3ware 9690SA SAS/SATA RAID Software
3ware
®
SAS/SATA RAID Software
User Guide
Supports the 9690SA Models
PN 720-0175-00
September 2007
User Guide
Copyright
©2004-2007 Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC). All rights
reserved. This publication may be copied or reproduced for reference
purposes only. All other purposes require the express written consent of
AMCC, 215 Moffett Park Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. AMCC shall not be
responsible or liable for, and shall be held harmless against, any and all
damages, claims, and/or disputes that arise from the copying or reproduction
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Disclaimer
While every attempt is made to make this document as accurate as possible,
AMCC assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document,
nor does AMCC make any commitment to update the information contained
herein.
Table of Contents
About this User Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
How this User Guide is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Screenshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Using the 3ware HTML Bookshelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
What’s New with 9690SA Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
RAID Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Available RAID Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Determining What RAID Level to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Using Drive Capacity Efficiently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Support for Over 2 Terabytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3ware Tools for Configuration and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Monitoring, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 2. Getting Started with Your 3ware RAID Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Chapter 3. First-Time RAID Configuration Using 3BM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Basic Steps for Creating a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Specifying a Hot Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Making Drives Visible to the Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Checking the Motherboard Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
What Next? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Chapter 4. Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Driver Installation Under Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Materials Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Creating a 3ware Driver Diskette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Installing the 3ware Driver and Windows on a New Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Installing the Driver on a System that Boots from a Different Device . . . . . . . . . . 34
Making Units Managed by a 3ware Controller Available to Windows . . . . . . . . . . 37
Driver Installation Under Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Obtaining 3ware Linux Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Driver Installation Under Red Hat Linux or Fedora Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Driver Installation Under SuSE Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Compiling a 3ware Driver for Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Chapter 5. 3ware BIOS Manager (3BM) Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Starting 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Exiting the 3BM Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Working in the 3BM Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Adjusting BIOS Loading Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Displaying Information About the Controller and Related Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Getting Help While Using 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 6. 3DM 2 (3ware Disk Manager) Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Browser Requirements for 3DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Installing 3DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Starting 3DM and Logging In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
www.3ware.com iii
Logging In to the 3DM Web Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Starting the 3DM Daemon under Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Starting the 3DM Process under Microsoft Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Viewing 3DM Remotely Using a Web Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Working with the 3DM Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3DM Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Viewing Information Abou t D ifferent Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Refreshing the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3DM Screens and What They're Used For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Setting Up 3DM Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Setting and Changing 3DM Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Managing E-mail Event Notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Enabling and Disabling Remote Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Setting the Listening Port # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Setting the Frequency of Page Refreshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Chapter 7. Configuring Your Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Viewing Information About a Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
About Controller Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Viewing Controller Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Setting the Auto Rebuild Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Using Auto-Carving for Multi LUN Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Setting the Size of Volumes Created with Auto-Carving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Enabling and Setting Up Staggered Spin-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Viewing Information About a Phy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Changing the Phy Link Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 8. Configuring Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Configuring a New Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Configuration Options When Creating a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Creating a Unit through 3DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Creating a Unit through 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Ordering Units in 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Partitioning, Formatting, and Mounting Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Creating a Hot Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Specifying a Hot Spare through 3DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Specifying a Hot Spare through 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Naming a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Setting Unit Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Enabling and Disabling the Unit Write Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Setting Auto Verify for a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Setting Continue on Source Error During Rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Enabling and Disabling Queuing for a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Setting the StorSave Profile for a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Changing An Existing Configuration by Migrating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
RAID Level Migration (RLM) Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Changing RAID Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Expanding Unit Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Informing the Operating System of Changed Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Deleting a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Deleting a Unit through 3DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Deleting a Unit through 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Removing a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Removing a Unit Through 3DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Removing a Unit Through 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Moving a Unit from One Controller to Another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
iv 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Moving Units from an Earlier 9000 Series to a 9690SA Controller . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Adding a Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Removing a Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Rescanning the Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Chapter 9. Maintaining Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Checking Unit and Drive Status through 3DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Viewing a List of Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Enclosure Drive LED Status Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Unit Statuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Drive Statuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
About Degraded Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
About Inoperable Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Locating a Drive by Blinking Its LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Alarms, Errors, and Other Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Viewing Alarms, Errors, and Other Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Using the Alert Utility Under Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Downloading an Error Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Viewing SMART Data About a Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Background Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
About Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
About Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Starting a Verify Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Rebuilding Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Cancelling a Rebuild and Restarting It with a Different Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Setting Background Task Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Background Task Prioritization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Scheduling Background Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Viewing Current Task Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Turning On or Off Use of a Task Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Removing a Task Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Adding a New Task Schedule Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Selecting Self-tests to be Performed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Chapter 10. Maintaining Your Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Determining the Current Version of Your 3ware Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Updating the Firmware and Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Downloading the Driver and F i rmw are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Updating the Firmware Through 3DM 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Updating the 3ware Driver and Firmware Under Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Using the Update Utility With Multiple Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Updating the 3ware Driver Under Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Updating the 3ware Driver Under Red Hat or Fedora Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Updating the 3ware Driver Under SuSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Updating the Firmware Under Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Viewing Battery Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Testing Battery Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Chapter 11. Managing an Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Viewing a List of Enclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Checking Enclosure Component Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Fan Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Temp Sensor Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Power Supply Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Slot Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Locating a Specific Enclosure Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
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Downloading an Enclosure Diagnostic Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Chapter 12. 3DM 2 Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Controller Summary page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Controller Details page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Unit Information page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Unit Details page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Drive Information page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Drive Details window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Controller Phy Summary page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Controller Settings page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Scheduling page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Maintenance page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Alarms page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Battery Backup page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Enclosure Summary page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Enclosure Details page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
3DM 2 Settings page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Chapter 13. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
Web Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Before Contacting Customer Su pp o rt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Basic Troubleshooting: Check This First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Command Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Enclosure-Related Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Hardware Installation Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Software Installation Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Problems in 3DM and 3BM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Error and Notification Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Error and Notification Message Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277
Installing Software from a Graphical User Interface (GUI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Installing Software on Linux from the Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Uninstalling Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Uninstalling 3DM under Microsoft Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Uninstalling 3DM under Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Compliance and Conformity Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
FCC Radio Frequency Interference Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
European Community Conformity Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Warranty, Technical Support, and Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Warranty Service and RMA Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
AMCC Technical Support and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Sales and ordering information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Feedback on this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
vi 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
About this User Guide
This document, 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5,
provides instructions for configuring and maintaining RAID units on 3ware
9690SA series RAID controllers.
