Dell BOSS-N1 User Manual

Boot optimized storage solution-n1
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Dell Boot Optimized Storage Solution-N1
User's Guide
Part Number: BNSA-1600
November 2022
Rev. A00

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Summary of Contents for Dell BOSS-N1

  • Page 1 Dell Boot Optimized Storage Solution-N1 User's Guide Part Number: BNSA-1600 November 2022 Rev. A00...
  • Page 2 A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. © 2022 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell Technologies, Dell, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Exit the BOSS-N1 Configuration Utility........................25 Navigate the BOSS-N1 Configuration Utility......................26 Physical and virtual device information........................26 View physical disk information..........................26 View virtual device information..........................26 Import and set a foreign virtual disk as BOSS-N1....................27 Create a virtual disk................................27 Contents...
  • Page 4 Unwanted 0.0 MB unallocated space entry on BOSS-N1 ..................32 BOSS-N1 HII displays Maximum VD supported as 2....................32 RAID level (between RAID 0 and RAID 1) migration is not supported on BOSS-N1......... 32 Chapter 10: Getting help......................33 Recycling or End-of-Life service information......................33 Contacting Dell...................................33...
  • Page 5: Chapter 1: Dell Boot Optimized Storage Solution-N1

    Dell Boot Optimized Storage Solution-N1 Dell Boot Optimized Storage Solution-N1 (BOSS-N1) is a RAID solution that is designed for booting a server's operating system that supports: ● 80 mm NVMe M.2 Solid-State Drives (SSDs) ● PCIe card with PCIe Gen3 x4 host interface ●...
  • Page 6: Technical Specifications Of Boss-N1 Monolithic Controller

    6. Power cable connector 7. Signal cable connector Technical specifications of BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller The following table lists the technical specifications of BOSS-N1 controller: Table 1. Technical specifications of BOSS-N1 Monolithic Function or feature BOSS-N1 Monolithic Hot–plug of NVMe M.2 drives LED activity of M.2 drives...
  • Page 7: Supported M.2 Drives Of Boss-N1 Monolithic Controllers

    Supported M.2 drives of BOSS-N1 Monolithic controllers The BOSS-N1 Monolithic controllers support M.2 drives in the following table: CAUTION: The BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller is tested and supported only with the M.2 drives that are shipped with the controller. Dell Boot Optimized Storage Solution-N1...
  • Page 8: Operating Systems Supported By Boss-N1 Controllers

    Micron 7400 480 GB, 960 GB NOTE: Dell Technologies recommends that you use the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller only as an operating system boot device. NOTE: Ensure that M.2 drives have the latest firmware. You can download the latest firmware from www.dell.com/...
  • Page 9: Chapter 2: Applications Supported By Boss-N1

    BOSS-N1 Command Line Interface Utility The BOSS-N1 Command Line Interface (CLI) Utility enables you to check the status of controller, physical disk, and virtual disk while booted to an operating system. The application is also used to check M.2 NVMe SSDs and display controller SMART information.
  • Page 10: Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller And Lifecycle Controller

    The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) and Lifecycle Controller (LC) application enables you to effectively monitor the RAID and network controllers installed on the system using iDRAC and LC without an operating system installed on the system. For more information, see the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 9 User's Guide at www.dell.com/ idracmanuals.
  • Page 11: Chapter 3: Update The Boss-N1 Firmware

    Update the BOSS-N1 firmware BOSS-N1 firmware updates on the controllers can be done using the following methods: ● Operating system Dell Update Packages ○ Windows ○ Linux ● The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) ● Lifecycle Controller (LC) ● Mnvcli ○...
  • Page 12: Update Boss-N1 Firmware Using Idrac

    You can update the controller firmware using iDRAC. The controller firmware can be updated using the Dell Update Package (DUP) when booted to an operating system. Ensure that you have installed the latest firmware version available at the Dell support site www.dell.com/support/home.
  • Page 13 5. Select the EXE file and click Next. 6. Select the EXE Dell Update Package (DUP) and click Apply. 7. After successful installation, reboot and verify the installed firmware version in the HII, iDRAC, or BOSS-N1 CLI. NOTE: For Information on how to update using the CLI, see Manage BOSS-N1 using CLI commands.
  • Page 14: Chapter 4: Features Of Boss-N1

    Auto–rebuild a degraded drive Hot–plugging M.2 drives in BOSS-N1 Monolithic form factor The unique controller design of the BOSS-N1 Monolithic carrier card allows you to hot plug M.2 drives. This feature reduces the possibility of downtime during M.2 replacement. NOTE: The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) and Lifecycle Controller (LC) logs for the hot–plug events of...
  • Page 15: Foreign Import Of Vds

    Auto–rebuild is enabled by default, and the rebuild can start automatically if the native virtual disk is degraded and a valid rebuild target is present. A valid rebuild target is any functional drive attached to the BOSS-N1 device which is not part of the native virtual disk and is of equal or greater storage capacity.
  • Page 16: Chapter 5: Install And Remove A Boss-N1 Controllers

    Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that are shipped with your product.
  • Page 17: Before Working Inside Your System

    Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that are shipped with your product.
  • Page 18 Figure 1. Remove BOSS-N1 Monolithic filler 2. Pull and lift the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller carrier retention latch to open. 3. Slide the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller carrier out. Figure 2. Remove the BOSS-N1 Monolithiccontroller carrier 4. Using the Phillips #1 screwdriver remove the M3 x 0.5 x 4.5 mm screw that secures the M.2 NVMe SSD carrier to the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller.
  • Page 19 Figure 4. Remove the BOSS power cable and BOSS signal cable from the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module 7. Using the Phillips #1 screwdriver remove the M3 x 0.5 x 4.5 mm screw that secures the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module on Riser 1. Slide the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module towards the front of the chassis and lift the controller module.
  • Page 20: Install The Boss-N1 Monolithic Controller

    Read and follow the safety instructions that are shipped with your product. Steps 1. Align the BOSS-N1 filler with the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module bay and push it into the bay until it clicks into place. Install and remove a BOSS-N1 controllers...
  • Page 21 Figure 7. Connect the BOSS power cable and BOSS signal cable to the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module 3. Align the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module at an angle with the controller module slot. 4. Insert the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module and push the controller module towards the back of the chassis until it is secured.
  • Page 22 Figure 8. Install the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller module 7. Align the M.2 SSD at an angle with the BOSS-N1 Monolithic carrier and insert the M.2 SSD until it is firmly seated in the BOSS-N1 Monolithic controller. 8. Using the Phillips #1 screwdriver, secure the M.2 SSD on the BOSS-N1 Monolithic carrier with the M3 x 0.5 x 4.5 mm screw.
  • Page 23 Figure 10. Install the BOSS-N1 Monolithic carrier Install and remove a BOSS-N1 controllers...
  • Page 24: Chapter 6: Driver Support For Boss-N1

    Driver support for BOSS-N1 The BOSS-N1 controller leverages the inbox NVMe driver with all the supported operating systems. Windows driver installation—By default, the native NVMe Inbox driver is used for operating system installation. Linux driver installation—By default, the native NVMe Inbox driver is used for operating system installation.
  • Page 25: Chapter 7: Boss-N1 Configuration Utility

    NOTE: Some of the options within the BOSS-N1 Boot Controller are not present if the controller does not support the corresponding feature. Options may also be disabled if the feature is not supported in the existing configuration.
  • Page 26: Navigate The Boss-N1 Configuration Utility

    1. Enter the UEFI configuration utility. See Enter the UEFI Configuration Utility. The Device Settings screen displays a list of NIC ports and the BOSS-N1 Boot Controller. 2. To enter BOSS-N1 Boot Controller, click BOSS-N1 Boot Controller. The list of Configuration Options appears: ●...
  • Page 27: Import And Set A Foreign Virtual Disk As Boss-N1

    Import and set a foreign virtual disk as BOSS-N1 About this task The Import operation sets a foreign virtual disk as native to the configuration. Steps 1. Enter the UEFI Configuration Utility. See Enter the UEFI Configuration Utility. 2. Click Virtual disk information.
  • Page 28: Recover Or Rebuild A Degraded Virtual Drive

    The Controller information menu allows you to view the properties of the RAID Controller. Steps 1. Enter the UEFI Configuration Utility. See Enter the UEFI Configuration Utility. 2. Click Controller information. The RAID controller information is displayed. BOSS-N1 Configuration Utility...
  • Page 29: Chapter 8: Manage Boss-N1 Using Cli Commands

    Manage BOSS-N1 using CLI commands This section provides information about the methods to use the BOSS-N1 Command Line Interface (CLI) for performing a variety of controller and enclosure specific operations. The BOSS-N1 CLI utility is supported on the following operating systems: ●...
  • Page 30: Run Boss-N1 Cli Commands On Poweredge Servers Running The Windows Operating System

    3. Browse the directory where you have extracted the content of the BOSS-N1_Windows_CLI_xxxx_Axx.zip file and run the mnvcli.exe file. The CLI window, within which you can run BOSS-N1 CLI commands, is displayed. Run BOSS-N1 CLI commands from this window. Run BOSS-N1 CLI commands on PowerEdge servers...
  • Page 31 Successful commands are reported at the command line. 6. Enter the directory cd /opt/dell/boss/ and run the mvcli (BOSS CLI) utility. NOTE: ESXi 7.0 U3 or ESXi 8.0 is the minimum requirement to install the BOSS-N1 CLI utility. Manage BOSS-N1 using CLI commands...
  • Page 32: Chapter 9: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting To get help with your Dell BOSS-N1, you can contact your Dell Technical Service representative or see https://www.dell.com/ support. Topics: • BOSS-N1 supports only single drive RAID 0 • Unwanted 0.0 MB unallocated space entry on BOSS-N1 • BOSS-N1 HII displays Maximum VD supported as 2 •...
  • Page 33: Chapter 10: Getting Help

    Dell contact information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill or Dell product catalog. The availability of services varies depending on the country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical...
  • Page 34 Dell. This information is used by Dell Technical Support to troubleshoot the issue. ● Proactive contact — A Dell Technical Support agent contacts you about the support case and helps you resolve the issue. The available benefits vary depending on the Dell Service entitlement purchased for your device. For more information about SupportAssist, go to www.dell.com/supportassist.
  • Page 35: Chapter 11: Documentation Resources

    This section provides information about the documentation resources for your system. To view the document that is listed in the documentation resources table: ● From the Dell support site: 1. Click the documentation link that is provided in the Location column in the table.
  • Page 36 Methods to download firmware and drivers section in this document. Managing your system For information about systems management www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals software offered by Dell, see the Dell OpenManage Systems Management Overview Guide. For information about setting up, using, www.dell.com/openmanagemanuals >...

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