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I have been thrown in the deep end by being given a HP proliant DL380p gen 8 new server to install.

The server has 8 146GB SAS HDDs.

I have used ACU to config it into 1 Logical drive. of ~1TB ACU shows am configuring the embedded slot

However on restart I see

HP smart array controller p420i slot 0 (0 MB version 3.4) 1 Logical drive.

and thus cannot continue with the OS install.

What am I doing wrong? What do I need to do to have the smart array see my 1TB?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

2 Answers 2

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So presumably you've created an 8-disk RAID 5 right? (btw we're not big fans of R5, preferring R6) but in this situation we'll let it slip as it's such a small array).

That said it looks like you've successfully created the array and a logical disk - so there's no reason you shouldn't be able to install on it so long as whatever OS you want to use has drivers for the P420i you've got. Basically you've done good so far, you just need to get the drivers installed. Best thing to do is go HERE and download the appropriate drivers for your OS (might as well grab the BIOS updates as well while you're there), you should then be able to add them during the installation process.

Come back to us if you have further details or want to go through the installation process, we will need to know what OS you want though ok :)

Oh and that's a nice server by the way, I'm a big HP buyer and they're great.

EDIT - thanks for the extra detail - as discussed ESX/i 3.5 isn't supported on Gen8 servers unfortunately, you'll need to use version 4.1 or later. If you download the HP specific version of the latest version it'll have all the lovely monitoring and instrumentation goodies included too.

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  • thanks for the quick response. Have I really succesfully created the array and a logical disk? On restarting the machine it reports 0 MB. Why doesn't it show 1TB on 1 logical drive. ACU says am configuring AmartArray P420i in Embeded Slot. The other tool shows slot 0.
    – anthonyms
    Aug 14, 2013 at 11:15
  • If I remember correctly, the size report is the write-back cache which that controller doesn't have. A lot of times you have to install the cache module.
    – Nathan C
    Aug 14, 2013 at 11:29
  • That's exactly right @NathanC - that's just the cache. And artfullyContrived slot 0 is the embedded slot, it's just a difference in terminology.
    – Chopper3
    Aug 14, 2013 at 11:44
  • @Chopper3 thanks a ton. I am trying esx5. twill definitely work (I hope).
    – anthonyms
    Aug 14, 2013 at 13:59
  • It will, I've got 5.1U1b on thousands of Gen8 servers with P420i's :)
    – Chopper3
    Aug 14, 2013 at 15:06
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The problem here is that you're focusing on the cache report on the controller. That's what's being reported as "0 MB". The controller should have a flash-backed cache module of 1GB or 2GB size. This helps accelerate writes by coalescing them to cache then flushing to disk. Not having this is a problem for other reasons (performance and controller functionality), but if you've gotten to this point, you're running a supported configuration.

You're planning an operating system installation and you've already created the logical drive. The logical drive exists...

Let's diagnose why the OS installer is not loading or doing what you expect...

What operating system are you trying to install?

What error do you receive in the OS installation process?

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  • Thanks for looking at this. OS= ESX3.5 Installation gets stuck at "What type of media contains the packages to be installed"?
    – anthonyms
    Aug 14, 2013 at 11:40
  • AHHH! now that's your problem, there's no way a ~4-year-old OS will know about a ~9-month-old controller. In fact I doubt they've bothered to make a 3.5 driver as 3.5 is end-of-service life, version 5.5 is out in September and version 6 is out in Spring. I can't imagine a scenario where you would use 3.5, you're really much better going for v5.1U1b if you can, even better - there's a HP-specific version you can download with all of their extra instrumentation and monitoring built right in, no extra installing.
    – Chopper3
    Aug 14, 2013 at 11:46
  • Oh and I just checked, 3.5 isn't supported on Gen8 servers sorry. Presumably you have a 3.5 vCenter? if so then you've got a problem sorry.
    – Chopper3
    Aug 14, 2013 at 11:47
  • @artfullyContrived Why were you given a 3.5 installer? Do you have an existing VMware environment? VMware ESX 3.5 went end-of-life in 2010.
    – ewwhite
    Aug 14, 2013 at 11:50
  • @Chopper3 you are right. I am in the process of getting ESX5.1 hopefully it will work fine. Kindly incoopporate your comment into your answer then we can close this. ewwhite. Thanks for pointing us in the right direction. If there was a way of marking two answers as correct . . .
    – anthonyms
    Aug 14, 2013 at 12:22

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