User's Manual

3. Click Information/Configuration on the controller Properties page.
4. Select Foreign Configuration Operations from the Controller Tasks drop-down menu.
5. Click Execute.
Importing Foreign Configurations
Some controllers enable you to import a foreign configuration so that virtual disks are not lost after
moving the physical disks.
You can import a foreign configuration only if it contains a virtual disk that is either in a Ready or
Degraded state. In other words, all of the virtual disk data must be present, but if the virtual disk is using a
redundant RAID level, the additional redundant data is not required.
For example, if the foreign configuration contains only one side of a mirror in a RAID 1 virtual disk, then
the virtual disk is in a Degraded state and can be imported. On the other hand, if the foreign
configuration contains only one physical disk that was originally configured as a RAID 5 using three
physical disks, then the RAID 5 virtual disk is in a Failed state and cannot be imported.
In addition to virtual disks, a foreign configuration may consist of a physical disk that was assigned as a
hot spare on one controller and then moved to another controller. The Import Foreign Configuration
task imports the new physical disk as a hot spare. If the physical disk was set as a dedicated hot spare on
the previous controller, but the virtual disk to which the hot spare was assigned is no longer present in
the foreign configuration, then the physical disk is imported as a global hot spare.
The Import Foreign Configuration task is only displayed when the controller has detected a foreign
configuration. You can also identify whether a physical disk contains a foreign configuration (virtual disk
or hot spare) by checking the physical disk state. If the physical disk state is Foreign, then the physical
disk contains all or some portion of a virtual disk or has a hot spare assignment.
If you have an incomplete foreign configuration which cannot be imported, you can use the Clearing
Foreign Configuration option to erase the foreign data on the physical disks.
NOTE: The task of importing foreign configuration imports all virtual disks residing on physical disks
that have been added to the controller. If more than one foreign virtual disk is present, all the
configurations are imported.
Related Links
Foreign Configuration Properties
Importing Or Recovering Foreign Configurations
The recover operation attempts to restore degraded, failed, or missing virtual disks to a healthy state. A
virtual disk may be in a degraded, failed, or missing state after losing communication with the controller
due to a power loss, faulty cable connection, or other failure. A rebuild or background initialization may
automatically initiate after the recover operation completes.
The virtual disk data may be inconsistent after recovery. Verify the virtual disk data after the Import/
Recover Foreign Configuration task completes.
In some cases, the virtual disk data is incomplete and it is not possible to successfully recover the virtual
disk.
To import or recover a foreign configuration:
Click Import/Recover to import or recover all virtual disks residing on physical disks attached to the
controller.
To exit without importing or recovering the foreign configuration, click Cancel.
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