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ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

 
Colin_29
Trusted Contributor

ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

I have recently installed an Ultrium 215i tape drive in an ML370 G2. During post it scans both ports of the SCSI bus as expected but does not pick up the drive. I have tested the cable and tape drive on another server and it is ok. I even got the system board changed on the server.

The only clue I have is that immediately following the SCSI bus scan it reports "SCSI BIOS not installed" but I think this is normal if it can't find any devices.

The server is in production therefore I cannot get much down time on it.

Any suggestions please?
6 REPLIES 6
kcpant
Trusted Contributor

Re: ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

Hi Colin,

Have you tried to change the SCSI ID of Ultium drive? change it and try again.
PreSales Specialist
Colin_29
Trusted Contributor

Re: ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

Yes that was one of the first things I did. I've tried two SCSI IDs on both ports, but thanks for the thought.
Brian_Murdoch
Honored Contributor

Re: ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

Hi Colin,

It should work OK on SCSI channel A (Preferered port for tape drives on ML370 G2). The only gotcha is that you can't have internal and external tape drives attached at the same time so if you already have a tape drive externally you can't install an inernal one on port A. (See below)
-------------------------------------------
Note: SCSI Port Connectors
SCSI connector A on the system board and the external VHDCI SCSI connector on the system rear panel use the same SCSI channel without support for both internal and external devices at the same time. Therefore you must disconnect all internal SCSI devices from the Port A before connecting any external SCSI device. The reverse also applies.
------------------------------------------

The "SCSI BIOS not installed" is normal if it can't find a disk drive or INT 13 device on the port when scanning so you can ignore this.

The server should come with the appropriate 3-device SCSI cable which includes termination.

Although the ML370G2 isn't mentioned in the support matrix for the Ultrium 215 at the link below, it should only require Ultra-2 LVD SCSI for support. The ML370G2 is Ultra-3 capable (Adaptec Trident II 7899G chipset).

http://www.hp.com/products1/storage/compatibility/tapebackup/ISS/index.html

Make sure you have the right cable first.

I hope this helps.

Brian



Colin_29
Trusted Contributor

Re: ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

Thanks Brian,

I have no other SCSI devices connected, only an Array controller to the internal drive cage.

I have tried the cable that comes with the drive and the one that comes with the server in both port A and port B. Both cables and drive work in another server (not an ML370) but neither work is this badger.

All indication is that it should work but it won't.

Colin
Brian_Murdoch
Honored Contributor

Re: ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

Colin,

There were a couple of embedded SCSI BIOS updates included in the ML370G2 system BIOS changes.

The latest change to the Dual SCSI BIOS was in ML370G2 (P25) System BIOS dated 10/31/2003. Have a look at your currently installed system BIOS date to see if its as new as this. This can be checked in Insight Manager, Online Diagnostics or looking at the Survey report in C:\COMPAQ\SURVEY\SURVEY.TXT, near the top where it shows the (P25) entry.

The latest BIOS (P25) available for the ML370G2 can be downloaded from here. This is BIOS 05/01/2004 which includes all the previous SCSI updates.

http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/20882.html

This creates a bootable bios update diskette.

It might help.

Brian
Colin_29
Trusted Contributor

Re: ML370 G2 and Ultrium 215i (Q1543A)

Thanks for your help guys.

I had the system board replaced last week. No difference!!

I've just got back from site where I tried updating the BIOS but this made no difference either.

I ended up fitting a Ultra 320 Dual Channel SCSI Controller and hooking the internal port to the Ultrium. Works just fine but I'm still bugged that the on board didn't work. I can't see the difference in using that to a sparate PCI card.

Anyway "job done" on to the next problem.

Thanks
Colin