And so it begins... First AMD Ryzen AM4 server motherboard.

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EffrafaxOfWug

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Feb 12, 2015
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I've now fixed the problem I was having with the BMC crashing every time the box POSTed.

As I stated above, I thought the issue with the IPMI NIC bonding was fixed with this board but it appears not; once I'd restored my previous IPMI NIC configuration (bonding off, IPMI NIC using a tagged VLAN) I eventually noticed that both the IPMI and the onboard NIC showed the same MAC address. Seems that when the system boots and sees the two interfaces with the same MAC, its gets its knickers in a twist and reboots IPMI.

Fix was the same as before - use the BMCMAC utility supplied by ASRock to reprogram the IPMI MAC address with an offset value. Once this was done I've had no problems with the IPMI regardless of the NIC config.
 

damienr

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Nov 20, 2015
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@EffrafaxOfWug Looking at the website, they still haven't published any newer BIOS/BMC than 3.20 and 1.6 respectively.
I imagine you procured from them direct via an open dialog re: your issues?

I'm not in a rush to update -- it has been stable with the exception of one issue that turned out to be a deteriorating NVMe drive.
I rolled back to 1.50 from 3.20 after storage-related issues prevented ESXI boot (iirc config) -- probably could have persevered with a BIOS tweak, but will just wait for the next published BIOS/BMC updates.
 

EffrafaxOfWug

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Feb 12, 2015
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IPMI 1.19 and BIOS 3.25 are available on their FTP site, although as far as my systems are concerned they don't show any difference from the production versions of 1.16 and 3.20. I'm likewise in no rush to update, just tried everything there was available whilst I was figuring out the IPMI crash whilst rebooting issue.

The only thing I've needed to obtain from ASRock turned out to be the BMCMAC util to fix the IPMI NIC.
 

damienr

New Member
Nov 20, 2015
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Ah yeah I found it. Posting for reference:

ftp.asrockrack.com
u racktsd
p rack#123

EDIT: Removed the subdomain part since it was invalid for connecting.
You'll be in ftproot, so just need to browse list for the x470d4u dir
 
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fridgespacer

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Feb 27, 2019
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It's almost unbelievable to me that asrock doesn't have TLS for their bios and bmc hosting. They just recently started providing sha256 sums of these images. Shame.
 

scline

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Apr 7, 2016
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Has anyone gotten the PSU readings via IPMI to work? Power supply insert/duel etc stats are all blank using supermicro 920-SQ with the PDU_SMB cable hooked up to the motherboard.
 

Wasmachineman_NL

Wittgenstein the Supercomputer FTW!
Aug 7, 2019
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I sure hope they make a regular ATX X570 board. The X470 board is full of compromises due to the lane constraints of AM4. For example, the first m.2 is x4 PCIe2 and the second is x2 PCIe3. So, only half bandwidth from each m.2. The X470 is connected to the CPU via an x4 PCIe3 link so you're limited to 4GB/s aggregate and thus you're only going to get half bandwidth when reading from both simultaneously. That's not terrible but, because of the lane layout, reading from one m.2 will be at half speed (2GB/s) even though there's still available bandwidth to the CPU. An X570 version of the board would permit full bandwidth since link to the CPU is 8GB/s (x4 PCIe4) and the X570 can offer full x4 PCIe4 links to both m.2s. Two PCIe4 m.2s would be a problem but that's not a common use case (yet).

There are enough lanes hanging off the X570 to be able to offer an additional x4 slot which would be very welcome.

The Threadripper minimum price of admission (now $1,400) makes that option unappealing for small server use cases. Epyc just doesn't clock high enough for low thread count applications. So, the only cheap option for getting more lanes is to go X570 on AM4.
Not really a server board, but there's this: Pro WS X570-ACE | Motherboards | ASUS Global

I was thinking of picking up that board (or a Taichi) when my Crosshair VII kills itself. Then again it's ASSus so it's got garbage software and support from ASUS themselves.
 

soupyfrood

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Dec 12, 2019
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Anyone have issues with graphics in Linux? Specifically, Ubuntu 19.10 desktop, when gdm loads, the screen just freezes. Mouse cursor and a blank purple screen, cursor is frozen, console is completely unresponsive. I can still ssh and kill X. Happens on a clean install. GUI starts fine if I blacklist the ast video driver.
 

llowrey

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Feb 26, 2018
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I finally got around to installing a 5.4 kernel and did confirm that the EDAC driver now supports zen2 Ryzen processors. I have not verified that errors are reported and handled as expected.

