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Linivo / Support / Server & BMC management
Server & BMC management · 6 min read

Enable SNMP on a Dell iDRAC9

Turn on SNMP polling in the iDRAC9 web console so Linivo can read chassis health, power draw and hardware sensors out-of-band.

What you'll need

  • Administrator access to the iDRAC9 web console
  • A Linivo sensor with network access to the iDRAC's management IP
https://10.20.0.15/ Overview System iDRAC Settings Network Services SNMP Agent Dell iDRAC9 web console SNMP Agent Enabled SNMP Protocol SNMPv2, SNMPv3 Community Name (Read Only) public Trap Destination 10.20.0.50 Port 161 ● Set the read-only community string here — Linivo polls using this value.
1

Turn on the SNMP agent

In the iDRAC9 web console, go to iDRAC Settings > Network > Services > SNMP Agent and set it to Enabled. This is off by default on a factory-reset controller.

2

Set a community string, or use SNMPv3

For SNMPv2c, set a read-only community string that isn't the vendor default. Where policy requires it, switch to SNMPv3 and create an authenticated, encrypted user instead, the same tradeoff as switch and router SNMP.

3

Add the iDRAC as a device in Linivo

Add it using the iDRAC's dedicated management IP, not the host OS's IP — they're separate network interfaces. Linivo polls chassis power, fan speed, temperature and drive health straight from the BMC, independent of whether the OS on top is even running.

Related guides

Poll a Dell iDRAC over Redfish instead of SNMP

Redfish gives richer, better-typed hardware data than SNMP on newer iDRAC firmware. Here's when to use it and how to point Linivo at it.

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Send iDRAC SNMP traps to Linivo

Polling catches most things, but iDRAC traps deliver hardware failures (a failed PSU, a degraded RAID member) the moment they happen instead of on the next poll cycle.

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Enable SNMP on an HPE iLO 5

Turn on the SNMP agent in iLO 5 so Linivo can read HPE ProLiant hardware health without installing agents on the host OS.

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