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iLO Hacking - available

Server hardware includes management interfaces to remote-control the hardware and BIOS of a server even if the main operating system or hypervisor becomes inaccessible through usual means such as ssh. For this, a fully separate embedded system is built into the server. It provides its own firmware and operating system, RAM, storage, a separate physical Ethernet port, and low-level access to the running server hardware (e.g. fan and power supply status) and software (e.g. main memory of the server).

Little is known about the actual software comprising these management interfaces, although (mostly-informal) investigations have been conducted, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

In this project, you aim to expand and formalize this knowledge by trying out existing and developing new methods of analyzing and modifying firmware of management interfaces. A distant goal could be a fully free and open-source operating system, e.g. based on OpenWrt, for a baseboard management controller.

If you're interested, please contact Albert Rafetseder (albert.rafetseder@univie.ac.at)

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