This guide assumes that you have already installed your controller and drives
in your system and any enclosures, if you have th em. If you have n ot yet done
so, see the installation guide that came with your controller . If y ou do not have
the printed copy, a PDF of the installation guide is available on your 3ware
CD, or you can download it from: http://www.3ware.com/support/
userdocs.asp. (Note that there are different installation guides for different
3ware RAID controller models.)
There are often multiple ways to accomplish the same configuration and
maintenance tasks for your 3ware RAID controller. This manual includes
instructions for performing tasks using two tools:
• 3ware BIOS Manager (3BM), which runs at the BIOS level
• 3ware Disk Manager 2 (3DM 2), which runs in a browser
You can also perform many tasks at the command line, using 3ware’s
Command Line Interface (CLI). The CLI is described in a separate manual:
3ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide. Information from both this
Users Guide and the CLI Guide are also available in the 3ware HTML
Bookshelf, available in the 3ware Documentation folder and on your 3ware
CD. (For more information, see “Using the 3ware HTML Bookshelf” on
page ix.)
How this User Guide is Organized
Table 1: Chapters and Appendices in this Guide
Chapter/Appendix Description
1. Introduction Provides an overview of product features for the
3ware 9690SA controller models. Includes system
requirements and an introduction to RAID concepts
and levels.
vii 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Table 1: Chapters and Appendices in this Guide
Chapter/Appendix Description
2. Getting Started Provides a summary of the process you should follow
to get started using your 3ware RAID controller.
3. First-Time RAID
Configuration Using
3BM
4. Driver Installation Describes how to install drivers for the 3ware
5. 3ware BIOS Manager
(3BM)
Provides step-by-step instructions for configuring
RAID units if you have just installed the controller.
controller if you have just installed and configured it.
Describes the basics of using 3BM.
6. 3ware Disk Manager 2
(3DM 2)
7. Configuring Your
Controller
8. Configuring Units Describes how to configure new units and hot spares,
9. Maintaining Units Describes how to check unit and dri v e status, review
10. Maintaining Your
Controller
11. Managing an
Enclosure
12. 3DM 2 Reference Describes the features and functions on each of the
13. Troubleshooting Provides common problems and solutions, and
A. Glossary Includes definitions for terms used throughout this
Describes the basics of using 3DM. Also includes
information about installing and uninstalling 3DM, and
how to start the 3DM process manually, if required.
Describes how to view details about the controller,
check its status, and change configuration settings
that affect the controller and all associated drives.
change existing configurations, and set unit policies.
alarms and errors, schedule background maintenance
tasks, and manually start them, when necessary or
desirable. Includes explanations of initialization,
verify, rebuild, and self-tests.
Describes how to update the driver, and move a unit
from one controller to another. Also includes
information about checking battery status on a BBU
(Battery Backup Unit).
Describes how to view details about an enclosure,
check the status of enclosure components, and locate
specific enclosure components by blinking an
associated LED.
pages in 3DM.
explains error messages.
guide.
B. Software Installation Provides instructions for installing software
management tools (3DM 2, CLI, tw_update) and
documentation.
C. Compliance and
Conformity Statements
D. Warranty, Technical
Support, and Service
Provides compliance and conformity statement.
Provides warranty information and tells you how to
contact technical support.
viii 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Conventions
The following conventions are used throughout this guide:
• 3BM refers to the 3ware BIOS Manager.
• 3DM and 3DM 2 both refer to the 3ware Disk Manager, version 2.
• In the sections that describe using 3DM, current controller is used to refer
• Unit refers to one or more disks configured through 3ware to be treated by
• Boldface is used for buttons, fields, and settings that appear on the screen.