Code:
EDAC MC: Ver: 3.0.0
EDAC amd64: Node 0: DRAM ECC enabled.
EDAC amd64: F17h_M70h detected (node 0).
EDAC MC: UMC0 chip selects:
EDAC amd64: MC: 0:     0MB 1:     0MB
EDAC amd64: MC: 2:  8192MB 3:  8192MB
EDAC MC: UMC1 chip selects:
EDAC amd64: MC: 0:     0MB 1:     0MB
EDAC amd64: MC: 2:  8192MB 3:  8192MB
EDAC amd64: using x16 syndromes.
EDAC amd64: MCT channel count: 2
EDAC MC0: Giving out device to module amd64_edac controller F17h_M70h: DEV 0000:00:18.3 (INTERRUPT)
EDAC PCI0: Giving out device to module amd64_edac controller EDAC PCI controller: DEV 0000:00:18.0 (POLLED)
AMD64 EDAC driver v3.5.0
Code:
# edac-util -v
mc0: 0 Uncorrected Errors with no DIMM info
mc0: 0 Corrected Errors with no DIMM info
mc0: csrow2: 0 Uncorrected Errors
mc0: csrow2: mc#0csrow#2channel#0: 0 Corrected Errors
mc0: csrow2: mc#0csrow#2channel#1: 0 Corrected Errors
mc0: csrow3: 0 Uncorrected Errors
mc0: csrow3: mc#0csrow#3channel#0: 0 Corrected Errors
mc0: csrow3: mc#0csrow#3channel#1: 0 Corrected Errors

# edac-util -s
edac-util: EDAC drivers are loaded. 1 MC detected

# edac-ctl --mainboard
edac-ctl: mainboard: ASRockRack X470D4U

# edac-ctl --print-labels
edac-ctl: Error: No dimm labels for ASRockRack X470D4U

Also, the k10temp driver now supports zen2:
Code:
k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
Tdie:         +37.0°C  (high = +70.0°C)
Tctl:         +37.0°C
 
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ricardo-sf

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May 26, 2020
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Hi everyone --

so glad i found this thread ..

I am also a newcomer to thee ryzen-as-a-home-server game .. (though not new to running servers at home) -- my goal for this server build is to get a Ryzen 5-3600 into a 1U case .. (just because i think i can).

This thread helped me get past the CPU_PROCHOT error when i first brought up the board (it was running BIOS 3.10) ..
 

ricardo-sf

New Member
May 26, 2020
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IMG_20200526_091643.jpg

The dynatron cooler is as loud as they say -- and it doesn't move alot of air -- but i think it will do the job in a 1U case .. not sure how much i'll be able to overclock with this setup.

we'll see.
 
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EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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Nice little cooler, is that an official AM4 mount or did it require some DIY? I assume the 1U case you're using will have some other fans of its own, is the intake for the dynatron facing the direction of air travel? From the looks of the pic the "intake" for the blower is facing to the back instead of the front (assuming a front -> back airflow).

P.S. I notice you're using the regular NIC as well as the dedicated IPMI NIC - are you enforcing IPMI access only via the dedicated NIC (bonding off, LAN set to eth0), and if so did you need to apply the BMCMAC fix?
 
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ricardo-sf

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May 26, 2020
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the dynatron A18 cooler went right into the standard backplate that came with the board -- i was prepared to remove the backplate and install the one that came with the cooler, but mine fit with no modifications.

I may have the cooler backwards -- i thought the big arrow on to of the cooler was the direction of airflow (so i pointed it towards the back of the case).

the case i'm using will have at least 3 fans blowing from front to back -- so i'm going to give it my best shot at getting this up to 4.3ghz -- dont really mind if the blower is on all the time, the server will be stored in the garage once its up and running.

