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direct IPMI, remote KVM access?
I'm looking at getting a few cheap xeon nodes to run openstack* bare metal on. I see that some providers offer IP KVM support, etc. How does that generally look? Do providers offer IPMI over a VPN?
Can anyone who has experience with dedi boxes with IPMI/IPKVM explain how that generally works in practice, which providers work well for this?
My pricerange is $20-$40/month for >=4core, 16gb of ram. These are for compute workloads, not restricted geographically. I would prefer gigabit for occasional large transfers, but don't need much bandwidth(even metered is ok)
- I know openstack bare metal is pretty rough around edges, but it seems like more fun than managing servers manually
Comments
IPMI consoles, in my experience, work terribly, no matter what. It's really only meant to be used in emergencies anyways, so you shouldn't have to use it too much.
You will NEVER have fun using IPMI.
Can confirm; didn't have fun using SuperMicro IPMI over a slow VPN to set up a dedi. My dedi's hostname? "stupidipmineedstodie".
For those complaining about IPMI - what's a better alternative? Not like attaching an external remote KVM is much better.
Don't break anything to the point where you need to use the IPMI console? Haha
There really isn't a good alternative, short of driving to the DC and grabbing a crash cart - and obviously, thats not something you can do if you're in Chicago and your servers are in Texas. We just have to live with IPMI - it's better than nothing.
I like the DRAC or iLo
There are many reasons you might need it and it might not be because you broke anything.
Then leave the poor thing alone
DRAC and iLo are forms of IPMI. I like DRAC personally. It WORKS and the virtual media is functional.
Correct, but IPMI usually refers to the Supermicro one become it doesn't have any other name.
IPMI/KVM is awesome if you know what you are doing. Don't try to mount a 4.5GB centos DVD over your DSL connection, use the 10MB netinstall/minimal ISO and use that to boot and then do HTTP or other NET (ftp/samba/etc) install.
Java versions can be finicky for great IPMI/KVM performance, just ask your host what is suggested for best performance.
I had a hell of a time getting my Dedi to boot to the 30MB Ubuntu net install ISO. I had an upload speed of 1Mbps at the time hours.
So I think you guys are suggesting that http-proxied ipmi frontends are what is meant by ipkvm...So most hosts dont offer direct access via ipmitool, etc?
So... Am i the only one who finds IPMI working great? Got a few problems but once i knew how to fix them its a really nice way of managing your server. (However, its not better then SSH)
I think most of the frustration with IPMI comes from inexperience. Don't get me wrong, IPMI firmware across most vendors is finicky at best, but once you're familiar with the basic set of problems and errors -- it's not so difficult to deal with.
When our customers struggle with IPMI it's typically because they've never used it before and they are attempting something that is more fraught than most tasks (e.g., re-installing their OS from a mounted ISO).
There is nothing better than the Cisco UCS IPMI
But not really cheap..
I have 8 servers with IPMI and all works just fine, but me i dont use the browser version i use the IPMIView 2.0 software
i hate IPMI ...
Brian,
Do you offer direct ipmi access via ipmitool + vpn? Or some equivalent api control?
We offer IPMI on our dedicated servers. You can login directly to the Supermicro IPMI web GUI. You get access to the same stuff we do with a few minor exceptions -- we prevent our customers from making device changes that could knock the IPMI offline (i..e, network settings).