Digital Equipment EK-SWRA2-IG Operator's manual

StorageWorks RAID Array 200
Subsystem Family
Installation and Configuration Guide
Order Number: EK-SWRA2-IG. A01
You must read this guide before you refer to the
software user's guide to install and configure your
subsystem correctly.
Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts

April 1994
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not
be construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation.
Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors that might
appear in this document.
The software, if any, described in this document is furnished under a license and may
be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. No responsibility
is assumed for the use or reliability of software or equipment that is not supplied by
Digital Equipment Corporation or its affiliated companies.

1994 by Digital Equipment Corporation. All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.
The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:
AXP, DEC, OpenVMS, StorageWorks, SWXCR, VAX, and the Digital logo.
The following are third-party trademarks:
Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation.
Intel, Intel486, and i486 are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
OS/2 and PS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.
Phoenix BIOS is a trademark of Phoenix Technologies, Ltd.
SIMM is a trademark of Molex Corporation.
All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their
respective holders.

The FCC wants you to know...
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
Any changes or modifications made to this equipment may void the user's authority to
operate this equipment.
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference
to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not
occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to
radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:
•
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
•
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver
•
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which
the receiver is connected
•
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
The user may find the following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications
Commission helpful: How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems.
This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
D.C., 20402. Stock No. 004-00398-5.
All external cables connecting to this basic unit need to be shielded. For cables
connecting to option boards, see the option manual or installation instructions.
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions set
out in the radio interference regulations of the Canadian Department of
Communications.

This equipment is in the 2nd Class category (information equipment to be used in a
residential area or an adjacent area thereto) and conforms to the standards set by the
Voluntary Control Council For Interference by Data Processing Equipment and
Electronic Office Machines aimed at preventing radio interference in such residential
area.
When used near a radio or TV receiver, it may become the cause of radio interference.
Read the instructions for correct handling.
This equipment meets or exceeds requirements for safety in the U.S. (UL 1950),
Canada (CSA C22.2 No. 950), and Europe (EN 60950/IEC 950) with Nordic
requirements.
This equipment meets or exceeds the ergonomic requirements of ZH1/618 and is
certified to bear the GS mark by TUV Rheinland of Taiwan Ltd.

Contents
About This Guide x
Chapter 1. Product Description 1-1
Introduction..................................................................................................1-1
Features........................................................................................................1-1
Configurations..............................................................................................1-3
RAID Overview............................................................................................1-4
RAID Levels.................................................................................................1-4
RAID 0..................................................................................................1-4
RAID 1..................................................................................................1-4
RAID 0 + 1............................................................................................1-5
RAID 5..................................................................................................1-5
JBOD.....................................................................................................1-5
Logical RAID Drive States ....................................................................1-6
Drive Number and RAID Level .............................................................1-7
System Requirements ...................................................................................1-8
Verifying the Components............................................................................1-9
Chapter 2. Using the EISA Configuration Utility 2-1
Introduction..................................................................................................2-1
Order of Installation......................................................................................2-1
Running the ECU..........................................................................................2-2
v

Contents
Chapter 3. Installing the SWXCR-EA 1-Channel
RAID Controller 3-1
Introduction...................................................................................................3-1
Installing the 1-Channel RAID Controller .....................................................3-1
Installing the Cable and the Storage Pedestal.................................................3-3
Chapter 4. Installing the SWXCR-EB 3-Channel
RAID Controller 4-1
Introduction...................................................................................................4-1
Installing the 3-Channel RAID Controller .....................................................4-1
Installing Cables and Storage Pedestals.........................................................4-4
Chapter 5. Using the Standalone RAID Configuration
Utilities 5-1
Introduction...................................................................................................5-1
Background...................................................................................................5-1
System Requirements....................................................................................5-2
Before You Begin...................................................................................5-2
Files Contained on the Diskette ..............................................................5-3
Invoking the Utilities.....................................................................................5-4
Invoking the Utilities on Intel Systems ...................................................5-4
Invoking the Utilities on AXP System ....................................................5-5
Exiting the Utilities.......................................................................................5-7
Configuring the RAID Subsystem .................................................................5-8
Initial Configuration of the RAID Controller.........................................5-9
Using the Automatic Configuration Option.............................................5-12
Configuring the RAID Subsystem Interactively......................................5-15
Creating a Drive Group....................................................................5-16
Understanding Drive Status .............................................................5-17
Creating a Logical RAID Drive .......................................................5-23
Defining a Hot Spare Drive..............................................................5-26
Initializing a Logical RAID Drive ..........................................................5-27
Saving the Configuration to a Diskette ...................................................5-29
Next Steps..............................................................................................5-31
vi

