Intel IPMI

This module controls server power over native IPMI v2.0 (RMCP+) — no external ipmitool/ipmiutil binaries required. It talks directly to the server's BMC over UDP (default port 623) using a RMCP+ session (Open Session → RAKP 1‑4 → encrypted commands → Close Session).

It works with any IPMI 2.0 capable BMC (Supermicro, Intel, ASRock Rack, …). Using an AV Stumpfl Pixera media server? See the dedicated section below.

Configuration fields

Field	Default	Notes
BMC IP / Hostname	—	Address of the BMC/IPMI interface.
BMC Port	623	Standard IPMI RMCP port.
IPMI Username	ADMIN	Common BMC factory user.
IPMI Password	(blank)	Treated as a secret — never shown in variables/exports.
Pixera LAN1 sticker IP	(blank)	Optional. If set and the password is left blank, the Pixera factory password is auto‑derived.
Cipher Suite	3	3 = HMAC‑SHA1 / AES‑128 (most common factory default). 17 = SHA256/AES‑128. 0 = none.
Privilege	ADMINISTRATOR	Power control needs ≥ OPERATOR.
Poll power state	on	Periodic Get Chassis Status for feedback/variables.
Poll interval (s)	10
Soft‑restart wait (s)	60	How long "Restart (soft)" waits for full power‑off before powering back on.
BMC reply timeout (ms)	2000	Per‑request timeout (2 retries).

Actions

• Power On — 0x01
• Soft Shutdown (ACPI) — 0x05 (graceful)
• Power Down (hard off) — 0x00
• Power Cycle — 0x02
• Hard Reset — 0x03
• Pulse Diagnostic Interrupt (NMI) — 0x04
• Restart (soft) — soft shutdown → wait for full power‑off → power on. Safest for a media server.

Some boards reject ACPI soft‑shutdown with completion code 0xCF even though they advertise ACPI support. The module logs a readable message and suggests falling back to Power Cycle or Hard Reset.

Feedback & variables

• Feedback Power is ON — boolean, green by default.
• Feedback Power is OFF — boolean, red by default.
• Feedback Power state is unknown — boolean, yellow by default; active when the BMC is unreachable or the power state is unknown.
• Combine these feedbacks on one button for all three states. Their styles are editable in Companion; the power presets already include them.
• $(intel-ipmi:ipmi_power_state) — on / off / unknown
• $(intel-ipmi:ipmi_reachable) — true / false

(The variable prefix is your connection label — intel-ipmi is the default.)

Presets

Ready‑to‑drag buttons under IPMI Power. Destructive actions (Soft Shutdown, Hard Reset, Power Down) fire on release after a long press so a stray touch can't kill a live show.

AV Stumpfl Pixera servers

This module was built for — and validated end to end on — Pixera media servers, and the defaults above are the Pixera factory values. It is listed under Intel because Companion names modules manufacturer-product and IPMI is an Intel-led specification.

It controls server power only and is independent of the AV Stumpfl: Pixera connection, which controls the Pixera application over its TCP API — use both side by side when you need application control and power control.

Pixera address conventions: BMC/IPMI factory pool 10.41.x.x, LAN1 factory pool 10.31.x.x (second octet −10 from the IPMI address).

Factory password rule

Pixera derives the default IPMI password from the LAN1 address printed on the factory sticker — not from the IPMI address. The rule is Px + every octet zero‑padded to 3 digits:

LAN1 10.31.98.252  ->  Px010031098252

The module can rebuild the password for you: put the original LAN1 sticker address in the Pixera LAN1 sticker IP field and leave the password blank.

Warnings

• The password is based on the original sticker LAN1 address, not the current (possibly re‑configured) network address. Changing the IP does not change the factory password.
• Pixera recommends changing the default IPMI credentials right after setup, so the derived default may already be overwritten — the password field is always editable.
• A manually created account may use a password outside this rule; the helper will not match it.

Network & security

• The Companion controller must have a network route to the IPMI subnet. Confirm with ping/the BMC web panel from the Companion machine.
• Keep IPMI on a dedicated, isolated management VLAN — never expose it publicly.
• The password and full RAKP material are never logged.
• If your BMC allows it, use a minimal account with OPERATOR privilege.

Verifying against real hardware

The native RMCP+ implementation is unit‑tested end‑to‑end against an in‑process BMC simulator and has been confirmed against real Pixera BMC hardware, but you should still verify against your own BMC. A handy ground‑truth reference with ipmiutil:

ipmiutil health -N <BMC_IP> -U <user> -P <pass> -F lan2 -V 4
ipmiutil power  -o -N <BMC_IP> -U <user> -P <pass> -F lan2 -V 4   # soft restart

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Developed and maintained by LTT-DEV.