Smart Array 4200 not initialising in ProLiant 5500R

[Wesley W.D. Summers]

I have a working Smart Array 3200 (SA3200) in the ProLiant 5500R, and would like to upgrade to a Smart Array 4200 (SA4200).

I have aquired a second hard SA4200, and installed it in the 5500R. It only seems to work in certain slots (Otherwise it causes a PCI error).

When the 5500R boots with the SA4200 in Slots 5 or 7 (Closest to the Processors), there is no visible Initialisation like the SA3200. I would have thought that this indicates a fault with the SA4200 card.

The 5500R BIOS is flashed to Revision P12 (April/19/2000).

SmartStart v5.00 says that it can't configure the card because "It uses a PCI Header type that is not recognised."

The Compaq System Configuration Utility (SCU) v2.58A (On Floppy disks) says the same thing. I understand this is the last version of the SCU that supports the 5500R.

If it helps, the LEDs on the SA4200 are:
CR1 to CR4 - Green
CR5 - Blue
CR6 to CR7 - Green
All others - Off

I would appreciate any pointers you can offer that would help me resolve this issue.


Regards, Wesley.

[Prashant (I am Back)]

Hi,

The informaiton i am ble to get is that listed below are the supported cards on server you have.
SMART-2DH Array Controller 295242-B21
SMART-2SL Array Controller 242776-B21
SMART-2/E Array Controller 194751-001
SMART-2/P Array Controller 194753-001
Wide-Ultra SCSI-3 Controller 272514-001

Q) If it helps, the LEDs on the SA4200 are:
CR1 to CR4 - Green
CR5 - Blue
CR6 to CR7 - Green
All others - Off

A) Your controller is fine as per the led status avaible.

Compatilibuty informaiton for array controllers.
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/servers/proliantstorage/arraycontrollers/compatability-matrix.pdf

Specification for server are followed on following link.
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/10279_div/10279_div.HTML
( My network problem i am not able to open the respective link )

Hope above information links help you validate the informations you are looking for

Regards,
Prashant S.

[Prashant (I am Back)]

Hi

Sorry i was just able to open th respective link yes it is under the supported option it has to work on above mentioned server
Smart Array 4200 Controller 295636-B21

Now what error message do you get at post eaxctly.

Regards,
Prashant S.

[Wesley W.D. Summers]

Thanks for the feedback Prashant.

Do you have a document that specifies what all the LEDs mean?

Prior to trying the SA4200, I had read a Compaq document (0277-0999-a.pdf) which documents the migration from the SA3200 to SA4200 using a ProLiant 5500, so I knew compatibility wasn't an issue.

---
In response to your second message, there is NO error during the POST. I think THAT is my problem, there is NOTHING during the post. However, the SA3200 shows that it is initialising during the POST, while the SA4200 shows NOTHING during the POST.

---
So, I still have my original problem: The SA4200 doesn't seem to work, and SCU v2.58A doesn't seem to know how to configure it.

Any more ideas?


Regards, Wesley.

[Prashant (I am Back)]

Hi,

there are some issues regarding the same is that possible to connect on any other workin server and to update the firmware for same.
check doccument ...
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=PSD_EX000607_CW01

For led informaiton :

CR1 through CR4 The more LEDs on, the busier the controller is.
If CR1 is blinking, the controller is at least 10% idle.
If all four LEDs are on solid, the controller is more than 90% busy.
CR5 (blue) Heartbeat LED; this LED should be blinking ; if this LED is not blinking, the firmware may be locked up.
CR6 If this LED is ON, there is a command outstanding to the controller.
CR7 LED is ON if this controller is the active controller.
This controller is ON for the Smart 431 and Smart 4200 controllers.
When two Smart 4250ES controllers are installed in a redundant configuration,
the active controller will have this LED ON, but the standby controller will not have this LED ON.
CR8 For two Smart 4250ES controllers in a redundant configuration,
this LED being ON for both controllers indicates if the Inter-Controller Link is up.
This link allows the active controller to communicate with the standby controller.
This LED should never be ON for the Smart 431 and Smart 4200 controllers.
CR9 - CR12 Indicates which SCSI buses are active;
there are four SCSI buses for the Smart 4200, three for the Smart 4250ES, and one for the Smart 431.
CR13 If LED is flickering, the battery-backed cache or the hardware XOR mechanism is being accessed.
The Smart 431 has neither the battery-backed cache nor the hardware XOR mechanism.
While most Smart Array controllers utilize a special chipset for XOR RAID 5 calculations,
the Smart 431 controller's processor performs XOR operations.
So this LED should not be ON for the Smart 431 controller.
CR14 This LED is amber if the controller is in diagnostics mode.
CR15 This LED is will flicker if the battery-backed cache is enabled and I/O is going through the cache.
The LED will be amber if there is a battery-backed cache error.
CR16 This LED will be amber if a drive has failed.

Hope this will explain.

Regards,
Prashant S.

[Wesley W.D. Summers]

Dear Prashant,

Thanks for the details on the LEDs.

The interesting thing (from my point of view) is that CR1 to CR7 are ON and Steady (i.e. None are Flashing). Your notes suggest that CR5 (Blue) should be flashing.

None of the other LEDs (CR8 to CR16) are ON or Flashing.


-----
The article on the POST error isn't applicable to this situation. The SA4200 is the ONLY card in the ProLiant 5500, because I am trying to resolve this issue.


-----
ON the SA4200, there are 2 sets of Jumpers (J11 & J15). Are these useful for anything?


-----
If the problem is ROM-Based, is it possible to re-flash it?

Is it possible to re-flash the card from a Bootable Floppy, and where would I get the necessary software?

What version of the Compaq System Configuration Utility is required to support the SA4200?


-----
Are you able to direct me to the source you used for the description of the LEDs?

Do you have a source for a description of the LEDs for the Smart Array 3200 controller?


Regards, Wesley.

[Prashant (I am Back)]

Hi,
-----
CR7 LED is ON if this controller is the active controller.
This controller is ON for the Smart 431 and Smart 4200 controllers.
When two Smart 4250ES controllers are installed in a redundant configuration,
the active controller will have this LED ON, but the standby controller will not have this LED ON.
----
Yes, CR5 should be flashing as per the information i have.
-----
i have never used jumpers anyware as if now on this controller.
-------
Yes we can try to reconfigure SCU again and check might be helpfull.
------
well i come across same information from a non hp site so i saved it but it help very much. Since there is no public doccument from hp as such.

Regards,
Prashant S.