ipmi sol support stutters #570

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opened 2026-02-20 14:01:41 -05:00 by deekerman · 4 comments

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 14:01:41 -05:00

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Originally created by @awilliam on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022).

Originally assigned to: @mdevaev on GitHub.

Describe the bug
Using ipmi sol support, the serial output stutters. For instance when viewing the console of a Linux system during boot or reviewing boot logs with dmesg, I'll get anywhere from a few lines to a few screen fulls of text before a brief pause and the output continues. This is disruptive to use as a serial console server, which should be able to smoothly stream the console log, and as found on other hardware BMC devices or when directly using a terminal program such as minicom.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior, like:

Configure IPMI SOL support as described in https://docs.pikvm.org/ipmi/#ipmi-bmc
Use a USB serial adapter, such as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075YHFMC7
Note, add kvmd-ipmi to the uucp group to access USB serial (ex. gpasswd -a kvmd-ipmi uucp)
Configure all of the above at 115200 baud rate and connect to Linux host system configured for the same.
Use ipmitool on the pikvm system to connect to SOL: ex. ipmitool -I lanplus -U admin -P admin -H localhost sol activate
Run 'dmesg' from the SOL session

Expected behavior
Text should stream smoothly.

Screenshots
N/A

Desktop (please complete the following information):

OS: Fedora Linux
Browser: N/A
Version:N/A
VNC client: N/A

PiKVM info:

Raspberry Pi board version [e.g. RPi 4]: RPI4
PiKVM platform [e.g. v2-hdmi]: v2-hdmiusb
Video capture type [e.g. CSI bridge]: USB
KVMD version: pacman -Q | grep kvmd: kvmd 3.173-1, kvmd-fan 0.22-1, kvmd-oled 0.13-1, kvmd-platform-v2-hdmiusb-rpi4 3.173-1, kvmd-webterm 0.42-1
uStreamer version: pacman -Q | grep ustreamer: ustreamer 5.31-1
Linux kernel: uname -a: Linux pikvm 5.15.68-3-rpi-ARCH #1 SMP Mon Oct 31 20:56:54 MSK 2022 armv7l GNU/Linux

Additional context
Maxim kindly logged into my pikvm system to see the issue first hand and asked me to file this issue. Thanks!

Originally created by @awilliam on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022). Originally assigned to: @mdevaev on GitHub. **Describe the bug** Using ipmi sol support, the serial output stutters. For instance when viewing the console of a Linux system during boot or reviewing boot logs with dmesg, I'll get anywhere from a few lines to a few screen fulls of text before a brief pause and the output continues. This is disruptive to use as a serial console server, which should be able to smoothly stream the console log, and as found on other hardware BMC devices or when directly using a terminal program such as minicom. **To Reproduce** Steps to reproduce the behavior, like: 1. Configure IPMI SOL support as described in https://docs.pikvm.org/ipmi/#ipmi-bmc 2. Use a USB serial adapter, such as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075YHFMC7 3. Note, add kvmd-ipmi to the uucp group to access USB serial (ex. gpasswd -a kvmd-ipmi uucp) 4. Configure all of the above at 115200 baud rate and connect to Linux host system configured for the same. 5. Use ipmitool on the pikvm system to connect to SOL: ex. ipmitool -I lanplus -U admin -P admin -H localhost sol activate 6. Run 'dmesg' from the SOL session **Expected behavior** Text should stream smoothly. **Screenshots** N/A **Desktop (please complete the following information):** - OS: Fedora Linux - Browser: N/A - Version:N/A - VNC client: N/A **PiKVM info:** - Raspberry Pi board version [e.g. RPi 4]: RPI4 - PiKVM platform [e.g. v2-hdmi]: v2-hdmiusb - Video capture type [e.g. CSI bridge]: USB - KVMD version: `pacman -Q | grep kvmd`: kvmd 3.173-1, kvmd-fan 0.22-1, kvmd-oled 0.13-1, kvmd-platform-v2-hdmiusb-rpi4 3.173-1, kvmd-webterm 0.42-1 - uStreamer version: `pacman -Q | grep ustreamer`: ustreamer 5.31-1 - Linux kernel: `uname -a`: Linux pikvm 5.15.68-3-rpi-ARCH #1 SMP Mon Oct 31 20:56:54 MSK 2022 armv7l GNU/Linux **Additional context** Maxim kindly logged into my pikvm system to see the issue first hand and asked me to file this issue. Thanks!

deekerman added the

type:bug

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2026-02-20 14:01:41 -05:00

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 14:01:41 -05:00

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@awilliam commented on GitHub (Jan 4, 2023):

For others leaning on not only KVM, but serial console access to a server, my current solution is to install conserver on the pikvm. Unfortunately Arch doesn't build this for armv7h (for absolutely no good reason afaict), but the package can be downloaded and built locally. This provides more fluid console access, handles multiple consoles, and in my case I'm connecting to ipmi serial-over-lan with conserver anyway.

@awilliam commented on GitHub (Jan 4, 2023): For others leaning on not only KVM, but serial console access to a server, my current solution is to install conserver on the pikvm. Unfortunately Arch doesn't build this for armv7h (for absolutely no good reason afaict), but the package can be downloaded and built locally. This provides more fluid console access, handles multiple consoles, and in my case I'm connecting to ipmi serial-over-lan with conserver anyway.

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 14:01:42 -05:00

Author

Owner

@mdevaev commented on GitHub (Mar 25, 2023):

Could you update os and try ipmi sol again?

Also which package do you use for conserver? Is it? I can build it and add to the repo.

@mdevaev commented on GitHub (Mar 25, 2023): Could you update os and try ipmi sol again? Also which package do you use for conserver? [Is it?](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/conserver) I can build it and add to the repo.

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 14:01:42 -05:00

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@mdevaev commented on GitHub (Mar 30, 2023):

@awilliam boop

@mdevaev commented on GitHub (Mar 30, 2023): @awilliam boop

deekerman commented

2026-02-20 14:01:42 -05:00

Author

Owner

@awilliam commented on GitHub (Mar 30, 2023):

Yes, that's the correct conserver package, seems there's no update relative to lack of armv7h builds. Updated my pikvm and temporarily re-enabled ipmi sol, no obvious improvement from previous experience, slow, choppy output, no comparison to conserver.

@awilliam commented on GitHub (Mar 30, 2023): Yes, that's the correct conserver package, seems there's no update relative to lack of armv7h builds. Updated my pikvm and temporarily re-enabled ipmi sol, no obvious improvement from previous experience, slow, choppy output, no comparison to conserver.