iDRAC 8 misbehaving but not dead (yes I've been through many, if not all, posts)
Posted by erparucca@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 18 comments
PE R730XD system boots, iDRAC is reachable... for a while. Then stops responding.
Most probably the eMMC, but swapping the motherboard offers no guarantee that the one I buy will last long.
the idrac is still reachable (but stops responding after I login on web ui and I try to launch a session), any recovyer I can try? SD recovery doesn't seem to work (2GB SD card, tried both FAT and FAT32). I was able to flash through tftp but that didn't solve the problem. Reset from lifecycle controller seems to make it respond again temporarily but doesn't fix the problem.
I can spend about 50€ to have the eMMC replaced if I provide the motherboard and the chip.
Question 1) how to safely source the eMMC chip? Problem being that I have no way to test it and I will pay for the operation whether the new chip is defective or not.
Question 2) given the iDRAC is still reachable, anything else that I can try ? I have a CH341A if that can help. I would avoid soldering anything to get serial connection.
Thanks!
Kumorigoe@reddit
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xendr0me@reddit
Probably time to upgrade that server to something that didn't reach end of life in 2020 (almost 7 years ago)
erparucca@reddit (OP)
Not in that case: that's not a production machine but a homelab and it's going to replace an R520 that will go in my 2nd home. Anything more would be overkill.
disposeable1200@reddit
Wrong sub then.
/R/homelab
erparucca@reddit (OP)
why? Because you don't like it, because you don't have an/want to answer, or because people on homelab are known to more cooperative than here? Or perhaps because there are too many people here who like to play emperor without even being a moderator? 😉 Thanks for the helpful advice!
bageloid@reddit
Because this is a professional subreddit?
erparucca@reddit (OP)
I read in the rules that professionalism is required.
My post's content is done in a professional way, providing accurate facts, technical details (including an nmap output to show ports are listenting); oh and yes, I am a professional.
Report to mods if you think this content is off-topic rather than pretending to be one and argue as facts what in reality are just personal opinions. And let the mods decide whether a problem related to enterprise HW falls into sysadmin or not just because of when/where the item is being used completely discarding the core of the topic for you own convenience.
Or eventually create your own group requiring to prove holding a computer science-related degree and actually working in the IT field (which I would both satisfy). Thank you.
bageloid@reddit
From rule 4:
> Keep topics/questions related to technology/ people/practices/etc within a business environment.
erparucca@reddit (OP)
a failing idrac on a poweredge server sound very much a business environment. We may argue that an out of warranty machine is not a typical business environment but I know may that are still used, just not in mission critical environments.
Curious to know which part of my post in your opinion doesn't make my post respect rule 4. And still, that's just your opinion.
bageloid@reddit
You said it’s a homelab device in your home.
Is your home a business environment?
erparucca@reddit (OP)
ok, if before there was the benefit of the doubt, now it is clear that this is not about the post being in or off-topic but just finding excuses for attacking my person; focus on the topic which is the post.
1) yes, my home is my home office so technically it is a business environment.
2) even if it wasn't the case, "Keep topics/questions related to technology/ people/practices/etc within a business environment.": the HW, technologies, steps involved in my post are strictly typical of a business environment. So stop harassing me.
You are focusing on a single data point, that wasn't part of the post, that is technically and contextually irrelevant and that I provided answering to a message, voluntarily dismissing all the others. This is illogical or simply intellectually dishonest and aggressive.
thebigshoe247@reddit
That isn't always in the budget
Dolapevich@reddit
Are you sure it is not a duplicated IP in the network? Are you directly connected to it?
erparucca@reddit (OP)
it is not a connectivity problem, it's that it stops working and restarts which is what happens when the integrated eMMC gets old.
xxbiohazrdxx@reddit
Have you cleared the iDRAC log? On the 8 when it gets to a few hundred entries it starts to really bog it down
erparucca@reddit (OP)
yes, iDRAC hard reset, cleared LCC and also disabled it to reduce further writes.
violet-lynx@reddit
idrac is really misbehaving on modern browsers. Are you in the latest version? You can install it through the lifecycle controller at boot time or an upgrade boot iso if still available without using the iDeac itself.
Also try an older browser (IE mode in edge or similar). Also most options can be configured through racadm or SSH.
erparucca@reddit (OP)
Thanks but not the case. Yes, I am on the latest version of all FW.
A browser won't cause the idrac not hang, to initialize, not to get login in ssh or commands from IPMItool, etc. I use same browser on other iDRACs without issue.