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SAS 9300-4i
User Manual
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User Manual
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User Manual
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Table of contents
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Avago Technologies SAS 9300-4i User Manual

SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution
User Guide
Version 1.0
November 2012
DB15-001012-00
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012
Revision History
Version and Date Description of Changes
Version 1.0, November 2012
Removed Confidential status from document.
Added several new commands to Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID
Configuration Utility.
In Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility, updated the operating
system support information.
Added support for 4-KB sector disk drives.
LSI, the LSI & Design logo, CacheCade, and Fusion-MPT are trademarks or registered trademarks of LSI Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other brand and product names may be trademarks of their respective companies.
LSI Corporation reserves the right to make changes to the product(s) or information disclosed herein at any time without notice. LSI Corporation does not assume any responsibility or liability arising out of the application or use of any product or service described herein, except as expressly agreed to in writing by LSI Corporation; nor does the purchase, lease, or use of a product or service from LSI Corporation convey a license under any patent rights, copyrights, trademark rights, or any other of the intellectual property rights of LSI Corporation or of third par ties. LSI products are not intended for use in life-support appliances, devices, or systems. Use of any LSI product in such applications without written consent of the appropriate LSI officer is prohibited.
This document contains proprietar y information of LSI Corporation. The information contained herein is not to be used by or disclosed to third parties without the express written permission of LSI Corporation.
Corporate Headquarters Email Website
Milpitas, CA globalsupport@lsi.com www.lsi.com 800-372-2447
Document Number: DB15-001012-00 Copyright © 2012 LSI Corporation All Rights Reserved
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 Benefits and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.1 Host Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.2 Metadata Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.3 SMART Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.4 Fusion-MPT Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.5 CacheCade on Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 Integrated Mirroring and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Operation of Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 Mirrored Volume Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4.1 Resynchronization with Concurrent Host I/O Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4.2 Hot Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4.3 Hot Spare Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4.4 Online Capacity Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4.5 Media Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4.6 Disk Write Caching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.7 NVSRAM Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.8 Background Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.9 Consistency Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.10 Make Data Consistent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.1 Mirrored Volume Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2 Creating Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2.1 Creating an Integrated Mirroring Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2.2 Creating an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced or Integrated Mirroring + Striping Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2.3 Expanding an Integrated Mirroring Volume with OCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Managing Hot Spare Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3.1 Creating Hot Spare Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3.2 Deleting a Hot Spare Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.4 Other Configuration Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.4.1 Viewing Array Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.4.2 Running a Consistency Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.4.3 Activating an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.4.4 Deleting an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.4.5 Locating Disk Drives in a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.4.6 Selecting a Boot Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 4: Overview of Integrated Striping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.2 Integrated Striping Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3 Integrated Striping Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
LSI Corporation
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012
Table of Contents
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.1 Integrated Striping Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.2 Creating Integrated Striping Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.3 Other Configuration Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.1 Viewing Array Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.2 Activating an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3.3 Deleting an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.3.4 Locating Disk Drives in a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.3.5 Selecting a Boot Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A.1 Hardware and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A.1.1 Controller Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A.1.2 Operating System and Software Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A.2 Interface Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
A.3 Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
A.3.1 Common Command-Line Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A.3.2 CREATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A.3.3 DELETE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
A.3.4 DELETEVOLUME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
A.3.5 DISPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
A.3.6 HOTSPARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A.3.7 STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A.3.8 LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A.3.9 CONSTCHK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
A.3.10 ACTIVATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
A.3.11 LOCATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
A.3.12 LOGIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
A.3.13 BOOTIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
A.3.14 BOOTENCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A.3.15 HELP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution

1.1 Overview

The LSI® Integrated RAID solution provides cost benefits for the server or workstation market that requires the extra
performance, storage capacity, and redundancy of a RAID configuration. The LSI Integrated RAID solution includes the following RAID features:
The Integrated Mirroring solution, which provides features of RAID 1 The Integrated Mirroring + Striping solution, which provides features of RAID 10 The Integrated Mirroring Enhanced solution, which provides features of RAID 1 Enhanced (RAID 1E) The Integrated Striping solution, which provides features of RAID 0
By simplifying the configuration options and by providing firmware support in its SAS-3 host adapters, LSI can offer the Integrated RAID solution at a lower cost than a hardware RAID implementation.
LSI Fusion-MPT™ firmware supports Integrated Mirroring volumes, Integrated Mirroring + Striping volumes, Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes, and Integrated Striping volumes. You can create up to two Integrated RAID volumes on each LSI SAS-3 controller.
Overview
The LSI Integrated RAID solution supports the following LSI SAS-3 controllers and the host bus adapters based on
these controllers:
LSISAS3008 LSISAS3004
LSI Integrated RAID firmware uses the same device drivers as the standard LSI Fusion-MPT-based controllers, thereby eliminating the need for complex backup software or expensive RAID hardware. To conserve system resources, the Integrated RAID firmware operates independently from the operating system. The BIOS-based configuration utility, documented in Chapter 3 and Chapter 5, makes it easy to configure mirrored and striped volumes. The Integrated RAID solution is currently available as an optional component of the Fusion-MPT architecture on LSI SAS-3 controllers.
NOTE In this document, the terms volume, RAID volume, array, and RAID array are used interchangeably. Volume and array both appear on the screens of the BIOS-based configuration utility. The term disk means
both hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD), and the HDDs or SSDs can support either SAS or SATA protocol.
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012

1.2 Benefits and Features

The LSI Integrated RAID solution has the following benefits and features:
Support for up to 10 disks per Integrated RAID volume, with one or two volumes on each SAS-3 controller. Each
controller can support 14 volume drives, including one or two hot spare disks.
Support for two-disk Integrated Mirroring volumes (RAID 1). Support for disk drives with 512-byte sectors and disk drives with 4-KB sectors.
NOTE An Integrated RAID volume must use all 512-byte-sector drives or all 4-KB-sector drives. You cannot combine the two types of drives in a single volume. Also, some operating systems do not fully support 4-KB-sector drives. Refer to the documentation for the operating system you are using.
Support for online capacity expansion (OCE) for RAID 1 volumes. OCE permits you to increase the size of a RAID 1
volume by replacing the disk drives with higher-capacity drives.
Support for RAID volumes, and physical disks within a RAID volume, where the volume or disk exceeds 2
(2.199 TB or 2 TiB).
Low-cost RAID volume creation, which meets the needs of most internal RAID installations. Easy installation and configuration. Support for booting from any kind of Integrated RAID volume. Ability to operate without special operating system-specific software. High reliability and data integrity.
— Nonvolatile write journaling. — Physical disks in a volume are not visible to the operating system (OS) or to application software.
Low host CPU utilization and PCI® bus utilization. Processing power provided by Fusion-MPT architecture. Shared-memory architecture minimizes external
memory requests.
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution
Benefits and Features
41
bytes

1.2.1 Host Interface

The Integrated RAID host interface uses the message-passing interface, as described in the Fusion-MPT 2.5 MPI
Specification. The Fusion-MPT interface gives the host OS access to the RAID volumes as well as to additional non-RAID
physical disks.

1.2.2 Metadata Support

The Integrated RAID firmware supports metadata, which describes the RAID volume configuration stored on each
member disk of a volume. After initialization, the firmware reads the metadata on each member disk and verifies the configuration. The firmware reduces the usable disk space for each member disk when it creates the volume to make room for the metadata.

1.2.3 SMART Support

The Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) monitors disk drives for signs of possible future disk
failure and generates an alert if it detects such signs. The Integrated RAID firmware polls each physical disk in the volume at regular intervals. If the firmware detects a SMART ASC/ASCQ code on a physical disk in the volume, it stores the SMART data in a log.
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012

1.2.4 Fusion-MPT Support

The Integrated RAID BIOS uses the LSI Fusion-MPT interface to communicate to the SAS-3 controller and firmware. This process includes reading the Fusion-MPT configuration to access the parameters that define behavior between
the SAS-3 controller and the devices that connect to it. The Fusion-MPT drivers for all supported operating systems implement the Fusion-MPT interface to communicate with the controller and firmware.

1.2.5 CacheCade on Host

The Integrated RAID solution is fully compatible with the LSI CacheCade™ on Host (CCoH) software solution. CCOH
accelerates the I/O speed of high-performance applications that would otherwise be constrained by HDD performance.
For more information about CCoH, refer to the LSI CacheCade on Host User Guide.
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution
Benefits and Features
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012

Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes

Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes
This chapter provides an overview of the LSI Integrated RAID features that support the creation of mirrored volumes.

