 Hello Bluestar73, 1. You can blow away the OS on the 1950 server and reinstall it & it will not have any effect on the array.  What I would recommend is that before you reconnect the server back to the MD3000i that you make sure that all updates to the server are done. 2. You should not have any issues regaining management as the management is done by IP so as long as the software is installed it will see the MD’s management IP & should log you in as normal. 3. If you have any virtual disk or host mappings to the 1950 server you may need to set them back up if you change the servers name from what the server is named currently.   Please let us know if you have any other questions.
We are running a PowerEdge 1950, Windows Server 2008, R2, Standard with the Dell Modular Disk Storage Manager for the MD3000i, Second Generation.  We also have two PowerEdge 2900 servers running as VMware ESX vSphere hosts to several VM servers.  The MD3000i is configured as the data stores for the VMs. We have been experiencing funny little bugs [Windows OS, go figure] on the PE1950 and would like to rebuild the OS on it. Since this box is running the Dell MDSM on it, I have some concerns regarding pulling the trigger...  I see in the Device Manager on the PE1950 that these disks are populated.  I presume that the MDSM is putting them in there. My concerns / questions: 1 - If I blow the OS on the PE1950 into oblivion and reinstall Windows Server 2008, R2, Standard back on it, will this have any effect on the storage array?  Note: I have powered this server down for three days without any trouble accessing the data on the MD3000i from the ESX hosts and the VMs. 2 - Will the reinstallation of the Dell MDSM on the new OS have any trouble regaining management of the MD3000i? 3 - What am I missing here that I have not already considered? Please share your thoughts - ask me questions that you would like clarified - tell me your concerns, warnings or experiences regarding this process. I realize I have left a lot of detail out of this post, but I just wanted to get the overall view of this situation - Long posts tend to go unread and unresolved. TIA - Bluestar73
MD3000i - OS Rebuild on Modular Disk Storage Manager