Accessing IPMI and Changing IPMI Password

Note

By default, the IPMI port is configured to be a DHCP client. When connected to a network with DHCP, the IP address will appear in the lower right corner of the screen during boot.

In compliance with new privacy legislation, the Username and Password to access the IPMI port on the Netgate 1537 1U has been changed to a unique password on each device. Netgate started shipping systems with this change beginning February 21, 2020.

Prior to February 21, 2020, the IPMI Username and Password were ADMIN/ADMIN.

After February 21, 2020, the IPMI Username is still ADMIN, the password is located on a sticker on the bottom of the Netgate 1537 as shown below.

../_images/xg-1537-ipmi-pwd-sticker.jpg

IPMI Password Sticker Location

Note

The password is alpha-numeric and the letters are capital letters.

Changing the IPMI Password

The IPMI password for Netgate appliances can be changed either through the browser-based IPMI console or by using the ipmitool utility directly in pfSense® software.

Using IPMI Web Console

To change the IPMI password in the web console:

  • Navigate to the IPMI address using a web browser

  • Log in to the IPMI console with the current credentials

    ../_images/ipmi-login.png

    Log Into IPMI

  • Navigate to Configuration > Users

    ../_images/ipmi-configuration-users.png

    Configuration > Users

  • Select the user to modify

    This is likely the ADMIN user or another user with Administrator privileges.

  • Click Modify User

    ../_images/ipmi-modify-user.png

    Modify User

  • Check Change Password

  • Enter the new Password

  • Enter it again in Confirm Password

  • Click Modify

    ../_images/ipmi-change-pw.png

    Change Password and click Modify

  • Click OK on the message window that says “Modified user successfully.”

    ../_images/ipmi-modified-successfully.png

    Click OK

Using the ipmitool Utility

If the IPMI web interface is unavailable or the current password is unknown, the ipmitool utility packaged with pfSense software can change the password.

These commands may be performed in the GUI at Diagnostics > Command Prompt or at a console or SSH shell prompt as the root user.

  • Load the IPMI kernel module

    kldload ipmi
    
  • List the current IPMI users

    ipmitool user list
    

    Note

    Netgate appliances use the user name ADMIN by default.

    The command prints a list of users, for example:

    ID  Name             Callin  Link Auth  IPMI Msg   Channel Priv Limit
    1                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    2   ADMIN            true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    3                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    4                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    5                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    6                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    7                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    8                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    9                    true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    10                   true    false      false      Unknown (0x00)
    

    Warning

    Usernames are case-sensitive.

  • Reset the password for a user

    The default ADMIN user is User ID 2, and the example below sets the password for this user to NETGATE.

    ipmitool user set password 2 NETGATE
    

    Warning

    This password is for example purposes only. Use a secure password.

    If successful, the output will be:

    Set User Password command successful (user 2)
    
  • Unload the IPMI kernel module

    kldunload ipmi
    

Reset IPMI Network Configuration

The ipmitool utility can also change or reset the network configuration of the IPMI interface if it cannot be reached over the network.

These commands may be performed in the GUI at Diagnostics > Command Prompt or at a console or SSH shell prompt as the root user.

  • Load the IPMI kernel module

    kldload ipmi
    
  • Set the IPMI IP address and subnet mask

    The following commands configure the IP address of the IPMI interface and its corresponding subnet mask in dotted quad notation.

    This example sets the IPMI IP address to 172.31.123.5/24:

    ipmitool lan set 1 ipsrc static
    ipmitool lan set 1 ipaddr 172.31.123.5
    ipmitool lan set 1 netmask 255.255.255.0
    
  • Set the IPMI gateway IP address

    To communicate with IPMI outside of its configured subnet, the IPMI interface must have a default gateway set.

    This example sets the default gateway to 172.31.123.1.

    ipmitool lan set 1 defgw ipaddr 172.31.123.1
    
  • Enable IPMI access on the interface

    ipmitool lan set 1 access on
    
  • Unload the IPMI kernel module

    kldunload ipmi