We've all had bad days that just get worse... whether it's forgetting your IPMI's password, a colleague that setup the system, but has since left, or you've purchased a motherboard second hand that has an unknown username and password.

Let's get this headache sorted!

Once downloaded, copy the "IPMI-CFG.efi" file to a USB memory stick. The IPMI will boot as soon as the motherboard receives power. Depending on the power settings within the BIOS, the main system may remain powered off. Plug in a keyboard and monitor to the rear connections, along with the USB device that now has the .efi file copied over. Power on the system and hold "F11" key during P.O.S.T. From the boot menu, select the "UEFI - Built-in EFI Shell" option using the arrow keys followed by "enter". You will be presented with the CLI. Upon loading It will automatically map all of the connected devices. The external USB device will automatically "map" as "FS0:".

My USB device isn't mapping!

The shell is showing that you're in the "FS0:" storage directory, you can type "ls" followed by pressing "enter", to list of the files on the storage device. The readable .efi file is shown in green. To run the efi tool, simply, type: "IPMI-CFG.efi" using the switch (-) followed by: "fd". Press the "enter" key to execute the command. The tool will state, that it needs to be run again. Only this time it will show three options 1, 2 or 3. We went with option 3. As we purchased the motherboard for testing from an online auction, meaning that we had no idea what credentials the were. You can login to the IPMI management console, via the web interface. Using the default username and password set by the EFI tool. To exit the EFI-Shell. Simply type, "exit" depending on your model or firmware version of Supermicro motherboard. You'll either end up back at the boot option menu, for you to select your start up disk or enter the BIOS setup. Or the motherboard will restart and boot into the default option. However upon rebooting, Pressing the "delete" key will enter the BIOS. Where you can changes the IPMI's IP settings. If you know the IP address of the IMPI, you can go ahead and login using ADMIN / ADMIN from a web browser. Or via the BIOS > IPMI > BMC settings, you can enter a static IP address or enable DHCP, which if connected to a router, will assign an IP address to the IPMI interface. You can look in your routers IP table to see what IP address was assigned. Or during start up, along the bottom of the video output, it will show the IP address of the BMC. From within the BIOS, using the left and right arrow keys, move along to the "IPMI" tab, then down to the "BMC Network Configuration" pressing the "enter" key to select. Within the BMC Configuration, select the first option "Update IPMI LAN Configuration" Select "YES" in the dialog box. This will allow you set a static IP address, we set it to: 192.168.0.11 Upon pressing "F4" to save and exit setup, the system will restart, showing the newly set BMC IP along the bottom of the display output while posting. When IPMI IP address is established for the first time, your browser won't trust the connection. As the connection is on your local network, it is safe to select the "Advanced" followed by "Accept the risk and continue". Future local connections to this IP address will be trusted unless the IPMI's address changes. Prompting the new local connection to be trusted again.

Unable to load the IPMI web interface?

The Supermicro IPMI login page will proceed to load. You can now try the default credentials. Once logged in to the IPMI, head to the "configuration" tab and select the "users" link in the drop down. You should now modify the ADMIN account name and password. Select the line, it will highlight in yellow, and click on modify button above. Upon setting a new user name and password. Make sure to take note of the new details! It's best to logout then back in to test that the new credentials are working as expected. If this process didn't work for you, please use the link below to get in touch. We will do our best to get this sorted out together. Ensuring that everyone who may come across this article, is reading the best possible information. Also, let us know if you spot any errors throughout the article.