Advanced server settings

To implement some use cases for your server, you may need to modify its default basic settings. For example, to install the Windows Server OS onto a partition created in a fault-tolerant RAID, you can create the RAID on the integrated controller of your server’s motherboard (if your server’s motherboard has an integrated RAID controller).

Server disk space managementServer disk space management

When you lease a server with an OS installed from a Marketplace image, one or more software-based RAIDs of the RAID 1 and/or RAID 10 levels are created on the server’s disks depending on its default configuration. The number of arrays created by default depends on how many different disk types your server uses.

In the lease form for a server with a pre-installed OS, click Configure disk layout to reconfigure its default RAIDs, repartition the disk space into software-based RAIDs, or opt out of their use.

Managing disk space when installing an OS from a custom imageManaging disk space when installing an OS from a custom image

When you lease a server without an OS, the server's disks are not arranged into RAIDs.

You can manually manage the server’s disk space when installing an OS from a custom image:

• Create software RAIDs during OS installation if this technology is supported at the OS kernel level (e.g., in Linux systems).

  Some operating systems and software products do not allow you to create software RAIDs during installation (e.g., Microsoft Windows or VMware ESXi).

  The exact supported levels of software RAIDs may vary based on your selected OS.

• Create logical RAIDs before OS installation if your server's motherboard has integrated RAID controllers (RST or Fake-RAID). For your OS to use such RAIDs, you may need to pre-install a driver for the integrated RAID controller.

  Some operating systems and software products do not support RAIDs created on fake-RAID controllers (e.g., VMware ESXi).

• Opt out of using RAIDs and create partitions directly on HDDs, SSDs, or NVMe disks.

  This option does not provide disk fault tolerance: if a disk fails, any data stored on that disk will be lost.

Features of RAIDs created on integrated RAID controllersFeatures of RAIDs created on integrated RAID controllers

Depending on the specific model, a BareMetal server's motherboard may have one or two integrated RAID controllers or none at all.

Here are the possible types of interated RAID controllers on server motherboards:

• SATA (Serial AT Attachment): Supports only the SATA interface.
• SCU (Storage Controller Unit): Supports the SATA and SAS interfaces.

Integrated RAID controllers are implemented at the motherboard firmware level, emulating a block device with the basic bootloader functionality; full operation at the OS level requires installing a dedicated driver.

Supported RAID levelsSupported RAID levels

You can use integrated RAID controllers to create RAIDs at the following levels:

• RAID 0: Striping. Such an array may consist of two to six disks. This RAID type improves the read and write speed but reduces fault tolerance: if any single disk in the array fails, your data will be lost.

• RAID 1: Mirroring. Such an array may consist of two disks. This RAID type does not improve the speed of reading or writing data but provides fault tolerance: you will not lose data if one of the disks fails.

• RAID 5: Striping with distributed parity. Such an array may consist of three to six disks. This RAID type improves the read speed and ensures fault tolerance: you will not lose data if one of the disks fails.

  Note

  In some motherboard models, the SCU RAID controller does not support creating RAID 5 arrays.

• RAID 10: RAID1 striping. Such an array may consist of 4 to 12 disks, and their total number must always be even. This RAID type improves both the read and write speed while providing fault tolerance: data will be lost only if both disks in a RAID1 within the RAID10 fail.

RAID creation limitationsRAID creation limitations

When using integrated RAID controllers to create RAIDs, the following limitations apply:

• You can create a maximum of two RAIDs on a single disk group.

• You can set the size only for the first RAID you create on a disk group.

  The second RAID created on the same disk group will use all the unallocated disk space left after the first RAID was created.

• The second RAID you create using a certain disk must comprise exactly the same disks as the first array.

  For example, if your first RAID0 array contains three disks, A, B, and C, the second array you can create from these disks may be either another RAID0 array or a RAID5 array since only these two levels support three-disk configurations. You will not be able to create the second array made up of two disks (e.g., A and B), other three disks (e.g., C, D, and F), or four disks (e.g., A, B, C, and D), because the second array must use exactly the same three disks as the first one: A, B, and C. However, you can create one more array on disks E and F.

Creating RAIDs with an integrated RAID controllerCreating RAIDs with an integrated RAID controller

The process for creating RAIDs with integrated RAID controllers depends on your server's boot mode. To create a RAID:

1. Enable RAID mode on disk controllers:

   1. In the KVM console, access the BIOS/UEFI system settings menu by pressing F11 or Del during server startup when the POST screen appears. You will see the following message: Entering Setup....

   2. Wait for the system settings menu to open, then use the ← and → keys to navigate to the Advanced section.

      1. Select SATA Configuration and press Enter.
      2. In the section that opens, select SATA Mode, press Enter, and select RAID Mode.
      3. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.
      4. Select SCU Configuration and press Enter.
      5. In the section that opens, select SCU RAID Option ROM/UEFI Driver, press Enter, and select Enabled.
      6. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.

   3. Use the ← and → keys to navigate to Save & Exit, select Save Changes and Reset, and press Enter.

   4. Confirm by pressing Yes to restart the server.

2. Configure RAIDs:

   Legacy mode

   UEFI mode

   1. Launch the RAID configuration utility by pressing Ctrl + I during server startup when you see the list of connected physical disks on the POST screen.

      If the disks are connected to both the SATA and SCU server RAID controllers, the tables listing the disk will be displayed twice: the first table will have the SATA Option ROM header, and the second one, SCU Option ROM. You must access and configure each controller's settings separately.

