Page 1 Dell PowerVault MD3600f and MD3620f Storage Arrays Owner’s Manual Regulatory Model: E03J Series and E04J Series Regulatory Type: E03J001 and E04J001...
Page 2 Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this publication to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
Page 3: Table Of Contents
Contents Introduction About This Document Inside the Box of the Dell PowerVault MD3600f Series Storage Array MD3600f Series Storage Array Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager Other Information You May Need Planning: About Your Storage Array Overview Hardware Features Front-Panel Features and Indicators Back Panel Features and Indicators Hard–Drive Indicator Patterns...
Page 4 RAID Controller Module Connectors and Features Host Channel LED Link/Rate Indications RAID Controller Module—Additional Features Battery Backup Unit Storage Array Thermal Shutdown System Password Reset Cache Functions and Features Cache Mirroring Write–Back Cache Write–Through Cache SFP Transceivers, Fiber Optic, and SAS Cables Interoperability of 2 Gbps, 4 Gbps, and 8 Gbps Devices Planning: MD3600f Series Storage...
Page 5 Virtual Disk Initialization Background Initialization Foreground Initialization Consistency Check ....Media Verification ....Cycle Time .
Page 6 Monitoring MD3600f Series System Performance Configuration: Overview User Interface Enterprise Management Window Array Management Window Configuration: About Your Storage Array Storage Arrays Adding Storage Arrays Setting Up Your Storage Array Locating Storage Arrays Naming or Renaming Storage Arrays Setting a Password Viewing Storage Array Connections Adding/Editing a Comment to an Existing Storage Array...
Page 7 Setting the Storage Array RAID Controller Module Clocks Configuration: Event Monitor Enabling or Disabling the Event Monitor Windows ..... . Linux .
Page 8 Locating a Disk Group Creating Virtual Disks Changing the Virtual Disk Modification Priority Changing the Virtual Disk Cache Settings Changing the Segment Size of a Virtual Disk Changing the I/O Type Choosing an Appropriate Physical Disk Type Physical Disk Security With Self Encrypting Disk Creating a Security Key Changing a Security Key Saving a Security Key...
Page 9 Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group Removing a Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping Using Linux DMMP Restricted Mappings Changing the RAID Controller Module Ownership of a Virtual Disk or a Disk Group Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group Storage Partitioning Disk Group and Virtual Disk Expansion Disk Group Expansion...
Page 10 Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Simple Path Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Advanced Path Specifying Snapshot Virtual Disk Names Snapshot Repository Capacity Disabling a Snapshot Virtual Disk Re-creating Snapshot Virtual Disks Snapshot Rollback Contents Enabling and Disabling Snapshot Schedules .
Page 11 11 Configuration: Premium Feature—Virtual Disk Copy Types of Virtual Disk Copies Offline Copy Online Copy Creating a Virtual Disk Copy for an MSCS Shared Disk Virtual Disk Read/Write Permissions Virtual Disk Copy Restrictions Creating a Virtual Disk Copy Before You Begin Virtual Disk Copy and Modification Operations Create Copy Wizard...
Page 12 Removing Copy Pairs 12 Configuration: Premium Feature—Upgrading to High– Performance Tier 13 Configuration: Premium Feature— Remote Replication Contents Re-Copying a Virtual Disk ....... .
Page 13 Activating the Remote Replication Premium Feature and Creating Replication Virtual Disks ..... Activating and Creating Replication Repository Virtual Disks From the Storage Array .
Page 14 14 Configuration: Device Mapper Multipath for Linux Overview Using DM Multipathing Devices Limitations and Known Issues Troubleshooting Contents Reversing Roles Between the Primary and Secondary Virtual Disks ... . . Promoting the Secondary Virtual Disk or Demoting the Primary Virtual Disk Suspending a Remote Replication...
Page 15 15 Management: Firmware Downloads ..... . Downloading RAID Controller and NVSRAM Packages Downloading Both RAID Controller and NVSRAM Firmware Downloading Only NVSRAM Firmware Downloading Physical Disk Firmware Downloading MD1200 Series Expansion Module EMM Firmware...
Page 16 RAID Controller Module RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module Control Panel Backplane 17 Management: Firmware Inventory Viewing the Firmware Inventory Contents Installing a Hard Drive Into a Hard-Drive Carrier ....
Page 17 18 Management: System Interfaces Microsoft Services Virtual Disk Service Volume Shadow-Copy Service 19 Troubleshooting: Your Storage Array Software Start–Up Routine Device Health Conditions Storage Array Support Data Automatically Collect the Support Bundle Data Collecting the Physical Disk Data Event Log .
Page 18 Capturing the State Information SMrepassist Utility Unidentified Devices Recovering From an Unidentified Storage Array Starting or Restarting the Host Context Agent Software 20 Troubleshooting: Your Array Safety First—For You and Your Array Troubleshooting Storage Array Startup Failure Troubleshooting Loss of Communication Troubleshooting an SFP Transceiver Troubleshooting External Connections Troubleshooting Power Supply/Cooling Fan...
Page 19 21 Getting Help ..... . Contacting Dell Index ......
Page 20 Contents...
Page 21: Introduction
Troubleshooting—Tasks that you must complete to resolve problems that may occur with the storage array. Additional information on these and other topics can be found in the Dell PowerVault MD3600f and MD3620f Storage Array Deployment Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.
Page 22: Inside The Box Of The Dell Powervault Md3600F Series Storage Array
Fibre Channel (FC) host bus adapter (HBA). Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) is a graphical user interface (GUI) application, used to configure and manage one or more MD3600f Series storage arrays. The MDSM software is located on the MD3600f Series resource media.
Page 23: Other Information You May Need
• This document as well as Dell PowerVault MD 1200 Series Installation Guide is available at support.dell.com/manuals for users who incorporate MD1200 expansion enclosures.
Page 24 Introduction...
Page 25: Planning: About Your Storage Array
It’s features support for both single and dual RAID controller configurations. The Dell PowerVault MD3600f Series storage array provides Fibre Channel (FC) connectivity to the host server and enables access for up to eight non- redundant servers or four redundant servers.
Page 26: Hardware Features
Hardware Features Front-Panel Features and Indicators Figure 2-1. Front-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3600f Figure 2-2. Front-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3620f Planning: About Your Storage Array...
Page 27 Figure 2-3. Front-Bezel Features and Indicators Item Indicator, Button, or Connector Enclosure status LED Power LED Icon Description The enclosure status LED lights when the enclosure power is on. Lights blue during normal operation. Blinks blue when a host server is identifying the enclosure or when the system identification button is pressed.
Page 28 Item Indicator, Button, or Connector Split mode LED System identification button Hard drives Enclosure mode switch Planning: About Your Storage Array Icon Description This LED must be unlit as the split mode function is not supported by the MD3600f Series Storage Arrays.
Page 29: Back Panel Features And Indicators
Back Panel Features and Indicators Figure 2-4. Back-Panel Features and Indicators—Dell PowerVault MD3600f Series 600 W power supply/cooling fan module RAID Controller Module 1 RAID Controller Module 0 600 W power supply/cooling fan module Planning: About Your Storage Array...
Page 30: Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns
Hard–Drive Indicator Patterns Figure 2-5. Hard Drive Indicators hard-drive activity indicator (green) Planning: About Your Storage Array hard-drive status indicator (green and amber)
Page 31: Power Supply And Cooling Fan Features
Drive-Status Indicator Pattern Steady green Green flashing (On 250 ms, Off 250 ms) Physical disk is being identified Green flashing (On 400 ms, Off 100 ms) Physical disk rebuilding Amber flashing (On 150 ms, Off 150 ms) Physical disk failed Flashing green, amber, and Off (green On 500 ms, amber On 500 ms, Off 1000 ms) Flashing green, amber, and Off (green 3...
Page 32: Power Indicator Codes And Features
Power Indicator Codes and Features Figure 2-6. Power Indicator Codes and Features Item LED Type DC power Power supply/cooling fan fault AC power Power connector Power switches (2) Planning: About Your Storage Array Icon Description The LED lights green when the DC output voltage is within the limit.
Page 33: Planning: Raid Controller Modules
Various configurations can be utilized, in both single controller (simplex) and dual controller (duplex) modes, to connect the storage enclosure to hosts depending on specific redundancy needs. For information on cabling, see the MD3600f and MD3620f Series Storage Array’s Deployment Guide, at support.dell.com/manuals. Planning: RAID Controller Modules...
Page 34: Raid Controller Module Connectors And Features
Provides host-to-controller FC connection. Provides host-to-controller FC connection. Provides host-to-controller FC connection. Provides host-to-controller FC connection. Provides MAC addresses of the management port. Dell support only. Lights green when Ethernet connection is active. Off when Ethernet connection is not active.
Page 35 Item Component Management port Ethernet connector Management port speed LED Password reset switch Battery fault FCIN port 3 LED 1 / LED 0 Cache active or cache offload FCIN port 2 LED 1 / LED 0 System identification Controller fault FCIN port 1 LED 1 / LED 0 Controller power...
Page 36: Host Channel Led Link/Rate Indications
Item Component FCIN port 0 LED 1 / LED 0 SAS OUT port link/fault LED Host Channel LED Link/Rate Indications Below each FC port is a pair of LED indicators. The status of any FC port can be determined by applying Table 3-1 to the condition of each LED pair. Table 3-1.
Page 37: Storage Array Thermal Shutdown
Storage Array Thermal Shutdown The system automatically shuts down when system temperature exceeds the safe threshold. The battery backup unit protects against data loss by providing power to offload cache to non-volatile memory in the event of power loss. It is not necessary to shut down any MD1200 Series expansion enclosures attached to the storage array when thermal shutdown occurs.
Page 38: Write-Back Cache
Write–Back Cache In write-back cache, write operations result in a completion signal being sent to the host operating system as soon as the cache receives the data to be written. The target physical disk receives the data at a more appropriate time in order to increase controller performance.
Page 39 Figure 3-2. Fiber Optic Cable Connection SFP transceiver The RAID expansion ports support SAS expansion connections. Figure 3-3 shows a SAS cable and an SFF-8088 connector. Figure 3-3. SAS Cable SFF-8088 connector Fiber optic cable SAS cable Planning: RAID Controller Modules...
Page 40: Interoperability Of 2 Gbps, 4 Gbps, And 8 Gbps Devices
Interoperability of 2 Gbps, 4 Gbps, and 8 Gbps Devices The FC standard specifies a procedure for speedy auto-detection. If a 4 Gbps port on a switch or device is connected to a 2 Gbps port, it must negotiate down for the link to run at 2 Gbps. If there are two 8 Gbps ports on either end of a link, the negotiation runs the link at 8 Gbps if the link supports the required specifications.
Page 41: Planning: Md3600F Series Storage
Planning: MD3600f Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts This chapter explains terms and concepts used for configuration and operation of MD3600f Series storage arrays. Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups Physical disks in your storage array provide the physical storage capacity for your data.
Page 42: Physical Disks
Physical Disks Only Dell supported 6.0 Gbps SAS physical disks are supported in the storage array. If the storage array detects unsupported physical disks, it marks the disk as unsupported and the physical disk becomes unavailable for all operations. NOTE: The MD3600f Series storage array must contain at least two physical disks for proper operation.
Page 43: Self-Monitoring Analysis And Reporting Technology
Table 4-1. RAID Controller Physical Disk States Status Mode Pending Assigned, Failure Unassigned, Hot Spare in use, or Hot Spare standby Offline Not applicable The physical disk has either been spun Identify Assigned, Unassigned, Hot Spare in use, or Hot Spare standby If a disk drive rebuild fails because of a source drive failure or because the drive is too small, the MDSM reports a failure of the physical disk even...
Page 44: Virtual Disk States
Disk groups are always created in the unconfigured capacity of a storage array. Unconfigured capacity is the available physical disk space not already assigned in the storage array. Virtual disks are created within the free capacity of a disk group. Free capacity is the space in a disk group that has not been assigned to a virtual disk.
Page 45: Raid Levels
RAID Levels RAID levels determine the way in which data is written to physical disks. Different RAID levels provide different levels of accessibility, redundancy, and capacity. Using multiple physical disks has the following advantages over using a single physical disk: •...
Page 46 RAID 0 RAID 0 uses disk striping to provide high data throughput, especially for large files in an environment that requires no data redundancy. RAID 0 breaks the data down into segments and writes each segment to a separate physical disk. I/O performance is greatly improved by spreading the I/O load across many physical disks.
Page 47: Segment Size
RAID 10 RAID 10, a combination of RAID 1 and RAID 0, uses disk striping across mirrored disks. It provides high data throughput and complete data redundancy. Utilizing an even number of physical disks (four or more) creates a RAID level 10 disk group and/or virtual disk. Because RAID levels 1 and 10 use disk mirroring, half of the capacity of the physical disks is utilized for mirroring.
Page 48: Background Initialization
Background Initialization The storage array executes a background initialization when the virtual disk is created to establish parity, while allowing full host server access to the virtual disks. Background initialization does not run on RAID 0 virtual disks. The background initialization rate is controlled by MDSM. To change the rate of background initialization, you must stop any existing background initialization.
Page 49: Cycle Time
Cycle Time The media verification operation runs only on selected disk groups, independent of other disk groups. Cycle time is the time taken to complete verification of the metadata region of the disk group and all virtual disks in the disk group for which media verification is configured. The next cycle for a disk group starts automatically when the current cycle completes.
Page 50: Disk Group Operations
Disk Group Operations RAID Level Migration You can migrate from one RAID level to another depending on your requirements. For example, fault-tolerant characteristics can be added to a stripe set (RAID 0) by converting it to a RAID 5 set. MDSM provides information about RAID attributes to assist you in selecting the appropriate RAID level.
Page 51: Virtual Disk Capacity Expansion
Virtual Disk Capacity Expansion When you configure a virtual disk, you select a capacity based on the amount of data you expect to store. However, you may need to increase the virtual disk capacity for a standard virtual disk by adding free capacity to the disk group. This creates more unused space for new virtual disks or to expand existing virtual disks.
Page 52: Raid Background Operations Priority
If a redundant RAID controller module fails with an existing disk group process, the process on the failed controller is transferred to the peer controller. A transferred process is placed in a suspended state if there is an active disk group process on the peer controller.
Page 53: Virtual Disk Migration And Disk Roaming
Virtual Disk Migration and Disk Roaming Virtual disk migration is moving a virtual disk or a hot spare from one array to another by detaching the physical disks and re-attaching them to the new array. Disk roaming is moving a physical disk from one slot to another on the same array.
Page 54 Use either of the following methods to move disk groups and virtual disks: • Hot virtual disk migration—Disk migration with the destination storage array power turned on. • Cold virtual disk migration—Disk migration with the destination storage array power turned off. NOTE: To ensure that the migrating disk groups and virtual disks are correctly recognized when the target storage array has an existing physical disk, use hot...
Page 55: Disk Roaming
• Enabling premium features before migration—Before migrating disk groups and virtual disks, enable the required premium features on the destination storage array. If a disk group is migrated from a MD3600f storage array that has a premium feature enabled and the destination array does not have this feature enabled, an Out of Compliance error message may be generated.
Page 56: Host Types
You can manually configure a host server-to-virtual disk mapping. When you configure host server-to-virtual disk mapping, consider these guidelines: • You can define one host server-to-virtual disk mapping for each virtual disk in the storage array. • Host server-to-virtual disk mappings are shared between RAID controller modules in the storage array.
Page 57: Snapshot Repository Virtual Disk
For more information on mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the secondary node, see the Dell PowerVault MD3600f and MD3620f Storage Arrays With Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters on support.dell.com/manuals. Virtual Disk Copy Virtual disk copy is a premium feature to: •...
Page 58: Virtual Disk Recovery
Source Virtual Disk When you create a virtual disk copy, a copy pair consisting of a source virtual disk and a target virtual disk is created on the same storage array. When a virtual disk copy is started, data from the source virtual disk is copied completely to the target virtual disk.
Page 59: Using Snapshot And Disk Copy Together
Using Snapshot and Disk Copy Together You can use the Snapshot Virtual Disk and Virtual Disk Copy premium features together to back up data on the same storage array, or to restore the data on the snapshot virtual disk to its original source virtual disk. You can copy data from a virtual disk by: •...
Page 60: Virtual Disk Ownership
Ownership of a virtual disk is moved from the preferred controller to the secondary controller (also called the alternate controller) when the preferred controller is: • Physically removed • Updating firmware • Involved in an event that caused failover to the alternate controller Paths used by the preferred RAID controller module to access either the disks or the host server are called the preferred paths;...
Page 61: Monitoring Md3600F Series System Performance
• Round robin with subset—The round robin with subset I/O load balance policy routes I/O requests, in rotation, to each available data path to the RAID controller module that owns the virtual disks. This policy treats all paths to the RAID controller module that owns the virtual disk equally for I/O activity.
Page 62 • Using the Performance Monitor to retrieve performance data can affect the normal storage array performance depending on the polling interval that you set. • If the storage array you are monitoring begins in or transitions to an unresponsive state, an informational dialog is displayed. The dialog informs you that the Performance Monitor cannot poll the storage array for performance data.
Page 63 Maximum KB/second Current IO/second Maximum IO/second For more information, see the MD PowerVault Support Matrix at support.dell.com/manuals. Planning: MD3600f Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts Description Controller, virtual disk or storage array total. Cumulative I/O’s per second from last start time.
Page 64 Planning: MD3600f Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts...
Page 65: Configuration: Overview
Configuration: Overview Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) online help contains information on the how to use the MDSM application to perform the configuration and management tasks described in this document. You can access online help by selecting Help located at the top right corner of MDSM interface.
Page 66: Enterprise Management Window
Enterprise Management Window The EMW provides high-level management of storage arrays. When you start MDSM, the EMW is displayed. The EMW has these tabs: Devices tab—Provides information about the storage arrays. • • Setup tab—Presents the initial setup tasks that guide you through adding storage arrays and configuring alerts.
Page 67: Array Management Window
Inheriting the System Settings Use the Inherit System Settings option to import the operating system theme settings into the MDSM. Importing system theme settings affects features like font type, font size, color, and contrast in the MDSM. 1 Open the Inherit System Settings window in one of these ways: •...
Page 68 • Physical tab—You can view the organization of the storage array by RAID controller modules, physical disks, and other hardware components. • Mappings tab—You can define the hosts, host groups, and host ports. You can change the mappings to grant virtual disk access to host groups and hosts and create storage partitions.
Page 69: Configuration: About Your Storage Array
Configuration: About Your Storage Array You can manage a storage array in two ways: • Out-of-band management • In-band management Out-of-Band Management Using the out-of-band management method, data is separated from commands and events. Data travels through the host-to-controller interface, while commands and events travel through the management port Ethernet cables.
Page 70: Storage Arrays
255.255.255.0. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux, if no gateway exists on the network, set the default gateway to the IP address of the NIC. NOTE: MDSM uses TCP/UDP port 2463 for communication to the MD Storage Array. Configuration: About Your Storage Array at support.dell.com/manuals.
Page 71 Automatic Discovery of Storage Arrays The Automatic Discovery process sends out a broadcast message across the local subnetwork (subnet) and adds any storage array that responds to the message. The Automatic Discovery process finds both in-band and out-of- band storage arrays. NOTE: The Automatic Discovery option and the Re-scan Hosts option in the Enterprise Management Window provide automatic methods to discover managed...
Page 72: Setting Up Your Storage Array
• In the EMW, select the Setup tab, and select Name/Rename Storage Arrays. • In the AMW, select the Setup tab, and select Rename Storage Array. • In the EMW, right-click the icon corresponding to the array and select Rename. Setting Up Your Storage Array A list of initial setup tasks is displayed on the Setup tab in the AMW.
Page 73: Locating Storage Arrays
• Manually define hosts—Define the hosts and the host port identifiers that are connected to the storage array. Use this option only if the host is not automatically recognized and shown in the Mappings tab. • Configure ethernet management ports—Configure the network parameters for the Ethernet management ports on the RAID controller modules if you are managing the storage array by using the out-of-band management connections.
Page 74 To rename a selected storage array: 1 Perform one of these actions: In the AMW Setup tab, select Rename Storage Array. • In the EMW Devices tab Tree view, select EditRename. • In the EMW Devices tab Table view, select EditRename. •...
Page 75: Setting A Password
Setting a Password You can configure each storage array with a password to protect it from unauthorized access. MDSM prompts for the password when an attempt is made to change the storage array configuration, such as, when a virtual disk is created or deleted.
Page 76: Viewing Storage Array Connections
Password Guidelines Follow these guidelines when you create a password: • Use secure passwords for your storage array. A password must be easy for you to remember but difficult for others to determine. Consider using numbers or special characters in the place of letters, such as a 1 in the place of the letter I, or the at sign (@) in the place of the letter a.
Page 77: Adding/Editing A Comment To An Existing Storage Array
Adding/Editing a Comment to an Existing Storage Array A descriptive comment, with an applicable storage array name, is a helpful identification tool. You can add or edit a comment for a storage array in the EMW only. To add or edit a comment: 1 In the EMW, select the Devices tab and select the relevant managed storage array.
Page 78: Enabling Premium Features
Enabling Premium Features You can enable premium features on the storage array. To enable the premium features, you must obtain a feature key file specific to the premium feature that you want to enable from your storage supplier. To enable premium features: 1 From the toolbar in AMW, select Storage ArrayPremium Features.
Page 79: Changing The Cache Settings On The Storage Array
Changing the Cache Settings on the Storage Array 1 In the AMW, select Storage ArrayChangeCache Settings. The Change Cache Settings window is displayed. 2 Select or enter the percentage of unwritten data in the cache to trigger a cache flush in Start flushing. 3 Select or enter the percentage of unwritten data in the cache to stop a cache flush in progress in Stop flushing.
Page 80: Changing The Enclosure Order In The Physical Pane
Changing the Enclosure Order in the Physical Pane You can change the order of the RAID controller modules and the expansion enclosures in the Physical pane to match the hardware configuration in your storage array. The Physical pane that initially is displayed is a default view that may not match your storage array.
Page 81: Configuring E-Mail Alerts
To configure alert notifications for a single storage array: 1 In the EMW, select the Devices tab. 2 Select the relevant storage array, then select EditConfigureAlerts. The Configure Alerts dialog is displayed. To configure e-mail alerts, see "Configuring E–mail Alerts" on page 81. To configure SNMP alerts, see "Configuring SNMP Alerts"...
