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Import Foreign Configuration; Import/Recover Foreign Configuration

Dell OpenManage™ Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide

  Importing Foreign Configurations

  Recovering Foreign Configurations

Does my controller support this feature? See "Appendix A: Supported Features."

The Import Foreign Configuration task imports foreign virtual disks residing on physical disks that have been moved from another controller. The Import/Recover Foreign Configuration task imports foreign virtual disks and attempts to recover virtual disks that are in a failed or degraded state.

Some conditions, such as an incompatible RAID level or an incomplete disk group, can prevent the import or recovery of foreign virtual disks.

Importing Foreign Configurations

A foreign configuration is data residing on physical disks that have been moved from one controller to another. Virtual disks residing on physical disks that have been moved are considered to be a foreign configuration. Some controllers enable you to import a foreign configuration so that virtual disks are not lost after moving the physical disks.

To be imported, the foreign configuration must contain a virtual disk that is in either Ready or Degraded state. In other words, all of the virtual disk data must be present, but if the virtual disk is using a redundant RAID level, the additional redundant data does not need to be present.

For example, if the foreign configuration contains only one side of a mirror in a RAID 1 virtual disk, then the virtual disk is in Degraded state and can be imported. On the other hand, if the foreign configuration contains only one physical disk that was originally configured as a RAID 5 using three physical disks, then the RAID 5 virtual disk is failed and cannot be imported.

In addition to virtual disks, a foreign configuration may consist of a physical disk that was assigned as a hot spare on one controller and then moved to another controller. The Import Foreign Configuration task imports the new physical disk as a hot spare. If the physical disk was a dedicated hot spare on the previous controller, but the virtual disk to which the hot spare was assigned is no longer present in the foreign configuration, then the physical disk is imported as a global hot spare.

The Import Foreign Configuration task is only displayed when the controller has detected a foreign configuration. You can also identify whether or not a physical disk contains a foreign configuration (virtual disk or hot spare) by checking the physical disk state. If the physical disk state is Foreign, then the physical disk contains all or some portion of a virtual disk or has a hot spare assignment.

If you have an incomplete foreign configuration which cannot be imported, you can use the "Clear Foreign Configuration" task to erase the foreign data on the physical disks.

NOTE: The import foreign configuration task imports all virtual disks residing on physical disks that have been added to the controller. If more than one foreign virtual disk is present, you cannot choose which one to import. All will be imported.

Recovering Foreign Configurations

The recover operation attempts to restore degraded, failed, or missing virtual disks to a healthy state. A virtual disk may be in a degraded, failed, or missing state after losing communication with the controller due to a power loss, faulty cable connection, or other failure. A rebuild or background initialization may automatically initiate after the recover operation completes.

The virtual disk data may be inconsistent after recovery. You should always verify the virtual disk data after the Import/Recover Foreign Configuration task completes.

In some cases, the virtual disk data is incomplete and it is not possible to successfully recover the virtual disk.

To import or recover a foreign configuration:

Click Import Foreign Config or Import/Recover Foreign Config when you are ready to import or recover all virtual disks residing on physical disks attached to the controller. To exit without importing or recovering the foreign configuration, click Go Back To Controller Information Page.

To locate this task in Storage Management:

  1. Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects.

  2. Select a controller object.

  3. Select the Information/Configuration subtab.

  4. Select Import Foreign Config or Import/Recover Foreign Config from the Available Tasks drop-down menu.

  5. Click Execute.

Related Information:


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