VTrak Ex10 Articles

Ex10: Password Reset

2024-10-31T14:26:15.2900000

Introduction:

There are many reasons why an Ex10 user might need to reset the administrator password. Some common reasons are...

Purchased the unit from a 3rd party
Password was forgotten or lost
IT admin who knew the password is no longer with the company

Unfortunatly, the password reset on the Ex10 is not as simple as with newer units where a button press will do the trick.

Requirements:

In order to reset the password there are several requirements.

confuser file
tftp server
access to the Ex10 on the same subnet
a serial connection to the Ex10

Warning:

If the Ex10 is dual controller, it is recommended to unseat controller 2 before doing a password reset on controller 1. That is, power down, unseat controller 2, then power on and do the password reset on controller 1. Then after controller 1 is booted with the reset password hot insert controller 2 and it will take it's configuration information (including the user database) from controller 1.

Process:

This KB will demonstrate the process with Windows 10, the process is the same for MAC or Linux, but different tools will be needed.

First, an appropiate serial cable will be needed. Promise ships 1 serial cable with each controller, so a dual controller Ex10 would ship with 2 cables. Often these are lost or unavailable, so a correct cable will have to be obtained.

This KB shows how to make the serial connection. The part about collecting logs is not relevant here.

https://kb.promise.com/thread/how-to-set-up-a-serial-connection-to-a-vtrak-system-and-collect-the-logs-using-the-command-line-interface

A tftp server will also be required. For windows I find the free tftpd32 or tftpd64 work well. Be advised that tftp is a very old protocol and won't work across subnets. The computer used should be on the same subnet or direct connected to the Ex10 for the tftp connection to be established.

The confuser files can be obtained here.

Channel:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ou85k47a1zvnype/ex10_confuser_3_36_0000_00.zip?dl=0

MAC:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iv4e63raf2nw2uc/ex10_confuser_10_6_2270_00.zip?dl=0

The tftp server root folder must be changed to the folder that contains the confuser file.

After connecting the serial port, power up the Ex10.

There are 2 possibilities. The first possibility is the the CMOS battery is dead and booting will take you directy to PBL_RAM, which is were the password reset will be done from.

The second possibility is that the CMOS battery is still working and it will be necessary to interrupt the boot with a ^C. This can be done during the 'Executing boot script in 30.000 seconds' countdown.

Built 10:56:48, Mar 18 2009

Platform Setup completed
+execs
Load & Run: PBL_RAM
+Request IP addr from DHCP server: .............................................
Ethernet eth0: MAC address 00:01:55:30:87:50
Can't get BOOTP info for device!

DHCP Enabled
Ethernet MAC address: 00:01:55:30:87:50
IP: 0.0.0.0/255.255.255.0, Gateway: 0.0.0.0
Default server: 0.0.0.0, DNS server IP: 0.0.0.0

PBL_RAM Ver 1.02.0000.03
Built 14:49:31, Aug 25 2009

== Executing boot script in 30.000 seconds - enter ^C to abort
^C> 26.190 sec
==> 26.180 sec
PBL_RAM>

Here DHCP is enabled but failed. So we will have to set a static IP. If DHCP is enabled and finds an IP address a static IP won't have to be set.

To set a static IP the 'net' command will have to be used. The syntax of the command is...

Ethernet Management Configuration Utility
net -d | -c | -i <Static IP> [-n <DNS Sever IP>] [-s <Subnet Mask>] [-g <Gateway>]

The command on the local network looks like this...

PBL_RAM> net -i 192.168.9.241 -s 255.0.0.0 -g 192.168.9.1
Set Virtual port options

DHCP Disabled
Setting IP Address to 192.168.9.241
Setting Subnet Mask to 255.0.0.0
Setting Gateway Address to 192.168.9.1
PBL_RAM>

Please note the netmask used is 255.0.0.0. For some reason if the actual netmask (255.255.255.0) is used, the port won't work. The netmask 255.0.0.0 should work with just about any network.

We can check the port by pinging a server, we will ping the gateway as a test.

PBL_RAM> ping -i 192.168.9.241 -h 192.168.9.1
Network PING - from 192.168.9.241 to 192.168.9.1
PING - received 10 of 10 expected
PBL_RAM>

We can now configure the tftp server by setting the root folder to the location of the confuser file...

