ProLiant DL20 Gen9 Server doesn't see disk drives

[myroncramer]

I have a brand new DL20 that has 2 disk drives connected to a Smart HBA H240 Controller in Slot 2. It doesn’t like the disk drives and things that there is a replacement drive installed that needs to be configured.

Keep in mind that I just bought this server and it is new right out of the box from the factory.

Also, I have 4-hour on-site support and a technician was supposed to come to my facility yesterday but didn’t show up or call.

 I have tried using the Dynamic Smart Array to delete and recreate the LUN with identical configuration as it had originally, but after booting into the installers, they don’t see any disk drives.

There has never been an operating system or any other software on this brand-new system. The only way to boot it is with a CD.

I have requested an RMA from the reseller (Melilo Consulting) but they refused.

Does anyone have any ideas how to fix this server so it can be used?

[Torsten.]

The DL20 Gen9 always has a dynamic smart array controller B140i installed.

This works in UEFI mode only.

You have an additional H240 controller, so you need to check where the disks are connected.

If the DL20 supports intelligent provisioning, press F10 during boot or go into the array config tool from system utilities menu (F9) in order to check and configure the controller.

The B140i supports SATA drives only, the H240 supports SATA and SAS.

The B140i supports 6Gbit speed, the H240 up to 12Gbit.

Make sure the cable to the disk is NOT connected to the systemboard, but to the additional H240 card.

[myroncramer]

Torsten,

Thank you for this great information. I had not opened the case to examine the hardware since this is a brand new server that was right from the factory. As it turned out I didn't need to go to this step, but your information would have helped had it been necessary.

I was able to get expert assistance from Guru Prasan in HPE's call center in India. He set up a remote help session with me to access the iLO system so he could remotely access the ProLiant System Configuration and reconfigure the controller and the disk RAID configuration. That did the trick and I was able to install Windows Server 2016 with no issues.

I don't know why the DL20 had not been configured correctly from the factory, but I was not going to be coerced by the seller Melilo Consulting into paying them thousands of dollars in consulting services to fix a defective server they sold me and refused to provide an RMA.

[Jimmy Vance]

Generally, unless you purchase a CTO system the server does not come with the RAID configured.  The customer generally install the drives and configures the RAID settings using the embedded tools. So with the information provided here I wouldn't say this was a defective server, especially if support was able to run the configruation via iLO

[myroncramer]

Jimmy,

Thanks. That is good to know. Yes I did purchase this from the reseller as a CTO system. $2,342 for a 1 U server is more than twice what I had paid for the Dell PowerEdge R220 it is replacing.

This is my first ever HPE server so I was unfamiliar with iLO, the system hardware or anything else about the purchase. I foolishly relied upon the reseller to build the quote. It was one part of a $45,000 purchase, so I was surprised when they walked away from the issue when I wouldn't but thousands of dollars of integration services that I don't need.

[Jimmy Vance]

Sorry you had a bad experience. I'm not sure how CTO works with a reseller.  When you order CTO from HPE you pick all the individual pieces and the factory integrates all the parts. I would guess maybe a reseller just uses a standard basic SKU and may add in some options which may or may not be configured.