Dell H810, H710, H710P, H310 User Manual

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Page 1

Dell PowerEdge RAID

Controller (PERC) H310,

H710, H710P, and H810

User’s Guide

Page 2

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings

COMMENT

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of

your computer.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if

instructions are not followed.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal

injury, or death.

____________________

Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: Dell™, the DELL logo, PowerEdge™, PowerVault™, and OpenManage™ are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft

Vista

are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Red Hat Enterprise Linux of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Novell trademarks of Novell Inc. in the United States and other countries. VMware of VMWare, Inc. in the United States or other countries.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

, Windows®, Windows Server®, MS-DOS®, and Windows

is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in

, and Enterprise Linux® are registered trademarks

and SUSE™ are registered

is a registered trademark

Model UCPA-801, UCPB-800, UCPM-800 and UCPE-800

2012 - 02 Rev. A00

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Contents

1Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Supported Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Overview

The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H310, H710, H710P and H810 family of storage controller cards has the following characteristics:

• Complies with Serial-attached SCSI (SAS) 2.0 providing up to 6 Gb/sec throughput.

• Supports Dell-qualified serial-attached SCSI (SAS) hard drives, SATA hard drives, and solid-state drives (SSDs).

NOTE: Mixing SAS and SATA drives within a virtual disk is not supported.

Also, mixing hard drives and SSDs within a virtual disk is not supported.

NOTE: Mixing disks of different speed (7,200 rpm, 10,000 rpm, or 15,000 rpm)

and bandwidth (3 Gbps or 6 Gbps) PCIe while maintaining the same drive type (SAS or SATA) and technology (HDD or SSD) is supported.

• Offers RAID control capabilities which include support for RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60.

NOTE: RAID 6 and RAID 60 are not supported by PERC H310.

• Supports a PCIe 2.0 x8 host interface.

• Provides reliability, high performance, and fault-tolerant disk subsystem management.

• Offers Non-RAID support for direct access to disk drives

only)

(PERC H310

NOTE: Operating systems can directly access Non-RAID hard drives. 

A Non-RAID hard drive is not fault-tolerant and cannot be recovered if it fails. Only the PERC H310 controller allows configuration of disk drives as  Non-RAID.

Overview 13

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Table 1-1 compares the hardware configurations for the PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards.

Table 1-1. PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 Cards Hardware Configurations

Specification H310 H710 H710P H810

RAID Levels 0,1,5,10,50 0,1,5,6,10,50,600,1,5,6,10,50,600,1,5,6,10,50,

Enclosures Per Port Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable Up to four

enclosures

Processor Dell Adapter

SAS RAID-onChip, 8-port with LSI 2008 chipset

Backup Battery Unit (BBU)

Non-Volatile Cache

Cache Memory Not Applicable 512 MB DDR3

Cache Function Not Applicable Write Back,

Maximum number of spans per Disk Group

N o Ye s Ye s Ye s

Not A p p licab l e Ye s Yes Yes

8888

Dell Adapter SAS RAID-onChip, 8-port with LSI 2208 chipset

800 Mhz

Write Through, Adaptive Read Ahead, No Read Ahead, Read Ahead

Dell Adapter SAS RAID-onChip, 8-port with LSI 2208 chipset

1 GB DDR3 133 Mhz

Wri t e B a c k, Wri te Through, Adaptive Read Ahead, No Read Ahead, Read Ahead

Dell Adapter SAS RAID-onChip, 8-port with LSI 2208 chipset

1 GB DDR3 1333 Mhz

Write Back, Wri te Through, Adaptive Read Ahead, No Read Ahead, Read Ahead

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Table 1-1. PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 Cards Hardware Configurations

Specification H310 H710 H710P H810

Maximum number of Virtual Disks per Disk Group

Online Capacity Expansion

Dedicated and Global Hot Spares

Hot Swap Devices Supported

Hardware XOR Engine

Redundant Path Support

16 16 16 16

Ye s Ye s Ye s Ye s

N o Ye s Ye s Ye s

No No No Yes

Supported Operating Systems

The

PERC

H310, H710, and H710P cards support the following operating

systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 including Hyper-V virtualization

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 5.7 and later (32-bit and 64-bit)

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 6 SP1 and later (64-bit)

• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version 10 SP4 and later (64-bit)

• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version 11 SP2 and later (64-bit)

• VMware ESX and ESXi 4 Update 2

•VMware ESXi 5.0

NOTE: For the latest list of supported operating systems and driver installation

instructions, see the system documentation at support.dell.com/manuals. For specific operating system service pack requirements, see the Drivers and Downloads section at support.dell.com.

Overview 15

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Contacting Dell

For customers in the United States, call 800-WWW-DELL (800-999-3355).

NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact

information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog.

Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer service issues:

Visit

support.dell.com

Verify your country or region in the menu at the bottom of the page.

Click

Select the appropriate service or support link based on your requirement.

Choose the method of contacting Dell that is convenient for you.

Choose A Country/Region

on the left side of the page.

drop-down

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Features

Some of the features discussed for PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards are:

• Physical Disk Power Management

• Fault Tolerance

• Consistency Checks

• Disk Roaming

• Virtual Disk Migration

• Virtual Disk Cache Policies

• Virtual Disks Reconfiguring

• Virtual Disk Initialization

• Patrol Read

Physical Disk Power Management

Physical disk power management is a power saving feature of the PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards. The feature allows disks to be spun down based on disk configuration and I/O activity. The feature is supported on all rotating SAS and SATA disks and includes unconfigured, configured and  hot-spare disks.

The physical disk power management feature is disabled by default. The feature can be enabled in the Dell Open Manage Storage Management application using the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID Configuration utility. For more information, see the Dell OpenManage documentation at support.dell.com/manuals.

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There are four power saving modes available:

•

No Power Savings (default mode

•

Balanced Power Savings

hot spare disks.

•

Maximum Power Savings

unconfigured and hot spare disks.

•

Customized Power Savings

You can specify a Quality of Service window during which the configured disks are excluded from spin-down.

—Spin down is enabled only for unconfigured and

)—All power savings features are disabled.

—Spin down is enabled for configured,

—All power savings features are customizable.

Configured Spin Down Delay

NOTE: The Configured Spin Down Delay option is not applicable for the No Power

Savings mode.

The amount of time to wait before spinning down disks can be set using Configured Spin Down Delay. The minimum value of the timer is 30 minutes (default) and the maximum is 1 day. Disks are spun down automatically and spun up when accessed. All disks are spun up on reboot.

NOTE: There is a delay to I/O operations when a configured disk is being spun up.

Types of Virtual Disk Initialization

You can initialize the virtual disks as described in the following sections.

CAUTION: The initializing virtual disks task erases the files and file systems

while keeping the virtual disk configuration intact. Initializing a virtual disk destroys all data on the virtual disk.

NOTE: The initialization operations mentioned here are not applicable for 

Non-RAID disks.

Background Initialization of Virtual Disks

Background Initialization (BGI) is an automated process that writes the parity or mirror data on newly created virtual disks. BGI does not run on RAID 0 virtual disks.You can control the BGI rate in the Dell OpenManage storage management application. Any change in the BGI rate does not take effect until the next BGI run.

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NOTE: You cannot disable BGI permanently. If you cancel BGI, it automatically

restarts within five minutes. For information on stopping BGI, see "Stopping Background Initialization" on page 84.

NOTE: Unlike full or fast initialization of virtual disks, background initialization does

not clear data from the physical disks.

NOTE: CC/BGI typically causes some loss in performance until the operation

completes.

Consistency Check (CC) and BGI perform similar functions in that they both correct parity errors. However, CC reports data inconsistencies through an event notification, but BGI does not. You can start CC manually, but not BGI.

Full Initialization of Virtual Disks

Performing a full initialization on a virtual disk overwrites all blocks and destroys any data that previously existed on the virtual disk. Full initialization of a virtual disk eliminates the need for the virtual disk to undergo a BGI. Full initialization can be performed after the creation of a virtual disk.

During full initialization, the host is not able to access the virtual disk. You can start a full initialization on a virtual disk by using the Slow Initialize option in the Dell OpenManage storage management application. For more information on using the BIOS Configuration Utility to perform a full initialization, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 61.

NOTE: If the system reboots during a full initialization, the operation aborts and

a BGI begins on the virtual disk.

Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks

A fast initialization on a virtual disk overwrites the first and last 8 MB of the virtual disk, clearing any boot records or partition information. The operation takes only 2–3 seconds to complete and is recommended when you are recreating virtual disks. To perform a fast initialization using the BIOS Configuration Utility, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 61.

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Consistency Checks

Consistency Check (CC) is a background operation that verifies and corrects the mirror or parity data for fault tolerant virtual disks. It is recommended that you periodically run a consistency check on virtual disks.

You can manually start a CC using the BIOS Configuration Utility or the Dell OpenManage storage management application. You can schedule CC to run on virtual disks using a Dell OpenManage storage management application. To start a CC using the BIOS Configuration Utility, see "Checking Data Consistency" on page 62.

Disk Roaming

Disk roaming is moving the physical disks from one cable connection or backplane slot to another on the same controller. The controller automatically recognizes the relocated physical disks and logically places them in the virtual disks that are part of the disk group. You can perform disk roaming only when the system is turned off.

CAUTION: Do not attempt disk roaming during RAID level migration (RLM) or

online capacity expansion (OCE). This causes loss of the virtual disk.

Perform the following steps to use disk roaming:

Turn off the power to the system, physical disks, enclosures, and system components. Disconnect power cords from the system.

Move the physical disks to desired positions on the backplane or the enclosure.

Perform a safety check. Make sure the physical disks are inserted properly.

Turn on the system.

The controller detects the RAID configuration from the configuration data on the physical disks.

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Virtual Disk Migration

The PERC H710, H710P, and H810 cards support migration of virtual disks from one controller to another without taking the target controller offline. The controller can import RAID virtual disks in optimal, degraded, or partially degraded states. You cannot import a virtual disk that is in an offline state.

Disk migration pointers:

• Supports migration of VDs from PERC H700 and H800 to PERC H710P and H810

• Supports migration of volumes created within

• Supports migration of volumes created on H310 to

• Does not support migration from H700 or H800 to H310

• Does not support migration from H710, H710P, or H810 to H310

NOTE: The source controller must be offline prior to performing the disk migration.

NOTE: Disks cannot be migrated to older revisions or generations of the PERC

cards.

NOTE: Non-RAID disks are supported only on the PERC H310 controller. Migration

to any other PERC product is not supported

NOTE: Importing secured virtual disks is supported as long as the appropriate key

(LKM) is supplied or configured.

When a controller detects a physical disk with an existing configuration, it flags the physical disk as foreign, and generates an alert indicating that a foreign disk was detected.

H710, H710P, or H810

CAUTION: Do not attempt disk roaming during RLM or online capacity

expansion (OCE). This causes loss of the virtual disk.

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Perform the following steps to use disk migration:

Turn off the system that contains the source controller.

Move the appropriate physical disks from the source controller to the target controller.

The system with the target controller can be online while inserting the physical disks.

The controller flags the inserted disks as foreign disks.

Use the Dell OpenManage storage management application or the controller

BIOS Configuration Utility

to import the detected foreign

configuration.

Ensure that all physical disks that are part of the virtual disk are migrated.

NOTE: For more information about compatibility, contact your Dell technical

support representative.

Migrating Virtual Disks from PERC H700 or H800 to PERC H710, H710P, or H810

To migrate virtual disks from PERC H700 or H800 to PERC H710, H710P, or H810:

Turn off the system.

Move the appropriate physical disks from the PERC H700 or H800 card to the

PERC H710, H710P, or H810

card.

NOTE: If you are replacing your PERC H700 or H800 with a PERC H710, H710P,

or H810 card, see the Owner’s Manual that shipped with your system or at support.dell.com/manuals.

Boot the system and import the foreign configuration that is detected. You can do one of the following:

• Press <F> to automatically import the foreign configuration.

• Enter the

Configuration View

NOTE: For more information on accessing the BIOS Configuration Utility,

see "Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility" on page 52

NOTE: For more information on Foreign Configuration View, see "Foreign

Configuration View" on page 81.

BIOS Configuration Utility

and navigate to the

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Foreign

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Exit the

Ensure that all the latest drivers for the (available at

For more information, see "Driver Installation" on page 43.

BIOS Configuration Utility

support.dell.com

) are installed.

and reboot the system.

PERC H710, H710P, or H810

card

Virtual Disk Write Cache Policies

NOTE: PERC H310 only supports Write-Through mode.

The write cache policy of a virtual disk determines how the controller handles writes to the virtual disk. Write-Back and Write-Throug h are the two write cache policies and can be set on virtual disks individually.

