LSI Controller FW updates IR/IT modes


Recommended Posts

After successfully bricking the Fujitsu D2607 by downflashing it  :'(

I'm proud to be able to contribute to this thread and hereby report:

 

LSI MegaRAID with SAS2008 chipsets

 

3) DELL Perc H310 Flashed successfully to LSI9211-8i IT (P19)

 

Files and instructions for flashing will be put together and added to this post ASAP.

 

3TB Drive Support with this card: YES (UPDATE: 5.0Beta7 added 3TB Drive support)

Drive Spin Down support: YES (UPDATE: Added as of 5.0Beta7)

Drive Temp Readings: YES

 

Toolset_PercH310 to LSIMegaraid.zip (DOS, via bootable usb key)

http://www45.zippyshare.com/v/51016808/file.html (for some reason I can't embed the link...)

MD5:80174075959fb7d1ff8c6362f7241bfe

 

Update on 06.08.2014

Included the P19 firmware

http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/9541812/file.html

 

Update on 01.12.2014

Possible issues with P20 firmware! See this post.

 

Make sure you read and understand the __READMEFIRST.txt before starting!

If you experience troubles or something is not clear, don't hesitate to ask for help.

You can help improving the howto by doing so.

Chances are small but you can brick the controller!

 

Hi Fireball,

 

So, I got my new LSI MegaRAID card, which is with SAS2008 (LSI00200).  Do I follow your guide or I follow the original guide/first post, which is this

 

LSI MegaRAID with SAS2008 chipsets

 

1) IBM ServeRAID M1015

 

2) Intel RS2WC080

 

Please let me know (PM or post here) what Card you have successfully flashed with the LSI MegaRAID SAS2008 chipset with the provided zip.

 

20.10.1-0037 (APP-2.120.54-1235) / 15-APR-11

Only iMR mode available.

 

LSI MegaRAID SAS2008 Controller.zip - 5.32 MB (Windows)

 

Linux Driver: megaraid_sas - supports the LSI SAS1078, SAS1078 GEN2, SAS1079 GEN2, SAS0073 and SAS0071 chipsets. Though is is an old version indeed. (Thanks to "BRiT"s prior post)

unRAID Support: Driver not included at this point.

 

Drive Spin Down support: YES (UPDATE: Added as of 5.0Beta7)

Drive Temp Readings: YES

 

3TB Drive Support with this card: YES (UPDATE: 5.0Beta7 added 3TB Drive support)

 

Update: Convert your LSI MegaRAID controller card with LSI SAS2008 chipset to a Plain SAS2008 controller card (IT or IR mode), will look and feel like a LSI SAS9211-8i, and will be ready to use with unRAID (BIG THANKS to KKM for creating the empty.bin, so you dont need to have to worry about which sbr to obtain and use.)

 

1) IBM ServeRAID M1015 (tested successfully)

 

2) Intel RS2WC080  (tested successfully)

 

Please let me know (PM or post here) what Card you have successfully flashed with the LSI MegaRAID to SAS2008 with the provided zip.

 

LSI MegaRAID to SAS2008(P10).zip - 6.38 MB (DOS, via bootable usb key)

LSI MegaRAID to SAS2008(P11).zip - 5.87 MB (DOS, via bootable usb key)

 

Please read the __READMEFIRST.txt file so you are clear as to all the steps and why it is important not to skip any steps.

 

 

Converting it follows all details in the post above for the LSI SAS2008 chipset (firmware release, support, etc.)

 

If i follow the original post/first post that is specific for the LSI MegaRAID, that one has P11, how can i use it with the P19?

Link to comment

Do i just download the files for P19 from LSI website? I download P19 for the 9211-8i DOS?

 

I'm confused now with many posts and files and guides.

 

Can you please guide me? Which files should i use? Do i need to replace any files with the original P19 files from LSI? is it for 9211-8i?

