Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA User S Guide
Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA User S Guide
Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA User S Guide
Users Guide
________________________________________
Information in this publication is subject to change without notice.
2009-2010 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc.
is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, PowerEdge, and OpenManage are trademarks of
Dell Inc.; Microsoft, Windows and Windows Server are either trademarks or registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; Novell, NetWare, and SUSE are
registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries; Red Hat and Red Hat
Enterprise Linux are registered trademarks of Red Hat Inc.in the United States and other countries.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming
the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and
trade names other than its own.
UCS-71, UCS-70, and UCSM-70
July 2010
Rev. A01
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Overview
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RAID Levels .
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RAID Terminology
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RAID 0 .
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RAID 1 .
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Contents
Hardware Installation
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Driver Installation
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Pre-Installation Requirements
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Contents
Troubleshooting .
BIOS Boot Order
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General Issues
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Product Information
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Glossary
Index
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Contents
Contents
SAFETY: General
Observe and follow service markings. Do not service any product except as explained in
your user documentation. Opening or removing covers that are marked with the triangular
symbol with a lightning bolt may expose you to electrical shock. Components inside these
compartments must be serviced only by a trained service technician.
If any of the following conditions occur, unplug the product from the electrical outlet,
and replace the part or contact your trained service provider:
The product does not operate correctly when you follow the operating instructions.
Operate the product only from the type of external power source indicated on the
electrical ratings label. If you are not sure of the type of power source required, consult
your service provider or local power company.
Handle batteries carefully. Do not disassemble, crush, puncture, short external contacts,
dispose of in fire or water, or expose batteries to temperatures higher than 60 Celsius
(140 Fahrenheit). Do not attempt to open or service batteries; replace batteries only with
batteries designated for the product.
3 Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the chassis before touching
anything inside the system.
4 While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface on the chassis to dissipate any
static electricity that might harm internal components.
In addition, take note of these safety guidelines when appropriate:
When you disconnect a cable, pull on its connector or on its strain-relief loop, not on the
cable itself. Some cables have a connector with locking tabs. If you are disconnecting this
type of cable, press in on the locking tabs before disconnecting the cable. As you pull
connectors apart, keep them evenly aligned to avoid bending any connector pins.
Also, when you connect a cable, make sure both connectors are correctly oriented and
aligned.
Handle components and cards with care. Do not touch the components or contacts on
a card. Hold a card by its edges or by its metal mounting bracket. Hold a component such
as a microprocessor chip by its edges, not by its pins.
10
You can also take the following steps to prevent damage from electrostatic discharge:
When unpacking a static-sensitive component from its shipping carton, do not remove the
component from the antistatic packing material until you are ready to install the
component. Just before unwrapping the antistatic package, be sure to discharge static
electricity from your body.
Handle all electrostatic sensitive components in a static-safe area. If possible, use antistatic
floor pads and work bench pads.
NOTE: Do not dispose of the battery along with household waste. Contact your local waste
disposal agency for the address of the nearest battery deposit site.
NOTE: Your system may also include circuit cards or other components that contain
batteries. These batteries too must be disposed of in a battery deposit site. For information
about such batteries, see the documentation for the specific card or component.
Taiwan Battery Recycling Mark
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12
Overview
The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H200 and the 6Gbps
SAS HBA cards are part of the third generation of the Dell Serial-Attached
SCSI (SAS) RAID controllers. The PERC H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA cards
comply with the T10 SAS 2.0 specification, providing upto 6 Gb/sec throughput,
and improved hardware performance.
The PERC H200 card has integrated RAID capabilities and enables support for
Dell-qualified hard drives and solid-state drives (SSD). The card also enables
support for internal tape drives in PowerEdge systems only. The 6Gbps SAS HBA
provides support for Dell-supported external SAS tape devices.
The PERC H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA cards are all standard half-length,
half-height PCI-E cards, except for the PERC H200 Integrated Modular
controller on the blade systems.
The PERC H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA cards are supported with PCI-E x8 link
width. The cards can be used on platforms with PCI-E x8 and x16 connectors,
and communicates with SAS devices using 2x4 mini-SAS external
connectors. The PERC H200 Integrated Modular controller supports PCI-E
x4 link width only.
Key features of the PERC H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA cards include
Mini-SAS connectors
Overview
13
Figure 2-1.
