IBM Redbooks ServeRAID-MR10k User manual

®
IBM P/N: 46M1379
ServeRAID-MR10k
USER’S
GUIDE
February 2009

ii
Third Edition (February 2009)
© Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2007-2009. All rights reserved.
US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure
restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.

ServeRAID-MR10k User’s Guide iii
Preface
This user’s guide explains how to install and use the ServeRAID-MR10k
SAS/SATA Customized Enabler DIMM product.
Audience
This document assumes that the reader is familiar with installing add-in
boards to computers.
The people who benefit from this book are:
•End users who need to install the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA
Customized Enabler DIMM
•Engineers and managers who are evaluating BBU products for
possible use
Organization
This document has the following chapters:
•Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the ServeRAID-MR10k
SAS/SATA DIMM and explains how its operates.
•Chapter 2, Installing a ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM,
explains how to install the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM.
•Chapter 3, Managing RAID Arrays, explains how to use and
monitor the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM and how to
replace it.
•Chapter 4, Intelligent Transportable Battery Backup Unit
Specifications, has complete technical information and
specifications for the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM.

iv Preface
•Appendix A, Notices, contains information about the warranty,
patents, license inquiries, and trademarks.
Related Publications
ServeRAID-MR Software User’s Guide
IBM Document Number: 46M1381
This document explains how to use the MegaRAID Storage Manager,
WebBIOS, and Command Line Interface (CLI) utilities to configure,
monitor, and maintain your ServeRAID-MR10 storage adapter and the
storage-related devices connected to it.
ServeRAID-MR Device Driver Installation User’s Guide
IBM Document Number: 46M1382
This document explains how to install the ServeRAID-MR10 device
driver for your operating system. The information in this document is
independent of the back-end bus and applies to the ServeRAID-MR10k
SAS/SATA DIMM.
IBM Systems Safety Notices
IBM Document Number: G229-9054-01
This book contains safety notices from IBM Systems documentation. The
safety notices include danger and caution notices.
Notices and Statements in This Document
The caution and danger statements in this document are also in the
multilingual IBM Systems Safety Notices document, which is on the
ServeRAID-MR Support CD. Each statement is followed by a reference
number that you can use to locate the corresponding statement in your
language in the IBM Systems Safety Notices document. The following
notices and statements are used in this document:
Note:These notices provide important tips, guidance, or advice.

Preface v
Important: These notices provide information or advice that might help
you avoid inconvenient or problem situations.
Attention: These notices indicate potential damage to programs,
devices, or data. An attention notice is placed just before
the instruction or situation in which damage might occur.
CAUTION: These statements indicate situations that can be potentially
hazardous to you. A caution statement is placed just before
the description of a potentially hazardous procedure step or
situation.
DANGER:These statements indicate situations that can be poten-
tially lethal or extremely hazardous to you. A danger
statement is placed just before the description of a
potentially lethal or extremely hazardous procedure
step or situation.
Revision History
IBM Customer Support
Web site: http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/
Safety Instructions
Use the following safety guidelines to help protect your computer system
from potential damage and to ensure your own personal safety.
IBM Document
Number Edition/Date Remarks
46M1379 Third Edition
February 2009
Updated the procedures for monitoring and maintaining the intel-
ligent Battery Backup Unit.
43W7850 Second Edition
November 2007
Second edition of document.
43W7841 First Edition
November 2007
Initial release of document.

