HowTo - Change the iDRAC IP on DCA V1 during POST (power on self test)

Products

• VMware Tanzu Greenplum

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

When a DCA server fails, the iDRAC (BMC) interface must be reconfigured on the new server as part of the replacement procedure. The maintenance guide or replacement procedure offers 1 method to change the iDRAC ip address, subnet mask, and gateway but below we describe another method. 

Environment

Resolution

If the server is powered off please power on the server and watch POST (power on self test). If the server has already booted to the OS, please reboot and watch POST.

The iDRAC configuration utility can be accessed by pressing 'Ctrl + E'

After pressing 'Ctrl + E' a screen will be presented, prompting for the idrac password. The default password is 'calvin'. If the password has been changed please use the new password. Another possible password option is 'emcbios'.
 

After providing the password and hitting enter you will be presented with the idrac configuration utility menu. Please select 'LAN Parameters' by using the arrow keys and hit enter. 

After selecting 'LAN Parameters' and hitting enter you will be presented with the configuration screen to input the idrac ip address, subnet mask, and default gateway. Please reference the maintenance guide to determine the correct idrac ip address for the server being replaced. The subnet mask will be 255.255.248.0 and the default gateway will be 172.28.4.250.

Once finished, please use 'ESC' to exit and make sure to follow the prompts to save the changes. The server will reboot. Please proceed with the rest of the server replacement procedure if the server has just been replaced or return the server to the OS.