Silicon Integrated Hard Disk Controller Driver

Printable version

* RECOMMENDED * Supplemental Update / Online ROM Flash Component for Linux (x64) - Smart Array P220i, P222, P420i, P420, P421, P721m, and P822

By downloading, you agree to the terms and conditions of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Software License Agreement.
Note: Some software requires a valid warranty, current Hewlett Packard Enterprise support contract, or a license fee.

Type:Firmware - Storage Controller
Version:8.32(2 Nov 2017)
Operating System(s):
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64
Microsoft Windows Server 2012
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Essentials
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
Microsoft Windows Server 2016
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server (x86-64)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server (x86-64)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (AMD64/EM64T)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (AMD64/EM64T)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
VMware ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere 5.5
VMware vSphere 6.0
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
File name:hp-firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-8.32-1.1.x86_64.rpm (8.4 MB)
This x64 Smart Component provides firmware for the following storage controllers: Smart Array P220i, P222, P420i, P420, P421, P721m, and P822

Improved accuracy of drive temperature reporting feature

To ensure the integrity of your download, HPE recommends verifying your results with this SHA-256 Checksum value:

cf9bcfacb5fdab9ccc577c5612a31ce24f98cb96c42185717c72edc50077cba4rpm/RPMS/x86_64/hp-firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-8.32-1.1.x86_64.rpm

Reboot Requirement:
Reboot is required after installation for updates to take effect and hardware stability to be maintained.

Installation:

To update firmware from Linux operating system on target server:

Updating firmware with rpm installed:

  • Install the firmware rpm using the command: rpm -ivh <rpm_filename>. This extracts the contents of the rpm to the '/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu' location
  • The CP033363.scexe script is located in the 'scexe-compat' folder. The actual name of the 'firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' folder is based on the version of the rpm installed in the first step above
  • To install firmware, you can execute ONE of the following commands:

# ./CP033363.scexe in the '/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/scexe-compat' location (OR)

# ./setup in the '/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' location

  • The results of the firmware upgrade are saved to the Component.log file, located in the /var/cpq/ directory
  • To uninstall the rpm, run the command: rpm -e <rpm_package_name>, which is the rpm filename without the '.rpm' extension

Updating firmware without installing the rpm:

  • Extract the contents of the rpm using the command: rpm2cpio <rpm_filename>.rpm | cpio -id. This extracts the contents of the rpm to 'usr' folder in the current directory
  • Navigate to the 'usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' location and run ./setup to update the firmware. The actual name of the 'firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' folder is based on the version of the rpm installed in the step above
  • The results of the firmware upgrade are saved to the Component.log file, located in the /var/cpq/ directory

Additional Information:

Installing the firmware rpm package (rpm -ivh) does not update the firmware. It merely extracts the rpm content to the local system. Updating the firmware on the local system requires following the above outlined steps

To use HP Smart Update Manager from the Service Pack for ProLiant:
Offline:

  • Place the Service Pack for ProLiant on a USB key using the USB Key Utility for Windows.
  • Place the desired firmware to be updated in the directory, /SPP20xxxxx/packages on the USB key.
  • Boot from the newly created Service Pack for Proliant USB key.
  • Follow Smart Update Manager steps to complete firmware update.

Online:

  • Login as root. (You must be root in order to apply the ROM update.)
  • Place the desired firmware to be updated in the directory, /SPP20xxxxx/packages
  • Run launch_sum.sh script which is found in the root of the ISO
  • Follow the instructions on the screen

End User License Agreements:
HPE Software License Agreement v1
Hewlett-Packard End User License Agreement

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Important:

  • When booting a system running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1 Operating System, the HP Smart Array controllers might not be recognized. This issue is due to changes in the OS where the sg driver is no longer loaded during system boot. The work around for this issue is to manually issue a 'modprobe sg' command which should load the sg driver. After the sg driver is loaded, the /dev/sg* devices should be present and the sg driver can be used to access SCSI devices.

