HP Smart Storage Administrator User Guide Abstract This document identifies, and provides instructions for, the tools available for configuration, management, monitoring, and diagnosing of HP ProLiant controller and server products. This document is for the person who installs, administers, and troubleshoots servers and storage systems. HP assumes you are qualified in the servicing of computer equipment and trained in recognizing hazards in products with hazardous energy levels.
© Copyright 2013, 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Confidential computer software.
Contents Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 5 About HP SSA ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Benefits of using HP SSA ............................................................................................................................... 5 Support for configuration tasks ..............
Drive arrays ................................................................................................................................... 116 Effects of a hard drive failure on logical drives .................................................................................. 119 Fault-tolerance methods ................................................................................................................... 119 Diagnosing array problems ........................................................
Overview About HP SSA HP SSA is the main tool for configuring arrays on HP Smart Array controllers. It exists in three interface formats: the HP SSA GUI, the HP SSA CLI, and HP SSA Scripting. All formats provide support for configuration tasks (on page 6). Some of the advanced tasks are available in only one format. The diagnostic features in HP SSA are also available in the standalone software HP Smart Storage Administrator Diagnostics Utility CLI (on page 112).
Using HP SSA over other configuration utilities provides the following benefits: • GUI, CLI, and Scripting interfaces are available. • English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish languages are supported. • Applications can be executed using the following tools: o Any bootable media, such as a software CD o Any supported Host operating system with a web browser (Microsoft Windows 2003 is not supported.
Procedure HP Smart Array G6 and G7 controllers HP Smart Array Gen8 controllers HP Smart Array Gen9 controllers HP Smart HBA Gen9 controllers (RAID mode) (HBA Mode) Create or delete arrays and logical drives + + + Clear config only Enable or disable a physical drive write cache + + + – # # P-Series only – + + – logical drives per array n/a Enable solid state drives to be used as caching devices, using HP SmartCache + Enable optimized data path to solid state drives using HP SSA Smart
Procedure HP Smart Array G6 and G7 controllers HP Smart Array Gen8 controllers HP Smart Array Gen9 controllers HP Smart HBA Gen9 controllers (RAID mode) (HBA Mode) Set the spare activation mode + + + – Set the stripe size + + + – Set the surface scan + delay +2 Set the preferred + + – + + – Share a spare drive + among several arrays +/–2 Removing a drive + + – + P-Series only – + + – + + – + + – priority, and accelerator ratio controller for a logical drive (in syste
as the smallest drive in the array. Any excess capacity of a particular drive cannot be used in the array and is unavailable for data storage. • The more physical drives configured in an array, the greater the probability that the array will experience a drive failure during any given period. • To guard against the data loss that occurs when a drive fails, configure all logical drives in an array with a suitable fault-tolerance (RAID) method.
Operations Accessing HP SSA in the offline environment To access and launch the HP SSA GUI in an offline environment, use one of the following methods: • Launching HP SSA with HP Intelligent Provisioning (Gen8 or later) (on page 10) • Launching HP SSA during POST (Gen8 or later) (on page 10) • Launching HP SSA from an ISO image (all generations) (on page 11) To access the HP SSA CLI or HP SSA Scripting in an offline environment, you must launch HP SSA from an ISO image.
Launching HP SSA from an ISO image (all generations) To launch HP SSA, you can also boot from an ISO image. To prepare the image, use one of the following methods: • Mounting the image through iLO (on page 11) • Burning the image to a CD or DVD (on page 11) • Flashing the image to a USB memory key or SD card on a UEFI bootable server (on page 11) • Installing the image on a PXE server (on page 12) Booting from the ISO image on a drive, on a key, or through iLO provides the same GUI interface.
4. Format the USB key, and copy the contents of the mounted ISO to the USB key. 5. Insert the USB key into the server. The USB key can now be used to boot to the Offline HP Smart Storage Administrator environment. When booting from the USB key, a menu is presented. Select "USB BOOT: HP Smart Storage Administrator (HPSSA)" to mount the correct device during the boot sequence.
Configure PXELinux 1. Using the isolinux.cfg file from the /system/ directory of the CD as a guide, copy the labeled targets to your PXELinux configuration file. You do not need to include the entire file: label sos MENU LABEL HP ProLiant Offline HP SSA Image kernel hpboot_v.c32 append vmlinuz initrd=initrd.
You can add additional ISO images by specifying the additional iso# and iso#mnt arguments, for example, iso2=/path/to/iso2.iso iso2mnt=/mnt/iso2. Supported network file systems The following network file systems are supported for use with PXE booting: • NFS: iso1=nfs://192.168.0.99/path/to/hpssacd/image/hpssaoffline-1.60-16.0.iso iso1mnt=/mnt/bootdevice NFS volumes are mounted with the following options: • o -o ro o nolock Windows operating systems: iso1=smbfs://192.168.0.
o CLI—Click Start, and then select Programs>HP System Tools>HP Smart Storage Administrator CLI o Scripting—Run hpssascripting.exe. Launching HP SSA on a local server Microsoft OS 1. Click Start, and then select Programs>HP System Tools>HP Smart Storage Administrator>HP Smart Storage Administrator. HP SSA launches in either a browser or application window (v1.50 and later). HP SSA then scans the system and detects controllers.
For more information about the System Management Homepage, see the following: 5. o The HP System Management Homepage webpage (http://www.hp.com/go/smh) o The HP System Management Homepage Installation Guide on the HP website (http://www.hp.com/support/SMH_IG_en) Click HP Smart Storage Administrator on the left side of the screen. HP SSA opens, scans the remote server, and detects controllers. When controller detection is complete, the controllers are available on the Controller/Device menu. 6.
When configuration is complete, continue with the next step. 10. (Optional) To make newly created logical drives available for data storage, in a Windows OS, use the operating system disk management tools to create partitions and format the drives.
Image Description License Manager Keyboard functions and shortcuts can be used for navigating or performing actions in the GUI.
• The Smart Storage Administrator quick navigation menu is in the top, left-hand corner of the screen. Clicking the down arrow displays the available devices, and clicking one of the available devices displays additional information and options for the device. You can also return to a server Home screen, or you can choose Configuration or Diagnostics for a device listed. For more information, see "Configure screen (on page 19)" or "Diagnostics screen (on page 21).
The Configure screen displays the GUI elements from the Welcome screen and lists available actions, status messages, more detailed information, and a controller configuration summary for a selected controller.
• Devices and Tools—This panel, at left, displays systems, controllers, arrays, physical drives, logical drives, and a cache and license manager.
• Diagnostics Report • SmartSSD Wear Gauge Report When selecting either report, the available actions on the Actions panel include viewing the report or saving the report. For a list of possible tasks that are available on the Diagnostics screen, see "Diagnostic tasks (on page 53)." HP SSA help The Help button, at upper right, opens the embedded HP SSA help file.
Configuration tasks From the Configure screen, you can perform tasks related to controllers, arrays, physical drives, and logical drives. For certain tasks, the controller must have SAAP activated by a registered license key. For more information, see "About SAAP (on page 131)." When a controller or device is selected, the tasks that appear are a subset of the total number of possible tasks for the selected item. HP SSA lists or omits tasks based on the controller model and configuration.
Item Tasks Logical drive Create Logical Drive Create SmartCache for Logical Drive Convert Plaintext Data to Encrypted Data Delete Extend Logical Drive Instant Secure Erase Migrate RAID/Stripe Size Modifying Cache Write Policy Move Logical Drive* ** More Information Re-enable Failed Logical Drive View Status Alerts Volume Key Rekey Unused space Create Logical Drive More Information Physical drive Erase Drive** View Status Alerts Unassigned drives Create Array More Information *This task is not avai
3. Configure the controller. See "Performing a Configuration task (on page 25)." 4. When prompted, save the configuration. 5. Do one of the following: o Configure an additional controller. Repeat steps 3 through 5. o Click Exit HP SSA. Performing a Configuration task 1. Open HP SSA. For more information, see "Using the HP SSA GUI (on page 17)." 2. 3. Open the Configure panel by doing one of the following: o Choose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu.
The Actions, Status Messages, and Controller Configuration Summary panels appear. The listed tasks are available for this device in its current configuration. For more information, see "Configuration tasks (on page 23)." 4. Click a task button. A list of all possible options for that task appears on the right side of the screen, replacing the task list. 5. Select the settings or configuration options for the device. 6. Use the Next and Back buttons to navigate multiple screens of options. 7.
2. Select SAS SSD or SATA SSD for the drive type. 3. Make selections for Internal Drive Cages. 4. Click Create Array. 5. Make selections for RAID Level, Strip Size/Full Stripe Size, Sectors/Track, and Size. 6. Click Create Logical Drive. 7. Click Finish. By default, HP SSA Smart Path is enabled on SSD drives. 8. Under Configure>Devices, choose the array with the logical drive(s) you just created.
9. If you want to disable HP SSA Smart Path, click Disable HP SSD Smart Path. 10. Click Save. Rapid Parity Initialization When you create a logical drive, you must initialize the parity using Rapid Parity Initialization. RAID levels that use parity (RAID 5, RAID 6 (ADG), RAID 50, and RAID 60) require that the parity blocks be initialized to valid values. Valid parity data is required to enable enhanced data protection through background surface scan analysis and higher performance write operations.
3. o Choose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu. o Select an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available options. Select Arrays from the Devices menu. A list of arrays appears. 4. Select an array, and select Create Logical Drive from the Actions menu. 5. Make selections for RAID Level, Number of Parity Groups (NPG), Strip Size/Full Strip Size, Sectors/Track, Size, Parity Initialization Method, and Caching. 6.
3. To create an array, select from the list of available SATA SSD drives listed. When finished, click Create Array. 4. The Create Logical Drive window appears. Under the option SSD Over Provisioning Optimization, select Do not perform SSD Over Provisioning Optimization on the Array. 5. Click Create Logical Drive.
Changing the Spare Activation Mode The spare activation mode feature enables the controller firmware to activate a spare drive under the following conditions: • When a data drive reports a predictive failure (SMART) status • When a data drive fails; this mode is the default. In normal operations, and for older controllers, the firmware starts rebuilding a spare drive only when a data drive fails.
3. Select a controller from the Devices menu. 4. Select Create Array from the Actions panel. The Array details screen appears. 5. Select a controller, drive type, and physical drives, and click Create Array. 6. Select settings for Create Plaintext Volume, RAID Level, Strip Size/Full Strip Size, Sectors/Track, Size, and Caching. Click Create Logical Drive when complete. 7. Click Manage Spare Drives. 8. From the menu, select one of the following spare drive types: 9.
10. Click Save. 11. A confirmation screen appears. Click Yes to continue. 12. Click Manage Spare Drives to make additional selections, or click Finish. Cache Manager Caching increases database performance by writing data to the cache memory, instead of directly to the logical drives. Caching can be disabled to reserve the cache module for other logical drives on the array. To configure the controller cache: 1. Open HP SSA. For more information, see "Using the HP SSA GUI (on page 17)." 2. 3.
4. Click Controller Cache in the Cache Manager menu. 5. Click Caching Settings. 6. Select one or more logical drives to be cached.
7. Verify caching settings. 8. Click OK. About HP SmartCache HP SmartCache enables solid state drives to be used as caching devices for hard drive media.
o Select an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available options. 3. Select Cache Manager from the Tools menu. 4. Click Enable HP SmartCache in the Actions menu. 5. Select one or more physical drives from the list of available drives. 6. Click OK.
7. A pop-up window appears, indicating certain features will not be available with HP SmartCache enabled. If you want to continue, click Yes. 8. Create SmartCache for Logical Drive appears.
