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Use IPMI and the HTML5 KVM console

Power-cycle your server, boot an ISO, reach the BIOS and repair a broken system with IPMI and the HTML5 KVM console, and keep out-of-band access secure.

  • 6 min read
  • Updated
  • FlexDedi Engineering

About this page

Applies to
Every FlexDedi dedicated server
Updated
November 2, 2026
On this page
  1. What out-of-band access is
  2. Power actions
  3. Boot an ISO with virtual media
  4. Open the BIOS or UEFI setup
  5. Keep out-of-band access secure
  6. Recovery scenarios

Every FlexDedi server includes IPMI and an HTML5 KVM console. Together they give you the server's screen, keyboard and power button from your browser, whatever state the operating system is in.

What out-of-band access is

IPMI is served by the baseboard management controller (BMC), a small dedicated computer on the motherboard with its own firmware and network connection. It runs whenever the server has power, even if the main system is off, frozen or stuck in firmware setup. Through it you can:

  • watch the console from power-on, including firmware (POST) screens and the boot loader
  • type on the server's keyboard as if you were in front of it
  • power the server on or off, reset it or power-cycle it
  • attach an ISO image as a virtual CD/DVD drive

The HTML5 KVM console runs in a normal browser, with no Java or plugin. In the control panel, open your server and launch the KVM console, then click inside the window so it captures your keystrokes.

Power actions

Always prefer a clean reboot from inside the OS (systemctl reboot on Linux, shutdown /r /t 0 on Windows). Use out-of-band actions when the OS cannot do it:

ActionWhat it doesWhen to use it
Graceful shutdownSends a power-button event so the OS shuts down cleanlyPlanned maintenance from outside the OS
Power offCuts power immediately, like pulling the plugThe OS ignores a graceful shutdown
Power onStarts the serverAfter a power-off
ResetHard reboot without cutting powerThe OS is frozen
Power cyclePower off, short pause, power onA device stays hung after a reset

From a running Linux system, ipmitool talks to the BMC in-band, without the network, and reads the hardware event log:

bash
apt install ipmitool        # dnf install ipmitool on AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux
modprobe ipmi_devintf ipmi_si
ipmitool chassis status
ipmitool sel elist          # hardware event log: memory errors, power supply events

Boot an ISO with virtual media

Virtual media boots any ISO: an OS that is not in the one-click library, or a diagnostic tool.

  1. Download the ISO to the computer that runs your browser.
  2. In the KVM console, open the virtual media menu and attach the ISO as a virtual CD/DVD drive.
  3. Reboot the server and press the boot-menu key shown during POST, often F11 or F12.
  4. Pick the virtual CD/DVD entry and install or run the tools as usual.
  5. When you are done, detach the ISO so the server boots from its own disks again.

If the boot menu lists the virtual drive twice, pick the UEFI entry on a UEFI system: installers set up the boot loader for the mode they start in.

Open the BIOS or UEFI setup

  1. Open the KVM console and click inside it.
  2. Reboot the server from the OS, or with Reset if the OS is unresponsive.
  3. When the POST screen appears, press the setup key it shows, usually Del or F2. If the keystroke is missed, use the console's virtual keyboard and try again.

On a running Linux system in UEFI mode, systemctl reboot --firmware-setup restarts straight into setup.

Keep out-of-band access secure

The BMC controls power, console and virtual media, so its credentials are as powerful as physical access to the server.

  • Change the IPMI password you were given, to a long random one that differs from your root password. Some BMCs limit passwords to 16 or 20 characters. Change only your own user and leave other BMC accounts alone.
  • Keep the BMC off the public internet when possible. IPMI 2.0 has a known protocol weakness: anyone who can reach its UDP port 623 and guess a valid user name can obtain a password hash and try to crack it offline. Prefer the control panel's console. If you connect to the BMC directly, do so only from fixed admin addresses, a VPN or a bastion host, and ask our support engineers if you are unsure how it is reachable.
  • Close sessions when you are done. Log out of the console and detach any virtual media.

To change the password from Linux, list the users on channel 1 (the usual LAN channel), then set a new password for your user ID. ipmitool asks for it twice:

bash
ipmitool user list 1
ipmitool user set password 3    # replace 3 with your user ID

Recovery scenarios

Common cases where the console gets you back in:

SymptomFix through the console
A firewall rule blocks SSHLog in, run ufw disable or delete the rule, then fix your rule set
A network configuration error took the server offlineCorrect the Netplan or interfaces file, then apply it again
Boot stops in emergency modeUsually an fstab entry for a missing disk: add nofail or comment it out
A new kernel does not bootPick the previous kernel under Advanced options in the GRUB menu
Forgotten root passwordBoot rescue mode and reset it from there
No output, or errors at POSTLikely hardware: open a ticket and include ipmitool sel elist output if you have it

Ubuntu hides the GRUB menu by default. To show it, press Esc repeatedly during boot (UEFI systems) or hold Shift (legacy BIOS).

For disk repairs, a lost password or a broken boot loader, continue with Reinstall the OS or boot rescue mode; for SSH lockouts, see Connect to your server with SSH. Hardware faults go to our engineers through a support ticket, 24/7, with spare parts on site in every location.