Perc 5/i controller differences

Question

Hello, can someone please tell me the exact differences between the Perc 5/i raid controller and the Perc 5/i Integrated controller?   Reason I am asking is that I bought what is supposed to be a Dell Perc 5/i controller and I couldnt manage to get it to work in my work station. So for testing I took it to work to check in one of our servers and when it booted in showed up as Dell Perc 5/i Integrated controller.   Plus when I tried to flash the firmware to the latest available Perc 5/i firmware available it failed, but once I tried with a Perc 5/i Intergrated firmware it flashed without problems.   Can someone shed some light on this?   Thanks in advance for you help.

Tyrant_01 · Answer

Hi,

This is the difference between different version of perc 5 :

The PERC5 controllers will deliver a family of SAS 3 Gbps RAID controllers. These are:

PERC5/E Adapter - High-featured card that fits in a standard PCI-e slot for PowerEdge direct attach storage
PERC5/i Adapter - Similar featured card to PERC 5/i Integrated, yet fits in a standard PCI-e slot for PowerEdge, PowerEdge SC, and Precision internal storage
PERC5/i Integrated - Internal PCI-e based card with advanced features for PowerEdge internal storage Option Card slot

Regards

tyrant

Dieni · Answer

Well my card looks exactly like the one below, therefore it should be a Dell Perc 5/i card, so how is it possible that when it initializes it says Dell Perc 5/i Integrated?

DELL-GaryS · Answer

Hi Dieni,     It could have had the wrong F/W flashed on it, please contact Dell Tech support by chat or phone, and they will comfirm this and that you bought the right part for your workstation, and set you up with replacement, or a RMA and reorder if you bought the wrong card.   Regards, Dell-GaryS

Dieni · Answer

Thanks Gary for your help, is it possible for me to force flash the correct firmware? I can install the card in the server at work and flash the firmware over there.   My concern is that the Dell Perc 5/i Integrated isnt as supported as the Perc 5/i, regarding drivers etc...   Also can you please exactly tell me whats the difference between the 2 cards, do they have the same exact functionality?   Thanks again in advance, Damian

DELL-GaryS · Answer

Hi Dieni,     The Perc 5/i integerated is not set up to plug into the pci bay, rather it connects onto a sideplane riser see the install instructions for it in the hardware manual for a PE2950 here.  <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>     The card you have pictured is definately the PERC5/I internal, not integerated, I do not know if you will be able to force flash it, I suspect no.     The cards have the same functionality, but are not accessed through the same PCI ports so the F/W might have some differances other than the banner screen.     Please let us replace the card with one that has the correct F/W.   Regards, Dell-GaryS

Dieni · Answer

Once again, thanks for your help Gary. I really appreciate.   Actually the card, didnt came with a bracket, but its definetly a PCI Express x8 Card. I will check to see I will am able to flash it with a Perc 5/i Bios first, I wanted the card a bit urgently and I dont wish to go through RMA etc...   Once again, thanks for you help.

smckenna · Answer

Dieni,

I am in the exact same situation as you were above. I bought a Dell PERC 5/i Adapter card off eBay, but the Control-R bios screen for the card reports that it is an "Integrated" at the top, and I cannot successfully update the firmware.

What was the outcome of your adventure above? Email me
<ADMIN NOTE:Email id removed per privacy policy>

Thanks!

theflash1932 · Answer

Without reading the contents of this 4 year old thread ... the 'integrated' PERC 5 and the PERC 5 adapter use slightly different firmware, so as to be completely compatible with the system in which they are 'integrated.  So, if you purchased an integrated card for a system that supports the adapter, you can either download the firmware for the integrated version (from the download page for a 2950/1950) or get the adapter version.

smckenna · Answer

I guess what threw me off was seeing the word "Integrated" on the BIOS screen of the adapter. I always thought that "Integrated" meant that it was integrated into the MB as a chipset. Ugh! I thought that someone had somehow flashed the adapter card I purchased on eBay with the incorrect "integrated" firmware.

Thanks for the advice. I will download the Integrated drivers from the PE 2950 downloads area and give this a try.

I wonder if these two are binary compatible, though. The whole reason I purchased the PERC 5/i adapter card was so that I could have a duplicate setup at home, just in case my web server died, I could restore a CloneZilla image of my web server onto this machine will all the exact same hardware in it, with the exception of this one having the fake "Integrated" PERC 5/i instead of the real deal. Hmmmm...

theflash1932 · Answer

No, in this case, 'integrated' simply means that the server has a dedicated slot for that specific controller (no other card could go there) - it is 'integrated' into the design of the server. The firmware, while differing only enough probably to adjust for some system-specific requirements, are completely compatible the one with the other ... migrating a disk array from one to the other would not be an issue.

theflash1932 · Answer

Systems are designed to work well with certain controllers (for example, the Precision T-series are designed for PERC 5/6 controllers) ... that doesn't mean they won't work outside of those spheres, but they are designed to run on one or another system.  I believe there is a different firmware for the PERC in a Precision too, as opposed to the server versions (adapter/integrated) for additional compatibility/stability.

smckenna · Answer

OK, that's encouraging. I'll test the CloneZilla out just to be sure, of course.

Also, I am using this PERC 5/i "Integrated" card in a Precision 690 Workstation, NOT a PE 1950 or 2950. It does seem to work, but I'm wondering if there is anything special about the "dedicated" slots that the PE 1950/2950 has for these "Inegrated" cards?

smckenna · Answer

OK, I tried the 'PERC 5/i Integrated' firmware update that was listed on the support page for my Precisionm 690, but it didn't work. After that, I tried the 'PERC 5/i Integrated' firmward update that was listed on the support page for the PE 2950, and it worked like a charm! Therefore, this PERC 5/i controller that I purchased must have been pulled from a PE server. Wow, what an ordeal this has been. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!

theflash1932 · Answer

np :)

PowerEdge HDD/SCSI/RAID

Perc 5/i controller differences

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