Promise Technology PAM, User Manual

Page 1: ...PROMISE ARRAY MANAGEMENT PAM USER MANUAL ...

Page 2: ...ise Technology product Notice Although Promise Technology has attempted to ensure the accuracy of the content of this manual it is possible that this document may contain technical inaccuracies typographical or other errors Promise Technology assumes no liability for any error in this publication and for damages whether direct indirect incidental consequential or otherwise that may result from suc...

Page 3: ...RE 11 UltraTrak Users 11 PAM Installation 11 CHAPTER 3 INITIAL SETUP 19 Create a New Message Server 20 Access the Message Agent 22 UltraTrak Users 22 Create a New User 24 Create an Array 25 Setup Email Alert Notification 29 Add a User to the Recipient List 30 Specify Alert Notification Events 31 CHAPTER 4 PAM USER INTERFACE 33 Tree View 34 Tree View and Component Specific Menus 34 Object View 35 I...

Page 4: ...r 49 Disconnect a Message Server Logout of RAID Server 49 Reconnect a Message Server 49 Message Server Address Change 50 Message Agent 51 Login User Name and Password 51 Create a New User 51 Delete a User 53 Assign User Rights 53 Object Icons 53 Alert Notification 54 Add a User to the Recipient List 55 Delete a User from the Recipient List 56 Specify Alert Notification Events 57 Device 57 Controll...

Page 5: ...Contents v Object View 71 Array Options 71 APPENDIX 74 IP ADDRESS 74 Windows XP 74 Earlier Windows Systems 75 DHCP ISSUES 76 OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT 77 ...

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Page 7: ...g Utility is a Graphic User Interface GUI that reports on the condition of the RAID array It receives and displays reports on RAID condition and operation through the Message Server The Monitoring Utility works on any PC with a TCP IP network connection to your RAID When installed on the computer that operates the RAID the Monitoring Utility also provides a complete set of RAID management tools Me...

Page 8: ...s running the Monitoring Utility Warnings appear on the PC in the form of email messages and popup alerts You can select either one or both You can also select which events and problems PAM will report A major benefit of PAM is that it runs over a TCP IP network This enables remote monitoring of your RAIDs including offsite monitoring over an Internet connection Once you become aware of a problem ...

Page 9: ...PC Monitoring Utility Modem Network File Server Message Server PC with SuperTrak card Internal RAID array Message Agent PC with FastTrak card Message Agent RAID PC with UltraTrak RAID Subsystem Message Agent Figure 1 1 LAN and Internet connections In the example on the facing page there are three Promise RAID products connected to the company s LAN The PAM Message Agent runs on each of the PCs con...

Page 10: ... Server PC with SuperTrak card Internal RAID array Message Agent PC with FastTrak card Message Agent RAID PC and UltraTrak RAID Subsystem Message Agent Figure 1 2 Company LAN without a File Server In the above example there are three Promise RAID products connected to the company s LAN the same as before But this network has no file server so the PAM Message Server runs on one of the networked PCs...

Page 11: ...l three PAM components are installed on the PC itself PC with SuperTrak card Internal RAID array Monitoring Utility Message Server Message Agent PC with FastTrak card Monitoring Utility Message Server Message Agent Figure 1 4 PCs with Internal RAID Promise s FastTrak and SuperTrak cards are designed to setup and control a RAID within the PC s enclosure They have the same need of monitoring and man...

Page 12: ...Promise Array Management 6 ...

Page 13: ...th the installation you must know which component goes where If you plan to run PAM over a network you must know the IP addresses of each computer on the network that will be involved in your RAID monitoring and management activity Installation Locations In the table below possible locations for each of the three PAM components Monitoring Utility Message Server Message Agent Internet connected PC ...

Page 14: ...stall the Monitoring Utility on a laptop or home based PC for dial in remote access Limit your installation to the computers of RAID users and your IT administrator PAM features password protection to further limit access and provide security of your data Router Firewall Laptop computer Network PC Company LAN Internet Home based PC Modem PC with SuperTrak card and Internal RAID array RAID PC and U...

