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Andrew Mello edited this page Jun 4, 2026 · 2 revisions

realtek-realmanage Wiki

Native Linux toolkit for Realtek RealManage (DMTF DASH) out-of-band management.

The first open-source Linux management suite for Realtek DASH NICs. Ports the complete functionality of the Windows-only Realtek Management Console, DASHConfigRT, and RtDashService.

What is RealManage?

Realtek RealManage is an out-of-band management engine embedded directly in certain Realtek Ethernet controllers. It implements DMTF DASH — remote management that works regardless of host OS state, even when the machine is powered off.

Think of it as Intel AMT / iLO / IPMI, but living inside the Ethernet NIC instead of the PCH chipset. No vPro required. Works on AMD and Intel platforms.

Tools

Tool What it does Windows equivalent
realmanage Remote management CLI — power, KVM, inventory, boot, events Realtek Management Console
dash-activate Provision/activate DASH from Linux DASHConfigRT
rtdashd Systemd daemon — OS agent for the NIC RtDashService
rtdash-ctl Low-level ioctl tool for direct firmware access (none)
librtdash C library for the Realtek DASH driver interface (none)

Quick start

# 1. Enable DASH in BIOS (see BIOS-Setup)
# 2. Install
make && sudo make install

# 3. Activate DASH (sets credentials, signals driver)
sudo dash-activate

# 4. Start OS agent daemon
sudo systemctl enable --now rtdashd

# 5. Manage remotely
realmanage -t 192.168.1.50 info
realmanage -t 192.168.1.50 power status

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