Thin-ITX 1U rackmount with LCD panel?

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pcmoore

Active Member
Apr 14, 2018
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Hello all.

I'm looking for a 1U rackmount case to hold a Jetway NF692 (link below) that has a small LCD panel on the front. As you can see, the motherboard I/O ports don't really match any "standard" layout, so a case which supports a Thin-ITX or custom I/O shield is desirable, although not strictly required (I'm okay running without an I/O shield, this is for a hobby project). I'm not too picky on the LCD panel, USB or serial I/O is fine, I just need the specs on how to configure/run it.

I've googled a little but have been very underwhelmed at the results, does anyone have any pointers to something that might fit the criteria above?
 

canta

Well-Known Member
Nov 26, 2014
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Thanks all. After digging a bit more I realized that Supermicro makes a few cases with a built in LCD, I'm already pretty used to the Supermicro way of doing things, and have quite a few spare parts, so I decided to go with a SC512-260B-LCD.
The lcd looks like from matrixobital . You can control with lcdproc.

Ihave 1u sm with lcd that attached to internal usb or serial. Not remember exactly. Made by matrix orbital.
 
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pcmoore

Active Member
Apr 14, 2018
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Cool, that's good to know - thanks!

It may take me a while to get that project up and running, but I'll try to remember to post back here with what I find.
 

pcmoore

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Apr 14, 2018
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I wanted to provide a small update in case anyone is following this thread. The LCD/controller appears as a USB HID device and reports "Trust International B.V." as the vendor. Unfortunately that is about as far as I've gotten so far, but once again, I'll try to report back when I have something working.

As a point of reference, Supermicro does have a Java based GUI available for managing the LCD (link below), which could be a last resort, but I would much rather find a CLI tool, library, or a spec sheet with the valid commands.
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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I suspect, if it's anything like a Supermicro LCD I tried playing with years ago, it won't work well with lcdproc. It presents itself as a HID device rather than the usual serial device lcdproc is used to, and the Supermicro software does some strange stuff through a closed-source library to interact with it.
 

pcmoore

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Apr 14, 2018
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The lack of lcdproc isn't really a concern for me, I want to be able to control it directly from my own application/script/etc. However, a lack of a well defined interface could be an issue.

If I'm really unable to find the interface (e.g. commands) documented anywhere, then I may see if I can find a way to make it work with the Java GUI. If that fails, then I may be able to sniff the HID interface and pick out the controller commands I need by playing with the Supermicro supplied software.
 

canta

Well-Known Member
Nov 26, 2014
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I wanted to provide a small update in case anyone is following this thread. The LCD/controller appears as a USB HID device and reports "Trust International B.V." as the vendor. Unfortunately that is about as far as I've gotten so far, but once again, I'll try to report back when I have something working.

As a point of reference, Supermicro does have a Java based GUI available for managing the LCD (link below), which could be a last resort, but I would much rather find a CLI tool, library, or a spec sheet with the valid commands.
what is the USB ID ?
 

pcmoore

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Apr 14, 2018
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what is the USB ID ?
Code:
# lsusb -v -s 001:002
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 15d9:1133 Trust International B.V.
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               1.10
  bDeviceClass            0
  bDeviceSubClass         0
  bDeviceProtocol         0
  bMaxPacketSize0        32
  idVendor           0x15d9 Trust International B.V.
  idProduct          0x1133
  bcdDevice            1.00
  iManufacturer           1 SMC 
  iProduct                2 SuperMicro LCD Display   
  iSerial                 3 1.0.0
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength       0x0029
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0
    bmAttributes         0x80
      (Bus Powered)
    MaxPower              100mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           2
      bInterfaceClass         3 Human Interface Device
      bInterfaceSubClass      0
      bInterfaceProtocol      0
      iInterface              0
        HID Device Descriptor:
          bLength                 9
          bDescriptorType        33
          bcdHID               1.11
          bCountryCode            0 Not supported
          bNumDescriptors         1
          bDescriptorType        34 Report
          wDescriptorLength      42
         Report Descriptors:
           ** UNAVAILABLE **
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            3
          Transfer Type            Interrupt
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0010  1x 16 bytes
        bInterval               1
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x02  EP 2 OUT
        bmAttributes            3
          Transfer Type            Interrupt
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0010  1x 16 bytes
        bInterval               1
can't get debug descriptor: Resource temporarily unavailable
Device Status:     0x0001
  Self Powered
 

Taco

New Member
May 30, 2015
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The LCD/controller appears as a USB HID device and reports "Trust International B.V." as the vendor. Unfortunately that is about as far as I've gotten so far
I became interested because that is a Dutch company (b.v.), which is where I'm from. I looked in the business registry and there is no exact match. There is Trust Computer Products ofcourse (trust.com).
 