All RAID volumes are presented as Wri te-Thro ugh to the operating system (Windows and Linux) independent of the actual write cache policy of the virtual disk (except PERC H310, which only supports Write-Back). The PERC cards manage the data in cache independently of the operating system or any applications.

NOTE: Use the Dell OpenManage storage management application or the BIOS

Configuration Utility to view and manage virtual disk cache settings.

Write-Back and Write-Through

In Writ e-Throug h caching, the controller sends a data transfer completion signal to the host system when the disk subsystem has received all the data in a transaction.

In Writ e-Bac k caching, the controller sends a data transfer completion signal to the host when the controller cache has received all the data in a transaction. The controller then writes the cached data to the storage device in the background.

The risk of using Writ e-Ba ck cache is that the cached data can be lost if there is a power failure before it is written to the storage device. This risk is mitigated by using a Non-Volatile Cache on the PERC H710, H710P or H810 card.

NOTE: The default cache setting for virtual disks is Write-Back caching.

NOTE: Certain data patterns and configurations perform better with a

Write-Through cache policy.

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Conditions Under Which Write-Back is Employed

Write-Back caching is used under all conditions in which the battery is present and in good condition.

Conditions Under Which Forced Write-Back With No Battery is Employed

CAUTION: It is recommended that you use a power backup system when forcing

Write-Back to ensure there is no loss of data if the system suddenly loses power.

Write-Back mode is available when you select Force WB with no battery. When Forced Write-Back mode is selected, the virtual disk is in Wri te-B ack mode even if the battery is not present.

Virtual Disk Read Cache Policies

The read policy of a virtual disk determines how the controller handles reads to that virtual disk. The read policies are:

•

Always Read Ahead—A

requested data and to store the additional data in cache memory, anticipating that the data is required soon. This speeds up reads for sequential data, but there is little improvement when accessing random data.

•

No Read Ahead

•

Adaptive Read Ahead

disk accesses occurred in sequential sectors. If the read requests are random, the controller reverts to

—Disables the

llows the controller to read sequentially ahead of

Read-Ahead

—Begins using

No Read Ahead

capability.

Read-Ahead

if the two most recent

mode.

NOTE: The default read cache setting for virtual disks is Adaptive Read Ahead.

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Reconfiguration of Virtual Disks

An online virtual disk can be reconfigured in ways that expands its capacity and/or change its RAID level.

NOTE: Spanned virtual disks such as RAID 10, 50, and 60 cannot be reconfigured.

NOTE: Reconfiguring Virtual Disks typically impacts disk performance until the

reconfiguration operation is complete.

Online Capacity Expansion (OCE) can be done in two ways:

• If there is a single virtual disk in a disk group and free space is available, the virtual disk’s capacity can be expanded within that free space.

• If a virtual disk is created and it does not use the maximum size of the disk group, free space is available.

Free space is also available when a disk group’s physical disks are replaced by larger disks using the Replace Member feature. A virtual disk's capacity can also be expanded by performing an OCE operation to add more physical disks.

RAID Level Migration (RLM) refers to changing a virtual disk’s RAID level. Both RLM and OCE can be done at the same time so that a virtual disk can simultaneously have its RAID level changed and its capacity increased. When a RLM/OCE operation is complete, a reboot is not required. For a list of RLM/OCE possibilities, see Table 2-1. The source RAID level column indicates the virtual disk RAID level before the RLM/OCE and the target RAID level column indicates the RAID level after the operation has completed.

NOTE: If the controller already contains the maximum number of virtual disks, you

cannot perform a RAID level migration or capacity expansion on any virtual disk.

NOTE: The controller changes the write cache policy of all virtual disks undergoing

a RLM/OCE to Write-Through until the RLM/OCE is complete.

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Table 2-1. RAID Level Migration

Source

Target RAID Level

Number of Physical Disks (Beginning)

RAID Level

RAID 0RAID 01 2 or more Yes Increases capacity by adding disks

Number of Physical Disks (End)

Capacity Expansion Possible

Description

RAID 0RAID 11 2 No Converts non-redundant virtual disk into

a mirrored virtual disk by adding one disk.

RAID 0RAID 51 or more 3 or more Yes At least one disk needs to be added for

distributed parity data.

RAID 0RAID 61 or more 4 or more Yes At least two disks need to be added for

dual distributed parity data.

RAID 1RAID 02 2 or more Yes Removes redundancy while increasing

capacity.

RAID 1RAID 52 3 or more Yes Maintains redundancy while doubling

capacity.

RAID 1RAID 62 4 or more Yes Two disks required to be added for

distributed parity data.

RAID 5RAID 03 or more 3 or more Yes Converts to a non-redundant virtual disk

and reclaims disk space used for distributed parity data.

RAID 5RAID 53 or more 4 or more Yes Increases capacity by adding disks

RAID 5RAID 63 or more 4 or more Yes At least one disk needs to be added for

dual distributed parity data.

RAID 6RAID 04 or more 4 or more Yes Converts to a non-redundant virtual disk

and reclaims disk space used for distributed parity data.

RAID 6RAID 54 or more 4 or more Yes Removes one set of parity data and

reclaims disk space used for it.

RAID 6RAID 64 or more 5 or more Yes Increases capacity by adding disks

NOTE: The total number of physical disks in a disk group cannot exceed 32. You

cannot perform RAID level migration and expansion on RAID levels 10, 50, and 60.

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Fault Tolerance

The list of features of the PERC cards that provide fault tolerance to prevent data loss is as follows:

• Support for Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology (SMART)

• Support for Patrol Read

• Redundant path support (for PERC H810 only)

• Physical disk failure detection

• Physical disk rebuild using hot spares

• Battery and Non-Volatile Cache backup of controller cache to protect data

• Detection of batteries with low charge after boot up

The next sections describe some methods to achieve fault tolerance.

The SMART Feature

The SMART feature monitors certain physical aspects of all motors, heads, and physical disk electronics to help detect predictable physical disk failures.  SMART-compliant physical disks have attributes for which data can be monitored to identify changes in values and determine whether the values are within threshold limits. Many mechanical and electrical failures display some degradation in performance before failure.

A SMART failure is also referred to as a predicted failure. There are numerous factors that relate to predicted physical disk failures, such as a bearing failure, a broken read/write head, and changes in spin-up rate. In addition, there are factors related to read/write surface failure, such as seek error rate and excessive bad sectors.

NOTE: For detailed information on SCSI interface specifications, see t10.org

and for detailed information on SATA interface specifications, see t13.org.

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Automatic Replace Member with Predicted Failure

A Replace Member operation can occur when there is a SMART predictive failure reporting on a physical disk in a virtual disk. The automatic Replace Member is initiated when the first SMART error occurs on a physical disk that is part of a virtual disk. The target disk needs to be a hot spare that qualifies as a rebuild disk. The physical disk with the SMART error is marked as failed only after the successful completion of the Replace Member. This avoids putting the array in degraded status.

If an automatic Replace Member occurs using a source disk that was originally a hot spare (that was used in a rebuild), and a new disk added for the Replace Member operation as the target disk, the hot spare reverts to the hot spare state after a successful Replace Member operation.

NOTE: To enable the automatic Replace Member, use the Dell OpenManage

storage management application. For more information on automatic Replace Member, see "Dell OpenManage Storage Management" on page 51. For information on manual Replace Member, see "Replacing an Online Physical Disk" on page 83.

Patrol Read

The Patrol Read feature is designed as a preventative measure to ensure physical disk health and data integrity. Patrol Read scans for and resolves potential problems on configured physical disks. The Dell OpenManage storage management application can be used to start Patr ol Read and change its behavior.

The following is an overview of Patrol Read behavior:

•

Patrol Re a d

part of a virtual disk, including hot spares.

•

Patrol Re a d

or are in

•

Patrol Re a d Patrol Re a d

if the system is busy processing I/O operation, then fewer resources to allow the I/O to take a higher priority.

runs on all disks on the controller that are configured as

does not run on physical disks that are not part of a virtual disk

Ready

state.

adjusts the amount of controller resources dedicated to operations based on outstanding disk I/O. For example,

Pat ro l Read

uses

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•

Pat ro l Read

following operations:

–Rebuild

– Replace Member

– Full or Background Initialization

–CC

–RLM or OCE

NOTE: By default, Patrol Read automatically runs every seven days on configured

SAS and SATA hard drives. Patrol Read is not necessary on SSD and is disabled by default.

For more information on Pat ro l Read, see the Dell OpenManage documentation at support.dell.com/manuals.

does not run on any disks involved in any of the

Redundant Path Support (For PERC H810 Only)

The PERC H810 adapter can detect and use redundant paths to disks contained in enclosures. This provides the ability to connect two SAS cables between a controller and an enclosure for path redundancy. The controller is able to tolerate the failure of a cable or Enclosure Management Module (EMM) by utilizing the remaining path.

When redundant paths exist, the controller automatically balances I/O load through both paths to each disk. Load balancing increases throughput to virtual disks in storage enclosures and is automatically turned on when redundant paths are detected. The ability to load balance I/O can be disabled using the Dell OpenManage storage management application.

To set up your hardware to support redundant paths, see "Setting up Redundant Path Support on the PERC H810 Adapter" on page 40.

NOTE: This support for redundant paths refers to path-redundancy only and not to

controller-redundancy.

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Physical Disk Failure Detection

Failed physical disks are detected and rebuilds automatically start to new disks that are inserted into the same slot. Automatic rebuilds can also happen transparently with hot spares. If you have configured hot spares, the controllers automatically try to use them to rebuild failed physical disks.

Using Persistent Hot Spare Slots

NOTE: The persistent hot spare slot feature is disabled by default.

The PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards can be configured so that the system backplane or storage enclosure disk slots are dedicated as hot spare slots. This feature can be enabled using the Dell OpenManage storage management application.

Once enabled, any slots with hot spares configured automatically become persistent hot spare slots. If a hot spare disk fails or is removed, a replacement disk that is inserted into the same slot automatically becomes a hot spare with the same properties as the one it is replacing. If the replacement disk does not match the disk protocol and technology, it does not become a hot spare.

For more information on persistent hot spares, see the Dell OpenManage documentation at support.dell.com/manuals.

Physical Disk Hot Swapping

NOTE: To check if the backplane supports hot swapping, see the Owner’s Manual

of your system.

Hot swapping is the manual replacement of a disk while the PERC H310, H710, H710P, or H810 cards are online and performing their normal functions. The following requirements must be met before hot swapping a physical disk:

• The system backplane or enclosure must support hot swapping for the PERC H310, H710, H710P or H810 cards to support hot swapping.

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• The replacement disk must be of the same protocol and disk technology. For example, only a SAS hard drive can replace a SAS hard drive; only a SATA SSD can replace a SATA SSD.

• The replacement disk must be of equal or greater capacity than the one it is replacing.

Using Replace Member and Revertible Hot Spares

The Replace Member functionality allows a previously commissioned hot spare to be reverted to a usable hot spare. When a disk failure occurs within a virtual disk, an assigned hot spare (dedicated or global) is commissioned and begins rebuilding until the virtual disk is optimal. After the failed disk is replaced (in the same slot) and the rebuild to the hot spare is complete, the controller automatically starts to copy data from the commissioned hot spare to the newly-inserted disk. After the data is copied, the new disk is a part of the virtual disk and the hot spare is reverted to being a ready hot spare. This allows hot spares to remain in specific enclosure slots. While the controller is reverting the hot spare, the virtual disk remains optimal.

NOTE: The controller automatically reverts a hot spare only if the failed disk is

replaced with a new disk in the same slot. If the new disk is not placed in the same slot, a manual Replace Member operation can be used to revert a previously commissioned hot spare.

NOTE: A Replace Member operation typically causes a temporary impact to disk

performance. Once the operation completes, performance returns to normal.

Controller Cache Preservation

The controller is capable of preserving its cache in the event of a system power outage or improper system shutdown. The PERC H710, H710P, and H810 controllers are attached to a Battery Backup Unit (BBU) that provides backup power during system power loss to preserve the controller's cache data.

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Cache Preservation With Non-Volatile Cache (NVC)

In essence, the NVC module allows controller cache data to be stored indefinitely. If the controller has data in cache memory during a power outage or improper system shutdown, a small amount of power from a battery is used to transfer cache data to non-volatile flash storage where it remains until power is restored and the system is booted.

Cache Data Recovery

The dirty cache LED that is located on the H710 and H810 cards cannot be used to determine if cache data is being preserved. If a system power loss or improper system shutdown has occurred, restore the system power and boot the system. During the boot, enter the controller's BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) to ensure that there is no cache data being preserved. This can be done by entering into the controller menu and selecting Managed Preserved Cache. If there are no virtual disks listed here, all preserved cache data has been written to disk successfully.

Battery Transparent Learn Cycle

NOTE: Batteries are only supported on PERC H710, H710P and H810 cards.

A transparent learn cycle is a periodic operation that calculates the charge that is remaining in the battery to ensure there is sufficient energy. The operation runs automatically, and causes no impact to system or controller performance.

The controller automatically performs the Transparent Learn Cycle (TLC) on the battery to calibrate and gauge its charge capacity once every 90 days. The operation can be performed manually, if required.

NOTE: Virtual disks stays in Write Back mode, if enabled, during transparent learn

cycle. When the TLC completes, the controller sets the next TLC to +90 days.

TLC Time Frame

The time frame for completion of a learn cycle is a function of the battery charge capacity and the discharge and charge currents used. For PERC H710 or H810 cards, the expected time frame for completion of a learn cycle is approximately seven hours.

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When to Replace the Battery

When the state of health of the battery is declared bad, the virtual disks transitions to write through mode. If battery is declared bad, then the firmware runs learn cycles in subsequent reboots until the battery is replaced. The virtual disk then transitions to Write Back mode.

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Deploying the PERC Card

CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician.

You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the system.

NOTE: For information on removing and reinstalling system parts, see the Owner's

Manual of the system at support.dell.com/manuals.

NOTE: For more information on your storage controller, see the relevant storage

controller documentation at support.dell.com/manuals.

This document provides a set of high level installation and removal instructions for the following Dell PowerEdge RAID Controllers (PERC):

• PERC H310 Adapter

• PERC H310 Mini Monolithic

• PERC H310 Mini Blade

• PERC H710 Adapter

• PERC H710P Adapter

• PERC H710 Mini Monolithic

• PERC H710P Mini Monolithic

• PERC H710 Mini Blade

• PERC H710P Mini Blade

• PERC H810 Adapter

Deploying the PERC Card 35

Page 36

Removing the PERC Controller

Perform a controlled shutdown of the system and attached peripherals.

Disconnect the system from the electrical outlet and remove the system cover.

Remove the storage controller from the PCIe slot of the system.

See Figure 3-1, Figure 3-2, or Figure 3-3 as relevant to the type of PERC controller that you have.

Installing the PERC Controller

Perform a controlled shutdown of the system and attached peripherals.

Disconnect the system from the electrical outlet and remove the system cover.

Install the storage controller in the appropriate controller slot and connect all the cables to the storage controller.

See Figure 3-1, Figure 3-2, or Figure 3-3 as relevant to the type of PERC controller that you have.

Replace the system cover.

Reconnect the system to its electrical outlet and turn the system on, including any attached peripherals.

36 Deploying the PERC Card

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Figure 3-1. Removing and Installing the PERC Adapter

1 PCIe slot 2 SAS cable connectors(2)

3 PERC adapter 4 screw (1)

Deploying the PERC Card 37

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Figure 3-2. Removing and Installing the PERC Mini Blade Controller

1 release lever (2) 2 PERC stack-up connector

3 PERC mini blade controller 4 screws (2)

38 Deploying the PERC Card

Page 39

Figure 3-3. Removing and Installing the PERC Mini Monolithic Controller

1 retention bracket 2 release lever (2)

3 PERC stack-up connector 4 PERC mini monolithic controller

Support For Internal Multiple Controllers

On PowerEdge systems with dual bays (backplanes), the hard drives are managed by independent PERC H710P cards. The PERC H710P cards do not share the disks or the RAID volumes. A drive can be identified using the following as guideline: Controller: Bay/Backplane: Slot

Deploying the PERC Card 39

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Setting up Redundant Path Support on the PERC

The PERC H810 card can detect and use redundant paths to disks contained in enclosures. With redundant paths to the same device, if one path fails, another path can be used to communicate between the controller and the device.

To set up a configuration with redundant paths, both ports on a controller must be cabled to the In ports of a single enclosure.

To add multiple enclosures, both Out ports of the first enclosure must be cabled to the In ports of the next enclosure.

If the connection between an Out port on the controller and an In port on an enclosure fails, an alternate path exists through the second Out port on the controller and the second In port on the enclosure. For more information, see Figure 3-4.

Perform the following steps to configure the hardware to utilize redundant paths on the PERC H810 card:

H810 Adapter

NOTE: The PERC H810 card supports redundant paths when used with

Dell PowerVault MD1200 and Dell PowerVault MD1220 disk storage enclosures.

Set up an enclosure on the PERC H810 card.

Connect two SAS cables from the the

ports of the external enclosure. For more information,

see

Figure 3-4

Out

ports on your PERC H810 card to

NOTE: For information on Unified Mode, see the enclosure documentation

that was shipped with the enclosure.

To add multiple enclosures, cable both both

ports of the next enclosure.

After you set up the hardware, the controller detects the redundant paths and automatically utilizes them to balance the I/O load.

40 Deploying the PERC Card

Out

ports of the first enclosure to

Page 41

Reverting to Single Path Support from Redundant Path Support for PERC H810

If you need to revert to single path support from redundant path support, shut down the system and remove the exact same cables that were added to support redundant path support, leaving only one connection between the controller and enclosures. After you remove the cable and power up the system, ensure that there are no warning messages during boot, and that all virtual disks are online and optimal. If you are using Dell OpenManage, see the Dell OpenManage documentation at support.dell.com/manuals for additional instructions.

CAUTION: If you remove any cables other than the ones added to enable

redundant path support, the enclosure and disks can get disconnected, and virtual disk may fail.

Perform the following steps to configure the hardware to utilize redundant paths on the PERC H810 card:

Set up an enclosure on the PERC H810 card.

Connect two SAS cables from the the

ports of the external enclosure. For more information, see

Figure 3-4.

NOTE: For information on Unified Mode, see the enclosure documentation

that was shipped with the enclosure.

To add multiple enclosures, cable both both

ports of the next enclosure.

After you set up the hardware, the controller detects the redundant paths and automatically utilizes them to balance the I/O load.

Out

ports on your PERC H810 card to

Out

ports of the first enclosure to

Deploying the PERC Card 41

Page 42

Figure 3-4. Redundant Path Support Configuration With Two Enclosures

1 server 2 storage

42 Deploying the PERC Card

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Driver Installation

The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards require software drivers to operate with the supported operating systems.

This chapter contains the procedures for installing the drivers for the PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards.

NOTE: For more information on VMware ESX drivers, see the VMware ESX

documentation on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals.

NOTE: To check operating system compatibility, see the Dell Support website

at support.dell.com/manuals.

The two methods for installing a driver discussed in this chapter are:

•

Installing a driver during operating system installation

if you are performing a new installation of the operating system and want to include the drivers.

•

Updating existing drivers

the

PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810

installed and you want to update to the latest drivers.

—Use this method if the operating system and

family of controllers are already

—Use this method

Installing the Windows Drivers

Creating the Driver Media

Perform the following steps to create the driver media:

Browse to the download section for the system on the Dell Support website at

Locate and download the latest driver to the system.

Follow the instructions on the Dell Support website for extracting the driver to the media.

support.dell.com

PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810

Driver Installation 43

Page 44

Pre-Installation Requirements

Before you install the operating system:

• Read the Microsoft operating system.

• Ensure that your system has the latest BIOS, firmware, and driver updates. If required, download the latest BIOS, firmware, and driver updates from the Dell Support website at

• Create a device driver media (diskette, USB drive, CD, or DVD).

Getting Started

support.dell.com

document that shipped with your

Creating the Device Driver Media

Use one of the following two methods to create the device driver media.

Downloading Drivers From the Dell Systems Service and Diagnostic Tools Media

Insert the

The

Select your system model and operating system (Microsoft Windows Server 2008).

Click

From the list of drivers displayed, select the driver you require. Select the self-extracting zip file and click CD, DVD, or USB drive. Repeat this step for all the drivers you require.

During the operating system installation, use the media that you created with the information on reinstalling the operating system, see the relevant section for your operating system below.

Dell Systems Service and Diagnostics Tools

Welcome to Dell Service and Diagnostic Utilities

Continue

Load Driver

Run

. Copy the driver to a diskette drive,

option to load mass storage drivers. For more

media in a system.

screen is displayed.

Downloading Drivers From the Dell Support Website

Go to

support.dell.com

Select your line of business.

Click

Drivers and Downloads

Enter the service tag of your system in the select your system’s model.

44 Driver Installation

Choose by Service Tag

field or

Page 45

Select the

Installing Driver During a Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 Installation

Boot the system using the Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 media.

Follow the on-screen instructions until you reach

install Windows Server 2008

The system prompts you to insert the media. Insert the installation media and browse to the proper location.

Select the appropriate PERC H310, H710, H710P, or H810 card from the list, click

and continue installation.

window and then select

Where do you want to

Load driver

Installing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 for a New RAID Controller

Perform the following steps to configure the driver for the RAID controller on a system that already has Windows installed:

Turn off the system.

Install the new RAID controller in the system.

For detailed instructions on installing and cabling the RAID controller in the system, see "Deploying the PERC Card" on page 35.

Turn on the system.

The

Found New Hardware Wizard

device.

Click

screen displays the detected hardware

Driver Installation 45

Page 46

On the

my device

Browse and select the drivers from the

Click

The wizard detects and installs the appropriate device drivers for the new

Locate device driver

and click

screen, select

Search for a suitable driver for

Locate Driver Files

screen.

RAID controller.

Click

Finish

to complete the installation.

Reboot the system when prompted.

Updating Existing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

NOTE: Close all applications on your system before you update the driver.

Insert the media (CD, DVD, or USB drive) containing the driver.

Select

Start

The

System Properties

NOTE: The path to System might vary depending on the operating system family.

Click on the

Click

Device Manager

The

Device Manager

NOTE: The path to Device Manager might vary depending on the operating

system family.

Expand clicking on the plus symbol next to

Settings

Control Panel System

screen is displayed.

Hardware

tab.

screen is displayed.

SCSI and RAID Controllers

SCSI and RAID Controller

by double-clicking the entry or by

NOTE: In Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2, the PERC card is listed under

Storage Controllers.

Double-click the RAID controller for which you want to update the driver.

Click the

Driver

tab and click

Update Driver

The screen to update the device driver wizard is displayed.

Select

Install from a list or specific location

46 Driver Installation

Page 47

Click

Next.

Follow the steps in the wizard and browse to the location of the driver files.

Select the INF file from the driver media (CD, DVD, or other media).

Click

and continue the installation steps in the wizard.

Click

Finish

to exit the wizard and reboot the system for the changes to

take place.

NOTE: Dell provides the Dell Update Package (DUP) to update drivers on systems

running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. DUP is an executable application that updates drivers for specific devices. DUP supports command line interface and silent execution. For more information, see support.dell.com.

Updating the Linux Driver

NOTE: PERC H310/H710/H710P/H810, PERC H700/H800 cards and both the PERC 5

and PERC 6 family of controllers use the same driver and do not require separate driver installations.

Use the procedures in this section to update the driver for Linux.To ensure that you have the current version of the driver, download the updated Linux driver from s

NOTE: The driver update disk (DUD) images are created only for those operating

system releases in which the native (in-box) driver is insufficient for installation. In the event that an operating system is being installed with a corresponding DUD image, follow the instructions below. If not, proceed with using the native device driver and then skip to "Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With DKMS Support" on page 48.

upport.dell.com

Driver Installation 47

Page 48

Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With DKMS Support

NOTE: This procedure is applicable for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 SP7 and SUSE

Enterprise Linux 10 SP4.

NOTE: For SUSE Enterprise Linux 10 SP4, immediately following the operating

system installation, download the latest driver from support.dell.com, and update the driver using the procedures detailed in this section.

Perform the following steps to install the RPM package with DKMS support:

Uncompress the gzipped tarball driver release package.

Install the DKMS package using the command:

rpm –ihv dkms-

<version>.noarch.rpm

Install the driver package using the command:

rpm –ihv

megaraid_sas-<version>.noarch.rpm

NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing package.

If the previous device driver is in use, you must reboot the system for the updated driver to take effect.

Verify that the driver has been loaded with the following system commands:

modinfo megaraid_sas

and

dkms status

Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With KMOD Support

NOTE: This procedure is applicable for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 SP2.

Perform the following steps to install the RPM package with KMOD support:

Uncompress the gzipped tarball driver release package.

Install the driver package using the command:

megaraid_sas-<version>.rpm

rpm –ihv kmod-

NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing package.

If the previous device driver is in use, you must reboot the system for the updated driver to take effect.

Verify that the driver has been loaded with the following system commands:

modinfo megaraid_sas

48 Driver Installation

Page 49

Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With KMP Support

NOTE: This procedure is applicable for SUSE Enterprise Linux 11 SP2.

Perform the following steps to install the RPM package with KMP support:

Uncompress the gzipped tarball driver release package.

Install the driver package using the command:

megaraid_sas-<version>.rpm

NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing

package.

If the previous device driver is in use, you must reboot the system for the updated driver to take effect.

Verify that the driver has been loaded with the following system commands:

Upgrading the Kernel

modinfo megaraid_sas

When upgrading to a new kernel, you must reinstall the DKMS-enabled driver packages. Perform the following steps to update or install the driver for the new kernel:

In a terminal window, type the following:

dkms build -m <module_name> -v <module version>

-k <kernel version>

dkms install -m <module_name> -v <module version>

-k <kernel version>

To check whether the driver is successfully installed in the new kernel, type:

dkms status

rpm –ihv kmp-

You see a message similar to the following one:

<driver name>, <driver version>, <new kernel version>: installed

If the previous device driver is in use, you must reboot the system for the updated driver to take effect.

Driver Installation 49

Page 50

50 Driver Installation

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Management Applications for PERC Cards

Dell OpenManage Storage Management applications enable you to manage and configure the RAID system, create and manage multiple disk groups, control and monitor multiple RAID systems, and provide online maintenance. The management applications for PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 include:

• Dell OpenManage Storage Management

• BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>)

• Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID Configuration Utility

NOTE: Dell Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) RAID Storage Manager is not supported for

SED management.

Dell OpenManage Storage Management

The Dell OpenManage Storage Management is a storage management application for Dell systems that provides enhanced features for configuring a system's locally-attached RAID and Non-RAID disk storage. The Dell OpenManage storage management application enables you to perform controller and enclosure functions for all supported RAID controllers and enclosures from a single graphical or command-line interface without requiring the use of the controller BIOS utilities. The graphical user interface (GUI) is wizard-driven with features for novice and advanced users, and detailed online help. Using the Dell OpenManage storage management application, you can protect your data by configuring data-redundancy, assigning hot spares, or rebuilding failed physical disks. The command line interface available on selected operating systems to perform RAID management tasks is fully featured and scriptable.

NOTE: For more information, see the Dell OpenManage Storage Management

User's Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.

Management Applications for PERC Cards 51

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BIOS Configuration Utility

The BIOS Configuration Utility, also known as

, is a storage management application embedded on the PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards that configures and maintains RAID disk groups and virtual disks. <Ctrl><R>

NOTE: Use the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) for initial setup and disaster

recovery. You can use advanced features through Dell OpenManage storage management application and Dell SAS RAID storage manager.

is independent of the operating system.

The following sections provide information about using the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). For more information, see the online help option by pressing <F1>.

NOTE: The PERC PER H310, H710, H710P, and H810 card configuration utility

refreshes the screen to show changes to information. The refresh occurs when you press <F5> or every 15 seconds.

Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility

Perform the following steps to enter the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) when you boot the system:

Turn on the system.

A BIOS screen displays information about the controller and configuration.

During startup, press <Ctrl><R> when prompted by the BIOS screen.

After you press <Ctrl><R>, if there is only one controller, the

Disk Management

screen for that controller is displayed. If there are is more than one controller, the main menu screen is displayed. The screen lists the RAID controllers. Use the arrow keys to select the RAID controller you want to configure, and press <Enter> to access the management menus for the controller.

Virtual

NOTE: You can access multiple controllers through the BIOS Configuration Utility

(<Ctrl><R>) by pressing <F12>.

NOTE: You can access PERC H700, H800, H310, H710, H710P, or H810 cards from the

same BIOS if the PERC 6/H700/H800 firmware is 6.2.0-0013 or later.

52 Management Applications for PERC Cards

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Exiting the Configuration Utility

To ex it t he BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>), press <Esc> at any menu screen. If there is only one controller, then a dialog box is displayed to confirm your choice. Select OK to exit and press <Enter>.

f multiple controllers are present, then the <Esc> key brings you to the Controller Selection screen. Press <Esc> again to reach the exit screen. A

dialog box is displayed to confirm your choice. Select OK to exit

and press

<Enter>.

Menu Navigation Controls

Table 5-1 displays the menu keys you can use to move between the different screens in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>).

Table 5-1. Menu Navigation Keys

Notation Meaning and Use Example

right-arrow key

left-arrow key

up-arrow key

Use the right-arrow key to open a submenu, move from a menu heading to the first submenu, or move to the first item in that submenu. If you press the right-arrow key at a menu heading, the submenu expands. Press it again to go to the first item in the submenu. The right-arrow key is also used to close a menu list in a popup window. Word wrap is supported.

Use the left-arrow key to close a submenu, move from a menu item to the menu heading for that item, or move from a submenu to a higher level menu. If you press the left-arrow key at a menu heading, the submenu collapses. Press it again to go to the higher-level menu. Word wrap is supported.

Use the up-arrow key to move to the upper menu items within a menu or to a higher level menu. You can also use the up-arrow key to close a menu list in a popup window, such as the stripe element size menu. Word wrap is supported.

Start

Programs

Controller 0

Disk Group 1

Virtual Disk 1

Virtual Disk 4

Management Applications for PERC Cards 53

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Table 5-1. Menu Navigation Keys

Notation Meaning and Use Example

down-arrow key

<Enter> After you highlight a menu item, press <Enter> to

<Esc> After you expand a pop-up window, press <Esc> to

<Tab> Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the next control

Use the down-arrow key to move to the lower menu items within a menu or to a lower level menu. You can also use the down-arrow key to open a menu list in a popup window, such as the stripe element size menu, and select a setting. Word wrap is supported.

select that item. An options menu for the menu item opens. It applies to only certain menu items, such as Virtual Disk #. In a list of options for that item, such as the write policy for a virtual disk, highlight a setting, such as Wri te-Throu gh, and press <Enter> to select it.

close the window. You can continue to press <Esc> to exit the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>).

on a dialog box or page.

Press <Shift><Tab> to move the cursor to the previous control on a dialog or page.

Press <Ctrl><N> to move to the next menu screen among the main menu screens: VD Mgmt, PD Mgmt, Ctrl Mgmt, and Foreign View.

(continued)

Virtual Disk 1

Virtual Disk 4

Select Add New VD and press <Enter> to create a new virtual disk.

Press <Esc> to return to the VD Mgmt screen.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the next parameter you want to change.

Press <Shift><Tab> to move the cursor from Sort By to the previously selected PD in the PD Mgmt screen

Press <Ctrl><N> on the VD Mgmt screen to move to the PD Mgmt screen.

54 Management Applications for PERC Cards

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Table 5-1. Menu Navigation Keys

Notation Meaning and Use Example

<F1> Press <F1> to access Help information. The Help

<F2> Press <F2> to access the context menu, which

<F5> Press <F5> to refresh the information on the

<F11> Switch between two controllers. <F11>

<F12> Press <F12> to display a list of controllers. <F12>

Spacebar Press the spacebar to select an item. Press the

Press <Ctrl><P> to move to the previous menu screen among the main menu screens: VD Mgmt, PD Mgmt, Ctrl Mgmt, and Foreign View.

screens display a glossary of topics you can use to access information about navigation, RAID levels, and general topics.

displays the list of options.

screen.

(continued)

Press <Ctrl><P> on the PD Mgmt screen to return to the VD Mgmt screen.

<F1>

<F2>

<F5>

<spacebar> to select or deselect a controller setting in the Ctrl Mgmt View.

Setting Up Virtual Disks

You can set up a disk group and create virtual disks using the procedures contained in this section. Each of the following procedures are explained individually in this section in detail.

Create the virtual disks and select the virtual disk options.

Designate hot spares (optional).

For more information, see "Managing Dedicated Hot Spares" on page 69.

Initialize the virtual disks.

NOTE: When you use one physical disk group to create multiple virtual disks,

all the virtual disks must be configured with the same RAID level.

Management Applications for PERC Cards 55

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When you define the virtual disks, you can set the following virtual disk parameters:

•RAID level

• Stripe element size

•Read policy

•Write policy

• Type of initialization

• Hot spare configuration

NOTE: The default hard drive cache policy for a virtual disk composed with SAS

hard drives is disabled and with SATA hard drives is enabled. The Virtual Disk parameter can not be changed in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). Use Dell OpenManage Storage Management for the hard drive cache setting operation.

Table 5-2 shows the parameters that you can configure when defining virtual disks.

Table 5-2. Virtual Disk Parameters and Descriptions

Parameter Description

RAID Level RAID Level specifies whether the virtual disk is RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10,

50, or 60. The number of disks, disk capacity, the requirements for fault tolerance, performance, and capacity should be considered when selecting the RAID level. For more information, see "Summary of RAID Levels" on page 129.

Stripe Element Size

Stripe Element Size specifies the size of the segments written to each

physical disk in a RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 virtual disk. You can set the stripe element size to 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, or 1024 KB. The default and recommended stripe element size is 64 KB.

A larger stripe element size provides better read performance if your system mostly does sequential reads.

56 Management Applications for PERC Cards

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Table 5-2. Virtual Disk Parameters and Descriptions

Parameter Description

Write Policy Write Policy specifies the controller write policy. You can set the write

policy to Write- Bac k or Wri te-Thr ough .

In Write-B ack caching, the controller sends a data transfer completion signal to the host when the controller cache has received all the data in a transaction.

(continued)

NOTE: If a Battery Backup Unit (BBU) is present, the default cache

setting is Write-Back. If no BBU is present, the default cache policy default setting is Write-Through.

NOTE: If Write-Back is enabled and the system is quickly turned off and

then on, the controller may pause as the system flushes cache memory. Controllers that contain a battery backup default to Write-Back caching.

In Write-Through caching, the controller sends a data transfer completion signal to the host when the disk subsystem has received all the data in a transaction.

Read Policy Read-Ahead enables the read ahead feature for the virtual disk.

You can set the parameter to Read-Ahead, No-Read-Ahead, or Adaptive. The default is Adaptive-Read-Ahead.

Read-Ahead specifies that the controller uses Read-Ahead for the current virtual disk. Read-Ahead capability allows the controller to read sequentially ahead of requested data and store the additional data in cache memory, anticipating that the data is required soon.

No-Read-Ahead specifies that the controller does not use read ahead for the current virtual disk.

Adaptive specifies that the controller begins using Read-Ahead if the two most recent disk accesses occurred in sequential sectors. If all read requests are random, the algorithm reverts to No-Read-Ahead; however, all requests are still evaluated for possible sequential operation.

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Virtual Disk Management

Creating Virtual Disks

NOTE: Combining SAS and SATA hard drives within a virtual disk is not supported.

Also, combining hard drives and SSDs within a virtual disk is not supported.

NOTE: To create secured virtual disks, see "Security Key and RAID Management"

on page 99.

Perform the following steps to create a virtual disk:

During host system bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS screen is displayed.

The

Virtual Disk Management

one controller, the main menu screen is displayed. Select a controller, and press <Enter>. The selected controller.

Use the arrow keys to highlight

Press <F2>

The list of available actions is displayed.

Select

Create New VD

The

Create New VD

option.

Virtual Disk Management

and press <Enter>.

screen is displayed. The cursor is on the

screen is displayed. If there is more than

screen is displayed for the

Controller #

Disk Group #

RAID Levels

When adding a virtual disk to a Disk Group, the screen is displayed. Skip to step 11 to change the basic settings of the virtual disk.

Press <Enter> to display the possible RAID levels, based on the physical disks available.

Press the down-arrow key to select a RAID level and press <Enter>.

When creating a spanned virtual disk (RAID 10, 50 or 60), enter the number of physical disks per span in the <Enter>.

NOTE: Creating a 22 physical disk RAID 10 VD is possible by selecting RAID 10

and populating the PD per Span field with

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the list of physical disks.

58 Management Applications for PERC Cards

PD per Span

Add VD in Disk Group

field and press

22.

Page 59

Use the arrow key to highlight a physical disk and press the spacebar, <Alt>, or <Enter> to select the disk.

Select additional disks, if required.

NOTE: (PERC H310) Only RAID Capable physical disks are eligible to be

included in a Virtual Disk. To convert physical disks to RAID Capable, see "Converting Physical Disk to RAID Capable for PERC H310" on page 61.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the

Set the virtual disk size in the

VD Size

Basic Settings

field.

box.

The virtual disk size is displayed in GB format.

NOTE: You can use part of the available disk space to create one virtual disk

and then use the rest of the disk space to create another virtual disk or disks.

Press <Tab> to access the

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to

Press the spacebar to make the settings active so that you can change

VD Size

field, and type a virtual disk name.

Advanced Settings

them.

