LSI SAS2008 - no attached devices found

[pvenkman]

I'm trying to built a new NAS at home using the following hardware:

Mobo: AsRock H77Pro4/MVP
HDD: 6x WD Red 3TB
Controller: Supermicro USAS2-L8i (running in a PCI-E 3.0 16x slot, no other PCI-E cards present).
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Firmware Version: 16.00.01.00 IT
NVDATA Version: 10:00:00:04
OPROM Version: 7.31.00.00
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The harddrives are attached via SFF8087 breakout cables.

Now, I successfully "conquered" the UIO bracket problem and reflashed the firmware to IT mode.

However, no matter what I do, no HDD shows up in the "SAS topology" view in the controller BIOS.
I tried attaching different harddrives (Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001) and switching cable pairs - to no avail. The heartbeat LED, is blinking regularly (green) though.
So, I guess that - either there is a super trivial problem that I overlooked or the card is defective?

Please be so kind as to point me in the right direction.

 

[sotech]

This is probably something you've already looked at but are the cables known-working, and known to be not reverse breakout (e.g. have they worked elsewhere)? We have had a couple of episodes of being shipped reverse breakout when we ordered forward breakout, so I think it's worth checking if everything else appears to be working.

You mentioned switching cable pairs but I wasn't sure whether you meant swapping the two for that card around or with another pair.

I've never flashed an IT card and left the ROM in place so I've never checked whether drives appear in there in IT mode... so nothing appears in the host OS? You could try flashing to the latest (18? or is that just for the 9201?) and not flashing the ROM, if you're running low on ideas.

 

[mobilenvidia]

Wouldn't be the first to have the wrong direction cables
Cable you need is SATA end should be Target and Controller end initiator
There are cables (reverse breakout) that work in reverse only and do what you are seeing (or not seeing )

Why do folk flash IT and then flash the BIOS (OROM), there is no need and you are just using resources and wasting time at boot.
IT needs nothing but the Firmware and possibly UEFI BIOS incase you are booting into a UEFI capable OS

With the BIOS flashed in IT you can enter the LSI HBA OROM but in IT there is nothing to do
I suppose you can set the Boot drive, which you can also do in System BIOS.

 

[pvenkman]

Thank you very much for the quick answers. I just ordered a new set of cables. I can't really tell whether the ones I already have are incorrect ones.

Regarding the OPROM flashing - I didn't actually choose to flash the IT firmware AND the OPROM, it's just what the Supermicro flashscript did, but thanks for the heads-up concerning boot-time delay (caused by this).

If if get the controller working, using the new cables - I will check that again.