HP smart array p400 help

[VonGriffin]

having huge issues getting this ole raid controller to work on a non HP

my plan was to buy a cheap card for an also cheap esxi server lab ,
with two Samsung 120gb ssds on it

The card boots, initializes the drives but doesn't recognize them; ok ancient firmware most like, hence i install server 2012, try different drivers from the HP page no luck, doesn't recognize the device, as such cant update firmware


Since my experience with raid controllers is rather limited can anyone point me to a working driver, im using an Asrock B85M Pro4 board

 

[bloodypulp]

ESXi has the drivers built-in. Make sure you use the HP specific iso build from VMware website.
Bootable utility and firmware CD images can be found on HP support website. It will auto-update firmware, if needed. The HP ACU can help setup RAID, if you don't want to use command-line.

 

[VonGriffin]

alas it doesn't work

the controller itself is detected fine under server 2008, ACU shows the latest firmware 7.24
yet that thing simply refuses to recognize Sata drives

even tryed my ole wd raptor, no luck
ether is it the cabling (using Delock SATA SAS 32pin 4x SATA 7pin SFF8484 D )
or it uses a compatibility list of sorts

 

[Aesma]

For only two drives (RAID1 ?) you don't really need the card, or do you want to pass it through ?

 

[VonGriffin]

or do you want to pass it through

aye that was the plan

 

[bigdogchris]

Are you saying that the OS installer doesn't find the drives?

 

[VonGriffin]

no at POST, raid controller doesn't recognize any sata drives
the hdd spins but says logical disk found 0


drivers work just fine, card is recognized under OS and HP array config tool
(if i use a disk not attached to the raid controller with OS on it)

i did read that for some reason HP supports only drives that use their firmware or are on the compatibility list


i kinda got this card since many of the esxi builds recommend it and its rather cheap
quess i have no choice buying a newer one

 

[bloodypulp]

i've used Samsung, Intel, and PNY non-enterprise SATA SSDs with these controllers through HP SAS backplane. having said that, the P400 is too slow (SATA 150MB/s) to fully utilize SSD performance.

 

[bigdogchris]

I would update the firmware. On the download page just select an older x64 OS.

P400 Firmware

Spoiler: P400 Firmware Changelog

Version:7.24 (B) (13 Dec 2012)
Fixes


Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Customers who already installed firmware version 7.24 do not need to update to 7.24(B).

Firmware Dependency:

Updating the HP DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision for the modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs.
Updating the HP MSA 60 and/or MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality.

Problems Fixed:

Resolved an issue where the server’s system event log would fill with Event ID 129 warnings and the Smart Array controller would become unresponsive.
FW version 7.24(B) - Fixed an issue where a decimal conversion was not being interpreted correctly when installing the component under certain regional settings in Windows. This would cause the component installation to end with a return code 3 (already up to date) and a force install would be required to successfully update the FW.

Version:7.24 (4 Sep 2012)
Fixes


Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Firmware Dependency:

Updating the HP DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision for the modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs.
Updating the HP MSA 60 and/or MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality.

Problems Fixed:

Resolved an issue where the server’s system event log would fill with Event ID 129 warnings and the Smart Array controller would become unresponsive.

Version:7.22 (B) (11 Jun 2012)
Fixes


Upgrade Requirement:
Optional - Users should update to this version if their system is affected by one of the documented fixes or if there is a desire to utilize any of the enhanced functionality provided by this version.

Customers who already installed firmware version 7.22 do not need to update to 7.22(B).

Important Notes:

When running VMware ESX/ESXi, only offline updates are supported using the HP Smart Update Manager on the Firmware Maintenance CD

Firmware Dependency:

Updating the HP DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision for the modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs.
Updating the HP MSA 60 and/or MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality

Problems Fixed:

Added fix for a POST message indicating potential data loss due to the expiration of the battery-backed cache batteries on the HP Smart Array controller, following an abrupt primary power loss in an HP ProLiant G6/G7 server.
Fixed an issue that resulted in unnecessarily disabling the write cache after the battery-backed cache batteries expire following an abrupt primary power loss.