2
1
PCI-E connector
Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 4.7, version 4.8, and version 5.3
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Overview
About RAID
RAID is a group of multiple independent physical disks that provide high
performance or better data availability by increasing the number of drives
used for saving and accessing data. A RAID disk subsystem improves
I/O performance and data availability. The physical disk group appears to the
host system as a single storage unit. Data throughput improves because
multiple disks can be accessed simultaneously. RAID systems also improve
data storage availability and fault tolerance.
RAID Levels
RAID 0 uses disk striping to provide high data throughput, especially for
large files in an environment that requires no data redundancy.
RAID 1 uses disk mirroring so that data written to one physical disk is
simultaneously written to another physical disk. This is good for small
databases or other applications that require small capacity, but complete
data redundancy.
RAID Terminology
RAID 0
RAID 0 allows you to write data across multiple physical disks instead of just
one physical disk. RAID 0 involves partitioning each physical disk storage space
into 64 KB stripes. These stripes are interleaved in a repeated sequential
manner. The part of the stripe on a single physical disk is called a stripe
element.
For example, in a four-disk system using only RAID 0, segment 1 is written to
disk 1, segment 2 is written to disk 2, and so on. RAID 0 enhances
performance because multiple physical disks are accessed simultaneously, but
it does not provide data redundancy. Figure 2-2 shows an example of RAID 0.
Overview
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Figure 2-2.
Example of RAID 0
stripe element 1
stripe element 5
stripe element 9
stripe element 2
stripe element 6
stripe element 10
stripe element 3
stripe element 7
stripe element 11
stripe element 4
stripe element 8
stripe element 12
RAID 1
With RAID 1, data written to one disk is simultaneously written to another
disk. If one disk fails, the contents of the other disk can be used to run the
system and rebuild the failed physical disk. The primary advantage of RAID 1
is that it provides 100 percent data redundancy. Because the contents of the
disk are completely written to a second disk, the system can sustain the failure
of one disk. Both disks contain the same data at all times. Either physical disk
can act as the operational physical disk.
NOTE: Mirrored physical disks improve read performance by read load balance.
Figure 2-3.
Example of RAID 1
stripe element 1
stripe element 2
stripe element 3
stripe element 4
16
Overview
RAID 10
RAID 10 requires two or more mirrored sets working together. Multiple
RAID 1 sets are combined to form a single array. Data is striped across all
mirrored drives. Since each drive is mirrored in RAID 10, no delay is
encountered because no parity calculation is done. This RAID strategy can
tolerate the loss of multiple drives as long as two drives of the same mirrored
pair do not fail. RAID 10 volumes provide high data throughput and
complete data redundancy.
Figure 2-4.
Example of RAID 10
stripe element 1
stripe element 3
stripe element 5
stripe element 7
stripe element 2
stripe element 4
stripe element 6
stripe element 8
Overview
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18
Overview
Specification
SAS technology
Yes
Yes
Yes
Support for x4
or x8 PCI-E
Host Interface
Yes
Yes
Yes
Half-Height,
Half-Length
PCI Adapter
Half-Height,
Half-Length
PCI Adapter
Custom
Core Speed:
533 MHz
Core Speed:
533 MHz
Core Speed:
533 MHz
+12V, +3.3V,
+3.3Vaux
+12V, +3.3V,
+3.3Vaux
PCI-E lanes
System dependent
SAS Links
SAS Links
SAS Connectors
2x4 internal
2x4 internal
SAS connectivity
routed through
PCI-E connector
Lead Free
Yes
Yes
Yes
Form Factor
I/O Controller
(IOC)
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Table 3-1.
Specification
Supported
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family, Microsoft
operating systems Windows Server 2008 family, Windows Server 2008 R2, Red Hat
Enterprise Linux version 4 Update 7 and later, version 5 Update 3
and later, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version 10 Service Pack 2
and later (64-bit only), and version 11 Gold and later (64-bit only).
Dell-compliant
SAS and SATA
compatibility
Yes
Dell supported
Dell-compliant
direct connected physical disks
end devices
Yes
Yes
Dell-compliant
physical disks
Dell-compliant
physical disks
SMART error
support through
management
applications
Yes
Yes
Yes
Backplane
supported
systems
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hardware-based
RAID
RAID 0, RAID 1,
RAID 10
RAID 0, RAID 1,
RAID 10
RAID 0, RAID 1,
RAID 10
Maximum
number of
virtual disks
Storage
management
software
Dell
OpenManage
Storage Services
NOTE: The management software that is supported depends on the specific platform.
Support for
internal tape
drive
Yes
No
No
Support for
Global Hotspare
Yes
Yes
Yes
Maximum
number of
physical disks
16
16
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Table 3-1.
Specification
Maximum
10
number of
physical disks
configured in a
single RAID disk
10
Maximum
number of
configured disks
(including hot
spares)
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14
NOTE: The actual number of drives that is supported depends on the specific platform
and expander support.
6Gbps Expander Yes
Support
Yes
No
Maximum
number of
Hotspares
Specification
SAS technology
Yes
Yes
Form Factor
Core Speed
533 MHz
2x4 Mini-SAS
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Lead Free
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hardware-based RAID
No
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LED Color
Off
Green
Amber
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Unsupported Drives
Drives that are not certified by Dell are reported in the BIOS Configuration
Utility, also known as <Ctrl><C>.
To view unsupported drives:
1 In the BIOS Configuration Utility, navigate to the SAS Topology screen.
2 Select the unsupported drive and press <Alt><D> to view the Device
Properties screen.
The drive is marked as Uncertified in the Device Properties screen.
Drives that are not certified by Dell are not blocked and you can use them
at your own risk.
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Hardware Installation
This chapter describes how to install the Dell PowerEdge
RAID Controller (PERC) H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA cards.
Hardware Installation
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6 Insert the controller gently, but firmly, until the controller is firmly seated
in the PCI-E slot. See Figure 4-1.
NOTE: Figure 4-1 displays the 6Gbps SAS HBA, but the installation instructions
in this section are common for the H200 Integrated, H200 Adapter and 6Gbps
SAS HBA.
NOTE: The H200 Integrated card may have a dedicated PCI slot. For additional
details, see the systems Hardware Owner's Manual on the Dell Support website at
support.dell.com.
Figure 4-1. Installing a 6Gbps SAS HBA
1
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bracket screw
PCI-E slot
Hardware Installation
7 Tighten the bracket screw, if any, or use the systems retention clips to
secure the controller to the systems chassis.
8 For a PERC H200 card, connect the cables from the end devices or the
backplane of the system to the controller. See Figure 4-2.
Figure 4-2. Connecting the Cable for PERC H200
cable
9 For the 6Gbps SAS HBA controller, connect the cable from the external
enclosure to the adapter. See Figure 4-3.
NOTE: The external cable can be connected to either of the two
external connectors.
Hardware Installation
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Figure 4-3.
10 Replace the cover of the system. See your systems Hardware Owners
Manual or the Users Guide for more information on closing the system.
11 Reconnect the power cable(s) and network cables, and then turn
on the system.
NOTE: Ensure that you do not connect a hard disk and tape drive to the
same PERC H200 card.
NOTE: For information on connecting your PERC H200 card to a tape drive,
see your systems Hardware Owners Manual on the Dell Support website
at support.dell.com/manuals.
NOTE: Installing an operating system on a disk attached to the 6Gbps SAS HBA
or a tape drive is not supported.
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Hardware Installation
release lever
Hardware Installation
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Hardware Installation
Driver Installation
The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H200 and 6Gbps
SAS HBA cards require software drivers to operate with Microsoft
Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE Linux operating
systems.
This section contains the procedures for installing the drivers for the following
operating systems:
Red Hat Linux version 4 Update 7 and later, and version 5 Update 3
and later
The three methods for installing a driver that are discussed in this chapter are:
Driver Installation
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Pre-Installation Requirements
Before you install the operating system:
Read the Microsoft Getting Started document that ships with your
operating system.
Ensure that your system has the latest BIOS and firmware. Ensure that the
latest driver is available for the installation. If required, download the latest
BIOS, firmware, and driver updates from the Dell Support website at
support.dell.com.
Use one of the methods described in the following sections to create the
device driver media.
Downloading Drivers From the Dell Systems Service and Diagnostic Tools Media
1 Insert the Dell Systems Service and Diagnostics Tools media into a system.
The Welcome to Dell Service and Diagnostic Utilities screen is displayed.
2 Select your system model and operating system.
3 Click Continue.
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Driver Installation
4 From the list of drivers displayed, select the driver that you require. Select the
self-extracting zip file and click Run. Copy the driver to a diskette drive, CD,
DVD, or USB drive. Repeat this step for all the drivers that you require.
5 During the operating system installation described in "Installing the Driver
During a Windows Server 2003 Operating System Installation" on page 33
and "Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2008 or Windows
Server 2008 R2 Installation" on page 34, use the media that you created
with the Load Driver option to load mass storage drivers.
