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Jesse Buck

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Dell t420 with PERC h700 RAID 6 Question

Hello

My question is concerning 2x failed drives  in a Dell t420 with a PERC h700 w/ RAID 6. I did not build this server and this is my first time attempting to replace drives in a RAID array. This server is important and I really don't want to mess this up.

I attached a screenshot from the Dell System E-Support Tool showing the 2x failed disks and the controller properties. I also need to replace the controller battery.

I ordered the replacement drives + battery and they should be arriving tomorrow. Everything I read so far in the manuals says to use Hot Spares and to replace the drives on-line. However, I was advised by a senior co-worker not to do a Hot Swap. He said to completely power down the server, replace the drives, power back on, hit <Ctrl><R>, add the 2x replacement drives to the RAID, & stay on the RAID controller BIOS until it finishes rebuilding. Once that's finished, then replace the battery.

So is it safe to do it this way? Also, once I replace the drives, reboot, and hit  <Ctrl><R>, what do I need to do in the BIOS Configuration Utility to add the replacement drives and rebuild the array?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.
Dell-T410-h700-RAID6.PNG
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Jesse Buck

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Ok. So while in Windows I just replace the bad drives, no other software required in Windows to accomplish this task? How do I know if it rebuilt properly?  And if it I do need to assign the disk as a hot-spare before it will start rebuilding, what is the best way to accomplish this within Windows?

Also, I didn't quite understand what you meant by "so if going through CTRL-R is to avoid using a hot-spare, don't bother."

Sorry.servers and RAID are new to me. I really appreciate your help though. Thanks
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Well I went to the site today to replace the 2x failed drives. Turns out this model does not have the front drive bays. You need to open the case to access the wired drives. So I guess I'm back to my original question. I did install OMSA so I was wondering, can I power down the server, replace the failed drives, power back on, boot into Windows, and hopefully OMSA will rebuild the array?

If that's not an option, then I assume I'm going to have to use CTRL-R and rebuild from there.
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Cool. I'll give a go. Doing it 4:30 EST today after the employees leave. I'll let yu know how it goes. Thanks again for you assistance.
Just wanted to let you know that all went well with you're last recommendation. OMSA crashed twice and I had to reboot both time to see the drives, but in the end both drives rebuilt. Thanks again for your assistance.