Dell S2 User Manual
Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage
Solution-S2
User's Guide
Par t N umb er: BM SA- 150 0
Sep tem ber 20 20
Rev . A 00
Notes, cautions, and warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid
the problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
© 2020 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EM C, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Oth er
trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Contents
Chapter 1: Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage Solution-S2................................................ 5
Features of BOSS-S2 card................................................................................................................................................5
Technical specifications of BOSS-S2 card....................................................................................................................6
Supported M.2 drives of BOSS-S2 card........................................................................................................................7
PowerEdge systems supported by BOSS-S2 ..............................................................................................................8
Operating systems supported by BOSS-S2.................................................................................................................. 8
Chapter 2: Applications supported by BOSS-S2............................................................................ 9
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface RAID Configuration Utility.......................................................................... 9
Dell OpenManage Storage Management....................................................................................................................... 9
BOSS-S2 Command Line Interface Utility.....................................................................................................................9
The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller and Lifecycle Controller............................................................. 10
Chapter 3: Update the BOSS-S2 firmware version........................................................................11
Update BOSS-S2 using Windows update packages.................................................................................................. 11
Update BOSS-S2 using Linux.......................................................................................................................................... 11
Update BOSS-S2 using iDRAC....................................................................................................................................... 12
Update BOSS-S2 using Lifecycle Controller............................................................................................................... 12
Chapter 4: Features of BOSS-S2..................................................................................................14
Hot–plugging M.2 drives in PowerEdge systems...................................................................................................... 14
Identify M.2 drives by using LEDs..................................................................................................................................14
Controlled firmware update.............................................................................................................................................14
Foreign import of VDs.......................................................................................................................................................15
Detect a drive failure using SMART feature............................................................................................................... 15
Auto–rebuild a degraded drive....................................................................................................................................... 15
Support of non–RAID drives........................................................................................................................................... 15
TRIM feature on SSDs...................................................................................................................................................... 16
Erase physical disk data....................................................................................................................................................16
Chapter 5: Install and remove a BOSS-S2 card.............................................................................17
Safety instructions.............................................................................................................................................................17
Before working inside your system................................................................................................................................ 17
After working inside your system...................................................................................................................................18
Remove the BOSS-S2 module........................................................................................................................................18
Install the BOSS-S2 module............................................................................................................................................23
Chapter 6: Driver support for BOSS-S2.......................................................................................28
Chapter 7: BOSS-S2 UEFI configuration utility............................................................................ 29
Enter the BOSS-S2 UEFI configuration utility........................................................................................................... 29
Exit the BOSS-S2 UEFI configuration utility.............................................................................................................. 29
Navigate to BOSS-S2 configuration utility................................................................................................................. 30
Physical or virtual disk information............................................................................................................................... 30
Contents 3
View physical disk information................................................................................................................................. 30
View virtual disk information.................................................................................................................................... 30
Import and set a foreign virtual disk as BOSS-S2 native................................................................................... 31
Create a virtual disk...........................................................................................................................................................31
Delete a virtual disk........................................................................................................................................................... 31
Recover or rebuild a degraded virtual drive................................................................................................................32
Erase physical disk data................................................................................................................................................... 32
View RAID controller information.................................................................................................................................. 32
Clear RAID controller configuration data...............................................................................................................32
Chapter 8: Manage BOSS-S2 using CLI commands...................................................................... 33
BOSS-S2 CLI commands supported on PowerEdge servers................................................................................. 33
Run BOSS-S2 CLI commands on PowerEdge servers running the Windows operating system................... 34
Run BOSS-S2 CLI commands on PowerEdge servers running the Linux operating system.......................... 34
Run BOSS-S2 CLI commands on PowerEdge servers running the ESXi operating system........................... 34
Chapter 9: Troubleshooting......................................................................................................... 35
Importing the BOSS ESXi CLI offline bundle may fail in VSphere Lifecycle Manager..................................... 35
BOSS ESXi CLI package fails when upgrading from Dell EMC customized versions of 6.7.x to
version 7.0...................................................................................................................................................................... 35
M.2 drive firmware update from iDRAC fails on unconfigured drives with an existing adapter key on
the BOSS-S2 controller...............................................................................................................................................36
Unconfigured drives in the BOSS-S2 controller is unavailable for operating system installation with
an existing adapter key................................................................................................................................................ 36
The ROM version for BOSS is reported as firmware version in IDRAC interface............................................. 36
Unable to update the M.2 drive firmware by using iDRAC or Lifecycle Controller........................................... 36
BOSS-S2 CLI displays No Adapter Found error in Linux......................................................................................... 36
LC log displays fan unavailability error......................................................................................................................... 37
Physical disk size is not updated on iDRAC when CSIOR is disabled................................................................... 37
Physical disk or virtual disk is indicated as missing on iDRAC when CSIOR is disabled...................................37
The Back Ground Activity (BGA) task process in HII does not report real-time status.................................. 37
Virtual disk related events are repeatedly generated in BOSS-S2 and OMSS...................................................37
Characters are limited when entering a virtual drive name.................................................................................... 38
VMFS datastore is disabled from YX5X of PowerEdge systems that are shipped with VMware ESXi
installed on BOSS-S2................................................................................................................................................... 38
One or more physical disks are not detected by the operating system...............................................................38
Virtual disk is not detected by the operating system...............................................................................................38
An installed drive is not listed in the BOSS-S2 Configuration Utility....................................................................39
The BOSS-S2 card is not presented to the PowerEdge server............................................................................ 39
Unable to boot to M.2 drive installed in slot 1............................................................................................................ 39
Unsupported commands, options, and features are displayed by BOSS-S2 CLI with VMware CLI
utility.................................................................................................................................................................................39
Unable to deploy ESXi on RAID 1 of BOSS-S2........................................................................................................... 39
Chapter 10: Getting help..............................................................................................................41
Recycling or End-of-Life service information............................................................................................................. 41
Contacting Dell................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Receiving automated support with SupportAssist ................................................................................................... 41
Chapter 11: Documentation resources.......................................................................................... 43
4
Contents
1
Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage
Solution-S2
Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage Solution-S2 (BOSS-S2) is a RAID solution card that is designed for booting a server's
operating system that supports:
● 80 mm M.2 SATA Solid-State Devices (SSDs)
● PCIe card with PCIe Gen 2 x 4 Host Interface
● Dual SATA Gen 3 Device Interfaces
NOTE: For the safety, regulatory, and ergonomic information associated with these devices, and for more information
about the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) or Lifecycle Controller (LC) remote management, see your
platform documentation.
Topics:
• Features of BOSS-S2 card
• Technical specifications of BOSS-S2 card
• Supported M.2 drives of BOSS-S2 card
• PowerEdge systems supported by BOSS-S2
• Operating systems supported by BOSS-S2
Features of BOSS-S2 card
Figure 1. Features of BOSS-S2 card
Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage Solution-S2 5
1. M.2 blank 2. M.2 carrier
3. BOSS-S2 module bracket 4. BOSS-S2 module
5. M.2 card 6. BOSS-S2 card
7. Signal cable 8. Power cable
9. Power cable connector 10. Signal cable connector
Technical specifications of BOSS-S2 card
The following table lists the BOSS-S2 card technical specifications:
Table 1. Technical specifications of BOSS-S2 card
Function or feature BOSS-S2 card
Hot–plug of M.2 drives Yes
LED activity of M.2 drives Yes
Controlled firmware update Yes
RAID levels RAID 1 and Non–RAID
Stripe size Supports default 64 K stripe size only
Battery backup unit No
Non–volatile cache No
Virtual disk cache function Write through
Maximum number of virtual disks 1
Maximum number of drives supported 2
Support for non–RAID disks Yes (supports up to two disks)
Drive types 6 Gbps M.2 SATA SSDs x 2
PCIe support Gen 2
Disk cache policy Drive default
TRIM Non–RAID mode
Stripe size supported 64 K
Configuration (HII) Yes
Full initialization No
Fast initialization Yes
NOTE: By default, fast initialization is performed when
you create a virtual disk.
Background initialization No
RAID 0 No
RAID 1 Yes
Single non–RAID Yes
Dual non–RAID Yes
Degraded RAID 1 and non–RAID No
Foreign import Yes
Consistency check No
Patrol read No
6 Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage Solution-S2
Table 1. Technical specifications of BOSS-S2 card (continued)
Function or feature BOSS-S2 card
Load balance N/A
Rebuild Yes (Only Auto–rebuild)
Hot spare No
Change rebuild priority/rate No
Virtual disk write back/read ahead cache No
NOTE: BOSS-S2 controller does not support controller
cache.
Battery support N/A
NOTE: BOSS-S2 controller does not support a battery.
Non–RAID disk cache policy Yes
NOTE: OS controlled or device defaults.
SMART Info Yes
NOTE: Use the BOSS-S2 CLI to retrieve the SMART
information from the drives.
Physical disk hot–plug Yes
Virtual disk expansion No
Virtual disk slicing No
Virtual disk migration Yes
Split mirror No
Non–RAID migration Yes
BIOS configuration utility (Ctrl-M) Yes
Add on driver for data path (OS device driver) No
4 K native drive support No
TRIM and UNMAP virtual disk No
TRIM and UNMAP non–RAID physical disk Yes
Self-encrypting drives (SED) support No
Cryptographic erase (sanitize) Yes
NOTE: On new controller, virtual disk must be imported
from HII before presented to OS.
NOTE: System required to shutdown and migrate one
physical disk to another system and continue rebuild.
NOTE: Console Windows driver or Linux library is required
for management purposes only.
NOTE: If drive supports SANITIZE Crypto Erase. No other
encryption support from controller or drive.
Supported M.2 drives of BOSS-S2 card
The BOSS-S2 card supports the following M.2 drives:
CAUTION:
controller.
The BOSS-S2 card is tested and supported only with the M.2 drives that are shipped with the
Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage Solution-S2 7
Table 2. Supported M.2 drives of BOSS-S2 card
Drive Model Capacity
Intel M.2 S4510 240 GB, 480 GB
Micron M.2 5300 240 GB, 480 GB
NOTE: Dell Technologies recommends that you use the BOSS-S2 card only as an operating system boot device.
NOTE: Ensure that M.2 drives have the latest firmware. You can download the latest firmware from www.dell.com/
support/home.
PowerEdge systems supported by BOSS-S2
The following PowerEdge systems support the BOSS-S2 card:
● PowerEdge R6525
● PowerEdge R7525
Operating systems supported by BOSS-S2
See Dell Technologies Enterprise operating systems support for a list of supported operating systems by a specific server for
the BOSS-S2 card.
NOTE:
For the latest list of supported operating systems and driver installation instructions, see the operating system
documentation at www.dell.com/operatingsystemmanuals. For specific operating system service pack requirements, see
the Drivers and Downloads section at www.dell.com/manuals.
8 Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage Solution-S2
2
Applications supported by BOSS-S2
BOSS-S2 card management applications include the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility, Dell OpenManage Storage Management,
BOSS-S2 Command Line Interface (CLI) Utility, The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC), and Lifecycle Controller
(LC). They enable you to manage and configure the RAID system, create and manage a disk group, and provide online
maintenance.
Topics:
• Unified Extensible Firmware Interface RAID Configuration Utility
• Dell OpenManage Storage Management
• BOSS-S2 Command Line Interface Utility
• The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller and Lifecycle Controller
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface RAID Configuration Utility
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID Configuration Utility is integrated into the system BIOS (F2). See UEFI/HII
RAID configuration utility.
Dell OpenManage Storage Management
Dell OpenManage Storage Management enables you to perform controller and enclosure functions for all supported RAID
controllers and enclosures from a single graphical or command line interface. For more information, see the Dell OpenManage
Storage Management User's Guide at www.dell.com/openmanagemanuals.
BOSS-S2 Command Line Interface Utility
The BOSS-S2 Command Line Interface (CLI) Utility enables you to check controller, physical disk, and virtual disk status while
booted to an operating system. The application is also used to check physical disks and display controller SMART information.
For more information about CLI commands, see Manage BOSS-S2 using CLI commands on page 33.
Table 3. BOSS-S2 CLI utility for supported operating systems
Operating system Utility name
Windows mvsetup
Linux mvcli
ESXi mvcli
NOTE: To use the mvsetup Windows utility, the BOSS-S2 management driver must be installed first. You can download the
latest Windows unified console driver from www.dell.com/support/home. Linux or ESXi mvcli does not require a driver.
NOTE: To remove mvcli from the operating systems, uninstall BOSS-S2 drivers from the operating systems or remove the
libraries and the executable files.
Table 4. Instructions to remove mvcli from the operating systems
Operating system Instructions to remove mvcli from the operating systems
Windows Locate and remove the library and executable files
Applications supported by BOSS-S2 9
Table 4. Instructions to remove mvcli from the operating systems (continued)
Operating system Instructions to remove mvcli from the operating systems
Linux Locate and remove the library and executable files
ESXi Remove using vib remove command
The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller and Lifecycle Controller
The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) and Lifecycle Controller (LC) application enables you to effectively
monitor the RAID and network controllers installed on the system using iDRAC and LC without an operating system installed on
the system. For more information, see the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 9 User's Guide at www.dell.com/
idracmanuals.
10 Applications supported by BOSS-S2
Update the BOSS-S2 firmware version
BOSS-S2 card firmware updates can be done using the following methods:
● Operating system Dell Update Packages
○ Windows
○ Linux
● The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC)
● Lifecycle Controller (LC)
Topics:
• Update BOSS-S2 using Windows update packages
• Update BOSS-S2 using Linux
• Update BOSS-S2 using iDRAC
• Update BOSS-S2 using Lifecycle Controller
Update BOSS-S2 using Windows update packages
3
Prerequisites
Download the latest operating system Dell Update Package (DUP) from SAS-RAID_Firmware_xxxxx_xxxx_xxx.exe for
Windows from www.dell.com/support/home and install it for monolithic servers.
About this task
Perform the following steps to update using Windows:
NOTE: Ensure that you have Administrator privileges for Windows.
Steps
1. Download the latest Dell Update Package (DUP) for Windows from the www.dell.com/support/home.
2. Double-click the EXE file and click Install.
After the inventory collection and firmware validation processes are complete, the installed version and package version are
displayed.
NOTE:
Installed version refers to the current firmware version of the controller, and package version refers to the DUP
version.
3. Click Yes to continue.
4. Click Yes to reboot the system.
System reboot is required for a successful update as the firmware updates are staged.
5. Verify the installed firmware version in HII, iDRAC, or MVCLI utility.
Update BOSS-S2 using Linux
Prerequisites
Download the latest operating system Dell Update Package (DUP) from SAS-RAID_Firmware_xxxxx _xxxx_xxx.bin for Linux
from www.dell.com/support/home and install it for monolithic servers.
About this task
Perform the following steps to update using Linux:
Update the BOSS-S2 firmware version 11
NOTE: Ensure that you have Root or Sudo privileges for Linux or ESXi.
Steps
1. Download the latest Dell Update Package (DUP) for Linux from the www.dell.com/support/home.
2. Go to the downloaded file path and provide the permissions to execute the DUP file.
3. Execute the BIN file ./SAS-RAID_Firmware_xxxxx_xxxx_xxx.bin.
4. When prompted, press Q to proceed.
After the inventory collection and firmware validation processes are complete, the installed version and package version are
displayed.
5. To continue press Y+Enter or N+Enter to cancel.
6. When prompted to reboot the server, press Y+Enter.
System reboot is required for a successful update as the firmware updates are staged.
7. Verify the installed firmware version in HII, iDRAC, or BOSS-S2 CLI.
Update BOSS-S2 using iDRAC
Prerequisites
You can update controller firmware using iDRAC. The controller firmware can be updated using the Dell Update Package (DUP)
when booted to an operating system. Ensure that you have installed the latest firmware version available at www.dell.com/
support/home.
About this task
To update the firmware using the iDRAC web interface:
Steps
1. Download the latest DUP SAS- RAID_Firmware_xxxxx_xxxx_xxx.exe from the www.dell.com/support/home.
2. Click Maintenance > System Update > Manual Update.
3. Click Choose file. Select the DUP firmware image.
4. Click Upload.
The update section displays the firmware DUP details.
5. Select the EXE Dell Update Package (DUP).
6. Upload the file, and then click Install > Reboot.
System boots into Lifecycle Controller automatically to perform update operation. Launch Job Queue and Lifecycle Log
page to view and monitor the staged firmware updates.
7. Log in and verify the installed firmware version in HII, iDRAC, or BOSS-S2 CLI.
Update BOSS-S2 using Lifecycle Controller
Prerequisites
You can update controller firmware using Lifecycle Controller (LC). The controller firmware can be updated using the Dell
Update Package (DUP) when booted to an operating system. Ensure that you have installed the latest firmware version
available at www.dell.com/support/home.
About this task
To update the firmware using the Lifecycle Controller:
Steps
1. Download the DUP file from the www.dell.com/support/home and copy the .exe DUP file to a local drive.
Example of the file name: SAS- RAID_Firmware_xxxxx_xxxx_xxx.exe.
2. Open Virtual Console and boot into Lifecycle Controller by pressing F10 at boot time.
12
Update the BOSS-S2 firmware version
3. Click Firmware Update on the dashboard window and click Launch Firmware Update.
4. Select any one of these repositories FTP Server, Local Drive (CD/DVD/USB), or Netowrk Share (CIFS, NFS, HTTP,
or HTTPS). Click Next.
5. Select the EXE file and click Next.
6. Select the EXE Dell Update Package (DUP) and click Apply.
7. After successful installation, reboot and verify the installed firmware version in the HII, iDRAC, or BOSS-S2 CLI.
NOTE: For Information on how to update using the CLI, see Manage BOSS-S2 using CLI commands on page 33.
Update the BOSS-S2 firmware version 13
Features of BOSS-S2
Topics:
• Hot–plugging M.2 drives in PowerEdge systems
• Identify M.2 drives by using LEDs
• Controlled firmware update
• Foreign import of VDs
• Detect a drive failure using SMART feature
• Auto–rebuild a degraded drive
• Support of non–RAID drives
• TRIM feature on SSDs
• Erase physical disk data
Hot–plugging M.2 drives in PowerEdge systems
The unique controller design of the BOSS-S2 card carrier card allows you to hot plug M.2 drives. This feature reduces the
possibility of downtime during M.2 replacement. Automatic rebuild replaces the M.2 configured drives that are identified as
degraded and then starts an automatic rebuild.
NOTE:
The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) and Lifecycle Controller (LC) logs for the hot–plug events of
M.2 drives are not updated on a real time basis.
4
Drive removal and absence status information are available in the hard drive queried by the iDRAC. The event logs return
information about the removal, failure, and rebuild status of an M.2 module. The iDRAC and OMSA provides the status of the
virtual drive and also the hard drive status such as SMART and Remaining Rated Write Endurance (RRWE).
Identify M.2 drives by using LEDs
BOSS-S2 card supports Activity and Status LEDs.
● Activity LED—The activity LED is triggered when an activity is initiated in M.2 drives.
● Status LED—The status LED is driven based on the drive status as mentioned below:
Table 5. Status LED state
Status LED state Description
Green Drive is online or rebuild
BLINK - Amber Drive is failed
BLINK - Green Locate or identify
NOTE: The locate or identify functionality is triggered using iDRAC and OpenManage
Server Administrator (OMSA).
OFF Drive is not present
Controlled firmware update
Use the Dell update Package with out-of-band support and iDRAC to update the BOSS-S2 firmware. The firmware payload is
verified using a cryptographic digital signature, offering a secure update. By default, the BOSS-S2 controller state is secure and
locked, and is unlocked only during the firmware update process. Following the update, the controller automatically returns to
the default, locked state to prevent any unauthorized updates to the firmware.
14 Features of BOSS-S2
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