Page 82 The SMTP mail server is the name of the mail server that forwards the alert e-mails to the configured e-mail addresses. 5 In E-mail sender address, type the valid sender e-mail address. The e-mail address of the sender (the network administrator) is displayed on each e-mail alert sent to the destination.
Page 83: Configuring Snmp Alerts
9 For the selected e-mail address, in Frequency, select: • Every event—Sends an alert e-mail whenever an event occurs. This is the default option. • Every x hours—Sends an alert e-mail after the specified time interval if an event occurred during that time interval. You can select this option only if you have selected either Event + Profile or Event + Support in the Information To Send drop down list.
Page 84 “public”.The trap destination is the IP address or the host name of a computer running an SNMP management application. An example of a SNMP enabled management application is the Dell Management Console. For more information on Dell Management Console, see dell.com.
Page 85: Battery Settings
Configured SNMP addresses area. • The SNMP Community Name is determined by the system administrator and configured within the a management application, such as the Dell Management Console. More information about the Dell Management Console is available at dell.com.
Page 86: Setting The Storage Array Raid Controller Module Clocks
To change the battery settings perform these steps: 1 In the AMW, select Storage ArrayChangeBattery Settings. The Battery Settings dialog is displayed. 2 In Battery location, select a battery. 3 Check these details about the battery: • Battery status • Battery age •...
Page 87: Configuration: Event Monitor
Configuration: Event Monitor An event monitor is provided with Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM). The event monitor runs continuously in the background and monitors activity on the managed storage arrays. If the event monitor detects any critical problems, it can notify a host or remote system using e- mail, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) trap messages, or both.
Page 88: Enabling Or Disabling The Event Monitor
Enabling or Disabling the Event Monitor You can enable or disable the event monitor at any time. Disable the event monitor if you do not want the system to send alert notifications. If you are running the event monitor on multiple systems, disabling the event monitor on all but one system prevents the sending of duplicate messages.
Page 89: Configuration: About Your Host
Configuration: About Your Host Configuring Host Access Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager (MDSM) software is comprised of multiple modules. One of these modules is the Host Context Agent. The host context agent is installed as part of the MDSM installation and runs continuously in the background.
Page 90: Using The Mappings Tab
The host topology is reconfigurable. You can perform the following tasks: • Create a host and assign an alias or user label. • Add or associate a new host port identifier to a particular host. • Change the host port identifier alias or user label. •...
Page 91 To define a host: 1 In the AMW, select the Mappings tab and select the appropriate storage array. 2 Perform one of the actions: Select MappingsDefineHost. • Select the Setup tab, and click Manually Define Hosts. • • Select the Mappings tab. Right-click the root node (storage array name), Default Group node, or Host Group node in the Topology pane to which you want to add the host, and select DefineHost from the pop-up menu.
Page 92: Removing Host Access
• No—this host does NOT share access to the same virtual disks with other hosts. 9 Click Next. If you select Yes, the Specify Host Group window is displayed. If you select No, see step 11 10 Enter the name of the host group or select an existing host group and click Next.
Page 93: Creating A Host Group
Creating a Host Group 1 In the AMW, select the Mappings tab. 2 In the Topology pane, select the storage array or the Default Group. 3 Perform one of the following actions: • Select MappingsDefineHost Group • Right-click the storage array or the Default Group, and select DefineHost Group from the pop-up menu.
Page 94: Moving A Host To A Different Host Group
Moving a Host to a Different Host Group 1 In the AMW, select the Mappings tab, select the host node in the Topology pane. 2 Perform one of these actions: • Select MappingsMove. • Right-click the host node, and select Move from the pop-up menu. The Move Host dialog is displayed.
Page 95: Host Topology
Host Topology Host topology is the organization of hosts, host groups, and host interfaces configured for a storage array. You can view the host topology in the Mappings tab of the AMW. For more information, see "Using the Mappings Tab" on page 90. The following tasks change the host topology: •...
Page 96: I/O Data Path Protection
NOTE: See the Deployment Guide for more information on cabling configurations, at support.dell.com\manuals. NOTE: For maximum redundancy, you must select all host connections to the array when manually defining host topology. For example, a host may have two host connections listed when manually configuring host access.
Page 97: Managing Host Port Identifiers
For more information on Linux DM please see "Configuration: Device Mapper Multipath for Linux" on page 219. For more information on MPIO please see microsoft.com. NOTE: You must have the multi-path driver installed on the hosts at all times, even in a configuration where there is only one path to the storage system, such as a single port cluster configuration.
Page 98 To manage a host port identifier: 1 Perform one of these actions: Right-click the host in the Topology pane, and select Manage Host • Port Identifiers in the pop-up menu. • From the menu bar, select Mappings Manage Host Port Identifiers. The Manage Host Port Identifiers dialog is displayed.
Page 99 8 Select the host port identifier that you would like to manage from the list of host port identifiers in the Host port identifier information area. 9 Perform one of these actions for the selected host port identifier: • To edit the host port identifier—Select the appropriate host port identifier and click Edit, the Edit Host Port Identifier dialog is displayed, update User label and Associated with host and click Save.
Page 100 Configuration: About Your Host...
Page 101: Configuration: Disk Groups And Virtual Disks
Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks Creating Disk Groups and Virtual Disks Disk groups are created in the unconfigured capacity of a storage array, and virtual disks are created in the free capacity of a disk group. The maximum number of physical disks supported in a disk group is 30. The hosts attached to the storage array read and write data to the virtual disks.
Page 102: Creating Disk Groups
A disk group must be organized according to its related tasks and subtasks. For example, if you create a disk group for the Accounting Department, you can create virtual disks that match the different types of accounting transactions performed in the department: Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP), internal billing, and so forth.
Page 103 3 Type the name of the disk group (up to 30 characters) in Disk group name. 4 Select the appropriate Physical Disk selection choices, you can select: Automatic, see step 6 • Manual, see step 9 • 5 Click Next. 6 For Automatic configuration, The RAID Level and Capacity window is displayed.
Page 104: Locating A Disk Group
Locating a Disk Group You can physically locate and identify all of the physical disks that comprise a selected disk group. An LED blinks on each physical disk in the disk group. To locate a disk group: 1 In the AMW, select the Logical tab. 2 Select the appropriate disk group and from the toolbar select Disk GroupBlink.
Page 105 NOTE: Ensure that you create disk groups before creating virtual disks. To create virtual disks: 1 Choose one of these methods to start the Create Virtual Disk Wizard: • To create a virtual disk from unconfigured capacity in the storage array—On the Logical tab, select an Unconfigured Capacity node, and select Virtual DiskCreate.
Page 106: Changing The Virtual Disk Modification Priority
5 In Advanced virtual disk parameters, you can select: • Use recommended settings. Customize settings. • 6 Click Next. 7 In the Customize Advanced Virtual Disk Parameters window, select the appropriate Virtual Disk I/O characteristics type. You can select: • File system (typical) •...
Page 107: Changing The Virtual Disk Cache Settings
To change the virtual disk modification priority: 1 In the AMW, select the Logical tab. 2 Select a virtual disk. 3 In the toolbar, select Virtual DiskChangeModification Priority. The Change Modification Priority window is displayed. 4 Select one or more virtual disks. To select nonadjacent virtual disks, press <Ctrl>...
Page 108 To change the virtual disk cache settings: 1 In the AMW, select the Logical tab and select a virtual disk 2 In the toolbar, select Virtual DiskChangeCache Settings. The Change Cache Settings window is displayed. 3 Select one or more virtual disks. To select nonadjacent virtual disks, press <Ctrl>...
Page 109: Changing The Segment Size Of A Virtual Disk
5 Click OK. A message prompts you to confirm the change in the virtual disk modification priority. 6 Click Yes. 7 Click OK. Changing the Segment Size of a Virtual Disk You can change the segment size on a selected virtual disk. During this operation, I/O performance is affected, but your data remains available.
Page 110: Changing The I/O Type
To change the segment size of a virtual disk: 1 In the AMW, select the Logical tab and select a virtual disk. 2 Select Virtual DiskChangeSegment Size. 3 Select the required segment size. A message prompts you to confirm the selected segment size. 4 Click Yes.
Page 111: Choosing An Appropriate Physical Disk Type
To change the I/O type: 1 Select from these virtual disk I/O characteristic types, based on your application needs: • File system (typical) • Database • Multimedia • Custom The corresponding dynamic cache read prefetch setting and segment size values that are typically well suited for the selected virtual disk I/O characteristic type are populated in the Dynamic cache read prefetch and Segment size fields.
Page 112: Physical Disk Security With Self Encrypting Disk
Physical Disk Security With Self Encrypting Disk Self encrypting disk (SED) technology prevents unauthorized access to the data on a physical disk that is physically removed from the storage array. The storage array has a security key. Self encrypting disks provide access to data only through an array that has the correct security key.
Page 113 Table 9-1 shows how to interpret the security status of a disk group. Table 9-1. Interpreting Security Status of a Disk Group Secure Security Capable–Yes The disk group is composed of all SED physical disks and is in a Secure state. The disk group is composed of all SED physical disks and is in a Non-Secure state.
Page 114: Creating A Security Key
The Secure Physical Disks option is inactive with a check mark on the left if the disk group is already security enabled. The Create a secure disk group option is displayed in the Create Disk Group Wizard - Disk Group Name and Physical Disk Selection dialog. The Create a secure disk group option is active only when these conditions are met: •...
Page 115 To create a security key: 1 In the AMW toolbar, select Storage ArrayPhysical Disk Security Create Security Key. The Create Security Key window is displayed. 2 In Security key identifier, enter a string that becomes part of the secure key identifier. You can enter up to 189 alphanumeric characters without spaces, punctuation, or symbols.
Page 116: Changing A Security Key
After you have created a security key, you can create secure disk groups from security capable physical disks. Creating a secure disk group makes the physical disks in the disk group security-enabled. Security-enabled physical disks enter Security Locked status whenever power is re-applied. They can be unlocked only by a RAID controller module that supplies the correct key during physical disk initialization.
Page 117: Saving A Security Key
3 In Secure key identifier, enter a string that becomes part of the secure key identifier. You may leave the text box blank, or enter up to 189 alphanumeric characters without white space, punctuation, or symbols. Additional characters are generated automatically. 4 Edit the default path by adding a file name to the end of the path or click Browse, navigate to the required folder and enter the name of the file.
Page 118: Validate Security Key
To save the security key for the storage array: 1 In the AMW toolbar, select Storage ArrayPhysical Disk SecuritySave Security Key File. The Save Security Key File - Enter Pass Phrase window is displayed. 2 Edit the default path by adding a file name to the end of the path or click Browse, navigate to the required folder and enter the name of the file.
Page 119: Unlocking Secure Physical Disks
the appropriate security key must also be imported to the new storage array. Otherwise, the data on the security enabled physical disks that were moved is inaccessible. For more information on validating the security key, see the PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager online help topics. Unlocking Secure Physical Disks You can export a security-enabled disk group to move the associated physical disks to a different storage array.
