IBM Netfinity 5500 SCSI Config Problems 1

[BigFinn]

I'm having problems running the SCSI config on a Netfinity 5500.

I've downloaded the ISO image from the IBM website and created a bootable ServerGuide CD-ROM, but it refuses to run, informing me in a splash screen that it needs at least 256Mb.
The server has 256Mb RAM, in a sigle stick, but it looks to me that the onboard video card is using some of this.

Question: Can I pop in a PCI graphics card to free the system memory and then run ServerGuide?

Or is there a simpler way of configuring the SCSI controllers to create volumes to install an OS on and to Ghost Image?

I'm completely new to the IBM servers, this big old beast has been dropped onto me to use as a tape backup server.

Apologies if these seem like mutton-headed questions, I'm truly an IBM noob.

Kind Regards

BF

 

[wblundell]

Try the ServeRaid OSI image, this might give you the functions that you are looking for.
Warren

 

[dhauser]

To answer your question about the video card. If you add a video card the BIOS should disable the onboard video for you and yes that should free up your RAM.

Hope this helps.

Dan

 

[catorze]

The current version of ServerGUIDE will not help you on a 5500. The easiest means to configure the 5500's RAID Controller is to download the ServeRAID CD image. The 5500 has an onboard ServeRAID-2 controller.

 

[BigFinn]

Update:

Got it going, thanks for helping guys. I found the ServerRaid CD Image on the IBM site and booted off the CD, this runs with as little as 128Mb RAM and worked fine. I recreated the disk volumes as I wanted them and then managed to get Ghost to run with a mixture of switches.

Ghost takes a long while to browse network drives for some reason, it seems to lock up for about a minute while browsing where to image to/from, but then comes back to life and works fine. Anyone else seen this?

Putting in a PCI video card made no difference to the ServerGuide CD, it still wouldn't boot, complaining about memory (?mystery?).

Thanks

BF

 

[catorze]

Doesn't matter. The current version of ServerGuide does not support the 5500. Even if you got past the memory error, SG will tell you the system is not a supported IBM server.

 

[eositis]

Hmm...

The ServerGuide disk you got is very old and has a very old version of the ServeRaid sw. Get the latest UpdateExpress cd _and_ the latest ServeRaid cd from the ibm website. The UpdateExpress cd will get your bios up to the latest version, and will also upgrade the drive firmware to the latest versions. If you have IBM tape drives attached, it will also upgrade that firmware.

Then run the ServeRaid cd version 6.11.x. This will upgrade your raid controller with the latest firmware. Very significant performance and reliability improvements. (If you have the 5500 m20, this will update the scsi speed from 40mb/s to 80mb/s! You will have to manually enable the higher speed in the config program! Also make sure to install the appropriate drivers for your os!

 

[BigFinn]

Thanks for the updates guys, this is all great news.

The IBM isn't part of our production network, it's on loan from another department to test Disaster recovery from tape. I'm almost finished with it!

This forum is indispensable!

Kind regards

BigFinn

 

[hippo1]

question:

how to disable the onboard ServeRAID2 controller?

I'm thinking that it causes my problems cause there's also a second controller which is in PCI slot6 and all drives and logical volumes are connected to this other (pci)controller (ServeRAID-Mx4).

ServeRAID 2 contr is master --no disks connected
ServeRAID-Mx4 contr is slave --5 disks connected

see the problem,
(

http://www.fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46140)

I have the IBM ServeRAID Support CD and I've managed to delete and create new arrays and stuff but cannot e.g. set the other controller as master or disable the other.

How this can be made or is even possible?