Dell PowerEdge VRTX System Upgrading PowerEdge VRTX to Support Fault Tolerant Shared PERC 8
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Copyright © 2014 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Overview of Shared PERC 8 Card Configuration 1 This document helps you upgrade the Dell PowerEdge VRTX system from a single controller configuration to a fault tolerant Shared PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) 8 configuration. The entire procedure may take you up to six hours. The following are the two types of controller configurations: • Single Shared PERC 8 card configuration — In this configuration, the PowerEdge VRTX system is installed with a single Shared PERC 8 card.
2 Prerequisites To upgrade the PowerEdge VRTX to support fault tolerant Shared PERC 8, you must ensure that: • All data is backed up from the shared storage drives according to the steps required for the specific operating system. CAUTION: The upgrade procedure is complex and can put your data at risk if mistakes are made. It is imperative that critical data is backed up prior to starting the procedure. • The contents of the upgrade kit are checked.
backplane expander board firmware, and the PowerEdge VRTX chassis infrastructure firmware. For the latest versions of drivers and firmware, see Downloading Firmware and Drivers in this document. Firmware Requirements NOTE: Ensure that you have uninterrupted network connectivity. The update fails if the network connectivity is interrupted during the process. Each firmware upgrade process is described in detail in this document. Table 1.
4. Download the necessary firmware, drivers, and software. More than one download may be available for the same component. Identify the latest software or firmware based on the release date and click Download File. a. To download the CMC firmware, expand Chassis System Management. b. To download the Shared PERC 8 firmware and driver, expand SAS RAID. For VMware, the Dell latest custom VMWare .iso install image can be found on dell.com/support. This image contains the Shared PERC 8 device driver for ESXi.
3 Upgrading Your System to Fault Tolerant Shared PERC 8 CAUTION: The order of the steps in this chapter is critical. Do not perform steps out of order or skip any step, or the upgrade may not be successful. Read through the entire process prior to starting the upgrade procedure. NOTE: Ensure that you have completed the conditions outlined in Prerequisites in a previous section of the document. Upgrade Procedure 1.
7. Remove the server modules and the shared storage hard drives from the PowerEdge VRTX system. WARNING: To prevent damage, do not stack components together after removal. For electrostatic discharge (ESD) compliance, see dell.com/regulatory_compliance. Label all server modules and hard drives before removal so that they can be replaced in the same slots. 8. Update the CMC firmware. For more information, see Updating the CMC Firmware in this document.
22. Insert the shared storage hard drives that you had removed earlier. Insert the shared hard drives in the original slots. 23. Turn on the PowerEdge VRTX system. 24. Confirm the Virtual Disk Layout and the Virtual Disk Assignments in the CMC GUI. If the virtual disks are not imported, not present, or the virtual disk assignments are not present or wrong, contact Dell Technical Support. 25. Turn off the PowerEdge VRTX system. 26. Insert the server modules that you had removed earlier.
Click Chassis Overview → Update and see if the CMC firmware needs to be updated. 1. Log in to the CMC GUI by using the management station. 2. In Chassis Overview, click the Update tab in the right pane. The Firmware Update page is displayed. Figure 2. Updating the CMC Firmware 3. Select the check box under CMC Firmware and click Apply CMC Update. NOTE: If you have two CMC applications, select both. 4.
Updating the Shared PERC 8 Firmware Click Chassis Overview → Storage → Update and see if the Shared PERC 8 firmware needs updating. 1. Log in to the CMC GUI by using the management station. 2. Ensure that the PowerEdge VRTX system is turned on in Chassis Overview → Power. 3. Ensure the server modules are turned off in Server Overview → Power. 4. Navigate to Storage in the left pane and click the Update tab. The Storage Component Update page is displayed. Figure 3.
3. In Select the Update Package, click Browse and navigate to the firmware package you downloaded by following the steps in Downloading Firmware and Drivers. The CMC software analyzes the firmware file and if you have downloaded the correct package, the Storage Component Update page displays the backplane expander board component. 4. Select the expander component and click Update. NOTE: If there are two backplane expander boards and they have different firmware revisions installed, click Select All. 5.
6. Remove the cooling shroud. Figure 4. Removing and Installing the Cooling Shroud 1. 3. release pins on the hard-drive backplane (2) pin on the cooling fan assembly 2.
7. Remove the cooling-fan assembly. Figure 5. Removing and Installing the Cooling-Fan Assembly 1. 3. 5. 8. release levers (2) cooling fans (6) support brackets (2) 2. 4. cooling-fan assembly cooling-fan connectors (6) For the 2.5" hard-drive chassis, remove the SAS cables from the system board and the backplane expander board. NOTE: The next steps are applicable for the 3.5” hard drive chassis only. If you have a 2.