An X is displayed beside

element size

read policy, and write policy

options such as forcing the cache policy to

Advanced Settings

. The settings are the

. You can also choose advanced

Write-Back

, initializing the

virtual disk, and configuring a dedicated hot spare.

The defaults parameters are displayed. You can accept the defaults or change them. For detailed information about the virtual disk parameters, see "Virtual Disk Parameters and Descriptions" on page 56.

stripe

Perform the following steps to select the virtual disk parameters:

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the parameters you want to change.

Press the down-arrow key to open the parameters and scroll down the list of settings.

To change the stripe element size, press <Tab> to highlight

Element Size

Press <Enter> to display the list of stripe element sizes (

256 KB, 512 KB

, and

1024 KB

). Press the down-arrow key to

highlight the desired option and press <Enter>. The default is

Management Applications for PERC Cards 59

Stripe

64 KB, 128

64 KB

Page 60

If you need to change the read policy, press <Tab> to move the cursor to

Read Policy

Press <Enter> to display the options ( or

Adaptive Read Ahead

No Read Ahead, Read Ahead,

). Press the down-arrow key to highlight the

desired option and press <Enter>.

If you need to change the write policy, press <Tab> to move the cursor to

Press <Enter> to display the options (

Write Policy

Wri te-Through, Wri te Back

Press the down-arrow key to highlight an option and press <Enter>.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to press <Enter>. If you chose

Force WB with no battery

Wri te-Through

as the write policy, then

and

the option is not available.

CAUTION: Do not initialize virtual disks when attempting to recreate an existing

configuration.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to

NOTE: The initialization performed at the stage is fast initialization.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to

Initialize

and press <Enter>.

Configure Hot Spare

and press

<Enter>.

NOTE: The hot spare created at the stage is a dedicated hot spare.

If you have chosen to create hot spares in the earlier steps, a pop-up

window is displayed where disks with appropriate sizes are displayed. Press the spacebar to select the disk size.

After you select the disk size, click OK to finalize the selection or click

Cancel

to forfeit the selection.

Select OK to accept the settings and press <Enter> to exit the window or select

Cancel

and press <Enter> to exit if you do not want

to change any virtual disk parameters.

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Converting Physical Disk to RAID Capable for PERC H310

NOTE: By default, all physical drives are discovered as Non-RAID drives.

Conversion of a physical disk to RAID capable allows that disk to be used within a Virtual Disk or as a Hot Spare.

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

PD Mgmt

screen.

A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of the each disk is displayed under

State

Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk.

Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.

Press the down-arrow key to highlight Convert to RAID Capable.

Press <Enter>.

Converting Physical Disk to Non-RAID for PERC H310

Conversion of a Physical Disk to Non-RAID allows direct operating system access to the drive. Non-RAID disks cannot be used within a Virtual Disk nor can they be used as Hot Spares.

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of the each disk is displayed under

State

Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk.

Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.

Press the down-arrow key to highlight

Press <Enter>

PD Mgmt

screen.

Convert to Non-RAID

Initializing Virtual Disks

CAUTION: A Full Initialization permanently destroys any existing data on that

virtual disk.

Perform the following steps to initialize virtual disks:

On the the menu of available actions.

Select

Initialization

VD Mgmt

screen, select

Initialization

submenu options.

Virtual Disk #

and press <F2> to display

and press the right-arrow key to display the

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Select

Start Init.

to begin a regular initialization or select

Fast Init.

to begin a fast initialization.

A pop-up windows is displayed indicating that the virtual disk has been initialized.

Repeat the procedures from step 1 to step 4 to configure another virtual disk.

NOTE: The PERC H310 card supports up to 16 virtual disks per controller, and

the PERC H710, H710P, and H810 cards support up to 64 virtual disks per controller. The currently configured virtual disks display on the screen.

Checking Data Consistency

Select the Consistency Check (CC) option in the configuration utility to verify the redundancy data in virtual disks that use RAID levels 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60. (RAID 0 does not provide data redundancy.)

If you attempt to run a Consistency Check on a virtual disk that has not been initialized, the following error message is displayed:

The virtual disk has not been initialized. Running a consistency check may result in inconsistent messages in the log. Are you sure you want to continue?

You can select Ye s or No. If you select Ye s, the CC operation continues. If you select No, the operation ends.

Perform the following steps to run a Consistency Check:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Press the down-arrow key to highlight

Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.

Press the down-arrow key to select

Press the right-arrow key to display the available actions (

Select

Start

and press <Enter> to run a

The

Consistency Check

runs and checks the redundancy data in the

virtual disks.

VD Mgmt

menu screen.

Virtual Disk #

Consistency Check.

Consistency Check

Start, Stop

After you start the

Consistency Check

, press <Esc> to display the

previous menu if needed.

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Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the VD Mgmt Menu

When a foreign configuration exists, the BIOS screen displays the message Foreign configuration(s) found on adapter. In addition, a foreign configuration is displayed on the right side of the Ctrl Mgmt screen.

You can use the VD Mgmt menu to import the existing configuration to the RAID controller or clear the existing configuration. In addition, you can view the foreign configuration from the Foreign View tab without importing the configuration.

NOTE: The controller does not allow an import of configurations that results in

more than 64 virtual disks.

NOTE: To import a secured foreign configuration, see "Security Key and RAID

Management" on page 99.

Perform the following steps to import or clear foreign configurations:

During bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when prompted by the BIOS screen.

The

VD Mgmt

On the

Press <F2> to display the available actions.

Navigate to the

VD Mgmt

display the available actions:

NOTE: Ensure that your virtual disk has all the physical disks by verifying that

there are no physical disks marked as Missing in the foreign view page and that all the disks appear as expected before importing them.

Select

Import

foreign configuration and then press <Enter>.

If you import the configuration, the configuration information. It includes information about the disk groups, virtual disks, physical disks, space allocation, and hot spares.

screen is displayed by default.

screen, highlight the

Foreign Config

option and press the right arrow key to

Import

Controller #

and

Clear

to import the foreign configuration or

VD Mgmt

screen displays detailed

Clear

to delete the

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Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the Foreign Configuration View Screen

NOTE: To import a secured foreign configuration, see "Security Key and RAID

Management" on page 99.

If one or more physical disks are removed from a configuration, the configuration on those disks is considered a foreign configuration by the RAID controller.

You can use the Foreign Configuration View screen to view information about the foreign configuration, such as disk groups, virtual disks, physical disks, space allocation, and hot spares. The foreign configuration data is displayed in the same format as configurations on the You can use the importing.

VD Mgmt

screen to view the foreign configuration before

After you view the foreign configuration, you can either clear or

import to the RAID controller.

NOTE: Before you import the foreign configuration, review the configuration on the

screen to ensure that it is the end result that you require.

You can use the Foreign Configuration View screen to manage foreign configurations in the following cases:

• All the physical disks in a configuration are removed and re-inserted.

• Some of the physical disks in a configuration are removed and re-inserted.

• All the physical disks in a virtual disk are removed, but at different times, and then re-inserted.

• The physical disks in a non-redundant virtual disk are removed.

The following constraints apply to the physical disks that are considered for import:

• The disk state of a physical disk can change from the time the foreign configuration is scanned to when the actual import occurs. The foreign import occurs only on disks that are in the

Unconfigured Good

• Disks in the failed or offline state cannot be imported.

• The firmware does not allow you to import more than eight foreign configurations.

Perform the following procedures on the Foreign Configuration View screen to manage foreign configurations in each specific case:

VD Mgmt

screen.

state.

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If all or some of the physical disks in a configuration are removed and reinserted, the controller considers the disks to have foreign configurations. Perform the following steps:

Select

Foreign Configuration View to

foreign configuration information on the

display the

Foreign Configuration

View screen.

Press <F2> to display the options (

NOTE: You must have all the disks in the system before you perform the

import operation.

Select

Import

to import the foreign configuration to the controller or

select

Clear

to delete the foreign configuration(s) from the re-inserted

Import, Clear

disk(s).

In the

Preview Configuration Data

disk that needs to be rebuilt is displayed as

NOTE: When you import a foreign configuration, the dedicated hot spares in

the configuration are imported as dedicated hot spares on two conditions — the associated virtual disk is already present or the associated virtual disk is also imported along with the configuration.

NOTE: Start a consistency check immediately after the rebuild is complete to

ensure data integrity for the virtual disks. For more information about checking data consistency, see "Checking Data Consistency" on page 62.

If all the physical disks in a virtual disk are removed at different times and

window, the status of a physical

Rebuild

re-inserted, the controller considers the disks to have foreign configurations. Perform the following steps:

Select

Foreign Configuration View to

display the complete virtual disk, across different foreign configurations and allow foreign configurations to be imported.

Press <F2> to display the options

Import

and

Clear

NOTE: You must have all the drives in the system before you perform the

import operation.

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Select

Import

to merge the foreign configurations with the existing

configuration on the controller or

Clear

to delete the foreign

configuration(s) from the re-inserted disk(s).

If you select

Import

, all drives that were pulled before the virtual disk

became offline are imported, and then automatically rebuilt.

NOTE: Start a consistency check immediately after the rebuild is

complete to ensure data integrity for the virtual disks. For more information about checking data consistency, see "Checking Data Consistency" on page 62.

If the physical disks in a non-redundant virtual disk are removed, the controller considers the disks to have foreign configurations. Perform the following steps:

Select

Foreign Configuration View to

display the complete foreign

configuration information.

Press <F2> to display the options

Select

Import

to import the foreign configuration to the virtual disk or

Clear

to delete the foreign configuration(s) from the re-inserted

Import

and

Clear

disk(s).

No rebuilds occur after the import operation because there is no redundant data to rebuild the disks with.

Break Mirror

A Break Mirror operation is an operation that can be performed only on RAID1 arrays. It provides a way to 'split' the mirror and spin-down one of the hard disks, which can then be imported into the configuration of a different PERC H310, H710, H710P, or H810 controller. This can be a useful way to:

• Create a disk image that can be imported and booted on a different system.

• Assist in software or configuration testing, where half of the mirror can be removed to ensure configuration consistency.

NOTE: The Break Mirror operation is not available within the booted

operating system environment. It is only available in the BIOS (Ctrl-R) utility and the UEFI RAID configuration utility.

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Break Mirror in BIOS Configuration Utility

To use the Break Mirror feature from the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>), perform the following steps:

The RAID1 VD that you are to split must be in an optimal state, and it cannot be running any other background tasks.

During boot up, press <Ctrl><R> when prompted by the BIOS screen.

If there is more than one controller in the system, choose the controller.

The

VD Mgmt

On the

Press <F2> to display the available actions.

Choose

VD Mgmt

screen is displayed by default.

screen, highlight the appropriate

Break Mirror

and press <Enter>.

Disk Group

A dialog is displayed describing the operation and asking if you are sure you want to perform the operation.

Select

Yes

to continue.

The exported disk (exporting configuration) spins down and the hard drive status LED starts flashing to identify which drive must be pulled.

The remaining disk (exporting configuration) is in a degraded state until the missing member is replaced or rebuilt.

If there are any Global or Dedicated Hot Spare assigned which fulfills the rebuild requirements for the degraded RAID1 disk, a rebuild starts automatically. If there is no Hot Spare assigned, then a Hot Spare that meets all the requirements for the VD must be assigned before the rebuild starts.

NOTE: Importing a Broken Mirror is the same as importing a Foreign configuration.

See "Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the VD Mgmt Menu" on page 63 of this document. The imported VD is be in a degraded state until the missing member is rebuilt.

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Managing Preserved Cache

If a virtual disk becomes offline or is deleted because of missing physical disks, the controller preserves the dirty cache from the virtual disk. The preserved dirty cache, known as pinned cache, is preserved until you import the virtual disk or discard the cache.

NOTE: Certain operations, such as creating a new virtual disk, cannot be

performed if preserved cache exists. You have to enter the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) to resolve the situation before you boot to the operating system. Messages are displayed notifying you that you must enter the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) to discard the preserved cache or import the virtual disks with the preserved cache.

CAUTION: If there are any foreign configurations, it is strongly advised that you

import the foreign configuration before you discard the preserved cache. Otherwise, you might lose data that belongs with the foreign configuration.

Perform the following steps to select whether to import the virtual disk or discard the preserved cache:

On the

Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.

Select

A message is displayed advising you to import the foreign configuration before you discard the preserved cache to avoid losing data belonging to the foreign configuration. Confirm whether you want to continue. The

Manage Preserved Cache

VD Mgmt

screen, click on a controller icon.

Manage Preserved Cache

screen displays the affected virtual disks.

You can choose to discard the cache on the screen. If you press

Cache Retained

Cancel

, the process is cancelled and the

dialog box is displayed.

Manage Preserved Cache

If you choose to discard the cache, you are prompted to confirm your choice. If you choose to retain the cache, a message is displayed to notify you that you cannot perform certain operations while the cache exists. Click

to continue.

