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Hitachi Advanced Server HA800 G3 Series
MR G3 Controller User Guide
This document includes feature, installation, and configuration information about MR G3
controller and is for the person who installs, administers, and troubleshoots servers and
storage systems. Hitachi Vantara assumes you are qualified in the servicing of computer
equipment and trained in recognizing hazards in products with hazardous energy levels.
MK-90HAS8035-01
November 2023
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Table of Contents
Related Manuals for Hitachi MR G3 Series
Summary of Contents for Hitachi MR G3 Series
- Page 1 This document includes feature, installation, and configuration information about MR G3 controller and is for the person who installs, administers, and troubleshoots servers and storage systems. Hitachi Vantara assumes you are qualified in the servicing of computer equipment and trained in recognizing hazards in products with hazardous energy levels.
- Page 2 Hitachi, Ltd., or Hitachi Vantara LLC (collectively “Hitachi”). Licensee may make copies of the Materials provided that any such copy is: (i) created as an essential step in utilization of the Software as licensed and is used in no other manner;...
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
Contents MR G3 Controller................7 200 series................................8 400 series................................9 Features................10 Controller supported features..............................10 Operating environments............................10 RAID technologies............................ 10 Transformation..........................11 Drive technology................................ 11 Security............................11 Reliability. - Page 4 Migrate RAID level............................25 Drive technology..................................26 Hot-plug drive LED.............................. 26 Consistency check............................ 27 Dynamic sector repair............................... 28 Online drive firmware update............................ 28 Predictive drive failure............................... 28 Patrol read..............................28 Security..............................28 Drive erase.
- Page 5 Viewing array properties..........................43 Viewing global spare drives........................43 Making a JBOD............................43 Making an unconfigured good drive Clearing a configuration............................44 Controller management........................... 44 Managing the controller..........................44 Advanced controller management........................... 45 Clearing controller events.
- Page 6 MR216i-o G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors................63 MR408i-o G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors................63 MR416i-o G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors................64 Standup PCIe Plug-In Controller (-p)............................64 MR216i-p G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors................64 MR416i-p G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors.
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Page 7: Accessing Product Documentation
Getting help Hitachi Vantara Support Connect is the destination for technical support of products and solutions sold by Hitachi Vantara. To contact technical support, log on to Hitachi Vantara Support Connect for contact information: https://support.hitachivantara.com/en_us/contact-us.html. -
Page 8: Mr G3 Controller
MR G3 Controller The MR G3 Controller is a family of tri-mode controllers ideal for maximizing performance while supporting advanced RAID levels. This controller operates in mixed mode, which combines RAID and JBOD operations simultaneously. This controller provides: • Up to 16 lanes across 2 x8 internal SlimSAS (SFF-8654) ports •... -
Page 9: 200 Series
Family SR - SmartRAID (Microchip) MR - MegaRAID (Broadcom) NS - NVMe SHIELD (Marvell) Figure 1: Hitachi Vantara G3 Storage Controller naming framework 200 series The following controllers are supported. • MR216i-o G3 16 Internal Lanes/No Cache SPDM OCP Storage Controller •... -
Page 10: 400 Series
400 series The following controllers are supported. • MR408i-o G3 8 Internal Lanes/4GB Cache SPDM OCP Storage Controller • MR416i-o G3 16 Internal Lanes/8GB Cache SPDM OCP Storage Controller • MR416i-p G3 16 Internal Lanes/8GB Cache SPDM PCI Plug-in Storage Controller These controllers are ideal for all data center environments where RAID is applicable offering reduced rebuild times, high- bandwidth, and up to 4.86 GBs of RAID 5 sequential write performance. -
Page 11: Features
Features Controller supported features This section lists the features supported by this controller. Operating environments 200 series 400 series Operating system Windows Linux VMware UEFI Boot mode RAID technologies The following RAID technologies are supported: Feature 200 series 400 series RAID levels 0, 1, 10 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60... -
