M1015 on Ebay

[Wyl]

I found a "New" IBM SeverRAID M1015 on eBay. And just bought it!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/new-IBM-M10...8I-/330950087248?ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:CA:3160

It was free shipping, and seem to be the most inexpensive one I could find for Canada. And for $10 he is shipping 2 sets of breakout cables.

Questions..

Is the link above the right product for FreeNAS?

Do I have to switch the card above into IT mode to work?

I own a Mac and PC laptop, other then running to my mother inlaw's and booting up her 5 year old XP PC... is there another to switch modes?

 

[cyberjock]

From http://www.servethehome.com/ibm-serveraid-m1015-part-4/


Why crossflash?
In the previous 3 articles I’ve discussed the ins and outs of what the IBM M1015 is capable of in various modes. Now if you were to proceed and purchase an IBM M1015 and wanted to use it in other than it’s default LSI9240/9220 mode you will need to crossflash the card to a LSI9211 HBA 6.0gbps SAS / SATA III adaptor.
To recap:
LSI9211-IT = Straight pass through no RAID, best for ZFS file system etc
LSI9211-IR = Pass through as in IT mode, but you also have RAID options (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 1e and RAID 10), better for RAID 0 Windows boot SSDs etc, and possibly run Software RAID 5 on the other drives.
LSI9240 = default mode, only really useful feature this mode has is RAID1/ RAID 10, drives have to be set to JBOD (single) or RAID to be seen by OS, can be annoying when adding removing drives often.

That's the most dumbed down answer I have ever seen and I couldn't beat it if I tried. I have 2xM1015s in 2 different servers. My personal recommendation, if you plan to use it for ZFS and nothing else ever, is to use the IT mode. If you 'think' you might want to do UFS on it someday, IR is an acceptable alternative. Someone else with more experience with IT and IR may disagree with me(and that's fine) but I look at it as IR mode being "IT+". The plus may be handy, or not. One thing I'd definitely never recommend without backups is to try to change your mind later on. While I'd expect it to work if you wanted to reflash from IT to IR mode later when you have data on drives on the M1015 already, I conservatively choose not to take those kinds of risks without backups. I never really tried IR mode as I flashed to IT mode before I realized I should have tried IR mode first.

 

[Wyl]

According to the linked instuctions, I can make a bootable USB flash drive, which means I can flash the M1015 card on my new box!

I will be doing my first install very simple... ZFS. I have read that IT mode is the way to go, and will not be switching it anytime soon

My other concern was, it's "new" from Singapore and it might be a knockoff...

 

[cyberjock]

There is always a possibility of a knockoff. The only advice I could give is to buy from reputable places so as to minimize the chances and ensure they have a good return policy. Even the infamous Newegg has been duped. Lucky for their customers they took the non-working "CPU"s back.

Keep in mind that some people with M1015s have trouble flashing it on some boards. If you get the "Failed to initialize PAL" error the only solution is to use a different motherboard. Ironically, Supermicro boards with Intel chipsets seem to cause the error while consumer low end stuff usually works fine. Go figure!

 

[KMR]

I had the "Failed to initialize PAL" error with my M1015 card. It is caused by UEFI and there is a work around. You need to boot into UEFI shell and use the sas2flash.efi utility that is included in the download you linked at servethehome. This article explains the process: http://brycv.com/blog/2012/flashing-it-firmware-to-lsi-sas9211-8i/

 

[cyberjock]

Wow. Never saw that before. Sweet. I'll keep that link on hand in case I ever have that error. :P

 

[Wyl]

I finally got my card. I am trying to flash the card, but I am getting the following error..

No LSI SAS adapters found! Limited command set available!

I am really stuck here...

 

[cyberjock]

I know some motherboards do not work with some SAS controllers. I'd recommend you try a different machine. Preferably one that is a white box.

 

[Wyl]

I ran around today and tried 6 different computers. And they were all the same. It turns out many motherboards do not have an PCI express 16... Unless its for a video card.

I am just familiar with the commands and interface.

Is there someone in South Ontario Canada that can help me???

