Supero AOC-USAS-H8ir User Manual

Rev. 1.0

AOC-USAS-H8ir

USER'S GUIDE

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ii

Add-on Card User's Guide

The information in this User’s Manual has been carefully reviewed and is believed to be accurate.
The vendor assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be contained in this document,
makes no commitment to update or to keep current the information in this manual, or to notify any
person or organization of the updates. Please Note: For the most up-to-date version of

this manual, please see our web site at www.supermicro.com.

SUPERMICRO COMPUTER reserves the right to make changes to the product described in this
manual at any time and without notice. This product, including software, if any, and documenta­tion may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any
medium or machine without prior written consent.

IN NO EVENT WILL SUPERMICRO COMPUTER BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, SPECULATIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE
OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, THE VENDOR SHALL NOT HAVE
LIABILITY FOR ANY HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA STORED OR USED WITH THE
PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF REPAIRING, REPLACING, INTEGRATING, INSTALLING
OR RECOVERING SUCH HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA .

Any disputes arising between manufacturer and customer shall be governed by the laws of Santa
Clara County in the State of California, USA. The State of California, County of Santa Clara shall
be the exclusive venue for the resolution of any such disputes. Supermicro's total liability for all
claims will not exceed the price paid for the hardware product.

Manual Revision 1.0

Release Date: June 19, 2007

Unless you request and receive written permission from SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, you may not
copy or otherwise reproduce/distribute any part of this document.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies
referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark
holders.

Copyright © 2007 by SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC.
All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

iii

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Table of Contents

Overview .............................................................................................................v

Product Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........................v

Operating Systems Supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..........................v

Manual Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........................v

Contacting SuperMicro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........................vi

Chapter 1 Safety Guidelines

1-1 ESD Safety Guidelines ................................................................................... 1-1

1-2 General Safety Guidelines . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . ...................... 1-1

1-3 An Important Note to Users . . . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . ...................... 1-1

Chapter 2 LED Indicators and Connectors

2-1 Front Connectors and Jumpers . . ................ . ................. . ................................. 2-1

Front Connectors ............................................................................................ 2-1

2-2 Front Connector and Pin Defi nitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 2-2

2-3 Front Jumper Locations and Pin Defi nitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 2-3

RAID Minimum Drive Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 2-4

Chapter 3 WebBios Confi guration

3-1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..................... 3-1

3-2 Accessing the WebBIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 3-1

3-3 WebBIOS Confi guration Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 3-1

3-4 WebBIOS Confi guration Wizard - Auto Confi guration ............ ........................ 3-2

3-5 WebBIOS Confi guration Wizard - Custom Confi guration .. .. .. .. .. ... .................. 3-2

3-6 Device Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..................... 3-3

Adapter Properties .. ... . .. ... . .. ... . .. ... . .. ... .. . .. ... .. . .. ... .. . .. ... .. . .. ... .. . .. ........................ 3-3

Virtual Disk Properties .................................................................................... 3-4

Physical Drive Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 3-4

Battery Backup Unit . .. . ... ... .... .... ... .... .... .... ... .... .... ... .... .... ... .... .... ...................... 3-4

System Event Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 3-5

Chapter 4 MegaRAID Storage Manager Software Overview and
Installation

4-1 Overview .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .... ... .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .... ... .. . .. . .. . .. . ....................... 4-1

Creating Storage Confi gurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 4-1

Monitoring Storage Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 4-2

iv

Add-on Card User's Guide

Maintaining Storage Confi gurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................. 4-2

4-2 Hardware and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................. 4-2

4-3 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..................... 4-3

Installing MegaRAID Storage Manager Software for Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. 4-6

Linux Error Messages . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . .................. 4-7

Chapter 5 MegaRAID Storage ManagerWindow and Menus

5-1 Starting MegaRAID Storage Manager Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................... 5-1

5-2 MegaRAID Storage Manager Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 5-4

Physical/Logical View Panel ........................................................................... 5-5

Properties/Operations/Graphical View Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................... 5-6

Event Log Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 5-6

Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................... 5-7

File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 5-7

Operations Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 5-7

Group Operations Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 5-7

Log Menu ................................................................................................... 5-8

Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 5-8

Chapter 6 Confi guration

6-1 Creating a New Storage Confi guration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 6-1

Understanding Virtual Disk Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................... 6-3

Using Auto Confi guration .. . ...... . ...... . ...... .. ..... . ...... . ...... . ...... . ...... . ..................... 6-4

Using Guided Confi guration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 6-5

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 6-8

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................. 6-10

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................. 6-12

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. 6-13

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. 6-14

6-2 Adding Hotspare Disks ...................................................................................... 6-15

6-3 Changing Adjustable Ta sk Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................. 6-16

6-4 Changing Virtual Disk Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. 6-17

6-5 Deleting a Virtual Disk ....................................................................................... 6-17

6-6 Saving a Storage Confi guration to Disk ............................................................ 6-18

6-7 Clearing a Storage Confi guration from a Controller . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ................... 6-18

6-8 Adding a Saved Storage Confi guration ............................................................. 6-19

v

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Introduction

Overview

This manual is written for system integrators, PC technicians and knowledgeable

PC users who intend to integrate SuperMicro's USAS-H8ir Add on Card to their

system.

Product Features

The AOC-USAS-H8ir offers the following features:

• UIO Form Factor.

• Two Internal "ipass" cable ports.

• Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60.

• Preinstalled iButton

Operating Systems Supported

The AOC-USAS-H8ir support the following Operating Systems (OS):

• Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows 2003

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux/SUSE Linux

Each operating system must include the latest patches, hot fi xes, and at least, 256

MB of free hard drive space.

Manual Images

All images and layouts shown in this user's guide are based upon the latest PCB

Revision available at the time of publishing. The card you have received may or

may not look exactly the same as the graphics shown in this manual.

vi

Add-on Card User's Guide

Contacting SuperMicro

Headquarters

Address: SuperMicro Computer, Inc.

980 Rock Ave.

San Jose, CA 95131 U.S.A.

