HP NetRAID 1Si Controller User Manual

HP NetRAID Series

User Guide

HP Part Number 5969-5983

February 2000

Notice

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

Hewlett-Packard assumes no responsibility for the use or reliability of its software on equipment that is not furnished by Hewlett-Packard.

This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard Company.

Novell NetWare® is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc.

OS/2® is a registered trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation.

SCO® , SCO OpenServer® , and UnixWare® are registered trademarks of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.

Windows® and Windows NT® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

Hewlett-Packard Company Network Server Division

Technical Communications/MS 45SLE 10955 Tantau Avenue

Cupertino, CA 95014 USA

© Copyright 2000, Hewlett-Packard Company.

Audience Assumptions

This HP NetRAID Series User Guide is for the person who installs, administers, and troubleshoots LAN servers. Hewlett-Packard Company assumes you are qualified in the servicing of computer equipment and trained in recognizing hazards in products with hazardous energy levels.

ii

Contents
Introduction .....................................................................................................	1
1 Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities................................................................	3
HP NetRAID Assistant ...................................................................................	4
HP NetRAID Assistant Menus....................................................................	5
HP NetRAID Config .......................................................................................	6
HP NetRAID Config Menus........................................................................	7
HP NetRAID Express Tools ...........................................................................	8
HP NetRAID Express Tools Menus............................................................	9
HP NetRAID Utility Comparison Chart..........................................................	10
HP NetRAID Drivers and Utilities .................................................................	13
2 HP NetRAID Assistant ...............................................................................	15
Overview .....................................................................................................	15
A HP NetRAID Assistant Main Window.......................................................	15
B HP NetRAID Assistant Menu ...................................................................	18
Configuration Menu .................................................................................	19
Adapter Menu..........................................................................................	20
Physical Drive Menu................................................................................	21
Logical Drive Menu..................................................................................	23
Progress Menu ........................................................................................	25
Help Menu...............................................................................................	25
C Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives.....................................................	25
Select the Adapter to Configure ...............................................................	27
Clear Configuration (if necessary)............................................................	27
Check Rebuild Rate.................................................................................	27
Assign Global Hot Spares........................................................................	28
Select Wizard ..........................................................................................	28
Define Physical Arrays and Dedicated Hot Spares...................................	30
Assign Dedicated Hot Spares ..................................................................	31
Define Logical Drives...............................................................................	32
Preview Configuration..............................................................................	35
Save Your Configuration and Initialize .....................................................	37
D Managing RAID with HP NetRAID Assistant ............................................	39
Rebuilding a Failed Physical Drive...........................................................	39
	iii

Contents
	Adding a Hot Spare .................................................................................	39
	Adding a New Logical Drive.....................................................................	39
	Changing Logical Drives Currently in Use ................................................	40
	Reclaiming a Hot Spare...........................................................................	43
	Changing Logical Drive Parameters.........................................................	43
	Taking a Drive Offline/Online ...................................................................	43
E Managing Servers Over the Network .......................................................		44
	Before Starting HP NetRAID Assistant.....................................................	44
	Start HP NetRAID Assistant.....................................................................	45
	Select Another Server-Adapter Pair .........................................................	46
	Exit HP NetRAID Assistant ......................................................................	47
F Windows NT Monitor Service for HP NetRAID .........................................		47
3 HP NetRAID Config....................................................................................		49
Overview .....................................................................................................		49
A	Starting and Exiting HP NetRAID Config..................................................	50
B HP NetRAID Config Management Menu Options .....................................		50
	Configure Menu.......................................................................................	51
	Initialize Option........................................................................................	51
	Objects Menu ..........................................................................................	51
	Format Option .........................................................................................	56
	Rebuild Option.........................................................................................	56
	Check Consistency Option.......................................................................	56
	Advanced Menu ......................................................................................	57
C	Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives.....................................................	57
	Configuration Methods.............................................................................	57
	Using Auto Configuration.........................................................................	58
	Using Easy Configuration ........................................................................	60
	Using New Configuration .........................................................................	62
	Using View/Add Configuration .................................................................	65
D	Designating Drives as Hot Spares ...........................................................	67
E	Initializing Logical Drives .........................................................................	68
	Batch Initialization....................................................................................	68
	Individual Initialization..............................................................................	69
F	Changing Logical Drives Currently in Use ................................................	69
	Changing the RAID Level of a Logical Drive ............................................	70
	Removing a Physical Drive from a Logical Drive ......................................	71
	Reclaiming a Hot Spare...........................................................................	72
iv

