HP H221 SAS Card Stuck at Initializing When Connected to JBOD

[ck_trhc]

We recently purchased a ProLiant DL380p Gen8 to add as a third node to our Hyper-V cluster. It was specced to match the existing hardware, including an LSI SAS card. The part number on my quote indicates it's the 9207-8E. This is the same part number of the cards we bought about two years ago for the existing servers.

I set the system up as usual, installing Windows and the necessary drivers. After connecting the SAS card to our JBOD (DNS-1640), it wasn't seeing the storage. After adding the node to the failover cluster, I could run VMs on it but when trying to move storage to it, it errored with "Clustered storage is not available to this node."

After rebooting the node, it gets stuck during POST as it tries to initialize the card. It just spins. Screenshot here: http://imgur.com/fVHUbt1. If I unplug the SAS cables, after about 30 seconds, it boots normally.

The card was initially showed this version:

HP H200 Series SAS 2 Host Bus Adapter(s)

MPT2BIOS-7.20.10.00 (2011.07.29)

I upgraded the firmware on the card to the latest I could find on the HP website. It now shows:

Avago Technologies MPT SAS2 BIOS

MPT2BIOS-7.39.00.00 (2014.09.18)

Either way, same result. I also installed the Service Pack for ProLiant 2016.10.0 and updated all of the firmware, so everything should be on the latest. If there's anything specific to check, I can provide that.

I'm not super great with hardware, and when I set up the original two nodes I just plugged them in, installed Windows and it worked. I'm not even sure how to troubleshoot this. I've spun my wheels for hours so I was hoping someone had a suggestion or could point me in the right direction. Thanks.

EDIT: I forgot to mention I did RMA the card with Broadcom, thinking it might be a defective card. Same result with a new card. Tried different PCI slot, different cables, and different ports on the JBOD. All yield the same result.

[rsk2832]

Did you ever get this working?  I am having the exact same issue with a NetApp 4246 connected to my 9207-8e.  It only hangs when a drive is in slot 0.  Removing the drive from slot 0 and placing a drive in any other slot works just fine.

I tried to find the right FW for this card, but it has an older revision of the chipset on it and it won't upgrade using Broadcom's FW and SAS2Flash.

I'm curious if you have any info on what the issue was.

Thanks!

Ryan

[Sunitha_Mod]

Hello Ryan, 

Thank you for posting! Since you have posted in an old topic and there is no response yet, we would recommend you create a new topic using the create "New Discussion" button, so the experts can check and assist you further. 

[Vinky_99]

@rsk2832 

It's possible that there is a compatibility issue between the SAS card and the NetApp 4246 when a drive is in slot 0. Here are a few things you can try to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check the firmware compatibility: Verify that the firmware on both the SAS card and the NetApp 4246 are compatible with each other. You can check the NetApp support site or contact their support team to confirm compatibility.

2. Check the SAS card BIOS settings: Enter the SAS card BIOS settings during POST and verify that the card is configured correctly. You can refer to the SAS card documentation for instructions on how to do this.

3. Check for conflicts: Ensure that there are no conflicts with other hardware or drivers in the system that may be causing the SAS card to fail to initialize.

4. Try a different SAS card: If the above steps do not resolve the issue, try using a different SAS card to see if it works with the NetApp 4246.

It's also possible that the issue may be related to the firmware revision on the SAS card. If the card has an older revision of the chipset, it may not be compatible with the latest firmware available from the manufacturer. In this case, you may need to contact the manufacturer for assistance or try using an older firmware revision that is compatible with the chipset on the SAS card.

Hope this give some insights. Let me know... 

[rsk2832]

Thanks for the reply.

Last week I received a replacement 9207-8e card. I have concluded my investigation using the replacement LSI SAS9207-8e card that has the latest firmware on it. What I found is that the previous SAS9207-8e card, which was a HP H221 SAS9207-8e card with an extremely old chipset and firmware, is what was causing the issue. When I swapped it out for the replacement actual LSI 9207-8e card, everything worked just fine. So, it was due to old chipset/firmware on the HP card.

Thanks for all the replies and brainstorming.

Ryan

[Vinky_99]

Hey Ryan, 

That's good news. Great you updated here, that definitely helps others. 

Good Job!