Users Guide

Running RAID configuration jobs on multiple storage
controllers
While performing operations on more than two storage controllers from any supported iDRAC interface, make sure to:
• Run the jobs on each controller individually. Wait for each job to complete before starting the configuration and job creation on the
next controller.
• Schedule multiple jobs to run at a later time using the scheduling options.
Manage Preserved cache
The Managed Preserved Cache feature is a controller option which provides the user an option to discard the controller cache data. In the
write-back policy, data is written to the cache before being written to the physical disk. If the virtual disk goes offline or is deleted for any
reason, the data in the cache gets deleted.
The PREC Controller preserves the data written on the preserved or dirty cache in an event of power failure or cable disconnect until you
recover the virtual disk or clear the cache.
The status of the controller is affected by the preserved cache. The controller status is displayed as degraded if the controller has
preserved cache. Discard the preserved cache is possible only if all of the following conditions are met:
• The controller does not have any foreign configuration.
• The controller does not have any offline or missing virtual disks.
• Cables to any virtual disk are not disconnected.
Managing PCIe SSDs
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) solid-state device (SSD) is a high-performance storage device designed for solutions
requiring low latency, high Input Output Operations per Second (IOPS), and enterprise class storage reliability and serviceability. The PCIe
SSD is designed based on Single Level Cell (SLC) and Multi-Level Cell (MLC) NAND flash technology with a high-speed PCIe 2.0 or PCIe
3.0 compliant interface. In 14th generation of PowerEdge servers, we have three different ways to connect SSDs. You can use an
extender to connect the SSDs via backplane, directly connect the SSDs from backplane to mother board using slimline cable without
extender, and use HHHL (Add-In) card which sits on the motherboard.
NOTE:
14th generation of PowerEdge servers are supporting Industry standard NVMe-MI specification based NVMe
SSDs. However, 13th generation of PowerEdge servers used to support Dell proprietary specification based SSDs.
Adding SSDs from any previous generation of server are not supported by iDRAC9.
Using iDRAC interfaces, you can view and configure NVMe PCIe SSDs.
The key features of PCIe SSD are:
• Hot plug capability
• High-performance device
In few of the 14th generation of PowerEdge servers, up to 32 NVMe SSDs are supported.
You can perform the following operations for PCIe SSDs:
• Inventory and remotely monitor the health of PCIe SSDs in the server
• Prepare to remove the PCIe SSD
• Securely erase the data
• Blink or unblink the device LED (Identify the device)
You can perform the following operations for HHHL SSDs:
• Inventory and real-time monitoring of the HHHL SSD in the server
• Failed card reporting and logging in iDRAC and OMSS
• Securely erasing the data and removing the card
• TTY logs reporting
You can perform the following operations for SSDs:
• Drive status reporting such as Online, Failed, and Offline
Managing storage devices
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