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I know this is obvious to most, which is probably why Google was no help.

I've never used IPMI. I'm not a server admin. I'm looking at setting up a small office server and noticed the mobo we're considering has a dedicated IPMI port as well at ETH0 and ETH1. I'm just wondering on the actual cabling. Is it as simple as three cables to a switch and then that machine gets 3 IP addresses from the DHCP and one of those is used for IPMI?

bcsteeve
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    Yes - IPMI is a standard that runs over Ethernet so there's no difference in pinouts in cabling to support IPMI connections. However IPMI/server management specific questions are better asked over at ServerFault. –  Oct 03 '13 at 19:08
  • I'm IPMI clueless, I defer to MikeP :^) – Craig Constantine Oct 03 '13 at 19:49

2 Answers2

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It is as simple but:

  • YOu may want to keep the IPMI on a static IP address so you can still connect somehow easily when anything else fails.
  • Using 2 ports on the server may result in issues. Not saying i is impossible, just make sure you know what you do here.

Generally in my company we hardcode the IP addresses of all major servers and all network equipment AND all LOC stuff (and IPMI is LOC - lights out configuration). Relying on a (possibly failing) DHCP server is not good for emergency maintenance.

the-wabbit
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TomTom
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  • Yes, of course... I was careless when I threw out "DHCP". I didn't really think about it when posing the question, but of course you're right it should (and would) be hardcoded. Curious about the two ports... they build the mobo like that, so I would have assumed using it was fairly supported and common. But that's another question. Thanks for answering the cabling Q. – bcsteeve Oct 04 '13 at 15:07
  • It IS common and supported, but it requires an admin who knows what he does, or it is used in a dual hosted scenario (router etc.). Many servers have use for it, just it is a little harder than "plug cable, use dhcp". – TomTom Oct 04 '13 at 17:13
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I agree, you want IPMI on a dedicated IP.

However its not necessary to use the dedicated mgmt port. IPMI will share the system NIC. The only time I use the dedicated mgmt port is if you are in a situation where you might get DDoSed. This way is your system is knocked offline due to the attach you can still access the system to service it.

MrWright
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    Not all IPMI implementations allow for a shared port (although by now probably most of them do). Also, having a separate port will allow you to set up IPMI in a specific management network - as by far not all IPMI implementations will allow to specify a VLAN tag along with the shared network configuration, this is an important point to consider. – the-wabbit Oct 10 '13 at 09:19
  • Additionally, there are lot more reasons than "DDos" for wanting to be out of band from your production cabling. – Dan Oct 10 '13 at 09:31