		Contents
G	Formatting Physical Drives......................................................................	72
	Media Errors............................................................................................	72
	Formatting Options ..................................................................................	73
4 HP NetRAID Express Tools .......................................................................		75
Overview .....................................................................................................		75
A	Starting and Exiting HP NetRAID Express Tools......................................	76
	To start HP NetRAID Express Tools ........................................................	76
	To exit HP NetRAID Express Tools..........................................................	77
B HP NetRAID Express Tools Management Menu ......................................		77
	Configure Menu.......................................................................................	78
	Initialize Option........................................................................................	78
	Objects Menu ..........................................................................................	79
	Format Option .........................................................................................	83
	Rebuild Option.........................................................................................	84
	Check Consistency Option.......................................................................	84
	Disable/Enable BIOS Option....................................................................	85
	Change Adapters Option .........................................................................	85
	Alarm Control Option ...............................................................................	85
C	Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives.....................................................	85
	Designating Drives as Global Hot Spares ................................................	85
	Creating Arrays Using Available Physical Drives......................................	86
	Initializing Logical Drives..........................................................................	94
D	Formatting Physical Drives......................................................................	95
	Media Errors............................................................................................	95
	Formatting Drives ....................................................................................	96
E Changing the HP NetRAID Series Adapter ..............................................		96
5 Reconstructing and Rebuilding Drives.....................................................		99
Reconstructing Data ....................................................................................		99
	Power Fail Safeguard Feature .................................................................	99
Rebuilding Data..........................................................................................		102
	The Autorebuild Feature .........................................................................	102
	Changing the Rebuild Rate.....................................................................	103
	Rebuilding Drives Manually ....................................................................	104
6 Capacity Expansion..................................................................................		107
Capacity Expansion under NetWare 4.2......................................................		107
	About Online Capacity Expansion under NetWare 4.2 ............................	108
		v

Contents
Planning for Online Capacity Expansion under NetWare 4.2 ...................	110
Preparation Steps for NetWare 4.2 .........................................................	110
Expanding Capacity Online under NetWare 4.2 ......................................	114
Expanding Capacity under NetWare 4.2 with Virtual Sizing Disabled.......	116
Capacity Expansion under NetWare 5 ........................................................	116
About Online Capacity Expansion under NetWare 5 ...............................	117
Planning for Online Capacity Expansion under NetWare 5......................	117
Preparation Steps for NetWare 5 ............................................................	118
Expanding Capacity Online under NetWare 5 .........................................	120
Expanding Capacity under NetWare 5 with Virtual Sizing Enabled ..........	123
Capacity Expansion under Windows NT .....................................................	123
About Online Capacity Expansion under Windows NT ............................	124
Preparation Steps for Windows NT .........................................................	125
Expanding Capacity Online under Windows NT ......................................	128
Expanding Capacity under Windows NT with Virtual Sizing Disabled ......	129
Capacity Expansion under Windows 2000 ..................................................	130
About Online Capacity Expansion under Windows 2000 .........................	130
Preparation Steps for Windows 2000 ......................................................	131
Expanding Capacity Online under Windows 2000 ...................................	133
Expanding Capacity under Windows 2000 with Virtual Sizing Enabled....	135
7 Monitor Alert List......................................................................................	137
Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000 .................................................	137
Novell NetWare Monitor Messages .............................................................	137
IBM OS/2 Monitor Messages ......................................................................	138
SCO OpenServer and UnixWare Monitor Messages ...................................	139
8 Alarm Control and Audible Warnings......................................................	141
Glossary ........................................................................................................	143
HP NetRAID Terms and Technology...........................................................	143
Index..............................................................................................................	151

vi

Introduction

The HP NetRAID-1Si and HP NetRAID-3Si adapters and the integrated

HP NetRAID controllers built into certain HP NetServers let you link multiple hard disk drives together to write data across them as if they were one large drive You configure your linked drives in a RAID (redundant array of independent disks) subsystem.

Initial installation and configuration of HP NetRAID Series adapters is described in the HP NetRAID Series Installation and Configuration Guide. Initial configuration of the integrated HP NetRAID controller is described in the HP NetServer Integrated NetRAID Controller Configuration Guide.

This HP NetRAID Series User Guide contains information on the HP NetRAID utilities that let you manage and make changes to an existing RAID system. This guide covers the following topics:

∙Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

∙HP NetRAID Assistant (for Windows NT and Windows 2000)

∙HP NetRAID Config (for Novell NetWare, IBM OS/2, and SCO OpenServer and UnixWare)

∙HP NetRAID Express Tools (use with all supported network operating systems)

∙Reconstructing and Rebuilding Drives

∙Capacity Expansion

∙Monitor Alert List

∙Alarm Control and Audible Warnings

∙Glossary

1

1 Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

Three HP NetRAID utilities can configure and manage HP NetRAID Series subsystems. Integrated HP NetRAID controllers and HP NetRAID Series adapters (HP NetRAID-1Si and HP NetRAID-3Si) use the same utilities. However, all utilities are not available to all network operating systems.

∙HP NetRAID Assistant is used only with Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000. (This utility is similar to the one that you ran from the

HP NetServer Navigator CD-ROM to initially configure your HP NetRAID subsystem.)

∙HP NetRAID Config is a text-based RAID configuration utility that runs under Novell NetWare, IBM OS/2, SCO OpenServer, and SCO UnixWare.

∙HP NetRAID Express Tools is a text-based RAID configuration utility available to all operating systems. HP NetRAID Express Tools has some advanced features not available in the other utilities.

Table 1-1. HP NetRAID Management Utilities and Network Operating Systems

Network Operating	HP NetRAID	HP NetRAID	HP NetRAID
System	Assistant	Config	Express Tools
Microsoft Windows 2000	X		X
Microsoft Windows NT	X		X
Novell NetWare		X	X
IBM OS/2		X	X
SCO OpenServer		X	X
SCO UnixWare		X	X

NOTE	Consult the Hewlett-Packard World Wide Web site
	(http://www.hp.com/go/netserver) or your local HP dealer for
	compatibility of your adapter with the most current versions of
	the network operating systems listed in the preceding table.

3

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Assistant

HP NetRAID Assistant is an object-oriented GUI management utility. It runs under Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000, and it allows you to reconfigure and manage your HP NetRAID subsystem and to monitor its status.

For complete instructions on using this utility, see Chapter 2, "HP NetRAID Assistant," in this guide.

NOTE	Users of all operating systems run HP NetRAID Assistant from
	the HP NetServer Navigator CD-ROM to configure their
	systems during initial installation.

4

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Assistant Menus

Main Menu

Configuration

Adapter

Physical Drive

Logical Drive

Progress

Help

Configuration Menu

Wizard

Display

Print

Save

Load

Clear Configuration

Exit

Adapter Menu
Update Firmware
Flush Cache
Performance Monitor On/Off
Properties
Rebuild Rate	Alarm Control Menu
Rescan
View Log	Disable/Enable Alarm
Alarm Control	Silence Alarm

Physical Drive Menu	Change Status Menu
Rebuild	Make Online
Format	Make Offline
Update Drive Firmware	Spin Up
Change Status	Spin Down
Properties	Make Hot Spare

Logical Drive Menu	Change Config Menu
Initialize	Cache
Check Consistency	Read
Properties	Write
Change Config	RAID Level
	Virtual Size
	Add Capacity
Progress Menu
Rebuild Progress
Diagnostics Progress
Initialize Progress
Check Consistency
Reconstruction Progress
Performance Monitor
Help Menu
Help
About...

Figure 1-1. HP NetRAID Assistant Menus

(Alarm Control menu is not available for integrated HP NetRAID.)

5

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Config

HP NetRAID Config is a character-based, non-GUI utility that runs under all supported operating systems other than Microsoft Windows NT and

Windows 2000. HP NetRAID Config allows you to reconfigure and manage your HP NetRAID subsystem and to monitor its status.

HP NetRAID Config performs most of the same functions as HP NetRAID Assistant as well as some additional ones, but it runs under Novell NetWare, IBM OS/2, SCO OpenServer, and SCO UnixWare.

The command you use to start the HP NetRAID Config utility depends on which NOS you are using.

∙For Novell Netware, type load megamgr

∙For IBM OS/2, type megaconf

∙For SCO OpenServer, type megamgr

∙For SCO UnixWare, type megamgr

For instructions on using this utility, see Chapter 3, "HP NetRAID Config," in this guide.

6

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Config Menus

	Management Menu
	Configure	Configure Menu
	Initialize	Automatic Configuration
	Objects
		Easy Configuration
	Format
		New Configuration
	Rebuild
		View/Add/Delete Configuration
	Check Consistency
		Clear Configuration
	Advanced Menu
	Select Adapter

Objects Menu

Adapter

Logical Drive

Physical Drive

SCSI Channel

Battery Backup

Advanced Menu

Reconstruct Logical Drive

Adapter Menu

Clear Configuration

View Adapter Performance

Power Fail Safeguard

Disk Spin-up Timings

View/Update Parameters

Adapter Type

Alarm Control

Logical Drive Menu

Initialize

Check Consistency

View Performance

Properties

Physical Drive Menu

Rebuild

Format

Make Online

Fail Drive

Make Hot Spare

Properties

View Rebuild Progress

SCSI Channel Menu

Deactivate Channel

Activate Channel

Terminate High 8 Bits

Terminate Wide Channel

Disable Termination

View Parameters

Figure 1-2. HP NetRAID Configuration Menus

(Alarm Control menu is not available for integrated HP NetRAID. Battery Backup menu is not available for HP NetRAID-1Si or for integrated

HP NetRAID if Battery Backup Module is not present.)

