I'm considering to build a server using the Supermicro X10SLL-F board with a Xeon E3-1231 v3 CPU. However, according to my research, this CPU requires a BIOS update (unfortunately Supermicro does not have BIOS changelogs or CPU compatibility lists so I cannot confirm this).
Since I do not own any other Xeon or i3 which would surely work without a BIOS update I wonder if it's possible to use the IPMI interface of the board to perform the BIOS update even without a (compatible) CPU on the board.
This is taken from supermicros faq. It was a response from someone having the same issue.
Yes, there is way to update your BIOS without buying a E5-2600 CPU by using IPMI Web Browser to update your BIOS. Please contact your Sale Agent or distributor for SKU# SFT-OOB-LIC for purchasing the licensee to activate this product key.
So it appears that it is possible without sending the board back or alternatively purchasing an older gen cpu.
Yes, it is possible to use IPMI to update the BIOS, UEFI, FPGA or any EPROM that is accessible using IPMI. To do this the server must implement the PICMG HPM.1 standard with uses IPMI as the transport between the device containing the source BIOS image and the target server that will receive the BIOS.
If your server does not implement HPM.1 then it must be a vendor specific solution.
I've not tried this but I had the same question and found The better way to update Supermicro BIOS is via IPMI which claims that A) You can do this with the IPMI, B) doing so requires a license, C) there's an "evaluation license" available. Which should be enough for a one-time BIOS update? That page embeds a demo video from Supermicro: https://youtu.be/S8z6iOEHGwY?t=117
I'm unsure about how you get an evaluation license, I think you have to mail their support team to request it. (Or you might be able to generate your own...)
But also note that not all Supermicro boards/IPMI revisions allow BIOS update through IPMI.