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SAS2
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LSI SAS2 User Manual

SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution
User Guide
Version 2.0
August 2010
Revision History
Version and Date Description of Changes
Version 2.0, August 2010 Added new models of supported controllers.
Version 1.1, August 2009 Applied extensive general editing improvements.
Version 1.0, July 2009 Initial release of this document.
LSI, the LSI logo, Fusion-MPT are trademarks or registered trademarks of LSI Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other brand and product names may be trademarks of their respective companies.
LSI Corporation reserves the right to make changes to the product(s) or information disclosed herein at any time without notice. LSI Corporation does not assume any responsibility or liability arising out of the application or use of any product or service described herein, except as expressly agreed to in writing by LSI Corporation; nor does the purchase, lease, or use of a product or service from LSI Corporation convey a license under any patent rights, copyrights, trademark rights, or any other of the intellectual property rights of LSI Corporation or of third parties.
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Document Number: DB15-000543-02 Copyright © 2010 LSI Corporation All Rights Reserved
SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.2 Benefits and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.2.1 Host Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.2.2 Metadata Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.2.3 SMART Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.2.4 Fusion-MPT Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
2.2 Integrated Mirroring and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
2.3 Operation of Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
2.4 Mirrored Volume Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.4.1 Resynchronization with Concurrent Host I/O Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.4.2 Hot Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.4.3 Hot Spare Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.4.4 Online Capacity Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.4.5 Media Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.4.6 Disk Write Caching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
2.4.7 NVSRAM Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
2.4.8 Background Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
2.4.9 Consistency Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
2.4.10 Make Data Consistent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
3.1 Mirrored Volume Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
3.2 Creating Mirrored Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
3.2.1 Creating an Integrated Mirroring Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3.2.2 Creating an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced or Integrated Mirroring + Striping Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
3.2.3 Expanding an Integrated Mirroring Volume with OCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
3.3 Managing Hot Spare Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.3.1 Creating Hot Spare Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.3.2 Deleting Hot Spare Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
3.4 Other Configuration Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3.4.1 Viewing Volume Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3.4.2 Running a Consistency Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3.4.3 Activating an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
3.4.4 Deleting an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
3.4.5 Locating Disk Drives in a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
3.4.6 Selecting a Boot Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Chapter 4: Overview of Integrated Striping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
4.2 Integrated Striping Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
4.3 Integrated Striping Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
LSI Corporation Confidential
| August 2010 Page 3
Table of Contents SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
Chapter 5: Creating Integrated Striping Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
5.1 Integrated Striping Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
5.2 Creating Integrated Striping Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
5.3 Other Configuration Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
5.3.1 Viewing Volume Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
5.3.2 Activating an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
5.3.3 Deleting an Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
5.3.4 Locating Disk Drives in a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
5.3.5 Selecting a Boot Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Appendix A: Using the SAS2 Integrated RAID Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
A.1 Hardware and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
A.1.1 Controller Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
A.1.2 Operating System and Software Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
A.2 Interface Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
A.3 Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
A.3.1 Common Command-Line Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
A.3.2 CREATE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
A.3.3 DELETE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
A.3.4 DISPLAY Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
A.3.5 HOTSPARE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
A.3.6 STATUS Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
A.3.7 LIST Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
A.3.8 MFGPAGE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
A.3.9 CONSTCHK Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
A.3.10 ACTIVATE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
A.3.11 LOCATE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
A.3.12 LOGIR Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Page 4 LSI Corporation Confidential
| August 2010
SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution | Overview
Chapter 1

Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution

This chapter provides an introduction to the features and benefits of the LSI Integrated RAID solution for LSI SAS2 controllers.

