SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Revision History
Version and DateDescription 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.
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
1.1Overview
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.
LSI Corporation
- 5 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
1.2Benefits 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
1.2.1Host 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.
1.2.2Metadata 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.
1.2.3SMART 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.
LSI Corporation
- 6 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
1.2.4Fusion-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.
1.2.5CacheCade 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
LSI Corporation
- 7 -
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.
2.1Overview
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.
2.2Integrated 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.
LSI Corporation
- 8 -
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.
2.3Operation 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.
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
Physical ViewLogical View
LBA 1
LBA 2
LBA 3
LBA N
LBA 1
LBA 2
LBA 3
LBA N
LBA 1'
LBA 2'
+
LBA 3'
LBA N’
3_00007-00
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
3K\VLFDO9LHZ/RJLFDO9LHZ
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE.
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPE.g
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE.
LSI Corporation
- 10 -
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPE.
?
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
3K\VLFDO9LHZ/RJLFDO9LHZ
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE.
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE.
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPE.g
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE
-IRRORED3TRIPE.
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPEg
-IRRORED3TRIPE.
?
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.
LSI Corporation
- 11 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
2.4Mirrored Volume Features
This section describes features of Integrated Mirroring volumes, Integrated Mirroring + Striping volumes, and
Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes.
2.4.1Resynchronization 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.
2.4.2Hot 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
2.4.3Hot 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.
2.4.4Online 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.
2.4.5Media 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.
LSI Corporation
- 12 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
2.4.6Disk 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.
2.4.7NVSRAM 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.
2.4.8Background 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.
2.4.9Consistency 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.
2.4.10Make 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.
LSI Corporation
- 13 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
This chapter explains how to create Integrated Mirroring volumes, Integrated Mirroring + Striping volumes, and
Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes with the LSI SAS-3 BIOS Configuration Utility (SAS3 BIOS CU).
3.1Mirrored Volume Configuration Overview
The LSI SAS3 BIOS CU is a menu-driven utility program that enables you to easily configure and manage Integrated
RAID volumes. You can use the SAS3 BIOS CU to create one or two mirrored volumes on each LSI SAS-3 controller, with
up to two optional global hot spare disks. You must connect all disks in a mirrored volume to the same LSI SAS-3
controller.
Although you can use disks of different sizes in mirrored volumes, the smallest disk in the volume determines the
logical size of all disks in the volume. In other words, the volume does not use the excess space of the higher-capacity
member disks. For example, if you create an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume with two 100-GB disks and two
120-GB disks, the volume uses only 100 GB on each of the 120-GB disks.
See Chapter 2 for more information about the features of Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping, and
Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes.
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Mirrored Volume Configuration Overview
3.2Creating Mirrored Volumes
The SAS3 BIOS CU is part of the Fusion-MPT BIOS. When the BIOS loads during the startup sequence and you see the
message about the LSI Configuration Utility, press Ctrl-C to start the SAS3 BIOS CU. When you start the SAS3 BIOS CU,
the message changes to the following:
Please wait, invoking SAS Configuration Utility...
After a brief pause, the main menu (Adapter List window) of the SAS3 BIOS CU appears. On some systems, however,
the following message appears next:
LSI Corp Configuration Utility will load following initialization!
In this case, the SAS3 BIOS CU loads after the system completes its power-on self-test.
You can configure one or two Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping, and Integrated Mirroring
Enhanced volumes on each LSI SAS-3 controller. Alternatively, you can configure one mirrored volume and one
Integrated Striping volume on the same controller, up to a maximum of 14 disk drives for the two volumes. (The
maximum number includes one or two optional hot spare disks for the mirrored volume or volumes.) Additional
information about configuring a RAID volume follows:
All physical disks in a volume must be either SATA (with extended command set support) or SAS (with SMART
support). You cannot combine SAS and SATA disks in the same volume. However, you can create one volume with
SAS disks and a second volume with SATA disks on the same controller.
Disks in the volume must have 512-byte blocks and must not have removable media.
Integrated Mirroring volumes must have two disks, Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes contain three disks to
ten disks, and Integrated Mirroring + Striping volumes can have four, six, eight, or ten disks.
NOTE LSI strongly recommends that you create global hot spare disks for all mirrored volumes to increase the
level of data protection. If a disk in a mirrored volume fails, the Integrated RAID firmware rebuilds it using one
of the global hot spares, and the data is safe. If you create two mirrored volumes on an LSI SAS-3 controller,
either of the volumes can use the global hot spares if a disk fails.
LSI Corporation
- 14 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
3.2.1Creating an Integrated Mirroring Volume
Follow these steps to create a two-disk Integrated Mirroring (RAID 1) volume with the SAS3 BIOS CU. The steps begin
with the Adapter List window that appears when the SAS3 BIOS CU starts.
1.On the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select an LSI SAS-3 adapter, and then press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears, as the following figure shows.
Figure 5 Adapter Properties Window
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Creating Mirrored Volumes
2.Use the arrow keys to select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Create Array window appears.
3.Select Create RAID 1 Volume.
The Create New Array window appears.
4.Move the cursor to the RAID Disk column and select a line that has a No entry in this column, indicating that the
disk is not already part of the volume you are creating. To add the disk to the new array, change the No to Yes by
pressing the space bar.
This disk is the Primary disk in the array.
CAUTION The SAS3 BIOS CU deletes all existing data from the disks drives when you select them to use
in a mirrored volume.
5.Move the cursor to another line and press the space bar to add the second disk to the array.
This disk is the Secondary disk in the array.
6.Press C to create the array.
A menu window appears.
7.From the menu options, select Save changes then exit this menu.
LSI Corporation
- 15 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Creating Mirrored Volumes
A message appears briefly, and then the SAS3 BIOS CU returns to the Adapter Properties window. Initialization of
the new array continues in the background.
