Manuals

Driver Installation: User's Guide

Driver Installation

The Dell™ Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) 6/iR controller requires software drivers to operate with Microsoft® Windows®, Red Hat^®Linux^®, and SUSE^® Linux operating systems.

This chapter contains the procedures for installing the drivers for the following operating systems:

Microsoft Windows Server^® 2003 Server family
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Server family
Microsoft Windows XP
Red Hat Linux Versions 4 and 5
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Version 10
Windows Vista™

The four methods for installing a driver that are discussed in this chapter are:

During operating system installation.
After adding a new SAS 6/iR controller on an existing operating system.
Updating existing drivers.
Installing from a Dell Precision™ Workstation Operating System media. This media includes the drivers.

NOTE: Operating system installation on a RAID 1 or a RAID 0 virtual disk is supported only when the virtual disk is in an optimal state.

NOTE: To ensure you have the latest version of any driver mentioned in this section, check the Dell Support website at support.dell.com. If a newer version exists, you can download the driver to your system.

Installing the Windows Driver

This section documents the procedures used to install the Windows driver.

Creating the Driver Media

Perform the following steps to create the driver media:

Browse to the download section for the system from the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
Locate and download the latest SAS 6/iR controller driver to the system.
Follow the instructions on the Dell Support website for extracting the driver to the media.

Pre-Installation Requirements

Before you install the operating system:

Read the Microsoft Getting Started document that ships with your operating system.
Ensure that your system has the latest BIOS, firmware, and driver updates. If required, download the latest BIOS, firmware, and driver updates from the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
Create a device driver media (diskette, USB drive, CD, or DVD).

Creating the Device Driver Media

Use one of the methods described in the following sections to create the device driver media.

Downloading Drivers From the Dell Systems Service and Diagnostic Tools Media

Insert the Dell Systems Service and Diagnostics Tools media into a system.

The Welcome to Dell Service and Diagnostic Utilities screen is displayed.

Select your server model and operating system (Microsoft Windows Server 2003).
Click Continue.
From the list of drivers displayed, select the driver that you require. Select the self-extracting zip file and click Run. Copy the driver to a diskette drive, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Repeat this step for all the drivers that you require.
During the operating system installation described in Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP Operating System Installation and Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Installation, use the media that you created with the Load Driver option to load mass storage drivers.

Downloading Drivers From the Dell Support Site

Go to support.dell.com.
Click Drivers and Downloads.
Enter the service tag of your system in the Choose by Service Tag field or select your system's model.
Select the System Type, Operating System, Driver Language, and Category from the drop-down list.
The drivers that are applicable to your selection are displayed. From the available list, download the drivers that you require to a diskette drive, USB drive, CD, or DVD.
During the operating system installation described in Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP Operating System Installation and Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP Operating System Installation, use the media that you created with the Load Driver option to load mass storage drivers.

Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP Operating System Installation

Perform the following steps to install the driver during operating system installation.

Boot the system using the Microsoft Windows XP/Microsoft Windows Server 2003 media.
When the message Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver appears, press the <F6> key immediately.

Within a few minutes, a screen appears that asks for additional controllers in the system.

Press the <S> key.

The system prompts for the driver media to be inserted.

NOTE: The driver can be provided using a properly formatted USB key. Check support.dell.com for additional details.

Insert the driver media in the media drive and press <Enter>.

A list of SAS controllers appears.

Select the right driver for the installed controller and press <Enter> to load the driver.

NOTE: For Windows Server 2003, a message can appear that states that the driver that you provided is older or newer than the existing Windows driver. Press <S> to use the driver that is on the media.

Press <Enter> again to continue the installation process as usual.

Installing the Driver During a Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Installation

Perform the following steps to install the driver during operating system installation.

Boot the system using the Microsoft Windows Vista/Microsoft Windows Server 2008 media.
Follow on-screen instructions until you reach the "Where do you want to install Vista/2008"; then select "Load driver..."
The system prompts for the media to be inserted. Insert the installation media and browse to the proper location when prompted.
Select the appropriate SAS 6/iR controller from the list, click "Next" and continue installation as usual.

