X10SRL-F very slow initialization with IPMI/BMC enabled..

[traderjay]

Hi All - This is my first time posting here and I hope you experienced folks can help me out I just put together the following system:

Mobo: X10SRL-F (latest bios)
CPU: E5 2696 v3 OME
RAM: 4X8GB Crucial DDR4 ECC (CT8G4RFS4213)
GPU: ASUS GTX 1050ti Strix
PSU: Bequiet 750W PSU (80 Plus Silver Rated)
HDD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB

I initially thought my parts were DOA upon first power up as I was not getting any video out from the nvidia GPU, that's when I found on the forum that I need to set change the VGA setting in the BIOS and disable it on the motherboard via the jumpers. Before disabling the onboard VGA, I connected an monitor to see if I am getting any output and I saw that the IPMI/BMC status message along with the ASCII SuperMicro Logo, only when that is complete the motherboard then proceeds to the BIOS initialization procedure. However I need to wait almost 30 sec or more before the motherboard beeps and initializes the post procedure.

So I disabled BMC via the motherboard jumpers and the BIOS initialization and boot-up time reduced significantly. Anyone has any idea on what is going on?

I've successfully installed Windows 10 and ran a few rounds of Cinebench R15 without any crashes or hiccups. I've also ran the Intel Processor Diagnostics tool without any issues so I guess at this stage all my hardware is fine?

 

[TType85]

That is normal for "server" boards. The BMC takes a bit of time to initialize. Most servers don't get powered down much.

 

[traderjay]

That is normal for "server" boards. The BMC takes a bit of time to initialize. Most servers don't get powered down much.

Thanks for the quick reply! I am using this board for a custom workstation so I guess the only option is to disable the BMC feature since I have no need for it. The next issue that came up is when I disabled the BMC, the CPU fans runs at 100% and there is no way to change it in the BIOS. Can I first change the setting via IPMI, and then disable BMC it via jumper?

 

[Patrick]

30s would be fairly quick.

This is a bit exaggerated, but these are some high-end x86 servers and their boot times:

How often do you need to reboot? I would personally keep the BMC on, even on a workstation motherboard. If you want something fun to show your friends, get the Supermicro IPMIview iOS/ Android app. You can power the machine on/ off via the network as an example.

 

[traderjay]

30s would be fairly quick.

This is a bit exaggerated, but these are some high-end x86 servers and their boot times:

How often do you need to reboot? I would personally keep the BMC on, even on a workstation motherboard. If you want something fun to show your friends, get the Supermicro IPMIview iOS/ Android app. You can power the machine on/ off via the network as an example.

Probably not often but there is no dedicated LAN connection to the IPMI port at the place where I will be using the workstation. At first I thought there is something wrong with the motherboard or my hardware.

So I guess there is no other way to manage the fan speed then

 

[sporker]

I just picked up the same board a couple weeks ago. IPMI init times seems to be about the same as on other Supermicro boards I have used. One thing to note is that it will boot much slower on a 'cold boot' - after power has been removed. If the system is turned off and the power cable/cables remain connected, the next IPMI init time/boot time should be quite a bit faster.

Also, I successfully flashed v 3.48 of the REDFISH IPMI firmware to this board, even though it is not listed under the downloads page. This will get you the nice HTML5 KVM viewer. This is a great feature worth keeping enabled in my opinion, even on a workstation setup.

 

[traderjay]

Thanks all for the replies! By the way if one of the RAM stick is bad, will the error be visible during the normal bios initialization procedure or only via IPMI?

 

[Rand__]

Yes it will be visible on boot on VGA out if it is detected by the bios.

 

[_alex]

you can put ipmi to one of the regular nic if you can't connect with a dedicated cable. wouldn't do so on a server for security reasons but can be handy on a workstation.
i.e. when you are at home, workstation powered off but you urgently should get a file or two from it via VPN ... just login to ipmi and power-on, get your files and power-off again

 

[traderjay]

Thanks all for the quick help! I did a CMOS clear and now the system is booting and initializing much faster!

 

[lastangelmd]

I just picked up the same board a couple weeks ago. IPMI init times seems to be about the same as on other Supermicro boards I have used. One thing to note is that it will boot much slower on a 'cold boot' - after power has been removed. If the system is turned off and the power cable/cables remain connected, the next IPMI init time/boot time should be quite a bit faster.

Also, I successfully flashed v 3.48 of the REDFISH IPMI firmware to this board, even though it is not listed under the downloads page. This will get you the nice HTML5 KVM viewer. This is a great feature worth keeping enabled in my opinion, even on a workstation setup.

Hello sporker,

I just purchased X10SRL-f motherboard and am missing HTML5 feature on X10DRL-i motherboard. The download page still have old version that doesn't support HTML5 KVM. Would you mind to share your firmware (v3.48) and instructions if there is any? Thank you,

 

[lastangelmd]

They just released v3.58 firmware for X10SRL-f. And, now iKVM/HTML5 is working! =