Dell iDRAC10 review: The best remote server management solution just got even better

Remote server management is a must-have feature in all data centres, and Dell's iDRAC (integrated Dell Remote Access Controller) has always been one of our favourite solutions. Included as standard across Dell's Gen17 enterprise server family, the iDRAC10 delivers an impressive range of capabilities, and the latest firmware upgrade introduces a wealth of new features, including a radically revamped web interface.

A major hardware change is that whereas previous PowerEdge generations have the iDRAC controllers embedded on their motherboards, the iDRAC10 is deployed as a DC-SCM (datacenter-ready secure control module). The DC-SCM moves all server management and security functions to a dedicated OCP-compliant edge-connected board, allowing Dell to use a standard form-factor across the entire Gen17 range and develop these functions independently of the server.

Supply chain assurance and access security see major improvements as the iDRAC10 controller sports a dedicated security processor with a cyber-resilient architecture. It supports MFA (multi-factor authentication), integrated Root-of-Trust (RoT) encryption, and device-level attestation using stronger algorithms to verify the integrity of all hardware components during the secure boot phase.

Dell iDRAC10 review: Design

Introduced over eight years ago, the iDRAC9 controller hasn't seen any significant changes to its web interface for a long time. With firmware version 1.20.60.55 applied, the new iDRAC10 web interface is a very welcome update as it isn't just a refresh, but a complete redesign.

The iDRAC9 home page presents a basic overview of the server's health status, along with the most recent logs, access to the virtual console, and a ribbon menu across the top for accessing all other functions and services. The iDRAC10 version is far more informative as the new server health information section in the home page presents a group of active icons at the top showing the health status of all critical hardware components, and these are all color-coded for at-a-glance alerts.

You still get a server summary, a list of the most recent log entries, and access to the virtual console, but all menu options have been moved to a side menu for easier access. The firmware update removes AngularJS to address known security vulnerabilities and enables support for Intel's ME CUPS (Compute Usage Per Second) feature on all Gen17 Intel PowerEdge servers, providing real-time monitoring of CPU, memory, I/O, and system utilization.

The changes aren't skin-deep either, as moving through the various menus shows their entire layout has been updated with the aim of providing a more consistent view. It's easier to navigate, too, as each menu in the left pane expands downwards to show all available options.

Selecting the system menu extends out a set of sub-menus below, with the overview page providing a row of tabs across the top to quickly view system information. The new environments tab provides one screen with a detailed view of cooling, temperatures, and fan status, along with a historical graph of system inlet temperatures going back a day, month or year.

As we were using a PowerEdge R7725 server for testing, there are (still) no CPU, memory, and I/O usage graphs in the system menu but this is entirely due to AMD's architecture and is a problem Dell has been tussling with for years. No such issues with Intel-based PowerEdge servers and CUPS support allows the iDRAC10 to present performance data on all these components with data samples taken every six seconds and aggregated over one-minute intervals.

The main storage menu now only has two sub-menus with the overview page providing tabs across the top for viewing controllers, physical disks, virtual disks, and enclosures. A slightly earlier firmware upgrade adds support for Dell's PERC12 RAID controllers and the PERC13 H975i Front card.

The new interface also makes it easier to access details presented in tables. In iDRAC9, you click the plus sign next to an item whereas with iDRAC10, you choose an item, such as an entry in the job queue, and click on the double-arrow icon to the right to expand it in an adjacent side panel.

Dell iDRAC10 review: Performance

The iDRAC10 sees significant hardware improvements over its predecessor as the CPU is updated from a 32-bit dual-core ARM CPU to a quad-core 64-bit model and is AI-ready with its ARM Neon SIMD architecture and floating point units. The DC-SCM board keeps the standard dedicated Gigabit network port for out-of-band server management and you'll also find a USB-C port at the front of all Gen17 PowerEdge servers for walk-up direct access to the iDRAC web console for secure emergency maintenance.

Dell's SCV (secured component verification) provides digital proof to partners and VARs that the server they receive matches what was produced at the factory. The iDRAC10 update adds a new encrypted delta certificate process to further verify hardware authenticity.

Management gets a boost as Dell has expanded Redfish integration, as the new firmware supports the latest Schemas and Specifications, with the Dell developer portal providing access to the Redfish APIs. This allows businesses to integrate server management and monitoring with their existing solutions – we run Paessler's PRTG in the lab and were able to add its Redfish sensors to gather detailed information on system health, power supplies, and storage.

Dell's OpenManage Enterprise (OME) software provides centralized discovery, monitoring, and remote control for all its servers, and we updated our instance to version 4.5 to add support for iDRAC10 controllers. Its interface also sees improvements as once we'd applied an OME Enterprise Advanced licence to our server's iDRAC10, it enabled the Power Manager plug-in, which now directly accessed from the OME home page ribbon menu

The OME free version includes discovery, hardware reporting, and health monitoring. All OME versions support the AIOps Observability plug-in, allowing them to function as collectors and send server telemetry and alert logs to Dell's cloud-hosted management platform.

Dell iDRAC10 review: Is it worth it?

Of course it is. Dell has also simplified licensing with iDRAC10 Core included with all Gen17 servers, and providing essential system management services. An Enterprise licence enables virtual media services and full OS remote control, while a Datacenter licence adds thermal management and telemetry streaming of hardware metrics for advanced analytics.

Along with big improvements to the web interface, this latest iDRAC10 update delivers tighter platform and supply chain security plus advanced monitoring and management services. The update is now available for all Dell customers, so if you are already using Gen17 PowerEdge servers, what are you waiting for?

Dell iDRAC 10 specifications