Dell S2 User Manual

Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage

Solution-S2

User's Guide

Part Number: BMSA-1500

September 2020

Rev. A00

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, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other 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

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

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
		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
		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
		NOTE: On new controller, virtual disk must be imported
		NOTE: On new controller, virtual disk must be imported
		from HII before presented to OS.

Split mirror	No
		NOTE: System required to shutdown and migrate one


		physical disk to another system and continue rebuild.

Non–RAID migration	Yes

BIOS configuration utility (Ctrl-M)	Yes

Add on driver for data path (OS device driver)	No
		NOTE: Console Windows driver or Linux library is required


		for management purposes only.

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: If drive supports SANITIZE Crypto Erase. No other
		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: The BOSS-S2 card is tested and supported only with the M.2 drives that are shipped with the controller.

Dell Technologies Boot Optimized Storage Solution-S2

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

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

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

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

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 SASRAID_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: SASRAID_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

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.

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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