NOTE To create a second Integrated Mirroring volume, repeat these instructions starting with step 2.
Alternatively, follow the instructions in the following section to create an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced or
Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume.
NOTE See the instructions in Section 3.3, Managing Hot Spare Disks, if you want to create one or two global
hot spares.
3.2.2Creating an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced or Integrated Mirroring + Striping Volume
Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes contain three physical disks to ten physical disks. Data is written to a disk and
is mirrored on an adjacent disk. Integrated Mirroring + Striping volumes can have a minimum of four physical disks
and a maximum of 10 physical disks, in even numbers. In an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced or Integrated Mirroring +
Striping volume, the data is both mirrored and striped.
Follow these steps to create an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced (RAID 1E) or Integrated Mirroring + Striping (RAID 10)
volume with the SAS3 BIOS CU. The steps begin with the Adapter List window that appears when the configuration
utility starts.
1.On the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select an LSI SAS-3 adapter, and then press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears, as shown in Figure 5.
2.Use the arrow keys to select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Create Array window appears.
3.Select Create RAID 1E Volume.
The Create New Array window appears.
4.Move the cursor to the RAID Disk column and select a line that has a No entry in this column, which indicates that
the disk is not already part of the volume you are creating. To add the disk to the new array, change the No to Yes
by pressing the space bar.
CAUTION The SAS3 BIOS CU deletes all existing data from the disks drives when you select them to use
for a mirrored volume.
5.Move the cursor to another line and press the space bar to add another disk to the array.
If you select an odd number of disks, the SAS3 BIOS CU creates an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced array. If you
select an even number of disks, it creates an Integrated Mirroring + Striping array. As you add disks, the Array Size
field changes to reflect the size of the new array.
6.Press C to create the array.
A menu window appears.
LSI Corporation
- 16 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
7.From the menu options, select Save changes then exit this menu.
A message appears briefly, and then the SAS3 BIOS CU returns to the Adapter Properties window. Initialization of
the new array continues in the background.
NOTE To create a second Integrated Mirroring Enhanced or Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume,
repeat the previous instructions.
NOTE See the instructions in Section 3.3, Managing Hot Spare Disks, if you want to create one or two
global hot spares.
3.2.3Expanding an Integrated Mirroring Volume with OCE
Use the OCE feature to expand the capacity of a two-disk Integrated Mirroring (RAID 1) volume by replacing the
original disks with two higher-capacity disk drives while the volume remains online. This process maintains data
integrity at all times, even if one of the disks fails during the replacement process. The new disks must have at least
50 GB more capacity than the disks they are replacing, and they must use the same protocol (SAS or SATA) as the disks
they are replacing.
Follow these steps to expand an existing RAID 1 volume with OCE.
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Creating Mirrored Volumes
1.Physically replace one of the two volume disk drives with a drive that has at least 50 GB more capacity.
If necessary, you can identify the disks in the volume by following the instructions in Section 3.4.5, Locating Disk
Drives in a Volume.
2.Wait until synchronization completes on the new disk and the volume returns to the Optimal state, as indicated in
the Adapter Properties window of the SAS3 BIOS CU.
3.Physically replace the other volume disk drive with a drive that has at least 50 GB more capacity.
4.Again, wait until synchronization completes on the new disk and the volume returns to the Optimal state.
5.In the Adapter List window of the SAS3 BIOS CU, use the arrow keys to select the LSI SAS adapter with the RAID 1
volume, and then press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
6.Use the arrow keys to select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
7.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears. If necessary, press Alt + N to switch to the RAID 1 volume with the new,
higher-capacity disk drives.
8.Select Manage Volume.
The Manage Volume window appears.
9.Select Online Capacity Expansion.
A menu window appears with a warning message and with options to start the expansion process or quit.
10. Press Y to start the expansion.
The RAID Properties window appears when the expansion process completes.
11. Run a commercial tool specific to the operating system to move or increase the size of the partition on the newly
expanded RAID 1 volume.
LSI Corporation
- 17 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
3.3Managing Hot Spare Disks
You can create one or two global hot spare disks to protect the data on mirrored volumes on an LSI SAS-3 controller.
You can also delete hot spare disks.
3.3.1Creating Hot Spare Disks
Follow these steps to add global hot spare disks to an existing volume. The steps begin with the Adapter List window
that appears when the configuration utility starts.
1.In the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select the LSI SAS-3 adapter on which you want to create hot
spare disks, and then press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Use the arrow keys to select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears. If necessary, press Alt + N to switch to another array on this adapter.
4.Select Manage Volume.
The Manage Volume window appears, as shown in the following figure.
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Managing Hot Spare Disks
Figure 6 Manage Volume Window
5.Select Manage Hot Spares.
The Manage Hot Spares window appears.
6.Identify a disk that is not part of a RAID array (that is, the value in the Drive Status column is not RAID) and that is
not already identified as a hot spare disk.
A global hot spare disk must have 512-byte blocks and nonremovable media. The disk type must be either SATA
with extended command set support or SAS with SMART support.
LSI Corporation
- 18 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
7.Select the Hot Spr (Hot Spare) field for this disk, and press the space bar.
The Hot Spare status changes to Yes .
8.(Optional) Repeat the preceding step to select a second global hot spare disk.
9.Press C to create the hot spare disk.
A menu window appears. An error message appears if the selected disk is not at least as large as the smallest disk
used in the existing array or arrays. An error message also appears if you try to add a SATA disk as a hot spare for
arrays that use SAS disks, or if you try to add a SAS disk as a hot spare for arrays that use SATA disks.
10. Select Save changes then exit this menu to create the hot spare disk or disks.
The SAS3 BIOS CU pauses while it configures the global hot spares.
