Supermicro IPMI - SMTP doesn't work

[Grinchy]

Hello,

I'm using an X11SSM-F and tryied to set up the "Alert" e-mail Service to get a Message if something happens.
I tried it with the same Mail Account (t-online.de) I'm using with FreeNAS but I can't get it working. :-(

I set it up at the IPMI SMTP Settings, save it, and click on "Send Test Alert". It tells me it was send, but I never received even 1 mail.

My Gmail Account won't work either. Server, Name and Password are definitely right (It's working with FreeNAS after all) so I thought it could be SSL. But even after trying everything I could think of (SSL on/off, Port 465, Port 587) it won't work.

Is there anything you need to know to get this working? Do I need to set up an extra Internet Connection for the IPMI?

Would be really great if there's someone who could help me with this.

 

[Nick2253]

Do you have the network settings configured correctly on your IPMI? Gateway, DNS server(s)?

 

[Grinchy]

To be honest, I'm not sure about this. Should be right, but there has to be a problem after all.

Here are my Settings. Tried it with DCHP and fixed IP.

 

[whisky16]

To be honest, I'm not sure about this. Should be right, but there has to be a problem after all.

Here are my Settings. Tried it with DCHP and fixed IP.

View attachment 23143

I've got the same motherboard and I too have issues with getting the SMTP working. My issue is that it won't save my changes in the SMTP page. I've running the latest IMPI firmware and BIOS. Did you ever get your side working?

 

[Juan Manuel Palacios]

Hi everyone,

I'm reviving this thread after four years of inactivity to update it with my findings while attempting to set up my Supermicro X11SSH-LN4f motherboard's IPMI with working SMTP settings, which has also been unsuccessful so far.

However, I did spot a pattern, and that is that, when SSL auth is enabled, there's not even an attempt made to reach the target SMTP server, Gmail's in my case. I know that because, after trying every combination of settings possible to receive the test alert (including using the smtp.gmail.com FQDN or any of its IPs directly), in desperation I turned to my pfSense router's monitoring tools (pfTop) to inspect the activity coming from the IPMI NIC, and confirmed that when SSL auth is disabled, the target server is indeed reached; but when SSL auth is enabled, no matter what else I did, no connection attempt was ever made to the SMTP server from that NIC's IP. This finding was extremely easy to reverify over and over again.

That aside, sending the test mail still did not work without SSL auth because: 1) I don't know if it'll work without any kind of encryption on port 25, because I'm unsure if Gmail supports it in this day-and-age and I'm not willing to try it; and 2) the only other option, apart from SSL auth to port 465, which doesn't work as explained, is STARTTLS to port 587 (which will encrypt without SSL auth selected), but Supermicro's IPMI definitely does not support that, as revealed by a tcpdump session: Supermicro issues the EHLO command, Gmail replies with the request to STARTTLS, and then Supermicro immediately replies with a QUIT command, terminating the session without ever sending any emails.

So, all in all, the only option I see at this point to get alerts from Supermicro's IPMI flowing into my Gmail inbox is to setup my own SMTP relay on my local network, STARTTLS-enabled for outgoing connections while accepting unencrypted requests on port 25, and have Supermicro send through that… but I'm not convinced that's a complication I want to go to at this point.

If anybody else has a better idea, or findings different from mine, I'm all ears, thanks!

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

So, all in all, the only option I see at this point to get alerts from Supermicro's IPMI flowing into my Gmail inbox is to setup my own SMTP relay on my local network, STARTTLS-enabled for outgoing connections while accepting unencrypted requests on port 25, and have Supermicro send through that… but I'm not convinced that's a complication I want to go to at this point.

That's exactly what I do. Postfix on my OPNsense accepting mail unauthenticated from all my more or less dumb devices at home. Then relaying to my ISP mail server with proper authentication.

Two more options:

• Open a support case with Supermicro, they are rather friendly and responsive.
• Use a different mail provider. It always puzzles me how we arrived at "email equals google". There are numerous companies that offer email, even for free.

HTH,
Patrick

 

[Juan Manuel Palacios]

That's exactly what I do. Postfix on my OPNsense accepting mail unauthenticated from all my more or less dumb devices at home. Then relaying to my ISP mail server with proper authentication.

Two more options:

• Open a support case with Supermicro, they are rather friendly and responsive.
• Use a different mail provider. It always puzzles me how we arrived at "email equals google". There are numerous companies that offer email, even for free.

HTH,
Patrick

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for the confirmation and the suggestions! I have configured mail services before, and I might do so in a jail in my TrueNAS box to solve this issue, but I still have some self-convincing to do. If there's a plugin for that, either for TrueNAS or pfSense, that might help simplify the task at least a bit.

As for other mail providers… there are?! ;) Sure, Gmail is just a convenience, but if Supermicro's IPMI works with SSL auth with another SMTP service (I've not tried it myself just yet), does that mean Supermicro developers hardcoded an early bail out when the feature is selected for Gmail's SMTP (either by FQDN or any of its IPs)? I mean, what else would explain the behavior I saw? I'll try to open up a support issue with Supermicro to see what they say.

Thanks!