Dell MD3200, MD3220 User Manual

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Page 1

Dell™ PowerVault™

MD3200 and MD3220

Storage Arrays

Owner’s Manual

Regulatory Model: E03J Series and E04J Series

Regulatory Type: E03J001 and E04J001

Page 2

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of

your computer.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if

instructions are not followed.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal

injury, or death.

____________________

Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, OpenManage, PowerEdge, and PowerVault are trademarks of Dell Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Internet Explorer, MS-DOS, and Windows Server are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; Red Hat and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries; SUSE is a registered trademark of Nov ell, Inc. in the United States and other countries; VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

Regulatory Model: E03J Series and E04J Series Regulatory Type: E03J001 and E04J001

May 2010 Rev. A00

Page 3

Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

About This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Inside the box of the Dell PowerVault MD3200 Series Storage Array

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Dell PowerVault MD3200

Storage Array. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk

Storage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Series

Other Information you May Need

. . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2 Planning: About Your Storage Array . . . . 21

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Hardware Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Front-Panel Features and Indicators

Back Panel Features and Indicators

Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Power Supply and Cooling Fan Features

Power Indicator Codes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

. . . . . . . 22

. . . . . . . . 25

. . . . . . . . 27

3 Planning: RAID Controller Modules . . . . 29

RAID Controller Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Contents 3

Page 4

RAID Controller Module Connectors and Features . . . 30

RAID Controller Module—Additional Features

Battery Backup Unit

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Storage Array Thermal Shutdown

. . . . . 32

. . . . . . . . . 33

System Password Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Cache Functions and Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Cache Mirroring

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Write-Back Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Write-Through Cache

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4 Planning: MD3200 Series Storage

Array Terms and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups. . . . . 35

Physical Disks

Physical Disk States

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting

Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Virtual Disks and Disk Groups . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Virtual Disk States

RAID Levels

RAID Level Usage

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4 Contents

Segment Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Virtual Disk Operations

Virtual Disk Initialization

Background Initialization

Foreground Initialization

Consistency Check

Media Verification

Cycle Time

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Page 5

Virtual Disk Operations Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Disk Group Operations

RAID Level Migration

Segment Size Migration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Virtual Disk Capacity Expansion . . . . . . . . . . 44

Disk Group Expansion

Disk Group Defragmentation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

. . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Disk Group Operations Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

RAID Background Operations Priority . . . . . . . . . 45

Virtual Disk Migration and Disk Roaming

Disk Migration

Disk Roaming

Advanced Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Host Server-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

Host Types

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

. . . . . . . . 46

. . . . . . . . 49

Snapshot Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Snapshot Repository Virtual Disk

. . . . . . . . . . 50

Virtual Disk Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Virtual Disk Recovery

Using Snapshot and Disk Copy Together

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

. . . . . . 52

Multi-Path Software

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Preferred and Alternate Controllers and Paths

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Virtual Disk Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Load Balancing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Monitoring MD3200 Series System Performance

Contents 5

. . . . 55

Page 6

5 Configuration: Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Enterprise Management Window

Array Management Window

. . . . . . . . . 60

. . . . . . . . . . . . 61

6 Configuration: About Your

Storage Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Out-of-Band and In-Band Management . . . . . . . . . 63

Storage Arrays

Adding Storage Arrays

Setting Up Your Storage Array

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

. . . . . . . . . . . 66

Locating Storage Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Naming or Renaming Storage Arrays

Setting a Password

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

. . . . . . . . 68

Viewing Storage Array Connections . . . . . . . . 70

Adding/Editing a Comment to an

Existing Storage Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Removing Storage Arrays

Enabling Premium Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Failover Alert Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Changing the Cache Settings on the Storage Array

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Changing Expansion Enclosure ID Number . . . . 73

Changing the Enclosure Order in the Physical Pane

Configuring Alert Notifications

Configuring E-mail Alerts

Configuring SNMP Alerts

Battery Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

6 Contents

Page 7

Setting the Storage Array RAID Controlle r Module Clocks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

7 Configuration: Event Monitor . . . . . . . . . 81

Enabling or Disabling the Event Monitor . . . . . . . . 82

Windows

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

8 Configuration: About Your Host . . . . . . . . 83

Configuring Host Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Using the Mappings Tab

Defining a Host

Removing Host Access

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Managing Host Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Creating a Host Group

Moving a Host to a Different Host Group

Removing a Host Group

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

. . . . . . 87

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Host Topology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Starting or Stopping the Host Context Agent

I/O Data Path Protection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Managing Host Port Identifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

9 Configuration: Disk Groups and

Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Creating Disk Groups and Virtual Disks. . . . . . . . . 93

Creating Disk Groups

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

. . . . 89

Contents 7

Page 8

Locating a Disk Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Creating Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Changing the Virtual Disk Modification Priority

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Changing the Virtual Disk Cache Settings . . . . . 99

Changing the Segment Size of a Virtual Disk

Changing the I/O Type

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

. . . 101

Choosing an Appropriate Physical Disk Type

. . . . . 103

Physical Disk Security with Self Encrypting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Disk

Creating a Security Key

Changing a Security Key

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Saving a Security Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Unlocking Secure Physical Disks

Erasing Secure Physical Disks

Configuring Hot Spare Physical Disks

Hot Spares and Rebuild

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

. . . . . . . . . 110

. . . . . . . . . . 111

. . . . . . . . . 111

Global Hot Spares. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Hot Spare Operation

Hot Spare Drive Protection

Enclosure Loss Protection

Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

Creating Host-to-Virtual Disk Mappings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

. . . . . . . . . . . . 114

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

. . . . . 117

Modifying and Removing Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Changing Controller Ownership of the Virtua

l Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Removing Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

. . . . . 120

Changing the RAID Controller Module Ownership of a Disk Group

Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group

. . . . . . . . . . . . 121

. . . . 122

8 Contents

Page 9

Restricted Mappings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Changing the RAID Controller Module Ownership of a Virtual Disk or a Disk Group

. . . . . . . . . . 124

Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group. . . . . . . . 125

Storage Partitioning

Disk Group and Virtual Disk Expansion

Disk Group Expansion

Virtual Disk Expansion

Using Free Capacity

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

. . . . . . . . . 128

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Using Unconfigured Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Disk Group Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Export Disk Group

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Exporting a Disk Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Import Disk Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Importing a Disk Group

Storage Array Media Scan

Changing Media Scan Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

. . . . . . . . . . 133

Suspending the Media Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

10 Configuration: Premium Feature—

Snapshot Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the

Simple Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

About the Simple Path

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Preparing Host Servers to Create the

Snapshot Using the Simple Path . . . . . . . . . . 137

Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Advanced Path

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Contents 9

Page 10

About the Advanced Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Preparing Host Servers to Create

the Snapshot Using the Advanced Path . . . . . 141

Creating the Snapshot Using the

Advanced Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Specifying Snapshot Virtual Disk Names . . . . . . . 145

Snapshot Repository Capacity

Re-creating Snapshot Virtual Disks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

. . . . . . . . . . 149

Disabling a Snapshot Virtual Disk. . . . . . . . . . . 150

Preparing Host Servers to Re-create a Snapshot Virtual Disk

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Re-creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk . . . . . . . . . 152

11 Configuration: Premium Feature—

Virtual Disk Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Creating a Virtual Disk Copy for an MSCS

Shared Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Virtual Disk Read/Write Permissions

Virtual Disk Copy Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Creating a Virtual Disk Copy

Before you Begin

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Virtual Disk Copy and Modification

Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Create Copy Wizard

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Failed Virtual Disk Copy

. . . . . . . . . 155

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

10 Contents

Preferred RAID Controller Module Ownership

Failed RAID Controller Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . 158

. . . . 158

Page 11

Copy Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Copying the Virtual Disk

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Storage Array Performance During Virtual Disk Copy

Setting Copy Priority

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Stopping a Virtual Disk Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Recopying a Virtual Disk

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Preparing Host Servers to Recopy a Virtual Disk

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Recopying the Virtual Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Removing Copy Pairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

12 Configuration: Premium Feature—

Upgrading to High-Performance-Tier . . 165

13 Configuration: Device Mapper

Multipath for Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Using DM Multipathing Devices

Prerequisite Steps

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Device Mapper Configuration Steps

Limitations and Known Issues

Troubleshooting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

. . . . . . . . . . . . 168

. . . . . . . . 169

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Contents 11

Page 12

14 Management: Firmware Downloads . . . 177

Downloading RAID Controller and NVSRAM

Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Downloading Both RAID Controller and NVSRAM Firmware

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Downloading Only NVSRAM Firmware

Downloading Physical Disk Firmware

. . . . . . . . 180

. . . . . . . . 183

Downloading MD1200 Series Expansion Module EMM Firmware

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Media Errors and Unreadable Sectors . . . . . . . . 187

15 Management: Installing Array

Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Front Bezel (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Removing the Front Bezel

Installing the Front Bezel

Hard Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Removing a Drive Blank

Installing a Drive Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Removing a Hard Drive

Installing a Hard Drive

Removing a Hard Drive From a Hard-Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Carrier

Installing a Hard Drive Into a Drive

Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

12 Contents

Page 13

RAID Controller Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Removing a RAID Controller Module Blank

. . . . 197

Installing a RAID Controller Module Blank. . . . . 198

Removing a RAID Controller Module

Installing a RAID Controller Module

. . . . . . . . 199

. . . . . . . . 200

Opening the RAID Controller Module . . . . . . . 200

Closing the RAID Controller Module

. . . . . . . . 201

RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit

. . . . . 202

Removing the RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Installing the RAID Controller Module Backup

Battery Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Removing a Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Installing a Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module

Control Panel

Removing the Control Panel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

. . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Installing the Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Removing the Backplane

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Installing the Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

16 Management: Firmware Inventory . . . . 213

Viewing the Firmware Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

17 Management: System Interfaces . . . . . 215

Microsoft Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Contents 13

Page 14

Virtual Disk Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Volume Shadow-Copy Service . . . . . . . . . . 215

18 Troubleshooting: Your Storage

Array Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Start-Up Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Device Health Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Storage Array Support Data

Automatically Collect the Support Bundle Data

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

. . . 221

Collecting the Physical Disk Data . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Event Log

Recovery Guru

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Storage Array Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Viewing the Logical Associations

Viewing the Physical Associations

Finding Nodes

Using Go To

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

. . . . . . . . . . . 226

. . . . . . . . . . 226

Recovering From an Unresponsive Storage Array Condition

Locating a Physical Disk

Locating an Expansion Enclosure

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

. . . . . . . . . . . 233

14 Contents

Capturing the State Information

SMrepassist Utility

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

. . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Page 15

Unidentified Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Recovering From an Unidentified Storage Array

. . . . 236

Starting or Restarting the Host Context Agent Software

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

19 Troubleshooting: Your Array . . . . . . . . . 241

Safety First—For you and Your Array . . . . . . . . . . 241

Troubleshooting Storage Array Startup Failure . . . . . 241

Troubleshooting Loss of Communication

Troubleshooting External Connections

Troubleshooting Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Troubleshooting Array Cooling Problems . . . . . . . . 243

Troubleshooting Expansion Enclosure Management Modules

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Troubleshooting RAID Controller Modules . . . . . . . 244

. . . . . . . . 241

. . . . . . . . . 241

Troubleshooting Hard Drives

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Troubleshooting Array and Expansion Enclosure Connections

Troubleshooting a Wet Storage Array

Troubleshooting a Damaged Array

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

. . . . . . . . . . 248

. . . . . . . . . . . 249

Troubleshooting RAID Controller Modules

Conditions

Invalid Storage Array

ECC Errors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

. . . . . . . 249

Contents 15

Page 16

PCI Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Critical Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Noncritical Conditions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

20 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Contacting Dell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

16 Contents

Page 17

Introduction

See the Safety, Environmental, and Regulatory Information document for important safety information before following any procedures listed in this document.

About This Document

This guide familiarizes you with the functions of the MD3200 Series storage array. The guide is organized according to the tasks that you must complete after receiving your Dell™ PowerVault™ MD3200 Series storage array.

Planning—Information about the storage array and its features.

Configuration—Tasks that must be completed to ensure that your storage array performs optimally.

Management—Tasks the may be performed to ensure the storage array components are up to date and performing properly, including removal and installation of storage array components.

Troubleshooting—Tasks that you must complete to resolve problems that may occur with the storage array.

Additional information on these and other topics can be found in the Dell PowerVault MD3200 and MD3220 Storage Array Deployment Guide, available at support.dell.com/manuals.

Introduction 17

Page 18

Inside the box of the Dell PowerVault MD3200 Series Storage Array

Unless specified MD3200 Series represents Dell PowerVault MD3200 and Dell PowerVault MD3220.

Your MD3200 Series product package includes:

• Dell PowerVault MD3200

• SAS cables

• Power cables (2)

• Bezel (optional)

• Mounting rails (2) (optional)

• Dell PowerVault MD3200

• The Rack Installation Instructions included with your rack solution describes how to install your enclosure into a rack.

•

Getting Started With Your System

features, setting up your enclosure, and technical specifications.

Dell PowerVault MD3200 Series Storage Array

The Dell PowerVault MD3200 Series is a 2U rack-mounted external redundant array of independent disks (RAID) storage array capable of accommodating up to 12 3.5" or 24 2.5" 6.0-Gbps Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) disks. The MD3200 Series storage arrays can be daisy-chained with MD1200 Series expansion enclosures, providing access to a maximum of 96 disks in the entire storage array. Connectivity between the storage array and the host server is provided by a Dell 6.0-Gbps SAS Host Bus Adapter (SAS 6Gb HBA).

Series

storage array

Series

resource media

provides an overview of enclosure

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) is a graphical user interface (GUI) application, used to configure and manage one or more MD3200 Series Storage Arrays. The MDSM software is located on the MD3200 Series resource media.

