Page 1 UPER EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, EX16650 ANUAL Version 2.0...
Page 2: Important Data Protection Information
You should back up all data before installing any drive controller or storage peripheral. Promise Technology is not responsible for any loss of data resulting from the use, disuse or misuse of this or any other Promise Technology product. Notice...
Page 3: Radio Frequency Interference Statement
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. • Consult Promise Technology, Inc. or an experienced radio or TV technician for help. This device complies with Part 5 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the...
Page 4 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual...
Page 5: Table Of Contents
Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ........1 About This Manual .
Page 6 Chapter 3: Installing Drivers ....... .59 Driver Installation Media ....... . .60 Windows .
Page 7 Chapter 3: Installing Drivers, cont. VMware ESX Server 3.0.2, 3.5.0 ......78 New OS Installation ....... . .78 Existing System .
Page 8 Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility, cont. Working with Time Sync ....... .103 Setting the Time Zone .
Page 9 Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO, cont. Managing Software Services, cont. Restarting the Tomcat Server ......124 Setting up Email Service .
Page 10 Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO, cont. Managing the Controller, cont. Silencing the Buzzer ....... .143 Making Buzzer Settings .
Page 11 Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO, cont. Managing Logical Drives, cont. Running Redundancy Check ......170 Viewing the Logical Drive Check Table ....170 Managing Spare Drives .
Page 12 Chapter 7: Technology Background, cont. Choosing Stripe Block Size ......236 Choosing Sector Size ........236 2 TB Limitation .
Page 13 What to Look For ........261 Critical & Offline Logical Drives ......263 Finding the Failed Drive in SuperBuild .
Page 14 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual...
Page 15: Chapter 1: Introduction
Product Overview (page 2) • WebPAM PRO Management Software (page 3) Thank you for purchasing one of Promise Technology’s SuperTrak EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, or EX16650 SAS/SATA RAID Controller card. About This Manual This User Manual describes how to setup, use and maintain the SuperTrak RAID controller.
Page 16: Product Overview
Product Overview SuperTrak EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, and EX16650 are SAS and SATA RAID Controller cards. When used with WebPAM PRO software, the SuperTrak RAID Controllers offer a feature-rich, secure and versatile enterprise- wide RAID solution. In addition, the SuperTrak EX Series supports RAID expansion.
Page 17: Webpam Pro Management Software
For information on using WebPAM PRO, see “Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO” on page 107. Operating System Support On the Host PC where you install the SuperTrak controller and WebPAM PRO, Promise Technology recommends: • Windows Server 2008 (64 bit) with or without Hyper-V •...
Page 18: Browser Support
Browser Support On the Host PC where you install the SuperTrak controller and WebPAM PRO, you must have one of the following browsers: • Internet Explorer • Firefox • Netscape Navigator If you do not have one of the above browsers, install the browser first and make it the default browser.
Page 19 Features Supports online logical drive expansion Supports online logical drive migration Utilizes SuperBuild™ automenu from the SuperTrak onboard BIOS Displays status and error checking messages during bootup Supports S.M.A.R.T. monitoring and reporting Employs the latest Promise PCI Express SATA/SAS ASIC technology Automatic background rebuilds...
Page 20: Specifications
Features Tested compatibility to coexist with motherboards that have integrated IDE controllers Features LBA support Supports BIOS Boot Specification Specifications • Port Counts and Connectors EX4650: 4 internal, one SFF-8087 EX8650: 8 internal, two SFF-8087 EX8654: 4 internal, one SFF-8087; 4 external, one SFF-8088 EX8658: 8 external, two SFF-8088 EX16650: 16 internal, four SFF-8087 •...
Page 21: Chapter 2: Installation
Chapter 2: Installation • Unpacking the SuperTrak, below • Installing the SuperTrak Card (page 9) • Choosing the Physical Drives (page 17) • Creating a Logical Drive (page 18) • Installing the CLI (page 23) • Windows (page 23) • Linux (page 28) •...
Page 22 Before installing the SuperTrak EX Controller card into an existing system, backup any important or useful data. Failure to follow this accepted PC practice could result in data loss. Promise does not recommend multi-lane and fanout cables longer than 1m (38 inches) because they have not been tested with the SuperTrak controller.
Page 23: Installing The Supertrak Card
Installing the SuperTrak Card The SuperTrak EX Controller card fits into any available PCI-Express x8 slot. You can also plug the SuperTrak card into a PCI-Express x16 slot. Remove the cover of your system. Remove the inside slot cover of an available PCI-Express slot on the motherboard.
Page 24 Figure 1. SuperTrak EX4650 card SuperSwap connector Figure 2. SuperTrak EX8650 card SuperSwap connector Activity and Fault LED Pins BBU module connector Activity and Fault LED Pins BBU module connector Global and Aggregate LED Pins SAS Ports Ch1-4 Global and Aggregate LED Pins SAS Ports...
Page 25 Figure 3. SuperTrak EX8654 card SuperSwap connector SAS Ports: Ch5-8 Figure 4. SuperTrak EX8658 card SAS Ports Ch1-4 Ch5-8 BBU module connector Activity and Fault LED Pins SAS Ports: Ch1-4 SAS Ports: Ch1-4 BBU module connector SuperSwap connector Aggregate LED Pins Global LED Pins Aggregate...
Page 26 Figure 5. SuperTrak EX16650 card Activity and Fault LED Pins Attach the other end of the SAS multi-lane cable to a SAS port on your enclosure’s backplane or to your SAS expander. For more information, see the user manual for your enclosure or SAS expander.
Page 27 For SuperTrak EX8654 and EX8658, note that only the interior SAS Ports have individual LED pins. Figure 7. Individual LED pins, EX16650 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Figure 8. Global and Aggregate LED pins, EX4650 and EX8650 Figure 9.
Page 28: Connecting Supertrak To A Superswap Enclosure
Connecting SuperTrak to a SuperSwap Enclosure If you are using Promise SuperSwap enclosures: Attach SAS fanout cables to the SAS ports of the SuperTrak card. Connect the other ends of the SAS fanout cables to the SuperSwap enclosure. Connect the 3-to-3 pin management cable (came with the SuperSwap) from the SuperSwap connector on SuperTrak card to the Management connector on the back of the the SuperSwap housing.
Page 29: Sas Connections And Id Numbers
SAS Connections and ID Numbers The table below correlates the ranges of Enclosure IDs and Physical Drive IDs, that appear in the WebPAM PRO interface as a result of the data connections you make. SuperTrak SAS Port Enclosure ID Range Ch1-4 Virtual* Ch1-4 Ch5-8...
Page 30 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual In WebPAM PRO, the Host PC appears as Enclosure 1. The drives on Port Ch1-4 are numbered 1 to 4. The drives on Port Ch5-8 are numbered 129 to 132. This scenario also applies if you use Promise SuperSwap enclosures. Scenario 3: External Enclosures –...
Page 31: Choosing The Physical Drives
Choosing the Physical Drives The SuperTrak EX Controller card supports SAS and 1.5-Gb/s or 3.0-Gb/s SATA physical drives. For optimal performance, install physical drives of the same model and capacity. Level RAID 0 RAID 1 RAID 1E RAID 5 * Requires SAS expansion ** Requires an even number of drives The table above shows the number of drives required for each RAID level.
Page 32: Creating A Logical Drive
Creating a Logical Drive You can use the SuperBuild™ Configuration Utility to create a logical drive with the attached physical drives. Even if you plan to use the WebPAM PRO software to manage your logical drives, you can still create your first logical drive using the SuperBuild Utility, as described here.
Page 33 Press the arrow keys to highlight Disk Array Management and press Enter. The Disk Array Management screen appears. Highlight Create Disk Array and press Enter. The Create Disk Array screen appears. Use this screen to select the physical drives for your disk array. Press the arrow keys to highlight a physical drive.
Page 34 Highlight Return to Previous Menu and press Enter. The Main Menu appears. Highlight Logical Drive Management and press Enter. The Logical Drive Management screen appears. Highlight Create Logical Drive and press Enter. The Create Logical Drive Step 1/2 screen appears. 10.
Page 35 11. Highlight Next Step and press Enter. The Create Logical Drive Step 2/2 screen appears. 12. To change the RAID Level, highlight RAID Level and press Enter. In the popup menu, highlight your choice of RAID Level and press Enter. The available RAID Levels depend on the number of physical drives you selected for your disk array.
Page 36 17. To change the Write Cache Policy, highlight Write Cache Policy and press Enter. Highlight your choice of Write Through or Write Back and press Enter. 18. To change the Read Cache Policy, highlight Read Cache Policy and press Enter. Highlight your choice of None, Read Cache, or Read Ahead and press Enter.
Page 37: Installing The Cli
Installing the CLI The Command Line Interface (CLI) provides rapid setup of disk arrays and logical drives. You can also manage your SuperTrak system using the CLI. Installing onto Windows To install the CLI onto your Windows PC or server: Boot the PC or server, launch Windows, and log in as the Administrator.
Page 38 In the License Agreement dialog box, choose the I accept... option, then click the Next button. Figure 13. License Agreement dialog box...
Page 39 In the Choose Destination Location dialog box, you can: • Accept the default installation folder (recommended) • Specify a different installation folder (advanced users) When you agree with the proposed installation folder, click the Next button. Figure 14. Choose Destination Location dialog box...
Page 40 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual In the Ready to Install dialog box, click the Install button to continue. Figure 15. Ready to Install dialog box...
Page 41 Chapter 2: Installation In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Finish button to exit the installer. Figure 16. Install Complete dialog box With the Register Your Product Online box checked, your browser will open and go directly to the Promise product registration website. Thank you for taking the time to register.
Page 42: Installing Onto Linux
Installing onto Linux Check the SuperTrak Read Me file for any issues pertaining to the distribution and version of Linux OS running on your PC or server. For Linux PCs, Promise offers two different binary files: • WebPAM PRO and CLI – Installs either or both WebPAM PRO and the CLI •...
Page 43 In the Introduction dialog box, click the Next button to proceed with installation. Figure 17. Introduction dialog box...
Page 44 In the License Agreement dialog box, choose the I accept... option, then click the Next button. Figure 18. License Agreement dialog box...
Page 45 When the Choose Install Folder dialog box appears, you can: • Accept the default installation folder (recommended) • Specify a different installation folder (advanced users) When you agree with the proposed installation folder, click the Next button. Figure 19. Choose Install Folder dialog box...
Page 46 In the Pre-Installation Summary dialog box, click the Install button to continue. Figure 20. Pre-Installation Summary dialog box...
Page 47 Chapter 2: Installation In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Next button to continue. Figure 21. Install Compete dialog box...
Page 48 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual 10. In the Register On-line dialog box, click the Done button to exit the installer Figure 22. Register On-line dialog box With the Register Your Product On-line box checked, your browser will open and go directly to the Promise product registration website. Thank you for taking the time to register.
Page 49: Installing The Cli Onto Freebsd
Installing the CLI onto FreeBSD PCs running FreeBSD do not support WebPAM PRO, therefore they cannot use the WebPAM PRO installer. Those systems use a binary file to install the CLI in a terminal window. Choose the x64 binary file for a 64-bit OS or the x86 binary file for a 32-bit OS. To install the CLI onto your FreeBSD PC or server: Boot the PC or server, log in as root.
