Dell MD3600I, MD3620I User Manual

Download

Page 1

Dell PowerVault MD3600i and

MD3620i 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, PowerEdge™, PowerVault™, and OpenManage™ are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft

Explorer and/or other countries. Red Hat Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries; SUSE the United States and other countries.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this publication 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

are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States

and Red Hat Enterprise Linux® are registered trademarks of Red

, Windows®, Windows Server®, MS-DOS®, and Internet

is a registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in

is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. in

December 2010 Rev. A00

Page 3

Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

About This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Inside the Box of the Dell PowerVault MD3600i Series Storage Array

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

MD3600i

Dell PowerVault Modular

Disk Storage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Configuration Utility

Series Storage Array . . . . . . . . . . . 20

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Other Information You May Need

. . . . . . . . . . . . 21

2 Planning: About Your Storage Array . . . . 23

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Hardware Features

Front-Panel Features and Indicators

Back-Panel Features and Indicators

Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns

Power Supply and Cooling Fan Features . . . . . . . . 29

Power Indicator Codes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

. . . . . . . 24

. . . . . . . . 27

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Contents 3

Page 4

3 Planning: RAID Controller Modules. . . . 31

RAID Controller Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

RAID Controller Module Connectors and Features

. . . 32

RAID Controller Module—Additional Features . . . . . 34

Battery Backup Unit

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

Storage Array Thermal Shutdown . . . . . . . . . 34

System Password Reset

Cache Functions and Features

Cache Mirroring

Write-Back Cache

Write-Through Cache

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

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

4 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array

Terms and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups. . . . . 37

Physical Disks

Physical Disk States

Self-Monitoring Analysis and

Reporting Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Virtual Disks and Disk Groups

Virtual Disk States

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

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

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

4 Contents

RAID Levels

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

RAID Level Usage

Segment Size

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

Virtual Disk Operations

Virtual Disk Initialization

Consistency Check

Media Verification

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

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

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

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

Page 5

Cycle Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Virtual Disk Operations Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

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

RAID Level Migration

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

Segment Size Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Virtual Disk Capacity Expansion

Disk Group Expansion

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

. . . . . . . . . . 46

Disk Group Defragmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Disk Group Operations Limit

. . . . . . . . . . . . 47

RAID Background Operations Priority

. . . . . . . . . 47

Virtual Disk Migration and Disk Roaming. . . . . . . . 48

Disk Migration

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

Disk Roaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Host Server-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

Host Types

Advanced Features

Snapshot Virtual Disks

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

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

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

. . . . . . . . 50

Snapshot Repository Virtual Disk. . . . . . . . . . 52

Virtual Disk Copy

Virtual Disk Recovery

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

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

Using Snapshot and Disk Copy Together . . . . . . 54

Multi-Path Software

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

Preferred and Alternate Controllers and Paths

Virtual Disk Ownership

Load Balancing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Monitoring MD3600i Series System Performance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

. . . 57

Contents 5

Page 6

5 Configuration: Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Enterprise Management Window

Array Management Window

. . . . . . . . . 62

. . . . . . . . . . . . 63

6 Configuration: About Your

Storage Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Out-of-Band and In-Band Management . . . . . . . . . 65

Storage Arrays

Adding Storage Arrays

Setting Up Your Storage Array

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

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

. . . . . . . . . . . 68

Locating Storage Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Naming or Renaming Storage Arrays

Setting a Password

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

. . . . . . . . 70

Viewing Storage Array Connections . . . . . . . . 73

Adding/Editing a Comment to an

Existing Storage Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Removing Storage Arrays

Enabling Premium Features

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

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

Displaying Failover Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Changing the Cache Settings on the Storage Array

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

Changing Expansion Enclosure ID Numbers . . . . 76

Changing the Enclosure Order in the Physical Pane

Configuring Alert Notifications

Configuring E-mail Alerts

Configuring SNMP Alerts

Battery Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

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

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

6 Contents

Page 7

Setting the Storage Array RAID Controller Module Clocks

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

7 Configuration: Using iSCSI . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Changing the iSCSI Target Authentication . . . . . . . 83

Entering Mutual Authentication Permissions

Creating CHAP Secrets

Initiator CHAP Secret

Target CHAP Secret

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Valid Characters for CHAP Secrets

Changing the iSCSI Target Identification

Changing the iSCSI Target Discovery Settings

. . . . . . 84

. . . . . . . . 85

. . . . . . . . 86

. . . . . 86

Configuring the iSCSI Host Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Advanced iSCSI Host Ports Settings

Viewing or Ending an iSCSI Session

. . . . . . . . . . 89

. . . . . . . . . . 90

Viewing iSCSI Statistics and Setting Baseline Statistics

Edit, Remove, or Rename Host Topology

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

. . . . . . . . 92

8 Configuration: Event Monitor . . . . . . . . . 93

Enabling or Disabling the Event Monitor . . . . . . . . 94

Windows

Linux

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

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

Contents 7

Page 8

9 Configuration: About Your Host . . . . . . . 95

Configuring Host Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Using the Mappings Tab

Defining a Host

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Removing Host Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Managing Host Groups

Creating a Host Group

Moving a Host to a Different Host Group

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

. . . . . 100

Removing a Host Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Host Topology

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Starting or Stopping the

Host Context Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

I/O Data Path Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Managing Host Port Identifiers

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

10 Configuration: Disk Groups and

Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Creating Disk Groups and Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . 107

Creating Disk Groups

Locating a Disk Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Creating Virtual Disks

Changing the Virtual

Disk Modification Priority. . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Changing the Virtual Disk Cache Settings

Changing the Segment Size of a Virtual Disk

Changing the I/O Type

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

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

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

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

8 Contents

Page 9

Choosing an Appropriate Physical Disk Type . . . . . . 117

Physical Disk Security with Self Encrypting Disk

Creating a Security Key

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Changing a Security Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Saving a Security Key

Validate Security Key

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Unlocking Secure Physical Disks. . . . . . . . . . 125

Erasing Secure Physical Disks

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

Configuring Hot Spare Physical Disks

Hot Spares and Rebuild

Global Hot Spares

Hot Spare Operation

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

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

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

. . . . . . . . . 126

Hot Spare Drive Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Enclosure Loss Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

Creating Host-to-Virtual Disk Mappings

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

. . . . . . 132

Modifying and Removing

Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping. . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Changing Controller

