EXPIRED $160 Supermicro X11DPU include shipping

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zackiv31

Active Member
May 16, 2016
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can be the clamp, i got a dozend but half of those working.
Got another CH491A, no difference/same error. Going to see if SuperMicro can help me else I'll just sell it for parts. The machine is mint condition and I go ahead and kill the board :oops:
 

zackiv31

Active Member
May 16, 2016
114
34
28
40
It's alive. The flash finally took using the CH341A. (sorry last post)

Supermicro wouldn't help me so the motherboard was destined for the scrap pile.

I pulled my CPUs, pulled all risers, pulled PSUs, pulled CMOS battery, pulled TPM. Basically pulled everything except the cabling to the chassis. Held the power button to use any residual power. Pulled out the CH341A one last time because why not. And... it actually worked.

So for anyone else, remove all other variants that don't need to be there. I'm not sure what I did that finally worked, but I no longer have a paperweight or a locked BIOS. CH341A ftw (even for n00bs).

Code:
$ ./sum -i 192.168.0.195 -u ADMIN -p ADMIN -c GetBiosInfo --showall
Supermicro Update Manager (for UEFI BIOS) 2.13.0-p5 (2023/11/21) (x86_64)
Copyright(C) 2013-2023 Super Micro Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
......
Managed system..........................192.168.0.195
    Board ID............................091C
    BIOS build date.....................2023/12/15
    BIOS version........................4.2

    SMBIOS:
    BIOS version........................4.2
    BIOS revision.......................5.14
 
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Thomas H

Member
Dec 2, 2017
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How's the performance of the included "2x Xeon 4114 2.2GHz CPUs"? I am thinking of upgrading to 2nd Gen Xeon Scalable Processors for more performance and Optane support.
 

xulion

Member
Aug 30, 2023
57
42
18
It's alive. The flash finally took using the CH341A. (sorry last post)

Supermicro wouldn't help me so the motherboard was destined for the scrap pile.

I pulled my CPUs, pulled all risers, pulled PSUs, pulled CMOS battery, pulled TPM. Basically pulled everything except the cabling to the chassis. Held the power button to use any residual power. Pulled out the CH341A one last time because why not. And... it actually worked.

So for anyone else, remove all other variants that don't need to be there. I'm not sure what I did that finally worked, but I no longer have a paperweight or a locked BIOS. CH341A ftw (even for n00bs).

Nice! Glad you finally get it work!
 
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Thomas H

Member
Dec 2, 2017
96
78
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54
Finally, received mines a few days ago. BIOS updated to v4.2 thanks to everyone's awesome information here on the CH341A. The loudness is acceptable when idling after booting OS. However, it screams loud like a jet when you power it on or in BIOS mode. It's slightly louder in both situations compared to my PowerEdge R330/R440. Power draw shows around 120W-150W with one SSD and additional ConnectX-4 NIC. This is a nice upgrade compared to my R440 with two PCIe 3.0 x16 FH, FL? double width slots, three x8 slots, 4x 10GBe, four NVMe, etc. Thanks OP!

Need some help with storage configuration. This will be running Proxmox hosting VMs and TrueNAS Scale in VM for ZFS. I will passthrough PCIe HBA to TrueNAS. Thinking of hybrid storage using HDD for storage and SSD for VMs.
  1. I can't use the MegaRAID 9361-8i for ZFS. What HBA do you recommend that supports IT mode and the existing SFF-8643 connectors connected to the backplane?
  2. What can I use for the boot drives? I presume I cannot use the four NVMe bays once I have passthrough the HBA which is connected to the backplane? Can I disconnect the four NVMe ports on the motherboard to the backplane and use it standalone? Is there something like Dell's BOSS card (I just saw this AOC-SLG3-2M2. Is this what I need?)? Use internal SATA ports?
  3. Can I use the four NVMe bays with Intel Optane drives for ZFS special meta drive and SLOG?
  4. How do I connect m.2 drives like the Optane P1600X?
 

nexox

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2023
1,514
730
113
1) An LSI 3008 card would work, called a 9300-8i when it's LSI branded, there are rather cheap options like: Inspur LSI 9300-8i Raid Card 12Gbps HBA HDD Controller High Profile IT MODE | eBay
2) If you leave the NVMe connectors plugged into the motherboard then they should be bootable. The HBA connects independently to those slots so you can install SAS/SATA drives, but if you install U.2 drives then they'll use the OCuLink ports.
3) Sure.
4) There are various passive carrier boards/housings that will fit up to a 2280 drive into a U.2/2.5" bay, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW/ (not endorsing that product in particular, just the first thing I found that looked right.)
 

Thomas H

Member
Dec 2, 2017
96
78
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54
1) An LSI 3008 card would work, called a 9300-8i when it's LSI branded, there are rather cheap options like: Inspur LSI 9300-8i Raid Card 12Gbps HBA HDD Controller High Profile IT MODE | eBay
2) If you leave the NVMe connectors plugged into the motherboard then they should be bootable. The HBA connects independently to those slots so you can install SAS/SATA drives, but if you install U.2 drives then they'll use the OCuLink ports.
3) Sure.
4) There are various passive carrier boards/housings that will fit up to a 2280 drive into a U.2/2.5" bay, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW/ (not endorsing that product in particular, just the first thing I found that looked right.)
2) If you leave the NVMe connectors plugged into the motherboard then they should be bootable. The HBA connects independently to those slots so you can install SAS/SATA drives, but if you install U.2 drives then they'll use the OCuLink ports.
No matter which bay I plugged SATA drive into (tried SATA/SAS HDD2 bay and optional NVMe HDD11 bay) the 9361-8i recognizes it but BIOS does not. I unplugged the RSC-W2-66 riser which includes the 9361-8i and same BIOS does not see SATA drive. Can I use NVMe ports connected to backplane to boot without any HBA/RAID controller?

4) There are various passive carrier boards/housings that will fit up to a 2280 drive into a U.2/2.5" bay, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW/ (not endorsing that product in particular, just the first thing I found that looked right.)
It is not compatible with my Optane H20 using B key edge connector.

The X11DPU has 14 SATA ports. There are two SATA connectors and three I don't recognize. What do I need to connect them with power? How do I use them?
 

nexox

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2023
1,514
730
113
No matter which bay I plugged SATA drive into (tried SATA/SAS HDD2 bay and optional NVMe HDD11 bay) the 9361-8i recognizes it but BIOS does not.
With hardware RAID you need to define a volume or array before it can be used for boot or storage.


It is not compatible with my Optane H20 using B key edge connector.
H20 drives really don't work well outside of the specific platforms they were bundled with. You're better off trying to sell (or toss) that and get an M10, p1600x, 900p, or whichever other plain Optane drive.
The X11DPU has 14 SATA ports. There are two SATA connectors and three I don't recognize. What do I need to connect them with power? How do I use them?
Those are probably SlimSAS, it should say in the manual, they make breakout cables to four SATA connectors, or if your backplane doesn't have a SAS expander on it then you could get a wire that converts to the connectors on there.
 

klui

༺༻
Feb 3, 2019
991
581
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SlimSAS was not created when Supermicro's 11th generation systems were released. These are mini-SAS HD connectors. Their website for X11DPU will show the systems that have the MB and if you choose one with SATA/SAS, you can expand the Parts List section and it will tell you what parts are used/applicable.
 
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xulion

Member
Aug 30, 2023
57
42
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Finally, received mines a few days ago. BIOS updated to v4.2 thanks to everyone's awesome information here on the CH341A. The loudness is acceptable when idling after booting OS. However, it screams loud like a jet when you power it on or in BIOS mode. It's slightly louder in both situations compared to my PowerEdge R330/R440. Power draw shows around 120W-150W with one SSD and additional ConnectX-4 NIC. This is a nice upgrade compared to my R440 with two PCIe 3.0 x16 FH, FL? double width slots, three x8 slots, 4x 10GBe, four NVMe, etc. Thanks OP!

Need some help with storage configuration. This will be running Proxmox hosting VMs and TrueNAS Scale in VM for ZFS. I will passthrough PCIe HBA to TrueNAS. Thinking of hybrid storage using HDD for storage and SSD for VMs.
  1. I can't use the MegaRAID 9361-8i for ZFS. What HBA do you recommend that supports IT mode and the existing SFF-8643 connectors connected to the backplane?
  2. What can I use for the boot drives? I presume I cannot use the four NVMe bays once I have passthrough the HBA which is connected to the backplane? Can I disconnect the four NVMe ports on the motherboard to the backplane and use it standalone? Is there something like Dell's BOSS card (I just saw this AOC-SLG3-2M2. Is this what I need?)? Use internal SATA ports?
  3. Can I use the four NVMe bays with Intel Optane drives for ZFS special meta drive and SLOG?
  4. How do I connect m.2 drives like the Optane P1600X?
9361-8i can be used for ZFS . It supports both HBA mode and raid mode. You can even individually choose which drive to pass through to OS if you run mix mode.
 

Thomas H

Member
Dec 2, 2017
96
78
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SlimSAS was not created when Supermicro's 11th generation systems were released. These are mini-SAS HD connectors. Their website for X11DPU will show the systems that have the MB and if you choose one with SATA/SAS, you can expand the Parts List section and it will tell you what parts are used/applicable.
Great tip on parts list section for the SuperServer 6029U-E1CR4T. I was browsing it and noticed "2 Internal M.2 slots (1 SATA, 1 NVMe)" via RSC-UMR-8 riser included. For giggles, inserted my Optane H20 which already had Windows 11 installed and it booted up.
 

