Inaccessible CIMC

[SamUrai]

Hello,

C240M5 - CIMC is inaccessible. It won't do pong and the MGT port has link up. Bouncing the port from the switch ( N2K FEX ) didn't help.  Tried "ipmitool mc reset cold" from the host running RHEL9 but that didn't help either.  CIMC firmware likely running 4.3(2b) or something.   

Is there any other way besides power recycle ( unplugging ) the server?

Thanks

[Kirk J · Accepted solution]

Check https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/c/sw/cli/config/guide/4_3/b_cisco_ucs_c-series_cli_configuration_guide_43/b_Cisco_UCS_C-Series_CLI_Configuration_Guide_41_chapter_01.html?bookSearch=true#id_15139

Smart Access: Serial

The Smart Access: Serial allows offline configuration of C-series servers using the command line interface (CLI) through serial connection. With this setup, you are not required to connect the Cisco IMC to the network in order to access the command line interface.

The serial connection can be accessed using either the KVM dongle (DB9), or the serial port (RJ-45) at the rear of the chassis.

Once you have completed the setup and the BIOS and OS messages are visible on the console, you can view the Cisco IMC CLI by pressing Esc+9. You are required to authenticate the connection with Cisco IMC user credentials. The default user name is admin and default password is password. You can press Esc+8 to switch back to the BIOS or OS on the same console.

When the session is created, the session is visible on the Web UI sessions tab as a serial connection.

Note

Note the following limitations while using the CLI through a serial connection: You cannot use the arrow keys to revert to previously executed commands. The CLI is not visible when the terminal type is set to either VT100+ or VTUFT8. The smart access feature does not work as expected after an OS boot unless the "console" property in the grub configuration file of the OS is set to ttyS0. You must set the "console" property in the grub configuration file of the OS to ttyS0 for it to work as expected.