The Cheap No-Brainer Upgrade for Every Old Gen11 Dell Server Out There.
If you've got customers out there with 5 year old servers and no plan to upgrade in the near future, the no-brainer upgrade for PowerEdge T610, T710, T410, T310, Rx10 series servers is the iDRAC6 Enterprise.
What used to be a $300+ add-in to a brand new Dell server, Amazon now sells it for a paltry $30. Although the builtin Baseboard Management Controller and the sometimes standard iDRAC6 Express lets you do stuff like power on the server remotely or review server logs, etc. This handy little upgrade lets you remotely view the console of the server in question as if you're standing in front of it. Of course it lets you do other things like Virtual Media and a dedicated NIC, but the main thing you want is the Remote Console. Whether you're 30 miles away or 300, there's nothing like being able to see a blue screen or get into BIOS remotely.
Of course, this would be a nice feature on a new or current server now, if you're willing to shell out $300+ for a iDRAC7 license. But if you've got a couple of old servers that you don't see retiring anytime soon, $30 is a steal. I'm sure your clients wouldn't mind spending that $30 compared to the $$$ for your trip charge+labor every time they call.
For more info on how to install and configure it, check out these.
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