FreeIPMI Bugs, Issues, and Workarounds

by 

Albert Chu
chu11@llnl.gov
Last Updated: December 29, 2014

The following are some short descriptions of the issues I've found
while developing FreeIPMI on various motherboards.  The descriptions
below also describe workarounds I've had to implement to get around
issues.  When possible, the motherboards these issues were found on
are also documented.

Each of the issues below is listed under one of the following
categories:

[COMPLIANCE] - IPMI implementations that are out of compliance with
               the IPMI specification.  These issues range from simple
               bugs in the implementation, to misinterpretation of the
               IPMI specification, to flag out illegal
               implementations.

[INTERPRETATION] - Interpretation ambiguity between multiple vendors
                   and the IPMI specification.

[IMPLEMENTATION] - Implementations that are legal IPMI
                   implementations, but implementation choices makes
                   IPMI poorer, confusing, or more difficult to use.

For the record, I have nothing against the vendors and the products
that have these issues.  I am just as prone to programming bugs as
they are.  The IPMI specification is gigantic and mistakes will
happen.  I expect some design decisions were made for time to release,
cost, customer needs, etc. too.  This documentation is mostly for
historical purposes, people searching for information, and to document
the difficulty of developing portable IPMI code.

----------------------
| Inband IPMI Issues |
----------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Inband IPMI Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  The SMBIOS/DMI tables do not properly indicate that KCS base address
  is IO instead of memory-mapped.

  Seen on: HP ProLiant DL145 G1

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to use
  memory-mapped IO.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------
| LAN Authentication Issues |
-----------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

LAN Authentication Issue #1: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  BMCs would not respond to retransmissions of a Get Session Challenge
  Request if a previous Get Session Challenge response was lost.

  Seen on: Intel SR870BN4/Tiger 4

  Resolution: Workaround added to send retransmitted Get Session
  Challenge requests from a different source port.

LAN Authentication Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  The only authentication supported by the motherboard is an OEM
  specific authentication.  IPMI specification requires several
  non-OEM authentication mechanisms.

  Seen on: Undocumented Motherboard

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Undocumented motherboard was an early Supermicro motherboard
  with IPMI support, but I never documented which one (achu).

LAN Authentication Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE]

  The initial outbound sequence number on activate session response is
  off by one.  The activate session response packet is supposed to
  contain the initial outbound sequence number passed during the
  request.

  Seen on: Intel SE7520JR2 with National Semiconductor PC87431M mBMC,
  Intel SE7520AF2 with Intel Server Management Module (Professional
  Edition)

  Resolution: Initially, workaround was done to accept off by one
  sequence number.  Later when packet windows were implemented, the
  situation was automatically handled.

LAN Authentication Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE]

  The IPMI 2.0 packet responses for RAKP 2 have payload lengths that
  are off by 1 (i.e. an invalid length).

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to handle the
  invalid length.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

LAN Authentication Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE]

  Username capabilities and/or K_g status are not reported properly by
  the Get Authentication Capabilities response.

  Seen on: Asus P5M2, Asus P5MT-R, Asus S162-E4, Asus RX4, Sun Fire
  X4150, Sun Fire X4450, Intel SR1520ML, Intel X38ML

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore
  flags in the Get Authentication Capabilities response.

LAN Authentication Issue #6: [COMPLIANCE] 

  The IPMI_PRIVILEGE_LEVEL_HIGHEST_LEVEL flag does not work in the
  Open Session phase of IPMI 2.0 connections.  The Open Session
  response seems to simply return the privilege level passed in the
  request (i.e. the IPMI_PRIVILEGE_LEVEL_HIGHEST_LEVEL flag rather
  than the actual highest level privilege that can be used).

  Seen on: Intel SE7520AF2 with Intel Server Management Module
  (Professional Edition)

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to not pass
  IPMI_PRIVILEGE_LEVEL_HIGHEST_LEVEL and pass a specific privilege
  level.

LAN Authentication Issue #7: [COMPLIANCE]

  The username field is incorrectly padded during IPMI 2.0
  authentication, leading to invalid keys.

  Seen on: Intel SE7520AF2 with Intel Server Management Module
  (Professional Edition)

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to adjust the
  username when authenticating.

LAN Authentication Issue #8: [COMPLIANCE]

  When the authentication algorithm is HMAC-MD5-128 and the password
  is greater than 16 bytes, the Intel BMC incorrectly truncates the
  password to 16 bytes when generating keys, leading to invalid keys.

  Seen on: Intel SE7520AF2 with Intel Server Management Module
  (Professional Edition)

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to adjust the
  password when authenticating.

LAN Authentication Issue #9: [COMPLIANCE]

  During the RAKP4 response, the integrity check value is incorrectly
  calculated based on the integrity algorithm instead of the
  authentication algorithm.

  Seen on: Intel SE7520AF2 with Intel Server Management Module
  (Professional Edition)

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to look for
  and handle this situation.

LAN Authentication Issue #10: [COMPLIANCE]

  During the RAKP3 request, the name_only_lookup field must be
  disabled, it cannot be enabled.

  Seen on: Intel SE7520AF2 with Intel Server Management Module
  (Professional Edition)

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to disable
  the field.
  
LAN Authentication Issue #11: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cipher suite IDs are are incorrectly attached to specific privilege
  levels rather than a maximum privilege level limit.  So you can only
  authenticate at the configured privilege level rather than a
  privilege level <= to it.

  Seen on: Undocumented Motherboard

  Resolution: By passing IPMI_PRIVILEGE_LEVEL_HIGHEST_LEVEL during the
  session establishment instead of the specific privilege level, the
  problem is avoided.

  Notes: Undocumented motherboard was an early Tyan motherboard with
  IPMI 2.0 support, but never documented which one (achu).

LAN Authentication Issue #12: [COMPLIANCE]

  During a RAKP2 response, the key exchange authentication code is the
  wrong length.

  Seen on: Sun Fire 4100 with ILOM

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to handle the
  invalid length.

LAN Authentication Issue #13: [COMPLIANCE]

  The remote BMC incorrectly calculates keys using the privilege
  specified in the open session stage rather than the privilege used
  during the RAKP1 stage.  This can be problematic if you specify
  IPMI_PRIVILEGE_LEVEL_HIGHEST_LEVEL during that stage instead of a
  specific privilege level (i.e. operator).

