Dell OpenManage Systems Administrator/Management/IT Assistant

So anyone with a DELL Server should be using Dell's OpenManage Suite. Any Dell Server, of any age, has an OpenManage suite consisting of DELL OpenManage Server Administrator (the actual equivalent of HP Management Agents to monitor all hardware and the environment, logs etc.) and Dell OpenManage Systems Management (the management of the single server or multiple servers). The OpenManage Systems Management includes (and is basically) IT Assistant. 

IT Assistant, however, is a bit troublesome! It's great as if you're an Admin like me and you want emails of server problems (that you can immediately pick up on your Blackberry bold) IT Assistant is for you! Even if you have a single server solutions, install both OpenManage Systems Administrator and Systems Management!

However, do you get after installing Dell's OpenManage software an error in Internet Explorer (same in IE 6, 7 and 8) which says:

IT Assistant will not launch because a dependent component is not installed. This may happen if :

1. Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls setting is disabled.
   • Enable Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls under ActiveX controls and plug-ins in the security zone that IT Assistant is classified in. Close the browser and launch IT Assistant in a new browser window. You can disable this setting after the component is installed.
     Note: If you install the component from the information bar (yellow bar at the top) of the browser, IT Assistant may still fail to launch on certain operating systems.
2. You have canceled the installation of the component.

Or refer to the picture below:


Ok, this is annoying and chances are you have not done anything wrong. But the fix is surprisingly easy... if you know how!

By the way, this error is generally not seen in prior versions of Java 6 Update 11. However, if you are using Java 6 Update 11, 12, 13 or 14 (the latest at the time of writing), you will get the error above. It is not a bug caused by Internet Explorer 7 or 8, so don't blame Microsoft (this time). This article is based on using Dell OpenManage 5.5...

1. Firstly, make sure the latest version of Java is installed. There is no point in running an insecure version of Java to satisfy the installation requirements of Dell OpenManage. I'm using Java 6 Update 14;
2. Of course, when you run "Server Administrator" or "IT Assistant" from the desktop, you will find Internet Explorer has a number of Active X controls which needs to be accepted (often you need to add the localhost:[portnumber] into your trusted sites security zone for IE to even offer installation of them);
3. Install Active X Controls. If you don't have them installed, modify IE's settings to "Prompt" for installation of Active X controls. (Guru Guy recommends disabling unsigned Active X Controls on a windows server);
4. In the Control Panel, locate the Java icon and open up the "Java" icon which loads the "Java Control Panel".
5. Go to the "Advanced Tab" and disable (de-tick) the "enable the next-generation Java Plug-in" (by default it is ticked, see below):
   
6. Close Internet Explorer if it is already running and re-open the IT Assistant.
7. Accept the Java security dialogue in which you have to trust Dell to run their software plug-in on your computer.
8. Voila! It is now working! No more errors! Begs the question why DELL do not make compatibility with the latest Java plug-in but oh well, Guru Guy will inevitably fix it!

Depending on the model of your server will depend on which OpenManage software you can run. But even old ones (I've had Dell's PowerEdge 2400 - about 10 years old - running OpenManage 4.5 which is relatively new!) which can run OpenManage so click here to locate drivers and software for your server to obtain the latest OpenManage you are entitled to!

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