How to Set Up Hardware RAID Using MegaCLI

Introduction

MegaCLI is a tool used as a command-line interface to communicate with the LSI family of RAID controllers. It manages and reports on MegaRAID SAS cards.

In this article, you will learn how to install MegaCLI and set up a hardware RAID.

Prerequisites

• A Linux system (installation instructions apply to CentOS/RHEL and Ubuntu based distros)
• Access to the command-line/terminal window
• A MegaRAID hardware controller
• An unzip utility tool

Install and Set Up MegaCLI

MegaCLI supports MS Windows, FreeBSD, Solaris and all major Linux distributions. This article provides instructions on installing MegaCLI on CentOS 8 and Ubuntu.

Step 1: Verify Your Hardware RAID Controller

To use MegaCLI, you need a MegaRAID SAS controller. If you are unsure which RAID controller you are using, start by verifying it.

Use the lspci command to verify the RAID controller on your system.

lspci | grep -i raid

The output will display your RAID controller. See the example outputs below:

output 1
LSI Logic / Symbios Logic MegaRAID SAS 1078 (rev 04)

output 2
01:00.0 RAID bus controller: Adaptec AAC-RAID (rev 09)

output 3
02:00.0 RAID bus controller: LSI Logic / Symbios Logic MegaRAID SAS 2208 [Thunderbolt] (rev 05)

If you do not receive any output, like in the image below, it is an indication that the system is not identifying any RAID controller. Make sure that the controller is set up correctly.

If the output indicates that you indeed have a MegaRAID SAS controller, move on to installing MegaCLI.

Step 2: Download MegaCLI

Download MegaCLI by navigating to the Support Documents and Downloads section of the Broadcom website. The MegaCLI install file is under the Management Software and Tools list as shown below.

Step 3: Extract the MegaCLI Package

Next, move into the Downloads folder.

cd Downloads

3. Extract the 8-07-14_MegaCLI.zip file.

unzip 8-07-14_MegaCLI.zip

Step 4: Install MegaCLI

Option 1: Install MegaCLI on CentOS 8

Move into the Downloads/Linux folder by typing:

cd Downloads/Linux

Once in the Linux folder, run the following command to install MegaCLI on CentOS 8:

yum localinstall MegaCli-8.07.14-1.noarch.rpm

Option 2: Install MegaCLI on Ubuntu

LSI distributes MegaCLI as an rpm package. Ubuntu does not support rpm packages, but the MegaCLI install package can be converted for use with Ubuntu by using Alien. 

Start by moving into the Downloads/Linux folder.

cd Downloads/Linux

Convert the MegaCLI rpm package with Alien:

alien -k --scripts MegaCli-8.07.14-1.noarch.rpm

Install the newly created .deb file with the dpkg command:

dpkg -i megacli_8.07.08-1_all.deb

sudo apt-get install alien

Step 5: Create an Alias

Finally, create an alias for easier reference in the future:

alias megacli='/opt/MegaRAID/MegaCli/MegaCli64'

Now that you have MegaCLI set up, examine the list of common commands you will be using to manage RAID disks.

Hardware RAID Setup with MegaCLI

MegaCLI supports configuring all widely used hardware RAID levels:

1. RAID 0
2. RAID 1
3. RAID 5
4. RAID 10
5. RAID 1 with CacheCade

Clear Configuration

Before you configure any disks, make sure to delete any previous configuration you may have on them. The following commands will allow you to do so:

megacli -CacheCade -remove -LALL -aALL

megacli -CfgCacheCadeDel -LALL -aALL

megacli -CfgLdDel -LAll -aAll

megacli -CfgClr -force -aAll

Configure RAID 0

To configure disks as RAID 0 which will strip data across two or more disks, use the commands:

megacli -CfgEachDskRaid0 -a0

megacli -LDInfo -LAll -a0

Configure RAID 1

To configure a RAID 1 setup of two disks from slot 0 to 1, type:

megacli -CfgLdAdd -r1 [252:0,252:1] -a0

megacli -LDInfo -LAll -a0

Configure RAID 5

To configure a RAID 5 device made up of disks from slots 0 to 5 use the command:

megacli -CfgLdAdd -r5 [252:0,252:1,252:2,252:3,252:4,252:5] -a0

megacli -LDInfo -LAll -a0

Configure RAID 10

To configure RAID 10 consisting of 8 disks placed in slots 0 to 7, type:

megacli -CfgSpanAdd -r10 -Array0[252:0,252:1] -Array1[252:2,252:3] -Array2[252:4,252:5] -Array2[252:6,252:7] -a0

megacli -LDInfo -LAll -a0

Configure RAID with CacheCade

You can also create additional CacheCade in RAID 1 on SSD disks.

For example, if you have 6 disks in slots 0 through 5. You can create a RAID 5 device consisting of four disks and an additional CacheCade on the remaining two disks.

1. Configure RAID 5 on disks 0 through 4 with the command:

megacli -CfgLdAdd -r5 [252:0,252:1,252:2,252:3,252:4] -a0

2. Next, create CacheCade configuration using SSDs for slots 5 and 6:

megacli -CfgCacheCadeAdd -r1 -Physdrv[252:5,252:6] WB -assign -L0 -a0

Check Adapter, Device Status and Configuration

There are several commands you can use to check the status of your adapters and RAID devices.

To see details of all adapters use:

megacli -AdpAllInfo -aAll

To see status and configuration of all logical drives:

megacli -LDInfo -LAll -aAll

To show information of all physical disks use:

megacli -PDList –aAll

For enclosure information type:

megacli -EncInfo -aALL

Conclusion

After reading this article you should now be more informed on how to install and use MegaCLI to effectively manage your RAID devices and configurations.