NEC Express 5800 Series User manual

Smart Storage Administrator
User Guide
NEC Express Server
Express 5800 Series
10.201.01-048.04
Feb 2018 4th Edition
Copyright© NEC Corporation 2018

Trademarks
NEC EXPRESSBUILDER is trademarks of NEC Corporation.
Microsoft and its logo, Windows, Windows Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and
other countries.
"Linux" is a registered trademark or a trademark in United States or other countries of Linus Torvalds.
Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Shadowman logo and JBoss are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the U.S. and
other countries.
VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.
All other product, brand, or trade names used in this publication are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective trademark owners.
(TM), (R) mark is not specified in this text.
Notes
1. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of NEC Corporation.
2. The contents of this manual may be revised without prior notice.
3. The contents of this manual shall not be copied or altered without the prior written permission of NEC Corporation.
4. All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of all information in this manual. If you notice any part unclear,
incorrect, or omitted in this manual, contact the sales agent where you purchased this product.
5. NEC assumes no liability arising from the use of this product, nor any liability for incidental or consequential damages
arising from the use of this manual regardless of Item 4.

Contents
Overview................................................................................................................................................5
Array and controller configuration................................................................................................................. 5
Smart Storage Administrator .............................................................................................................................. 5
Accessing SSA ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Array configuration guidelines ............................................................................................................................ 9
SSA graphical user interface ..............................................................................................................10
Using the SSA GUI ........................................................................................................................................10
Icon and key stroke legend............................................................................................................................... 10
Navigating the GUI............................................................................................................................................. 11
Configuration tasks ......................................................................................................................................16
Performing a Configuration task.......................................................................................................................17
Creating an array...............................................................................................................................................18
Configuring a controller.....................................................................................................................................18
Enabling or disabling SSD Smart Path ............................................................................................................. 19
Rapid Parity Initialization ..................................................................................................................................19
Changing the Spare Activation Mode...............................................................................................................20
Changing the Spare Management mode ......................................................................................................... 21
Disabling Over Provisioning Optimization ........................................................................................................ 23
Setting Auto RAID 0...........................................................................................................................................25
Modifying Parallel Surface Scan.......................................................................................................................27
Configuring controller cache.............................................................................................................................29
SmartCache ....................................................................................................................................................... 30
Working with mirrored arrays ........................................................................................................................... 31
Heal array .......................................................................................................................................................... 33
Change array drive type ....................................................................................................................................33
Encryption Manager ..........................................................................................................................................34
Managing modes...............................................................................................................................................34
Power modes ..................................................................................................................................................... 34
Viewing controller status................................................................................................................................... 35
Options for erasing drives.................................................................................................................................36
Erasing a drive...................................................................................................................................................36
Managing FLS....................................................................................................................................................36
Diagnostic tasks ...........................................................................................................................................36
Performing a Diagnostics task.......................................................................................................................... 37
SSA CLI................................................................................................................................................39
Using the SSA CLI .........................................................................................................................................39
Opening the CLI in Console mode ....................................................................................................................39
Opening the CLI in Command mode ................................................................................................................ 40
CLI syntax...........................................................................................................................................................40
Typical procedures ............................................................................................................................................ 45
Encryption commands ...................................................................................................................................... 60
SSA Scripting.......................................................................................................................................61
Using SSA scripting.......................................................................................................................................61
Capturing a configuration .................................................................................................................................61
Using an Input script ......................................................................................................................................... 61
Creating an SSA Scripting script file................................................................................................................. 61
Script file options ..............................................................................................................................................64
Basic scripting scenarios ..................................................................................................................................78
Advanced commands........................................................................................................................................81

