February 18, 201115 yr Okay, for anyone tracking this thread, or for anyone who uses this box in a future build... enable the Write Cache under IDE settings in the Advanced tab of the BIOS This is disabled by default, and resulted in very slow parity builds, and severely handicapped the Samsung F3 drive during preclear. For whatever reason, the Hitachi's didn't have the same issue during preclear, which is why I suspected the drive. However, once the Write Cache was enabled, the Samsung jumped back up to normal speed, and parity checks/rebuilds are in the 70MB/s - 80MB/s range. MUCH better. Thanks again to zheka_ppp for his help in comparing our two builds.
February 18, 201115 yr Hey guys, I recently got myself an HP MicroServer and installed unRAID on it. Is it possible to use the eSATA port on the back on the HP to connect to my computer to allow a direct connection?
February 18, 201115 yr I don't think so. You can't connect a controller to another controller. The eSATA port is designed to connect to a storage device like a hard drive. Besides, your fastest connection would be through the NIC anyway since it's gigabit.
February 18, 201115 yr Fair enough - looks like I'm gonna have to get a gigabit switch then (direct connection to my NIC means I have to wait for the HP to DHCP before I can mount any volumes)
March 3, 201115 yr Hooray ! I've got solution with low write speed (only 9Mbytes/sec) on ODD port. Now I'm running preclear on WD6400AAKS with 110Mbytes/sec on ODD port ! The point was with MicroServer BIOS - ODD and eSATA ports are in "SATA combined" mode (IDE emulation) and there is no way to change it in standard BIOS. One Russian guy with nick Int13H slightly modified BIOS to include South Bridge configuration menus - you can easily disable "SATA combined mode". Here is the topic http://forum.ixbt.com/topic.cgi?id=11:41849-25#877 and new BIOS download link http://narod.ru/disk/4953126001/ahci.zip.html If you are brave enough and want to get full-function on ODD port follow those steps: 1. download September 2010 BIOS firmware setup from HP and follow HP instructions to create bootable usb stick 2. download from the link above and unzip ahci.zip, copy files ahci.bat and ahci_o.rom to usb 3. Boot from this USB stick, first the standard BIOS would be flashed in autoexec.bat. Then run ahci.bat 4. reboot, enter BIOS and disable SATA combined mode in SouthBridge submenu Good luck, Zhenya Thanks for the info. For anyone who has already done this -- I have had trouble downloading the files linked above. Does anyone have an archived copy they can share with me? I tried reading the rest of the thread on the Russian forum, but no machine translators seem to be able to cope with the Cyrillic. Secondly, can someone please confirm that this is correct BIOS to download and patch: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=4248009&prodNameId=4310887&swEnvOID=4006&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-2bb8560fad1745fea65ec994d6 BIOS - System ROM Version: 2010.09.30 (A) (15 Oct 2010) Operating System(s): Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Foundation Edition, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Small Business, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server (x86), Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server (x86-64) File name: sp50582.exe (2.6 MB) Many thanks! Neil
March 8, 201115 yr I see a new BIOS has been released: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=4248009&prodNameId=4310887&swEnvOID=4064&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-1e53a0c07635470487af219052 with a version/date of - 2011.01.17 (A) (28 Feb 2011). I'm wondering whether to put this latest BIOS on or use the September BIOS with the Russian forum's changes added on. As I doubt you can go backwards in BIOS releases if the Feb 2011 BIOS doesn't allow the setting of the Sata ports 5 and 6. Anyone able to clear this up?
March 8, 201115 yr Thanks for the info. For anyone who has already done this -- I have had trouble downloading the files linked above. Does anyone have an archived copy they can share with me? I tried reading the rest of the thread on the Russian forum, but no machine translators seem to be able to cope with the Cyrillic. Neil, I did in fact archive all the necessary files when I did this build last month, planning for just such a contingency. I will post it here when I get home from work. If I can't post it, I'll pm it. I see a new BIOS has been released: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=4248009&prodNameId=4310887&swEnvOID=4064&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-1e53a0c07635470487af219052 with a version/date of - 2011.01.17 (A) (28 Feb 2011). I'm wondering whether to put this latest BIOS on or use the September BIOS with the Russian forum's changes added on. As I doubt you can go backwards in BIOS releases if the Feb 2011 BIOS doesn't allow the setting of the Sata ports 5 and 6. Anyone able to clear this up? I don't know, and frankly, don't want to risk breaking what is already working. Sometimes BIOS updates do not enhance anything, but actually take away functionality.
March 8, 201115 yr Neil, I did in fact archive all the necessary files when I did this build last month, planning for just such a contingency. I will post it here when I get home from work. If I can't post it, I'll pm it. Don't worry, zheka_ppp hooked me up. Cheers.
March 8, 201115 yr Here's what's new in that new BIOS: Added a warning message when the Hard Drive Write Cache option is set to enabled in the ROM based setup menu. No, thanks!
March 8, 201115 yr Here's what's new in that new BIOS: Added a warning message when the Hard Drive Write Cache option is set to enabled in the ROM based setup menu. No, thanks! That's almost laughable, I'll be using the older BIOS with the additions then, thanks for clarifying
March 8, 201115 yr Thanks for the info. For anyone who has already done this -- I have had trouble downloading the files linked above. Does anyone have an archived copy they can share with me? I tried reading the rest of the thread on the Russian forum, but no machine translators seem to be able to cope with the Cyrillic. Neil, I did in fact archive all the necessary files when I did this build last month, planning for just such a contingency. I will post it here when I get home from work. If I can't post it, I'll pm it. Aiden, would you be able to send me a link to the older BIOS please?