1.1 Overview The LSI Integrated RAID solution provides cost benefits for the server or workstation

market that requires the extra performance, storage capacity, and/or redundancy of a RAID configuration. The LSI Integrated RAID solution includes the following RAID features:
The Integrated Mirroring solution, which provides features of RAID 1
The Integrated Mirroring + Striping solution, which provides features of RAID 10
The Integrated Mirroring Enhanced solution, which provides features of RAID 1
Enhanced (RAID 1E)
The Integrated Striping solution, which provides features of RAID 0
By simplifying the configuration options and by providing firmware support in its SAS2 host adapters, LSI can offer the Integrated RAID solution at a lower cost than a hardware RAID implementation.
LSI Fusion-MPT™ firmware supports I ntegrated Mirroring volumes, Integrated Mir roring + Striping volumes, Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes, and Integrated Striping volumes. You can create up to two Integrated RAID volumes on each LSI SAS2 controller.
The LSI Integrated RAID solution supports the following LSI SAS2 controllers and the host bus adapters based on these controllers:
LSISAS2004
LSISAS2008
LSISAS2108
LSISAS2208
LSISAS2304
LSISAS2308
LSI Integrated RAID firmware uses the same device drivers as the standard LSI Fusion-MPT-based controllers. This eliminates the need for complex backup software or expensive RAID hardware. To conserve system resources, the Integrated RAID firmware operates independently from the operating system. The BIOS-based configuration utility, documented in Chapter 3 and Chapter 5, makes it easy to configure mirrored and striped volumes. The Integrated RAID solution is currently available as an optional component of the Fusion-MPT architecture on LSI SAS2 controllers.
LSI Corporation Confidential
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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Integrated RAID Solution | Benefits and Features SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide

1.2 Benefits and Features The LSI Integrated RAID solution has the following benefits and features:

Support for up to 10 disks per Integrated RAID volume, with one or two volumes on
each SAS2 controller. Each controller can support can support 14 volume drives, including one or two hot spare disks.
Support for two-disk Integrated Mirroring volumes (RAID 1)
Support for online capacity expansion (OCE) for RAID 1 volumes. OCE allows you to
increase the size of a RAID 1 volume by replacing the disk drives with higher-capacity drives.
Low-cost RAID volume creation, which meets the needs of most internal RAID
installations
Easy installation and configuration
Support for booting from any kind of Integrated RAID volume
Ability to operate without special operating system-specific software
High reliability and data integrity
— Nonvolatile write journaling — Physical disks in a volume are not visible to the operating system (OS) or to
application software
Low host CPU and PCI bus utilization
Processing power provided by Fusion-MPT architecture
— Shared-memory architecture minimizes external memory requests — Device hardware and firmware contain the functionality

1.2.1 Host Interface The Integrated RAID host interface uses the message-passing interface, as described in

the Fusion-MPT Message Passing Interface Specification. The Fusion-MPT interface gives the host OS access to the RAID volumes as well as to additional non-RAID physical disks.

1.2.2 Metadata Support The Integrated RAID firmware supports metadata, which describes the logical drive

configuration stored on each member disk of a volume. After initialization, the firmware queries each member disk to read the metadata and verify the configuration. The firmware reduces the usable disk space for each member disk when it creates the the volume, which makes room for the metadata.

1.2.3 SMART Support The Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) monitors disk drives

for signs of future disk failure and generates an alert if it detects such signs. The Integrated RAID firmware polls each physical disk in the volume at regular intervals. If the firmware detects a SMART ASC/ASCQ code on a physical disk in the volume, it processes the SMART data and stores it in a log. The volume does not support SMART directly because it is only a logical representation of the physical disks in the volume.

1.2.4 Fusion-MPT Support The Integrated RAID BIOS uses the LSI Fusion-MPT interface to communicate to the

SAS2 controller and firmware. This process includes reading the Fusion-MPT configuration to access the parameters that define behavior between the SAS2 controller and the devices that connect to it. The Fusion-MPT drivers for all supported operating systems implement the Fusion-MPT interface to communicate with the controller and firmware.
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SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes | Introduction
Chapter 2

Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes

This chapter provides an overview of the LSI Integrated RAID features that support the creation of mirrored arrays.

2.1 Introduction As a result of the shift towards network-attached storage (NAS), Internet service

providers need a cost-effective, fault-tolerant solution to protect the operating systems on small form-factor, high-density, rack-mountable servers. The mirroring features of the LSI Integrated RAID solution provide data protection for the system boot volume, which safeguards the operating system and other critical information on servers and high-performance workstations. The Integrated RAID solution supports the following types of mirrored arrays:

2.2 Integrated Mirroring and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced Features

The Integrated Mirroring solution, which provides features of RAID 1
The Integrated Mirroring + Striping solution, which provides features of RAID 10
The Integrated Mirroring Enhanced solution, which provides features of RAID 1
Enhanced (RAID 1E)
These three mirroring solutions provide a robust, high-performance, fault-tolerant solution to data storage needs at a lower cost than a dedicated RAID controller.
Mirrored volumes may have from two-to-ten disks to provide fault-tolerant protection for critical data. Mirrored volumes also support one or two global hot spare drives, with a maximum of 14 drives on each LSI SAS2 controller.
NOTE: Fourteen drives is the theoretical upper limit for a single LSI SAS2 controller, although the controller itself may support fewer than 14 drives. You can also configure one mirrored volume and one Integrated Striping volume on the same LSI SAS controller.
Each SAS2 controller can have two global hot spare disks available to automatically replace a failed disk in the one or two mirrored volumes configured on the controller. The hot spares make the mirrored volumes even more fault-tolerant.
Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping, and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes support the following features:
Configurations of one or two mirrored volumes on each LSI SAS2 controller. Each
volume can consist of two mirrored disks for an Integrated Mirroring volume; three-to-ten mirrored disks for an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume; or four, six, eight, or ten mirrored disks for an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume.
(Optional) Two global hot spare disks per LSI SAS2 controller to automatically
replace failed disks in mirrored volumes.
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Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes | Operation of Mirrored Volumes SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
Ability of mirrored volumes to run in optimal mode or in degraded mode if one
mirrored disk in an Integrated Mirroring volume fails or if one or more mirrored disks fail in an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume or Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume.
Support for hot swapping.
Support for online capacity expansion (OCE) for RAID 1 volumes. OCE allows you to
increase the size of a RAID 1 volume by replacing the existing disk drives with higher-capacity disk drives. Data is protected during the expansion process, and the RAID 1 volume remains online.
Presentation of a single, virtual drive to the operating system for each
mirrored volume.
Support for both SAS and SATA disks, although you cannot combine the two types
of disks in the same volume. However, an LSI SAS2 controller can support one volume with SATA disks and a second volume with SAS disks.
Automatic background initialization after volume creation.
Consistency checking.
Fusion-MPT architecture.
Menu-driven, BIOS-based configuration utility.
Error notification, in which the drivers update an OS-specific event log.
Support for SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) status LED.
Write journaling, which allows automatic synchronization of potentially
inconsistent data after unexpected powerdown situations.
Use of metadata to store volume configuration on disks in a mirrored volume.
Automatic background resynchronization while host I/Os continue.
Background media verification, which ensures that data on mirrored volumes is
always accessible.

