Data Domain: Alert - BMC Failure Detected | BMC Is Unresponsive

Summary: This article explains the cause and resolution of alerts related to the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), also known as iDRAC on Dell PowerEdge-based platforms. The BMC is an embedded controller that monitors system health parameters such as temperature, fan speeds, power status, and voltage. When the BMC becomes unresponsive or fails, the Data Domain system generates an alert. ...

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Symptoms

The system may report one of the following alerts:

  • ENVIRONMENT-00019    LegacyBMCHangCritical: BMC module in the controller is unresponsive
  • ENVIRONMENT-00020    BMCHangCritical: BMC module in the controller is unresponsive
  • ENVIRONMENT-00038    The system is being shut down. BMC is unresponsive
  • ENVIRONMENT-00039    BMC failure has been detected

System Behavior:

  • The system may continue to operate as expected.
  • Environmental sensor data (such as, temperature, fan speed) may be unavailable.
  • Sometimes, the system may initiate a shutdown.

Cause

Common causes include:

  • BMC/iDRAC stops responding due to hardware or software faults.
  • DDOS services lose communication with the BMC.
  • Voltage dips or transient faults on the motherboard.
  • Component-level failure.

Resolution

Follow the appropriate reset procedure based on your platform:

  1. Legacy DD systems:
    BMC reset requires the customer to physically remove AC power after DD power-off.
    Refer to KB: Data Domain: BMC/iDRAC Reset Procedure

  2. PowerProtect Data Domain systems (based on the PowerEdge server platform)
    Perform a remote flea drain reset - no site presence required.
    Refer to KB: PowerProtect Data Domain: iDRAC Flea Drain Procedure | BMC Reset

Affected Products

Data Domain, Data Domain, Integrated Data Protection Appliance Family

Products

PowerProtect Data Protection Appliance, Data Domain Deduplication Storage Systems, PowerProtect Data Protection Hardware
Article Properties
Article Number: 000203937
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 16 Dec 2025
Version:  6
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