  Seen on: Sun Fire X4150, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Supermicro
  X8DTH, Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU, Intel S5500WBV/Penguin
  Relion 700, Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X, Quanta QSSC-S4R/Appro
  GB812X-CN

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to pass a
  specific privilege level instead of
  IPMI_PRIVILEGE_LEVEL_HIGHEST_LEVEL.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell
  Xanadu II.  Due to legacy, vendor reports will not fix on Intel
  S5500WBV/Penguin Relion 700 and Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X.

LAN Authentication Issue #14: [COMPLIANCE]

  Given specific configuration of IPMI 1.5 authentication types,
  certain user privileges are not specified correctly during Get
  Authentication Capabilities and a CCh = "Invalid data field in
  request" is returned during Activiate Session.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell
  Xanadu II.

LAN Authentication Issue #15: [COMPLIANCE]

  Disabling a specific cipher suite ID does not prohibit a user from
  continuing to use that cipher suite ID.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU, MSI MS-91D2, Intel
  Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: None

LAN Authentication Issue #16: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cipher suites 0 fails to authenticate.  During the RAKP4
  communication, an integrity key is returned, when it in fact should
  be 0 length.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU, Intel S5500WBV/Penguin
  Relion 700, Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore the
  non-zero length field.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro X8DTG,
  Supermicro X8DTU, Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X.

LAN Authentication Issue #17: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cipher suites 7 and 8 fail to establish a session.  Authentication
  codes are not returned for session packets, therefore packets are
  dropped as they are viewed as malformed.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro X8DTG,
  Supermicro X8DTU.

LAN Authentication Issue #18: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cipher suites 11 and 12 fail to establish a session.  Authentication
  codes returned are incorrect.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro X8DTG,
  Supermicro X8DTU.

LAN Authentication Issue #19: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  When attempting to authenticate with a disabled Cipher Suite ID, a
  0Ah status ("Unauthorized role or privelege level requested.") is
  returned instead of 11h ("No Cipher Suite match with proposed
  security algorithms.").  The resulting error message is confusing.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG

  Resolution: None

LAN Authentication Issue #20: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  When attempting to authenticate with a disabled Cipher Suite ID, a
  12h status ("Illegal or Unrecognized parameter.") is returned
  instead of 11h ("No Cipher Suite match with proposed security
  algorithms.").  The resulting error message is confusing.

  Seen on: MSI MS-91D2

  Resolution: None

LAN Authentication Issue #21: [COMPLIANCE]

  The tag bits for some of the cipher records are wrong.

  Seen on: Sun Fire 4100 with ILOM

  Resolution: Workaround added to parse unique cipher suite records.

LAN Authentication Issue #22: [COMPLIANCE]

  The motherboard reports support of Cipher Suite ID 15, however when
  attemption authenticate with it, it is reported as unsupported.

  Seen on: Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware.

LAN Authentication Issue #23: [COMPLIANCE]

  The motherboard allows IPMI 1.5 authentication when > 16 byte
  passwords are configured.  It appears the motherboard allows users
  to authenticate using the 16 byte equivalent truncated password.
  This violates the text in Table 22-35, which states "A password that
  has been stored as a 20-byte password cannot be used for
  establishing an IPMI v1.5 session."

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG-D 

LAN Authentication Issue #24: [COMPLIANCE]

  When activating a session, the remote system requires that the
  "maximum privilege requested" specified in the request be identical
  to the maximum set for a user.  It cannot be less than it.  When
  this occurs, an error of 0xD4 ("Cannot execute command due to
  insufficient privilege level") is unexpectedly returned.

  Seen on: Xyratex HB-F8-SRAY

  Resolution: Specify specific privilege level to workaround this
  issue.

LAN Authentication Issue #24: [COMPLIANCE]

  When authenticating with the 'straight password key' authentication
  type, all responses from a session contain an empty authentication
  code.

  Seen on: Xyratex HB-F8-SRAY

  Resolution: Workaround added to ignore these invalid authentication
  codes.

LAN Authentication Issue #25: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cannot authenticate with a user without assigning privilege limit of
  Administrator.

  Seen on: Xyratex HB-F8-SRAY

  Resolution: None

LAN Authentication Issue #26: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cannot authenticate with IPMI 1.5, authentication code generated
  incorrectly.

  Seen on: Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: Workaround added to ignore these invalid authentication
  codes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------
| LAN Session Issues |
----------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

LAN Session Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  There is no response from the IPMI close command if a RESET is
  executed.

  Seen on: Intel SR870BN4/Tiger 4

  Resolution: Workaround added to close session without waiting for
  response.

LAN Session Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  After the IPMI session is brought up, packet responses return empty
  session IDs (i.e. 00000000h) to the client.

  Seen on: Tyan S2882 with m3289 BMC

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to accept
  empty session IDs.
  
  Notes: Problem is reported to be fixed in newer firmware for Tyan
  S2882 with m3289 BMC.

LAN Session Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE]

  When Per-Message Authentication is disabled, packet responses
  contain non-null authentication data when they should be null.

  Seen on: Dell PowerEdge 2850, Dell Poweredge SC1425

  Resolution: Workaround option added to verify unexpected non-null
  authentication codes as though they were expected.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Dell PowerEdge 2850,
  Dell Poweredge SC1425.

LAN Session Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE]

  The remote BMC will advertise that Per Message Authentication is
  disabled, but actually require it for the protocol. 

  Seen on: IBM eServer 325

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to use Per
  Message Authentication no matter what is advertised by the remote
  BMC.

  Notes: Differs from Session Issue #5 below in resolution.

LAN Session Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE]

  The remote BMC will advertise that Per Message Authentication is
  disabled, but actually require it for the protocol.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: Workaround added to notice this condition and re-enable
  Per Message Authentication.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

LAN Session Issue #6: [COMPLIANCE]

  Session sequence numbers have the wrong endian during IPMI 1.5
  sessions.

  Seen on: Sun Fire 4100 with ILOM

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to handle
  incorrect endian sequence numbers.

LAN Session Issue #7: [COMPLIANCE]

  LAN session headers contain invalid checksums.