•
Screenshots
The screenshots in this documentation are examples only, and may not exactly
reflect the operating system and browser you are using. 3ware software works
on a number of different operating systems, including Microsoft Windows®
and Linux®, and runs in a number of different browsers. In addition, the
version numbers shown in screenshots for drivers, firmware, and software
may not match your version. For the current released and tested version
number, see the latest release notes.
Conventions
to the controller which is currently selected in the drop-down list.
the operating system as a single drive. Also known as an array. Array and
unit are used interchangeably throughout this manual.
Monospace font is used for code and to indicate things you type.
In addition, the fields and columns in 3DM 2 vary for different models of
3ware RAID controllers. If you have multiple controllers of different models,
you may notice some differences when switching between them in 3DM. For
example, when displaying information about the 9690SA controllers, 3DM
displays “VPorts” (for virtual port) on some screens while for earlier
controllers the label is “port.”
Using the 3ware HTML Bookshelf
The 3ware HTML Bookshelf is an HTML version of this user guide and the
CLI Guide, combined as one resource. It is available on your 3ware CD, in the
/doc/3wareHTMLBookshelf folder. It can also be installed along with the
software, as described in “Software Installation” on page 277.
To make use of the 3ware HTML Bookshelf
1 To launch the bookshelf at the opening page, do one of the following:
• For Windows, from the Start menu, choose Programs > AMCC >
Bookshelf shortcut.
www.3ware.com ix
• Navigate to the 3wareHTMLBookshelf folder on the 3ware CD and
Click the Show Navigation
button to display the Table of
Contents
double click the file index.html.
• For Linux, open a browser window to the following location:
/opt/AMCC/Documentation/index.html
When you use either of these methods, a navigation panel at the left
automatically opens. It includes a Table of Contents, Index, and Search.
You can also open the bookshelf by double-clicking any other html file in
the 3wareHTMLBookshelf folder. When you open an individual file, the
navigation pane does not automatically open. In this case, you can display
the navigation pane by clicking the
Figure 1. Navigation Button in the 3ware HTML Bookshelf Window
Show Navigation button at the left.
Note: The 3ware HTML Bookshelf is created as a set of HTML documents
that are often displayed from a website. When installed on your personal
computer, some browsers flag them as “active content,” and require your
approval before displaying the content.
If you see messages similar to the following, you must confirm the display of
active content in order to see the pages.
x 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Introducing the 3ware® SAS/ SATA RAID Controller
AMCC 3ware RAID controllers deliver full-featured, true hardware RAID to
servers and workstations. AMCC's RAID controllers offer Serial Attached
SCSI (SAS) and Serial ATA (SATA) interfaces. Combined with an advanc ed
RAID management feature-set that includes web-based, command-based, and
API (application programming interface) software components, AMCC
controllers provide compelling RAID solutions.
This section introduces the features and concepts of AMCC 3ware RAID
controllers. It is organized into the following topics:
• What’s New with 9690SA Models
• System Requirements
• Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels
• 3ware Tools for Configuration and Management
• Monitoring, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting Features
1
What’s New with 9690SA Models
The 9690SA models in 3ware’s 9000 series of RAID controllers have the
following features and benefits:
• Dual-ported SAS drive support
• Ability to have SAS and/or SATA drives on the same controller
• Connectivity with up to 128 single-ported drives or 64 dual-ported drives
• Up to 32 drives in a unit
• Up to 32 active units
• Support for storage enclosures
• Simultaneous RAID 6 parity generation to maximize RAID 6
performance
• 8th-generation StorSwitch™ non-blocking switch fabric for maximum
controller output
www.3ware.com 1
Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
• StreamFusion™ optimizes RAID 5 and RAID 6 disk accesses to
maximize application performance under heavy loads
• StorSave™ BBU with write journaling optimizes data protection and
performance
• RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and Single Disk
• PCI Express® x8 connectivity
• If you have a supported enclosure, the drive Locate feature allows you to
easily identify a drive in the enclosure by blinking the LED associated
with it. Depending on your enclosure, you may also be able to identify
fans, power supplies, and temperature controls.
System Requirements
3ware 9690SA model RAID controllers have the following requirements:
Motherboard and Slot Requirements
A workstation-class or server-class motherboard, with an available PCI
Express x8 or x16 slot that complies with PCI 1.1 or later.
A list of motherboards that have been tested is available at
http://www.3ware.com/products/sys_compatibility.asp
Drive Requirements
The 3ware 9690SA RAID controller may be connected to up to 128 SAS and /
or SATA drives. If all drives are SAS drives and connections are made to both
ports of each SAS drive from the controller (for redundancy and
performance), then a maximum of 64 drives may be used. A maximum of 32
drives are allowed per RAID unit and up to 32 active RAID units per
controller. You cannot mix SAS and SATA drives in the same unit.
Drives and drive enclosures must meet SAS (3.0 Gbps) and SATA (1.5 or 3.0
Gbps) standards.
A list of drives that have been tested is available at
http://www.3ware.com/products/sys_compatibility.asp
Drives may be of any capacity or physical form factor.
