Baseboard Management Controller (BMC): What is it and what is it for?

What is a Baseboard Management Controller?

A Baseboard Management Controller, or BMC, is an important component of server systems, including edge servers. It is a dedicated microcontroller or processor that is integrated into a server’s motherboard. It allows for remote control, management, and monitoring of the hardware, even when the system is powered off. 

Why would you want a Baseboard Management Controller? 

A BMC can be a huge help for an IT team responsible for maintaining the health and availability of their edge infrastructure. In many cases, without a BMC, an administrator would have to be physically near the server to manage it. 

With a BMC, system administrators can perform tasks remotely such as power cycling, configuring BIOS, or making firmware updates. It also enables them to monitor critical sensors such as temperature and fan speeds. 

The BMC offers alerts so that if any of the sensor values fall outside of specified limits, or there is a hardware failure, the administrator can be promptly notified. Corrective action can then be taken remotely or a technician deployed if absolutely necessary.

Features of the Baseboard Management Controller

The BMC provides several valuable features for server systems, including:

• Remote management: Administrators can access and manage the server hardware remotely, even if the server is powered off or the main operating system is not running.
• System health monitoring: The BMC constantly monitors the health of the server system, including component temperatures, fan speeds, and power voltages. It can alert administrators to potential issues before they become critical and cause downtime.
• Virtual media support:. Administrators can remotely mount ISO images, disk images, and other media types to the server as if they were physically present.
• Power management: Administrators can remotely power on, power off, or reboot the server.
• Security: The BMC provides a separate management interface that is isolated from the main operating system. This enhances server security by limiting access to critical system management functions.

Accessing the Baseboard Management Controller

The way users access a system’s BMC will depend on the particular hardware and the way it’s deployed. In the case of the OnLogic Axial AC101 Edge Server, administrators can interface with the system’s BMC in one of two ways:

• Out-of-band (network connected): This method leverages network connectivity to the BMC either through the dedicated management port or via a network controller. The following out-of-band access protocols/methods are supported by the Axial AC101 BMC:

• • IPMI 2.0 (Intelligent Platform Management Interface)
  • RedFish
  • Web Browser (HTTP/HTTPS)
  • SSH
  • SNMP

• In-band (from the local OS): This method utilizes the KCS (Keyboard Controller Style) interface to communicate with the BMC via IPMI.
  • In-band management is limited to IPMI access and is subject to OS dependencies, tools, utilities, and/or drivers.

The Baseboard Management Controller can reduce overall operating cost 

In summary, the BMC is an extremely useful and time saving feature that can save on the overall operating cost of a server and help to ensure its reliability. With it, a system administrator can perform many different monitoring and management tasks without being physically located next to and connected to the server. 

Meet the Axial AC101 Edge Server

The OnLogic Axial AC101 is a 1U shallow depth rackmount server built around the power and performance of Intel® 13th generation processors (formerly Raptor Lake). Engineered for the edge, the Axial AC101 is highly configurable with a full-height, full length PCIe slot on the motherboard. Features for system control and protection are designed into the Axial Series, including the Baseboard Management Controller. 

Ready to learn how you can leverage the Axial Series to deliver on the benefits of edge computing for your network? Reach out to our technical sales team today!