IBM eX5 Implementation Guide

Chapter 6. IBM System x3850 X5 and x3950 X5 251

6.8.1 IMM network access

The greatest strength of the IMM is the ability to completely monitor and manage the server

from over the network. How much functionally you have through this remote access depends

entirely on your configuration of the IMM.

IMM default configuration

The default network connection for the IMM on the x3850 X5 is through the System

Management port on the back of the server. The following are the default settings of the IMM

from the factory:

򐂰 Network IP: DHCP, if fails:

– IP Address: 192.168.70.125

– Subnet Mask: 255:255:255:0

–Gateway: 0.0.0.0

򐂰 Default user ID: USERID

򐂰 Default password: PASSW0RD where the 0 is a zero.

6.8.2 Configuring the IMM network interface

The IMM provides two paths to establish a network connection between you and the IMM by

setting either Dedicated or Shared for the Network Interface Port in the Network Configuration

panel of F1-Setup. In F1-Setup, you can access this panel by selecting System Setting 

Integrated Management Module  Network Configuration, as shown in Figure 6-27 on

page 251.

Figure 6-27 IMM Network Configuration panel

When configured as Dedicated, you are connecting to the network via the system

management port. As shown in Figure 6-28, the port is located from the rear of the server on

the left side of the video port. Using this port allows for easier separation of public and

252 IBM eX5 Implementation Guide

management network traffic. Separating the traffic is done when you connect your public

network port to switch ports that belong to a public access virtual LAN (VLAN) and the

management port is connected to a switch port defined by a separate management VLAN.

Figure 6-28 Dedicated 10/100 IMM system management port

When configured as Shared, you are sharing network traffic on the second onboard Ethernet

port, the one closest to the power supply, as shown in Figure 6-29 on page 252. While this

configuration eliminates a physical switch port and patch cable configuration, both the media

access control (MAC) address for the second Ethernet port and the MAC address for the IMM

will address through this single network port. This situation means at least two separate IP

addresses for the same physical port, which prevents you from configuring the onboard

Ethernet ports in a network team using 802.3ad load balancing.

Using this type of load balancing scheme will result in dropped packets for the IMM MAC

address. Smart load balancing and failover are still available network teaming options.

However, keeping the public traffic from the management traffic becomes more difficult.

To maintain separation between public and management traffic, network teaming software

must be used to establish a VLAN to be used by the server to send public-tagged traffic to the

network switch. The switch port must be configured as a trunk port to support both the

public-tagged VLAN traffic, plus the untagged traffic for the management. The management

VLAN must be defined as the native VLAN on the switch port, so that its untagged traffic from

the switch will be accepted by the IMM MAC and dropped by the second Ethernet port’s MAC.

Figure 6-29 The onboard Ethernet port used when IMM Network interface is Shared

While the IMM uses a dedicated RISC processor, there are limitations as to the amount of

network traffic that the IMM can be exposed to before complex functions, such as booting

from a remote DVD, or USB storage will become unreliable because of timing issues. While

the operating system has all of the necessary drivers in place to deal with these timing issues,

the UEFI is not as tolerant. For this reason (maintaining secured access), the IMM must be

kept on a separate management network.