Managing Virtual Media
Virtual media allows the managed server to access media devices on the management station or ISO CD/DVD images on
a network share as if they were devices on the managed server.
Using the Virtual Media feature, you can:
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Remotely access media connected to a remote system over the network
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Install applications
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Update drivers
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Install an operating system on the managed system
This is a licensed feature for rack and tower servers. It is available by default for blade servers.
The key features are:
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Virtual Media supports virtual optical drives (CD/DVD), floppy drives (including USB-based drives), and USB flash
drives.
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You can attach only one floppy, USB flash drive, image, or key and one optical drive on the management station to a
managed system. Supported floppy drives include a floppy image or one available floppy drive. Supported optical
drives include a maximum of one available optical drive or one ISO image file.
The following figure shows a typical Virtual Media setup.
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Virtual floppy media of iDRAC7 is not accessible from virtual machines.
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Any connected Virtual Media emulates a physical device on the managed system.
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On Windows-based managed systems, the Virtual Media drives are auto-mounted if they are attached and
configured with a drive letter.
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On Linux-based managed systems with some configurations, the Virtual Media drives are not auto-mounted. To
manually mount the drives, use the mount command.
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All the virtual drive access requests from the managed system are directed to the management station across the
network.
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Virtual devices appear as two drives on the managed system without the media being installed in the drives.
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You can share the management station CD/DVD drive (read only), but not a USB media, between two managed
systems.
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Virtual media requires a minimum available network bandwidth of 128 Kbps.
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If LOM or NIC failover occurs, then the Virtual Media session may be disconnected.
Figure 4. Virtual Media Setup
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