Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller S100 User Manual

Dell PowerEdgeRAID Controller (PERC) S100,PERC S300User’s Guide A5_bk0.book Page 1 Thursday, February 10, 2011 8:34 PM

10WARNING: Safety InstructionsA5_bk0.book Page 10 Thursday, February 10, 2011 8:34 PM

100Indexrescanningfor changes in state, 87Sconfiguring the controllerusing the PERC S100, 47safetygeneral, 8safety instructions, 7working inside your

Index101BIOS not installed, user disabled INT13 BIOS load, 68found virtual disks that are Degraded, 65found virtual disks that are Offline, 66no boot

102IndexA5_bk0.book Page 102 Thursday, February 10, 2011 8:34 PM

Glossary103GlossaryADAPTER— An adapter enables the system to access peripheral devices by converting the protocol of one bus or interface to another.

104Glossaryimmediately and the main memory read is aborted (or not started). If the data is not cached (a cache miss), it is fetched from main memory

Glossary105FAULT TOLERANCE— Fault tolerance is the capability of the disk subsystem to undergo a single drive failure for the physical disks in a virt

106GlossaryHOT SWAP— Replacement of a failed component while the system is running and operating normally.INITIALIZATION— The process of writing zeros

Glossary107NCQ (NATIVE COMMAND QUEUING)—A command protocol for Serial ATA, that allows multiple, outstanding commands to be active on a drive at the s

108Glossarysystem. The PERC Virtual Disk Management utility, accessed by pressing <Ctrl><R> at system startup, is built on elements called

Glossary109SAN (STORAGE AREA NETWORK)—A high-performance, typically enterprise-level network that attaches disk storage subsystems to servers. The sto

Overview112OverviewIntroductionThe Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) S300 provides an integrated software RAID solution for Dell PowerEdge Value S

110GlossarySTRIPING— Disk striping writes data across all physical disks in a virtual disk. Each stripe consists of consecutive virtual disk data addr

12OverviewThis document is intended for use by system administrators and technicians who are familiar with the storage system installation and configu

Overview13Supported PlatformsTable 2-1. Dell Systems and Support Matrix for the PERC S100 Adapter and PERC S300 AdapterPowerEdge Server PERC Controlle

14OverviewPlatform Requirements for the PERC S100 Controller and PERC S300 ControllerTable 2-2. Platform Requirements — PERC S100 Controller or PERC S

Overview15Operating systems• Microsoft Windows Essential Business Server (x64) • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition (x64) • Microsoft Wi

16Overview• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Web Edition (x64) • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Web Edition (x86) • Microsoft Windows Small Business Serve

Overview17About RAIDA RAID disk array is a group of independent physical disks that provides high performance by increasing the number of drives used

18OverviewRAID TerminologyDisk StripingDisk striping allows you to write data across multiple physical disks instead of just one physical disk. Disk s

Overview19 NOTE: Mirrored physical disks improve read performance by read load balancing. NOTE: The PERC S300 controller only supports physical disks

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicat

20OverviewFigure 2-3. Example of Distributed Parity (RAID 5)stripe element1 stripe element2 stripe element3 stripe element4 stripe element5 parity (1-

Features213FeaturesGeneral FeaturesThe features of the Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) S100 and PERC S300 adapter are described in Table 3-1. NO

22FeaturesBoot support for RAID levelsAllows boot support for Volume, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10.Boot support for degraded virtual disksEnabl

Features23Consistency check (CC)A consistency check is a background operation that verifies and corrects the mirror or parity data for fault-tolerant

24FeaturesMirror rebuilding A broken mirror can be rebuilt after a new physical disk is inserted and the physical disk is designated as a hot spare. T

Features25• In a brief warning at the Dell Inc. PERC S100 Controller BIOS or Dell Inc. PERC S300 Controller BIOS screen, that a virtual disk(s) were f

26FeaturesPhysical disk roaming The controller supports moving a physical disk from one backplane slot or cable connection to another (on the same con

Features27Virtual disks (general) Up to eight virtual disks are supported. The PERC S100 adapter and PERC S300 adapter allows:• Creating virtual disks

28FeaturesVirtual disk migration The controller supports automatic virtual disk migration from a PERC S100 adapter to a PERC S300 adapter (or vice ver

Features29SpecificationsTable 3-2 compares the specifications of the PERC S100 adapter and PERC S300 adapter.Table 3-2. Specifications for the PERC S1

Contents3Contents1 WARNING: Safety Instructions. . . . . . . . . 7SAFETY: General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8SAFETY: When Working I

30Features*SMART is supported under the Windows Driver but is not supported with Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and CTRL-R. The SWRAID S

Hardware Installation314Hardware InstallationBefore You BeginThis chapter describes how to install the Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) S300 adap

32Hardware InstallationInstalling the PERC S300 Adapter NOTE: The procedure to open a system and add parts might vary from system to system. For more

Hardware Installation33Figure 4-1. Installing a PERC S300 Adapter1 bracket screw 2 PERC S300 Adapter3 PCI-E slot 4 filler bracket5 PCI bracket12345A5_

34Hardware InstallationFigure 4-2. Connecting the Cables1 cables to the physical disks (applies to systems with a PERC S300 adapter) or to backplanes

Hardware Installation35Connect Physical Disks to the PERC S300 Adapter WARNING: Critical system components might be damaged if the installer is not pr

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Installing the Drivers375Installing the DriversThe Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) S100 or PERC S100 adapter require controller drivers to opera

38Installing the Drivers7Use the blank optical medium to burn the ISO image.8Download the files for the PERC S100 adapter or PERC S300 adapter to the

Installing the Drivers39Table 5-2. Pre-Installation Procedures For The Controller DriversProcedure Steps1Confirm or change configuration settings at t

4ContentsGeneral Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Installing the PERC S300 Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Connect Physical Di

40Installing the Drivers4Create a bootable virtual disk See "Creating Virtual Disks" on page 51.5Check controller options and the boot list

Installing the Drivers416Change the Boot Priority List for Devices (if applicable)To change the order of the devices (CD-ROM, optical DVD, and so on),

42Installing the DriversInstalling the Controller Drivers During the Operating System Installation: For Systems with a PERC S100 Adapter CAUTION: The

Installing the Drivers43For Microsoft Windows Server 2003: aInsert the floppy disk that contains the files copied at "Downloading the Controller

44Installing the DriversInstalling the Controller Drivers During the Operating System Installation: For Systems with a PERC S300 Adapter CAUTION: The

Installing the Drivers45cWait until the Windows Setup screen appears with S = Specify Additional Device. Press <S> on the keyboard. dInsert the

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RAID Configuration and Management476RAID Configuration and ManagementThe Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) S100 and PERC S100 adapter are configur

48RAID Configuration and ManagementAccessing the PERC Virtual Disk Management Utility1Boot the system and wait until the message Press <Ctrl><

RAID Configuration and Management49The utility contains these fields:• An information field (yellow or red text): Located below the window name and th

Contents5Supported RAID Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Virtual Disk Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809 Appendix B . . .

50RAID Configuration and ManagementInitializing Physical DisksNew physical disks must be initialized before they can be used. Initialization writes co

RAID Configuration and Management51 CAUTION: If a physical disk has a virtual disk on it, the physical disk cannot be selected for initialization. To

52RAID Configuration and Management4At the Physical Disks field, select the physical disk(s) on which to create a virtual disk:aFor each physical disk

RAID Configuration and Management53 NOTE: If you want to have a bootable virtual disk, make sure that INT 13 support is enabled on the controller, as

54RAID Configuration and Managementconfiguration information with the existing configuration information. The previously deleted virtual disk re-appea

RAID Configuration and Management55Swapping Two Virtual DisksUse the Swap Two Virtual Disks option of the PERC Virtual Disk Management utility to arra

56RAID Configuration and ManagementManaging Global Hot SparesThis option enables you to create a global hot spare from a selected physical disk, or to

RAID Configuration and Management57Viewing Physical Disk Details1Power-up the system to start booting.2When prompted, press the <Ctrl><R>

58RAID Configuration and ManagementRescanning DisksThis option enables you to rescan all channels and detect new or removed physical disks or virtual

RAID Configuration and Management59Continuing to BootAfter using the PERC Virtual Disk Management utility, return the system to its normal booting pro

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Troubleshooting617TroubleshootingTo get help with your Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) PERC S100 adapter and PERC S300 adapter, contact your Del

62TroubleshootingBoot Mode, Boot Sequence, and/or Boot Sequence Retry are set incorrectly1At system startup, when the Dell POST screen appears, press

Troubleshooting63A Non-Raid virtual disk is no longer in the first position in the PERC Virtual Disk Management utility list after the system is reboo

64TroubleshootingWarning Messages: Dell Inc. PERC S100 Adapter or Dell Inc. PERC S300 Adapter BIOS ScreenThe Dell Inc. PERC S100 Controller BIOS scree

Troubleshooting65Table 7-3. Warning Messages: Dell Inc. PERC S100 or PERC S300 Adapter BIOSWarning Message Corrective ActionWARNING: Found virtual dis

66TroubleshootingTable 7-4. Warning Messages: Dell Inc. PERC S100 or S300 Adapter BIOS (continued)Warning Message Corrective ActionWARNING: Found virt

Troubleshooting67Table 7-5. Warning Messages: Dell Inc. PERC S100 or S300 Adapter BIOS (continued)Warning Message Corrective ActionWARNING: Found virt

68TroubleshootingTable 7-6. Warning Messages: Dell Inc. PERC S100 or S300 Adapter BIOS (continued)Warning Message Corrective ActionBIOS NOT INSTALLED

Troubleshooting69Table 7-7. Other Errors Appearing on the BIOS Issue Likely Causes to Check Corrective ActionsThe RAID 0 goes offline and the RAID 1 b

WARNING: Safety Instructions71WARNING: Safety InstructionsUse the following safety guidelines to help ensure your own personal safety and to help prot

70TroubleshootingVirtual Disk-Related ErrorsUse the information on the following tables as guidelines for troubleshooting the controller. S100 rom opt

Troubleshooting71The desired physical disk is unavailableDetermine whether the physical disk:• Is a dedicated hot spare and unavailable for use in ano

72TroubleshootingTable 7-10. A Virtual Disk is in a Degraded StateLikely Causes to Check Corrective ActionsA physical disk was removed• Install the or

Troubleshooting73Table 7-11. Cannot Assign a Dedicated Hot Spare to a Virtual DiskLikely Causes to Check Corrective ActionsThe RAID level does not all

74TroubleshootingThe physical disk is already part of a virtual diskA global hot spare cannot be selected if it is already part of an existing virtual

Troubleshooting75Physical Disk-Related ErrorsTable 7-13. The Physical Disk FailsLikely Causes to Check Corrective ActionsA physical disk is not visibl

76TroubleshootingTable 7-15. The Wrong Physical Disk was RemovedLikely Causes to Check Corrective ActionsA physical disk has been removed from a virtu

Appendix A77AAppendix AController SpecificationsThis section contains information about the Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) S100 and S300 adapte

78Appendix AController TasksTable A-2 indicates the tasks that are supported or not supported by the PERC S100 Adapter and PERC S300 adapter.Physical

Appendix A79Virtual Disk TasksTable A-4 indicates the virtual disk tasks that are supported/not supported by the controllers.Supported RAID LevelsTabl

8WARNING: Safety InstructionsSAFETY: GeneralObserve and follow service markings:• Do not service any product except as explained in the user documenta

80Appendix AVirtual Disk SpecificationsTable A-6 indicates the virtual disk specifications that apply to the PERC S100 Adapter and PERC S300 adapter.T

Appendix B81BAppendix BRAID Technology - Understanding Disk Arrays and Virtual DisksA disk array consists of the physical disks that are connected to

82Appendix BUnderstanding RAID LevelsA PERC S100 controller or PERC S300 controller supports the following RAID levels:Table B-1. RAID Levels and Char

Appendix B83RAID 1 (mirroring) Mirrors data on one physical disk to another, to provide basic redundancy.In the event of a single physical disk failur

84Appendix BDisk States - Virtual and Physical Disks The following tables indicate the statuses that can appear at the PERC Virtual Disk Management ut

Appendix B85Failure StatesWhether a virtual disk is marked as Failed or Degraded depends upon what RAID level virtual disk it is, and how many physica

86Appendix BCreating Virtual Disks: Future ExpansionWhen creating virtual disks, consider whether or not the virtual disk capacity needs to be expande

Appendix B87Rescanning Physical Disks for Changes in StateThe physical disk information displayed at the PERC Virtual Disk Management utility is the s

88Appendix BGlobal Hot SparesA global hot spare is a backup physical disk that can be used by any redundant virtual disk. It is not assigned (dedicate

Appendix C89CAppendix CRegulatory NoticesElectromagnetic Interference (EMI) is any signal or emission, radiated in free space or conducted along power

WARNING: Safety Instructions9In addition, take note of these safety guidelines when appropriate:• When you disconnect any cable, pull on its connector

90Appendix CDell computers are designed, tested, and classified for their intended electromagnetic environment. These electromagnetic environment clas

Appendix C91FCC, Class BThis product generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the man

92Appendix CThe following information is provided on the device or devices covered in this document in compliance with FCC regulations:Industry Canada

Appendix C93• EN 61000-3-2 — "Electromagnetic Compatibility - Part 3: Limits - Section 2: Limits for Harmonic Current Emissions (Equipment Input

94Appendix CCE Mark NoticeThis equipment complies with the essential requirements of the European Union Directive 1999/5/EC.A5_bk0.book Page 94 Thur

Appendix D95DAppendix DContacting DellFor customers in the United States, call 800-WWW-DELL (800-999-3355). NOTE: If you do not have an active Intern

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Index97IndexBbackground initialization, 21BIOS, major functions, 47boot device, warning message, 68boot priority listchanging it, 41checking controlle

98IndexEelectrostatic discharge, protecting against, 9errors, physical disksdedicated hot spare has failed or is in error, 75Failed status is displaye

Index99OOCE, 24offline virtual disks, warning message, 66Online Capacity Expansion, 24optionschanging controller options, 58options, controller, 58PPE