Notes:

Deliverable Name:
Supplemental Update / Online ROM Flash Component for Linux (x64) - Smart Array P220i, P222, P420i, P420, P421, P721m, and P822

Release Version and/or Date:
8.32
Last Recommended or Critical Version:
8.00
Previous Version of Firmware:
8.00
Firmware Dependency:
None

Enhancements/New Features:

  • Improved accuracy of drive temperature reporting feature

Problems Fixed:

  • System can potentially stop responding with no lockup code due to livelock condition where the RAID Stack thread is polling a queue for a completion to be returned by the base code firmware

Known Issues:
None

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

System can potentially stop responding with no lockup code due to livelock condition where the RAID Stack thread is polling a queue for a completion to be returned by the base code firmware

  • When booting a system running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1 Operating System, the HP Smart Array controllers might not be recognized. This issue is due to changes in the OS where the sg driver is no longer loaded during system boot. The work around for this issue is to manually issue a 'modprobe sg' command which should load the sg driver. After the sg driver is loaded, the /dev/sg* devices should be present and the sg driver can be used to access SCSI devices.
Version:8.32 (2 Nov 2017)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

System can potentially stop responding with no lockup code due to livelock condition where the RAID Stack thread is polling a queue for a completion to be returned by the base code firmware

Improved accuracy of drive temperature reporting feature


Version:8.00(C) (25 Sep 2017)

Upgrade Requirement:
Optional - Users should update to this version if their system is affected by one of the documented fixes or if there is a desire to utilize any of the enhanced functionality provided by this version.

  • Updated to support Service Pack for ProLiant version 2017.07.1

Note: If version 8.00 was previously installed, then it is not necessary to upgrade to version 8.00 (C).


Version:8.00(B) (12 Jul 2017)

Upgrade Requirement:
Optional - Users should update to this version if their system is affected by one of the documented fixes or if there is a desire to utilize any of the enhanced functionality provided by this version.

  • Customers who already installed firmware version 8.00 do not need to update to 8.00 (B).
  • Updated to support Service Pack for ProLiant version 2017.07.0

Note: If version 8.00 was previously installed, then it is not necessary to upgrade to version 8.00 (B).


Version:8.00 (24 Oct 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • Drive temperatures for SATA drives might not be reported after hot-inserting the drive.
  • System might hang at POST following a reboot.
  • System fans might go to 100% if connected drives were spun down.
  • SATA SSD’s were incorrectly marked as worn out.
  • Increased performance of SATA drives by increasing command queue depth.


Version:7.5 (24 Oct 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Drive temperatures for SATA drives might not be reported after hot-inserting the drive.


Version:7.02 (B) (7 Apr 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Problems Fixed in 7.02:

  • A physical drive configured as a spare drive might indicate predictive failure sooner than expected.
  • Controller might stop responding during run-time (POST Lockup 0x13).
  • When drive write-cache is enabled, protocol errors are observed.
  • After hot-plug replacement of a hard disk drive, incorrect hard disk drive firmware version and upgrade recommendation were displayed by HP Smart Storage Administrator.

Problems Fixed in 7.02 (B):

  • Component would fail to install firmware in a system configured with two or more external drive enclosures attached to an HPE Host Bus Adapter H22x. The following message would be reported - “Device appears more than once in tree”. The firmware installation failure was not observed in configurations having only one external drive enclosure attached to an HPE Host Bus Adapter H22x.

Version:7.02 (1 Apr 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • A physical drive configured as a spare drive might indicate predictive failure sooner than expected.
  • Controller might stop responding during run-time (POST Lockup 0x13).
  • When drive write-cache is enabled, protocol errors are observed.
  • After hot-plug replacement of a hard disk drive, incorrect hard disk drive firmware version and upgrade recommendation were displayed by HP Smart Storage Administrator.

Version:6.68 (1 Oct 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • HP Smart Array Px2x controller with HP SmartCache enabled on boot volume could potentially encounter file corruption when booting the system if the Super-cap is not fully charged due to being replaced or being in a power down condition for several days (Example 7 days). File corruption is less likely to occur on non-boot volumes than on boot volumes. For additional information please refer to the customer advisory # c04719000

  • I/O may halt when the drive write cache is enabled.

  • Increased performance for tape drives when using variable block sizes.

Version:6.64 (15 Jun 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • An intermittent aborted IO request with attached SATA drives resulted in a LUN (Logical Unit Number) reset.
  • When using SATA drives with a Px2x controller, the server may stop responding or shut down after an extended period of time due to a controller lockup (POST Lockup 0xAB).

Version:6.34 (6 Apr 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Critical - HP requires users update to this version immediately.

