IPMI Operation Manual

💡 Prerequisite: Update your system image to v1.4.2 or a later version before proceeding.

Project Overview

This project provides a software-based IPMI simulator. It allows users to remotely manage hardware power states and access the Serial Over LAN console using standard IPMI protocols.

Core Components:

• ipmi_sim: The main open-source IPMI simulator binary (part of OpenIPMI).
• ipmi-sim.sh: Service management script responsible for starting, stopping, and monitoring the simulator process.
• chassis_control.sh: Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) script that controls physical hardware power/reset pins via GPIO.
• lan.conf: Configuration file defining users, network interfaces, and SOL serial parameters.

Accessing the Device

Before starting the installation and configuration, you need to log in to the NanoKVM system terminal. There are two ways to do this:

Method 1: Web Terminal

1. Enter the NanoKVM IP address in your browser address bar to access the Web UI.
2. Locate the Terminal icon in the menu bar and open the Web Terminal.

Method 2: SSH Login

If you prefer using command-line tools, you can connect via SSH.

1. Open a terminal on your computer.

2. Run the following command (replace <IP_Address> with the actual IP of your NanoKVM):

   ssh root@<IP_Address>
   

3. Enter the default password root to log in.

Installation & Deployment

The service is designed to be installed in the /etc/ipmi directory.

Directory Structure

Ensure your system follows this file structure:

/etc/ipmi/
├── ipmi-sim.sh        # Service control script
├── chassis_control.sh # Hardware control script
├── lan.conf           # Main configuration file
├── sim.emu            # Simulator persistence data

Configuration Guide

Users & Passwords (lan.conf)

The default configuration includes a single admin account.
For security, it is highly recommended to change the default password before deployment.

Edit the user section at the bottom of /etc/ipmi/lan.conf:

# User 2: Admin user
#         Enabled  Username  Password  Privilege  Max_Sessions  Auth_Type
user 2    true     "admin"   "admin"   admin      10            md5

Change "admin" (the password field) to your desired password.

Serial Over LAN (SOL)

To enable viewing device serial output via IPMI, configure the sol option in lan.conf:

# Map to the physical serial device, e.g., /dev/ttyS1
sol "/dev/ttyS1" 115200 nortscts

Service Management

Use the ipmi-sim.sh script to manage the service.

Common Commands

Example

# Enable auto-start and start the service immediately
/etc/ipmi/ipmi-sim.sh enable
/etc/ipmi/ipmi-sim.sh start

Client Usage (ipmitool)

You can manage the device remotely from any machine with an IPMI client (like ipmitool on Linux/macOS).

Connection Parameters:

• -H: Target IP address (e.g., NanoKVM IP)
• -U: Username (default: admin)
• -P: Password (default: admin)
• -I: Interface type (use lanplus for IPMI 2.0)
• -C: Cipher Suite. It it recommended to use -C 3 to skip the long protocol negotiation process.

Supported Command List

This project currently only supports the following core IPMI commands:

Power Control

# Check power status
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus power status

# Power On
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus power on

# Power Off (Hard shutdown)
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus power off

# Reset (Reboot)
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus power reset

Serial Over LAN (SOL)

Connect to the device's serial console over the network:

# Activate SOL session
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus sol activate

# Deactivate/Exit SOL session
# Key sequence: ~ + . (Tilde followed by Dot)

Note: If the SOL connection fails, verify the serial device path in lan.conf and ensure no other process is locking the serial port.

6.4 Performance Optimization

By default, ipmitool attempts to negotiate the encryption protocol with the server, which can cause a delay of several seconds before every command execution.
Solution: Explicitly add the -C 3 parameter to your commands.

Optimized Command Examples:

# 1. Quickly get BMC info (Recommended test command)
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus -C 3 mc info

# 2. Quickly check power status
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus -C 3 power status

# 3. Quickly activate SOL
ipmitool -H <IP> -U admin -P admin -I lanplus -C 3 sol activate

Troubleshooting

1. Service Fails to Start

   • Check if port 623 (UDP) is already in use: netstat -ln | grep 623
   • Check system logs. Try running the underlying command manually in the foreground to see error messages.

2. ipmitool Connection Timeout

   • Check firewall settings; ensure UDP port 623 is open.
   • Verify the ipmi_sim process is running: ps aux | grep ipmi_sim.