Dell Power Solutions

NEW-GENERATION SERVER TECHNOLOGYTo enable IPMI access to the BMC serial port, use the followingcommand:To set the connection mode for serialcfgparams to terminal,use the following command:bmccfg serialchannelaccess --ipmioverserial=alwaysavailTo disallow access to the BMC serial port, use the followingcommand:bmccfg serialcfgparams --connectionmode=terminalTo make sure that the baud rate set in the console software isin sync with the rates set in the BMC serial channel, use the followingcommand:bmccfg serialchannelaccess --ipmioverserial=disablebmccfg serialcfgparams --msgcommbitrateCommunication with the serial port can occur in either of twomodes: basic or terminal. Basic mode requires an IPMI-aware serial applicationsuch as ipmish to communicate with the BMC, while terminalmode uses any console software application for sending and receivingraw IPMI commands and a limited set of ASCII text commands.When using ipmish, administrators should make sure that theconnection mode in the terminal configuration is set to basic modeby using the following command:bmccfg serialcfgparams --connectionmode=basicConfiguring other parameters of the serial port. This sectiondescribes other necessary configurations that must be made beforeusing an IPMI management utility, such as ipmish, over the serialchannel.To configure the flow control and the baud rate for the serial port,use the msgcommflowctrl and msgcommbitrate subcommands in thebmccfg utility. Once these steps have been performed, administratorscan issue ipmish commands. For example, the following commandpowers down the managed node using the first serial port of themanagement station at 19,200 bps with hardware flow control:Once terminal mode has been set up, issue either raw IPMIcommands such as [18 00 22] and then press Enter (to start anew line) to reset the BMC watchdog timer, or issue ASCII textcommands such as [SYS TMODE] and then press Enter (to start anew line) to query whether the BMC is in terminal mode.Refer to the IPMI 1.5 specification for more details on the formatof IPMI commands and the available set of ASCII text commands.Configuring SOL settings for use by an IPMI management utilityThe BMC provides a mechanism—SOL—that allows the baseboardserial controller of a managed node to redirect its serial data overan IPMI session using IP. SOL enables remote console applicationssuch as SOL Proxy to provide access to interfaces, BIOS, OS, andapplications. SOL requires the serial multiplexer to be set to theBMC LAN as follows:bioscfg --serial1=bmclanThis sets the multiplexer to connect the baseboard serial controllerto the BMC, which forwards serial data to SOL Proxy as IPpackets. Enable SOL as follows:ipmish –com 1 baud 19200 –flow cts –u username–p password power offConfiguring serial channel settings for use by console softwareConsole software such as Hilgraeve HyperTerminal can be used tocommunicate with the BMC in terminal mode. The main advantageof switching the BMC serial port to terminal mode is that terminalmode provides a printable, text-based mechanism for communicatingIPMI messages between console software and the BMC. This makesit easy to develop scripted tools for generating IPMI messages to theBMC and receiving IPMI messages from the BMC. Also, the BMCprovides an ASCII text–based command set to perform a subset ofsystems management functions.To switch the multiplexer to route traffic to the BMC’s serialport, use the following command:bioscfg --serial1=bmcserialbmccfg solcfgparams --solenableTo set the SOL baud rate to 9,600 or 19,200 bps, use the followingcommand:bmccfg solcfgparams --solbitrateSetting up the minimum privilege level required by the user—User, Operator, or Administrator—is done using the followingcommand:bmccfg solcfgparams --solprivlevelAlso, some advanced configurations of the SOL characteraccumulate interval andcharacter send threshold can be set usingbmccfg. Character accumulate interval defines the amount of timethe BMC will wait before transmitting a partial SOL character datawww.dell.com/powersolutions Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, February 2005. Copyright © 2005 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. POWER SOLUTIONS 35