Wody

I got a 9211-8i today, and it also said version 43.100.00.00. What that means is somehow there is some corruption happening, because it displays XXX instead of a number. Figuring out where that comes from would and fixing that would probably be the solution. It could be your USB has issues, or your memory, or the CPU. As for the version of the controller, it is already running 20.00.07, which is the last version released for it.

You didn't say how big the drives are, or how many you have, but since data-safety is important and shouldn't be moved around too much, assuming your new drives are bigger than 4TB, replace the parity drive with a new one, rebuild parity, then add or replace one of the data disks, move data from the 1.5GB drive to it, and another if possible, so you have one drive less in use, then move them without the now empty drive to the new (faster) system, make a new config, assign the drives and build parity.

Since it's a Dell, this may not work, but it should be as easy as erasing the flash and putting in the new firmware, so getting sas3flash.efi and the 16.00.12 file on an USB, then start in EFI shell, go to the USB and see if sas3flash -list shows the adapter, if it does, you should be able to erase the flash with sas3flash -o -e 6, and then flash the new firmware with sas3flash -o -f sas9300_8i.bin or whatever the name is. If - e 6 doesn't work (it leaves certain parts like the sas address which could interfere) then this should help, but since it's dell, all on your own risk of course.

I noticed in your syslog it says mpt3sas version 43.XXX.XXX.00 loaded with your 2008-based controller. With a 2308 controller in my server, t says mpt3sas version 43.100.00.00 loaded, with the same unraid version 7.01. That could be a sign something isn't entirely right. I'd run a memtest.

If the current USB is still working properly, then all you'd need to do is set up the new server with a trial, copy everything over, shut both servers down, switch USB drives, and start the new server. If you set networking to a specific MAC on the old server, you need to make sure to update that, and if you use dockers or VMs you'll probably waat to shut those down and disable autostart for them during copying so those are the same as well.

If you google 'Dell HBA 330 crossflash' (without the quotes) it comes up with plenty of articles and videos. I think the HBA330 should be a 9300-8i which means there is a 16.00.12.00, but also a 16.00.16.00 that is newer. There is no change history with that though.

Apparently there is firmware here from 2024, but apparently it may have 16.00.11 included instead, If so, the only way would be to crossflash it. There seem to be some people talking about it here.

The UEFI sas3flash file is available in the knowledge base article here. The table is broken, but P14 can be downloaded. There is also a P16 version, if you change the link to P16 instead of P14 like I did here, you can download it directly.

When the computer starts, it runs several tests and initializes things, traditionally the BIOS did this, but these days there is a new system called UEFI, this is also designed to boot from various sources, and it looks for the EFI folder. If it is named differently like EFI-, it won't be found, and so can't be used to boot from.

Clearly it doesn't, so I think they probably meant the X14SAE instead. But even those are 'old', since the X14SAZ-F supports the Core Ultra 2 series. But the problem with Supermicro boards is often availability, a lot of newer boards you just can't get, or sell out quickly.

Yes, it's server hardware vs consumer/workstation stuff, entirely different purposes. Unraid doesn't really care, it'll run on almost everything, but if you want stuff to work reliably 24/7 for years or even decades, then server stuff is up to it, while consumer stuff fails more often than not. I mean, just looking at the two boards, the server board looks a lot cleaner with a lot less components, so less things to make heat and break.

I'm not rich, so I'd start with replacing the expanders with SAS3 ones, like the AEC 82885 T which are really cheap, to double the bandwidth between them, and the controller with a newer one as well, mostly because of PCIe2 vs PCIe3 of the board, probably a 9400-16i since the 9300 uses too much power, the 9305 is too expensive, and less controllers means less to replace if something breaks. During all this I'd also start replacing 4TB drives with 12TB ones, moving the contents of 2-3 4TB drives (2 if more space needed to expand, 3 if not) to keep the array in one case. You also didn't mention using the 2308 controller on the board, I'd really start with lashing that to IT mode and start using that, and removing one of the 2008, because again PCIe2 vs PCIe3.

For only 4 drives almost any computer would do, but see here.

Have you read the manual?

Unraid generally doesn't care about hardware, so everything should just work, as far as the array goes and unraid itself. The only thing that can give trouble is things like if you have hardware passed through, which will be in different slots, and similarly, the network may need to be configured differently, since it's using different MAC-addresses. So, what I would do, disable autostart on the array, the VMs and the dockers, restart the system to make sure everything starts correctly, make a backup of the USB (just in case), shut the server down, move all the drives and USB key to the new server, start the new server, set the network settings for the new system, start the array, if that works, verify the VM and docker settings and start those one by one.

A molex plug is designed to carry 11a for 12v and 11a for 5v (so 132w and 55w). But of course the question is can the cable carry 3 times that for 3 connectors, and most of the time it can't. But hard drives don't use that much, so there is no issue with it. If there was, they wouldn't supply that cable in the first place.

During startup, drives usually use about 20 watt or so, so times 12 is about 240 watt, so it should be plenty. These type of cases normally use 1 molex per 4 drives, so you'll need all 3 filled, unless you don't use them all (e.g. if you don't use the top row, you won't need a molex there). As for the data-connection, that looks like SFF-8643, you'll have to look at the other side to see if they are SAS or SATA (SAS is one wide open slot, SATA is two connectors). If you don't have a SAS controller/HBA, you'll need 3 reverse breakout cables to connect all positions.

See if lspci shows something, if it does, somebody could have been trying to flash it wrong, so you can try sas2flash. You could also consider a newer card like a 9207 or 9217 which are pcie 3, but cost the same or less.

