IdeaStorm

Allow non-Dell Certified Drives to work with PERC H700 and H800 RAID controllers

Feb 11, 2010

Posted By krantz

36 Votes

Status: Implemented

The newest PERC H700 and H800 RAID Controllers have this new "feature" that should be removed in the next firmware release: "Blocking of non Dell certified drives being used with PERC H700 or PERC H800" That quote was taken directly from perc-technical-guidebook.pdf Dell has confirmed that those controllers will prevent an off-the-shelf SAS or SATA drive from being used.  Right now there is no way around this besides purchasing a different controller. There is NO indication of this "feature" when purchasing the system.   Dell claims that they do this becasue their drive firmware is superior and that they will be selling them for at least 10 years.   What do I do after 10 years? What if I need a replacement NOW and can't wait a few days? What if I don't want to pay Dell's 250% markup on drives when I can get the same drive from the same manufacturer from newegg.com for less than half the price? I (and many people on the linux-poweredge mailing list) propose this solution: The controller or OMSA should remind the user that the non-Dell drive is not supported by Dell and require the user to acknowledge this before the drive can be used. That way Dell can cover their behind and the user has the freedom they expect from Dell. The current approach of blocking the drive can only be described as greedy.  Especially because Dell does not make an effort to inform people before the purchase the hardware. Status Update:  Please see Dennis_s' comment for further details.  Thanks for posting!

36 Votes | 16 Comments