---
name: feedback_verify_live_before_acting
description: Always pull LIVE current data before acting on (or alarming about) a hardware/infra finding — wiki/session-logs are point-in-time snapshots that go stale
metadata:
  type: feedback
---

Before acting on, or raising alarm about, any hardware/infrastructure state — **pull live current
data first and lead with THAT, not the wiki or a recalled fact.** The wiki, session logs, and memory
are point-in-time snapshots; a "broken/degraded/failing" flag may have changed by the time you read it.
This matters most for **hard-to-reverse or money-spending actions** (drive swaps, hardware pulls,
parts purchases, "it's down" escalations).

**Why:** 2026-06-24 — the Cascades CS-SERVER wiki carried a `[CRITICAL] RAID degraded / failing
drive` flag from 2026-06-15. Acting on it, **SSDs were purchased** and Howard went onsite ready to
hot-swap the "failing" drive. A **live Dell OMSA `omreport` query (via the RMM agent)** then showed
the OS mirror had **self-recovered** (the flaky drive dropped out and re-synced after a power cycle):
all 5 disks Online/Ok, all LEDs green, and the "5th unused drive" was actually the **global hot
spare**. Acting on the 9-day-stale flag nearly pulled a healthy drive and wasted a drive purchase.
Howard's directive: "always go with live current data to make sure our findings are real."

**How to apply:**
- For Dell servers: `omreport storage controller|vdisk|pdisk controller=0` + `omreport system esmlog`
  via the RMM agent (OMSA reads the controller directly — authoritative). iDRAC/Redfish is the
  out-of-band equivalent (no iDRAC skill yet; creds not vaulted as of 2026-06-24).
- Windows `Get-PhysicalDisk`/`Get-Disk` shows only the VIRTUAL disks as "Healthy" even when a member
  is degraded — it CANNOT see the array; never conclude RAID health from the OS view alone.
- For any infra claim sourced from the wiki/a recalled fact: re-verify the specific file/flag/host is
  still true before recommending action. State the data's timestamp and source.
- See [[reference_rmm_drive_map_explorer_refresh]] for the OMSA-via-RMM pattern context.