Can't seem to update Adaptec firmware - What am I doing wrong?

[AveryFreeman]

Hey,

I've got an Adaptec/Microsemi SmartHBA 2100 I'm really excited to try out, but I think it's firmware is too old for it to be recognized as an HBA by ESXi 7.0

I have the SmartPQI native driver in ESXi, I know it's loaded (it's in esxi software vib list), the card is listed under lspci, etc. but it still does not think it's a storage adapter.

When I try to upgrade the firmware using arcconf on the Adaptec BootUSB for maxView storage config program, it gives me a general error. Here's what I've tried:

Making sure BIOS sees card / is loaded at boot
Removing all other cards from host
Removing all connectors from drives, storage enclosure, etc.
Trying older firmwares first

Right now the card's on 1.60 and the latest release was 3.21. I've tried firmwares 1.98 through 3.21, still no dice.
The changelog from 1.98 says to flash SmartFWx100.bin first, and then the SmartFWx100_v1.98_xxx.bin file, but that hasn't worked.

I'm using an X9SCL-F, have tried slots 1 and 2 (pcie 3.0 x8).

Any ideas?

 

[i386]

I like the features of the smartraid/smarthba, but the management software (maxview) sucks...

it gives me a general error.

Do you have a screnshot of the error message?

Any ideas?

I would try the hba in a windows box, update to the newest drivers and then try to update the firmware.
Is this a retail card?

 

[AveryFreeman]

Funny you mention maxView being lame, I saw there was a GUI interface add-on for ESXi and thought it was pretty cool, I don't think I've ever seen something like that until now - although I usually pass through my old LSI 2008 cards to VMs, so maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

Too late now because 2008s aren't compatible w/ ESXi 7.0 - and neither is any 3rd-party vendor software for the SmartHBA. Native driver only (hey, at least it still works - supposedly)

The error message is literally the most generic, unhelpful error message you could imagine. It says general twice. I was thinking maybe the BootUSB drive doesn't load the driver for the card when it boots up. The BootUSB. Created specifically for that card. Yeah.

I was also thinking of trying Windows, too - I'm putting together a copy on a drive to put in that server. Found out from the reseller the card is a pull from an HP Z4 G4 workstation. I have located the HP drivers, but they're version 1.98 - so, significantly older, but I'm hoping if the HP app will let me sideload a different .bin file, I can shoehorn the newer vanilla drivers on there somehow.

Do you think the ancient firmware is why ESXi doesn't recognize it as an HBA?

 

[AveryFreeman]

OK, so I have an update

Because the cards are HP rebrands, I could only update them using HP firmware. I spent all day trying to flash the cards with the stock SmartHBA firmware and made absolutely no progress.

I tried flashing stock firmware using the HP util.
I tried flashing it using the maxView software.
I tried flashing it in both linux and windows arcconf CLI.
I tried flashing it in the BIOS (UEFI update - very convenient).
I tried putting the card in to "HDA Mode" by putting a jumper on it used for restoring the card in case of a flashing disaster.
I tried flashing it with a dos disk and the old afu.exe software while in Mode 0 / HDA mode (not even close).

In the end, the only thing that worked was flashing the HP firmware and HP flash utility (ssflash.exe) or in the BIOS.

The HP firmware, unfortunately, only goes up to 1.98 (2018), while the last release of SmartHBA eeprom is 3.21 (late Oct 2020). So I'm kinda pissed.

I was really hoping I could get these up to the latest firmware so they would work in ESXi 7.0U1

Then, just to see if 1.98 was new enough, I booted into ESXi and saw this...:

[root@robotchicken:~] esxcfg-scsidevs -a

vmhba0  vmw_ahci          link-n/a  sata.vmhba0                             (0000:00:1f.2) Intel Corporation Cougar Point 6 port SATA AHCI Controller
vmhba1  smartpqi          link-n/a  sas.50000d1704a6a300                    (0000:01:00.0) Microsemi MSCC SmartHBA 2100-4i4e
vmhba32 vmkusb            link-n/a  usb.vmhba32                             () USB

I wish I had noticed the thing was an HP when I bought it. Was a great deal, but being limited to old-ass firmware really sucks. I am going to see if HP will do me a solid and let me know how to flash it stock, or convert over a newer firmware for me... (Supermicro has done it before, why wouldn't HP?)