Dell Avago LSI9305-16E not detecting arrays

[Greg0986]

Hi all,

I have acquired 2 LSI9305-16E's (Dell OEM) and I am having trouble getting storage arrays working with it. I have tried an older H200E with the array and it works fine, so we can rule that out. I have tried the 9305 in both Dell and HP servers (Dell R720 and R730, and HP Gen8 and Gen9) and it's detected by Windows and Ubuntu etc but the array doesn't appear. I have updated the firmware of the cards to the latest from Broadcom's website, and also did the bios while I was there. After updating the BIOS, I booted into the controller but that showed no devices attached.

The cables I am using to connect the array to the hba are SFF-8644 to SFF-8644, just one cable between the top controller in the array and the hba. I've tried different cables and made sure they are fully seated. Is this correct or do I need a diffeent cable or different configurations of cables?

Secure boot is disabled on the server I am working with. They are appearing in Ubuntu as LSI SAS3216 PCI-Express Fusion-MPT SAS-3.

The only thing that is suspect to me is the fact that the temp LED on the hba is flashing, however it's cool where the server is and the fans on the server are setup for increased cooling. I have also re-applied the thermal paste as it was old and crusty. Temps taken with a infrared thermometer on the heatsink shows 35c average.

Does anyone have any ideas why it isn't working? (apart from it saying its overheating)

 

[poto]

Not sure if you resolved your issue, but I just returned same model hba as defective, identical issues.

Dell OEM 9305-16e would flash temp fault led red upon power-up. Megaraid Storage Manager reported idle temp 60C, well within operating range. IR thermometer on heatsink read 54C. Additional fan lowered temp further, but temp fault led remained lit.

Allowed for possibility of anomaly between Dell hba and SuperMicro motherboard, updated firmware & bios to latest. Connected to disk shelf, but no devices detected. Also tried different port configurations in bios setup, no difference.

Possible previous over-temp damaged IOC & fault led is "stuck" on.

 

[Greg0986]

I did what no one should do and resolved the issue without updating this thread!

I had to wipe the flash, using "sas3flash.efi -o -e 7" in DOS mode
Then boot into efi mode, and run "sas3flash.efi -f SAS9305_16e_IT.bin -b mptsas3.rom -b mpt3x64.rom"

Without wiping the flash memory, the new firmware wouldn't work.

 

[poto]

Did the erase & reflash resolve all the issues? My hba was showing red temp fault before I updated any firmware or bios.

 

[Greg0986]

Yes it did, before flashing it was coming up with the red led temp fault, I assume it was something to do with the system it was connected to before.

 

[poto]

After using the erase function on region "7", did you have to re-write SAS address and/or device ID, or just reboot to efi mode & apply command you listed? I've not had to reflash in some time, & want to avoid bricking this!

"sas3flash.efi -f SAS9305_16e_IT.bin -b mptsas3.rom -b mpt3x64.rom"

 

[Greg0986]

I didn't re-write the SAS address, it hasn't caused any issues so far. I just wiped the flash, and then rebooted into efi mode and ran that command. Obviously make sure the files are named that and are in the same folder where the sas3flash.efi file is.

I roughly followed this guide: https://www.servethehome.com/flash-lsi-sas-3008-hba-e-g-ibm-m1215-mode/

 

[poto]

Thanks, I'll do a bit of a refresh before proceeding.

 

[poto]

The mode 7 erase & re-flash corrected the temp fault led, and arrays are now visible. I'm 2hrs into stress-testing, and no discrepancies. Documentation on this model is sparse, but it seems the temp fault led is multi-purpose. Thanks for following up on your solution - it saved an unneccessary return.

 

[zackiv31]

Sorry to revive an old thread, I think I got one of these cards (Dell OEM) and the red/green light are on immediately when I turn on the server. Doesn't show in `lspci` in ubuntu. `sas3flash.efi -list` under UEFI shows No Avago SAS adapters found (Version 13.00.00.00). Been reading the forums and am kind of stuck. Anything simple I may be missing?