Dell PowerVault MD3000 Technical manual

Dell™ PowerVault™
MD3000 Systems
Information Update

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of
your computer.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if
instructions are not followed.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal
injury, or death.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2008–2009 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc.
is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, and PowerVault are trademarks of Dell Inc.;
Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Server are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; SUSE is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc.,
in the United States and other countries; Red Hat and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are registered
trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming
the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and
trade names other than its own.
September 2009 Rev. A02

Contents 3
Contents
Determining Your Firmware Version . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Important Information Before Upgrading Your
Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Performance Affected after Upgrading to Second
Generation Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Virtual Disk Copy Operation on SATA Disks . . . . . . . 6
Load Balancing in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 . . . 6
Installing Linux Operating System. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Battery Learn Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Creating Host to Virtual Disk Mappings. . . . . . . . . . 7
Additional Disk Group and Virtual Disk Expansion
Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Storage Manager for SANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unable to Assign LUNs to Windows 2008
Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Array Password Reset Using Microsoft Windows
Server 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Modular Disk Storage Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Physical Disk Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
RAID Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Change Disk Group RAID Level. . . . . . . . . . . . 9
RAID Level Migration Requirements . . . . . . . . 10

4Contents
Under-Reported Disk Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Configuration File Write Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Limitations of NTFS-Formatted Disks . . . . . . . . . . 11
Password Reset Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Updates to the MD3000 Documentation . . . . . . . . . 12
Hardware Owner’s Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Command Line Interface Guide. . . . . . . . . . . 12
Installation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Information Update 5
Determining Your Firmware Version
To determine if your software is first generation or second generation,
perform the following steps:
1
Connect to the system using the Dell™ PowerVault™ MD Storage
Manager.
2 Select the Support tab.
3 Click Storage Array Profile .
Note the firmware version:
If it is 06.xx.xx.xx, it is first generation.
If it is 07.xx.xx.xx, it is second generation.
Important Information Before Upgrading Your
Firmware
Prior to performing the firmware upgrade, perform a complete backup of the
data, and use the Gather Support Information tool to save the system
configuration. This recommendation applies whenever you make changes to
your configuration.
Performance Affected after Upgrading to Second
Generation Firmware
After upgrading to second generation firmware, you may experience a
temporary performance impact. This impact is caused by the second
generation firmware, which adds smart-battery functionality to the MD3000.
In order to accurately measure battery parameters, the batteries are taken
through a “learn cycle” and the system’s write cache is disabled for the
duration of the learn cycle. The first learn cycle starts soon after the firmware
upgrade is completed and takes around 15 hours to complete. During this
time, you may experience a temporary performance slowdown for certain
kinds of file operations as the write cache is disabled. Once the learn cycle is
complete, the write cache is automatically enabled.
Future learn cycles are scheduled for every 13 weeks. You can adjust the day
and time of the day of future learn cycles using MD Storage Manager
(click Tools and select Change Battery Settings).

6Information Update
Virtual Disk Copy Operation on SATA Disks
A virtual disk copy operation may take much longer when a new copy is
created on SATA disks. To improve the performance, first create the virtual
disk. After the virtual disk is initialized, start the virtual disk copy operation.
Load Balancing in Microsoft Windows Server
2008
Load balancing in Microsoft®Windows Server®2008 is provided by the
MPIO driver under the MPIO tab. For information about accessing the
MPIO tab, see the Installation Guide at support.dell.com/manuals. The
following options are supported by MD3000:
• Least Path Weight
• Least Queue Depth
Installing Linux Operating System
During a Linux operating system installation, the installer lists all the
volumes that are discovered from MD3000, including virtual disks that are
mapped to the host and Universal Xport. If the operating system needs to be
installed on an MD3000 virtual disk, you must ensure that you select the
appropriate virtual disk. The array does not respond if you select the Universal
Xport disk(s) for installation.
Battery Learn Cycle
In second generation firmware systems, the cache offload battery undergoes a
learn cycle once in every 13 weeks to ensure that the battery is in a good state.
The learn cycle performs a complete discharge of the battery followed by a
complete recharge. During this cycle, the system cache is disabled on all
virtual disks in the system. There may be a temporary impact on the
performance of the system when the battery undergoes a learn cycle. A learn
cycle takes place under the following situations:
• First time upgrade from first generation firmware to second generation
firmware
• Once in every 13 weeks

Information Update 7
The next scheduled learn cycle can be seen under Tools→Change Battery
Settings in the MD Storage Manager. The learn cycle can be postponed by up
to seven days at a time through the GUI. You can also use the following SMcli
command to postpone a learn cycle: set storageArray
learnCycleDate daysToNextLearnCycle=[x]
For more information, see the Command Line Interface Guide at
support.dell.com/manuals.
Creating Host to Virtual Disk Mappings
You can create Host-to-Virtual Disk mappings to a host group or to a single
host. If you have created the mapping to a host that is part of a host group,
the mapped host alone will have access to the virtual disk.
Additional Disk Group and Virtual Disk Expansion
Information
To expand disks groups or virtual disks, you can use the MD Storage Manager
or the command line interface. It is only possible to add one disk at a time or
two in the case of RAID10 to expand the disk group.
To expand the virtual disk using the command line interface, type: set
virtualDisk [VDname] addCapacity=sizetobeadded
For more information, see the Command Line Interface Guide at
support.dell.com/manuals.
During disk group and virtual disk expansion operations, you have complete
access to the virtual disks and disk group redundancy is maintained at all
times. The impact on the performance is minimal during the operation.
For more information, see the User's Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.

8Information Update
Storage Manager for SANs
Unable to Assign LUNs to Windows 2008 Server
The Windows Server 2008 Storage Manager for SANs utility can be used to
create and manage virtual disks in the MD3000 from the host server. If the
host server contains SAS 5/i HBAs, the SAS 5/i ports must be disabled in the
Storage Manager for SANs utility to prevent issues with assigning virtual disks
(LUNs) to the host server.
Perform the following steps:
1
Click LUN Management .
2
Click Manage Server Connection .
3
Select the host server .
4
In the Fiber Channel Ports tab, disable all the SAS 5/i ports and leave the
SAS 5/e ports enabled.
There are 8 SAS 5/i ports per SAS 5/i HBA in the host server. The HBA Port
WWN has the following format: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:00 to
xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:07.
NOTE: SAS 5/e HBAs have two ports with HBA Port WWN as follows:
yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:00 and yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:04
Array Password Reset Using Microsoft
Windows Server 2008
To reset a lost or forgotten password on an MD3000 array, a command must
be issued via the serial port on either controller in the array to clear the
existing password. This task is accomplished through COM port connection
from a server, workstation or laptop to a controller on the MD3000 array.
On most Windows operating systems, the HyperTerminal application is used
to establish the COM port connection to the serial port on the controller.
However, HyperTerminal is not available on Windows Server 2008 systems.

Information Update 9
Complete the following steps to reset the password to an MD3000 array if
your system is running the Windows Server 2008 operating system:
1
Obtain a terminal application capable of COM port connections.
2 Configure the application to use the communication settings as described
on page 23 of the
Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage Manager User’s
Guide
.
3 Proceed with the password reset procedure described on page 24 of the
User’s Guide .
Modular Disk Storage Manager
The following updates apply to the Modular Disk Storage Manager
(MD Storage Manager):
• When the MD Storage Manager is installed on Red Hat
®
Enterprise
Linux
®
systems or SUSE
®
Linux Enterprise Servers , or when the
MD Storage Manager is running on SUSE Linux Enterprise Servers,
Japanese and Simplified Chinese are not supported.
Physical Disk Migration
Cold power-up migration of physical disk s from one MD3000 duplex
configuration to another MD3000 duplex configuration is supported only
when all
physical disk s are moved from one system to another. No other
migrations, including partial
physical disk migration and RAID controller
module migration, are supported.
RAID Level
Change Disk Group RAID Level
Follow these instructions to change the RAID level of a disk group as needed:
1
In MD Storage Manager, click the Modify tab and click Change Disk
Group RAID Level
.
2 Select the disk group that you want to modify.
3 Select the new RAID level from the drop-down menu.
4 Click Change to start the process.

