Using the IPMI Interface

This document will take you through the process of using the IPMI interface. NOTE: The T800, T1600 and T3200 server models are equipped with an IPMI interface with KVM / IP functionality. This enables you to get into the server console if it becomes inaccessible and remotely mount media.

This guide will instruct you on how to:

Connect to the IPMI

  1. The IP address / KVM URL and password for the IPMI interface can be found in the server overview section of the Simply Cloud control panel. Log into your Simply Cloud account at https://admin.simplyhosting.cloud/login and you will be taken to the homepage of your control panel (see Screen 1).

    Screen 1
    (Screen 1)
  2. Click on the name of the server (in this case T3200-XXX) and you will be taken to the server overview page. On this screen, you can see the IPMI Password and the KVM URL, which is also the IP Address (see Screen 2).

    Screen 2
    (Screen 2)
  3. Navigate to the server’s IPMI IP address / KVM URL via your web browser until you see the login prompt (see Screen 3). Use the username “ADMIN” (case sensitive, no quotes) and the password as displayed in the Simply Cloud control panel as shown in Screen 2.

    Screen 3
    (Screen 3)
  4. You will be connected to the IPMI interface and see a preview of the server’s console (see Screen 4). In this example, the server is running our Linux-based self-installation / rescue environment.

    Screen 4
    (Screen 4)

Using the remote console

  1. Clicking on the preview image of the console will open the Java-based remote KVM. Your browser will need to have the Java plug-in installed (or you should be prompted to install it). As the console launches, you may see several security messages that need to be accepted for the console to run. Once started, you will see a console similar to Screen 5.

    Screen 5
    (Screen 5)
  2. From here you can perform diagnostics as if you were sitting at the server console. Your keyboard and mouse can be used as normal, although special key combinations (e.g., CTRL+ALT+DEL) may need to be executed from the macro menu at the top of the KVM window. If you have trouble using other keyboard combinations, try creating custom macros.

Self-Installations via IPMI

You can perform your own installations on dedicated server models equipped with an IPMI controller when you need to use an operating system that isn’t supported by Simply Cloud's automated installation process. In addition, you may customize the partitioning and package selection rather than accept our defaults.

Simply order a server through Simply Cloud and select “Self Installed OS” as the operating system. Our provisioning system will allocate you a server of the correct model, assign and setup a network for you, and configure the IPMI controller for remote access. You can then remotely mount the installation media to perform the installation.

Mounting your installation media

  1. After making any required partition changes to the pre-installation environment, you can now mount your installation media, reboot the server and begin installation. Select ‘Virtual Media’ from the top left menu and then ‘Virtual Storage’. Click on the ‘CDROM&ISO’ tab (see Screen 6).
  2. Under ‘Logical Drive Type’ select either the local CD-ROM drive that contains the media or ‘ISO file’. Click on the ‘Open Image’ button to navigate to the ISO file on your hard drive. Next, click the ‘OK’ button and then click ‘Plug in’ to make the ISO or CD-ROM drive available.
  3. You will need to reboot the server to start the install. Click inside the console and type the command ‘reboot’ or click ‘Macro’ on the top menu and select ‘Macro > Ctrl+Alt+Del’.

    Screen 6
    (Screen 6)

Checking the Bios configuration

  1. The server should automatically boot from the remotely attached media. If this doesn’t happen, the BIOS boot order may be incorrect. To correct it, send a Ctrl+Alt+Del to the server again and press the DELETE key when you see the Supermicro logo. This will open the BIOS / UEFI configuration.
  2. Navigate to the Boot menu, and make sure the ‘IPMI Virtual CDROM’ device is selected first and that the second device is set to ‘IBA GE Slot’ (see Screen 7). This configures the server to boot from network second, which enables other Simply Cloud features to work. The network boot option MUST be listed in the menu for any hard disks for these features to work.

    Screen 7
    (Screen 7)
  3. Installation will take significantly longer using remote media than it would if you used local media or our automated installation system. The speed will depend on your local internet connection (upload speed especially). You can speed up the process by using installation media that only boots the server and obtains the rest of the installation packages from a network source, such as an online repository. Once you have completed the installation, go back to the virtual media page and click ‘plug-out’. You can now reboot the server into your new installation.

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