3.3.2Deleting a Hot Spare Disk
Follow these steps to delete a global hot spare disk.
1.Access the Manage Hot Spares window by following the first five steps of the previous section.
2.Select a hot spare disk for deletion, and press C.
3.Select Save changes then exit this menu to complete the deletion of the hot spare disk.
The configuration utility pauses while it removes the global hot spare.
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Other Configuration Tasks
3.4Other Configuration Tasks
This section explains how to perform other configuration and maintenance tasks for mirrored arrays.
3.4.1Viewing Array Properties
Follow these steps to view the RAID properties of a mirrored array.
1.In the SAS3 BIOS CU, select an LSI SAS-3 adapter from the adapter list.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Select RAID Properties.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears, showing information about the array and each disk in it. The window includes
global hot spare information, if any exists.
NOTE If you create one array using SAS disks, another array using SATA disks, and one or two global hot
spare disks, the hot spare disks only appear when you view the mirrored array that uses the same type of
disks as the hot spare disks.
LSI Corporation
- 19 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
3.4.2Running a Consistency Check
Use the Consistency Check command to verify that the data is synchronized on the mirrored disks in the array.
Follow these steps to run a consistency check on a selected mirrored array:
1.In the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select an LSI SAS adapter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Use the arrow keys to select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears. If necessary, press Alt + N to switch to another array on this adapter.
4.Select Manage Volume.
The Manage Volume window appears.
5.Select Consistency Check on the Manage Volume window.
A menu window appears.
6.Press Y to start the consistency check.
The consistency check runs in the background. If it encounters any data miscompares, it stores the information in
a bad block table.
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Other Configuration Tasks
3.4.3Activating an Array
An array can become inactive if, for example, you remove it from one controller or computer and install it on a
different one. The Activate Array option permits you to reactivate an inactive array.
Follow these steps to activate a selected array.
1.In the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select an LSI SAS adapter and press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears. If necessary, press Alt + N to switch to another array on this adapter.
4.Select Manage Volume.
The Manage Volume window appears.
5.Select Activate Array on the Manage Volume window.
A menu window appears.
6.Press Y to activate the array.
The array becomes active after a pause.
LSI Corporation
- 20 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
3.4.4Deleting an Array
CAUTION Before you delete an array, be sure to back up all data on the array that you want to keep.
Follow these steps to delete a selected array.
1.In the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select an LSI SAS adapter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Use the arrow keys to select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears. If necessary, press Alt + N to switch to another array on this adapter.
4.Select Manage Volume.
The Manage Volume window appears.
5.Select Delete Array.
A menu window appears.
6.Either press Y to delete the array, or press N to cancel the deletion process.
After a pause, the utility deletes the array. If there is another remaining array and one or two hot spare disks, the
BIOS checks the hot spare disks to determine if they are compatible with the remaining array. If they are not
compatible (too small or wrong disk type), the BIOS deletes them also.
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Other Configuration Tasks
3.4.5Locating Disk Drives in a Volume
You can use the SAS3 BIOS CU to locate and identify a specific physical disk drive in a disk enclosure by flashing the
drive’s LED. You can also flash the LEDs of all the disk drives in a RAID volume, if they are in a disk enclosure.
When you add a disk drive to a new mirrored volume, the LED on the disk drive starts flashing. The LED stops flashing
when you finish creating the volume.
To locate disk drives by flashing their LEDs, follow these steps.
1.Select the desired SAS-3 controller on the Adapter List window, and press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Highlight SAS Topology, and press Enter.
The SAS Topology window appears.
3.Select the disk in the Device Identifier column, and press Enter.
The LED on the disk flashes until you press a key to stop it.
4.To identify all the disk drives in a volume, select the volume in the left column of the SAS Topology window, and
press Enter.
The LEDs flash on all disk drives in the volume until you press a key to stop them.
NOTE The LEDs on the disk drives flash as previously described if the firmware configuration is correct
and the drives are in a disk enclosure.
LSI Corporation
- 21 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
3.4.6Selecting a Boot Disk
You can select a boot disk in the SAS Topology window. The next time you boot the computer, the firmware moves
this disk to scan ID 0, making it the new boot disk. This feature makes it easier to set BIOS boot device options and to
keep the boot device constant during device additions and removals. You can also select an alternative boot device. If
the BIOS cannot find the preferred boot device when it loads, it attempts to boot from the alternative device.
Follow these steps to select a boot disk.
1.In the SAS3 BIOS CU, select an adapter from the adapter list.
2.Select the SAS Topology option.
If a device is currently designated as the boot device, the Device Info column on the SAS Topology window lists
the word Boot, as shown in the following figure.
Figure 7 Boot Device on SAS Topology Window
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes
Other Configuration Tasks
If a device is currently designated as the alternative boot device, the Device Info column shows the word Alt.
3.To select the preferred boot disk, move the cursor to the disk, and press Alt + B.
4.To remove the boot designator, move the cursor to the current boot disk, and press Alt + B.
This controller no longer has a disk designated as boot.
5.To change the boot disk, move the cursor to the new boot disk, and press Alt + B.
The Boot designator moves to this disk.
6.To select an alternative boot disk, move the cursor to the disk, and press Alt + A.
NOTE To change the alternative boot device from one disk to another, follow step 4 and step 5 in this
procedure, but press Alt + A instead of Alt + B.
LSI Corporation
- 22 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Chapter 4: Overview of Integrated Striping
This chapter provides an overview of the LSI Integrated RAID features that support the creation of striped volumes.
4.1Overview
The LSI Integrated RAID solution enables you to create Integrated Striping volumes for applications that require the
faster performance and increased storage capacity of striping. The low-cost Integrated Striping feature has many of
the advantages of more expensive RAID striping solutions. An Integrated Striping volume can be the boot disk or a
data disk.
The Integrated Striping solution provides better performance and more capacity than individual disks, without
burdening the host CPU. The firmware distributes host I/O transactions over multiple disks and presents the disks to
the OS as a single volume. In general, striping is transparent to the BIOS, the drivers, and the operating system.
Use the LSI SAS3 BIOS CU to configure Integrated Striping volumes.
4.2Integrated Striping Features
Chapter 4: Overview of Integrated Striping
Overview
Integrated Striping supports the following features:
Support for RAID volumes with two disks to ten disks
Support for two Integrated Striping volumes with up to 14 drives total on a SAS-3 controller
Support for combining one Integrated Striping volume and one Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring +
Striping, or Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume on a single controller
Support for both SAS and SATA drives, although you cannot combine the two types of drives in one volume
Fusion-MPT architecture
Easy-to-use SAS-3 BIOS configuration utility
Error notification
Disk write caching, which is enabled by default on all Integrated Striping volumes
Use of metadata to store volume configurations on disks
OS-specific event log
Error display inside the Fusion-MPT BIOS
SES status LED support for drives used in Integrated Striping volumes
LSI Corporation
- 23 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
4.3Integrated Striping Description
On Integrated Striping volumes, the firmware writes data across multiple disks instead of onto one disk by
partitioning each disk’s storage space into 64-KB stripes. The firmware interleaves the stripes in such a way that the
combined storage space consists alternately of stripes from each disk.
The following figure shows an example of Integrated Striping. In this example, the firmware writes segment 1 to disk 1,
segment 2 to disk 2, segment 3 to disk 3, and so on. When the firmware reaches the end of the disk list, it continues
writing data at the next available segment of disk 1.
Figure 8 Integrated Striping Example
,3)3!3
#ONTROLLER
3!3
Chapter 4: Overview of Integrated Striping
Integrated Striping Description
$ISK
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
$ISK
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
$ISK$ISK
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
3EGMENT
?
The following figure shows a logical view and a physical view of an Integrated Striping volume with three disks.
Figure 9 Integrated Striping – Logical and Physical Views
3K\VLFDO9LHZ/RJLFDO9LHZ
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE.
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE.
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE.
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE
3TRIPE.
?
Speed is the primary advantage of the Integrated Striping solution because it transfers data to or from multiple disks
simultaneously. However, Integrated Striping volumes have no data redundancy. Back up the data on other media to
avoid losing unsaved data if one disk fails.
LSI Corporation
- 24 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
This chapter explains how to create Integrated Striping volumes using the LSI SAS-3 BIOS Configuration Utility
(SAS3 BIOS CU).
5.1Integrated Striping Configuration Overview
The LSI SAS3 BIOS CU is a menu-driven utility program that enables you to easily configure and manage Integrated
RAID volumes. Use the SAS3 BIOS CU to create one or two Integrated Striping volumes on each LSI SAS-3 controller.
Each volume contains two drives to ten drives. All disks in an Integrated Striping volume must be connected to the
same LSI SAS-3 controller.
Although you can use disks of different sizes in Integrated Striping volumes, the smallest disk in the volume
determines the logical size of all disks in the volume. In other words, the firmware does not use the excess space of the
higher-capacity member disks. For example, if you create an Integrated Striping volume with two 100-GB disks and
two 120-GB disks, the firmware uses only 100 GB on each of the 120-GB disks for the volume. The supported stripe size
is 64 KB.
See Chapter 2 for more information about Integrated Striping volumes.
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
Integrated Striping Configuration Overview
5.2Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
The SAS3 BIOS CU is part of the Fusion-MPT BIOS. When the BIOS loads during boot and you see the message about
the LSI Configuration Utility, press Ctrl-C to start the SAS3 BIOS CU. After you start the SAS3 BIOS CU, the message
changes to the following:
Please wait, invoking SAS Configuration Utility...
After a brief pause, the main menu of the SAS3 BIOS CU appears. On some systems, however, the following message
appears next:
LSI Corp Configuration Utility will load following initialization!
In this case, the SAS3 BIOS CU loads after the system completes its power-on self-test.
Each LSI controller can support one or two Integrated RAID volumes. The volumes can include two Integrated Striping
(RAID 0) volumes, two mirrored volumes, or one volume of each type. The two volumes can have a maximum of
14 disk drives. (This configuration includes one or two hot spare disks for mirrored volumes.)
The following guidelines apply when creating an Integrated Striping volume:
All physical disks in the volume must be either SATA (with extended command set support) or SAS (with SMART
support). You cannot combine SAS and SATA disks in the same volume. However, it is possible to configure one
volume with SAS disks and one volume with SATA disks on the same controller.
Disks in the volume must have 512-byte blocks and must not have removable media.
Integrated Striping volumes must have at least 2 disks and no more than 10 disks. Integrated Striping volumes do
not support hot spare disks.
LSI Corporation
- 25 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Follow these steps to configure an Integrated Striping volume with the SAS3 BIOS CU. The steps begin with the
Adapter List window that appears when the SAS3 BIOS CU starts.
1.On the Adapter List window, select an LSI SAS-3 adapter, and press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears, as the following figure shows.
Figure 10 Adapter Properties Window
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
2.Select RAID Properties, and press Enter.
The Create Array window appears.
3.Select Create RAID 0 Volume.
The Create New Array window appears.
4.Move the cursor to the RAID Disk column, and select a line that has a No entry in this column, which indicates that
the disk is not already part of the volume you are creating. To add the disk to the new array, change the No to Yes
by pressing the space bar.
5.Move the cursor to another line and press the space bar to add another disk to the array.
6.Continue adding disks in this way until you reach the desired number of disks.
7.Press C to create the array.
A menu appears.
8.From the menu options, select Save changes then exit this menu.
