Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)

Can I use an Open Source IPMI Application to communicate with my Server 'out of the box' without the need to install any graphical client Applications?

Yes, absolutely.

If you have a workstation with an Operating System such as FreeBSD or a distribution of Linux, you can install ipmitool which is an Open Source Application without having to purchase extra modules. Keep in mind the standard BMC has a small amount of space to hold the logs which an IPMI application will read.

The following are results of a query to the sel log using ipmitool on an 900 Server

ipmitool -H 192.168.0.45 -P XXXX sel list
1 | 05/10/2005 | 09:28:05 | Power Unit #0x03 | Power off/down
2 | 05/10/2005 | 17:07:16 | System Boot Initiated #0x06 | Initiated by power up
3 | 05/10/2005 | 17:07:17 | Physical Security #0x09 | General Chassis intrusion
4 | 05/10/2005 | 17:08:13 | System Event #0x83 | OEM System boot event
5 | 05/10/2005 | 17:08:14 | System Event #0x83 | Timestamp Clock Sync.
6 | 05/10/2005 | 17:07:39 | System Event #0x83 | Timestamp Clock Sync.
7 | 05/10/2005 | 18:44:40 | Platform Security #0x02 | Out-of-band access password violation
8 | 05/10/2005 | 18:44:42 | Platform Security #0x02 | Out-of-band access password violation
9 | 05/10/2005 | 18:44:44 | Platform Security #0x02 | Out-of-band access password violation
a | 05/10/2005 | 18:44:46 | Platform Security #0x02 | Out-of-band access password violation

The password violation is due to using the wrong password when connecting.

Why do I need IPMI to work?

If you suspect a hardware problem, an ipmi application can provide you with information that can resolve the issue very quickly without spending hours of needless troubleshooting.

Will our new Servers require any extra modules or cards to be installed in order to use lights out remote management?

Unless noted on any of the Server pages, the basic system will provide basic lights out remote server management.

Can an Server send out automatic email for reboots or hardware events?

A FreeBSD Systems Server with the advanced IPMI module installed will send out email notifications for reboots, power loss and hardware malfunction.

The optional Local Control Panel shown at the right, provides diagnostic and configuration while in front of a headless Server.

Upgrade Options

Included on IPMI Enabled Systems

Advanced Edition

Web Management Console

yes

yes

Access Modes

LAN, Serial, Modem

LAN, Serial, Modem

Console redirection

SOL (VT-UTF8)

SOL (VT-UTF8)

BMC Features

ICMB

yes

yes

Sensor Support

Limited to 256

Limited to 256

System Event Log

3k entries

3k entries

IPMI Support

2.0

2.0

Embedded Web-server

no

yes

SNMP support
(Out-of-Band to BMC)

PET traps

full SNMP access

Out-of-Band Management NIC

NIC TCO Port

NIC TCO Port + Dedicated NIC

Out-of-Band embedded Email Alerting

no

yes

Software Features

SNMP Baseboard Agent

yes

yes

Agent-less Management

yes

yes

In-band Email Alerting

yes

yes

Command Line Interface

yes

yes

SCSI/RAID Instrumentation

yes

yes

PCI Hot-plug

yes

yes

Power Management Instrumentation

yes

yes

Memory RAS (Mirroring/Sparing) Instrumentation

yes

yes

KVM Remote Viewer

no

yes

Results below are from the 1820 1U Rack Server

The above list shows two Servers in our facilities. One Server is showing a criticle error.

Freedom Technologies - Dependable Servers, RAID Systems and E-Business Solutions.
Toll Free: 1.877.963.1900