Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) is a software agent that provides a comprehensive, one-to-one systems management solution in two ways: from an integrated, Web browser-based graphical user interface (GUI) and from a command line interface (CLI) through the operating system.
OMSA is designed so that system administrators can manage server systems both locally and remotely on a network. It also interfaces with OpenManage Essentials (OME) console, which allows for monitoring of the systems in your data center from a single interface.
Currently the OMSA agent can be installed on 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows Server and Red Hat Linux as well as Novell SUSE Linux.
Latest release v7.3 is available now (26th June 2013) and it brings lots of new features to the product:
- Installation: Support for the following operating systems.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.9 (32–bit and 64–bit)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4 (64–bit)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Essentials
- VMware vSphere 5.1 U1
- VMware vSphere 5.0 U2
- Citrix XenServer 6.2
- Web/UI Enhancements:
- Security fixes (CVE-2012-6272, CSRF, XSS, and generic path manipulation)
- Updated JRE version 1.7 Update 21
- Updated Apache Tomcat version 7.0.39
- Browser Support:
- Google Chrome 21, 22
- Safari 5.1.7
- Network Interface Cards (NICs) Supports:
- Broadcom 57840S Quad Port 10G SFP+ Rack NDC
- Broadcom 57840S-k Quad Port 10GbE Blade KR NDC
- Power Supplies Support:
- 240-Volt DC power supplies
- Events:
- You can set Platform Event Destinations as IPv4, IPv6, or FQDN on 12G systems with iDRAC7 specific versions
- Storage Management:
- PCIe SSD support for ESXi 5.1 U1.
- Remaining Rated Write Endurance status for SAS and SATA SSD attached to a PERC 8.
- Fluid Cache for direct attached storage (DAS) support on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4 and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2 for PERC H810, H710 Adapter, H710P, and H710 Mini on Dell PowerEdge R720, R820, R620, and T620.
- Deprecated support for the following operating systems:
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.8
Dell OpenManage
Dell OpenManage is a set of systems management applications built using industry standard protocols and specifications. Dell OpenManage is not a product within itself, but rather a brand name for the suite of products in the portfolio. Server Administrator (OMSA) is part of OpenManage family.
You can refer various system management manuals to learn more about the Dell products.
Manuals:
Dell OpenManage v7.3 Documentation
- Documentation (Events, Ports, Management Tools, Release Notes etc.)
- Support Matrix
- Port Information Guide
- Compatibility Matrix (Interoperability of various Dell OpenManage software products)
For more details on previously released Server Administrator and other OpenManage products, refer the OpenManage manuals.
Server Administrator v7.3 Documentation
Refer all the below documents from the Server Administrator Manuals page.
- Server Administrator Storage Management Guide
- Server Administrator CIM Reference Guide.
- Server Administrator SNMP Reference Guide.
- Server Administrator CLI (Command Line Interface) Guide.
- Server Administrator User Guide
- Server Administrator Readme
Download
OMSA v7.3 can be downloaded from the following links. Please refer Server Administrator Installation Guide and Support Matrix to install these packages on the supported operating system.
- Consolidated Package (816 MB)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (x86) (Distribution Package, 133 MB)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (x64) (Distribution Package, 133 MB)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (x86_64) (Distribution Package, 132 MB)
- Novell SuSE Linux ES 11 (Distribution Package, 101 MB)
- VMWare ESX 4.1 (Distribution Package, 132 MB)
- Dell VMWare Depot (Download OMSA VIBs for different ESXi versions)
- Dell VMWare Depot (SSL)
- XenServer 6.2 (66 MB)
- Dell OpenManage Linux Repositories (Various Dell OpenManage Repositories Links Available)
- Server Administrator Linux Wiki (Detailed Information about Server Administrator Linux Repository)
- OpenManage Linux Repository (OpenManage YUM repository, contains OMSA, drivers, BIOS, and firmwares)
Resources
- Dell OpenManage System Management Tools (Know more about Dell OpenManage Products)
- Dell OpenManage Essentials (Management console to remotely manage Dell devices)
- Dell Troubleshooting Tool (Used in several of the videos below to test SNMP connection)
- Sample PowerShell scripts (To query system details from OMSA's WMI classes)
- How to install and configure OMSA on ESX 4.x
Videos
(Please visit the site to view this video)
OMSA on Citrix Xen Install
(Please visit the site to view this video)

An Introduction to OpenManage Server Administrator by Brian Summers
(Please visit the site to view this video)