Don't feel bad--I had a time figuring it out myself. I knew there was some way to remotely power on/off my Dell servers, but had no clue how to actually do it.
The workstation you're controlling from needs the BMB/IPMI tool installed on it. Once it has it, drop to a command prompt and go here: C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt\bmc (Or wherever you installed it.) Then run: ipmitool -I lan -H [your server] -U [your username] -a chassis power status To query the server for its power status. You'll be prompted for your password, although I think you may be able to put that in the command line as well. If the server is off, use this to turn it on: ipmitool -I lan -H [your server] -U [your username] -a chassis power on Now, I may be alone in this, but I always have to run each command twice. The first time I run it, I get: Authentication type NONE not supported Activate Session command failed Error: Unable to establish LAN session Unable to get Chassis Power Status Then I immediately run it a second time, and it works that time. Happens to me every single time. John -----Original Message----- From: John Aldrich [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 10:57 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Dell BMC Michael, et al: Yes, I realize I have a HUGE knowledge gap (big enough to drive at least one semi through.) I'm not exactly a dummy though. Still this stuff is really confusing to me. Yes, I read through the MSDN article. Didn't make a lot of sense to me. I know Dell has "extended" the commands for BMC. All I really want is the ability to power-cycle the server remotely, which, according to the Dell documentation, I should be able to do. Much more than that I can't say as the documentation, to me, is very confusing. In one place it suggests you should be able to use Hyperterminal to access the BMC (although it states something about the basic/free Hyperterminal having some limitations.) In another place it talks about using special OpenManage software to access it. Really confusing for me. Clearly Hyperterminal isn't working, or I still need to do some more to configure the server (I think I saw someplace about making changes in the BIOS settings) or both. -----Original Message----- From: Michael B. Smith [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 10:43 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Dell BMC John, did you google "ipmi windows" like I suggested yesterday? The first hit is an article that discusses the difference between BMC and IPMI and what the capabilities of each are. The next several hits provide links to tools for properly using BMC and IPMI - free ones, even. In good English, even. And did I mention they were free? There is a server component (drivers plus WMI interfaces for Windows, plus many of the tools can be run locally). There is a client component (the various tools, especially IPMIview which is run remotely). And did I mention they were free? Oh, and all the documentation I mention is free too. Regards, Michael B. Smith Consultant and Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com -----Original Message----- From: Gary Slinger [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 10:32 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Dell BMC You're not really in a position to criticise. -----Original Message----- From: "John Aldrich" <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 10:28:46 To: NT System Admin Issues<[email protected]> Reply-To: "NT System Admin Issues" <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Dell BMC Thanks. I'm beginning to think you may be right about having to use the IPMI tool, because of some info I found when I actually *found* the BMC software to download. Unfortunately it's all written in such a way that it's hard to make heads or tails of it. I'm not even sure, from what I read in the instructions, that the software is supposed to be installed on the workstation. The way Dell wrote the software it sounds like you're supposed to install the software on the *server!* *sigh* That wouldn't be much help, so I'm pretty sure you're supposed to install it on the "management workstation" to control the server. Gotta love folks who write instructions that look like they got translated into Spanish, then into Chinese, then to Greek then Russian before getting translated BACK to English! SHEESH! -----Original Message----- From: John Hornbuckle [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 8:19 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Dell BMC As far as I know, you can't telnet into it--you have to use the IPMI tool to connect. Although I think that uses the DRAC, not the BMC. It works well. I just started using it here a month or two ago on a couple of my servers. I can remotely power them up or down with the tool. John Hornbuckle MIS Department Taylor County School District www.taylor.k12.fl.us -----Original Message----- From: John Aldrich [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 5:27 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Dell BMC Anyone have any experience with Dell's Baseboard Management Controller? I'm getting mixed information from Dell. I can't seem to get ahold of anyone in Tech Support via email. I may have to call them when I'm in front of the server so I can get them to help me set it up. I got instructions from my sales rep's Storage Specialist on how to set it up, and I thought I'd set it up right. I hit CTL+E when the prompt for "configure remote access" came up and gave it a static IP and enabled IPMI over LAN. Still can't telnet to that IP address. It responds to a PING on that IP address, but no telnet/web connection allowed. Just times out. If anyone has any experience with this, can you chime in? If not, I guess I'll give Dell a call eventually. Thanks! ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
