easyRAID S8A2, User Manual

Page 1: ...PCIe to Serial ATA II Disk Array System Version 1 1 easyRAID S8A2 PCIe Host Interface 42 30000 5106 ...

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Page 3: ...PCIe to Serial ATA II Disk Array System easyRAID S8A2 Software Manual ...

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Page 5: ... Vista and MS DOS are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation Mac Mac OS and Macintosh are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks and or service marks of their respective owners All contents of this manual are copyrighted The i...

Page 6: ...apter 7 Advanced Configuration PART FIVE Appendices Appendix A Glossary defines relevant technical terms used in this manual Appendix B RAIDGuard X GUI Icons lists the icons and their functions used in the application Appendix C Introduction to RAID Levels describes all available RAID levels available from this software Appendix D Contact Us lists contact details of business units around the world...

Page 7: ...HAPTER 2 INSTALLING THE DRIVER AND RAIDGUARD X ON WINDOWS 11 CHAPTER 3 INSTALLING THE DRIVER AND RAIDGUARD X ON MAC OS 12 CHAPTER 4 INSTALLING THE DRIVER AND RAIDGUARDX ON LINUX 13 CHAPTER 5 RAIDGUARD X SERVER 15 Windows 15 Mac Users 15 CHAPTER 6 BASIC CONFIGURATION USING RAIDGUARD X CLIENT 16 STARTING 16 ADDING AND REMOVING CONTROLLERS 19 CREATING AND DELETING ARRAYS 26 EMAIL 29 CHAPTER 7 ADVANCE...

Page 8: ...RAIDGuard X User s Manual 4 Introduction ...

Page 9: ...low must be completed Install Install RAIDGuard X client and server on your system Configure Configure the RAIDGuard X Client to manage the RAID Arrays Manage Manage the RAID Arrays fix problems and be alerted to any problems The set up procedures in Windows versions MAC and Linux environments are different although the steps above are the same for both Ö Windows users should refer to Chapter 2 Ö ...

Page 10: ...works on any computer running Java 1 5 09 or above and is used to administer RAID system It contains all the functionality needed to configure and administer RAID arrays Use the software to z add and delete arrays z fix problems with disks z manage the arrays and disks z set audio and e mail alerts z monitor the status of multiple system Key Features RAIDGuard X is designed to be used in conjuncti...

Page 11: ...Advance Server SP4 Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition SP1 32 64 bits Server R2 Enterprise Edition 32 64 bits Enterprise Edition SP1 32 64 bits Server Edition Others Windows XP Professional SP2 Windows Vista 32 64 bits Mac OS X OSX 10 4 7 for Intel Xeon OSX 10 4 7 for PPC Linux Fedora core 5 for SMP platform core 5 for none SMP platform core 6 for SMP platform core 6 for none SMP platform Red H...

Page 12: ...s require the following Hardware requirements z CD ROM drive z Ethernet Connection for remote monitoring z easyRAID S8A2 PETT easyRAID S8A2 PER2 installed Software requirements z RAIDGuard X GUI follow the instructions in the relevant Setup section to download from the website http www easyRAID com z Supported operating system z Java based application environment ...

Page 13: ...9 Software Installation ...

Page 14: ...r workstation s for the remote connection z Launch RAIDGuard X Client on your host or workstation s z Choose a target controller to configure z Configure controller settings disk arrays preferences email notifications etc z RAIDGuard X Client can also be installed on workstations to remotely access this controller through the same network Configure RAIDGuard X Administer the RAID Array Install RAI...

Page 15: ...0 XP 2003 and vista easyRAID_DR_Win_xxxxport_xx xx_1 5 0 0 msi 3 Follow the onscreen instructions 4 Click Finish to complete the installation RAIDGuard X Installation 1 Insert the CD ROM into the CD ROM drive of the server or PC 2 Execute CD ROM Windows installer GUI easyRAID_IP_Win_ 1 5 exe 3 Follow the onscreen instructions 4 Select complete to install the server and client 5 Select custom to ch...

Page 16: ...D ROM MAC Driver easyRAID_DR_MAC_1 5 0 easyRAID_DR_ MAC_1 5 0 pkg 3 Follow the onscreen instructions 4 Click Finish to complete the installation RAIDGuard X Installation 1 Insert the CD ROM into the CD ROM drive of the MAC 2 Execute CD ROM MAC Installation easyRAID_IO_MAC_1_5_0 mpkg 3 Follow the onscreen instructions 4 Select complete to install the server and client when the controller is install...

