Specifications

Manipulating Open Firmware NVRAM Variables
To manipulate Open Firmware NVRAM variables, use the nvram tool. If you change
a value with nvram, the value is saved only if the computer cleanly restarts or
shuts down.
To view NVRAM variables:
$ nvram -p
For more information, see the nvram man page.
Remotely Controlling the Xserve Front Panel
You can use the ipmitool command to remotely control the front panel of an Xserve.
To display the list of supported virtual front panel commands:
$ ipmitool chassis bootdev
bootdev <device> [clear-cmos=yes|no]
none : Do not change boot device order
pxe : Force PXE boot (LOM: Force boot NetBoot server)
disk : Force boot from default Hard-drive
safe : Force boot from default Hard-drive, request Safe Mode (LOM: Not
used)
diag : Force boot from Diagnostic Partition (LOM: Force boot diagnostic
mode from NetBoot server)
cdrom : Force boot from CD/DVD
bios : Force boot into BIOS Setup (LOM: Not used)
Lights-out Management additional options
nvram : Force reset of NVRAM
tdm : Force boot into Target Disk Mode
other : Skip current startup disk selection, and boot from other
Mac OS X Server v10.6 supports the following commands: none, pxe, disk, diag, cdrom,
nvram, tdm, and other.
For example, enter the following command and then restart the Xserve system to start
the system in Target Disk Mode:
$ ipmitool chassis bootdev tdm
After the system starts, the ipmitool command reverts to the default setting (none).
Restarting the Xserve system without running the ipmitool command doesn’t change
the boot device order.
For more information about ipmitool, see its man page.
44 Chapter 6 Accessing Apple Hardware from the Command Line