The Storage Management Service provides storage management information in an integrated graphical view. The current release of Server Administrator provides two versions of the Storage Management Service:
Basic Storage Management Service (Array Manager)
The basic Storage Management Service reports storage status to Server Administrator. Array Manager is also installed with the basic Storage Management Service. Array Manager provides RAID management and is launched as a separate application from Server Administrator. Array Manager is installed using Express Setup on Novell® NetWare® and on systems that have an existing Array Manager installation.
The basic Storage Management Service of Server Administrator:
Enables you to view the status of local and remote storage attached to a monitored system.
Supports SCSI, SATA, and ATA.
Provides RAID storage management and Fibre Channel support using Array Manager as a separately launched application.
Enhanced Storage Management Service (Storage Management)
The enhanced Storage Management Service provides RAID storage management that is integrated with Server Administrator. On Microsoft® Windows® and Red Hat® Enterprise Linux, the enhanced Storage Management Service is installed using Express Setup providing that the system does not have an existing Array Manager installation.
In addition to the tasks that you can perform using the basic Storage Management Service, the enhanced Storage Management Service:
Allows you to perform controller and enclosure functions for all supported RAID and non-RAID controllers and enclosures from a single graphical or command line interface without the use of the controller BIOS utilities.
Protects your data by configuring data redundancy, assigning hot spares, or rebuilding failed drives.
Provides a graphical interface that is wizard-driven with features for novice and advanced users and detailed online help.
Provides a command line interface that is fully featured and scriptable.
Provides detailed online help.
See the Server Administrator Command Line Interface User's Guide for information about running Storage Management Service from the command line.
NOTICE: The enhanced Storage Management Service (Storage Management) enables you to perform storage tasks that are data-destructive. Storage Management should be used by experienced storage administrators who are familiar with their storage environment.
NOTE: The enhanced Storage Management Service is available only on systems running Microsoft® Windows® and Red Hat® Enterprise Linux operating systems. On systems running Windows operating systems, you can choose to install either the enhanced Storage Management or the basic Storage Management Service using Custom Setup. On systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you will not see the Array Manager option; enhanced Storage Management will be installed by default.
NOTE: If you are installing on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system, the enhanced Storage Management Service is the only installation choice and is installed using Express Setup.
NOTE: The enhanced Storage Management Service is not available on systems running Novell NetWare operating systems.
NOTE: The enhanced Storage Management Service is unstable on Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 2.1 and 3 with update 2 or prior. It is recommended that you use update 3 or later with Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 2.1 and 3.
When using either the basic or the enhanced Storage Management Service, you can click Help on the global navigation bar for more detailed information about the specific window you are viewing. Help is available for all windows accessible to the user based on user privilege level and the specific hardware and software groups that Server Administrator discovers on the managed system.
Software Prerequisites
The Array Manager managed system and the enhanced Storage Management Service (Storage Management) cannot be installed on the same system. Managed systems that do not have either Array Manager or the enhanced Storage Management Service installed will still be able to perform SCSI diagnostics for direct-attached storage devices; however, RAID controller and storage diagnostics cannot be performed.
NOTE: Array Manager is an installation choice using Custom Setup. If the system already has Array Manager installed, then the most current version of Array Manager is installed using Express Setup. See the Dell OpenManage Array Manager User's Guide for complete software and hardware requirements. Array Manager has both a managed system and a management station (console) component. The managed system portion of Array Manager replaces the Windows 2000 Disk Management Service. To view the Disk Management page, you must install the management station component of Array Manager on the same system as the managed system component.
NOTE: The enhanced Storage Management Service (Storage Management) is also an installation choice using Custom Setup. The enhanced Storage Management Service cannot, however, be installed on a system that has the Array Manager managed system. The enhanced Storage Management Service is installed by default using Express Setup on systems that do not have an Array Manager installation. See the enhanced Storage Management Service readme (readme_sm.txt) and Server Administrator readme (readme_sa.txt) for complete software and hardware requirements.
NOTE: Array Manager is not supported on Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems.
NOTE: The enhanced Storage Management Service is not supported on Novell NetWare operating systems.
Hardware Prerequisites
Installing the basic or enhanced Storage Management Service on a system that does not have a supported controller, or a controller that is not attached to storage is an unsupported configuration. For a list of the supported controllers and for other information about the basic and enhanced Storage Management Service hardware requirements, see the Array Manager, Server Administrator, and Storage Management readme files on the Systems Management Concole CD.
