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Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module Administration Guide |
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1. Overview of Using Sun Blade 6000 Disk Modules With Server Modules
2. Inserting, Moving and Replacing the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module
Supported Servers, Firmware and Operating Systems
Meeting the Minimum Requirements for Disk Blade Support
Enclosure Driver Required for Windows
Important OS and Server Considerations
Supported RAID Controllers and Host Bus Adapters (HBA)
Supported Network Express Modules
Drivers, Firmware and Software
Minimum Operational Requirements
Oracle Common Array Manager (CAM) Software
Oracle's Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) Software
5. Installing, Removing or Replacing Disks
7. How LSI Host Bus Adapters Assign Target IDs to Expanders, Disks, and RAID Volumes
8. How Adaptec Host Bus Adapters Assign Target IDs to Expanders, Disks, and RAID Volumes
9. Setting Up Hardware RAID Volumes With LSI and Adaptec Host Bus Adapters
10. ILOM For the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module
11. Oracle's Sun Storage Common Array Manager (CAM)
A. Using the SIA Application to Upgrade x86 Server Blade and Host Bus Adapter Firmware
C. Upgrading the Disk Module to Allow a SAS-2 Compatible Server Blade in the Chassis
This chapter describes the requirements for using the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Blade with a Sun blade server module. This chapter contains the following topics:
At the time of initial release, the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module works with the combinations of server blades and operating systems shown in 
Supported Servers, Firmware and Operating Systems. For later combinations, look online (see Obtaining the Latest Information).
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You must ensure that all server blades and their disk controllers, or host bus adapters, meet the minimum firmware requirements whether or not you intend to pair them with a disk blade. Additional details on upgrading server blade firmware may be found in Chapter 4, Upgrading Systems.
At the release of this document, there is currently no support for using the disk module with a server module that has a SAS-2 REM (SAS-2 supports 6 Gb per second data transfer speeds). The Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module is only supported with server modules that have SAS-1 disk controllers or REMs. However, if you plan on installing a server module with a SAS-2 REM into the chassis, even if it will not be used with the disk module, a firmware upgrade to allow SAS-1/SAS-2 coexistence in the chassis might be required. Refer to Appendix C, Upgrading the Disk Module to Allow a SAS-2 Compatible Server Blade in the Chassis.
The patches listed in Supported Servers, Firmware and Operating Systems for the Solaris OS are in addition to the patches that are required for the server blade. The server blade has its own patch list. These are additional patches needed for use with disk blades.
The Windows Enclosure Device Driver for Sun Blade 6000 Disk Modules is required for all supported versions of Windows. This Windows-certified driver allows Windows to recognize the enclosure services devices within the storage chassis. See Where to Get Drivers, Firmware and Software.
If you are using two SAS-NEMs for redundant paths to SAS disks, are using an LSI controller, and you have disks that are not in hardware RAID volumes, you must enable multipathing at the OS level on all active server blades in the chassis. This ensures that the primary path to disks is not lost, which can cause an OS panic. Oracle does not support dual paths to SAS disks if OS multipathing is not enabled.
For all operating systems, if you put your boot disk on the disk blade, it must be in a hardware RAID volume.
For SPARC systems, you must either put the OS on a single disk in your server blade or in a RAID 1 volume with both member disks in your server blade.
For the Solaris OS, you must create RAID volumes before enabling mpxio. Once mpxio is enabled, you can no longer create RAID volumes or change RAID configurations.
SUSE Linux can manage dual paths to disk drives at the OS level, except for boot disks. You should either create a RAID volume for your OS with the SAS host bus adapter firmware or put the OS on a disk or volume on your server. The disks on the server blades have only one path.
RHEL 4 Linux can manage dual paths to disk drives at the OS level, except for boot disks. You should either create a RAID volume for your OS with the SAS host bus adapter firmware or put the OS on a disk or volume on your server. The disks on the server blades have only one path.
RHEL 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2 can manage dual paths to disk drives either at the OS level (including the boot disk) or through the SAS host bus adapter firmware. Installation may require special boot parameters passed to the kernel for dual-path disks recognized correctly
Windows Server 2008 includes an MPIO utility and supports dual-pathing at the OS level. It can also handle multipathing through the SAS host bus adapter firmware.
At the release of this document, Windows Server 2003 does not include an MPIO utility, so dual paths are not supported at the OS level. However, dual-pathing on a server running Windows Server 2003 can be managed through the SAS host bus adapter firmware.
Supported Disk Drives lists the hard disk drives, both mechanical and Solid State Drives (SSD), that have been tested for use in the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module.
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The following rules apply when mixing drives in the disk blade:
You can mix SAS disk drives with different specifications in a disk blade.
You can have up to eight SSD drives in the disk blade (for HBA requirements when using SSDs, see Supported RAID Controllers and Host Bus Adapters (HBA)).
Note - Currently, the X4620A Sun Blade RAID 5 Expansion Module (Intel/Adaptec) does not support SSDs. Check the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module Product Notes (820-1709) for the latest information.
Do not mix SSD and mechanical drives in a single RAID volume.
Do not mix SATA and SAS drives in a single RAID volume
Hot spares assigned to a volume must be of the same type as disks in the RAID volume (SAS or SATA; mechanical or SSD).
At the time of initial release, the supported SAS RAID controllers and HBAs are shown in RAID Controllers and Host Bus Adapters. As new servers are released, see Obtaining the Latest Information for the latest supported combinations.
Note - All of the controllers and HBAs listed here are SAS-1 (up to 3 Gb/s data transfer speed), if your server has a SAS-2 HBA (6 Gb/s), refer to Appendix C, Upgrading the Disk Module to Allow a SAS-2 Compatible Server Blade in the Chassis.
For information on obtaining the latest firmware, see Drivers, Firmware and Software.
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For supported RAID controllers and HBAs, note the following
The on-board LSI 1068E chip, the T6320 RAID 0/1 Expansion Module, and the Sun Blade RAID 0/1 G2 Expansion Module are functionally equivalent. The latter two are REMs that use the LSI 1068E chip. Each of the three can create two RAID volumes that are RAID 0, 1, or 1E. Documentation for these LSI host bus adapters can be found in the Sun LSI 106x RAID User’s Guide (part number 820-4933).
The Sun Blade RAID 5 Expansion Module is a REM with Intel circuitry and Adaptec firmware. It can create 24 RAID volumes that are RAID 0, 1, 1E, 10, 5, 5EE, 50, 6, or 60. See the Sun Intel Adaptec BIOS RAID Utility User’s Manual (part number 820-4708) and the Sun StorageTek RAID Manager Software User’s Guide (part number 820-1177).
For servers using the on-board LSI 1068E chip, firmware upgrades for the chip are done when upgrading the server’s system BIOS and ILOM firmware.
Support for Solid State Drives (SSD) requires compatible firmware on both the HBA and the disk blade. For more on upgrading firmware, see Drivers, Firmware and Software.
Note - Currently, the X4620A Sun Blade RAID 5 Expansion Module (Intel/Adaptec) does not support SSDs. Check the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module Product Notes (820-1709) for the latest information.
The Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module requires, at minimum, a SAS-NEM in NEM slot 0 for communication with server blades. For dual paths to SAS disk drives, a SAS-NEM is also required in NEM slot 1. SAS-NEMs also include firmware, which may be upgraded using the Oracle Common Array Manager (CAM), see
Drivers, Firmware and Software. The following SAS-NEMs are supported for use with the disk blade:
Sun Blade 6000 Multi-Fabric Network Express Module (abbreviated Multi-Fabric NEM)
Sun Blade 6000 10GbE Multi-Fabric Network Express Module (abbreviated 10GbE Multi-Fabric NEM)
Sun Blade 6000 Virtualized Multi-Fabric 10GbE Network Express Module (abbreviated Virtualized 10GbE Multi-Fabric NEM)
You can mix SAS-NEMs as follows:
You can use two Multi-Fabric NEMs, two 10GbE Multi-Fabric NEMs, or two Virtualized 10GbE Multi-Fabric NEMs.
You can mix a Multi-Fabric NEM and a 10GbE Multi-Fabric NEM. It does not matter which type is in slot NEM 0.
You can not mix a Virtualized 10GbE Multi-Fabric NEM with any other type of NEM.
You can use a plain NEM (one without SAS connectivity) in slot NEM 1, but not in slot NEM 0. However, in this configuration you lose the redundant second path to SAS disks.
In all cases, a SAS-NEM must be in slot NEM 0.
The expander firmware version on each of the SAS-NEMs and the disk blade module must be the same.
The Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module is supported in the following Sun blade chassis:
Sun Blade 6000 Modular System chassis
Sun Blade 6048 Modular System chassis
Each chassis contains a Chassis Monitoring Module (CMM). The minimum version of CMM required on the chassis is ILOM 2.0.3.10, build 36968.
This section lists the drivers, firmware and software you need for your installation. Refer to the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module Product Notes (part number 820-1709) for the most current versions.
Every installation requires:
ILOM 2.0.3.10, build number 36968 on the chassis CMM
The latest expander firmware on the disk blade
The latest expander firmware on the SAS-NEM (same version as the disk blade)
Every server must have:
For x86 blades, the latest SP firmware and system BIOS
For SPARC blades, the latest SysFW
The latest LSI firmware if there is an on-board 1068E chip (X6220, T6300)
The latest LSI REM firmware if a RAID 0/1 REM or RAID 0/1 G2 REM is supported
The latest Adaptec REM firmware if the RAID 5 REM is supported
The latest LSI drivers for each OS version supported when using LSI 1068E chip or RAID 0/1 REM (see Updating Operating System Drivers on x86 Server Blades)
The latest Adaptec drivers for each supported OS when using the RAID 5 REM (see Updating Operating System Drivers on x86 Server Blades)
For servers running Windows, the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module enclosure driver is required (see Enclosure Driver Required for Windows).
Installations utilizing multipath, refer to Chapter 6, Multipathing and RAID for adding the multipath drivers to your operating system.
Support for managing your Sun Blade 6000 Disk Modules and Sun Blade 6000 System chassis supported SAS-NEMs is available beginning with CAM version 6.1.2. Use CAM to upgrade firmware on your disk blade and SAS-NEMs. To obtain the latest CAM software, go to: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/servers-storage/storage/storage-software/031603.htm.
Note - At the release of this document, there is currently no support for using the Common Array Manager to upgrade disk module and SAS-NEM firmware to a level that allows SAS-1 device coexistence with server modules with SAS-2 REMs. For more information on upgrading disk module and SAS-NEM firmware to a level that allows SAS-1/SAS-2 coexistence in the chassis, see Appendix C, Upgrading the Disk Module to Allow a SAS-2 Compatible Server Blade in the Chassis.
Oracle’s Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) can perform a variety of tasks including system BIOS, ILOM service processor and HBA firmware upgrades. Each server blade has its own version of the SIA. To obtain an ISO CD-ROM image of the most recent SIA for each of your server blades go to the SIA download site:
http://www.sun.com/systemmanagement/sia.jsp
The lsiutil application is used for service-related procedures and version 1.60 or later should be installed on every server. To obtain the latest lsiutil software, go to the disk blade site:
http://www.oracle.com/goto/blades
For updating the necessary system firmware and drivers, go to:
For updating HBA Expansion Module firmware and drivers, go to:
For updating hard disk firmware, identify the firmware version that you need, obtain the patches and software to install them at:
For updating the disk blade and SAS-NEM firmware, use the Common Array Manager.
Note - At the release of this document, there is currently no support for using the Common Array Manager to upgrade disk module and SAS-NEM firmware to a level that allows SAS-1 device coexistence with server modules with SAS-2 REMs. For more information on upgrading disk module and SAS-NEM firmware to a level that allows SAS-1/SAS-2 coexistence in the chassis, see Appendix C, Upgrading the Disk Module to Allow a SAS-2 Compatible Server Blade in the Chassis.
If you do not see your server blade listed in this chapter, or if you think there might have been recent changes to the system requirements, drivers, or firmware for your server blade, you can find the latest version information in the Sun Blade 6000 Disk Module Product Notes (820-1809):
http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/blade6000dskmod
Alternatively, to find the most recent versions and download them, go to the disk blade site:
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