 

[Wyl]

Can I setup my ZFS now, and flash my card to IT mode later?

 

[KMR]

When attempting to flash these cards unplug all hard drives and extra stuff from the system. You will be running from a USB stick so there is no need for hard drives or anything else. Don't set up ZFS until you are sure you have a working card flashed to IT mode. You will need to give us some more detail. Which guide are you following, which step are you at, did you use freedos, etc?

 

[Wyl]

I followed the guide from... http://brycv.com/blog/2012/flashing-it-firmware-to-lsi-sas9211-8i/

After booting into EFUI I am able to find my USB, fs0. After trying to execute sas2flash.efi, I get the error.

No LSI SAS adapters found! Limited command set available!

I search and search the web for other people get issues. And the only thing I could find is the flash program looks for the card at the #1 slot. On my Mobo, according to the drawing... My PCI express 16 starts at 4, 5, 6, 7. I just wish I knew how to figure out to choose the slot I put the card in.

 

[KMR]

What motherboard are you using? Does it have a UEFI bios?

 

[Wyl]

First, thank you for helping.

I have updated my signature with my current build. My SuperMicro X9SCM-F-O does have a UEFI bios.
9SCM BIOS R 2.0b

 

[KMR]

I have basically the same motherboard (see my sig) and the procedure that I linked and you are using worked flawlessly for me. I placed the M1015 card in the #1 slot but I assume it would work in any. If you have tried a number of different motherboards all with the same result then maybe you did receive a knockoff card. I specifically bought a used card (that was more expensive than the new ones from asia) because I was afraid of knockoffs. See if you can get your hands on a non UEFI motherboard and try it using the servethehome.com method. If that doesn't work I would look at getting my money back from the seller.

 

[Wyl]

the computer bootup is seeing the card... and I did start FreeNAS for the first and it did see all the drive attached to the LSI card. So I know the card is "there". I even called a few local computer mom and pop shops to see if they have any mobo kicking around.. they were no help.

Can I connect the drive to the mobo, to at least get my NAS up and running, and worry about flashing the card into IT mode after? I mean disconnecting the drive from the mobo and reinstalling them on the LSI card after?

Either way I have contacted the seller and have started the process for the refund.

 

[KMR]

Please do not configure your system without the card in IT mode. I admit I have no personal experience in this area but there are plenty of horror stories. Can someone more experienced chime in here?

 

[Wyl]

Here is the response I got from the seller...

"hi. friend. Sorry, our company's technical staff told us. LSI 9240-8I card upgrade the firmware to the version of the model is not often used to upgrade, LSI 9240-8I card is not used for the upgrade. It is difficult to upgrade. Best upgrade is LSI 9211-8I card. LSI 9211-8I card upgrade the firmware to the version of the model is very easy. After the upgrade work is also very good. We also give you the steps to upgrade. Sorry. Bring you trouble. I'm sorry. You know how to upgrade it? Please let us know what you think. Thank you. Looking forward to your reply. If you want a refund. We can agree. You will need to put the card shipping back to us. Shipping costs will be paid to you. Thank you"


What do you think, see if they will ship me the LSI 9211-8i, or see of I can get the card upgrade by a great member here on the forums? Or should I get the refund and bite the bullet and get another used one on eBay? Or just get a new one from newegg?

 

[gpsguy]

Wyl hand delivered his card today. I'll attempt to flash it on the weekend.

As I look at this step of the "serverthehome" instructions, does he need the OptionRom or not?

sas2flsh -o -f 2118it.bin -b mptsas2.rom (sas2flsh -o -f 2118it.bin if OptionROM is not needed)

From http://www.servethehome.com/ibm-serveraid-m1015-part-4/[/quote}

 

[cyberjock]

At first I left it out, then later added it back.

The OptionROM is the "UI" for the card. It also gives you that 15 second delay that says "Press CTRL+??? to enter BIOS" and lists all of the disks it detects.

I left it in because at least if I have a disk that isn't detected I can see that the card itself doesn't detect it.

I recommend that unless you just "gotta" get rid of that 15 second delay you leave it enabled.