Page 17: ...lled on each computer that will monitor or administer the RAID system Driver Installation 1 Insert the CD ROM into the CD ROM drive of the server or PC 2 Open CD ROM Linux Installation folder 3 Select your OS description txt file and follow the instructions RAIDGuard X Installation 1 Insert the CD ROM into the CD ROM drive of the server or PC 2 Open CD ROM Linux Installation folder 3 Select readme...

Page 18: ...RAIDGuard X User s Manual 14 Basic RAID Configuration ...

Page 19: ... display the following options 1 Run at Windows Startup Uncheck to prevent RAIDGuard X Server from starting when Windows starts Default 2 Remove from Windows Startup Check to remove RAIDGuard X Server from the Windows startup menu 3 Exit Close RAIDGuard X Server If the server icon is not displayed go to Start Programs easyRAID RAIDGuard X RAIDGuard X Server If the server isn t visible then reinsta...

Page 20: ... e mailing alerts to administrators Starting Before starting ensure that the RAID controller has been configured in the BIOS of the controller card To start RAIDGuard X Client either click the desktop icon or go to Start Programs easyRAID RAIDGuard X RAIDGuard X Client The menu bar across the top contains the following functions File Exit Closes the program Clear Log Clear the event log These even...

Page 21: ...e of the controller card Update Boot Code Click to update the boot code of the controller card Update BIOS EFI Click to update the BIOS and EFI of the controller card Before updating the firmware Boot code or BIOS check the Remove from Windows Startup label under the windows server icon on the windows notification area ...

Page 22: ...RAIDGuard X User s Manual 18 Do NOT unzip the gzip file before installation Help About RAIDGuard X RAID Displays information about the RAIDGuard X version Help Center Displays the help for RAIDGuard X ...

Page 23: ...ay a list of available controllers on the network Click on the one to administer enter the password the default password for the easyRAID S8A2 PETT easyRAID S8A2 PER2 is 00000000 8 zeros and click Add Controller Name A Controller s nick name You can assign a name to the controller The maximum number of controllers that can be displayed is 100 Once the controller has been added the following screen...

Page 24: ... RAID System Info The controller info tab provides details on the Vendor Model Name and Serial No It also has 3 tabs Firmware Hardware and Power The Firmware tab details the System Version Boot version Bios version and EFI Version ...

Page 25: ...Chapter 6 Basic Configuration using RAIDGuard X Client 21 The Hardware tab details the Controller Temperature and fan speed The Power tab details battery status and power status ...

Page 26: ...asyRAID S8A2 PETT easyRAID S8A2 PER2 is installed The number above the drive displays the array number Clicking the Array radio button displays information about the array The Array No Status RAID Type Stripe Size RAID Level Capacity and Slice Clicking the Drives radio button displays information about individual drives Click on each drive image to see its details Disk No Status OK or Failed Type ...

Page 27: ...Basic Configuration using RAIDGuard X Client 23 Drive Display the overview of all disks Snapshot The progress of the snapshot is displayed in the snapshot tab To enable the snapshot function see Options Snapshot ...

Page 28: ...rd X User s Manual 24 Events Displays a list of the most recent events These events are automatically saved in C Program Files easyRAID RAIDGuard X Client Log as txt files To clear the log click File Clear Log ...

Page 29: ...Chapter 6 Basic Configuration using RAIDGuard X Client 25 Removing To remove a controller select a controller and then click the Remove Controller button to remove the controller from the table ...

Page 30: ...llow the steps below to create an array Step 1 Select the RAID level from the drop down menu Available levels are 0 1 5 6 0 1 and JBOD Each level has a minimum disk requirement and this is shown in the information to the right of the drop down list Details on the RAID levels are in Appendix C Introduction to RAID Levels Step 2 Select the stripe size from the drop down menu Available stripe sizes a...

Page 31: ...use The data and parity will be initialized automatically The performance will degrade to some degree during the initialization process Performance Evaluation Choose to evaluate the performance of the target array Data and parity are not initialized No data protection when this mode is on To automatically assign a LUN check the box Summary Informs on the Array to be created Click Create Array to c...

