PERC 5i Won't Rebuild Array

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Caldrumr

Caldrumr

Distinguished
Jun 5, 2011
112
0
18,690
We have a Dell Poweredge 2950 with a PERC 5i RAID controller. One of the disks in our RAID 5 array died, so I ordered two replacements. The replacements are rebranded versions of the same product (Seagate Savvio 72 GB 10k SAS drives).
The drive is recognized in the controller configuration, and shows as ready, but it doesn't rebuild. When selecting the rebuild option, it would just say "operation failed" immediately. I updated to the most recent firmware for the card, and now it won't even let me select that option. I can create a global hot spare, but I can't rebuild the array with this drive.
I'm not sure what's going on, or why it doesn't seem to want to rebuild using this drive. It's the same thing, same size and type, except it says "HP" instead of "Seagate." I tried both drives just to make sure, and tried a different slot.
Any ideas how to get this to work without rebuilding the array from scratch?
 
Solution
drtweak
Also just so you download the right version of OM if you don't have it.

64 bit

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=28KFC&fileId=3365343263&osCode=LHS64&productCode=poweredge-2950&languageCode=EN&categoryId=SM

32 bit

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=V1JDD&fileId=3365593125&osCode=LHS64&productCode=poweredge-2950&languageCode=EN&categoryId=SM

The Open Manager is a must have on a Dell server. Tells you everything that is going on with working and or failed hardware.

When it comes to the RAID though i like to use the LSI tool. If you need any other help just ask. I actually have a 2970 with the same Raid card laying in my office i can tinker with if you...
Sort by date Sort by votes
Caldrumr

Caldrumr

Distinguished
Jun 5, 2011
112
0
18,690
POST option, using Ctrl-R. I will definitely look into that software you linked. Thanks for the info.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
drtweak

drtweak

Illustrious
Sep 17, 2012
6,343
75
38,640
Also just so you download the right version of OM if you don't have it.

64 bit

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=28KFC&fileId=3365343263&osCode=LHS64&productCode=poweredge-2950&languageCode=EN&categoryId=SM

32 bit

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=V1JDD&fileId=3365593125&osCode=LHS64&productCode=poweredge-2950&languageCode=EN&categoryId=SM

The Open Manager is a must have on a Dell server. Tells you everything that is going on with working and or failed hardware.

When it comes to the RAID though i like to use the LSI tool. If you need any other help just ask. I actually have a 2970 with the same Raid card laying in my office i can tinker with if you need help. I use a Dell SAS 5 card in my PC for my RAID card as well so i use the LSI Tool.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Caldrumr

Caldrumr

Distinguished
Jun 5, 2011
112
0
18,690
Yes, and it shows as exactly the same in the raid controller interface. I will try out that software you linked today.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Caldrumr

Caldrumr

Distinguished
Jun 5, 2011
112
0
18,690
Okay, this software certainly seems useful. I got it installed and up and running. Thanks a lot for the link.
The new drive shows as Unconfigured Good. I don't see any options to rebuild it or add it to the virtual array.
Update: the other software you linked me (the Dell Openmanage software) gives me an option to reconfigure it. I am in the process of executing it now.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Caldrumr

Caldrumr

Distinguished
Jun 5, 2011
112
0
18,690
Yup, that did the trick. Reconfigured like a charm. Everything is showing up properly now. Thank you so much! I still wonder why I couldn't do that from the controller's software, but sometimes it's best not to ask too many silly questions. Thanks again.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
drtweak

drtweak

Illustrious
Sep 17, 2012
6,343
75
38,640
Well the great thing about these darn PERC Cards is that it should all be hands free. You take the bad drive out (It has a light that tells you its bad) Replace the drive, and it should just rebuild then and there on its own without even turning off the machine but sometimes stuff like this happens and you got to do it manualy. But yea Any Dell server Open Manager is a Must have and the LSI Tool is a great tool to have. it gives you a bit more info on your RAID and Drives than OM and the RAID Controller Setup does.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Caldrumr

Caldrumr

Distinguished
Jun 5, 2011
112
0
18,690
Yeah, that's what I thought it would do, just rebuild. But it didn't. Not sure why it was being so picky, but I am glad you pointed out that software. It will be useful for a lot more in the future anyway, so I'll get it installed on all of our servers. And the array is back up and running too! Thanks again. The help is much appreciated.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
drtweak

drtweak

Illustrious
Sep 17, 2012
6,343
75
38,640
Welcome! Yea when it comes to Dell servers, I've played around with a lot of them lol. From old Power Edges 1600's and older to the newer R720's and Power Vaults. Would really love to get my hands on the Enterprise stuff though.

Also if that download of OM doesn't work on other servers, go to the Dell sites to the downloads for that server and looks for the Dell Openmanager System Node I think it is.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
G

gmacd

Reputable
Sep 23, 2014
1
0
4,510
my 2 cents. Hope you dont mind. I have a Dell Poweredge 2900 with a Perc 6/i setup with a 5 disc SAS RAID5 array. Drives are 400GB 10K spin Seagate Cheetahs.One drive died last week. Dell doesn't stock anymore. Found them on Amazon. Aeon was the vendor. Bought 2. They showed up in 2 days from USA to CAN. Server is running VMware 3.5. Rebooted Server. Hit <Ctrl><R> to access RAID utility from boot. Received a scary prompt that said.... Hit Y to enter RAID util but beware that the config will change!!!... I hit the Y key. The Utility came up showing one virtual disk. I hit <Ctrl><N> to access the VD Mgmt screen. The screen showed 4 discs only. Disc 0,2,3,4. Which confirmed the flashing light on the problem Disc 1(also confirmed by the Hardware Status screen in VMware client). So I pulled out the faulty disc. Installed the Amazon Cheetah. It took about 10 seconds for the drive to start blinking. Lo and behold Disc 1 showed in the VD Mgmt GUI with a rebuild beside it.
I monitored through DRAC. It took about 2 hrs for the rebuild to complete. Once completed I hit <Esc> to exit the GUI. Did a Ctrl-Alt-Del. The server came up. VMware showed a green light on Storage. Have a nice day. gmac
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom