How do I check the RAID BIOS of my 11^th Generations Dell PowerEdge server (R_10) with a H310 RAID controller?

To check the RAID BIOS of a 12th generation Dell EMC PowerEdge server (e.g. R320, R420, R720), when it has a H310 raid controller installed, you should first have either a KVMoIP device attached to the server or a remote console session opened on the server. Please see our FAQ section on how to request a KVM or how to open an iDRAC remote console.

Once you have either a KVM device or a remote console open, you now need to reboot the server. Please note that this means that the server and everything it is currently hosting will go offline, and will remain offline throughout the duration of this process. Also, the decision to reboot the server must be your own. iomart and any company within the iomart group are not responsible for any effects rebooting your server may have. Once you have rebooted your server, you need to wait for the option to enter the System Setup menu to appear; then press F2 to enter it. Please note, depending on the BIOS settings of your server, your screen may look slightly different to the one below; however, it is always F2 to enter the System Setup menu.

The System Setup screen will now appear. You now need to select Device Settings. To navigate through the System Setup menu, use either the mouse, or the arrow, Esc and Enter keys.

Now select the RAID controller.

You are now in the RAID controller’s menu. To check the status of the server’s storage, you should check both the Virtual Disk’s and Physical Disk’s health. First, check the Virtual Disks’ health, to check the status of any RAID arrays configured within the server. Select Virtual Disk Management, then select Manage Virtual Disk Properties.

You will now be presented with the details of the first RAID array configured on this controller. You can use the Select Virtual Disk drop-down box to navigate between the different RAID arrays, if more than one is configured on this device. Within the drop-down box you will also be able to see the status of the Virtual Disk(s). In my example below, you can see that there are two Virtual Disks; one with a status of Ready, meaning that there are no errors, and one with a status of Failed, meaning that there is currently an error.

Below you can now see some details about the Virtual Disk selected in the drop-down box. You can also choose to see a list of the physical drives configured within this array. If you have come across a Virtual Disk with an error, you should now do this to see the status of the drives. Press View Associated Physical Disks.

You will now be able to see a list of Physical Disks configured within this array. You will also be able to see their status; which you can use to identify if there any errors with a drive. As you can see from my example below, the only drive in this array is currently offline. If you do come across a drive with an error, now tick the box in-line with the drive and press View Physical Disk Properties, to view more information about the physical drive.

You will be now be a on a screen which displays the physical drive’s details; including its current status and all the details needed by our technicians to replace a drive. If you do identify a drive with an error and wish for it to be replaced, you will need to supply the following information about the failed drive to our technicians in a support ticket, so that our technicians can identify the drive correctly:

1. Physical Drive Bay Number (i.e. Physical Disk ID)

2. Capacity (i.e. size)

3. Model Number

4. Serial number

You can use this current page to find this information. You can also supply a screenshot of this page; as our technicians can use this information to help them locate the correct drive.

If you wish for a drive to be replaced, you can also set the drive bay to blink using this menu. Setting the drive bay to blink will set the LED lights on front of the drive’s caddy to blink, allowing the local technicians to identify the drive bay with greater ease. To do this, return to the RAID Controller’s main menu, then select Physical Disk Management. Then click on Select Physical Disk Operations.

You now need to select the drive you wish to be set to blink in the Select Physical Disk drop-down box. Then press Blink. The drive bay should now be blinking. Once the technicians have completed the drive swap, you can use this same process, except pressing ‘Un-Blink’, to stop the drive bay from blinking. It is good practice to make sure the drive bay is no longer blinking; so that if you need other drives replacing in future, there is no confusion. If you do set the drive bay to blink, please let our technicians know in the support ticket.

Once you have supplied the above information and set the drive bay to blink, our support team will be happy to help get your drive replaced.

If you did not encounter any drive issues through the Virtual Disks, you can also check the Physical Disks directly. To do this, keep pressing Back (or Esc) until you return to the RAID controller’s main menu. Now select Physical Disk Management and then select View Physical Disk Properties.

You will now be presented with the details of the first Physical Drive configured on this controller. You can use the Select Physical Disk drop-down box to navigate between the different drives, if more than one is present in this server. Within the drop-down box you will also be able to see the status of each Physical Drive. In my example below, you can see that there are four Physical Disks; three with a status of Ready, meaning that there are no errors, and one with a status of offline.

To find out more details about a Physical Disk, simply select it in the drop-down box. You will now see all of the drive’s details and see the drives’ status. As outlined above, you can use this page to identify all the information needed to get a drive replaced and you can navigate to the operations page to set the drive to blink.

Using the process outlined above, you should be able to identify the current status of all the drives configured within the server and the status of all the Virtual Disks, and you can use this information to have any faulty drive replaced.

If you have any more questions about the storage of your server, or your RAID BIOS menu, please read through our FAQ section or raise a support ticket, and we will be happy to help.