Old server hardware - SCA SCSI issues!

U

urbanriot

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 30, 2006
Messages
159
I realize this probably isn't the right board to post this question, but I'm not sure what else is out there where I have the chance to hit on some folks that have experience with server hardware...

I ripped apart one of our old 2U Exchange servers to put FreeBSD on and went to add some spare SCA drives we had but never used and discovered some of the drives won't negotiate properly...

These SCA drives are hooked up to a hotswap backplane of an Intel Server Chassis 2200 which then connects to an Adaptec 3010S U160 card. This card is plugged into an Intel Server Motherboard SBC2. All the above have the latest firmware, except the Adaptec which doesn't seem to have any firmware upgrades since it came with the Intel solution.

The card is capable of U160 but one of the drives are only coming up as 3MB/s! The rest of the drives are only negotiating at 40MB/S, but their specs state 160. Two of the drives wouldn't detect unless I jumpered SE mode and if someone could explain that, I'd appreciate it.

Two of the drives are:

Quantum Atlas IV 18.2 Ultra3 (U160) SCSI SCA
Bios versions 0707 and 0808
Dell P/N: 0002223U-12541-01Q-00JJ

Quantum Atlas 10k 3.5 Series 18.2GB
Bios versions UCH0 and UCHD
P/N: TN18J881

Now my questions, if any kind soul can help:

1) The 3mb/s problem drive is BIOS UCH0. Does anyone know where I can get a firmware upgrade for this? Manufacturer is Quantum, who were bought by Maxtor, who were bought by Seagate - I can't seem to locate any support and manufacturer's never list firmware.

2) Assuming I can't find a firmware upgrade, does anyone have a Quantum firmware utility (or know of one) that will let me take the firmware from the UCHD and put on the UCH0?

3) Why do two of the drives only work in SE mode... shouldn't they be unjumpered for LVD?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help, it's been a long time since I did any SCA SCSI work and my memory is shot!
 
Well, there could probably be alot of causes, the drives could be bad, the backplane could have problems, could be improper termination. Could be an issue with the controller, could be a power issue.

You need to do some more troubleshooting to be sure it's actually a drive problem.
 
Well, to further diagnose - hooked up two brand new SCA drives and successfully negotiated U160, so that should eliminate most of my problems.

My real issue is I need firmware for these old drives... was hoping someone might have a few suggestions in that regard...
 
Just out of curiosity, when you were testing the drives, did you try each one individually (all the other drives removed from the backplane), or were you always testing with multiple drives installed? Also, did you try different slots within the storage enclosure?

This sounds to me like a termination issue. Is there any way you can take a look at the chips on the backplane of the storage enclosure and make sure nothing looks 'wrong' (i.e. desoldering or shorts between pins). Typically on-board terminators on a U160 design are a set of three 28-pin chips -- Most likely manufactured by UCC (but not always).

Also, have you check the cable running from the Adaptec controller to the backplane? It's possible there are issues there. Does the controller have termination enabled on its end? It's possible the two new drives are working just because they have receivers that are more tolerant to bad signalling environments -- or I'm just completely off on my diagnosis...
 
UICompE02 said:
Just out of curiosity, when you were testing the drives, did you try each one individually (all the other drives removed from the backplane), or were you always testing with multiple drives installed? Also, did you try different slots within the storage enclosure?
Click to expand...
Good questions - Yes, tried each drive independantly in various slots. They all exhibit the exact same, consistant results whether on their own or seperately.


UICompE02 said:
Is there any way you can take a look at the chips on the backplane of the storage enclosure and make sure nothing looks 'wrong' (i.e. desoldering or shorts between pins).
Click to expand...
The inside of the system looks extremely clean and pristine. The chips on the backplane look perfect... no bubbling, desoldering, shorts that I can see.


UICompE02 said:
Also, have you check the cable running from the Adaptec controller to the backplane?
Click to expand...
I did after you suggested and it had no effect.


UICompE02 said:
It's possible there are issues there. Does the controller have termination enabled on its end?
Click to expand...
I assume so... there's no jumpers, and in the BIOS Termpower option is checked and termination is set to "Auto".
 
Further testing with a large amount of drives seperately:

Drive - BIOS Name - BIOS - Sync -
Quantum Atlas 10k 3.5 Series 18.2 GB - QUANTUM ATLAS 10K 18SCA - UCH0 - 3MB/s - "Async Narrow"
Quantum Atlas 10k 3.5 Series 18.2 GB - QUANTUM ATLAS 10K 18SCA - UCH0 - 3MB/s - "Async Narrow"
Quantum Atlas IV 3.5 Series 18.2SCA - QUANTUM ATLAS IV 18 SCA - 0707 - 40MB/s - only works single ended mode!
Quantum Atlas IV 3.5 Series 18.2SCA - QUANTUM ATLAS IV 18 SCA - 0808 - 40MB/s - only works single ended mode!
Quantum Atlas 10k - QUANTUM ATLAS 10K 18SCA - UCHD - 160MB/s
Quantum Atlas V 36.7 Ultra3(U160) - QUANTUM ATLAS V 36 SCA - 0201 - 160MB/s
Seagate ST336607LC - SEAGATE ST33607LC - 0008 - 160MB/s

Backplane - ESG-SHV SCA HSBP M16 - 0.06 - 3MB/s - "Async Narrow"


Note three of the drives are in the same BIOS series... the two UCH0 drives sync at only 3MB/s while the UCHD syncs at 160MB/s. I'm wondering if a BIOS upgrade is out there to upgrade those two drives. A couple of those above drives are also Dell so I wonder if I figure out what system they originally came in, I can look them up for a firmware upgrade on Dell's site... unfortunately I have no service tags.
 
Is it normal for the backplane to show up 3mb/s?

I had created a quick array with the three drives that sync'd at 160MB/s and even though they performed at that rate, the backplace still stated 3MB/s.

Thanks for trying to help, btw :)
 
It's normal for the backplane to show up as async narrow. This is the SAF-TE device (also known as SCSI processor, or SCSI Enclosure Services Processor) and all the ones I've seen run at async narrow (basically since it's just reporting the status of the enclosure to the host, there's not typically a lot of data to transfer).

I'll check my archives of drive firmware tomorrow and see if I can find anything useful, but it would surprise me if firmware is causing an issue like this (though, I guess I wouldn't rule it out for sure).
 
I doubt I can send the Dell drives back without an asset tag. Any time I've tried Quantum / Maxtor / Seagate, they say I have to go through the OEM (which is obviously Dell). Contacting Dell, they say they need asset tag... and chances are their warranty isn't the same length as manufacturer's.

Thanks for checking, and the prompt reply, I appreciate it... frustrated... !
 
Unfortunately I was unable to find any firmware for the specific drives you are using. The Quantum U160 drives seem to be a rarity in our lab for some reason.

Have you been able to try the failing drives in a different SCA backplane to see what happens?
 
UICompE02 said:
Unfortunately I was unable to find any firmware for the specific drives you are using. The Quantum U160 drives seem to be a rarity in our lab for some reason.

Have you been able to try the failing drives in a different SCA backplane to see what happens?
Click to expand...

I appreciate you checking, thanks.

Unfortunately I don't have the ability to test with any other SCA backplanes. The rest of the systems are in full use and working perfectly and I'd rather not touch them... I suppose I'll have to wait until one of them gives me a reason to testing these drives.
 
I ordered 4 drives off a guy on Ebay yesterday which surprisingly arrived today, Quantum SCA Atlas III's with HP BIOS on them - all four sync at 160MB/s and everything looks good...

So it looks like the above problem is related to these drives, either inherent compatilibity issues or BIOS related issues... I'll call Quantum / Maxtor / Seagate tomorrow...
 
Some older SCSI drives had active termination on the drive. You could usually turn this on or off with a jumper on the the drive or the backplane (in the case of SCA). Having this on-drive termination on as well as a bus termination could cause the problems you are seeing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top