LSI Controller FW updates IR/IT modes

Bought a IBM ServeRAID M1015 card a little while ago and found myself actually needing to use it so went through the flashing process.

What follows is just as much for my records as it is for anyone else who comes across the same problem.

I used the P11 zip that the OP supplied.

First thing I noticed was step 1,2 and 3 I could perform under DOS however step 5 came back with a error. Short story is I needed to do step 5 and 6 under uefi shell.

The process for setting up the usb thumb drive in the read me doesnt take into account that you may need to boot into the drive via uefi so I have supplied the boot file needed in the zip. Just copy and paste the file named EFI onto your thumb drive and then for whatever reason your not able to boot into efi shell that will do the trick.

Next problem I had is the sas2flash file on your thumb drive is not compatible in uefi so I ended up stealing the efi file I needed from a crossflash I did for a Dell Perc H310. So I have included the file needed to complete step 5 and 6 in the same zip. File is named sas2flash.efi, just dump that into the thumb drive.

I used the command

sas2flash.efi -l flashlog.txt -o -f 2118it.bin

Side note : adding the -b mptsas2.rom to the end as described in the 5it.bat file for some reason didnt work. I am going to go out on a limb here and say the mptsas2.rom just adds the initializing process that you normally see when booting up. In any case I simply didnt use that command and the card works find.

Final step would be to run the command

sas2flash.efi -o -sasadd XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Proof of success is in the diskspeed.html

Have also supplied the original SBR as OP requested.

Link to files https://www.mediafire.com/?3i6evx4kwyje3ie

diskspeed.zip

I just inherited a r710 with 8bays with a perc 6/i. I was wondering if anyone has had good luck with flashing it back to LSI and it working with unraid, yet? Did a search but only found 6/ir amd some people abandoning the 6/i projects.

In preparation for it not working, i do have a 6/ir i got off ebay for cheap. I am willing to try and get the 6/i tested - but i would meed exact instructions on what I should do.

Thanks!

@koshia

AFAIK there is no way to flash the 6/i for unRAID.

Also, as these cards are not supporting drives >2.2TB, I doubt there will be any

ongoing development for them.

The 6iR tools are linked in the wiki.

@koshia

AFAIK there is no way to flash the 6/i for unRAID.

Also, as these cards are not supporting drives >2.2TB, I doubt there will be any

ongoing development for them.

The 6iR tools are linked in the wiki.

Thanks Fireball3. I will give it a go with the 6/ir. I have a bunch of 2TBs laying around, so not too worried about the 2.2+s yet. I had originally bought a few of the aoc-saslvp-mv8s, so i may move to that when I can get a better deal on a norco 4224 case. As far as these firmware goes, it is dependent on the manufacturers like LSI, right?

I guess it is not only a matter of the firmware.

Having an issue two MegaRAID SAS2008's.

 

On the first card, im Constantly getting "Firmware image not supported" My card seems to be a revision 4, but every firmware i can find only does up to 3. Image attached of error. Is there anyway to bypass this check and just force it to flash?

 

On another card however, i cant even get that far. Unsure if i have bricked it or if its beyond saving but i ended up making a thread for it here.

 

https://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=48889.0

 

Any help would be massively appreciated! Been at this for hours now and have been getting nowhere. Tried virtually every firmware i can find on the first card, second card i kinda gave up hope on.

Did you clear/wipe the firmware first?

Bought a IBM ServeRAID M1015 card a little while ago and found myself actually needing to use it so went through the flashing process.

I, too, recently picked up an M1015 card but haven't installed it.

Is it necessary to flash this card for unRAID v6.x?  Or can it be plugged-and-played?  And if it is plug-n-play, is flashing to IT mode simply for better throughput?

In general, how relevant is the OP's information regarding the various LSI controllers for v6.x?

Is it necessary to flash this card for unRAID v6.x?

Yes, if it is not already in IT Mode.

In general, how relevant is the OP's information regarding the various LSI controllers for v6.x?

unRAID will do it's magic based on software.

The controller hardware has to simply provide the drives to the OS.

Hardware RAID is not necessary and will not work.

Some hardware in this thread may be obsolete, but the fact that a controller card

has to run in IT mode is still valid.

In general, how relevant is the OP's information regarding the various LSI controllers for v6.x?

unRAID will do it's magic based on software.

The controller hardware has to simply provide the drives to the OS.

Hardware RAID is not necessary and will not work.

Some hardware in this thread may be obsolete, but the fact that a controller card

has to run in IT mode is still valid.

Thanks.  I think I understand now; basically, the HBA must allow "JBOD" (which is the term that I've usually looked for when selecting an HBA card).

