Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) Hot-Spare Disk Capabilities for Windows*

The following information outlines the hot-spare disk features and functionality supported by Intel® VROC, including the Intel® VROC sub-products: Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe* RAID), Intel® VROC (SATA RAID) and Intel® VROC (Non-VMD NVMe* RAID). To learn about specific features supported by each Intel® VROC sub-product, refer to the following resources:

• Key Features of Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) VMD NVMe* RAID for Windows*
• Key Features of Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) SATA RAID for Windows*
• Key Features of Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) Non-VMD NVMe* RAID for Windows*

The Intel® VROC family of products supports the ability to set a drive as a hot-spare that would automatically be used to rebuild a failed or degraded RAID volume without any user interaction. This support is provided in the Intel® VROC Graphical User Interface (GUI) application as well as in the Pre-OS UEFI HII utilities.

Global Hot-Spare

The Intel® VROC family of products supports the hot-spare disks definitions as global hot-spares. This means that the hot-spare can be applied to any RAID array under the following conditions:

• A hot-spare(s) defined on the SATA controller will be available for any RAID array on the SATA controller.
• A hot-spare(s) defined on the sSATA/tSATA controller will be available for any RAID array on the sSATA/tSATA controller.
• A hot-spare(s) defined on an Intel® Volume Management Device (Intel® VMD) domain will be available for any RAID array on any of the Intel® VMD domains in the system. The one exception is a boot volume. The spare must be in the same domain. A spanned RAID volume can use a hot-spare disk inside one of its Intel® VMD controllers. A non-spanned RAID volume will not auto use a hot-spare disk not in the same Intel® VMD controller.

Mark a Disk as Hot-Spare

Marking a disk as a spare allows the user to designate an available disk as the default destination for automatic volume rebuilds in the event of a failed, missing or at risk (SMART event) array disk.

The action is only available for non-system disks in a normal state. The spare disk must be connected to the same controller as the disk that it is supporting. The maximum number of spare disks is determined by the maximum number of disks supported by the controller. 

Since all hot-spare drives are considered global (and not dedicated to a specific RAID array), the size of the disk being designated as a hot-spare is not checked. As a result, make sure the size of the drive is commensurate to the RAID array it is targeted for. 

Setting a disk as a spare disk can be accomplished in the following ways:

• From the Intel® VROC GUI application.
• From the Intel® VROC Pre-OS environment (UEFI HII) user interface.
• From the Intel® VROC Command Line Interface (CLI) tool.

Mark a Disk as Spare in the Intel® VROC GUI Application

The Intel® VROC family of products provides an option in the Intel® VROC GUI application to mark a disk as a hot-spare.

The assumption is made that the appropriate additional drive(s) have been physically installed in the system. The installed drive(s) are also assumed to meet the size requirements to be identified as spare drives for the RAID array they will be associated to. To identify a drive as a hot-spare in the Intel® VROC GUI application, use the following steps:

1. Start the Intel® VROC GUI application (run as administrator).
2. In the Devices pane that displays the drives, select the drive to be marked as a spare.
3. In the Disk Properties pane, click Mark as Spare.

Mark a Disk as Spare in the UEFI HII Interface

The Intel® VROC family of products provides an option to mark a disk as spare in the UEFI HII user interface.

The assumption is made that the appropriate additional drive(s) have been physically installed on the system. The installed drive(s) are also assumed to meet the size requirements to be identified as spare drives for the RAID array they will be associated to. To identify a drive as a hot-spare in the UEFI HII interface, use the following steps:

1. Enter to the BIOS Setup menu.
2. Navigate to EDKII Toolkit, press Enter. 
3. Navigate to Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU and press Enter. Alternate destinations may be Intel® VROC sSATA/tSATA Controller or Intel® VROC SATA Controller. The non-RAID disk will be listed below the RAID volume in a category below. 
4. Highlight the target drive desired and press Enter. The screen presents the Physical Disk Information page. Depending on the nature of the RAID array, there may be two options available: Mark as Spare and Mark as Journal. 
5. For the intended purpose of marking a drive as a spare drive, highlight Mark as Spare and press Enter. A window will be displayed asking to confirm the action. To proceed, select Yes. Marking a disk as spare will remove all data on the disk.

Return a Hot-Spare Disk Back to Available

The Intel® VROC family of products supports the ability to return a drive marked as a hot-spare back to available. When a drive is reset back to available, it can be used as a normal drive.

Return Hot-Spare Disk Back to Normal in the Intel® VROC GUI Application

To return a drive marked as a hot-spare back to available in the Intel® VROC GUI application, use the following steps:

1. Start the Intel® VROC GUI application (run as administrator).
2. In the Devices pane that displays the drives, select the drive that is marked as a spare.
3. In the Disk Properties pane, click Return to available.

Return Hot-Spare Disk Back to Normal in the UEFI HII Interface

To return a drive marked as a hot-spare back to available in the UEFI HII user interface, use the following steps:

1. Enter to the BIOS Setup menu.
2. Navigate to EDKII Toolkit, press Enter. 
3. Navigate to Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU and press Enter. Alternate destinations may be Intel® VROC sSATA/tSATA Controller or Intel® VROC SATA Controller. The non-RAID disk will be listed below the RAID volume in a category below. 
4. Highlight the target drive that is designated as a hot-spare and press Enter. The screen presents the Physical Disk Information page. Select Reset to available and press Enter. A window will be displayed asking to confirm the action. To proceed, select Yes.