18 Introduction

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Other Information you May Need

WARNING: See the safety and regulatory information that shipped with your

system. Warranty information may be included within this document or as a separate document.

•

Getting Started Guide

storage array.

•

Deployment Guide

both software and hardware.

•

Storage Manager CLI Guide

command line interface (CLI).

• Resource media contains all system management tools.

•

Systems Support Matrix

hardware for MD systems. The document is available at

support.dell.com/manuals

•

Dell PowerEdge® Cluster Documentation

•

Release notes

to the enclosure or documentation or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians.

• This document as well as Dell PowerVault MD 1200 series installation guide is available at MD1200 expansion enclosures.

or readme files are included to provide last-minute updates

provides an overview of setting up and cabling your

provides installation and configuration instructions for

provides information about using the

provides information on supported software and

is available at dell.com/ha.

support.dell.com/manuals

for users who incorporate

NOTE: Always check for updates on support.dell.com/manuals and read the

updates first because they often supersede information in other documents.

Introduction 19

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20 Introduction

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Planning: About Your Storage Array

Overview

The MD3200 Series storage array is designed for high availability, offering redundant access to data storage. It features support for both single and dual RAID controller configuration.

The Dell™ PowerVault™ MD3200 Series storage array provides 6.0-Gbps SAS connectivity to the host server and enables access for up to 8 non-redundant servers or 4 redundant servers.

The MD3200 Series storage array includes a number of components. These are:

• RAID Controller Module(s)

•PSU/Fan Modules

• Disk Drives (also called Physical Disk Drives in this document)

• An optional front panel bezel

• A system enclosure, into which, the other components are plugged

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Hardware Features

Front-Panel Features and Indicators

Figure 2-1. Front-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell™ PowerVault™ MD3200

Figure 2-2. Front-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3220

22 Planning: About Your Storage Array

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Figure 2-3. Front-Bezel Features and Indicators

Item Indicator, Button, or

Connector

1 Enclosure status LED The enclosure status LED lights when the

2 Power LED The power LED lights green when at least one

Icon Description

enclosure power is on.

Lights blue during normal operation.

Blinks blue when a host server is identifying the enclosure or when the system identification button is pressed.

Lights amber as enclosure boots or is reset.

Blinks amber when the enclosure is either in a fault state or the hosts are not using the preferred path to a virtual disk.

power supply is supplying power to the enclosure.

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Item Indicator, Button, or

Connector

3 Split mode LED This LED should be unlit as the split mode

4 System identification

button

5 Hard drives PowerVault MD3200—Up to 12 3.5-inch SAS

6Enclosure mode

switch

Icon Description

function is not supported by the MD3200 Series Storage Arrays.

The system identification button on the front control panel can be used to locate a particular enclosure within a rack. When the button is pushed, the system status indicators on the control panel and the RAID controller module(s) blink blue until the button is pushed again.

hot-swappable hard drives.

PowerVault MD3220—Up to 24 2.5-inch SAS hot-swappable hard drives.

The function of this switch is not applicable to your storage array. However, if MD1200 Series expansion enclosures are daisy chained to the storage array, the enclosure mode switches of the MD1200 Series expansion enclosures must be set to the Unified-Mode position.

NOTE: This switch must be set prior to turning on

the MD1200 Series expansion enclosure. Changing the switch setting after the expansion enclosure is turned on has no effect on enclosure configuration until the expansion enclosure goes through a complete power cycle.

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Back Panel Features and Indicators

Figure 2-4. Back-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3200 Series

1 600W Power supply/cooling fan

module

3 RAID Controller Module 1 4 600W Power supply/cooling fan

2 RAID Controller Module 0

module

Planning: About Your Storage Array 25

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Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns

Figure 2-5. Hard Drive Indicators

1 hard-drive activity indicator (green) 2 hard-drive status indicator (green

26 Planning: About Your Storage Array

and amber)

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Drive-Status Indicator Pattern Condition

Off The physical disk is:

• not yet discovered by the host server

• has been spun down for removal

• not supported for the RAID controller module or is not in the physical disk slot

NOTE: The drive status indicator remains

off until all hard drives are initialized after system power is turned on. Drives are not ready for insertion or removal during this time.

Steady green Physical disk is online

Green flashing (On 250 ms, Off 250 ms) Physical disk is being identified

Green flashing (On 400 ms, Off 100 ms) Physical disk rebuilding

Amber flashing (On 150 ms, Off 150 ms) Physical disk failed

Flashing green, amber, and off (Green On 500 ms, Amber On 500 ms, Off 1000 ms)

Flashing green, amber, and off (Green 3 seconds, amber 3 seconds, and off 3 seconds)

Physical disk failure predicted (SMART)

Physical disk rebuild aborted

Power Supply and Cooling Fan Features

The MD3200 Series storage array includes two integrated, hot-swappable power supply/cooling fan modules. Both modules must be installed to ensure proper cooling. Each module contains two separate cooling fans. The system requires at least one of the cooling fans to function to avoid overheating.

A power supply/cooling fan module can be replaced without powering down the system. For information on removing and replacing the modules, see "Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module" on page 204.

CAUTION: A power supply/cooling fan module can be removed from a powered-

on enclosure for a maximum period of 5 minutes. Beyond that time, the system may automatically shut down to prevent damage.

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Power Indicator Codes

Figure 2-6. Power Indicator Codes

Item LED Type Icon Description

1 DC power The LED lights green when the DC output

voltage is within the limit.

If this LED is off, it indicates that the DC output voltage are not within the limit.

2 Power supply/cooling

fan fault

3 AC power The LED lights green when the AC input voltage

4 Power connector Connect the external power supply to this

5 Power switches (2) The power switch controls the power supply

The LED lights amber when the DC output voltage is not within the limit or a fault with the fan is detected.

If this LED is off, it indicates that no fault condition is present.

is within the limit.

If this LED is off, it indicates either there is no power or the AC input voltage is not within the limit.

connector.

output to the enclosure.

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Planning: RAID Controller Modules

RAID Controller Modules

The RAID controller modules provide high-performance, advanced virtual disk configuration, and fault-tolerant disk subsystem management. Each RAID controller module contains 2 GB of cache that is mirrored with the other controller's cache for high availability and is protected by a batterypowered cache offload mechanism.

RAID controller modules provide the following data path and enclosure management functions:

• Monitoring and controlling enclosure environment elements (temperature, fans, power supplies, and enclosure LEDs)

• Controlling access to the physical disks

• Communicating enclosure attributes and states to the host server and management station

Each RAID controller module has multiple SAS IN ports for host access. The ports provide redundant host connections and support a high availability storage environment. Various configurations can be utilized, in both single controller (simplex) and dual controller (duplex) modes, to connect the storage enclosure to hosts depending on specific redundancy needs.

For information on cabling, see the MD3200 and MD3220 Series storage array’s Deployment Guide.

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RAID Controller Module Connectors and Features

12 3456 7

811121516 219 10 13 17 1814

Figure 3-1. MD3200 Series SAS RAID Controller Module

Item Component Function

1 SAS OUT port Provides SAS connection for cabling to a downchain

expansion enclosure.

2 SAS IN port 0 Provides host-to-controller SAS connection.

3 SAS IN port 1 Provides host-to-controller SAS connection.

4 SAS IN port 2 Provides host-to-controller SAS connection.

5 SAS IN port 3 Provides host-to-controller SAS connection.

6 MAC Address

label

7 Debug port Dell support only.

8SAS OUT port

link/fault LED

Provides MAC addresses of the management port.

Lights green when all four links are connected.

Lights amber when one to three links are disconnected.

Off when all links in the port are disconnected or cable is disconnected.

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Item Component Function

9 Controller power

LED

10 SAS IN 0 port

link/fault LED

11 Controller fault

LED

12 System

identification LED

13 SAS IN 1 port

link/fault LED

14 Cache active or

cache offload LED

15 Battery fault Lights amber when battery backup unit or battery has

16 Password Reset

switch

17 SAS IN 2 port

link/fault LED

Lights green when controller power is on.

Off when controller is not powered.

Lights green when all four links are connected.

Lights amber when one to three links are disconnected.

Off when all links in the port are disconnected or cable is disconnected.

Lights amber when controller fault detected.

Off when controller operating normally.

Blinks blue when system identification switch push-button on enclosure front panel is pressed.

Lights green when all four links are connected.

Lights amber when one to three links are disconnected.

Off when all links in the port are disconnected or cable is disconnected.

Lights green when on-board controller memory contains data.

If AC power fails, this LED changes to indicate Cache Offload status.

If the password reset function has successfully changed the password, this LED flashes on and off briefly.

failed.

Off when battery backup unit is operating normally.

Activating this switch deletes the password.

Lights green when all four links are connected.

Lights amber when one to three links are disconnected.

Off when all links in the port are disconnected or cable is disconnected.

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Item Component Function

18 SAS IN 3 port

link/fault LED

19 Management

port speed LED

20 Management

port activity LED

21 Management

port Ethernet connector

Lights green when all four links are connected.

Lights amber when one to three links are disconnected.

Off when all links in the port are disconnected or cable is disconnected.

Lights green when ethernet connection is operating at 1000 Mbps.

Lights amber when ethernet connection is operating at 100 Mbps.

Off when ethernet connection is operating at 10 Mbps or is not active.

Lights green when ethernet connection is active.

Off when ethernet connection is not active.

Provides a 100/1000 Mbps Ethernet connection for out-ofband management of the enclosure.

RAID Controller Module—Additional Features

Battery Backup Unit

Each RAID controller contains a two-cell lithium ion nanopolymer battery backup unit (BBU). It provides power to the RAID controller module in the event of a power outage, see "RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit" on page 202.

NOTE: For virtual disks, the RAID controller firmware changes the data cache

setting based on the state of the battery. If the battery is missing or does not have sufficient charge, the controller flushes the cache and sets the write cache attribute to Write Through for all virtual disks. When the battery is replaced, Write Back is re-enabled.

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Storage Array Thermal Shutdown

The system automatically shuts down when system temperature exceeds the safe threshold. The battery backup unit protects against data loss by providing power to offload cache to non-volatile memory in the event of power loss. It is not necessary to shut down any MD1200 Series expansion enclosures attached to the storage array when thermal shutdown occurs.

Temperature threshold values determine the temperature at which shutdown occurs. These thresholds cannot be changed.

Table 3-1. Shutdown Threshold Type

Threshold Temperature Exceeding Event Description

Nominal failure threshold A critical event is set

Maximum failure threshold Shutdown of the system power supplies occurs

within three minutes

Shutdown threshold Shutdown of the system power supplies occurs

within five seconds

System Password Reset

The storage array password can be reset if it is forgotten. To reset the password, push and hold down the password reset switch for at least 5 seconds. The password is deleted. See Figure 3-1 to locate the password reset switch.

The RAID controller module allows you to change the password. For more about setting your password, see "Setting a Password" on page 69.

NOTE: The reset switch can be accessed by using a small object such as the tip of

a pen.

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Cache Functions and Features

Cache Mirroring

Cache mirroring function copies accepted host-write data from the primary controller to the partner controller. This action ensures that host-write data is safely mirrored to the partner controller before successful completion status is returned to the host. If a controller fails, the surviving controller safely retains all mirrored data. Cache mirroring is enabled by default.

Write-Back Cache

In Write-back Cache, write operations result in a completion signal being sent to the host operating system as soon as the cache receives the data to be written. The target physical disk receives the data at a more appropriate time in order to increase controller performance. In dual-active controller configurations with Write-back Caching enabled, the write data is always mirrored to the cache of the second controller before completion status is issued to the host initiator. Write-Back Cache is enabled by default unless cache mirroring is disabled.

Write-Through Cache

In write-through cache, data is written to the physical disk before completion status is returned to the host operating system. Write-through cache is considered more robust than write-back cache, since a power failure is less likely to cause loss of data. The RAID controller automatically switches to write-through if cache mirroring is disabled or if the battery is missing or has a fault condition.

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Planning: MD3200 Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

This chapter explains terms and concepts used for configuration and operation of MD3200 Series Storage Arrays.

Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups

Physical disks in your storage array provide the physical storage capacity for your data. Before you can begin writing data to the storage array, you must configure the physical storage capacity into logical components, called disk groups and virtual disks.

A disk group is a set of physical disks upon which multiple virtual disks are created. The maximum number of physical disks supported in a disk group is 96 drives for RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID10, and 30 drives for RAID 5 and RAID 6. You can create disk groups from unconfigured capacity on your storage array.

A virtual disk is a partition in a disk group that is made up of contiguous data segments of the physical disks in the disk group. A virtual disk consists of data segments from all physical disks in the disk group. Virtual disks and disk groups are set up according to how you plan to organize your data. For example, you might have one virtual disk for inventory, a second virtual disk for financial and tax information, and so on.

All virtual disks in a disk group support the same RAID level. The storage array supports up to 255 virtual disks (minimum size of 10 MB each) that can be assigned to host servers. Each virtual disk is assigned a Logical Unit Number (LUN) that is recognized by the host operating system.

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Physical Disks

Only Dell™ supported 6.0-Gbps SAS physical disks are supported in the storage array. If the storage array detects unsupported physical disks, it marks the disk as unsupported and the physical disk becomes unavailable for all operations.

NOTE: The MD3200 Series array must contain at least two physical disks for proper

operation. This is necessary because the physical disks are used to store configuration information.

Physical Disk States

The storage array recognizes the physical disk states. Mode and status of physical disks are reported in the MDSM application. Possible values for mode and status or described in Table 4-1.

