A few weeks ago I needed to sort out some extended warranty for a customers servers. To do that I needed the serial numbers of those servers, (a mixture of IBM/Lenovo and Dell Servers).
As I didn’t fancy a drive to two different datacenters, I wanted to try and get them programatically.
Solution
After some searching I came across a post by one of my old EE buddies LucD with exactly what I needed. I’m assuming you have PowerCLI setup before beginning.
Connect to your Virtual infrastructure;
[box]
Connect-VIServer {vCenter-server-FQDN}
[/box]
Then, (assuming you have a folder called C:\Temp that you can write to).
I decided to update the firmware on my PX4-300D 16TB NAS Device, (big mistake!) I had some lunch and went to see how it was getting on, I could no longer connect to the device via web or SSH. It had done this to me once in the past when It had a failed drive, simply removing the drives rebooting and then putting the drives back in got me going last time.
So I got on the Lenovo forums, it’s full of posts with the same problem, and theres hope! They do a tool that you can load from USB that you can boot your device from and it will re-image it. But you cant download it, you need to log a call to Lenovo to get it, Which I attempted to do but a) It sends you to IBM support which is terrible, and b) I’m out of warranty and not supported.
So I could download the firmware that ‘bricked’ my “worth over a thousand quid” device, but not the tool to rescue it? No amount of searching yielded a result.
Solution
What I did find was a post with a link to the re-imaging tool for another device, but when I looked at the URL, I noticed that the filename was the same at the firmware version name, it simply had a .zip extension not a .tgz extension. Why is that important? Well what if I used the same URL but put in my firmware version and changed the file extension, that wouldn’t work would it?
PLEASE BE AWARE, I LOST ALL MY DATA WHILE RE-IMAGING! But I’d rather have a working NAS than a broken one! SEE UPDATE BELOW
You get a full set of instructions in the zip file, but basically, you need a FAT32 formatted USB Drive, run the executable file, point it at the USB drive, then boot the NAS with the USB drive in it AND the reset button pressed (for 60 seconds). you will then see this;
When finished, the device shuts down, simply power it back on
UPDATE: Received 040118
Prior to having the opportunity to try your solution, I received a reply from Lenovo. The tech sent a link to an older version of the software. The difference is that he told me… “on your unit the OS is actually stored on the NAS and not on the HDD’s, so you can do this process without losing information, all you need to do is to remove the HDD’s while using the USB stick on the NAS, once that the process is complete you can insert the drives back. If you leave the HDD’s inside, the process will wipe them.”
I removed the drives (stacking to preserve slot order in case it mattered). Flashed the unit. It then shut down. I restarted and it booted to “Insert drives”. I powered the unit down, then reinserted the drives in the same slots they came out of. Booted unit and NO DATA LOSS!! You can imagine how thrilled I am. (Thanks Dennis)
Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links
After recycling an old M3 3650 IBM X Series server the other week, I was stuck trying to get into the IMM, because no one knew what the password was.
The default username of USERID and password of PASSW0RD (with a zero) didn’t work either.
Solution
For me it was OK because I could reboot the server and get directly into the BIOS , (Press F1 at boot)
System settings.
Integrated Management Module.
Reset IMM to defaults.
REMEMBER this will reset the name and IP settings, so you need to update them, and DON’T FORGET to press ‘Save Network Settings’, or nothing happens!
You can now use the default username USERID and default password (PASSW0RD).
Reset IMM Password Remotely
Remotely connect to your IBM server Download the IBM ASU Utility (Note: There’s an x64 bit version, and an x32 bit version, run the correct one to extract the tools).
Run the following command to ensure that the USERID account exists
[box]
asu64.exe show IMM.LoginID.1
OR
asu.exe show IMM.LoginID.1
[/box]
It should detect the IMM by IP address and return IMM.LoginID.1=USERID
Note: If it returns a different username you can check each login ID and reset them one by one.
[box]
asu64.exe set IMM.password.1 Password123
OR
asu.exe set IMM.password.1 Password123
[/box]
Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links
Much as I like my new S531 work ThinkPad, I thought after discovering it had no serial port, no RGB monitor port, and the worst touch-pad in the entire history of input devices (I now carry a mouse it’s so bad!), that my bad experiences were over. That was until I needed to reset a password on a Cisco Router, and needed to send a ‘Break’ keystroke. There is no pause break key?
Solution
Initially I tossed the cable over to my colleague who sent the keystroke for me, then the second time I went down to the workshop and grabbed a spare USB keyboard and used that.
However, I thought that’s no good if I’m on a client site and I need to reset a router, switch, or firewall password. So when I got home I dragged out a Cisco router and set about working out how to do it.
Option 1
You can use the following key stroke to send a ‘break’, Fn+Ctrl+P. (Note: to Pause it would be Fn+P).
Success!
Option 2
If you are using PuTTY, you can send a ‘Break’ Keystroke via Special Command > Break.
Option 3
Press Windows Key+R > osk {Enter} > Ctrl > Pause.
Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links
I’m more used to HP servers with iLO’s and Dell servers with DRAC’s, but today I had to put in an IBM System X (now Lenovo) Server with an IMM on it. Once I’d got its IP address from my DHCP servers list of leases I was faced with a logon screen.
Solution
Took some hunting, but the credentials are as follows;
Username: USERID
Password: PASSW0RD (That’s a zero, not an ‘O’ for Oscar).
Note: They are case sensitive also.
With iLO I would leave the default username and password setup, (because it’s written on the chassis, and if someone needed to get in they could, (if they had local access to the server).</p?
However for the IMM I would suggest at least changing the default password.
And if it’s internet facing I’d remove/rename that account completely.</p?
Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links
You have an Android device* and you would like to create a remote VPN connection to a Cisco device running AnyConnect.
Note: This is not a walkthrough on how to configure AnyConnect, for that go here.
Be aware that in addition to your SSL VPN licences your Cisco ASA device also needs a “AnyConnect Mobile” license. If you do not have one you will receive this error.
*Note: At time of writing the AnyConnect client is only available for Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, and Android phones that have been rooted.
Solution
1. First head over to the Android Market, locate and then install the AnyConnect Client on your device.
6. Set the server address, to either the public IP of your Cisco device, or if you have a public DNS name that points to it e.g. vpn.yourdomain.com you can enter that. (Providing the device can resolve that address using DNS).
7. You should not need to enter Certificate details, unless your IT department have secured the AnyConnect profile with certificates like this. In most cases you would supply a username and password to connect, so this is not relevant. If you are unsure speak to the person/department that looks after your Cisco device.
8. To save the connection click “Done”.
8. To start the connection, simply tap it.
Note: To delete/edit a connection profile tap and hold it.
9. Type in your credentials > OK.
10. When connected you will get a “Green Tick” and the logo at the top of the screen will show a closed padlock. This padlock logo will remain all the time you are connected.
11. To disconnect, simply tap the green tick, and the client software will terminate the connection.
Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links
Thanks to David Simpson for trusting me with his phone for half an hour.
