SUN 375-3640 8-Port 6Gbps PCIe SAS-2 HBA flash to IT mode?

[jsylvia007]

Howdy folks!! I run a FreeNAS box with a different adapter, but it works fine, and I never had to go through this whole process. I'm now building up a Linux box with support for ZFS, and, I needed to pickup a new server.

I just purchased one of these on eBay: SGX-SAS6-INT-Z / SUN 375-3640 8-Port 6Gbps PCIe SAS-2 HBA / LSI SAS9211-8i

I *think* this should be exactly what I need. I am, however, lost with what the next step is... I keep reading that I need to flash the card to "IT" mode, but, I need to use the card to boot off the first hard drive, so I'm not sure if I need the option ROM or not, OR, if I need to boot into IR mode...

I've read through the forums and they all refer to the IBM M1015 card, and cross-flashing to trick it. I'm not sure I need to do that...

Can someone point me in the right direction? I know this isn't related to FreeNAS specifically, but, from my perspective, this is THE authority for this stuff.

Thanks!

Edit: Additionally, it seems like I *might* need a UEFI motherboard to accomplish this, and I definitely don't have that. I'm doing all of this from a SuperMicro X8DTN+... Is this even possible, or am I now going to have to purchase a motherboard JUST to flash this card?

 

[Dice]

Here is a start:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/confused-about-that-lsi-card-join-the-crowd.11901/

 

[jsylvia007]

Dice,

Thanks very much, I read through that post, and found the link on how to do it, but unless I missed it, it doesn't answer my questions about whether or not I need the BIOS to boot off one of the drives, or if I need a UEFI BIOS to accomplish the flash successfully.

The problem with those questions is that I've seen multiple answers and they all conflict.

 

[ethereal]

why don't you try flashing it. then you'll find out - many people's circumstances are different hence the different advice.

 

[jsylvia007]

Ethereal,

That's ultimately my plan... I still haven't received it from eBay yet.

I don't want to end up with a bricked card, which is why I'm trying to do my research. This card cost me $75, and I'd rather not just flush it down the drain.

The server I have came with a MegaRAID card and it looks as though I've bricked that one as now none of the command line utilities can recognize that the card is even installed.

 

[Mirfster]

Which one does yours look like?:
A) http://www.oracle.com/us/products/s.../6gb-sas-pcie-raid-hba-internal-ds-186805.pdf
B) http://www.oracle.com/us/products/s...rking/6gb-sas-pcie-hba-internal-ds-186804.pdf

If it is A, then forget about trying to cross-flash it to IT Mode. That is a full Raid Card
If it is B, then it appears to be a native HBA and shouldn't need to really be cross-flashed. However, it may need to be changed from IR to IT mode.

This is all a cursory review and I didn't dig too deep into the cards specs...

 

[jsylvia007]

Mirfster,

The picture on the auction looks exactly like the second card, and the auction clearly described the card as the HBA.

 

[Mirfster]

K, so it is a true HBA. That card shows it having a "LSI SAS2008" controller so to me that puts it in the same class as the IBM M1015, Dell H200, LSI 9211-8i, etc..

Since you are wanting to use ZFS, you need to let the software have direct and full access to the drives. This is true regardless of the OS/Middleware, so at the very least it does need to be set to IT mode.

I am unsure what firmware version you may need outside of FreeNas, but an educated guess would be that it needs to be P20.

Technically there should be nothing wrong with using this card, but if it is not natively supported (Drivers) you may have to obtain those. But, if you have cross-flashed it to appear as a LSI 9211-8i in IT mode the chances are pretty good that it will not need additional drivers.

I would suggest you wait to see if the card is already set to IT mode (sometimes they are) when it arrives. Then try to install and see if things are fine.

Keep in mind that I don't have any personal experience with this card.

Edit: Additionally, it seems like I *might* need a UEFI motherboard to accomplish this, and I definitely don't have that. I'm doing all of this from a SuperMicro X8DTN+... Is this even possible, or am I now going to have to purchase a motherboard JUST to flash this card?

