To start, the issue you are seeing with installing the OS, what you need to do is access the Perc 6/i BIOS and configure the Virtual Disk. You can see how to do this, starting on the bottom of page 85 into page 86, in this walkthrough. To address your next question, when you boot the OS media and don't sqee the drives, this is caused by the Virtual Disk not being created, as well as the possibility of the driver not being loaded. After creating the Virtual Disk, boot to the OS media, since you are installing Server 2012, the Raid controller drivers should be native to the OS media.
I would suggest 2012, as SBS 2011 will have more limitations.
It is not finding the drives because you have to configure RAID first. The PERC 6 does not support non-RAID, so only configured RAID arrays are presented to the OS as "disks".
Why would the manager not want to use the PERC right now?! You can't just willy nilly add it later - you would have to either do a full restore to different hardware or reinstall and set up from scratch when you add it later. It isn't a big deal to use it now - just need to understand the hardware and process.
The only thing UEFI is typically used for is if your boot "disk" is going to be larger than 2TB, which it doesn't sound like is the case, so UEFI won't change anything here.
Onboard SATA ports should be disabled (except for maybe the optical drive) when using the PERC. The drives will not be visible in the BIOS either. You manage the individual drives through the CTRL-R utility for the PERC.
1. You would have to connect the drives to the onboard SATA ports. Right now the drives are connected to the PERC. Complication 1 - you might have a backplane (drives available via caddies from outside the system, in which case there is no way to connect them to the onboard SATA ports. Complication 2 - If your disks are SAS, there is no way to connect them to the onboard SATA ports.
2. Again, the PERC does not support non-RAID, so every disk you want available must be part of an array (virtual disk). To use a disk as a standalone, individual disk, it must be set up as a single-disk RAID 0. Based on the disks you listed, I would recommend you set up the 750's in a RAID 1 (mirror) and the 1TB as a single-disk RAID 0 for non-critical data or to simply hold a backup image of the RAID 1 data. (RAID is not a backup, so make sure you have a backup plan as well.)
3. Easiest way is to boot from the 2012 DVD and install. Again ... boot to CTLR-R to configure and initialize the RAID before installing. 2012 should have native drivers for the PERC. Just go to support.dell.com to check for any drivers after the install. Best practice - update system firmware (BIOS, iDRAC, PERC ,etc.) before the install (may not be crucial before, but should be done after if you get that far). You can also use Dell's SMTD DVD to help install the OS - this will walk you through configuring RAID and installing all the drivers during the install.
As far as your proposed setup, I would recommend using a real hypervisor. Server 2012 has Hyper-V built-in and is far more robust than VirtualBox. So, unless you are porting existing VM's to this server from already-existing VirtualBox VM's, I'd recommend using Hyper-V.
Not an answer, but continue of previous question.....
I have 4 HD, 750, 750 and 1T that are being recognized by the PERC, and at 4th that is a 2T.
So, I am assuming by your reference the UEFI above means that I will not be able to use the 2T if I do not use the UEFI?
I want to use the SBS 2011 just to run our nonprofit basic IT structure (it is small) and to gain experience in a different area of IT that I do not have.
DELL-Chris H
Moderator
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9.7K Posts
0
December 8th, 2015 07:00
Shephs04,
To start, the issue you are seeing with installing the OS, what you need to do is access the Perc 6/i BIOS and configure the Virtual Disk. You can see how to do this, starting on the bottom of page 85 into page 86, in this walkthrough. To address your next question, when you boot the OS media and don't sqee the drives, this is caused by the Virtual Disk not being created, as well as the possibility of the driver not being loaded. After creating the Virtual Disk, boot to the OS media, since you are installing Server 2012, the Raid controller drivers should be native to the OS media.
I would suggest 2012, as SBS 2011 will have more limitations.
Let me know if this helps answer your questions.
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
0
December 8th, 2015 07:00
It is not finding the drives because you have to configure RAID first. The PERC 6 does not support non-RAID, so only configured RAID arrays are presented to the OS as "disks".
Why would the manager not want to use the PERC right now?! You can't just willy nilly add it later - you would have to either do a full restore to different hardware or reinstall and set up from scratch when you add it later. It isn't a big deal to use it now - just need to understand the hardware and process.
The only thing UEFI is typically used for is if your boot "disk" is going to be larger than 2TB, which it doesn't sound like is the case, so UEFI won't change anything here.
Onboard SATA ports should be disabled (except for maybe the optical drive) when using the PERC. The drives will not be visible in the BIOS either. You manage the individual drives through the CTRL-R utility for the PERC.
1. You would have to connect the drives to the onboard SATA ports. Right now the drives are connected to the PERC. Complication 1 - you might have a backplane (drives available via caddies from outside the system, in which case there is no way to connect them to the onboard SATA ports. Complication 2 - If your disks are SAS, there is no way to connect them to the onboard SATA ports.
2. Again, the PERC does not support non-RAID, so every disk you want available must be part of an array (virtual disk). To use a disk as a standalone, individual disk, it must be set up as a single-disk RAID 0. Based on the disks you listed, I would recommend you set up the 750's in a RAID 1 (mirror) and the 1TB as a single-disk RAID 0 for non-critical data or to simply hold a backup image of the RAID 1 data. (RAID is not a backup, so make sure you have a backup plan as well.)
3. Easiest way is to boot from the 2012 DVD and install. Again ... boot to CTLR-R to configure and initialize the RAID before installing. 2012 should have native drivers for the PERC. Just go to support.dell.com to check for any drivers after the install. Best practice - update system firmware (BIOS, iDRAC, PERC ,etc.) before the install (may not be crucial before, but should be done after if you get that far). You can also use Dell's SMTD DVD to help install the OS - this will walk you through configuring RAID and installing all the drivers during the install.
As far as your proposed setup, I would recommend using a real hypervisor. Server 2012 has Hyper-V built-in and is far more robust than VirtualBox. So, unless you are porting existing VM's to this server from already-existing VirtualBox VM's, I'd recommend using Hyper-V.
Is there a reason for wanting to use SBS?
Is your 2012 R2 the Standard Edition?
shephs04
1 Rookie
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2 Posts
1
December 8th, 2015 10:00
Not an answer, but continue of previous question.....
I have 4 HD, 750, 750 and 1T that are being recognized by the PERC, and at 4th that is a 2T.
So, I am assuming by your reference the UEFI above means that I will not be able to use the 2T if I do not use the UEFI?
I want to use the SBS 2011 just to run our nonprofit basic IT structure (it is small) and to gain experience in a different area of IT that I do not have.
it is the 2012R2 standard edition.
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
0
December 8th, 2015 22:00
No, UEFI will have no effect on you configuration.