Setting the password

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Learn how to change and set the password for your admin account and to help secure the system.

Improved eBMC password policy

The enterprise baseboard management controller (eBMC) admin password must be set when you are using it for the first time on newly manufactured systems or after you perform a factory reset of the system. This eBMC policy helps to ensure that the eBMC is not left in a state with a well-known password.

The admin password will expire and must be changed before you can access the functions of the eBMC. See the following password rules when you set up a new password:
  • The password must be at least 8 characters.
  • The password must be different than the current password.
  • The password must not be a palindrome.
  • The password must not contain the username.
  • The password must not contain a dictionary word.
  • The password must not contain sequential letters or numbers such as 1234.
  • If the user account is allowed to use the IPMI, then the password must be 20 characters or less.
The default user ID is admin and the default password is admin. You can use the web GUI or Redfish REST APIs command to change the password. After you change the password, you can access the eBMC with your usual interface. To change the password, you must first access the account with the correct credentials, and then use the password change function. If you attempt to access the eBMC with an expired password, you must change the password before you can access other functions.
  • To change your expired password by using the web interface, enter https://<eBMC_IP> into a web browser and then enter the access credentials of the eBMC. The web interface prompts you to enter a new password.
  • To change your expired password through a network interface, you can use Redfish APIs. For instructions, see Managing the system by using DMTF Redfish APIs.
To increase account security of the system, the administrator must complete the following steps:
  1. Set a strong password for the admin account. Strong passwords have at least 8 characters and include nonalphabetic characters. Do not rename, delete, lock, or change the admin account to a different role as it might make it harder to service your system.
    Note: If the eBMC is managed by a Hardware Management Console (HMC) and a username is not provided, then the HMC uses the admin account from the eBMC by default. You can also specify a different user account with admin privileges for the HMC to use.
  2. Log off from the default admin account and switch to your personal admin account.