Dell Hardware Raid Perc h710 Controller

Dell PowerEdge RAID
Controller (PERC) H310,

H710, H710P, and H810
User’s Guide
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
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.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal
injury, or death.
COMMENT
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2012 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™, PowerVault™, and
OpenManage™ are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel® is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in
the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft®, Windows®, Windows Server®, MS-DOS®, and Windows
Vista® are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries. Red Hat Enterprise Linux®, and Enterprise Linux® are registered trademarks
of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Novell® and SUSE™ are registered
trademarks of Novell Inc. in the United States and other countries. VMware®is a registered trademark
of VMWare, Inc. in the United States or 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.
Model UCPA-801, UCPB-800, UCPM-800 and UCPE-800
2012 - 02 Rev. A00

Contents
1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Supported Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Related Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Physical Disk Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Configured Spin Down Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Types of Virtual Disk Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Background Initialization of Virtual Disks . . . . . 18
Full Initialization of Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . 19
Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . 19
Consistency Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Disk Roaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Virtual Disk Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Migrating Virtual Disks from PERC H700 
or H800 to PERC H710, H710P, or H810 . . . . . . . 22
Virtual Disk Write Cache Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Write-Back and Write-Through . . . . . . . . . . 23
Conditions Under Which 
Write-Back is Employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Contents 3
Conditions Under Which Forced 
Write-Back With No Battery is Employed . . . . . 24
Virtual Disk Read Cache Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Reconfiguration of Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Fault Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The SMART Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Automatic Replace Member 
with Predicted Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Patrol Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Redundant Path Support (For PERC H810 Only) . . . . . 29
Physical Disk Failure Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using Persistent Hot Spare Slots . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Physical Disk Hot Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using Replace Member and 

Revertible Hot Spares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Controller Cache Preservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Cache Preservation With 
Non-Volatile Cache (NVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Cache Data Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Battery Transparent Learn Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3 Deploying the PERC Card . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Removing the PERC Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Installing the PERC Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4 Contents
Support For Internal 
Multiple Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Setting up Redundant Path Support 

on the PERC H810 Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Reverting to Single Path Support 

from Redundant Path Support for PERC H810 . . . . . . 41
4 Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Installing the Windows Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating the Driver Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Pre-Installation Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Creating the Device Driver Media . . . . . . . . . 44
Installing Driver During a Windows 
Server 2008, Windows Server 
2008 R2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Installing Windows Server 2008 or 
Windows Server 2008 R2 for a 
New RAID Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Updating Existing Windows Server 
2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 . . . . . . . . . . 46
Updating the Linux Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Installing or Updating the 
RPM Driver Package With 
DKMS Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
RPM Driver Package With KMOD Support . . . . . 48
RPM Driver Package With KMP Support. . . . . . 49
Contents 5
5 Management Applications 
for PERC Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Dell OpenManage Storage Management . . . . . . . . 51
BIOS Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility . . . . . . . 52
Exiting the Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Menu Navigation Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Setting Up Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Virtual Disk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Creating Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Converting Physical Disk to 
RAID Capable for PERC H310 . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Converting Physical Disk to 
Non-RAID for PERC H310 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Initializing Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Checking Data Consistency. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Importing or Clearing Foreign 
Configurations Using the VD Mgmt Menu . . . . . 63
Importing or Clearing Foreign 
Configurations Using the Foreign 
Configuration View Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Break Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Managing Preserved Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Managing Dedicated Hot Spares . . . . . . . . . . 69
Deleting Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Deleting Disk Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Clearing the Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
BIOS Configuration Utility Menu Options . . . . . . . . 71

Virtual Disk Management (VD Mgmt) . . . . . . . . 72
Virtual Disk Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Physical Disk Management (PD Mgmt) . . . . . . . 77
Physical Disk Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
6 Contents
Rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Controller Management (Ctrl Mgmt) . . . . . . . . 79
Controller Management Actions . . . . . . . . . . 80
Foreign Configuration View . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Physical Disk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Setting LED Blinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Creating Global Hot Spares. . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Removing Global or Dedicated Hot Spares . . . . 82
Replacing an Online Physical Disk . . . . . . . . . 83
Stopping Background Initialization . . . . . . . . . 84
Performing a Manual Rebuild of an
Individual Physical Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Controller Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Enabling Boot Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Enabling BIOS Stop on Error . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Enabling Auto Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Restoring Factory Default Settings . . . . . . . . . 88
UEFI RAID Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Entering the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility . . . . 88
Exiting the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility . . . . . 89
Configuration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Controller Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Virtual Disk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Physical Disk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Enclosure Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6 CacheCade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
CacheCade Virtual Disk Characteristics . . . . . . . . 93
Configuring and Managing 

CacheCade Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Contents 7
CacheCade Virtual Disk Management . . . . . . . 94
Create CacheCade Virtual Disk . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Delete CacheCade Virtual Disk . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Reconfiguring CacheCade Virtual Disks . . . . . . 96
Automatic Reconfiguration of 
CacheCade Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Manual Resizing of CacheCade Virtual Disks . . . 98
7 Security Key and 

RAID Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Security Key Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Security Key Management in the 

BIOS Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Local Key Management (LKM) . . . . . . . . . . 100
Create Security Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Change Security Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Delete Security Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Creating Secured Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . 103
Securing Pre-Existing Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . 103
Importing or Clearing Secured 
Foreign Configurations and 
Secure Disk Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Instant Secure Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Troubleshooting Security Key Errors . . . . . . . . . 106

Secured Foreign Import Errors . . . . . . . . . . 106
Failure to Select or Configure 
Non Self-Encrypting Disks (non-SED) . . . . . . 106
Failure to Delete Security Key . . . . . . . . . . 106
Failure to Instant Secure Erase 
Task on Physical Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
8 Contents
8 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
BIOS Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Discovery Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Extra Enclosure Error Message . . . . . . . . . . 109
Cache Data Lost Error Message . . . . . . . . . . 110
Missing Disks in Virtual Disk Error Message . . . . 110
Previous Configuration of Disks 
Removed Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Missing Virtual Disks Error Message. . . . . . . . 111
Dirty Cache Data Error Message . . . . . . . . . . 112
BIOS Disabled Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Drive Configuration Changes
Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Adapter at Baseport not 
Responding Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Offline or Missing Virtual Drives 
With Preserved Cache Error Message . . . . . . . 113
Virtual Disks Offline Error Message . . . . . . . . 114
Virtual Disks Degraded Error Message . . . . . . 114
Virtual Disks Partially Degraded 
Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Memory or Battery Problem Error Message . . . . 114
Firmware Fault State Error Message . . . . . . . . 115
Foreign Configuration Found Error Message. . . . 115
Foreign Configuration Not Found in 
<Ctrl><R> Error Message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Previous Configuration Cleared or 
Missing Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Invalid SAS Topology Detected 
Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Multibit ECC Errors Detected 
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Configured Disks Removed or 
Not Accessible Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Contents 9
Battery Discharged or Disconnected 
Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Degraded State of Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Memory Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Preserved Cache State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
General Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

PERC Card Has Yellow Bang
in Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
PERC Card Not Seen in Device Manager . . . . . 119
No Hard Drives Found Error 
Message During Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Physical Disk Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Physical Disk in Failed State . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Unable to Rebuild a Fault Tolerant Virtual Disk . . 120
Fatal Error or Data Corruption Reported . . . . . 121
Physical Disk Displayed as Blocked . . . . . . . 121
Multiple Disks Become Inaccessible . . . . . . . 121
Rebuilding a Failed Physical Disk . . . . . . . . . 122
Virtual Disk Fails During Rebuild 
Using a Global Hot Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Virtual Disk Fails During Rebuild 
Using a Dedicated Hot Spare . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Physical Disk Fails During 
Reconstruction on Redundant Virtual Disk . . . . 123
Virtual Disk Fails Rebuild Using a 
Dedicated Hot Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Physical Disk Takes a Long Time to Rebuild . . . 123
SMART Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Smart Error Detected on a Physical 
Disk in a Redundant Virtual Disk . . . . . . . . . 124
10 Contents
Smart Error Detected on a Physical Disk 
in a Non-Redundant Virtual . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Replace Member Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Source Disk Fails During 
Replace Member Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Target Disk Fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
General Disk Fails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Linux Operating System Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Virtual Disk Policy is Assumed as 
Write-Through Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Driver Does not 
Auto-Build into New Kernel . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Unable to Register SCSI 
Device Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Disk Carrier LED Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
A Appendix: RAID Description . . . . . . . . . 129

Summary of RAID Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
RAID Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Contents 11
12 Contents
1
Overview
The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H310, H710, H710P and
H810 family of storage controller cards has the following characteristics:
• Complies with Serial-attached SCSI (SAS) 2.0 providing up to 6 Gb/sec
throughput.
• Supports Dell-qualified serial-attached SCSI (SAS) hard drives, SATA
hard drives, and solid-state drives (SSDs).
NOTE: Mixing SAS and SATA drives within a virtual disk is not supported.
Also, mixing hard drives and SSDs within a virtual disk is not supported.
NOTE: Mixing disks of different speed (7,200 rpm, 10,000 rpm, or 15,000 rpm)
and bandwidth (3 Gbps or 6 Gbps) PCIe while maintaining the same drive type
(SAS or SATA) and technology (HDD or SSD) is supported.
• Offers RAID control capabilities which include support for
RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60.
NOTE: RAID 6 and RAID 60 are not supported by PERC H310.
• Supports a PCIe 2.0 x8 host interface.
• Provides reliability, high performance, and fault-tolerant disk subsystem
management.
• Offers Non-RAID support for direct access to disk drives (PERC H310
only).
NOTE: Operating systems can directly access Non-RAID hard drives. 
A Non-RAID hard drive is not fault-tolerant and cannot be recovered if it fails.
Only the PERC H310 controller allows configuration of disk drives as 
Non-RAID.
Overview 13
Table 1-1 compares the hardware configurations for the PERC H310, H710,
H710P, and H810 cards.
Table 1-1. PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 Cards Hardware Configurations
Specification H310 H710 H710P H810

RAID Levels 0,1,5,10,50 0,1,5,6,10,50, 0,1,5,6,10,50, 0,1,5,6,10,50,
60 60 60
Enclosures Per Port Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable Up to four
enclosures
Processor Dell Adapter Dell Adapter Dell Adapter Dell Adapter
SAS RAID-on- SAS RAID-on- SAS RAID-on- SAS RAID-on-
Chip, 8-port Chip, 8-port Chip, 8-port Chip, 8-port
with LSI 2008 with LSI 2208 with LSI 2208 with LSI 2208
chipset chipset chipset chipset
Backup Battery No Yes Yes Yes
Unit (BBU)
Non-Volatile Not Applicable Yes Yes Yes
Cache
Cache Memory Not Applicable 512 MB DDR3 1 GB DDR3 1 GB DDR3
800 Mhz 133 Mhz 1333 Mhz
Cache Function Not Applicable Write Back, Write Back, Write Back,
Write Write Write
Through, Through, Through,
Adaptive Read Adaptive Read Adaptive Read
Ahead, No Ahead, No Ahead, No
Read Ahead, Read Ahead, Read Ahead,
Read Ahead Read Ahead Read Ahead
Maximum number 8 8 8 8
of spans per Disk
Group
14 Overview
Table 1-1. PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 Cards Hardware Configurations
Specification H310 H710 H710P H810

Maximum number 16 16 16 16
of Virtual Disks
per Disk Group
Online Capacity Yes Yes Yes Yes
Expansion
Dedicated and Yes Yes Yes Yes
Global Hot Spares
Hot Swap Devices Yes Yes Yes Yes
Supported
Hardware XOR No Yes Yes Yes
Engine
Redundant Path No No No Yes
Support
Supported Operating Systems

The PERC H310, H710, and H710P cards support the following operating
systems:
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 including Hyper-V virtualization
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 5.7 and later (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 6 SP1 and later (64-bit)
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version 10 SP4 and later (64-bit)
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version 11 SP2 and later (64-bit)
• VMware ESX and ESXi 4 Update 2
• VMware ESXi 5.0
NOTE: For the latest list of supported operating systems and driver installation
instructions, see the system documentation at support.dell.com/manuals. For
specific operating system service pack requirements, see the Drivers and
Downloads section at support.dell.com.
Overview 15
Related Documentation
• For all storage controllers documentation, navigate to
support.dell.com/manuals Storage Storage Controllers.
• To see Dell OpenManage documentation, navigate to
upport.dell.com/manuals Software Systems Management.
To see the documentation of your PowerEdge or PowerVault system:
1 Go to support.dell.com.
2 Select your line of business.
3 Select Select a Product in Product Support
4 Select Enter a Tag.
5 Enter the Service Tag of the system and click on Go.
6 Select Manuals and Documentation to be directed to the documentation
page of your product.
Contacting Dell
For customers in the United States, call 800-WWW-DELL (800-999-3355).
NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact
information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog.
Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options.
Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be
available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or
customer service issues:
1 Visit support.dell.com.
2 Verify your country or region in the Choose A Country/Region drop-down
menu at the bottom of the page.
3 Click Contact Us on the left side of the page.
4 Select the appropriate service or support link based on your requirement.
5 Choose the method of contacting Dell that is convenient for you.
16 Overview
2
Features
Some of the features discussed for PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC)
H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards are:
• Physical Disk Power Management
• Fault Tolerance
• Consistency Checks
• Disk Roaming
• Virtual Disk Migration
• Virtual Disk Cache Policies
• Virtual Disks Reconfiguring
• Virtual Disk Initialization
• Patrol Read
Physical Disk Power Management

Physical disk power management is a power saving feature of the PERC H310,
H710, H710P, and H810 cards. The feature allows disks to be spun down
based on disk configuration and I/O activity. The feature is supported on all
rotating SAS and SATA disks and includes unconfigured, configured and 
hot-spare disks.
The physical disk power management feature is disabled by default. The
feature can be enabled in the Dell Open Manage Storage Management
application using the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID
Configuration utility. For more information, see the Dell OpenManage
documentation at support.dell.com/manuals.
Features 17
There are four power saving modes available:
• No Power Savings (default mode)—All power savings features are disabled.
• Balanced Power Savings—Spin down is enabled only for unconfigured and
hot spare disks.
• Maximum Power Savings—Spin down is enabled for configured,
unconfigured and hot spare disks.
• Customized Power Savings—All power savings features are customizable.
You can specify a Quality of Service window during which the configured
disks are excluded from spin-down.
Configured Spin Down Delay

NOTE: The Configured Spin Down Delay option is not applicable for the No Power
Savings mode.
The amount of time to wait before spinning down disks can be set using
Configured Spin Down Delay. The minimum value of the timer is 30
minutes (default) and the maximum is 1 day. Disks are spun down
automatically and spun up when accessed. All disks are spun up on reboot.
NOTE: There is a delay to I/O operations when a configured disk is being spun up.
Types of Virtual Disk Initialization

You can initialize the virtual disks as described in the following sections.
CAUTION: The initializing virtual disks task erases the files and file systems
while keeping the virtual disk configuration intact. Initializing a virtual disk
destroys all data on the virtual disk.
NOTE: The initialization operations mentioned here are not applicable for 
Non-RAID disks.
Background Initialization of Virtual Disks

Background Initialization (BGI) is an automated process that writes the
parity or mirror data on newly created virtual disks. BGI does not run on
RAID 0 virtual disks.You can control the BGI rate in the Dell OpenManage
storage management application. Any change in the BGI rate does not take
effect until the next BGI run.
18 Features
NOTE: You cannot disable BGI permanently. If you cancel BGI, it automatically
restarts within five minutes. For information on stopping BGI, see "Stopping
Background Initialization" on page 84.
NOTE: Unlike full or fast initialization of virtual disks, background initialization does
not clear data from the physical disks.
NOTE: CC/BGI typically causes some loss in performance until the operation
completes.
Consistency Check (CC) and BGI perform similar functions in that they
both correct parity errors. However, CC reports data inconsistencies through
an event notification, but BGI does not. You can start CC manually, but not
BGI.
Full Initialization of Virtual Disks

Performing a full initialization on a virtual disk overwrites all blocks and
destroys any data that previously existed on the virtual disk. Full initialization
of a virtual disk eliminates the need for the virtual disk to undergo a BGI.
Full initialization can be performed after the creation of a virtual disk.
During full initialization, the host is not able to access the virtual disk.
You can start a full initialization on a virtual disk by using the Slow Initialize
option in the Dell OpenManage storage management application. For more
information on using the BIOS Configuration Utility to perform a full
initialization, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 61.
NOTE: If the system reboots during a full initialization, the operation aborts and
a BGI begins on the virtual disk.
Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks

A fast initialization on a virtual disk overwrites the first and last 8 MB of the
virtual disk, clearing any boot records or partition information. The operation
takes only 2–3 seconds to complete and is recommended when you are
recreating virtual disks. To perform a fast initialization using the BIOS
Configuration Utility, see "Initializing Virtual Disks" on page 61.
Features 19
Consistency Checks
Consistency Check (CC) is a background operation that verifies and corrects
the mirror or parity data for fault tolerant virtual disks. It is recommended
that you periodically run a consistency check on virtual disks.
You can manually start a CC using the BIOS Configuration Utility or the
Dell OpenManage storage management application. You can schedule CC to
run on virtual disks using a Dell OpenManage storage management
application. To start a CC using the BIOS Configuration Utility, see
"Checking Data Consistency" on page 62.
Disk Roaming
Disk roaming is moving the physical disks from one cable connection or
backplane slot to another on the same controller. The controller
automatically recognizes the relocated physical disks and logically places
them in the virtual disks that are part of the disk group. You can perform disk
roaming only when the system is turned off.
CAUTION: Do not attempt disk roaming during RAID level migration (RLM) or
online capacity expansion (OCE). This causes loss of the virtual disk.
Perform the following steps to use disk roaming:
1 Turn off the power to the system, physical disks, enclosures, and system
components. Disconnect power cords from the system.
2 Move the physical disks to desired positions on the backplane or
the enclosure.
3 Perform a safety check. Make sure the physical disks are inserted properly.
4 Turn on the system.
The controller detects the RAID configuration from the configuration
data on the physical disks.
20 Features
Virtual Disk Migration
The PERC H710, H710P, and H810 cards support migration of virtual disks
from one controller to another without taking the target controller offline.
The controller can import RAID virtual disks in optimal, degraded,
or partially degraded states. You cannot import a virtual disk that is in
an offline state.
Disk migration pointers:
• Supports migration of VDs from PERC H700 and H800 to PERC H710P
and H810
• Supports migration of volumes created within H710, H710P, or H810
• Supports migration of volumes created on H310 to H710, H710P, or H810
• Does not support migration from H700 or H800 to H310
• Does not support migration from H710, H710P, or H810 to H310
NOTE: The source controller must be offline prior to performing the disk migration.
NOTE: Disks cannot be migrated to older revisions or generations of the PERC
cards.
NOTE: Non-RAID disks are supported only on the PERC H310 controller. Migration
to any other PERC product is not supported
NOTE: Importing secured virtual disks is supported as long as the appropriate key
(LKM) is supplied or configured.
When a controller detects a physical disk with an existing configuration,
it flags the physical disk as foreign, and generates an alert indicating that
a foreign disk was detected.
CAUTION: Do not attempt disk roaming during RLM or online capacity
expansion (OCE). This causes loss of the virtual disk.
Features 21
Perform the following steps to use disk migration:
1 Turn off the system that contains the source controller.
2 Move the appropriate physical disks from the source controller to the
target controller.
The system with the target controller can be online while inserting the
physical disks.
The controller flags the inserted disks as foreign disks.
3 Use the Dell OpenManage storage management application or the
controller BIOS Configuration Utility to import the detected foreign
configuration.
4 Ensure that all physical disks that are part of the virtual disk are migrated.
NOTE: For more information about compatibility, contact your Dell technical
support representative.
Migrating Virtual Disks from PERC H700 or H800 to PERC H710, H710P, or
H810
To migrate virtual disks from PERC H700 or H800 to PERC H710, H710P, or
H810:
1 Turn off the system.
2 Move the appropriate physical disks from the PERC H700 or H800 card to
the PERC H710, H710P, or H810 card.
NOTE: If you are replacing your PERC H700 or H800 with a PERC H710, H710P,
or H810 card, see the Owner’s Manual that shipped with your system or at
support.dell.com/manuals.
3 Boot the system and import the foreign configuration that is detected.
You can do one of the following:
• Press <F> to automatically import the foreign configuration.
• Enter the BIOS Configuration Utility and navigate to the Foreign
Configuration View.
NOTE: For more information on accessing the BIOS Configuration Utility,
see "Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility" on page 52.
NOTE: For more information on Foreign Configuration View, see "Foreign
Configuration View" on page 81.
22 Features
4 Exit the BIOS Configuration Utility and reboot the system.
5 Ensure that all the latest drivers for the PERC H710, H710P, or H810 card
(available at support.dell.com) are installed.
For more information, see "Driver Installation" on page 43.
Virtual Disk Write Cache Policies

NOTE: PERC H310 only supports Write-Through mode.
The write cache policy of a virtual disk determines how the controller handles
writes to the virtual disk. Write-Back and Write-Through are the two write
cache policies and can be set on virtual disks individually.
All RAID volumes are presented as Write-Through to the operating system
(Windows and Linux) independent of the actual write cache policy of the
virtual disk (except PERC H310, which only supports Write-Back). The
PERC cards manage the data in cache independently of the operating system
or any applications.
NOTE: Use the Dell OpenManage storage management application or the BIOS
Configuration Utility to view and manage virtual disk cache settings.
Write-Back and Write-Through

In Write-Through caching, the controller sends a data transfer completion
signal to the host system when the disk subsystem has received all the data
in a transaction.
In Write-Back caching, the controller sends a data transfer completion signal
to the host when the controller cache has received all the data in a
transaction. The controller then writes the cached data to the storage device
in the background.
The risk of using Write-Back cache is that the cached data can be lost if
there is a power failure before it is written to the storage device. This risk is
mitigated by using a Non-Volatile Cache on the PERC H710, H710P or H810
card.
NOTE: The default cache setting for virtual disks is Write-Back caching.
NOTE: Certain data patterns and configurations perform better with a
Write-Through cache policy.
Features 23
Conditions Under Which Write-Back is Employed
Write-Back caching is used under all conditions in which the battery is
present and in good condition.
Conditions Under Which Forced Write-Back With No Battery is

Employed
CAUTION: It is recommended that you use a power backup system when forcing
Write-Back to ensure there is no loss of data if the system suddenly loses power.
Write-Back mode is available when you select Force WB with no battery.
When Forced Write-Back mode is selected, the virtual disk is in Write-Back
mode even if the battery is not present.
Virtual Disk Read Cache Policies

The read policy of a virtual disk determines how the controller handles reads
to that virtual disk. The read policies are:
• Always Read Ahead—Allows the controller to read sequentially ahead of
requested data and to store the additional data in cache memory,
anticipating that the data is required soon. This speeds up reads for
sequential data, but there is little improvement when accessing random
data.
• No Read Ahead—Disables the Read-Ahead capability.
• Adaptive Read Ahead—Begins using Read-Ahead if the two most recent
disk accesses occurred in sequential sectors. If the read requests are
random, the controller reverts to No Read Ahead mode.
NOTE: The default read cache setting for virtual disks is Adaptive Read Ahead.
24 Features
Reconfiguration of Virtual Disks
An online virtual disk can be reconfigured in ways that expands its capacity
and/or change its RAID level.
NOTE: Spanned virtual disks such as RAID 10, 50, and 60 cannot be reconfigured.
NOTE: Reconfiguring Virtual Disks typically impacts disk performance until the
reconfiguration operation is complete.
Online Capacity Expansion (OCE) can be done in two ways:
• If there is a single virtual disk in a disk group and free space is available, the
virtual disk’s capacity can be expanded within that free space.
• If a virtual disk is created and it does not use the maximum size of the disk
group, free space is available.
Free space is also available when a disk group’s physical disks are replaced by
larger disks using the Replace Member feature. A virtual disk's capacity can
also be expanded by performing an OCE operation to add more physical
disks.
RAID Level Migration (RLM) refers to changing a virtual disk’s RAID level.
Both RLM and OCE can be done at the same time so that a virtual disk can
simultaneously have its RAID level changed and its capacity increased. When
a RLM/OCE operation is complete, a reboot is not required. For a list of
RLM/OCE possibilities, see Table 2-1. The source RAID level column
indicates the virtual disk RAID level before the RLM/OCE and the target
RAID level column indicates the RAID level after the operation has
completed.
NOTE: If the controller already contains the maximum number of virtual disks, you
cannot perform a RAID level migration or capacity expansion on any virtual disk.
NOTE: The controller changes the write cache policy of all virtual disks undergoing
a RLM/OCE to Write-Through until the RLM/OCE is complete.
Features 25
Table 2-1. RAID Level Migration
Source Target Number of Number of Capacity Description
RAID RAID Physical Physical Expansion
Level Level Disks Disks (End) Possible
(Beginning)
RAID RAID 1 2 or more Yes Increases capacity by adding disks
0 0
RAID RAID 1 2 No Converts non-redundant virtual disk into
0 1 a mirrored virtual disk by adding one disk.
RAID RAID 1 or more 3 or more Yes At least one disk needs to be added for
0 5 distributed parity data.
RAID RAID 1 or more 4 or more Yes At least two disks need to be added for
0 6 dual distributed parity data.
RAID RAID 2 2 or more Yes Removes redundancy while increasing
1 0 capacity.
RAID RAID 2 3 or more Yes Maintains redundancy while doubling
1 5 capacity.
RAID RAID 2 4 or more Yes Two disks required to be added for
1 6 distributed parity data.
RAID RAID 3 or more 3 or more Yes Converts to a non-redundant virtual disk
5 0 and reclaims disk space used for
distributed parity data.
RAID RAID 3 or more 4 or more Yes Increases capacity by adding disks
5 5
RAID RAID 3 or more 4 or more Yes At least one disk needs to be added for
5 6 dual distributed parity data.
RAID RAID 4 or more 4 or more Yes Converts to a non-redundant virtual disk
6 0 and reclaims disk space used for
distributed parity data.
RAID RAID 4 or more 4 or more Yes Removes one set of parity data and
6 5 reclaims disk space used for it.
RAID RAID 4 or more 5 or more Yes Increases capacity by adding disks
6 6
NOTE: The total number of physical disks in a disk group cannot exceed 32. You
cannot perform RAID level migration and expansion on RAID levels 10, 50, and 60.
26 Features
Fault Tolerance
The list of features of the PERC cards that provide fault tolerance to prevent
data loss is as follows:
• Support for Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology (SMART)
• Support for Patrol Read
• Redundant path support (for PERC H810 only)
• Physical disk failure detection
• Physical disk rebuild using hot spares
• Battery and Non-Volatile Cache backup of controller cache to protect data
• Detection of batteries with low charge after boot up
The next sections describe some methods to achieve fault tolerance.
The SMART Feature

The SMART feature monitors certain physical aspects of all motors, heads,
and physical disk electronics to help detect predictable physical disk failures. 
SMART-compliant physical disks have attributes for which data can be
monitored to identify changes in values and determine whether the values are
within threshold limits. Many mechanical and electrical failures display some
degradation in performance before failure.
A SMART failure is also referred to as a predicted failure. There are numerous
factors that relate to predicted physical disk failures, such as a bearing failure,
a broken read/write head, and changes in spin-up rate. In addition, there are
factors related to read/write surface failure, such as seek error rate and
excessive bad sectors.
NOTE: For detailed information on SCSI interface specifications, see t10.org
and for detailed information on SATA interface specifications, see t13.org.
Features 27
Automatic Replace Member with Predicted Failure
A Replace Member operation can occur when there is a SMART predictive
failure reporting on a physical disk in a virtual disk. The automatic Replace
Member is initiated when the first SMART error occurs on a physical disk
that is part of a virtual disk. The target disk needs to be a hot spare that
qualifies as a rebuild disk. The physical disk with the SMART error is marked
as failed only after the successful completion of the Replace Member. This
avoids putting the array in degraded status.
If an automatic Replace Member occurs using a source disk that was
originally a hot spare (that was used in a rebuild), and a new disk added for
the Replace Member operation as the target disk, the hot spare reverts to the
hot spare state after a successful Replace Member operation.
NOTE: To enable the automatic Replace Member, use the Dell OpenManage
storage management application. For more information on automatic Replace
Member, see "Dell OpenManage Storage Management" on page 51. For information
on manual Replace Member, see "Replacing an Online Physical Disk" on page 83.
Patrol Read
The Patrol Read feature is designed as a preventative measure to ensure
physical disk health and data integrity. Patrol Read scans for and resolves
potential problems on configured physical disks. The Dell OpenManage
storage management application can be used to start Patrol Read and
change its behavior.
The following is an overview of Patrol Read behavior:
• Patrol Read runs on all disks on the controller that are configured as
part of a virtual disk, including hot spares.
• Patrol Read does not run on physical disks that are not part of a virtual disk
or are in Ready state.
• Patrol Read adjusts the amount of controller resources dedicated to
Patrol Read operations based on outstanding disk I/O. For example,
if the system is busy processing I/O operation, then Patrol Read uses
fewer resources to allow the I/O to take a higher priority.
28 Features
• Patrol Read does not run on any disks involved in any of the
following operations:
– Rebuild
– Replace Member
– Full or Background Initialization
– CC
– RLM or OCE
NOTE: By default, Patrol Read automatically runs every seven days on configured
SAS and SATA hard drives. Patrol Read is not necessary on SSD and is disabled by
default.
For more information on Patrol Read, see the Dell OpenManage
Redundant Path Support (For PERC H810 Only)

The PERC H810 adapter can detect and use redundant paths to disks
contained in enclosures. This provides the ability to connect two SAS cables
between a controller and an enclosure for path redundancy. The controller is
able to tolerate the failure of a cable or Enclosure Management
Module (EMM) by utilizing the remaining path.
When redundant paths exist, the controller automatically balances I/O load
through both paths to each disk. Load balancing increases throughput to
virtual disks in storage enclosures and is automatically turned on when
redundant paths are detected. The ability to load balance I/O can be disabled
using the Dell OpenManage storage management application.
To set up your hardware to support redundant paths, see "Setting up
Redundant Path Support on the PERC H810 Adapter" on page 40.
NOTE: This support for redundant paths refers to path-redundancy only and not to
controller-redundancy.
Features 29
Physical Disk Failure Detection
Failed physical disks are detected and rebuilds automatically start to new
disks that are inserted into the same slot. Automatic rebuilds can also happen
transparently with hot spares. If you have configured hot spares, the
controllers automatically try to use them to rebuild failed physical disks.
Using Persistent Hot Spare Slots

NOTE: The persistent hot spare slot feature is disabled by default.
The PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards can be configured so that the
system backplane or storage enclosure disk slots are dedicated as hot spare
slots. This feature can be enabled using the Dell OpenManage storage
management application.
Once enabled, any slots with hot spares configured automatically become
persistent hot spare slots. If a hot spare disk fails or is removed, a replacement
disk that is inserted into the same slot automatically becomes a hot spare with
the same properties as the one it is replacing. If the replacement disk does not
match the disk protocol and technology, it does not become a hot spare.
For more information on persistent hot spares, see the Dell OpenManage
Physical Disk Hot Swapping

NOTE: To check if the backplane supports hot swapping, see the Owner’s Manual
of your system.
Hot swapping is the manual replacement of a disk while the PERC H310,
H710, H710P, or H810 cards are online and performing their normal
functions. The following requirements must be met before hot swapping a
physical disk:
• The system backplane or enclosure must support hot swapping for the
PERC H310, H710, H710P or H810 cards to support hot swapping.
30 Features
• The replacement disk must be of the same protocol and disk technology.
For example, only a SAS hard drive can replace a SAS hard drive; only a
SATA SSD can replace a SATA SSD.
• The replacement disk must be of equal or greater capacity than the one
it is replacing.
Using Replace Member and Revertible Hot

Spares
The Replace Member functionality allows a previously commissioned hot
spare to be reverted to a usable hot spare. When a disk failure occurs within
a virtual disk, an assigned hot spare (dedicated or global) is commissioned
and begins rebuilding until the virtual disk is optimal. After the failed disk is
replaced (in the same slot) and the rebuild to the hot spare is complete,
the controller automatically starts to copy data from the commissioned hot
spare to the newly-inserted disk. After the data is copied, the new disk is a
part of the virtual disk and the hot spare is reverted to being a ready hot spare.
This allows hot spares to remain in specific enclosure slots. While the
controller is reverting the hot spare, the virtual disk remains optimal.
NOTE: The controller automatically reverts a hot spare only if the failed disk is
replaced with a new disk in the same slot. If the new disk is not placed in the same
slot, a manual Replace Member operation can be used to revert a previously
commissioned hot spare.
NOTE: A Replace Member operation typically causes a temporary impact to disk
performance. Once the operation completes, performance returns to normal.
Controller Cache Preservation

The controller is capable of preserving its cache in the event of a system
power outage or improper system shutdown. The PERC H710, H710P, and
H810 controllers are attached to a Battery Backup Unit (BBU) that provides
backup power during system power loss to preserve the controller's cache
data.
Features 31
Cache Preservation With Non-Volatile Cache (NVC)
In essence, the NVC module allows controller cache data to be stored
indefinitely. If the controller has data in cache memory during a power outage
or improper system shutdown, a small amount of power from a battery is used
to transfer cache data to non-volatile flash storage where it remains until
power is restored and the system is booted.
Cache Data Recovery

The dirty cache LED that is located on the H710 and H810 cards cannot be
used to determine if cache data is being preserved. If a system power loss or
improper system shutdown has occurred, restore the system power and boot
the system. During the boot, enter the controller's BIOS Configuration
Utility (<Ctrl><R>) to ensure that there is no cache data being preserved.
This can be done by entering into the controller menu and selecting
Managed Preserved Cache. If there are no virtual disks listed here, all
preserved cache data has been written to disk successfully.
Battery Transparent Learn Cycle

NOTE: Batteries are only supported on PERC H710, H710P and H810 cards.
A transparent learn cycle is a periodic operation that calculates the charge
that is remaining in the battery to ensure there is sufficient energy. The
operation runs automatically, and causes no impact to system or controller
performance.
The controller automatically performs the Transparent Learn Cycle (TLC) on
the battery to calibrate and gauge its charge capacity once every 90 days. The
operation can be performed manually, if required.
NOTE: Virtual disks stays in Write Back mode, if enabled, during transparent learn
cycle. When the TLC completes, the controller sets the next TLC to +90 days.
TLC Time Frame

The time frame for completion of a learn cycle is a function of the battery
charge capacity and the discharge and charge currents used. For PERC H710
or H810 cards, the expected time frame for completion of a learn cycle is
approximately seven hours.
32 Features
When to Replace the Battery
When the state of health of the battery is declared bad, the virtual disks
transitions to write through mode. If battery is declared bad, then the
firmware runs learn cycles in subsequent reboots until the battery is replaced.
The virtual disk then transitions to Write Back mode.
Features 33
34 Features
3
Deploying the PERC Card
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician.
You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in
your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and
support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered
by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the
system.
NOTE: For information on removing and reinstalling system parts, see the Owner's
Manual of the system at support.dell.com/manuals.
NOTE: For more information on your storage controller, see the relevant storage
controller documentation at support.dell.com/manuals.
This document provides a set of high level installation and removal
instructions for the following Dell PowerEdge RAID Controllers (PERC):
• PERC H310 Adapter
• PERC H310 Mini Monolithic
• PERC H310 Mini Blade
• PERC H710P Adapter
• PERC H710 Mini Monolithic
• PERC H710P Mini Monolithic
• PERC H710 Mini Blade
• PERC H710P Mini Blade
Deploying the PERC Card 35

Removing the PERC Controller
1 Perform a controlled shutdown of the system and attached peripherals.
2 Disconnect the system from the electrical outlet and remove the system
cover.
3 Remove the storage controller from the PCIe slot of the system.
See Figure 3-1, Figure 3-2, or Figure 3-3 as relevant to the type of PERC
controller that you have.
Installing the PERC Controller

1 Perform a controlled shutdown of the system and attached peripherals.
2 Disconnect the system from the electrical outlet and remove the system
cover.
3 Install the storage controller in the appropriate controller slot and connect
all the cables to the storage controller.
See Figure 3-1, Figure 3-2, or Figure 3-3 as relevant to the type of PERC
controller that you have.
4 Replace the system cover.
5 Reconnect the system to its electrical outlet and turn the system on,
including any attached peripherals.
36 Deploying the PERC Card

Figure 3-1. Removing and Installing the PERC Adapter
1 PCIe slot 2 SAS cable connectors(2)

3 PERC adapter 4 screw (1)

Figure 3-2. Removing and Installing the PERC Mini Blade Controller
1 release lever (2) 2 PERC stack-up connector

3 PERC mini blade controller 4 screws (2)

Figure 3-3. Removing and Installing the PERC Mini Monolithic Controller
1 retention bracket 2 release lever (2)

3 PERC stack-up connector 4 PERC mini monolithic controller
Support For Internal Multiple Controllers

On PowerEdge systems with dual bays (backplanes), the hard drives are
managed by independent PERC H710P cards. The PERC H710P cards do not
share the disks or the RAID volumes. A drive can be identified using the
following as guideline: Controller: Bay/Backplane: Slot

Setting up Redundant Path Support on the
PERC H810 Adapter
The PERC H810 card can detect and use redundant paths to disks contained
in enclosures. With redundant paths to the same device, if one path fails,
another path can be used to communicate between the controller and the
device.
To set up a configuration with redundant paths, both ports on a controller
must be cabled to the In ports of a single enclosure.
To add multiple enclosures, both Out ports of the first enclosure must be
cabled to the In ports of the next enclosure.
If the connection between an Out port on the controller and an In port on an
enclosure fails, an alternate path exists through the second Out port on the
controller and the second In port on the enclosure. For more information,
see Figure 3-4.
NOTE: The PERC H810 card supports redundant paths when used with
Dell PowerVault MD1200 and Dell PowerVault MD1220 disk storage enclosures.
Perform the following steps to configure the hardware to utilize redundant
paths on the PERC H810 card:
1 Set up an enclosure on the PERC H810 card.
2 Connect two SAS cables from the Out ports on your PERC H810 card to
the In ports of the external enclosure. For more information,
see Figure 3-4.
NOTE: For information on Unified Mode, see the enclosure documentation
that was shipped with the enclosure.
3 To add multiple enclosures, cable both Out ports of the first enclosure to
both In ports of the next enclosure.
After you set up the hardware, the controller detects the redundant paths and
automatically utilizes them to balance the I/O load.

Reverting to Single Path Support from Redundant
Path Support for PERC H810
If you need to revert to single path support from redundant path support,
shut down the system and remove the exact same cables that were added to
support redundant path support, leaving only one connection between the
controller and enclosures. After you remove the cable and power up the
system, ensure that there are no warning messages during boot, and that all
virtual disks are online and optimal. If you are using Dell OpenManage,
see the Dell OpenManage documentation at support.dell.com/manuals for
additional instructions.
CAUTION: If you remove any cables other than the ones added to enable
redundant path support, the enclosure and disks can get disconnected, and virtual
disk may fail.
Perform the following steps to configure the hardware to utilize redundant
paths on the PERC H810 card:
1 Set up an enclosure on the PERC H810 card.
2 Connect two SAS cables from the Out ports on your PERC H810 card to
the In ports of the external enclosure. For more information, see
Figure 3-4.
NOTE: For information on Unified Mode, see the enclosure documentation
that was shipped with the enclosure.
3 To add multiple enclosures, cable both Out ports of the first enclosure to
both In ports of the next enclosure.
4 After you set up the hardware, the controller detects the redundant paths
and automatically utilizes them to balance the I/O load.

Figure 3-4. Redundant Path Support Configuration With Two Enclosures
1 server 2 storage

4
Driver Installation
The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H310, H710, H710P, and
H810 cards require software drivers to operate with the supported operating
systems.
This chapter contains the procedures for installing the drivers for the PERC
H310, H710, H710P, and H810 cards.
NOTE: For more information on VMware ESX drivers, see the VMware ESX
documentation on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals.
NOTE: To check operating system compatibility, see the Dell Support website
at support.dell.com/manuals.
The two methods for installing a driver discussed in this chapter are:
• Installing a driver during operating system installation—Use this method
if you are performing a new installation of the operating system and want
to include the drivers.
• Updating existing drivers—Use this method if the operating system and
the PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810 family of controllers are already
installed and you want to update to the latest drivers.
Installing the Windows Drivers

Creating the Driver Media
Perform the following steps to create the driver media:
1 Browse to the download section for the system on the Dell Support
website at support.dell.com.
2 Locate and download the latest PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810
driver to the system.
3 Follow the instructions on the Dell Support website for extracting the
driver to the media.
Driver Installation 43
Pre-Installation Requirements
Before you install the operating system:
• Read the Microsoft Getting Started document that shipped with your
operating system.
• Ensure that your system has the latest BIOS, firmware, and driver updates.
If required, download the latest BIOS, firmware, and driver updates from
the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
• Create a device driver media (diskette, USB drive, CD, or DVD).
Creating the Device Driver Media

Use one of the following two methods 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 in a system.
The Welcome to Dell Service and Diagnostic Utilities screen is displayed.
2 Select your system model and operating system (Microsoft Windows
Server 2008).
3 Click Continue.
4 From the list of drivers displayed, select the driver 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 you require.
5 During the operating system installation, use the media that you created
with the Load Driver option to load mass storage drivers. For more
information on reinstalling the operating system, see the relevant section
for your operating system below.
Downloading Drivers From the Dell Support Website

1 Go to support.dell.com.
2 Select your line of business.
3 Click Drivers and Downloads.
4 Enter the service tag of your system in the Choose by Service Tag field or
select your system’s model.
44 Driver Installation
5 Select the System Type, Operating System, Driver Language, and
Category from the drop-down list.
6 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.
7 During the operating system installation, use the media that you created
with the Load Driver option to load mass storage drivers. For more
information on reinstalling the operating system, see the relevant section
for your operating system below.
Installing Driver During a Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008

R2 Installation
1 Boot the system using the Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008
R2 media.
2 Follow the on-screen instructions until you reach Where do you want to
install Windows Server 2008 window and then select Load driver.
3 The system prompts you to insert the media. Insert the installation media
and browse to the proper location.
4 Select the appropriate PERC H310, H710, H710P, or H810 card from the
list, click Next and continue installation.
Installing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 for a New

RAID Controller
Perform the following steps to configure the driver for the RAID controller on
a system that already has Windows installed:
1 Turn off the system.
2 Install the new RAID controller in the system.
For detailed instructions on installing and cabling the RAID controller in
the system, see "Deploying the PERC Card" on page 35.
4 The Found New Hardware Wizard screen displays the detected hardware
device.
5 Click Next.
6 On the Locate device driver screen, select Search for a suitable driver for
my device and click Next.
7 Browse and select the drivers from the Locate Driver Files screen.
8 Click Next.
9 The wizard detects and installs the appropriate device drivers for the new
RAID controller.
10 Click Finish to complete the installation.
11 Reboot the system when prompted.
Updating Existing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

NOTE: Close all applications on your system before you update the driver.
1 Insert the media (CD, DVD, or USB drive) containing the driver.
2 Select Start Settings Control Panel System.
The System Properties screen is displayed.
NOTE: The path to System might vary depending on the operating system family.
3 Click on the Hardware tab.
4 Click Device Manager.
The Device Manager screen is displayed.
NOTE: The path to Device Manager might vary depending on the operating
system family.
5 Expand SCSI and RAID Controllers by double-clicking the entry or by
clicking on the plus symbol next to SCSI and RAID Controller.
NOTE: In Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2, the PERC card is listed under
Storage Controllers.
6 Double-click the RAID controller for which you want to update the driver.
7 Click the Driver tab and click Update Driver.
The screen to update the device driver wizard is displayed.
8 Select Install from a list or specific location.
9 Click Next.
10 Follow the steps in the wizard and browse to the location of the driver files.
11 Select the INF file from the driver media (CD, DVD, 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.
NOTE: Dell provides the Dell Update Package (DUP) to update drivers on systems
running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. DUP is
an executable application that updates drivers for specific devices. DUP supports
command line interface and silent execution. For more information, see
support.dell.com.
Updating the Linux Driver

NOTE: PERC H310/H710/H710P/H810, PERC H700/H800 cards and both the PERC 5
and PERC 6 family of controllers use the same driver and do not require separate
driver installations.
Use the procedures in this section to update the driver for Linux.To ensure
that you have the current version of the driver, download the updated Linux
driver from support.dell.com.
NOTE: The driver update disk (DUD) images are created only for those operating
system releases in which the native (in-box) driver is insufficient for installation.
In the event that an operating system is being installed with a corresponding DUD
image, follow the instructions below. If not, proceed with using the native device
driver and then skip to "Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With DKMS
Support" on page 48.
Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With DKMS Support
NOTE: This procedure is applicable for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 SP7 and SUSE
Enterprise Linux 10 SP4.
NOTE: For SUSE Enterprise Linux 10 SP4, immediately following the operating
system installation, download the latest driver from support.dell.com, and update
the driver using the procedures detailed in this section.
Perform the following steps to install the RPM package with DKMS support:
1 Uncompress the gzipped tarball driver release package.
2 Install the DKMS package using the command: rpm –ihv dkms-
<version>.noarch.rpm
3 Install the driver package using the command: rpm –ihv
megaraid_sas-<version>.noarch.rpm
NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing package.
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 the following system
commands: modinfo megaraid_sas and dkms status.
Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With KMOD Support

NOTE: This procedure is applicable for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 SP2.
Perform the following steps to install the RPM package with KMOD support:
2 Install the driver package using the command: rpm –ihv kmod-
megaraid_sas-<version>.rpm
NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing package.
commands: modinfo megaraid_sas
Installing or Updating the RPM Driver Package With KMP Support
NOTE: This procedure is applicable for SUSE Enterprise Linux 11 SP2.
Perform the following steps to install the RPM package with KMP support:
2 Install the driver package using the command: rpm –ihv kmp-
megaraid_sas-<version>.rpm
NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing
package.
commands: modinfo megaraid_sas
Upgrading the Kernel

When upgrading to a new kernel, you must reinstall the DKMS-enabled
driver packages. Perform the following steps to update or install the driver for
the new kernel:
1 In a terminal window, type the following:
dkms build -m <module_name> -v <module version>
-k <kernel version>
dkms install -m <module_name> -v <module version>
-k <kernel version>
2 To check whether the driver is successfully installed in the new kernel, type:
dkms status
You see a message similar to the following one:
<driver name>, <driver version>, <new kernel
version>: installed
5
Management Applications for PERC
Cards
Dell OpenManage Storage Management applications enable you to manage
and configure the RAID system, create and manage multiple disk groups,
control and monitor multiple RAID systems, and provide online maintenance.
The management applications for PERC H310, H710, H710P, and H810
include:
• Dell OpenManage Storage Management
• BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>)
• Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) RAID Configuration
Utility
NOTE: Dell Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) RAID Storage Manager is not supported for
SED management.
Dell OpenManage Storage Management

The Dell OpenManage Storage Management is a storage management
application for Dell systems that provides enhanced features for configuring a
system's locally-attached RAID and Non-RAID disk storage. The Dell
OpenManage storage management application enables you to perform controller
and enclosure functions for all supported RAID controllers and enclosures from a
single graphical or command-line interface without requiring the use of the
controller BIOS utilities. The graphical user interface (GUI) is wizard-driven
with features for novice and advanced users, and detailed online help. Using the
Dell OpenManage storage management application, you can protect your data
by configuring data-redundancy, assigning hot spares, or rebuilding failed
physical disks. The command line interface available on selected operating
systems to perform RAID management tasks is fully featured and scriptable.
NOTE: For more information, see the Dell OpenManage Storage Management
User's Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.
Management Applications for PERC Cards 51

BIOS Configuration Utility
The BIOS Configuration Utility, also known as <Ctrl><R>, is a storage
management application embedded on the PERC H310, H710, H710P, and
H810 cards that configures and maintains RAID disk groups and virtual disks.
<Ctrl><R> is independent of the operating system.
NOTE: Use the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) for initial setup and disaster
recovery. You can use advanced features through Dell OpenManage storage
management application and Dell SAS RAID storage manager.
The following sections provide information about using the BIOS Configuration
Utility (<Ctrl><R>). For more information, see the online help option by
pressing <F1>.
NOTE: The PERC PER H310, H710, H710P, and H810 card configuration utility
refreshes the screen to show changes to information. The refresh occurs when you
press <F5> or every 15 seconds.
Entering the BIOS Configuration Utility

Perform the following steps to enter the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>) when you boot the system:
A BIOS screen displays information about the controller and
configuration.
2 During startup, press <Ctrl><R> when prompted by the BIOS screen.
After you press <Ctrl><R>, if there is only one controller, the Virtual
Disk Management screen for that controller is displayed. If there are is
more than one controller, the main menu screen is displayed. The screen
lists the RAID controllers. Use the arrow keys to select the RAID controller
you want to configure, and press <Enter> to access the management
menus for the controller.
NOTE: You can access multiple controllers through the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>) by pressing <F12>.
NOTE: You can access PERC H700, H800, H310, H710, H710P, or H810 cards from the
same BIOS if the PERC 6/H700/H800 firmware is 6.2.0-0013 or later.
52 Management Applications for PERC Cards

Exiting the Configuration Utility
To exit the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>), press <Esc> at any
menu screen. If there is only one controller, then a dialog box is displayed to
confirm your choice. Select OK to exit and press <Enter>.
If multiple controllers are present, then the <Esc> key brings you to the
Controller Selection screen. Press <Esc> again to reach the exit screen.
A dialog box is displayed to confirm your choice. Select OK to exit and press
<Enter>.
Menu Navigation Controls

Table 5-1 displays the menu keys you can use to move between the different
screens in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>).
Table 5-1. Menu Navigation Keys
Notation Meaning and Use Example

right-arrow Use the right-arrow key to open a submenu, move Start
key from a menu heading to the first submenu, or move Programs
to the first item in that submenu. If you press the
right-arrow key at a menu heading, the submenu
expands. Press it again to go to the first item in the
submenu. The right-arrow key is also used to close a
menu list in a popup window. Word wrap is
supported.
left-arrow Use the left-arrow key to close a submenu, move Controller 0
key from a menu item to the menu heading for that Disk Group 1
item, or move from a submenu to a higher level
menu. If you press the left-arrow key at a menu
heading, the submenu collapses. Press it again to go
to the higher-level menu. Word wrap is supported.
up-arrow Use the up-arrow key to move to the upper menu Virtual Disk 1
key items within a menu or to a higher level menu. You
can also use the up-arrow key to close a menu list in a
popup window, such as the stripe element size menu. Virtual Disk 4
Word wrap is supported.

Table 5-1. Menu Navigation Keys (continued)

down-arrow Use the down-arrow key to move to the lower menu Virtual Disk 1
key items within a menu or to a lower level menu. You
can also use the down-arrow key to open a menu list
in a popup window, such as the stripe element size Virtual Disk 4
menu, and select a setting. Word wrap is supported.
<Enter> After you highlight a menu item, press <Enter> to Select Add New
select that item. An options menu for the menu item VD and press
opens. It applies to only certain menu items, such as <Enter> to
Virtual Disk #. In a list of options for that item, create a new
such as the write policy for a virtual disk, highlight a virtual disk.
setting, such as Write-Through, and press <Enter>
to select it.
<Esc> After you expand a pop-up window, press <Esc> to Press <Esc> to
close the window. You can continue to press <Esc> return to the VD
to exit the BIOS Configuration Utility Mgmt screen.
(<Ctrl><R>).
<Tab> Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the next control Press <Tab> to
on a dialog box or page. move the cursor
to the next
parameter you
want to change.
<Shift> Press <Shift><Tab> to move the cursor to the Press
<Tab> previous control on a dialog or page. <Shift><Tab>
to move the
cursor from Sort
By to the
previously
selected PD in
the PD Mgmt
screen
<Ctrl> Press <Ctrl><N> to move to the next menu screen Press
<N> among the main menu screens: VD Mgmt, PD <Ctrl><N> on
Mgmt, Ctrl Mgmt, and Foreign View. the VD Mgmt
screen to move to
the PD Mgmt
screen.

Table 5-1. Menu Navigation Keys (continued)

<Ctrl> Press <Ctrl><P> to move to the previous menu Press
<P> screen among the main menu screens: VD Mgmt, PD <Ctrl><P> on
Mgmt, Ctrl Mgmt, and Foreign View. the PD Mgmt
screen to return
to the VD Mgmt
screen.
<F1> Press <F1> to access Help information. The Help <F1>
screens display a glossary of topics you can use to
access information about navigation, RAID levels,
and general topics.
<F2> Press <F2> to access the context menu, which <F2>
displays the list of options.
<F5> Press <F5> to refresh the information on the <F5>
screen.
<F11> Switch between two controllers. <F11>
<F12> Press <F12> to display a list of controllers. <F12>
Spacebar Press the spacebar to select an item. Press the
<spacebar> to
select or deselect
a controller
setting in the
Ctrl Mgmt View.
Setting Up Virtual Disks

You can set up a disk group and create virtual disks using the procedures
contained in this section. Each of the following procedures are explained
individually in this section in detail.
1 Create the virtual disks and select the virtual disk options.
2 Designate hot spares (optional).
For more information, see "Managing Dedicated Hot Spares" on page 69.
3 Initialize the virtual disks.
NOTE: When you use one physical disk group to create multiple virtual disks,
all the virtual disks must be configured with the same RAID level.

When you define the virtual disks, you can set the following virtual disk
parameters:
• RAID level
• Stripe element size
• Read policy
• Write policy
• Type of initialization
• Hot spare configuration
NOTE: The default hard drive cache policy for a virtual disk composed with SAS
hard drives is disabled and with SATA hard drives is enabled. The Virtual Disk
parameter can not be changed in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). Use
Dell OpenManage Storage Management for the hard drive cache setting operation.
Table 5-2 shows the parameters that you can configure when defining
virtual disks.
Table 5-2. Virtual Disk Parameters and Descriptions
Parameter Description
RAID Level RAID Level specifies whether the virtual disk is RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10,
50, or 60. The number of disks, disk capacity, the requirements for
fault tolerance, performance, and capacity should be considered when
selecting the RAID level. For more information, see "Summary of
RAID Levels" on page 129.
Stripe Stripe Element Size specifies the size of the segments written to each
Element Size physical disk in a RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 virtual disk. You can
set the stripe element size to 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, or 1024
KB. The default and recommended stripe element size is 64 KB.
A larger stripe element size provides better read performance if your
system mostly does sequential reads.