Page 15: ...essary Do not install the Message Server on any PC that may be disconnected from the network such as a laptop or a computer that connects via the Internet Not only will a disconnect cause PAM to fail but reconnecting again may involve time consuming network configuration Network configuration is discussed later in this chapter Note Refer to Table 2 2 for acceptable operating systems Message Agent ...

Page 16: ... Windows work with specific Promise products and PAM components Monitoring Utility Message Server Message Agent Windows versions All FastTrak SuperTrak UltraTrak 98 ME NT 4 0 2000 Windows XP Table 2 2 Operating system support Network Requirements If you plan to install PAM on a network be sure all the hosts and servers are connected and running That is each of the PCs RAIDs and Servers must have a...

Page 17: ... null modem cable to the UltraTrak serial port connector and one of the COM ports on your RAID PC PAM will automatically detect the UltraTrak during installation 2 Power up the UltraTrak and wait for it to boot completely 3 Proceed with the PAM installation PC with SuperTrak card Internal RAID array PC with FastTrak card PC with UltraTrak RAID Subsystem Figure 2 2 Three examples of RAID PCs PAM In...

Page 18: ...igure 2 3 PAM Setup Opening Screen 4 RAID PC If you are installing PAM onto the RAID PC that is a PC with a FastTrak or SuperTrak card or an UltraTrak RAID subsystem select that product from the dropdown menu Click Next or press Enter to continue The Setup Summary dialog box appears Laptop computer A networked PC Home based PC Figure 2 4 Some examples of networkable PCs ...

Page 19: ...r to continue The Customize Setup dialog box appears Figure 2 5 The Customize Setup dialog box b In the Customize Setup dialog box make the selections appropriate for the computer on which you are installing software If this is a File Server select the RAID Server radio button If this is a Networked PC home based PC or a laptop select the Remote Client radio button Click Next or press Enter to con...

Page 20: ...Promise Array Management 14 Figure 2 6 The Setup Summary dialog box 5 In the Setup Summary dialog box click the Finish button or press Enter to continue Figure 2 8 The License Agreement ...

Page 21: ...n If you click No PAM Setup will exit Figure 2 9 Choose Destination dialog box 7 When the Choose Destination dialog box appears click the Browse button to specify a destination folder other than the default When you are satisfied with the folder location click Next or press Enter Figure 2 10 Select Program Folder dialog box ...

Page 22: ...tisfied with the folder name click Next or press Enter Figure 2 11 Start Copying Files dialog box 9 When the Start Copying Files dialog box appears review the selection of application Promise Array Management and its destination If you want to make a change click the Back button Otherwise click Next or press Enter to continue with the installation If you are only installing the Message Server skip...

Page 23: ...r dialog box appears type in the IP address of the RAID PC that is a PC with a FastTrak or SuperTrak card or an UltraTrak RAID subsystem Click Next or press Enter to continue Note If you are only installing the Message Server this dialog box does not appear Figure 2 13 Add User Account dialog box ...

Page 24: ...you are only installing the Message Server this dialog box does not appear Figure 2 14 The PAM Installation dialog box 12 When the PAM Installation dialog box appears the installation is complete Check one or both boxes to see the latest ReadMe file and launch PAM When you are done click Finish or press Enter Note If you are only installing the Message Server the option to launch PAM now does not ...

Page 25: ...D Figure 3 1 PAM in the Start Menu In the Windows Start Menu launch the PAM Monitoring Utility The opening screen appears Note If you only installed the Message Server this shortcut does not appear The Message Server works only through network connections and has no user interface Go to the RAID PC or a Networked PC to setup PAM ...

Page 26: ...mponents Object View Displays icons representing the devices below the highlighted device in the Tree View Information View Displays information on the item highlighted in the Tree View This may include text boxes list boxes fields and buttons It varies with the item selected Create a New Message Server The Message Server relays data and commands between the Monitoring Utility on this computer and...

Page 27: ... Label and IP Address Figure 3 3 The RAID Server s Label and IP Address Note The IP Address shown above 127 0 0 1 means that this computer is equipped with a FastTrak or SuperTrak card or the UltraTrak subsystem If you are performing this procedure on a networked PC input the actual IP Address of the RAID PC in this field 4 Click the Commit button PAM connects the Message Server and creates a new ...