The length of internal unshielded interface cables may not exceed 1M (39”)
and a maximum of 6M (234”) for external shielded cables.
2 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
System Requirements
Enclosure Requirements
Enclosure management features in 3ware software are available for supported
enclosures with expanders that provide SCSI Enclosure Services 2 (SES-2).
Note: SAFTE (SCSI Accessed Fault Tolerant Enclosure) is not supported at
this time.
A list of supported enclosures is available at
http://www.3ware.com/products/sys_compatibility.asp
Cascading of enclosures is limited to 4 enclosures based on the same
expander. Enclosures may contain cascaded expanders internally.
Operating System
3ware RAID controllers may be used with:
• Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, both 32-bit and 64-bit x86
• Red Hat Linux, 32-bit and 64-bit x86
• SuSE Linux, 32-bit and 64-bit x86
• Fedora Core, 32-bit and 64-bit x86
• Other versions of Linux, 32-bit and 64-bit x86, using the open source
Linux 2.4 or 2.6 kernel driver
For the latest driver versions for all operating systems, see the current Release
Notes at http://www.3ware.com/support/.
Other Requirements
• Adequate air flow and cooling
• Adequate power supply for drives
• 3DM 2 (3ware Disk Manager) displays information in a browser. It
requires one of the following browsers:
• Internet Explorer 5.5 and later
• Mozilla Firefox 1.2 and later
• Netscape 7 and later
In addition:
• JavaScript must be enabled
• Cookies must be enabled
• For best viewing, screen resolution should be 1024 x 768 or greater,
with 16-bit color or greater.
For a complete listing of features and system requirements, refer to the 3ware
SATA RAID Controller datasheets, available from the website at http://
www.3ware.com/products.
www.3ware.com 3
Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels
3ware RAID controllers use RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks)
to increase your storage system’s performance and provide fault tolerance
(protection against data loss).
This section organizes information about RAID concepts and configuration
levels into the following topics:
• “RAID Concepts” on page 4
• “Available RAID Configurations” on page 5
• “Determining What RAID Level to Use” on page 11
RAID Concepts
The following concepts are important to understand when working with a
RAID controller:
•
Arrays and Units. In the storage industry, the term “array” is used to
describe two or more disk drives that appear to the operating system as a
single unit. When working with a 3ware RAID controller, “unit” is the
term used to refer to an array of disks that is configured and managed
through the 3ware software. Single-disk units can also be configured in
the 3ware software.
•
Mirroring. Mirrored arrays (RAID 1) write data to paired drives
simultaneously . If one drive fails, the data is preserved on the paired
drive. Mirroring provides data protection through redundancy. In
addition, mirroring using a 3ware RAID controller provides improved
performance because 3ware’s TwinStor technology reads from both
drives simultaneously.
•
Striping. Striping across disks allows data to be written and accessed on
more than one drive, at the same time. Striping combines each drive’s
capacity into one large volume. Striped disk arrays (RAID 0) achieve
highest transfer rates and performance at the expense of fault tolerance.
Distributed Parity . Parity works in combination with striping on RAID 5,
•
RAID 6, and RAID 50. Parity information is written to each of the striped
drives, in rotation. Should a failure occur, the data on the failed drive can
be reconstructed from the data on the other drives.
•
Hot Swap. The process of exchanging a drive without having to shut
down the system. This is useful when you need to exchange a defective
drive in a redundant unit.
4 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
• Array Roaming. The process of removing a unit from a controller and
putting it back later, either on the same controller, or a different one, and
having it recognized as a unit. The disks may be attached to different ports
than they were originally attached to, without harm to the data.
For definitions of other terms used throughout the documentation, see the
“Glossary”.
Available RAID Configurations
RAID is a method of combining several hard drives into one unit. It offers
fault tolerance and higher throughput levels than a single hard drive or group
of independent hard drives. RAID levels 0, 1, 10 and 5 are th e most popular.
AMCC's 3ware controllers support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and Single Disk.
The information below provides a more in-depth explanation of the different
RAID levels.
For how to configure RAID units, see “Configuring a New Unit” on page 85.
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels
RAID 0
RAID 0 provides improved performance, but no fault tolerance. Since the
data is striped across more than one disk, RAID 0 disk arrays achieve high
transfer rates because they can read and write data on more than one drive
simultaneously. The stripe size is configurable during unit creation. RAID 0
requires a minimum of two drives.
When drives are configured in a striped disk array (see Figure 2), large files
are distributed across the multiple disks using RAID 0 techniques.
Striped disk arrays give exceptional performance, particularly for data
intensive applications such as video editing, computer-aided design and
geographical information systems.
RAID 0 arrays are not fault tolerant. The loss of any drive results in the loss of
all the data in that array, and can even cause a system hang, depending on
your operating system. RAID 0 arrays are not recommended for high
availability systems unless additional precautions are taken to prevent system
hangs and data loss.
www.3ware.com 5
Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
Figure 2. RAID 0 Configuration Example
RAID 1
RAID 1 provides fault tolerance and a speed advantage over non-RAID disks.