7

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Express Tools

HP NetRAID Express Tools is available to all network operating systems because this utility is contained in the firmware. HP NetRAID Express Tools contains some advanced management and diagnostic utilities that are not available with HP NetRAID Assistant or HP NetRAID Config.

NOTE	To access HP NetRAID Express Tools you must restart the
	HP NetServer.

To start HP NetRAID Express Tools:

1.Log off all users, close all applications, and power down the HP NetServer.

2.Restart the HP NetServer.

3.When the following prompt appears, press <Ctrl> <M>.

Option: Experienced users may press <Ctrl> <M> for HP NetRAID Express Tools now.

Firmware Initializing

For complete information on this utility, see Chapter 4, "HP NetRAID Express Tools," in this guide.

8

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Express Tools Menus

Tools Management Menu
Configure		Configure Menu
Initialize		Easy Configuration
Objects
		New Configuration
Format
		View/Add/Delete Configuration
Rebuild
		Clear Configuration
Check Consistency
Disable BIOS
Change Adapters
Alarm Control		Objects Menu
		Adapter
		Logical Drive
		Physical Drive
		SCSI Channel
		Battery Backup

Adapter Menu

Reset to Default Settings Power Fail Safeguard Memory Type

Read Modify Write Mode Change Disk Geometry Disk Spin-up Timings Cache Flush Timings View/Update Rebuild Rate Diagnostics

Adapter Type Emulation Auto Rebuild Initiator ID

Logical Drive Menu

Initialize

Check Consistency

Properties

Physical Drive Menu

Rebuild

Format

Make Online

Fail Drive

Make Hot Spare

Properties

Synchronous Negotiation

SCSI-2 Command Tagging

SCSI Channel Menu

Terminate High 8 Bits

Terminate Wide Channel

Disable Termination

Automatic Termination

SCSI Transfer Rate

Figure 1-3. HP NetRAID Express Tools Menus

(Alarm Control menu is not available for integrated HP NetRAID. Battery Backup menu is not available for HP NetRAID-1Si or for integrated

HP NetRAID if Battery Backup Module is not present.)

9

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Utility Comparison Chart

The three HP NetRAID utilities (HP NetRAID Assistant, HP NetRAID Config, and HP NetRAID Express Tools) perform many of the same functions, but they are not identical.

Parameters with default values and functions that are not shared by each of these utilities are listed in the Table 1-2. (Most functions common to all three utilities are not listed.)

Table 1-2. Comparison of Available Functions of HP NetRAID Utilities

				HP
	Defaults*	HP	HP	NetRAID
Function/Selection	(if	NetRAID	NetRAID	Express
	applicable)	Assistant	Config	Tools
Adapter Type			X	X
Add Capacity		X	X
Alarm Control		X	X	X
HP NetRAID-1Si &	Enable*
HP NetRAID-3Si
Integrated HP NetRAID	Not Available
Autorebuild	Enabled*			X
Battery Backup (HP NetRAID-3Si &			X	X
with Battery Backup Module in
HP NetServer LH 3000/3000r,
LH 6000/6000r & LT6000r)
Cache Flush Timings	4 seconds*			X
Cache Policy	Cached*	X	X	X
Change Disk Geometry	8 GB*	X	X	X
Channel Activate/Deactivate	Activated*		X
Diagnostics				X
Disable BIOS	NO*			X
Disk Spin-Up Timings	Automatic*		X	X
Emulation (Sets PCI Class Code to	Mass			X
I2O or Mass Storage mode)	Storage*
Initiator ID	7*			X

