Intel VROC Quick Configuration Manual

Intel VROC Quick Configuration Manual

Vmd nvme raid

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Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID)
Quick Configuration Guide
A quickstart guide detailing configuration rules and procedures.
Rev 1.2
March 2020
Intel® Server Products and Solutions

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Summary of Contents for Intel VROC

  • Page 1 Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) Quick Configuration Guide A quickstart guide detailing configuration rules and procedures. Rev 1.2 March 2020 Intel® Server Products and Solutions...
  • Page 2 <Blank page>...
  • Page 3 Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide Document Revision History Changes Date Published Revision Initial release December 2019 Corrections made to the list of supported OSs and VMD definition. Section 2 – “Preparing the server hardware and drivers” added. December 2019 Appendix B - Added.
  • Page 4 You may not use or facilitate the use of this document in connection with any infringement or other legal analysis concerning Intel products described herein. You agree to grant Intel a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to any patent claim thereafter drafted which includes subject matter disclosed herein.
  • Page 5 Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide Warnings Heed safety instructions: Before working with your server product, whether you are using this guide or any other resource as a reference, pay close attention to the safety instructions. You must adhere to the assembly instructions in this guide to ensure and maintain compliance with existing product certifications and approvals.
  • Page 6: Guide Organization

    Preface Introduction This guide provides concise instructions for creating RAID configurations using the VROC HII Configuration Utility. The utility runs prior to loading the operating system (OS) and can be used to prepare a RAID volume before an OS is loaded onto it.
  • Page 7: Table Of Contents

    4. Creating Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) volumes .................... 11 Accessing the Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) HII Configuration Utility ..........11 Creating RAID Volumes Using the Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) HII Configuration Utility ..11 Appendix A. Glossary ..............................15 Appendix B.
  • Page 8 Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide <Blank page>...
  • Page 9: Overview

    Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide Overview Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) is a powerful, reliable, and affordable hybrid RAID solution that uses the built- in processor’s Volume Management Devices (VMD) and Intel® RSTe drivers to create and manage RAID configurations. Intel® VROC is only available when the system is configured for UEFI boot mode. To enable the Intel®...
  • Page 10: Preparing Server Hardware And Drivers

    LED management is set to VMD disabled by default but since VMD must be enabled in order to have Intel® VROC, it must be set to VMD enabled the first time the PCIe switch is installed. This setting is persistent, so...
  • Page 11: Drivers

    Drivers. The Intel® VROC solution has two driver components: the pre-boot, or UEFI driver, and the OS driver. The UEFI driver is embedded in the system BIOS and is referred to as the RSTe NVMe UEFI driver, while the OS driver must be loaded at the OS installation time and is referred to as the RSTe OS driver;...
  • Page 12: Table 1. Vroc Driver Requirements

    Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide In the first iteration of this guide, the latest BIOS version available was 02.01.0009. Refer to the following table to choose the best OS driver to use, depending on the system BIOS version used. Table 1. VROC driver requirements...
  • Page 13: Intel® Volume Management Device (Intel® Vmd)

    Each Intel® VMD domain manages 16 PCIe* lanes divided into four Intel® VMD ports (named A, B, C, and D) consisting of four PCIe* lanes each. Some of these Intel® VMD ports are routed to specific risers and slots in the system, while other Intel® VMD ports are routed to specific chipset uplinks, SAS modules, or onboard Oculink connectors.
  • Page 14: Figure 2. Steps To Enter The Volume Management Device Port Window

    Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide Figure 2. Steps to enter the Volume Management Device Port Window Example A: If an R2000WF system is being used and four NVMe* drives are being connected to the four onboard Oculink connectors, VMD ports 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D must be enabled.
  • Page 15: Figure 4. Vmd Port Example B

    Note: If a retimer is used, a x16 slot is required and all four VMD ports must be enabled. Refer to the corresponding motherboard’s TPS for supported riser and slot combinations. Once the appropriate Intel® VMD ports are enabled, the system must be rebooted for the changes to take effect.
  • Page 16: Creating Intel® Vroc (Vmd Nvme Raid) Volumes

    Creating Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) volumes This section explains how to create RAID volumes using Intel® VROC by using the HII Configuration Utility in a pre-boot environment. Intel® VROC RAID volumes can be used to store data and/or to install an operating system.
  • Page 17: Figure 6. Intel® Vroc Managed Vmd Menu

    Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide 1. After selecting Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU, the Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) HII menu screen appears, showing the installed Upgrade Key and the configured Intel® VROC RAID volumes (if any). 2. Select All Intel® VMD Controllers. The Intel® VROC managed VMD menu will appear showing all Intel®...
  • Page 18: Figure 8. Completed Create Raid Volume Menu

    Note: Spanned RAID volumes cannot be made bootable. Figure 8. Completed Create RAID Volume menu 5. Once the required fields are populated, select Create Volume. 6. Once the RAID volume is created the Intel® RSTe HII main menu displays the newly created volume.
  • Page 19: Figure 9. Intel® Vroc Managed Vmd Menu

    Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide Figure 9. Intel® VROC Managed VMD menu 7. Exit the HII Configuration Utility by pressing <F10> and reboot. Then proceed to the Operating System installation.
  • Page 20: Appendix A. Glossary

    Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide Appendix A. Glossary Term Definition Intel® RSTe Intel® Rapid Storage Technology enterprise NVMe* NVM Express* Intel® VMD Intel® Volume Management Devices Intel® VROC Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU...
  • Page 21: Appendix B. Updating Firmware On Intel Nvme Drives Using The Intel* Ssd Data Center Tool

    If the firmware needs to be updated, this will be indicated in the “FirmwareUpdateAvailable” field showing the available version. Figure 10. List of Intel® NVMe drives shown by the isdct tool 3. Take note of the Index number for all the drives requiring the firmware update. In the example shown above, the drive containing index number 4 requires the firmware update.
  • Page 22 Intel® VROC Quick Configuration Guide 5. Repeat step 4 for all the drives requiring the update. 6. Reboot the system. For more information pertaining to the SSD data center tool, refer to the Intel Solid State Drive Data Center Tool User...

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