Fortanix IPMI Setup for FX2200 Series I

1.0 Introduction

The purpose of this article is to describe the steps required to set up IPMI for Fortanix FX2200 Series 1 appliance. It also contains the information that an administrator needs to:

• Perform user authentication into IPMI

• Troubleshoot the IPMI setup process

1.1 Intended Audience

This setup is intended to be used by technical stakeholders of Fortanix FX2200 Series 1 who will be responsible for planning, performing, or maintaining the setup or deployment, such as the Systems Administrator, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Analysts, or Developers.

2.0 Terminology References

• IPMI – Intelligent Platform Management Interface

• DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

• BIOS – Basic Input/Output System

• LDAP - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

• RADIUS – Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service

• PAM – Pluggable Authentication Modules

• BMC – Baseboard Management Controller

• KVM – Keyboard, Video (monitor), and Mouse

• DSM – Data Security Manager

3.0 Prerequisites

To set up IPMI for the FX2200 Series 1 appliance, the following requirements must be met:

• 1 monitor

• 1 keyboard

4.0 IPMI Setup

4.1 Steps to Setup IPMI for FX2200 Series 1

By default, the FX2200 II appliance is set to get an IPMI IP address from DHCP. If a DHCP IP address is assigned or if a static IP address is configured, the address will be visible on one of the BIOS boot screens as shown below.

 The easiest way to set a static IP address for the IPMI interface is through the BIOS setup.

1. If the machine is on. Press the power button (briefly) to initiate the shutdown sequence. Wait until the machine turns off.

2. Turn the machine on. During the boot sequence, press ESC to go to BIOS configuration.

3. Connect a monitor and keyboard to the FX2200 appliance and while booting up, press the key repeatedly until the following screen is displayed.

4. Click the Front Page tab, and then arrow down to Setup Utility. When it is highlighted, press <Enter>.  

   

5. Click the Advanced tab, and then arrow down to H20 IPMI Configuration. When it is highlighted, press <Enter>.  

   

6. Using the keyboard arrow keys, move the highlight to the Advanced tab, and then arrow down to BMC Configuration. When this is highlighted, press <Enter>.  

   

7. In the BMC configuration screen, you can set the desired IP address settings. Highlight IPv4 IP Address using the keyboard arrows, and then press <Enter>. Now set the desired IP address, subnet mask, and gateway IP address as required for your network. When you are satisfied with the settings, press the F10 key on the keyboard to save the changes, and then exit. The FX2200 will reboot.

   

8. After rebooting, the IPMI page will be accessible at the specified IP address through any browser.
   http://10.195.64.85/#login
   The default administrator credentials are:
   Username: admin
   Password: password  

   

   NOTE

   • The default username and password are in lower-case characters.

   • When you log in using the admin username and password, you get full administrative rights. You are advised to change your password once you login.

   • Starting with BMC firmware version 12.49.06, only one default user (admin) exists.

4.2 IPMI Authentication

User authentication into IPMI can be done using local users or by using external user services.

If using local users, the length of the password can be configured when adding or modifying the user.

• Password length of 16 bytes or 20 bytes is supported for local users.

• Password strength and expiration time are not supported for local users.

To set password size for local users in the IPMI interface, navigate to Configuration → Users → Select Desired User → Modify User.  

4.3 Set Password Policies

Better fine-grained control on user management including password policies can be achieved using external user services which can leverage the enterprise’s existing user authentication service. The following external user services are supported:

• LDAP

• Active Directory

• RADIUS

4.3.1 LDAP Settings

To access all the available external services in the user interface (UI), navigate to Configuration → LDAP/E-Directory → Advanced Settings. 

4.3.2 Active Directory Settings

To set up Active Directory as an external user service, navigate to Settings → External User Services → Active directory Settings → General Active Directory Settings.

4.3.3 Radius Settings

To set up RADIUS as an external user service, navigate to Configuration → RADIUS. 

To configure the PAM order for user authentication into the BMC, navigate to Configuration → PAM Order settings. 

It displays the list of PAM modules supported in the BMC. Drag and drop the PAM modules to change their position in the sequence.

5.0 BMC Firmware Upgrade on FX2200 Series I

5.1 Prerequisites

Check the version of BMC firmware on your FX2200 by looking at the version number displayed in the top-left corner in the UI.

Upgrade the BMC firmware after upgrading or installing Fortanix DSM software version 4.11 or later version.

5.2 IPMI UI Access

The BMC firmware upgrade will power off the unit at the end. The unit will need to be powered on using IPMI. Therefore, it is important and a must to have IPMI UI access before attempting the upgrade. If you do not have IPMI UI access, then after upgrading you will need to send someone to the data center to power on the unit. Please plan accordingly.

5.3 Physical Access to the Unit

The install guide from the board vendor mentions that:

“In some critical condition, after update BMC firmware, you might need to unplug AC power cord 5 seconds and then plug in AC power cord to reset BMC, and then updated new function can work properly.”

Fortanix has not seen this problem in their testing. But please be prepared to use remote hands to perform this action should there be a need.

5.4 Root Access

The command to perform the upgrade must be run as root.

5.5 Upgrading from BMC Version 1.1.10

1. Log in to the IPMI UI and verify that you are able to log in.

2. Run the following command to navigate to the /opt/fortanix/sdkms/bmc/linux  directory:

   cd /opt/fortanix/sdkms/bmc/linux

3. Run the following command to get the root access:

   sudo su

4. Note down your current IPMI network information (IP address, Subnet mask, and Default Gateway). We will need to reconfigure the IPMI network, so keeping this information available is important. You can see the information by running the following command:

   sudo ipmitool lan print 1

5. Run the following command to perform the upgrade:

   ./a.sh soc

   Once the BMC upgrade starts, DO NOT interrupt it, and DO NOT power off or reboot the system.

6. At the end of the upgrade, you will see the following prompt which indicates the update is complete.

   NOTE

   At this point, you need to make sure that you do NOT power off the unit. You will need to reconfigure the IPMI network interface before powering it off. Press Y to cancel power off.

   BMC need to power off to initial T control function
   press Y to cancel power off system, press others key to power off system.

   Wait for 60 seconds.

7. Run the following command to check the status of BMC and wait until Set in Progress : Set Complete is displayed:

   sudo ipmitool lan print 1

8. Run the following commands from the shell if you want to set up a static IP address on the BMC:

   NOTE

   Replace w.x.y.z with appropriate values

   sudo ipmitool lan set 1 ipsrc static
   sudo ipmitool lan set 1 ipaddr w.x.y.z
   sudo ipmitool lan set 1 netmask w.x.y.z
   sudo ipmitool lan set 1 defgw ipaddr w.x.y.z

9. Run the following command to verify that the IPMI network is configured correctly and review the values for the IPMI IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway:

   sudo ipmitool lan print 1

10. Run the following command to perform BMC reset:

    sudo ipmitool mc reset cold

11. Wait for 120 seconds and run the following command to verify that the reset is complete. If the output of the command does not show all the information, then wait another 120 seconds.

    sudo ipmitool lan print 1

12. Refresh the IPMI UI page and log in again to verify that you are able to log in. If you are not able to log in or if the UI page does not come up, then do not proceed.

13. Run the following command to power off the unit:

    sudo poweroff

    Wait for 60 seconds.

14. Even though the unit is powered off, BMC is still running, and you can still log in. Refresh the IPMI UI page and log in again.

    Verify the version number shown on the dashboard in 2.50.1 as shown in the following screenshot.

15. Navigate to  “Remote Control” → “Server Power Control” to power on the unit from the IPMI UI.

16. Select Power on Server and click Perform Action.