ACU and ML570 G3

[Greg Sweet]

I have a brand new Proliant ML570 G3 (Mfg. Part: 375367-001)

The ACU on the SmartStart CD (v7.51) cannot see the controller, so I cannot configure my RAID array (Embedded Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI controller). Trying to reboot to the ROM configuration or ORCA does not work either (no options given for RAID config)

When I installed Win2K3, it only gave me a 4Gb partition on one of the drives (146Gb SCSI). Oddly enough, the computer managment disk management utility sees the full size of the drive.

The windows version of the ACU cannot see the controller either...

Any ideas?

[Attila Szabó]

Dear Greg,

The problem and the solution is easy. The Embedded Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI controller is not a raid controller, just an integrated SCSI adapter (without any hardware RAID capability).
There is two version of ML570 G3, one is use SCSI disks, the other is use SAS disks (Serial Attached SCSI). The standard controller for the servers:
SCSI models ship with the Integrated Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter. SAS Models ship with the Smart Array P600 Controller.
Because your server is SCSI based (not SAS!), so you need to buy an optional RAID controller for your server. A good choise can be a Smart Array 6402/128 Controller (option part numb.: 273915-B21).
Its a standard RAID controller, with 2 SCSI channels (upgradable to 4 ch), and with 128MB battery backed cache (so you can use cache for read and write also). Memory also can be upgradable. More info: http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantstorage/arraycontrollers/smartarray6400/index.html .
Before you insert the card into the server, make a backup, cause when you create a RAID at first boot, it will initialize the HDDs, so you will loose all existing data.
When you put the card into the server, connect the SCSI cables from the main board, and create the raid array using ORCA or ACU. Install W2k3 with smartstart, then you dont need to create floppy disk for RAID controller driver (it can be a problem, because most of the new servers shipped without floppy drive).
I hope it helps.