ipmitool

Install

# RHEL / Alma / Rocky
sudo dnf install ipmitool

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install ipmitool

# openSUSE
sudo zypper install ipmitool

# Arch
sudo pacman -S ipmitool

What it does

ipmitool communicates with a system’s Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) using IPMI. It allows remote power control, hardware sensor monitoring, event log inspection, and low-level management — even when the OS is offline.

How it works (mechanical)

• Local mode: communicates through kernel IPMI driver.
• Remote mode: uses IPMI-over-LAN (UDP 623).
• Authenticates using BMC username/password.
• Independent of host operating system state.
• Supports raw commands for advanced hardware control.

Quick Start

# Show sensor readings (local)
sudo ipmitool sensor

# Remote example
ipmitool -I lanplus -H 192.0.2.10 -U ADMIN -P 'PASSWORD' sensor

10 Practical Examples

# 1) Show chassis power status
sudo ipmitool chassis status

# 2) Power off server
sudo ipmitool chassis power off

# 3) Power on server
sudo ipmitool chassis power on

# 4) Reboot server
sudo ipmitool chassis power cycle

# 5) Show sensor data
sudo ipmitool sensor

# 6) View System Event Log (SEL)
sudo ipmitool sel list

# 7) Clear SEL
sudo ipmitool sel clear

# 8) Show FRU inventory
sudo ipmitool fru

# 9) Remote power status
ipmitool -I lanplus -H 192.0.2.10 -U ADMIN -P 'PASSWORD' chassis status

# 10) Raw command (advanced use only)
sudo ipmitool raw 0x06 0x01

Notes & Gotchas

• Prefer -I lanplus for secure authentication.
• Store credentials securely (avoid plain-text in scripts).
• Some older BMCs have limited IPMI support.
• Firewall must allow UDP 623 for remote access.
• Combine with isolated management VLAN for security.

Historical Context

IPMI became the standard for out-of-band server management. ipmitool became the de facto open-source utility for interacting with BMC hardware across vendors.

Modern Equivalent

Many vendors now provide Redfish APIs and web interfaces. However, ipmitool remains widely used in automation, datacenters, and minimal Linux environments.

Related Commands

• freeipmi — alternative IPMI suite.
• lspci — list PCI devices.
• dmesg — kernel hardware messages.
• smartctl — disk health monitoring.
• watch — monitor sensor output live.