vi Preface
Note:Use the ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM with UL-listed
Information Technology Equipment (ITE) products only.
DANGER
When working on or around the system, observe the following precautions:
Electrical voltage and current from power, telephone, and communication cables
are hazardous. To avoid a shock hazard:
•Connect power to this unit only with the provided power cord. Do not use the
provided power cord for any other product.
•Do not open or service any power supply assembly.
•Do not connect or disconnect any cables or perform installation, maintenance,
or reconfiguration of this product during an electrical storm.
•The product might be equipped with multiple power cords. To remove all
hazardous voltages, disconnect all power cords.
•Connect all power cords to a properly wired and grounded electrical outlet.
Ensure that the outlet supplies proper voltage and phase rotation according to
the system rating plate.
•Connect any equipment that will be attached to this product to properly wired
outlets.
•When possible, use one hand only to connect or disconnect signal cables.
•Never turn on any equipment when there is evidence of fire, water, or structural
damage.
•Disconnect the attached power cords, telecommunications systems, networks,
and modems before you open the device covers, unless instructed otherwise
in the installation and configuration procedures.
•Connect and disconnect cables as described in the following procedures when
installing, moving, or opening covers on this product or attached devices.
To disconnect:
1. Turn off everything (unless instructed otherwise).
2. Remove the power cords from the outlets.
3. Remove the signal cables from the connectors.
4. Remove all cables from the devices.
To connect:
1. Turn off everything (unless instructed otherwise).
2. Attach all cables to the devices.
3. Attach the signal cables to the connectors.
4. Attach the power cords to the outlets.
5. Turn on the devices.
(D005)

Preface vii
CAUTION:
The battery is a lithium ion battery. To avoid possible explosion, do not
burn. Exchange only with the IBM-approved part. Recycle or discard the
battery as instructed by local regulations. In the United States, IBM has a
process for the collection of this battery. For information, call 1-800-426-
4333. Have the IBM part number for the battery unit available when you
call. (C007)
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, such as the
metal around the card-slot openings at the back of the computer.
As you continue to work inside the computer, periodically touch an
unpainted metal surface to remove any static charge your body may
have accumulated. In addition to the preceding precautions, you can also
take the following steps to prevent damage from electrostatic discharge:
•When unpacking a static-sensitive component from its shipping
carton, do not remove the component from the antistatic packing
material until you are ready to install the component in your
computer. Just before unwrapping the antistatic packaging, be sure
to discharge static electricity from your body.
•When transporting a sensitive component, first place it in an
antistatic container or packaging.
•Handle all sensitive components in a static-safe area. If possible, use
antistatic floor pads and workbench pads.

viii Preface

Contents ix
Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Integrated RAID Mode 1-1
1.2 MegaRAID Mode 1-2
1.3 Differences between Integrated RAID and MegaRAID 1-3
1.4 Battery Backup Functions 1-3
Chapter 2
Installing a ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM
2.1 Installing the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM 2-2
2.1.1 Installing the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM 2-3
Chapter 3
Managing RAID Arrays
3.1 Supported Configurations and Limitations 3-2
3.2 Importing Integrated RAID Arrays into MegaRAID Using WebBIOS
3-2
3.3 Monitoring the iTBBU Using the MegaRAID Configuration Utilities
3-4
3.3.1 Monitoring the iTBBU with the WebBIOS Configuration
Utility 3-4
3.3.2 Monitoring the iBBU with the MegaCLI Utility 3-8
3.3.3 Monitoring the iBBU with the MegaRAID Storage
Manager 3-12
3.4 Replacing the Battery Backup Unit 3-15
Chapter 4
Intelligent Transportable Battery Backup Unit Specifications
4.1 ServeRAID-MR10k iTBBU Specifications 4-1

xContents
4.2 Battery Life and Data Retention Time 4-2
Appendix A Notices
A.1 Trademarks A-2
A.2 Important Notes A-3

Contents xi
Figures
2.1 DIMM Module 2-2
2.2 Remote Intelligent Transportable Battery Backup Unit 2-2
2.3 Installation of the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM 2-4
3.1 WebBIOS Foreign Configuration Screen 3-3
3.2 Foreign Configuration Preview Screen 3-4
3.3 First Controller Properties Screen 3-5
3.4 Second Controller Properties Screen 3-6
3.5 Battery Module Screen 3-7
3.6 Battery Backup Unit Information 3-13
3.7 Battery Backup Unit Operations 3-14

xii Contents

Contents xiii
Tables
1.1 Integrated RAID Functionality 1-2
1.2 MegaRAID Functionality 1-2
1.3 Comparison of Integrated RAID and MegaRAID 1-3
3.1 Optimal RAID Array Migration 3-2
3.2 Display BBU Information 3-8
3.3 Display BBU Status Information 3-8
3.4 Display BBU Capacity Information 3-9
3.5 Display BBU Design Parameters 3-10
3.6 Display Current BBU Properties 3-10
3.7 Start BBU Learning Cycle 3-11
3.8 Place Battery in Low-Power Storage Mode 3-11
3.9 Set BBU Properties 3-11
4.1 Specifications 4-1
4.2 Reference Data Retention Times 4-2

xiv Contents

ServeRAID-MR10k User’s Guide 1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
IBM provides the ServeRAID-MR10k Serial-attached SCSI (SAS)/Serial
ATA (SATA) Customized Enabler DIMM for use on the IBM System
x3850 M2 and IBM System x3950 M2 servers. The ServeRAID-MR10k
SAS/SATA Customized Enable DIMM offers a flexible RAID-on-
motherboard (ROMB), direct-attached storage (DAS) solution based on
the LSI1078ROC (RAID-on-Chip).
You can use the ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM to make the system operate
in MegaRAID (MR) mode, which uses the MR stack, and the DIMM
management and configuration tools. If the ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM is
not installed in the system, the LSI SAS1078 operates in the Integrated
RAID (IR) mode, which supports RAID levels 0 and 1.
The ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM consists of two pieces:
– A customized 240-pin DIMM module that contains a RAID key,
which contains hardware needed to use advanced MegaRAID
features
– A remote intelligent transportable battery backup unit (iTBBU)
The intelligent Transportable Battery Backup Unit (iTBBU) protects the
integrity of the cached data on the DIMM by providing backup power if
there is a complete AC power failure or a brief power outage.
1.1 Integrated RAID Mode
The Integrated RAID solution simplifies the configuration options and
provides firmware support in its host adapters. IBM offers two types of
Integrated RAID (IR): Integrated Mirroring (IM), and Integrated Striping
(IS).
Integrated RAID supports the following types of RAID configurations:

1-2 Introduction
•Up to ten disks per Integrated Striping volume, with one or two
storage volumes per controller. Each controller can support up to 12
volume disks, plus one or two hot spare disks, for a maximum of 14
disks per controller. (Support for this number of disks requires
Integrated RAID firmware v1.20.00 or above.)
•Two-disk IM mirrored volumes
Table 1.1 lists the controller and software features for Integrated RAID.
1.2 MegaRAID Mode
The ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM is used to make the LSISAS1078 adapter
operate in MR mode. This mode offers the MR stack, and the MR
management and configuration tools.
Table 1.2 lists the DIMM features and software features for MR.
Table 1.1 Integrated RAID Functionality
Supported disk types Serial Attached Storage (SAS) and Serial ATA II (SATA II)
External support None available
System supported IBM System x3850 M2 and IBM System x3950 M2
Supported RAID levels RAID 0, and RAID 1
Maximum number of
volumes
Two volumes maximum in a mixture of RAID 0 arrays and RAID 1 arrays
Maximum number of
drives supported
Four drives total in two volumes
Virtual disk size limit 20 Tbytes (there is a 64-bit addressing limit)
Supported RAID
management utilities
Integrated RAID (IR), CTRL+C, MegaRAID Storage Manager (MSM), and
cfggen (command line interface)
Table 1.2 MegaRAID Functionality
Supported disk types SAS and SATA II (SATA II disks are supported in External Enclosures
only)
Systems supported IBM System x3850 M2 and IBM System x3950 M2
External support EXP3000 enclosures with cascading up to a maximum of 9 enclosures
Battery backup unit A chassis-mounted battery, providing 72 hours of backup for one year
Memory Key Memory Key can be installed on the system board

Differences between Integrated RAID and MegaRAID 1-3
1.3 Differences between Integrated RAID and MegaRAID
Table 1.3 shows differences between the Integrated RAID features and
the MegaRAID features.
1.4 Battery Backup Functions
Writing a block of data to cache memory is much faster than writing it to
a storage device. The ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM then writes the cached
data to the storage device when system activity is low or when the cache
is getting full. The risk of using write-back cache is that the cached data
can be lost if the AC power fails before it has been written to the storage
device. This risk factor is eliminated when the ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM
has an onboard iBBU.
Connector Dedicated system connector
Type of connector 256 Mbytes, 72-bit iTBBU with a custom DDR2 connector
Supported RAID levels RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60
Maximum number of
volumes
64
Maximum number of
drives supported
116 drives [4 internal drives and 112 external drives in 9 cascaded
enclosures]
Virtual disk size limit 20 Tbytes (there is a 64-bit addressing limit)
Supported RAID
management utilities
WebBIOS (CTRL-H), MegaRAID Storage Manager (MSM), and MegaCLI
(Command Line Interface)
Table 1.2 MegaRAID Functionality
Table 1.3 Comparison of Integrated RAID and MegaRAID
Integrated RAID MegaRAID
RAID level support RAID 0 and RAID 1 RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6,
RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60
Disk access through the
operating system
All devices are accessible by the
operating system (OS). Member
disks are hidden from OS, when
added to a virtual disk
All devices are hidden from the OS
until they are included in a virtual
disk
Stripe size 64 Kbytes 16 Kbytes - 1 Mbyte (you can select
the stripe size)

1-4 Introduction
The ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM monitors the voltage level of the DDR2
modules installed on the DIMM. If the voltage drops below a predefined
level, the battery backup module switches the memory power source
from the DIMM to the battery pack attached to the iBBU. As long as the
voltage level stays below the predefined value, the iBBU provides power
for memory. If the voltage level returns to an acceptable level, the iBBU
switches the power source back to the DIMM, and all incomplete writes
to storage devices are completed with no data loss.
An intelligent BBU has built-in functionality to charge the battery pack
automatically and to communicate battery status information such as
voltage, temperature, and current, to the host computer system.
A transportable BBU can be used to move a RAID DIMM's cached data
to a replacement DIMM if that data has not been written to a disk. This
could be necessary if, for example, the DIMM fails after an unexpected
power failure. After you install the transportable BBU on the new RAID
DIMM, it flushes the unwritten data preserved in the cache to the disk
through the new DIMM.
CAUTION:
The battery is a lithium ion battery. To avoid possible explosion, do not
burn. Exchange only with the IBM-approved part. Recycle or discard the
battery as instructed by local regulations. In the United States, IBM has a
process for the collection of this battery. For information, call 1-800-426-
4333. Have the IBM part number for the battery unit available when you
call. (C007)

ServeRAID-MR10k User’s Guide 2-1
Chapter 2
Installing a ServeRAID-
MR10k SAS/SATA
DIMM
This chapter explains how to install the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA
Customized Enabler DIMM.
Attention: Electrostatic discharge can damage the battery backup unit
(BBU) and the DIMM on which it is installed. Always ground
yourself and/or use a ground strap before you touch the
storage adapter or the BBU. Perform all installation work at
an ESD safe workstation that meets the requirements of
EIA-625—“Requirements for Handling Electrostatic
Discharge Sensitive Devices.” Follow the ESD
recommended practices in the latest revision of IPC-A-610.
The battery in the iTBBU must charge for at least six hours under normal
operating conditions. To protect your data, the firmware changes the
Write Policy to write-through until the battery unit is sufficiently charged.
When the battery unit is charged, the DIMM firmware changes the Write
Policy to write-back to take advantage of the performance benefits of
data caching.
The maximum ambient temperature for battery packs is 0° C to 45° C.
Note: The temperature of the battery pack during fast charge is
typically 15–20 degrees higher than the ambient
temperature. Therefore, for the fast charge circuit to
complete a fast charge cycle, the ambient temperature
should be less than 40° C. If the ambient temperature is
greater than 40° C, the fast charge cycle could terminate
prematurely.

2-2 Installing a ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM
2.1 Installing the ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA DIMM
This section describes the installation of the ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM
on the IBM System x3850 M2 and IBM System x3950 M2. The
ServeRAID-MR10k DIMM mounts in a DIMM socket on the motherboard.
The remote intelligent BBU is mounted in a bracket next to the DIMM.
Figure 2.1 displays the custom 240-pin DDR2 form factor that contains
the RAID key. The J1 connector on the back of the DIMM connects by
cable to the remote iTBBU.
Figure 2.1 DIMM Module
Figure 2.2 displays the remote intelligent transportable battery backup
unit that connects by cable to the DIMM module.
Figure 2.2 Remote Intelligent Transportable Battery Backup Unit
85023-00
J1 on back
of board
85023-01