HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide December 2003 (First Edition) Part Number 347914-001 HP CONFIDENTIAL File Name: 347914-1.
© Copyright 2003 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Contents Overview of the Server Setup Procedure 5 Setting Up An Autoconfigurable Server .............................................................................................. 5 Updating the Firmware 7 Methods for Updating the Firmware.................................................................................................... 7 Configuring an Array 9 Introduction.........................................................................................................................
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide Diagnosing Array Problems 35 Diagnostic Tools ................................................................................................................................ 35 Probability of Logical Drive Failure 37 Factors Involved in Logical Drive Failure ......................................................................................... 37 Probability of Logical Drive Failure vs. Number of Drives in Array .....................................
Overview of the Server Setup Procedure In This Section Setting Up An Autoconfigurable Server.........................................................................................5 Setting Up An Autoconfigurable Server New HP ProLiant server models self-configure when they are powered up for the first time. During this autoconfiguration process, the system language is set to English by default, and Microsoft® Windows® 2000 is selected as the default operating system.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide 4. Create and format additional logical drives if desired ("Configuring an Array" on page 9). The server is now ready to use. HP CONFIDENTIAL File Name: 347914-1.
Updating the Firmware In This Section Methods for Updating the Firmware ..............................................................................................7 Methods for Updating the Firmware To update the firmware on the server, controller, or hard drives, use Smart Components. These components are available on the Firmware Maintenance CD. A more recent version of a particular component might be available on the support page of the HP website (http://www.hp.com/support).
Configuring an Array In This Section Introduction ....................................................................................................................................9 Comparing the Utilities ................................................................................................................10 Using ACU ...................................................................................................................................11 Using ORCA ...............................
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide For information about default array configuration settings, refer to the HP Array Configuration Utility User Guide. This document is available on the Documentation CD that is provided in the controller kit. For conceptual information about arrays, logical drives, and fault-tolerance methods, refer to "Drive Arrays and Fault-Tolerance Methods (on page 39).
Configuring an Array 11 Using ACU For detailed information about using ACU, refer to the HP Array Configuration Utility User Guide. This document is available on the Documentation CD that is provided in the controller kit. Using ORCA When a server is powered up, POST runs, and any array controllers that are in the system are initialized. If the array controller supports ORCA, POST temporarily halts, and an ORCA prompt message is displayed for approximately five seconds.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide While the prompt is displayed, press the F8 key to start ORCA. The ORCA main menu is displayed, allowing you to create, view, or delete a logical drive. (On a ProLiant system, you can also use ORCA to set the currently selected controller as the boot controller.) Configuration Procedure To create a logical drive using ORCA: 1. Select Create Logical Drive.
Configuring an Array 4. Press the F8 key to confirm the settings and save the new configuration. After several seconds, the Configuration Saved screen appears. 5. Press the Enter key to continue. You can now create another logical drive by repeating the previous steps. NOTE: Newly created logical drives are invisible to the operating system. To make the new logical drives available for data storage, format them using the instructions given in the operating system documentation.
Installing the Device Drivers In This Section Installing the Device Drivers ........................................................................................................15 Installing the Device Drivers The drivers for the controller are located on the SmartStart CD. Updates are posted to the HP website (http://www.hp.com/support).
Installing the Management Agents In This Section Installing Management Agents.....................................................................................................17 Installing Management Agents If you use the Assisted Installation path feature of SmartStart to install the operating system on a new server, the Management Agents are automatically installed at the same time. You can update the Management Agents by using the latest versions of the agents from the HP website (http://www.hp.
Using the Battery-Backed Write Cache Option In This Section Recovering Data from the Battery-Backed Write Cache..............................................................19 Replacing the Battery Pack...........................................................................................................20 Recovering Data from the Battery-Backed Write Cache If the server fails, you can recover any data temporarily trapped in the batterybacked write cache (BBWC) by using the following procedure.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide 4. Remove the BBWC module (cache module and battery pack) from the failed server. 5. Either: − Insert the BBWC module into an empty BBWC DIMM socket on the system board of the recovery server. − Insert the BBWC module into an empty BBWC DIMM socket on any Smart Array 641 or 642 controller in the recovery server. 6. Power up the recovery server. A 1759 POST message is displayed, stating that valid data was flushed from the cache.
Using the Battery-Backed Write Cache Option For more information about battery replacement or proper disposal, contact an authorized reseller or an authorized service provider. To replace the battery pack: 1. Power down the server. 2. Remove the cache module from the server. 3. If the cache cable is not already fully extended, unwind it from around the battery pack. 4. Push the plastic retainer tabs through the slots in the battery case (1). 5. Tilt the battery pack away from the battery case (2).
Replacing, Moving, or Adding Hard Drives In This Section Identifying the Status of a Hard Drive..........................................................................................23 Recognizing Hard Drive Failure...................................................................................................25 Replacing Hard Drives .................................................................................................................27 Moving Drives and Arrays .........................
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide Hot-Plug SCSI Hard Drive LED Combinations Activity LED (1) Online LED (2) Fault LED (3) Interpretation On, off, or flashing On or off Flashing A predictive failure alert has been received for this drive. On, off, or flashing On On or flashing Flashing Replace the drive as soon as possible. Off The drive is online and is configured as part of an array.