Problems Fixed:

  • Critical issue for all UEFI systems using 2.2 TB or greater volumes configured with GPT partitions. For additional information please refer to the customer advisory # c04602001
  • When a controller was set to RAID6 mode and a large number of recoverable errors were generated by hard disk drives in the system, the controller might go into a degraded mode and cease to function. A 0x0E error message would display during POST on subsequent power cycle and in the Integrated Management Log (IML)
  • The controller would report 0xE0 error to HP Smart Storage Administrator (HP SSA) and would cease to function when set to RAID 6 mode
  • Intermittent SSD SATA 6G drive failures would occur when drive was configured in Bay 1 of HP ProLiant BL465 Gen8 Server
  • Uncorrectable ECC errors would cause the controller to stop responding (Lockup 0x13). This version of Smart Array firmware properly calculates the maximum controller memory bandwidth required to sustain streaming write operations with the current logical drive configuration and reduces the cache memory speed on configurations that do not require peak controller memory bandwidth. When running at the slower memory speed, less power is consumed and performance degradation is expected to be negligible. For additional information, reference Customer Advisory # c03755983
  • The HP D2220sb Storage Blade is not recognized when configuring it with the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server Blade. For additional information please refer to the customer advisory # c04602866

Enhancements/New Features:

  • Improved error handling when hard disk drives generate a large number of recoverable errors.
  • Added support for non-hotplug disk drives.
  • Added support for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers:
    • HP ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server
    • HP ProLiant BL660c Gen9 Server

Version:6.00 (B) (30 Mar 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • Customers who already installed firmware version 6.00 do not need to update to 6.00 (B).

Problems Fixed in version 6.00:
This firmware release resolved the following issues:

  • When executing kdump on systems running in Zero Memory RAID (ZMR) mode, the controller might halt.
  • When an HP Smart Array P420 controller was attached to both an expander backplane and non-expander backplane, the controller would not properly control SmartCarrier LEDs.
  • Chkdsk was running slowly.

Enhancements/New Features for 6.00 (B):

  • Added support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

Version:6 (9 Sep 2014)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Problems Fixed in version 6.00:
This firmware release resolved the following issues:

  • When executing kdump on systems running in Zero Memory RAID (ZMR) mode, the controller might halt.
  • When an HP Smart Array P420 controller was attached to both an expander backplane and non-expander backplane, the controller would not properly control SmartCarrier LEDs.
  • Chkdsk was running slowly.

Type:Firmware - Storage Controller
Version:8.32(2 Nov 2017)
Operating System(s):
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64
Microsoft Windows Server 2012
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Essentials
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
Microsoft Windows Server 2016
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server (x86-64)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server (x86-64)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (AMD64/EM64T)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (AMD64/EM64T)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
VMware ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere 5.5
VMware vSphere 6.0

Description

This x64 Smart Component provides firmware for the following storage controllers: Smart Array P220i, P222, P420i, P420, P421, P721m, and P822

Enhancements

Improved accuracy of drive temperature reporting feature

Installation Instructions

To ensure the integrity of your download, HPE recommends verifying your results with this SHA-256 Checksum value:

cf9bcfacb5fdab9ccc577c5612a31ce24f98cb96c42185717c72edc50077cba4rpm/RPMS/x86_64/hp-firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-8.32-1.1.x86_64.rpm

Reboot Requirement:
Reboot is required after installation for updates to take effect and hardware stability to be maintained.

Installation:

To update firmware from Linux operating system on target server:

Updating firmware with rpm installed:

  • Install the firmware rpm using the command: rpm -ivh <rpm_filename>. This extracts the contents of the rpm to the '/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu' location
  • The CP033363.scexe script is located in the 'scexe-compat' folder. The actual name of the 'firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' folder is based on the version of the rpm installed in the first step above
  • To install firmware, you can execute ONE of the following commands:

# ./CP033363.scexe in the '/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/scexe-compat' location (OR)

# ./setup in the '/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' location

  • The results of the firmware upgrade are saved to the Component.log file, located in the /var/cpq/ directory
  • To uninstall the rpm, run the command: rpm -e <rpm_package_name>, which is the rpm filename without the '.rpm' extension

Updating firmware without installing the rpm:

  • Extract the contents of the rpm using the command: rpm2cpio <rpm_filename>.rpm | cpio -id. This extracts the contents of the rpm to 'usr' folder in the current directory
  • Navigate to the 'usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' location and run ./setup to update the firmware. The actual name of the 'firmware-smartarray-46a4d957a7-*' folder is based on the version of the rpm installed in the step above
  • The results of the firmware upgrade are saved to the Component.log file, located in the /var/cpq/ directory

