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PowerEdge 1650, how do I setup a RAID?
a few month ago I got a used server, mainly a PowerEdge 1650.
this server works fine and I replaced the disks (SMART status wasn't to great anymore).
now I want to use those disk, 3x 36.4GB 15.000 RPM SCSI, in a RAID.
RAID5 to be precise.
now I read somewhere that the server should have a raid controller.
but, how do I make sure of this? and if it does, how do I configure it to get the desired RAID5?
I've never configured a RAID before, since the servers at my work already have a RAID.
I read somewhere that I should start up, then go to the Utility partition and that I can configure it from there.
so I tried, and got "Utility partition not available" someone said that that may be since I replaced the drive but also with the old driver, I get that.
and I also can't reinstall it, since I got it used and the original installation CD's where not there.
theflash1932
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March 9th, 2010 15:00
ROMB stands for Raid On MotherBoard. Easiest way to tell, is boot to BIOS (F2), go to Integrated/Embedded Devices, see if you can change Embedded RAID/SCSI to RAID Enabled. If not, then there is no onboard hardware RAID (PERC 3/Di).
If during POST you see an option to hit CTRL-M, that will be a PERC add-in card capable of hardware RAID. If you do not have CTRL-M, then you do not have an add-in RAID card.
Software RAID depends on the software you load on the machine :) If in SCSI mode, you can use Windows software to manage RAID. All depends on what Operating System you install on the server.
Yes, the ISO will assist you with installing most Windows Server (and some Linux) Operating Systems. Using this utility also installs the Utility Paritition as part of the process. It cannot create a Utility Partition without installing an OS though. Diagnostics can be downloaded from the support site and run from CD, USB, or network too, if you don't want to (or can't) use the installation utility for the Operating System you are installing.
Keep in mind, you cannot simply copy the ISO to a disk - it must be burned using special software that can properly burn ISO disk images.
theflash1932
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March 9th, 2010 13:00
Well, first you will need to make sure you have the RAID components - RAID key, RAID memory, and RAID battery. If all of these are present, you can boot to BIOS, and make sure that RAID is enabled under Integrated Devices. If these are done, you should get a prompt during POST to hit CTRL-A to enter the container configuration utility. There it should be pretty self-explanatory - Create Container, select your drives, RAID level, then done.
You cannot do this from the Utility Partition, as that only contains diagnostic information. Using the Dell installation utility (SBUU - System Build and Update Utility) will reinstall the UP when helping install the OS. You can download the installation utility here:
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Here if you need assistance finding RAID components:
foxofinfinety
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March 9th, 2010 13:00
if the ROMB card there is for the RAID, then my server doesn't have a RAID card.
does this server have a software RAID controller? (on the SCSI FP I mean)
else I don't have a RAID controller at all.
and with the ISO I can reinstall the Utility partition?
(after burning it I mean) that would be nice since it has diagnostic information.
foxofinfinety
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February 12th, 2011 14:00
I have managed to find out the system didn't have a RAID controller yet.
but I did find one on ebay which wasn't to expensive and work good, so I now have that one so the disks can run in RAID5.
I do now have the problem that I can't install OMSA as I use Linux Ubuntu Server, not RHEL or Windows Server 2003.
also, the reply is a bit late, this because I somehow couldn't login for a while.