Crossflash Dell H200E to LSI 9200-8e

[karipk]

I purchased Dell PERC H200E 12DNW from ebay and I was trying to crossflash it to 9200-8e IT mode. It seems that it is not as easy as it is to crossflash M1015. However I found out the correct order. If someone else is considering using this card (or H200) in Freenas, this might help.

To make this to work you need (links are for 9200-8e card):
Firmware P7 from Avago (LSI) http://docs.avagotech.com/docs/12350401
Firmware P12 from Avago (LSI) http://docs.avagotech.com/docs/12350391
Firmware P20 from Avago (LSI) http://docs.avagotech.com/docs/12350397

Firmware A08 from dell http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverid=6M53D

Megarec for dos. I couldn't find any official download, but there are multiple sites that offer this.

Steps:
Create bootable dos using rufus or similar.
Create following directories to USB stick: DELL, P7, P12, P20 and TOOLS.
Run Dell firmware self-executable and copy 6gbpsas.FW to DELL directory.
Unzip P7 firmware package and copy 2008et.bin and sas2flsh.exe to P7 directory.
Unzip P12 firmware package and copy sas2flsh.exe to P12 directory.
Unzip P20 firmware and copy 9200-8e.bin and sas2flsh.exe to P20 directory.
Get Megarec and copy it to TOOLS directory. (Also sbrempty.bin, dos4gw.exe and DOS32A.EXE)

Run following commands:

\p20\sas2flsh -list -c 0
take note on your sas address.

cd \tools\
megarec -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin
megarec -cleanflash 0
reboot

cd \p12
sas2flsh -o -f \dell\6GBPSAS.FW -sasadd 5XXXXXXXX (your sas address without dashes)
reboot

cd \p7
sas2flsh -o -f 2008et.bin (press y to continue)
cd \p20
sas2flsh -o -f 9200-8e.bin

done

 

[nephri]

I have a DEL H200E and i would to flash it to P20 firwmare in order to use with freenas 9.3.1

I have an UEFI motherboard, so i tried few diffences from your guide.
sasflash.efi -o -e 6 (instead of megarec parts)

I did the flash of 6GBSAS.FW sucessfully but i have this strange behaviour:
- the sasflash.efi -list say that the product firmware is an IR firmware even if the bios menu of the controller say it is an IT firmware.

The exact output is
Firmware Product ID : 0x2713 (IR)

The counterpart of this behaviour it's that i can't flash the 2008et.bin because it say you can't flash an IT firmware over an IR firmware.
I was unable to find a 6GBSAS.FW that say in the -list option it's an IT firmware...

I had successfully updated my onboard SAS3008 controller without any problems.
But this HBA is quite frustrating...

Any advice are welcome.

 

[BigDave]

I have an UEFI motherboard, so i tried few diffences from your guide.
sasflash.efi -o -e 6 (instead of megarec parts)

Your skipping the steps to eliminate the IR firmware by not using the
megarec -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin
and the
megarec -cleanflash 0
I think there is a way to do this through UEFI, but you're on your own, I'm lazy on Sunday evenings.

 

[karipk]

I had similar problem. After you install the 6GBPSAS.FW, you have to use P7 version of the sas2flash. As far as I know it is the only version that can install LSI firmware into that card.
So your next step would be to install P7 firmware using P7 version of sas2flash and then install P20 firmware using P20 version of sas2flash.

 

[nephri]

i didn't find the p7 uefi installer from avagotech.. i'm searching more widely on the web.

 

[Mirfster]

i didn't find the p7 uefi installer from avagotech.. i'm searching more widely on the web.

http://www.avagotech.com/products/server-storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9200-8e#downloads
Under "Firmware"; click the "Archive" link then you should see it listed.

 

[nephri]

http://www.avagotech.com/products/server-storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9200-8e#downloads
Under "Firmware"; click the "Archive" link then you should see it listed.

I did'nt see the P7 UEFI installer (only P5 and P8) and the P8 a "virus quarantine" removed the sas2flash.efi file from the zip.

 

[Mirfster]

I did'nt see the P7 UEFI installer (only P5 and P8) and the P8 a "virus quarantine" removed the sas2flash.efi file from the zip.

