HP SAS Expander Owner's Thread

jammi said:
I dont want to spend more than £250 ($400), also do the hp p212/p410's work on non hp systems as I'v got a bog standard Asus with a i3.
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I use a P400 on an Asus P5WDG2-WS - works quite fine ;)
With the old SCSI-RAID-Cards I had a lot of problems when used on consumer-boards whereas the P400 worked fine on different boards.

Just one thing about the P400: The write cache will be disabled when SATA-drives are used as a friend found out. (His test-setup was a P400 with HP Midline-Drives, a pair of 7.2k 500GB SATA and a pair of 7.2k 500GB SAS, so the same drives, just with different PCBs. According to him this also is mentioned in some service manual, for security and stability reasons... Ha ha...)
He is about to test if the P410 has the same restrictions rendering the controller quite useless for most of us...
 
The P4xx controllers being useless for anything outside of a business environment and within an HP server was discovered a long time ago when the thread started - yes they're definitely useless in terms of how hard they are to manage and the performance you get out of them relative to the pricepoint. It takes DAYS to build even a modest 4-8 drive raid5 array with it.

While they work with the HP expander, for anyone buying new the P4xx's are the last card you should consider - again, unless you're in a business environment running HP servers.
 
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SynergyDustin said:
Hi folks. I just got confirmation that we're getting over 50 of the expanders in late next week, and I still have stock. PM me for any additional information.

Thanks!
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All in stock. Ready to ship same day, no cables on this batch, but they are upgraded to current firmware.

Thanks folks.
 
oh & if anyone here has the IBM M1015 working with this expander, please please tell me which driver, firmware, OS, mobo etc - thank u so much! :)
 
I had problems with my 9280, so I wound up returning it ages ago.

I guess I'll post this again since I haven't said it in a while. If anyone wants help in importing one outside of the US, just send me a PM and I can help you out.
 
Blue Fox said:
I had problems with my 9280, so I wound up returning it ages ago.

I guess I'll post this again since I haven't said it in a while. If anyone wants help in importing one outside of the US, just send me a PM and I can help you out.
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:( may I ask what kind of problems?
have LSI released new firmware(s) since u played around with this expander?
 
The management software would just die when one was plugged in. This was more than a year ago though and others have gotten it working.
 
I think other have? I just had problem with it and any expander I tried (I tested 3 different ones). Thought it was just limited to me. Maybe no one else has if you can't find any posts on it?
 
I tested 2 Chenbro CK13601 expanders as well, but it could very well work and I might have just done something wrong. Wish I could do more testing, but I got rid of the card ages ago.
 
I ordered mine from Dustin yesterday. Time to see if it will be compatible with my motherboard...

I plan on shutting down my system, using a single link on port 8 to my 1880i and only detaching one of my two 4-drive arrays. This would leave my main array still directly attached to the 1880i and then I will attach my secondary array to the HP SAS Expander.

Does this sound like a good plan? This seems like it would let me back everything up as I make the migration.
 
Would Areca 1880i be much better alternative to the expander card then LSI SAS2008?

If so, why? And how much better?
 
If you want hardware RAID, then yes. If that doesn't interest you, then I wouldn't spend the extra money on it. Performance on it is hard to beat for RAID 5/6 though.
 
would any one be near vermont that has one of these expanders? i hope to get a p600 soon and would love to find a way to test it
 
Anyone else using an HP SAS Expander with an LSI SAS2008 controller? I just connected mine and I'm hitting a peculiar error. I tried searching the thread for information but I didn't find any.



When I open the LSI control panel, it shows that I have the expander connected, and all 12 drives (11x2TB, 1x160GB) connected, but the status is "ERROR". I'm not sure how to proceed.

I'll provide a little more information: I have the expander connected in a Dual-Link configuration, running the 2.06 firmware, as it came from Dustin. I see that 2.08 is out; has anyone used it?
 
Try single link.

Do you have the latest BIOS/Firmware for your controller?
 
nitrobass24 said:
Try single link.

Do you have the latest BIOS/Firmware for your controller?
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Just tried single link. No change (other than the number of error messages being reduced by half, which makes sense).

My controller is fully up-to-date and works perfectly when I do not have the HP SAS Expander connected.

I'm going to try removing all but one SFF-8087 connector in and out, just to see if I can do anything to get it working. I'll post my results.

