Dell PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller 3 User manual

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Dell™ PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller 3/QC, 3/DC, 3/DCL and
3/SC
PERC 3 User’s Guide

____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2002 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Computer
Corporation is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, PowerEdge, PowerVault, and Dell OpenManage
are trademarks and DellWareisa registered servicemarkofDellComputerCorporation.MegaRAID
is a registered trademark of LSI Logic Corporation. Microsoft, Windows NT, MS-DOS andWindows
are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of
Intel Corporation. Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks of Novell Corporation. ASPI is a
registered trademark of Adaptec, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business
Machines.
Othertrademarksandtradenamesmaybeusedinthisdocumenttorefertoeithertheentitiesclaiming
themarksandnamesortheirproducts.DellComputerCorporationdisclaimsanyproprietaryinterest
in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
July 2002 P/N 5C229 Rev. A04

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Safety Instructions
CAUTION: Safety Instructions
Use the following safety guidelines to help ensure your own personal safety
and to help protect your computer and working environment from potential
damage.
General
• Do not attempt to service the computer yourself unless you are a
trained service technician. Always follow installation instructions
closely.
• To help prevent electric shock, plug the computer and device power
cables into properly grounded electrical outlets. These cables are
equipped with 3-prong plugs to help ensure proper grounding. Do not
use adapter plugs or remove the grounding prong from a cable. If you
must use an extension cable, use a 3-wire cable with properly grounded
plugs.
• To help avoid the potential hazard of electric shock, do not use your
computer during an electrical storm.
• To help avoid the potential hazard of electric shock, do not connect or
disconnect any cables or perform maintenance or reconfiguration of
this product during an electrical storm.
• If your computer includes a modem, the cable used with the modem
should be manufactured with a minimum wire size of 26 American
wire gauge (AWG) and an FCC-compliant RJ-11 modular plug.
• Before you clean your computer, disconnect the computer from the
electrical outlet. Clean your computer with a soft cloth dampened
with water. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners, which may contain
flammable substances.
• To help avoid possible damage to the system board, wait 5 seconds
after turning off the computer before disconnecting a device from the
computer.
• To avoid shorting out your computer when disconnecting a network
cable, first unplug the cable from the network adapter on the back of
your computer, and then from the network jack. When reconnecting a
network cable to your computer, first plug the cable into the network
jack, and then into the network adapter.

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• To help protect your computer from sudden, transient increases and
decreases in electrical power, use a surge suppressor, line conditioner,
or uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
• Ensure that nothing rests on your computer’s cables and that the
cables are not located where they can be stepped on or tripped over.
• Do not push any objects into the openings of your computer. Doing so
can cause fire or electric shock by shorting out interior components.
• Keep your computer away from radiators and heat sources. Also, do not
block cooling vents. Avoid placing loose papers underneath your
computer; do not place your computer in a closed-in wall unit or on a
bed, sofa, or rug.
When Using Your Computer
As you use your computer, observe the following safe-handling guidelines.
CAUTION: Do not operate your computer with any cover(s)
(including computer covers, bezels, filler brackets, front-panel
inserts, and so on) removed.
Your computer is equipped with one of the following:
• A fixed-voltage power supply — Computers with a fixed-voltage power
supply do not have a voltage selection switch on the back panel and
operate at only one voltage (see the regulatory label on the outside of
the computer for its operating voltage).
• An auto-sensing voltage circuit — Computers with an auto-sensing
voltage circuit do not have a voltage selection switch on the back panel
and automatically detect the correct operating voltage.
• A manual voltage selection switch — Computers with a voltage
selection switch on the back panel must be manually set to operate at
the correct operating voltage.
To help avoid damaging a computer with a manual voltage selection switch,
ensure that the voltage selection switch is set to match the AC power
available at your location:
• 115 V/60 Hz in most of North and South America and some Far
Eastern countries such as South Korea and Taiwan

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NOTE: The voltage
selection switch must be
set to the 115-V position
even though the AC power
available in Japan is
100 V.
• 100 V/50 Hz in eastern Japan and 100 V/60 Hz in western Japan
• 230 V/50 Hz in some regions in the Caribbean and South America and
most of Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East
Also, ensure that your monitor and attached devices are electrically rated to
operate with the AC power available in your location.
• Before working inside the computer, unplug the computer to help
prevent electric shock or system board damage. Certain system board
components continue to receive power any time the computer is
connected to AC power.
When Working Inside Your Computer
Before you open the computer cover, perform the following steps in the
sequence indicated.
CAUTION: Do not attempt to service the computer yourself,
except as explained in your online Dell™ documentation or in
instructions otherwise provided to you by Dell. Always follow
installation and service instructions closely.
NOTICE: To help avoid possible damage to the system board, wait 5 seconds
after turning off the computer before removing a component from the system
board or disconnecting a device from the computer.
1Perform an orderly computer shutdown using the operating system
menu.
2Turn off your computer and any devices connected to the computer.
3Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the
chassis, such as the metal around the card-slot openings at the back of
the computer, before touching anything inside your computer.
While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface on the
computer chassis to dissipate any static electricity that might harm
internal components.
4Disconnect your computer and devices, including the monitor, from
their electrical outlets. Also, disconnect any telephone or
telecommunication lines from the computer.
Doing so reduces the potential for personal injury or shock.
In addition, take note of these safety guidelines when appropriate:

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• When you disconnect a cable, pull on its connector or on its strain-
relief loop, not on the cable itself. Some cables have a connector with
locking tabs; if you are disconnecting this type of cable, press in on the
locking tabs before disconnecting the cable. As you pull connectors
apart, keep them evenly aligned to avoid bending any connector pins.
Also, before you connect a cable, ensure that both connectors are
correctly oriented and aligned.
• Handle components and cards with care. Do not touch the
components or contacts on a card. Hold a card by its edges or by its
metal mounting bracket. Hold a component such as a microprocessor
chip by its edges, not by its pins.
CAUTION: There is a danger of a new battery exploding if it is
incorrectly installed. Replace the battery only with the same or
equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer. Do not
dispose of the battery along with household waste. Contact your
local waste disposal agency for the address of the nearest battery
deposit site.
Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge
Static electricity can harm delicate components inside your computer. To
prevent static damage, discharge static electricity from your body before you
touch any of your computer’s electronic components, such as the
microprocessor. You can do so by touching an unpainted metal surface on
the computer chassis.
As you continue to work inside the computer, periodically touch an
unpainted metal surface to remove any static charge your body may have
accumulated.
You can also take the following steps to prevent damage from electrostatic
discharge (ESD):
• Do not remove components from their antistatic packing material
until you are ready to install the component in your computer. Just
before unwrapping the antistatic packaging, discharge static electricity
from your body.
• When transporting an electrostatic sensitive component, first place it
in an antistatic container or packaging.
• Handle all electrostatic sensitive components in a static-safe area. If
possible, use antistatic floor pads and workbench pads.

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Ergonomic Computing Habits
CAUTION: Improper or prolonged keyboard use may result in
injury.
CAUTION: Viewing the monitor screen for extended periods of
time may result in eye strain.
Battery Disposal
Do not dispose of the battery along with household waste. Contact your
local waste disposal agency for the address of the nearest battery deposit
site.

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Contents 7
Contents
Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1Overview
PERC 3 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
PERC 3 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
SCSI Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Non-volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) and Flash
Read-only Memory (ROM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
SCSI Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Single-Ended and LVD SCSI Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Maximum Cable Length for SCSI Standards . . . . . . . . . . 26
SCSI Bus Widths and Maximum Throughput . . . . . . . . . . 26
Operating System Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2Introduction to RAID
RAID Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
PERC 3 Host-Based RAID Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Components and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Physical Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Fault Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Consistency Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Disk Striping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Disk Mirroring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Disk Spanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Spanning for RAID 10 or RAID 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

8Contents
Parity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Hot Spares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Disk Rebuilds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Hot Swap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
SCSI Drive States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Logical Drive States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Enclosure Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3RAID Levels
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Selecting a RAID Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
RAID 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
RAID 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
RAID 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
RAID 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
RAID 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4PERC 3/SC Features
Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Configuration Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
SMART Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Configuration on Disk Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Hardware Architecture Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Array Performance Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
PERC 3/SC Fault Tolerance Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Software Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Operating System Software Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58