Flashing a Intel SRCSASRB

[Wilie]

Hello,

So I got a Intel SRCSASRB (8port, no BBU) on a Asus B85M-E motherboard and got myself an issue.

When booting up the system, I get the following message:
RAID Adapter
Firmware Failed Validation!!!
Adapter needs to be reflashed.
Press Any Key to Continue...

So I press any key and get to the BIOS of the motherboard, go to Advanced Mode and launch EFI Shell from filesystem device, my USB 1GB drive is in and get to the EFI Shell from following the instructions at:
https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/how-to-flash-lsi-9211-8i-using-efi-shell.50902/ (Boris_D - awesome instructions) and
https://forums.serverbuilds.net/t/guide-updating-your-lsi-sas-controller-with-a-uefi-motherboard/131 and
https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB90801&locale=en_US

I have the firmware for the SRCSASRB v11.0.1-0060 and followed the instructions above and the readme file (below).

UEFI (EFI 2.0) instructions for updating RAID Firmware:
-----------------
1. Download and extract all files to a local drive.
2. Boot the target system to EFI shell.
3. Change directory to the local drive and directory containing the flash update files and the firmware image file.
4. Type "update.nsh" or "efi\cmdtool2 -adpfwflash -f 78_ef39.rom -noverchk -aall"
5. Wait for the flash to complete. Do NOT reboot the system during the update.

I change my dir to FS4: and run update.nsh which gives me:
No MegaRAID Adapter is found

Tried also sas2flash.efi with the full cmds of:
Erase the controller flash memory: sas2flash.efi -o -e 6.
Write the new firmware to the flash: sas2flash.efi -o -f 2118it.bin -b 78_efp39.rom

Both cmds give me:
No LSI SAS adapters found! Limited Command Set Available!
ERROR: Command Not Allowed without an adapter!
ERROR: Couldn't Create Command -f
Exiting Program.

the SRCSASRB is in and i've tried it with the J10 jumper in and out.

The card is "seen" by the OS, W10, but it is in error state. I finally figured out how to use the EFI shell of a USB, but now am stuck on the actual flashing of the firmware from the EFI shell.
I want to do it from the EFI shell, only way to learn but have been at it for 4-5 days now and am stuck.

Any guidance would be appreciated. I don't want to chicken out and buy another card (cheap one) Don't do this everyday but want to know as I am sure I will come across this again somewhere else. I want RAID 6, which this card does as I have 8 x 4TB drivers I want to use.

Thanks for any guidance and insight.

W

 

[jgreco]

Intel SRCSASRB

That's an old LSI 1078 RAID controller. It will not support drives larger than 2.2TB and is generally garbage. Additionally, it is a RAID controller, so the following article applies:

What's all the noise about HBAs, and why can't I use a RAID controller?

1) An HBA is a Host Bus Adapter. This is a controller that allows SAS and SATA devices to be attached to, and communicate directly with, a server. RAID controllers typically aggregate several disks into a Virtual Disk abstraction of some sort...

www.truenas.com

Please consider placing it in the circular storage facility ("garbage can") and getting an HBA. On the upside, it looks to me like the SRCSASRB has SFF-8087's on it, so replacement should be relatively straightforward.

 

[Wilie]

Thanks for the insight. I do want a RAID 6 capability.
So would a DELL PERC 7th gen card (710p) function on a ASUS board, my old B85M-E board? or what would be a good cheap RAID controller that can handle say 16TB WD Gold drives....have a pair of those.......

I still would like to try to make this card work as I also have a stack of older 2TB drives.

 

[NugentS]

You do not want to use that card on anything ZFS related

 

[Wilie]

So I gather that now.....dump the card.
I am looking for a 2nd or 3rd gen LSI (Broadcom) card ideally with a BBU without spending too much.
Still would like to make it work.....to teach myself and maybe use it for a few 2TB card.....how to get the correct firmware on?
Not ready for ZFS yest....need to know the hardware first.