Ownership of the Virtual Disk. . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Removing Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

. . . . . . 135

Changing the RAID Controller

Module Ownership of a Disk Group . . . . . . . . 135

Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group

Restricted Mappings

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

. . . . . 137

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

Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group

. . . . 139

. . . . . . . . 141

Storage Partitioning

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Contents 9

Page 10

Disk Group and Virtual Disk Expansion . . . . . . . . 143

Disk Group Expansion

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Virtual Disk Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Using Free Capacity

Using Unconfigured Capacity

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

. . . . . . . . . . . 144

Disk Group Migration

Export Disk Group

Exporting a Disk Group

Import Disk Group

Importing a Disk Group

Storage Array Media Scan

Changing Media Scan Settings

Suspending the Media Scan

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

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

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

. . . . . . . . . . 148

. . . . . . . . . . . 149

11 Configuration: Premium Feature—

Snapshot Virtual Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Simple Path

About the Simple Path

Preparing Host Servers to Create the Snapshot Using the Simple Path

Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Advanced Path

About the Advanced Path

Preparing Host Servers to Create the

Snapshot Using the Advanced Path . . . . . . . 157

Creating the Snapshot

Using the Advanced Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

. . . . . . . . . 154

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

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

10 Contents

Specifying Snapshot Virtual Disk Names

. . . . . . . 161

Page 11

Snapshot Repository Capacity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Re-Creating Snapshot Virtual Disks

Disabling a Snapshot Virtual Disk

. . . . . . . . . . . 166

. . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Preparing Host Servers to Re-Create a Snapshot Virtual Disk

Re-Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

. . . . . . . . . . 168

12 Configuration: Premium Feature—

Virtual Disk Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Creating a Virtual Disk Copy for

an MSCS Shared Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Virtual Disk Read/Write Permissions

Virtual Disk Copy Restrictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Creating a Virtual Disk Copy

Before you Begin

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Virtual Disk Copy and

Modification Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Create Copy Wizard

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

Failed Virtual Disk Copy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

. . . . . . . . . . 171

Preferred RAID Controller Module Ownership

Failed RAID Controller Module

Copy Manager

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

Copying the Virtual Disk

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

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

Storage Array Performance During Virtual Disk Copy

Setting Copy Priority

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

. . . . . 174

Contents 11

Page 12

Stopping a Virtual Disk Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Recopying a Virtual Disk

Preparing Host Servers to Recopy a Virtual Disk

Recopying the Virtual Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Removing Copy Pairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

13 Configuration: Premium Feature—

Upgrading to

High-Performance-Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

14 Configuration: Device Mapper

Multipath for Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Using DM Multipathing Devices

Prerequisites

Device Mapper Configuration Steps

Linux Host Server Reboot Best Practices . . . . 191

Important Information About Special Partitions

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

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

. . . . . . . 187

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

15 Management: Firmware Downloads . . . 197

12 Contents

Limitations and Known Issues

Troubleshooting

Downloading RAID Controller and NVSRAM Packages

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Page 13

Downloading Both RAID Controller and NVSRAM Firmware

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Downloading Only NVSRAM Firmware . . . . . . . . . 201

Downloading Physical Disk Firmware

. . . . . . . . . 203

Downloading MD1200 Series Expansion Module EMM Firmware

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

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART)

Media Errors and Unreadable Sectors

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

. . . . . . . . . 207

16 Management: Installing

Array Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Recommended Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Front Bezel (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Removing the Front Bezel

Installing the Front Bezel

Hard Drives

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Removing a Drive Blank

Installing a Drive Blank

Removing a Hard Drive

Installing a Hard Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Removing a Hard Drive From a Hard-Drive Carrier

Installing a Hard Drive Into a Drive Carrier. . . . . 217

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

RAID Controller Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Removing a RAID Controller Module Blank

Installing a RAID Controller Module Blank

Removing a RAID Controller Module

. . . . 217

. . . . . 218

. . . . . . . . 219

Contents 13

Page 14

Installing a RAID Controller Module . . . . . . . 220

Opening the RAID Controller Module. . . . . . . 220

Closing the RAID Controller Module

. . . . . . . 221

RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit

. . . . . 222

Removing the RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit

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

Installing the RAID Controller

Module Backup Battery Unit . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module . . . . . . . . . . 224

Removing a Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Installing a Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module

Control Panel

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

Removing the Control Panel

Installing the Control Panel

Backplane

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

Removing the Backplane

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

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

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

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

Installing the Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

17 Management: Firmware Inventory . . . . 233

Viewing the Firmware Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . 233

18 Management: System Interfaces . . . . . . 235

14 Contents

Microsoft Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Virtual Disk Service

Volume Shadow-Copy Service

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

. . . . . . . . . . 235

Page 15

19 Troubleshooting: Your

Storage Array Software . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Start-Up Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Device Health Conditions

Storage Array Support Data

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Automatically Collect the Support Bundle Data . . . . 241

Retrieving Trace Buffers

Collecting Physical Disk Data

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

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Recovery Guru

Storage Array Profile

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

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

Viewing the Logical Associations. . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Viewing the Physical Associations

Finding Nodes

Using Go To

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

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

. . . . . . . . . . . 248

Recovering From an Unresponsive Storage Array Condition

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

Locating a Physical Disk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Locating an Expansion Enclosure

Capturing the State Information

SMrepassist Utility

Unidentified Devices

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

. . . . . . . . . . . . 255

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Contents 15

Page 16

Recovering From an Unidentified Storage Array . . . 258

Starting or Restarting the Host Context Agent Software

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

20 Troubleshooting: Your Array . . . . . . . . . 263

Safety First—For you and Your Array . . . . . . . . . 263

Troubleshooting Storage Array Startup Failure

. . . . 263

Troubleshooting Loss of Communication . . . . . . . 263

Troubleshooting External Connections

. . . . . . . . 263

Troubleshooting Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module

Troubleshooting Array Cooling Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

. . . . . . . 265

Troubleshooting Expansion Enclosure Management Modules

Troubleshooting RAID Controller Modules

. . . . . . . . . . . 265

. . . . . . 266

Troubleshooting Hard Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Troubleshooting Array and Expansion Enclosure Connections

Troubleshooting a Wet Storage Array

Troubleshooting a Damaged Array

Troubleshooting RAID Controller Modules

Conditions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Invalid Storage Array

ECC Errors

PCI Errors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

. . . . . . . . . . 269

. . . . . . . . . 269

. . . . . . . . . . 270

. . . . . . 271

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

16 Contents

Page 17

Critical Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Noncritical Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

21 Getting Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Contents 17

Page 18

18 Contents

Page 19

Introduction

WARNING: See the Safety, Environmental, and Regulatory Information document

for important safety information before following any procedures listed in this document.

About This Document

This document familiarizes you with the functions of the Dell PowerVault MD3600i Series storage array. The document is organized according to the tasks that you must complete after receiving your MD3600i Series storage array. The tasks are:

Planning— Provides information about the storage array and its features.

Configuration—Provides information on tasks you must complete to ensure that your storage array performs optimally.

Management—Provides information on tasks you must complete to ensure the storage array components are up to date and performing properly, including removal and installation of storage array components.

Troubleshooting—Provides information on tasks you must complete to resolve problems that may occur with the storage array.

For more information on these and other topics, see Dell PowerVault MD3600i and MD3620i Storage Array Deployment Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.

Inside the Box of the Dell PowerVault MD3600i Series Storage Array

Unless specified otherwise, MD3600i Series represents the Dell PowerVault MD3600i and PowerVault MD3620i.

Your MD3600i Series product package includes:

• MD3600i

• Power cables

• Bezel (optional)

Series

storage array

Introduction 19

Page 20

• Mounting rails (2) (optional)

• MD3600i

• The rack installation instructions included with your rack solution describes how to install your enclosure into a rack

•

Getting Started With Your System

features, the procedure to set up your enclosure, and technical specifications

Series

resource media

provides information on enclosure

MD3600i Series Storage Array

The MD3600i Series is a 2U rack-mounted external redundant array of independent disks (RAID) storage array capable of accommodating up to 12,

3.5-inch or 24, 2.5-inch 6.0-Gbps Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) disks. The MD3600i Series storage arrays can be daisy-chained with MD1200 Series expansion enclosures, providing access to a maximum of 96 disks in the entire storage system. Connectivity between the storage array and the host server is provided by a standard CAT6 or higher Ethernet connection.

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 MD3600i Series storage arrays. The MDSM software is available on the MD3600i Series resource media.

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Configuration Utility

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Configuration Utility (MDCU) is an iSCSI Configuration Wizard that can be used in conjunction with MDSM to simplify the configuration of iSCSI connections. The MDCU software is available on the MD3600i Series resource media.

20 Introduction

Page 21

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.

NOTE: All the documents, unless specified otherwise, are available at

support.dell.com/manuals.

•

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.

•

Dell PowerEdge Cluster Documentation

•

Release Notes

or readme files are included to provide last-minute updates to the enclosure or documentation or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians.

•

Dell PowerVault MD 1200 Series Installation Guide

for users who incorporate MD1200 expansion enclosures.

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

provides information

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

updates first because they often supersede information in other documents.

Introduction 21

Page 22

22 Introduction

Page 23

Planning: About Your Storage Array

Overview

The Dell PowerVault MD3600i Series storage array is designed for high availability, offering redundant access to data storage. It supports single and dual RAID controller configuration.

The MD3600i Series storage array provides 1 GBase-T or 10 GBase-T connectivity to the host server and enables access to 64 physical hosts.

The MD3600i Series storage array includes:

• 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

Planning: About Your Storage Array 23

Page 24

Hardware Features

Front-Panel Features and Indicators

Figure 2-1. Front-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3600i

Figure 2-2. Front-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3620i

24 Planning: About Your Storage Array

Page 25

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.

Planning: About Your Storage Array 25

Page 26

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 MD3600i—Up to 12, 3.5-inch SAS

6Enclosure mode

switch

Icon Description

function is not supported by the MD3600i 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 MD3620i—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.

26 Planning: About Your Storage Array

Page 27

Back-Panel Features and Indicators

Figure 2-4. Back-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3600i Series Storage Array

1 600 W power supply/cooling fan

module

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

2 RAID Controller Module 0

module

Planning: About Your Storage Array 27

Page 28

Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns

Figure 2-5. Hard Drive Indicators

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

28 Planning: About Your Storage Array

and amber)

Page 29

Hard-Drive Status Indicator Pattern Condition

Off The physical disk:

• is not yet discovered by the host server

• has been spun down for removal

• is 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 s, amber 3 s, and off 3 s)

Physical disk failure predicted (SMART)

Physical disk rebuild aborted

Power Supply and Cooling Fan Features

The MD3600i 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 224.

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

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

Planning: About Your Storage Array 29

Page 30

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 is 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.

30 Planning: About Your Storage Array

Page 31

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 iSCSI 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 MD3600i and MD3620i Series Storage Array’s Deployment Guide.

Planning: RAID Controller Modules 31

Page 32

RAID Controller Module Connectors and Features

12 45

61091213147 8 11 16 17

Figure 3-1. MD3600i Series iSCSI RAID Controller Module

Item Component Function

1 SAS OUT port Provides SAS connection for cabling to an expansion

enclosure.

2 iSCSI IN port 0 Provides host-to-controller iSCSI 1/10 Gbps Ethernet

connection.

3 iSCSI IN port 1 Provides host-to-controller iSCSI 1/10 Gbps Ethernet

connection.

4 Management port

Ethernet connector

5 Debug port Dell support only.

6SAS OUT port

link/fault LED

7 iSCSI IN port link

LED

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

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 at 10Gbps is established.

Lights amber when Ethernet connection at 1Gbps is established.

Off when there is no link.

32 Planning: RAID Controller Modules

Page 33

Item Component Function

8 Controller power LED Lights green when controller is turned on.

Off when controller is not turned on.

9 Controller fault LED Lights amber when controller fault detected.

Off when controller operating normally.

10 iSCSI IN port activity

LED

11 System identification

LED

12 Cache active or cache

offload LED

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

14 Password reset switch Activating this switch deletes the password.

15 MAC address label Provides MAC addresses of iSCSI host ports and the

16 Management port

speed LED

17 Management port

activity LED

Lights green when there is no activity on connection.

Blinks green when there is activity on connection.

Off when link is down.

Blinks blue when system identification switch pushbutton on enclosure front panel is pressed.

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.

management port.

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.

Planning: RAID Controller Modules 33

Page 34

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. For information on removing and installing the BBU, see "RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit" on page 222.

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.

