LSI MegaRAID SCSI 320-0 Zero-Channel RAID Controller Series... Quick guide

MegaRAID® RAID Controller
Configuration Software Guide
MAN-MR-GENSW
7/20/00

ii
© Copyright 2001 LSI Logic Corporation
All rights reserved.
LSI Logic Corporation
6145-D Northbelt Parkway
Norcross, GA 30071
This publication contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright. No part of this publication can be
reproduced, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, translated into any language or computer language, or transmitted in
any form whatsoever without the prior written consent of the publisher, LSI Logic Corporation acknowledges the
following trademarks:
Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
MS-DOS and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Windows and Windows NT are
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
SCO, UnixWare, and Unix are registered trademarks of the Santa Cruz Operation. Inc.
Novell NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell Corporation.
IBM, AT, VGA, and OS/2 are registered trademarks and XT and CGA are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.
Revision History
8/15/97 Initial release.
10/21/97 Updated MegaRAID BIOS description.
1/16/98 Merged FlexRAID and Power Console chapters.
4/8/98 Replaced Power Console with Power Console Plus.
5/12/98 Corrected an error in Chapter 4 Power Console Plus.
7/8/98 Updated screen shots in this manual.
7/24/98 Removed references to Solaris, NextStep, and Banyan drivers.
8/7/98 Added new Enclosure Management in Power Console Plus.
2/4/99 Converted to generic MegaRAID Software Guide.
5/10/99 Revised to include Series 467 MegaRAID Explorer 1500.
5/13/99 Updated Power Console Plus chapter.
8/20/99 Changed defaults (64 MB stripe size, Direct I/O, Normal Read).
7/20/00 Revised material throughout manual and added WebBIOS chapter.

iii
Table of Contents
1 Overview ...................................................1
In this Manual................................................................... 2
2 MegaRAID Configuration Utility.............5
Starting MegaRAID Configuration Utility....................... 5
MegaRAID Configuration Utility Menu Tree.................. 7
MegaRAID Configuration Utility Menu Tree for
Ultra 160M Cards............................................................. 8
MegaRAID Configuration On Disk ................................. 9
Configuration Utility Configure Menu............................. 9
Configuration Utility Initialize Menu............................. 10
Configuration Utility Objects Menu............................... 11
Configuration Utility Format Menu ............................... 14
Configuration Utility Rebuild Menu .............................. 14
Configuration Utility Check Consistency Menu ............ 15
Configuration Utility Select Adapter Menu ................... 16
Disable BIOS Menu ....................................................... 16
Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives ......................... 16
Choosing the Configuration Method .............................. 17
Designating Drives as Hot Spares .................................. 18
Using Easy Configuration .............................................. 19
Using New Configuration............................................... 23
Using View/Add Configuration...................................... 26
Initializing Logical Drives.............................................. 29
Using Logical Drives in the Operating System .............. 30
Formatting Physical Drives ............................................ 31
Rebuilding Failed Disk Drives ....................................... 32
Using a Pre-loaded SCSI Drive “As-is” ......................... 33
Exiting MegaRAID Configuration Utility...................... 33
3 WebBIOS Configuration Utility .............35
Starting the MegaRAID WebBIOS Utility on the Host Computer…36
WebBIOS Toolbar Icons ................................................ 38
Adapter Properties.......................................................... 39
Scan Devices .................................................................. 40
SCSI Channel Properties ................................................ 40
Logical Drives ................................................................ 42
Physical Drives............................................................... 45
Configuration Wizard..................................................... 46
Adapter Selection ........................................................... 51
Physical View\Logical View.......................................... 52