RAID 1 is also known as a mirrored array. Mirroring is done on pairs of
drives. Mirrored disk arrays write the same data to two different drives using
RAID 1 algorithms (see Figure 3). This gives your system fault tolerance by
preserving the data on one drive if the other drive fails. Fault tolerance is a
basic requirement for critical systems like web and database servers.
3ware uses a patented technology, TwinStor®, on RAID 1 arrays for
improved performance during sequential read operations. With TwinStor
technology, read performance is twice the speed of a single drive during
sequential read operation.
The adaptive algorithms in TwinStor technology boost performance by
distinguishing between random and sequential read requests. For the
sequential requests generated when accessing large files, both drives are used,
with the heads simultaneously reading alternating sections of the file. For the
smaller random transactions, the data is read from a single optimal drive head.
Figure 3. RAID 1 Configuration Example
RAID 5
RAID 5 provides performance, fault tolerance, high capacity, and storage
efficiency. It requires a minimum of three drives and combines striping data
with parity (exclusive OR) to restore data in case of a drive failure.
Performance and efficiency increase as the number of drives in a unit
increases.
Parity information is distributed across all of the drives in a unit rather than
being concentrated on a single disk (see Figure 4). This avoids throughput
loss due to contention for the parity drive.
6 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels
RAID 5 is able to tolerate 1 drive failure in the unit.
Figure 4. RAID 5 Configuration Example
RAID 6
RAID 6 requires a 3ware 9650SE or 9690SA RAID controller.
RAID 6 provides greater redundancy and fault tolerance than RAID 5. It is
similar to RAID 5, but has two blocks of parity information (P+Q) distributed
across all the drives of a unit, instead of the single block of RAID 5.
Due to the two parities, a RAID 6 unit can tolerate two hard drives failing
simultaneously. This also means that a RAID 6 unit may be in two different
states at the same time. For example, one sub-unit can be degraded, while
another may be rebuilding, or one sub-unit may be initializing, while another
is verifying.
AMCC 3ware’s implementation of RAID 6 requires a minimum of five
drives. Performance and storage efficiency also increase as the number of
drives increase.
www.3ware.com 7
Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
Figure 5. RAID 6 Configuration Example
RAID 10
RAID 10 is a combination of striped and mirrored arrays for fault tolerance
and high performance.
When drives are configured as a striped mirrored array, the disks are
configured using both RAID 0 and RAID 1 techniques, thus the name RAID
10 (see Figure 6). A minimum of four drives are required to use this
technique. The first two drives are mirrored as a fault tolerant array using
RAID 1. The third and fourth drives are mirrored as a second fault tolerant
array using RAID 1. The two mirrored arrays are then grouped as a striped
RAID 0 array using a two tier structure. Higher data transfer rates are
achieved by leveraging TwinStor and striping the arrays.
In addition, RAID 10 arrays offer a higher degree of fault tolerance than
RAID 1 and RAID 5, since the array can sustain multiple drive failures
without data loss. For example, in a twelve-drive RAID 10 array, up to six
drives can fail (half of each mirrored pair) and the array will continue to
function. Please note that if both halves of a mirrored pair in the RAID 10
array fail, then all of the data will be lost.
8 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels
Figure 6. RAID 10 Configuration Example
RAID 50
RAID 50 is a combination of RAID 5 with RAID 0. This array type provides
fault tolerance and high performance. RAID 50 requires a minimum of six
drives.
Several combinations are available with RAID 50. For example, on a 12-port
controller, you can hav e a grouping of 3, 4, or 6 drives. A grouping of 3 means
that the RAID 5 arrays used have 3 disks each; four of these 3-drive RAID 5
arrays are striped together to form the 12-drive RAID 50 array. On a 16-port
controller, you can have a grouping of 4 or 8 drives.
No more than four RAID 5 subunits are allowed in a RAID 50 unit. For
example, a 24-drive RAID 50 unit may have groups of 12, 8, or 6 drives, but
not groups of 4 or 3.
In addition, RAID 50 arrays offer a higher degree of fault tolerance than
RAID 1 and RAID 5, since the array can sustain multiple drive failures
without data loss. For example, in a twelve-drive RAID 50 array, up to one
drive in each RAID 5 set can fail and the array will continue to function.
Please note that if two or more drives in a RAID 5 set fail, then all of the data
will be lost.
www.3ware.com 9
Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
Figure 7. RAID 50 Configuration Example
Single Disk
A single drive can be configured as a unit through 3ware software. (3BM,
3DM 2, or CLI). Like disks in other RAID configurations, single disks
contain 3ware Disk Control Block (DCB) information and are seen by the OS
as available units.
Single drives are not fault tolerant and therefore not recommended for high
availability systems unless additional precautions are taken to prevent system
hangs and data loss.
Hot Spare
A hot spare is a single drive, available online, so that a redundant unit can be
automatically rebuilt in case of drive failure.
