Related Manuals for Adaptec GDTSETUP
Summary of Contents for Adaptec GDTSETUP
- Page 2 We refer to firmware as the operating system which controls the ICP Controller with all its functions and capabilities. The firmware exclusively runs on the ICP Controller and is stored in the Flash-RAM on the ICP Controller PCB. The controlling function is entirely independ- ent of the PCI computer and the host operating system installed (for example UNIX), and does not "drain"...
- Page 3 Drive on this level. It can be either used as a separate Host Drive, or merged with the first Host Drive of the Array Drive. Within GDTSETUP, each level of hierarchy has its own special menu: Menu: Configure Physical Device...
- Page 4 (Hot Plug) and is available for most of the operating systems supported by the ICP Con- trollers. GDTSETUP allows you to set up single disks or complex Array Drives with simple and user-friendly installation procedures. Little previous knowledge is needed to be able to...
- Page 5 GDTSETUP loaded from the ICP Controller's Flash-RAM after switching on the computer GDTSETUP loaded from disk under MS-DOS. The header of the GDTSETUP program indicates with a letter after the version number, whether GDTSETUP was loaded from disk or from Flash-RAM: "R"...
- Page 6 (for instance, with all SCSI features of a given drive activated). After selecting Configure Host Drives and Create new Host Drive, GDTSETUP scans the system for ICP Controllers and "free" hard disks (i.e., drives which are not yet logical drives or Host...
- Page 7 Select with the <Space> bar the hard disks you want to integrate into the new Host Drive. Depending on the number of selected drives in the Choose Type windows all possible Host Drive configurations are high-lighted.
- Page 8 Press <ENTER> . You may select the desired Host Drive type. In our example select RAID5 and press <ENTER> . That's it! As you can see from the next picture, the RAID5 Array Drive has been fully automatically configured. It is in the build state.
- Page 9 Press several times <F2> to get detailed information on the Array Drive's configuration and components. Press several times <ESC> to leave GDTSETUP. A new screen comes up giving you detailed progress information on the build process.
- Page 10 As you can see, the build process for the 4GB Array Drive takes approximately 22 minutes. If you press <ESC> GDTSETUP warns you that the array is not yet redundant. Pressing again <ESC> brings up the following screen, telling you the system needs a reboot...
- Page 11 If there are more GDT RP Series controllers in the PCI computer, Select Controller lets you se- lect the controller where you can apply all of the following GDTSETUP choices to. The cur- rently selected controller is displayed on the lower left side of the screen. Below "Position", the PCI Slot number is displayed.
- Page 12 After pressing <ENTER> and <F2> the Advanced Setup allows to select the Configure Controller menu option. Press <ENTER> .
- Page 13 On, Off, Auto Can also be changed with the GDTMON online utility. The firmware, the BIOS and the GDTSETUP program of the ICP Controller are stored in a Flash-RAM which is part of the ICP Controller hardware. In contrast to EPROMs, Flash- RAMs can be re-programmed many times and without the complicated UV-light erasing procedure.
- Page 14 4. Select Configure Controller and thereafter Firmware Update. Insert the disk with the firmware file into drive A. GDTSETUP loaded from the Flash-RAM will display a list of the valid files found on the disk. If you have loaded GDTSETUP from disk you have to enter the path "A:", first.
- Page 15 The new versions of the GDT Firmware, the BIOS and GDTSETUP are available after the next cold-boot. The GDT RP Series Controllers support two types of intelligent subsystems: 1. Subsystem which are accessed via the Intelligent Fault Bus (IFB, which is similar to the DEC™...
- Page 16 3. Messaging of the states of the intelligent subsystems temperature, power supply condi- tion, fan speed etc. to the GDT RP Series controller. Of course the intelligent subsystem must be designed to implement all these features. The key point is the communication between the subsystem and the GDT RP Series con- troller.
- Page 17 The GDT RP Series controllers support in the standard delivery the Intelligent Fault Bus (IFB) on channel A. The Fault Bus Module is a small PCB which plugs as a daughter board onto the main PCB of the GDT RP Series controller. Once it is installed, all further channels are also IFB equipped.
- Page 18 With the Perform LED Tests menu, you can check if the LEDs and blink-codes are properly controlled and displayed. This menu allows you to prepare hard disks and removable hard disks for use with the ICP Controller (hierarchy level 1). You can scan the SCSI bus again for a given SCSI-ID (this may become necessary when another SCSI device is being connected during the operating ses- sion).
- Page 19 This screen tells you: - the SCSI channel - which SCSI-ID a drive has (the entry SCSI I/O processor stands for the according SCSI channel of the ICP Controller. Its default setting is ID 7, as explained in chapter B) - the state of initialization ("i"...
- Page 20 This option can destroy all data on the hard disk. If a hard disk is not yet initialized, you have to initialize it first. GDTSETUP copies ICP spe- cific configuration blocks on the hard disk, a primary block and a mirrored secondary block.
- Page 21 95 and Windows NT. Tagged Queues is a SCSI feature which allows the drive to execute more than one command at a time. If you leave this configuration form with <ESC> and you have made changes , GDTSETUP displays a security request.
