15.5. Using Power Management Features on Managed Hosts
When you enable the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) module on the Capsule Server, you can use power management commands on managed hosts using the IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) or a similar protocol.
The BMC service on the satellite Capsule Server allows you to perform a range of power management tasks. The underlying protocol for this feature is IPMI; also referred to as the BMC function. IPMI uses a special network interface on the managed hardware that is connected to a dedicated processor that runs independently of the host's CPUs. In many instances the BMC functionality is built into chassis-based systems as part of chassis management (a dedicated module in the chassis).
To take advantage of BMC features you need to add a new network interface of type "BMC" to each managed host. IPMI interfaces are nearly always password protected, to prevent unauthorized people on the same network from gaining control of that host. Satellite uses this NIC to pass the appropriate credentials to the host. See Section 12.4.4, “Adding a BMC Interface”.
Red Hat Satellite supports by extension everything that either ipmitool or freeipmi BMC providers support. You can switch between the two per capsule. Note that different hardware vendors might not implement all IPMI specifications, bugs, and so on.
15.5.1. Enabling BMC Power Management
You can enable the BMC module as part of the installation process, or you can update the required configuration files on an existing system.
Enabling BMC During Installation
To enable BMC power management as part of the installation process, add the following lines to the capsule-installer command:
--bmc "enabled"\ --bmc_default_provider "freeipmi"
See "Installing a Red Hat Satellite Capsule Server" in the Red Hat Satellite Installation Guide for full details on installing a Capsule Server.
Enabling BMC After Installation
The following procedure describes how to enable BMC power management on an existing Capsule Server. This requires editing the appropriate configuration file and restarting the required services.
Procedure 15.2. To Enable BMC Power Management on an Existing Capsule:
- Add the following lines to the
/etc/foreman-proxy/settings.d/bmc.ymlfile. Create the file if necessary.:enabled: true :bmc_default_provider: your_bmc_provider
- Restart the
foreman-proxyservice:# service foreman-proxy restart
- Refresh the features for the Capsule.
- Log in to the Satellite web UI, and navigate to
. - Identify the Capsule whose features you need to refresh. In the drop-down list on the right, click Refresh features. The list of features in the Features column should now include BMC.
15.5.2. Configuring a BMC Interface
This section describes how to configure a BMC interface for a host that supports this feature.
15.5.2.1. Prerequisites
Ensure the following prerequisites are satisfied before proceeding:
- BMC is enabled on the Capsule, as described in Section 15.5.1, “Enabling BMC Power Management”.
- The ipmitool package is installed.
- You know the MAC address, IP address, and other details of the BMC interface on the host, and the appropriate credentials for that interface.
15.5.2.2. Adding a BMC Interface
This section describes how to add the actual interface configuration to the Capsule server.
Procedure 15.3. To Add a BMC Interface:
- On the main menu, click
and then click the name of the host that you want to configure. - Click to display the host configuration page, and then click the Network tab.
- In the Interface section, click .
- Select BMC as the interface type, and then complete the other fields. All fields are required.
- Click . The web UI refreshes and you should see a BMC tab listed with the Properties, Metrics, and Templates tabs.
