Fault tolerance features, Firmware upgrade, Hot swapping – Dell PERC 4/SI User Manual
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Firmware Upgrade
You can download the latest firmware from the Dell website and flash it to the firmware on the board. The Dell website offers a firmware flash that can be
executed from a DOS environment or one that can be launched from within the Microsoft Windows or Linux operating system. To upgrade the firmware on the
RAID controller perform the following instructions:
1.
2.
Use the unique instructions for each firmware update version that are posted on the Dell website to complete the firmware update process.
Fault Tolerance Features
lists the features that provide fault tolerance to prevent data loss in case of a failed drive.
Table 3-4. Fault Tolerance Features
Hot Swapping
Hot swapping is the manual substitution of a replacement unit in a disk subsystem for a defective one, where the substitution can be performed while the
subsystem is running (performing its normal functions). The backplane and enclosure must support hot swap in order for the functionality to work.
Failed Drive Detection
WS 2003 Standard Server
Y
Y
Y
WS 2003 Web Server
Y
Y
Y
2003 Small Business Server (SBS)
Y
Y
Y
WS 2003 Enterprise Server
Y
Y
Y
W2K3 EM64T
N
Y
Y
RHEL v2.1 Update 3
Y
Y
Y
RHEL v3.0 Update 2 (EM64T)
N
Y
Y
RHEL v3.0 GOLD
Y
Y
Y
RHEL v3.0 Update 3 (32bit and EM64T) N
Y
Y
RHEL 4.0 32-bit
Y
Y
Y
RHEL 4.0 EM64T
N
Y
Y
NetWare 5.1 SP8
Y
Y
Y
NetWare 6.5 SP3
Y
Y
Y
NOTICE:
Do not flash the RAID controller firmware while performing a background initialization or data consistency check as this can cause the
procedure to fail.
NOTE:
If you system does not have a floppy disk drive, download the firmware update utility for Microsoft Windows or Linux. For systems running
Novell Netware that do not have a floppy drive; create the firmware update diskette on another system, then copy the contents of the floppy to a
bootable USB key or CD-ROM.
NOTE:
A reboot is required after the firmware update is complete.
Specification
Feature
Support for SMART
Yes
Support for Patrol Read
Yes
Drive failure detection
Automatic
Drive rebuild using hot spares
Automatic
Parity generation and checking
Yes
Battery backup for NVRAM to protect configuration data
Yes
Hot-swap manual replacement of a disk unit without bringing the system down Yes
NOTE:
A backplane or enclosure must support hot swapping in order for the RAID controller to support hot swapping.