Notes about Supermicro X11SCA-F


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I don't use unraid yet, but I can confirm I have IPMI VGA remote console working alongside with working IGFX Quicksync or other 3D offloading tasks.
This is working with either Windows physical machine or in ESXI where you setup Intel IGFX for passthrough so your VM can use Quicksync (tested with Windows VM)
I was not able achieve simultaneous picture from IPMI VGA remote console and IGFX connected digital display though.
Either IPMI VGA has active display or IGFX, but not both at same time, I guess this really BIOS limitation, but at least you should be able to use Quicksync with IPMI VGA remote console.


X11SCA-F BIOS settings

Primary Display : PCI
Internal Graphics: Enable

after reboot IGFX GOP Version is populated in BIOS.

 

Other observations with this board someone could use.
Passthrough of motherboard AHCI controller is possible with ESXI, but only when you boot your VM with BIOS. With EFI VM gets powered off.
You can use HDD ATA Security with compatible drives (User HDD Password)

 

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Thanks, burg3! I went ahead and set those BIOS options. With my unRAID 6.6.6 installation, as soon as I load the i915 module the VGA session disconnects. This happens either with or without a digital display connected. I'm using an HDMI dummy adapter but would assume console video is moving to the iGPU.

 

For me, this is fine. As long as I can access the BIOS and watch the OS boot up sequence, I can live with it.

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My understanding is that blacklisting a module prevents it from automatically loading, but when manually loading the module with modprobe it overrides the blacklist. The modprobe is required to get the /dev/dri device to show up, which is needed to use QuickSync.

 

Edit:

Good news! Thinking about loading the module got me wondering that maybe there was an option to disable display output. After some searching, I found the appropriately named option disable_display. Setting this option prevents the module from trying to activate a display. By passing i915.disable_display=1 to the kernel options, along with the BIOS settings burg3 provided, prevents the IPMI VGA disconnecting. And /dev/dri still shows up! I need to test this with Plex HW transcoding still, but I'm confident it's going to work.

 

@Tybio: maybe this board could last you 10 years after all!!!

Edited by rinseaid
Updated with module option finding
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On 2/5/2019 at 4:46 PM, burg3 said:

I don't use unraid yet, but I can confirm I have IPMI VGA remote console working alongside with working IGFX Quicksync or other 3D offloading tasks.
This is working with either Windows physical machine or in ESXI where you setup Intel IGFX for passthrough so your VM can use Quicksync (tested with Windows VM)
I was not able achieve simultaneous picture from IPMI VGA remote console and IGFX connected digital display though.
Either IPMI VGA has active display or IGFX, but not both at same time, I guess this really BIOS limitation, but at least you should be able to use Quicksync with IPMI VGA remote console.


X11SCA-F BIOS settings

Primary Display : PCI
Internal Graphics: Enable

after reboot IGFX GOP Version is populated in BIOS.

 

Other observations with this board someone could use.
Passthrough of motherboard AHCI controller is possible with ESXI, but only when you boot your VM with BIOS. With EFI VM gets powered off.
You can use HDD ATA Security with compatible drives (User HDD Password)

 

 

On 2/7/2019 at 7:41 AM, rinseaid said:

My understanding is that blacklisting a module prevents it from automatically loading, but when manually loading the module with modprobe it overrides the blacklist. The modprobe is required to get the /dev/dri device to show up, which is needed to use QuickSync.

 

Edit:

Good news! Thinking about loading the module got me wondering that maybe there was an option to disable display output. After some searching, I found the appropriately named option disable_display. Setting this option prevents the module from trying to activate a display. By passing i915.disable_display=1 to the kernel options, along with the BIOS settings burg3 provided, prevents the IPMI VGA disconnecting. And /dev/dri still shows up! I need to test this with Plex HW transcoding still, but I'm confident it's going to work.

 

@Tybio: maybe this board could last you 10 years after all!!!

