Compaq External RAID Controller & Subsystem Infortrend Operation Manual

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Infortrend

External RAID Controller & Subsystem

Generic Operation Manual

Revision 1.61

Firmware Version: 3.31

Asia Pacific

(International headquarter) Infortrend Technology, Inc.

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Tel: (886)-2-2226-0126 Fax: (886)-2-2226-0020

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sales@infortrend.com support@infortrend.com www.infortrend.com

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Infortrend Technology, Limited

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Infortrend Europe Limited

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This Edition First Published 2003

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Infortrend Te chnology, Inc.

Disclaimer

Infortrend Technology makes no representations or war ranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Furthermore, Infortrend Technology reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes from time to time in the content hereof without obligation to notify any person of such revisions or changes.

Product specifications are also subject to change without notice.

Trademarks

Infortrend and the Infortrend logo are registered trademarks and SentinelRAID, EonRA ID, EonStor, RAIDWatch, and other names prefixed with “IFT” are trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc.

PowerPC is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation a nd Motorola Inc.

iii

DEC and Alpha are registered trademarks of Compaq Computer Corp. (formerly of Digital Equipment Corporation). Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT and MS -DOS a re registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. SCO, OpenServer, and UnixWare are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.

Solaris is a trademark of SUN Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the U.S. and other countries. All other names, brands, products or services are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

RMA Policy

Please visit our websites

(www.infortrend.com/www.infortrend.com.tw/ww.infortrend.com.cn/ www.infortrend-europe.com) where our RM A policy is given a

detailed explanation.

Supported Models

This manual supports the following Infortrend controllers/subsystems:

• SentinelRAID: SCSI-based external RAID controllers (including the 5.25” full-height and 1U canister configuration)

• EonRAID: Fibre-based external RAID controllers (including the 5.25” full-height and 1U canister configuration)

• EonStor: subsystems that come with SCSI or Fibre host channels.

• IFT-6230 and 6330 series ATA RAID subsystems.

Printed in Taiwan

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 RAID Functions: An Introduction

1.1 Logical Drive...................................................................................................1

1.2 Logical Volume...............................................................................................1

What is a logical volume?..................................................................................1

1.3 RAID Levels.....................................................................................................2

What are the RAID levels? ................................................................................ 2

NRAID................................................................................................................3

JBOD.................................................................................................................3

RAID 0...............................................................................................................4

RAID 1...............................................................................................................4

RAID (0+1).........................................................................................................4

RAID 3...............................................................................................................5

RAID 5...............................................................................................................5

1.4 Spare Drives ...................................................................................................6

Global and Local Spare Drives..........................................................................6

1.5 Identifying Drives...........................................................................................8

Flash Selected SCSI Drive................................................................................8

Flash All SCSI Drives ........................................................................................ 8

Flash All but Selected Drives.............................................................................8

1.6 Rebuild ............................................................................................................9

Automatic Rebuild and Manual Rebuild.............................................................9

1. Automatic Rebuild ........................................................................................9

2. Manual Rebuild...........................................................................................10

3. Concurrent Rebuild in RAID (0+1)..............................................................11

1.7 Logical Volume (Multi-Level RAID)............................................................. 12

What is a logical volume?................................................................................12

Spare drives assigned to a logical volume? ....................................................14

Limitations:.......................................................................................................15

Partitioning - partitioning the logical drive or partitioning the logical volume? .15

Different write policies within a logical volume?............................................... 16

RAID expansion with logical volume?..............................................................16

Different controller settings using logical volume? .......................................... 16

A logical volume with logical drives of different levels?...................................17

Multi-level RAID systems.................................................................................17

Chapter 2 RAID Planning

2.1 Considerations...............................................................................................1

2.2 Configuring the Array:................................................................................... 5

2.2.1 Starting a RAID System...........................................................................5

2.3 Operation Theory ...........................................................................................7

2.3.1 I/O Channel, SCSI ID, and LUN .............................................................. 7

2.3.2 Grouping Drives into an Array .................................................................7

2.3.3 Making Arrays Available to Hosts............................................................9

2.4 Tunable Parameters.....................................................................................10

Chapter 3 Accessing the Array through Serial Port and Ethernet

3.1 RS-232C Serial Port....................................................................................... 1

3.1.1 Configuring RS-232C Connection via Front Panel ..................................2

3.1.2 Starting RS-232C Terminal Emulation.....................................................3

3.2 Out-of-Band via Ethernet..............................................................................4

What Is the “Disk Reserved Space?”.................................................................4

Other Concerns..................................................................................................5

Web-Based Management..................................................................................5

Requirements.....................................................................................................5

3.2.1 Connecting Ethernet Port:........................................................................5

3.2.2 Configuring the Controller........................................................................6

3.2.3 NPC Onboard ..........................................................................................9

The SNMP_TRAP section ...............................................................................10

The EMAIL section...........................................................................................10

The BROADCAST section...............................................................................10

Chapter 4 LCD Screen Messages

4.1 The Initial Screen............................................................................................1

4.2 Quick Installation Screen...............................................................................1

4.3 Logical Drive Status.......................................................................................2

4.4 Logical Volume Status...................................................................................3

4.5 SCSI Drive Status ...........................................................................................4

4.6 SCSI Channel Status......................................................................................5

4.7 Controller Voltage and Temperature ............................................................6

4.8 Cache Dirty Percentage .................................................................................7

4.9 View and Edit Event Logs..............................................................................7

Chapter 5 LCD Keypad Operation

5.1 Power on RAID Enclosure ............................................................................1

5.2 Caching Parameters......................................................................................1

Optimization Modes ...........................................................................................1

Optimization Mode and Stripe Size....................................................................2

Optimization for Random or Sequential I/O .......................................................3

Write-Back/Write-Through Cache Enable/Disable ............................................3

5.3 View Connected Drives:................................................................................5

5.4 Creating a Logical Drive................................................................................6

Choosing a RAID Level:.....................................................................................6

Choosing Member Drives: .................................................................................6

Logical Drive Preferences:.................................................................................6

Maximum Drive Capacity:..................................................................................7

Spare Drive Assignments: .................................................................................7

Disk Reserved Space: .......................................................................................7

Write Policy:.......................................................................................................7

Initialization Mode: .............................................................................................7

Stripe Size:.........................................................................................................8

Beginning Initialization........................................................................................8

5.5 Creating a Logical Volume..........................................................................10

Initialization Mode ............................................................................................10

Write Policy......................................................................................................10

5.6 Partitioning a Logical Drive/Logical Volume .............................................12

5.7 Mapping a Logical Volume/Logical Drive to Host LUN.............................13

5.8 Assigning Spare Drive and Rebuild Settings.............................................14

Adding a Local Spare Drive .............................................................................14

Adding a Global Spare Drive............................................................................15

Rebuild Settings...............................................................................................15

5.9 Viewing and Editing Logical Drives and Drive Members.........................16

Deleting a Logical Drive...................................................................................16

Deleting a Partition of a Logical Drive.............................................................. 17

