Dell Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 User manual

Dell Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD User’s Guide

Notes, cautions, and warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
© 2019 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks
may be trademarks of their respective owners.
2019 - 03
Rev. A00

Contents
1 NVMe PCIe SSD overview..............................................................................................................................4
NVMe PCIe SSD U.2......................................................................................................................................................... 4
NVMe PCIe SSD AIC.........................................................................................................................................................5
NVMe PCIe SSD features.................................................................................................................................................5
Hot swap an NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 device................................................................................................................6
Device health................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Boot from an NVMe PCIe SSD U.2............................................................................................................................7
2 Congure an NVMe PCIe SSD in dierent operating systems........................................................................8
Windows..............................................................................................................................................................................8
Linux.....................................................................................................................................................................................8
VMware............................................................................................................................................................................... 8
3 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................................. 9
NVMe PCIe SSD Carrier LED indicators......................................................................................................................... 9
Ungraceful system shutdown or power loss................................................................................................................. 10
General errors....................................................................................................................................................................10
NVMe drive properties intermittently not available in iDRAC............................................................................... 10
NVMe PCIe SSD is not listed in the operating system.......................................................................................... 10
I/O device error on write to NVMe PCIe SSD.........................................................................................................11
NVMe PCIe SSD performance measurement not optimal.....................................................................................11
System becomes unresponsive when NVMe PCIe SSD is surprise removed..................................................... 11
System becomes unresponsive or crashes when NVMe PCIe SSD is inserted..................................................12
4 Related documentation.................................................................................................................................13
5 Getting help................................................................................................................................................. 15
Locating your system Service Tag..................................................................................................................................15
Contacting Dell EMC........................................................................................................................................................15
Documentation feedback.................................................................................................................................................15
Contents 3

NVMe PCIe SSD overview
Dell NVMe PCIe SSD products include both 2.5-inch (U.2) and add-in controller (AIC) form factors.
Storage management applications enable you to manage and congure the NVMe PCIe SSD. These applications also allow you to control
and monitor multiple NVMe PCIe SSDs, and provide online maintenance.
The NVMe PCIe SSD solution supports Unied Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and Human Interface Infrastructure (HII) for pre-
operating system device management, OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) application for operating system device management,
and Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) with Lifecycle Controller for local or remote device management. The NVMe PCIe
SSD solution supports UEFI, HII and iDRAC with Lifecycle Controller management on select PowerEdge systems only. OMSA for NVMe
PCIe SSD device management is available on all supported PowerEdge systems.
NOTE: This documentation assumes you will use OMSA, iDRAC, or HII for all management and conguration tasks. See Related
documentation for links to information on the use of these tools.
NOTE: For more information about iDRAC/LC remote management, see your platform documentation.
Topics:
• NVMe PCIe SSD U.2
• NVMe PCIe SSD AIC
• NVMe PCIe SSD features
NVMe PCIe SSD U.2
Install the NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 into its carrier before installing it into the server.
1
4 NVMe PCIe SSD overview

NVMe PCIe SSD AIC
Install the NVMe PCIe SSD AIC form factor into the appropriate system board slot. See your server documentation for more information.
NVMe PCIe SSD features
NVMe PCIe SSDs oer a unique and powerful feature set including hot swap, device health, SMART, remaining rated write, device write
status, and boot capabilities.
NVMe PCIe SSD overview 5

Hot swap an NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 device
NOTE: NVMe PCIe SSD AICs do not support hot swap.
Supported NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 device hot swappable functions are dened below:
Orderly or Hot
Insertion
Insert a device into a running system where a similar device has not been previously inserted from the time it was
last booted. The systems that support NVMe PCIe SSDs are congured to handle PCIe resource balancing in the
event of a hot insertion when operating within a Dell supported operating system. This preset system conguration
makes hot insertion an orderly operation if performed with supported operating systems.
Orderly Removal Remove a device from a running system. Prior to physically removing the device, you must notify the system that
the device is about to be removed. This notication denes hot removal as an orderly operation.
Orderly Swap Remove a device from the system in an orderly fashion and replace it with a supported device. The device that is
removed and the device that replaced it use the same device driver.
WARNING: Dell strongly recommends that you notify the system prior to removing an NVMe PCIe SSD U.2. Refer to Dell
OpenManage Server Administrator or Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller user’s guides for more information.
NOTE: Orderly hot swap is only supported when an NVMe PCIe SSD device is installed in a supported Dell system running a
supported operating system. Do not insert or remove an NVMe PCIe SSD device while accessing the system BIOS or Hll
conguration. To ensure that you have the correct hardware setup for your NVMe PCIe SSD device, see the system specic
owner's manual at Dell.com/support/manuals.
Device health
Dell Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSDs include several features such as SMART, remaining rated write endurance, and device write status,
that allow you to monitor device health.
Use these features to help maintain the health of your Dell Express Flash SSD.
Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART)
Dell management tools such as Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller and Dell OpenManage Server Administrator use SMART to
provide alert content.
Remaining rated write endurance
The NVMe PCIe SSD is warrantied to a maximum amount of data written to the device in total bytes written. The NVMe PCIe SSD self
monitors for these limits, and software management applications notify you when you reach these limits.
NOTE: If you continue to write to the device after it reaches the threshold of total bytes written, the amount of time the NVMe
PCIe SSD retains data while powered o decreases below device specications. For more information, see the technical
specication sheet for your SSD.
6 NVMe PCIe SSD overview

Device write status
If the device exhausts the available spare sectors, the NVMe PCIe SSD enters Write Protect (Read-Only) mode. In Write Protect mode, you
can only perform read operations to the device. The NVMe PCIe SSD self monitors for these limits, and software management applications
notify you when you reach these limits.
Boot from an NVMe PCIe SSD U.2
NOTE: You cannot boot from an NVMe PCIe SSD AIC.
Dell supports installation of operating systems to, and booting from, NVMe PCIe SSD U.2s on select PowerEdge platforms that have been
congured for UEFI BIOS boot mode. To determine whether or not an NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 may be used as a boot device on your system,
see the system-specic documentation at Dell.com/support/manuals.
NVMe PCIe SSD overview 7

Congure an NVMe PCIe SSD in dierent
operating systems
The NVMe PCIe SSD you ordered with your system is precongured and ready for use. The following describes how to access those
settings.
Windows
In Windows-based systems, NVMe PCIe SSD devices have a controller entity and a device entity. The controller entity is displayed under
the Storage controller menu in the Device Manager.
NOTE: When congured in Dell S140 RAID volumes, separate device entries are not shown. For more information, see the Dell
S140 documentation at Dell.com/support/manuals.
Use the controller entity when installing or updating the NVMe PCIe SSD driver. You can congure the NVMe PCIe SSD for use in
Windows from Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management Tool.
Linux
On Linux-based systems, you can congure NVMe PCIe SSDs from the partitioning tool by specifying or selecting the device name. The
device name for NVMe PCIe SSDs is /dev/nvmeXn1, where Xis the number corresponding to each NVMe PCIe SSD in the system. For
example:
/dev/nvme0n1
/dev/nvme1n1
/dev/nvme2n1
Use OpenManage Server Administrator for managing and performing NVMe PCIe SSD-related tasks.
VMware
In VMware systems, you can use vSphere Client to congure an NVMe PCIe SSDs as a datastore or for passthrough operation. However,
conguring an NVMe PCIe SSD for passthrough operation is not recommended due to the following limitations:
• Inability to take snapshots of the Virtual Machine (VM).
• VM is no longer able to use fail over features such as VMotion and Distributed Resources Scheduler (DRS).
• Loss of hotswap capability for other devices such as USB keys. To add another device, you must rst shut down the VM.
Conguring an NVMe PCIe SSD for passthrough operation is not recommended except as dened by Dell-specic solutions. See the
solution-specic documentation at Dell.com/support/manuals.
2
8Congure an NVMe PCIe SSD in dierent operating systems

Troubleshooting
NOTE: To get help for your NVMe PCIe SSD, see Contacting Dell EMC.
Topics:
• NVMe PCIe SSD Carrier LED indicators
• Ungraceful system shutdown or power loss
• General errors
NVMe PCIe SSD Carrier LED indicators
The LEDs on the NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 carrier indicate the state of each physical device. Each NVMe PCIe SSD carrier in your enclosure
has an activity LED (green) and a status LED (bicolor, green/amber). The activity LED ashes whenever the device is accessed.
Figure 1. NVMe PCIe SSD device carrier LED indicators
1status indicator 2 activity indicator
3 release button
While the operating system is running, the status indicator provides the current status of the device. The following table lists the device
states along with the associated LED indicator codes.
Table 1. NVMe PCIe SSD U.2 states and LED indicator codes
State Name Slot/Device State Status LED (Green) Status LED (Amber)
Device status o The server or device is not
powered up.
O O
Device online The device is powered up. On O
Device identify (blink) The device is identifying the slot
location or is indicating the
device has received a Prepare
for Removal command from the
host operating system.
On for 250 msec
O for 250 msec
O
Device failed The host operating system no
longer has access to the device
because the device is not
O On for 250 msec
O for 250 msec
3
Troubleshooting 9

