Syntax
hpbmc [-d path] [-b busaddr] [command [ data ]] |
hpbmc is a general-purpose utility that provides complete access to the BMC. Its primary command argument is one of a list of directives that expose a particular feature of the BMC (for example, SELprint lists the current contents of the System Event Log).
There are open source tools available that have similar functionality, such as ipmitool (found at http://ipmitool.sourceforge.net and shipped with some commercial distributions). hpbmc provides more functionality than those tools by handling the OEM IPMI extensions of HP Integrity Servers.
See hpbmc(8) for an explanation of all directives. This section discusses some of the background processing done by hpmgmtbase and hpbmc.
All IPMI commands use a command/response message protocol with a requestor and a responder. In most cases on HP hardware using HP software, programs running under Linux are the requestor, and the system's BMC is the responder.
The BMC hardware is exposed through a system interface, as described in the IPMI specification. This channel requires a device driver and device file to exchange commands and responses. The hpmgmtbase installation loads the Open IPMI driver modules and sets up the character device files /dev/ipmi/0 and /dev/ipmi0. These files are well-known to the Linux Open IPMI community (such as ipmitool).
By default, hpbmc uses these files to access the local BMC. SELprint is implemented in a manner similar to the following conversation:
Another task done during hpmgmtbase installation is caching of the Sensor Data Record Repository (SDRR). IPMI is intended to be self-describing and the SDRR holds the material list for the system (along with sensors). Software can construct a coherent view of the entire system starting from this material list.
The SDRR is thus crucial to the completion of most hpbmc directives. Not only is the SDRR a large list, but the IPMI interface is a relatively slow channel. It can take over twenty seconds to read the SDRR on some Integrity servers. Fortunately, the SDRR is a static collection on HP Integrity servers and can easily be cached to a disk file. This caching is done during hpmgmtbase installation, and hpbmc reads this cache by default.
The -d path option changes the path to the BMC. The HPBMC_DEVICE environment variable can be set for the same purpose. Specifying an alternate Open IPMI device file is of interest only to IPMI utility developers and is usually not done in practice.
hpmgmtbase utilities also support the Remote Management Control Protocol (RMCP), or IPMI over LAN. This protocol works against any BMC (or IPMI controller) that uses RMCP. An RMCP exchange always requires a host target (DNS name or IP address), and it optionally uses a password and user name. The path argument then takes the
[[user:]password]@hostname
Either use the -d option or set HPBMC_DEVICE. Here are some things to remember:
Early entry-level HP Integrity servers might not have an MP card.
Early entry-level MP card firmware does not support RMCP. The MP firmware must be upgraded to at least E.03.15 for RMCP support. The MP card is then known as the Integrity iLO Card because it is similar in functionality to the HP ProLiant iLO cards.
On entry-level Integrity iLO, RMCP access is turned OFF by default. It is enabled through the command-line interface of the MP card using the SA command.
The IPMI password on all HP Integrity servers is unset (or null) by default.
On midrange and high-end systems the RMCP password can be set through the MP card command-line interface. Entry-level systems support only RMCP password changes over RMCP; see the RMCP passwd directive of hpbmc.
The final complexity in addressing an IPMI responder or target device is the IPMI Bus, or IPMB. IPMB is an address-based I2C bus that passes IPMI commands back and forth between intelligent controllers.
Some HP Integrity Servers do have IPMB, but its use is hidden by hpbmc and not directly exposed. However, on the HP ATCA platform, this functionality is of immense interest. Consult ATCA documentation for details.
The IPMI Send Message command is used to bridge data from external sources (System Interface or RMCP) to and from an IPMB behind the BMC. The -b argument to hpbmc takes a hexadecimal IPMB address to specify the target. For example, to issue Get Device ID command to IPMB address 0x82 behind an RMCP responder at atca.fc.hp.com with password please, the syntax is:
# hpbmc -d please@atca.fc.hp.com -b 82 IPMIraw 18 1
Printable version