Additional Information:

Installing the firmware rpm package (rpm -ivh) does not update the firmware. It merely extracts the rpm content to the local system. Updating the firmware on the local system requires following the above outlined steps

To use HP Smart Update Manager from the Service Pack for ProLiant:
Offline:

  • Place the Service Pack for ProLiant on a USB key using the USB Key Utility for Windows.
  • Place the desired firmware to be updated in the directory, /SPP20xxxxx/packages on the USB key.
  • Boot from the newly created Service Pack for Proliant USB key.
  • Follow Smart Update Manager steps to complete firmware update.

Online:

  • Login as root. (You must be root in order to apply the ROM update.)
  • Place the desired firmware to be updated in the directory, /SPP20xxxxx/packages
  • Run launch_sum.sh script which is found in the root of the ISO
  • Follow the instructions on the screen

Release Notes

End User License Agreements:
HPE Software License Agreement v1
Hewlett-Packard End User License Agreement

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Important:

  • When booting a system running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1 Operating System, the HP Smart Array controllers might not be recognized. This issue is due to changes in the OS where the sg driver is no longer loaded during system boot. The work around for this issue is to manually issue a 'modprobe sg' command which should load the sg driver. After the sg driver is loaded, the /dev/sg* devices should be present and the sg driver can be used to access SCSI devices.

Notes:

Deliverable Name:
Supplemental Update / Online ROM Flash Component for Linux (x64) - Smart Array P220i, P222, P420i, P420, P421, P721m, and P822

Release Version and/or Date:
8.32
Last Recommended or Critical Version:
8.00
Previous Version of Firmware:
8.00
Firmware Dependency:
None

Enhancements/New Features:

  • Improved accuracy of drive temperature reporting feature

Problems Fixed:

  • System can potentially stop responding with no lockup code due to livelock condition where the RAID Stack thread is polling a queue for a completion to be returned by the base code firmware

Known Issues:
None

Fixes

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

System can potentially stop responding with no lockup code due to livelock condition where the RAID Stack thread is polling a queue for a completion to be returned by the base code firmware

Important

  • When booting a system running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1 Operating System, the HP Smart Array controllers might not be recognized. This issue is due to changes in the OS where the sg driver is no longer loaded during system boot. The work around for this issue is to manually issue a 'modprobe sg' command which should load the sg driver. After the sg driver is loaded, the /dev/sg* devices should be present and the sg driver can be used to access SCSI devices.

Revision History

Version:8.32 (2 Nov 2017)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

System can potentially stop responding with no lockup code due to livelock condition where the RAID Stack thread is polling a queue for a completion to be returned by the base code firmware

Improved accuracy of drive temperature reporting feature


Version:8.00(C) (25 Sep 2017)

Upgrade Requirement:
Optional - Users should update to this version if their system is affected by one of the documented fixes or if there is a desire to utilize any of the enhanced functionality provided by this version.

  • Updated to support Service Pack for ProLiant version 2017.07.1

Note: If version 8.00 was previously installed, then it is not necessary to upgrade to version 8.00 (C).


Version:8.00(B) (12 Jul 2017)

Upgrade Requirement:
Optional - Users should update to this version if their system is affected by one of the documented fixes or if there is a desire to utilize any of the enhanced functionality provided by this version.

  • Customers who already installed firmware version 8.00 do not need to update to 8.00 (B).
  • Updated to support Service Pack for ProLiant version 2017.07.0

Note: If version 8.00 was previously installed, then it is not necessary to upgrade to version 8.00 (B).


Version:8.00 (24 Oct 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • Drive temperatures for SATA drives might not be reported after hot-inserting the drive.
  • System might hang at POST following a reboot.
  • System fans might go to 100% if connected drives were spun down.
  • SATA SSD’s were incorrectly marked as worn out.
  • Increased performance of SATA drives by increasing command queue depth.


Version:7.5 (24 Oct 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Drive temperatures for SATA drives might not be reported after hot-inserting the drive.


Version:7.02 (B) (7 Apr 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Problems Fixed in 7.02:

  • A physical drive configured as a spare drive might indicate predictive failure sooner than expected.
  • Controller might stop responding during run-time (POST Lockup 0x13).
  • When drive write-cache is enabled, protocol errors are observed.
  • After hot-plug replacement of a hard disk drive, incorrect hard disk drive firmware version and upgrade recommendation were displayed by HP Smart Storage Administrator.

