Large SCSI disks to PL800

[Tero Kankaanpää_1]

Our ProLiant 800 6/180 is running out of disk space and I was about to add there some "small" (36 GB) SCSI hard drive. However, in every ProLiant document I found the maximum drive size was given as 9.1 GB. Is there really such limit, or is it specified this way just because a 9.1 GB disk was "huge" in those days?

Very strange, but I was unable to locate any details about the SCSI controller. I guess itâ s integrated and 53C710 based. Weâ re running NetWare 4.11 in the server and as I know, CPQSCSI.HAM is the SCSI disk driver.

If larger disks are not supported, would the solution be another SCSI-controller or something else?

T

[Sunil Jerath]

Hello Tero,
This is what we have as for as the Specs of PL800 are concerned:
Features
Processor â One of the following: Intel Pentium III processor 600 MHz Intel Pentium III processor 550 MHz Intel Pentium III processor 500 MHz
Cache Memory 512-KB Level 2 ECC cache
Upgradability Upgradable to dual processing
Memory Standard 64 MB (100-MHz registered ECC SDRAM memory) Maximum 1 GB
Network Controller Compaq 10/100 TX PCI UTP controller (embedded) on the PCI local bus
Expansion Slots I/O (Total) 6 (6 available) PCI 2 Shared PCI/ISA 4
Storage Controller Integrated Dual Channel Wide-Ultra SCSI-3 Adapter
Note: The Wide-Ultra SCSI-3 Adapter supports Wide Ultra2/Ultra3 SCSI hard drives running at Wide-Ultra SCSI-3 speeds.
Storage Diskette Drive 1.44 MB CD-ROM High Speed IDE CD-ROM Drive Hard Drives One of the following: 9.1 GB Wide Ultra2 SCSI (running at Wide Ultra SCSI-3 speeds) None Maximum Internal Storage 109.2 GB (4 x 18.2-GB non-hot plug drive cage + 18.2-GB non-hot plug drives in removable media bays)
Interfaces Parallel 1 Serial 2 Pointing Device (Mouse) 1 Graphics 1 Hot Plug Keyboard 1 External Wide-Ultra SCSI-3 1 Network RJ-45 1
Graphics Integrated 1024 x 768, 256 color on PCI local bus, 1-MB video memory
Form Factor Tower or 5U rack (with optional Tower-to-Rack Conversion Kit)
Compaq Software Compaq Insight Manager The comprehensive system management tool that monitors the operation of Compaq servers, workstations and clients Compaq SmartStart The server configuration and software integration tool from Compaq Array Configuration Utility (ACU) with Smart Array Controllers Same easy-to-use yet powerful Graphical User Interface (GUI) configuration utility with easy-to- navigate wizards for all Smart Array Controllers
Manageability
Automatic Server Recovery-2 (ASR-2)
Integrated Remote Console (IRC)
Hardware Remote Console
Full Remote Server Reboot Capability
Reset and Failure Sequence Replay
Host Hardware Independent
Communication is out-of-band
Integrated Management Log (IML)
Server Health Logging
Revision History Table
Automatic Revision Tracking
Drive Parameter Tracking (with Smart Array Controller)
Dynamic Sector Repairing (with Smart Array Controller)
Off-Line Backup Processor (optional in Canada)
Pre-Failure Warranty (processors, hard drives and memory)
Redundant Fan Support
Security
Power-on password
Hot plug keyboard password
Diskette drive control
Diskette boot control
QuickLock
Network Server Mode
Parallel and serial interface control
Administrator's password
Disk configuration lock
Power Supply 325 Watts, CE Mark Compliant
Required Cabling For required cabling information refer to the Compaq web site at http://www.HP.com/products/servers/proliant800. Please note that this Web site is available in English only.
OS Support
Microsoft Windows NT
Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Novell NetWare
SCO UnixWare and OpenServer
LINUX
IBM OS/2 Warp Family
Sun Solaris
Service and Support Compaq Services provides a wide range of service offerings, including a three-year, limited warranty fully supported by a worldwide network of resellers and service providers, lifetime toll-free 7 x 24 hardware technical phone support, and Pre-Failure Warranty coverage of hard drives, memory and processors. Disaster recovery services are available through partnership with Comdisco.
Note: Certain restrictions and exclusions apply. Consult the Compaq Customer Support Center at 1-800-345-1518 for details. In Canada, consult the Product Information Center at 1-800-567-1616 for details.