NOTE: Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista operating systems include native support for the SAS 6/iR RAID controller and the driver is automatically installed. Check support.dell.com for driver updates.

Installing a Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Driver for a New RAID Controller

Perform the following steps to configure the driver for the RAID controller on a system that already has Windows installed.

Turn off the system.
Install the new RAID controller in the system.
Turn on the system.

The Windows operating system detects the new controller and displays a message to inform the user.

The Found New Hardware Wizard screen pops up and displays the detected hardware device.

NOTE: Windows 2008 and Vista include a device driver to support the SAS controllers. The system automatically detects the new controller and installs the driver. Check the version of the driver installed by Windows and update if necessary.

Click Next.
On the Locate device driver screen, select Search for a suitable driver for my device and click Next.
Make the Driver Files available and browse to the proper location from the Locate Driver Files screen.
Click Next.
The wizard detects and installs the appropriate device drivers for the new RAID controller.
Click Finish to complete the installation.
Reboot the server if Windows request to do so.

Updating an Existing Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, or Windows Vista Driver

Perform the following steps to update the Microsoft Windows driver for the SAS 6/iR controller already installed on your system.

NOTE: It is important that you close all applications on your system before you update the driver.

Select Start® Settings® Control Panel® System.

The System Properties screen appears.

NOTE: For systems running a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system, click Start® Control Panel® System.

Click on the Hardware tab.
Click Device Manager.

The Device Manager screen appears.

NOTE: An alternative method is to open Device Manager. In Windows Explorer, right click on "My Computer" and select "Manage". The Computer Management windows will open; select "Device Manager" in the left panel.

Double-click on SCSI and RAID Controllers.

NOTE: In Windows 2008 and Windows Vista, SAS is listed under Storage Controllers.

Double-click the RAID controller for which you want to update the driver.
Click the Driver tab and click Update Driver.

The Upgrade Device Driver Wizard screen appears.

Make the driver files available with the USB key, or other media.
Select Install from a list or specific location.
Click Next.
Follow the steps in the wizard and browse to the location of the driver files.
Select the INF file from the USB key or other media.
Click Next and continue the installation steps in the Wizard.
Click Finish to exit the wizard and reboot the system for the changes to take place.

Installing Linux Driver

Use the procedures in this section to install the driver for Linux. The driver is updated frequently. To ensure that you have the current version of the driver, download the updated Linux driver from the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Creating a Driver Diskette

Before beginning the installation, copy the drivers from the Service and Diagnostic Utilities media or download the driver appropriate for Linux from the Dell Support website at support.dell.com. This file includes two Red Hat Package Managers (RPMs) and driver update disk files. The package also contains the Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) file, source code, and release notes.

Refer to the documentation website at support.dell.com for more information on DKMS.

The package is a zipped tar file. After downloading the package to a Linux system, perform the following steps.

Unzip the package using gunzip.
Untar the file using tar -xvf.
Use the dd command to create a driver update disk. Use the appropriate image for the purpose.

dd if=<name of the dd image file> of=/dev/fd0

NOTE: You can create a driver update disk on a Windows system using the program dcopynt.

NOTE: The output file "of" might be different, depending on how your operating system maps the floppy driver. The floppy drive does not need to be mounted in order to execute the "dd" command.

Use the diskette for operating system installation as described later in this section.

Creating a Driver Update Diskette Using DKMS

Perform the following steps to create the DUD using the DKMS tool:

NOTE: To work, the driver needs to be installed on the system where this procedure is carried out.

Install the DKMS-enabled megaraid_sas driver rpm package.
Type the following command in any directory:

dkms mkdriverdisk –m megaraid_sas –v <driver version> -k <kernel version> -d <distro>

NOTE: The values for the –d option are suse for SLES diskettes and redhat for RHEL diskettes.

NOTE: For further information on usage of DKMS, refer to the dkms main page.

This starts the process to create the megaraid_sas DUD image. After the DUD image has been built, you can find it in the DKMS tree for the megaraid_sas driver. See the output of the dkms mkdriverdisk command for the exact path.

