Users Guide

Foreign Configuration Operations
A foreign configuration is data residing on physical disks that have been moved from one controller to another. Virtual disks residing on physical disks that
have been moved are considered to be a foreign configuration.
The Foreign Configuration Operations option is displayed only when a controller detects a foreign configuration. Select this option and click Execute to
display the Foreign Configuration Preview page.
The Foreign Configuration Operations task displays foreign configuration preview of the foreign disks and enables you to perform operations such as,
importing, recovering, or clearing the foreign disks.
This task also enables you to import or clear a locked foreign configuration. If any locked foreign configurations are detected, the associated Security Key
Identifier is displayed prompting you to enter the corresponding Passphrase to unlock. The locked foreign configurations are available for you to
preview/import/clear only after authentication with associated Passphrase.
If you do not want to import/clear the foreign configurations, or in case of loss of the associated Passphrase of the corresponding Security Key Identifier,
execute the Instant Secure Erase task for the physical disks.
Some conditions, such as an unsupported RAID level or an incomplete disk group, can prevent the import or recovery of foreign virtual disks.
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Foreign Configuration Properties
The following table describes the properties that are displayed for the Foreign Disks and Global Hot Spares.
NOTE: Foreign Configuration Operations is available only on SAS controllers with firmware versions 6.1 and later.
CAUTION: Executing the Instant Secure Erase task will erase all data on the physical disk.
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Property
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Definition
Status
These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component.
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Normal/OK
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Warning/Non-critical
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Critical/Fatal
See "Storage Component Severity" for more information.
Name
This property displays the name of the foreign configuration and is available as a link. The link enables you to access the physical disks
that constitute the foreign disk.
State
This property displays the current state of the foreign configuration.
Ready — The foreign disk can be imported and will function normally after import.
Degraded — The foreign disk is in degraded state and will rebuild after import.
Failed — The foreign disk has encountered a failure and is no longer functioning. You cannot import the foreign configuration.
The foreign configuration may be in degraded or failed state due to any of the following reasons:
l Missing physical disk — One of the physical disks in the potential virtual disk is missing or not available.
l Missing Span — One or more span of a hybrid virtual disk is missing
l Stale physical disks — One or more physical disk in the configuration may contain out-of-date data with respect to other disks of
that virtual disk. Hence, the data integrity of the imported virtual disk is not intact.
l Unsupported configuration of the virtual disk — The virtual disk has an unsupported RAID level.
l The virtual disks available for import exceed the number of virtual disk available for export.
l Incompatible physical disks — Configuration on the physical disks is not recognized by the RAID firmware.
l Orphan drive — A physical disk in the foreign configuration has configuration information that matches another physical disk that is
already a part of an array (either a foreign or a native array).
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NOTE: For other applicable physical disk tasks and properties, see "Physical Disk Properties and Tasks."
Layout
This property displays the RAID level of the foreign configuration.
Remarks
This property gives more information about the foreign virtual disk. If the virtual disk cannot be imported, the reason for failure is
displayed.
l Exceeded Maximum — The number of virtual disks selected for import has exceeded the maximum number of supported disks.
l Missing physical disk or missing span — One or more physical disks or spans in the virtual disk to be imported is missing.
l Unsupported — The selected RAID level is not supported on this controller.
l Orphan Drive — The physical disk was once part of a RAID volume but was replaced. The configuration should be cleared.
l Stale Physical Disk — The physical disk in the virtual disk to be imported has outdated data.