VTrak Family Articles

Warranty Information for VTrak D5000/E5000 and Vess R3600 Batteries

2025-01-17T15:39:50.1370000

The battery for the VTrak D5000/E5000 and Vess R3600 comes with a one-year warranty.

If the battery is over one year old, you will need to purchase a replacement.

Where to Purchase

The replacement battery module can be purchased here:
Battery Module for VTrak x5000 and Vess R3000

Battery Replacement Resources

For guidance on replacing the battery, refer to the following resources:

Vess R3600 Battery Replacement: KB Article
D5000/E5000 Series Battery Replacement: KB Article

For Further Assistance

If you have additional questions, please contact the Promise Sales Team at: 📧 sales@promise.com

Battery Replacement Procedure on the D5000/E5000 Series

2024-11-06T15:10:00.4930000

This document provides a step-by-step guide for system administrators or technicians on how to properly replace the battery on Promise D5000 Series and Promise E5000 Series devices.

Applicable Models:

Battery Replacement Procedure

Step 1 – Shutdown the Controller

Access the GUI and navigate to Administration > Subsystem Information.
Select Shutdown for the subsystem or individual controllers (Controller 1 or Controller 2).
In this example, shutdown Controller 1.

Step 2 – Unplug the Target Controller

When the GUI connection to the controller is lost or shows the controller is shutting down, unplug the target controller.
If shutting down the entire subsystem, the PSU (Power Supply Unit) will stop output after completing its shutdown.
Turn off the PSU switch manually if needed and unplug Controller 1 to replace the battery.

Step 3 – Check LEDs and Disable Battery Power

Verify that all LEDs on the controller FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) are off after shutdown.
- If any LED remains ON or Flashing, the controller may be in C2F (Cache to Flash) mode.
- Wait 5 minutes; if LEDs remain on, press the Password Reset Switch (RSVD) to interrupt. If LEDs still remain on, document the case and contact Technical Support.

Step 4 – Wear Electrostatic Gloves and Bracelet

Wear electrostatic gloves and bracelet to prevent EMI damage to hardware components.

Step 5 – Unmount Screws and Cover

Remove the three screws securing the cover.

Step 6 – Unmount Screws and Battery

Remove the three screws securing the battery.

Step 7 – Mount the New Battery and Screws

Attach the new battery to the 2 x 13 battery connector header on the controller.
Secure it with the three screws.

Caution: Carefully align the battery to avoid damaging the connector.

Step 8 – Mount the Cover and Screws to the FRU

Reattach the top cover and secure with the three screws.

Step 9 – Insert Controller into Enclosure

Reinsert the controller FRU into the enclosure.
Wait for the controller to boot completely.
Verify in the GUI or CLI that the controller is recognized and has booted successfully.
- If the whole subsystem was shut down, manually turn on the two PSU switches after battery replacement on both controllers.

Additional Information – Battery Part Number (PN)

Always verify the part number (PN) on the battery's label:

G32800011007300 – 7.3V, 2000mAh Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack with two LG Cells (18650HD2, 2000mAh, 2S1P).

Contact Promise Technology Support

For further assistance, initiate your support request online for faster service. A technical support agent will be assigned to your case.

Promise Technology Technical Support >

Newer browsers may block WebPAM on some EOL devices.

2024-10-31T14:20:52.2400000

Introduction:

Over the year browser security protocols have changed and improved. Web based interfaces use what is called Transport Layer Security (TLS). TLS has gone through 4 revisions, from TLS 1.0 to TLS 1.1 to TLS 1.2 and the current version is TLS 1.3.

Many web pages used to support only TLS 1.0, especially some government services web pages. All the major browser creators were planning on dropping all support for TLS 1.0 a few years back, but then Covid 19 hit and because many of those governemnt services required TLS 1.0, browsers allowed exceptions to be made for certain web sites. Today the ability to mark a webpage an exception is no longer an option. If an exception was not made in the browser several years ago, one cannot be added from any modern browser.

Problem:

Many older embedded devices, storage devices, home routers, etc... are still in service and work properly. But as only TLS 1.0 is suported by these devices, no modern browser will connect to the management interface. This includes some older Promise devices as well.

This is the error message from Firefox 102.0.1.

---

It will not be possible to connect to the Web Interface from this browser.

If an exception had been set several years ago connections to this IP will be allowed.

Once removed, an exception cannot be re-added.

Workaround:

While it is not possible to use the latest browsers, it is possible to use an older browser that allows TLS 1.0, and ideally use this browser only for this purpose. Chromium is perfect for this as it does not auto-update like Firefox and Chrome or like Safari which updates with macOS updates. Chromium is available for Linux, macOS and Windows.

Unfortunately the Chromium website does not have older builds available, and the instructions given are not easy to follow.

https://www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium/

There are many 3rd party repositaries which are better organized.

https://chromium.en.uptodown.com/windows/versions

The version tested with was build 93.0.4531, the current build is 105. Build 93.0.4531 can be downloaded from here...

https://chromium.en.uptodown.com/windows/download/3727432

This Chromium does not install, it's a portable version. Point the file manager to the downloads folder and unzip the file. Navigate to the Chrome folder, with Windows it's named Chrome-Win and run the Chrome.exe file. WebPAM for the device will work from this browser.

With Chromium it is possible to connect to the Ex30 WebPAM which only supports TLS 1.0.

The following Promise products will not connect with a modern browser.

VTrak Ex10
VTrak Ex30
VTrak A-class
Vess 1840i
SmartStor and other EOL NAS devices

For these systems please use the appropriate version of Chromium for your OS or an older version of any browser.

Resolving Certificate Error by Importing Promise Root CA Certificate

2024-10-31T12:40:28.5100000

Overview

When you connect to Promise VTrak/Vess subsystems through a web browser, you might see a screen like the following.

Example of Chrome screen when connect to VTrak/Vess subsystem:

Example of Firefox screen when connect to VTrak/Vess subsystem:

This is very commonly seen on HTTPS with embedded devices. The HTTPS service from VTrak/Vess subsystem does not actually impose any security threat. You can click on the “Advanced” button to continue and accept risks for unsecure communications.

For secure communication between web browser and VTrak/Vess subsystem, here is the solution to import Promise Root CA certificate to web browser’s trusted root certificate list.

Before importing a Promise Root CA certificate, your web browser will alert you when connecting to VTrak/Vess subsystem using HTTPS, it is because the web browser is unsure if the fields received from the Promise certificate are valid. After importing Promise Root CA certificate, the web browser will recognize received Promise certificate as authentic, because the received certificate matches trusted Promise self-signed root CA certificate.

Using Promise certificate and Promise root CA certificate can improve the security and credibility from VTrak/Vess subsystem’s web server.

The procedure is simple, just follow these instructions:
First, download the Promise Root CA certificate
Second, follow the instructions below to import Promise Root CA certificate to the web browser’s trusted certificate list on your computer.

Please check procedure below for the detailed operations for Chrome, Firefox and Edge browser.

Import Promise Root CA Certificate in Chrome browser

Open Google Chrome, then click icon from menu icon on right top of screen, then choose ‘Settings’ from menu options.

On the Chrome Settings page and click ‘Privacy and Security’ in the left-hand column.

Then click 'Security' and scroll down to 'Manage device certificates'

Under the ‘Certificates’ window, please choose ‘Trusted Root Certification Authorities’ tab and then click ‘Import’ button to choose certificate file ‘Promise root certificate.cer’ and start the certification installation process.

Once the Promise root CA certificate is installed it will be displayed under the ‘Trusted Root Certification Authorities’ tab.

Import Promise Root CA Certificate on Firefox browser

Open Mozilla Firefox, then click icon from menu icon on right top of screen, and then choose ‘Settings’ from menu options.

On the Firefox Settings page, please click ‘Privacy and Security' and then scroll down to choose ‘Certificates’ in the left-hand column. Then click ‘View Certificates’ button.

Under the ‘Certificates Manager’ window, please choose ‘Authorities’ tab and then click ‘Import’ button to choose certificate file ‘Promise root certificate.cer’ and enable ‘Trust this CA to identify websites.’ checkbox to start the certification installation process.

Once the Promise root CA certificate is installed it will be displayed under ‘Authorities’ tab.

Import Promise Root CA Certificate on Edge browser

Open Microsoft Edge, and then choose ‘Settings’ by clicking icon from menu icon on right bottom of screen.

On the Edge ‘Settings page’, please click ‘Privacy, search and services' and then scroll down to choose ‘Security’ and ‘Manage certificates’ in the left-hand column.

Under the ‘Certificates’ window, please choose ‘Trusted Root Certification Authorities’ tab and then click ‘Import’ button to choose certificate file ‘Promise root certificate.cer’ and start the certification installation process.

Once the Promise root CA certificate is installed it will be displayed under the ‘Trusted Root Certification Authorities’ tab.

Creating and Managing Data Pools in VTrak D5000 Series / Vess R3600 Series

2024-10-30T18:32:02.6800000

To set up a new storage pool, start by deciding which type of pool fits your needs. There are two options:

1. Standard Pool: This is best for applications that require performance and enhanced response times. It's great for uses like video surveillance, rich media, and IT applications. Keep in mind that standard pools don't offer data services such as Snapshot, Clone, Replication, or Migration.

2. Advanced Pool: This is tailored for backup and archive purposes and includes various data services.

For Standard Pools, remember the following limitations:
- They can't be expanded.
- NAS shares or volumes within standard pools can't exceed the largest contiguous space available.

Vtrak D5000/E5000/EX10/EX30 Hard Drives Compatibility list Summary

2024-10-30T18:30:13.6970000

D5000

The D5000 (5320,5300,5600,5605,5800,5805) systems are compatible with various hard drives, including SATA, SAS Hard Drives and SAS, SATA Solid State Drives.

Some supported hard drive models include the Toshiba Enterprise series, Western Digital Gold, HGST Ultrastar and Seagate EXOS for SATA and SAS HDD. Huawei, micron, Samsung and KIOXIA for SAS and SATA SSD.

The largest capacity compatible with the D5000 systems is 22TB for The HGST Ultrastar DC HC570 SATA, SAS / 3.5". For SAS SSD 7.68TB for the KIOXIA PM7-R Series 2.5" and 4TB for Western Digital RED SA500 NAS Serien for SAS SSD.

The D5000 systems are compatible with a range of interface speeds 12Gb/s for SAS HDD and 6,12,24 Gb/s for SAS SSD.

D5000 Supports various OS systems, the supported versions include Mac OS 10.12.6 and MacOS Ventura 13.1. On the Windows side, the compatible versions are Windows Server 2008,2012,2016,2019 and 2022. Also RED hat, VMware and Citrix. Veeam Backup Applications Certified.

For the Full detailed Compatibility list , please download the following file:https://www.promise.com/DownloadFile.aspx?DownloadFileUID=7317

E5000

The E5000 (FA5310,5320,5300,5600,5800) systems are compatible with various hard drives, including SATA, SAS Hard Drives and SAS, SATA Solid State Drives.

Some supported hard drive models include the Toshiba Enterprise series, Western Digital Ultrastar Enterprise, HGST Ultrastar and Seagate Enterprise, EXOS for SATA and SAS HDD. Huawei, micron, Samsung and KIOXIA for SAS and SATA SSD.

The largest capacity compatible with the E5000 systems is 22TB for The HGST Ultrastar DC HC570 SAS, 20TB Toshiba MG10 Series and WD Ultrastar DC HC560 SATA / 3.5". For SAS SSD 7.68TB for the KIOXIA PM7-R Series 2.5" and 4TB for Western Digital RED SA500 NAS Serien for SAS SSD.

The E5000 systems are compatible with a range of interface speeds,12Gb/s for SAS HDD and 6,12,24 Gb/s for SAS and SATA SSD.

E5000 Supports various OS systems, the supported versions include Mac OS 10.12.6 and MacOS Ventura 13.1. On the Windows side, the compatible versions are Windows Server 2008,2012,2016,2019 and 2022. Also RED hat, VMware and Citrix. Veeam Backup Applications Certified.

for the Full detailed Compatibility list please download the following file:https://www.promise.com/DownloadFile.aspx?DownloadFileUID=7241

Ex10

The Ex10 (E310f, E310s, E610f, E610s, J310s, J610s, J630s, J830s) systems are compatible with various hard drives, including SATA, SAS Hard Drives and Solid State Drives.

