Owners Manual

1. Enter the system BIOS and set System Profile Settings to Performance.
2. Click Back, and then click OK to return to the main BIOS page.
3. Restart the server to activate the BIOS changes.
4. Repeat this process for each server in the Fluid Cache cluster.
Preparing the Cache Devices
• Make sure that all cache devices used in the Fluid Cache cluster have the minimum firmware and
driver versions specified in Requirements for Fluid Cache. To download updated firmware or drivers,
see Downloading Firmware, Drivers, and Software.
• Fluid Cache supports clusters containing cache devices of different sizes, but for the most predictable
performance, it is recommended that the cache devices be of similar capacity.
NVMe Cache Devices
• Firmware— Refer to the Dell PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD User’s Guide for instructions
about checking your current firmware version. Use the Dell Update Package to install the latest
firmware.
• Driver— Refer to the Dell PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD User’s Guide for instructions
about checking your current driver version and installing the updated driver.
Non-NVMe Cache Devices
• Firmware— Make sure the firmware is up to date by using this command: dmesg | grep mtip32xx
| grep Firmware
For each cache device, you must get results similar to the following, showing firmware version
B1490508 or later:
mtip32xx 0000:46:00.0: Firmware Ver.: B1490508
NOTE: The firmware version must be B1490508 or later. Otherwise, even though they are visible
in Enterprise Manager, the cache devices do not appear in the list of available devices when
adding devices to a Fluid Cache cluster.
• Driver— Make sure the driver is up to date and running by using this command: dmesg | grep -i
micron
For each cache device, you must get results similar to the following, showing driver version 2.4.2 or
later:
Micron RealSSD PCIe Block Driver Version 2.4.2
CAUTION: If the cache devices contain data, back up this data before adding the cache devices to
the Fluid Cache cluster. All data on the cache devices are lost when they are added to the cluster.
NOTE: If your server already has cache devices installed, make sure that the cache devices you
intend to use in the Fluid Cache cluster are not used by any other application.
Preparing the Cache Network Adapters
1. Install the network adapters in PCIe slots on the servers (x16 slots, if available).
2. Check the network adapter driver and firmware versions, and the OFED package version, and then
update, if necessary (see Checking the Network Adapter Firmware and Driver).
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