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Managing Dedicated Hot Spares

A dedicated hot spare automatically replaces a failed physical disk only in the selected disk group which the hot spare is part of. A dedicated hot spare is used before a global hot spare is used. You can create dedicated hot spares or delete them on the VD Mgmt screen. Perform the following steps to create or delete dedicated hot spares:

On the the menu of available actions.

The available menu options appear.

Select

A screen displays a list of the current dedicated hot spares with an them and the physical disks that are available to create dedicated hot spares.

Use the following instructions to create or delete a dedicated hot spare:

•

• Deleting a dedicated hot spare

Press <Enter> to confirm the changes.

The

Hot spares

VD Mgmt

Manage Ded. HS

NOTE: The utility allows only disks of the same disk technology and of equal

or greater size to be selected as dedicated hot spare.

screen, select

and press <Enter>.

Disk Group #

and press <F2> to display

beside

Creating a dedicated hot spare

Press the down-arrow key to highlight an available physical disk.

Press the spacebar to select the disk.

Repeat step a to step b for each dedicated hot spare that you want to create.

is displayed beside the selected physical disk(s).

Use the down-arrow key to highlight a current hot spare.

Press the spacebar to de-select the disk.

Repeat step a to step b for each dedicated hot spare that you want to delete.

VD Mgmt

screen displays the updated list of hot spares under the

heading.

NOTE: If a global hot spare or dedicated hot spare is removed, reinserted and

imported, it regains its status as a hot spare. A dedicated hot spare becomes a global hot spare when the disk group it was assigned to protect is no longer present during import.

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Deleting Virtual Disks

NOTE: You cannot delete a virtual disk during an initialization.

NOTE: Warning messages appear stating the effect of deleting a virtual disk.

Click OK twice to complete the virtual disk deletion.

To delete virtual disks, perform the following steps in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>):

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the

Press <F2>.

VD Mgmt

screen.

Virtual Disks

heading.

The action menu is displayed.

Select

Delete VD

If there are multiple virtual disks in a

Capacity

for the Disk Group in the

The total amount of free space available in the

and press <Enter>.

VD Mgmt

Disk Group

screen.

Disk Group

, select

Total Free

is displayed.

Deleting Disk Groups

You can delete disk groups using the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). When you delete a disk group, the utility also removes the

virtual disks in that disk group.

To delete disk groups, perform the following steps in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>):

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the

Press <F2>.

The action menu is displayed.

VD Mgmt

screen.

Virtual Disks

heading.

Select

Delete Disk Group

and press <Enter>.

The disk group is deleted.

When you delete a disk group, the remaining disk groups with higher numbers are automatically renumbered. For example, if you delete disk group #2, then disk group #3 is automatically renumbered as disk group #2.

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Clearing the Configuration

You can delete all virtual disks on the RAID controller by performing the operation.

To clear the configuration, perform the following steps in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>):

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the

Press <F2>. The action menu is displayed.

Select

Clear Config

A pop-up window is displayed prompting for confirmation to delete all virtual disks.

Select NO to delete the virtual disks or configuration.

VD Mgmt

YES

screen.

Controller

to retain the existing

heading.

BIOS Configuration Utility Menu Options

The first menu that is displayed when you access the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) is the main menu screen. It lists the controller,

controller number, and other information, such as the slot number. On the screen, you can use the arrow keys to select the RAID controller you want to configure. Press <Enter> to access the controller.

This section describes the options for the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) for each of the major menus:

•

Virtual Disk Management (VD Mgmt)

•

Physical Disk Management (PD Mgmt)

•

Controller Management (Ctrl Mgmt)

Foreign

•

Most menus consist of two panels:

• A left panel with the menu options

• A right panel with details of the items selected in the left panel

The following sections describe the menu and submenu options for each of the major menus:

Configuration

View (Foreign View)

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Virtual Disk Management (VD Mgmt)

The Virtual Disk Management screen, VD Mgmt, is the first screen that is displayed when you access a RAID controller from the main menu screen on the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). The left panel displays the menus for the virtual disk management as given below:

Controller—Consists of the sub-menu item Disk Group which again has the following sub-menu items:

•

Virtual Disks

•

Physical Disks

•

Total Free Capacity

virtual disk)

•

Hot Spares

(global and dedicated)

The right panel displays detailed information for the selected controllers, disk groups, virtual disks, physical disks, total free capacity, and hot spares, as shown in Table 5-3.

Table 5-3. Information on the Virtual Disk Management Screen

(virtual disk size and free space you can use to create a

Menu Item Selected in Left Panel

Controller Controller Properties:

Disk Group # Disk Group # Properties:

Information Displayed in Right Panel

• Number of disk groups (DG)

• Number of virtuals disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Number of virtual disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Space available on the physical disks

•Number of free segments

• Number of dedicated hot spares

• Security property of the Disk Group

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Table 5-3. Information on the Virtual Disk Management Screen

(continued)

Menu Item Selected in Left Panel

Virtual Disks Disk Group # Properties:

Virtual Disk # Virtual Disk # Properties:

Physical Disks Disk Group # Properties:

Information Displayed in Right Panel

• Number of virtuals disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Space available in the virtual disk

• Number of free segments

• Number of dedicated hot spares

• RAID level (0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60)

• RAID status of the virtual disk (Failed, Degraded, Partially Degraded, or Optimal)

• Operation currently in progress

Disk Group # Properties:

• Number of virtuals disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Space available on the physical disks

• Number of free segments

• Number of dedicated hot spares

• Number of virtuals disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Space available on the physical disks

• Number of free segments

• Number of dedicated hot spares

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Table 5-3. Information on the Virtual Disk Management Screen

(continued)

Menu Item Selected in Left Panel

Physical Disk # Physical Disk Properties:

Total Free Capacity Disk Group # Properties:

Information Displayed in Right Panel

•Vendor name

• Physical disk state

•Enclosure Position

• Slot Position

Disk Group # Properties:

• Number of virtuals disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Space available on the physical disks

•Number of free segments

• Number of dedicated hot spares

• Number of virtuals disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Space available on the physical disks

•Number of free segments

• Number of dedicated hot spares

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Table 5-3. Information on the Virtual Disk Management Screen

(continued)

Menu Item Selected in Left Panel

Hot Spares Physical disk properties:

Information Displayed in Right Panel

•Vendor name

• Physical disk size

• Physical disk state

• Enclosure Position

• Slot Position

Disk group # properties:

• Number of virtuals disks (VD)

• Number of physical disks (PD)

• Space available on the physical disks

• Number of free segments

• Number of dedicated hot spares

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Virtual Disk Actions

Table 5-4 describes the actions you can perform on virtual disks. For procedures you can use to perform the actions, See "Virtual Disk Management" on page 58.

Table 5-4. Virtual Disk Actions

Action Description

Create a new virtual disk

Manage dedicated hot spares

Initialize a virtual disk

Check data consistency on a virtual disk

Display or update virtual disk parameters

Manage preserved cache

Delete a virtual disk Deletes the virtual disk and frees up disk space to create

Delete a disk group Deletes a disk group, which is a collection of disks from one or

Creates a new virtual disk from one or more physical disks. You can configure hot spares when you create a virtual disk.

Creates or deletes a hot spare that you can dedicate to a single redundant virtual disks.

Initializes the selected virtual disk. You must initialize every virtual disk that is configured. You can perform a fast initialization or a Full Initialization.

Verifies the correctness of the redundancy data in the selected virtual disk. The option is available only if RAID level 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60 is used. The PERC H310, H710, H710P, or H810 cards automatically correct any differences found in the data.

Displays the properties of the selected virtual disk. You can modify the cache write policy and read policy from the menu.

Preserves the dirty cache from a virtual disk if it becomes offline or is deleted. The dirty cache is preserved until you import the virtual disk or discard the cache.

another virtual disk.

more disk subsystems controlled by management software.

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Physical Disk Management (PD Mgmt)

The Physical Disk Management screen (PD Mgmt) displays physical disk information and action menus. The screen displays physical disk IDs, vendor names, disk size, type, state, and disk group (DG). You can sort the list of physical disks based on the headings. You can perform several actions on the physical disks, including the following:

• Rebuilding physical disks

• Performing the Replace Member operation

• Setting the LED to blink

• Making a disk online or offline (unaffiliated with a disk group)

• Creating global hot spares

• Removing dedicated hot spares or global hot spares

The PD Mgmt screen also displays several physical disk properties as shown in Table 5-5.

Table 5-5. Information on the Physical Disk Management Screen

Information Displayed in Left Panel Supported Information Displayed in

Right Panel

Physical Disk:

•Disk ID

• Protocol type

• Capacity (GB)

•Physical Disk State

•Disk Group

•Vendor

• Security Property of Physical Disk

• Encryption Capable

•Product ID

•Firmware Revision

• Disk Write Cache

• S.M.A.R.T state

•Physical Disk operation

•Max Device Link Rate

• Negotiated Link Rate

• Dell Certified Disk

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Physical Disk Actions

Table 5-6 describes the actions you can perform on physical disks. For procedures that can be used to perform the actions, see "Physical Disk Management" on page 81.

Table 5-6. Physical Disk Actions

Action Description

Rebuild Regenerates all data to a replacement disk in a redundant

virtual disk (RAID level 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60) after a disk failure. A disk rebuild normally occurs without interrupting normal operations on the affected virtual disk.

Replace Member Replaces the disk in the virtual disk with another disk that can

be selected.

LED Blinking Indicates when physical disks are being used to create a virtual

disk. You can choose to start or stop the LED blinking.

Force Online Changes the state of the selected physical disk to online.

Force Offline Changes the state of the selected physical disk so that it is no

longer part of a virtual disk.

Make Global HS Designates the selected physical disk as a global hot spare.

A global hot spare is part of a pool for all virtual disks controlled by the controller. Designates the selected physical disk as a global hot spare.

Remove HS Removes a dedicated hot spare from its disk group or a global

hot spare from the global pool of hot spares.

Rebuild

Select Rebuild to rebuild one or more failed physical disks. For information on performing a physical disk rebuild, see "Performing a Manual Rebuild of an Individual Physical Disk" on page 85.

Several of the controller configuration settings and the virtual disk settings affect the actual rate of rebuild. The factors include the rebuild rate setting, virtual disk stripe size, virtual disk read policy, virtual disk write policy, and the amount of workload placed on the storage subsystem. For information on getting the best rebuild performance from your RAID controller, see the documentation at support.dell.com/manuals.

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The listed rates in Table 5-7 were taken during single disk failure with no I/O present on a PERC H810 card connected to a single PowerVault MD1220 enclosure. Rates vary depending on type, speed and number of hard drives present in array; as well as which controller model and enclosure configuration are being used.

Table 5-7. Estimated Rebuild Rates

RAID Level Number of

Hard Drives

RAID 1 2 320 GB/hour 500 GB/hour

RAID 5 6 310 GB/hour 480 GB/hour

RAID 10 6 320 GB/hour 500 GB/hour

RAID 5 24 160 GB/hour 240 GB/hour

RAID 10 24 380 GB/hour 500 GB/hour

7.2K RPM 6 Gb/s  SAS Hard Drive

15K RPM 6 Gb/s  SAS Hard Drive

Controller Management (Ctrl Mgmt)

The Controller Management screen (Ctrl Mgmt) displays the product name, package, firmware version, BIOS version, boot block version, controller ID, security capability, and security key presence. Use the screen to perform actions on the controller and BIOS. You can perform functions such as enable or disable the controller BIOS, enable or disable the BIOS during bootup in the event of BIOS errors, and enable or disable the option to Auto Import. In addition, you can select a virtual disk from which to boot, and select default settings.

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Controller Management Actions

Table 5-8 describes the actions you can perform on the Ctrl Mgmt screen.

Table 5-8. Controller Management Options

Option Description

Enable Controller BIOS

Enable BIOS Stop On Error

Select Bootable Device

Enable Auto Import Attempts to import every online foreign configuration during

Factory Default Select the option to restore the default settings for the options

Select the option to enable the controller BIOS. If the boot device is on the RAID controller, the BIOS must be enabled. Disable the BIOS to use other boot devices. In a multiple controller environment, you can enable BIOS on multiple controllers. However, if you want to boot from a specific controller, then enable the BIOS on that controller and disable it on the other controllers. The system can then boot from the BIOS-enabled controller.

Select the option to stop the system BIOS during bootup if there are BIOS errors. The option enables you to enter the configuration utility to resolve the problem.

Select the option to specify a virtual disk as the boot disk on the controller.

NOTE: For PERC H310 the option may be a Virtual Disk or 

Non-RAID drive.

