Array Management Overview

Management of your array is done at two levels: disk management and enclosure management. Tasks done through the OS or HBA to create volumes, disk spares, view logged disk errors, mount and unmount disks, replace faulty disks are examples of disk management. Tasks done through a SES management tool to monitor the health of the array, check device status, obtain FRU information, update firmware and receive alerts are examples of enclosure management.

The following sections describe the various options for managing your J4500 array.

Management Term Definitions

There are several terms used in this chapter that you will need to become familiar with to better understand J4500 array enclosure management processes:

Table 2-1 Management Terms and Definitions

Term	Definition
In-Band	In-Band management uses the primary data path (the SAS link) between a host and storage device for management traffic.
Out-of-Band	Out-Of-Band management occurs over an Ethernet network outside of the primary data path between the host and storage device. Other types of out-of-band management for the array would include using the array's physical indicators and controls to perform tasks such as enclosure reset and component fault isolation using the array LEDs.
SES	SCSI Enclosure Services. Allows HBA or enclosure management software that supports SES to monitor and control the array enclosure using the in-band SAS signal. Managed SES elements include hard disks, chassis LEDs, and temp and voltage sensors. SES processes run on the array expanders and are used to execute diagnostic commands from the management software. The J4500 array supports SES-2.
SMP	SMP (Serial Management Protocol). In addition to SES, a management client can use SMP to perform enclosure management functions in-band over the SAS links. It provides for management of the array enclosure including hard disk and chassis LEDs, storage zoning, and temperature and voltage sensors.
Polling	The duration of time between component status updates to the management client.
Alert (or event)	A change in the state of a device (hard disks, enclosure temperature, etc.). Alerts include a severity level to describe informational, non-critical, critical and unrecoverable device status. Alerts are displayed on the management client or an alert notification may be received by email.
FRU	Field Replaceable Unit. These are replaceable parts, such as power supplies, hard disk drives and fans that may be monitored for faults. If they fail, these parts can be replaced. Most can be replaced without completely removing the enclosure from the rack. Note that all FRUs in the J4500 array are also CRUs (Customer Replaceable Units).
Disk management	Tasks done through the OS or HBA to create volumes, view logged disk errors, mount and unmount disks, replace faulty disks.
Enclosure management	Tasks done through the management tool to monitor the health of the array enclosure, check device status, obtain FRU information, receive alerts, update firmware, configure storage zoning, reset the enclosure.

About Enclosure Management

Your J4500 array supports a powerful set of enclosure management features accessible from a management client that supports SES-2 (SCSI Enclosure Services) and SMP (Serial Management Protocol). Some or all of these features are available through supported management software, such as the Sun Common Array Manager (CAM), or the Sun StorageTek RAID Manager software. These features provide a system administrator at the array-connected server or network-connected management client the following capabilities:

Utilize tools and functions independent of HBA, using the server's generic SCSI driver
Monitor the enclosure status (on/off line status, component health)
Monitor the enclosure environment (voltage and temperature)
Remotely identify and locate enclosure components
Obtain Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) identification and status (hard disks, fans, power supplies)
Remove and install FRU components
Remotely reset the enclosure
Remotely upgrade enclosure firmware (expanders and hard disk—must use CAM)
View the enclosure event log to aid in troubleshooting
Receive email alert notification

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	Sun Storage J4500 Array System Overview