Launching the Remote Console Switch Software
To launch the Dell™ Remote Console Switch Software on all Microsoft® Windows® systems:
Select Start - Programs - Dell Remote Console Switch Software. Remote Console Switch Software will launch.
To launch the Remote Console Switch Software on Linux:
From the application folder (/usr/lib/Dell_Remote_Console_Switch_Software by default), enter the following command:
./Dell_Remote_Console_Switch_Software
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From (/user/bin), enter the following link:
./Dell_Remote_Console_Switch_Software
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If the product was installed in a directory other than the default, then execute the following command from a shell:
<path>/Dell_Remote_Console_Switch_Software
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If a desktop shortcut was created on installation, double-click the shortcut.
The Remote Console Switch Software will launch.
Navigating the Remote Console Switch Software
The Remote Console Switch Software consists of several components: the Remote Console Switch Software Explorer (Explorer), the Video Session Viewer (Viewer), and the Management Panel (MP). Once you launch Remote Console Switch Software, the Explorer window appears. The Explorer window allows you to view, access, manage, and create custom groupings for all the supported units in your data center.
When you select a server, you can click the Connect Video task button in the Explorer to launch the Viewer. This component allows you to control the keyboard, monitor, and mouse functions of individual servers. For more information, see Accessing and Managing Your Servers.
When you select a Remote Console Switch, you can click the Manage Remote Console Switch task button in the Explorer to launch the MP. This component enables you to control each individual Remote Console Switch. For more information, see Managing Your Remote Console Switch.
Viewing Your System in the Explorer
The Explorer is divided into several panes: the View Selector tabs, the Group Selector pane, and the Unit Selector pane. The content of these panes will change based on the type of unit selected or the task you wish to complete. Explorer Window highlights these navigation features.
Click one of the View Selector tabs to view your system organized by categories: Remote Console Switches, Servers, Sites or Folders. The Explorer's default display is user-configurable. You can have it automatically open to any one of these four tabs. For more information, see Customizing the Explorer Window. If you do not customize the default display, the Explorer will open to the Server view once you have added your first Remote Console Switch.
A Menu bar: Allows you to access many of the features in the Remote Console Switch Software.
B View Selector tabs: Contains four View Selector tabs for choosing the Explorer view.
C Group Selector pane: Contains a tree view representing the groups that are available for the current View Selector tab. The selected group controls what is displayed in the Unit Selector pane when the Remote Console Switches, Sites or Folder tabs are selected.
D Status bar: Displays the number of units shown in the Unit list.
E Unit Selector pane: Contains the Search bar, Unit list, and Task buttons appropriate for the selected view or group.
F Search bar: Allows you to search the database based on the text entered in the search box.
G Unit list: Displays a Unit list of units contained in the currently selected group, or the results of the search executed from the Search bar.
H Task buttons: Contains buttons representing tasks that can be executed. Some buttons are dynamic based on the type of unit(s) selected in the Unit list while other buttons are fixed and always present.
Remote Console Switch Quick Setup Checklist
The following list is an overview of the steps you will follow to set up and configure your Remote Console Switch system. Each of these steps is explained in detail in separate topics throughout the Remote Console Switch Hardware and OSCAR® User’s Guide and Remote Console Switch Software User's Guide.
NOTE: The Remote Console Switch Software can be used to manage Avocent® A1000R and A2000R Remote Console Switches. Therefore, all procedures outlined in this document refer to both Remote Console Switch and Avocent Remote Console Switches. Exceptions are noted where applicable.
NOTE: Please ensure that all your Remote Console Switches have been upgraded to the most recent version of the firmware. For information on upgrading Remote Console Switch firmware see Upgrading Firmware.
To set up the Remote Console Switch: (See the Remote Console Switch Hardware and OSCAR® User's Guide)
1 Adjust mouse acceleration on each server to Slow or None.
2 Install the Remote Console Switch hardware, connect a Server Interface Pod (SIP) or Avocent® AVRIQ to each server or tiered switch. Connect each SIP or Avocent AVRIQ to the Remote Console Switch with CAT 5 cabling and connect the keyboard, monitor, and mouse connectors to the analog port of the Remote Console Switch.