March 8, 201115 yr Yeah, I'll try to post it up here when I get home. But it sounds like zheka_ppp also has the files.
March 8, 201115 yr This is the link to new modified BIOS, based on latest version from HP: http://rghost.ru/4654133 I didn't try it yet, but two guys on russian forum confirmed it's ok.
March 8, 201115 yr This is the link to new modified BIOS, based on latest version from HP: http://rghost.ru/4654133 I didn't try it yet, but two guys on russian forum confirmed it's ok. Thank you for the link, it seems to have worked fine
March 9, 201115 yr Has anyone tried installing a SATA controller card in the 1x or 16x PCI card slot in this box? I was just thinking that if you installed a controller card you could add the fifth internal HD and not have to worry about installing the hacked BIOS.
March 9, 201115 yr Has anyone tried installing a SATA controller card in the 1x or 16x PCI card slot in this box? I was just thinking that if you installed a controller card you could add the fifth internal HD and not have to worry about installing the hacked BIOS. Or upgrade the hardware to support >2.1TB drives, assuming the current hardware is insufficient. I'm curious as well. Be careful about slapping too many power sucking drives onto this system. The PSU was selected specific to it's current configuration.
March 9, 201115 yr Has anyone tried installing a SATA controller card in the 1x or 16x PCI card slot in this box? I was just thinking that if you installed a controller card you could add the fifth internal HD and not have to worry about installing the hacked BIOS. Or upgrade the hardware to support >2.1TB drives, assuming the current hardware is insufficient. I'm curious as well. Be careful about slapping too many power sucking drives onto this system. The PSU was selected specific to it's current configuration. This is a pretty new embedded system, so it may already support 3TB or higher. Given that we know the hacked BIOS works -- it's been installed by at least 3 people here, what's the point of adding a card? If you're paranoid, just install it as soon as you get the machine and if it dies, return it as a DOA. I have 2x 7200rpm drives in my server and the most it's drawn is just over half the rated PSU power. It has to support at least 4x 7200rpm drives. I wouldn't put more than 3x 7200rpm drives and 2x 5400rpm drives. My long term plan is to move to all Green drives, as most people here will do, I imagine.
March 9, 201115 yr It seems others have tried the hacked BIOS as well - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1555868&page=7 and apparently the latest BIOS adds the hacked in functionality - http://forum.wegotserved.com/index.php/topic/16427-whs-on-hp-proliant-microserver/page__view__findpost__p__104300
March 9, 201115 yr It seems others have tried the hacked BIOS as well - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1555868&page=7 and apparently the latest BIOS adds the hacked in functionality - http://forum.wegotserved.com/index.php/topic/16427-whs-on-hp-proliant-microserver/page__view__findpost__p__104300 It would be nice if this could be confirmed here with parity and preclear speeds.
March 9, 201115 yr It seems others have tried the hacked BIOS as well - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1555868&page=7 and apparently the latest BIOS adds the hacked in functionality - http://forum.wegotserved.com/index.php/topic/16427-whs-on-hp-proliant-microserver/page__view__findpost__p__104300 It would be nice if this could be confirmed here with parity and preclear speeds. I was thinking the same thing...
March 9, 201115 yr It seems others have tried the hacked BIOS as well - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1555868&page=7 and apparently the latest BIOS adds the hacked in functionality - http://forum.wegotserved.com/index.php/topic/16427-whs-on-hp-proliant-microserver/page__view__findpost__p__104300 It would be nice if this could be confirmed here with parity and preclear speeds. I was thinking the same thing... I don't think the latest HP BIOS added the AHCI functionality that the hacked ROM added. HP lists this as the only enhancement for the latest BIOS. Added a warning message when the Hard Drive Write Cache option is set to enabled in the ROM based setup menu. There is a good thread discussing this box over at ars technica. Here is the link. http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1126552 The internal SATA connector for the optical drive and the eSATA port both connect to a PATA controller. I thought by using a PCI card, instead of the hacked BIOS, one could have a better connection for a fifth internal hard drive as well as an eSATA port that supports port multipliers. The onboard eSATA apparently does not support that.
March 9, 201115 yr By the way there is also an IPMI card for this server. The HP ProLiant MicroServer Remote Access Card (615095-B21) cost about $80-$90 online. It occupies the PCI 1x Slot when installed but it's a nice option for remote management.
March 9, 201115 yr The internal SATA connector for the optical drive and the eSATA port both connect to a PATA controller. I thought by using a PCI card, instead of the hacked BIOS, one could have a better connection for a fifth internal hard drive as well as an eSATA port that supports port multipliers. The onboard eSATA apparently does not support that. AIUI, it is not connected to an IDE controller, it's a SATA controller in IDE emulation mode. The hacked BIOS just enables you to switch off this "SATA combined mode" and enable the full SATA speed. It's true about the eSATA port not supporting port multipliers. I did consider whether I want to add external storage, and decided for now, I'd rather not. I have my other build as the machine with many, maaaaany drives!
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