Hi all,
I have two Dell servers: a PowerEdge R320 at home that I test with and a R630 in a datacenter.
Recently, I was looking to expand the storage of the R630 in the datacenter. After looking around I came across the QNAP TL-R400S JBOD enclosure. Just what I need! It even comes with an HBA (The QNAP QXP-400eS-A1164)! And it connects back to the host with a SFF-8088 mini SAS cable.
Yesterday, I got it in the mail. Let’s start by saying it’s currently 1-0 for the Dell server vs. me.
After connecting, the server does not boot anymore. And it shows the following error. Which one it shows is dependent on which slot I fit the card in (there are 2 on the R320).
Don’t worry about the IP. It’s firewalled off :).
This is the error in slot 1. This also brings up errors in the iDRAC event log.
This is the error in slot 2. No events in the logs after this occurs.
I tried switching from UEFI to BIOS boot mode and disabling the slot during boot. But whatever I try does not seem to matter.
The reason I’m trying this in the R320 and not the R630 in the datacenter is because the datacenter is a 2-hour drive. And I want to confirm it will work before I drive there.
Currently, I think the Dell doesn’t like the card for some arbitrary compatibility reason. If I need to buy a Dell card with SFF-8088 (a quick search brings up the H200e), that’s fine I guess. But if I can I’d rather use the included card.
That leaves me with some questions:
- Why does the server refuse to boot?
- Is there reason to believe it _will_ work in the R630, despite not working in this R320?
I guess I’m hoping people have seen this before or have experience with this hardware or these errors.
Thanks in advance!
Is the QNAP disk shelf known to work with non-QNAP hardware?
It might use a standard cable and have a HBA but doesn’t mean they hadn’t taken steps to make it proprietary.