14 Tb SAS drives not writeable

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dennis12

New Member
Feb 27, 2019
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Hi,

I have a new build Supermicro:

Supermicro X9DRD-7LN4F - Supermicro | Products | Motherboards | Xeon® Boards | X9DRD-7LN4F
- Onboard SAS-2 Broadcom 2308 (2 ports)
- 6x HGST Ultrastar Hs14 14TB 7200rpm SAS 12Gb/s

I install FreeNAS on a USB, i can see the disks in FreeNAS and SSH. Pool crealing is also failed.
But i cannot write to te disks, like a simple DD a got disks errors. Also SMART data is not readable.

(da5:mps0:0:13:0): Command byte 2 is invalid
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): Descriptor 0x80: f8 72
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): Retrying command (per sense data)
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): WRITE(10). CDB: 2a 00 cb bb ff ff 00 00 01 00
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): CAM status: SCSI Status Error
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): SCSI status: Check Condition
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): SCSI sense: ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:21,4 (Unaligned write command)
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): Info: 0xcbbb0000
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): Command byte 2 is invalid
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): Descriptor 0x80: f8 72
(da5:mps0:0:13:0): Error 5, Retries exhausted

I have connect the backplane with 1 SAS cable to the motherboard.
Do i need connect the blackplane <-> controller with 2 SAS cables?

- edit-

BIOS is now up to date and controller also to version 2015.08.03 - still not writeable.
 
Last edited:

azev

Well-Known Member
Jan 18, 2013
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Is it possible that the drive is not formatted to 512 block size or 4k ?
 

dennis12

New Member
Feb 27, 2019
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Thanks guys!

UEFI for the controller also the same errors.

Monday I will be on location and I will try:
- Try with another SAS1 or SAS2 disk if i can write and read.
- Swap SAS cable and second SAS cable to be sure.
- I order a SAS -> SAS cable for testing the disk direct on the controller without the backplane.
- Backplane firmware update? BPN-SAS2-826EL1 is the backplane
- I have also a Adaptec ASR-71605, mayby try with this card



SAS2 (backplane + controller) AND SAS3 (DISKS) is backwards compatible?


Anyone else have any suggestion for a good (budget friendly) controller for FreeNAS with support voor 14 Tb disks and 4kN sectors?


These Ultrastar Hs14 14TB drives are 4Kn drives that dont support logical 512 sectors. I think you have to be very careful with compatibility with the LSI 2308.

LSI Compatibility with 4kn
14 Tb drivers are not in the compatibility disk overview (Not tested).
 
Last edited:

Stereodude

Active Member
Feb 21, 2016
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These Ultrastar Hs14 14TB drives are 4Kn drives that dont support logical 512 sectors. I think you have to be very careful with compatibility with the LSI 2308.

LSI Compatibility with 4kn
This site claims the 2308 and 2208 are 4kN compatible. 4Kn LSI Compatibility List

The Broadcom site doesn't mention the 2308. The 2208 shows compatibility in the list. They don't show any incompatible 4kN drives, but it's possible there are some but they just left them off the list. That would be pretty slimy IMHO.
 

BLinux

cat lover server enthusiast
Jul 7, 2016
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there's always a chance that some particular HDD model, or firmware version isn't compatible, but generally speaking, SAS2008, SAS2308, SAS3008, SAS3408 all seem to be compatible with HGST 4Kn 8TB drives:


So, it's likely the other HGST 4Kn models should also work...
 

itronin

Well-Known Member
Nov 24, 2018
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Denver, Colorado
Is it possible this issue is not really SAS2/SAS3 at all?

Are these drives used and by chance did they come out of an Hitachi VSP aka Vantara, or other specialized SAN that uses custom firmware on drives (EMC)?

f they did there's a very good chance they have custom firmware settings unique to the VSP... Might be worth getting the drive information and see what firmware it actually has loaded.

I'm super curious if you wouldn't mind posting that information here.
 

dennis12

New Member
Feb 27, 2019
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- Try with another SAS1 or SAS2 disk if i can write and read. - Can write with a OLD SAS disk
- Try 1 14 Tb DISK direct without backplane - Same problem
- Try Swap SAS cable and second SAS cable to be sure.
- Adaptec ASR-7160 Not see the disks

I think the problem is that the HGST HS14 - 14 Tb (HSH721414AL42M0) disk a HOST-managed SMR disk is?


In contrast to drive-managed SMR, host-managed SMR is an implementation where the host is responsible for everything ranging from managing data streams, to read/write operations and zone management. Host-managed SMR requires host-software modification so that the host system has knowledge of the underlying media and can micro control all elements by employing a new set of commands.

Depending on the system architecture, implementing these modifications may seem like an onerous task, yet once developers gain SMR familiarity and optimize their applications for sequential writing, they can take advantage of unsurpassed levels of reliability and quality. With the ability to deliver predictable, consistent performance comparable to what users expect from traditional PMR drives, host-managed SMR is emerging as the preferred option for implementing shingled magnetic recording.