10 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels
Determining What RAID Level to Use
Your choice of which type of RAID unit (array) to create will depend on your
needs. You may wish to maximize speed of access, total amount of storage, or
redundant protection of data. Each type of RAID unit offers a different blend
of these characteristics.
The following table provides a brief summary of RAID type characteristics.
Table 2: RAID Configuration Types
RAID Type Description
RAID 0 Provides performance, but no fault tolerance.
RAID 1 Provides fault tolerance and a read speed advantage over non-
RAID disks.
RAID 5 This type of unit provides performance, fault tolerance, and high
storage efficiency. RAID 5 units can tolerate one drive failing
before losing data.
RAID 6 Provides very high fault tolerance with the ability to protect
against two consecutive drive failures. Performance and
efficiency increase with higher numbers of drives.
RAID 10 A combinatio n of striped and mirrored un its for fault tolerance
and high performance.
RAID 50 A combination of RAID 5 and RAID 0. It provides high fault
tolerance and performance.
Single Disk Not a RAID type, but supported as a configuration.
Provides for maximum disk capacity with no redundancy.
You can create one or more units, depending on the number of drives you
have installed.
Table 3: Possible Configurations Based on Number of Drives
# Drives Possible RAID Configurations
1 Single disk or hot spare
2 RAID 0 or RAID 1
3RAID 0
RAID 1 with hot spare
RAID 5
4 RAID 5 with hot spare
RAID 10
Combination of RAID 0, RAID 1, single disk
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Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
Table 3: Possible Configurations Based on Number of Drives
# Drives Possible RAID Configurations
5RAID 6
RAID 5 with hot spare
RAID 10 with hot spare
Combination of RAID 0, RAID 1, hot spare, single disk
6 or more RAID 6
RAID 6 with hot spare
RAID 50
Combination of RAID 0, 1, 5, 6,10, hot spare, single disk
Using Drive Capacity Efficiently
To make the most efficient use of drive capacity, it is advisable to use drives
of the same capacity in a unit. This is because the capacity of each drive is
limited to the capacity of the smallest drive in the unit.
The total unit capacity is defined as follows:
Table 4: Drive Capacity
RAID Level Capacity
Single Disk Capacity of the drive
RAID 0 (number of drives) X (capacity of the smallest drive)
RAID 1 Capacity of the smallest drive
RAID 5 (number of drives - 1) X (capacity of the smallest drive)
Storage efficiency increases with the number of disks:
storage efficiency = (number of drives -1)/(number of drives)
RAID 6 (number of drives - 2) x (capacity of the smallest drive)
RAID 10 (number of drives / 2) X (capacity of smallest drive)
RAID 50 (number of drives - number of groups of drives) X (capacity of the
smallest drive)
Through drive coercion, the capacity used for each drive is rounded down so
that drives from differing manufacturers are more likely to be able to be used
as spares for each other. The capacity used for each drive is rounded down to
the nearest GB for drives under 45 GB (45,000,000,000 bytes), and rounded
down to the nearest 5 GB for drives over 45 GB. For example, a 44.3 GB
drive will be rounded down to 44 GB, and a 123 GB drive will be rounded
12 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
3ware Tools for Configuration and Management
down to 120 GB. For more information, see the discussion of drive coercion
under “Creating a Hot Spare” on page 97.
Note: All drives in a unit must be of the same type, either SAS or SATA.
Support for Over 2 Terabytes
Windows XP (32-bit), Windows 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit without SP1) and
Linux 2.4 do not currently recognize unit capacity in excess of 2 TB.
If the combined capacity of the drives to be connected to a unit exceeds 2
Terabytes (TB), you can enable auto-carving when you configure your units.
Auto-carving divides the available unit capacity into multiple chunks of 2 TB
or smaller that can be addressed by the operating systems as separate
volumes. The carve size is adjustable from 1024 GB to 2048 GB (default)
prior to unit creation.
If a unit over 2 TB was created prior to enabling the auto-carve option, its
capacity visible to the operating system will still be 2TB; no additional
capacity will be registered. To change this, the unit has to be recreated.
For more information, see “Using Auto-Carving for Multi LUN Support” on
page 78.
You may also want to refer to Knowledgease article # 13431, at
http://www.3ware.com/kb/article.aspx?id=13431.
3ware Tools for Configuration and
Management
3ware software tools let you easily configure the drives attached to your
3ware RAID controller, specifying which drives should be used together as a
RAID unit and the type of RAID configuration you want, and designating hot
spares for use if a drive degrades.
3ware provides the following tools for use in configuring and managing units
attached to the 3ware controller:
• 3BM (3ware BIOS Manager)
3BM is a BIOS level tool for creating, deleting, and maintaining disk
arrays, rebuilding arrays, designating hot spares, and setting controller
policies. 3BM is the tool most frequently used to configure units
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Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
immediately after installation of the controller, but can also be used after
installation to maintain the controller and associated drives.
For general information about working with 3BM, see Chapter 5, “3ware
BIOS Manager (3BM) Introduction.”
