ipmiconsole(8) System Commands ipmiconsole(8)NAMEipmiconsole - IPMI console utility
SYNOPSISipmiconsole [OPTION...]
DESCRIPTIONipmiconsole is a Serial-over-LAN (SOL) console utility. It can be used
to establish console sessions to remote machines using the IPMI 2.0 SOL
protocol.
Ipmiconsole communicates with a remote machine's Baseboard Management
Controller (BMC) to establish a console session. Before any SOL commu‐
nication can take place, the remote machine's BMC must be configured
properly. The FreeIPMI tool bmc-config(8) may be used to do this con‐
figuration.
Often (although not always), console redirection must be also be con‐
figured properly in the BIOS and/or operating system. Both must be con‐
figured to redirect console traffic out the appropriate COM port.
Please see your motherboard and OS documentation for instructions on
proper setup.
Listed below are general IPMI options, tool specific options, trouble
shooting information, workaround information, examples, and known
issues. For a general introduction to FreeIPMI please see freeipmi(7).
GENERAL OPTIONS
The following options are general options for configuring IPMI communi‐
cation and executing general tool commands.
-h IPMIHOST, --hostname=IPMIHOST[:PORT]
Specify the remote host to communicate with. An optional port
can be specified, which may be useful in port forwarding or sim‐
ilar situations.
-u, --username=USERNAME
Specify the username to use when authenticating with the remote
host. If not specified, a null (i.e. anonymous) username is
assumed. The user must a high enough privilege to establish a
SOL session and have SOL session abilities.
-p PASSWORD, --password=PASSWORD
Specify the password to use when authenticationg with the remote
host. If not specified, a null password is assumed. Maximum
password length is 16 for IPMI 1.5 and 20 for IPMI 2.0.
-P, --password-prompt
Prompt for password to avoid possibility of listing it in
process lists.
-k K_G, --k-g=K_G
Specify the K_g BMC key to use when authenticating with the
remote host for IPMI 2.0. If not specified, a null key is
assumed. To input the key in hexadecimal form, prefix the string
with '0x'. E.g., the key 'abc' can be entered with the either
the string 'abc' or the string '0x616263'
-K, --k-g-prompt
Prompt for k-g to avoid possibility of listing it in process
lists.
--session-timeout=MILLISECONDS
Specify the session timeout in milliseconds. Defaults to 60000
milliseconds (60 seconds) if not specified.
--retransmission-timeout=MILLISECONDS
Specify the packet retransmission timeout in milliseconds.
Defaults to 500 milliseconds (0.5 seconds) if not specified.
-I, --cipher-suite-id=CIPHER-SUITE-ID
Specify the IPMI 2.0 cipher suite ID to use. The Cipher Suite ID
identifies a set of authentication, integrity, and confidential‐
ity algorithms to use for IPMI 2.0 communication. The authenti‐
cation algorithm identifies the algorithm to use for session
setup, the integrity algorithm identifies the algorithm to use
for session packet signatures, and the confidentiality algorithm
identifies the algorithm to use for payload encryption. Defaults
to cipher suite ID 3 if not specified. The user should be aware
that only cipher suite ids 3, 8, and 12 encrypt console pay‐
loads. Console information will be sent in the clear if an
alternate cipher suite id is selected. The following cipher
suite ids are currently supported:
0 - Authentication Algorithm = None; Integrity Algorithm = None;
Confidentiality Algorithm = None
1 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA1; Integrity Algorithm =
None; Confidentiality Algorithm = None
2 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA1; Integrity Algorithm =
HMAC-SHA1-96; Confidentiality Algorithm = None
3 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA1; Integrity Algorithm =
HMAC-SHA1-96; Confidentiality Algorithm = AES-CBC-128
6 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm =
None; Confidentiality Algorithm = None
7 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm =
HMAC-MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = None
8 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm =
HMAC-MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = AES-CBC-128
11 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm =
MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = None
12 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm =
MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = AES-CBC-128
15 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA256; Integrity Algorithm
= None; Confidentiality Algorithm = None
16 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA256; Integrity Algorithm
= HMAC_SHA256_128; Confidentiality Algorithm = None
17 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA256; Integrity Algorithm
= HMAC_SHA256_128; Confidentiality Algorithm = AES-CBC-128
-l PRIVILEGE-LEVEL, --privilege-level=PRIVILEGE-LEVEL
Specify the privilege level to be used. The currently available
privilege levels are USER, OPERATOR, and ADMIN. Defaults to
ADMIN if not specified.
--config-file=FILE
Specify an alternate configuration file.
-W WORKAROUNDS, --workaround-flags=WORKAROUNDS
Specify workarounds to vendor compliance issues. Multiple work‐
arounds can be specified separated by commas. A special command
line flag of "none", will indicate no workarounds (may be useful
for overriding configured defaults). See WORKAROUNDS below for a
list of available workarounds.
