Users Guide

Foreign drivers on physical disk
Importing Foreign Configurations
NOTE: To make the foreign configuration effective, ensure that you have installed the latest version of Server
Administrator. For more information, see the Dell EMC OpenManage Software Support Matrix available on the support
site.
You can import a foreign configuration only if it contains a virtual disk that is either in a Ready or Degraded state. In other
words, all of the virtual disk data must be present, but if the virtual disk is using a redundant RAID level, the additional redundant
data is not required.
For example, if the foreign configuration contains only one side of a mirror in a RAID 1 virtual disk, then the virtual disk is in
a Degraded state and can be imported. On the other hand, if the foreign configuration contains only one physical disk that
was originally configured as a RAID 5 using three physical disks, then the RAID 5 virtual disk is in a Failed state and cannot be
imported.
In addition to virtual disks, a foreign configuration may consist of a physical disk that was assigned as a hot spare on one
controller and then moved to another controller. The Import Foreign Configuration task imports the new physical disk as a hot
spare. If the physical disk was set as a dedicated hot spare on the previous controller, but the virtual disk to which the hot spare
was assigned is no longer present in the foreign configuration, then the physical disk is imported as a global hot spare.
The Import Foreign Configuration task is only displayed when the controller has detected a foreign configuration. You can also
identify whether 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.
Setting the check consistency rate
The Set Check Consistency Rate task changes the amount of system resources dedicated to the check the consistency rate.
The check consistency rate, configurable between 0% and 100%, represents the percentage of the system resources dedicated
for running the check consistency task. At 0%, the check consistency has the lowest priority for the controller, takes maximum
time to complete, and has least impact to system performance. A check consistency rate of 0% does not mean that the check
consistency is stopped or paused.
At 100%, the check consistency is the highest priority for the controller. The check consistency time is minimized and has most
impact to system performance.
Performing a Consistency Check
The Check Consistency task verifies the accuracy of the redundant (parity) information. This task only applies to redundant
virtual disks. When necessary, the Check Consistency task rebuilds the redundant data. If the virtual disk is in a Failed
Redundancy state, running a check consistency may be able to return the virtual disk to a Ready state.
Physical disk reported as Foreign
This topic describes the scenarios when a disk that is part of a RAID array may be reported as Foreign.
A physical disk state may be displayed as Foreign if
● The disk is located out of the array for an extended period of time
● The disk is removed out of the array and reseated
To include a Foreign disk in the volume, you can clear the foreign configuration and reset the controller configuration.
Clearing the foreign configuration
Steps
1. On the iDRAC9 web interface, go to Configuration > Storage Configuration > Controller Configuration.
The Controller Configuration page is displayed.
2. In the Foreign Configuration section, from the Controller drop-down menu, select the controller for which you want to
clear the foreign configuration.
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