Assigning a Name to a Logical Drive...............................................................18

Rebuilding a Logical Drive...............................................................................18

Regenerating Logical Drive Parity...................................................................19

Media Scan......................................................................................................20

Write Policy......................................................................................................21

5.10 Viewing and Editing Host LUNs................................................................. 22

Viewing and Deleting LUN Mappings..............................................................22

Pass-through SCSI Commands ......................................................................22

5.11 Viewing and Editing SCSI Drives...............................................................23

Scanning New SCSI Drive...............................................................................23

Identifying a Drive............................................................................................24

Deleting Spare Drive (Global / Local Spare Drive) ..........................................25

5.12 Viewing and Editing SCSI Channels .........................................................25

Redefining Channel Mode...............................................................................25

Setting a SCSI Channel’s ID - Host Channel...................................................26

Viewing IDs......................................................................................................26

Adding a Channel ID........................................................................................26

Deleting a Channel ID......................................................................................27

Setting a SCSI Channel’s Primary ID - Drive Channel ...................................27

Setting a SCSI Channel’s Secondary ID - Drive Channel ...............................28

Setting Channel Bus Terminator .....................................................................28

Setting Transfer Speed....................................................................................29

Setting Transfer Width..................................................................................... 30

Viewing and Editing SCSI Target - Drive Channel ..........................................30

Slot Number.....................................................................................................31

Maximum Synchronous Transfer Clock ..........................................................31

Maximum Transfer Width................................................................................31

Parity Check .................................................................................................... 32

Disconnecting Support.....................................................................................32

Maximum Tag Count.......................................................................................32

Restore to Default Setting................................................................................33

5.13 System Functions ....................................................................................... 34

Mute Beeper....................................................................................................34

Change Password ........................................................................................... 34

Changing Password.........................................................................................34

Disabling Password.........................................................................................35

Reset Controller...............................................................................................35

Shutdown Controller........................................................................................35

Controller Maintenance....................................................................................36

Saving NVRAM to Disks.................................................................................. 36

Restore NVRAM from Disks............................................................................36

5.14 Controller Parameters................................................................................. 37

Controller Name ..............................................................................................37

LCD Title Display Controller Name..................................................................37

Password Validation Timeout..........................................................................37

Controller Unique Identifier..............................................................................37

Controller Date and Time ................................................................................38

Time Zone .......................................................................................................38

Date and Time.................................................................................................39

5.15 SCSI Drive Utilities......................................................................................40

SCSI Drive Low-level Format ..........................................................................40

SCSI Drive Read/Write Test............................................................................41

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Chapter 6 Terminal Screen Messages

6.1 The Initial Screen............................................................................................1

6.2 Main Menu.......................................................................................................2

6.3 Quick Installation............................................................................................2

6.4 Logical Drive Status.......................................................................................4

6.5 Logical Volume Status...................................................................................5

6.6 SCSI Drive Status ...........................................................................................6

6.7 SCSI Channel’s Status...................................................................................7

6.8 Controller Voltage and Temperature ............................................................9

6.9 Viewing Event Logs on the Screen.............................................................10

Chapter 7 Terminal Operation

7.1 Power on RAID Enclosure .............................................................................1

7.2 Caching Parameters.......................................................................................1

Optimization Modes ...........................................................................................1

Optimization Mode and Stripe Size....................................................................3

Optimization for Random or Sequential I/O .......................................................3

Write-Back/Write-Through Cache Enable/Disable ............................................3

7.3 Viewing the Connected Drives......................................................................4

7.4 Creating a Logical Drive.................................................................................5

Choosing a RAID Level:.....................................................................................6

Choosing Member Drives: .................................................................................6

Logical Drive Preferences:.................................................................................6

Maximum Drive Capacity:..................................................................................6

Assign Spare Drives: .........................................................................................7

Disk Reserved Space ........................................................................................7

Logical Drive Assignments:................................................................................7

Write Policy........................................................................................................7

Initialization Mode ..............................................................................................8

Stripe Size..........................................................................................................8

7.5 Creating a Logical Volume...........................................................................10

7.6 Partitioning a Logical Drive/Logical Volume .............................................11

7.7 Mapping a Logical Volume to Host LUN ....................................................13

7.8 Assigning Spare Drive, Rebuild Settings...................................................15

Adding Local Spare Drive ................................................................................15

Adding a Global Spare Drive............................................................................16

7.9 Viewing and Editing Logical Drive and Drive Members ...........................16

Deleting a Logical Drive...................................................................................17

Deleting a Partition of a Logical Drive..............................................................17

Assigning a Name to a Logical Drive...............................................................17

Rebuilding a Logical Drive ...............................................................................18

Regenerating Logical Drive Parity....................................................................19

Media Scan......................................................................................................19

Write Policy......................................................................................................20

7.10 Viewing and Editing Host LUNs..................................................................21

Viewing or Deleting LUN Mappings .................................................................21

Edit Host-ID/WWN Name List..........................................................................21

Pass-through SCSI Commands.......................................................................21

7.11 Viewing and Editing SCSI Drives................................................................22

Scanning New Drive.........................................................................................23

Slot Number.....................................................................................................23

Drive Entry .......................................................................................................23

Identifying Drive ...............................................................................................23

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Deleting Spare Drive (Global / Local Spare Drive) ..........................................24

7.12 Viewing and Editing SCSI Channels ..........................................................25

Redefining Channel Mode...............................................................................25

Viewing and Editing SCSI IDs - Host Channel ................................................26

Viewing and Editing SCSI IDs .........................................................................26

Adding a SCSI ID (Primary/Secondary Controller ID) .....................................26

Deleting an ID..................................................................................................27

Setting a Primary Controller’s SCSI ID - Drive Channel..................................27

Setting a Secondary Controller’s SCSI ID - Drive Channel .............................28

Setting Channel Terminator.............................................................................28

Setting a Transfer Speed.................................................................................28

Drive Channel..................................................................................................28

Setting the Transfer Width............................................................................... 29

Viewing and Editing SCSI Target / Drive Channel........................................... 30

Slot Number.....................................................................................................30

Maximum Synchronous Transfer Clock ..........................................................31

Maximum Transfer Width................................................................................31

Parity Check .................................................................................................... 31

Disconnecting Support.....................................................................................32

Maximum Tag Count.......................................................................................32

Data Rate.........................................................................................................32

7.13 System Functions ........................................................................................ 34

Mute Beeper....................................................................................................34

Change Password ........................................................................................... 34

Changing the Password...................................................................................35

Setting a New Password..................................................................................35

Disabling the Password...................................................................................36

Reset Controller...............................................................................................36

Shutdown Controller........................................................................................36

7.14 Controller Parameters.................................................................................. 37

Controller Name ..............................................................................................37

LCD Title Display Controller Name..................................................................37

Saving NVRAM to Disks.................................................................................. 38

Restore NVRAM from Disks............................................................................38

Password Validation Timeout..........................................................................39

Controller Unique Identifier..............................................................................39

