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Controller Properties and Tasks

Dell OpenManage™ Storage Management User's Guide

  Controller Properties

  Controller Tasks

  Controller Components

Use this window to view information about the controller and execute controller tasks.

Controller Properties

The controller properties can vary depending on the model of the controller. Controller properties may include:

Property

Definition

These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component. See Storage Component Severity for more information.

Name

This property displays the name of the controller.

State

This property displays the current status of the controller. Possible values are:

  • Ready — The controller is functioning normally.

  • Degraded — The controller has suffered a failure of a component and is operating in a degraded state.

  • Failed — The controller has suffered a failure of one or more components and is no longer functioning. Storage Management may also be unable to communicate with a controller component using SES commands. The Failed state is displayed when a component attached to the controller does not respond to a status query from Storage Management for any reason. For example, disconnecting the SCSI cable would cause this state to be displayed.

Firmware Version

This property displays the version of the controller's firmware.

Driver Version

This property displays the version of the controller's driver.

Note: The 2.8.0.6085 driver install package for the PERC 2, 2/Si, 3/Si, and 3/Di controllers contains the 6076 driver. For this driver, Storage Management displays 2.8.0.6076 whereas Windows Device Manager displays 2.8.0.6085.

Minimum Required Firmware Version

This property displays the minimum firmware version that is required by Storage Management.

Number of Channels

This property displays the number of channels the controller has. Each channel can be attached to array disks or an enclosure.

Rebuild Rate

The rebuild rate is the percentage of the system's resources dedicated to rebuilding a failed disk when a rebuild is necessary. See Set Rebuild Rate for more information.

Alarm State

This property displays whether the controller's alarm is enabled or disabled.

SCSI Initiator ID

This property displays the SCSI ID of the controller. The default value is 6. You can change the default value in the BIOS. In cluster mode, the value is 6 or 7.

Controller Tasks

Do the following to execute a controller task:

  1. Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects.

  2. Select a controller object.

  3. Select the Information/Configuration subtab.

  4. Select a task from the Available Tasks drop-down menu.

  5. Click Execute.

Note: Different controllers support different features. For this reason, the tasks displayed on the Tasks drop-down menu can vary depending on which controller is selected in the tree view.
Controller Tasks:

Rescan Controller

A controller rescan updates configuration changes (such as new or removed devices) for all components attached to the controller. For information on when you may want to do a rescan, see Rescan to Update Storage Configuration Changes.

On non-RAID SCSI controllers, the operating system must be able to see any hardware changes before initiating the controller rescan. Otherwise, the hardware changes may not be reflected in the Storage Management graphical user interface (GUI). Refer to the operating system documentation for information on updating hardware changes. You can also reboot the system to update hardware changes with the operating system.

To rescan a controller:

  1. Expand the tree view to display the controller object.

  2. Select the Controller object.

  3. Click the Configuration/Information subtab.

  4. Select Rescan from the Controller Tasks drop-down menu.

  5. Click Execute.

Create Virtual Disk

Use the Create Virtual Disk task to launch the Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard. See Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard (Step 1 of 2) for more information.

Enable Alarm (Controller)

Use the Enable Alarm task to enable the controller's alarm. When enabled, the alarm sounds in the event of a device failure.

Disable Alarm (Controller)

Use the Disable Alarm task to disable the controller's alarm. When disabled, the alarm does not sound in the event of a device failure.

Quiet Alarm (Controller)

Use the Quiet Alarm task to quiet the controller's alarm once it is sounding. Once quieted, the alarm is still enabled in the event of a future device failure.

Test Alarm (Controller)

Use the Test Alarm task to test whether the controller alarm is functional. The alarm will sound for about two seconds.

Note: The Test Alarm task is only available on the CERC SATA1.5/6ch controller.

Set Rebuild Rate

Use the Set Rebuild Rate task to change the rebuild rate. See Set Rebuild Rate for more information.

Reset Configuration

Use the Reset Configuration task to erase all information on the controller, so that you can perform a fresh configuration. This operation destroys all virtual disks on the controller.

Caution: Resetting a configuration permanently destroys all data on all virtual disks attached to the controller. If the system or boot partition resides on these virtual disks, it will be destroyed.

Export Log File

Use this task to export the controller log to a text file. See Export Log for more information.

Controller Components

For information on attached components, see the following topics:

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