INFOBrief

Dell Client Configuration Utility

Key Points
TheDellClientConfigurationUtilityis: atoolformanagingDellclientswithfeaturesthatinclude:BIOSflashing, shutdown/restart/WakeonLAN(WOL)setting,asset/inventory informationreporting,andsystemparameterconfigurationincluding SystemsManagementBasicInputOutputSystem(SMBIOS),CMOSand operatingsystemparameters. basedonpackagedexecutablesenablingsystemsadministratorsto performmanagementtasksremotelyandunattendedwhenusedwitha softwaredeliverysolution. designedtoleavezerofootprintafterexecutionanddoesnotrequire preinstalledhardwareinstrumentationagentsonthetargetsystem. optimizedforhighsecuritythroughtheuseofoperatingsystembased authenticationandauthorization.

Product Description
TheDellClientConfigurationUtility(DCCU)isanextremelyusefultoolfor managingmultipleDellclientsasset/inventoryreporting,configuration managementandBIOSupdatingwhenusedinconjunctionwithasoftware distributionsolution.ItalsoispartofDellsproductsetforsimple, automatedmanagementformaximizingthevalueofITinfrastructure.

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TheDCCUcanbeinstalledandrunonanyadministrativeclientorserver. Noinstallationisnecessaryonthesystemstobemanaged.Itisdesignedto leavezerofootprintonthemanagedsystem.Theusersimplyrunstheutility andchooseswhichofthefollowingfunctionstoperformonthetarget systems: ConfigurevariousSMBIOS,CMOS,andoperatingsystemsettings Reviewconfiguration Retrieveassetandinventoryinformation UpdateBIOSasneeded Shutdown/Restartasneeded ManagetheBIOSadministrativepassword Managethebootorder

Figure 1 Inventory and System Parameters Summary in the Client Configuration Utility

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Product Information
PartofDellscommitmenttothecustomerforsystemsmanagementis providedintheDellClientConfigurationUtility.Itallowsconfiguration managementofmultiplesystems,providesassetandinventoryreporting, andworkswellwithexistinginfrastructuresolutionssuchassoftware distributionandcustomdesignedmanagementimplementations.This makestheDCCUausefulcomponentofDellsoverallSystemsManagement strategy. TheDCCUdisplaystheinventoryandsystemparametersoftheclient,such asidentifyingtheoperatingsystem,processorspeed,orthememory available.Figure1providesanexampleofthisreporting.Thisinformation canbecriticaltotheadministratorwhendetermininghowtoupgradea systemthatmayormaynotbeinthesamebuilding(orcity,state,continent).

Figure 2 Setting Parameters with the Dell Client Configuration Utility

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Sometimesreportingisnotenough.Administratorswanttomanageand configuretheclientsaswell.TheClientConfigurationUtilityprovidesthis abilitythroughauserfriendly,interactivegraphicaluserinterface(GUI). Over50parametersintheSMBIOS,CMOSandoperatingsystemare availabletobemanaged.Eachoneislistedwithallofitsacceptablevalues,if applicable.Descriptionsoftheparametersareincludedandcanbeaccessed bysimplyhoveringoverthenameoftheparameter. Figure2demonstrateshowparameterscanbemanagedandvaluesselected usingtheeasytousepulldownboxes. AtDell,wehaveagoaltohelpourcustomerscosteffectivelymanagetheir standardizedtechnologythroughitsentirelifecycle.Duringthelifeofa client,updatesaresometimesrequired.Forexample,iftheadministrator wantstoupdateorflashtheBIOSofremotesystemsfromtheirlocal administratormachine,theDellClientConfigurationUtilitycanbeusedto simplifythistask.

Figure 3 Performing Actions with the Client Configuration Utility

JustdownloadtheupdatefromtheDellsupportsite(support.dell.com). SelecttheflashfunctionfromwithintheDCCUandbrowsetothe downloadedBIOSfile.Createtheexecutablepackageanddistributeittothe targetsystemsforexecution.Thesystemwillautomaticallyrebootafter flashingtopreservetheintegrityoftheBIOS. Figure3displaystheActionsscreenwheretheupdatingoftheBIOScanbe chosen.TheActionsscreenalsoallowstheadministratortoshutdownand restartmanagedsystemsatwill. AllactionsperformedbytheClientConfigurationUtilityarerecordedin easytouse,ExtendedMarkupLanguage(XML)files.Thereportingfeatures

