How to set up Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller H310 cards on a Precision workstation

Use these instructions to install and set up Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) storage controller cards H310, H710, H710P, or H810 on Dell Precision workstations T1600, T3600, T5600, or T7600. For more specific information on the controller card or workstation, refer to that product’s user guide .

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To install the PERC

1. Turn off your workstation and all attached peripheral devices.
2. Disconnect your workstation from the electrical outlet and remove the workstation cover.
3. Insert the PERC into the SLOT1 (preferred) or SLOT4 expansion slots.
   1. Earlier T7600 workstation may need to use SLOT4 because the HDD data cable is not long enough to reach to SLOT1.
4. Connect the hard disk drive (HDD) data cable to the H310 connector labeled A SAS.
5. Connect the AUX_LED cable to the H310 connector labeled SAS_ACT_LED_Conn.
6. Install HDDs in the desired order, starting with 0 as the first HDD and note the HDD numbers.
   1. For T7600, HDD numbers 0-3 are available with a single HDD data cable with upgrade options for 4-7.
   2. For T5600 and T3600, HDD numbers 0-1 are available with a single HDD data cable with upgrade options for 2-3.
7. Replace your workstation cover.
8. Reconnect your workstation to the electrical outlet.
9. Turn on your workstation and press CTRL+R to access the BIOS Configuration Utility.
10. Press CTRL+N until the Ctrl Mgmt screen appears.
11. Reset the PERC to the factory defaults by pressing the Tab key until the Factory Default option is selected, and then press Enter.
12. When the warning message appears, use your arrow keys to select OK, and then press Enter.

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To view the physical drives

1. Press CTRL+N until the PD Mgmt screen appears.
2. The Disk ID numbers shown on this screen should match the HDD numbers noted in the previous section.
   1. The HDDs installed in the T3600 or T5600 optical disk drive bay, plugged into the H310 SAS B connector will be shown as ID 04 and 05.
3. If any installed hard drive is missing from this list, there may be a hardware issue. Verify power and data cables are properly inserted and connected.
   1. You may want to swap the HDDs as a way to determine if a drive is defective.
4. To remove foreign configuration data
   Unless you want to recover an existing RAID configuration, clear the configuration of any HDDs with a state of Foreign.

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To remove foreign configuration data

Unless you want to recover an existing RAID configuration, clear the configuration of any HDDs with a state of Foreign.

1. If you do not have drives in a foreign state, this screen will not be available.
2. If the Foreign View screen is an available option, press CTRL+N until that screen appears.
3. To see the available operations, press F2 and select Clear.
4. When the warning message appears, use your arrow keys to select OK, and then press Enter.

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To configure your HDDs for non-RAID operation

If you do not want a RAID configuration, your HDDs must be in a non-RAID state. If you want a RAID, skip to the next section.

1. Press CTRL+N until the PD Mgmt screen appears.
2. Press F2 and use your arrow keys to select Convert to Non-RAID.
3. Press Enter.
4. When the warning message appears, select Yes and press Enter.
5. Confirm all HDDs are in a Non-RAID state.
6. Press Esc to save and exit the H310 BIOS Configuration Utility.
7. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart your workstation.
8. Continue to the section for downloading and installing the latest PERC driver.

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To configure your HDDs for RAID

If you want a RAID configuration, your HDDs must be in a Ready state.

1. Press CTRL+N until the PD Mgmt screen appears.
2. Use your arrow keys to select the desired non-RAID drive.
3. Press F2 and select Convert to RAID Capable.
4. When the warning message appears, select Yes and press Enter.
5. Repeat for each drive to be included in the RAID array.

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To create RAIDs

This step is not necessary for non-RAID drives.

1. Press CTRL+N until the VD Mgmt screen appears.
2. The list of drives in the Ready state should appear as Unconfigured Physical Disks.
3. Use your Up and Down arrow keys to select the PERC H310 Adapter.
4. Press F2 and select Create New VD.
5. With the RAID level highlighted, press Enter.
6. To select the physical disks to be included in the RAID, press the Spacebar.
7. Adjust the VD Size, VD Name, and Advanced settings, if desired.
8. With the OK button selected, press Enter.
9. When the warning message appears, select OK and press Enter.
10. The VD Mgmt screen should now show the newly created virtual disk and associated physical disks as part of a Disk Group.
11. For each newly created virtual disc, press F2, select Fast Initialization, and then press Enter.
12. When the warning message appears, select Yes and press Enter.
13. When the initialization is complete, press Enter.
14. Press Esc to exit the BIOS Configuration Utility.

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To download and install the latest PERC H310 driver

1. Go to Dell Drivers & Downloads.
2. Enter your service tag number or locate your workstation model.
3. Select your operating system.
4. Expand the SAS RAID category.
5. Download the driver installation file.
6. Unzip the files to a USB flash drive.
7. Install your OS using the standard installation procedure.
8. When prompted to specify where you want to install Windows, insert your USB flash drive with the unzipped driver file into your workstation.
9. Click the option to load a driver.
10. Browse to the folder on your USB flash driver containing the driver, and then double-click the driver.
11. The Windows installation wizard should now show a list of available partitions on the PERC H310 hard disk drives.
12. Use the advanced drive options to delete unneeded partitions.
13. The installation wizard should begin copying files onto the drive.