UCS C240 M4 will not boot from local HDD using MegaRAID 12GB SAS HBA

[mdornfeld]

I have a new C240 M4 server with MegaRAID 12GB SAS HBA. I have configured a bootable Virtual Drive (VD0) with 2 SSD's and a RAID 5 Virtual Drive (VD1) + global hot spare with 5 1TB SAS drives.

I installed ESXi onto VD0 without any problem, but the system does not see VD0 as bootable.

I tried adding a local HDD to the boot order using the CIMC, but it appears not to be inserted into the boot device choices.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

[Wes Austin]

Hello,

Is this a standalone server?

If standalone, ensure VD is marked a boot drive in CIMC:

Also, make sure the BIOS actual boot order is correct vs configured:

If the local drive is still not showing up, you may need to enable the RAID controller in the BIOS boot order by pressing F2 when the server boots.

Hope this helps, please share the results.

-Wes

[mdornfeld]

It is a standalone server and VD0 is marked as a boot drive in CIMC.

I configured the boot order to look for local HDD first.

Since this is a 12 GB SAS HBA in the dedicated HBA slot is it appropriate to enable the BIOS?  I also am not sure how I do this in setup, but will look now. I tried before.

Any help for this last issue?

Mark

[Wes Austin · Accepted solution]

Does the configured boot order match the actual boot order in the CIMC?

"I tried adding a local HDD to the boot order using the CIMC, but it appears not to be inserted into the boot device choices."

Ensure the RAID controller is enabled in the BIOS Boot Options:

Also ensure the the PCIE slots are enabled:

If you are having further issues, let me know.

-Wes

[mdornfeld]

The controller does not appear on the Boot Options Screen. Perhaps it will after I enable the PCIe Option ROM's in the BIOS and reboot? I will do that now.

[Wes Austin]

Mark,

Once enabled, you should also see the Controller and disks upon POST:

Please share the results.

-Wes

[mdornfeld]

Yes, the controller is on the boot screens now. But I was expecting to see something in the HBA slot as CIMC displays it. Is "(Bus 03 Dev 00) PCI RAID Adapter the 12 GB SAS or the embedded adapter?

[mdornfeld]

I went ahead and rebooted. ESXi has booted so it looks like I have the answer to the last question.

Thanks very much, Wes. I can now hand this off to the VMWare admin. It is my first UCS server.

PS. Cisco docs could be a bit better. :-)

PS2. Setting up an enterprise Sun Microsystems server was easier than this.

PS3. But I really like the management facilities of the C-Series servers.

Cheers

[Wes Austin]

Great News!

Please mark the answer correct so others can find it faster in the future.

Cheers,

Wes

[Wes Austin]

That is the correct option for the 12 GB SAS controller. 

More information on Managing Server Boot Order here:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/c/sw/cli/config/guide/2-0/b_Cisco_UCS_C-Series_CLI_Configuration_Guide_201/b_Cisco_UCS_C-Series_CLI_Configuration_Guide_201_chapter_011.html#concept_25B0E9CD280540E2ADF8A32D92B60612

Is the server booting correctly now?

-Wes