Weird eBay find: any clue what a Supermicro X10SDV-IBQ-AM04 is?
- Thread starter Scott Laird
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Cheers Frank, its weird i cant see any options for it at all, as if its not connected - only thing i can think of is that theres nothing on the melanox bios, and that itself would need flashing.
If the BIOS settings don't work out, I could have a go at dumping the bios of the Mellanox controller(s).
Another option if everything fails is to repurpose the mini-sas(like/ish?) ports to a PCIe extension board. For example something in the spirit of this: Port Replicator Riser 4X SFF-8643 to PCIe 16x Mini SAS SFF8643 HD 4i
Another option if everything fails is to repurpose the mini-sas(like/ish?) ports to a PCIe extension board. For example something in the spirit of this: Port Replicator Riser 4X SFF-8643 to PCIe 16x Mini SAS SFF8643 HD 4i
ok all network related setting I could find are in
advanced -> PCIe/PCI/PnP Configuration ->
Onboard .... OPROM -> Enabled
Network stack -> Enabled
the Mellanox CX4 LX interfaces show up in the boot order list (underneath the 'save/discard changes' page)
Some other findings:
- the X10SDV BIOS on my board precedes the addition of PCIe bifurcation (i.e. absent, the slot can only operate at PCIe x8).
- the Mellanox implementation doesn't support ASPM (I tried booting with pcie_aspm=force, but all the Mellanox controllers say 'ASPM not supported' in 'lspci -v -v' output)
so as I alluded to in my previous post, I tried popping in a SK Hynix P31 Gold into the top slot of a cheap dual-slot NVMe M.2 PCIe adapter, but the system would hang at an IPMI initialization stage.
...no support for bifurcation in the ancient 1.x BIOS on my X10SDV board (makes sense, this was only added to more recent versions of the X10SDV BIOS).
Tried moving the NVMe SSD into the bottom slot, with the hope that it would be detected as a regular x4 PCIe card in a PCIe 8x slot.
BIOS passes this time - but no mention of NVMe anywhere in the BIOS (too bad, my SM A1SAi-2750F which predates this X10SDV has BIOS support for NVMe).
However, with the NVMe card in the bottom slot, the Linux boot doesn't seem to work - the screen turns black immediately after selecting the boot entry from the Grub bootloader.
As a next step, I might try modding the X10SDV BIOS as instructed here: [HowTo] Get full NVMe Support for all Systems with an AMI UEFI BIOS
I'm wondering how my board was being booted in its intended use - maybe using PXE from the X10SDV-CIBF-AM041 ?
@adaptivesystems which adapter cable did you use for the internal USB header? I might want to resort to using that if my NVMe boot attempts fail.
...no support for bifurcation in the ancient 1.x BIOS on my X10SDV board (makes sense, this was only added to more recent versions of the X10SDV BIOS).
Tried moving the NVMe SSD into the bottom slot, with the hope that it would be detected as a regular x4 PCIe card in a PCIe 8x slot.
BIOS passes this time - but no mention of NVMe anywhere in the BIOS (too bad, my SM A1SAi-2750F which predates this X10SDV has BIOS support for NVMe).
However, with the NVMe card in the bottom slot, the Linux boot doesn't seem to work - the screen turns black immediately after selecting the boot entry from the Grub bootloader.
As a next step, I might try modding the X10SDV BIOS as instructed here: [HowTo] Get full NVMe Support for all Systems with an AMI UEFI BIOS
I'm wondering how my board was being booted in its intended use - maybe using PXE from the X10SDV-CIBF-AM041 ?
@adaptivesystems which adapter cable did you use for the internal USB header? I might want to resort to using that if my NVMe boot attempts fail.
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I think the BIOS chip is the one in the picture with the white label.
There are an additional two Winbond 25q128fvsg located each next to a ConnectX-4 LX controller so likely they contain the network firmware.
Just wondering what my options are for recovery in case I mess up:
* Backup current bios
* Try newer generic X10SDV BIOS / custom modded BIOS for NVME boot
If this fails and the bios becomes unbootable:
* Recover from backup boot block using JBR1 jumper set to 2-3
* SUM/smcipmitool over LAN via BMC to restore original BIOS
* ...last resort: use ch341a with clamp to reprogram original BIOS
There are an additional two Winbond 25q128fvsg located each next to a ConnectX-4 LX controller so likely they contain the network firmware.
Just wondering what my options are for recovery in case I mess up:
* Backup current bios
* Try newer generic X10SDV BIOS / custom modded BIOS for NVME boot
If this fails and the bios becomes unbootable:
* Recover from backup boot block using JBR1 jumper set to 2-3
* SUM/smcipmitool over LAN via BMC to restore original BIOS
* ...last resort: use ch341a with clamp to reprogram original BIOS
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progress update:
took the plunge and updated the BMC firmware.
First I dumped the original BMC firmware X10_ATEN which was reported as v07.47 using the ATEN Alupdate flash tool, then I upgraded to the latest (v4.0) X10_ATEN release for X10SDV boards from the Supermicro website using Supermicro Update Manager (sum) in in-band mode.
After the BMC finished rebooting I now have remote web access including a HTML5 remote console
took the plunge and updated the BMC firmware.