Table 4-1. RAID Controller Physical Disk States

Status Mode Description Physical Disk

Status LED

Optimal Assigned The physical disk in the indicated slot

is configured as part of a disk group.

Optimal Unassigned The physical disk in the indicated slot

is unused and available to be configured.

Optimal Hot Spare

standby

Optimal Hot Spare in

use

Failed Assigned,

Unassigned, Hot Spare in use, or Hot Spare standby

Replaced Assigned The physical disk in the indicated slot

The physical disk in the indicated slot is configured as a hot spare.

The physical disk in the indicated slot is in use as a hot spare within a disk group.

The physical disk in the indicated slot has failed because of an unrecoverable error, an incorrect drive type or drive size, or by its operational state being set to failed.

has been replaced and is ready to be, or is actively being, configured into a disk group.

Steady Green

Amber flashing (150 ms)

Green flashing (On 400 ms, Off 100 ms)

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Table 4-1. RAID Controller Physical Disk States

Status Mode Description Physical Disk

Pendin g Failure

Offline Not applicable The physical disk has either been spun

Identify Assigned,

N/A N/A The indicated slot is empty, or the

Assigned, Unassigned, Hot Spare in use, or Hot Spare standby

Unassigned, Hot Spare in use, or Hot Spare standby

A Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) error has been detected on the physical disk in the indicated slot.

down or had a rebuild aborted by user request.

The physical disk is being identified. Green flashing

array cannot detect the physical disk.

(continued)

Status LED

Flashing Green (500 ms), Amber (500 ms), and off (1000ms)

Flashing Green (3000 ms), Amber (3000 ms), and off(3000ms)

(250 ms)

If a disk drive rebuild fails because of a source drive failure or because the drive is too small, the MDSM reports a failure of the physical disk even though the LED state on the drive indicates the rebuild was aborted (green for 3 seconds, amber for 3 seconds, then off for 3 seconds).

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology

SMART monitors the internal performance of all physical disk components to detect faults indicating the potential for physical disk failure. SMART uses this information to report whether failure is imminent so that a physical disk can be replaced before failure occurs. The storage array monitors all attached drives and notifies you when a predicted failure is reported by a physical disk.

Virtual Disks and Disk Groups

When configuring a storage array, you must:

Organize the physical disks into disk groups.

Create virtual disks within these disk groups.

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Provide host server access.

Create mappings to associate the virtual disks with the host servers.

NOTE: Host server access must be created before mapping virtual disks.

Disk groups are always created in the unconfigured capacity of a storage array. Unconfigured capacity is the available physical disk space not already assigned in the storage array.

Virtual disks are created within the free capacity of a disk group. Free capacity is the space in a disk group that has not been assigned to a virtual disk.

Virtual Disk States

The storage array recognizes the following virtual disk states.

Table 4-2. RAID Controller Virtual Disk States

State Description

Optimal The virtual disk contains physical disks that are all online.

Degraded The virtual disk with a redundant RAID level contains an inaccessible

physical disk. The system can still work properly, but performance may be affected and additional disk failures may result in data loss.

Offline A virtual disk with one or more member disks in an inaccessible

(failed, missing, or offline) state. Data on the virtual disk is no longer accessible.

Force online The storage array forces a virtual disk that is in an Offline state to an

Optimal state. If all the member physical disks are not available, the storage array forces the virtual disk to a Degraded state. The storage array can force a virtual disk to an Online state only when a sufficient number of physical disks are available to support the virtual disk.

RAID Levels

RAID levels determine the way in which data is written to physical disks. Different RAID levels provide different levels of accessibility, redundancy, and capacity.

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Using multiple physical disks has the following advantages over using a single physical disk:

• Placing data on multiple physical disks (striping) allows input/output (I/O) operations to occur simultaneously and improve performance.

• Storing redundant data on multiple physical disks using mirroring or parity supports reconstruction of lost data if an error occurs, even if that error is the failure of a physical disk.

Each RAID level provides different performance and protection. You should select a RAID level based on the type of application, access, fault tolerance, and data you are storing.

The storage array supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10. The maximum number of physical disks that can be used in a disk group depends on the RAID level:

• 96 for RAID 0, 1 and 10

• 30 for RAID 5 and 6.

RAID Level Usage

To ensure best performance, you should select an optimal RAID level when you create a system physical disk. The optimal RAID level for your disk array depends on:

• Number of physical disks in the disk array

• Capacity of the physical disks in the disk array

• Need for redundant access to the data (fault tolerance)

• Disk performance requirements

RAID 0

RAID 0 uses disk striping to provide high data throughput, especially for large files in an environment that requires no data redundancy. RAID 0 breaks the data down into segments and writes each segment to a separate physical disk. I/O performance is greatly improved by spreading the I/O load across many physical disks. Although it offers the best performance of any RAID level, RAID 0 lacks data redundancy. Choose this option only for non-critical data, because failure of one physical disk results in the loss of all data. Examples of RAID 0 applications include video editing, image editing, prepress applications, or any application requiring high bandwidth.

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RAID 1

RAID 1 uses disk mirroring so that data written to one physical disk is simultaneously written to another physical disk. This RAID level offers fast performance and the best data availability, but also the highest disk overhead. RAID 1 is recommended for small databases or other applications that do not require large capacity for example accounting, payroll, or financial applications. RAID 1 provides full data redundancy.

RAID 5

RAID 5 uses parity and striping data across all physical disks (distributed parity) to provide high data throughput and data redundancy, especially for small random access. RAID 5 is a versatile RAID level and is suited for multiuser environments where typical I/O size is small and there is a high proportion of read activity such as file, application, database, web, e-mail, news, and intranet servers.

RAID 6

RAID 6 is similar to RAID 5 but provides an additional parity disk for better redundancy. RAID 6 is the most versatile RAID level and is suited for multiuser environments where typical I/O size is small and there is a high proportion of read activity. RAID 6 is recommended when large size physical disks are used or large number of physical disks are used in a disk group.

RAID 10

RAID 10, a combination of RAID 1 and RAID 0, uses disk striping across mirrored disks. It provides high data throughput and complete data redundancy. Utilizing an even number of physical disks (four or more) creates a RAID level 10 disk group and/or virtual disk. Because RAID levels 1 and 10 use disk mirroring, half of the capacity of the physical disks is utilized for mirroring. This leaves the remaining half of the physical disk capacity for actual storage. RAID 10 is automatically used when a RAID level of 1 is chosen with four or more physical disks. RAID 10 works well for mediumsized databases or any environment that requires high performance and fault tolerance and moderate-to-medium capacity.

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Segment Size

Disk striping enables data to be written across multiple physical disks. Disk striping enhances performance because striped disks are accessed simultaneously.

The segment size or stripe element size specifies the size of data in a stripe written to a single disk. The MD3200 Series array supports stripe element sizes of 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 KB. The default stripe element size is 128 KB.

Stripe width, or depth, refers to the number of disks involved in an array where striping is implemented. For example, a four-disk group with disk striping has a stripe width of four.

NOTE: Although disk striping delivers excellent performance, striping alone does

not provide data redundancy.

Virtual Disk Operations

Virtual Disk Initialization

Every virtual disk must be initialized. Initialization can be done in the foreground or the background. A maximum of four virtual disks can be initialized concurrently on each RAID controller module.

Background Initialization

The storage array executes a background initialization when the virtual disk is created to establish parity, while allowing full host server access to the virtual disks. Background initialization does not run on RAID 0 virtual disks. The background initialization rate is controlled by MDSM. To change the rate of background initialization, you must stop any existing background initialization. The rate change is implemented when the background initialization restarts automatically.

Foreground Initialization

The storage array supports foreground initialization for virtual disks. All access to the virtual disk is blocked during foreground initialization. During foreground initialization, zeros (0x00) are written to every sector of the virtual disk. The virtual disk is available after foreground initialization is completed.

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Consistency Check

A consistency check verifies the correctness of data in a redundant array (RAID levels 1, 5, 6, and 10). For example, in a system with parity, checking consistency involves computing the data on one physical disk and comparing the results to the contents of the parity physical disk.

A consistency check is similar to a background initialization. The difference is that background initialization cannot be started or stopped manually, while consistency check can.

NOTE: It is recommended that you run data consistency checks on a redundant

array at least once a month. This allows detection and automatic replacement of unreadable sectors. Finding an unreadable sector during a rebuild of a failed physical disk is a serious problem, because the system does not have the redundancy to recover the data.

Media Verification

Another background task performed by the storage array is media verification of all configured physical disks in a disk group. The storage array uses the Read operation to perform verification on the space configured in virtual disks and the space reserved for the metadata.

Cycle Time

The media verification operation runs only on selected disk groups, independent of other disk groups. Cycle time is the time taken to complete verification of the metadata region of the disk group and all virtual disks in the disk group for which media verification is configured. The next cycle for a disk group starts automatically when the current cycle completes. You can set the cycle time for a media verification operation between 1 and 30 days. The storage controller throttles the media verification I/O accesses to disks based on the cycle time.

The storage array tracks the cycle for each disk group independent of other disk groups on the controller and creates a checkpoint. If the media verification operation on a disk group is preempted or blocked by another operation on the disk group, the storage array resumes after the current cycle. If the media verification process on a disk group is stopped due to a RAID controller module restart, the storage array resumes the process from the last checkpoint.

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Virtual Disk Operations Limit

The maximum number of active, concurrent virtual disk processes per RAID controller module installed in the storage array is four. This limit is applied to the following virtual disk processes:

• Background initialization

• Foreground initialization

• Consistency check

•Rebuild

•Copy back.

If a redundant RAID controller module fails with existing virtual disk processes, the processes on the failed controller are transferred to the peer controller. A transferred process is placed in a suspended state if there are four active processes on the peer controller. The suspended processes are resumed on the peer controller when the number of active processes falls below four.

Disk Group Operations

RAID Level Migration

You can migrate from one RAID level to another depending on your requirements. For example, fault-tolerant characteristics can be added to a stripe set (RAID 0) by converting it to a RAID 5 set. MDSM provides information about RAID attributes to assist you in selecting the appropriate RAID level. You can perform a RAID level migration while the system is still running and without rebooting, which maintains data availability.

Segment Size Migration

Segment size refers to the amount of data (in kilobytes) that the storage array writes on a single physical disk in a virtual disk before writing data on the next physical disk. Valid values for the segment size are 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 KB.

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Dynamic segment size migration enables the segment size of a given virtual disk to be changed. A default segment size is set when the virtual disk is created, based on such factors as the RAID level and expected usage. You can change the default value (128 KB) if segment size usage does not match your needs.

When considering a segment-size change, two scenarios illustrate different approaches to the limitations:

• If I/O activity stretches beyond the segment size, you can increase it to reduce the number of disks required for a single I/O. Using a single physical disk for a single request frees disks to service other requests, especially when you have multiple users accessing a database or storage environment.

• If you use the virtual disk in a single-user, large I/O environment (such as for multimedia application storage), performance can be optimized when a single I/O request is serviced with a single data stripe (the segment size multiplied by the number of physical disks in the disk group used for data storage). In this case, multiple disks are used for the same request, but each disk is only accessed once.

Virtual Disk Capacity Expansion

When you configure a virtual disk, you select a capacity based on the amount of data you expect to store. However, you may need to increase the virtual disk capacity for a standard virtual disk by adding free capacity to the disk group. This creates more unused space for new virtual disks or to expand existing virtual disks.

Disk Group Expansion

Because the storage array supports hot pluggable physical disks, you can add two physical disks at a time for each disk group while the storage array remains online. Data remains accessible on virtual disk groups, virtual disks, and physical disks throughout the operation. The data and increased unused free space are dynamically redistributed across the disk group. RAID characteristics are also reapplied to the disk group as a whole.

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Disk Group Defragmentation

Defragmenting consolidates the free capacity in the disk group into one contiguous area. Defragmentation does not change the way in which the data is stored on the virtual disks.

Disk Group Operations Limit

The maximum number of active, concurrent disk group processes per installed RAID controller module is one. This limit is applied to the following disk group processes:

• Virtual disk RAID level migration

• Segment size migration

• Virtual disk capacity expansion

• Disk group expansion

• Disk group defragmentation.

If a redundant RAID controller module fails with an existing disk group process, the process on the failed controller is transferred to the peer controller. A transferred process is placed in a suspended state if there is an active disk group process on the peer controller. The suspended processes are resumed when the active process on the peer controller completes or is stopped.

NOTE: If you try to start a disk group process on a controller that does not have an

existing active process, the start attempt fails if the first virtual disk in the disk group is owned by the other controller and there is an active process on the other controller.

RAID Background Operations Priority

The storage array supports a common configurable priority for the following RAID operations:

• Background initialization

•Rebuild

•Copy back

• Virtual disk capacity expansion

• Raid level migration

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• Segment size migration

• Disk group expansion

• Disk group defragmentation.

The priority of each of these operations can be changed to address performance requirements of the environment in which the operations are to be executed.

NOTE: Setting a high priority level impacts storage array performance. It is not

advisable to set priority levels at the maximum level. Priority should also be assessed in terms of impact to host server access and time to complete an operation. For example, the longer a rebuild of a degraded virtual disk takes, the greater the risk for potential secondary disk failure.

Virtual Disk Migration and Disk Roaming

Virtual disk migration is moving a virtual disk or a hot spare from one array to another by detaching the physical disks and re-attaching them to the new array. Disk roaming is moving a physical disk from one slot to another on the same array.

