A controller contains one or more connectors (channels or ports) to which you can attach disks. A connector is externally accessible for attaching an enclosure (with external disks) to the system. A connector may also be attached to the system's backplane (for internal disks). The controller's connectors are displayed by expanding the controller object in the tree view.
Channel Redundancy and Thermal Shutdown
It is possible to create a virtual disk that uses physical disks that are attached to different controller channels. The physical disks may reside in an external enclosure or the backplane (internal enclosure). If the virtual disk is maintaining redundant data on different channels, then the virtual disk is channel redundant. Channel redundancy means that if one of the channels fails, data will not be lost because redundant data resides on another channel.
Channel redundancy might also be used for disks that reside in enclosures subject to thermal shutdown. Should the enclosure attached to one of the channels shut down, redundant data is maintained on the other channel.
Channel redundancy is implemented by selecting physical disks on different channels when using the Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard.
NOTE: Channel redundancy only applies to controllers that have more than one
channel and that attach to an external disk enclosure.
The following instructions describe creating a virtual disk that uses channel redundancy.
NOTE: Channel redundancy only applies to controllers that have more than one
channel and that attach to an external disk enclosure.
Launch the Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard by doing the
following:
Locate the controller on which you are creating a channel-redundant
virtual disk Expand the controller object until the Virtual Disks
object is displayed.
Select the Virtual Disks object and click Go To Create Virtual Disk
Wizard.
Click Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard.
Complete "Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 1 of 4)." This
portion of the Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard asks you to select a
RAID level. When creating a channel-redundant virtual disk, it is
recommended that you select the following RAID levels.
Complete "Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard (Step 2 of 4)." In this
step, you select the channels and the disks to be used by the virtual disk.
The selections you make determine whether or not the virtual disk is
channel-redundant.
There are specific RAID level and configuration requirements for implementing channel redundancy. You must select the same number of physical disks on each channel that you use. See "Number of Physical Disks per Virtual Disk" for information on the number of physical disks that can be used for different RAID levels. See "Controller-supported RAID Levels" for information on controller-specific implementations of the RAID levels.
Connector Health
This screen displays the status of the connector and the components attached to the connector.
Connector Status
Component status is indicated by the severity. A component with a Warning or Critical/Failure status requires immediate attention to avoid data loss if possible. A component's status may indicate the combined status of the component and its lower-level objects. See "Determining the Health Status for Storage Components" for more information.
It may be useful to review the Alert Log for events indicating why a component has a Warning or Critical status. For additional troubleshooting information, see "Alert Messages" and "Troubleshooting."
Severity
Component Status
Normal/OK. The component is working as expected.
Warning/Non-critical. A probe or other monitoring device has detected a reading for the component that is above or below the acceptable level. The component may still be functioning, but it could fail. The component may also be functioning in an impaired state. Data loss is possible.
Critical/Failure/Error. The component has either failed or failure is imminent. The component requires immediate attention and may need to be replaced. Data loss may have occurred.
Connector Information
For information on the connector, see the following topics:
Use this window to view information about the connector and execute connector tasks.
Connector Properties
The connector properties can vary depending on the model of the controller. Connector properties may include:
Property
Definition
These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component. See "Storage Component Severity" for more information. A Warning or Critical severity may indicate that the connector is unable to communicate with attached devices such as an enclosure. Check the status of attached devices. See "Cables Attached Correctly" and "Isolate Hardware Problems" for more information.
Name
This property displays the connector number.
State
This property displays the current status of the connector. Possible values are:
Ready — The connector is functioning normally.
Degraded — The connector has encountered a failure and is operating in a degraded state.
Failed — The connector has encountered a failure and is no longer functioning.
Connector Type
This property displays whether or not the connector is operating in RAID mode.
Termination
This property indicates the termination type of the connector.
Narrow — Indicates an 8 bit data bus.
Wide — Indicates a 16 bit data bus.
Unknown — Indicates that the termination type is unknown.
Not Terminated — This property is displayed when the termination type is unknown.
Connector Tasks: No Connector Tasks Available
Logical Connector Properties
Use this window to view information about the logical connector (connector in redundant path mode) and to execute connector tasks.
Logical Connector Properties
The connector properties can vary depending on the model of the controller. Connector properties may include:
Property
Definition
These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component. See "Storage Component Severity" for more information.
A Warning or Critical severity may indicate that the connector is unable to communicate with attached devices such as an enclosure. Check the status of attached devices. See "Cables Attached Correctly" and "Isolate Hardware Problems" for more information.
Name
This property displays the connector number, usually 0.
State
This property displays the current status of the connector. Possible values are:
Ready — The connector is functioning normally.
Degraded — The connector has encountered a failure and is operating in a degraded state.
Failed — The connector has encountered a failure and is no longer functioning.
Connector Type
This property displays whether the connector is operating in RAID mode. The connector will always be a SAS connector.
Path Health
The path health of the connectors is represented as normal, warning, or critical. The possible values are displayed as Available, Degraded, or Failed.
If the enclosure health is displayed as degraded and a further investigation shows all enclosure components (EMMs, Fans, Physical Disks, Power Supplies, and Temperature) to be in normal condition, select the Information/Configuration subtab of the enclosure to view details of the Path Failure.
Clearing the Redundant Path View
If you do not want the redundant path view, physically disconnect the connector port from the enclosure and reboot the system. After the system reboots, the user interface will still display the Logical Connector, but in a critical state. If you are certain you do not want the redundant path mode, select Clear Redundant Path view from the Connector Tasks.
Selecting this option clears the redundant path view and the connectors are represented on the user interface as Connector 0 and Connector 1.