2.3 Operation of Mirrored Volumes

The LSI Integrated RAID solution supports one or two mirrored volumes on each LSI SAS2 controller (or one mirrored volume and one Integrated Striping volume). Typically, one of these volumes is the boot volume. Boot support is available through the firmware of the LSI SAS2 controller that supports the standard Fusion-MPT interface. The runtime mirroring of the boot disk is transparent to the BIOS, the drivers, and the operating system. Host-based status software monitors the state of the mirrored disks and reports any error conditions. The following figure shows an Integrated Mirroring volume in which the second disk is a mirrored copy of the data on the first (primary) disk.
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SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Vol umes | Operation of Mirrored Volumes
Primary Mirror
Integrated Mirroring Volume
SAS
LSI
Fusion-MPT
SAS2 Controller
Memory Bus
NVSRAM
(For Write Journaling)
FLASH
(For Configuration)
3_00006-00
3_00007-00
LBA 1
LBA 2
LBA 3
LBA N
LBA 1
LBA 2
LBA 3
LBA N
LBA 1'
LBA 2'
LBA 3'
LBA N’
+
Physical ViewLogical View
Figure 1: Typical Integrated Mirroring Implementation
The following figure shows the logical view and physical view of an Integrated Mirroring volume. Each logical block address (LBA) is mirrored on the second disk.
LSI Corporation Confidential
Figure 2: Integrated Mirroring Volume
You can configure an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume with up to 10 mirrored disks. The following figure shows the logical view and physical view of an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume with three mirrored disks. The firmware writes each mirrored stripe to a disk and mirrors it to an adjacent disk. RAID 1E is another term for this type of mirrored configuration.
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Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes | Operation of Mirrored Volumes SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide
3_00008-00
Physical ViewLogical View
Mirrored Stripe 1
Mirrored Stripe 2
Mirrored Stripe 3
Mirrored Stripe 4
Mirrored Stripe N
Mirrored Stripe 1
Mirrored Stripe 2'
Mirrored Stripe 4
Mirrored Stripe 5'
Mirrored Stripe N-1'
+
Mirrored Stripe 1'
Mirrored Stripe 3
Mirrored Stripe 4'
Mirrored Stripe 6
Mirrored Stripe N
+
Mirrored Stripe 2
Mirrored Stripe 3'
Mirrored Stripe 5
Mirrored Stripe 6'
Mirrored Stripe N’
Physical ViewLogical View
Mirrored Stripe 1
Mirrored Stripe 2
Mirrored Stripe 3
Mirrored Stripe 4
Mirrored Stripe N
Mirrored Stripe 1
Mirrored Stripe 3
Mirrored Stripe 5
Mirrored Stripe 7
Mirrored Stripe N-1
+
Mirrored Stripe 1'
Mirrored Stripe 3'
Mirrored Stripe 5'
Mirrored Stripe 7'
Mirrored Stripe N-1'
+
Mirrored Stripe 2
Mirrored Stripe 4
Mirrored Stripe 6
Mirrored Stripe 8
Mirrored Stripe N
3_00009-00
+
Mirrored Stripe 2'
Mirrored Stripe 4'
Mirrored Stripe 6'
Mirrored Stripe 8'
Mirrored Stripe N’
Figure 3: Integrated Mirroring Enhanced with Three Disks
You can configure an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume with an even number of disks, ranging from four minimum to ten maximum. The following figure shows the logical view and physical view of an Integrated Mirroring + Striping volume with four mirrored disks. The firmware writes each mirrored stripe to a disk and mirrors it to an adjacent disk. RAID 10 is another term for this type of mirrored/striped configuration.
Figure 4: Integrated Mirroring + Striping with Four Disks
The LSI SAS2 BIOS configuration utility enables you to create mirrored volumes during initial setup and to reconfigure them in response to hardware failures or changes in the environment.
CAUTION: The SAS2 BIOS CU deletes all existing data from the disks drives when you select them to use for a mirrored volume.
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SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes | Mirrored Volume Features

2.4 Mirrored Volume Features This section describes features of Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping,

and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes. You can configure one or two mirrored volumes on each LSI SAS2 controller.

2.4.1 Resynchronization with Concurrent Host I/O Operation

The Integrated RAID firmware allows host I/O transactions to continue on a mirrored volume while it resynchronizes the volume in the background. The firmware automatically starts resynchronizing data after a disk failure activates a hot spare, or after a disk in a mirrored volume has been hot swapped.

2.4.2 Hot Swapping The Integrated RAID firmware supports hot swapping, and it automatically

resynchronizes the hot-swapped disk in the background without any host or user intervention. The firmware detects hot-swap removal and disk insertion.
Following a hot-swap event, the firmware verifies that the new physical disk has enough capacity for the mirrored volume. The firmware resynchronizes all replaced hot-swapped disks, even if the same disk is re-inserted. In a mirrored volume with an even number of disks, the firmware marks the hot-swapped disk as a secondary disk and the other disk with data as the primary disk. The firmware resynchronizes all data from the primary disk onto the new secondary disk. In a mirrored volume with an odd number of disks, primary and secondary sets include three disks instead of two.

2.4.3 Hot Spare Disk You can configure two disks as global hot spare disks to protect data on the mirrored

volumes configured on the SAS2 controller. If the Integrated RAID firmware fails one of the mirrored disks, it automatically replaces the failed disk with a hot spare disk and then resynchronizes the mirrored data. The firmware automatically receives a notification when a hot spare replaces the failed disk, and it then designates that disk as the new hot spare.

2.4.4 Online Capacity Expansion The OCE feature enables you to expand the capacity of an existing two-disk Integrated

Mirroring (RAID 1) volume by replacing the original disk drives with higher-capacity drives that have the same protocol (SAS or SATA).
NOTE: The new drives must have at least 50 GB more capacity than the original drives of the volume.
After you replace the disk drives and run the OCE command, you must use a commercial tool specific to the operating system to move or increase the size of the partition on the volume.