  Seen on: Supermicro X9SCM-iiF, Supermicro X9DRi-F, Supermicro X9DRFR

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore bad
  checksums.

LAN Session Issue #8: [INTERPRETATION]

  LAN session is restricted to callback privilege level when
  "user_restricted_to_callback" field is enabled.  The field was
  initially used only for serial connections.  It appears, most
  vendors ignore the field if a LAN connection is used.  However, some
  vendors (such as below) honor the field.  By honoring the field, a
  session can never be authenticated at privilege level above
  CALLBACK, leading to almost no IPMI commands being able to be used.

  Seen on: Gigabyte MD90-FS0-ZB

  Resolution: None

LAN Session Issue #9: [COMPLIANCE]

  On some motherboards IPMI over LAN can be done in shared mode or
  dedicated mode.  When operating in shared mode LAN session sequence
  numbers "skip" (i.e. 1, 3, 5) instead of be sequential (i.e. 1, 2,
  3) as normal behavior during a specific session.  The problem is not
  exhibited during dedicated mode.

  Seen on: ASROCK MT-C224

  Resolution: None, the probability of a session drop is only
  increased because the session window is effectively cut in half.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------
| SDR Issues |
--------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SDR Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  The record count reported by a Get SDR Repository Info command is
  not consistent to the number of records that exist on the
  motherboard.

  Seen on: Fujitsu RX 100, Fujitsu RX300/200-S8

  Resolution: Workaround added to recognize situation and adjust count.

SDR Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  The record ID returned from a Get SDR Record command is sometimes
  different from the record ID passed in.

  Seen on: Supermicro X6-DHR-1G with BMC2.0 daughter card

  Resolution: No resolution in FreeIPMI required.  Resolved in
  IPMItool with workaround to detect issue and use input record ID
  instead of output record ID.

SDR Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE]

  When reading a SDR record, sometimes records list an invalid excess
  number of bytes.  For example, the SDR record is 15 bytes long, but
  a record of length 20 is indicated.

  Seen on: HP Proliant DL585G7

  Resolution: Workaround added to adjust and handle the correct length
  of the record.

SDR Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE]

  When reading SDR records, the SDR last record id record is not
  implemented, leading to errors when reading the SDR.

  Seen on: Unspecified Inspur motherboard

  Resolution: Workaround added to stop reading records after
  recognized max.

SDR Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE]

  When reading an entire SDR record (with
  IPMI_SDR_READ_ENTIRE_RECORD_BYTES_TO_READ) the response returns
  fewer bytes than the actual length of the record.  This leads to
  issues later during SDR caching.  When reading SDR records with
  partial reads, things work correctly.

  Seen on: Xyratex HB-F8-SRAY

  Resolution: Workaround added to detect issue and do parital reads
  instead.

SDR Issue #6: [COMPLIANCE]

  Retrieving sensors results in a "IPMI Internal Error" b/c a "Get SDR
  Repository Info" command is not supported on the motherboard
  (completion code 0xC1).

  Seen on: Artesyn ATCA-7367

  Resolution: None

SDR Issue #7: [COMPLIANCE]

  Retrieving sensors results in a "IPMI Internal Error" b/c a "Reserve
  SDR Repository" command is not supported on the motherboard
  (completion code 0xC1).

  Seen on: Artesyn ATCA-7367

  Resolution: None

----------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------
| Serial-Over-LAN Issues |
--------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  Serial breaks are not supported/do not work.

  Seen on: Undocumented Motherboard

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Undocumented motherboard was an early Tyan motherboard with
  IPMI support 2.0, but I never documented which one (achu).

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  SOL payload sizes are reported incorrectly.

  Seen on: Asus P5M2, Asus P5MT-R, Asus S162-E4, Asus RX4, Intel
  SR1520ML, Intel X38ML, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Supermicro
  X8DTH, Supermicro X8DTH-iF, Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU,
  Quanta QSSC-S4R/Appro GB812X-CN, Intel S5500WBV/Penguin Relion 700

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore
  payload size checks and assume reasonable maximums.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell
  Xanadu II.  Problem is reported to be fixed in newer firmware for
  Supermicro X8DTH-iF.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE]

  A non-default SOL port is specified but not functional.

  Seen on: Asus P5M2, Asus P5MT-R

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore the
  non-default port and assume the default SOL port is still used.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get Channel Payload Support command is not supported.

  Seen on: Sun Fire 4100 with ILOM, Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell,
  Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to skip this
  point in the SOL state machine.

  Notes: This command is optional in the IPMI spec, it is not optional
  if SOL is supported.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE]

  SOL sessions are not deactivated after a Deactivate Payload request,
  despite the response indicating success.  This could lead to a loop
  that continually believes a SOL session is active, tries to
  deactivate it, believes it is deactivated, then checks again if it
  is active.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: Code added to error after a number of failed deactivations.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.  This is similar to issue #17 below.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #6: [COMPLIANCE]

  When a new IPMI session is started and steals the SOL session from a
  previous one, the initial SOL session is not sent a "SOL is
  deactivating" flag in a "BMC to Remote Console" packet.  The initial
  IPMI session should eventually time out, but the closing is not
  clean.

  In some cases, the IPMI session may "stay alive" and it is only
  serial data that may time out, leading to a situation that may be
  very similar to Serial-Over-LAN Issue #8.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card, Inventec
  5441/Dell Xanadu II, Inventec 5442/Dell Xanadu III, Dell Poweredge
  R610, Dell Poweredge R710, Quanta S99Q/Dell FS12-TY, Supermicro
  X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU, Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X, Quanta
  QSSC-S4R/Appro GB812X-CN, Wistron / Dell Poweredge C6220. 
 
  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Inventec
  5442/Dell Xanadu III.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #7: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  During a reboot, SOL packets appear to be temporarily internally
  dropped.  This leads to a large increase in sequence numbers once
  the SOL session is "re-connected".  While the SOL session is
  technically alive, the inability to predict/handle the sequence
  number jump makes the SOL session difficult to handle, as you cannot
  determine if packets are proper retransmissions or not.

  Seen on: Tyan S4811 with SMDC daughter card

  Resolution: Code added to error after a number of consecutive
  invalid packets are received.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #8: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  After a reboot, the SOL session appears to "disconnect" from the
  motherboard's serial chip.  While the IPMI/SOL session is
  technically alive, and character data input from the user is
  accepted by the remote BMC, no character data is sent back from the
  remote motherboard.  The SOL session is subsequently useless.