2.1 Overview

As a result of the shift towards network-attached storage (NAS), Internet service providers need a cost-effective, fault-tolerant solution to protect the operating systems on small form-factor, high-density, rack-mountable servers.
The mirroring features of the LSI Integrated RAID solution provide such protection for the system boot volume, which
safeguards the operating system and other critical information on servers and high-performance workstations. The Integrated RAID solution supports the following types of mirrored volumes:
The Integrated Mirroring solution, which provides features of RAID 1 The Integrated Mirroring + Striping solution, which provides features of RAID 10 The Integrated Mirroring Enhanced solution, which provides features of RAID 1 Enhanced (RAID 1E)
These three mirroring solutions provide a robust, high-performance, fault-tolerant solution to data storage needs at a
lower cost than a dedicated RAID controller.
Overview
Mirrored volumes contain two disks to ten disks to provide fault-tolerant protection for critical data. Mirrored volumes also support one or two global hot spare drives, with a maximum of 14 drives on each LSI SAS-3 controller.
NOTE Fourteen drives is the theoretical upper limit for a single LSI SAS-3 controller, although the controller itself might support fewer than 14 drives. You can also configure one mirrored volume and one Integrated Striping volume on the same LSI SAS controller.
Each SAS-3 controller can have two global hot spare disks available to automatically replace a failed disk in the one or two mirrored volumes configured on the controller. The hot spares make the mirrored volumes even more fault tolerant.

2.2 Integrated Mirroring and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced Features

Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping, and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes support the following features:
Configurations of one or two mirrored volumes on each LSI SAS-3 controller. Each volume can consist of two
mirrored disks for an Integrated Mirroring volume; three to ten mirrored disks for an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume; or four, six, eight, or ten mirrored disks for an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume.
(Optional) Two global hot spare disks per LSI SAS-3 controller to automatically replace failed disks in mirrored
volumes.
Ability of mirrored volumes to run in optimal mode or in degraded mode if one mirrored disk in an Integrated
Mirroring volume fails or if one or more mirrored disks fail in an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume or Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume.
Support for hot swapping. Support for OCE for RAID 1 volumes. OCE permits you to increase the size of a RAID 1 volume by replacing the
existing disk drives with higher-capacity disk drives. Data is protected during the expansion process, and the RAID 1 volume remains online.
Presentation of a single virtual drive to the operating system for each mirrored volume.
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012
Support for both SAS disks and SATA disks, although you cannot combine the two types of disks in the same
volume. However, an LSI SAS-3 controller can support one volume with SATA disks and a second volume with SAS disks.
Automatic background initialization after a volume is created. Consistency checking. Fusion-MPT architecture. Menu-driven, BIOS-based configuration utility. Error notification, in which the drivers update an OS-specific event log. Support for SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) status LED. Write journaling, which permits automatic synchronization of potentially inconsistent data after unexpected
powerdown situations.
Use of metadata to store volume configuration on disks in a mirrored volume. Automatic background resynchronization while host I/O transactions continue. Background media verification, which makes sure that data on mirrored volumes is always accessible.

2.3 Operation of Mirrored Volumes

Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes
Operation of Mirrored Volumes
The LSI Integrated RAID solution supports one or two mirrored volumes on each LSI SAS-3 controller (or one mirrored
volume and one Integrated Striping volume). Typically, one of these volumes is the boot volume. Boot support is available through the firmware of the LSI SAS-3 controller that supports the standard Fusion-MPT interface. The run-time mirroring of the boot disk is transparent to the BIOS, the drivers, and the operating system. Host-based status software monitors the state of the mirrored disks and reports any error conditions. The following figure shows an Integrated Mirroring volume in which the second disk is a mirrored copy of the data on the first (primary) disk.
Figure 1 Typical Integrated Mirroring Implementation
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012
The following figure shows the logical view and physical view of an Integrated Mirroring volume. Each logical block
address (LBA) is mirrored on the second disk.
Figure 2 Integrated Mirroring Volume
Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes
Operation of Mirrored Volumes
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You can configure an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume with up to 10 mirrored disks. The following figure shows
the logical view and physical view of an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume with three mirrored disks. The firmware writes each mirrored stripe to a disk and mirrors it to an adjacent disk. RAID 1E is another term for this type of mirrored configuration.
Figure 3 Integrated Mirroring Enhanced with Three Disks
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012
You can configure an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume with an even number of disks, ranging from a minimum
of four disks to a maximum of ten disks. The following figure shows the logical view and physical view of an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume with four mirrored disks. The firmware writes each mirrored stripe to a disk and mirrors it to an adjacent disk. RAID 10 is another term for this type of configuration.
Figure 4 Integrated Mirroring + Striping with Four Disks
Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes
Operation of Mirrored Volumes
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The LSI SAS-3 BIOS configuration utility (SAS-3 BIOS CU) enables you to create mirrored volumes during initial setup
and to reconfigure them in response to hardware failures or changes in the environment.
CAUTION The SAS3 BIOS CU deletes all existing data from the disks drives when you select them to use for a mirrored volume.
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012

2.4 Mirrored Volume Features

This section describes features of Integrated Mirroring volumes, Integrated Mirroring + Striping volumes, and
Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes.