10 Information Update
NOTE: Dell recommends backing up the disk group before modifying the
RAID level.
NOTE: The number of disks in the disk group should meet its RAID level criteria.
RAID1 and RAID10 require an even number of disks. On the MD3000, RAID 5
requires a minimum of 3 disks and RAID 6 requires a minimum of 5 disks. You may
need to add free capacity to the disk group before changing the RAID level.
RAID Level Migration Requirements
Successful RAID Level Migration (RLM) requires that the appropriate
number of
physical disk s are present in your disk group. To perform RLM
from a RAID 1 or RAID 10 to an odd-number of physical disks (five or more)
in RAID 5, first add an even number of disks to the RAID 1 or RAID 10,
convert to RAID 5, then add another physical disk to make the count odd.
Under-Reported Disk Capacity
The unit Gigabyte (GB) is often used to refer to calculation of both 109bytes
and 230 bytes. The MD Storage Manager calculates hard disk capacity in GB
using 230 bytes as compared to 109that is used by hard disk manufacturers,
and therefore displays a smaller capacity than reported by the hard drive
vendor. There is no actual loss of available data capacity, and the MD3000
only reserves 512 MB (106) of space per hard disk for meta-data usage.
Configuration File Write Error
Using the MD Storage Manager with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or
Microsoft Windows Vista can result in a Configuration File Write
Error. The MD Storage Manager will be unable to save any changes to the
configuration files. This error is seen when the application is run as a user
without Local Administrator privileges. MD Storage Manager requires Local
Administrator privileges for full functionality.
Workaround: This error can be bypassed by running the MD Storage
Manager with local administrator privileges. This can be set by right-clicking
the shortcut and clicking Run as Administrator. This setting can be made
permanent by modifying the shortcut properties and enabling Always run as
administrator.

Information Update 11
Limitations of NTFS-Formatted Disks
The following error may occur when formatting virtual disks larger than 2TB
using the NTFS protocol:
The format operation did not complete because the
cluster count is higher than expected.
This error is caused by the limitations of NTFS-formatted disks based on
cluster size.
As seen in Table 1-1, you will need to modify cluster size to format certain virtual
disks. To expand existing virtual disks beyond the limits, back up the data on any
existing virtual disks and reformat the virtual disk with the new cluster size.
Please refer to Microsoft KB302873 and KB814594 for additional information.
Password Reset Procedure
The password reset procedure differs slightly between the first generation
and second generation controllers. Please see the latest version of the
Dell PowerVault MD3000 RAID Controller Password Reset on
support.dell.com for details on the password reset procedures.
Table 1-1. Limitations of NTFS-Formatted Disks Based on Cluster Size
Cluster size Maximum NTFS Volume Size (bytes RAW)
512 2,199,023,255,040 (2TB)
1,024 4,398,046,510,080 (4TB)
2,048 8,796,093,020,160 (8TB)
4,096 17,592,186,040,320 (16TB)
8,192 35,184,372,080,640 (32TB)
16,384 70,368,744,161,280 (64TB)
32,768 140,737,488,322,560 (128TB)
65,536 281,474,976,645,120 (256TB)

12 Information Update
Updates to the MD3000 Documentation
Hardware Owner’s Manual
The following update applies to the Dell™PowerVault™MD3000 RAID
Enclosure Hardware Owner’s Manual:
Table 1-1 and Table 1-2—Flashing amber in the enclosure status LED
indicates that the solution is in a non-optimal state. See the MD Storage
Manager error recovery console or contact technical support to resolve this
state.
Command Line Interface Guide
The following are the corrections/additions in the list of parameters described
in Table 1-2:
• d: Used to display the array details from the array configuration file.
• V: Used along with the -d parameter to display the version of SMcli that is
connected to the array.
Installation Guide
The following update applies to the Dell™PowerVault™Modular Disk 3000
Installation Guide:
• The multi-pathing MPP driver is installed directly from the CD on Linux.
Step 12 of the host installation procedure should read - "Return to the CD
main menu and select the
Install Multi-Pathing Driver option".
• The note stating that the MD3000 supports only round robin load-
balancing policies is no longer applicable.

Dell™ PowerVault™
MD3000 系统
信息更新

注、小心和警告
注：“注”表示可以帮助您更好地使用计算机的重要信息。
小心：“小心”表示如果不遵循说明，就有可能损坏硬件或导致数据丢失。
警告：“警告”表示可能会造成财产损失、人身伤害甚至死亡。
____________________
本说明文件中的信息如有更改，恕不另行通知。
© 2008-2009 Dell Inc. 版权所有，翻印必究。
未经 Dell Inc. 书面许可，严禁以任何形式复制这些材料。
本文中使用的商标：Dell DELL 徽标和 PowerVault 是Dell Inc. 的商标； Microsoft Windows
和Windows Server 是Microsoft Corporation 在美国和 /或其他国家和地区的商标或注册商标；
SUSE 是Novell, Inc. 在美国和其他国家和地区的注册商标； Red Hat 和Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 是Red Hat, Inc. 在美国和其他国家和地区的注册商标。
本说明文件中述及的其它商标和产品名称是指拥有相应商标和产品名称的公司或其制造的产
品。 Dell Inc. 对本公司的商标和产品名称之外的其它商标和产品名称不拥有任何专有权。
2009 年9 月修订版A02