Page 32: ...the drives to be used in another array or reconfigured for a new array Follow the steps to delete an array Step 1 Click on the disks containing the array to be deleted Step 2 Check the Confirm box when you understand that all the data on the disks will be lost Click Delete Array to complete the process ...

Page 33: ...t Enter the e mail address es of people to receive controller errors Click Remove to delete e mail addresses from the list Click Send Test Email to check that the e mail is working SMTP Setting Mail Server Name Enter the address of the mail server From E Mail Address Enter the e mail address of the mail server SMTP Server Requires authentication Check this box if your mail server requires a userna...

Page 34: ...RAIDGuard X User s Manual 30 Advanced RAID Configuration ...

Page 35: ...delays in delivering data from an entire RAID set Disk Lag Proof Mode limits these delays by regenerating data from parity and returns data to the host on time In return for limiting the delays there is a minor performance loss when this mode is enabled This function does not support JBOD and NRAID NCQ Check this box to activate Native Command Queuing It allows several outstanding commands to be g...

Page 36: ...RAID system works correctly but does not actually perform any cache flushing For video capture disable synchronization because the video capture needs to be able to constantly write data to the RAID system without long SYNCHRONIZE_CACHE latency Read Pre fetch Identifies sequential access patterns and aggressively pre fetches patterns into cache From the drop down list choose the number of stripes ...

Page 37: ...nfiguration 33 MISC Controller Time Click this button to see a calendar and to change the time of the controller Password Enter the new controller password The default password is 00000000 8 zeros Type another 8 characters ...

Page 38: ...RAIDGuard X User s Manual 34 Options The Options menu provides the methods for changing the details of and fixing problems with the array Click the required option and then click Next to proceed ...

Page 39: ...peed Follow the steps below to select an array to slice or merge Step 1 Select the array to slice or merge by clicking on a disk with an array number Step 2 Click the slice to create and use the slider bar or buttons to adjust the size Click OK to complete Slices must be adjusted in order ie Slice 0 Slice1 Slice 2 etc Each array supports a maximum of 8 slices ...

Page 40: ...RAIDGuard X User s Manual 36 Step 3 Check the Confirm box and then the OK ...

Page 41: ...between up to eight separate devices Use the LUN map to attach a unique identifier to a slice Follow the steps below to map a LUN Step 1 Select the Array to map Step 2 Choose a LUN and from the drop down list select a series to map to Step 3 Check the Confirm box and then OK For an explanation of LUNs see Appendix A Glossary ...

Page 42: ...ne without the need to stop data transfer Follow the steps below to select an array to expand Step 1 Select the array to add additional disks to and select the number of disks to be added A sign is added above the disk s to be added Step 2 Check the Confirm box and then Expand Array It is only the number of drives that can be chosen not the specific disk ...

Page 43: ...e needs to be created Follow the steps below to select an array to migrate This changes the RAID type eg from RAID 1 to RAID 5 Step 1 Select the Array to migrate From the drop down menu select the RAID Level to Migrate to then select the Total Drives to include in the array A sign is added above the disk s to be added and a sign above the disk s to be removed Step 2 Check the Confirm box and then ...

Page 44: ...from the drop down menu Step 2 Select the required shot by clicking on the Shot No radio button From the respective drop down menus select the Source Slice and Destination Slice Unavailable shots are greyed out Step 3 Check the Confirm box and then OK to take a snapshot Delete Shot Deletes the selected shot Step 1 Select the Delete Shot function from the drop down menu Step 2 Select the required s...

Page 45: ...dio button From the respective drop down menus select the Source Slice and Destination Slice Unavailable shots are greyed out Step 5 Check the Check the Confirm box and then OK to split the snapshot Cancel Scheduling Cancel the split shot scheduling Step 1 Select the Split Shot function from the drop down menu Step 2 Select the Cancel Scheduling radio button Step 3 Select the required shot by clic...

Page 46: ... Destination Slice can be on different arrays 3 The Destination Slice must NOT be mapped to a LUN 4 A shot will not be deleted if the details of the array change The only way to delete a shot is using the delete function under Snapshot The progress of the snapshot is displayed in the snapshot tab of the front window ...

Page 47: ...uild parity data Rebuilding parity on an array uses the data on the array to create new parity data not repair problems with the data Verify parity data verification that the data is free of errors Refresh array data and parity If choosing Refresh array data choose the priority between Low Med or High It Scans rewrites and scrubs bad data conditions caused by excessive vibration during disk I Os o...

