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Configuring Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)

Dell™ Remote Access Controller 5 Firmware Version 1.40 User's Guide

  Configuring IPMI

  Configuring Serial Over LAN

Configuring IPMI

This section provides information about configuring and using the DRAC 5 IPMI interface. The interface includes the following:

• IPMI over LAN
  
  
• IPMI over Serial
  
  
• Serial over LAN
  
  

The DRAC 5 is fully IPMI 2.0 compliant. You can configure the DRAC IPMI using:

• your browser
  
  
• an open source utility, such as ipmitool
  
  
• the Dell OpenManage IPMI shell, ipmish
  
  
• RACADM.
  
  

For more information about using the IPMI Shell, ipmish, see the Dell OpenManage™ BMC User's Guide located on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

For more information about using RACADM, see "Using RACADM Remotely."

Configuring IPMI Using the Web-Based Interface

1. Login to the remote system using a supported Web browser. See "Accessing the Web-Based Interface".
   
   
2. Configure IPMI over LAN.
   
   
   1. In the System tree, click Remote Access.
      
      
   2. Click the Configuration tab and click Network.
      
      
   3. In the Network Configuration page under IPMI LAN Settings, select Enable IPMI Over LAN and click Apply Changes.
      
      
   4. Update the IPMI LAN channel privileges, if required.
      
      

NOTE: This setting determines the IPMI commands that can be executed from the IPMI over LAN interface. For more information, see the IPMI 2.0 specifications.

Under IPMI LAN Settings, click the Channel Privilege Level Limit drop-down menu, select Administrator, Operator, or User and click Apply Changes.

5. Set the IPMI LAN channel encryption key, if required.
   
   

NOTE: The DRAC 5 IPMI supports the RMCP+ protocol.

Under IPMI LAN Settings in the Encryption Key field, type the encryption key and click Apply Changes.

NOTE: The encryption key must consist of an even number of hexadecimal characters with a maximum of 40 characters.

3. Configure IPMI Serial over LAN (SOL).
   
   
   1. In the System tree, click Remote Access.
      
      
   2. In the Configuration tab, click Serial Over LAN.
      
      
   3. In the Serial Over LAN Configuration page, select Enable Serial Over LAN.
      
      
   4. Update the IPMI SOL baud rate.
      
      

NOTE: To redirect the serial console over LAN, ensure that the SOL baud rate is identical to your managed system's baud rate.

5. Click the Baud Rate drop-down menu, select the appropriate baud rate, and click Apply Changes.
   
   
6. Update the Minimum Required Privilege. This property defines the minimum user privilege that is required to use the Serial Over LAN feature.
   
   

Click the Channel Privilege Level Limit drop-down menu, select User, Operator, or Administrator.

7. Click Apply Changes.
   
   
4. Configure IPMI Serial.
   
   
   1. In the Configuration tab, click Serial.
      
      
   2. In the Serial Configuration menu, change the IPMI serial connection mode to the appropriate setting.
      
      

Under IPMI Serial, click the Connection Mode Setting drop-down menu, select the appropriate mode.

3. Set the IPMI Serial baud rate.
   
   

Click the Baud Rate drop-down menu, select the appropriate baud rate, and click Apply Changes.

4. Set the Channel Privilege Level Limit.
   
   

Click the Channel Privilege Level Limit drop-down menu, select Administrator, Operator, or User.

5. Click Apply Changes.
   
   
6. Ensure that the serial MUX is set correctly in the managed system's BIOS Setup program.
   
   
   • Restart your system.
     
     
   • During POST, press <F2> to enter the BIOS Setup program.
     
     
   • Navigate to Serial Communication.
     
     
   • In the Serial Connection menu, ensure that External Serial Connector is set to Remote Access Device.
     
     
   • Save and exit the BIOS Setup program.
     
     
   • Restart your system.
     
     

If IPMI serial is in terminal mode, you can configure the following additional settings:

• Delete control
  
  
• Echo control
  
  
• Line edit
  
  
• New line sequences
  
  
• Input new line sequences
  
  

For more information about these properties, see the IPMI 2.0 specification.

Configuring IPMI Using the RACADM CLI

1. Login to the remote system using any of the RACADM interfaces. See "Using RACADM Remotely."
   
   
2. Configure IPMI over LAN.
   
   

Open a command prompt, type the following command, and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiLan -o cfgIpmiLanEnable 1

NOTE: This setting determines the IPMI commands that can be executed from the IPMI over LAN interface. For more information, see the IPMI 2.0 specifications.

1. Update the IPMI channel privileges.
   
   

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiLan -o cfgIpmiLanPrivilegeLimit <level>

where <level> is one of the following:

• 2 (User)
  
  
• 3 (Operator)
  
  
• 4 (Administrator)
  
  

For example, to set the IPMI LAN channel privilege to 2 (User), type the following command:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiLan -o cfgIpmiLanPrivilegeLimit 2

2. Set the IPMI LAN channel encryption key, if required.
   
   

NOTE: The DRAC 5 IPMI supports the RMCP+ protocol. See the IPMI 2.0 specifications for more information.

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiLan -o cfgIpmiEncryptionKey <key>

where <key> is a 20-character encryption key in a valid hexadecimal format.

