Hp COMPAQ PROSIGNIA 500, COMPAQ PROSIGNIA 200, COMPAQ PROLIANT 2000, COMPAQ PROLIANT 4000 Deploying PCI Hot Plug on Compaq Servers in a Microsoft Windows NT Environment

July 1997 Prepared By

Windows NT Integration

Compaq Computer Corporation

CONTENTS

PCI Hot Plug

Technology Overview....3

PCI Hot Plug

Technology in Action..... 5

Things To Consider Before Installing

Windows NT..................8

Things To Consider During Windows NT

Installation....................9

Managing the PCI Hot

Plug System ................ 13

Troubleshooting .......... 19

Future Releases .......... 21

Summary..................... 22

064A/0797

WHITE PAPER

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Deploying PCI Hot Plug on Compaq

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Servers in a Microsoft Windows NT

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Environment

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This White Paper focuses on integrating Compaq PCI Hot Plug technology with the

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Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 operating system. This information is intended for system

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administrators and information technology staff interested in improving fault tolerance

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and server availability in Windows NT environments.

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This white paper provides the following information:

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• Hardware and software required to implement PCI Hot Plug technology

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• Features and benefits of PCI Hot Plug technology under Windows NT

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• Using related fault tolerant technologies with PCI Hot Plug technology

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• Installation and configuration of PCI Hot Plug functionality for Windows NT

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Help us impr ove our technical communic ation. Let us know what you think about the

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technical information in this docum ent. Your feedback i s valuable and will help us

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structure future communications. Please send your comments to:

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CompaqNT@compaq.com

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

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NOTICE

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The information in this publication is subject to change without notice.

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OMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR TECHNICAL OR

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EDITORIAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS CONTAINED HEREIN

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OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE FURNISHING

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PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS MATERIAL.

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This publication does not constitute an endorsement of the product or products that were tested.

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The configuration or configurations tested or described may or may not be the only available

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solution. This test is not a determination of product quality or correctness, nor does it ensure

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compliance with any federal, state or local requirements. Compaq does not warrant products other

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than its own strictly as stated in Compaq product warranties.

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Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their

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respective companies.

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Compaq, Contura, Deskpro, Fastar t, Compaq Insight Manager, LTE, PageMar q, Systempro,

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Systempro/LT, ProLiant, TwinTray, ROMPaq, LicensePa q, QVision, SLT, ProLinea, SmartStart,

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NetFlex, DirectPlus, QuickFind, RemotePaq, BackPaq, TechPaq, SpeedPaq, QuickBack, PaqFax,

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Presario, SilentCool, CompaqCare (design), Aero, SmartStation, MiniStation, and PaqRap,

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registered United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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Netelligent, Armada, Cruiser, Concerto, QuickChoice, ProSignia, Systempro/XL, Net1, LTE Elite,

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Vocalyst, PageMate, SoftPaq, FirstPaq, SolutionPaq, EasyPoint, EZ Help, MaxLight, MultiLock,

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QuickBlank, QuickLock, UltraView, Innovate logo, Wonder Tools logo in black/white and color,

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and Compaq PC Card Solution logo are trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer

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Corporation.

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Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their

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respective companies.

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Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Windows NT Server and Workstation, Microsoft SQL Server

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for Windows NT are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

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Intel, Pentium, and Pentium Pro are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.

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Deploying PCI Ho t Plug in a Microsoft W ind ows NT E nvir onment

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First Edition (July 1997)

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Document Number 064A0797

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, NOR FOR INCIDENTAL

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PCI HOT PLUG TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

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PCI Hot Plug technology defines a new standard for high availability in Compaq servers by

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allowing removal and replacement of PCI controllers without shutting down the system. PCI Hot

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Plug technology is being developed as an open standard by the PCI Hot Plug Workgroup of the PCI

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Special Interest Group. PCI Hot Plug is an extension of the PCI Local Bus Specification.

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Compaq is building hot plug solutions that consist of hot plug system hardware and hot plug aware

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software. PCI Hot Plug technology was intentionally designed to use existing industry-standard PCI

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adapters without requiring hardware changes. Avoiding the need for hardware changes greatly

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simp lifies and accelera tes the process of makin g existin g P C I controllers hot p lug aware. Stand ard

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PCI adapters function normally in a PCI Hot Plug bus.

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Compaq PCI Hot Plug hardware isolates each hot plug slot from all other devices on the PCI bus.

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By offering slot-level control, Compaq provides great flexibility. Slot level isolation eliminates

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interruption to other components and applications using those components, enabling the system to

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continue performing useful work throughout the hot replacement.

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PCI Hot Plug software for Windows NT includes hot plug aware device drivers, operating system

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support, and the PCI Hot Plug Utility. Hot plug aware device drivers enable the system to halt

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operations on a specific controller prior to removing the controller. Compaq provides operating

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system support for Windows NT through the Compaq Remote Monitorin g service and th e System

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Management driver. These operating system support elements enable control of the hot plug

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hardware using the PCI Hot Plug Utility.