Isn't it the one listed as "92008e_P7_Firmware_BIOS_UEFI_FCODE "

 

[nephri]

It's only the UEFI "BIOS" that you can flash onto the card. But it doesn't contains the "sas2flash.efi" script that is generally in a zip like "Installer_P20_for_UEFI.zip"

So, i used in my office an old PC with a BIOS (and a not an UEFI) and i was able to flash the card without any problem...
Thanks to everybody.

 

[artipton]

karipk, I have read many articles on this and yours was by far the best... thank you posting it.

 

[karipk]

karipk, I have read many articles on this and yours was by far the best... thank you posting it.

My pleasure.

 

[karmantyu]

If you flash from EFI prompt you should use sas2flash.efi from P5 package to downgrade/crossflash firmware.
Flash the BIOS for the adapter from 9200-8e_Package_P20_IT_FW_BIOS_for_MSDOS_Windows.zip package -> You can use P20 sas2flash.efi already and the number after -c switch is the number of the card (zero in this case) respectively!
sas2flash.efi -c 0 -b mptsas2.rom
Flash the UEFI Boot Services Driver for this adapter from UEFI_BSD_P20.zip
sas2flash.efi -c 0 -b x64sas2.rom

 

[ecoll]

Hello,
I did the manipulation and now there are no more bios at the start.
is this normal?

 

[-MG-]

I had similar problem. After you install the 6GBPSAS.FW, you have to use P7 version of the sas2flash. As far as I know it is the only version that can install LSI firmware into that card.
So your next step would be to install P7 firmware using P7 version of sas2flash and then install P20 firmware using P20 version of sas2flash.

Bringing an old thread back to life. The links you showed don't have a sas2flsh.exe for P7 in them. I search the web and couldn't find this file for the 9200-8e. Any advice?

 

[karipk]

Bringing an old thread back to life. The links you showed don't have a sas2flsh.exe for P7 in them. I search the web and couldn't find this file for the 9200-8e. Any advice?

Is this problem still active? If it is, I can try to find the files, since I may still have them somewhere.
Edit: I found them, so If you need them I can send it to you or attach them as a zip in this thread?
Edit2: Files attached.

 

[-MG-]

Is this problem still active? If it is, I can try to find the files, since I may still have them somewhere.
Edit: I found them, so If you need them I can send it to you or attach them as a zip in this thread?

I ended up following an UEFI version, but for both this one and that one it was increasingly difficult to find the correct drivers that were referenced. It likely can help others to have them directly linked or stored somewhere if possible.

 

[swtz]

I ended up following an UEFI version, but for both this one and that one it was increasingly difficult to find the correct drivers that were referenced. It likely can help others to have them directly linked or stored somewhere if possible.

Do you have a guide on that? I'm pretty new to servers and this sort of stuff so I'm a little lost on the whole UEFI thing or not. I have esxi installed and boot it with UEFI... is that the same thing as what you're saying?

I haven't gotten my hba in the mail yet just trying to do some prep work!

Thanks!

 

[-MG-]

Do you have a guide on that? I'm pretty new to servers and this sort of stuff so I'm a little lost on the whole UEFI thing or not. I have esxi installed and boot it with UEFI... is that the same thing as what you're saying?

I haven't gotten my hba in the mail yet just trying to do some prep work!

Thanks!

I ended up following this guide:

https://blog.michael.kuron-germany....dell-perc-h200-to-lsi-9211-8i/comment-page-1/

Some of the drivers were very hard to find.

 

[zenon1823]

I have crossflashed a number of H200 and H310 cards but this was my fist attempt at the H200e, thanks Karipk for what you provided as it helped tremendously.

I thought I'd add an alternate set of instructions that use the P5 sas2flsh instead of P7. In the end they both work perfectly, but for anyone who like me already has a bootable drive with p5 an p20 versions of sas2flsh and experience with the process laid out in "The Detailed Newcomers Guide to Crossflashing" This may look more familiar. I won't go into the details of everything is, since by the time you get this far in the thread you likely already know most what you need, if you don't already, please read the Newcomers Guide linked above. Stilez did an amazing job of detailing everything you might ever need to know about crossflashing these cards (and it applies to external varients as well just use the 9200-8e firmware as described here).

