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I do development on openbmc (https://github.com/openbmc/openbmc https://github.com/openbmc/openbmc) which is an open source bmc implantation using bitbake, prim

I do development on openbmc (https://github.com/openbmc/openbmc https://github.com/openbmc/openbmc) which is an open source bmc implantation using bitbake, primarily targeted to aspeed, and nuvoton bmc chips.

amluto 4y ago
Can a mere mortal usefully deploy openbmc on a small number of servers?
- shenki0 4y ago
  Not really. You need support from the manufacturer. Recent BMC firmwares have openbmc under the hood, with the industry using it as a base for further development or customisation.
- klysm 4y ago
  I was looking into this recently. It doesn’t seem like you can easily get your hands on BMC hardware. There is one project I found where they’re using an FPGA and everything is open source but it still looked far from easy.
  - lapinot 4y ago
    Afaik the problem is typically not hardware but software, since most server motherboards come with a bmc chip on it. Are you designing a motherboard? All i would ask for a bmc is root access. But now everyone (but the big players, who design their own motherboards) is basically stuck with a stupid embedded linux with shitty software that has half-backed features they don't even need, but now need to care about. When all you'd need would be a way to access a host serial console, read sensors, control boot sequence and perhaps re-flash the bios, ie most likely just basic interactions on serial interfaces.
    - rbanffy 4y ago
      We got into that when we started expecting servers to have VGA and PS/2 ports because an RS-232 console would not be very useful with a GUI. Is there a modular standard for BMCs?
      - jebr224 4y ago
        There are two standards for pluggable BMC's - runbmc (https://www.opencompute.org/documents/ocp-runbmc-daughterboard-card-design-specification-v1-4-1-pdf) - DC-SCM https://www.opencompute.org/documents/ocp-dc-scm-spec-rev-1-0-pdf I have only glanced the surface of these specs.
    - klysm 4y ago
      I was interested in building a board from scratch with a BMC on it
    - jebr224 4y ago
      > Are you designing a motherboard? Yes, the team I work for designs server motherboards. BMC security is what keeps me up at night. Firmware software quality is low, and often not up to date. I think openbmc does a good job in both respects.
- 1amzave 4y ago
  If the servers in question happen to be on the list of supported hardware, quite possibly. (I don't know of any up-to-date online list, but running `source setup` in the root of the source tree will print it.)

amluto 4y ago

Can a mere mortal usefully deploy openbmc on a small number of servers?

shenki0 4y ago
Not really. You need support from the manufacturer. Recent BMC firmwares have openbmc under the hood, with the industry using it as a base for further development or customisation.
klysm 4y ago
I was looking into this recently. It doesn’t seem like you can easily get your hands on BMC hardware. There is one project I found where they’re using an FPGA and everything is open source but it still looked far from easy.
- lapinot 4y ago
  Afaik the problem is typically not hardware but software, since most server motherboards come with a bmc chip on it. Are you designing a motherboard? All i would ask for a bmc is root access. But now everyone (but the big players, who design their own motherboards) is basically stuck with a stupid embedded linux with shitty software that has half-backed features they don't even need, but now need to care about. When all you'd need would be a way to access a host serial console, read sensors, control boot sequence and perhaps re-flash the bios, ie most likely just basic interactions on serial interfaces.
  - rbanffy 4y ago
    We got into that when we started expecting servers to have VGA and PS/2 ports because an RS-232 console would not be very useful with a GUI. Is there a modular standard for BMCs?
    - jebr224 4y ago
      There are two standards for pluggable BMC's - runbmc (https://www.opencompute.org/documents/ocp-runbmc-daughterboard-card-design-specification-v1-4-1-pdf) - DC-SCM https://www.opencompute.org/documents/ocp-dc-scm-spec-rev-1-0-pdf I have only glanced the surface of these specs.
  - klysm 4y ago
    I was interested in building a board from scratch with a BMC on it
  - jebr224 4y ago
    > Are you designing a motherboard? Yes, the team I work for designs server motherboards. BMC security is what keeps me up at night. Firmware software quality is low, and often not up to date. I think openbmc does a good job in both respects.
1amzave 4y ago
If the servers in question happen to be on the list of supported hardware, quite possibly. (I don't know of any up-to-date online list, but running `source setup` in the root of the source tree will print it.)