I had purchased the M1015 last year from a recommendation on these forums in another unrelated thread but it wasn't mentioned that I may have to flash the card (it's brand new).  I paid $140 but I just compared prices and an LSI SAS9211-8I is going for $112 new; it seems that's the better option as it's cheaper and is already just a plain JBOD HBA with no RAID functions (which flashing the M1015 essentially makes it into a SAS9211-8I with the FW provided by OP).

Thanks.  I think I understand now; basically, the HBA must allow "JBOD" (which is the term that I've usually looked for when selecting an HBA card).

Partially correct.

The term ist "passthrough" or IT-mode. JBOD can still have a "layer" provided by the controller which is not welcome also.

Saw this recently.

https://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=50895.msg488797#msg488797

I would stock up if it was in Europe. 

Flashing those cards is no issue at all!

The term ist "passthrough" or IT-mode. JBOD can still have a "layer" provided by the controller which is not welcome also.

...

 

Flashing those cards is no issue at all!

Although it seems a relatively simple process, I don't have any PC's to flash the HBA's other than my headless unRAID servers, both of which have SuperMicro mobo's that utilize Java-based IPMI in which the Java applet has been extremely unstable and crashes constantly on my OS X computers.  So, I would have to create a bootable flash drive and connect a monitor and keyboard in a cramped, low ceiling storage closet where my RPC-4224 machine resides (or temporarily haul it out onto a table).

Although it seems a relatively simple process, I don't have any PC's to flash the HBA's other than my headless unRAID servers, both of which have SuperMicro mobo's that utilize Java-based IPMI in which the Java applet has been extremely unstable and crashes constantly on my OS X computers.  So, I would have to create a bootable flash drive and connect a monitor and keyboard in a cramped, low ceiling storage closet where my RPC-4224 machine resides (or temporarily haul it out onto a table).

Well, you made a point here.

If you were living in my country I would flash them for you.

Shipping costs would be the lesser evil than touching a running system.

OK, after much difficultyI finally managed to flash the PERC H310 I recently bought on eVay to IT mode, but its not recognizing any of the 4 SATA DRIVES I connect to it. Firmware is P16 version, but I didn't flash a Bios since I wanted a faster boot time and thought the BIOS isn't needed if using the H310 in IT mode.

The SFF8087-to-4SATA CABLE I bought off eBay also for $8 was advertised as a forward breakout cable and appears to be in good shape.

Neither my unRAID server or my regular PC is recognizing any drives when connected to the card/cable. In my unRAID SERVER I can see it recognize the card during boot and also the drives I think, but drives are not found by the web GUI.

In my PC, again, device manager can see the card with no issues, driver loaded automatically by Win 8.1 but no drives are seen.

One of the metal brackets around the SAS connectors has come loose from one side but I can plug the cable into both connectors securely and Ive tried the cable in each connector.

I'm suspecting the SFF8087 cable is bad unless I'm missing something else. I might go to my local Frys to try another SFF8087 cable, but I'm not looking forward to paying $35 for it.

Any ideas?

More than likely the same issue that I had with the exact same card, it may not work on some motherboards, it wouldn't work on my gigabyte board but it would work on my Asus board.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Neither my unRAID server or my regular PC is recognizing any drives when connected to the card/cable. In my unRAID SERVER I can see it recognize the card during boot and also the drives I think, but drives are not found by the web GUI.

 

In my PC, again, device manager can see the card with no issues, driver loaded automatically by Win 8.1 but no drives are seen.

 

I'm suspecting the SFF8087 cable is bad unless I'm missing something else. I might go to my local Frys to try another SFF8087 cable, but I'm not looking forward to paying $35 for it.

 

Any ideas?

Try another cable. $8 is a quite good (not to say cheap) price but it might not be the best quality you got there.

I love this cables because they help to keep the server clean and they give a tight fit so the cable won't come

loose very easy. Depending on your location, maybe you can source them somewhere else too?

A similar cable distributed by Fujitsu is called T26139-Y4023-V501.

I bought a new cable off NewEgg yesterday, a Coboc brand, for $10, and should receive it tomorrow. I'll report back once I get it.

also, mu unRAID server has an ASRock H110 based mobo, and my PC has a Gigabyte. Hope that won't be the issue.

OK - no go with the new cable. It looks like unRAID is recognizing the controller, but no drives still.

I'm attaching the diagnostics log. Hopfully someone can look at it & let me know why unRAID isn't recognizing drives when they're connected to the H310?

syslog.txt

OK - no go with the new cable. It looks like unRAID is recognizing the controller, but no drives still.

I'm attaching the diagnostics log. Hopefully someone can look at it & let me know why unRAID isn't recognizing drives when they're connected to the H310?

Setup of the card looks fine, no issues at all that I could see.  But nothing happens afterward, even after a long delay.  I don't see any evidence of even setting up the individual drive channels, let alone the drives themselves.

I'd check your configuration, I don't think it's setup right.  Make sure it's set to JBOD or individual drive access, with the right firmware.  No other ideas...

