Overview - Dell PS-M4110 User Manual

Overview

The Dell Chassis Management Controller (CMC) is a systems management hardware and software solution for managing
multiple Dell blade chassis. It is a hot-pluggable module that sits at the back of Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis. The
CMC has its own microprocessor and memory and is powered by the modular chassis into which it is plugged.
The CMC enables an IT administrator to:
• View inventory
• Perform configuration and monitoring tasks
• Remotely power on or off blades
• Enable alerts for events on servers and components in the blade chassis
You can configure the M1000e chassis either with a single CMC, or with redundant CMCs. In redundant CMC
configurations, if the primary CMC loses communication with the M1000e chassis or the management network, the
standby CMC takes over chassis management.
The CMC provides multiple systems management functions for blade servers. Power and thermal management are the
primary functions of the CMC.
• Enclosure-level real-time automatic power and thermal management.
– CMC monitors system power requirements and supports the optional Dynamic Power Supply
Engagement mode. This enables CMC to enable or set power supplies in standby, dynamically
depending on load and redundancy requirements to improve power efficiency.
– CMC reports real-time power consumption, which includes logging high and low points with a time
stamp.
– CMC supports setting an optional enclosure Maximum Power Limit, which either alerts or takes actions,
such as throttling server modules and/or preventing the power up of new blades to keep the enclosure
under the defined maximum power limit.
– CMC monitors and automatically controls cooling of fans based on actual ambient and internal
temperature measurements.
– CMC provides comprehensive enclosure inventory and status/error reporting.
• CMC provides a mechanism for centralized configuration of the following:
– The M1000e enclosure's network and security settings
– Power redundancy and power ceiling settings
– I/O switches and iDRAC network settings
– First boot device on the server blades
– Checks I/O fabric consistency between the I/O modules and blades and disables components, if
necessary, to protect the system hardware
– User access security
You can configure CMC to send e-mail alerts or SNMP trap alerts for warnings or errors related to temperatures,
hardware misconfigurations, power outages, and fan speeds.
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