VTrak Other Articles

VTrak S3000 Perfect Path User Manual

2013-11-21T16:32:21.0000000

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VTrak S3000 Snapshot Director User Manual

2013-11-21T16:29:37.0000000

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VTrak S3000 Storage Replication Adapter User Manual

2013-11-21T16:27:11.0000000

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VTrak S3000 Recovery Agents User Manual

2013-11-21T16:23:17.0000000

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VTrak S3000 Quick Start Guide

2013-11-21T16:15:17.0000000

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How to Resolve a certificate error by Importing Root Certificate for IE 8 or higher

2012-01-30T16:58:07.0000000

Error: Connecting the Promise VTrak subsystem through an Internet browser causes a certification error.

Please follow the step by step instruction document attached to resolve this problem.

Attachments:

"Import Promise Root CA Certificate" docx

Promise root certificate zip file

VTrak 15200 requires Microsoft iSCSI initiator v1.06

2011-11-23T11:01:47.0000000

The VTrak 15200 requires Microsoft iSCSI initiator v1.06. This is the only Microsoft iSCSI initiator that will mount the VTrak.

New v2.x initiators, like those available now from Microsoft, are not compatible. The 2.x initiator will not let the VTrak mount.

You must use Microsoft iSCSI initiator v1.06 with the VTrak 15200.

Initiator 1.06 is download is attached to this KB article.

Why on Mx10i does performance drop when transferring large files

2011-03-08T14:12:51.0000000

KB 10299 Mx10i Immediate Data setting causing slow IO and possible controller reset Date: 3/8/2011

What does the Immediate Data Parameter do:

To reduce protocol overhead, iSCSI allows the initiator to send out WRITE commands with small IO data packets (e.g. 4K), this improves response time.

Problem Description

Recently we encountered a problem on Mx10i with Immediate Data enabled in the following environment:

Initiator: VMWare ESXi 4.1 iSCSI initiator

Target: Mx10i with Immediate Data enable

Operation:

1. Install Ubuntu 10.04 as a guest OS of ESXi

2. Use ESXi iSCSI initiator to login Mx10i

3. Map a LUN as a raw device for Ubuntu

4. Create filesystem on the raw device in Ubuntu

5. Use dd to write a big file on the filesystem

Symptom:

IO is very slow and a watchdog reset may occur. See Appendix

Cause

The firmware/driver of the iSCSI controller has compatibility problems while Immediate Data is enabled. For this case, iSCSI session reconstruction happens frequently and the IO becomes slow. We have seen where this corner case causes Mx10i error handling and a possible watchdog reset.

Solution

Disable Immediate Data for this case. To disable ImmediateData you must use the advance mode in CLU:

1)   Log into the command line via Serial, ssh or telnet to port 2300
2)   At the CLI Prompt, type Menu
3)   Highlight iSCSI Management. Do not hit enter to go to the next menu level.
4)   Press “CTRL” + “SHIFT” + “-“ (Control Shift Minus) keys at the same time. The iSCSI management option should change to Advanced iSCSI Management
5)   Choose Advanced iSCSI Management
6)   Choose Node Settings You may need to choose which iSCSI port and disable this setting for both ports.
7)   Disable ImmediateData
8)   Save the change
9)   Reboot the VTrak

Appendix

Output from the debug console log while big file WRITE’s are in progress with ImmediateData enabled, messages will repeat frequently:

sbist_ack_data_transfer(): READ failue result=4, pFeCmdResp=65129034 CDB2A

sbist_ack_data_transfer(): READ failue result=4, pFeCmdResp=650de034 CDB2A

sbist_ack_data_transfer(): READ failue result=4, pFeCmdResp=6511d034 CDB2A

sbist_ack_data_transfer(): READ failue result=4, pFeCmdResp=650f7034 CDB2A

sbist_ack_data_transfer(): READ failue result=4, pFeCmdResp=6511e034 CDB2A

FDIO_WARN: Fail to send status for 65106034

FDIO_WARN: Fail to send status for 650ea034

FDIO_WARN: Fail to send status for 65105034

FDIO_WARN: Fail to send status for 650ff034

FDIO_WARN: Fail to send status for 6512b034

FDIO_WARN: Fail to send status for 6512e034

FDIO_WARN: Fail to send status for 65128034

fdIOReleaseFedResource 915 65129034

fdIOReleaseFedResource 916 FF

fdIOReleaseFedResource 917 62EF2A50

fdIOReleaseFedResource 922 0

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 61ce9430 650f1034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657c9850 650da034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657c3a50 65124034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 61ce9550 65100034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657c36f0 65111034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657bdc50 6511e034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657cf9d0 650de034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657c57d0 6511d034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 62ef5210 650f7034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657c4370 65106034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657cb5d0 650ea034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657c3b70 65105034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 61ceb750 650ff034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 63297c50 6512b034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657bf790 6512e034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657d0bd0 65128034 *****

*****sbist_internal_task_abort 657c93d0 650d3034 *****

fdIOReleaseFedResource 915 650de034

fdIOReleaseFedResource 916 FF

fdIOReleaseFedResource 917 657CF9D0

fdIOReleaseFedResource 922 0

fdIOReleaseFedResource 915 6511d034

fdIOReleaseFedResource 916 FF

fdIOReleaseFedResource 917 657C57D0

fdIOReleaseFedResource 922 0

fdIOReleaseFedResource 915 650f7034

fdIOReleaseFedResource 916 FF

fdIOReleaseFedResource 917 62EF5210

fdIOReleaseFedResource 922 0

fdIOReleaseFedResource 915 6511e034

Does Promise implement RAID 0+1 or 1+0?

2010-11-19T11:39:06.0000000

KB 10294 Does Promise implement RAID 0+1 or 1+0?

As it is understood, Promise’s implementation is 0+1. However functionality is that of RAID 1+0, for example: When one disk in the striped set is forced offline or fails, its disk mirror will take over IO, it is not treated like a RAID 0 stripe under the mirror. Though highly improbable, it is possible to lose 10 drives in a 20 drive RAID 0+1 or 1+0. Functionally the two are synonymous within the Promise RAID architecture.

RAID 10 provides high availability by combining features of RAID 0 and RAID 1.

Why are my WD Drives dropping out of arrays?

2010-10-14T14:46:03.0000000

KB 10293 - Why are my WD drives dropping out of my Promise arrays?

Why when using Western Digital Caviar Green drives in RAID configurations the drives often drop off and out of the array?

On WD’s website, there are updates to this product documentation. WD recommends not use these drives for enterprise 24/7 use or use in expansion chassis or with enterprise class HBAs.

For more information regarding this and other recommendations see the following:

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=773

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701229.pdf

Excerpt from the articles above:

“Ideal For

Environmentally friendly PCs and external storage requiring lower power consumption and cool, quiet operation.

Desktop / Consumer RAID Environments - WD Caviar Green Hard Drives are tested and recommended for use in consumer-type RAID applications (Raid-0 / RAID-1).*

*Business Critical RAID Environments – WD Caviar Green Hard Drives are not recommended for and are not warranted for use in RAID environments utilizing Enterprise HBAs and/or expanders and in multi-bay chassis, as they are not designed for, nor tested in, these specific types of RAID applications. For all Business Critical RAID applications, please consider WD’s Enterprise Hard Drives that are specifically designed with RAID-specific, time-limited error recovery (TLER), are tested extensively in 24x7 RAID applications, and include features like enhanced RAFF technology and thermal extended burn-in testing. “

Does Promise support Seagate Cheetah 15K.7 16MB or 64MB cache drives?

2010-10-08T15:59:52.0000000

KB 10291 - Does Promise support Seagate Cheetah 15K.7 16MB or 64MB cache drives?

For SR2.6 Promise supports Seagate Cheetah 15K.7 with 16MB cache drives (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&vgnextoid=6664470bd8cc1210VgnVCM1000001a48090aRCRD#TabContentSpecifications)

Though currently the SR 2.6 Compatibility List (http://www.promise.com/media_bank/Download%20Bank/Compatibility/E-Class_Compatibility_List_SR2.6.pdf) reports we support Seagate Cheetah 15K.7 64MB cache drives. We will correct this and repost the SR 2.6 Compatibility List accordingly.

Why does netsend start automatically when it’s set to manual?

2010-10-08T15:55:08.0000000

KB 10290 - Why does netsend start automatically when it’s set to manual?

We found that setting netsend to manually start is not persistent across restarts. The issue has been identified and will be fixed in a future release. To work around this issue following a power cycle/reboot/restart use CLI/WebPAM to manually stop the netsend protocol. For CLI: swmgt –n netsent stop For WebPAM Pro: go to the Software Management page.

What's the difference between Asynchronous and Synchronous Mirrors?

2010-09-14T14:27:39.0000000

VTrak S3000 Mirroring FAQ's

1. What is VTrak S3000 Mirroring?

Mirroring provides high availability by minimizing the down time that can occur if a physical disk fails. The mirror can be defined with disks that are not necessarily identical to each other in terms of vendor, type, or even interface (SCSI, FC, iSCSI).

With mirroring, the primary disk is the disk that is used to read/write data for a SAN Client and the mirrored copy is a copy of the primary. Both disks are attached to a single storage server and are considered a mirrored pair. If the primary disk fails, the disks swap roles so that the mirrored copy becomes the primary disk.

There are two Mirroring options, Synchronous Mirroring and Asynchronous Mirroring.

2. What is Synchronous Mirroring?

The VTrak S3000 Synchronous Mirroring option offers the ability to define a synchronous mirror for any VTrak S3000managed disk (virtualized or service-enabled).

In the Synchronous Mirroring design, each time data is written to a designated disk, the same data is simultaneously written to another disk. This disk maintains an exact copy of the primary disk. In the event that the primary disk is unable to read/write data when requested to by a SAN Client, the VTrak S3000 seamlessly swaps data functions to the mirrored copy disk.

3. What is Asynchronous Mirroring?

VTrak S3000’s Asynchronous Mirroring Option offers the ability to define a near real- time mirror for any VTrak S3000-managed disk (virtual or service-enabled) over long distances between data centers.

When you configure an asynchronous mirror, you create a dedicated cache resource and associate it to a VTrak S3000-managed disk. Once the mirror is created, the primary and secondary disks are synchronized. This process does not involve the application server. After the synchronization is complete, all write-requests from the associated application server are sequentially delivered to the dedicated cache resource. This data is then committed to both the primary and its mirror as a separate background process. For added protection, the cache resource can also be mirrored.

4. What are the VTrak S3000 requirements for mirroring?

The following are the requirements for setting up a mirroring configuration:

• The mirrored devices must be composed of one or more hard disks.
• The mirrored devices must both be accessible from the same storage server.
• The mirrored devices must be the same size. If you try to expand the primary disk, the VTrak S3000 will also expand
the mirrored copy to the same size.
• A mirror of a disk with thin provisioning must be another disk with thin provisioning.

Note: For asynchronous mirroring, if you want to preserve the write order of data that is being mirrored asynchronously, you should create a group for your SAN Resources and enable HyperCache-W for the group. This is useful for large databases that span over multiple devices. In such situations, the entire group of devices is acting as one huge device that contains the database. When changes are made to the database, it may involve different places on different devices, and the write order needs to be preserved over the group of devices in order to preserve database integrity.

Groups: The Group feature allows virtual drives and service enabled drives to be grouped together. Groups can be created for different reasons, for continuous protection purposes, for snapshot synchronization, for organizational purposes, or for caching using the HyperCache-W option. Snapshot synchronization builds on the VTrak S3000 snapshot technology, which ensures point-in-time consistency for data recovery purposes. Snapshots for all resources in a group are taken at the same time whenever a snapshot is triggered. Working in conjunction with the database-aware Snapshot Agents, groups ensure transactional integrity for database or messaging files that reside on multiple disks. You can create up to 64 groups. When you create a group, you can configure SnapShot, Backup, Replication, and HyperCache-W (and, indirectly, asynchronous mirroring) for the entire group. All members of the group get configured the same way.

5. What is Nearline Mirroring?

Near-line mirroring allows production data to be synchronously mirrored to a protected disk that resides on a second storage server. You can enable near-line mirroring for a single SAN Resource or multiple resources. With near-line mirroring, the primary disk is the disk that is used to read/write data for a SAN Client and the mirrored copy is a copy of the primary. Each time data is written to the primary disk, the same data is simultaneously written to the mirror disk. SnapShot can be configured on the near-line server to create recovery points. The near-line mirror can also be replicated for disaster recovery protection.

If the primary disk fails, you can initiate recovery from the near-line server and roll back to a valid point-in-time.

6. What are the VTrak S3000 requirements for nearline mirroring?

The following are the requirements for setting up a near-line mirroring configuration:
• The primary server cannot be configured to replicate to the near-line server.
• At least one protocol (FC or iSCSI) must be enabled on the near-line server.
• If you are using the FC protocol for your near-line mirror, zone the appropriate initiators on your primary server with the targets on your near- line server. For recovery purposes, zone the appropriate initiators on your near-line server with the targets on your primary server.

7. What is Replication?

Replication is the process by which a SAN Resource maintains a copy of itself either locally or at a remote site. The data is copied, distributed, and then synchronized to ensure consistency between the redundant resources. The SAN Resource being replicated is known as the primary disk. The changed data is transmitted from the primary to the replica disk so that they are synchronized. Under normal operation, clients do not have access to the replica disk. If a disaster occurs and the replica is needed, the administrator can promote the replica to become a SAN Resource so that clients can access it. Replica disks can be configured for VTrak S3000 storage services, including backup, mirroring, or Snapshot, which can be useful for viewing the contents of the disk or recovering files.

Replication can be set to occur continuously or at set intervals (based on a schedule or watermark).

For performance purposes and added protection, data can be compressed or encrypted during replication.

8. What is Remote Replication?

Remote replication allows fast, data synchronization of storage volumes from one VTrak S3000 appliance to another over the IP network.

With remote replication, the replica disk is located on a separate VTrak S3000 appliance, called the target server.

9. What is Local Replication?

Local replication allows fast, data synchronization of storage volumes within one VTrak S3000 appliance. It can be used within metropolitan area Fibre Channel SANs, or can be used with IP-based Fibre Channel extenders.

With local replication, the replica disk is connected to the VTrak S3000 appliance via a gateway using edge routers or protocol converters. Because there is only one VTrak S3000 appliance, the primary and target servers are the same server.

10. How does Replication work?

Replication works by transmitting changed data from the primary disk to the replica disk so that the disks are synchronized. How frequently replication takes place depends on several factors.

Delta Replication:
With standard, delta replication, a snapshot is taken of the primary disk at prescribed intervals based on the criteria you set (schedule and/or watermark value).

