Hardware RAID is disabled via NVRAM Controller setting

[Ghazanfar_2]

Hi,

I have server ML150 G6. Last week, Windows 2003 Server gives a message to reboot the server. After rebooting server didn't load the OS. At startup, where it detects the Controller P410i, it gives message "Hardware RAID support is disabled via NVRAM Configuration Setting".
In ACU, its not showing any logical drives (no RAID exists).
There are five HDDs of 450GB, RAID1+0 on two drives and RAID five on three drives.
Now its not showing any RAID.

Is there any way to recover the RAID?
Secondly, any idea about the error "Hardware RAID support is disabled via NVRAM Configuration Setting".

Thanks

[Jimmy Vance]

The ML150 G6 comes standard with an embedded controller that can be configured in NVRAM to support RAID. The Smart Array P410 is configured when it's BIOS shows up during POST. If your drives are on the P410 you probably need to change the boot controller order in NVRAM and place the P410 before the embedded controller.

[Ghazanfar_2]

Hi Jimmy,
There is no embedded controller on the server and on POST, it detects only one controller and where it detects the Controller it displays version as Smart Array Controller P410i with 256MB cache and also shows "0 Logical Drives".

Secondly, on Server BIOS there is no option to enable or disable NVRAM.

One more thing, what if I replace the Controller?


Thanks

[TTr]

It looks like there is an embedded controller on this server. The entry level model has the B110i, the base and performance model have the P410 controller (that is P410 not P410i). That means the B110i is still in the server, the P410 is add-on.

So check out the boot order as suggested above.

[TTr]

I forgot the URL that shows the above facts about the B110i and P410.

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13249_na/13249_na.html

[Ghazanfar_2]

Hi TTr,

Thanks for the link.
As I have said earlier that during post it only detects one Controller and i.e. P410i (not B110i). I think it is possible that there is no embedded controller in performance model.

[TTr]

I think HP is using the same motherboard on all the ML150 G6 models. Manufacturers do that to make it easy on themselves as far as inventory, support and replacement parts. In fact they probably use the same system board on other ML and DL server models as well.

All you have to do is get in the BIOS and check. That's not hard to do on a server that does not even boot up.

[convergex]

Hello I have the same error in my dl580 g7 with a p411. Has anyone come up with a solution? Please let me know. jleon@convergex.com

[Leonid_10]

Hello.

I have a same problem on my DL360G6 P410i controller.

[Randy Patrick]

Does anyone remember what the resolution was for the "raid support is disabled in NVRAM controller settings"?

[Mark_Oelke]

This message occurs when the controller is switched to a pseudo-HBA mode.  This mode is used in BCS systems and internally by the hard drive qualification team.  We never expect to see this mode enabled on ISS servers.

This mode is enabled/disabled by setting a flag in the controller's nvram.  This flag is modified by the EFI shell on BCS systems or some internal test tools.  SSACLI also has the (undocumented) ability to set/clear this state for Gen8 controllers, but not for G6/G7 systems.

Does anyone have a system currently stuck in this state?

[Dan Silva]

I just had a P411 show up in a DL580 G7 with this issue, and since I could not find any utility to set it back to RAID mode, I had to replace the controller.

If anyone knows of a utility that could be run from DOS or Linux (via any type of rescue boot media such as FreeDOS or Linux boot disk), that works on a ProLiant (similar to the saupdate EFI command on Integrity servers), this could avoid replacing what is theoretically a good, though misconfigured controller.

Dan 

[waaronb]

That's a little frightening to me, that an array controller could switch to HBA only mode for no apparent reason on a Proliant server.

I gather that some P4xx models are apparently used in integrity/superdome servers in HBA only mode, but how on Earth does someone get their controller messed up like that?

Now I've got something new to worry about every time I install a firmware update (like the disastrous "CCM" flash that broke Broadcom NICs recently).

Just to inform myself, I googled some info about the P41x controllers and HBA mode... sounds like if you're using the CLI you can do a:

saupdate get_mode <controller>

For example: 

saupdate get_mode all

or

saupdate get_mode p410i

Apparently that lists what mode the controllers are in, RAID or HBA.

To switch it, there's a command listed like:

saupdate set_mode <controller> <hba|raid> [-f]

For example this would change the mode for all p410i controllers to RAID:

saupdate set_mode p410i raid

(the -f will force it and not prompt the user to confirm)

Here's the kicker though... how does one send these CLI commands?  The doc I'm reading mentions doing it from the UEFI shell, which you're not going to have on a Proliant.

I'm guessing there's some utility out there then that does the same esential thing?  I don't see any similar option in the SSACLI, but apparently something is possible there with the right utility.

I do see that besides the UEFI partition method, the Integrity doc mentioned using an Offline Diagnostics CD.  I have no idea if that CD is available online or if you can only get it if you have a valid contract on a BCS model, but it could be worth investigating.  Might not boot on a Proliant even for all I know.

Hopefully HP addresses this publicly so people know what to do (like they did with that Broadcom NIC flash issue).