Isuress
Dabbler
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2016
- Messages
- 14
TL;DR - I have a Smart Array P411 that I want to change to HBA mode so that I can use a MSA60 DAS for my potential FreeNAS box. How do I get to the HP UEFI Shell and what commands do I have to use?
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Hello there FreeNAS. First time posting.
So I currently have a HP ProLiant DL320 G6 which I'm going to be using as a FreeNAS host. I've taken out the RAID card that it came with and plugged the 4 hotswap bays directly into the SATA ports using an HP part that I had to order (Otherwise my fans would shoot-up like jet engines).
I recently bought x2 HP ML370 G6s from GovDeals and both came with their own HP StorageWorks MSA60. Both of the ML370s have a Smart Array P411 which apparently can be set to HBA mode according to the documentation.
I've taken the Smart Array P411 out of both of the ML370s and put them into my DL320 G6.
I went ahead and ran the latest HP SPP to update the firmware of the Smart Arrays so they're up-to-date. Now the issue that I'm having is actually setting the P411s to HBA mode from RAID mode.
According to the documentation (Part#1 / Part#2 - or FULL DOC, see page 20) there IS a way to change the Smart Array to HBA mode. From what I've read, documentation says to use the "HP UEFI Shell" though it doesn't explicitly explain how to get it, set it up, and use it to put these commands in.
After a lot of digging, I found that if you use the "Smart Update Firmware DVD" and then press "Alt+Ctrl+F1" you can open up a console. I'm assuming this is the same aforementioned shell? The same thing can be done using the "HP SmartStart" disk.
That said, when I try to use the commands listed in the documentation I just get something along the lines of "This command doesn't exist". So it would seem these disks are missing the "saupdate.efi" file. I somehow found the file with a lot of Googling but when I put it on the USB with the shell, I don't know what folder to put it in. I've dropped it into multiple folders just in case but once I'm within the supposed shell, I don't know how to navigate.
I attempted to use the "CD" command to try and move folders but all the ones I've entered from seeing the USB's contents don't work.
At this point I'm stuck until I'm able to change the P411 mode to HBA instead of RAID. I know it can be done, I just don't know where to go from here.
Does anyone know the process? Have any of you done this before? Am I using the wrong Shell maybe? Am I missing a step somewhere?
If anyone would have the solution to this, it would be greatly appreciated! No amount of Googling has helped me find how to get to this UEFI Shell, or what series of commands I should be using from start to finish.
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QUESTION #2 - SOMEWHAT UNRELATED
According to the HP StorageWorks MSA60 documentation I've read, the backplane can only do SATA drives at 1.5Gb/s while SAS drives are 3Gb/s. Also that the backplane can only support HDDs of 1TB size. Up to a maximum of 12TB total.
With that said, I've read of others (from Googling) that are using their MSA60s with 2TB, 3TB, and even 4TB drives in their MSA60s! Which would mean their backplanes can handle well up to 24TB, 36TB, and 48TB!
How could this be possible? What are they doing that would allow for this sort of capacity?
Using the "Smart Update Firmware DVD" version 9.30, I've already updated the MSA60's firmware to v2.28 . (though apparently I didn't need to update it. When I loaded the CD up, it said I didn't need to do the update 'cause the firmware was already v2.28. Though I don't know if this is correct. Is there an easy way to check the firmware of the MSA60?)
Is there anything else I'm missing that would allow for larger drives and bigger maximum capacity?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -
Hello there FreeNAS. First time posting.
So I currently have a HP ProLiant DL320 G6 which I'm going to be using as a FreeNAS host. I've taken out the RAID card that it came with and plugged the 4 hotswap bays directly into the SATA ports using an HP part that I had to order (Otherwise my fans would shoot-up like jet engines).
I recently bought x2 HP ML370 G6s from GovDeals and both came with their own HP StorageWorks MSA60. Both of the ML370s have a Smart Array P411 which apparently can be set to HBA mode according to the documentation.
I've taken the Smart Array P411 out of both of the ML370s and put them into my DL320 G6.
I went ahead and ran the latest HP SPP to update the firmware of the Smart Arrays so they're up-to-date. Now the issue that I'm having is actually setting the P411s to HBA mode from RAID mode.
According to the documentation (Part#1 / Part#2 - or FULL DOC, see page 20) there IS a way to change the Smart Array to HBA mode. From what I've read, documentation says to use the "HP UEFI Shell" though it doesn't explicitly explain how to get it, set it up, and use it to put these commands in.
After a lot of digging, I found that if you use the "Smart Update Firmware DVD" and then press "Alt+Ctrl+F1" you can open up a console. I'm assuming this is the same aforementioned shell? The same thing can be done using the "HP SmartStart" disk.
That said, when I try to use the commands listed in the documentation I just get something along the lines of "This command doesn't exist". So it would seem these disks are missing the "saupdate.efi" file. I somehow found the file with a lot of Googling but when I put it on the USB with the shell, I don't know what folder to put it in. I've dropped it into multiple folders just in case but once I'm within the supposed shell, I don't know how to navigate.
I attempted to use the "CD" command to try and move folders but all the ones I've entered from seeing the USB's contents don't work.
At this point I'm stuck until I'm able to change the P411 mode to HBA instead of RAID. I know it can be done, I just don't know where to go from here.
Does anyone know the process? Have any of you done this before? Am I using the wrong Shell maybe? Am I missing a step somewhere?
If anyone would have the solution to this, it would be greatly appreciated! No amount of Googling has helped me find how to get to this UEFI Shell, or what series of commands I should be using from start to finish.
- - - - -
QUESTION #2 - SOMEWHAT UNRELATED
According to the HP StorageWorks MSA60 documentation I've read, the backplane can only do SATA drives at 1.5Gb/s while SAS drives are 3Gb/s. Also that the backplane can only support HDDs of 1TB size. Up to a maximum of 12TB total.
With that said, I've read of others (from Googling) that are using their MSA60s with 2TB, 3TB, and even 4TB drives in their MSA60s! Which would mean their backplanes can handle well up to 24TB, 36TB, and 48TB!
How could this be possible? What are they doing that would allow for this sort of capacity?
Using the "Smart Update Firmware DVD" version 9.30, I've already updated the MSA60's firmware to v2.28 . (though apparently I didn't need to update it. When I loaded the CD up, it said I didn't need to do the update 'cause the firmware was already v2.28. Though I don't know if this is correct. Is there an easy way to check the firmware of the MSA60?)
Is there anything else I'm missing that would allow for larger drives and bigger maximum capacity?
