3Ware 720-0192-00 User manual

3ware®SAS/SATA
RAID Controller
Command Line Interface
Version 9.5.2—Supports the 9000 Series
(9690SA, 9650SE, 9590SE, 9550SX(U), and 9500S)
PN: 720-0192-00
May 2009
CLI Guide

Proprietary Rights Notice
This document contains proprietary information of LSI Corporation. The information contained herein is not
to be used by or disclosed to third parties without the express written permission of an officer of LSI
Corporation.
Document Description
Document 720-0192-00, Rev. A. May 2009.
This document will remain the official reference source for all revisions and releases of this product until
rescinded by an update.
Disclaimer
It is the policy of LSI Corporation to improve products as new technology, components, software, and
firmware become available. LSI reserves the right to make changes to any products herein at any time
without notice. All features, functions, and operations described herein may not be marketed by LSI in all
parts of the world. In some instances, photographs and figures are of equipment prototypes. Therefore,
before using this document, consult your LSI representative for information that is applicable and current. LSI
DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR THE USE OF ANY PRODUCTS DESCRIBED HEREIN
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY AGREED TO IN WRITING BY LSI.
LSI products are not intended for use in life-support appliances, devices, or systems. Use of any LSI product in
such applications without written consent of the appropriate LSI officer is prohibited.
License Restriction
The purchase or use of an LSI Corporation product does not convey a license under any patent, copyright,
trademark, or other intellectual property right of LSI or third parties.
Copyright Notice
© 2009 LSI Corporation. All rights reserved.
Trademark Acknowledgments
3ware®, Escalade®, 3DM®, and TwinStor® are all registered trademarks of LSI Corporation. The 3ware logo,
3BM, Multi-Lane, StorSave, StorSwitch, StreamFusion, and R5 Fusion are all trademarks of LSI. . All other brand
and product names may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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Table of Contents
About this CLI Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 1. Introduction to the 3ware Command Line Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Features of the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Supported Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Installing the 3ware CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Installing the 3ware CLI on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Installing the 3ware CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, and OpenSolaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Working with 3ware CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Using the command interface interactively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Using a single command with output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Using an input file to execute a script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Outputting the CLI to a Text File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Understanding RAID Levels and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
RAID Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Available RAID Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Determining What RAID Level to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using Drive Capacity Efficiently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Support for Over 2 Terabytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 2. CLI Syntax Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Common Tasks Mapped to CLI Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Syntax Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Shell Object Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
focus Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
commit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
flush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
rescan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
show alarms [reverse] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
show events [reverse] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
show AENs [reverse] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
show diag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
show rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
show selftest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
show ver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
show verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
update fw=filename_with_path [force] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Controller Object Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
/cxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
/cxshow attribute [attribute ...] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
/cxshow achip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
/cxshow allunitstatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
/cxshow autocarve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
/cxshow autorebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
/cxshow bios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

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/cxshow carvesize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
/cxshow ctlbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
/cxshow driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
/cxshow dpmstat [type=inst|ra|ext] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
/cxshow drivestatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
/cxshow exportjbod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
/cxshow firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
/cxshow memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
/cxshow model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
/cxshow monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
cxshow numdrives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
/cxshow numports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
/cxshow numunits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
/cxshow ondegrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
/cxshow pcb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
/cxshow pchip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
/cxshow serial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
/cxshow spinup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
/cxshow stagger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
/cxshow unitstatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
/cxshow all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
/cxshow alarms [reverse] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
/cxshow events [reverse] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
/cxshow AENs [reverse] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
/cxshow diag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
/cxshow phy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
/cxshow rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
/cxshow rebuildmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
/cxshow rebuildrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
/cxshow selftest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
/cxshow verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
/cxshow verifymode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
/cxshow verifyrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
/cxadd type=<RaidType> disk=<p:-p> [stripe=size] [noscan]
[group=<3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12/13|14|15|16>] [nocache|nowrcache] [nordcache|
rdcachebasic] [autoverify] [noqpolicy] [ignoreECC] [name=string]
[storsave=<protect|balance|perform>] [rapidrecovery=all|rebuild|disable]
[v0=n|vol=a:b:c:d] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
/cxrescan [noscan] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
/cxcommit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
/cxflush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
/cxupdate fw=filename_with_path [force] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
/cxadd rebuild=ddd:hh:duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
/cxadd verify=ddd:hh:duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
/cxadd selftest=ddd:hh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
/cxdel rebuild=slot_id . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
/cxdel verify=slot_id . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
/cxdel selftest=slot_id . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
/cxset dpmstat=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
/cxset rebuild=enable|disable|1..5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
/cxset rebuildmode=<adaptive|lowlatency> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
/cx set rebuildrate=<1...5> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
/cxset verify=enable|disable|1..5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
/cxset verify=advanced|basic|1..5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
/cxset verify=basic [pref=ddd:hh] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

