Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Overview Virtual Disks Getting Started Physical Disks Understanding RAID Concepts Protecting Your Virtual Disk with a Hot Spare Quick Access to Storage Status and Tasks Moving Physical and Virtual Disks from One System to Another Storage Information and Global Tasks BIOS Terminology Setting Hot Spare Protection Policy Troubleshooting Controllers Frequently Asked Questions RAID Controller Batteries Supported Features Conn
Back to Contents Page Supported Features Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Supported Features on the PERC S100 and S300 Controllers Supported Features on the PERC 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/SC, 4/DC, 4/Di, 4e/Si, 4e/Di, 4e/DC, CERC ATA100/4ch, and 4/IM Controllers Supported Features on the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.5/2s, and CERC SATA1.
NOTE: For PERC 4 controllers, (Manual mode is not available). Start Patrol Read No No No No No No No No No No No Stop Patrol Read No No No No No No No No No No No Battery Tasks Table A-2.
/IM Controllers Virtual Disk Task Name PERC 3/SC PERC 3/DC PERC 3/QC PERC 4/SC PERC 4/DC PERC 4/DI PERC 4e/SI PERC 4e/DI PERC 4e/DC CERC ATA 100/4ch PERC 4/IM Assign and Unassign Dedicated Hot Spare Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Create Virtual Disk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard Yes Y
in a RAID 50 Minimum Number of Physical Disks that Can Be Concatenated 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 NA Minimum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 NA Minimum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Minimum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 NA Minimum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 10 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 NA Minimum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 50 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 NA NA Maxi
Enclosure Support Table A-9. Enclosure Support on the PERC 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/SC, 4/DC, 4/Di, 4e/Si, 4e/Di, 4e/DC, CERC ATA100/4ch, and 4/IM Controllers Enclosure Support PERC 3/SC PERC 3/DC PERC 3/QC PERC 4/SC PERC 4/DC PERC 4/DI PERC 4e/SI PERC 4e/DI PERC 4e/DC CERC ATA 100/4ch PERC 4/IM Can an enclosure be attached to this controller? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Supported Features on the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.
Battery Task Name PERC 3/Si PERC 3/Di CERC SATA 1.5/2s CERC SATA 1.5/6ch Recondition Battery Yes Yes No No Start Learn Cycle No No No No Delay Learn Cycle No No No No Connector Tasks Table A-12. Connector Tasks Supported by the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.5/2s, and CERC SATA1.5/6ch Controllers Connector Task Name PERC 3/SI PERC 3/DI CERC SATA 2S CERC SATA 6ch Connector Rescan Yes Yes Yes Yes Physical Disk Tasks Table A-13.
Format Virtual Disk Yes Yes No Yes Cancel Format Virtual Disk No No No No Restore Dead Disk Segments Yes Yes No Yes Initialize Virtual Disk No No No No Fast Initialize Virtual Disk No No No No Slow Initialize Virtual Disk No No No No Cancel Initialize Virtual Disk No No No No Virtual Disk Specifications Table A-15. Virtual Disk Specifications for the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.5/2s, and CERC SATA1.
Table A-17. Read, Write, and Cache Policy Supported by the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.5/2s, and CERC SATA1.
Set Background Initialization Rate Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Set Check Consistency Rate Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Set Reconstruct Rate Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Rescan Controller No No No No No No Create Virtual Disk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Export Log File Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Clear Foreign Configuration Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Import Foreign Configuration Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Import/Recover Foreign Configuration Yes with firmware 5.1.x or greater.
Offline Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Online Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Initialize No No No No No No Rebuild Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancel Rebuild Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Remove Dead Disk Segments No No No No No No Format Disk No No No No No No Clear Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancel Clear Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancel Replace Member No No Yes with firmware 6.1 and later Yes with firmware 6.1 and later Yes with firmware 6.
Minimum Stripe Size 8k 8k 8k 8k 8k 8k Maximum Stripe Size 128k 128k 1MB 1MB 1MB 1MB Maximum Number of Virtual Disks per Disk Group 16 16 16 16 16 16 Maximum Number of Physical Disks that Can Be Concatenated NA NA NA NA NA NA Maximum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 0 32 32 32 32 32 32 Maximum Physical Disks in a RAID 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 Maximum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 5 32 32 32 32 32 32 Maximum Number of Physical Disks in a RAID 10 16 16 256 16 with
Enclosure Support Table A-27.
Redundant Path Configuration Yes No No No Disk Cache Policy Yes Yes Yes Yes Managing Preserved Cache Yes Yes Yes Yes Manage Security Key Yes Yes Yes Yes Battery Tasks Table A-29.
Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard Yes Yes Yes Yes Rename Yes Yes Yes Yes Blink/Unblink Yes Yes Yes Yes Reconfigure Yes Yes Yes Yes Change Policy Yes Yes Yes Yes Split Mirror No No No No Unmirror No No No No Delete Last Virtual Disk Yes Yes Yes Yes Delete (any) Virtual Disk Yes Yes Yes Yes Check Consistency Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancel Check Consistency Yes Yes Yes Yes Pause Check Consistency No No No No Resume Check Consistency No No No No Cancel B
Supported RAID Levels Table A-34.
l "Read, Write, Cache and Disk Cache Policy" l "Enclosure Support" For enclosure-supported tasks, see "Enclosure and Backplane Features." Controller Tasks Table A-37.
Physical Disk Task Name SAS 5/IR SAS 6/iR PERC H200 Blink/Unblink Yes Yes Yes Task only available when an enclosure or backplane and LEDs on the physical disks are present. Assign and Unassign Global Hot Spare No Supports up to two global hot spares Supports up to two global hot spares Prepare to Remove No No No Offline No No No Online No No No Initialize No No No Rebuild No NA. NA. Rebuild automatically initiated by Rebuild automatically initiated by the controller.
RAID 1 Yes Yes Yes RAID 10 No No Yes Virtual Disk Specifications Table A-43.
Disk Cache Policy Yes Yes Yes Cache I/O No No No Direct I/O No No No Enclosure Support Table A-45. Enclosure Support on the SAS 5/iR, SAS 6/iR, and H200 Controllers Enclosure Support SAS 5/IR SAS 6/iR PERC H200 Can an enclosure be attached to this controller? No No No Supported Features on the PERC S100 and S300 Controllers This section identifies the controller-supported features and whether or not an enclosure can be attached to the controller.
Change Policy Yes Yes Delete Last Virtual Disk Yes Yes Delete (any) Virtual Disk Yes Yes Check Consistency Yes Yes Virtual Disk Specifications Table A-49.
Write Back (Enabled) Yes Yes Write Through (Disabled) Yes Yes Force Write Back (Enabled Always) No No Write Cache Enabled Protected No No Cache Policy No No Disk Cache Policy No No Cache I/O No No Direct I/O No No Enclosure Support Table A-52.
Battery Tasks Table A-54. Battery Tasks Supported on the Non-RAID Controllers Battery Task Name Non-RAID SCSI Non-RAID SAS Recondition Battery No No Start Learn Cycle No No Delay Learn Cycle No No Connector Tasks Table A-55. Connector Tasks Supported on the Non-RAID Controllers Connector Task Name Non-RAID SCSI Non-RAID SAS Connector Rescan No No Physical Disk Tasks Table A-56.
Cancel Check Consistency No No Pause Check Consistency No No Resume Check Consistency No No Cancel Background Initialization (BGI) No No Format Virtual Disk No No Cancel Format Virtual Disk No No Restore Dead Disk Segments No No Initialize Virtual Disk No No Fast Initialize Virtual Disk No No Slow Initialize Virtual Disk No No Cancel Initialize Virtual Disk No No Enclosure Support Table A-58.
Set Asset Data (includes asset tag and asset name) No No Blink Enclosure No No Enclosure and Backplane Support for Smart Thermal Shutdown Table A-61. Enclosure Support for Smart Thermal Shutdown Smart Thermal Shutdown PowerVault 20xS and 21xS PowerVault 220S and 221S PowerVault MD1000 Storage PowerVault MD1120 PowerVault MD1200 Storage PowerVault MD1220 Smart Thermal Shutdown No Yes No No No No Table A-62.
Back to Contents Page Determining the Health Status for Storage Components Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Health Status Rollup: Enclosure Power Supply Failed or Power Connection Removed Health Status Rollup: Battery is Charging or Dead Health Status Rollup: Physical Disks in a Virtual Disk are Failed or Removed Health Status Rollup: One Enclosure Fan is Failed Health Status Rollup: Physical Disks in a Virtual Disk are Unsupported, Partially or Permane
Included) Storage Subsystem Controller Battery Connector Physical Disk(s) Firmware/ Virtual Disk(s) Driver Component Status Health Rollup Health Status Rollup: All Physical Disks in a Virtual Disk are in Foreign State Table B-4.
Table B-7. Health Status Rollup: Virtual Disk is Failed (Enclosures Not Included) Storage Subsystem Controller Battery Connector Physical Disk(s) Firmware/Driver Virtual Disk(s) Component Status Health Rollup Health Status Rollup: Unsupported Firmware Version Table B-8.
Health Rollup NA Health Status Rollup: One Enclosure Temperature Probe is Failed Table B-12. Health Status Rollup: One Enclosure Temperature Probe is Failed Storage Subsystem Controller Connector Enclosure Enclosure Temperature Probe Virtual Disks Physical Disks Component Status Health Rollup NA Health Status Rollup: Lost Both Power Connections to the Enclosure Table B-13.
Health Status Rollup: Physical Disk is Rebuilding Table B-15.
Back to Contents Page Physical Disks Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Add a New Disk to Your System Initialize How to Avoid Removing the Wrong Disk Rebuild Replacing a Physical Disk Receiving SMART Alerts Cancel Rebuild Other Disk Procedures Assign and Unassign Global Hot Spare Physical Disk Properties and Tasks Online and Offline Blink and Unblink (Physical Disk) Clear Physical Disk and Cancel Clear Remove Dead Segments Reve
SMART alerts are messages predicting that a disk may fail in the near future. If a physical disk is receiving SMART alerts, you should replace the disk. Use the following procedures to replace a disk receiving SMART alerts. If the disk is part of a redundant virtual disk: 1. Select the redundant virtual disk that includes the physical disk that is receiving SMART alerts and perform the Check Consistency task. See "Check Consistency" for more information.
Status These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component. Normal/OK Warning/Non-critical Critical/Fatal See "Storage Component Severity" for more information. Name This property displays the name of the physical disk. The name is comprised of the connector number followed by the disk number. State This property displays the current state of the physical disk. Ready — The physical disk is functioning normally.
2110 2111 For information on Alert Messages, see the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Messages Reference Guide on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals. Progress This property displays how close to completion an operation is that is being performed on the physical disk. For example, if the physical disk is being rebuilt, then a value of 52% indicates that the rebuild is 52% complete. This property is only displayed when an operation is being performed on the physical disk.
7. Select a task from the Available Tasks drop-down menu. 8. Click Execute. NOTE: Different controllers support different features. For this reason, the tasks displayed on the Tasks drop-down menu can vary depending on which controller is selected in the tree view. If no tasks can be performed because of controller or system configuration limitations, then the Tasks drop-down menu displays No Task Available.
l Wait until you notice the initial blink pattern has changed into a different pattern or the lights have stopped blinking. A physical disk is no longer in Ready state after doing a Prepare to Remove. Removing the physical disk from the enclosure or backplane and replacing it causes the physical disk to spin up and return to Ready state. In some cases, a rescan is required for the controller to recognize configuration changes such as the removal of a disk.
NOTE: When deleting virtual disks, all assigned global hot spares may be automatically unassigned when the last virtual disk associated with the controller is deleted. CAUTION: The SAS 6/iR controller enables you to assign two physical disks as global hot spare. Assigning a physical disk as a global hot spare on a SAS 6/iR controller is likely to cause data loss from the physical disk. If the system or boot partition resides on the physical disks, it may be destroyed.
To clear the physical disk: 1. 2. Review the physical disk that will be erased by the clear task. Be sure that it does not contain necessary data and make a backup if necessary. If you want to blink the physical disk, click the Blink button. Click Clear when you are ready to erase all information on the physical disk. To exit without clearing the physical disk, click Go Back to Previous Page. To locate this task in Storage Management: 1.
l Unconfigured SED drive l Foreign configured secured drives l Unconfigured and foreign SED drive even when Security Key is not present in the controller CAUTION: Instant Secure Erase permanently erases all data present on the disk. To locate this task in Storage Management: 1. Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects. 2. Expand a controller object. 3. Expand a Connector object. 4. Expand the enclosure or Backplane object. 5.
Back to Contents Page RAID Controller Batteries Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Battery Properties and Tasks Some RAID controllers have batteries. If the controller has a battery, Storage Management displays the battery under the controller object in the tree view. In the event of a power outage, the controller battery preserves data that is in the nonvolatile cache memory (NVRAM) but not yet written to disk.