Thanks RobJ,

Actually, it's working now - seeing all 4 HDDs. Guess it was a bad flash, though it seemed to go OK doing it on one of my newer PCs in EFI mode.

I pulled out my old workhorse from my closet - and Athlon II X4 640 based PC, mobo with PCIE 2.0 x16 slot & was able to flash using the instructions here:

http://www.vladan.fr/flash-dell-perc-h310-with-it-firmware/

Happy Camper 

Good to hear that you figured it out.

I prepared a toolset for flashing the H310 that seems a bit more straight forward than the

instruction you linked.

The wiki also has valuable information about other cards and how to flash them if necessary.

Just in case someone runs into this posts...

I just bought a M1015 (and the cable) on eBay since it seems to be recommended and to flash it to IT mode. However I'm not sure how to do that.

Am I supposed to use "LSI MegaRAID to SAS2008(P11).zip - 5.87 MB (DOS, via bootable usb key)" and follow the instructions inside? After doing some reading it seems like the latest is P21 (or whatever PXX means). Also, do I need to update the firmware to the latest (https://www-947.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5082826) as well? If so, how do I do that? I have also read conflicting reports that we should do it in uefi instead of dos, but the file above says in dos? I also read that in order to make it boot faster we should disable the bios?

I'm totally new to the enterprise cards, so advice would be much appreciated

Use this tools and instructions:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12767.msg121131#msg121131

Once you read the readme, and understood the procedure, I'm sure you know what to do.

The latest firmware available is P20.00.07 for the reference card (LSI 9211-8i)

http://www.avagotech.com/products/server-storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9211-8i#downloads

You can replace the P11 files from the instructions above with the P20.

Make sure to pick the IT firmware, as well as the sas2flsh.exe

If you have problems in DOS, then you can switch to UEFI.

See here how to use UEFI shell (Kudos 2 Maglin).

Use this tools and instructions:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12767.msg121131#msg121131

 

Once you read the readme, and understood the procedure, I'm sure you know what to do.

 

The latest firmware available is P20.00.07 for the reference card (LSI 9211-8i)

http://www.avagotech.com/products/server-storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9211-8i#downloads

 

You can replace the P11 files from the instructions above with the P20.

Make sure to pick the IT firmware, as well as the sas2flsh.exe

 

If you have problems in DOS, then you can switch to UEFI.

See here how to use UEFI shell (Kudos 2 Maglin).

Fireball, it really seems way past time to put this all in a wiki page!  Any interest?  Then we could move madburg's first 4 posts over to it, and you could update them all for current versions, plus you could add other sections that are relevant, such as about UEFI, etc.  It would be great to extract all the nuggets hidden throughout this long thread, into one place!  A place that anyone can update (but is patrolled).  I suspect it might even make your life easier, less support necessary, because good info keeps getting buried on back pages.

I'll be happy to assist any way you like, just tell me what you want.

OK, after much difficultyI finally managed to flash the PERC H310 I recently bought on eVay to IT mode, but its not recognizing any of the 4 SATA DRIVES I connect to it. Firmware is P16 version, but I didn't flash a Bios since I wanted a faster boot time and thought the BIOS isn't needed if using the H310 in IT mode.

 

The SFF8087-to-4SATA CABLE I bought off eBay also for $8 was advertised as a forward breakout cable and appears to be in good shape.

 

Neither my unRAID server or my regular PC is recognizing any drives when connected to the card/cable. In my unRAID SERVER I can see it recognize the card during boot and also the drives I think, but drives are not found by the web GUI.

 

In my PC, again, device manager can see the card with no issues, driver loaded automatically by Win 8.1 but no drives are seen.

 

One of the metal brackets around the SAS connectors has come loose from one side but I can plug the cable into both connectors securely and Ive tried the cable in each connector.

 

I'm suspecting the SFF8087 cable is bad unless I'm missing something else. I might go to my local Frys to try another SFF8087 cable, but I'm not looking forward to paying $35 for it.

 

Any ideas?

The forward and reverse cables are literally identical looking. I also bought FORWARD cables from Ebay and they didn't work. The vendor said he probably sent me REVERSE and sent me another cable set and those were the correct ones.

Fireball, it really seems way past time to put this all in a wiki page!  Any interest?  Then we could move madburg's first 4 posts over to it, and you could update them all for current versions, plus you could add other sections that are relevant, such as about UEFI, etc.  It would be great to extract all the nuggets hidden throughout this long thread, into one place!  A place that anyone can update (but is patrolled).  I suspect it might even make your life easier, less support necessary, because good info keeps getting buried on back pages.

 

I'll be happy to assist any way you like, just tell me what you want.

Yes, I'm in.

Would you please prepare the backbone somewhere in the wiki?

Then I will work on the content.