Storage Array Thermal Shutdown

The system automatically shuts down when the system temperature exceeds the safe threshold. The battery backup unit protects against data loss by providing power to offload 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 The system power supplies shut down within 3

minutes

Shutdown threshold The system power supplies shut down within 5

seconds

34 Planning: RAID Controller Modules

Page 35

System Password Reset

To reset a forgotten 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 information about setting your password, see "Setting a Password" on page 71.

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

a pen.

Cache Functions and Features

Cache Mirroring

Cache mirroring 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. By default, cache mirroring is enabled in duplex systems and disabled in simplex systems.

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 duplex system configurations with write-back cache and cache mirroring enabled, the write data is always mirrored to the cache of the second controller before completion status is issued to the host initiator. For simplex systems, if cache mirroring is enabled write-back cache is suspended.

CAUTION: Running a simplex system with write-back cache enabled, carries all

inherent risks associated with a non-redundant system. In case of a catastrophic controller failure, data loss occurs.

Planning: RAID Controller Modules 35

Page 36

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 either cache mirroring is disabled or the battery is missing or there is a fault condition.

36 Planning: RAID Controller Modules

Page 37

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

This chapter describes the storage array concepts, which help in configuring and operating the Dell PowerVault MD3600i 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.

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.

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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 37

Page 38

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 MD3600i storage enclosure 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

Table 4-1 describes the various states of the physical disk, which are recognized by the storage array and reported in the MDSM application.

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)

38 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 39

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 (1000 ms)

Flashing green (3000 ms), amber (3000 ms), and off(3000 ms)

(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 that 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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 39

Page 40

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

Table 4-2 describes the various states of the virtual disk, recognized by the storage array.

Table 4-2. RAID Controller Virtual Disk States

State Description

Optimal The virtual disk contains physical disks that are online.

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

physical disk. The system can still function 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.

40 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 41

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.

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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 41

Page 42

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 that requires high bandwidth.

RAID 1

RAID 1 uses disk mirroring so that data written to one physical disk is simultaneously written to another physical disk. RAID 1 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

42 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 43

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.

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 storage array supports stripe element sizes of 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 KBs. 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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 43

Page 44

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.

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.

44 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 45

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.

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 4.

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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 45

Page 46

Segment Size Migration

Segment size refers to the amount of data (in kilobytes) that the storage array writes on a 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 KBs.

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 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-swappable 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.

46 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 47

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

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 47

Page 48

• 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 MD3600i array to another, the MD3600i array you migrate to, recognizes any data structures and/or metadata you had in place on the migrating MD3600i array. However, if you are migrating from any device other than a MD3600i Series storage

48 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 49

array, the MD3600i array does not recognize the migrating metadata and that data is lost. In this case, MD3600i initializes the physical disks and marks 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, or wait for 30 seconds (whichever occurs first), before inserting the next physical disk.

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

may become unstable and manageability may be 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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 49

Page 50

• 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. Use cold virtual disk migration for the disk groups from one storage array.

• 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 an MD3600i storage array that has a premium feature enabled and the destination array does not have this feature enabled, an

Out of Compliance

error message

can be generated.

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.

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 serverto-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.

50 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 51

• 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 and use one or more iSCSI initiator ports. 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.

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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 51

Page 52

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 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 on write algorithm, which makes a backup copy of data the instant a write occurs to the virtual disk. 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 Clustered configuration, you must map the snapshot virtual disk to the cluster node that owns the source virtual disk. This ensures that the cluster nodes correctly recognize the snapshot virtual disk.

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 misidentifying the snapshot virtual disk. This can result in data loss or an inaccessible snapshot.

52 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 53

For details on mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the secondary node, refer to the Dell PowerVault MD3600i and MD3620i Storage Arrays With Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters on support.dell.com/manuals.

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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 53

Page 54

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.

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 the software resident on the host server that provides management of the redundant data path between the host server and the storage array. For the multi-path software to correctly manage a redundant path, the configuration must have redundant iSCSI connections and cabling.

54 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 55

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 is available on the MD3600i Series resource media.

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 connected to only one RAID controller module, the preferred owner must manually be assigned to the RAID controller module that 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, and 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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 55

Page 56

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.

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 let 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.

56 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 57

• 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.

Monitoring MD3600i 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 the following 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:

Storage Array Monitor Performance

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 57

Page 58

• RAID Controller modules

•Virtual disks

• Storage array totals

NOTE: By default, all items are selected.

Polling interval

, select how often you want to update the

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.

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

File name

text box.

NOTE: The .perf extension is the default.

Select a file type from the Files of type list.

• Use the Report format (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

58 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 59

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

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

= 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.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts 59

Page 60

60 Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Page 61

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 clicking Help located at the top right corner of MDSM interface. See the MD3600i and MD3620i Storage Array’s Deployment Guide for information on installing the MDSM.

NOTE: MDSM supports MD3000i, MD32xxi, and MD36xxi storage arrays and can

automatically detect 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.

• The menu bar, beneath the title bar—You can select menu options from the menu bar to perform tasks on a storage array.

• The toolbar, beneath the title bar—You can select options in the toolbar to perform tasks on a storage array.

• The tabs, beneath the title bar—Tabs are used to group the tasks that you can perform on a storage array.

• The status bar, beneath the title bar—The status bar shows status messages and status icons related to the storage array.

NOTE: The toolbar and status bar do not appear by default. To view the toolbar or

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

Configuration: Overview 61

Page 62

Enterprise Management Window

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

•

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.

• Blink or 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.

tab—Provides information about the storage arrays.

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

62 Configuration: Overview

Page 63

• Upgrade firmware on multiple storage arrays concurrently.

• Obtain information about the firmware inventory including the version of the RAID controller modules, physical disks, and the enclosure management modules (EMMs) in the storage array.

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.

From the EMW, open the

Inherit System Settings

window in one of these

ways:

• Select

• Select the

Select

Click OK.

Tools

Inherit System Settings

Setup

tab, and click

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.

Devices

tab, double-click the relevant storage array.

In the context menu, select

Manage Storage Array

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

Configuration: Overview 63

Page 64

• Storage partitions

• Disk groups and virtual disks

•

Logical

disks, disk groups, free capacity nodes, and any unconfigured capacity for the storage array.

•

Physical

controller modules, physical disks, and other hardware components.