State This property displays the current status of the battery. Possible values are: Ready — The battery is functioning normally. Degraded — The battery needs to be reconditioned. Reconditioning — The battery is being reconditioned. See "Recondition Battery" for more information. Charging — The battery is undergoing the recharge phase of the battery Learn cycle. See "Start Learn Cycle" for more information. Learning — The battery is undergoing the discharge phase of the battery Learn cycle.
Drop-down Menu Battery Tasks: l "Recondition Battery" l "Start Learn Cycle" l "Battery Delay Learn Cycle" Recondition Battery Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." Some controllers have NiMHi batteries which need to be reconditioned approximately every six months to maintain reliability. This reconditioning cycle requires a full discharge and recharge of the battery.
Battery Delay Learn Cycle Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." The controller firmware automatically initiates the battery Learn cycle every 90 days. Although you cannot stop the firmware from running the Learn cycle, you can delay the start time of the Learn cycle for up to seven days. See "Start Learn Cycle" for more information on the battery Learn cycle. To delay the battery Learn cycle: 1. Type a numerical value in the Days text box.
Back to Contents Page BIOS Terminology Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide BIOS Terms and the PERC 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/SC, 4/DC, 4e/DC, 4/Di, and CERC ATA100/4ch Controllers BIOS Terms and the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.5/6ch, and CERC SATA1.5/2s Controllers The terminology used by Storage Management can be different from the terminology used in the controller BIOS. The following sections show some of these differences.
Back to Contents Page Connectors Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Channel Redundancy and Thermal Shutdown Channel Redundancy on PERC 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/DC, 4e/DC, 4/Di, and 4e/Di Controllers Creating a Channel-redundant Virtual Disk Connector Health Connector Properties and Tasks Logical Connector Properties and Tasks A controller contains one or more connectors (channels or ports) to which you can attach disks.
3. ¡ PERC 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/DC, 4e/DC, 4/Di, and 4e/Di Controllers: It is recommended that you only use RAID 10 or RAID 50. ¡ PERC 3/Di Controller: It is recommended that you only use RAID 10. Complete "Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 2 of 4)." In this step, you select the channels and the disks to be used by the virtual disk. The selections you make determine whether or not the virtual disk is channel-redundant.
The component may still be functioning, but it could fail. The component may also be functioning in an impaired state. Data loss is possible. Critical/Failure/Error. The component has either failed or failure is imminent. The component requires immediate attention and may need to be replaced. Data loss may have occurred.
Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." On a SCSI controller, this task rescans the controller connectors to verify the currently connected devices or to recognize new devices that have been added to the connectors. Performing a rescan on a connector is similar to performing a rescan on the controller. For information on when you may want to do a rescan, see "Rescan to Update Storage Configuration Changes." NOTE: Rescan is not supported on non-RAID SCSI controllers.
Clearing the Redundant Path View If you do not want the redundant path view, physically disconnect the connector port from the enclosure and reboot the system. After the system reboots, the user interface will still display the Logical Connector, but in a critical state. If you are certain you do not want the redundant path mode, select Clear Redundant Path view from the Connector Tasks.
Back to Contents Page Controllers Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide What is a Controller? Export Log RAID Controller Technology: SCSI, SATA, ATA, and SAS Foreign Configuration Operations RAID Controller Features Importing Foreign Configurations Controller-supported RAID Levels Importing/Recovering Foreign Configurations Controller-supported Stripe Sizes Clear Foreign Configuration RAID Controller Read, Write, Cache, and Disk Cache Poli
The following Cost Effective RAID Controller (CERC) controllers use Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) technology. l CERC ATA100/4ch l CERC 6/I controller family SAS RAID Controllers The following RAID controllers use Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) technology.
RAID Controller Read, Write, Cache, and Disk Cache Policy When creating a virtual disk, you specify the read, write, and cache policies for the virtual disk. The following sub-section describes these policies. NOTE: Read, write, and cache policies are not supported on the CERC SATA1.5/2s controller. Read Policy Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features" The read policies indicate whether or not the controller should read sequential sectors of the virtual disk when seeking data.
Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." The Direct I/O and Cache I/O cache policies apply to reads on a specific virtual disk. These settings do not affect the read-ahead policy. The cache policies are as follows: l Cache I/O. Specifies that all reads are buffered in cache memory. l Direct I/O. Specifies that reads are not buffered in cache memory. When using direct I/O, data is transferred to the controller cache and the host system simultaneously during a read request.
This section applies to 3/DC, 4/DC, and 4e/DC controllers If you are using a PERC 3/DC, 4/DC, or 4e/DC controller in a cluster configuration, you must shut down and power off the other systems in the cluster before creating or deleting the virtual disk. The following procedure describes the sequence of actions required to create or delete a virtual disk from a clusterenabled controller.
Non-RAID SAS Controllers The following non-RAID controllers use Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) technology. l SAS 5/i Integrated l SAS 5/E l SAS 6Gbps Adapter Firmware/Driver Versions Use this window to view information about the controller firmware and drivers. For more information on firmware and drivers, see "Installation Considerations for Storage Management." Firmware/Driver Properties The firmware and driver properties can vary depending on the model of the controller.
Severity Component Status Normal/OK. The component is working as expected. Warning/Non-critical. A probe or other monitoring device has detected a reading for the component that is above or below the acceptable level. The component may still be functioning, but it could fail. The component may also be functioning in an impaired state. Data loss is possible. Critical/Failure/Error. The component has either failed or failure is imminent.
Failed — The controller has encountered a failure and is no longer functioning. Firmware Version This property displays the version of the firmware that is currently installed on the controller. NOTE: On some controllers, Storage Management may not be able to obtain the firmware version. In this case, Storage Management displays Not Applicable. Minimum Required Firmware Version This property displays the minimum firmware version that is required by Storage Management.
Patrol Read State This property displays the current state of the Patrol Read process. Possible values are: Ready — The Patrol Read process is enabled and will run when next scheduled or when manually initiated. Active — The Patrol Read process is currently running. Stopped — The Patrol Read has been stopped. For more information about Patrol Read, see "Set Patrol Read Mode." Patrol Read Iterations This property displays the number of Patrol Read iterations.
Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." On SCSI controllers, a rescan updates configuration changes (such as new or removed devices) for all components attached to the controller. For information on when you may want to do a rescan, see "Rescan to Update Storage Configuration Changes." NOTE: Rescan Controller is not supported on non-RAID SCSI controllers. You must reboot the system before Storage Management can see configuration changes on non-RAID SCSI controllers.
Set Rebuild Rate Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." Use the Set Rebuild Rate task to change the rebuild rate. See "Set Rebuild Rate" for more information. Export Log File Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." Use this task to export the controller log to a text file. See "Export Log" for more information.