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The PCI Hot Plug Utility provides a common point for managing the PCI Hot Plug buses on the

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local system, as well as on remote systems accessible over the network. Because the PCI Hot Plug

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Utility works over the network, a single management station can be set up to support all of the hot

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plug systems in the enterprise. The ability to centrally manage remote PCI Hot Plug servers

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simplifies the task of supportin g di stributed computing environment s.

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Glossary of Terms

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PCI Peripheral Component Interc onnec t ref ers t o a bus bas ed on t he PCI Local Bus Specification, through w hic h

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RPC Remote Procedure Call is a c alling s t andard t hat perm it s client-server applications to com m unicate over a

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Hot plug slot A PCI slot capable of being pow ered dow n w it hout int erfering with the other slots in the system, and without

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Hot plug aware Indicates that a piece of software, such as a device driver, can take advantage of the PCI Hot Plug capabilities

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Hot replacemen t The ability to remove PCI controllers from a system while the system is running and replace them with

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Hot upgrade The ability to upgrade exis t ing PC I c ont rollers and driv ers to next generation controllers and drivers w hile a

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Hot expansion The ability to add new PC I c ont rollers t o a system and load the respec t iv e dev ic e driv ers w hile t he system is

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Hot plug service Software (CPQRCMC) which has control of overall hot plug operations.

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System

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Management driver

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industry standard peripheral c ont rollers c onnec t t o c omputer systems.

network. RPC requires t he av ailabilit y of a rout able net w ork protocol, such as TCP/I P.

shutting the system down.

of a system.

equivalent PCI cont rollers , w it hout s hut ting down the system.

system is running, without shutting down t he system. Not available in initial release of PCI Hot Plug technology for Windows NT.

running, without shut t ing dow n t he system. Not available in initial release of PCI Hot Plug technology for Windows NT.

Software driver (SYSMGMT.SYS) which monitors t he healt h of t he system and provides the primary interface between the hot plug serv ic e and t he hot plug system hardware.

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Hot Plug Sys tem Hardware

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PCI Hot Plug systems, including the Compaq ProLiant 6500 servers, in corporate the following

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features that differentiate them from conventional systems:

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Advanced system circuitry that permits software control of the PCI Hot Plug slots.

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LED status indicators for each PCI Hot Plug slot that indicate if a slot has power, and if the

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device driver reported an attention condition.

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Slot release levers that automatically disable power to the hot plug slot when opened.

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Wider PCI slot spacing and dividers between hot plug slots that permit safe insertion and

removal of controllers, while avoiding contact with active adjacent PCI options.

TABLE 1 : PCI HOT PLUG COMPATIBILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY

Non Hot Plug Aware Device Driver PCI Hot Plug Aware Device Driver

PCI slot PCI Hot Plug slot

Table 1 shows the interoperability between PCI Hot Plug and existing PCI standards. PCI Hot Plug technology is an extension, not a replacement, of the PCI specification, making it compatible with existing PCI standards. This commitment to standards greatly simplifies the process of configuring and supporting Compaq PCI Hot Plug systems.

PCI Hot Plug Software for Windows NT 4.0

Implementation of PCI Hot Plug technology involves a combination of the system hardware and hot plug software. The software components of PCI Hot Plug technology are available at no cost on the Compaq SSD for Windows NT (version 2.00 or greater), which can be accessed on the C om p aq Online web site at http://www.compaq.com/support/files/server/softpaqs/WINNT/NTSSD.html. The software components for PCI Hot Plug include the following:

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Compaq PCI Hot Plug Utility

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Compaq Remote Monitor service (CPQRCMC)

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System Management driver (SYSMGMT .SYS)

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Hot plug aware device drivers

The PCI Hot Plug Utility can be loaded on any system running Windows NT 4.0, regardless of whether that system has a PCI Hot Plug bus. Using Remote Procedure Calls (RPC), the PCI Hot Plug Utility manages the PCI Hot Plug slots on either the local system, or any system accessible on the network. The use of RPCs as the primary interface allows management of all the PCI Hot Plug slots in a network from a single management station. Compaq designed PCI Hot Plug technology with ease of management as a primary consideration.

Understanding the Software Environment

As illustrated in Figure 1, the CPQRCMC service is central to the operation of PCI Hot Plug technology. CPQRCMC acts as the connection point for all hot plug communications. By using the CPQRCMC service as the primary interface, Compaq delivers true PCI Hot Plug capability without requiring hot plug support directly in the operating system.

When the user invokes a hot plug function from the PCI Hot Plug Utility, CPQRCMC receives the request and routes it to the appropriate driver. For example, if the request involves action on a hot plug slot, C PQRCMC routes the request to the System Managemen t driver (SYSMGMT. SYS). The PCI Hot Plug Utility receives reports of the success or failure of the request by way of CPQRCMC as well.

Standard Functionality Standard Functionality Standard Functionality

Hot Plug Functionality

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Figure 1: Overview of PCI Hot Plug Technology

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If the request coming to CPQRCMC involves direct action to the controller in the hot plug slot,

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CPQRCMC routes that request to the device-class DLL that supports the controller. These device-

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class DLLs communicate directly with the device drivers, which in turn manage the functions of the

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PCI controllers. Status reports of these events flow back to the PCI Hot Plug Utility by way of

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CPQRCMC.