  Seen on: Intel SR1520ML, Intel X38ML

  Resolution: The SOL session must be closed and restarted.  Code to
  implement "serial NUL pings" may aid software in detecting this
  situation more quickly.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #9: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Activate Payload requires the "BMC asserts CTS and DCD/DSR to
  baseboard upon activation" flag to be set, it is not optional.

  Seen on: Undocumented Motherboard

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Undocumented motherboard is an Intel motherboard.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #10: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  If the remote system requires encryption, but the user attempts to
  connect without encryption, an error response other than "Cannot
  activate payload without encryption" is returned.  The resulting
  error message is confusing.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell
  Xanadu II.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #11: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get Payload Activation Status command is not implemented
  correctly.  The completion code CCh = "Invalid data field in
  request" is returned when attempted.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8SIL-F

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to skip this
  point in the SOL state machine.

  Notes: Problem is reported to be fixed in newer firmware for
  Supermicro X8SIL-F.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #12: [COMPLIANCE]

  The reported SOL port is specified w/ the wrong endian.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTH-iF

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore the
  non-default port and assume the default SOL port is still used.

  Notes: Problem is reported to be fixed in newer firmware for
  Supermicro X8DTH-iF.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #13: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get Payload Activation Status command does not correctly report
  if a previous SOL session was created.

  Seen on: Quanta S99Q/Dell FS12-TY

  Resolution: None

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #14: [COMPLIANCE]

  SOL appears to be allowed regardless of SOL being enabled / disabled
  or a user being enabled / disabled for SOL access.

  Seen on: MSI MS-91D2

  Resolution: None
 
Serial-Over-LAN Issue #15: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Activate / Deactivate Payload commands appear to require Admin
  privileges, regardless of how SOL support is configured.  The IPMI
  specification indicates privilege requirements for executing these
  commands depends on configuration.

  Seen on: MSI MS-91D2

  Resolution: None

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #16: [COMPLIANCE]

  The number of SOL payload instances that can simultaneously be
  activated on a motherboard is always reported as 0, suggesting that
  it cannot be activated.

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge M605, Dell Poweredge M610, Dell Poweredge
  M915

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume the instance capacity is
  really 1 when it is 0.  The assumption is made that the vendor does
  not support multiple instances, which is why it is reported as 0.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #17: [COMPLIANCE] or [IMPLEMENTATION]

  SOL sessions are not deactivated after a Deactivate Payload request.
  Despite the SOL session being active, it appears the BMC does not
  know it is activated, and returns "Payload already deactivated"
  (0x80) completion code.  This could lead to a loop that continually
  believes a SOL session is activated when calling Activate Payload,
  and deactivated when calling Deactivate Payload.
  
  Seen on: Dell Poweredge M605, Dell Poweredge M610, Dell Poweredge
  M915

  Notes: It is possible the Dell BMC does not allow a SOL payload
  deactivation except for the IPMI session that activated the SOL
  payload.  While deactivation of a payload from another IPMI session
  is allowed in IPMI (see Table 15-2 [2]), I am not sure if it is
  required.  So I'm listing this as [COMPLIANCE] or [IMPLEMENTATION].
  This is similar to issue #5 above.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #18: [COMPLIANCE]

  SOL is always reported to have an active session in progress, so no
  SOL session can be created.  This includes after a deactivate
  payload completes successfully.

  It is possible this motherboard does not support SOL.  However, it
  should indicate that early in the session setup (perhaps via the Get
  Channel Payload Support request).

  Seen on: Xyratex HB-F8-SRAY

  Resolution: None

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #19: [COMPLIANCE]

  SOL payload instances are not completely independent of each other.
  Deactivate of SOL payload instance #X may deactivate a different SOL
  payload instance #Y.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG-D, Inventec 5442/Dell Xanadu III
  Resolution: None 

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #20: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Activate Payload requires Serial/modem alerts to be deferred
  instead of failed even though motherboards do not have serial/modem
  ports to communicate over.

  Seen on: Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: Workaround added to defer serial alerts.

Serial-Over-LAN Issue #21: [COMPLIANCE]

  The BMC occassionally gets stuck and an increase in the SOL packet
  sequence number is required to get the machine unstuck.

  Seen on: Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: Workaround added to increase sequence number on severe
  situations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------
| BMC/IPMI Configuration Issues |
---------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  BMC requires that a password must be passed to the Set User Password
  command even if you are just trying to enable/disable a user.  The
  IPMI specification explicitly states that the password is optional
  when enabling/disabling a user.

  Seen on: Sun X4140, Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: Workaround added to detect this situation and retry with
  a dummy password.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  Users cannot be enabled/disabled via Set User Password.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE]

  Test passwords via Set User Password not supported.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE]

  SOL privilege level, Character Send Threshold, SOL Retry Count, and
  SOL Retry interval cannot be modified.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE]

  User access parameters "Enable IPMI Msgs" and "Privilege Limit" are
  not changeable via Set User Access.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #6: [COMPLIANCE] [CONFIG-1]

  Default Channel configuration has a privilege limit of OEM even
  though motherboard does not support an OEM privilege.  Attempts to
  modify sub-fields "piecemeal" within the Set Channel Access command
  fail a parameter out of range error (0xC9).

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #7: [COMPLIANCE]

  Setting a channel privilege limit (e.g. LAN channel privilege limit)
  does not affect authentication and/or execution of IPMI commands
  over LAN.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card, Inventec
  5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Supermicro H8QME with
  SIMSO daughter card.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #8: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  When commiting/writing large amounts of configuration data, some
  data does not get stored or written properly.  It appears that the
  BMC may lose data if overwhelmed with data written to the BMC.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card, Quanta S99Q/Dell
  FS12-TY

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to slow down
  writing of data.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #9: [COMPLIANCE]

  The ability to authenticate under standard IPMI 1.5 authentication
  types (i.e. MD5) OEM authentication to be enabled.  It appears to be
  an internal logic error on the motherboard.

