HOW TO: Use Dell OpenManage Server Administrator to Create and Manage a Virtual Disk (RAID Array) on a Dell PowerEdge Server with VMware vSphere 5.0, ESXi 5.0 installed.
One of the benefits of using a Dell PowerEdge Server versus a HP ProLiant Server to host a VMware vSphere Host, is the ability to Create and Manage the virtual disk (RAID array) on the server with ESXi 5.0 installed, without restarting the server, and using the Storage Controller RAID BIOS configuration utility. Currently (July 2012), the only way to create and manage a HP SmartStart RAID Array, is either to shutdown the VMware vSphere 5.0 (ESXi 5.0) server, and use the SmartStart RAID Array BIOS at POST or BOOT the server from the HP SmartStart CDROM and use the Array Configuration Utility (ACU). HP have still not provided a software alternative when the ESXi server is running. The Dell documentation seems to complicate this process in how to complete this task, and due to the many questions, I have decided to create a Tutorial Walkthrough in few easy steps of how this can be easily achieved. Prerequisites 1. Download and Install the Dell OEM version of VMware vSphere 5.0 U1 (ESXi 5...