Some supported hard drive models include the Fujitsu/ Toshiba, Western Digital, HGST, Seagate, Samsung for SATA and SAS HDD.Intel,OCZ Technology, Pliant Technology, STEC, Super Talent for SSD.

The largest capacity compatible with the Ex10 systems is 4000GB HGST Ultrastar 7K4000, Seagate ContellationES.3 for SAS. 2000GB FujitsuMKx001, HGST Ultrastar A7K2000, Seagate Constellation ES and Western Digital RAID Edition 4 for SATA. For SSD 480GB Super Talent TeraDrive CT.

The Ex10 systems are compatible with a range of interface speeds, 3/6Gb/s for SAS and SATA HDD and 1.5/3Gb/s for SSD.

E5000 Supports various OS systems, Windows Server 2003 and 2008. Also RED hat, VMware and Oracle.

for the Full detailed Compatibility list please download the following file:https://www.promise.com/DownloadFile.aspx?DownloadFileUID=1738

Ex30

The Ex30 (E630F, E830F, J630S, J830S, J930S, J5000) systems are compatible with various hard drives, including SATA, SAS Hard Drives and Solid State Drives.

Some supported hard drive models include the TOSHIBA, Western Digital, HGST, Seagate for SATA and SAS HDD. Micron, intel, and Toshiba for SSD.

The largest capacity compatible with the Ex30 systems is 10TB HGST Ultrastar He10 for SAS and 6TB HGST Ultrastar 7K6000, Western Digital WD Eiger RE, ToshibaTomcat+, Seagate Constellation ES.3 for SATA. For SSD 1TB Micron M510DC.

The Ex10 systems are compatible with a range of interface speeds, 3/6/12Gb/s for SAS and SATA HDD and 3/6/12Gb/s for SSD.

E5000 Supports various OS systems, Windows Server 2008 and 20012. Also RED hat, VMware and Macintosh 10.9/10.12.

for the Full detailed Compatibility list please download the following file:https://www.promise.com/DownloadFile.aspx?DownloadFileUID=4523

VTrak Series Security Advisory: Spectre and Meltdown

2018-01-26T23:52:27.1900000

Product Security Advisory: Meltdown and Spectre vulnerability in Promise VTrak series

Jan 26 2018

Background:

In December 2017 information about two vulnerabilities in modern processors were published. These exploits are often referred to as Meltdown and Spectre.

The Meltdown and Spectre exploits are detailed in the URL below

https://meltdownattack.com/

Meltdown:

Meltdown breaks the most fundamental isolation between user applications and the operating system. This attack allows a program to access the memory, and thus also the secrets, of other programs and the operating system. This may include passwords and sensitive data stored on the system

Spectre:

Spectre breaks the isolation between different applications. It allows an attacker to trick error-free programs, which follow best practices on speculative execution into leaking their secrets.

Promise VTrak:

Promise storage subsystems use an embedded OS with a close system design which does not allow users to add software, thus preventing the injection of malicious code or malware for the Meltdown or Spectra attacks. Nevertheless, Promise will take proactive measure to monitor the progress and recommendations from Intel and other CPU vendors regarding microcode updates.

VTraks not affected:

The Ex10 product line does not use an Intel or AMD x86 processor and is not affected by Spectre and Meltdown.

Contact Promise Technology Support
Need more help? Save time by starting your support request online and a technical support agent will be assigned to your case.

Promise Technology Technical Support >

Best Practices for VMware for VTrak Ex30 & Ex50

2018-01-10T19:46:19.0170000

The following is a best practice guide for the use of a VTrak Ex30/Ex50 for VMware ESXi version 5 or higher.

Topics covered for this article are RAID Levels, Expansion Chassis, LUN Affinity, ALUA, VAAI Support and Thin Provisioning.

RAID: RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array Of Independent Disks.
For VMware usage, we recommend one of the following two RAID configurations to be used:

RAID 5 (Stripe With Parity): Optimal Read/write speeds with less overhead. Superior Performance.
RAID 6 (Stripe with Dual Parity): Good for Archival Storage that offers Dual Redundancy and superior fault tolerance.

RAID 0 (Stripe): It is not recommended to run a stripe volume as it will offer little performance benefit and it will not provide any fault tolerance for the volume.

Jx30/J5000 Expansion Chassis: If you have an expansion chassis (i.e. J-Class units such as the J630,830,930/J5000) attached to your VTrak Ex30/Ex50 unit, you can add more storage space to your VM configuration; however, it is not recommended to span enclosures under a single large RAID array volume using the VTrak RAID Engine.

For best practice purposes, it is recommended to have each enclosure contain separate disk arrays (RAID configurations which span enclosures, will require either RAID 50 or RAID 60)

LUN Affinity: For optimization, LUN Affinity should be enabled for Dual controller VTrak Ex30/Ex50 units. LUN Affinity will enable write performance to be faster, and increase stability. Although VMware has been certified with LUN Affinity disabled, Promise Technology recommends that LUN Affinity be enabled to provide the best performance.

ALUA: ALUA is an acronym for Asynchronous Logical Unit Access (ALUA) must be enabled for VMWare to be optimized. VMware 5x and higher is ALUA aware, and it is recommended to have this feature enabled for better overall performance on the unit.

Thin Provisioning: This VMware feature is to a VM that is available in the LUN to provide higher utilization by letting you dedicate more storage capacity than the actual purchased capacity. With VAAI enabled, the VTrak Ex30/Ex50 can provide hardware support to thin provisioned LUNs by allowing freed up space on the LUN to be reclaimed.

VAAI: VMware API Array Integration (VAAI) is a VMware special configuration API which offloads some storage tasks for the ESXi server. This is also known as hardware acceleration. (Older VTrak Ex30 firmware versions support VAAI by default)
In the newer VTrak Ex30 firmware versions offer VAAI support which can be either enabled or disabled as only VMware makes use of VAAI. The same is applicable to the Ex50 units.

Note that if VAAI was in use prior to upgrading to VMware, it is important that VAAI be re-enabled after updating to continue to access the volume. If VAAI is not enabled after the upgrade of the VMware host, the LUN(s) will be seen but the datastore will not be accessible. This is due to the datastore being originally created with VAAI enabled.
With VAAI enabled, the datastore will have support use for AB file locking. Therefore, the datastore will only be seen if VAAI is enabled.

To enable the VAAI feature on the Ex30/Ex50, you may use the Command Line Interface (CLI).

To access the CLI, you can use the serial console or via terminal thru SSH:

ssh administrator@Virtual_IP_Address

To enable VAAI in the CLI, type the following commands:

administrator@cli> ctrl -a mod -s "VAAIsupport=enable" 
Note: The VAAIsupport setting will take affect only after next reboot

After enabling the VAAI module, you will need to reboot the VTrak and the ESXi server.

After you reboot the VTrak Ex30/Ex50, run the following command to ensure that VAAI is enabled on both controllers:

administrator@cli> ctrl -v

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CtrlId: 1
Alias: 
OperationalStatus: OK                  PowerOnTime: 453 hours 50 minutes
ControllerRole: Primary                ReadinessStatus: Active
LUNAffinity: Enabled                   LunmappingMethod: Name Based
CacheUsagePercentage: 0%               DirtyCachePercentage: 0%

PartNo: F29000020000127                SerialNo: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
HWRev: A5                              WWN: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
CmdProtocol: SCSI-3
MemType:        N/A (Slot 1)           MemSize: N/A (Slot 1)
       : DDR3 SDRAM (Slot 2)                  : 2 GB (Slot 2)
FlashType: Flash Memory                FlashSize: 2 GB
NVRAMType: SRAM                        NVRAMSize: 512 KB
BootLoaderVersion: 0.19.0000.37        BootLoaderBuildDate: Jan 20, 2017
FirmwareVersion: 10.18.2270.00         FirmwareBuildDate: Feb 25, 2017
SoftwareVersion: 10.18.2270.00         SoftwareBuildDate: Feb 25, 2017

DiskArrayPresent: 1                    OverallRAIDStatus: OK
LogDrvPresent: 9                       LogDrvOnline: 9
LogDrvOffline: 0                       LogDrvCritical: 0
PhyDrvPresent: 32                      PhyDrvOnline: 28
PhyDrvOffline: 0                       PhyDrvPFA: 0
GlobalSparePresent: 0                  DedicatedSparePresent: 0
RevertibleGlobalSparePresent: 0        RevertibleDedicatedSparePresent: 0
RevertibleGlobalSpareUsed: 0           RevertibleDedicatedSpareUsed: 0

WriteThroughMode: No                   MaxSectorSize: 512 Bytes
PreferredCacheLineSize: 64 KB          CacheLineSize: 64 KB
Coercion: Enabled                      CoercionMethod: GBTruncate
SMART: Disabled                        SMARTPollingInterval: 10 minutes
MigrationStorage: DDF                  CacheFlushInterval: 3 second(s)
PollInterval: 15 second(s)             AdaptiveWBCache: Enabled
HostCacheFlushing: Disabled            ForcedReadAhead: Enabled
ALUA: Enabled                          PowerSavingIdleTime: Never
PowerSavingStandbyTime: Never          PowerSavingStoppedTime: Never
PerfectRebuildAvailable: 64
VAAIsupport: Enabled                   SSDTrimSupport: Enabled

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CtrlId: 2
Alias: 
OperationalStatus: OK                  PowerOnTime: 453 hours 50 minutes
ControllerRole: Secondary              ReadinessStatus: Active
LUNAffinity: Enabled                   LunmappingMethod: Name Based
CacheUsagePercentage: 0%               DirtyCachePercentage: 0%
 
PartNo: F29000020000127                SerialNo: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
HWRev: A5                              WWN: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
CmdProtocol: SCSI-3
MemType:        N/A (Slot 1)           MemSize: N/A (Slot 1)
       : DDR3 SDRAM (Slot 2)                  : 2 GB (Slot 2)
FlashType: Flash Memory                FlashSize: 2 GB
NVRAMType: SRAM                        NVRAMSize: 512 KB
BootLoaderVersion: 0.19.0000.37        BootLoaderBuildDate: Jan 20, 2017
FirmwareVersion: 10.18.2270.00         FirmwareBuildDate: Feb 25, 2017
SoftwareVersion: 10.18.2270.00         SoftwareBuildDate: Feb 25, 2017
 
DiskArrayPresent: 1                    OverallRAIDStatus: OK
LogDrvPresent: 9                       LogDrvOnline: 9
LogDrvOffline: 0                       LogDrvCritical: 0
PhyDrvPresent: 32                      PhyDrvOnline: 28
PhyDrvOffline: 0                       PhyDrvPFA: 0
GlobalSparePresent: 0                  DedicatedSparePresent: 0
RevertibleGlobalSparePresent: 0        RevertibleDedicatedSparePresent: 0
RevertibleGlobalSpareUsed: 0           RevertibleDedicatedSpareUsed: 0

WriteThroughMode: No                   MaxSectorSize: 512 Bytes
PreferredCacheLineSize: 64 KB          CacheLineSize: 64 KB
Coercion: Enabled                      CoercionMethod: GBTruncate
SMART: Disabled                        SMARTPollingInterval: 10 minutes
MigrationStorage: DDF                  CacheFlushInterval: 3 second(s)
PollInterval: 15 second(s)             AdaptiveWBCache: Enabled
HostCacheFlushing: Disabled            ForcedReadAhead: Enabled
ALUA: Enabled                          PowerSavingIdleTime: Never
PowerSavingStandbyTime: Never          PowerSavingStoppedTime: Never
PerfectRebuildAvailable: 64
VAAIsupport: Enabled                   SSDTrimSupport: Enabled

Other Enhancements: In addition to the VMware configuration, other improvements for Best Practices can be considered when implementing the VTrak Ex30/Ex50 in your VMware solution.

Best Practice Guide for the VTrak Ex30/Ex50

“Scheduled task failed”: what does it mean?

2017-06-12T15:33:30.4400000

Occasionally, you may see the following entry in the Event Log of your VTrak or Vess:

SeqNo: xxx1
Device: Subsys
EventId: 0x00240002                   Severity: Warning
TimeStamp: April 1, 2017 02:05:15     DefaultId: 0x00240002
SpecData: 0002200100BBB8BB58 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 00000000000000
Description: Scheduled task failed

SeqNo: xxx2
Device: Subsys
EventId: 0x00240002                   Severity: Warning
TimeStamp: April 1, 2017 02:06:23     DefaultId: 0x00240002
SpecData: 0002200100BBB8BB58 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 00000000000000
Description: Scheduled task failed

If you have the NTP service enabled on your VTrak or Vess, the most common cause is that the NTP service could not reach the configured NTP server or servers.

By default, the first attempt to reach the NTP server is made at 02:05, and the second attempt to reach the NTP server is made one minute later at 02:06.

NTP: Enabled
TimeZone: (GMT -5:00) Eastern Time(US & Canada),New York,Toronto,Havana,Indiana
NumberOfTimeServer: 1
Server1: 192.168.0.20
DST: Enabled
DSTStartTime: Mar 2nd Sun
DSTEndTime: Nov 1st Sun
Last Synchronization Time: April 1, 2017 02:06:23
Last Synchronization Result: Failed on server 192.168.0.20
Next Synchronization Time: April 2, 2017 02:05 AM

The above example shows that the NTP service is enabled, and that it will synchronize the time with the server at 192.168.0.20 at 02:05 AM each day.

The Last Synchronization Time will match the TimeStamp of the Event Log entry, and the Last Synchronization Result shows that the update with the server was unsuccessful.

If these errors occur every day, it can mean that the NTP service on the VTrak or Vess is not configured correctly, the server cannot be reached due to incorrect network configuration, network configuration issues, or some physical problem in between.

Some things to check would be:

Ensure that the NTP service is running on the designated server(s), and it is reachable from the VTrak or Vess. (Use the “ping” command from the CLI)
Check the logs on that server to see if there are any error entries around that time.
Check your network for any events at that time (if you have the facility to do so).

To our Valued Customers and Partners in Rich Media Markets

2017-03-03T18:55:17.0670000

To our Valued Customers and Partners in Rich Media Markets:

We wish to notify you that, effective immediately, Promise Technology Inc is no longer being represented in Rich Media markets anywhere by Symply Inc.

We are committed to assuring no impact to you with this transition. Promise stands ready to support the solutions already purchased by customers and end-users.

Please address any request for sales or support for our Rich Media products, or any questions, to the usual contacts in Promise Technology:

Americas Phone +1 (408) 228-1400
Support https://support.promise.com
Sales sales@promise.com
Marketing pr@promise.com

EMEA Phone +31 (0) 40-235-2600
Support https://support.promise.com
Sales sales@eu.promise.com
Marketing marketing@eu.promise.com

APAC Phone +886-3-5782395
Support https://support.promise.com
Sales sales@tw.promise.com
Marketing marketing@tw.promise.com

VTrak x30 / Jx30 Series Letter of Volatility

2017-02-04T01:39:41.1870000

Letter of Volatility

How to set up a serial connection to a VTrak system and collect the logs using the command line interface

2017-01-10T23:50:12.7030000

How to set up a serial connection to a VTrak and collect all logs using the command line interface

You may encounter a situation where you need to collect information from a VTrak system for troubleshooting, and network access to the VTrak may be unavailable. The VTrak product line controllers have embedded serial data connection to allow access to the system’s Command Line Interface.

Each VTrak system includes two RJ11-to-DB9F cables in the Accessories box. These cables are used to establish a connection between the VTrak and any computer (PC, Mac, Linux) that has an embedded serial port or can use a USB-to-Serial adapter.

Promise RJ11-to-DB9F Cable

Note that you will need to have a terminal emulation application on your computer, or be familiar with any system tools that will allow you to access the serial port.

Serial Pinout

If you would like to build your own cable, follow the pinout diagram below:

Setting up a serial cable connection

First, plug the RJ11 end of the serial data cable in to the RJ11 serial connector on the left VTrak RAID controller.

VTrak system rear view - RJ11 serial connectors

Then, plug the DB9F end of the serial data cable in to either a computer serial port or a USB-Serial adapter.

USB-Serial Adapter

Computer Serial Port

Setting up a Terminal Emulator connection

To establish a serial connection between the computer and the VTrak, you have to use a Terminal emulation application. You have to determine which ‘COM’ port is being used by the serial port, and configure that port in the terminal application using the following serial protocol settings.

Baud rate = 115200

Data Bits = 8 bits

Parity = None

Stop Bits: 1

Flow Control: None

Press the Enter or Return key and you should see a login prompt in the terminal application. Use your login name and password to gain access. You should see the CLI prompt where you will enter the necessary commands:

administrator@cli

Collecting the log data

If the Terminal application has the ability to capture the session, enabling the logging to a file. Otherwise, you can copy the output from the Terminal and paste it in to a text file.

Below is a list of commands used to view the various configuration parameters and event logs of a VTrak system.

Once you have logged in, type each command separately and hit Enter between each command.

subsys -v
ctrl -v
enclosure -v
battery -v
net -v
bga
fc -v
fc -a list -t device
fc -a list -t initiator
phydrv
phydrv -v
array
array -v
logdrv
logdrv -v
lunmap
event
event -l nvram

Please note that the last command contains a lowercase L(l) and not the number one (1).

Once you have completed issuing all of these commands, Close and Save the Terminal session, or copy all of the session and paste it in to a text document.

This file will be required by the Promise Technical Support team if you have opened a support case.

If your Xsan volume doesn‘t automatically mount at startup

2016-12-12T17:22:29.9030000

Notice: This KB is a direct copy from Apple's site.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205706

If your Xsan volume doesn‘t automatically mount at startup

Learn what to do if Xsan volumes don't automatically mount at startup on Xsan clients running macOS Sierra or OS X El Capitan.

Xsan clients running macOS Sierra or OS X El Capitan might fail to automatically mount SAN volumes at startup. The failed mount attempts are visible in system log messages like this:

Mar  3 23:31:35 xsanclient1 kernel[0] <Notice>: Could not mount filesystem VolumeName, cvfs error 'No such device' (36)

An affected system should be able to mount SAN volumes manually within a few minutes of booting. You can mount a SAN volume using the xsanctl(8) command line utility:

    xsanctl mount VolumeName

Update Promise SANLink2 drivers

If you're using a Promise SANLink2 Fibre Channel host bus adapter, update your drivers to the latest version. Find latest drivers available from Promise.

SANLink2 Utility for Mac OS X

Update macOS Sierra

In macOSSierra 10.12.4 and later, the Xsan client tries to mount each volume five times by default. In most SANs, this should allow the mount to succeed at boot.

If your Xsan client is in large SANs with many LUNs, it might take longer for the system to discover all LUNs at boot. For these systems, you should increase the number of mount attempts using the mnt_retry mount option.

Delay Xsan startup

If problems persist after updating drivers and your macOS, you can work around the problem by delaying Xsan startup using the following steps:

1. Download but don't expand this file: "xsandelay.tgz"

2. Use the following Terminal command to install the necessary files:

    sudo darwinup install ~/Downloads/xsandelay.tgz

Adjust the above command as needed if the xsandelay.tgz file is not in your Downloads folder. This action will install these two files:

  /usr/local/libexec/xsandelay.py

  /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.support.ht205706.xsandelay.plist3.

3. Configure the `xsandelay.py` script to run automatically at startup by enabling its launchd job:

    sudo launchctl enable system/com.apple.support.ht205706.xsandelay

Reverting the changes

You can revert the changes made above and remove the files installed by the xsandelay.tgz archive by following these steps:

1. Use the following Terminal command to prevent the `xsandelay.py` script from running at startup:

    sudo launchctl disable system/com.apple.support.ht205706.xsandelay

2. Uninstall the script and its launchd.plist file with this command:

    sudo darwinup uninstall xsandelay.tgz

VAAI and the Ex30 and Vess 2000

2016-08-26T18:20:14.1930000

When ESXi creates a VMfs filesystem with storage that supports VAAI, ATS file locking will be used. If VAAI support is sisabled in the storage, ATS file locking will no longer work. As a result of this ESXi will be able see the LUN, but not the datastore.

With most storage VAAI cannot be enabled and disabled, so this will not be a problem. But with newer Promise Ex30 and Vess 2000 series firmware, there is a softswitch to enable or disable VAAI.

When updating from older firmware on the Ex30 and Vess 2000 series to the latest firmware, because there is no previous VAAI setting to inherit, the VAAI softswitch will be in the disabled position, and any ESXi server that the storage is connected to will no longer be able to see the datastore.

To see the datastore VAAIsupport must be re-enabled in the storage..

In the Vess 2000 series, VAAI can be enabled from WebPAM PROe. It is a controller setting and a reboot will be required for the setting to take effect.

It’s in System > Component List > Controller 1 > Settings.

The Ex30 does not have a GUI setting and VAAIsupport must be enabled or disabled in the CLI. The CLI command given works in both the Ex30 and the Vess 2000.

Enabling VAAI:

- Establish a telnet, ssh or serial connection to the VTrak or Vess 2000

On a command prompt type the following command using the IP of your subsystem management port. You will need the administrator password to login.

telnet example: telnet 192.168.1.10 2300
ssh example: ssh administrator@192.168.1.10

The CLI command to enable VAAI

administrator@cli> ctrl -a mod -s "VAAIsupport=enable"

Note: While the GUI gives a warning that a reboot is required, the CLI command does not. The VAAIsupport setting will take effect only after next subsystem reboot

A rescan in ESXi will show if any new LUNs are visible or if any existing LUNs are no longer visible, but it will not necessarily pick up any other changes to the storage, such as whether the VAAI (hardware acceleration) status has changed. As a result the ESXi server will also need to be rebooted.

ESXi will also work without VAAI. If a datastore is created with VAAI disabled, ATS file locking will not be used and the datastore will be visible whether VAAI is enabled or disabled. But if a datastore is created with VAAI enabled, ESXi will only be able to see the datastore when VAAI is enabled.

I'm looking for VTrak, Pegasus and SANLINK series products on the main Apple website but having trouble finding it

2016-04-08T12:59:17.2430000

VTrak series can be found by going to the following link location:

http://www.apple.com/us_smb_78313/search/VTrak?src=globalnav

You can use key words like Promise, VTrak, Sanlink and Pegasus to find Promise storage.

To get to the page from www.apple.com

Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on "Shop for your Busines" link:

This will take you to the following page:

http://www.apple.com/retail/business/

From there scroll down to:

"Shop now"

VTrak Ex50/Ex30/Ex10 Storage Best Practice Guide v1.3 - Updated October 2017

2011-04-13T09:14:26.0000000

Best Practice Guide

Promise^® VTrak Ex50, Ex30, and Ex10 Series External Disk Array Subsystems Best Practice Guide

October 2017 Version 1.3

About This Guide

This Best Practices Guide describes the recommended VTrak Ex50, VTrak Ex30, VTrak Ex10 configurations, settings and tips for achieving the best performance and stability. Reliable operation of Promise storage devices is dependent upon correct assembly, cabling, and configuration. Incorrect assembly, cabling or configuration can result in less the optimal performance and or stability problems. It is also important that only fully qualified hardware is used. A list of fully qualified hard drives can be found on the promise web-page www.promise.com. This guide It is intended for system administrators, storage architects, system integrators, and resellers who are planning to install or qualify VTrak Ex50, VTrak Ex30, and VTrak Ex10 series products

Terminology

Active - Active
Physical Drive (PD)
Disk Array (DA)
Logical Drive (LD)
Active – Active
LUN Affinity (LA)
Predictive Data Migration (PDM)
Bad Block Manager (BBM)
Background Activity (BGA)
Asynchronous LUN Unit Access (ALUA)
Operating System (OS)

Assembly

Assure that the following are correctly seated and locked in place:

Controllers
Power Supplies
Fan Trays

Assure that all cables are fully seated and locked in place.

SAS cables to HBA snapped into place
SAS cables between JBODs or JBODs, and the raidhead, Network connectors snapped into place
Power cables fully seated with wire lock in place
Drive Trays should be fully seated and locked
For adjacent drive trays, one tray needs to be seated and locked before the other drive tray is inserted (applicable to Ex10 not Ex30/Ex50)

Assure that all AAMUX adapters and drives are installed using the 4 screws provided by the manufacturer. Do not over-tighten screws (applicable if you integrate drives, new SKU comes with drives pre-integrated

Hard Drives installed with 4 screws
AAMUX adapters installed with 4 screws
Drive Firmware must be Promise qualified firmware

Code Set

Controller RAID Head + JBOD expander firmware should have the latest qualified specified builds

Firmware/Software
Expander on JBODs known as SEP version should be running respective version (check from JBOD IO Module RS232 connection using “enclosure –v” command or via CLI using “enclosure –v”)

Configuring the VTrak

This section lists best practices for configuring your VTrak Ex50, Ex30, and Ex10 series products Disk Arrays, Logical Disks, Controller settings and configuring Error Notification, followed by additional recommendations, and depth explanations on various functions and features.

DA/LD configuration is set by the user according to their performance, and capacity requirement needs. The following are strongly recommended:

A full synchronization or initialization should be run on every LD established
Use of LUN Affinity with ALUA or No ALUA (depending if the host OS is ALUA aware)
LD Preferred Controller IDs set to balance the load in 1DA:1LD configurations
More than 1 Sub LD with in a DA, avoid accessing SubLDs across both controllers
Number of recommended drives per DA/LD: For Raid6 10 PDs (8+2), for RAID 5 (8+1), from here you can change the configuration in terms of drive count, you should use the above as a base line. Our hardware XOR engine has been optimized to use 8 source disk to compute parity. To compute parity for more drives, we need to do multiple times, by adding more disks it will increase the time it takes to compute parity, thus the above optimal configuration.
Global Revertible Spares strongly recommended, and should always be used
Error handling thresholds are set automatically how ever the user may choose to change these if applicable (every application is different), see KB (applicable to Ex10, Ex30, and Ex50): https://kb.promise.com/thread/new-error-threshold-default-values-for-sr2-8?Keywords=SR2.6
Controller Settings, Forced Read Ahead: Enable or Disable (aggressive pre-fetch)

Controller Forced Read Ahead should be enabled for large block sequential access such as rich media type applications
Controller Forced Read Ahead should be disabled for Random IO type applications

Disable Physical Disk Cache for mission critical database type applications, this will insure data is written to disk in the event of a power outage occurs (LD cache is protected by the Vtrak battery)

Make sure one of the provided error notification methods is used.

Email Notification
SNMP

Single/Dual Controller Module

Depending on your application availability and performance requirements, you may choose either the single or dual controller module configuration. To achieve high availability and optimal performance, Promise recommends using the dual controller module configuration.

Memory and Battery Options

For high performance Promise recommends using two gigabytes of memory, on the controller, and four-cell battery for ample cache memory backup retention. For Ex30 series you can upgrade up to 4 gigabytes per controller, Battery is included.

If a RAID Head is shelved for more than 3 months its possible the battery may not be fully charged therefore reconditioning is recommended
The unit will recondition the battery on the default schedule of 1 time every 2 months on the 1st of the month (customizable)
Battery warranty is 1 year
The batteries can last longer than 3+ years if properly maintained

For more information, please see these Knowledge Base articles:

http://kb.promise.com/thread/why-does-the-cache-policy-change-from-write-back-to-write-thru-during-battery-reconditioning?Keywords=battery
http://kb.promise.com/thread/what-are-the-expected-battery-hold-times-on-my-ex10-series-subsystem?Keywords=battery
http://kb.promise.com/thread/why-can-t-my-bbu-retain-data-in-cache-for-more-than-72-hrs?Keywords=battery

Hard Drive

Promise recommends using high capacity, low cost enterprise-capable SATA drives or Native SAS drives. Please refer to the Promise VTrak Ex10, Ex30, Ex50 series compatibility matrix on the Promise website, under Support > Compatibility Matrix, for compatible hard drive models.

Recommended Settings

The following table lists the recommended settings for the VTrak Ex10, Ex30, Ex50 series:

Table 1. Recommended settings

Setting	Value	Rationale
Subsystem
Redundancy Type	Active-Active	Supports high availability and load balancing. The default setting is Active-Active.
Controller
LUN Affinity	Enabled	Ensures stability increased write performance
ALUA	Enabled or Disabled	Asynchronous LUN Unit Access (depends if OS supports it or not)
Force Read Ahead	Enabled or Disabled	Achieves the optimal performance for large block sequential reads such a rich media type applications. Should be disabled for random type IO applications
Adaptive Write Back Cache	Enabled	Protects the data integrity in case of Battery Backup Unit (BBU) failure or a low battery condition. The default setting is Enabled.
Auto Rebuild	Enabled	Enable Automatic Rebuild to replace bad drive or Predictive Drive Migration (PDM) to replace a drive that is going to fail. These actions improve data reliability by reducing or eliminating periods of lost redundancy. The default setting is Enabled.
SATA Physical Drive Settings
ReadAheadCache	Enabled	Helps to achieve the optimal performance for multiple stream backup/restore and deduplication. The default setting is Enabled.
Write Cache	Enabled	Helps to achieve the optimal write performance The default setting is Enabled.
Medium Error Threshold	64	This value is the number of bad blocks tolerated before the controller marks a physical drive as Dead. By enabling this setting, you can identify problem drives before they fail, thereby improving system performance and reliability. The default setting is 0, meaning disabled. Please refer the Knowledge Base on how to set Medium Error Threshold: http://www.promise.com/support/support_eng1.asp Search for keyword “Medium Error Threshold.”
PDM Error Block Threshold	128	Error Block Threshold will trigger Predictive Data Migration (PDM) when the physical drive error counters are exceeded on respective physical drive

Alert Notification

It is important to set up the alert notification on the Promise VTrak external disk array subsystem, as this feature notifies the system administrator and allows him to act accordingly in the event of any status change or failure condition. The administrator should set up event notification either through Email or Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) during the initial setup phase.

Usually, Email is a preferred notification method. In certain user environments, there may be an existing alert notification infrastructure that is based on a standard network management protocol such as SNMP. In this case, SNMP notification can be configured to integrate with the existing infrastructure.

For detailed instructions on how to configure event notification through Email and SNMP, please refer to the VTrak Product Manual. You can find all of the Product Manuals on the Promise website under the Downloads section (Support > Downloads).

Configuring the RAID

Promise VTrak E-Class external disk array subsystems support RAID levels of 0, 1, 1E, 10, 5, 6, 50 and 60. It also supports the mixing of different RAID level volumes in the same disk group to meet the requirements of different application performance profiles. This section provides the proven sample configurations scripts so you can build your own.

Global Revertible Hot Spare

To achieve the best reliability and manageability, Promise recommends configuring all of the spares as global revertible hot spares. The advantage of global revertible hot spares is that each of the hot spares can be used for rebuilding the same logical drive or different logical drives, in the same enclosure or in different enclosures. Therefore, when there are unevenly distributed drive issues, there are still enough hot spares to provide coverage and to allow RAID redundancy to be restored in the shortest time frame. As revertible spares, when the rebuild completes and the failed drive is replaced with a new drive, the used spare will automatically be freed up and become a revertible spare again after the reversion process, called Transition, initiates and completes in the background. Due to reliability considerations, Promise does not recommend mixing drives from different enclosures in the same disk array. Therefore, when a rebuild completes through using a hot spare from a different enclosure, Promise recommends replacing the failed drive as soon as possible. When the new drive is inserted, Transition will start automatically in the background. Eventually, the disk array will consist of drives in the same enclosure again. The follow diagram illustrates how global revertible hot spares work.

Sample Configuration Script with 1DA:LD with LA + ALUA Disabled and other recommended settings:

#Begin Copy

# Promise VTrak E-Class configuration script

ctrl -a mod -i 1 –s "lunaffinity=enable,alua=disable,cacheflushinterval=12,adaptivewbcache=disable,hostcacheflushing=disable,forcedreadahead=disable

"ctrl -a mod -i 2 –s "lunaffinity=enable,alua=disable,cacheflushinterval=12,adaptivewbcache=disable,hostcacheflushing=disable,forcedreadahead=disable"

# SMART setting = disabled

ctrl -a mod -s "smart=disable"

# Delete any existing arrays

# Delete array 0 thru 2

# Build DATA LUN

# RAID level: 6

# Configuration options: Capacity all (default), 64k stripe size (default),

# 512K sector (default), Read Ahead, Write Back

#Qty 1 Logical Disks Per Disk Array

array -a add -p 1~10 -s "alias=DA0" -c 1 –l "alias=LD0,raid=6,stripe=64kb,readpolicy=readahead,writepolicy=writeback,preferredctrlid=1"

# Build DATA LUN

# RAID level: 6

# Configuration options: Capacity all (default), 64k stripe size (default),

# 512K sector (default), Read Ahead, Write Back

#Qty 1 Logical Disks Per Disk Array

array -a add -p 11~20 -s "alias=DA1" -c 1 -l "alias=LD1,raid=6,stripe=64kb,readpolicy=readahead,writepolicy=writeback,preferredctrlid=2"

# Set up global spares

# Physical Drives: 21~24

# Type: Global spares, Revertible

spare -a add -p 21 -t g -r y

spare -a add -p 22 -t g -r y

spare -a add -p 23 -t g -r y

spare -a add -p 24 -t g -r y

#BGA error handling thresholds

bga -a mod -s "BBMThreshold=1024"

bga -a mod -s "ErrorBlock=128"

#Additional PD (Physical Drive) settings for improved error handling

phydrv -a mod -s "MediumErrorThreshold=64"

#Quick Init

init -a start -l 0 -q 1024

init -a start -l 1 -q 1024

#init -a start -l 2 -q 1024

#init -a start -l 3 -q 1024

# END

#End Copy

Sample Configuration Script highlighting LA + ALUA Enabled with Forced Read Ahead Disabled

# Promise VTrak E-Class configuration script

ctrl -a mod -i 1 –s "lunaffinity=enable,alua=enable,cacheflushinterval=12,adaptivewbcache=disable,hostcacheflushing=disable,forcedreadahead=disable

"ctrl -a mod -i 2 –s "lunaffinity=enable,alua=enable,cacheflushinterval=12,adaptivewbcache=disable,hostcacheflushing=disable,forcedreadahead=disable"

Sample Configuration Script highlighting Multiple Sub LDs per Disk Array with Preferred Controller ID’s Optimally Set to the same Controller

# Build DATA LUN

# RAID level: 6

# Configuration options: Capacity all (default), 64K stripe size (default),

# 512K sector (default), Read Ahead, Write Back

#Qty 2 LDs Per DA

#Preferred controller ID set to 1

array -a add -p 1~10 -s "alias=DA0,mediapatrol=enable"

array -a addld -d 0 -c 2 -l "raid=6,stripe=64kb,readpolicy=readahead,writepolicy=writeback,preferredctrlid=1"

logdrv -a mod -l0 -s "alias=LD0"

logdrv -a mod -l1 -s "alias=LD1"

# Build DATA LUN

# RAID level: 6

# Configuration options: Capacity all (default), 64K stripe size (default),

# 512K sector (default), Read Ahead, Write Back

#Qty 2 LDs Per DA

#Preferred controller ID set to 2

array -a add -p 11~20 -s "alias=DA0,mediapatrol=enable"

array -a addld -d 0 -c 2 -l "raid=6,stripe=64kb,readpolicy=readahead,writepolicy=writeback,preferredctrlid=1"

logdrv -a mod -l0 -s "alias=LD2"

logdrv -a mod -l1 -s "alias=LD3"

Summary

This Best Practice Guide will play a significant role in the reliability, stability, and performance with the Promise Vtrak E-Class. Promise VTrak E-Class external disk array subsystem is a versatile storage solution that can support many different application requirements. In order to achieve the best performance when planning installation with Promise VTrak E-Class external disk array subsystem, please follow the guidelines in this Best Practices Guide and refer to the additional resources specified in this paper.