Page 28: ...eir respective fields Note Contact your IT Administrator if you don t know this information 3 Click OK to access the Message Agent UltraTrak Users These instructions pertain to the RAID PC connected to the UltraTrak subsystem You must successfully complete this connection before any remote monitoring connections will function 1 When you log into the Message Agent you should see the UltraTrak icon ...

Page 29: ... select it 2 In Information View click the Connect button See Figure 3 5 The Status should change to Connected 3 If the Status remains Disconnected double check your UltraTrak to PC COM port connection and restart both machines Figure 3 5 Information View for UltraTrak device disconnected top and connected bottom ...

Page 30: ...You must create additional users manually 1 Right click on the Users icon and select New User from the popup menu right A new user icon appears 2 Double click on the new user icon to display the User Information View Figure 3 6 User Information View The User Information View displays a request for new user identification and access rights ...

Page 31: ...s to set access rights Click the Commit button when you are done The new user s name appears in the Tree View right Create an Array 1 Select a Controller icon on which you want to create an array 2 Right click on the icon Select New Array from the popup menu right A window opens for the new Array in the information view ...

Page 32: ...ilable RAID selection depends on which Promise product you have and the number of disk drives available The table below lists the options See the Appendix for a more detailed description RAID Level Name Minimum drives Promise Product 0 Striping 2 1 Mirroring 2 0 1 Striping Mirroring 4 JBOD Spanning 2 FastTrak SuperTrak UltraTrak 3 Separate Parity 3 5 Distributed Parity 3 SuperTrak UltraTrak Table ...

Page 33: ... icons onto the array icon 5 Drag and drop the unassigned drive icons onto the array icon The drives are assigned to the new array in the order you add them 6 Repeat the above step until you have added all the drives you intended Note If you added a drive that you did not want right click on its icon and select Delete from the popup menu This action removes the selected drive from the array ...

Page 34: ... on the disks Gigabyte Boundary On the array a GB will be based on 1000 MB used in networking rather than the 1024 MB normally used with computers 8 When you have made your selection click the Commit button on the Options dialog box The Array Status field in the Information View will show that the array is synchronizing right 9 When the Array Status field shows Functional right reboot your compute...

Page 35: ...up the email function 1 Click on the Message Agent icon from which you wish to receive email alert messages Figure 3 10 Email Server portion of Information View 2 Click on the Email alert on error box in the Information View if it is not already checked 3 In the SMTP server field type in the SMTP address for your mail server 4 Click the Change button to update your configuration ...

Page 36: ... it is valid 7 Click the Change button to update your configuration Add a User to the Recipient List After you have setup email alert notification you must specify who shall receive the alerts 1 Click on the Message Agent icon to which you wish to add an email alert message recipient 2 In the Alert Recipients Email Address List type in the email address of the user who you wish to receive alerts S...

Page 37: ...iety of alerts by email popup message or both This section describes how to tell PAM what to report and which method to use 1 Click on the Message Agent icon whose alert notification events you wish to modify 2 In the Information View scroll down to see the Add Events window Figure 3 13 Specifying Events for Alert Notification 3 From the left column select an Event you want reported ...

Page 38: ...t the bottom to set all Events or Popups to Yes or No 6 When you are finished click the Change button Note To view all Events right click on the Controller icon and select Read Events from the popup menu right Figure 3 14 Controller Event Viewer The Controller receives a report on all events regardless of your selection of Alert events At this point you may save the events to a text file for futur...

Page 39: ...should understand that PAM is software running on top of the Promise RAID BIOS and other applications that came with your Promise RAID product PAM adds a graphic user interface to make RAID management functions easier to understand and perform Figure 4 1 The PAM Monitor window has three views ...

Page 40: ...example of a RAID system in Tree View Normally the Tree View is present To close it right click on any object and select Hide Pane from the popup menu To open it again go to View menu and Outline Tree View and Component Specific Menus In PAM like most Windows applications you can access the various commands and functions by opening dropdown menus and clicking on icons Each time you click on a comp...

Page 41: ...appearing in Object View are determined by which component you select in Tree View In the example below we selected a Controller icon in Tree View Figure 4 4 Object View of a Controller s components As a result you see the components of that Controller in this case six channels an enclosure and an array This feature makes it easy to find an individual component as well as see what items are assign...