Advanced scripting scenarios ........................................................................................................................... 85
XML support.......................................................................................................................................................88
SSA scripting warning messages......................................................................................................................91
SSA scripting error messages........................................................................................................................... 91
Failure Notification..............................................................................................................................97
RAID Report Service .....................................................................................................................................97
About the service...............................................................................................................................................97
Installing the service .........................................................................................................................................97
Using the service ............................................................................................................................................... 99
RAID Report Service notice message.............................................................................................................100
Open Source Software ....................................................................................................................................100
Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................................... 102
Diagnostic report ....................................................................................................................................... 102
About the function...........................................................................................................................................102
Reported information ......................................................................................................................................102
Diagnostic report procedures .........................................................................................................................104
SmartSSD Wear Gauge report procedures ....................................................................................................104
Diagnosing array problems....................................................................................................................... 105
Diagnostic tools ...............................................................................................................................................105

Overview 5
Overview
Array and controller configuration
You can configure arrays and controllers during the initial provisioning of the server or compute module and
at any time after the initial configuration. Configuration tasks can be initiated using Smart Storage
Administrator (accessible through EXPRESSBUILDER) or the System Utility.
During the initial provisioning of the server or compute module, an array is required to be configured before
the operating system can be installed. You can configure the array using either of the options below:
When you launch EXPRESSBUILDER, you can build an appropriate array for any drives using SSA.
You can use the System Utility. This utility create the primary array that is required.
SSA provides a full set of array configuration features while the System Utility provides a limited set of
features. However, users may prefer using the System Utility during the initial configuration of the server or
computer module since the System Utility loads faster than SSA during that step.
For more information, see User Guide for RAID Controller.
After the initial provisioning of the server or compute module, you can use either SSA or the System Utility to
configure the arrays and controllers.
IMPORTANT: N8103-197 SAS Controller supports only view status.
Smart Storage Administrator
SSA is the main tool for configuring arrays on RAID Controllers. It exists in three interface formats: the SSA
GUI, the SSA CLI, and SSA Scripting. All formats provide support for configuration tasks. Some of the
advanced tasks are available in only one format.
SSA is accessible both offline and online:
Accessing SSA in the offline environment: Using one of multiple methods, you can run SSA before
launching the host operating system. In offline mode, users can configure or maintain detected and
supported ProLiant devices, such as optional RAID Controllers and integrated RAID Controllers. Some
SSA features are only available in the offline environment, such as setting the boot controller and boot
volume.
Accessing SSA in the online environment: This method requires an administrator to download the SSA
executables and install them. You can run SSA online after launching the host operating system.
More Information
Accessing SSA in the offline environment
Accessing SSA in the online environment
Benefits of using SSA
Smart Storage Administrator is an advanced utility that enables you to perform many complex configuration
tasks.
Using SSA over other configuration utilities provides the following benefits:

Overview 6
GUI, CLI, and Scripting interfaces are available.
English, Japanese are supported.
Applications can be executed using the following tools:
oAll server platform host operating systems supported with server(For a list of supported operating
systems, see a product page of server in the NEC Corporate Website (http://www.nec.com/))
oEXPRESSBUILDER
All formats can run in both online and offline environments.
The utility can run on any machine that uses a supported browser.
Support for configuration tasks
SSA supports the configuration tasks listed below. Support for individual tasks varies according to your
controller type. You should always have the latest firmware installed so that you have access to all of the
features supported for your controller.
About the features your controller is supporting, see controller user guide.
Assign a RAID level to a logical drive
Assign spare drives to an array
Configure multiple systems identically
Copy the configuration of one system to multiple systems
Create multiple logical drives per array
Create or delete arrays and logical drives
Enable or disable a physical drive write cache
Expand an array
Extend a logical drive
Heal an array
Identify devices by causing their LEDs to flash
Migrate the RAID level or stripe size
Move an array (copy all array data to a new array and then delete the old array)
Move and delete individual LUNs
Re-enable a failed logical drive
Set the boot controller
Set the expand priority, migrate priority, and accelerator ratio
Set the spare activation mode
Set the stripe size
Set the surface scan delay
Share a spare drive among several arrays
Remove a drive from an array (restripe the data on an array to occupy fewer physical drives, then
remove the excess drives from the array)
Specify the size of the logical drive
Split a RAID 1 array or recombine a split array (offline only)

