SOLVED: What is the Difference Between Dell OpenManage Server Manger and OpenManage Essentials

If you have a Dell server you likely want the Dell Management tools but it can be confusing to figure out which product you need.  Below is a quick summary of Dell OpenManage products:

1. Dell OpenManage Server Manager: OMSA is the core free product that needs to be installed on each server.  OMSA provides an easy to use web interface that displays the status of the hardware.
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2. Dell OpenManage Essentials: OMEss is a free product that you can install on any server, but is intended to read the information from remote OMSA servers (same subnet).  OME is a centralized management tool and Dell recommends that you install it on a dedicated VM, although I always install it on a VM that has other management tools (like backup, SystemCenter, AV management…) and I have not had a any problems.You can download Dell OpenManage Essentials HERE.  Note that you may have to register, but there is no cost.
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3. Dell OpenManage Enterprise: OM Enterprise is the replacement for OpenManage Essentials.  The underlying difference is that OM Enterprise does not use SQL (and OMEss does).  More importantly OMEnt can be downloaded as a VHD which gets rid of all the installation issues.For details on how to download, install and configure Dell OpenManage Enterprise, read our simple instructions.