Overview of Software Utilities for IPMI
There are many utilities for the Integrated Platform Management Interface (IPMI) for various purposes and operating systems. Here, we will provide an overview of valuable IPMI Tools.
Linux
IPMItool
IPMItool is already included in numerous Linux distributions.
With IPMItool, you can communicate with IPMI baseboard management controllers (BMCs) in two ways:
- Through the network over a so-called LAN channel. In this case, you only need the IPMItool itself.
- Locally, through a system interface with the BMC for the computer that is currently running IPMItool. In this case, you will need the IMPI device driver from OpenIPMI (see below).
Originally, IPMItool was often packaged together with OpenIPMI by the distribution providers. Since these software utilities are independent of each other, IPMItool is now generally provided as an independent package.[1]
Additional information about IPMItool on the Thomas Krenn Wiki:
OpenIPMI
OpenIPMI consists of two components:
- an IPMI device driver for the Linux kernel
- a user-level library that provides a higher level, abstract interface to IPMI
OpenIPMI updates in RHEL:
Additional information about OpenIPMI on the Thomas Krenn Wiki:
FreeIPMI
Precisely, like IPMItool FreeIPMI makes IPMI queries over the network, as well as locally over a system interface, possible. However, FreeIPMI does not require an IPMI device driver. The code required for access through a system interface has already been integrated into FreeIPMI. Parallel operation of OpenIPMI device drivers and FreeIPMI is not possible.
FreeIPMI has been specially designed for the requirements of High-Performance Computing (HPC) clusters. We at Thomas Krenn use FreeIPMI for the IPMI Sensor Monitoring Plugin (v2 and v3) for Nagios & Icinga.
FreeIPMI in included in RHEL 5 as technology preview.[2]
IPMIutil
IPMIutil is one more utility in the IPMI environment. It is available for Linux as well as Windows, Solaris, BSD and EFI. You will find additional details on the IPMIutil comparison table.
IPMIutil is included with Fedora 14.[3]
Windows
Microsoft IPMI Provider
The Microsoft IPMI Provider is not an independent utility, but rather provides access to IPMI baseboard management controller information utilities as a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider.
Additional information from Microsoft:
IPMIutil for Windows
(see #IPMIutil)
iPhone
There are two applications for IPMI on iPhones from www.yellowkompressor.com.
- IPMI touch (kostenpflichtig), IPMI touch from the AppStore
- IPMI light (free), IPMI light from the AppStore
Manufacturer-specific Utilities
Tools from Supermicro
See IPMI Configuration for Supermicro Systems
References
Author: Werner Fischer Werner Fischer, working in the Knowledge Transfer team at Thomas-Krenn, completed his studies of Computer and Media Security at FH Hagenberg in Austria. He is a regular speaker at many conferences like LinuxTag, OSMC, OSDC, LinuxCon, and author for various IT magazines. In his spare time he enjoys playing the piano and training for a good result at the annual Linz marathon relay.
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