Smartctl Open Device Dev Sda Failed Dell Or Megaraid Controller Please Try — Adding 39d Megaraid N 39 Extra Quality //free\\
In production, use /dev/disk/by-path/ or /dev/disk/by-id/ for the virtual device, but the megaraid,N stays the same because PD IDs are stable until drives are replaced or reordered.
To find the logical drive number, you can use the megacli command, which is a utility provided by LSI (now part of Broadcom) for managing MegaRAID controllers.
storcli (Storage Command Line Tool) is the modern utility for Broadcom/LSI/Dell MegaRAID controllers. storcli show Use code with caution. (Take note of your controller ID, usually c0 ) List all physical drives: storcli /c0/eall/sall show Use code with caution. storcli show Use code with caution
Run smartctl --scan to see a list of attached devices and their corresponding IDs.
Add the and specify the physical disk number : Add the and specify the physical disk number
If you encounter the error Smartctl open device: /dev/sda failed: DELL or MegaRaid controller, please try adding '-d megaraid,N' , it means smartctl cannot directly talk to your hard drives because they are hidden behind a (like a Dell PERC). To fix this, you must tell smartctl exactly which physical drive to look at using the -d megaraid,N flag. Why This Error Occurs
Assuming you want to monitor a disk with a PD number of 2, the smartctl command would be: and media wearout counters
When the operating system reads /dev/sda , it is interacting with an emulated, unified virtual drive, not a physical piece of silicone or spinning media.
Standard Linux device names like /dev/sda often represent (logical volumes) created by the RAID controller, not the physical hardware. Since SMART data exists on the physical disks themselves, smartctl needs to bypass the RAID abstraction layer. Step-by-Step Solution 1. Find the Physical Drive IDs
To successfully monitor drive longevity, temperature, and media wearout counters, you must route your queries through the specialized controller interface using the -d (device type) flag. smartctl megaraid,N ( how to find the right value for N ? )