Managing Storage Adapters

This chapter includes the following sections:

Self Encrypting Drives (Full Disk Encryption)

Cisco IMC supports self encrypting drives (SED). A special hardware in the drives encrypts incoming data and decrypts outgoing data in real-time. This feature is also called Full Disk Encryption (FDE).

The data on the drive is encrypted on its way into the drive and decrypted on its way out. However, if you lock the drive, no security key is required to retrieve the data.

When a drive is locked, an encryption key is created and stored internally. All data stored on this drive is encrypted using that key, and stored in encrypted form. Once you store the data in this manner, a security key is required in order to un-encrypt and fetch the data from the drive. Unlocking a drive deletes that encryption key and renders the stored data unusable. This is called a Secure Erase. The FDE comprises a key ID and a security key.

The FDE feature supports the following operations:

  • Enable and disable security on a controller

  • Create a secure virtual drive

  • Secure a non-secure drive group

  • Unlock foreign configuration drives

  • Enable security on a physical drive (JBOD)

  • Clear secure SED drives

  • Clear secure foreign configuration

Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives

Before You Begin

You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

Procedure
    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
    Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
    Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
    Step 4   In the Actions area, click Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives.

    The Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives dialog box displays.

    Step 5   In the Create Virtual Drive from Unused Physical Drives dialog box, select the RAID level for the new virtual drives:

    This can be one of the following:

    • Raid 0—Simple striping.

    • Raid 1—Simple mirroring.

    • Raid 5—Striping with parity.

    • Raid 6—Striping with two parity drives.

    • Raid 10—Spanned mirroring.

    • Raid 50—Spanned striping with parity.

    • Raid 60—Spanned striping with two parity drives.

    Step 6   Optionally, select the Enable Full Disk Encryption checkbox.

    This enables disk encryption on the drive group and allows you to secure it.

    Step 7   In the Create Drive Groups area, choose one or more physical drives to include in the group.

    Use the >> button to add the drives to the Drive Groups table. Use the << button to remove physical drives from the drive group.

    Note   

    The size of the smallest physical drive in the drive group defines the maximum size used for all the physical drives. To ensure maximum use of space for all physical drives, it is recommended that the size of all the drives in the drive group are similar.

    Step 8   In the Virtual Drive Properties area, update the following properties:
    Name Description

    Virtual Drive Name field

    The name of the new virtual drive you want to create.

    Read Policy drop-down list

    The read-ahead cache mode.

    Cache Policy drop-down list

    The cache policy used for buffering reads.

    Strip Size drop-down list

    The size of each strip, in KB.

    Write Policy drop-down list

    This can be one of the following

    • Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.

    • Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.

    • Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.

    Disk Cache Policy drop-down list

    This can be one of the following

    • Unchanged— The disk cache policy is unchanged.

    • Enabled— Allows IO caching on the disk.

    • Disabled— Disallows disk caching.

    Access Policy drop-down list

    This can be one of the following

    • Read Write— Enables host to perform read-write on the VD.

    • Read Only— Host can only read from the VD.

    • Blocked— Host can neither read nor write to the VD.

    Size field

    The size of the virtual drive you want to create. Enter a value and select one of the following units:

    • MB

    • GB

    • TB

    Step 9   Click Create Virtual Drive.

    Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Drive Group

    Before You Begin

    You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

    Procedure
      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
      Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
      Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
      Step 4   In the Actions area, click Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group.

      The Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group dialog box displays.

      Step 5   In the Create Virtual Drive from an Existing Virtual Drive Group dialog box, select the virtual drive whose drive group you want to use to create a new virtual drive.
      Step 6   In the Virtual Drive Properties area, update the following properties:
      Name Description

      Virtual Drive Name field

      The name of the new virtual drive you want to create.

      Read Policy drop-down list

      The read-ahead cache mode.

      Cache Policy drop-down list

      The cache policy used for buffering reads.

      Strip Size drop-down list

      The size of each strip, in KB.

      Write Policy drop-down list

      This can be one of the following

      • Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.

      • Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.

      • Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.

      Disk Cache Policy drop-down list

      This can be one of the following

      • Unchanged— The disk cache policy is unchanged.

      • Enabled— Allows IO caching on the disk.

      • Disabled— Disallows disk caching.

