H220 firmware issues

[jake_homs]

Hi there. I'm trying to setup a DL380e G8 (12-bay) with H220 HBA for use with FreeNAS. The server was working fine and the fans were low (sub 38% for each) until I patched it with the newest HP firmware. Long story short, fans 4-6 went to 58% and holding, which is causing an issue in my home lab. I found this post which is exactly the issue I am having, discussing that I need to revert it back to an earlier firmware of 13.10.141.00...

https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/7vhrio/fix_dl380_g8_loud_fans_with_h220_hba/

Unfortunately, I can't get past the 2nd step. Here are the steps mentioned from the OP:



1) sas2flsh -o -e 7 (erases the Bios and ROM on the HP H220).

2) sas2flsh -o -f H220_it.bin -b mpt2sas.ROM (flashes the older HP firmware and Bios ROM).

3) sas2flsh -o -sasadd XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (replace the Xs with your actual card's sas address written on the back of the physical card).



Step 1 is fine, but step 2 gives me a "Firmware Download Failed!" error and exits the process (see imgur screenshots below). My first thought is the file for the firmware is H220_IT.FW (not H220_IT.BIN), but there is no .BIN file in the HPE Support site link. The file extension shouldn't be that particular, should it? I've looked for the .BIN file for firmware 13.10.141.00 and don't see it anywhere. I'm in FreeDOS and it doesn't have a net connection, so it shouldn't be trying to pull something down online. I've also messaged the OP from that post a few days ago but nothing yet, so decided to post here as well as on Reddit's /r/homelab

Any suggestions or people who have run into this in the past? I'm about ready to just buy a P420 and be done with this, as I hear that should bring the fans back in line with the 35% give or take fan speed.


Images (from remote console) can be found here: https://imgur.com/a/vhuGLzr

 

[Elliot Dierksen]

step 2 gives me a "Firmware Download Failed!" error

Are you sure you have the file names (including case) correct? That is my first suspicion.

 

[jake_homs]

Hi Elliot. Yes, I did verify the spelling and case were correct. Not sure that should matter in FreeDOS, but just in case I tried it multiple ways. I have a post in Reddit's /r/homelab too for this, and others suggested to verify the md5sum was correct, which it was.

 

[bigphil]

I had a similar issue with my home DL380p Gen8. Even longer story somewhat short...I ended up de-pinning all of the fans and connecting the blue wire (pwm signal) from each fan into a single Noctua NA-FC1 pwm fan controller. I pulled power for the NA-FC1 from the riser card pci-e power plug (8 or 10 pin white connector...cant remember the exact number of pins). Now that box runs whisper quiet with whatever setting I have the pwm controller dialed to. fan 1 or 6...don't recall...I know it was the furthest outboard one from the power supply has constant power, so in my setup, if the server is off for some reason and still plugged into AC power, that fan will go max speed because there is no pwm signal (the fans use an inverted pwm singnal, meaning 0/no signal is max speed). If doing this setup, you could just not re-pin that fan, but then again...the server shouldn't usually be powered off.

 

[jake_homs]

Wow, awesome idea bigphil! I may be good now though, as today I got a P420 card which has solved the fan issue. Had to spend a bit more, but at least it's back to what I expect of around 35% for the 4-6 fans. Good thought though and thank you both for your suggestions/ideas!