Page 12: Transformation
Feature 200 series 400 series Drive rebuild Foreign configuration import Transformation The following transformation features are supported: Feature 200 series 400 series Expand Array Replace drive Transportable controller Expand volume Migrate RAID level Migrate Stripe — — Drive technology The following drive technology features are supported: Feature 200 series 400 series... -
Page 13: Reliability
Reliability The following reliability features are supported: Feature 200 series 400 series Recovery ROM — — Cache Error Checking and Correction Thermal monitoring Performance The following performance features are supported: Feature 200 series 400 series Manage SAS storage link speed Manage PCIe storage interface I/O performance mode Read cache policy... -
Page 14: Selecting Raid For Write Performance
• RAID 10 is 30,000 times more reliable than RAID 0. • The fault tolerance of RAID 5, 50, 6, and 60 decreases as the array size increases. Selecting RAID for write performance If your environment requires high write performance, select a RAID type that is optimized for write performance The chart below shows how RAID 10, 5, 50, 6, and 60 compare to the percent write performance of RAID 0. -
Page 15: Selecting Raid For Usable Capacity
The table below shows the Disk I/O for every host write: Supported RAID levels may vary based on the controller model. RAID type Disk I/O for every host write RAID 0 RAID 10 RAID 5 RAID 6 Selecting RAID for usable capacity If your environment requires a high usable capacity, select a RAID type that is optimized for usable capacity. -
Page 16: Selecting Raid For The Storage Solution
Supported RAID levels may vary based on the controller model. Selecting RAID for the storage solution The chart in this section shows the relevance of the RAID type to the requirements of your environment. Depending on your requirements, you should optimize the RAID types as follows: •... -
Page 17: Striping
controller and insert a new drive and if the drive contains valid DDF metadata, its drive state is Unconfigured Good. A new drive in the JBOD drive state is exposed to the host operating system as a standalone drive. You cannot use JBOD drives to create a RAID configuration, because they do not have valid DDF records. -
Page 18: Read Load Balancing
When the array has more than two physical drives, drives are mirrored in pairs, and the fault-tolerance method is known as RAID 1+0 or RAID 10. If a physical drive fails, the remaining drive in the mirrored pair can still provide all the necessary data. Several drives in the array can fail without incurring data loss, as long as no two failed drives belong to the same mirrored pair. -
Page 19: Parity
Parity RAID 5 RAID 5 protects data using parity (denoted by Px,y in the figure). Parity data is calculated by summing (XOR) the data from each drive within the stripe. The strips of parity data are distributed evenly over every physical drive within the logical drive. -
Page 20: Raid 50
This method has the following benefits: • It is useful when usable capacity, write performance, and data protection are equally important. • It has the highest usable capacity of any fault-tolerant configuration. • Data is not lost if one physical drive fails. RAID 50 RAID 50 is a nested RAID method in which the constituent drives are organized into several identical RAID 5 logical drive sets (parity groups). -
Page 21: Raid 6
This method has the following benefits: • Higher performance for RAID 5, especially during writes. • Better fault tolerance than either RAID 0 or RAID 5. • Up to n physical drives can fail (where n is the number of parity groups) without loss of data, as long as the failed drives are in different parity groups. -
Page 22: Raid 60
This method is most useful when data loss is unacceptable but cost is also an important factor. The probability that data loss will occur when an array is configured with RAID 6 (Advanced Data Guarding (ADG)) is less than it would be if it were configured with RAID 5. -
Page 23: Parity Groups
• Higher performance for RAID 6, especially during writes. • Better fault tolerance than RAID 0, 5, 50, or 6. • Up to 2n physical drives can fail (where n is the number of parity groups) without loss of data, as long as no more than two failed drives are in the same parity group. -
Page 24: Full Initialization
RAID Minimum drives Minimum drives for Auto BGI to set to ON status by default RAID 5 RAID 50 10 (two parity groups) RAID 6 RAID 60 14 (two parity groups) When creating smaller volumes, BGI can be started manually. NOTE: •... -
Page 25: Full-Stripe Writes
Full-stripe writes When writes to the logical drive are sequential or when multiple random writes that accumulate in the flash-backed write cache are found to be sequential, a full-stripe write operation can be performed. A full-stripe write allows the controller to calculate new parity using new data being written to the drives. -
Page 26: Replace Drive
This operation uses the Modify Array option in the MR Storage Administrator user interface. This feature is supported when there is a single logical drive configured in the array. Replace drive The replace drive operation allows you to replace failed physical drives in the array with healthy physical drives. The original array and logical drive numbering is unaffected after the replacement. -
Page 27: Drive Technology
This operation uses the Modify Array option in the MR Storage Administrator user interface. This feature is supported when there is a single logical drive configured in the array. The following table describes the valid RAID level transformation matrix. Initial RAID level Migrated RAID level RAID 0 RAID 1... -
Page 28: Consistency Check
Item Status Definition Fault Solid amber The drive has failed, unsupported, or invalid. \Locate Solid blue The drive is operating normally and being identified by a management application. Flashing amber/blue (1 flash The drive has failed, or a predictive failure alert has been received for per second) this drive;... -
Page 29: Dynamic Sector Repair
Dynamic sector repair Disk drive media can develop defects caused by variances in the drive mechanisms under normal operating conditions. To protect data from media defects, Hitachi Vantara has built a dynamic sector repair feature into these controllers. Online drive firmware update These controllers support online drive flashing, which saves time when updating drive firmware. -
Page 30: Simple
After the drive erase operation has started, you can stop the erase using the actions menu. Simple A Simple erase writes a pattern to the logical drive in a single pass. Normal A normal erase operation is a three-pass operation that first overwrites the drive contents with random values then overwrites it twice with patterns. -
Page 31: Self-Encrypting Drive
Self-encrypting drive The MR G3 Controller supports Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) that secures the drive data from unauthorized access or modification of data. As the data on the drive is encrypted even if the SED drive is removed from its storage system, it cannot be accessed without appropriate security authorization. -
Page 32: Performance
This method has the benefit of saving cost by allowing the fans to run at an optimal setting while ensuring that drives do not overheat. Performance Manage SAS storage link speed The Manage SAS Storage Link Speed feature displays the link speed between the controller and an expander or between the controller and a drive that is directly connected to the controller. -
Page 33: Write Cache Policy
Write cache policy The write cache policy options for the logical drive are: • Write Through - In this mode, the controller sends a data transfer completion signal to the host when the drive subsystem has received all the data in a transaction. This mode may result in slower performance as it does not use the controller cache. -
Page 34: Installation
Installation Use the topics in this section to install the controller into a server that is already configured or a server that is not yet configured. Installing in a configured server Procedure Back up data on the system. Close all applications. Update the server firmware, if it is not the latest revision. -
Page 35: Installing In An Unconfigured Server
5. After the installation is complete, use iLO GUI or the SPV to update the controller firmware if it is not the latest revision. For more information on firmware update through iLO, see “Updating iLO or server firmware by using the flash firmware feature” in Hitachi Advanced Server HA800 G3 Series iLO 6 User Guide. Installation... -
Page 36: Connecting Storage Devices
More information Creating a logical drive Making a JBOD Connecting storage devices For more information about supported drive models on specific Advanced Servers, contact customer support. Connecting internal storage Procedure 1. Power down the server. 2. Install drives, if necessary. Use drives of similar type. -
Page 37: Configuration
It also provides recommendations and displays contextual links, helping you to locate the drives/devices that have issues and troubleshoot them. You can also download a report of the devices and their configurations, properties, and settings and send it to Hitachi Vantara Support for further troubleshooting. Configuration 36... -
Page 38: Storcli
Obtain MR Storage Administrator installation files through the Service Pack for Advanced Server (SPV), which you can download from the Hitachi Vantara website (https://support.hitachivantara.com/en/user/answers/downloads.html#hardware-download). Be sure to use the latest SPV version for the server. StorCLI The Storage Command Line Interface (StorCLI) tool is the command line management software designed for the MR G3 Controller. -
Page 39: Configuration In Uefi System Utilities
Default configuration settings are applied to the server at one of the following times: • Upon the first system power-up • After defaults have been restored Default configuration settings are sufficient for typical server operations. However, you can modify configuration settings as needed. -
Page 40: Configuration Management
7. View the status of the advanced software options. NOTE: In this version of the controller, all advanced software options are enabled. 8. Optional. Click Manage MegaRAID Advanced Software Options to view the list of activated advanced software options. Configuration management Creating a logical drive About this task WARNING: Creating a logical drive will permanently delete any data on an associated drive. -
Page 41: Strip Size
Option Description Logical Drive Size Unit Shows the amount of logical drive storage space in megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes. Strip size Selects the strip element size for the logical drive. Drive striping involves partitioning each drive storage space into strips of different sizes that the controller firmware supports. -
Page 42: Creating A Profile-Based Logical Drive
Selecting drives to include in a logical drive About this task Use the steps in this topic to select the unconfigured drives that you want to include in the logical drive. Procedure 1. In the Select Drives screen, specify the type of drive by selecting an option from the Select Media Type drop-down menu. Options include SSD, HDD, or Both. -
Page 43: Importing Secured Foreign Drive
Parameter Description Strip Size Stripe element size for the logical drive. Drive striping involves partitioning each drive storage space into strips of different sizes the controller firmware supports. Read Cache Policy Reach cache policy for the logical drive. For any profile, if the drive is an SSD, the No Read Ahead option is displayed. -
Page 44: Viewing Array Properties
Viewing array properties Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Configuration Management > View Array Properties. 2. In the View Array Properties screen, for each array, view the following properties: •... -
Page 45: Making An Unconfigured Good Drive
Making an unconfigured good drive Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Configuration Management . 2. In the Configuration Management screen, select Make Unconfigured Good from the Operation drop-down menu. 3. -
Page 46: Advanced Controller Management
Property Description PCI ID Manufacturer-assigned ID. PCI Slot number ID of the PCI Slot that contains the controller. Active package version Active version of the controller package. Backup version Backup version of the controller package. PSOC firmware version PSOC version. Connector Number of host data ports or connectors on the controller. -
Page 47: Saving A Serial Log
Saving a serial log Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Controller Management. 2. In the Controller Management screen, select Advanced Controller Management. 3. In the Advanced Controller Management screen, select Save Serial Log. 4. -
Page 48: Disabling Drive Security
Disabling drive security Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Controller Management. 2. In the Controller Management screen, select Advanced Controller Management. 3. In the Advanced Controller Management screen, select Disable Drive Security. The warning message appears requesting confirmation. -
Page 49: Managing Link Speed
Managing link speed About this task You can view the link speed of the controller. Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Controller Management. 2. In the Controller Management screen, select Advanced Controller Management. 3. -
Page 50: Setting Factory Defaults
Click Exclude Logical Drives to specify the logical drives to exclude from the consistency check. 10. Click Apply Changes. The Success screen appears to confirm that the operation is complete. Setting factory defaults Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Controller Management. -
Page 51: Configuring Cache And Memory Settings
Property Description Boot Mode Specifies options to handle errors (if they occur) during boot time. Possible options are: • Stop on error - Shows error and waits for your input • Pause on error - Noncritical errors show up briefly, giving you a choice to take action before the firmware proceeds with the boot. -
Page 52: Configuring Patrol Read Settings
3. In the Advanced Controller Properties screen, click Cache and Memory to configure the cache and memory settings. 4. In the Cache and Memory screen, update the cache flush interval as needed. The cache flush interval is the interval (in seconds) at which the contents of the onboard data cache are flushed. The remaining settings on this screen are not configurable in this release. -
Page 53: Configuring Task Rates
Configuring Task Rates Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Controller Management. 2. In the Controller Management screen, select Advanced Controller Properties. 3. In the Advanced Controller Properties screen, click Task Rates to configure the Task Rates. 4. - Page 54 5. To view the advanced logical drive properties, click Advanced..Property or policy Description Logical sector size Logical sector size of the logical drive. Possible options are 4 KB or 512 B. Strip size Strip element size for the logical drive. Protected Whether or not the logical drive uses protection.
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Page 55: Deleting A Logical Drive
Deleting a logical drive Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Logical Drive Management. 2. In the Logical Drive Management screen, select the logical drive. 3. In the Logical Drive screen, select Delete Logical Drive from the Operation drop-down menu. 4. -
Page 56: Drive Management
• Simple - Writes a pattern to the logical drive in a single pass. • Normal - A three-pass operation that first overwrites the drive contents with random values then overwrites it twice with patterns. • Thorough - Repeats the Normal drive erase operation three times. 5. -
Page 57: Locating A Drive
Property Description SMART Status Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) status of a drive. This feature monitors the internal performance of all motors, heads, and drive electronics to detect predictable drive failures. Revision Firmware revision of the drive. Media Errors Physical errors that are detected on the disk media. -
Page 58: Erasing A Drive
Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Drive Management. 2. In the Drive Management screen, select the drive that you want to initialize. 3. In the drive screen, select Initialize Drive from the Operation drop-down menu. 4. -
Page 59: Making A Jbod
Making a JBOD About this task WARNING: Converting a drive to JBOD will permanently delete any data on the drive. Procedure 1. Select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Drive Management. 2. In the Drive Management screen, select the Unconfigured Good drive that you want to convert to JBOD. 3. -
Page 60: Assigning A Global Spare Drive
Assigning a global spare drive Procedure 1. From the System Utilities screen, select System Configuration > MRXXX G3 > Main Menu > Drive Management. 2. In the Drive Management screen, select the drive that you want to use as a global spare drive. 3. -
Page 61: Redfish
Redfish These controllers support the DMTF standard known as PLDM for Redfish device enablement in G2 server and later version servers. This open standard API allows option cards, storage controllers to host their own set of Redfish resources and capabilities, which are rooted under the iLO /redfish/v1 service root. As a result, the feature and capabilities are owned by the option card firmware. -
Page 62: Maintenance
Service Pack for Advanced Server (SPV) from the Hitachi Vantara website https://support.hitachivantara.com/en/user/answers/downloads.html#hardware-download. For information about the SPV, contact customer support. Hitachi Vantara now distributes drivers and other support software for servers through SPV, which you can download from https://support.hitachivantara.com/en/user/answers/downloads.html#hardware-download. Be sure to use the latest SPV version for the server. -
Page 63: Diagnostic Tools
◦ DriveInserted ◦ DriveRemoved ◦ VolumeOK ◦ VolumeDegraded ◦ VolumeFailure ◦ WriteCacheProtected ◦ WriteCacheTemporarilyDegraded ◦ WriteCacheDegraded ◦ WriteCacheDataLoss • Application event log MR Storage Administrator reports array events to the application area inside of the Microsoft Windows system event log, which includes detailed diagnostic information of the most recent events encountered by the controller. -
Page 64: Models
Models Modular controller (-o) MR216i-o G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors Item Description Internal x8 LP SlimSAS Connector, Port 1i Internal x8 LP SlimSAS Connector, Port 2i MR408i-o G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors Models... -
Page 65: Mr416I-O G3 Spdm Storage Controller Ports And Connectors
Item Description Internal x8 LP SlimSAS Connector, Port 1i Backup power cable connector MR416i-o G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors Item Description Internal x8 LP SlimSAS Connector, Port 1i Internal x8 LP SlimSAS Connector, Port 2i Backup power cable connector Standup PCIe Plug-In Controller (-p) MR216i-p G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors Models... -
Page 66: Mr416I-P G3 Spdm Storage Controller Ports And Connectors
Item Description Internal x8 SlimSAS Connector, Port 1i Internal x8 SlimSAS Connector, Port 2i MR416i-p G3 SPDM Storage Controller ports and connectors Item Description Internal x8 SlimSAS Connector, Port 1i Internal x8 SlimSAS Connector, Port 2i Backup power cable connector Models... -
Page 67: Additional Hardware And Options
Energy pack options Hitachi Vantara offers a variety of intelligent energy packs ranging in cell chemistry, power output, and cable lengths to fit within the broad range of servers. The centralized energy pack supports flash-backed write cache (FBWC) or SmartCache across storage controllers. -
Page 68: Storage Reference
Older and other documentation might use SI prefixes for binary values. Actual available memory capacity and actual formatted storage capacity for devices are less than specified values. RAID conventions Hitachi Vantara uses the following naming convention for RAID levels: • RAID 0 •... - Page 69 Hitachi Vantara Corporate Headquarters HitachiVantara.com/contact 2535 Augustine Drive Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA...
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