      Access Policy drop-down list

      This can be one of the following

      • Read Write— Enables host to perform read-write on the VD.

      • Read Only— Host can only read from the VD.

      • Blocked— Host can neither read nor write to the VD.

      Size field

      The size of the virtual drive you want to create. Enter a value and select one of the following units:

      • MB

      • GB

      • TB

      Step 7   Click Create Virtual Drive.

      Setting a Virtual Drive to Transport Ready State

      You can move a virtual drive from one MegaRAID controller to another using the Set Transport Ready feature. This allows all the pending IOs of the virtual drive to complete their activities, hide the virtual drive from the operating system, flush cache, pause all the background operations, and save the current progress in disk data format, allowing you to move the drive. When you move a virtual drive, all other drives belonging to the same drive group inherit the same change as the moved drive.

      When the last configured physical drive on the group is removed from the current controller, the drive group becomes foreign and all foreign configuration rules apply to the group. However, the Transport Ready feature does not change any foreign configuration behavior.

      You can also clear a virtual drive from the Transport Ready state. This makes the virtual drive available to the operating systems.

      Following restrictions apply to a transport ready virtual drive:

      • Only a maximum of 16 transport ready drive groups are currently supported.

      • This feature is not supported on high availability.

      • A virtual drive cannot be set as transport ready under these conditions:

        • When a virtual drive of a drive group is being reconstructed

        • When a virtual drive of a drive group contains a pinned cache

        • When a virtual drive of a drive group is marked as cacheable or associated with a cachecade virtual drive

        • If a virtual drive is a cachecade virtual drive

        • If a virtual drive is offline

        • If a virtual drive is a bootable virtual drive

      Setting a Virtual Drive as Transport Ready

      Before You Begin

      • You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

      • The virtual drive must be in optimal state to enable transport ready.

      Procedure
        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.
        Step 2   On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA Controller.
        Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
        Step 4   In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive that you want set as transport ready.
        Step 5   In the Actions area, click Set Transport Ready.

        The Set Transport Ready dialog box displays.

        Step 6   Update the following properties in the dialog box:
        Name Description

        Initialize Type drop-down list

        Allows you to select the initialization type using which you can set the selected virtual drive as transport ready. This can be one of the following:

        • Exlude All— Excludes all the dedicated hot spare drives.

        • Include All— Includes any exclusively available or shared dedicated hot spare drives.

        • Include Dedicated Hot Spare Drive— Includes exclusive dedicated hot spare drives.

        Set Transport Ready button

        Sets the selected virtual drive as transport ready.

        Cancel button

        Cancels the action.

        Note    When you set a virtual drive to transport ready all the physical drives associated with it are displayed as Ready to Remove.

        Clearing a Virtual Drive from Transport Ready State

        Before You Begin

        • You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

        • The virtual drive must be transport ready.

        Procedure
          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.
          Step 2   On the Storage menu, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID or HBA controller.
          Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
          Step 4   In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive to set as transport ready.
          Step 5   In the Actions area, click Clear Transport Ready.

          This reverts the selected transport ready virtual drive to its original optimal state.

          Importing Foreign Configuration

          When a set of physical drives hosting a secured drive group are inserted into a different server or controller (or the same controller but whose security-key has been changed while they were not present), they become foreign configurations. Since they are secured, these foreign configurations must be unlocked by verifying their security key information before they can be imported.

          Complete the following steps to verify the security key for a foreign configuration and import the configuration:

          Before You Begin

          You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

          Procedure
            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
            Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
            Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
            Step 4   In the Actions area, click Import Foreign Config.

            This action opens the Secure Key Verification dialog box. Review the following information before proceeding:

            Table 1 Secure Key Verification Area
            Name Description

            Security Key field

            Unique key ID assigned to a controller.

            Verify button

            Verifies if the key you entered matches the stored key information.

            If the secure key is verified to be correct, the requested action is completed.

            Cancel button

            Cancels the action.

            Step 5   Click OK to confirm.

            Clearing Foreign Configuration

            Important:

            This task clears all foreign configuration on the controller. Also, all configuration information from all physical drives hosting foreign configuration is deleted. This action cannot be reverted.

            Before You Begin

            You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

            Procedure
              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
              Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
              Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
              Step 4   In the Actions area, click Clear Foreign Config.
              Step 5   Click OK to confirm.