Page 48: ...alled one at a time or a RAID member is accidentally removed while the system is powered on The meta data and user data on the locked drives are preserved for online offline recovery If users don t need the data of the locked drive any longer the locked drive can be changed into a spare drive by the command of Unlock Drive Step 1 Select the drive with the icon It will change to the icon Step 2 Che...

Page 49: ...45 Appendices ...

Page 50: ...ique identifier used on a SCSI bus that enables it to differentiate between up to eight separate devices or logical unit Each LUN is a unique number that identifies a specific logical unit which may be an end user a file or an application Native Command Queuing NCQ NCQ allows several outstanding commands to be given to the drives at one time The commands are carried out in sequence instead of the ...

Page 51: ...lure Stripe Size Stripe size is the maximum number of sectors the RAID system can access without accessing another disk The stripe size is also the size of the cache for the RAID A larger stripe is preferable since it reduces the number of I O requests made to a physical disk and lets the buffer cache work more efficiently Slicing Unlike striping slicing allows the creation of arrays from a single...

Page 52: ...rences for additional functions for Array operation Activate alarms mode settings cache settings password and controller card time Email Set the addresses to send e mail alerts to Option Set the Slice expansion migration health disk locking LUNs and take a snapshot of the array Option Menu Icons Slicing an array into several parts LUN Map Assign a LUN to a slice Expand an array to larger capacity ...

Page 53: ...ected JBOD being deleted A drive being selected An offline drive A locked drive A drive being selected for expansion migration rebuilding A transition drive state during the array 1 2 3 4 migration A transition drive state during the array 1 2 3 4 migration A transition drive state during the array 1 2 3 4 auto rebuild RAID Levels easyRAID S8A2 PER2 easyRAID S8A2 PETT ...

Page 54: ...n rates and are the ideal choice when used with on line transaction processing applications such as those used in banks insurance companies hospitals and all manner of office environments These applications typically perform large numbers of concurrent requests each of which makes a small number of disk accesses If one drive in a RAID 5 array fails the lost data can be rebuilt from data on the fun...

Page 55: ...ibre bus RAID 0 Striped disk array without fault tolerance Characteristics Recommended use RAID 0 implements a striped disk array the data is broken down into blocks and each block is written to a separate disk drive I O performance is greatly improved by spreading the I O load across many channels and drives Fastest and most efficient array type but offers no fault tolerance Storage capacity No o...

Page 56: ...ce for write operations but very high performance for read intensive operations RAID 1 Mirroring Characteristics Recommended use Better Read transaction rate then single disks same Write transaction rate as single disks 100 redundancy of data means no rebuild of data is necessary in case of disk failure just a copy to the replacement disk All the disks have the same data RAID level 1 requires two ...

Page 57: ... mirrored pair of drives is intact RAID 0 1 Combination of striping and mirroring Characteristics This configuration provides optimal speed and reliability Requires even number of disks minimum 4 disks The diagram below represents the writing of data on a RAID 0 1 array composed of four HDDS connected to the controller The controller creates a RAID 0 array from two RAID 1 sub arrays Arrangement of...

Page 58: ...ach entire data block is written on a data disk Parity for blocks in the same rank is generated on Writes recorded in a distributed location and checked on Reads Highest Read data transaction medium Write data transaction rate Relatively low ratio of ECC Parity disks to data disks means high efficiency compared to other RAID levels Good aggregate transfer rate Storage capacity No of disks 1 capaci...

Page 59: ...but may be slightly faster in random reads due to spreading of data over one more disk As with RAID levels 4 and 5 performance can be adjusted by experimenting with different stripe size RAID 6 Independent data disks with double parity blocks Characteristics Recommended use Array Capacity size of smallest drive x number of drives 2 Storage Efficiency If all drives are the same sizes then number of...

Page 60: ...rd JBOD Spanned disk array without fault tolerance Characteristics Recommended use JBOD reports individual disks No fault tolerance Poorer I O performance than RAID 0 Storage capacity Sum of constituent drive capacities For most uses not requiring fault tolerance RAID 0 is better JBOD has the advantage if you are using several drives of different capacities PCI e RAID Controller 40G 30G 20G 40G 30...