 

Ok, So I'll try to explain the steps I need to follow (from my understanding), correct me if I'm wrong:

 

1.) First, I download the zip file included in the first post of this topics, which is related to my card, which is LSI MegaRAID SAS2008 (LSI MegaRAID to SAS2008(P11).zip - 5.87 MB)

 

2.) I download the latest P19 DOS version files from LSI for 9211-8i.

 

3.) I replace the the firmware files in step 1. with the files download in step 2 (the firmware files 2118it.bin and sas2flsh.exe).

 

4.) I follow the guide mentioned in the __READMEFIRST.txt file that is included in the files downloaded in step 1.

 

So now, this will give me an IT mode card of 9211 8i, which can be used with unRAID. Am I correct?

Link to comment

Ok, so i did it, all went good, and attached is my original adapter info i got before flashing.

 

However, now, when i press CNTL-C enter the card settings, i get this weird blue screen (attached) (the black screen attached is the info before flashing the card).

 

the settings page (card BIOS/blue screen) is messed up, and i can't see any settings.

 

i flashed with 9211-8i P19.

 

Right now, only the card is installed, without any HDDs attached.

 

what could be wrong?  If so, is there I could go back?

 

unnamed1.jpg.aeeed4bf4a592a33643be9e01982d3b0.jpg

unnamed2.jpg.6a15c3f8f2a2bc1265b16e8c701abe64.jpg

ADAPTERS_original.TXT

Flashlog1.txt

Link to comment

Just an update, I read somewhere that i flash it without the ROM file, and i reflashed my card again without it.  Now, I don't get the option for the BIOS of the card when the server boots.

 

But what I did, i connected all the hard drives via the new card and the Intel extender, and my unRAID VM read all the drives as they were before, even the assignment to the slots are correct.

 

Before i put my server into production, i want to be sure that it's ok and nothing is wrong.

 

 

Update

 

I brought the array up, and all was ok, and i tested spin up and down, and it worked. anything else i should test?

Link to comment
Just an update, I read somewhere that i flash it without the ROM file, and i reflashed my card again without it.  Now, I don't get the option for the BIOS of the card when the server boots.

 

Yes, that is the cause of the blue screen you see.

If you read carefully through the instructions it is explained why you don't need the BIOS and what to do if you want to have it flashed.

For simple passthrough you don't need to set up anything in the BIOS and without it you get faster boot times.

 

Just noticed your flashlog. Thanks for attaching them!

According tho the log, you did flash a BIOS on that card.

Then I can only guess that the BIOS is not working correctly with the card?

I can't tell if it's normal (blue screen) or not because I didn't flash a BIOS to my cards.

How long does it take @boot until the BIOS is finished with it's init?

Maybe you can speed up without the BIOS.

 

Anyway, glad to hear it's working.

Can you confirm that temps and SMART as well as spindown is correctly working in unRAID?

Link to comment

Anyone know which firmware i should flash to a SAS 9200-16e?  LSI only has one firmware posted (p5 from 2010), however if you look at the boards, the SAS 9200-16e and SAS 9201-16e are carbon copies of each other, other than the power supply sections.  Both use the LSI SAS2116 chipset.  And the SAS 9201-16e has new rom/firmware update for sep 2014...

Did you manage to find out if there is a P20 for it?

I found the P19 firmware for the 9200-16e on the LSI website and flashed it successfully. But the 9201-16e has the P20 available, but I dont see the P20 for the 9200-16e.

Link to comment

I was finally getting around to doing a sas2flash "uflash" (pull down complete contents of Flash to a file) on my LSI SAS 9211-8i for a fellow unRAIDer who needed it for troubleshooting, and I decided to flash from P19 to P20 while I was in there. While doing that, I decided to flash the UEFI BSD bios. It was originally N/A... blank. I flashed it with the signed P20 x64sas2.rom. That left me with a "sas2flash.efi -list" of:

  • Firmware Version 20.00.00.00
  • BIOS Version 07.39.00.00
  • UEFI BSD Version 07.27.01.00 <-- was previously "N/A"

My question... should I have flashed the UEFI BSD? I noticed immediately after doing it that entering my Supermicro BIOS settings takes longer, which I'm guessing is caused by now having a menu item for my LSI SAS 9211-8i legacy boot ENABLE/DISABLE option. Is there a downside to now having the UEFI BSD BIOS flashed/loaded?

