Last Update: 17.03.2024
Show configuration
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl all show config
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl all show config
Controller status
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl all show status
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl all show status
Show detailed controller information for all controllers
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl all show detail
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl all show detail
Show detailed controller information for controller in slot 0
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 show detail
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 show detail
Rescan for New Devices
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli rescan
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli rescan
Physical disk status
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd all show status
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 pd all show status
Show detailed physical disk information
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd all show detail
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 pd all show detail
Logical disk status
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld all show status
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld all show status
View Detailed Logical Drive Status
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 show
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 show
Create New RAID 0 Logical Drive
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:2 raid=0
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:2 raid=0
Create New RAID 1 Logical Drive
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2 raid=1
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2 raid=1
Create New RAID 5 Logical Drive
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2,2I:1:6,2I:1:7,2I:1:8 raid=5
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2,2I:1:6,2I:1:7,2I:1:8 raid=5
Delete Logical Drive
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 delete
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 delete
Add New Physical Drive to Logical Volume
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 add drives=2I:1:6,2I:1:7
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 add drives=2I:1:6,2I:1:7
Expand the array after adding new physical disks
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 1 modify size=max forced
Add Spare Disks
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array all add spares=2I:1:6,2I:1:7
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 array all add spares=2I:1:6,2I:1:7
Enable Drive Write Cache
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify dwc=enable
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 modify dwc=enable
Disable Drive Write Cache
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify dwc=disable
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 modify dwc=disable
Erase Physical Drive
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 pd 2I:1:6 modify erase
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 pd 2I:1:6 modify erase
Turn on Blink Physical Disk LED
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 modify led=on
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 modify led=on
Turn off Blink Physical Disk LED
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 modify led=off
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 modify led=off
Modify smart array cache read and write ratio (cacheratio=readratio/writeratio)
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify cacheratio=100/0
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 modify cacheratio=100/0
Enable smart array write cache when no battery is present (No-Battery Write Cache option)
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 modify nbwc=enable
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 modify nbwc=enable
Disable smart array cache for certain Logical Volume
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 logicaldrive 1 modify arrayaccelerator=disable
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 logicaldrive 1 modify arrayaccelerator=disable
Enable smart array cache for certain Logical Volume
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 logicaldrive 1 modify arrayaccelerator=enable
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 logicaldrive 1 modify arrayaccelerator=enable
Enable SSD Smart Path
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array a modify ssdsmartpath=enable
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 array a modify ssdsmartpath=enable
Disable SSD Smart Path
ESXi 5.5 -> /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array a modify ssdsmartpath=disable
ESXi 6.x/7/8 -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 array a modify ssdsmartpath=disable
Kalle's playground 
Thanks a lot mate, good info.
Thank u as well.
Thank you very much
This is aweseome 🙂
Note that if you strip off the “/opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/” part, these commands work fine on Linux.
Very conscience, the HP guide is too verbose. Your page had just what I needed: practical examples. good job.
Very efficient, Thank you!! Major time saver for a few of us.
thx man very good
Thank you very much. It is useful for me. also, theese commands running in linux.
Thanks Man !
Awesome resource! Thanks!
Is there any way to set the friendly name of the Array when creating it, which the PS cmdlet get-disk lists when executed? I would like to automate the entire server deployment process including the creating and partitioning of multiple Arrays and Need some way to identify each Array in order to get the disk index for formatting.
Brazilian Thanks 😀
Great job – Thanks!
Great job – Thanks a lot!
Thanks for having all these commands in one place!
Thanks for the write up. Much better source then any Hp documents.
Are you aware of any commands that interact with HP SmartCache? I was looking around through HP documentation and haven’t found anything on displaying SmartCache stats or even creating a SmartCache LV. It appears to be restricted to GUI only which doesn’t bode well for vSphere implementations.
I was actually able to figure it out. Below are the commands that I used (!!!!Change ctrl and ld to fit your environment!!!!)….
/opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array b ld 2 show detail (Used this to show SmartCache config)
/opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 array b ld 2 modify writepolicy=writethrough (Change write policy on SmartCache which is useful for instance when you need to delete the SmartCache to expand an array)
/opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 delete (Deletes the SmartCache)
/opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=0 create type=ldcache drives=1e:1:10 datald=1 (Creates the SmartCache)
I would encourage referencing the following manual http://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03909334
Excellent work! thanks a lot. 🙂
Updated link to Manual -> http://h20566.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=c03909334
Any one know if this utility can expand the logical drive after adding physical disks and after the transforming has taken place. Because, the drive does not show the expected new size until the drive is expanded. You can do the expand from the BIOS > HPSSA. Be nice to do it online.
Hi!
This one worked for us:
./hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 1 modify size=max forced
This one would be really useful in the guide above under the “add physical disk” if this page ever gets edited or updated these days – even now I’m still using these
Page updated 🙂
Hi!
This one worked for us:
./hpssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 1 modify size=max forced
Be careful, with ESXi 6.5, HPE has change the name of vib package from “hpssacli” (eg hpssacli-2.30.6.0-6.0.0) to “ssacli” (eg. ssacli-2.65.2.0-6.5.0).
[root@ESXi01:~] esxcli software vib list | grep ss
ssacli 2.65.2.0-6.5.0.4240417 HPE PartnerSupported 2016-12-01
So you’ll have to use the same command listed above but the following path “/opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/” (eg. /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=1 pd All show).
Moreover, if you made a proper migration from ESXi 6.0 to 6.5 using HPE Custom ISO, you’ll still have the hpssssacli installed but you’ll receive an error trying to use it.
Thank you for telling me. I have yet to upgrade to 6.5 but when I do I will remember this.
Just an fyi, in ESXi 6.0 u2, both paths are available:
[root@esx105:~] /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli
hpssacli hpssacli_esx
[root@esx105:~] /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli
ssacli ssacli_esx ssacli_ret
(showing tab completion)
Hi Waldoo,
you are my hero of the day!
ESXi 6.0u3 (HP customized iso) -> /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl all show config
Just to add. For me on ESXi 6.0 does commands not working straightaway. You need to put in proper sentence and needs to be enclosed in quotes.
esxcli hpssacli cmd -q “ctrl all show”
Many thanks for you post and useful examples. I’m using P410i on a whitebox server at home and hpacucli is not woriking anymore on the latest version of esx 5.5. Due to the fact that is not HP Server , I don’t have any other access to the settings of the controller, only if I install windows server 2008 on separate HDD and boot from it with HP SA Config tools.
Thanks again.
The Path changed with vSphere 6.5 from:
/opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/
to:
/opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/
GREAT!!!!!
In the latest version of HP custom image for 6.0 U3, the new command is under /opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin – ./ssacli is the command. so far I haven’t found anything different about the syntax.
Brilliant information my friend. Thank you so much for posting this.
Thank you !
Thanks alot! saved me a reboot to make a new logical drive 🙂
thanks!
I currently have three arrays A, B & C, logical drives 1, 2 & 3. I want to remove array B which consists of three 146GB SAS drives RAID5 and replace it with 3 * 1TB drives RAID5. I have deleted everything on the datastore and removed it on the ESXi host. I was hoping to delete logical drive 2 from the CLI and then replace the 146GB drives for the 1TB ones and then build another array. However when I issued the command I got a warning that the array letters will change:
“/opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=0 ld 2 delete
Warning: Deleting an array can cause other array letters to become renamed.
E.g. Deleting array A from arrays A,B,C will result in two remaining
arrays A,B … not B,C
Warning: The command was not executed. When using SSACLI with esxcli
you must supply the “forced” flag to complete the operation.”
I have VMs on logical drives 1 & 3 (arrays A & C) so what will happen? Based on the output Array A should be OK, however Array C will become Array B. I obviously don’t want to lose anything….
Great info!
Anyone know how to fix this issue:
After reboot of Esxi 6.7u1(hp image) I am able to run
/opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl all show config
And get a nice output. However after a while I cant get output from the same command, instead i get error message (i will update wirh error msg later). Putting Esxi in maintanence mode or rebooting server then I can get a nice output from tje command again. Until it stops working.
I have reinstalled ssacli vib and that made no difference.
Any help appriciated. Thanks
Muito obrigado!
Thank you very much!
great summary !
if you don’t want to add the full path, you can also call :
ESXI 5.5 -> export PATH=/opt/hp/hpssacli/bin:$PATH
ESXI 6.5 -> export PATH=/opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin:$PATH
thank you 😉
Thank you. This is a great reference.
For older versions of ESX (5.0-5.1) the commands work as per the 5.5 but you’d need to change hpssacli to hpacucli. Used them to check a raid rebuild progress
Kalle, thank you, good Sir! Sending you a hearty upside-down handshake from Australia!
Thanks