  Seen on: Tyan S4811 with SMDC daughter card

  Resolution: OEM authentication must be enabled in the BMC
  configuration.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #10: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Get Username and Get User Payload commands fail with CCh = "Invalid
  data field in request" if a username was not set previously.

  Seen on: Sun X4140, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: Workaround added to notify user to configure username
  first.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #11: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  User access parameters "Enable IPMI Msgs" and "Privilege Limit" are
  not changeable via Set User Access until a username has been set.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Supermicro X8DTH, Intel
  S5500WBV/Penguin Relion 700

  Resolution: Workaround added to notify user to configure username
  first.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #12: [COMPLIANCE]

  When disabling LAN IPMI via Set User Access "Enable IPMI Msgs", IPMI
  over LAN still works for a user.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell
  Xanadu II.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #13: [COMPLIANCE]

  Setting Non-volatile settings also changes Volatile settings for
  channel configuration via Set Channel Access.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Intel S5500WBV/Penguin Relion
  700, Supermicro X8DTH
  
  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #14: [COMPLIANCE]

  ARP response configuration is not functional even though the BMC ARP
  response is available.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Dell Poweredge R610, Dell
  Poweredge R710

  Resolution: None

  Notes: This command is optional in the IPMI spec, but it is not
  optional if ARP response is supported (see Table 23-4 [2]).
  Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #15: [COMPLIANCE]

  Setting a password using IPMI 2.0 extensions (i.e. up to 20 bytes in
  length) does not work.

  Seen on: Undocumented Motherboard

  Resolution: User must configure password using IPMI 1.5 formatted
  payloads.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #16: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  User cannot be enabled/disabled until after a non-null password has
  been configured.

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge R610, Dell Poweredge R710, Wistron / Dell
  Poweredge C6220.

  Resolution: Workaround added to re-try enable/disable user after
  password set.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #17: [COMPLIANCE] [CONFIG-1]

  Default Authentication Type Enables configure several OEM
  authentications on.  However, the motherboard does not support these
  OEM authentications, and any "piecemeal" configuration of the
  remaining sub-fields results in a bad parameter completion code
  (0xCC).

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge R610, Dell Poweredge R710

  Resolution: Workaround added to notice this circumstance and attempt
  to configure fields simultaneously.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #18: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Read only fields return an error code of 0xD5 (request parameter not
  supported) instead of 0x82 (read only parameter).  The resulting
  error message is confusing.

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge R610, Dell Poweredge R710

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #19: [COMPLIANCE]

  User IPMI messaging being enabled/disabled does not affect
  authentication and/or execution of IPMI commands for the user.

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge R610, Dell Poweredge R710

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #20: [COMPLIANCE]

  Configuring the Subnet Mask will also lead to the "Default Gateway
  IP Address" to be configured.  It appears to be some type of memory
  corruption on the motherboard firmware.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #21: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Several configuration fields, most notably several SOL configuration
  fields, are stored in volatile memory rather than non-volatile
  memory.  These particular configuration fields were not required by
  IPMI to be stored in non-volatile memory, but ultimately is an issue
  b/c it requires users to reconfigure IPMI on every system boot.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Resolved/enhanced in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell
  Xanadu II.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #22: [COMPLIANCE]

  Gratuitous ARP configuration can be enabled, but is not available on
  the system.

  Seen on: Quanta S99Q/Dell FS12-TY

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #23: [COMPLIANCE]

  MAC address is read only, but motherboard does not return read-only
  error when changing the MAC address.  This leads the user to believe
  MAC address can be configured.

  Seen on: Quanta S99Q/Dell FS12-TY
 
  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #24: [COMPLIANCE]

  IPMI over LAN functions only if ARPs are enabled.  If ARPs are
  disabled and you choose to store the MAC address locally in an ARP
  cache, IPMI over LAN will still not function.

  Seen on: Quanta S99Q/Dell FS12-TY

  Resolution: None
 
BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #25: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  A default username cannot be changed.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU, Intel S5500WBV/Penguin Relion 700 

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #26: [COMPLIANCE]

  User access parameters configured via Set User Access do not work
  for some users.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #27: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cipher Suites 6, 7, 8, 11, and 12 are not available on the board,
  but their Cipher Suite's Maximum Privilege Level are configurable,
  suggesting to the user they are available.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #28: [COMPLIANCE]

  Multiple LAN Channels exist, however when asking the BMC how many
  SOL Channels there are, it indicates only 1.  Generally speaking,
  this need not be a bug.  However, for this particular motherboard it
  is.

  Seen on: Intel S5500WBV/Penguin Relion 700

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #29: [COMPLIANCE]

  The number of entries returned from a RMCP+ Messaging Cipher Suite
  Privilege Levels request is not valid.  Not only is it not valid,
  the number of entries does not even match the number of entries
  specified by a RMCP+ Messaging Cipher Suite Entry Support Count
  request.

  Seen on: HP DL145

  Resolution: Workaround added to not output a privilege if one is not
  available.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #30: [COMPLIANCE]

  Cipher Suite 1-16 are listed as supported instead of cipher suites
  0-15.

  Seen on: Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X

  Resolution: Workaround added to detect this specific situation and
  adjust appropriately.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #31: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Some new IPMI configuration are not accepted by the BMC until after
  a system reboot is done.  

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge R610, Dell Poweredge R710, Inventec
  5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

  Notes: A cold reset of the BMC is sufficient to resolve this issue
  on Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II without rebooting the machine.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #32: [COMPLIANCE]

  Motherboard errors out with unspecified password when trying to set
  a new user password (completion code 0x8F).

  Seen on: Wistron / Dell Poweredge C6220 

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Motherboard has internal password requirements leading to
  error.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #33: [COMPLIANCE]

  When retrieving boot flags via Get System Boot Options, the response
  payload under IPMI 2.0 contains an extra 12 bytes of
  unknown/unspecified data.

  Seen on: HP DL380 G5

  Resolution: None 

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #34: [COMPLIANCE]

  Many configuration options return "Parameter Not Supported" (0x80)
  when attempting to set a value, but do not when the parameter is
  being read.  It is likely the firmware writers meant that the
  parameter was read only (0x82).

  Seen on: Xyratex HB-F8-SRAY

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #35: [COMPLIANCE]

  User #1 cannot be enabled/disabled.  It is permanently enabled.

