Supermicro SuperServer Xeon D / X10SDV IPMI Release Notes Changelog

Posted by Paul Braren on Nov 7 2016 (updated on Nov 22 2021) in

Looking for just the latest release notes? Jump below.
Looking for the October 2016 IPMI 3.46 release, still the currently support release? Jump over to this detailed article.
Looking for the March 2017 IPMI 3.52 release? Jump to this detailed article.
Looking for the June 2017 IPMI 3.58 release? I haven't tested it yet, stay tuned, this article will be updated.

What does IPMI stand for? Intelligent Platform Management Interface, see Wikipedia:

The Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) is a set of computer interface specifications for an autonomous computer subsystem that provides management and monitoring capabilities independently of the host system's CPU, firmware (BIOS or UEFI) and operating system. IPMI defines a set of interfaces used by system administrators for out-of-band management of computer systems and monitoring of their operation.

What does BMC stand for? Baseboard Management Controller, see Wikipedia:

The baseboard management controller (BMC) provides the intelligence in the IPMI architecture. It is a specialized microcontroller embedded on the motherboard of a computer - generally a server. The BMC manages the interface between system-management software and platform hardware.
Different types of sensors built into the computer system report to the BMC on parameters such as temperature, cooling fan speeds, power status, operating system (OS) status, etc. The BMC monitors the sensors and can send alerts to a system administrator via the network if any of the parameters do not stay within pre-set limits, indicating a potential failure of the system.

Backstory, and why this is kind of a big deal

When making a significant investment in Xeon D systems from Supermicro, IT Pro's like myself sure do prefer full transparency. This has been a concern for Supermicro owners for years, and something that quite surprised me when I tried my first Supermicro system back in June of 2015, as I mentioned here.

For IT infrastructure companies that are serious about the enterprise, there's typically considerable pressure for them to grudgingly be transparent with their release notes, even if it can be mildly embarrassing. It's what IT Pros demand, especially folks like myself with a background in IBM, HP, and Dell gear.

Supermicro is now one of the fastest growing IT Infrastructure companies, see also Supermicro® - 18th on Fortune's Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies Worldwide. This lack of transparency was unfitting, but I'm happy to report that this has now (mostly) been addressed. I have permission to publish the "missing" readme.txt/release notes/changelog, ready to share right here at TinkerTry, and for now, only at TinkerTry. Longer term, I'm hoping Supermicro just goes ahead and provides these right with their firmware upgrade bundles.

I plan to update this article, as new releases arrive

Meanwhile, I plan to prepend any newer release notes for subsequent releases on this same page. If you experience what might be a firmware related issue, and you then spot something in these release notes that indicates it might be fixed, this article can make it easier to decide whether you wish to take on the risk of a firmware upgrade.

To see ways to actually perform these upgrades, see also:

New Supermicro BIOS 1.1c and IPMI 3.46 for Xeon D SuperServers features HTML5 iKVM

If you find an issue, please reference this article, and take the time to report the problem(s) to Supermicro Support so they can track them, and determine which issues warrant a fix in a future release.

If you find that publishing these notes is helpful to you, please drop a comment below this article, it's quick and easy.

IPMI Known Issues

This is a collection of observations I have made when testing and using this level of code, and issues that others have reported through comments below.

IPMI 3.88 Known Issue(s)

None

IPMI 3.68 Known Issue(s)

None
One commenter reported a Chrome browser on Mac certificate issue, but I was unable to replicate.

IPMI 3.58 Known Issue(s)

When using multiple monitors with iKVM/Java, the menus along the top edge of the UI may appear on a monitor other than where the iKVM window is running.
I sometimes lose all mouse and keyboard control of the remote system, in both the iKVM and HMTL5 UIs. The work-around I first attempted, Maintenance / IKVM Reset didn't work, but Maintenance / Unit Reset : Reboot IPMI Device did, control was recovered.

IPMI 3.56 Known Issue(s)

Unknown
I have not yet tested this 3.56 personally, still under validation, with IPMI 3.46 is still the level that is GA for Xeon D, and listed on the SYS-5028D-TNT4 Product Page's IPMI link.

IPMI 3.52 Known Issue(s)

None
Testing has gone well, with the download becoming available on May 2 2017 from this page.

IPMI 3.46 Known Issue(s)

drop-down Macro sub-menu says
Marco instead of Macro
I've only done preliminary tests on a borrowed SYS-E200-8D, so far
problems with getting keystrokes to register reliably in HTML5 iKVM sessions when using Chrome and Firefox (works fine with Edge Browser)
lack of any easy to mount an ISO file to the remote SuperServer when using iKVM/HTML5
video quality tuning doesn't seem to save bandwidth
iKVM/HTML5 user reported getting this error:
Server disconnected (code: 1006)
with another user only seeing this error in Firefox, but not in Chrome or Microsoft Edge
user reported error 1006 on Firefox 50.0, Safari 10.0.1, and Chrome running on MAC OS 10.11.6
user reported that Java console doesn't work on either Firefox or Safari on Mac, even after the IPMI factory reset

IPMI Release Notes

Supermicro Xeon D SuperServers based on X10SDV motherboards

All the release notes I have appear below, newest first.
Not all of these released ever arrived with a public download link, but are included here for an easy to search comprehensive look at all fix notes to date
I've added issues I've discovered to the new Known Issues section below
As an alternative to the bottom-edge slider, move your mouse cursor anywhere in the shaded area below, then use shiftkey+mousewheel to side-scroll!

IPMI 3.88

Jun 20 2018
Release Notes:

Product Name
Product Name X10DSC-TP4S
Release Version 3.88
Release Date 2/21/2020
Previous Version 3.86
Update Category Recommended
Dependencies None
Important Notes None
Enhancements N/A
New features N/A
Fixes

System now shows as Critical when PSU sensor is not plugged in.

Clear destination address after factory default.

Corrected display of table when the Maintenance Event Log is full and the event log has "Activate_BIOS_Product_Key".

Allow patching SSH Port to an already existing/default port value in Redfish.

Allow patching Active Directory Role Group Domain with a period in Redfish.

Corrected mismatch FRU values “13,” “18,” and “19” Chassis Type
between SMCIPMITool FRU and IPMI Web FRU.

IPMI 3.68