State Name Slot/Device State Status LED (Green) Status LED (Amber)
responding or has encountered a
critical error condition.
Read only The device will only service read
operations.
O On for 250 msec
O for 250 msec
Predicted failure The SMART feature set has
predicted a degradation or fault
condition.
O for 250 msec
On for 250 msec
On for 250 msec
O for 250 msec
Ungraceful system shutdown or power loss
If the host system experiences a power loss, the NVMe PCIe SSD may not have time to perform its internal shut down procedure. In such
an event, the device may enter a recovery mode.
This recovery process is also known as rebuilding. During rebuilding, there is very limited access from the host operating system. After the
recovery procedure is complete, the device is fully accessible from the host operating system.
NOTE: Dell recommends that you use power backup solutions for all Dell systems.
General errors
The following section describes general errors related to NVMe PCIe SSD.
NVMe drive properties intermittently not available in iDRAC
Description NVMe drive properties via sideband (iDRAC) may not be available after a PCIe SSD is hot-inserted into the system.
This is most likely to occur if the PCIe SSD is formatted with a le system or has existing data.
Cause Side band controller on the NVMe drives does not complete initialization in time for iDRAC to inventory the device.
Solution After an AC power cycle, the system should list the inserted devices in iDRAC.
NVMe PCIe SSD is not listed in the operating system
Cause Hardware is not correctly installed.
Solution Check the following components:
•Devices: Ensure that the NVMe PCIe SSDs are installed in an NVMe PCIe SSD backplane.
NOTE: NVMe PCIe SSDs must be used with NVMe PCIe SSD backplanes. To ensure that you
have the correct conguration for the NVMe PCIe SSD, see the platform-specic Owner’s
Manual at Dell.com/support/manuals.
•Backplane: Ensure that the cables for the NVMe PCIe SSD backplane are connected correctly.
•Cables: PCIe cables are unique for the conguration. Ensure that the backplane cable connectors are
connected to the backplane and the extender card or system board.
•Extender card: Ensure that the PCIe extender card, if used in your server conguration, is plugged into the
correct supported slot. See the system specic owner's manual at Dell.com/support/manuals.
10 Troubleshooting

I/O device error on write to NVMe PCIe SSD
Description Windows event log may report the following entries on the rst write attempt to an NVMe PCIe SSD: Event ID
7: The device, \Device\Harddisk\DRX, has a bad block.
When attempting to initialize the device using Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management, the
following message is displayed: Virtual Disk Manager, Data Error (cyclic redundancy
check).
Linux messages log may report the following entries on a write attempt to an NVMe PCIe SSD:
•Buffer I/O error on device nvmeXn1, logical block Y (where X is the number
corresponding to the device and Y is the logical block)
•nvmeXn1: unable to read partition table (where X is the number corresponding
to the device)
Cause NVMe PCIe SSDs have a nite number of write cycles. When an NVMe PCIe SSD exhausts the number of writes,
it goes into Write Protect (Read Only) mode.
Solution By using system management applications, you may check the NVMe PCIe SSD state to conrm if the NVMe PCIe
SSD is in Read-Only Mode. For further instructions, contact a Dell Technical Service representative.
NVMe PCIe SSD performance measurement not optimal
Description There are a number of factors that may alter the performance of an NVMe PCIe SSD. Dell recommends to take
basic setup measures to ensure performance optimization of these devices.
Cause NVMe PCIe SSD has not been preconditioned and/or BIOS settings are not optimal.
Solution Without preconditioning the NVMe PCIe SSD, performance measurements can be misleading as they may not
reect long-term performance of the device. Preconditioning enables ash management, which stabilizes data
throughput over a period. For the Solid-State Storage Performance Test Specication, see snia.org.
System becomes unresponsive when NVMe PCIe SSD is
surprise removed
Description System becomes unresponsive when the device is removed without rst preparing the device for removal.
Cause Surprise Removal is not supported in PowerEdge servers for NVMe PCIe SSD.
Solution Execute the Prepare For Removal operation for the specic NVMe PCIe SSD from a Dell Management
application. .
Troubleshooting 11

