Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups | Dell MD3600I

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Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

This chapter describes the storage array concepts, which help in configuring and operating the Dell PowerVault MD3600i Series storage arrays.

Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups

Physical disks in your storage array provide the physical storage capacity for your data. Before you can begin writing data to the storage array, you must configure the physical storage capacity into logical components, called disk groups and virtual disks.

A disk group is a set of physical disks upon which multiple virtual disks are created. The maximum number of physical disks supported in a disk group is 96 drives for RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID10, and 30 drives for RAID 5 and RAID 6. You can create disk groups from unconfigured capacity on your storage array.

A virtual disk is a partition in a disk group that is made up of contiguous data segments of the physical disks in the disk group. A virtual disk consists of data segments from all physical disks in the disk group.

All virtual disks in a disk group support the same RAID level. The storage array supports up to 255 virtual disks (minimum size of 10 MB each) that can be assigned to host servers. Each virtual disk is assigned a Logical Unit Number (LUN) that is recognized by the host operating system.

Virtual disks and disk groups are set up according to how you plan to organize your data. For example, you might have one virtual disk for inventory, a second virtual disk for financial and tax information, and so on.

Planning: MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts

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Dell MD3600I Planning MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts, Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups

Contents

Dell PowerVault MD3600i and MD3620i Storage Arrays December Contents Planning RAID Controller Modules Cache Functions and Features Virtual Disk Operations Limit Out-of-Band and In-Band Management Configuring Alert Notifications Enabling or Disabling the Event Monitor Edit, Remove, or Rename Host Topology Managing Host Port Identifiers 104 103107 126 117130 Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping 131 145 143146 147 Re-Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk ContentsCreating a Virtual Disk Copy for Virtual Disk Copy Restrictions Stopping a Virtual Disk Copy 178 Using DM Multipathing Devices 186179 Preparing Host Servers 179 209 Downloading Both RAID Controller210 211 Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module 224 RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit 222227 229 237 Recovering From an Unresponsive241 242 Troubleshooting Power 264 Safety First-For you and Your Array 263Troubleshooting Expansion Enclosure Management Modules 265 Troubleshooting a Damaged Array 270 272 Contents About This Document Introduction Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Configuration Utility Dell PowerVault Modular Disk Storage ManagerMD3600i Series Storage Array Other Information You May Need Introduction Overview Planning About Your Storage Array Front-Panel Features and Indicators Hardware Features Planning About Your Storage Array Item Indicator, Button, or Icon Description Connector Back-Panel Features and Indicators Hard Drive Indicators Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns Hard-Drive Status Indicator Pattern Condition Power Supply and Cooling Fan Features Power Indicator Codes Item LED Type Icon Description Power Indicator Codes RAID Controller Modules Planning RAID Controller Modules MD3600i Series iSCSI RAID Controller Module RAID Controller Module Connectors and Features Item Component Function Battery Backup Unit RAID Controller Module-Additional FeaturesStorage Array Thermal Shutdown Shutdown Threshold Type System Password Reset Cache Functions and FeaturesCache Mirroring Write-Back Cache Write-Through Cache Physical Disks, Virtual Disks, and Disk Groups Planning MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts Physical Disk States Physical Disks Virtual Disks and Disk Groups Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology RAID Controller Virtual Disk States Description Virtual Disk States RAID Level Usage RAID Levels RAID Virtual Disk Operations Segment SizeVirtual Disk Initialization Background Initialization Media Verification Consistency CheckCycle Time Foreground Initialization Virtual Disk Operations Limit Disk Group OperationsRAID Level Migration Virtual Disk Capacity Expansion Segment Size MigrationDisk Group Expansion Disk Group Defragmentation RAID Background Operations PriorityDisk Group Operations Limit Disk Migration Virtual Disk Migration and Disk Roaming Planning MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts Host Server-to-Virtual Disk Mapping Disk Roaming Host Types Advanced Features Snapshot Repository Virtual Disk Snapshot Virtual Disks Source Virtual Disk Virtual Disk CopyTarget Virtual Disk Using Snapshot and Disk Copy Together Virtual Disk RecoveryMulti-Path Software Virtual Disk Ownership Preferred and Alternate Controllers and Paths Load Balancing Monitoring MD3600i Series System Performance Planning MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts Performance Monitor Table Description Column Headings Planning MD3600i Series Storage Array Terms and Concepts User Interface Configuration Overview Enterprise Management Window Array Management Window Inheriting the System Settings Configuration Overview Out-of-Band and In-Band Management Configuration About Your Storage ArrayOut-of-Band Management Adding Storage Arrays Storage ArraysIn-Band Management Manual Addition of a Storage Array Automatic Discovery of Storage ArraysSelect Edit→ Add Storage Array Setting Up Your Storage Array Configuration About Your Storage Array Locating Storage Arrays AMW Setup tab, select Rename Storage ArrayNaming or Renaming Storage Arrays AMW, select Storage Array→ Blink→ Storage Array Name/Rename Storage Arrays dialog appears Setting a Password Type the New password PasswordPassword Guidelines Adding/Editing a Comment to an Existing Storage Array Viewing Storage Array ConnectionsSelect Edit→ Comment Removing Storage Arrays Enabling Premium FeaturesSelect Edit→ Remove→ Storage Array Displaying Failover Alert Changing the Cache Settings on the Storage Array Changing the Enclosure Order in the Physical Pane Changing Expansion Enclosure ID NumbersAMW, select Storage Array→ Change→ Enclosure Order Configuring E-mail Alerts Configuring Alert NotificationsSelect Configure Alerts Select All storage arrays Configuration About Your Storage Array Configuration About Your Storage Array Configuring Snmp Alerts Battery Settings Setting the Storage Array RAID Controller Module Clocks Changing the iSCSI Target Authentication Configuration Using iSCSISelect Manage iSCSI Settings Enter the Target Chap secret Select the Mutual Authentication tab Entering Mutual Authentication PermissionsClick OK in the Manage iSCSI Settings window Creating Chap Secrets Target Chap Secret Initiator Chap SecretValid Characters for Chap Secrets Valid Ascii Characters for Chap Secrets Changing the iSCSI Target Identification Changing the iSCSI Target Discovery SettingsSelect the Target Identification tab Select the Target Discovery tab Configuring the iSCSI Host Ports Configuration Using iSCSI Advanced iSCSI Host Port Settings Description Advanced iSCSI Host Ports Settings Viewing or Ending an iSCSI Session Click Set Baseline Viewing iSCSI Statistics and Setting Baseline Statistics Mappings→ Move Edit, Remove, or Rename Host Topology Configuration Event Monitor Windows Enabling or Disabling the Event MonitorLinux Configuring Host Access Configuration About Your Host Using the Mappings Tab Select Mappings→ Define→ Host Defining a Host Select Mappings→ Remove Removing Host Access Creating a Host Group Managing Host GroupsSelect Mappings→ Define→ Host Group Adding a Host to a Host Group Removing a Host From a Host Group Moving a Host to a Different Host GroupSelect Mappings→ Move Move Host Confirmation dialog appears Host Topology Removing a Host