Smartctl Open Device Dev Sda Failed Dell Or Megaraid Controller Please Try Adding 39d Megaraid N 39 Extra Quality - 

/dev/sda -d megaraid,0 -d megaraid,1 -d megaraid,2 -d megaraid,3 -a -o on -S on -s (S/../.././02|L/../../7/03) -m admin@example.com

But smartd doesn't usually accept multiple -d per line. Better to add separate lines:

/dev/sda -d megaraid,0 -a -o on -S on -m admin@example.com
/dev/sda -d megaraid,1 -a -o on -S on -m admin@example.com
...

This applies to any LSI MegaRAID card (e.g., 9260, 9361) under Linux. For HP SmartArray, use -d cciss,N; for 3ware, use -d 3ware,N.

Method 1: Use smartctl --scan

smartctl --scan -d megaraid

Output example:

/dev/sda -d megaraid,0 # /dev/sda, Physical Disk 0
/dev/sda -d megaraid,1 # /dev/sda, Physical Disk 1
/dev/sda -d megaraid,2 # /dev/sda, Physical Disk 2

Method 2: Use MegaCLI or storcli (Dell recommends storcli)

storcli /c0 /eall /sall show

Look for the DID (Device ID) or PD ID column – those numbers are your N values.

Method 3: Use lsblk + inference – less reliable, but if you have 4 drives in RAID10, IDs 0 and 1 are likely the first mirror pair.

For MegaRAID/Dell PERC, the most reliable tool is storcli (successor to megacli):

storcli /c0 /eall /sall show

That lists all physical disks in controller 0. Look for DID (Device ID) or ID – that is your N.

Example output snippet:

PD LIST :
=======
EID:Slt DID State DG     Size Intf Med
16:0     0   Onln   0 1.818 TB SATA HDD
16:1     1   Onln   0 1.818 TB SATA HDD

Here, DID column gives 0 and 1 as physical drive numbers.

If you are writing a script or noting this down for future reference, the clear syntax is:

| Component | Meaning | | :--- | :--- | | -d | Device Type Flag | | megaraid | The driver for Dell PERC / LSI controllers | | ,N | The physical disk index (0, 1, 2, etc.) |

By ignoring the garbled "39" text and identifying the correct disk index, you will successfully bypass the "Device Open Failed" error and retrieve your SMART data.

Fix: smartctl "Open Device Failed" on Dell or MegaRAID Controllers

When running smartctl on a Dell PowerEdge server or any system using a MegaRAID (LSI/Broadcom) controller, you often encounter this error:Smartctl open device: /dev/sda failed: Dell or MegaRAID controller, please try adding '-d megaraid,N'.

This happens because the operating system sees a virtual logical drive (the RAID array), but smartctl needs to talk directly to the physical disks hidden behind the controller. The Solution: Using the -d megaraid,N Flag

To bypass the virtual layer, you must tell smartctl which specific physical disk you want to inspect by providing its Device ID (represented as 1. Find the Physical Device ID (

You cannot guess this number, as it doesn't always start at 0. Use the storcli (or older MegaCli) utility to find the DID (Device ID). Command: sudo storcli /c0 /eall /sall show /dev/sda -d megaraid,0 -d megaraid,1 -d megaraid,2 -d

What to look for: Locate the DID column in the "Drive Information" table. If your disk is in slot 1 and has a DID of 11, then 2. Run the Correct smartctl Command

Once you have the ID, run the command against the controller's device node (usually /dev/sda or /dev/bus/0). Cannot get smartctl working - Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

"smartctl open device dev sda failed dell or megaraid controller please try adding -d megaraid,N"

The article explains the error, why it happens, how to fix it, and includes best practices for monitoring RAID drives behind Dell PERC / MegaRAID controllers.

Subject: Fixing smartctl "open device dev/sda failed" on Dell/MegaRAID

Content:
To fix the error smartctl open device /dev/sda failed, you must specify the RAID controller interface and logical drive number.

Use this syntax:

smartctl -a -d megaraid,<Enclosure_Device> /dev/sdX

Example for a Dell PERC controller:

smartctl -a -d megaraid,0 /dev/sda

💡 Pro tip: Use -d megaraid,N where N is the physical disk index behind the controller (0,1,2...). Run smartctl --scan to find available devices. But smartd doesn't usually accept multiple -d per line

  • Probe system for controllers:
  • Map PCI IDs to known controller families (LSI MegaRAID, Broadcom/Avago, Intel RAID, Areca, Adaptec).

  • Controller-specific access methods (try in order, with timeouts)

  • Dell PERC (hardware mapping differs; often requires megaraid driver or perccli):
  • mpt (LSI mpt2/mpt3):
  • cciss / hpsa:
  • NVMe:
  • SATA controllers with passthrough:

  • Automated mapping algorithm

  • For each attempt, capture exit code, stderr, stdout, and time.
  • Validate result by checking for expected SMART headers (e.g., "SMART overall-health self-assessment test result", or NVMe SMART fields).
  • Rate-limit and parallelize probing to avoid overwhelming controller.

  • CLI tool / wrapper behavior

  • Output:

  • Remediation & user guidance

  • If OS lacks sg devices or permissions:
  • If controller doesn't support passthrough:
  • For Dell systems: recommend perccli/storcli or Dell OMSA to access drive SMART.

  • Logging, metrics, and UX

  • Exit codes:
  • Optional telemetry (off by default) for aggregate failure patterns.

  • Security and permissions

  • Tests

  • Integration tests on hardware labs with LSI MegaRAID, Dell PERC, Areca.

  • Implementation notes