System becomes unresponsive or crashes when NVMe PCIe
SSD is inserted
Description System becomes unresponsive or crashes with inserting an NVMe PCIe SSD while accessing the system BIOS or
HII conguration utilities.
Cause Hot insertion is not supported in pre-operating system's system conguration utilities.
Solution Insert only after allowing the operating system to fully load or when the server is powered o.
12 Troubleshooting

Related documentation
To... Refer to...
Install your system into a rack Rack documentation included with your rack solution
Set up your system and know the system technical specications Getting Started Guide
Install the operating system Operating system documentation at Dell.com/
operatingsystemmanuals
Get an overview of the Dell Systems Management oerings Dell OpenManage Systems Management Overview Guide at
Dell.com/openmanagemanuals
Congure and log in to iDRAC, set up managed and management
system, know the iDRAC features and troubleshoot using iDRAC
Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's Guide at Dell.com/
esmmanuals
Know about the RACADM subcommands and supported RACADM
interfaces
RACADM Command Line Reference Guide for iDRAC and CMC at
Dell.com/esmmanuals
Launch, enable and disable Lifecycle Controller, know the features,
use and troubleshoot Lifecycle Controller
Dell Lifecycle Controller User’s Guide at Dell.com/esmmanuals
Use Lifecycle Controller Remote Services Dell Lifecycle Controller Remote Services Quick Start Guide at
Dell.com/esmmanuals
Set up, use, and troubleshoot OpenManage Server Administrator Dell OpenManage Server Administrator User’s Guide at Dell.com/
openmanagemanuals
Install, use and troubleshoot OpenManage Essentials Dell OpenManage Essentials User’s Guide at Dell.com/
openmanagemanuals
Know the system features, remove and install system components,
and troubleshoot components
Owner’s Manual at Dell.com/poweredgemanuals
Know the features of the storage controller cards, deploy the cards,
and manage the storage subsystem
Storage controller documentation at Dell.com/
storagecontrollermanuals
Check the event and error messages generated by the system
rmware and agents that monitor system components
Dell Event and Error Messages Reference Guide at Dell.com/
esmmanuals
Your product documentation includes:
Getting Started
Guide
Provides an overview of system features, setting up your system, and technical specications. This document is
also shipped with your system.
Owner’s Manual Provides information about system features and describes how to troubleshoot the system and install or replace
system components.
Rack Installation
Instructions
Describes how to install your system into a rack. This document is shipped with your rack solution.
Administrator’s
Guide
Provides information about conguring and managing the system.
4
Related documentation 13

Troubleshooting
Guide
Provides information about troubleshooting the software and the system.
OpenManageServer
Administrator User’s
Guide
Provides information about using Dell OpenManage Server Administrator to manage your system.
NOTE: For any documentation related to Dell OpenManage Server Administrator, see Dell.com/
openmanagemanuals.
14 Related documentation

Getting help
Locating your system Service Tag
Your system is identied by a unique Express Service Code and Service Tag number. The Express Service Code and Service Tag are found
on the front of a physical DR Series system by pulling out the information tag. The service tag can also be found on the Support page in
the GUI. This information is used to route support calls to the appropriate personnel for resolution.
Contacting Dell EMC
Dell EMC provides several online and telephone based support and service options. If you do not have an active internet connection, you
can nd contact information about your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell EMC product catalog. Availability varies by country and
product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell EMCfor sales, technical assistance, or customer service
issues:
1 Go to Dell.com/support/home.
2 Select your country from the drop-down menu on the lower right corner of the page.
3 For customized support:
a Enter your system Service Tag in the Enter your Service Tag eld.
b Click Submit.
The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed.
4 For general support:
a Select your product category.
b Select your product segment.
c Select your product.
The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed.
5 For contact details of Dell EMC Global Technical Support:
a Click Global Technical Support.
b The Contact Technical Support page is displayed with details to call, chat, or e-mail the Dell EMC Global Technical Support
team.
Documentation feedback
Click the Feedback link in any of the Dell EMC documentation pages, ll out the form, and click Submit to send your feedback.
5
Getting help 15