C H A P T E R 11 |
Configuration Parameters |
This chapter describes viewing and editing configuration parameters. Topics covered include:
Use the "Communication parameters" menu option to view and change communication settings. Use the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" menu option to set or change your array's IP address.
The RS-232 Port parameters should not be changed. They are reserved for use by technical support personnel.
The RAID controller includes one serial port (COM1).
To Configure the COM Port Baud Rate |
1. Choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Communication Parameters RS-232 Port Configuration COM1 Configuration Baud rate" to display a list of available baud rates.
A list of available baud rates is displayed.
2. Select a baud rate, and choose Yes to confirm.
To Enable or Disable Terminal Emulation Through a Serial Port |
Caution - Do not use the "Terminal Emulation" menu option. This menu option is reserved and should be used only if directed by technical support personnel. |
To enable terminal emulation, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Communication Parameters RS-232 Port Configuration COM1 Configuration Terminal Emulation.," and choose Yes to confirm.
The controller Ethernet port offers interactive out-of-band management through three interfaces:
To access the array using the Ethernet port, you must set up an IP address for the controller. You can set the IP address by typing in values for the IP address itself, the subnet mask, and the IP address of the gateway manually. If your network is using a Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) server or a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server to automatically configure IP information for devices on the network, you can specify the appropriate protocol instead of typing in the information manually.
To Set an Array's IP Address |
To set the IP address, subnet mask, and gateway addresses of the RAID controller, perform the following steps:
1. Access the array through the COM port on the controller module of the array.
2. Choose "view and edit Configuration parameter Communication Parameters Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)."
3. Select the chip hardware address.
4. Choose "Set IP Address Address:."
5. Configure the Ethernet port.
You can specify an IP address and the related Netmask and Gateway addresses manually. If your network is configured so that system addresses can be automatically provided by a DHCP server or RARP server, you can enable this automatic provisioning by typing either DHCP or RARP in place of the IP address.
To configure the port to be assigned an IP address by a DHCP server, type DHCP in the text box and press Return.
To configure the port to be assigned an IP address by a RARP client, type RARP in the text box and press Return.
If you are manually assigning the IP address you will need to know the IP address your system administrator has assigned for this array, as well as the netmask and gateway addresses to use.
a. Type an IP address and press Return.
c. Type the appropriate netmask and press Return.
e. Type the appropriate gateway address and press Return.
6. Press Escape to continue, and then choose Yes to change the IP address.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
7. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
For security reasons, you can enable only the network protocols you wish to support, which limits the ways in which security can be breached.
To Enable and Disable Network Protocols |
From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Communication Parameters Network Protocol Support" to display the list of network protocols you can enable or disable and show the current status of each protocol.
The following sample configuration is appropriate for most situations:
Set this security measure so that any telnet connection automatically disconnects after the connection has been idle for a configurable period of time. The current setting is displayed with the menu option.
To Set the Telnet Inactivity Timeout |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Communication Parameters Telnet Inactivity Timeout Time -" to display the current timeout setting as well as a menu of alternate choices.
2. Select a time interval or select "Disable," and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
The new time interval is displayed with the "Set Telnet Inactivity Timeout Time" menu option.
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data is passed from SNMP agents reporting activity on each network device to the workstation console used to oversee the network. The agents return information contained in a Management Information Base (MIB), which is a data structure that defines what is obtainable from the device and what can be controlled (turned on and off, etc.).
The Sun StorEdge MIB for your array is included with the latest controller firmware patch. Refer to the patch README for the file name and location. Refer to the documentation for your SNMP manager for details on installing MIB files. Instructions for loading MIBs in HP OpenView Network Node Manager are provided in Appendix F.
An SNMP Object Identifier (OID) is a number assigned to devices in a network for identification purposes. OID numbering is hierarchical. Using the IETF notation of digits and dots resembling very long IP addresses, various registries such as ANSI assign high-level numbers to vendors and organizations. They, in turn, append digits to the number to identify individual devices or software processes.
For details on sending SNMP traps via the RAID firmware, see Configuring the Notification Processing Center (NPC). For information on using Sun StorEdge Configuration Service to send SNMP traps, refer to the "Email and SNMP" appendix in the Sun StorEdge 3000 Family Configuration Service User's Guide.
The controller agent sends an SNMPv1 trap message for each controller event. SNMPv1 traps are identified by the value of three fields:
The enterprise value is given as follows:
where product-ID is the Sun StorEdge array product number (3310, 3320, 3510, or 3511). The enterprises OID is defined by SNMPv2-SMI as:
where the preceding string has the following numeric value:
For example, a Sun StorEdge 3510 FC array has the following enterprise value:
This can be described numerically by the following value:
The generic-trap field has the following value:
where enterpriseSpecific has the numeric value, 6.
The specific-trap field has the numeric value, 1.
Note - While all products have a specific-trap value of 1, the name for this value varies based on the product-ID specified by the MIB. |
Note - The specific-trap field always has the value 1, regardless of the event severity. |
The information carried by the trap is given by a list of variables or object/value pairs. The array sends one object/value pair. The Object ID (OID) for the variable has the form:
where product-ID is the Sun StorEdge array product number (3310, 3320, 3510, or 3511).
For example, a Sun StorEdge 3510 FC array has the following trap OID:
The value for the object is a string and contains the following information:
RAID Event: Host=192.168.0.1, Serial/Unique=5BF, Severity=Notification, Time=10/31/2005 15:37:19 -- LG:3 Logical Drive NOTICE: Starting Creation(Primary) |
RAID Event: Host=192.168.0.2, Serial/Unique=4504, Severity=Alert, Time=10/31/2005 15:34:35 -- Controller BBU Absent or Failed! !(Secondary) |
Note - The format and contents of this string are subject to change. |
All SNMPv1 messages include the SNMP version and community name. The community name for Sun StorEdge 3000 products is "public".
The SNMP trap listener (snmptrapd) is used to show the enterprise,
specific-trap, and the variable OID and value.
Note - NET-SNMP is a popular and freely available software package that includes command line tools for performing SNMP requests such as GET and SET and a daemon that listens for traps. For more information, see
|
Note - The agent.ini file must be configured with trap destinations in order to receive traps. See To Create and Save the NPC Configuration File (agent.ini). |
Sun StorEdge products support standard system group objects under the iso.org.dod.internet.mgmt.mib-2 subtree, defined numerically as follows:
The system group defines information about the system and includes the objects described in TABLE 11-1.
Identification and contact information for the person responsible for this node |
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The values of these objects can be obtained with an SNMP GET message on the OID. A community name of "public" and a protocol version must be specified with the GET message. Protocol versions 1 and 2c are supported. The objects designated with access Read-Write can be set with an SNMP SET message. The community name "public" must be specified along with a protocol version for SNMP SET messages. All other objects are Read Only.
SNMP must be enabled for GET and SET messages to work. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Communication Parameters Network Protocol Support SNMP" and verify that SNMP is enabled.
sysDescr - The value of this object is a string that describes the product type. For example, using the NET-SNMP command, snmpget:
In the preceding example, public specifies the community name public, and 2c specifies the protocol version.
sysObjectID - This object is used for administrative purposes to identify the hardware. SNMP managers, such as HP Openview Network Node Manager, can detect this object and value during the discovery process.
# snmpget -c public -v 2c 192.168.0.2 sysObjectID.0 SNMPv2-MIB::sysObjectID.0 = OID: SNMPv2-SMI::enterprises.42.2.180.3310.1 |
where public specifies the community name public, 2c specifies the protocol version, and 3310 indicates a Sun StorEdge 3310 SCSI array.
sysUpTime - This value specifies the time since the last controller reset or power on.
# snmpget -c public -v 2c 192.168.0.2 sysUpTime.0 SNMPv2-MIB::sysUpTime.0 = Timeticks: (1302400) 3:37:04.00 |
sysContact - This object is used to specify a person responsible for the array and their contact information. The object can be set via the NET-SNMP snmpset command.
# snmpset -c public -v 2c 192.168.0.2 sysContact.0 s "John Doe, 212 555 1212" SNMPv2-MIB::sysContact.0 = STRING: John Doe, 212 555 1212 |
where s indicates the value is of type STRING.
# snmpget -c public -v 2c 192.168.0.2 sysContact.0 SNMPv2-MIB::sysContact.0 = STRING: John Doe, 212 555 1212 |
sysName - This object specifies a symbolic name for the array. This value is equivalent to the controller-name that can be set and displayed via the CLI. This value can be set with an SNMP SET message.
sysLocation - This object specifies the physical location of the array, such as a floor or room number.
sysServices - The value of this object specifies layers of the TCP/IP architecture offered. This value is hard-coded at 72.
Certain array information can be obtained from Sun StorEdge 3000 products via SNMP. These objects are located under the following subtree:
or, defined numerically as follows:
This node is further branched by product ID as follows:
.1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3310 .1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3320 .1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3510 .1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3511 |
The value for these objects can be obtained via an SNMP GET message on the Object ID. A community name of "public" and a protocol version must be specified with the GET message. Protocols `1' and `2c' are supported. These objects are defined by the MIB for each product. All objects are read-only.
See the NET-SNMP documentation for the location where MIBs are installed. A typical location is ~/.snmp/mibs.
Using the NET-SNMP snmpget command with the MIB, the array information can be retrieved as shown in the following example.
# snmpget -c public -v 2c -m +SUN-STOREDGE-3310-MIB 192.168.0.2 ctlrUniqueID.0 SUN-STOREDGE-3310-MIB::ctlrUniqueID.0 = STRING: "5BF" |
The same example, showing the Object ID in numeric format:
# snmpget -On -c public -v 2c -m +SUN-STOREDGE-3310-MIB 192.168.0.2 ctlrUniqueID.0 .1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3310.1.1.1.1.16.0 = STRING: "5BF" |
The -m option specifies the MIB to use.
The snmpwalk command can be used to retrieve all index values of an Object ID in a sequence.
Note - See the product MIB for details on OIDs and descriptions available for enterprise objects. |
Individual product MIBs contain many of the same names for OIDs. For example, the ctlrUniqueID.0 object in the MIB for the Sun StorEdge 3510 FC array has the following OID:
The ctlrUniqueID.0 object in the MIB for the Sun StorEdge 3310 SCSI array has the following OID:
This can lead to ambiguity if multiple products with multiple MIBs are used. In this case, the fully qualified OID or name must be used.
The fully qualified name can be specified with the MIB module name given by the DEFINITIONS ::=BEGIN token in the MIB.
# snmpget -c public -v 2c -On -m +SUN-STOREDGE-3510-MIB:SUN-STOREDGE-3310-MIB 192.168.0.1 SUN-STOREDGE-3510-MIB::ctlrUniqueID.0 .1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3510.1.1.1.1.16.0 = STRING: "4504" |
The fully qualified name can be specified numerically as follows:
# snmpget -c public -v 2c -On -m +SUN-STOREDGE-3510-MIB:SUN-STOREDGE-3310-MIB 192.168.0.1 .1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3510.1.1.1.1.16.0 .1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.180.3510.1.1.1.1.16.0 = STRING: "4504" |
The Notification Processing Center (NPC) is a sub-module on the controller for event notifications. It consists of three components:
The array can send SNMP traps about mass storage events to an enterprise management console that uses SNMP, such as HP OpenView or Sun Management Center. It can also send events as email messages or broadcast them to a number of servers.
You specify the SNMP traps, email messages, and broadcast messages you want to use and configure the recipients of these events by creating a text file called agent.ini and storing it in reserved space on your array.
Note - The agent.ini file must be configured with trap destinations in order to receive traps. See To Create and Save the NPC Configuration File (agent.ini). |
For information about the alternative approach of configuring Sun StorEdge Configuration Service to use SNMP, refer to the "Email and SNMP" appendix of the Sun StorEdge 3000 Family Configuration Service User's Guide.
To Create and Save the NPC Configuration File (agent.ini) |
1. Enable FTP on your array by choosing "view and edit Configuration parameters Communication Parameters Network Protocol Support FTP -" and verifying that it is enabled.
2. Create a new text file using a plain text editor.
3. Type in the necessary information, specifying which sections you want to enable and the host and email addresses necessary.
For a sample file enabling the sending of events as SMTP traps, see A Simple Sample agent.ini File.
For a sample file enabling the sending of events as SMTP traps, email, and broadcast notifications, see A Complete Sample agent.ini File.
For a full description of agent.ini file parameters, see agent.ini File Parameters.
4. Save the file as agent.ini.
5. FTP to your array from your workstation.
6. Login as root and press Return.
7. When prompted for a password, press Return.
If you have previously specified a password for the controller, you need to type that password when prompted.
8. Set the filetype to binary (BIN).
10. put the file from your workstation into the /cfg directory.
12. (Optional) For security reasons, disable FTP on your array by choosing "view and edit Configuration parameters Communication Parameters Network Protocol Support FTP -" and verifying that it is disabled.
13. Reset the controllers by choosing "system Functions Reset controller."
A basic sample configuration is shown below
where nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn is the IP address of the machine you are referring to, xxxx@address.com is the sender or recipient's email address,
and ENABLED=0 for OFF, or 1 for ON.
This configuration enables the sending of controller events as SNMP traps to a single host IP address (RECEIVER1) and the sending of controller events in email messages from a specified email address (SENDER_MAIL_BOX) through its SMTP mail server (SMTP_SERVER) to a single email address (also called RECEIVER1, but different from the host computer receiving the SMTP traps). Sending controller events as broadcast messages is not enabled and not specified in the file.
[SNMP_TRAP] ENABLED=1 COMMUNITY=public RECEIVER1=nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn [EMAIL] ENABLED=1 SUBJECT=RAID Event SENDER_MAIL_BOX=xxxx@address.com SMTP_SERVER=123.123.123.123 RECEIVER1=xxxx@address.com |
This configuration enables the sending of controller events of any severity level as SNMP traps to four host IP addresses and the sending of controller events in email messages to four email addresses. It also enables sending controller events as broadcast messages to four host IP addresses at the same time.
The parameters you can specify in the agent.ini file are defined below:
The configuration file is comprised of three major sections: SNMP, Email and Broadcast. Each notifying method can be separately enabled or disabled.
[ENABLED] - 1=enabled, 0=disabled (applies to this section only)
[SEVERITY] - level of severity of the messages to be received. (1 covers events of all levels. 3 sends only the most serious events.)
[COMMUNITY] - SNMP community name of the destination/ receiver
[RECEIVER#] - The IP address of the receiver computer. Add additional lines to specify multiple receivers. Up to 4 receivers can be configured.
[ENABLED] - 1=enabled, 0=disabled (applies to this section only)
[SEVERITY] - level of severity of the messages to be received: notification, 2. warning, 3. alert. "1" covers events of all levels. "3" sends only the most serious events.)
[SUBJECT] - add a topic to email. This can be used to specify the location of the RAID system, if there are many.
[SENDER_MAIL_BOX] - a valid email address to be used as the "from" part of the email message.
[SMTP_SERVER] - SMTP server used to send email. IP address only, do not enter a host name here.
[RECEIVER#] - receiver's email address. The receiver's number followed by an "=" mark, an email address, comma, and the number to specify the message severity level.
[ENABLED] - 1=enabled, 0=disabled (applies to this section only)
[SEVERITY] - level of severity of the messages to be received: 1. notification, 2. warning, 3. alert. "1" covers events of all levels. "3" only the most serious events will be broadcast.)
[RECEIVER#] - The IP address of the receiver computer. Add additional lines to specify multiple receivers. Up to four receivers can be configured.
Caching parameters allow you to configure write-back cache, write-through cache, optimization modes, and periodic flushing of cache to logical drives.
The write-back cache function significantly enhances controller performance. When write-back cache is disabled, a write-through strategy replaces it. The write-through strategy is more secure if power failure should occur. Because a battery module is installed, power will be supplied to the data cached in memory and the cached writes can be completed when power is restored.
In a single-controller configuration, disable the Write-Back Cache feature to avoid the possibility of data corruption in the event of a controller failure. This will have a negative effect on performance. To avoid either issue, use dual controllers.
The caching parameters configured using the "view and edit Configuration parameters" menu option are applied globally to all the logical drives. You can also configure write-back policy for individual logical drives and logical volumes that are independent of the RAID array write-back policy. For more information, see:
To Change the Write-Back Cache Option |
Choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Caching Parameters Write-Back Cache," and then choose Yes to confirm that you want to change the write-back cache setting.
Set Periodic Cache Flush Time so that the controller flushes cache to logical drive storage at specified intervals. This safety measure prevents the accumulation of data in cache that could be lost in the event of power loss. Note that setting this value to an interval of less than one minute (1/2 min or Continuous Sync) may diminish performance.
To Set Periodic Cache Flush Time |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Caching Parameters Periodic Cache Flush Time" to display the intervals:
2. Select a cache flush interval or select Disable to terminate periodic cache flush, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
The Host-Side Parameters menu options are discussed in the following sections:
Use Maximum Queued I/O Count to configure the maximum number of I/O operations per logical drive that can be accepted from servers. The predefined range is from 1 to 1024 I/O operations per logical drive, or you can choose the Auto (automatically configured) setting. The default value is 1024 I/O operations per logical drive.
The appropriate Maximum Queued I/O Count setting depends on how many I/O operations the attached servers and the controller itself are performing. This can vary according to the amount of host memory present, the number of drives and their size, and buffer limitations.
To Set the Maximum Queued I/O Count |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Host-side Parameters Maximum Queued I/O Count" to display a list of values.
2. Select a value, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
3. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
Use this function to change the number of LUNs supported per host SCSI ID. Each time a host channel ID is added, it supports the number of LUNS allocated in this setting, no matter how many LUNs are actually mapped to it. The default setting is 32 LUNs, with a predefined range of 1 to 32 LUNs per logical drive available.
To Change the Number of LUNs Per Host SCSI ID |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Host-side Parameters LUNs per Host SCSI ID" to display a list of values.
2. Choose a value, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
3. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
Use Max Number of Concurrent Host-LUN Connection to determine the maximum number of concurrently supported host-LUN connections. Change this menu option setting only if you have more than four logical drives or partitions.
Maximum concurrent host LUN connections determines the controller internal resources that are available for use with a specific number of the concurrent connections.
For example, you can have four hosts (A, B, C, and D) and four host IDs/LUNs (IDs 0, 1, 2 and 3) in a configuration where:
These connections are all queued in the cache.
If there is I/O in the cache with four connections, and another host I/O operation arrives that is different from the four that are currently in the cache (for example, host A accesses ID 3), the controller returns busy. This occurs with the concurrent active connections; if the cache is cleared, the controller accepts four different connections again.
To Change the Maximum Number of Concurrent Host-LUN Connections |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Host-side Parameters Max Number of Concurrent Host-LUN Connection" to display a list of values.
2. Choose a value, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
3. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
Use this menu option to modify the tag command queuing on the host-LUN connection. The default setting is 32 tags, with a predefined range of 1 to 256. The default factory setting should not be changed unless you are directed to change it by technical support.
Each host/LUN connection has 32 (the default setting) tags reserved. This setting ensures that the controller accepts at least 32 tags per connection. The controller can accept more as long as controller resources allow it; if the controller does not have enough internal resources, at least 32 tags can be accepted per connection.
To Modify the Tag Command Queuing on the Host-LUN Connection |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Host-side Parameters Number of Tags Reserved for each Host-LUN Connection" to display a list of values.
2. Choose a value, and then choose Yes to confirm.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
3. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
Do not use this menu option to change the Peripheral Device Type setting from Enclosure Services Device.
The "Peripheral Device Type Parameters" menu option is used only when attempting to configure an array through an in-band connection before a logical drive has been created and mapped to a host LUN. When you follow the instructions for creating a logical drive using a serial port connection or a telnet session, the "Peripheral Device Type Parameters" menu option is unnecessary.
Physical drive capacity is determined by the host computer according to the number of blocks. Some host operating systems read the capacity of the array based on the cylinder/head/sector count of the drives. The RAID controller firmware enables you to either specify the appropriate number of cylinders, heads, and sectors, or to use the Variable menu option for one or more of these settings. When you use the Variable menu option, the firmware calculates the appropriate settings.
Leaving the cylinder, head, and sector settings at Variable ensures that all three values are calculated automatically. If you choose a specific value for one of these settings and leave the other two set to Variable, the firmware calculates the other two settings. If you set two, the firmware automatically calculates the third.
For the Solaris operating system, you can choose and 64 heads and either the < 65536 cylinder setting or the Variable cylinder setting to cover all logical drives over 253 GByte and under the maximum limit. The controller automatically adjusts the sector count, and then the operating system can read the correct drive capacity.
After changing the size of a disk in the Solaris operating system, run the format utility and choose the 0, autoconfigure option from the menu. This enables the host to reconfigure the size of the disk appropriately and relabel the disk with the current firmware revision level.
To Configure Sector Ranges, Head Ranges, and Cylinder Ranges |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Host-side Parameters Host Cylinder/Head/Sector Mapping Configuration Sector Ranges" to display a list of sector ranges.
2. Select a value, and then choose Yes to confirm.
3. Choose "Head Ranges" to display a list of head ranges.
4. Select a value, and then choose Yes to confirm.
5. Choose "Cylinder Ranges" to display a list of cylinder ranges.
6. Select a value, and then choose Yes to confirm.
The Solaris operating system requires drive geometry for various operations, including newfs. For the appropriate drive geometry to be presented to the Solaris operating system for logical drives larger than 253 Gbyte, use the default settings shown below to cover all logical drives over 253 Gbyte. These settings work for smaller configurations as well. The controller automatically adjusts the sector count, and then the operating system can read the correct drive capacity.
For Solaris operating system configurations, use the values in the following table.
See To Change Cylinder and Head Settings for instructions on how to apply these settings to SCSI arrays. See To Change Cylinder and Head Settings for instructions on how to apply these settings to FC and SATA arrays.
Note - Refer to your operating system documentation for limitations pertaining to device sizes. |
The firmware's external interface enables interactions between the firmware and external applications. Use In-band External Interface Management to enable or disable in-band management of the array by these applications.
To Configure In-Band EI Management |
From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Host-side Parameters In-band EI management" to enable or disable in-band external interface communications, and then choose Yes to confirm.
Choose the "Loop only" menu option from the Fibre Connection Option menu to support a FC loop configuration. Choose the "Point to point only" menu option to support point-to-point connections. It is important that you choose the correct option for your configuration.
See Fibre Connection Protocol for information about using this menu option.
For more information about point-to-point and loop configurations, refer to the Sun StorEdge 3000 Family Best Practices Manual and Sun StorEdge 3000 Family Installation, Operation, and Service Manual for your array.
It is important for point-to-point configurations to also specify only a primary ID (PID) or a secondary ID (SID) for each host channel. For loop configurations with failover, it is important to specify both a PID and SID. See Deleting a Host Channel SCSI ID for more information about creating host IDs.
Note - The following steps show you how to change a loop configuration to a point-to-point configuration. |
To Confirm or Change the Fibre Connection for the Array |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Host-side Parameters Fibre Connection Option."
Caution - Do not choose the "Loop preferred, otherwise point to point" menu option. This option is reserved for special use and should be used only if directed by technical support. |
2. Choose "Loop only" or "Point to point only," depending on how your network is configured, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
3. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
The Drive-Side Parameters menu options include:
These parameters are user-configurable. However they should not be changed from their preset values without good reason, and without an understanding of potential impacts on performance or reliability.
Caution - Do not use the Drive Motor Spin-Up menu option. It is reserved and should be used only by qualified technicians. |
The Drive Motor Spin-up menu option determines how the physical drives in a disk array are started. When the power supply is unable to provide sufficient current for all physical drives and controllers that are powered on at the same time, spinning up the physical drives serially requires less current.
If Drive Motor Spin-Up is enabled, the drives are powered up sequentially and some of these drives might not be ready for the controller to access when the array powers up. Increase the disk access delay time so that the controller will wait longer for the drive to be ready.
To Spin Up SCSI Hard Drives (Reserved) |
From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Drive Motor Spin-Up," and then choose Yes to confirm the change.
This function sets the delay time that the controller waits before it tries to access the physical drives after power-on. The default is 15 seconds. The range is from no delay to 75 seconds.
To Set Disk Access Delay Time |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Disk Access Delay Time" to display a list of delay intervals.
2. Select a delay interval, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
The Drive I/O timeout controls the time interval that the controller waits for a drive to respond. If the controller attempts to read data from or write data to a drive but the drive does not respond within the Drive I/O timeout interval, the drive will be designated a failed drive.
When the drive detects a media error while reading from the drive platter, it retries the previous reading or recalibrates the head. When the drive encounters a bad block on the media, it reassigns the bad block to a spare block. However, all of this takes time. The time required to perform these operations can vary between brands and models of drives.
During SCSI bus arbitration, a device with higher priority can use the bus first. A device with lower priority sometimes receives a SCSI I/O timeout when devices of higher priority continue to use the bus.
To Choose Drive I/O Timeout |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Drive I/O Timeout -" to display a list of timeout intervals.
2. Select a timeout interval, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
3. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
The maximum tag count is the maximum number of tags that can be sent to each drive at the same time. Each drive has built-in cache that is used to sort all of the I/O requests ("tags") that are sent to the drive, so the drive can finish the requests more quickly.
The cache size and maximum number of tags varies between brands and models of drive. Use the default setting of 32. (Please see the following note pertaining to SATA drives.)
Note - The tag count default for SATA drives is 4. To prevent any performance issues, do not go above the default value for SATA. |
Note - Changing the maximum tag count to Disable will disable the use of write-back cache by all hard drives. |
The controller supports tag command queuing with an adjustable tag count from 1 to 128. The default setting is Enabled, with a maximum tag count of 32.
It is possible to configure command tag queuing with a maximum tag count of 128 for SCSI arrays and 256 for FC arrays.
To Change the Maximum Tag Count Setting |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Maximum Tag Count" to display a list of available tag count values.
2. Select a tag count number, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
Caution - Disabling the maximum tag count disables the use of internal cache by all the physical drives. |
Note - The periodic drive check time setting determines how often the controller checks physical drives. At the specified interval, the controller checks all drives shown in the Drive Status table. If any drive is then removed, the controller detects the removal even if no host attempts to access that drive.The periodic drive check does not force the scanning of a drive that has been added to a SCSI array. See Scanning Drives (SCSI Only) for more information. |
To Set the Periodic Drive Check Time |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Periodic Drive Check Time -" to display a list of intervals.
2. Select an interval, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
Caution - Do not set this interval for less than one second. Setting Periodic Drive Check Time to less than one second can adversely impact the array's performance. |
If there are remote devices in your RAID enclosure monitored by SAF-TE or SES, including power supplies, use this function to determine the interval after which the controller checks the status of those devices.
Caution - Do not set this interval for less than one second. Setting Periodic SAF-TE and SES Device Check Time to less than one second can adversely impact the array's reliability. |
To Set the Periodic SAF-TE and SES Device Check Time |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Periodic SAF-TE and SES Device Check Time" to display a list of intervals.
2. Select an interval, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
This menu option periodically polls the unit to detect the replacement of a bad drive. If no spare drive is present in the array, the logical drive begins an automatic rebuild of a degraded logical drive when the firmware detects replacement of the bad drive.
The drive-swap check time is the interval at which the controller checks to see whether a failed drive has been replaced. When a logical drive's member drive fails, the controller detects the failed drive (at the specified time interval). Once the failed drive has been swapped with a drive that has adequate capacity to rebuild the logical drive, the rebuild begins automatically.
The default is Disabled. When Disabled is selected, the controller does not auto-detect the replacement of a failed drive. The controller is then not able to detect any drive removal that occurs after the controller has been powered on. The controller detects drive removal only when a host attempts to access the data on the drive.
Note - This feature requires system resources and can impact performance. |
Note - The periodic auto-detect failure drive swap check does not force the scanning of a drive that has been added to a SCSI array. See Scanning Drives (SCSI Only) for more information. |
To Set the Auto-Detect Failure Drive Swap Check Time |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Periodic Auto-Detect Failure Drive Swap Check Time."
A list of intervals is displayed.
2. Select an interval, and then choose Yes to confirm.
When you choose an interval to enable the periodic drive check time, the controller polls all connected drives in the controller's drive channels at the assigned interval. Drive removal is detected even if no host attempts to access data on the drive.
Use this menu option to enable SMART functionality. See Using SMART Functionality for information about how to configure your Drive Predictable Failure Mode setting.
Note - SMART functionality is not supported on the SATA drives used in Sun StorEdge 3511 RAID controllers or expansion units. |
This feature is disabled by default.
When you choose Auto-Assign Global Spare Drive, the system automatically assigns global spare status to the unassigned drive with the lowest drive ID. This enables the array to use the global spare to rebuild a logical drive automatically without user intervention when a failing drive needs to be replaced.
To Automatically Assign Replacements to Faulty Drives |
From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Auto-Assign Global Spare Drive," and then choose Yes to change the setting.
This menu option specifies whether Media Scan should automatically begin whenever the controller is powered up or reset. The default setting is Disabled. The setting you choose is maintained when you power-cycle or reset the controller.
From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Drive-side Parameters Media Scan at Power-Up," and then choose Yes to change the setting from Enabled to Disabled or from Disabled to Enabled.
The menu options on the Disk Array Parameters menu are described in this section.
The RAID controller provides a background rebuilding ability. This means the controller is able to serve I/O requests while rebuilding logical drives. The time required to rebuild a logical drive depends largely on the total capacity of the logical drive being rebuilt. Additionally, the rebuilding process is totally transparent to the host computer and its operating system.
To Set the Rebuild Priority |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Disk Array Parameters Rebuild Priority" to display a list of rebuild priority selections.
A list of the priority selections is displayed:
2. Choose a rebuild priority, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
Normally, errors can occur when a hard drive writes data. To avoid write errors, the controller can force the hard drives to verify the written data. There are three verification methods:
This method performs Verify-after-Write while initializing the logical drive.
This method performs Verify-after-Write during the rebuilding process.
This method performs Verify-after-Write during normal I/O requests.
Each method can be enabled or disabled individually. Hard drives perform Verify-after-Write according to the chosen method.
Note - The "verification on Normal Drive Writes" method affects write performance during normal use. |
To Enable and Disable Verification Methods |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Disk Array Parameters Verification on Writes" to display the verification methods that are available.
2. Choose a method that you want to enable or disable, and then choose Yes to confirm the change.
Note - Follow the same procedure to enable or disable each method. |
The Redundant Controller Parameters menu allows you to enable or disable cache synchronization.
If your redundant controller system is configured with Write-Back Cache disabled, you can disable Cache Synchronization on Write-Through. Mirroring and transferring data between partner controllers will be turned off. This increases array performance for subsystems that operate without write caching.
Caution - If a controller fails and cache synchronization is disabled, all data that was in cache at the time of failure is lost. |
To Enable or Disable Cache Synchronization |
From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Redundant Controller Parameters Cache Synchronization on Write-Through" to change the current setting, and then choose Yes to confirm the change.
Procedures for viewing and displaying controller parameters are described in this section.
The controller name is displayed only in the firmware application and is used to identify controllers.
To View and Display the Controller Name |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Controller Parameters Controller Name" to name or rename the controller.
Depending on the controller's current settings, you are prompted to either enter a new name or modify the existing name for the designated controller.
2. Type a name for the controller and press Return.
This menu option sets a timeout value that determines how many minutes of inactivity elapse before the password is requested again. This security measure helps avoid unauthorized operation when the user is away from the array.
In most cases, the Always Check default should be left unchanged. If Always Check value is specified, there is no defined timeout and the operator has unlimited opportunities to enter the correct password, but each attempt is validated before access to the firmware's functions is permitted.
The timeout has no effect if no password has been set. See Setting and Changing the Controller Password for more password information.
If Disabled is selected, any entry provides immediate access to firmware menu options, regardless of whether a password has been established.
To Set a Password Validation Timeout |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Controller Parameters Password Validation Timeout" to display a list of timeout values.
2. Select a validation timeout, and then choose Yes to confirm your choice.
The controller unique identifier is automatically set by the SAF-TE or SES device. The controller unique identifier is used to create Ethernet addresses and WWNs, and to identify the unit for some network configurations.
To Specify the Controller Unique Identifier |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Controller Parameters Controller Unique Identifier <hex>" to display the current identifier value and make it possible to change the value.
2. Type in the value 0 to automatically read the chassis serial number from the midplane, or type in the hexadecimal value for the original serial number of the chassis if the midplane has been replaced and you want to retain the previous identifier.
The value 0 is immediately replaced with the hex value of the chassis serial number. Any other value is displayed as it was typed.
This change does not take effect until the controller is reset.
NOTICE: Change made to this setting will NOT take effect until the controller is RESET. Prior to resetting the controller, operation may not proceed normally. Do you want to reset the controller now? |
3. Choose Yes to reset the controller.
You can specify the controller date and time so that event messages in the event log display the date and time of the event correctly.
To Set the Controller's Time Zone |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Controller Parameters Set Controller Date and Time Time Zone" to display the currently set time zone as an offset from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
2. Type the appropriate offset from Greenwich Mean Time for your location in the format hour:minute (hh:mm) and press Return.
Your time zone is specified as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) followed by a plus (+) or minus (-) sign and the number of hours earlier or later your location is from the Greenwich mean time. For instance, the time zone setting for Japan is GMT +9 and the time zone for New York is GMT -4 or -5, depending on daylight savings.
To Set the Controller Date and Time |
1. From the Main Menu, choose "view and edit Configuration parameters Controller Parameters Set Controller Date and Time Date and Time."
2. Type the current date and time in the format MMDDhhmmYYYY and press Return.
For example, enter 072511052004 for 11:05 a.m., July 25, 2004.
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