To locate this task in Storage Management: 1. Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects. 2. Select a controller object. 3. Select the Information/Configuration subtab. 4. Select Set Rebuild Rate from the Available Tasks drop-down menu. 5. Click Execute. You can also locate this task from the Change Controller Properties drop down menu. For more information, see "Change Controller Properties.
Depending on the controller, the log file name will be either afa_.log or lsi_.log where is the month and date. For example, a log file exported on September 21 will be named either afa_0921.log or lsi_0921.log. NOTE: In the VMware® ESXi environment, only one log file is created (lsiexport.log). If the file already exists, exporting the log file overwrites the existing log file. NOTE: The Export Log File command is not supported on the PERC 4/IM, CERC ATA100/4ch, CERC SATA1.5/2s.
See "Storage Component Severity" for more information. Name This property displays the name of the foreign configuration and is available as a link. The link enables you to access the physical disks that constitute the foreign disk. State This property displays the current state of the foreign configuration. Ready — The foreign disk can be imported and will function normally after import. Degraded — The foreign disk is in degraded state and will rebuild after import.
The Import Foreign Configuration task is only displayed when the controller has detected a foreign configuration. You can also identify whether or not a physical disk contains a foreign configuration (virtual disk or hot spare) by checking the physical disk state. If the physical disk state is Foreign, then the physical disk contains all or some portion of a virtual disk or has a hot spare assignment.
configuration). You can identify whether or not a previously used physical disk contains a foreign configuration (virtual disk) by checking the physical disk state. If the physical disk state is Foreign, then the physical disk contains all or some portion of a virtual disk. Use the clear foreign configuration task to clear or erase the virtual disk information from the newly attached physical disks.
Name This property displays the name of the physical disk. The name is comprised of the connector number followed by the disk number. Current State This property displays the current state of the physical disk. After Import State This property displays the after-import state of the physical disk. The physical disk can be imported in any of the following states. Online — The physical disk will be part of the imported virtual disk and will function normally.
Capable Speed This property displays the highest possible speed with which the device can transfer data. Manufacture Day This property displays the day of the month on which the physical disk was manufactured. Manufacture Week This property displays the week of the year during which the physical disk was manufactured. Manufacture Year This property displays the year in which the physical disk was manufactured. SAS Address This property displays the SAS address of the physical disk.
information about the check consistency task. The check consistency rate, configurable between 0% and 100%, represents the percentage of the system resources dedicated to running the check consistency task. At 0%, the check consistency will have the lowest priority for the controller, will take the most time to complete, and will be the setting with the least impact to system performance. A check consistency rate of 0% does not mean that the check consistency is stopped or paused.
4. Select Set Reconstruct Rate from the Available Tasks drop-down menu. 5. Click Execute. You can also locate this task from the Change Controller Properties drop down menu. For more information, see "Change Controller Properties." Related Information: l "Virtual Disk Task: Reconfigure (Step 1 of 3)" Redundant Path Configuration Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features.
Health of Logical Connector Path between Enclosure n and Enclosure n+1 Connector 0 (C0) Connector 1 (C1) Available Available Available Disconnected Disconnected Available In this case, the enclosure status is displayed in warning mode. The Enclosures page displays all enclosure components (EMMs, Fans, Physical Disks, Power Supplies, and Temperature) to be in normal condition. Select the Information/Configuration subtab of the enclosure.
reboots while the Patrol Read task is running in Auto mode, the Patrol Read restarts at zero percent (0%). When the Patrol Read task is set to Auto mode, you cannot start or stop the task. Auto mode is the default setting. NOTE: Refer to your controller documentation for more information on how often the Patrol Read task runs when in Auto mode. l Manual — Setting the mode to Manual enables you to start and stop the Patrol Read when you want using the "Start and Stop Patrol Read" tasks.
Change Controller Properties Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." The Change Controller Properties task provides you the option to change multiple controller properties simultaneously. This task is available only on SAS controllers with firmware version 6.1 and later.
Data in the cache may also be lost in case of unintended cable or power failure. In the event of such a failure, Storage Management preserves the data written on the preserved or dirty cache until you recover the virtual disk or clear the cache. This feature is available only on SAS controllers with firmware version 6.1 and later. The status of the controller is affected by the preserved cache. The controller status is displayed as degraded if the controller has preserved cache.
space.) 3. Read the Passphrase guidelines and acknowledge the note by selecting the accompanying check box. Ensure that you save the Passphrase. CAUTION: It is important to understand that if you lose the Passphrase, you cannot recover it. If you move the physical disks associated with the lost Passphrase to another controller, you will not be able to access data from that disk. 4. Click Apply Changes. The controller information is displayed.
Back to Contents Page Enclosures and Backplanes Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Backplanes Set Asset Data Enclosures Set Temperature Probe Values SMART Thermal Shutdown EMM Properties Changing the Mode on PowerVault 220S and PowerVault 221S Enclosures Fan Properties Enclosure Management Power Supply Properties Enclosure and Backplane Health Enclosure and Backplane Properties and Tasks Temperature Probe Properties and Tasks Ph
Enclosure Power Supplies The enclosure's power supplies are displayed under the Power Supplies object in the tree view. You can select the Power Supplies object to display their status information. Enclosure Temperature Probes The enclosure's temperature probes are displayed under the Temperatures object. You can select the Temperatures object to display their status information.
Changing the Mode on PowerVault 220S and PowerVault 221S Enclosures When toggling the bus configuration switch on a PowerVault 220S or PowerVault 221S enclosure, the enclosure should be powered off. The bus configuration switch is used to change the enclosure to split bus, joined bus, or clustered mode. If you change the PowerVault 220S or PowerVault 221S enclosure mode with the enclosure powered on, the enclosure may no longer be displayed by Storage Management and you may notice other erratic behaviors.
l "Physical Disks" Enclosure and Backplane Properties and Tasks Use this window to view information about the enclosure or backplane and execute enclosure tasks. Enclosure and Backplane Properties The enclosure or backplane properties can vary depending on the model of the controller. Enclosure or backplane properties may include: Property Definition These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component. See "Storage Component Severity" for more information.
Enclosure Part Number This property displays the part number of the enclosure. Enclosure Alarm This property displays whether the enclosure's alarm is enabled or disabled. Enclosure Tasks Do the following to execute a drop-down menu enclosure task: 1. Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects. 2. Expand a controller object. 3. Expand a Connector object. 4. Select the enclosure object. 5. Select the Information/Configuration subtab. 6.
