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12 Configuring RAID in a Dell workstation | 1.0
Intel
®
VMD Controller layout
Controller
5820/7820 Tower
7920 Tower
VMD Controller 1 Slot 1 (2 ports), PCIE0, PCIE1 Slot 1 (2 ports), PCIE0, PCIE1
VMD Controller 2 Slot 2 (4 ports) Slot 2 (4 ports)
VMD Controller 3 Slot 4 (4 ports) Slot 4 (4 ports)
VMD Controller 1 (CPU1) Not applicable PCIE0_CPU1, PCIE1_CPU1
VMD Controller 2 (CPU1) Not applicable Slot 6
VMD Controller 3 (CPU1) Not Applicable Slot 7
Boot is supported for RAID arrays attached to Intel
®
VMD controllers this generation. RAID arrays can be
spanned across Intel
®
VMD controllers, but boot is not supported on those arrays. It is not recommended to
span RAID arrays across the Intel
®
VMD controllers on different CPUs.
3.3 Broadcom MegaRAID SAS controllers
To install and use SAS drives and expand storage to the maximum number of drives, Broadcom MegaRAID
SAS controllers are required. MegaRAID SAS 9440-8i and MegaRAID SAS 9460-16i have been validated
with the platforms and are offered as a factory install option.
MegaRAID SAS 9440-8i is an Integrated MegaRAID (iMR) controller with minimal resources compared to the
MegaRAID SAS 9460-16i which is a full MegaRAID RAID on Chip (ROC) controller. The table below
compares the major features between these two controllers.
Broadcom MegaRAID controller basic feature list
Feature
MegaRAID SAS 9440
-
8i
MegaRAID SAS 9460
-
16i
Number of Phys 8 16
Max SAS/SATA drives supported 8 16
Max NVMe drives supported 2 (x4 NVMe) 4 (x4 NVMe)
HW ROC (RAID on Controller) No Yes
SuperCap – Cache Backup Not applicable Yes
Limitations in Legacy OROM mode Yes No
Performance and number of
Outstanding IOs
Low High
3.3.1 Legacy BIOS Configuration Utility – No Support
Unlike the previous generation of Broadcom MegaRAID SAS controllers, Configuration utility (Ctrl-C) in
Legacy BIOS mode is not supported anymore. To install an OS in Legacy BIOS mode, you must switch to