Link to comment

I was finally getting around to doing a sas2flash "uflash" (pull down complete contents of Flash to a file) on my LSI SAS 9211-8i for a fellow unRAIDer who needed it for troubleshooting, and I decided to flash from P19 to P20 while I was in there. While doing that, I decided to flash the UEFI BSD bios. It was originally N/A... blank. I flashed it with the signed P20 x64sas2.rom. That left me with a "sas2flash.efi -list" of:

  • Firmware Version 20.00.00.00
  • BIOS Version 07.39.00.00
  • UEFI BSD Version 07.27.01.00 <-- was previously "N/A"

My question... should I have flashed the UEFI BSD? I noticed immediately after doing it that entering my Supermicro BIOS settings takes longer, which I'm guessing is caused by now having a menu item for my LSI SAS 9211-8i legacy boot ENABLE/DISABLE option. Is there a downside to now having the UEFI BSD BIOS flashed/loaded?

 

For all those who want to use the P20 firmware.

See this post

 

Backup your data before updating!

Report back with your experience.

 

I chickened out after reading your post, the post you linked, and this guy's "LSI P20 firmware not a smooth ride" blog entry, so I didn't have time to test anything and provide feedback on successes/failures with P20. I'm back to:

  • Firmware Version 19.00.00.00
  • BIOS Version 07.37.00.00 <-- I think I could have stuck with the newer P20 bios as long as the firmware was P19, but I reverted this too
  • UEFI BSD Version N/A <-- decided I didn't need this and that it just added another variable I don't need.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

thanks!

 

i went ahead and made the attempt anyway. it was a bit tricky. followed a combination of instructions from these 2 sites,

 

http://techmattr.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/sas-hba-crossflashing-or-flashing-to-it-mode/2/

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/dell-h200-flash-to-it-firmware-procedure-for-dell-servers.467/

 

but roughly, the steps i followed to flash a Dell H200E (external variant) were...

 

[*]megarec -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin

[*]megarec -cleanflash 0

[*]reboot

[*]sas2flsh -o -f 6GBPSAS.FW (using Dell's firmware packaged sas2flsh.exe utility)

[*]sas2flsh -o -sasadd 500xxxxxxxxxxxxx (replace this address with your card's SAS address)

[*]reboot

[*]sas2flsh -o -f 2118it.bin (LSI P7IT) (using LSI's packaged P7 sas2flsh.exe)(It should ask you if you want to flash anyway. Type Y to proceed.)

[*]sas2flsh -o -f 2118it.bin (LSI P16IT) (using LSI's packaged P16 sas2flsh.exe)

[*]shutdown

[*]connect all the cables, in my situation--an intel 36-port sas expander inside a separate DAS case to the external SFF-8088 ports on the Dell H200E inside the main case

 

flashing from Dell IT to LSI P7 seems to be important, or else you'll get errors going straight to P16 from the 6GBPSAS.FW Dell firmware (at least for me it did)

 

all the drives showed up in my setup. now i have 3 M1015s and 1 H200E running on crossflashed 2118IT LSI P16 firmware. all seems good.

 

hope this helps anyone.

Link to comment

DO NOT UPDATE WITH P20 firmware..... I just updated my card Monday to the P20 firmware. Big mistake. All drives showing errors. Like 77,400 and higher numbers. Ran multiple self tests to make sure my drives weren't dying and all test show good. Came across some info bout people having the same problem. Flashed back to P19. No errors.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Has anyone ever tried flashing a BR10i with IBM's updated firmware?  They are up to 2.75, and the release notes imply that support over 2tb works since 2.72

 

Of course, I would think that the card would wind up being back in IR mode.  Has anyone seen firmware from LSI for the 1068 that supports over 2.2tb?