• 3DM 2 (3ware Disk Manager)
3DM is a daemon (under Linux) and a service (under Windows) which
runs in the background on the controller’s host system, and can be
accessed through a web browser to provide ongoing monitoring and
administration of the controller and associated drives. It can be used
locally (on the system that contains the 9690SA) or remotely (on a system
connected via a network to the system containing the 9690SA).
For details about working with 3DM, see “3DM 2 (3ware Disk Manager)
Introduction” on page 58.
3DM 2 is the current version of the 3ware Disk Manager . Th roughout this
documentation, it is referred to interchangeably as 3DM and 3DM 2.
• 3ware Alert Utility (WinAVAlarm)
The 3ware Alert Utility for Windows runs on the system in which the
3ware RAID controller is installed and provides direct notification by
popup message and audio alarm when events occur. This utility can be
configured to specify the type of events that should generate these
notifications. For details, see “Using the Alert Utility Under W indows” on
page 134.
• 3ware CLI (Command Line Interface)
The 3ware CLI provides the functionality available in 3DM through a
Command Line Interface. You can view unit status and version
information and perform maintenance functions such as adding or
removing drives, and reconfiguring RAID units online. You can also use
it to remotely administer controllers in a system.
The 3ware CLI is described in 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI
Guide and in the 3ware HTML Bookshelf.
Monitoring, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting Feat ures
Several 3ware RAID controller features aid in monitoring and
troubleshooting your drives.
•
SMART Monitoring (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology) automatically checks a disk drive's health every 24 hours
and reports potential problems. This allows you to take proactive steps to
prevent impending disk crashes. SMART data is checked on all disk
drives (array members, single disks, and hot spares). Monitoring of
14 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Monitoring, Maintenance, and Troub leshooting Features
SMART thresholds can be turned on and off in 3DM. See, “Selecting
Self-tests to be Performed” on page 154 This feature does not apply to
SAS drives. (For details, see “Viewing SMART Data About a Drive” on
page 136.)
•
Staggered Spinup allows drives that support this feature to be powered-
up into the standby power management state to minimize in-rush current
at power-up and to allow the controller to sequence the spin-up of drives.
Both SATAII OOB and ATA spin-up methods are supported.The standby
power management state is persistent after power-down and power-up.
You can set the number of drives that will spin up at the same time, and
the time between staggers in 3BM (the 3ware BIOS Management utility).
This feature does not apply to drives that are attached to an expan der. For
details, see “Enabling and Setting Up Staggered Spin-up” on page 80.
•
Verification and Media Scans. The verify task verifies all redundant
units, and checks for media errors on single disks, spares and RAID 0 unit
members. If the disk drive is part of a redundant unit, error locations that
are found and are deemed repairable are rewritten with the redundant
data. This forces the drive firmware to reallocate the error sectors
accordingly. (For more information, see “About Verification” on
page 141.)
•
Error Correction. Bad sectors can be dynamically repaired through error
correction (Dynamic Sector Repair). Reallocation of blocks is based
intelligently on the location of the block in relation to the stripe.
•
Scheduled Background Tasks. Initialize, rebuild, verify, and self-test
tasks can all be run in the background, at scheduled times. This lets you
choose a time for these tasks to be run when it will be least disruptive to
your system. You can also define the rate at which background tasks are
performed, specifying whether I/O tasks should be given more processing
time, or background rebuild and verify tasks should be given more
processing time. (For more information, see “Scheduling Background
Tasks” on page 150.)
•
Write Cache. Write cache can be enabled or disabled using 3BM,
3DM 2 and CLI. When write cache is enabled, data will be stored in
3ware controller cache and drive cache before the data is committed to
disk. This allows the system to process multiple write commands at the
same time, thus improving performance. However when data is stored in
cache, it could be lost if a power failure occurs. With a Battery Backup
Unit (BBU) installed, the data stored on the 3ware controller can be
restored. (For more information, see “Enabling and Disabling the Unit
Write Cache” on page 102.)
•
StorSave™ Profiles allow you to set the level of protection versus
performance that is desired for a unit when write cache is enabled. (For
more information, see “Setting the StorSave Profile for a Unit” on
page 106.)
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Chapter 1. Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller
• Enclosure Services. Drives, fans, temperature sensors, and power
supplies in supported enclosures can be identified by flashing LEDs so
that you can quickly identify which component needs to be checked or
replaced. For more information, see “Managing an Enclosure” on
page 179.
Auto Rebuild. For times when you do not have a spare available, setting
•
the Auto Rebuild policy allows rebuilds to occur with an available drive
or with a failed drive. (For more information, see “Setting the Auto
Rebuild Policy” on page 77.)
16 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Getting Started with Your 3ware RAID Controller
Setting up your 3ware RAID controller involves these main steps:
• Physically Install the RAID Controller and Drives
• Configure a RAID Unit
• Install the Driver and Make the Operating System Aware of the New
Drives
• Set Up Management and Maintenance Features
Once the controller and drives have been physically installed, the order in
which you perform these steps depends in part on whether one of the units
you configure will act as your boot drive.
2
Tip: When you are first setting up your system, you may want to review
“System Requirements” on page 2.
