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Overview

The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) is designed to make server administrators more productive and improve the overall availability of Dell servers. iDRAC alerts administrators to server issues, helps them perform remote server management, and reduces the need for physical access to the server.

iDRAC with Lifecycle controller technology is part of a larger datacenter solution that helps keep business critical applications and workloads available at all times. The technology allows administrators to deploy, monitor, manage, configure, update, troubleshoot and remediate Dell servers from any location, and without the use of agents. It accomplishes this regardless of operating system or hypervisor presence or state.

Several products work in conjunction with the iDRAC and Lifecycle controller to simplify and streamline IT operations, such as:

Dell Management plug-in for VMware vCenter

Dell Repository Manager

Dell Management Packs for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)

BMC Bladelogic

Dell OpenManage Essentials

Dell OpenManage Power Center

The iDRAC is available in the following variants:

Basic Management with IPMI (available by default for 200-500 series servers)

iDRAC Express (available by default on all 600 and higher series of rack or tower servers, and all blade servers)

iDRAC Enterprise (available on all server models)

For more information, see the iDRAC Overview and Feature Guide available at dell.com/support/ manuals.

Benefits of Using iDRAC With Lifecycle Controller

The benefits include:

Increased Availability — Early notification of potential or actual failures that help prevent a server failure or reduce recovery time after failure.

Improved Productivity and Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) — Extending the reach of administrators to larger numbers of distant servers can make IT staff more productive while driving down operational costs such as travel.

Secure Environment — By providing secure access to remote servers, administrators can perform critical management functions while maintaining server and network security.

Enhanced Embedded Management through Lifecycle Controller – Lifecycle Controller provides deployment and simplified serviceability through Lifecycle Controller GUI for local deployment and

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Dell iDRAC8 manual Overview, Benefits of Using iDRAC With Lifecycle Controller