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)

Web Site: www.supermicro.com

Europe

Address: SuperMicro Computer B.V.

Het Sterrenbeeld 28, 5215 ML

's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)

[e-mail] (Customer Support)

Asia-Pacifi c

Address: SuperMicro, Ta iwan

4F, No. 232-1, Liancheng Rd.

Chung-Ho 235, Ta ipei County

Ta iwan, R.O.C.

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Web Site: www.supermicro.com.tw

Technical Support:

Email: [e-mail]

Tel: [phone], ext.132 or 139

1-1

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Chapter 1

Safety Guidelines

To avoid personal injury and property damage, carefully follow all the safety steps

listed below when accessing your system or handling the components.

1-1 ESD Safety Guidelines

Electric Static Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. To prevent dam-

age to your system, it is important to handle it very carefully. The following measures

are generally suffi cient to protect your equipment from ESD.

• Use a grounded wrist strap designed to prevent static discharge.

• To uch a grounded metal object before removing a component from the anti-

static bag.

• Handle the add-on card by its edges only; do not touch its components, pe-

ripheral chips, memory modules or gold contacts.

• When handling chips or modules, avoid touching their pins.

• Put the card and peripherals back into their antistatic bags when not in use.

1-2 General Safety Guidelines

• Always disconnect power cables before installing or removing any components

from the computer.

• Disconnect the power cable before installing or removing any cables from the

system.

• Make sure that the add-on card is securely and properly installed on the moth-

erboard to prevent damage to the system due to power shortage.

1-3 An Important Note to Users

• All images and layouts shown in this user's guide are based upon the latest

PCB Revision available at the time of publishing. The card you have received

may or may not look exactly the same as the graphics shown in this manual.

1-2

Add-on Card User's Guide

Notes

2-1

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

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Chapter 2

LED Indicators and Connectors

2-1 Front Connectors and Jumpers

Front Connectors

1. Internal SAS Connector

2. Internal SAS Connector

3. I-Button

4. Board-to-Board Connector

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2-2

Add-on Card User's Guide

2-2 Front Connector and Pin Defi nitions

1. Internal SAS Connector (Drive 0-3)

The Internal SAS port connects to the back-

plane allowing the motherboard to access the

hard drives. This connector supports up to four

HDD ports. This card supports SAS, SATA 1,

and SATA 2 drives.

Use a single port SAS "ipass" cable (Super

Micro order number CBL - 0108L-02).

2. Internal SAS Connector (Drive 4-7)

The Internal SAS port connects to the back-

plane allowing the motherboard to access the

hard drives. This connector supports up to four

HDD ports. This card supports SAS, SATA 1,

and SATA 2 drives.

Use a single port SAS "ipass" cable (Super

Micro order number CBL - 0108L-02).

3. I-Button

The I-Button allows RAID operation with Mega-

RAID fi rmware.

4. Board-to-Board Connector

This 20-pin connector interfaces with the

Battery Backup Unit (BBU). The .BBU is an

optional accessory and is not included with

this card.

2-3

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

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2-3 Front Jumper Locations and Pin Defi nitions

Explanation of Jumpers

To modify the operation of the backplane,

jumpers can be used to choose between

optional settings. Jumpers create shorts

between two pins to change the function

of the connector. Pin 1 is identifi ed with

a square solder pad on the printed circuit

board. Note: On two pin jumpers, "Closed"

means the jumper is on and "Open" means

the jumper is off the pins.

Connector

Pins

Jumper

Setting

3 2 1

3 2 1

Jumper Settings

Jumper Jumper Settings Note

JP5

Open = OXAE
Closed = OXA8

Read Boot Strap ROM from Address A8

D11

D13

JP5

Jumper Settings

LED NORMAL STATE SPECIFICATIONS

Heartbeat LED (D11) ON Blinks during normal operation

Overheat LED (D13) OFF

Solid red when the 1078 chip is
overheated

2-4

Add-on Card User's Guide

RAID Minimum Drive Requirements

RAID Minimum Hard Drives

RAID 0 2

RAID 1 2

RAID 5 3

RAID 6 3

RAID 10 4 (2 RAID 1 Arrays)

RAID 50 6 (2 RAID 5 Arrays)

RAID 60 6 (2 RAID 6 Arrays)

Use the following chart to determine the minimum number of hard drives needed

to set up a RAID environment.

3-1

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Chapter 3

WebBios Confi guration

3-1 Introduction

The WebBios Confi guration manages RAID confi gurations on SAS controllers. The

utility works independently of the operating system.

3-2 Accessing the WebBIOS

To start the WebBIOS Confi guration:

1. When prompted during bootup, press CTRL + H.

2. In the Adapter Selection screen, select an adapter.

3. Click Start.

3-3 WebBIOS Confi guration Wizard

The Confi guration Wizard is used to setup RAID arrays and virtuals disks. This

section includes an overview of use. For more indepth information and descriptions,

see the WebBIOS Help and other LSI documentation.

1. Click the Confi guration Wizard link located on the left hand side on the main

screen.

2. Select a confi guration option: Clear Confi guration, New Confi guration, or Add

Confi guration. Note: Clear Cofi guration and New Confi guration settings will

delete exising data. Create a backup before choosing an option.

3. Click Next.

4. Select Custom Confi guration, Auto Confi guration with Redundancy, or Auto

Confi guration without Redundancy and click Next.

3-2

Add-on Card User's Guide

3-4 WebBIOS Confi guration Wizard - Auto Confi guration

When using either Auto Confi guration setting, do the following:

1. When prompted to review the new confi guration, review the settings.

2. Click Accept or Back to change any settings. (Auto Confi guration with Redun-

dancy creates a RAID 5 confi guration if at least three disks are available. If only

two disks are available, the setup creates RAID 1.)

3. Click Yes to save the confi guration, and Yes again to initialize the new virtual

disk.

WebBIOS CU will begin the initialization of the virtual drives.