Continuous Replication:
With the VTrak S3000 Continuous Replication, data from the primary disk is continuously replicated to a secondary disk unless the system determines it is not practical or possible, such as when there is insufficient bandwidth. In these types of situations the system automatically switches to delta replication. After the next regularly- scheduled replication takes place, the system automatically switches back to continuous replication.

For continuous replication to occur, a Continuous Replication Resource is used to stage the data being replicated from the primary disk. Similar to a cache, as soon as data comes into the Continuous Replication Resource, it is written to the replica disk. The Continuous Replication Resource is created during the replication configuration. There are several events that will cause continuous replication to switch back to delta replication, including when:

• The Continuous Replication Resource is full due to insufficient bandwidth
• The VTrak S3000 appliance is restarted
• After failover occurs
• You perform the Replication --> Scan option
• You add a resource to a group configured for continuous replication
• Continuous Replication Resource is offline
• The target server IP address is changed

11. What are the VTrak S3000 requirements for replication?

The following are the requirements for setting up a replication configuration:

• (Remote replication) You must have two storage servers.
• (Remote replication) You must have write access to both Servers.
• You must have enough space on the target server for the replica and for the Snapshot Resource.
• Both clocks should be synchronized so that the timestamp matches.
• In order to replicate to a disk with thin provisioning, the size of the SAN resource must be equal to or greater
than 10GB (the minimum permissible size of a thin disk).

How come I am unable to save a subsystem service report on firmware SR2.6?

2010-07-16T16:41:47.0000000

If your login password is comprised of any non-alphanumeric characters, you will not be able to save a subsystem service report while using firmware SR2.6. Please change your password so it contains ONLY alphanumeric characters to correct this issue.

SR2.6 Mis-labels MediaPatrolBlock in Online Help

2010-07-16T15:14:46.0000000

When using SR2.6, you find that the "MediaPatrolThreshold" command is mis-labeled as "MediaPatrolBlock" in the online help. Please use "MediaPatrolThreshold" instead. Example:

administrator@cli> bga -a mod -s "MediaPatrolThreshold=2048”

How do I tell if my controller is revision B1 or B3?

2010-07-16T14:25:26.0000000

In order to determine if your controller is revision B1 or B3, you must find the serial number of the CONTROLLER - which is located in controller information:

[Controller Info]

----------------------------------------------------------------

CtrlId: 1

Alias:

OperationalStatus: OK PowerOnTime: 3075 hours 12 minutes

ControllerRole: Primary ReadinessStatus:Active

LUNAffinity: Enabled LunmappingMethod: WWN Based

CacheUsagePercentage: 0% DirtyCachePercentage:0%

PartNo: F29000022000033 SerialNo:M42H09709900268

HWRev: A2R1.5 WWN: 2100-0001-55d2-3e1

CmdProtocol: SCSI-3

MemType: DDR2 SDRAM MemSize: 2GB

FlashType: Flash Memory FlashSize:32MB

NVRAMType: SRAM NVRAMSize: 127KB

The numbers which we will concern ourselves with are the six digits which follow the "H":

SerialNo: M42H09709900268On a Fiber Channel controller, if this number is greater than 08x110, then the controller is revision B3 or higher.
On a SAS controller, if this number is greater than 09x031, then the controller is revision B3 or higher.

Why is SLES 11 NOT supported for SAS front-end Ex10 series?

2010-07-16T14:04:22.0000000

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 is not supported with SAS front-end Ex10 series Vtraks. There is a known issue during fail-over which causes the OS kernel to panic when it clears the kernel structure for SAS port information.

Does Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.3 support ALUA?

2010-07-09T12:52:34.0000000

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 does not work properly with ALUA. Please update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 for full ALUA support.

How do I set up ALUA in Linux?

2010-07-09T12:23:33.0000000

AsymmetricLogical Unit Access (ALUA) is a new feature on VTrak. VTrak supports ALUA on the latest Linuxdistributions:

• RedHat LinuxRHEL 5.4

• SuSE Linux SLES 10 SP3

• SuSE Linux SLES 11

Promise provides RPM packages and multipath.conf files forALUA. Please download them here:

http://www.promise.com/support/download.aspx?m=205&region=en-US&rsn1=24

RedHat Linux RHEL 5.4

To support ALUA within RHEL 5.4 using the default kernel (without XEN or PAE

support):

1. installthe new scsi_dh_alua RPM package.

#> rpm -ivh scsi_dh_alua_VTrak-1-1.i386(x86_64).rpm

2. Copy the Promise-supplied multipath.conf file to the /etc directory.

#> cp multipath.conf-vtrak-alua-rhel5-4 /etc/multipath.conf

To support ALUA within RHEL 5.4 using XEN or PAE:

1. Rebuild the scsi_dh_alua file with the source RPM package.

#> rpm -ivh scsi_dh_alua_VTrak-1-1.src.rpm

#> cd /usr/src/redhat/SPEC

#> rpmbuild -ba scsi_dh_alau.spec

2. Copy the Promise-supplied multipath.conf file to the /etc directory.

#> cp multipath.conf-vtrak-alua-rhel5-4 /etc/multipath.conf

3. Check your file system architecture ( x86_64/i386).

#> uname -a

4. Move therebuilt RPM package to the RPM directory.

#> cd /usr/src/redhat/RPM/i386 (x86_64)

5. Install the rebuilt RPM package.

#> rpm -ivh scsi_dh_alua_VTrak-1-1.i386(x86_64).rpm

SuSE Linux SLES 10 SP3

To support ALUA within SLES10 SP3:

1. Do one ofthe following actions.

• Remove the current multipath-tools package and install the new RPM

package.

#> rpm -ev multipath-tools-xxx

#> rpm -ivh multipath-tools-0.4.7-

34.50.10.ass.fix.i586(x86_64).rpm

• Force install the new multipath-tool RPM package.

#> rpm -ivh -force multipath-tools-0.4.7-

34.50.10.ass.fix.i586(x86_64).rpm

2. Copy the Promise-supplied multipath.conf file to the /etc directory.

#> cp multipath.conf-vtrak-alua-sles10-sp3 /etc multipath.conf

3. Set torun at boot time.

#> chkconfig multipathd on

#> chkconfig boot.multipath on

4. Check multipathstatus.

#> chkconfig multipathd

#> chkconfig boot.multipath

5. Reboot the VTrak.

SuSE Linux SLES 11

To support ALUA within SLES11:

1. Check your system architecture( x86_64/i386).

#> uname -a

2. Install the multipath-tool library RPM package.

#> rpm -ivh multipath-promise-suse11-0.4.8-

1.i586(x86_64).rpm

3. Copy the Promise-supplied multipath.conf file to the /etc directory.

#> cp multipath.conf-vtrak-alua-sles11 /etc multipath.conf

4. Set to run at boot time.

#> chkconfig multipathd on

5. Check multipath status.

#> chkconfig multipathd

6. Reboot the VTrak.

When using both SSD and standard HDD in the same chassis, how come I cannot create a single logical drive when using Auto or Express configuration?

2010-07-09T11:58:15.0000000

This is the default behavior by design because SSD’s and HDD’scannot be mixed together in a RAID group when creating an array.

Why am I receiving Watch Dog timer resets after flashing SR2.6 firmware

2010-07-08T16:50:08.0000000

*Per the download instructions for SR2.6, it is highly recommended to be running matching firmware on both the E-class and all attached J-classes for the subsystem to function properly*

If you have a Jx10 JBOD attached to an Ex10 RAID-head withmismatched expander firmware, you may experience problems when running IO.

To check the firmware revision for your enclosure(s) usingWebPAM, navigate to Administrative Tools > Software Management > ImageVersion. Look for “SEP Firmware” underEnclosure 1.

Next, check the “SEP Firmware” for Enclosure 2. If Enclosure 2’s version is older thanEnclosure 1’s, you have two options to update the firmware on the JBOD:

You can re-flash the Vtrak’s firmware with SR2.6 with the JBOD(s) connected and powered on. The firmware will update the expanders in the JBOD via an in-band flash process.
You can download the Promise utility - which has the ability to update the firmware on ONLY the JBOD expanders.

Both firmware update methods will require you to physically power-cycle the Vtrak via the power switches on the rear.

How do I enable or disable ALUA on SR2.6 firmware

2010-07-07T16:17:18.0000000

ALUA stands for Asymmetric Logical Unit Access.

By default, ALUA is disabled on SR2.6 firmware.

In order to enable ALUA, the user must follow this process:

Make sure all E-classes are updated with SR2.6 firmware.
Update to the new Perfect Path package on any/all hosts attached to the Vtrak(s).

*If running a Windows non-ALUA compliant OS or non-Windows based OS, please reference the SR 2.6 compatibility list found on the Promise website to determine if the OS is tested and supported with ALUA enabled option.*

In order to enable ALUA, you must toggle the LUN Affinity setting.

Note: Please make sure the host systems are either off or have the Vtrak storage unmounted during this step.

WebPAMProE:

a. Navigate to Controllers > Controller 1 > Settings

b. Uncheck the “Enable LUN Affinity” box and then click “Submit”

c. Re-check the “Enable LUN Affinity” box and then click “Submit”

d. Verify ALUA is properly enabled in Controllers > Controller 1 > Information > Advanced Controller Information:

CLI via Telnet/SSH/Serial Console:

a. Disable LUN Affinity using this command:

administrator@cli> ctrl -a mod -s "lunaffinity=disable”

b. Enable LUN Affinity using this command:

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

c. Verify ALUA is enabled:

administrator@cli> ctrl -v

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

CtrlId: 1

Alias:

OperationalStatus: OK PowerOnTime: 20 hours 27 minutes

ControllerRole: Primary ReadinessStatus: Active

LUNAffinity: Enabled LunmappingMethod: WWN Based

CacheUsagePercentage: 0% DirtyCachePercentage: 0%

RevertibleDedicatedSpareUsed: 0

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: Disabled

ALUA: Enabled PowerSavingIdleTime: Never

PowerSavingStandbyTime: Never PowerSavingStoppedTime: Never

In order to disable ALUA, the user must follow this process:

Certain users running a non-ALUA compliant OS with LUN Affinity Enabled will want to disable ALUA. ALUA is automatically disabled if LUN Affinity is disabled. If you would like to disable ALUA with LUN Affinity enabled, you must use the CLI via Telnet/SSH/Serial Console interface to access this setting:

administrator@cli> ctrl -a mod -s "ALUA=disable”

New Error Threshold default values for SR2.8

2010-07-07T11:12:37.0000000

New Error Threshold default values for SR2.8

This article describes new error threshold default values for Service Release 2.8 ofVTrak E-class firmware.

This table represents the old and new values:

	Earlier Releases	SR 2.8
Reassigned Block Threshold (BBM Threshold)	32 (Not Enforced)	1024
Error Block Threshold (Media Patrol Threshold)	32	128
Medium Error Threshold	Not set	64
SMART	enabled	disabled

Default value changes will take effect under the following conditions:

The controller came from the factory with the new firmware.
A factory defaults restore was issued.
Values were manually set in WebPAMPro, cli, or clu.

Definitions

Reassigned Block Threshold, also called Bad Block Manager Threshold (BBM Threshold), reads the grown defect list on SAS drives (known as the “G List”). On SATA drives, the BBM reads the DDF area written to the drive by the VTrak firmware. Please note that the BBM count can only be cleared on SATA drives, andthe array information must be deleted first. If the BBM threshold has been reached, PDM will begin.

PDM- Pleaserefer to http://kb.promise.com/thread/what-is-predictive-data-migration-pdm

Error Block Threshold is also called the Media Patrol Threshold. If the threshold has been reached, PDM will begin. Media Patrol Threshold isattributed to I/O errors occurring during read/write operations:

PdId: 3
OperationalStatus: OK
Alias:
PhysicalCapacity: 931.51GB            ConfigurableCapacity:931.32GB
UsedCapacity: 931.32GB                BlockSize:512Bytes
ConfigStatus: Array0 SeqNo1           Location:Encl1 Slot3
ModelNo: SEAGATE ST31000640SS         VisibleTo: AllControllers
SerialNo: 9QJ5AM78                    FirmwareVersion:0003
DriveInterface: SAS 3Gb/s             Protocol:SPC-3
WWN: 5000-c500-1003-839f              NumOfPorts:2
Port1Speed: 3Gb/s                     Port2Speed:3Gb/s
Port1SASAddress: 50-00-c5-00-10-03-83-9d
Port2SASAddress: 50-00-c5-00-10-03-83-9e
WriteCacheSupport: Yes                WriteCache:Enabled
RLACacheSupport: Yes                  RLACache:Enabled
ReadCacheSupport: Yes                 ReadCache:Enabled
CmdQueuingSupport: Yes                CmdQueuing:Enabled
MediumErrorThreshold: 0
Errors: 0                             NonRWErrors:0
ReadErrors: 0                          WriteErrors:0
DriveTemperature: 34C/93F             ReferenceDriveTemperature:68C/154F

Medium Error Threshold is a global physical drive setting. The value is the number of bad blocks tolerated before the controller marks the drive as dead. The value can be set from 0 to 4294967294. The threshold only functions when the array is in an OK orDegraded state. It will not function if the array is critical or if anonredundant RAID type (Raid 0) is used.

SMART stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. If enabled, a polling interval can be assigned. SMART will report errors detected on the disk and PDM will start if the threshold has been reached.

Configuration

CLI:

BBM Threshold– (1~2048)

administrator@cli>bga -a mod -s "BBMThreshold=1024"

MediaPatrol Threshold – (1~2048)

administrator@cli>bga -a mod -s "ErrorBlock=128"

MediumError Threshold – (0~4294967294)

administrator@cli>phydrv -a mod -s "MediumErrorThreshold=64"

SMART

administrator@cli>ctrl -a mod -s "smart=disable"

CLU:

BBMThreshold and Media Patrol Threshold

MediumError Threshold

SMART

WebPAMProE:

MediumError Threshold

BBMThreshold and Media Patrol Threshold

SMART

NOTE: Separate from these values, a physical drive will always be marked deadif 5 timeouts are experienced within a 30 minute time period.

Warning: Only BBM threshold will be enforced as soon SR 2.8 code is flashed!

Additional information: SR 2.5 code and prior did not enforce BBM for SAS drives. Although the default value was 32, it was never enforced in SR 2.5 or prior I.e. PDM would not be triggered.
With SR 2.6 any prior set value will be invoked (user configurable parameter). Flashing the firmware to SR 2.8 with out first increasing the value from 32 to 512 may result in multiple PDMs to kick in. The trigger in SR 2.6 or greater is dependent on the BBM threshold on each individual SAS drive (not applicable to SATA).

