---
type: Comparison
title: "SNMP vs IPMI / Redfish: In-Band vs Out-of-Band Hardware"
description: "SNMP vs IPMI and Redfish for hardware monitoring — in-band agent vs out-of-band BMC, what each sees, power control, and why data centres use both."
resource: "https://snmp-monitoring.info/comparisons/snmp-vs-ipmi/"
tags: [comparisons]
timestamp: 2026-07-11T00:00:00Z
---

# SNMP vs IPMI / Redfish: In-Band vs Out-of-Band Hardware

SNMP vs IPMI and Redfish for hardware monitoring — in-band agent vs out-of-band BMC, what each sees, power control, and why data centres use both.

## Related concepts

- Up: [SNMP vs Alternatives: Protocols & Tools Compared](/comparisons/index.md)

## Frequently asked questions

### Should I use SNMP or IPMI for hardware monitoring?

Use SNMP for routine, uniform hardware health across a fleet — it's one protocol for everything and integrates with your existing dashboards. Use IPMI or Redfish when you need out-of-band access: monitoring a server that may be hung or powered off, or remote power control. They're complementary, so many data centres run both, and many BMCs even expose their data over SNMP too.

### Does IPMI work when the OS is down?

Yes — that's its defining advantage. IPMI (and Redfish) are served by the BMC, an independent management processor with its own power and network, so they keep reporting sensor data and allow control even when the operating system is crashed or the server is powered off. SNMP, running in-band through the OS, cannot do this.

### What is Redfish?

Redfish is a modern out-of-band management standard from the DMTF — a REST/JSON API over HTTPS that serves as the successor to legacy IPMI. It exposes the same kind of BMC-served hardware data and control but through a structured, automation-friendly interface, unlike IPMI's older binary protocol. New servers increasingly favour Redfish for lights-out management.

### Can a BMC use SNMP?

Often yes. Many BMCs (iLO, iDRAC, and others) can expose their out-of-band sensor data and send traps over SNMP in addition to IPMI/Redfish. That lets you fold lights-out hardware health into your existing SNMP monitoring for read-only checks, while still using native IPMI or Redfish for power control and deeper management functions.

## Source

Concept generated from https://snmp-monitoring.info/comparisons/snmp-vs-ipmi/ — the SNMP Monitoring vendor-neutral knowledge base. Content is limited to what that page states (no external claims added here).