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iRMC S2/S3 23
IPMI - technical background
IPMI, IPMB and ICMB
The IPMI initiative resulted in three central standards:
– IPMI. Intelligent Platform Management Interface Specification
describes the higher-level architecture, the current commands, event
formats, data packets and properties that are used in IPMI-based systems.
– IPMB. Intelligent Platform Management Bus
is an I
2
C based (write only) bus, which provides a standardized connection
between various modules in a common housing.
IPMB can also be used as a standardized interface for remote management
modules.
– ICMB. Intelligent Chassis Management Bus
(Not currently implemented in the ServerView remote management
environment.)
provides a standardized interface for exchange of platform management
information and for control across systems. ICMB is designed in such a way
that it can be implemented with a device that is connected to the IPMB.
IPMI implementation
The core element of an IPMI implementation is the Baseboard Management
Controller (BMC).
The BMC performs the following tasks:
– The BMC organizes the interface between the system management
software and the platform management hardware.
– It provides autonomous functions for monitoring, event logging and recovery
control.
– The BMC acts as a gateway between the system management software and
IPMB.
IPMI allows platform management to be extended: Additional management
controllers can be connected via the IPMB. The IPMB is an I
2
C based serial
bus, which runs between the main modules of the system. It is used for
communication with and between the management controllers.
With the support of multiple management controllers, IPMI provides a scalable
architecture: A complex server system can use multiple controllers for
monitoring different subsystems, e.g. power supplies, hot swap RAID drive
modules etc.