3Ware/AMCC 9650SE and newer motherboards
2019
In the past, the 3Ware/AMCC RAID controllers were an good choice for Linux servers, and I have several of them workingin the field.
One of them failed recently and I tried to replace the machine, maintaining the RAID cards and the disks, but unfortunately the machine locked up at the “Loading Linux” message. With a Linux boot DVD the machine started, but showed a reset of the RAID controller and locked up afterwards.
Trying to replace the new server (a Fujitsu TX1310 M3) with an older PC hardware worked.
I have also tried to upgrade the BIOS of the controller with the newest available version, but this failed too.
So, if you have the need to use this controller in newer machines: don’t loose your time – it will not work.
This is a hardware related issue – I have encountered it with Debian 9 and RIPLinux 11.7, but other people had it also with CentOS.
Please see the following page for reference:
https://www.centos.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=52231