Set Controller Date and Time..........................................................................41

Time Zone .......................................................................................................41

Date and Time.................................................................................................41

7.15 Drive Information..........................................................................................42

View Drive Information.....................................................................................42

SCSI Drive Utilities ..........................................................................................42

SCSI Drive Low-level Format ..........................................................................43

SCSI Drive Read/Write Test............................................................................44

Chapter 8 Fibre Operation

8.1 Overview .........................................................................................................1

8.2 Major Concerns ..............................................................................................2

8.3 Supported Features ....................................................................................... 4

Fibre Chip..........................................................................................................4

Multiple Target IDs:............................................................................................4

Drive IDs:........................................................................................................... 5

In-band Fibre and S.E.S. Support:.....................................................................5

8.4 Configuration: Host and Drive Parameters .................................................6

Channel Mode: .................................................................................................. 6

Primary and Secondary Controller IDs:..............................................................6

Redundant Controller Cache Coherency Channel (RCC Channel):..................7

View Channel WWN ..........................................................................................7

View Device Port Name List (WWPN)...............................................................8

View and Edit Fibre Drive...................................................................................8

User-Assigned ID (Scan SCSI Drive) ................................................................8

View Drive Information.......................................................................................9

View and Edit Host-Side Parameters.................................................................9

1. Fibre Channel Connection Type:................................................................10

View and Edit Drive-Side Parameters..............................................................10

2. Drive-Side Dual Loop:.................................................................................10

Controller Unique Identifier ..............................................................................11

Controller Communications over Fibre Loops .................................................12

8.5 Multi-Host Access Control: LUN Filtering..................................................14

Creating LUN Masks........................................................................................15

WWN Name List..............................................................................................16

Logical Unit to Host LUN Mapping...................................................................16

LUN Mask (ID Range) Configuration: ..............................................................18

Filter Type: Include or Exclude.........................................................................18

Access Mode: Read Only or Read/Write.........................................................19

Sample Configuration: .....................................................................................20

Configuration Procedure:.................................................................................20

Chapter 9 Advanced Configuration

9.1 Fault Prevention..............................................................................................1

S.M.A.R.T. .........................................................................................................1

9.1.1 Clone Failing Drive:..................................................................................2

Replace after Clone: ..........................................................................................2

Perpetual Clone: ................................................................................................3

9.1.2 S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology )........5

Configuration Procedure....................................................................................7

Enabling the S.M.A.R.T. Feature.......................................................................7

Examining Whether Your Drives Support S.M.A.R.T. .......................................7

Using S.M.A.R.T. Functions...............................................................................8

9.2 Host-side and Drive-side SCSI Parameters ...............................................11

Foreword: SCSI Channel, SCSI ID and LUN...................................................11

9.2.1 Host-side SCSI Parameters...................................................................11

Maximum Concurrent Host LUN Connection (“Nexus” in SCSI): ....................11

Number of Tags Reserved for each Host-LUN Connection: ...........................12

Maximum Queued I/O Count: ..........................................................................13

LUNs per Host SCSI ID ...................................................................................13

LUN Applicability:.............................................................................................13

Peripheral Device Type:...................................................................................14

In-band (SCSI or Fibre):...................................................................................14

Peripheral Device Type Parameters for Various Operating Systems:.............15

Cylinder/Head/Sector Mapping:.......................................................................16

9.2.2 Drive-side Parameters:..........................................................................18

SCSI Motor Spin-Up.........................................................................................18

SCSI Reset at Power-Up.................................................................................19

Disk Access Delay Time ..................................................................................20

SCSI I/O Timeout.............................................................................................20

Maximum Tag Count (Tag Command Queuing) .............................................21

Detection of Drive Hot Swap Followed by Auto Rebuild..................................22

SAF-TE and S.E.S. Enclosure Monitoring .......................................................22

Periodic Drive Check Time..............................................................................22

Idle Drive Failure Detection ............................................................................. 23

Periodic Auto-Detect Failure Drive Swap Check Time....................................23

9.3 Monitoring and Safety Mechanisms........................................................... 25

Dynamic Switch Write-Policy...........................................................................25

View Peripheral Device Status ........................................................................25

Controller Auto-Shutdown - Event Trigger Option ...........................................26

9.4 Disk Array Parameters................................................................................. 27

Rebuild Priority.................................................................................................27

Verification on Writes.......................................................................................28

Chapter 10 Redundant Controller

10.1 Operation Theory ......................................................................................10-1

10.1.1 Setup Flowchart................................................................................10-2

10.1.2 Considerations Related to Physical Connection...............................10-2

SCSI-Based Controllers................................................................................10-2

Fibre-Based Controllers................................................................................10-3

10.1.3 Grouping Hard Drives and LUN Mapping.........................................10-4

Logical Drive, Logical Volume, and Logical Partitions..................................10-5

System Drive Mapping:.................................................................................10-6

Primary and Secondary IDs..........................................................................10-6

Mapping........................................................................................................10-7

10.1.4 Fault-Tolerance ................................................................................10-8

What Is a Redundant Controller Configuration?...........................................10-8

How does Failover and Failback Work?.......................................................10-9

A. Channel Bus............................................................................................10-9

B. Controller Failover and Failback............................................................10-11

C. Active-to-Active Configuration:..............................................................10-11

D. Traffic Distribution and Failover Process ..............................................10-12

Symptoms...................................................................................................10-13

Connection:.................................................................................................10-13

10.2 Preparing Controllers .............................................................................10-14

10.2.1 Requirements: ................................................................................10-14

Cabling Requirements:...............................................................................10-14

Controller Settings:.....................................................................................10-15

10.2.2 Limitations.......................................................................................10-16

10.2.3 Configurable Parameters................................................................10-16

Primary or Secondary.................................................................................10-16

Active-to-Active Configuration ....................................................................10-17

Active-to-Standby Configuration.................................................................10-17

Cache Synchronization...............................................................................10-17

Battery Support...........................................................................................10-17

10.3 Configuration...........................................................................................10-19

10.3.1 Via Front Panel Keypad..................................................................10-20

Redundant Configuration Using Automatic Setting ....................................10-20

Enable Redundant Controller .....................................................................10-20

Autoconfig...................................................................................................10-20

2. Controller Unique ID...............................................................................10-20

Redundant Configuration Using Manual Setting.........................................10-21

1. Enable Redundant Controller .................................................................10-21

2. Controller Unique ID...............................................................................10-21

Starting the Redundant Controllers ............................................................10-22

Creating Primary and Secondary ID...........................................................10-22

Drive Channel.............................................................................................10-22

Host Channel..............................................................................................10-23

Assigning a Logical Drive/Logical Volume to the Secondary Controller.....10-23

Mapping a Logical Drive/Logical Volume to the Host LUNs .......................10-24

Front Panel View of Controller Failure........................................................10-25

When and how is the failed controller replaced?........................................10-25

10.3.2 Via Terminal Emulation...................................................................10-26

Redundant Configuration Using Automatic Setting.....................................10-26