EDIT: I have 2 cables connected right now: one from the controller, and one to the backplane. No change. I noticed something, though: The expander has some status LEDs on it, near the PCI bracket. I'm not sure if I can see them all or not but I know that the bottom three are lit, then two are unlit, and the next one up is blinking steadily.
 
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Gigas-VII said:
Just tried single link. No change (other than the number of error messages being reduced by half, which makes sense).

My controller is fully up-to-date and works perfectly when I do not have the HP SAS Expander connected.

I'm going to try removing all but one SFF-8087 connector in and out, just to see if I can do anything to get it working. I'll post my results.

EDIT: I have 2 cables connected right now: one from the controller, and one to the backplane. No change. I noticed something, though: The expander has some status LEDs on it, near the PCI bracket. I'm not sure if I can see them all or not but I know that the bottom three are lit, then two are unlit, and the next one up is blinking steadily.
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From what I've gathered, your status LEDs are normal.

I hope you find a solution to your problem, as I just purchased a mobo with the LSI SAS2008 chip. Hopefully I don't run into the same issue as you with my sas expander - i've already thrown in the towel trying to get the expander to work with my saslp-mv8
 
I just tried connecting the motherboard's SFF-8087 ports to ports 8 and 9 on the expander, and leaving everything else disconnected. Same error. I know the issue is between the expander and the controller, but I don't know what, if anything, I can do about it. I've seen so many people discussing how SAS2008-based controllers work perfectly. I'll double-check on the firmware but I'm under the impression that V.8.0 is the latest, with BIOS 7.15, dated 2010.11.01.

EDIT: Okay so, sometime in the last week, LSI must have released a new update because the page in my history is now showing V.9.0 as the latest, from 2011.02.11. Hmm... update time.

EDIT2: The BIOS itself is dated 2011.03.20 so I didn't miss it by much. I'm honestly perplexed that so many people have had successes with the SAS2008 without this firmware, however.

EDIT3: Updated controller firmware to V.9.0; no improvement. I haven't tried reseating the card yet (because I doubt that would help since the expander's CPU LED is blinking). I'll try running just one cable from the controller to the expander, with all other slots unpopulated. I'm really worried.
 
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Gigas-VII said:
I'm honestly perplexed that so many people have had successes with the SAS2008 without this firmware, however.
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yes they work perfectly when you run them with a perfectly working HP expander. keep in mind you sourced the expander from a grey market reseller - it didn't come brand new from the factory. there have been occasional reports from people getting a bad/flaky expander from grey market sources, getting it replaced and things working fine afterward. your symptoms don't necessarily mean your expander is bad, but do point toward that.

also the hp expander doesn't work on all motherboards. an alternative expander i'd recommend is the Intel RES2SV240, which in some ways is superior to the HP, but its got a higher cost per port since you're getting 12 less ports at the same pricepoint.
 
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odditory said:
yes they work perfectly when you run them with a perfectly working HP expander. keep in mind you sourced the expander from a grey market reseller - it didn't come brand new from the factory. there have been occasional reports from people getting a bad/flaky expander from grey market sources, getting it replaced and things working fine afterward. your symptoms don't necessarily mean your expander is bad, but do point toward that.

also the hp expander doesn't work on all motherboards. an alternative expander i'd recommend is the Intel RES2SV240, which in some ways is superior to the HP, but its got a higher cost per port since you're getting 12 less ports at the same pricepoint.
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The reason it doesn't work on some motherboards is that it doesn't report to the BIOS, but it takes voltage, and some boards turn off ports that don't check in. My board does not have this problem because the status LEDs show that the card is fully active. It just can't communicate with my controller. I'll test in another system to confirm.
 
I wonder if it's an issue with the expander's 2.06 firmware. I purchased my card off of Dustin in January, so it should have the 2.06 fw, as well, and have a similar problem with my saslp-mv8. I won't be getting my lsi sas2008 based mobo until mid april (stupid Provantage), so I can't confirm whether i'll have the same problem as you or not.

What I do know is the 2.08 fw for the expander supposedly "Resolved intermittent condition in which the HP SAS Expander card may not locate logical drives after a power cycle and will report the following error at post." Which might be the problem we're facing with. Too bad I'm unable to update the card.

