Intel® NetStructure™ MPCHC5525 System Master Processor Board IPMI Reference Driver User’s Guide 19
Preparing Software for IPMI Usage
Preparing Software for IPMI Usage 3

3.1 Action Plan

Before being able to use IPMI the following steps are re quir ed and wil l be de scribed i n th is ch apter.

3.2 Notes on Writing Your Own IPMI Driver

The Intel® NetStructure™ MPCBL5525 offers IPMI drivers for several operating systems. For
information about designing your own IPMI dri ver , re fer to the Intellige nt Boar d M anagement Uni t
Reference Guide (PN217328), available by contacting Force Computers.
The interface type used by the IBMU is the Keyboard Controller Style (KCS ) interface. For the
communication between the IPMI controller and the system management software, the KCS0
interface is used. Th ere are also the KCS1 and KCS2 interfaces: K CS 1 can be used to enabl e ECC
error logging in the SEL via the operating system, and KCS2 is used for the BIOS POST codes.
The KCS0 interface can be used in polled or in interrupt-driven mode. The default mode is polled,
i.e. the application management software regularly reads the KCS0 register to find out whether
data has arrived or the state has changed. Interrup t-drive n mode mea ns that the IPMI con trolle r sets
an interrupt in case data has arrived or the state has changed so that the IPMI driver is informed
automatically.