Dell OpenManage Baseboard Management Controller User Manual

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Dell OpenManage™

Baseboard Management

Controller Utilities

User’s Guide

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

Notes and Notices

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.

NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.

___________________

Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, OpenManage, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Microsoft, Windows, and Windows

Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat Corporation; SUSE is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc.; Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

September 2006 Rev. A01

Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

What’s New in BMC Management Utility 2.0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Supported Systems

BMC Configuration and Management Tasks

Configuring the BMC Managing the System Using BMC BMC Action on Event Basic BMC Alerting Over a LAN IPMI Shell Over a LAN IPMI Shell Over the Serial Cable SOL Proxy Over a LAN

BMC Configuration and Management Tools

Using the Remote Access Configuration Utility Using Deployment Toolkit Using the BMC Management Utility Using Server Administrator

Introduction

The Dell™ PowerEdge™ systems’ baseboard management controller (BMC) monitors the system for critical events by communicating with various sensors on the system board and sends alerts and logs events when certain parameters exceed their preset thresholds. The BMC supports the industry-standard Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification, enabling you to configure, monitor, and recover systems remotely. The BMC provides the following features:

• Access through the system’s serial port and integrated NIC

• Fault logging and SNMP alerting

• Access to the system event log (SEL) and sensor status

• Control of system functions including power on and power off

• Support that is independent of the system’s power or operating state

• Text console redirection for system setup, text-based utilities, and operating system consoles

• Access to Linux Enterprise server serial console interfaces by using Serial over LAN (SOL).

Dell provides several distinct utilities and programs for accessing the BMC to perform management activities. The following BMC interfaces allow you to configure and manage your system through the BMC:

• The BMC Management Utility allows remote, out-of-band LAN and/or serial port power control, event log access, and console redirection.

• The Remote Access Configuration Utility enables configuring BMC in a pre-operating system environment.

• The Dell OpenManage™ Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 SYSCFG.EXE utility provides a powerful command line configuration tool.

• Dell OpenManage Server Administrator allows remote, in-band access to event logs, power control, and sensor status information and provides the ability to configure the BMC.

• Command Line Interface (CLI) tools provide a command line tool for sensor status information, System Event Log (SEL) access, and power control.

Additionally, the BMC can be accessed by standard, off-the-shelf terminal or terminal emulator utilities that allow access to sensor status information and power control.

Introduction 7

What’s New in BMC Management Utility 2.0

The BMC Management Utility (BMU) 2.0 has the following new features:

• Interactive mode for the IPMI Shell.

• New commands for IPMI Shell and SOL Proxy to connect to remote BMC and display sensor status.

• Choice of menu and command mode in SOL Proxy.

• Support for the following maximum baud rates for BMC serial communication and SOL:

– 19200 for PowerEdge 1425SC

– 57600 for PowerEdge

– 115200 for PowerEdge

• SOL activation through IPMI Shell interactive mode.

• Configuration of each SOL proxy server for up to 20 simultaneous SOL sessions.

• Support for SUSE

x9xx

Linux Enterprise Server.

and other PowerEdge

systems without Dell Remote Access Controller 5 (DRAC 5).

x9xx

systems with DRAC 5.

x8xx

systems.

Supported Systems

The BMC management features documented in this guide are supported on the following Dell PowerEdge systems:

• 800

• 830

• 850

• 1425SC

• 1800

• 1850

• 1855

• 1900

• 1950

• 1955

• 2800

• 2850

• 2900

• 2950

• 6800

• 6850

8 Introduction

BMC Configuration and Management Tasks

The following sections document the basic tasks needed to set up and configure the BMC on a managed system in preparation for using the BMC Management Utility. These basic tasks are:

• Configuring the BMC

• Managing the BMC

Configuring the BMC

To configure the BMC in a pre-boot environment, you can use the Remote Access Configuration Utility, the Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) 5 Graphical User Interface (GUI), or the command line interface (CLI) depending on the scope of your required configuration tasks. Alternately, you can configure the BMC on a managed system with a running operating system using the Server Administrator home page GUI or CLI. See "Baseboard Management Controller Configuration" for more information.

Managing the System Using BMC

To manage the BMC in a pre-boot environment, or to access the BMC of a system, you can use the BMC Management Utility. See "Using the BMC Management Utility." To configure the BMC on a system with a running operating system or to perform everyday BMC management tasks, you can use the GUI on the Server Administrator home page. See the Server Administrator User’s Guide for more information about using Server Administrator to manage your system’s BMC functions. Figure 1-1 shows the configuration matrix for BMC.

Introduction 9

Figure 1-1. BMC Configuration Matrix

10 Introduction

BMC Action on Event

If you plan to use your system’s BMC to peform actions when events occur, you must follow the BMC Action on Event configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1. BMC Action on Event Configuration Guidelines

Features Connection

Medium

• System Reset

• System Power Off

• System Power Cycle

LAN

BMC Configuration Tools Basic Configuration Tasks Management

To ol s

• Deployment Toolkit (pre-operating system environment)

• Server Administrator

• Enable platform events

• Enable alert actions

Basic BMC Alerting Over a LAN

If you plan to use your system’s BMC to send alerts (Platform Event Traps), you must follow the BMC configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-2.

NOTE: The LAN-sharing depends on the NIC selection configuration option. The available options are Shared and

Failover, and if a RAC card is present, the additional option available is Dedicated. See the NIC Selection option in the table in "Remote Access Configuration Utility Options" section for more information on Shared, Failover, and Dedicated.

NOTE: The Dedicated NIC selection option is available only if you are using Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) 5.

Table 1-2. BMC LAN Alerting Configuration Guidelines

Features Connection

Medium

Platform Event Alerts (SNMP Tr a ps )

LAN

BMC Configuration Tools Basic Configuration Tasks Management

Tools

• Remote Access Configuration Utility (preoperating system environment)

• Deployment Toolkit (preoperating system environment)

• Server Administrator

Configure NIC Selection to select Shared, Failover, or Dedicated

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems.

Configure the IP address, Subnet mask, and Gateway on the managed system

Configure the VLAN (optional)

Enable alerting

Configure the Alert destination IP address

Configure the Host Name (optional)

IT Assistant

Introduction 11

IPMI Shell Over a LAN

Table 1-3 lists the actions you can perform, if you plan to use the BMC Management Utility’s IPMI Shell or other IPMI tools to access your system’s BMC over a LAN.

Table 1-3. BMC LAN Access Configuration Guidelines

Features Connection

Medium

• Remote SEL access

• Power control

•System identification

•Sensor information

LAN

BMC Configuration Tools Basic Configuration Tasks Management

Tools

• Remote Access Configuration Utility (preoperating system environment)

• Deployment Toolkit (preoperating system environment)

• Server Administrator

Enable IPMI over LAN on the managed system

Configure NIC selection to select Shared, Failover, or Dedicated

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems.

Configure the IP address, Subnet mask, and Gateway on the managed system

Configure IPMI encryption key (optional)

IPMI Shell

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems.

Configure VLAN (optional)

Configure BMC users

12 Introduction

IPMI Shell Over the Serial Cable

If you plan to use the BMC Management Utility’s IPMI Shell to access your system’s BMC over a serial cable, you must follow the BMC configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-4.

NOTE: Console redirection does not apply to BMC when using the serial interface.

Table 1-4. BMC Serial Configuration Guidelines

Features Connection

Medium

• Interactive mode

• Remote SEL access

• Power control

•System identification

•System information

• Access the BMC of the remote system

Accessed through the serial channel by using a null modem cable

BMC Configuration Tools Basic Configuration Tasks Management

Tools

• BIOS (pre-operating system environment)

• Deployment Toolkit (preoperating system environment)

• Server Administrator (to enable BMC serial only)

Configure Serial Port 1 to BMC Serial

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x8xx systems.

Configure External Serial Connector to Remote Access

•IPMI Shell (Basic mode)

•Terminal emulation (Terminal mode only)

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems.

Set Serial baud rate to match the rate to be used by the management tool

Set BMC Serial Connection Mode to Basic for IPMI Shell or Terminal for Terminal emulation

Configure BMC users

Introduction 13

SOL Proxy Over a LAN

If you plan to use the BMC Management Utility’s SOL Proxy to access your system’s console over a LAN, you must follow the BMC configuration guidelines listed in Table 1-5.

Table 1-5. BMC SOL Configuration Guidelines

Features Connection

Medium

• Text Utility console redirection

• Remote BIOS setup

• Microsoft text console redirection

• Linux text console redirection

• Force a reboot on a remote system and activate console redirection

• Access BMC of the remote system

LAN

BMC Configuration Tools Basic Configuration Tasks Management

Tools

• BIOS (pre-operating system environment)

• Remote Access Configuration Utility (preoperating system environment)

• Deployment Toolkit (preoperating system environment)

• Server Administrator

Configure Serial Port 1 to BMC NIC

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x8xx systems.

Configure BIOS console redirection to Serial Port 1

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x8xx systems.

Configure Console Redirection to On with Console Redirection via COM2

•SOL Proxy

•IPMI Shell

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems.

Configure other Console Redirection parameters, such as baud rate, emulation type, etc.

Enable IPMI over LAN on the managed system

Configure the IP address, Subnet mask, and Gateway on the managed system

Configure IPMI encryption keyIPMI encryption key (optional)

NOTE: This option is available

only on Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems.

Configure VLAN (optional)

Configure BMC users

14 Introduction

BMC Configuration and Management Tools

Using the Remote Access Configuration Utility

The Remote Access Configuration Utility provides basic BMC setup and configuration functions that can be accessed during system boot. Use the Remote Access Configuration Utility for initial BMC setup and configuration only. For advanced configuration tasks, you must use the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 SYSCFG.EXE utility or Server Administrator Version 2.0 or later.

NOTE: The Remote Access Configuration Utility is called the BMC Setup Module in the Dell PowerEdge x8xx systems.

Using Deployment Toolkit

The Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 SYSCFG.EXE utility provides a powerful Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) and Linux command-line interface for locally configuring your system’s BMC as part of an initial deployment. Use the SYSCFG.EXE utility to set all supported BMC features. Additionally, you can use the Deployment Toolkit utilities as part of a scripted deployment to multiple similar systems. To use the SYSCFG.EXE utility, you must perform the following tasks:

• Download the Deployment Toolkit ISO image from the Dell Support website at save the utilities to your hard drive.

• Burn the Deployment Toolkit ISO image containing the SYSCFG.EXE utility on a CD.

• Use the SYSCFG.EXE utility to configure BMC on the managed system.

See the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 User’s Guide and Command Line Interface Reference Guide for more information about using the SYSCFG.EXE utility to configure and manage your system’s BMC.

support.dell.com

and

Using the BMC Management Utility

The BMC Management Utility provides a command-line interface to your remote management station to manage BMC-supported functions. Use the BMC Management Utility to manage your BMC from a remote management station and as your managed system’s emergency management console. The utility gives you the option of using either a command line interface (IPMI Shell) or a SOL Proxy to access and manage the BMC. To use the BMC Management Utility, you must perform the following tasks:

• Configure BMC using the Remote Access Configuration Utility, the Deployment Toolkit SYSCFG.EXE utility, or Server Administrator.

• Install the BMC Management Utility on a management station.

See "Configuring Your Managed System" for instructions on configuring the BMC on a managed system in preparation for using the BMC Management Utility.

Using Server Administrator

The Server Administrator provides a convenient and easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for remotely configuring or managing your system’s BMC on a system running a supported operating system. You can use the Server Administrator to configure the most relevant BMC features, such as

Introduction 15

Platform Event Filter (PEF) parameters and alert destinations. Additionally, Server Administrator can be used as a command line interface. Server Administrator requires that the system has an operating system installed and functioning. As a result, Server Administrator is best suited for everyday BMC management tasks, and is not an option for performing pre-boot setup or accessing the BMC as an emergency management console. To use Server Administrator, you must perform the following tasks:

• Install Server Administrator on the managed system.

• Access the Server Administrator home page remotely or locally from a supported browser on a management station.

• Configure BMC remotely or locally on the managed system.

See the Dell OpenManage™ Server Administrator Version 5.0 User’s Guide and Command line Interface User’s Guide for more information about using Server Administrator to configure and manage your

system BMC.

Obtaining Technical Assistance

If at any time you do not understand a procedure described in this guide or if your product does not perform as expected, help tools are available to assist you. For more information about these help tools, see "Getting Help" in your system's Installation and Troubleshooting Guide or the Hardware Owner’s Manual.

Additionally, Dell Enterprise Training and Certification is available; see www.dell.com/training for more information. This service may not be offered in all locations.

Introduction 17

18 Introduction

Configuring Your Managed System

Before using the BMC Management Utility, configure certain items, such as the necessary system BIOS, network, Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) encryption key, and serial connection settings, depending on the functionality to be performed, to enable access to the BMC.

NOTE: The IPMI encryption key is a public key that is used to generate an encryption key for use between the

firmware and the application.

In addition, to utilize the BMC Management Utility IPMI serial functions, you must have a working connection between the management station and the correct serial I/O port of the target BMC, using a null modem cable.

This section describes the basic procedures you must perform to prepare your BMC to be accessed and managed using the BMC Management Utility. The following procedures are described:

• BIOS Configuration

• Baseboard Management Controller Configuration

• Configuring Your BMC with the Deployment ToolKit SYSCFG.EXE utility

• Configuring Your BMC with Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator

BIOS Configuration

For most configurations, you must configure the serial port settings and the console redirection settings in your system BIOS before you can use the BMC Management Utility. To configure the necessary system BIOS setting, your must enter the System Setup Program. The BIOS settings can also be configured using the Deployment Toolkit or the

Server Administrator.

NOTE: For more information about configuring BIOS settings, see your system User’s Guide.

Configuring System BIOS in Dell PowerEdge™ x8xx Systems

Turn on or restart your system.

Press <F2> immediately after you see the following message:

<F2> = Setup

The

System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press <F2>, allow the system to finish booting,

and then restart your system and try again.

Use the up- and down-arrow keys to navigate to the

screen appears.

Integrated Devices

Configuring Your Managed System 19

field and press <Enter>.

Use the up- and down-arrow keys to navigate to the

Use the space bar to select the serial port option.

The options are

COM1, COM3, BMC Serial, BMC NIC, Off

installed in the system).

Serial Port 1

field and press <Enter>.

, and

RAC

(if an optional RAC is

To use BMC, serial port 1 uses the or the integrated shared NIC. RAC control uses only the

COM1

address and communication can be through the serial port

COM1

available options when Console Redirection is set to use serial port 1.

Select

BMC Serial

BMC NIC

if you are planning to access the BMC through the serial cable connection.

if you are using SOL proxy and are planning to access the BMC over a

shared LAN.