Page 120: Configuring Hot Spare Physical Disks
Configuring Hot Spare Physical Disks Guidelines to configure host spare physical disks: • You can use only unassigned physical disks with Optimal status as hot spare physical disks. • You can unassign only hot spare physical disks with Optimal, or Standby status.
Page 121 • Right-click the physical disk and select Hot Spare Coverage from the pop-up menu. The Hot Spare Physical Disk Options window is displayed. 4 Select the appropriate option, you can select: • View/change current hot spare coverage—to review hot spare coverage and to assign or unassign hot spare physical disks, if necessary.
Page 122: Hot Spares And Rebuild
Hot Spares and Rebuild A valuable strategy to protect data is to assign available physical disks in the storage array as hot spares. A hot spare adds another level of fault tolerance to the storage array. A hot spare is an idle, powered-on, stand-by physical disk ready for immediate use in case of disk failure.
Page 123: Hot Spare Drive Protection
Hot Spare Drive Protection You can use a hot spare physical disk for additional data protection from physical disk failures that occur in a RAID level 1, or RAID level 5 disk group. If the hot spare physical disk is available when a physical disk fails, the RAID controller module uses redundancy data to reconstruct the data from the failed physical disk to the hot spare physical disk.
Page 124 CAUTION: Enclosure loss protection is not guaranteed if a physical disk has already failed in the disk group. In this situation, losing access to an expansion enclosure and consequently another physical disk in the disk group causes a double physical disk failure and loss of data. Enclosure loss protection is achieved when you create a disk group where all of the physical disks that comprise the disk group are located in different expansion enclosures.
Page 125: Host-To-Virtual Disk Mapping
Table 9-2. Criteria for Enclosure Loss Protection RAID Level Criteria for Enclosure Loss Protection RAID level 1 Ensure that each physical disk in a mirrored pair is located in a different expansion enclosure. This enables you to have more than two physical disks in the disk group within the same expansion enclosure.
Page 126: Creating Host-To-Virtual Disk Mappings
• Not every operating system has the same number of LUNs available. • You can define the mappings on the Mappings tab in the AMW. See "Using the Mappings Tab" on page 90. Creating Host-to-Virtual Disk Mappings Guidelines to define the mappings: •...
Page 127: Modifying And Removing Host-To-Virtual Disk Mapping
5 In Logical unit number, select a LUN. The supported LUNs are 0 through 255. 6 Select the virtual disk to be mapped in the Virtual Disk area. The Virtual Disk area lists the names and capacity of the virtual disks that are available for mapping based on the selected host group or selected host.
Page 128: Changing Controller Ownership Of The Virtual Disk
4 In Logical unit number, select the appropriate LUN. The drop down list shows only the currently available LUNs that are associated with the selected virtual disk. 5 Click OK. Stop any host applications associated with this virtual disk, and unmount the virtual disk, if applicable, from your operating system.
Page 129: Removing Host-To-Virtual Disk Mapping
ownership of the target virtual disk is restored to its preferred RAID controller module. If ownership of the source virtual disk is changed during the virtual disk copy, ownership of the target virtual disk is also changed. Under certain operating system environments, it may be necessary to reconfigure the multi- path driver before an I/O path can be used.
Page 130: Changing The Raid Level Of A Disk Group
ownership of the target virtual disk is restored to its preferred RAID controller module. If ownership of the source virtual disk is changed during the virtual disk copy, ownership of the target virtual disk is also changed. Under certain operating system environments, it may be necessary to reconfigure the multi- path driver before an I/O path can be used.
Page 131: Removing A Host-To-Virtual Disk Mapping Using Linux Dmmp
# multipath -ll Note the virtual disk that you want to delete from the mapping. For example, the following information may be displayed: mpath6 (3600a0b80000fb6e50000000e487b02f5) dm-10 DELL, MD32xx [size=1.6T][features=3 queue_if_no_path pg_init_retries 50][hwhandler=1 rdac] \_ round-robin 0 [prio=6][active] \_ 1:0:0:2 sdf 8:80 [active][ready]...
Page 132: Restricted Mappings
# echo 1 > /sys/block/sd_x/device/delete where sd_x is the SD node (disk device) returned by the multipath command. Repeat this command for all paths related to this device. For example: #echo 1 > /sys/block/sdf/device/delete #echo 1 > /sys/block/sde/device/delete 5 Remove mapping from MDSM, or delete the LUN if necessary. 6 If you want to map another LUN or increase volume capacity, perform this action from MDSM.
Page 133 • You cannot change a host adapter port to a restricted host type if there are already mappings in the storage partition that would exceed the limit imposed by the restricted host type. • Consider the case of the Default Group that has access to LUNs up to 256 (0 to 255) and a restricted host type is added to the Default Group.
Page 134: Changing The Raid Controller Module Ownership Of A Virtual Disk Or A Disk Group
Changing the RAID Controller Module Ownership of a Virtual Disk or a Disk Group You can change the RAID controller module ownership of a virtual disk or a disk group. You can change the RAID controller module ownership of a standard virtual disk or a snapshot repository virtual disk.
Page 135 CAUTION: Possible loss of data access—If you do not use a multi-path driver, shut down any host applications that are currently using the virtual disk. This action prevents application errors when the I/O path changes. Click Yes. The ownership of the virtual disk is changed. I/O to the virtual disk is now directed through this I/O path.
Page 136: Changing The Raid Level Of A Disk Group
Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group Use the ChangeRAID Level option to change the RAID level on a selected disk group. Using this option changes the RAID levels of every virtual disk that comprises the disk group. Performance may be slightly affected during the operation.
Page 137: Storage Partitioning
Storage Partitioning A storage partition is a logical entity consisting of one or more virtual disks that can be accessed by a single host or shared among hosts that are part of a host group. The first time you map a virtual disk to a specific host or host group, a storage partition is created.
Page 138: Disk Group And Virtual Disk Expansion
Storage partitioning is unavailable when: • No valid host groups or hosts exist in the Topology pane on the Mappings tab. • No host ports are defined for the host being included in the storage partition. • All mappings are defined. NOTE: You can include a secondary virtual disk in a storage partition.
Page 139: Virtual Disk Expansion
NOTE: If the RAID level of the disk group is RAID level 5, or RAID level 6, and the expansion enclosure has enclosure loss protection, Display only physical disks that ensures enclosure loss protection is displayed and is selected by default. 4 in the Available physical disks area, select physical disks up to the allowed maximum number of physical disks.
Page 140: Using Unconfigured Capacity
Using Unconfigured Capacity You can increase the capacity of a standard virtual disk or a snapshot repository virtual disk using the unconfigured capacity when no free capacity exists on a disk group. An increase is achieved by adding unconfigured capacity, in the form of unassigned physical disks to the disk group of the standard virtual disk or the snapshot repository virtual disk.
Page 141: Exporting A Disk Group
Exporting a Disk Group On the source storage array: 1 Save the storage array configuration. 2 Stop all I/O and unmount or disconnect the file systems on the virtual disks in the disk group. 3 Back up the data on the virtual disks in the disk group. 4 Locate the disk group and label the physical disks.
Page 142: Importing A Disk Group
Importing a Disk Group NOTE: You must insert all of the physical disks that are part of the disk group into the enclosure before the disk group can be imported. On the target storage array: 1 Insert the exported physical disks into the available physical disk slots. 2 Review the Import Report for an overview of the disk group that you are importing.
Page 143: Storage Array Media Scan
Storage Array Media Scan The media scan is a background operation that examines virtual disks to verify that data is accessible. The process finds media errors before normal read and write activity is disrupted and reports errors to the event log. NOTE: You cannot enable background media scans on a virtual disk comprised of Solid State Disks (SSDs).
Page 144: Suspending The Media Scan
The media scan duration specifies the number of days for which the media scan runs on the selected virtual disks. 5 To disable media scans on an individual virtual disk, select the virtual disk in the Select virtual disks to scan area, and deselect Scan selected virtual disks.
Page 145: Configuration: Premium Feature-Snapshot Virtual Disks
If you ordered this feature, you received a Premium Feature Activation card shipped in the same box as your Dell PowerVault MD storage array. Follow the directions on the card to obtain a key file and to enable the feature.
Page 146: Scheduling A Snapshot Virtual Disk
repository uses less disk space than a full physical copy, because the only data blocks that are stored in the snapshot repository virtual disk are those that have changed since the time of the snapshot. When you create a snapshot virtual disk, specify its location, capacity, schedule, and other parameters.
Page 147: Guidelines For Creating Snapshot Schedules
Friday, at a time between the end of the work day and 11PM. Do not select an end date. Apply the same schedule to the second virtual disk, then map the two snapshot virtual disks to your backup host server and perform your regular backup procedures.
Page 148: Enabling And Disabling Snapshot Schedules
Enabling and Disabling Snapshot Schedules A scheduled snapshot operation can be temporarily suspended by disabling the schedule. When a schedule is disabled, the schedule timer continues to run but any scheduled snapshot operation do not occur. Scheduled Snapshot Icons Scheduled snapshots are displayed in the AMW using the following icons. Icon Description The schedule is enabled.
Page 149: About The Simple Path
About the Simple Path Using the simple path, you can specify: • Snapshot Virtual Disk Name—A user-specified name that helps you associate the snapshot virtual disk to its corresponding snapshot repository virtual disk and source virtual disk. • Snapshot Repository Virtual Disk Name—A user-specified name that helps you associate the snapshot repository virtual disk to its corresponding snapshot virtual disk and source virtual disk.
Page 150: Preparing Host Servers To Create The Snapshot Using The Simple Path
NOTE: For more information on mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the secondary node, see the Dell PowerVault MD3600f and MD3620f Storage Arrays With Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters at support.dell.com/manuals. NOTE: You can create concurrent snapshots of a source virtual disk on both the source disk group and on another disk group.
Page 151 NOTE: Removing the drive letter of the associated virtual disk(s) in Windows or unmounting the virtual drive in Linux helps to guarantee a stable copy of the drive for the Snapshot. Before creating a snapshot virtual disk, the host server has to be in the proper state.
Page 152: Creating A Snapshot Virtual Disk Using The Advanced Path
After creating one or more snapshot virtual disks, mount the source virtual disk, and restart the host application using that source virtual disk. 11 In the AMW, select the Mappings tab, assign mappings between the snapshot virtual disk and the host that accesses the snapshot virtual disk. NOTE: In some cases, conflicts may result from mapping the same host to both a source virtual disk and its associated snapshot virtual disk.
Page 153 Use unconfigured capacity and create a new disk group for the snapshot repository virtual disk. – Dell recommends placing the snapshot repository virtual disk within the disk group of the source virtual disk. This ensures that if drives associated with the disk group are moved to another storage array, all the virtual disks associated with the snapshot virtual disk remain in the same group.
Page 154: Preparing Host Servers To Create The Snapshot Using The Advanced Path
NOTE: For more information on mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the secondary node, see the Dell PowerVault MD3200 and MD3220 Storage Arrays With Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters at support.dell.com/manuals. The destination of a snapshot repository virtual disk is determined based on the free capacity available in the disk group.