Disk Migration

You can move virtual disks from one array to another without taking the target array offline. However, the disk group being migrated must be offline prior to performing the disk migration. If the disk group is not offline prior to migration, the source array holding the physical and virtual disks within the disk group marks them as missing. However, the disk groups themselves migrate to the target array.

An array can import a virtual disk only if it is in an optimal state. You can move virtual disks that are part of a disk group only if all members of the disk group are being migrated. The virtual disks automatically become available after the target array has finished importing all the disks in the disk group.

When you migrate a physical disk or a disk group from one MD3200 array to another, the MD3200 array you migrate to, recognizes any data structures and/or metadata you had in place on the migrating MD3200 array. However, if you are migrating from any device other than a MD3200 Series Storage Array,

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the MD3200 array does not recognize the migrating metadata and that data is lost. In this case, the MD3200 initializes the physical disks and mark them as unconfigured capacity.

NOTE: Only disk groups and associated virtual disks with all member physical disks

present can be migrated from one storage array to another. it is recommended that you only migrate disk groups that have all their associated member virtual disks in an optimal state.

NOTE: The number of physical disks and virtual disks that a storage array supports

limits the scope of the migration.

Use either of the following methods to move disk groups and virtual disks:

• Hot virtual disk migration—Disk migration with the destination storage array power turned on.

• Cold virtual disk migration—Disk migration with the destination storage array power turned off.

NOTE: To ensure that the migrating disk groups and virtual disks are correctly

recognized when the target storage array has an existing physical disk, use hot virtual disk migration.

When attempting virtual disk migration, follow these recommendations:

• Moving physical disks to the destination array for migration—When inserting drives into the destination storage array during hot virtual disk migration, wait for the inserted physical disk to be displayed in MDSM before inserting the next physical disk.

WARNING: Without the delay between drive insertions, the storage array

can become unstable and manageability is temporarily lost.

• Migrating virtual disks from multiple storage arrays into a single storage array—When migrating virtual disks from multiple or different storage arrays into a single destination storage array, move all of the physical disks from the same storage array as a set into the new destination storage array. Ensure that all of the physical disks from a storage array are migrated to the destination storage array before starting migration from the next storage array.

NOTE: If the drive modules are not moved as a set to the destination storage

array, the newly relocated disk groups might not be accessible.

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• Migrating virtual disks to a storage array with no existing physical disks— Turn off the destination storage array, when migrating disk groups or a complete set of physical disks from a storage array to another storage array that has no existing physical disks. After the destination storage array has been turned on and has successfully recognized the newly migrated physical disks, migration operations can continue.

NOTE: Disk groups from multiple storage arrays should not be migrated at the

same time to a storage array that has no existing physical disks.

• Enabling premium features before migration—Before migrating disk groups and virtual disks, enable the required premium features on the destination storage array. If a disk group is migrated from a MD3200 storage array that has a premium feature enabled and the destination array does not have this feature enabled, an can be generated.

Out of Compliance

error message

Disk Roaming

You can move physical disks within an array. The RAID controller module automatically recognizes the relocated physical disks and logically places them in the proper virtual disks that are part of the disk group. Disk roaming is permitted when the RAID controller module is either online or powered off.

NOTE: The disk group must be exported before moving the physical disks.

Advanced Features

The RAID enclosure supports several advanced features:

• Virtual Disk Snapshots

•Virtual Disk Copy

• High Performance Tier

NOTE: Virtual Disk Snapshot, Virtual Disk Copy, and High Performance Tier are

premium features that must be activated separately. If you have purchased these features, an activation card is supplied that contains instructions for enabling this functionality.

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Host Server-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

The host server attached to a storage array accesses various virtual disks on the storage array through its host ports. Specific virtual disk-to-LUN mappings to an individual host server can be defined. In addition, the host server can be part of a host group that shares access to one or more virtual disks.

You can manually configure a host server-to-virtual disk mapping. When you configure host server-to-virtual disk mapping, consider these guidelines:

• You can define one host server-to-virtual disk mapping for each virtual disk in the storage array.

• Host server-to-virtual disk mappings are shared between RAID controller modules in the storage array.

• A unique LUN must be used by a host group or host server to access a virtual disk.

• Not every operating system has the same number of LUNs available for use.

Host Types

A host server is a server that accesses a storage array. Host servers are mapped to the virtual disks. Host servers have the following attributes:

• Host name—A name that uniquely identifies the host server.

• Host group (used in Cluster solutions only)—Two or more host servers associated together to share access to the same virtual disks.

This host group is a logical entity you can create in MDSM. All host servers in a host group must be running the same operating system.

• Host type—The operating system running on the host server.

Snapshot Virtual Disks

A snapshot is a point-in-time image of a virtual disk. The snapshot provides an image of the virtual disk at the time the snapshot was created. You create a snapshot so that an application (for example, a backup application) can access the snapshot and read the data while the source virtual disk remains

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online and user-accessible. When the backup is completed, the snapshot virtual disk is no longer needed. You can create up to four snapshots per virtual disk.

Snapshots are used to recover previous versions of files that have changed since the snapshot was taken. Snapshots are implemented using a copy-onwrite algorithm, which makes a backup copy of data the instant an error occurs. Data on a virtual disk is copied to the snapshot repository before it is modified. Snapshots are instantaneous and take up less overhead than a full physical copy process.

Snapshot Repository Virtual Disk

When you create a snapshot virtual disk, it automatically creates a snapshot repository virtual disk. A snapshot repository is a virtual disk created in the storage array as a resource for a snapshot virtual disk. A snapshot repository virtual disk contains snapshot virtual disk metadata and copy-on-write data for a particular snapshot virtual disk. The repository supports one snapshot only.

You cannot select a snapshot repository virtual disk as a source virtual disk or as a target virtual disk in a virtual disk copy. If you select a Snapshot source virtual disk as the target virtual disk of a virtual disk copy, you must disable all snapshot virtual disks associated with the source virtual disk.

CAUTION: Before using the Snapshot Virtual Disks Premium Feature in a

Windows cluster node that owns the source virtual disk. This ensures that the cluster nodes correctly recognize the snapshot virtual disk.

Clustered configuration, you must map the snapshot virtual disk to the

Mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the node that does not own the source virtual disk before the snapshot enabling process is completed can result in the operating system incorrectly identifying the snapshot virtual disk. This can result in data loss or an inaccessible snapshot.

For details on mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the secondary node, refer to the Dell™ PowerVault™ MD3200 and MD3220 Storage Arrays With Microsoft® Windows Server® Failover Clusters on support.dell.com/manuals.

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Virtual Disk Copy

Virtual disk copy is a premium feature you can use to:

•Back up data

• Copy data from disk groups that use smaller-capacity physical disks to disk groups using greater capacity physical disks

• Restore snapshot virtual disk data to the source virtual disk.

Virtual disk copy generates a full copy of data from the source virtual disk to the target virtual disk in a storage array.

Source Virtual Disk

When you create a virtual disk copy, a copy pair consisting of a source virtual disk and a target virtual disk is created on the same storage array. When a virtual disk copy is started, data from the source virtual disk is copied completely to the target virtual disk.

Target Virtual Disk

When you start a virtual disk copy, the target virtual disk maintains a copy of the data from the source virtual disk. You can choose whether to use an existing virtual disk or create a new virtual disk as the target virtual disk. If you choose an existing virtual disk as the target, all data on the target is overwritten. A target virtual disk can be a standard virtual disk or the source virtual disk of a failed or disabled snapshot virtual disk.

NOTE: The target virtual disk capacity must be equal to or greater than the source

virtual disk capacity.

When you begin the disk copy process, you must define the rate at which the copy is completed. Giving the copy process top priority slightly impacts I/O performance, while giving it lowest priority makes the copy process longer to complete. You can modify the copy priority while the disk copy is in progress.

For more information, see the online help topics.

Virtual Disk Recovery

You can use the Edit host server-to-virtual disk mappings feature to recover data from the backup virtual disk. This functionality enables you to unmap the original source virtual disk from its host server, then map the backup virtual disk to the same host server.

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Ensure that you record the LUN used to provide access to the source virtual disk. You need this information when you define a host server-to-virtual disk mapping for the target (backup) virtual disk. Also, be sure to stop all I/O activity to the source virtual disk before beginning the virtual disk recovery procedure.

Using Snapshot and Disk Copy Together

You can use the Snapshot Virtual Disk and Virtual Disk Copy premium features together to back up data on the same storage array, or to restore the data on the snapshot virtual disk to its original source virtual disk.

You can copy data from a virtual disk in one of two ways:

• By taking a point-in-time snapshot of the data

• By copying the data to another virtual disk using a virtual disk copy

You can select a snapshot virtual disk as the source virtual disk for a virtual disk copy. This configuration is one of the best ways you can apply the snapshot virtual disk feature, since it enables complete backups without any impact to the storage array I/O.

You cannot use a snapshot repository virtual disk as a source virtual disk or as a target virtual disk in a virtual disk copy. If you select the source virtual disk as the target virtual disk of a virtual disk copy, you must disable all snapshot virtual disks associated with the source virtual disk.

Multi-Path Software

Multi-path software (also referred to as the failover driver) is software resident on the host server that provides management of the redundant data path between the host server and the storage array.

The multi-path software identifies the existence of multiple paths to a virtual disk and establishes a preferred path to that disk. If any component in the preferred path fails, the multi-path software automatically re-routes I/O requests to the alternate path so that the storage array continues to operate without interruption.

NOTE: Multi-path software available on the MD3200 series resource media.

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Preferred and Alternate Controllers and Paths

A preferred controller is a RAID controller module designated as the owner of a virtual disk or disk group. The preferred controller is automatically selected by MDSM when a virtual disk is created. You can change the preferred RAID controller module owner of a virtual disk after it is created. If a host is only connected to only one RAID controller module, the preferred owner must manually be assigned to the RAID controller module the host can access.

Ownership of a virtual disk is moved from the preferred controller to the secondary controller (also called the alternate controller) when the preferred controller is:

• Physically removed

• Updating firmware

• Involved in an event that caused failover to the alternate controller

Paths used by the preferred RAID controller module to access either the disks or the host server are called the preferred paths; redundant paths are called the alternate paths. If a failure causes the preferred path to become inaccessible, the storage array automatically uses the alternate path to access data, when this occurs the enclosure status LED blinks amber.

Virtual Disk Ownership

MDSM can be used to automatically build and view virtual disks. It uses optimal settings to stripe the disk group. Virtual disks are assigned to alternating RAID controller modules when they are created. This default assignation provides a simple means for load balancing the workload of the RAID controller modules.

Ownership can later be modified to balance workload according to actual usage. If virtual disk ownership is not manually balanced, it is possible for one controller to have the majority of the work, while the other controller is idle. Limit the number of virtual disks in a disk group. If multiple virtual disks are in a disk group, consider:

• The impact each virtual disk has on other virtual disks in the same disk group.

• The patterns of usage for each virtual disk.

• Different virtual disks have higher usage at different times of day.

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Load Balancing

A load balance policy is used to determine which path is used to process I/O. Multiple options for setting the load balance policies lets you optimize I/O performance when mixed host interfaces are configured.

You can choose one of these load balance policies to optimize I/O performance:

• Round robin with subset—The round robin with subset I/O load balance policy routes I/O requests, in rotation, to each available data path to the RAID controller module that owns the virtual disks. This policy treats all paths to the RAID controller module that owns the virtual disk equally for I/O activity. Paths to the secondary RAID controller module are ignored until ownership changes. The basic assumption for the round-robin policy is that the data paths are equal. With mixed host support, the data paths might have different bandwidths or different data transfer speeds.

• Least queue depth with subset—The least queue depth with subset policy is also known as the least I/Os or least requests policy. This policy routes the next I/O request to a data path that has the least outstanding I/O requests queued. For this policy, an I/O request is simply a command in the queue. The type of command or the number of blocks that are associated with the command are not considered.The least queue depth with subset policy treats large block requests and small block requests equally. The data path selected is one of the paths in the path group of the RAID controller module that owns the virtual disk.

• Least path weight with subset (Windows operating systems only)—The least queue depth with subset policy is also known as the least I/Os or least requests policy. This policy routes the next I/O request to a data path that has the least outstanding I/O requests queued. For this policy, an I/O request is simply a command in the queue. The type of command or the number of blocks that are associated with the command are not considered. The least queue depth with subset policy treats large block requests and small block requests equally. The data path selected is one of the paths in the path group of the RAID controller module that owns the virtual disk.

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Monitoring MD3200 Series System Performance

You can use the Performance Monitor to select virtual disks and RAID controller modules to monitor or to change the polling interval. Keep these guidelines in mind when using the Performance Monitor:

• The Performance Monitor does not dynamically update its display if any configuration changes occur while the window is open. You must close the Performance Monitor window and reopen it for the changes to appear.

• Using the Performance Monitor to retrieve performance data can affect the normal storage array performance depending on the polling interval that you set.

• If the storage array you are monitoring begins in or transitions to an unresponsive state, an informational dialog appears. The dialog informs you that the Performance Monitor cannot poll the storage array for performance data.

To monitor the performance of the arrays:

Open MDSM and select the appropriate storage array.

Open the Array Management Window (AMW) for the selected storage array

In the AMW, select

Click

Settings

Select the items that you want to monitor. You can monitor:

• RAID controller modules

•Virtual disks

• Storage array totals

Storage Array Monitor Performance

NOTE: By default, all items are selected.

Polling interval

performance statistics.

NOTE: For an accurate elapsed time, do not use the Set RAID Controller

Module Clocks option while using the Performance Monitor.

Each time the polling interval elapses, the Performance Monitor queries the storage array again and updates the statistics in the table.