3. Configure IPMI Serial over LAN (SOL).
   
   

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSol -o cfgIpmiSolEnable 1

1. Update the IPMI SOL minimum privilege level.
   
   

   The IPMI SOL minimum privilege level determines the minimum privilege required to activate IPMI SOL. For more information, see the IPMI 2.0 specification.

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSol -o cfgIpmiSolMinPrivilege <level>

where <level> is one of the following:

• 2 (User)
  
  
• 3 (Operator)
  
  
• 4 (Administrator)
  
  

For example, to configure the IPMI privileges to 2 (User), type the following command:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSol -o cfgIpmiSolMinPrivilege 2

2. Update the IPMI SOL baud rate.
   
   

NOTE: To redirect the serial console over LAN, ensure that the SOL baud rate is identical to your managed system's baud rate.

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSol -o cfgIpmiSolBaudRate <baud_rate>

where <baud_rate> is 9600, 19200, 57600, or 115200 bps.

For example:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSol -o cfgIpmiSolBaudRate 57600

3. Enable SOL.
   
   

NOTE: SOL can be enabled or disabled for each individual user.

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgUserAdmin -o cfgUserAdminSolEnable -i <id> 2

where <id> is the user's unique ID.

4. Configure IPMI Serial.
   
   
   1. Change the IPMI serial connection mode to the appropriate setting.
      
      

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgSerial -o cfgSerialConsoleEnable 0

2. Set the IPMI Serial baud rate.
   
   

Open a command prompt, type the following command, and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSerial -o cfgIpmiSerialBaudRate <baud_rate>

where <baud_rate> is 9600, 19200, 57600, or 115200 bps.

For example:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSerial -o cfgIpmiSerialBaudRate 57600

3. Enable the IPMI serial hardware flow control.
   
   

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSerial -o cfgIpmiSerialFlowControl 1

4. Set the IPMI serial channel minimum privilege level.
   
   

At the command prompt, type the following command and press <Enter>:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSerial -o cfgIpmiSerialChanPrivLimit <level>

where <level> is one of the following:

• 2 (User)
  
  
• 3 (Operator)
  
  
• 4 (Administrator)
  
  

For example, to set the IPMI serial channel privileges to 2 (User), type the following command:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSerial -o cfgIpmiSerialChanPrivLimit 2

5. Ensure that the serial MUX is set correctly in the BIOS Setup program.
   
   
   • Restart your system.
     
     
   • During POST, press <F2> to enter the BIOS Setup program.
     
     
   • Navigate to Serial Communication.
     
     
   • In the Serial Connection menu, ensure that External Serial Connector is set to Remote Access Device.
     
     
   • Save and exit the BIOS Setup program.
     
     
   • Restart your system.
     
     

The IPMI configuration is complete.

If IPMI serial is in terminal mode, you can configure the following additional settings using racadm config cfgIpmiSerial commands:

• Delete control
  
  
• Echo control
  
  
• Line edit
  
  
• New line sequences
  
  
• Input new line sequences
  
  

For more information about these properties, see the IPMI 2.0 specification.

Using the IPMI Remote Access Serial Interface

In the IPMI serial interface, the following modes are available:

• IPMI terminal mode — Supports ASCII commands that are submitted from a serial terminal. The command set has a limited number of commands (including power control) and supports raw IPMI commands that are entered as hexadecimal ASCII characters.
  
  
• IPMI basic mode — Supports a binary interface for program access, such as the IPMI shell (IPMISH) that is included with the Baseboard Management Utility (BMU).
  
  

To configure the IPMI mode using RACADM:

1. Disable the RAC serial interface.
   
   

At the command prompt, type:

racadm config -g cfgSerial -o cfgSerialConsoleEnable 0

2. Enable the appropriate IPMI mode.
   
   

For example, at the command prompt, type:

racadm config -g cfgIpmiSerial -o cfgIpmiSerialConnectionMode <0 or 1>

See "DRAC 5 Property Database Group and Object Definitions" for more information.

Configuring Serial Over LAN

NOTE: For complete Serial Over LAN information, see the Dell OpenManage Baseboard Management Controller User's Guide.

1. Expand the System tree and click Remote Access.
   
   
2. Click the Configuration tab and then click Serial Over LAN.
   
   
3. Configure the Serial Over LAN settings.
   
   

Table 14-1 provides information about the Serial Over LAN Configuration page settings.

4. Click Apply Changes.
   
   
5. Configure the advanced settings, if required. Otherwise, click the appropriate Serial Over LAN Configuration page button to continue (see Table 14-2).
   
   

To configure the advanced settings:

1. Click Advanced Settings.
   
   
2. In the Serial Over LAN Configuration Advanced Settings page, configure the advanced settings as required. See Table 14-3.
   
   
3. Click Apply Changes.
   
   
4. Click the appropriate Serial Over LAN Configuration Advanced Settings page button to continue. See Table 14-4 or description of the Serial Over LAN Configuration Advanced Settings page buttons.
   
   

Table 14-1. Serial Over LAN Configuration Page Settings

Table 14-2. Serial Over LAN Configuration Page Buttons

Table 14-3. Serial Over LAN Configuration Advanced Settings Page Settings

Table 14-4. Serial Over LAN Configuration Advanced Settings Page Buttons

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