2.4.1 Resynchronization with Concurrent Host I/O Operation

The Integrated RAID firmware permits host I/O transactions to continue on a mirrored volume while it resynchronizes
the volume in the background. The firmware automatically starts resynchronizing data after a disk failure activates a hot spare, or after a disk in a mirrored volume has been hot-swapped.

2.4.2 Hot Swapping

The Integrated RAID firmware supports hot swapping, and it automatically resynchronizes the hot-swapped disk in
the background without any host or user intervention. The firmware detects hot-swap removal and disk insertion.
Following a hot-swap event, the firmware verifies that the new physical disk has enough capacity for the mirrored volume. The firmware resynchronizes all replaced hot-swapped disks, even if the same disk is removed and then re-inserted. In a mirrored volume with an even number of disks, the firmware marks the hot-swapped disk as a secondary disk and the other disk with data as the primary disk. The firmware resynchronizes all data from the primary disk onto the new secondary disk. In a mirrored volume with an odd number of disks, primary and secondary sets include three disks instead of two disks.
Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes
Mirrored Volume Features

2.4.3 Hot Spare Disk

You can configure two disks as global hot spare disks to protect data on the mirrored volumes configured on the SAS-3
controller. If the Integrated RAID firmware fails one of the mirrored disks, it automatically replaces the failed disk with a hot spare disk and then resynchronizes the mirrored data. The firmware automatically receives a notification when a hot spare replaces the failed disk, and it then designates that disk as the new hot spare.

2.4.4 Online Capacity Expansion

The OCE feature enables you to expand the capacity of an existing two-disk Integrated Mirroring (RAID 1) volume by
replacing the original disk drives with higher-capacity drives that have the same protocol (SAS or SATA).
NOTE The replacement drives must have at least 50 GB more capacity than the original drives of the volume.
After you replace the disk drives and run the OCE command, you must use a commercial tool specific to the operating system to move, or increase the size of, the partition on the volume.

2.4.5 Media Verification

The Integrated RAID firmware supports a background media verification feature that runs at regular intervals when the
mirrored volume is in the Optimal state. If the verification command fails for any reason, the firmware reads the other disk’s data for this segment and writes it to the failing disk in an attempt to refresh the data. The firmware periodically writes the current media verification logical block address to nonvolatile memory so the media verification can continue from where it stopped prior to a power cycle.
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SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide November 2012

2.4.6 Disk Write Caching

By default, the Integrated RAID firmware disables disk write caching for mirrored volumes to make sure that the write journal entry stored in nonvolatile static RAM (NVSRAM) is always valid. If you enable disk write caching (not recommended), you might cause the disk write log to be invalid.

2.4.7 NVSRAM Usage

The Integrated RAID firmware requires at least a 32-KB NVSRAM to perform write journaling for mirrored volumes on
LSI SAS-3 controllers. The NVSRAM also preserves configuration information across reboots. The firmware uses write journaling to verify that the disks in the mirrored volume are synchronized with each other.

2.4.8 Background Initialization

Background initialization (BGI) is the process of copying data from primary to secondary disks in a mirrored volume.
The Integrated RAID firmware starts BGI automatically as a background task when it creates a volume. The volume
remains in the Optimal state while BGI is in progress.

2.4.9 Consistency Check

Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes
Mirrored Volume Features
A consistency check is a background process that reads data from primary and secondary disks in a mirrored volume and compares it to make sure the data is identical on both disks. Use the LSI SAS-3 BIOS Configuration Utility to run a consistency check on a mirrored volume.

2.4.10 Make Data Consistent

If it is enabled in the Integrated RAID firmware, the make data consistent (MDC) process starts automatically and runs in the background when you move a redundant volume from one LSI SAS-3 controller to another LSI SAS-3 controller. MDC compares the data on the primary and secondary disks. If MDC finds inconsistencies, it copies data from the primary disk to the secondary disk.
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