              Clearing a Boot Drive

              Important:

              This task clears the boot drive configuration on the controller. This action cannot be reverted.

              Before You Begin

              You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

              Procedure
                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
                Step 4   In the Actions area, click Clear Boot Drive.
                Step 5   Click OK to confirm.

                Enabling a JBOD


                Note

                You can enable Just a Bunch Of Disks (JBOD) only on some UCS C-Series servers.

                Procedure
                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                  Step 2   On the Storage Adapters pane, click the appropriate MegaRAID controller.
                  Step 3   On the Work pane, click Controller Info tab.
                  Step 4   In the Actions area, click Enable JBOD.
                  Step 5   Click Ok to confirm.

                  Disabling a JBOD


                  Note

                  This option is available only on some UCS C-Series servers.

                  Before You Begin

                  JBOD option must be enabled for the selected controller.

                  Procedure
                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                    Step 2   On the Storage Adapters pane, click the appropriate MegaRAID controller.
                    Step 3   On the Work pane, click Controller Info tab.
                    Step 4   In the Actions area, click Disable JBOD.
                    Step 5   Click Ok to confirm.

                    Preparing a Drive for Removal


                    Note

                    You can perform this task only on physical drives that display the Unconfigured Good status.

                    Before You Begin

                    You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                    Procedure
                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                      Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                      Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                      Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to remove.
                      Step 5   In the Actions area, click Prepare for Removal.
                      Step 6   Click OK to confirm.

                      Retrieving TTY Logs for a Controller

                      This task retrieves the TTY logs for the controller and places it in the /var/log location. This ensures that this log data is available when Technical Support Data is requested.

                      Before You Begin

                      You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                      Procedure
                        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                        Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                        Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
                        Step 4   In the Actions area, click Get TTY Log.
                        Step 5   Click OK to confirm.
                        Important:

                        Retrieving TTY logs for a controller could take up to 2-4 minutes. Until this process is complete, do not initiate exporting technical support data.

                        Modifying Controller Security

                        Before You Begin

                        You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                        Procedure
                          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                          Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                          Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
                          Step 4   In the Actions area, click Modify Drive Security.

                          The Modify Drive Security dialog box appears.

                          Step 5   In the Modify Drive Security dialog box, review the following information:
                          Name Description

                          Controller Security field

                          Indicates whether or not controller security is enabled. This can be one of the following:

                          • True— Controller security is enabled.

                          • False— Controller security is disabled.

                          Key Management field

                          Indicates whether the key is remotely managed or locally managed. This can be one of the following:

                          • Remote Key Management radio button— Controller security key is configured or managed using the remote KMIP server.

                            Note   

                            If you choose this option, you do not have to specify the existing security key but you have to provide the key ID and the security key for local management.

                          • Local Key Management radio button— Controller security is configured locally.

                          Security Key Identifier field

                          The current key ID.

                          Security Key field

                          Security key used to enable controller security. If you wish to change the current security key, enter the new key here.

                          Note   

                          Once you change the security key, a Secure Key Verification pop-up window appears where you need to enter the current security key to verify it.

                          Confirm Security Key field

                          Re-enter the security key.

                          Suggest button

                          Suggests the security key or key ID that can be assigned.

                          Save button

                          Saves the data.

                          Cancel button

                          Cancels the action.

                          Disabling Controller Security

                          Before You Begin

                          You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                          Procedure
                            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                            Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                            Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
                            Step 4   In the Actions area, click Disable Drive Security.

                            Click Yes or No at the prompt.

                            Enabling Controller Security

                            Before You Begin

                            You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                            Procedure
                              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                              Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                              Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Controller Info tab.
                              Step 4   In the Actions area, click Enable Drive Security.

                              The Enable Drive Security dialog box appears.

                              Step 5   In the Enable Drive Security dialog box, review the following information:
                              Table 2 Secure Key Configuration Area
                              Name Description

                              Controller Security field

                              Indicates whether or not controller security is enabled. This can be one of the following:

                              • True— Controller security is enabled.

                              • False— Controller security is disabled.

                              Security Key Identifier field

                              The current key ID.

                              Security Key field

                              Security key used to enable controller security. If you wish to change the current security key, enter the new key here.