Fix for an incomplete or problematic data transfer issue on RAID 0 or RAID 1 volumes, which may occur under heavy I/O workloads. This issue may happen when array accelerator cache-bypassed write operations take place on a common small Logical Block Addressing (LBA) region on the drive, following multiple discontinuous non-overlapping cached writes.

For additional information, reference the Customer Bulletin available at the following URL:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?locale=en_US&objectID=c02582325

Fixed an issue where incorrect return codes were being logged. These return codes indicate the completion status of the component installation. Systems where the return codes are monitored to determine if the component installation was successful or if a server reboot is required after component installation will benefit from upgrading to version 7.22 of cp016900.exe.

Enhancements


Enhancements/New Features:

Enhanced the SATA NCQ (Native Command Queuing) drive rebuild algorithm to continue progression in the event that individual block(s) cannot successfully be regenerated due to read error(s) such as UREs (Unrecoverable Read Errors) on the source drives. Any individual blocks that cannot be regenerated during the drive rebuild will be marked as inaccessible on the rebuilding drive including those above the 137GB address.

Note: The Smart Array Firmware allows for early media error detection so Firmware can detect UREs sooner and mark sectors bad. To enable this feature in ACU version 8.60 or later, the end user must set the Surface Scan Analysis Priority to "High".

Version:7.22 (25 Oct 2010)
Fixes


Upgrade Requirement:
Critical - HP requires users update to this version immediately.

Important Notes:

When running VMware ESX/ESXi, only offline updates are supported using the HP Smart Update Manager on the Firmware Maintenance CD

Firmware Dependency:

Updating the HP DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision for the modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs.
Updating the HP MSA 60 and/or MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality

Problems Fixed:

Added fix for a POST message indicating potential data loss due to the expiration of the battery-backed cache batteries on the HP Smart Array controller, following an abrupt primary power loss in an HP ProLiant G6/G7 server.
Fixed an issue that resulted in unnecessarily disabling the write cache after the battery-backed cache batteries expire following an abrupt primary power loss.
Fix for an incomplete or problematic data transfer issue on RAID 0 or RAID 1 volumes, which may occur under heavy I/O workloads. This issue may happen when array accelerator cache-bypassed write operations take place on a common small Logical Block Addressing (LBA) region on the drive, following multiple discontinuous non-overlapping cached writes.

For additional information, reference the Customer Bulletin available at the following URL:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?locale=en_US&objectID=c02582325


Enhancements


Enhancements/New Features:

Enhanced the SATA NCQ (Native Command Queuing) drive rebuild algorithm to continue progression in the event that individual block(s) cannot successfully be regenerated due to read error(s) such as UREs (Unrecoverable Read Errors) on the source drives. Any individual blocks that cannot be regenerated during the drive rebuild will be marked as inaccessible on the rebuilding drive including those above the 137GB address.

Note: The Smart Array Firmware allows for early media error detection so Firmware can detect UREs sooner and mark sectors bad. To enable this feature in ACU version 8.60 or later, the end user must set the Surface Scan Analysis Priority to "High".

Version:7.18 (12 May 2010)
Fixes


Upgrade Requirement:
Critical - HP requires users update to this version immediately.

Important Notes:

When running VMware ESX/ESXi, only offline updates are supported using the HP Smart Update Manager on the Firmware Maintenance CD.

Firmware Dependency:

Updating the HP DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision for the modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs.
Updating the HP MSA 60 and/or MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality

Problems Fixed:

Fixed controller lock-up when hot-removing a drive that has not yet failed.
Fixed an issue with the Firmware where a POST message comes up stating that drive firmware is out of date and the recommended minimum drive firmware is incorrect. This message was displayed even if the drive firmware is up to date.

