RAID Synchronization CRON Job Affecting Performance

For some FakeRaid configurations, CentOS 7 and newer variants may run a RAID synchronization job configured in the /etc/cron.d directory in a file named raid-check.

This job is responsible for making sure the RAID array is in sync across all drives.  It runs by default every week on Sunday at 1 AM.

# Run system wide raid-check once a week on Sunday at 1am by default

However, this was not a convenient time for my users, as they were gaming at this time, so rather than affect server performance, I changed the cronjob to:

0 5 1 * * root /usr/bin/test $(/usr/bin/date +\%u) -ne 6 && /usr/sbin/raid-check

Thus, the sync job now runs once a month on the 1st at 5 AM.  And, it will not run if the day of the week is a Saturday.  This applies to several of my C1100 servers.

Manage Dell C1100 CS24-TY Servers Using IPMI Tool

Dell C1100 servers can be managed using the IPMI tool which interfaces with the low level BMC interface.  Dell has also released a bmc specific utility that compliments the generic ipmitool to better configure and manage specific settings that are difficult to configure using ipmitool on its own.

Here's how to use both ipmitool and the bmc utilities.  First, login as root:

sudo -i

Now, install the ipmitool:

yum install OpenIPMI ipmitool -y

Start the ipmi service:

service ipmi start

Download the bmc utility:

mkdir -p ~/Downloads/bmc
cd ~/Downloads/bmc
wget -N "http://dinofly.com/files/dell_c1100/bmc-2014-10-15.zip"

If your system is running versions of PERL 5.26 or newer, download this version instead:

# For PERL 5.26+
wget -O "bmc-2014-10-15.zip" -N "http://dinofly.com/files/dell_c1100/bmc-2014-10-15_perl_5.26.zip"

Unzip the bmc tool and make it executable:

unzip bmc-2014-10-15.zip
chmod +x bmc

Here's how to change the BMC interface IP settings:

ipmitool lan set 1 ipsrc static
ipmitool lan set 1 ipaddr x.x.x.x
ipmitool lan set 1 netmask x.x.x.x
ipmitool lan set 1 defgw ipaddr x.x.x.x
./bmc nic_mode set [dedicated|shared]
./bmc allinfo

If the BMC web interace is not responding, try this:

ipmitool bmc reset cold

Dell c1100 CS24-TY Latest BIOS and BMC Firmware Files

Download the latest BIOS and BMC Firmware Files for the Dell c1100 CS24-TY 1U Server

The file above contains instructions and guides for updating both the BIOS and BMC Firmware to the latest released versions for official Dell c1100 CS24-TY servers and unofficial DCS or Quanta c1100 versions.

For Quanta or DCS servers, follow this guide:

https://johannes.skartland.net/2015/11/flashing-c1100/  | Archived Version