Is it a counterfeit LSI 9240-8i card?


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What does the sticker in the top left of the rear view picture say?  It is probably an IBM ServeRAID M1015, which is a re-branded LSI 9240-8i.

 

Thanks for the reply. It says "MR SAS 9240-8i L3-25083-12A".

 

Can the card be no LSI logo in the front and no LSI copyright statement at the back?

 

Sorry that I am not familiar with the LSI card / re-branded card.

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Very likely.  I just got a counterfeit or stolen LSI card from Amazon.  I read an article before buying my LSI card that LSI cards in particular are sold stolen or counterfeit on sites like ebay so that is why I bought on amazon.  But the amazon card turned out to be one of the two when I tried to RMA it after about three weeks of owning it.  I returned the card to amazon and bought it from the authorized dealer newegg.

 

I learned my lesson only buy from authorized dealers, expecially for expensive equipment, in the end newegg was only a few bucks more.

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I would call LSI and confirm with them and if it is not legitimate you need to decide if you want to run the risk of it failing and LSI not RMAing the card like I went thought.  My card worked as expected until I tried flashing it to IT mode.  I tried RMAing it but the SN was not in the correct format.  Mine even had all the LSI logos and came in a LSI retail box.

 

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I called LSI and also send them the photos. LSI said that the card is an OEM controller for Lenovo.

 

I wonder why the LSI logo is missing. I replied them and wait for their reply.

 

According to the LSI email, I also can't use the firmware posted on LSI site because it could break the controller. Is it true?

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Hmm...I went up my attic and fetched my two spares.

These are "real" IBM M1015s, pulled from System-X boxes.

 

You are right, they do have a logo in the front side, left under the heat-sink,

above the PCIe connector ...and a copyright on the back.

Also on the back, the top left sticker states "SAS9220-8i .....".

 

So, I stand corrected....sorry for the confusion  :-X

 

The M1015/9220-8i resembles the layout of the 9240-8i or the 9210.8i resectively.

I flashed two of mine with the 9240-8i firmware from LSI with no problems when P12 was actual.

(the version was upgraded  but the features stayed at M1015 level - the 9240 has got raid-5 support, whilst the basic M1015 has not).

 

What everybody does is flashing the 9211-8i FW  onto it, ignoring the fact that the layout of the 9211 is totally different to the 9210/9240....and it works.

If LSI states that these were made for lenovo, then these are of a newer batch maybe.

Could be, that there are some changes in FW that prevent cross flashing.

But if the were made *by* LSI they probably should carry a logo...if made *by* lenovo, they should probably at least carry a copyright of the layout.... ???

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Hmm...I went up my attic and fetched my two spares.

These are "real" IBM M1015s, pulled from System-X boxes.

 

You are right, they do have a logo in the front side, left under the heat-sink,

above the PCIe connector ...and a copyright on the back.

Also on the back, the top left sticker states "SAS9220-8i .....".

 

So, I stand corrected....sorry for the confusion  :-X

 

The M1015/9220-8i resembles the layout of the 9240-8i or the 9210.8i resectively.

I flashed two of mine with the 9240-8i firmware from LSI with no problems when P12 was actual.

(the version was upgraded  but the features stayed at M1015 level - the 9240 has got raid-5 support, whilst the basic M1015 has not).

 

What everybody does is flashing the 9211-8i FW  onto it, ignoring the fact that the layout of the 9211 is totally different to the 9210/9240....and it works.

If LSI states that these were made for lenovo, then these are of a newer batch maybe.

Could be, that there are some changes in FW that prevent cross flashing.

But if the were made *by* LSI they probably should carry a logo...if made *by* lenovo, they should probably at least carry a copyright of the layout.... ???

 

Thanks for your help. I am still waiting for LSI reply on the missing logo.

 

Anyway, for safety reason, I will return the card to the seller.  :)

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Hmm...I went up my attic and fetched my two spares.

These are "real" IBM M1015s, pulled from System-X boxes.

 

You are right, they do have a logo in the front side, left under the heat-sink,

above the PCIe connector ...and a copyright on the back.

Also on the back, the top left sticker states "SAS9220-8i .....".

 

So, I stand corrected....sorry for the confusion  :-X

 

The M1015/9220-8i resembles the layout of the 9240-8i or the 9210.8i resectively.

I flashed two of mine with the 9240-8i firmware from LSI with no problems when P12 was actual.

(the version was upgraded  but the features stayed at M1015 level - the 9240 has got raid-5 support, whilst the basic M1015 has not).

 

What everybody does is flashing the 9211-8i FW  onto it, ignoring the fact that the layout of the 9211 is totally different to the 9210/9240....and it works.

 

Interesting findings about the 9240 firmware!

I didn't see any information to this around here as far as i remember.

Where did you get that info from - unfortunately I haven't found a naming convention for LSI cards...

Did yo flash your M1015 to the LSI 9240 IT or IR mode?

 

Could be, that there are some changes in FW that prevent cross flashing.

Could be the case, just as the Fujitsu D2607 which is not fully functional after a crossflash!

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[interesting findings about the 9240 firmware!

I didn't see any information to this around here as far as i remember.

Where did you get that info from - unfortunately I haven't found a naming convention for LSI cards...

Did yo flash your M1015 to the LSI 9240 IT or IR mode?

 

What do you mean by "interesting finding"...sorry, but english is not my native tongue.

When I got my first M1015, I found that it resembles the 9240-8i (by its looks/layout).

Also IBM supplied FW is way behind LSI, so I simply tried it.

It accepted the FW but still reported as IBM M1015...lacking the Raid-5 modes (as these are sold seperately by IBM for the M1015)

Mind you that the original M1015 carries MegaRAID FW, not IT/IR, just like the LSI 9240.

I *think* there is a reference in the early pages of madburg's thread...yes, here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12767.msg121477#msg121477

 

There is a OEM HBA version from LSI of the 9240, which is the 9210, see: http://www.lsi.com/products/host-bus-adapters/pages/lsi-sas-9210-8i.aspx

This is a HBA with IT/IR FW but resembles the design of the 9240

Actually I never bothered to flash the 9210 FW...I always used the 9211 FWs as everyone else did for cross-flash.

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OK, i went to your linked post and it seems the flash to 9240 was one of the first trials to

get the M1015 working in unRAID.

Some posts later you went with the 9210 fw and somehow the story ends on the 9211 fw for this cards.

That is what everybody uses nowadays.

I have a clear picture now.

 

I studied the recent portfolio of LSI and they mostly have (at least) two versions of their cards.

One with the vertical connectors and the other one with the horizontal connector.

When I got my first M1015, I found that it resembles the 9240-8i (by its looks/layout).

Can't say if you really can distinguish something like that just by looking at the picture/layout...

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When I got my first M1015, I found that it resembles the 9240-8i (by its looks/layout).

Can't say if you really can distinguish something like that just by looking at the picture/layout...

 

Ha, well you are right...but the M1015 actually was a MegaRAID card..just different marketing, feature wise in its firmware...and I was a lot younger back then.. ;D

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  • 4 months later...

Hello, I brought it from ebay last week and just get it today. The price is around US$100.

 

I haven't tried it yet as I wonder it is not a real card. It seems that the LSI logo is missing.  :-\

 

Is it a fake card? Thanks a lot.

 

Hi, i just bought the same exact card as yours.  Can you share your experience with the card? did it work for you, or it's a fake card?

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