Overview 7
Split mirror backup and rollback of RAID 1, 1+0, 1 (ADM) and 10 (ADM) mirrors
Minimum requirements
Minimum video requirements to run the SSA GUI include a minimum monitor resolution of 1024x768 and
16-bit color. The GUI supports the following browsers:
Mozilla Firefox 9.0 or later
Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 or later
Google Chrome
For a list of supported controllers, see a product page of server in the NEC Corporate Website
(http://www.nec.com/).
Accessing SSA
Accessing SSA in the offline environment
To access and launch the SSA GUI in an offline environment, use one of the following methods:
Launching SSA with EXPRESSBUILDER
Launching SSA during POST
When offline SSA launches, an Execution Mode screen does not appear because SSA does not support
Remote Service Mode in an offline environment. For this functionality, use SSA in an online environment.
Launching SSA with EXPRESSBUILDER
Procedure
1. Boot the server.
2. Press F10 to launch EXPRESSBUILDER.
3. At the main screen, select Perform Maintenance.
4. At the Maintenance screen, select RAID Configuration.
The system launches the SSA GUI.
Launching SSA during POST
Procedure
1. Boot the server.
During POST, the system recognizes devices.
2. Press F10 to start EXPRESSBUILDER.
A menu appears, listing the options for launching SSA.
3. Select Smart Storage Administrator.
The system launches the SSA GUI, or if you are using Serial Console, the system launches the SSA CLI.
To stop application, hold down power supply button and turn off a server.
Accessing SSA in the online environment
To access, install, and launch SSA in the online environment, you must download the SSA executables. All
three formats have separate executables.
SSA Scripting is a standalone application that is distributed with the SSA CLI application.

Overview 8
Both SSA and the SSA CLI need sg driver(scsi generic) to access RAID Controller in Linux. Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 7.1 and later does not load sg driver automatically. You should load the driver and type 'modprobe sg'
before running SSA or SSA-CLI.
To use SSA in the online environment, obtain the executable files from NEC Corporate Website
(http://www.nec.com/) or Starter Pack.
Install SSA
Procedure
Microsoft OS
1. Sign-in to the Windows with Administrators privilege.
2. Put on the Starter Pack in the media drive.
3. Move to Starter Pack directory and run the start_up.bat.
4. Click [Integrated Installation] on the Starter Pack menu.
5. Select the [Standard Program Package], Click Install.
Linux OS
1. Open the contents.html in Start Pack directory.
2. Remember the [Filename] in [Description].
oSmart Storage Administrator (SSA) for Linux 64-bit
oSmart Storage Administrator (SSA) CLI for Linux 64-bit
oSmart Storage Administrator Diagnostic Utility (SSADU) CLI for Linux 64-bit
3. Login root user.
4. Put on the Starter Pack in the media drive.
5. Create a mount point. ※No need to procedure, if created.
# mkdir /media/cdrom
6. Mount a Starter Pack.
# mount -r -t iso9660 /dev/sr0 /media/cdrom
7. Move to packages.
# cd /media/cdrom/packages
8. Install rpm files of filename in procedure 2.
e.g.
# rpm -ivh ssacli-x.x-x.x.x86_64.rpm
Installed module, run the each execute file by the next way.
oGUI, CLI - See “Launching SSA”
oScripting - Run the ssascripting.exe (Windows）, ssascripting (Linux）
Launching SSA
Procedure
Microsoft OS
1. Click Start, and then select Programs>Windows System>Smart Storage Administrator>Smart Storage
Administrator.
SSA launches in application window. SSA then scans the system and detects controllers. When
controller detection is complete, the controllers are available on the Controller/Device menu.
2. Configure a controller. For more information, see "Configuring a controllor"
When configuration is complete, continue with the next step.