Page 50: Installing The Cli Onto Vmware
Installing the CLI onto VMware The VMware virtualization platfrom does not support WebPAM PRO, therefore they cannot use the WebPAM PRO installer. Those systems use a binary file to install the CLI in a terminal window. Before you begin, download the CLI_Installer...VMware.bin file from the Promise Support Website To install the CLI onto your VMware platform: Boot the PC or server, log in as root.
Page 51: Installing Webpam Pro
Agent on the Host PC. As the user, you do not access the Agent directly. Operating System Support On the Host PC where you install the SuperTrak controller and WebPAM PRO, Promise Technology recommends: • Windows Server 2008 (64 bit) with or without Hyper-V •...
Page 52: Jre
• Windows Server 2003 SP1, SP2; R2 (32 or 64 bit) • Windows XP Professional SP2, SP3 (32 or 64 bit) • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 (32 or 64 bit) • SuSE Open 10.2, 10.3, 11 (32 or 64 bit) •...
Page 53: Installing Webpam Pro Onto Windows
If you have WebPAM or an earlier version of WebPAM PRO on your PC or server, manually uninstall them before you install WebPAM PRO from the Software CD. Go to one of the following procedures: • “Installing WebPAM PRO onto Windows” on page 39. •...
Page 54 In the License Agreement dialog box, choose the I accept... option, then click the Next button. Figure 24. License Agreement dialog box...
Page 55 In the Setup Type dialog box, choose the option you prefer: • Typical – Installs the Agent, Server, and CLI. Recommended for most users. • Custom – Enables you to choose which components to install. Optional for advanced users. Click the Next button to continue. Figure 25.
Page 56 Optional. If you chose the Custom option, the Select Features dialog box appears. Choose any combination of three options: • Agent Feature – The Agent is required on the Host PC (where the SuperTrak card is installed) and for In-band management of subsystems.
Page 57 In the Choose Destination Location dialog box, you can: • Accept the default installation folder. Recommended for most users. • Specify a different installation folder. Optional for advanced users. When you agree with the proposed installation folder, click the Next button. Figure 27.
Page 58 Internet or outside your company firewall. Security options are invisible to authorized users. Promise Technology provides a default certificate for the server as well as for internal data communication. However, in some cases it is better to install and verify your own certificate for the webserver. And, if possible, verify the certificate by a certificate authority such as Verisign or Thwate.
Page 59 Chapter 2: Installation 10. In the Ready to Install dialog box, click the Install button to continue. Figure 29. Ready to Install dialog box...
Page 60 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual 11. In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Finish button to exit the installer. Figure 30. Install Complete dialog box With the Register Your Product Online box checked, your browser will open and go directly to the Promise product registration website. Thank you for taking the time to register.
Page 61: Installing Webpam Pro Onto Linux
Installing WebPAM PRO onto Linux Check the SuperTrak Read Me file for any issues pertaining to the distribution and version of Linux OS that you are running. To install WebPAM PRO onto your Linux-based PC or server: Boot the PC or server, log in as root, and launch the Linux GUI. If the computer is already running, exit all programs.
Page 62 In the License Agreement dialog box, choose the I accept... option, then click the Next button. Figure 32. License Agreement dialog box...
Page 63 In the Choose Install Product dialog box, choose any combination of three options: • WebPAM PRO Utility Server – One Server must be installed on the network, or on the Host PC if there is only local management • WebPAM PRO Agent – The Agent must be installed on every PC or Server where a SuperTrak Controller card has been installed •...
Page 64 When the Choose Install Folder dialog box appears, you can: • Accept the default installation folder. Recommended for most users. • Specify a different installation folder. Optional for advanced users. When you agree with the proposed installation folder, click the Next button. Figure 34.
Page 65 Internet or outside your company firewall. Security options are invisible to authorized users. Promise Technology provides a default certificate for the server as well as for internal data communication. However, in some cases it is better to install and verify your own certificate for the webserver. And, if possible, verify the certificate by a certificate authority such as Verisign or Thwate.
Page 66 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual 10. In the Pre-Installation Summary dialog box, click the Install button to continue. Figure 36. Pre-Installation Summary dialog box...
Page 67 Chapter 2: Installation 11. In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Next button to continue. Figure 37. Install Compete dialog box...
Page 68 12. In the Register On-line dialog box, click the Done button to exit the installer Figure 38. Register On-line dialog box With the Register Your Product On-line box checked, your browser will open and go directly to the Promise product registration website. Thank you for taking the time to register.
Page 69: Logging Into Webpam Pro
Logging into WebPAM PRO You can log into WebPAM PRO in either of two ways: • Logging in at the Host PC (page 55) • Logging in over the Network (page 55) Logging in at the Host PC At the Host PC (where the SuperTrak EX Controller is installed), do one of the following actions: •...
Page 70: Login Screen
Together, your entry looks like this: https://192.168.10.228:8443/promise • You can enter the Host PC’s network name in place of the IP address. • If you are logging in at the Host PC, you can enter localhost in place of the IP address. •...
Page 71: Setting Up Webpam Pro
Setting up WebPAM PRO The first time you use WebPAM PRO, you must add the Host PC so that WebPAM PRO will recognize it. You only need to perform this procedure once. To add the Host PC: In the Tree, click See Figure 40.
Page 72 Figure 41. Add Subsystem/Host tab Click the Submit button. The newly added host appears in the Tree, on the left side of the WebPAM PRO screen. This completes the WebPAM PRO installation and initial setup. Go to “Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO” on page 107 for information about using this application.
Page 73: Chapter 3: Installing Drivers
Chapter 3: Installing Drivers • Driver Installation Media • Windows (page 60) • Linux and FreeBSD (page 61) • Windows Server 2008 • New OS Installation (page 62) • Existing System (page 63) • Confirming Driver Installation (page 63) • Windows Vista •...
Page 74: Driver Installation Media
If you are using a Linux distribution for which there are no compiled drivers, please access the and call up Article 10029. Driver Installation Media Windows If your Windows PC does not have a floppy drive, copy the driver file to a CD or a USB stick, whichever your PC supports.
Page 75: Linux And Freebsd
Linux and FreeBSD For BSD, start with a diskette. For Linux, choose the medium that works for your system. If your Linux PC does not have a floppy drive, copy the driver file to a CD or a USB stick, whichever your PC supports. To prepare a driver diskette, CD, or USB stick for Linux: Insert the software CD into your CD-ROM drive.
Page 76: Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 New OS Installation The following details the installation of the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller drivers while installing Windows Server 2008. Start the installation: Boot from the CD-ROM. When the “Where do you want to install Windows?” dialog box appears, click Load Driver.
Page 77: Existing System
Existing System After installing the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller card and rebooting your system, Windows Server 2008 setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box. Choose the Locate and install driver software option and click the Next button. The “Found New Hardware –...
Page 78: Windows Vista
Windows Vista New OS Installation The following details the installation of the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller drivers while installing Windows Vista. Start the installation: Boot from the CD-ROM. When the “Where do you want to install Windows?” dialog box appears, click Load Driver.
Page 79: Existing System
Existing System After installing the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller card and rebooting your system, Windows Vista setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box. Choose the Locate and install driver software option and click the Next button. The “Found New Hardware – RAID Controller” dialog box displays the message: “Allow Windows to search online for driver software for your RAID Controller?”...
Page 80: Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 New OS Installation The following details the installation of the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller drivers while installing Windows Server 2003. Start the installation: • Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows Server 2003 installation diskettes. •...
Page 81: Existing System
Existing System After installing the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller card and rebooting your system, Windows Server 2003 setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box. Under Windows 2003, “RAID Controller” will be displayed. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key.
Page 82: Windows Xp
Windows XP New OS Installation The following details the installation of the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller drivers while installing Windows XP. Start the installation: • Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows XP installation diskettes. • CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message “Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver”...
Page 83: Existing System
Existing System After installing the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller card and rebooting your system, Windows XP setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key. If using a driver that has not been digitally signed by Microsoft, you will be asked if you want to continue the installation.
Page 84: Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4.4, 4.5
Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4.4, 4.5 New OS Installation Start the RedHat Linux Installation by booting from the install CD. At the “Welcome to Red Hat Linux...” installation screen, a prompt labeled boot: will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type linux dd and press Enter.
Page 85: Fedora Core 6
Fedora Core 6 New OS Installation Start the Fedora Core Installation by booting from the install CD. At the “Welcome to Fedora 6...” installation screen, a prompt labeled boot: will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type linux dd acpi=off and press Enter.
Page 86: Fedora Core 7, 8
Fedora Core 7, 8 New OS Installation Start the Fedora Core Installation by booting from the install CD. At the “Welcome to Fedora...” installation screen, highlight the Install or upgrade an existing system option, then press the Tab key for edit options. A prompt labeled boot: will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Page 87: Suse Open 10.2, 10.3, 10.5, 11
SuSE Open 10.2, 10.3, 10.5, 11 New OS Installation Start the SuSE Linux Installation by booting from the install CD. As the system boots, press F6 for the driver diskette, CD, or USB stick. Choose the Yes option. Move the cursor to highlight the Installation option, then press Enter. When the Driver Update Menu pops up, choose your driver diskette, CD, or USB stick.
Page 88: Suse Sles 10, 10 Sp1
SuSE SLES 10, 10 SP1 New OS Installation Start the SuSE Linux Installation by booting from the install CD. As the system boots, press F5 for the driver diskette, CD, or USB stick. Choose the Yes option. Move the cursor to highlight the Installation – ACPI Disabled option, then press Enter.
Page 89: Miracle Linux 4
Miracle Linux 4 New OS Installation Start the Miracle Linux Installation by booting from the install CD. At the “Asianux” installation screen, a prompt labeled boot: will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type linux dd and press Enter. When the Installer asks, “Do you have a driver disk?”...
Page 90: Freebsd 6.1, 6.2
FreeBSD 6.1, 6.2 New OS Installation Start the FreeBSD Installation by booting from the install CD. When the console menu appears, choose 6. Escape to loader prompt and press any key except Enter to confirm your choice. Insert the driver diskette. Type the following commands and press Enter: set currdev=disk0 load /stex.ko...
Page 91: Existing System
After those commands finish, type the following command and press Enter. umount /cdrom Remove the USB device. Press Alt+F1, exit the installation, and reboot your PC. Existing System Insert the driver diskette or CD, or attach the USB stick. Log in as root. Type mount -r /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy.
Page 92: Vmware Esx Server 3.0.2, 3.5.0
VMware ESX Server 3.0.2, 3.5.0 New OS Installation Download the VMware driver ISO image from the Burn the VMware driver ISO image to a CD. Place the driver CD in the CD-ROM drive. Reboot the computer. When prompted for an upgrade or installation method, press Enter for graphical mode.
Page 93 Remove the CD from the CD-ROM. Note: If the driver did not load after the server rebooted, try one of the following actions to make the ESX Server reconfigure its hardware settings: • Move the SuperTrak EX controller to a different slot. •...
Page 94 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual...