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ajmal017

New Member
Dec 9, 2024
11
4
3
ok for some /GAN didnt work - might be in new update it has been taken out, I got some options listed for anyone wanting for more - I had a continuous boot loop error which got fixed after using almost all good options



AMI Firmware Update Utility v5.09.02.1384

Copyright (C)2017 American Megatrends Inc. All Rights Reserved.

| Usage: AfuEfix64.efi <ROM File Name> [Option 1] [Option 2)...

or

AfuEfix64.efi <Input or Output File Name> <Command>

or

AfuEfix64.efi <command>

***

Commands:

/0 - Save current ROM image to file

/U - Display ROM File's ROMID

/S - Refer to Options: /S

/D - Verification test of given ROM File without flashing BIOS.

/A - Refer to Options: /A

/OAD - Refer to Options: /OAD

/CLNEVNLOG - Refer to Options: /CLNEVNLOG

/CLRCFG - Program without preserving setup configuration

/BCPALL - Save all question values before flash

/CMD - Send special command to BIOS. /CMD: {XXX}

/DPC - Don't Check Aptio 4 and Aptio 5 platform.

/MEUL - Program ME Entire Firmware Block, which supports Production.BIN and PreProduction.BIN files.

/Q - Silent execution

/X - Don't Check ROM ID

/CAF - Compare ROM file's data with Systems is different or not, if not then cancel related update.

/S - Display current system's ROMID

/JBC - Don't Check AC adapter and battery

/HOLEOUT: - Save specific ROM Hole according to RomHole GUID. NewRomHole1.BIN /HOLEOUT:GUID

/SP - Preserve Setup setting.

/R - Preserve ALL SMBIOS structure during programming /Rn - Preserve SMBIOS type N during programming (n=0-255) /B Program Boot Block

/P - Program Main BIOS

/N - Program NVRAM

/K - Program all non-critical blocks

/Kn - Program n'th non-critical block (n=0-15)

/HOLE: - Update specific ROM Hole according to RomHole GUID. NewRomHole1.BIN /HOLE:GUID

/L- Program all ROM Holes

/Ln Program n'th ROM Hole only (n=0-15)

/ECUF - Update EC BIOS when newer version is detected.

/E - Program Embedded Controller Block

/ME - Program ME Entire Firmware Block. /FOR-Flash FDR.

/PTT - Flash PTT.

/MER - Flash MER.

/OPR - Flash Operation Region of SPS.

/MEUF - Program ME Ignition Firmware Block.

/A - Oem Activation file

/OAD - Delete Oem Activation key

/CLNEVNLOG - Clear Event Log.

/CAPSULE - Override Secure Flash policy to Capsule

/RECOVERY - Override Secure Flash policy to Recovery

/EC - Program Embedded Controller Block. (Flash Type)

/REBOOT - Reboot after programming.

/SHUTDOWN - Shutdown after programming.
 

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ajmal017

New Member
Dec 9, 2024
11
4
3
Finally, received mines a few days ago. BIOS updated to v4.2 thanks to everyone's awesome information here on the CH341A. The loudness is acceptable when idling after booting OS. However, it screams loud like a jet when you power it on or in BIOS mode. It's slightly louder in both situations compared to my PowerEdge R330/R440. Power draw shows around 120W-150W with one SSD and additional ConnectX-4 NIC. This is a nice upgrade compared to my R440 with two PCIe 3.0 x16 FH, FL? double width slots, three x8 slots, 4x 10GBe, four NVMe, etc. Thanks OP!

Need some help with storage configuration. This will be running Proxmox hosting VMs and TrueNAS Scale in VM for ZFS. I will passthrough PCIe HBA to TrueNAS. Thinking of hybrid storage using HDD for storage and SSD for VMs.
  1. I can't use the MegaRAID 9361-8i for ZFS. What HBA do you recommend that supports IT mode and the existing SFF-8643 connectors connected to the backplane?
  2. What can I use for the boot drives? I presume I cannot use the four NVMe bays once I have passthrough the HBA which is connected to the backplane? Can I disconnect the four NVMe ports on the motherboard to the backplane and use it standalone? Is there something like Dell's BOSS card (I just saw this AOC-SLG3-2M2. Is this what I need?)? Use internal SATA ports?
  3. Can I use the four NVMe bays with Intel Optane drives for ZFS special meta drive and SLOG?
  4. How do I connect m.2 drives like the Optane P1600X?
Do u have the latest Bios 4.2?? I am trying everything to update bios it wont