Downloading Drivers From the Dell Support Website
1 Go to support.dell.com.
2 Click Drivers and Downloads.
3 Enter the service tag of your system in the Choose by Service Tag field or
select your systems model.
4 Select the System Type, Operating System, Driver Language,
and Category from the drop-down list.
5 The drivers that are applicable to your selection are displayed. From the
available list, download the drivers that you require to a diskette drive,
USB drive, CD, or DVD.
6 During the operating system installation described in "Installing the Driver
During a Windows Server 2003 Operating System Installation" on page 33
and "Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2003 Operating
System Installation" on page 33, use the media that you created with the Load
Driver option to load mass storage drivers.
Driver Installation
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34
Driver Installation
Driver Installation
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2 For Windows Server 2003,click on the Hardware tab. For Windows Server
2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, go to step 3.
3 Click Device Manager.
The Device Manager screen is displayed.
NOTE: An alternative method is to open Device Manager. In Windows
Explorer, right-click on My Computer and select Manage. The Computer
Management screen is displayed. Select Device Manager in the left panel.
36
Driver Installation
10 Follow the steps in the wizard and browse to the location of the driver files.
11 Select the .inf file from the USB key or other media.
12 Click Next and continue the installation steps in the Wizard.
13 Click Finish to exit the wizard and reboot the system for the changes to
take place.
Creating a DUD
Before beginning the installation, copy the drivers from the Service and
Diagnostic Utilities media or download the appropriate driver for Linux from
the Dell Support website at support.dell.com. This file includes Red Hat
Package Managers (RPMs) and driver update disk files. The package also
contains the Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) Red Hat Package
Manager (RPM) file, source code, and release notes.
For more information on DKMS, see the Dell Support website at
support.dell.com.
Driver Installation
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The package is a gzipped tar file. After downloading the package to a Linux
system, perform the following steps:
1 Unzip the package using gunzip.
2 Untar the file using tar -xvf.
The DUD image can be transferred to a USB flash key, system floppy disk
slot, or USB floppy device depending upon the availability of the media type
and the operating system.
USB key method: Transfer the appropriate .img file to a USB key
System floppy Fisk slot method: Use the dd command to create a DUD.
Use the appropriate image for the purpose.
Put a floppy disk into a USB floppy device and plug the device into a
USB slot of the system under test. Use dmesg to find out to which
device this USB floppy is enumerated (for example, sdb, sdc, etc).
NOTE: You can create a driver update disk on a Windows system using the
program dcopynt.
3 Use the diskette for operating system installation. For Red Hat Enterprise
Linux, see "Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Operating System Using
the DUD" on page 39. For SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, see "Installing
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Using the DUD" on page 40.
38
Driver Installation
Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Operating System Using the DUD
Perform the following steps to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux
(versions 4 and 5) and the appropriate driver.
1 Boot normally from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation media.
2 At the command prompt, type: linux expert dd
3 When the install prompts for additional drivers, insert the diskette or
USB key and press <Enter>.
4 For information about creating a driver diskette, see "Creating a DUD" on
page 37.
5 Complete the installation as directed by the installation program.
Driver Installation
39
40
Driver Installation
4 If the previous device driver is in use, you must reboot the system for the
updated driver to take effect.
5 Verify that the driver has been loaded with these system commands:
modinfo mpt2sas and dkms status.
Driver Installation
41
42
Driver Installation
POST Messages
During POST, the BIOS displays messages that provide the status and
identification information of the PERC H200 card, and also displays errors
detected during the POST process.
The BIOS also prompts you to start the Configuration Utility during the
POST process.
43
Configuration Utility
Starting the Configuration Utility
1 Boot the system.
2 Press <Ctrl><C> during POST when prompted.
If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to
wait until the operating system completes bootup. Then restart your
system and try again.
The Configuration Utility menu screen is displayed.
Functions Performed
NOTE: The screens are organized in a hierarchical fashion and navigation hints are
displayed at the bottom of each screen. For additional information about the utility,
see the online help.
44
Table 6-1.
Function
Description
Adapter List
Lists all the PERC H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA cards in the system.
Global
Properties
Adapter
Properties
Main screen for the selected controller. Lists the static and
modifiable properties for the selected PERC H200 and 6Gbps SAS
HBA cards. Provides a menu for additional screens.
Select New
Volume Type
Create New
Volume
View Volume
Displays the properties for the existing volume and the option to
enter the Manage Volume screen.
SAS Topology
Device
Properties
Advanced
Adapter
Properties
45
Table 6-1.
Function
Description
Provides the ability to verify all sectors on the device and to reassign
defective Logical Block addresses (LBAs).
Consistency
Check
Delete
NOTE: The navigation hints for the Configuration Utility are displayed at the bottom
of each screen. Online help is also available in the utility.
NOTE: After you press <Ctrl><C>, press <Enter> on the adapter to manage it.
You are prompted to create a RAID volume, if no RAID volumes are currently
configured.
Select View Existing volume to manage the volume (s), or select the
appropriate option to configure a new volume, if at least one RAID volume is
currently configured.
46
Additional information about the disk type options is displayed on the screen.
Description
Volume
Number
Volume
Identifier text for the current volume
Identifier
Volume
Type
Volume
Size of the volume
Size (GB) NOTE: To facilitate coercion on new larger disk drives, the disk size must be
coerced down with a factor of 128 MB. Additionally, to comply with the latest
Disk Data Format standard, 512 MB of space must be reserved for RAID
metadata on the drive. This results in several hundred MB of space being
removed from the usable size of an volume when it is created.
47
Description
Volume
Status
Slot
Number
Device
Identifier text for the specified device
Identifier
RAID
Disk
Specifies whether or not the disk is part of a RAID volume (Yes or No).
This field is inactive out under the following conditions:
The disk does not meet the minimum requirements for use in
a RAID volume.
The disk is not large enough to mirror existing data on the primary
physical disk.
The disk is a part of another volume.
48
Table 6-2.
Field
Description
NOTE: The PERC H200 cards do support Drive Status LED operation on PowerEdge
systems which include drive status LEDs. Status LED support is only supported for drives
which are configured as members of a Virtual Disk or Hot Spare. PERC H200 supported
Drive Status LED states may vary from those supported by other hardware based RAID
solutions such as the PERC H700 and H800 controllers.
NOTE: Replacing a member of a volume in the Permanently Degraded state will result in
the new physical disk being displayed as failed since resynchronization is not possible.
This does not indicate an actual failure on the new physical disk.
49
View Volume
The View Volume screen allows you to view the current volume
configuration.
Press <Alt><N> to view the next volume. See Table 6-2 to view
descriptions of each virtual disk property.
Manage Volume
The Manage Volume screen is used to manage the current volume. The
options are Manage Hotspares, Consistency Check, Activate Volume, and
Delete Volume.
Table 6-3.
Field
Description
Identifier
Type
Size (GB)
NOTE: To facilitate coercion on new larger disk drives, the disk size must
be coerced down with a factor of 128 MB. Additionally, to comply with the
latest Disk Data Format standard, 512 MB of space must be reserved for
RAID metadata on the drive. This results in several hundred MB of space
being removed from the usable size of an volume when it is created.
Status
Manage
Hotspares
This option is used to create or delete global hot spares. Using this
option you can:
Assign a hot spare, (RAID 1 and RAID 10 configurations only).
Display each drives type, size and hot spare status.
50
Table 6-3.
Field
Description
Delete
Volume
Exit Screen
It is important to exit the SAS BIOS Configuration Utility properly,
because some changes take effect only when you exit. From the Adapter List,
press <Esc> to exit. In addition, a similar exit screen appears when you
exit most other screens, and it can be used to save settings.
51
The PERC H200 card supports a minimum of two drives and maximum of
10 drives for a RAID 0 volume. Two drives are required to configure a RAID 1
volume, and a minimum of four drives and a maximum of 10 drives for a
RAID 10 volume. There can be no more than 14 configured drives in any
system, including a maximum of two global hot spares.A configured drive is a
drive that is part a RAID volume or is a hot spare.
52
SAS and SATA physical disks cannot be used in the same virtual disk.
5 Press <C> and then select Save changes when the virtual disk has been
fully configured.
The Configuration Utility pauses while the virtual disk is being created.
CAUTION: RAID 0 does not provide any data protection in the event of disk
failure. It is primarily used to increase performance.
NOTE: Once the number of disks in a RAID virtual disk is set, it cannot be changed.
NOTE: The maximum size of the virtual disk that contains the bootable operating
system is 2 Tb. This is due to operating system restrictions.The maximum volume
size (non-bootable) is 16 Tb.
53
5 Press <C> and then select Save changes when the virtual disk has been
fully configured.
NOTE: There is an option to create a hot spare for a RAID 1 virtual disk.
After the virtual disk is created, entering the Manage Hot Spares screen
allows the option to assign a hot spare. Only drives that are compatible with
the new virtual disk configuration can be selected. The maximum number of
hot spares allowed is two.
