A while ago, I purchased a used IBM server that has been a very nice tool. Here’s the specs:
ibm x3455
I have it hooked up to a battery backup unit, which is connected with the USB cable. When the power goes out for a length of time, it powers the machine into a strange state that I cannot get it out of. The light on the front turns orange, and none of the buttons will reboot it. I have to pull the power cord and wait for it to power down. When I plug it back in, it works fine.
I found that the server does have a BMC built in that is supposed to allow for remote power control. There are several IPMI clients that I can install in Linux that should be able to control it. I was able to set the IP address for the console as well use the username and password in the BIOS of the machine.
First, I installed the IPMI Tools package.
sudo apt install freeipmi-tools
The remote console disconnects and does not allow me access.
$ipmiconsole -h 192.168.13.14 -u root -p <password> [SOL established] [SOL session stolen] [closing the connection]
I can get the status of the power on the machine with this command.
ipmipower -h 192.168.13.14 -u root -p <password> -s
To turn it on:
ipmipower -h 192.168.13.14 -u root -p <password> -n
For some reason, the power on command reports OK as if it works, but the machine doesn’t turn on. I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong.
So, I tried a different client. Here’s the output of several of the commands:
sudo apt install ipmitool ipmitool -I lanplus -H 192.168.13.14 -U root -P <password> chassis status Error: Unable to establish IPMI v2 / RMCP+ session ipmitool -I lan -H 192.168.13.14 -U root -P <password> user list ID Name Callin Link Auth IPMI Msg Channel Priv Limit 1 true false false NO ACCESS 2 root true true true ADMINISTRATOR 3 true false false NO ACCESS 4 true false false NO ACCESS ipmitool -I lan -H 192.168.13.14 -U root -P <password> chassis status System Power : off Power Overload : false Power Interlock : inactive Main Power Fault : false Power Control Fault : false Power Restore Policy : previous Last Power Event : Chassis Intrusion : inactive Front-Panel Lockout : inactive Drive Fault : false Cooling/Fan Fault : false $ ipmitool -I lan -H 192.168.13.14 -U root -P <password> chassis power on Chassis Power Control: Up/On
I found a debug parameter: -v. It didn’t give me anything helpful though
ipmitool -H 192.168.13.14 -v -I lanplus -U root -P <password> chassis power on This command gave me better output: Running Get PICMG Properties my_addr 0x20, transit 0, target 0x20 Error response 0xc1 from Get PICMG Properities Running Get VSO Capabilities my_addr 0x20, transit 0, target 0x20 Invalid completion code received: Invalid command Discovered IPMB address 0x0 Chassis Power Control: Up/On
Here’s the version of what I am using:
$ ipmitool -V ipmitool version 1.8.18
I tried to clear the event log, but that didn’t work:
ipmitool -H 192.168.13.14 -v -I lanplus -U root -P <password> sel list last 3 ipmitool -H 192.168.13.14 -v -I lanplus -U root -P <password> sel clear