 

Hi, i plan to buy this board and i came across this topic,

thing is. I dont virtualize, it's a regular physical server and i plan to use quicksync for Emby,

2 questions :

1. Any potential issues with i7 8700? Since it's non-xeon

2. How would i achieve above with my setup? from my understanding those are unraid setup yes?

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, cemaranet said:

 

 

Hi, i plan to buy this board and i came across this topic,

thing is. I dont virtualize, it's a regular physical server and i plan to use quicksync for Emby,

2 questions :

1. Any potential issues with i7 8700? Since it's non-xeon

2. How would i achieve above with my setup? from my understanding those are unraid setup yes?

 

 

 

I am using the i7-8700 in my build, so you'll be good with that CPU. As long as you use the BIOS settings and syslinux.cfg listed in this thread, you will be able to expose the iGFX to unRAID, and should then be able to map the devices to the Emby Docker. This has been explained in other threads, so I'm just confirming that this will work in theory specific to this hardware configuration.

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1 hour ago, rinseaid said:

I am using the i7-8700 in my build, so you'll be good with that CPU. As long as you use the BIOS settings and syslinux.cfg listed in this thread, you will be able to expose the iGFX to unRAID, and should then be able to map the devices to the Emby Docker. This has been explained in other threads, so I'm just confirming that this will work in theory specific to this hardware configuration.

Thanks rinseaid, but i don't use unraid at all, i think i signed up in this forum long time ago, 

but i havent tried unraid yet because of hardware issue.

(And besides, i'm using drivepool now, so i'm not sure how both of them would work together)

Glad to hear the CPU is compatible, but how would i do the same for non-unraid physical server?

More specifically, i'm talking about this,

 

Quote

By passing i915.disable_display=1 to the kernel options,

 

the BIOS part i can understand, but i can't figure out how to do that, the OS is windows 2016 server btw,

Edited by cemaranet
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17 hours ago, cemaranet said:

Thanks rinseaid, but i don't use unraid at all, i think i signed up in this forum long time ago, 

but i havent tried unraid yet because of hardware issue.

(And besides, i'm using drivepool now, so i'm not sure how both of them would work together)

Glad to hear the CPU is compatible, but how would i do the same for non-unraid physical server?

More specifically, i'm talking about this,

 

 

the BIOS part i can understand, but i can't figure out how to do that, the OS is windows 2016 server btw,

That's a linux kernel option, so unfortunately I'm not sure how you would achieve this with a Windows server.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Quick update for anyone else looking into this board. In BIOS revision 1.0a, when activating the iGPU any external GPU would be disabled and not show up in lspci. After applying BIOS 1.0b, this now works. So, it's possible to have the BMC VGA adapter for iKVM, iGPU for hardware transcoding/passthrough, and at least one additional PCI-E GPU (I've only tested a single GPU).

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/1/2019 at 4:28 PM, rinseaid said:

Quick update for anyone else looking into this board. In BIOS revision 1.0a, when activating the iGPU any external GPU would be disabled and not show up in lspci. After applying BIOS 1.0b, this now works. So, it's possible to have the BMC VGA adapter for iKVM, iGPU for hardware transcoding/passthrough, and at least one additional PCI-E GPU (I've only tested a single GPU).

Hi @rinseaid,

 

What settings did you use to get passthrough to work while still using the BMC VGA adapter? Will it only work for iKVM or can I use a VGA monitor?

 

Currently I've tried setting to PCI with Internal Graphics: Enable but nothing shows up for the GOP version, just 0000. When I tried setting to IGFX instead of PCI, I lose VGA and ESXi can't find the details, just that it is Intel(R) VGA compatible controller.

 

I am on BIOS 1.0b and using legacy boot from my ESXi USB key. No other settings have been modified.

 

Thanks. -MandalorePatriot

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7 hours ago, MandalorePatriot said:

Hi @rinseaid,

 

What settings did you use to get passthrough to work while still using the BMC VGA adapter? Will it only work for iKVM or can I use a VGA monitor?