You didn't say if you put it in the x16 slot, or the x1 slot, but according to the manual it mentions on page 1-4 that the x16 slot is graphics card only, and you have to use the x1 slots for other cards. The slots should be PCIe3 which means 1GB/s, so I thought maybe it is a compatibility issue, but the 9260 mentioned is also PCIe 2.0, and uses a 2108 chip vs a 2008 for your card, so if you did try the PCIe x1 slots, it doesn't sound like a compatibility issue, but a broken card. You can try seeing if it gets detected and if so, with sas2flash see if it has firmware and bios on the card or not.

If you want to use PFSense as a blocking/filtering device, and you can forward one or two ports to the VM seperately, you can set one of the forwarded ports to output to the client, and use the other port or the unraid network as incoming. That way you could block or allow whatever you want. You'll just have to check in the system devices under tools if you can pass them through one port at a time, or if it's all or nothing.

The 9300 uses 27 watt, and produces a lot of heat, so its better to pick an older or newer model.

You mention not being able to use EFI-shell, so you must use Lenovo firmware, and that also means you can flash using unraid. You'll need storcli64, 16i_24_00_07_00.fw, mpt35sas_legacy_9_47_03_00.rom and mpt35sas_x64_24_00_05_00.rom. (the .rom files are optional) You'd execute the following: storcli64 /c0 download file=16i_24_00_07_00.fw For BIOS and UEFI iyou can flash none, either one, or both as you wish. I'd flash both, since it only adds a few seconds, but can be helpful to see if all drives are detected during boot. storcli64 /c0 bios file=mpt35sas_legacy_9_47_03_00.rom storcli64 /c0 efibios file=mpt35sas_x64_24_00_05_00.rom After flashing, restart the computer. The BIOS is used during booting, the UEFI interface when you enter the BIOS and EFI is enabled, it adds the card to the advanced menu to manipulate. SAS/SATA only firmware has bigger buffers and queues, which can make the card more efficient if you don't need NVMe. In unraid it won't make a big difference.

+ What I would do, remove everything from the board except power, the CPU and cooler, then start it up. It should beep with no memory found. Then add one dimm in the first slot the manual says you should put it in, and then try to boot. Hopefully it does, because that means one of the devices or a bios-setting is an issue. If it doesn't boot, something about the board is broken, so I'd reflash the BMC through IPMI, and the BIOS, and see if it boots then.

If you don't need the full capacity, you could upgrade now. But there is something weird with the case, the pictures don't show any fans, and the description says 3x120, but the case use hotswap-fans, with plastic housings for the fans that you can plug and unplug, and those housings arem't visible either. Also the exhaust fans aren't listed, usually the ones they put in are pretty bad, so getting some isn't a big issue, but still.

The easiest solution is a 9305-24i and 6 SFF 6843 to SFF 6843 cables. The 6843 connection is also used for PCIe these days, but googling I don't find any cables like that, so there shouldn't be an issue there. Next easiest, almost any HBA with a SAS extender. A SAS extender connects to the HBA with a cable, and the rest of the connections are to the case. Depending on the HBA and extender, you'll need SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 to the extender, and SFF-8087 to SFF-8643 to the case, or SFF-8643 to SFF-8643 for all of it, so 7 cables. Although almost any HBA would work, something like a 9300-8i or 9400 with an Adaptec AEC 82885T extender for example. This extender can be put in a slot for power, or attached anywhere and powered with a molex, like the case. The older ones with SFF 8087 I wouldn't buy anymore, because they might eventually stop working with newer computers. Next, future proofing, a 9600-24i. These use a SFF-8654 connection, and you'd need SFF-8654 8i to SFF-8643 cables. These are also used for PCIe, so you have to make sure to get the ones for SAS/SATA, if you connect the wrong ones, your drives won't be found. Most difficult: A mix of SFF-8643 cables to SATA for the mainboard (reverse breakout cables, see here why. SAS cables are bi-directional), plus HBA's or HBA+SAS extender. This is troublesome because if you want to use M.2 some of the SATA ports don't work, plus if you buy SAS drives in the future and plug them in the wrong position, they won't work. Easily fixable if you plug them in a HBA or extender slot, but may make you think the drive is broken. What I did, was go for a 24 port HBA, reason being, if the motherboard fails, I can replace the motherboard, if the HBA fails, I replace the HBA, if the case fails, I replace the case, if the UBS fails, yep, replace the USB, so I don't have to worry about multiple things at the same time (like get a new part, do the cables fit, how many sata ports do I need on the motherboard, etc). As for performance, it doesn't really matter with hard drives, they usually get up to 200MB/s at most, which means that with most newer controllers being PCIe 3 x8 at a bandwidth of about 8GB/s you can connect 40 drives before things start to slow down. If you connect an extender (assuming SAS 3, so 12gb/s) with one cable, it is 4x12=48gbit or 6GB, so about 30 drives. Something to keep in mind, if you want to connect 24 drives, you'll need 6 molex connectors. There are adapters where you can connect one molex to 2-6 so you don't need that many, but that is not recommended, especially since the case already has adapters, and things might melt. Also most power-supplies don't come with that many, so this is an issue. At the time, seasonic sold separate cables, so I got one of their modular supplies, with a 3xmolex cable and purchased another one from them. If you already have one cable, you can also consider buying a supply of the same brand, usually the cables have the same pinout, but you can measure it with a multimeter if you aren't sure. The most difficult things with a server like this if you're not used to them is potentially more sharp edges, and not knowing if you connected the cables properly, because they can be quite stiff, but on the other hand. you can force a SFF-6843 the wrong way. For the controller, there is a little indentation on the outside of the port, and the cable-side with the lock/lip on it should face that. Most cases should have the lock/lip of the cable to the top.