Table 5-2. Virtual Disk Parameters and Descriptions (continued)
Parameter Description
Write Policy Write Policy specifies the controller write policy. You can set the write
policy to Write-Back or Write-Through.
In Write-Back caching, the controller sends a data transfer
completion signal to the host when the controller cache has received
all the data in a transaction.
NOTE: If a Battery Backup Unit (BBU) is present, the default cache
setting is Write-Back. If no BBU is present, the default cache policy
default setting is Write-Through.
NOTE: If Write-Back is enabled and the system is quickly turned off and
then on, the controller may pause as the system flushes cache memory.
Controllers that contain a battery backup default to Write-Back caching.
In Write-Through caching, the controller sends a data transfer
completion signal to the host when the disk subsystem has received
all the data in a transaction.
Read Policy Read-Ahead enables the read ahead feature for the virtual disk.
You can set the parameter to Read-Ahead, No-Read-Ahead,
or Adaptive. The default is Adaptive-Read-Ahead.
Read-Ahead specifies that the controller uses Read-Ahead for the
current virtual disk. Read-Ahead capability allows the controller to
read sequentially ahead of requested data and store the additional
data in cache memory, anticipating that the data is required soon.
No-Read-Ahead specifies that the controller does not use read ahead
for the current virtual disk.
Adaptive specifies that the controller begins using Read-Ahead if the
two most recent disk accesses occurred in sequential sectors.
If all read requests are random, the algorithm reverts to
No-Read-Ahead; however, all requests are still evaluated for
possible sequential operation.

Virtual Disk Management
Creating Virtual Disks
NOTE: Combining SAS and SATA hard drives within a virtual disk is not supported.
Also, combining hard drives and SSDs within a virtual disk is not supported.
NOTE: To create secured virtual disks, see "Security Key and RAID Management"
on page 99.
Perform the following steps to create a virtual disk:
1 During host system bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS screen
is displayed.
The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed. If there is more than
one controller, the main menu screen is displayed. Select a controller, and
press <Enter>. The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed for the
selected controller.
2 Use the arrow keys to highlight Controller # or Disk Group #.
3 Press <F2>
The list of available actions is displayed.
4 Select Create New VD and press <Enter>.
The Create New VD screen is displayed. The cursor is on the RAID Levels
option.
When adding a virtual disk to a Disk Group, the Add VD in Disk Group
screen is displayed. Skip to step 11 to change the basic settings of the
virtual disk.
5 Press <Enter> to display the possible RAID levels, based on the physical
disks available.
6 Press the down-arrow key to select a RAID level and press <Enter>.
7 When creating a spanned virtual disk (RAID 10, 50 or 60), enter the
number of physical disks per span in the PD per Span field and press
<Enter>.
NOTE: Creating a 22 physical disk RAID 10 VD is possible by selecting RAID 10
and populating the PD per Span field with 22.
8 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the list of physical disks.

9 Use the arrow key to highlight a physical disk and press the spacebar,
<Alt>, or <Enter> to select the disk.
10 Select additional disks, if required.
NOTE: (PERC H310) Only RAID Capable physical disks are eligible to be
included in a Virtual Disk. To convert physical disks to RAID Capable, see
"Converting Physical Disk to RAID Capable for PERC H310" on page 61.
11 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the Basic Settings box.
12 Set the virtual disk size in the VD Size field.
The virtual disk size is displayed in GB format.
NOTE: You can use part of the available disk space to create one virtual disk
and then use the rest of the disk space to create another virtual disk or disks.
13 Press <Tab> to access the VD Size field, and type a virtual disk name.
14 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to Advanced Settings.
15 Press the spacebar to make the settings active so that you can change
them.
An X is displayed beside Advanced Settings. The settings are the stripe
element size, read policy, and write policy. You can also choose advanced
options such as forcing the cache policy to Write-Back, initializing the
virtual disk, and configuring a dedicated hot spare.
The defaults parameters are displayed. You can accept the defaults or
change them. For detailed information about the virtual disk parameters,
see "Virtual Disk Parameters and Descriptions" on page 56.
16 Perform the following steps to select the virtual disk parameters:
a Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the parameters you want to
change.
b Press the down-arrow key to open the parameters and scroll down the
list of settings.
c To change the stripe element size, press <Tab> to highlight Stripe
Element Size.
d Press <Enter> to display the list of stripe element sizes (64 KB, 128
KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and 1024 KB). Press the down-arrow key to
highlight the desired option and press <Enter>. The default is 64 KB.

e If you need to change the read policy, press <Tab> to move the cursor
to Read Policy.
f Press <Enter> to display the options (No Read Ahead, Read Ahead,
or Adaptive Read Ahead). Press the down-arrow key to highlight the
desired option and press <Enter>.
g If you need to change the write policy, press <Tab> to move the
cursor to Write Policy.
h Press <Enter> to display the options (Write-Through, Write Back).
Press the down-arrow key to highlight an option and press <Enter>.
i Press <Tab> to move the cursor to Force WB with no battery and
press <Enter>. If you chose Write-Through as the write policy, then
the option is not available.
CAUTION: Do not initialize virtual disks when attempting to recreate an existing
configuration.
j Press <Tab> to move the cursor to Initialize and press <Enter>.
NOTE: The initialization performed at the stage is fast initialization.
k Press <Tab> to move the cursor to Configure Hot Spare and press
<Enter>.
NOTE: The hot spare created at the stage is a dedicated hot spare.
l If you have chosen to create hot spares in the earlier steps, a pop-up
window is displayed where disks with appropriate sizes are displayed.
Press the spacebar to select the disk size.
m After you select the disk size, click OK to finalize the selection or click
Cancel to forfeit the selection.
n Select OK to accept the settings and press <Enter> to exit the
window or select Cancel and press <Enter> to exit if you do not want
to change any virtual disk parameters.

Converting Physical Disk to RAID Capable for PERC H310
NOTE: By default, all physical drives are discovered as Non-RAID drives.
Conversion of a physical disk to RAID capable allows that disk to be used
within a Virtual Disk or as a Hot Spare.
1 Press <Ctrl><N> to access the PD Mgmt screen.
A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of the each disk is displayed
under State.
2 Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk.
3 Press <F2> to display the menu of available actions.
4 Press the down-arrow key to highlight Convert to RAID Capable.
5 Press <Enter>.
Converting Physical Disk to Non-RAID for PERC H310

Conversion of a Physical Disk to Non-RAID allows direct operating system
access to the drive. Non-RAID disks cannot be used within a Virtual Disk nor
can they be used as Hot Spares.
under State.
4 Press the down-arrow key to highlight Convert to Non-RAID.
5 Press <Enter>
Initializing Virtual Disks

CAUTION: A Full Initialization permanently destroys any existing data on that
virtual disk.
Perform the following steps to initialize virtual disks:
1 On the VD Mgmt screen, select Virtual Disk # and press <F2> to display
the menu of available actions.
2 Select Initialization and press the right-arrow key to display the
Initialization submenu options.

3 Select Start Init. to begin a regular initialization or select Fast Init.
to begin a fast initialization.
4 A pop-up windows is displayed indicating that the virtual disk has
been initialized.
5 Repeat the procedures from step 1 to step 4 to configure another
virtual disk.
NOTE: The PERC H310 card supports up to 16 virtual disks per controller, and
the PERC H710, H710P, and H810 cards support up to 64 virtual disks per
controller. The currently configured virtual disks display on the screen.
Checking Data Consistency

Select the Consistency Check (CC) option in the configuration utility to
verify the redundancy data in virtual disks that use RAID levels 1, 5, 6, 10, 50,
and 60. (RAID 0 does not provide data redundancy.)
If you attempt to run a Consistency Check on a virtual disk that has not been
initialized, the following error message is displayed:
The virtual disk has not been initialized. Running a
consistency check may result in inconsistent messages
in the log. Are you sure you want to continue?
You can select Yes or No. If you select Yes, the CC operation continues. If you
select No, the operation ends.
Perform the following steps to run a Consistency Check:
1 Press <Ctrl><N> to access the VD Mgmt menu screen.
2 Press the down-arrow key to highlight Virtual Disk #.
4 Press the down-arrow key to select Consistency Check.
5 Press the right-arrow key to display the available actions (Start, Stop).
6 Select Start and press <Enter> to run a Consistency Check.
The Consistency Check runs and checks the redundancy data in the
virtual disks.
7 After you start the Consistency Check, press <Esc> to display the
previous menu if needed.

Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the VD Mgmt Menu
When a foreign configuration exists, the BIOS screen displays the message
Foreign configuration(s) found on adapter. In addition,
a foreign configuration is displayed on the right side of the Ctrl Mgmt screen.
You can use the VD Mgmt menu to import the existing configuration to the
RAID controller or clear the existing configuration. In addition, you can view
the foreign configuration from the Foreign View tab without importing the
configuration.
NOTE: The controller does not allow an import of configurations that results in
more than 64 virtual disks.
NOTE: To import a secured foreign configuration, see "Security Key and RAID
Management" on page 99.
Perform the following steps to import or clear foreign configurations:
1 During bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when prompted by the BIOS screen.
The VD Mgmt screen is displayed by default.
2 On the VD Mgmt screen, highlight the Controller #.
3 Press <F2> to display the available actions.
4 Navigate to the Foreign Config option and press the right arrow key to
display the available actions: Import and Clear.
NOTE: Ensure that your virtual disk has all the physical disks by verifying that
there are no physical disks marked as Missing in the foreign view page and
that all the disks appear as expected before importing them.
5 Select Import to import the foreign configuration or Clear to delete the
foreign configuration and then press <Enter>.
If you import the configuration, the VD Mgmt screen displays detailed
configuration information. It includes information about the disk groups,
virtual disks, physical disks, space allocation, and hot spares.

Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the Foreign
Configuration View Screen
NOTE: To import a secured foreign configuration, see "Security Key and RAID
If one or more physical disks are removed from a configuration, the
configuration on those disks is considered a foreign configuration by the
RAID controller.
You can use the Foreign Configuration View screen to view information
about the foreign configuration, such as disk groups, virtual disks, physical
disks, space allocation, and hot spares. The foreign configuration data is
displayed in the same format as configurations on the VD Mgmt screen.
You can use the VD Mgmt screen to view the foreign configuration before
importing. After you view the foreign configuration, you can either clear or
import to the RAID controller.
NOTE: Before you import the foreign configuration, review the configuration on the
screen to ensure that it is the end result that you require.
You can use the Foreign Configuration View screen to manage foreign
configurations in the following cases:
• All the physical disks in a configuration are removed and re-inserted.
• Some of the physical disks in a configuration are removed and re-inserted.
• All the physical disks in a virtual disk are removed, but at different times,
and then re-inserted.
• The physical disks in a non-redundant virtual disk are removed.
The following constraints apply to the physical disks that are considered
for import:
• The disk state of a physical disk can change from the time the foreign
configuration is scanned to when the actual import occurs. The foreign
import occurs only on disks that are in the Unconfigured Good state.
• Disks in the failed or offline state cannot be imported.
• The firmware does not allow you to import more than eight foreign
configurations.
Perform the following procedures on the Foreign Configuration View screen
to manage foreign configurations in each specific case:

1 If all or some of the physical disks in a configuration are removed and
reinserted, the controller considers the disks to have foreign
configurations. Perform the following steps:
a Select Foreign Configuration View to display the
foreign configuration information on the Foreign Configuration
View screen.
b Press <F2> to display the options (Import, Clear).
NOTE: You must have all the disks in the system before you perform the
import operation.
c Select Import to import the foreign configuration to the controller or
select Clear to delete the foreign configuration(s) from the re-inserted
disk(s).
In the Preview Configuration Data window, the status of a physical
disk that needs to be rebuilt is displayed as Rebuild.
NOTE: When you import a foreign configuration, the dedicated hot spares in
the configuration are imported as dedicated hot spares on two conditions —
the associated virtual disk is already present or the associated virtual disk is
also imported along with the configuration.
NOTE: Start a consistency check immediately after the rebuild is complete to
ensure data integrity for the virtual disks. For more information about
checking data consistency, see "Checking Data Consistency" on page 62.
2 If all the physical disks in a virtual disk are removed at different times and
re-inserted, the controller considers the disks to have foreign
configurations. Perform the following steps:
a Select Foreign Configuration View to display the complete virtual
disk, across different foreign configurations and allow foreign
configurations to be imported.
b Press <F2> to display the options Import and Clear.
NOTE: You must have all the drives in the system before you perform the
import operation.

c Select Import to merge the foreign configurations with the existing
configuration on the controller or Clear to delete the foreign
configuration(s) from the re-inserted disk(s).
If you select Import, all drives that were pulled before the virtual disk
became offline are imported, and then automatically rebuilt.
NOTE: Start a consistency check immediately after the rebuild is
complete to ensure data integrity for the virtual disks. For more information
about checking data consistency, see "Checking Data Consistency" on
page 62.
3 If the physical disks in a non-redundant virtual disk are removed,
the controller considers the disks to have foreign configurations.
Perform the following steps:
a Select Foreign Configuration View to display the complete foreign
configuration information.
b Press <F2> to display the options Import and Clear.
c Select Import to import the foreign configuration to the virtual disk or
Clear to delete the foreign configuration(s) from the re-inserted
disk(s).
No rebuilds occur after the import operation because there is no
redundant data to rebuild the disks with.
Break Mirror
A Break Mirror operation is an operation that can be performed only on
RAID1 arrays. It provides a way to 'split' the mirror and spin-down one of the
hard disks, which can then be imported into the configuration of a different
PERC H310, H710, H710P, or H810 controller. This can be a useful way to:
• Create a disk image that can be imported and booted on a different
system.
• Assist in software or configuration testing, where half of the mirror can be
removed to ensure configuration consistency.
NOTE: The Break Mirror operation is not available within the booted
operating system environment. It is only available in the BIOS (Ctrl-R) utility
and the UEFI RAID configuration utility.

Break Mirror in BIOS Configuration Utility
To use the Break Mirror feature from the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>), perform the following steps:
The RAID1 VD that you are to split must be in an optimal state, and it
cannot be running any other background tasks.
1 During boot up, press <Ctrl><R> when prompted by the BIOS screen.
If there is more than one controller in the system, choose the controller.
The VD Mgmt screen is displayed by default.
2 On the VD Mgmt screen, highlight the appropriate Disk Group.
3 Press <F2> to display the available actions.
4 Choose Break Mirror and press <Enter>.
A dialog is displayed describing the operation and asking if you are sure
you want to perform the operation.
5 Select Yes to continue.
The exported disk (exporting configuration) spins down and the hard drive
status LED starts flashing to identify which drive must be pulled.
The remaining disk (exporting configuration) is in a degraded state until
the missing member is replaced or rebuilt.
If there are any Global or Dedicated Hot Spare assigned which fulfills the
rebuild requirements for the degraded RAID1 disk, a rebuild starts
automatically. If there is no Hot Spare assigned, then a Hot Spare that
meets all the requirements for the VD must be assigned before the rebuild
starts.
NOTE: Importing a Broken Mirror is the same as importing a Foreign configuration.
See "Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the VD Mgmt Menu" on
page 63 of this document. The imported VD is be in a degraded state until the
missing member is rebuilt.

Managing Preserved Cache
If a virtual disk becomes offline or is deleted because of missing physical
disks, the controller preserves the dirty cache from the virtual disk.
The preserved dirty cache, known as pinned cache, is preserved until you
import the virtual disk or discard the cache.
NOTE: Certain operations, such as creating a new virtual disk, cannot be
performed if preserved cache exists. You have to enter the BIOS Configuration
Utility (<Ctrl><R>) to resolve the situation before you boot to the operating system.
Messages are displayed notifying you that you must enter the BIOS Configuration
Utility (<Ctrl><R>) to discard the preserved cache or import the virtual disks with the
preserved cache.
CAUTION: If there are any foreign configurations, it is strongly advised that you
import the foreign configuration before you discard the preserved cache.
Otherwise, you might lose data that belongs with the foreign configuration.
Perform the following steps to select whether to import the virtual disk or
discard the preserved cache:
1 On the VD Mgmt screen, click on a controller icon.
3 Select Manage Preserved Cache.
A message is displayed advising you to import the foreign configuration
before you discard the preserved cache to avoid losing data belonging to
the foreign configuration. Confirm whether you want to continue. The
Manage Preserved Cache screen displays the affected virtual disks.
4 You can choose to discard the cache on the Manage Preserved Cache
screen. If you press Cancel, the process is cancelled and the Preserved
Cache Retained dialog box is displayed.
If you choose to discard the cache, you are prompted to confirm your
choice. If you choose to retain the cache, a message is displayed to notify
you that you cannot perform certain operations while the cache exists.
Click OK to continue.

Managing Dedicated Hot Spares
A dedicated hot spare automatically replaces a failed physical disk only in the
selected disk group which the hot spare is part of. A dedicated hot spare is
used before a global hot spare is used. You can create dedicated hot spares or
delete them on the VD Mgmt screen. Perform the following steps to create or
delete dedicated hot spares:
1 On the VD Mgmt screen, select Disk Group # and press <F2> to display
the menu of available actions.
The available menu options appear.
2 Select Manage Ded. HS and press <Enter>.
A screen displays a list of the current dedicated hot spares with an X beside
them and the physical disks that are available to create dedicated hot spares.
NOTE: The utility allows only disks of the same disk technology and of equal
or greater size to be selected as dedicated hot spare.
3 Use the following instructions to create or delete a dedicated hot spare:
• Creating a dedicated hot spare
a Press the down-arrow key to highlight an available physical disk.
b Press the spacebar to select the disk.
c Repeat step a to step b for each dedicated hot spare that you want
to create.
An X is displayed beside the selected physical disk(s).
• Deleting a dedicated hot spare
a Use the down-arrow key to highlight a current hot spare.
b Press the spacebar to de-select the disk.
c Repeat step a to step b for each dedicated hot spare that you want
to delete.
4 Press <Enter> to confirm the changes.
The VD Mgmt screen displays the updated list of hot spares under the
Hot spares heading.
NOTE: If a global hot spare or dedicated hot spare is removed, reinserted and
imported, it regains its status as a hot spare. A dedicated hot spare becomes
a global hot spare when the disk group it was assigned to protect is no longer
present during import.

Deleting Virtual Disks
NOTE: You cannot delete a virtual disk during an initialization.
NOTE: Warning messages appear stating the effect of deleting a virtual disk.
Click OK twice to complete the virtual disk deletion.
To delete virtual disks, perform the following steps in the BIOS
Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>):
1 Press <Ctrl><N> to access the VD Mgmt screen.
2 Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the Virtual Disks heading.
3 Press <F2>.
The action menu is displayed.
4 Select Delete VD and press <Enter>.
5 If there are multiple virtual disks in a Disk Group, select Total Free
Capacity for the Disk Group in the VD Mgmt screen.
The total amount of free space available in the Disk Group is displayed.
Deleting Disk Groups

You can delete disk groups using the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>). When you delete a disk group, the utility also removes the
virtual disks in that disk group.
To delete disk groups, perform the following steps in the BIOS
2 Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the Virtual Disks heading.
3 Press <F2>.
The action menu is displayed.
4 Select Delete Disk Group and press <Enter>.
The disk group is deleted.
When you delete a disk group, the remaining disk groups with higher
numbers are automatically renumbered. For example, if you delete disk
group #2, then disk group #3 is automatically renumbered as disk group #2.

Clearing the Configuration
You can delete all virtual disks on the RAID controller by performing
the operation.
To clear the configuration, perform the following steps in the BIOS
2 Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the Controller heading.
3 Press <F2>. The action menu is displayed.
4 Select Clear Config.
A pop-up window is displayed prompting for confirmation to delete all
virtual disks.
5 Select NO to delete the virtual disks or YES to retain the existing
configuration.
BIOS Configuration Utility Menu Options

The first menu that is displayed when you access the BIOS Configuration
Utility (<Ctrl><R>) is the main menu screen. It lists the controller,
controller number, and other information, such as the slot number. On the
screen, you can use the arrow keys to select the RAID controller you want to
configure. Press <Enter> to access the controller.
This section describes the options for the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>) for each of the major menus:
• Virtual Disk Management (VD Mgmt) menu
• Physical Disk Management (PD Mgmt) menu
• Controller Management (Ctrl Mgmt) menu
• Foreign Configuration View (Foreign View) menu
Most menus consist of two panels:
• A left panel with the menu options
• A right panel with details of the items selected in the left panel
The following sections describe the menu and submenu options for each of
the major menus:

Virtual Disk Management (VD Mgmt)
The Virtual Disk Management screen, VD Mgmt, is the first screen that is
displayed when you access a RAID controller from the main menu screen on
the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). The left panel displays the
menus for the virtual disk management as given below:
Controller—Consists of the sub-menu item Disk Group which again has the
following sub-menu items:
• Virtual Disks
• Physical Disks
• Total Free Capacity (virtual disk size and free space you can use to create a
virtual disk)
• Hot Spares (global and dedicated)
The right panel displays detailed information for the selected controllers,
disk groups, virtual disks, physical disks, total free capacity, and hot spares, as
shown in Table 5-3.
Table 5-3. Information on the Virtual Disk Management Screen
Menu Item Selected Information Displayed in Right Panel

in Left Panel
Controller Controller Properties:
• Number of disk groups (DG)
• Number of virtuals disks (VD)
• Number of physical disks (PD)
Disk Group # Disk Group # Properties:
• Number of virtual disks (VD)
• Space available on the physical disks
• Number of free segments
• Number of dedicated hot spares
• Security property of the Disk Group

Table 5-3. Information on the Virtual Disk Management Screen (continued)

in Left Panel
Virtual Disks Disk Group # Properties:
• Space available in the virtual disk
Virtual Disk # Virtual Disk # Properties:
• RAID level (0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60)
• RAID status of the virtual disk (Failed, Degraded, Partially
Degraded, or Optimal)
• Operation currently in progress
Disk Group # Properties:
Physical Disks Disk Group # Properties:


in Left Panel
Physical Disk # Physical Disk Properties:
• Vendor name
• Physical disk state
• Enclosure Position
• Slot Position
Disk Group # Properties:
Total Free Capacity Disk Group # Properties:


in Left Panel
Hot Spares Physical disk properties:
• Vendor name
• Physical disk size
• Physical disk state
• Enclosure Position
• Slot Position
Disk group # properties:

Virtual Disk Actions
Table 5-4 describes the actions you can perform on virtual disks.
For procedures you can use to perform the actions, See "Virtual Disk
Table 5-4. Virtual Disk Actions
Action Description
Create a new virtual Creates a new virtual disk from one or more physical disks.
disk You can configure hot spares when you create a virtual disk.
Manage dedicated Creates or deletes a hot spare that you can dedicate to a single
hot spares redundant virtual disks.
Initialize a Initializes the selected virtual disk. You must initialize every
virtual disk virtual disk that is configured. You can perform a fast
initialization or a Full Initialization.
Check data Verifies the correctness of the redundancy data in the selected
consistency on a virtual disk. The option is available only if RAID level 1, 5, 6,
virtual disk 10, 50, or 60 is used. The PERC H310, H710, H710P, or H810
cards automatically correct any differences found in the data.
Display or update Displays the properties of the selected virtual disk. You can
virtual disk modify the cache write policy and read policy from the menu.
parameters
Manage preserved Preserves the dirty cache from a virtual disk if it becomes offline
cache or is deleted. The dirty cache is preserved until you import the
virtual disk or discard the cache.
Delete a virtual disk Deletes the virtual disk and frees up disk space to create
another virtual disk.
Delete a disk group Deletes a disk group, which is a collection of disks from one or
more disk subsystems controlled by management software.

Physical Disk Management (PD Mgmt)
The Physical Disk Management screen (PD Mgmt) displays physical disk
information and action menus. The screen displays physical disk IDs,
vendor names, disk size, type, state, and disk group (DG). You can sort the list
of physical disks based on the headings. You can perform several actions on
the physical disks, including the following:
• Rebuilding physical disks
• Performing the Replace Member operation
• Setting the LED to blink
• Making a disk online or offline (unaffiliated with a disk group)
• Creating global hot spares
• Removing dedicated hot spares or global hot spares
The PD Mgmt screen also displays several physical disk properties as shown
in Table 5-5.
Table 5-5. Information on the Physical Disk Management Screen
Information Displayed in Left Panel Supported Information Displayed in

Right Panel
Physical Disk: • Security Property of Physical Disk
• Disk ID • Encryption Capable
• Protocol type • Product ID
• Capacity (GB) • Firmware Revision
• Physical Disk State • Disk Write Cache
• Disk Group • S.M.A.R.T state
• Vendor • Physical Disk operation
• Max Device Link Rate
• Negotiated Link Rate
• Dell Certified Disk

Physical Disk Actions
Table 5-6 describes the actions you can perform on physical disks.
For procedures that can be used to perform the actions, see "Physical Disk
Table 5-6. Physical Disk Actions
Action Description
Rebuild Regenerates all data to a replacement disk in a redundant
virtual disk (RAID level 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60) after a disk
failure. A disk rebuild normally occurs without interrupting
normal operations on the affected virtual disk.
Replace Member Replaces the disk in the virtual disk with another disk that can
be selected.
LED Blinking Indicates when physical disks are being used to create a virtual
disk. You can choose to start or stop the LED blinking.
Force Online Changes the state of the selected physical disk to online.
Force Offline Changes the state of the selected physical disk so that it is no
longer part of a virtual disk.
Make Global HS Designates the selected physical disk as a global hot spare.
A global hot spare is part of a pool for all virtual disks
controlled by the controller.
Designates the selected physical disk as a global hot spare.
Remove HS Removes a dedicated hot spare from its disk group or a global
hot spare from the global pool of hot spares.
Rebuild
Select Rebuild to rebuild one or more failed physical disks. For information
on performing a physical disk rebuild, see "Performing a Manual Rebuild of an
Individual Physical Disk" on page 85.
Several of the controller configuration settings and the virtual disk settings
affect the actual rate of rebuild. The factors include the rebuild rate setting,
virtual disk stripe size, virtual disk read policy, virtual disk write policy, and the
amount of workload placed on the storage subsystem. For information on
getting the best rebuild performance from your RAID controller, see the

The listed rates in Table 5-7 were taken during single disk failure with no I/O
present on a PERC H810 card connected to a single PowerVault MD1220
enclosure. Rates vary depending on type, speed and number of hard drives
present in array; as well as which controller model and enclosure configuration
are being used.
Table 5-7. Estimated Rebuild Rates
RAID Level Number of 7.2K RPM 6 Gb/s  15K RPM 6 Gb/s 
Hard Drives SAS Hard Drive SAS Hard Drive
RAID 1 2 320 GB/hour 500 GB/hour
Controller Management (Ctrl Mgmt)

The Controller Management screen (Ctrl Mgmt) displays the product name,
package, firmware version, BIOS version, boot block version, controller ID,
security capability, and security key presence. Use the screen to perform
actions on the controller and BIOS. You can perform functions such as enable
or disable the controller BIOS, enable or disable the BIOS during bootup in
the event of BIOS errors, and enable or disable the option to Auto Import. In
addition, you can select a virtual disk from which to boot, and select default
settings.

Controller Management Actions
Table 5-8 describes the actions you can perform on the Ctrl Mgmt screen.
Table 5-8. Controller Management Options
Option Description
Enable Controller Select the option to enable the controller BIOS. If the boot
BIOS device is on the RAID controller, the BIOS must be enabled.
Disable the BIOS to use other boot devices.
In a multiple controller environment, you can enable BIOS on
multiple controllers. However, if you want to boot from a
specific controller, then enable the BIOS on that controller
and disable it on the other controllers. The system can then
boot from the BIOS-enabled controller.
Enable BIOS Stop Select the option to stop the system BIOS during bootup if
On Error there are BIOS errors. The option enables you to enter the
configuration utility to resolve the problem.
Select Bootable Select the option to specify a virtual disk as the boot disk on
Device the controller.
NOTE: For PERC H310 the option may be a Virtual Disk or 
Non-RAID drive.
The option is displayed if you have built virtual disks.
Enable Auto Import Attempts to import every online foreign configuration during
boot without having the need to access the BIOS
Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>).
Factory Default Select the option to restore the default settings for the options
in the Settings box.

Foreign Configuration View
When a foreign configuration is present, you can select Foreign
Configuration View to display the configuration. The screen shows the
foreign configuration as it would be if you import it. You can preview the
foreign configuration before you decide whether to import it or clear it.
In some cases, a foreign configuration cannot be imported. If a physical disk
in a virtual disk is rebuilding, the physical disk's state is set to Rebuild. No
virtual disk target ID displays for virtual disks that cannot be imported.
The section "Importing or Clearing Foreign Configurations Using the Foreign
Configuration View Screen" on page 64 contains the procedures you can use
to manage the foreign configurations.
NOTE: The BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) reports error codes for failed
imports of foreign configurations.
Physical Disk Management

Setting LED Blinking
The LED blinking option indicates when physical disks are being used to
create a virtual disk. You can choose to start or stop the LED blinking.
Perform the following steps to start or stop the option:
under the heading State.
4 Press the down-arrow key to highlight LED Blinking.
5 Press the right-arrow key to display the available actions, Start and Stop.
6 Select Start to begin LED blinking or Stop to end LED blinking.

Creating Global Hot Spares
You can use a global hot spare to replace a failed physical disk in any
redundant array as long as the capacity of the global hot spare is equal to or
larger than the coerced capacity of the failed physical disk.
Perform the following steps to create global hot spares:
2 Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk to change to a global
hot spare.
4 Press the down-arrow key to highlight Make Global HS and press
<Enter>.
The physical disk is changed to a global hot spare. The status of the
physical disk as a global hot spare is displayed under the heading State.
NOTE: To replace a failed physical disk global hot spares must use the same
disk technology and must be equal or greater in size.
5 Select additional physical disks if desired and follow the previous steps to
change them to global hot spares.
Removing Global or Dedicated Hot Spares

You can remove one global or dedicated hot spare at a time on the PD Mgmt
screen. Perform the following steps to remove a global hot spare or dedicated
hot spare:
A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of each disk is displayed
2 Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk that is a hot spare.

4 Press the down-arrow key to select Remove Hot Spare from the list of
actions and press <Enter>.
The physical disk is changed to the Ready state. The status of the physical
disk is displayed under the heading State.
NOTE: Try to use physical disks of the same capacity in a specific virtual disk.
If you use physical disks with different capacities in a virtual disk, all physical
disks in the virtual disk are treated as if they have the capacity of the
smallest physical disk.
5 Select additional hot spares if desired and follow step 1 to step 4 to
remove them.
Replacing an Online Physical Disk

In addition to the automatic Replace Member operation, you can manually
replace any physical disk that is part of a virtual disk using the Replace
Member functionality. Perform the following steps to replace a physical disk:
1 In the Virtual Disk Management window, select Virtual Disk # and
press the down-arrow key until Physical Disks is highlighted.
2 Press the right-arrow key to expand the list of physical disks that are
members of the virtual disk.
3 Press the down-arrow key and highlight the desired physical disk you
want to replace. Press <F2> to expand the list of allowed operations
on the disk.
4 Select Replace and then Start.
5 Press the down-arrow to highlight a replacement disk and then press the
spacebar to select the disk.
6 Select OK to start the replacement.
NOTE: The replacement disk must be a hot spare or an unconfigured disk without
a foreign configuration. It must have the same or greater capacity and should be of
the same type as the disk it is replacing.

Restrictions and Limitations
The following restrictions and limitations apply to the Replace Member
operation:
• The Replace Member functions are restricted to one per array for RAID 0,
RAID 1, and RAID 5, and two per array for RAID 6.
• The Replace Member function and rebuild cannot run simultaneously on
a RAID 6 virtual disk. The rebuild operation has a higher priority, and the
Replace Member operation is aborted if a rebuild begins.
• The Replace Member function cannot replace a SED with a non-SED
if the virtual disk is secured.
Stopping Background Initialization

Background initialization (BGI) is the automated operation in which parity is
created and written. BGI does not run on RAID 0 virtual disks. Under certain
conditions, the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) displays a
message if you want to stop BGI in progress. An alert message is displayed if
BGI is in progress and you start any of the following actions:
• A Full Initialization on the virtual disk
• A Fast Initialization on the virtual disk
• A Consistency Check on the virtual disk
The following alert message is displayed:
The virtual disk is undergoing a background
initialization process. Would you like to stop the
operation and proceed with the <full
initialization/quick initialization/consistency
check> instead?
Click Yes to stop the BGI and start the requested operation or No to allow
BGI to continue.

Performing a Manual Rebuild of an Individual Physical Disk
CAUTION: If a physical disk is a member of a disk group that contains multiple
virtual disks and one of the virtual disks is deleted when a rebuild operation is in
progress, the rebuild operation stops. You can then resume the rebuild operation
manually using a storage management application. To avoid interruption, ensure
that none of the virtual disks are deleted until the rebuild is complete.
Use the following procedures to rebuild one failed physical disk manually.
A list of physical disks is displayed. The status of each disk is displayed
2 Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk that has a failed state.
3 Press <F2> to display a menu of available actions.
The Rebuild option is highlighted at the top of the menu.
Press the right-arrow key to display the rebuild options and select Start.
4 After you start the rebuild, press <Esc> to display the previous menu.
NOTE: You can also use the VD Mgmt screen to perform a manual rebuild. Use the
arrow key to highlight a physical disk, and press <F2>. In the menu that is displayed,
select the Rebuild option.
Controller Management
Enabling Boot Support
NOTE: See your system documentation to ensure the proper boot order is selected
in the system BIOS.
In a multiple controller environment, you can enable BIOS on multiple
controllers. However, if you want to boot from a specific controller, enable the
BIOS on that controller and disable it on the other controllers. The system
can then boot from the BIOS-enabled controller. Perform the following steps
to enable the controller BIOS:
1 Press <Ctrl><N> to access the Ctrl Mgmt menu screen.
2 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to Enable Controller BIOS in the
Settings box.

3 Press the spacebar to select Enable Controller BIOS.
An X is displayed beside Enable Controller BIOS.
4 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the Apply button, and then press
<Enter> to apply the selection.
The controller BIOS is enabled. To disable the controller BIOS, use the
spacebar to de-select the Enable Controller BIOS control, and then select
Apply and press <Enter>.
After you enable the BIOS for a controller, perform the following steps to
enable the boot support for that controller:
2 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the Select Boot Device in the Settings
box.
3 Press the down-arrow key to display a list of virtual disks and Non-RAID
physical disks (PERC H310 only).
4 Use the down-arrow key to highlight a virtual disk or Non-RAID physical
disk (PERC H310 only).
5 Press <Enter> to select the disk.
Boot support is enabled for the selected controller.
Enabling BIOS Stop on Error

The option BIOS Stop on Error is used to stop the system from booting if there
are BIOS errors. Perform the following steps to enable BIOS Stop on Error.
2 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to Enable BIOS Stop on Error in the
Settings box.
3 Press the spacebar to select Enable BIOS Stop on Error.
An X is displayed beside Enable BIOS Stop on Error.

The controller BIOS is enabled. To disable Enable BIOS Stop on Error,
use the spacebar to de-select Enable BIOS Stop on Error, then select
Apply and press <Enter>.
Enabling Auto Import

If there is a native configuration present on the controller, the option Enable
Auto Import automatically imports every online foreign configuration during
boot without having the need to access the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>).
NOTE: The controller automatically imports every optimal and degraded
foreign configuration without enabling the feature if there is no native
configuration on the controller.
To enable Auto Import:
2 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to Enable Auto Import in the Settings
box.
3 Press the spacebar to select Enable Auto Import.
An X is displayed beside Enable Auto Import.
The Auto Import is enabled.
To disable Auto Import:
1 Use the spacebar to de-select Enable Auto Import.
2 Select Apply and press <Enter>.
The Auto Import is disabled.

