This article is meant to guide you on the process of the IPMI baseboard management controller (BMC) reset to factory default


Find in the upcoming instructions, the two alternatives available to reach the desired result. First one using IPMI GUI and second one using ipmitool from ESXCLi


Reset IPMI to Factory Default from GUI 

Step 1: Login to IPMI Web UI

Step 2: Access to Factory Default menù

  • From Maintenance panel access Factory Default tab


Step 3: Choose accordingly and restore to factory default

  • From the Factory Default tab, select the option that better suits your needs


  • Actions taken may cause IPMI to lose it's network configurations.
    Follow this article IPMI Network settings to reestablish all settings

Step 4: Open a new session

  • When the process finishes, you will need to open a new session



Reset IPMI to factory default using ipmitools

Step 1: Connect through SSH to ESXCLi

Step 2: Performe factory reset of the IPMI BMC

  • If you are interest in preserving your network configurations, a partial reset would be more appropriate
ipmitool raw 0x3c 0x4a
  • For a complete reset to factory default status
 ipmitool raw 0x30 0x40

Process could take up to 5 mins, you can performe a circular ping to monitor the progress


<ipmitool mc reset cold>  could be useful for a first refresh of the system if you are on a troubleshooting process. This is equivalent to the BMC reset process from the GUI How to Reset IPMI BMC


Related articles:

How to Reset IPMI BMC

IPMI Network settings