If you are into server management, then you must already know about IPMI. IPMI or Intelligent Platform Management Interface is very important in server management. It is the standard monitoring interface in the market. Thus, most hardware vendors are using this monitoring interface. IPMI is a simple hardware-based solution that is helping companies in securing, managing, and controlling their servers. In this article, we are going to talk about the importance of IMPI.
Why is IPMI important?
IPMI is a set of interface specifications that are used for server management. You don’t need to physically access your assets for monitoring them. Out-of-band will ensure that you can access your computer systems from a central room. IPMI already supports remote monitoring. Thus, you can monitor your servers from anywhere in the world. Also, you don’t need any special permission from the OS.
IPMI is running on separate hardware. This hardware is directly attached to your server. BMC or Baseboard Management controller will help you in monitoring your servers. This BMC hardware is like the middleman between your server and software. It will manage the interface between your management software and hardware. The BMC will receive reports from the system. It will act on these reports. IPMI will ensure that your system is functioning at its best capacity.
IPMI also collaborates with other standard specifications like ICMB and IPBM. These specifications will work together. Thus, these specification sets will help you in monitoring your system.
IPMI will also monitor the important parameters of your server hardware. These parameters will help you in understanding the working status of your hardware. IPMI will monitor the power supply and fan speed. It will also check your server health. IPMI will check the security details of your server. It will also check your OS health.
IPMI is similar to the diagnostic tool that vehicle technicians are using. They can use the on-board diagnostic tool for monitoring your vehicle. You don’t even need to start your vehicle engine. They can check your car engine without turning it on. IPMI is also similar to this tool. You can check the health of your server without accessing it physically.
Features of IMPI
Some of the best features provided by IMPI are:
- Communication Interfaces: These interfaces are very important for IPMI. It will define how IPMI can send its messages. It can use out-of-band LAN for sending these messages. Also, it can use sideband LAN for sending these messages. IPMI can also communicate with your device by using a virtual LAN.
- Authentication Feature: This will ensure that only legit users can monitor your servers.
- Memory: IPMI will store all the sensor data records. Also, it will store the system event logs.
- Intelligent Platform Management Bus or IPMB: This is a communication protocol will help your controllers in communicating with each other.
- Intelligent Chassis Management Bus or ICMB: This is another interface protocol. It will ensure that your different chasses can communicate with each other.
- BMC: BMC is a simple micro-controller component. It will manage all the functions of the IPMI.
Advantages of IPMI:
IPMI will help you in managing multiple machines. You don’t need to install these machines in the same physical location. This is the main advantage of using IPMI. You don’t need to install a specific OS for running IPMI. This monitoring tool can run on any operating system. Most monitoring tools don’t provide this feature. Some other benefits of using IPMI are:
- Predictive Monitoring: Companies can’t afford downtime. If your server is not working, then it will ultimately lead to downtime. Downtime can affect your operations. You can lose more than $250k per hour. IPMI will help you in tracking the health of your server. They will give you a warning about system failures. IPMI will monitor the thresholds. If it detects more thresholds, then it will alert your server admin. This will help you in reducing the downtime of your servers.
- Intelligent Recovery: If your system is not working, then IPMI will recovery our system. IPMI will always stay accessible even if your server is down. Also, it will help you in recovering your server. IPMI will automatically recover your server.
- Universal support: IPMI is not owned by any vendor. You don’t need to worry about buying it from a separate vendor. It is a vendor-neutral monitoring tool.
- Agentless Management: You don’t need to install any agent for managing your system OS. IPMI will automatically manage your system OS. It can also change the settings of BIOS without logging in.
Disadvantages of IPMI:
There are many benefits to using IPMI. However, it is not a perfect server monitoring tool. There are also some disadvantages to using this tool. Some of the weaknesses of IPMI are:
- Cybersecurity Challenge: IPMI will sometimes open loopholes in your networks. Hackers can exploit these loopholes for gaining access to your system. The IPMI configuration producer might leave your server vulnerable to many hacking attacks. However, IPMI v2.0 contains advanced encryption and firewall features which will help you in dealing with these challenges.
- Configuration Challenge: It can be difficult to configure IPMI in some cases. If you are already using network settings, then you need to change them. You should first clear your network configurations.
- Updating Challenge: You might need to update patches in the future. However, these patches can also lead to a complete network failure. You need to switch ports of your motherboard. If your system is not working after installing the patch, then you should reboot your system. This will help you in solving this problem.
Conclusion
IPMI will help you in monitoring your server. It will help you in easily managing your servers. According to experts, the market of IPMI will rise to $3 billion by 2022. Thus, it is the perfect time to invest in IPMI. If you need more information regarding IPMI, then you can contact Bleuwire.
Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.