Problems Fixed in 7.02 (B):

  • Component would fail to install firmware in a system configured with two or more external drive enclosures attached to an HPE Host Bus Adapter H22x. The following message would be reported - “Device appears more than once in tree”. The firmware installation failure was not observed in configurations having only one external drive enclosure attached to an HPE Host Bus Adapter H22x.

Version:7.02 (1 Apr 2016)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • A physical drive configured as a spare drive might indicate predictive failure sooner than expected.
  • Controller might stop responding during run-time (POST Lockup 0x13).
  • When drive write-cache is enabled, protocol errors are observed.
  • After hot-plug replacement of a hard disk drive, incorrect hard disk drive firmware version and upgrade recommendation were displayed by HP Smart Storage Administrator.

Version:6.68 (1 Oct 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HPE recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • HP Smart Array Px2x controller with HP SmartCache enabled on boot volume could potentially encounter file corruption when booting the system if the Super-cap is not fully charged due to being replaced or being in a power down condition for several days (Example 7 days). File corruption is less likely to occur on non-boot volumes than on boot volumes. For additional information please refer to the customer advisory # c04719000

  • I/O may halt when the drive write cache is enabled.

  • Increased performance for tape drives when using variable block sizes.

Version:6.64 (15 Jun 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • An intermittent aborted IO request with attached SATA drives resulted in a LUN (Logical Unit Number) reset.
  • When using SATA drives with a Px2x controller, the server may stop responding or shut down after an extended period of time due to a controller lockup (POST Lockup 0xAB).

Version:6.34 (6 Apr 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Critical - HP requires users update to this version immediately.

Problems Fixed:

  • Critical issue for all UEFI systems using 2.2 TB or greater volumes configured with GPT partitions. For additional information please refer to the customer advisory # c04602001
  • When a controller was set to RAID6 mode and a large number of recoverable errors were generated by hard disk drives in the system, the controller might go into a degraded mode and cease to function. A 0x0E error message would display during POST on subsequent power cycle and in the Integrated Management Log (IML)
  • The controller would report 0xE0 error to HP Smart Storage Administrator (HP SSA) and would cease to function when set to RAID 6 mode
  • Intermittent SSD SATA 6G drive failures would occur when drive was configured in Bay 1 of HP ProLiant BL465 Gen8 Server
  • Uncorrectable ECC errors would cause the controller to stop responding (Lockup 0x13). This version of Smart Array firmware properly calculates the maximum controller memory bandwidth required to sustain streaming write operations with the current logical drive configuration and reduces the cache memory speed on configurations that do not require peak controller memory bandwidth. When running at the slower memory speed, less power is consumed and performance degradation is expected to be negligible. For additional information, reference Customer Advisory # c03755983
  • The HP D2220sb Storage Blade is not recognized when configuring it with the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server Blade. For additional information please refer to the customer advisory # c04602866

Enhancements/New Features:

  • Improved error handling when hard disk drives generate a large number of recoverable errors.
  • Added support for non-hotplug disk drives.
  • Added support for HP ProLiant Gen9 servers:
    • HP ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server
    • HP ProLiant BL660c Gen9 Server

Version:6.00 (B) (30 Mar 2015)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

  • Customers who already installed firmware version 6.00 do not need to update to 6.00 (B).

Problems Fixed in version 6.00:
This firmware release resolved the following issues:

  • When executing kdump on systems running in Zero Memory RAID (ZMR) mode, the controller might halt.
  • When an HP Smart Array P420 controller was attached to both an expander backplane and non-expander backplane, the controller would not properly control SmartCarrier LEDs.
  • Chkdsk was running slowly.

Enhancements/New Features for 6.00 (B):

  • Added support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

Version:6 (9 Sep 2014)

Upgrade Requirement:
Recommended - HP recommends users update to this version at their earliest convenience.

Problems Fixed in version 6.00:
This firmware release resolved the following issues:

  • When executing kdump on systems running in Zero Memory RAID (ZMR) mode, the controller might halt.
  • When an HP Smart Array P420 controller was attached to both an expander backplane and non-expander backplane, the controller would not properly control SmartCarrier LEDs.
  • Chkdsk was running slowly.