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, select how often you want to update the

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Click

Start

Values appear for the selected storage arrays in the Performance Monitor data table. The table is updated at the interval specified in the Polling Interval setting.

Click

Update

Stop

Save As

to force an immediate poll of the storage array.

to stop monitoring the storage array.

on the Performance Monitor main dialog to save the

currently displayed performance statistics.

Select an appropriate directory.

Type a file name in the

NOTE: The .perf extension is the default.

Select a file type from the Files of type list.

•Use the

Report format

File name

text box.

(ASCII text) file type if you want to save the

data to a report form for viewing or printing.

•Use the

Comma Delimited Format

file type if you want to save the data in a form that can be imported into a commercial spreadsheet application for further analysis. Most leading commercial spreadsheet applications recognize a comma delimiter. These applications use the delimiter to import the data into spreadsheet cells.

Click

Save

The Performance Monitor data provides information about how your storage array is performing. The data is presented in eight columns, which are described in this table. Use this data to make performance tuning decisions for your storage array.

Table 4-3. Performance Monitor Table Description

Column Headings Description

Devices Controller, virtual disk or storage array total.

Total IOs Cumulative IO’s per second from last start time.

Read Percentage Percentage of cumulative IO’s that are READs.

Cache Hit Percentage Percentage of cumulative IO’s that are in-cache.

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Table 4-3. Performance Monitor Table Description

Column Headings Description

Current KB/second Snapshot of throughput value per second (1KB = 1024

bytes).

Maximum KB/second Maximum recorded throughput value from last start time.

Current IO/second Snapshot of IO’s per second (IOP = Input/output per

second or one completed I/O transaction).

Maximum IO/second Maximum recorded IOP from last start time.

For more information, see the online help topics.

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Configuration: Overview

Dell™ PowerVault™ Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) online help contains information on the how to use the MDSM application to perform the configuration and management tasks described in this document. You can access online help by selecting Help located at the top right corner of MDSM interface. See the MD3200 and MD3220 Storage Array’s Deployment Guide Deployment Guide for information on installing the MDSM.

NOTE: MDSM supports MD3000 and MD3200 storage arrays and can automatically

detect both these storage arrays.

User Interface

The Storage Manager screen is divided into two primary windows:

• Enterprise Management Window (EMW)—The EMW provides highlevel management of the storage arrays. You can launch the Array Management Window from the EMW.

• Array Management Window (AMW)—The AMW provides management functions for a single storage array. You can launch more than one AMW at the same time to manage different storage arrays.

The EMW and the AMW consist of the following:

• The title bar at the top of the window shows the name of the application.

• Beneath the title bar, is the menu bar. You can select menu options from the menu bar to perform tasks on a storage array.

• Beneath the menu bar, is the toolbar. You can select options in the toolbar to perform tasks on a storage array.

• Beneath the toolbar, are the tabs. Tabs are used to group the tasks that you can perform on a storage array.

• Beneath the tabs, is the status bar. The status bar shows status messages and status icons related to the storage array.

NOTE: By default, the toolbar and status bar do not appear. To view the toolbar or

the status bar, select ViewToolbar or View Status Bar, respectively.

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Enterprise Management Window

The EMW provides high-level management of storage arrays. When you start MDSM, the EMW opens. The EMW has these tabs:

•

Devices

•

Setup

storage arrays and configuring alerts.

The Devices tab has a Tree view on the left side of the window that shows discovered storage arrays, unidentified storage arrays, and the status conditions for the storage arrays. Discovered storage arrays are managed by MDSM. Unidentified storage arrays are available to MDSM but not configured for management. The right side of the Devices tab has a Table view that shows detailed information for each storage array.

In the EMW, you can:

• Discover hosts and managed storage arrays on the local sub-network.

• Manually add and remove hosts and storage arrays.

• Locate the storage arrays.

• Name or Rename discovered storage arrays.

• Add storage array comments to the Table view.

• Sort rows in the Table view according to different criteria.

• Store your EMW view preferences and configuration data in local configuration files. The next time you open the EMW, data from the local configuration files is used to show customized view and preferences.

• Monitor the status of managed storage arrays and indicate status using appropriate icons.

• Add or remove management connections.

• Configure alert notifications for all selected storage arrays through e-mail or SNMP traps.

• Report critical events to the configured alert destinations.

• Launch the AMW for a selected storage array.

• Run a script to perform batch management tasks on specific storage arrays.

• Import the operating system theme settings into the MDSM.

• Upgrade firmware on multiple storage arrays concurrently.

tab—Provides information about the storage arrays.

tab—Presents the initial setup tasks that guide you through adding

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Inheriting the System Settings

Use the Inherit System Settings option to import the operating system theme settings into the MDSM. Importing system theme settings affects such features as font type, font size, color, and contrast in the MDSM.

Open the Inherit System Settings window in one of these ways:

• Select

• Select the Setup tab, and click

Select

Click OK.

Tools

Inherit System Settings

Inherit system settings for color and font

Array Management Window

You can launch the AMW from the EMW. The AMW provides management functions for a single storage array. You can have multiple AMWs open simultaneously to manage different storage arrays.

To launch the AMW:

In the

EMW

, on the

The context menu for the selected storage is displayed.

In the context menu, select

The AMW for the selected storage is displayed.

The AMW has the following tabs:

• Summary tab—You can view the following information about the storage array:

• Status

• Hardware components

• Capacity

•Hosts and Mappings

• Storage partitions

• Disk groups and virtual disks

• Logical tab—You can view the organization of the storage array by virtual disks, disk groups, free capacity nodes, and any unconfigured capacity for the storage array.

Devices

tab, double click on the relevant storage array.

Manage Storage Array.

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• Physical tab—You can view the organization of the storage array by RAID controller modules, physical disks, and other hardware components.

• Mappings tab—You can define the hosts, host groups, and host ports. You can change the mappings to grant virtual disk access to host groups and hosts and create storage partitions.

• Setup tab—You can complete the initial setup tasks to configure the storage array.

• Support—You can complete common support tasks like downloading RAID controller module firmware, viewing the online help, and so on.

In the AMW, you can:

• Provide storage array options, for example, renaming a storage array, changing a password, or enabling a background media scan.

• Provide the ability to configure virtual disks from the storage array capacity, define hosts and host groups, and grant host or host group access to sets of virtual disks called storage partitions.

• Monitor the health of storage array components and report detailed status using applicable icons.

• Provide applicable recovery procedures for a failed logical component or a failed hardware component.

• Present a view of the Event Log for the storage array.

• Present profile information about hardware components, such as RAID controller modules and physical disks.

• Provide RAID controller module management options, such as changing ownership of virtual disks or placing a RAID controller module online or offline.

• Provide physical disk management options, such as assignment of hot spares and locating the physical disk.

• Monitor storage array performance.

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Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Out-of-Band and In-Band Management

You can manage a storage array in two ways:

• Out-of-band management

• In-band management

Out-of-Band Management

Using the out-of-band management method, data is separate from commands and events. Data travels through the host-to-controller interface, while commands and events travel through the management port Ethernet cables.

This management method lets you configure the maximum number of virtual disks that are supported by your operating system and host adapters. A maximum of eight storage management stations can concurrently monitor an out-of-band managed storage array. This limit does not apply to systems that manage the storage array through the in-band management method.

When you use out-of-band management, you must set the network configuration for each RAID controller module’s management Ethernet port. This includes the Internet Protocol (IP) address, subnetwork mask (subnet mask), and gateway. If you are using a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, you can enable automatic network configuration, but if you are not using a DHCP server, you must enter the network configuration manually.

NOTE: RAID controller module network configurations can be assigned using a

DHCP server (the default setting). However, if a DHCP server is not available for 150 seconds, the RAID controller modules assign static IP addresses. The addresses assigned are 192.168.128.101 for controller 0 and 192.168.128.102 for controller 1.

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In-Band Management

Using in-band management, commands, events, and data travel through the host-to-controller interface. Unlike out-of-band management, commands and events are mixed with data.

NOTE: For detailed information on setting up in-band and out-of-band management

see the

Deployment Guide

When you add storage arrays by using this management method, you need to specify only the host name or IP address of the host. After you add the specific host name or IP address, the host-agent software automatically detects any storage arrays that are connected to that host.

CAUTION: Some operating systems can be used only as storage management

stations. For more information about the operating system that you are using, refer to the MD PowerVault Support Matrix at support.dell.com/manuals.

For more information, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics.

Access Virtual Disk

Each RAID controller module in an MD3200 Series storage array maintains a special virtual disk, called the access virtual disk. The host-agent software uses the access virtual disk to communicate management requests and event information between the storage management station and the RAID controller module in an in-band–managed storage array. The access virtual disk is not available for application data storage. The default LUN is 31.

Storage Arrays

You must add the storage arrays to MDSM before you can setup the storage array for optimal use.

Adding Storage Arrays

You can add storage arrays only in the EMW. You can:

• Automatically discover storage arrays

• Manually add storage arrays

NOTE: Verify that your host or management station network configuration—

including station IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway—is correct before adding a new storage array using the Automatic option.

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NOTE: For Linux, set the default gateway so that broadcast packets are sent to

255.255.255.0. For Red Hat® Enterprise Linux®, if no gateway exists on the network, set the default gateway to the IP address of the NIC.

NOTE: MDSM uses TCP/UDP port 2463 for communication to the MD Storage

Array.

Automatic Discovery of Storage Arrays

The Automatic Discovery process sends out a broadcast message across the local subnetwork (subnet) and adds any storage array that responds to the message. The Automatic Discovery process finds both in-band and out-ofband storage arrays.

NOTE: The Automatic Discovery option and the Re-scan Hosts option in the

Enterprise Management Window provide automatic methods for discovering managed storage arrays.

Manual Addition of a Storage Array

Use Manual Addition if the storage array resides outside of the local subnet. This process requires specific identification information to manually add a storage array.

To add a storage array that uses out-of-band management, specify the host name or management port IP address of each controller in the storage array.

Before using this option, verify that the applicable network configuration tasks have been performed.

To add an in-band storage array, add the host through which the storage array is attached to the network.

NOTE: It can take several minutes for MDSM to connect to the specified storage

array.

To add a storage array manually:

Select

Edit

Select the relevant management method:

Out-of-band management

• the

•

In-band management

Add Storage Array

—Enter a host name or an IP address for

RAID controller Modules

—Enter a name or an IP address for the

in the storage array.

through which the storage array is attached to the network.

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 65

Host

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NOTE: The host agent must be restarted before in-band management

communication can be established. See "Starting or Restarting the Host Context Agent Software" on page 239.

Click

Add

Use one of these methods to name a storage array:

• In the EMW, select the

Arrays

• In the AMW, select the

Setup

tab, and select

Setup

tab, and select

Name/Rename Storage

Rename Storage Array

• In the EMW right-click the icon corresponding to the array and select

Rename

Setting Up Your Storage Array

A list of initial setup tasks is displayed on the Setup tab in the AMW. The list of initial setup tasks shows you how to set up a storage array. Using the steps outlined in the Initial Setup Tasks Area, ensures that the basic setup steps are completed properly.

Use the Initial Setup Tasks list the first time that you set up a storage array to perform these tasks:

• Locate the storage array—Find the physical location of the storage array on your network by turning on the unit identify LEDs. The storage array can be identified with a label.

• Give a new name to the storage array—Use a unique name that identifies each storage array.

• Set a storage array password—Configure the storage array with a password to protect it from unauthorized access. MDSM prompts for the password when an attempt is made to change the storage array configuration, such as when a virtual disk is created or deleted.

• Configure the storage array—Create disk groups, virtual disks, and hot spare physical disks by using the Automatic configuration method or the Manual configuration method. For more information, see the

Modular Disk Storage Manager online help

topics.

• Map Virtual Disks—Map virtual disks to hosts or host groups.

Pow erVaul t

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• Save Configuration—Save the configuration parameters in a file that you can use to restore the configuration, or reuse the configuration on another storage array. For more information, see the

Storage Manager online help

topics.

PowerVault Modular Disk

After you complete the basic steps for configuring the storage array, you can perform these optional tasks:

• Manually define hosts—Define the hosts and the host port identifiers that are connected to the storage array. Use this option only if the host is not automatically recognized and shown in the Mappings tab.

• Configure ethernet management ports—Configure the network parameters for the Ethernet management ports on the RAID controller modules if you are managing the storage array by using the out-of-band management connections.

• View and enable premium features—Your MDSM might include premium features. View the premium features that are available and the premium features that are already started. You can start available premium features that are currently stopped.

Locating Storage Arrays

You can use the Blink option to physically locate and identify a storage array.

NOTE: If the LEDs from the Blink Storage Array operation do not stop blinking,

select Stop All Indications to stop the process manually.

To locate the storage array:

Select the relevant storage array and:

• In the EMW, right-click the appropriate storage array, and select

Storage Array

• In the AMW, select the

• In the AMW, select

Setup

tab, click

Blink Storage Array

Storage ArrayBlinkStorage Array

The LEDs blink on the physical disks in the storage array.

Blink

After locating the storage array, click OK.

The LEDs stop blinking.

If the LEDs do not stop blinking, select

Indications

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 67

Storage ArrayBlink Stop All

Page 68

A confirmation message is displayed.

Click OK.

Naming or Renaming Storage Arrays

Each storage array should be assigned a unique up to 30-character alphanumeric name. A name can consist of letters, numbers, and the special characters underscore (_), dash (–), and pound sign (#). No other special characters are allowed.

