Dell PowerEdge 1600SC & Perc 4/im RAID Controller

[Brian G. Lebreck]

Hello All,

I have a Dell PowerEdge 1600SC server with the following
configuration:

LSI Logic Perc 4/im RAID Controller
Adaptec SCSI Card 39160 Ultra160 SCSI Controller
3 Maxtor 34.7 GB SCSI Disks

Does anyone have any experience with the Perc 4/im RAID controller? I
have been unable to implement RAID1 ('Integrated Mirroring') with this
controller. I spent 2 hours on the phone with Dell Tech Support and
they basically were clueless and told me I was on my own. I've read
all the documentation that exists (I think!?) for this piece of
hardware.

When booting up the server and hitting Ctrl+A I do not see the
mirroring options for the controller (I don't get the Ctrl+M option) .
Nor do I see any options for the Perc 4/im controller in Disk
Management.

As this server is in China and I'm running out of time on this visit
I'm leaning towards setting up a software RAID1 or RAID5 solution (not
my first choice at all). But I have to provide some degree of fault
tolerance as one of the disks had already failed knocking our small
office out of commission for 2 days.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Brian in Guanzhou

 

[Rick]

Are both controllers onboard? If the 39160 is not, try pulling it
and see if you're able to get into Ctrl-M setup. If so, try other
PCI slots for the 39160 and see if it makes any difference. Also
verify the controller firmware is up to date.

Rick

 

[Dave Patrick]

Might be they changed it, but to access the controller bios on my perc/3d
it's <CTL>H

 

[Brian G. Lebreck]

Hello all,

Thanks to Dave and Rick for the quick replies!

I had posted the same question on the Dell website and I heard back
from the Dell Forum moderator today. "Due to technical difficulties
the Perc 4/im was not enabled on the PowerEdge 1600SC."

I had spec'd the server with a Perc 3/sc but I guess our employee in
China got talked into the Perc 4/im as being a 'good deal'. That's the
way it goes over here.

We've ordered the Perc 4/sc but it won't arrive until after I've left.
So until I return I'll have to setup a software RAID solution.

Any suggestions/recommendations as to whether RAID1 or RAID5 is a
better way to go? I'm more concerned with recovery from a disk failure
being 'hands-off' than with disk read/write performance.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Brian

Might be they changed it, but to access the controller bios on my perc/3d
it's <CTL>H

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft MVP [Windows NT/2000 Operating Systems]

Hello All,

I have a Dell PowerEdge 1600SC server with the following
configuration:

LSI Logic Perc 4/im RAID Controller
Adaptec SCSI Card 39160 Ultra160 SCSI Controller
3 Maxtor 34.7 GB SCSI Disks

Does anyone have any experience with the Perc 4/im RAID controller? I
have been unable to implement RAID1 ('Integrated Mirroring') with this
controller. I spent 2 hours on the phone with Dell Tech Support and
they basically were clueless and told me I was on my own. I've read
all the documentation that exists (I think!?) for this piece of
hardware.

When booting up the server and hitting Ctrl+A I do not see the
mirroring options for the controller (I don't get the Ctrl+M option) .
Nor do I see any options for the Perc 4/im controller in Disk
Management.

As this server is in China and I'm running out of time on this visit
I'm leaning towards setting up a software RAID1 or RAID5 solution (not
my first choice at all). But I have to provide some degree of fault
tolerance as one of the disks had already failed knocking our small
office out of commission for 2 days.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Brian in Guanzhou

 

[Dave Patrick]

May depend on how long you're going to leave things this way and
availability of a spare in case one is needed. In the case of no spare you
might want to mirror the drives. In either case you'll need to convert to
dynamic disk. These two articles may also help you.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302969
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=303237

 

[Brian G. Lebreck]

Dave,

Thanks again for the quick reply and the links to the articles. Looks
like I'll be setting up RAID1. If I understood KB30237 correctly the
OS cannot reside on the RAID5 disks. Therefore, mirroring is a better
option for our needs.

This is a short term solution, I'll be back in China in ~3 months and
will switch to hardware RAID5 then.

Take care,

Brian

May depend on how long you're going to leave things this way and
availability of a spare in case one is needed. In the case of no spare you
might want to mirror the drives. In either case you'll need to convert to
dynamic disk. These two articles may also help you.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302969
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=303237

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft MVP [Windows NT/2000 Operating Systems]

Hello all,

Thanks to Dave and Rick for the quick replies!

I had posted the same question on the Dell website and I heard back
from the Dell Forum moderator today. "Due to technical difficulties
the Perc 4/im was not enabled on the PowerEdge 1600SC."

I had spec'd the server with a Perc 3/sc but I guess our employee in
China got talked into the Perc 4/im as being a 'good deal'. That's the
way it goes over here.

We've ordered the Perc 4/sc but it won't arrive until after I've left.
So until I return I'll have to setup a software RAID solution.

Any suggestions/recommendations as to whether RAID1 or RAID5 is a
better way to go? I'm more concerned with recovery from a disk failure
being 'hands-off' than with disk read/write performance.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Brian

 

[Sasa]

Hello All,

I have a Dell PowerEdge 1600SC server with the following
configuration:

LSI Logic Perc 4/im RAID Controller
Adaptec SCSI Card 39160 Ultra160 SCSI Controller
3 Maxtor 34.7 GB SCSI Disks

Does anyone have any experience with the Perc 4/im RAID controller? I
have been unable to implement RAID1 ('Integrated Mirroring') with this
controller. I spent 2 hours on the phone with Dell Tech Support and
they basically were clueless and told me I was on my own. I've read
all the documentation that exists (I think!?) for this piece of
hardware.

When booting up the server and hitting Ctrl+A I do not see the
mirroring options for the controller (I don't get the Ctrl+M option) .
Nor do I see any options for the Perc 4/im controller in Disk
Management.

As this server is in China and I'm running out of time on this visit
I'm leaning towards setting up a software RAID1 or RAID5 solution (not
my first choice at all). But I have to provide some degree of fault
tolerance as one of the disks had already failed knocking our small
office out of commission for 2 days.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Brian in Guanzhou

The PowerEdge 1600/SC does not have a raid controller, windows finds
the Perc 4/im instead of the LSI 1020/1030 SCSI controller. It's
misleading.
This was told me from the italian Dell support.

If you want hardware raid you have to buy a raid controller.