HBA not seeing drives

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.
C

colbyu

New Member
Jul 13, 2016
7
0
1
52
I posted this over at Reddit but I thought people over here might have some insight.

First off, I'm no expert on this stuff, but I'm learning as I go...

My home server is a dell R710, running Ubuntu Xenial. The included SAS 6i card works perfectly flashed into IT mode. The issue I'm having is with an additional HBA that I just purchased. This HBA has 4 SFF8088 external connectors, which I'm trying to connect to some bare SATA drives using 8088 to 4x SATA fanout connectors. It just doesn't seem to be working. The card shows up in Linux without any obvious errors, and the driver seems to be loaded. The green heartbeat LED is blinking as I assume it should, but no drives show up. I'm connecting the bare drives directly to the SATA plugs on the 8088 to SATA cables, and they have power as I can feel them spinning up. but the drives don't show up in the BIOS, OS, or at boot time. I have tried several types, brands, and even filesystems (not that that should matter) but nothing... I even tried under a bew OS, booted from USB, but the result is the same :( . The card is plugged into an 8x PCIe slot (on the R710 this is using reiser 2, bottom slot if that matters).

The HBA:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252426108131?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
LSI SAS 4-PORT 6GB PCI-EXPRESS 2.0 X8 CONTROLLER CARD H3-25379-01K SAS9201-16E
Which I understand to be compatible with SATA.

The cable:
Amazon.com: CableCreation External Mini SAS 26pin (SFF-8088) Male to 4x 7Pin Sata Cable, 1.0M: Computers & Accessories CableCreation External Mini SAS 26pin (SFF-8088) Male to 4x 7Pin Sata Cable, 1.0M

Some diagnostic output... I don't see any errors there. I cut out the relevant info...

Relevant LSHW sectiion
Code: 
*-pci:5
                 description: PCI bridge
                 product: 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub PCI Express Root Port 7
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 7
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:07.0
                 version: 13
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pci msi pciexpress pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=pcieport
                 resources: irq:30 ioport:e000(size=4096) memory:dfb00000-dfbfffff
               *-storage
                    description: Serial Attached SCSI controller
                    product: SAS2116 PCI-Express Fusion-MPT SAS-2 [Meteor]
                    vendor: LSI Logic / Symbios Logic
                    physical id: 0
                    bus info: pci@0000:06:00.0
                    version: 02
                    width: 64 bits
                    clock: 33MHz
                    capabilities: storage pm pciexpress vpd msi msix bus_master cap_list rom
                    configuration: driver=mpt3sas latency=0
                    resources: irq:0 ioport:ec00(size=256) memory:dfbbc000-dfbbffff memory:dfbc0000-dfbfffff memory:dfb00000-dfb7ffff
            *-pci:6
And modinfo mpt3sas:
Code: 
filename:       /lib/modules/4.4.0-28-generic/kernel/drivers/scsi/mpt3sas/mpt3sas.ko
alias:          mpt2sas
version:        12.100.00.00
license:        GPL
description:    LSI MPT Fusion SAS 3.0 Device Driver
author:         Avago Technologies <MPT-FusionLinux.pdl@avagotech.com>
srcversion:     3946C07EF122A6D7F0CF884
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C3sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C2sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C1sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C0sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C8sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C7sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C6sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C5sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C4sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d000000C9sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000095sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000094sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000091sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000090sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000097sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000096sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d0000007Esv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d0000006Esv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000087sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000086sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000085sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000084sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000083sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000082sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000081sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000080sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000065sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000064sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000077sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000076sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000074sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000072sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001000d00000070sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
depends:        scsi_transport_sas,raid_class
intree:         Y
vermagic:       4.4.0-28-generic SMP mod_unload modversions
parm:           logging_level: bits for enabling additional logging info (default=0)
parm:           max_sectors:max sectors, range 64 to 32767  default=32767 (ushort)
parm:           missing_delay: device missing delay , io missing delay (array of int)
parm:           max_lun: max lun, default=16895  (ullong)
parm:           hbas_to_enumerate: 0 - enumerates both SAS 2.0 & SAS 3.0 generation HBAs
           1 - enumerates only SAS 2.0 generation HBAs
           2 - enumerates only SAS 3.0 generation HBAs (default=0) (ushort)
parm:           diag_buffer_enable: post diag buffers (TRACE=1/SNAPSHOT=2/EXTENDED=4/default=0) (int)
parm:           disable_discovery: disable discovery  (int)
parm:           prot_mask: host protection capabilities mask, def=7  (int)
parm:           max_queue_depth: max controller queue depth  (int)
parm:           max_sgl_entries: max sg entries  (int)
parm:           msix_disable: disable msix routed interrupts (default=0) (int)
parm:           smp_affinity_enable:SMP affinity feature enable/disbale Default: enable(1) (int)
parm:           max_msix_vectors: max msix vectors (int)
parm:           mpt3sas_fwfault_debug: enable detection of firmware fault and halt firmware - (default=0)
Did they ship me the wrong cables or is my setup incorrect? something else?
 
C

colbyu

New Member
Jul 13, 2016
7
0
1
52
I ordered 4, all show the same results. Those cables have pretty decent reviews, so I could believe 1 may be bad, but not 4...

Another thing, while the card looks OK in the booted system, it isn't announcing itself at bootup. Being that it's a dumb HBA, I wasn't sure that It should show up in POST but someone else just told me that they think it should. Maybe bad firmware or card BIOS if this card has one?
 
C

colbyu

New Member
Jul 13, 2016
7
0
1
52
pricklypunter said:
Now, when you say "and" they have power, does this mean you did or did not connect power cables to the disks?
Click to expand...
My test drives were bare SATA drives with the 8088 to SATA cables plugged into the data ports and the Power port connected to a working PSU's SATA power connector.
 
P

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
1,714
520
113
Canada
Ok, I just wanted you to confirm that the disks had both 5V & 12V rails up when you tested. Sometimes little nuances in language can send you down a rabbit hole, so I was just checking the obvious :)

Oh, and you'll not normally see the card listed in the general post messages of most BIOS's. You will see the card's boot message however, if you also included the Boot ROM when you flashed the card.

Try completely erasing and reflashing the card, make sure to reflash the card's SAS address and also include the Boot ROM file. When you reboot, hit Ctrl-C when you see the message pop up and you should be able to access the card, see what's connected to each port and what mode it's in etc.
 
Last edited:
C

colbyu

New Member
Jul 13, 2016
7
0
1
52
pricklypunter said:
Ok, I just wanted you to confirm that the disks had both 5V & 12V rails up when you tested. Sometimes little nuances in language can send you down a rabbit hole, so I was just checking the obvious :)

Oh, and you'll not normally see the card listed in the general post messages of most BIOS's. You will see the card's boot message however, if you also included the Boot ROM when you flashed the card.

Try completely erasing and reflashing the card, make sure to reflash the card's SAS address and also include the Boot ROM file. When you reboot, hit Ctrl-C when you see the message pop up and you should be able to access the card, see what's connected to each port and what mode it's in etc.
Click to expand...
Yup, thats my plan for tomorrow. So, just to clarify, the boot ROM is optional and if it is included when I flash the card I should start seeing the ctrl-c message for that card at boot after that?

I have another LSI card in the system, the SAS 6i that i flashed to IT mode and I do see the ctrl-c message for that one, but hitting those keys only brings up the config for the SAS 6i, no mention of the new card anywhere.
 
P

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
1,714
520
113
Canada
Yes, once you include the Boot ROM (-b mptsas2.rom) you should begin to see the Ctrl-C message for each card. Just for a test though, only fit the card you have an issue with to begin, get that going and confirmed working first, then add the original card back in to the mix. Also, if both are using LSI Firmware and Boot ROM code, make sure both are using the SAME version, ideally from the same LSI/ Avago download package, and be sure you give each card a unique SAS address (the orginal address should be on a label somewhere on the card) :)
 
C

colbyu

New Member
Jul 13, 2016
7
0
1
52
Well, it's looking good now. I went ahead and created a flash USB, and booted that (after a crash course in UEFI shell booting). When I ran the command to check the card, it found it but it seemed odd - it showed the firmware as being version 1.00.00 which seems unusually ancient, especially for a used card. It showed nothing at all in the BIOS column. I flashed them up to the latest version, and now the card is seeing the test drive I had plugged in. Assuming there are are no more issues I think I'm good to go. Thanks for the help, this made my day!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom