System information
Introduction
1-7
1.5 User Interfaces to Manage the RAID System
A variety of user interfaces and utilities are offered for managing the RAID systems, and you may choose to use one or
multiple of them that suit your management purposes. Introduction to these interfaces and utilities is described as below:
• Web-based GUI (chapter 2)
Web-based GUI is accessed by web browsers after proper setup of the network interfaces. It offers an at-a-glance
monitoring web page and full-function system management capability in structured web pages. It is advised to use the
web-based GUI to fully unleash the power of RAID system if you are a first-time user.
• SNMP Manager (section 2.9.2
2.9.2 2.9.2
2.9.2 Setting up the SNMP
Setting up the SNMPSetting up the SNMP
Setting up the SNMP)
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a widely used protocol based on TCP/IP for monitoring the health of
network-attached equipments. The RAID controller is equipped with an embedded SNMP Agent to support SNMP-based
monitoring. You can use SNMP applications (SNMP v1 or v2c-compliant) at remote computers to get event notification by
SNMP traps and watch the status of a RAID system.
• LCD Console (chapter 3)
LCD console is offered for quick configuration and for display of simplified information and alerting messages. It is mostly
for initializing network setting to bring up the web-based GUI or for knowing the chassis status. Using the LCD console for
configuration is only advised when you know clearly the preset configurations.
• CLI Commands (chapter 4)
Command line interface can be accessed by RS-232 port, TELNET, or SSH. You can also use host-based CLI software
to manage RAID systems by in-band (FC/SAS/SCSI) or out-of-band (Ethernet) interfaces. It helps you to complete
configurations in a fast way since you can type in text commands with parameters quickly without the need to do browse
and click. You may also use CLI scripts for repeating configurations when deploying many systems.
• RAIDGuard Central (chapter 5)
RAIDGuard Central is a software suite that helps you to manage multiple RAID systems installed in multiple networks. It
locates these systems by broadcasting and will be constantly monitoring them. It receives events from the systems, and
stores all the events to single database. It also provides event notification by MSN messages.
• Microsoft VDS (chapter 5)
VDS is a standard of RAID management interface for Windows systems. The RAID system can be accessed by VDS-
compliant software after you install the corresponding VDS provider to your systems. This helps you to manage RAID
systems from different vendors using single software. But note because VDS is limited to general functions, you need to
use Web GUI or CLI for some advanced functions of this RAID system.
1.6 Initially Configuring the RAID System
Properly configuring your RAID systems helps you to get the most out of your investments on the storage hardware and
guarantee planned service level agreements. It also reduces your maintenance efforts and avoids potential problems that
might cause data loss or discontinued operations. It is especially true for a powerful and flexible RAID system like the one
you have now. This section provides some basic steps and guidelines for your reference. The initial configuration has the
following tasks:
1. Understanding your users’ needs and environments
2. Configuring the hardware settings and doing health check
3. Organizing and presenting the storage resources
4. Installing and launching bundled software (optionally)
5. Getting ready for future maintenance tasks
• Understanding your users’ needs and environments
The first step for procuring or deploying any equipment is to know the users’ needs and environments, assuming you’ve
already known much about your RAID systems. Users’ needs include the capacity, performance, reliability, and sharing.
The environment information includes the applications, operating systems (standalone or clustered), host systems, host
adapters, switches, topologies (direct-attached or networked storage), disk drives (enterprise-class, near-line, or
desktop) and management networks. Extra cares are needed if you are installing the RAID systems to an existed
infrastructure under operations. Check your RAID system supplier to ensure good interoperability between the RAID
system and the components in your environments. You will also need to know the potential changes in the future, like
capacity growth rate or adding host systems, such that you can have plans for data migration and reconfigurations. The
quality of your configurations will largely depend on the information you collect. It is advised to write down the information
of users’ needs and environments as well as the configurations in your mind, which can be very helpful guidance through
the all the lifetime of the RAID systems.