Version:7.08 (2 Dec 2009)
Fixes


Update Requirements:
Critical: HP requires users to update to this firmware version immediately.

Important Notes:

When running VMware ESX/ESXi only offline updates are supported using the HP Smart Update Manager on the Firmware Maintenance CD

HP recommends for remote deployment of this package that you obtain the most recent version of the Firmware Maintenance CD and follow these steps:

Place the Firmware Maintenance CD on a USB key using the USB Key Creator Utility.
Place the firmware to be updated in the directory, /compaq/swpackages on the USB key.
Run Autorun from \_autorun\autorun_win.exe on the Firmware Maintenance CD from the USB key on a system
Select the Firmware Update tab
Click on the Install Firmware link to launch the HP Smart Update Manager
Follow the GUI to install the firmware on remote servers

Firmware Dependency:
Updating the HP DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision for the modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs.

Updating the HP MSA 60 and/or MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality

Enhancements/New Features:
• Improved performance during offset non-contiguous writes.


Problems Fixed:
• Fixed blue screen with One Button Disaster Recovery (tape connect) on FW version 6.86.
• Fixed an issue in HP Smart Array Firmware that incorrectly fails SATA drives
• Fixed an issue where enabling Drive write cache fails the volume with multiple drive failures.
• Fixed a controller lock-up issue with HP Smart Array controller during SATA RAID6 writes
• Fixed an issue in HP Smart Array firmware version 6.86 where the POST error 1777 was displayed when a HP Smart Array P800 was connected to a HP StorageWorks MSA50
Version:6.86 (16 Jul 2009)
Fixes


Update Requirements:
Critical: HP requires users to update to this firmware version immediately.

Important Notes:

When running VMware ESX/ESXi only offline updates are supported using the HP Smart Update Manager on the Firmware Maintenance CD

HP recommends for remote deployment of this package that you obtain the most recent version of the Firmware Maintenance CD and follow these steps:

Place the Firmware Maintenance CD on a USB key using the USB Key Creator Utility.
Place the firmware to be updated in the directory, /compaq/swpackages on the USB key.
Run Autorun from \_autorun\autorun_win.exe on the Firmware Maintenance CD from the USB key on a system
Select the Firmware Update tab
Click on the Install Firmware link to launch the HP Smart Update Manager
Follow the GUI to install the firmware on remote servers

Firmware Dependency:
Updating the HP DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision for the modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs.
Updating the HP MSA 60 and/or MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality

Enhancements/New Features:
Includes advanced error logging features for controller lockup codes that can be collected via the HP Array Diagnostics Utility.
Improved fault handling to address anomalies encountered during heavy I/O in SATA Hard drive configurations.

Problems Fixed:
High Latency issues seen during specific I/O conditions involving specific parity writes.
Smart Array P800 does not recognize HP StorageWorks Ultrium 920 SAS tape drive
SATA HDD shows "software not up -to-date" even after flashing the firmware
Slow throughput and sluggish system response seen during direct I/O involving non-contiguous writes.
Version:5.26 (27 Feb 2009)
Fixes


Fixed an issue on RAID 1 and RAID 1+0 logical drives in which normal operating system-related buffer content changes that occur during write operations are misinterpreted and logged as critical "inconsistent stripe" events."

Version:5.22 (14 Nov 2008)
Fixes


Fixed a rebuild performance issue that occurs during continuous host I/O.
Fixed an issue where Sequential reads on SATA drives in an MSA60 may lead to drive failures.
Fixed an issue to avoid potential data write errors during instances of high disk stress that has only been observed in a test environment.

Version:5.20 (23 May 2008)
Fixes


Modified shutdown sequence to ensure sufficient time for HDD head parking of internal HDDs. Updating the DL360G5 System ROM to revision P58 3/9/08 or higher is required in addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision.
Fix to prevent a rare scenario of potential data read/write errors seen during simultaneous multiple drive failures in a RAID ADG or RAID 1+0 volume. This has only been observed in a rigorous test environment and has not been reported in a production environment.
Implemented a stripe lock algorithm to avoid potential data write errors observed during rare instances of background surface analysis initialization and I/O writes occurring on Raid 1 or Raid 1+0 volumes. This has only been observed in a rigorous test environment and has not been reported in a production environment.