Page 155 • You must satisfy the requirements of your host operating system for creating snapshot virtual disks. Failure to meet the requirements of your host operating system results in an inaccurate snapshot of the source virtual disk or the target virtual disk in a virtual disk copy. NOTE: Before you create a new snapshot of a source virtual disk, stop any data access (I/O) activity or suspend data transfer to the source virtual disk to ensure that...
Page 156: Creating The Snapshot Using The Advanced Path
If you want to use a snapshot regularly, such as for backups, use the Disable Snapshot and Re-create Snapshot options to reuse the snapshot. Disabling and re-creating snapshots preserves the existing virtual disk-to-host mappings to the snapshot virtual disk. Creating the Snapshot Using the Advanced Path NOTE: Removing the drive letter of the associated virtual disk in Windows or unmounting the virtual drive in Linux helps to guarantee a stable copy of the drive...
Page 157: Specifying Snapshot Virtual Disk Names
The Specify Virtual Disk Parameters window is displayed. 9 In the Snapshot virtual disk parameters area, select the relevant mapping option, you can select: • Automatic • Map later 10 In the Snapshot repository virtual disk parameters area, enter the system behavior when: •...
Page 158 where sequence-number is the chronological number of the snapshot relative to the source virtual disk. The default name for the associated snapshot repository virtual disk that is shown in the Snapshot repository virtual disk field is: <source-virtual disk-name>—R<sequence-number> For example, if you are creating the first snapshot virtual disk for a source virtual disk called Accounting, the default snapshot virtual disk is Accounting-1, and the associated snapshot repository virtual disk default name is Accounting-R1.
Page 159: Snapshot Repository Capacity
Snapshot Repository Capacity If you receive a warning that the capacity for the snapshot repository virtual disk is approaching its threshold, you can increase the capacity of a snapshot repository virtual disk by using one of the following methods: • Use the free capacity available on the disk group of the snapshot repository virtual disk.
Page 160 free capacity is available, the maximum free space is displayed in the Increase capacity by field. If free capacity does not exist on the disk group, the free space that is displayed in the Increase capacity by spinner box is 0. You must add physical disks to create free capacity on the disk group.
Page 161 NOTE: The physical disks that is displayed has a capacity that is either the same size or larger than the capacity of the physical disks already being used by the disk group. 9 Select either a single physical disk to add or two physical disks to add. 10 Click Add.
Page 162: Disabling A Snapshot Virtual Disk
Disabling a Snapshot Virtual Disk Disable a snapshot virtual disk if: • You do not need the snapshot now. • You intend to re-create the snapshot at a later time and want to retain the associated snapshot repository virtual disk so that you do not need to create it again.
Page 163: Preparing Host Servers To Re-Create A Snapshot Virtual Disk
Preparing Host Servers to Re-create a Snapshot Virtual Disk NOTE: Before you create a new snapshot of a source virtual disk, stop any data access (I/O) activity or suspend data transfer to the source virtual disk and snapshot virtual disk to ensure that you capture an accurate snapshot of the source virtual disk.
Page 164: Re-Creating Snapshot Virtual Disks
Re-creating Snapshot Virtual Disks You can re-create a snapshot virtual disk that you have previously disabled. CAUTION: Possible loss of data redundancy – If the snapshot virtual disk is in Optimal status, it is first disabled prior to being re-created. This action invalidates the current snapshot.
Page 165: Rules And Guidelines For Performing A Snapshot Rollback
The associated snapshot repository virtual disk must have sufficient capacity to process the rollback operation and the write operations from the host. At most, the snapshot repository virtual disk may need twice the size of the base disk, plus additional metadata space equaling approximately 1/1000th (that is, 0.1%) of the Base volume capacity.
Page 166: Protecting Against A Failed Snapshot Rollback
If an error occurs during the rollback, the operation is paused and the base virtual disk and snapshot virtual disk displays Needs Attention icons. The RAID controller module also logs the event to the Major Event Log (MEL). Follow the Recovery Guru procedure to correct the error and repeat the rollback operation.
Page 167: Resuming A Snapshot Rollback
2 Choose one: • Select the snapshot virtual disk, and select Virtual Disk Snapshot Rollback. • Right-click the snapshot virtual disk and select Rollback. The Confirm Rollback Snapshot Virtual Disk dialog is displayed. 3 In the Select rollback priority area, use the slider bar to set rollback priority. NOTE: If priority is set at the lowest rate, normal data write activity is highest priority and the rollback operation takes longer to complete.
Page 168: Canceling A Snapshot Rollback
Canceling a Snapshot Rollback WARNING: Risk of data loss: If you cancel a snapshot rollback in progress, the base virtual disk may remain in an unusable state and the snapshot virtual disk is displayed as failed in the MD storage management software. Therefore, do not cancel a snapshot rollback unless reliable recovery options exist for restoring the content of the base virtual disk.
Page 169: Configuration: Premium Feature-Virtual Disk Copy
If you ordered this feature, you received a Premium Feature Activation card that shipped in the same box as your Dell PowerVault MD storage array. Follow the directions on the card to obtain a key file and to enable the feature.
Page 170: Types Of Virtual Disk Copies
Reasons to use virtual disk copy include: • Copying data for improved access—As your storage requirements for a virtual disk change, you can use a virtual disk copy to copy data to a virtual disk in a disk group that uses drives with larger capacity within the same storage array.
Page 171: Online Copy
formatted with a journaling file system, any attempt to issue a read request to the source virtual disk may be rejected by the storage array RAID controller modules and result in an error message. Make sure that the Read-Only attribute for the target virtual disk is disabled after the virtual disk copy is complete to prevent error messages from being displayed.
Page 172: Creating A Virtual Disk Copy For An Mscs Shared Disk
Creating a Virtual Disk Copy for an MSCS Shared Disk To create a virtual disk copy for a Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) shared disk, create a snapshot of the virtual disk, and then use the snapshot virtual disk as the source for the virtual disk copy. NOTE: An attempt to directly create a virtual disk copy for an MSCS shared disk, rather than using a snapshot virtual disk, fails with the following error:...
Page 173: Virtual Disk Copy Restrictions
• To enable Read-Only permission, select ChangeTarget Virtual Disk PermissionsEnable Read-Only. NOTE: Write requests to the target virtual disk are rejected when the Read- Only permission is enabled on the target virtual disk. To disable Read-Only permission, select ChangeTarget Virtual •...
Page 174: Creating A Virtual Disk Copy
NOTE: The following host preparation sections also apply when using the virtual disk copy feature through the CLI interface. Creating a Virtual Disk Copy Source virtual disks that are participating in a virtual disk copy are available for read I/O activity only while a virtual disk copy has a status of In Progress or Pending.
Page 175: Virtual Disk Copy And Modification Operations
If 16 virtual disk copies with the status of In Progress exist, any subsequent virtual disk copy has the status Pending, which stays until one of the 16 virtual disk copies complete. Virtual Disk Copy and Modification Operations If a modification operation is running on a source virtual disk or a target virtual disk, and the virtual disk copy has a status of In Progress, Pending, or Failed, the virtual disk copy does not take place.
Page 176: Preferred Raid Controller Module Ownership
When the virtual disk copy fails, a critical event is logged in the Event Log, and a Needs Attention icon is displayed in the AMW. While a virtual disk copy has this status, the host has read-only access to the source virtual disk. Read requests from and write requests to the target virtual disk do not take place until the failure is corrected by using the Recovery Guru.
Page 177: Copying The Virtual Disk
Copying the Virtual Disk You can create a virtual disk copy by using the Create Copy Wizard. CAUTION: Possible loss of data access – A virtual disk copy overwrites data on the target virtual disk. A virtual disk copy automatically makes the target virtual disk read-only to hosts.
Page 178: Storage Array Performance During Virtual Disk Copy
8 In the Select copy priority area, select the relevant copy priority and click Next. The Confirmation window displays the summary of your selections. 9 Type yes and click Finish. NOTE: The Operation in Progress icon is displayed on the source virtual disk and the target virtual disk while the virtual disk copy has a status of In Progress or Pending.
Page 179: Stopping A Virtual Disk Copy
The Copy Manager window is displayed. 2 In the table, select one or more copy pairs. 3 Select ChangeCopy Priority. The Change Copy Priority window is displayed. 4 In the Copy priority area, select the appropriate copy priority, depending on your system performance needs. NOTE: There are 5 copy priority rates available: lowest, low, medium, high, and highest.
Page 180: Preparing Host Servers To Recopy A Virtual Disk
The Recopy option overwrites existing data on the target virtual disk and makes the target virtual disk read-only to hosts. This option fails all snapshot virtual disks associated with the target virtual disk, if any exist. Preparing Host Servers to Recopy a Virtual Disk NOTE: Before you create a new copy of a source virtual disk, stop any data access (I/O) activity or suspend data transfer to the source virtual disk (and, if applicable,...
Page 181: Re-Copying A Virtual Disk
Re-Copying a Virtual Disk You can use the Copy Manager to create a new virtual disk copy for a selected source virtual disk and a target virtual disk. Use this option when you have stopped a virtual disk copy and want to start it again or when a virtual disk copy has failed or completed.
Page 182: Removing Copy Pairs
Removing Copy Pairs You can remove one or more virtual disk copies by using the Copy Manager. Any virtual disk copy-related information for the source virtual disk and the target virtual disk is removed from the Virtual Disk Properties dialog and the Storage Array Profile dialogs.
Page 183: Configuration: Premium Feature-Upgrading To High-Performance Tier
To upgrade from a standard-performance-tier storage array to a high- performance-tier storage array, you enable the high-performance-tier premium feature, using the Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Management (MDSM) software. When the high performance tier feature is enabled or disabled the array restarts.
Page 184 Configuration: Premium Feature—Upgrading to High–Performance Tier...
Page 185: Remote Replication
Fibre Channel switch configuration. Direct-attached configurations between the host server and Dell PowerVault MD storage arrays are not supported. For more information on configuring the switch environment, see "Required Switch Zoning Configurations" on page 190.
Page 186: Activating Remote Replication
NOTE: If you ordered the Remote Replication feature, you received a Premium Feature Activation card in the Dell PowerVault MD storage array shipping box. Follow the directions on the card to install and enable this feature. After the Remote Replication feature is installed following the steps on the Premium Feature Activation card, it must be activated using a wizard-based process.
Page 187: Raid Levels For Replication Repository Virtual Disks
Other information about replication repository virtual disks include: • Specifying that replication repository virtual disks be created from unconfigured free capacity on the disk group, or creating a new disk group and its member replication repository virtual disks from unconfigured free capacity on the storage array.
Page 188: Using Remote Replication With Other Features
Before creating a virtual disk pair, verify the following: 1 The Remote Replication premium feature is installed, enabled and activated on the primary and secondary storage arrays. 2 The storage arrays containing the two virtual disks you want to replicate are connected through a Fibre Channel fabric interface.
Page 189: Snapshot Virtual Disk With Remote Replication
Snapshot Virtual Disk With Remote Replication A snapshot virtual disk is a point-in-time image of a virtual disk. In a remote replication, do not mount a snapshot virtual disk on the same server as the primary virtual disk. Virtual Disk Copy With Remote Replication The virtual disk copy premium feature copies data from a source virtual disk to a target virtual disk within the same storage array.
Page 190: Required Switch Zoning Configurations