Press <Enter> to return to the

Use the up- and down-arrow keys to navigate to the

Use the up- and down-arrow keys to navigate to the space bar to set the console redirection feature to

System Setup

screen.

Console Redirection

Serial Port 1

Redirection after Boot.

Use the up- and down- arrow keys to navigate to the

Failsafe Baud Rate

bar to set the console failsafe baud rate, if applicable.

Use the up- and down-arrow keys to navigate to the space bar to select either

Press <Enter> to return to the

Press <Esc> to exit the System Setup program. The

•

Save Changes and Exit

•

Discard Changes and Exit

•

Return to Setup

Choose the appropriate option and exit the system setup.

VT 100/VT 200

System Setup

ANSI, if applicable.

Remote Terminal Type

screen.

Exit

screen displays the following options:

address.

Off

and

COM3

are not

field and press <Enter>.

option and then use the

. Optionally, you can also enable

option and then use the space

option and then use the

Configuring System BIOS in Dell PowerEdge x9xx Systems

Turn on and restart your system.

Press <F2> immediately after you see the following message:

<F2> = Setup

The

System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press <F2>, allow the system to finish booting, and

then restart your system and try again.

Use the up- and down- arrow keys to navigate to the

Use the spacebar to select the appropriate serial communication option.

20 Configuring Your Managed System

screen appears.

Serial Communication

field and press <Enter>.

Select the appropriate option for Console Redirection. The following options are available:

On without Console Redirection:

COM1 and COM2 are enabled and available for use by the

operating system or applications. Console redirection is disabled. This is the default option.

On with Console Redirection via COM1:

When BIOS console redirection is enabled through COM1,

the COM1 port is not available to applications through the operating system.

On with Console Redirection via COM2:

When BIOS console redirection is enabled through COM2,

the COM2 port is not available to applications through the operating system.

Off:

COM1 and COM2 are both disabled and not available for use by the operating system or

applications. BIOS Console redirection is disabled.

NOTE: Select On with Console Redirection via COM2 to use Console Redirection with SOL.

Press <Enter> to select and return to the previous screen.

Use the up- and down- arrow keys to navigate to the

External Serial Communication

field and

press <Enter>.

Use the spacebar to select the appropriate external serial communication option.

The available options are

NOTE: Select Remote Access to access the BMC through the serial cable connection. This option can be set

to any value for using SOL and accessing the BMC over LAN.

Press <Enter> to select and return to the previous screen.

If required, use the spacebar to navigate to and change the settings for

Use the up- and down- arrow keys to navigate to the

COM1, COM2

, and

Remote Access.

The default option is

Failsafe Baud Rate

COM1

Redirection after Boot.

option and then use the space

bar to set the console failsafe baud rate, if applicable.

Use the up- and down- arrow keys navigate to the Remote Terminal Type option and then use the space bar to select either

Press <Enter> to return to the

Press <Esc> to exit the System Setup program. The

•

Save Changes and Exit

•

Discard Changes and Exit

•

Return to Setup

VT 100/VT 200

System Setup

ANSI,

if applicable.

screen.

Exit

screen displays the following options:

NOTE: For most options, any changes that you make are recorded but do not take effect until you restart the system.

NOTE: Press <F1> to display the help file for the System Setup program.

Configuring Your Managed System 21

Using BIOS Console Redirection With SOL Proxy

Console redirection allows maintenance of a system from a remote location by redirecting keyboard input and output through the serial port. Any console-based feature or operating system can then be used to access the server. DR-DOS, Linux (init 3) and Windows are examples of operating systems and consoles that can be used to access the server.

By default, some operating systems, such as Windows Server send text console output to the BIOS. Manual configuration of the Redirection after Boot feature through the system BIOS may not be visible to the operating system. This results in both, the operating system feature and the BIOS redirection feature, being enabled. Depending on the operating system and its setup, the results may vary. Dell recommends the following steps as good practice:

DR-DOS: Do not configure DR-DOS for serial console output. Enable console redirection after reboot in system BIOS.

Windows Special Administrative Console (SAC): Do not configure Windows SAC for serial console redirection. Enable console redirection after reboot in system BIOS.

Linux: Do not configure console redirection after rebooting the system BIOS. Do the tasks listed in the "Installation and Setup for Linux Operating Systems" section, to configure Linux for console redirection.

NOTE: See" Escape Key Sequences" for a list of keystrokes to be used for BIOS Setup operations from a serial

terminal.

Special Administrative Console (SAC)

™

2003, are automatically configured to

22 Configuring Your Managed System

Baseboard Management Controller Configuration

You can perform basic BMC configuration using the Remote Access Configuration Utility during system startup. See Figure 2-1. For more advanced configuration options, see the instructions for the SYSCFG.EXE utility in the Deployment Toolkit 2.1 User’s Guide.

Figure 2-1. Remote Access Configuration Utility

Entering the Remote Access Configuration Utility

Turn on or restart your system.

Press <

If your operating system begins to load before you press < booting, and then restart your system and try again.

Ctrl-E

> when prompted after POST.

Crtl-E

>, allow the system to finish

Remote Access Configuration Utility Options

Table 2-1 lists the Remote Access Configuration Utility options and shows how to configure the BMC on a managed system. After entering all settings, press <Esc> and select one of the following:

•

Save Changes and Exit

•

Discard Changes and Exit

•

Return to Setup

- Keep all entries made in the Remote Access Configuration Utility.

- Undo all entries made in the Remote Access Configuration Utility.

Continue using the Remote Access Configuration Utility.

Configuring Your Managed System 23

Table 2-1. Remote Access Configuration Utility

Option Description

IPMI Over LAN Enables or disables the out-of-band LAN channel access to the shared

network controller.

NIC Selection

NOTE: This option is available only

on Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems.

Displays the configuration option.

•Shared Select this option to share the network interface with the host

operating system. The remote access device network interface is fully functional when the host operating system is configured for NIC teaming.

The remote access device receives data through NIC 1 and NIC 2, but transmits data only through NIC 1.

NOTE: If NIC 1 fails, the remote access device will not be accessible. NOTE: The NIC 2 is not available on the PowerEdge 1900 system.

• Failover Select this option to share the network interface with the host

operating system. The remote access device network interface is fully functional when the host operating system is configured for NIC teaming.

The remote access device receives data through NIC 1 and NIC 2, but transmits data only through NIC 1. If NIC 1 fails, the remote access device fails over to NIC 2 for all data transmission.

The remote access device continues to use NIC 2 for data transmission. If NIC 2 fails, the remote access device fails over all data transmission back to NIC 1.

NOTE: This option cannot be selected on the PowerEdge 1900 system.

•Dedicated Select this option to enable the remote access device to utilize the

dedicated network interface available on the Remote Access Controller (RAC). This interface is not shared with the host operating system and routes the management traffic to a separate physical network, enabling it to be separated from the application traffic.

NOTE: This option is available only on systems with a DRAC installed.

LAN Parameters

RMCP+ Encryption Key

NOTE: This option is available only on PowerEdge x9xx systems.

The Key is used to encrypt the IPMI sessions. The encryption key is entered as a maximum of 20 pairs of ASCII hexadecimal characters representing 20 bytes; for example, 01FA3BA6C812855DA001FA3BA6C812855DA0A0A0.

24 Configuring Your Managed System

Table 2-1. Remote Access Configuration Utility (continued)

Option Description

IP Address Source Displays whether the network controller will be assigned a

DHCP

address.

Ethernet IP Address

IP address or a

The static IP address of the BMC. This field is limited to a maximum value of 255.255.255.255.

The following IPv4 rules apply:

• IP addresses cannot be

• The first octet must be between

127.xxx.xxx.xxx 1-223

(i.e.

, where

xxx

is between

143.xxx.xxx.xxx

NOTE: IP address 169.254.0.2 subnet mask 255.255.0.0 is returned when

the BMC is unable to contact the DHCP server.

MAC Address This field is read-only.

Displays the network controller’s BMC MAC address.

Subnet Mask The subnet mask for the static IP address.

NOTE: IP address 169.254.0.2 subnet mask 255.255.0.0 is returned when

the BMC is unable to contact the DHCP server.

Default Gateway The IP gateway for the static IP address.

VLAN Enable Enables or disables the virtual LAN ID.

VLAN ID This field is read-only when

VLAN Enable

is set to

off

To enter a value, navigate to the VLAN ID field from another field.

A valid value for the virtual LAN ID must be a number from 1 to 4094.

NOTE: If you enter a value outside the specified range, either 1 or 4094

is entered, whichever is closest.

VLAN This field is read-only when

Specifies the priority of the VLAN. The valid values range from

Priority 0 - Priority 7

LAN Alert Enabled Enables or disables LAN alerting.

Alert Policy Entry 1 Enables or disables the first alert destination.

Alert Destination 1 This field is read-only when

Enter the IP address of the first alert destination. Use the Left or Right arrow keys to navigate to each octet. Use the numeric keypad to enter each octet.

The following IPv4 rules apply:

• IP addresses cannot be

• The first octet must be between

• The last octet must not be (i.e.

xxx.xxx.xxx.0

VLAN Enable

LAN Alert Enabled

127.xxx.xxx.xxx 1-223

(i.e.

255

xxx.xxx.xxx.255

is set to

off

is set to

, where

xxx

is between

143.xxx.xxx.xxx

)

Static

)

off

)

0-255

Configuring Your Managed System 25

Table 2-1. Remote Access Configuration Utility (continued)

Option Description

Host Name String Specifies the managed system hostname used to correlate Platform

Event Traps to the system on which they originate.

Use alpha-numerics, but no symbols (except ’-’) or spaces.

Advanced LAN Parameters

NOTE: This option is available only on systems with a DRAC installed.

Dedicated NIC Configuration Options

NIC

Auto-Negotiate

LAN Speed Setting

Enables or disables the NIC

Enables or disables Auto-Negotiation of the LAN Speed. This field is read-only when Auto-Negotiate is set to Enabled.

Set the LAN Speed Setting to 10 or 100 Mbps

LAN Duplex Setting

This field is read-only when Auto-Negotiate is set to Enabled.

Sets the LAN communication method to Half or Full Duplex.

DNS Configuration Options

DNS Servers from DHCP

on = IP addresses of the DNS Servers are assigned by the DHCP off = IP addresses of the DNS Servers are set manually

DNS Server 1

This field is read-only when DNS Servers from DHCP is set to on.

Enter the IP Address of DNS Server 1

The following IPv4 rules apply:

DNS Server 2

• IP addresses cannot be

• The first octet must be between

• The last octet must not be

xxx.xxx.xxx.0

(i.e.

This field is read-only when DNS Servers from DHCP is set to

127.xxx.xxx.xxx 1-223

(i.e.

255

xxx.xxx.xxx.255

, where

xxx

is between

143.xxx.xxx.xxx

)

0-255

)

on.

Enter the IP Address of DNS Server 2

The following IPv4 rules apply:

• IP addresses cannot be

• The first octet must be between

• The last octet must not be

xxx.xxx.xxx.0

(i.e.

on = You may enter the Current DNS RAC Name. This field is read-only when Register RAC Name is set to off.

127.xxx.xxx.xxx 1-223

(i.e.

255

xxx.xxx.xxx.255

, where

xxx

is between

143.xxx.xxx.xxx

)

0-255

)

Enter the Current DNS RAC Name using 1-32 alpha-numerics, spaces, and symbols. Press <Enter> to save the value. Press <Esc> to exit the field without saving.

26 Configuring Your Managed System

Table 2-1. Remote Access Configuration Utility (continued)

Option Description

Domain Name from DHCP

Domain Name

Virtual Media Configuration

Virtual Media

Virtual Flash

LAN User Configuration Enables setting the user name, user password, user privilege, and

Account Access Enables or disables account privileges.

Account Priviledge Sets the account to one of:

Account User Name Sets the account user name.

Enter Password Enter the password for this Account User. You must enter at least one

Confirm Password Confirm the password you entered.

Reset To Default Clears the BMC settings and resets the BMC setting to the defaults.

Turns the domain name on or off. This field is read-only when DNS Servers from DHCP is set to

on.

Enter the Domain Name using 1-64 alpha-numerics, spaces, and symbols. Press <Enter> to save the value. Press <Esc> to exit the field without saving.

NOTE: This option is available only on systems with a DRAC installed.

Attaches or detaches a virtual media drive.

Enables or disables virtual flash memory.

enables user access for user ID=2.

Admin, User, Operator, No Access

non-null acharacter.

NOTICE: Resetting to factory defaults will restore remote non-

volatile settings.

System Event Log Menu Enables viewing and clearing the System Event Log (SEL). A popup box

will indicate that the SEL is being read.

Total System Event Log Entries Displays the number of records in the SEL.

View System Event Log Displays a record in the SEL, starting with the most recent record. Enter

a record number to view, using the Right and Left arrow keys to scroll up and down the SEL.

Clear System Event Log Erases all records in the SEL.

NOTE: If the first integrated network interface controller (NIC 1) is used in an Ether Channel team or link

aggregation team, the BMC management traffic will not function on PowerEdge x8xx systems. The NIC teaming option is supported only on PowerEdge x9xx systems. For more information about network teaming, see the documentation for the network interface controller.

Advance to Entry

Configuring Your Managed System 27

field. Use the

Configuring Your BMC Using the Deployment Toolkit Utility

The Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 SYSCFG.EXE Utility includes a set of Microsoft The Deployment ToolKit (DTK) SYSCFG.EXE utility is specifically designed to address all necessary BMC configuration tasks using a powerful and comprehensive command-line interface. This utility runs on PowerEdge 1425SC and all supported PowerEdge x7xx, x8xx, and x9xx systems.

To use the BMC Management Utility, configure your managed system with the SYSCFG.EXE utility by performing the following tasks:

• Install the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1.

• Create either a BMC configuration diskette or CD containing a bootable image, the appropriate CD

• Configure BMC Users.

• Configure BMC SOL access.

• Configure BMC IPMI serial access.

Windows PE and Linux-based utilities for configuring and deploying PowerEdge systems.

drivers (for a CD only), and the SYSCFG.EXE utility.

Installation and Setup for Microsoft Windows PE Operating Systems

NOTE: See the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 User’s Guide for additional information about installing and using the

utilities, and the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 Command Line Interface Reference Guide for a complete list of valid options, suboptions, and arguments for using the SYSCFG.EXE to configure and manage your BMC.