Redundant Configuration Using Manual Setting.........................................10-28

Creating Primary and Secondary ID ...........................................................10-29

Assigning Logical Drives to the Secondary Controller................................10-29

Mapping a Logical Drive/Logical Volume to the Host LUNs .......................10-31

Terminal Interface View of Controller Failure..............................................10-32

What will happen when one of the controllers fails?...................................10-32

10.3.3 When and How Is the Failed Controller Replaced?........................10-32

Forcing Controller Failover for Testing........................................................10-34

RCC Status (Redundant Controller Communications Channel).................10-35

Secondary Controller RS-232.....................................................................10-35

Remote Redundant Controller ....................................................................10-35

Cache Synchronization on Write-Through..................................................10-35

Chapter 11 Record of Settings

11.1 View and Edit Logical Drives.........................................................................1

Logical Drive Information ...................................................................................1

Partition Information...........................................................................................2

11.2 View and Edit Logical Volumes.......................................................................3

Logical Volume Information ...............................................................................3

Partition Information...........................................................................................3

11.3 View and Edit Host LUN’s ................................................................................4

LUN Mappings ...................................................................................................4

Host-ID/WWN Name List...................................................................................4

11.4 View and Edit SCSI Drives ...............................................................................6

11.5 View and Edit SCSI Channels..........................................................................7

11.6 View and Edit Configuration Parameters .......................................................8

Communication Parameters..............................................................................8

PPP Configuration..............................................................................................8

Caching Parameters ..........................................................................................9

Host Side SCSI Parameters ..............................................................................9

Drive Side SCSI Parameters .............................................................................9

Disk Array Parameters.....................................................................................10

Redundant Controller Parameters ...................................................................10

Controller Parameters......................................................................................10

11.7 View and Edit Peripheral Devices..................................................................11

Set Peripheral Device Entry.............................................................................11

Define Peripheral Device Active Signal............................................................11

View System Information .................................................................................11

11.8 Save NVRAM to Disk, Restore from Disk......................................................12

11.9 RAID Security: Password...............................................................................12

RAID Security...................................................................................................12

Chapter 12 Array Expansion

12.1 Overview ...........................................................................................................1

12.2 Mode 1 Expansion: ..........................................................................................4

Adding Drives to a Logical Drive........................................................................4

Add-Drive Procedure .........................................................................................4

12.3 Mode 2 Expansion: ..........................................................................................7

xii

Copy and Replace Drives with Drives of Larger Capacity.................................7

Copy and Replace Procedure............................................................................7

12.4 Making Use of the Added Capacity: Expand Logical Drive.........................9

12.5 Expand Logical Volume................................................................................11

12.6 Configuration Example: Volume Extension in Windows 2000

Server....12

Appendix A LCD Keypad Navigation Map

Appendix B Firmware Functionality

Specifications ...........................................................................................................1

Basic RAID Management:........................................................................................1

Advanced Features:..................................................................................................2

Caching Operation: ..................................................................................................3

RAID Expansion:....................................................................................................... 4

On-line RAID Expansion...........................................................................................4

Fibre Channel Support:............................................................................................5

S.M.A.R.T. Support:..................................................................................................6

Redundant Controller:..............................................................................................6

Data Safety:...............................................................................................................7

System Security:....................................................................................................... 8

Environment Management: .....................................................................................9

SAF-TE/S.E.S. support.............................................................................................9

User Interface:......................................................................................................... 10

RAIDWatch on-board..............................................................................................10

RS-232C Terminal...................................................................................................10

Remote Manageability:...........................................................................................10

JBOD-Specific:........................................................................................................ 11

Others:.....................................................................................................................11

Appendix C System Functions: Upgrading Firmware

Upgrading Firmware.................................................................................................1

New Features Supported with Firmware 3.21........................................................1

Background RS-232C Firmware Download: ..........................................................1

Redundant Controller Rolling Firmware Upgrade:................................................1

Redundant Controller Firmware Sync-version:.....................................................2

Upgrading Firmware Using In-band SCSI + RAIDWatch Manager....................... 2

Upgrading Firmware Using RS-232C Terminal Emulation ...................................4

Appendix D Event Messages

xiii

Functional Table of Contents

This functional table of contents helps you to quickly locate the descriptions of firmware functions.

Chapter 1 Functional Description

Page number

Identifying Drives 1-8 Flash Selected SCSI Drive 1-8 Flash All SCSI Drives 1-8

1.4.2

Flash All but Selected Drives 1-8 Automatic rebuild and manual rebuild 1-9 Automatic rebuild 1-9

1.4.3

Manual rebuild 1-10

1.4.4

Concurrent Rebuild in RAID (0+1) 1-11

Chapter 3 Out-of-Band via Serial Port and

Ethernet

Page number

Communication Parameters: configuring RS-232 connection

3-1

Configuring Ethern et connection: reserved space and portIP3-6

NPC Onboard 3-9

Chapter 4 LCD Screen Messages

Page number

View and Edit Event Logs 4-7

Chapter 5 / Chapter 7

Starting RAID via the LCD Panel/Terminal Emulation

Page number: LCD/ Terminal

Starting RAID Configuration

Caching Parameters 5-1/7-1 Optimization mode and stripe size 5-2/7-3 Optimization for sequential or random I/O 5-3/7-3

5.2/7.2

Write-Back/Write-Through Cache Enable/Disable 5-3/7-3

5.3/7.3

Viewing Connected Drives 5-5/7-4 Creating a Logical Drive 5-6/7-5 Choosing a RAID Level 5-6/7-6 Choosing Member Drives 5-6/7-6 Maximum Drive Capacity 5-7/7-6 Spare Drive Assignments 5-7/7-7 Logical Drive Assignments 7-7 Disk Reserved Space 5-7/7-7 Write Policy 5-7/7-7 Initialization Mode 5-7/7-8

5.4/7.4

Stripe Size 5-8/7-8 Creating a Logical Volume 5-10/7-10

5.5/7.5

Initialization Mode 5-10/7-10

xiv

Write Policy 5-10/7-10

5.6/7.6

Partitioning a Logical Drive/Logical Volume 5-12/7-11

5.7/7.7

Mapping a Logical Drive/Logical Volume to Host LUN 5-13/7-13 Assigning Spare Drive, Rebuild Settings 5-14/7-15 Adding a Local Spare Drive 5-14/7-15 Adding Global Spare Drive 5-15/7-16

5.8/7.8

(Logical Drive) Rebuild Settings 5-15

Viewing and Editing Logical Drives and Drive Members

5-16/7-16

Deleting a Logical Drive 5-16/7-17 Deleting a Partition of a Logical Drive 5-17/7-17 Assigning a Logical Drive Name 5-18/7-17 Rebuilding a Logical Drive 5-18/7-18 Regenerating Logical Drive Parity 5-19/7-19 Media Scan 5-20/19