Overview 9
3. (Optional) To make newly created logical drives available for data storage, use the operating system
disk management tools to create partitions and format the drives.
Linux OS
1. From any command prompt, enter one of the following:
ssa –local
SSA launches in a browser window.
2. For a list of options, enter the following:
ssa –h
Array configuration guidelines
Remember the following factors when you build an array:
All drives grouped in a logical drive must be of the same type (for example, either all SAS or all SATA and
either all hard drives or all solid state drives).
For the most efficient use of drive space, all drives within an array should have approximately the same
capacity. Each configuration utility treats every physical drive in an array as if it has the same capacity
as the smallest drive in the array. Any excess capacity of a particular drive cannot be used in the array
and is unavailable for data storage.
The more physical drives configured in an array, the greater the probability that the array will experience
a drive failure during any given period.
To guard against the data loss that occurs when a drive fails, configure all logical drives in an array with
a suitable fault-tolerance (RAID) method.

SSA graphical user interface 10
SSA graphical user interface
Using the SSA GUI
Access SSA with one of the many methods available:
Accessing SSA in the offline environment
Accessing SSA in the online environment
When you launch the SSA GUI, the application opens and SSA scans the system and detects controllers. This
process can last up to 2 minutes. When controller detection is complete, the controllers are available on the
Devices/Tools menu.
After the GUI is open, tasks are distributed among categories. For more information, see "Navigating the GUI."
Icon and key stroke legend
The SSA GUI includes many icons (also defined in the Help file) to help with identification and
troubleshooting.
Image
Description
Critical
Warning
Informational
Active Task(s)
Paused/Offline Drive
Server
RAID Controller
RAID Controller (Embedded)
Array
Logical Drive
Assigned Physical Drive
Unassigned Physical Drive
Unassigned Drives
Spare Drive
Transient Drive
Storage Enclosure
Port
Tape Drive

SSA graphical user interface 11
Image
Description
Locked
License Manager/Encryption Manager
Cache Manager
Array Diagnostic
Smart SSD Wear Gauge Report
None
Keyboard functions and shortcuts can be used for navigating or performing actions in the GUI.
Key
Description
Tab
Cycle through selectable items on a page
Shift + Tab
Cycle backwards through selectable items on a page
F5
Rescan system (equivalent to clicking the Rescan System
button)
B
Browse main menu
H
Open SSA Help
I
Exit SSA
Enter
Perform the action of the currently selected link or button1
Escape
Close non-action popups1
R
Refresh selected controller1
1Local keyboard shortcuts are available only when the action that the key activates is accessible.
Navigating the GUI
When you open SSA, the Welcome screen appears.
The following elements are visible:

SSA graphical user interface 12
The Smart Storage Administrator quick navigation menu is in the top, left-hand corner of the screen.
Clicking the down arrow displays the available devices, and clicking one of the available devices
displays additional information and options for the device. You can also return to a server Home screen,
or you can choose Configuration or Diagnostics for a device listed. For more information, see "Configure
screen" or "Diagnostics screen."
Available device(s) are listed on the left-hand side of the screen. Clicking on a server or array controller
displays the available actions, alerts, and summary for that device. You can point to the status alerts to
see details on an alert.
The Rescan System and Reset Application button is near the top right of the screen.
After adding or removing devices, click Rescan System and Reset Application to update the list of
available devices.
The Help button is near the top right of the screen.
To access help topics, press the Hkey or click Help. For more information, see "SSA Help."
The Exit button is near the top right of the screen.
Configure screen
To access this screen, click either a device under Configuration in the quick navigation menu, or select an
available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available options.
The Configure screen displays the GUI elements from the Welcome screen and lists available actions, status
messages, more detailed information, and a controller configuration summary for a selected controller.