A message appears briefly, and then the SAS3 BIOS CU returns to the Adapter Properties window. Initialization of
the new array continues in the background.
NOTE Repeat the previous instructions to create a second Integrated Striping volume, if desired, and if
enough additional disks are available.
LSI Corporation
- 26 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
5.3Other Configuration Tasks
This section explains how to perform other configuration and maintenance tasks for Integrated Striping arrays.
5.3.1Viewing Array Properties
Follow these steps to view the RAID properties of an array.
1.In the SAS3 BIOS CU, select an LSI SAS-3 adapter from the adapter list.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Select RAID Properties.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears, showing information about the array and each disk in it.
4.If the currently displayed array is not the one you want, press Alt + N to view another array on the adapter.
5.3.2Activating an Array
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
Other Configuration Tasks
An array can become inactive if, for example, you remove it from one controller or computer and install it on a
different one. The Activate Array option permits you to reactivate an inactive array.
Follow these steps to activate a selected array.
1.In the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select an LSI SAS adapter and press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears. If necessary, press Alt + N to switch to another array on this adapter.
4.Select Manage Volume.
The Manage Volume window appears.
5.Select Activate Array on the Manage Volume window.
A menu window appears.
6.Press Y to activate the array.
The array becomes active after a pause.
LSI Corporation
- 27 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
5.3.3Deleting an Array
CAUTION Before you delete an array, be sure to back up the data.
Follow these steps to delete a selected array.
1.In the Adapter List window, use the arrow keys to select an LSI SAS adapter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Use the arrow keys to select RAID Properties, and then press Enter.
The Select New Array Type window appears.
3.Select View Existing Array.
The View Array window appears. If necessary, press Alt + N to switch to another array on this adapter.
4.Select Manage Volume.
The Manage Volume window appears.
5.Select Delete Array.
A menu window appears.
6.Either press Y to delete the array, or press N to cancel the deletion process.
After a pause, the utility deletes the array.
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
Other Configuration Tasks
5.3.4Locating Disk Drives in a Volume
Use the SAS3 BIOS CU to locate and identify a specific physical disk drive in a disk enclosure by flashing the drive’s LED.
Alternatively, use the SAS3 BIOS CU to flash the LEDs of all the disk drives in a RAID volume if they are in a disk
enclosure.
When you add a disk drive to a new mirrored volume, the LED on the disk drive starts flashing. The LED stops flashing
when you finish creating the volume.
To locate disk drives by flashing their LEDs, follow these steps.
1.Select the desired SAS-3 controller on the Adapter List window and press Enter.
The Adapter Properties window appears.
2.Highlight SAS Topology, and press Enter.
The SAS Topology window appears.
3.Select the disk in the Device Identifier column, and press Enter.
The LED on the disk flashes until you press a key to stop it.
4.To identify all the disk drives in a volume, select the volume in the left column of the SAS Topology window, and
press Enter.
The LEDs flash on all disk drives in the volume until you press a key to stop them.
NOTE The LEDs on the disk drives flash, as previously described, if the firmware configuration is correct
and the drives are in a disk enclosure.
LSI Corporation
- 28 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
5.3.5Selecting a Boot Disk
You select a boot disk in the SAS Topology window. The next time you boot the computer, the firmware moves this
disk to scan ID 0, making it the new boot disk. This feature makes it easier to set BIOS boot device options and to keep
the boot device constant during device additions and removals. Optionally, you can select an alternative boot device.
If the BIOS cannot find the preferred boot device when it loads, it attempts to boot from the alternative device.
Follow these steps to select a boot disk.
1.In the SAS3 BIOS CU, select an adapter from the Adapter List.
2.Select the SAS Topology option. If a device is currently designated as the boot device, the Device Info column on
the SAS Topology window lists the word Boot, as the following figure shows.
Figure 11 Boot Device on SAS Topology Window
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes
Other Configuration Tasks
If a device is currently designated as the alternative boot device, the Device Info column shows the word Alt.
3.To select the preferred boot disk, move the cursor to the disk, and press Alt + B.
4.To remove the boot designator, move the cursor to the current boot disk, and press Alt + B.
This controller no longer has a disk designated as boot.
5.To change the boot disk, move the cursor to the new boot disk, and press Alt + B.
The Boot designator moves to this disk.
6.To select an alternative boot disk, move the cursor to the disk and press Alt + A.
NOTE To change the alternative boot device from one disk to another, follow step 4 and step 5 in this
procedure, but press Alt + A instead of Alt + B.
LSI Corporation
- 29 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Hardware and Software Requirements
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
This appendix explains how to use the command-line-driven SAS-3 Integrated RAID configuration utility (SAS3IRCU)
to create and manage Integrated RAID volumes on LSI SAS-3 controllers.
You run SAS3IRCU commands from a command-line prompt or a shell script. When you use a SAS3IRCU command,
the program returns a status value to the operating system when it exits.
You can use SAS3IRCU to quickly and efficiently configure Integrated RAID devices on LSI SAS-3 controllers.
NOTE In this appendix, the term disk means HDD and solid state drive SSD, and the HDDs or SSDs can support
either SAS or SATA protocol.
A.1Hardware and Software Requirements
SAS3IRCU runs on the following operating system architecture:
Windows®: x86, x64 (AMD64)
Linux®: x86, x86_64 (supported with x86 build), PPC64
UEFI: EFI Byte Code (EBC)
FreeBSD®: x86 (or i386), AMD64 (or compatible)
SAS3IRCU operates with storage devices that are compliant with existing SCSI standards.
A.1.1Controller Support
SAS3IRCU supports the following LSI SAS-3 controllers and the host bus adapters based on these controllers:
LSISAS3008
LSISAS3004
A.1.2Operating System and Software Support
SAS3IRCU requires PCI 2.x or PCI 3.0 firmware and MPI v2.5. SAS3IRCU supports the following operating systems.
