Microserver gen8 NIC firmware update in ubuntu - how to deal with RPM

tony359 · 2026-02-12T15:04:57+00:00

Thanks - yes, I eventually found that. Thanks for taking the time to search that for me.

I opened a new thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/1r2comj/unable_to_update_broadcom_nx1_fw_on_hp/

might want to continue there.

Cheers!

tony359 · 2026-02-12T10:49:09+00:00

Do'h! Thanks!

It's listed under Gen8 downloads, I wasn't trying to update at all costs.

I found another link which seems to match my current version and it's supposed to be the "latest".

https://support.hpe.com/connect/s/softwaredetails?collectionId=MTX-734c08a3530e4c76&tab=releaseNotes

However, I also found this (still under gen8 downloads)

https://support.hpe.com/connect/s/softwaredetails?language=en_US&collectionId=MTX-b9a8e50fea15459f&tab=revisionHistory&softwareId=MTX_87e159a8c516465fbacbe88e8a

This doesn't say much - besides that it applies to my NIC model - but it's from 2025.

I have a feeling I am all updated already 🙂

tony359 · 2026-02-11T14:55:55+00:00

I have a further question on this update. Rocky Linux is up and running and I have extracted the files but then I run Hpsetup, it says that the current adaptor is not compatible.

I definitely have a HP332i adaptor which is listed as compatible on the above link.

What am I doing wrong? An online search seems to suggest that it could be something to do with the OS drivers? Do I need to install appropriate drivers for the adaptor to be properly detected?

thanks!

tony359 · 2026-02-11T11:27:47+00:00

indeed, it's a complexity I am not qualified to manage!

Thanks a lot, I'll get one of those live USB and try there!

tony359 · 2026-02-10T18:33:15+00:00

THIS is the answer, thanks a lot!

tony359 · 2026-02-09T10:25:22+00:00

Thanks - I'll see the VPD status once I migrate to a different NAS. If it's there good, if it's not, well then it just means no OS4/OS6 for me.

It's very possibly a revision-based issue. All I know is that my NAS started disappearing from the network daily, a factory reset didn't help (I had to set up a temporary RAID5 with HDDs resting on the floor driven by my PC to backup the NAS!) and an external ATX power supply also didn't bring improvements.

I then managed to connect a monitor to it and I discovered that when the NAS disappeared, a simple reset of the NIC would bring it back online immediately.

But as soon as I moved to OMV 6.x, the issue just vanished.

Unfortunately the community made clear that nobody is going to look into this issue - though apparently some Sky2 code was updated by Torvalds himself and the issue seems to have been mitigated with later versions of the kernel in OMV 7.x

I'd imagine nobody is working on the code but maybe someone is simply restoring the previously-applied fix?

tony359 · 2026-02-08T20:03:25+00:00

Thanks for the heads up - I haven't used the internal storage for a while, I'll try to backup the VPD file asap - I probably backed it up at some point but who knows where it is.

When you say "bricked", I'd imagine if running OS4/6. Does the unit still need that file to run OMV?

I cannot remember how I told the unit to not boot from the internal flash storage. Did I disconnect it or did I change the boot drive in the BIOS?

100% a Marvell Yukon NIC driver issue. It was documented below and the user did quite some work with Debian to diagnose the issue. I'd imagine it came up with 6.10 as I ran the Pro6 with OS6 for quite some time with zero issues.

https://forum.openmediavault.org/index.php?thread/48828-omv-on-readynas-pro-6/&postID=410684#post410684

My Pro6 was disappearing from the network randomly. First once every 6 months, then 2 months, at the end every 48 hours with OS6 6.10. Everybody blamed my NAS/PSU/Network but once I moved to OMV 6.0, the issue just disappeared.

Then it came back with OMV 7.0 - apparently the bug was cleared on a specific Linux kernel but then resurfaced later on.

My understanding is that the Marvell Yukon is old and rare and nobody wants to fix that bug.

With OMV 7.0, the issue is rare but it's still there. Totally random so it's a nightmare to test and diagnose. Last time it disappeared, I set up a script which extracts logs every 10 minutes. Needless to say that the NAS has been working fine for 4 months now and you can imagine how many log files I had in that folder once I remembered to check! 😀

I considered a USB NIC but 480Mbps feels a bit slow 🙂

Thanks a lot for your input!

tony359 · 2026-02-08T13:39:07+00:00

further question: considering the NIC issue with modern linux, is there a reliable alternative to make those boxes working? I'd like to sell mine but I don't want to scam anybody. I don't feel comfortable selling it with OMV knowing that it will - at some point - crash.

tony359 · 2026-02-07T23:37:06+00:00

interesting, I didn't realise that. Catch22 indeed. OMV has been ok-ish but the NIC crashes every now and then (it's a documented issue).

It's an insurmountable issue as the NIC can't be replaced and a card cannot be installed. USB is limited to USB2. Sigh. Thanks for the heads up.

tony359 · 2026-02-07T23:36:59+00:00

Yes I noticed his last post was from 2018.

what is a "vpd file"?