3 Connect a terminal to the configuration (serial) port on the back panel of the Remote Console Switch and set up network configuration (set network speed and address type). The IP address can be set here or from the Remote Console Switch Software. Dell recommends using a static IP address for ease of configuration.
4 Using the local port configuration, input all server names via the On-Screen Configuration and Activity Reporting interface (OSCAR®).
NOTE: For 2161DS-2 and 4161DS Console Switches, names can be modified from the Servers category or the MP. For more information, see Modifying a Server Name.
To set up the Remote Console Switch Software: (See the Installation section of this guide.)
1 Install the Remote Console Switch Software on each client workstation.
2 From one client workstation, launch the Remote Console Switch Software.
3 Click the New Remote Console Switch task button to add the new switch to the Remote Console Switch Software database. If you configured the IP address as described above, select Yes, the product already has an IP address, otherwise select No, the product does not have an IP address. Remote Console Switch Software will find the Remote Console Switch and all SIPs attached to it. These names display in the Explorer.
NOTE: In addition to adding and managing Dell Remote Console Switches using the Remote Console Switch Software, you can also add and manage Avocent® A1000R and A2000R switches.
4 Set properties and group servers as desired into locations, sites or folders through the Explorer.
5 Create user accounts through the MP.
6 Once one client workstation is set up, select File - Database - Save to save a copy of the database with all the settings.
7 From the second client workstation, click File - Database - Load and browse to find the file you have saved. Select the file and click Load.
8 If the local user (via OSCAR®) adds, deletes or renames any SIPs after you have loaded this file, you can resynchronize your local database with OSCAR® by clicking the Manage Remote Console Switch task button and clicking the Resync button under the Settings - Server tab.
9 To control an attached server select it, in the Explorer, and click the Connect Video task button to launch a server session in the Viewer.
10 Adjust the resolution (select View - Manual Scale) and quality (select Tools - Manual Video Adjust) of the server video in the Viewer.
Adding a Remote Console Switch or Avocent Remote Console Switch
In addition to the Dell Remote Console Switch, the Remote Console Switch Software can also be used to manage Avocent® A1000R and A2000R Remote Console Switches. Therefore, as part of the process of adding a Remote Console Switch to your Remote Console Switch Software database, you will be prompted to select the vendor and product type for the switch you want to add.
Before you can access a unit through the Remote Console Switch, you must add it to the Remote Console Switch Software database. Once a Remote Console Switch or Avocent Remote Console Switch is added, it appears in the Unit list. You may either manually add or discover a Remote Console Switch.
To add a new Remote Console Switch with an assigned IP address:
1 Select File - New - Remote Console Switch from the Explorer menu.
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Click the New Remote Console Switch task button. The New Remote Console Switch Wizard appears.
2 Click Next to continue. The Product Type dialog box appears and prompts you to select the Remote Console Switch vendor and product.
Figure 3-2. Product Type Dialog Box
3 Select a Vendor. For each vendor, the supported product names appear in the Product list. Select a product.
NOTE: In Locate Digital Dialog Box, a 2161DS Console Switch has been selected. Each dialog box in the New Remote Console Switch Wizard indicates the type of switch you have selected from the Product list.
4 Click Next.
5 You are prompted to indicate whether the Remote Console Switch has an assigned IP address or not. Click Yes and then click Next.
6 The Locate window appears. Type the IP address and click Next.
Figure 3-3. Locate Digital Dialog Box
7 The Remote Console Switch Software searches for the indicated unit as well as all the powered SIPs, Avocent AVRIQ’s, and server names you associated with it in OSCAR®, if any. If you want to search for unpowered SIPs or Avocent AVRIQs, you can access the Resync feature under the Servers category in the MP and click to enable the Include Offline SIPs check box. For more information, see Viewing and Resynchronizing Server Connections.
8 Click Next.
9 The Configure Tiered Switches dialog box appears if the Remote Console Switch Software detects an attached legacy switch. This dialog box contains a list of all SIP Electronic ID numbers (EIDs) retrieved from the Remote Console Switch and the tiered switches to which they are connected, if any. When this dialog box first displays, all the switches will be set to None. Switches detected will have an icon next to the drop-down list.
a The Existing Tiered Switches field contains a list of all the current switches defined in the database. Click Add, Modify, or Delete to alter the list.
b Associate the appropriate switch from the drop-down lists for each SIP or Avocent AVRIQ that has a switch attached.
