P410 (512) in Gen8 Microserver

[PetieG 1]

Well, according to HP this controller is not supported on Gen8's... Damn!  i've got a support contract and everything and the support guy is telling me the support case will fix itself if i install a compatible controller... Yeah, as if i can easily do this on a production server... Show me an HP Gen8 compatible controller for ~$500 that has 2 internal SAS ports... "Vijay" has pointed me to the P222 one internal, one external... not gonna work w/ 2 RAID arrays.  

 

Venting, frustrated... 

Currently getting daily 9PM reboots on WinServer 2012 Essentials R2 w/ the following:  

 

POST Error 1719 - a controller failure event occurred prior to this power-up

• PCI Bus Error (Slot 1, Bus 0, Device 1, Function 0)
• Unrecoverable System Error (NMI) has occurred.  System Firmware will log add’l details in a separate IML entry if possible. 

Any clue anybody?  TIA, -- PetieG

[PetieG 1]

http://bit.ly/1fgxdf4  D owngrade the HPCISSS2.SYS to Version 62.24.2.64.  (i'm on 62.26.0.64) I'm not sure if it's BSODing but this is "targeted to be resolved in a future version of the HPCISSS2.SYS driver."  

[schoondoggy 858]

What firmware version is on the P410?

Make sure it is at the latest level.

Then I would try the 2008R2 driver.

[PetieG 1]

I've seen the above in several other sites' tech notes as well:  http://bit.ly/1m82EkS   So i'm going to downgrade to the earlier version of Hpcisss2.sys tonight.  Will post back after a few days...  

 

Firmware version is v6.40 on the P410.  I'm still fuming over the fact that HP wouldn't support me!  HP said, pop in the supported controller and we'll help you... Ha!  P222 only has 1ext/1int channel, i need two internal channels...  Ggrrr..!!!  

[schoondoggy 858]

I know its frustrating, but on the Microserver Gen 8, the P222 is the only controller listed as supported.

How many drives are you running in the Gen 8?

I have been using a P222 to run the 4 bays and I run a pair of mirrored OS drives on the B120i. 

[PetieG 1]

I love how only one controller is support... ! Duh!  I've got 4 1TBs (RAID5) in the cage, and 2 256SSDs (RAID1)on the top.  I breakout the 2 internal SAS ports to these 2 arrays.  so your P222 is RAID5 and is solely for data, then the B120i mirrors are for boot?  If so, i guess that's the way it will have to go in the future.  Question is do i replace the P410 w/ the P222 in a server i "just" built and have yet to migrate SBS2003 to?  

[schoondoggy 858]

If iLo is important to you then it would be a good idea to use a P222. Your P410 will not show up in iLo. If you use the P222 and a supported OS you can also us HP SIM to monitor your systems. If you want to stay with the P410, you could look at this as a way to monitor:

http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6167-hp-smart-array-with-hp-events-notification-service-and-prtg-network-monitor/
 

[LoneWolf 156]

SchoonDoggy, weren't you the one that tested the Smart Array P421 in the Microserver Gen8 as well?

I know HP doesn't list it as supported, but it has the two ports needed, and if I recall correctly, it is also recognized by iLO.

 

Petie:  I myself am using a 4-drive RAID-5 on my P222, and a 256GB SSD (soon to be two of them) on my B120i controller as my boot drive.  It works without issue. and is considered a fully supported solution.

Edited February 13, 2014 by LoneWolf

[PetieG 1]

Thanks guys... Just (right now) did the driver backtrack to the prior version... I don't know personally, but i wonder if i'd be able to swap out the P410 w/ a P222 and use the built-in as well w/out losing data.  Hahahaha!!  I'm funny!  I do have that new server that i haven't started migrating to, so i may try it.  I understand the RAID is actually kept on the disks and not really the controller ... But going from one two channel controller to 2 different cards seems impossible to do w/out a rebuild/loss of data.  

[LoneWolf 156]

PetieG,

 

One of the strong points of the HP SmartArray controller line is indeed the ability to migrate a RAID array to a next gen controller, and this is documented by HP.  While I'd still strongly emphasize the need for backup, it is possible to port a RAID array from a P410 controller to a P222 controller.