IPMIä

IPMI, or Intelligent Platform Management Interface, is a standardized interface used by servers and embedded systems to monitor hardware health and perform out-of-band management independent of the host operating system. It provides access to sensors, event logs, power controls, and remote administration via a dedicated management controller known as the BMC.

Typically, the BMC is integrated on the motherboard or provided as an add-on card. The BMC collects data from a set of sensors (temperature, voltage, fan speed, chassis intrusion) through IPMB, I2C/SMBus. The System Event Log stores events for later review. Management communication can occur over the network using IPMI's RMCP protocol, or via local interfaces such as KCS or SMBus.

IPMI supports features including turning the system on or off, resetting, remotely accessing a console (Serial over LAN), sensor readings, and event alerts (via alerts or SNMP traps). The protocol has multiple versions: IPMI 1.5 and IPMI 2.0, with 2.0 introducing enhanced security through RMCP+ and authentication/encryption options.

Despite wide deployment, IPMI has well-documented security drawbacks, as default credentials and out-of-band access can present risk if exposed on untrusted networks. Best practices include isolating IPMI networks, using strong credentials, keeping firmware updated, and considering newer management standards such as Redfish for secure, scalable remote management.