Recommendation:

Set the “Reassigned Block Threshold" - aka "BBM Threshold” in SR2.8 - to 512 prior to upgrading. All other settings will not be invoked. To change the setting from CLI, use this command:

administrator@cli>bga -a mod -s "reassignedblock=512"

After the upgrade to SR2.8 is complete, you can then optionally change this value to its maximum threshold:

administrator@cli>bga -a mod -s "BBMthreshold=1024"

RelatedArticles:

“KB-10152 PDM”

http://kb.promise.com/thread/what-is-predictive-data-migration-pdm

“KB-10170 Best Practices for Data Protection”

http://kb.promise.com/thread/best-practices-for-data-protection

“KB-10268 SR2.6 Mis-labels MediaPatrolBlock in Online Help"

http://kb.promise.com/thread/sr2-6-mis-labels-mediapatrolblock-in-online-help

Common Causes of EXTERNAL BUS RESETS to appear in the VTrak Logs

2010-06-15T13:42:28.0000000

Common Causes of EXTERNAL BUS RESETS to appear in the VTrak Logs.

The External Bus Reset error is seen when the connection between the VTrak and the SCSI HBA times out. The VTrak sends out a command to try and reestablish the connection. This produces the External Bus Reset event in the event log of the VTrak.

Common Causes:

1: An External Bus Reset event naturally occurs if the server that is connected to VTrak is rebooted. You will see one when the server is shutting down and coming back up.

2: There may be a cabling problem.

- Be sure to use a 1 meter/3Ft cable. Anything longer may cause signal fluctuations between the server and the VTrak. You can also try toggling down the speed on the HBA to see if it will stop the External Bus Resets.

3: There may be a port issue on the VTrak or the HBA.

- Try Swapping the port on either the VTrak or the HBA to see if the External Bus Resets will stop.

4: There may be a software issue pertaining to the HBA

- Make sure you are using drivers that are provided by the HBA manufacturer. It may be also a good idea to double check if you are up to date on the BIOS and firmware on the HBA. Some OS compatible drivers may cause the External Bus Reset events to show at a constant interval.

5: There may be a compatibility issue between the VTrak and the HBA:

- Be sure to check our website for the VTrak compatibility list. You can find the compatibility list on our website.

If you need help troubleshooting the problem, Please give us a call at 408-228-1400 (Option 4) an we will be glad to help.

Why are multiple drives being marked “dead” when I try to synchronize or access my logical drives?

2010-06-08T15:02:00.0000000

The SAS expansion cable is the weakest link in an otherwise cable-less system, and issues can arise due to a faulty cable having a marginal signal that will only cause a transmission problem under very particular circumstances. A SAS cable has a fragile connector inside that could be affected by all of the handling it undergoes from manufacturing to final installation, so care must be taken when unpacking and connecting the cables between the VTrak enclosures.

The Promise VTrak has the ability to report any signal errors that may occur over the two SAS paths from the RAID controllers to the JBOD I/O modules. This can be done by using the serial port and a terminal emulator or using the network port and a telnet or SSH session.

The command to display SAS communication error statistics is:

administrator@cli> sasdiag -a errorlog -l expander -e X -i Y

The two command parameters used to check the individual SAS ports of each RAID controller and I/O module are:

-e which refers to the enclosure number, starting with 1, the RAID unit.

-i which refers to the expander number, 1 on the left and 2 on the right.

This diagram illustrates the values of these two parameters and the SAS ports they are referencing, which can be best thought of as rows and columns.

Note: additional JBODs would be numbered 3, 4, etc.

For this example, we have one VTrak RAID and one VTrak JBOD, which gives a total of four SAS ports to check.

To display the SAS statistics for the RAID controller on the left we would issue the command:

administrator@cli> sasdiag -a errorlog -l expander -e 1 -i 1

To display the SAS statistics for the JBOD I/O module on the right we would issue the command:

administrator@cli> sasdiag -a errorlog -l expander -e 2 -i 2

This command will return the SAS statistics for each “lane” - denoted by the PHYId - with the first sixteen entries being for the 16 drives in the enclosure, and the remaining eight entries for the SAS expansion port. This means that even though 24 entries are returned, we will only be looking at entries 17 through 24.

administrator@cli> sasdiag -a errorlog -l expander -e 1 -i 1

EnclosureId: 1 ExpanderId: 1

SASAddress: 50-00-15-5d-23-d4-72-3f NumOfPHY: 24

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHYId: 1 InvalidDwordCount: 0

RunningDisparityErrCount: 0 LossOfDwordSyncCount: 0

PHYResetProblemCount: 0 DriveFlatId: 1

SlotNumber: 1 IsConnectedtoExtPort: No

ConnectorID: N/A

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHYId: 17 InvalidDwordCount: 0

RunningDisparityErrCount: 0 LossOfDwordSyncCount: 0

PHYResetProblemCount: 0 DriveFlatId: 257

SlotNumber: 0 IsConnectedtoExtPort: No

ConnectorID: N/A

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHYId: 24 InvalidDwordCount: 0

RunningDisparityErrCount: 0 LossOfDwordSyncCount: 0

PHYResetProblemCount: 0 DriveFlatId: 1

SlotNumber: 1 IsConnectedtoExtPort: No

ConnectorID: N/A

The error counts we want to examine are:

InvalidDwordCount

RunningDisparityErrCount

LossOfDwordSyncCount

They should all be “0” if there are no transmission errors detected on the port.

To test the quality of the SAS expansion cable and attempt to induce any errors that may occur due to a marginal cable, we will perform what is referred to as a “wiggle” test. This involves holding the cable near the center and slowly moving it in a circle approximately two to three inches in diameter for a few seconds. Please see the attached video.

Use the sasdiag command again to display the SAS statistics for the two SAS ports that are connected by the SAS cable under test:

administrator@cli> sasdiag -a errorlog -l expander -e 1 -i 1

administrator@cli> sasdiag -a errorlog -l expander -e 2 -i 1

If any SAS errors occur, the counts for PHYIds 17 through 24 could increase.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHYId: 17 InvalidDwordCount: 127

RunningDisparityErrCount: 11 LossOfDwordSyncCount: 5

PHYResetProblemCount: 0 DriveFlatId: 257

SlotNumber: 0 IsConnectedtoExtPort: No

ConnectorID: N/A

If the test results in these counts increasing, power down both the RAID head and attached JBODs and then unplug and re-insert the SAS cable(s). Power back up and re-run the test. If the counts continue to increase, replace the SAS cable and test again.

To make it easier to recognize any incrementing errors, you may want to clear the SAS counters. For a VTrak running firmware SR2.5, the RAID controllers must be restarted. For firmware SR2.6 you can use this command, remembering to run it for each expander:

administrator@cli> sasdiag -a clearerrlog -l expander -e 1 -i 1

Note: the controller restart method must be used for the VTrak for Mac.

Additional Information:

-PHYIds 17-20 signify the "Out" port on the controllers/IO modules. They are identified by the "Circle" on the rear of each module.

-PHYIds 21-24 signify the "In" port on the controllers/IO modules. They are identified by the "Diamond" on the rear of each module.

How to disable immediate data

2010-05-18T15:44:52.0000000

To Disable the Immediate Data option, you need to get to the CLI menu. Telnet may work but some terminal programs may intercept some keyboard combination commands. If you are unable to get to the advanced options via telnet, please try a serial connection directly to the Vtrak. Once you are logged into the VTrak, try the following:

1) Log into the command line via Serial or telnet to port 2300.

2) At the CLI Prompt, type Menu

3) Highlight iSCSI Management. Do not hit enter to go to the next menu level.

4) Press “CTRL” + “SHIFT” + “-“ (Control Shift Minus) keys at the same time. The iSCSI management option should change to advanced iSCSI Management

5) Choose advanced iSCSI Management

6) Choose Node Settings. You may need to choose which iSCSI port and disable this setting for both ports.

7) Disable Immediate Data

8) Save the change

9) Reboot the VTrak

Using ddrescue to recover a RAID disk with many bad blocks

2010-05-18T14:36:11.0000000

Using ddrescue to recover a RAID disk with many bad blocks

Often when one drive in an array fails, other drives in the array may also develop problems since all drives in the array are subject to the exact same wear and environment. In some cases a critical drive may have excessive bad blocks, causing a rebuild to appear hang. In this case, one possible solution is to use Linux ddrescue.

The basic process is to copy all readable blocks to another disk and using the copied disk to be rebuild the array. This is not guaranteed to recover all data as some blocks will not be readable, but there is a potential that the bad blocks were not yet used for file storage.

Since the DDF pointer is in the very last block of the disk, it's critical that disk copied to be the exact same size and geometry as the bad block disk, which means you must use the same drive make and model.

Now some Linux distributions include ddrescue, but it is suggested to download and use SystemRescueCD. SystemRescueCd is a Linux system rescue disk available as a bootable CD-ROM or USB stick for administrating or repairing your system and includes all the needed tools.

The SystemRescueCD can be downloaded from:

   http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page

As of 10/27/2009 the iso is version 1.3.1 and is 238 MB in size.

The procedure is to record the drives serial numbers (you need to know which drive is the source and which the copy), connect both drives to the Linux host then boot from SystemRescueCD. Getting the drive order correct is critical. Reversing the order will zero out your critical source disk and the array will be lost.

Once booted "fdisk -l" should show the two drives, perhaps /dev/sda and /dev/sdb.

In order to determine which is the source disk, you can use smartmontools.

   smartctl -a /dev/sda | more
   smartctl -a /dev/sdb | more

Another way to determine drive serial numbers is with hdparm.

   hdparm –I /dev/sda
   hdparm –I /dev/sdb

Another useful way to check is to use 'fdisk -l'. The new disk will be unpartitioned, the source disk will probably have partitions and fdisk will show these.

Note the serial numbers, they will tell you which drive is which. Suppose /dev/sda is the source disk for this example.

Next use ddrescue to copy the disk. The basic procedure is...

   ddrescue /dev/sda /dev/sdb

Ddrescue is designed for recovery and the defaults can be used. However it is possible for ddrescue to do many read retries in hopes of recovering more data. This can make recovery considerably longer. Ddrescue has taken as long as 4 days to run on a failing 1TB disk.

More detailed recovery procedures are available from the web.

----------------------------------

Another method is using a variant named dd_rescue.

dd_rescue is simpler to run.

Home Page

   http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/

Usage…

   http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/Dd_rescue

From the webpage above…

   Sample usage

   Here is a common dd_rescue command:

   UNIX/Linux

   $ dd_rescue /dev/hda myfile.img

Dd_rescue has few options and recovers to an image file. This can cause problems recovering disks 1TB or larger. Not only will you need 1TB or more free disk space to recover the image, you'll then have to write the image file to another disk. If you have the disk space available, writing to a destination file is safer than a disk copy with ddrescue as there is no possibility of overwriting the source disk with the contents of a blank disk.

Replacing a Cache Battery on the Ex10f/Mx10 series subsystem

2010-05-18T14:04:27.0000000

Replacing a Cache Battery

The cache battery is located inside the cooling unit. The battery assembly is

replaced as an individual part.

Caution

• Try reconditioning the battery before you replace it. See

page 128 or page 183 for more information.

• The battery assembly is replaced as a unit. Do not attempt to

disconnect the battery by itself.

• Installing the wrong replacement battery can result in an

explosion.

• Dispose of used batteries according to the instructions that

accompany the battery.

• While the battery is removed, your system will be vulnerable

to data loss if the power fails while data is being written to the

logical drives.

• If power service has failed, do not remove the cooling unit if

the Controller’s Dirty Cache LED is flashing. See “Browser

Does Not Connect to WebPAM PROe” on page 351.

To replace a cache battery:

1. Verify that the Battery LED is amber or red. See Figure 13.

Figure 13.Fan LED (left: E610f/s, right: E310f/s)

2. Press the release button and pull the handle downward as shown above.

3. Pull the cooling unit out of the VTrak enclosure. See Figure 14 (E610f/s) or

15 (E310f/s).

Figure 14.Removing the cooling unit from the enclosure from the E610f/s

Figure 15.Removing the cooling unit from the enclosure from the E310f/s

3. Loosen the thumbscrews. A retainer keeps the thumbscrews in place.

4. Grasp the top section near the thumbscrews and lift it off the bottom section.

Separate the cooling unit sections to access the battery assemble. See

Figure 16 (E610f/s) or 17 (E310f/s).

Figure 16.Loosen the thumbscrews and remove the cover (E610f/s)

Figure 17.Loosen the thumbscrews and remove the cover (E310f/s

5. Remove the two screws holding the battery assembly in place.

6. Detach the connector on the circuit board.

Do not detach any other connectors. See Figure 18 (E610f/s) or 19

(E310f/s).

Figure 18. Removing the battery assembly (E610f/s)

Figure 19. Removing the battery assembly (E310f/s)

7. Lift the battery assembly out of the cooling unit.

8. Place a new battery assembly into the cooling unit.

9. Attach the connector on the circuit board.

10. Install the two screws holding the battery assembly in place to the cooling

unit.

11. Place the top section of the cooling unit onto the bottom section and tighten

the thumbscrews.

12. Carefully slide the cooling unit into the enclosure.

13. Gently press the handle in and upward until it locks. See Figure 20.

Figure 20.Locking the cooling unit handle (left: E610f/s, right: E310f/s

This completes the battery replacement procedure.

Exert from the VTRAK E-Class E610f, E610s, E310f, E310s Product Manual Pages 265-268

This procedure will also work for the VTRAK Mx10 series subsystems.

How do I Resignature my LUN in VMware In ESX 4.0

2010-05-03T11:10:09.0000000

How do I Resignature my LUN in VMware

In ESX 4.0

Making this type of change on the storage array results in assigning a new LUN ID (UUID or Serial Number) to all LUNs presented via the HBA ports.

VMFS3 metadata identifies the volumes by several properties which include the LUN number and the LUN ID (UUID or Serial Number). Because the LUNs now have new UUIDs, the resulting mismatch with the metadata leads to LVM identifying the volumes as snapshots.

You must resignature the VMFS3 volumes to make them visible again.

Caution:

Before performing the steps in this article:

Wait for a maintenance window
Make sure all virtual machines are backed up properly

Do not deviate from these steps.

To resignature the VMFS3 volumes from the command line:

Power off all virtual machines on all ESX hosts that are stored on the volume.
Run the following command to re-read the volume on each ESX host:

# vmkfstools -V

If this works, the problem is resolved. If this does not work, proceed to step 3.
Remove all of the same virtual machines from the inventory in the VirtualCenter server.

Warning: Do not delete the virtual machines from disk. Remove them from the inventory.
Log in to each host.
Run the following command to verify which HBAs are providing access to the LUN:

# esxcfg-mpath -l | less
To set the ESX host to resignature all datastores detected as snapshots on the next rescan, run the following command:

For ESX Classic:

# echo "1" /proc/vmware/config/LVM/EnableResignature
For ESXi:

# esxcfg-advcfg -s 1 LVM/EnableResignature

To rescan the storage and perform the resignature on volumes detected as a snapshot, run the command:

# vmkfstools -V
To disable the resignature flag, run the following command:

Warning: Do not skip this step.

For ESX Classic:

# echo "0" /proc/vmware/config/LVM/EnableResignature
For ESXi:

# esxcfg-advcfg -s 0 LVM/EnableResignature

To ensure that the volumes stay mounted after resignaturing is turned off, run the command:

# vmkfstools -V
Reinventory the virtual machines.

a. Open VI Client to the VirtualCenter Server. The virtual machines show as inaccessible.

b. Right-click on the virtual machine and click Remove From Inventory.

c. Double-click the datastore to bring up the datastore browser.

d. Select the folder in which the virtual machines resides.

e. Right-click the virtual machine file (extension .vmx) or template file (extension .vmtx)

f. Click Add to Inventory.

g. Follow the wizard.

How do I Resignature my LUN in VMware In ESX 3.5

2010-05-03T11:05:46.0000000

· Enable LVM Resignaturing on the first ESX host:

Log in to the ESX host with VI Client.
Click the Configuration tab.
Select the Advanced setting option.
Choose the LVM section.
Set the value of LVM.EnableResignaturing to 1.
Save the change.
Click the storage adapter tab.
Click Rescan Adapter located at the top right corner of the interface.

Note: There is no need to select an HBA. All are rescanned.
Leave the default option and proceed.

You are now able to see the VMFS volumes with labels prefixed with snap.
Once done please undo Resignature

· Disable LVM Resignaturing:

Log on to the ESX host with VI client.
Click the Configuration tab.
Select the Advanced setting option.
Choose the LVM section.
Set the value of LVM.EnableResignaturing to 0.
Save the change.

No snapshot messages are visible in /var/log/vmkernel.

How do I reset the password on the VTrak

2010-04-20T12:24:48.0000000

How do I reset the password on the VTrak?

This procedure can be used to reset the VTrak administrator password if it is lost or forgotten.

*Be sure to give the default user name and password a try.

User Name: administrator

Password: password

You will need to call Promise Tech Support to provide you with a special firmware that will reset the VTrak back to factory defaults. This special firmware will NOT erase any of your array information. It will delete any user information you may have created as well as the network settings. All of the array information is stored on the hard drives, and it will not be effected by the reset.

When you call Technical Support, they will ask you for some information so that they can provide you with the correct firmware.

1. What is the model of your VTrak subsystem?

The sticker on top of the unit can provide you with this information. It is located at the right rear of the system on top.

2. What firmware version is currently on the VTrak subsystem?

If you know the IP Address for the management port on the VTrak, you can initiate a Telnet session to the VTrak. Remember to use port 2300. The login screen will display the current firmware version on the VTrak.

Once you have located this information, you can give Technical Support a call, and they will be happy to send you the firmware that can reset the controller back to factory defaults.

Please follow the steps indicated in KB Article #10162 to flash the firmware.

Please contact Technical Support at 408-228-1400 Option 4.

VMware Clustering; How to remove dead paths to iSCSI Stroage

2010-04-19T15:49:28.0000000

If a LUN that was presented to an ESX host was deleted on the SAN without removing it from the host first, failover errors are now seen in the vmkernel. You can remove the dead path by entering the following command.

esxcfg-rescan -d vmhba<X> # where vmhba<X> is your iSCSI vmhba

Title: VMware Clustering; How to remove a dead path to an iSCSI storage system.

If a LUN that was presented to an ESX host was deleted on the SAN without removing it from the host first, failover errors will occur and can be viewed in the vmkernel. You can remove the dead path by entering the following command from the terminal prompt.

esxcfg-rescan -d vmhba<X> # where vmhba<X> is your iSCSI vmhba

Configuring the iSCSI initiator

2010-04-06T07:38:55.0000000

Configuring an iSCSI Intitiator on a Host PC

Product: VTrak iSCSI; VessRAID iSCSI

Platform: Microsoft Windows

Solution:

To access any Vtrak or VessRAID iSCSI product you must have the iSCSI Initiator installed on the Host PC.

You can choose a hardware or software iSCSI Initiator.

Hardware

Use a Gigabit Ethernet network interface card (GbE NIC) with hardware-based iSCSI initiator from such vendors as:

• QLogic (QLA4010C)

• Intel (Pro/1000T IP)

• Alacretech (100x1 TNIC)

Follow the installation and setup instructions that come with the card.

Software

Use a software-based iSCSI initiator in combination with a GbE NIC. If you choose a Microsoft software iSCSI initiator, download it from: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/storage/technologies/iscsi/default.mspx

Install the iSCSI initiator on your system then proceed with the following steps.

1. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel and double-click on iSCSI Initiator. The iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box displays.

2. On the Target Portals tab, click on Add button.

3. In the Add Target Portal dialog box, type in the IP address of one of the VTrak’s iSCSI ports and click OK.

4. Go to Available Targets tab. The iSCSI name should appear. It looks like:

iqn.1994-12.com.promise.vtrak20.00.00.01.55.00.xx.xx.

Highlight this name and click the Logon button. Click OK on the confirmation dialog box.

5. Go to Active Sessions tab. The status of selected iSCSI name should display connected.

6. Click OK button on iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box to close it.

7. To logoff from Vtrak unit, bring up Microsoft iSCSI Initiator again.

Go to the Active Sessions tab and click the Log Off button.

Additional Information:

Microsoft software iSCSI initiator, download it from: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/storage/technologies/iscsi/default.mspx

Why can't my BBU retain data in cache for more than 72 hrs?

2010-03-23T14:57:09.0000000

This condition is usually an indication that the cache backup battery has fallen below the 72 hour threshold.
The VTrak will generate an alarm and a yellow or red Battery Status LED on the Cooling Unit will light.

There are several things that can cause this condition, the most common being a Battery Recondition cycle.
By default the VTrak is scheduled to perform a Battery Recondition on the 1^st of the month every two months. This process begins by discharging the battery, which triggers the alarm condition. After fully discharging the battery the VTrak will recharge the battery.
After completing the battery charging cycle the alarm will continue to sound and will you will have to manually mute the alarm buzzer.

Muting the Buzzer:

Log into the WebPAM management utility.
Expand the Enclosure section and click on Enclosure 1.
Click on the Buzzer tab.
Click the Mute button at the bottom of the page to turn off the buzzer.

This error condition can also occur if the battery malfunctions, or if the battery is stuck in a continuous charging state. You can attempt to remedy these conditions by performing a Battery Recondition cycle to recharge the battery. If this does not remedy the condidition please contact the Promise Technical Support team to perform further troubleshooting.

Starting a Battery Recondition:

Log into the WebPAM management utility.
Expand the Enclosure section and click on Enclosure 1.
Click the drop-down arrow on the Battery tab and select Start Recondition.
Select the battery that is malfunctioning.
Click the Submit button to start the battery recondition.

During a battery reconditioning cycle you may see a loss in subsystem performance due to the LUNs being changed from a ReadAhead/WriteBack state to a ReadCache/WriteThru state. They will revert to their default ReadAhead/WriteBack state when the Remaining Capacity rises above the 72 hour sustain threshold.

Vtrak rules access for Intel® MFSYS25 with VMWare 4.0 ESX

2010-03-10T12:01:13.0000000

Intel® MFSYS25 Modular Server (IMS) and VTrak E-Class Configuration.

Currently, we use two below rules to configure our Promise VTrak storage box.

1. ALUA

sxcli nmp satp addrule --satp="VMW_SATP_ALUA" --vendor="Promise" --model="^VTrak*" --claim-option="tpgs_on"

2. Symmetric Active/Active logical unit access

esxcli nmp satp addrule --satp="VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA" --vendor="Promise" --model="^VTrak*"

How to save subsystem logs in Webpam (Screenshots)?

2009-05-13T10:53:00.0000000

How to save subsystem logs in Webpam (Screenshots)?

Step 1

Step 2

Click on the IP on the left window pane

Step 3

On the first tab (information) on the window to the right, click the save button on the bottom of the page. This will save a file called subsysteminfo.

Step 4

Save the file. Make sure it is saved to a place you can easily find it, if there are more than subsystem files please name them accordingly.

EClass Fibre Channel Statistics definitions and details.

2008-07-09T01:19:00.0000000

Fibre Channel Statistics and Definitions

The Fibre Channel Management–Statistic tab enables you to view statistics of the Fibre Channel ports on the Controller, including:

Property Name
Definition

Time Since Last Reset Time in minutes that the system has been ruinning

Number of Frames Sent Total number of frames sent since last reset

Number of Frames Received Total number of frames received since last reset

Number of Words Sent Total number of words sent since last reset

Number of Words Received Total number of frames received since last reset

LIP Count
- Loop Initilization Primitive Sequence This Primitive Sequence applies only to the Arbitrated Loop topology. It is transmitted by an L_Port to (re)initialize the Loop

NOS Count
- Not Operational Primitive Sequence This Primitive Sequence is used during link initialization between two N_Ports in the Point-to-point topology or an N_Port and an F_Port in the Fabric topology. It is sent to indicate that that transmitting port has detected a link failure or is offline. The expected response to a port sending NOS is the OLS Primitive Sequence.

Number of Error Frames FC devices propagate handshake signals back in forth requesting and acknowledging each byte transferred. FC transfers occur in frames of data on frame at a time. In this case this area reflects the number of Frames with errors.

Number of Dumped Frames This field specifies the dumped number of frames due to a lack of
host buffers.

Link Failure Count Amount of times the link has failed (literally pull the SFP or disconnect the link, can be caused by bad fiber element)

Loss Sync Count This field specifies the number of times loss of sync has
occurred.

Primitive Sequence Error Count An Ordered Set transmitted repeatedly and used to establish and maintain a link. LR, LRR, NOS, and OLS are Primitive Sequences used to establish an active link in a connection between two N_Ports or an N_Port and an F_Port. LIP, LPB, and LPE are Primitive Sequences used in the Arbitrated Loop topology for initializing the Loop and enabling or disabling an L_Port

Invalid Word Count This field specifies the number of invalid words received

Invalid CRC Count This field specifies the number of frames received with an invalid CRC.

Initiator IO Count I/O Count on the initiator on the host side

To access this tab:

Click on the Subsystem icon in Tree view
Click on the Administration Tools icon
Click on the Fibre Channel Management icon
Click the Statistic tab in Management View

Support for GUID partition table (GPT) volumes that are larger than 2 terabytes on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based server cluster.

2008-06-09T03:07:00.0000000

A hotfix is now available to add support for GUID partition table (GPT) volumes that are larger than 2 terabytes on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based server cluster.

This is a hotfix provided by Microsoft for when the cluster cannot detect a drive larger than 2 Terabytes.

For more information regarding this hotfix, please see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 919117

A new physical disk does not successfully move to another cluster node on a Windows Server 2003-based server cluster.

2008-06-09T02:47:00.0000000

SYMPTOMS

When you try to move a physical disk resource from one cluster node to another cluster node on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based server cluster, the move operation is unsuccessful.

For more information, please see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 932465

Important The Microsoft KB article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

Using WebPAM for firmware updates on the VTrak Mx10 products may cause some issues.

2008-04-16T04:52:00.0000000

Summary:

Due to some issues seen with updating the firmware for VTrak Mx10 products via WebPAM, Promise Technology recommends performing all firmware updates on the VTrak Mx10 family via the CLU/CLI and TFTP server. This issue only effects the M210, M310 and M610 VTrak products.

Note - It is recommended to stop all I/O and Disk activity on the VTrak before updating the firmware. In the event of an error after the firmware flash, please contact Promise Technical Support for additional assistance: https://support.promise.com

Updating the firmware from the CLU

Download the Free TFTP server from solarwinds.net site. A link is given below for download location.
Install the Solar Winds TFTP server software. Reboot server after installation
Download the latest VTrak MClass firmware update
Launch the TFTP server
Copy the firmware image file (*.img) to the C:\TFTP-Root Folder
From the TFTP server, go to File and click on Configure. Click on the Security tab and make sure you enable Transmit and Receive.

You need to keep the TFTP server running to upgrade the firmware.

Setup a serial connection to the VTrak controller and use HyperTerminal to log in

Check that the terminal settings are 115200, 8 bit, 1 stop bit, no parity, no flow control.
When the HyperTerminal window opens, press ENTER to start the CLU
For more information on making the serial connection, please see your VTrak user manual.

From the CLU's Main Menu, select Additional Info and Management, and then press Enter
Select Flash Through TFTP and then press Enter. Verify TFTP server IP address is the same IP address as the host PC. If TFTP server IP address is incorrect, you will be unable to download the firmware image from TFTP server.
Select TFTP Server

Type the IP of TFTP server. This should be the same IP address as your host computer.
Port number: 69. This is the default for TFTP server
File Name: Enter the filename of the firmware image to upload.

Then select [start] and then press Enter. After pressig Enter, firmware download from the tftp server will begin. You should see the file being extracted from the host system.
Once the firmware is complete, please be sure to reboot the VTrak.

Updating the firmware from the CLI

Steps 1 though 6 are same as above.

Connect to the VTrak controller via serial or telnet connection and use HyperTerminal to log in

For serial: Check the following settings: 115200, 8 bit, 1 stop bit, no parity, no flow control.
For telnet: Telnet to the VTrak's IP address; port 2300

When the HyperTerminal window opens, press ENTER and log in,

If the session opens into the CLU menu, type CTRL-X or choose Return to CLI from the main menu.

At the CLI, type ptiflash -t -s -f

example: ptiflash -t -s 192.168.1.1 -f fw_multi_20031010.img

Once the firmware update is complete, please be sure to reboot the VTrak.

Unknown or Unreadable logical drive mclass 0x00f windows server 2k3 after server reboot

2007-08-27T17:05:00.0000000

When running 2k3 SP2 after a server reboot the logical drive is reported as "unknown" or "unreadable" via Windows Disk Management when connecting the Vtrak M-Class Mx00f series. Promise is currently investigating the source of the problem. Attached is the configuration in which the problem occurs.

Workaround:

1. The user can downgrade to sp1. This issue is not observed using 2k3 sp1.

2. 2k3 service pack 2 you can manually rescan the disks in your Disk Management

Update 09/17/2007

This issue has been fixed in beta F/W 2.17.0000.01. If you are interested in the Beta build please contact Promise Support.

Test environment:
Fiber HBA: QLA2xxx
Subsystem: Vtrak M500f
OS: Windows Server 2003 Enterprise R2 w/ SP2
Bootloader version: 2.02.0000.00 (Sep. 4, 2007)
Firmware version: 2.17.0000.01 (Sep. 4, 2007)
Software version: 2.17.0000.01 (Sep. 4, 2007)

What are the expected battery hold times on my MX00 series subsystem?

2007-07-31T00:00:00.0000000

The 1GB DDR DIMM part # (G90000011000025, MEMORY MODULE.DDR Module.1G.184pin.With Register,PLL DIMM,
With ECC,1 Back.(DDR400),HYNIX HY5DU12822[A~Z]TP-D43 chip.Unigen:UG7128D7588LZ-GJFFP)
The memory cell on 1GB DDR DIMM is HY5DU12822[A~Z]TP-D43 and 18 pcs on one DIMM.
The memory cell self refresh current is 5mA in 2.5V, so 2 cells battery pack 4400mAh/3.7V
doesn't support 72 hours 1GB DDR DIMM memory back up.

1GB DDR DIMM needs 4 cells battery pack for 72 hours memory back up.

The 512M DDR DIMM part # (G90000011000022, MEMORY MODULE.DDR Module.512M.184pin.With ECC,1 Back(DDR400).
HYNIX HY5DU12822[A~Z]TP-D43 chip.Unigen:UG764D7488LN-GJFFP,with packing).
The memory cell on 512MB DDR DIMM is HY5DU12822[A~Z]TP-D43 that is the same as 1GB DDR DIMM
memory cell and 9 cells on one DIMM.

2 cells battery pack 4400mAh/3.7V can support 72 hours 512MB DDR DIMM memory back up.

Why does Web Pam Pro report M310p vs. M610p in the VPD (Vital Product Data)?

2007-06-19T21:07:00.0000000

M310p and M610 use a common controller. The model reports correct, it is the VPD information that can be misleading. This is cosmetic and should be ignored. The updated version of controller firmware (has newer version of software built in) will mask the VPD information. (see attached example).

How many disk drives should I use in a RAID 5 or RAID 6 in my VTrak?

2007-03-19T15:38:00.0000000

There is a minimum drive requirement of 3 before the RAID 5 option becomes available. RAID 6 has a minimum drive requirement of 4 before itis selectable. On our VTrak subsystems, there is a 16 drive cap on the size ofthe RAID 5 and RAID 6 arrays.

The document attached will explain and demystify the misconception that there is a benefit to creating single RAID 5 and RAID 6 array volumes greater than 16 SAS/SATA disk drives.

It will explain the logic behind using less than 16 disk drive spindles in a RAID 5 or RAID 6 array as well as explain the benefits of using RAID 50 or RAID 60 for RAID arrays with more than 16 disk drive spindles.

All of these RAID levels accomplish the same objective, data protection.

How do I import/export the user database and event subscriptions on Vtrak E-Class or M-Class using the CLI?

2007-03-19T15:28:00.0000000

You can export the User database and Event subscription setup from one subsystem to a TFTP server and then repeatedly import it to other VTrak subsystems. This works on both M-Class and E-Class subsystems.

Here is the CLI command's help entry:

EXPORT

Usage: export -t <fileType> [-s <tftpServer>] [-p <port>] -f <fileName>

Summary: export certain type of configuration files to remote or local host.

Options:

-t <file type>       Specifies what type of file to export.
   userdb            User database file. This file type is not applicable for
                     in-band and can only be exported to remote host.
   subsystem         Subsystem information file. This file is exported to
                     remote host for embedded and local host for in-band.
-f <file name>       Specifies the name of the file to be exported.
-s <TFTP server>     Specifies tftp server's IP or host name. Do not specify
                     TFTP server for in-band.
-p <port num>        The port number of the TFTP server. Default is 69. Do
                     not specify port number for in-band.

Examples:
   export -t userdb -s 192.168.10.168 -f userdb.xml
   export -t subsystem -s 192.168.10.168 -f subsystem.txt # for embedded
   export -t subsystem -f subsystem.txt # for in-band

IMPORT

Usage: import -t <fileType> -s <tftpServer> -f <fileName> [-p <port>] [-i]

Summary: import certain type of configuration files from remote host.

Options:

-t <file type>       Specifies what type file to import.
   userdb            User database file.
-s <TFTP server>     Specifies tftp server's IP or host name.
-f <file name>       Specifies the name of the file to import.
-p <port num>        The port number of the TFTP server. Default is 69.
-i                   Get format validation information about imported file
                     only. File is not really applied to subsystem yet.

Example:
import -t userdb -s 192.168.10.168 -f userdb.xml

How do I create an array larger than 2TB for Windows XP or Windows 2000 32-bit operating systems?

2007-03-12T17:01:00.0000000

Logical Drive Sector Size and Migration

This application note deals with a specific application for VTrak M-Class and E-Class in a Windows 2000/WinXP 32-bit OS environment.

In order to achieve the desired RAID online capacity migration, adding 10 disk drives to an existing RAID 5 logical drive you must create your logical drives with 1 KB sectors.
Note: Some database applications may be incompatible with sector sizes larger than 512 bytes.
Before you create a logical drive with a 1 KB sector size, verify that any applications that will access the logical drive can support the 1 KB sector size.

There are two situations in which you create logical drives:
- During disk array creation.
- When adding a logical drive to an existing disk array.

In order to specify the sector size in WebPAM PROe or the CLU you MUST select "Advanced" option for Disk Array creation, please refer to the VTrak M-Class and Vtrak E-Class Product Manual as well as the WebPAM PROe sections.

For detailed directions on how to add drives to your existing array (Online Capacity Expansion), please refer to the VTrak M-Class and Vtrak E-Class Product Manual as well as the WebPAM PROe CLI and CLU sections

For this logical drive size	Select this sector size
Up to 16 TB	4096 bytes (4 KB)
Up to 8 TB	2048 bytes (2 KB)
Up to 4 TB	1024 bytes (1 KB)
Up to 2 TB	512 bytes (512 B)

The above table shows the correlation between Logical Drive size and sector size, as imposed by the Logical Block Addressing limitations of the operating system.

Examples:

Begin with a RAID 5 Logical Drive composed of four 250GB disk drives for a total capacity of 750GB. When you first create the Logical Drive with the default 512 byte sector size you can:
- add five more 250GB disk drives to the same RAID 5 logical drive, for a total capacity of 2TB.
- add ten more 250GB disk drives, but the total capacity will still be only 2TB.

Begin with a RAID 5 Logical Drive composed of four 250GB disk drives for a total capacity of 750GB. When you first create the Logical Drive and you specify a 1 KB sector size you can:
- add five more 250GB disk drives to the same RAID 5 logical drive, for a total capacity of 2TB.
- add ten more 250GB disk drives, for a total capacity of 3.25TB.

Note: If you have an existing Logical Drive with four 250GB disk drives and 512 byte sectors and you expand it by adding ten 250GB disk drives, the result will appear in Windows 2000 as a logical drive of 2TB, plus 1.25TB of unpartitioned space which can be partitioned and formated as a second Logical Drive of 1.25TB.

BIOS and Windows Event Log reported BUS RESET error and update the M Class SR4 doesn't fix the problem.

2006-12-28T17:41:00.0000000

Product: All VTrak M-500p/300p/200p

Product Description: VTrak M Class 320 Bus Reset

Platform: Any

Firmware/Bios Version: Most update as possible.

Additional Description: Adaptec 39320A-R and 29320ALP-R SCSI controllers attached to two different Servers.

Solution:Verified Disk array and volume. Configuration: 6.5TB RAID 5 with three Logical Disks. LUN Mapping set as LD0: TID 0, LUN 0, LD1: TID 1, LUN 0 and LD2: TID 2, LUN 0. Disk available under Windows 2003 SP1, but Windows Event Log kept reporting BUS RESET error occured. Enable the LUN support under his Adaptec 29320 controller. Adjusted LUN Mapping and set as LD0: TID 0, LUN 0, LD1: TID 0, LUN 1 and LD2: TID 0, LUN 2 and reboot the unit. Bus Reset error at BIOS eliminated. However, still gets errors at Windows Event Log. Verified SCSI driver has Windows 2003 driver. Manually download and update the SCSI device driver from the Adaptec web site. After the driver updated and reboot customer converted Dynamic volume to Basic. There's not a Bus Reset error found.

Additional Information: Need to walk thru and verify the array settings.

There has been reported the iSCSI port failed to communicate to the Host or Initiator. You might do the normal troubleshoot first before determine to reset or clear the FRAM option.

2006-10-18T17:46:00.0000000

Product: M-Class

Product Description: All iSCSI products

Platform: Independent

Firmware/Bios Version: SR2 and above

Additional Description: The procedure below applied to all of the M-Class products for clearing FRAM on the controller.

Solution: How to clear the FRAM within VTrak M-Class?

You always advise the customer to backup his/her data before proceed below:

Restart the VTrak; while the unit booting up

Press "Ctrl F" to get to IBLROM screen

Type "diag" and Enter to get to the System Hardware Diagnostic Tests

At the Menu use the list:

Select option 2: NVRAM Memory Test and Restore the default. Then, Enter

Select option 8: Test all NVRAM location (The test will run for about 2 second)

Select option 9: To Clear NVRAM

Select option 10: To restore NVRAM back to manufacture default

Select option 0: Again, to quit and back to IBLROM screen

Select option 0: To exit the System Hardware Diagnostic Test

Type "reset" to restart the VTrak and back to the login prompt.

Upgrade cache on M210p/M310p

2006-08-30T10:10:00.0000000

Product: VTrak Mx10

Product Description: VTrak Mx10

Additional Information:

The memory upgrade process for the M210p/M310p will be different as there are mechanical differences between the canisters from that of the Mx00x platforms. The memory module form factor is different as well.

From my statements before regarding the memory enhancements, the current SR3 firmware for M-Class and the MetroStar firmware will take advantage of additional memory for software, cache blocks, and BGA tasks.

WebPAM for Solaris will not Install Correctly

2006-08-23T14:16:00.0000000

Firmware/Bios Version: 2.12/2.13

Additional Description: Solaris 9 for Intel

Solution:

WebPAM for Solaris will not install in an Intel based unit/ Suggest Using a SPARC station. The software was qualified to work with a SPARC not an Intel unit.

Additional Information: Apply to Vtrak 15110, 12110, 8110

Cooling Unit Fan Speed indicates lower than minimum threshold

2006-08-23T14:12:00.0000000

Firmware/Bios Version: 2.12/2.13

Problem Description: Cooling Unit Fan Speed indicates lower than minimum threshold

Solution:

Issue is Cosmetic. No Planned FIX for this issue.

Additional Information: Apply to Vtrak 15110, 12110, 8110

Which virtualization and SAN software has been tested with 15200

2005-11-18T10:39:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Product Description: VTrak 15100/15200

Platform: Independent

Solution:

We can use DataCore SANmelody with 15200

VTrak 15200 SR3.1 FW (v2.00.0001.02)

2005-11-18T10:38:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Product Description: VTrak 15100/15200

Platform: Independent

Additional Description: Attached is firmware image file: vtrak-02.00.0001.02.img

Solution:

Changes history for VTrak 15200 SR3.1 FW (v2.00.0001.02) – 2/25/2005

1. Fix Hitachi and Seagate SATA HDD compatibility issues

2. Fix the SEP1 battery LED status bug

3. Remove the support of sector size above 4KB

Changes history for VTrak 15200 SR3.1 FW (v2.00.0001.01) – 2/9/2005

1. Rebuild RAID API library with a correct makefile. No source code changes at all in this release.

Changes history for VTrak 15200 SR3.1 FW (v2.00.0001.00) – 1/31/2005

1. Flushing CPU cache properly to ensure data integrity. It fixes FRAM data corruption issue.

2. Removing HDD far loop-back test so Segate NCQ drives can be seen by the system.

3. Adding FAN box and Battery plug-in/plug-out events

4. CIMOM agent is slightly modified to handle the new events.

How to assign IP Addresses and Subnet Mask

2005-11-18T10:36:00.0000000

Product:VTrak 15200

Product Description: VTrak 15100/15200

Platform: Independant

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Additional Description:

VTrak can only use static IP addresses for the Management Port. The default

Management Port IP address is 10.0.0.2. To change this IP address, do the

following:

Solution:

1. From the Main Menu, press 4 and Enter to access Network Management.

The Network Management menu displays with the factory default settings shown above it.

Management Port IP Address: 10.0.0.2

Subnet Mask: 255.0.0.0

Gateway IP Address: 0.0.0.0

Telnet: disabled

TFTP Server IP Address: 0.0.0.0

SNMP Name: Sonoma

SNMP Location: Promise

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Management

1. Management Port

2. Telnet

3. TFTP Server

4. SNMP

5. Ping

R. Return to Previous Menu

Please enter your menu choice>1

2. Press 1 and Enter to access the Management Port settings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Management Port IP Address: 10.0.0.2

Subnet Mask: 255.0.0.0

Gateway IP Address: 0.0.0.0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Management Port

1. Management Port IP

2. Subnet Mask

3. Gateway

R. Return to Previous Menu

Please enter your menu choice>1

3. Press 1 and Enter to select Management Port IP.

--------Configure Management Port IP address--------

Current management port IP Address: 10.0.0.2

Modify management port IP address(y/n)?>y

New management port IP address>192.168.1.56 (an example only)

New management port IP address: 192.168.1.56

Press Enter key to return

4. Press Y and Enter to modify the management port IP address.

5. Type the new IP address and press Enter.

VTrak confirms the new address.

6. Press Enter to return to the Network Management menu.

HP-UX cannot connect with VTrak 15200

2005-11-18T10:36:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Product Description: VTrak 15100/15200

Platform: HP

Firmware/Bios Version: 2.x

Solution: HP-UX is not supported by VTrak 15200. There are no plans to support this OS

Configuring QLA4010 for iSCSI boot

2005-11-18T10:35:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Platform: independent

Solution:

1. Install the BIOS on the card. Check Qlogic web site www.qlogic.com for the latest BIOS.

2. Start the system, press Ctrl-Q or Alt-Q when BIOS screen for the QLA4010 pops up.

3. Select the "Configuration Settings" menu.

4. Select the "Host Adapter Settings".

5. Enable "Host Adapter BIOS".

6. Hit <Escape> to exit Host adapter settings screen.

7. Enter the "iSCSI Boot Settings"

8. Enable "iSCSI Boot"

9. Select "Primary Boot Device Settings".

10. Select "Target IP".

11. Enter the IP address of the target device.

12. Hit Escape to save the changes. The HBA will query all the devices attached.

13. Select the "Configuration Settings" menu.

14. Select the "iSCSI Boot Settings" option.

15. Select Target IP address and hit <Enter>

16. Select "Enter iSCSI Name" to enter the iSCSI name of VTrak15200. The iSCSI name will look like "iqn.1994-12.com.promise.vtrak15200.20.00.00.01.55.00.00.0e". The actual iSCSI name of VTrak15200 can be retrieved via CLU.