The Deployment Toolkit components are provided as a self-extracting zip file on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com. The self-extracting file can be opened on any system running a Microsoft Windows operating system, or it can be extracted at the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) using the PKUNZIP.EXE utility (not supplied with the Deployment Toolkit). By default, the dtk-2. AXX.exe files are extracted to the root directory of your local hard drive, for example, C:\. This location can be changed by giving a different path when extracting the file. Perform the following steps to extract the Deployment Toolkit components to a workstation running Windows:

Download the Deployment Toolkit file

support.dell.com

After the zip file downloads, double-click the file.

Click OK.

Click

Unzip

By default, the Deployment Toolkit files are unzipped to the

C:\Dell\Toolkit\Tools

and save it anywhere on a system running a supported Windows operating system.

directory.

dtk-2.X-winpe-AXX.exe

\. The

from the Dell Support website at

SYSCFG.EXE

utility is located in

-dos-

28 Configuring Your Managed System

Creating a CD

Use the following steps to create bootable media that can be used to configure the BMC on a managed system:

Create a directory,

Insert the Windows OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK) CD into your CD drive.

Copy all CD files from the Windows PE directory to the

Copy

factory.exe

WinPE_OPKTools

Remove the CD from the CD drive.

Create and name a directory on your development system hard drive. This is where the ISO file is stored.

Navigate to the

Run the following command:

OSCDIMG -bETFSBOOT.COM -n <DELLWINPEBUILD>

ETFSBOOT.COM is part of the OPK tools and makes the Windows PE CD bootable. The following command line creates a bootable ISO image called Dellx86winpe.iso:

C:\WINPE_OPKTOOLS\OSCDIMG -bETFSBOOT.com -n c:\DELLWINPEBUILD C:\FINALBUILD\Dellx86winpe.iso

Copy the SYSCFG.EXE utility to the root of the directory.

Start your CD burning software and generate a bootable CD using the bootable diskette you created as the boot image.

You are now ready to use your bootable CD to configure the BMC on a managed system. For more information, see "Configuring the BMC."

WinPE_OPKTools

and

netcfg.exe

from the

directory.

WinPE_OPKTools

, on your hard drive.

WinPE_OPKTools

CD drive

\tools\x86 directory to the

directory through a command prompt.

directory.

Installation and Setup for Linux Operating Systems

NOTE: See the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 User’s Guide for additional information about installing and using the

utilities, and the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 Command Line Interface Reference Guide for a complete list of all valid options, suboptions, and arguments for using the SYSCFG.EXE to configure and manage your BMC.

Obtain the ISO image of embedded Linux available on the Dell Support website at

Burn the ISO image using any commonly available CD burning software.

NOTE: When you create a bootable CD, this image is supplied to the CD burning software along with the complete

deployment directory structure, which includes all necessary supporting files to perform the deployment.

The CD burning software creates an image of the self-bootable ISO image and the deployment files on the CD.

Extract the contents of the ISO image to a folder on your hard drive.

Configuring Your Managed System 29

support.dell.com

Copy your custom scripts into the folder you created in step 4.

NOTE: Your scripts should also take care of copying miscellaneous items to unlock the CD, so that the CD can

be mounted and ejected as required by the operating system’s installation process.

/mnt/cdrom/isolinux.cfg

NOTE: The scripts that you copy into the CD will be copied to and run from the RAM disk. This task is done to

ensure the CD is not locked. Ensure that your sample scripts have valid path names.

Copy the directory structure created in your work station, into the root folder that you created in "step 4".

This folder contains the Deployment Toolkit CD files necessary for operating system installation, and

, the cd install section points to your customized start-up script.

files required for replication.

Use the

isolinux

utility to burn the contents of the folder you created in "step 7" to a CD and make

it bootable.

Your ISO image is ready for booting.

Basic configuration

Before you can use the BMC Management Utility to remotely manage the BMC on a managed system, you must perform some basic configuration tasks. The Deployment Toolkit SYSCFG.EXE utility provides a powerful command-line interface for performing the following configuration tasks:

• Configuring BMC users for the managed system

• Configuring the BMC IP address for IPMI LAN access and SOL access for the managed system

• Configuring the BMC serial channel for IPMI serial access for the managed system

NOTE: See the Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 User’s Guide for additional information about installing and using the

Deployment Toolkit utilities, and the Command Line Interface Reference Guide for a complete list of valid options, suboptions, and arguments for using the SYSCFG.EXE to configure and manage your BMC.

Configuring New BMC Users

The BMC is configured by default with user ID 2 set to username: root and password: calvin. It is highly recommended that you change the user name and password when deploying your system.

Insert the bootable BMC configuration diskette or CD into the appropriate drive of the system to be deployed and reboot the system.

To create a new user, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg username --userid=X --name=

where X is a number between 2–10 and

name

is an ASCII string of 16 or fewer characters.

Press <Enter> to execute the command line options.

To enable the new user ID, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg useraction --userid=X --action=enable

Press <Enter> to execute the command line options.

30 Configuring Your Managed System

To set the password for a BMC user, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg passwordaction --action=setpassword --userid=X --password=

where

password

characters for PowerEdge

NOTICE: A password must be set for each BMC user. The BMC firmware does not allow access to users with

null user names or passwords.

is an ASCII string of 16 or fewer characters for PowerEdge

x9xx

systems.

x8xx

systems and 20

password

Press <Enter> to execute the command-line options.

To configure BMC user privilege, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg lanuseraccess --usrprivlmt=bmcuserprivilege where bmcuserprivilege=

user, operator, administrator, noaccess

Press <Enter> to execute the command-line options.

Configuring the BMC IP Address

Insert the Deployment Toolkit CD into the appropriate drive of the system to be deployed and reboot the system.

To configure the BMC IP address source for the LAN channel to DHCP, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg lcp --ipaddrsrc=dhcp

Press <Enter> to execute the command line options.

For a complete list of valid options, suboptions, and arguments for configuring the BMC LAN channel see the

Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 Command Line Interface Reference Guide

To configure the BMC IP address source for the LAN channel to a static IP address, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg lcp --ipaddrsrc=static --ipaddress=

--subnetmask=

XXX.XXX.XXX.X

--gateway=

XXX.XXX.XXX.XX

XXX.XXX.XXX

Press <Enter> to execute the command line options.

For a complete list of valid options, suboptions, and arguments for configuring the BMC LAN channel see the

Configuring the BMC Serial Channel Access

Insert the bootable diskette or CD into the appropriate drive of the system to be deployed, and reboot

Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 Command Line Interface Reference Guide

the system.

Configuring Your Managed System 31

To configure the serial port for BMC, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg scp --connectionmode=basic --msgcommbitrate=

where

XXXXX

Press <Enter> to execute the command line options.

To configure the terminal mode for BMC, at the command prompt, type:

syscfg scp --connectionmode=terminal --msgcommbitrate=

where

XXXXX

Press <Enter> to execute the command line options.

For a complete list of valid options, suboptions, and arguments for configuring the BMC serial channel, see the

is the baud rate in bps.

Deployment Toolkit Version 2.1 Command Line Interface Reference Guide

XXXXX

Configuring Your BMC Using Server Administrator

You can also configure the BMC options using Server Administrator Version 5.0, which is a one-to-one systems management software program that must be installed on the managed system. Once installed, you can remotely access Server Administrator from a management station with a supported browser to perform BMC configuration tasks. See the Server Administrator User’s Guide for more information about installing and using Server Administrator.

You can configure the BMC settings from either the Server Administrator home page or from its command line interface. Users must have Administrator privileges to access the BMC settings. Users logged in with User or Power User group privileges can view the BMC information but cannot change the settings.

See the Server Administrator Version 5.0 Command Line Interface User's Guide for information about configuring the BMC from the command line.

When using Server Administrator, you can click Help on the global navigation bar for more detailed information about the specific window you are viewing. Server Administrator help is available for all windows accessible to the user based on user privilege level and the specific hardware and software groups that Server Administrator discovers on the managed system.

The Server Administrator Instrumentation Service allows you to manage BMC features, such as, general BMC information, configuration of the LAN and serial port, BMC users, and BIOS setup. To use Server Administrator to configure the BMC on a managed system, perform the following steps:

NOTE: You must be logged in with Admin privileges to configure the BMC settings.

Click the

32 Configuring Your Managed System

System

object.

Main System Chassis

Remote Access

object.

The

BMC Information

Click the

Under the

Click the

Under the

NOTICE: A password must be set for each BMC user. The BMC firmware does not allow access to users with null

user names or passwords.

Configuring BIOS in Server Administrator

Configuration

Users

tab.

Users

window is displayed.

tab.

tab, you can configure LAN, Serial Port, and Serial Over LAN.

tab, you can modify the BMC user configuration.

To configure BIOS in Server Administrator, complete the following steps:

Click the

In the

System

object.

Main System Chassis

BIOS

object.

Setup

tab.

Setup

tab, you can configure

object.

Console Redirection

and

Serial Port communication

parameters.

Using Dell Remote Access Controller 5

The Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) 5 provides a Web-based interface and RACADM (a command-line interface) that enables you to configure the DRAC 5 properties and users, perform remote management tasks, and troubleshoot a remote (managed) system for problems.

Configuring the Network and IPMI LAN Settings

NOTE: You must have Configure DRAC 5 permission to do the following steps.

NOTE: Most DHCP servers require a server to store a client identifier token in its reservations table. The client

(DRAC 5, for example) must provide this token during DHCP negotiation. For RACs, the DRAC 5 supplies the client identifier option using a one-byte interface number (0) followed by a six-byte MAC address.

NOTE: If your managed system DRAC is configured in Shared or Shared with Failover mode and the DRAC is

connected to a switch with Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) enabled, network clients will experience a 20 to 30 second delay in connectivity when the management station’s LOM link state changes during the STP convergence.

Access the DRAC 5 Web-based interface. See the

Dell Remote Access Controller 5 User’s Guide

more information.

Click

Remote Access

Click the

Configure the DRAC 5 NIC settings in the

Configuration

Network Settings and IPMI Settings on the

in the

System

tab and then click

tree.

Network

Network Configuration

Configuring Your Managed System 33

page. Table 2-1 describes the page.

for

Click

Apply Changes

Click the appropriate

Adding and Configuring DRAC 5 Users

when completed.

Network Configuration

page button to continue.

Create unique users with specific administrative permissions (or role-based authority) to manage your system with the DRAC 5 and maintain system security. For additional security, you can also configure alerts that are e-mailed to specific users when a specific system event occurs.

NOTE: You must have Configure DRAC 5 permission to do the following steps.

Expand the System tree and click

Click the

Configuration

tab and then click

Remote Access

Users

. The

Users

page appears, which includes each user’s

State, RAC Privilege, IPMI LAN Privilege, and IPMI Serial Privilege.

Click a user ID number in the User ID column.

Configure the user’s properties and privileges in the

Click

Apply Changes

Click the appropriate

See the

Dell Remote Access Controller 5 User’s Guide

when completed.

User Configuration

page button to continue.

User Configuration

page.

for more information on the IPMI user privileges,

DRAC group permissions, and the DRAC user privilege settings.

34 Configuring Your Managed System

Using the BMC Management Utility

The BMC Management Utility is a collection of software applications that enable remote management and configuration of systems equipped with a BMC. The BMC Management Utility includes the following components:

• Command Line Interface (IPMI Shell)

The IPMI Shell is a scriptable console application program used for the control and management of remote systems using the IPMI 1.5 protocol or later. The IPMI Shell supports both serial access and LAN access to the BMC . It can be used either in the generic CLI mode or the interactive mode. The interactive mode allows for a dedicated connection to a server and availability of all commands from the operating system CLI. Using the IPMI Shell in this mode improves usability and reduces time and traffic required for connecting and authenticating.

The IPMI Shell allows administration of one or more managed systems from a command line shell, rather than a graphical user interface (GUI). Use the IPMI Shell to perform the following tasks:

– System power management

– System identifier control

– Access to the event log

– Access to the system sensors

– Enable Serial-over-LAN for a remote managed system

• Serial-Over-LAN Proxy (SOL Proxy)

The SOL Proxy is a telnet daemon that allows LAN-based administration of remote systems using the Serial Over LAN (SOL) and IPMI protocols. Any standard telnet client application, such as HyperTerminal on Microsoft features. SOL can be used either in the menu mode or command mode. The SOL protocol coupled with the remote system's BIOS console redirection allows administrators to remotely view and change a managed system’s BIOS settings over a LAN. The Linux serial console and Microsoft's EMS/SAC interfaces can also be accessed over a LAN using SOL.

Windows® or telnet on Linux, can be used to access the daemon's

NOTICE: All versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system include Hilgraeve's HyperTerminal terminal

emulation software. However, the included version does not provide many functions required during console redirection. Instead, you can use any terminal emulation software that supports VT100 or ANSI emulation mode. One example of a full VT100 or ANSI terminal emulator that supports console redirection on your system is Hilgraeve's HyperTerminal Private Edition 6.1 or later.

NOTE: See your system’s User’s Guide for more information about console redirection, including

hardware and software requirements and instructions for configuring host and client systems to use console redirection.

Using the BMC Management Utility 35

NOTE: HyperTerminal and telnet settings must be consistent with the settings on the managed system. For

example, the baud rates and terminal modes should match.

NOTE: The Windows "telnet" command that is run from a MS-DOS

the BIOS needs to be set for ANSI emulation to display all the screens correctly.

prompt supports ANSI terminal emulation, and

Installing the BMC Management Utility

The BMC Management Utility is installed on a management station to remotely connect to the managed system’s BMC. See Figure 3-1.

Installation Prerequisites

Before using the BMC Management Utility, you must perform at least the basic BIOS and BMC configuration tasks described in "Configuring Your Managed System."

In addition, to access the BMC using the IPMI serial feature, you must have a working connection between the management station and the correct serial I/O port of the managed system’s BMC using a null modem cable.

Figure 3-1. Installing on a Management Station

Supported Operating Systems

The management station must be running one of the following supported operating systems:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, ES, WS (version 3.0) 32-bit and 64-bit

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, ES, WS (version 4.0) 32-bit and 64-bit

• Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP

• Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Web, Standard, and Enterprise Editions

•SUSE

36 Using the BMC Management Utility

Linux Enterprise Server

Installation Procedures

The following installation procedures provide step-by-step instructions for installing and uninstalling the BMC Management Utility for each supported operating system:

• Installing/uninstalling on systems running supported Windows operating systems

• Installing/uninstalling on systems running supported Linux operating systems

Installing on Systems Running Supported Windows Operating Systems

To install the BMC Management Utility on a management station running the Windows operating system, perform the following steps:

Exit any open application programs and disable any virus-scanning software.

Insert the

If the CD does not automatically start the setup program, click the type

The

Click

The

Click

A software license agreement appears.

