Dell PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD SFF P4500/P4600 User’s Guide
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Copyright © 2017 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contents 1 Overview........................................................................................................................................................5 NVMe PCIe SSD architecture.......................................................................................................................................... 5 PCIe interface..............................................................................................................................................................
Ungraceful system shutdown or power loss................................................................................................................ 22 General errors................................................................................................................................................................... 22 NVMe PCIe SSD is not listed in the operating system..........................................................................................
1 Overview The PowerEdge Express Flash Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) Solid State Device (SSD) 2.5 inch small form factor (SFF) is a high performance storage device designed for solutions requiring low latency, high I/O operations per second (IOPS), and enterprise class storage reliability and serviceability. The NVMe PCIe SSDs are offered as a Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND flash technology with a high-speed PCIe 3.0 compliant interface.
Orderly or Hot Insertion You insert a device into a running system where a similar device has not been previously inserted from the time it was last booted. The systems that support NVMe PCIe SSDs are configured to handle the PCIe resource balancing in the event of a hot insertion, when operating within a Dell supported operating system. This preset system configuration makes the hot insertion an orderly operation, if performed with supported operating systems.
Supported operating systems for NVMe PCIe SSD NOTE: NVMe PCIe SSD hot swap is not supported in VMware ESXi 5.5 or while accessing the BIOS or Hll configuration. NOTE: For all operating system documents, see Dell.com/operatingsystemmanuals. NOTE: NVMe PCIe SSD is not supported as a boot device in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, or VMware. Only the following operating systems support the NVMe PCIe SSD devices: • Microsoft Windows Server 2016 • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
2 Technical specifications NOTE: The specifications provided are for information purposes only and do not constitute an extension of Dell's warranty for this product. Table 1.
2TB: 3,907,029,168 LBAs 3.2 TB: 6,251,233,968 LBAs 4 TB: 7,814,037,168 LBAs Bytes per sector P4500: 1TB 2TB 4TB P4600: 1.6TB 3.2TB 512 Bytes 0.73 DWPD over 5 years 0.49 DWPD over 5 years 0.63 DWPD over 5 years 2.92 DWPD over 5 years 2.92 DWPD over 5 years Environment Operating temperature 0 °C to 70 °C Shock SFF: 1000 G/0.5 ms Vibration 2.17 GRMS (Operating), 3.13 GRMS (Non-operating) Power Requirements Active power 25 W Electrical characteristics Voltage input 3.
3 Getting started with NVMe PCIe SSD The NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF devices you ordered with your system are preconfigured and ready for use. For more information, see Configuring NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF in different operating systems, or see Configuring and managing your NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF device. Topics: • Configuring NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF in different operating systems • Servicing your NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF device Configuring NVMe PCIe SSD 2.
NOTE: Do not insert or remove an NVMe PCIe SSD while accessing the system BIOS or HII configuration. To remove your NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF from a running system, use the Prepare to Remove task in OpenManage Server Administrator. You can safely remove the device from the system under the following conditions after you use the Prepare to Remove task: • The NVMe PCIe SSD LED blinks in a pattern that indicates that the device is preparing for removal.
4 Replacing and configuring hardware CAUTION: All work must be performed at an electrostatic discharge (ESD) safe workstation to meet the EIA-625-requirements for handling electrostatic discharge sensitive devices. All actions must be performed following the latest revisions of the IPCA-610 ESD recommended practices. CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician.
• The NVMe PCIe SSD LED blinks in a pattern that indicates that the device is preparing for removal. For more information, see NVMe PCIe SSD Carrier LED indicators. 2 • The NVMe PCIe SSD is no longer accessible by the operating system. Press the release button and open the NVMe PCIe SSD carrier release handle to release the NVMe PCIe SSD. 3 Slide the NVMe PCIe SSD out of the slot. NOTE: To maintain proper system cooling, all empty NVMe PCIe SSD bays must have device blanks installed.
5 Booting from NVMe PCIe SSD Dell supports installation to Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSDs on select PowerEdge platforms that have been configured for UEFI BIOS boot mode. To determine whether or not NVMe PCIe SSDs may be used as a boot device on your system, see the system-specific Owner’s Manual at Dell.com/support/manuals. OS installation to the NVMe PCIe SSD is only supported on the following Operating Systems: • Windows Server 2016 • RHEL 7.