11. Remove the backplane expander board from the connectors on the hard-drive backplane. Figure 6. Removing and Installing the 3.5 inch Backplane Expander Board 1. guide pins on the hard-drive backplane (2) 2. 3. securing screws on the release lever (under the expander board) (2) expander board bracket SAS cable connectors (2) hard-drive backplane 4. 5. 7. 9. 6. 8.
13. Pull the backplane release pins in the direction of the system board and lift the backplane from the chassis. Keep the lower corner of the backplane near the SAS cable clear of the EMI gasket as you lift the backplane up. Figure 7. Removing and Installing the 3.5 inch (x12) Hard-Drive Backplane 1. 3. 5. hard-drive connectors (12) SAS cables on backplane expander board (2) backplane expander board 2. 4. release pins (2) power cables (2) 6. hard-drive backplane Figure 8. Back View of the 3.
For more information on removing and reinstalling system components, see the Dell PowerEdge VRTX Enclosure Owner’s Manual at dell.com/support/manuals. 1. Remove the protective caps from the SAS cable connectors. 2. Install one end of each of the SAS cables in the system board. The ends that are connected to the system board are labeled as MB SAS 1A, MB SAS 1B, MB SAS 2A, and MB SAS 2B. Remove the grey protective caps on the SAS cable connectors , MB SAS 2A, and MB SAS 2B, on the system board.
5. Install the lower backplane expander board. Use both hands to insert the backplane expander board, and ensure that the backplane expander board connectors (3) are properly inserted and engaged even after the release lever is secured. a. Ensure that the backplane expander board release lever is fully opened. b. Position the backplane expander board so that the two guide rails under the expander board align with the two guide posts on the hard-drive backplane.
8. Connect the SAS cables to the upper backplane expander board. Make sure that both SAS connectors are latched. NOTE: The ends of the SAS cables that are plugged into the upper backplane expander board have the labels UP EXP SAS A and UP EXP SAS B marked on the cables. Figure 10. Installing the Upper Backplane Expander Board 1. backplane 3. 5. 7. 9. 11. backplane expander board connectors (3) lower backplane expander board LOW EXP SAS A UP EXP SAS B LOW EXP SAS B 2.
Figure 11. Cabling Diagram 1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 11. 22 UP EXP SASA LOW EXP SASA upper backplane expander board system board MB SAS2A MB SAS1A 2. 4. 6. 8. 10.
9. Install the second Shared PERC 8 card. Insert the left edge of the Shared PERC 8 card into the card holder first. Only after the left end is inserted, press down on the touchpoints on the other end of the card until the release levers snap over the edge of the card. Hold the Shared PERC 8 card only by the card edges. Do not damage the heatsink. Figure 12. Installing the Second Shared PERC 8 Card 1. 3. 5.
• 24 For Windows — MPIO (Multipath IO) is the Microsoft Windows multipath service. To configure MPIO, first create VDs and assign the VDs to the server modules that support MPIO. MPIO requires a storage controller and a storage endpoint (VD) to determine the storage I/O path. In standard VRTX configurations, the default MPIO settings can be used. See Installing and Configuring MPIO at technet.microsoft.com.
4 Troubleshooting the Upgrade Procedure When upgrading the Entry Shared PowerEdge VRTX storage subsystem to Fault Tolerant configuration, it is critical that you follow the steps in order. Observe the following precautions: • Back up all critical data to a storage independent of the PowerEdge VRTX storage subsystem. • Record the storage configuration and mapping information to a storage independent of the PowerEdge VRTX storage subsystem.
9. Remove all hard drives from the PowerEdge VRTX system. 10. Power on the PowerEdge VRTX system and check if full fault tolerance is enabled. WARNING: The following step must be performed after all the shared hard drives are removed from the system. Performing the next step with the shared drives in the PowerEdge VRTX system will result in the removal of all configured virtual disks and all data contained within. 11. Reset your storage configuration from the CMC: a.
Getting Help 5 Contacting Dell NOTE: Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer-service issues: 1. Go to dell.com/support. 2.
• The Dell PowerEdge VRTX Getting Started Guide shipped with your system provides an overview of system features, setting up your system, and technical specifications. • The setup placemat shipped with your system provides information on the initial system setup and configuration. • The server module Owner's Manual provides information about the server module features and describes how to troubleshoot the server module and install or replace the server module components.