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By default, the CPQRCMC service starts automatically at system startup time using the System

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Account. Under the Services applet of Control Panel the service name is “Compaq Remote Monitor

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Service." Without CPQRCMC running, there is no hot plug functionality. Stopping the service

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disables hot plug functionality until the service restarts. Therefore, the Compaq Remote Monitor

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Service should not be stopped on hot plug systems for any reason.

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Both the CPQRCMC service and the System Management driver install as part of the Compaq SSD

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for Windows NT.

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PCI HOT PLUG TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION

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The following examples illustrate how PCI Hot Plug technology solves problems, alone and in

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concert with fault tolerant technologies. An animated example of the procedure for utilizing PCI

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Hot Plug technology is available on the Compaq System Reference Library CD under the heading

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PCI Hot Plug Procedure.

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Replacing an Adapter

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PCI Hot Plug technology helps eliminate downtime by resolving controller-level hardware problems

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with a minimum of impact on system availability. By implementing slot level isolation, PCI Hot

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Plug technology allows you to power down a single PCI slot without impacting any other PCI slots

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in the system. An adapter equipped with a hot plug aware device driver can be replaced without

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shutting down the system, and without causing problems for other PCI adapters. Once an adapter

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has been replaced, PCI Hot Plug technology enables you to bring the PCI slot back into service

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without impacting other PCI slots. Single slot isolation gives you a very high degree of control over

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the hardware environment, extending the support options and improving system availability.

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Figure 2 : Replacing a Failed Network Adapter Using PCI Hot Plug Technology

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In the example shown in Figure 2, the system contains two network adapters, each connected to a

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different network. PCI Hot Plug technology offers customers the ability to replace hot plug aware

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devices without shutting down the system. If a network adapter fails, single slot isolation allows

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you to replace the adapter without impacting the rest of the system. Once the adapter is replaced,

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connections to the affected network can be restored quickly and with a minimum of service

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interruption. Users on the unaffected network never lose connection to the server.

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Replacing a Redundant Network Adapter

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By combining PCI Hot Plug technology with controller redundancy, the fault tolerance of the system

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is greatly enhanced. Forming a network controller pair involves setting up two similar network

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interface controllers so that they share a single instance of the device driver code. One becomes the

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active controller and the other acts as a standby controller. In this scenario, the driver detects when

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the active controller or its connection fails and immediately switches all network traffic to the

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redundant controller, promoting it to active status.

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Figure 3: Replacing a Redundant Network Adapter Using PCI Hot Plug Technology

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PCI Hot Plug technology and network controller redundancy allow you to replace a failed controller

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while users continue to communicate with the server, as shown in Figure 3. The affected slot is

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powered off using the PCI Hot Plug Utility. After replacing the failed module, you simply activate

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the slot again through the PCI Hot Plug Utility. The device driver automatically detects the

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presence of the replacemen t module.

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Network interface controller redundancy provides continuous connection to the network, even when

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one of the network interfaces fails. PCI Hot Plug technology provides the means for replacing a

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failed network interface while a server is operating, thus maintaining the redundancy of the network

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interfaces. Together they offer extremely high availability and fault tolerance for network

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connectivity.

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Caution: When replaci ng a hot plug aware m as s s torage controller, connect all cables before applying power to the sl ot. Some devices will not initialize properly unless f ully connected before power-up.

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Replacing a Redundant Mass Storage Controller

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Compaq Online Storage Controller Recovery Option creates a high level of redundancy in the mass

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storage subsystem by effectively linking two similar controllers into a cooperative pair. The

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Compaq Online Storage Controller Recovery Utility makes one controller the active controller,

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while the other acts as the redundant controller. If the active controller fails, the redundant

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controller takes over and responds to all requests. Users continue to access their data without

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interruption of service. Online Storage Controller Recovery Option works with Compaq SMART-2

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Array Controllers. For more information about Online Storage Controller Recovery Option for

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Windows NT, refer to document number 066A/0797 (Implementing Online Storage Controller

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Figure 4: Replacing a Redundant Mass Storage Controller Using PCI Hot Plug Technology

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Recovery Option Under Windows NT).

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Hot pluggable disks provide a means of preserving data availability when a disk fails. Previously, if

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a PCI controller failed, the system required a shutdown to replace the failed device. PCI Hot Plug

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and Online Storage Controller Recovery Option provide a means for replacing a mass storage

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controller without shutting down the system. The administrator powers off the PCI slot with the

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Compaq PCI Hot Plug Utility while the rest of the system remains unaffected. The Hot Plug Service

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(CPQRCMC) notifies the device driver that the slot will be powered down, allowing it to stop all

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activity. After replacing the failed controller, the administrator powers on the PCI slot again

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through the Compaq PCI Hot Plug Utility. The Hot plug Service performs the PCI configuration of

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the replacement controller, and then notifies the device driver that the device has been replaced.

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The fault tolerant state of the I/O subsystem is restored without shutting down the system or

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interrupting the availability of the data, as shown in Figure 4.

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