NOTE LSI recommends that you use the latest version of the driver for any operating system.
Windows Server® 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008-R2,
Windows 8, Windows Server 2012
UEFI 2.1 and 2.3
Linux 2.6 Kernel - Red Hat® Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 and higher, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 and
higher
MS-DOS® 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.0
SAS3IRCU runs on DOS only if the system BIOS supports 32-bit BIOS services, including the PCI BIOS services.
SAS3IRCU uses these services to directly access the controller and its interface registers.
FreeBSD 7.2 and higher in both 32-bit and 64-bit architecture
VMware® ESXi 5.0 and higher
LSI Corporation
- 30 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
A.2Interface Description
Use this syntax for SAS3IRCU commands:
sas3ircu <controller_#> <command> <parameters>
Use a space to separate the program name, the controller number, the command, and the parameters fields. The
format of <parameters> is command specific.
Information passes between the user environment and SAS3IRCU through the command line, the standard output
and standard error interfaces, and the program return value. It is possible to redirect the output streams as permitted
by the operating system. When the program exits, it returns a value of 0 if the command is successful. Otherwise, it
returns a value of 1.
If a command fails, SAS3IRCU prints the IOCStatus and IOCLogInfo on the console. This information is useful in
determining the cause of the failure.
A.3Commands
The following table shows which commands SAS3IRCU supports on each operating system.
Table 1 SAS3IRCU Commands
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Interface Description
SAS3IRCU
Command
CREATEXXXX
DELETEXXXX
DELETEVOLUMEXXXX
DISPLAYXXXX
HOTSPAREXXXX
LISTXXXX
STATUSXXXX
CONSTCHKXXXX
ACTIVATEXXXX
LOCAT EXXXX
LOGIRXXXX
BOOTIRXXXX
BOOTENCLXXXX
HELPXXXX
DOSLinuxEFIFreeBSD
Operating System
The commands are not case sensitive. The individual command descriptions use the following conventions:
Replace text enclosed in < > with a required parameter.
Replace text enclosed in [ ] with an optional parameter.
Enter parameters enclosed in { } one or more times, as required for the command.
Do not use the command-line definition characters < >, [ ], and { } on the command line.
LSI Corporation
- 31 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
A.3.1Common Command-Line Parameters
This section describes command-line parameters that are common to more than one command.
<controller_#>
The unique controller number that the program assigns to each PCI function found on supported controller chips
in the system, starting with controller # 0. For example, in a system containing two LSISAS3008 controllers,
controller # 0 references the first controller and controller # 1 references the other controller. Use the LIST
command to view a list of controllers connected to the system and the controller number for each controller.
Valid controller number values are 0 to 255 (decimal).
<Enclosure:Bay>
The enclosure and bay (or slot) of a peripheral device attached to the bus. The argument must use a colon ( : ) as a
separator and must follow the Enclosure:Bay format. Enclosure is a 16-bit EnclosureHandle value set by the I/O
controller (IOC). A value of 0 is invalid. Bay/Slot is a 16-bit slot value set by the IOC. Use the DISPLAY command to
determine the enclosure number and slot number of a drive.
A.3.2CREATE
The CREATE command creates Integrated RAID volumes on LSI SAS-3 controllers.
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
When you add a disk to an Integrated RAID volume, the volume might not use all of the disk’s storage capacity. For
example, if you add a 300-GB disk drive to a volume that only uses 200 GB of capacity on each disk drive, the volume
does not use the remaining 100 GB of capacity on the disk drive.
The disk identified by the first Enclosure:Bay on the command line becomes the primary disk drive when you create an
Integrated Mirroring (RAID 1) volume. If the controller resynchronizes the disk drives, the data on the primary disk
drive becomes available when you access the newly created volume.
When the IR firmware creates a RAID 1 volume, it starts a background initialization of the volume. Use the STATUS
command to monitor the status of the initialization.
The following restrictions and defaults apply when you create Integrated RAID volumes and hot spare disks:
All disks that are part of a volume, including hot spares for that volume, must be connected to the same LSI SAS-3
controller.
The supported RAID levels are RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 1E, and RAID 10.
You can create a maximum of two Integrated RAID volumes per LSI SAS-3 controller.
The maximum and minimum disk drives per RAID level are as follows:
— RAID 0: Max = 10; Min = 2.
— RAID 1: Max = 2; Min = 2.
— RAID 1E: Max = 10; Min = 3.
— RAID 10: Max = 10; Min = 3.
SAS3IRCU does not permit you to create an Integrated RAID volume that combines SAS and SATA hard disk drives.
SAS3IRCU does not permit you to create an Integrated RAID volume that combines solid-state drives (SSDs) and
hard disk drives.
SAS3IRCU supports disk drives with 512-byte sectors and disk drives with 4-KB sectors. However, 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 Integrated RAID volume.
NOTE Some operating systems do not fully support 4-KB-sector drives. Refer to the documentation for
the operating system you are using.
LSI Corporation
- 32 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
<controller_#> – The index of the controller for the newly created volume.
<volume_type> – Volume type for the new volume. Valid values are RAID0, RAID1, RAID10, or RAID1E.
<size> – Size of the RAID volume in MB, or MAX for the maximum size available.
<Enclosure:Bay> – The Enclosure:Bay value of the disk drive for the new RAID volume. Determine these
values from the output of the DISPLAY command.
[VolumeName] – A user-specified string to identify the volume.
[noprompt] – This optional parameter prevents warnings and prompts from appearing while the command is
running.
A.3.2.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
A.3.3DELETE
The DELETE command deletes all RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, and RAID 1E Integrated RAID volumes and hot spare drives
from the specified LSI SAS-3 controller. The command does not change any other controller configuration parameters.
