Install MegaCli on Debian 12 and update the LSI card firmware
LSI Corporation was an american company from Santa Clara. Avago Technologies, now Broadcom Inc. acquired it in 2014 (10 years ago).
Fortunately for us Broadcom still hosts the firmware and the Windows/Linux tools between other documents.
Note:
Flashing a firmware card carries risks such as bricking the card, losing data, or rendering it unusable if the process fails or is done incorrectly. Ensure you follow instructions carefully.
I won't be responsible for any damage or loss resulting from firmware updates or flashing attempts on your card.
For archival reasons I will host the documents offered by Broadcom. Always refer to broadcom page in preference and if those become unavailable in the future make sure to verify the downloads with the sha1 provided.
If you spot any typos, have questions, or need assistance with the build, feel free to contact me at: antonimercer@lthjournal.com
This guide contains no affiliate links or ads. If you'd like to support this or future projects, you can do so here:
By supporting monthly you will help me create awesome guides and improve current ones.
After this brief introduction about LSI, let's start with the installation.
Installing MegaCli on Debian
Open Broadcom page and download the latest rpm. This is the only release they offer for linux, but it can be converted to debian using alien tool.
Broadcom explains how to convert it here, I add a screenshot for archival reasons here.
First download the required packages.
apt install alien libncurses5 unzip
Now download the zip containing the tools using the following command.
Broadcom download page can be found here, and it will show you the license agreement.
wget https://docs.broadcom.com/docs-and-downloads/raid-controllers/raid-controllers-common-files/8-07-14_MegaCLI.zipIf the urls are no longer available you can download that version here. SHA1 can be found here.
Verify the sha using: sha1sum -c 8-07-14_MegaCLI.zip.sha1
Now that sha yields okay we can proceed un-packaging it.
unzip 8-07-14_MegaCLI.zip -d megaclicd into the Linux folder.
cd megacli/LinuxNow let's use alien tool to convert from .rpm to .deb
alien -k --scripts MegaCli-8.07.14-1.noarch.rpmFinally, install the .deb using dpkg
dpkg -i megacli_8.07.14-1_all.debNow megacli is installed in the /otp/MegaRAID/MegaCli/ folder
Before we can execute it we have to add the execute permission
chmod u+x /opt/MegaRAID/MegaCli/MegaCli64Before we continue let's make sure it works
/opt/MegaRAID/MegaCli/MegaCli64 -hFinally, let's add a soft link to /usr/bin/ path
ln -s /opt/MegaRAID/MegaCli/MegaCli64 /usr/bin/megacliNow megacli is installed into our system.
megacli -AdpAllInfo -aAllAdapter #0
==============================================================================
Versions
================
Product Name : ServeRAID M5015 SAS/SATA Controller
Serial No : SV21406301
FW Package Build: 12.12.0-0085
Mfg. Data
================
Mfg. Date : 04/02/12
Rework Date : 00/00/00
Revision No : 79B
Battery FRU : N/A
Image Versions in Flash:
================
FW Version : 2.120.223-1467
BIOS Version : 3.24.00_4.12.05.00_0x05100000
Preboot CLI Version: 04.04-019:#%00008
WebBIOS Version : 6.0-46-e_42-Rel
NVDATA Version : 2.09.03-0027
Boot Block Version : 2.02.00.00-0000
BOOT Version : 09.250.01.219Flashing latest LSI firmware
For this guide we will use a LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i. The Broadcom page to download any version can be found here.
The latest compatible firmware version for that card, can be downloaded using the following command:
wget https://docs.broadcom.com/docs-and-downloads/docs-and-downloads/raid-controllers/raid-controllers-common-files/12.15.0-0239_MR_2108_SAS_FW_2.130.403-4660.zipThe license agreement can be seen here.
If the urls are no longer available you can download that version here. SHA1 can be found here.
Verify the sha using: sha1sum -c 12.15.0-0239_MR_2108_SAS_FW_2.130.403-4660.zip.sha1
After the package has been verified with the sha we can proceed to unzip it.
unzip 12.15.0-0239_MR_2108_SAS_FW_2.130.403-4660.zip -d megacli-firmwareA new folder has been created, let's get into it.
cd megacli-firmware/I would recommend you to read the .txt file included with the firmware:
************************************
LSI Corp. MegaRAID Firmware Release
************************************
Release date: 10/08/15
======================
Supported Controllers:
======================
MegaRAID SAS 9250-4i
MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i
MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-4i
MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9260DE-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9261-8i
MegaRAID SAS 9280-4i4e
MegaRAID SAS 9280-8e
MegaRAID SAS 9280DE-8e
MegaRAID SAS 9280-24i4e
MegaRAID SAS 9280-16i4e
MegaRAID SAS 9260-16i
******* This firmware supports Cachecade Pro 2.0 (if activated) for the controllers mentioned above.
******* This single firmware image can be used on all of the controllers mentioned above (no longer need separate image for the high-port-count controllers).
[...]
After making sure that our card is in the list we can proceed flashing the card. Use the following command to flash the firmware
Note:
During the -adpfwflash command do not turn off the computer or interrupt the process. You will brick your card
megacli -adpfwflash -f mr2108fw.rom -a0The output should look like this:
Adapter 0: ServeRAID M5015 SAS/SATA Controller
Vendor ID: 0x1000, Device ID: 0x0079
Package version on the controller: 12.12.0-0085
Package version of the image file: 12.15.0-0239
Download Completed.
Flashing image to adapter...
Adapter 0: Flash Completed.
Please reboot the system for the changes to take effect
Exit Code: 0x00As we can see on the output the card version has been updated from 12.12.0-0085 to 12.15.0-0239
Finally, a reboot will be required.
After rebooting the info command should output the new card version
Adapter #0
==============================================================================
Versions
================
Product Name : ServeRAID M5015 SAS/SATA Controller
Serial No : SV21406301
FW Package Build: 12.15.0-0239
Mfg. Data
================
Mfg. Date : 04/02/12
Rework Date : 00/00/00
Revision No : 79B
Battery FRU : N/A
Image Versions in Flash:
================
FW Version : 2.130.403-4660
BIOS Version : 3.30.02.2_4.16.08.00_0x06060A05
Preboot CLI Version: 04.04-020:#%00009
WebBIOS Version : 6.0-54-e_50-Rel
NVDATA Version : 2.09.03-0058
Boot Block Version : 2.02.00.00-0000
BOOT Version : 09.250.01.219If you spot any typos, have questions, or need assistance with the build, feel free to contact me at: antonimercer@lthjournal.com
This guide contains no affiliate links or ads. If you'd like to support this or future projects, you can do so here:
By supporting monthly you will help me create awesome guides and improve current ones.
Cachecade Pro 2.0
If you are interested in CacheCade Pro 2.0 make sure to purchase the correct key. There are different functionalities that can be unlocked with software keys or hardware keys.
LSI offers trial keys that allow you to test functionalities during 30 days. Some users mentioned on STH (Server the home) forum that they can be reused to unlock again the feature and reconfigure stuff.
- FastPath
- Recovery
- CacheCade Pro 1.0
- CacheCade Pro 2.0
- RAID 6, 60
- SafeStore
If you would like to test one of the functionalities mentioned above check this post from STH.
For archival reasons I will copy the content posted by the user mobilenvidia on this thread. Image of the post hare.
These trial keys can be used to enable LSI MegaRAID
Advanced Software Options for 30 days.
Notes:·
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Technologies used
MegaCli, Debian 12, LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i, Fujitsu Esprimo D756