  Seen on: Supermicro X10DDW-i 

  Resolution: None

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #36: [COMPLIANCE] [CONFIG-1]

  Default user privilege limit is RESERVED.  Attempts to
  modify sub-fields "piecemeal" within the Set User Access command
  fail.

  Seen on: Supermicro X10DDW-i

  Resolution: Workaround added to work around this situation.

BMC/IPMI Configuration Issue #37: [COMPLIANCE]

  IPMI LAN session w/ IPMI 1.5 times out after changing a user
  password within the LAN session.

  Seen on: Supermicro X9DRT-HF+

  Resolution: It appeared that this motherboard was still accepting
  request packets using the old Password for the authentication hash
  but was responding with packets using the new Password for the hash.
  Ignoring the authentication code of response packets was sufficient
  to work around the problem.  It was also discovered communicating
  with IPMI 2.0 worked and did not exhibit this problem.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------
| Platform Event Filtering (PEF) Configuration Issues |
-------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Platform Event Filtering Configuration Issue #1: [IMPLEMENTATION] [CONFIG-1]

  Alert Policy configurations cannot be configured "piecemeal".  If
  all fields are not configured perfectly and simultaneously, every
  configuration will result in a completion code of 0xCC (Invalid data
  field in Request).

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Fujitsu RX 100

  Resolution: Workaround added to notice this circumstance and attempt
  to configure fields simultaneously.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------
| Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) Issues |
---------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Field Replaceable Unit Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  Some FRU data has invalid checksums.

  Seen on: Undocumented Motherboard, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II,
  Dell Poweredge R610, Dell Poweredge R710,

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to not check
  checksums.

  Notes: Undocumented motherboard was an Intel Tiger motherboard, but
  never documented which one (achu).

Field Replaceable Unit Issue #2: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  A FRU Chassis Info Area reports an unspecified chassis type.

  Seen on: Quanta S99Q/Dell FS12-TY

  Resolution: None 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------
| Sensors Issues |
------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensors Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  Some sensors don't return a sensor state (16 bit field) although
  only half of the sensor state (8 bit field) is optional.

  Seen on: Dell 2950, Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor state is 0 when this
  occurs.

Sensors Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  Some sensors return sensor states that are illegal.  For example, a
  sensor state of 0x40 is returned, but 0x1 through 0x20 are the only
  legal ones.

  For example, this output occurs in ipmi-sensors for the SuperMicro
  H8SGL-F.

  1411 | PS Status | Power Supply | N/A | N/A | N/A | 'Presence
  detected' 'Unrecognized Event = 0100h' 'Unrecognized Event = 0200h'
  'Unrecognized Event = 0400h' 'Unrecognized Event = 0800h'
  'Unrecognized Event = 1000h' 'Unrecognized Event = 2000h'
  'Unrecognized Event = 4000h'

  Seen on: Dell 2950, SuperMicro X9DRI-LN4F+, SuperMicro H8SGL-F

  Resolution: Workaround added to ignore invalid sensor states.

Sensors Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE] [SENSORS-1]

  Some sensors return
  IPMI_COMP_CODE_REQUEST_SENSOR_DATA_OR_RECORD_NOT_PRESENT (0xCB)
  completion codes for unknown reasons.

  Seen on: Dell 2950

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor not available.

Sensors Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE] [SENSORS-1]

  Some sensors return
  IPMI_COMP_CODE_COMMAND_ILLEGAL_FOR_SENSOR_OR_RECORD_TYPE (0xCD) for
  unknown reasons.

  Seen on: Sun V20Z

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor not available.

Sensors Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE] [SENSORS-1]

  Some sensors return IPMI_COMP_CODE_PARAMETER_OUT_OF_RANGE (0xC9)
  completion codes for unknown reasons.

  Seen on: Dell 2650

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor not available.

Sensors Issue #6: [COMPLIANCE] [SENSORS-1]

  Some sensors return IPMI_COMP_CODE_COMMAND_CANNOT_RESPOND (0xCE)
  completion codes for unknown reasons.

  Seen on: HP ProLiant DL145 G2

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor not available.

Sensors Issue #7: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get Sensor Event Enable command always returns "sensor scanning
  disabled" bit, even if sensor scanning is not disabled.

  Seen on: Sun X4140

  Resolution: None

Sensors Issue #8: [COMPLIANCE]

  Several sensors have invalid Entity IDs.  In other words, not in the
  valid Entity ID range or OEM defined range.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None, generic unknown Entity ID type listed.

Sensors Issue #9: [COMPLIANCE]

  Sensor bridging over IPMI 1.5 fails b/c IPMB respones have invalid
  authentication codes.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Inventec 5442/Dell Xanadu III

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore
  authentication codes in response packets.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5442/Dell
  Xanadu III.

Sensors Issue #10: [COMPLIANCE] [SENSORS-1]

  Some sensors return IPMI_COMP_CODE_REQUEST_PARAMETER_NOT_SUPPORTED
  (0xD5) completion codes for unknown reasons.

  Seen on: Sun Fire X4450 w/ ELOM 3.0.0

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor not available.

Sensors Issue #11: [COMPLIANCE]

  Some sensors report invalid event bitmasks.  For example, when the
  lower critical threshold has not been crossed, the lower critical
  threshold event bitmask is set.

  Seen on: Intel SR2500, Intel SR1500SAS, Intel S5000PAL

  Resolution: None

Sensors Issue #12: [COMPLIANCE]

  Sensors on the motherboard are owned by the BMC, but the SDR reports
  that it is not.  Thus, sensor bridging fails.

  Seen on: HP Proliant DL140 G1, Fujitsu RX300, Fujitsu RX300S2

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to assume the
  sensor owner is the BMC no matter what.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Fujitsu RX300, Fujitsu
  RX300S2.

Sensors Issue #13: [INTERPRETATION] [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Sensors do not assert state bits (i.e. sensor event bitmask)
  consistently to indicate that a sensor is "doing good".  For
  example, for a "Power Supply" sensor, offset 00h (i.e. state 0 or
  bitmask 0x0001) indicates "Presence Detected".  On some motherboards
  this is considered to be the "good" result to see from a "Power Supply"
  sensor reading.  On some other motherboards, the motherboards have
  elected to not return any offset (i.e. no states set or bitmask
  0x0000) when the power supply is fine, electing to only return an
  offset when an actual failure occurs.