First I dumped the original BMC firmware X10_ATEN which was reported as v07.47 using the ATEN Alupdate flash tool, then I upgraded to the latest (v4.0) X10_ATEN release for X10SDV boards from the Supermicro website using Supermicro Update Manager (sum) in in-band mode.
After the BMC finished rebooting I now have remote web access including a HTML5 remote console
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@adaptivesystems : I've downloaded the Mellanox MFT tool v4.30.1-8-LTS from NVIDIA's website and the mlxfwmanager --query command gives the attached output when the 40G interface is disabled (not present on your board).
Does that tool detect your Mellanox Connect-X4 LX and does the output look similar (most relevant is probably the PSID SM_3001000001034 which would indicate whether the firmware from my board would work on your board).
Does that tool detect your Mellanox Connect-X4 LX and does the output look similar (most relevant is probably the PSID SM_3001000001034 which would indicate whether the firmware from my board would work on your board).
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tried taping off B5 and B6 (SMBUS) on the M.2 to PCIE adapter, but it doesn't seem to make any difference. As soon as I select to boot UBUNTU from the Grub bootloader, the screen goes black. The remote console via IPMI doesn't show anything either at that point.
things just got a lot easier:
verified the 2xNVMe M.2 to PCIe adapter works in my SM A1SAi-2750F - the SSD is detected just fine.
Tried the inverse, tried the Samsung 980 Pro in a 1xNVMe M.2 to PCIe 4x adapter of my A1SAi-2750F on the X10SDV -> success!
No BIOS update needed, the 1.1a bios already seems to boot EFI NVME disks (despite not having any NVME section in the BIOS).
I'm guessing here, but maybe the problem all along was the lack of bifurcation on the X10SDV 1.1a bios; even if you place a single drive in the bottom slot of the 2x NVMe adapter it won't work without bifurcation?
Ordered a Sabrent 1xNVMe M.2 to PCIe adapter to use with the SK Hynix SSD, it's PCIe 16x physically but I am guessing is 4x electrically.
verified the 2xNVMe M.2 to PCIe adapter works in my SM A1SAi-2750F - the SSD is detected just fine.
Tried the inverse, tried the Samsung 980 Pro in a 1xNVMe M.2 to PCIe 4x adapter of my A1SAi-2750F on the X10SDV -> success!
No BIOS update needed, the 1.1a bios already seems to boot EFI NVME disks (despite not having any NVME section in the BIOS).
I'm guessing here, but maybe the problem all along was the lack of bifurcation on the X10SDV 1.1a bios; even if you place a single drive in the bottom slot of the 2x NVMe adapter it won't work without bifurcation?
Ordered a Sabrent 1xNVMe M.2 to PCIe adapter to use with the SK Hynix SSD, it's PCIe 16x physically but I am guessing is 4x electrically.
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Congrats, it took only 6 months to make it properly work (not a sarcasm, mine SM was sitting on a shelf for a year waiting for CPU prices to come down into reasonable/affordable range)
I suffer from the affliction of starting new projects faster then I complete existing ones. Even if it's at a snails pace, I'm happy if a project goes in the right direction and isn't at a complete standstil for months on end.
update:
got the Sabrent NVMe to PCIe x16 (x4 electrically) adapter.
The X10SDV still doesn't want to boot (from Linux on USB stick) when the SK Hynix Gold P31 is plugged in the adapter.
Humph!
Maybe there's a PCIe BIOS setting that's causing the incompatibility.
Quick fix: boot X10SDV with Samsung 980 Pro, use SK Hynix P31 on A1SAi-2750F.
got the Sabrent NVMe to PCIe x16 (x4 electrically) adapter.
The X10SDV still doesn't want to boot (from Linux on USB stick) when the SK Hynix Gold P31 is plugged in the adapter.
Humph!
Maybe there's a PCIe BIOS setting that's causing the incompatibility.
Quick fix: boot X10SDV with Samsung 980 Pro, use SK Hynix P31 on A1SAi-2750F.
plexiglass panels arrived to make an improvised ghetto-tech case. Here's the result when combined with an « open air computer case » found on Amazon.
View from the bottom, showing the Samsung NVMe SSD facing bottom down in the Sabrent NVMe M.2 to PCIe adapter. The heatsink in the Sabrent kit didn't fit physically, so I fitted a Thermalright M.2 heatsink instead.
In the first picture you can see the WAS-110 XGS-PON ONU stick that will be used with this system to replace my ISP's fibre modem.
I've installed XCP-ng and loaded up Mikrotik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR), the ConnectX-4 LX adapters are passed through with SR-IOV to the VM.
Will still need to work a bit on the router configuration and will need to find a silent-ish 10Gbps switch which can hold the WAS-110 ONU stick without overheating (as these are known to run very hot).
View from the bottom, showing the Samsung NVMe SSD facing bottom down in the Sabrent NVMe M.2 to PCIe adapter. The heatsink in the Sabrent kit didn't fit physically, so I fitted a Thermalright M.2 heatsink instead.
In the first picture you can see the WAS-110 XGS-PON ONU stick that will be used with this system to replace my ISP's fibre modem.
I've installed XCP-ng and loaded up Mikrotik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR), the ConnectX-4 LX adapters are passed through with SR-IOV to the VM.
Will still need to work a bit on the router configuration and will need to find a silent-ish 10Gbps switch which can hold the WAS-110 ONU stick without overheating (as these are known to run very hot).
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