View, Create, Delete Virtual RAID Volumes with RACADM on an FC630 Server (Dell 13G)

Managing RAID Volumes with RACADM on Dell PowerEdge FC630

This guide demonstrates how to manage RAID volumes on Dell PowerEdge FC630 servers (13th generation) using RACADM commands directly through the iDRAC interface.

Accessing the iDRAC

First, establish an SSH connection to the server’s iDRAC:

ssh root@192.168.0.2

After logging in, enter the RACADM command shell:

/admin1-> racadm

Viewing Storage Information

Check Existing Virtual Disks

To view currently configured RAID volumes:

racadm>> storage get vdisks

Example output:

Disk.Virtual.0:RAID.Integrated.1-1

View Physical Disks

To list all available physical disks:

racadm>> storage get pdisks

Example output:

Disk.Bay.0:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Bay.1:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Bay.2:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Bay.3:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Bay.4:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Bay.5:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Bay.6:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Bay.7:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1

Identify RAID Controllers

To list available RAID controllers:

racadm>> storage get controllers

Example output:

RAID.Integrated.1-1

Creating a RAID Volume

Step 1: Create the Virtual Disk

In this example, we’ll create a RAID 6 volume with read-ahead and write-back cache enabled:

racadm>> storage createvd:RAID.Integrated.1-1 -rl r6 -wp wb -rp ra -name SSDVOL2 -pdkey:Disk.Bay.4:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1,Disk.Bay.5:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1,Disk.Bay.6:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1,Disk.Bay.7:Enclosure.Internal.0-1:RAID.Integrated.1-1

Example output:

RAC1040 : Successfully accepted the storage configuration operation.
To apply the configuration operation, create a configuration job, and then restart the server.
To create the required commit and reboot jobs, run the jobqueue command.
For more information about the jobqueue command, enter the RACADM command "racadm help jobqueue".

Step 2: Schedule the Configuration Job

There are two methods to apply the configuration:

Method 1: Standard Job Creation (Requires Reboot)

racadm>> jobqueue create RAID.Integrated.1-1

Example output:

RAC1024: Successfully scheduled a job.
Verify the job status using "racadm jobqueue view -i JID_xxxxx" command.
Commit JID = JID_222873363294

Method 2: Real-time Job Creation (No Reboot Required)

If the RAID controller supports real-time execution:

racadm>> jobqueue create RAID.Integrated.1-1 --realtime

Step 3: Apply the Configuration (If Using Method 1)

If using the standard job creation method, reboot the server to apply the changes:

racadm>> serveraction powercycle

Example output:

Server power operation successful

Verifying RAID Configuration

After the job completes, verify that the virtual disk was created:

racadm>> storage get vdisks

Example output:

Disk.Virtual.0:RAID.Integrated.1-1
Disk.Virtual.1:RAID.Integrated.1-1

Deleting a Virtual Disk

To delete an existing virtual disk:

racadm>> storage deletevd:Disk.Virtual.1:RAID.Integrated.1-1

Then create and apply a configuration job as described in Steps 2 and 3 above.

RAID Configuration Options

When creating virtual disks, you can specify various parameters:

Parameter	Description	Options
-rl	RAID Level	r0, r1, r5, r6, r10, r50, r60
-wp	Write Policy	wt (Write-Through), wb (Write-Back)
-rp	Read Policy	nra (No Read-Ahead), ra (Read-Ahead), ara (Adaptive Read-Ahead)
-ss	Stripe Size	1k, 2k, 4k, 8k, 16k, 32k, 64k, 128k, 256k, 512k, 1M, 2M, 4M, 8M, 16M
-dcp	Disk Cache Policy	enabled, disabled, default
-name	Virtual Disk Name	Any string
-size	Virtual Disk Size	Specified in b (bytes), k (kilobytes), m (megabytes), g (gigabytes), t (terabytes)

Monitoring Jobs

To check the status of a specific job:

racadm>> jobqueue view -i JID_222873363294

To view all pending jobs:

racadm>> jobqueue view