3-5 WebBIOS Confi guration Wizard - Custom

Confi guration

This section gives an overview of the WebBIOS Custom Confi guraiton. When using

the Custom Confi guration setting, consult the WebBIOS disk Help fi le and other LSI

documentation for more complete instructions.

1. The Custom Confi rguration window includes two sections: Physical Drives and

Disk Groups. Press CTRL and select each ready desired physical drives from the

group. Select two drives for RAID 1 and three drives for RAID 5.

2. Click Accept DG.

3. For other RAID levels, repeat steps 1 and 2 and do the following: for RAID 10

confi guration, create a second RAID 1 disk group. For RAID 50 confi rmation, select

physical drives for a second RAID 5 disk group.

4. Click Next when you have completed selecting drives for disk groups.

The span defi nition screen appears. Select one of the available disk groups and

click Add to Span and click Next.

5. In the Virtual Disk Defi nition screen, set the following:

RAID Level: To create a RAID 10 (spanned), add both disk groups you created

earlier to SPAN. Then click Next and select the RAID level on the virtual disk

defi nition. Do the same for RAID 50 and RAID 60.

Stripe Size

3-3

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Access Policy: Select Read/Write, Read Only, or Blocked.

Read Policy: Use Ahead, Normal, or Adaptive.

Write Policy: Use WBack, WThru, or Bad BBU

IO Policy: Use this setting to read to a specifi c virtual disk. Cached mode reads

to buffered in cached memory and in Direct mode reads are not buffered.

Disk Cache Policy: Enable, Disable, and Unchanged.

Disable BGI: Selecting Yes disables background initiation.

Select Size: Select the size for the virtual disk.

6. Click Accept or Reset.

7. Click Next.

8. Preview the confi guration and click Accept to continue or Back to go to the

previous screen, and then click Yes to continue.

3-6 Device Properties

This section gives an overview for the properties of the adapters, virtual disks,

and drives.

Adapter Properties

Click the Adapter Properties to see the defi nitions for each adapter. There are two

screens. The fi rst screen is read-only. Click Next to see the second screen, which

settings can be adjusted. For more information on these settings, see the applica-

tion Help or LSI documentation.

3-4

Add-on Card User's Guide

Virtual Disk Properties

This section gives an overview of the virtual disk properties accessed in the Web-

BIOS Main screen.

The Properties panel shows the virtual disk RAID level and other defi ning informa-

tion. Before changes settings, you should make a backup of the information. You

can change the settings by doing any of the following:

Locate: Sets the designated LEDs on the physical drives of the virtual disk

(requires SAFTE support).

Fast or Slow: Select either to initialize the virtual drives.

CC: runs a consistency check (not available for RAID 0).

Physical Drive Properties

This section gives an overview of the physical drive properties accessed in the

WebBIOS Main screen.

The physical drive properties cannot be changed at this screen. The following

information can be changed:

Select MakeDriveOffl ine to push the drive offl ine.

Select Locate to enable to drive LEDs. The drive must be in the enclosure.

Prepare for removal option may be available.

Battery Backup Unit

If the card has a battery backup, do the following to view the battery information.

1. Click Adapter Properties in the WebBIOS main screen.

2. Click Next.

3. Click the word Present in the Battery Backup fi eld.

3-5

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

System Event Information

This section gives an overview of the System Event properties.

Do the following to view event information:

1. Click Events in the WebBIOS main screen.

2. Choose an Event Locale from the menu.

3. Select an Event Class of Information, Warning, Critical, Fatal, or Dead and

choose the number of events to view, and then click Go.

3-6

Add-on Card User's Guide

Notes

4-1

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Chapter 4

MegaRAID Storage Manager Software

Overview and Installation

MegaRAID Storage Manager software is a confi guration and monitoring utility used

with the Embedded MegaRAID Software. This chapter provides a brief overview

of the MegaRAID Storage Manager software and explains how to install it on the

supported operating systems.

4-1 Overview

MegaRAID Storage Manager software enables you to confi gure, monitor, and

maintain storage confi gurations created under Embedded MegaRAID Software.

The MegaRAID Storage Manager graphical user interface (GUI) makes it easy for

you to create and manage storage confi gurations.

Note: MegaRAID Storage Manager software can be used to manage a wide range

of MegaRAID controllers. Some MegaRAID Storage Manager software features are

not applicable for Embedded MegaRAID Software.

Creating Storage Confi gurations

MegaRAID Storage Manager software enables you to easily confi gure the control-

lers, disk drives, and virtual disks on your workstation or server. The Confi guration

Wizard greatly simplifi es the process of creating arrays and virtual disks.

4-2

Add-on Card User's Guide

You can use the Confi guration Wizard Auto Confi guration mode to automatically

create the best possible confi guration with the available hardware. You can use the

Guided Confi guration mode, which asks you a few brief questions about the confi gu-

ration, and then creates it for you. Or you can use the Manual Confi guration mode,

which gives you complete control over all aspects of the storage confi guration.

Monitoring Storage Devices

MegaRAID Storage Manager software displays the status of virtual disks, physical

disks, and other storage devices on the workstation or server that you are monitor-

ing. System errors and events are recorded in an event log fi le and are displayed on

the screen. Special device icons appear on the screen to notify you of disk failures

and other events that require immediate attention.

Maintaining Storage Confi gurations

You can use MegaRAID Storage Manager software to perform system maintenance

tasks such as running consistency checks on arrays that support redundancy.

4-2 Hardware and Software Requirements

The hardware requirements for MegaRAID Storage Manager software are as fol-

lows:

• PC-compatible computer with an IA-32 (32-bit) Intel Architecture processor or an

EM64T (64-bit) processor and at least 128 Mbytes of system memory (256 Mbytes

recommended)

• Hard disk drive with at least 50 Mbytes available free space

The supported operating systems for the MegaRAID Storage Manager software

are as follows:

• Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, and Microsoft Windows

XP.