Dell OpenManage™ Systems Management Consoles

x:\windows\setup.exe

Dell OpenManage Management Station Installation

Install, Modify, Repair or Remove Management Station

Welcome to Install Wizard for Dell OpenManage Management Station

(where x is the drive letter of your CD drive).

CD into your system's CD drive.

Start

button, click

screen appears.

Run

, and then

screen appears.

Select

I accept the terms in the license agreement,

Setup Type

The

Select

Custom Setup

The

From the drop-down menu, which appears on the left side of BMC Console, select

all subfeatures will be installed on the local hard drive

To accept the default directory path, click where you want to install your software, and then click

Ready to Install the Program

The

Ensure that all information is correct and click

Installing Dell OpenManage Management Station

The the installation.

When installation is complete, the

NOTE: Enable the virus scanning software after installation.

screen appears.

and click

screen appears.

Install Wizard Completed

if you agree.

. Otherwise, click

Install

screen appears and displays the status of

screen appears. Click

Using the BMC Management Utility 37

Browse

and navigate to the directory

This feature, and

Finish

See the Dell OpenManage Version 5.0 User's Guide for additional information about installing the BMC Management Utility on a management station.

By default, the installation program copies the files to the following directory: C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt\bmc.

The SOL Proxy service does not auto-start after installation. To start the SOL Proxy service after installation, you can reboot the system (SOL Proxy automatically starts on a reboot). To restart the SOL Proxy service on Windows systems, complete the following steps:

Right-click

Click

Locate

My Computer

Services and Applications

DSM_BMU_SOLProxy

and click

Manage.

and then click

in the list of services and right-click to start the service.

The

Computer Management

Services.

Available services are displayed to the right.

window is displayed.

Uninstalling on Systems Running Supported Windows Operating Systems

To uninstall the BMC Management Utility, use the Add/Remove Programs utility in the Control Panel.

Installing on Systems Running Supported Linux Enterprise Operating Systems

To install the BMC Management Utility on a management station running the Linux operating system:

If required, mount the

mount /mnt/cdrom

Install the BMC Management Utility with the following command for SUSE Linux Enterprise server:

rpm -ivh /linux/bmc/osabmcutil9g-SUSE*.rpm

or for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, use the following command:

rpm -ivh /linux/bmc/osabmcutil9g-RHEL*.rpm

By default, the installation program copies the files to the following locations:

/etc/init.d/SOLPROXY.cfg

/etc/SOLPROXY.cfg

/usr/sbin/dsm_bmu_solproxy32d

/usr/sbin/solconfig

/usr/sbin/ipmish

The SOL Proxy will start automatically during system startup. Alternatively, you can go to directory

/etc/init.d

solproxy status

dsm_bmu_solproxy32d start

dsm_bmu_solproxy32d stop

solproxy restart

and use the following commands to manage the SOL Proxy service:

Systems Management Consoles

CD using the command:

38 Using the BMC Management Utility

Uninstalling on Systems Running Supported Linux Enterprise Operating Systems

To uninstall the BMC Management Utility, perform the following steps:

Enter either of the following command to remove all the installed packages from SUSE Linux Enterprise Server or Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

rpm -e osabmcutil9g-SUSE* rpm -e osabmcutil9g-RHEL*

If the BMC Management Utility has been uninstalled, you will receive a success message.

root

IPMI Shell

IPMI Shell is a CLI console application and has no GUI. Its commands and options are specified using command line arguments only.

IPMI Shell supports out-of-band (OOB) access (over a LAN or through the serial port) to a single system at a time, however, multiple IPMI Shell sessions can run simultaneously on the same managed system. See Figure 3-2.

IPMI Shell allows a user with user-level BMC privileges to:

• Display the current power status.

• Display the 16-byte system GUID of the managed system.

• Display information from the system’s field replaceable unit (FRU).

• Display the BMC firmware information.

• Display summary information about the event log.

• Display logged events.

• Display current status of platform sensors

• Enable or disable SOL.

In addition to the operations that can be performed by a user with user-level BMC user privileges, IPMI Shell allows a user with operator-level and administrator-level BMC user privileges to:

• Power on, reset, or power cycle a managed system.

• Simulate a hard power off on a managed system (forcing the system to turn off without shutting down the operating system).

• Clear the system event log (SEL).

• Turn the blinking system identification LED on or off.

Using the BMC Management Utility 39

To facilitate command scripting, upon successful execution, IPMI Shell terminates with an exit code of zero, and will output the execution results in a parsable format. If an error is encountered, the program exits with a non-zero error code and outputs the error in a parsable format. See "BMC Management Utility Error Codes" for a complete list of possible BMC Management Utility error codes.

Figure 3-2. IPMI Shell Diagram

Using IPMI Shell

To use IPMI Shell, perform the following steps:

On systems running a supported Microsoft Windows operating system:

Start a

Command Prompt

Locate the

Files\Dell\SysMgt\bmc.

Enter IPMI Shell commands (see "IPMI Shell Command Syntax") to manage the remote system. See "IPMI Shell Commands" for a complete list of valid options, commands, subcommands, and arguments.

40 Using the BMC Management Utility

ipmish.exe

window.

file. By default,

ipmish.exe

is located in the directory:

C:\Program

On systems running a supported Linux operating system:

Start an operating system (OS) shell.

Enter IPMI Shell commands (see "IPMI Shell Command Syntax") to manage the remote system. See "IPMI Shell Commands" for a complete list of valid options, commands, subcommands, and arguments.

NOTE: The IPMI Shell will be located in /usr/sbin.

IPMI Shell Command Syntax

The general syntax of IPMI Shell CLI commands is as follows:

ipmish [

The general usage for a command is:

command [subcommand

Both global options and command-specific options are always in the following form:

option argument

For example:

-help

-max 20

-u John

Arguments with embedded tabs or spaces must be enclosed in matching double quotation marks ("). For example:

-user "John Smith"

global-options

] [

] …

command [; command

] …

command option and argument

] …

Every command has one default action. The default action is typically, but not always, the equivalent of reading and displaying the current setting or status for the command.

IPMI Shell Global Options

IPMI Shell has the following global options:

Running IPMISH over LAN Option -ip

Synopsis

ipmish -ip [-k KG value]

bmc_ip_address

bmc_hostname

-u

username

Using the BMC Management Utility 41

-p

password

Description

This option is used to establish a connection to a remote managed system using the LAN channel. The IP port specified in installation (default value is 623) is used unless another port has been configured.

NOTE: This global option cannot be used independently to connect to the BMC. One or more IPMISH commands

must follow the option.

Options

-ip

bmc_ip_address

bmc_hostname

Specifies the IP address or hostname of the remote managed system.

-u

username

Specifies the BMC username.

-p

password

Specifies the BMC user password.

-k

KG value

Specifies the KG value in Hex format. The IPMI encryption key is a public key used to generate an encryption key for use between firmware and application. It is differentiated from a password, which is not public and is used to access the firmware. The maximum value is 20 ASCII hex pairs with no spaces between the pairs.

NOTE: Even number of hexadecimal characters is valid and odd number of hexadecimal characters is invalid. For

example, 123456AB67 is valid, and 123 is invalid. Enter 00, 0000, etc. to disable encryption.

NOTE: The IPMI encryption key is available only on PowerEdge

Running IPMISH over Serial - Option -com

Synopsis

ipmish -com

username

-u

serial_port

-p

password

-baud

baud_rate

™

x9xx systems.

-flow

flow_control

The following attributes should be configured for IPMISH over serial to function correctly.

NOTE: These options can be configured in BIOS Setup, as well as using Dell OpenManage tools. Log on to Server

Administrator and navigate to BIOS Setup.

• "External Serial Connector" must be configured and set to "Remote Access" for PowerEdge systems. This option is available in the "Serial Communication" submenu in BIOS setup.

• Disable the "RAC serial Console" if you have a DRAC 5 card installed. Log on to the DRAC GUI,

navigate to Serial and deselect the "Enable Serial console" checkbox.

• Set "Serial port 1" to "BMC Serial" for PowerEdge

x8xx

systems. This option is available under the

Integrated Devices menu in BIOS Setup.

42 Using the BMC Management Utility

x9xx

The Serial communication connection mode for the BMC must be set to "Direct Connect Basic Mode" for all systems. This can be configured using Server Administrator. Log on to Server Administrator and navigate to Serial Port.

Description

This option establishes a connection to a remote managed system using the serial channel.

NOTE: This global option cannot be used independently to connect to the BMC. One or more IPMISH commands

must follow the option.

Options

-com

serial_port

Specifies the serial port used when establishing an IPMI session to the managed system. For a system running Windows, the management station port can be 1, 2, 3, and so on. For systems running Linux, the management station port can be ttyS0, ttyS1, ttyS2, and so on.

-baud

baud_rate

Specifies the communication baud rate over the serial channel. The maximum reliably supported baud rates are:

• 19200 for PowerEdge

• 57600 for PowerEdge

• 115200 for PowerEdge

NOTE: The baud rate for serial channel should match the baud rate set in the managed system.

-flow

flow_control

x8xx

systems

x9xx

systems without Dell Remote Access Controller 5 (DRAC 5)

x9xx

systems with DRAC 5

Specifies the data flow control method. There are two flow control options: CTS (hardware flow control) and NONE (no flow control).

-u

username

Specifies the BMC username.

password

-p

Specifies the BMC user password.

IPMI Help Option -help

Synopsis

ipmish -help [

command

]

Using the BMC Management Utility 43

Description

This option displays the following information:

• A summary page for all commands

• A summary of all subcommands for a single command

• A detailed description of a command-subcommand combination

Options

-help

subcommand

A command list and a capsule description of options are printed if no argument is given. When there is an argument specifying a valid command, the help option displays a detailed description of the command. See Figure 3-3 and Figure 3-4.

Figure 3-3. IPMI Help Option Example 1

44 Using the BMC Management Utility

Figure 3-4. IPMISH Help option Example 2

IPMI Session Option -interactive

Synopsis

ipmish -interactive [-cfg

<config-file>

]

Description

This option invokes the interactive CLI mode. An IPMISH prompt appears when entering interactive CLI mode. Type quit to exit the IPMISH prompt and return to the CLI prompt.

NOTE: The command prompt responds with an error message in the interactive mode, if a command is used

before establishing an IPMI session with connect.

Options

-interactive

Invokes the interactive CLI mode.

<config-file>

-cfg

Specifies the configuration file for BMU to start the CLI mode with. If a configuration file is not specified, BMU operates with default configuration settings.

NOTE: The -interactive option must be followed by connect for ipmish to work.

Using the BMC Management Utility 45

See "Configuring the SOL Proxy Configuration File" for more information on configuration files.

Figure 3-5. IPMISH interactive option

The following line edit functions are supported during the interactive session:

Up and Down arrow keys to browse command history.

Left and Right arrow keys to move the input cursor.

Home and End keys to move the input cursor to the beginning or end of the line.

Backspace key to move the input cursor back by one space.

The following line edit functions are supported for the SOL proxy menu mode:

Left and Right arrow key to move the input cursor.

Home and End keys to move the input cursor to the beginning or end of the line.

Backspace key to move the input cursor back by one space.

IPMI Shell Commands

Table 3-1 lists IPMI Shell commands with a brief description.

NOTE: The sol, sensor, and connect commands can be used in the IPMI Shell interactive and non-interactive

modes and the quit command can be used only in the interactive mode.

Table 3-1. IPMI Shell Commands

Command Description

identify Controls the identification LED on the front panel.

sysinfo Retrieves and displays managed system information.

power Controls the power state of the managed system.

46 Using the BMC Management Utility

Table 3-1. IPMI Shell Commands (continued)

Command Description

sel Displays or deletes information from the SEL.

sol Enables Serial-over-LAN for the remote managed system.

sensor Displays current status of platform sensors.

connect Connects to the BMC of the remote managed system.

help displays a command list with descriptions and syntax of options.

quit exits the command prompt.

identify

Synopsis

identify [on [-t

Description

seconds

] | off]

This command controls the identification LED on the front panel. See Figure 3-6.

Subcommands

on off

Turns the managed system’s front panel LED on or off. If the BMC supports the IPMI extension Chassis Identify On command, then the identify on command turns the LED on indefinitely until the identify off command is used to turn the LED off.

NOTE: Acknowledgement or status check of the command is not displayed on the command prompt. You should

manually check the status on the system.

Options

-t

seconds

Specifies how long the LED is on. It should be no longer than 255 seconds.

Default Subcommand

If a subcommand is not specified, this command acts the same as the identify on command.

Using the BMC Management Utility 47

Figure 3-6. identify Option Example

sysinfo

Synopsis

sysinfo [fru | id]

Description

This command retrieves and displays the system information, including field replaceable unit (FRU) and BMC information for the managed system. See Figure 3-7 and Figure 3-8.

Subcommands

fru — Returns FRU related information id — Returns BMC related information

Default Subcommand

If a subcommand is not specified, this command acts the same as sysinfo id. See Figure 3-7.

Figure 3-7. sysinfo Option Example

48 Using the BMC Management Utility

Figure 3-8. sysinfo FRU Example

power

Synopsis

power status power off [-force] | on | cycle | reset

Description

This command displays the current power status of the managed system, turns the system on or off, or resets the system. See Figure 3-9.

Subcommands

status — Displays the current power status of the system, the returned value is on or off. on — Turns on the managed system. off — Issues a “graceful shutdown” IPMI command.

NOTE: A graceful shutdown of the server operating system may not be possible when the server software is

locked up, or if you are not logged in to the server operating system in Windows. In these cases it may be necessary to use the -force option to reboot or power control the system.

cycle — Turns off the system, pauses, then turns the system back on. reset — Pulses the system reset signal, regardless of the power state.

Using the BMC Management Utility 49

Options

-force

This option simulates pressing and holding the power button for four or more seconds.

Default Subcommand

If a subcommand is not specified, this command functions the same as power status.

Figure 3-9. power Option Example

sel

Synopsis

sel status sel get [ [-begin

[-format <

oemlist|legacy>

index1

] [-end ]

index2

| -max

count

] ] | [-last n]

sel clear

Description

This command displays the system event log information, displays the contents of the event log, and deletes all the event log records. See Figure 3-10.

50 Using the BMC Management Utility

Subcommands

status — Displays the total number of system event log records. get — Prints all or part of the event log. clear — Deletes all the records in the event log.

Options

-begin

index1

Specifies the first record to display.

-end

index2

Specifies the last record to display.

-max

count

Specifies the maximum number of records to display.

If the value of the argument count is bigger than the total number of the records, the last record displayed will be the last one in the event log.

-last

Specifies the number of records to be displayed, starting from the last record and counting backwards.