Contents
Maintaining Your RAID Subsystem..............................................................5-32
Viewing and Updating Your Configuration Information.........................5-33
Printing Your Configuration Information...............................................5-36
Checking Drive Information ..................................................................5-38
Checking Logical RAID Drive Consistency (Parity Check) ...................5-40
Adding a Hot Spare Drive after Initial Configuration.............................5-42
Failing a Drive.......................................................................................5-43
Manual Rebuild of a Drive (Reconstruction)..........................................5-45
Viewing the Bad Blocks on a Drive .......................................................5-47
Making a Drive Optimal ........................................................................5-48
Restoring the Subsystem Configuration from a Diskette.........................5-49
Formatting the Drive..............................................................................5-50
Updating the BIOS.................................................................................5-51
Updating the Firmware ..........................................................................5-52
Updating the Firmware on an AXP System............................................5-53
Chapter 6. Troubleshooting and Service Information 6-1
Introduction..................................................................................................6-1
Overview of Subsystem Indicators................................................................6-1
Storage Pedestal Status Indicators (SBBs)..............................................6-1
Pedestal Status.......................................................................................6-2
Power Supply LEDs...............................................................................6-2
Drive SBB Status LEDs.........................................................................6-6
Troubleshooting Your Subsystem .................................................................6-9
Before You Begin Troubleshooting........................................................6-9
Troubleshooting Techniques..................................................................6-10
Understanding Messages and Error Recovery.........................................6-17
Removal and Replacement ...........................................................................6-25
Replacing a Drive SBB..........................................................................6-25
Replacing a Power Supply SBB.............................................................6-28
Replacing a Primary Pedestal (Nonredundant) Power Supply..........6-29
Replacing a Redundant Power Supply.............................................6-30
Replacing a Blower................................................................................6-31
Replacing the SWXCR Controller..........................................................6-34
Replacing the Controller (and Swapping the EEPROM)..................6-35
vii

Contents
Appendix A. Specifications A-1
Input Power Requirements.............................................................................A-1
Power Units...................................................................................................A-1
Controller Power Requirements.....................................................................A-2
Physical Specifications..................................................................................A-3
Environmental Specifications........................................................................A-4
SBB Environmental Stabilization..................................................................A-6
Appendix B. Illustrated Parts List B-1
Appendix C. MS-DOS Verification Procedure C-1
Verifying the Subsystem under MS-DOS.......................................................C-1
Using the Controller under Windows V3.1....................................................C-2
Figures
1-1. Logical RAID Drive State Diagram........................................................1-6
3-1. Jumper Location on the 1-Channel Controller ........................................3-2
3-2. Removing a Bezel..................................................................................3-4
3-3. Removing the Blowers...........................................................................3-5
3-4. Terminator and Jumper Locations ..........................................................3-6
3-5. SHELF_OK Jumper on the Terminator ..................................................3-7
3-6. SHELF_OK Jumper on the Jumper.........................................................3-8
3-7. Removing a Disk Drive or a Blank Panel ...............................................3-9
3-8. External Cable Routing..........................................................................3-10
3-9. Cable Connections .................................................................................3-11
3-10. Device Labels.......................................................................................3-13
4-1. Jumper Location on the 3-Channel Controller ........................................4-2
4-2. Internal Cable Connections for the 3-Channel Controller .......................4-3
4-3. Removing a Bezel..................................................................................4-5
4-4. Removing the Blowers...........................................................................4-6
4-5. Terminator and Jumper Locations ..........................................................4-7
4-6. SHELF_OK Jumper on the Terminator ..................................................4-8
viii