pcmoore

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Apr 14, 2018
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Unfortunately I have a bit of bad news; I contacted Supermicro support in hopes of obtaining the specs/protocols used by the LCD panel and was told that I would need to sign a NDA before they could discuss things further. :mad:
 

4920441

New Member
Oct 10, 2019
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Hi,

funny thing, I had the same problem nearly exactly 10 years ago with the same case of LCD (litereally....:)

But mine was 'manufactured from SMC itself, it was even burned in the code of the LCDs Microcontroller:

Code:
[    4.000013] usb 1-3: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 3
[    4.204002] usb 1-3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[    4.219035] usb 1-3: New USB device found, idVendor=15d9, idProduct=1133
[    4.219099] usb 1-3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[    4.219150] usb 1-3: Product: SuperMicro LCD Display   
[    4.219197] usb 1-3: Manufacturer: SMC   
[    4.219241] usb 1-3: SerialNumber: 1.0.0
[    4.248424] usbcore: registered new interface driver hiddev
[    4.259733] hiddev96hidraw0: USB HID v1.11 Device  [SMC   SuperMicro LCD Display   ] on usb-0000:00:03.0-3
[    4.260082] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbhid
[    4.260133] usbhid: v2.6:USB HID core driver   T:  Bus=01 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=02 Cnt=01 Dev#=  3 Spd=12  MxCh= 0 D:  Ver= 1.10 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=32 #Cfgs=  1 P:  Vendor=15d9 ProdID=1133 Rev= 1.00 S:  Manufacturer=SMC   S:  Product=SuperMicro LCD Display    S:  SerialNumber=1.0.0 C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=80 MxPwr=100mA I:* If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=03(HID  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=usbhid E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms E:  Ad=02(O) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms
Those years ago, you were able to Download some C Software bits from the supermicro ftp server, I was even able to find the link

ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/GPL/lib_smc_usb_lcd_linux.tgz
ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/GPL/lib_smc_usb_lcd_linux.tgz

But the Supermicro FTP Server seems to be broken, since it asks for a password which I don't have (anonymous/anonymous isn't valid, it seems) and I get a 0 Byte file downloaded... When try logging in with the commandline ftp I only get a "Server hungup immediately after connect. No connections allowed from your IP" without having any chance to put in a username or anything....

I searched my archive for that file, but I didn't find it yet... I doubt finding it though... :-(

But anyway, I found some notes I took that time:


Code:
These libraries seem to provide a simple porgram, which is able to push and read text to the LCD Device:


Usage: fpctl backlight {off|on} - turn on/off LCD backlight
              clear - clear LCD             
home - move cursor to home             
cursor {off|under|blink}- set cursor             
move <x> <y> - move cursor, (upper left) = (0, 0)             
putch <ch> - display a character             
print <string> - display string             
mvprint <x> <y> <string> - move cursor then display string             
getkey [timeout] - check key event for <timeout> mili seconds             
getch {addr} - get char at LCD DDRam location where address   
128 - 143 1st line of lcd                             
192 - 207 2nd line of lcd             
getline {line} - get a line of char at line number 0 or 1
I used that program for simply displaying the hostname on the display, nothing more or nothing less.... but now after re-using the 1HE case I try to find the software again.... or removing the display and replace it with something 'open' (not a hole...;-)

Maybe these hints help you a bit...


Cheers,

4920441
 
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pcmoore

Active Member
Apr 14, 2018
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New England, USA
Ah ha, thank you very much, that definitely helps!

I had the same problem with ftp.supermicro.com but I was able to get to the file using the link below:
Unfortunately the lib_smc_usb_lcd_linux.tgz libraries rely on usbdevfs which was deprecated and removed a long time ago. The USB manufacturer and product IDs definitely match the code, so perhaps a little porting to libusb is all that is needed?
 

4920441

New Member
Oct 10, 2019
9
2
3
Hi,

Unfortunately the lib_smc_usb_lcd_linux.tgz libraries rely on usbdevfs which was deprecated and removed a long time ago. The USB manufacturer and product IDs definitely match the code, so perhaps a little porting to libusb is all that is needed?
Cool that it is still available. Are you able to port it from usbdefs to libusb? I would be much faster writing some microcode for an atmel microcontroller with usb port and changing the LCD altogether rather than porting that from one lib to another....:)

But nevertheless, if I simply could use the SMC display again without changing the hardware, I would be very happy, too...
If there is anything I can do for you to help porting the software, let me know.

Cheers
4920441
 

pcmoore

Active Member
Apr 14, 2018
138
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New England, USA
Well, yes, I'm sure I could port the tool to libusb, I'm sure it can't be that hard, but finding the time to do it is another matter entirely :(