SOLVED Flashing IBM MR10i to IT Mode

[renjithc]

Got my hands on an IBM Server Raid MR10i Raid Controller. Want to flash it into IT mode - but I'm rather clueless on where to find the necessary firmware or the process involved. Found lots of info on BR10i & M1015 - nothing about MR10i.

Can someone guide me here - I'm new to flashing Raid Controllers to HBA.(Assuming this can be flashed to IT Mode)

 

[Ericloewe]

You don't, it's something completely different. You can very easily tell by the fact that it looks nothing like any LSI SAS 2008 or 2308 HBA card.

Additionally, being SAS 3Gb/s, it's limited to 2TB drives.

 

[renjithc]

Its an LSI 1078 based drive atleast as per IBM docs.
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts/tips0735.html
Does that help?

As a matter of fact I do have some 6 - 1TB & 2TB drives

 

[cyberjock]

I would say that:

1. Nobody here has any experience with that card.
2. You may or may not be able to flash it to IT mode, and your card may or may not be a good fit for FreeNAS.
3. That card almost certainly is limited to 2TB drives.

Based on all 3 I would probably give up on that card and go with something that is more status-quo and works for others in the forum. You don't want to be the guy on an island alone when things go wrong.

 

[renjithc]

Thanks cyberjock.

well - the only motivation was the card was free. Guess I'll stick to recommended cards. I've one question though - the recommended M1015 is cross flashed to 9211 HBA firmware .. why not buy an LSI 9211-8i HBA directly? It's on ebay for 75-105$ and the M1015 @ 100-125$. I'm not being frugal here - sounded simpler not having to go through the whole cross flashing first and getting it wrong cycle.

 

[cyberjock]

Hehe. The 9211-8i normally is the same price. If the "real thing" is cheaper, by all means go for it.

But, you'll be cross flashing the cards either way. So buying a true 9211-8i vice a rebranded M1015 isn't saving you from a reflash. I actually own an M1015 and an 9211-8i. They are basically identical and the only real reason to want one over the other (aside from price) is the location of the connectors. ;)

 

[renjithc]

dint know that .. thnx

Thinking of adding a SAS expander (even though i dont need one for the next 6-12months) with the 9211\M1015 ... any recommendations which does not include flashing cards.

 

[Ericloewe]

You will always have to flash the card to match FreeNAS' driver version, so you can't get away from flashing the cards.

 

[cyberjock]

Ok, I'll make this 100% clear.

If you go with an LSI card (which is all that we recommend here) you *will*, *unequivocally*, be *expected* to re-flash the card when the driver is updated. PERIOD.

 

[renjithc]

ayt ... seems no flash is a touchy subject here ... keeping the flash part aside .. with an m1015 - which sas expander fits best to hit a max of 24 sata2\3 disks? (16 on sas expander + 4 on m1015 + 4~6 on mobo).

 

[Z300M]

Hehe. The 9211-8i normally is the same price. If the "real thing" is cheaper, by all means go for it.

But, you'll be cross flashing the cards either way. So buying a true 9211-8i vice a rebranded M1015 isn't saving you from a reflash. I actually own an M1015 and an 9211-8i. They are basically identical and the only real reason to want one over the other (aside from price) is the location of the connectors. ;)

But haven't people suggested previously that some of the LSI-branded ones on eBay are in fact "knock-offs" and maybe even made with substandard components -- and maybe not only the ones to be shipped from China but also some of the ones to be shipped from the USA -- which originated in China in the first place.

 

[cyberjock]

It's not a touchy subject. You just seem to be committed to not reflashing. That's unrealistic for your scenario. That's all I was trying to make 100% clear.

If you go with an M1015 and something like an Intel 20-port SAS expander you can do 24 drives (20 from the expander and 4 directly to the M1015).

It's been suggested sure. But there's been no evidence. Anything you buy could be fake. Newegg's been duped, Amazon's been duped, Best Buy has been duped. Some skepticism is good, but if you don't have evidence of the fact then it's nothing but some suggestions.

 

[renjithc]

decided on the foll at this stage to get 24 ports:
M1015:
View: http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-SERVERAID-M1015-ADAPTER-PCI-E-2-0-X8-RAID-CONTROLLER-CARD-46M0861-LOW-P-/311128481869?pt=US_Internal_Network_Cards&hash=item4870b3e04d

SAS Expander RES2SV240:
View: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-RAID-Expander-Card-SAS-2-6G-Full-Height-Bracket-RES2SV240NC-/141337247255?pt=US_Computer_Disk_Controllers_RAID_Cards&hash=item20e85b3e17


hope the expander will show up as regular smart enabled drives and not as the mfid.

Do share your thoughts on any issues to this.

 

[cyberjock]

It works fine. That's exactly what I'm using in my server.

 

[renjithc]

left out one thing ... my sff8087 to 8087 knowledge is weak. I'm a bit lost with the male \ female \ male to female \ ipass - sff8087 sas cable descriptions out there.

Will the below SFF8087 cable do the job of connecting my M1015 to the backplane of my Norco 4224 ?
View: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SFF-8087-Molex-iPass-Mini-SAS-to-SFF-8087-Molex-iPass-Mini-SAS-Cable-Sleeved-/331087107584?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d16545600

 

[renjithc]

finally got hold of the m1015 and flashed it to IT. but my test disk shows up as da0 ... and is missing out on serial number & model of HDD. Is this expected? Thats not what I was expecting.

what has gone wrong if this is not normal?

 

[Z300M]

finally got hold of the m1015 and flashed it to IT. but my test disk shows up as da0 ... and is missing out on serial number & model of HDD. Is this expected? Thats not what I was expecting.

what has gone wrong if this is not normal?

I have ten 2TB drives, eight of which are connected to an M1015 in IT mode, two connected to motherboard ports. At present no drive model numbers are showing in the GUI, and da0 is missing its Serial# also; it's erratic. But the drive model numbers, firmware revisions and serial numbers all show when I execute

Code:

smartctl -a /dev/daX

 

[renjithc]

odd .. all of my other 11 HDD's which are on my motherboard sata + sil3112 sata .. shows up with serial numbers and marked as ada0,1,2.

Isn't the hba card supposed to be the same? I'm sure without serial numbers wouldnt be normal - how will zfs pools works without the serials showing up?

 

[mjws00]

The pool is created using the gpt id's nothing to do with the serials at all. The serial numbers are just there so it is easy to cross-reference for the humans pulling drives.

Often the serials will show up again on a reboot. But we've definitively seen the odd serial missing. As z300m said check it in smart... but you probably have nothing to worry about. I had one missing once. It's there now... didn't do anything.

 

[renjithc]

thnx for clearing up my ignorance on zfs. that does bring down my concerns.

now as a human - i'd love to see the serials to ID the hdd in question. surprisingly all my motherboard sata cards shows up perfect. Even my cheap 4port sil3112 sata cards show up with this info ..