SSA graphical user interface 13
When a controller is selected, the following elements appear:
Controller Devices and Tools—This panel, at left, displays systems, controllers, arrays, physical devices,
unassigned drives, cache managers, and license managers. The panel also displays encryption
managers.
Actions—This panel, in the middle, provides the following information and functionality:
oTasks that are available for the selected device based on its current status and configuration

SSA graphical user interface 14
oOptions and information pertinent to the task, after a task is selected
Status Messages—This panel provides the following information and functionality:
oStatus icons (critical, warning, and informational) with the number of individual alerts for each
category
oA view all status messages link that displays device-specific alerts in a pop-up window
Controller Configuration Summary—This panel provides a summary of the following elements:
oData arrays
oData logical drives
oData drives
oUnassigned drives
oSpare drives
oA View more details link that displays more information in a pop-up window
Port settings—This panel provides more information about the drives attached to the controller. The
values vary according to the controller and include Mixed RAID and HBA mode.
For a list of possible tasks that are available on the Configure screen, see "Configuration tasks."
Diagnostics screen
To access this screen, either click a device under Diagnostics in the quick navigation menu, or select an
available device from the Home screen, and then click Diagnose under the available options.
From the Diagnostics screen, you can run one of the following reports:
Array Diagnostics Report
SmartSSD Wear Gauge Report
When selecting either report, the available actions on the Actions panel include viewing the report or saving
the report.

SSA graphical user interface 15
For a list of possible tasks that are available on the Diagnostics screen, see "Diagnostic tasks."
SmartSSD Wear Gauge Report
The SmartSSD Wear Gauge Summary provides a brief overview of the following:
Total Solid State Drives with Wearout Status
Total RAID Controller Solid State Drives
Total Non RAID Controller Solid State Drives
Total Solid State SAS Drives
Total Solid State NVMe Drives
Total Solid State Drives
When running a report, you can either view a graphic representation of the report with SSD usage and
estimated lifetime information, or generate a report without a graphical display, with the option of saving the
report.
SSA help
The Help button, at upper right, opens the embedded SSA help file. In addition to providing information about
the main screens and tabs, Help also provides several useful topics for new users, including the following:
Image Legend—A visual reference list defining the icons and graphical buttons used in SSA
Keyboard Shortcuts—A list of keys and operations they perform within the GUI
To view these help topics and others, press the Hkey or click Help. When the Help window opens, expand the
topic "Getting Started with Smart Storage Administrator Overview."
The glossary in SSA help defines industry standard and Terminology related to SSA application.
Configuring the language of the GUI
SSA can select a language by an option.
Windows
C:\Program Files\Smart Storage Administrator\ssa\bin>ssa.exe –local –lang [ja | en]
Linux
ssa –local –lang [ja | en]

SSA graphical user interface 16
Configuration tasks
From the Configure screen, you can perform tasks related to controllers, arrays, physical drives, and logical
drives.
When a controller or device is selected, the tasks that appear are a subset of the total number of possible
tasks for the selected item. SSA lists or omits tasks based on the controller model and configuration. For
example, if the selected controller has no unassigned physical drives, Create Array is not an available task.
The following table lists all the possible tasks for every type of item.
Item
Tasks
Controller
Accelerated I/O Path
Advanced Controller Settings*
Array Accelerator Settings
Clear Configuration
Controller Settings
Create Array
Disable Standby Controller
Enable HBA/RAID/Smart Array Mode operations*
Enable SmartCache*
Manage Encryption*
Manage License Keys*
Modify Power Modes
More Information
Parallel Surface Scan
Physical Drive Write Cache Settings
Redundancy Settings
View Status Alerts
Array
Bypass RAID components using SSA Smart Path*
Change Array Drive Type
Create Array
Create Logical Drive
Create Split Mirror Backup
Convert Plaintext Data to Encrypted Data*
Delete
Expand Array
Heal Array
Manage Split Mirror Backup
More Information
Move Drives
Re-Mirror Array
Shrink Array
Spare Management
Split Mirrored Array
View Status Alerts
Volume Key Rekey
Logical drive
Create Logical Drive
Create SmartCache for Logical Drive*
Convert Plaintext Data to Encrypted Data*
Delete
Extend Logical Drive
Instant Secure Erase
Migrate RAID/Stripe Size
Modifying Cache Write Policy
Move Logical Drive
More Information
Re-enable Failed Logical Drive
View Status Alerts
Volume Key Rekey
Unused space
Create Logical Drive
More Information