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/cxset verifymode=<adaptive|lowlatency> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
/cx set verifyrate=<1..5> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
/cxset selftest=enable|disable [task=UDMA|SMART] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
/cxset exportjbod=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
/cxset ondegrade=cacheoff|follow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
/cxset spinup=nn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
/cxset stagger=nn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
/cxset autocarve=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
/cxset carvesize=[1024..32768] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
/cxset autorebuild=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
/cx set autodetect=on|off disk=<p:-p>|all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
/cxstart mediascan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
/cxstop mediascan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Unit Object Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
/cx/uxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
/cx/uxshow attribute [attribute ...] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
/cx/uxshow autoverify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
/cx/uxshow cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
/cx/uxshow wrcache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
/cx/uxshow rdcache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
/cx/uxshow identify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
/cx/uxshow ignoreECC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
/cx/uxshow initializestatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
/cx/uxshow name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
/cx/uxshow qpolicy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
/cx/uxshow rapidrecovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
/cx/uxshow rebuildstatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
/cx/uxshow serial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
/cx/uxshow status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
/cx/uxshow storsave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
/cx/uxshow verifystatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
/cx/uxshow volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
/cx/uxshow all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
/cx/uxremove [noscan] [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
/cx/ux del [noscan] [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
/cx/uxstart rebuild disk=<p:-p...> [ignoreECC] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
/cx/uxstart verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
/cx/uxpause rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
/cx/uxresume rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
/cx/ux stop verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
/cx/uxflush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
/cx/uxset autoverify=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
/cx/uxset cache=on|off [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
/cx/uxset wrcache=on|off [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
/cx/uxset rdcache=basic|intelligent|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
/cx/uxset identify=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
/cx/uxset ignoreECC=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
/cx/uxset name=string . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
/cx/uxset qpolicy=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
/cx/ux set rapidrecovery all|rebuild|disable [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
/cx/uxset storsave=protect|balance|perform [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
/cx/uxmigrate type=RaidType [disk=p:-p]
[group=3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16] [stripe=size] [noscan] [nocache]
[autoverify] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Port Object Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

vi 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, Version 9.5.2
/cx/pxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
/cx/pxshow attribute [attribute ...] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
/cx/pxshow capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
/cx/px show driveinfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
/cx/pxshow firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
/cx/pxshow identify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
/cx/pxshow lspeed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
/cx/pxshow model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
/cx/pxshow ncq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
/cx/pxshow serial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
/cx/pxshow smart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
/cx/pxshow status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
/cx/pxshow all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
/cx/pxshow dpmstat type=inst|ra|lct|histdata|ext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
/cx/pxremove [noscan] [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
/cx/pxset identify=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
/cx/pxset dpmstat=clear [type=ra|lct|ext] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Phy Object Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
/cx/phyxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
/cx/phyxset link=auto|1.5|3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
BBU Object Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
/cx/bbu show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
/cx/bbu show attribute [attribute ...] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
/cx/bbu show batinst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
/cx/bbu show bootloader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
/cx/bbu show cap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
/cx/bbu show fw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
/cx/bbu show lasttest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
/cx/bbu show pcb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
/cx/bbu show serial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
/cx/bbu show status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
/cx/bbu show temp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
/cx/bbu show volt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
/cx/bbu show all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
/cx/bbu test [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
/cx/bbu enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
/cx/bbu disable [quiet] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Enclosure Object and Element Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
/cx/exshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
/cx/exshow attribute [attribute ...] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
/cx/exshow controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
/cx/ex/ show diag=helptext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
/cx/exshow slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
/cx/exshow fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
/cx/exshow temp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
/cx/exshow pwrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
/cx/exshow alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
/cx/exshow all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
/cx/ex/slotxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
/cx/ex/slotxshow identify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
/cx/ex/slotxset identify=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
/cx/ex/fanxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
/cx/ex/fanxshow identify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
/cx/ex/fanxset identify=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
/cx/ex/fanx set speed=<0..7> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

www.3ware.com vii
/cx/ex/pwrsxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
/cx/ex/pwrsxshow identify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
/cx/ex/pwrsxset identify=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
/cx/ex/tempxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
/cx/ex/tempxshow identify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
/cx/ex/tempxset identify=on|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
/cx/ex/almxshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
/cx/ex/almxset alarm=mute|unmute|off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Help Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Help with specific commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Help with attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
help show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
help flush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
help rescan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
help update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
help commit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
help focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
help /cx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
help /cx/phyx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
help /cx/ux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
help /cx/px . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
help /cx/bbu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
help /cx/ex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
help /cx/ex/slotx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
help /cx/ex/fanx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
help /cx/ex/tempx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
help /cx/ex/pwrsx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
help /cx/ex/almx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Command Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Location of the Log File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Disabling and enabling command logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Return Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

www.3ware.com 1
About this CLI Guide
3ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, Version 9.5.2 provides
instructions for configuring and maintaining your 3ware controller using
3ware’s command line interface (CLI).
This guide assumes that you have already installed your 3ware RAID
controller in your system. If you have not yet done so, see the installation
guide that came with your 3ware RAID controller for instructions.
LSI makes a number of 3ware controller models, including 9000-series
(9690SA, 9650SE, 9590SE, 9550SX(U), and 9500S), and earlier 7000/8000
series boards. The Command Syntax described in this document supports all
of those boards, although not all commands are supported on every controller.
When a command is not supported for all controllers, the specific model
numbers that it applies to are indicated with the command.
There are often multiple ways to accomplish the same configuration and
maintenance tasks for your 3ware controller. While this manual includes
instructions for performing tasks using the command line interface, you can
also use the following applications:
•3ware BIOS Manager
•3DM®2 (3ware Disk Manager)
For details, see the user guide or the 3ware HTML Bookshelf.
Table 1: Sections in this CLI Guide
Chapter Description
1. Introduction to 3ware
Command Line Interface Installation, features, concepts
2. CLI Syntax Reference Describes individual commands using the
primary syntax

23ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, Version 9.5.2
1
Introduction to the 3ware
Command Line Interface
The 3ware SATA RAID Controller Command Line Interface (CLI) manages
multiple 7000, 8000, and 9000-series 3ware ATA and Serial ATA RAID
controllers via a command line or script.
This chapter includes the following sections:
•“Features of the CLI” on page 3
•“Installing the 3ware CLI” on page 3
•“Working with 3ware CLI” on page 7
•“Understanding RAID Levels and Concepts” on page 10
Note: Some CLI commands are supported only for particular models of 3ware
RAID controllers. Wherever possible, commands are labeled to indicate when they
are supported for only a subset of controllers.
For example, commands that apply only to 3ware 9000 series controllers are
labeled as such and are not supported for 3ware 7000/8000 controllers.
Within the 9000 series, some commands apply to only to models 9690SA and
9650SE, some apply to 9690SA, 9650SE, 9590SE, and 9550SX(U), but not to
9500S, and are so labeled. A few commands apply only to models 9500S, and are
labeled as such.
If a command is labeled as applying to the SX controller, it is available for both
9550SX and 9550SXU.
You may need to install particular firmware and drivers for some features to take
effect. See the Release Notes for details.
Important!
For all of the functions of the 3ware CLI to work properly, you must have the proper
CLI, firmware, and driver versions installed. Check http://www.3ware.com/support
for the latest versions and upgrade instructions.