For convenience I've attached a zip with all the necessary files for my steps, just create a freedos bootable usb drive and drop all these files into the root directory. I hope this along with Karipk's post above will help someone along the way. My steps like Karipk's use the bios toolset not EFI, I have not had a system that required using EFI as of yet, and BIOS has been 100% hassle free for me so far.

To Flash H200e Card:
(using BIOS toolset {card ID of 0})
---------------------------------->
s2f_p20 -c 0 -list -->(write down the SAS address of your card)

megarec -readsbr 0 FILENAME.BIN -->(precautionary step in case you need/want to flash back to Dell fw as you will need the original SBR - FILENAME.BIN will be created on your USB drive)

-->next 3 lines erase and wipe the card
megarec -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin
megarec -cleanflash 0
Reboot

--> Next 2 lines use the p5 version of sas2flsh
s2f_p5.exe -c 0 -o -f 6GSASA10.FW --> This is the Dell A10 fw release for the H200e adapter
s2f_p5.exe -c 0 -o -f 2008et.bin --> This flashes the LSI 9200-8e P7 fw
Reboot

--> Next 3 lines use the p20 version of sas2flsh
s2f_p20.exe -c 0 -o -f 9200-8e.bin --> This flashes the LSI 9200-8e P20 fw
s2f_p20.exe -c 0 -o -sasadd "5......SASaddressFromAbove..." --> This restores your original SAS address (do not use quotes)
s2f_p20.exe -c 0 -o -b LSI-P20.rom (optional for BIOS) --> This flashes the LSI P20 Bios. Only required if you want boot visibility to connected devices. Not installing this will speed up boot, at the sacrifice of device visibility at boot
Reboot

To See Final Card Details
s2f_p20.exe -c 0 -list

 

[phreich]

I purchased Dell PERC H200E 12DNW from ebay and I was trying to crossflash it to 9200-8e IT mode. It seems that it is not as easy as it is to crossflash M1015. However I found out the correct order. If someone else is considering using this card (or H200) in Freenas, this might help.

To make this to work you need (links are for 9200-8e card):
Firmware P7 from Avago (LSI) http://docs.avagotech.com/docs/12350401
Firmware P12 from Avago (LSI) http://docs.avagotech.com/docs/12350391
Firmware P20 from Avago (LSI) http://docs.avagotech.com/docs/12350397

Firmware A08 from dell http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverid=6M53D

Megarec for dos. I couldn't find any official download, but there are multiple sites that offer this.

Steps:
Create bootable dos using rufus or similar.
Create following directories to USB stick: DELL, P7, P12, P20 and TOOLS.
Run Dell firmware self-executable and copy 6gbpsas.FW to DELL directory.
Unzip P7 firmware package and copy 2008et.bin and sas2flsh.exe to P7 directory.
Unzip P12 firmware package and copy sas2flsh.exe to P12 directory.
Unzip P20 firmware and copy 9200-8e.bin and sas2flsh.exe to P20 directory.
Get Megarec and copy it to TOOLS directory. (Also sbrempty.bin, dos4gw.exe and DOS32A.EXE)

Run following commands:

\p20\sas2flsh -list -c 0
take note on your sas address.

cd \tools\
megarec -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin
megarec -cleanflash 0
reboot

cd \p12
sas2flsh -o -f \dell\6GBPSAS.FW -sasadd 5XXXXXXXX (your sas address without dashes)
reboot

cd \p7
sas2flsh -o -f 2008et.bin (press y to continue)
cd \p20
sas2flsh -o -f 9200-8e.bin

done

Just a quick update to this -- it seems that Avago purchased Broadcom in 2016, and sometime later changed their name to Broadcom so the links to the LSI/Avago firmware are now here:
Firmware P7 from Broadcom (was Avago (LSI)) http://docs.broadcom.com/docs/12350401
Firmware P12 from Broadcom (was Avago (LSI)) http://docs.broadcom.com/docs/12350391
Firmware P20 from Broadcom (was Avago (LSI)) http://docs.broadcom.com/docs/12350397

The Avagotech site is down, and I couldn't find them using the broadcom support search tools, but took a chance and simply changed the URL to have "broadcom" instead of "avagotech", and they worked!