Default Subcommand

If a subcommand is not specified, this command acts the same as sel status.

Display Format

System event log records are displayed using either a tabular format (legacy) or a vertical format (oemlist) consistent with the SEL log output found in other Dell OpenManage products. The default is the oemlist format. The column headers for the legacy format are: Ordinal Number, Date, Time, Sensor Number, Sensor Type, and Brief Description. See Figure 3-10 for an example of oemlist and legacy formatted SEL display.

Using the BMC Management Utility 51

Figure 3-10. sel Option Example

SOL

Synopsis

sol[enable |disable]

sol config [-baud

retry_count

Description

] [retry interval

baud rate

][-priv

privilege level

retry_interval

] [-retry count

]

This command allows you to configure sol session parameters of a remote BMC.

NOTE: The command prompt responds with an error message if a command is used before establishing an IPMI

session with connect.

Subcommands

enable

Allows you to enable SOL of connected server.

disable

Allows you to disable SOL of connected server.

config

Allows you to configure SOL baud rate and privilege level.

52 Using the BMC Management Utility

Options

-baud

baud_rate

Specifies the communication baud rate over the serial channel, such as 9600 or 19200. It should be in conformity with the SOL baud rate of the managed server.

-priv

privilege_level

Specifies minimum privilege levels required to establish an SOL session. Possible values are User, Operator, and Administrator.

-retry count

retry_count

Specifies number of times the BMC will retry sending SOL packages if no acknowledgement is received. The maximum and minimum values are 7 and 0, respectively.

-retry interval

retry_interval

Specifies the retry time interval that the BMC will wait before resending SOL packets to the remote console. It is specified in 10 ms increments. For example, if you set 100 as the value, the BMC will wait 1000 ms before retrying to send SOL packages to the remote console. If you specify zero as the value, the BMC will retry sending instantly, without any time intervals.

Figure 3-11. IPMISH SOL option

sensor

Synopsis

Description

This command displays the current status of platform sensors using one of the two possible formats.

OPTIONS

[temp|fan|volt|discrete|numeric]

Using the BMC Management Utility 53

Specifies the sensor group (temp, volt, fan, discrete, or numeric) for which information is displayed. If you do not specify a sensor group, all sensors for which there is information will be displayed.

-format <oemlist|legacy>

Use different formats to output the sensor data. Default format is oemlist. Legacy format is diplayed as below:

Subcommands

[temp | fan | volt | discrete | numeric]

Specifies the sensor group for which information is displayed. If no sensor group is specified, information is displayed for all groups.

Figure 3-12. Sensor option example

connect

Synopsis

connect -ip bmc-ip-address | bmc-host-name [-u username] [-p password] [-k IPMI encryption key value]

connect -com bmc_ip_address | bmc_hostname -u username -p password [-k KG value]

Description

This command establishes an IPMI connection with the remote server in the interactive mode to enable the user to perform server management activities. The command remains active until the user quits the command prompt or uses the command again to connect to a different server.

54 Using the BMC Management Utility

Options

-ip

bmc-ip-address|bmc_hostname

Specifies the out-of-band IP address or hostname of the remote managed system.

-u

username

Specifies the username to connect to the remote system.

-p

password

Specifies the password to be used to connect to the remote managed system.

-k IPMI encryption key value

NOTE: Even number of hexadecimal characters is valid and odd number of hexadecimal characters is invalid. For

example, 123456AB67 is valid, and 123 is invalid. Enter 00, 0000, etc. to disable encryption.

Figure 3-13. IPMISH connect option

quit

Synopsis

quit

Description

This command exits the IPMI Shell interactive mode and returns to the command mode.

help

Synopsis

help

[command]

Description

This command lists commands and capsule descriptions with syntax for each command.

Using the BMC Management Utility 55

Argument

command

Specifies the command for which detailed description is required.

Figure 3-14. IPMISH help option

SOL Proxy

SOL Proxy is a simple telnet server. It allows a telnet client to interact with the hardware-designated serial port of a remote managed system using the LAN communication channel. See Figure 3-15. With SOL Proxy, administrators can view and change the BIOS settings over a shared LAN. In addition, you can also access your managed system’s BMC using SOL Proxy using the Linux serial console and Microsoft’s EMS/SAC interfaces. SOL Proxy does not support in-band or serial connection to the managed system’s BMC.

When BIOS console redirection to serial port is enabled on the remote managed system, any application that uses the BIOS to read from or write to the system console will have its I/O redirected to the designated serial I/O port. When SOL is activated, the BMC firmware reads any data written to the serial port and transmits it to the SOL Proxy as LAN packets. SOL Proxy then forwards the data to the telnet client as TCP/IP packets.

Conversely, any keyboard activity at the telnet client is sent to the BMC by SOL Proxy. BMC then writes the packets to the system serial I/O port.

NOTE: See your system’s User’s Guide for more information about console redirection, including hardware and

software requirements and instructions for configuring host and client systems to use console redirection.

56 Using the BMC Management Utility

The SOL Proxy communication scheme enables you to view and configure the BIOS settings of a managed system, as well as to reset the managed system remotely using a telnet client. SOL Proxy is installed as a daemon service and automatically starts each time the system boots. SOL Proxy can accommodate only one telnet session at a time.

You can use a variety of telnet clients to access SOL Proxy features. For example:

• In a Windows environment, you can use a Command Prompt window as your console. However, function keys such as <F1> and <F2> will not operate correctly with this client except on systems running Windows Server 2003.

• In a Windows environment, you can also use any telnet application that supports VT100 or ANSI emulation mode (such as HyperTerminal) as your console.

NOTICE: All versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system include Hilgraeve's HyperTerminal

terminal emulation software. However, the included version does not provide many functions required during console redirection. Instead, you can use any terminal emulation software that supports VT100 or ANSI emulation mode. One example of a full VT100 or ANSI terminal emulator that supports console redirection on your system is Hilgraeve's HyperTerminal Private Edition 6.1 or later.

NOTE: When using HyperTerminal, you must deselect the Wrap lines that exceed terminal width check box

to avoid console redirected data that may appear to be corrupted or garbled. To deselect this feature, click

→

Properties→ Settings→ ASCII Setup…→ Wrap lines that exceed terminal width.

File

NOTE: See your system’s User’s Guide for more information about console redirection, including hardware and

software requirements and instructions for configuring host and client systems to use console redirection.

• In a Linux environment, you can use a shell such as

csh

ksh

as your console, or you can use any

telnet application supporting VT100 or ANSI emulation mode.

NOTE: Telnet settings must be consistent with the settings on the managed system. For example, the baud rates

and terminal modes should match.

Using the BMC Management Utility 57

You can also send the terminal break function while in console redirection. The use of this functionality requires that the specific terminal program in use has the ability to send the break function. For example, you can send the break signal through the Linux telnet modules by typing:

Ctrl+]send brk<Enter>

The Linux SysRq function is one example of an advanced debugging feature that is enabled by use of the break function. See the "BIOS Configuration" section on how to use this feature. See the "Serial Console redirection With SOL Proxy" section for more information on the SysRq feature.

To enable BIOS console redirection for use with SOLProxy:

• Configure the PowerEdge

Console redirection

x9xx

systems. This option is available under the

attribute to

On with Console Redirection via COM2

Serial Communication

for

submenu in

BIOS setup.

• Configure the is available under the option is available under the

Console Redirection

Integrated Devices

attribute to

menu in

Serial Port1

BIOS Setup

menu in

BIOS Setup

for PowerEdge

. Set

Serial Port 1

x8xx

systems. This option

BMC NIC

. This

Using SOL Proxy

Depending on the console you use, there are different steps for accessing SOL Proxy. Throughout this section, the management station where the SOL Proxy is running is referred to as the SOL Proxy Server.

Initiating the SOL Proxy session using the Windows Command Prompt:

To connect and use SOL Proxy:

Open a Command Prompt window on your management station.

Enter the and the port number that you specified in the SOL Proxy installation (the default value is 623). For example:

telnet 192.168.1.24 623

telnet

command in the command-line and provide the IP address of the SOL Proxy server

NOTE: The IP address and port number you provide should conform to the ones defined in the SOL Proxy

configuration file. For more details, see “Configuring the SOL Proxy Configuration File.”

If you are prompted for a username, provide the operating system login credentials of the system running the service:

Provide a password when prompted. SOL Proxy will use this combination of operating system

DSM_BMU_SOL_Proxy

username and password to authenticate you on the SOL Proxy Server. The specific authentication scheme will depend on the operating system configuration for the SOL Proxy Server. However, if

localhost

or an IP address of 127.0.0.1 is used, it is assumed that the user has login privileges to the

current host, and is not prompted for a username and password.

After authentication, a login successful message and the SOL Proxy main menu prompt appear. You are ready to use SOL Proxy. By default, you will be logged in the menu mode. See "SOL Proxy Main Menu" for further instructions.

58 Using the BMC Management Utility

The following line edit functions are supported during the SOLProxy session:

Up- and Down- arrow keys to browse command history.

Left- and Right- arrow keys to move the input cursor.

Using a Linux Shell

To connect and use SOL Proxy:

Open a Linux shell on your management station.

Enter the

telnet

command and provide the IP address of the SOL Proxy Server and the port number

you specified in SOL Proxy installation. For example:

telnet 192.168.1.24 623

NOTE: The IP address and port number you provide should conform to the ones defined in the SOL Proxy

configuration file. For more details, see “Configuring the SOL Proxy Configuration File.”

If you are prompted for a username, provide the operating system login credentials of SOL Proxy Server.

Provide a password when prompted. SOL Proxy will use this combination of operating system username and password to authenticate you on the SOL Proxy Server. The specific authentication scheme will depend on the operating system configuration for the SOL Proxy Server. However, if

localhost

or an IP address of 127.0.0.1 is used, it is assumed that the user has login privileges to the

current host, and is not prompted for a username and password.

After authentication, a login successful message and the SOL Proxy main menu prompt appear. You are ready to use SOL Proxy. See "SOL Proxy Main Menu" for further instructions.

Using the BMC Management Utility 59

SOL Proxy Main Menu

After the telnet connection with SOL Proxy is successfully established, you are presented with the following choices. See Figure 3-15.

Figure 3-15. SOL Proxy Main Menu Example

The SOL Proxy main menu allows you to change the SOL settings of a remote managed system’s BMC, reboot the remote BMC, or activate console redirection.

When you select menu option 1, Connect to the Remote Server’s BMC, you are prompted for the BMC IP address and BMC login. After you enter the required information and make a successful connection, the internal state SLP is changed to “connected.” If you select menu options 2, 3, or 4, and the application state is not “connected,” you are prompted to connect to a BMC.

Menu option 2 allows you to enable, disable, and configure the SOL defaults, including the minimum user privilege level required for activating SOL and the communication baud-rate.

60 Using the BMC Management Utility

Menu options 3 and 4 allow you to establish a SOL remote console session through the SOL Proxy main menu. Menu option 3 establishes a SOL session without changing the remote system’s state. This option is ideal for connecting to the Microsoft SAC/EMS or the Linux console. Menu option 4 reboots the remote managed system and establishes a SOL session. This option is best suited for performing BIOS setup and system configuration tasks.

To exit an active SOL session, use the <~><.> character sequence. This sequence terminates SOL and returns you to the top-level menu.

Connecting to the Remote Managed System’s BMC

NOTE: While multiple SOL sessions can be active at the same time, only one console redirection session can be

active at any given time for a managed system.

Select option 1 in the main menu.

Enter the BMC IP address of the remote managed system.

Provide the BMC username and password for the BMC on the managed system. The BMC username and password must be assigned and stored in the BMC non-volatile storage. See "Configuring Your Managed System" for more information about configuring BMC users. Only one SOL session with one BMC is permitted at one time.

The connection status displays on the main menu. See Figure 3-16.

Provide the IPMI encryption key if it was configured in the BMC.

Figure 3-16. Connecting to the Remote System’s BMC

Using the BMC Management Utility 61

Configuring the SOL for the Remote Managed System

Select option 2 in the main menu.

NOTE: You must be connected to the managed system’s BMC before you can configure the SOL features. If

SOL Proxy is not yet connected to the managed system’s BMC, you are prompted for an IP address, a username/password combination, and an IPMI encryption key. The IPMI encryption key value will be ignored if no key was set at the BMC on the target server. See "Connecting to the Remote Managed System’s BMC" for more information.

The SOL configuration menu appears. According to the current SOL status, the content of the SOL configuration menu varies:

• If SOL is already enabled, the current settings are displayed and you are presented with three choices. See Figure 3-17.

Figure 3-17. Configuring the Serial-Over-LAN for the Remote System, Example 1

• If SOL is currently disabled, the options shown in Figure 3-18 are displayed. Type Y to enable SOL or N to keep SOL disabled. See Figure 3-18.

62 Using the BMC Management Utility

Figure 3-18. Configuring the Serial-Over-LAN for the Remote System, Example 2

• If SOL is enabled, two BMC settings are displayed:

– The communication baud-rate between the system serial port and the BMC

– The minimum BMC user privilege level required for activating console redirection

SOL Proxy displays a list of valid values for each feature, as well as the current value of the feature enclosed in a pair of brackets. Select the number before a value to set it as the new setting, and press <Enter> to confirm your changes. The new SOL settings are then displayed. See Figure 3-19.

Using the BMC Management Utility 63

Figure 3-19. SOL Settings, Example 3

Activating Console Redirection

Select option 3 in the main menu.

NOTE: You must be connected to the managed system’s BMC before you can configure the SOL features. If SOL

Proxy is not yet connected to the managed system’s BMC, you are prompted for an IP address and a username/password combination. See "Connecting to the Remote Managed System’s BMC" for more information.

The remote managed system’s text console is redirected to your management station. See Figure 3-20.

NOTE: BIOS Console Redirection must be enabled on the managed system and correctly configured before SOL

can be successfully activated. See "Configuring Your Managed System" for more information.

64 Using the BMC Management Utility

Figure 3-20. Console Redirection Example

Rebooting the Managed System and Activating Console Redirection

Select option 4 in the main menu.

NOTE: You must be connected to the managed system’s BMC before you can configure the SOL features. If SOL

Proxy is not yet connected to the managed system’s BMC, you are prompted for an IP address, a username/password combination, and an IPMI encryption key. The IPMI encryption key value will be ignored if no key was set at the BMC on the target server. See "Connecting to the Remote Managed System’s BMC" for more information.

The power state of the remote managed system is confirmed. If power is on, you are asked to decide between a graceful or forceful shutdown.

Next, the power state is monitored until the status changes to on. Console redirection begins, and the remote managed system text console is redirected to your management station. Use the escape character sequence <~><.> to terminate console redirection and return to the top-level menu.

