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720xd-braindump.md

awesome-homelab

Dell

iDRAC

  • Set iDrac settings using System Boot Menu
    • Set Static IP: F2 > iDrac settings > Network
    • Set Username / Password: F2 > iDrac settings > Access
  • Flash iDRAC7_LocalLicense_Installation_Tool_A00_1.0.iso using dd to USB
    • 30 day evaluation license and enabled dedicated iDrac NIC
  • Buy license from eBay
    • Send seller your 720xd service tag after order
  • Add DNS entry to iDrac static IP
  • iDrac Web UI: https://<IP_OR_DNS_OF_IDRAC>/index.html
  • Set NTP servers, see here for more information
  • Update Timezone to America/New_York

iDRAC Extras

  • Downgrade the iDrac firmware to iDRAC8_2.30.30.30_A00.exe if you encounter high fan speeds
    • Found from this reddit post
    • File is a self executable ZIP file containing the firmware file
    • Downgrade is only possible in iDrac Web GUI

Cool yer jets

  • Enable IPMI in iDRAC settings
  • brew install ipmitool

Common commands

All Sensor Readings

ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> sdr elist all

Fan Sensor Readings

ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> sensor reading "Fan1" "Fan2" "Fan3" "Fan4" "Fan5" "Fan6"

Ez Toggle Fan Speeds

# Low Speed 
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0xCE 0x00 0x09 0x07 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x07 0x00 0x02 0x02 0x02 0x00 0x00

# High Speed
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0xCE 0x00 0x09 0x07 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x07 0x00 0x02 0x02 0x02 0x01 0x00

Toggle 3rd Party PCIe Cooling Response Logic

# Jets off or Set Third-Party PCIe Card Default Cooling Response Logic To Disabled
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0xce 0x00 0x16 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x05 0x00 0x01 0x00 0x00

# Jets on or Set Third-Party PCIe Card Default Cooling Response Logic To Enabled
ipmitool -I lanplus -H<IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0xce 0x00 0x16 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00

Manual Control - Make sure to monitor system for an hour after usage to verify temperatures

# Monitor temps
ipmitool -I lanplus -H<IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> sdr elist all | grep "Temp"

# Enable manual fan control
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0x30 0x01 0x00

# 44 PWM (% of Max) ~8000 RPM, 0x2c = 44%
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0x30 0x02 0xff 0x2c

# 30 PWM (% of Max) ~6000 RPM, 0x23 = 35%
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0x30 0x02 0xff 0x23

# Disable manual fan control
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IDRAC_IP> -U <IDRAC_USERNAME> -P <IDRAC_PASSWORD> raw 0x30 0x30 0x01 0x01

VMWare

VMUG Membership

  • $200/year
  • License for vSphere supports up to 6 CPU Sockets
  • Benefits
  • Sign up
  • Download software and obtain licenses here
  • Licenses can be imported in VCSA

ESXi Installation and Configuration

  • Download and flash the latest support version from the Dell Drivers page
    • Set BIOS to boot from the USB with ESXi
    • Install ESXi on the same drive you flashed it to
  • Set static IP on ESXi host using the web GUI or the console
  • Enable SSH on ESXi host using the web GUI or the console
  • Set NTP servers, see here for more information
  • Temporarily move the scratch location to /tmp in ESXi
    • Put you host in maintaince mode
    • Follow this but put /tmp as the scratch location
    • If you create a DataStore before this step ESXi will automatically assign the scratch location on the DataStore, which can lead to problems if you need to remove that DataStore in the future
  • Set up DataStores for VMs to be installed on
  • vSphere Docker Volume - Persistant Docker volumes stored in VMDK
    • Install from CLI, ssh into ESXi host and follow instructions here

Install optional vibs

vSphere vCenter Software Appliance (VCSA) Installation and Configuration

FreeNAS

⚠️ This section is under construction ⚠

Information on setting your front bay drives as pass-through for FreeNAS

Sources

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