MegaRAID card not recognised correctly after Slackware upgrade

MQMan · 09-13-2009, 07:57 PM

Hi,

I've just installed a new 64-bit image, of Slack 13.0. After booting, I noticed that the device on my MegaRAID card wasn't found. After checking through the boot messages, it looks like the SCSI scan, for the device, may be broken.

Here's the relevant messages from my 32-bit 2.6.27.31 install, which finds the device correctly:

Code:

megaraid cmm: 2.20.2.7 (Release Date: Sun Jul 16 00:01:03 EST 2006)

megaraid: 2.20.5.1 (Release Date: Thu Nov 16 15:32:35 EST 2006)
megaraid: probe new device 0x101e:0x1960:0x101e:0x0511: bus 1:slot 4:func 0

megaraid 0000:01:04.0: PCI INT A -> Link[LNK1] -> GSI 19 (level, high) -> IRQ 19
megaraid: fw version:[N661] bios version:[1.01]
scsi4 : LSI Logic MegaRAID driver
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 0 [Phy 0] for non-raid devices

scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 1 [Phy 1] for non-raid devices
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 2 [Phy 2] for non-raid devices
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 3 [Phy 3] for non-raid devices
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 4 [virtual] for logical drives
scsi 4:4:0:0: Direct-Access     MegaRAID LD 0 RAID5 1430G N661 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] 2930307072 512-byte hardware sectors (1500317 MB)
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 00 00 00
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Asking for cache data failed
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] 2930307072 512-byte hardware sectors (1500317 MB)
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 00 00 00
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Asking for cache data failed
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sda: sda1
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
sd 4:4:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0

And from my new, 64-bit, 2.6.29.6 system:

Code:

megaraid cmm: 2.20.2.7 (Release Date: Sun Jul 16 00:01:03 EST 2006)

megaraid: 2.20.5.1 (Release Date: Thu Nov 16 15:32:35 EST 2006)
megaraid: probe new device 0x101e:0x1960:0x101e:0x0511: bus 1:slot 4:func 0

megaraid 0000:01:04.0: PCI INT A -> Link[LNK1] -> GSI 19 (level, high) -> IRQ 19
megaraid: fw version:[N661] bios version:[1.01]
scsi4 : LSI Logic MegaRAID driver
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 0 [Phy 0] for non-raid devices

scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 1 [Phy 1] for non-raid devices
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 2 [Phy 2] for non-raid devices
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 3 [Phy 3] for non-raid devices
scsi[4]: scanning scsi channel 4 [virtual] for logical drives
scsi scan: INQUIRY result too short (5), using 36
scsi 4:4:0:0: Direct-Access                                    PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Sector size 0 reported, assuming 512.
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] 1 512-byte hardware sectors: (512 B/512 B)
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 00 00 00
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Asking for cache data failed
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Sector size 0 reported, assuming 512.
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] 1 512-byte hardware sectors: (512 B/512 B)
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 00 00 00
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Asking for cache data failed
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sda: unknown partition table
sd 4:4:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
sd 4:4:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0

Any ideas how I can investigate this further, or suggestions to fix it.

Cheers.

MensaWater · 09-14-2009, 10:37 AM

I'd run into an issue some time ago getting MegaRAID to work on an older Dell PERC which is an OEM LSI card.

Quoting my solution from that thread below. Using the other MegaRAID driver might help you as well. The steps below are for Fedora so you'd have to work out there equivalents for Slack:

Quote:

The 2.6 kernel in FC4 FC5 FC6 (and presumably later) contains TWO megaraid drivers which are LSI MEGARAID AND LSI MEGARAID_MBOX.
When you do the initial boot it probes your hardware and defaults to using the LSI MEGARAID_MBOX. This however, won't work on the older cards like the Dell PERC 2/SC (made by American Megatrends which later became LSI).

However, you can tell your system NOT to probe and then manually select the driver.

Steps:
1) Boot from the FC6 installation CD
2) At first screen hit F4 for Kernel
3) At next screen at "boot:" prompt type "linux noprobe" and hit return.
4) At prompts to pick language and keyboard select as normal.
5) A box will appear to select driver.
Scroll down the list and highlight the LSI MEGARAID driver (you'll also see LSI MEGARAID_MBOX - do NOT use MBOX).
6) NOTE: This step only needed if you have additional SCSI adapters.
On my system there were also 2 Adaptec 7890 SCSI adapters and an Adaptec 7860 SCSI (only God knows why this box had 3 Adaptecs AND the PERC 2). Because it found other SCSI adapters it opened the box to select driver again.
Chose "AHA-2470, 28xx, 29xx, 39xx (AIC7xxx)" driver.
7) It will go to the screen asking to test the media. I chose "skip"
8) It goes to a Devices screen - this should show all the drivers you selected in 5 and 6. Click "Done".
9) Proceed with the installation as normal from there.

MQMan · 09-14-2009, 03:47 PM

Those instructions are mainly for installing Linux, whereas I would only need to change which module is loaded, at boot time, to handle the device, as it's just a mounted partition.

However, if you look at the 2 sets of output, you will see that both kernels load exactly the same modules for the MegaRAID. They both load megaraid_mm and megaraid_mbox. It worked great with 2.6.27.31, but fails with 2.6.29.6.

I just compared the source, megaraid_mbox.c and megaraid_mm.c, of those modules, from both the relevant releases, of the kernel, and they are both unchanged.

So, that leads me to believe, that either there was a change in the underlying scsi layer that is causing this, or that the change from 32-bit to 64-bit is the culprit. I, maybe, can test the latter, by booting the system, from both the 32-bit disc, and the 64-bit disc, and compare the results.

Cheers.

MQMan · 09-15-2009, 09:26 PM

OK, I've narrowed it down.

It's the difference between the 32-bit and 64-bit kernels. I booted both Slack 13.0 discs. The 32-bit and the 64-bit, both using kernel 2.6.29.6.

The 64-bit failed, again, with the "scsi scan: INQUIRY result too short (5), using 36" error.

But, the 32-bit booted, and correctly recognised the MegaRAID card, at it's full capacity.

So, where's the best place to pursue this. The kernel forum here, or should I take it straight to the LKML.

Cheers.