2.4.5 Media Verification The Integrated RAID firmware supports a background media verification feature that

runs at regular intervals when the mirrored volume is in the Optimal state. If the verification command fails for any reason, the firmware reads the other disk’s data for this segment and writes it to the failing disk in an attempt to refresh the data. The firmware periodically writes the current media verification logical block address to nonvolatile memory so that the media verification can continue from where it stopped prior to a power cycle.
LSI Corporation Confidential
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Chapter 2: Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes | Mirrored Volume Features SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide

2.4.6 Disk Write Caching By default, the Integrated RAID firmware disables disk write caching for mirrored

volumes. It does this to ensure that the write journal entry stored in nonvolatile static RAM (NVSRAM) is always valid. If you enable disk write caching (not recommended), you may cause the disk write log to be invalid.

2.4.7 NVSRAM Usage The Integrated RAID firmware requires at least a 32-KB NVSRAM to perform write

journaling for mirrored volumes on LSI SAS2 controllers. The NVSRAM also preserves configuration information across reboots. The firmware uses write journaling to verify that the disks in the mirrored volume are synchronized with each other.

2.4.8 Background Initialization Background initialization (BGI) is the process of copying data from primary to

secondary disks in a mirrored volume. The Integrated RAID firmware starts BGI automatically as a background task when it creates a volume. The volume remains in the Optimal state while BGI is in progress.

2.4.9 Consistency Check A consistency check is a background process that reads data from primary and

secondary disks in a mirrored volume and compares it to make sure the data is identical on both disks. You can use the LSI SAS2 BIOS Configuration Utility to run a consistency check on a mirrored volume.

2.4.10 Make Data Consistent If it is enabled in the Integrated RAID firmware, the make data consistent (MDC) process

starts automatically and runs in the background when you move a redundant volume from one SAS controller to another SAS controller. MDC compares the data on the primary and secondary disks. If MDC finds inconsistencies, it copies data from the primary disk to the secondary disk.
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SAS2 Integrated RAID Solution User Guide Chapter 3: Creating Mirrored Volumes | Mirrored Volume Configuration Overview
Chapter 3

Creating Mirrored Volumes

This chapter explains how to create Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping, and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes with the LSI SAS2 BIOS Configuration Utility (SAS2 BIOS CU).

3.1 Mirrored Volume Configuration Overview

The LSI SAS2 BIOS CU is a menu-driven utility program that enables you to easily configure and manage Integrated RAID volumes. You can use the SAS2 BIOS CU to create one or two mirrored volumes on each LSI SAS2 controller, with up to two optional global hot spare disks. You must connect all disks in a mirrored volume to the same LSI SAS2 controller.
Although you can use disks of different size in mirrored volumes, the smallest disk in the volume determines the logical size of all disks in the volume. In other words, the volume does not use the excess space of the higher-capacity member disk(s). For example, if you create an Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volume with two 100-GB disks and two 120-GB disks, the volume uses only 100 GB on each of the 120-GB disks.
Refer to Chapter 2, Overview of Integrated RAID Mirrored Volumes, for more information about the features of Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping, and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes.

3.2 Creating Mirrored Volumes The SAS2 BIOS CU is part of the Fusion-MPT BIOS. When the BIOS loads during the

startup sequence and you see the message about the LSI Configuration Utility, press Ctrl-C to start the SAS2 BIOS CU. After you do this, the message changes to:
Please wait, invoking SAS Configuration Utility...
After a brief pause, the main menu (Adapter List window) of the SAS2 BIOS CU appears. On some systems, however, the following message appears next:
LSI Corp Configuration Utility will load following initialization!
LSI Corporation Confidential
In this case, the SAS2 BIOS CU loads after the system completes its power-on self-test.
You can configure one or two Integrated Mirroring, Integrated Mirroring + Striping, and Integrated Mirroring Enhanced volumes on each LSI SAS2 controller. You can also configure one mirrored volume and one Integrated Striping volume on the same controller, up to a maximum of 14 disk drives for the two volumes. This includes one or two optional hot spare disks for the mirrored volume(s).
All physical disks in a volume must be either SATA (with extended command set
support) or SAS (with SMART support). You cannot combine SAS and SATA disks in the same volume. However, you can create one volume with SAS disks and a second volume with SATA disks on the same controller.
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