10

Chapter 1 Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

Memory Type				X
HP NetRAID-1Si	EDO*
HP NetRAID-3Si & integrated	Not Available
HP NetRAID
Power Fail Safeguard	Enabled*		X	X
Print Config		X
RAID Level		X
Read Modify Write Mode	OFF*			X
Read Policy	Adaptive*	X	X	X
Rebuild Rate	50%*	X	X	X
Reset to Default Settings				X
Save/Load Config from File		X
SCSI-2 Command Tagging	Enhanced			X
	Qtag
	Scheduling*
SCSI Termination			X	X
HP NetRAID-3Si & HP NetServer	Terminate
LH 3000/3000r, LH 6000/6000r	Wide
& LT 6000r	Channel*
HP NetRAID-1Si & HP NetServer	Not Available
LH 3/3r & 4/4r
SCSI Transfer Rate	Ultra-2*			X
Span	NOSPAN*			X
Spin Down/Spin Up		X
Synchronous Negotiation	Enabled*			X
Stripe Size	64 KB*	X	X	X
Update Drive Firmware		X
View/Add/Delete Config			X	X
View Log		X
Virtual Sizing	Disabled*			X
Write Policy		X	X	X
HP NetRAID-1Si & HP NetServer	Write-
LH 3/3r & LH 4/4r	Through*
HP NetRAID-3Si & HP NetServer	Write-Back*
LH 3000/3000r, LH 6000/6000r	(See note
& LT 6000r	below table.)

11

Chapter 1 Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

NOTE	Write-Back means that data is written to disk only when it is
	forced out of the cache. Write-Back is efficient because an
	entry may be written many times in the cache without a disk
	access. While this setting increases performance, data can be
	lost if power fails.
	Write-Back is NOT recommended unless one of the following
	is true:
	∙ The HP NetRAID adapter is an HP NetRAID-3Si, which
	has a Battery Backup Unit.
	∙ Your system is equipped with a UPS (uninterruptible
	power supply).
	∙ Your system is an HP NetServer LH 3000/3000r,
	LH 6000/6000r, or LT 6000r that is equipped with a
	charged accessory Battery Backup Module.
	Write-Back is not certified for any logical drive used as a
	Novell NetWare volume.

12

Chapter 1

Overview of HP NetRAID Utilities

HP NetRAID Drivers and Utilities

Table 1-3 lists the filenames of drivers and utilities specific to your network operating system (NOS). For information on installing drivers and configuration utilities for HP NetRAID, see the HP NetRAID Installation and Configuration Guide or the HP NetServer Integrated NetRAID Controller Configuration Guide.

Table 1-3. HP NetRAID Drivers and Utility Files for Network Operating Systems

	Network Operating			Drivers			Monitor			Configuration
	System						Utilities			Utilities
	Microsoft Windows 2000			mraid35x.sys			megaserv.exe			nraid.exe
							megactrl.exe
	Microsoft Windows NT			mraidnt.sys			megaserv.exe			nraid.exe
							megactrl.exe
	Novell NetWare 4.2 and 5			Mega4_xx.ham			Megamon.nlm			Megamgr.nlm
	(Conventional, non-I2O)			Mega4_xx.ddi
	Novell NetWare 4.2 and 5			HP NetRAID I2O OSM			Megamon.nlm			Megamgr.nlm
	(I2O support)			mril4_xx.ham
	IBM OS/2			mraid.add			monitor.cmd			megaconf.exe
	SCO OpenServer			amird			amirdmon			megamgr
	SCO UnixWare			mega			amirdmon			megamgr

13

2 HP NetRAID Assistant

Overview

HP NetRAID Assistant is an object-oriented, graphical user interface (GUI) management utility that runs under Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 2000. HP NetRAID Assistant allows you to control and monitor the status of hard disk drives on the local HP NetServer or over a network with several servers.

This section provides the following information:

A.HP NetRAID Assistant Main Window

B.HP NetRAID Assistant Menu Options

C.Using the Wizard to Configure Arrays and Logical Drives

D.Managing RAID with HP NetRAID Assistant

E.Managing Servers Over the Network

F.Windows NT Monitor Service for HP NetRAID (also for Windows 2000)

A HP NetRAID Assistant Main Window

Start HP NetRAID Assistant.

∙To start HP NetRAID Assistant under Windows 95 or 98, click the NetRAID Assistant icon in the NetRAID program group (or group you specified).

∙To start HP NetRAID Assistant under Windows NT or Windows 2000, click the Start button, point to Programs, point to NetRAID in the Programs menu, and click NetRAID Assistant.

Figure 2-1 shows an example of the main window of HP NetRAID Assistant.

	NOTE	Since HP NetRAID-1Si is a single-channel adapter, the
		HP NetRAID Assistant Main window for HP NetRAID-1Si
		contains only Channel 0 information. In HP NetServer LH 3/3r
		and LH 4/4r, the integrated HP NetRAID controller can show
		either one or two channels depending upon how many channels
		you enabled for HP NetRAID. Integrated HP NetRAID
		controllers in other HP NetServers show two channels.
		15

Chapter 2											HP NetRAID Assistant
Configuration		Adapter		Physical		Logical		Progress		Help
Menu		Menu		Drive		Drive		Menu		Menu
				Menu		Menu

Server
Selector			Toggle
			Between
			Views

Adapter Selector

Physical

Drives

Figure 2-1. HP NetRAID Assistant Main Window

The HP NetRAID Assistant window contains the following elements:

∙Menu bar: The menu bar activates pull-down menus for Configuration, Adapter, Physical Drives, Logical Drives, Progress, and Help.