 

Currently I've tried setting to PCI with Internal Graphics: Enable but nothing shows up for the GOP version, just 0000. When I tried setting to IGFX instead of PCI, I lose VGA and ESXi can't find the details, just that it is Intel(R) VGA compatible controller.

 

I am on BIOS 1.0b and using legacy boot from my ESXi USB key. No other settings have been modified.

 

Thanks. -MandalorePatriot

So I played around with this and got it working, though ESXi doesn't list the full details of the UHD P630 iGPU. I'm using the Xeon E-2146G with the X11SCA-F on BIOS 1.0b. I set graphics to PCI and enabled Internal Graphics. Once in ESXi, I enabled Passthrough on the Intel Display Controller (doesn't show details) and added it to an Ubuntu 18.04 server.

 

In Ubuntu, it again does not show up as the Intel UHD P630, even with drivers. I had to remove the SVGA that ESXi adds (losing console access) but only the display controller remains. Tested Plex hardware transcoding and it works!

 

I also installed intel-gpu-tools so I could run intel_gpu_top and see the performance of the iGPU. I mostly followed this guide - https://elatov.github.io/2018/04/esxi-65-passthrough-video-card-to-plex-vm/.

 

Got everything working beautifully and really enjoying this CPU with motherboard. It's been a major hassle getting it right, but now I am very pleased with it and the iGPU allows decoding and encoding of almost every media type.

 

-MandalorePatriot

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19 hours ago, MandalorePatriot said:

Got everything working beautifully and really enjoying this CPU with motherboard. It's been a major hassle getting it right, but now I am very pleased with it and the iGPU allows decoding and encoding of almost every media type.

Glad to hear you got it working! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm curious to know if anyone has tested this on 6.7.0-rc6. I'm setting up a new server now with an x11sca-f and an e-2146g. I've got the BIOS set as shown in this thread and the kernel option for i915.disable_display=1 in my syslinux.cfg. I'm getting disconnected from my ipmi session as soon as I load the i915 driver.

 

I feel like I'm missing something...

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To close the loop on this, I was missing something.

 

I noticed there was a version showing for IGFX VBOIS in the BIOS but not GOP. I changed the video option ROM from Legacy to UEFI. Additionally, I changed the primary PCIE device from 'Auto' to 'On Board'.

 

the i915 driver now loads and I can maintain video via ipmi.

 

(Just in case someone else runs into the same issue)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm considering this board for a new Unraid build. I'm not too familiar with how shared LAN ports for IPMI work. I did some reading, but still have questions.

 

Is the 210 NIC better than the 219 one from Intel? I've read on the Intel forums from an Intel rep that main difference is that the 210 has 802.1qav, which as far as I know, I wouldn't be using. I know the 210 is quite popular for server NIC's, so I'd rather use that, but I don't know that I should even bother with using Link Aggregation across 2 ports for my Unraid server. I'm not convinced I'll reap any benefits performance wise based on my usage. So if not planning to do that, I could keep the IPMI port dedicated to it, which is the 210, then use the 219 for Unraid. But is it a big deal to share the port with IPMI? But if the other port is unused, why bother sharing the port? One extra cable plugged into my switch doesn't matter to me. There is a space because I wanted to keep the idea of Link Aggregation open, so any recommendations? Thanks.

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  • 2 months later...

Apologies for reviving an old thread but I too am considering this MB for a new Unraid build.

I plan on running build this headless using only the browser and IPMI web interfaces for configuration and control.

The main use for this will be Plex transcoding using the iGPU.  I have a spare EVGA 970 that I can install if the iGPU becomes overloaded.

 

Should I pull the trigger and purchase this?

 

Thanks

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On 7/4/2019 at 2:22 PM, bwnautilus said:

Apologies for reviving an old thread but I too am considering this MB for a new Unraid build.

I plan on running build this headless using only the browser and IPMI web interfaces for configuration and control.

The main use for this will be Plex transcoding using the iGPU.  I have a spare EVGA 970 that I can install if the iGPU becomes overloaded.

 

Should I pull the trigger and purchase this?

 

Thanks

 

I've been happy with 2 of these boards, both running the i7-8700 CPU. One is used with a PCI-E GPU and the other without. The performance for me has been great. One thing I wanted to note, I recently updated one of the boards to unRAID 6.7.2. The server started segfaulting/hard crashing a lot. I applied BIOS update 1.0c and so far, so good. Not sure if it was just a coincidence.

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  • 1 month later...

There seems to be 2 versions, F and F-O

Is the difference between them only additional VGA port?

 

Also, what's the conclusion of the IGPu and IPMI with the newest BIOS?

 

I plan to use 3 of these, but one of them requires quicksync for Blueiris, the other 2 i probably will need igpu just for direct access, which can be subtituted by IPMI i guess

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/2/2019 at 5:28 AM, rinseaid said:

Quick update for anyone else looking into this board. In BIOS revision 1.0a, when activating the iGPU any external GPU would be disabled and not show up in lspci. After applying BIOS 1.0b, this now works. So, it's possible to have the BMC VGA adapter for iKVM, iGPU for hardware transcoding/passthrough, and at least one additional PCI-E GPU (I've only tested a single GPU).

Hi rinseaid, i just got this board, 

I plan to use quicksync for emby and blueiris,

But i dont wanna lose ipmi functionality

I'm not using any gpu, just an lsi sas card.

I cant seem to find the settings to change the primary display to igpu, the bios is already 1.0c, Am i missing something here? 

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Well, i managed to get quicksync working with IGPU enabled.

And the monitor goes through HDMI.

IPMI is also working, but not the IKVM,

Is it possible to have IKVM working with HDMI display and quicksync enabled?

 

On 2/5/2019 at 4:46 PM, burg3 said:

I don't use unraid yet, but I can confirm I have IPMI VGA remote console working alongside with working IGFX Quicksync or other 3D offloading tasks.
This is working with either Windows physical machine or in ESXI where you setup Intel IGFX for passthrough so your VM can use Quicksync (tested with Windows VM)
I was not able achieve simultaneous picture from IPMI VGA remote console and IGFX connected digital display though.
Either IPMI VGA has active display or IGFX, but not both at same time, I guess this really BIOS limitation, but at least you should be able to use Quicksync with IPMI VGA remote console.


X11SCA-F BIOS settings

Primary Display : PCI
Internal Graphics: Enable

after reboot IGFX GOP Version is populated in BIOS.

 

Other observations with this board someone could use.
Passthrough of motherboard AHCI controller is possible with ESXI, but only when you boot your VM with BIOS. With EFI VM gets powered off.
You can use HDD ATA Security with compatible drives (User HDD Password)

 

@burg3 I dont see PCI as primary display, or do you have GPU installed on the machine? 

Edited by cemaranet
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  • 1 month later...

Well i finally found the settings, turns out its inside CPU settings, silly me.

But i ran into another problem, IKVM only works during BIOS, on windows it shows black screen.

Tried chrome, IPMIview, console redirection. IPMI view android, But all are the same.

checked the firmware and it's already up to date,

 

any thoughts?

 

Edit : turns out i have to unplug the monitor!

It's working now, thank goodness.

Edited by cemaranet
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  • 4 weeks later...

@burg3, @rinseaid. @cemaranet, and @cheezdog can any of y’all verify if these are the settings that need to be done to get IPMI/BMC working with QuickSync active at the same time? I’ve been really thinking about going with a E-2278G (if Provantage can ever get one) and a X11SCA-F for my Plex server upgrade. I just want to completely understand what settings are needed to make it work if I go this route.

 

 

C9EF2ED8-1295-402D-858C-039C1F719F03.jpeg

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@ramblinreck47 I'm using windows server with physical machine, not unraid, and i managed to do it with above settings except syslinux.cfg 

The Primary display settings was a bit tricky to find, i think i had to go through display agent menu or something (CMIIW)

Just a catch though, you wont be able to use any monitor, the IKVM will display black screen if you plug it to a monitor.

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