Page 95: Chapter 4: Superbuild™ Utility
Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility • SuperTrak BIOS (below) • Accessing the Main Menu (page 84) • Selecting a Controller (page 85) • Viewing Controller Information (page 86) • Managing Physical Drives (page 87) • Managing Disk Arrays (page 89) • Managing Logical Drives (page 92) •...
Page 96 Figure 1. SuperTrak BIOS screen If the SuperBuild BIOS detects a Critical logical drive, the BIOS reports the condition: Figure 2. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive critical See “Chapter 8: Troubleshooting” on page 257 for information about rebuilding a critical logical drive.
Page 97 Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility If the SuperTrak BIOS detects an Offline logical drive, the BIOS reports the condition and temporarily halts the booting process of the Host PC. Figure 3. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive offline See “Chapter 8: Troubleshooting” on page 257 for information about restoring an offline logical drive.
Page 98: Accessing The Main Menu
Accessing the Main Menu The opening screen of the SuperBuild utility is the Main Menu. Figure 4. SuperBuild Main Menu The Main Menu (above) has nine options: • Controller Selection – Select which of two SuperTrak controllers you want to access, if you have two SuperTraks installed in the Host PC •...
Page 99: Selecting A Controller
• Miscellaneous – SAS drive LEDs, enclosure management, and buzzer settings Selecting a Controller The SuperBuild Configuration utility supports up to two SuperTrak RAID Controller cards installed in the same Host PC. Controller selection enables you to select which of the two SuperTrak controllers the utility accesses. If you have only one SuperTrak card installed in the Host PC, the SuperTrak is Controller 1, and no selection is necessary.
Page 100: Viewing Controller Information
In the Main Menu, highlight Controller Information and press Enter. The information includes: Vendor – Promise Technology, Inc. Model – SuperTrak EX4650, 8650, 8654, EX8658, or EX16650 WWN – World Wide Number of the SuperTrak controller Memory Type – DDR2 SDRAM Memory Size –...
Page 101: Managing Physical Drives
Managing Physical Drives Physical drive management includes these functions: • Viewing Physical Drives (page 87) • Viewing Physical Drive Information (page 87) • Managing Physical Drive Problems (page 88) Viewing Physical Drives To view physical drives: In the Main Menu, highlight Physical Drive Management and press Enter. The information includes: ID –...
Page 102: Managing Physical Drive Problems
Highlight Return to Previous Menu and press Enter. Managing Physical Drive Problems Physical drives can develop problems that make them unsuitable for service in a logical drive. These problems are reflected in the physical drive status: PFA – The physical drive has errors resulting in a prediction of failure •...
Page 103: Managing Disk Arrays
Managing Disk Arrays Disk array management includes these functions: • Viewing Disk Arrays (page 89) • Viewing Disk Array Information (page 89) • Creating a Disk Array (page 90) • Changing Disk Array Settings (page 91) • Rebuilding a Disk Array (page 91) •...
Page 104: Creating A Disk Array
Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Degraded, Critical, or Offline. Highlight Physical Drives in the Disk Array and press Enter. The following information displays: ID – The channel number of the SuperTrak controller to which the physical drive is attached Model Name –...
Page 105: Changing Disk Array Settings
Changing Disk Array Settings To change the name of a disk array: In the Main Menu, highlight Disk Array Management and press Enter. The Disk Array Management screen displays. Highlight the Disk Array you want to change and press Enter. The Disk Array Info and Setting screen displays.
Page 106: Managing Logical Drives
Managing Logical Drives Logical drive management includes these functions: • Viewing Logical Drives (page 92) • Viewing Logical Drive Information (page 92) • Creating a Logical Drive (page 93) • Initializing a Logical Drive (page 94) • Changing Logical Drive Settings (page 95) •...
Page 107: Creating A Logical Drive
Logical Drive Name – You can change this setting. Capacity – Data capacity of the logical drive in GB RAID Level – Chosen when the logical drive was created. Stripe Size – Chosen when the logical drive was created. Sector Size – Chosen when the logical drive was created. Write Cache Policy –...
Page 108: Initializing A Logical Drive
• Write Cache Policy – Choose from Write Back or Write Through. • Read Cache Policy – Choose from Read Cache, Read Ahead, or No Cache. • Axle – RAID 50 and 60 logical drives only. Choose the number of axles or choose 0 to let the controller decide for you.
Page 109: Changing Logical Drive Settings
• To cancel Initialization, press C. The Initialization begins immediately. If you set Initialization for multiple logical drives, they will be initialized sequentially. You can monitor Initialization progress under Background Activity. Highlight Return to Previous Menu and press Enter. Changing Logical Drive Settings To change logical drive settings: In the Main Menu, highlight Logical Drive Management and press Enter.
Page 110 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual The selected logical drive is removed from the list.
Page 111: Managing Spare Drives
Managing Spare Drives Spare drive management includes these functions: • Viewing Spare Drives (page 97) • Viewing Spare Drive Information (page 97) • Creating a Spare Drive (page 97) • Changing Spare Drive Settings (page 98) • Deleting a Spare Drive (page 99) Viewing Spare Drives To view your spare drives: In the Main Menu, highlight Spare Drive Management and press Enter.
Page 112: Changing Spare Drive Settings
• Big Enough – Same capacity or greater than the largest drive in your array To create a spare drive: In the Main Menu, highlight Spare Drive Management and press Enter. The Spare Drive Management screen displays. Highlight Assign Spare Drive and press Enter. The Assign Spare Drive Step 1/2 screen appears.
Page 113: Deleting A Spare Drive
Optional. If you chose Dedicated in step 3, press the arrow keys to highlight a disk array. Then press the spacebar to select the disk array. An asterisk (*) appears at the left of the selected disk array. Highlight Save Setting and press Enter. The changes happen immediately.
Page 114: Viewing Background Activity
Viewing Background Activity The Background Activity function enables you to monitor background activities are running on the SuperTrak RAID controller. Information reported includes: • Device – Disk array or logical drive by ID number • Type – Synchronization, Initialization, or Rebuilding •...
Page 115: Managing The Event Log
Managing the Event Log The event log tracks events related to the SuperTrak controller and includes the following functions: • Viewing RAM Events (page 101) • Viewing NVRAM Events (page 101) • Clearing the Event Logs (page 102) Viewing RAM Events RAM events are also called Runtime events.
Page 116: Clearing The Event Logs
• To see all the information about an event, highlight the event and press Enter. Clearing the Event Logs Clearing the event logs remove all of the events from both the RAM and NVRAM event logs. Note that the RAM log clears every time you boot the Host PC. In the Main Menu, highlight Event Log and press Enter.
Page 117: Chapter 4: Superbuild™ Utility, Cont
Working with Time Sync The Time Sync function adds two special features to SuperTrak. These functions include: • Setting the Time Zone (page 103) • Synchronizing Time with an Embedded Site (page 103) The Time Sync function does not replace or overwrite the regular date and time settings in the Host PC’s BIOS or OS.
Page 118: Using The Miscellaneous Menu
Using the Miscellaneous Menu The Miscellaneous menu enables three useful functions on SuperTrak: • Making the SAS Ready LED Setting (page 104) • Making the SGPIO Backplane Setting (page 104) • Working with the Buzzer (page 104) Making the SAS Ready LED Setting The LEDs for SAS disk drives stay on continuously to show Ready status, except when the drive is processing a command.
Page 119 When the buzzer sounds, take the following actions: • Check your disk arrays and logical drives. • Check the Event Log. See page 101. To silence the buzzer for the current trigger event, you must disable it. Also see “Chapter 8: Troubleshooting” on page 257. Enabling or Disabling the Buzzer To enable or disable the Buzzer: In the Main Menu, highlight Miscellaneous and press Enter.
Page 120 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual...
Page 121: Chapter 5: Management With Webpam Pro
Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO • Logging into WebPAM PRO (page 107) • Accessing the Interface (page 110) • Managing Users (page 116) • Working with Subsystem/Host Management (page 120) • Managing Software Services (page 123) • Managing the Host (page 127) •...
Page 122: Logging In Over The Network
Logging in over the Network You can log into WebPAM PRO from any PC with a network connection to the Host PC (where the SuperTrak EX Controller is installed). Launch your Browser. In the Browser address field, type the information provided below. Then press Enter.
Page 123: Login Screen
Login Screen When the opening screen appears: Type administrator in the User Name field. Type password in the Password field. Click the Login button. The User Name and Password are case sensitive. See Figure 1. Figure 1. The WebPAM PRO login screen...
Page 124: Accessing The Interface
Accessing the Interface WebPAM PRO is browser-based RAID management software with a graphic user interface. Basic user interface components and functions include: • Using the Header (page 111) • Using Tree View (page 111) • Using Management View (page 112) •...
Page 125: Using The Header
Show/Hide Storage Network – To view the Storage Network, see “Viewing the Storage Network” on page 114. • Contact Us – Click here for Promise Technology contact information. Or see “Contacting Technical Support” on page 273. • Logout – To logout, see “Logging out of WebPAM PRO” on page 115.
Page 126: Using Management View
Figure 3. WebPAM PRO Tree View The Administrative Tools section is different for the Administrator and Super Users than for other users. The remainder of the Tree is the same for all users. Management View displays information according to the item you choose in Tree View.
Page 127: Choosing A Display Language
Choosing a Display Language WebPAM PRO displays in the following languages: • English • Simplified Chinese • Traditional Chinese • French • German To change the display language: Click the Language dropdown menu in the Header. Highlight the language you prefer. WebPAM PRO displays in the chosen language.
Page 128: Saving The Event Frame
You can also view events by clicking the Subsystems clicking the Event tab in Management View. Saving the Event Frame This function saves a copy of the events from the Event Frame as a text file on the Host PC’s hard drive. To save the event log: In the Header, click Show Event Frame.
Page 129: Logging Out Of Webpam Pro
Figure 4. The Storage Network appears in Tree View Added to WebPAM PRO Not added yet To view the Storage Network, click Show Storage Network in the Header. All networked systems will appear in Tree View. To hide the Storage Network, click Hide Storage Network in the Header. Only the networked systems you have added appear in Tree View.
Page 130: Managing Users
Managing Users User Management includes all functions dealing with user accounts. Functions include: • Viewing User Information (page 116) • Making User Settings (page 116) • Making Your Own User Settings (page 117) • Changing a User’s Password (page 117) •...
Page 131: Making Your Own User Settings
You can also set user privilege under Subsystem/Host Management. See “Setting User Privilege” on page 122 and “Setting User Rights” on page 127. Making Your Own User Settings To change your own user settings: Log into WebPAM PRO under your own user name. Click the Administrative Tools Click the User Management Click the Settings tab in Management View.
Page 132: Creating A User
Click the Submit button. Creating a User To create a user: Log into WebPAM PRO as the Administrator or a Super User. Click the Administrative Tools Click the User Management Click the Create tab in Management View. Enter a user name in the User Name field. Enter a password for this user in the New Password and Retype Password fields.
Page 133 Click the Administrative Tools Click the User Management Click the Delete tab in Management View. Check the box to the left of the user you want to delete. Click the Submit button. Click OK in the confirmation box. icon. icon.
