Choose the Correct Hard Drive Size for the Server Bay Size
You can’t choose the correct hard drive or the correct drive carrier until you actually know what size drive bay your server has. You should know that before you start ordering hard drives. How can you check this? Simple: press the release button, open the release handle, and slide the hard drive with its drive carrier out of the server. Just measure it. Do you have 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives?
The hot-plug hard drive needs a drive carrier to connect the hard drive to the server backplane. The backplane is connected to a DELL PERC RAID Controller, and RAID volume can be created or adjusted from the RAID controller menu after installation.
But what about standalone backplanes? Not all entry-level Dell PowerEdge servers have hot-plug backplanes. With a standalone backplane, hard drives are complete inside the server, and cables are connected directly to the hard drive connectors. On smaller Dell servers with basic controllers, hard drives are cabled one-by-one. Cabled hard drives aren’t hot-swappable.
What’s the purpose of a hard drive carrier?
Hard drive carriers are multipurpose. The hard drive carrier/frame/removable hard drive enclosure is just a modified drive bay that allows a standard hard drive in a carrier assembly to be removed and inserted with little effort. The carriers have a release handle that can be used to push the drive out of the server. Basically, a hard drive carrier converts an internal hard drive into a removable hard drive.
Hard drive connectors have to hit backplane connectors precisely, or the entire installation won’t work. That’s another purpose of the hard drive carrier – it physically holds the hard drive in the correct position, so the connectors meet.
It’s important to have the correct carrier for the hard drive. One hard drive should be in- stalled per drive carrier. If the server bays aren’t full, a plastic drive “blank” cover can be used, which also helps the cooling process work properly so hard drives won’t overheat.
What is Dell remote management?
The Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) is a management platform on certain Dell servers which can be provided on a separate expansion card or integrated into the main board (iDRAC). The DRAC has its own processor, memory, network connection, and access to the system bus. Its key features include power management, virtual media access, and remote console capabilities, all accessible through a supported web browser or command-line interface, letting system administrators configure a machine as if they were sitting right at the terminal.The iDRAC with a lifecycle controller doesn’t require an operating system or hypervisor to work. The lifecycle controller is embedded in every Dell PowerEdge server at the factory, providing functionality that helps deploy, update, maintain, and monitor servers, and keep and collect log files of different server events – with or without a systems management software agent.