5.9/7.9

Write Policy 5-21/20

Viewing and Editing Host LUNs

5-22/7-21

Viewing and Deleting LUN Mappings 5-22/7-21

5.10/7.10

Pass-through SCSI Commands 5-22/7-21

Viewing and Editing SCSI Drives

5-23/7-22 Scanning a New SCSI Drive 5-23/7-23 Identifying a Drive 5-24/7-23

5.11/7.11

Deleting Spare Drive (Global/Local Spare Drive) 5-25/7-24

Viewing and Editing SCSI Channels

5-25/7-25 Viewing and Re-defining Channel Mode 5-25/7-25 Setting Channel ID/Host Channel 5-26/7-26 Viewing channel ID 5-26/7-26 Adding a Channel ID 5-26/7-26 Deleting a Channel ID 5-27/7-27 Setting a Channel’s Primary ID/Drive Channel 5-27/7-27 Setting a Channel’s Secondary ID/Drive Channel 5-28/7-28 Setting a SCSI Channel’s Terminator 5-28/7-28 Setting the Transfer Speed 5-29/7-28 Setting the Transfer Width 5-30/7-29 Viewing and Editing a SCSI Target/Drive Channel 5-30/7-30 Slot Number 5-31/7-30 Maximum Synchronous Transfer Clock 5-31/7-31 Maximum Transfer Width 5-31/7-31 Parity Check 5-32/7-31 Disconnecting Support 5-32/7-32 Maximum Tag Count 5-32/7-32 Restoring the Default Setting (SCSI Bus) 5-33

5.12/7.12

Data Rate 7-32

System Functions

5-34/7-34 Mute Beeper 5-34/7-34 Change Password 5-34/7-34 Disabling the Password 5-35/7-36 Reset Controller 5-35/7-36 Shutdown Controller 5-35/7-36

Saving Configuration Data

Saving NVRAM to Disks 5-36/7-38

5.13/7.13

Restore NVRAM from Disks 5-36/7-38

Controller Parameters

5-37/7-37 Controller Name 5-37/7-37 LCD Title Display Controller Name 5-37/7-37 Time Zone 5-38/7-41 Date and Time 5-39/7-41

5.14/7.14

Setting Password

Password Validation Timeout 5-37/7-39

Controller Unique Identifier

5-37/7-39

SCSI Drive Utilities

5-40/7-42

Low-level format 5-40/7-43

5.15/7.15

Read/Write test 5-41/7-44

Chapter 8 Fibre Operation

Page number

Host and Drive Parameters

8-6

View and Edit Fibre Channel

8-6 Channel Mode 8-6 Primary and Secondary Controller IDs 8-6 Communications Channel (for cache coherency) 8-7 View Channel WWN 8-7 View Device Port Name List (WWPN) 8-8

View and Edit Fibre Drives

8-8 User-Assigned ID (Scan Fibre Drive) 8-8 View Drive Information 8-9 View and Edit Host-side Parameters 8-9 Fibre Connection Types 8-10 View and Edit Drive-side Parameters 8-10 Connecting Drives with Dual Loop 8-10 Controller Unique Identifier 8-11

8.5

Controller Communications over Fibre Loops 8-12

Multi-host Access Control: LUN Filtering

8-14 Creating LUN Masks 8-15 WWN Name List 8-16 Logical Unit to Host LUN Mapping 8-16 LUN Mask (ID Range) Configuration 8-18 Filter Type: Include or Exclude 8-18 Access Mode: Read Only or Read/Write 8-19

8.5

Configuration Procedure 8-20

Chapter 9 Advanced Configurations

Page number

9.1 Fault Prevention

9-1 Clone Failing Drive 9-2 Replace after Clone 9-2 Perpetual Clone 9-3

S.M.A.R.T. with enhanced features

9-5 S.M.A.R.T. Features (Enabling S.M.A.R.T.) 9-7 “Detect Only” 9-7 "Detect, Perpetual Clone" 9 -7

9.1.2

“Detect, Clone + Replace” 9-8

9.2 Host-side & Drive-side SCSI Parameters

9-11

Host-side SCSI Parameters

9-11 Number of Tags Reserved for each Host-LUN Connection

9-12

Maximum Queued I/O Count 9-13 LUNs per Host SCSI ID 9-13 LUN Applicability 9-13 Peripheral Device Type 9-14 In-band SCSI/Fibre 9-14 Peripheral Device Type for Various Operating Systems 9-15

9.2.1

Peripheral Device Type Settings 9-15

xvi

Cylinder/Head/Sector Mapping 9-16

Drive-side Parameters

9-18 SCSI Motor Spin-up 9-18 SCSI Reset at Power-up 9-19 Disk Access Delay Time 9-20 SCSI I/O Timeout 9-20 Maximum Tag Count (Tag Command Queuing) 9-21 Detection of Drive Hot Swap Followed by Auto Rebuild 9-22 SAF-TE and S.E.S. Enclosure Monitoring 9-22 Periodic Drive Check Time 9-22 Idle Drive Failure Detection 9-23

9.2.2

Periodic Auto-Detect Swap Check Time 9-23

Monitoring and Safety Mechanisms

9-25 Dynamic Switch Write-Policy 9-25 View Peripheral Device Status (enclosure modules) 9-25

9.3

Controller Auto-Shutdown – Event Trigger Option 9-26

Logical Drive Integrity - Disk Array Parameters

9-27 Rebuild Priority 9-27

9.4

Verification on Writes 9-28

Chapter 10 Redundant Controller Configuration

Page number:

LCD/Terminal

10.3 Configuration

10-19

Via Front Panel Key pad

10-20 Redundant Configuration Using Automatic Setting 10-20 Redundant Configuration Using Manual Setting 10-21 Starting the Redundant Controllers 10-22 Creating Primary and Secondary IDs 10-22 Assigning a Logical Drive/Logical Volume to the Secondary Controller

10-23

Mapping a Logical Drive/Lo gical Volume to the Host LUNs

10-24

Front Panel View of Controller Failure 10-25

10.3.1

When and How is the Failed Co ntroller Replaced 10-25

Via Terminal Emulation

10-26 Redundant Configuration Using Automatic Setting 10-26 Redundant Configuration Using Manual Setting 10-28 Creating Primary and Secondary IDs 10-29 Assigning a Logical Drive/Logical Volume to the Secondary Controller

10-29

Mapping a Logical Drive/Lo gical Volume to the Host LUNs

10-31

10.3.2

Terminal View of Controller Failure 10-32 When and How is the Failed Co ntroller Replaced 10-34 Forcing Controller Failure for Testing 10-35 RCC status (RCC channels) 10-35 Secondary Controller RS-232 10-35 Remote Redundant Controller 10-35

10.3.3

Cache Synchronization on Write-Through 10-35

Chapter 12 Array Expansion

Page number

12.1 RAID Expansion

12-1

12.2 Mode 1 Expansion: Adding Drive to a logical drive

12-4

xvii

12.3 Mode 2 Expansion: Copy & Replace Drive with drives

of larger capacity

12-7

12.4

Expand Logical Drive (Making use of the added capacity)

12-9

12.5

Expand Logical Volume 12-11

12.6

Example: RAID Expansion in Windows 2000 12-12

Appendix C Controller Maintenance

Page number:

Upgrading Firmware

C-1

New Featur es Supported with Firmware 3.21

C-1 Background RS-232 Firmware Download C-1 Redundant Controller Rolling Firmware Download C-1 Redundant Controller Firmware Sync-version C-2

Upgrading Firmware Using In-band SCSI + RAIDWatch Manager

C-2

Establish the In-band SCSI connection in RAIDWatch Manager

C-2

Upgrade Both Boot Record and Firmware Binaries C-3 Upgrade the Firmware Binary Only C-4

Upgrading Firmware Using RS-232 Terminal Emulation

C-4

Establishing the connection for the RS-232 Terminal Emulation

C-5

Upgrading Both Boot Record and Firmware Binaries

C-5 Upgrading the Firmware Binary Only C-6

xviii

List of Tables

Chapter 1

Table 1 - 1 RAID Levels..................................................................................1-2

Chapter 2

Table 2 - 1 RAID Levels..................................................................................2-4

Table 2 - 1 Controller Parameter Settings....................................................2-10

Chapter 8

Table 8 - 1 Supported Configurations with Redundant Controller:............................. 8-8

Chapter 9

Table 9 - 1 Peripheral Device Type Parameters .........................................9-15

Table 9 - 2 Peripheral Device Type Settings: ..............................................9-16

Table 9 - 3 Cylinder/Head/Sector Mapping under Sun Solaris....................9-16

Chapter 10

Table 10 - 1 ID Mapping Status (Normal Operation)..................................10-10

Table 10 - 2 ID Mapping Status (Controller Failed) ....................................10-10

List of Figures

Chapter 1

Figure 1 - 1 Logical Drive................................................................................1-1

Figure 1 - 2 NRAID.........................................................................................1-3

Figure 1 - 3 JBOD...........................................................................................1-3

Figure 1 - 4 RAID 0.........................................................................................1-4

Figure 1 - 5 RAID 1.........................................................................................1-4

Figure 1 - 6 RAID (0+1)..................................................................................1-4

Figure 1 - 7 RAID 3.........................................................................................1-5

Figure 1 - 8 RAID 5.........................................................................................1-5

Figure 1 - 9 Local (Dedicated) Spare .............................................................1-6

Figure 1 - 10 Global Spare .............................................................................1-6

Figure 1 - 11 Global Spare Rebuild................................................................1-6

Figure 1 - 13 Automatic Rebuild.....................................................................1-9

Figure 1 - 14 Manual Rebuild .......................................................................1-10

Figure 1 - 15 Logical Volume........................................................................1-12

Figure 1 - 16 Logical Drive Composed of 24 Drives.....................................1-13

Figure 1 - 17 Logical Volume with 4 Logical Drives......................................1-13

Figure 1 - 18 Logical Volume with Drives on Different Channels.................1-14

xix

Chapter 2

Figure 2 - 1 Optimization Setting.....................................................................2-3

Figure 2 - 2 Array Configuration Process........................................................2-5

Figure 2 - 3 SCSI ID/LUNs..............................................................................2-7

Figure 2 - 4 Connecting Drives .......................................................................2-7

Figure 2 - 5 Physical locations of drive members ...........................................2-8

Figure 2 - 6 Partitions in Logical Configurations .............................................2-8

Figure 2 - 7 Mapping Partitions to Host ID/LUNs............................................2-9

Figure 2 - 8 Mapping Partitions to LUNs under ID..........................................2-9

Chapter 5

Figure 5 - 1 Drive Space Allocated to the Last Partition ...............................5-17

Chapter 7

Figure 7 - 1 Drive Space Allocated to the Last Partition ...............................7-17

Chapter 8

Figure 8 - 1 Storage Pool..............................................................................8-14

Figure 8 - 2 Host-LUN Mapping....................................................................8-15

Figure 8 - 3 LUN Mask..................................................................................8-15

Figure 8 - 4 LUN Filtering - Configuration Sample........................................8-20

Chapter 9

Figure 9 - 1 SCSI ID/LUNs............................................................................9-11

Chapter 10

Figure 10 - 1 Redundant Controller Configuration Flowchart .......................10-2

Figure 10 - 2 Dual-Controller Using SCSI-Based Controllers.......................10-2

Figure 10 - 3 Dual-Controller Configuration Using Fibre-Based Controllers.10-3

Figure 10 - 4 Grouping Hard Drives..............................................................10-6

Figure 10 - 5 Partitioning of Logical Units.....................................................10-6

Figure 10 - 6 Mapping System Drives (Mapping LUNs) ...............................10-7

Figure 10 - 7 Mapping System Drives (IDs)..................................................10-8

Figure 10 - 8 Redundant Controller Channel Bus.........................................10-9

Figure 10 - 9 Controller Failover .................................................................10-10

Figure 10 - 10 Traffic Distribution................................................................10-12

Figure 10 - 11 Controller Failover ...............................................................10-13

Chapter 12

Figure 12 - 1 Logical Drive Expansion..........................................................12-3

Figure 12 - 2 Expansion by Adding Drive......................................................12-4

Figure 12 - 3 Expansion by Copy & Replace................................................12-7

About This Manual

This manual provides all of the nec essary information tha t a system administrator needs to configure and maintain one of Infortrend’s external RAID controllers or subsystems. For hardware-related information, please refer to the Hardware Manual that came with your RAID controller. Also available is the User’s Manual for the Java-based GUI RAID manager for remote and concurrent management of RAID systems.

The order of the chapters is arranged in accordance with the steps necessary for creating a RAID.

The terminal screen displays as well as the LCD messages may vary when using controllers running different firmware versions.

Chapter 1 introduces basic RAID concepts and configurations,

including RAID levels, logical drives, spare drives, and the use of logical volumes. It is recommended that users unfamiliar with RAID technologies should read this chapter before creating a configuration.

Chapter 2 tells the user how to begin with a RAID. At the

beginning of this chapter, we raise some basic questions of which the user should know the answers prior to creating a RAID.

Chapter 3 teaches the user how to configure the RS-232C

terminal emulation interface and the connection through a LAN port.

Chapter 4 helps the user to understand screen messages on the

LCD display.

Chapter 5 gives step-by-step instructions on creating a RAID

using the LCD keypad panel.

Chapter 6 teaches the user how to interpret the information

found on the RS-232 terminal emulation.

Chapter 7 gives step-by-step instructions on how to create a

RAID via the RS-232 session.

Chapter 8 includes all the Fibre channel-specific functions

implemented since the firmware release 3.12.

Chapter 9 provides the advanced options for RAID

configuration. Some of the new functions from firmware release 3.11 and above are given the detailed explanations in this chapter.

Chapter 10 addresses the concerns regarding the redundant

controller configuration and the configuration process.

Chapter 11 provides the recording forms with which a system

administrator can make a record of his configuration.