While the managed system reboots, you can enter the BIOS system setup program to view or configure BIOS settings. See Figure 3-21.

NOTE: Before activating the console redirection, you must first enable the console redirection features. See

"Configuring Your Managed System" for more information.

Using the BMC Management Utility 65

Figure 3-21. Reboot Example

Getting Help

Select option 5 in the main menu to display detailed descriptions for each option. See Figure 3-22.

Figure 3-22. Sample Help Screen

Exit

Select option 6 to end your telnet session and disconnect from SOL Proxy.

66 Using the BMC Management Utility

Using SOL proxy in command mode

By default, SOL Proxy is installed for use in the menu mode by the system. See "Configuring the SOL Proxy Configuration File" section for instructions on how to change the default settings to command mode.

Commands in SOL Proxy

SOL Proxy command mode is similar to the IPMI Shell interactive mode. In addition to supporting all commands of the IPMI Shell interactive mode, the SOL Proxy supports the following additional commands.

console

Synopsis

console

Description

This command allows users to establish an SOL session with the connected server.

NOTE: BMU responds with an error message if console is used before establishing an IPMI session with connect.

reboot

Synopsis

reboot[-force]

Description

This command allows you to control power configurations and establish an SOL session in one atomic operation. It is equivalent to executing the menu command of "Reboot and Activate Console Redirection".

Options

-force

This option is used to force the system to shut down. If this option is omitted, the "reboot" command is executed using a graceful shutdown.

Figure 3-23. reboot Option Example

Using the BMC Management Utility 67

Configuring the SOL Proxy Configuration File

Certain parameters, for IPMI Shell and SOL Proxy, must be correctly configured in the SOL Proxy Configuration file, - SOLProxy.cfg, which is located in the default installation BMC directory.

The parameters and their descriptions are as follows:

Comments

Any line starting with a “#” is treated as a comment. For example:

#The file is an example.

IP Address

Specifies the specific IP address used to connect to SOL Proxy. This item defines what kind of connection can be accepted to establish a SOL Proxy telnet session. There are three possible values:

•

INADDR_ANY

•

127.0.0.1

•

IP address

For example:

ip=INADDR_ANY

Port Binding

Specifies the port at which the SOL Proxy listens for incoming connections. By default, the port is set to 623 and can be modified by the user.

This item defines the port when you telnet SOL Proxy. If this item is absent, 623 is set as the default port. For example:

port=623

—

SOL proxy listens for input on any interface on the server.

— SOL proxy listens for input on the localhost only.

—

SOL proxy listens for input on this IP address only.

Session Timeout

Specifies the time in minutes before the SOL Proxy session times out.

If there is no keyboard activity for the specified timeout period, the telnet session and the SOL session will be closed. The timeout value is specified in minutes and can be changed during SOL Proxy installation. For example:

session_timeout=30

Power-off Timeout

Specifies the time in seconds before the SOL Proxy gives up polling for the managed system's power status. If the SOL Proxy issues the power off command and the system does not power off within the specified interval, the SOL Proxy returns with a message, indicating that the SOL Proxy was unable to power off the system due to the timeout interval.

68 Using the BMC Management Utility

NOTE: When Reboot and Activate Console Redirection is selected and power for the remote managed system is

on, a power off IPMI command is issued. The power status is then continually monitored until the power status reports “off.” If power status remains “on” longer than this timeout period, Reboot and Activate Console Redirection reports an error and returns to the top-level menu. This timeout value is specified in seconds and can be changed during SOL Proxy installation.

For example:

power_off_timeout=60

Retry Interval

Specifies the period of time in seconds that the BMC waits before it tries to resend a packet. The retry_interval unit is half a second. Therefore, a value of 2 means that the software waits one second for

the BMC to respond before it tries to resend the packet, a value of 4 means that it waits two seconds, and so on. For example:

retry_interval=2

Retry Count

Specifies the maximum number of times that the software tries to resend a packet if it does not receive a response from the BMC. Before each retry, the software waits for the interval specified by the retry_interval parameter. For example:

retry_count=10

User Interface

Specifies the default settings for SOL Proxy startup. The user can edit and set this comment in the command or menu mode. For example:

user_interface=menu

Sol Loss Silent

Specifies system behaviour when one or more SOL packets is lost. The possible values are 0 and 1. If it is set to 0 or is absent, the system will print an error message on the screen each time an SOL packet is lost. If it is set to 1, the system will not print error messages for loss of SOL packets. For example:

sol_loss_silent=0 or 1

Sol Loss Threshold

Specifies number of SOL packets that can be lost before SOL deactivation. The default value is 0, which means that the system will deactivate SOL, if any SOL packets are lost. For example,

sol_loss_silent_threshold=0

Using the BMC Management Utility 69

Sdr Cache

Specifies whether the system probe information is saved. This information enhances speed of providing sensor and System Event Log (SEL) data. The possible values are on and off. Default value is on. For example,

sdr_cache=on

Sdrcache Path

Specifies path where the system probe information is saved. Default location is the installed BMC directory on your hard drive. For example,

sdrcache_path=<specified path directory>

Max Session

Specifies the maximum number of concurrent SOL sessions possible. This default value is 1; any value less than 1 will be ignored or treated as 1. You cannot set more than 20 sessions. For example,

max_session=2

Logpath

Specifies the path for storing the log files. Two log files, solproxy.log and solproxyipmi.log, are created at the specified path. For example,

logpath=<specified location for log file>

debug

Specifies if the debug data will be logged. The default is off.

debug=off

70 Using the BMC Management Utility

Known Issues and Frequently Asked Questions

This section discusses known issues with using the BMC Management Utility, along with frequently asked questions.

Known Issues

General Issues

• You must assign a valid BMC user name and password before you can connect to your system's BMC using the BMC Management Utility. If you do not explicitly provide a valid BMC user name and password when using the BMC Management Utility to log in to your system's BMC, the BMC firmware will use a null user name and null password as defaults, resulting in a "Login Not Authorized" error.

SOL Proxy Issues

• SOL Proxy on IP port 623 allows connections from a Web browser. However, if you connect from a Web browser, SOL Proxy displays only jumbled and unusable data. You must close the Web session and connect through a telnet connection to run the application.

• Microsoft is enabled with EMS SAC, you will see corrupted data. As SAC does not implement hardware flow control, you are unable to effectively use SOL Proxy to activate console redirection to EMS SAC. This can result in corrupted screen output caused by missed characters. Slower baud rates correct this situation and still provide good user experience.

SAC does not implement hardware control flow. Therefore, when console redirection

IPMI Shell Issues

• If you type will receive a "command not found" error from DOS. This is because the BMU install directory is not included in the system search path. You can execute IPMISH directly by specifying a fully qualified path or by first navigating to the BMC directory and then executing the command. You may also manually add the BMU install directory to the execution search path.

ipmish

from any directory other than the directory where the BMU is installed, you

Known Issues and Frequently Asked Questions 71

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do IPMI Shell commands correspond one-to-one to IPMI commands?

A: IPMI Shell provides only the most useful IPMI commands. It includes a definitive set of commands that can accomplish the most common management tasks. Therefore, IPMI Shell commands may not correspond one-to-one to IPMI commands.

Q: Can I manage a system by accessing multiple IPMI instances simultaneously?

A: Yes, you can manage a system by accessing multiple IPMI instances at the same time as long as your system’s BMC supports more than one concurrent connection.

Q: Can my SOL Proxy server handle multiple connections at a time?

A: Yes, each SOL Proxy server can handle a maximum of 20 SOL Proxy connections simulatenously. By default only one session is permitted. Edit solproxy.cfg and uncomment and increase the value of max_session.

Q: How do I unlock an SOL session occupied by another user?

A: Your system’s BMC only supports one SOL session at a time. You must wait for the current user’s session to time out before you can access a new SOL proxy session. See "Session Timeout" for more information about configuring the session timeout parameters.

Q: Why can’t I connect to a console using the terminal emulation software included with my Microsoft Windows

A: The version of HyperTerminal included with Windows does not provide many functions required during console redirection. Either upgrade to HyperTerminal Private Edition 6.1 or later, or select any other terminal emulation software that supports full configuration of VT100 or ANSI emulation mode.

Q. What is the Spanning Tree feature?

A. Most quality routers use the Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) to optimize performance and remove loops. This can cause delays upto 30 seconds or more whenever a NIC is reset. Resets are known to happen during BIOS POST, driver initialization, and some network software installation and configuration. The delay can cause errors when running IPMISH commands. It can also cause a SOL proxy session to become inactivated. You can configure your router to reduce or eliminate the delay by enabling the router option edge-port (Dell™ PowerConnect™) or port fast (Cisco). This will allow the link to remain constant and handle the optimization in real time.

72 Known Issues and Frequently Asked Questions

operating system?

Q: I performed a Reboot and Activate Console Redirection command using SOL Proxy, but the option to press <F2> to enter the BIOS setup never appeared.

A: When the network switch has spanning-tree enabled, it takes as much as 30 to 40 seconds for the spanning-tree check to make sure there are no loops in the network. During this time, packet forwarding by the switch is blocked. Therefore, the software cannot communicate with the BMC until the spanning tree check is complete. When the spanning tree feature is enabled on a edge-port or port fast router, the network link can be broken for periods of time in excess of 30 seconds while the router analyzes the network. This situation can be identified partially when the link light is off. IPMISH commands can timeout during this process. Disable spanning-tree on the port fast router or enable the Spanning Tree Fast option and try performing a Reboot and Activate Console Redirection command using SOL Proxy again. You should now be able to enter BIOS setup by pressing <F2>.

Q: Why do I see a connection time-out error message when I perform the Power Reset command using the IPMISH command line tool?

A: The spanning-tree feature described in the previous Q&A can cause problems during power management as well. Use the solution above to help assure that power reset and other power management commands can function without network timeouts.

Q: Why do some key and key combinations, such as <F10> and <Ctrl><Alt><Del>, not work during console redirection?

A: Console redirection uses ANSI or VT 100/220 terminal emulation, which is limited to basic ASCII characters. Function keys, arrow keys, and control keys are not available in the ASCII character set, and most utilities require function keys and control keys for ordinary operations. See "Escape Key Sequences" for more information on the same.

Q: Can you use terminal mode simultaneously with BIOS console redirection?

A: Yes. BMC terminal mode can function simultaneously with BIOS console redirection. You can escape between the BMC’s terminal mode and the BIOS console redirection using the following Escape sequences:

Press <Esc><q> to switch the system serial port to the BIOS console redirection text stream.

Press <Esc><(> to switch the system serial port to the BMC terminal mode text stream.

NOTE: Because you are switching back and forth between two independently active text streams, data

may be lost.

See your system User’s Guide for more information about configuring and using BIOS console redirection and see "Terminal Mode Commands" for more information about using Terminal Mode commands.

Known Issues and Frequently Asked Questions 73

74 Known Issues and Frequently Asked Questions

BMC Management Utility Error Codes

The following is a list of error messages for the BMC Management Utility. In case of a functional failure, an error message will be printed to stderr. The text of the error message is listed in the Message column in Table A-1.

Errors will always be printed in a parsable format such as:

Error (<hex-code>):<message>!

The following is an example:

Error(0xC1):Invalid Command!

Table A-1. BMC Management Utility Error Codes

Code Classification Message Description IPMI Error

A1h Connection

errors.

Invalid authentication type. Authentication type

A2h Communication

errors.

Data error. Data packet format error. 0xC6,

Not connected. Not connected to a

A3h Authorization

errors.

Connection timeout. BMC not responding.

error.

Communication error. Network stack or serial

communication error.

remote server yet.

Insufficient privilege for command.

Insufficient privilege level to execute command.

username/password.

0xC7, 0xC8, 0xCA

0xD4

0x86

BMC Management Utility Error Codes 75

Table A-1. BMC Management Utility Error Codes (continued)

Code Classification Message Description IPMI Error

A5h Initialization

errors.

Access denied. Trying to access the proxy

Unknown language. Unknown language code.

Invalid IP address. IP resolving error.

Session buffer limit

A6h

A8h

Unrecognized command. Unrecognized command.

Conflicting option. Conflicting option (-last

Invalid parameter. Invalid parameter.

A7h Parameter value

Parameter out of range

Parameter out of

Invalid data field. Invalid data field. 0xCC

Invalid index value. Index cannot be zero or a

First index larger than the

First index larger than total

Syntax errors. Command syntax error. Unable to parse

errors.

Authentication failure. Request for a session

from the local or remote proxy was rejected.

from a forbidden IP address.

Length exceeds the limit

exceeded.

Parameter out of range. Parameter out of range. 0xC9

(1-255).

range(1-65535)

last.

SEL records.

of telnet input.

command.

and -max).

The value is out of range (1-255).

The value is out of range (1-65535).

negative number.

The first index is larger than the last.

The first index is larger than the total SEL records.

76 BMC Management Utility Error Codes

Table A-1. BMC Management Utility Error Codes (continued)

Code Classification Message Description IPMI Error

A8h H/W or F/W

errors.

Sensor not present. Request sensor, data, or

Sensor command error. Command illegal for

Firmware error. Command response

Destination error. Cannot deliver request to

Device error. Device specific (OEM)

A9h Processing errors

(transient errors that may disappear upon retry of command).

Destination timeout error. BMC timeout while

BMC out of storage space. BMC out of storage space

Invalid reservation ID. Invalid reservation ID. 0xC5

Duplicate command. Cannot execute

SDR busy. Sensor Data Record

Device busy. Device in firmware

BMC unavailable. BMC initialization in

Bad BMC state. Request not supported in

Unsupported command. Unsupported operation. 0xC1

0xCB

record not present.

0xCD specified sensor or record type.

0xCE could not be provided.

0xD3 destination.

0x01–0x7E errors.

BMC busy. BMC out of processing

resources.

processing command

required to process command.

duplicated request.

Repository in update mode.

update mode.

progress.

present BMC state.

0xC0

0xC3

0xC4

0xCF

0xD0

0xD1

0xD2

0xD5

BMC Management Utility Error Codes 77

Table A-1. BMC Management Utility Error Codes (continued)

Code Classification Message Description IPMI Error

BMC out of sessions. No session slots are

available for connection request.

AEh Unexpected IPMI

errors.

Unspecified error. Unspecified error. 0xFF

AFh Unknown error Unknown error. Unknown error.

Invalid LUN. Invalid Logical Unit

Number (LUN) in request.

0x81,

0x82,

0x83

0xC2

78 BMC Management Utility Error Codes

Terminal Mode Commands

This appendix provides information about terminal mode commands.

