LSI Storage Authority Features

The following tables outline the LSA features for MegaRAID controllers with respect to software features and firmware features.

Important: Feature support varies based on your software version.
Table 1. Firmware Features
Feature Name MegaRAID
RAID level RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60
Maximum configurable physical drives 64
Maximum spans 8
Maximum virtual drives 64
Dimmer switch DS-I and DS-II
Maximum media errors 256
Strip size support 64 KiB and 256 KiB
Maximum VDs per drive group 16
Multipath Yes
Controller reset support Yes
Table 2. Software Features
Feature Name Description
LDAP authentication Supported network authentication protocal.
Server discovery and managing servers Ability to set up a list of servers to monitor and manage.
Server dashboard Displays the overall summary of the server and devices attached to it.
Controller dashboard Interface in which you can perform controller-related actions and view all the information pertaining to a controller.
Simple configuration Specifies a limited number of settings and has the system select drives for you.
Advanced configuration Allows you to choose additional settings and customize virtual drive creation.
Foreign configuration (import/clear) A RAID configuration that already exists on a replacement set of drives that you install in a computer system.
Clear configuration Clears all existing configurations on a selected controller.
Update firmware Update the controller firmware.
Online firmware update Update the firmware while the system is online.
Controller Operations
Setting consistency check properties Set the consistency check properties.
Scheduling consistency check Schedule a consistency check.
Setting patrol read properties Set the patrol read properties.
Starting patrol read Start a patrol read.
Stopping patrol read Stop a patrol read.
Managing link speed Change the link speed between the controller and an expander or between the controller and a drive that is directly connected to the controller
Setting adjustable task rates Set the adjustable task rates.
Manage power-save settings Manage the power-save settings to reduce power consumption of the devices connected to a controller.
Enable and disable SSD Guard™ Enable or disable the SSD Guard feature.
Enable and disable security Enable or disable controller security.
Change drive security Change the drive security settings. Drive security settings cannot be changed when EKM is enabled.
Discarding preserved cache Discard the controller data preserved from the virtual drive. This option is only available if pinned cache is present on the controller.
Background operations support Pause, Resume, Abort, Pause All, Resume All, and Abort All features that enhance the functionality where the background operations running on a physical drive or a virtual drive can be paused for some time, and resumed later.
Personality management Allows you to switch between different personality modes that are supported by your firmware.
Advanced Software Features
Fast Path A high-performance I/O accelerator for SSD arrays connected to a MegaRAID controller card.
SafeStore ™ Used to secure drive data from unauthorized access or modification resulting from theft, loss, or repurposing of drives.
RAID 5 and RAID 6

RAID 5 uses disk striping and parity data across all drives (distributed parity) to provide high data throughput, especially for small random access.

RAID 6 uses distributed parity, with two independent parity blocks per stripe, and disk striping. A RAID 6 virtual drive can survive the loss of any two drives without losing data. A RAID 6 drive group, which requires a minimum of three drives, is similar to a RAID 5 drive group. Blocks of data and parity information are written across all drives. The parity information recovers the data if one or two drives fail in the drive group.

Modify drive group Allows you to add, remove, or directly change the RAID level.
Secure using FDE Secure a drive using Full-disk encryption (FDE).
Virtual Drive Operations
Virtual drive settings and modifying virtual drive properties Allows you to set and modify virtual drive properties.
Start and stop locating a virtual drive Identify a virtual drive within a disk enclosure.
Erasing a virtual drive Overwrite user-accessible locations or deletes a virtual drive.
Initializing a virtual drive Initialize a virtual drive after completing the configuration process.
Starting consistency check on a virtual drive Start a consistency check on a virtual drive.
Deleting a virtual drive Delete virtual drives on a controller to reuse that space for new virtual drives.
Physical Drive Operations
Assign global hot spare Assign a global hot spare to replace a failed physical drive in a redundant array.
Remove a global hot spare Remove a global hot spare and lists the drive in the Unconfigured Drives section.
Assign a dedicated hot spare Assign a dedicated hot spare drives to provide protection to one or more specified drive groups on the controller
Remove a dedicated hot spare Remove a dedicated hot space and lists the drive in the Unconfigured Drives section.
Start and stop a locating drive Identifies a physical drive by making their LEDs blink.
Making a drive online and offline Changes the state of a physical drive.
Replacing a drive Replaces a failing or failed drive.
Rebuilding a drive Automatically rebuilds the data onto a hot spare to prevent data loss if a drive fails.
Prepare for removal Prepares a physical drive for removal by spining the drive into a power save mode.
Erasing a drive Erases data on non-SEDs (normal HDDs).
Instant secure erase Erases data from encrypted drives.
Converting an unconfigured bad drive to an unconfigured good drive Convert an unconfigured bad drive to an unconfigured good drive.
Make an unconfigured good drive Changes the status of a JBOD drive to an Unconfigured Good drive.
Make a JBOD and delete a JBOD Changes the status of an Unconfigured Good drive to a JBOD drive.
Energy Pack Operations
Auto Learn Calibration operation that the controller performs to determine the condition ofthe energy pack.
Event Logs
Viewing event logs Views event logs, which contain information about the activity and performance of the server and all of the controller cards attached to the server.