to the cache memory of both controllers. It is, therefore, important to change the command module and array module batteries at the recommended time intervals. The controllers in the storage array keep track of the age (in days) of the battery. After replacing the battery, the age must be reset so that you will receive an accurate critical alert notification when the battery is nearing expiration and when it has expired.

Hot Spare Drives

A valuable strategy to protect data is to assign available drives in the storage array as hot spare drives. A hot spare is a drive, containing no data, which acts as a standby in the storage array in case a drive fails in a RAID 1, 3, or 5 volume. The hot spare adds another level of redundancy to the storage array. Generally, the drive assigned as a hot spare should have a capacity that is equal to or greater than the capacity of the largest drive on the storage array. If a drive fails in the storage array, the hot spare is automatically substituted for the failed drive without requiring user intervention. If a hot spare is available when a drive fails, the controller uses redundancy data to reconstruct the data onto the hot spare. When you have physically replaced the failed drive, the data from the hot spare is copied back to the replacement drive. This is called copyback.

If you do not have a hot spare, you can still replace a failed disk drive while the storage array is operating. If the drive is part of a RAID 1, 3, or 5 volume group, the controller will use redundancy data to automatically reconstruct the data onto the replacement drive. This is called reconstruction.

Background Media Scan

A media scan is a background process performed by the controllers to provide error detection on the drive media. A media scan detects errors and reports them to the Event Log.

The media scan must be enabled for the entire storage array as well as enabled on each volume.

The media scan runs on all volumes in the storage array for which it has been enabled. The advantage of enabling a media scan is that the process can find media errors before they disrupt normal drive reads and writes. The media scan process scans all volume data to verify that it can be accessed, and if you enable a redundancy check, it also scans the volume redundancy data.

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Sun Microsystems 5310 NAS manual Hot Spare Drives, Background Media Scan
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5310 NAS specifications

Sun Microsystems, known for its innovative computing solutions, launched the Sun 5310 Network Attached Storage (NAS) system, which marked a significant advancement in the realm of storage solutions in the early 2000s. The 5310 NAS was designed to provide high-performance, reliable, and scalable storage tailored for enterprise environments.

One of the standout features of the Sun 5310 NAS is its file-serving capabilities, which support multiple protocols, notably NFS (Network File System) and CIFS (Common Internet File System). This dual-protocol support allowed organizations to seamlessly integrate the NAS into diverse IT ecosystems, facilitating interoperability between UNIX, Linux, and Windows systems. The enhanced file-sharing capabilities made it an ideal solution for businesses with mixed operating environments.

The Sun 5310 NAS incorporates cutting-edge technologies to ensure high availability and data integrity. The system utilized a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology, providing various RAID levels to protect against data loss while optimizing performance. Additionally, the device featured hot-swappable drives, enabling maintenance and upgrades with minimal downtime, a crucial factor for business continuity.

Equipped with advanced management software, the Sun 5310 NAS offered users an intuitive interface for monitoring storage health and performance. This software included comprehensive reporting functionalities that allowed IT administrators to oversee usage patterns and capacity planning efficiently.

Scalability was another defining characteristic of the Sun 5310 NAS. The system could easily expand with additional storage modules, accommodating the growing needs of an organization without the necessity for complete system overhauls. This flexibility ensured that businesses could adapt their storage solutions to meet evolving data storage needs without incurring significant costs or disruptions.

In terms of performance, the Sun 5310 NAS featured high I/O throughput achieved through its robust hardware architecture and optimized file serving capabilities. This performance baseline was crucial for organizations that relied on heavy data workloads and required rapid access to information.

In summary, the Sun 5310 NAS from Sun Microsystems embodied a forward-thinking approach to network storage, blending reliability, scalability, and multi-protocol support. Its user-friendly management software, combined with the robustness of RAID technology and hot-swappable drives, made it a preferred choice for enterprises looking to streamline their storage infrastructure while safeguarding critical data.
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