Generate a SupportAssist collection (TSR) from iDRAC9 for Dell support

When you open a hardware case with Dell, the first thing support usually asks for is a SupportAssist collection. Dell's RACADM guide explains that this is the same thing as the older Tech Support Report (TSR); the RACADM command keeps the old name techsupreport. The collection is a ZIP file that iDRAC9 builds from the server's hardware inventory, logs and controller data. This guide shows how to generate it from the iDRAC9 web interface, from RACADM, and from Lifecycle Controller when iDRAC's network is not reachable.

What the collection contains

According to the iDRAC9 User's Guide, a collection can include:

• Hardware inventory for all components: configuration, firmware details, the motherboard System Event Log, iDRAC state and Lifecycle Controller logs.
• Operating system and application information (with iSM).
• Storage controller logs.
• iDRAC debug logs.
• An HTML5 viewer, so you can read the results yourself without uploading anything.

Every collection is recorded in the Lifecycle Controller log with the user, the interface used and the date and time. If you only need the logs, see reading and exporting the SEL and Lifecycle Log.

What changed in iDRAC9 7.x

Step 1 — Start a collection in the web interface

1. Log in to iDRAC9 and go to Maintenance > SupportAssist. On older firmware a registration wizard may appear; Dell's KB says registration is optional.
2. Click Start a Collection.
3. Select the data sets to include, or keep the defaults. If Dell support asked for storage logs or OS data, make sure those are ticked.

Dell lists four reasons why OS and Application Data can be greyed out: iSM is not installed or running, the OS Collector was removed from iDRAC, OS-BMC pass-through is disabled, or no cached OS data exists from a previous collection.

Step 2 — Decide on privacy filtering

Under the collection preferences you can filter data sets for Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Dell's KB explains the trade-off clearly:

• Filter Data excludes host names, MAC addresses, logs or registry contents.
• With filtering enabled, thermal data is not included.
• With filtering enabled, debug logs and storage logs are not included.

Step 3 — Choose where to save, then collect

1. Choose Save locally (your workstation) or Save to Network (a CIFS or NFS share).
2. Click Collect and accept the End User License Agreement if prompted.
3. When the collection finishes, a banner offers to save and view it.

If you use Save to Network and no default share exists yet, the details you enter become the default for future collections. To set a share in advance, open Collection Settings, use Set Archive Directory to enter the protocol (CIFS or NFS), IP address, share name, domain, user name and password, then click Test Network Connection.

Collections can take a while. Dell notes one case of more than 10 minutes when OpenManage Server Administrator 10.1.0.0 is running on the host.

Step 4 — Check the Collection Log and hand it over

The SupportAssist page shows a Collection Log with the date and time, type, data collected (Custom Selection or All Data), status (Complete or Complete with Errors) and job ID. Open the HTML5 viewer to check the content, then attach the ZIP to your Dell support case. On iDRAC9 7.x this manual hand-over is the documented path.

The same task with RACADM

Dell's KB 000126308 gives this sequence for iDRAC9 over SSH. Log types include SysInfo, TTYLog (storage controller logs) and OSAppAll (needs iSM):

racadm techsupreport collect -t SysInfo,TTYLog
racadm jobqueue view
racadm techsupreport export -l <CIFS or NFS share path> -u <share username> -p <share password>

When running RACADM locally on the server, racadm techsupreport export -f <filename>.zip saves the file locally; Dell notes that -f works only from local RACADM. Dell also warns that RACADM syntax can change between firmware releases, so check the RACADM CLI Guide for your version.

When the iDRAC web interface is not reachable

1. Restart the server and press F10 to open Lifecycle Controller.
2. Open Hardware Diagnostics and choose Export SupportAssist collection.
3. Accept the terms, select the hardware logs and RAID controller logs (OS data only if needed).
4. Choose a USB drive or a network share. Dell requires the USB drive to be formatted FAT-32. Use Test Network Connection for a share.

Dell's iSM tools can also trigger a collection from the host OS; see Dell's iDRAC Service Module documentation. For on-box hardware tests, see PowerEdge hardware diagnostics.

Frequently asked questions

The storage section of my collection is empty. Why?

Dell's iDRAC guide notes that storage files in SupportAssist are empty when PERC controllers are greyed out in the GUI, which happens briefly after a warm reboot until re-inventory completes. Wait and collect again.

Windows host data is missing.

Dell states that the OS Collector stops with an error if WMI is disabled on Windows, and that firewall or security settings can block registry or software data.

Checklist

• Login and Server Control privileges; Lifecycle Controller and CSIOR enabled.
• iSM running if OS and application data is needed.
• Data sets match what Dell support asked for; PII filter choice made on purpose.
• Collection status Complete (not Complete with Errors) in the Collection Log.
• ZIP saved, checked in the HTML5 viewer and attached to the Dell case.
• On iDRAC9 7.x, no reliance on direct send to Dell.

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