Fibre Fault Isolation Utility - Compaq StorageWorks 4000 - RAID Array White Paper

Compaq RAID Array 4000 Storage System: Deployment and Configuration
Other features of the ACU include three light-emitting diodes (LEDs). If several RA4000s are
installed in one location (such as a data center), it may be difficult for an administrator to
remember the physical location of the drive being configured at any given time. To eliminate that
problem, the ACU flashes all three LED indicators on the physical drive tray for the controller
being configured.
The user interface displays information such as the ID assigned to each RA4000 on the Fibre
Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL). The administrator may change these ID assignments in the
Controller Settings window.
The Compaq ACU was designed to configure a maximum of eight controllers. Windows NT 4.0
supports a maximum of eight logical drives in an RA4000. In maximum configuration
environments, the ACU may operate a bit slower than expected. The ACU displays an hourglass
cursor to indicate that it is processing.

Fibre Fault Isolation Utility

Since the RA4000 is the first Compaq product to use an FC-AL topology and the loop includes
many components, Compaq developed two new support tools found on the SmartStart and
Support Software CD:
The Fibre Channel Troubleshooting Guide
The Fibre Fault Isolation Utility
The troubleshooting guide describes components of the RA4000 and the Fibre Fault Isolation
Utility. It contains flowcharts and other information for troubleshooting.
The purpose of the Fibre Fault Isolation Utility is to verify the installation and operation of a new
or existing RA4000. When used with the troubleshooting flowcharts, this utility provides fault
detection and help in isolating problems on the FC-AL.
Before configuring the system, Compaq recommends running the Fibre Fault Isolation Utility as
soon as all hardware components of the RA4000 have been connected. This utility is run offline
on the server. It displays a graphical window showing each Fibre Channel Host Adapter and each
RA4000 that is properly connected on the loop. If one of these components is not displayed on
the screen, consult the troubleshooting guide to determine why.
The Fibre Fault Isolation Utility displays all devices that are properly logged on to the FC-AL and
tests for link errors within the loop. A link is the portion of the loop between the Fibre Host
Adapter and a storage hub or between a storage hub and an RA4000.
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In this case, offline means equipment that is turned off, not operating, or is not physically connected to the system.
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