Restoring Factory Default Settings
You can use the Ctrl Mgmt menu screen to restore the default settings for the
options in the Settings box. The settings are Enable Controller BIOS,
Enable BIOS Stop on Error, and Enable Auto Import. Perform the following
steps to restore default settings:
2 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the Settings box.
3 Use the spacebar to de-select the settings for the options in the Settings
box.
4 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the Factory Default box, and press the
<Alt>, <Enter>, or the spacebar.
A dialog box is displayed for you to confirm your choice.
5 Select <OK> and press <Enter>.
The defaults are automatically selected for the controller settings and are
displayed in Settings.
UEFI RAID Configuration Utility

The UEFI RAID Configuration Utility is a storage management application
integrated into the System BIOS that can be used to configure and manage
RAID disk groups, virtual disks and physical disks. This utility is independent
of the operating system.
NOTE: Use the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility for initial setup and disaster recovery. Certain
advanced features are also offered in the utility.
Entering the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility

2 During startup, press <F2> to enter the System Setup.
3 From System Setup Main Menu, enter Device Settings.
Device Settings lists all the RAID controllers in the system.
Use the arrow keys or mouse to select the RAID controller you want to
configure/mange and press <Enter> or click on the mouse to access the
management menus for the controller.

NOTE: The help information for all of the options within the UEFI RAID
Configuration Utility can be viewed by clicking on Help at the top right-hand corner
of the browser screen. Help information for individual option menus can also be
viewed by simply scrolling down on each option.
NOTE: Some of the options within the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility are not
present if the controller does not support the corresponding feature. Options may
also be grayed out if the feature is supported in existing configuration.
NOTE: Background operations are blocked on the PERC H310 controller in the UEFI
RAID Configuration Utility and no operation progress updates are to be seen.
Exiting the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility

To exit the UEFI RAID Configuration Utility, press <Esc> or click on Back
at any browser screen, until you return to the Device Settings menu.
Configuration Options
There are four main configuration option menus available in the UEFI RAID
Configuration Utility. These menus are outlined below.
• Controller Management—Performs controller properties, foreign
configurations, and battery, and other high-level controller functions.
• Virtual Disk Management—Creates or deletes virtual disks, manage
virtual disk properties, and performs operations such as background
initialization, consistency check, locate and reconfiguration
• Physical Disk Management—Displays physical disk properties and
performs operations such as assign or unassign hot spares, locate, force
online/offline and rebuild after a physical disk failure
• Enclosure Management—Displays attached enclosures, enclosure
firmware revision and physical disks attached to the enclosures

Controller Management
The Controller Management menu can be used to perform the following
controller-level functions. Each of these functions is its own selectable menu
option.
• View Controller Information—Displays information about the controller.
• Change Controller Properties—Updates controller properties and/or
restores factory defaults for the controller.
• Battery Management— Displays battery status and capacity information.
• Clear Configuration — Deletes all existing configurations on the
controller.
• Manage Foreign Configuration—Displays import and/or clears foreign
configurations.
• Save Controller Events—Saves a copy of the controller events file in the
desired directory.
• Clear Controller Events—Deletes all existing entries in the controller
events file.
• Save Debug Log—Saves a copy of the firmware’s terminal log entries for
the controller.
• Enable Security — Enables security on the controller via the desired
security mode.
• Disable Security—Disables security on the controller.
• Change Security Key—Changes the security key or switches between
security modes on the controller.
• Convert To RAID Capable—Allows conversion of physical disks from
Non-RAID to RAID Capable.
• Convert To Non-RAID—Allows conversion of physical disks from RAID
Capable to Non-RAID.

Virtual Disk Management
The Virtual Disk Management menu can be used to create and manage
virtual disks on the controller. The following functions can be performed
under Virtual Disk Management. Each of these functions is its own
selectable menu option.
• Create Virtual Disk—Creates a virtual disk by selecting the RAID level,
physical disks, and virtual disk parameters.
• Manage Virtual Disk Properties—Displays and manages virtual disk
properties, view associated physical disks and manage dedicated hot
spares.
• Select Virtual Disk Operations—Selects and executes virtual disk
operations such as delete, locate, secure, expand, initialization and
consistency check.
• View Disk Group Properties—Displays information about the available
disk groups, associated virtual disks, and the capacity allocation.
• Reconfigure Virtual Disks—Performs a RAID Level Migration (RLM)
which converts a virtual disk to a different RAID level.
• Create CacheCade Virtual Disks—Creates a CacheCade virtual disk by
selecting solid state disks (SSDs).
Physical Disk Management

The Physical Disk Management menu can be used to view and manage
physical disks on the controller. The following functions can be performed
under Physical Disk Management. Each of these functions is its own
selectable menu option.
• View Physical Disk Properties—Displays information about all the
physical disks including their state.
• Select Physical Disk Operations—Selects and execute physical disk
operations such as locate, assign/unassign hot spare, replace member, force
offline/online, and convert to RAID Capable/Non-RAID.
• View Global Hot Spares—Displays all the assigned global hot spares on
the controller.

Enclosure Management
The Enclosure Management menu can be used to view the firmware version
of the enclosure and the physical disks attached to the controller, along with
their physical disk states.

6
CacheCade
The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H710, H710P, and H810 cards
support CacheCade, a feature that can improve application performance by
increasing read caching capacity. The CacheCade feature makes use of high-
performing solid state disks (SSDs) as a secondary tier of cache. CacheCade
provides faster reads and maximizes transactional I/O performance.
NOTE: PERC H310 does not support Cachecade
The use of SSDs for caching allows a large quantity of data to be present in
the cache, resulting in performance improvement in read-intensive
applications. Some examples of read-intensive applications include online
transaction processing (OLTP), file server, and web server workloads.
CacheCade allows for an increase in the I/O performance of hard disk drive
(HDD)-based disk groups with the assistance of SSD technology.
CacheCade Virtual Disk Characteristics

• Support for CacheCade virtual disks exists only on controllers containing 1
GB of Non-Volatile (NV) Cache.
• CacheCade virtual disks can only be created with SSDs.
• The maximum combined size of CacheCade virtual disks is 512 GB.
NOTE: Multiple CacheCade virtual disks may be created, but they are
combined to operate as a single cache pool up to the maximum size.
• Data on virtual disks containing secured Self-Encrypting Disks (SEDs) or
SSDs will not be cached by CacheCade.
NOTE: Data on VDs with unsecured SEDs can be cached using CacheCade.
• CacheCade virtual disks only cache input reads that are smaller than 64
KB.
CacheCade 93
• CacheCade virtual disks are read cache only.
• CacheCade virtual disks cannot be migrated to a controller that does not
support CacheCade.
• Importing a CacheCade drive may result in a RAID 0 VD. You must
reconfigure the CacheCade VD after importing.
• CacheCade virtual disks are not presented to the operating system.
Configuring and Managing CacheCade Virtual

Disks
All management applications allow the creation and deletion of CacheCade
virtual disks.
The following sections describe the menu options specific to CacheCade
virtual disk management and provide detailed instructions to perform the
configuration tasks. The contents of the following section apply to the BIOS
Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). For more information on the
management applications, see "Management Applications for PERC Cards"
on page 51.
CacheCade Virtual Disk Management

The Virtual Disk Management screen is the first screen that is displayed
when you access a RAID controller from the main menu screen on the BIOS
Configuration Utility.
The following are CacheCade-related actions you can perform through the
virtual disk management menu:
• Create CacheCade virtual disk
• Assign CacheCade virtual disk name
• Delete virtual disk
94 CacheCade
Create CacheCade Virtual Disk
NOTE: Only SSDs can be used to create CacheCade virtual disks.
NOTE: Combining SAS and SATA SSDs within a CacheCade virtual disk is not
supported.
NOTE: To avoid inefficient use of space, it is recommended that CacheCade
volumes are created with drives of the same size. Larger disk sizes are truncated to
the size of the smallest contributing disk, similar to RAID 0.
To create a CacheCade virtual disk:
1 During host system bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS screen is
displayed.
The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed. If there are more than
one controller, the main menu screen is displayed.
2 Select a controller, and press <Enter>.
The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed for the selected
controller.
3 Use the arrow keys to highlight Controller #.
4 Press <F2>.
The list of available actions is displayed.
5 Select Create CacheCade Virtual Disk and press <Enter>.
The Create CacheCade Virtual Disk screen is displayed. The cursor is on
the first SSD listed in the Select SSD section.
6 Select the desired SSD(s). As each new SSD is selected, the CacheCade
Virtual Disk Size changes to reflect the new size.
NOTE: You cannot specify the size of the virtual disk.
CacheCade 95
7 Press <Tab> to move the cursor to the CacheCade Virtual Disk Name
field. Enter a name if required.
8 After you specify the virtual disk name, select OK to save the selection or
select Cancel to cancel the selection.
After the CacheCade virtual disk is created successfully, it is listed in the
Virtual Disk Management screen under the CacheCade disk group, and is
labeled as a CacheCade virtual disk. The virtual disk has an optimal state and
its RAID level is RAID 0.
NOTE: You can only delete or rename a CacheCade virtual disk. Background
Initialization, fast initialization, full initialization, and consistency check operations
are not applicable to CacheCade virtual disks.
Delete CacheCade Virtual Disk

To delete CacheCade virtual disks, perform the following steps in the BIOS
Configuration Utility:
1 Press <Ctrl><N> to access the Virtual Disk Management screen.
2 Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the CacheCade Disk Group or
Virtual Disks heading.
3 Press <F2>.
The Action menu is displayed.
4 Select Delete VD and press <Enter>.
NOTE: Warning messages are displayed stating the effect of deleting a virtual disk.
Click OK to complete the virtual disk deletion.
NOTE: In operating system management applications, a CacheCade virtual disk
deletion or removal can be done without interrupting any I/Os. The controller stops
caching via the secondary cache, but all outstanding I/Os are completed.
Reconfiguring CacheCade Virtual Disks

In operating system management applications, the resizing of CacheCade
virtual disks occurs without stopping any existing I/Os. Creating a new
CacheCade virtual disk or adding one or more SSDs to an existing
CacheCade virtual disk increases the total cache size. The new resources are
immediately used after the addition.
96 CacheCade
There are two methods to reconfigure CacheCade virtual disks:
• Automatic reconfiguration of cachecade virtual disks
• Manual reconfiguration of cachecade virtual disks
Automatic Reconfiguration of CacheCade Virtual Disks

A CacheCade virtual disk that is made up of more than one SSD is
automatically reconfigured upon a removal or failure of a member SSD. The
virtual disk retains an Optimal state and adjusts its size to reflect the
remaining number of member disks. If auto-rebuild is enabled on the
controller, when a previously removed SSD is inserted back into the system or
replaced with a new compatible SSD, the CacheCade automatically
reconfigures and adjusts its size to reflect the addition of the member SSD.
The number of SSDs to be removed from a CacheCade virtual disk cannot
equal the total number of SSDs currently in the CacheCade virtual disk.
After the automatic reconfiguration and resizing of a CacheCade virtual disk,
the new virtual disk size is displayed in both the BIOS configuration utility as
well as in the OpenManage storage management application.
CAUTION: If a disk is removed from a CacheCade virtual disk, the associated slot
for that disk is a hot slot for the CacheCade volume. Any compatible disk inserted
into that slot is automatically added to the CacheCade virtual disk. Any pre-
existing data on that drive is lost.
NOTE: Disks inserted into a CacheCade hot slot must be equal to or greater than
the smallest contributing disk in the virtual disk.
CacheCade 97
Manual Resizing of CacheCade Virtual Disks
In operating system management applications, a manual resizing of a
CacheCade virtual disk occurs due to the addition or removal of drives.
Reboot is not be necessary.
• Any number of SSDs can be added to a CacheCade virtual disk.
• There is no SAS and SATA mixing allowed within a CacheCade virtual
disk, so SATA SSDs cannot be added to a SAS CacheCade virtual disk and
vice versa.
• HDDs cannot be added to a CacheCade virtual disk.
NOTE: Capacity of drives added to a CacheCade volume must be equal to or
greater than the smallest contributing drive in the virtual disk. The manual resizing
of a CacheCade virtual disk cannot be initiated in the BIOS configuration utility. It
can only be initiated in the OpenManage storage management application.
98 CacheCade
7
Security Key and RAID
Management
NOTE: PERC H310 does not support any security implementations.
Security Key Implementation

The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H710, H710P, and H810 cards
support Self-Encrypting Disks (SED) for protection of data against loss or
theft of SEDs. Protection is achieved by the use of encryption technology on
the drives. The encryption key is protected from unauthorized use by a
security key.
There is one security key per controller. You can manage the security key
under Local Key Management (LKM). The key can be escrowed in to a file
using Dell OpenManage. The security key is used by the controller to lock
and unlock access to encryption-capable physical disks. In order to take
advantage of this feature, you must:
1 Have SEDs in your system.
2 Create (LKM) a security key
Security Key Management in the BIOS

Configuration Utility
The Dell OpenManage storage management application and the BIOS
Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) of the controller allow security keys to
be created and managed as well as create secured virtual disks. The following
section describes the menu options specific to security key management and
provide detailed instructions to perform the configuration tasks. The
contents of the following section apply to the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>). For more information on the management applications, see
"Management Applications for PERC Cards" on page 51.
Security Key and RAID Management 99

• The Virtual Disk Management screen, VD Mgmt, is the first screen that is
displayed when you access a RAID controller from the main menu screen
on the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). The following are
security-related actions you can perform through the virtual disk
management menu:
– Security Key Management—Creates, changes, or deletes the security
settings on a controller.
– Secure Disk Group—Secures all Virtual Disks in Disk Group.
• The Physical Disk Management screen, PD Mgmt, displays physical disk
information and action menus. The following are security-related actions
you can perform through the physical disk management menu:
– Instant Secure Erase—Permanently erases all data on an encryption-
capable physical disk and resets the security attributes.
For more information on the Physical Disk Management screen and Virtual
Disk Management screen, see "Physical Disk Management" on page 81 and
"Virtual Disk Management" on page 58 respectively.
Local Key Management (LKM)

You can use LKM to generate the key ID and the passphrase required to
secure the virtual disk. You can secure virtual disks, change security keys and
manage secured foreign configurations using this security mode.
NOTE: Under LKM, you are prompted for a passphrase when you create the key.
Create Security Key

Perform the following steps to create a security key on the controller:
NOTE: There is no passphrase backup option when you create a security key; you
need to remember your passphrase.
1 During the host system boot up, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS
screen is displayed.
The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed.
If there is more than one controller, the main menu screen is displayed.
100 Security Key and RAID Management

controller.
3 Use the arrow keys to highlight Security Key Management.
4 Press <F2> to display the actions you can perform.
5 Select Create Key and press <Enter>.
The Create Security Key screen is displayed. The cursor is at the Security
Key Identifier.
6 Enter an identifier for your security key.
NOTE: The Security Key Identifier is a user supplied clear text label used to
associate the correct security key with the controller.
7 Press <Tab> to enter a passphrase.
CAUTION: If you lose or forget your passphrase, the data in your virtual disk is
inaccessible.
8 Press <Tab> and select OK to accept the settings and to exit the window.
Select Cancel to exit if you do not want to create a security key on the
controller.
Change Security Key

NOTE: Change Key is active if there is a security key present on the controller.
Perform the following steps when changing the security key on the controller:
displayed.
controller.
5 Select Change Key and press <Enter>.

6 The Change Security Key screen is displayed. The cursor is at the Security
Key Identifier. Enter an identifier for your Security Key.
7 Press <Tab> to enter a new passphrase.
NOTE: You need to provide the current passphrase in order to change the
security key on the controller.
8 Press <Tab> and select OK to accept the settings and to exit the window.
Select Cancel to exit if you do not want to change the security key on the
controller.
NOTE: If there is an existing configuration on the controller, it is updated
with the new security key. If you had previously removed any secured disks,
you still need to supply the old passphrase to import them.
Delete Security Key

NOTE: Delete Key is active if there is a security key present on the controller.
NOTE: Delete Key can only be performed when there are no secured virtual disks
present.
NOTE: After the Delete Key operation, all unconfigured, secured SEDs shall be
secure-erased.
Perform the following steps when deleting the security key on the controller:
displayed.
The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed. If there is more than
one controller, the main menu screen is displayed.
controller.
5 Select the Delete key and press <Enter>.

Creating Secured Virtual Disks
To create a secured virtual disk, the controller must have a security key
established first. See "Create Security Key" on page 100.
NOTE: Combining SAS and SATA hard drives within a virtual disk is not supported.
Also, combining hard drives and solid state drives (SSDs) within a virtual disk is not
supported.
After the security key is established, perform the steps outlined in the
"Creating Virtual Disks" on page 88 to create a virtual disk.
To secure the virtual disk, navigate to the Secure VD option at the bottom
left area of the Create New VD screen.
NOTE: All virtual disks added to a secured Disk Group are secured.
Securing Pre-Existing Virtual Disks

If an unsecured virtual disk was created on a controller, you can secure the
virtual disk as long as the following conditions are met:
• The controller has a security key present.
• All the physical disks in the virtual disk are SED.
Perform the following steps when securing a pre-existing virtual disk on a
secured controller:
1 During the host system bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS screen
is displayed.
The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed for the selected controller.
3 Use the arrow keys to highlight the Disk Group number.
4 Press <F2> to display a menu of the available actions.
5 Highlight the Secure Disk Group option and press <Enter>.
NOTE: If you select to secure a Disk Group, all VDs part of the Disk Group are
secured.

