Manage Dell C1100 CS24-TY Servers Using IPMI Tool

Dell C1100 servers can be managed using the IPMI tool which interfaces with the low level BMC interface.  Dell has also released a bmc specific utility that compliments the generic ipmitool to better configure and manage specific settings that are difficult to configure using ipmitool on its own.

Here's how to use both ipmitool and the bmc utilities.  First, login as root:

sudo -i

Now, install the ipmitool:

yum install OpenIPMI ipmitool -y

Start the ipmi service:

service ipmi start

Download the bmc utility:

mkdir -p ~/Downloads/bmc
cd ~/Downloads/bmc
wget -N "http://dinofly.com/files/dell_c1100/bmc-2014-10-15.zip"

If your system is running versions of PERL 5.26 or newer, download this version instead:

# For PERL 5.26+
wget -O "bmc-2014-10-15.zip" -N "http://dinofly.com/files/dell_c1100/bmc-2014-10-15_perl_5.26.zip"

Unzip the bmc tool and make it executable:

unzip bmc-2014-10-15.zip
chmod +x bmc

Here's how to change the BMC interface IP settings:

ipmitool lan set 1 ipsrc static
ipmitool lan set 1 ipaddr x.x.x.x
ipmitool lan set 1 netmask x.x.x.x
ipmitool lan set 1 defgw ipaddr x.x.x.x
./bmc nic_mode set [dedicated|shared]
./bmc allinfo

If the BMC web interace is not responding, try this:

ipmitool bmc reset cold