IBM Partner Pavilion DS4100 manual Checking the LEDs

vLocate the failed component

vDetermine the recovery procedures to repair the failure

Although the storage server has fault LEDs, these lights do not necessarily indicate which component has failed or needs to be replaced, or which type of recovery procedure you must perform. In some cases (such as loss of redundancy in various components), the fault LED does not turn on. Only the DS4000 Storage Manager client can detect the failure.

For example, the recovery procedure for a Predictive Failure Analysis® (PFA) flag (impending drive failure) on a drive varies depending on the drive status (hot spare, unassigned, RAID level, current logical drive status, and so on). Depending on the circumstances, a PFA flag on a drive can indicate a high risk of data loss (if the drive is in a RAID 0 volume) or a minimal risk (if the drive is unassigned). Only the DS4000 Storage Manager client can identify the risk level and provide the necessary recovery procedures.

Note: For PFA flags, the General-system-error LED and Drive fault LEDs do not turn on, so checking the LEDs will not notify you of the failure, even if the risk of data loss is high.

Recovering from a storage-server failure might require you to perform procedures other than replacing the component (such as backing up the logical drive or failing a drive before removing it). The DS4000 Storage Manager client gives these procedures.

Attention: Not following the software-recovery procedures can result in data loss.

Checking the LEDs

The LEDs display the status of the storage server and components. Green LEDs indicate a normal operating status; amber LEDs indicate a possible failure.

It is important to check all the LEDs on the front and back of the storage server when you turn on the power. In addition to checking for faults, you can use the LEDs on the front of the storage server to determine if the drives are responding to I/O transmissions from the host.

For information about the LEDs on the front of the storage server, see:

vFigure 57 on page 72

vTable 12 on page 72

For information about the LEDs on the back of the storage server, see:

vFigure 59 on page 74

vTable 13 on page 73

vTable 14 on page 74

Chapter 4. Operating the storage server 71