                              Note   

                              Once you change the security key, a Secure Key Verification pop-up window appears where you need to enter the current security key to verify it.

                              Confirm Security Key field

                              Re-enter the security key.

                              Suggest button

                              Suggests the security key or key ID that can be used.

                              Save button

                              Saves the data.

                              Cancel button

                              Cancels the action.

                              What to Do Next

                              Undo Preparing a Drive for Removal

                              Before You Begin

                              You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                              Procedure
                                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage menu.
                                Step 2   On the Storage menu, click the Server 1 tab with the appropriate LSI MegaRAID Controller.
                                Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select a drive with a status of Ready to Remove.
                                Step 5   In the Actions area, click Undo Prepare for Removal.
                                Step 6   Click OK to confirm.

                                Making a Dedicated Hot Spare

                                Before You Begin

                                You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                Procedure
                                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                  Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                  Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                  Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the physical drive you want to make a dedicated hot spare.
                                  Step 5   In the Actions area, click Make Dedicated Hot Spare.

                                  The Make Dedicated Hot Spare dialog box displays.

                                  Step 6   In the Virtual Drive Details area, update the following properties:
                                  Name Description

                                  Virtual Drive Number drop-down list

                                  Select the virtual drive to which you want to dedicate the physical drive as hot spare.

                                  Virtual Drive Name field

                                  The name of the selected virtual drive.

                                  Physical Drive Number field

                                  The number of the physical drive.
                                  Step 7   Click Make Dedicated Hot Spare to confirm.

                                  Making a Global Hot Spare

                                  Before You Begin

                                  You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                  Procedure
                                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                    Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                    Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                    Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the physical drive you want to make a global hot spare.
                                    Step 5   In the Actions area, click Make Global Hot Spare.

                                    Removing a Drive from Hot Spare Pools

                                    Before You Begin

                                    You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                    Procedure
                                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                      Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                      Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                      Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the global or dedicated hot spare you want to remove from the hot spare pools.
                                      Step 5   In the Actions area, click Remove From Hot Spare Pools.

                                      Toggling Physical Drive Status

                                      Before You Begin

                                      • You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                      • The controller must support the JBOD mode and the JBOD mode must be enabled.
                                      Procedure
                                        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                        Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                        Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                        Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to set as unconfigured good.
                                        Step 5   In the Actions area, click Set State as Unconfigured Good.
                                        Step 6   Click OK to confirm that the JBOD mode be disabled.

                                        The Set State as JBOD option is enabled.

                                        Step 7   To enable the JBOD mode for the physical drive, click Set State as JBOD.
                                        Step 8   Click OK to confirm.

                                        The Set State as Unconfigured Good option is enabled.

                                        Setting a Physical Drive as a Controller Boot Drive

                                        Before You Begin

                                        • You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                        • The controller must support the JBOD mode and the JBOD mode must be enabled.
                                        Procedure
                                          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                          Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                          Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                          Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to set as boot drive for the controller.
                                          Step 5   In the Actions area, click Set as Boot Drive.
                                          Step 6   Click OK to confirm.

                                          Enabling Full Disk Encryption on a Physical Drive

                                          Before You Begin

                                          • You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                          • The physical drive must be a JBOD.
                                          Procedure
                                            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                            Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                            Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                            Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to secure.
                                            Step 5   In the Actions area, click Enable Full Disk Encryption.

                                            Clearing a Secure Physical Drive

                                            Before You Begin

                                            • You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                            • You must enable full disk encryption on a physical drive.

                                            Procedure
                                              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                              Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                              Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                              Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to secure.
                                              Step 5   In the Actions area, click Clear Secure Drive.

                                              Clearing Secure Foreign Configuration Drive

                                              If the security key used to lock a foreign configuration is lost, the data cannot be retrieved. You then have the option of either discarding the HDD or clearing the foreign configuration.

                                              Note

                                              Clearing a foreign configuration erases all data from the drive.

                                              Before You Begin

                                              Procedure
                                                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                                Step 4   In the Physical Drives area, select the drive you want to secure.
                                                Step 5   In the Actions area, click Clear Secure Foreign Config Drive.

                                                Initializing a Virtual Drive

                                                All data on a virtual drive is lost when you initialize the drive. Before you run an initialization, back up any data on the virtual drive that you want to save.