•

Mappings

can change the mappings to grant virtual disk access to host groups and hosts and create storage partitions.

•

Setup

storage array.

•

Support

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.

tab—You can view the organization of the storage array by virtual

tab—You can view the organization of the storage array by RAID

tab—You can define the hosts, host groups, and host ports. You

tab—You can complete the initial setup tasks to configure the

tab—You can complete common support tasks like downloading

64 Configuration: Overview

Page 65

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

In 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.

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 65

Page 66

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 MD3600i 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 set up 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.

66 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 67

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.

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 subnet and adds any storage array that responds to the message. The Automatic Discovery process finds both in-band and out-of-band 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

Add Storage Array

—Enter a host name or an IP address for

RAID controller Modules

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 67

in the storage array.

Page 68

•

In-band management

—Enter a name or an IP address for the

Host

through which the storage array is attached to the network.

NOTE: When adding a storage array using in-band management with iSCSI, a

session must first be established between the initiator on the host server and the storage array. For more information, see "Configuration: Using iSCSI" on page 83.

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 261.

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.

68 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 69

• Configure iSCSI host ports—Configure network parameters for each iSCSI host port automatically or specify the configuration information for each iSCSI host port.

• 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.

Pow erVau lt

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

• 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.

• Manage iSCSI settings—You can configure iSCSI settings for authentication, identification, and discovery.

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 69

Page 70

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

The LEDs 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

A confirmation message is displayed.

Click OK.

Setup

tab, click

Storage ArrayBlinkStorage Array

Blink Storage Array

Storage ArrayBlink Stop All

Blink

Naming or Renaming Storage Arrays

You can name, rename, and add comments to a storage array to facilitate identification of the storage array. Each storage array should be assigned a unique alphanumeric name up to 30 characters long. 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 and select

Setup

Devices

Rename

tab, select

tab Tree view, select

tab Table view, select

tab Tree view, right-click the desired array icon

Rename Storage Array

Edit Rename

Edit

Rename

70 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 71

The

Name/Rename Storage Arrays

Select the relevant storage array from the

dialog appears.

Select storage array

table.

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.

The name of the storage array appears in the

Storage array name

, type the new name of the storage array. If

applicable, add a comment for the storage array in

Click

Apply

Storage array name

Additional comment

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 Select storage array table.

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.

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 63.

The AMW for the selected storage array is displayed.

In the AMW, perform one of these actions:

• Select the storage array in the

 Set Password

Array

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 71

Logical

pane, and then select

Storage

Page 72

• Select the

• In the AMW, select the

Setup

tab, and then click

Logical

Set a Storage Array Password

tab, right-click and select

Set

Password.

The

Set Password

If you are resetting the password, type the

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

password blank.

Ty p 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.

Password Guidelines

New password

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

exactly the same.

dialog appears.

Confirm new password

Current password

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.

72 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 73

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 appears.

Connections

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

Comment

Devices

dialog appears.

tab and select the relevant managed

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.

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 73

Page 74

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 66.

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.

To remove the storage array, click

Remove

Devices

tab and select the relevant managed

Storage Array

Yes

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.

Storage Array Premium Features

window is

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.

74 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

dialog appears.

Enable

Page 75

Displaying Failover Alert

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.

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.

Storage Array

Start flushing

Stop flushing

Cache block size

Change

window is displayed.

Cache Settings

In the array, and click

Enter Password

dialog, type the current password for the storage

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 75

Page 76

Changing Expansion Enclosure ID Numbers

When an MD1200 series expansion enclosure is connected to an MD3600i 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 and can be changed if required.

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).

To save the changed enclosure ID, click

Enclosure ID

Change

Storage Array

Change Enclosure ID

list.

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.

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

76 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 77

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 77. To configure SNMP alerts, see "Configuring SNMP Alerts" on page 80.

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 77. To configure SNMP alerts, see "Configuring SNMP Alerts" on page 80.

Setup

tab.

dialog appears.

dialog appears. To configure e-mail alerts, see

Devices

dialog appears. To configure e-mail alerts, see

tab.

EditConfigure Alerts

Configuring E-mail Alerts

For more information on configuring alert notifications, see "Configuring Alert Notifications" on page 77.

To configure e-mail alerts:

Open the

• In the tree view or the table view on the

•In the

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

Configure Alerts

select a node, and then select

Setup

tab in the EMW, select

dialog by performing one of these actions:

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 77

Edit

Configure Alerts

Devices

tab in the EMW,

. Go to step 3.

. Go to step 2.

Page 78

•

All storage arrays

—Select this option to send an e-mail alert about

events on all storage arrays.

•

An individual storage array

—Select this option to send an e-mail alert

about events that occur on only a specified storage array.

These results occur, depending on your selection:

• If you selected all storage arrays, the

• If you selected an individual storage array, the

Configure Alerts

Select Storage Array

dialog appears.

dialog appears. Select the storage array for which you want to receive

. The

e-mail alerts and click

Configure Alerts

• If you do not know which storage array to select, click

dialog appears.

Blink

to turn on

the LEDs of the storage array.

In the

Configure Alerts

Mail Server

, type the name of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

dialog, select the

Mail Server

tab.

(SMTP) mail server.

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

Email sender address

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

e-mail 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

, and type the contact

information.

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.

Email address

Add

Configured email addresses

, type the e-mail address,

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

Email address

• Deleting an e-mail address—In the

select the e-mail address, and click

, and click

Replace

Configured email addresses

Delete

area,

78 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 79

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

address

Tes t

area, and click

. A test e-mail is sent to the selected e-mail address.

Configured email addresses

A dialog with the results of the test and any error appears.

For the selected e-mail address, in

•

Event Only

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

Information To Send

, select:

This alert type is the default.

•

Event + Profile

—The e-mail alert contains the event information and

the storage array profile.

•

Event + Support

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

Frequency

, select:

the default option.

•

Every x hours

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

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

option only if you have selected either

in the

Support

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.

Event +

To ensure that the e-mail is sent successfully:

• Provide an SMTP mail server name and an e-mail sender address for the email addresses to work.

• Ensure that the e-mail addresses that you had previously configured appear in the

Configured e-mail addresses

area.

• Use fully qualified e-mail addresses; for example, name@mycompany.com.

