How do I use iDRAC to check the Storage Status of my Server?

Due to the nature of hardware, you should regularly check the status of the storage of your devices, to make sure no errors have occurred with the server’s virtual or physical drives. If you identify that an error has occurred with the storage of your Dell PowerEdge server, you can use your iDRAC to identify which piece of hardware has an error, and use this information to decide on what action you wish to take next.

Please note that this section uses iDRAC8 as an example, but the process set out below applies to both iDRAC7 and iDRAC8. Different generations of servers use different version of iDRAC; you can identify the iDRAC version your server is using when you login to the iDRAC control panel. Older versions of iDRAC will have less functionality, so the below may not apply. For support with older versions of iDRAC, if the below does not help, please see Dell EMC’s support website or please feel free to raise a support ticket through your MyServers control panel, and we will be happy to help.

To check for errors relating to storage, click on Storage in the left hand side panel of the iDRAC, after you have logged in.

You will now be presented with the status of the Physical Disks within the server in a diagram. You can use this to identify if all your drives are online or if any of them have encountered an error. In my example below, you can see that 1 disk has been removed and 3 drives are online.

To find out more details about your physical drives, click on Physical Disks under Summary of Disks. Here you will be able to see a list of all the physical drives configured with the chassis, their details and their status. In my example below you can see that 3 drives are online, but the fourth drive has been removed.

If an error has occurred, you can use this information to help inform your decision on what action you wish to be taken. If you wish for a drive to be replaced, please see the section on having a drive replaced using iDRAC, for more details on how to get a faulty drive replaced using the information on iDRAC.

Now you can check the status of the Virtual Disks. To do this, return to Storage and then click on Virtual Disks.

You will now be presented with all the Virtual Disks (or RAID arrays) configured within the server, their details and their status. In my example below, you can see that there are two Virtual Disks; one with an error and one that is operating normally.

If an error has occurred with a Virtual Disk, this is normally caused by a physical drive having an error or failing, which you should have been able to identify on the physical disk page. You can use this information to help you decide what action you wish to be taken. If you wish for a drive to be replaced, please see the section on having a drive replaced using iDRAC, for more details on how to get a faulty drive replaced using the information found on the iDRAC portal.

Using the information outlined above you should now know the status of the storage within your server. If you have any further questions about iDRAC or Remote Management, please look through our FAQ section. If our FAQ page does not have the answer, please feel free to raise a support ticket, and we will be happy to help.