[Dell T420] Upgrade OS drives to SSD

Hi, I don't have a best practice for this. I would proceed like this:

1: Back up all critical data to an external storage device.
2: Install SSD drives into available hard drive slots on the PERC H710 controller.
3: Boot the server and enter the RAID configuration utility.
4: Create a new RAID1 virtual disk with SSD. Give the old virtual disk a similar name for easy identification.
5: Initialize and format the new virtual disk.
6: Copy all data from the old virtual disk to the new virtual disk.
7: Test the new virtual disk to make sure it works as expected.
8: If you are happy with the new configuration, delete the old virtual disk.

I recommended updating the RAID controller firmware and drivers to the latest version before beginning the migration process. And testing the new virtual disk before deleting the old virtual disk to avoid any unforeseen hiccups.

Thank you for those detailed steps. There are no available drive slots left on the PERC controller. They're all in use. What would be the best way to proceed in this case?

Hi @FahdK,

With no available slots, you may have to replace the 2 SAS with 2 SSD and create a new RAID1 to restore data from data back up as recommended by Erman. Please be aware, these steps may occur data lost. So make sure you have full data backup. 

Thanks for all the replies. So here's my thought process on this...please help me think this through or if I've missed anything. I'm anxious as I'm unfamiliar with the RAID controller behaviour and interface.

1: Back up the entire drive to external storage device using Veeam Windows Agent.

2: Clone the virtual drive to an external USB drive using Macrium Reflect Server usb boot WINPE environment.

3: Remove the existing physical drives from the PERC H710 controller slots and clear configuration.

4: Install SSD drives into the same hard drive slots on the PERC H710 controller and create a new virtual drive using the same virtual drive settings.
5: Initialize and format the new virtual disk.
6: Clone the external usb drive created in step2 to the new virtual drive.
7: Test the new virtual drive to make sure it works as expected.

Does this make sense? Its a 2 step process but I'd rather err on the side of caution. Thanks again.

1: Back up the entire drive to external storage device using Veeam Windows Agent. ->Hello, just one thing, the compatibility with a 3rd party software can not be guaranteed.

What is the recommended software for cloning disks and imaging backups?

Hello, I'm afraid I can not answer that. Sorry I can't be of help this time.