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Hardware Installation

Dell™ PowerEdge™ Expandable RAID Controller 4/SC, 4/DC, and 4e/DC User's Guide

  Requirements

  Quick Installation Procedure

  Installation Steps

Requirements

This section describes the procedures for installing the RAID controller. You must have the following items to install the controller:

• A PERC 4/SC, 4/DC, or 4e/DC controller
  
  
• A host system with an available 32- or 64-bit, PCI extension slot for PERC 4/SC or 4/DC, and a PCI-Express slot for PERC 4e/DC
  
  
• The Dell OpenManage™ Systems Management CD or driver diskette
  
  
• The necessary internal and/or external SCSI cables
  
  
• Ultra, Ultra2, Ultra3, Ultra160, or Ultra320 SCSI hard drives
  (SCSI is backward compatible, but it slows to the speed of the slowest device).
  
  

Quick Installation Procedure

Perform the following steps for quick installation of the controller if you are an experienced system user/installer. All others should follow the steps in the next section, Installation Steps.

CAUTION: See your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

1. Turn off all power to the server and all hard drives, enclosures, and system components, then disconnect power cords from the system.
   
   
2. Open host system by following the instructions in the host system technical documentation.
   
   
3. Determine the SCSI ID and SCSI termination requirements.
   
   

NOTE: The default for SCSI termination is onboard SCSI termination enabled. See the section Step 7 Set SCSI Termination for a description of SCSI termination.

4. Install the PERC 4/SC or 4/DC RAID controller in a PCI slot or the PERC 4e/DC in the PCI- Express slot in the server and attach the SCSI cables and terminators.
   
   

See the section Cable Suggestions for cable information and suggestions.

• Make sure pin 1 on the cable matches pin 1 on the connector.
  
  
• Make sure that the SCSI cables conform to all SCSI specifications.
  
  

5. Perform a safety check.
   
   
   • Make sure all cables are properly attached.
     
     
   • Make sure the RAID controller is properly installed.
     
     
   • Close the cabinet of the host system.
     
     
   • Turn power on after completing the safety check.
     
     
6. Format the hard drives as needed.
   
   
7. Configure logical drives using the BIOS Configuration Utility or Dell Manager.
   
   
8. Initialize the logical drives.
   
   
9. Install the network operating system drivers as needed.
   
   

Installation Steps

This section provides instructions for installing the RAID controllers.

Step 1 Unpack the Controller

CAUTION: See your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

Unpack and remove the controller and inspect it for damage. If the controller appears damaged, or if any items listed below are missing, contact your Dell support representative. The RAID controller is shipped with:

• The PERC 4 RAID Controller User's Guide (on CD)
  
  
• The CERC and PERC RAID Controllers Operating System Driver Installation Guide (on CD)
  
  

NOTE: You can order a hard copy of the documentation for the controller.

• A license agreement
  
  

Step 2 Power Down the System

CAUTION: See your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

Perform the following steps to power down the system:

1. Turn off the system.
   
   
2. Remove the AC power cord.
   
   
3. Disconnect the system from any networks before installing the controller.
   
   
4. Remove the system's cover.
   
   

Please consult the system documentation for instructions.

Step 3 Set Jumpers

Make sure the jumper settings on the RAID controller are correct. The default jumper settings are recommended. Following are diagrams of the controllers showing their jumpers and connectors, and tables describing them. Select your controller from the ones shown on the following pages.

Figure 3-1. PERC 4/SC Controller Layout

Table 3-1. PERC 4/SC Jumper and Connector Descriptions 

Figure 3-2. PERC 4/DC Controller Layout

Table 3-2. PERC 4/DC Jumper and Connector Descriptions 

Figure 3-3. PERC 4e/DC Controller Layout

Table 3-3. PERC 4e/DC Jumper and Connector Descriptions 

Step 4 Install the RAID Controller

CAUTION: See your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

Perform the following steps to install the controller:

1. Select a PCI slot for PERC 4/SC or PERC 4/DC, or a PCI-Express slot for PERC 4e/DC and align the controller PCI bus connector to the slot.
   
   
2. Press down gently but firmly to make sure that the controller is properly seated in the slot, as shown in Figure 3-4 and Figure 3-5.
   
   
3. Screw the bracket to the system chassis.
   
   

CAUTION: You cannot install a PCI board in a PCI-Express slot or a PCI-Express board in a PCI slot.

Figure 3-4. Inserting a PERC 4 RAID Controller into a PCI Slot

Figure 3-5. Inserting a PERC 4e/DC RAID Controller in a PCI-Express Slot

Step 5 Connect SCSI Cables and SCSI Devices

Connect the SCSI cables to the SCSI connectors and SCSI devices.

Connect SCSI Devices

Perform the following steps to connect SCSI devices.

1. Disable termination on any SCSI device that does not sit at the end of the SCSI bus.
   
   
2. Configure all SCSI devices to supply TermPWR.
   
   
3. Set proper target IDs (TIDs) for all SCSI devices.
   
   
4. The host controller has a SCSI ID of 7.
   
   
5. Connect the cable to the devices.
   
   

NOTE: The maximum cable length for Fast SCSI (10 MB/sec) devices is 3 meters and for Ultra SCSI devices is 1.5 meters. The cable length can be up to 12 meters for LVD devices. Use shorter cables if possible.

Cable Suggestions

System throughput problems can occur if the SCSI cables are not the correct type. To avoid problems, you should follow the following cable suggestions:

• Use cables no longer than 12 meters for Ultra3, Ultra160, and Ultra320 devices. (It's better to use shorter cables, if possible.)
  
  
• Make sure the cables meet the specifications.
  
  
• Use active termination.
  
  
• Note that cable stub length should be no more than 0.1 meter (4 inches).
  
  
• Route SCSI cables carefully and do not bend cables.
  
  
• Use high impedance cables.
  
  
• Do not mix cable types (choose either flat or rounded and shielded or non-shielded).
  
  
• Note that ribbon cables have fairly good cross-talk rejection characteristics, meaning the signals on the different wires are less likely to interfere with each other.
  
  

Step 6 Set Target IDs

Set target identifiers (TIDs) on the SCSI devices. Each device in a channel must have a unique TID. Non-disk devices should have unique SCSI IDs regardless of the channel where they are connected. See the documentation for each SCSI device to set the TIDs. The RAID controller automatically occupies TID 7, which is the highest priority. The arbitration priority for a SCSI device depends on its TID. Table 3-4 lists the target IDs.

NOTE: The RAID controller can occupy TID 6 in cluster mode. When in cluster mode, one controller is TID 6 and the other TID 7. IDs 0 - 7 are valid target IDs; 7 has the highest priority.

Table 3-4. Target IDs

Step 7 Set SCSI Termination

The SCSI bus is an electrical transmission line and must be terminated properly to minimize reflections and losses. Termination should be set at each end of the SCSI cable(s).

For a disk array, set SCSI bus termination so that removing or adding a SCSI device does not disturb termination. An easy way to do this is to connect the RAID controller to one end of the SCSI cable and an external terminator module at the other end of the cable, as shown in Figure 3-6.

The connectors between the two ends can connect SCSI drives which have their termination disabled, as shown in the drives (ID0, ID1, ID2) attached in the figure. See the documentation for each SCSI drive to disable termination.

NOTE: Dell does not recommend mixing U160 and U320 drives on the same bus or logical drive.

Set the termination so that SCSI termination and TermPWR are intact when any hard drive is removed from a SCSI channel.

Figure 3-6. Terminating Internal SCSI Disk Array

Step 8 Start the System

Replace the system cover and reconnect the AC power cords. Turn power on to the host system. Set up the power supplies so that the SCSI devices are powered up at the same time as or before the host system. If the system is powered up before a SCSI device, the device might not be recognized.

During bootup, the BIOS message appears:

PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller BIOS Version x.xx date

Copyright (c) LSI Logic Corp.

Firmware Initializing... [ Scanning SCSI Device ...(etc.)... ]

The firmware takes several seconds to initialize. During this time, the adapter scans the SCSI channel. When ready, the following appears:

HA –0 (Bus 1 Dev 6) Type: PERC 4/xx Standard FW x.xx SDRAM=xxxMB

Battery Module is Present on Adapter

0 Logical Drives found on the Host Adapter

0 Logical Drive(s) handled by BIOS

Press <Ctrl><M> to run PERC 4 BIOS Configuration Utility

The BIOS Configuration Utility prompt times out after several seconds.

The host controller number, firmware version, and cache SDRAM size display in the second portion of the BIOS message. The numbering of the controllers follows the PCI slot scanning order used by the host motherboard.

Light-emitting Diode (LED) Description

When you start the system, the boot block and firmware perform a number of steps that load the operating system and allow the system to function properly. The boot block contains the operating system loader and other basic information needed during startup.

As the system boots, the LEDs indicate the status of the boot block and firmware initialization and whether the system performed the steps correctly. If there is an error during startup, you can use the LED display to identify it.

Table 3-5 displays the LEDs and execution states for the boot block. Table 3-6 displays the LEDs and execution states during firmware initialization. The LEDs display in hexadecimal format so that you can determine the number and the corresponding execution state from the LEDs that display.

Table 3-5. Boot Block States 

Table 3-6. Firmware Initialization States 

Step 9 Run the BIOS Configuration Utility or Dell Manager

Press <Ctrl><M> when prompted during the boot process to run the BIOS Configuration Utility. You can run Dell Manager in Red Hat Linux to perform the same functions, such as configuring arrays and logical drives.

See BIOS Configuration Utility and Dell Manager for additional information about running the BIOS Configuration Utility and Dell Manager.

Step 10 Install an Operating System

Install one of the following operating systems: Microsoft® Windows® 2000, Windows 2003, Novell® NetWare®, and Red Hat Linux.

Step 11 Install the Operating System Driver

Operating system drivers are provided on the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD that accompanies your PERC controller. See the CERC and PERC RAID Controllers Operating System Driver Installation Guide for additional information about installing the drivers for the operating systems.

NOTE: To make sure you have the latest version of the drivers, download the updated drivers from the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

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