Users Guide

Terminal Mode Commands 81
Character Support
Terminal mode messages are composed of standard printable ASCII characters. All other characters are
treated as illegal characters.
Special Character Handling — <Esc> character
The <Esc> character deletes an entire message prior to submission to the BMC for processing. If line
editing is enabled, and the <Esc> key is followed by an input newline sequence, the BMC responds by
outputting an output newline sequence. Otherwise, the BMC looks for the next start character.
Special Character Handling — <Delete> or <Backspace> character
The <Backspace> or <Delete> key deletes the last character entered if the message has not been
submitted to the BMC yet.
Special Character Handling — Line Continuation character
Long IPMI messages can be split across multiple lines by using the line continuation "\" character
followed immediately by an input newline sequence. Line continuation character usage is supported for
both text and hex-ASCII commands.
Special Character Handling — Illegal characters
Any illegal characters received by the BMC clear the message in progress and the BMC looks for the next
start character.
Hex-ASCII Command Format
Binary IPMI commands are sent and received as a series of case-insensitive hex-ASCII pairs, where each
is separated from the preceding pair by a single space character. Table B-1 lists the terminal mode
requests to BMC and Table B-2 lists the terminal mode responses from BMC. The following is an
example of a binary IPMI request message:
[18 00 22]<newline sequence>
Table B-1. Terminal Mode Request to BMC
Byte Explanation
1 [7:2] – Net Function (even)
[1:0] – Responder’s LUN
2 [7:2] – Requester’s Sequence Number
[1:0] – Bridge field
3 Command Number
4:N Data