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Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide
Using the Graphical User Interface
Using the Storage Management Command Line Interface
Storage Management is designed for system administrators who implement hardware RAID solutions and understand corporate and small business storage environments.
Storage Management enables you to configure the storage components attached to your system. These components include RAID and non-RAID controllers and the channels, ports, enclosures, and disks attached to them. Using Storage Management, you can implement controller functions without requiring access to the BIOS. These functions include configuring virtual disks and applying RAID levels and hot spares for data protection. You can initiate many other controller functions such as rebuilds, troubleshooting, setting thresholds, and so on. Most functions can be implemented while the server remains online and continues to process requests.
Storage Management reports the status of storage components. When the status for a component changes, Storage Management updates the display for that component and sends an alert to the Alert Log.
In addition to status changes, Storage Management generates alerts for user actions such as creating or deleting a virtual disk and for many other events. Most alerts also generate SNMP traps.
Other than monitoring and reporting status, Storage Management does not automatically initiate actions independent of user input. (Automatic shutdown of enclosures that have exceeded a critical temperature is the only exception. See "Thermal Shutdown for Enclosures".) Storage Management actions are user-initiated using wizards and drop-down menus. Storage Management does, however, report the actions taken by the controllers, which include generating alerts, initiating tasks such as a rebuild, and making state changes.
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NOTE: Storage Management reports the state of disks and other storage components as viewed by the controller. |
Storage Management is installed as a Dell OpenManage Server Administrator service. All Storage Management features are accessible by selecting the Storage object in the Server Administrator tree view. For more information on starting Server Administrator, see the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User's Guide.
To start a Server Administrator session on a local Microsoft® Windows® system, click the Dell OpenManage icon on your desktop. Clicking the Dell OpenManage icon causes the Log in window to be displayed. You must log in using an account with Administrator privileges.
To start a Server Administrator session on Linux or any remote system, open a Web browser and type one of the following in the address field and press <Enter>:
https://<localhost>:1311
where <localhost> is the assigned name for the managed system and 1311 is the default port
or
https://<IP address>:1311
where <IP address> is the IP address for the managed system and 1311 is the default port.
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NOTE: You must type https:// (not http://) in the address field to receive a valid response in your browser. |
Server Administrator provides security through the User, Power User, and Administrator user groups. Each user group is assigned a different level of access to the Server Administrator features.
Administrator privileges are required to access all Storage Management features. Administrator privilege allows you to execute the drop-down menu tasks, launch wizards, and use the omconfig storage command line interface commands. Without Administrator privileges, you cannot manage and configure storage.
User and Power User privileges allow you to view storage status, but not manage or configure storage. With User and Power User privileges, you can use the omreport storage command but not the omconfig storage command.
For more information on user groups and other Server Administrator security features, see the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User's Guide.
The following sections describe how to access the Storage Management features using the Server Administrator graphical user interface (GUI).
The Server Administrator tree view displays a Storage object. The Storage Management features are accessible by selecting the Storage object or expanding the Storage object and selecting a lower-level object.
The Health subtab displays status information for the storage components. See "Storage Health" for more information.
The Information/Configuration subtab displays the property information for a storage object. The Information/Configuration subtabs also have drop down menus and buttons for executing storage tasks or launching wizards.
Many of the storage objects displayed in the tree view have tasks. Examples of these tasks include creating virtual disks, assigning hot spares, reconditioning a battery, and so on. To access a storage object's task, select the component in the tree view and then select the Information/Configuration subtab. The Information/Configuration subtabs have task drop-down menus or buttons for launching a task.
Storage Management has a fully-featured command line interface (CLI). See "Command Line Interface" for more information.
Storage Management provides extensive online help. This help is available from the Server Administrator graphical user interface when the Storage or lower-level tree view object is selected. See "Storage Object" for more information.
The online help is available in two formats:
This section provides links to information describing commonly performed storage tasks.
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