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Poweredge 2900 -- no VD exists; unable to create a new VD
I have three re-purposed Poweredge 2900 servers. The servers previously ran RAID 5, but were whiped clean. Now when I boot the server I get these messages:
So bno virtual drives found. No problem. I -R to enable the BIOS. Inside the BIOS I find that it is enabled and stop boot on error is enabled. But this is how it looks when I press on the Controller:
So I press F2 to enter the operations and this is what I get:
None of the menu options are available (greyed out) so I'm unable to create a new VD or import a foreign config. I'm more familiar with HP and don't know why I'm unable to see the disks to add them to a VD. These servers were previously in production. I've confirmed everything is properly connected (disks to back plain, back plain to raid controller, etc.). Is there a different setup facility I can use to configure RAID? Other thoughts?
theflash1932
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February 9th, 2012 14:00
If it were a "problem", it would not likely manifest itself on all three servers. Since it is all three, I have to suspect the method used to wipe the disks (or any other "maintenance" performed - parts removed, etc.). I would not think DBAN would render the drives useless, but I don't use DBAN, so I can't say what kind of possible conflicts might exist.
SMTD and/or SBUU is the installation utility for simplified OS installations that allow for RAID to be configured along the way. You could boot to SBUU to see if it sees any drives during the RAID configuration portion, but I suspect it won't see them either if the controller doesn't.
Flashing the BIOS (and ESM) and the RAID controller is an option ... I doubt it will have much of an affect on it.
Has anyone tried flashing the controller with any type of utility - LSI firmware perhaps? Otherwise, only Dell update packages will work to flash the controller. If nothing has been tried, then there shouldn't be any danger of it no longer being a "PERC 6/i".
Are your drives SATA? Will a regular desktop (or another server) at least recognize the drive(s)? (or connect it to the onboard SATA)
I would recommend removing the RAID card and clearing the NVRAM using the motherboard jumpers, then replace the RAID card. I would also try a single disk at a time. Leaving the PERC out for a while will also clear its NVRAM.
Did you also check the power cables to the backplane? Do the drives light up at some point during POST?
theflash1932
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February 9th, 2012 13:00
What you are seeing is not normal - and there is no other place to configure other than CTRL-R (unless you use an OpenManage installation disk - SMTD/SBUU).
Are all three of the servers doing the same thing?
It would appear from pic 2 that "clear config" is selectable? Have you tried to clear the config?
How did you "wipe" them?
What shows on the PD MGMT screen?
dawhisman
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February 9th, 2012 13:00
Yes, all three servers do the same thing. One of our other IT staff did the wipe on these servers so I don't know how they did it. AFAIK, the servers were not physically tampered with so I would expect the wipe was a format of some kind. The PD MGMT screen simply shows "No PD Present." Nothing else.
Yes, clear config is selectable -- the only option that is selectable. I've tried it and it let's me clear the config, but there is no change after doing so.
I had hoped there might be another Dell utility CD or something that does a refresh of the server, perhaps a BIOS flash, that might straighten this out. It looks to me as though the RAID controller is not recognizing the disks. If this is what these messages mean the disks might just be bad (perhaps due to the method of wiping them) or maybe the controller has been flashed with something to corrupt it? Is there a way I can flash the RAID controller with the delivered PERC 6/i?
dawhisman
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February 9th, 2012 14:00
Dban was used to wipe the disks. The disks should be fine. The problem is the RAID controller...
theflash1932
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February 10th, 2012 11:00
If you intend to flash/update system firmware using SBUU, you will also need the repository of updates (SUU - Server Updates) on the support site. If they have been flashed with some other firmware, then the Dell firmware updates will also fail. It is really unlikely that they have been.
Interested to see if the drives are recognized attached to another device. Good luck.
dawhisman
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February 10th, 2012 11:00
These are SAS drives. I had same thought of plugging them directly into the board -- I see two SATA ports on it, but I will need a SAS adapter -- going to go pick up a couple now. This will probably be my solution in the end, because I've tried SBUU and while attempting to configure the drives it too indicates there is no virtual disk available. The only thing not tried is flashing the server via SBUU. I'm 99% certain nothing has been flashed on these servers. Thanks for all your help.
dawhisman
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February 10th, 2012 13:00
Good news! Your advice on removing the RAID controller and letting it sit a while to reset the NVRAM worked. As I mentioned I have three servers. I tried that on one of the servers with no success, but decided to try the same thing on server #2 and #3. This time it worked. Now the disks are recognized. Everything appears normal. Thanks for your help.
theflash1932
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February 10th, 2012 15:00
Glad it did ... take care :)