Legal Disclaimer: Products sold prior to the November 1, 2015 separation of Hewlett-Packard Company into Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company and HP Inc. may have older product names and model numbers that differ from current models.

I bought the Silicon Image Sil 3132 controller and was happy to see that it was immediately seen by the motherboard and BIOS. Unfortunately, while Windows 10 recognized the controller, found the driver for it and reported that the device works correctly, when I plug my external HDDs, Windows 10 starts to choke and become unusable. Our database contains 1 drivers for Silicon Image SiI 3531 SATA Controller. For uploading the necessary driver, select it from the list and click on ‘Download’ button. Please, assure yourself in the compatibility of the selected driver with your current OS just to guarantee its correct and efficient work. Xilinx is the inventor of the FPGA, programmable SoCs, and now, the ACAP. Xilinx delivers the most dynamic processing technology in the industry. Download Silicon Image SiI 3114 SATARaid Controller for Windows to sCSIAdapter driver. Supports various brands of large capacity serial ATA hard disk drives Flexible serial ATA cable is easier to route inside a PC SATA power cable: Connect the S-ATA hard drive and system power supply Silicon Image SiI3112 SATALink PCI Host Controller Compliant with Serial ATA specification Rev. 1.0 Slot type: 32-bit PCI Provides two independent.

What is CipherShield Smart Insert technology?
Smart Insert with CipherKey allows you to have total control of your data with two intelligent key insertion modes. Standard design with all CipherShield drives, mode 0 with hotplug mechanism enables you to authenticate and access the drive when the CipherKey is plugged in. When the key is removed, all data within the drive are encrypted. Mode 1 is better utilized for a large data backup job where you don’t want to be tied waiting for the data transfer to be completed. The CipherShield drive is authenticated by plugging the key in once and removed. The drive runs without the need to have the key connected at all times. The risk of theft is no longer a concern because when a USB or power cable is unplugged, the drive will automatically lock down its content. A limited number of models available, the rest can be special ordered from Buslink, or specify the key mode 1 when ordering from resellers or your preferred IT solution providers.

How to operate the drive?
All CipherShield drives utilize a CipherKey or two CipherKeys to gain access to the drive. Access to the drive is granted by inserting the key into a slot on the faceplate. By removing the key, data cannot be accessed even though the drive is still connected to the computer. When the key is removed, the drive is “transparent” to the operating system of a computer, thereby ensuring full protection of the data.

What is CipherKey, and how does it protect the CipherShield drive?
The CipherKey is a physical key with a design based on the Firewire form factor. It contains the secret encryption key code necessary for encryption and decryption operations. The hard drive has been partitioned and formatted using the CipherKey, thus the entire content of the hard drive is associated only with this unique key. Only a CipherKey containing the identical secret encryption key code can be used for authentication or to unlock the drive.

Why should I need CipherShield encrypted drive?
The sensitive nature of confidential information is driving the need to secure data stored on all portable computer systems. CipherShield’s innovative solution ensures multi-level privacy, confidentiality, and authentication – allowing organizations to protect valuable assets, credentials, and intellectual property that are exposed to significant risk of theft. Legal liability and the financial consequences associated with stolen confidential information require organizations to go to extreme lengths to protect their data. CipherShield encrypted storage products offer superior hardware-based encryption and pre-boot authentication, thus allowing companies to shield their data and regulate control over access to their corporate and sensitive customers information. By doing that, they comply with federal regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, or HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) for the healthcare industry.

Why hardware encryption is better than software-based encryption?
The encryption strength of the software-based / password protection approach depends entirely on the strength/unguessability of the password itself. Not only that, you have to take into consideration the fact that…. people just forget. With today’s hectic life, remembering a complex password like “Myd0g$N4me#7” with all the numbers, punctuations, and mixed uppercase and lowercase letters, will eventually lead to the password in a post-in note and stuck somewhere to the wall, or else they’re just going to create a simple password like “john123”. And then think about the scenario when the user does forget. With hardware-based key encryption, the key itself is the password. The encryption and decryption, which utilize a government-grade AES encryption algorithm, are done by a processor embedded inside. The access to the data doesn’t rely on a password, which could be easily hacked, but on a physical element.

Apart from a faster, real-time processing of data encryption and decryption, hardware-based encryption is also not as vulnerable as software-based password input in terms of brute force attack of password guessing. An attacker can plug the drive into the computer and have a program performs hundreds of password guessing in a second. Furthermore, there will also a cross-platform issue with the software-based password feature, in which it will only work in Windows PC, not Mac or Linux. With hardware-based encryption, this won’t be an issue at all. The main advantage to CipherShield over other security methods is that our product is designed to be used by everyone and anyone. Unlike software encryption, there are no passwords to remember or complex installation. Such methods usually require MIS support and are quite expensive to maintain.

File system formats explained

There are many types of file system used to store data on drives. The types depend on the operating system (OS) used. Microsoft Windows supports FAT, FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT. Macintosh supports FAT32, HFS+, exFAT, and NTFS (read-only). Linux supports: Ext4, ZFS, xfs, NTFS (need to enable support), and exFAT (need to enable support). It is best to use the native format for better security, compatibility, and speed, i.e. NTFS for Windows, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for Macintosh, and Ext4 for Linux. If you need to use your drive in multiple OS, reformat your drive to exFAT. All our drives with USB-C come with exFAT as the default format so you can use it in all the OS.

Driver Download

Silicon integrated hard disk controller drivers

The model number of all BUSlink hard drives are located at the back panel of the unit, where all the power and interface ports are. If you have any questions or difficulty in downloading the files, please contact us at support@buslink.com.

BUSlink USB 3.0 SuperSpeed PCI-Express Card (U3-PCIE)
Drive: USB3-PCIE.zip

L and D series USB 1.1 hard drives ( with yellow panel )

Please note that we no longer provide phone support for L, D, or P series hard drive.

Power adapter: DC output 12V – 2.5A
Driver: 3in1.exe
Alternate Driver: setup2000.exe

  • Only use setup2000.exe if 3in1.exe does not work
  • For Windows 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP SP1 and SP2 only
  • Will not work with Windows XP SP 3, Windows Vista, and Windows 7

Note: We have discontinued support for L and D series hard drives, including any updates for the drivers. If you’re on Windows XP SP3 and above, the only option is to remove the IDE hard drive from the case and plug directly to your PC, or purchase a USB to IDE adaptor, or purchase a new USB 2.0 enclosure. Please email support@buslink.com for a current list of product examples.

Silicon Integrated Hard Disk Controller Driver

Buslink USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (UII-xxx)
BUSlink Combo USB 2.0 and FireWire External Hard Drive (CO-xxx-U2FE)
BUSlink Triple Interface External Hard Drive (CO-xxx-U2FS)
Disk-On-The-Go USB 2.0 (D-xx-U2)
Disk-On-The-Go Lite Dual Interface USB 2.0 and FireWire (DL-xx-U2F)
Disk-On-The-Go Lite USB 2.0 (DL-xx-U2)
Power adapter for desktop drive: DC output 12V – 2A
Power adapter for Slim drive: DC output 7.5V – 1.2A
Driver: USB2MassStorage_v1019.zip

  • All these models are plug and play.
  • The mass storage driver is built in on most OS.
  • You only need to install the driver if the computer is still on Windows 98SE.


All FireWire drives including FireWire Data Bankers and Disk-On-The-Go external notebook drives are plug and play.
There is no separate driver available, and none is needed.

Silicon Integrated Hard Disk Controller Driver Free

  • FireWire Drive with 1 FireWire port will not work with OS X

Power adapter for Desktop Optical Drive: DC output 12V – 2A
Power adapter for Slim Optical Drive: DC output 7.5-1.2A
Driver: USB2MassStorage_v1019.zip

  • All BUSlink External Optical Drives are plug and play, especially those models that start with UII-xx, and those with D-xx-U2 on slimline drives
  • The mass storage driver is built-in on most OS.
  • You only need to install the driver if the computer is still on Windows 98SE.

BUSlink USB 2.0 PCI Card (UII-PCIP)
BUSlink USB 2.0 and FireWire PCI Card (PCI-U2F)
BUSlink USB 2.0 Cardbus (UII-CB4)
BUSlink USB 2.0, FireWire, and SATA Combo PCI Card (PCI-U2FS)
Driver: U2V2_1_4.zip
SATA Driver for BUSlink USB 2.0, FireWire, and SATA Combo PCI Card (PCI-U2FS): sata_PCI.zip

Silicon Integrated Hard Disk Controller Driver Install

BUSlink 2 ports SATA Cardbus (CB2S)
Driver: sata_cardbus.zip