Importing or Clearing Secured Foreign Configurations and Secure Disk
Migration
Secured virtual disks created on a PERC H700/H800 or H710/H710P/H810
card can be migrated to another PERC H710, H710P, or H810 card. A virtual
disk secured with a security key different from the current controller security
key cannot be imported without authentication of the original passphrase
used to secure them.
When importing secured virtual disk(s) created with a different security key,
the secured foreign configuration(s) do not show in the Foreign
Configuration View screen. Follow the steps below to import or clear a
foreign secured virtual disk.
NOTE: If you are importing secured and unsecured virtual disks, you are prompted
to resolve the secured foreign configuration first.
NOTE: The PERC H710, H710P, or H810 card needs to have a security key present
before being able to import a secured virtual disk.
NOTE: Any unsecured virtual disks imported are still unsecured.
NOTE: If you are importing a virtual disk originally secured with a local key (LKM),
you are prompted for the passphrase used to secure that virtual disk.
NOTE: A secured VD cannot be imported using the PERC H310 card.
Perform the following steps when importing a foreign secured virtual disk:
1 During the host system bootup, press <Ctrl><R> when the BIOS screen
is displayed.
controller.
4 Select Import to import the foreign configuration or Clear to delete the
foreign configuration. Press <Enter>.
NOTE: To Clear, you need to Instant Secure Erase foreign configurations
secured with a different security key.

5 If you select to Import the configuration, the Secure Foreign Import
screen is displayed.
NOTE: The key identifier for the passphrase used to secure the foreign secured
virtual disks is displayed under the Secured Drives option.
6 Enter the passphrase that was used to secure the foreign configuration
7 Press <Tab> and select OK to finish importing the secured foreign
configuration or select Cancel to exit this menu.
If you select Cancel for the secured foreign import, the disks remain
inaccessible until imported or instant secure erased. See "Instant Secure
Erase" on page 105.
Instant Secure Erase

Instant Secure Erase is the process of permanently erasing all data on an
encryption-capable physical disk and resetting the security attributes. You
need to execute Instant Secure Erase on SEDs that are inaccessible (blocked)
due to a lost or forgotten passphrase.
CAUTION: By executing Instant Secure Erase, the data on your 
encryption-capable physical disk is lost.
Perform the following steps when instant secure erasing a physical disk:
A list of physical disks is displayed. On the right menu, the physical disk
properties are displayed including information about whether the physical
disk is secured or not.
2 Press the down-arrow key to highlight a physical disk that is secured.
4 The Secure Erase option is highlighted at the bottom of the menu.
5 Press <Enter> to Secure Erase the physical disk and select YES.

Troubleshooting Security Key Errors
Secured Foreign Import Errors
A foreign configuration is a RAID configuration that already exists on a
replacement physical disk that you install in a system. A secured foreign
configuration is a RAID configuration that was created under a different
security key. There are two scenarios in which a secured foreign import fails:
• The passphrase authentication fails—A VD secured with a security key
different from the current controller security key cannot be imported
without authentication of the original passphrase used to secure them.
Supply the correct passphrase to import the secured foreign configuration.
If you have lost or forgotten the passphrase, the secured foreign disks
remain locked (inaccessible) until the appropriate passphrase is entered or
if they are instant secure erased.
• The secured VD is in an offline state after supplying the correct
passphrase—You must check to determine why the virtual disk failed and
correct the problem. See "Troubleshooting" on page 109.
Failure to Select or Configure Non Self-Encrypting Disks (non-SED)

A virtual disk can be either secured or unsecured depending on how it was
configured when created. In order to create a secured virtual disk, the
controller must have a security key present and must be composed of SEDs
only. In order to select/configure non-SED, you must create an unsecured
virtual disk. You can create an unsecured virtual disk even if there is a security
key present. Select the secure VD option as No in the Create New VD menu.
See "Creating Virtual Disks" on page 58 for steps on how to create an
unsecured virtual disk.
Failure to Delete Security Key

A security key is used to lock or unlock access to a security-enabled
component. This key is not utilized in the actual encryption of data. If a
security key is present, both secured and unsecured virtual disks may exist.
To delete the security key, you must have a previously established security key
present on the controller and there can not be any configured secured disks.
If there are configured secured disks, remove or delete them.

Failure to Instant Secure Erase Task on Physical Disks
Instant Secure Erase is the process of securely erasing all data permanently on
an encryption-capable physical disk and resetting the security attributes. It is
used in a couple of scenarios such as deleting a foreign configuration in the
event of a forgotten or lost passphrase or unlocking a disk that had been
previously locked.
Instant Secure Erase can be executed only on encryption-capable disks as long
as the disks are not hot spares and are not configured (part of a virtual disk).
Ensure that the conditions are met and see "Instant Secure Erase" on
page 105.

8
Troubleshooting
To get help with your Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H310, H710,
H710P and H810, you can contact your Dell Technical Service representative
or see support.dell.com.
BIOS Error Messages

The controller BIOS read-only memory (ROM) provides Int 13h functionality
(disk I/O) for the virtual disks connected to the controller. You can boot from
or access the physical disks without a driver.
Discovery Error Message

Error Message: A discovery error has occurred, please
power cycle the system and all the enclosures attached
to this system
Probable Cause: This message indicates that discovery did not complete
within 120 seconds. The SAS cables for your system might be improperly
connected.
Corrective Action: Check the cable connections and fix any problems.
Restart the system.
Extra Enclosure Error Message

Error Message: There are X enclosures connected to
connector Y, but only maximum of 4 enclosures can be
connected to a single SAS connector. Please remove the
extra enclosures then restart your system.
Probable Cause: This message is displayed when the BIOS detects more than
four enclosures connected to a single SAS connector.
Corrective Action: You must remove all additional enclosures and restart your
system.
Troubleshooting 109
Cache Data Lost Error Message
Error Message: Cache data was lost, but the controller has
recovered. This could be due to the fact that your
controller had protected cache after an unexpected
power loss and your system was without power longer
than the battery backup time. Press any key to
continue or 'C' to load the configuration utility.
Probable Cause: This message is displayed under the following conditions:
• The adapter detects that the cache in the controller cache has not yet been
written to the disk subsystem.
• The controller detects an Error-Correcting Code (ECC) error while
performing its cache checking routine during initialization.
• The controller discards the cache rather than sending it to the disk
subsystem because the data integrity cannot be guaranteed.
Corrective Action: To resolve this issue, allow the battery to charge fully. If
the problem persists, the battery or adapter DIMM might be faulty; contact
Dell Technical Support.
Missing Disks in Virtual Disk Error Message

Error Message: The following virtual disks have missing
disks: (x). If you proceed (or load the configuration
utility), these virtual disks will be marked OFFLINE
and will be inaccessible. Please check your cables and
ensure all disks are present. Press any key to
continue, or 'C' to load the configuration utility.
Probable Cause: The message indicates that some configured disks were
removed. If the disks were not removed, they are no longer accessible. The
SAS cables for your system might be improperly connected.
Corrective Action: Check the cable connections and fix any issues. Restart
the system. If there are no cable problems, press any key or <C> to continue.
110 Troubleshooting
Previous Configuration of Disks Removed Error Message
Error Message: All of the disks from your previous
configuration are gone. If this is an unexpected
message, then please power off your system and check
your cables to ensure all disks are present. Press any
key to continue, or 'C' to load the configuration
utility.
Probable Cause: The message indicates that all configured disks were
Missing Virtual Disks Error Message

Error Message: The following virtual disks are missing:
(x). If you proceed (or load the configuration
utility), these virtual disks will be removed from
your configuration. If you wish to use them at a later
time, they will have to be imported. If you believe
these virtual disks should be present, please power
off your system and check your cables to ensure all
disks are present. Press any key to continue, or 'C'
to load the configuration utility.
Troubleshooting 111
Dirty Cache Data Error Message
Error Message: The cache contains dirty data, but some
virtual disks are missing or will go offline, so the
cached data can not be written to disk. If this is an
unexpected error, then please power off your system
and check your cables to ensure all disks are present.
If you continue, the data in cache will be permanently
discarded. Press 'X' to acknowledge and permanently
destroy the cached data.
Probable Cause: The controller preserves the dirty cache from a virtual disk if
the disk becomes offline or is deleted because of missing physical disks. This
message indicates that some configured disks were removed. If the disks were
not removed, they are no longer accessible. The SAS cables for your system
might be improperly connected.
Restart the system. Use the <Ctrl><R> utility to import the virtual disk or
discard the preserved cache. For the steps to manage preserved cache, see
"Managing Preserved Cache" on page 68.
BIOS Disabled Error Message

Error Message: BIOS Disabled. No Logical Drives Handled by
BIOS
Probable Cause: This warning message is displayed after you disable the
ROM option in the configuration utility. When the ROM option is disabled,
the BIOS cannot boot to INT 13h and cannot provide the ability to boot from
the virtual disk. Int 13h is an interrupt signal that supports numerous
commands that are sent to the BIOS, then passed to the physical disk. The
commands include actions you can perform with a physical disk, such as
reading, writing, and formatting.
Corrective Action: Enable the ROM option.
112 Troubleshooting
Drive Configuration Changes Error Message
Error Message: Entering the configuration utility in this
state will result in drive configuration changes.
Press 'Y' to continue loading the configuration
utility or please power off your system and check your
cables to ensure all disks are present and reboot.
Probable Cause: The message is displayed after another BIOS warning
indicating there are problems with previously configured disks and you have
chosen to accept any changes and continue. The SAS cables for your system
might be improperly connected.
Restart the system. If there are no cable problems, press any key or <Y> to
continue.
Adapter at Baseport not Responding Error Message

Error Message: Adapter at Baseport xxxx is not responding,
where xxxx is the baseport of the controller.
Corrective Action: Contact Dell Technical Support.
Offline or Missing Virtual Drives With Preserved Cache Error Message

Error Message: There are offline or missing virtual drives
with preserved cache. Please check the cables and
ensure that all drives are present. Press any key to
enter the configuration utility.
Probable Cause: The controller preserves the dirty cache from a virtual disk if
the disk becomes offline or is deleted because of missing physical disks. This
preserved dirty cache is called pinned cache, and is preserved until you import
the virtual disk, or discard the cache.
Corrective Action: Use the <Ctrl><R> utility to import the virtual disk or
discard the preserved cache. For the steps used to manage preserved cache,
see "Managing Preserved Cache" on page 68.
Troubleshooting 113
Virtual Disks Offline Error Message
Error Message: x Virtual Disk(s) Offline, where x is the number of
virtual disks failed.
Probable Cause: This warning is displayed when the BIOS detects virtual
disks in the offline state.
Corrective Action: You must check to determine why the virtual disks failed
and correct the problem. The BIOS does not take any action.
Virtual Disks Degraded Error Message

Error Message: x Virtual Disk(s) Degraded, where x is the number
of virtual disks degraded.
Probable Cause: This message is displayed when the BIOS detects virtual
disks in a degraded state.
Corrective Action: Take corrective action(s) to make the virtual disks
optimal. The BIOS does not take any action.
Virtual Disks Partially Degraded Error Message

Error Message: x Virtual Disk(s) Partially Degraded, where
x is the number of virtual disks partially degraded.
Probable Cause: This message is displayed when the BIOS detects a single
disk failure in a RAID 6 or RAID 60 configuration.
Corrective Action: You must check why the member disk is not present to
correct the problem. The BIOS does not take any action.
Memory or Battery Problem Error Message

Error Message: Memory/Battery problems were detected. The
adapter has recovered, but cached data was lost. Press
any key to continue.
Probable Cause: The message occurs under the following conditions:
• The adapter detects data in the controller cache that has not yet been
written to the disk subsystem.
• The controller detects an Error-Correcting Code (ECC) error while
performing its cache checking routine during initialization.
114 Troubleshooting
• The controller discards the cache rather than sending it to the disk
subsystem because the data integrity cannot be guaranteed.
• The battery may be under charged.
Corrective Action: Allow the battery to charge fully to resolve this problem. If
the problem persists, the battery or adapter DIMM might be faulty. Contact
Dell Technical Support.
Firmware Fault State Error Message

Error Message: Firmware is in Fault State
Foreign Configuration Found Error Message

Error Message: Foreign configuration(s) found on adapter.
Press any key to continue, or ’C’ to load the
configuration utility or ’F’ to import foreign
configuration(s) and continue.
Probable Cause: When a controller firmware detects a physical disk with
existing foreign metadata, it flags the physical disk as foreign and generates an
alert indicating that a foreign disk was detected.
Corrective Action: Press <F> at this prompt to import the configuration (if
all member disks of the virtual disk are present) without loading the BIOS
Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>). Or, press <C> to enter the BIOS
Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) and either import or clear the foreign
configuration.
Troubleshooting 115
Foreign Configuration Not Found in <Ctrl><R> Error Message
Error Message: The foreign configuration message is
present during POST but no foreign configurations are
present in the foreign view page in CTRL+R. All
virtual disks are in an optimal state.
Corrective Action: Ensure all your PDs are present and all VDs are in optimal
state. Clear the foreign configuration using <Ctrl><R> or Dell
OpenManage Server Administrator Storage Management.
CAUTION: The physical disk goes to Ready state when you clear the foreign
configuration.
If you insert a physical disk that was previously a member of a virtual disk in
the system, and that disk’s previous location has been taken by a replacement
disk through a rebuild, you must manually remove the foreign configuration
flag of the newly inserted disk.
Previous Configuration Cleared or Missing Error Message

Error Message: Previous configuration(s) cleared or
missing. Importing configuration created on XX/XX
XX.XX. Press any key to continue, or ’C’ to load the
configuration utility.
Probable Cause: The message indicates that the controller and physical disks
have different configurations.
Corrective Action: You can use the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>) to clear the foreign configuration.
Invalid SAS Topology Detected Error Message

Error Message: Invalid SAS topology detected. Please check
your cable configurations, repair the problem, and
restart your system.
Probable Cause: The SAS cables for your system are improperly connected.
Corrective Action: Check the cable connections and fix problems if any.
Restart the system.
116 Troubleshooting
Multibit ECC Errors Detected Error Messages
NOTE: The following error is specific to the PERC H710 controller only.
Error Message: Multibit ECC errors were detected on the
RAID controller. If you continue, data corruption can
occur. Contact technical support to resolve this
issue. Press 'X' to continue or else power off the
system, replace the controller and reboot.
Or
Error Message: Multibit ECC errors were detected on the
RAID controller.The DIMM on the controller needs
replacement. If you continue, data corruption can
occur. Press 'X' to continue or else power off the
system, replace the DIMM module, and reboot. If you
have replaced the DIMM please press 'X' to continue.
CAUTION: Multi-bit ECC errors cause data corruption and data loss. In case of
MBE errors, contact Dell Technical Support.
Probable Cause: Multi-bit ECC errors occur in the memory and can corrupt
cached data and discard it.
Configured Disks Removed or Not Accessible Error Message

Error Message: Some configured disks have been removed
from your system or are no longer accessible. Check
your cables and ensure all disks are present. Press
any key or ’C’ to continue.
Restart the system. If there are no cable problems, press any key or <C> to
continue.
Troubleshooting 117
Battery Discharged or Disconnected Error Message
Error Message: The battery is currently discharged or
disconnected. Verify the connection and allow 30
minutes for charging.If the battery is properly
connected and it has not returned to operational state
after 30 minutes of charging then contact technical
support for additional assistance.
Probable Cause: This message may appear for controller without battery,
depending on the virtual disks’ policies.
Corrective Action:
• The controller battery is missing or currently inaccessible, contact Dell
support if the problem persist after 30 minutes.
• The controller battery is completely discharged and needs to be charged
for it to become active. You must first charge the battery, then wait for a
few minutes for the system to detect it.
Degraded State of Virtual Disks

A redundant virtual disk is in a degraded state when one or more physical disks
have failed or are inaccessible. For example, if a RAID 1 virtual disk consists
of two physical disks and one of them fails or become inaccessible, the virtual
disk become degraded.
To recover a virtual disk from a degraded state, you must replace the failed
physical disk and rebuild it. Once the rebuilding process is complete, the
virtual disk state changes from degraded to optimal. For information on
rebuilding the disk, see "Performing a Manual Rebuild of an Individual
Physical Disk" on page 85.
Memory Errors
Memory errors can corrupt cached data, so the controllers are designed to
detect and attempt to recover from the memory errors. Single-bit memory
errors can be handled by the controller and do not disrupt normal operation.
A notification is sent if the number of single-bit errors exceeds a threshold
value.
118 Troubleshooting
Multi-bit errors are more serious as they result in corrupted data and data
loss. The following are the actions that occur in the case of multi-bit errors:
• If a multi-bit error occurs while accessing data in the cache when the
controller is started with dirty cache, the controller discards the cache
contents. The controller generates a warning message to the system
console to indicate that the cache was discarded and generates an event.
• If a multi-bit error occurs at run-time either in code/data or in the cache,
the controller stops.
• The controller logs an event to the controller’s internal event log and
a message during POST is displayed indicating a multi-bit error
has occurred.
NOTE: In case of a multi-bit error, contact Dell Technical Support.
Preserved Cache State

The controller preserves the dirty cache from a virtual disk if the virtual disk
becomes offline or is deleted because of missing physical disks. This preserved
dirty cache is called pinned cache and is preserved until you import the virtual
disk or discard the cache.
Use the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) utility to select whether
to import the virtual disk or discard the preserved cache. In the VD Mgmt
menu, select Manage Preserved Cache and follow the steps on the screen.
General Issues
PERC Card Has Yellow Bang in Device Manager
Issue: The device is displayed in Device Manager but has a yellow bang
(exclamation mark).
Corrective Action: Reinstall the driver. For more information on reinstalling drivers,
see "Driver Installation" on page 43.
PERC Card Not Seen in Device Manager

Issue: The device does not appear in Device Manager.
Corrective Action: Turn off the system and reseat the controller.
Troubleshooting 119
No Hard Drives Found Error Message During Microsoft Windows Server
2003 Installation
Issue: No Hard Drives Found message is displayed during a media-
based installation of Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
Corrective Action: The issue occurs because of any of the following causes:
• The driver is not native in the operating system.
To resolve the issue, press <F6> to install the RAID device driver during
installation.
• The virtual disks are not configured properly.
To resolve the issue, enter the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>)
to configure the virtual disks. For procedures to configure the virtual disks,
see the section "Management Applications for PERC Cards" on page 51.
• The controller BIOS is disabled.
To resolve the issue, enter the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>)
to enable the BIOS. For information on configuring virtual disks, see
"Management Applications for PERC Cards" on page 51.
Physical Disk Issues