• Red Hat Linux 3.0 or 4.0

• SUSE SLES 9, with latest updates and service packs

Refer to your server documentation and to the operating system documentation for

more information on hardware and operating system requirements.

4-3

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

4-3 Installation

This section explains how to install (or reinstall) MegaRAID Storage Manager soft-

ware on your workstation or server for the supported operating systems: Microsoft

Windows, Red Hat Linux, and SUSE Linux. 5.3.1 Installing MegaRAID Storage

Manager Software on Microsoft Windows

Follow these steps if you need to install MegaRAID Storage Manager software on

a system running Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, or

Microsoft Windows XP:

1. Insert the MegaRAID Storage Manager software installation CD in the CD-ROM

drive. If necessary, fi nd and double-click the setup.exe fi le to start the installation

program.

2. When the Welcome screen appears, click Next. If MegaRAID Storage Manager

software is already installed on this system, the Program Maintenance screen ap-

pears. Read the screen text and select Modify, Repair, or Remove.

3. When the next screen appears, read and accept the user license, and click Next.

The Customer Information screen appears.

4-4

Add-on Card User's Guide

4. Enter your user name and organization name. In the bottom part of the screen,

select an installation option:

– If you select All users, any user with administrative privileges can use this version

of MegaRAID Storage Manager software to view or change storage confi gura-

tions.

– If you select Only for current user (Administrator), the MegaRAID Storage

Manager shortcuts and associated icons will be available only to the user with

this user name.

5. Click Next to continue.

6. On the next screen, accept the default Destination Folder, or click Change to

select a different destination folder. Click Next to continue.

The Setup Type screen appears.

Figure 4-1: Customer Information Screen

4-5

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Figure 4-2: Customer Information Screen

7. Select one of the Setup options. The options are fully explained in the screen

text.

– Normally, you would select Complete if you are installing MegaRAID Storage

Manager software on a server.

– Select Client if you are installing MegaRAID Storage Manager software on a PC

that will be used to view and confi gure servers over a network.

– Select Server to install only those components required for remote server man-

agement.

– Select StandAlone if you will use MegaRAID Storage Manager software to create

and manage storage confi gurations on a standalone workstation.

8. Click Next to proceed.

9. Click Install to install the program.

10. Click Finish when the fi nal Confi guration Wizard screen appears.

If you select Client installation for a PC used to monitor servers, and if there are no

available servers with a registered framework on the local subnet (that is, servers

with a complete installation of MegaRAID Storage Manager software), you cannot

4-6

Add-on Card User's Guide

connect to a remote server unless you fi rst edit the startupui.bat fi le. Specifi cally, you

must add the IP address of the remote server to the end of the startupui.bat fi le.

For example, to connect to a remote framework on server 192.168.0.10, add the

IP address to the end of startupui.bat as shown in this example: start JRE\

bin\javaw -classpath .;GUI.jar GUI.VivaldiStartupDialog ajs-

gyqkj=71244 192.168.0.10

Be sure to include a space in front of the IP address, as shown in the example.

Installing MegaRAID Storage Manager Software for Linux

Follow these steps if you need to install MegaRAID Storage Manager software on

a system running Red Hat Linux or SUSE Linux:

1. Copy the SSM_linux_installer...tar.gz fi le to a temporary folder.

2. Untar the SSM_linux_installer...tar.gz fi le using the following com-

mand:

tar -zxvf SSM_linux_installer...tar.gz

A new disk directory is created.

3. Go to the new disk directory.

4. In the disk directory, fi nd and read the readme.txt fi le.

5. To start the installation, enter the following command:

./install.sh

If you select Client installation for a PC used to monitor servers, and if there are no

available servers with a registered framework on the local subnet (that is, servers

with a complete installation of MegaRAID Storage Manager software), you cannot

connect to a remote server unless you fi rst edit the startupui.sh fi le. Specifi cally, you

must add the IP address of the remote server to the end of the startupui.sh fi le.

For example, to connect to a remote framework on server 192.168.0.10, add the

IP address to startupui.sh as shown in this example:

start JRE\bin\javaw -classpath .;GUI.jar GUI.VivaldiStartup-

Dialog ajsgyqkj=71244 192.168.0.10

Be sure to include a space in front of the IP address, as shown in the example.

4-7

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Linux Error Messages

One or more of the following messages may appear while you are installing Mega-

RAID Storage Manager software on a Linux system:

• More than one copy of MegaRAID Storage Manager software has been in-

stalled.

This message indicates that the user has installed more than one copy of MegaRAID

Storage Manager software. (This can be done by using the rpm-force command to

install the rpm fi le directly, which is not recommended, instead of using the install.sh

fi le.) In such cases, the user must uninstall all the rpm fi les manually before installing

MegaRAID Storage Manager software with the procedure listed previously.

• The version is already installed.

This message indicates that the version of MegaRAID Storage Manager software

you are trying to install is already installed on the system.

• The installed version is newer.

This message indicates that a version of MegaRAID Storage Manager software

is already installed on the system, and it is a newer version than the version you

are trying to install.

• Exiting installation.

This is the message that appears when the installation is complete.

• RPM installation failed.

This message indicates that the installation failed for some reason.

Additional message text explains the cause of the failure.

4-8

Add-on Card User's Guide

Notes

5-1

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Chapter 5

MegaRAID Storage Manager

Window and Menus

This chapter explains how to start MegaRAID Storage Manager software and de-

scribes the MegaRAID Storage Manager window and menus.

5-1 Starting MegaRAID Storage Manager Software

Follow these steps to start MegaRAID Storage Manager software and view the

main window:

1. Start the program using the method required for your operating system environ-

ment:

– To start MegaRAID Storage Manager software on a Microsoft Windows system,

select Start, Programs, MegaRAID Storage Manager, StartupUI, or double-click

the MegaRAID Storage Manager shortcut on the desktop.

Note: If a warning appears stating that Windows Firewall has blocked some fea-

tures of the program, click Unblock to allow MegaRAID Storage Manager software

to start. (The Windows Firewall sometimes blocks the operation of programs that

use Java.)