**edit**
If anyone is in the Los Angeles area and is able and willing to update my card for me, it would be appreciated.
 
lazy7689 said:
What I do know is the 2.08 fw for the expander supposedly "Resolved intermittent condition in which the HP SAS Expander card may not locate logical drives after a power cycle and will report the following error at post." Which might be the problem we're facing with.
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No, that 2.08 update doesn't resolve anything we as SATA/home users use it for. 2.08 is trivial in my testing. The main update we need is SATA-III drives to negotiate at 6G, not sure that will ever happen though since HP has intended the card for their SAS offerings.
 
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I've got a replacement Expander on the way from Dustin, with firmware 2.08. It will arrive tomorrow. I can't wait.
 
Rudde93 said:
Have LSI SAS3081E-R been check for dual link support?
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I tried it once, ran into an error and haven't tried it since. This was when I first got it, not sure if it didn't work or if it was cables, since I had some wrong cables in the mix...

I'll see if I can try it again later this weekend...
 
Gigas-VII said:
I've got a replacement Expander on the way from Dustin, with firmware 2.08. It will arrive tomorrow. I can't wait.
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really? that was fast... I'm guess I'm lucky I didn't have any issues because I didn't get to test mine out until like 3 months after I bought it... and I didn't start hearing about the flaky cards in the batch until a month after I bought it...
although I'm not sure what the warranty is with the cards bought from Dustin... :-D
 
Bookmage said:
Just to recap,
odditory got the PE-2SD1-R10 working in the original Norco 4020 case w/o any modification. All that was needed was to permanently jumper the ATXCTL and use the power supply to turn on/off

Did anyone ever test out the IEI HPE-3S2-R10 ? It is slightly cheaper and uses an ATX20 pin, but may be a good alternative?

Did anyone ever test out cheap motherboards that worked w/o cpu/ram?
Or would determining which motherboards give off the high PWRGD signal be too difficult to test or compare?
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Just to update, the IEI HPE-3S2-R10 is back ordered due to manufacturer part problems?

I was going to order the PE-2SD1-R10
but then I discovered this: HPE-4S2-R40 which looks like the same thing with an extra PCI slot.
it should be in the first week of April and i'll post back whether it works with the HP SAS expander. As of 03/24/2011 it's less than $5 more expensive than the 3 slot version, but still under $30 + Shipping.

Might be nice to link these parts in the OP as compatible power sources for those who want to use it in an enclosure with no motherboard.
 
Gigas-VII said:
I've got a replacement Expander on the way from Dustin, with firmware 2.08. It will arrive tomorrow. I can't wait.
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Good luck and keep us posted. I might have to go this route as well if I can't get the card working with my new board.
 
Second card arrived, running V2.08 as requested, and I'm getting the same error as before. I'm going through the usual diagnostic steps, just to see what I can see.

Configurations tested, with results:
1) Controller on Ports 8+9, backplanes on 2-7, all drives populated. ERROR
2) Controller on Ports 8+9, nothing else. ERROR
3) Controller port 1 on Port 8, nothing else. ERROR
4) Controller port 1 on Port 9, nothing else. ERROR
5) Controller port 2 on Port 8, nothing else. ERROR
6) Controller port 2 on Port 9, nothing else. ERROR
7) Controller on Ports 2+3, nothing else. SUCCESS

This is precisely what happened with Expander #1, so I don't know what's going on, now. Why would ports 8 and 9 not like the controller, while ports 2 and 3 love it?

EDIT: Continuing the pattern:

8) Controller on Ports 2+3, backplane on 4, no drives. SUCCESS
9) Controller on Ports 2+3, backplanes on 4,5,6,7, no drives. SUCCESS
10) Controller on Ports 2+3, backplanes on 4-9, no drives. SUCCESS

What should I test next? I think I'll populate one drive per backplane, one at a time, and see what happens. That or I could see which other ports the controller doesn't like, if any.

EDIT2: Very Strange Stuff:

11) Controller on Ports 2+3, backplanes on 4-9, 1 drive connected to port 9. SUCCESS... but the drive is never discovered, and the LSI SAS2008 BIOS sees only the expander.
12) Controller on Ports 2+3, backplanes on 4-9, 1 drive connected to port 7. SUCCESS: drive is discovered as intended. (SAME DRIVE AS TEST 11)
13) Controller on Ports 2+3, backplanes on 4-9, 2 drives connected (one to port 9, one to port 7). SUCCESS... but the drive connected to port 9 is not discovered. Drive on port 7 is discovered as intended.

