Task 04: BIOS and iDRAC Settings Validation

DOCUMENT CATEGORY: Runbook
SCOPE: Azure Local hardware provisioning
PURPOSE: Verify BIOS and iDRAC settings meet Azure Local validated baseline requirements and identify non-compliant settings for Task 05 remediation
MASTER REFERENCE: Phase 01: Hardware Provisioning

Status: Active

Overview

Validate current BIOS and iDRAC settings against the Dell Azure Local validated baseline and Azure Local Cloud enterprise operational standards using configuration data collected in Task 02. Generates a per-node compliance report identifying any settings that require remediation in Task 05.

The orchestrated and standalone script paths read from Task 02 discovery JSON files — no live iDRAC connection is required for script-based validation. The Dell iDRAC UI option requires direct access to each node's iDRAC interface.

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Prerequisites

Requirement	Description	Source
Task 02 Complete	BIOS and iDRAC configuration collected in configs/network-devices/bmc/<service-tag>.json	Task 02 hardware discovery
iDRAC Access (UI only)	iDRAC web interface reachable (UI tab only)	variables.yml: nodes.<name>.idrac_ip
Dell Documentation	Azure Local Validated Node Configuration Guide	Dell Support

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Variables from variables.yml

Path	Type	Description
nodes.<name>.idrac_ip	string	iDRAC IP address (UI validation access)
nodes.<name>.service_tag	string	Service tag to match discovery JSON files
nodes.<name>.hostname	string	Node hostname for report labeling
nodes.<name>.model	string	Platform model to determine required settings tier

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Required BIOS Settings

Core Virtualization Settings (All AX Platforms)

Setting	Required Value	Purpose
SR-IOV Global Enable	Enabled	Network virtualization
Virtualization Technology (VT-x)	Enabled	Hyper-V support
VT for Directed I/O (VT-d / x2APIC Mode)	Enabled	DMA protection
Logical Processor (Hyperthreading)	Enabled	Performance

Boot and Security Settings (All AX Platforms)

Setting	Required Value	Purpose
Boot Mode	UEFI	Modern boot support
Secure Boot	Enabled	Security requirement
TPM Security	On	BitLocker, Credential Guard
System Profile	Performance	Maximum performance
AC Power Recovery	On	Auto-restart after power loss
AC Power Recovery Delay	Random	Staggered startup

Enhanced Security Settings (AX-650, AX-760, AX-4510c, AX-4520c)

Setting	Required Value	Purpose
Kernel DMA Protection	Enabled	DMA attack protection
TPM PPI Bypass Provision	Enabled	Automated TPM provisioning
TPM PPI Bypass Clear	Enabled	Automated TPM operations
TPM2 Algorithm Selection	SHA256	Modern crypto algorithm
Intel TXT/AMD DRTM	On	Trusted execution

Advanced Security Settings (AX-760, AX-4510c, AX-4520c)

Setting	Required Value	Purpose
SMM Security Mitigation	Enabled	SMM protection

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Required iDRAC Settings

Setting	Required Value	Purpose
Network: NIC Selection	Dedicated	Dedicated management port
Network: Enable NIC	Enabled	Management connectivity
IPMI Over LAN	Not Required	Azure Local uses Azure Arc
Power: Redundancy Policy	Input Power Redundant	Power protection
Power: Enable Hot Spare	Disabled¹	Enterprise load-balanced
Power: Primary PSU	PSU1	Primary power source
Session Timeout	1800 seconds (30 min)	Security
Redfish API	Enabled	Remote management

iDRAC Hot Spare Setting

¹ Enterprise vs Dell Default:

• Dell Recommendation: Hot Spare Enabled (one PSU standby, one active)
• Enterprise Standard: Hot Spare Disabled (both PSUs active, load-balanced)
• Reason: Enterprise environments prefer both PSUs sharing load evenly for optimal power distribution and thermal management

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Execution Options

Dell iDRAC UI

For each node, validate BIOS and iDRAC settings directly via the iDRAC web interface.