As far as this, no you should not need UEFI to do this. All of my Servers are BIOS only and I flash cards all the time without issues. Just make yourself a DOS Boot USB (I use Rufus) copy your files onto that and you are good to go.

After Thought: Do you really need a HBA? If your system has the available SATA Ports (and not a backplane) you should be able to just use those...

 

[jsylvia007]

K, so it is a true HBA. That card shows it having a "LSI SAS2008" controller so to me that puts it in the same class as the IBM M1015, Dell H200, LSI 9211-8i, etc..

Since you are wanting to use ZFS, you need to let the software have direct and full access to the drives. This is true regardless of the OS/Middleware, so at the very least it does need to be set to IT mode.

I am unsure what firmware version you may need outside of FreeNas, but an educated guess would be that it needs to be P20.

Technically there should be nothing wrong with using this card, but if it is not natively supported (Drivers) you may have to obtain those. But, if you have cross-flashed it to appear as a LSI 9211-8i in IT mode the chances are pretty good that it will not need additional drivers.

I would suggest you wait to see if the card is already set to IT mode (sometimes they are) when it arrives. Then try to install and see if things are fine.

Keep in mind that I don't have any personal experience with this card.


As far as this, no you should not need UEFI to do this. All of my Servers are BIOS only and I flash cards all the time without issues. Just make yourself a DOS Boot USB (I use Rufus) copy your files onto that and you are good to go.

After Thought: Do you really need a HBA? If your system has the available SATA Ports (and not a backplane) you should be able to just use those...

I'm using a SuperMicro 2U case with a backplane which is exactly why I'm in this predicament Haha.

I will attempt as soon as I get the card and report back my results.

 

[Ericloewe]

or not I need the BIOS to boot off one of the drives, or if I need a UEFI BIOS to accomplish the flash successfully.

You will need the BIOS/UEFI extension ROM to boot from disks attached to that controller. Apparently, you can install both by flashing them sequentially, but you'll definitely want to check with some authorities...

As for the flashing itself, many systems fail to flash these cards in DOS, so UEFI is generally the way to go. If your motherboard has an EFI shell built in, it's extremely convenient - just boot to it and provide the files on a FAT32 USB drive. If not, grab an EFI shell executable, stick in the root of said drive and boot to that drive in UEFI mode.

 

[jsylvia007]

You will need the BIOS/UEFI extension ROM to boot from disks attached to that controller. Apparently, you can install both by flashing them sequentially, but you'll definitely want to check with some authorities...

As for the flashing itself, many systems fail to flash these cards in DOS, so UEFI is generally the way to go. If your motherboard has an EFI shell built in, it's extremely convenient - just boot to it and provide the files on a FAT32 USB drive. If not, grab an EFI shell executable, stick in the root of said drive and boot to that drive in UEFI mode.

Thanks for the info! I'm hoping that I don't need UEFI since I don't have any systems around that support it, and I have no plans to update any of my other systems anytime soon.

 

[Ericloewe]

Thanks for the info! I'm hoping that I don't need UEFI since I don't have any systems around that support it, and I have no plans to update any of my other systems anytime soon.

On legacy BIOS systems, the DOS method should work fine.

 

[cyberjock]

Which one does yours look like?:
A) http://www.oracle.com/us/products/s.../6gb-sas-pcie-raid-hba-internal-ds-186805.pdf
B) http://www.oracle.com/us/products/s...rking/6gb-sas-pcie-hba-internal-ds-186804.pdf

If it is A, then forget about trying to cross-flash it to IT Mode. That is a full Raid Card
If it is B, then it appears to be a native HBA and shouldn't need to really be cross-flashed. However, it may need to be changed from IR to IT mode.

This is all a cursory review and I didn't dig too deep into the cards specs...

Bold is my emphasis. IR to IT is never, ever "needed". Running in IR mode will work just fine. The only reason we recommend IT mode here is so that there is no mistakenly creating RAID arrays. TrueNAS servers run in IR mode, and they work just fine because iXsystems' customers know more than your average joe schmoe on the internet. :P

 

[Mirfster]

Yeah, I agree it is not really needed. However, I prefer IT Mode for the same reason you mentioned. It just prevents any creation of a RAID.