IPMI confirmation reset itself after some time

[bissa]

Hi,
I have problem with the IPMI that it resets it self after some time to default setting, to ADMIN/admin and resets all the saved settings. I don't lose IPMI access, but the default ports, admin password get changed without any notice.
It happens in 2 servers and I'm using X10SL7-F

sorry I meant IPMI configuration**

 

[Ericloewe]

Any correlation with periods where the server is disconnected from power?

What are the BIOS and IPMI versions? If not the latest, try updating.

 

[bissa]

Server has never been disconnected.
IPMI is version 1.42 and there is currently 1.92 available.
Can I do the update without the need to restart the server?

 

[Ericloewe]

Server has never been disconnected.
IPMI is version 1.42 and there is currently 1.92 available.
Can I do the update without the need to restart the server?

Not exactly, IIRC, the BMC needs a full reset, including severing all power.

 

[bissa]

Is there any thing I can do from the IPMI GUI before heading to the firmware update? What could be causing that?
Do you remember if in the change logs of IPMI firmwares from 1.42 to 1.92 has something related to IPMI configuration resets fixed so I can be sure it is firmware issue before flashing?

 

[bissa]

Also, this server is colocated in a datacenter, I can only acces it remotely.
and I have read that notice "
NOTE !!! Uncheck preserve configuration box during flashing (very important step for FW to work properly). All settings will be reset to default.
is that step needed? Can I keep my current settings because if I reset all the configuration, I lose the Access through the GUI web.

 

[jgreco]

Supermicro likes for you to reset the IPMI BMC configuration, because it means less opportunity for bugs. Typically I've had no trouble ignoring that and just preserving the configuration, unless doing a major version update.

 

[bissa]

I will have to update the motherboard bios too?
current IPMI version is 1.42 and updated version is 1.92.
also do I need to keep the server in DOS mode before flashing? Servers are currently on Windows 2008 and I will use the GUI web method.

 

[jgreco]

If the release notes for the IPMI firmware say that you need the motherboard BIOS to be at a certain revision, yes, then you do need to do that.

The BIOS and the IPMI do cooperate to manage the server, and in some cases an update may be required.

Assuming you do not need to upgrade the BIOS, you can update the IPMI firmware via the IPMI web interface. It can happen while a guest OS is running, but, if for some reason there's a problem and the IPMI unit fails to restart or comes up with a messed-up config, that'll be bad. In that case:

1) The server may need to be powered off to reset the IPMI unit, and you may need to go into the system BIOS to see (for example) whether maybe the IPMI unit failed to get an IP address, etc.

2) You may need to poke at the IPMI unit from the guest OS to figure out what went wrong, and, failing that, you might need to power off the unit to reset the IPMI unit.

Note that in both cases "power off" means actually disconnecting mains, not just turning off the server.

 

[Ericloewe]

Supermicro's official line is that the BIOS and IPMI should be updated to the "equivalent" version.

 

[jgreco]

updated to the "equivalent" version.

For which there usually isn't any user-visible mapping, so either you have to email them each time you contemplate an upgrade, or just read the release notes to see what they say...

 

[Ericloewe]

For which there usually isn't any user-visible mapping, so either you have to email them each time you contemplate an upgrade, or just read the release notes to see what they say...

I'd certainly hope that the latest versions are naturally compatible with each other...