Finally it arrived ! A brand new HP Smart Array P420 FBWC 1Gb 2-ports Int SAS Controller for our HP ML310e Gen8 v2 server.
HP PartSurfer link : http://partsurfer.hp.com/Search.aspx?SearchText=631670-B21
HP Controller software : http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/psi/swdHome/?sp4ts.oid=5193409
It arrived without any cables (Miscellaneous cable kit – Includes the front video adapter cable, embedded SATA cable, and Mini-SAS cable with straight connector to left connector (33-inches long), just with the DDR3 Flash and the SuperCapacitor and it’s powering cable)
Features :
- PCI EXPRESS 3.0 (6GB/s) interface x8
- 1 GB RAM DDR3
- 2 internal SAS ports
- RAID Levels 0,1,5,10,50
- Flash Backed Cache (Super Capacitor)
HP Smart Array P420 2-ports Int SAS Controller
Below you can see an image of the HP Supercapacitor :
HP Supercapacitor
And another picture with a the HP Flash Based Write Cache (FBWC)
Flash-Based Write Cache(FBWC)
And finally a picture with all three of them :
HP P420 RAID controller with 1GB DDR3 and Flash Based Write Cache
The images aren’t too great : Iphone4 + low light.
The firmware it came with was 4.66. I couldn’t find this version on HP website.
I’ve upgraded it to 4.68, because of a problem i’ll mention below.
A few words about temperature of HP P420 :
- It’ s hot ! The temperatures shown the first time were around 73 degrees Celsisus. The G8 server is in a room with 20 degrees Celsius all the time. After rearranging the cables and changing it to another PCI x8 slot, the temperatures reported (by ESXi 5.1 – HP customized) show 51 degrees Celsius.
- The supercapacitor temperature is 21 degrees Celsius when the controller’s temperature is 51 and the ambient temperature is 20.
- The cache Module temperature is normally 33 degrees Celsius
Details about my HP P420 FBWC controller problem :
In a few words : it’s not initializing after a cold boot. After powering on the server, it shows the detected onboard SATA devices ( one DVD-RW unit, SATA, in my case), the network interfaces, the ILO messages, and then tries to boot.
Update 19.09.2014 : I can now confirm that the issue is resolved by a firmware upgrade. See this post.
If I press F9 and enter bios I can see the controller listed, and set as the first boot device.
HP ROM based Setup Utility PCI IRQ settings
HP ROM based utility BOOT order
HP ROM based setup utility device enable disable
After I exit Bios, the controller is detected (after onboard SATA devices, network and ILO) and then the system boots fine.
I have attached 4 WD 500 GB 10.000 rot. harddrives to the port 1 of the controller, and created a RAID 10 array.
Things i’ve tried :
– update server BIOS from 2012.12.10 to 2013.08.24
HP ML310e Gen8 v2 BIOS and HP Lights-Out firmware upgrade
– update HP Integrated Light-Out 4 from 1.13 to 1.30
– update controller firmware ( from 4.66 to 4.68)
Update firmware P420 from 4.66 to 4.68
– changing controller PCI-EX port (i’ve tried the PCI-EX 16x too, and the two PCI-EX x8, below)
– take out the Flash Backed Cache board, and reinserting it
– disconnect the Supercapacitor and connect it again
Things i haven’t tried :
– disconnect all harddrives, or leaving just one, or using other harddrives
– use the controller in another server I’ve got another HP ProLiant ML310E with BIOS 11/08/2013. I moved the controller and harddrives on it and it’s behaving the same way. Updated server BIOS to 03/28/2014 and i still have the same issue. (Updated on 18.09.2014)
– use another miniSAS cable The server above has it’s own cable. (Updated on 18.09.2014)
Things i’ve tried and didn’t succeed :
– update HP Intelligent Provisioning Online Update (from 1.40 to 1.50)
Other info :
When the controller is not initialised, if i open HP smart provisioning tools, it can see the controller but it doesn’t read all the info (like temperature). Also it doesn’t boot from it.
The picture above was taken with the controller was inserted in slot 2 and was not initialised.
In the next picture, I have taken a picture when the controller was initialised.
HP P420 initialised properly after a warm boot
Other pictures :
9 comments
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Did you succeed? I have also the initializing problem. Bought a new 310e v2, p420 2gb and everything ran fine for over a week. Shut it down for 3-4 Days (Work related stuff, had no time to finish setup and didnt want to waste power – I dont get it for free ofc…)
Now I tried like everything, doesnt work…?
Author
It seems that HP released two newer firmwares 5.22 and then 5.42 : Link
Fixes for 5.22 :
Fixes for 5.42 :
I didn’t have time to test it, but i hope it will resolve my issue. Please feel free to come back and post your results.
I’ll update the site with the new info, soon.
Thanks.
Do you still have this Controller?
Mine’s 85ºC of temperature… maybe a little too much…
Author
I still have it. Right now it’s showing 64ºC.
I agree that 85ºC it’s a bit too much. You need to cool it.
What slot do you put it in? In mine it also always shows me 85° C. No matter if its 28° C in the summer in the room (AC once failed), or 15-16° C in the Winter with opened window in the cellar.
Sometimes 86° C. It was brand new and always showed me this.
Also mine has now the cache modul locked, because i needed to unplug the power 2-3x and now it thinks its broken. The module worked fine in a DL380 G8 LAB Server at work for 2 Weeks, no problems after some restarts and otherwise 24/7. Any idea how I could unlock this thing again? 🙂
We have a HP ML310e Gen8 v2 server with a P420 SAS controller, too. It’s running at 85ºC and in slot 3. The only other x8 slot is slot 4, which is the x16/x8 slot closer to the processor. This server has mysteriously crashed three times for no apparent reason. I’m wondering whether the temperature of the P420 might be the cause.
Does HP have a PCI-based fan available to move more air across the P420 in the server?
Author
I have no ideea about a solution from HP to cool P420 SAS. Just make sure you have no cables preventing the air flow from the front fan. Also try not to have other PCI-EX cards installed, and make sure you have the transparent cover in place. Also check the BIOS for thermal policy settings (fan speed vs noise).
Hi Bogdan, What slot do you put it in? In mine it also always shows me 85° C like someone above.
Has anyone tried using third-party cooling solutions or contacted HP support for advice on managing the P420’s temperature? It seems crucial given the crashes and high temps you’re experiencing.