Contents
4-5. SHELF_OK Jumper on the Jumper........................................................4-9
4-8. Removing a Disk Drive or a Blank Panel...............................................4-10
4-9. Cable Routing........................................................................................4-11
4-10. External Cable Connections.................................................................4-12
4-11. Device Labels......................................................................................4-14
5-1. Main Menu Screen.................................................................................5-6
5-2. Hardware Parameters Screen .................................................................5-11
5-3. Automatic Configuration Screen............................................................5-14
5-4. New Configuration Screen.....................................................................5-19
5-5. Define Drive Group Screen....................................................................5-20
5-6. Define Spare Screen ..............................................................................5-26
5-7. Tools Screen..........................................................................................5-30
5-8. View/Update Configuration Screen........................................................5-33
5-9. View Matrix Screen...............................................................................5-35
5-10. Device Information..............................................................................5-39
6-1. Power Supply LEDs...............................................................................6-3
6-2. 3.5-inch SBB LEDs...............................................................................6-7
6-3. Removing a Storage Device...................................................................6-27
6-4. Removing a Blower...............................................................................6-33
B-1. Pedestal Field Replaceable Parts...........................................................B-2
Tables
1-1. Logical RAID States.............................................................................1-6
6-1. Pedestal and Single Power Supply (PS) Status LEDs ............................6-4
6-2. Pedestal and Dual Power Supply (PS) Status LEDs...............................6-5
6-3. Drive SBB Status LEDs........................................................................6-8
6-4. Troubleshooting Techniques.................................................................6-10
A-1. BA350-KB Storage Pedestal Power Units............................................A-1
A-2. SWXCR Controller Power Requirements.............................................A-2
A-3. StorageWorks Storage Pedestal Physical Specifications.......................A-3
A-4. Environmental Specifications ..............................................................A-4
B-1. Illustrated Parts List for the Storage Pedestal .......................................B-1
ix

Contents
x

About This Guide
Introduction
This guide describes how you install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot the
StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Family Subsystem. It helps to familiarize you with
all aspects of the RAID subsystem and provides a reference for questions you may
have.
Audience
This guide is written specifically for anyone who installs, configures, and operates the
StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Family Subsystem. You should be familiar with the
following:
•
System management of personal computers
•
Basic hardware installation procedures
•
System/EISA Configuration Utility
•
SCSI devices
•
Basic SCSI, RAID, and personal computer terminology (Refer to
the Acronyms and Abbreviations in this section of the guide.)
If you are not familiar with the above, contact your service representative for
installation assistance.
Related Documentation
Refer to the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family Software User's Guide
for information on your operating system drive load procedure and on-line RAID
utilities.
x

About this Guide
Organization
This guide contains the following:
•
Chapter 1: Product Description —
Provides an overview of the StorageWorks
RAID Array 200 Subsystem including features, configurations, and system
requirements. A RAID overview is also provided.
•
Chapter 2: Running the EISA Configuration Utility (ECU)—
Describes how you
verify the availability of user-supplied hardware and software, how you inventory
what you received with the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem and how
you run the ECU.
•
Chapter 3: Installing the SWXCR-EA 1-Channel Controller—
Describes how you
install the RAID controller in your host system and install the storage pedestal
and disk drives and connect the cables.
•
Chapter 4: Installing the SWXCR-EB 3-Channel Controller—
Describes how you
install the RAID controller in your host system and install the storage pedestals
and disk drives and connect the cables.
•
Chapter 5: Using the Standalone RAID Configuration Utility—
Includes
background information, system requirements, information on how you invoke
the utilities, configuration, and array maintenance information.
•
Chapter 6: Troubleshooting and Service Information—
Describes the status of the
SBB LED indicators and how you replace the components in the pedestal. It
presents a brief troubleshooting approach in the event of a pedestal component
malfunction and software errors and recovery actions for those errors.
•
Appendix A: Specifications—
Includes physical and environmental specifications
for the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family.
•
Appendix B: Illustrated Parts List—
Includes the replacement part numbers and an
illustration of the StorageWorks storage pedestal.
•
Appendix C: MS-DOS Verification Procedure—
Contains a verification procedure
to test your RAID subsystem under the MS-DOS operating system.
xi