The option is displayed if you have built virtual disks.

boot without having the need to access the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>).

in the Settings box.

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Foreign Configuration View

When a foreign configuration is present, you can select Foreign Configuration View to display the configuration. The screen shows the

foreign configuration as it would be if you import it. You can preview the foreign configuration before you decide whether to import it or clear it.

In some cases, a foreign configuration cannot be imported. If a physical disk in a virtual disk is rebuilding, the physical disk's state is set to Rebuild. No virtual disk target ID displays for virtual disks that cannot be imported.

The section "Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the Foreign Configuration View Screen" on page 64 contains the procedures you can use to manage the foreign configurations.

NOTE: The BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) reports error codes for failed

imports of foreign configurations.

Physical Disk Management

Setting LED Blinking

The LED blinking option indicates when physical disks are being used to create a virtual disk. You can choose to start or stop the LED blinking. Perform the following steps to start or stop the option:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of the each disk is displayed under the heading

State

PD Mgmt

screen.

Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk.

Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.

Press the down-arrow key to highlight

Press the right-arrow key to display the available actions,

Select

Start

to begin LED blinking or

Management Applications for PERC Cards 81

LED Blinking

Stop

to end LED blinking.

Start

and

Stop

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Creating Global Hot Spares

You can use a global hot spare to replace a failed physical disk in any redundant array as long as the capacity of the global hot spare is equal to or larger than the coerced capacity of the failed physical disk.

Perform the following steps to create global hot spares:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of the each disk is displayed under the heading

Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk to change to a global hot spare.

Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.

Press the down-arrow key to highlight <Enter>.

The physical disk is changed to a global hot spare. The status of the physical disk as a global hot spare is displayed under the heading

NOTE: To replace a failed physical disk global hot spares must use the same

disk technology and must be equal or greater in size.

Select additional physical disks if desired and follow the previous steps to change them to global hot spares.

State

PD Mgmt

screen.

Make Global HS

and press

State

Removing Global or Dedicated Hot Spares

You can remove one global or dedicated hot spare at a time on the PD Mgmt screen. Perform the following steps to remove a global hot spare or dedicated hot spare:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of each disk is displayed under the heading

State

PD Mgmt

screen.

Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk that is a hot spare.

Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.

82 Management Applications for PERC Cards

Page 83

Press the down-arrow key to select

Remove Hot Spare

from the list of

actions and press <Enter>.

The physical disk is changed to the disk is displayed under the heading

NOTE: Try to use physical disks of the same capacity in a specific virtual disk.

If you use physical disks with different capacities in a virtual disk, all physical disks in the virtual disk are treated as if they have the capacity of the smallest physical disk.

Select additional hot spares if desired and follow step 1 to step 4 to

Ready

state. The status of the physical

State

remove them.

Replacing an Online Physical Disk

In addition to the automatic Replace Member operation, you can manually replace any physical disk that is part of a virtual disk using the Replace Member functionality. Perform the following steps to replace a physical disk:

In the

Virtual Disk Management

press the down-arrow key until

Press the right-arrow key to expand the list of physical disks that are members of the virtual disk.

Press the down-arrow key and highlight the desired physical disk you want to replace. Press <F2> to expand the list of allowed operations on the disk.

Select

Replace

Press the down-arrow to highlight a replacement disk and then press the

and then

Start

spacebar to select the disk.

Select OK to start the replacement.

window, select

Physical Disks

Virtual Disk #

is highlighted.

and

NOTE: The replacement disk must be a hot spare or an unconfigured disk without

a foreign configuration. It must have the same or greater capacity and should be of the same type as the disk it is replacing.

Management Applications for PERC Cards 83

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Restrictions and Limitations

The following restrictions and limitations apply to the Replace Member operation:

•The

Replace Member

RAID 1, and RAID 5, and two per array for RAID 6.

Replace Member

a RAID 6 virtual disk. The rebuild operation has a higher priority, and the

Replace Member

if the virtual disk is secured.

functions are restricted to one per array for RAID 0,

function and rebuild cannot run simultaneously on

operation is aborted if a rebuild begins.

function cannot replace a SED with a non-SED

Stopping Background Initialization

Background initialization (BGI) is the automated operation in which parity is created and written. BGI does not run on RAID 0 virtual disks. Under certain conditions, the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) displays a message if you want to stop BGI in progress. An alert message is displayed if BGI is in progress and you start any of the following actions:

• A Full Initialization on the virtual disk

• A Fast Initialization on the virtual disk

• A Consistency Check on the virtual disk

The following alert message is displayed:

The virtual disk is undergoing a background initialization process. Would you like to stop the operation and proceed with the <full initialization/quick initialization/consistency check> instead?

Click Yes to stop the BGI and start the requested operation or No to allow BGI to continue.

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Performing a Manual Rebuild of an Individual Physical Disk

CAUTION: If a physical disk is a member of a disk group that contains multiple

virtual disks and one of the virtual disks is deleted when a rebuild operation is in progress, the rebuild operation stops. You can then resume the rebuild operation manually using a storage management application. To avoid interruption, ensure that none of the virtual disks are deleted until the rebuild is complete.

Use the following procedures to rebuild one failed physical disk manually.

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of each disk is displayed under the heading

Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk that has a failed state.

Press <F2> to display a menu of available actions.

The

Rebuild

State

option is highlighted at the top of the menu.

PD Mgmt

screen.

Press the right-arrow key to display the rebuild options and select

After you start the rebuild, press <Esc> to display the previous menu.

NOTE: You can also use the VD Mgmt screen to perform a manual rebuild. Use the

arrow key to highlight a physical disk, and press <F2>. In the menu that is displayed, select the Rebuild option.

Start

Controller Management

Enabling Boot Support

NOTE: See your system documentation to ensure the proper boot order is selected

in the system BIOS.

In a multiple controller environment, you can enable BIOS on multiple controllers. However, if you want to boot from a specific controller, enable the BIOS on that controller and disable it on the other controllers. The system can then boot from the BIOS-enabled controller. Perform the following steps to enable the controller BIOS:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to

Settings

box.

Ctrl Mgmt

menu screen.

Enable Controller BIOS

in the

Management Applications for PERC Cards 85

Page 86

Press the spacebar to select

is displayed beside

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the <Enter> to apply the selection.

The controller BIOS is enabled. To disable the controller BIOS, use the spacebar to de-select the

Apply

and press <Enter>.

After you enable the BIOS for a controller, perform the following steps to enable the boot support for that controller:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the box.

Press the down-arrow key to display a list of virtual disks and Non-RAID physical disks (PERC H310 only).

Use the down-arrow key to highlight a virtual disk or Non-RAID physical disk (PERC H310 only).

Press <Enter> to select the disk.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the <Enter> to apply the selection.

Boot support is enabled for the selected controller.

Enable Controller BIOS

Apply

button, and then press

Enable Controller BIOS

Ctrl Mgmt

menu screen.

Select Boot Device

Apply

button, and then press

control, and then select

in the

Settings

Enabling BIOS Stop on Error

The option BIOS Stop on Error is used to stop the system from booting if there are BIOS errors. Perform the following steps to enable BIOS Stop on Error.

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to

Settings

Press the spacebar to select

86 Management Applications for PERC Cards

box.

is displayed beside

Enable BIOS Stop on Error

Ctrl Mgmt

Enable BIOS Stop on Error

menu screen.

in the

Page 87

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the

Apply

button, and then press

<Enter> to apply the selection.

The controller BIOS is enabled. To disable use the spacebar to de-select

Apply

and press <Enter>.

Enable BIOS Stop on Error

, then select

Enabling Auto Import

If there is a native configuration present on the controller, the option Enable Auto Import automatically imports every online foreign configuration during boot without having the need to access the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>).

NOTE: The controller automatically imports every optimal and degraded

foreign configuration without enabling the feature if there is no native configuration on the controller.

To en ab le A u to Imp or t:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to box.

Press the spacebar to select

An X is displayed beside Enable Auto Import.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the <Enter> to apply the selection.

The

Auto Import

is enabled.

Ctrl Mgmt

menu screen.

Enable Auto Import

Apply

button, and then press

in the

Settings

To disable Auto Import:

Use the spacebar to de-select

Select

Apply

and press <Enter>.

The

Auto Import

is disabled.

Management Applications for PERC Cards 87

Enable Auto Import

Page 88

Restoring Factory Default Settings

You can use the Ctrl Mgmt menu screen to restore the default settings for the options in the Settings box. The settings are Enable Controller BIOS, Enable BIOS Stop on Error, and Enable Auto Import. Perform the following steps to restore default settings:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the

Use the spacebar to de-select the settings for the options in the box.

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the <Alt>, <Enter>, or the spacebar.

A dialog box is displayed for you to confirm your choice.

Select <OK> and press <Enter>.

The defaults are automatically selected for the controller settings and are displayed in

Settings

Ctrl Mgmt

Settings

Factory Default

menu screen.

box.

box, and press the

Settings

UEFI RAID Configuration Utility

The UEFI RAID Configuration Utility is a storage management application integrated into the System BIOS that can be used to configure and manage RAID disk groups, virtual disks and physical disks. This utility is independent of the operating system.

NOTE: Use the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility for initial setup and disaster recovery. Certain

advanced features are also offered in the utility.

Entering the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility

Turn on the system.

During startup, press <F2> to enter the

From

System Setup Main Menu

Device Settings

Use the arrow keys or mouse to select the RAID controller you want to configure/mange and press <Enter> or click on the mouse to access the management menus for the controller.

88 Management Applications for PERC Cards

lists all the RAID controllers in the system.

, enter

System Setup.

Device Settings

Page 89

NOTE: The help information for all of the options within the UEFI RAID

Configuration Utility can be viewed by clicking on Help at the top right-hand corner of the browser screen. Help information for individual option menus can also be viewed by simply scrolling down on each option.

NOTE: Some of the options within the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility are not

present if the controller does not support the corresponding feature. Options may also be grayed out if the feature is supported in existing configuration.

NOTE: Background operations are blocked on the PERC H310 controller in the UEFI

RAID Configuration Utility and no operation progress updates are to be seen.

Exiting the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility

To ex it t he UEFI RAID Configuration Utility, press <Esc> or click on Back at any browser screen, until you return to the Device Settings menu.

Configuration Options

There are four main configuration option menus available in the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility. These menus are outlined below.

•

Controller Management

configurations, and battery, and other high-level controller functions.

•

Virtual Disk Management

virtual disk properties, and performs operations such as background initialization, consistency check, locate and reconfiguration

•

Physical Disk Management

performs operations such as assign or unassign hot spares, locate, force online/offline and rebuild after a physical disk failure

•

Enclosure Management

firmware revision and physical disks attached to the enclosures

—Performs controller properties, foreign

—Creates or deletes virtual disks, manage

—Displays physical disk properties and

—Displays attached enclosures, enclosure

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Controller Management

The Controller Management menu can be used to perform the following controller-level functions. Each of these functions is its own selectable menu option.

•

View Controller Informatio

•

Change Controller Properties

restores factory defaults for the controller.

•

Battery Management

•

Clear Configuration

controller.

•

Manage Foreign Configuration

configurations.

•

Save Controller Events

desired directory.

•

Clear Controller Events

events file.

•

Save Debug Log

the controller.

•

Enable Security

security mode.

•

Disable Security

•

Change Security Key

security modes on the controller.

•

Convert To RAID Capable

Non-RAID to RAID Capable.

•

Convert To Non-RAID

Capable to Non-RAID.

—Saves a copy of the firmware’s terminal log entries for

— Enables security on the controller via the desired

—Disables security on the controller.

n—Displays information about the controller.

—Updates controller properties and/or

— Displays battery status and capacity information.

— Deletes all existing configurations on the

—Displays import and/or clears foreign

—Saves a copy of the controller events file in the

—Deletes all existing entries in the controller

—Changes the security key or switches between

—Allows conversion of physical disks from

—Allows conversion of physical disks from RAID

90 Management Applications for PERC Cards

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Virtual Disk Management

The Virtual Disk Management menu can be used to create and manage virtual disks on the controller. The following functions can be performed under Virtual Disk Management. Each of these functions is its own selectable menu option.

•

Create Virtual Disk

physical disks, and virtual disk parameters.

•

Manage Virtual Disk Properties

properties, view associated physical disks and manage dedicated hot spares.

•

Select Virtual Disk Operations

operations such as delete, locate, secure, expand, initialization and consistency check.

•

View Disk Group Properties

disk groups, associated virtual disks, and the capacity allocation.

•

Reconfigure Virtual Disks

which converts a virtual disk to a different RAID level.

•

Create CacheCade Virtual Disks

selecting solid state disks (SSDs).