Page 134: Working With Subsystem/Host Management
Working with Subsystem/Host Management Subsystem/Host Management includes the following functions: • Viewing Subsystem/Host Information (page 120) • Adding a Subsystem or Host (page 120) • Deleting a Subsystem or Host (page 121) • Setting User Privilege (page 122) Viewing Subsystem/Host Information To view the Subsystem/Host List: Click the Administrative Tools Click the Subsystem/Host Management...
Page 135: In-Band Versus Out-Of-Band
Do one of the following actions: • To create an in-band connection: Type the Host PC’s IP address into the address field. Choose this option for SuperTrak. Note that entries such as localhost or the Host PC’s network name do not work for this function. •...
Page 136: Setting User Privilege
In the confirmation box, type the word confirm in the field provided. Click the OK button. Setting User Privilege To set user privilege: Click the Administrative Tools Click the Subsystem/Host Management click the IP address link of the Subsystem or Host you want to access. Beside the name of the user whose privilege you want to change, choose the privilege level from the Privilege dropdown menu.
Page 137: Managing Software Services
Managing Software Services Software Services include the following functions: • Viewing Service Status (page 123) • Changing Web Server Settings (page 123) • Restarting the Tomcat Server (page 124) • Setting up Email Service (page 124) • Setting up Extended SMTP (page 125) •...
Page 138: Restarting The Tomcat Server
The range is 1 to 1440 minutes. 15 minutes is the default. Session Time Out refers to the amount of time the connection remains active without any user interaction. After WebPAM PRO reaches the Time Out interval, you must log in again and begin a new session. Click the Submit button.
Page 139: Setting Up Extended Smtp
Setting up Extended SMTP To make Extended SMTP settings: Click the Administrative Tools Click the Software Management Click the Email tab in Management View. Check the Enable ESMTP box to enable ESMTP. Uncheck the box to disable ESMTP. Enter ESMTP user name in the field provided. Enter a ESMTP password in the field provided.
Page 140: Changing Cim Client Settings
Changing CIM Client Settings The CIM client is part of the WebPAM PRO Utility Server. The Utility Server can be installed on any PC on the network. Only one CIM client and Utility Server installation is required. The CIM client works with CIM server. The CIM server is part of the WebPAMPRO Agent.
Page 141: Managing The Host
Managing the Host The Host is designated by its IP address:127.0.0.1. Host functions include: • Viewing Host Information (page 127) • Setting User Rights (page 127) • Refreshing the WebPAM PRO Screen (page 127) Viewing Host Information To view Host information, click the 127.0.0.1 Information tab, the following information appears: •...
Page 142: Managing The Subsystem
Managing the Subsystem Subsystem functions include: • Viewing Subsystem Information (page 128) • Clearing Statistical Data (page 129) • Setting an Alias for the Subsystem (page 129) • Viewing the Runtime Event Log (page 130) • Saving the Runtime Event Log (page 131) •...
Page 143: Clearing Statistical Data
Clearing Statistical Data Use this function to clear the statistical data registers for the controller, physical drives, and logical drives. To clear statistical data: In Tree View, click the Subsystem In Management View, click the Information tab. Click the Clear Statistics link. Click the Submit button.
Page 144: Checking Subsystem Health
Navigate to the directory where you saved the upgrade file, then click the upgrade file, and click the Open button. Click the Submit button. When the Flash Image Status shows Flash image completed, the firmware and BIOS have been updated. Restart the Host PC.
Page 145: Saving The Runtime Event Log
• Fatal – Non-Recoverable error or failure has occurred Saving the Runtime Event Log This function saves a copy of the runtime event log as a text file on the Host PC’s hard drive. To save the runtime event log: In Tree View, click the Subsystem From the dropdown menu on the Events tab, choose Runtime Events.
Page 146: Saving The Nvram Event Log
Severity Definitions Each event is marked with a level of severity. • Information – Information only, no action is required • Warning – User can decide whether or not action is required • Minor – Action is needed but the condition is not serious at this time •...
Page 147: Viewing Current Background Activities
Viewing Current Background Activities To view the current background activities: Click the Subsystem Click the Background Activities tab in Management View. A list of current background activities appears, including: • Rebuild • PDM – Predictive Data Migration • Synchronization • Redundancy Check •...
Page 148: Running Background Activities
Highlight the following PDM trigger settings and type a value into the corresponding field: • Reassigned Block Threshold – 1 to 512 blocks • Error Block Threshold – 1 to 1024 blocks Check to enable or uncheck to disable the following functions: •...
Page 149: Running Pdm
In the next screen, click the Start button. Running PDM Predictive Data Migration (PDM) migrates data from the suspect physical drive to a spare disk drive, similar to Rebuilding. But unlike Rebuilding, PDM acts before the disk drive fails and your Logical Drive goes Critical. You an also run PDM on a specific disk array, see “Running PDM on a Disk Array”...
Page 150 Click the option button for the Recurrence Pattern you want: • Daily • Weekly • Monthly Click the Next button. For a DAILY recurrence pattern, make the following setting: • Choose a Start Time for the activity, based on a 24-hour clock, from the dropdown menus.
Page 151: Deleting A Scheduled Activity
10. For Redundancy Check only: • Choose the Auto Fix option. This feature attempts to repair the problem when it finds an error. • Choose the Pause on Error option. This feature stops the process when it finds an error •...
Page 152 • Physical Drive List – Device number, model, type, capacity, location, operational status, and configuration • Disk Array List – ID, alias, operational status, configurable capacity, and free capacity • Logical Drive List – Device number, alias, RAID level, capacity, ID, stripe size, sector size, and operational status •...
Page 153: Managing The Controller
Managing the Controller The RAID controller is the heart of the RAID storage system. Management of Controllers includes the following functions: • Viewing Controllers Information (page 139) • Viewing Controller Information (page 139) • Viewing Controller Statistics (page 141) • Making Controller Settings (page 141) •...
Page 154 Controller information includes: • Controller ID (1 or 2) • Alias, if assigned* • Vendor • Model • Operational Status • Power On Time • Cache Usage (percent) • Dirty Cache Usage (percent) – Refers to data in the cache that is not yet saved to a physical drive •...
Page 155: Viewing Controller Statistics
Controller information, continued: • SMART Polling Interval* • Write Back Cache Flush Interval* • Write Through Mode • Enclosure Polling interval* • Adaptive Writeback Cache* Items marked with an asterisk (*) are user adjustable. See “Making Controller Settings” on page 141. Viewing Controller Statistics To view controller statistics: Click the Subsystem...
Page 156: Clearing An Orphan Watermark
• Choose a coercion method from the Coercion Method dropdown menu. The choices are: • GBTruncate • 10GBTruncate • GRPRounding • TableRounding For more information, see “Capacity Coercion” on page 238. • Enter a time interval (1 to 12 seconds) in the Write Back Cache Flush Interval field.
Page 157: Chapter 5: Management With Webpam Pro, Cont
Click the Controller Click the Battery tab in Management View. In normal operation, the operational status of the battery shows Fully Charged with a Reserve Capacity of 100%. If the battery is constantly recharging, its reserve capacity drops significantly, or the battery remains discharged, replace the battery.
Page 158: Viewing Buzzer Information
Click the Buzzer tab in Management View. Click the Sound button. The buzzer sounds a continuous tone. Click the Mute button. The buzzer goes silent but remains enabled. Viewing Buzzer Information This function refers to the buzzer on the SuperTrak RAID controller card. To view buzzer information: Click the Subsystem Click the Controllers...
Page 159: Managing Enclosures
Managing Enclosures This function of WebPAM PRO does not apply to the SuperTrak RAID controller card installed in the Host PC, except for one item: • Viewing Enclosure Information (page 145) Viewing Enclosure Information Enclosure information includes: • Enclosure ID •...
Page 160: Managing Physical Drives
Managing Physical Drives Managing Physical Drives deals with the physical disk drives under the SuperTrak RAID controller, including the following functions: • Viewing a List of Physical Drives (page 146) • Locating a Physical Drive (page 146) • Making Global Physical Drive Settings (page 147) •...
Page 161: Making Global Physical Drive Settings
Promise Enclosures To locate a physical drive in the VTrak JBOD enclosure, click the Locate PDx button. The disk status LED will blink for one minute to identify the carrier holding the physical drive. Figure 6. VTrak drive carrier LEDs Making Global Physical Drive Settings Global settings apply to all of the physical disk drives installed under the SuperTrak controller.
Page 162: Viewing Physical Drive Information
Viewing Physical Drive Information To view physical drive information: Click the Subsystem Click the Enclosures Click the Enclosure Click the Physical Drives Click a Physical Drive Useful information provided here includes: • Operational Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Forced Online, Forced Offline, Transition Running, PDM Running, Media Patrol Running, Stale, PFA, Offline or Dead.
Page 163: Clearing Stale And Pfa Conditions
Click the Enclosures Click the Enclosure Click the Physical Drives Click a Physical Drive Click the Settings tab in Management View. Type an alias into the Physical Drive Alias field. Maximum of 32 characters. Use letters, numbers, one space between words, and underscore.
Page 164: Managing Disk Arrays
Managing Disk Arrays Disk Array Management includes the following functions: • Viewing Disk Arrays (page 150) • Locating a Disk Array (page 150) • Creating a Disk Array (page 151) • Deleting a Disk Array (page 157) • Viewing Disk Array Information (page 157) •...
Page 165: Creating A Disk Array
Promise Enclosures To locate a disk array in a VTrak JBOD enclosure, click the Locate DAx button. The disk status LEDs will blink for one minute to identify the carriers holding the physical drives used by the disk array. Figure 7. VTrak drive carrier LEDs Creating a Disk Array WebPAM PRO provides three methods of creating a disk array: •...
Page 166: Creating A Disk Array - Automatic Configuration
Creating a Disk Array – Automatic Configuration The Disk Array – Automatic Configuration option enables you to create a new disk array following a default set of parameters. One logical drive will be made automatically when you create the disk array. If you have multiple enclosures, multiple disk array/logical drive sets are created.
Page 167: Creating A Disk Array - Express Configuration
Creating a Disk Array – Express Configuration The Disk Array – Express Configuration option enables you to choose the parameters for a new disk array by specifying the characteristics you want. With this method, you can create multiple logical drives at the same time you create your disk array.
Page 168 • Logical Drives – The slot number of the logical drive(s), their RAID level, capacity, and stripe size • Spare Drives – The physical drive slot number of the dedicated hot spare assigned to this disk array (all RAID levels except RAID 0) If you accept these parameters, proceed to the next step.
Page 169: Creating A Disk Array - Advanced Configuration
Creating a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration The Disk Array – Advanced Configuration option enables you to directly specify all parameters for a new disk array. One logical drive will be made automatically when you create the disk array. If you specify less than the total available capacity, you can use the remaining space to create additional logical drives now or at a later time.
Page 170 This value will be the data capacity of the first logical drive in your new disk array. If you specify less than disk array's maximum capacity, the remainder will be available for additional logical drives which you can create later. Specify a Stripe size from the dropdown menu.
Page 171: Deleting A Disk Array
Deleting a Disk Array The Disk Arrays–Delete tab enables you to delete existing disk arrays. If you delete a disk array, you also delete any logical drives that belong to it, along with the data in those logical drives. Back up any important data before deleting a disk array.