9. Select the following: o Logical drive to cache o Cache write policy and RAID type o Size of the cache. HP recommends 10% of the drive size, and it must be a minimum of 16 GiB. 10. Click Create SmartCache for Logical Drive. 11. SmartCache Details, SmartCache Statistics, and Device Path appear. Click Finish to proceed. The SmartCache is created for the Logical Drive.
4. Under actions, click Add License Key. 5. Enter the license key number. 6. Click Save. Enabling SmartCache Write-back HP SSA contains two different policies for data writes when caching: write-back and write-through. Write-back is a caching method where data is not copied to the data volume until absolutely necessary. Write-back might accelerate performance in comparison to the write-through policy by reducing the number of write operations to data volumes.
IMPORTANT: If a demo license key expires, all SmartCache volumes configured with write-back cache write policy are converted to write -through. When this happens, the logical drive details show different values for Cache Write Policy and Cache Write Policy Requested. If the license is reinstalled, the SmartCache volumes are restored to their original write-back cache write policy. To modify the logical drive cache policy settings: 1. Open HP SSA.
Working with mirrored arrays Among the advanced tasks possible with the HP SSA GUI, you can split a mirrored array and then recombine it. This process entails splitting a RAID 1 or RAID 1+0 mirror into two identical new arrays consisting of RAID 0 logical drives. Support for these procedures requires the following: • The HP SSA GUI must be run in offline mode. • HP Smart Array G6 and G7 controller models must have a valid SAAP license ("About SAAP" on page 131).
Recombining a split mirrored array 1. Run the HP SSA GUI in offline mode. See "Accessing HP SSA in the offline environment (on page 10)." 2. Open the Configure panel by doing one of the following: o Choose a device and click Configure in the quick navigation menu. o Select an available device from the Home screen, and then click Configure under the available options. 3. Select Arrays from the Devices menu. 4. Select the appropriate array from the Arrays menu. 5.
8. o The backup array always contains RAID 0 logical drives. o The primary array continues to be fully accessible to the operating system while the backup array is hidden from the operating system. When HP SSA finishes creating the split mirror backup, the new backup array appears in the Devices menu: The array includes the designation "Backup" at the beginning of the array name. Re-mirroring, rolling back, or re-activating a split mirror backup 1. Run the HP SSA GUI in offline mode.
The correct size is defined as a drive as large as the smallest drive on the array, but no larger than the smallest spare. • If using an HP ProLiant Smart Array G6 or G7 controller, an SAAP 1.0 license is activated. When you select Heal Array, and all conditions are met, one of the following actions occurs to the volume in the array: • If a volume has failed, HP SSA recreates the volume. This action occurs with a RAID 0 volume. • If a volume is degraded, HP SSA rebuilds the volume.
3. Click Create Arrays with RAID 0.
4. A new window appears, confirming each array will contain a single RAID 0 logical drive. Click Yes to continue.
5. A new window appears, confirming RAID 0 configuration. Click Finish to complete. Managing FLS Flexible Latency Scheduler provides the ability to control drive latency while still providing the benefit of hard drive optimization. It acts on a hard drive by inspecting a list of requests issued to a drive. FLS changes the controller logic when submitting requests to a rotating drive based on the longest outstanding command latency for a host request on that drive.
Setting Description Disable Controller will allow drives to optimize for throughput, resulting in higher maximum latencies for some workloads. High Controller will attempt to compel disks to complete operations in a timely manner, but still allow for some drive optimization. Doing so will lower the effective throughput for some workloads.
4. Scroll down to the option HDD Flexible Latency Optimization. 5. Select one of the following: o Disabled o Low o High 6. Click OK. 7. A summary page appears. Click Finish to exit. Managing modes RAID mode or HBA mode The controller operates in either RAID mode or HBA mode, but not both. Smart Array Controllers allowing HBA mode can be configured to run in RAID mode. In HBA mode, all physical drives are presented directly to the operating system and the hardware RAID engine is disabled.
IMPORTANT: Enabling HBA Mode exposes the physical drives to the operating system. Smart Array configuration is not allowed. To enable HBA mode: 1. Open HP SSA. For more information, see "Using the HP SSA GUI (on page 17)." 2. Select the controller. 3. Click Configure. 4. Click Enable HBA mode. 5. A prompt appears warning you that entering HBA mode will disable any drives configured using a Smart Array until the configuration is cleared. A reboot is required for HBA mode to be enabled.
4. Click Cancel HBA mode. 5. A prompt appears indicating that the controller will remain in Smart Array mode and no reboot is required. If you want to continue, click OK. 6. A summary page appears. Click Finish to exit. Power modes There are three available power modes: • Maximum performance • Minimum power • Balanced Maximum performance (default) This is the default setting. All settings are selected based on maximum performance. Power savings options that affect performance are disabled.
IMPORTANT: A reboot may be required after switching power modes in order to optimize savings and performance. IMPORTANT: When the power mode is set to Balanced, future controller configuration changes may require a reboot for optimal performance. To modify the power mode: 1. Open HP SSA. For more information, see "Using the HP SSA GUI (on page 17)." 2. Select the controller. 3. Click on Configure. 4. Click Modify Power Mode. 5. Select a power mode: o Min Power o Balanced o Max Performance 6.
Diagnostic tasks The HP SSA Diagnostics feature replaced the Array Diagnostic Utility supported by SmartStart v8.20 and earlier. HP SSA generates the following reports and logs: • Array diagnostic report This report contains information about all devices, such as array controllers, storage enclosures, drive cages, as well as logical, physical, and tape drives. For supported solid state drives, this report also contains SmartSSD Wear Gauge information.
For more information, see "Using the HP SSA GUI (on page 17)." 2. 3. Open the Diagnostics panel by doing one of the following: o Choose a device and click Diagnose in the quick navigation menu o Select an available device from the Home screen, and then click Diagnose under the available options. Choose a report type. For this example, use the Array Diagnostic Reports selection. 4. Select Array Diagnostic Report. The Actions panel for Array Diagnostic Report appears. 5.