Basic Storage Management Service
The basic Storage Management Service enables you to view the status of a server's direct-attached storage devices. The Storage Management Service obtains logical and physical information about attached storage devices from the Array Manager managed system.
The basic Storage Management Service enables you to perform the following tasks from the Server Administrator graphical interface:
Display all of your storage information in a graphical environment. See the Storage object section in "Instrumentation Service" for a description of the available storage information.
Run the Server Administrator Diagnostic Service to diagnose problems with your storage devices. See "Diagnostic Service" for complete instructions. This feature is only available when the Array Manager managed system is installed.
NOTE: The basic Storage Management Service does not provide storage management functions such as configuring your local and remote attached storage devices, creating and managing software and hardware RAID configurations, formatting disks, assigning drive letters, and creating partitions and volumes. When the basic Storage Management Service is installed, you must use Array Manager Console to perform these storage management functions. See the Array Manager User's Guide for instructions. Alternatively, you can install the enhanced Storage Management Service, which replaces Array Manager and provides similar storage management functions. See "Enhanced Storage Management Service Features" for more information.
NOTE: Array Manager does not support volumes management on systems running Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
Basic Storage Management and Array Manager
The basic Storage Management Service and Array Manager are installed by default when using Express Setup on systems that have an existing Array Manager installation. The basic Storage Management Service depends on Array Manager to report storage status. Therefore, assuming that the system meets the Array Manager installation requirements, Array Manager is installed when using Express Setup to install the Managed System Software package. Managed systems that do not have Array Manager installed will still be able to perform SCSI diagnostics for direct-attached storage devices; however, RAID controller and storage diagnostics cannot be performed. See the Array Manager User's Guide for complete software and hardware requirements.
NOTE: Array Manager is not supported on Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems.
Basic Storage Management Tree Objects
The basic Storage Management is accessible by selecting the Storage tree object on the Server Administrator graphical user interface (GUI). The Storage object expands to display the following objects:
Array Subsystems
OS Disks
Volumes
See the Storage object section in "Instrumentation Service" for a description of the available storage information.
Enhanced Storage Management Service
The enhanced Storage Management Service provides advanced features for configuring a system's locally attached RAID and non-RAID disk storage. Storage Management enables you to perform controller and enclosure functions for all supported RAID and non-RAID controllers and SCSI PowerVault™ 2xxS enclosures from the Server Administrator graphical interface without requiring use of the controller BIOS utilities.
Using the enhanced Storage Management Service, you can protect your data by configuring data-redundancy, assigning hot spares, or rebuilding failed drives. You can also perform data-destructive tasks such as deleting virtual disks or resetting the controller configuration. All users of the enhanced Storage Management Service should be familiar with their storage environment and storage management.
In addition to the Server Administrator interface features, the enhanced Storage Management Service provides wizard-driven features for novice and advanced users and detailed online help.
The enhanced Storage Management Service command line interface (CLI) provides extended options for the Server Administrator omreport and omconfig commands. These options provide a command line interface that is fully featured and scriptable.
The enhanced Storage Management Service supports SCSI, SATA, and ATA; however, Fibre Channel is not supported.
This release of Storage Management does not support Windows volume and disk management or the Novell NetWare operating system.
Enhanced Storage Management Service and Array Manager
The enhanced Storage Management Service is a replacement for Array Manager. The enhanced Storage Management Service provides similar storage management and configuration features as Array Manager. There are differences in the operating system support and other features, however. See "Enhanced Storage Management Service" for more information.
Enhanced Storage Management Tree Objects
When installed, the enhanced Storage Management Service is accessible by selecting the Storage tree object on the Server Administrator GUI. The Storage object expands to display tree objects for the supported controllers attached to the system. The controller object expands to display the storage attached to the controller.
Depending on the controllers and storage attached to the system, the expanded Storage object may display the following lower-level objects:
Controller
Battery
Channel
Enclosure or Backplane
Array Disks
EMMs (Enclosure Management Modules)
Fans
Power Supplies
Temperatures
Firmware/Driver Versions
Virtual Disks
Health Tab
The Health tab for each tree object displays status information for the selected object.
Information/Configuration Tab
The Information/Configuration tab displays the property information for the selected tree object. When using the enhanced Storage Management Service, the Information/Configuration tabs also have drop-down menus and buttons for executing storage tasks and launching wizards.
