Re: [Freeipmi-devel] Retrieving BIOS information via IPMI

[Vinny Vallarine]

Ah, interesting.  So if the Vendor(s) we're interfacing with use the same rev 
number for all their device firmware, I may be able to simply query for the 
IPMI firmware version number, correct?  Assuming this is part of the IPMI spec?



-----Original Message-----
From: Al Chu [mailto:address@hidden 
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2014 12:50 PM
To: Vinny Vallarine
Cc: address@hidden
Subject: RE: [Freeipmi-devel] Retrieving BIOS information via IPMI

On Mon, 2014-01-06 at 12:41 -0500, Vinny Vallarine wrote:
> Thanks Al.  
> 
>  
> 
> I'd be content at the moment to be able to retrieve the BIOS version 
> number.  Sounds like something as simple as that would be Vendor 
> specific, correct?

Yes & no.

My recollection is that nothing in the IPMI spec allows you to specifically 
retrieve the "BIOS" version.  However, many vendors flash all of their device 
firmware (BIOS + IPMI firmware, etc.) with the same image.  So many of the 
device/system versions retrieved via IPMI may in fact be identical to the BIOS 
version. 

>  
> 
> We're interfacing with SuperMicro main boards. I know they have 
> specific tools to do exactly what I need to do so I'm assuming they've 
> added the needed extensions.
> 

You may be in luck.  There is an extensions for Supermicro firmware versions in 
ipmi-oem.  However, again, it's not necessarily the BIOS version.

Al

> 
> I'll check out your suggestions to see what is configurable and what 
> the vendors have added.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks,
> 
>  
> 
> Vinny
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Al Chu [mailto:address@hidden
> Sent: Monday, January 06, 2014 12:24 PM
> To: Vinny Vallarine
> Cc: address@hidden
> Subject: Re: [Freeipmi-devel] Retrieving BIOS information via IPMI
> 
>  
> 
> Hi Vinny,
> 
>  
> 
> The IPMI specification does not support the ability to retrieve/modify 
> BIOS options per se.  The IPMI specification does allow modification 
> of various motherboard parameters, many of which may happen to be 
> readable/modifiable/managed by the BIOS.
> 
>  
> 
> So if you are looking to use IPMI for querying the BIOS, it really 
> depends on what you would like to query.  Not everything in the BIOS 
> will be queryable.
> 
>  
> 
> For example, the chassis subsection of IPMI allows the configuration 
> of a number of boot options.  Many of these configuration options are 
> likely in the BIOS (see ipmi-chassis-config tool to get an idea of 
> what is configurable).  General device information is available 
> through various device queries and that may also be in the BIOS (see 
> bmc-info tool for examples of info that is available).  I believe some 
> vendors support reading of the SEL in the BIOS for hardware analysis 
> (see tool ipmi-sel for example).
> 
>  
> 
> As an aside, various vendors have added extensions to IPMI to 
> retrieve/set BIOS settings, but these are on a vendor by vendor (many 
> times motherboard by motherboard) basis.  If you look through the tool 
> ipmi-oem, you can see what some vendors have supported.
> 
>  
> 
> If one of the tools supports what you would like to do, then we can 
> perhaps dig into the API from that point.
> 
>  
> 
> Al
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> On Mon, 2014-01-06 at 10:20 -0500, Vinny Vallarine wrote:
> 
> > My company is looking for an IPMI package that we can interface
> with.
> 
> > I’ve just downloaded your freeIPMI package.  What we need to do is
> 
> > query multiple machines and retrieve their BIOS revision numbers as
> 
> > well as specific BIOS settings.  I’ve looked through your
> 
> > documentation but don’t see an API that would allow me to do that
> via
> 
> > your libraries.  Could you let me know how this can be done through
> 
> > your libraries?  I’m looking for the interface/methods that I can
> call
> 
> > to accomplish this.
> 
> > 
> 
> >  
> 
> > 
> 
> > 
> 
> > Thanks,
> 
> > 
> 
> >  
> 
> > 
> 
> >  
> 
> > 
> 
> > Vincent Vallarine
> 
> > 
> 
> > Innovative Defense Technologies, LLC
> 
> > 
> 
> > 401.741.4571 (Mobile)
> 
> > 
> 
> > address@hidden
> 
> > 
> 
> > www.idtus.com
> 
> > 
> 
> >  
> 
> > 
> 
> > 
> 
> > _______________________________________________
> 
> > Freeipmi-devel mailing list
> 
> > address@hidden
> 
> > https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/freeipmi-devel
> 
> --
> 
> Albert Chu
> 
> address@hidden
> 
> Computer Scientist
> 
> High Performance Systems Division
> 
> Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
> 
>  
> 
> 
--
Albert Chu
address@hidden
Computer Scientist
High Performance Systems Division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory