Users Guide
Table Of Contents
- Dell Technologies PowerEdge RAID Controller 11 User’s Guide PERC H755 adapter, H755 front SAS, H755N front NVMe, and PERC H755 MX adapter
- Contents
- Dell Technologies PowerEdge RAID Controller 11
- Applications and User Interfaces supported by PERC 11
- Features of PowerEdge RAID Controller 11
- Controller features
- Virtual disk features
- Hard drive features
- Fault tolerance
- Install and remove a PERC 11 card
- Safety instructions
- Before working inside your system
- After working inside your system
- Remove the PERC H755 adapter
- Install the PERC H755 adapter
- Remove the PERC H755 front SAS card
- Install the PERC H755 front SAS card
- Remove the PERC H755N front NVMe card
- Install the PERC H755N front NVMe card
- Remove the PERC H755 MX adapter
- Install the PERC H755 MX adapter
- Driver support for PERC 11
- Firmware
- Manage PERC 11 controllers using HII configuration utility
- Enter the PERC 11 HII configuration utility
- Exit the PERC 11 HII configuration utility
- Navigate to Dell PERC 11 configuration utility
- View the HII Configuration utility dashboard
- Configuration management
- Controller management
- Clear controller events
- Save controller events
- Save debug log
- Enable security
- Disable security
- Change security settings
- Restore factory default settings
- Auto configure behavior
- Manage controller profile
- Advanced controller properties
- Virtual disk management
- Physical disk management
- Hardware components
- Security key management in HII configuration utility
- Security key and RAID management
- Security key implementation
- Local Key Management
- Create a security key
- Change Security Settings
- Disable security key
- Create a secured virtual disk
- Secure a non-RAID disk
- Secure a pre-existing virtual disk
- Import a secured non-RAID disk
- Import a secured virtual disk
- Dell Technologies OpenManage Secure Enterprise Key Manager
- Supported controllers for OpenManage Secure Enterprise Key Manager
- Manage enterprise key manager mode
- Disable enterprise key manager mode
- Manage virtual disks in enterprise key manager mode
- Manage non–RAID disks in enterprise key manager mode
- Migration of drives from local key management to enterprise key management
- Troubleshooting
- Single virtual disk performance or latency in hypervisor configurations
- Configured disks removed or not accessible error message
- Dirty cache data error message
- Discovery error message
- Drive Configuration Changes Error Message
- Windows operating system installation errors
- Firmware fault state error message
- Foreign configuration found error message
- Foreign configuration not found in HII error message
- Degraded state of virtual disks
- Memory errors
- Preserved Cache State
- Security key errors
- General issues
- Physical disk issues
- Physical disk in failed state
- Unable to rebuild a fault tolerant virtual disk
- Fatal error or data corruption reported
- Multiple disks are inaccessible
- Rebuilding data for a failed physical disk
- Virtual disk fails during rebuild using a global hot spare
- Dedicated hot spare disk fails during rebuild
- Redundant virtual disk fails during reconstruction
- Virtual disk fails rebuild using a dedicated hot spare
- Physical disk takes a long time to rebuild
- Drive removal and insertion in the same slot generates a foreign configuration event
- SMART errors
- Replace member errors
- Linux operating system errors
- Drive indicator codes
- HII error messages
- Appendix RAID description
- Getting help
- Documentation resources
● Supports migration of virtual disks from PERC H345, H740P, H745, H745P MX, and H840 to the PERC 11 series except for
H345.
● Supports migration of volumes created within the PERC 11 series.
● Does not support migration from the PERC 11 series to PERC H345, H740P, H745, H745P MX, and H840.
● Does not support migration from PERC H330, H730, and H830 to the PERC 11 series.
NOTE: The source controller must be offline prior to performing the disk migration.
NOTE: Importing non–RAID drives and uneven span RAID 10 virtual disks from PERC 9 to PERC 11 is not supported.
NOTE: Disks cannot be migrated to older generations of PERC cards.
NOTE: Importing secured virtual disks is supported as long as the appropriate local key management (LKM) is supplied or
configured.
NOTE: Virtual disk migration from PERC H740P, H745P, H745, H840 to H345 is not supported.
CAUTION: Do not attempt disk migration during RLM or online capacity expansion (OCE), this causes loss of the
virtual disk.
Virtual disk initialization
PERC 11 series controllers support two types of virtual disk initialization:
● Full initialization
● Fast initialization
CAUTION:
Initializing virtual disks erases files and file systems while keeping the virtual disk configuration
intact.
Full initialization
Performing a full initialization on a virtual disk overwrites all blocks and destroys any data that previously existed on the virtual
disk. Full initialization of a virtual disk eliminates the need for the virtual disk to undergo a Background Initialization (BGI). Full
initialization can be performed after the virtual disk is created.
You can start a full initialization on a virtual disk by using the Slow Initialize option in the Dell OpenManage storage management
application. For more information on using the HII Configuration Utility to perform a full initialization, see Configure virtual disk
parameters.
NOTE: If the system reboots during a full initialization, the operation aborts and a BGI begins on the virtual disk.
Fast initialization
A fast initialization on a virtual disk overwrites the first and last 8 MB of the virtual disk, clearing any boot records or partition
information. The operation takes only 2–3 seconds to complete, but it is followed by BGI, which takes a longer time to complete.
To perform a fast initialization using the HII Configuration Utility, see Configure virtual disk parameters.
NOTE:
During full or fast initialization, the host cannot access the virtual disk. As a result, if the host attempts to access
the virtual disk while it is initializing, all I/O sent by the host will fail.
NOTE: When using iDRAC to create a virtual disk, the drive undergoes fast initialization. During this process all I/O requests
to the drive will respond with a sense key of "Not Ready" and the I/O operation will fail. If the operating system attempts
to read from the drive as soon as it discovers the drive, and while the fast initialization is still in process, then the I/O
operation fails and the operating system reports an I/O error.
Reconfiguration of virtual disks
An online virtual disk can be reconfigured in ways that expands its capacity and changes its RAID level.
NOTE: Spanned virtual disks such as RAID 50 and 60 cannot be reconfigured.
20 Features of PowerEdge RAID Controller 11