To rename a selected storage array:

Perform one of these actions:

• In the AMW

•In the EMW

•In the EMW icon and select

The

Name/Rename Storage Arrays

Select the relevant storage array from the

If you do not know the name or physical location of the storage array, click

Blink

. After locating the storage array, click OK to turn off the LEDs.

Setup

tab, select Rename Storage Array.

Devices

tab Tree view, select

tab Table view, select

tab Tree view, right-click on the desired array

Rename.

dialog appears.

Select storage array

Edit Rename.

Edit

Rename.

table.

The name of the storage array appears in the

Storage array name

applicable, add a comment for the storage array in

Click

Apply

A message is displayed warning you about the implications of changing the storage array name.

Click

Yes

The new storage array name appears in the

Repeat step 2 through step 4 to name or rename additional storage arrays.

NOTE: Avoid arbitrary names or names that might lose meaning in the future.

68 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

, type the new name of the storage array. If

Storage array name

Additional comment

Select storage array

table.

Page 69

Setting a Password

You can configure each storage array with a password to protect it from unauthorized access. MDSM prompts for the password when an attempt is made to change the storage array configuration, such as, when a virtual disk is created or deleted. View operations do not change the storage array configuration and do not require a password. You can create a new password or change an existing password.

NOTE: It is recommended that you use a long password with at least 15

alphanumeric characters to increase security.

To set a new password or change an existing password:

Select the relevant storage array and navigate to the AMW for that storage array. See "Array Management Window" on page 61.

The AMW for the selected storage array is displayed.

In the AMW, perform one of these actions:

• Select the storage array in the

Array

 Set Password

• Select the

Setup

tab, and then click

• In the AMW, select the

Pas sword.

The

Set Password

If you are resetting the password, type the

dialog appears.

Logical

pane, and then select

Set a Storage Array Password

tab, right-click and select

Current password

Storage

Set

NOTE: If you are setting the password for the first time, leave the Current

password blank.

Typ e t he

Re-type the new password in

Click OK.

NOTE: You are not prompted for a password when you attempt to change the

storage array configuration in the current management session.

New password

NOTE: The password in Confirm new password and New password must be

exactly the same.

Confirm new password

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 69

Page 70

Password Guidelines

Follow these guidelines when you create a password:

• Use secure passwords for your storage array. A password should be easy for you to remember but difficult for others to determine. Consider using numbers or special characters in the place of letters, such as a 1 in the place of the letter I, or the at sign (@) in the place of the letter a.

• For increased protection, use a long password with at least 15 alphanumeric characters. The maximum password length is 30 characters.

• Passwords are case sensitive.

NOTE: You can attempt to enter a password up to ten times before the storage

array enters a lockout state. Before you can try to enter a password again, you must wait 10 minutes for the storage array to reset. To reset the password, press the password reset switch on your RAID controller module, see Figure 3-1.

Viewing Storage Array Connections

You can use the View Connections option to view the expansion enclosures connected to the RAID controller module.

To view the storage array connections:

From the toolbar in AMW, select

The

<Storage Array>:Connections

Click the column name to sort the connections according to your preference.

Click

If you receive an error message for a port, you can use this dialog to identify the components on the port that might have caused the error. By isolating these components, you prevent accidentally disconnecting components that are still in operation, which could cause an interruption in data flow.

Storage Array View

dialog is displayed.

Connections

70 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 71

Adding/Editing a Comment to an Existing Storage Array

A descriptive comment, with an applicable storage array name, is a helpful identification tool. You can add or edit a comment for a storage array in the EMW only.

To add or edit a comment:

In the EMW, select the storage array.

Select

Edit

The

Edit Comment

Type the 60-character comment.

Click OK.

This option updates the comment in the table view and saves it in your local storage management station file system. The comment does not appear to administrators who are using other storage management stations.

Comment

Devices

dialog is displayed.

tab and select the relevant managed

Removing Storage Arrays

You can remove a storage array from the list of managed arrays if you no longer want to manage it from a specific storage management station. Removing a storage array does not affect the storage array or its data in any way. Removing a storage array simply removes it from the list of storage arrays that appear in the drop-down list in the Array Selector. If a storage array is accidentally removed, it can be added again. See "Adding Storage Arrays" on page 64.

You can remove the storage array only from the EMW.

To remove the storage array:

In the EMW, select the storage array.

Select

Edit

A message prompts you for a confirmation for the removal of the selected storage array.

Remove

Devices

tab and select the relevant managed

Storage Array

To remove the storage array, click

Yes

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 71

Page 72

Enabling Premium Features

You can enable premium features on the storage array. To enable the premium features, you must obtain a feature key file specific to the premium feature that you want to enable from your storage supplier.

To enable premium features:

From the toolbar in AMW, select

The

Premium Features and Feature Pack Information

displayed.

Select the relevant premium feature, and click

The

Select Feature Key File

Navigate to the relevant folder, select the appropriate key file, and click

Click

For more information, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics.

Storage Array Premium Features

window is

Enable

dialog is displayed.

Failover Alert Display

You can change the failover alert delay for a storage array. The failover alert delay lets you delay the logging of a critical event if the multi-path driver transfers virtual disks to the non-preferred controller. If the multi-path driver transfers the virtual disks back to the preferred controller within the specified delay period, a critical event is not logged. If the transfer exceeds this delay period, then a virtual disk-not-on-preferred-path alert is issued as a critical event. You can also use this option to minimize multiple alerts when more than one virtual disk fails over because of a system error, such as a failed host adapter.

For more information, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics.

72 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 73

Changing the Cache Settings on the Storage Array

To change the storage array cache settings:

In the AMW, select

The

Change Cache Settings

Select or enter the percentage of unwritten data in the cache to trigger a cache flush in

Select or enter the percentage of unwritten data in the cache to stop a cache flush in progress in

Select the appropriate

A smaller cache size is a good choice for file-system use or databaseapplication use. A larger cache size is a good choice for applications that generate sequential I/O, such as multimedia.

In the

Enter Password

array, and click

Storage Array

Start flushing

Stop flushing

Cache block size

dialog, type the current password for the storage

Change

window is displayed.

Cache Settings

Changing Expansion Enclosure ID Number

When an MD1200 series expansion enclosure is connected to an MD3200 series storage array for the first time, an enclosure ID number is assigned and maintained by the expansion enclosure. This enclosure ID number is also shown in the MDSM.

To change the enclosure ID numbers:

In the AMW, select the storage array, and select

Change

Select a new enclosure ID number from the

The enclosure ID must be between 0 and 99 (inclusive).

Enclosure ID

Storage Array

Change Enclosure ID

list.

To save the changed enclosure ID, click

Change

Changing the Enclosure Order in the Physical Pane

You can change the order of the RAID controller modules and the expansion enclosures in the Physical pane to match the hardware configuration in your storage array. The Physical pane that initially appears is a default view that may not match your storage array. The enclosure order change remains in effect until it is modified again.

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 73

Page 74

To change the enclosure order in the physical pane:

In the AMW, select

From the enclosures list, select the enclosure you want to move and click either

Click OK.

If you have set a password for the selected storage array, the

Password

Click OK.

dialog appears. Type the current password for the storage array.

Storage Array

Down

to move the enclosure to the new position.

Change

Enclosure Order

Enter

Configuring Alert Notifications

MDSM can send an alert for any condition on the storage array that requires your attention. Alerts can be sent as e-mail messages or as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) trap messages.

You can configure alert notifications either for all the storage arrays or a single storage array.

To configure alert notifications for all storage arrays:

In the EMW, select the

Select

Configure Alerts

The

Configure Alerts

Select

All storage arrays

Click OK.

The

Configure Alerts

"Configuring E-mail Alerts" on page 75. To configure SNMP alerts, see "Configuring SNMP Alerts" on page 77.

Setup

tab.

dialog is displayed.

dialog is displayed. To configure e-mail alerts, see

To configure alert notifications for a single storage array:

In the EMW, select the

Select the relevant storage array, then select

The

Configure Alerts

"Configuring E-mail Alerts" on page 75. To configure SNMP alerts, see "Configuring SNMP Alerts" on page 77.

74 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Devices

dialog is displayed. To configure e-mail alerts, see

tab.

EditConfigure Alerts

Page 75

Configuring E-mail Alerts

For more information on configuring alert notifications, see "Configuring Alert Notifications" on page 74.

To configure e-mail alerts:

Open the

• In the Tree view or the Table view on the

• In the Setup tab in the EMW, select Configure Alerts. Go to step 2.

Select one of the following radio buttons to specify an alert level:

• All storage arrays—Select this option to send an alert e-mail about

• An individual storage array—Select this option to send an alert e-mail

These results occur, depending on your selection:

Configure Alerts

select a node, and then select

events on all storage arrays.

about events that occur on only a specified storage array.

dialog by performing one of these actions:

Edit

Configure Alerts

Devices

tab in the EMW,

. Go to step 3.

• If you selected all storage arrays, the

• If you selected An individual storage array, the dialog appears. Select the storage array for which you want to receive e-mail alerts and click

• If you do not know which storage array to select, click the LEDs of the storage array.

In the

Configure Alerts

Mail server

(SMTP) mail server.

The SMTP mail server is the name of the mail server that forwards the alert e-mails to the configured e-mail addresses.

Email sender address

address.

The e-mail address of the sender (the network administrator) appears on each e-mail alert sent to the destination.

To include the contact information of the sender in the e-mail alert, select

Include contact information with the alerts

information.

, type the name of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

. The

dialog, select the

, type the e-mail sender address. Use a valid e-mail

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 75

Configure Alerts

Select Storage Array

Configure Alerts

Mail Server

, and type the contact

dialog appears.

Blink

to turn on

tab.

Page 76

NOTE: Including the contact information in the e-mail alert is optional.

Select the

• Adding an e-mail address—In

• Replacing an e-mail address—In the

e-mail

and click

tab to configure the e-mail destinations.

Add

e-mail address

, type the e-mail address,

Configured E-mail addresses

area, select the e-mail address to be replaced, type the replacement email address in

• Deleting an e-mail address—In the select the e-mail address, and click

• Validating an e-mail address—Type the e-mail address in

address

or select the e-mail address in the

addresses

E-mail address

area, and click

, and click

Replace

Configured E-mail addresses Delete

Configured E-mail

Te st

. A test e-mail is sent to the selected email address. A dialog with the results of the test and any error appears.

For the selected e-mail address, in

•

Event Only

—The alert e-mail contains only the event information.

Information To Send

, select:

This alert type is the default.

•

Event + Profile

—The alert e-mail contains the event information and

the storage array profile.

•

Event + Support

—The alert e-mail contains the event information and a compressed file that contains complete support information for the storage array that has generated the alert.

For the selected e-mail address, in

Every event

•

—Sends an alert e-mail whenever an event occurs. This is

Frequency

, select:

the default option.

•

Every x hours

—Sends an alert e-mail after the specified time interval

if an event occurred during that time interval. You can select this

option only if you have selected either

Support

in the

Information To Send

Click OK.

Event + Profile

drop down list.

An alert icon appears next to each node in the Tree view where an alert is set.

area,

Event +

To ensure that the e-mail is sent successfully:

76 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 77

• You must provide a SMTP mail server name and an e-mail sender address for the e-mail addresses to work.

• The e-mail addresses that you had previously configured appear in the Configured e-mail addresses area.

• You must use fully qualified e-mail addresses, for example, [email protected].

• You can configure multiple e-mail addresses before you click

Configuring SNMP Alerts

To add a management console to the list of addresses configured to receive SNMP alerts:

Open the

• In the Tree view or the Table view on the Devices tab in the EMW,

• In the Setup tab in the EMW, select Configure Alerts. Go to step 2.

Select one of the following radio buttons to specify an alert level:

• All storage arrays—Select this option to send an alert notification

• An individual storage array—Select this option to send an alert

These results occur, depending on your selection:

Configure Alerts

select a node, and select

dialog by performing one of these actions:

Edit

Configure Alerts

. Go to step 3.

about events on all storage arrays.

notification about events that occur in only a specified storage array.

• If you selected All storage arrays, the

• If you selected An individual storage array, the

Configure Alerts

Select Storage Array

dialog appears. Select the storage array for which you want to receive alert notifications and click

NOTE: If you do not know which storage array to select, click Blink to turn on

the LEDs of the storage array.

Select the

SNMP

tab to configure the SNMP alert destinations.

• Adding an SNMP address—In

community name. In click

Add

. The

Configure Alerts

Community name

Trap dest inat ion

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 77

, type the trap destination, and

, type the

dialog appears.

Page 78

NOTE: The community name is an American Standard Code for Information

Interchange (ASCII) string that identifies a known set of network management stations and is set by the network administrator. The default community name is the string “public”.The trap destination is the IP address or the host name of a computer running an SNMP management application. An example of a SNMP enabled management application is the Dell Management Console. Please see dell.com for more information on the Dell Management Console.

• Replacing an SNMP address—Select the SNMP address in the

Configured SNMP addresses

name in

destination

Community name

, and click

area, type the replacement community

and the trap destination in

Replace

Tr ap

• Deleting an SNMP address—Select the SNMP address in the

Configured SNMP addresses

area, and click

Delete

• Validating an SNMP address—Select the SNMP address in the

Configured SNMP addresses

area, and click

Te st

. A test message is sent to the SNMP address. A message box with the results of the validation and any error information appears.

Click OK.

An alert icon appears next to each node in the Tree view for which an alert is set.

Follow these guideline for SNMP alerts:

• Any SNMP addresses that you had previously configured appear in the Configured SNMP addresses area.