BIOS Validation

1. Navigate to https://<idrac-ip> and log in with iDRAC credentials
2. Go to Configuration → BIOS Settings
3. Verify settings against the required values in the tables above

Core Settings (all platforms):

• SR-IOV Global Enable: Enabled
• Virtualization Technology (VT-x): Enabled
• VT for Directed I/O (x2APIC Mode): Enabled
• Logical Processor (Hyperthreading): Enabled
• Boot Mode: UEFI
• Secure Boot: Enabled
• TPM Security: On
• System Profile: Performance
• AC Power Recovery: On
• AC Power Recovery Delay: Random

Enhanced Security (AX-650 and later):

• Kernel DMA Protection: Enabled
• TPM PPI Bypass Provision: Enabled
• TPM PPI Bypass Clear: Enabled
• TPM2 Algorithm Selection: SHA256
• Intel TXT/AMD DRTM: On

Advanced Security (AX-760 and later):

• SMM Security Mitigation: Enabled

iDRAC Validation

Navigate to iDRAC Settings and verify:

• Network: NIC Selection: Dedicated
• Network: Enable NIC: Enabled
• Power: Redundancy Policy: Input Power Redundant
• Power: Enable Hot Spare: Disabled
• Power: Primary Power Supply Unit: PSU1
• Services: Web Server Session Timeout: ≤1800 seconds
• Services: Redfish: Enabled
• Services: NTP: Configured and synchronized

Document any non-compliant settings for remediation in Task 05.

Orchestrated Script

Validate using the Redfish-collected JSON files from Task 02. No iDRAC connection required — all configuration data was captured in Task 02.

scripts/deploy/04-cluster-deployment/phase-01-hardware-provisioning/task-04-bios-and-idrac-settings-validation/powershell/Invoke-BIOSComplianceValidation.ps1

#Requires -Version 7.0
# ============================================================================
# Script: Invoke-BIOSComplianceValidation.ps1
# Execution: Run FROM management server — reads Task 02 discovery JSON files
# Prerequisites: powershell-yaml, Task 02 JSON files in configs/network-devices/bmc/
# No iDRAC connection required
# ============================================================================

param(
 [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)]
 [string]$ConfigPath = ".\config\variables.yml",

 [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)]
 [string]$InventoryPath = ".\configs\network-devices\bmc\*.json",

 [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)]
 [string]$ReportPath = ".\configs\network-devices\bmc\bios-compliance-report.json"
)

Import-Module powershell-yaml -ErrorAction Stop
$config = Get-Content $ConfigPath -Raw | ConvertFrom-Yaml

$inventoryFiles = Get-ChildItem $InventoryPath -ErrorAction Stop
$allResults = @()

Write-Host "Validating BIOS/iDRAC compliance from Task 02 discovery files..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

foreach ($file in $inventoryFiles) {
 $inventory = Get-Content $file.FullName | ConvertFrom-Json
 $serviceTag = $file.BaseName

 Write-Host " Validating: $serviceTag" -ForegroundColor Yellow

 # Invoke-BIOSComplianceValidation.ps1 processes and compares each JSON
 # against the required baseline for the node's detected platform generation
 $result = & ".\scripts\deploy\04-cluster-deployment\phase-01-hardware-provisioning\task-04-bios-and-idrac-settings-validation\powershell\Invoke-BIOSComplianceValidation.ps1" `
 -InventoryObject $inventory

 $allResults += $result
 $status = if ($result.Status -eq "PASS") { "Green" } else { "Red" }
 Write-Host " $($result.Status) — $($result.FailedChecks) failed / $($result.TotalChecks) total" -ForegroundColor $status
}

$allResults | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 | Set-Content $ReportPath -Encoding UTF8
Write-Host "`nCompliance report: $ReportPath" -ForegroundColor Cyan

$failCount = ($allResults | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq "FAIL" }).Count
if ($failCount -gt 0) {
 Write-Host "$failCount node(s) require remediation — proceed to Task 05" -ForegroundColor Yellow
} else {
 Write-Host "All nodes PASS — no remediation required" -ForegroundColor Green
}

Script validates:

• ✅ Core virtualization settings (SR-IOV, VT-x, VT-d, Hyperthreading)
• ✅ Boot and security settings (UEFI, Secure Boot, TPM, System Profile)
• ✅ Power management (AC Recovery, AC Recovery Delay)
• ✅ Platform-specific enhanced security (Kernel DMA, TPM PPI, TXT/DRTM) — AX-650+
• ✅ Advanced security (SMM mitigation) — AX-760+
• ✅ iDRAC network, power redundancy, session timeout, Redfish API

Standalone Script

#Requires -Version 5.1
# ============================================================================
# Script: Invoke-BIOSComplianceValidation-Standalone.ps1
# Execution: Run FROM any workstation — reads Task 02 discovery JSON files
# Prerequisites: Task 02 JSON files present, no iDRAC connection required
# ============================================================================

#region CONFIGURATION
$InventoryPath = ".\configs\network-devices\bmc\*.json"
$ReportPath = ".\configs\network-devices\bmc\bios-compliance-report.json"