I can repeat this testing all day, and it seems I'll be getting the same result: it appears that BOTH the expanders I presently possess do not have functional ports 8 or 9. All the other ports work as intended.

I'm getting sick and tired of this. Does anyone in the DC area have a WORKING expander I can test?
 
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have you tried just going from controller to expander to drive and skip the backplane via a fanout?
and have you tried different cables?

you in the nova side or the md side?
 
How about controller to drives? no expander no backplane.

If this is a SM board i would not be shocked that its the controller, SM seems to have some serious QA issues as of lately.
 
Bookmage said:
have you tried just going from controller to expander to drive and skip the backplane via a fanout?
and have you tried different cables?

you in the nova side or the md side?
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MD, but NoVA isn't far. I drive to Fairfax probably once a month, just to hit a particular grocery store.

nitrobass24 said:
How about controller to drives? no expander no backplane.

If this is a SM board i would not be shocked that its the controller, SM seems to have some serious QA issues as of lately.
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The controller to any of the backplanes works perfectly. I've tested them all. I haven't tried a fanout to the drives mainly because it would be horribly inconvenient.

Does anyone here use an SAS2008 controller with their HP SAS Expander? If so, can anyone confirm that ports 8 and 9 work correctly for them? I'm debating just sending both expanders back, and ordering a couple more SAS2008 (or similar) controllers. I can keep looking into it if anyone can confirm I'm not wasting my time...
 
a number of us use a sas2008 based controller... my dell sas 6gbps uses a sas2008 and it works... i don't recall anyone here having that problem....

my expander and dell sas2008 controller work with port 8 & 9... I also have LSI SAS3081E-R that works too... once I swapped out cables...

just for testing purposes, i would try a fanout if available just make sure its not the backplane... although... you shouldn't have any problems with controller on port 8 or 9 and no drives... try a different brand cable?
 
Bookmage said:
a number of us use a sas2008 based controller... my dell sas 6gbps uses a sas2008 and it works... i don't recall anyone here having that problem....

my expander and dell sas2008 controller work with port 8 & 9... I also have LSI SAS3081E-R that works too... once I swapped out cables...

just for testing purposes, i would try a fanout if available just make sure its not the backplane... although... you shouldn't have any problems with controller on port 8 or 9 and no drives... try a different brand cable?
Click to expand...

I guess my only question to that is, if all my cables are the same, what makes ports 8 and 9 any different than the others? I don't understand what could be causing specifically those two ports to fail to function, while leaving all the others working as intended. It worries me even more because of the number of SAS2008-based controllers out there and the lack of issues other users are having. As a point of reference, my posts in this thread have climbed to the top of the Google results for "SAS2008 Expander Error".

Literally no one else is having this problem, and that's why I find it so frustrating.

I'm suddenly debating buying a LSI SAS 9201-16i, because it would net me as many ports as the expander, at around the same price point as an expander plus an additional controller. I'd much rather have a single controller, though. I find working with multiple controllers to be a chore.
 
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How many ports do you need total? And which drives are you using? Might be time to cut bait and send your HP's back - maybe they're part of a bad batch - keep in mind not all refurbs are created equal. Then head to Provantage for an Intel expander which will net you 20 ports with a single link, +4 on the other miniSAS connector of the SAS2008 controller = 24 total.

OR.. if you really want 36 ports then grab an HP expander off Amazon since at least that one will be factory new, test it, and use the results to determine your next course of action. I mention Amazon since it has a liberal return policy, so you'd be able to test an A-stock unit without risk. There's no reason it shouldn't be working unless the expander isn't up to snuff -- and ports 8 and 9 should be the ones you want. I always use Ports 8 and 9 between a multitude of cards - 9211-8i (SAS2008), IBM M1015 (SAS2008), Areca 1880i (SAS2108), integrated SAS2008 on Supermicro X8SI6 board.

The only other longshot thought is that there was some silent hardware revision by HP where these are being gimped from use by other than the drives HP sells. I'd be very surprised if that was the case though, but if you want to continue trying to troubleshoot then the first variable I'd try to eliminate is the grey market variable. Don't buy a 9201 controller, that's a little extreme because you lose the cost benefit of having the roles segregated - expander for port density and controller for (controlling), and the ability to swap out more easily as new controllers or expanders come to market.
 
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