Server Management Guide

Baseboard Management Controller
10 Intel
®
Server Boards and Server Platforms Server Management Guide
between the BMC and the external world.
The BMC supports a maximum of three LAN interfaces:
 Two LAN interfaces utilize the embedded ESB2 NICs (one channel per embedded NIC).
 One LAN interfaces utilizes an optional external NIC known as the ASMI NIC. Use of this NIC
requires the installation of the optional Intel
®
Remote Management Module add-in card.
Run-time determination of LAN channel capabilities can be made both by standard IPMI defined
mechanisms and by an OEM configuration parameter that defines advanced feature support.
2.2.2 ESB2 Embedded LAN Channels
Even though the ESB2 embedded NICs are shared by the BMC and the server, sharing only means that
both the BMC and the server use the same NIC. These shared NICs provide a dedicated MAC address
solely for BMC use. As a result, in some ways these channels are more similar to a dedicated LAN
channel than a shared channel.
For these channels, support can be enabled for IPMI-over-LAN, ARP, and DHCP. As an integral part
of the ESB2, the BMC has a high degree of access to and control over its primary network interfaces.
If an Intel
®
Remote Management Module 2 add-in card is installed, the ESB2 embedded LAN channels
are typically configured differently than for a server that does not include this device.
Channels 1-7 can be assigned to different types of communication media and protocols for IPMI
messages (for example, IPMB, LAN, ICMB, and so on), based on the system implementation.
2.2.3 IPMI 2.0 Channel Management
Every messaging interface is assigned an IPMI channel ID by IPMI 2.0. Commands are provided to
configure each channel for privilege levels and access modes.
Channels 1-7 can be assigned to different types of communication media and protocols for IPMI
messages (for example, IPMB, LAN, ICMB, and so on), based on the system implementation.