How to get Gen10 (blade) detect disks without HPE Smart Array

[workdog2]

Hello everyone,

My company had shutdown a datacenter and stored several Gen10 machines (blades, rackmounts) that were idle for a while.  Our group discovered these machines and procured them for our purposes.  We found out these machines don't meet our normal ordering standards as some parts may be missing.

I have compared 2 Gen10 BL460c blades we received.  One blade works perfectly well and has the HPE P204i Smart Array.  We were able to configure RAID and install an OS.  The other blade doesn't appear to have a Smart Array.  On boot, this server is unable to find any disk so we're not able to install an OS.  We even swapped out the blade for the same spec model, and same result.  

1. How should the Gen10 BL460c detect the disks if there isn't a P204i Smart Array controller installed?  Do the disks need direct cabling to something?  We installed 2x900GB disks on the server w/o the Smart Array but these aren't detected at boot.

Here are the specs from the blade with the Smart Array and w/o the Smart Array.  

Assembly Part Number Part Description Qty   Assembly Part Number Part Description Qty 5697-3706 Universal LTU Envelope With Window 1   5697-3706 Universal LTU Envelope With Window 1 5697-3807 EULA DVD/Envelope (non-product specific) 1   5697-3807 EULA DVD/Envelope (non-product specific) 1 700063-001 PCA BLOM G3x8 2p 20G KR2 CNA BCM57840S 1   700063-001 PCA BLOM G3x8 2p 20G KR2 CNA BCM57840S 1 700065-B21 HPE FlexFabric 20Gb 2P 630FLB Adptr 1   700065-B21 HPE FlexFabric 20Gb 2P 630FLB Adptr 1 703828-028 SAFETY, COMPLIANCE, AND WARRANTY INFORM 1   703828-029 Safety and Warranty pointer Card 3 710608-B21 HPE QMH2672 16Gb FC HBA 1   710608-B21 HPE QMH2672 16Gb FC HBA 1 710610-001 PCA, HP QMH2672 16Gb FC HBA 1   710610-001 PCA, HP QMH2672 16Gb FC HBA 1 726116-B21 HPE 8GB microSD Flash Memory Card 1   726116-B21 HPE 8GB microSD Flash Memory Card 1         787312-003 Card, 12W HPE Smart Storage Battery Inst 1         804367-B21 HPE Smart Array P204i-b SR Gen10 Ctrlr 1         804370-001 PCA, BROC P204i-b SR Gen10 Ctrlr 1 815101-B21 HPE 64GB 4Rx4 PC4-2666V-L Smart Kit 12   815101-B21 HPE 64GB 4Rx4 PC4-2666V-L Smart Kit 6 833818-001 BOX, RSC 28.13 X 12.93 X 7.81, HPE 1   833818-001 BOX, RSC 28.13 X 12.93 X 7.81, HPE 1 840759-091 DIMM,64GB PC4-2666V-L,2Gx4 1   840759-091 DIMM,64GB PC4-2666V-L,2Gx4 1 847012-001 PCA, MLB, BL460c Gen10 1   847012-001 PCA, MLB, BL460c Gen10 1 865291-001 Assy, SM Chassis, BL460cGen10 1   865291-001 Assy, SM Chassis, BL460cGen10 1         867254-001 DRV, HD 300G 12G SAS 15K-SGT 1 865309-001 CA Assy, SATA, Gen10  1   870753-B21 HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC MV HDD 2 872617-021 Crd,START HERE Setup BL460c G10 Srv Blde 1   872617-021 Crd,START HERE Setup BL460c G10 Srv Blde 1 873555-001 IC,uP SKL-SP Xeon-G 6128/3.4G,6c,115W 1   873551-001 IC,uP SKL-SP Xeon-G 6136/3.0G,12c,150W 1 875941-B21 HPE BL460c Gen10 Xeon-G 6128 Kit 1   875945-B21 HPE BL460c Gen10 Xeon-G 6136 Kit 1 875941-L21 HPE BL460c Gen10 Xeon-G 6128 FIO Kit 1   875945-L21 HPE BL460c Gen10 Xeon-G 6136 FIO Kit 1         876847-001 BATT PACK, 12W Megacell, 7.2V -b 1 877031-003 Tag, Firmware Update w/QR Code, BLGen10 1   877031-003 Tag, Firmware Update w/QR Code, BLGen10 1 880018-001 Crd, Imp Accessng Info UEFI Requirements 1   879007-021 Crd,Pointer info/smartstoragegen10-docs 1         880018-001 Crd, Imp Accessng Info UEFI Requirements 1 E5Y34-96004 RMF for HPE OneView 1   E5Y34-96004 RMF for HPE OneView 1 E5Y37-63111 Subassy, HPE OneView 4.0 1   F6Q89A HPE OV for BL 3yr 24x7 FIO Phys 1Svr Lic 1 F6Q89A HPE OV for BL 3yr 24x7 FIO Phys 1Svr Lic 1   P01363-B21 HPE 12W BL Smart Storage Battery 1

Looks like if the table is too big, it cannot be formatted.  Please copy and insert in Excel or something.

[John217Ross]

Hello!  

Based on your parts list, your Gen10 BL460c blade server cannot detect the disks because it is missing the essential HPE Smart Array P204i-b SR Gen10 Controller. This controller is a required component that connects the drive backplane to the motherboard. Without it, there is no way for the server to communicate with the drives. The only way to resolve this is to acquire and install the missing controller (part number 804367-B21) and its associated Smart Storage Battery into the blade.  

[workdog2]

Hi, 

Thank you for the response.  2 things:

1. There is an HPE S100i SR controller on this machine.  How does that work?  Would that work with any inserted disks?

2. We did transplant the P204i Smart Array Controller 804367-B21, cache module, and battery 787312-003 from one working blade into this blade to see if this would recognize the disks.  BIOS is sort of able to detect disks but the disks are not recognized during POST.  I've tried several options within the BIOS to disable the QMH2672 16Gb FC HBA and HPE S100i SR controller to get the BIOS to recognize the P204i and the disks.  It seems to recognize the P204i but not the disks.  Any recommendations for troubleshooting?