRAC 6 Enterprise^[10]	6	2008	Blade	Additional software features in combination with express
iDRAC 7^[2]	7	2012	Generation 12	New licensing model, hardware based, NTP support
iDRAC 8^[11]	8	2014	Generation 13	Quick sync, NFC configuration, UEFI secure boot, HTML5 virtual console, Storage configuration on Supported PERC Cards
iDRAC 9	9	2017	Generation 14	Quick sync 2.0, iDRAC Direct using front Mini-USB Port, New User Interface.

Power management[edit]

With the DRAC enabled and using its own separate network connection, a user may login and reboot the system even if the core operating system has crashed. If the operating system has loaded the correct drivers, the DRAC will attempt to shut down the system gracefully. Without this feature and with the system running, administrators can use the remote console to access the operating system too.

Remote console[edit]

The remote console features of the DRAC allow an administrator to interface with the computer as if sitting in front of it, and one can share the local inputs from keyboard and mouse as well as video output (DRAC does not support remote sound). Remote-console capability relies on either an Active X or Javaplug-in, or HTML5 in the later models, which displays a window showing the video output on the local terminal and which takes mouse and keyboard input. This behavior closely resembles that of other remote access solutions such as VNC or RDP but also works if the operating system of the server doesn't work any more (unlike VNC or RDP). It is used to take the server console remotely.

Virtual media[edit]

The DRAC enables a user to mount remotely shared disk-images as if they were connected to the system. Wifi password hack program. In combination with the remote console, this gives administrators the ability to completely re-install an operating system, a task which traditionally required local console access to the physical machine. Administrators can control virtual media through the browser or through the OpenManage tools provided by Dell, though specific versions of browsers restrict some functionality.^[12]

Access[edit]

The main DRAC management takes place via a web interface. All generations of the DRAC use the default user name root and the default password calvin. Starting with the DRAC 3, Microsoft Active Directory can also provide authentication either with Dell AD Schema Extensions or Standard Schema.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]

Implementation[edit]

The DRAC5 and iDRAC6 and higher are embedded platforms running Linux and Busybox. The firmware source code is available on the Dell website,^[18] but it is not possible to compile the source into a replacement firmware as Dell does not include a build environment.^[19]

The DRAC provides remote access to the system console (keyboard and screen) allowing the system BIOS to be accessed over the Internet when the server is rebooted. This is done by configuring the system BIOS to send its output to a serial port (as a stream of text using VT100-compatible control codes). The chosen serial port is then redirected to the DRAC's serial port. Users can then log into the DRAC via SSH and run a command to connect the SSH session to the serial port, thus allowing the console to be accessed over the Internet.

Earlier versions of the DRAC used ActiveX in Internet Explorer to provide a remote-console interface in a web browser; however, this

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