目录 15
目录
定您的固件版本 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
升级固件前的重要信息 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
升级到第二代固件之后受影响的性能 . . . . . . . . . . . 17
在SATA 磁盘上的虚拟磁盘复制操作 . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 中的负载均衡. . . . . . . 18
安装 Linux 操作系统 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
电池记忆周期. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
创建主机到虚拟磁盘的映射 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
附加磁盘组和虚拟磁盘扩展信息. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
SAN 存储管理器 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
无法将 LUN 分 至 Windows 2008 服务器 . . . . . . 19
使用 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 重设阵列密码. . . . 19
Modular Disk Storage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
物理磁盘迁移. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
RAID 级别 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
更改磁盘组 RAID 级别 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
RAID 级别迁移要求 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
在报告的磁盘容量之下 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
配置文件写入错误 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
NTFS 格式化的磁盘的限制 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
密码重设过程. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
MD3000 说明文件的更新. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
硬件用户手册 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

16 目录
命令行界面指南. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
安装指南 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

信息更新 17
确定您的固件版本
要确定您的软件是第一代或第二代，请执行下列步骤：
1
连接使用 Dell™ PowerVault™ MD Storage Manager 的系统。
2 选择 Support （支持）选项卡。
3 单击 Storage Array Profile （存储阵列配置文件）。
记下固件版 ：
如果它是
06.xx.xx.xx ，则为第一代。
如果它是
07.xx.xx.xx ，则为第二代。
升级固件前的重要信息
在执行固件级前，请完整备份数据，并使用 Gather Support Information
（收集支持信息）工具保存系统配置。每当对您的配置更改时应用此建议。
升级到第二代固件之后 影响的性能
升级到第二代固件之后，您可能 经历暂时的性能影响。此影响是由第二
代固件引起的，它添加了智能电池功能到 MD3000。为了精确测量点此参
数，电池要经过 “learn cycle”（记忆周期）并且在记忆周期内系统的写
缓存被禁用。第一个记忆周期在固件 升级后立即开始并需要大约 15 小时
才可完成。在此期间，由于写缓存被禁用您 经历暂时的文件操作的某种
性能减慢。一旦记忆周期完成，写缓存 自动启用。
未来的记忆周期被计划于每隔 13 个星期。可使用 MD 存储管理器来调整
未来的记忆周期的天和时间 （单击 Tools （工具）并选择 Change Battery
Settings （更改电池设置））。
在SATA 磁盘上的虚拟磁盘复制操作
在 SATA 磁盘上创建新副 时，虚拟磁盘复制操作可能需更长时间。要提高
性能，首先创建虚拟磁盘。虚拟磁盘初始化之后，开始虚拟磁盘复制操作。

18 信息更新
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 中的负载均衡
Microsoft®Windows Server®2008 中的负载均衡功能由 MPIO 选项卡下的
MPIO 驱动程序提供。有关访问 MPIO 选项卡的信息，请参阅安装指南，
它位于 support.dell.com/manuals。MD3000 支持下列选项：
• Least Path Weight （最少路径权重）
• Least Queue Depth （最少队列深度）
安装 Linux 操作系统
在Linux 操作系统安装期间，安装程序列出所有从 MD3000 搜索到的卷，
包括映射到主机和 Universal Xport 的虚拟磁盘。如果需要将操作系统安装
到MD3000 虚拟磁盘，您必须确保选择了适当的虚拟磁盘。如果您选择
了Universal Xport 磁盘用于安装，阵列将不响应。
电池记忆周期
在第二代固件系统中，高速缓存卸载电池每隔 13 周进入记忆周期以确保
电池处于良好状态。记忆周期将对电池进行完全放电，然后再完全充电。
在此周期中，系统中的所有虚拟磁盘上的系统高速缓存被禁用。在电池进
入记忆周期时这些可能 临时影响到系统的性能。记忆周期出现于下列情
况下：
• 首次从第一代固件升级到第二代固件
• 每 13 周发生一次
可以在 MD Storage Manager 中的 Tools （工具） →Change Battery Settings
（更改电池设置）下看到下一次计划的记忆周期。可通过 GUI 每次延迟记忆周
期至多七天。您也可使用下列 SMcli 命令延迟记忆周期
set storageArray
learnCycleDate daysToNextLearnCycle=[x]
有关详情，请参阅 support.dell.com/manuals 上的命令行界面指南。
创建主机到虚拟磁盘的映射
可创建到主机组或单个主机的 “主机到虚拟磁盘”映射。如果创建了到
主机组中某一主机的映射，则映射的主机可单独访问虚拟磁盘。

信息更新 19
附加磁盘组和虚拟磁盘扩展信息
要扩展磁盘组或虚拟磁盘，您可使用 MD Storage Manager 或命令行界面。
扩展磁盘组时，一次只能添加一个磁盘或两个磁盘 （采用
RAID10 时）。
要使用命令行界面，键入：
set virtualDisk [VDname] addCapacity=sizetobeadded 有关
详情，请参阅 support.dell.com/manuals 上的 《iDRAC 用户指南》。
磁盘组或虚拟磁盘扩展操作期间，您将拥有虚拟磁盘的完整访问权限并始
终维护磁盘组冗余。操作期间对性能的影响将减至最低。
有关详情，请参阅 support.dell.com/manuals 上的 《命令行界面指南》。
SAN 存储管理器
无法将 LUN 分配至 Windows 2008 服务器
Windows Server 2008 SAN 存储管理器公用程序可用于在主机服务器上创建
和管理
MD 3000 中的虚拟磁盘。如果主机服务器包含 SAS 5/i HBA ，则必须
在
SAN 存储管理器中禁用 SAS 5/i 端口，以防止在将虚拟磁盘 （ LUN ） 分
配至主机服务器时出现问题。
请执行以下步骤：
1
单击 LUN Management （ LUN 管理）。
2 单击 Manage Server Connection （管理服务器连接） 。
3
选择主机服务器 。
4
在 Fiber Channel Ports （光纤信道端口）选项卡中，禁用所有 SAS 5/i
端口并保留 SAS 5/e 端口启用。
主机服务器中，每个
SAS 5/i HBA 具有 8 个 SAS 5/i 端口。 HBA 端口
WWN
采用以下格式： xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:00 至 xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:07 。
注： SAS 5/e HBA 有两个端口，其 HBA 端口 WWN 格式如下：
yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:00 和 yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:yy:04 。
使用 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 重设阵列
密码
要在 MD3000 阵列重设丢失或忘记的密码，则必须在阵列的任一控制器
上通过串行端口发出命令，以清除现有密码。此任务可通过从服务器、工
作站或膝上型计算机与MD3000 阵列上控制器的 COM 端口连接完成。

20 信息更新
在大部分 Windows 操作系统中，使用 HyperTerminal 应用程序建立 COM
端口与控制器串行端口之间的连接。但是， Windows Server 2008 系统不
支持 HyperTerminal。
如果您的系统正在运行Windows Server 2008 操作系统，请执行以下步骤
以重设 MD3000 阵列密码：
1
获取可以实现 COM 端口连接的终端应用程序。
2 配置该应用程序以使用相应通信设置，具体参见 Dell PowerVault
Modular Disk Storage Manager User
’ s Guide （ Dell PowerVault Modular
Disk Storage Manager
用户指南）的第 23 页。
3 按照 User ’ s Guide （用户指南）第 24 页中所述的步骤继续重设密码过程。
Modular Disk Storage Manager
以下更新适用于 Modular Disk Storage Manager （MD Storage Manager）：
• 在 Red Hat
®
Enterprise Linux
®
系统或在 SUSE
®
Linux Enterprise
Servers
上安装 MD Storage Manager，或者在SUSE Linux Enterprise
Servers 上运行MD Storage Manager 时，不支持日语和简体中文。
物理磁盘迁移
仅当所有 物理磁盘 从一个系统移动到另一个系统时，才支持 物理磁盘 从
MD3000 双工配置到另一个 MD3000 双工配置的冷启动迁移。不支持任
何其它迁移，包括不完全
物理磁盘 迁移和RAID 控制器模块迁移。
RAID 级别
更改磁盘组 RAID 级别
遵循这些指 按需要更改磁盘组的 RAID 级别：
1
在 MD 存储管理器中，单击 Modify （修改）选项卡并单击 Change
Disk Group RAID Level
（更改磁盘组）。
2 选择您要修改的磁盘组。
3 从下拉列表中选择新的 RAID 级别。
4 单击 Change （更改）以开始进程。
注：Dell 建议在修改 RAID 级别之前备份磁盘组。