Enhanced Storage Management Tasks
The enhanced Storage Management Service has drop-down menus and wizards for executing storage management and configuration tasks. This section discusses some of the common storage tasks and wizards provided by the enhanced Storage Management Service.
NOTE: For complete documentation of the enhanced Storage Management Service storage tasks and other features, see the enhanced Storage Management Service online help.
Create Virtual Disk Wizard
The enhanced Storage Management Service provides an Express and an Advanced Create Virtual Disk Wizard. The Express Wizard calculates an appropriate virtual disk configuration based on the available space and controller considerations. When using the Express Wizard, you select the RAID level and size for the virtual disk. The Express Wizard selects a recommended disk configuration for you that matches your RAID level and size selection. The Express Wizard requires minimal user input and is recommended for novice users.
The Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard allows you to specify the read, write, and cache policy for the virtual disk. You can also select the array disks and the controller channel to be used. You need a good knowledge of RAID levels and hardware to use the Advanced Wizard. This wizard is recommended for advanced users.
To launch the Express and Advanced Create Virtual Disk Wizards:
Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects.
Expand a controller object.
Select the Virtual Disks object.
Click Go To Create Virtual Disk Wizard.
See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Reconfigure Virtual Disk Wizard
The Reconfigure Virtual Disk Wizard enables you to change the virtual disk configuration. Using this task, you can change the RAID level and increase the virtual disk size by adding array disks. On some controllers, you can also remove array disks.
To launch the Reconfigure Virtual Disk Wizard:
Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects.
Expand a controller object.
Select the Virtual Disks object.
Select Reconfigure from the Available Tasks drop-down menu.
Click Execute.
See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Maintain Integrity of Redundant Virtual Disks
If you have created a redundant virtual disk, the Check Consistency task verifies the accuracy of the redundant (parity) information. This task only applies to redundant virtual disks. When necessary, the Check Consistency task rebuilds the redundant data.
To launch the Check Consistency task:
Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects.
Expand a controller object.
Select the Virtual Disks object.
Select Check Consistency from the Available Tasks drop-down menu.
Click Execute.
See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Assign a Hot Spare
A hot spare is an unused backup array disk that can be used to rebuild data from a redundant virtual disk. Hot spares remain in standby mode. When an array disk that is used in a redundant virtual disk fails, the assigned hot spare is activated to replace the failed array disk without interrupting the system or requiring your intervention. If a virtual disk using the failed array disk is not redundant, then the data is permanently lost without any method (unless you have a backup) to restore the data.
You can assign either a dedicated or a global hot spare.
To assign a dedicated hot spare:
Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects.
Expand a controller object.
Select the Virtual Disks object.
Select Assign Dedicated Hot Spare from the Available Tasks drop-down menu.
Click Execute.
See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
To assign a global hot spare:
Expand the Storage tree object to display the controller objects.
Expand a controller object.
Expand a channel object.
Expand the enclosure or backplane object.
Select the Array Disks object.
Select the Information/Configuration subtab.
Select a Assign Global Hot Spare from the Available Tasks drop-down menu.
Click Execute.
See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Rebuild a Failed Array Disk
If the failed array disk is part of a redundant virtual disk, then the array disk failure should not result in data loss if replaced immediately. The rebuild task is available when the Array Disks object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Additional Enhanced Storage Management Features
There are many tasks associated with controllers, enclosures, virtual disks, and array disks that you can perform with the enhanced Storage Management Service. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Global Tasks
The following global tasks are available when the Storage object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Global Rescan. A global rescan updates configuration changes (such as new or removed devices) for all controllers and their attached components.
Enable and Disable Smart Thermal Shutdown. By default, the operating system and server shut down when the PV220S and PV221S enclosures reach a critical temperature of 0 or 50 degrees celsius. Using the Enable Smart Thermal Shutdown task, however, you can specify that only the enclosure and not the operating system and server be shut down when the enclosure reaches a critical temperature. To restore the system to its default setting use the Disable Smart Thermal Shutdown task.
Controller Tasks
The following controller tasks are available when the Controller object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Rescan Controller. A controller rescan updates configuration changes (such as new or removed devices) for all components attached to the controller.
Enable, Disable, Quiet, and Test Alarm. These tasks enable you to manage the controller alarm. For example, you can set the alarm to sound in the event of a device failure or quiet the alarm once it is sounding.
