2

I've updated a SuperMicro X7SPA-HF-D525 to IPMI firmware version 3.12.

I've tried setting the MAC address with the BIOS, ipmicfg and ipnmac.

Is there a fix for this?

4
  • I'm sorry - what exactly are you trying to fix? Jun 13, 2014 at 21:29
  • It's not going to have much luck getting on the network, with a MAC like that, especially if there are a few of them like this. I'm reminded of a similar Intel bug some time ago for desktop NICs. Jun 13, 2014 at 22:02
  • 1
    Because: Supermicro
    – ewwhite
    Jun 13, 2014 at 22:30
  • I'm trying to fix the fact that the MAC address is just a bunch of zeros instead of the original after I updated to the version support gave me Jun 14, 2014 at 20:35

5 Answers 5

1

You can set the IPMI NIC MAC address with the ipmitool utility (http://ipmiutil.sourceforge.net/) available for Linux (rpm/deb), Windows, Solaris and FreeBSD here: http://ipmiutil.sourceforge.net/FILES/

The following command will set the MAC address:

ipmitool lan set <channel number> macaddr <xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx>

In my case, the IPMI NIC's MAC address had been zeroed out (reason unknown). The MAC address of what it was supposed to be was a sticker on the motherboard. However, during my limited testing, I was able to set the MAC address to anything and that was good enough for IPMI to work properly.

1

This was a bug in the IPMI firmware and is fixed in version 3.16 and up. Changelog: "[X7SPA] Fix the issue that LAN connection is not working."

1

I encountered this issue today on a different board (X8DTU).

Symptoms: When logging into the IPMI web interface after the upgrade, the system MAC addresses were reported as 00:00:00:00:00:00 and 00:00:00:00:00:01.

For me, the solution was to shutdown the server and remove power for 30 seconds. When power was restored and the BMC/IPMI board booted, the correct MAC addresses were shown again.

Alternatively, you may be able to reset the configuration of the board using ipmicfg or another ipmi tool.

I was given the command below by SuperMicro support, although I didn't have to use it.

IPMICFG –RAW 0x30 0x41 
0

You can't usually change the builtin MAC address to an arbitrary value. If this happened after a firmware update I suggest that you call SuperMicro's support and complain at them.

It is likely ignoring your input MAC because it's not a LAA. If you use a LAA for it, you might have some success. LAAs are those MAC addresses for which the twos bit in the first octet is set (e.g. 02:00:00:01:02:03), and for which the OUI is not enforced (and also the interface-specific part, effectively an ESN, is not enforced).

See What range of MAC addresses can I safely use for my virtual machines?.

Assigning LAAs is a workaround, but good luck dealing with supermicro for a real fix.

2
  • I tried using one of those MAC addressed but it also didn't work Jun 14, 2014 at 20:42
  • Bad firmware then. Jun 15, 2014 at 11:41
0

I've updated a SuperMicro X7SPA-HF-D525 to IPMI firmware version 3.12.

According to the Motherboard product page at http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/ATOM/ICH9/X7SPA-HF-D525.cfm , you want "Firmware Revision: R 2.67". Are you sure you flashed the right firmware? Note that some of the X7 motherboards aren't smart enough to stop you if you are flashing the wrong firmware.

A few of my Supermicro systems with X9 motherboards needed a BIOS update before the IPMI Firmware update. This was according to the BIOS and IPMI Firmware changelogs, and I didn't test what would happen if I didn't flash the BIOS first.

2
  • I've updated it to version 3.12 becuse 2.67 had an bug and when I contacted support about it they said to update it to version 3.12 Jun 14, 2014 at 20:33
  • I see. In that case, follow the suggestions of Supermicro support. However since you might be using a beta-release (Or at least, a non-production release) and we may not be able to help you. You might need to contact Supermicro support again; and make sure they provide you with the changelog for the firmware. Jun 14, 2014 at 21:21

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .