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C H A P T E R  3

Getting Started Checklist

This chapter provides a checklist of the steps you need to do to make a chassis with a mixture of server blades and disk blades work. It assumes that you have carefully reviewed Chapter 1 and have planned your installation.

The checklist is broken down into five steps:

Step 1: Loading Your Chassis

Step 2: Installing or Upgrading Your Operating Systems

Step 3: Upgrading Your Existing Server Blades

Step 4: Installing Your SAS-NEMs and Disk Blades

Step 5: Saving the Configuration of Your LSI Host Bus Adapters for Server Blades Running the Solaris OS


caution icon

Caution - It is important that you follow the steps in order.



Note - Performing all of the required steps for a multi-server and disk blade installation can take a number of hours. Be sure to plan for enough server downtime to complete the entire installation process.


Getting Started Checklist

Steps 1 through 3 must be performed before you install any disk blades.

procedure icon  Step 1: Loading Your Chassis

  1. If necessary, upgrade the Integrated Lights Out Management System (ILOM) software on the CMM of your Sun Blade 6000 chassis to the minimum supported version (2.0.3.10, build number 36968). For more information on performing this procedure, see the Disk Module Administration Guide.

  2. If your chassis includes SAS-NEMs of any kind, remove them at this time.


    Note - You can leave a plain NEM, one without SAS connectivity, in slot NEM 1.


  3. Arrange or rearrange all the server blades that you intend to use in the chassis, whether or not they are to be paired with disk blades, according to the configuration outlined in Where to Put the Server Blades and Disk Blades.


    caution icon

    Caution - Do not insert the disk blades yet.


procedure icon  Step 2: Installing or Upgrading Your Operating Systems


Note - You might need a NEM of some sort for network access when installing your OS. Unless it is a NEM without SAS connectivity in slot NEM 1, remove it after your OS is installed.


  1. If necessary, upgrade your Solaris network installation images to Solaris 10 5/08 with all the correct patches for use with disk blades. See Supported Servers and Operating Systems.

  2. Install the Solaris 10 5/08 OS with patches on all your SPARC blades.

    If you have a SPARC blade with the OS already on it, upgrade the OS to Solaris 10 5/08 and add the required patches (see Supported Servers and Operating Systems).

  3. Install a supported OS on all your x64 server blades. See Supported Servers and Operating Systems.


    Note - If you plan to install your x64 OS in a hardware RAID volume on the disk blade, postpone this step until prompted later in the installation process.


procedure icon  Step 3: Upgrading Your Existing Server Blades

This can be done with an OS already on the server blade, but it does not require an installed OS.


Note - Verify that any new components you have are at the latest revision level. See the Disk Module Administration Guide and skip this section if the revision levels are current.


You need to make sure that your server blades and host bus adapters all have the minimum supported firmware and software. If they do not, they need to be upgraded.


Note - You must ensure that all server blades and their host bus adapters meet the minimum firmware requirements whether or not you intend to pair them with a disk blade.


  1. Upgrade the system firmware on all the server blades you are using in your chassis.

    1. For x64 blades (X6220, X6240, X6250, etc.), you can use the latest version of the Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) to upgrade the server’s system BIOS and ILOM SP firmware (see Supported Servers and Operating Systems). An installed OS is not required.

    2. For SPARC blades, go to http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp#6000dm to get the patches to upgrade the SysFW.

      The patch download page includes instructions.

      • T6300 -- SysFW 6.6.5 (patch number 136931-04)

      • T6320 -- with RAID 0/1 G2 REM, SysFW 7.1.6 (patch number 136933-07)

      • T6320 -- with RAID 0/1 REM, SysFW 6.6.5 (patch number 136931-04)

      • T6340 -- SysFW 7.1.6.d (new server blade, patch not yet released at the publication of this document)

  2. Upgrade the host bus adapter firmware on all the server blades you are using in your chassis.

    1. For x64 systems (X6220, X6240, X6250, X6450, etc.), you can use the latest version of the Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) to upgrade the HBA firmware (see Supported Servers and Operating Systems). An installed OS is not required.

    2. For SPARC blades, go to http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp#6000dm to get the patches to upgrade the HBA firmware.

      The patch download page includes instructions.

      • T6300 -- version 1.24.93.00 (patch number 139418-01)

      • T6320 with older RAID 0/1 REM -- version 1.24.93.00 (patch number 138445-02)

      • T6320 with newer RAID 0/1 G2 REM -- version 1.24.94.00 (patch number 139419-01)

      • T6340 with newer RAID 0/1 G2 REM -- version 1.24.94.00 (patch number 139419-01)

procedure icon  Step 4: Installing Your SAS-NEMs and Disk Blades


caution icon

Caution - If you have already been using a 10GbE Multi-Fabric NEM, you must upgrade its firmware before proceeding. If this is the case, leave the installation process in this chapter at this point and finish your installation by following the instructions in Appendix A.


  1. Power off all of your server blades.

  2. Install one or two SAS-NEMs in your chassis. The SAS-NEMs power on automatically when inserted. Their green OK LED should turn on.

    If you install only one SAS-NEM, it must go in slot NEM 0 (the lower slot). If you use only one SAS-NEM, you can insert a plain NEM (without SAS connectivity) in slot NEM 1.

    To provide redundancy by dual-path access to SAS disks on the disk blade, you must install two SAS-NEMs.


    Note - Verify that the NEMs are installed correctly by referring to the appropriate NEM documentation.


  3. Insert all the disk blades you intend to use with server blades. Facing the front of the chassis, insert the disk blade in an odd-numbered slot to the right of the server blade it is paired with.

    Put the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth disk blade in slot 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1 (see Where to Put the Server Blades and Disk Blades).


    Note - The disk blades power on automatically when inserted. Verify that the green OK LED on each disk blade lights up.


  4. Insert disks into the disk blade if you have not already done so.

  5. Power on all your server blades.

  6. If you have planned to install your x64 server’s OS in a hardware RAID volume on your disk blade, do so now. See the Disk Module Administration Guide for instructions for setting up hardware RAID volumes.


    Note - Successful creation of a hardware RAID volume verifies correct operation of that particular disk blade.


procedure icon  Step 5: Saving the Configuration of Your LSI Host Bus Adapters for Server Blades Running the Solaris OS

If you need to replace a failed LSI host bus adapter on a server blade that is running the Solaris OS, the replacement is quick and simple if you have saved a file with the adapter’s configuration. Use this procedure (which is documented in greater detail in the Disk Module Administration Guide), which does not require powering off or rebooting:

  1. Install the lsiutil application on all the server blades in your chassis that are running the Solaris OS and have LSI host bus adapters.

  2. Create a persistent mappings snapshot file for every one of these server blades.

  3. Archive the persistent mappings snapshots (which you need if you must replace an LSI host bus adapter) to a safe external location.


    Note - If you are using Adaptec host bus adapters, it is not necessary to save a snapshot of your adapter’s configuration.


Where to Go From Here

At some point after your chassis is set up, you should install the Sun Common Array Manager (CAM) to manage the disk blade. CAM can monitor your disk blades and SAS-NEMs. It can also upgrade the expander firmware on your disk blades and SAS-NEMs. CAM is the only mechanism for making such upgrades. For more information on CAM, see the Disk Module Administration Guide.



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