C-5
Cisco UCS C24 Server Installation and Service Guide
OL-26647-01
Appendix C RAID Controller Considerations
Embedded MegaRAID Controller
Embedded MegaRAID Controller Note VMware ESX/ESXi or any other virtualized environments are not supported for use with the embedded
MegaRAID controller. Hypervisors such as Hyper-V, Xen, or KVM are also not supported for use with
the embedded MegaRAID controller.
Note The embedded RAID option is available only with the SFF 16-drive backplane. It does not operate
through an expander.
This server includes an embedded RAID controller with two mini-SAS connectors on the motherboard
(see Figure C-1).
• The default setting for this embedded controller is RAID 0, 1, and 10 support for up to four SATA
drives.
• You can upgrade this support to SAS RAID 0, 1, and 10 support for up to eight SAS drives by
installing a Storage Controller Unit (SCU) upgrade ROM chip on the motherboard. See Installing a
SCU Upgrade ROM Module For Embedded RAID SAS Support, page C-7.
• You can upgrade this support by adding SAS RAID 5 support with an optional software key. See
Installing a Software RAID Key Module for Embedded RAID 5 Support, page C-8.
Note You cannot downgrade from using a RAID controller card to using the embedded controller (see RAID
Controller Migration, page C-4). Instructions for installing upgrade modules and enabling the embedded
controller in the BIOS are included here for those upgrading a server with no RAID controller or drives.
Caution Data migration from SW RAID (embedded RAID) to HW RAID (a controller card) is not supported and
could result in data loss. Migrations from SW RAID to HW RAID are supported only before there is data
on the drives, or the case in which there are no drives in the server (see RAID Controller Migration,
page C-4).
• You can migrate from using the embedded controller to using a RAID card only before there is data
on the drives. In this case, you must disable the embedded controller. See Disabling the Integrated
RAID Controller in the BIOS, page C-8.
• The required drivers for this controller are already installed and ready to use with the LSI SWRAID
Configuration Utility. However, if you will use this controller with Windows or Linux, you must
download and install additional drivers for those operating systems. See Installing LSI MegaSR
Drivers For Windows and Linux, page C-9.
This section contains the following topics:
• Notes on Supported Embedded MegaRAID Levels, page C-6
• Installing a SCU Upgrade ROM Module For Embedded RAID SAS Support, page C-7
• Installing a Software RAID Key Module for Embedded RAID 5 Support, page C-8
• Enabling the Integrated RAID Controller in the BIOS, page C-8
• Disabling the Integrated RAID Controller in the BIOS, page C-8
• Launching the LSI Embedded RAID Configuration Utility, page C-9