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Operating Systems using the Driver Update Diskette

Perform the following steps to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux (versions 4 and 5) and the appropriate driver.

Boot normally from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation media.
At the command prompt, type:

linux expert dd

When the install prompts for a driver diskette, insert the diskette and press <Enter>.

Refer to Creating a Driver Diskette for information about creating a driver diskette.

Complete the installation as directed by the installation program.

The driver will be installed.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Installation and Disk Enumeration

The operating system may not boot when Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 is installed on a system that has a serial-attached SAS 6i/R controller connected to more than two hard drives. The issue occurs when the hard drives are configured with more than one RAID configuration or when one RAID volume along with one or two individual disks are connected to the controller. In this scenario, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 installer installs the Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB) to the incorrect hard drive. To avoid this issue, complete the following steps during the operating system installation:

Insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 media and proceed through the installation screens to the Drive Selection screen.
Select Review and Modify Partition Layout.
Click Next. Proceed through the installation screens to the GRUB location screen and select the Configure Advanced Bootloader Options tab.
Click Next.
Select Change Driver Order.
In the Disk Order window, change the disks to the following order:
/dev/sdb
/dev/sdc (if present)
/dev/sda
Click OK and then continue with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 installation.

Installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Using the Driver Update Diskette

NOTE: Refer to Creating a Driver Diskette for information about creating a driver diskette.

To install SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (version 9 or 10) using the DUD:

Insert the appropriate SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (version 9 or 10) Service Pack media in the system.
Select <F5> for the driver update disk.

NOTE: Press <F5> for SLES 10 installation and <F6> for SLES 9 installation as shown on screen.

Select Installation from the menu.
Press <Enter> to load the Linux kernel.
At the prompt Please insert the driver update floppy, click OK.

The system selects the driver from the diskette and installs it. The system then displays the message

DRIVER UPDATE ADDED with the description of the driver module.

Click OK.

If you want to install from another driver update medium, continue with the following steps.

The system displays the message PLEASE CHOOSE DRIVER UPDATE MEDIUM.
Select the appropriate driver update medium.

The system selects the driver from the disk and installs it.

NOTE: SLES 9 Gold media is required when you install any SLES 9 service pack.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Installation and Disk Enumeration

The operating system may not boot when SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 is installed on a system that has the SAS 6/iR controller with more than two hard drives connected. The issue occurs when the hard drives are configured with more than one RAID configuration, or when one RAID volume along with one or two individual disks are connected to the controller. In these scenarios, the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 installer will install the grand unified bootloader (GRUB) to the incorrect hard drive. To avoid this issue, complete the following steps during the operating system installation:

Insert the SUSE Linux installation media and proceed with the installation screens to the Installation Settings window. Select the Expert tab, and then select Booting.
The Boot Loader Settings window appears.
Select the Boot Loader Installation tab and then select Boot Loader Installation Details.
In the Disk Order window, change the disks to the following order:
/dev/sdb
/dev/sdc (if present)
/dev/sda
Click OK and then click Finish to return to the Installation Settings screen.
Continue with the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 installation.

Installing the RPM Package With DKMS Support

Perform the following steps to install the RPM package with DKMS support:

Uncompress the gzipped tarball driver release package
Install the DKMS package using the command: rpm –ihv dkms- <version>.noarch.rpm
Install the driver package using the command: rpm –ihv megaraid_sas-<version>.noarch.rpm

NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing package.

If the previous device driver is in use, a reboot is required for the updated driver to take effect
Verify that the driver has been loaded.

Upgrading the Kernel

When upgrading to a new kernel, you must reinstall the DKMS-enabled driver packages. Perform the following steps to update or install the driver for the new kernel:

In a terminal window, type the following:

dkms build -m <module_name> -v <module version> -k <kernel version>

dkms install -m <module_name> -v <module version> -k <kernel version>

To check whether the driver is successfully installed in the new kernel, type:

dkms status

You must see a message similar to the following one on the screen to confirm installation:

<driver name>, <driver version>, <new kernel version>: installed

If the previous device driver is in use, a reboot is required for the updated driver to take effect.

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