• a specialized microcontroller embedded in the motherboard of a device (server, switch, etc.)
  • usually ARM based with onboard graphics, logic, DRAM
• allows remote monitoring and management of device without requiring a physical connection
  • power management
  • fan speeds
  • component health/metrics
  • mount ISOs
  • system event logs (SEL)
• if motherboard has standby power, you can still access the BMC while the host device is offline