HP Smart Storage Administrator

From Leo's Notes
Last edited on 16 March 2023, at 00:30.

HP Smart Storage Administrator, also abbreviated as HP SSA, is the set of utilities used to manage HP Raid controllers.

Linux[edit | edit source]

For CentOS/RHEL, obtain the RPM packages from https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/swd/public/detail?swItemId=MTX_d6ebba0f5cd642edace4648b9a or try searching for the hpacucli package from http://downloads.linux.hpe.com/SDR/repo/mcp/centos/8/x86_64/12.05/. Install with yum -y install hpacucli.rpm.

For Debian, obtain the DEB packages from: http://downloads.linux.hpe.com/SDR/repo/mcp/debian/pool/non-free/. Install the package with dpkg -i hpacucli.deb.

On RHEL systems, the binary will be placed in /opt/compaq/hpacucli/bld. On Debian, it's placed in /usr/sbin and is part of the path. 

root@x:/root# /opt/compaq/hpacucli/bld/hpacucli ctrl all show  config

Smart Array P410i in Slot 0 (Embedded)    (sn: 50014380236B2020)

   array A (SAS, Unused Space: 0  MB)


      logicaldrive 1 (279.4 GB, RAID 1, OK)

      physicaldrive 1I:1:1 (port 1I:box 1:bay 1, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
      physicaldrive 1I:1:2 (port 1I:box 1:bay 2, SAS, 300 GB, OK)

   unassigned

      physicaldrive 1I:1:3 (port 1I:box 1:bay 3, SATA, 1 TB, OK)

   SEP (Vendor ID PMCSIERA, Model  SRC 8x6G) 250 (WWID: 50014380236B202F)

Quick Usage[edit | edit source]

Task Command Example
General Show all controller configs on the system hpssacli ctrl all show config
Show all controller statuses hpssacli ctrl all show status
Show detailed information on all controllers on the system hpssacli ctrl all show detail
Rescan for new controllers hpssacli rescan
Controller specific Show detailed controller information for controller in slot 0 hpssacli ctrl slot=0 show detail
Enable Drive Write Cache on controller 0 hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify dwc=enable
Disable Drive Write Cache on controller 0 hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify dwc=disable
Modify smart array cache read and write ratio on controller 0

cacheratio=readratio/writeratio

hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify cacheratio=100/0
Enable smart array write cache when no battery is present (No-Battery Write Cache option) hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify nbwc=enable
Physical Disks Physical disk status hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd all show status
Show detailed physical disk information hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd all show detail
Erase Physical Drive hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd 2I:1:6 modify erase
Re-enable Physical Drive hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd 2I:1:6 modify reenable
hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd 2I:1:6 modify
Logical Disks Logical disk status hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld all show status
View Detailed Logical Drive Status hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 show
Create New RAID 0 Logical Drive hpssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:2 raid=0
Create New RAID 1 Logical Drive hpssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2 raid=1
Create New RAID 5 Logical Drive hpssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2,2I:1:6,2I:1:7,2I:1:8 raid=5
Delete Logical Drive hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 delete
Add New Physical Drive to Logical Volume hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 add drives=2I:1:6,2I:1:7
Turn on Blink Physical Disk LED hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 modify led=on
Turn off Blink Physical Disk LED hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 modify led=off
Disable smart array cache for certain Logical Volume hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 1 modify arrayaccelerator=disable
Enable smart array cache for certain Logical Volume hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 1 modify arrayaccelerator=enable
Array Add Spare Disks for all arrays hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array all add spares=2I:1:6,2I:1:7
Remove a disk from an array hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array A remove drives=2I:1:6
Enable SSD Smart Path hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array A modify ssdsmartpath=enable
Disable SSD Smart Path hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array A modify ssdsmartpath=disable

Troubleshooting[edit | edit source]

Replaced a drive, but it still shows as failed[edit | edit source]

Prior to the disk replacement, dmesg showed this:

hpsa 0000:03:00.0: scsi 1:0:7:0: removed Direct-Access     HP       EG1200FDNJT      PHYS DRV SSDSmartPathCap- En- Exp=0  

Replacing the disk didn't create a new message in dmesg as others have noted. The configs still show the physical drive as failed. 

# hpssacli ctrl slot=0 show config                          
                                                                           
Smart Array P410i in Slot 0 (Embedded)    (sn: 5001438020D43A50)           
                                                                           
   array A (SAS, Unused Space: 0  MB)                                      
                                                                           
                                                                           
      logicaldrive 1 (136.7 GB, RAID 0, OK)                                
                                                                           
      physicaldrive 1I:1:1 (port 1I:box 1:bay 1, SAS, 72 GB, OK)           
      physicaldrive 1I:1:2 (port 1I:box 1:bay 2, SAS, 72 GB, OK)           
                                                                           
   array B (SAS, Unused Space: 0  MB)                                      
                                                                           
                                                                           
      logicaldrive 2 (5.5 TB, RAID 5, Interim Recovery Mode)               
                                                                           
      physicaldrive 1I:1:3 (port 1I:box 1:bay 3, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)       
      physicaldrive 1I:1:4 (port 1I:box 1:bay 4, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)       
      physicaldrive 2I:1:5 (port 2I:box 1:bay 5, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)       
      physicaldrive 2I:1:6 (port 2I:box 1:bay 6, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)       
      physicaldrive 2I:1:7 (port 2I:box 1:bay 7, SAS, 1200.2 GB, Failed)   
      physicaldrive 2I:1:8 (port 2I:box 1:bay 8, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)       
                                                                           
   SEP (Vendor ID PMCSIERA, Model  SRC 8x6G) 250 (WWID: 5001438020D43A5F)  

# hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld all show

Smart Array P410i in Slot 0 (Embedded)

   Array A

      logicaldrive 1 (136.7 GB, RAID 0, OK)

   Array B

      logicaldrive 2 (5.5 TB, RAID 5, Interim Recovery Mode)

# hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 modify reenable                                         
                                                                                                   
Warning: Any previously existing data on the logical drive may not be valid or                     
         recoverable. Continue? (y/n) y                                                            
                                                                                                   
                                                                                                   
Error: This operation is not supported with the current configuration. Use the                     
       "show" command on devices to show additional details about the                              
       configuration.                                                                              
Reason: Array status not ok

# hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array B remove drives=1:7

Error: This operation is not supported with the current configuration. Use the
       "show" command on devices to show additional details about the
       configuration.
Reason: Array is transforming

Next thing to try is to reboot the server and check the RAID via the BIOS.

Updates[edit | edit source]

You can get the most recent firmware for the HP Smart Array adapters model P212, P410, P410i, P411, P711m, P712m, and P812 are available at:

My server at home with the HP Smart Array P410i is actually still running version 2.50 (released in 2009). The last firmware is 6.64 (released 2015). The Linux binary depends on 32bit libs to run, however.

As a side note, the update file doesn't seem to run on Proxmox 7.3 properly as it keeps on throwing: gzip: stdin: unexpected end of file. Ignoring the bad return code by gzip seems to work because the tar file that it generates seems to extract cleanly.

HBA mode?[edit | edit source]

For older Smart Array adapters, you may be able to enable HBA mode (for passthrough) with this: https://github.com/im-0/hpsahba

Limitations with this appears to be that you will not be able to boot from hard drive.

See Also[edit | edit source]


Various Linux Notes
Linux Tools and Utilites
Package Management
Linux Distributions
Networking
Containers