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@@ -138,6 +138,34 @@ For technical discussions, please see [contact info](#contact) below for Discord and mailing list information. Please don't file an issue to ask a question. You'll get faster results by using the mailing list or Discord. +### Will OpenBMC run on my Acme Server Corp. XYZ5000 motherboard? + +This is a common question, particularly regarding boards from popular COTS +(commercial off-the-shelf) vendors such as Supermicro and ASRock. You can see +the list of supported boards by running `. setup` (with no further arguments) in +the root of the OpenBMC source tree. Most of the platforms supported by OpenBMC +are specialized servers operated by companies running large datacenters, but +some more generic COTS servers are supported to varying degrees. + +If your motherboard is not listed in the output of `. setup` it is not currently +supported. Porting OpenBMC to a new platform is a non-trivial undertaking, +ideally done with the assistance of schematics and other documentation from the +manufacturer (it is not completely infeasible to take on a porting effort +without documentation via reverse engineering, but it is considerably more +difficult, and probably involves a greater risk of hardware damage). + +**However**, even if your motherboard is among those listed in the output of +`. setup`, there are two significant caveats to bear in mind. First, not all +ports are equally mature -- some platforms are better supported than others, and +functionality on some "supported" boards may be fairly limited. Second, support +for a motherboard is not the same as support for a complete system -- in +particular, fan control is critically dependent on not just the motherboard but +also the fans connected to it and the chassis that the board and fans are housed +in, both of which can vary dramatically between systems using the same board +model. So while you may be able to compile and install an OpenBMC build on your +system and get some basic functionality, rough edges (such as your cooling fans +running continuously at full throttle) are likely. + ## Features of OpenBMC ### Feature List |