• The SNMP Community Name is determined by the system administrator and configured within the a management application, such as the Dell Management Console. More information about the Dell Management Console is available at

• You can configure multiple SNMP addresses before you click

dell.com

Battery Settings

A smart battery backup unit (BBU) can perform a learn cycle. The smart BBU module includes the battery, a battery gas gauge, and a battery charger. The learn cycle calibrates the smart battery gas gauge so that it provides a measurement of the charge of the battery module. A learn cycle can only start when the battery is fully charged.

78 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 79

The learn cycle completes the following operations:

• Discharges the battery to a predetermined threshold

• Charges the battery back to full capacity

A learn cycle starts automatically when you install a new battery module. Learn cycles for batteries in both RAID controller modules in a duplex system occur simultaneously.

Learn cycles are scheduled to start automatically at regular intervals, at the same time and on the same day of the week. The interval between cycles is described in weeks.

Use the following guidelines to adjust the interval:

• You can use the default interval.

• You can run a learn cycle at any time.

• You can set the learn cycle earlier than the currently scheduled time.

• You cannot set the learn cycle to start more than seven days later than the currently scheduled time.

To change the battery settings perform these steps:

In the AMW, select

The

Battery Settings

Battery location

Check these details about the battery:

• Battery status

• Battery age

• Days until replacement

For more information, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics.

Storage ArrayChange

dialog opens.

, select a battery.

Battery Settings

Setting the Storage Array RAID Controller Module Clocks

You can use the Synchronize RAID Controller Module Clocks option to synchronize the storage array RAID controller module clocks with the storage management station. This option makes sure that the event timestamps

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 79

Page 80

written by the RAID controller modules to the Event Log match the event timestamps written to host log files. The RAID controller modules remain available during synchronization.

To synchronize the RAID controller module clocks with the storage management station:

In the AMW, select

Module Clocks

If a password is set, in the password for the storage array, and click

The RAID controller module clocks are synchronized with the storage management station.

Storage Array

Synchronize RAID Controller

Enter Password

dialog, type the current

Synchronize

80 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 81

Configuration: Event Monitor

An event monitor is provided with Dell™ PowerVault™ Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM). The event monitor runs continuously in the background and monitors activity on the managed storage arrays. If the event monitor detects any critical problems, it can notify a host or remote system using email, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) trap messages, or both.

For the most timely and continuous notification of events, enable the event monitor on a management station that runs 24 hours a day. Enabling the event monitor on multiple systems or having a combination of an event monitor and MDSM active can result in duplicate events, but this does not indicate multiple failures on the array.

The Event Monitor is a background task that runs independently of the Enterprise Managemant Window.

To use the Event Monitor, perform one of these actions:

• Set up alert destinations for the managed device that you want to monitor. A possible alert destination would be the Dell Management Console. More information about the Dell Management Console can be found at

dell.com

• Replicate the alert settings from a particular managed device by copying the want to receive alerts.

Each managed device shows a check mark that indicates that alerts have been set.

emwdata.bin

file to every storage management station from which you

Configuration: Event Monitor 81

Page 82

Enabling or Disabling the Event Monitor

You can enable or disable the event monitor at any time.

Disable the event monitor if you do not want the system to send alert notifications. If you are running the event monitor on multiple systems, disabling the event monitor on all but one system prevents the sending of duplicate messages.

NOTE: It is recommended that you configure the event monitor to start by default

on a management station that runs 24 hours a day.

Windows

To enable or disable the event monitor:

Click

Start Settings Control Panel Administrative Tools

Services

Click

From the list of services, select

Monitor

Select

To enable the event monitor, in the

To disable the event monitor, in the

Start

Action

Administrative Tools

Modular Disk Storage Manager Event

Properties

Service Status

Services

Service Status

area, click

Start

Stop

Linux

To enable the event monitor, at the command prompt, type SMmonitor start and press <Enter>. When the program startup begins, the system

displays the following message:

SMmonitor started.

To disable the event monitor, start terminal emulation application (console ox xterm) and at the command prompt, type SMmonitor stop and press <Enter>. When the program shutdown is complete, the system displays the following message:

Stopping Monitor process.

82 Configuration: Event Monitor

Page 83

Configuration: About Your Host

Configuring Host Access

Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) software is comprised of multiple modules. One of these modules is the Host Context Agent. The host context agent is installed as part of the MDSM installation and runs continuously in the background.

If the host context agent is running on a host, that host and the host ports connected from it to the storage array are automatically detected by MDSM and appear on the Mappings tab in the Array Management Window (AMW). For more information on the Mappings tab, see "Using the Mappings Tab" on page 84.

If the hosts are not detected automatically, you can use the Define Host Wizard to define the hosts that access the virtual disks in the storage array. Defining a host is one of the steps required to let the storage array know which hosts are attached to it and to allow access to the virtual disks. For more information on defining the hosts, see "Defining a Host" on page 84.

To enable the host to write to the storage array, you must map the host to the virtual disk. This mapping grants a host or a host group access to a particular virtual disk or to a number of virtual disks in a storage array. You can define the mappings on the Mappings tab in the Array Management Window (AMW).

On the Summary tab in the AMW, the Hosts & Mappings area indicates how many hosts are configured to access the storage array. You can click Configured Hosts in the Hosts & Mappings area to see the names of the hosts

A collection of elements, such as default host groups, hosts, and host ports, appear as nodes in the To p ol og y pane of the Mappings tab in the AMW.

The host topology is reconfigurable. You can perform the following tasks:

• Create a host and assign an alias or user label.

• Add or associate a new host port identifier to a particular host.

Configuration: About Your Host 83

Page 84

• Change the host port identifier alias or user label.

• Move or associate a host port identifier to a different host.

• Replace a host port identifier with a new host port identifier.

• Manually activate an inactive host port so that the port can gain access to host specific or host group specific LUN mappings.

• Set the host port type to another type.

• Move a host from one host group to another host group.

• Remove a host group, a host, or a host port identifier.

• Rename a host group, or a host.

Using the Mappings Tab

In the mappings tab you can:

• Define hosts and hosts groups

• Add mappings to the selected host groups

For more information, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics.

Defining a Host

You can use the Define Host Wizard in the AMW to define a host for a storage array. Either a known unassociated host port identifier or a new host port identifier can be added.

NOTE: A user label must be specified before the host port identifier may be added

(the add button is disabled until one is entered).

To define a host:

In the AMW, select the array.

Perform one of the actions:

• Select

• Select the

84 Configuration: About Your Host

Mappings Define Host

Setup

Mappings

tab, and click

tab and select the appropriate storage

Manually Define Hosts

Page 85

• Select the name), pane to which you want to add the host, and select

Mappings

tab. Right-click the root node (storage array

Default Group

node, or

Host Group

node in the

Define Host

To po l og y

from the pop-up menu.

The

Specify Host Name

Host name

Select the relevant option in

, enter an up to 30 character alphanumeric name.

the this storage array

The

Specify Host Port Identifier

Select the relevant option to add a host port identifier to the host, you can

window is displayed.

Do you plan to use the storage partitions in

? and click

s window is displayed.

select:

•

Add by selecting a known unassociated host port identifier Known unassociated host port identifiers

, select the relevant host

—In

port identifier.

•

Add by creating a new host port identifier identifier

, enter a 16 character name and an up to 30 character

for the host port identifier and click

NOTE: The host port identifier name must contain only the letters A through F.

Click

The

Specify Host Type

window is displayed.

Add

—In

New host port

Alias

Host

type, select the relevant operating system for the host.

The

Host Group Question

In this window, you can select:

Ye s

•

—this host shares access to the same virtual disks with other hosts.

—this host does NOT share access to the same virtual disks with

window is displayed.

other hosts.

Click

If you select select

Enter the name of the host group or select an existing host group and click

Yes

, see step 11

, the

Specify Host Group

window is displayed. If you

Configuration: About Your Host 85

Page 86

The

Preview

Click

window is displayed.

Finish

Removing Host Access

To remove host access:

In the AMW, select the

To po lo g y

Perform one of these actions:

• Select

• Right-click the host node, and select

The

Ty p e

Click OK.

For more information, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics.

pane.

Mappings Remove

Remove confirmation

yes

Mappings

dialog appears.

tab, select the host node in the

Remove

from the pop-up menu.

Managing Host Groups

A host group is a logical entity of two or more hosts that share access to specific virtual disks on the storage array. You create host groups with MDSM.

All hosts in a host group must have the same host type (operating system). In addition, all hosts in the host group must have special software, such as clustering software, to manage virtual disk sharing and accessibility.

If a host is part of a cluster, every host in the cluster must be connected to the storage array, and every host in the cluster must be added to the host group.

Creating a Host Group

To cre ate h os t gr o ups:

In the AMW, select the

In the

To po l og y

Perform one of the following actions:

• Select

86 Configuration: About Your Host

pane, select the storage array or the

Mappings Define Host Group

Mappings

tab.

Default Group

Page 87

• Right-click the storage array or the

Define Host Group

Type the name of the new host group in

Select the appropriate hosts in the

Click

Add

NOTE: To remove hosts, select the hosts in the Hosts in group area, and click

Remove.

Click OK.

from the pop-up menu.

Default Group,

and select

Enter new host group name

Select hosts to add

area.

The host group is added to the storage array.

Adding a Host to a Host Group

You can add a host to an existing host group or a new host group using the Define Host Wizard. For more information, see "Defining a Host" on page 84.

You can also move a host to a different host group. For more information, see "Moving a Host to a Different Host Group" on page 87.

Removing a Host From a Host Group

You can remove a host from the Topology pane on the Mappings tab of the Array Management Window. For more information, see "Removing a Host Group" on page 88.

Moving a Host to a Different Host Group

To move a host to a different host group:

In the AMW, select the

To po l og y

Perform one of these actions:

• Select

pane.

Mappings Move

• Right-click the host node, and select

The

Move Host

In the

Select host group

dialog appears.

the host.

The

Move Host Confirmation

Mappings

tab, select the host node in the

, select the host group to which you want to move

dialog appears.

Configuration: About Your Host 87

Move

from the pop-up menu.

Page 88

Click

Yes

The host is moved to the selected host group with the following mappings:

• The host retains the specific virtual disk mappings assigned to it.

• The host inherits the virtual disk mappings assigned to the host group to which it is moved.

• The host loses the virtual disk mappings assigned to the host group from which it was moved.

Removing a Host Group

To remove a host group:

In the AMW, select the

To po lo g y

Perform one of these actions:

• Select

• Right-click the host node, and select

The

Click

The selected host group is removed.

For more information, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics.

pane.

Mappings Remove

Remove

dialog is displayed.

Yes

Mappings

tab, select the host node in the

Remove

from the pop-up menu.

Host Topology

Host topology is the organization of hosts, host groups, and host interfaces configured for a storage array. You can view the host topology in the Mappings tab of the AMW. For more information, see "Using the Mappings Tab" on page 84.

The following tasks change the host topology:

• Moving a host or a host connection

• Renaming a host group, a host, or a host connection

• Adding a host connection

• Replacing a host connection

88 Configuration: About Your Host

Page 89

• Changing a host type

MDSM automatically detects these changes for any host running the host agent software.

Starting or Stopping the Host Context Agent

The host context agent discovers the host topology. The host context agent starts and stops with the host. The topology discovered by the host context agent can be viewed by clicking Configure Host Access (Automatic) in the Configure tab in the MDSM.

You must stop and restart the host context agent to see the changes to the host topology if:

• A new storage array is attached to the host server.

• A host is added while turning on power to the RAID controller modules.

Linux

To start or stop the host context agent, enter the following command at the prompt:

SMagent start

SMagent stop

You stop and then restart SMagent after:

• Moving a controller offline or replacing a controller.

• Removing host-to-array connections from or attaching host-to-array connections to a Linux host server.

Windows

To start or stop the host context agent:

Click

Start Settings Control Panel Administrative Tools

Services

Click

Start

From the list of services, select

Administrative Tools

Modular Disk Storage Manager Agent

Services

Configuration: About Your Host 89

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If the host context agent is running, click

Action

Stop

, then wait

approximately 5 seconds.

Click

Action

Start

I/O Data Path Protection

You can have multiple host-to-array connections for a host. Ensure that you select all the connections to the array when configuring host access to the storage array.

NOTE: See the Deployment Guide for more information on cabling configurations.

NOTE: For maximum redundancy, you must select all host connections to the array

when manually defining host topology. For example, a host might have two host connections listed when manually configuring host access. For this host, you would select the two host connections listed in the Available hosts section and add them to the Selected hosts section using the Add button.

NOTE: For more information on configuring hosts see "Configuration: About Your

Host" on page 83.

If a component such as a RAID controller module or a cable fails, or an error occurs on the data path to the preferred RAID controller module, virtual disk ownership is moved to the alternate non preferred RAID controller module for processing. This feature is called failover.

Drivers for multi-path frameworks such as Microsoft Multi-Path IO (MPIO) and Linux Device Mapper (DM) are installed on host systems that access the storage array and provide I/O path failover.

For more information on Linux DM please see "Configuration: Device Mapper Multipath for Linux" on page 167. For more information on MPIO please see microsoft.com.

NOTE: You should have the multi-path driver installed on the hosts at all times,

even in a configuration where there is only one path to the storage system, such as a single port cluster configuration.

During a failover, the virtual disk transfer is logged as a critical event, and an alert notification is sent automatically if you have configured alert destinations for the storage array.

90 Configuration: About Your Host

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Managing Host Port Identifiers

You can manage the host port identifiers that are added to the storage array. You can:

• Add—Add or associate a new host port identifier to a particular host.

• Edit—Change the host port identifier alias or user label. You can move (associate) the host port identifier to a new host.