                                                Before You Begin

                                                You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                Procedure
                                                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                  Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                  Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
                                                  Step 4   In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive that you want to initialize.
                                                  Step 5   In the Actions area, click Initialize.

                                                  The Initialize Virtual Drive dialog box displays.

                                                  Step 6   Choose the type of initialization you want to use for the virtual drive.

                                                  This can be one of the following:

                                                  • Fast Initialize—This option allows you to start writing data to the virtual drive immediately.

                                                  • Full Initialize—A complete initialization is done on the new configuration. You cannot write data to the new virtual drive until the initialization is complete.

                                                  Step 7   Click Initialize VD to initialize the drive, or Cancel to close the dialog box without making any changes.
                                                  Step 8   To view the status of the task running on the drive, in the Operations area, click Refresh.

                                                  The following details are displayed:

                                                  Name Description

                                                  Operation

                                                  Name of the operation that is in progress on the drive.

                                                  Progress in %

                                                  Progress of the operation, in percentage complete.

                                                  Elapsed Time in secs

                                                  The number of seconds that have elapsed since the operation began.

                                                  Set as Boot Drive

                                                  Before You Begin

                                                  You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                  Procedure
                                                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                    Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                    Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
                                                    Step 4   In the Virtual Drives area, choose the drive from which the controller must boot.
                                                    Step 5   In the Actions area, click Set as Boot Drive.
                                                    Step 6   Click OK to confirm.

                                                    Editing a Virtual Drive

                                                    Procedure
                                                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                      Step 2   On the Storage Adapters pane, click LSI MegaRAID SAS 9266-8i.
                                                      Step 3   On the Work pane, click Virtual Drive Info tab.
                                                      Step 4   In the Actions area, click Edit Virtual Drive.
                                                      Step 5   Review the instructions, and then click OK. The Edit Virtual Drive dialog box displays.
                                                      Step 6   From the Select RAID Level to migrate drop-down list, choose a RAID level.

                                                      See the following table for RAID migration criteria:

                                                      Name Description

                                                      Select RAID Level to migrate drop-down list

                                                      Select the RAID level to which you want to migrate. Migrations are allowed for the following RAID levels:

                                                      • RAID 0 to RAID 1

                                                      • RAID 0 to RAID 5

                                                      • RAID 0 to RAID 6

                                                      • RAID 1 to RAID 0

                                                      • RAID 1 to RAID 5

                                                      • RAID 1 to RAID 6

                                                      • RAID 5 to RAID 0

                                                      • RAID 6 to RAID 0

                                                      • RAID 6 to RAID 5

                                                      When you are migrating from one raid level to another, the data arms of the new RAID level should be equal to or greater than the existing one.

                                                      In case of RAID 6, the data arms will be number of drives minus two, as RAID 6 has double distributed parity. For example, when you create RAID 6 with eight drives, the number of data arms will be 8 – 2 = 6. In this case, if you are migrating from RAID 6 to RAID 0, RAID 0 must have a minimum of six drives. If you select lesser number of drives then Edit or Save button will be disabled.

                                                      If you are adding, you can migrate to RAID 0 as you will not be deleting any drives.

                                                      Note   

                                                      RAID level migration is not supported in the following cases:

                                                      • When there are multiple virtual drives in a RAID group.
                                                      • With a combination of SSD/HDD RAID groups.
                                                      Step 7   From the Write Policy drop-down list in the Virtual Drive Properties area, choose one of the following:

                                                      • Write Through— Data is written through the cache and to the physical drives. Performance is improved, because subsequent reads of that data can be satisfied from the cache.

                                                      • Write Back— Data is stored in the cache, and is only written to the physical drives when space in the cache is needed. Virtual drives requesting this policy fall back to Write Through caching when the BBU cannot guarantee the safety of the cache in the event of a power failure.

                                                      • Write Back Bad BBU—With this policy, write caching remains Write Back even if the battery backup unit is defective or discharged.

                                                      Step 8   Click Save Changes.

                                                      Securing a Virtual Drive

                                                      You can secure a virtual drive only after enabling full disk encryption on that drive. You can complete this action while creating a virtual drive from an unused physical drive. Since it is a physical drive that performs encryption, when a virtual drive in the drive group is secured, all the virtual drives in the drive group are secured. Virtual drives inherit the security setting of the drive group.

