Dell PERC 5/i and NAS4Free 9.3.0.2

[riahc3]

I just installed NAS4Free 9.3.0.2 and Im trying to manage some drives attached to a Dell PERC 5/i but I cannot see them...

Just in case, I went into "System" -> "Advance" then "loader.conf" and put the variable "mfi_load" to value "TRUE" but nothing, makes no difference.

Why cant I see the drives attched to the Dell PERC 5/i?

[riahc3]

Logs dont look bad:

Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34030 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 01(e1/s1) Info: enclPd=08, scsiType=0, portMap=02, sasAddr=5000cca0075e02f5,0000000000000000
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34031 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 02(e1/s2)
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: MFI_DCMD_PD_LIST_QUERY failed 2
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34032 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 02(e1/s2) Info: enclPd=08, scsiType=0, portMap=04, sasAddr=5000cca0075e6f74,0000000000000000
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34033 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 03(e1/s3)
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: MFI_DCMD_PD_LIST_QUERY failed 2
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34034 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 03(e1/s3) Info: enclPd=08, scsiType=0, portMap=08, sasAddr=5000cca0075e3c0d,0000000000000000
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34035 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 04(e1/s4)
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: MFI_DCMD_PD_LIST_QUERY failed 2
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34036 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 04(e1/s4) Info: enclPd=08, scsiType=0, portMap=10, sasAddr=5000cca0075e3878,0000000000000000
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34037 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 05(e1/s5)
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: MFI_DCMD_PD_LIST_QUERY failed 2
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34038 (boot + 54s/0x0002/info) - Inserted: PD 05(e1/s5) Info: enclPd=08, scsiType=0, portMap=20, sasAddr=500000e112841982,0000000000000000
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34039 (boot + 54s/0x0020/info) - Patrol Read resumed
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34040 (482924038s/0x0020/info) - Time established as 04/21/15 9:33:58; (55 seconds since power on)
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34041 (482924094s/0x0008/info) - Battery temperature is normal
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34042 (482924094s/0x0008/info) - Battery started charging
Apr 21 09:37:06 nas4free kernel: mfi0: 34043 (482924094s/0x0008/info) - Current capacity of the battery is above threshold

[ChriZathens]

Is this a raid controller? No IT mode?
Not 100% sure, but for n4f to see the disks, they either need to be set as jbod (best for zfs), or to be created as virtual devices from the controller's configuration utility

[riahc3]

Is this a raid controller? No IT mode?
Not 100% sure, but for n4f to see the disks, they either need to be set as jbod (best for zfs), or to be created as virtual devices from the controller's configuration utility

I got it to see them but I see horrible performance.

They are all set as RAID0 individual disks. Do they need to be set as something else?

[ChriZathens]

For ZFS you need an HBA, not a Raid controller.
If this perc lets you configure the disks as JBOD, then OK.
Otherwise it is not suitable for ZFS.
In most cases the horrible performance comes from the fact that ZFS and the Raid controller battle each other about which one will take control of the disks. ..

[esyan]

Hi:
I've build a few nas system with a perc 5i. After testing for a little while the nas would crash. Substituting with different hard drives made no difference. Finally change to a perc 6i, everything cleared. I've understand these cards are not the best to use with zfs but as long as I can build a nas with it, check battery voltage, locate the drive that had gone bad. I am happy with it. I've using these percs for awhile to learn Nas4free and freebsd. It is almost like learning a second language. I had to pick up a little at a time.

Take Care

Erik