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The Dell Technologies Quality Engineering (QE) teams perform thorough testing of all FRUs. Each FRU is tested multiple times for each code level with very specific pass or fail criteria.
Standard tests perform verification of the GUI-based scripted replacement procedures that are used by Dell Technologies field personnel. The tests are designed to verify the replaceability of each FRU without any adverse effects on the rest of the system, and to verify the functionality and ease-of-use of the scripted procedures. These tests are straightforward replacement procedures performed on operational components.
Non-standard tests are also performed on components that have failed either by error injection or hot removal of the component or its power source. These tests also incorporate negative testing by intentionally causing different failure scenarios during the replacement procedure. Note that removing a drive hot will not cause sparing to invoke. This behavior is optimal as the system knows the device has not gone bad. The correct course of action is to recover the drive rather than go through needless sparing and full rebuild processes.
Negative tests are designed to ensure that the replacement procedure properly detects the error and that the rest of the system is not affected.
Some examples of negative tests are:
Both the standard and non-standard tests are performed on all system models and various configurations with customer-like workloads running on the array. Tests are also performed repeatedly to verify there are no residual issues left unresolved that could affect subsequent replacements of the same or different components. Components that are known to fail more frequently in the field, and complex component replacements, are typically tested more frequently.