Figure 3-4. Configure Tiered Switches Dialog Box
10 When you reach the final page of the Remote Console Switch Wizard, click Finish to exit and return to the main window. Your Remote Console Switch should now appear in the Unit Selector pane.
To add a new Remote Console Switch that does not have an assigned IP address:
1 Select File - New - Remote Console Switch from the Explorer menu.
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Click the New Remote Console Switch task button. The New Remote Console Switch wizard appears.
2 Click Next to continue. The Product Type dialog box appears and prompts you to select the Remote Console Switch vendor and product.
Figure 3-5. Product Type Dialog Box
3 Select a Vendor. For each vendor, the supported product names appear in the Product list. Select a product and click Next.
4 You are prompted to indicate if the Remote Console Switch has an assigned IP address. Click No and then click Next.
5 The Network Address window appears. Type the IP address, subnet mask, and gateway you wish to assign to the unit and click Next.
NOTE: The 2161DS Console Switch supports BootP (Bootstrap Protocol) and static IP addressing. Dell recommends that IP addresses be reserved for each unit and that they remain static while the 2161DS Console Switch units are connected to the network. The 2161DS Console Switch does not support dynamic IP address assignment or BootP emulation through DHCP. DHCP is supported for both 2161DS-2 and 4161DS appliances.
6 The Select Remote Console Switch window appears, prompting you to select the unit to add from the list of new Remote Console Switches that were found. Select the product and then click Next.
7 The Configuring Remote Console Switch window appears to indicate whether the IP information was successfully configured. If the configuration was successful the Remote Console Switch Software will search for the new Remote Console Switch as well as all SIPs, AVRIQs, and server names associated with it. Click Next.
8 The Configure Tiered Switches dialog box appears if the Remote Console Switch Software detects an attached legacy switch. This dialog box contains a list of all SIP and Avocent AVRIQ EIDs retrieved from the Remote Console Switch and the tiered switches to which they are connected, if any.
a The Existing Tiered Switches field contains a list of all the current switches defined in the database. You may add to, delete or modify the list.
b Associate the appropriate switch from the drop-down lists for each SIP that has a switch attached.
Figure 3-6. Configure Tiered Switches Dialog Box
9 When complete, click Finish to exit the Wizard and return to the main window. Your Remote Console Switch should now be in the Unit Selector pane.
To discover a Remote Console Switch:
1 Select Tools - Discover from the Explorer menu. The Discover Wizard appears. Click Next to continue.
2 The Address Range page appears. Type the range of IP addresses you wish to search on the network in the To and From boxes. Use the IP address dot notation xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. Click Next to continue.
3 The Searching Network progress bar appears. Progress text indicates how many addresses have been probed from the total number specified by the range and the number of Remote Console Switches or Avocent Remote Console Switches found. If one or more new Remote Console Switches or Avocent Remote Console Switches are discovered, the Wizard shows the Select Remote Console Switches to Add page. From this page, you can choose the Remote Console Switches to add to the local database.
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If no new Remote Console Switches were found (or if you clicked Stop), the Wizard will show the No New Remote Console Switches Found page and you will need to add the switch manually. For more information, see the previous procedure.
4 Click the Remote Console Switch(es) you wish to add and click the Add (>) button to move the selection to the Remote Console Switches to Add list.
Figure 3-7. Select Remote Console Switches to Add Dialog Box
5 Repeat step 4 for all Remote Console Switches you wish to add. Click Next to continue.
6 The Adding Remote Console Switches progress bar appears while the new switches are being added. Once all of the selected switches have been added to the local database, the Discover Wizard Completed page appears. Click Finish to exit the Wizard and return to the main window. Your new switches should now be in the Unit Selector pane.
7 If one or more switches could not be added to the local database for any reason (including if you clicked Stop during the add process), the Discover Wizard Not All Remote Console Switches Added page appears. This page will list all of the switches that you selected and the status for each. The status will indicate if a Remote Console Switch was added to the local database and if not, why the process failed. Click Done when you are finished reviewing the list.
NOTE: If a Remote Console Switch already exists in the database with the same IP address as a discovered unit, then the discovered switch will be ignored and will not display on the next Wizard page.