Configure an SMB Server for Remote Management

Remote server management technology was once limited to proprietary hardware and software—and pretty much exclusive to large corporations. But with the creation and development of a new standard, now even small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can enjoy the kind of network monitoring and control capabilities once only deployed in large enterprises.

Leveraging the Internet for seamless connectivity regardless of location, even if the system administrator is away from the server room, can be a valuable—and yes, billable—service for system builders to offer. System builders can now take on the duties of a remote sys admin for their SMB customers.

But how does it work, and how do you implement it? To answer those questions, in this recipe, I'll take you through the standards and technologies that have now matured to power this incredible tool. Then I'll illustrate how it works with a real-world example of a server platform—in this case, the Intel Sever Platform. I'll show exactly how I installed the necessary remote server management hardware and software directly on just such an Intel server.

About the IPMI Standard

One important factor in driving down the cost of technology has been the creation and adoption of industry standards. Imagine if every computer manufacturer had to employ their own interfaces for disk drives and network connections. Or, just think back to the time before the standards for SCSI and Ethernet were created. After all, it wasn't that long ago.

Recently, a group of manufacturers worked together to create a new standard called the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification. Promoters of the IPMI specification are Intel, HP, NEC and Dell. Version 1.0 was announced in 1998; version 1.5 followed in 2001; and the current revision, version 2.0, was announced in 2004. While there are only four promoters of IPMI, there are more than 160 industrywide adopters.

So what does IPMI do for remote server management, and how does it do it? Essentially, the IPMI specification creates a means of abstracting the interfaces between the software and hardware that enable remote management features. Common command sets for software and the leveraging of other hardware and networking standards enables products from multiple vendors to be deployed together. To ensure that innovation and product differentiation are possible, the IPMI specification has provisions for OEM features as a part of the hardware/software stack.

It should go without saying that we'll require a sever platform to run the remote sever management software and hardware on. For this recipe, I'll use the Intel Server Platform as an example of how this can be accomplished. But the beauty of the IPMI standard is that platforms and components from other manufacturers can also be used to create a system enabled with remote management capabilities.

For instance, besides the Intel Server Platform, Tyan has produced its own Server Management Daughter Card (SMDC) hardware that could be thought of as an equivalent to Intel's Management Module, the necessary piece of hardware that enables us to do the remote management. More information on Tyan's M3291 product can be on the company's product page. The company also offers an M3291 FAQ page as well.

On the software side, in addition to Intel's Server Manger, several other manufacturers develop their own software for remote management, including Tyan's System Operator (TSO), and Hewlett-Packard's OpenView. Later in this recipe, I'll give a Bill of Materials (BoM) for the Intel Server Platform that I worked with as our example. Each of the components on this BoM has been checked for system compatibility and will provide the basis for our discussion.

If you'd like to read more about the topic of Intelligent Platform Management Interface, Intel has an IPMI page with lots of useful information.

Let's move on to some background information on the Intel server management system I'll be discussing in this recipe. Each network of managed servers will have five parts:

• TCP/IP Network: All computers involved will be connected to this network. This includes the managed servers, the administrator console, and any remote consoles. This network can extend seamlessly beyond a LAN via the Internet.

• Administrator Console: This computer is where the managed servers get their commands from, and where they send their information to. The Administrator Console maintains a database of information about the managed servers.

• Database: An SQL database, installed as part of the Intel Server Manager 8.4 software, contains information about each of the managed servers.

• Remote Console: There can be multiple Remote Consoles on the TCP/IP Network. A Remote Console can be used to log into the Administrator Console from anywhere on the TCP/IP network.

• Managed Servers: These are the servers that send information to the Database on the Administrator Console. The Managed Servers also respond to commands from the Administrator Console.