 

[jgreco]

I do want a RAID 6 capability

Then you're in the wrong place. FreeNAS and TrueNAS are based on ZFS, and ZFS handles redundancy on its own. You're not supposed to use conventional RAID controllers with ZFS, and usually people who do end up sorry for the reasons outlined in the article I linked above. If you truly want RAID 6, you need to pick some non-ZFS NAS package.

would like to try to make this card work as I also have a stack of older 2TB drives.

It's not suitable for use with ZFS. See the article I quoted above.

2nd or 3rd gen LSI (Broadcom) card ideally with a BBU

No, you should not use a RAID controller (the only thing I can think of that would be "with a BBU") for the reasons described in the article quoted above.

how to get the correct firmware on

I am not aware of any way to crossflash a 1078 and I don't think anyone has any idea what the correct firmware would be even if you could. Support for these cards ended like at least a decade ago.

Not ready for ZFS yest....need to know the hardware first

You don't have a non-ZFS option when running FreeNAS or TrueNAS. You *will* be using ZFS and will *NOT* want to use a RAID controller.

without spending too much.

You're in luck, then. Commonly available cards such as the Dell PERC H200, H310, IBM ServeRAID M1015, etc., can be found for under $30 USD on the used market. However, it may be better to spend a little more and purchase one that has already been crossflashed with the correct firmware. This process can be a little convoluted for those who do not have the proper software toolsets.

 

[Wilie]

Hello Jgreco,

Thanks for the reply......I do have some equipment lying around, so will definitely set up a ZFS platform, likely in Jan. You're definitely correct, the amount of time I am spending on a antiquated card is not really worth it.......but the satisfaction of knowing a problem was solved alone might make it worthwhile........not looks more like it.

So the only Q I would have remaining is would a propriety card say from DELL, a PERC H310, function outside of a DELL system....on a ASUS board? Any pitfalls on that?
What would be an ideal distro and management interface for a ZFS platform?

Really appreciate the insight, welcome the knowledge.

Thanks again.

 

[jgreco]

would a propriety card say from DELL, a PERC H310, function outside of a DELL system....on a ASUS board?

Usually. There are sometimes issues such as the SMBus issue some consumer boards have with the H310 -- see for ex.

X11SSM-F and Perc H310 - Not playing nice and terribly slow

So I'm placing this into the Off-Topic section because it doesn't pertain directly to FreeNAS. My situation... I have my ESXi machine which has the X11SSM-F motherboard (with the current BIOS) in which I desire to install a RAID card so I can run a mirrored pair of boot drives (SSD). But...

www.truenas.com

This is well-known and solvable with a little tape or PCB coating. Less common are issues such as incompatibilies with BIOS ROM's. The retail version LSI cards have generic BIOS ROM's intended to work with most servers (and most PC's), while vendors sometimes tweak things in ways that could perhaps be incompatible with other vendor mainboards. Unusual, not unheard-of. Aren't PC's wonderful.

What would be an ideal distro and management interface for a ZFS platform?

Well, you're in the wrong place for "distros". Distros are a "choose your version and flavor of Linux, package manager, etc" thing.

TrueNAS is an appliance. It comes as its own thing, and you don't have to pick which Linux version to use or packages to add to it.

The recommended version, i.e. the one iXsystems sells to their own customers, is based off of FreeBSD (not Linux). There is also a development version, TrueNAS SCALE, which is intended to eventually be an option for people wanting Kubernetes or GlusterFS support. But there's no picking and choosing other than between those two options. You get a full appliance capable of managing your storage either way.

 

[Wilie]

Hi again,
You've laid out the ground work for me, thanks again.
My terminology may not be there, but did suspect that I would be looking at an "appliance" that I can put on a shelf and let it work away. I did look at IXsystems as well as TruNAS. I would suppose I would have to try both to see what is my comfort level.

So now I go spend a little more to go where I'm not sure off. One thing I am sure of is a LSI card at least.

Thanks again and Hope you have a Happy Holiday Season.

 

[NugentS]

I use Dell H710's on supermicro servers. NOT in IT mode though as they are running ESX. However they do run