Moving Beyond OMSA: A Guide to Dell iSM Installation on RHEL 10 and PowerEdge R730

/ Christopher Paquin

The shift from srvadmin (OMSA) to iSM (iDRAC Service Module) marks the end of bloated, “in-band” server management. This occurred between Dell 12th gen and Dell 13th gen server.

If you have a 12th Gen Dell Server, you can still leverage Dell srvadmin (Idrac 7). I wrote a post on it here.

While OMSA ran as a heavy suite of services directly on the host, the modern dcism acts as a lightweight bridge that offloads the heavy lifting to the dedicated iDRAC hardware.

For RHEL 10 users, this transition is no longer optional but necessary, trading the aging omreport ecosystem for a more secure, stable, and kernel-friendly management experience.

So in this post we are going to go through the install of DISM (Dell IDRAC Service Module), on RHEL 10, running on a Dell R730.

Set Up the Dell Repository

First we need to setup the official Dell System Update (DSU) utility. Install Dell GPG keys when prompted. 

curl -O https://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/dsu/bootstrap.cgi
bash bootstrap.cgi

Install the ISM Package

dnf install dcism

Also install racadm

sudo dnf install srvadmin-idracadm7

Start and Enable the Service

sudo systemctl enable --now dcismeng.service
systemctl status dcismeng.service

Example Commands

This first command will make sure that DISM is healthy

/opt/dell/srvadmin/iSM/bin/dcismcfg --getismstatus

And ensure that racadm is functioning properly

/opt/dell/srvadmin/sbin/racadm getsysinfo

You can also reset the idrac from the OS

/opt/dell/srvadmin/iSM/bin/Invoke-iDRACHardReset

You can generate a full hardware diagnostic bundle directly from the (TSR).

Note that the used Dell R730 that I just purchased on Ebay is actually under hardware support till October of 2026 – so if I need on-site hardware support a Dell technician will be dispatched to my house. I will provide snacks and a static strap. 

/opt/dell/srvadmin/iSM/bin/Invoke-SupportAssistCollection

Note: The SupportAssist Collection feature is not supported on systems earlier than 14th generation. šŸ™

You can check your disks for SMART errors

/opt/dell/srvadmin/iSM/bin/ismsmartlog --dev=/dev/sdb

Local RAID & Storage Management

Since omreport storage is gone, use racadm. With the iSM bridge active, Local RACADM is now your primary interface for your raid controller

racadm storage get pdisks
racadm storage get vdisks
 racadm storage get controllers

The “Full Power Cycle” (The “Cold Boot” Tool) – Flea Power Drain

On an R730, if you have a hardware component acting up (like a hung NIC), a standard OS reboot often isn’t enough because the motherboard stays powered.

  • What it does: It tells the iDRAC to perform a “virtual” AC power pull. The server will shut down, the flea power will be drained, and it will cold-boot. This is a powerful feature to have in a remote RHEL 10 environment.
 /opt/dell/srvadmin/iSM/bin/Invoke-FullPowerCycle

Real-Time “Tech Support Report” (TSR)

If you ever need to open a support ticket with Dell, they will ask for a TSR. Previously, you had to log into the iDRAC web UI and wait 10 minutes.

  • What it does: It triggers the iDRAC to gather every log, firmware version, and hardware event into a .zip file and saves it directly to the iDRAC (or can be pulled to the OS).
/opt/dell/srvadmin/iSM/bin/Invoke-SupportAssistCollection

Viewing Active Hardware Alerts

The racadm utility (which uses the iSM bridge) is the best way to see why your server has an amber light or a “System Health” warning.

  • View the System Event Log (SEL): This is the “Hardware Event Viewer.” It shows power supply failures, memory errors, and thermal trips.
/opt/dell/srvadmin/sbin/racadm getsel

Installing perccli

PERCCLI (PowerEdge RAID Controller Command Line Interface) is the specialized successor to the older MegaCLI tool. While RACADM is great for general server health, PERCCLI is the “surgical tool” specifically for your RAID controller (like the H730 in your R730).

Install as shown below

dnf -y install perccli.noarch

Now you can show all controllers

 /opt/MegaRAID/perccli/perccli64 show

Show events.

 /opt/MegaRAID/perccli/perccli64 /c0 show eventloginfo

Show all disks

/opt/MegaRAID/perccli/perccli64 /c0/eall/sall show

Epilogue

So in a nutshell. Dell srvadmin was replaced with DISM starting on Dell 13th gen servers. You have a couple powerful commands at your disposal with a ton of various ways to run both of them.

Also available is perccli, which is also a nice tool on its own.

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