If you're using Dell hardware that comes with the latest Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC 5), pay close attention to required BIOS setup steps when configuring the node for use with Collage:
Application Node Setup: Dell
If you omit this BIOS setup step, the result is that Collage discovers the DRAC 5 card, but then fails to put the nodes in the free pool. That's because there's a console redirect setting in the BIOS that Collage requires. (It needs to get some data from the node via the serial communication port.) As documented, the serial communication setting needs to be set as follows:

Serial Communication..........On with Console Redirection via COM2

Be sure not to overlook this step when you're setting up Dell application nodes that use DRAC5.

Labels: Collage Dell DRAC5 BIOS configuration