Administrator Guide

Discovering And Managing Your Storage Array

You can manage a storage array in two ways:

• Out-of-band management

• In-band management

NOTE: If you are using an iSCSI MD storage array, see

Troubleshooting the Dell PowerVault MD-Series Storage

Array: Configuring the Ethernet Management Port

at dell.com/support/manuals for more information on the

management features.

Out-Of-Band Management

In the out-of-band management method, data is separate from commands and events. Data travels through the host-to-

controller interface, while commands and events travel through the management port Ethernet cables.

This management method lets you configure the maximum number of virtual disks that are supported by your operating

system and host adapters.

A maximum of eight storage management stations can concurrently monitor an out-of-band managed storage array.

This limit does not apply to systems that manage the storage array through the in-band management method.

When you use out-of-band management, you must set the network configuration for each RAID controller module’s

management Ethernet port. This includes the Internet Protocol (IP) address, subnetwork mask (subnet mask), and

gateway. If you are using a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, you can enable automatic network

configuration, but if you are not using a DHCP server, you must enter the network configuration manually.

NOTE: RAID controller module network configurations can be assigned using a DHCP server (the default setting).

However, if a DHCP server is not available for 150 seconds, the RAID controller modules assign static IP

addresses. By default, the addresses assigned are 192.168.128.101 for controller 0 and 192.168.128.102 for controller

In-Band Management

Using in-band-management, commands, events, and data travel through the host-to-controller interface. Unlike out-of-

band management, commands and events are mixed with data.

NOTE: For detailed information on setting up in-band and out-of-band management see your system’s Deployment

Guide at dell.com/support/manuals.

When you add storage arrays by using this management method, specify only the host name or IP address of the host.

After you add the specific host name or IP address, the host-agent software automatically detects any storage arrays

that are connected to that host.

NOTE: Some operating systems can be used only as storage management stations. For more information about the

operating system that you are using, see the

MD PowerVault Support Matrix

at dell.com/support/manuals.

For more information, see the online help topics.