Page 42: ...tings and information Figure 4 5 Information View showing part of the setup for an Array Status Bar The PAM Status Bar is the same as other Windows applications It indicates such things as the selected RAID is rebuilding and the current user is the Administrator shown below Figure 4 6 PAM Status Bar Normally the Status Bar is visible To show or hide the Status Bar go to the View menu and check or ...

Page 43: ...iew is selected the left most menu item is Main Figure 4 7 Main Menu Its only function is Exit which quits the PAM application View The View menu displays or hides three items Toolbar Status Bar Tree View Outline Figure 4 8 View Menu Check to display or uncheck to hide each one as you prefer Connection The Connection menu deals with server connections Use it to Create a new Message Server Connect ...

Page 44: ...nce The Preference menu allows you to Select the font PAM displays Select the background colors of the Views Have PAM run automatically when your PC boots Figure 4 10 The Preference Menu Fonts and colors are a matter of individual preference PAM will display any font properly loaded on your PC PAM uses the Windows color palette allowing you to select any color your monitor can display If you are u...

Page 45: ...emo display About page with PAM information Figure 4 11 Help Menu PAM s online help follows the standard three panel interface with Contents Index and Find Figure 4 12 Online Help panels L to R Contents Index Find The table of keyboard shortcuts lists effort saving ways to perform certain functions ...

Page 46: ...rt Toolbar The Toolbar is a series of buttons that are shortcuts to performing specific tasks You will never see all buttons active as in the example below Figure 4 14 The Toolbar They become active when you click on specific system components in Tree View Only the tool buttons pertaining to that component are active Most of these functions require User Account Rights These are specified when a Us...

Page 47: ...dentical data Delete Array Available when you select an Array icon Deletes the array from the RAID system Create Array Available when you select a Message Agent icon Allows you to create a new array on the RAID system Delete User Available when you select a User icon Deletes a user from monitoring and alert access New User Available when you select the Users icon Continue Available when you have p...

Page 48: ...hree features relating to Tree View but not the icon itself Refresh the screen display Expand Collapse the Tree Hide Tree View MyConsole Icon Right click on the MyConsole icon to access the following commands right Create a new Message Server Rename MyConsole This menu matches the MyConsole pulldown menu Message Server Icon Right click on the Message Server icon to access the following commands ri...

Page 49: ...commands for this item This menu matches the RAIDSystem pulldown menu Controller Icon Right click on the Controller icon to access the following commands right Create a new Array Read controller events Clear controller events Toggle the Synchronize Rebuild beeper on and off Checked is ON This menu matches the Controller pulldown menu Channel Icon The Channel icon represents an individual channel o...

Page 50: ...e Icon Right click on the Enclosure icon to access the following commands right Toggle the Synchronize Rebuild beeper on and off Checked is ON Rename the Enclosure This menu matches the Enclosure pulldown menu Array Icon Right click on the Array icon to access the following commands right Rebuild this array Synchronize this array Delete this array Pause Continue or Stop the Rebuild or Synchronize ...

Page 51: ...Icon Right click on the Users icon to create a new User account right This menu matches the User Account pulldown menu User Icon Right click the User icon to delete or rename this user This menu matches the User pulldown menu ...

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Page 53: ...owing procedures you as a user must have Array Administration Rights User rights are discussed in the Message Agent section of this chapter Create a New Message Server 1 Click on the MyConsole icon in the Tree View 2 Right click and select New Server from the popup menu right OR click the New Server button in the Toolbar This action adds a new server RAIDSERVER1 icon see Figure 5 1 3 Click on the ...

Page 54: ...puter is equipped with a FastTrak or SuperTrak card or the UltraTrak subsystem If you are performing this procedure on a networked PC input the actual IP Address of the RAID PC in this field See the Appendix for help in finding a PC s IP address 4 Click the Commit button PAM connects the Message Server and creates a new Message Agent icon ...

Page 55: ...action will preserve your connection settings PAM will still see the Message Server and show a disconnected status Note This is the only correct way to log out a RAID Server from the system To disconnect a Message Server select it in Tree View then click the Disconnect button in the Toolbar or 1 Right click on the Message Server icon in Tree View 2 Select Disconnect from the popup menu right Recon...

