PowerEdge: How to Create Virtual Disk in eHBA mode on Supported Controllers

Table of Contents

1. What is eHBA Mode
2. Prerequisites
3. How to Switch to Enhanced HBA Controller Mode
4. How to create virtual disk in eHBA mode

What is eHBA Mode

Enhanced HBA mode (eHBA mode) is a new operating mode available with H740P, H745, and H745P MX cards. eHBA provides the following features:

• Create virtual disks with RAID level 0, 1, or 10.
• Present Non-RAID disks to the host.
• Configure a default cache policy for virtual disks. The starting default is write-back with read ahead.
• Configure virtual disks and Non-RAID disks as valid boot devices.
• Automatically convert all unconfigured disks to Non-RAID:
  
  On system boot
  On controller reset
  When unconfigured disks are hot-inserted

Prerequisites

1. Upgrade the PERC firmware to 50.5.0.1750 or later.
2. Non-RAID disk is not supported in RAID mode, eHBA mode supports both RAID and Non-RAID disk. (Supported RAID level: RAID 0, 1, or 10)
3. All steps are completed in the System Setup page.
4. Clear all existing configuration on the controller before proceeding.

See Dell EMC PowerEdge RAID Controller 10 User’s Guide for more information about PowerEdge RAID Controller 10.

How to Switch to Enhanced HBA Controller Mode

1. Press the F2 key when booting the system to enter the System Setup (BIOS).

2. Press the Down Arrow to select Devices Settings and press the ENTER key.

3. Click the appropriate RAID controller on the Device Settings menu.

4. Select the Main Menu on the Dashboard View menu displayed after selecting the controller.

5. Click Advanced Controller Management on the Controller Management.
 

6. Select Manage Controller Mode.

7. Click Switch to Enhanced HBA Controller Mode.

8. Read the displayed warning, tick the Confirm box, and click Yes.

9. Once the message "The operation has been performed successfully" is displayed click OK.

Reboot the system for the change to take effect.

If the error message is displayed, clear all existing configuration on the controller before proceeding.

10. Requested Mode is displayed on this page, reboot the system for the change to take effect.

11. Once reboot the system, the Controller Mode should be in eHBA mode.

12. All hard drives show as Non-RAID Disk.

How to Create Virtual Disk in eHBA Mode

1. Choose Convert to RAID Capable.

2. Select Non-RAID disks to convert to RAID capable, and click Yes.
The Non-RAID disks will remain in Non-RAID mode after the virtual disk configuration is completed.

3. Back to Configuration Management page, click Create Virtual Disk.

4. The following list of options are now displayed to define the Virtual Disk parameters:

Select RAID level — allows you to choose the RAID level of your choice.
Secure Virtual Disk — If you want to create a secured virtual disk, select Secure Virtual Disk.
 

Select Physical Disks From — allows you to select one of the hard drive capacities:

◾Unconfigured Capacity: creates a virtual disk on unconfigured hard drives.
◾Free Capacity: Uses unused hard drive capacity that is already part of a virtual disk.

Select Physical Disks — If you want to select the hard drives from which the virtual disks are being created, click Select Physical Disks. This option is displayed if you select Unconfigured Capacity as your hard drive capacity.
Select Disk Groups — If you want to select the disk groups from which the virtual disks are being created, click Select Disk Group. This option is displayed if you select Free Capacity as your hard drive capacity.
Configure Virtual Disk Parameters — allows you to set the virtual disk parameters when creating the virtual disk. For more information, see Configuring virtual disk parameters.
 

5. Click Select Physical Disks.

6. Choose the wanted drives and click Apply Changes.

7. Name the new Virtual Disk and choose the wanted settings. Click Create Virtual Disk.

8. The Virtual Disk is created successfully. Click Ok.