OpenBSD now also supports ESM (Embedded Server Management). This seems to be the first Open Source implementation of this Dell-specific protocol.
ESM Support Added to OpenBSD
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Eugenia Loli
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…then I’m sure that OpenBSD would support it, as well. I, for one, welcome the move to IPMI by Dell, and I wish that HP and IBM would follow suit. (The new Sun “Galaxy” boxes support IPMI, as well.)
While I appreciate that vendors want to innovate to add value, doing so in a proprietary, incompatible way to others actually *reduces* the value of their platform. Ask anyone who’s had to deploy OSS operating systems in large enterprise deployments — it’s murder having an “IBM build” and an “HP build” of the same base platform, just because there are multiple different monitoring stacks.
Good for Dell! Good for OpenBSD!
I got so many HP machines with ILO and I have yet to use the feature. People tell me that ILO is great and all, but I just haven’t made the time. I tend not mess with the servers anyway, although I do have absolute access to them.
OpenBSD also supports IPMI. See http://www.undeadly.org/cgi?action=article&sid=20051025145617
Dell actually is a coauthor of IPMI. In fact IPMI is losely based on ESM. The other vendors hung on (some are still hanging on for dear life) to propriatary goo. This is good for everyone!