Foreign DellBoss M2 Boot device on ESXi host
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Foreign DellBoss M2 Boot device on ESXi host

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Article ID: 452554

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

  • vSphere shows drive online and active, but IDRAC shows alert on Disk.  
  • One of the DellBoss M2 drives reported as "Foreign" in iDRAC under the local DellBoss  controller.
  • Boot device needs to be identified for replacement. 

 

Environment

  • VMware ESXi 7.x
  • VMware ESXi 8.x
  • Dell PowerEdge servers with BOSS-S1 or BOSS-S2 controllers.

Cause

Proactive hardware failure of M2 SSD using DellBOSS configuration. While the host remains operational, but boot redundancy is lost.

Resolution

To identify the boot device and perform a rebuild, follow these steps:

  1. Identify the Boot Device 
    • CLI: Log in to the ESXi host via SSH and run the following command to identify which device is marked as the boot device: esxcli storage core device list Look for the entry where Is Boot Device: true is displayed. For Dell BOSS cards, this will typically show as Model: DELLBOSS VD.
  2. Verify Partition Structure: Confirm the device contains the ESXi system partitions by running: esxcli storage core device partition list A valid boot device will display multiple partitions (typically 5-6, up to partition 8 or 9). This can be done for both DellBoss drives, to verify they are mirroring each other. 
  3. Rebuild a Mirrored Configuration:
    • If the BOSS card is configured for RAID 1 (Mirrored), perform a graceful shutdown of the host.
    • Replace the failed physical M2 drive.
    • Power on the host. The BOSS controller should automatically initiate a rebuild/synchronization of the mirror.
      • NOTE: if only removing the drive and not replacing, rebooting the host after removing one of them will have ESXi boot into the other disk. Where powering down and inserting new one can be done later. 
  4. Monitor Rebuild Status: Check the rebuild progress via the iDRAC storage dashboard. The host will remain functional during the synchronization process.

 

If ESXi is not using a mirrored boot device, ESXi will have to be installed after replacing the failed boot disk. 

Additional Information

  • If the boot device is not mirrored, ESXi must be reinstalled on the replacement drive and the configuration must be restored from backup.
  • If additional assistance is needed, speak with a customer representative or a Support Engineer; contact support. 
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