PCIe IPMI Card other than AsRock ??

Mahfuz_SS_EHL

Hello,

Is there any way to add IPMI Facilities to desktop motherboard by any PCIe Card ??

I have AsRock Paul in consideration: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=PAUL#Specifications

But, this is expensive. Does anybody know any way round ??

Regards.

LTniger

IPMI to desktop? Damn... I had used raritan in the past. But it's discontinued. Lantronix?

Here is massive collection https://www.kvm-switches-online.com/

Lyphiard

What scale are you looking to deploy this at?

Mahfuz_SS_EHL

@Lyphiard said:
What scale are you looking to deploy this at?

Can you explain a bit more. I didn't understand ?

Lyphiard

@Mahfuz_SS_EHL said:

@Lyphiard said:
What scale are you looking to deploy this at?

Can you explain a bit more. I didn't understand ?

Are you looking to do this for just 1 machine, 10 machines, 100+ machines?

Mahfuz_SS_EHL

@LTniger said:
IPMI to desktop? Damn... I had used raritan in the past. But it's discontinued. Lantronix?

Here is massive collection https://www.kvm-switches-online.com/

I couldn't find anything that can be integrated in the Motherboard there. Am I missing something ?

Mahfuz_SS_EHL

@Lyphiard said:

@Mahfuz_SS_EHL said:

@Lyphiard said:
What scale are you looking to deploy this at?

Can you explain a bit more. I didn't understand ?

Are you looking to do this for just 1 machine, 10 machines, 100+ machines?

Preferably for 10 machines for now. If I see, my work can be easily done by the system, I may deploy more.

fragpic

You're better off just getting a motherboard with IPMI or you can try to find used IP KVM switches but they are usually pretty dated in terms of UI(Java based)

Lyphiard

I would have to agree with @fragpic, it's a lot more economical to just get boards with built-in IPMI for large scale deployments. External solutions usually end up being buggy (e.g. certain features are missing or broken) and more expensive to deploy.

Tejy

Go for https://pikvm.org/ better than any old IPMI card!

CConner

@Mahfuz_SS_EHL said: I have AsRock Paul in consideration: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=PAUL#Specifications

Does the PAUL card also offer virtual media, power actions etc?

rcxb

@Mahfuz_SS_EHL said:
Is there any way to add IPMI Facilities to desktop motherboard by any PCIe Card ??

Go old-school.

Assuming you're interested in Linux (not Windows), you can do everything over the serial port, then a terminal server / comserver provides out-of-band connectivity. You'll need some boot-time options to utilize the serial port as the console in the bootloader and the kernel, but that's easy to put in your PXE boot menu options, kickstart configs, etc.

PXE boot is the original method of "virtual media." If you can't manage that, a bootable disc always in the system would work. In either case, you want the external/fallback to be the default boot device, and configure the boot menu to boot from the local hard drive after a timeout of a few seconds.

You'll also want to enable Magic SysRq, so you can force a reboot in the event of everything short of a complete kernel panic. It's worked very well for me. Alternatively, switchable PDUs or UPSes would work. Or you can use the Intel ME or AMD PSP to power cycle the system(s).

An IP-KVM is an (more expensive) alternative to both the terminal server for the console, and many offer a "virtual media" option over USB as well, but the above options for emergency rebooting are still required.

Mahfuz_SS_EHL

@rcxb said:

@Mahfuz_SS_EHL said:
Is there any way to add IPMI Facilities to desktop motherboard by any PCIe Card ??

Go old-school.

Assuming you're interested in Linux (not Windows), you can do everything over the serial port, then a terminal server / comserver provides out-of-band connectivity. You'll need some boot-time options to utilize the serial port as the console in the bootloader and the kernel, but that's easy to put in your PXE boot menu options, kickstart configs, etc.

PXE boot is the original method of "virtual media." If you can't manage that, a bootable disc always in the system would work. In either case, you want the external/fallback to be the default boot device, and configure the boot menu to boot from the local hard drive after a timeout of a few seconds.

You'll also want to enable Magic SysRq, so you can force a reboot in the event of everything short of a complete kernel panic. It's worked very well for me. Alternatively, switchable PDUs or UPSes would work. Or you can use the Intel ME or AMD PSP to power cycle the system(s).

An IP-KVM is an (more expensive) alternative to both the terminal server for the console, and many offer a "virtual media" option over USB as well, but the above options for emergency rebooting are still required.

I need an environment where the server would be racked into a cabinet & I can manage it from My Home (~10 kms away), that's why looking for IPMI Card. I can't keep something out of My Server in the cabinet.

Mahfuz_SS_EHL

@CConner said:

@Mahfuz_SS_EHL said: I have AsRock Paul in consideration: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=PAUL#Specifications

Does the PAUL card also offer virtual media, power actions etc?

Not sure enough, but it should be.

rcxb

@Mahfuz_SS_EHL said:
I need an environment where the server would be racked into a cabinet & I can manage it from My Home (~10 kms away), that's why looking for IPMI Card. I can't keep something out of My Server in the cabinet.

That's not a show stopper. There are 1-port and 4-port terminal servers, as well as IP-KVMs that would fit in a drive bay or even the space of a PCIe slot if you figure out how to mount it.

A RPi is similarly small enough to mount internally in any available space, so Pi-KVM remains an option as well.