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Dell 1600SC and RAID

B

benutne

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 15, 2001
Messages
1,492
Right now there's two 15K SCSI drives in there. I'd like to add a RAID card to mirror the drives. What kind of card will I need. Is it even possible to add in just a RAID card and still use the onboard SCSI controller? Or will I need to just buy a SCSI RAID card/adapter and plug the drives into that? I'm sure everyone here knows the server I'm talking about. I cant seem to find anything on Dell's website or by reading the manual.

TIA
 
You'll want a Dell PERC if you can get one. I picked this one up when doing the exact same thing on a 1400SC.
You'll most likely loose everything on the drives when you create the mirror, so back it all up.
Put the card in, unplug the scsi cable from the board and plug it into the new card, then into the drives.
Ctrl+H should get you into the WebBIOS, config/init the array from there. If you are reloading the OS you most likely need drivers for the card. 2k3 Server did not need them for me.

You can still use the onboard scsi for tapes/external array's, etc.
 
If you just want RAID 1, then I suggest picking up an LSI 20320-R controller.

$162 at NewEgg

Keep in mind this only supports RAID 0 and RAID 1, but it's perfect if that's all you need, and much cheaper than a card that supports RAID 5. Also, unlike Adaptec HostRAID, this would be a true hardware RAID for better performance.

[/end commercial]

Before you run out and buy a RAID card, though, be sure to check that your server doesn't already have Integrated Mirroring on the SCSI controller. It was sold as an option for a while on the PE1600SC servers. You can tell this by looking at the SCSI BIOS when the system loads, if it says something like "LSI Logic MPT IM BIOS" (I can't remember exactly what it says, but look for IM in the string), then you already have RAID 1 capabilities on your system.

Both these options will let you mirror the main drive without losing the data on it (though a back up is highly recommended before performing this procedure), and they both will use the drivers already installed on your system.

Okay, I'll stop talking now... the PE1600SC line was my baby for a while at work :)
 
Ahh yes,
Some of the PE's only need a "RAID Card" and ecc memory installed in the board in order to engage the onboard SCSI and turn it into RAID. Does the board have a single memory slot away from the others, and a blue 10(?)pin connector near it? That could get your raid cheaper as well.

I have the LSI 20320 w/ 2 x Atlas 10K IV's at home in RAID 1, it's uhh.. "very nice" to put it politely. LSI has a "CIM" software that lets you monitor the array, but it's not as robust as InsiteManager or OpenManage
 
Originally posted by ambit
Ahh yes,
Some of the PE's only need a "RAID Card" and ecc memory installed in the board in order to engage the onboard SCSI and turn it into RAID. Does the board have a single memory slot away from the others, and a blue 10(?)pin connector near it? That could get your raid cheaper as well.
Click to expand...

The PE1600SC doesn't have an option like this. The PE2600 does, however.

There is a way to add RAID 1 and 0 capability to the PE1600SC, but it involves reconfiguring some resistors and soldering an NVSRAM chip onto the board. This will definitely not be supported by Dell and will void your warranty if you're still covered...
 
Some PowerEdge servers support a "RAID Key", which simply enables the RAID functionality which is already present on the board. It's kind of like a dongle for accessing software. It plugs into a special connector on the motherboard. It's used by the Adaptec based PERC RAID controllers.

It sounds like your server doesn't support this. No big deal. Get one of the Dell PERC cards. I prefer the LSI cards to the Adaptecs, as we've not had problems with the LSIs. Connect the drives to the LSI card, install the device drivers (hmm, maybe you need to add drivers first?), and the additional management software. You can reconfigure your RAID "containers" on the fly. Assuming all your data is on one of the drives, and the other is empty, you should be able to mirror the data easily without loosing any data. Make sure you've done a backup beforehand, just in case.
 
Originally posted by bdavids1
Some PowerEdge servers support a "RAID Key", which simply enables the RAID functionality which is already present on the board. It's kind of like a dongle for accessing software. It plugs into a special connector on the motherboard. It's used by the Adaptec based PERC RAID controllers.
Click to expand...

There are also some LSI based PERC RAID controllers that have this feature. But actually the only one I can think of is the one in the PowerEdge 2600. It has an Intel IO processor that controls the LSI controller when a RAID key is installed and some ECC DRAM is installed. All PERC/4 RAID controllers are LSI 53C1030 U320 based, not sure who made the PERC/3 controllers, I think there's a mix of companies depending on which specific model it is.
 
UICompE02: We just picked up 6 PERC4 Dual Channel cards for our 2650's and they were all LSI based.
The PERC3 i linked to is an LSI, and the PERC3's in our 6650's where all LSI as well.
Come to think of it, i've not seen an Adaptec RAID card in any of our Dell's.
 
Originally posted by ambit
Come to think of it, i've not seen an Adaptec RAID card in any of our Dell's.
Click to expand...

Dell has been strictly LSI-based for the U320 generation. (well, actually I think the workstations division is starting to use the PERC320 controller, which is based on an Adaptec controller)
:D

Interestingly enough, the controller you linked to is based on a QLogic Ultra 160 controller. It was designed before LSI bought AMI (makers of MegaRaid stuff), which is now the Raid Storage Adapters division of LSI.
 
PERC3 = U160
PERC4 = U320

UICompE02, I've got two Precision 650's behind me that both have LSI u320 onboard (LSI53C1 Chip). They're not mine though, i only get to set them up :)
 
Originally posted by ambit
UICompE02, I've got two Precision 650's behind me that both have LSI u320 onboard (LSI53C1 Chip). They're not mine though, i only get to set them up :)
Click to expand...

Cool man, those are great computers :) Plus I did the SCSI chip integration work on those things, so you know they're solid. :D
 
Originally posted by ambit
PERC3 = U160
PERC4 = U320

UICompE02, I've got two Precision 650's behind me that both have LSI u320 onboard (LSI53C1 Chip). They're not mine though, i only get to set them up :)
Click to expand...


Well then, since the drives are U320 and so is the onboard controller, I guess I need the PERC4
 
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