Replacing, Moving, or Adding Hard Drives 25 Recognizing Hard Drive Failure In a ProLiant system, a steadily glowing Fault LED indicates that that drive has failed. Other means by which hard drive failure is revealed are: • The amber LED on the front of a storage system illuminates if failed drives are inside. (However, this LED also illuminates when other problems occur, such as when a fan fails, a redundant power supply fails, or the system overheats.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide • RAID 1+0 configurations can tolerate multiple drive failures as long as no failed drives are mirrored to one another. • RAID 5 configurations can tolerate one drive failure. • RAID ADG configurations can tolerate simultaneous failure of two drives. Compromised Fault Tolerance If more hard drives fail than the fault-tolerance method allows, fault tolerance is compromised, and the logical drive fails.
Replacing, Moving, or Adding Hard Drives 27 3. Replace any failed drives. 4. After you have replaced the failed drives, fault tolerance may again be compromised. If so, cycle the power again. If the 1779 POST message is displayed: a. Press the F2 key to re-enable the logical drives. b. Recreate the partitions. c. Restore all data from backup. To minimize the risk of data loss that is caused by compromised fault tolerance, make frequent backups of all logical volumes.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide • If you set the SCSI ID jumpers manually: − Check the ID value of the removed drive to be sure that it corresponds to the ID of the drive marked as failed. − Set the same ID value on the replacement drive to prevent SCSI ID conflicts. Before replacing a degraded drive: • Open Insight Manager and inspect the Error Counter window for each physical drive in the same array to confirm that no other drives have any errors.
Replacing, Moving, or Adding Hard Drives 29 − In RAID ADG configurations, any two drives in the array can be replaced simultaneously. − In RAID 1+0 configurations, any drives that are not mirrored to other removed or failed drives can be simultaneously replaced offline without data loss.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide • The number of drives in the array (for RAID 5 and RAID ADG) Allow approximately 15 minutes per gigabyte for the rebuild process to be completed. This figure is conservative, and newer drive models usually require less time to rebuild. System performance is affected during the rebuild, and the system is unprotected against further drive failure until the rebuild has finished. Therefore, replace drives during periods of low activity when possible.
Replacing, Moving, or Adding Hard Drives 31 CAUTION: Because it can take up to 15 minutes per gigabyte to rebuild the data in the new configuration, the system is unprotected against drive failure for many hours while a given drive is upgraded. Perform drive capacity upgrades only during periods of minimal system activity. To upgrade hard drive capacity: 1. Back up all data. 2. Replace any drive. The data on the new drive is recreated from redundant information on the remaining drives.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide • The controller is not reading from or writing to any of the spare drives in the array. • The controller is not running capacity expansion, capacity extension, or RAID or stripe size migration. • The controller is using the latest firmware version (recommended). If you want to move an array to another controller, you must also consider the following additional limitations: • All drives in the array must be moved at the same time.
Replacing, Moving, or Adding Hard Drives 33 c. Open ACU and navigate to the controller that contained the RAID ADG volume. ACU displays the missing RAID ADG volume using a different icon to indicate that the volume is unavailable. d. Delete the RAID ADG volume. e. Accept the configuration change, and then close ACU. f. Power down the system. 4. Move the drives. 5. Power up the system. If a 1724 POST message is displayed, drive positions were changed successfully and the configuration was updated.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide The expansion process is illustrated in the following figure, in which the original array (containing data) is shown with a dashed border and the newly added drives (containing no data) are shown unshaded. The array controller adds the new drives to the array and redistributes the original logical drives over the enlarged array one logical drive at a time. This process liberates some storage capacity on each of the physical drives in the array.
Diagnosing Array Problems In This Section Diagnostic Tools...........................................................................................................................35 Diagnostic Tools Several diagnostic tools provide feedback about problems with arrays. The most important are: • ADU This utility is available on the SmartStart CD. The meanings of the various ADU error messages are provided in the HP Servers Troubleshooting Guide.
Probability of Logical Drive Failure In This Section Factors Involved in Logical Drive Failure....................................................................................37 Factors Involved in Logical Drive Failure The probability that a logical drive will fail depends on the RAID level setting and on the number and type of physical drives in the array.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide At any given RAID level, the probability of logical drive failure increases as the number of physical drives in the logical drive increases. This is illustrated more quantitatively in the graph ("Probability of Logical Drive Failure vs. Number of Drives in Array" on page 38). The data for this graph is calculated from the MTBF value for a typical physical drive, assuming that no online spares are present.
Drive Arrays and Fault-Tolerance Methods In This Section Drive Arrays .................................................................................................................................39 Fault-Tolerance Methods..............................................................................................................42 Drive Arrays The capacity and performance of a single physical (hard) drive is adequate for home users.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide With an array controller installed in the system, the capacity of several physical drives can be combined into one or more virtual units called logical drives (also called logical volumes and denoted by Ln in the figures in this section). Then, the read/write heads of all the constituent physical drives are active simultaneously, reducing the total time required for data transfer.