—Creates a virtual disk by selecting the RAID level,

—Displays and manages virtual disk

—Selects and executes virtual disk

—Displays information about the available

—Performs a RAID Level Migration (RLM)

—Creates a CacheCade virtual disk by

Physical Disk Management

The Physical Disk Management menu can be used to view and manage physical disks on the controller. The following functions can be performed under Physical Disk Management. Each of these functions is its own selectable menu option.

•

View Physical Disk Properties

physical disks including their state.

•

Select Physical Disk Operations

operations such as locate, assign/unassign hot spare, replace member, force offline/online, and convert to RAID Capable/Non-RAID.

•

View Global Hot Spares

the controller.

—Displays information about all the

—Selects and execute physical disk

—Displays all the assigned global hot spares on

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Enclosure Management

The Enclosure Management menu can be used to view the firmware version of the enclosure and the physical disks attached to the controller, along with their physical disk states.

92 Management Applications for PERC Cards

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CacheCade

The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H710, H710P, and H810 cards support CacheCade, a feature that can improve application performance by increasing read caching capacity. The CacheCade feature makes use of highperforming solid state disks (SSDs) as a secondary tier of cache. CacheCade provides faster reads and maximizes transactional I/O performance.

NOTE: PERC H310 does not support Cachecade

The use of SSDs for caching allows a large quantity of data to be present in the cache, resulting in performance improvement in read-intensive applications. Some examples of read-intensive applications include online transaction processing (OLTP), file server, and web server workloads. CacheCade allows for an increase in the I/O performance of hard disk drive (HDD)-based disk groups with the assistance of SSD technology.

CacheCade Virtual Disk Characteristics

• Support for CacheCade virtual disks exists only on controllers containing 1 GB of Non-Volatile (NV) Cache.

• CacheCade virtual disks can only be created with SSDs.

• The maximum combined size of CacheCade virtual disks is 512 GB.

NOTE: Multiple CacheCade virtual disks may be created, but they are

combined to operate as a single cache pool up to the maximum size.

• Data on virtual disks containing secured Self-Encrypting Disks (SEDs) or SSDs will not be cached by CacheCade.

NOTE: Data on VDs with unsecured SEDs can be cached using CacheCade.

• CacheCade virtual disks only cache input reads that are smaller than 64 KB.

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• CacheCade virtual disks are read cache only.

• CacheCade virtual disks cannot be migrated to a controller that does not support CacheCade.

• Importing a CacheCade drive may result in a RAID 0 VD. You must reconfigure the CacheCade VD after importing.

• CacheCade virtual disks are not presented to the operating system.

Configuring and Managing CacheCade Virtual Disks

All management applications allow the creation and deletion of CacheCade virtual disks.

The following sections describe the menu options specific to CacheCade virtual disk management and provide detailed instructions to perform the configuration tasks. The contents of the following section apply to the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). For more information on the management applications, see "Management Applications for PERC Cards" on page 51.

CacheCade Virtual Disk Management

The Virtual Disk Management screen is the first screen that is displayed when you access a RAID controller from the main menu screen on the BIOS Configuration Utility.

The following are CacheCade-related actions you can perform through the virtual disk management menu:

• Create CacheCade virtual disk

• Assign CacheCade virtual disk name

• Delete virtual disk

94 CacheCade

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Create CacheCade Virtual Disk

NOTE: Only SSDs can be used to create CacheCade virtual disks.

NOTE: Combining SAS and SATA SSDs within a CacheCade virtual disk is not

supported.

NOTE: To avoid inefficient use of space, it is recommended that CacheCade

volumes are created with drives of the same size. Larger disk sizes are truncated to the size of the smallest contributing disk, similar to RAID 0.

To create a CacheCade virtual disk:

During host system bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS screen is displayed.

The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed. If there are more than one controller, the main menu screen is displayed.

Select a controller, and press <Enter>.

The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed for the selected controller.

Use the arrow keys to highlight

Press <F2>.

The list of available actions is displayed.

Select

Create CacheCade Virtual Disk

The

Create CacheCade Virtual Disk

the first SSD listed in the

Controller #

Select SSD

and press <Enter>.

screen is displayed. The cursor is on

section.

Select the desired SSD(s). As each new SSD is selected, the

Virtual Disk Size

NOTE: You cannot specify the size of the virtual disk.

changes to reflect the new size.

CacheCade

CacheCade 95

Page 96

Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the

CacheCade Virtual Disk Name

field. Enter a name if required.

After you specify the virtual disk name, select OK to save the selection or select

Cancel

to cancel the selection.

After the CacheCade virtual disk is created successfully, it is listed in the Virtual Disk Management screen under the CacheCade disk group, and is labeled as a CacheCade virtual disk. The virtual disk has an optimal state and its RAID level is RAID 0.

NOTE: You can only delete or rename a CacheCade virtual disk. Background

Initialization, fast initialization, full initialization, and consistency check operations are not applicable to CacheCade virtual disks.

Delete CacheCade Virtual Disk

To delete CacheCade virtual disks, perform the following steps in the BIOS Configuration Utility:

Press <Ctrl><N> to access the

Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the

Virtual Disks

Press <F2>.

The

Select

Action

heading.

menu is displayed.

Delete VD

and press <Enter>.

Virtual Disk

Management

screen.

CacheCade Disk Group

NOTE: Warning messages are displayed stating the effect of deleting a virtual disk.

Click OK to complete the virtual disk deletion.

NOTE: In operating system management applications, a CacheCade virtual disk

deletion or removal can be done without interrupting any I/Os. The controller stops caching via the secondary cache, but all outstanding I/Os are completed.

Reconfiguring CacheCade Virtual Disks

In operating system management applications, the resizing of CacheCade virtual disks occurs without stopping any existing I/Os. Creating a new CacheCade virtual disk or adding one or more SSDs to an existing CacheCade virtual disk increases the total cache size. The new resources are immediately used after the addition.

96 CacheCade

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There are two methods to reconfigure CacheCade virtual disks:

• Automatic reconfiguration of cachecade virtual disks

• Manual reconfiguration of cachecade virtual disks

Automatic Reconfiguration of CacheCade Virtual Disks

A CacheCade virtual disk that is made up of more than one SSD is automatically reconfigured upon a removal or failure of a member SSD. The virtual disk retains an Optimal state and adjusts its size to reflect the remaining number of member disks. If auto-rebuild is enabled on the controller, when a previously removed SSD is inserted back into the system or replaced with a new compatible SSD, the CacheCade automatically reconfigures and adjusts its size to reflect the addition of the member SSD. The number of SSDs to be removed from a CacheCade virtual disk cannot equal the total number of SSDs currently in the CacheCade virtual disk.

After the automatic reconfiguration and resizing of a CacheCade virtual disk, the new virtual disk size is displayed in both the BIOS configuration utility as well as in the OpenManage storage management application.

CAUTION: If a disk is removed from a CacheCade virtual disk, the associated slot

for that disk is a hot slot for the CacheCade volume. Any compatible disk inserted into that slot is automatically added to the CacheCade virtual disk. Any preexisting data on that drive is lost.

NOTE: Disks inserted into a CacheCade hot slot must be equal to or greater than

the smallest contributing disk in the virtual disk.

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Manual Resizing of CacheCade Virtual Disks

In operating system management applications, a manual resizing of a CacheCade virtual disk occurs due to the addition or removal of drives. Reboot is not be necessary.

• Any number of SSDs can be added to a CacheCade virtual disk.

• There is no SAS and SATA mixing allowed within a CacheCade virtual disk, so SATA SSDs cannot be added to a SAS CacheCade virtual disk and vice versa.

• HDDs cannot be added to a CacheCade virtual disk.

NOTE: Capacity of drives added to a CacheCade volume must be equal to or

greater than the smallest contributing drive in the virtual disk. The manual resizing of a CacheCade virtual disk cannot be initiated in the BIOS configuration utility. It can only be initiated in the OpenManage storage management application.

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Security Key and RAID Management

NOTE: PERC H310 does not support any security implementations.

Security Key Implementation

The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H710, H710P, and H810 cards support Self-Encrypting Disks (SED) for protection of data against loss or theft of SEDs. Protection is achieved by the use of encryption technology on the drives. The encryption key is protected from unauthorized use by a security key.

There is one security key per controller. You can manage the security key under Local Key Management (LKM). The key can be escrowed in to a file using Dell OpenManage. The security key is used by the controller to lock and unlock access to encryption-capable physical disks. In order to take advantage of this feature, you must:

Have SEDs in your system.

Create (LKM) a security key

Security Key Management in the BIOS Configuration Utility

The Dell OpenManage storage management application and the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) of the controller allow security keys to

be created and managed as well as create secured virtual disks. The following section describes the menu options specific to security key management and provide detailed instructions to perform the configuration tasks. The contents of the following section apply to the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). For more information on the management applications, see "Management Applications for PERC Cards" on page 51.

Security Key and RAID Management 99

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• The Virtual Disk Management screen,

VD Mgmt

, is the first screen that is displayed when you access a RAID controller from the main menu screen on the

BIOS Configuration Utility

(<Ctrl><R>). The following are security-related actions you can perform through the virtual disk management menu:

–

Security Key Management

—Creates, changes, or deletes the security

settings on a controller.

–

Secure Disk Group

• The Physical Disk Management screen,

—Secures all Virtual Disks in Disk Group.

PD Mgmt,

displays physical disk information and action menus. The following are security-related actions you can perform through the physical disk management menu:

–

Instant Secure Erase

—Permanently erases all data on an encryption-

capable physical disk and resets the security attributes.

For more information on the Physical Disk Management screen and Virtual Disk Management screen, see "Physical Disk Management" on page 81 and "Virtual Disk Management" on page 58 respectively.

Local Key Management (LKM)

You can use LKM to generate the key ID and the passphrase required to secure the virtual disk. You can secure virtual disks, change security keys and manage secured foreign configurations using this security mode.

NOTE: Under LKM, you are prompted for a passphrase when you create the key.

Create Security Key

Perform the following steps to create a security key on the controller:

NOTE: There is no passphrase backup option when you create a security key; you

need to remember your passphrase.

During the host system boot up, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS screen is displayed.

The

Virtual Disk Management

If there is more than one controller, the main menu screen is displayed.

100 Security Key and RAID Management

screen is displayed.

Dell H810, H710, H710P, H310 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Overview

Supported Operating Systems

Related Documentation

Contacting Dell

Features

Physical Disk Power Management

Configured Spin Down Delay

Types of Virtual Disk Initialization

Background Initialization of Virtual Disks

Full Initialization of Virtual Disks

Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks

Consistency Checks

Disk Roaming

Virtual Disk Migration

Migrating Virtual Disks from PERC H700 or H800 to PERC H710, H710P, or H810

Virtual Disk Write Cache Policies

Write-Back and Write-Through

Conditions Under Which Write-Back is Employed

Conditions Under Which Forced Write-Back With No Battery is Employed

Virtual Disk Read Cache Policies

Reconfiguration of Virtual Disks

Fault Tolerance

The SMART Feature

Automatic Replace Member with Predicted Failure

Patrol Read

Redundant Path Support (For PERC H810 Only)

Physical Disk Failure Detection

Using Persistent Hot Spare Slots

Physical Disk Hot Swapping

Using Replace Member and Revertible Hot Spares

Controller Cache Preservation

Cache Preservation With Non-Volatile Cache (NVC)

Cache Data Recovery

Battery Transparent Learn Cycle

Deploying the PERC Card

Removing the PERC Controller

Installing the PERC Controller

Support For Internal Multiple Controllers

Reverting to Single Path Support from Redundant Path Support for PERC H810

Driver Installation

Installing the Windows Drivers

Creating the Driver Media

Pre-Installation Requirements

Creating the Device Driver Media

Installing Driver During a Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 Installation

Installing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 for a New RAID Controller

Updating Existing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

Updating the Linux Driver

Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With DKMS Support

Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With KMOD Support

Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With KMP Support

Management Applications for PERC Cards

Dell OpenManage Storage Management

BIOS Configuration Utility

Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility

Exiting the Configuration Utility

Menu Navigation Controls

Setting Up Virtual Disks

Virtual Disk Management

Creating Virtual Disks

Converting Physical Disk to RAID Capable for PERC H310

Converting Physical Disk to Non-RAID for PERC H310

Initializing Virtual Disks

Checking Data Consistency

Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the VD Mgmt Menu

Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the Foreign Configuration View Screen

Break Mirror

Managing Preserved Cache

Managing Dedicated Hot Spares

Deleting Virtual Disks

Deleting Disk Groups

Clearing the Configuration

BIOS Configuration Utility Menu Options

Virtual Disk Management (VD Mgmt)

Virtual Disk Actions

Physical Disk Management (PD Mgmt)