Terminal mode allows you to directly connect to the system's Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) using a serial port connection and execute text-based commands. Two types of text commands are supported:

• A limited selection of text commands

• Standard binary Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) hex-ASCII commands

Configuring Terminal Mode

NOTE: Terminal Mode can be configured through Server Administrator and the Deployment Toolkit (DTK).

To configure Terminal Mode through Server Administrator, complete the following steps:

Click the

The

Click the

In the

Click the

You can configure the Connection Mode Setting, Baud Rate, Flow Control, Channel Privilege Level Limit attributes on this screen.

• The Serial communication connection mode for the BMC must be set to

terminal Mode

•

External Serial Connector

systems. This option is available under the

•Disable the navigate to

•Set

Integrated Devices

System

object.

Main System Chassis

Remote Access

BMC Information

Configuration

Terminal Mode Settings

RAC serial Console

Serial

Serial Port 1

tab, click

for Dell™ PowerEdge™

from

for PowerEdge

menu.

object.

window is displayed.

tab.

Serial Port

must be configured and set to

if you have a DRAC 5 installed. Login to the DRAC GUI,

Remote Access

x8xx

button.

x8xx

and

x9xx

Serial Communication

, and disable

systems. This option is available in the

systems.

Remote Access

submenu in the BIOS Setup.

Enable Serial console

Direct Connect

for PowerEdge

BIOS Setup

x9xx

, in the

Terminal Mode Commands 79

Using Terminal Mode

Use the Terminal Mode feature to perform the following tasks:

• Power the server on or off.

• Reset the server.

• Retrieve the server's health status.

• Configure and retrieve the server management subsystems boot options.

• Configure and retrieve the BMC's terminal mode configuration.

• Execute any platform supported binary command specified in the IPMI specification using the hex-ASCII format.

NOTE: Many of the Terminal Mode features described in this section require an extensive knowledge of IPMI. It is

strongly recommended that Terminal Mode users have an advanced understanding of IPMI before using the commands documented in this section.

Security Information

Access to the BMC using terminal mode is governed by the proper setup of user names and password. See "Configuring Your Managed System" for more information. A session must be established with the BMC prior to accepting any terminal mode commands. A limited selection of text commands and binary hex-ASCII commands that are assigned the lowest IPMI privilege level are available prior to session establishment with the BMC.

Since the terminal mode password is sent using clear text, it is highly desirable that the terminal mode session takes place in a secure location over a secure link by using a direct connection.

Syntax

Terminal mode messages follow the general syntax below:

[<message data>]<newline sequence>

Each terminal mode message must be preceded with the left bracket "start” character and must be ended with a right bracket “stop” character and the appropriate input new-line sequence.

No input characters are accepted until the start character has been received.

NOTE: Hex-ASCII commands can either use upper or lower-case letters for ASCII representations of hex digits.

Command Length

Terminal mode messages are limited to a maximum length of 122 characters. This includes the left- and right-brackets, but not control characters.

80 Terminal Mode Commands

Character Support

Terminal mode messages are composed of standard printable ASCII characters. All other characters are treated as illegal characters.

Special Character Handling — <Esc> character

The <Esc> character deletes an entire message prior to submission to the BMC for processing. If line editing is enabled, and the <Esc> key is followed by an input newline sequence, the BMC responds by outputting an output newline sequence. Otherwise, the BMC looks for the next start character.

Special Character Handling — <Delete> or <Backspace> character

The <Backspace> or <Delete> key deletes the last character entered if the message has not been submitted to the BMC yet.

Special Character Handling — Line Continuation character

Long IPMI messages can be split across multiple lines by using the line continuation "\" character followed immediately by an input newline sequence. Line continuation character usage is supported for both text and hex-ASCII commands.

Special Character Handling — Illegal characters

Any illegal characters received by the BMC clear the message in progress and the BMC looks for the next start character.

Hex-ASCII Command Format

Binary IPMI commands are sent and received as a series of case-insensitive hex-ASCII pairs, where each is separated from the preceding pair by a single space character. Table B-1 lists the terminal mode requests to BMC and Table B-2 lists the terminal mode responses from BMC. The following is an example of a binary IPMI request message:

[18 00 22]<newline sequence>

Table B-1. Terminal Mode Request to BMC

Byte Explanation

1 [7:2] – Net Function (even)

[1:0] – Responder’s LUN

2 [7:2] – Requester’s Sequence Number

[1:0] – Bridge field

3 Command Number

4:N Data

Terminal Mode Commands 81

Table B-2. Terminal Mode Response from BMC

Byte Explanation

1 [7:2] – Net Function (odd)

[1:0] – Responder’s LUN

2 [7:2] – Requester’s Sequence Number

[1:0] – Bridge field

3 Command Number

4 Completion Code

5:N Data

Text Command Format

Text commands do not support the bridging and sequence number fields present in the hex-ASCII commands. In addition, text commands are preceded by a prefix consisting of the string SYS. Table B-3 lists the terminal mode text commands and Table B-4 lists the terminal mode configuration.

Examples

Hex-ASCII command example (IPMI Reset Watchdog Cmd):

[18 00 22]<CR>

[1C 00 22 00]<CR-LF>

Text command example:

[SYS TMODE]<CR>

[OK TMODE]<CR-LF>

82 Terminal Mode Commands

Table B-3. Terminal Mode Text Commands

Command Switches Description

SYS PWD -U USERNAME

-U activates a terminal mode session. USERNAME corresponds to the ASCII text for the username. <password> represents a printable password (up to 16 characters). If <password> is not provided, then a Null password (all binary 0’s) is submitted. Passwords are case sensitive.

Either the SYS PWD command or the Activate Session IPMI message must be successfully executed before any command or IPMI messages are accepted.

NOTE: A modem connection may be automatically dropped if

multiple bad passwords are entered.

-N <password> -N represents a Null username and <password> represents a printable password (up to 16 characters). If <password> is not provided, then a Null password (all binary 0’s) is submitted. Passwords are case sensitive.

Either the SYS PWD command or the Activate Session IPMI message must be successfully executed before any command or IPMI messages are accepted.

NOTE: A modem connection may be automatically dropped if

multiple bad passwords are entered.

-X -X immediately logs out any presently active session.

NOTE: Entering an invalid password with -U or -N does not allow you

to log on.

SYS TMODE Used as a no-op confirm that Terminal Mode is active. The BMC

returns an OK response followed by TMODE.

SYS SET BOOT XX YY ZZ AA BB

Sets the boot flags to direct a boot to the specified device following the next IPMI command or action initiated reset or power-on. XX…BB represent five hex-ASCII encoded bytes, which are the boot flags parameter in the Boot Option Parameters.

Upon receiving this command, the BMC automatically sets the valid bit in the boot options and sets all the Boot Initiator Acknowledge data bits to 1b.

Terminal Mode Commands 83

Table B-3. Terminal Mode Text Commands (continued)

Command Switches Description

SYS SET BOOTOPT XX YY…NN

SYS GET BOOTOPT XX YY ZZ

This is a text version of the IPMI Set System Boot Options command. It allows any of the boot option parameters to be set, not just the boot flags. XX YY…NN represent the hex-ASCII encoding for the data bytes that are passed in the Set System Boot Options request.

XX — Parameter valid.

[7] — 1b = Mark parameter invalid/locked.

0b = Mark parameter valid/unlocked.

[6:0] — Boot option parameter selector .

YY…NN — Boot Option Parameter Data.

Passing 0-bytes of parameter data allows the parameter valid bit to be changed without affecting the present parameter setting.

This is a text version of the IPMI Get System Boot Options command. It allows any of the boot option parameters to be retrieved.

XX YY ZZ represents the hex-ASCII for the data bytes that are passed in the Get System Boot Options request.

The BMC returns the data from the command in hex-ASCII format.

XX—Parameter selector.

[7]—Reserved.

[6:0]—Boot option parameter selector.

YY—Set Selector.

[7:0]—Selects a particular block or set of parameters under the

given parameter selector.

Write as 00h if the parameter does not use a Set Selector.

ZZ—Block Selector.

Selects a particular block within a set of parameters

Write as 00h if the parameter does not use a Block Selector.

NOTE: There are no IPMI-specified Boot Options parameters that

use the block selector. However, this field is provided for consistency with other configuration commands and as a placeholder for future extension of the IPMI specification.

84 Terminal Mode Commands

Table B-3. Terminal Mode Text Commands (continued)

Command Switches Description

SYS SET TCFG Returns the Terminal Mode Configuration bytes where XX and YY

represent hex-ASCII encoding for the volatile version of data bytes 1 and 2 as specified in Table B-4, and AA BB represent hex-ASCII encoding of the non-volatile version.

V:XX <output termination sequence>

N:AA BB <output termination sequence>

-V XX YY Sets the volatile Terminal Mode Configuration. XX and YY represent hex-ASCII encoding for data bytes 1 and 2 as specified in Table B-4. The BMC returns the same output as for SYS SET TCFG, above.

-N XX YY Sets the non-volatile Terminal Mode Configuration. XX and YY represent hex-ASCII encoding for data bytes 1 and 2 as specified in Table B-4. The BMC returns the same output as for SYS SET TCFG, above.

SYS RESET Directs the BMC to perform an immediate system hard reset.

SYS POWER OFF

SYS POWER ON Causes the BMC to initiate an immediate system power on.

Directs the BMC to perform an immediate system power off.

Terminal Mode Commands 85

Table B-3. Terminal Mode Text Commands (continued)

Command Switches Description

SYS HEALTH QUERY

Causes the BMC to return a high level version of the system health status in terse format. The BMC returns a string with the following format if the command is accepted.

PWR:zzz H:xx T:xx V:xx PS:xx C:xx D:xx S:xx O:xx

Where:

PWR is system POWER state. H is overall Health. T is Temperature. V is Voltage. PS is Power Supply subsystem. C is cooling subsystem (Fans). D is Hard Drive/RAID Subsystem. S is physical Security. O is Other (OEM).

zzz is: ON, OFF (soft-off or mechanical off), SLP (sleep - used when sleep level cannot be distinguished), S4, S3, S2, S1, ?? (unknown).

and xx is: ok, nc, cr, nr, uf, or ?? where:

ok = OK (monitored parameters within normal operating ranges). nc = non-critical ("warning": hardware outside

normal operating range). cr = critical ("fatal": hardware exceeding specified

ratings). nr = non-recoverable ("potential damage": system

hardware in jeopardy or damaged).

uf = unspecified fault (fault detected, but severity unspecified).

?? = status not available/unknown (typically because system power

is OFF).

86 Terminal Mode Commands

Table B-3. Terminal Mode Text Commands (continued)

Command Switches Description

SYS HEALTH QUERY

SYS IDENTIFY Causes the BMC to indicate the system’s location in a rack of

SYS IDENTIFY -ON<XX> Causes the BMC to indicate the system’s location, for example,

SYS IDENTIFY -OFF Causes the BMC to stop indicating the system’s location. This has

-V Causes the BMC to return a high level version of the system health status in multi-line verbose format. The BMC returns a string of the following format:

SYS Health:xx<output termination sequence>.

Power: ON, OFF (soft-off or mechanical off), SLEEP (sleep - used when can't distinguish sleep level), S4, S3, S2, S1, Unknown.

Temperature:xx<output termination sequence>.

Voltage:xx<output termination sequence>.

PowerSystem:xx<output termination sequence>.

Cooling:xx<output termination sequence>.

Drives:xx<output termination sequence>.

Security:xx<output termination sequence>.

Other:xx<output termination sequence>.

Where xx is:

OK (monitored parameters within normal operating ranges).

Non-critical (warning: hardware outside normal operating range).

Critical (fatal :hardware exceeding specified ratings).

Non-recoverable (potential damage: system hardware in jeopardy

or damaged).

Unspecified fault (fault detected, but severity unspecified).

Unknown (status not available/unknown (typically because system

power is OFF).

systems, for example, with a blinking LED or beep. The BMC will indicate the system’s location only for 15 seconds. This is a text version of the optional Chassis Identify command.

with a blinking LED or beep for a specific period of time.

XX is an optional hex-ASCII byte representing the number of seconds the BMC is to cause the system to identify itself. If XX is not provided, the BMC will indicate the system’s location only for 15 seconds. This is a text version of the optional Chassis Identify command.

no effect if the system is not currently identifying itself. This is a text version of the optional Chassis Identify command.

Terminal Mode Commands 87

Table B-4. Terminal Mode Configuration

Byte Explanation

1 [7:6]—Reserved.

[5]—Line Editing.

0b = Disable.

1b = Enable (Factory default).

[4]—Reserved.

[3:2]—Delete control (only applies when line editing is enabled).

00b = BMC outputs a <Delete> character when <Backspace> or <Delete> is received.

01b = BMC outputs a <Backspace>< SP ><Backspace> sequence when <Backspace> or <Delete> is received (Factory default).

[1]—Echo control0b = No echo 1b = Echo (BMC echoes characters it receives) (Factory default).

[0]—Handshaking—BMC outputs a [SYS]<newline> after receiving each terminal mode IPMI message and is ready to accept the next message.

0b = Disable.

1b = Enable (Factory default).

2 [7:4] - Output newline sequence (BMC to console). Selects what characters the BMC

uses as the <newline> sequence when the BMC writes a line to the console in Terminal Mode.

0h = no termination sequence.

1h = <CR-LF> (Factory default)

2h = <NULL>

3h = <CR>

4h = <LF-CR>

5h = <LF>

All other = reserved

[3:0] - Input newline sequence (Console to BMC). Selects what characters the console uses as the newline sequence when writing to the BMC in Terminal Mode.

0h = reserved

1h = <CR> (Factory default)

2h = <NULL>

All other = reserved

88 Terminal Mode Commands

Escape Key Sequences

Console redirection uses ANSI or VT100/220 terminal emulation, which are limited to basic ASCII characters. There are no function keys, arrow keys, or control keys in this character set. However, most BIOS software requires the use of function keys and control keys for ordinary actions. Specific function keys and escape keys can be emulated by using a special key sequence, called an escape sequence, to represent a specific key.

Use the Escape sequences, listed in the following table, for keys while setting console redirection in BIOS through serial port. These keys are also listed during BIOS POST. Press the spacebar to pause and view the list. Supported sequences are also listed in the history of the system’s telnet client.

Table C-1. Escape sequences for specific keys

Key Supported sequences

F10 <Esc><0>

F12 <Esc><@>

<R>

Escape Key Sequences 89

90 Escape Key Sequences

Serial Port Console Redirection

Serial Communication

For PowerEdge x9xx servers, serial console redirection can be accomplished using COM1 or COM2.

