Virtual chassis management controller

A system for chassis management, comprising:

• a chassis switch;
• a plurality of motherboards;
• a plurality of baseboard management controllers (BMCs), each of the plurality of BMCs associated with one of the plurality of motherboards and coupled to the chassis switch, wherein the plurality of BMCs are interconnected via a first communication bus, wherein the plurality of BMCs and the chassis switch are interconnected via a second communication bus;
• and
• at least one chassis level component coupled to the chassis switch via the second communications bus, wherein the chassis switch is configured to exchange data with the plurality of BMCs and selectively connect each of the at least one chassis level component to one of the plurality of BMCs.

A method for chassis management, comprising:

• powering on a chassis;
• determining whether a chassis management controller (CMC) is available for managing the chassis;
• operating, by one baseboard management controller (BMC) of a plurality of BMCs, as a first virtual chassis management controller (VCMC) for the chassis, in response to determining that the CMC is not available, wherein each of the plurality of BMCs is associated with one of a plurality of motherboards of the chassis;
• exchanging, by the first VCMC, data with other BMCs of the plurality of BMCs over a first communication bus;
• and
• managing, by the first VCMC, a first set of at least one chassis level component over a second communication bus.