∙Toolbar: The toolbar icons, which are shown in Figure 2-2, are separated into four categories of functions: Configuration, Properties, Miscellaneous, and Other. They provide shortcuts to access the menu options.

Display

Print

Adapter

Rebuild Rate

Wizard

Physical Drv

Rescan

Exit

Clear

Logical Drv

View Log

Help

CONFIGURATION

PROPERTIES

MISCELLANEOUS OTHER

Figure 2-2. HP NetRAID Assistant Main Menu Toolbar Options

16

Chapter 2

HP NetRAID Assistant

∙Server Selector box: The Server Selector box shows the name of the current server. If HP NetRAID Assistant is started on a client or server over the network, you must select the server you want to access from the pull-down list.

∙Adapter box: The Adapter box shows the number of the current adapter. If the HP NetServer contains more than one adapter, you can change the current adapter by using the Adapter box pull-down list.

∙Physical Devices box: The Physical Devices box contains either one channel column (for an HP NetRAID-1Si adapter), one or two channel columns (for an integrated HP NetRAID controller), or three channel columns (for an HP NetRAID-3Si adapter), which show the physical drives on the SCSI channels of the current adapter. The number in parentheses to the right of each physical drive icon is its SCSI ID (Target) on the channel.

NOTE	For internal mass storage in HP NetServer LH 3000/3000r,
	LH 6000/6000r, and LT 6000r, SCSI ID 5 is reserved for the
	SAF-TE processor that manages the hot-swap mass storage
	cage.
	For an external mass storage enclosure with a SAF-TE
	processor, a SCSI ID is reserved for that processor. The
	number of the reserved SCSI ID varies with the type of
	external enclosure.
	The SAF-TE processor is displayed in the Physical Devices
	box with the rectangular green icon that is used for adapters.

The state of each physical drive appears to the right of the SCSI ID or array designation. The possible states of a physical drive are as follows:

àOnln: The physical drive is online, functioning normally, and part of a configured logical drive.

àReady: The physical drive is functioning normally, but is not part of a configured logical drive, nor configured as a hot spare.

àHotSp: The drive is configured as a hot spare, and is powered up and ready for use as a spare in case an online drive fails.

àFailed: The physical drive failed and is out of service.

àRebuilding: The drive is in the process of being rebuilt with data from a failed drive.

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Chapter 2

HP NetRAID Assistant

∙Logical Devices box: The Logical Devices box shows the current adapter and its global hot spare pool. When arrays, logical drives, and hot spares have been defined, they are displayed here. Clicking on Logical View or Physical View switches between showing logical drives and physical drives. Clicking on the + sign in the yellow diamond expands the view if it is collapsed (physical or logical drives, or hot spares are hidden).

The possible states of a logical drive are as follows:

àOnline: All participating physical disks are online.

àDegraded: (Critical) A single physical disk in a redundant array (not RAID 0) in not online. Data loss may result if a second physical disk fails.

àOffline: Two or more physical disks in a redundant array (not RAID 0) or one or more physical disks in a RAID 0 array are not online.

∙Status line: The status line at the bottom of the window shows the progress of the scan required to build the displays on the HP NetRAID Assistant window. It also suggests possible actions.

B HP NetRAID Assistant Menu

HP NetRAID Assistant offers several menu options to assist you in configuring and monitoring RAID systems. The menu options are listed below in the order they appear on the HP NetRAID Assistant menu bar:

∙The Configuration menu lets you create, display, print, clear, and save your configuration of arrays and logical drives.

∙The Adapter menu lets you view and change settings specific to each adapter or integrated HP NetRAID controller.

∙The Physical Drive menu lets you rebuild, format, view properties, or change the status of a physical drive.

∙The Logical Drive menu lets you initialize, check consistency, view properties, and change the status of a logical drive.

∙The Progress menu lets you view various utility monitors.

∙The Help menu provides additional instructions about HP NetRAID Assistant.

18

Chapter 2

HP NetRAID Assistant

Configuration Menu

The following Configuration menu options assist you in configuring your HP NetRAID system.