Enhancements


Added dual domain support for the HP Smart Array P800 controller connected to either the HP Modular Smart Array (MSA) 60 or HP Modular Smart Array 70. In addition to updating to this HP Smart Array firmware revision, updating the HP MSA 60 and/or HP MSA 70 firmware version to 2.16 or higher is required to enable dual domain functionality.
Added support for 64 logical drives.
Added support for online SATA hard drive firmware flash.
Added support to allow the hot-replacing of HP MSA 60 and MSA 70 I/O modules.
Added support to allow the hot-replacing of HP MSA 60 and MSA 70 enclosures.
Added support to allow the hot add of dual ported drives to an internal drive bay connected to the HP Smart Array P800.

Version:4.12 (B) (23 Jan 2008)
Fixes


Updated the component installer. If you have previously updated to version 4.12, another update is not needed.

Fix for a rare potential disk I/O write error issue, that may occur while performing intensive I/O stress testing on dual-enclosure configurations, where one storage enclosure is repeatedly power-cycled or drives are randomly hot-removed. This has been observed only in a rigorous test environment and has not been reported in a production environment.
Fixed an abnormal volume state issue where under certain rare conditions, a replacement drive that is in a rebuilding state in a RAID 1 or RAID 1+0 configuration may be marked "OK", prior to completing the rebuilding process.
Fixed an issue seen while upgrading HP Smart Array P400 controller to firmware 4.06 that causes the HP ProLiant ML310G3 to lockup.

Version:4.12 (14 Nov 2007)
Fixes


Fix for a rare potential disk I/O write error issue, that may occur while performing intensive I/O stress testing on dual-enclosure configurations, where one storage enclosure is repeatedly power-cycled or drives are randomly hot-removed. This has been observed only in a rigorous test environment and has not been reported in a production environment.
Fixed an abnormal volume state issue where under certain rare conditions, a replacement drive that is in a rebuilding state in a RAID 1 or RAID 1+0 configuration may be marked "OK", prior to completing the rebuilding process.
Fixed an issue seen while upgrading HP Smart Array P400 controller to firmware 4.06 that causes the HP ProLiant ML310G3 to lockup.

Version:4.06 (27 Jul 2007)
Fixes


An issue that prevented the use of FDISK or other 16-bit disk partioning tools.
A potential issue where the monitoring and performance (M&P) data on the hard drives may trigger/indicate a false predictive failure messages.

Enhancements


Provides functionality for upcoming announce of Native Command Queuing (NCQ) support for SATA drives.
Enables HP Smart Array P400 support with DL140/145 G3 servers.
Allows the enablement of Drive Write Cache for improved SATA write performance. (Configurable through ACU and ACU-CLI version 7.85.18.0 or greater).
Performance enhancements for sequential writes and SATA drives.
Enables rebuild operations to complete even when media errors exist on other drives.

Version:2.10 (23 May 2007)
Fixes


Firmware version 2.10 (or later) corrects an issue that prevents the use of FDISK or other 16-bit disk partioning tools.
Version:2.08 (2 Feb 2007)
Fixes


Firmware version 2.08 (or later) corrects an error in the surface scan routine of the array controller firmware that could potentially cause data miscompares. This problem only affects HP ProLiant or HP Integrity servers configured with HP Smart Array P400/P400i/P800 controllers that are running firmware version 2.04.
Implemented changes in the cache related algorithm to address a potential performance issue.
Fixed an issue that could cause a hang condition under OpenVMS on HP Integrity platforms.

Enhancements


Added support to increase the maximum size of a logical volume to 8 zettabytes.