--debug
Turn on debugging.
-?, --help
Output a help list and exit.
--usage
Output a usage message and exit.
-V, --version
Output the program version and exit.
IPMICONSOLE OPTIONS
The following options are specific to Ipmiconsole.
-e CHAR, --escape-char=CHAR
Specify an alternate escape character (default char '&').
--dont-steal
Do not steal an SOL session if one is already detected as being
in use. Under most circumstances, if SOL is detected as being in
use, ipmiconsole will attempt to steal the SOL session away from
the previous session. This default behavior exists for several
reasons, most notably that earlier SOL sessions may have not
been able to be deactivate properly.
--deactivate
Deactivate a SOL session if one is detected as being in use and
exit.
--serial-keepalive
Occasionally send NUL characters to detect inactive serial con‐
nections. This option is particularly useful for those who
intend to run ipmiconsole without much interaction, such as for
logging purposes. While IPMI connections may still be alive,
some motherboards have exhibited bugs in which underlying serial
data can no longer be sent/received. From the viewpoint of ipmi‐
console, data is simply not be sent out of the remote system and
this problem is only detected once there is user interaction. By
sending the occasional NUL character, the underlying loss of
serial data transfer can be detected far more quickly. There is
some risk with this option, as the NUL character byte may affect
the remote system depending on what data it may or may not be
expecting.
--serial-keepalive-empty
This option is identical to --serial-keepalive except that SOL
packets will contain no NUL character data. On some mother‐
boards, this may be sufficient to deal with a hanging IPMI ses‐
sion without the risk regularly sending a NUL character byte may
have. However, some systems may not ACK a SOL packet without
character data in it, meaning these keepalive packets do noth‐
ing.
--lock-memory
Lock sensitive information (such as usernames and passwords) in
memory.
ESCAPE CHARACTERS
The following escape sequences are supported. The default supported
escape character is '&', but can be changed with the -e option.
&? Display a list of currently available escape sequences.
&. Terminate the connection.
&B Send a "serial-break" to the remote console.
&D Send a DEL character.
&& Send a single escape character.
GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING
Most often, IPMI problems are due to configuration problems.
IPMI over LAN problems involve a misconfiguration of the remote
machine's BMC. Double check to make sure the following are configured
properly in the remote machine's BMC: IP address, MAC address, subnet
mask, username, user enablement, user privilege, password, LAN privi‐
lege, LAN enablement, and allowed authentication type(s). For IPMI 2.0
connections, double check to make sure the cipher suite privilege(s)
and K_g key are configured properly. The bmc-config(8) tool can be used
to check and/or change these configuration settings.
In addition to the troubleshooting tips below, please see WORKAROUNDS
below to also if there are any vendor specific bugs that have been dis‐
covered and worked around.
Listed below are many of the common issues for error messages. For
additional support, please e-mail the <freeipmi-users@gnu.org> mailing
list.
"username invalid" - The username entered (or a NULL username if none
was entered) is not available on the remote machine. It may also be
possible the remote BMC's username configuration is incorrect.
"password invalid" - The password entered (or a NULL password if none
was entered) is not correct. It may also be possible the password for
the user is not correctly configured on the remote BMC.
"password verification timeout" - Password verification has timed out.
A "password invalid" error (described above) or a generic "session
timeout" (described below) occurred. During this point in the protocol
it cannot be differentiated which occurred.
"k_g invalid" - The K_g key entered (or a NULL K_g key if none was
entered) is not correct. It may also be possible the K_g key is not
correctly configured on the remote BMC.
"privilege level insufficient" - An IPMI command requires a higher user
privilege than the one authenticated with. Please try to authenticate
with a higher privilege. This may require authenticating to a different
user which has a higher maximum privilege.
"privilege level cannot be obtained for this user" - The privilege
level you are attempting to authenticate with is higher than the maxi‐
mum allowed for this user. Please try again with a lower privilege. It
may also be possible the maximum privilege level allowed for a user is
not configured properly on the remote BMC.
"authentication type unavailable for attempted privilege level" - The
authentication type you wish to authenticate with is not available for
this privilege level. Please try again with an alternate authentication
type or alternate privilege level. It may also be possible the avail‐
able authentication types you can authenticate with are not correctly
configured on the remote BMC.
"cipher suite id unavailable" - The cipher suite id you wish to authen‐
ticate with is not available on the remote BMC. Please try again with
an alternate cipher suite id. It may also be possible the available
cipher suite ids are not correctly configured on the remote BMC.
"ipmi 2.0 unavailable" - IPMI 2.0 was not discovered on the remote
machine. Please try to use IPMI 1.5 instead.