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intheutilitywillallowtheadministratortoquicklyunderstandthestatusof thesystemandtheresultsoftheselectedactions. Asinglefileisusedtorecordalltheresultsbutuptotwoadditionalfiles maybecreated.Allthreefileswillbeidenticalincontentbutthetitleswill changebasedonthestatusoftheexecutedcommands.Oneoftheadditional fileswillcontainthewordSUCCESSandtheotherFAILUREifanyofthe actionshaveeitherofthesestatuses.Theadministratorcanthenefficiently collectinformationfromthesystemsthatneedfurtherattention. Security Securitycontinuestobeakeyconcernforbusinesses.TheClient ConfigurationUtilityisdesignedtooptimizesecuritywhileperforming managementfunctions. TheClientConfigurationUtilityusestheoperatingsystemuserIdsand passwords.TheuserwillnothavetoestablishanotherIDandthesecurity administratorswillnothavetoforceadditionalpoliciesontheseIdsoutside theoperatingsystemdomain.Actionswillbeexecutedaccordingtoalready establishedauthoritylevels.

Integration
Tofacilitateintegrationintocustomerenvironments,theDellClient ConfigurationUtilitycontinuestosupportstandardtechnologies.These technologiesinclude:XMLandSMBIOS. Thesestandardsenabletheuseofindustryleadingtoolstomanageclients andtoobtainvitalinformationaboutthoseclients.

Manageable Parameters
SystemparameterscanbereviewedbysimplyusingtheGetValuesfunction withintheDellClientConfigurationUtility.Manyoftheseparameterscan alsobesetormanaged.Theparametersthatcanbemanagedthroughthe DCCUareshowninTable1.

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 Table 1 Manageable parameters for the Dell Client Configuration Utility Parameter PropertyOwnershipTag Description Defines the Dell Property Ownership Tag for systems that support it. If a system does not support this feature, this property should be left blank. The Asset Tag of the computer. Determines what extension tokens are available in the system. The BIOS release date. BIOS version number of the computer. The current processor speed. The family of processors to which the processor belongs. Product name for the system. Manufacturer of the system. Defines the Dell Systems ID Byte for systems that support it. If a system does not support this feature, the value = 1. The Service Tag of the computer. The system type which is installed and running the instrumentation. Defines whether the computer supports the Dell SMBIOS implementation. Allows the setting of the AC Power Recovery Mode in BIOS. Unsupported means that this system BIOS does not support the setting of the AC Power Recovery Mode. Enables or disables the integrated AGP slot at the next boot. Integrated audio mode. Manageable Y

AssetTag ExtensionTokens

Y N

BIOSDate BIOSVersion ProcessorSpeed ProcessorType SystemDescription SystemVendor SystemIDByte

N N N N N N N

ServiceTag SystemClass

N N

SMBIOSSupported

ACPowerRecoveryMode

AGPSlot

AudioMode

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Disabled mode completely unassigns the integrated hardware resources. Half duplex mode allows only record or playback. Full duplex mode can simultaneously record and play back sounds. All nonportable systems return Unsupported for this property. AutoOn Defines the auto-on configuration: disabled, every day or weekdays (MondayFriday). Defines the hour to turn on the system (0-23). Defines the minutes within the hour to turn on the system (059). Defines whether the integrated floppy disk controller is enabled, auto, or read-only. Defines whether the integrated NIC is enabled or disabled. Defines whether the integrated pointing device port is enabled or disabled. Enables the computer to detect and report chassis intrusion events to the system display on start-up. Displays the status of the computer with regards to chassis intrusion (Detected or Not Detected). A value of Unknown indicates one of two things: either chassis intrusion is not supported by the computer, or chassis intrusion event reporting has been disabled by the user. If the value is Detected, the user may set it to Not Detected to enable the computer to receive the next event and to stop generating events for the time being. Allows the enabling/disabling of the Boot Integrity Services (BIS) in BIOS. Unsupported means that the system BIOS does not Y