# Required BIOS settings baseline (all AX platforms)
$requiredBIOS = @{
 SriovGlobalEnable = "Enabled"
 VirtualizationTechnology = "Enabled"
 VtForDirectedIo = "Enabled"
 LogicalProcessor = "Enabled"
 BootMode = "Uefi"
 SecureBoot = "Enabled"
 TpmSecurity = "On"
 SysProfile = "PerfOptimized"
 AcPwrRcvry = "On"
 AcPwrRcvryDelay = "Random"
}

# Required iDRAC settings baseline
$requirediDRAC = @{
 NicSelection = "Dedicated"
 NicEnable = "Enabled"
 PowerRedundancy = "InputPowerRedundant"
 HotSpare = "Disabled"
 PrimaryPSU = "PSU1"
 WebSessionTimeout = 1800
 RedfishEnabled = "Enabled"
}
#endregion

$inventoryFiles = Get-ChildItem $InventoryPath
$allResults = @()

foreach ($file in $inventoryFiles) {
 $inv = Get-Content $file.FullName | ConvertFrom-Json
 $failures = @()

 # Validate BIOS
 foreach ($key in $requiredBIOS.Keys) {
 $actual = $inv.BIOS.$key
 if ($actual -ne $requiredBIOS[$key]) {
 $failures += [PSCustomObject]@{
 Setting = $key
 Expected = $requiredBIOS[$key]
 Actual = $actual
 Category = "BIOS"
 }
 }
 }

 # Validate iDRAC
 foreach ($key in $requirediDRAC.Keys) {
 $actual = $inv.iDRAC.$key
 if ($actual -ne $requirediDRAC[$key]) {
 $failures += [PSCustomObject]@{
 Setting = $key
 Expected = $requirediDRAC[$key]
 Actual = $actual
 Category = "iDRAC"
 }
 }
 }

 $result = [PSCustomObject]@{
 ServiceTag = $file.BaseName
 TotalChecks = $requiredBIOS.Count + $requirediDRAC.Count
 FailedChecks = $failures.Count
 PassedChecks = ($requiredBIOS.Count + $requirediDRAC.Count) - $failures.Count
 Status = if ($failures.Count -eq 0) { "PASS" } else { "FAIL" }
 FailedSettings = $failures
 }

 $allResults += $result
 $color = if ($result.Status -eq "PASS") { "Green" } else { "Red" }
 Write-Host "$($result.ServiceTag): $($result.Status) ($($result.FailedChecks) failed)" -ForegroundColor $color
}

$allResults | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 | Set-Content $ReportPath -Encoding UTF8
Write-Host "`nReport saved: $ReportPath" -ForegroundColor Cyan

---

Example Compliance Report Output

{
 "ServiceTag": "8T6GDB4",
 "TotalChecks": 24,
 "PassedChecks": 20,
 "FailedChecks": 4,
 "Status": "FAIL",
 "FailedSettings": [
 {
 "Setting": "PowerRedundancy",
 "Expected": "InputPowerRedundant",
 "Actual": "NoRedundancy",
 "Category": "iDRAC"
 },
 {
 "Setting": "HotSpare",
 "Expected": "Disabled",
 "Actual": "Enabled",
 "Category": "iDRAC"
 }
 ]
}

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Validation Checklist

• BIOS settings validated for all nodes
• iDRAC settings validated for all nodes
• Compliance report generated with per-node PASS/FAIL status
• Non-compliant settings identified and documented
• All nodes PASS — OR — remediation list created for Task 05

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Resolution
Inventory JSON not found	Task 02 not complete	Run Task 02 hardware discovery first
Null/empty BIOS values	Dell factory defaults not yet applied	Expected — Task 05 remediation will configure
Power settings show FAIL	Not configured from factory	Expected — Task 05 will apply correct settings
Platform not detected	Missing model info in JSON	Verify Task 02 collected full inventory
iDRAC unreachable (UI only)	Network connectivity	Verify iDRAC IP assignment from Task 01

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Alternatives

The procedures in this task use the scripted methods shown in the tabs above. Additional deployment methods including Azure CLI and Bash scripts are available in the azurelocal-toolkit repository under scripts/deploy/.

Method	Description
Azure CLI	PowerShell-based Azure CLI scripts for Azure resource operations
Bash	Linux/macOS compatible shell scripts for pipeline environments

Navigation

← Task 03: Management NIC Reservations	↑ Phase 01: Hardware Provisioning	Task 05: BIOS/iDRAC Remediation →

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Version Control

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.0	2026-01-31	Azure Local Cloud	Initial document
1.1	2026-03-04	Azure Local Cloud	Fix tab labels, script paths, input/output paths, Step→Task references, standards alignment