I am using the dedicate IPMI NIC and enforcing access only via dedicated NIC .. this worked right out of the box for me and i did not have to apply the BMCMAC fix.

eventually i will bond both of the LAN ethernet ports and leave the IPMI nic alone to do remote management.

undecided still about the RAM i'm going to use on this build .. right now it was 16GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX @ 3200 (DDR4). its running stable at 1.3v -- i scavanged this ram off my desktop to get up and running while i decided if i want ECC or non ECC .. and then i'll buy and install 32GB of whatever.

its just a home server and all the data will be routinely backed up, so not sure i really care if its ECC or not.
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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I could also be wrong, but assuming front -> back cooling and that the fan is blowing down on the heatsink, I think the arrow might mean "poit me at the front" or something like that. Easy enough to check the airflow when the system's running.

Glad to hear ASRock are now finally shipping boards with the BMC MAC fixed. Is the hardware revision still 1.01? Did your board ship with BIOS 3.10, as opposed to the 1.50 mine did?

As an aside, ECC is for more than just uptime - for instance, if your file server's got something cached in RAM and incurs a bit-flip somewhere, and it subsequently read by a client and written back, the bit-flip will be written back as file corruption and be backed up as per usual. It's an unlikely event but for kit that might be on 24/7 with all sorts of stuff in RAM for who knows how long, ECC certainly gives me peace of mind at a very minimal premium. If you're using ryzen 3 the performance "loss" from 2666 ECC RAM as opposed to >=3200 non-ECC RAM is very small, the only real downside is the cost of ECC UDIMMs.
 

ricardo-sf

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May 26, 2020
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The arrow on the blower is pointing in the direction that air will flow.

tested it by running the fan at 100% and then putting a piece of paper near the port -- it was clearly pushing the paper away from the blower.

My board came with BIOS 3.1 and BMC 1.6 -- i've since upgraded the BMC to 1.9 and the bios to 3.3
 

scline

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Apr 7, 2016
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How was your bios update? I am sitting on 3.25 and want to go to 3.33. Its in a datacenter (IPMI etc works) and a bit iffy on such a remote upgrade.

How are your temperatures with that cooler?
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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Remote BIOS updates are a doddle as long as IPMI is working; you're able to flash any BIOS you like without even a CPU installed. I've probably done this more than most and never had any problems with it.
 

DavidB

Member
Aug 31, 2018
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Those looking at building with these boards be very careful in selecting a cooler. The boards are not following the clearance dimensions for the RAM slots as provided by AMD so many coolers won't fit when installing 4 DIMM modules. If you are thinking of using a Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 note that these will only fit with 4 DIMMs that do not have heatspreaders and for absolute certainty you want to put some kapton tape to prevent components touching.

Bonus tip: if you are going the budget route and buying Corsair LPX modules, all you need is a blow dryer and some patience to remove the heatspreaders
 

trott90

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Jan 27, 2018
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Nice little cooler, is that an official AM4 mount or did it require some DIY? I assume the 1U case you're using will have some other fans of its own, is the intake for the dynatron facing the direction of air travel? From the looks of the pic the "intake" for the blower is facing to the back instead of the front (assuming a front -> back airflow).

P.S. I notice you're using the regular NIC as well as the dedicated IPMI NIC - are you enforcing IPMI access only via the dedicated NIC (bonding off, LAN set to eth0), and if so did you need to apply the BMCMAC fix?
can you share the BMCMAC to me, I write email to asrock support, but never get a feedback
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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Rather annoying ASRock haven't provided a FAQ entry with a direct download TBH. Usual disclaimers apply about trusting binaries from random internet dudes.

The forum only accepts .zip files it seems and they must be <1MB so I've only been able to include the linux one by omitting the bundled asrripmi binary. I've included the asrripmi binary as a separate file in .xz format to get it small enough, with a fake .zip extension to fool the forum. It was originally included in the same directory as the BMCMAC binary.
 

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