Set Rebuild Rate. The rebuild rate refers to how much of the system's resources are dedicated to rebuilding a failed array disk. This task enables you to adjust this setting.
Reset Configuration. This task erases all information on the controller, so that you can perform a fresh configuration. This operation destroys all virtual disks on the controller.
Export Log File. This task exports the controller log to a text file.
Battery Tasks
The following battery tasks are available when the Battery object is selected. This task is only available for controllers that have batteries that require reconditioning. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Recondition Battery. This task fully discharges and recharges the controller battery.
Channel Tasks
The following channel tasks are available when the Channel object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Rescan Channel. This task rescans the controller channels to verify the currently connected devices or to recognize new devices that have been added to the channels. Performing a rescan on a channel is similar to performing a rescan on the controller.
Enclosure Tasks
The following enclosure tasks are available when the Enclosure object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Enable and Disable Alarm. Use these tasks to manage the enclosure alarm. When enabled, the alarm sounds when the enclosure encounters an error condition.
Set Asset Data. Use this task to change the enclosure's asset tag and asset name.
Set Temperature Probe Values. The temperature probes monitor the enclosure's temperature. Each temperature probe has a Warning and a Failure threshold. The Warning threshold indicates that the enclosure is approaching an unacceptably warm or cool temperature. Use this task to modify the Warning threshold.
Temperatures Tasks
The following temperature probe tasks are available when the Temperatures object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Set Temperature Probe. The temperature probes monitor the enclosure's temperature. Each temperature probe has a Warning and a Failure threshold. The Warning threshold indicates that the enclosure is approaching an unacceptably warm or cool temperature. Use this task to modify the Warning threshold.
Array Disk Tasks
The following array disk tasks are available when the Array Disks object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Blink and Unblink. The Blink task allows you to find a disk within an enclosure by blinking one of the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the disk. The Unblink task cancels the Blink task.
Remove Dead Segments. In certain circumstances, this task enables you to recover disk space that is currently unusable.
Prepare to Remove. Use this task before removing a disk from an enclosure. It is recommended that you perform this task before removing a disk to prevent data loss.
Online and Offline. Use the Offline task to deactivate a disk before removing it. Use the Online task to reactivate an offline disk.
Initialize. On some controllers, the Initialize task prepares an array disk for use as a member of a virtual disk.
The following virtual disk tasks are available when the Virtual Disks object is selected. See the enhanced Storage Management online help for more information.
Format or Initialize. Use the Format or Initialize task to erase the files and remove the file systems on a virtual disk.
Cancel Background Initialization. On some controllers, background initialization of redundant virtual disks begins automatically after the virtual disk is created. Use this task if you need to cancel the background initialization.
Restore Dead Segments. Use the Restore Dead Segments task to recover data from a RAID-5 virtual disk that has been corrupted.
Delete. Use this task to destroy all data on the virtual disk.
Blink and Unblink. The Blink and Unblink tasks blink or unblink the lights on the array disks included in the virtual disk.
Rename. Use this task to rename a virtual disk.
Change Policy. Use this task to change a virtual disk's read, write, or cache policy.
Split Mirror. Use this task to separate mirrored data originally configured as a RAID 1, RAID 1-concatenated, or RAID 10 virtual disk.
Unmirror. Use this task to separate mirrored data and restore one half of the mirror to free space.
Additional Enhanced Storage Management Features and Documentation
The enhanced Storage Management online help provides additional information for using the storage management features and tasks. For information on how to launch the online help, see "Displaying Online Help."
Comparing the Enhanced Storage Management Service and
Array Manager
Although the enhanced Storage Management Service features are similar to Array Manager, there are differences in operating system support. Array Manager also supports fibre channel whereas the enhanced Storage Management Service does not. Because of these differences, the decision whether or not to install the enhanced Storage Management Service should be made based on the needs of your storage environment.
The following summarizes notable differences in operating system and feature support between Array Manager and the enhanced Storage Management Service:
Disk and volume management are provided by Array Manager on Windows 2000. Disk and volume management are not provided by the enhanced Storage Management Service. If you need disk and volume management, you can use the native disk and volume management utilities provided by your operating system. On a Windows 2000 system, you have the option of installing Array Manager which replaces the Windows 2000 disk and volume management.
Fibre channel support for the Dell PowerVault 660F storage system is provided by Array Manager, but not by the enhanced Storage Management Service.
Novell NetWare support is provided by Array Manager, but not by the enhanced Storage Management Service.
Red hat Enterprise Linux support is provided by the enhanced Storage Management Service, but not by Array Manager.
The following table provides a comprehensive comparison of enhanced Storage Management Service and Array Manager features.
Table 9-1. Comparing Enhanced Storage Management Service and Array Manager Features
Feature
Array Manager
Enhanced Storage Management Service
Storage Status
Displayed
Displayed
Storage Management and Configuration
Available when launched as a separate application
Available from the Server Administrator graphical or command line interface.
Graphical interface
All features available from graphical interface launched separately from Server Administrator.
All features available from Server Administrator graphical interface.
Command Line Interface
Has limited command line interface that does not support storage configuration tasks. Does not support the Server Administrator omreport and omconfig commands.
Fully-featured, scriptable command line interface. Supports omreport storage commands and has expanded omconfig storage command options.
Wizards for common storage tasks
Yes
Yes
Detailed Online Help
Yes
Yes
Windows 2000 Disk and Volume Management
Yes
No
Fibre Channel Support
Yes
No
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 32-bit Support
No
Yes
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 64-bit Support
No
Yes
Novell NetWare Support
Yes
No (Novell NetWare support to be added in future release.)
Windows Server 2003 32-bit Support
Yes
Yes
Windows Server 2003 64-bit Support
No
Yes
Migrating from Array Manager to the Enhanced Storage
Management Service
If you already have Array Manager installed and wish to upgrade to the enhanced Storage Management Service using Custom Setup, there are migration considerations that apply when installing the enhanced Storage Management Service. In particular, these considerations apply to the preservation of virtual disk names created with Array Manager and to any applications that have been modified to receive SNMP traps from Array Manager. The following describes these migration considerations:
Virtual Disk Preservation. When migrating from Array Manager to the enhanced Storage Management Service, you can preserve the virtual disk names that were created with Array Manager. Virtual disk name preservation is made possible when you install the enhanced Storage Management Service using the Dell OpenManage install process (Custom Setup). The Custom Setup process will uninstall Array Manager and install the enhanced Storage Management Service.
If you uninstall Array Manager outside of the Dell OpenManage install process, the Array Manager virtual disks will be renamed after installing the enhanced Storage Management service.
Whether or not Array Manager is manually uninstalled before installing the enhanced Storage Management Service, the enhanced Storage Management Service will be able to identify and manage the virtual disks created with Array Manager.
SNMP Traps. In the enhanced Storage Management Service, the architecture for handling the SNMP traps and the Management Information Base (MIB) is different from that of Array Manager. You must modify applications that have been customized to receive SNMP traps from Array Manager.
Event Numbering. The numbering scheme for the enhanced Storage Management Service alerts or events is different from the numbers used for the corresponding Array Manager events. See the enhanced Storage Management Service online help for more information.
Basic and Enhanced Storage Management
Command Line Interface
See the Server Administrator Command Line Interface User's Guide for information about running the enhanced Storage Management Service from the command line. If you have the enhanced Storage Management Service installed, you can also refer to the online help for information about the expanded omreport and omconfig command line options.
Array Manager has a limited command line interface that does not support the omconfig command. See the Array Manager User's Guide for information about the Array Manager command line interface.
Displaying Online Help
Both the basic and the enhanced Storage Management Services provide context-sensitive online help. To access the online help, click Help on the global navigation bar. This navigation is available for all windows accessible to the user based on user privilege level and the specific hardware and software groups that Server Administrator discovers on the managed system.
The enhanced Storage Management Service provides additional online help. This help is available when the Storage or a lower-level tree object is selected.
The online help of the enhanced Storage Management Service:
Provides conceptual information on storage concepts such as virtual disks, RAID, and so on
Describes the GUI components in the various windows of the application
Gives detailed, step-by-step instructions on the tasks that you can perform in the GUI
Describes the available CLI commands and their subcommands
The enhanced Storage Management online help is available in two formats:
Context-sensitive Help. To access the context-sensitive online help, click Help on the global navigation bar.
Table of Contents. The help screens for the context-sensitive help contain links to the online help Table of Contents. To access the Table of Contents, first click Help on the global navigation bar. Next, click the Back to Storage Management Contents Page link to display the Table of Contents. This link is displayed at the top and bottom of each help screen. Use the Table of Contents to access all topics covered in the online help.
