ipmiconsole(8)

NAME
ipmiconsole - IPMI console utility

SYNOPSIS
ipmiconsole [OPTION...]

DESCRIPTION
ipmiconsole is a Serial-over-LAN (SOL) console utility. It can be used to establish console sessions to remote machines using the IPMI 2.0 SOL protocol.

IPMI 2.0 SOL
Ipmiconsole communicates with a remote machine's Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) to establish a console session. Before any SOL communication can take place, the remote machine's BMC must be configured properly. Of primary importance, the IP address, MAC address, subnet, usernames, passwords, privileges, SOL availability, SOL privilege, and SOL user access must be configured and enabled. The FreeIPMI tool bmc-config(1) may be used to do this configuration. A BMC configuration tool may have also been distributed with the machine.

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.

GENERAL OPTIONS
The following options are general options for configuring IPMI communication and executing general tool commands.

-h, --hostname=IPMIHOST
    Specify the remote host to communicate with.

-u, --username=USERNAME
    Specify the username to use when authenticating with the remote host. If not specified, a null (i.e. anonymous) username is assumed. The user must a high enough privilege to establish a SOL session and have SOL session abilities.

-p, --password=PASSWORD
    Specify the password to use when authenticationg with the remote host. If not specified, a null password is assumed. Maximum password length is 16 for IPMI 1.5 and 20 for IPMI 2.0.

-P, --password-prompt
    Prompt for password to avoid possibility of listing it in process lists.

-k, --k-g=K_G
    Specify the K_g BMC key to use when authenticating with the remote host for IPMI 2.0. If not specified, a null key is assumed. To input the key in hexadecimal form, prefix the string with '0x'. E.g., the key 'abc' can be entered with the either the string 'abc' or the string '0x616263'

-K, --k-g-prompt
    Prompt for k-g to avoid possibility of listing it in process lists.

--session-timeout=MILLISECONDS
    Specify the session timeout in milliseconds. Defaults to 60000 milliseconds (60 seconds) if not specified.

--retransmission-timeout=MILLISECONDS
    Specify the packet retransmission timeout in milliseconds. Defaults to 500 milliseconds (0.5 seconds) if not specified.

-I, --cipher-suite-id=CIPHER-SUITE-ID
    Specify the IPMI 2.0 cipher suite ID to use. The Cipher Suite ID identifies a set of authentication, integrity, and confidentiality algorithms to use for IPMI 2.0 communication. The authentication algorithm identifies the algorithm to use for session setup, the integrity algorithm identifies the algorithm to use for session packet signatures, and the confidentiality algorithm identifies the algorithm to use for payload encryption. Defaults to cipher suite ID 3 if not specified. The user should be aware that only cipher suite ids 3, 8, and 12 encrypt console payloads. Console information will be sent in the clear an alternate cipher suite id is selected. The following cipher suite ids are currently supported:

    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 ." .sp ." 4 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA1; Integrity Algorithm = HMAC-SHA1-96; Confidentiality Algorithm = xRC4-128 ." .sp ." 5 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-SHA1; Integrity Algorithm = HMAC-SHA1-96; Confidentiality Algorithm = xRC4-40

    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 ." .sp ." 9 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm = HMAC-MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = xRC4-128 ." .sp ." 10 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm = HMAC-MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = xRC4-40

    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 ." .sp ." 13 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm = MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = xRC4-128 ." .sp ." 14 - Authentication Algorithm = HMAC-MD5; Integrity Algorithm = MD5-128; Confidentiality Algorithm = xRC4-40

-l, --privilege-level=PRIVILEGE-LEVEL
    Specify the privilege level to be used. The currently available privilege levels are USER, OPERATOR, and ADMIN. Defaults to ADMIN if not specified.

--config-file=FILE
    Specify an alternate configuration file.

-W, --workaround-flags=WORKAROUNDS
    Specify workarounds to vendor compliance issues. Multiple workarounds can be specified separated by commas. See WORKAROUNDS below for a list of available workarounds.

--debug
    Turn on debugging.

-?, --help
    Output a help list and exit.

--usage
    Output a usage message and exit.

-V, --version
    Output the program version and exit.

IPMICONSOLE OPTIONS
The following options are specific to Ipmiconsole.

-e, --escape-char=CHAR
    Specify an alternate escape character (default char '&').

-N, --dont-steal
    Do not steal an SOL session if one is already detected as being in use. Under most circumstances, if SOL is detected as being in use, ipmiconsole will attempt to steal the SOL session away from the previous session. This default behavior exists for several reasons, most notably that earlier SOL sessions may have not been able to be deactivate properly.

-T, --deactivate
    Deactivate a SOL session if one is detected as being in use and exit.