For more information about reports and viewing them in a browser, see the following sections: • "Reported information (on page 112)" • "Identifying and viewing diagnostic report files (on page 115)" • "Identifying and viewing SmartSSD Wear Gauge report files (on page 116)" Using the HP SSA CLI Access HP SSA with one of the many methods available: • Accessing HP SSA in the offline environment (on page 10) • Accessing HP SSA in the online environment (on page 14) Some HP SSA CLI features are only
=> The remaining examples in the HP SSA CLI section of this guide are described as if entered in Console mode. Opening the CLI in Command mode To use Command mode, identify the appropriate HP SSA CLI command ("The variable" on page 56). Then, add the command to the end of the text line that is used for opening the CLI in Console mode (on page 55). The following examples use help as the command: • Using Microsoft Windows: C:\Program Files\hp\Hpssacli\Bin\hpssacli.
Nonconfiguration commands are also available: diag ("Generating a diagnostic report" on page 63) help ("The help command" on page 60) rescan ("Rescanning the system" on page 64) shorthand ("Keyword abbreviations" on page 58) show ("The show command" on page 58) version ("Displaying the current versions of the application layers" on page 60) A command often requires a parameter, and some parameters require a value, but the specific parameters and values that are valid for a given command depend on the targe
Keyword abbreviations Several commonly used keywords in the HP SSA CLI have acceptable abbreviations, as shown in the following table. For a complete list of abbreviations, enter help shorthand in the HP SSA CLI.
A typical output would be: Smart Array P421 in Slot 9 Bus Interface: PCI Slot: 9 Serial Number: PBKTV0XTAZZ005 RAID 6 (ADG) Status: Enabled Controller Status: OK Hardware Revision: A Firmware Version: 0.
Smart Array 5312 in Slot 3 (sn: P4AB5X9BFMLNTJ) Smart Array 532 in Slot 2 (sn: P44940LDAORS4F) Example 3: => ctrl ch="lab4" show config The output in this case will have detailed information because the target consists of only one device. A typical output would be: MSA1000 at dog (sn: P56350D9IP903J, csn: (9J3CJN71XDCH, wwn: 500805F3000BAC11) array A (SAS, Unused Space: 20091 MB) logicaldrive 1 (219 MB, RAID 6(ADG), OK) physicaldrive 1:1:3 (port 1:box 1:bay 3, SAS, 4.
• A term commonly used in HP SSA, such as migrate, extend, or cache • The word shorthand (gives a list of abbreviations for keywords in the CLI) The help feature of the HP SSA CLI behaves like a browser search engine in that each item that you add to the help input string reduces the amount of help output text. For example, help controller produces extensive information, while help controller remove restricts the help output to information about how the remove command applies to controllers.
Setting the target If you must perform several operations on a given target device, you can simplify the required commands by setting the device as the default for the CLI operations. After you have set the target, any command that you enter in the CLI without a specified is automatically applied to the set target. If you must also perform operations on other devices, you can still do so at any time by specifying the for each of those operations as usual.
Syntax: modify led=on|off Example commands: => ctrl ch="Lab 4" modify led=on => ctrl ch="Lab 4" array A modify led=off Deleting target devices Syntax: delete [forced] where can be a controller, array, or logical drive. Except in the case of controllers, you can delete several devices simultaneously if they are of similar type by using the all keyword.
Erasing a physical drive Syntax: modify [erase erasepattern=zero|random_zero|random_random_zero] where the target can be any valid physical drive. To stop an erase process at any time, enter the stoperase command.
To disable the video performance optimization feature, reverse the disable and enable values noted above, set the queue depth to automatic, and set mnpd to 0, as in the second example command.
If you specify individual drives, they do not have to form a continuous sequence. If you specify a range, the CLI automatically excludes from the target any drive in the range that is unavailable (for example, a drive is excluded if it already belongs to an array, is a spare, has too small a capacity, or has failed).
=> ctrl ch="Lab 4" create type=ld drives=1:13,1:14 size=300 raid=1+0 It is not strictly necessary to specify the RAID level in this example because it is the highest possible level for this scenario and will be used by default. However, it is included in the command as an example. Now, verify that the array has been formed: => ctrl ch="Lab 4" pd all show The screen response is: MSA1000 at Lab 4 array A physicaldrive 1:1:12 (port 1:box 1:bay12, SAS, 36.
You can use the drivetype parameter to specify the drive interface type. When selecting all physical drives, and multiple drive types exist, you must specify the drive interface type. Mixed drives are not allowed on the same array or logical drives. If all drives on a controller are the same type, this parameter is not needed.
Command Examples: To create a new SmartCache array for existing data logical drive 1 using the solid state drive 1e:1:10: => ctrl slot=1 create type=ldcache drives=1e:1:10 datald=1 The command above creates a new SmartCache array, for example, "array B." Only one SmartCache array may exist on a controller.
where is a controller. If you change the chassis name of a controller that you have set as the default target ("Setting the target" on page 62), you must reset the target. Example commands: => ctrl sn=P56350D9IP903J modify ch="Lab 6" => ctrl ch="Lab 4" modify ch="Lab 6" Managing spare drives Assigning one or more online spare drives to an array enables you to postpone replacement of faulty drives. However, it does not increase the fault-tolerance level of any logical drives in the array.
controller slot=1 modify spareactivationmode=failure Spare Management Mode in HPSSACLI The sparetype keyword allows you to specify the spare type as "dedicated" (default) or "autoreplace." A dedicated spare temporarily takes over for a failed drive and can be shared between arrays. An autoreplace spare replaces a failed drive and cannot be shared between arrays.
• If the array contains a RAID 1+0 logical drive, you can remove only an even number of drives. • If the array contains a compound RAID (RAID 50 or RAID 60) logical drive, you can remove drives only in multiples of the number of parity groups. For example, an array with 10 physical drives and a RAID 50 logical drive can be shrunk by removing two or four drives only.
• The destination drives must all be the same type (for example, SATA or SAS), but do not have to be same type as the drives in the source array. • A destination drive does not have to be an unassigned drive, but if it is assigned, it must be a drive assigned to the array being replaced. • The destination drives must have sufficient capacity to hold all the logical drives present in the source array.
=> ctrl slot=3 ld 1 modify size=max => ctrl slot=4 ld 1 modify size=? => ctrl slot=3 ld 2 modify size=500 forced Migrating a logical drive This command enables you to adjust the stripe size (data block size) or RAID level of a selected logical drive. For more information, see "Selecting a RAID method (on page 127)." Consider the following factors before performing a migration: • For some RAID-level migrations to be possible, you might need to add one or more drives to the array.
Assigning a redundant controller to a logical drive When you have set the preferred path mode ("Setting the preferred path mode" on page 74) in a redundant system to Manual, you must use the chassisslot command to assign each logical drive in the system to one of the redundant controllers. Syntax: modify [chassisslot=#|?] where is a valid logical drive on a controller that is in an active/active configuration and # denotes the chassis slot number of the redundant controller.
Changing the Expand Priority setting The Expand Priority setting determines the urgency with which the controller treats an internal command to expand an array. • At the low setting level, normal system operations take priority over an array expansion. • At the medium setting, expansion occurs for half of the time, and normal system operations occur for the rest of the time. • At the high setting, the expansion takes precedence over all other system operations.
modify reenable [forced] Example command: => ctrl slot=3 ld 1 modify reenable forced Changing the controller cache ratio The controller cache ratio setting determines the amount of memory allocated to read and write operations. Different types of applications have different optimum settings. You can change the ratio only if the controller has a battery-backed cache (because only battery-backed cache can be used for write cache) and if there are logical drives configured on the controller.
Enabling a script to exit on error When a script encounters an error during execution, the exitonerror keyword enables the script to decide whether to continue or to exit the application and return an exit code. Syntax: set [exitonerror=enable | disable] Example commands: set exitonerror=enable set eoe=disable show exitonerror Using the Split Mirror command The "splitmirror" command splits original RAID 1, RAID10 or ADM mirrored volumes into individual RAID0 volumes.
CAUTION: Specifying the write-back cache write policy could result in data loss in the event of failure of the cache volume. When using a RAID 0 cache volume, a single SSD failure might result in data loss. IMPORTANT: If a demo license key expires, all SmartCache volumes configured with write-back cache write policy are converted to write -through. When this happens, the logical drive details show different values for Cache Write Policy and Cache Write Policy Requested.
RAID mode Syntax: modify [raidmode=on|off|?] Where is any valid controller supporting this feature. Example command: controller slot=1 modify raidmode=on ctrl slot=1 modify raidmode=off Power mode IMPORTANT: A reboot may be required after switching power modes in order to optimize savings and performance. IMPORTANT: When the power mode is set to Balanced, future controller configuration changes may require a reboot for optimal performance.
Capturing a configuration To capture the configuration of a system, enter the following command at the system command line prompt: hpssascripting -c FILENAME [-internal | -external] -e FILENAME The -c switch information, if provided, specifies the capture file name. The capture filename is optional. If no capture file is specified, HP SSA names the default capture file acucapt.ini and places it in the HP SSA working directory.
Script file requirements The script file used by HP SSA Scripting is a text file that contains options and parameters required to configure array controllers. In order to be successfully implemented, scripts must follow the guidelines below: • Ordering of the options and parameters is important. Options need to be read in the sequence Control>Controller>Array>Logical Drive. • Lines of the script file are written in the form option=value or left blank.
; There can be multiple array specifications in the file Array = A|B|C|D|E|F|G|...Z|AA|AB|AC... | NEXT OnlineSpareMode = Dedicated | AutoReplace OnlineSpare = Port:ID,... | Box:Bay,... | Port:Box:Bay | None | N Drive = Port:ID... | Box:Bay... | Port:Box:Bay,... | N | * ; Caching Array Options ; There can be only one Caching Array specifications in the file CachingArray = A|B|C|D|E|F|…Z|AA|AB|AC… Drive = Port:ID,… | Box:Bay,… | Port:Box:Bay,...
Action= Configure Method= Custom ; Controller Specifications ; Controller HP Smart Array P800, Firmware Version 5.
ControllerPassword= MyBootTimePasswd Firmwarelock= On EncryptionRecoveryQuestion=This is my question EncryptionRecoveryAnswer=This is my answer ; ; ; ; optional optional optional optional Encryption configuration When the controller encryption settings are configured, HP SSA Scripting can be used to change some encryption parameters. The actual parameters to be changed vary based on the controller capabilities and the version of controller firmware.
Script file options Options in HP SSA script files are divided into the following categories: • Control category (on page 87) • Controller category (on page 87) • Array category (on page 92) • Logical Drive category (on page 94) Each category has several scripting options, but you do not always need to assign values to every option. HP SSA can use default values in some instances, while in other instances, a listed option might not be relevant for a particular configuration or scripting mode.
Category Options Logical Drive ArrayAccelerator LogicalDrive NumberOfParityGroups PreferredPath RAID Renumber Repeat ResourceVolumeOwner Sectors ShrinkSize Size SizeBlocks StripSize StripeSize Description These options describe a logical drive that is to be configured on an array that was previously specified in the script. (If no array was previously specified, HP SSA stops processing the script and creates an error file.
• DPOEnable ("Video performance options" on page 91) • DriveWriteCache (on page 89) • ElevatorSortEnable ("Video performance options" on page 91) • FLS (on page 89) • HBAmode (on page 89) • IRPEnable ("Video performance options" on page 91) • LicenseKey ("LicenseKey, DeleteLicenseKey" on page 90) • MNPDelay ("Video performance options" on page 91) • NoBatteryWriteCache (on page 90) • Power modes (on page 90) • PreferredPathMode (on page 90) • QueueDepth ("Video performance options" on
The values for this option are as follows: • Yes: The configuration will be cleared. All arrays and logical drives on the controller will be deleted. This option will fail if there are mounted logical volumes in the OS. • Forced: The configuration will be cleared. All arrays and logical drives on the controller will be deleted. • No: The configuration will not be cleared. This is the default option.
LicenseKey, DeleteLicenseKey These options enable you to enter a 25-character license key to activate or uninstall some controller features. Hyphens can be entered, but are not required. MNPDelay The MNPDelay option controls the behavior of the controller Monitor and Performance Analysis Delay and is expressed in values ranging from 0 to 60. This option is primarily used to tune controller performance for video applications and requires the installation of a valid license key.
QueueDepth QueueDepth controls the behavior of the cache write queue. This option is used to tune controller performance for video applications and requires the installation of a valid license key. Command values are 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, or Automatic. RapidParityInitialization This option enables Rapid Parity Initialization. The RPI command is not supported on all controllers and is dependent on firmware and hard disk support. Command options are Enable or Disable.
DPOEnable = No ElevatorSortEnable = Yes IRPEnable = No In addition, do the following: • Set the MNPDelay to any integer value from 1 to 60 (units are minutes). If you want to disable this option, set a value of zero instead.
CachingArray This option specifies the Caching Array ID. • In Configure mode, HP SSA creates a new caching array. The value that you specify for the array option must be the next available array letter in the existing configuration. AA follows Z, and BA follows AZ. • In Reconfigure mode, the array letter identifies an existing array, or it can identify the next available array letter in the existing configuration to create a new array.
Behavior Description AutoReplace The spare drive becomes a data drive when the rebuild is complete. AutoReplace spares cannot be shared across arrays. OnlineSpareMode is only supported on select HP Smart Array Px2x controllers and later. OnlineSpare The value for this option determines whether the array specified previously in the script will be configured with spare drives. The interface type for drives and spare drives must match, for example, all SAS or all SATA. • X:Y,...
• ArrayAccelerator (on page 95) • LogicalDrive (on page 95) • CachingLogicalDrive (on page 95) • CachedLogicalDrive (on page 96) • NumberOfParityGroups (on page 96) • PreferredPath (on page 96) • RAID (on page 96) • Renumber (on page 97) • Repeat (on page 97) • SetBootVolumePrimary (on page 97) • SetBootVolumeSecondary (on page 97) • Sectors (on page 97) • Size (on page 98) • SizeBlocks (on page 98) • SmartCache Write-back (on page 98) • SSDOPO (on page 98) • StripSize (on p
CachedLogicalDrive The value that you enter for this option specifies the data logical drive ID number to associate with the Caching logical drive. In Configure mode, HP SSA accepts the ID number of any existing logical drive. Caching logical drives and cached data drives must be on the same Array Controller. NumberOfParityGroups When you create a RAID 50 or RAID 60 configuration, you must also set the number of parity groups.
• 1ADM—RAID 1 with 3-way mirroring • 1—RAID 1 (mirroring with 2 disks) • 0—RAID 0 When using an HP Smart Array G6 or G7 controller, some RAID levels require SAAP ("About SAAP" on page 131). RAID levels supported in a Caching Local Volume are limited by the firmware. Renumber This option renumbers the logical drive to N. Typically used after a Join command, this option ensures the proper logical volume numbering is set, for example, the boot volume is ID 1.
Size This parameter specifies the size of the logical drive. Use the following values to set the size: • N—The size in MB • MAX—Uses all available unused space in the array for the logical drive. This value is the default. • MAXMBR—Creates the largest size of volume supportable by a 32-bit MBR (2TiB) In Reconfigure mode, the default setting is the existing size of the logical drive.
amount of data that is written to each physical drive. The full stripe size refers to the combined size of all the strips across all physical drives, excluding parity-only drives. You can enter a numerical value for this option to specify the size of the data strips (in kilobytes), or you can leave this option blank and allow HP SSA to use a default value. Strip sizes available for a RAID level vary based on the controller and the controller firmware level.
ControllerPasswordMode This command sets the boot password mode, allowing it to be suspended or deleted. This command has the following values: • Remove • Suspend • Resume Encryption This command enables or disables controller encryption through the values Enable or Disable.
EncryptionRecoveryQuestion This command sets the controller recovery question. The controller recovery question is used when the user has forgotten the Crypto user password and wishes to change it. Enter the question as the value. EncryptionRecoveryAnswer This command sets the controller password recovery answer. This is the answer to the question set through the EncryptionRecoveryQuestion command ("EncryptionRecoveryQuestion" on page 101). Enter the answer as the command value.
during initial configuration of the array controller. The command values are Enable or Disable, in reference to whether encrypted forms are enabled. The default form is encrypted, or enabled. XML support HP SSA scripting supports an XML file format for input and output. XML output To create an XML output document, use an XML suffix with the output file name: C:\hpssascripting -c out.xml The following text is an example XML output file.
Enabled 1I:4:6, 2I:2:4, 2I:2:3, 2I:2:2 No 5 52478 32 64 Enabled 5
The following example shows a simple input script in both standard and XML formats. Standard format XML format Action= Configure Method= Custom Configure Custom Controller= Slot 1 Array=A Drive= 1I:4:8, 1I:4:7 LogicalDrive= 1 RAID= 0 Size= 100000 1I:4:8, 1I:4:7 0 100000
]>
Warning code Warning message Comment or clarification 4012 The command is not availbale when MODE=RECONFIG — HP SSA scripting error messages Error code Error message Comment or clarification 0 — No error exists. The program completed successfully. 2053 Too many coinciding expansion, migration, The new configuration requires more or extension operations transformations than are possible at one time. For example, you cannot expand a logical volume and transform its RAID level at the same time.
Error code Error message Comment or clarification This error can occur when you attempt to add or drop a spare and the current configuration does not allow a spare state change for the array. 2832 2833 Invalid physical drive. Possible reasons for A specified physical drive is not a valid physical this include: a typing error, the drive already drive, or it cannot be placed in the array. exists in an array, the drive type does not match, or it is a failed drive.
Error code Error message Comment or clarification or logical drive. 2854 Invalid SSP Adapter ID The adapter ID is not a valid adapter ID that was detected by the controller. 2857 Invalid Surface Scan Delay — 2861 Controller does not support redundancy settings The controller is not redundant or does not support redundancy settings. 2864 Invalid Preferred Path Mode The specified value for the preferred path mode is not valid, or the controller is not available.
Error code Error message 3011 3012 Comment or clarification free space for the requested size Cannot extend logical drive, requested size — is too small Cannot specify both SIZE and SHRINKSIZE The input file cannot specify both a SIZE and SHRINKSIZE parameter. 3013 Cannot shrink Array The array shrink operation was not successful. 3014 Cannot move Array The array move operation was not successful.
Error code Error message Comment or clarification 3034 Operations on this Array are temporarily The user requested too many simultaneous changes. unavailable while the Array is transforming. For example, the user added new disks to an array (expand array) and changed the size or RAID level of logical volumes on the array. The solution is for the user to wait until the array transformation is complete. 3035 Invalid value for NoBatteryWriteCache A problem exists with the NOBATTERYWRITECACHE command.
Error code Error message Comment or clarification 3063 Plaintext to Ciphertext conversion of the volume failed The controller firmware returned an error when attempting to convert the logical volume from plaintext to ciphertext. 3064 Instant Secure Erase failed The controller firmware returned an error when attempting to perform an Instant Secure Erase operation on the selected logical volume.
Troubleshooting HP Smart Storage Administrator Diagnostics Utility CLI About the utility Formerly known as the Array Diagnostics Utility, the HP Smart Storage Administrator Diagnostics Utility CLI collects all possible information about storage devices in the system, detects all problems, and provides a detailed configuration report in .zip format. After downloading and installing the software, you can run the utility as a CLI in an online environment.
o Interface o WWID o Drive model o Serial number o Firmware revision o Total blocks The SmartSSD Wear Gauge report contains information on the current usage level of and expected lifetime remaining for solid state drives attached to the system.
Field Description SSD Wear Status Indicates the SSD's wear status with one of the following messages: • • • • • • • • • OK Not Supported The SmartSSD Wear Gauge log is full. Wear Gauge parameters are not available. SSD has less than 5% usage remaining before wearout. SSD has less than 2% usage remaining before wearout. SSD has less than an estimated 56 days before it reaches the maximum usage limit for writes (wearout) and should be replaced as soon as possible.
Launching the utility in CLI mode 1. Click Start>All Programs>HP System Tools>HP Smart Storage Administrator Diagnostics Utility>Read Me 2. Open a command prompt. 3. Change directory (cd) to the location where hpssaducli.exe is installed. This directory is commonly C:\Program Files\hp\hpssaducli\bin. 4. Do one of the following: o Generate a diagnostic report with the following command: hpssaducli -f adu-report.
Identifying and viewing SmartSSD Wear Gauge report files The SmartSSD Wear Gauge report output archive contains the following files: • SmartSSDWearGaugeReport.txt—SmartSSD wear gauge report in text format • SmartSSDWearGaugeReport.json—SmartSSD wear gauge report in JSON format • SmartSSDWearGaugeReport.htm—HTML viewer for the JSON wear gauge report To view the SmartSSD Wear Gauge report files in a browser: 1. Extract the following files to a directory: o o SmartSSDWearGaugeReport.
Connecting extra physical drives (Pn in the figure) to a system increases the total storage capacity but has no effect on the efficiency of read/write (R/W) operations. Data can still be transferred to only one physical drive at a time. With an array controller installed in the system, the capacity of several physical drives can be combined into one or more virtual units called logical drives (also called logical volumes and denoted by Ln in the figures in this section).
Because the read/write heads are active simultaneously, the same amount of data is written to each drive during any given time interval. Each unit of data is called a block (denoted by Bn in the figure), and adjacent blocks form a set of data stripes (Sn) across all the physical drives that comprise the logical drive. For data in the logical drive to be readable, the data block sequence must be the same in every stripe.
Each logical drive in an array is distributed across all of the physical drives within the array. A logical drive can also extend across more than one port on the same controller, but it cannot extend across more than one controller. Drive failure, although rare, is potentially catastrophic. For arrays that are configured as shown in the previous figure, failure of any physical drive in the array causes every logical drive in the array to suffer irretrievable data loss.
RAID 0—No fault tolerance A RAID 0 configuration provides data striping, but there is no protection against data loss when a drive fails. However, it is useful for rapid storage of large amounts of noncritical data (for printing or image editing, for example) or when cost is the most important consideration. Advantages: • Has the highest write performance of all RAID methods. • Has the lowest cost per unit of stored data of all RAID methods.
When the array contains only two physical drives, the fault-tolerance method is known as RAID 1. When the array has more than two physical drives, drives are mirrored in pairs, and the fault-tolerance method is known as RAID 1+0 or RAID 10. In each mirrored pair, the physical drive that is not busy answering other requests answers any read requests that are sent to the array. This behavior is called load balancing.
Disadvantages: • This method is expensive, because many drives are needed for fault tolerance. • Only half of the total drive capacity is usable for data storage. RAID 1 (ADM) and RAID 10 (ADM) In RAID 1 (ADM) and RAID 10 (ADM) configurations, data is duplicated to two additional drives. When the array contains only three physical drives, the fault-tolerance method is known as RAID 1 (ADM).
This fault-tolerance method is useful when high performance and data protection are more important than the cost of physical drives. Advantages: • This method has the highest read performance of any fault-tolerant configuration. • No data is lost when two drives fail, as long as no two failed drives are mirrored to another failed drive. • Up to two-thirds of the physical drives in the array can fail. Disadvantages: • This method is expensive, because many drives are needed for fault tolerance.
• Data is lost if a second drive fails before data from the first failed drive is rebuilt. RAID 6 (ADG)—Advanced Data Guarding NOTE: Not all controllers support RAID 6 (ADG). RAID 6 (ADG), like RAID 5, generates and stores parity information to protect against data loss caused by drive failure. With RAID 6 (ADG), however, two different sets of parity data are used (denoted by Px,y and Qx,y in the figure), allowing data to still be preserved if two drives fail.
RAID 50 RAID 50 is a nested RAID method in which the constituent hard drives are organized into several identical RAID 5 logical drive sets (parity groups). The smallest possible RAID 50 configuration has six drives organized into two parity groups of three drives each. For any given number of hard drives, data loss is least likely to occur when the drives are arranged into the configuration that has the largest possible number of parity groups.
RAID 60 RAID 60 is a nested RAID method in which the constituent hard drives are organized into several identical RAID 6 logical drive sets (parity groups). The smallest possible RAID 60 configuration has eight drives organized into two parity groups of four drives each. For any given number of hard drives, data loss is least likely to occur when the drives are arranged into the configuration that has the largest possible number of parity groups.
Item RAID 0 RAID 1+0 RAID 5 RAID 6 (ADG) RAID 1(0) (ADM) Alternative name Striping (no fault tolerance) Mirroring Distributed Data Guarding Advanced Data Guarding Advanced Data Mirroring n/2 n-1 n-2 n/3 50% 67% to 93% 50% to 96% 33% 2 3 4 3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Only if no three drives are in the same mirror group** High High Formula for number of drives usable n for data (n = total number of drives in array) 100% Percentage of drive space usable* Minimum number of physical dri
Neither of these alternative fault-tolerance methods supports online spares or automatic data recovery, nor do they support auto-reliability monitoring or interim data recovery. If you decide to use one of these alternative methods, configure your arrays with RAID 0 for maximum storage capacity and refer to your operating system documentation for further implementation details.
• French (http://www.hp.com/support/ProLiant_TSG_fr) • Italian (http://www.hp.com/support/ProLiant_TSG_it) • Spanish (http://www.hp.com/support/ProLiant_TSG_sp) • German (http://www.hp.com/support/ProLiant_TSG_gr) • Dutch (http://www.hp.com/support/ProLiant_TSG_nl) • Japanese (http://www.hp.
Optional components HP Secure Encryption HP Secure Encryption is a controller-based, enterprise-class data encryption solution that protects data at rest on any bulk storage attached to the HP Smart Array controller. The solution is available for both local and remote deployments, and works in conjunction with HP SmartCache. HP Secure Encryption functions to secure sensitive data, for example all business data or data deemed mission critical and requiring extra levels of protection.
HP Smart Array Advanced Pack About SAAP SAAP is a collection of additional and advanced controller features embedded in the firmware of select Smart Array controllers. For more information on the current features available through SAAP, see the HP website (http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13200_div/13200_div.pdf). To access SAAP features for HP Smart Array G6 or G7 controllers, you must purchase a license key from HP.
Acronyms and abbreviations ACU Array Configuration Utility ADG Advanced Data Guarding (also known as RAID 6) ADM Advanced Data Mirroring ADU Array Diagnostics Utility DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol FLS Flexible Latency Scheduler HP SSA HP Smart Storage Administrator iLO Integrated Lights-Out ISO International Organization for Standardization LUN logical unit number ORCA Option ROM Configuration for Arrays POST Power-On Self Test Acronyms and abbreviations 132
PXE preboot execution environment RIS reserve information sector SAAP Smart Array Advanced Pack SAS serial attached SCSI SATA serial ATA SMART self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology SSD solid-state drive SSP Selective Storage Presentation TFTP Trivial File Transfer Protocol WBEM Web-Based Enterprise Management WWN World Wide Name Acronyms and abbreviations 133
Documentation feedback HP is committed to providing documentation that meets your needs. To help us improve the documentation, send any errors, suggestions, or comments to Documentation Feedback (mailto:docsfeedback@hp.com). Include the document title and part number, version number, or the URL when submitting your feedback.
Index A D action mode, HPSSASCRIPTING 87 ACU scripting 92 ADG (advanced data guarding) 124 advanced data guarding (ADG) 124 array concepts 116 array configuration utilities, features 5 array configuration, copying 81 array, creating, HP SSA scripting 92, 93 array, expanding, HP SSA Scripting 93 array, healing 43 array, moving 72, 93 array, moving, HP SSA Scripting 93 array, replacing 44, 72 array, shrinking 25, 71, 93 array, shrinking, HP SSA Scripting 93 array, specifying and creating, HPSSASCRIPTING 92
fault-tolerance methods 119 features of the utilities 5 G GUI, accessing 10, 14 H healing an array 43 help command 60 help resources 22 HP Smart Storage Administrator Diagnostics Utility CLI 112, 128 HP SmartCaching 68 HP SSA GUI, methods for opening 17 HP SSA scripting error messages 106 I I/O path, modifying 74, 75, 90 icons 17 identifying devices 62 information about devices, obtaining 58 Input script, using 81, 82 installing the utility 114 Intelligent Provisioning 10 IRPEnable 91 ISO image 11, 12 IS
RAID level selection criteria 127 RAID levels 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126 RAID levels, comparison of features 126 RAID, software-based 127 RAID-level migration, HP SSA Scripting 96 Rapid Parity Initialization 28, 69 RebuildPriority 75, 91 recombining a split mirrored array 42 redundant controller, disabling 75 redundant controller, modifying I/O path of 74, 75, 90, 96 redundant controller, preferred path settings for 74, 75, 90, 96 re-enabling a failed logical drive 76 registering a license key 38 re-