   2. To create a RAID, select 1. Create RAID Volume and press Enter. In the window that opens:

      1. Configure the parameters of the new RAID.

         Use the Tab key to switch between menu items, ↑ and ↓ to view available options, and Enter to select a value.

      2. Select Create Volume and press Enter.

      3. Type Y to confirm.

   3. To delete a RAID, select 2. Delete RAID Volume and press Enter. In the window that opens:

      1. Select the RAID you want to delete and press Del.
      2. Type Y to confirm.
      3. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.

   4. To exit the RAID configuration utility, select 4. Exit and press Enter.

   5. Type Y to confirm.

   1. During the restart, press F11 or Del again to enter the system settings menu and wait for it to open.

   2. Use the ← and → keys to navigate to the Advanced section.

   3. To create RAIDs from disks connected to the SCU RAID controller, select Intel RSTe SCU Controller and press Enter.

      1. To create a RAID:

         1. Select the Create RAID Volume section to configure settings and select disks for the new RAID.
         2. Click Create Volume to run the operation.

      2. To delete a RAID:

         1. In the RAID list, select the RAID in question and click Enter.
         2. In the window that opens, click Delete and confirm the deletion.

      3. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.

   4. To create RAIDs from disks connected to the SATA RAID controller, select Intel RSTe SATA Controller and press Enter.

      1. To create a RAID:

         1. Select the Create RAID Volume section to configure settings and select disks for the new RAID.
         2. Click Create Volume to run the operation.

      2. To delete a RAID:

         1. In the RAID list, select the RAID in question and click Enter.
         2. In the window that opens, click Delete and confirm the deletion.

      3. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.

   5. Use the ← and → keys to navigate to Save & Exit, select Save Changes and Reset, and press Enter.

   6. Confirm by pressing Yes to restart the server.

OS boot modeOS boot mode

BareMetal server motherboards support the Legacy and UEFI OS boot modes. The server's OS boot mode is configured in its motherboard's BIOS/UEFI system settings.

When you install a server OS from a Marketplace image, it is always installed and booted in Legacy mode.

Installing an OS in UEFI modeInstalling an OS in UEFI mode

You can install an OS in UEFI mode from a custom image. During installation, boot the server from the CD drive with the mounted OS installation image in UEFI mode. To do this, in the KVM console:

1. Select Media → Virtual Media Wizard... or click the CD icon in the top menu of the KVM console. In the window that opens:

   1. In the CD/DVD Media1 section, click Browse and select the previously uploaded ISO OS image in the user-iso directory.
   2. Click Connect CD/DVD.
   3. Check the Virtual CD 1 device Status section to make sure the Connected To field now shows your selected ISO path, then click Close.

2. Click Reboot to CD-ROM in the top-right corner of the KVM console.

3. Access the BIOS/UEFI system settings menu by pressing F11 or Del during server startup when the POST screen appears. You will see the following message: Entering Setup....

4. Wait for the system settings menu to open.

5. If you plan to install the OS onto RAIDs created with an integrated RAID controller, use the ← and → keys to navigate to the Advanced section.

   1. Select PCIe/PCI/PnP Configuration and press Enter.
   2. In the section that opens, select Launch Storage OpROM policy, press Enter, and select UEFI only.
   3. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.

6. Use the ← and → keys to navigate to the Save & Exit section.

7. If you changed any settings in the previous steps, save them: select Save Changes, press Enter, and confirm the action in the window that opens.

8. In the Boot Override section, select UEFI: AMI Virtual CDROM0 1.00 and press Enter.

   If there is no such option in the Boot Override section, go to Boot settings and add it under UEFI Boot Drive BBS Priorities.

The server will restart and boot from the virtual CD drive in UEFI mode. In this mode, the OS installed from the image mounted on the CD drive will also be set up using UEFI.

Booting an OS in UEFI modeBooting an OS in UEFI mode

To successfully boot an OS installed in UEFI mode on your server, select the correct boot device in the BIOS/UEFI settings. To do this, in the KVM console:

1. When restarting your server after the OS installation is complete, navigate to the BIOS/UEFI system settings menu again. To do this, during server startup, press F11 or Del on the POST screen and wait for the system settings menu to open.

2. If the OS is installed onto RAIDs created with an integrated RAID controller, use the ← and → keys to navigate to the Advanced section.

   1. Select PCIe/PCI/PnP Configuration and press Enter.

   2. In the section that opens, check that the Launch Storage OpROM policy option is set to UEFI only.

      Note

      If Launch Storage OpROM policy is set to a different value, change it to UEFI only. Save the changes, restart the server, and open the BIOS/UEFI settings menu again to proceed with boot device selection.

   3. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.

3. Use the ← and → keys to navigate to the Boot section.

   1. Select UEFI Boot Drive BBS Priorities and press Enter. In the section that opens, do the following:

      1. In the 1st Device field, press Enter select an option based on the installed OS, e.g., UEFI OS, Ubuntu, Windows Boot Manager, etc.
      2. Press Esc to return to the previous menu section.

   2. In the Set Boot Priority section, set 1st Boot Device to the same value you selected in UEFI Boot Drive BBS Priorities.

4. Use the ← and → keys to navigate to Save & Exit, select Save Changes and Reset, and press Enter. Press Yes to confirm.

After completing these steps, your server OS will boot from the selected boot device in UEFI mode.