• Configure multiple e-mail addresses before you click

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 79

Page 80

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

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

•

These results occur, depending on your selection:

Configure Alerts

select a node, and select

Setup

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

All storage arrays

dialog by performing one of these actions:

Edit

Configure Alerts

. Go to step 3.

—Select this option to send an alert notification

about events on all storage arrays.

An individual storage array

—Select this option to send an alert

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

. The

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

Add

click

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 an SNMP enabled management application is the Dell Management Console. Please see dell.com for more information on the Dell Management Console.

Trap destination

Configure Alerts

Community name

, type the trap destination, and

• 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

80 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

dialog appears.

, type the

Tr ap

Page 81

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

Configured SNMP addresses

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

Configured SNMP addresses

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

area, and click

Delete

Te st

. A test message is

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.

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.

Configuration: About Your Storage Array 81

Page 82

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 appears.

, 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 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

Synchronize

dialog, type the current

82 Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Page 83

Configuration: Using iSCSI

Changing the iSCSI Target Authentication

To change the iSCSI target authentication:

In the AMW, select the

Select

Manage iSCSI Settings

The

Manage iSCSI Settings

Target Authentication

settings, select:

•

None

—If you do not require initiator authentication. If you select

None

, any initiator can access the target.

•

CHAP

—To enable an initiator that tries to authenticate the target using Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP). Define the CHAP secret only if you want to use mutual CHAP authentication. If you select defined, an error message appears. See "Creating CHAP Secrets" on page 84.

To enter the CHAP secret, click

The

Enter Target CHAP Secret

Setup

tab.

window is displayed and by default, the

tab is selected. To change the authentication

CHAP

, but no CHAP target secret is

CHAP secret

dialog appears.

Enter the

Enter the exact target CHAP secret in

Click OK.

Target CHAP secret

NOTE: The Target CHAP secret must be at least 12 characters and up to 57

characters.

NOTE: If you do not want to create a CHAP secret, you can generate a

random CHAP secret automatically. To generate a random CHAP secret, click Generate Random CHAP Secret.

NOTE: You can select the None and CHAP at the same time, for example,

when one initiator might not have CHAP and the other initiator has only CHAP selected.

Confirm target CHAP secret

Configuration: Using iSCSI 83

Page 84

Entering Mutual Authentication Permissions

Mutual authentication or two-way authentication is a way for a client or a user to verify themselves to a host server, and for the host server to validate itself to the user. This validation is accomplished in such a way that both parties are sure of the other’s identity.

To add mutual authentication permissions:

In the AMW, select the

Select

Manage iSCSI Settings

The

Manage iSCSI Settings

Select the

Select an initiator in the

The initiator details appear.

Click that appears.

Click OK.

Click OK in the

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

Mutual Authentication

CHAP Secret

Setup

tab.

window is displayed.

tab.

Select an Initiator

to enter the initiator CHAP permissions in the dialog

Manage iSCSI Settings

area.

window.

Creating CHAP Secrets

When you set up an authentication method, you can choose to create a CHAP secret. The CHAP secret is a password that is recognized by the initiator and the target. If you are using mutual authentication to configure the storage array, you must enter the same CHAP secret that is defined in the host server iSCSI initiator, and you must define a CHAP secret on the target (the storage array) that must be configured in every iSCSI initiator that connects to the target storage array. For more information on CHAP, see “Understanding CHAP Authentication” in the Deployment Guide.

84 Configuration: Using iSCSI

Page 85

Initiator CHAP Secret

The initiator CHAP secret is set on the host using the iSCSI initiator configuration program provided with the host operating system. If you are using the mutual authentication method, you must define the initiator CHAP secret when you set up the host. This must be the same CHAP secret that is defined for the target when defining mutual authentication settings.

Target CHAP Secret

If you are using CHAP secrets, you must define the CHAP secret for the target.

Valid Characters for CHAP Secrets

The CHAP secret must be between 12 and 57 characters. The CHAP secret supports characters with ASCII values of 32 to 126 decimal. See Table 7-1 for a list of valid ASCII characters.

Table 7-1. Valid ASCII Characters for CHAP Secrets

Space ! " # $ % & ’ ( ) * +

, -. /01 23 4567

8 9:;<=>?@ABC

DEFGHIJKLMNO

PQRSTUVWXYZ[

\]^_abcdefgh

ijklmnopqrst

u vwxyz {| }~

Configuration: Using iSCSI 85

Page 86

Changing the iSCSI Target Identification

You cannot change the iSCSI target name, but you can associate an alias with the target for simpler identification. Aliases are useful because the iSCSI target names are not intuitive. You should provide an iSCSI target alias that is meaningful and easy to remember.

To change the iSCSI target identification:

In the AMW, select the

Select

Manage iSCSI Settings

The

Manage iSCSI Settings

Select the

Type the alias in

Click OK.

NOTE: Aliases can contain up to 30 characters. Aliases can include letters,

numbers, and the special characters underscore (_), minus (-), and pound sign (#). No other special characters are permitted.

NOTE: Open iSCSI (which is used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and SUSE Linux

Enterprise Server 10 with SP 1) does not support using target alias.

Target Identification

Setup

tab.

window is displayed.

tab.

iSCSI target alias

Changing the iSCSI Target Discovery Settings

To change the iSCSI target discovery settings:

In the AMW, select the

Select

Manage iSCSI Settings

The

Manage iSCSI Settings

Setup

tab.

window is displayed.

Select the

Select

To activate iSCSI target discovery, you can use one of the following methods:

• Select

86 Configuration: Using iSCSI

Target Discovery

Use iSNS

automatically activate target discovery for IPv4 settings using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). You can also refresh the DHCP.

to activate iSCSI target discovery.

Obtain configuration automatically from DHCP server

tab.

Page 87

• Select

Specify Configuration

, and type the IPv4 address to activate

the target discovery.

• Type the

iSNS server IP address

in the IPv6 settings area to activate

the target discovery.

After you manually enter an IP address, you can also click

Advanced

configure the customized TCP listening ports.

If you do not want to allow discovery sessions that are not named, select

Disallow un-named discovery sessions

the

NOTE: Un-named discovery sessions are discovery sessions that are

permitted to run without a target name. With an un-named discovery session, the target name or the target portal group tag is not available to enforce the iSCSI session identifier (ISID) rule.

Click OK.