Chapter 12 shows how to expand a configured array or logical

volume.

xxi

Appendix A outlines the menu structure of the LCD front panel

operation.

Appendix B lists the important firmware features supported with

the firmware version, arranged in accordance with the latest firmware version as of press date.

Appendix C teaches the user how to upgrade firmware and boot

record.

Appendix D lists all of the controller event messages.

Firmware Version & Other Information

Firmware version: 3.31E and above Part number for this manual: M0000U0G16 Date: 6/25/03

Revision History:

Version 1.0:

•

initial release

Version 1.1:

•

added redunda nt c ontroller configuration

Version 1.2:

•

Added host-side and drive-side SCSI parameters

•

added S.M.A.R.T. with implemented FaultPrevention methods.

•

added system functions

•

added Fault-bus configuration to be compatible with 3101 and 3102 series

•

added Host-side interface installation details

•

added Event Messages for error message identification

•

added all advanced functions available since 2.23K and 3.11F upward

•

added a functional table of content for quick searching functions

•

moved SCSI/Fibre Cable Specifications to Hardware Manual

Version 1.3:

•

added Chapter 8 "Fibre Operation" for the new functions available since firmware release 3.12.

xxii

Version 1.4: • added firmware features available with

firmware revisions 3.14, 3.15, and 3.21

• revised details about redundant controllers,

host LUN mapping, etc.

•

modified string definitions in Chapter 14 "In-band SCSI Drives and Utilities" section

•

Corrected descriptions of "Controller Unique Identifier"

•

Added the configuration pr ocess for out-ofband configuration via LAN port

Version 1.5:

•

Removed Chapter 14

•

Revised the descriptions for some functional items

• Added firmware features available from

revision 3.25

Version 1.61:

•

Added features available by revision 3.31

•

Removed Appendix E

•

Moved array expansion to Chapter 12

•

Added variable stripe size, write policy per array

•

Added media scan

•

Added controller immediate array availability, time zone, date and time setting

•

Added IO channel diagnostics

•

Added controller Auto-Shutdown and cache-flush mechanisms

•

Added system monitoring via enclosure modules

•

Added disabling cache coherency using write-through mode

•

Added descriptions about new firmware utility items

•

Added details about enabling RAIDWatch and its sub-modules via Ethernet port

Functional Description

1-1

Logical Drive

RAID Functions: An Introduction

Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks, or RAID, offers the following advantages: Availability, Capacity, a nd Performance. Choosing the right RAID level and drive failure management can increase Capacity and Performance, subsequently increasing Availability. Infortrend's external RAID controllers provide complete RAID functionality and enhanced drive failure management.

1.1 Logical Drive

Figure 1 - 1 Logical Drive

The advantages mentioned above are achieved by creating “logical drives.” A logical drive is an array of independent physical drives. The logical drive appears to the host as a contiguous volume, the same as a local hard disk drive does.

The following section describes the dif ferent methods to cre ate logical arrays of disk drives, such as spanning, mirroring and data parity. These methods are referred to as “RAID levels.”

1.2 Logical Volume

What is a logical volume?

The concept of a logical volume is very similar to that of a logical drive. A logical volume is the combination of one or several logica l drives. These logical drives are combined into a larger capacity using the RAID 0 method (striping). When data is written to a logical volume, it is first broken into data segments and then striped across different logical drives in a logical volume. Each logical drive

Chapter

ChapterChapter

Chapter

Infortrend

1-2

then distributes data segments to its member drives according to the specific RAID level it is composed of.

The member logical drives can be composed of the same RAID level or each of a different RAID level. A logical volume can be divided into a maximum of 64 partitions. During operation, the host sees a non-partitioned logical volume or a pa rtition of a logical volume as one single physical drive.

1.3 RAID Levels

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Using a RAID storage subsystem has the following ad vantages:

• Provides disk spanning by weaving all connected drives into one single volume.

• Increases disk access speed by breaking data into several blocks when reading/writing to several drives in parallel. With RAID, storage speed increases as more drives are added as the channel bus allows.

• Provides fault-tolerance by mir roring or parity operation.

What are the RAID levels?

Table 1 - 1 RAID Levels

RAID Level Description Capacity Data Availability

NRAID

Non-RAID N

RAID 0

Disk Striping N ==NRAID

RAID 1 (0+1)

Mirroring Plus Striping (if N>1)

N/2 >>NRAID

==RAID 5

RAID 3

Striping with Parity on dedicated disk

N-1 >>NRAID

==RAID 5

RAID 5

Striping with interspersed parity

N-1 >>NRAID

==RAID 5

RAID 10 (Logical Volume)

Striping with RAID 1 logical drives

/ >>NRAID

>>RAID 5

RAID 30 (Logical Volume)

Striping with RAID 3 logical drives

/ >>NRAID

>>RAID 5

RAID 50 (Logical Volume)

Striping with RAID 5 logical drives

/ >>NRAID

>>RAID 5

NOTE: Drives on different channels can be included in a logical drive and logical drives of different RAID levels can be used to

Functional Description

1-3

2 GB Ha rd Drive

3 GB Ha rd Drive

1 GB Ha rd Drive

2 GB Ha rd Drive

2 + 3 + 1 + 2 = 8 GB Logical Drive

2 GB Har d Dr iv e

3 GB Har d Dr iv e

1 GB Har d Dr iv e

2 GB Har d Dr iv e

2 GB

3 GB

1 GB

2 GB

configure a logical volume. There are more combinations than RAID 10, 30, and 50.

RAID Level Performance Sequential Performance Random

NRAID

Drive Drive

RAID 0

R: Highest W: Highest

R: High W: Highest

RAID 1 (0+1)

R: High W: Medium

R: Medium W: Low

RAID 3

R: High W: Medium

R: Medium W: Low

RAID 5

R: High W: Medium

R: High W: Low

NRAID

Disk Spanning

Figure 1 - 2 NRAID

NRAID stands for Non-RAID. The capacity of all the drives is combined to become one logical drive (no block striping). In other words, the capacity of the logical drive is the total capacity of the physical drives. NRAID does not provide data redundancy.

JBOD

Single Drive Control

Figure 1 - 3 JBOD

JBOD stands for Just a Bunch of Drives. The controller treats each drive as a stand-alone disk, therefore each drive is an independent logical drive. JBOD does not provide data redundancy.

NRAID

Minimum Disks required

Capacity N Redundancy No

JBOD

Minimum Disks required

Capacity 1 Redundancy No

Infortrend

1-4

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4 Block 5 Block 6 Block 7 Block 8

Block 1 Block 3 Block 5 Block 7

Block 2 Block 4 Block 6 Block 8

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4 Block 5 Block 6 Block 7 Block 8

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4

Mirror 1 Mirror 2 Mirror 3 Mirror 4

Mirrorin

Logical Drive

Physical Disks

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4 Block 5 Block 6 Block 7 Block 8

. .

Block 1 Block 3 Block 5 Block 7

Block 2 Block 4 Block 6 Block 8

Striping

Logical Drive

Physical Disks

. .