A limited set of Fibre Channel switches are supported by the storage array. For a complete list of supported switches and their required driver, BIOS and firmware levels, see the Configuring Fibre Channel with the Dell MD3600f-Series Storage Array. Due to potential restrictions at the host level, remote replication configurations must contain Fibre Channel switches.
Page 191: Journaling File Systems And Remote Replication
Journaling File Systems and Remote Replication When using a journaling file system, you cannot gain read-only access to a remote virtual disk. A journaling file system does not let you mount the remote virtual disk in Windows NTFS. However, you can mount a snapshot of the remote virtual disk, if available.
Page 192: Activating The Remote Replication Premium Feature And Creating Replication Virtual Disks
Activating the Remote Replication Premium Feature and Creating Replication Virtual Disks To activate the Remote Replication feature and create the two replication repository virtual disks required, you can either: • Activate the feature, then create the two replication virtual disks from the total unconfigured capacity on the storage array, or •...
Page 193: Activating And Creating Replication Repository Virtual Disks From An Existing Disk Group
6 In the Select capacity table, select the physical disks and capacities for the new disk group, then click Next. The Preview (Activate Remote Replication) wizard is displayed. 7 Click Finish. The Completed (Activate Remote Replication) message is displayed. 8 Click OK. The Remote Replication premium feature is now active.
Page 194: Creating A Remote Replication
Creating a Remote Replication Before creating a remote replication, ensure that all prerequisites are met. See "Prerequisites" on page 191 for more information. 1 Open the AMW of both the local and remote storage array. 2 Verify that the Remote Replication premium feature is activated on both storage arrays.
Page 195: Selecting The Secondary Virtual Disk
Selecting the Secondary Virtual Disk CAUTION: Creating a replicated virtual disk pair starts a process between the primary and secondary virtual disks that overwrites all existing data on the secondary virtual disk and set the disk to read-only access. If you have existing data on your secondary virtual disk stop all I/O to the disk, back up the data, and unmount any file systems mounted to the secondary virtual disk before creating the replicated virtual disk pair.
Page 196: Setting Synchronization Priority And Synchronization Method
also specify whether to use a write consistency group option. A write consistency group ensures that the secondary virtual disk receives write requests in the sequence initiated by the RAID controller module of the primary virtual disk. The secondary virtual disk can also be added to a write consistency group.
Page 197: Completing The Remote Replication
• Manual resynchronization (recommended)—The replicated pair must be manually resynchronized each time communication is restored between unsynchronized replicated virtual disks. 3 Click Next. The Preview (Create Remote Replication) wizard is displayed. Go to "Completing the Remote Replication" on page 197. Completing the Remote Replication CAUTION: Creating a replicated virtual disk pair starts a process between the...
Page 198: Raid Controller Module Ownership/Preferred Path
RAID Controller Module Ownership/Preferred Path During a remote replication operation, the RAID controller module that owns the primary virtual disk must correspond to the RAID controller owning the secondary volume on the remote array. If both virtual disks do not have the same preferred RAID controller module when a remote replication begins, the ownership of the secondary virtual disk is automatically transferred to the preferred RAID controller module of the primary virtual disk.
Page 199 Viewing the Storage Array Profile The Storage Array Profile displays the most detailed information about the components of a remote replication and the replication repository virtual disks. You can: • View detailed information about individual and paired virtual disks in a remote replication •...
Page 200: Viewing The Properties Pane
Viewing the Properties Pane The Properties pane is a view-only display of the physical and logical characteristics of a single virtual disk in a replicated pair, or a single replication repository virtual disk. To view the Properties pane: 1 In the AMW, select the Logical tab. 2 Select either the primary or secondary virtual disk of the replicated pair.
Page 201: Viewing The Physical Components Or Logical Elements Of The Primary Virtual Disk
Viewing the Physical Components or Logical Elements of the Primary Virtual Disk To view the physical components or logical elements of the primary virtual disk in a remote replication: 1 In the AMW of the storage array that contains the primary virtual disk, select the Logical tab.
Page 202: Virtual Disk Status Icons
Virtual Disk Status Icons In the Devices tab on the EMW, the following icons depict the status of each virtual disk: Changing Write Mode and Consistency Group Membership Table 13-1. Write Mode and Consistency Group Membership Icon Status Replication repository virtual disk Primary virtual disk Secondary virtual disk Primary virtual disk, synchronization in progress...
Page 203 The write mode of a remote replication is selected when it is created. However, you can change the write mode in a remote replication at a later time, as well as change the secondary virtual disk's membership in a write consistency group.
Page 204: Resynchronizing Virtual Disks
Resynchronizing Virtual Disks There are two resynchronization methods for remote replications: • Manual resynchronization—See "Manually Resynchronizing Virtual Disks" on page 208. • Automatic resynchronization—See "Automatically Resynchronizing Virtual Disks" on page 208. For more information about synchronization and resynchronization in remote replications, see: •...
Page 205: Changing Synchronization Priority And Method
The communication between a primary and secondary virtual disks can be suspended or become unsynchronized. If communication between the primary virtual disk and the secondary virtual disk is disrupted: 1 The status of the replicated pair changes to Unsynchronized. 2 A Needs Attention status is displayed for the storage array. 3 Data is written to the primary virtual disk.
Page 206 • Changing the segment size of a virtual disk • Defragmenting a disk group • Adding free capacity to a disk group • Changing the RAID level of a disk group To change the synchronization priority and method for an existing remote replication: 1 In the AMW of the storage array containing the primary virtual disk of the replicated pair, right-click the Logical tab.
Page 207: Unsynchronized Virtual Disks
Unsynchronized Virtual Disks Communication between a primary and secondary virtual disks can be either suspended, or become unsynchronized. If this communication between both virtual disks is disrupted: 1 The status of the replicated pair changes to Unsynchronized. 2 A Needs Attention status is displayed for the storage array. 3 Data is written to the primary virtual disk.
Page 208: Automatically Resynchronizing Virtual Disks
Automatically Resynchronizing Virtual Disks When automatic resynchronization is selected, the RAID controller module owning the primary virtual disk automatically starts resynchronizing the data on the remote replication pair immediately after communication is restored. NOTE: When choosing automatic resynchronization, a possible loss of data can occur if a resynchronization is interrupted in progress.
Page 209: Reversing Roles Between The Primary And Secondary Virtual Disks
Reversing Roles Between the Primary and Secondary Virtual Disks Reversing the roles between the virtual disks promotes the secondary virtual disk to the role of primary virtual disk and demotes the primary virtual disk to the role of secondary virtual. If the primary virtual disk in a remote virtual disk replication fails, you can reverse the roles of the primary virtual disk and the secondary virtual disk to transfer the data back to the restored virtual disk.
Page 210: Promoting The Secondary Virtual Disk Or Demoting The Primary Virtual Disk
Promoting the Secondary Virtual Disk or Demoting the Primary Virtual Disk To promote the secondary virtual disk to the role of primary virtual disk, or demote the primary virtual disk to the role of secondary virtual disk: 1 In the AMW of the storage array that contains the virtual disk you are changing, click the Logical tab.
Page 211: Resuming A Remote Replication
Resuming a Remote Replication 1 In the AMW of the storage array with the primary virtual disk, select the Logical tab. 2 In the Logical pane, right-click the primary virtual disk of the replicated pair, then select Resume Replication. The Resume Replicated Pair dialog is displayed. The Replicated pairs table shows all suspended replicated pairs in the local and remote storage arrays.
Page 212: Testing Communication Between The Primary And Secondary Virtual Disks
After the remote virtual disk replication resumes, data is automatically written to the secondary virtual disk. Only the regions of the primary virtual disk that changed since the replicated pair was suspended are written to the secondary virtual disk. CAUTION: Possible loss of data access: When you resume a remote virtual disk replication involving a primary or secondary virtual disk that is a member of a write consistency group, any other suspended remote replications for replicated...
Page 213: Deleting A Virtual Disk From A Replicated Pair In A Storage Array
Deleting a Virtual Disk From a Replicated Pair in a Storage Array Follow these steps to delete either a primary virtual disk, a secondary virtual disk, or both virtual disks from a replicated pair in a storage array. NOTE: Do not remove a replication relationship to back up a replicated virtual disk. To perform backups of either the primary virtual disk or the secondary virtual disk, suspend the remote virtual disk replication so that the replication relationship is not broken.
Page 214: Deleting A Secondary Virtual Disk
Deleting a Secondary Virtual Disk NOTE: Depending on which premium features are enabled on the storage array, deleting a secondary virtual disk may delete all associated virtual disks, resulting in a possible loss of data on those virtual disks. NOTE: You cannot delete a secondary virtual disk while it is synchronizing.
Page 215: Deleting A Secondary Virtual Disk In A Replicated Pair From A Storage Array
Deleting a Secondary Virtual Disk in a Replicated Pair From a Storage Array 1 Stop all I/O activity on the secondary virtual disk and unmount any file systems on the secondary virtual disk. 2 In the AMW of the storage array that contains the secondary virtual disk, select the Logical tab.
Page 216: Deactivating The Remote Replication On The Storage Array
To remove remote replication from a storage array: 1 In the AMW of the storage array containing the primary virtual disk, select the Logical tab. 2 In the Logical pane, right-click the primary virtual disk of a replicated pair, then select Remove Replication Relationship. The Remove Replication Relationship dialog is displayed.
Page 217: Disabling The Remote Replication Premium Feature
To re-enable the Remote Replication premium feature on a storage array after it is disabled, you must either retrieve the premium feature key or obtain a new one from your Dell support representative. To disable the remote replication premium feature: 1 In the Array Management Window, select Storage Array >...
Page 218 Configuration: Premium Feature— Remote Replication...
Page 219: Configuration: Device Mapper
MD3600f Series Resource media installation program on the server, and selecting either the Full or Host install option. For detailed installation procedures, see the Dell PowerVault MD3600f and MD3620f storage arrays Deployment Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.
Page 220: Using Dm Multipathing Devices
The following tasks must be completed before proceeding. For more information about step 1and step 2, see the MD3600f and MD3620f Storage Arrays Deployment Guide at support.dell.com/manuals. For more information about step 3, see "Creating Virtual Disks" on page 104.
Page 221: Device Mapper Configuration Steps
Device Mapper Configuration Steps To complete the DM multipathing configuration and make the storage available to the Linux host server: 1 Scan for virtual disks. See "Scan for Newly Added Virtual Disks" on page 221. 2 Display the multipath device topology. See "Display the Multipath Device Topology Using the Multipath Command"...
Page 222 It is located in the /dev/mapper directory. DELL is the vendor of the device MD36xxf is the model of the device Sdc is the physical path to the owning controller for the device...
Page 223 It is located in the /dev/mapper directory. DELL is the vendor of the device MD36xxf is the model of the device Sdx is the physical path to the owning controller for the device...
Page 224 The following examples provide information about the general mapping formats: On RHEL hosts, a partition node has the format /dev/mapper/mpath<x>p<y>, where <x> is the alphabetic number for the multipathing device, <y> is the partition number for this device. On SLES 11.x hosts, a partition node has the format /dev/mapper/mpath<x>-part<y>, where <x>...
Page 225 Blacklist Local Drive in Multi-path Driver If your multipath drivers are connecting to storage area networks (SANs), it may be useful to be able to exclude or "blacklist" certain devices in your /etc/multipath.conf file. Blacklisting prevents the multipath driver from attempting to use those local devices. To blacklist a local drive or device: 1 Run the multipath -l command to determine the local drive or device WWID (World-Wide Identifier) or vendor/model string.
Page 226 Used if the underlying physical devices are deleted/unmapped. Flushes out all unused multipathing device maps. Dell provided script. Forces a rescan of the host's SCSI bus and aggregates multipathing devices as needed. For use when: • LUNs are dynamically mapped to the hosts.
Page 227: Limitations And Known Issues
Limitations and Known Issues • In certain error conditions with the no_path_retry or the queue_if_no_path feature is set, applications may hang. To overcome these conditions the you must enter the following command for each affected multipath device: dmsetup message [device] 0 "fail_if_no_path" where [device] is the multipath device name (for example.
Page 228: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting Question How can I check if multipathd is running? Why does the multipath –ll command output not show any devices? Why is a newly-mapped LUN not assigned a multipathing device node? I have no LUNs mapped before. Then I map a few LUNs. After running rescan-scsi- bus.sh, LUN 0 does not show up.
Page 229: Management: Firmware Downloads
Management: Firmware Downloads Downloading RAID Controller and NVSRAM Packages A version number exists for each firmware file. The version number indicates whether the firmware is a major version or a minor version. You can use the Enterprise Management Window (EMW) to download and activate both the major firmware versions and the minor firmware versions.
Page 230: Downloading Both Raid Controller And Nvsram Firmware
I/O to the array can continue while you are upgrading RAID controller and NVSRAM firmware. NOTE: Dell recommends that the firmware and NVSRAM be upgraded during a maintenance period when the array is not being used for I/O. NOTE: The RAID enclosure must contain at least two disk drives in order to update the firmware on the controller.
Page 231 7 Click Transfer. Keep these guidelines in mind: • If the Transfer button is inactive, ensure that you either select an NVSRAM file or deselect the Transfer NVSRAM file with RAID controller module firmware option. • If the file selected is not valid or is not compatible with the current storage array configuration, the File Selection Error dialog is displayed.
Page 232: Downloading Only Nvsram Firmware
12 To locate the directory in which the file to download resides, click Browse in the Select files area. The Select File dialog is displayed. 13 Select the file to download. 14 Click OK. 15 If you want to download the NVSRAM file with the RAID controller module firmware, select Download NVSRAM file with firmware in the Select files area.
Page 233 2 Perform one of these actions: • Select Advanced Maintenance Download RAID Controller Module NVSRAM • Select the Support tab, and click Download Firmware. In Select download task, select Download RAID controller module NVSRAM and click OK. An error message is displayed. Click OK to close it and select a compatible file.
Page 234 NOTE: The Details pane shows the details of only one storage array at a time. If you select more than one storage array in the Storage array pane, the details of the storage arrays are not shown in the Details pane. 9 Click NVSRAM in the Download area.
Page 235: Downloading Physical Disk Firmware
Downloading Physical Disk Firmware CAUTION: When updating physical disk firmware, you must stop all I/O activity to the array to prevent data loss. The physical disk firmware controls various features of the physical disk. The disk array controller (DAC) uses this type of firmware. Physical disk firmware stores information about the system configuration on an area of the physical disk called DACstore.
Page 236 To download Physical Disk Firmware: 1 From the AMW, select Advanced Maintenance Download Physical Disk. The Download Physical Disk - Introduction window is displayed. 2 Click Next. The Download Physical Disk Firmware - Add Packages window is displayed. 3 In the Selected Packages area, click Add. Navigate to the location of the packages and click OK.
Page 237: Downloading Md1200 Series Expansion Module Emm Firmware
Downloading MD1200 Series Expansion Module EMM Firmware NOTE: Due to a limitation with Linux, expansion enclosure EMM firmware updates must be performed using out-of-band management only. Failure to do so may result in the host server becoming unresponsive, and it may require a reboot. You can transfer a downloadable firmware file to the expansion enclosure EMM in the expansion enclosures attached to the storage array.
Page 238: Self-Monitoring Analysis And Reporting Technology (Smart)
NOTE: If you click Stop while a firmware download is in progress, the download-in-progress finishes before the operation stops. The status for the remaining expansion enclosures changes to Canceled. Monitor the progress and completion status of the download to the expansion enclosures.
Page 239: Media Errors And Unreadable Sectors
Media Errors and Unreadable Sectors If the RAID controller detects a media error while accessing data from a physical disk that is a member of a disk group with a redundant RAID level (RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10), the controller tries to recover the data from peer disks in the disk group and uses recovered data to correct the error.
Page 240 Management: Firmware Downloads...
Page 241: Management: Installing Array
Management: Installing Array Components Recommended Tools You may need the following items to perform the procedures in this section: • Key to the system keylock • #2 Phillips screwdriver • Wrist grounding strap Management: Installing Array Components...
Page 242: Front Bezel (Optional)
Front Bezel (Optional) Removing the Front Bezel 1 Using the system key, unlock the front bezel (if locked). 2 Lift up the release latch next to the keylock. 3 Rotate the left end of the bezel away from the front panel. 4 Unhook the right end of the bezel and pull the bezel away from the system.
Page 243: Hard Drives
242. 2 Press the release tab and slide the hard-drive blank out until it is free of the drive bay. See Figure 16-2 for PowerVault MD3600f and Figure 16-3 for PowerVault MD3620f. Figure 16-2. Removing and Installing a 3.5" Hard-Drive Blank (MD3600f Only)
Page 244: Installing A Hard-Drive Blank
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 245 If the drive is online, the green activity/fault indicator flashes as the drive is powered down. When the drive indicators are off, the drive is ready for removal. 3 Press the release button to open the drive carrier release handle. See Figure 16-4.
Page 246: Installing A Hard Drive
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 247: Removing A Hard Drive From A Hard-Drive Carrier
Removing a Hard Drive From a Hard-Drive Carrier Remove the screws from the slide rails on the hard-drive carrier and separate the hard drive from the carrier. See Figure 16-5 for PowerVault MD3600f and Figure 16-6 for PowerVault MD3620f. Figure 16-5. Removing and Installing a Hard Drive Into a 3.5" Hard-Drive Carrier...
Page 248 Figure 16-6. Removing and Installing a Hard Drive Into a 2.5" Hard-Drive Carrier screws (4) SAS screw hole Management: Installing Array Components hard drive hard-drive carrier...
Page 249: Installing A Hard Drive Into A Hard-Drive Carrier
Installing a Hard Drive Into a Hard-Drive Carrier 1 Insert the hard drive into the hard-drive carrier with the connector end of the drive at the back. See Figure 16-5. 2 Align the screw holes on the hard drive with the back set of holes on the hard-drive carrier.
Page 250: Installing A Raid Controller Module Blank
5 Connect all the power cables to the array. 6 Turn on the array and the host server. Figure 16-7. Removing and Installing a RAID Controller Module Blank release latch Installing a RAID Controller Module Blank To install a RAID controller module blank: 1 Align the blank with the RAID controller module bay 2 Insert the blank into the chassis until it clicks into place.
Page 251: Removing A Raid Controller Module
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 252: Installing A Raid Controller Module
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 253: Opening The Raid Controller Module
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 254: Closing The Raid Controller Module
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 255: Raid Controller Module Backup Battery Unit
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 256: Installing The Raid Controller Module Backup Battery Unit
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 257: Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 258: Installing A Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 259: Control Panel
2 Disconnect all the power cables connected to the array. 3 Remove the hard drives from: – slots 0 to 2 in PowerVault MD3600f – slots 0 to 5 in PowerVault MD3620f See "Removing a Hard Drive" on page 244.
Page 260 Pushing the release tab toward the front of the array in PowerVault MD3600f. See Figure 16-13. – Pulling the release pin toward the front of the array in PowerVault MD3620f. See Figure 16-14. Figure 16-13. Removing and Installing the Control Panel-PowerVault MD3600f control panel Management: Installing Array Components release tab...
Page 261: Installing The Control Panel
Installing the Control Panel 1 Align the control panel with the slot on the array. 2 Slide the control panel into the array until: The release tab clicks into place in PowerVault MD3600f. – See Figure 16-13. –...
Page 262: Backplane
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 263 Figure 16-15. Removing and Installing the RAID Controller Module/Power Supply Cage screws (6) RAID controller module/power supply cage Management: Installing Array Components...
Page 264 Figure 16-16. Removing and Installing the Backplane-PowerVault MD3600f screws (5) captive screw Figure 16-17. Removing and Installing the Backplane-PowerVault MD3620f screws (4) captive screw Management: Installing Array Components backplane backplane...
Page 265: Installing The Backplane
1 Align the holes on the backplane with the holes on the array. 2 Tighten the captive screw to secure the backplane to the chassis. See Figure 16-16 for PowerVault MD3600f or Figure 16-17 for PowerVault MD3620f. 3 Replace the screws that secure the backplane to the chassis. See Figure 16-16 for PowerVault MD3600f or Figure 16-17 for PowerVault MD3620f.
Page 266 Management: Installing Array Components...
Page 267: Management: Firmware Inventory
Management: Firmware Inventory A storage array is made up of many components, which may include RAID controller modules, physical disks, and enclosure management modules (EMMs). Each of these components contains firmware. Some versions of firmware are dependent on other versions of firmware. To capture information about all of the firmware versions in the storage array, view the firmware inventory.
Page 268 Management: Firmware Inventory...
Page 269: Management: System Interfaces
Management: System Interfaces Microsoft Services Virtual Disk Service The Microsoft Virtual Disk Service (VDS) is a component of the Windows operating system. The VDS component utilizes third-party vendor specific software modules, known as providers, to access and configure third-party storage resources, such as MD3600f storage arrays. The VDS component exposes a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that provides a single interface for managing disks and other storage hardware.
Page 270 VSS attaches to the service and uses it to coordinate the creation of snapshot virtual disks on the storage array. VSS-initiated snapshot virtual disks can be triggered through backup tools, known as requestors. The VSS Provider Configuration Tool offers the following configuration options: •...
Page 271: Troubleshooting: Your Storage
At least two physical disks must be installed in the array. Device Health Conditions When you open the Enterprise Management Window (EMW), the Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Management software (MDSM) establishes communication with each managed storage array and determines the current storage array status.
Page 272 To launch the AMW, perform one of these actions: • On the Devices tab, in either the Tree view or the Table view, double-click a storage array. Alternatively, you can right-click a storage array and select Manage Storage Array from the pop-up menu. On the Setup tab, select Manage a Storage Array.
Page 273 In the Table view, every managed storage array is listed once, regardless of the number of attachments it has in the Tree view. After the storage array is contacted by MDSM, an icon representing its hardware status is displayed. Hardware status can be Optimal, Needs Attention, or Fixing. If, however, all of the network management connections from the storage management station to the storage array shown in the Tree view are Unresponsive, the storage array status is represented as Unresponsive.
Page 274: Storage Array Support Data
Table 19-3. Additional Status Icons Status Icon Adding a Storage Array Adding a Storage Array OK Adding a Storage Array Error NOTE: MDSM may take a few minutes to update a status change to Unresponsive or from Unresponsive. A status change from or to Unresponsive depends on the network link to the storage array.
Page 275: Automatically Collect The Support Bundle Data
2 Enter a name for the support data file in Specify filename or click Browse to navigate to a previously saved file to overwrite an existing file. The suffix .zip is added automatically to the file if you do not specify a suffix for the file.
Page 276: Collecting The Physical Disk Data
Collecting the Physical Disk Data You can use the Collect Physical Disk Data option to collect log sense data from all the physical disks on your storage array. Log sense data consists of statistical information that is maintained by each of the physical disks in your storage array.
Page 277: Event Log
Event Log You can use the Event Log Viewer to view a detailed list of events that occur in a storage array. The event log is stored on reserved areas on the storage array disks. It records configuration events and storage array component failures. The event log can be used as a supplementary diagnostic tool to the Recovery Guru for tracing storage array events.
Page 278: Recovery Guru
Recovery Guru The Recovery Guru is a component of MDSM that diagnoses critical events on the storage array and recommends step-by-step recovery procedures to resolve the problems. In the AMW, to display the Recovery Guru, perform one of these actions: •...
Page 279 2 Perform one of these actions in the Storage Array Profile dialog: • View detailed information—Go to step 3. • Search the storage array profile—Go to step 4. • Save the storage array profile—Go to step 5. • Close the storage array profile—Go to step 6. 3 Select one of the tabs, and use the horizontal scroll bar and the vertical scroll bar to view the storage array profile information.
Page 280: Viewing The Logical Associations
In File Name, type the file name of your choice. To associate the file with a particular software application that is displayed it, specify a file extension, such as .txt. NOTE: The file is saved as ASCII text. Click Save. 6 To exit the storage array profile, click Close.
Page 281: Viewing The Physical Associations
Viewing the Physical Associations You can use the Associated Physical Components option to view the physical components that are associated with source virtual disks, snapshot virtual disks, snapshot repository virtual disks, disk groups, unconfigured capacity, and free capacity in a storage array. To view the physical associations: 1 In the AMW, select a node in the Logical pane of the Logical tab or in the Topology pane of the Mappings tab.
Page 282 To find nodes: 1 In the AMW, select View Find. 2 Based on the type of search, select one of these options, and go to the indicated step: • Search by name—see step 3. • Search by special criteria—see step 4. 3 Type the name of the node to be found in Find Node.
Page 283: Using Go To
Specify that the free capacity to be matched is less than, equal to, or greater than the capacity entered in the GB box. Go to step 8. 8 Click Find Next. To see every node that matches the criteria, click Find Next repeatedly. If no matches are found, the Search Failed dialog is displayed.
Page 284: Recovering From An Unresponsive Storage Array Condition
4 Select View Go To Source Virtual Disk. The selection jumps to the associated source virtual disk in the Logical pane. 5 Select View Go To Target Virtual Disk. NOTE: If the source virtual disk has more than one associated target virtual disk, select the target virtual disk that you want from the list, and click OK.
Page 285 7 If the verification is successful, see step 8, if not, see step 9. 8 Remove the storage array with the Unresponsive status from the EMW, and select Add Storage Array to add the storage array again. 9 If the storage array does not return to Optimal status, check the Ethernet cables to ensure that there is no visible damage and that they are securely connected.
Page 286 20 If the problem still exists, make the appropriate host modifications, check with other administrators to see if a firmware upgrade was performed on the RAID controller module from another storage management station. If a firmware upgrade was performed, the EMW on your management station may not be able to locate the new AMW software needed to manage the storage array with the new version of the firmware.
Page 287: Locating A Physical Disk
Locating a Physical Disk You can use the Locate Physical Disk option to physically locate and identify one or more of the physical disks in an expansion enclosure by activating physical disk LEDs. To locate the physical disk: 1 Select the Physical tab. 2 Select the physical disks that you want to locate.
Page 288: Capturing The State Information
To locate the expansion enclosure: 1 Select the Physical tab. 2 Select a physical disk in the expansion enclosure that you want to locate. 3 Select Physical Disk Blink Expansion Enclosure. The LED or LEDs on the expansion enclosure or physical disks come on. 4 When you have located the expansion enclosure, click OK.
Page 289: Smrepassist Utility
You can also use this utility to resolve duplicate signature problems for snapshot virtual disks. From a command prompt window on a host running Windows, navigate to: C:\Program Files\Dell\MD Storage Manager\util and run the following command: SMrepassist -f <filesystem-identifier> where -f flushes all the memory-resident data for the file system indicated by <filesystem-identifier>, and <filesystem-identifier>...
Page 290: Unidentified Devices
SMrepassist -f E: NOTE: In Windows, the mount point path is a drive letter. An error message is displayed in the command line when the utility cannot distinguish between the following: • Source virtual disk and snapshot virtual disk (for example, if the snapshot virtual disk is removed).
Page 291 3 If you have an in-band storage array, use the following procedure. Click Refresh after each step to check the results: Ensure that the host context agent software is installed and running. If the host is started before it is connected to the controllers in the storage array, the host context agent software is not able to find the controllers.
Page 292 If this problem exists, see support.dell.com. 6 Look to see if there is too much network traffic to one or more controllers. This problem corrects itself because the MDSM tries to re-establish communication with the controllers in the storage array at regular times.
Page 293: Starting Or Restarting The Host Context Agent Software
Starting or Restarting the Host Context Agent Software The host context agent software module is the software component that resides on the server or management station that communicates with the MD3600f series storage arrays. The SMagent software automatically starts after you reboot the host. Windows To restart the SMagent software in Windows: 1 Click Start...
Page 294 Copyright (C) 2009-2010 Dell, Inc. All rights reserved. Checking device <n/a> (/dev/sg10): Activating Checking device /dev/sdb (/dev/sg11): Skipping Checking device <n/a> (/dev/sg3): Activating Checking device <n/a> (/dev/sg4): Activating Checking device <n/a> (/dev/sg5): Activating Checking device <n/a> (/dev/sg6): Activating Checking device <n/a> (/dev/sg7): Activating Checking device <n/a>...
Page 295: Troubleshooting: Your Array
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 296 Equip yourself with antistatic protection and a replacement small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver before replacing an SFP transceiver in the RAID controller module. Also, see the initial setup information for the enclosure to verify LED definitions. 1 If possible, use the storage management software to create, save, and print a new storage array profile.
Page 297 Figure 20-1. Removing an SFP Module 7 Install the new SFP transceiver into the interface port. Ensure that the transceiver is properly seated. 8 Reconnect the fiber optic cable. 9 View the FCIN speed LEDs and the Physical Disk Channel speed LEDs. Based on the LED status, perform one of these actions: •...
Page 298: Troubleshooting External Connections
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 299: Troubleshooting Array Cooling Problems
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 300: Troubleshooting Expansion Enclosure Management Modules
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 301: Troubleshooting Raid Controller Modules
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 302: Troubleshooting Hard Drives
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 303: Troubleshooting Array And Expansion Enclosure Connections
Troubleshooting Array and Expansion Enclosure Connections 1 Verify that the SAS OUT status LED is green and that for each FCIN port connected to a cable, at least one of the paired LEDs is on. If this is not the case, see "Planning: RAID Controller Modules" on page 33. 2 Ensure that all the cables are attached correctly according to array mode you selected.
Page 304: Troubleshooting A Wet Storage Array
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 305: Troubleshooting A Damaged Array
You must only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Page 306: Troubleshooting Raid Controller Modules
Typical controller failures are detailed in the following sections. Invalid Storage Array The RAID controller module is supported only in a Dell-supported storage array. After installation in the storage array, the controller performs a set of validation checks. The array status LED is lit with a steady amber color while the RAID controller module completes these initial tests and the controllers are booted successfully.
Page 307 PCI Errors The storage array firmware can detect and only recover from PCI errors when the RAID controller modules are configured for redundancy. If a virtual disk uses cache mirroring, it fails over to its peer RAID controller module, which initiates a flush of the dirty cache.
Page 308 Troubleshooting: Your Array...
Page 309: Getting Help
NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog. Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area.
Page 310 Getting Help...
Page 311: Index
Priority, 106 Choosing an Appropriate Physical Disk Type, 111 Configuring Host Access, 89 Hot Spare Physical Disks, 120 Configuring Alert Notifications SNMP , 83 Contacting Dell, 309 contacting Dell, 309 control panel installing, 261 removing, 259 Copy Manager, 176 Index...
Page 312 Defining a Host, 90 Dell contacting, 309 Disk Group Creating, 102 Expansion, 138 Export, 140 Exporting, 141 Import, 141 Locating, 104 Migration, 140 Disk Group and Virtual Disk Expansion, 138 Disk Group Operations, 50 Defragmentation, 51 Expansion, 51 Limit, 51...
Page 313 removing, 244 Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns, 30 Hardware Features Back panel features, 29 Front panel features, 26 Hard drive indicator patterns, 30 Power indicator codes, 32 Power supply and cooling fan features, 31 Host Group Adding, 93 Create, 93 Moving a Host, 94 Removing a host, 93 Removing a Host Group, 94 Host Topology, 95...
Page 314 Virtual Disk Copy, 57 Monitoring Performance, 61 Multi-Path Preferred and Alternate Controllers and Paths, 59 Multi-Path Software, 59 Non-Exportable Components, 140 Other Information, 23 phone numbers, 309 Physical Disk Security with Self Encrypting Disk, 112 Physical Disk States, 42 Physical Disks, 42 Erasing Secure, 119 Unlocking Secure, 119 Physical Disks, Virtual Disks,...
Page 315 Clocks, 86 Storage Array Media Scan, 143 Storage Arrays, 70 Automatic Discovery, 71 Manual Addition, 71 Storage Partitioning, 137 support contacting Dell, 309 Switch Cascading, 190 telephone numbers, 309 Troubleshooting Automatically Collect the Support Bundle Data, 275 Capturing the State...
Page 316 Starting or Restarting the Host-Agent Software, 293 Start-Up Routine, 271 Storage Array Profile, 278 Storage Array Support Data, 274 Unidentified Devices, 290 Viewing the Logical Associations, 280 Viewing the Physical Associations, 281 troubleshooting, 295 connections, 303 cooling problems, 299 damaged enclosure, 305 external connections, 298 hard drives, 302 loss of communication, 295...
Page 317 Virtual Disks and Disk Groups, 43 Zoning Guidelines, 190 Switch Configurations, 190 Index...
Page 318 Index...

This manual is also suitable for:

Powervault md3620f

Dell POWERVAULT MD3600F Owner's Manual

1 Introduction

2 Planning: about Your Storage Array

3 Planning: RAID Controller Modules

4 Planning: Md3600F Series Storage

5 Configuration: Overview

6 Configuration: about Your Storage Array

7 Configuration: Event Monitor

8 Configuration: about Your Host

9 Configuration: Disk Groups and Virtual Disks

10 Configuration: Premium Feature-Snapshot Virtual Disks

11 Configuration: Premium Feature-Virtual Disk Copy

12 Configuration: Premium Feature-Upgrading to High-Performance Tier

13 Configuration: Premium Feature

14 Configuration: Device Mapper

15 Management: Firmware Downloads

16 Management: Installing Array

Quick Links

Troubleshooting

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Summary of Contents for Dell POWERVAULT MD3600F