NOTE: RAID 1 provides protection against the failure of a single physical disk.
When a disk fails, the physical disk can be replaced and the data re-mirrored
to the physical disk, maintaining data integrity.
6 Once the virtual disk has been created, a Background Initialization will
automatically be scheduled on the virtual disk.
NOTE: Only one background task can be performed on the PERC H200 card at
any time. If there is already a resynchronization or Background Initialization in
progress on another virtual disk when a new virtual disk is created, the Background
Initialization for the new virtual disk will be scheduled and given a status of
BGI Pending. The pending Background Initialization will automatically start when
the existing background process completes.
NOTE: A background initialization automatically starts after you configure
a RAID 10 virtual disk. Once started, the background initialization process cannot
be stopped.
CAUTION: Data on all disks will be lost. It is recommended that you back up all
data before performing these steps.
There are several limitations when creating a RAID 10 virtual disk:
SAS and SATA physical disks cannot be used in the same virtual disk.
5 Press <C> and then select Save changes when the virtual disk has been
fully configured.
NOTE: There is an option to create a hot spare for a RAID 10 virtual disk.
After the virtual disk is created, entering the Manage Hot Spares screen
allows the option to assign a hot spare. Only drives that are compatible with
the new virtual disk configuration can be selected. There is a maximum of
2 hot spares supported globally. Hot spares only apply to a redundant volume
if it is of the same type and at least the same capacity of the volume.
NOTE: Only one background task can be performed on the PERC H200 card at any
time. If there is already a resynchronization or Background Initialization in progress
on another virtual disk when a new virtual disk is created, the Background
Initialization for the new virtual disk will be scheduled and given a status of BGI
Pending. The pending Background Initialization will automatically start when the
existing background process completes.
NOTE: A background initialization automatically starts after you configure a RAID 1
virtual disk. Once started, the background initialization process cannot be stopped.
55
If there are two existing virtual disks, press <Alt><N> to view the
next virtual disk.
3 Press <Enter> when the Manage volume item is selected to manage the
current virtual disk.
56
57
58
59
The message looks something like the following for a virtual disk assignment:
Current Boot Device set to volume at handle 79
NOTE: Since this is not a user-selected Preferred Boot Device, it is not marked as
Boot under Device Information in <Ctrl><C>.
If this device goes missing, the next device in the next available slot is
selected as the Boot Device. Configured virtual disks are chosen as a boot
device over unconfigured physical disks.
In summary, it is recommended to make a Preferred Boot Device selection in
order to ensure that the desired boot device is always the device that the
system boots to. All systems shipped from Dell have a Preferred Boot Device
configured by default.
60
Troubleshooting
To get help with problems with your Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller
H200 or 6Gbps SAS HBA cards, you can see "Getting Help" on page 73 or
access the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
Background Activities
Disk I/O performance may be degraded while the following background
activities are functioning:
Background initialization
Consistency check
Disk rebuild
If disk I/O performance is lower than expected, check to see if any of these
activities are running using a management application. If yes, wait until the
background operation completes and recheck performance.
Troubleshooting
61
General Issues
NOTE: For additional troubleshooting information, see the SAS RAID Storage
Manager Users Guide and the OpenManage Storage Services Users Guide on the
Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
Table 7-1.
General Issues
Issue
Suggested Solution
No Physical Disks The message appears due to one of the following reasons:
Found message appears
The driver is not supported on the operating system.
during a CD installation of
(applicable to Windows 2003 operating systems only)
a Windows operating
The controller BIOS is disabled.
system.
Physical disks are not connected or seated properly.
The corresponding solutions to the three causes of the
message are:
Press <F6> to install the Device Driver
during installation.
Enter the BIOS Configuration Utility to enable
the BIOS. See "PERC H200 and 6Gbps SAS HBA
BIOS" on page 43.
Verify if the physical disks are connected or
seated properly.
62
Troubleshooting
Issue
Suggested Solution
Physical disk is
not enumerated
during POST.
One of the
physical disks in
the volume
shows the status
as "Failed".
RAID 1 or RAID Enter the Configuration Utility and ensure the physical disk is
10 virtual disk
enumerated in the SAS topology.
does not rebuild. Ensure the new disk is of the same drive type as the other disk in
the virtual disk.
Ensure the new disk is of equal or greater capacity as the other
disk in the virtual disk.
Ensure the new disk is not detected as an inactive virtual disk
under the RAID Properties menu. Delete the newly inserted
inactive disk.
Ensure the new disk is a Dell supported SAS, SATA or SSD disk.
Troubleshooting
63
Message
Meaning
Suggested Solution
An error occurred
while reading
non-volatile
settings.
An error occurred
Controller setup and
while reading current initialization has failed.
controller settings.
Advanced Device
Properties settings
not found.
Error obtaining
PHY properties
configuration
information.
An error occurred
while writing
non-volatile
settings.
64
Troubleshooting
Message
Meaning
Press <Ctrl+C> to
Enable BIOS
Integrated RAID
exception detected:
Troubleshooting
65
Table 7-4.
Message
Meaning
Volume (xx:yy:zzz) is Lists the current state of the specified virtual disk
currently in state
when it is not optimal. The state may include:
STATE
INACTIVE: The virtual disk is inactive, possibly
foreign, or could be in any one of the states
mentioned below.
DEGRADED: The virtual disk is in a degraded state
and has lost redundancy.
RESYNCING: The virtual disk is degraded and
currently rebuilding.
FAILED: The virtual disk has an error and is in a
failed state.
MISSING: The virtual disk is no longer present
though a record of it remains.
UNKNOWN: The virtual disk has an error that is
not defined by the previous errors.
Device not available
at HBA n,HDL n, LUN
Please wait, spinning The boot device was inactive, and is now spinning
up the boot device!
up.
Devices in the
process of spinning
up
nn drives are
The reported drives consumed all of the available
reported, BIOS memory memory, no more memory can be allocated.
allocation is full!
Failed to add device, Could not allocate resources for additional devices.
too many devices!
66
Troubleshooting
Table 7-4.
Message
Meaning
ERROR! Adapter
Malfunctioning!
Updating Adapter
List!
Adapter(s) disabled
by user
Invalid or corrupt
image
Troubleshooting
67
Table 7-4.
Message
Meaning
68
Troubleshooting
Table 7-4.
Message
Meaning
One or more
unsupported device
detected!
WARNING! Foreign
Metadata detected
Device has an
unsupported sector
size, not 512
The bus master enable was not set for the chip.
Troubleshooting
69
70
Troubleshooting
71
72
Getting Help
CAUTION: If you need to remove the computer cover, first disconnect the
computer power and modem cables from all electrical outlets.
If you need assistance with a technical problem, perform the following steps:
1 Complete the procedures in the section "Troubleshooting Your System" of
your systems Hardware Owners Manual.
2 Run the system diagnostics and record any information provided.
3 Use Dell's extensive suite of online services available at Dell Support at
support.dell.com for help with installation and troubleshooting
procedures.
For more information, see "Online Services" on page 74.
4 If the preceding steps have not resolved the problem, call Dell for technical
assistance.
NOTE: Call the support service from a phone near or at the system so that the
support staff can assist you with any necessary procedures.
When prompted by Dell's automated telephone system, enter your Express
Service Code to route the call directly to the proper support personnel.
NOTE: Dells Express Service Code system may not be available in all countries.
If you do not have an Express Service Code, open the Dell Accessories folder,
double-click the Express Service Code icon, and follow the directions.
For instructions on using the technical support service, see "Dell Enterprise
Training" on page 75 and "Before You Call" on page 76.
NOTE: Some of the following services are not always available in all locations
outside the continental U.S. Call your local Dell representative for information
on availability.
73
Online Services
You can access Dell Support at support.dell.com. Select your region on the
Welcome To Dell Support page, and fill in the requested details to access
help tools and information.
You can learn about Dell products and services on the following websites:
www.dell.com
www.dell.com/ap (Asian/Pacific countries only)
www.dell.com/jp (Japan only)
www.euro.dell.com (Europe only)
www.dell.com/la (Latin American and Caribbean countries)
www.dell.ca (Canada only)
You can access Dell Support by using the following websites and e-mail
addresses:
74
Product Information
If you need information about additional products available from Dell, or if you
would like to place an order, visit the Dell website at www.dell.com. For the
telephone number to call to speak to a sales specialist, see the contact
information for your region.
75
Regulatory Notices
For additional regulatory information, please go to the Regulatory
Compliance Homepage on www.dell.com at the following location:
www.dell.com/regulatory_compliance.
77
78
79
80
Glossary
This section defines or identifies technical terms, abbreviations, and acronyms
used in this document.
A
Adapter
B
BIOS
(Basic Input/Output System) The part of the operating system in a system that
provides the lowest level interface to peripheral devices. BIOS also refers to the Basic
Input/Input Output System of other intelligent devices, such as RAID controllers.
