IPMI

IPMI, short for Intelligent Platform Management Interface, is a specification for managing a server out-of-band, over the network but outside the host operating system. It lets an admin power a machine on or off, read fan speed and temperature, and pull hardware event logs. All of that works while the OS is hung or the system is powered down. The spec defines the commands and the message format. The chip on the motherboard that implements them is the BMC.

Version 1.0 shipped in 1998, and version 2.0, current since 2004, is what server boards implement today. It runs on a dedicated management port, often labeled MGMT, with its own IP address separate from the data interfaces. From a laptop, ipmitool can power-cycle a machine on another continent or dump the system event log after a crash. Vendor firmware layers a browser console and virtual media on the same connection, so an OS reinstall never needs a person in the room.

Treat it, or its Redfish successor, as mandatory on any server-grade board. Keep the management port on an isolated network. The 2.0 authentication scheme has known weaknesses and was never meant to face the public internet.

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Last verified August 29, 2026.