Now we are ready to update the user information using the confuser file. From the PBL_RAM prompt. Be sure to write down the filename for the last step. Copying and pasting it in may not work. Also, tftpd64 shows you the computer's IP address (in the 'Server Interfaces' line), you can use this or find the IP from a cmd window with the 'ipconfig' command.

PBL_RAM> ptiflash -t -h 192.168.9.181 -f ex10_confuser_3_36_0000_00.img
-
... Erase from 0xf0160000-0xf0300000: .............
... Program from 0x02000908-0x021a0908 at 0xf0160000: .............
... Erase from 0xf1fe0000-0xf2000000: .
... Program from 0x04000000-0x04020000 at 0xf1fe0000: .
... Erase from 0xf1f80000-0xf1fa0000: .
... Program from 0x04020000-0x04040000 at 0xf1f80000: .
PBL_RAM>

The Ex10 user information and passwords have now been reset to defaults. To continue the boot...

Note: To boot from PBL_RAM the comand is 'execs'. If the controller battery is dead it will only boot to PBL_RAM and to boot the firmware the 'execs' command must be used. For a dual controller Ex10 let one controller boot to the login prompt before moving the serial cable to controller 2 and booting it with 'execs'.

PBL_RAM> execs
Software modules check OK
SDRAM Size: 0x20000000, OS Size: 0x0c000000
Flash size: 0x02000000, Flash blk size: 0x00020000, blk count: 0x00000100
Using base address 0x01008000 and length 0x001c3460
Loading software modules .......

-------------------------------------------------------------
Promise VTrak Command Line Interface (CLI) Utility
Version: 3.33.0000.00 Build Date: Sep 24, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------

Login: administrator
Password: ********
-------------------------------------------------------------
Type help or ? to display all the available commands
Type menu to enter Menu Driven Configuration Utility
-------------------------------------------------------------

administrator@cli>

The default username/password, which is administrator/password should now work.

Note: the confuser file does not affect any data on disk.

After the Password Reset:

It is recommended that if the firmware is downrev, the first thing that should be done after the password reset and before putting the storage into production should be to update the firmware to the latest version available. It is recommended to update sequentially since it is not possible to update to the latest Ex10 service release from many of the older firmware releases.

Note: a firmware update also does not affect any data on disk.

Expected behavior on dual controller VTrak models when controllers with mismatched firmware are installed.

2011-12-09T10:57:24.0000000

The VTrak E-Class products support hot plugging of a replacement controller.

If the replacement controller has a different firmware than the surviving controller, the following results are expected.

Ex10 family:

When the replacement controller has a different firmware than the currently running controller, the newly installed controller will go into Maintenance Mode due to a firmware mismatch.

Solution:

Flash the matching firmware onto the replacement controller.

Once the firmware are matching versions, start the VTrak with the original surviving controller. When the VTrak Ex10 is fully up and running, hot plug the updated replacement controller.

Hot plugging the replacement controller allows mirroring of all user/controller settings from the running controller to the newly installed replacement controller.

Ex30 family:

When the replacement controller has a different firmware than the currently running controller, the newly installed controller will have its firmware updated to match the surviving controller.

Solution:

The VTrak Ex30 family will automatically update the replacement controller's firmware to match the surviving controller. There is no need to manually flash the firmware onto the replacement.

Our Non-disruptive Image Update (NDIU)feature allows the replacement controller to load the firmware from the surviving controller and then reboot.

Upon reboot, the two controllers firmware will now match and the replacement controller will start normally and be fully operational

How to attach VTrak J-Class chassis to running E-Class or E-Class/J-Class configuration without powering off the subsystems.

2011-10-25T14:42:22.0000000

Option 1: Attaching additional J-Class with unconfigured hard disk drives currently installed.

Be sure the new J-Class system is powered off.
Temporarily unlatch all disks installed in the JClass chassis.
Connect the SAS cables from the JClass chassis to the currently powered on and running E-Class or last J-Class in the chain. The connection go from Circle on the last device in the running enclosures to the Diamond input SAS connection on the new J-Class chassis.
Power on the newly installed J-Class chassis.
Once the new J-Class is up and running, verify that the E-Class can see the newly attached chassis by checking in WebPam or CLI. If the chassis is not detected, please contact Promise Technical Support for assistance.
If the enclosure is seen, now it is safe to hot plug the unconfigured drives into the JClass chassis.
Once all disks are detected, you will be able to create arrays and logical drives as needed.

Option 2: Removing a running J-Class with an arrays already configured and moving from one subsystem to another.

Before shutting down and detaching the running J-Class, log into WebPAM or CLI and put the array into a 'Transit' state.
Once the array is in Transit state, unlatch the disks from the chassis to be removed. Note this chassis must be the last chassis in the SAS cable chain.
After unlatching the drives, power off the VTrak and detach the SAS cables.

At this point the JClass can be removed and/or moved to another E-Class or E/J-Class combination

Connect the SAS cables from the JClass chassis to the currently powered on and running E-Class or last J-Class in the chain. The connection go from Circle on the last device in the running enclosures to the Diamond input SAS connection on the new J-Class chassis.
Power on the newly installed J-Class chassis.
Once the additional J-Class is up and running, verify that the E-Class can see the newly attached chassis by checking in WebPam or CLI. If the chassis is not detected, please contact Promise Technical Support for assistance.
If the enclosure is seen, now it is safe to hot plug the drives that are in Transit mode into the JClass chassis.
Once all drives are installed, the array will come out of Transit mode and be put online so the array and logical drives can be seen.

Why are my scheduled background tasks not running?

2011-01-12T14:23:15.0000000

In the event of a fail-over of the controllers in an Ex10 RAID head, scheduled background tasks such as NTP time sync will not work. In order to recover from this error, you must fail-back to the original, primary controller.

Can I reuse a disk that is marked Dead, PFA or Stale?

2010-07-27T14:27:31.0000000

In most cases a drive is marked Dead, PFA or Stale due to disk errors and the disk should not be reused.

Stale disk:

If a disk is marked Stale it should not be reused. However there are some conditions a disk may go stale on an otherwise good disk.

Unless you are absolutely sure the disk is good and know why the stale state happened, a stale disk should not be reused.

PFA disk:

If a disk is marked PFA, we believe the disk will fail and it should not be reused. Disks with SMART errors, physical errors or frequently time-out are often marked PFA.

A disk marked PFA should not be reused.

Dead disk:

If a disk is marked Dead, it should not be reused. However disks could be marked dead for reasons other than disk failure. Accidentally removing a disk or power cycle the unit in an incorrect order may create dead disks. These disks would otherwise be good, except for user error.

Unless you know the specifics on why the disk is marked dead, a dead disk is likely a failing disk and should not be reused.

Do not force Dead disks online unless you know the array data is current and not stale. Please contact Promise Technical Support and provide the system service report (subsysteminfo) before forcing any dead disk online.

Best practices for E-Class Vtrak RAID and FalconStor VTL

2010-02-01T11:58:37.0000000

This KB article was written as a joint collaboration between Promise and FalconStor Software to devise a Best Practices guide that will provide administrators the means to setup and install the Promise E-Class storage subsystem along with FalconStor’s Virtual Tape Library (VTL/VTL-S).

See the attached document entitled, “Best Practices Guide – Promise Vtrak E610f External Disk Array Subsystem and FalconStor VTL” for details.

In addition, also see KB article 10093 for “Best Practices for the E-Class VTrak RAID”.

Best Practices for Data Protection

2009-07-29T10:57:00.0000000

Best Practices for Data Protection

This article describes Promise Technology’s recommended best practice procedures for optimal data protection.

Predictive Data Migration - PDM

PDM, one of the unique technologies in the Promise Perfect Raid suite, should always be enabled. PDM proactively detects possible drive failures before they could occur and migrates data to a new healthy drive. Predictive Data Migration dramatically reduces the potential for data loss as well as the likelihood of a logical drive (array) going critical. PDM requires a global spare or unconfigured drive within the array. If PDM cannot be implemented (no spare or unconfigured drives available), there’s another proactive mechanism that can be implemented: Medium Error Threshold settings.

Medium Error Threshold

Medium Error Threshold is a configurable value within the cli and WebPAM PROe. The value is the number of bad blocks tolerated before the controller marks the drive as dead. By default, the Medium Error Threshold is disabled. The value can be set from 0 to 4294967294. The threshold only functions when the array is in an OK or Degraded state. It will not function if the array is critical or if a non-redundant RAID type (Raid 0) is used.

Medium Error Threshold configuration can be used in conjunction with PDM for even greater disk health monitoring.

Configuration

Configuration from the CLI:

Log-in to the VTrak EClass via Telnet or the Serial console.
When at the CLI prompt, type the following command to set the Medium Error Threshold to 64 bad blocks.

administrator@cli> phydrv -a mod -s "mediumerrorthreshold=64"
To confirm the setting change, type the following command at the CLI prompt.

administrator@cli> phydrv -v -p 1
The resulting command output will show info for physcial drive Pd Id 1.

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   PdId: 1
   OperationalStatus: OK
   Alias:
   PhysicalCapacity: 698.64GB            ConfigurableCapacity: 698.49GB
   UsedCapacity: 0Byte                   BlockSize: 512Bytes
   ConfigStatus: Global Spare            Location: Encl1 Slot1
   ModelNo: ATA     Hitachi HUA72107     VisibleTo: All Controllers
   SerialNo: GTA200P8G247SA              FirmwareVersion: GK8OA70M
   DriveInterface: SATA 3Gb/s            Protocol: ATA/ATAPI-7
   WriteCacheSupport: Yes                WriteCache: Enabled
   RLACacheSupport: Yes                  RLACache: Enabled
   SMARTFeatureSetSupport: Yes
   SMARTSelfTestSetSupport: Yes          SMARTErrorLoggingSupport: Yes
   CmdQueuingSupport: NCQ                CmdQueuing: Enabled
   CmdQueueDepth: 16                     MultiDMASupport: MDMA2
   MediumErrorThreshold: 64
   UltraDMASupport: UDMA5                DMAMode: UDMA5
   Errors: 0                             NonRWErrors: 0
   ReadErrors: 0                         WriteErrors: 0
You can verify that the Medium Error Threshold setting is now set to 64 bad blocks as shown above

Configuration from WebPAM PROe

Log-in to WebPAM PROe.
Click on Enclosures -> Enclosure 1 -> Physical Drives and then choose the Global Settings tab.
You will see a screen like the example below:
Type in the number of bad blocks for Medium Error Threshold. You may adjust the settings for SATA or SAS drives independantly. For example, set the Medium Error Threshold to 64 bad blocks.
Click the Submit button.
When WebPAM PROe screen updates, click on the Global Settings tab again. This will display the change.
You will see a screen like the example below:

Please note - Independant from PDM and Medium Error Threshold, a physical drive will always be marked dead if 5 timeouts are experienced within a 30 minute period.

RelatedArticles:

“KB-10255 New Error Threshold Values for SR2.6”

http://kb.promise.com/thread/new-error-threshold-default-values-for-sr2-8

Intel Modular Server and VTrak E-Class Supported Configurations

2008-08-13T04:46:00.0000000

Intel Modular Server and VTrak E-Class Supported Configurations

Overview: This document outlines the supported configurations between the Intel Modular Server (IMS) and Promise VTrak E-Class subsystem. Promise Technology only supports the connection of the Intel Storage Controller Module (SCM) with the Promise VTrak E310s/E610s. The connection between the SCM and VTrak is made via SAS cables with SFF-8088 Mini-SAS external connectors. The SCM corresponds to Intel product code AXXSCM3S.

Pre-Requisites: In order to configure the SCM with the VTrak, the following configuration is required:

External Port is enabled in SCM*
LUNs are available on VTrak
LUNs are associated with SCM initiators*

- Single controller connection is 1 SCM connected to 1 VTrak controller

- Dual Controller Requirements:

Lun Affinity Disabled on VTrak
Intel Software Package upgraded to dual-controller
Utilize Promise Perfect Path (Install latest version)

Click the link below to download a PDF of this article:

VTrak Drive Size Coercion Implementation

2008-05-28T06:28:00.0000000

VTrak Drive Size Coercion Implementation

Introduction

Drive Size Coercion is aligning the physical drive size to a suitable boundary for the purpose of raid configuration. This is the size accounted for the creation of array and logical drives.

Scope

This document briefly describes the implementation of drive size coercion of VTrak controllers.

Overview

Drives From different vendors come with different number of LBA’s for same given size. Aligning these drive sizes to a common boundary makes it possible for raid configuration to use the hot spares and drives for replacement with minor capacity difference.

Terminology

LD: Logical Drive
LBA: Logical Block Address (synonym to 512 bytes)
Sector: 1 logical block – 512 bytes
PD: Physical Drive
Capacity: Drive size (after or before coercion)
LED: light emitting diode
BP: Back plane
FRU: Field Replaceable Unit
SEP: Storage Enclosure Processor
SEMB: Storage Enclosure Management Bridge- In the scope of this document the terms “SEMB”, “controller”, “mother board” and “SEP driver” are synonymous.
POR: Power On Reset
BGA: Back ground activity – used with reference to scheduler that runs in the context of application to control some of the back ground activities in VTrak controllers.
MDD/DDF: configuration Data on disk.
Gigabyte: In the context of this document, refers to 1000 * 1000 * 1000 bytes and note that this is not equal to 1024 * 1024 * 1024 bytes.
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Requirements

Key requirements for drive capacity coercion with VTrak controllers.

An option to disable coercion
Truncate drive size to the nearest GByte boundary
Coercion based on drive capacity
Use a coercion table

Please note: Since alternate methods of coercion could truncate drive size differently, a previously coerced or truncated drive capacity holds good irrespective of any new coercion method enabled. The following sections describe the above features in detail.

Coercion Options

No Coercion

The VTrak controller settings provide option to enable or disable coercion. If disabled, no coercion method will be applied to the drives in controller. This configurable size for the raid purposes with the drive capacity after DDF/MDD size. This option is persistent, as controller settings are stored in NVRAM.

Coercion aligning to GigaByte boundary

This is the default method if coercion is enabled. This method truncates the drive capacity after MDD size to nearest gigabyte boundary. If drive capacity is less than 1 gigabyte, no coercion is applied.

The formula for this method is given below:

Coerced Drive Capacity = ((Drive Capacity – MDD size)/ GigaByteInSectors ) * GigaByteInSectors

Where GigaByteInSectors = 0x1DCD65 ( 0x1DCD65h = 1953125 sectors = 1000000000 bytes)

Coercion aligning to 10GB boundary

This method truncates the drive size for raid purposes to 10GB boundary.

The formula for this method is given below:

Coerced Drive Capacity = ((Drive Capacity – MDD size)/ 10GigaByteInSectors ) * 10GigaByteInSectors

Where 10GigaByteInSectors = 0x12a05f2 (0x12a05f2= 19531250 sectors = 10000000000 bytes)

Coercion based on drive Size or Group rounding

If this method is chosen (also called group rounding method), coercion is based on drive capacity. The drive is truncated to 1GB less than the drive’s closest 10GB/5GB boundary.

Today’s drive are of greatly varying capacity for given size range. The actual problem is that even though all the vendors claim the same size, the margin varies between couple of MBs (30MB) to GBs (2GBs). For example Seagate claims drive size to be 80GB, however actual size is only couple of MB more than 80GB. Maxtor and Hitachi are almost 2GB above 80GB.

When looking at drive size after DDF reserved space, Seagate’s only 79GB, Maxtor and Hitachi both are 81GB. This means that even having 10GB coercion will not solve the problem, since Seagate is going to be at 70GB and both Maxtor and Hitachi will be at 80GB. Keeping this scenario in mind, to make drives from different vendors to be usable in raid set-up, the alignment boundary is chosen to be 1GB less than the closest 10GB/5GB boundary of the disk size.

Here is a more detailed example: Drives which are above 80GB and below 85GB would be coerced to 79GB. Drives above 85GB and below 90GB would be coerced to 84GB and so on. If this method is applied to drives smaller than 50GB, wasted space would be considerable. However drives greater than 50GB and less than 1TB, this coercion method should be fine.

Coercion Table Method

This method is based on the coercion table residing in the flash. The default coercion table is described below. The coercion table is searched to find the entry that matches the requested drive capacity. Corresponding coercion factor is used get the coerced size as given below:

Coerced Drive Capacity = (Drive Capacity – MDD Size) / Coercion Factor) * Coercion Factor

Currently there is no interfaces or APIs provided to accept an OEM table. Therefore the default coercion table is used and shown below:

Entry Number	Drive Size	Coercion Boundary
1	0-19GB	1GB
2	20-39GB	20GB
3	40-59GB	40GB
4	60-79GB	60GB
5	80-99GB	80GB
6	100-119GB	100GB
7	120-159GB	120GB
8	160-199GB	160GB
9	200-249GB	200GB
10	250-299GB	250GB
11	300-319GB	300GB
12	320-359GB	320GB
13	360-399GB	360GB
14	400-449GB	400GB
15	450-599GB	450GB
16	600-799GB	600GB
17	800-999GB	600GB
18	1TB >	1TB

Conclusion

With different coercion options, you can choose the best method that will allow ease of RAID configuration with drives of different capacity.

How can I retrieve the "Save Configuration" information on my VTrak Mx10 or E-Class Ex10 RAID?

2008-05-08T05:44:00.0000000

In order for Promise Technical Support to provide the highest level of service, Promise Technical Support will request that you provide the following:

Chassis SN#
TLA# (can be found on the chassis sticker next to SN#)
Subsystem information report (subsysteminfo)

The Save Configuration feature was introduced on M-Class Mx10 and E-Class Ex10 RAID. For security reasons we strongly recommend to always use a password i.e. don’t leave the password field blank.

Saving the VTrak subsystem information report (subsysteminfo):

To save the subsysteminfo via WebPAM:

Once logged in on the left hand side in the upper corner of your screen there is a window pane that will show the IP address of the VTrak RAID (see screen capture below).

Click on the IP address. Once the new page comes up after clicking on the “Save” button you will be prompted to save the subsystem configuration (see screen capture below).

Once you click Save, choose a location for the file that will be easy to find; like your Desktop.

To save the subsysteminfo via the CLI:

You may also save the configuration information (subsysteminfo) from the CLI. To retrieve the configuration information you can issue the following command from CLI (example):

export -t subsystem -f subsysteminfo.txt -s 192.168.7.100

Note: CLI requires that you use TFTP. A TFTP server will be necessary

SNMP MIB Test Procedure for VTrak E-Class

2008-03-27T02:25:00.0000000

SNMP MIB Test Procedure for VTrak E-Class

Version 1.0, February 1st, 2008

Abstract: The purpose of this document is instruct the user how to test each supported trap event on the Vtrak E-x10 subsystem. The application being used is an evaluation version that will allow you to trap up to 5 events. The user will need to download the Promise MIB file from www.promise.com. In these test scenarios MGSoft MIB Brower and MGSOFT Trap Ringer where used. This document is not intended to make the user an expert on deploying and SNMP Trap environments, it will how ever demonstrate how to test and make sure each trap event is functioning. Please reference the related article Vtrak_Events below for supported VTrak E-Class event list.

USING SNMP SERVICE WITH MG-SOFT MIB BROWSER

To install the SNMP service

Open the Windows Components Wizard, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.
Under the tab Components, click Management and Monitoring Tools (but do not select or clear its check box), and then click Details.
Select the Simple Network Management Protocol check box, and click OK.
Click next, and then click Finish. SNMP starts automatically after installation.

To configure traps

Open Computer Management: click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.
In the console tree, click Services.
In the details pane, click SNMP Service.
On the Action menu, click Properties.
Under the tab Traps, under Community name, type “public” and then click Add to list.
In Trap destinations, click Add.
In Host name, IP or IPX address, type information for the Vtrack, and click Add.
To configure SNMP security properties, Under the Security tab, make sure the box next to the Send authentication trap is checked boxed.
In the box below, the Accepted community names, click Add.

In the same section please click on edits tab and then, select Read Only
Type “public”, and then click Add.

On the circle option below check the Accept SNMP packets from these hosts:

Highlight “localhosts”, then click Remove
Click Add and type the IP address of the Vtrack, and then click Add again.

Click OK and then restart the SNMP service by right-clicking and choosing Restart

Using the MG-Soft MIB Browser

Install the MG-Soft MIB browser “needed to compile Mib” .You can download the MIB Browser from http://www.mg-soft.com/
Download the Promise MIB Files from: http://www.promise.com/support/download.aspx?from=product_series&SeriesSn=1&ModelSn=1&m=205&region=en-US
Extract the files and locate “raidv4.mib”. Once you have extracted and saved the “raidv4.mib into a working directory, Right-click on that file and select Compile. The MG-Soft Compiler should open up and then select Save All in the window.
Select the default save location and then close the compiler.
Open the MG-Soft MIB Browser and select View -> SNMP Protocol Preferences. Under the heading SNMP Protocol version, select SNMPv2c and click OK.
Go to the MIB tab and click the “Unload All” button. Now locate the PROMISE-RAIDV4-MIB file under MIB Modules. Highlight the file and then click the “Load MIB Module” button.
In the “Query” tab, input the IP address of the Vtrak under the “Remote SNMP Agent” box.
Expand all the folders under the MIB Tree and until you come to a file named “raidv4MIB”. Right-click on it and select “Contact”.

Using the MG-Soft Trap Ringer

Download MGSOFT Trap Ringer Pro http://www.mg-soft.com/files/mgTrapRing-50g.zip
Extract contents to a working directory
From the working directory execute the "setup.exe"
Note: This particular version of MGSOFT is an evaluation version
During the install process you will a notification about the license key "Could not find a valid license key file in the specified location! Do you have a license key in any other location?"
Click "NO" to the pop up message.
Fill out additional installer fields and proceed with the installation until you get to the "Select Components"
Uncheck " Keep old MIB files" and check "Make shortcut on the desktop"
Complete the installation.
Go to Promise VTrak E-Class utility downoads page: http://www.promise.com/support/download.aspx?from=product_series&SeriesSn=1&ModelSn=1&m=205&region=en-US
Download the latest MIB File package and extract its contents into a working directory Example: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\MG-Soft\SNMP_mibs\IslaVista_sw\software\snmp\mibs
Locate "raidv4.mib" file and right click and select compile.
Note: Since MGFSOFT SNMP Trap Ringer was installed the default C compiler will compile the MIB by default
Once the compiler completes the compile task click on the "Save ALL" button.
Specify a location (default is fine), defaults to "My Documents"
Close the MGSOFT compiler
Go to the shortcut on the Desktop and double click on the shortcut on the Desktop labeled "MG-SOFT Trap Ringer Pro"
After executing the shortcut it will open the a working directory:
Example: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\MG-SOFT Trap Ringer Pro
Execute "Trap Ringer Pro". MGSOFT Trap Ringer Professional will open.
Go to "Tools: and select "Trap Ringer Preferences".
From here click on the "MIB Modules" Tab and select "unload all". This function will unload the the loaded modules from the "Loaded MIB Modules"
Under the listing of "MIB Modules" select the Promise MIB "Promise-RAIDV4-MIB" and click the "Load"
Click the apply button followed by "ok"
Reference SNMP event list provide by Promise FAE for supported Trap events to test various functions.
Test out the SNMP event Trap. Example: 0x000D001A Major, "Physical Disk has been removed" event Trap. The following will automatically be captured by the SNMP Trap Ringer:
Binding #9: raidv4TrapDescription *** (Display String) Physical Disk has been removed

Name: raidv4TrapDescription
Type: OBJECT-TYPE
OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.7933.1.20.0.10.7
Full path: iso
Module: PROMISE-RAIDV4-MIB

Parent: raidv4Trap
Prev sibling: raidv4TrapTimeStamp

Numerical syntax: Octets
Base syntax: OCTET STRING
Composed syntax: DisplayString
Status: current
Max access: read-only

Description: The event , sent as a parameter of raidv4Traps trap notification.
Continue testing for supported events.

Note Email notification can also be configured by SNMP Trap Ringer (see MGSOFT User Guide for more in depth configuration possibilities

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the expressed written permission of Promise Technology, Inc.

I have an E-Class Dual Controller with standard 512MB cache? I see lower Random Write IO with WriteThrough vs. WriteBack?

2007-11-26T22:36:00.0000000

Random Write Performance with Write Back:

100% Random, 100% Write, 8K blocks, 8 DISK RAID 0 = 4850 IOPS
100% Random, 100% Write, 8K blocks, 16 DISK RAID 0 = 9779 IOPS
100% Random, 100% Write, 8K blocks, 32 DISK RAID 0 = 10400 IOPS

Performance with Write Through

100% Random, 100% Write, 8K blocks, 16 DISK RAID 0 = 7788 IOPS
100% Random, 100% Write, 8K blocks, 32 DISK RAID 0 = 13723 IOPS

1. In Active/Active mode cache locking will take place on writes when LD cache is set to WriteBack. This is the expected result since this is the price you pay when the objective is high availability.

2. The random write IO performance is greater with LD cache being set to Write-Through since when LD cache is disabled there is no cache locking taking place on writes between both controllers.

3. Why are the IOPS flattening out at 10K? At this point cache locking may have hit its max point (Controller to Controller communication latency on writes). The issue has been reported by other users and performance is being fine tuned by our development team (performance in general is always being fine tuned). The performance above is with in a respectable range.

4. What can you do to minimize cache locking when LD cache is set to Write-Back? It is recommend to leave cache mirroring enabled and simply enable LUN
Affinity. Configure the LDs in questions to be affinitive evenly across both controllers. This will minimize cache locking and also insure availability when LD cache is set to WriteBack.

The performance results should be much better with # 4 being implemented.

I have an Hitachi HDS725050KLA360 drive 3Gig drive and it reports as 1.5Gig. What is going on?

2007-11-19T14:39:00.0000000

The link speed is reported as 1.5 or 3.0, depending on the default setting set by Hitachi. Please contact Hitachi for a utility to un toggle the 3.0 Gbit/sec setting. Attached is the util.

I''m trying to expand the array capacity on my Vtrak E310 the option to expand the array is not present from CLI/CLU or Web Pam

2007-08-20T10:16:00.0000000

This feature is not currently offered on release builds from FCS (first customer ship) to SR 2.2, will be available on SR3

How can I retrieve the "Save Configuration" information on my Vtrak series units? I'm getting a failed to get configuration error from the WebPAM.

2007-07-09T12:35:00.0000000

The Save Configuration feature was introduced on M-Class and E-Class series units. Please note that if the password field is changed and the left blank you will see the following error message (see attached JPEG). This will be addressed in the upcoming release for MX10 and EX10 series. We strongly recommend not to leave the password field blank (for security reasons)

This feature is also available from CLI. To retrieve the configuration information you can issue the following command from CLI (example):

export -t subsystem -f subsysteminfo.txt -s 192.168.7.100

Note: CLI requires that you use TFTP. A TFTP server will be necessary

E310 datasheet states (2) 400W PSU’s. It also states 436W under full load with SAS drives. Since 436 > 400, could you clarify this statement?

2007-06-22T13:41:00.0000000

The information on the datasheet is correct.
141.68 Watts (under load w/o HDD) / 452.68 Watts (under load with SAS HDD) for E310f
157.8 Watts (under load w/o HDD) / 468.8 Watts (under load with SAS HDD) for E310s

The E-Class unit ships with 2 x 400W power supplies
For the 400W power supply, the AC power should be 597W (400/0.67).
.67 is assuming 67% efficiency

The power consumption number is calculated by taking the power consumption of the unit 141.68
and adding the power consumption of the SAS drives. In this case, we are using 300GB 15kRPM Seagate
SAS drives which based on their data and assuming 67% efficiency comes to 17.4W

So then we calculate as follows:

17.4 x 12 = 208.8 , 208.8/0.67 ~= 311.64 power consumption of 12 SAS drives

E310f - 141.68 311 ~= 452.68
E310s - 157.8 311 ~= 468.8

Both of these are under 597W, so the system can run on a single power supply.

Why am I seeing "Controller temperature is above the warning threshold" events on my VTrak?

2007-06-01T09:26:00.0000000

You can change the settings by doing the following:

This is not a serious condition and will not affect performance or stability. It will cause the cooling fans to change to high speed when the temperature threshold is exceeded and temperature events will be logged. When Service Release 2 was introduced it set the RAID Head VPD settings to match those of the JBOD enclosure, which are lower than the RAID enclosure.

This has been addressed in manufacturing with all current units shipping with SR2 or greater firmware (will only see this if the unit was shipped with FCS or SR1 code and then upgraded to SR2). Once the setting is changed there is no need for a reboot so no down time is necessary.

The correct settings are:
    EnclWarningTempThreshold: 51C/123F
    EnclCriticalTempThreshold: 61C/141F
    CtrlWarningTempThreshold: 75C/167F
    CtrlCriticalTempThreshold: 85C/185F

You can change these settings using the CLU:
    1. Telnet in to the VTrak or open a Hyperterminal Session (see user manual).
    2. Enter the “menu” command at CLI prompt.
    3. Select the “Subsystem Management” menu.
    4. Select the “Enclosure Management” menu option.
    5. Select the E-Class subsystem.
    6. Select the “Enclosure Settings” menu option.
    7. Change the enclosure settings to:
        EnclWarningTempThreshold [10-51] : 51 C
        EnclCriticalTempThreshold [52-61] : 61 C
        CtrlWarningTempThreshold [10-75] : 75 C
        CtrlCriticalTempThreshold [76-85] : 85 C
    8. Save the changes and exit; no subsystem reboot is necessary.

On the contrary, if the controller senses a true over-temp condition and the critical temperature is exceeded within the RAID head or JBOD, the respective system will shutdown to preserve the existing data and to prevent any potential corruption.