Page 56: ...erent location The RAID PC gets a new static IP address A RAID PC with a DHCP assigned IP address was disconnected or shut down Figure 5 2 Changing a RAID server s Label and IP address 1 Select the Message Server icon in Tree View 2 Type in the new Label and IP Address in Information View 3 Click the Commit button See the Appendix for help in finding a PC s IP address ...

Page 57: ... box 2 In the Message Agent login dialog box type in the Username and Password in their respective fields Note Contact your IT Administrator if you don t know this information 3 Click OK to log into the Message Agent Create a New User With the Message Agent accessed you can add a new user The Administrator is created by default You must create additional users manually 1 Right click on the Users i...

Page 58: ...ghts 3 Type the Username and Password in their respective fields Check all the appropriate boxes to set access rights Click the Commit button when you are done The new user s name appears in the Tree View right Another way to add a User Select the Users icon in Tree View the click the New User button Follow Step 3 above to complete the process ...

Page 59: ...g Rights are available for assignment to individual Users The Administrator by default has full Rights For other users check the boxes to enable the desired functions See Figure 5 4 above Array Administration Rights These allow the User to create delete and maintain arrays and view array statistics Adapter Maintenance Rights Allows the User to modify cache and performance parameters for the RAID C...

Page 60: ...p the email function 1 Click on the Message Agent icon from which you wish to receive email alert messages Figure 5 6 Email Server portion of Information View 2 Click on the Email alert on error box in the Information View if it is not already checked 3 In the SMTP server field type in the SMTP address for your mail server 4 Click the Change button to update your configuration ...

Page 61: ...if it is valid 7 Click the Change button to update your configuration Add a User to the Recipient List After you have setup email alert notification you must specify who shall receive the alerts 1 Click on the Message Agent icon to which you wish to add an email alert message recipient 2 In the Alert Recipients Email Address List type in the email address of the user who you wish to receive alerts...

Page 62: ... from the Email Address List do the following 1 Click on the Message Agent icon from which you wish to delete an email alert message recipient The Current Recipients window appears in the Information View See Figure 5 8 Figure 5 9 Select and remove a recipient 2 Select the recipient you wish to delete 3 Click the Remove button or press Delete to remove the address from the list ...

Page 63: ...t column select an Event you want reported 4 Right click on the Email column Select Yes or No from the popup menu 5 Right click on the Popup column Select Yes or No from the popup menu Selecting Yes adds that item to the Email or Popup list Selecting No deletes the item Use the checkboxes at the bottom to set all Events or Popups to Yes or No 6 When you are finished click the Change button Device ...

Page 64: ...Promise Array Manager 58 Figure 5 11 A Controller in the Device Object View top and Information View bottom ...

Page 65: ... Information These are very useful for diagnosing and solving problems on your system To see the Event Log right click on the Controller icon in Tree View and select Read Events from the popup menu right Figure 5 12 The Event Viewer In the Event Viewer you can view the events make a permanent record by saving them to a file and clear the events from the Viewer You can also clear the events using t...

Page 66: ...tions The Controller has system information and settings for disk cache and performance features Click on the Controller icon in Tree View to see the Options in Information View SuperTrak Options Figure 5 13 Controller Options for SuperTrak ...

Page 67: ... Cache Setting This option applies only when write back cache is enabled see Array Options later in this chapter Enter the maximum number of seconds data is held in cache before being written to the hard drive called flush frequency A longer period tends to increase apparent read write performance but at a greater risk of lost data should a power failure occur Disk Parameters SMART Check SMART an ...

Page 68: ... you can lose data if a power failure occurs while data is still in the drive s cache Disk Parameters SMART Check SMART an acronym for Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology is a feature of the disk drive software It monitors the internal performance of the drive and reports to the PC when it finds a potential failure SMART warns you of a developing drive failure so you can replace the ...

Page 69: ...e system resources to handling read write requests Read write requests are handled at nearly normal speed while the rebuild takes longer See Rebuild an Array later in this chapter for more information on the rebuilding process PCI Bus Utilization On High setting FastTrak holds onto the PCI bus longer for data transfers to occur On Low setting FastTrak releases the PCI bus sooner for other PCI devi...

Page 70: ...ht click on the icon Select New Array from the popup menu right OR Click the New Array button in the Toolbar A window opens for the new Array in the information view Figure 5 15 New Array information window 3 Type in an Array name RAID level and Block Size Do NOT click the Commit button yet The default Block Size is 64KB ...

Page 71: ...his icon You cannot add assigned drives to a new array Figure 5 16 Drag and drop unassigned drive icons onto the array icon 5 Drag and drop the unassigned drive icons onto the array icon The drives are assigned to the new array in the order you add them 6 Repeat the above step until you have added all the drives you intended Note If you added a drive that you did not want right click on its icon a...

Page 72: ...ng rather than the 1024 MB normally used with computers 8 When you have made your selection click the Commit button on the Options dialog box For several minutes depending on the number and size of disks in your array the Array Status field in the Information View will show that the array is synchronizing right 9 When the Array Status field shows Functional right reboot your computer Note You cann...

Page 73: ...The early morning hours are often a convenient time Figure 5 18 Array Synchronization Schedule To enable scheduled synchronization 1 In Tree View select an Array icon of the array you want to synchronize 2 In Information View check the Enabled box 3 Click on the radio button beside the time interval by minute to by month you want 4 Based on the time interval you selected enter the number of units ...

Page 74: ...ay the progress Figure 5 19 Synchronization in progress left and completed right When Synchronization is complete Tree View returns to normal and Information View displays Functional Rebuild an Array Rebuilding is the process of restoring redundancy to a RAID 1 0 1 3 or 5 after one of its drives has failed When the replacement drive has been installed the RAID can read and write data but there is ...

Page 75: ...ably slower Manual Rebuild To initiate a manual Array rebuild 1 In Tree View select the Array icon of the array you want to rebuild 2 Right click on the icon and select Rebuild from the popup menu OR Click the Rebuild Array button in the Toolbar 3 The Rebuild Wizard will assist you further During the rebuild progress the array will be available for use but it may run noticeably slower If the beepe...

Page 76: ...plays Functional The following popup appears Figure 5 22 Rebuild Successful Stop Pause Continue Promise recommends that you let your synchronization or rebuild run to completion If you need to stop or pause the process 1 Right click on the Array icon 2 Select Stop or Pause from the popup menu OR Click the Stop or Pause buttons on the Toolbar The following warning appears Click OK to continue Figur...

Page 77: ...enu OR Click the Continue button on the Toolbar Object View Select the Array icon in Tree View to see a display of individual disk drives in Object View Figure 5 24 Disk Drives in Array Object View Array Options Select the Array icon in Tree View to see a display in Information View Figure 5 25 Array in Information View ...

Page 78: ...lf accordingly Optimizing results in better array performance Enable Write Back Cache Write back cache accepts write data from the CPU and holds it briefly in cache memory When the computer has idle cycles the data is written to the hard drive This arrangement speeds up disk performance because you can write data to a cache much faster than to a hard disk While the data is in the cache there is a ...

Page 79: ...Monitoring and Maintenance 73 ...

Page 80: ...Message Agent on the RAID PCs and the Monitoring Utility on the network PCs Windows XP To find the IP network address go to Start Control Panel Network Connections Local Area Connection Support tab Figure A 1 Local Area Connection Status dialog box and Support tab The IP address is the means of identification of a PC on a TCP IP network In the example above the IP address is 192 168 1 108 ...

Page 81: ...ommand Prompt Type in IPConfig and press Enter Figure A 2 Use the Command Prompt to find your PC s IP address Locate and record the IP addresses of all PCs and Servers on your network that will work with PAM This document will help you recall individual PCs when it is time to specify their connections ...

Page 82: ...r organization requires The DHCP server assigns an IP address to a computer as it logs onto the network The IP address will remain the same until the computer logs off or disconnects for any reason such as a power failure When the computer logs on again it will receive a different IP address Because IP addresses are subject to change when a DHCP server is involved make it a point to maintain the R...

Page 83: ... to take full advantage of all the features of PAM The table below shows which versions of Windows work with specific Promise products and PAM components Monitoring Utility Message Server Message Agent Windows versions All FastTrak SuperTrak UltraTrak 98 ME NT 4 0 2000 XP Table A 2 Operating system support ...

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