Page 172: Making Disk Array Settings
available. However, the logical drive has lost redundancy (fault tolerance). You must determine the cause of the problem and correct it. • Rebuilding – This condition is temporary. When a physical drive has been replaced, the logical drive automatically begins rebuilding in order to restore redundancy (fault tolerance).
Page 173: Creating A Logical Drive
Maximum of 32 characters. Use letters, numbers, one space between words, and underscore. An alias is optional. To enable Media Patrol support, check the Media Patrol box. To enable PDM support, check the PDM box. Click the Submit button. Creating a Logical Drive When you create a disk array, you automatically create one logical drive also.
Page 174: Deleting A Logical Drive
The choices are Read Cache, Read Ahead, and No Cache. Read Ahead is the default. See “Choosing Cache Policy” on page 237. 11. From the Write Policy dropdown menu, choose a Write Cache policy for this logical drive. The choices are Write Through and Write Back. Write Back is the default. If you chose No Cache under Read Cache, this setting will be Write Through.
Page 175: Migrating A Disk Array
In the confirmation box, type the word confirm in the field provided. Click the OK button. The chosen logical disappears from the Logical Drive List the Information tab. Migrating a Disk Array On SuperTrak, RAID level migration is performed on the disk array but it applies to the logical drives.
Page 176: Rebuilding A Disk Array
To set Migration priority, see “Making Background Activity Settings” on page 133. Rebuilding a Disk Array When you rebuild a disk array, you are actually rebuilding the data on a replacement physical drive. Rebuilding Automatically Normally, a disk array would rebuild itself using a hot disk drive, after going Critical.
Page 177: Running Media Patrol On A Disk Array
Running Media Patrol on a Disk Array Media Patrol checks the magnetic media on physical drives. When it finds the specified number of bad blocks, it will trigger PDM. See “Making Background Activity Settings” on page 133 and “Running PDM” on page 135. You can schedule Media Patrol to run automatically, see “Scheduling an Activity”...
Page 178: Transitioning A Disk Array
Transitioning a Disk Array Transition is the process of replacing a revertible spare drive that is currently part of a disk array with an unconfigured physical drive or a non-revertible spare. The revertible spare drive returns to its original status. For more information, see “Transition”...
Page 179 Click the OK button. After the Transition is complete, move the physical drives comprising the disk array to their new locations. Click the Refresh button in your Browser. The drives appear in their new locations and disk array status displays OK.
Page 180: Managing Logical Drives
Managing Logical Drives Logical drives are made from disk arrays. In the Tree, you can see a graphic representation of the logical drives that belong to each array. You can see a summary of all logical drives in the subsystem under Logical Drive Summary. Logical drive management includes the following functions: •...
Page 181: Locating A Logical Drive
fault tolerance. When a logical drive is rebuilding, it will function and your data is available. However, access will be slower due to the rebuilding operation. To create a logical drive, see “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 159. To delete a logical drive, see “Deleting a Logical Drive” on page 160. For a Degraded or Offline logical drive, see “Critical &...
Page 182: Viewing Logical Drive Statistics
Click the Logical Drives Click the Logical Drive To specify an Alias or set the Read and Write Policies, click the Settings tab. Logical Drive Status See “Logical Drive Status” on page 166. Logical Drive Synchronization Synchronization is an automatic procedure applied to logical drives when they are created.
Page 183: Initializing A Logical Drive
Optional. Enter an alias in the Logical Drive Alias field. Maximum of 32 characters. Use letters, numbers, one space between words, and underscore. An alias is optional. From the Read Policy dropdown menu, choose a Read Cache policy. The choices are Read Cache, Read Ahead, and No Cache. See “Choosing Cache Policy”...
Page 184: Running Redundancy Check
To view the progress of the Initialization, click the Background Activity tab. To set Initialization priority, see “Making Background Activity Settings” on page 133. You can also start Initialization from the Subsystem Activities tab. Running Redundancy Check Redundancy Check is a routine maintenance procedure for fault-tolerant disk arrays (those with redundancy) that ensures all the data matches exactly.
Page 185 Click the Disk Arrays Click the Disk Array Click the Logical Drives Click the Logical Drive Click the Check Table tab in Management View. Click the option for the table you want to see. The default is All tables. If there are entries, they are listed as follows: •...
Page 186: Managing Spare Drives
Managing Spare Drives When a physical drive in a disk array fails and a spare drive of adequate capacity is available, the disk array will begin to rebuild automatically using the spare drive. See “Critical & Offline Logical Drives” on page 253. Spare drive management includes the following functions: •...
Page 187: Creating A Spare Drive
Creating a Spare Drive • There must be an unconfigured physical drive available to assign as a spare drive. See “Viewing a List of Physical Drives” on page 146. • Be sure the spare drive you choose has capacity equal to or greater than the smallest physical drive assigned to the disk array.
Page 188: Deleting Spare Drive
Deleting Spare Drive If an existing spare drive has the wrong parameters for your needs, click the Settings tab to change the parameters rather than delete the spare drive and create a new one. To delete a spare drive: Click the Subsystem Click the Spare Drives Click the Delete tab in Management View.
Page 189: Running Spare Check
Running Spare Check Spare Check verifies the operational status of your spare drives. You can also schedule a Spare Check. See “Scheduling an Activity” on page 135. To check a spare drive: Click the Subsystem Click the Spare Drives Click the Spare Check tab in Management View. From the Physical Drive dropdown menu, choose the spare drive you want to check.
Page 190: Working With The Logical Drive Summary
Working with the Logical Drive Summary The Logical Drive Summary displays a list of all logical drives under the SuperTrak controller including logical drives in expanded or cascaded enclosures. This list does not arrange the logical drives under the disk array to which they belong nor under the enclosure in which they are located.
Page 191: Viewing Individual Logical Drive Information
Viewing Individual Logical Drive Information Click the Subsystem Click the Logical Drive Summary Click the Logical Drive The information and location for the logical drive appear in Management View. See Viewing Logical Drive Information (page 167). icon in Tree View. icon.
Page 192 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual...
Page 193: Chapter 6: Management With The Cli
Chapter 6: Management with the CLI • Opening the CLI on Windows (below) • Opening the CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, and VMware (page 180) • Table of Supported Commands (page 181) • Notes and Conventions (page 183) • List of Supported Commands (page 184) SuperTrak EX Controller’s Command Line Interface (CLI) provides rapid setup of disk arrays and logical drives.
Page 194: Opening The Cli On Linux, Freebsd, And Vmware
Opening the CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, and VMware To open the CLI: Open a terminal window. Go to the /opt/Promise/WebPAMPRO/Agent/bin directory. Type ./cliib and press Enter. The CLI runs in the terminal window.
Page 195: Table Of Supported Commands
Table of Supported Commands Command about array battery buzz checktable config ctrl date enclosure event export factorydefaults init View utility information. View or edit array information. Create, edit, or delete a new or existing array. Create, edit, or delete logical drives in an existing array. To physically locate an array in an enclosure.
Page 196 Command logdrv View or edit logical drive information and settings. Locate a logical drive via LEDs. migrate Start and monitor disk array migration process. View media patrol status and progress. Start, stop, pause, or resume media patrol. View PDM status and progress. Start, stop, pause, or resume PDM process.
Page 197: Notes And Conventions
Command Note: Commands are NOT case sensitive. Notes and Conventions Commands and options are NOT case sensitive. Not all extended keys are supported. However, you can use the backspace and the left and right arrow keys for command line editing. In addition, the up and down arrow keys allow scrolling through the command history buffer.
Page 198: List Of Supported Commands
List of Supported Commands • about (page 184) • array (page 184) • battery (page 188) • bbm (page 189) • bga (page 189) • buzz (page 191) • checktable (page 192) • config (page 192) • ctrl (page 194) •...
Page 199 Summary The array command is the main command for performing advanced configuration and maintenance tasks on disk arrays. This command lists, creates, modifies, deletes, and locates disk arrays. It also adds and deletes logical drives. Options -a <action> Specifies the action to perform. list (Default) Displays a summary of all arrays, a specified number of arrays, or a specific array.
Page 200 deleting, locating, accepting, adding or deleting a logical drive. Only one array may be specified. -p <PD ID list> Specifies physical drives to be used in an array, with -a add option. PD IDs are specified individually or separated by comma. Sequential group of physical drives are specified by placing a ~ between numbers such as 1~6.
Page 201 decimal places. If not specified, all available capacity is used for this logical drive. Stripe= Specifies logical drive stripe size. Options include 64KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and 1024 KB. If not specified, the default 64KB is used. Sector= Specifies logical drive sector size.
Page 202 Examples array -v -c 1 array -a add -s "alias=MyArray,mediapatrol=enable" -p 1,3,5~9 -l "raid=5,capacity=50gb,stripe=256kb,sector=1kb" array -a add -p 1,3,5~9 -l "raid=5,capacity=50gb,stripe=256kb" -l "raid=0,capacity=100gb" array -a mod -d 1 -s "alias=YourArray,mediapatrol=disable" array -a del -d 3 array -a locate -d 0 array -a accept -d 2 array -a addld -d 0 -l "raid=1e,capacity=125gb,stripe=64kb"...
Page 203 Usage bbm [-a <action>] [-p <PdId>] bbm -a clear -p <PdId> Summary The bbm command displays and clears the Bad Block Map (BBM) for all configured SATA drives. Options -a <action> list clear -p <PdId> Examples bbm -p 1 bbm -a clear -p 3 Usage bga [-a <action>] bga -a mod -s "<list of settings>"...
Page 204 Auto-transition will start transitioning on a used revertible spare in the following condition: 1. When the rebuild has completed using the revertible spare, and 2. When an unconfigured drive is inserted into the slot of the dead drive which the was part of the array. or When a non-revertible spare has been inserted or created, and is applicable to the array.
Page 205 transitionrate= medium high syncrate= medium high initrate= medium high rcrate= medium high migrationrate= medium high Examples bga -a mod -s "autorebuild=enable,rebuildrate=high,syncrate=low" buzz Usage buzz [-a <action>] buzz -a list buzz -a enable buzz -a disable Transition rate determines the rate at which transition will run.
Page 206 buzz -a on buzz -a off Summary The buzz command displays the status of the buzzer, and enables, disables, turns on or turns off the buzzer. Options -a <action> list enable disable checktable Usage checktable [-t <tableType>] -l <LdId> Summary The checktable command displays the error check tables of a logical drive.
Page 207 Summary The config command has two options: Automatic and Express. Automatic configuration takes all available unconfigured physical drives to create an optimized disk array following a default set of parameters. There are no options. Express configuration takes your input, creates one or two arrays, and spreads their capacity evenly over all of the logical drives that you specify.
Page 208 Examples config -a auto config -a expr -ry -p y -c n -sy -t data -l2 ctrl Usage ctrl [-a <action>] [-i <ctrlId>] [-c <ctrl count>] [-v] ctrl -a mod [-i <ctrlId>] -s "<list of settings>" ctrl -a clear [-i <ctrlId>] [-t <condition type>] Summary The ctrl command displays controller information and changes controller settings.
