15 Posts
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2181
March 4th, 2021 18:00
R420 Network Connectivity
Greetings and Begging for Wisdom!
My R420 was working fine before I shut it down to move power to a dedicated AC circuit. After reboot, the iDrac would connect but not the NIC. The last few weeks, I have tried everything I can think of to get connectivity restored. I have gone into the Lifecycle Controller countless times to verify and re-enter the settings I was using as well as trying various static, DHCP, port connections, and switch settings. The back of the server has 10 ports: 1x2 port embedded, 2x 4 port pcie cards (11 if you include the iDrac) which was a surprise. I was going to try merging ports together (Aggregating, teaming, etc), but want to learn more about what I will gain out of my setup by doing so. This server archives full PC backups (cloned drives), digital music, family video and photo archives, and surveillance video. Naturally, I am hesitant on doing something that will possibly damage the data.
Sometimes in the Lifecycle Controller menu, I can see the IP address pop up on the router device list but the connectivity will go away during the remaining boot process. Using the same network settings from the iDrac (which is stable and reliable) does not function equally to the NICs.
Router settings:
Device IPv4 Address146.71.28.117
Subnet Mask255.255.255.0
DNS Address #1104.245.248.5
DNS Address #2104.245.248.6
Remote Gateway Address146.71.28.1
iDrac:
IPv4 Enabled Yes
Current IP Address 192.168.1.195
Current Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Current Gateway 146.71.28.1
DHCP Enabled No
Use DHCP to obtain DNS server addresses No
Current Preferred DNS Server 104.245.248.5
Current Alternate DNS Server 104.245.248.6
My brain has lost network connectivity during this endeavor the last two weeks as a result!
Mrfix71
15 Posts
0
March 14th, 2021 14:00
Took some time playing with the server between higher priorities. However, I was able to disconnect all ports but one of the embedded NOC ports. Using my device MAC roster, I was able to find narrow down what happened. Somehow, the static address was changed, so I was chasing down an IP address that was changing as I was trying to find it. Restored the static settings and can access the data again.
DiegoLopez
4 Operator
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2.7K Posts
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March 5th, 2021 02:00
Hello @Mrfix71,
There are a few things you can try. First, you can try to drain the flea power: How do I Reset and Drain Power of my Dell PowerEdge Server? https://dell.to/3uWHUmg
Second, you should check the firmware and driver level and update if possible. Here you can find all the firmware and drivers: https://dell.to/3sRY66t Choose the one for your network card and make sure to take in consideratin what OS are you using. For example, if you use Windows you can fully update, no problem. But with VMware ESXi make sure to update respecting the HCL.
Then you should check the Licecycle log and see if there are any hardware errors messages. You can also launch a hardware test from the Lifecycle.
If there is a hardware error you will probably need to replaced the faulty component.
Hope this helps.
Regards.
DiegoLopez
4 Operator
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2.7K Posts
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March 5th, 2021 04:00
Hello again @Mrfix71,
I see.. well the problem about FreeNAS is that it is not tested nor validated to work on this system. You can see here the supported OS for the R420: https://dell.to/30irmHj
As you can see FreeNAS is not supported hence the support we can officially offer you is more limited. Besides, you will not find custom drivers for this OS. So you will need to find out how you can update drives for a PowerEdge server with FreeNAS. My advice is you get in touch with FreeNAS support or their Community and ask for help on their site.
You can also wait for the help of some of Dell Community members. Maybe somebody already tried this configuration with a PowerEdge and can help you or suggest the best way to configure it.
Regards.
Mrfix71
15 Posts
0
March 5th, 2021 04:00
Thanks Diego. I did look thru the Lifecycle log and even ran diagnostics yesterday without seeing any errors, just before I posted. First time I have read about it so I will try that drain the flea power thing.
By the way and in case it reveals something, this unit is running FreeNAS. About the physical configuration, I had the iDrac, the 2 ports of the embedded card, and all 4 ports of another card all going to a the same switch and it had been working fine. After switching to the new AC circuit and losing connectivity, I can still see activity on the switches LEDs and thru its web GUI.
Just before I posted, I even tried a new (much smaller) 10gb switch connected to one of the ports of the other, previously unused, NIC and disconnected the 4 ports of the first NIC. That way I had the (ever reliable) iDrac port staying connected to the original rack switch and a new connection from the unused 4 port NIC going thru a new switch. Doing so did not reveal anything new about server connectivity.
Before I jump on the flea power trick, am I missing where to look at the active network settings when the server is powered up? I can only see minimum IP4 info in the iDrac and it's configuration, not anything about the other 10 port settings. Its really difficult to see anywhere if the settings are saved after exiting the Lifecycle Controller.
Since I got this unit, I have been considering swapping out one of the 4 port NICs for another with a higher GB as well as trunking/aggregating the array of ports which would be a new thing for me. Right now, the priority is restoring basic connectivity on top of the iDrac, then determine any advantages/disadvantages of using the additional ports.
Mrfix71
15 Posts
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March 5th, 2021 15:00
Before I go and try the power down trick, I wan to make sure I am not risking the existing data much. The OS point got me thinking again of acquiring a Win server as I liked the familiarity over something new like FreeNAS. If I commit to that, does the data stay during the migration like when updating a traditional PC?
DELL-Josh Cr
Moderator
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9.2K Posts
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March 5th, 2021 15:00
Freenas typically uses ZFS for the file system and Windows will use NTFS, and not be able to read data that is stored on ZFS. You may want to try booting to our live image https://dell.to/3sTj8S5 and see if it can connect to the network.
Mrfix71
15 Posts
0
March 5th, 2021 17:00
Oh boy...Thanks Josh. I sure hope so. Can I assume it will not corrupt the current data?
DiegoLopez
4 Operator
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2.7K Posts
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March 8th, 2021 00:00
Hello @Mrfix71,
Don't worry. Booting from the live image will not affect your data.
Regards.
DELL-Marco B
Moderator
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3.8K Posts
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March 15th, 2021 01:00
Hello,
thanks for the feedback, please let us know how can we help you further.
Marco