Group101 Linux Starting or Stopping the Host Context AgentWindows Click Action→ Start 103 Data Path Protection Add Host Port Identifier dialog appears Managing Host Port Identifiers104 105 106 Creating Disk Groups and Virtual Disks Configuration Disk Groups and Virtual Disks107 Introduction Create Disk Group window is displayed Creating Disk Groups108 109 Creating Virtual Disks Locating a Disk Group 111 112 Changing the Virtual Disk Modification Priority 113 Changing the Virtual Disk Cache Settings 114 Select Virtual Disk→ Change→ Segment Size Changing the Segment Size of a Virtual Disk115 File system typical Database Multimedia Custom Changing the I/O Type116 Physical Disk Security with Self Encrypting Disk Choosing an Appropriate Physical Disk Type117 118 119 Save Security Key File Validate Security Key Unlock Drives 120 Creating a Security Key 121 Click Create Key Changing a Security Key122 123 Confirm Change Security Key window is displayed Click Change Key Saving a Security Key124 Unlocking Secure Physical Disks Validate Security Key125 Erasing Secure Physical Disks Configuring Hot Spare Physical Disks126 Hot Spare Physical Disk Options window is displayed Select Physical disk→ Hot Spare Coverage127 Global Hot Spares Hot Spares and RebuildClick Unassign 128 Hot Spare Drive Protection Hot Spare Operation129 130 Enclosure Loss ProtectionCriteria for Enclosure Loss Protection RAID Level 131 Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping 132 Creating Host-to-Virtual Disk Mappings 133 Modifying and Removing Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping 134 Changing Controller Ownership of the Virtual Disk Select Virtual Disk→ Change→ Ownership/Preferred Path Removing Host-to-Virtual Disk Mapping135 136 Select Disk Group→ Change→ Ownership/Preferred Path Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group Restricted MappingsSelect Disk Group→ Change→ RAID Level 137 138 139 140 Storage Partitioning Changing the RAID Level of a Disk Group141 142 Select Disk Group→ Add Free Capacity Physical Disks Disk Group and Virtual Disk Expansion143 Using Unconfigured Capacity Using Free CapacityVirtual Disk Expansion 144 Export Disk Group Disk Group MigrationExporting a Disk Group Non-Exportable Components Importing a Disk Group Import Disk Group146 Non-Importable Components Storage Array Media Scan147 148 Changing Media Scan Settings 149 Suspending the Media Scan 150 151 Configuration Premium Feature- Snapshot Virtual Disks 152 About the Simple Path Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Simple Path153 154 155 About the Advanced Path Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Advanced Path156 157 158 159 Specify Virtual Disk Parameters window is displayed Creating the Snapshot Using the Advanced PathAutomatic Map later with Storage Partition 160 161 Specifying Snapshot Virtual Disk Names 162 163 Snapshot Repository Capacity 164 Click Add Physical Disks 165 Add Physical Disks window closes Disabling a Snapshot Virtual Disk Re-Creating Snapshot Virtual DisksSelect Virtual Disk→ Snapshot→ Re-create 166 167 Preparing Host Servers to Re-Create a Snapshot Virtual Disk Select Virtual Disk → Snapshot→ Re-create Re-Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk168 169 Configuration Premium Feature- Virtual Disk Copy 170 Creating a Virtual Disk Copy for an Mscs Shared Disk 171 Virtual Disk Read/Write Permissions Creating a Virtual Disk Copy Virtual Disk Copy Restrictions172 Virtual Disk Copy and Modification Operations Before you Begin173 Create Copy Wizard Preferred RAID Controller Module OwnershipFailed Virtual Disk Copy 174 Copy Manager Failed RAID Controller ModuleCopying the Virtual Disk 175 176 Storage Array Performance During Virtual Disk Copy Setting Copy Priority177 Select Change→ Copy Priority Stopping a Virtual Disk Copy178 Preparing Host Servers to Recopy a Virtual Disk Recopying a Virtual Disk179 180 Recopying the Virtual Disk Select Copy→ Re-Copy Removing Copy Pairs181 182 183 184 185 Configuration Device Mapper Multipath for Linux Prerequisites Using DM Multipathing Devices186 187 Device Mapper Configuration Steps 188 Scan for Newly