User guide

Compaq Smart Array 431 Controller User Guide
Failed drives in hot-pluggable trays can be removed and replaced while host
system and storage system powers are both ON. Of course hot-pluggable
drives can also be replaced when the power is OFF. Remember, however, to
NEVER TURN OFF an external storage system while the host system power
is on. This would result in the failure of all drives in the storage system, which
would likely compromise your fault tolerance. When a hot-pluggable drive is
inserted, all disk activity on the controller will be temporarily paused while the
drive is spinning up (usually 20 seconds or so). If the drive is inserted while
power is ON, in fault tolerant configurations, recovery of data on the
replacement drive will automatically begin (indicated by blinking online
LED).
Non-hot-pluggable drives should only be replaced while the system power is
OFF. On all non-hot-pluggable drives, be sure to check the SCSI ID jumpers
to make sure that the correct drive is being replaced. To prevent compromising
the fault tolerance, it is imperative that the correct physical drive be replaced.
Also, be sure that the SCSI ID jumpers are set to the same SCSI ID on the
replacement drive. Note that the SCSI ID jumpers may be located at different
places on different drive models, but it is imperative that the SCSI ID on the
replacement drive always be set to the same value as the original failed drive
to prevent SCSI ID conflicts which could compromise the fault tolerance.
The capacity of replacement drives must be at least as large as the capacity of
the other drives in the array. The controller will immediately fail any drives
that have insufficient capacity without starting the Automatic Data Recovery.
If the Smart Array 431 Controller has a failed drive, replace the drive
with a new or known-good replacement drive. In some cases, a drive that has
previously failed by the controller may appear to be operational after the system
is power-cycled, or after removal and reinsertion of a hot-pluggable drive.
However, this practice is highly discouraged as the use of such “marginal”
drives may eventually result in data loss.
If a drive in a fault tolerant configuration is replaced while the system power is
OFF, the controller will display a Power-On Self-Test (POST) message during
the subsequent system startup. This indicates that the replacement drive has
been detected and that Automatic Data Recovery may need to be started. Press
F1 to initiate the background Automatic Data Recovery process. If Automatic
Data Recovery is not enabled, the logical drive remains in a “ready to recover”
condition and the same query displays at the next system restart.