Appendix C
RAID Controller Considerations
RAID Card Firmware Compatibility
If the PCIe card that you are installing is a RAID controller card, firmware on the RAID controller must
be verified for compatibility with the current Cisco IMC and BIOS versions that are installed on the server.
If not compatible, upgrade or downgrade the RAID controller firmware accordingly using the Host
Upgrade Utility (HUU) for your firmware release to bring it to a compatible level.
See the HUU guide for your Cisco IMC release for instructions on downloading and using the utility to
bring server components to compatible levels:
Write-Cache Policy for Cisco 12G SAS Modular RAID Controller
For this server and other Cisco Generation M4 servers, the default write-cache policy for the Cisco
Modular RAID controller is Write Through (irrespective of the presence of a charged Supercap power
module or "good BBU"). This utilizes the optimal performance characteristics of the controller.
If you have Cisco IMC 2.0(5) or later firmware installed to the M4 server, the write policy can be set to
Write Back, if preferred.
You can set the write policy using the following methods:
•
•
•
OL-32474-01
For standalone servers, use the Cisco IMC interface to set Virtual Drive Properties > Write Policy. See
the "Managing Storage Adapters" section in your Cisco IMC Configuration Guide.
Cisco IMC GUI and CLI Configuration Guides
For Cisco UCS-integrated servers, use the Cisco UCS Manager interface to set the write-cache policy
as part of virtual drive configuration in your storage profile.
Cisco UCS Manager Configuration Guides
Use the LSI Option ROM Configuration Utility.
HUU Guides
Cisco UCS C240 M4 Server Installation and Service Guide
RAID Card Firmware Compatibility
C-3