Looking for Supermicro distributors

[Jeremy Chadwick]

Hi!

First off, sorry for cross-posting, but in this case I need somewhat of
a broader audience.  This is the first time I've ever asked for
something like this, so I'm a bit shy.  If end-users have other ideas
on how I can go about this, I'm all ears.

I'm looking for any Supermicro hardware distributors that linger on the
mailing lists here.  I know I've talked at least two of you in the past,
so I'm certain you're out there, but I've lost your names/Email
addresses.

Simple version: I need hardware, or access to systems running hardware,
for me to continue enhancing bsdhwmon (yep, I'm actively working on it
again!).  Finding users in the community who have all these different
boards is tedious, and sometimes there are frustrations that come about
since many of their systems are in production.

Providing me hardware:

- You send me a mainboard (I have all the other components), either
  new or used.  Please include all accessories, as the board will
  end up on a bare workbench and not mounted in a case.
- I can provide collateral (full retail cost) up front, assuming you
  credit my CC when you receive the hardware back.
- You pay shipping costs to me, I pay shipping costs back.
- Any boards which don't work after receiving them from me I have no
  problem paying full cost for.  (Please don't try to scam me.  :P)

Providing me remote access:

- System should be running FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE or newer (not CURRENT)
- SSH + root-level access (sudo is fine)
- Serial console access (specifically to the BIOS) would be absolutely
  perfect.  Otherwise I need you to write down a bunch of stuff in the
  Hardware Monitoring section of the BIOS (only once).
- System shouldn't be production -- for example, I just got an X7SBL-LN2
  board myself, and while adding support for it to bsdhwmon, I managed
  to tickle the Winbond chip in such a way that during the next system
  reboot, the Winbond internal buzzer/alarm went off until the system
  was power-cycled (not hard reset).  I'm fairly sure smbmsg(8)'s -p
  flag caused this (I've reached out to jhb@ about the bugs).

What you get out of it:

- Not really sure, but we can work something out.  I've 2 or 3 different
  ideas which might suit you, depending on your above role.  Worth
  noting is that I *do* purchase Supermicro hardware for use in my
  co-lo, and I haven't settled on a single vendor yet (tend to pick and
  choose depending on cost vs. what's in stock vs. shipping time).

Development usually takes me 1-2 months (depends on what's going on with
my full-time job, and how fast Supermicro can get back to me with
technical details).

Please get in contact with me (freebsd at jdc.parodius.com) if you're
interested in helping, otherwise I'll reach out to some local
distributors and see if they're willing.

Thank you!

-- 
| Jeremy Chadwick                                   jdc at parodius.com |
| Parodius Networking                       http://www.parodius.com/ |
| UNIX Systems Administrator                  Mountain View, CA, USA |
| Making life hard for others since 1977.              PGP: 4BD6C0CB |