Page 209 GBTruncate Truncates the drive to the nearest 1-billion byte boundary. 10GBTruncate Truncates the drive to the nearest 10-billion byte boundary. GrpRounding Truncates the drive using an intelligent algorithm. Allows the maximum amount of usable space. TableRounding Truncates the drive using a pre-defined coercion table. smart= Enables or disables polling drive SMART status.
Page 210 disable The write policy of the writeback logical drives are not changed irrespective of the availability of BBU or UPS. hostcacheflushing= Subsystems only. To enable or disable host cache flushing. When enabled, SYNCHRONIZE CACHE SCSI command from host is supported. For high availability products only.
Page 211 date Usage date date -a mod [-d <date>] [-t <time>] Summary The date command displays the system time and date, and changes these settings. Options -a <action> list -d <date> -t <time> Examples date date -a mod -d 2004/02/25 -t 14:50:05 enclosure Usage enclosure [-a <action>] -v...
Page 212 locate -e <encl id> -s "<option>=<value>" Specifies the settings to change. tempwarning= 10..51 tempcritical= 52..61 ctrltempwarning= Controller warning theshold temperature, in degrees 10..61 ctrltempcritical= 62..71 -t <FRU type> ctrl cooling -f <FRU id> Examples enclosure enclosure -v enclosure -a mod -s "tempwarning=40,tempcritical=55" event Usage event [-a <action>] [-l <location>] [-i <SeqNo>] [-c <event count>] [-v]...
Page 213 event -a clear [-l <location>] Summary The event command displays and clears the RAM and NVRAM event logs. Options -a <action> list clear -l <location> nvram -i <sequence ID> -c <event count> Examples event event -v event -l nvram event -a clear -lnvram event -c 200 event -a list -i852 -c200 export...
Page 214 Options -t <file type> userdb servicereport -f <file name> -s <TFTP server> -p <port num> Examples export -t userdb -s 192.168.1.1 -f userdb.bin export -t servicereport -s 192.168.1.1 -f servicereport # for embedded export -t servicereport -f servicereport # for in-band factorydefaults Usage factorydefaults -a <action>...
Page 215 iscsi netiscsi netmgmt phydrv scsi subsys Following are individual Software settings, which only apply to Subsystems: bgascheduler service webserver snmp telnet email netsend user Examples factorydefaults -a restore -t phydrv factorydefaults -a restore -t all init Usage init [-a <action>] [-l <LdId>] init -a start -l <LdId>...
Page 216 A quick initialization writes to the first and last few megabytes of the logical drive. Typically, a quick initialization is completed in moments. Options -a <action> list start stop pause resume -l <LD ID> -q <size> 1..1024 -p <pattern> Examples init init -a stop -l0 init -a start -l0 -p5a5a0101...
Page 217 list locate -l [<LD ID>] -c [<LD count>] -s ["<option>=<value>"]Specifies the logical drive settings to change. alias= WritePolicy= writethru writeback ReadPolicy= readahead readcache nocache PreferredCtrlId= Examples logdrv logdrv -v logdrv -a mod -l0 -s "readpolicy=readahead" logdrv -a locate -l2 migrate Usage migrate [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>] migrate -a start -d <DaId>...
Page 218 Summary The migrate command expands the capacity of a logical drives (online capacity expansion) and changes logical drive RAID levels (RAID level migration). Options -a <action> list start -d <DA ID> -p <PD ID list> -l "<option>=<value>" Specifies logical drive migration settings. capacity= raid= axle=...
Page 219 You can start, stop, pause, or resume Media Patrol and monitor its progress and status. Options -a <action> list start stop pause resume Examples mp -a stop mp -a resume Usage pdm [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>] [-s <SeqNo>] pdm -a start -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo> -p <PdId> pdm -a stop -d <DaId>...
Page 220 Options -a <action> list start stop pause resume -d <DA ID> -s <sequence Num> -p <PD ID> Examples pdm -a start -d0 -s2 -p10 pdm -a stop -d0 -s2 phydrv Usage phydrv [-a <action>] [-p <PdId>] [-c <Pd count>] [-v] phydrv -a mod -p <PdId>...
Page 221 online Forces a drive from an Offline to an Online state. Caution: Do this action only in extreme conditions. It causes data corruption in most cases. offline Forces a drive from an Onine to an Offline state. clear Clears a drive's condition. -p <PD ID>...
Page 222 temppollint=Drive temperature polling interval in seconds. If value is 0, polling is disabled. For subsystems with dual controllers. 15..255 mediumerrorthreshold= Medium error threshold. If the threshold is reached, the physical drive is marked as dead. The default value is 0, indicating that physical drive is not marked as dead for medium errors.
Page 223 phydrv -a locate -p 9 phydrv -a mod -s "writecache=enable,rlacache=enable" phydrv -a offline -p 8 phydrv -a online -p 8 ptiflash Usage ptiflash [-a <action>] [-t] [-s <ServerName>] -f <FileName> [-p <PortNum>] ptiflash -f <FileName> Summary The ptiflash command is a flash update utility that installs flash image files. •...
Page 224 -p <port number> Examples ptiflash -f fw_multi_20051022.img[for SuperTrak controllers] ptiflash -t -s 192.168.1.1 -f fw_multi_20031010.img -p 69[for embedded Subsystems] ptiflash -f fw_multi_20031010.img[for in-band Subsystems] Usage rc [-a <action>] [-l <LdId>] rc -a start -l <LdId> [-n] [-p] rc -a stop -l <LdId> rc -a pause -l <LdId>...
Page 225 Examples rc -a start -l3 -n -p rc -a start -l3 rc -a stop -l2 Usage rb [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>] [-s <SeqNo>] rb -a start -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo> -p <PdId> rb -a stop -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo> rb -a pause -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo> rb -a resume -d <DaId>...
Page 226 Usage sc [-a <action>] [-i <SpareId>] sc -a start [-i <SpareId>] Summary The sc command starts a Spare Check and monitors the status of a running Spare Check. Options -a <action> list start -i <Spare ID> Examples sc -a start -i 3 spare Usage spare [-a <action>]...
Page 227 Options -a <action> list -i <Spare Id> -p <PD ID> -d <DA ID or DA ID List> -t <type> -r <revertible> -s "<option>=<value>" Specifies options for the spare drive. mediapatrol= enable disable Examples spare spare -a add -p 14 -t g -r y spare -a mod -i 1 -t d -d 0,1 -s "mediapatrol=disable"...
Page 228 Summary The spath command discovers and changes subsystem paths. Options -a <action> list discover chgpath -t <type> subsys -p <path number> -c <count> Examples spath spath -a discover spath -a chgpath -t subsys -p 1 stats Usage stats [-t <type>] [-i <devId>] [-c <Count>] stats -a clear Summary The stats command displays statistics of subsytem, controller, enclosure,...
Page 229 Options -a <action> list clear -t <type> ctrl logdrv phydrv -i <devId> -c <Count> Examples stats -t logdrv -i 0 -c 5 stats -a list -t all stats -a clear subsys Usage subsys [-a <action>] [-v] subsys -a mod -s "<list of settings>" subsys -a lock [-r] [-t <number of minutes>] subsys -a unlock [-f] subsys -a chklock...
Page 230 unlock chklock -s "<option>=<value>" Specifies which subsystem settings to change. alias= -t <number of mins> Examples subsys subsys -v subsys -a mod -s "alias=MySubsystem" subsys -a lock -t 60 subsys -a lock -r -t 35 subsys -a unlock subsys -a chklock sync Usage sync [-a <action>] [-l <LdId>]...
Page 231 Options -a <action> list Examples sync sync -l3 sync -a list -l3 topology Usage topology [-a <action>] [-v] Summary The topology command displays enclosure topology, physical connections, and devices. For products that support multiple enclosures only. Options -a <action> list Examples topology transit...
Page 232 Transition is an operation to replace a revertible spare drive currently used in a disk array with an new physical drive, so the reveritible spare can be restored to spare drive status. The destination drive can be an unconfigured drive, a non- revertible global spare, or a non-revertible spare dedicated to the array.
Page 233: Chapter 7: Technology Background
Chapter 7: Technology Background • Introduction to RAID (below) • Choosing a RAID Level (page 232) • Choosing Stripe Block Size (page 236) • Choosing Sector Size (page 236) • Choosing Cache Policy (page 237) • Capacity Coercion (page 238) •...
Page 234: Raid 0 - Stripe
RAID 0 – Stripe When a logical drive is striped, the read and write blocks of data are interleaved between the sectors of multiple physical drives. Performance is increased, since the workload is balanced between drives or “members” that form the logical drive. Identical drives are recommended for performance as well as data storage efficiency.
Page 235: Raid 1 - Mirror
Chapter 7: Technology Background RAID 1 – Mirror When a logical drive is mirrored, identical data is written to a pair of physical drives, while reads are performed in parallel. The reads are performed using elevator seek and load balancing techniques where the workload is distributed in the most efficient manner.
Page 236: Raid 1E - Enhanced Mirror
SuperTrak EX Series User Manual RAID 1E – Enhanced Mirror RAID 1E offers the security of mirrored data provided by RAID 1 plus the added capacity of more than two physical drives. It also offers overall increased read/ write performance plus the flexibility of using an odd number of physical drives. With RAID 1E, each data stripe is mirrored onto two physical drives.
Page 237: Raid 5 - Block Striping With Distributed Parity
Chapter 7: Technology Background RAID 5 – Block Striping with Distributed Parity RAID 5 organizes block data and parity data across the physical drives. Generally, RAID Level 5 tends to exhibit lower random write performance due to the heavy workload of parity recalculation for each I/O. RAID 5 is generally considered to be the most versatile RAID level.
Page 238: Raid 6 - Block And Double Parity Stripe
SuperTrak EX Series User Manual RAID 6 – Block and Double Parity Stripe RAID level 6 stores dual parity data is rotated across the physical drives along with the block data. A RAID 6 logical drive can continue to accept I/O requests when any two physical drives fail.
Page 239: Raid 10 - Mirror / Stripe
RAID 10 – Mirror / Stripe Mirror/Stripe combines both of the RAID 0 and RAID 1 logical drive types. RAID 10 is similar though not identical to RAID 0+1. It can increase performance by reading and writing data in parallel while protecting data with duplication. The data on one drive pair is mirrored together, then striped over a second drive pair.
Page 240: Raid 50 - Striped Distributed Parity
RAID 50 – Striped Distributed Parity RAID 50 combines both RAID 5 and RAID 0 features. Data is striped across physical drives as in RAID 0, and it uses distributed parity as in RAID 5. RAID 50 provides data reliability, good overall performance, and supports larger volume sizes.
Page 241 RAID 50 Axles When you create a RAID 50, you must specify the number of axles. An axle refers to a single RAID 5 logical drive that is striped with other RAID 5 logical drives to make RAID 50. An axle can have from 3 to 16 physical drives, depending on the number of physical drives in the logical drive.
Page 242 RAID 50 Logical Drive No. of Drives No. of Axles Drives per Axle 5,5,5 3,4,4,4 3,3,3,3,3 5,5,6 4,4,4,4 3,3,3,3,4...
Page 243: Raid 60 - Striping Of Double Parity
RAID 60 – Striping of Double Parity RAID 60 combines both RAID 6 and RAID 0 features. Data is striped across disks as in RAID 0, and it uses double distributed parity as in RAID 6. RAID 60 provides data reliability, good overall performance and supports larger volume sizes.
