"scsi downshift error"

[fengwang]

this afternoon. I will use a lower version smartstart to install the windows 2000.
Maybe this error happen on disk 15000r/p not on disk 10000r/p.

[Bill Kriner]

We've had very similar problems for many months on several different servers. The common thread was having an SA6400 series controller attached to an MSA30 via a dual bus U320 I/O module.

After going through months up upgrading drive firmware (which is what HP's tech support initially claimed the problem was), SA6400 controller firmware, Support Pack software, etc., HP finally pointed us in the right direction.

Check the firmware revision of the MSA30's I/O module (you can find it within the Insight Agent GUI). If the version is 2.14, that's likely the problem. You would need to upgrade the firmware to 2.30 (available at ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/softpaq/sp29001-29500/sp29022.exe). The only way I was able to get the firmware upgrade to work was having a server with a floppy drive setup with a SA6402 (or 6404) attached to an MSA30 and by following the instructions in the readme file for the firmware update exactly. The update requires the Firmware Maintenance CD - download version 7.10. I tried the newest version of it and it never worked.

Since upgrading the MSA30 firmware, our downshift errors have reduced a lot but more importantly, "cpqcissm" SCSI bus timeout errors have quit happening and affected servers have stopped tipping over.