∙Wizard: Lets you configure the arrays, logical drives, and parameters of your system. For complete information on the Wizard, see Part C of this chapter, "Using the Wizard to Configure Arrays and Logical Drives."

∙Display: Displays the current configuration properties:

àLogical drive properties include State, RAID Type, Write Policy, Read Policy, Cache Policy, Stripe Size, Number of Stripes, Size (in MB)

àPhysical drives properties include Rank, Channel, and Target (SCSI)

∙Print: Prints a hardcopy of the current configuration display.

∙Save: Saves the current configuration to a binary file. A dialogue box prompts you to give your configuration a file name with a .cfg extension. Clicking an X in the Read Only box makes the file read only. This option is not an alternative to saving your configuration by using the Wizard.

NOTE	You should always save your current configuration to a file.
	This file is essential if you ever have to replace a failed
	adapter.

∙Load: Loads a configuration from a previously saved binary file. A dialogue box prompts you to choose your configuration from among .cfg files in the directory. Use this option if you are replacing a failed adapter. This selection does not cause a reconstruction to occur.

∙Clear Configuration: Select this option to erase the current configuration information from the selected adapter’s non-volatile memory. The current RAID configuration becomes invalid after you select this option. This option should be used only when configuring a new system.

	NOTE	If you have inadvertently erased your configuration, you can
		recover it by immediately loading a previously saved
		configuration. If you do not have a file copy of the previous
		configuration, you can reconfigure the physical drives into the
		exact same array and logical drive structure in which they had
		been, and save the configuration. Do not select the Initialize
		menu selection.
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∙Exit: Select this option to quit HP NetRAID Assistant. You cannot exit if disk operations are ongoing.

NOTE	New configurations are not saved when exiting unless you
	saved them by using the Wizard.

Adapter Menu

The options on the HP NetRAID Assistant Adapter menu are described below.

∙Update Firmware: This selection is not available.

∙Flush Cache: Writes all data in cache to physical drives. The

HP NetRAID system allows logical drives to be configured in write-back mode. If configured in this mode, data is retained in cache and is not immediately written to the physical drives. If your system is configured for write-back mode, and if the adapter must be powered down rapidly, you must flush the contents of the cache memory to preserve data integrity.

∙Performance Monitor On/Off: Displays a graphic representation of the performance of the logical drive you select. To use this selection, first click the left mouse button on a drive icon and then select Performance Monitor. Performance for each logical drive is displayed in two ways: as the data transfer rate and as the number of I/O operations per second. You can choose different logical drives, the type of graph (bar or line), and the window arrangement from the Performance Monitor menus.

∙Properties: Displays the adapter properties, including the firmware and BIOS versions, the rebuild rate, and cache memory size.

∙Rebuild Rate: Sets the rebuild rate for rebuilding a failed drive. The rebuild rate determines the percentage of IOP (input/output processor) resources devoted to the rebuild. A 100% rebuild rate means that 100% of the IOP’s resources are applied to the rebuild, leaving no resources available for other tasks until the rebuild is complete. The default rebuild rate is 50%.

∙Rescan: Reads the current configuration for the currently selected adapter. It displays the updated configuration on the main window of HP NetRAID Assistant. Use this selection if any physical drives were moved, added, removed, changed, or whose state changed after HP NetRAID Assistant was started.

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∙View Log: Displays the contents of the View Log File, which records adapter activities and conditions such as battery backup charge, logical drive properties, and changes to configurations along with the date and time changes are made.

∙Alarm Control: Changes the onboard tone generator settings as described below. (This option is not available with the integrated HP NetRAID controller.)

àEnable/Disable Alarm: Enables or disables the onboard tone generator. The default setting is Enabled.

àSilence Alarm: Stops the alarm when it goes off. To silence a sounding alarm, choose Alarm Control and Silence Alarm.

For complete information, see Chapter 8, "Alarm Control and Audible Warnings."

Physical Drive Menu

The Physical Drive menu options are described below.

∙Rebuild: Rebuilds one or more failed disk drives. Click Cancel to stop the rebuild process at any time. The drive returns to its original status before the rebuild began. A configuration of RAID level 1, 3, 5, 10, 30 or 50 has built-in redundancy. If a drive in one of these RAID groups fails, the RAID subsystem continues to work but no additional redundancy is provided. Another drive failure will take the logical drive offline. Rebuilding the failed drive replaces and adds it into the RAID system. The rebuild process can take place while the RAID system is still running, although performance may be affected.

∙Format: Low-level formats one or more physical drives. You can format a drive only if it is in the Fail or Ready state and is not part of any configuration.

Since most SCSI disk drives are low-level formatted at the factory, this step is usually not necessary. You must format a disk only if:

àThe disk drive was not low-level formatted at the factory.