- Page 22 Disk procedure. This may lead with a very high probability to a non-functioning hard disk. Before the actual formatting, GDTSETUP asks you whether the "Grown Defect" table of the hard disk should be deleted. Some users believe that this makes a hard disk with a lot of grown defects like new.
- Page 23 This option destroys all data on the hard disk. This option allows the checking of the surfaces of the hard disk media. The GDT RP Series Controller writes and reads certain data patterns and checks them for correctness. After confirming the security request, a progress information is displayed. You can interrupt the Check Surface option by pressing <ESC>.
- Page 24 This option allows you to check the number of media defects the selected hard disk has. Grown defects. Number of media defects that have occurred in addition to the media de- fects the hard disk already had upon delivery. Primary defects. Number of media defects that the hard disk already had upon delivery.
- Page 25 Last status: The Last Status gives detailed information on the last failure of a hard disk. The information is only present until the next hard reset of the system and may help for deeper failure analysis or tracing. The following listed messages are part of the SCSI documentation. Format: (???? = additional device specific messages) NO SENSE.
- Page 26 BLANK CHECK. Indicates that a write-once device or a sequential ac- cess device encountered blank medium or format-defined end-of-data indication while reading or a write-once device encountered a non- blank medium while writing. VENDOR-SPECIFIC. This sense key is available for reporting vendor specific conditions.
- Page 27 The next page shows a block diagram of a SAF-TE subsystem.
- Page 29 After selecting the SEP press <ENTER> . You can either configure the SAF-TE Slots (i.e., the drive bays in the subsystem), or view the enclosure's status. With the <SPACE>-bar you can assign hard disks to a SAF-TE slot. Once you have finished the assignment press <ENTER>...
- Page 30 In this example 2 of the 4 available slots in the subsystem are occupied with hard disks. The following screen shows you the enclosure's status. Features which are marked with (Not available) are not implemented in the subsystem/SEP.
- Page 31 Logical Drives (hierarchy level 2) are installed in this main menu option. Selecting Configure Logical Drives leads you to the screen shown next. As you can see, there is already one Logical Drive in the list. The drive's name has been assigned automatically and contains the channel description and the SCSI-ID after the underscore ("_").
- Page 32 Change Drive Name. Here you can enter a name for the selected drive. Remove Drive. This menu option lets you remove a single Logical Drive from the list of available Logical Drives. (Note: Logical Drives belonging to a RAID 0, 1, 4, 5 or 10 Host Drive cannot be removed.
- Page 33 <ENTER>. A security request appears. If you confirm with <Y>, GDTSETUP allows you to limit the size of the Logical Drive. This becomes interesting when you configure later on an Array Drive...
- Page 34 spare hard disks in the future. It would be bad luck if the new hard disk would have 2060MB, only. It simply wouldn't fit into the Array Drive. If you limit the capacity to e.g., 2000MB from the beginning, you can be sure that all future 2GB hard disk will have at least 2000MB and thus can be used as spare hard disk.
- Page 35 Select the SCSI devices with the <SPACE>-bar and then confirm with <ENTER>. A security request appears. If you confirm with <Y >, GDTSETUP allows you to limit the size of the Logical Drive. This becomes interesting when you configure later on an Array Drive with several identical Logical Drives and you want to make sure that you get appropriate spare hard disks in the future.
- Page 36 After pressing <ENTER> the list appears again, but with a new entry. The <F2>-key shows the hard disk forming the new Logical Drive.
- Page 37 The ICP Controller can manage up to 35 Array Drives (with different RAID levels) simultane- ously. Obviously, the physically existing number of hard disks will limit the number of par- allel used Arrays. After pressing <ENTER>, GDTSETUP lists all free Logical Drives, which are free (not yet part of Array / Host Drives).
- Page 38 Logical Drive. After pressing <ENTER> GDTSETUP displays a list of possible RAID levels. The number of previously selected Logi- cal Drives determines the high-lighted levels. In our case RAID 10 is not selectable, since it...
- Page 39 This security request has to be taken seriously. If you confirm with <Y> all data are lost. GDTSETUP will ask you for the Stripe Size. This is the size of the stripes into which the data is divided. Valid values are 16KB, 32KB, 64KB or 128KB. The default is 32KB which we leave for this example and therefore press <ENTER>.
- Page 40 If necessary you can limit the Array Drive's capacity. For this example we take the complete capacity. The Array Drive has entered the build state, i.e., the parity information is currently generated.
- Page 41 After completion of the build process, the Array Drive's state is ready, i.e., fault tolerant. If you select the new Array Drive, you are offered various menu option:...
- Page 42 Build state. After the Array Drive has been configured for the first time, it changes from the idle to the build state as soon as you quit GDTSETUP. While the array is in the build state, re- dundancy information is calculated and stored to the hard disks of the array.
- Page 43 Rebuild state. The Array Drive will assume this state after the automatic activation of a Hot Fix drive or after a manual replacement carried out with GDTSETUP. The data and the re- dundant information are reconstructed and stored to the new drive.
