LSI HBA Firmware vs Driver Version

Frikkie

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LSI SAS 9207-8i IT Mode LSI00301 Info:
1571676305882.png

1571675853537.png


Should I update the firmware version at all?
From what I have gathered by reading through forum posts is that if I see "mps" I am in luck as my LSI HBA card is definitely flashed to IT Mode.
I am currently troubleshooting slow raid-z2 SMB read speeds (200MB/s with 6x3TB WD Red drives over 10g) and thought the firmware of the HBA could be the problem as I have all but ruled out network-related issues with iperf speeds of ca. 9gb/s in both directions (Mellanox ConnectX-3: windows pc & freenas).
 

blueether

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Frikkie

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My expectations come from many different sources. I fully understand that spinning rust at 5400rpm is not going to break any speed records.
As far as I understand Raid-Z2 (being a copy-on-write system) the write speeds should definitely be slower (than reads) because additional parity data needs to be calculated and written. Meanwhile the read speeds should increase the more drives you have because it pulls the data you want from multiple sources. I remember reading somewhere that you are bound to the max IOPS of one drive if you are running a single Raid-Z2 pool (in comparison to striped mirrors)... this does not affect your overall bandwidth. What I am looking for is respectable large sequential throughput (copying of large movie files).
Correct me if I am wrong, I enjoy learning and fully understanding the systems I use. :)
 

Frikkie

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I failed to mention that the write speeds from my windows system to my FreeNAS are a sustained 450MB/s. It never drops lower than that! I could not be happier with the write speeds.
Meanwhile the read speeds fluctuate between 120MB/s and 220MB/s.
According to the comprehensive testing done here https://calomel.org/zfs_raid_speed_capacity.html (I do realize the drives used for testing are WD Black 7200rpm SAS drives; ca. 10% faster), I should be getting much better results.
 
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blueether

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Sorry, you may well be correct on reads
 

Frikkie

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No need to apologise.
Do you have any info concerning my original firmware vs driver version question?
 

Fredda

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From what I have gathered by reading through forum posts is that if I see "mps" I am in luck as my LSI HBA card is definitely flashed to IT Mode.
Are you sure about that? From what you posted I can't see it. If the card is flashed with IT or IR firmware shows the sas2flash -list command.
 

Frikkie

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Are you sure about that? From what you posted I can't see it. If the card is flashed with IT or IR firmware shows the sas2flash -list command.
If you look at the beginning of most of the lines it says mps0.

and this as well ;)
1571746277771.png

Firmware Product ID: 0x2214 (IT)

My question still stands. Is it bad to have mismatched firmware and driver versions?
I have read that P16 (firmware v16.0) is supposed to be the most stable... or at least better than P20. Anyone able to confirm that?
 
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tfran1990

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What you want its for your firmware to say 20.00.08.00 IT
From what i understand freenas version of free bsd uses a driver that works with P20 FW
i would use a firmware that lines up with the current driver.
 

Frikkie

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What you want its for your firmware to say 20.00.08.00 IT
From what i understand freenas version of free bsd uses a driver that works with P20 FW
i would use a firmware that lines up with the current driver.
Should I follow these steps? https://www.broadcom.com/support/kn...44/flashing-firmware-and-bios-on-lsi-sas-hbas
I am planning on shutting down my FreeNAS system, taking out the HBA and sticking it into my Windows machine. If I copy the necessary files (sas2flash, .rom & .bin) to the root of a FAT-32 formatted USB and boot from it, which commands from the table at the bottom of the page would be right for me? The "older" vs "newer" etc. seems incredibly vague. Or should I maybe boot into Windows and run the correct commands from the command line instead of booting from the USB?
I guess I should download the "9207_8i_Package_P20_IR_IT_FW_BIOS_for_MSDOS_Window".
 

Frikkie

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@Johnnie Black I posted the output of sas2flash -list already. See above.
 

rygar

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Hi, All
I'm looking for SAS9211_8i firmware v20.00.08.00. Anyone can send me a working link?
 

Ericloewe

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I've never heard of a v20.00.08. AFAIK, LSI never released anything after 20.00.07.02
 

Ericloewe

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I do not have a link, LSI/Broadcom/Avago has a downloads page.

As for your link, it's most likely a typo buried in a 723-page licenses document.
 

Spearfoot

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All i can find is version 20.00.07.00 :(
I can't locate 20.00.07.02
Version 20.00.07.00 is the version you want; I'm pretty sure .02 was a typo.
 

Ericloewe

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Not a typo as much as a mistake, if you're right. Firmware P20 and driver P21 were a confusing mess that I still don't fully understand. It's entirely possible that the .02 was joke that morphed into a perceived "real" version, for instance.
 
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