Page 244 RAID 60 Axles When you create a RAID 60, you must specify the number of axles. An axle refers to a single RAID 6 logical drive that is striped with other RAID 6 logical drives to make RAID 60. An axle can have from 4 to 16 physical drives, depending on the number of physical drives in the logical drive.
Page 245 RAID 60 Logical Drive No. of Drives No. of Axles Drives per Axle 6,6,6 4,4,5,5 9,10 6,6,7 4,5,5,5 10,10 6,7,7 5,5,5,5 4,4,4,4,4...
Page 246: Choosing A Raid Level
Choosing a RAID Level There are several issues to consider when choosing the RAID Level for your logical drive. The following discussion summarizes some advantages, disadvantages and applications for each choice. RAID 0 Advantages Implements a striped logical drive, the data is broken down into blocks and each block is written to a separate physical drive...
Page 247: Raid 1E
RAID 1E Advantages Implemented as a mirrored logical drive whose segments are RAID 0 logical drives High I/O rates are achieved thanks to multiple stripe segments Can use an odd number of physical drives Recommended Applications for RAID 1E • Imaging applications •...
Page 248: Raid 6
RAID 6 Advantages High Read data transaction rate Medium Write data transaction rate Good aggregate transfer rate Safest RAID level Recommended applications for RAID 6: • Accounting/Financial • Database servers • Any application requiring very high availability RAID 10 Advantages Implemented as a mirrored logical drive whose segments are RAID 0 logical drives...
Page 249: Raid 50
RAID 50 Advantages High Read data transaction rate Good write data transaction rate Very good aggregate transfer rate Most versatile RAID level Recommended applications for RAID 50: • File and Application Servers • Transaction Processing • Office applications with many users accessing small files RAID 60 Advantages High Read data transaction rate...
Page 250: Choosing Stripe Block Size
Choosing Stripe Block Size You set the stripe block size, also called block size, when you create a logical drive. With SuperTrak, the choices are 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and 1024 KB. 64 KB is the default. Your choice will directly affect performance.
Page 251: Tb Limitation
• Linux operating systems with the 2.6 kernel support 64-bit LBA. For these OSes, always choose the default 512 B sector size. See “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 93 and “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 159, and “Creating a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration” on page 155. 2 TB Limitation If your Host PC runs Windows XP (32-bit), and you want to create logical drives larger than 2 TB, you must choose a sector size larger than 512 B when you...
Page 252: Read Cache Policy
Read Cache Policy • Read Cache – The read cache is enabled. • Read Ahead – The read cache and the read-ahead feature are enabled. Read-ahead anticipates the next read and performs it before the request is made. Can increase read performance. •...
Page 253: Initialization
80.5 GB and the replacement drive can be 80.3, since all are rounded down to 80 GB. This permits the smaller drive to be used. Without Capacity Coercion, the controller will not permit the use of a replacement physical drive that is slightly smaller than the remaining working drive(s). Initialization Initialization is highly recommended for logical drives when they are created from a disk array.
Page 254: Partition And Format The Logical Drive
• Revertible – A revertible spare drive will return to spare status when the failed drive is replace with a new drive. See “Transition” on page 249. Whenever possible, having a hot spare drive in your RAID system is good protection against physical drive failure.
Page 255: Raid 0
RAID 0 A RAID 0 source logical drive can migrate to the following target logical drives: Target RAID 0 Add physical drives. RAID 1 2 physical drives only. Only a single-drive RAID 0 can migrate to RAID 1 by adding 1 physical drive.
Page 256: Raid 1
RAID 1 A RAID 1 Source logical drive can migrate to the following Target logical drives: Target RAID 0 None. RAID 1E 3 or more physical drives. RAID 5 3 physical drives minimum, 16 maximum. RAID 1 must have less than 16 physical drives. RAID 10 4 physical drives minimum.
Page 257: Raid 5
RAID 5 A RAID 5 Source logical drive can migrate to the following Target logical drives: Target RAID 0 None. RAID 1E None. RAID 5 Add physical drives. 16 maximum. RAID 6 4 physical drives minimum, 16 maximum. RAID 10 4 physical drives minimum.
Page 258: Raid 10
RAID 10 A RAID 10 Source logical drive can migrate to the following Target logical drives: Target RAID 0 None. RAID 1E None. RAID 5 3 physical drives minimum, 16 maximum. RAID 10 must have less than 16 physical drives. RAID 6 4 physical drives minimum, 16 maximum.
Page 259: Raid 50
RAID 50 A RAID 50 Source logical drive can migrate to the following Target logical drives: Target RAID 0 None. RAID 1E None. RAID 5 16 physical drives maximum. RAID 50 must have less than 16 physical drives. RAID 6 16 physical drives maximum.
Page 260: Ranges Of Disk Array Expansion
• The Target disk array may require more physical drives than the Source disk array • If the Target disk array requires an EVEN number of physical drives but the Source disk array has an ODD number, ADD a physical drive as part of the migration process •...
Page 261 Current LD Size 8 to 16 TB 4 to 8 TB 2 to 4 TB up to 2 TB At this point, you have the choice of: • Format the unpartitioned/unformatted capacity as a second logical drive • Delete the existing disk array and create a new one in the desired size Delete and Recreate If you require a logical drive larger than the maximum expansion size: Backup the data from the current logical drive.
Page 262: Media Patrol
Media Patrol Media Patrol is a routine maintenance procedure that checks the magnetic media on each physical drive. Media Patrol checks all physical drives assigned to disk arrays and on spare drives. Media Patrol does not check unconfigured drives. Unlike Synchronization and Redundancy Check, Media Patrol is concerned with the condition of the media itself, not the data recorded on the media.
Page 263: Transition
Because data would be lost if written to a bad sector, when a bad sector is detected, the physical drive creates a map around it. These maps are saved in the bad sector remapping table, which has a capacity of 512 reassigned blocks and 1024 error blocks.
Page 264 • The physical drive in channel 4 is a revertible spare drive. The physical drive in channel 2 fails. The disk array becomes degraded and its logical drives go critical. The SuperTrak controller automatically rebuilds the disk array using the revertible spare drive, the physical drive in channel 4. When the rebuild is finished, the disk array and logical drives are OK again.
Page 265: Automatic Transition
Automatic Transition At this juncture, you would replace the failed drive in channel 2 with a new drive of the same or greater capacity. When the SuperTrak controller detects the new drive in channel 2, it will: • Transition the data from the drive in channel 4 to the drive in channel 2. •...
Page 266 The physical drive in channel 2 fails. The disk array becomes degraded and its logical drives go critical. The SuperTrak controller automatically rebuilds the disk array using the spare drive, the physical drive in channel 4. As we saw in the example of Automatic Transition, if you replace the failed physical drive in channel 2, the SuperTrak controller would transition the data from the physical drive in channel 4 to the new drive in channel 2.
Page 267: Critical & Offline Logical Drives
Critical & Offline Logical Drives A fault-tolerant logical drive—RAID 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60—goes critical when a physical drive is removed or fails. Due to the fault tolerance of the logical drive, the data is still available and online. However, once the logical drive goes critical, the logical drive has lost its fault tolerance, and performance may be adversely affected.
Page 268 • Sends email messages, per your configuration • Displays popup messages, per your configuration (below) • Keeps a record in the Event Log (below)
Page 269: With A Hot Spare Drive
With a Hot Spare Drive When a physical drive in a disk array fails and a spare drive of adequate capacity is available, the disk array will begin to rebuild automatically using the spare drive. After the disk array rebuilds itself using the spare drive, you must replace the failed drive.
Page 270 After a successful rebuild: • The alarm is silent • The logical drive’s Operational Status is OK • The rebuilt physical drive Status LED displays steady green...
Page 271: Chapter 8: Troubleshooting
Chapter 8: Troubleshooting • Problem Reports from SuperTrak • Buzzer (page 257) • LEDs (page 257) • BIOS (page 259) • Problems Reported in WebPAM PRO (page 261) • Critical & Offline Logical Drives (page 263) • Salvaging Physical Drives (page 265) •...
Page 272 Global LED Display Global LEDs glow in response to Logical Drive status. Dark System off Green Normal Amber Logical Drive Critical Logical Drive Offline Direct LED Display Direct LEDs, glow and blink in response to the SuperTrak’s firmware status. Fault Activity Blink Blink...
Page 273: Bios
BIOS The problem is first reported in the SuperTrak BIOS screen when you boot your PC or server, as shown below. Figure 1. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive critical If the SuperTrak BIOS detects an Critical logical drive, the BIOS reports the condition but allows the booting process of the Host PC to continue.
Page 274 Figure 2. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive offline If the SuperTrak BIOS detects an Offline logical drive, the BIOS reports the condition and temporarily halts the booting process of the Host PC. Choose a Management application: • Press Ctrl-S to open the SuperBuild utility. •...
Page 275: Problems Reported In Webpam Pro
Problems Reported in WebPAM PRO Open WebPAM PRO If WebPAM PRO is not running, do the following actions: Open WebPAM PRO. See “Logging into WebPAM PRO” on page 107 for more information. Click the Subsystem Click the Enclosures Click the Disk Arrays What to Look For When a logical drive goes critical or offline, WebPAM PRO reports the condition in the following ways:...
Page 276 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual • Keeps a record in the Event Log (below)
Page 277: Critical & Offline Logical Drives
Critical & Offline Logical Drives A fault-tolerant logical drive—RAID 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60—goes critical when a physical drive is removed or fails. Due to the fault tolerance of the logical drive, the data is still available and online. However, once the logical drive goes critical, the logical drive has lost its fault tolerance, and performance may be adversely affected.
Page 278: Finding The Failed Drive In Webpam Pro
Figure 3. Physical Drive Management screen ID 3 is missing In the example above, there is no physical drive for ID 3. Assuming you installed a physical drive onto Channel 3 of the SuperTrak controller, this is the failed physical drive. Shut down the Host PC, open the case, check the power and data connections to each physical drive, correct any shortcomings, restart the Host PC and check in SuperBuild again.
Page 279: Salvaging Physical Drives
Salvaging Physical Drives Physical drives can develop problems that make them unsuitable for service in a logical drive. These problems are reflected in the physical drive status: PFA – The physical drive has errors resulting in a prediction of failure •...
Page 280: Rebuilding A Logical Drive
Rebuilding a Logical Drive The remedial action for a critical logical drive is to rebuild it, meaning the data from the failed physical drive is rebuilt onto a spare or replacement physical drive. Spare Drive Available The SuperTrak Controller will rebuilt a logical drive automatically using a spare drive, providing: •...
Page 281: Manual Rebuild: Webpam Pro
Highlight Start Manual Rebuild and press Enter. The Manual Rebuild screen displays. Highlight the Source Sequence Number and press Enter. Then type the ID number of one of the physical drives you noted in step 3 and press Enter. Highlight the Target Physical Drive ID and press Enter. Then type the ID number of the new drive and press Enter.
Page 282: Recovering From A Blank Screen
Recovering from a Blank Screen Occasionally, while you are performing a RAID management operation using WebPAM PRO, your browser screen might go blank. To recover from a blank browser screen, do one of the following actions: • Press the F5 key. •...