                                                      Before You Begin

                                                      • You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                      • You must enable full disk encryption on a virtual drive.

                                                      Procedure
                                                        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                        Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                        Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
                                                        Step 4   In the Virtual Drives area, select the drive you want to secure.
                                                        Step 5   In the Actions area, click Secure Virtual Drive.

                                                        Deleting a Virtual Drive

                                                        Important:

                                                        This task deletes a virtual drive, including the drives that run the booted operating system. So back up any data that you want to retain before you delete a virtual drive.

                                                        Before You Begin

                                                        You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                        Procedure
                                                          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                          Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                          Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Virtual Drive Info tab.
                                                          Step 4   In the Virtual Drives area, select the virtual drive you want to delete.
                                                          Step 5   In the Actions area, click Delete Virtual Drive.
                                                          Step 6   Click OK to confirm.

                                                          Enabling Auto Learn Cycle for a Battery Backup Unit

                                                          Before You Begin

                                                          You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                          Procedure
                                                            Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                            Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                            Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Battery Backup Unit tab.
                                                            Step 4   From the Actions pane, click Enable Auto Learn Mode.

                                                            A dialog prompts you to confirm the task.

                                                            Step 5   Click OK.

                                                            Disabling Auto Learn Cycle for a Battery Backup Unit

                                                            Before You Begin

                                                            You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                            Procedure
                                                              Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                              Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                              Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Battery Backup Unit tab.
                                                              Step 4   From the Actions pane, click Disable Auto Learn Mode.

                                                              A dialog prompts you to confirm the task.

                                                              Step 5   Click OK.

                                                              Starting Learn Cycles for a Battery Backup Unit

                                                              Before You Begin

                                                              You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                              Procedure
                                                                Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                                Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                                Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Battery Backup Unit tab.
                                                                Step 4   From the Actions pane, click Start Learn Cycle.

                                                                A dialog prompts you to confirm the task.

                                                                Step 5   Click OK.

                                                                Toggling Locator LED for a Physical Drive

                                                                Before You Begin

                                                                You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                                Procedure
                                                                  Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                                  Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                                  Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                                                  Step 4   From the Status area, select Turn On or Turn Off radio button for the Locator LED field.

                                                                  Viewing Storage Controller Logs

                                                                  Before You Begin

                                                                  You must log in with admin privileges to perform this task.

                                                                  Procedure
                                                                    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                                    Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                                    Step 3   On the Work pane, click Storage Log tab and review the following information:

                                                                    Name

                                                                    Description

                                                                    Time column

                                                                    The date and time the event occurred.

                                                                    Severity column

                                                                    The event severity. This can be one of the following:

                                                                    • Emergency

                                                                    • Alert

                                                                    • Critical

                                                                    • Error

                                                                    • Warning

                                                                    • Notice

                                                                    • Informational

                                                                    • Debug

                                                                    Description column

                                                                    A description of the event.

                                                                    Viewing SSD Smart Information for MegaRAID Controllers

                                                                    You can view smart information for a solid state drive. Complete these steps:

                                                                    Procedure
                                                                      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Storage tab.
                                                                      Step 2   On the Storage tab, click the appropriate LSI MegaRAID controller.
                                                                      Step 3   On the Work pane, click the Physical Drive Info tab.
                                                                      Step 4   In the Smart Information area, review the following information:

                                                                      Name

                                                                      Description

                                                                      Power Cycle Count field

                                                                      Number of power cycles that the drive went through from the time it was manufactured.

                                                                      Power on Hours field

                                                                      Total number of hours that the drive is in the 'Power On' mode.

                                                                      Percentage Life Left field

                                                                      The number of write cycles remaining in a solid state drive (SSD). For instance, if an SSD is capable of 100 write cycles during its life time, and it has completed 15 writes, then the percentage of life left in the drive is 85%.

                                                                      Wear Status in Days field

                                                                      The number of days an SSD has gone through with the write cycles.

                                                                      SSD vendors provide a finite number of writes per day on the SSD, based on which, you can calculate the total number of years the SSD would continue to work.

                                                                      Operating Temperature field

                                                                      The current temperature of the drive at which the selected SSD operates at the time of selection.