I dont know which model do you have but those limitations were in the past when you had smaller capacity HDDs available.

Regar

[Tero Kankaanpää_1]

Sunil, thank you for the information.
Ok, I gave the server type inaccurately. It's the Pentium Pro model, not one of the Pentium II/III models you referred.

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliant800/index1.html

You mentioned that "those limitations were in the past..." So there IS really some limitation???

[Sunil Jerath]

Hello Tero,
My limitation word meant that we did not have larger capacity HDDs in the past and now we do. Therefore, I dont think it should restrict you as for as the system bios is uptodate. Please let me know as to how you make out.

Regards,

[Tero Kankaanpää_1]

Like you encouraged, I updated the BIOS and prepared to try a 36 GB HDD.
Problems arise immediately: NetWare didn't boot any longer from the old disk.
http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/searchtid.cgi?/10014859.htm
Seems I'm in deep troubles! So I removed the old disk and tried to install NetWare on the new disk from Compaq SmartStart CD. All went nicely till it was time to configure the NetWare partitions and volumes.
Compaq NetWare Installation Utility aborted due to an error, no matter what is the partition size. I even tried with another SCSI-disk but the result was the same.
Tried to load the SCSI-driver (CPQS710.DSK in this case) from the NetWare console. It complains that "Slot 0 board is non-Compaq".
Could it be that the BIOS update changed the controller's BIOS in such way that the drivers no longer recognize it? What could be the correct driver then?

[Tero Kankaanpää_1]

Prevented the catastrophe...
Is this piece of essential information forgotten from HP/Compaq's web pages:
http://support.croc.ru/Hardware/Eng/EH980721_SW01.asp

[Sunil Jerath]

Hello Tero,
The latest system configuration utility can be downloaded via SP19619. Here is the link for this:

http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/13227.html

Regards,

[Tero Kankaanpää_1]

No success!
.
After all possible patches and updates the 9.1 GB limit still persist. I'm out of ideas! And still I have good reasons to believe that new software could eliminate this limitation. The problem seems not to be the hardware, but the drivers. The current configuration in short:
.
NetWare 4.11 installed from Compaq SmartStart CD, Release 3.21
.
Installed NetWare 4.11/4.2 Support Pack 9:
http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/searchtid.cgi?/2957945.htm
.
Updated the BIOS:
http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/8571.html
.
Updated Compaq System Configuration Utility:
http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/13227.html
.
I even updated the fws2*.sys drivers found at the root of the DOS boot partition:
http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/locate/8_1131.html
.
Now I can start the OS from the 36 GB HDD. Also, two different partitioning software products can see and operate with the full 36 GB. For example, I resized a NetWare partition to 16 GB, thoroughly tested it with no problems, but after reboot the OS recognized only the part below the mysterious limit. The 9.1 GB limit is there but what is causing it?
.
By the way, ServerMagic 4.0 (http://www.powerquest.com/servermagic/) seems to work extremely fine in copying and resizing NetWare volumes!
.
One more strange behavior: Although contents of the 36 GB HDD was one to one copy of the old 9.1 GB HDD, the larger disk refuses to boot directly from its boot partition. Soon after the "...press F10..." message there will be just "Cannot load file, press a key to retry" in the top-left corner of the screen. (Which file?) When I put in a boot floppy, pressed a key to reboot, the C: drive become available and NetWare could be started from there with no problems.
.
It looks like some low-level driver or firmware needs still to be updated. What could it be?
.
Wow! I was delighted to see that HP/Compaq is still maintaining these pages:
http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/locate/31_1131.html

[Tero Kankaanpää_1]

Success!
.
Solved the 9.1 GB limit problem by re-installing NetWare Support Pack 9. There has been some time since the previous install...
.
The booting problem, i.e. "Cannot load file, press a key to retry" is still there.
.
I also tested what happens if the SmartStart CD is used to install NetWare 4.11 on a large HDD. No problems with the disk size (although SYS was well below 9.1 GB), but because of the BIOS update there is now one nasty side effect. The SmartStart installation procedure completes OK, but immediately after that the Compaq NetWare Installation Utility fails and says "Unable to configure the NetWare partitions and volumes".
.
To solve this, Compaq System Configuration Utility (see the previous reply) needs to be updated. It cannot be done earlier during the installation, I tried, but after the update and correcting + saving the configuration information this part of the installation process can be successfully repeated.