Page 283: Chapter 9: Support
Chapter 9: Support • Frequently Asked Questions (below) • Contacting Technical Support (page 273) • Limited Warranty (page 276) • Returning the Product For Repair (page 278) Frequently Asked Questions This section lists frequently asked questions involving pre-installation, drive issues, installation, and post-installation. Pre-Installation (Speed, Device Types, Capacity, Cabling) What kind of HDDs can I use for a SuperTrak EX Series logical drive? You can use any Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or Serial ATA (SATA) hard...
Page 284: Drive Issues
How can I change the resources that the SuperTrak uses? The SuperTrak EX Series Controllers are fully PnP. This means all the resources that it uses are given to it by the PnP BIOS on the motherboard. The SuperTrak Series Controller supports IRQ sharing, but this feature only works when ALL the concerned devices support it.
Page 285: Installation Issues (Capacity, Booting)
I already have an array on a Promise FastTrak controller. Can I move that array to my new SuperTrak EX Series controller? No. The SuperTrak EX Series controller supports SNIA Disk Data Format (DDF), which is not backward compatible with the FastTrak controller. If I have a problem with one of the drives on the SuperTrak EX Series, how can I low-level format it to correct the problem? Do NOT do this! Low-level formatting hard physical drives is not only...
Page 286: Post-Installation
are categorized as a SCSI device. This allows you to set the boot sequence in your BIOS setup utility to boot from SCSI first, rather than IDE. If there are multiple SCSI add-in controllers in the system, then the boot sequence among them will be determined exclusively by their PCI slot priority.
Page 287: Contacting Technical Support
+1 408 228 1400 option 4 Promise Technology, Inc. 580 Cottonwood Drive Milpitas, CA 95035, USA e-Support On-Line +31 0 40 256 9463 Attn: Technical Support +31 0 40 235 2600 Promise Technology Europe B.V. Science Park Eindhoven 5542 5692 EL Son, The Netherlands...
Page 288 On-Line +49 0 2 31 56 76 48 29 Attn: Technical Support +49 0 2 31 56 76 48 10 Promise Technology Germany Europaplatz 9 44269 Dortmund, Germany e-Support On-Line +39 0 6 367 124 00 Attn: Technical Support...
Page 289 On-Line +86 10 8857 8015 Attn: Technical Support +86 10 8857 8085 or 8095 Promise Technology China – Beijing Room 1205, Tower C Webok Time Center, No.17 South Zhong Guan Cun Street Hai Dian District, Beijing 100081, China...
Page 290: Limited Warranty
Limited Warranty Promise Technology, Inc. (“Promise”) warrants that this product, from the time of the delivery of the product to the original end user: all components, except the cache backup battery, for a period of three (3) years; the cache backup battery, for a period of one (1) year;...
Page 291: Your Responsibilities
Promise DOES NOT WARRANT that any product is free from errors or that it will interface without problems with your computer system. It is your responsibility to back up or otherwise save important data before installing any product and continue to back up your important data regularly. No other document, statement or representation may be relied on to vary the terms of this limited warranty.
Page 292: Returning The Product For Repair
• Write an attention line on the box with the RMA number • Include a copy of proof of purchase Important Promise Technology, Inc. Customer Service Dept. Attn.: RMA # ______ 47654 Kato Road Fremont, CA 94538 Return the product to your dealer or retailer.
Page 293 Chapter 9: Support You are responsible for the cost of insurance and shipment of the product to Promise. Note that damage incurred due to improper transport or packaging is not covered under the Limited Warranty. When repairing returned product(s), Promise may replace defective parts with new or reconditioned parts, or replace the entire unit with a new or reconditioned unit.
Page 294 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual...
Page 295: Appendix A: Partition And Format
Appendix A: Partition and Format In order for your operating system to recognize and work with the physical drives attached to your SuperTrak EX Controller card, the drives must be partitioned and formatted. • If your drives were previously partitioned and formatted they are ready to use and you can skip this procedure •...
Page 296 Click the Next button to start the Wizard. In the following windows, choose Disk 1 to Initialize. Do not choose any disks to Convert. Click the Finish button to Initialize the logical disk. Right-click the Unallocated portion of Disk 1 and choose New Partition... from the popup menu.
Page 297 Click the Next button to start the wizard. In the following windows, do the following actions. Click Next to move to the next window. • Choose Primary Partition • Specify the maximum available partition size in MB • Assign the available drive letter of your choice •...
Page 298 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual When formatting is complete, your logical disk will appear as a hard drive in the Disk Management window (above) and the My Computer window (below).
Page 299: Appendix B: Upgrades
Appendix B: Upgrades • Updating SuperTrak BIOS and Firmware (page 285) • Updating WebPAM PRO (page 286) Updating SuperTrak BIOS and Firmware Follow this procedure to upgrade the BIOS and Firmware on your SuperTrak EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, or EX16650 Controller card. The SuperTrak card must be properly installed in your PC or server in order to perform the update.
Page 300: Updating Webpam Pro
Updating WebPAM PRO Follow this procedure to upgrade the WebPAM PRO Software on your PC or server. Downloading the WebPAM PRO Update File Go to the Promise website http://support.promise.com/. Click Downloads. Click the Select Product popup menu and choose SuperTrak EX4350/ EX8650/EX8654/EX8658/EX16650.
Page 301: Appendix C: Battery Backup Unit
Appendix C: Battery Backup Unit The Battery Backup Unit (BBU) maintains power to the cache on the SuperTrak EX Controller card, when a power failure occurs to the Host PC. The failure could be due to a problem with the PC’s power supply, a cessation of electrical service, or an accidental disconnection of the power cable.
Page 302: Installing The Bbu
Installing the BBU The electronic components on the SuperTrak EX Controller cards are sensitive to damage from Electro-Static Discharge (ESD). Observe appropriate precautions at all times when handling the SuperTrak card or its subassemblies. Before installing the BBU onto SuperTrak EX Controller card, backup any important or useful data.
Page 303 Figure 2. BBU module connectors on EX4650. Other models are similar SuperTrak EX Controller BBU module connector From the opposite side of the SuperTrak EX Controller card, insert and snug the three screws to secure the Battery Assembly. Figure 3. Three screws secure the Battery Assembly. The EX4650 is shown.
Page 304 10. Replace the screw holding the SuperTrak EX Controller card to the system case. 11. Attach the SAS multi-lane cables to the SuperTrak EX Controller card. 12. Replace the cover of your system. 13. Power-up the system and launch WebPAM PRO. See “Logging into WebPAM PRO”...
Page 305: Appendix D: Led Backplane Connections
Appendix D: LED Backplane Connections • Schematic Diagrams (below) • Direct LED Display (page 293) • Aggregate LED Display (page 293) • Global LED Display (page 294) Schematic Diagrams To set up LED configuration for your enclosure or PC, make your backplane connections as shown below.
Page 306 SuperTrak EX Series User Manual Figure 2. SuperTrak fault and activity LED connections For LED status and behavior information, see the tables on the following pages.
Page 307: Direct Led Display
Direct LED Display Direct LEDs, glow and blink in response to the SuperTrak’s firmware status. Fault Activity Blink Blink Blink Blink Blink For more information, see: • “Managing Physical Drives” on page 87 or page 146 • “Managing Disk Arrays” on page 89 or page 150 •...
Page 308: Global Led Display
Global LED Display Global LEDs glow in response to Logical Drive status. Dark System off Green Normal Amber Logical Drive Critical Logical Drive Offline When a Global LED glows amber or red, you must diagnose and resolve the logical drive problem in the SuperBuild BIOS or in WebPAM PRO. See “Chapter 8: Troubleshooting”...
Page 309: Index
Index Numerics 10GBTruncate 2 TB limitation About This Manual host subsystem Agent, WebPAM PRO airflow, PC or server 8, 268 alias controller disk array 90, 91, 155 logical drive 93, 95, 155, 159 physical drive subsystem Auto Rebuild enable axles RAID 50 RAID 60 specify number...
Page 310 CLI, cont. start 27, 179 Client/Server, WebPAM PRO connection, in-band versus out-of- band controller alias information 86, 139 selection settings statistics create disk array 19, 90, 151 logical drive 20, 93, 159 spare drive 97, 173 user critical logical drive 253, 263, 266 dedicated spare drive degraded logical drive...
Page 311 enclosure information JBOD 14, 16 polling interval SGPIO SuperSwap third party 146, 150, 167, 176 virtual 15, 146, 150, 167, 176 VTrak 14, 147, 151, 167, 176 error block threshold setting Event Frame deleting refresh time saving viewing event logs clear SuperBuild expansion...
Page 312 installing, cont. FreeBSD Linux VMware Windows FreeBSD driver Miracle Linux driver RedHat Linux driver SuperTrak EX Controller card SuSE Open Linux driver SuSE SLES Linux driver VMware driver WebPAM PRO Linux Windows Windows Server 2003 driver Windows Server 2008 driver Windows Vista driver Windows XP driver Java Runtime Environment...
Page 313 logical drive, cont. status 92, 93, 166 stripe size 21, 93, 156, 159 synchronizing 160, 168 write cache policy 156, 160, 169 login screen, WebPAM PRO maintenance user Management View Media Patrol and PDM defined enable run on disk array scheduling settings migrate...
Page 314 Product Overview RAID choosing a RAID level introduction to VTrak subsystem RAID level logical drive 93, 155, 159 migrate 161, 240 RAID 0 applications description RAID 1 applications description RAID 10 applications description RAID 1E applications description RAID 5 applications description RAID 50 applications...
Page 315 save Event Frame NVRAM event log runtime event log scheduled activities delete list scheduling Media Patrol Redundancy Check Spare Check sector size defined logical drive 93, 156, 159 settings background activities buzzer capacity coercion CIM client CIM server controller disk array 91, 158 email service error block threshold...
Page 316 subsystem, cont. JBOD 14, 16 subsystem/host information super user SuperBuild background activity buzzer 104, 257 controller information controller selection enter event logs find failed drive logical drive management logical drive, manual rebuild main menu 18, 84 physical drive management spare drive management Time Sync SuperBuild utility, accessing SuperSwap enclosure...
Page 317 view, cont. scheduled activities system configuration view-only user virtual enclosure VMware installing drivers VTrak JBOD 14, 16, 147, 151, 167, 176 VTrak RAID subsystem warranty web server settings status WebPAM PRO Agent 37, 121, 126 alias for subsystem background activity schedule settings battery information...
Page 318 WebPAM PRO, cont. logical drive check table create delete info 166, 167, 177 initialize locate 167, 176 Redundancy Check settings statistics logical drive, manual rebuild login screen 56, 109 Management View Media Patrol NVRAM event log orphan watermark OS support 3, 37 password 56, 109...

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Supertrak ex8650 Supertrak ex8654 Supertrak ex8658 Supertrak ex16650

Promise Technology Network Device EX4650 User Manual

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 3: Installing Drivers

Chapter 4: Superbuild™ Utility

Chapter 5: Management with Webpam PRO

Chapter 6: Management with the CLI

Chapter 7: Technology Background

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