A.3.3.1Command Line
sas3ircu <controller_#> delete [noprompt]
A.3.3.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller with the volume or volumes that you want to delete.
[noprompt] – This optional parameter prevents warnings and prompts from appearing while the command is
running.
A.3.3.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
The DELETEVOLUME command deletes a specific RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10 or RAID 1E volume and the associated hot
spare drives on the specified controller. The hot spare is deleted only if it is inappropriate for any of the remaining
volumes. No other controller configuration parameters are changed. Use the STATUS command or the DISPLAY
command to determine the volumeID of the volume you want to delete.
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
A.3.4.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller with the volume or volumes that you want to delete.
<volumeID> – The volumeID of the specific IR volume that you want to delete.
[noprompt] – This optional parameter prevents warnings and prompts from appearing while the command is
running.
A.3.4.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
The DISPLAY command displays information about LSI SAS-3 controller configurations, including controller type,
firmware version, BIOS version, volume information, physical drive information, and enclosure. See the following
sample output example.
The physical device information section displays the duplicate device of a dual-port SAS drive.
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
A.3.5.1Command Line
sas3ircu <controller_#> display [filename]
A.3.5.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller for which you want to display information.
[filename] – An optional valid filename to store the command output to a file.
A.3.5.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
Following is a sample of the information that the DISPLAY command returns.
Read configuration has been initiated for controller 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Controller information
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Controller type : SAS3008
PI Supports : Yes
PI Mixing : Enabled
BIOS version : 7.00.02.00
Firmware version : 00.250.19.0
Channel description : 1 Serial Attached SCSI
Initiator ID : 112
Maximum physical devices : 62
Concurrent commands supported : 266
Slot : 3
Segment : 0
Bus : 64
Device : 1
LSI Corporation
- 34 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Function : 0
RAID Support : Yes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------IR Volume information
-----------------------------------------------------------------------IR volume 1
Volume ID : 286
PI Supported : Yes
PI Enabled : Yes
Status of volume : Okay (OKY)
Volume wwid : 0677c0fb06777e7b
RAID level : RAID1
Size (in MB) : 139236
Boot : Primary
Physical hard disks :
PHY[0] Enclosure#/Slot# : 1:0
PHY[1] Enclosure#/Slot# : 1:1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Physical device information
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Initiator at ID #0
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
Device is a Hard disk
Enclosure # : 1
Slot # : 0
SAS Address : 5000c50-0-1ab7-3406
State : Optimal (OPT)
Size (in MB)/(in sectors) : 140014/286749487
Manufacturer : SEAGATE
Model Number : ST9146852SS
Firmware Revision : 0005
Serial No : 6TB008T700009038TL1L
GUID : 5000c5001ab73407
Protocol : SAS
Drive Type : SAS_HDD
Device is a Hard disk
Enclosure # : 1
Slot # : 1
SAS Address : 5000c50-0-33ba-3d0e
State : Optimal (OPT)
Size (in MB)/(in sectors) : 286102/585937499
Manufacturer : SEAGATE
Model Number : ST9300603SS
Firmware Revision : 0006
Serial No : 6SE35RZL0000B134JFS2
GUID : 5000c50033ba3d0f
Protocol : SAS
Drive Type : SAS_HDD
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Enclosure information
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Enclosure# : 1
Logical ID : 51234567:89012345
LSI Corporation
- 35 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Okay (OKY) – The volume is active and drives are functioning properly. User data is protected if the current
RAID level provides data protection.
Degraded (DGD) – The volume is active. User data is not fully protected because the configuration has changed
or a drive has failed.
Failed (FLD) – The volume has failed.
Missing (MIS) – The volume is missing.
Initializing (INIT) – The volume is initializing.
Online (ONL) – The volume is online.
Physical device State values are as follows:
Online (ONL) – The drive is operational and is part of a volume.
Hot Spare (HSP) – The drive is a hot spare that is available to replace a failed drive in a volume.
Ready (RDY) – The drive is ready for use as a normal disk drive, or it is ready to be assigned to a volume or a hot
spare pool.
Available (AVL) – The drive might not be ready, and it is not suitable for use in a volume or a hot spare pool.
Failed (FLD) – The drive failed and is now offline.
Missing (MIS) – The drive has been removed or is not responding.
Standby (SBY) – The device is not a hard-disk device.
Out of Sync (OSY) – The drive, which is part of an IR volume, is not in sync with other drives that are part of
the volume.
Degraded (DGD) – The drive is part of a volume and is in degraded state.
Rebuilding (RBLD) – The drive is part of a volume and is currently rebuilding.
Optimal (OPT) – The drive is optimal and is part of a volume.
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
Physical device Drive Type values are as follows:
SAS_HDD – The drive is a SAS HDD.
SATA_HDD – The drive is a SATA HDD.
SAS_SSD – The drive is a SAS SSD.
SATA_SSD – The drive is a SATA SSD.
Physical device Protocol values are as follows:
SAS – The drive supports SAS protocol.
SATA – The drive supports SATA protocol.
A.3.6HOTSPARE
The HOTSPARE command adds a hot spare drive to spare pool 0 or deletes a hot spare drive. The capacity of the hot
spare drive must be greater than or equal to the capacity of the smallest drive in the RAID volume. Determine if this is
true by using the DISPLAY command on the drive.
Observe the following rules when creating hot spare disks:
You cannot create a hot spare disk unless at least one RAID 1, RAID 10, or RAID 1E volume already exists.
You cannot create a hot spare and add it to an inactive Integrated RAID volume.
LSI Corporation
- 36 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
For HDDs, you cannot add a SAS hot spare disk if the existing volumes on the controller use SATA disks. You
cannot add a SATA hot spare disk if the existing volumes on the controller use SAS disks.
