LSI P20 Firmware issue

[Benjamin Krajmalnik]

I just updated my 9.3 FreeNASto the latest stable version. The previous 9.3 version I was running was using the version 16 driver. Upon upgrading, I received a driver mismatch error, so I upgraded the firmware to P20. The result was that 3 of the drives were no longer visible to the controller.
I installed a new LSI 9211-8i, which had P5 firmware - BIOS detected all drives. I proceeded to upgrade it to P16, which also recognized all drives. I upgraded to P20, which resulted in the same 3 drives no longer being visible (on the new controller, since I feared an issue with the controller which was a cross-flashed H200, vs a LSI9211-8i).
I have read read bug #7384. However, in the unRAID, Illumos and the Nexenta forums there are plenty of reports of issues with the P20 firmware.
The exact firmware version is 20.00.04.00. Is there a different P20 firmware I should be using (and if so, where is it available)? Is it safe to downgrade the firmware to P16 and run with the standard driver? I understand I will have a warning, but maybe it is preferable to what I am currently experiencing. IOW, drives which loaded perfectly without any errors on FreeNAS-9.3-STABLE-201506292332 (which still used the 16 driver) do not load on either 201609160044 or 201509220011 with the 20 driver and firmware.

 

[DrKK]

I think there's a few threads on this already elsewhere in the forum. Maybe @cyberjock or @Ericloewe can chime in.

 

[Ericloewe]

Early versions of P20 has some bugs that were supposedly fixed for P20.00.04.00.

Honestly, find a bug report that covers this issue and add your experience to it (or make a new one). There's not much we can do on the forums.

Out of curiosity, do you have either of the option ROMs installed? If so, is it the BIOS or UEFI one?

 

[Benjamin Krajmalnik]

Early versions of P20 has some bugs that were supposedly fixed for P20.00.04.00.

Honestly, find a bug report that covers this issue and add your experience to it (or make a new one). There's not much we can do on the forums.

Out of curiosity, do you have either of the option ROMs installed? If so, is it the BIOS or UEFI one?

I had a crossflashed H200, no ROM. When the drives disappeared, I attempted to reflash it to the P16 and it did not take it. Due to the urgency, I picked up a LSI9211-8i locally. That one has the BIOS ROM.
I will post a bug report later today. Thanks for replying.

 

[maglin]

I have a H310 that was on LSI P16. Just updated to P20 today. I use UEFI to flash and had zero issues. You might be able to use the 6GPS FW for the H200 and it might work for freenas


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[Benjamin Krajmalnik]

I have a H310 that was on LSI P16. Just updated to P20 today. I use UEFI to flash and had zero issues. You might be able to use the 6GPS FW for the H200 and it might work for freenas


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I was able to reflash it. Had to first flash the Dell 6GBSAS firmware, then the P16 and then the P20. The P20 firmware, on both controllers, had an issue detecting some of the drives which were fine on the P16. It is not a FreeNAS issue - it is a P20 issue, since the BIOS does not see them when loading. I am running the crossflashed H200, no BIOS, and am keeping the LSI9211-8i as a spare in the event that I need it in the future due to a malfunction. In the process of replacing the "bad" drives.