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January 26th, 2024 14:54

M630 Replacing a hot-swap RAID1 Drive (non-faulty)

Hello,

Would a Dell Server expert/guru/person be able to confirm the exact process/steps to replace a M630 hot swap drive that is online and running without warnings or errors please.

Doing a lot of searching I have narrowed it to forceoffline the drive, replace the drive, insert it back in and forceonline the new drive and it "should" all work fine without anything else. Steps in racadm:

STEP 1: TURN DRIVE OFFLINE
racadm storage forceoffline:Disk.Bay.1:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1

racadm jobqueue create RAID.Integrated.1-1 -s TIME_NOW --realtime

STEP 2: ~Replace hard drive etc~


STEP 3: TURN DRIVE ONLINE
racadm storage forceonline:Disk.Bay.1:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1

racadm jobqueue create RAID.Integrated.1-1 -s TIME_NOW --realtime

Is this correct, tested on a spare box we had and the server went into emergency mode :( There is no UI to do anything in iDrac 8 (firmware: 2.82.82.82).

Anyone got a nice guide with the full steps and not just a Dell document which do not help.

Moderator

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3.8K Posts

January 26th, 2024 19:49

Hello,

 

Yes you can offline the drive then remove it.

Insert the replacement drive. It should start to rebuild into the array automatically.

If it does not then set the drive as a Hot Spare and the rebuild should start.

Do not forceonline.

 

January 29th, 2024 10:58

@Dell -Charles R

Thanks for the reply - how do I turn the drive offline? There is nothing in the UI in iDrac to action this. Is there a command I should use or anything on the physical server I should press to turn it off?

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2.5K Posts

January 29th, 2024 11:29

Hi, you can use OpenManage Server Administrator

Offline via OMSA

  1. Log in to OMSA.
    Click Continue to this website if the security certificate warning message appeared.
  2. Expand Storage on the left tree menu and select Virtual Disks.
  3. Click the desired virtual disk name from the virtual disks list.
    In this step, Virtual Disk0 is selected as an example.
  4. Select Offline from available tasks menu on the physical disk to delete and click Execute.
  5. Read the caution message appeared and click Offline.
  6. Click OK on the message from web page box.
  7. Check if the selected physical disk status is now offline.

Offline via Command Line Interface(CLI)

OMSA must be installed on your system before you run the following steps. 

  1. Open a Terminal (Linux) or DOS window (Windows).
  2. Run the command: omconfig storage pdisk action=offline controller=* pdisk=* (* will be the number).
    Run the command: omreport storage controller if you check the controller list.
    Example: Controller ID=0, desired physical disk ID=0:1:4
    omconfig storage pdisk action=offline controller=0 pdisk=0:1:4
    Important: It is important to select the good controller.
  3. "Command successful!" message appears, and the physical disk is now offline.
  4. Run the command: omreport storage pdisk controller=* pdisk=* to check that the physical disk status now shows "Offline" (* will be the number).
 

January 31st, 2024 11:07

@Dell-ErmanO​ thank you for the response. I have read about OMSA but what doesn't appear in any of the documentation is where OMSA should be installed? Does it get installed on the iDrac service (SSH for iDrac command line access and run the installer) or on the server itself.

If it is installed on the server itself what if Dell don't provide support for the OS I may have installed on the box for my applications, also isn't that a security risk if installed on the servers main drives itself with a possible public feature that could manage the servers core systems that would normally be within iDrac and protected (e.g making a drive(s) offline).

Moderator

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2.5K Posts

January 31st, 2024 13:01

Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) is typically installed on the server itself. OMSA is not installed on the iDRAC service, but it can communicate with the iDRAC to provide system information and management functions. Regarding your security concerns, it’s important to note that while OMSA does provide powerful management capabilities, it’s designed with security considerations in mind. However, like any software, it’s not immune to potential security vulnerabilities. So, it’s crucial to keep OMSA and all other software up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates. 

 

I think you can also take a look RACADM for alternative method.  page 127 iDRAC 8/7 v2.81.81.81 RACADM CLI Guide (https://dell.to/3ubtymz)

RACADM Commands for Configuring Physical Disk Drives (Pdisk) 

NOTE replacephysicaldisk method is not supported on non-redundant RAID volumes.
racadm raid setbootvd:<Controller FQDD> -vd <VD FQDD>
racadm raid forceonline:<PD FQDD>
racadm raid forceoffline:<PD FQDD>
racadm storage unlock:<Controller FQDD> -key <Key id> -passwd <passphrase>
NOTE If the –assign option is no, you cannot add other options. If the –assign option is yes and if the -type option is not present, the global hotspare (ghs) is created by default.
 
Hope that helps!
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