- Page 44 This command allows you to change the name of an Array Drive. The name serves to iden- tify an Array Drive in GDTSETUP. This can be very helpful for configurations where several Host Drives of various types are operated by a single controller.
- Page 45 GDTSETUP displays a list with Logical Drives which are free and can be added to the exist- ing Array Drive. Here we select the first Logical Drive. We could have also added the first and the second Logical Drive to expand the Array Drive's capacity in one step from 400MB to 800MB.
- Page 46 After the acknowledgement of the security request, the expansion process starts. After completion of this process the new capacity is displayed. It is added as another Host Drive (see next pages).
- Page 47 In certain "emergency" cases this is a very powerful and helpful option. This function allows you to add to a Logical Drive which is member of an Array Drive, another Logical Drive as a mirror drive (RAID-1). Example: You have configured an Array Drive with 4 Logical Drives. One Logical Drive has failed and the Array Drive went into the fail state.
- Page 48 In this example the Array Drive is ready. Here you can select the RAID-1 Master. This is the Logical Drive which data are mirrored to the new Logical Drive. Logical Drive DISK_C4 is added as a RAID-1 component to DISK_A6.
- Page 49 Press <F2> to get detailed information of the Array Drive. If you think this flexibility through to the end, you could add another RAID-1 Logical Drive to each Logical Drive which is com- ponent of a RAID 4/5 Array Drive (double redundancy, but also double cost). If a Logical Drive of an Array Drive without a Hot Fix drive should fail (or is very likely to fail, soon), you should replace the defective hard disk with a new one as soon as possible...
- Page 50 Array Drive. After selecting the Logical Drive which needs to be exchanged, GDTSETUP offers a list of existing Logical Drives which can be used as replacement units. The Array Drive's state is changing into rebuild and the missing data is automatically recon-...
- Page 51 This option corresponds with the Add RAID-1 Component option. It allows you to remove a previously configured RAID-1 combination. Press <F2> to get details. As you can see, all Logical Drives have the type Disk, again.
- Page 52 This command allows you to remove an existing Array Drive. All the data of the Array Drive will be lost ! Before you confirm the security request with <Y>, you should be sure about this choice. Note: if an Array Drive has been removed, it can only be rebuilt without data loss if it is re- constructed in the exact same order it had been built before, and only if the components of...
- Page 53 the Array Drive, that is the Host Drives, have not been modified in any kind whatsoever in the meantime. This submenu option allows you to add a Hot Fix drive to an existing RAID 1, RAID 4, RAID 5, or RAID 10 Array Drive. There are two different types of Hot Fix drives: Private and Pool Hot Fix drives.
- Page 54 Example of an Array Drive configuration with a Hot Fix drive (press the <F2>-key to display the following screen). The Array Drive configuration sheet, shows the active Array Drive members including the Pool Hot Fix drive. What happens after a drive failure ? The controller will substitute a failed Logical Drive with a Hot Fix drive only if the Array Drive was in the ready state before the failure, or, in other words, a Hot Fix drive can only be activated if the corresponding Array Drive had a state of data redundancy at the moment of...
- Page 55 This option allows you to remove a Hot Fix Drive from an existing Array Drive. Naturally, the Hot Fix drive must not be used up so far. By selecting the Hot Fix Pool Access option, the access of a specific Array Drive to the Hot Fix pool can be enabled of disabled.
- Page 56 Whenever an Array Drive is in the build or rebuild state, you can select this option, to get pro- gress information and estimates for the required time.
- Page 57 This main menu option allows you to configure Host Drives (level of hierarchy 4). As already mentioned before, these are the drives the Host Computer is aware of. Host Drives can consist of a single hard disk, or of many hard disk combined to a RAID 5 Array Drive.
- Page 58 This command allows you to change the name of a Host Drive. The name serves to identify a Host Drive with GDTSETUP.
- Page 59 (both can be the same), cannot be changed. If you wish to change the position of these drives, you have to boot the operating system and GDTSETUP from a floppy disk or use the GDTSETUP version loadable from the Flash-RAM of the controller. To change the position of a Host Drive in the Host Drive list, highlight the Host Drive and confirm with <ENTER>.
- Page 60 Removing a Host Drive is a serious action. All data will be lost after removal. If you want to remove a Host Drive belonging to an Array Drive for which several Host Drives exist (after capacity expansion, or after splitting), all other Host Drives will also be removed.
- Page 61 Host Drives. Each Host Drives looks to the operating system just like a single hard disk. Since the new Host Drives have smaller capacities GDTSETUP has to write new header in- formation on the two Host Drives. All data will be lost.
- Page 62 This function reverses the Split Host Drive option. Only such Host Drives can be merged which belong to the same Array Drive or Logical Drive. Since the new Host Drives has a larger capacity GDTSETUP has to write a new header information on the new Host Drives. All data will be lost.
- Page 63 This option is not available, when loading GDTSETUP from the Flash-RAM of the controller. Before you can partition a new Host Drive it may become necessary to reboot the system, first. The partitioning menu has similar functions as the MS-DOS program FDISK. You can create and delete a partition and also change the active partition.
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