Physical Disk in Failed State
Issue: One of the physical disks in the disk array is in the failed state.
Corrective Action: Update the PERC cards to the latest firmware available on
support.dell.com.
Unable to Rebuild a Fault Tolerant Virtual Disk

Issue: Cannot rebuild a fault tolerant virtual disk. For more information, see
the alert log for virtual disks.
Corrective Action: The replacement disk is too small or not compatible with
the virtual disk. Replace the failed disk with a compatible good physical disk
with equal or greater capacity.
120 Troubleshooting
Fatal Error or Data Corruption Reported
Issue: Fatal error(s) or data corruption(s) are reported when accessing virtual
disks.
Physical Disk Displayed as Blocked

Issue: One or more physical disks is displayed as Blocked and can not be
configured.
Corrective Action: Update the PERC cards to the latest firmware available on
support.dell.com.
Multiple Disks Become Inaccessible

Issue: Rebuilding the physical disks after multiple disks become
simultaneously inaccessible.
Corrective Action: Multiple physical disk errors in a single array typically
indicate a failure in cabling or connection and could involve the loss of data.
You can recover the virtual disk after multiple physical disks become
simultaneously inaccessible. Perform the following steps to recover the virtual
disk:
CAUTION: Follow the safety precautions to prevent electrostatic discharge.
1 Turn off the system, check cable connections, and reseat physical disks.
2 Ensure that all the disks are present in the enclosure.
3 Turn on the system and enter the BIOS Configuration Utility
(<Ctrl><R>) utility.
4 Import the foreign configuration.
Press <F> at the prompt to import the configuration, or press <C> to
enter the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) and either import or
clear the foreign configuration.
Troubleshooting 121
If the virtual disk is redundant and transitioned to Degraded state before
going Offline, a rebuild operation starts automatically after the configuration
is imported. If the virtual disk has gone directly to the Offline state due to a
cable pull or power loss situation, the virtual disk is imported in its Optimal
state without a rebuild occurring.
NOTE: You can use the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) or Dell OpenManage
storage management application to perform a manual rebuild of multiple physical
disks. For information on rebuilding a single physical disk, see "Performing a Manual
Rebuild of an Individual Physical Disk" on page 85.
Rebuilding a Failed Physical Disk

Issue: Rebuilding a physical disk after one of them is in a failed state.
Corrective Action: If you have configured hot spares, the PERC card
automatically tries to use one of them to rebuild a physical disk that is in a
failed state. Manual rebuild is necessary if no hot spares with enough capacity
to rebuild the failed physical disks are available. You must insert a physical
disk with enough storage in the subsystem before rebuilding the physical disk.
NOTE: You can use the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl><R>) or Dell OpenManage
storage management application to perform a manual rebuild of an individual
physical disk. For information on rebuilding a single physical disk, see "Performing a
Manual Rebuild of an Individual Physical Disk" on page 85.
Virtual Disk Fails During Rebuild Using a Global Hot Spare

Issue: A virtual disk fails during rebuild while using a global hot spare.
Corrective Action: The global hot spare goes back to Hotspare state and the
virtual disk goes to Failed state.
Virtual Disk Fails During Rebuild Using a Dedicated Hot Spare

Issue: A virtual disk fails during rebuild while using a dedicated hot spare.
Corrective Action: The dedicated hot spare goes to Ready state and the
122 Troubleshooting
Physical Disk Fails During Reconstruction on Redundant Virtual Disk
Issue: A physical disk fails during a reconstruction process on a redundant
virtual disk that has a hot spare.
Virtual Disk Fails Rebuild Using a Dedicated Hot Spare

Issue: A virtual disk fails during rebuild while using a dedicated hot spare.
Physical Disk Takes a Long Time to Rebuild

Issue: A physical disk is taking longer than expected to rebuild.
Corrective Action: A physical disk takes longer to rebuild when under high
stress. For example, there is one rebuild I/O operation for every five host I/O
operations. You cannot add a second virtual disk to a disk group while the
virtual disk in that disk group is undergoing a rebuild. The firmware does not
allow you to create a virtual disk using the free space available in a disk group
if a physical disk in a virtual disk group is undergoing a rebuild operation.
Troubleshooting 123
SMART Errors
SMART monitors the internal performance of all motors, heads, and physical
disk electronics and detects predictable physical disk failures.
NOTE: For information about where to find reports of SMART errors that could
indicate hardware failure, see the Dell OpenManage storage management
Smart Error Detected on a Physical Disk in a Redundant Virtual Disk

Issue: A SMART error is detected on a physical disk in a redundant virtual
disk.
Corrective Action:
1 Back up your data.
2 Force the physical disk offline.
NOTE: If a hot spare is present, the rebuild starts with the hot spare after the
disk is forced offline.
3 Replace the disk with a new physical disk of equal or higher capacity.
4 Perform the Replace Member operation.
The Replace Member operation allows you to copy data from a source
physical disk of a virtual disk to a target physical disk that is not a part of
the virtual disk. For more information about the Replace Member feature,
see "Using Replace Member and Revertible Hot Spares" on page 31.
124 Troubleshooting
Smart Error Detected on a Physical Disk in a Non-Redundant Virtual
Issue: A SMART error is detected on a physical disk in a redundant virtual
disk.
Corrective Action:
1 Back up your data.
2 Use Replace Member or set up a global hot spare to replace the disk
automatically.
For more information about the Replace Member feature, see "Using
Replace Member and Revertible Hot Spares" on page 31.
3 Replace the affected physical disk with a new physical disk of equal or
higher capacity.
4 Restore from the backup.
Replace Member Errors

NOTE: For more information about the Replace Member features, see "Using
Replace Member and Revertible Hot Spares" on page 31.
Source Disk Fails During Replace Member Operation

Issue: The source disk fails during the Replace Member operation.
Corrective Action: If the source data is available from other disks in the
virtual disk, the rebuild begins automatically on the target disk, using the data
from the other disks.
Target Disk Fails

Issue: The target disk fails.
Corrective Action: If the target disk fails, the Replace Member operation
aborts.
General Disk Fails

Issue: A general disk fails.
Troubleshooting 125
Corrective Action: If the target disk fails and the Replace Member operation
aborts but the source data is still available, then the Replace Member
operation continues as Replace Member.
Linux Operating System Errors

Virtual Disk Policy is Assumed as Write-Through Error Message
Error Message: <Date:Time> <HostName> kernel: sdb: asking
for cache data failed
<Date:Time> <HostName> kernel: sdb: assuming drive
cache: write through
Corrective Action: The error message is displayed when the Linux Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI) mid-layer asks for physical disk cache
settings. The controller firmware manages the virtual disk cache settings on a
per controller and a per virtual disk basis, so the firmware does not respond to
this command. The Linux SCSI mid-layer assumes that the virtual disk's
cache policy is Write-Through. SDB is the device node for a virtual disk. This
value changes for each virtual disk.
See the section "Physical Disk Management" on page 81 for more information
about Write-Through cache.
Except for this message, there is no effect of this behavior on normal
operation. The cache policy of the virtual disk and the I/O throughput are not
affected by this message. The cache policy settings for the PERC SAS RAID
system remain unchanged.
Driver Does not Auto-Build into New Kernel

Issue: Driver does not auto-build into new kernel after customer updates.
Corrective Action: This error is a generic problem for Dynamic Kernel
Module Support (DKMS) and applies to all DKMS-enabled driver packages.
This issue occurs when you perform the following steps:
1 Install a DKMS-enabled driver package.
2 Run up2date or a similar tool to upgrade the kernel to the latest version.
3 Reboot to the new kernel.
126 Troubleshooting
The driver running in the new kernel is the native driver of the new kernel.
The driver package you installed previously in the new kernel does not take
effect in the new kernel.
Perform the following procedure to make the driver auto-build into the new
kernel:
1 Type:
dkms build -m <module_name> -v <module version> -k
<kernel version>
2 Type:
dkms install -m <module_name> -v <module version> -k
<kernel version>
3 Type the following to check whether the driver is successfully installed in

the new kernel:
DKMS
The following details appear:

<driver name>, <driver version>, <new kernel version>:
installed
Unable to Register SCSI Device Error Message

Error Message:
smartd[smartd[2338] Device: /dev/sda, Bad IEC (SMART)
mode page, err=-5, skip device
smartd[2338] Unable to register SCSI device /dev/sda
at line 1 of file /etc/smartd.conf
Corrective Action: This is a known issue. An unsupported command is
entered through the user application. User applications attempt to direct
Command Descriptor Blocks to RAID volumes. The error message does not
effect the feature functionality. The Mode Sense/Select command is
supported by firmware on the controller. However, the Linux kernel daemon
issues the command to the virtual disk instead of to the driver IOCTL node.
This action is not supported.
Troubleshooting 127
Disk Carrier LED Indicators
The LED on the physical disk carrier indicates the state of each physical disk.
Each disk carrier in your enclosure has two LEDs: an activity LED (green)
and a status LED (bicolor, green/amber) as shown in Figure 8-1. The activity
LED is active whenever a disk is being accessed while the status LED
indicates when a disk is being spun up, is rebuilding, or is in a fault state.
Figure 8-1. Disk Carrier LED Indicators
1
2
1 activity LED 2 status LED
128 Troubleshooting
A
Appendix: RAID Description
RAID is a group of independent physical disks that provides high performance
by increasing the number of disks used for saving and accessing data.
A RAID disk subsystem offers the following benefits:
• Improved I/O performance and data availability.
• Improved data throughput because several disks are accessed
simultaneously. The physical disk group appears either as a single storage
unit or multiple logical units to the host system.
• Improved data storage availability and fault tolerance. Data loss caused by
a physical disk failure can be recovered by rebuilding missing data from the
remaining physical disks containing data or parity.
CAUTION: In the event of a physical disk failure, a RAID 0 virtual disk fails,
resulting in data loss.
Summary of RAID Levels

NOTE: PERC H710, H710P and H810 cards support all RAID levels listed below.
PERC H310 does not support RAID 6 and RAID 60.
• 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. RAID 1 is good for small
databases or other applications that require small capacity and complete
data redundancy.
• RAID 5 uses disk striping and parity data across all physical disks
(distributed parity) to provide high data throughput and data redundancy,
especially for small random access.
• RAID 6 is an extension of RAID 5 and uses an additional parity block.
RAID 6 uses block-level striping with two parity blocks distributed across
all member disks. RAID 6 provides protection against double disk failures,
and failures while a single disk is rebuilding. If you are using only one array,
deploying RAID 6 is more effective than deploying a hot spare disk.
Appendix: RAID Description 129

• RAID 10 is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1, uses disk striping
across mirrored disks. It provides high data throughput and complete data
redundancy. RAID 10 can support up to eight spans, and up to 32 physical
disks per span.
• RAID 50 is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 5 where a RAID 0 array
is striped across RAID 5 elements. RAID 50 requires at least six disks.
• RAID 60 is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 6 where a RAID 0 array is
striped across RAID 6 elements. RAID 60 requires at least eight disks.
RAID Terminology
Disk Striping
Disk striping allows you to write data across multiple physical disks instead of
just one physical disk. Disk striping involves partitioning each physical disk
storage space in stripes of the following sizes: 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB,
and 1024 KB. The 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 disk striping (used in RAID 0),
segment 1 is written to disk 1, segment 2 is written to disk 2, and so on.
Disk striping enhances performance because multiple physical disks are
accessed simultaneously, but disk striping does not provide data redundancy.
Figure A-1 shows an example of disk striping.
Figure A-1. Example of Disk Striping (RAID 0)
Stripe element 1 Stripe element 2 Stripe element 3 Stripe element 4

130 Appendix: RAID Description

Disk Mirroring
With mirroring (used in 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 disk mirroring is that it provides complete data redundancy.
Both disks contain the same data at all times. Either of the physical disks can
act as the operational physical disk.
Disk mirroring provides complete redundancy, but is an expensive option
because each physical disk in the system must be duplicated.
NOTE: Mirrored physical disks improve read performance by read load balance.
Figure A-2 shows an example of disk mirroring.
Figure A-2. Example of Disk Mirroring (RAID 1)
Stripe element 1 Stripe element 1 Duplicated

Spanned RAID Levels

Spanning is a term used to describe the way in which RAID levels 10, 50,
and 60 are constructed from multiple sets of basic, or simple RAID levels.
For example, a RAID 10 has multiple sets of RAID 1 arrays where each RAID 1
set is considered a span. Data is then striped (RAID 0) across the RAID 1
spans to create a RAID 10 virtual disk. Similarly, RAID 50 and RAID 60
combine multiple sets of RAID 5 or RAID 6 respectively with striping.
Parity Data
Parity data is redundant data that is generated to provide fault tolerance
within certain RAID levels. In the event of a disk failure the parity data can be
used by the controller to regenerate user data. Parity data is present for RAID
5, 6, 50, and 60.
Appendix: RAID Description 131

The parity data is distributed across all the physical disks in the system. If a
single physical disk fails, it can be rebuilt from the parity and the data on the
remaining physical disks. RAID level 5 combines distributed parity with disk
striping, as shown in Figure A-3. Parity provides redundancy for one physical
disk failure without duplicating the contents of entire physical disks.
RAID 6 combines dual distributed parity with disk striping. This level of
parity allows for two disk failures without duplicating the contents of entire
physical disks.
Figure A-3. Example of Distributed Parity (RAID 5)
Stripe element 1 Stripe element 2 Stripe element 3 Stripe element 4 Stripe element 5 Parity (1–5)
Stripe element 7 Stripe element 8 Stripe element 9 Stripe element 10 Parity (6–10) Stripe element 6
Stripe element 13 Stripe element 14 Stripe element 15 Parity (11–15) Stripe element 11 Stripe element 12
Stripe element 19 Stripe element 20 Parity (16–20) Stripe element 16 Stripe element 17 Stripe element 18
Stripe element 25 Parity (21–25) Stripe element 21 Stripe element 22 Stripe element 23 Stripe element 24
Parity (26–30) Stripe element 26 Stripe element 27 Stripe element 28 Stripe element 29 Stripe element 30
NOTE: Parity is distributed across multiple physical disks in the disk group.
Figure A-4. Example of Dual Distributed Parity (RAID 6)
Stripe element 1 Stripe element 2 Stripe element 3 Stripe element 4 Parity (1–4) Parity (1–4)
Stripe element 5 Stripe element 6 Parity (5–8) Parity (5–8) Stripe element 7 Stripe element 8
Parity (9–12) Parity (9–12) Stripe element 9 Stripe element 10 Stripe element 11 Stripe element 12
Stripe element 13 Stripe element 14 Parity (13–16) Parity (13–16) Stripe element 15 Stripe element 16
NOTE: Parity is distributed across all disks in the array.
132 Appendix: RAID Description

Index
B D
Background Initialization, 18 disk groups
background initialization, 18 deleting, 70
stopping, 84 disk migration, 21
battery disk mirroring, 131
management, 23 Disk roaming, 20
BIOS, 80 disk roaming, 20
BIOS Configuration Utility, 78, disk striping, 130
80
controller management, 79 display/update parameters, 76
Foreign View menu, 81 driver diskette, 43
menu navigation controls, 53 driver installation, 43
menu options, 71
menus, 71 drivers
installation, 43
physical disk management, 77
Microsoft operating system
starting, 52
installation, 45
virtual disk management, 72
F
C
fault tolerance, 26
compatibility
features, 26
with existing RAID
controllers, 15, 17 foreign configuration, 81
Consistency Check, 20 Foreign Configuration View, 81
consistency check, 62, 76 full initialization, 19
controller management, 79
Index 133
H physical disks
actions, 78
hot swapping, 30
management, 77
I
R
interface specifications, 27
RAID
configuration functions, 55
definition, 129
L levels, 76, 129
LED summary of levels, 129
operation, 20 RAID level, 56
read policy, 57
M rebuild, 78
manual, 85
manual rebuild, 85
S
O
SAS
operating system support, 15, 17
overview, 13
operating systems, 15, 17 SMART technology, 15, 17
stripe element size, 56
P
parity, 131 T
Patrol Read, 33
troubleshooting, 109
PERC general problems, 119
overview, 13 physical disk issues, 120
PERC H700, H800 SMART error, 124-125
supported operating systems, 15
physical disk
actions, 78
134 Index
V
virtual disks
deleting, 70
management, 72
menu options, 76, 80
parameters, 56
setting up, 79, 81
W
write policy, 57
Index 135
136 Index

Dell Hardware Raid Perc h710 Controller

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Dell PowerEdge RAID

Controller (PERC) H310,

Model UCPA-801, UCPB-800, UCPM-800 and UCPE-800

2012 - 02 Rev. A00

Types of Virtual Disk Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Virtual Disk Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Virtual Disk Write Cache Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Virtual Disk Read Cache Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Reconfiguration of Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The SMART Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Redundant Path Support (For PERC H810 Only) . . . . . 29

Physical Disk Failure Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Using Persistent Hot Spare Slots . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Physical Disk Hot Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Using Replace Member and 

Controller Cache Preservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Battery Transparent Learn Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

3 Deploying the PERC Card . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Installing the PERC Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Setting up Redundant Path Support 

Reverting to Single Path Support 

Updating the Linux Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

BIOS Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Virtual Disk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

BIOS Configuration Utility Menu Options . . . . . . . . 71

Physical Disk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

UEFI RAID Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Configuring and Managing 

7 Security Key and 

Security Key Management in the 

Troubleshooting Security Key Errors . . . . . . . . . 106

Degraded State of Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Memory Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Preserved Cache State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

General Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Physical Disk Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

SMART Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Replace Member Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Linux Operating System Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Disk Carrier LED Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

A Appendix: RAID Description . . . . . . . . . 129

Specification H310 H710 H710P H810

Specification H310 H710 H710P H810

Supported Operating Systems

Physical Disk Power Management

Configured Spin Down Delay

Types of Virtual Disk Initialization

Background Initialization of Virtual Disks

Full Initialization of Virtual Disks

Fast Initialization of Virtual Disks

Virtual Disk Write Cache Policies

Write-Back and Write-Through

Conditions Under Which Forced Write-Back With No Battery is

Virtual Disk Read Cache Policies

The SMART Feature

Redundant Path Support (For PERC H810 Only)

Using Persistent Hot Spare Slots

Physical Disk Hot Swapping

Using Replace Member and Revertible Hot