IBM m5015 HBA crossflashing

[Gramdalf]

I'm trying to crossflash an IBM m5015 to LSI firmware, but I'm running out of luck.

I followed various guides and resources, and here's what I've found (resources linked below)

• I can boot into FreeDOS to use megarec, but sas2flash requires EFI shell.
• I can boot into an EFI shell and run sas2flash, but it won't recognize my card as an LSI card
• I was able to successfully write the sbr using megarec, but the system still recognizes it as an m5015- I read that this is because it is hardcoded, and shouldn't affect sas2flash's ability to detect whether the card is LSI or not.
• the card is based on the 2108 chipset
• I tried flashing the lsi (sbr9260.bin) sbr from here SAS2108 (LSI 9260) based firmware files (I understand @mobilenvidia is a moderator here, and that they posted these resources)
  • This was successful, but sas2flash still didn't recognize it

I was unable to find the firmware for the m5015. The best I could find is this (Firmware for Avago 9260-8i/9280-8e SAS RAID Card All Operating Systems - ThinkServer Systems - Lenovo Support US), which is for the wrong card.

I tried using older versions of sas2flash (p5 and p15 were the ones I've tested), but neither worked- they both didn't recognize it after flashing the lsi sbr.

So the issue is threefold. I need to find the IBM IT mode firmware, which I am unable to find, then find the older sas2flash version that will work. Finally, I need to find the latest firmware for the LSI 9260-4e (which, as I understand, is the correct IT mode firmware). I may also need an intemediary firmware, as apparently LSI locked down some things (meaning I can't go directly from the IBM IT mode to the latest LSI- I need to go to an older version first, and then upgrade that to the latest LSI one).

Links:

MAIN GUIDE - Detailed newcomers' guide to crossflashing LSI 9211/9300/9305/9311/9400/94xx HBA and variants

https://www.servethehome.com/lsi-sas-2108-raid-controller-information-listing/ - original place saying crossflash was possible

LSI 2108 based card cross flashing (Dell H700, LSI 9260, IBM M5015, Intel RS2BL080) - Appears to have what I want, but the link is broken (and the wayback machine doesn't have it saved correctly)
SAS2108 (LSI 9260) based firmware files - SBR files
GitHub - marcan/lsirec: LSI SAS2008/SAS2108 low-level recovery tool for Linux - something that might have information, but didn't seem to have any firmware links

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/ibm-m5015-experiences.397/page-9

https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...g-m5015-the-latest-working-lsi-firmware.1889/ - one of the most relevant places
https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...-h310-to-it-mode-no-lsi-adapters-foudn.13053/ - no lsi adapter found

Flashing IBM ServerRAID M5015 to LSI 9260-8i

I have a M5015 (with BBU) in workstation but the initializing time is killing me, I like to turn my system off over night but turning it on in the morning gives me enough time to go make a coffee before it makes it to the desktop. I've found many people online flashing this card to a 9260-8i as...

forums.tomshardware.com

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/cross-flash-m5015.23904/

Crossflashing the Fujitsu D2607 - helpful info

 

[BLinux]

my initial thought is that you might be mixing up information regarding the M1015 vs the M5015. The former is SAS2008, the later is SAS2108. The SAS2108 is a RAID controller (not HBA IOC), and you need to use megarec to flash the firmware ROM image not use sas2flash or any variant of sas2flash. sas2flash is for the IT mode firmware, and it requires that your controller can first "host boot" the IT mode firmware, then uses that to bootstrap the flashing of the IT mode firmware; this won't work on SAS2108, but works on M1015 (based on SAS2008).

 

[Gramdalf]

So I won't be able to flash it to any sort of IT mode whatsoever? If so that's all good.

The other question then would be if you can flash the dell perc h700 to HBA mode. it appears to be crossflashable, but I'm not sure about IT mode.

 

[BLinux]

So I won't be able to flash it to any sort of IT mode whatsoever? If so that's all good.

The other question then would be if you can flash the dell perc h700 to HBA mode. it appears to be crossflashable, but I'm not sure about IT mode.

Correct, no way to flash IT mode firmware to a SAS2108 card that I know of.

And yes, H700 can be cross flashed to LSI MegaRAID firmware based on the information in the links you provided about the M5015. If you need the LSI firmware files, they can be found under "Legacy Products" section on broadcom.com's download page.