Is it safe to flash the BMC and BIOS on a Datto server with original ASRock firmware (and more questions)?

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M

Mannekino

New Member
Jan 5, 2023
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Hello STH,

Recently I bought a server on eBay which I originally thought was a ASRock server. It turned out to be a server from Datto, a company I was not familiar with before. This is how the server looked when I received it.

IMG20230116221712.jpg

The specifications are:
  • Brand and model: Datto S4P4 (on a sticker on the bottom of the chassis)
  • Motherboard: ASRock Rack D2143D8UM (custom built for Datto?)
  • CPU: Intel Xeon D-2143IT
  • Memory: 4x Kingston KSM24RD4/32HDI
  • Addon cards: 1x Mezzanine card with two 10GbE interfaces
  • SATA HDD: 2x Toshiba 4TB MG04ACA400N
  • SATA SSD: 1x Kingston 256GB SKC600/256G
  • NVMe SSD: 1x Intel Optane 58GB P1600X
Some observations and problems I'm having:
  • I'm wondering if the motherboard is built-to-order for Datto since it's not exactly the same as the stock ASRock one. It lacks the internal USB 2.0 header for example. In addition the color of the SATA ports and memory slots are different.
  • In the IPMI web interface I'm lacking certain features. For example:
    • I cannot flash the BMC firmware;
    • I cannot flash the BIOS firmware;
    • The fan control options are not available.
  • When I run PassMark MemTest86 the IPMI sensors report all four memory modules have a temperature of 255℃ (the test ran fine for over 24h).
  • Thankfully I managed to find the BIOS password on this forum (if I remember correctly) and managed to remove that.
  • ASRock was kind enough to provide me with the latest BIOS and BMC firmware for this motherboard.
These are all the options I see under "Settings". According to the manual of this motherboard there should be a "FAN Settings" tile, but I don't have it.

1676224243730.png

Same goes for the "Maintenance" section. In the manual there are many more tiles such as "BIOS Update" and "Firmware Update" I don't have these options.

1676224401283.png
The build is not complete yet, still do to:
  • Replace the current four HDDs with six new high capacity HDDs. The current HDDs are for testing purposes.
  • Two new SATA SSDs and remove the current Kingston one.
This is how the server looks now:

IMG20230212183323.jpg

Here are my questions:
  1. Is this motherboard indeed built-to-order for Datto as I'm suspecting, since it is slightly different than the stock ASRock model it's based on?
  2. How can I get access to the removed options in the IPMI web interface? Primarily flashing of the BMC and BIOS firmware and fan settings (I'm hoping flashing the stock BMC firmware will fix this but I'm not sure).
  3. Is it safe to flash the BMC firmware I got from ASRock? If so, how can I do this since I don't have the ability to do so through the IPMI web interface?
  4. Is it safe to flash the BIOS firmware I got from ASRock through the "Instant Flash" feature in the BIOS?
  5. Will the problems I'm having mentioned above (particularly the memory temperature reading) be fixed by flashing the BMC and/or BIOS firmware from ASRock?
I've submitted a ticket with ASRock 8 days ago asking if I could safely flash the BMC and BIOS firmware but I haven't heard from them yet unfortunately.

Kind regards,

Mannekino
 
Last edited:
R

RolloZ170

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2016
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Mannekino said:
Is it safe to flash the BMC firmware I got from ASRock?
Click to expand...
no, any BMC FW is specially prepared and don't autodetect devices.
Mannekino said:
how can I do this since I don't have the ability to do so through the IPMI web interface?
Click to expand...
there is a utility socflash, but you need the correct version.
Mannekino said:
When I run PassMark MemTest86 the IPMI sensors report all four memory modules have a temperature of 255℃ (the test ran fine for over 24h).
Click to expand...
apparently memtest accesses a switch which disconnects the BMC from SPD serial interface to read data from the DIMMs.
similar is going on at other platforms using a BMC, the DIMM specs are not shown up in HWinfo i.e. unless the Util know how to get the serial connection to the SPD on the DIMMs which contain the DIMM Temp-sensor.
 
Last edited:
R

RolloZ170

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2016
8,993
2,860
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germany
Mannekino said:
Is it safe to flash the BIOS firmware I got from ASRock through the "Instant Flash" feature in the BIOS?
Click to expand...
if the Instant flash accepts the BIOS it should be successful ending. i have used this function on other ASRock's without issues.
 
R

RolloZ170

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2016
8,993
2,860
113
germany
Mannekino said:
Is it safe to flash the BIOS firmware I got from ASRock through the "Instant Flash" feature in the BIOS?
Click to expand...
there is no risk if you make backups before flashing.
ASRock's BIOS/BMC chips are located in SOIC sockets. there are white stickers on it,
 
M

Mannekino

New Member
Jan 5, 2023
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Do you have any idea why I'm missing the BMC and BIOS firmware flashing options in the IPMI web interface and why the "FAN Settings" is missing also? Did Datto disable/remove that from the UI?
 
R

RolloZ170

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2016
8,993
2,860
113
germany
Mannekino said:
Do you have any idea why I'm missing the BMC and BIOS firmware flashing options in the IPMI web interface and why the "FAN Settings" is missing also? Did Datto disable/remove that from the UI?
Click to expand...
i am sure they don't want anyone to flash wrong FW because its a custom. FANs in OEM/custom systems should not modified to grant the cooling under any circumsdances.
 
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