– To start MegaRAID Storage Manager software on a Red Hat Linux system, select

Applications, System Tools, MegaRAID Storage Manager StartupUI.

– To start MegaRAID Storage Manager software on a SUSE SLES 9 system, select

Start, System, More Programs, MegaRAID Storage Manager.

When the program starts, the Select Server window appears.

5-2

Add-on Card User's Guide

Figure 5-1: Select Server Window

If the circle in the server icon is yellow instead of green, it means that the server is

running in a degraded state—for example, because a disk drive used in a virtual disk

has failed. If the circle is red, the storage confi guration in the server has failed.

Note: To access servers on a different subnet, type in the box at the bottom of the

screen the IP address of a server in the desired subnet where MegaRAID Storage

Manager software is running, and click Update. If you check the Connect to remote

Framework box, you can also access a standalone installation of MegaRAID Stor-

age Manager software, if it has a network connection.

2. Double-click the icon of the server that you want to access. The Server Login

window appears.

5-3

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Figure 5-2: Select Server Window

3. Select an access mode from the drop-down menu.

– Select Full Access if you need to both view the current confi guration and change

the confi guration.

– Select View Only if you need to only view and monitor the confi guration.

4. Enter your user name and password, and click Login.

Note: If the computer is networked, this is the login to the computer itself, not the

network login.

You must enter the root/administrator user name and password to use Full Access

mode. If your user name and password are correct for the Login mode you have

chosen, the main MegaRAID Storage Manager window appears.

5-4

Add-on Card User's Guide

5-2 MegaRAID Storage Manager Window

This section describes the MegaRAID Storage Manager window.

The following topics describe the panels and menu options that appear in this

window.

Figure 5-3: Storage Manager

5-5

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Physical/Logical View Panel

The left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window displays either the

Physical view or the Logical view of the system and the devices in it, depending

on which tab is selected.

• The Physical view shows the hierarchy of physical devices in the system. At the

top of the hierarchy is the system itself. One or more controllers are installed in

the system. Each controller has one or more ports. Disk drives and other devices

are attached to the ports.

• The Logical view shows the hierarchy of controllers, virtual disks, and disk groups

that are defi ned on the system. (Physical drives also appear in the Logical view,

so you can see which physical drives are used by each virtual disk.)

The following icons in the left panel represent the controllers, disk drives, and other

devices:

• System

• Controller

• Port

• Array

• Virtual disk

• Physical drive

A red circle to the right of an icon indicates that the device has failed.

A yellow circle to the right of an icon indicates that a device is running in a de-

graded state.

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Add-on Card User's Guide

Properties/Operations/Graphical View Panel

The right panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window has either two or three

tabs, depending on what kind of device is selected in the left panel.

• The Properties tab displays information about the selected device. For example,

if a controller icon is selected in the left panel, the Properties tab lists information

such as the controller name and the device port count.

• The Operations tab lists the operations that can be performed on the device that

is selected in the left panel. Some types of devices, such as arrays and ports, do

not have operations associated with them.

• The Graphical View tab can be selected in the right panel if a physical drive

or virtual disk is selected in the left panel. In graphical view, the device’s storage

capacity is color coded according to the legend shown on the screen. For example,

on a physical drive confi gured space is blue, available space is white, and reserved

space is red.

Event Log Panel

The lower part of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window displays the system

event log entries. New event log entries appear during the session. Each entry has

a timestamp and date, an error level indicating the severity of the event, and a brief

description of the event.

5-7

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Menu Bar

Here are brief descriptions of the main selections on the MegaRAID Storage

Manager menu bar.

File Menu

The File menu has an Exit option for exiting from the MegaRAID Storage Manager

software. It also has a Rescan option for updating the display in the MegaRAID

Storage Manager window. (Rescan is seldom required; the display normally up-

dates automatically.)

Operations Menu

The Operations menu is available when a controller, physical drive, or logical drive

is selected in the MegaRAID Storage Manager window. The Operations menu

options vary depending on what type of device is selected in the left panel of the

MegaRAID Storage Manager window. The options also vary depending on the

current state of the selected device. For example, if you select an offl ine physical

drive, the Make Drive Online option appears in the Operations menu.

You can also view the Operations selections on the main window on the Operations

tab in the right panel. If an operation requires user inputs before it can be executed,

it appears in the Operations tab but not in the Operations menu. A device-specifi c

Operations menu pops up if you right-click a device icon in the left panel.

An Advanced Operations submenu is also available. This is where you access the

Confi guration Wizard and other confi guration-related commands. To access this

menu, select Operations, Advanced Operations.

Group Operations Menu

The Group Operations menu options include Check Consistency, Initialize, and

Show Progress.

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Add-on Card User's Guide

Log Menu

The Log menu includes options for saving and clearing the message log.

Help Menu

On the Help menu you can select Help, Help to view the MegaRAID Storage

Manager software online help fi le. You can select Help, About to view version

information for the MegaRAID Storage Manager software.

Note: When you use the MegaRAID Storage Manager software online help, you

may see a warning message that Internet Explorer has restricted the fi le from

showing active content. If this warning appears, click on the active content warn-

ing bar and enable the active content.

6-1

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Chapter 6

Confi guration

You use MegaRAID Storage Manager software to create and modify storage con-

fi gurations. RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60

storage confi gurations are supported.

Important: LSI recommends that you do not use both SAS and SATA drives in

the same array. Using different drive interfaces in this way could cause unpredict-

able behavior, decreased performance, an increased error count, and decreased

MTBF.

Note: You cannot create or modify a storage confi guration unless you are logged

on with administrator privileges.

6-1 Creating a New Storage Confi guration

You can use the MegaRAID Storage Manager Confi guration Wizard to create new

storage confi gurations. To open the MegaRAID Storage Manager Confi guration

Wizard, select a controller in the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager

window and then select Operations, Advanced Operations, Confi guration, Con-

fi guration Wizard.

