Administrator Guide

Discovering and managing your storage array
You can manage a storage array in two ways:
• Out-of-band management
• In-band management
The Enterprise Management Window (EMW) is the first page that loads when you open the Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) and
it allows you to discover, connect to, and manage MD3 storage arrays through in-band and out-of-band connectivity.
The indented storage names are arrays that have been discovered and when the operator selects the array, and it allows them to manage
the array.
Topics:
• Out-of-band management
• In-band management
• Storage arrays
• Setting up your storage array
• Configuring alert notifications
• Battery settings
• Setting the storage array RAID controller module clocks
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 with the default setting.
However, if a DHCP server is not available for 150 seconds, the RAID controller modules assign static IP addresses.
• For 60 disk arrays, the left-most ports labeled MGMT are used. The default the addresses assigned are 192.168.128.101 for controller 0
and 192.168.128.102 for controller 1.
• For 12 or 24 disk arrays, the right-most ports labeled MGMT are used. The default the addresses assigned are 192.168.129.101 for
controller 0 and 192.168.129.102 for controller 1.
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 about 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.
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34 Discovering and managing your storage array