BIOS Configuration Utility
C
Coercion
Coercion is the process of rounding down the number of Logical blocks used
for the physical members of a virtual disk to a common number. This allows
drives with different absolute capacities, which can vary between drive
manufacturers and drive families, to share a common stripe size and count as
members of the virtual disk. Coercion necessarily results in a smaller capacity
than was available on the un-coerced basic physical drive.
Glossary
81
Controller
A chip that controls the transfer of data between the microprocessor and
memory or between the microprocessor and a peripheral device such as a
physical disk or the keyboard. In Storage Management, the hardware or logic
that interacts with storage devices to write and retrieve data and perform storage
management. RAID controllers perform RAID functions such as striping and
mirroring to provide data protection.
D
Disk
A device driver, often called a driver for short, is a program that allows the
operating system or some other program to interface correctly with a peripheral
device such as a printer, a network PC card or the PERC H200 card.
DUD (Driver Update Diskette)
82
Glossary
F
Firmware
H
Hardware
L
Link
Glossary
83
M
MHz
O
Operating System
84
Glossary
P
PCI Express (PCI-E)
The interface required to transmit and receive data packets transferred across
the serial bus. Each PHY can form one side of the physical link in a connection
with a PHY on a different Dell-qualified SATA device. The physical link
contains four wires that form two differential signal pairs. One differential pair
transmits signals, while the other differential pair receives signals. Both
differential pairs operate simultaneously and allow concurrent data transmission
in both the receive and the transmit directions.
Physical Disk
A physical disk (also known as hard disk drive) consists of one or more rigid
magnetic discs rotating about a central axle, with associated read/write heads
and electronics. A physical disk is used to store information, (data), in
a non-volatile and randomly accessible memory space.
POST
POST, short for Power-On Self-Test is a process performed before the operating
system loads when the computer is turned on. The POST tests various system
components, such as RAM, the physical disks, and the keyboard.
Glossary
85
R
RAID
RPM, short for "Red Hat Package Manager" is a package management system
primarily intended for Linux. RPM installs, updates, uninstalls, verifies and
queries software. RPM is the baseline package format of the Linux Standard
Base. Originally developed by Red Hat for Red Hat Linux, RPM is now used by
many Linux distributions. It has also been ported to some other operating
systems such as NetWare by Novell.
S
SAS
86
Glossary
SATA
Glossary
87
SMART
The Storport driver has been designed to replace SCSIport and work with
Windows 2003 and beyond. In addition, it offers better performance for storage
controllers, providing higher I/O throughput rates, improved manageability, and
an upgraded miniport interface.
Stripe Element
A stripe element is the portion of a stripe that resides on a single physical disk.
Striping
Disk striping writes data across all physical disks in a virtual disk. Each stripe
consists of consecutive virtual disk data addresses that are mapped in fixed-size
units to each physical disk in the virtual disk using a sequential pattern.
For example, if the virtual disk includes five physical disks, the stripe writes data
to physical disks one through five without repeating any of the physical disks.
The amount of space consumed by a stripe is the same on each physical disk.
The portion of a stripe that resides on a physical disk is a stripe element.
Striping by itself does not provide data redundancy.
W
Windows
Glossary
X
XP
Glossary
89
90
Glossary
Index
B
BIOS, 43
Configuration Utility, 44
fault code messages, 43
POST messages, 43
firmware
update utility, 71
updating, 71
C
Configuration Utility
functions performed, 44
overview, 44
starting, 44
D
driver diskette, 32
drivers
installation, 31
Microsoft operating system
installation, 33
I
installation
driver, 31
SAS 6/iR Adapter, 25
Integrated RAID
configuration, 51
create new virtual disk, 47
creating IM, 53
creating IS, 52
Integrated Striping, 15
manage array, 50
new virtual disk, 47
rebuilding virtual disk, 58
replacing virtual disk, 58
view virtual disk, 50
virtual disk activation, 56
virtual disk deletion, 57
virtual disk properties, 55
M
Manage Array, 50
Index
91
R
RAID, 15
RAID 0, 15
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, 31
S
safety instructions
for preventing ESD, 10
SAS 6/iR
BIOS, 43
features, 19
overview, 13
SAS 6/iR Adapter installation, 25
specifications, 19
troubleshooting, 61
T
troubleshooting, 61
BIOS boot order, 61
BIOS error messages, 65
Configuration Utility error
messages, 63
physical disk issues, 62
W
Windows, 31
drivers, 31
92
Index