Mirror 1 Mirror 3 Mirror 5 Mirror 7

Mirror 2 Mirror 4 Mirror 6 Mirror 8

. .

Striping

Mirror

RAID 0

Disk Striping

Figure 1 - 4 RAID 0

RAID 0 provides the highest performance but no redundancy. Data in the logical drive is striped (distributed) across several physical drives.

RAID 1

Disk Mirroring

Figure 1 - 5 RAID 1

RAID 1 mirrors the data stored in one hard drive to another. RAID 1 can only be performed with two hard drives. If there are more than two hard drives, RAID (0+1) will be performed automatically.

RAID (0+1)

Disk Striping with Mirroring

Figure 1 - 6 RAID (0+1)

RAID (0+1) combines RAID 0 a nd RAID 1 Mirroring and Striping. RAID (0+1) allows multiple drive failure because of the full redundancy of the hard drives. If there are more than two hard drives assigned to perform RAID 1, RAID (0+1) will be automatically applied.

RAID 1

Disks required 2 Capacity N/2 Redundancy Yes

RAID 0

Minimum Disks required

Capacity N Redundancy No

RAID (0+1)

Minimum Disks required

Capacity N/2 Redundancy Yes

Functional Description

1-5

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4 Block 5 Block 6 Block 7 Block 8

. .

Logical Drive

sical Disks

Block 1 Block 3 Block 5 Block 7

Block 2 Block 4 Block 6 Block 8

Striping

Parity (1,2) Parity (3,4) Parity (5,6) Parity (7,8)

Dedicated

Parity

. .

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3

Block 4 Block 5

Block 6 Block 7 Block 8

. .

Logical Drive Physical Disks

Block 1

Parity (3,4)

Block 6 Block 7

Block 2 Block 3

Parity (5,6)

Block 8

Parity (1,2)

Block 4 Block 5

Parity (7,8)

. .

Striping + non-dedicated Parity

IMPORTANT!

•

“RAID (0+1)” will not appear in the list of RAID levels supported by the controller. If you wish to perform RAID 1, the controller will determine whether to perform RAID 1 or RAID (0+1). This will depend on th e number of drives that has been selected for the logica l drive.

RAID 3

Disk Striping with Dedicated Parity Disk

Figure 1 - 7 RAID 3

RAID 3 performs Block Striping with Dedicated Parity. One drive member is dedicated to storing the parity data. When a drive member fails, the controller can recover/regenerate the lost data of the failed drive from the dedicated parity drive.

RAID 5

Striping with Interspersed Parity

Figure 1 - 8 RAID 5

RAID 5 is similar to RAID 3 but the parity data is not stored in one dedicated hard drive. Parity information is interspersed across the drive array. In the event of a failure, the controller can recover/regenerate the lost data of the failed drive from the other surviving drives.

RAID 30 an RAID 50 are implemented as logical volumes,

please refer to the proceeding discussions for more details.

RAID 5

Minimum Disks required

Capacity N-1 Redundancy Yes

RAID 3

Minimum Disks required

Capacity N-1 Redundancy Yes

Functional Description

1-6

Logical Drive

Local

Spare

Drive

When one member drive fails, the Local Spare Drive joins the logical drive and automatically starts to rebuild.

Logical Drive 0

Global Spare Drive

Logical Drive 1

Logical Drive 2

Global Spare Drive

1.4 Spare Drives

Global and Local Spare Drives

Figure 1 - 9 Local (Dedicated) Spare

Local Spare Drive is a standby drive assigned to serve one specified logical drive. When a member drive of this specified logical drive fails, the Local Spare Drive becomes a member drive and automatically starts to rebuild.

Figure 1 - 10 Global Spare

Global Spare Drive not only serves one specified logical drive. When a member drive from any of the logical drive fails, the Global Spare Drive will join that logical drive and automatically starts to rebuild.

Figure 1 - 11 Global Spare Rebuild

The external RAID controllers provide both Local Spare Drive and Global Spare Drive functions. On certain occasions, applying these two functions together will better fit various needs. Take note though that the Local Spare Drive always has

higher priority than the Global Spare Drive.

Global Spare Drives serve any logical drive.

When a member drive from any logical drive fails, the Global Spare Drive joins that logical drive and automatically starts to rebuild.

Infortrend

1-7

A Local Spare always has higher priority than a Global Spare.

Figure 1 - 12 Mixing Local and Global Spares

Logical Drive 0

Local Spare Drive

Logical Drive 1

Logical Drive 2

Global Spare Drive

(9GB)

(9GB)(9GB)

(4GB)

(4GB) (4GB)

In the example shown below, the member of Logical Drive 0 are 9 GB drives, and the members in Logical Drives 1 and 2 are 4 GB drives.

It is not possible for the 4 GB Global Spare Drive to join Logical Drive 0 because of its insufficient capacity. However, using a 9GB drive as the Global Spare drive for a failed drive that comes from Logical Drive 1 or 2 will bring huge amount of excess capacity since these logical drives require 4 GB only. In the diagram below, the 9 GB Local Spare Drive will aid Logical Drive 0 once a drive in this logical drive fa ils. If the failed drive is in Logical Drive 1 or 2, the 4 GB Global Spare drive will immediately give aid to the failed drive.

Functional Description

1-8

LED

R/W

1.5 Identifying Drives

Assuming there is a failed drive in the RAID 5 logical drive, make it a point to replace the failed drive with a new, healthy drive to keep the logical drive working.

If, when trying to remove a failed drive you mistakenly remove the wrong drive, you will no longer be able to access the logical drive because you have inadequately failed another drive.

To prevent this from happening, the controller pr ovides an easy way to identify the faulty drive. By forcing certain drive LEDs to light for a configurable period of time, the faulty drive can be identified, and thus reducing the chance of removing the wrong drive. This function is especially helpful in an installation site operating with hundreds of drives.

Flash Selected SCSI Drive

The Read/Write LED of the drive you selected will light steadily for a configurable period of time, from 1 to 999 seconds.

Flash All SCSI Drives

The Read/Write LEDs of all connected drives will light for a configurable period of time. If the LED of the defective drive did not light on the “Flash

Selected SCSI Drive” function, use “Flash All SCSI Drives” to verify the fault. If the “Flash All SCSI Drives” function is executed, and the defective drive’s LED still does not respond, it can be a drive tray problem or the drive is dead.

Flash All but Selected Drives

Except the selected drive, the Read/Write LEDs of all connected drives will light for a configurable period of time r anging from 1 to 999 seconds. If an administrator can not be sure of the exact location of specific drive, this function will help to indicate where it is. This can prevent removal of the wrong drive when a drive fails and is about to be replaced.

The drive identifying function can be selected from “Main Menu”/”View and Edit SCSI Drives”/”Identify SCSI Drives.”

LED Steadily ON

R/W LED

LED Steadily ON

+ 317 hidden pages

Compaq External RAID Controller & Subsystem Infortrend Operation Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual