HP ProLiant DL585 G5/G6 server technology

Table 2. Preferred order for populating PCIe expansion slots in the ProLiant DL585 server

Installation sequence Slot Speed

First 7 X8

Second 5 X8

Third 8 X8

Fourth 3 X4

Fifth 4 X4

Sixth 9 X4

Seventh 6 X4

Storage technologies

Smart Array P400 controller

The DL585 G5 includes a Smart Array P400 controller that supports Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)

storage. Some configurations of the DL585 G5 include a battery-backed write cache (BBWC) on the

P400 controller. For models that do not include the BBWC, it is available as an option. The battery

will last two days without receiving any power from the computer.

The BBWC buffers disk writes so that disk I/O can be handled efficiently. If there is an unexpected

system shutdown, the battery maintains the information in the buffer so that data will not be lost. In the

event of a complete system failure, the controller and disks can be moved to a different server, where

the controller will flush out the cache to the disks once power has been restored. If a controller fails,

the cache module and disks can be removed from the failed controller and installed on a working

controller, where the cache will be flushed out to the disks.

The Smart Array P400 supports RAID levels 0, 1, 1+0 and 5. RAID 6 (double parity) is available; it

requires the BBWC. Mirror splitting is available for RAID 1 arrays. This allows the user to split a

RAID 1 mirror into two separate RAID 0 arrays (breaking the mirror). Mirror recombining is the

opposite ― combining two RAID 0 arrays into a RAID 1 mirror. BBWC is not required for mirror

recombining.

The BBWC is required for capacity expansion functionality, which allows the user to add a physical

disk to an existing array. The controller then recalculates parity and balances the data across the

disks. During the expansion, data and logical structures on the array are preserved.

The P400 controller supports a recovery ROM. In the event of a failed attempt to flash the controller’s

ROM it reverts to the previous valid ROM. Online Drive Flashing is also supported. With Online Drive

Flashing, disk drive firmware updates can be pre-loaded onto the controller, and then at the next

reboot, the controller will flash the firmware on the hard drives.