Powered R415 Backplane Issue?

Question

I inherited an r415 that I use in my home lab. I has a PERC 700H and 4 bays.

All firmware and drivers are updated to the latest versions available as of this post.

Drive Bay 2 shows intermittent issues in the system log as it goes between "Drive Fault", "Drive Removed", then "Drive Installed" and behaving normally. The drives are configured as RAID 5. I have successfully rebuilt the allegedly faulty drive and it seemed to complete, but the caddy still flashes orange or, right now, with no light on at all.

To test the machine, I swapped out all 4 drives with new SATA drives and again set them up as RAID 5. Same issue occurs.

My question is whether this might be a drive backplane or SATA/SAS connector issue? Is there anyway I could check this?

non-sequitur · Accepted Answer

I removed the backplane and replaced it with another from a spare machine and I've got green lights across the array! I'll pop the original backplane into another machine to see if I can reproduce the issue.

All good as of now! Thanks you guys for the support, always a learning moment

DELL-Chris H · Answer

Non-sequitur,

I would start with verifying that the server is up to date on BIOS, iDrac, H700, and if available the drives. Also, can you confirm the part numbers of the drives, so I can verify they are compatible?

Lastly, have you reseated the backplane cables (at both ends), and veriied there wasn't any damage?

Let me know.

non-sequitir · Answer

Cheers Chris, appreciate the response. All firmware, BIOS, and drivers are up to date. On drive firmware, I couldn't find any matching updates, so assumed none are needed. I did indeed reset the cables on both ends (SAS-A, SAS-B on one end and the controller on the other - they're pristine, no visible damage).

On the drives, they're all identical Dell Enterprise Class 500GB SATAs P/N 01KWKJ. The date code (don't laugh too hard) is 04 DEC 2014. I also have a spare drive (same). These all work just fine in a Dell r710 and I've tried moving the disks about and I only see the issue with bay 2. I've also tried the machine with 4 x 3GB WD RED Sata drives - all bays work except bay 2. The machine is working perfectly with the other 3 bays running with green lights.

Strange question/hypothesis: This machine was running originally with only 2 of the bays (0 & 1) in use, and running this way for a couple of years Could a situation arise where dust/dirt lodges in the SATA/SAS connector? Is that even a thing? I guess a high pressure air blower is recommended?

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hi I think you may have some issue with the backplane for Drive Bay 2. It may need a replacement.

non-sequitur · Answer

Other than everything I've tried, is there a way to specifically diagnose a backplane issue?  I know this isn't a state-of-the-art device, but just curious.   In the meantime, I'll source a new backplane :). Thanks you guys!

Dell-Martin S · Answer

Hi, you could do a cross-check to validate if the backplane causes the failure.     Regards Martin

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Powered R415 Backplane Issue?

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