Installation guide

Installing and Conguring the Dell | EMC SAN
or PowerVault Shared Disk Array
Installing and conguring a Dell | EMC SAN is a discipline unto itself. It requires training and specic storage domain knowledge. For-
tunately, most of the “heavy liing” is usually performed by Dell Professional Services. Aer the inial conguraon, management
becomes much more straighorward, and it is relavely easy to manage these storage arrays with the Navisphere Manager interface.
In addion, simple web interfaces are available for managing Dell | EMC Fibre Channel switches.
Dell | EMC Fibre Channel Storage Installaon Steps
Even if your bre channel storage array is congured by Dell Professional Services, it is important to understand the overall
installaon and conguraon process. Below is an overview of the key steps:
• Inial hardware setup – this includes placing hardware in racks, connecng cables between components, and powering up
the storage array
• Install Host Bus Adapters in the PowerEdge 6850 servers
o Two HBAs are required for high availability
o Both PCI-Express and PCI-X versions are available
o Be sure to use slots with the same PCI version and bus speed for both HBAs on each cluster server (there is a
diagram of slots on the top inside cover of the 6850).
• Inialize the CXx00 array – This involves accessing the storage array through a serial connecon or cross-over cable, and
seng key parameters. In addion, any required array based soware is installed or upgraded at this me.
• Install host based soware –
o Qlogic/Emulex HBA drivers - In addion to installing the correct version of the HBA driver, it is important to
update the Qlogic or Emulex system BIOS to the currently supported level.
o Navisphere Agent – this host-based agent will be used to register connected hosts with the storage array.
o PowerPath – this soware is used to congure failover and load balancing between bre channel connecons on
a given server.
• Set up networking – In addion to conguring public network access for cluster servers, you must also connect the storage
array to the network. Theseconnecons allow server discovery by the storage array.
• Congure Fibre Channel switches – this step involves connecng to the switches via a serial or web interface. Inial
conguraon is performed, in preparaon for zoning.
• Perform Zoning on Fibre Channel switches – Zoning is the process of mapping servers to the storage array and granng
specic access right to servers
• Congure storage with Navisphere – these are the key steps for organizing and presenng storage to the servers. Included
are:
o Create RAID groups from sets of disks
o Subdivide the RAID groups into logical disk units called LUNs
o Create a storage group that includes the servers and LUNs for the Oracle RAC system. The components of this
storage group will be allowed to connect to each other.
• Access storage through each server in the cluster – all servers should now have the same view of the shared external
storage. PowerPath soware adds value by managing mulple connecons to the storage array per server for path failover
and load balancing.