Configuring the iSCSI Host Ports

The default method for configuring the iSCSI host ports, for IPv4 addressing, is DHCP. Always use this method unless your network does not have a DHCP server. It is advisable to assign static DHCP addresses to the iSCSI ports to ensure continuous connectivity. For IPv6 addressing, the default method is Stateless auto-configuration. Always use this method for IPv6.

To configure the iSCSI host ports:

In the AMW, select the

Select

Configure iSCSI Host Ports

The

Configure iSCSI Host Ports

Setup

tab.

window is displayed.

In the

iSCSI host port

list, select an appropriate RAID controller module

and an iSCSI host port.

The connection status between the storage array and the host appears in the Status area when you select an iSCSI host port. The connection status is either connected or disconnected. Additionally, the media access control address (MAC) of the selected iSCSI host port appears in the MAC address area.

NOTE: For each iSCSI host port, you can use either IPv4 settings or IPv6

settings or both.

Configuration: Using iSCSI 87

Page 88

In the

Configured Ethernet port speed

list, select a

network speed

iSCSI host port.

The network speed values in the

Configured Ethernet port speed

depend on the maximum speed that the network can support. Only the network speeds that are supported are displayed.

All of the host ports on a single controller operate at the same speed. An error is displayed if different speeds are selected for the host ports on the same controller.

To use the IPv4 settings for the iSCSI host port, select select the

To use the IPv6 settings for the iSCSI host port, select select the

To configure the IPv4 and IPv6 settings:

IPv4 Settings

IPv6 Settings

tab.

• To automatically configure the settings, select

automatically

• To manually configure the settings, select

NOTE: If you select the automatic configuration method, the configuration is

obtained automatically using the DHCP for IPv4 settings. Similarly for IPv6 settings, the configuration is obtained automatically based on the MAC address and the IPv6 routers present on the subnetwork.

NOTE: Click Advanced IPv4 Settings and Advanced IPv6 Settings to

configure the Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) support and Ethernet priority. Click the Advanced Host Port Settings to configure the TCP listening port settings and Jumbo frame settings.

To enable the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), select

ICMP PING responses

. This option is selected by default.

Specify configuration

Enable IPv4

Enable IPv6

Obtain configuration

The ICMP setting applies to all the iSCSI host ports in the storage array configured for IPv4 addressing.

for the

list

and

Enable

NOTE: The ICMP is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol

suite.The ICMP messages determine whether a host is reachable and how long it takes to get packets to and from that host.

Click OK.

88 Configuration: Using iSCSI

Page 89

Advanced iSCSI Host Ports Settings

NOTE: Configuring the advanced iSCSI host ports settings is optional.

Use the advanced settings for the individual iSCSI host ports to specify the TCP frame size, the virtual LAN, and the network priority.

Table 7-2. Advanced iSCSI Host Port Settings

Setting Description

Virtual LAN (VLAN) A method of creating independent logical networks within a

physical network. Several VLANs can exist within a network. VLAN 1 is the default VLAN.

NOTE: For more information on creating and configuring a

VLAN with MD Support Manager, in the AMW, click the Support tab, then click View Online Help.

Ethernet Priority The network priority can be set from lowest to highest.

Although network managers must determine these mappings, the IEEE has made broad recommendations:

• 0—lowest priority (default).

• 1–4—ranges from “loss eligible” traffic to controlled-load applications, such as streaming multimedia and businesscritical traffic.

• 5–6—delay-sensitive applications such as interactive video and voice.

• 7—highest priority reserved for network-critical traffic (do not use with the MD3600i).

TCP Listening Port The default Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) listening

port is 3260.

Jumbo Frames The maximum transmission units (MTUs). It can be set

between 1501 and 9000 bytes per frame. If the Jumbo Frames are disabled, the default MTU is 1500 bytes per frame.

NOTE: Changing any of these settings resets the iSCSI port. I/O is interrupted to

any host accessing that port. You can access the I/O automatically after the port restarts and the host logs in again.

Configuration: Using iSCSI 89

Page 90

Viewing or Ending an iSCSI Session

You might want to end an iSCSI session for the following reasons:

• Unauthorized access—If an initiator is logged on whom you consider to not have access, you can end the iSCSI session. Ending the iSCSI session forces the initiator to log off the storage array. The initiator can log on if

None

authentication method is available.

• System downtime—If you need to turn off a storage array and initiators are logged on, you can end the iSCSI session to log off the initiators from the storage array.

To view or end an iSCSI session:

In the AMW toolbar, select

Select the iSCSI session that you want to view in the area.

The details are shown below in the entire iSCSI sessions topology as a text file.

To en d t h e s es sio n:

Select the session that you want to end, and then click

The

End Session confirmation

Ty p e

yes

to confirm that you want to end the iSCSI session.

Click OK.

Storage Array iSCSI End Sessions

Current sessions

Details

area. Click

Save As

to save the

End Session

window is displayed.

NOTE: If you end a session, any corresponding connections terminate the link

between the host and the storage array, and the data on the storage array is no longer available.

NOTE: When a session is manually terminated using the MDSM, the iSCSI initiator

software automatically attempts to re-establish the terminated connection to the storage array. This may cause an error message.

90 Configuration: Using iSCSI

Page 91

Viewing iSCSI Statistics and Setting Baseline Statistics

To view iSCSI statistics and set baseline statistics:

In the AMW toolbar, select

The

View iSCSI Statistics

Select the iSCSI statistic type you want to view in the

area. You can select:

Ty p e

•

Ethernet MAC statistics

•

Ethernet TCP/IP statistics

•

Target (protocol) statistics

In the

Options

•

Raw statistics

statistics that have been gathered since the RAID controller modules were started.

•

Baseline statistics

are point-in-time statistics that have been gathered since you set the baseline time.

After you select the statistics type and either raw or baseline statistics, the details of the statistics appear in the statistics tables.

NOTE: You can click Save As to save the statistics that you are viewing in a

text file.

To set the baseline for the statistics:

Select

Click

Confirm that you want to set the baseline statistics in the dialog that appears.

The baseline time shows the latest time you set the baseline. The sampling interval is the difference in time from when you set the baseline until you launch the dialog or click

area, select:

—To view the raw statistics. Raw statistics are all the

Baseline statistics

Set Baseline

Storage Array iSCSI

window is displayed.

—To view the baseline statistics. Baseline statistics

Refresh

Statistics

iSCSI Statistics

NOTE: You must first set a baseline before you can compare baseline

statistics.

