Microserver Gen10 Plus PCIe bifurcation

[SirKirkius]

I have purchased my Microserver Gen10 Plus some time ago, and was planning to use x8 + x8 PCI-e bifurcation to make use of two NVMe SSDs.

However, I read in this thread that HPE is removing PCI-e bifurcation entirely from the platform, and in the patchnotes of bios Version: 2.60_07-14-2022 (9 Aug 2022)  it does indeed state "Removed PCIe bifurcation option in the ROM Based Setup Utility (RBSU) because it is not supported through ROM on this platform."

I am wondering why "suddenly" this got removed. It appeared as though the x8 +x8 configuration did work for some people. Is there any way to get this functionality back, aside from running old bios versions? Has HPE made a post somewhere giving context to this decision?

[SydUmar_1]

Hello SirKirkius,

It maybe due to an architectural change made (In collaboration with the System board manufacturer - Intel). We're unsure of the exact reason. However, it has been documented in the following document : https://techlibrary.hpe.com/docs/iss/proliant-gen10-uefi/GUID-40941745-0DEF-45E6-A16D-CEB8C4C523B1.html

[SirKirkius]

Hi @SydUmar_1
Thanks for your reply!

I understand that it has been documented (although it only mentions that dual bifurcation is not supported, it is implied that regular bifurcation still is) .
However, if I roll back my BIOS a couple versions I gain access again to this functionality. However, running an outdated BIOS version is not a smart idea.

When you mention an architectural change, do you mean a change in the firmware? Since the hardware has not changed.

[SydUmar_1]

Hello SirKirkius,
Yes, a firmware release that disables the feature.