  Seen on: Various, this is a general issue.

  Resolution: None

Sensors Issue #14: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Event only sensors are listed in the SDR using a full or compact SDR
  record.  Software is very likely to believe these are sensors that
  are readable, leading to non-optimal performance.

  Seen on: Various, this is a general issue.

  Resolution: None

Sensors Issue #15: [INTERPRETATION]

  SDR records for some sensors list an event/reading type code for a
  discrete sensor, but return an analog reading from a Get Sensor
  Reading command. (The SDR's analog data format indicates an
  analog/threshold based sensor, however no threshold limits for the
  sensor are listed in the SDR.)

  This was discovered when FreeIPMI and IPMItool sensor output
  mismatched.  In FreeIPMI, ipmi-sensors would report discrete states
  (e.g. "At or Below (<=) Lower Non-Critical Threshold") without an
  actual sensor reading (e.g. 100 Watts).  In IPMItool, it would
  output the sensor reading (e.g. 100 Watts) but invalid/incorrect
  discrete states.

  IMO, a SDR record that indicates an analog reading w/ a discrete
  event/reading type code is illegal.  At the minimum it makes no
  sense.  If you report an analog reading without any treshold
  information, what is the use?  While it is not explicitly stated in
  the IPMI specification, this is strongly implied to be wrong.  In
  42.1, it states for threshold sensors, "The Get Sensor Reading
  command for a threshold-based sensor contains the present 'analog'
  reading for the sensor along in addition to the discrete threshold
  comparison status bit field."

  Seen on: HP Proliant DL380 G7, HP ProLiant ML310 G5

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to read the
  sensor reading if there are enough hints it may be available.

Sensors Issue #16: [INTERPRETATION]

  The analog data format lists 4 possible conditions: 00b = unsigned,
  01b = 1's complement, 10b = 2's complement, 11b = does not return
  analog reading.  This strongly suggests that any SDR entry that does
  not report an analog reading should set this field to 11b.  However,
  text below this section states, "If neither thresholds nor analog
  reading are provided, this field should be written as 00h."  Some
  vendors set this field to 00b for non-analog sensors, while others
  set it to 11b.

  Seen on: Various, this is a general issue.

  Resolution: None

Sensors Issue #17: [COMPLIANCE]

  Some sensors report that their sensor scanning is disabled, even
  though the sensor is actually not.

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge 2900, Dell Poweredge 2950, Dell Poweredge
  R410, Dell Poweredge R610, HP Integrity rx3600

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to ignore the
  scanning bit and read a sensor reading regardless of the scanning
  bits value.

Sensors Issue #18: [COMPLIANCE] [SENSORS-1]

  Some sensors return IPMI_COMP_CODE_UNSPECIFIED_ERROR
  (0xFF) completion codes for unknown reasons.

  Seen on: Sun Blade x6250

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor not available.

Sensors Issue #19: [COMPLIANCE] [SENSORS-1]

  Some sensors return IPMI_COMP_CODE_DESTINATION_UNAVAILABLE (0xD3)
  completion codes for unknown reasons.

  Seen on: Sun Blade 6000M2

  Resolution: Workaround added to assume sensor not available.

Sensors Issue #20: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Some sensors are given a unit modifier (i.e. A / B, or A * B) but a
  modifier unit of unspecified.  This leads to sensors with units
  like: "C / unspecified".

  Seen on: Wistron / Dell Poweredge C6220

  Resolution: Workaround added to handle corner case.

Sensors Issue #21: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  Some SDR entries report RPM thresholds that are inconsistent
  and illogical.  For example, a upper critical threshold will be
  reported that is below the nominal reading.

  Seen on: HP DL140 G3 and HP ML160 G6

  Resolution: None

----------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------
| System Event Log (SEL) Issues |
---------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

System Event Log Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  SEL records incorrectly report the generator_id slave address.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: Workaround added to handle this as a special case and
  adjust the generator ID appropriately.

System Event Log Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  Different record ids (e.g. 280 vs. 281) can be used to retrieve
  identical SEL records.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: None

System Event Log Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Reserve SEL IPMI command incorrectly requires an Operator
  privilege Level instead of a User privilege level.

  Seen on: Supermicro H8QME with SIMSO daughter card

  Resolution: Workaround added to simply continue without a
  reservation ID.

System Event Log Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get SEL Entry command is not supported.

  Seen on: HP DL 585

  Resolution: None

System Event Log Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE]

  Some SEL records report illegal record types.

  Seen on: HP DL 380 G5, Intel S2600JF/Appro 512X

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to assume the
  record is a normal system event.

System Event Log Issue #6: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  The SEL contains sensor numbers and sensor owner IDs which are not
  listed in the SDR.  This can lead to an output that contains less
  useful information.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II, Sun Fire X4150

  Resolution: None

System Event Log Issue #7: [IMPLEMENTATION]

  SEL events showing a threshold sensor do not properly report if they
  are going high or going low, which can lead to confusion for
  users. For example, the following set of events might occur.

  Upper Non-critical - going high ; Sensor Reading = 242.00 W ; Threshold = 240.00 W
  Upper Non-critical - going high ; Sensor Reading = 180.00 W ; Threshold = 240.00 W

  The following would be preferred

  Upper Non-critical - going high ; Sensor Reading = 242.00 W ; Threshold = 240.00 W
  Upper Non-critical - going low ; Sensor Reading = 180.00 W ; Threshold = 240.00 W

  It is very likely the implementors only thought of
  asserting/deasserting identical events, without considerations of
  the actual event messages and the resulting output that can occur.

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge C410x

  Resolution: None

  Notes:

  The following SEL output in ipmitool shows how it can lead to even more confusion.

  Upper Non-critical going high | Reading 240 > Threshold 240 Watts
  Upper Non-critical going high | Reading 88 > Threshold 240 Watts

  It reads "88 > 240"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------
| BMC Watchdog Timer Issues |
-----------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BMC Watchdog Timer Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  The timer is running/stopped flag appears to be stuck on "stopped"
  regardless if the timer is running or not.  Functionality may be
  limited due to this.

  Seen on: Sun x4100, Sun x4200, Sun x4500

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to analyze
  countdown rather than flag for running vs stopped state.