-L, --lock-memory
    Lock sensitive information (such as usernames and passwords) in memory.

ESCAPE CHARACTERS
The following escape sequences are supported. The default supported escape character is '&', but can be changed with the -e option.

&?  Display a list of currently available escape sequences.

&.  Terminate the connection.

&B  Send a "serial-break" to the remote console.

&D  Send a DEL character.

&&  Send a single escape character.

GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING
Most often, 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 bmc-config(8) tool can be used to check and/or change these configuration settings.

The following are common issues for given error messages:

"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 IPMI over LAN continually times out, you may wish to increase the retransmission timeout. Some remote BMCs are considerably slower than others.

Please see WORKAROUNDS below to also if there are any vendor specific bugs that have been discovered and worked around.

IPMICONSOLE TROUBLESHOOTING
The following are common issues for given error messages specifically for ipmiconsole.

"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.

"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.

WORKAROUNDS
With so many different vendors implementing their own IPMI solutions, different vendors may implement their IPMI protocols incorrectly. The following lists the handful of compliance issues discovered and the workarounds currently supported.

When possible, workarounds have been implemented so they will be transparent to the user. However, some will require the user to specify a workaround be used via the -W option.

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.

Asus P5M2/P5MT-R/RS162-E4/RX4: The motherboard does not properly report username capabilities and/or K_g status. This will likely cause "username invalid" or "k_g invalid" errors to occur. In order to work around this issue, the "authcap" workaround must be specified.

Intel SR1520ML/X38ML: The motherboard does not properly report username capabilities and/or K_g status. This will likely cause "username invalid" or "k_g invalid" errors to occur. In order to work around this issue, the "authcap" workaround must be specified.

Intel SE7520AF2 with Intel Server Management Module (Professional Edition): There are a number of Intel IPMI 2.0 authentcation and SOL connection bugs. These problems may cause "username invalid", "password invalid", "k_g invalid", or "BMC Error" errors to occur. They can be worked around by specifying the "intel20" workaround. The workarounds include padding of usernames, automatic acceptance of a RAKP 4 response integrity check when using the integrity algorithm MD5-128, password truncation if the authentication algorithm is HMAC-MD5-128, and specifying Intel IPMI 2.0 specific SOL connection parameters.

Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card: There are several Supermicro IPMI 2.0 bugs on early firmware revisions which can be worked around using the "supermicro20" workaround. These problems may cause "password invalid" errors to occur. These compliance bugs are confirmed to be fixed on newer firmware.

Sun Fire 4100 with ILOM: There are several Sun IPMI 2.0 bugs. These problems may cause "password invalid" or "bmc error" errors to occur. They can be worked around by specifying the "sun20" workaround. The workarounds include handling invalid lengthed hash keys and invalid cipher suite records.

Asus P5M2/RS162-E4/RX4: Incorrect IPMI 2.0 SOL payload sizes are reported by motherboard SOL packet responses. This will likely cause "BMC Implementation" errors to occur. In order to work around this issue, the "solpayloadsize" workaround must be specified.

Intel SR1520ML/X38ML: Incorrect IPMI 2.0 SOL payload sizes are reported by motherboard SOL packet responses. This will likely cause "BMC Implementation" errors to occur. In order to work around this issue, the "solpayloadsize" workaround must be specified.

Asus P5MT-R: An invalid IPMI 2.0 SOL port is reported by the motherboard. This may cause "session timeout" errors to occur. In order to work around this issue, the "solport" workaround must be specified.

SPECIFIC HARDWARE NOTES
Intel SR1520ML/X38ML: After a reboot, the SOL session appears to "disconnect" from the motherboard but stay alive. Character data input from the ipmiconsole client is accepted by the remote machine, but no character data or console data is ever sent back from the remote machine. The SOL session is subsequently useless. There is currently no workaround in place to handle this. The session must be closed and restarted.

EXAMPLES
# ipmiconsole -h ahost -u myusername -p mypassword

Establish a console sesssion with a remote host.

KNOWN ISSUES
On older operating systems, if you input your username, password, and other potentially security relevant information on the command line, this information may be discovered by other users when using tools like the ps(1) command or looking in the /proc file system. It is generally more secure to input password information with options like the -P or -K options. Configuring security relevant information in the FreeIPMI configuration file would also be an appropriate way to hide this information.

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.

REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <freeipmi-users@gnu.org> or <freeipmi-devel@gnu.org>.

COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2007-2008 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.
Copyright (C) 2006-2007 The Regents of the University of California.

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 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

SEE ALSO
freeipmi.conf(5), freeipmi(7), bmc-config(8)

http://www.gnu.org/software/freeipmi/