Chapter 1. Introduction to the 3ware Command Line Interface
33ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, Version 9.5.2
Features of the CLI
3ware CLI is a command line interface for managing 3ware RAID
Controllers. It provides controller, logical unit, drive, enclosure, and BBU
(Battery Backup Unit) management. It can be used in both interactive and
batch mode, providing higher level API (application programming interface)
functionalities.
You can use the CLI to view unit status and version information and perform
maintenance functions such as adding or removing drives. 3ware CLI also
includes advanced features for creating and deleting RAID units online.
For a summary of what you can do using the CLI, see “Common Tasks
Mapped to CLI Commands” on page 20.
Supported Operating Systems
The 9.5.2 version of the 3ware CLI is supported under the following operating
systems:
•Windows®.Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008,
and Vista, (32-bit and 64-bit versions of each).
• Linux®.Redhat, SuSE, both 32-bit and 64-bit.
• FreeBSD®, both 32-bit and 64-bit.
•VMware
ESX 3.x Server
• OpenSolaris
For specific versions of Linux, FreeBSD, OpenSolaris, and VMWare that are
supported, see the Release Notes and the file versions.txt, available on the
CD.
Installing the 3ware CLI
Warning!
If you have a 7000/8000 controller and are using 3DM, as opposed to 3DM2, LSI
does not recommend installing both 3DM and CLI on the same system. Conflicts
may occur. For example, if both are installed, alarms will be captured only by 3DM.
You should use either CLI or 3DM to manage your 3ware RAID controllers.
This is not an issue for 3DM 2, which works with the 9000-series controllers. It can
be installed with CLI.

Installing the 3ware CLI
www.3ware.com 4
Installing the 3ware CLI on Windows
3ware CLI can be installed or run directly from the 3ware software CD, or the
latest version can be downloaded from the 3ware web site,
http://www.3ware.com. Online manual pages are also available in nroff and
html formats. These are located in /packages/cli/tw_cli.8.html or
tw_cli.8.nroff.
To install 3ware CLI on Windows
Do one of the following:
•Run the installer from the 3ware CD. Start the 3ware CD and at the
3ware menu, click Install Software.
Step through the pages of the installation wizard and make sure that
Command Line Interface (tw_cli) is selected.
•Copy the file from the 3ware CD. Copy the file tw_cli.exe to the
directory from which you want to run the program.
CLI is located on the 3ware CD in the directory \packages\cli\windows
Permissions Required to Run CLI
To run CLI, you can be logged onto Windows with one of the following sets
of permissions:
•Administrator
•User with administrator rights
•Domain administrator
•Domain user with Domain Admin or Administrator membership
Without the correct privileges, CLI will prompt and then exit when the
application is executed.
If you are uncertain whether you have the correct permissions, contact your
network administrator.
To start CLI, do one of the following:
•Start the 3ware CD and at the 3ware menu, click Run CLI.
•Or, open a console window, change to the directory where tw_cli is
located, and at the command prompt, enter
tw_cli
•OR, double-click the CLI icon in a folder.
The CLI prompt is displayed in a DOS console window.
Note: CLI comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. If you are
copying the file directly, be sure to copy the correct version for the
version of the operating system you are using.

Chapter 1. Introduction to the 3ware Command Line Interface
53ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, Version 9.5.2
Installing the 3ware CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, and
OpenSolaris
3ware CLI can be installed or run directly from the 3ware software CD, or the
latest version can be downloaded from the 3ware web site,
http://www.3ware.com.
To install 3ware CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenSolaris
Do one of the following:
•Copy the file. Copy the file tw_cli to the directory from which you want
to run the program.
CLI is located on the 3ware CD in the following directories:
/packages/cli/freebsd
/packages/cli/linux
/packages/cli/OpenSolaris
Online manual pages are also available in nroff and html formats. These
are located in /packages/cli/tw_cli.8.html or tw_cli.8.nroff.
You will need to be root or have root privileges to install the CLI to
/usr/sbin and to run the CLI.
•Use the setup command from a command line
For Linux
•Navigate to one of the following directories on the 3ware CD
/packages/installers/tools/linux/x86
/packages/installers/tools/linux/x86_64
•Type (depending upon which directory you are in)
./setupLinux_x86.bin -console
or
./setupLinux_x64.bin -console
Notes:
The installation location needs to be in the environment path for root to
execute the CLI without using complete paths (i.e., if installed to /usr/sbin/, you
can type tw_cli on the command line, otherwise you will have to type the
complete path:
/home/user/tw_cli
The 3ware CLI comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. If you are copying the
file directly, be sure to copy the correct version for the version of the operating
system you are using.

Installing the 3ware CLI
www.3ware.com 6
•Press Enter to begin installation.
For FreeBSD
•Navigate to the appropriate FreeBSD directory on the 3ware CD,
depending on the FreeBSD version you have:
/packages/installers/tools/freebsd/6.x/x86
/packages/installers/tools/freebsd/6.x/x86_64
/packages/installers/tools/freebsd/7.x/x86
/packages/installers/tools/freebsd/7.x/x86_64
•Type the appropriate command, depending on the FreeBSD version
you have:
./setupFreeBSD6_x86.sh -console
./setupFreeBSD6_x64.sh -console
./setupFreeBSD7_x86.sh -console
./setupFreeBSD7_x64.sh -console
•Press Enter to begin installation.
Step through the installation screens in text mode. On the 3ware Disk
Management Tools screen, make sure that Command Line Interface
(tw_cli) is selected.
The default directory location used by 3ware is /opt/AMCC/CLI/tw_cli.
For Linux and FreeBSD, more detailed information about using this
installer is supplied in Appendix B of 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software
User Guide, Version 9.5.1.
For OpenSolaris, more detailed information is available in 3ware SAS/
SATA RAID Software User Guide Addendum for OpenSolaris.
For OpenSolaris
•Navigate to the following directory
packages/installers/tools/OpenSolaris
•Type:
./setupSolaris_x86.bin -console
•Press Enter to begin installation.
For OpenSolaris, more detailed information is available in 3ware SAS/
SATA RAID Software User Guide Addendum for OpenSolaris.
•Use a GUI. If you are using a graphical user interface, insert and mount
the 3ware CD.
Under Linux, at the 3ware menu, click Install Software. If the 3ware
menu does not appear automatically, open a command window and type
./autorun from the CD directory.
Under FreeBSD or OpenSolaris, open a command window and use the
setup commands described above the command line option, without the
-console option

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73ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, Version 9.5.2
The installer application will start in graphical mode.
Step through the pages of the installation wizard. On the 3ware Disk
Management Tools screen, make sure that Command Line Interface
(tw_cli) is selected. The default directory location used by 3ware is
/opt/AMCC/CLI/tw_cli.
For Linux and FreeBSD, more detailed information about using this
installer is supplied in Appendix B of 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software
User Guide, Version 9.5.1.
For OpenSolaris, more detailed information is available in 3ware SAS/
SATA RAID Software User Guide Addendum for OpenSolaris.
Working with 3ware CLI
You can work with the 3ware CLI in different ways:
•Interactively, entering commands at the main prompt
•As a series of single commands
•By creating a script—an input file with multiple commands
The next few topics shows examples of these different methods.
•“Using the command interface interactively” on page 7
•“Using a single command with output” on page 8
•“Using an input file to execute a script” on page 8
•“Outputting the CLI to a Text File” on page 9
Examples shown in the CLI Syntax Reference chapter reflect the interactive
method.
Using the command interface interactively
You can use 3ware CLI interactively, entering commands at the main prompt
and observing the results on the screen.
To use the CLI interactively
1 If necessary, change to the directory that contains CLI.
2 Enter the following command:
tw_cli
(Under Linux, FreeBSD, and OpenSolaris, if the directory containing the
CLI is not in your path, you may need to type ./tw_cli )
The main prompt is displayed, indicating that the program is awaiting a
command.

Working with 3ware CLI
www.3ware.com 8
//localhost>
3 At the CLI prompt, you can enter commands to show or act on 3ware
controllers, units, and drives.
For example,
//localhost> show
displays all controllers in the system and shows summary information
about them, like this:
Ctl Model Ports Drives Units NotOpt RRate VRate BBU
------------------------------------------------------------
c0 9690SA-4I4E 4 12 2 0 1 1 -
c1 9650SE-4 4 4 1 0 3 5 TESTING
c2 7500-12 12 8 3 1 2 - -
Using a single command with output
You can use 3ware CLI with line arguments, processing a single command at
a time. To do so, simply enter the command and the arguments.
Single commands can be useful when you want to perform a task such as
redirecting the output of the command to a file. It also allows you to use the
command line history to eliminate some typing.
Syntax
tw_cli <command_line_arguments>
Example
tw_cli /c0 show diag > /tmp/3w_diag.out
Using an input file to execute a script
You can operate 3ware CLI scripts by executing a file. The file is a text file
containing a list of CLI commands which you have entered in advance. Each
command must be on a separate line.
Syntax
tw_cli -f <filename>
Where <filename> is the name of the text file you want to execute.
Example
tw_cli -f clicommand.txt
This example executes the file clicommand.txt, and runs the CLI commands
included in that file.

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Scripting examples
Following is a scripting example for a 4-port controller using a text file called
config_unit.txt, containing three commands. This example sets up a 4-port
controller with two units, each with 2 drives mirrored. It then prints the
configurations for verification. The commands included in the script file are:
/c0 add type=raid1 disk=0-1
/c0 add type=raid1 disk=2-3
/c0 show
Following is a scripting example for a 12-port controller using a text file
called config_unit.txt, containing three commands. This example sets up a 12-
port controller with two units: one with the first 2 drives mirrored, and another
with the remaining drives in a RAID 5 array. It then prints the configurations
for verification. The commands included in the script file are:
/c0 add type=raid1 disk=0-1
/c0 add type=raid5 disk=2-11
/c0 show
To run either of the scripts, enter:
tw_cli -f config_unit.txt
Outputting the CLI to a Text File
You can have the output of the 3ware CLI, including errors, sent to a text file
by adding 2>&1 to the end of the line. This could be useful, for example, if
you want to email the output to LSI Technical Support.
Examples
tw_cli /c2/p0 show >> controller2port0info.txt 2>&1
or
tw_cli /c0 show diag >> Logfile.txt 2>&1
Conventions
The following conventions are used through this guide:
•In text, monospace font is used for code and for things you type.
•In descriptions and explanations of commands, a bold font indicates the
name of commands and parameters, for example, /c0/p0 show all.
•In commands, an italic font indicates items that are variable, but that you
must specify, such as a controller ID, or a unit ID, for example, /c0/p0
show attribute, and /cx/pxshow all
•In commands, brackets around an item indicates that it is optional.
•In commands, ellipses (...) indicate that more than one parameter at a time
can be included, for example, /c0/p0 show attribute [attribute ...], or that

Understanding RAID Levels and Concepts
www.3ware.com 10
there is a range between two values from which you can pick a value, for
example, /cxset carvesize=[1024...2048].
•In commands, a vertical bar (|) indicates an 'or' situation where the user
has a choice between more than one attribute, but only one can be
specified.
Example: In the command to rescan all ports and reconstitute all units, the
syntax appears as /cx rescan [noscan]. The brackets [ ] indicate that you may
omit the noscan parameter, so that the operation will be reported to the
operating system.
Understanding RAID Levels and Concepts
3ware RAID controllers use RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks)
to increase your storage system’s performance and provide fault tolerance
(protection against data loss).
This section organizes information about RAID concepts and configuration
levels into the following topics:
•“RAID Concepts” on page 10
•“Available RAID Configurations” on page 11
•“Determining What RAID Level to Use” on page 17
RAID Concepts
The following concepts are important to understand when working with a
RAID controller:
•Arrays and Units. In the storage industry, the term “array” is used to
describe two or more disk drives that appear to the operating system as a
single unit. When working with a 3ware RAID controller, “unit” is the
term used to refer to an array of disks that is configured and managed
through the 3ware software. Single-disk units can also be configured in
the 3ware software.
•Mirroring. Mirrored arrays (RAID 1) write data to paired drives
simultaneously. If one drive fails, the data is preserved on the paired
drive. Mirroring provides data protection through redundancy. In
addition, mirroring using a 3ware RAID controller provides improved
performance because 3ware’s TwinStor technology reads from both
drives simultaneously.
•Striping. Striping across disks allows data to be written and accessed on
more than one drive, at the same time. Striping combines each drive’s

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11 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Controller CLI Guide, Version 9.5.2
capacity into one large volume. Striped disk arrays (RAID 0) achieve
highest transfer rates and performance at the expense of fault tolerance.
•Distributed Parity. Parity works in combination with striping on RAID 5,
RAID 6, and RAID 50. Parity information is written to each of the striped
drives, in rotation. Should a failure occur, the data on the failed drive can
be reconstructed from the data on the other drives.
•Hot Swap. The process of exchanging a drive without having to shut
down the system. This is useful when you need to exchange a defective
drive in a redundant unit.
•Array Roaming. The process of removing a unit from a controller and
putting it back later, either on the same controller, or a different one, and
having it recognized as a unit. The disks may be attached to different ports
than they were originally attached to, without harm to the data.
Available RAID Configurations
RAID is a method of combining several hard drives into one unit. It can offer
fault tolerance and higher throughput levels than a single hard drive or group
of independent hard drives. LSI's 3ware controllers support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6,
10, 50, and Single Disk. The information below provides a more in-depth
explanation of the different RAID levels.
RAID 0
RAID 0 provides improved performance, but no fault tolerance. Since the
data is striped across more than one disk, RAID 0 disk arrays achieve high
transfer rates because they can read and write data on more than one drive
simultaneously. The stripe size is configurable during unit creation. RAID 0
requires a minimum of two drives.
When drives are configured in a striped disk array (see Figure 1), large files
are distributed across the multiple disks using RAID 0 techniques.
Striped disk arrays give exceptional performance, particularly for data
intensive applications such as video editing, computer-aided design and
geographical information systems.
RAID 0 arrays are not fault tolerant. The loss of any drive results in the loss of
all the data in that array, and can even cause a system hang, depending on
your operating system. RAID 0 arrays are not recommended for high
availability systems unless additional precautions are taken to prevent system
hangs and data loss.

Understanding RAID Levels and Concepts
www.3ware.com 12
Figure 1. RAID 0 Configuration Example
RAID 1
RAID 1 provides fault tolerance and a speed advantage over non-RAID disks.
RAID 1 is also known as a mirrored array. Mirroring is done on pairs of
drives. Mirrored disk arrays write the same data to two different drives using
RAID 1 algorithms (see Figure 2). This gives your system fault tolerance by
preserving the data on one drive if the other drive fails. Fault tolerance is a
basic requirement for critical systems like web and database servers.
3ware uses a patented technology, TwinStor®, on RAID 1 arrays for
improved performance during sequential read operations. With TwinStor
technology, read performance is twice the speed of a single drive during
sequential read operation.
The adaptive algorithms in TwinStor technology boost performance by
distinguishing between random and sequential read requests. For the
sequential requests generated when accessing large files, both drives are used,
with the heads simultaneously reading alternating sections of the file. For the
smaller random transactions, the data is read from a single optimal drive head.
Figure 2. RAID 1 Configuration Example
RAID 5
RAID 5 provides performance, fault tolerance, high capacity, and storage
efficiency. It requires a minimum of three drives and combines striping data
with parity (exclusive OR) to restore data in case of a drive failure.
Performance and efficiency increase as the number of drives in a unit
increases.
Parity information is distributed across all of the drives in a unit rather than
being concentrated on a single disk (see Figure 3). This avoids throughput
loss due to contention for the parity drive.