AutoOnHour AutoOnMinute

Y Y

BuiltInFloppy

BuiltInNIC BuiltInPointingDevice

Y Y

ChassisIntrusion

ChassisIntrusionStatus

EnableDisableBIS

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support BIS. ForcePXEonNextBoot Allows the enabling/disabling of Force PXE at the next boot in BIOS. Unsupported means that this system BIOS does not support Force PXE at the next boot. Defines whether the IDE controller is enabled or disabled. Status of the computers integrated sound device. This attribute allows the enabling/disabling of Keyboard Error Reporting in BIOS. Unsupported means that the system BIOS does not support Keyboard Error Reporting. Enables or disables the integrated IEEE 1394 controller at the next boot. Defines the parallel port configuration. Defines the parallel port mode. Enables or disables the computers PCI slots. Defines the power management settings. All nonportable systems return Unsupported for this property. Defines the serial port 1 configuration. Defines the serial port 2 configuration. The volume of the speaker. Enables or disables USB keyboard and mouse support for operating systems that do not natively support USB keyboards and mice. Enables or disables the computers USB port. Allows enabling/disabling of VGA DAC Snoop in BIOS. Unsupported means that the system BIOS does not support Y

IDEController

IntegratedAudio KeyboardErrorReporting

Y Y

Onboard1394

ParallelPortConfiguration ParallelPortMode PCISlots PowerManagementSettings

Y Y Y Y

SerialPort1Configuration SerialPort2Configuration SpeakerVolume USBEmulation

Y Y Y Y

USBPorts VGADACSnoop

Y Y

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VGA DAC Snoop. WakeupOnLAN Defines whether Wakeup On LAN is disabled, enabled for integrated NIC only, or enabled for add-in NIC only. If Enabled with boot to NIC option is selected, the system boots from the NIC boot-ROM upon a remote wakeup. Indicates the maximum length of the Administrator password, which corresponds to the BIOS setup password. Contains the amount of RAM in the computer. Indicates the number of boot devices on the system. The operating system which is installed and running on the computer. The name of the system. Defines the Wakeup On LAN method supported by the system. Enables or disables the hyperthreading capabilities of the system. Enables or disables the built-in infrared device Allows setting of the method by which the keyboards embedded keypad is enabled. Enables or disables the various serial ATA channels on the next boot to BIOS. Allows setting of the method by which wireless access is enabled. Configuration of the BIOS Administrative password. Y

MaximumPasswordLength

MemorySize NumberOfBootDevices OperatingSystem

N N N

SystemName WakeupOnLANMethod

Y N

HyperThreading

Infrared Numlock

Y Y

Serial ATA Channels

Wireless Control

BIOS Admin Password

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Supported Configurations
OptiPlex Desktops GX60 SX260 GX400 GX240 GX260 GX150 GX50 SX270 GX270 Latitude Notebooks C800 C600 C500 C610 C810 C400 C840 C510 L400 X200 C540 D600 D800 D500 D400 X300 Dell Precision Workstations 530 340 350 450 650 M50 M60

Runningthefollowingoperatingsystems: MicrosoftWindows2000 MicrosoftWindowsXPProfessional Otherrequirements: AdministrationSystemonly Microsoft.NETFramework InternetExplorer6 Asoftwaredistributionsolutionofsomekindmustbeusedtodeliverthe executablepackagestothetargetsystems.Possibleimplementationsinclude, butarenotlimitedto: AltirisSoftwareDeliverySolution MicrosoftSMS Remoteorlocalfilecopy

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Service and Support

Delloffersatelephonetechnicalsupportserviceforthissoftwareatno additionalchargetosupportcustomerswithinstallationandconfiguration questions.Thefollowingsupportisincluded:
Dell,PowerEdge,PowerVault,OptiPlex,Latitude,DellPrecisionandOpenManageare trademarksofDellComputerCorporation.Othertrademarksandtradenamesmaybeusedin thisdocumenttorefertoeithertheentitiesclaimingthemarksandnamesortheirproducts.Dell disclaimsproprietaryinterestinthemarksandnamesofothers. Copyright2004DellComputerCorporation.Allrightsreserved.Reproductioninanymanner whatsoeverwithouttheexpresswrittenpermissionofDellComputerCorporationisstrictly forbidden.FormoreinformationcontactDell.Dellcannotberesponsibleforerrorsin typographyorphotography.

Basicinstallationandconfiguration Verifyingthefunctionalityoftheaboveinstallationandconfiguration Verifyingandtroubleshootingnetworkconnectivity Uninstallingsoftware

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