@DanielL1 wrote:
For everyone who want this the combo to work in UEFI mode do the following:
- [see original post above...]
That's just what this thread needed. Thanks!
To any HPE staff, here is a summary of issues you can take with you:
1.) The system firmware of the Gen10 MicroServer is generally very buggy, and it's obvious it has not been tested before release. It's also obvious nobody at HPE actually uses the boxes, because then you would have known what was wrong with them. This means your QA procedures for this product line is provably defunct - if it exists at all.
1.1) Latest system firmware does not work correctly with the SmartArray controller cards when those are also updated to latest firmware. When in UEFI mode the card is not initialized correctly and EFI drivers are not loaded. As a result, it is not possible to see neither the controller or disks attached.
1.2) Latest system firmware does not work correctly with the SmartArray controller cards when those are also updated to latest firmware. The controller will appear in the UEFI environment for configuration, but selecting ANY option in the controller menu will simply return the user to the first UEFI configuration screen, with no change and no explanation. As a result it is impossible to configure the controller in the UEFI menu system.
2.) The SmartArray controllers will only work in Legacy mode when updated to their latest firmware. In order to work with UEFI the card must be downgraded to version 1.60, which is contrary to official HP recommendations.
2.1) Note that the controller will be completely absent from the UEFI environment when latest software is used and system is not in legacy mode. It is therefore hard to identify what is wrong, and hard to correct the issue.
3.) Configuration software for the controller cards will apply changes immediately, rather than apply all changes collectively when all parameters and variables have been set. This makes it very hard to change configuration for the card if the system was booted from disks connected to the card. Changes to the running environment that affect the IO subsystem will immediately result in OS failure (for example BSOD in the case of windows).
4.) Configuring the SmartArray controller cards to use the "Balanced" power setting will apparently brick the card, at least in the Gen10 server. I have no desire to test if it's possible to unbrick it by mounting it in a non-HP server, or my local workstation. But if the Gen10 server is all you have for this card, then changing the Power settings for the controller will result in a defunct server, and only an RMA case will solve the issue.
5.) The Gen10 MicroServer EFI environment lacks common file system drivers. This means that standard boot media from Microsoft - arguably one of the biggest vendors of commecial software on the planet - does not work with this server. Customers must follow special procedures, or must make their own custom boot devices with this server. This is due to a lack of attention to detail, and a lack of QA procedures for the product line.
6.) The policy of locking firmwares and updates away behind some kind of "paywall" is extremely frustrating and hostile to your customers. It creates ZERO value for us. I don't know who though that "Entitlement Required" was a great concept to introduce for something as simple as firmware upgrades. But realize this: There is ONE SINGLE reason for customers to download firmware. And that is to FIX PROBLEMS THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, for products we already paid for. Asking me to pay multiple times for the same - defunct - product is not a good way to keep our relationshop healthy. No other vendor, bar Cisco, gives us that kind of crap.
7.) Amazingly, the download page for the Gen10 MicroServer does not work with Chrome, which is the most commonly used browser on the planet. This is once again something that is telling about HPE's lack of attention to detail and QA. It looks like some async call to populate the user page with possible downloads fails in Chrome. Copying the URL to another browser "fixes" the problem. And the most annoying thing is: this problem is probably only occuring thanks to the whole customer hostile "paywall" concept, because otherwise serving a list of downloadable files should really be a piece of cake...
I wish you all a happy new year.
