Dell Perc 5i User Guide

SAS 5/iR BIOS29
Integrated RAID Configuration and Management Screens
Integrated RAID (IR) configuration and management involves many screens, all of which are accessed by 
selecting  RAID Properties  on the Adapter Properties  screen.
 If no RAID virtual disks are currently configured , you are prompted to create a RAID virtual disk.
 If at least one RAID virtual disk is currently configured, select 
View Existing Array to manage the 
virtual disk(s), or select the appropriate cr eate option to...

30SAS 5/iR BIOS
View Virtual Disk
The View Virtual Disk  screen allows you to view the current virtual disk configuration.
Press  to view the next virtual disk. S ee the table above to view descriptions of each 
virtual disk property.
Manage Virtual Disk
The  Manage Virtual Disk  screen is used to manage the cur rent virtual disk. If you select Synchronize 
Mirror , Activate Mirror , or Delete Virtual Disk , you are prompted to conf irm the choice by pressing 
Y for yes or  N for no.
RAID Disk Specifies...

SAS 5/iR BIOS31
Exit Screen
It is important to exit the SAS BIOS Configuration Utility properly, because some changes take effect 
only when you exit. From the  Adapter List, press  to exit. In addition, a similar exit screen 
appears when you exit most other screens,  and it can be used to save settings.
Performing Configuration Tasks
Creating an Integrated Striping Virtual Disk
An Integrated Striping (IS) virtual disk, also referred to as RAID 0, offers the ability to stripe data across 
multiple...

32SAS 5/iR BIOS
3Select Create IS Volume when you are prompted to create either an IS virtual disk or an IM virtual disk.
The next screen shows a list of disks  that can be added to a virtual disk.
4Move the cursor to the RAID Disk column. To add a disk to the virtual disk, change “No” to “Yes” by 
pressing the , , or space bar. As disks are added, the 
Virtual Disk Size field changes to reflect 
the size of the new virtual disk.
 NOTICE: All data will be lost upon  creation of the virtual disk.
There...

SAS 5/iR BIOS33
5As disks are added, the Virtual Disk Size field will change to reflect the size of the new virtual disk. 
There are several limitations when  creating an IM virtual disk:
 All disks must be either Dell-comp liant SAS or SATA physical disks.
 SAS and SATA physical disks cannot  be used in the same virtual disk.
 Disks must have 512-byte blocks and must not have removable media.
 There must be 2 physical disks in an IM virtual disk.
6Press  and then select Save changes when the...

34SAS 5/iR BIOS
Activating a Virtual Disk
A virtual disk can become inactive if, for example, it is removed from one SAS 5/iR controller and moved to 
another one. The  Activate Mirror option allows you to reactivate an  inactive virtual disk that has been 
added to a system. This option is only available  when the selected virtual disk is currently inactive.
1
Select Activate Mirror.
2Press Y to proceed with the activation or press N to abandon it.
After a pause, the virtual disk will become active....

Troubleshooting35
Troubleshooting
To get help with problems with your Dell™ Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) 5/iR controller, you can 
Contact Dell or access the Dell Support website at  support.dell.com.
BIOS Boot Order
If you intend to boot to the controller, ensure it  is set appropriately in the systems BIOS boot order. 
See your system documentation for more information.
General Problems
Table 6-1. General Problems
Problem Suggested Solution
The controller displays in Windows
® Device 
Manager but has a...

36Troubleshooting
Physical Disk Related Issues
Table 6-2. Physical Disk IssuesProblem Suggested Solution
The system does not boot from the SAS 5/iR 
controller. Ensure that the boot disk is a
ttached to the controller at the 
lowest ID and check the controller and the physical disk boot 
order in the system BIOS.
NOTE: See your system documenta tion for information about 
boot device selection.
Physical disk is not enumerated during POST.
 Go to the Configuration Utility  and ensure that the physical...

Troubleshooting37
Configuration Utility Error Messages
 NOTE: These error messages are displayed inside the Configuration Utility. Restart your system and retry if you 
encounter any of these.
Table 6-3. Configuration Utility Error Messages Message Meaning and  Suggested Solution
An error occurr ed while reading 
non-volatile settings. An error reading any one of a number of settings from the 
firmware. Reseat the 
controller and reboot. 
An error occurr ed while reading 
current controller settings....

38Troubleshooting
BIOS Error Messages
Table 6-4. BIOS Error MessagesMessage Meaning
Press  to Enable BIOS When the BIOS is disabled, you are given the option to 
enable it by entering the configuration utility. You can 
change the setting to  Enabled in the configuration utility.
Adapter at Basepor t xxxx is not 
responding where xxxx is the 
baseport of the controller If the controller does not resp
ond for any reason but is 
detected by the BIOS, it disp lays this warning and continues. 
Shut down the...