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family
Terminology
Some of the terms you need to understand as you read this guide are defined as
follows:
Disk array: A set of disk drives and a specialized array controller. The array
controller keeps track of how data is distributed across the drives.
Drive group: A set of drives logically tied together and addressed as a single unit.
ECU: EISA (System) Configuration Utility is used to configure EISA option boards.
JBOD: Sometimes referred to as "just a bunch of disks." Each drive operates
independently and is seen by the operating system as a single drive. There is no data
redundancy in this RAID configuration.
Logical RAID drive: A section of storage space presented to the host operating
system as a single physical drive.
RAID: An acronym for a redundant array of independent (sometimes referred to as
inexpensive) disks.
RAID level: A numerical designator (0 to 5) assigned to each scheme of data
management possible in an array of drives. RAID levels supported by the SWXCR
controller include the following: RAID 0, RAID 0 + 1, RAID 1, and RAID 5.
SBB: System building block. A modular carrier plus the individual mechanical and
electromechanical interface required to mount it into a standard shelf. Any device
conforming to shelf mechanical and electrical standards is considered an SBB.
Write-Back caching: A caching policy in which the controller acknowledges that a
write operation has completed successfully before data is written to the disks. If you
choose this caching policy, you may increase the I/O performance of your RAID
subsystem, but if there is a power failure, you lose data in cache that is not yet written
to the disks.
xii

About this Guide
Write-Through caching: A caching policy in which the data is written to disk before
the controller acknowledges that a write operation is completed successfully. If you
choose this caching policy and there is a power failure, you minimize the chance of
data loss.
______________________ NOTE ____________________________
The Configuration Utility (and this document) uses the term 'MB' or
'megabyte' to mean 220 or 1,048,576 bytes. The Configuration Utility
reports only the formatted capacity.
Conventions
The following conventions are used in this guide:
Convention Example
Description
bold text
Represents text or commands you must enter.
italics text
Indicates titles of manuals, chapters, sections of
chapters, new terms, and is used for emphasis.
c:\windows>
Monospaced text indicates file names, path names,
directories, or screen text.
<
Enter
>
Angle brackets surrounding text represents a key on
the keyboard. Used in screen displays only.
[Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del]
A plus sign indicates that the keys shown should be
pressed at the same time.
⇒
A right arrow indicates a reference to additional
information.
1 234 567
Spaces are used in large numbers instead of commas.
xiii

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family
Acronyms and Abbreviations
The following acronyms and abbreviations are used in this guide:
Acronym
Meaning
BIOS
Basic input/output system
DMA
Direct memory access
DRAM
Dynamic random access memory
IDE
Integrated drive electronics
ISA
Industry standard architecture
EISA
Extended industry standard architecture
MS-DOS
Microsoft Disk Operating System
POST
Power-on self test
ROM
Read only memory
SCSI
Small computer system interface
SIMM
Single in-line memory modules
VGA
Video graphics array
Windows
Microsoft Windows application software
Abbreviation
Meaning
KB
A KB suffix to a numerical value indicates size in kilobytes.
For example, 640 KB, 7168 KB, and so on. A kilobyte
equals 1024 bytes.
MB
An MB suffix to a numerical value indicates size in
megabytes. For example, 1 MB, 256 MB, and so on. A
megabyte equals 1 048 576 bytes.
GB
A GB suffix to a numerical value indicates size in
gigabytes. For example, 1 GB, 256 GB, and so on. A
gigabyte equals 1 073 741 824 bytes.
xiv

About this Guide
Special Notices
Three kinds of special notices are used in this guide to emphasize specific
information.
_____________________WARNING___________________________
WARNING indicates the presence of a hazard that can cause personal
injury if the hazard is not avoided.
_____________________ CAUTION___________________________
CAUTION indicates the presence of a hazard that might damage hardware
or corrupt software.
______________________ NOTE ____________________________
Notes provide additional information.
xv

1
Product Description
Introduction
The following topics are described in this chapter:
•
Features
•
Configurations
•
RAID overview
•
System requirements
•
Verifying the components
Features
The innovative design of the RAID Array 200 Subsystem’s SWXCR controller
incorporates all the functionality of a SCSI-based RAID controller with an EISA-
based host adapter into a single, low-cost module that you can install directly into
your system. The SWXCR RAID controller supports a wide variety of RAID levels
including: 0, 1, 0 + 1, 5, and JBOD (just a bunch of disks).
This unique product, which is ideal for desktop systems or workgroup servers,
provides the power and flexibility of controller-based RAID with the scaleability of
StorageWorks packaging. The StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family
offers a broad choice of packaging and RAID levels that allow you to configure a
powerful and flexible high-availability storage solution that meets your unique needs.
1-1

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family
The StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family has the following features:
•
Industry-standard EISA bus interface
•
SCSI drive interface (single-ended, 10 MB/second maximum)
•
1 or 3 SCSI channels by means of a scaleable architecture
•
Multiple SWXCR controllers (2)
•
RAID levels 0, 1, 0 + 1, 5, and JBOD are all supported
•
Cache support of 4 MB (with planned future expansion)
•
Hot spare disk drives
•
Hot swapping of disk drives
•
Mixed drive types within drive groups
1-2

Chapter 1
Configurations
The StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family is available in the following
configurations:
•
SWXCR-EA 1-channel unit connected to a BA350-KB storage
pedestal (or equivalent), supporting up to 7 disk drives
•
SWXCR-EB 3-channel unit connected to 1 to 3 BA350-KB storage
pedestals (or equivalent), supporting up to 21 disk drives
The following disk drives are supported:
•
RZ25L (535 MB)
•
RZ26 (1 GB - SWXD3-SA)
•
RZ26L (1GB - SWXD3-SC)
•
RZ28 (2 GB - SWXD3-SB)
Consult your supplier for additional supported disks.
A single controller can support up to eight drive groups. Following these general
rules when you configure your array:
•
Maximum number of drive groups: 8
•
Maximum number of drives in each drive group: 8
•
Maximum number of logical RAID drives: 8
1-3

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Family
RAID Overview
RAID (redundant array of independent disks) is a modular, integrated, end-user
solution that provides three main benefits:
•
Improved data availability
•
Improved I/O performance
•
Increased scaleability
A RAID array is a set of multiple disk drives and a specialized array controller that
manages how data is distributed across disk drives.
Data for a given file is divided into segments, which can be written across multiple
drives. A segment is a group of blocks that is continuous data which can be stored on
a disk drive. By using more than one drive, the array can provide higher data transfer
rates when compared to a single large drive. Depending on the RAID level used,
arrays can also provide redundancy to protect data availability.
As you configure your subsystem, select the RAID level appropriate for your
computing environment.
Raid Levels
RAID 0, 1, 0 + 1, 5 and JBOD are supported by the StorageWorks RAID Array 200
Subsystem Family and offer data redundancy/performance.
Raid 0
RAID 0 stripes data across the drives in the array, one segment at a time. RAID 0
offers a high I/O rate, but is a nonredundant configuration. No array parity
information is generated for reconstructing data if a drive fails.
Raid 1
RAID 1 transparently mirrors data by writing data to two drives simultaneously. This
is the simplest way of to achieve data redundancy. The cost of data storage is greater
than for a single drive, since double the disk space is required. However, RAID 1 is a
consideration for users where reliability is most important.
1-4