Physically Install the RAID Controller and Drives
To install your controller, follow the instructions in the installation guide that
came with your 3ware controller. If you do not have a hardcopy of the
installation manual, it is available in the “doc” folder on your 3ware CD, or
you can download it from the 3ware website at http://www.3ware.com/
support/userdocs.asp.
For drive installation, see the instructions that came with your enclosure. If
you are installing drives in a computer case, follow the manufacturer’s
instructions.
Configure a RAID Unit
If you would like more information about what RAID level to choose for your
situation, review the information under “Understanding RAID Concepts and
Levels” on page 4. Then turn to “Configuring a New Unit” on page 85.
If you want to install the operating system on and boot from a drive managed
through the new 3ware RAID controller, use the 3ware BIOS Manager (3BM)
to define the configuration. You will find step-by-step instructions for initial
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Chapter 2. Getting Started with Your 3ware RAID Controller
installation in. Chapter 3, “First-Time RAID Configuration Using 3BM.”
Additional information about configuration is also included in the later
chapters of this user guide.
If the operating system is already installed on another drive in your system,
you can configure units through 3BM, through 3ware Disk Manager (3DM),
or through the Command Line Interface (CLI). If you want to use 3DM or the
CLI for configuration, go ahead and boot to the operating system, install the
driver and the 3DM 2 software, and then configure your units. You may want
to refer to the following information:
• Chapter 6, “3DM 2 (3ware Disk Manager) Introduction”
• Chapter 8, “Configuring Units”
• 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, available from the CD-
ROM, the 3ware HTML Bookshelf and from the website http://
www.3ware.com/support/userdocs.asp
Install the Driver and Make the Operating System Aware of the New Drives
Instructions for installing drivers are available in “Driver Installation” on
page 31.
You will also find instructions for updating the driver under “Downloading
the Driver and Firmware” on page 158.
Set Up Management and Maintenance Features
3ware RAID controllers include a number of features to help you manage and
maintain the controller and your configured units. The default settings for
these features allow you to begin using your newly configured units right
away. You can review and change these features as a final step in your initial
setup, or you can make changes to them later, at your convenience. These
features include:
• Controller and unit policies, such as Auto Rebuild, Auto Verify, use of
write cache, use of queuing mode, and selection of a StorSave profile.
• Email notification of alarms and other events
• Schedules for when background tasks will be performed, to minimize the
impact on day-to-day performance during peak usage times. (Background
tasks include rebuild, verify, initialize, migrate, and self-test.)
Details about these features are described in this documentation. When you
first set up your controller, you may want to review these sections in
particular:
• “Configuring Your Controller” on page 72
• “Setting Unit Policies” on page 100
• “Setting Background Task Rate” on page 149
18 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
Initial Settings for Policies and Background Tasks
The table below lists the default settings for policies and background tasks.
These settings are used if you do not explicitly change the policy settings.
Table 5: Default Settings for Policies and Background Tasks
Policy Default Value Where to Change
Controller-Level Settings
(For details, see “Configuring Your Controller” on page 72
Auto-Rebuild Enabled 3BM, 3DM, CLI
Auto-Carving Disabled 3BM, 3DM, CLI
Auto-Detect Enabled CLI
Carve Size or Factor 2048 GB 3BM, 3DM, CLI
Drives Per Spinup 1 3BM, CLI
Delay Between Spinup 6 seconds 3BM, CLI
Export Unconfigured (JBOD)
Disks
Staggered Method ATA-6 3BM
Staggered Spinup Enabled 3BM
Unit-Level Settings
(For details, see “Setting Unit Policies” on page 100)
Auto Verify Disabled 3DM, CLI
Continue on Source Error
During Rebuild
Boot Volume Size Blank 3BM
Queuing (NCQ) Enabled 3BM, 3DM, CLI
StorSave Profile Protection 3BM, 3DM, CLI
Write Cache Enabled 3BM, 3DM, CLI
Background Task Settings
(For details, see “Scheduling Background Tasks” on page 150 and “Setting
Background Task Rate” on page 149)
Verify Task Schedules
Disabled 3BM, CLI
Disabled 3BM, 3DM, CLI
Daily,
starting at 12:00 am
3DM, CLI
and running for 24 hours
Follow Verify Task Schedule No 3DM, CLI
Rebuild Task Schedules
starting at 12:00 am
Daily,
3DM, CLI
and running for 24 hours
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Chapter 2. Getting Started with Your 3ware RAID Controller
Table 5: Default Settings for Policies and Background Tasks
Policy Default Value Where to Change
Follow Rebuild T ask
Schedule
Self-test Task Schedules
a
No 3DM, CLI
Daily, starting at 12:00 am
3DM, CLI
and running for 24 hours
Follow Self-test Task
Schedule
Yes 3DM, CLI
a. Although the default Self-test Task Schedule is for 24 hours, self-test
tasks are run only at the beginning of that time period and take just a few
minutes. For more information about task schedules, see “Scheduling
Background Tasks” on page 150.
20 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5
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