Dell UCPM-800 manual About The Shared Perc 8 Card, Configurations of the Shared Perc 8 card

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About The Shared PERC 8 Card

The Dell Shared PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) 8 card installed on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX system supports Single Root Input Output Virtualization (SR-IOV). This feature allows multiple systems to share available hardware resources.

The PERC 8 card allows four server modules to access a local shared storage. Each server module's operating system loads a Virtual Function (VF) driver that allows the server module to communicate with the Shared PERC 8 firmware. The server module can then be mapped to either a single virtual disk or multiple virtual disks that are located on the shared storage. From a single server module, you can only access the virtual disks that are mapped to that server module.

Configurations of the Shared PERC 8 card

The PowerEdge VRTX system is available in two configurations of the Shared PERC 8 card:

Single Shared PERC 8 Card Configuration — In this configuration, the PowerEdge VRTX system is installed with a single Shared PERC 8 card. The default cache policy for virtual disks created in this configuration is write-back. In this mode, write completion information is returned to the host after the data is written to the Shared PERC 8 controller’s cache.

Fault Tolerant Shared PERC 8 Card Configuration — In this configuration, the PowerEdge VRTX system is installed with two Shared PERC 8 cards. The shared PERC cards are configured in an active-passive mode. Both the cards can access the storage subsystem. However, only the active controller will provide the data access. If one Shared PERC 8 card fails, the other Shared PERC 8 card takes control in a seamless transition.

Checkpoints are created for all background operations. After a failover, operations are restored from the last checkpoint. The default cache policy for virtual disks created in this configuration is write-back. In this mode, write completion information is returned to the host after the data is written to the peer shared PERC 8 controller’s cache.

Host data is also mirrored to the peer controller's cache to allow seamless operation in case of a primary card failure.

Important information regarding the Fault Tolerant Shared PERC 8 Card Configuration:

•Multipath support must be enabled in the operating system for the Fault Tolerant Shared PERC 8 card configuration to function.

•In the event of a controller failover, a Background Initialization (BGI) starts automatically on each virtual disk.

•An ongoing full initialization does not restart in the event of a failover.

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Contents User’s Guide Page Contents Driver Installation Deploying The Shared Perc 8 CardGetting help Configurations of the Shared Perc 8 card About The Shared Perc 8 CardSpecifications of a Shared Perc 8 card Storage Subsystem Compatibility Matrix at dell.comPage Supported Operating Systems Best Practices For Shared PercRelated Documentation Locating your system Service Tag Contacting DellDocumentation Feedback Consistency Checks Shared Perc 8 Card FeaturesPhysical Disk Power Management Virtual Disk InitializationFull Initialization Of Virtual Disks Physical Disk RoamingBackground Initialization Of Virtual Disks Fast Initialization Of Virtual DisksUsing Physical Disk Roaming FastPathVirtual Disk Migration Virtual Disk Cache Policies Migrating Virtual Disks If The Target System Is Turned OffMigrating Virtual Disks If The Target System Is Turned On Conditions Under Which Write-Back Is Employed Virtual Disk Write Cache PoliciesWrite-Back Write-throughConditions under which write-through is employed Fault TolerancePhysical Disk Write Cache Policy Virtual Disk Read Cache PoliciesSmart Feature Patrol ReadPhysical disk failure detection Physical Disk Hot SwappingShared Perc 8 Card Cache Preservation Battery Transparent Learn Cycle Controller Failover FeatureMultipath Support Configuring Multipath Support In WindowsConfiguring Multipath Support In VMWare Multipath support in LinuxInstalling a New Shared Perc 8 Card Deploying The Shared Perc 8 CardReplacing a Shared Perc 8 Card Prerequisites For Removing The Shared Perc 8 Card Removing The Shared Perc 8 CardRemoving and Installing the Shared Perc 8 Card Installing The Shared Perc 8 Card Post-Installation Tasks For Shared Perc 8 CardFirmware installation or update Updating firmwareDriver Installation Installing Or Updating Windows Drivers For Shared Perc Installing Or Updating Linux Drivers For Shared Perc Installing Or Updating VMware Drivers For Shared PercManagement Applications For Shared Perc 8 Card Troubleshooting Shared Perc 8 Card Boots Into Safe ModeGeneral Issues Degraded State Of Virtual DisksShared Perc 8 Card Not Seen In Device Manager Shared Perc 8 Cards Fail To Function Physical disk issuesUnable to rebuild a fault tolerant virtual disk Physical Disk In Failed StateFatal Error Or Data Corruption Reported Multiple Disks Become InaccessibleRebuilding a Failed Physical Disk Virtual Disk Fails During Rebuild Using a Global Hot Spare Controller cache issuesPhysical disk takes a long time to rebuild Smart Errors Target Disk Fails Auto Replacement Member ErrorsSource Disk Fails General Disk FailsHard-Drive Indicator Patterns Hard-Drive IndicatorsGetting help Documentation feedback
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