"connection timeout" - Initial IPMI communication failed. A number of
potential errors are possible, including an invalid hostname specified,
an IPMI IP address cannot be resolved, IPMI is not enabled on the
remote server, the network connection is bad, etc. Please verify con‐
figuration and connectivity.
"session timeout" - The IPMI session has timed out. Please reconnect.
If this error occurs often, you may wish to increase the retransmission
timeout. Some remote BMCs are considerably slower than others.
IPMICONSOLE TROUBLESHOOTING
The following are common issues for error messages in ipmiconsole.
"SOL unavailable" - SOL is not configured for use on the remote BMC.
It may be not configured in general or for the specific user specified.
Authenticating with a different user may be sufficient, however the
IPMI protocol does not reveal detail on what is not configured on the
remote BMC.
"SOL in use" - SOL is already in use on the remote BMC. If you do not
specify the --dont-steal option, ipmiconsole will attempt to steal the
SOL session away from the other session.
"SOL session stolen" - Your SOL session has been stolen by another ses‐
sion. You may wish to try and steal the session back by reconnecting.
"SOL requires encryption" - SOL requires a cipher suite id that
includes encryption. Please try to use cipher suite id 3, 8, or 12. It
may also be possible the encryption requirements are not configured
correctly on the remote BMC.
"SOL requires no encryption" - SOL requires a cipher suite id that does
not use encryption. Please try to use cipher suite id 0, 1, 2, 6, 7, or
11. It may also be possible the encryption requirements are not config‐
ured correctly on the remote BMC.
"BMC Implementation" - The BMC on the remote machine has a severe prob‐
lem in its implementation. Please see the WORKAROUNDS section below for
possible workarounds. If additional vendor workarounds are required,
please contact the authors.
"excess retransmissions sent" - An excessive number of retransmissions
of SOL packets has occurred and ipmiconsole has given up. This may be
due to network issues or SOL issues. Some of the same issues involved
with "connection timeout" or "session timeout" errors may be involved.
Please try to reconnect.
"excess errors received" - An excessive number of SOL packet errors has
occurred and ipmiconsole has given up. This may be due to network
issues or SOL issues. Please try to reconnect.
"BMC Error" - This error usually means a vendor SOL implementation
requires a combination of authentication, encryption, privilege, etc.
that have not been met by the user's choices. Please try a combination
of different cipher suites, privileges, etc. to resolve the problem.
Please see the WORKAROUNDS section below for possible workarounds too.
WORKAROUNDS
With so many different vendors implementing their own IPMI solutions,
different vendors may implement their IPMI protocols incorrectly. The
following describes a number of workarounds currently available to han‐
dle discovered compliance issues. When possible, workarounds have been
implemented so they will be transparent to the user. However, some will
require the user to specify a workaround be used via the -W option.
The hardware listed below may only indicate the hardware that a problem
was discovered on. Newer versions of hardware may fix the problems
indicated below. Similar machines from vendors may or may not exhibit
the same problems. Different vendors may license their firmware from
the same IPMI firmware developer, so it may be worthwhile to try work‐
arounds listed below even if your motherboard is not listed.
If you believe your hardware has an additional compliance issue that
needs a workaround to be implemented, please contact the FreeIPMI main‐
tainers on <freeipmi-users@gnu.org> or <freeipmi-devel@gnu.org>.
authcap - This workaround flag will skip early checks for username
capabilities, authentication capabilities, and K_g support and allow
IPMI authentication to succeed. It works around multiple issues in
which the remote system does not properly report username capabilities,
authentication capabilities, or K_g status. Those hitting this issue
may see "username invalid", "authentication type unavailable for
attempted privilege level", or "k_g invalid" errors. Issue observed on
Asus P5M2/P5MT-R/RS162-E4/RX4, Intel SR1520ML/X38ML, and Sun Fire
2200/4150/4450 with ELOM.
intel20 - This workaround flag will work around several Intel IPMI 2.0
authentication issues. The issues covered include padding of usernames,
and password truncation if the authentication algorithm is HMAC-
MD5-128. Those hitting this issue may see "username invalid", "password
invalid", or "k_g invalid" errors. Issue observed on Intel SE7520AF2
with Intel Server Management Module (Professional Edition).
supermicro20 - This workaround flag will work around several Supermicro
IPMI 2.0 authentication issues on motherboards w/ Peppercon IPMI
firmware. The issues covered include handling invalid length authenti‐
cation codes. Those hitting this issue may see "password invalid"
errors. Issue observed on Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card.
Confirmed fixed on newerver firmware.
sun20 - This workaround flag will work work around several Sun IPMI 2.0
authentication issues. The issues covered include invalid lengthed hash
keys, improperly hashed keys, and invalid cipher suite records. Those
hitting this issue may see "password invalid" or "bmc error" errors.