6-2

Add-on Card User's Guide

Figure 6-1: First Screen Confi guration Wizard

The menu lists three confi guration modes:

• Auto Confi guration automatically creates an optimal confi guration from the

available disk drives.

• Manual Confi guration gives you the greatest level of control in creating a new

virtual disk.

• Guided Confi guration asks you a few simple questions about what kind of confi g-

uration you want and then automatically creates it from the available disk drives.

Note: You can use Auto, Guided, or Manual mode to create a RAID 0, or RAID

1 confi guration. To create a RAID 10 confi guration, you must use the Manual

Confi guration mode.

6-3

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Understanding Virtual Disk Parameters

This section describes the Virtual Disk Parameters that you can set when you

use the Guided Confi guration or Manual Confi guration modes of the Confi guration

Wizard. You should change these parameters only if you have a specifi c reason for

doing so. It is usually best to leave them at their default settings.

• Stripe Size: A stripe size of 64 Kbytes is supported.

• Disk Cache Policy: Select a cache setting for this disk: Unchanged, Enabled,

or Disabled.

• Init State

– No Initialization: The new confi guration is not initialized and the existing data on

the disks is not overwritten.

– Fast Initialization: MegaRAID Storage Manager software quickly writes zeroes

to the fi rst and last 8 Mbyte regions of the new virtual disk.

– Full Initialization: A complete initialization is done on the new confi guration. This

may take a long time if the disks are large.

6-4

Add-on Card User's Guide

Using Auto Confi guration

Auto Confi guration is the quickest and simplest way to create a new storage con-

fi guration. When you select Auto Confi guration mode on the fi rst Confi guration

Wizard screen, the Confi guration Wizard creates the best confi guration possible

using the available physical disks.

Figure 6-2: Auto Confi guration Screen

Follow these steps to create a new storage confi guration in Auto Confi guration

mode:

1. Select a redundancy option from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the Auto

Confi guration window:

– No Redundancy: The new confi guration will have no data redundancy (RAID 0).

If a physical disk in the confi guration fails, all data will be lost.

– With Redundancy: The new confi guration will have data redundancy via mir-

rored data (RAID 1) or via parity data (RAID 5). If a physical disk fails, data is still

protected.

6-5

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

2. Select an initialization option from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the

window:

– No Initialization: The new confi guration is not initialized, and the existing data

on the disks is not overwritten.

– Fast Initialization: MegaRAID Storage Manager software quickly writes zeroes

to the fi rst and last 8 Mbyte regions of the new virtual disk.

– Full Initialization: A complete initialization is done on the new confi guration. This

may take a long time if the disks are large.

3. (Optional) Click Modify if you want to switch to Manual Confi guration mode so

you can modify the suggested Auto Confi guration.

When you click Modify, the Virtual Disk Creation screen appears. Select the

new virtual disk, and click Reclaim. Then select the new array from the Arrays

with Free Space list, and change the virtual disk parameters as needed.

4. Click Finish. The new storage confi guration will be created and initialized (unless

you selected No Initialization).

Using Guided Confi guration

Guided Confi guration provides an easy way to create a new storage confi guration.

Based on the information that is provided, the Confi guration Wizard uses the avail-

able disk drives to create an optimal storage confi guration.

6-6

Add-on Card User's Guide

Figure 6-3: First Guided Conguration Screen

Follow these steps to create a new storage confi guration in Guided Confi guration

mode:

1. Select a redundancy option at the top of the Guided Confi guration window:

– Redundancy Only: Create a confi guration only if redundancy (RAID 1 or RAID

5) is possible.

– Redundancy when possible: Create a redundant confi guration if possible. Oth-

erwise, create a non-redundant confi guration.

– No Redundancy: Create a non-redundant confi guration.

2. Choose whether you want to use existing arrays in the new virtual disk. The

options are:

– Use Existing Arrays Only

– Don’t Use Existing Arrays

– Use Existing and New Arrays

The fi rst and third options are disabled if there are no available existing arrays.

6-7

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

3. Select a maximum number of virtual disks to be created. The Confi guration

Wizard may not be able to create as many virtual disks as you want, depending on

the current confi guration and the number of virtual disks that have already been

created.

4. Click Next to continue to the next window.

Figure 6-4: Second Guided Confi guration Screen

5. Change the default volume parameters in this window, if needed. In the top sec-

tion of the window you can specify the number of virtual disks to create. You can

also choose to use less than the full capacity of this array for the virtual disk(s).

(You could do this to leave capacity available for other virtual disks that you create

later.)

6. Click Next to continue to the next window.

7. Check the confi guration that you have just defi ned. If it is acceptable, click Finish.

If you want to change something, click Back to return to the previous windows.

6-8

Add-on Card User's Guide

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 0

Follow these steps to create a RAID 0 storage confi guration using the Manual

Confi guration mode of the Confi guration Wizard.

Figure 6-5 shows the fi rst screen that appears when you select Manual Confi gura-

tion.

1. In the fi rst Manual Confi guration window, select two or more available drives

in the left panel. Click the Right Arrow button to move the selected drives to the

right panel.

Note: MegaRAID Storage Manager software will not allow you to select the disk

drive on which the operating system is installed or any other drives that are

already part of a confi guration.

2. Click Accept to accept these drives for the new RAID 0 array.

Note: To remove a single drive from a proposed new array, select the drive icon

in the right panel and click the Left Arrow button.

3. Click Next.

The next Confi guration Wizard window appears, as shown in Figure 6-6.

Figure 6-5: Manual Confi guration - First Manual Confi guration Screen

6-9

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Figure 6-6: Manual Confi guration - Defi ning a Virtual Disk

The Arrays with Free Space menu lists the new array that you just defi ned, plus any

existing arrays with holes (free space) that could be used for a new confi guration.

4. From the Arrays with Free Space menu, select the array to use for the new

virtual disk.

