Dell PowerEdge Server TSR (SupportAssist) Log Collection

TSR (Technical Support Report, known as SupportAssist collection in newer iDRAC versions) is the preferred log for Dell PowerEdge server hardware fault analysis, including hardware inventory, System Event Logs (SEL), Lifecycle logs, and RAID controller logs, exported as a TSR*.zip zip archive.

Collection Methods	Requires Reboot?	Applicable Models
Method 1: iDRAC9 Web Interface	No	14G and later (R640 / R740 / R750 / R760, etc.)
Method 2: iDRAC7 / iDRAC8 Web Interface	No	12G / 13G (R620 / R720 / R630 / R730, etc.)
Method 3: racadm Command Line	No	iDRAC7/8 Firmware 2.30 and above; iDRAC9
Method 4: Boot and press F10 to enter Lifecycle Controller	Yes	12G and later; use when iDRAC network is unavailable

Preparation: Connect to the iDRAC management port

Prepare a laptop and an Ethernet cable. If the server rear panel has a dedicated iDRAC management port (circled in red in the image below), connect directly to that port. If there is no dedicated management port or the license is not purchased, connect to the onboard NIC #1 (default shared with iDRAC).
Set the laptop wired NIC IP to 192.168.0.121, subnet mask 255.255.255.0. The factory default iDRAC address is 192.168.0.120, you can first ping 192.168.0.120 to verify connectivity.

English explanatory illustration; IP address and subnet match the instructions.
Open https://192.168.0.120 in your browser; when a certificate warning appears, select 'Continue anyway'.

English explanatory illustration of the certificate warning for the example iDRAC address.
Log in using default credentials: Username root, Password calvin(both lowercase). If modified, use the updated credentials.

English explanatory illustration of the older iDRAC login page; use your configured credentials.

If the iDRAC address has been changed and is unknown, view it on the server front panel LCD (View → iDRAC IP), or boot and press F2 to enter System Setup → iDRAC Settings → Network.

Method 1: Collect via iDRAC9 Web Interface (14G and later)

Log in to iDRAC9, select 'Maintenance' → 'SupportAssist' from the top menu.

Official English iDRAC9 screenshot: Maintenance → SupportAssist → Start a Collection.
If not registered with SupportAssist, the registration wizard will appear. Registration is optional; if not registering, click 'Cancel' → 'Cancel Registration' to continue.

English explanatory illustration of the optional-registration confirmation.
Click 'Start a Collection', check the data to collect (System Information and Storage Logs are selected by default; keep defaults), select 'Save Locally' as the save method, then click 'Collect'.

Official English iDRAC9 screenshot. OS and Application Data is optional and requires iSM; leave it unselected when only hardware logs are required.
Progress is displayed at the top of the page; typically completes within 10 minutes. After completion, follow prompts to download and save the zip file.

English explanatory illustration of collection progress; the example remains at 2%.
Official English iDRAC9 screenshot from a newer firmware version; select Save and View to download. Older versions show OK.

'Operating System and Application Data' requires installation and running of iDRAC Service Module (iSM) within the OS to be selectable; leaving it unchecked does not affect hardware fault analysis. As of iDRAC9 firmware 7.0, direct sending of collection results to Dell is no longer supported; please save locally before sending.

Method 2: Collect via iDRAC7 / iDRAC8 Web Interface (12G / 13G)

The following illustrations show the legacy Tech Support Report interface. Firmware 2.30 and later uses SupportAssist: open Overview → Server → Troubleshooting → SupportAssist, select Edit Collection Data, select Hardware and RAID Controller Log, apply the selection, then export the collection. Follow the interface for your firmware; the legacy OS Collector steps do not apply to every newer version.

Log in to iDRAC, expand 'Overview' → 'Server' → 'Troubleshooting' to enter the 'Tech Support Report' (named SupportAssist in newer firmware) page, then click 'Advanced Export Options'.

English explanatory illustration of the legacy iDRAC7/8 Tech Support Report interface.
Check 'Hardware' and 'RAID Controller Logs', then check the terms agreement at the bottom of the page.

English explanatory illustration of the legacy Tech Support Report interface.
(Optional) To collect OS logs simultaneously, check 'Operating System and Application Data', start the Virtual Console as prompted, and insert OS Collector.

English explanatory illustration of the legacy optional OS-data collection step.

English explanatory illustration of attaching the legacy OS Collector.
In the server OS, open the automatically appearing DRACRW virtual drive: Double-click Windows_OSCollector_Startup on Windows; on Linux, mount the temporary partition first, then run Linux_OSCollector_Startup.

The collection window closes automatically upon completion, and the temporary partition disappears.
Return to the iDRAC page and click 'Export'; wait for progress to complete (usually within 10 minutes).

English explanatory illustration: export after collecting the required data.
English explanatory illustration: collection in progress.
After completion, click 'OK'; the browser will prompt to save TSR<DateTime>_<ServiceTag>.zip, save to local storage.

English explanatory illustration: collection completed; select OK to download.
English explanatory illustration of the file-save dialog; the original masked filename is retained.

Method 3: Collect via racadm Command Line

Connect to the iDRAC management IP over SSH, then use the commands for your iDRAC version.

iDRAC7 / iDRAC8 (firmware 2.30 and later)

# Generate a TSR: SysInfo is the system log; TTYLog is the storage controller log.
# OSAppAll requires iSM running in the OS. Separate log types with commas and no spaces.
racadm techsupreport generate -t SysInfo,TTYLog

# Wait until the collection job reports Completed.
racadm jobqueue view

# Export to a CIFS / NFS share; do not add -f for a network share.
racadm techsupreport collect -l //192.168.0.10/share -u <ShareUser> -p <SharePassword>

# When running local racadm on the server, save directly to a local file.
racadm techsupreport collect -f tsr.zip

iDRAC9

# Collect system information and storage controller logs; OSAppAll requires iSM.
racadm techsupreport collect -t SysInfo,TTYLog

# Wait until the collection job reports Completed.
racadm jobqueue view

# Export to a CIFS / NFS share.
racadm techsupreport export -l //192.168.0.10/share -u <ShareUser> -p <SharePassword>

# When running local racadm on the server, save directly to a local file.
racadm techsupreport export -f tsr.zip

Command references: Dell iDRAC7 / iDRAC8 guide; Dell iDRAC9 guide.

Method 4: Export via Lifecycle Controller by Pressing F10 at Boot (Requires Reboot)

Use when iDRAC network is unavailable or web login fails. Prepare a FAT/FAT32 formatted USB drive (8 GB or 16 GB USB 2.0 drives offer best compatibility).

Reboot the server; when the F10 option appears, press F10 to enter Lifecycle Controller.
Select 'Hardware Diagnostics' on the left, then click 'Export Tech Support Report'.
Check 'I agree to allow technical Support to use support report data', then click Next.
Check Hardware and RAID Controller Logs (mandatory), and check Operating System and Application Data if possible, then click Next.
Select USB Drive, choose the inserted USB drive in Select Device, then click Next.
Confirm the summary and click Finish; wait a few minutes.
Click OK after the export success prompt. The zip file starting with TSR in the USB drive is the log package.

Other Log Tools

Tools	Applicable Scenarios
SupportAssist Enterprise	Batch collection of logs from multiple servers/storage/network devices without downtime
OMSA (OpenManage Server Administrator)	View hardware status within the OS and export SEL and RAID controller logs
PERCCLI / MegaCLI	Export PERC array card logs individually; see "LSI / Broadcom RAID Card Log Collection"
CMC / OME-Modular	M1000e, VRTX, FX2 chassis or MX7000 chassis management logs