Scanning For New Drives; Rebuilding A Drive - Lenovo ThinkServer RD650 User Manual

12Gb/s MegaRAID SAS Software User Guide
March 2014
11.3

Scanning for New Drives

You can use the Scan for Foreign Configuration option to find drives with foreign configurations. A foreign
configuration is a RAID configuration that already exists on a replacement set of physical disks that you install in a
computer system. In addition, if one or more drives are removed from a configuration, by a cable pull or drive removal,
for example, the configuration on those drives is considered a foreign configuration by the RAID controller. Drives that
are foreign are listed on the physical drives list with a special symbol in the MegaRAID Storage Manager software.
The utility allows you to import the existing configuration to the RAID controller or clear the configuration so you can
create a new configuration using these drives. You can preview the foreign configuration before you decide whether
to import it.
The MegaRAID Storage Manager software usually detects newly installed drives and displays icons for them in the
MegaRAID Storage Manager window. If for some reason the MegaRAID Storage Manager software does not detect a
new drive (or drives), you can use the Scan for Foreign Configuration command to find it.
Follow these steps to scan for a foreign configuration:
1. Select a controller icon in the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window.
2. Select Go To > Controller > Scan Foreign Configuration.
If the MegaRAID Storage Manager software detects any new drives, it displays a list of them on the window. If not,
it notifies you that no foreign configuration is found.
3. Follow the instructions on the window to complete the drive detection.
11.4

Rebuilding a Drive

If a drive in a redundant virtual drive (RAID 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60) fails, the MegaRAID Storage Manager software
automatically rebuilds the data on a hot spare drive to prevent data loss. The rebuild is a fully automatic process, so it
is not necessary to issue a Rebuild command. You can monitor the progress of drive rebuilds in the Group Show
Progress window. To open this window, select Manage > Show Progress.
If a single drive in a RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, or RAID 50 virtual drive fails, the system is protected from data loss. A
RAID 6 virtual drive can survive two failed drives. A RAID 60 virtual drive can survive two failed drives in each span in
the drive group. Data loss is prevented by using parity data in RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 50, and RAID 60, and data
redundancy in RAID 1 and RAID 10.
The failed drive must be replaced, and the data on the drive must be rebuilt on a new drive to restore the system to
fault tolerance. You can choose to rebuild the data on the failed drive if the drive is still operational. If dedicated hot
spares or global hot spare disks are available, the failed drive is rebuilt automatically without any user intervention.
A red circle to the right of the drive icon
the icon of the virtual drive that uses this drive which indicates that the virtual drive is in a degraded state; the data is
still safe, but data could be lost if another drive fails.
Follow these steps to rebuild a drive:
1. Right-click the icon of the failed drive, and select Rebuild.
2. Click Yes when the warning message appears. If the drive is still good, a rebuild starts.
You can monitor the progress of the rebuild in the Group Show Progress window by selecting Manage > Show
Progress. If the drive cannot be rebuilt, an error message appears. Continue with the next step.
3. Shut down the system, disconnect the power cord, and open the computer case.
4. Replace the failed drive with a new drive of equal capacity.
5. Close the computer case, reconnect the power cord, and restart the computer.
indicates that a drive has failed. A yellow circle appears to the right of
LSI Corporation
- 318 -
Chapter 11: Maintaining and Managing Storage Configurations
Scanning for New Drives