Console Redirection Via COM1

To activate serial console redirection via COM1, you must configure the following settings:

Set Serial Communication-> Serial Communication to On with Console Redirection via COM1

Set Serial Communication-> External Serial Connector to COM1

Console Redirection Via COM2

Console Redirection via COM2 can be used to redirect either to the external connector or to the remote access device, such as a BMC or DRAC 5, for Serial Over LAN (SOL) communication.

To activate serial console redirection via COM2, you must configure the following settings:

Set Serial Communication-> Serial Communication to On with Console Redirection via COM2

Set Serial Communication-> External Serial Connector to COM2

NOTE: If the console redirection is used for SOL then the External Serial Connector setting does not need to

be configured.

When using COM2 for console redirection regardless of whether you redirect to the external connector or for SOL, the BIOS reads the SOL baud rate from the BMC and uses that setting to activate console redirection. SOL baud rate can be configured using the Dell Deployment Toolkit, OMSA, DRAC, or the BMU.

Serial Terminal Communication to BMC or DRAC

Serial Terminal Mode allows you to directly connect to the BMC or DRAC using a serial port connection and execute text-based commands. Refer to the Appendix B for information about configuring your BMC and DRAC for Serial Terminal Communication as well as available Terminal Mode Commands.

In Terminal Mode, the BMC or the DRAC, if present, support Escape key sequences that allow switching between the Serial Terminal Connection and the connection to the system COM2 port. This can be combined with the Console Redirection via COM2 (see "Console Redirection Via COM2") to switch between viewing the system console redirection and communicating to BMC or DRAC to execute the terminal commands such as system reset.

Serial Port Console Redirection 91

NOTE: For this combined functionality, Serial Communication baud rate and the SOL baud rate must be set to the

same value.

When in terminal mode, to switch the connection to the system COM2 port use:

When connected to the system COM2 port, to go back to the terminal mode use:

SPCR Table

The Serial Port Console Redirection (SPCR) table provides information about how the system firmware and service processor use the out-of-band (OOB) management port. For example, if the OOB Management port is a serial port, the SPCR table contains information such as serial port number, baud terminal type, and other settings used for OOB communication. The SPCR table is read by the Special Administrative Console (SAC) for console redirection and configures itself automatically during a bootable CD installation.

The SPCR table is automatically enabled if the system service processor supports Emergency Management Services (EMS) such as console redirection. If it is not configured automatically, you must configure SPCR to match BMC settings by adding the following parameters to the unattend.txt file.

NOTE: The unattend.txt file is automatically created after installation.

[Data]

EMSPort

EMSBaudrate

Where,

EMSPort = Port used for serial communication. For example, COM1 or COM2.

EMSBaudrate = Configured baud rate for communication. The minimum supported baud rates for supported Dell™ PowerEdge™ systems is 19200.

Serial Console redirection With SOL Proxy

Configuring Linux for Serial Redirection During Boot

The "SysRq key" is a key sequence that allows basic commands to be passed directly to the kernel for debugging. Under some circumstances, it can also be used to reboot remote managed systems. The serial console uses the RS-232 break function as the SysRq key. A "break" is a period of no transmission on the serial line. To configure the "Sysrq" key in systems running Linux, follow the instructions given below:

NOTE: The following instructions are specific to the Linux GRand Unified Bootloader (GRUB). Similar changes

would be necessary for using a different boot loader.

92 Serial Port Console Redirection

NOTE: In configuring the client VT100 emulation window, you must set the window or application that is displaying

the redirected console to 25 rows x 80 columns to ensure proper text display; otherwise, some text screens may be garbled.

Edit the file /etc/grub.conf, as follows. See the sample file that follows, which shows the changes described in this procedure.

Add the following two new lines in the

general settings

section of the file:

serial --unit=0 --speed=19200 terminal --timeout=10 serial

Append two options to the kernel line:

kernel ............. console=ttyS0,19200

If the

/etc/grub.conf

contains a

splashimage

directive, you must comment it out.

This sample file, using a baud rate of 19200, is an example. The following maximum baud rates are allowed for BMC serial communication and SOL:

• 19200 for PowerEdge 1425SC and other PowerEdge

• 57600 for PowerEdge

• 115200 for PowerEdge

x9xx

systems without Dell Remote Access Controller 5 (DRAC 5).

x9xx

systems with DRAC 5.

x8xx

systems.

Serial Port Console Redirection 93

Table D-1. Sample File: /etc/grub.con

# grub.conf generated by anaconda # Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file # NOTICE: You do not have a /boot partition. This means that # all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /, e.g.

# root (hd0,0) # kernel /boot/vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/sdal # initrd /boot/initrd-version.img #boot=/dev/sda default=0 timeout=10 #splashimage=(hd0,2)/grub/splash.xpm.gz

serial --unit=0 --speed=19200 terminal --timeout=10 serial

title Red Hat Linux Advanced Server (2.4.9-e.3smp)

root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.9-e.3smp ro root=/dev/sda1 hda=ide-scsi

console=tty0 console=ttyS0,19200

initrd /boot/initrd-2.4.9-e.3smp.img

title Red Hat Linux Advanced Server-up (2.4.9-e.3

root (hd0,00) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.9-e.3 ro root=/dev/sda1 s initrd /boot/initrd-2.4.9-e.3.im

Additional information for editing the grub.conf:

You may need to disable GRUB's graphical interface and use the text-based interface instead; otherwise, the GRUB screen will not be displayed in BMU console redirection. To do so, comment out the line starting with

If you have multiple options in GRUB and you want all of them to start a console session through the BMU serial connection, add

console=ttyS0,19200

splashimage

console=ttyS1,19200

added to only the first option.

94 Serial Port Console Redirection

to all options. The preceding example shows

Enabling Login to the Console After Boot

Edit the file /etc/inittab, as follows:

Add a new line to configure a getty on the COM1 serial port:

co:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty -h -L 19200 ttyS0 vt100

See the sample file, which shows the addition of the new line.

Table D-2. Sample File: /etc/innitab

# # inittab This file describes how the INIT process should set up

# the system in a certain run-level. #

# Author: Miquel van Smoorenburg, <miquels@drinkel.nl.mugnet.org # Modified for RHS Linux by Marc Ewing and Donnie Barnes #

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are: # 0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this) # 1 - Single user mode # 2 - Multiuser, without NFS (The same as 3, if you do not have # networking) # 3 - Full multiuser mode # 4 - unused # 5 - X11 # 6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this) # id:3:initdefault:

# System initialization. si::sysinit:/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit

l0:0:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 0 l1:1:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 1 l2:2:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 2 l3:3:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 3 l4:4:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 4 l5:5:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 5 l6:6:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 6

Serial Port Console Redirection 95

Table D-2. Sample File: /etc/innitab (continued)

# Things to run in every runlevel. ud::once:/sbin/update

# Trap CTRL-ALT-DELETE ca::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/shutdown -t3 -r now

# When our UPS tells us power has failed, assume we have a few # minutes of power left. Schedule a shutdown for 2 minutes from now. # This does, of course, assume you have power installed and your # UPS is connected and working correctly. pf::powerfail:/sbin/shutdown -f -h +2 "Power Failure; System Shutting Down" # If power was restored before the shutdown kicked in, cancel it. pr:12345:powerokwait:/sbin/shutdown -c "Power Restored; Shutdown Cancelled"

# Run gettys in standard runlevels co:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty -h -L 19200 ttyS0 vt100 1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1 2:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty2 3:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty3 4:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty4 5:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty5 6:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty6

# Run xdm in runlevel 5 # xdm is now a separate service x:5:respawn:/etc/X11/prefdm -nodaemon

96 Serial Port Console Redirection

Edit the file /etc/securetty, as follows:

Add a new line, with the name of the serial tty for COM1:

ttyS0

See the sample file, which shows the addition of the new line.

Table D-3. Sample File: /etc/securetty

vc/1 vc/2 vc/3 vc/4 vc/5 vc/6 vc/7 vc/8 vc/9 vc/10 vc/11 tty1 tty2 tty3 tty4 tty5 tty6 tty7 tty8 tty9 tty10 tty11 ttyS0

Serial Port Console Redirection 97

98 Serial Port Console Redirection

Glossary

The following list defines or identifies technical terms, abbreviations, and acronyms used in your system documents.

adapter card

An expansion card that plugs into an expansion-card connector on the system's system board. An adapter card adds some specialized function to the system by providing an interface between the expansion bus and a peripheral device. Examples of adapter cards include network cards, sound cards, and SCSI adapters.

ANSI

Abbreviation for American National Standards Institute.

API

Abbreviation for application program interface, which is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications that act as an interface between the operating system and application programs.

Argument

The value supplied with an option, such as in the following command line instance:

utilname --option=argument

ARP

Acronym for Address Resolution Protocol, which is a method for finding a host’s Ethernet address from its Internet address.

ASCII

Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A text file containing only characters from the ASCII character set (usually created with a text editor, such as Notepad in Microsoft

Windows®), is

called an ASCII file.

asset tag code

An individual code assigned to a system, usually by a system administrator, for security or tracking purposes.

autoexec.bat file

The

autoexec.bat

file is executed when you boot your

system (after executing any commands in the

config.sys

file). This start-up file contains commands that define the characteristics of each device connected to your system, and it finds and executes programs stored in locations other than the active directory.

backup

A copy of a program or data file. As a precaution, you should back up your system's hard drive on a regular basis. Before making a change to the configuration of your system, you should back up important start-up files from your operating system.

baud rate

A measurement of data transmission speed. For example, modems are designed to transmit data at one or more specified baud rate(s) through the COM (serial) port of a system.

binary

A base-2 numbering system that uses 0 and 1 to represent information. The system performs operations based on the ordering and calculation of these numbers.

BIOS

Acronym for basic input/output system. Your system's BIOS contains programs stored on a flash memory chip. The BIOS controls the following:

• Communications between the microprocessor and peripheral devices, such as the keyboard and the video adapter

• Miscellaneous functions, such as system messages

Glossary 99

bit

The smallest unit of information interpreted by your system.

BMC

Abbreviation for baseboard management controller, which is a controller that provides the intelligence in the IPMI structure.

boot routine

When you start your system, it clears all memory, initializes devices, and loads the operating system. Unless the operating system fails to respond, you can reboot (also called warm boot) your system by pressing <Ctrl><Alt><Del>; otherwise, you must perform a cold boot by pressing the reset button or by turning the system off and then back on.

bootable diskette

You can start your system from a diskette. To make a bootable diskette on a system running Windows, insert a diskette in the diskette drive, type

sys a:

at the command line prompt, and press <Enter>. Use this bootable diskette if your system will not boot from the hard drive.

your system's disk drives; when a program makes a request to a disk drive for data that is in the cache, the disk-cache utility can retrieve the data from RAM faster than from the disk drive.

CD-ROM

Abbreviation for compact disc read-only memory. CD drives use optical technology to read data from CDs. CDs are read-only storage devices; you cannot write new data to a CD with standard CD drives.

CHAP

Acronym for Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol, an authentication scheme used by PPP servers to validate the identity of the originator of the connection upon connection or any time later.

CLI

Abbreviation for command line interface.

Command

The combination of an option and argument or just an option if no argument is required, such as in the following command line instances:

utilname --option

bus

An information pathway between the components of a system. Your system contains an expansion bus that allows the microprocessor to communicate with controllers for all the various peripheral devices connected to the system. Your system also contains an address bus and a data bus for communications between the microprocessor and RAM.

byte

Eight contiguous bits of information, the basic data unit used by your system.

cache

A fast storage area that keeps a copy of data or instructions for quicker data retrieval. For example, your system's BIOS may cache ROM code in faster RAM. Or, a disk-cache utility may reserve RAM in which to store frequently accessed information from

100 Glossary

utilname --option=argument

command line instance

A series of valid commands, options, and arguments typed in the command line. For example, the Deployment Toolkit utility name and all necessary options and arguments as they are entered through the OS shell:

A:>utilname --option --option=argument

COMn

The device names for the first through fourth serial ports on your system are COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4. The default interrupt for COM1 and COM3 is IRQ4, and the default interrupt for COM2 and COM4 is IRQ3. Therefore, you must be careful when configuring software that runs a serial device so that you don't create an interrupt conflict.

Dell OpenManage Baseboard Management Controller User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

User’s Guide

Introduction

What’s New in BMC Management Utility 2.0

Supported Systems

BMC Configuration and Management Tasks

Configuring the BMC

Managing the System Using BMC

BMC Action on Event

Basic BMC Alerting Over a LAN

IPMI Shell Over a LAN

IPMI Shell Over the Serial Cable

SOL Proxy Over a LAN

BMC Configuration and Management Tools

Using the Remote Access Configuration Utility

Using Deployment Toolkit

Using the BMC Management Utility

Using Server Administrator

Other Dell Documents You May Need

Obtaining Technical Assistance

Configuring Your Managed System

BIOS Configuration

Configuring System BIOS in Dell PowerEdge™ x8xx Systems

Configuring System BIOS in Dell PowerEdge x9xx Systems

Using BIOS Console Redirection With SOL Proxy

Baseboard Management Controller Configuration

Entering the Remote Access Configuration Utility

Remote Access Configuration Utility Options

Configuring Your BMC Using the Deployment Toolkit Utility

Installation and Setup for Microsoft Windows PE Operating Systems

Creating a CD

Installation and Setup for Linux Operating Systems

Basic configuration

Configuring Your BMC Using Server Administrator

Using Dell Remote Access Controller 5

Using the BMC Management Utility

Installing the BMC Management Utility

Installation Prerequisites

Supported Operating Systems

Installation Procedures

Installing on Systems Running Supported Windows Operating Systems

Uninstalling on Systems Running Supported Windows Operating Systems

Installing on Systems Running Supported Linux Enterprise Operating Systems

Uninstalling on Systems Running Supported Linux Enterprise Operating Systems

IPMI Shell

Using IPMI Shell

IPMI Shell Command Syntax

IPMI Shell Global Options

IPMI Shell Commands

SOL Proxy

Using SOL Proxy

Using SOL proxy in command mode

Configuring the SOL Proxy Configuration File

Known Issues and Frequently Asked Questions

Known Issues

General Issues

SOL Proxy Issues

IPMI Shell Issues

Frequently Asked Questions

BMC Management Utility Error Codes

Terminal Mode Commands

Configuring Terminal Mode

Using Terminal Mode

Security Information

Syntax

Command Length

Character Support

Hex-ASCII Command Format

Text Command Format

Examples

Escape Key Sequences

Serial Port Console Redirection

Serial Communication

Console Redirection Via COM1

Console Redirection Via COM2

Serial Terminal Communication to BMC or DRAC

SPCR Table