Often (although not always), console redirection must be also be configured properly in the BIOS and/or operating system. Both must be configured 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).
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
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 privilege, 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 ipmi-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 discovered 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 maximum 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 available 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 authenticate 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 configuration 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.
"internal IPMI error" - An IPMI error has occurred that FreeIPMI does not know how to handle. Please e-mail <freeipmi-users@gnu.org> to report the issue.
"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. Not all BMCs support the ability to steal away a SOL session.
"SOL session stolen" - Your SOL session has been stolen by another session. 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 configured correctly on the remote BMC.
"BMC Implementation" - The BMC on the remote machine has a severe problem 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.
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 workarounds 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 maintainers 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.
nochecksumcheck - This workaround flag will tell FreeIPMI to not check the checksums returned from IPMI command responses. It works around systems that return invalid checksums due to implementation errors, but the packet is otherwise valid. Users are cautioned on the use of this option, as it removes validation of packet integrity in a number of circumstances. However, it is unlikely to be an issue in most situations. Those hitting this issue may see "connection timeout", "session timeout", or "password verification timeout" errors. On IPMI 1.5 connections, the "noauthcodecheck" workaround may also needed too. Issue observed on Supermicro X9SCM-iiF, Supermicro X9DRi-F, and Supermicro X9DRFR.
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 authentication 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, Quanta QSSC-S4R/Appro GB812X-CN, and Dell C5220. 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 payload 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 specified during the protocol. It works around remote systems that report invalid alternate SOL ports. Those hitting this issue may see "connection 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.
solchannelsupport - This workaround flag will not check if SOL is supported on the current channel. It works around remote systems that do not properly support this command. Those hitting this issue may see "BMC Error" errors. Issue observed on Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, and Wiwynn Windmill
serialalertsdeferred - This workaround option will set serial alerts to be deferred instead of have them be failures. This works around motherboards that perform IPMI over serial along with IPMI serial over LAN. Those hitting this issue may see "excess retransmissions sent" when they attempt to input data via SOL. Issue observed on Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, and Wiwynn Windmill.
solpacketseq - This workaround option will increment the SOL payload packet sequence number under dire circumstances. Normally SOL should never do this, however some motherboards have shown to get "stuck" due to an internal bug on the motherboard. This workaround can help in getting the BMC un-stuck. Those hitting this issue may see "excess retransmissions sent" when they attempt to input data via SOL. Issue observed on Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, and Wiwynn Windmill.
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 sessions. If SOL sessions stay inactive for long periods of time, ipmiconsole 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.
Establish a console session with a remote host.
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.
http://www.gnu.org/software/freeipmi/