IPMItool

IPMItool is a command-line utility for managing IPMI-enabled hardware, providing a straightforward interface to Baseboard Management Controllers (BMCs) found in many servers and rack systems. It is used to monitor hardware status, perform power management, and configure IPMI-enabled devices through standard IPMI channels.

As an open-source tool developed as part of the OpenIPMI project, ipmitool supports both local and remote management and works with IPMI 1.5 and 2.0 compliant interfaces. It can communicate over various transport methods, including LAN and LANPLUS for network access, as well as KCS and SMIC interfaces used by local BMC connections. Typical capabilities include reading sensor data, querying the System Event Log (SEL), retrieving FRU information, monitoring chassis status, and performing power operations such as power on, power off, power cycle, and chassis identify. It also supports user management on the BMC and issuing raw or OEM-specific commands for advanced tasks.

Usage generally involves specifying the transport and target, for example ipmitool -I lanplus -H host -U user -P pass chassis power status or ipmitool sensor list. Other common commands cover sdr, sel, lan, user, and raw commands. Authentication and network access are required, and misuse can affect system availability and security, so access should be restricted to authorized administrators.

IPMItool is widely distributed with Linux and other Unix-like systems and is commonly used in data centers and automation scripts as part of IPMI-based management workflows.