Does my enclosure support this feature? See "Supported Features." Use the Blink task to blink the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the enclosure. You may want to use this task to locate an enclosure. The LEDs on the enclosure may display different colors and blinking patterns. Refer to the enclosure hardware documentation for more information on what the blink colors and patterns indicate. Set Temperature Probe Value Does my enclosure support this feature? See "Supported Features.
For information related to the enclosure's EMMs, see "Enclosure Management Modules (EMMs)." Enclosure Components For information on attached components, see the following topics: l "Physical Disk Properties and Tasks" l "EMM Properties" l "Fan Properties" l "Power Supply Properties" l "Temperature Probe Properties and Tasks" Set Asset Data Does my enclosure support this feature? See "Supported Features." You can change the enclosure's asset tag and asset name.
1. The enclosure's temperature probes are listed in the Temperature Probes section of the screen. Select the probes that you want to change. 2. Select Set new values in the Set New Temperature Probe Values section of the screen. 3. Type the lowest acceptable temperature in Celsius for the enclosure in the Minimum Warning Threshold text box. The text box label indicates the range that you can specify. 4.
Type This property indicates whether the EMM is a SCSI SES Module or a SCSI Terminator. SCSI SES Module — A SCSI SES Module provides SES and SAFTE reporting to the host server, control of all system LED indicators, and monitoring of all environmental elements, such as temperature sensors, cooling modules, and power supplies. SCSI Terminator — The SCSI Terminator card is only used if the PowerVault™ 220S or PowerVault 221S enclosure is not configured with a redundant SCSI SES Module type of EMM.
Critical/Fatal See "Storage Component Severity" for more information. Name This property displays the name of the power supply. State This property displays the current status of the power supply. Ready — The power supply is functioning normally. Degraded — The power supply has encountered a failure and is operating in a degraded state. Failed — The power supply has encountered a failure and is no longer functioning.
Set Temperature Probe Properties and Tasks Click the Set Temperature Probe button to launch the wizard for changing the temperature probe's Warning threshold. You can change the Warning threshold for each of the temperature probes included in the enclosure. See "Set Temperature Probe Values" for more information. Do the following to launch the Set Temperature Probe wizard: 1. Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects. 2. Expand a controller object. 3.
Back to Contents Page Frequently Asked Questions Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Why is a rebuild not working? How can I safely remove or replace a physical disk? How do I recover from removing the wrong physical disk? How do I know what firmware is installed? What controllers do I have? How do I turn off an alarm? What RAID level is best for me? This section provides frequently asked questions that address situations commonly experienced in a storage
What controllers do I have? Each controller attached to the system is displayed under the Storage object in the tree view. In addition, the Storage object's Health and Information/Configuration subtabs display information for each controller. To identify which controllers are attached to the system: 1. Select the Storage tree view object. The Health subtab displays the name and status for each controller attached to the system. 2.
Back to Contents Page Getting Started Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Launching Storage Management User Privileges Using the Graphical User Interface Using the Storage Management Command Line Interface Displaying the Online Help Common Storage Tasks Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management is designed for system administrators who implement hardware RAID solutions and understand corporate and small business storage environments.
User and Power User privileges allow you to view storage status, but not manage or configure storage. With User and Power User privileges, you can use the omreport storage command but not the omconfig storage command. For more information on user groups and other Server Administrator security features, see the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User's Guide.
l Assign a hot spare to the virtual disk. When a virtual disk uses a redundant RAID level, then you can assign a hot spare (backup physical disk) to rebuild data if a physical disk in the virtual disk fails. For more information, see: l Perform a Check Consistency. The "Maintain Integrity of Redundant Virtual Disks" task verifies the accuracy of a virtual disk's redundant data. l Reconfigure a Virtual Disk. You can add physical disks to a virtual disk to expand the virtual disk's capacity.
Back to Contents Page Protecting Your Virtual Disk with a Hot Spare Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Understanding Hot Spares Considerations for Hot Spares on PERC 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/SC, 4/DC, 4e/DC, 4/Di, 4e/Si, 4e/Di, CERC ATA100/4ch, PERC 5/E, PERC 5/i, PERC 6/E, PERC 6/I, and CERC 6/I Controllers Considerations for Hot Spares on PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.
Dedicated Hot Spare Considerations The following considerations apply to dedicated hot spares: l Considerations for RAID 10 and RAID 50. If you have created a RAID 10 or RAID 50 virtual disk that does not fully consume its member physical disks, then you will not be able to assign a dedicated hot spare to the RAID 10 or RAID 50 virtual disk. Storage Management does not allow you to create RAID 10 and RAID 50 virtual disks from partial physical disks.
already assigned. When a physical disk fails in a redundant virtual disk, the failed disk is rebuilt onto the hot spare. In this case, the controller firmware reassigns the slot containing the failed disk as the hot spare. In this circumstance, a disk not previously assigned as a global hot spare becomes a hot spare through failure or removal.
Back to Contents Page Setting Hot Spare Protection Policy Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Dedicated Hot Spare Protection Policy Global Hot Spare Protection Policy Considerations for Hot Spare Protection Policy Considerations for Enclosure Affinity The Hot Spare Protection Policy is supported only on Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) controllers.
l Enclosure affinity settings for a global/dedicated hot spare are not automatically set when you upgrade to Dell OpenManage version 6.1. l Enclosure affinity settings for a global/dedicated hot spare are not automatically set when you import a foreign virtual disk.
Back to Contents Page Moving Physical and Virtual Disks from One System to Another Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Required Conditions Migrating SCSI Virtual Disks to Another System Migrating SAS Virtual Disks to Another System This section describes how to move physical and virtual disks from one system to another.
Moving the Disks 1. 2. Shut down the system that the physical disks are being moved from. If the receiving controller has a preexisting virtual disk configuration on attached physical disks, use the following procedure for clearing the configuration: ¡ Shut down the receiving server. ¡ Remove all the physical disks from the controller. ¡ Start up the receiving server and clear the configuration from the controller BIOS.