5. In the right panel, select RAID 0 as the RAID level.

6. (Optional) Set Size (in MB) to a lower number if you do not want to use the entire

available capacity for the new virtual disk.

7. (Optional) Change the other Virtual Disk Properties, if necessary.

8. Click Accept to accept the confi guration of the new virtual disk.

Note: Click the Reclaim button if you want to undo a virtual disk that you just

defi ned.

9. Click Next to continue with the next confi guration step. The Virtual Disk Sum-

mary window appears.

10. Review the confi guration shown in the Virtual Disk Summary window. If you

want to change something, click Back and change the confi guration parameters.

11. Click Finish to accept the confi guration and start the initialization process (un-

less you selected No Initialization earlier).

6-10

Add-on Card User's Guide

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 1

Follow these steps to create a RAID 1 storage confi guration using the Manual

Confi guration mode of the Confi guration Wizard:

1. In the fi rst Manual Confi guration window, shown in Figure 6-5, select two

available drives in the left panel. Click the Right Arrow button to move the selected

drives to the right panel.

Note: MegaRAID Storage Manager software will not allow you to select the disk

drive on which the operating system is installed or any other drives that are

already part of a confi guration.

2. Click Accept to accept these drives for the new RAID 1 array.

3. To add a hotspare to an array, select an available drive in the left panel. Select

the array from the drop-down menu, and click Add Hotspare To, as shown in

Figure 6-7.

Figure 6-7: Manual Confi guration - Adding a Hotspare

6-11

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

4. To remove a hotspare from an array, select it in the right panel and click Remove

HotSpare.

5. Click Next.

The next Confi guration Wizard window appears, as shown in Figure 6-6.

The Arrays with Free Space menu lists the new array(s) that you just defi ned,

plus any existing arrays with holes (free space) that could be used for a new con-

fi guration.

6. Select the array to use for the new virtual disk.

7. In the right panel, select RAID 1 as the RAID level.

8. (Optional) Set Size (in MB) to a lower number if you do not want to use the entire

available capacity for the new virtual disk.

9. (Optional) Change the other Virtual Disk Properties, if necessary.

10. Click Accept to accept the confi guration of the new virtual disk.

Note: Click the Reclaim button if you want to undo a virtual disk that you just

defi ned.

11. Click Next to continue with the next confi guration step.

The Virtual Disk Summary window appears.

12. Review the confi guration shown in the window. If you want to change something,

click Back and change the confi guration parameters.

13. Click Finish to accept the confi guration and start the initialization process (un-

less you selected No Initialization earlier).

6-12

Add-on Card User's Guide

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 5

Follow these steps to create a RAID 5 storage confi guration using the Manual

Confi guration mode of the Confi guration Wizard.

1. In the fi rst Manual Confi guration window, select three available drives in the

left panel. Click the Right Arrow button to move the selected drives to the right

panel.

Note: MegaRAID Storage Manager software will not allow you to select the disk

drive on which the operating system is installed or any other drives that are

already part of a confi guration.

2. Click Accept to accept these drives for the new RAID 5 array.

Note: To remove a single drive from a proposed new array, select the drive icon

in the right panel and click the Left Arrow button.

3. Click Next.

The next Confi guration Wizard window appears.

The Arrays with Free Space menu lists the new array that you just defi ned,

plus any existing arrays with holes (free space) that could be used for a new

confi guration.

4. From the Arrays with Free Space menu, select the array to use for the new

virtual disk.

5. In the right panel, select RAID 5 as the RAID level.

6. (Optional) Set Size (in MB) to a lower number if you do not want to use the entire

available capacity for the new virtual disk.

7. (Optional) Change the other Virtual Disk Properties, if necessary.

8. Click Accept to accept the confi guration of the new virtual disk.

Note: Click the Reclaim button if you want to undo a virtual disk that you just

defi ned.

6-13

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 10

Follow these steps to create a RAID 10 storage confi guration using the Manual

Confi guration mode of the Confi guration Wizard:

1. In the fi rst Manual Confi guration window, shown in Figure 6-5, select two avail-

able drives in the left panel. Click the Right Arrow button to move the selected

drives to the right panel.

2. Click Accept to accept these drives for a new RAID 1 array.

3. Select two more drives for a second RAID 1 array, and click Accept.

4. To add a hotspare, select an available drive in the left panel. Select the array from

the drop-down menu, and click Add Hotspare To, as shown in Figure 6-7.

5. To remove a hotspare from an array, select it in the right panel and click Remove

HotSpare.

6. Click Next.

The next Confi guration Wizard window appears, as shown in Figure 6-6.

The Arrays with Free Space menu lists the new arrays that you just defi ned,

plus any existing arrays with holes (free space) that could be used for a new

confi guration.

7. In the left panel, select the two RAID 1 arrays from the menu.

8. In the right panel, select RAID 10 as the RAID level.

9. Click Next to continue with the next confi guration step. The Virtual Disk Sum-

mary window appears.

10. Review the confi guration shown in the Virtual Disk Summary window. If you

want to change something, click Back and change the confi guration parameters.

11. Click Finish to accept the confi guration and start the initialization process (un-

less you selected No Initialization earlier).

6-14

Add-on Card User's Guide

10. Click Accept to accept the confi guration of the new virtual disk.

Note: Click the Reclaim button if you want to undo a virtual disk that you just

defi ned.

11. Click Next to continue with the next confi guration step. The Virtual Disk Sum-

mary window appears.

12. Review the confi guration shown in the window. If you want to change something,

click Back and change the confi guration parameters.

13. Click Finish to accept the confi guration and start the initialization process (un-

less you selected No Initialization earlier).

Using Manual Confi guration: RAID 50

Follow these steps to create a RAID 50 storage confi guration using the Manual

Confi guration mode of the Confi guration Wizard:

1. In the fi rst Manual Confi guration window, shown in Figure 6-5, select two avail-

able drives in the left panel. Click the Right Arrow button to move the selected

drives to the right panel.