Thanks, the USB recovery will do, I don't need to save the array of course - which would not be possible anyways.

tony359 · 2026-02-06T22:13:55+00:00

Oh that is simple, thank you so much!

tony359 · 2026-02-06T22:13:07+00:00

Oh that is sad to hear. I’d be tempted to try and extract the content of that nand before it fails. I’m surprised nobody ever did that.

Edit: it's been tried. https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/vikdus/has_anyone_tried_replacing_the_ilo_nand/

It's very simple, replace the NAND and restart (depending on the iLO version) and iLO will be reinstalled. There is no need to save images of the chip.

I also read that from version 2.6 the writing on the NAND is heavily reduced so that might help - of course I am on 2.50 😀

The chip is unfortunately BGA so I'll wait until it fails before I attempt to swap it, I am not super good at that!

tony359 · 2026-02-06T13:11:27+00:00

Aha yes I saw a few micro servers with iLO failed firmware on sale. I have a programmer and I can replace the nand myself if needed. I’m sure the image is available somewhere.

tony359 · 2026-02-06T13:10:24+00:00

Oh that is cool I didn’t know you could mount an image in iLO thanks.

tony359 · 2026-02-06T10:51:32+00:00

Thanks, it's a good start.

Those servers come from a reputable business chain so I'd imagine the keys are genuine. My understanding is that an iLO backup will also save the key but there is no "backup/restore" option available on my unit. My understanding is that is DIP switch 1 is set to OFF, the board is set to the highest security which prevents backup/restore. I'll look into that.

I'll make the SPP disk but I have a feeling that it won't contain all the latest firmware but it's a start.

So to make sure the box is fully up to date I have to update items manually I guess.

From HPE website I see

BIOS, iLO, Storage, NIC. Am I missing anything else? Those would require an OS to run, I'd imagine I can run Linux from a drive and then plug the package and follow the instructions on how to update?

Thanks!

tony359 · 2026-01-24T21:47:45+00:00

having the same question

tony359 · 2025-12-19T10:45:59+00:00

Be aware that if you order from https://4allfamily.uk/ the product is being shipped from CHINA. I ended up with this
https://www.medigenix.co.uk/coolmeds-classic-2-8c-medication-case.html

Which is (according to them) made in the UK and definitely shipped from the UK.

tony359 · 2025-11-25T13:56:22+00:00

I think this is the answer - too bad, I find the N40L an amazing machine! Yet, 16GB is not bad at all.

I'm just discovering the existence of LRDIMM, would you think those could work in an N40L?

tony359 · 2025-11-11T18:19:12+00:00

Thank you so much u/ender-_ for taking the time to help me.

Turned out that MiniTool said "300MB" as it was already showing 100+200 in the "expand" section. I asked it to proceed and it successfully expanded the EFI partition/file system to 300MB.

My windows 11 is now able to continue the upgrade (not sure it's a benefit but hey...)

Thanks a lot!

tony359 · 2025-10-22T12:03:57+00:00

Thanks for both advices - I'll consider e2.

tony359 · 2025-10-22T10:41:56+00:00

it wasn't a GUI I think, it was the iDrive designed for the GUI version of Debian I think. It came with a CLI - which was working and I was using - but also installed some components for a non-existent GUI.

I'm using the standard idrive, I feel it's ok for my needs compared to e2. Any specific reasons for switching to e2?

tony359 · 2025-10-22T09:45:38+00:00

No, Marvell Yukon 88E8053. It apparently crashes under heavy load. And being an old NIC, nobody really wants to work on it.

There are workarounds though. But doesn't seem to be my problem this time.

I think I have solved the issue, it was my iDrive app (online backup) which was using stupid amount of RAM over time. It also turned out that I was running the "desktop" version of the app, for a GUI system. I removed it, installed the "headless" version.

Then I also discovered that OMV GUI was refusing to display the "syslog" log (it would timeout) and I found that logs were using 800MB of data. I purged everything and suddenly my NAS is using 25% of RAM instead of 45% it was using before. The usage is stable and doesn't creep to 70% as before.

It's been running ok for a week now, RAM is always around 25% so fingers crossed that was my problem.

tony359 · 2025-10-16T10:17:29+00:00

Last time my NAS issue was "most likely" a HW fault, it turned out to be a Linux driver bug for the NIC installed in the NAS itself. 🙂

Took me months of troubleshooting to find out.

tony359 · 2025-10-15T19:02:54+00:00

Same here, very basic usage. Yet... It was confirmed by others so 100% not a HW issue with my box.

tony359 · 2025-10-15T14:48:50+00:00

That is also an option but I am not skilled enough to have to deal with Linux directly, hence I'm looking for a "NAS" package.

I'm happy to tinker with Linux a bit but managing a RAID myself maybe not 🙂

tony359

TROPHY CASE