All terms
Hardware & Systems
IPMI / BMC
Out-of-band server management that controls power and monitors hardware even when the OS is down.
Definition
IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) and the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) provide out-of-band remote access to servers, working independently of the main operating system. The BMC is a dedicated chip that handles power control, sensor monitoring, logging, and remote console access. Together they let operators manage large AI clusters at scale, especially when a machine is unresponsive or needs a remote reboot.