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Table of Contents, Continued
4 MegaRAID Manager ...............................55
Overview ........................................................................ 55
Starting MegaRAID Manager ........................................ 55
MegaRAID Manager Menu Tree ................................... 57
MegaRAID Manager Configure Menu........................... 58
MegaRAID Manager Initialize Menu............................. 58
MegaRAID Manager Objects Menu............................... 59
MegaRAID Manager Format Menu ............................... 62
MegaRAID Manager Rebuild Menu .............................. 62
MegaRAID Manager Check Consistency Menu ............ 63
MegaRAID Manager Advanced Menu........................... 64
MegaRAID Manager Select Adapter Menu ................... 65
Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives ......................... 65
Choosing the Configuration Method .............................. 66
Designating Drives as Hot Spares .................................. 67
Using Auto Configuration .............................................. 68
Using Easy Configuration .............................................. 69
Using New Configuration............................................... 73
Using View/Add Configuration...................................... 76
Initializing Logical Drives.............................................. 79
Using Logical Drives in the Operating System .............. 80
Formatting Physical Drives ............................................ 81
Rebuilding Failed Disk Drives ....................................... 83
Exiting MegaRAID Manager ......................................... 84
5 Installing Power Console Plus.............85
Installing on a Windows NT V4.x Server and Workstation87
Sample Power Console Plus Network Layout................ 93
Installing an LSI Logic SNMP Agent ............................ 94
MegaRAID Service Monitor .......................................... 95
Installing and Registering Power Console Plus Components
in a NetWare Server 4.x ................................................. 96
De-registering and Re-registering under Power Console Plus 98
6 Running Power Console Plus ...............99
User Interface Restrictions ........................................... 100
Power Console Plus Toolbox Icons.............................. 101
Power Console Plus Menus .......................................... 105
Configuration Menu ..................................................... 105
Adapter Menu............................................................... 109
Physical Drive Menu .................................................... 114
Logical Drive Menu ..................................................... 116
Progress Menu.............................................................. 119
Securing Power Console Plus under Windows NT ...... 120
7 Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives121
Step 1 Start Power Console Plus .................................. 121
Step 2 Choose an Adapter ............................................ 122
Step 3 Run the Wizard.................................................. 123
Step 4 Save Configuration and Initialize...................... 128

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Table of Contents, Continued
8 Assigning Hot Spares..........................129
Global Hot Spares ........................................................ 129
Reclaiming Hot Spares While Running the Wizard ..... 129
Reclaiming Hot Spares During Normal Operation....... 129
9 Virtual Sizing and Online Capacity Expansion…131
Location and Enabling.................................................. 131
Theory of Operation ..................................................... 131
MegaRAID Drive Characteristics ................................ 132
Deleting Logical Drives ............................................... 132
Adding Capacity under Windows NT 3.5x, 4.x and
Windows 2000.............................................................. 133
Adding Capacity under NetWare 3.12 and 4.x............. 135
A MegaRAID Service Monitor .................137
MegaRAID Service Monitor ........................................ 138
Event Types.................................................................. 139
Index ................................................................151

vi
Preface
MegaRAID supports Ultra, Ultra2, Wide, and Ultra160M SCSI channels with data
transfer rates up to 160 MB/s. This manual describes the software that is shipped with the
MegaRAID.
Limited Warranty The buyer agrees if this product proves to be defective, that LSI Logic Corporation is obligated only
to repair or replace this product at LSI Logic Corporation’s discretion according to the terms and
conditions of the warranty registration card that accompanies this product. LSI Logic Corporation
shall not be liable in tort or contract for any loss or damage, direct, incidental or consequential
resulting from the use of this product. Please see the Warranty Registration Card shipped with this
product for full warranty details.
Limitations of Liability LSI Logic Corporation shall in no event be held liable for any loss, expenses, or damages of any
kind whatsoever, whether direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential (whether arising from the
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proceeding against LSI Logic Corporation may be commenced more than two years after the
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provided by LSI Logic Corporation to Licensee.
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from LSI Logic or from an LSI Logic-authorized reseller only.
If… then…
You purchased this product from LSI Logic or
from a certified LSI Logic reseller,
Call LSI Logic Technical Support at 678-728-
1250. Please be prepared to specify the serial
number of the product.
This LSI Logic product was installed as part
of a system manufactured by a company other
than LSI Logic or you purchased an LSI
Logic product from an unauthorized reseller,
Call the technical support department of the
computer manufacturer or the unauthorized
reseller. LSI Logic does not provide direct
technical support in this case.
Web Site We invite you to access our web site at:
http://www.lsillogic.com.
Cont’d

vii
Preface, Continued
Disclaimer This manual describes the operation of the LSI Logic Corporation MegaRAID Disk
Array Controller. Although efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the
information contained here, LSI Logic Corporation expressly disclaims liability for any
error in this information, and for damages, whether direct, indirect, special, exemplary,
consequential or otherwise, that may result from such error, including but not limited to
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are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in
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revisions in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time.
Requests for technical information about LSI Logic Corporation products should be made
to your LSI Logic Corporation authorized reseller or marketing representative.

viii

Chapter 1 Overview 1
1Overview
The basic MegaRAID documentation is contained in three manuals:
•the MegaRAID Hardware Guide for your MegaRAID board
•the MegaRAID Operating System Drivers Guide
•the MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide
MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide This manual provides information about MegaRAID
software utility programs. You will not need this manual until after you have
planned your RAID system and have installed the MegaRAID controller.
RAID system planning, installation, and configuration information is provided
in the MegaRAID hardware guide for your MegaRAID board.Read the
MegaRAID hardware guide before you read the MegaRAID Configuration
Software Guide.
MegaRAID Hardware Guide Each MegaRAID board has a MegaRAID hardware guide that
contains information about installing the MegaRAID controller. It also contains
general introductory information about RAID and RAID system planning and
configuration information.
You must read the MegaRAID Hardware Guide before you read the MegaRAID
Configuration Software Guide.
MegaRAID Operating System Drivers Guide This manual provides all the information you will
need to install the appropriate operating system software drivers.
Read this manual after you have installed the MegaRAID card, planned the
RAID system, and configured the system using the MegaRAID software
configuration utilities described in the MegaRAID Configuration Software
Guide

MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide
2
In this Manual
This manual is organized as follows:
Chapter Title Turn to
1 Overview page 1
2 MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility page 5
3 WebBIOS Configuration Utility page 35
4 MegaRAID Manager page 55
5 Installing Power Console Plus page 85
6 Running Power Console Plus page 99
7 Configuring Arrays and Logical Drives page 121
8 Assigning Hot Spares page 129
9 Virtual Sizing and Online Capacity Expansion page 131
Note: Some of the features and procedures in this manual apply only to
boards that support Ultra 160M, and 40 logical drives. This will be
noted in the description of the feature or procedure. The Ultra 160M
boards are:
•Enterprise 1600 (Series 471)
•Elite 1600 (Series 493)
•Express 500 (Series 475)
MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility The MegaRAID BIOS Configuration utility is a
character-based utility than you can run by pressing <Ctrl> <M> when the
computer boots. Use MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility to:
•create hotspare drives
•configure physical arrays and logical drives
•initialize one or more logical drives
•individually access controllers, logical drives, and, physical drives
•low-level format hard disk drives
•rebuild failed disk drives
•verify that the redundancy data in logical drives using RAID level 1, 3, or 5
is correct
•select a MegaRAID host adapter to work on
Cont’d

Chapter 1 Overview 3
In This Manual, Continued
WebBIOS Configuration Utility MegaRAID WebBIOS Configuration Utility is an HTML
utility that you can run by pressing <Ctrl><H> when the computer boots. Use
WebBIOS Configuration Utility to perform the same functions as the BIOS
Configuration Utility described above.
MegaRAID Manager MegaRAID Manager is a character-based utility that you can run at any
time. Use MegaRAID Manager to:
•choose a configuration method
•designate drives as hot spares
•create physical arrays
•define logical drives
•initialize logical drives
•use logical drives in your operating system
•rebuild failed disk drives
Power Console Plus Power Console Plus provides on the fly RAID migration, creating almost
limitless adaptability and expansion of any logical drive while the system
remains operational.
Power Console Plus is an object-oriented GUI utility that configures and
monitors RAID systems locally or over a network with several servers. Power
Console Plus can be executed from any workstation. Power Console Plus allows
you to control and monitor the status of hard disk drives, tape drives, and CD-
ROM drives. Power Console Plus runs under Microsoft Windows NT. Use
Power Console Plus to: choose a configuration method, designate drives as hot
spares, create physical arrays, define and initialize logical drives, and rebuild
failed disk drives.
Cont’d

MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide
4
In This Manual, Continued
Power Console Plus, cont’d Power Console Plus can:
•add drives to any OPTIMAL RAID logical drive
•convert from RAID 0 or 1 to RAID 1, 3, or 5 by adding a physical drive
•restripe logical drives
•change from a DEGRADED redundant logical drive to an OPTIMAL
RAID 0 logical drive
•convert a RAID 5 logical drive to a RAID 3 logical drive
•convert a RAID 3 logical drive to a RAID 5 logical drive
•remove any physical drive from a logical drive
•change a RAID 1, 3, or 5 logical drive to a RAID 0 logical drive
Operating System Drivers The MegaRAID PCI SCSI Disk Array RAID Controller is installed in
any IBM AT®-compatible computer with a PCI local bus. MegaRAID can
operate under MS-DOS® or any DOS-compatible operating system using the
standard AT BIOS INT 13h Hard Disk Drive interface.
To operate with other operating systems, you must install software drivers.
MegaRAID provides software drivers for most common operating systems.
Read the MegaRAID Operating System Drivers Guide for complete information
about all MegaRAID operating system drivers.

Chapter 2 MegaRAID Configuration Utility 5
2 MegaRAID BIOS Configuration
Utility
The MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility configures disk arrays and logical
drives. Because the utility resides in the MegaRAID BIOS, its operation is
independent of the operating systems on your computer.
In This Chapter The topics discussed in this chapter include:
•starting Configuration Utility
•MegaRAID Configuration Utility menus
•choosing a configuration method
•designating drives as hot spares
•creating physical arrays
•defining logical drives
•initializing logical drives
•using logical drives in your operating system
•rebuilding failed disk drives
•using a pre-loaded SCSI drive as-is
Starting MegaRAID Configuration Utility
When the host computer boots, hold the <Ctrl> key and press the <M >key
when the following appears:
Host Adapter-1 Firmware Version x.xx DRAM Size 4 MB
0 Logical Drives found on the Host Adapter
0 Logical Drives handled by BIOS
Press <Ctrl><M> to run MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility
For each MegaRAID adapter in the host system, the firmware version, DRAM
size, and the status of logical drives on that adapter is displayed. If you do not
press <Ctrl> <M> within a few seconds of the prompt, the computer continues
the normal boot procedure.
Important
MegaRAID supports one to four SCSI channels, but many of the
screens in this manual show three SCSI channels. The utilities
described in this manual also work with other MegaRAID
models that support one, two, three or four channels.
Cont’d

MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide
6
Starting MegaRAID Configuration Utility, Continued
When you press <Ctrl> <M>, the following appears:
Configuration Utility Menu Options The Configuration Utility menu options:
Option Description
Configure Choose this option to configure physical arrays and logical drives.
Initialize Choose this option to initialize one or more logical drives.
Objects Choose this option to individually access controllers, logical drives,
and physical drives.
Format Choose this option to low-level format hard disk drives.
Rebuild Choose this option to rebuild failed disk drives.
Check
Consistency
Choose this option to verify that the redundancy data in logical
drives using RAID level 1, 3, or 5 is correct.
Select
Adapter
Choose this option to select a MegaRAID host adapter to work on.
This menu item appears only if more than one MegaRAID host
adapter is installed in the computer.
If Using MegaRAID Configuration Utility
To... Use this menu turn to...
configure arrays and logical drives Configure page 16
initialize logical drives Initialize page 29
format a disk drive Format page 31
rebuild a disk drive Rebuild page 32
use a pre-loaded SCSI drive as-is Configure page 33
For information about other functions, see the following menu tree and menu
descriptions.

Chapter 2 MegaRAID Configuration Utility 7
MegaRAID Configuration Utility Menu Tree
The following is an expansion of the menus in the MegaRAID Configuration
Utility.
The menu items are explained on the following pages.

MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide
8
MegaRAID Configuration Utility Menu Tree for Ultra 160M Cards
The following is an expansion of the menus in the MegaRAID Configuration
Utility for boards that support Ultra 160M, and 40 logical drives: Enterprise
1600, Elite 1600, and Express 500.

Chapter 2 MegaRAID Configuration Utility 9
MegaRAID Configuration On Disk
MegaRAID supports Configuration on Disk (drive roaming). Configuration on
Disk saves configuration information both in the MegaRAID NVRAM and on
the disk drives attached to MegaRAID. If MegaRAID is replaced, the new
MegaRAID controller can detect the RAID configuration, maintaining the
integrity of the data on each drive even if the drives have changed channel
and/or target ID.
Note: It is important that the new controller have no configuration. Make sure that
NVRAM Configuration is cleared before you install SCSI cables.
Adding Configuration on Disk Support Perform the following steps:
Step Action
1 Press <Ctrl> <M> at the MegaRAID POST screen to run the MegaRAID
Configuration Utility.
2 Select the Configure Menu. Select View/Add Configuration. Select Disk
when asked to use Disk or NVRAM and select Save.
3 Press <Esc> to exit MegaRAID Configuration Utility.
4 Reboot the computer.
Note: It is important that the new controller have no configuration. Make sure that
NVRAM Configuration is cleared before you install SCSI cables.

MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide
10
Configuration Utility Configure Menu
Configure Choose the Configure option to select a method for configuring arrays and
logical drives.
Option Description
Easy Configuration Select this method to perform a basic logical drive
configuration where every physical array you define is
automatically associated with exactly one logical drive.
See page 17 for additional information.
New Configuration Select this method to discard the existing configuration
information and to configure new arrays and logical
drives. In addition to providing the basic logical drive
configuration functions, New Configuration allows you
to associate logical drives with multiple or partial arrays.
See page 17 for additional information.
View/Add
Configuration
Select this method to examine the existing configuration
and/or to specify additional arrays and logical drives.
View/Add Configuration provides the same functions
available in New Configuration. See page 17 for
additional information.
Clear Configuration Select this option to erase the current configuration
information from the MegaRAID controller non-volatile
memory.
Configuration Utility Initialize Menu
Initialize Choose this option from the Configuration Utility main menu to initialize one or
more logical drives. This action typically follows the configuration of a new
logical drive. See page 29 for additional information.
Warning
Initializing a logical drive destroys all data on the logical drive.

Chapter 2 MegaRAID Configuration Utility 11
Configuration Utility Objects Menu
Objects Choose the Objects option from the Configuration Utility main menu to access
the controllers, logical drives, physical drives, and SCSI channels individually.
You can also change settings for each object. The Objects menu options are as
follows. Battery Backup appears shown on some Objects menus but you cannot
select this option because MegaRAID does not support this feature.
Adapter Choose Adapter from the Objects menu to select a controller (if the computer
has more than one) and to modify parameters. You can install only one
MegaRAID controller, but you can also install other controllers. The menu
options are:
•Clear Configuration
•FlexRAID PowerFail
•Disk Spin up Timings
•Chip Set Type
•Cache Flush Timings
•Rebuild Rate
•Alarm Control
•Factory Defaults
•Auto Rebuild
The Objects/Adapter menu options are:
Option Description
Clear Configuration Choose this option to erase the current configuration from
the controller non-volatile memory.
FlexRAID
PowerFail
Choose this option to enable the FlexRAID PowerFail
feature. Choose this option to allow drive reconstruction to
continue when the system restarts if a power failure occurs.
Disk Spin up
Timings
Choose this option to set the method and timing for spinning
up the hard disk drives in the computer.
Chip Set Type Select the type of chipset used in the motherboard in the
host computer.
Cache Flush
Timings
Choose this option to set the cache flush interval to once
every 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 seconds.
Rebuild Rate Choose this option to display and change the rebuild rate for
drives attached to the selected adapter.
Alarm Control Choose this option to enable, disable, or silence the onboard
alarm tone generator.
Factory Defaults Choose this option to load the default MegaRAID
Configuration Utility settings.
Auto Rebuild Choose this option to automatically rebuild drives when
they fail.
Cont’d

MegaRAID Configuration Software Guide
12
Configuration Utility Objects Menu, Continued
Logical Drive Choose this option from the Configuration Utility Objects menu to select a
logical drive and to perform the listed actions.
Logical Drive
Option
Description
Initialize Initializes the selected logical drive. Do this for every logical
drive that is configured.
Check
Consistency
Verifies the correctness of the redundancy data in the selected
logical drive. This option is available only if RAID level 1, 3, or 5
is used. MegaRAID automatically corrects any differences found
in the data.
View/Update
Parameters
Displays the properties of the selected logical drive. You can
modify the cache write policy, read policy, and the I/O policy and
can enable Virtual Sizing from this menu.
Cont’d