For SSDs, you can add a SAS hot spare SSD to a volume with SATA SSDs and you can add a SATA hot spare SSD to a
volume with SAS SSDs, if the Integrated RAID firmware permits it.
The maximum permissible number of hot spare drives is two per controller.
You cannot add an SSD hot spare to a volume that has HDDs, and you cannot add an HDD hot spare to a volume
<controller_#> – The index of the controller on which you want to create the hot spare disk.
<Enclosure:Bay> – The Enclosure:Bay value for the hot spare disk drive. Determine these values from the
output of the DISPLAY command. DOS does not support addressing by Enclosure:Bay.
[delete] – This optional command deletes the hot spare disk at Enclosure:Bay.
A.3.6.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
The STATUS command displays the current status of any existing Integrated RAID volumes and the status of any
operation that is currently in progress on the selected controller. If no operation is in progress, SAS3IRCU prints a
message indicating this condition before it exits.
A.3.7.1Command Line
sas3ircu <controller_#> status
A.3.7.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller with the volumes whose status you want to display.
A.3.7.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
Following is an example of the information that the STATUS command returns. In this example, a background
initialization is in progress on IR Volume 1, and no operation is in progress on IR Volume 2.
Background command progress status for controller 0...
IR Volume 1
Volume ID : 322
PI Supported : Yes
PI Enabled : Yes
Current operation : Background Init
Volume status : Enabled
LSI Corporation
- 37 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
Volume state : Optimal
Volume wwid : 054f59a844a86682
Physical disk I/Os : Not quiesced
Volume size (in sectors) : 285155328
Number of remaining sectors : 283997632
Percentage complete : 0.41%
IR Volume 2
Volume ID : 323
Current operation : None
Volume status : Enabled
Volume state : Optimal
Volume wwid : 0e2ca3c68dc5dc20
Physical disk I/Os : Not quiesced
SAS3IRCU: Command STATUS Completed Successfully.
SAS3IRCU: Utility Completed Successfully.
The possible values for the fields in the status data are as follows:
Current operation: Synchronize, Consistency Check, OCE, Background Init, or None
Volume status: Enabled or Disabled
Volume state: [Inactive] Optimal, Degraded, Missing, or Failed
Physical disk I/Os: Quiesced or Not quiesced
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
A.3.8LIST
The LIST command displays a list of all controllers present in the system, along with each corresponding controller
index. You need the controller index as an input parameter for other SAS3IRCU commands.
<controller_#> – The index of the controller on which the consistency check operation runs.
<volumeId> – The volume ID of an Integrated RAID volume, as listed in the DISPLAY command, on which the
consistency check operation runs.
[noprompt] – This optional parameter prevents warnings and prompts from appearing while the command is
running.
A.3.9.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
A.3.10ACTIVATE
The ACTIVATE command activates an inactive Integrated RAID volume.
A.3.10.1Command Line
sas3ircu <controller_#> activate <volumeId>
A.3.10.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller with the volume that requires activation.
<volumeId> – The volume ID of an Integrated RAID volume currently in the Inactive state.
A.3.10.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
The LOCATE command locates a specific drive in a volume by turning on its location indicator and flashing its LED. The
command works only for drives installed in a disk enclosure. It does not work for drives attached directly to the
controller.
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
A.3.11.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller with the drives that you need to locate.
<Enclosure:Bay> – The enclosure and bay number of the drive.
<action> – The possible actions are as follows:
— ON – Turn on the location indicator of the drive.
— OFF – Turn off the location indicator of the drive.
A.3.11.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
The BOOTIR command selects an existing RAID volume as the primary boot device.
If an IR volume is selected as the boot device, the DISPLAY command displays this information in the IR Volume
information section, if the selected IR boot volume is available to the controller. If you attempt to set a failed RAID
volume as the primary boot device, the command fails with a warning message. For example, if volume 322 is in the
failed state and you attempt to set it as the primary boot device, SAS3IRCU displays the following error message:
SAS3IRCU: Volume specified by 322 is in Failed state!
LSI Corporation
- 40 -
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
A.3.13.1Command Line
sas3ircu <controller_#> bootir <volumeID>
A.3.13.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller with the RAID volume that you want to select as the primary
boot device.
<volumeID> – The volume ID of the RAID volume that you want to select as the primary boot device.
A.3.13.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
Following is an example of the output of the BOOTIR command, showing a RAID volume as the primary boot device,
after it was selected with the BOOTIR command. The format and fields in the output vary depending on the types of
installed controllers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------IR Volume information
-----------------------------------------------------------------------IR volume 1
Volume ID : 174
Status of volume : Degraded (DGD)
RAID level : RAID1
Size (in MB) : 69376
Appendix A: Using the SAS-3 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility
Commands
A.3.14BOOTENCL
The BOOTENCL command selects a specific enclosure/slot as the primary boot device. If an enclosure/slot is selected
as the boot location, the DISPLAY command displays this information in the Enclosure information section.
A.3.14.1Command Line
sas3ircu <controller_#> bootencl <Enclosure:Bay>
A.3.14.2Parameters
<controller_#> – The index of the controller with the enclosure/slot that you want to select as the primary
boot device.
<Enclosure:Bay> – The enclosure:bay value of the disk drive that you want to select as the primary boot
device.
A.3.14.3Program Return Value
0x00SUCCESS: Command completed successfully.
0x01FAILURE: Bad command-line arguments or operational failure.
SAS-3 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
November 2012
A.3.14.4Sample Output
Following is an example of the output of the BOOTENCL command, showing an enclosure:bay value as the primary
boot device, after it was selected with the BOOTENCL command. The format and fields in the output vary depending
on the types of installed controllers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Enclosure information