Issue observed on Sun Fire 4100/4200/4500 with ILOM. This workaround
automatically includes the "opensesspriv" workaround.
opensesspriv - This workaround flag will slightly alter FreeIPMI's IPMI
2.0 connection protocol to workaround an invalid hashing algorithm used
by the remote system. The privilege level sent during the Open Session
stage of an IPMI 2.0 connection is used for hashing keys instead of the
privilege level sent during the RAKP1 connection stage. Those hitting
this issue may see "password invalid", "k_g invalid", or "bad rmcpplus
status code" errors. Issue observed on Sun Fire 4100/4200/4500 with
ILOM, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Supermicro X8DTH, Supermicro X8DTG,
Intel S5500WBV/Penguin Relion 700, Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X, and Quanta
QSSC-S4R//Appro GB812X-CN. This workaround is automatically triggered
with the "sun20" workaround.
integritycheckvalue - This workaround flag will work around an invalid
integrity check value during an IPMI 2.0 session establishment when
using Cipher Suite ID 0. The integrity check value should be 0 length,
however the remote motherboard responds with a non-empty field. Those
hitting this issue may see "k_g invalid" errors. Issue observed on
Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU, and Intel S5500WBV/Penguin Relion
700, and Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X.
solpayloadsize - This workaround flag will not check for valid SOL pay‐
load sizes and assume a proper set. It works around remote systems that
report invalid IPMI 2.0 SOL payload sizes. Those hitting this issue may
see "BMC Implementation" errors. Issue observed on Asus
P5M2/RS162-E4/RX4, Intel SR1520ML/X38ML, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II,
Sun x4100, Supermicro X8DTH, Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU, and
Quanta QSSC-S4R//Appro GB812X-CN.
solport - This workaround flag will ignore alternate SOL ports speci‐
fied during the protocol. It works around remote systems that report
invalid alternate SOL ports. Those hitting this issue may see "connec‐
tion timeout" errors. Issue observed on Asus P5MT-R and Supermicro
X8DTH-iF.
solstatus - This workaround flag will not check the current activation
status of SOL during the protocol setup. It works around remote systems
that do not properly support this command. Those hitting this issue may
see "BMC Error" errors. Issue observed on Supermicro X8SIL-F.
KNOWN ISSUES
On older operating systems, if you input your username, password, and
other potentially security relevant information on the command line,
this information may be discovered by other users when using tools like
the ps(1) command or looking in the /proc file system. It is generally
more secure to input password information with options like the -P or
-K options. Configuring security relevant information in the FreeIPMI
configuration file would also be an appropriate way to hide this infor‐
mation.
In order to prevent brute force attacks, some BMCs will temporarily
"lock up" after a number of remote authentication errors. You may need
to wait awhile in order to this temporary "lock up" to pass before you
may authenticate again.
Some motherboards define an OEM SOL inactivity timeout for SOL ses‐
sions. If SOL sessions stay inactive for long periods of time, ipmicon‐
sole sessions may be abruptly closed, most likely resulting in session
timeout errors. Please see OEM notes for information on modifying this
parameter if you wish for sessions to stay active longer.
SPECIFIC HARDWARE NOTES
Intel SR1520ML/X38ML: After a reboot, the SOL session appears to "dis‐
connect" from the motherboard but stay alive. Character data input
from the ipmiconsole client is accepted by the remote machine, but no
character data or console data is ever sent back from the remote
machine. The SOL session is subsequently useless. There is currently no
workaround in place to handle this. The session must be closed and
restarted.
EXAMPLES
# ipmiconsole-h ahost -u myusername -p mypassword
Establish a console sesssion with a remote host.
KNOWN ISSUES
On older operating systems, if you input your username, password, and
other potentially security relevant information on the command line,
this information may be discovered by other users when using tools like
the ps(1) command or looking in the /proc file system. It is generally
more secure to input password information with options like the -P or
-K options. Configuring security relevant information in the FreeIPMI
configuration file would also be an appropriate way to hide this infor‐
mation.
In order to prevent brute force attacks, some BMCs will temporarily
"lock up" after a number of remote authentication errors. You may need
to wait awhile in order to this temporary "lock up" to pass before you
may authenticate again.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <freeipmi-users@gnu.org> or <freeipmi-devel@gnu.org>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2007-2012 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.
Copyright (C) 2006-2007 The Regents of the University of California.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version.
SEE ALSOfreeipmi.conf(5), freeipmi(7), bmc-config(8)
http://www.gnu.org/software/freeipmi/
ipmiconsole 1.2.1 2013-11-21 ipmiconsole(8)
