Appendix C RAID Controller Considerations

Embedded RAID Controller

Embedded RAID 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.

This server includes an embedded MegaRAID controller with two mini-SAS connectors on the motherboard.

The default setting for this embedded controller is RAID 0, 1, and 10 support for up to four SATA drives.

You can upgrade this to support up to eight SAS drives (SAS RAID 0/1/10) 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 further upgrade to add SAS RAID 5 support with an optional software key. See Installing a Software RAID Key Module for Embedded RAID 5 Support, page C-8.

When you order the server with this controller, the controller is enabled in the BIOS. Instructions for enabling the controller are included for the case in which a server is reset to defaults (Disabled). See Enabling the Embedded RAID Controller in the BIOS, 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 Embedded RAID Controller in the BIOS, page C-9.

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 Embedded RAID Controller in the BIOS, page C-8

Disabling the Embedded RAID Controller in the BIOS, page C-9

Launching the LSI Embedded RAID Configuration Utility, page C-9

Installing LSI MegaSR Drivers For Windows and Linux, page C-9

Cisco UCS C22 Server Installation and Service Guide

 

OL-26646-01

C-5

 

Page 103
Image 103
Cisco Systems OL-26646-01 manual Embedded RAID Controller