17. Exit the BIOS and save the configuration.

18. Restart the system. Have Windows install CD in the CD drive to install Windows on the system.

19. Hit F6 when prompted to hit "F6" to install additional drivers.

20. Insert the QLA4010 Windows driver diskette and proceed through the OS install as if attached to a local device.

21. Restart the system after completing Windows installation. The system will do iSCSI boot with Windows from VTrak15200.

Configuring the iSCSI initiator to access VTrak15200

2005-11-18T10:35:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Platform: Independant

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Additional Description: An iSCSI Initiator Required to access VTrak15200

Solution:

To access VTrak15200 you must have the iSCSI Initiator installed on the Host PC.

You can choose a hardware or a software iSCSI Initiator.

Hardware

Use a Gigabit Ethernet network interface card (GbE NIC) with hardware-based iSCSI initiator from such vendors as:

• QLogic (QLA4010C)

• Intel (Pro/1000T IP)

• Alacretech (100x1 TNIC)

Follow the installation and setup instructions that come with the card.

Software

Install the iSCSI initiator on your system then proceed with the following steps.

1. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel and double-click on iSCSI Initiator. The iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box displays.

2. On the Target Portals tab, click on Add button.

3. In the Add Target Portal dialog box, type in the IP address of one of the VTrak’s iSCSI ports and click OK.

4. Go to Available Targets tab. The iSCSI name should appear. It looks like:

iqn.1994-12.com.promise.vtrak15200.20.00.00.01.55.00.xx.xx.

Highlight this name and click the Logon button. Click OK on the confirmation dialog box.

5. Go to Active Sessions tab. The status of selected iSCSI name should display connected.

6. Click OK button on iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box to close it.

7. To logoff from Vtrak15200, bring up Microsoft iSCSI Initiator again.

Go to the Active Sessions tab and click the Log Off button.

Additional Information:

Microsoft software iSCSI initiator, download it from: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/storage/technologies/iscsi/default.mspx

Does not Maintain Shared Permissions upon reboot of the sever - Applies to the MS initiator

2005-11-18T10:35:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Platform: Windows 2000/2003/XP

Firmware/Bios Version: 2.0

Additional Description: Whenever you create a RAID volume on the VTRAK 15200 and you attempt to share the volume or folder within the raid volume upon reboot of your server the permission dissappear

Solution: This is a problem when using the Microsoft initiator. If you are experiencing this problem follow this procedrue below :

1) When logging on to the session in your intiator check the "automatically restore this connection when system boots" dialog box

2) This will keep the sharing to enabled when the system reboots

Benefits of Initialization

2005-11-18T10:34:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Platform: Independent

The initialization process serves two primary purposes and is strongly encouraged by all RAID vendors to perform prior to user access to data area – not just Promise.

First, is to scrub the media for defects. Our RAID System has no idea as to where the physical drive came from or in what condition it is in, so we test it by scanning the surface. It is better to discover the bad sector, attempt to recover, and re-map it prior to user access as the user-level may encounter a timeout while the RAID Engine performs the retries, recovery, and re-map process.

Second, is to synchronize the spindles to optimize RAID 5 writes (read others vs. read modify write).

In order to verify the integrity of the Logical Drive after the initialization has been performed, they can perform a volume fill test to write to the Logical Drive and confirm there will be no more bad sectors discovered.

They can also download the Microsoft HCT 11.2 test kit and run the Storage Data Verification test on the RAID volumes to confirm the integrity as well.

However, if these drives are truly going bad, then the S.M.A.R.T. thresholds should be exceeded and the S.M.A.R.T. status should be failed.

. Promise does report bad sectors, but because we recover the condition, we report the event as a minor severity.

Cannot connect on iSCSI port 1

2005-11-18T10:34:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Platform: Independent

Additional Description: User cannot connect to port 1 under any configuration only port 2 will work

Solution: The Vtrak 15200 controller needs to be reset. You can do this by clearing the FRAM

Reboot the vtrak

Push Ctrl+F key while Vtrak boots up

You will be at a BSP> command promt

Type "diag"

choose "FRAM test & clear"

Type "reset"

Clustering with the 15200

2005-11-18T10:34:00.0000000

Product: VTrak 15200

Platform: Independent

How to configure a two node iSCSI configuration

We do not support clustering with the 15200 as we found it not to be reliable in our testing. I recommend you persuade your customer to migrate to a VTrak M500i system that is capable of clustering (up to 8-nodes for Windows, RedHat, and SuSE).

Regardless, you can study the steps below on how to configure a two node iSCSI configuration and assist your customer on the functionality aspects. But he will need to use the 15200 at his own risk.

iSCSI Cluster Testing 2 Node:

Note: This is a bare minimum setup. The Client Test System would normally run the HCT Cluster Storage Block Device, not the PDC.

PART I Testing – Cluster Hardware

To CONFIGURE the test for Cluster Storage Block Hardware testing:

1. Begin with the configuration for hardware testing.

Computer 1 = Cluster Node 1 [Dell PowerEdge 800 Server]

Computer 2 = Cluster Node 2 [Dell PowerEdge 800 Server]

Computer 3 = Primary Domain Controller [Dell PowerEdge 800 Server]

2. Connect nodes 1 and 2 to a 10/100 based switch. This will be the "Private Network", e.g. 30.0.0.x

3. Connect nodes 1 and 2, and the PDC to the Gb LAN switch. This will be the "Public Network", e.g. 40.0.0.x

4. Connect nodes 1 and 2 iSCSI, to the Gb LAN switch. This will be the "iSCSI Network", e.g. 20.0.0.x.

5. Attach both Promise VTrak iSCSI ports to the Gb LAN switch.

6. Connect the "Public Network" & "iSCSI Network" to a common public network switch (Nortel 1Gb Ethernet Switch).

7. The "iSCSI Network" and "Public Network" can be configured as separate private networks within the same LAN switch.

8. From a factory defaulted Promise VTrak configure the following Disk Arrays:

1. Disk Array 1 = RAID 5, 64KB SBS, WriteBack Cache using PD: 1~4 with 1x10GB LD

2. Disk Array 2 = RAID 1, 64KB SBS, WriteBack Cache using PD: 5~6 with 1x10GB LD

3. Disk Array 3 = RAID 0, 64KB SBS, WriteBack Cache using PD: 7~10 with 1x10GB LD

9. Enable auto logon in the iSCSI Initiator software.

10. Login all Nodes to the VTrak iSCSI RAID Systems.

11. From node 1, use the New Partition Wizard within Disk Management to create three 6 GB partitions. Create the first partition on disk 1, and name the partition E. Create the second partition on disk 2, and name the partition F. Create the third partition on disk 3 and name the partition G. Make all three NTFS partitions, and enable file and folder compression.

12. Restart node 2.

13. On node 2, open Disk Management and verify that disks 1, 2, and 3 are formatted properly. Do not rewrite signatures, repartition, or reformat.

14. On node 2, name the partition on drive 1 E, name the partition on drive 2 F, and name the partition on drive 3 G.

To RUN the test for Cluster Storage Block Hardware testing:

15. Install the HCT 12.1.01 on nodes 1 and 2. PDC is not needed to run the HCT Cluster Storage Block Hardware.

16. During installation, you are prompted to select a test kit. De-select any pre-selected test categories. In the Custom Setup window, expand Test Categories, expand Storage Controllers and Devices, expand Storage Block Devices, and then select This feature, and all subfeatures, will be installed on the local hard drive.

When the HCT kit is installed, restart the computer.

17. Click Start; point to All Programs; click HCT; and then click HCT 12.1.

18. When Test Manager is finished scanning the system for new hardware, the Test Selection Wizard pane appears. Confirm that Storage Block Devices is not selected in the Categories column.

19. Click Next.

20. On the left pane, in the Device Name column, select the MS iSCSI Initiator or iSCSI HBA that is connected to the RAID system.

When the installation is complete, click Finish.

21. On node 1, start the HCT Test Manager and click Client Server Phase 1: Client, and then click Add Selection. Manually enter the number of nodes in parameter #2, click OK and Start Tests.

22. On node 2, start the HCT Test Manager and click Client Server Phase 1: Server, and then click Add Selection. Manually enter the name of node 1 in parameter #2, click OK and Start Tests.

23. Verify that all nodes passed.

PART II Testing – Cluster Device Services

To CONFIGURE the test for Cluster Storage Block Device testing:

1. Begin with the configuration for hardware testing.

Computer 1 = Cluster Node 1 [Dell PowerEdge 800 Server]

Computer 2 = Cluster Node 2 [Dell PowerEdge 800 Server]

Computer 3 = Primary Domain Controller [Dell PowerEdge 800 Server]

To CONFIGURE the tests for Cluster Storage Block Device Services testing:

2. From a factory defaulted Promise VTrak configure the following Disk Arrays:

A. Disk Array 1 = RAID 5, 64KB SBS, WriteBack Cache using PD: 1~4 with 3x10GB LD. (Need 1 LD for each Node, and 1 LD for Quorum)

3. Enable auto logon in the iSCSI Initiator software.

4. Login all Nodes to the VTrak iSCSI RAID Systems.

5. On node 1, use Windows Disk Management to reformat disk 1-3 with the NTFS file system. Do not select the Quick Format option. You should select the Enable File and Folder Compression option.

6. Verify that nodes 1and 2 recognize the shared disks. (Do not rewrite signatures, repartition, or reformat)

7. From node 1, click Start, point to All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.

8. In the Cluster Administrator window, from the File menu, select Open Connection, and then select Create new cluster.

9. Follow the instructions in the New Server Cluster Wizard.

10. While the cluster is being analyzed, the Analyzing Cluster page displays the results of the analysis. If a red "X" character is displayed on the Analyzing Cluster page, click the Back button to correct the information.

11. Provide a static IP address for the cluster. This IP address must be valid on the "Public Network." The Cluster IP will be, e.g. 40.0.0.x.

12. When you are prompted to enter log on information, enter the username and password for the domain account that the cluster service will run under.

13. This account is given administrator rights on nodes 1and 2.

14. Verify that the information on the Proposed Cluster Configuration page is correct, and then click Next to create the cluster.

15. While the cluster is being created, the Creating Cluster page displays the results of the creation process. If a red "X" character is displayed on the Proposed Cluster Configuration page, click the Back button to correct the information.

16. Once the cluster is created, click Finish to exit the New Server Cluster Wizard.

17. Once the cluster is created, right click on the Cluster name (icon on top of the tree), select Properties, select Network Priority Tab, move the "Private Network" connection to the top of the list, then select Properties.

18. Select Radio button Internal Cluster Communications Only (Private Network), click Apply, and then click OK twice.

19. If the "iSCSI Network" is listed in the Network Priority Tab, select "iSCSI Network" connection, select Properties, then uncheck enable this network for Cluster use. This will remove the "iSCSI Network" from the list. Click Apply, then OK twice.

20. Use Cluster Administrator to start the New Server Cluster Wizard on nodes 2.

21. For the Action, select Add nodes to cluster.

22. On the Select Computers page, enter the name of node 2 and then click Add.

23. While the cluster is being analyzed, the Analyzing Configuration page displays the results of the analysis. If a red "X" character is displayed on the Analyzing Configuration page, click the Back button to correct the information.

24. When you are prompted to enter log on information, enter the username and password for the domain account that the cluster service will run under.

25. Verify that the information on the Proposed Cluster Configuration page is correct, and then click Next to create the cluster.

26. While the cluster is being analyzed, the Adding Nodes to Cluster page displays the results of the analysis. If a red "X" character is displayed on the Adding Nodes to Cluster page, click the Back button to correct the information.

27. Once the node has been added to the cluster, click Finish to exit the New Server Cluster Wizard.

To RUN the tests for Cluster Storage Block Device Services testing:

28. Install the HCT 12.1.01 on the PDC (not on any of the cluster nodes).

29. During installation, you are prompted to select a test kit. De-select any pre-selected test categories. In the Custom Setup window, expand Test Categories, expand Storage Controllers and Devices, expand Storage Block Devices, and then select This feature, and all subfeatures, will be installed on the local hard drive.

30. When the HCT kit is installed, restart the computer.

31. Click Start, point to All Programs, click HCT, and then click HCT 12.1.

32. When Test Manager finishes scanning the system to detect hardware, the Test Selection Wizard pane appears. Make sure that Storage Block Devices is selected in the Categories column. The text will change to Remote Test Host.

33. Click Finish.

34. Select the device name of the HBA that is connected to the RAID system.

35. When the installation is complete, click Finish.

36. Run the Simple Crash N Node test and the Simple Move N Node test.

Notes:

If you have problems adding a node to the cluster, use this command from the command prompt:
cluster node /forcecleanup
For a list of cluster commands, enter cluster /?.

Enable Auto Logon for all Nodes

Disable screensavers on all Nodes.

Set the Power scheme settings to Always On, and set the Settings for Always On power scheme to Never.

To create a Domain Controller, type dcpromo from the run command.

There is no need to enter the gateway for "Private, Public, or iSCSI Networks."

WebPAM Events

2005-11-18T10:33:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independent

Additional Description: See attachment

WebPAM Events

NS - Not Supported

NT - Not Tested

S3.1 – Supported in SR3.1

Severity Level is according to WebPAM not related with firmware

Event ID	Event Description	Severity Level	02.00.0000.00	02.01.0000.00	02.03.0000.15
			Event Subscription & Email	Event frame	Event Subscription & EmailEvent frameEvent Subscription & EmailEvent frame

	Controller Events
458753	Data Parity Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458754	Command Parity Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458755	Bus Reset		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458756	Unrecoverable Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458757	Abort task		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458759	Clear ACA		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458761	LUN Reset		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458762	Initiator Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458763	Illegal Secondary Identify		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458764	Message Parity Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
458765	Bus Reboot		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes

	Ultratrak Events
101	Ultratrak Connection Connected		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
102	Ultratrak Connection Lost		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes

	Disk Events
851969	Fatal Error		NS /S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
851970	Disk Down	Critical	Yes	Yes (Same as Disk Removed)	Yes NS (Same as Disk Removed) YesNS (Same as Disk Removed)
851978	Disk Plugged In		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
851979	Disk Removed		Yes	NS	YesYesYesYes
851980	Disk Access Retry		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
851982	Disk CRC Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
1048576	Disk S.M.A.R.T. Failed	Critical	Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
851981	Disk ECC Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
851983	Disk Bad Sector	Critical	Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
851984	Disk Reserve Sector Error		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
851985	Disk Time out		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
1835010	Wipe Out Boot Sector	Critical	NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
1835009	Wipe Out Reserved Sector	Critical	NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes

	DiskArray Events
1245184	Create Disk Array		NS (See Create LD)	NS	NS (See Create LD) NSYesYes
1245185	Delete Disk Array		NS (See Delete LD)	NS	NS (See Delete LD) NSYesYes
589828	Disk Array Critical	Critical	Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
589827	Disk Array Offline	Critical	Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
786432	Migration Started		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
786433	Migration Completed		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
786436	Migration Stopped		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
983040	Rebuild Started		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
983041	Rebuild Completed		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
983047	Rebuild Aborted		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
196608	Redundancy Check Started		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
196609	Redundancy Check Completed		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
196614	Redundancy Check Aborted		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
196610	Redundancy Check Paused		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
196611	Redundancy Check Resumed		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
196615	Redundancy Check Inconsistent Stripe	Critical	NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
1179648	Synchronization Started		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
1179649	Synchronization Completed		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
1179653	Synchronization Aborted		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
1179650	Synchronization Paused		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
1179651	Synchronization Resumed		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
1769472	PDM Started		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
1769473	PDM Completed		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
1769477	PDM Aborted		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
524288	Full Initialization Start		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
524289	Full Initialization Completed		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
524292	Full Initialization Stopped		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
524295	Quick Initialization Start		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
524296	Quick Initialization Completed		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
524299	Quick Initialization Stopped		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
99	Percent Completed		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes

	LogicalDrive Events
589834	Create Logical Drive		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
589835	Delete Logical Drive		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
589832	Quick Initialization Start		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
589833	Quick Initialization Completed		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes

	Enclosure Events
917508	Enclosure Power Down		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
917507	Enclosure Power Up		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
917504	Power Supply Not Present		NS/ S3.1	Yes	NS YesYesYes
1114115	Enclosure Over Temperature	Critical	Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
327681	Enclosure Fan Stop	Critical	Yes	NS	Yes NSYesNS
327685	Cooling Device Inserted		NS/ S3.1	NS/ S3.1	NS YesYesYes
327686	Cooling Device Removed		NS/ S3.1	NS/ S3.1	NS YesYesYes
1114114	Enclosure 3.3V Out of Range		Yes	NS	Yes NSYesNS
1114113	Enclosure 5.0V Out of Range	Critical	Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
1114112	Enclosure 12.0V Out of Range	Critical	Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65548	Battery Inserted		NS/ S3.1	NS/ S3.1	NSNS YesYes
65547	Battery Removed		NS/ S3.1	NS/ S3.1	NSNS YesYes
65536	Battery Temperature Out of Range		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65537	Battery Temperature Back to Normal		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65538	Battery Capacity Below Threshold		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65539	Battery Capacity Normal		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65540	Battery Discharging		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65541	Battery Charging		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65542	Battery Maintenance Mode		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes
65546	Battery Life Ended		Yes	Yes	YesYesYesYes

Veritas Backup Exec 9.1 & 10

2005-11-18T10:32:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independent

Backup Exec v9.1.4691 + VT M500i + 15 disk RAID 0 for 5.45 TB NTFS volume (Win2003/SP1 GPT Disk) = Pass

Backup Exec v10.0.5484 + VT 15200 + 6 disk RAID 0/5/10 – 512 byte sector (Win2003 /no SP MBR Disk) = Pass

Backup Exec v10.0.5484 + VT 15200 + 6 disk RAID 0/5/10 – 1024 byte sector (Win2003 /no SP MBR Disk) = Pass

Backup Exec v10.0.5484 + VT 15200 + 6 disk RAID 0/5/10 –

2048 byte sector (Win2003 /no SP MBR Disk) = Fail

Backup Exec v10.0.5484 + VT 15200 + 6 disk RAID 0/5/10 –

4096 byte sector (Win2003 /no SP MBR Disk) = Fail

There are two issues that I saw:

If Backup Exec is install onto the disk array that is using >512 byte sectors, then the installation will abort and in the log file you will see this entry:

05-04-2005,10:29:00 : Installing BE database.

05-04-2005,10:29:00 : Executing Attach_BEDB.

05-04-2005,10:29:10 : The SQL server SYS51\BKUPEXEC with service name of MSSQL$BKUPEXEC has been started

05-04-2005,10:29:10 : DRIVER={SQL Server};SERVER=SYS51\BKUPEXEC;Trusted_Connection=Yes

05-04-2005,10:29:11 : Connected to SQL Server.

>>>05-04-2005,10:29:11 : Failed to get data for SQL statement: select filename from master..sysdatabases where name='BEDB'

05-04-2005,10:29:11 : Attaching BEDB to SQL Server.

05-04-2005,10:29:11 : EXEC sp_attach_db 'BEDB',@filename1 = N'F:\Exec Installed\Data\BEDB_Dat.mdf', @filename2 = N'F:\Exec Installed\Data\BEDB_Log.ldf'

>>>05-04-2005,10:29:13 : ERROR: Cannot use file 'F:\Exec Installed\Data\BEDB_Log.ldf' because it was originally formatted with sector size 512 and is now on a device with sector size 1024.

Device activation error. The physical file name 'F:\Exec Installed\Data\BEDB_Log.ldf' may be incorrect.

Cannot create file 'F:\Exec Installed\Data\BEDB_log.LDF' because it already exists.

Could not open new database 'BEDB'. CREATE DATABASE is aborted.

sql:EXEC sp_attach_db 'BEDB',@filename1 = N'F:\Exec Installed\Data\BEDB_Dat.mdf', @filename2 = N'F:\Exec Installed\Data\BEDB_Log.ldf'

For the two test failures listed above, the behavior was the same. After creating the job and executing, the job status would jump from ‘initializing’ to ‘queued’. When I checked the Windows Application log, I saw many error messages while the jobs were attempting to run:
5/4/2005 11:05:57 AM Backup Exec Error - An error occurred while processing a B2D command.

Changer: Couldn't ReadFMTables/RecoverBKF (e:\Backup-to-Disk Folder 1\B2D000001.bkf). Error=87

5/4/2005 11:05:57 AM Backup Exec Error - An error occurred while processing a B2D command.

Drive: ReadFMTable() SetFilePointer failed (e:\Backup-to-Disk Folder 1\B2D000001.bkf). Error=87

For Item #1, the Backup Exec must ALWAYS be installed to a disk that is based on 512 byte sectors.

For Item #2, the Backup Exec could use media disks that are based on 1KB sector size (maximum capacity is 4TB) but 2KB and 4KB are not supported by the application.

For all issues, Service Pack 1 can be applied where GPT disks can resolve all capacity and compatibility issues.

Additional Information:

I believe this is nothing more than a volume size issue.

When we used to create >2TB disk arrays, we stated that the host needed to either support 64-bit LBAs (for 512 byte sectors) or variable disk sector sizes (1024, 2048 bytes).

Traditionally, Windows NT/2000/2003 did not support 64-bit LBA addressing with 32-bit operating systems. When Microsoft developed the 64-bit operating systems for Extended 64 and Itanium architectures they did take this into consideration and implemented GUID Partition Tables (GPT opposed to MBR disk) which addressed the large LBA count.

Promise pushed users to use >512 byte sectors when creating disk arrays >2TB. This is okay for non-data base or non-high availability applications.

However, most of the dbase or HA apps require full control over the HW being used down to the low-level byte access (don’t get me wrong, these applications can be manipulated to use >512 byte sectors – but it generally takes a highly paid contractor or system admin to implement).

Until recently, Microsoft announced GPT support for Windows 2003 Server with the release of Service Pack 1 on 32-bit architectures. This has been verified in the SQA Lab already and works extremely well with 512 byte sector disks (around 7.2 TB for a single NTFS volume).

The Backup Exec application is based on a scaled down SQL database which requires 512 byte sectors. Disk arrays that are created with 1024 or greater bytes may simply fail after the data that has been verified by BE but before any data has been written to the backup storage device that is using >512byte disk sectors. (This is why I would like to see the BE logs to confirm my theory).

In my testing I stick to as many default settings and standardized practices as possible.

I am using Windows 2003 Server, EE with Service Pack 1

Source:

Promise FastTrak SX4100 with 4-disk RAID 0/128KB SBS/WriteBack Cache = 320GB storage

252GB of data (140GB uncompressed)

623,910 files (561,960 are uncompressed)

13,650 folders

Target:

Promise VTrak M500i with 15-disk RAID 0/64KB SBS/WriteBack Cache/512 byte disk sectors = 5.45TB storage

GUID Partition Table and NTFS volume

Please ask customers to:

Apply SP1 to their host machines

Restore all RAID System default settings (15100 or 15200)

Define 1 large disk array using 512 byte disk sector size

Map the storage to the applicable host port

Upgrade the disk under the LVM to GPT disk from MBR disk (be sure that they do not upgrade from Basic to Dynamic disk)

Create the NTFS partition

Setup the Media disk under Backup Exec

Execute a backup

Veritas Backup Exec 9.x and 10.x

2005-11-18T10:32:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independent

Additional Description: Common file system limitations pertaining to Veritas Backup Exec versions 8.6, 9.0, 9.1, and version 10.0.

Solution: http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/242740.htm

Additional Information: Another useful article for Veritas Backup Exec versions 9.x & 10.x: http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/239539.htm

VTrak MIB files.

2005-09-21T17:12:00.0000000

Product: All VTrak 8110/12110/15110

Platform: M-CLASS & VTRAK (XX110 series)

Solution: The attachment is the SNMP MIB file required for this protocol.

Multi_LUN Mapping

2005-08-19T20:53:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independent

Firmware/Bios Version: 1.03

These are the steps for firmware 1.03 on Vtrak 15100

Promise VTrak Command Line Utility (CLU)

Version 01.03.0000.00

----------------------------------------

Main menu

1. Controller management

2. Disk management

3. Logical Drive management

Please enter your menu choice>3

----------------------------------------------------

Logical Drive management

1. View Logical Drive information

2. Logical Drive auto creation

3. Create new Logical Drive

4. Delete Logical Drive

5. Modify Logical Drive parameters

6. Advanced Logical Drive operation

7. Logical Drive activity progress monitor

R. Return to previous menu

Please enter your menu choice>5

--------------Modify Logical Drive Parameters---------------

1. SCSI assignment

2. Cache policy

3. Retry count

4. Enable/Disable SMART of Logical Drive's member disks

5. Logical Drive name

6. Rebuilding/migration/synchronization priority

7. Hot spare policy

8. Automatic rebuilding option

9. Flush frequency

R. Return to previous menu

Please enter your menu choice>1

*******Modify SCSI LUN & TID for Logical Drive******

Id Logical Drive Name LUN TID SCSI Channel #

----------------------------------------------------------------

1 Array1 2 0 1

0 0 2

2 Array2 1 0 1

1 0 2

Please select the Logical Drive ID to modify LUN/TID

Press R to return after finished>1

Want to modify LUN for SCSI channel 1, Logical Drive 1(y/n)?>y

Please enter the new LUN (0,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15)>

Error, LUN 2 is not available

Want to modify LUN for SCSI channel 2, Logical Drive 1(y/n)?>

*******Modify SCSI LUN & TID for Logical Drive******

Id Logical Drive Name LUN TID SCSI Channel #

----------------------------------------------------------------

1 Array1 2 0 1

0 0 2

2 Array2 1 0 1

1 0 2

Please select the Logical Drive ID to modify LUN/TID

Press R to return after finished>1

Want to modify LUN for SCSI channel 1, Logical Drive 1(y/n)?>n

Want to modify LUN for SCSI channel 2, Logical Drive 1(y/n)?>y

Please enter the new LUN (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15)>255

LUN is set to 255 for SCSI channel 2 Logical Drive 1

*******Modify SCSI LUN & TID for Logical Drive******

Id Logical Drive Name LUN TID SCSI Channel #

----------------------------------------------------------------

1 Array1 2 0 1

2 Array2 1 0 1

1 0 2

Please select the Logical Drive ID to modify LUN/TID

Press R to return after finished>2

Want to modify LUN for SCSI channel 1, Logical Drive 2(y/n)?>y

Please enter the new LUN (0,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15)>255

LUN is set to 255 for SCSI channel 1 Logical Drive 2

Want to modify LUN for SCSI channel 2, Logical Drive 2(y/n)?>n

*******Modify SCSI LUN & TID for Logical Drive******

Id Logical Drive Name LUN TID SCSI Channel #

----------------------------------------------------------------

1 Array1 2 0 1

2 Array2 1 0 2

Please select the Logical Drive ID to modify LUN/TID

Press R to return after finished>

NCQ Support

2005-08-19T20:53:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independent

Additional Description: Does VTrak 15100/15110/12110/8110 (using SR5 Firmware/v2.04) and the VTrak 15200 SR3.1 /v2.00.0001.02 FW supports command queuing?

Solution:

VTrak 15100 - Supports TCQ only

VTrak 15110 - Supports TCQ and NCQ

VTrak 12110 - Supports TCQ and NCQ

VTrak 8110 - Supports TCQ and NCQ

VTrak 15200 - Supports TCQ only

Minimum and preferred specifications for a SCSI HBA card

2005-08-19T20:51:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Product Description: VTrak 15100/15200

Platform: Independant

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Additional Description: Use the table below to determine what type of SCSI card to use

Solution:

Data travels between the Host/RAID PC and the VTrak storage system through a SCSI connection. Therefore, the SCSI HBA card is an essential part of the Host/RAID PC and VTrak system.

The table below lists the minimum and preferred specifications for a SCSI HBA card.

Refer to your system and/or SCSI HBA manual for these specifications.

Additional Information:

VTrak has a peak sustained thoughput of 100 MB/s per channel. Using an 80MB/s SCSI card will result in a performance bottleneck under certain conditions.

How to create several partions within an array using hyperterminal

2005-08-19T20:50:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: All

Firmware/Bios Version: 2.05

Additional Description: This will allow multiple partitions within the array without needing the os to break it up.

Solution:

From the main menu : (assuming the partition is blank other wise delete the array) Press option 2 - create disk array. Type the number of physical drives <enter>. Next hit <c> to continue. Pick raid type <enter> then select block size <enter>. It will ask for initialization, click yes (remember this is new array), then it will ask to create a logical drive <y> yes. Then it will ask , "How many partitions do you want". The next step is to divide the partition that is equal or less than the sum of the array. "( FOR EXAMPLE: Total sum of all drives is 370G, and you want 5 partitions that is 70 gigs a piece. FORMAT WOULD LOOK SUCH AS : 5X70G. Next hit enter. It will not show the logical partitions immediately, but return to the main menu and type option <4>, and it will see the partitions.