 

Version 2.72 - Suggested
------------
Contains:
- BIOS Version: 6.30.00.00
- Firmware Version: 1.30.05.00
- BSD Version: 3.16.00.05

Enhancement
- Support 2TB LUNS and greater

Fixes:
- Addressed issue with SATA devices where the drive could go missing for
   several minutes.
- Fixed issue where incorrect release of scatter gather list could cause
   issues with pending IO to missing devices.
- Addressed issue where IOs to a host with a bad drive could fail.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Well, it was hard not to pass up the Lenovo deals that randomly show up lately, so I managed to do this on my Lenovo TS440 that is running the RAID 500 controller (MegaRAID 9240-8i).

This was purely accidental and just a combination of what many people have already done.  I used a few different posts in here to get to where I was, but I truly don't remember which ones fully  :-[

 

I ran everything through the existing system, I didn't take out the card.  The TS440 does fully support UEFI.  I was meeting endless errors where it wouldn't properly find megarec.  The error was in the lines of "megarec is not recognized as an internal or external command..."  despite the fact that I was looking right at it and the exe in the direcotry.  I ended up taking some big risks and did the following.

[*]

First I downloaded and prepared the LSI MegaRAID to SAS2008(P11).zip from the front page.

 

[*]

I ran the steps from 1 and on until I didn't get any errors.  This eventually ended with a PAL error.  IIRC this was on step 5.

 

[*]

I then followed xtree's instructions - I prepared a usb with BetaQuasi's instructions BetaQuasi's M1015 Cross flashing instructions as a guide

 

[*]

Created the bootable USB.

 

[*]

Grabbed the P19 package from LSI.  LSI Link

 

[*]

Replaced the 2118it.bin and mptsas2.rom files on the USB key with the ones in the package.

 

[*]

Created a directory structure \efi\boot\ on the USB key

 

[*]

Copied Shell_Full.efi to \efi\boot\bootx64.efi on usb.

 

[*]

Set BIOS on TS440 to UEFI only.  While I was in there, I fixed my boot orders too.

 

[*]

Start system and wait for efi shell.

 

[*]

Typed fs0: to get to the usb device and where all of my files were.

 


This is where things got weird again.  I was continuously getting errors like the ones I received earlier, that sas2flsh was unrecognized, despite the fact that I could see it in my directory listing.  I decided what the hell, why not.  So this is what I did to continue.


I then simply ran the following commands with sas2flash.efi instead, something I was reading in another forum.

[*]sas2flash.efi -o -f 2118it.bin -b mptsas2.rom

[*]

sas2flash.efi -o -sasadd 500605b0xxxxxxxx (replace the xx's with the SAS address from your card)

 

I rebooted and boom, all of my drives were available in the unraid interface.  I don't know if what I did was right or wrong, but it worked...I'm sure someone can find the holes in this and stream line for those jumping on the recent string of thinkserver deals.

Link to comment

Thanks for the info!

I will add the RAID500 to my ebay monitoring and see if I can grab a cheap one.

Then I will report my cross-flash experience as well.

 

Edit:

After checking the usual sources, I don't expect to find a cheap card here.

Please provide some more information on the card.

Are both SAS ports fully functional?

Is spindown working?

Are temps shown in unraid?

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

I have the following:

SAS9220-8i-  I am in the process of flashing it to IT mode.  I am wondering if the link in first post of this thread is still up to date?  I downloaded the LSI to megaraid SAS2008(P11).  I am currently following the readme in an attempt tp flash the card.  I see people talking about P19.  So can you update me and tell me is this is still current?

 

I also have purchase:

RES25v240-  I bought due to various threads I have been reading.  I am unclear if this card needs flashed?  If not once I have the M1015 SAS9220-8i flashed to IT mode, do I simply install this card and used the proper connecting cable, then start connecting hardrives?

 

I really appreciate any help

Bill

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.