by Sangeetha | Aug 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
Learn how to import foreign configurations into the BIOS setup of a Dell server to seamlessly integrate new or replaced hard drives. This quick guide will help ensure your RAID arrays are configured correctly and data integrity is maintained.
Note: Management of Foreign Configuration is only available if a foreign configuration has been detected by the controller.
Click Configuration Management on the Main Menu screen.
- Click Manage Foreign Configuration.
Click Preview Foreign Configuration.
Check if the status of the virtual disk displayed on the “VIRTUAL DISKS INCLUDED AFTER FOREIGN CONFIGURATION IMPORT” is Ready or Degraded and then click Import Foreign Configuration.
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- PHYSICAL DISKS INCLUDED AFTER FOREIGN CONFIGURATION IMPORT: Displays only disks in Foreign configuration
- VIRTUAL DISKS INCLUDED AFTER FOREIGN CONFIGURATION IMPORT: Displays virtual disk after the import operation
Read the displayed warning, select Confirm, and then click Yes.
Once the message “The operation has been performed successfully” is displayed, click OK.
Click Back on the Configuration Management screen.
Note: The “Manage Foreign Configuration” menu is still displayed.
- Click Virtual Disk Management on the Main Menu screen, Check that the status of the virtual disk is Ready or Degraded.
If the status is Ready, go to Step 9.
If the status is anything other than Ready, follow the steps below to check the status. - Click the appropriate virtual disk and check the Status.
- Click View Associated Physical Disk and check the physical disks that are part of the virtual disk.
Contact Dell technical support if the disk status is anything other than Online status.
Figure 11: Example Degraded Redundancy Status
- Click Back, Finish, Finish, and then Finish. Once the warning, “Are you sure you want to exit?” is displayed, click Yes.
- The operating system boots.
by Sangeetha | Aug 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
Learn how to import foreign configurations using iDRAC9 to seamlessly integrate new hardware or recover RAID setups. This quick guide will help you ensure data consistency and minimize downtime.
Let’s provide an example of importing a Foreign Configuration using the web-based server management interface of iDRAC9:
Prerequisites:
- Dell PowerEdge R740xd2 server
- PERC H730P Mini (Embedded) RAID controller
- Existing RAID arrays
- A disk with a Foreign Configuration that was accidentally removed from the server and needs to be reinserted.
Steps:
Log in to iDRAC and navigate to the “Storage” section, then select the “Controllers” tab.
Locate your controller and expand the dropdown menu under “Actions“. Choose “Foreign Configuration“.
A list of disks with detected unfamiliar configurations will be displayed. Select “Import Foreign Configuration“.
Choose when to apply the action. Click “Apply Now“.
A task will be created, which you can monitor in the “Job Queue“.
The task may not complete instantly; you’ll need to wait until it reaches 100%. Once it’s completed, the configuration will be imported.
by Sangeetha | Aug 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
Managing VRTXCritical alerts on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX chassis is essential for ensuring optimal performance and reliability of your infrastructure. This guide will provide insights into recognizing, diagnosing, and addressing critical alerts, helping you maintain system stability and minimize downtime.
Ticket logged for Server alert
Analysis report:-
The second controller shows a failure
1st analysis and POA
Took the remote session and logged in with the chassis console. Find an option to enable a failed controller.
There is no option to enable or disable it on the controller tab
Raised controller for a standby
2nd analysis and POA
CMC firmware2.1 and the latest available is 3.41
After updating the firmware issue was resolved.
For more information reach out to our Technical team.
by Sangeetha | Aug 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
Learn how to import foreign configurations using the web interface of iDRAC7 and iDRAC8, ensuring seamless server management and data integrity. This quick guide will walk you through the process step-by-step for efficient IT operations.
To import foreign configuration:
- In the iDRAC Web interface, go to Overview > Storage > Controllers > Setup. The Setup Controllers page is displayed.
- In the Foreign Configuration section, from the Controller drop-down menu, select the controller that you want to configure.
- From the Apply Operation Mode drop-down menu, select when you want to import.
- Click Import Foreign Configuration. Based on the selected operation mode, the configuration is imported. To automatically import foreign configurations, in the Configure Controller Properties section, enable the Enhanced Auto Import Foreign Config option, select the Apply Operation Mode and click Apply.
by Sangeetha | Aug 16, 2024 | Uncategorized
How-To Generate SP Collect Data from Unisphere
– Login to the Unisphere console
– Select the array you want to collect data from
– Click on the “System” tab, then click on “Generate Diagnostic Flies – SPA” under the “Diagnostic Files” section on the right.
– Click YES to generate the SP Collect Data for SPA
– Click on “OK” to confirm the success of the process
– Now click on “Generate Diagnostic Files – SPB” under the “Diagnostic Files” section on the right.
– Click YES to generate the SP Collect Data for SPB
– Click on “OK” to confirm the success of the process
– Click on “Get Diagnostic Files – SPA”
– The SP A – File Transfer Manager Window will appear.
- 1st– sort the files by date with the most recent date at the top by clicking the top of the “Date” column.
- 2nd– Highlight the “zip” file. (Depending on your array – your file may not start with “APM” but with a different set of letter. Regardless, the rest of the file name will be followed by a series of numbers_SPA_date_time)
- 3rd– Select your destination directory where you want the file saved to. (Use something easy to find like c:\)
- 4th– Click the “Transfer” button below the list of files
– Click on YES to confirm you want to transfer the file.
– In the “Transfer Status” window – look and wait for the file transfer to report successful. (This may take a minute or so) Once the transfer is successful click OK.
– Click on “Get Diagnostic Files – SPB”
– The SP B – File Transfer Manager Window will appear.
- 1st– sort the files by date with the most recent date at the top by clicking the top of the “Date” column.
- 2nd– Highlight the “zip” file. (Depending on your array – your file may not start with “APM” but with a different set of letter. Regardless, the rest of the file name will be followed by a series of numbers_SPB_date_time)
- 3rd– Select your destination directory where you want the file saved to. (Use something easy to find like c:\)
- 4th– Click the “Transfer” button below the list of files
– Click on YES to confirm you want to transfer the file.
– In the “Transfer Status” window – look and wait for the file transfer to report successful. (This may take a minute or so) Once the transfer is successful click OK.
– Open up Windows Explorer or whatever file manager you use and go to the destination directory where you downloaded the files to. Verify the SPA and SPB .zip files are there.
by Sangeetha | Aug 16, 2024 | Uncategorized
How to Run SP Collect on EMC CLARiiON CX4 Storage Array
SPCollect From Navisphere
Step 01: Login to Navisphere
You can login to Navisphere GUI either from SP-A or SP-B ip-address. Make sure to enter the appropriate username and password in this screen to login.
Step 2. SP Collect Menu for SP-A
From the Storage Tab, click on “+” to expand “Local Domain”, then click on “+” in front of the serial number of the array to expand it further.
Now, select “SP A” (Storage Processor A) and right mouse click, which will display a pop-up menu. In the pop-up menu click on “SP Collect”
Step 3: Execute SP Collect for SP-A
This will show a confirmation dialogue with question “Do you want to run SP Collect script now?”. Click on “YES” to continue here.
Depending on the size of your array, and other configuration information on your array, this might take some time to finish. But in most cases, it should finish within a minute.
Once it is done, it will display a success message. Click “OK” on this screen.
Step 4: Go to File Transfer Manager for SP-A
Go back to the tree, and select the “SP A”, and right mouse click, which will display a pop-up menu. In the pop-up menu click on “File Transfer Manager”.
Step 5: Get SP Collect Zip File for SP-A
This will display the following File Transfer Manager screen for storage processor A. The name of the SP Collect file will be in the following format:
{serial number of the array}_SPA_{date and time}_data.zip For example:
APM000444555777_SPA_2013-10-05_23-43-27_1cc1d0_data.zip
If you’ve run SP Collect multiple times before, you’ll see multiple zip files. Make sure you select the correct file from his list. To make it easier, you can also click on the “Date” column, which will sort by date.
If you like to change the location on the local machine where you need the files to be transferred, click on “Browse” next to “Destination Directory” on the top.
Once you’ve selected the correct SP collect zip file, and a destination directory, click on “Transfer” button, which will transfer the zip file from the array to your local machine.
Before transferring it will give the following warning message. Click on “Yes” to continue.
Once the transfer begins, you can see the status in the “Transfer Status” section.
Step 6: Repeat the Above for SP-B
Anytime you execute SP Collect, you should do it for both the storage processors (i.e SP A and SP B ).
So, repeat all of the above steps for “SP B” (Storage processor B). But, this time, choose “SP B” in the navigation tree. “SP B” will be right below “SP A” in the navigation tree.
After you are done, you should now have two zip files