Additional Information: Information provided by Tech Jeremy.

How to automatically mount a array in Linux

2005-08-19T20:48:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Linux

Additional Description: You can use this for Floppy, SCSI, ATA, CD-ROM too

Solution:

1. Log-in as root first

2. Go to etc directory: "cd /etc"

3. Edit fstab file: "vi fstab"

4. type this: "/dev/sda1 /directory_name ext3 defaults 0 0

5. Save the changes by hitting "ESC" key then type "ZZ"

FRU Interchangeability Chart

2005-08-19T20:45:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Product Description: VTrak 15100/15200

Chart below shows the what model uses a specific component. This chart is meant to show interchangeability of FRU's

Compatability List for Host Platforms

2005-08-19T20:41:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independant

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Additional Description:

The following products have been tested by Promise and verified to be compatible with

the VTrak subsystem. Products not on this list may or may not be compatible with

VTrak.

Solution:

Tested compatible Host Platforms:

• Dell PowerEdge 2650

• Dell PowerEdge 1650

• HP / Compaq Proliant DL380 G3

• HP / Compaq Proliant ML370 G3

• IBM xSeries 345

• Apple PowerMac G4

• Apple PowerMac G5 (Dual 2GHz)

• Sun SunFire V120 (SPARC)

• Intel SE7501HG2

• Intel SE7505VB2

• Intel SHG2

• Intel SE7500CW2

• Intel D875PBZ

• Intel D845PT

• Tyan Thunder i7505

• Tyan i7501 Pro

• SuperMicro X5DAL-TG2

• SuperMicro X5DAE

• MicroStar Computers 845Ultra

• MicroStar Computers KT3Ultra

• Asus A7V333

• Asus P4C800

• Asus P4T533

Additional Information:

This is the list of current qualified and supported compatible products. If it is on this list then it has been tested

and approved for use. If it is not on this list then it is not supported. It may or may not work but it is not supported

by Promise.

Compatability List for Operating Systems

2005-08-19T20:41:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independant

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Additional Description:

The following products have been tested by Promise and verified to be compatible with

the VTrak subsystem. Products not on this list may or may not be compatible with

VTrak.

Solution:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4 [English]

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4 [English]

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server with Service Pack 4 [English]

• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server [English]

• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, Enterprise Edition [English]

• RedHat Advanced Server 2.1

• RedHat 9.0

• SuSE Enterprise Server 8

• SuSE Professional 8.2

• TurboLinux Server 8.0

• FreeBSD 5.0 [x86]

• Caldera OpenUNIX 8

• Novell Netware 6.0

• Novell Netware 6.5

• Mac OS 10.2 [G4]

• Mac OS 10.2.7 [G5]

• Sun Solaris 8 [SPARC]

• Sun Solaris 9 [SPARC]

Additional Information:

This is the list of current qualified and supported compatible products. If it is on this list then it has been tested

and approved for use. If it is not on this list then it is not supported. It may or may not work but it is not supported

by Promise.

Compatability List for Hard Disk Drives

2005-08-19T20:40:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independant

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Problem Description: Compatability List for Hard Disk Drives

Additional Description:

The following products have been tested by Promise and verified to be compatible with the VTrak subsystem. Products not on this list may or may not be compatible with VTrak.

Solution:

Hard Disk Drive Compatibility:

Drive Vendor	Drive Family	Drive Model	Capacity	Spindle	Buffer	Interface
Samsung	SpinPoint P80	SP1614C	160GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Samsung	SpinPoint P80	SP1213C	120GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Samsung	SpinPoint P80	SP0812C	80GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Seagate	Barracuda7200.7 Plus	ST3200822A	200GB	7200RPM	8MB	ATA100
Seagate	Barracuda7200.7 SATA	ST3160023AS	160GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Seagate	Barracuda7200.7	ST3160021A	160GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Seagate	Barracuda7200.7 SATA	ST3120026AS	120GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Seagate	Barracuda7200.7 SATA	ST380013AS	80GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Seagate	Barracuda7200.7	ST380011A	80GB	7200RPM	2MB	ATA100
Seagate	BarracudaSerial ATA V	ST3120023AS	120GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Seagate	Barracuda ATAV	ST3120024A	120GB	7200RPM	2MB	ATA100
Seagate	BarracudaSerial ATA V	ST380023AS	80GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
WesternDigital	Raptor	WD360GD	36GB	10,000RPM	8MB	SATA150
WesternDigital	Raptor	WD740GD	74GB	10,000RPM	8MB	SATA150
WesternDigital	Raptor - TCQ Enabled	WD740GB	74GB	10,000RPM	8MB	SATA150
WesternDigital	Caviar SE	WD2500JD	250GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
WesternDigital	Caviar	WD2500JB	250GB	7200RPM	8MB	ATA100
WesternDigital	Caviar SE	WD1200JD	120GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
WesternDigital	Caviar	WD1200JB	120GB	7200RPM	8MB	ATA100
Maxtor	MaXLine II	5A300J0	320GB	5400RPM	2MB	ATA133
Maxtor	MaXLine Plus II	7Y250M0	250GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Maxtor	MaXLine Plus II	7Y250P0	250GB	7200RPM	8MB	ATA133
Maxtor	DiamondMaxPlus 9	6Y200M0	200GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Maxtor	DiamondMaxPlus 9	6Y200P0	200GB	7200RPM	8MB	ATA133
Maxtor	DiamondMaxPlus 9	6Y080M0	80GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Maxtor	DiamondMaxPlus 9	6Y060M0	60GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Hitachi	Deskstar 7k400	HDS724040KLSA80	400GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Hitachi /IBM	Deskstar 7K250	HDS722525VLSA80	250GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Hitachi /IBM	Deskstar 7K250	HDS722512VLSA80	120GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Hitachi /IBM	Deskstar 7K250	HDS722580VLSA80	80GB	7200RPM	8MB	SATA150
Hitachi /IBM	Deskstar180GXP	IC35L180AVV207	185GB	7200RPM	8MB	ATA100
Hitachi /IBM	Deskstar120GXP	IC35L120AVVA07	120GB	7200RPM	2MB	ATA100
Fujitsu	Pre-Released	Pre-Released	40GB	4500RPM	2MB	SATA150

Additional Information: *ATA100/ATA133 drives use the optional Promise SATA-to-PATA adapter.

This is the list of current qualified and supported compatible products. If it is on this list then it has been tested and approved for use. If it is not on this list then it is not supported. It may or may not work but it is not supported

by Promise.

Compatability List for Host Controllers

2005-08-19T20:40:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independant

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Additional Description:

The following products have been tested by Promise and verified to be compatible with the VTrak subsystem. Products not on this list may or may not be compatible with VTrak.

Solution:

Tested compatible Host Controllers:

SCSI Host Bus Adapters

------------------------------------

• Dell PE1650 / Adaptec AIC-7899 [U160 SCSI]

• Dell PE2650 / Adaptec AIC-7899 [U160 SCSI]

• SunFire V120 / Qlogic Sun U3 Differential [U160 SCSI]

• IBM xSeries 345 / LSI Logic 1030 [U320 SCSI]

• HP / LSI Logic U320 SCSI [U320 SCSI]

• Adaptec 39320D [U320 SCSI]

• Adaptec 29160LP [U160 SCSI]

• Adaptec 29160 [U160 SCSI]

• Adaptec 39160 [U160 SCSI]

• LSI Logic LSI21320 [U320 SCSI]

• LSI Logic LSI22915A [U160 SCSI]

• LSI Logic LSI22903 [U160 SCSI]

• Qlogic 12160 [U160 SCSI]

SCSI RAID Adapters

------------------------------

• Dell PERC-3DC [U160 SCSI]

• LSI Logic MegaRAID 493 [U160 SCSI]

• IBM xSeries ServeRAID-4MX [U160 SCSI]

• Mylex 352 [U160 SCSI]

• HP SmartArray 5i [U160 SCSI]

• HP SmartArray 5300 [U160 SCSI]

• Adaptec 2200S [U320 SCSI]

• Adaptec 3210S [U160 SCSI]

Additional Information:

This is the list of current qualified and supported compatible products. If it is on this list then it has been tested

and approved for use. If it is not on this list then it is not supported. It may or may not work but it is not supported

by Promise.

Can only see 1 array in the OS (There is 2 array created)

2005-08-19T20:39:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: RedHat ES 3.0

Firmware/Bios Version: 2.01

Additional Description: You can see the 2 array on the SCSI BIOS and in the Vtrak 15100 CLU but not in the OS.

Solution:

1.) Enable Multi-LUN support in the SCSI BIOS.

2.) In the Vtrak 151000 set LUN to 0 and TID to 0 & 1.

3.) Disable SCSI RAID Console in the Vtrak 15100

Cannot change cache option for Logical drive to Writeback

2005-08-19T20:39:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independent

Additional Description: When you modify the cache policy for a logical drive it does not allow you to select Writeback for the logical drive

Solution:

Usually the problem is a bad battery, it is not charged or it is defective. Try reseating the cooling unit that houses the battery. Run a diagnostic on the battery using the CLI. Also check for amber or red LED's for the battery or the FRU status light.

Additional Information:

Sometimes the enclosure will not detect the battery for at least 3 minutes so wait 3 minutes after turning the Vtrak on before you check the cache settings for the logical drive that way the enclosure will report accurately

Cannot convert LD over 2tb to Dynamic Disk

2005-08-19T20:39:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

Firmware/Bios Version: Any

Additional Description:

Dynamic disks are limited under Windows 2000 (NTFS5) to 2 TeraBytes (TB).

Solution:

Dynamic disks are limited under Windows 2000 (NTFS5) to 2 TeraBytes (TB). Dynamic volumes are limited under Windows 2000 (NTFS5) to 64 TB. Regardless of the file system, there is a logical limit of 8,192 EB (2^63 bytes) for volume input/output (I/O) operations.

As of July 2002, the NTFS implementation limits any NTFS volume to a maximum size of between 2 TB (2^32 allocation units x 512 bytes/all.unit) and 256 TB (2^32 allocation units x 65536 bytes/all.unit).

The physical disk access structures are limited to a maximum size of 2 TB (2^32 sectors x 512 bytes/sector) for each physical disk. This limit is made by the disk driver file (Disk.sys).

Spanned and striped volumes are limited to 32 members each.

Additional Information:

You cannot convert a disk that is larger than 2 TB to a dynamic disk. This limit is made by the disk driver file (Disk.sys). However, the logical layers above can address larger disks. The maximum size of a dynamic volume (spanned/striped) under Windows 2000 is 32 x 2 TB = 64 TB.

Benefits of Initialization

2005-08-19T20:38:00.0000000

Product: Vtrak 15100

Platform: Independent

The initialization process serves two primary purposes and is strongly encouraged by all RAID vendors to perform prior to user access to data area – not just Promise.

Second, is to synchronize the spindles to optimize RAID 5 writes (read others vs. read modify write).

They can also download the Microsoft HCT 11.2 test kit and run the Storage Data Verification test on the RAID volumes to confirm the integrity as well.

However, if these drives are truly going bad, then the S.M.A.R.T. thresholds should be exceeded and the S.M.A.R.T. status should be failed.

. Promise does report bad sectors, but because we recover the condition, we report the event as a minor severity.

Synchronization will not complete and Logical Drive creation will be in a loop forever

2005-08-19T09:42:00.0000000

Product: All VTrak M-500i/300i/200i

Platform: Independent

Firmware/Bios Version: Version 0.1

Additional Description:

Synchronization will not complete and Logical Drive creation will be in a loop forever. Background tasks, such as Synchronization and Redundancy Check will not complete and the progress status that is displayed will be wrong. When this problem happens, the configured logical drive cannot be recognized or accessed from the host server.

Solution:

To temporarily avoid this problem, do NOT set the max. logical size to exceed 2TB. Any Logical Drive size that is less than 2TB will work fine without any problems. A finial fix will be put in M-Class products Service Release 1. The SR1 release schedule is for the end of October, 2005.

Additional Information:

The problem is due to a 64 bit assignment issue. In the code when we multiple two 32 bit variable and assign it to a 64 bit variable, the upper 32 bits were getting truncated. Due to this, the B/G task was rolling back to 0 and restarting the B/G tasks operation from beginning

Why windows does not see parition after expanding array.

2005-08-19T09:41:00.0000000

Product: All VTrak M-500i/300i/200i

Platform: All

Firmware/Bios Version: Most

Solution: From 0-2 TB the sector size is 512k. From 2-4 TB the sector size is 1028k. Then from 4 + it changes the sector size to 2048k thats why the information is displayed in as unallocated. Following this parameters when expanding should make expanding the array work.

Property Name	Definition
Time Since Last Reset	Time in minutes that the system has been ruinning
Number of Frames Sent	Total number of frames sent since last reset
Number of Frames Received	Total number of frames received since last reset
Number of Words Sent	Total number of words sent since last reset
Number of Words Received	Total number of frames received since last reset
LIP Count - Loop Initilization Primitive Sequence	This Primitive Sequence applies only to the Arbitrated Loop topology. It is transmitted by an L_Port to (re)initialize the Loop
NOS Count - Not Operational Primitive Sequence	This Primitive Sequence is used during link initialization between two N_Ports in the Point-to-point topology or an N_Port and an F_Port in the Fabric topology. It is sent to indicate that that transmitting port has detected a link failure or is offline. The expected response to a port sending NOS is the OLS Primitive Sequence.
Number of Error Frames	FC devices propagate handshake signals back in forth requesting and acknowledging each byte transferred. FC transfers occur in frames of data on frame at a time. In this case this area reflects the number of Frames with errors.
Number of Dumped Frames	This field specifies the dumped number of frames due to a lack of host buffers.
Link Failure Count	Amount of times the link has failed (literally pull the SFP or disconnect the link, can be caused by bad fiber element)
Loss Sync Count	This field specifies the number of times loss of sync has occurred.
Primitive Sequence Error Count	An Ordered Set transmitted repeatedly and used to establish and maintain a link. LR, LRR, NOS, and OLS are Primitive Sequences used to establish an active link in a connection between two N_Ports or an N_Port and an F_Port. LIP, LPB, and LPE are Primitive Sequences used in the Arbitrated Loop topology for initializing the Loop and enabling or disabling an L_Port
Invalid Word Count	This field specifies the number of invalid words received
Invalid CRC Count	This field specifies the number of frames received with an invalid CRC.
Initiator IO Count	I/O Count on the initiator on the host side