IBM M5015 experiences

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BigXor

BigXor

Active Member
May 6, 2011
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mrkrad said:
wait is 0154 ibm or lsi? I don't see it on the ibm website.
Click to expand...
LSI Website

Called 4.10 P2 Firmware

************************************

LSI Corp. MegaRAID Firmware Release

************************************

Release date: 03/05/13

======================
Supported Controllers:
======================

MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i
MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-4i
MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9260DE-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9261-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9280-4i4e
MegaRAID SAS 9280-8e
MegaRAID SAS 9280DE-8e
MegaRAID SAS 9280-24i4e
MegaRAID SAS 9280-16i4e
MegaRAID SAS 9260-16i

******* This firmware supports Cachecade Pro 2.0 (if activated) for the controllers mentioned above.
******* This single firmware image can be used on all of the controllers mentioned above (no longer need separate image for the high-port-count controllers).


Component:
=========
SAS MegaRAID Firmware Release for MegaRAID Controllers
Release date: 03/05/13


Version Numbers:
===============
Current Firmware Package (with CacheCade Pro 2.0): 12.13.0-0154 (Merged) :cool:
Firmware 2.130.383-2315
Medusa_Expander SAS2XFW-25.05.04.00_MFGIMG-25.05.04.00
NVDATA 2.09.03-0045
BootBlockCommon 09.250.01.219
BootBlock 2.02.00.00-0000
ROMENV 1.08
WebBIOS 6.0-51-e_47_Rel
PCLI 4.04.20
UEFI_Driver 0x05270000
Hii 1.36.00
BIOS 3.27.00
FCODE 4.12.05.00
 
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mobilenvidia

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Sep 25, 2011
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You can flash FW from Intel, IBM and LSI with no issues, will work on M5014 and 5015
Dell's FW can be a little more tricky to flash, may need a m0flash
 
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mrkrad

Well-Known Member
Oct 13, 2012
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so what do i need to do? load up msm and just flash it? I don't feel like bricking my card at all.
 
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mobilenvidia

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Sep 25, 2011
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mrkrad said:
so what do i need to do? load up msm and just flash it? I don't feel like bricking my card at all.
Click to expand...
That is safest way, it will tell you if it doesn't like the FW you are about to flash.

The M5014/5 are very hard to brick, I've flashed mine in a gazillion different ways and most of the procedures to do so were made by trialing it on the M5015
Without a x-flash you'll be stuck with painful slow boots
 
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mobilenvidia

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Sep 25, 2011
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The M5015/14 will seem to do it quicker as they have a cache to store data.

The M1015 with no cache needs to read/write directly from the drives.

But with large files they will both be just as fast as the data over flows the cache.
But then LSI have Cachecade on their MegaRAID range which can cache onto fast SSD(s)
 
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mrkrad

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Oct 13, 2012
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no fastpath on M1015. only CRAM (crap ram?) I dunno it was an intel paper.


I wonder if the same monstrous QD of 975 for 4 ssd is possible on m1015?
 
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mrkrad

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Oct 13, 2012
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where's the driver? Do you just use the latest ibm driver? I assume since the firmware is step behind the mainline lsi version?
 
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mobilenvidia

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Sep 25, 2011
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IBM don't have drivers, they have FW and Utilities
LSI has the drivers

IBM seems to run a different branch of firmware.
Probably more stable releases then LSI's often beta looking versions
 
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mrkrad

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Oct 13, 2012
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I think the oem's all have shit in their code that causes the 840 pro to die. the 830 ignored the data or handled it. Perhaps since they sell the SM843 they did this on purpose to push for the more expensive firmware.

question: Anyone got an SM843 firmware and tried to cross flash an 840 pro?
 
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xeonic

New Member
May 6, 2013
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Hey all,

I have a new to me M5015. I have a few questions:

1) Aside from faster boot times with the LSI firmware, is there any advantage to using the LSI firmware over the IBM firmware? Slow boots times won't be an issue for me as I plan to leave my server on 24/7 and I seem to have the BBU issue as per this post: New IBM M5015 BBU charge issue, so I was thinking of sticking with the IBM firmware.

2) If I do run IBM firmware, how will I update it in an ESXi environment? I know I can use MSM in ESXi but what IBM files do I use to preform the upgrade? I ask because I've noticed that IBM firmware upgrades, on the website, are either a Windows or Linux executable which is different than LSI firmware where they provide a *.rom file.

Thanks!
 
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Herngaard

New Member
May 2, 2013
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xeonic said:
I seem to have the BBU issue as per this post: New IBM M5015 BBU charge issue, so I was thinking of sticking with the IBM firmware.
Click to expand...
This actually turned out not to be an issue, it just works that way to extend the battery's life.
I flashed my card with the LSI BIOS via MSM, I didnt attempt to make the 5015 into a LSI 9260-i8 with RAID6 functionality which requires more than just the firmware. My cars still thinks it's an IBM 5015.
 
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xeonic

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May 6, 2013
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Herngaard said:
This actually turned out not to be an issue, it just works that way to extend the battery's life.
Click to expand...
Did your card always say "Charging"? Mine has been sitting at 76% for 2 days and it's status is "Charging" - it's retention time is 48+ hours. I should mention that I have the lastest LSI 9260-8i firmware/bios on it. I flashed it using megarec but I'm thinking about flashing it back to IBM firmware/bios.

So you have IBM firmware with the LSI bios? I'm interested in running RAID10 for ESXi local storage but I'm unsure of which firmware/bios configuration would be best in my situation.
 
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Herngaard

New Member
May 2, 2013
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1
It stopped charging at 73-76% when reaching the desired retention time when i had it configured for 48 hours, right now im running a retention time of 12H + and it stopped charging at 27% but since i have restarted the server a million times in the last few days to figure out another problem with my NIC's, it's now at 70% because it charges a little bit every time i restart. Im sure yours isn't really charging when it has reached 76% even if the GUI actually shows "Charging" it would reach 100 within 1 hour from 76% max if it really was still chargin on it, so im sure it's just a bug in MSM.

I know that if i do a relearn on my battery with my retention time at 12h+, it will charge up to 100%, then discharge completely, and end up at 27%...with that percentage rising a few percent after every restart that i do without having the server turned physically off for a longer period of time.

If i do a relearn when the retention time is set to 48 hours, and the battery is at 76% when initiated, it will just discharge completely (without first going to 100%) and then charge back up to 73%.

Yes im running IBM firmware and LSI BIOS, (didn't realize that there was firmware AND BIOS...thought they were one and the same thing until reading the "make your 5015 into a 9260 guide) The BIOS is supported fine i guess, i think IBM uses the same BIOS as LSI, they just dont release them until a bit later, FW is probably vendor specific (someone correct me if i'm wrong)

Here's what the relevant numbers are in the Physical pane in my MSM:

General:
Product Name: ServeRAID M5015 SAS/SATA Controller
Vendor ID: 0x1000
SubVendor ID: 0x1014
Device ID: 0x79
BIOS Version 3.27.00_4.12.05.00_0x05270000

Firmware Properties:
Firmware Package Version: 12.13.0-0154
Firmware version: 2.130.383-2315
Firmware Build time: Feb 22 2013 06:20:33
 
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mrkrad

Well-Known Member
Oct 13, 2012
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here's what you do, use SSD's, ditch the battery, watch the card stabilize.

and ditch the first two rev cards. they have serious issues. version 1 and 2 have serious issues which include being a POS even with a brand new LIPO battery.

Don't cross-flash the cards, if the batteries are different at all you can risk fire. H700's have totally different batteries yadda.
 
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