Drive Arrays and Fault-Tolerance Methods 41 For data in the logical drive to be readable, the data block sequence must be the same in every stripe. This sequencing process is performed by the array controller, which sends the data blocks to the drive write heads in the correct order. A natural consequence of the striping process is that each physical drive in a given logical drive will contain the same amount of data.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide For any configuration except RAID 0, further protection against data loss can be achieved by assigning a drive as an online spare (or hot spare). This drive contains no data and is connected to the same controller as the array. When any other physical drive in the array fails, the controller automatically rebuilds information that was originally on the failed drive to the online spare.
Drive Arrays and Fault-Tolerance Methods 43 RAID 0—No Fault Tolerance A RAID 0 configuration provides data striping, but there is no protection against data loss when a drive fails. However, it is useful for rapid storage of large amounts of noncritical data (for printing or image editing, for example) or when cost is the most important consideration. Advantages: • Has the highest write performance of all RAID methods. • Has the lowest cost per unit of stored data of all RAID methods.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide When the array has more than two physical drives, drives are mirrored in pairs. In each mirrored pair, the physical drive that is not busy answering other requests answers any read requests that are sent to the array. (This behavior is called load balancing.) If a physical drive fails, the remaining drive in the mirrored pair can still provide all the necessary data.
Drive Arrays and Fault-Tolerance Methods 45 NOTE: When there are only two physical drives in the array, this faulttolerance method is often referred to as RAID 1. Advantages: • Has the highest read and write performance of any fault-tolerant configuration. • No data is lost when a drive fails, as long as no failed drive is mirrored to another failed drive (up to half of the physical drives in the array can fail). Disadvantages: • This method is expensive (many drives are needed for fault tolerance).
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide This configuration is useful when cost, performance, and data availability are equally important. Advantages: • Has high read performance. • Data is not lost if one physical drive fails. • More drive capacity is usable than with RAID 1+0—parity information requires only the storage space equivalent to one physical drive. Disadvantages: • Has relatively low write performance.
Drive Arrays and Fault-Tolerance Methods 47 This method is most useful when data loss is unacceptable but cost is also an important factor. The probability that data loss will occur when an array is configured with RAID ADG is less than it would be if it were configured with RAID 5. Advantages: • Has a high read performance. • Allows high data availability—any two drives can fail without loss of critical data.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide Item RAID 0 RAID 1+0 RAID 5 RAID ADG Relative cost Low High Medium Medium *NOTE: Values for usable drive space are calculated with these assumptions: (1) all physical drives in the array have the same capacity; (2) online spares are not used; (3) no more than 14 physical drives are used per array for RAID 5; and (4) no more than 56 drives are used with RAID ADG. Selecting a RAID Method NOTE: Not all controllers support RAID ADG.
Drive Arrays and Fault-Tolerance Methods 49 Neither of these alternative fault-tolerance methods supports online spares or automatic data recovery, nor do they support auto-reliability monitoring or interim data recovery. If you decide to use one of these alternative methods, configure your arrays with RAID 0 for maximum storage capacity and refer to your operating system documentation for further implementation details. HP CONFIDENTIAL File Name: 347914-1.
Electrostatic Discharge In This Section Preventing Electrostatic Discharge...............................................................................................51 Grounding Methods to Prevent Electrostatic Discharge...............................................................52 Preventing Electrostatic Discharge To prevent damaging the system, be aware of the precautions you need to follow when setting up the system or handling parts.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide Grounding Methods to Prevent Electrostatic Discharge Several methods are used for grounding. Use one or more of the following methods when handling or installing electrostatic-sensitive parts: • Use a wrist strap connected by a ground cord to a grounded workstation or computer chassis. Wrist straps are flexible straps with a minimum of 1 megohm ±10 percent resistance in the ground cords. To provide proper ground, wear the strap snug against the skin.
Acronyms and Abbreviations ACR Array Configuration Replicator ACU Array Configuration Utility ADU Array Diagnostics Utility ESD electrostatic discharge LED light-emitting diode MTBF mean time between failures ORCA Option ROM Configuration for Arrays POST Power-On Self-Test HP CONFIDENTIAL File Name: 347914-1.
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide RAID redundant array of inexpensive (or independent) disks RBSU ROM-Based Setup Utility SA Smart Array HP CONFIDENTIAL File Name: 347914-1.
Index G grounding methods 52 A H adding drives 33 ADU (Array Diagnostics Utility) 35 array capacity expansion 33 array concepts 39 array, configuring 9 automatic data recovery (rebuild) 27, 29 hard drive LEDs 23, 24 hard drive, adding 33 hard drive, failure of 25 hard drive, replacing 27 hard drives 24 hard drives, adding 33 hard drives, determining status of 23 C L compromised fault tolerance 26 configuring an array 9 controller duplexing 48 D data protection methods 42, 48 data recovery 26, 2
HP Smart Array 6i Controller User Guide S Server Diagnostics utility 35 software-based RAID 48 static electricity 51 status lights, hard drive 23 T troubleshooting 35 U updating the firmware 7 upgrading drive capacity 30 HP CONFIDENTIAL File Name: 347914-1.
