Installation and Setup
In this chapter, you will learn:
How to perform pre-OS configuration in the BIOS/UEFI environment.
The detailed steps to create a bootable RAID volume.
How to load the necessary drivers when installing Windows on a RAID volume.
This chapter details the procedures for configuring RAID volumes before installing an operating system. Intel® VROC RAID configuration differs from Intel® RSTe; NVMe drives must be configured through the Intel® VROC HII interface for proper RAID creation. It covers navigating the BIOS environment, creating bootable RAID volumes using the UEFI HII interface, and loading the necessary drivers for a Windows installation.
Pre-Operating System Introduction
RAID management within the BIOS Setup environment integrates both Intel® VROC and Intel® VROC Pre-Operating System (Pre-OS) management components. This allows RAID configuration and control to be performed directly within BIOS Setup. This capability enables the creation of RAID volumes prior to the installation of an operating system. This guide also provides instructions for loading the required F6 Windows* drivers during OS installation in order to fully leverage this functionality.
Navigating the Pre-Operating System
The BIOS Setup environment is accessed during system startup or the Power-On Self-Test (POST). The specific key to enter the Setup Menu may vary depending on the system manufacturer; however, in the examples provided throughout this guide, the F2 key will be used.
Enabling Intel® VMD
Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) supports the creation of RAID volumes through the UEFI HII interface, which is part of the UEFI driver package included with the platform BIOS. The Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe RAID) UEFI HII can be accessed from the BIOS Setup environment. To use this feature, Intel® VMD must also be enabled on the platform.
Creating a Bootable RAID Volume Using Intel® VROC HII
Ensure no existing OS partitions are present on the target drives. Creating RAID on pre-partitioned disks can result in boot issues.
Follow these steps to create a bootable RAID volume using the Intel® VROC UEFI HII. This method should only be applied on a newly built system or when reinstalling the operating system. For systems with an existing OS installation, it is recommended to use the Intel® VROC GUI within Windows* to configure RAID volumes.
Note: Refer to your platform documentation for details on how to access the Intel® VROC HII interface.
Assumptions
Before proceeding, the following requirements must be met:
The method to access the platform BIOS setup menus is known.
Intel® VMD has been enabled.
The appropriate Intel® VROC RAID Upgrade Key has been installed.
The required number of supported NVMe SSDs are connected to the enabled Intel® VMD controller.
Procedure
Warning: Creating a RAID volume will erase all data on the selected drives.
Enter the BIOS configuration setup menu to access the Intel® VROC UEFI HII interface.
Navigate to and select Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU.
Select Create RAID Volume.
Specify a volume name and press Enter, or press Enter to accept the default name.
Select the RAID level. Press Enter, use the arrow keys to scroll through the available RAID types, highlight the desired option, and press Enter to confirm.
Only data volumes are supported in this configuration; spanned boot volumes are not supported.
To enable spanned volumes, highlight the < > bracket and press Enter. In the selection menu, choose X and press Enter to enable spanning.
To disable spanning, reset the value to blank and press Enter.
Select the drives to include in the array. Highlight the
< >bracket next to the desired drives and press Enter to select them with anX.Repeat Step 7 for each additional drive required in the array.
For RAID levels other than RAID 1, select the strip size.
Note: RAID 1 defaults to a strip size of 128 KB, which cannot be modified.
Define the volume capacity and press Enter. The default value is the maximum available capacity for the selected drives.
Navigate to Create Volume and press Enter.
The system returns to the Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU screen, where the newly created RAID volume appears under
To exit the interface, press Esc. A confirmation prompt will appear.
Press Y to save changes and exit.
Note: Exiting without saving will discard all RAID configuration changes.
To reboot for operating system installation, press Esc to return to the MainMenu, navigate to Reset, and press Enter. Note: For RAID 1, 5, and 10, the system will not automatically initialize these volumes within UEFI. Initialization must be completed after the operating system is installed.
Installing Windows Server on a RAID Volume
When configuring RAID boot volumes with Intel® VROC, additional drivers are required to properly install the Windows* operating system. Specifically, when prompted for storage drivers during Windows Setup, select Load driver and locate iaVROC.inf (for VMD-enabled platforms) or iaRNVMe.inf (for non-VMD platforms).
Follow these steps to install Windows Server on a RAID volume:
Assumptions
Intel® VMD has been configured and enabled.
The RAID volume has been created in the BIOS.
Procedure
On the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen, click Load driver.
Click Browse to locate the driver files on your installation media (e.g., a USB drive).
Navigate to the correct F6 driver for your hardware:
iaVROC: For NVMe drives attached to the Intel® VMD controller.iaRNVMe: For Intel® platforms that do not support VMD technology.
Highlight the required driver and click OK to install. Installation may take several minutes.
Once the driver has been installed, the RAID volume should appear in the list of available drives. Select the RAID volume and proceed with the Windows installation as normal.
If the drive selection screen appears blank after installation, click Refresh to rescan and display the RAID volume.
Select the desired RAID volume and click Next to continue with the Windows operating system installation.
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