SCSI Controller IDs

The SDS 100 storage system of the cluster has two RAID controllers connected to the same channel. In this setup, each controller must be assigned a unique SCSI ID num- ber. The cluster-specific firmware running on the two RAID controllers enables two controllers to reside on the same SCSI channel and operate with unique SCSI ID numbers.

If you know the version of the firmware that should be running on the RAID controller, you can verify that it is present by observing the POST message that appears dur- ing start-up that identifies the controller’s firmware version. Be sure that the POST message pertains to the RAID controller connected to the shared storage subsystem.

The SCSI ID numbers on the RAID controllers can be verified using the RAID controller BIOS configuration utility. During POST, press <Ctrl> <m> to start the con- figuration utility. From the Management Menu, select Objects, then select Adapter, then select the appropriate adapter (if applicable), and then select Initiator ID. The SCSI IDs for the two controllers must be different from each other. The recommended settings are SCSI ID 7 for the first controller on the channel and SCSI ID 10 for the second controller on the channel.

Also, the write policy for the cluster-enabled RAID con- troller will be set to write-through.

Cluster Domain

On a clustered system, all systems connected to the clus- ter must belong to a common domain. To check that a domain has been set up properly for the cluster, start each server and client of the cluster and verify that each sys- tem can log on to the domain. To do this, go to the Control Panel, double-click on Network, and select the Identification tab. The domain name will appear in the domain field.

If the PDC does not reside in the cluster, be sure that the PDC is running before starting the systems on the cluster.

RAID Controller Driver

To verify that the PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller driver is installed and running on the system, click the Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and double-click the SCSI Adapters icon.

Click the Drivers tab and check that the PowerEdge RAID II Adapters driver shows a status of Started. Then use Windows NT Explorer to view the winnt\system32\drivers directory. Right-click the pedge.sys file, select Properties, and select the Version tab from the dialog box. Verify that the file version is 2.04 or later.

Shared Storage Subsystem Drive Letters

The shared hard-disk drives must be assigned the same drive letters in Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition running on each cluster node. The drive letters must be identical across all cluster nodes to ensure that the nodes have the same view of the file system. To check the drive letters for the shared storage subsystem(s), run the Windows NT Disk Administrator utility on one node to find the drive letters for the shared disk drives and com- pare the drive letters with those reported by the Disk Administrator utility on the other cluster node.

If the two systems do not see the same drive letter desig- nation for the shared storage subsystems, the Cluster Server software was installed incorrectly. To correct this problem, uninstall the Cluster Server, reassign the drive letters, and then reinstall the Cluster Server. Refer to “Uninstalling Microsoft Cluster Server” later in this chapter for instructions.

Cluster Network Communications

For proper functioning of the cluster, the two PowerEdge systems must be able to communicate with one another. For instance, this communication includes the exchange of heartbeat messages, whereby the two servers inquire about each other’s status, or “health,” and acknowledge all such inquiries.

To verify network communications between the cluster nodes, open a command prompt on each cluster node. Type ipconfig /all at the prompt and press <Enter> to observe all known IP addresses on each local server. From each remote computer, issue the ping command to test the responsiveness of each IP address. Perform the same check with the cluster IP address and the IP address for each disk recovery group. Also check the cluster name and the name of each disk recovery group (if any).

3-6 Dell PowerEdge Cluster (PowerEdge 4200) Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

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Dell 4200 manual Scsi Controller IDs, Cluster Domain, RAID Controller Driver, Shared Storage Subsystem Drive Letters