Intel STL2 manual Server Management, 3.1Baseboard Management Controller

STL2 Server Board TPS Server Management

3.Server Management

This section describes the features of the server management subsystem for the STL2 server board. The server management subsystem consists of the BIOS, hardware, and firmware features built into the server board. These features provide hardware monitoring, control, and logging to improve the reliability, availability, and serviceability of the server system.

The server management subsystem conforms to the IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) v1.0 specification. IPMI defines a standardized, abstracted, message-based interface between system management software and the platform management hardware.

The following comprise the major elements of the server management architecture for the STL2 server board.

∙Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)

∙Sensors

∙Sensor Data Record (SDR) Repository & System Event Log (SEL)

∙Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) Information

3.1Baseboard Management Controller

The STL2 server management functionality is concentrated in the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). The BMC is comprised of a Dallas* Semiconductor DS80CH11 (or equivalent) microcontroller and associated circuitry located on the STL2 server board. The BMC and associated circuits are powered from a 5V DC standby voltage, which remains active when system power is switched off, but the AC power source is still on and connected.

A major function of the BMC is to autonomously monitor system management events and log the occurrence in the nonvolatile System Event Log (SEL). The events being monitored include over/under temperature and over/under voltage conditions, fan failure, or chassis intrusion. To enable accurate monitoring, the BMC maintains the nonvolatile Sensor Data Record (SDR) from which sensor information can be retrieved. The BMC provides an ISA host interface to SDR sensor information, so that software running on the server can poll and retrieve the server’s current status. The BMC also provides the interface to the monitored information and SEL that System Management Software, such as Intel® Server Control, uses to poll and retrieve the platform status.

The BMC performs the following functions:

∙Monitors server boad temperature and voltage

∙Monitors processor presence and controls Fault Resilient Boot (FRB)

∙Detects and indicates baseboard fan failure

∙Manages the SEL interface

∙Manages the SDR Repository interface

∙Monitors the SDR/SEL timestamp clock

∙Monitors the system management watchdog timer

∙Monitors the periodic SMI timer

Revision 1.0 3-23