Why does the Virtual Media client connection sometimes drop?
When a network time-out occurs, iDRAC firmware drops the connection, disconnecting the link between the server and the virtual drive.
If you change the CD in the client system, the new CD may have an autostart feature. In this case, the firmware can time out and the connection is lost if the client system takes too long to read the CD. If a connection is lost, reconnect from the GUI and continue the previous operation.
If the Virtual Media configuration settings are changed in the iDRAC web interface or through local RACADM commands, any connected media is disconnected when the configuration change is applied.
To reconnect to the Virtual Drive, use the Virtual Media
Client View window.
Why does a Windows operating system installation through Virtual Media take an extended amount of time?
If you are installing the Windows operating system using the
Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD and the network connection is slow, the installation procedure may require an extended amount of time to access iDRAC web interface due to network latency. The installation window does not indicate the installation progress.
How to configure the virtual device as a bootable device?
On the managed system, access BIOS Setup and go to the boot menu. Locate the virtual CD, virtual floppy, or vFlash and change the device boot order as required. Also, press the "spacebar" key in the boot sequence in the CMOS setup to make the virtual device bootable. For example, to boot from a CD drive, configure the CD drive as the first device in the boot order.
What are the types of media that can be set as a bootable device?
iDRAC allows you to boot from the following bootable media:
CDROM/DVD Data media
ISO 9660 image
1.44 Floppy disk or floppy image
A USB key that is recognized by the operating system as a removable disk
A USB key image
How to make the USB key a bootable device?
You can also boot with a Windows 98 startup disk and copy system files from the startup disk to the USB key. For example, from the DOS prompt, type the following command:
sys a: x: /s
where, x: is the USB key that is required to be set as a bootable device.
The Virtual Media is attached and connected to the remote floppy. But, cannot locate the Virtual Floppy/Virtual CD device on a system running Red Hat Enterprise Linux or the SUSE Linux operating system. How to resolve this?
Some Linux versions do not auto-mount the virtual floppy drive and the virtual CD drive in the same method. To mount the virtual floppy drive, locate the device node that Linux assigns to the virtual floppy drive. To mount the virtual floppy drive:
Open a Linux command prompt and run the following command:
grep "Virtual Floppy" /var/log/messages
Locate the last entry to that message and note the time.
At the Linux prompt, run the following command:
grep "hh:mm:ss" /var/log/messages
where, hh:mm:ss is the time stamp of the message returned by grep in step 1.
In step 3, read the result of the grep command and locate the device name that is given to the Virtual Floppy.
Make sure that you are attached and connected to the virtual floppy drive.
At the Linux prompt, run the following command:
mount /dev/sdx /mnt/floppy
where,
/dev/sdx is the device name found in step 4 and
/mnt/floppy is the mount point.
To mount the virtual CD drive, locate the device node that Linux assigns to the virtual CD drive. To mount the virtual CD drive:
Open a Linux command prompt and run the following command:
grep "Virtual CD" /var/log/messages
Locate the last entry to that message and note the time.
At the Linux prompt, run the following command:
grep "hh:mm:ss" /var/log/messages
where, hh:mm:ss is the timestamp of the message returned by grep in step 1.
In step 3, read the result of the grep command and locate the device name that is given to the Dell Virtual CD.
Make sure that the Virtual CD Drive is attached and connected.
At the Linux prompt, run the following command:
mount /dev/sdx /mnt/CD
where:
/dev/sdx is the device name found in step 4 and
/mnt/floppy is the mount point.
Why are the virtual drives attached to the server removed after performing a remote firmware update using the iDRAC web interface?
Firmware updates cause the iDRAC to reset, drop the remote connection, and unmount the virtual drives. The drives reappear when iDRAC reset is complete.
Why are all the USB devices detached after connecting a USB device?
Virtual media devices and vFlash devices are connected as a composite USB device to the Host USB BUS, and they share a common USB port. Whenever any virtual media or vFlash USB device is connected to or disconnected from the host USB bus, all the Virtual Media and vFlash devices are disconnected momentarily from the host USB bus, and then they are reconnected. If the host operating system uses a virtual media device, do not attach or detach one or more virtual media or vFlash devices. It is recommended that you connect all the required USB devices first before using them.
What does the USB Reset do?
It resets the remote and local USB devices connected to the server.
How to maximize Virtual Media performance?
To maximize Virtual Media performance, launch the Virtual Media with the Virtual Console disabled or do one of the following:
Change the performance slider to Maximum Speed.
Disable encryption for both Virtual Media and Virtual Console.
NOTE:In this case, the data transfer between managed server and iDRAC for Virtual Media and Virtual Console will not be secured.
If you are using any Windows server operating systems, stop the Windows service named Windows Event Collector. To do this, go to
Start > Administrative Tools > Services. Right-click
Windows Event Collector
and click
Stop.
While viewing the contents of a floppy drive or USB key, a connection failure message is displayed if the same drive is attached through the virtual media?
Simultaneous access to virtual floppy drives is not allowed. Close the application used to view the drive contents before attempting to virtualize the drive.
What file system types are supported on the Virtual Floppy Drive?
The virtual floppy drive supports FAT16 or FAT32 file systems.
Why is an error message displayed when trying to connect a DVD/USB through virtual media even though the virtual media is currently not in use?
The error message is displayed if Remote File Share (RFS) feature is also in use. At a time, you can use RFS or Virtual Media and not both.
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