Terminology

• BMC - Baseboard Management Controller; the embedded controller that gives you out-of-band access to a server.
• iDRAC - Dell’s BMC implementation.
• iLO - HPE’s BMC implementation.
• XCC - Lenovo’s BMC implementation.
• IPMI - An older server management standard still common on legacy hardware.
• Redfish - A modern REST/JSON API for managing servers and BMCs.
• DMTF - The standards body that publishes the Redfish spec.
• Out-of-band management - Managing a server through the BMC instead of the OS.
• In-band management - Managing a server through the OS over the normal network.
• SoC - System on Chip; a small integrated computer like the BMC chip.
• Standby power - Power that keeps the BMC alive even when the server is off.
• RMCP / RMCP+ - The network transport used by IPMI; RMCP+ is the newer IPMI 2.0 form.
• SOL - Serial-over-LAN; remote access to the server’s serial console.
• SEL - System Event Log; the BMC’s hardware-level event log.
• FRU - Field Replaceable Unit; hardware inventory information stored on the BMC.
• SDR - Sensor Data Repository; the collection of hardware sensor readings exposed by IPMI.
• SNMP - An older monitoring protocol common in networking gear and legacy environments.
• Management network - A separate network used for BMC and out-of-band access.
• Cipher suite - A set of crypto algorithms used for IPMI authentication and encryption.
• RAKP - The IPMI authentication handshake used for remote login.
• @odata.id - A Redfish link field pointing to a related resource.
• REST - A common web API style used by Redfish.
• Session token - A temporary Redfish credential used for authenticated API calls.