SSA graphical user interface 17
Item
Tasks
Physical drive
Erase Drive*
View Status Alerts
Unassigned drives
Create Array
Erase Drive*
More Information
*This task is not supported.
Performing a Configuration task
Procedure
1. Open SSA.
For more information, see "Using the SSA GUI."
2. Open the Configure panel by doing one of the following:
oChoose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu.
oSelect an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available
options.
3. Select a device from the Devices menu.
The Actions, Status Messages, and Controller Configuration Summary panels appear. The listed tasks
are available for this device in its current configuration. For more information, see "Configuration tasks."
4. Click a task button.
A list of all possible options for that task appears on the right side of the screen, replacing the task list.
5. Select the settings or configuration options for the device.
6. Use the Next and Back buttons to navigate multiple screens of options.
7. Click Save or OK.

SSA graphical user interface 18
Creating an array
Procedure
1. Open SSA.
For more information, see "Using the SSA GUI."
2. Open the Configure panel by doing one of the following:
oChoose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu.
oSelect an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available
options.
3. Select a controller from the Devices menu.
The Actions panel appears.
4. Click Create Array.
5. Select the physical drives for the new array.
6. Click Create Array.
7. Make selections for RAID Level, Strip Size/Full Stripe Size, Sectors/Track, Size and Caching.
8. Click Create Logical Drive.
9. Click Finish.
By default, SSD Smart Path is enabled on SSD drives.
IMPORTANT: When physical drive connected to RAID Controller and without Array, OS can
directly access to physical drive. But when the drive included in array, drive's data is lost.
In the case, the following message output in OS log is acceptable.
Windows: Disk x has been surprise removed.
Linux: No message.
VMware ESXi: No message
Configuring a controller
Procedure
1. Open SSA.
For more information, see "Using the SSA GUI.”
2. Open the Configure panel by doing one of the following:
oChoose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu.
oSelect an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available
options.
The Configure panel appears.
IMPORTANT: Screens may have different options available, depending on the server
configuration.

SSA graphical user interface 19
3. Configure the controller. See "Performing a Configuration task."
4. When prompted, save the configuration.
5. Do one of the following:
oConfigure an additional controller. Repeat steps 3 through 5.
oClick Exit SSA.
Enabling or disabling SSD Smart Path
This Task is not supported.
Rapid Parity Initialization
Initializing rapid parity
Procedure
1. Open SSA.
For more information, see "Using the SSA GUI."
2. Open the Configure panel by doing one of the following:
oChoose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu.
oSelect an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available
options.
3. Select Logical Devices from the Devices menu.
A list of arrays appears.
4. Select an array, and select Create Logical Drive from the Actions menu.

SSA graphical user interface 20
5. Select Parity Initialization Method to Rapid and make selections for RAID Level, Number of Parity
Groups, Strip Size/Full Strip Size, Sectors/Track, Size, and Caching. Depending on the controller used
and drives selected, your options may appear different from the image below.
6. Click Create Logical Drive to continue.
A summary page appears.
7. Click Finish.
Changing the Spare Activation Mode
The spare activation mode feature enables RAID Controller to activate a spare drive under the following
conditions:
Predictive Spare Activation: When a data drive reports a predictive failure (SMART) status
Failure Spare Activation: When a data drive fails; this mode is the default.
In normal operations, RAID Controller starts rebuilding a spare drive only when a data drive fails. With the
predictive spare activation mode, rebuilding can begin before the drive fails, reducing the likelihood of data
loss that could occur if an additional drive fails.
Procedure
1. Open SSA.
For more information, see "Using the SSA GUI."
2. Open the Configure panel by doing one of the following:
oChoose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu.
oSelect an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available