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How do I figure out what the RAID configuration of my Dell server running Red Hat ES 5.3?

The RAID Controller is a SaS 5/iR

Ideally, without rebooting the server and getting into the RAID setup.

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See this also: serverfault.com/questions/172046/… –  user67717 Apr 17 '13 at 19:56

6 Answers 6

I assume you mean hardware raid with a PERC/CERC Controller. The easiest way is to reboot the machine and go into the raid setup. The second easiest way is to install Dell Open Manage and go to the webservices it creates. The third hardest way is to figure out which PERC controller you have, go to http://linux.dell.com and see how other people did it. You can also download command line tools from http://linux.dell.com/storage.shtml

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up vote 2 down vote accepted

A bit of digging later. The MegaCli was not available as I have a slightly older RAID adapter.

@Ben: Thanks for the tip for the Dell support page.

As root:

cd /opt/dell/srvadmin/oma/bin

Find out the controller available

# omreport storage controller

 Controller  SAS 5/iR Adapter (Slot 2)

ID                                : 0
Status                            : Non-Critical
Name                              : SAS 5/iR Adapter

Then, you can find out the physical disks and virtual disks

# omreport storage pdisk controller=0
# omreport storage vdisk
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The 'easy' way is with MegaCli.

Here are the docs

But what you really want is the command:

MegaCli -LdPdInfo -a0
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The "easiest" way does involve a reboot...there's a key sequence to hit that takes you into the RAID controller's BIOS. Not the system BIOS, the RAID controller. If it's running a PERC card (which most Dell servers with HW RAID are).

That's by far the easiest. The other way involves navigating Dell's website to find a utility that might work and be up to date enough to function properly with your distro. I never had much luck with it.

You might also be able to get MegCLI to work with it. Apparently it's kind of a tangent product to the LSI RAID cards (referring to the PERC), so it is supposed to be somewhat compatible. I rarely trust it as much as I trust the 3Ware web interface.

Some reference info can be found...here Here here and here.

Hope they help...

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The standard way of managing Dell servers running RHEL is to use the Open Manage Server Administrator from Dell. You can download the latest version from Dell by entering your Express Service Tag on the support.dell.com site and then navigating the download section. A cdrom containing the Dell OMSA should have shipped with your server. Once you have installed it you can access it via your server's IP address at port 1311. Log in as your root user and you will be able to navigate a thorough drilldown of your entire system.

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This is a link to the Linux version of the current OMSA. All you have to do is install it on a supported OS (might have to tweak the script a bit for CentOS, since it's build for RHEL) and then access the server using https on port 1311.

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