Preparatory work
Before installing Windows Server 2012, we also need to know what to note for Dell R720, such as the list of Dell BIOS support for Windows Server 2012:
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/w/wiki/3868.dell-bios-support-for-windows-server-2012
The H310 array cards in Windows Server 2012, such as R720, are already integrated and do not need to be downloaded separately for installation:
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/w/wiki/3872.dell-out-of-box-driver-support-for-windows-server-2012
For these details, we usually do not pay attention to, get the machine directly installed, install the problem to come back to see the instructions, this is not very good, the following website Dell has helped us to organize some materials, interested can see:
http://www.dell.com/support/contents/cn/zh/cnbsd1/article/Product-Support/Self-support-Knowledgebase/ Windows-operating-systems/windows-server-support
Configuring raid
In the server application, regardless of whether we are using Microsoft's system or any other system, we first do is to configure raid, as for the configuration of the raid why the pattern requires us to do according to the needs of the enterprise, generally speaking, RAID 5 and RAID 10 mostly.
Let's start with a brief introduction to some of the names of RAID card configurations:
Disk group: HDD group, after configuring raid, multiple hard disks are in one hard disk group;
VD: virtual hard disk;
PD (Physical Disk): physical hard disk.
We will then start configuring RAID, please note that in the process of configuring RAID, it is possible to cause data loss, make sure to back up the data.
1. Open R720 Power, R720 start self-test, when the Dell logo appears, press and hold Ctrl+r to enter the configuration interface;
2. Ctrl+p/ctrl+n can be used to switch menus, the initial interface is not configured by default;
3.F2 Expand the virtual hard disk creation menu and select Create New VD in the options.
4. In the RAID level option press ENTER, you can appear to support the RAID mode, of course, depending on the number of specific hard disks displayed also different, according to our actual needs to establish a RAID mode, generally RAID 5;
5. After confirming the raid level, press the DOWN ARROW key, move the cursor to physical disks, add the hard drive in the selected list by the SPACEBAR, and when the number of hard drives selected meets this RAID level requirement, the basic settings VD The default capacity information for this raid can be displayed in size. VD name information can be empty, or can be filled in as needed. There is an X mark for the selected hard drive. 7 hard drives are selected here;
6. When the above configuration is complete, move the cursor to OK by tab, enter OK;
7. Return to the VD Mgmt interface to see some information about the RAID 5 we have created.
At this point, the entire RAID 5 configuration is basically complete!
Installation system
1. Download the Windows Server 2012 burn disc from Microsoft Official website into the optical drive, power on press F11 select boot from CD drive: http://technet.microsoft.com/zh-CN/
Select language, keyboard and other information;
2. Select repair or install;
3. Installation start-up;
4. Select the version of Windows Server 2012 that we need;
5. Acceptance of the terms;
6. New installation, we choose Custom installation;
7.Windows Server 2012 has an integrated 12G H310 array card driver, if the array card is not recognized can choose load drive to load the driver;
8. The system starts copying files for subsequent installation;
9. The installation can be completed in about 20 minutes.
In contrast, installing Microsoft's server operating system on Dell's servers is a lot simpler than it used to be, and we want to continue this collaboration between Dell and Microsoft to facilitate our end users!
Teaches you to upgrade from Windows Server 2003 to 2012