DL380, SmartArray 5302 upgrade

[mesak]

Hi there,
is it possible to upgrade from on-board Smart Array 5i Controller to 5302 without rebuilding the RAID/reinstalling OS? Does anyone have expirience with it?
DL380 G2,W2k Server SP2, RAID-5.
Thanks.

[Janine Bertolo]

Hello:

Yes you can make this change to the server quite easily without rebuilding.

All you have to do is set the 5302 as the boot controller in the F9 RBSU utility and connect the point-to-point scsi cable to the new controller from the drive cage.

The driver for both controllers is the same, and all the array configuration information is held on the drives themselves.

Hope this helps,

Janine

[Tom Mucha_1]

Yes, not a problem. The question is, do you still need the 5i in there. Normally what we do when a customer does not need the 5i, we remove the daughter board from the main board. After that, there is a switch you have to change on the mainboard, but I can't find it right (having problems finding the document). If I find it, I'll post it. After removing it, the external SCSI port will not work, so that is the only draw back I found.

You can always leave the 5i in there, but the problem we had was if there are no arrays on it, you will have to press F1 at every boot, and we can't have that.

And one more thing, make sure the firmware on the 5302 is up to date.

[Tom Mucha_1]

http://wwss1pro.compaq.com/support/reference_library/viewdocument.asp?countrycode=1000&prodid=2011&source=203840-003.xml&dt=13&docid=7077

Chapter 4 - system switches - scsi interlock.

To Janine - is there a way to leave the 5i in without it complaining about not being configured?

[Janine Bertolo]

By turning the SCSI Interlock Disable Switch on (see 4 -19; p104 of the pdf user-guide) the server will boot up without stopping at an F1 prompt even if the 5i is unconfigured.

Hope that helps,

Janine

[mesak]

Thanks Janine amd Tom for great support.
Your help is very appreciated.
Regards,
Daniel.