2. Click Accept to accept these drives for a new RAID 5 array.

3. Select two more drives for a second RAID 5 array, and click Accept.

4. To add a hotspare, select an available drive in the left panel. Select the array from

the drop-down menu, and click Add Hotspare To , as shown in Figure 6-7.

5. To remove a hotspare from an array, select it in the right panel and click Remove

HotSpare.

6. Click Next.

The next Confi guration Wizard window appears, as shown in Figure 6-6.

The Arrays with Free Space menu lists the new arrays that you just defi ned,

plus any existing arrays with holes (free space) that could be used for a new

confi guration.

7. In the left panel, select the two RAID 5 arrays from the menu.

8. In the right panel, select RAID 50 as the RAID level.

6-15

Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

6-2 Adding Hotspare Disks

Hotspares are disk drives that are available to automatically replace failed drives

in a RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6 RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60 virtual disk. Each

virtual disk can have one dedicated hotspare.

For more information, see the LSI documentation and software Help fi le for more

information.

To add a global hotspare disk, follow these steps:

1. In the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window, right click the icon

of any unused disk drive.

2. Select Make Global Hotspare.

For a RAID 10 array, the entire capacity of the array is automatically used for the

new virtual disk. You cannot defi ne another virtual disk on this array.

9. (Optional) Change the other Virtual Disk Properties, if necessary. For more

information, see Section , “Understanding Virtual Disk Parameters.”

6-16

Add-on Card User's Guide

6-3 Changing Adjustable Task Rates

Follow these steps if you need to change the adjustable rates for rebuilds and other

system tasks that run in the background:

Note: LSI recommends that you leave the adjustable task rates at their default set-

tings to achieve the best system performance. If you raise the task rates above the

defaults, foreground tasks will run more slowly and it may seem that the system is

not responding. If you lower the task rates below the defaults, rebuilds and other

background tasks may run very slowly and may not complete within a reasonable

time. If you decide to change the values, record the original default value here so

you can restore them later, if necessary:

Rebuild Rate: ____________

Background Initialization (BGI) Rate: ____________

Check Consistency Rate: ____________

1. Select the Physical View tab in the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager

window, and select a controller icon.

2. In the right panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window, select the Opera-

tions tab, and select Set Adjustable Task Rates.

The task rates appear in the right panel.

3. Enter changes, as needed, to the task rates for Rebuild Rate, Background

Initialization (BGI) Rate (for fast initialization), and Check Consistency Rate (for

consistency checks). Each task rate can be set from 0 to 100. The higher the

number, the faster the activity will run in the background, possibly impacting

other system tasks.

4. Click Go to accept the new task rates.

5. When the warning message appears, click OK to confi rm that you want to change

the task rates.

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Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

6-4 Changing Virtual Disk Properties

You can change a virtual disk’s Read Policy, Write Policy, and other properties at

any time after the virtual disk is created. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Select a virtual disk icon in the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager

window.

2. In the right panel, select the Properties tab, and then select Set Virtual Disk

Properties.

A list of Virtual Disk Properties appears in the right panel.

3. Change the virtual disk properties as needed in the right panel. For information

on these properties, see Section “Understanding Virtual Disk Parameters"

Note: Only the Disk Write Cache and Read Ahead functions are supported in

Embedded MegaRAID Software.

4. Click Go to accept the changes.

6-5 Deleting a Virtual Disk

Caution: Be sure to back up the data on the virtual disk before you delete it. Be

sure that the operating system is not installed on this virtual disk.

You can delete virtual disks to rearrange the storage space. To delete a virtual disk,

follow these steps:

1. Back up all user data that is on the virtual disk you intend to delete.

2. In the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager window, select the Logical

tab, and click the icon of the virtual disk you want to delete.

3. In the right panel, select the Operations tab, and select Delete Virtual Disk.

4. Click Go.

5. When the warning message appears, click Yes to confi rm that you want to delete

the virtual disk.

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Add-on Card User's Guide

6-6 Saving a Storage Confi guration to Disk

You can save an existing controller confi guration to a fi le so you can apply it to

another controller. To save a confi guration fi le, follow these steps:

1. Select a controller icon in the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager

window.

2. On the menu bar, select Operations, Advanced Operations, Confi guration,

Save Confi guration.

The Save dialog box appears.

3. In the Save dialog box, type a name for the confi guration fi le, or accept the

default name (hostname.cfg).

4. Click Save to save the confi guration fi le.

6-7 Clearing a Storage Confi guration from a Controller

You can use the Add New Confi guration option to add a new storage confi guration

while keeping the existing confi guration. Alternatively, you can clear the existing

storage confi guration from a controller and then create a totally new confi guration

or load a previously saved confi gurationfi le.

Caution: Before you clear a confi guration, be sure to save any data that you

want to keep. Clearing a confi guration deletes all data from the disks of the

existing confi guration. Be sure that the operating system is not installed on this

confi guration.

To clear a confi guration from a controller, follow these steps:

1. Select a controller icon in the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager

window.

2. On the menu bar, select Operations, Advanced Operations, Confi guration,

Clear Confi guration. A Warning message appears.

3. Click Yes to clear the confi guration or No to cancel the operation.

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Safety Information and Technical Specifi cations

6-8 Adding a Saved Storage Confi guration

When you replace a controller, or when you want to duplicate an existing stor-

age confi guration on a new controller, you can add a saved confi guration to the

controller.

Caution: When you add a saved confi guration to a replacement controller, be

sure that the number and size of the physical disks connected to the controller

are exactly the same as when the confi guration was saved.

To add a saved confi guration, follow these steps:

1. Select a controller icon in the left panel of the MegaRAID Storage Manager

window.

2. On the menu bar, select Operations, Advanced Operations, Confi guration,

Add Saved Confi guration. A Warning message appears.

3. Click Yes.

4. When the Open dialog box appears, select the confi guration fi le, and click

Open.

5. View the confi guration detail, then select Apply.

6. Confi rm the new confi guration when prompted.

Add-on Card User's Guide

Notes

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