Dell PowerVault MD3260 Series Storage Arrays Deployment Guide
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. © 2013 Dell Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Contents 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................5 System Requirements...............................................................................................................................................5 Management Station Requirements.................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction To Storage Arrays...............
Changing Load Balance Policies In Windows Sever 2008 .................................................................................... 23 Least Queue Depth With Subset...................................................................................................................... 23 Changing The Load Balance Policy Using Windows Server 2008 Device Manager Options.................................24 Changing The Load Balance Policy Using The Windows Server 2008 Disk Management Options.................
Introduction 1 This guide provides information about deploying Dell PowerVault MD3260 storage arrays. The deployment process includes: • Hardware installation • Modular Disk Storage Manager (MD Storage Manager) installation • Initial system configuration Other information provided include system requirements, storage array organization, and utilities. NOTE: For more information on product documentation, see support.dell.com/manuals.
One or more host servers attached to the storage array can access the data on the storage array. You can also establish multiple physical paths between the host(s) and the storage array so that loss of any single path (for example, through failure of a host server port) does not result in loss of access to data on the storage array.
Hardware Installation 2 Before using this guide, ensure that you review the instructions in the: • • • Getting Started Guide — The Getting Started Guide that shipped with the storage array, provides information to configure the initial setup of the system. Dell PowerVault MD3260/3260i/3660i/3660f/3060e Storage Arrays Administrator's Guide — The Administrator's Guide provides information about important concepts you must know before setting up your storage solution.
You choose the data configuration based on: • Number of hosts required • Level of data redundancy required Redundant And Non-Redundant Configurations Non-redundant configurations are configurations that provide only a single data path from a host to the storage array. This type of configuration is only recommended for non-critical data storage.
Figure 2.
Figure 3. Four Hosts Connected to Two Controllers The following figure shows eight hosts, each connected to only one RAID controller module. This configuration allows the maximum number of hosts that may be connected, but provides no redundancy.
Figure 4. Eight Hosts Connected to Two Controllers The following figures show up to four cluster nodes connected to two RAID controller modules. Since each cluster node has redundant paths, loss of a single path would still allow access to the storage array through the alternate path.
Figure 5.
Figure 6. Four Cluster Nodes Connected to Two Controllers Cabling PowerVault MD3060e Expansion Enclosures You can expand the capacity of your PowerVault MD3260 Series storage array by adding PowerVault MD3060e expansion enclosures. You can expand the physical disk pool to a maximum of 120 (or 180, if enabled using Premium Feature activation) physical disks using a maximum of two expansion enclosures. NOTE: Hot plug of MD3060e expansion enclosure is not recommended.
For more information, see the Support Matrix at support.dell.com/manuals. 2. Install the software and driver package included on the PowerVault MD Series resource media. For information about installing the software, see Installing MD Storage Manager. 3. Using MD Storage Manager, update the RAID controller module and NVSRAM firmware to the latest versions available on support.dell.com. 4. Click Tools → Upgrade RAID Controller Module Firmware from the Enterprise Management Window (EMW). 5.
Installing MD Storage Manager 3 The PowerVault MD Series resource media contains software and drivers for both Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems. The root of the media contains a readme.txt file covering changes to the software, updates, fixes, patches, and other important data applicable to both Linux and Windows operating systems. The readme.
3. Install the HBA drivers and the operating system HBA patches or hotfixes. 4. Ensure that the recommended HBA settings are applied. Graphical Installation (Recommended) MD Storage Manager configures, manages, and monitors the storage array. To install the MD Storage Manager: 1. Insert the PowerVault MD Series resource media into your system or download the installer image from dell.com/ support. Depending on your operating system, the installer may launch automatically.
Console Installation NOTE: Console installation only applies to Linux systems that are not running a graphical environment. The autorun script in the root of the resource media detects when there is no graphical environment running and automatically starts the installer in a text‑based mode. This mode provides the same options as graphical installation. Silent Installation Silent Installation On Windows To run silent installation on a Windows system: 1. Copy the custom_silent.
Post Installation Tasks 4 Before using the Dell PowerVault storage array for the first time, complete these initial configuration tasks in the order shown. These tasks are performed using the MD Storage Manager. 1. For out-of-band management, you must set the network configuration for each RAID controller module, including its Internet Protocol (IP) address, subnetwork mask (subnet mask), and gateway. NOTE: You can set the network configuration using a DHCP server. 2. 3. Launch MD Storage Manager.
Initial Setup Tasks 1. The name of the first storage array found is displayed in the Devices tab of the EMW. To see a list of all storage arrays found on the local network, expand Discovered Storage Arrays in the Devices tab of the EMW. 2. The default name for a newly installed MD3260 series storage array is Unnamed. If another name is displayed in MD Storage Manager, click the down arrow next to the name and click Unnamed in the drop-down list. 3.
Uninstalling MD Storage Manager 5 Uninstalling MD Storage Manager From Windows Uninstall MD Storage Manager From Microsoft Windows Operating Systems Other Than Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Use the Change/Remove Program feature to uninstall the Modular Disk Storage Manager from Microsoft Windows operating systems other than Microsoft Windows Server 2008. To uninstall the Modular Disk Storage Manager from Microsoft Windows Server 2008: 1. Double-click Add or Remove Programs from the Control Panel. 2.
Uninstalling MD Storage Manager From Linux By default, PowerVault MD Storage Manager is installed in the /opt/dell/mdstoragemanager directory. If another directory was used during installation, navigate to that directory before beginning the uninstallation procedure. 1. From the installation directory, open the Uninstall Dell MD Storage Software directory. 2. Run the file Uninstall Dell MD Storage Software.exe. 3. From the Uninstall window, click Next, and follow the instructions on the screen.
Appendix — Load Balancing 6 Windows Load Balance Policy Multi-path drivers select the I/O path to a virtual disk through a specific RAID controller module. When the multi-path driver receives a new I/O, the driver tries to find a path to the current RAID controller module that owns the virtual disk. If that path cannot be found, the multi-path driver migrates the virtual disk ownership to the secondary RAID controller module.
Changing The Load Balance Policy Using Windows Server 2008 Device Manager Options 1. From the host desktop, right-click My Computer and select Manage. The Computer Management window is displayed. 2. Click Device Manager to show the list of devices attached to the host. 3. Right-click the multi-path disk device for which you want to set load balance policies, then select Properties. 4. From the MPIO tab, select the load balance policy you want to set for this disk device.