6 Configuring and managing your NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF device The storage management applications enable you to manage and configure the NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF device. These applications also allow you to control and monitor multiple NVMe PCIe SSDs, and provide online maintenance.
Configure and manage NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF Use the Physical Device Properties screen to view information about NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF and to run a NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF task. To view the complete set of NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF properties, select Full View from the Options taskbar. Physical device properties are described below: Name Displays the name of the NVMe PCIe SSD. The name comprises the bay ID and the slot ID in which the NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF is installed.
NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF available tasks The following are in the NVMe PCIe SSD drop-down menu: • Blink • Unblink • Prepare to Remove • Cryptographic Erase • Export Log Blink and unblink task for PCIe SSD The Blink task allows you to find a device within a system by blinking the status LED on the device. If you need to cancel the Blink task or if the physical device continues to blink indefinitely, use the Unblink task.
5 Expand the Enclosure (Backplane) object. 6 Select the Physical Devices object. 7 Select the Prepare To Remove from the Available Tasks drop-down menu task. 8 Click Execute. The following warning message is displayed: “Warning: Are you sure you want to prepare the physical device for removal?” 9 Select Prepare to Remove Physical Device to proceed or select Go Back to previous page to cancel the operation.
NOTE: HII is only available starting on select Dell 13th generation PowerEdge Dell Hyperconverged Infrastructure with Microsoft Software Defined Stack systems. NOTE: Do not insert or remove an NVMe PCIe SSD from the HII configuration utility. Entering the HII configuration utility To enter the HII configuration utility: 1 Turn on the system. 2 Press F2 during system startup to enter the system setup. 3 Navigate to the Device Settings option.
Setting LED blinking The LED blink option allows you to identify a physical device in the system. To start or stop the feature: 1 Navigate to the Select Physical Device Operations menu in the HII Configuration Utility. 2 Select the Blink option to begin LED blinking, or the Unblink option to end LED blinking. 3 Press Esc to return to the previous screen. 4 To exit the HII Configuration Utility, click Exit in the top-right corner of the System Setup menu.
7 Troubleshooting NOTE: To get help for your NVMe PCIe SSD, see Contacting Dell. Topics: • Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology errors • NVMe PCIe SSD Carrier LED indicators • Ungraceful system shutdown or power loss • General errors Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology errors The NVMe PCIe SSD solution is always monitored for errors by its internal software. If an error occurs, it is detected and recorded in an internal log.
Table 2. NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF States and LED Indicator Codes State Name Slot/Device State Status LED (Green) Status LED (Amber) Device status off The server or device is not powered up. Off Off Device online The device is powered up. On Off Device identify (blink) The device is identifying the slot location or is indicating the device has received a Prepare for Removal command from the host operating system.
backplane and the extender card or system board cable connectors are connected to the extender card. See Replacing and configuring hardware. • Extender card: Ensure that the PCIe extender card, if used in your server configuration, is plugged into the correct supported slot. See the system specific Owner's Manual at Dell.com/support/manuals. Linux fails to boot and prompts for the root password Cause A stale volume mount point is still present after a device removal or cryptographic erase.
• Configure the server for low latency performance. To achieve maximum performance with NVMe PCIe SSDs, change the server performance profile in the BIOS settings to Performance. In Windows Server, OpenManage Server Administrator does not detect PCIe NVMe devices In Windows Server 2016 Description Windows Server 2016 contains an in-box NVMe driver that is supported by OpenManage Server Administrator. Cause The operating system is not using the in-box or required NVMe driver.
8 Getting help Locating your system Service Tag Your system is identified by a unique Express Service Code and Service Tag number. The Express Service Code and Service Tag are found on the front of a physical DR Series system by pulling out the information tag. The service tag can also be found on the Support page in the GUI. This information is used to route support calls to the appropriate personnel for resolution.
To... See the... Configure and log in to iDRAC, set up managed and management Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's Guide at Dell.com/ system, know the iDRAC features, and troubleshoot by using iDRAC idracmanuals Know about the RACADM subcommands and supported RACADM interfaces RACADM Command Line Reference Guide for iDRAC at Dell.