àThere is an excessive number of media errors detected on the disk drive.

	NOTE	You do not need to use the Format option if you simply want to
		erase existing information on your hard drives, such as a DOS
		partition. That information is erased when you choose Initialize
		from the Logical Drive menu to initialize the logical drive(s).
		Hewlett-Packard drives are factory-formatted.
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∙Update Drv Firmware: This selection is not available.

∙Change Status: Changes the status of the physical drive:

àMake Online: Puts the drive online and available to the adapter.

àMake Offline: Puts the drive offline and unavailable to the adapter.

àSpin Up: Sets the method and timing for spinning up the hard disk drives.

àSpin Down: Sets the method and timing for spinning down the hard disk drives.

àMake Hot Spare: Makes a hot spare of the drive you selected. To use this selection, first click on the drive icon, then select Make Hot Spare.

∙Properties: Displays the physical drive properties of a selected drive. The properties include Device Identification, Device Attributes, and Device Error.

Physical Drive Right Mouse Button Menu

To access this menu, select (and highlight) a physical drive in the Physical Devices box, then click the right mouse button. The following popup menu options appear:

∙Rebuild

∙Abort Rebuild

∙Format

∙Tools

àMake Online

àMake Hot Spare

àFail Drive

àSpin Down (used to spin down the motor of a disk drive)

àSpin Up (used to spin up the motor of a disk drive)

∙Firmware Download (not available)

∙Remove (not available)

∙Properties

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Logical Drive Menu

The Logical Drive menu options are described below.

∙Initialize: Initializes one or more logical drives. To initialize one or more drives, first select the logical drive(s) to be initialized, then choose Initialize.

After configuration, a logical drive must be initialized before it can be used. This option initializes the logical drives by writing zeros to the data fields and generating corresponding parity fields on drives with RAID levels 3, 5, 10, 30, or 50.

CAUTION HP NetRAID Assistant allows you to initialize a drive at any time. Make sure that the drive being initialized does not hold active data. All data will be lost when you choose the Initialize menu selection.

∙Check Consistency: Ensures that parity or mirroring is correct for the selected drives. Click on the drive to be checked (LD0-LD7). RAID levels 3, 5, 30, and 50 use an extra drive to store parity data blocks; parity is checked between these parity data blocks and the selected drives. RAID levels 1 and 10 use duplicate data drives (mirroring); the duplicate data is verified.

Check Consistency should be run if the system shuts down irregularly, such as after a power failure. It is also recommended that you run consistency checks every two to four weeks to ensure that bad blocks on the disk drive are mapped out. Check Consistency always remedies inconsistencies. Check Consistency will fail only if the firmware could not complete parity and data writes due to a power-failure or a system hang, or because the logical drive degraded or failed when a physical drive went offline.

You can use a Windows NT Monitor Service for HP NetRAID Series adapters to schedule and perform Consistency Checks automatically. For more information, see Part F of this chapter, "Windows NT Monitor Service for HP NetRAID."

∙Properties: Displays the logical drive properties of the selected logical drive. Each logical drive can be displayed by selecting the Previous or Next buttons.

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∙Change Config: Changes the parameters of a logical drive. To use this option, first select the logical drive or drives to change, then click Change Config.

àCache: There are two Cache policies:

Direct I/O specifies that only repeated reads to same locations are cached.

Cached I/O specifies that all reads are cached.

àRead: There are three Read policies:

Read Ahead tells the adapter to read sequentially ahead of requested data and cache the further data in memory, anticipating that the further data will be requested.

Normal specifies that the controller does not use Read-Ahead for the current logical drive.

Adaptive Read Ahead specifies that the adapter begins using Read-Ahead if the two most recent disk accesses occurred in sequential sectors.

àWrite: There are two Write policies:

Write-Back specifies that data is written to disk only when it is forced out of the cache. Write-back is efficient, because an entry may be written many times in the cache without a disk access.

Write-Through specifies that data is written to disk at the same time as it is cached. Write-Through caching has a data security advantage over Write-Back caching.

àRAID Level: This option allows you to change the RAID level.

àVirtual Size: This selection is not available. Use HP NetRAID Express Tools to enable the Virtual Sizing parameter.

àAdd Capacity: Use this option to add a physical disk to the logical drive. HP NetRAID reconstructs your data to incorporate the new physical drive into the array.

Logical Drive Right Mouse Button Menu

To access this menu, select (highlight) a logical drive in the Logical Devices box and click the right mouse button. The following pop-up menu options appear:

∙ Delete (deletes the last array created, one at a time)

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