Skip to main content

Installing hot-swap drives

Use this information to install a hot-swap hard disk drive.

Note
If you install only one drive, you must install it in drive bay 0.

To install a hot-swap SAS or SATA drive, complete the following steps:

  1. Read the safety information that begins in Safety and Installation guidelines.
  2. Touch the static-protective package that contains the drive to any unpainted metal surface on the server; then, remove the drive from the package and place it on a static-protective surface.
  3. Installing a 3.5-inch hot-swap drive:

    Figure 1. Hot-swap hard disk drive installation (3.5-inch)
    Hot-swap hard disk drive installation (3.5-inch)
    1. Remove the filler panel from the empty drive bay.
    2. Make sure that the drive-tray handle is in the open (unlocked) position.
    3. Align the drive assembly with the guide rails in the bay.
    4. Gently push the drive assembly into the drive bay until the drive stops.
    5. Rotate the drive-tray handle to the closed (locked) position.
    6. Skip to step 5.
  4. Installing a 2.5-inch hot-swap drive:
    Figure 2. Hot-swap hard disk drive installation (2.5-inch)
    Hot-swap hard disk drive installation (2.5-inch)
    1. Remove the filler panel from the empty drive bay.
    2. Make sure that the drive-tray handle is in the open (unlocked) position.
    3. Align the drive assembly with the guide rails in the bay.
    4. Gently push the drive assembly into the drive bay until the drive stops.
    5. Rotate the drive-tray handle to the closed (locked) position.
  5. Check the drive status LED to verify that the drive is operating correctly. If the yellow drive status LED for a drive is lit continuously, that drive is faulty and must be replaced. If the green drive activity LED is flashing, the drive is being accessed.
    Note
    If the server is configured for RAID operation using a ServeRAID adapter, you might have to reconfigure your disk arrays after you install drives. See the ServeRAID adapter documentation for additional information about RAID operation and complete instructions for using the ServeRAID adapter.
  6. If you are installing additional hot-swap drives, do so now.
  7. Restart the server. Confirm that it starts correctly and recognizes the newly installed devices, and make sure that no error LEDs are lit.
  8. Complete the additional steps in Instructions for Business Partners.

For information on the supported combination of drive backplane configurations, see Supported SAS/SATA drive backplane configurations.