Supermicro and Console Redirection Through a COM or Serial Port

Yes there is a legitimate reason for this in the year 2023. No it is never as simple as they'd have you believe. These are just a couple of quick tips to get Console Redirection working on a Supermicro MotherBoard through a COM / Serial Port / RS-232 / TTY Port / DB-9 Port, etc (COM port will be the term used in this article because Supermicro uses it in their BIOSs)

First Gotcha

Watch out on some Supermicro motherboards that have COM2 (more precisely SOL/COM2) Ports 'preconfigured' for Console Redirection. Key point here is SOL, which equals Serial over LAN. It won't work if connecting directly to it via a USB to Serial Port or built in Serial Port on a Computer and Null Modem Cable.

Null Modem Cable (and settings for COM / Serial Port on Console and Computer)

When connecting to a properly configured COM Port on a Supermicro Motherboard, use a Null Modem Cable. Or if you're interested in fewer cables and fewer connections, try a dedicated USB to Serial Adapter wired for Null Modem Capability (AKA 'crossover wired').

Below are the recommended settings (so set your Serial Console (SecureCRT, PuTTy, Hyper Terminal, etc.) and / or Serial / COM Port to the same settings)

BPS (Bits per Second): 115200

Data Bits: 8

Parity: None

Stop Bits: 1

Flow Control: None

VT-UTF8 Combo Keyboard Support: Enabled

Recorder Mode: Whatever you want

Resolution: Enabled

Legacy OS Redirection Resolution: 80x25

Putty Keypad: Linux

Redirection After BIOS POST: Always Enable

Settings Specific to SecureCRT, PuTTY, etc.

SecureCRT (Session Options, Terminal, Emulation);

• Terminal: ANSI
• Color Mode: ANSI
• Select an alternate keyboard emulation: Linux