The difference between a dedicated server with IPMI and one without is the difference between fixing a problem at midnight and waiting for someone else to. If you are renting bare metal, this is the feature to understand.
What it is
IPMI, the Intelligent Platform Management Interface, is a separate small computer on the server's motherboard with its own network port and its own tiny operating system. Dell calls its version iDRAC, HP calls it iLO, Supermicro just says IPMI. It runs as long as the server has power, whether or not the main operating system is booted, hung, or missing.
What you can do with it
Power. Turn the server on, off, or reset it, exactly as if you pressed the button. A kernel panic at 2 a.m. becomes a thirty-second fix.
Console. See the screen and type as if a keyboard and monitor were attached: the BIOS, the boot loader, the login prompt. A bad /etc/network/interfaces edit that took the server off the network is fixed from here.
Sensors and logs. Temperatures, fan speeds, power draw, and the hardware event log, which is where a failing memory module or a disk error shows up before the OS notices.
Virtual media. Mount an ISO file from your own laptop as if it were a DVD in the server, and boot from it. This is how you install a different operating system, run a rescue disk, or boot a firmware updater without anyone touching the machine.
Installing an OS over IPMI
Open the IPMI web interface, launch the remote console (HTML5 in modern versions, Java in older ones), attach your ISO through the virtual media menu, reboot the server, press the boot menu key at the POST screen, choose the virtual DVD, and install as you would at a desk. A Ubuntu install over IPMI takes about as long as it would locally plus the time to stream the ISO.
What it cannot do
It cannot replace a disk, reseat a cable or swap a power supply. For those you need hands in the building. On our dedicated servers, hardware is ours to replace; on colocation, our remote hands do it for you.
Keeping it secure
IPMI firmware has had serious vulnerabilities over the years, and an IPMI port on the public internet is an open door to the whole server. Rules: it lives on a private management network, you reach it through a VPN or SSH tunnel, the default password is changed on day one, and firmware is updated when the vendor releases fixes. We hand over IPMI access over a secured path, never on a public address.
On URLStart dedicated servers
Every build ships with full IPMI access, so you can reinstall from your own ISO, reboot a hung server and read sensor data without a ticket. The console is also how our engineers see what you see when you do open one.
Questions we get asked
Does a VPS have IPMI? No, a VPS has a hypervisor console that does the same job for a virtual machine: power, screen, rescue ISO.
Can I install Windows over IPMI? Yes, from a Windows Server ISO, with your own licence or ours.
What if IPMI itself hangs? It can be reset without affecting the running server; ask us.
Is the console fast enough to work in? For installs, configuration and recovery, yes. It is not a desktop replacement; use SSH or RDP for daily work.
Is there a charge for IPMI? No. It is part of the server.
