The virtual media function of the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller is a useful feature. It gives you the option to mount ISOs and boot to them during the POST. ISO files can be used for installing operating systems or updating server drivers / firmware etc.
In this particular example, I wanted to send a Debian software package to a new server. It wasn’t possible to use conventional methods (Debian dropped bnx2 driver from their repositories).
1) Start the Virtual Console from the iDRAC web interface.
![iDRAC Virtual Media](https://www.abort-retry-fail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/iDRAC_Virtual_Media_1.png)
2) Click on the Virtual Media option and choose Launch Virtual Media to open the virtual media management window.
![iDRAC Virtual Media Management](https://www.abort-retry-fail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/iDRAC_Virtual_Media_Management.png)
3) Click on the Add Image button and select the image (ISO file) you want to use.
![iDRAC Open Virtual Media](https://www.abort-retry-fail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/iDRAC_Open_Virtual_Media.png)
4) Tick the Mapped checkbox for associating the selected file as a virtual device and pass it through to the server. The selected device will now be visible to the operating system and can be used as a boot source too.
![iDRAC Virtual Media Mapped](https://www.abort-retry-fail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/iDRAC_Virtual_Media_Mapped.png)