Configuration: Using iSCSI 91

Page 92

Edit, Remove, or Rename Host Topology

If you give access to the wrong host or the wrong host group, you can remove or edit the host topology. Follow the appropriate procedures given in Table 7-3 to correct the host topology:

Table 7-3. Host Topology Actions

Desired Action Steps to Complete Action

Move a host

Move a host group

Manually delete the host and the host group

Rename the host, the host group

For more information about Host, Host Groups, and Host Topology, refer to "Configuration: About Your Host" on page 95.

Click the

Select the Host that you want to move, and then click

Mappings

Select a host group to move the host to and click OK.

Click the

Select the item that you want to remove and select

Mappings

Click the

Select the item that you want to rename and select

Mappings

Type a new label for the host and click OK.

Mappings

Move

Mappings

Remove

Mappings

Rename

tab.

92 Configuration: Using iSCSI

Page 93

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 Management Window (EMW).

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. For more information on the Dell Management Console, see

• Replicate the alert settings from a particular managed device by copying the

emwdata.bin

you want to receive alerts.

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

file to every storage management station from which

dell.com

Configuration: Event Monitor 93

Page 94

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.

94 Configuration: Event Monitor

Page 95

Configuration: About Your Host

Configuring Host Access

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) software is comprised of multiple modules. One of these modules is the Host Context Agent, which 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. The host ports are displayed in the Mappings tab in the Array Management Window (AMW). The host must be manually added under the Default Host Group in the Mappings tab.

For more information on the Mappings tab, see "Using the Mappings Tab" on page 96.

NOTE: The Host Context Agent is not dynamic and must be restarted after

establishing iSCSI sessions for MD3600i storage arrays to automatically detect them.

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 97.

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 AMW.

On the Summary tab in the AMW, the Hosts & Mappings area indicates how many hosts are configured to access the storage array. 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, are displayed as nodes in the Top ol o gy pane of the Mappings tab in the AMW.

Configuration: About Your Host 95

Page 96

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.

• 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.

96 Configuration: About Your Host

Page 97

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

Mappings Define Host

Setup

Mappings

name),

Default Group

pane to which you want to add the host, and select from the pop-up menu.

The

Specify Host Name

Host name

Select the relevant option in

, enter an alphanumeric name of up to 30 characters.

this storage array

The

Specify Host Port Identifier

Mappings

tab, and click

tab. Right-click the root node (storage array

window is displayed.

? and click

tab and select the appropriate storage

node, or

Manually Define Hosts

Host Group

node in the

To po l og y

Define Host

Do you plan to use the storage partitions in

s window is displayed.

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

characters 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.

Configuration: About Your Host 97

—In

New host port

Alias

of up to 30

Add

Page 98

Host

type, select the relevant operating system for the host.

The

Host Group Question

In this window, you can select:

•

Yes

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

•

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

other hosts.

Click

If you select select

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

The

Preview

Click

Yes

, the

, see step 11.

window is displayed.

Finish

window is displayed.

Specify Host Group

window is displayed. If you

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

pane.

Mappings Remove

Remove confirmation

Mappings

dialog appears.

tab, select the host node in the

Remove

from the pop-up menu.

Ty p e

yes

Click OK.

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

98 Configuration: About Your Host

Page 99

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 create host groups:

In the AMW, select the

In the

To po l og y

Perform one of the following actions:

• Select

• 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

pane, select the storage array or the

Mappings Define Host Group

Mappings

from the pop-up menu.

tab.

Default Group

Enter new host group name

Select hosts to add

Default Group

, and select

area.

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

Remove.

Click OK.

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 97.

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 100.

Configuration: About Your Host 99

Page 100

Removing a Host From a Host Group

You can remove a host from the To po lo gy pane on the Mappings tab of the Array Management Window. For more information, see "Removing a Host Group" on page 101.

Moving a Host to a Different Host Group

To move a host to a different 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

In the the host.

The

Click

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

• The host loses the virtual disk mappings assigned to the host group

pane.

Mappings Move

Move Host

Select host group

Move Host Confirmation

Yes

to which it is moved.

from which it was moved.

dialog appears.

Mappings

, select the host group to which you want to move

tab, select the host node in the

Move

from the pop-up menu.

dialog appears.

100 Configuration: About Your Host

Dell MD3600I, MD3620I User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Introduction

About This Document

Inside the Box of the Dell PowerVault MD3600i Series Storage Array

MD3600i Series Storage Array

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager

Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Configuration Utility

Other Information You May Need

Planning: About Your Storage Array

Overview

Hardware Features

Front-Panel Features and Indicators

Back-Panel Features and Indicators

Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns

Power Supply and Cooling Fan Features

Power Indicator Codes

Planning: RAID Controller Modules

RAID Controller Modules

RAID Controller Module Connectors and Features

Battery Backup Unit

Storage Array Thermal Shutdown

System Password Reset

Cache Functions and Features

Cache Mirroring

Write-Back Cache

Write-Through Cache

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups

Physical Disks

Physical Disk States

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology

Virtual Disks and Disk Groups

Virtual Disk States

RAID Levels

RAID Level Usage

Segment Size

Virtual Disk Operations

Virtual Disk Initialization

Consistency Check

Media Verification

Cycle Time

Virtual Disk Operations Limit

Disk Group Operations

RAID Level Migration

Segment Size Migration

Virtual Disk Capacity Expansion

Disk Group Expansion

Disk Group Defragmentation

Disk Group Operations Limit

RAID Background Operations Priority

Virtual Disk Migration and Disk Roaming

Disk Migration

Disk Roaming

Host Server-to-Virtual Disk Mapping

Host Types

Advanced Features

Snapshot Virtual Disks

Snapshot Repository Virtual Disk

Virtual Disk Copy

Virtual Disk Recovery

Using Snapshot and Disk Copy Together

Multi-Path Software

Preferred and Alternate Controllers and Paths

Virtual Disk Ownership

Load Balancing

Monitoring MD3600i Series System Performance

Configuration: Overview

User Interface

Enterprise Management Window

Array Management Window

Configuration: About Your Storage Array

Out-of-Band and In-Band Management

Storage Arrays

Adding Storage Arrays

Setting Up Your Storage Array

Locating Storage Arrays

Naming or Renaming Storage Arrays