Back to Contents Page Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide A Alert Messages 1 Assign and Unassign Dedicated Hot Spare 1 Assign and Unassign Global Hot Spare 1 B Backplanes 1 Battery Delay Learn Cycle 1 Battery Properties and Tasks 1 Blink 1 Blink and Unblink (Physical Disk) 1 Blink and Unblink (Virtual Disk) 1 C Cancel Background Initialization 1 Cancel Check Consistency 1 Cancel Rebuild 1, 2 Change Controller Properties 1 Change Policy 1 Check Consistency 1 Clear Fore
Enclosure Temperature 1 Enclosure's EMM Firmware Version 1 Enclosures 1 Event Log viewing entries 1 Export Log 1 F Fan Properties 1 FAQs 1 Foreign Configuration Operations 1 Format, Initialize, Slow and Fast Initialize 1 H hot spare protection policy dedicated hot spare 1 global hot spare 1 resetting 1 I Importing Foreign Configurations 1 Initialize 1 Installation Windows 2000 1 Installation Considerations for Storage Management 1 Integrated mirror 1 L Logical Connector Components 1 Logical Connector Pr
omconfig Global Commands 1 omconfig Physical Disk Commands 1 omconfig Virtual Disk Commands 1 Online and Offline 1 P Parity 1 PERC 2/SC, 2/DC, 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/Di, CERC ATA100/4ch controllers RAID configuration 1 PERC 2/SC, 2/DC, 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/SC, 4/DC, 4/Di controllers limitations 1 PERC 4/IM 1 PERC S100 and S300 Controllers Considerations for Hot Spares 1 Supported Features 1 Virtual Disk Considerations 1 Physical Disk Properties 1 Power Supply Properties 1 Prepare to Remove 1 Q Quiet Alarm (Co
Rescan Connector 1 Rescan Controller 1 Resolving Windows 2000 Upgrade Problems 1 Revertible Hot Spare 1 S S.M.A.R.
Unmirror 1 Updating disk information 1 Upgrading from Windows NT 1 User Privileges 1 Using the Command Line Interface 1 Using the Graphical User Interface 1 V Viewing SNMP traps 1 Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard 1 Virtual Disk Bad Block definition 1 Recommendations 1 Virtual Disk Express Wizard 1 Virtual Disk Properties 1 Virtual Disk Task Change Policy 1 Delete 1 Reconfigure 1 Rename 1 Replace Member Disk 1 Virtual Disk Tasks 1 W What Is RAID? 1 What's New 1 Back to Contents Page
Back to Contents Page Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide 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. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. © 2009 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Back to Contents Page Overview Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide What's New in this Release? Installation Considerations for Storage Management Supported Controllers Supported Enclosures Support for Disk and Volume Management Support for Security Key Management Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management provides enhanced features for configuring a system's locally-attached RAID and non-RAID disk storage.
Compatibility With Linux Utilities Installing Storage Management on a Linux system that has RAID storage management utilities provided by Dell or other vendors is an unsupported configuration. It is recommended that you uninstall these utilities before installing Storage Management. Storage Management replaces the storage management features provided by these utilities.
however, use Storage Management to create a virtual disk on the PERC 4/IM controller. Storage Management supports other functions provided by the PERC 4/IM controller. See "Integrated Mirroring and the PERC 4/IM Controller" for more information. Supported Non-RAID Controllers Storage Management supports the following non-RAID controllers.
Back to Contents Page Quick Access to Storage Status and Tasks Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Storage Dashboard and Storage Health Monitoring Disk Reliability on RAID Controllers Storage Health Using Alarms to Detect Failures Hot Spare Protection Policy Using Enclosure Temperature Probes Storage Component Severity Rescan to Update Storage Configuration Changes Storage Properties and Current Activity Time Delay in Displaying Configurati
replaced. Data loss may have occurred. Storage Properties and Current Activity The Configuration/Information subtab displays information regarding a storage component. These properties include details such as the number of connectors (channels or ports) on a controller or the Enclosure Management Modules (EMM) firmware version. The State and Progress properties indicate a component's current activity.
l "SMART Thermal Shutdown" l "Set Temperature Probe Values" Rescan to Update Storage Configuration Changes The Rescan task scans the storage attached to the controller's connectors (channels or ports) to verify the currently connected devices or to recognize devices that have been added to or removed from the connectors. When you do a rescan on a controller object, all storage attached to the controller is rescanned.
Back to Contents Page Storage Information and Global Tasks Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Storage Properties Global Tasks Storage Controllers Use this window to view high-level information about your system's storage. This window also enables you to launch global tasks that affect all controllers attached to the system. Storage Properties The Storage tree-view object has the following properties.
Enable/Disable Smart Thermal Shutdown By default, the operating system and server shut down when the PowerVault™ 220S and PowerVault 221S enclosures reach a critical temperature of 0 or 50 degrees Celsius. Using the Enable Smart Thermal Shutdown task, however, you can specify that only the enclosure, and not the operating system and server be shut down when the enclosure reaches a critical temperature.
SCSI Initiator ID This property displays the SCSI ID of a SCSI controller. The default value is usually 7. You can change the default value in the BIOS. Controllers in a cluster configuration should not have duplicate SCSI Initiator IDs. Refer to SCSI documentation for a list of acceptable SCSI Initiator ID values. On some controllers, this property is not available. In this case, this property displays as Not Applicable.
Back to Contents Page Understanding RAID Concepts Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide What Is RAID? Organizing Data Storage for Availability and Performance Choosing RAID Levels and Concatenation Comparing RAID Level and Concatenation Performance No-RAID Storage Management uses Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology to provide storage management capability.
RAID provides different methods or RAID levels for organizing the disk storage. Some RAID levels maintain redundant data so that you can restore data after a disk failure. Different RAID levels may also entail an increase or decrease in the system's I/O (read and write) performance. Maintaining redundant data requires the use of additional physical disks. As more disks become involved, the likelihood of a disk failure increases.
l Concatenates n disks as one large virtual disk with a capacity of n disks. l Data fills up the first disk before it is written to the second disk. l No redundancy data is kept. When a disk fails, the large virtual disk fails. l No performance gain. l No redundancy.
l "Organizing Data Storage for Availability and Performance" l "Comparing RAID Level and Concatenation Performance" l "Controller-supported RAID Levels" l "Number of Physical Disks per Virtual Disk" l "Maximum Number of Virtual Disks per Controller" RAID Level 1 (Mirroring) RAID 1 is the simplest form of maintaining redundant data. In RAID 1, data is mirrored or duplicated on one or more physical disks.
RAID 5 Characteristics: l Groups n disks as one large virtual disk with a capacity of (n-1) disks. l Redundant information (parity) is alternately stored on all disks. l When a disk fails, the virtual disk still works, but it is operating in a degraded state. The data is reconstructed from the surviving disks. l Better read performance, but slower write performance. l Redundancy for protection of data.
l Groups n disks as one large virtual disk with a capacity of (n-2) disks. l Redundant information (parity) is alternately stored on all disks. l The virtual disk remains functional with up to two disk failures. The data is reconstructed from the surviving disks. l Better read performance, but slower write performance. l Increased redundancy for protection of data. l Two disks per span are required for parity. RAID 6 is more expensive in terms of disk space.
See the following: l "Organizing Data Storage for Availability and Performance" l "Comparing RAID Level and Concatenation Performance" l "Controller-supported RAID Levels" l "Number of Physical Disks per Virtual Disk" l "Maximum Number of Virtual Disks per Controller" RAID Level 60 (Striping over RAID 6 sets) RAID 60 is striping over more than one span of physical disks that are configured as a RAID 6.
RAID 10, data is striped across multiple physical disks. The striped disk group is then mirrored onto another set of physical disks. RAID 10 can be considered a mirror of stripes. Figure 3-8. Striping Over Mirrored Disk Groups RAID 10 Characteristics: l Groups n disks as one large virtual disk with a capacity of (n/2) disks, where n is an even integer. l Mirror images of the data are striped across sets of physical disks. This level provides redundancy through mirroring.
Related Information: See the following: l "Organizing Data Storage for Availability and Performance" l "Comparing RAID Level and Concatenation Performance" l "Controller-supported RAID Levels" l "Number of Physical Disks per Virtual Disk" l "Maximum Number of Virtual Disks per Controller" Considerations for RAID 10 and 50 on PERC 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/SC, 4/DC, 4e/DC, 4/Di, 4e/Si, 4e/Di, and CERC ATA100/4ch Controllers On the PERC 3/SC, 3/DC, 3/QC, 4/SC, 4/DC, 4e/DC, 4/Di, 4e/Si, 4e/Di, a
records) RAID 50 Good Very Good Fair Fair N+2 (N = at least 4) Medium-sized transactional or data-intensive uses RAID 6 Excellent Sequential reads: good. Transactional reads: Very good Fair, unless using write-back cache Poor N+2 (N = at least two disks) Critical information. Databases and other read-intensive transactional uses. RAID 60 Excellent Very Good Fair Poor X x (N + 2) (N = at least 2) Critical information. Medium-sized transactional or data-intensive uses.
Back to Contents Page Troubleshooting Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Common Troubleshooting Procedures Virtual Disk Troubleshooting Specific Problem Situations and Solutions This section contains troubleshooting procedures for common situations as well as for specific problems. Common Troubleshooting Procedures This section describes commands and procedures that can be used in troubleshooting.
On SCSI controllers, use the Rescan controller task to update information for the controller and attached devices. This operation may take a few minutes if there are a number of devices attached to the controller. If the Rescan does not properly update the disk information, you may need to reboot your system.
Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features" If you do not have a suitable backup available, and if the failed disk is part of a virtual disk on a controller that supports the Online physical disk task, then you can attempt to retrieve data by selecting Online from the failed disk's drop-down task menu. The Online command attempts to force the failed disk back into a Online state. If you are able to force the disk into a Online state, you may be able to recover individual files.
l "Cannot Create a Virtual Disk" l "Virtual Disk Errors on Linux" l "Problems Associated With Using the Same Physical Disks for Both Redundant and Nonredundant Virtual Disks" A Rebuild Does Not Work A rebuild will not work in the following situations: l The virtual disk is nonredundant. For example, a RAID 0 virtual disk cannot be rebuilt because RAID 0 does not provide data redundancy. l There is no hot spare assigned to the virtual disk.
l Is there adequate available space on the disk? The physical disks that you have selected for creating the virtual disk must have an adequate amount of free space available. l The controller may be performing other tasks, such rebuilding a physical disk, that must run to completion before the controller can create the new virtual disk.
l "Physical Disk is Offline or Displays an Error Status" l "A Disk is Marked as Failed When Rebuilding in a Cluster Configuration" l "A Disk on a PERC 4/Di Controller Does not Return Online after a Prepare to Remove" l "Receive a "Bad Block" Alert with "Replacement," "Sense," or "Medium" Error" l "Read and Write Operations Experience Problems" l "I/O Stops When a Redundant Channel Fails" l "A Task Menu Option is Not Displayed" l "A Corrupt Disk or Drive Message Suggests Running autoch
l Rebuild l Virtual disk format l I/O If you receive an alerts 2146 through 2150 as the result of doing a rebuild or while the virtual disk is in a degraded state, then data cannot be recovered from the damaged disk without restoring from backup. If you receive alerts 2146 through 2150 under circumstances other than a rebuild, then data recovery may be possible. The following describes each of these situations.
Storage Management May Delay Before Updating Temperature Probe Status In order to display the enclosure temperature and temperature probe status, Storage Management polls the enclosure firmware at regular intervals to obtain temperature and status information. On some enclosures, there is a short delay before the enclosure firmware reports the current temperature and temperature probe status.
Back to Contents Page Virtual Disks Dell™ OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide Considerations Before Creating Virtual Disks Span Edit Creating Virtual Disks Virtual Disk Task: Reconfigure (Step 1 of 3) Reconfiguring/Migrating Virtual Disks Virtual Disk Task: Reconfigure (Step 2 of 3) Starting and Target RAID Levels for Virtual Disk Reconfiguration and Capacity Expansion Virtual Disk Task: Reconfigure (Step 3 of 3) Maintain Integrity of Redundant Virt
specified physical disks. Depending on the size of the virtual disk, the virtual disk may not consume all of the space on the physical disks. Any leftover space on the physical disks cannot be used for a second virtual disk unless the physical disks are of equal size. In addition, when the physical disks are of equal size and you can use the leftover space for a second virtual disk, this new virtual disk cannot expand to include any physical disks not included in the original virtual disk.
Number of Physical Disks per Virtual Disk There are limitations on the number of physical disks that can be included in the virtual disk. These limitations depend on the controller. When creating a virtual disk, controllers support a certain number of stripes and spans (methods for combining the storage on physical disks). Because the number of total stripes and spans is limited, the number of physical disks that can be used is also limited.
disks and the controller connector to be used. You need a good knowledge of RAID levels and hardware to use the Advanced Wizard. See "Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 1 of 4)" for more information.
10 RAID 5 RAID 0, RAID 5, RAID 10 RAID 10 RAID 0, RAID 5, RAID 10 CERC SATA1.5/2s N/A N/A N/A PERC 6/E, PERC 6/I, CERC 6/I, PERC H800 Adapter, PERC H700 Adapter, PERC H700 Integrated, and PERC H700 Modular RAID 0 RAID 1 Add a single disk RAID 0 RAID 0, RAID 5 Add at least one additional disk. RAID 0 RAID 6 RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4 disks. Reconfiguration from RAID 0 to RAID 6 requires at least 2 additional disks even when this exceeds the 4-disk minimum required by RAID 6.
What is a Virtual Disk Bad Block? Virtual disk bad blocks are due to bad blocks on one or more member physical disks. Read operation on the virtual disks having bad blocks may fail. Storage Management generates a critical alert (2387) to notify you of the bad blocks on the virtual disk. Virtual disk bad blocks are discovered when the controller performs any operation that requires scanning the disk.
Use this window to view information about the virtual disks and execute virtual disk tasks. Virtual Disk Properties The virtual disk properties can vary depending on the model of the controller. Virtual disk properties may include: Property Definition Status These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component. Normal/OK Warning/Non-critical Critical/Fatal See "Storage Component Severity" for more information. Name This property displays the virtual disk name.
Bus Protocol This property displays the technology that the physical disks included in the virtual disk are using. Possible values are: SCSI — Small Computer System Interface SAS — Serial Attached SCSI SATA — Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) Media This property displays the media type of the physical disks present in the virtual disk. The possible values are: HDD—Hard Disk Drive.
l "Change Policy" l "Replace Member Disk" l "Clear Virtual Disk Bad Blocks" l "Secure Virtual Disk" Reconfigure Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." Use the Reconfigure task to change the virtual disks properties. For example, you can use this task to add physical disks or change the RAID level. See "Virtual Disk Task: Reconfigure (Step 1 of 3)" for more information.
Use the Delete task to destroy all data on the virtual disk. See "Virtual Disk Task: Delete" for more information. Assign and Unassign Dedicated Hot Spare Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." Use the Assign Dedicated Hot Spare task to assign a disk as a backup for a single virtual disk. See "Assign and Unassign Dedicated Hot Spare" for more information. Check Consistency Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features.
Rename Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." Use the Rename task to change the virtual disk's name. See "Virtual Disk Task: Rename" for more information. NOTE: On the CERC SATA1.5/2s controller, you cannot change the default name of a concatenated virtual disk. NOTE: Renaming a virtual disk generates alert 2159. On the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, CERC SATA1.5/6ch, and CERC SATA1.5/2s controllers, alert 2159 displays the new virtual disk name.
your RAID and size selection. Before creating a virtual disk, you should be familiar with the information in "Considerations Before Creating Virtual Disks". You may also want to review "Choosing RAID Levels and Concatenation." If you want to make your own selections for the virtual disk configuration, click Go To Advanced Wizard. To Create a Virtual Disk Express Wizard: Step 1 of 2 1. 2. Click the radio button to select the correct RAID level.
Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." This screen displays the virtual disk attributes and enables you to assign a dedicated hot spare to the virtual disk. Do the following: 1. Review the virtual disk attributes displayed in the Summary of Virtual Disk Attributes and the Selected Physical Disks sections of the screen.
¡ Intelligent Mirroring — Automatically calculates the span composition based on the physical disks you select. Spans are not displayed on this screen. Select Continue to view the span grouping on the Summary screen ("Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 4 of 4).") Storage Management calculates the optimum span composition in the following manner: ¡ Determining span calculation: - Calculating the number of disks that can be utilized from the selected disks.
Depending on the RAID level you selected and the virtual disk size, this screen displays the disks and connectors (channels or ports) available for configuring the virtual disk. NOTE: If you have selected the Create Secure Virtual Disk check box in "Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 1 of 4)", then only secured physical disks are displayed. Else, both secured as well as unsecured physical disks are displayed.
NOTE: The CERC SATA1.5/2s controller does not allow you to specify a name for concatenated virtual disks. The concatenated virtual disk will be created with a default name. 2. The Size text box displays the default size of the virtual disk, depending upon the RAID configuration you selected. You can specify a different size. The virtual disk size must be within the minimum and maximum values displayed near the Size text box. In some cases, the virtual will be slightly larger than the size you specify.
Click Continue to return to "Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 4 of 4)." Virtual Disk Task: Reconfigure (Step 1 of 3) Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." The Reconfigure task enables you to change the virtual disk configuration. Using this task, you can change the RAID level and increase the virtual disk size by adding physical disks. On some controllers, you can also remove physical disks.
2. ¡ Select RAID 0 for striping. This selection groups n disks together as one large virtual disk with a total capacity of n disks. Data is stored to the disks alternately so that they are evenly distributed. Data redundancy is not available in this mode. Read and write performance is enhanced. ¡ Select RAID 1 for mirroring disks. This selection groups two disks together as one virtual disk with a capacity of one single disk. The data is replicated on both disks.
Other controllers have a Fast Initialize and Slow Initialize task available on the controller task drop-down menu. See "Considerations for Fast Initialize" and "Considerations for Slow Initialize" for more information. NOTE: On a Linux system, you cannot format a virtual disk that contains a mounted volume. Considerations for Format The format task applies to the PERC 3/Si, 3/Di, and CERC SATA1.5/6ch controllers. After the format is initiated, it cannot be cancelled.
2. Expand a controller object. 3. Select the Virtual Disks object. 4. Depending on the task you want to initiate, select one of the following from the Available Tasks drop-down menu. 5. ¡ Format ¡ Initialize ¡ Slow Initialize ¡ Fast Initialize Click Execute. Virtual Disk Task: Delete Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." Deleting a virtual disk destroys all information including file systems and volumes residing on the virtual disk.
l The virtual disk name can contain only alphanumeric characters as well as spaces, dashes and underscores. The maximum name length depends on the controller. In most cases, the maximum length is 15 characters. The name cannot start with a space, end with a space, or be left blank. NOTE: The Rename task is not available for concatenated virtual disks on a CERC SATA1.5/2s controller. To rename a virtual disk: 1. Type the new name in the text box. 2. Click Rename.
NOTE: The Split Mirror task is not supported on the CERC SATA1.5/2s controller. NOTE: On the PERC 3/Si, PERC 3/Di, and CERC SATA1.5/6ch controllers, doing a Split Mirror on a RAID 1-concatenated virtual disk results in concatenated virtual disks that cannot be subjected to any further modification. You cannot reconfigure or add disks to the resulting concatenated virtual disks.
2. Expand a controller object. 3. Select the Virtual Disks object. 4. Select Unmirror from the Available Tasks drop-down menu. 5. Click Execute. Related Information: l "Rescan to Update Storage Configuration Changes" l "Time Delay in Displaying Configuration Changes" Assign and Unassign Dedicated Hot Spare Does my controller support this feature? See "Supported Features." A dedicated hot spare is an unused backup disk that is assigned to a single virtual disk.
You can copy data from a physical disk, which is a member of a virtual disk, to another physical disk by providing a Replace Member Configuration option. You can initiate multiple copies of data from different array groups. The source physical disk should be part of a virtual disk and in the Online state. Also, the virtual disk should not be fully degraded. NOTE: You must also enable the Revertible Hot Spare option to use Replace Member Disk task.
