Idrac power off vs graceful shutdown

Graceful shutdown and hard shutdown are two opposing methods of turning off a computer. A graceful shutdown is when a computer is turned off by software function and the operating system (OS) is allowed to perform its tasks of safely shutting down processes and closing connections. A hard shutdown is when the computer is forcibly shut down by interruption of power.

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What is graceful shutdown in iDRAC?
What is iDRAC power cycle system cold boot?
What is non graceful shutdown?
How do I shutdown my Dell server?

Graceful shutdowns are generally performed intentionally by users, as a part of their daily routines, at the end of a work day or when finished with home use of a computer. Hard shutdowns maybe unintentional due to power disconnects, electronic protection circuits or hardware failures. In the case of some safety issues like computer fires or security issues like malware or hacked computers, hard shutdowns may be as a safety precaution by users or IT departments.

Generally, a graceful shutdown is preferable in the case of any OS that saves its state. When the standard shutdown procedures are not done with these OSs, the result can be data corruption of program and operating system files. The result of the corruption can be instability, incorrect functioning or failure to boot.

Many modern OSs and other software are fault tolerant and generally handle the odd power interruption without issue. Both Bare metal and virtualized systems can be affected by hard shutdowns, so they should be avoided when unnecessary. Virtual machines (VM) may need to be restored from backups, while bare metal systems may even require a full reinstall.

This was last updated in October 2018

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iDRAC for remote reboot, virtual console/virtual media access
To access the iDRAC Enterprise, please login using the following credentials: (provided in an email to you, and shown on your account for the specific server)
url: Your direct link will be here
username: Your username will be here
password: Your password will be here

1. To Reboot the server via iDRAC:
Once logged into the iDRAC, click on Power.
From the power menu select either, "Graceful Shutdown" which will attempt to shut down the operating system safely and power off the system. This would then require a Power On command after waiting several minutes to bring it back on. If you believe the operating system is unresponsive (locked up), select "Reset System (warm boot) " or Power Cycle System (cold boot). This will do a complete forced shutdown and restart of the system (non gracefully, file system corruption is possible).

2. To access the virtual console, once logged into iDRAC, click on "System" in the right hand menu.
On the sub menu in the middle/top of the screen select "Console/Media". Within that click on Launch Virtual Console. This will give full keyboard/mouse/video access to the server, regardless of operating system state. This also allows you to mount virtual media for installs/repairs.

For more information on Dell iDRAC Enterprise, you can walk through this demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j361K6REhps
P.S. You can use the iDRAC to format/install a new OS on the server.

Performing a hard reboot of your appliance can render it unusable. A hard reboot forces the appliance to turn off regardless of the state of the software on the appliance. So it is important to only perform graceful shutdowns.

A hard reboot is defined as either of the following:

Pressing and holding the power button for several seconds until the appliance turns completely off. And then pressing the power button again to turn the appliance back on.
Unplugging the power cord so that the appliance turns off. hen plugging the power cord back in and pressing the power button to start the appliance.¹

After you upgrade your appliance, it will take several minutes for the appliance to fully reboot (possibly 45 - 60 minutes, based on the size of the database and the size of the client pool). It is imperative that you NOT perform a hard reboot to restart the appliance. If you think you must do a manual restart, use the shutdown command.

To perform a graceful shutdown

¹ Symantec recommends using a backup power supply to prevent unintended power loss to your appliance.

What is graceful shutdown in iDRAC?

A graceful shutdown is when a computer is turned off by software function and the operating system (OS) is allowed to perform its tasks of safely shutting down processes and closing connections.

What is iDRAC power cycle system cold boot?

Power Cycle System (cold boot) — Turns off and then reboots the system. When prompted to confirm the action, click OK. The managed system performs the selected power operation.

What is non graceful shutdown?

Kubernetes v1. 24 introduces alpha support for Non-Graceful Node Shutdown. This feature allows stateful workloads to failover to a different node after the original node is shutdown or in a non-recoverable state such as hardware failure or broken OS.

How do I shutdown my Dell server?

Power Down Server Gracefully Using the Power Button.

Press and quickly release the Power button on the front panel. This action causes ACPI-enabled operating systems to perform an orderly shutdown of the operating system. ... .

Disconnect the power cords and data cables from the server. See Disconnect Cables From the Server..