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Sun x4100, Sun x4200,
  Sun x4500.

BMC Watchdog Timer Issue #2: [???]

  A reply from a Get Watchdog Timer command returns a packet without
  valid data.

  Seen on: Unspecified Supermicro

  Resolution: Handle special case and retry command.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------
| DCMI Issues |
---------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

DCMI Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  DCMI is reported as available, when it is not.

  Seen on: Inventec 5441/Dell Xanadu II

  Resolution: None

  Notes: Confirmed fixed in newer firmware for Inventec 5441/Dell
  Xanadu II.

DCMI Issue #2: [INTERPRETATION]

  The DCMI spec indicates a potential completion code for the "Get
  Power Limit" command as "No Set Power Limit" (0x80).  FreeIPMI
  originally interpreted this to mean the "Set Power Limit" command
  was not available.  Atleast one vendor interpreted this to mean "No
  Power Limit Set".  One can consider this an English interpretation
  issue of 'No set POWER LIMIT' vs. 'No SET POWER LIMIT' (i.e. is
  "set" a verb or part of a proper noun referencing the DCMI command).
  Confounding this issue is the fact that the example implementation
  in Intel's DCMItool implements the former, while the DCMI
  Conformance test suite implements the latter.  In addition to this,
  with the latter interpretation, it need not be an indication of an
  error, but rather a flag.  So the rest of the packet can be
  completely full of legitimate data.  

  Seen on: Various, this is a general issue.

  Resolution: Code added to handle both interpretations.

DCMI Issue #3: [INTERPRETATION]

  The DCMI 1.1 Specification includes new commands to set the asset
  tag and management controller identifier string.  The payload to
  write these strings is:

  Byte 1   - Group Extension (DCh)
  Byte 2   - Offset to Write
  Byte 3   - Bytes to Write (max 16)
  Byte 4-N - Data

  and the response is:

  Byte 1 - Completion Code
  Byte 2 - Group Extension (DCh)
  Byte 3 - Total Length Written

  The maximum size for both strings is listed at 64 bytes.

  In the spec, it is unclear how this payload is to be used.  It is
  unclear if the "Total Length Written" field is similar to a posix
  write, where <= the bytes passed in may be written.  Or is it an
  indication of the total length of bytes stored?  The management
  identifier string is stated to be NUL terminated, but the asset tag
  is not stated with this requirement.  

  Seen on: Various, this is a general issue.

  Resolution: Code assumes that all 64 bytes of the buffer must be
  overwritten everytime the string is modified.  This seems to be the
  safest approach.

DCMI Issue #4: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Set Asset Tag command does not return the length of the asset
  tag written.

  Seen on: Unspecified Supermicro Motherboard

  Resolution: None

----------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------
| Platform Event Trap (PET) Issues |
------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Platform Event Trap Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  Responses from a PET Acknowledge are invalid and malformed.  The
  payload is short by one byte (i.e. does not contain a completion
  code).

  Seen on: Dell Poweredge R610

  Resolution: Workaround option added to inform software to accept
  malformed packets.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------
| Misc IPMI Issues |
--------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Misc IPMI Issue #1: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get System Info Parameters command incorrectly requires
  administrator privileges rather than the defined user level
  privileges.

  Seen on: MSI MS-91D2

  Resolution: None, user should attempt to authenticate at a higher
  privilege level.

Misc IPMI Issue #2: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get System Info Parameters command returns insufficient
  privilege level (0xD4) even when the privilege level is sufficient.

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTL-3F, Supermicro X9DRFR

  Resolution: None, user should attempt to authenticate at a higher
  privilege level.

Misc IPMI Issue #3: [COMPLIANCE]

  The manufacturer ID specified by the motherboard was invalid
  (i.e. not a valid IANA Enterprise number).

  Seen on: Supermicro X8DTH, Supermicro X8DTG, Supermicro X8DTU

  Resolution: Workaround added to recognize special case IANA number
  as belonging to a specific manufacturer.

Misc IPMI Issue #4: [INTERPRETATION]

  When retrieving the operating system name via Get System Info
  Parameters, the 'set_selector', 'encoding', or 'string_length'
  fields in the response is not set.  It is not clear if this is an
  error in their packet for indicating an unsupported field or an
  empty field.

  Seen on: Bull 510 Blade.

  Resolution: Workaround added to bmc-info to handle special case.

Misc IPMI Issue #5: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get System Info Parameters command returns insufficient
  privilege level (0xD4) regardless of privilege level.

  Seen on: Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: None

Misc IPMI Issue #6: [COMPLIANCE]

  The Get SDR Repository Info command returns insufficient privilege
  level (0xD4) regardless of privilege level.

  Seen on: Wiwynn Windmill

  Resolution: None, user should attempt to authenticate at a higher
  privilege level.

Misc IPMI Issue #7: [COMPLIANCE]

  System does not support RMCP ping/pong.

  Seen on: Intel Windmill, Quanta Winterfell, Wiwynn Windmill

----------------------------------------------------------------------

------------
| Appendix |
------------

[CONFIG-1]

To see a discussion on why this implementation is poor, please see
"Configuration tool callback design" in the freeipmi-design.txt
document.

[SENSORS-1]

In all liklihood, these are all circumstances that the vendor wanted
to say "this sensor isn't available on this motherboard".  It is
ironic that there are so many error codes vendors are returning for
this circumstance.  It's also strange that so many vendors don't set
the "reading unavailable" or "sensor scanning disabled" bit when
returning the Get Sensor Reading command.  But I digress.

I get the impression vendors try to put the same SDR on multiple
motherboards, regardless of whether a motherboard can even have a
sensor reading/event represented by that SDR entry, leading to the
strange range of error codes.

The best thing vendors could do is have an SDR for each motherboard
that is actually legit.  The IPMI spec strongly suggests this as well:

"Sensor Data Records are data records that contain information about
the type and number of sensors in the platform ..." (1.7.7).

"The SDR Repository is intended to hold information indicating the set
of management controllers, sensors, and FRU Devices that is expected
to be in the system ... For example, suppose the baseboard had
connectors for five fans, but only the first four were supposed to be
populated.  The SDRs for the system would report four fan sensors ..."
(33)

