No more alerting when SAS firmware doesn't match driver version?

[Will Dormann]

Hi folks,

I've filed https://bugs.freenas.org/issues/21992 to describe an issue that is looking like perhaps it may be caused by a SAS firmware/driver mismatch. The FreeNAS gui used to warn me if there ever was a mismatch, but apparently it is not doing that now.

Was this a conscious decision to remove this feature? And if so, why? Or is it perhaps a bug?

 

[Ericloewe]

That whole feature needs a serious review, with help from LSI/Broadcom/Avago. The "matching" driver and firmware versions make no sense anymore and even I have lost track of what the hell they're supposed to be.

 

[Will Dormann]

Got it. Do you think it's plausible that a version mismatch could be responsible for the error listed in https://bugs.freenas.org/issues/21992 ? Or is it perhaps a fool's errand to attempt to keep them in sync these days?

 

[Ericloewe]

It could be.

 

[Will Dormann]

Ok, so this is odd. I've added my info to the https://bugs.freenas.org/issues/21992 ticket, but I figured I'd mention it here.

As it turns out, FreeNAS-9.10.2-U2 (e1497f2) does check firmware versions. But what seems to be a bug to me is that I get no warning in the Web ui with:

Code:

mpr0: Firmware: 12.00.00.00, Driver: 13.01.00.00-fbsd

I updated my firmware so that dmesg reports:

Code:

mpr0: Firmware: 13.00.00.00, Driver: 13.01.00.00-fbsd

And only then did the web UI report:

Code:

 WARNING: March 24, 2017, 10:54 a.m. - Firmware version 13 does not match driver version 12 for /dev/mpr0. Please flash controller to P12 IT firmware.

How can FreeNAS think that the former matches, but the latter does not? Is there some real trickery with firmware versions where FreeNAS knows something more than what seems obvious? Or is it a simple bug?

 

[Ericloewe]

But what seems to be a bug to me is that I get no warning in the Web ui with:

It isn't. P12 firmware goes with P13 driver. You can thank LSI/Broadcom/Avago.

 

[Will Dormann]

Sigh. Thanks for the info!

 

[Ericloewe]

Sigh.

That doesn't even begin to properly express my frustration with this asinine decision some idiot at LSI/Broadcom/Avago made.