The RAID configuration feature is used to manage the properties
and capabilities of the RAID storage. The RAID storage is modeled
using a collection of attributes, where there are collections for
the enclosures, storage adapters, logical disks, physical disk drives,
and PCIeSSD devices. Also, there is a configuration service
that contains all the methods used to configure the RAID storage.
You can perform the following operations:
Setting the boot VD
Change PD state (force offline/online)
Change persistent hot spare setting
Replace VD physical disk
Unlock secure foreign configuration
Perform prepare to remove method for PCIe SSD drives.
Perform secure erase method for PCIe SSD devices and SED drives.
Clear preserve cache.
Expand the online capacity.
Migrate the RAID level.
Set external enclosure asset tag / name.
Cancel rebuild physical disk.
Retrieve current configuration of RAID inventory.
Delete all virtual disks and unassign all the hot spare physical
disk drives.
Prepare any foreign physical disk drives for inclusion in the
local configuration.
Manage hot spares (assign / unassign global and dedicated).
Manage keys for self-encrypting drives.
Manage virtual disks. You can perform the following:
Create a single virtual disk. After the virtual disk is created,
the FQDD of the virtual disk changes.
Initialize (fast or slow) the virtual disk using the physical
disk drives attached to the PERC controller.
Delete a virtual disk from the PERC controller.
Configure the following RAID attributes:
Virtual disks—Read Policy, Write Policy, and Disk Cache Policy
Controllers—Background Initialization Rate, Check Consistency
Mode, Check Consistency Rate, Copy Back Mode, Possible load balance
modes, Patrol Read Mode, Rebuild Rate, and Reconstruction Rate.
Change RAID-ready states of the physical disk drives.
View PCIeSSD and extended card information.
Reset PERC controller configuration.
Import foreign configurations such that virtual disks are not
lost after moving physical disks. The controllers provide support
for auto import of foreign configuration.
Clear foreign configuration on physical disk drives attached to
a controller.
Set patrol read mode to avoid disk failures and data loss or corruption.
Check the consistency of the redundancy information for redundant
virtual disks.
Cancel the check consistency operation that is in progress on
a virtual disk.
Blink or unblink the LEDs on the physical disk drives included
in the virtual disk.
Create, change, or delete the security key using the Local Key
Management (LKM) feature on controllers that support encryption of
the drives.
NOTE: On Dell’s 13th
generation PowerEdge server, you can now perform all RAID configuration
jobs in real time without rebooting the host.