Support For Raid Storage Configurations; Error Correction And Parity Checking; Status Leds - Sun Microsystems Sun Fire V890 Owner's Manual

The mass storage subsystem is described in greater detail in Chapter 4. The split
backplane configuration is described in "Full vs. Split Backplane Configurations" on
page 83, and in the "Split Backplane Configurations" appendix in the Sun Fire V890
Server Service Manual.

Support for RAID Storage Configurations

Using a software RAID application such as Solstice DiskSuite™, you can configure
system disk storage in a variety of different RAID levels. Configuration options
include RAID 0 (striping), RAID 1 (mirroring), RAID 0+1 (striping plus mirroring),
RAID 1+0 (mirroring plus striping), and RAID 5 (striping with interleaved parity)
configurations. You choose the appropriate RAID configuration based on the price,
performance, and reliability and availability goals for your system. You can also
configure one or more drives to serve as "hot spares" to fill in automatically for a
defective drive in the event of a disk failure.
For more information, see "About Volume Management Software" on page 134.

Error Correction and Parity Checking

Error-correcting code (ECC) is used on all internal system data paths to ensure high
levels of data integrity. All data that moves between processors, memory, and PCI
bridge chips have end-to-end ECC protection.
The system reports and logs correctable ECC errors. A correctable ECC error is any
single-bit error in a 128-bit field. Such errors are corrected as soon as they are
detected. The ECC implementation can also detect double-bit errors in the same
128-bit field and multiple-bit errors in the same nibble (4 bits).
In addition to providing ECC protection for data, the system offers parity protection
on all system address buses. Parity protection is also used on the PCI bus, and in the
UltraSPARC processors' internal and external cache.

Status LEDs

The system provides easily accessible light-emitting diode (LED) indicators to
provide a visual indication of system and component status. LEDs are located on the
system front panel, internal disk bays, power supplies, fan tray assemblies, and near
each CPU/Memory board and PCI slot. Status LEDs eliminate guesswork and
simplify problem diagnosis for enhanced serviceability.
Chapter 1 System Overview 21