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Dell™ Software RAID Controller Support for Microsoft™ Windows Server 2012

Summary: This article provides information on "Dell™ Software RAID Controller Support for Microsoft Windows Server 2012

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Symptoms

Issue 1: Dell Software RAID Controller Support

Dell provides cost effective RAID support through PERC S100, S300 and S110. Of these only the PERC S110 controller is supported with Microsoft Windows Server 2012.

The PERC S100 and S300 controllers do not have support for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and there is no plan to support these controllers with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 in future. Customers who are using Dell servers with PERC S100 and S300 controllers have to switch to one of the below alternate options if they want to install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 on their servers.
  • Windows Server 2012 64 Bit Driver for PERC S110 Controller here.

Issue 2: Option 1: Converting PERC S100 into On-board SATA Controller  

Note: No data is migrated and this is not a replacement of PERC S100 solution. Data needs to be backed up before following the below steps.
 
  1. Power on the server and press F2 to enter the BIOS settings.
  2. Enter the BIOS setup -> SATA settings option and change it to ATA or ACHI mode whichever is available. Refer Figure-1.
  3. Save and Exit the setup.
  4. Boot from the Microsoft Windows Server 2012 DVD and complete the installation.


Issue 3: Option 2: Switching to On-board SATA Controller from PERC S300  

Note: No data is migrated and this is not a replacement of PERC S100 solution. Data needs to be backed up before following the below steps. 
 
  1. Open the server and remove the internal SATA cables connected to the S300 controller and connect it to the On-Board SATA controller ports of the server.
  2. Power on the server and press F2 to enter the BIOS settings.
  3. Enter the BIOS setup -> SATA settings option and change it to ATA or ACHI mode whichever is available. Refer Figure-1.
  4. Save and Exit the setup.
  5. Boot from the Microsoft Windows Server 2012 DVD and complete the installation.

SLN156825_en_US__1Dell BIOS setup screen 

Figure-1 : BIOS Setup Screen

Issue 4: Option 3: Buying a New Supported PERC Controller from Dell

You can purchase additional supported RAID controllers via the spare parts sales teams with a phone call to Dell or you can also order online via the S&P sales catalog. To order online, click here and search for "PERC".

Issue 5: Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Provided RAID Solution


Installing Microsoft Windows Server 2012 utilizing the on-board SATA controller doesn’t provide data redundancy. In the event you want data redundancy, you can use the software raid functionality provided by the Microsoft Windows Server 2012 operating system.  
  1. Go to disk management.
  2. Right click on the disks and convert it to dynamic disk.
  3. Right click on the volume for which you want redundancy and create "Mirrored Volume" or "RAID-5 volume". 
 
Note: Redundancy can be provided for both data and operating system volume but the latter supports only "Mirrored Volume".

 

Additional Information:

 
For more information about using operating system raid solution refer to Microsoft documents:
  • Windows Server 2012 Storage Virtualization Explained here.
  • Change a Basic Disk into a Dynamic Disk here.
  • Working with Basic and Dynamic Disks here.
  • Basic and Dynamic Disks here.


 

Cause

 

Resolution

 

Affected Products

Servers
Article Properties
Article Number: 000178972
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 15 Apr 2022
Version:  5
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