Added Virtual Disks 189 Create a New fdisk Partition on a Multipath Device Node Dev/mapper/mpathxpy Add a New Partition to Device MapperDev/mapper/mpathx-party Dev/mapper/mpathxparty Create a File System on a Device Mapper Partition Linux Host Server Reboot Best PracticesMount a Device Mapper Partition Ready For Use Important Information About Special Partitions Useful Device Mapper Commands Description192 193 Limitations and Known Issues 194 TroubleshootingQuestion Answer 195 196 197 Downloading RAID Controller and Nvsram Packages 198 Downloading Both RAID Controller and Nvsram Firmware 199 Click Transfer 200 201 Downloading Only Nvsram Firmware 202 203 Downloading Physical Disk Firmware 204 Downloading MD1200 Series Expansion Module EMM Firmware AMW, select Advanced→ Maintenance→ Download→ EMM FirmwareDownload Environmental EMM Firmware dialog appears 205 206 Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology Smart 207 Media Errors and Unreadable Sectors 208 Recommended Tools Management Installing Array Components209 Front Bezel Optional Installing the Front BezelRemoving the Front Bezel 210 Hard Drives Safety Models AMT, E03J, and E04JRemoving a Drive Blank 211 Removing a Hard Drive Installing a Drive Blank212 213 Removing and Installing a Hard Drive 214 Installing a Hard Drive 215 Removing a Hard Drive From a Hard-Drive Carrier 216 RAID Controller Module Installing a Hard Drive Into a Drive CarrierRemoving a RAID Controller Module Blank 217 218 Installing a RAID Controller Module Blank 219 Removing a RAID Controller Module Opening the RAID Controller Module Installing a RAID Controller Module220 221 Closing the RAID Controller Module Removing the RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit222 223 Installing the RAID Controller Module Backup Battery Unit Removing a Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module224 225 226 Installing a Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module Removing the Control Panel Control Panel227 228 Installing the Control Panel Removing the Backplane Backplane229 230 17. Removing and Installing the Backplane-PowerVault MD3620i 16. Removing and Installing the Backplane-PowerVault MD3600i 232 Installing the Backplane Viewing the Firmware Inventory Management Firmware Inventory233 234 Virtual Disk Service Microsoft ServicesVolume Shadow-Copy Service Management System Interfaces 236 Start-Up Routine Troubleshooting Your Storage Array SoftwareDevice Health Conditions 237 238 On the Setup tab, select Manage a Storage ArrayStatus Icon Description Additional Status Icons Description 239 240 Automatically Collect the Support Bundle Data Storage Array Support DataEnter the Execution summary 241 242 Retrieving Trace Buffers 243 Collect Physical Disk Data window is displayed Collecting Physical Disk Data244 245 Event Log Storage Array Profile Recovery GuruSelect Storage Array→ View→ Profile 246 247 Viewing the Physical Associations Viewing the Logical Associations248 249 Finding Nodes Select Find all free capacity nodes Using Go ToClick Find Next 250 251 Recovering From an Unresponsive Storage Array Condition 252 253 254 Locating a Physical Disk Select Physical Disk→ Blink→ Expansion Enclosure Locating an Expansion Enclosure255 256 Capturing the State Information 257 SMrepassist Utility Unidentified Devices Recovering From an Unidentified Storage Array258 259 260 261 Starting or Restarting the Host Context Agent Software 262 Troubleshooting Loss of Communication Troubleshooting Your ArrayTroubleshooting External Connections 263 264 Troubleshooting Power Supply/Cooling Fan Module Troubleshooting Expansion Enclosure Management Modules Troubleshooting Array Cooling Problems265 266 Troubleshooting RAID Controller Modules 267 268 Troubleshooting Hard Drives Troubleshooting a Wet Storage Array Troubleshooting Array and Expansion Enclosure Connections269 270 Troubleshooting a Damaged Array Conditions ECC ErrorsInvalid Storage Array 271 Critical Conditions PCI ErrorsNoncritical Conditions 272 Contacting Dell Getting HelpVisit support.dell.com Click All Support from Support menu 274 275 Index 276 277 278 279 Smart 280 281 282