• Replace—Replace a particular host port identifier with another host port identifier.

• Remove—Remove the association between a particular host port identifier and the associated host.

To manage a host port identifier:

Perform one of these actions:

• Right-click the host in the

Port Identifiers

• From the menu bar, select

Identifiers

The

Manage Host Port Identifiers

manage the host port identifiers for a specific host or all of the host port identifiers for all of the hosts in

with

If you want to manage the host port identifiers for a specific host, select the host from the list of hosts that are associated with the storage array. If you want to manage the host port identifiers for all hosts, select All hosts from the list of hosts that are associated with the storage array.

If you are adding a new host port identifier, go to step 4. If you are managing an existing host port identifier, go to step 8.

Click

Add

Add Host Port Identifier

The

in the pop-up menu.

To po l og y

Mappings Manage Host Port

Show host port identifiers associated

dialog appears.

pane, and select

dialog is displayed. You can choose to

Manage Host

Configuration: About Your Host 91

Page 92

Select the method to add a host port identifier to the host. You can select:

•

Add by selecting a know unassociated host port identifier

the appropriate host port identifier from the existing list of Known unassociated host port identifiers.

•

Add by creating a new host port identifier

identifier, enter the name of the new host port identifier.

User label

Associated with host

Select the host port identifier that you would like to manage from the list of host port identifiers in the Host port identifier information area.

Perform one of these actions for the selected host port identifier:

• To edit the host port identifier—Select the appropriate host port identifier and click update

• To replace the host port identifier—Select the appropriate host port identifier and click appears, replace the current host port identifier with a known unassociated host port identifier or create a new host port identifier, update

• To remove the host port identifier—Select the appropriate host port identifier and click appears, type

For more information, see the

online help

, enter up to 30 character alphanumeric name.

, select the appropriate host or host group.

Edit

, the

Edit Host Port Identifier

User label

topics.

and

Associated with host

Replace

and click

Edit

yes

and click OK.

, the

Replace Host Port Identifier

Replace

, the

Remove Host Port Identifier

PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager

—In New host port

and click

—Select

dialog appears,

Save

dialog

92 Configuration: About Your Host

Page 93

Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks

Creating Disk Groups and Virtual Disks

Disk groups are created in the unconfigured capacity of a storage array, and virtual disks are created in the free capacity of a disk group. The maximum number of physical disks supported in a disk group is 30. The hosts attached to the storage array read and write data to the virtual disks.

NOTE: Before you can create virtual disks, you must first organize the physical

disks into disk groups and configure host access. Then you can create virtual disks within a disk group.

To create a virtual disk, use one of the following methods:

• Create a new disk group from unconfigured capacity. You first define the RAID level and free capacity (available storage space) for the disk group, and then you define the parameters for the first virtual disk in the new disk group.

• Create a new virtual disk in the free capacity of an existing disk group. You only need to specify the parameters for the new virtual disk.

A disk group has a set amount of free capacity that is configured when the disk group is created. You can use that free capacity to subdivide the disk group into one or more virtual disks.

You can create disk groups and virtual disks using:

• Automatic configuration—Provides the fastest method, but with limited configuration options.

• Manual configuration—Provides more configuration options.

When creating a virtual disk, consider the uses for that virtual disk, and select an appropriate capacity for those uses. For example, if a disk group has a virtual disk that stores multimedia files (which tend to be large) and another virtual disk that stores text files (which tend to be small), the multimedia file virtual disk requires more capacity than the text file virtual disk.

Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks 93

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A disk group should be organized according to its related tasks and subtasks. For example, if you create a disk group for the Accounting Department, you can create virtual disks that match the different types of accounting performed in the department: Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP), internal billing, and so forth. In this scenario, the AR and AP virtual disks probably need more capacity than the internal billing virtual disk.

NOTE: In Linux, the host must be rebooted after deleting virtual disks to reset the

/dev entries.

NOTE: Before you can use a virtual disk, you must register the disk with the host

systems. See "Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping" on page 116.

Creating Disk Groups

You can create disk groups using either Automatic configuration or Manual configuration.

To create disk groups using automatic configuration:

To start the Create Disk Group Wizard, perform one of these actions:

• To create a disk group from unconfigured capacity in the storage array—On the and select

Unconfigured Capacity

pop-up menu.

• To create a disk group from unassigned physical disks in the storage array—On the disks of the same physical disk type, and select Alternatively, you can right-click the unassigned physical disks, and select

Create Disk Group

• To create a secure disk group—On the unassigned security capable physical disks of the same physical disk type, and select click the unassigned security capable physical disks, and select

Disk Group

ntroduction (Create Disk Group)

The I

Logical

tab, select an

Disk Group Create

node, and select

Physical

tab, select one or more unassigned physical

from the pop-up menu.

Disk Group Create

from the pop-up menu.

Unconfigured Capacity

node,

. Alternatively, you can right-click the

Create Disk Group

from the

Disk Group Create

Physical

tab, select one or more

. Alternatively, you can right-

Create

window is displayed.

Click

The

Disk Group Name and Physical Disk Selection

94 Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks

window is displayed.

Page 95

Type up to 30-character name of the disk group in

Select the appropriate

•

Automatic

•

Manual

Click

For Automatic configuration, The

, see step 6

, see step 9

Physical Disk selection choices

RAID Level and Capacity

Disk group name

, you can select:

displayed.

Select the appropriate RAID level in

Select RAID level

. You can select

RAID levels 0, 1/10, 6, and 5.

Depending on your RAID level selection, the physical disks available for the selected RAID level is displayed in

In the

Select Capacity

click

Finish

For Manual configuration, The

table, select the relevant disk group capacity, and

Manual Physical Disk Selection

Select capacity

table.

displayed.

Select the appropriate RAID level in

Select RAID level

. You can select

RAID levels 0, 1/10, 6, and 5.

Depending on your RAID level selection, the physical disks available for the selected RAID level is displayed in

In the

Unselected physical disks

disks and click

Add

Unselected physical disks

table, select the appropriate physical

window is

table.

NOTE: You can select multiple physical disks at the same time by holding

<Ctrl> or <Shift> and selecting additional physical disks.

To view the capacity of the new disk group, click

Click

Finish

Calculate Capacity

A message prompts you that the disk group is successfully created and that you should create at least one virtual disk before you can use the capacity of the new disk group. For more information on creating virtual disks, see "Creating Virtual Disks" on page 96.

Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks 95

Page 96

Locating a Disk Group

You can physically locate and identify all of the physical disks that comprise a selected disk group. An LED blinks on each physical disk in the disk group.

To locate a disk group:

In the AMW, select the

Select the appropriate disk group and from the toolbar select

Group

 Blink

The LEDs for the selected disk group blink.

After locating the disk group, click OK.

The LEDs stop blinking.

If the LEDs for the disk group do not stop blinking, from the toolbar in AMW, select

If the LEDs successfully stop blinking, a confirmation message appears.

Click OK.

Storage Array

Logical

tab.

Blink

Stop All Indications

Disk

Creating Virtual Disks

Keep these important guidelines in mind when you create a virtual disk:

• Many hosts can have 256 logical unit numbers (LUNs) mapped per storage partition, but the number varies per operating system.

• After you create one or more virtual disks and assign a mapping, you must register the virtual disk with the operating system. In addition, you must make sure that the host recognizes the mapping between the physical storage array name and the virtual disk name. Depending on the operating system, run the host-based utilities,

• If the storage array contains physical disks with different media types or different interface types, multiple Unconfigured Capacity nodes may appear in the Logical pane of the Logical tab. Each physical disk type has an associated Unconfigured Capacity node if unassigned physical disks are available in the expansion enclosure.

• You cannot create a disk group and subsequent virtual disk from different physical disk technology types. Each physical disk that comprises the disk group must be of the same physical disk type.

hot_add

and

SMdevices

NOTE: Ensure that you create disk groups before creating virtual disks.

96 Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks

Page 97

To create virtual disks:

Choose one of these methods to start the Create Virtual Disk Wizard:

• To create a virtual disk from unconfigured capacity in the storage array—On the and select

Unconfigured Capacity

Logical

tab, select an

Virtual Disk Create

node, and select

Unconfigured Capacity

. Alternatively, you can right-click the

Create Virtual Disk

the pop-up menu.

• To create a virtual disk from free capacity on a disk group—On the

Logical Create

select

tab, select a

Free Capacity

node, and select

. Alternatively, you can right-click the

Create Virtual Disk

from the pop-up menu.

Virtual Disk

Free Capacity

• To create a virtual disk from unassigned physical disks in the storage array—On the disks of the same physical disk type, and select

Physical

tab, select one or more unassigned physical

Virtual Disk Create

Alternatively, you can right-click the unassigned physical disks, and select

Create Virtual Disk

• To create a secure virtual disk—On the

from the pop-up menu.

Physical

tab, select one or more unassigned security capable physical disks of the same physical disk type, and select

Virtual Disk Create

. Alternatively, you can

right-click the unassigned security capable physical disks, and select

Create Virtual Disk

If you chose an

Unconfigured Capacity

to create a virtual disk, the and create a disk group by using the

Create Virtual Disk Wizard

from the pop-up menu.

node or unassigned physical disks

Disk Group Required

dialog appears. Click

Create Disk Group Wizard

appears after you create the disk group.

node,

from

node, and

Yes

. The

If you chose a

Disk)

window is displayed.

Click

Specify Capacity /Name

The

Select the appropriate unit for memory in the virtual disk in

Enter an up to 30 character name for the virtual disk in

Free Capacity

New virtual disk capacity

node, the The

Introduction (Create Virtual

window is displayed.

Units

Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks 97

and enter the capacity of

Virtual disk name

Page 98

Advanced virtual disk parameters

•

Use recommended settings

•

Customize settings

Click

In the

Customize Advanced Virtual Disk Parameters

appropriate Virtual Disk I/O characteristics type. You can select:

• File system (typical)

• Database

•Multimedia

•Custom

NOTE: If you select Custom, you must select an appropriate segment size.

Select the appropriate click

The

Specify Virtual Disk-to-LUN Mapping

In the

Specify Virtual Disk-to-LUN Mapping

•Default Mapping

• The appropriate

•

Map later Using Mappings View

Click

Finish

The virtual disks are created.

Preferred RAID controller module ownership

Host type

, you can select:

window is displayed.

window, you can select:

window, select the

and

Changing the Virtual Disk Modification Priority

You can specify the modification priority setting for a single virtual disk or multiple virtual disks on a storage array.

Guidelines to change the modification priority of a virtual disk:

• If more than one virtual disk is selected, the modification priority defaults to the lowest priority. The current priority is shown only if a single virtual disk is selected.

• Changing the modification priority by using this option modifies the priority for the selected virtual disks.

98 Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks

Page 99

To change the virtual disk modification priority:

In the AMW, select the

Select a virtual disk.

In the toolbar, select

The

Change Modification Priority

Select one or more virtual disks.

To select nonadjacent virtual disks, press <Ctrl> click. To select adjacent virtual disks, press <Shift> click. To select all of the available virtual disks, click

Select All

desired priority.

Click OK.

A message prompts you to confirm the change in the virtual disk modification priority.

Click

Yes

Click OK.

. Move the

Logical

Virtual Disk

tab.

Change

window is displayed.

Select modification priority

Modification Priority

slider bar to the

Changing the Virtual Disk Cache Settings

You can specify the cache memory settings for a single virtual disk or for multiple virtual disks on a storage array.

Guidelines to change cache settings for a virtual disk:

• After opening the you that the RAID controller module has temporarily suspended caching operations. This action might occur when a new battery is charging, when a RAID controller module has been removed, or if a mismatch in cache sizes has been detected by the RAID controller module. After the condition has cleared, the cache properties selected in the dialog become active. If the selected cache properties do not become active, contact your Technical Support representative.

• If you select more than one virtual disk, the cache settings default to no settings selected. The current cache settings appear only if you select a single virtual disk.

• If you change the cache settings by using this option, the priority of all of the virtual disks that you selected is modified.

Change Cache Settings

dialog, the system may prompt

Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks 99

Page 100

To ch an ge t h e vir tual disk cache settings:

In the AMW, select the

In the toolbar, select

The

Change Cache Settings

Select one or more virtual disks.

Logical

tab and select a virtual disk

Virtual Disk

window is displayed.

Change

Cache Settings

To select nonadjacent virtual disks, press <Ctrl> click. To select adjacent virtual disks, press <Shift> click. To select all of the available virtual disks, click

Select All

In the

Select cache properties

•

Enable read caching

•

Enable dynamic cache read prefetch

area, you can select:

—to enable read caching.

—to enable dynamic cache read

prefetch.

•

Enable write caching

•

Enable write caching with mirroring

—to enable write caching.

—to mirror cached data across two redundant RAID controller modules that have the same cache size.

•

Enable write caching without batteries

—to permit write caching to continue even if the RAID controller module batteries are discharged completely, not fully charged, or are not present.

CAUTION: Possible loss of data – Selecting the Enable write caching without

batteries option lets write caching continue even when the batteries are discharged completely or are not fully charged. Typically, write caching is turned off temporarily by the RAID controller module until the batteries are charged. If you select this option and do not have a universal power supply for protection, you could lose data. In addition, you could lose data if you do not have RAID controller module batteries and you select the Enable write caching without batteries option.

NOTE: When the Optional RAID controller module batteries option is enabled,

the Enable write caching does not appear. The Enable write caching without batteries is still available, but it is not checked by default.

NOTE: Cache is automatically flushed after the Enable write caching check

box is disabled.

100 Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks