[Bug 88417] Sun X2200M2 Areca 1210 Raid Ubuntu LTS 6.0.6.1 problem

[Matthew]

Public bug reported:

Hi,

When using Ubuntu LTS 6.0.6.1 Server ISO kernel breaks and video output
is gone on booting kernel with the following output:

Output kernel: scsi_proc_hostdir_add: proc_mkdir failed for <NULL>

After this message video output is gone and it won`t respond anymore.
I am also not sure if it does boot further since there is no video output.
It does still listen to <CTRL>+<ALT>+<DEL> ( Reboot )

The problem probally lies in using a Sun X2200 M2 in conjunction with a
Areca 1210 ( ARC-1210 ) Raid card.

AMI SUN Bios and firmware versions tried:
1) Firmware:
    BIOS - 3A10
    SP - 1.20 ( Manufacture default )
2) Firmware:
   BIOS - 3BB5
   SP - 1.60
3) Firmware:
    BIOS - 3B13
    SP - 2.70
4) Firmware:
    BIOS - 3B16
    SP - 2.91 ( Latest )

Areca Firmware version: 1.41 ( Can`t change this, since its only
possible to update firmware from HTTP daemon of areca which isn`t
running by default )

In the AMI Sun bios there is no listing of the Areca 1210 addon card for
boot priority, which is odd because normally it should be listed here to
set boot priorities ( Which is obviously a problem between Ami Sun bios
and Areca Firmware, this is also reported to SUN and Areca ).

When booting the Areca bios it comes up fine and lists the Raid array just fine.
After the Areca Bios it boots the bootloader just fine and asks which option to install.
In my case just ( Install server.)
After this it comes up with that nasty scsi_proc_hostdir_add error and then video output is gone.

Now the weird thing about this is we have rolled out several of the same machine`s in conjunction with the same Raid controllers without a hassle.
So there is obviously been some changes on either the SUN mainboard or the Areca raid card.

I matched the firmwares with the machine`s that do work and they are both the same.
So I am kind of lost in this problem and not sure whether its a hardware issue or a software issue or both in conjunction with each other.

So could anyone clarify the error scsi_proc_hostdir_add for me, perhaps
this would help to clarify the problem to SUN and Areca.

The problem doesn`t occur when I remove the raid card.

Additional information:

I believe it has to with legacy IRQ settings which conflict with each other, since the mainboard shares IRQ 15 with ( 6) USB and ( 2) Network onboard devices.
The Raid card it self seems to use IRQ 15 aswell so this might be causing the problem.
Another thing is I can`t change IRQ settings on either side ( Bios SUN AMI or Areca Bios ) which is a bit of a problem if its caused by IRQ conflicts.

Information about the system and raid card:

Server: http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/x2200/specs.xml
Raid card: http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie.htm

Perhaps this is the wrong place to report this bug, If so I am sorry.

Kind regards

Matthew

** Affects: linux-source-2.6.15 (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
     Assignee: Cristian Aravena Romero
         Status: Needs Info

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Sun X2200M2 Areca 1210 Raid Ubuntu LTS 6.0.6.1 problem
https://beta.launchpad.net/bugs/88417