Can’t Reach iDRAC via OS-to-iDRAC Pass-Through on XCP-ng + Debian 12 VM

gskger

Hi everyone, I’m currently working with XCP-ng 8.3 (fully updated) on a Dell PowerEdge R720 in my homelab, and I’m trying to access the iDRAC interface of the same server from a Debian 12 VM using ipmitool. I want to use the OS-to-iDRAC Pass-Through feature (USB NIC) to allow the VM to communicate directly with the iDRAC, so I can run ipmitool commands like power status, fan control, etc., from within the VM without going over the network (which is segmented off).

What is working

The iDRAC Pass-Through feature is enabled in the iDRAC web interface under: iDRAC Settings → Network → OS to iDRAC Pass-Through (USB NIC set to the IP: 169.254.0.1)
The iDRAC network test confirms it’s working.
The pass-through interface (PIF) appears in XCP-ng’s host network list as idrac.
I’ve attached it to a Debian 12 VM, where it shows up as enX1.
The VM has correctly assigned 169.254.0.2/24 via /etc/network/interfaces.

Despite the correct IP assignment, I cannot ping 169.254.0.1 from the VM:

# Output of ip a (shortened)
3: enX1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether d6:24:9e:46:de:64 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 169.254.0.2/24 brd 169.254.0.255 scope global enX1

ping 169.254.0.1
# Output:
# From 169.254.0.2 icmp_seq=1 Destination Host Unreachable
# (repeats)

And ipmitool fails with:

ipmitool -I lanplus -H 169.254.0.1 -U <user> -P <password> power status
# Error: Unable to establish IPMI v2 / RMCP+ session

Tested the same as a bare metal setup on another R720 with Debian 12 and that worked as expected. I have a distinct feeling that I have asked this question before, but unfortunately I can't find the post anymore.

Any insights, tips, or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated!