• • • • • • •

This chapter explains how to use FAST to open (locally or remotely) and close one or more controllers and initiate other controller-related tasks.

Understanding Controllers and Channels

Figure 1 shows how a controller and its channels are represented in the Controller view window.

Figure 1. The controller and its channels represented in Controller view

Note: This illustration shows a generic controller. Your controller may have fewer buses.

Bus Status

Controller view displays the status of the buses (channels) by indicating whether the channel is disabled or faulted.

  • Disabled indicates that an unrecoverable error was detected.
    This state can occur due to improper termination, faulty devices, or duplicate SCSI IDs.
    A disabled bus can only be recovered by rebooting the computer/controller. It may also be necessary to switch on the power to the connected drives.
  • Fault indicates that a recoverable error was detected.
    This state can occur due to improper termination or duplicate SCSI IDs.
    A faulted bus can typically be recovered by rescanning after you have resolved the problem causing the fault.

For more information about the FAST objects that appear in the Controller view window, see the following:

Managing a Local Controller

This section describes how to open and close a controller on a local computer/domain.

Opening a Local Controller

A local controller is one that is installed on the same system on which FAST is running.

Note: A NetWareTM server's controller can only be accessed as a remote controller from FAST on a Windows NT system (see Managing Remote Connections). You must use the CLI for local management on a NetWare server.

To open a controller on a local computer/domain, do the following:

  1. Select Open from the Controller menu.
    The Open Controller dialog box (Figure 2) appears inside the FAST window.

    Figure 2. Open Controller dialog box

User Guide

User Guide
Working with Controllers: Dell Flexible Array Storage Tool User's Guide Back to Contents Page

Working with Controllers: Dell™ Flexible Array Storage Tool User's Guide

Understanding Controllers and Channels Managing a Local Controller Closing a Controller Managing Remote Connections Rescanning a Controller Pausing I/O on a Controller Working with Controller Properties Reconditioning the Battery
Dialog Box Element Function
Show controllers on
List box Lists all computers running remote services. FAST searches for computers running controllers, in the following order:
  • My Computer
  • Local domain
  • Microsoft Windows Network
  • NetWareTM
Rescan Domain (F5) button Rescans the domain that is selected in the Show controllers on list box
Manage Remote Controllers button Displays the Manage Remote Connections dialog box, which is explained on Managing Remote Connections
Available controllers
List box Lists all installed controllers for the computer selected in the Show controllers on list box; includes the controller name, type of controller, and availability (read-write or read-only)
Show Users button Displays the Show Users dialog box (Figure 3)
Read-Only check box Determines if the controller opens in read-write or read-only mode
Open button Opens the controller selected in the Available controllers list box
Cancel button Closes the dialog box

  1. Select the computer that contains the controller you want to manage.
  2. Display the list of controllers.

    For the local computer For the local domain
    Display the list of controllers on your computer (the one from which you are running FAST) in the Available controllers list by selecting My Computer (on domain) in the Show controllers on list Display a list of controllers on a computer in your local domain in the Available controllers list by clicking the plus sign next to a domain icon ( ) and selecting a computer from the list that appears

    If you are unable to locate a computer in the Show controllers on list, click Rescan Domain (or press F5). If you are still unable to locate the computer, you might need to add it; see Managing Remote Connections.
  3. Select the controller you want to open from the Available controllers list.
  4. Select the Read-Only check box if you want to open the controller in read-only mode.
  5. To see a list of all users currently accessing the selected controller (and the access mode), click Show Users.
    The Show Users dialog box appears (Figure 3).

    Figure 3. Show Users dialog box

    Dialog Box Element Function
    Controller status message Displays one of the following (where DEVICENAME is the name of the controller):
    • DEVICENAME is currently in use by:
    • DEVICENAME is not currently in use.
    • DEVICENAME could not be found.
    List box Displays the following information about each user who is currently accessing the controller: user name, domain, computer name, and mode (read-write or read-only)
    Close button Closes the dialog box

  6. Click Close to exit the Show Users dialog box.
  7. In the Open Controller dialog box, click Open.

    Note: FAST can take up to one minute to open a local controller. Remote controllers might take longer to open.

    One of the following FAST windows appears:
    • Disk view, if no containers exist, but at least one disk is initialized
    • Container view, if any containers exist
    • Controller view, if no containers exist and if no disks are initialized

      Note: If you attempt to open a controller that is already open in this session of FAST, the program displays a message indicating that the controller is already open. If you click OK, FAST makes the selected controller's current view window active. The mode (read-write or read- only) in which the controller was previously open remains in effect.

    A prompt for the Container Creation Wizard dialog box appears if the controller detects one or more unused disks. The controller considers a disk to contain freespace if:
    • You did not initialize a disk for use with the controller. (See Initializing Disks for information on how to initialize a disk for use with the controller.)
    • You initialized a disk for use with the controller and the following conditions exist:
      • The disk is not a failover disk
      • The disk has no partitions on it
    The Container Creation Wizard dialog box allows you to create containers. You can also specify to not display the Container Creation Wizard dialog box on a subsequent reopening of the controller.

Closing a Controller

To close the active controller, use one of the following methods:

  • Select Close from the Controller menu.
  • Close all view windows.

Managing Remote Connections

Use the remote connections management feature when:

  • You cannot locate a computer in the Open Controller dialog box
  • The computer is on the other side of a router
  • You are using FAST to manage a controller installed in a NetWareTM server

This section covers the following topics:

  • Locking and unlocking a computer's connection record
  • Adding a computer to or removing a computer from the network connection list
  • Specifying a protocol for connecting to a computer
  • Rescanning a particular domain on the remote network
  • Managing controllers in a DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) environment

See Remote Management for more information about remote management.

Opening a Controller on a Remote Network

To open a controller on a remote network, do the following:

  1. In the Open Controller dialog box, click Manage Remote Controllers.
    The Manage Remote Connections dialog box appears (Figure 4).

    Figure 4. Manage Remote Connections dialog box

    Note: The only options available for a NetWareTM server are Remove Computer and Lock/Unlock Computer; all other selections are grayed out.

    Dialog Box Element Function
    Domain/Computer
    List box Lists the domains and computers running FAST remote controllers in the Network Neighborhood
    Remove Computer button Removes a computer from the
    Domain/ Computer list
    Unlock/Lock computer button Unlocks or locks the connection record of the selected computer
    Rescan Domain (F5) button Rescans the selected domain
    Add new computer
    Network Address box Lets you type the network address of the computer you want to add to the selected domain (see Adding or Removing a Computer for protocol-specific formats)
    Using pull-down list Sets a protocol for the connection to the computer specified in the Network Address box
    Add button Adds the computer specified in the Network Address box to the network connection list under the domain of which the computer is a member
    Close button Closes the dialog box and returns to the Open Controller dialog box

  2. Select a computer from the Domain/Computer list, or add a computer to the list according to the instructions in Adding or Removing a Computer, and then select that computer.

    Note: Before you open a controller on a NetWareTM server for the first time, you must first add the computer's network address and select the corresponding network protocol from the Using list in the Managing Remote Connections dialog box; otherwise, FAST will not be able to see the NetWare server. For NetWare, only IP and IPX are supported.

  3. If you are opening the controller on a remote NetWare server in read/write mode, you are prompted for the administrator's name and password on the remote NetWare system. Enter the appropriate login information for the remote NetWare system and click OK.

    Note: To open a controller on a NetWare server in a context other than your current context, use a fully distinguished name when logging into the NetWare server. For example, to open a controller in the foo context using the admin account, specify admin.foo (or cn=admin.o=foo).

  4. Click Close.

Locking or Unlocking a Computer's Record

If a domain scan fails to find a computer, and the connection record for that computer is unlocked, FAST automatically removes the computer from the Domain/Computer list. If you do not want FAST to remove a computer from the list, you must lock the computer's record.

To lock a computer's record, select an unlocked computer from the Domain/Computer list, and click Lock computer. The locked computer icon appears next to the computer.

To unlock a computer's record, select a locked computer from the Domain/Computer list, and click Unlock computer. The unlocked computer icon appears next to the computer.

Adding or Removing a Computer

To add a computer to the selected domain in the Domain/Computer list, do the following:

  1. Type the Network Address according to the following table:

    Protocol Network Address
    TCP/IP
    • Four-octet Internet address, for example, 128.10.2.30
    • Fully-qualified host name, for example, myhost.domain.com
    • Computer name (only if you properly configure WINS and DNS on the network and the computer is on the same subnetwork as the local computer), for example, myhost
    • Windows NT server name, for example, myserver
    IPX/SPX
    • Fully formed IPX address, for example:
      4640E44D.000000000001
      4640E44D:000000000001
      ~4640E44D000000000001
    NETBUI
    • Windows NT server name, for example, \\myserver

  2. Select from the Using pull-down list the protocol that is appropriate for the address you specified in the previous step.
  3. Click Add.
    The computer appears under the domain selected in the Domain/Computer list. Computers that are manually added in this manner are added with their record initially locked so as to prevent their deletion in future rescans.

To remove a computer from the selected domain in the Domain/ Computer list, select the computer, and click Remove Computer.

Note: You cannot remove a locked computer. Unlock the computer's connection record before attempting to remove the computer.

Rescanning a Domain (NT Only)

Rescan is used to refresh the list of computers displayed in the Domain/Computer list.

To rescan a domain on the remote network, select a domain from the Domain/Computer list, and click Rescan Domain (or press F5).

Note: Depending on the size of the domain and the current volume of network traffic, FAST can take one minute or more to scan a domain.

Managing Controllers in a DHCP Environment

FAST stores network addresses statically. For a computer whose network address changes often, you can do one of the following:

  • Add the computer to the Domain/Computer list by following the procedure in Adding or Removing a Computer. However, instead of entering the computer's IP address in the Network Address box, enter its fully qualified Internet address, for example, myhost.domain.com.
    When a record is entered using a fully-qualified hostname instead of an IP address, the hostname is stored in the connection database, which is a network database that contains a connection record for every computer on the network.
  • Rescan the domain by clicking Rescan Domain (or pressing F5) every time the computer's network address changes.

Rescanning a Controller

The Rescan command scans the buses of the active controller to verify the presence of the currently connected devices or to recognize new devices added to a bus.

To scan the controller's buses, select Rescan from the Controller menu.

Pausing I/O on a Controller

Use the Pause I/O command when you need to hot-swap disk drives without rebooting. The Pause I/O command pauses I/O on all buses of the active controller.

If the disks are contained in an enclosure that supports hot-swapping, Pause I/O is not required unless the disk is part of a container.

Caution: You cannot use Pause I/O if any containers are locked—that is, if they display the icon—or if any containers have tasks running on them.

To pause the I/O on the controller, do the following:

  1. Select Pause I/O from the Controller menu. FAST displays the following message:
  2. Click Pause I/O.
    The following changes occur in the FAST window while the controller I/O is paused:
    • Pause I/O in the Controller menu is checked.
    • The Pause/resume controller I/O button in the toolbar is indented.
    • The title bar in all views of the controller whose I/O is paused contains a countdown timer similar to the one shown in Figure 5.
    The controller limits the time that I/O should be paused to avoid application or system time-outs. The countdown timer indicates the time remaining before the computer automatically resumes I/O.

    Figure 5. Container view dialog box showing Pause I/O countdown timer

    Beginning at the final 30 seconds, your system plays the sounds corresponding to your Asterisk, Exclamation, Stop, and OK settings to alert you that I/O is about to resume automatically. The frequency of the sounds increases as the remaining time decreases.

    Note: While the timer is designed to reduce the possibility of application or system time-outs, clients on the network executing I/O against a paused controller may experience network time-outs.

  3. After you perform the hot-swapping operation, resume I/O by selecting Pause I/O from the Controller menu, or by clicking the Pause/resume controller I/O button in the toolbar.

Working with Controller Properties

The Controller properties dialog box contains the following tabs:

Tab Description
General Provides the software and hardware information about the controller. See Controller properties dialog box (General tab).
Failover Allows you to enable automatic failover for a failed disk when a replacement disk is inserted into the same enclosure slot. See Controller properties dialog box (Failover tab).
Tasks Shows all tasks running on the controller and allows you to stop, suspend, or resume a task and to specify the task's priority. See Controller properties dialog box (Tasks tab).

To access the Controller properties dialog box, do the following:

  1. Select Controller View from the View menu.
  2. Select the controller.
  3. Select Properties from the Edit menu.The Controller properties dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 6.

    Figure 6. Controller properties dialog box (General tab)

    Note: The battery icon displaying the current state of the battery and the Recondition button are displayed only for controllers that have a battery.

Dialog Box Element Function
Software
FAST version Displays the version of FAST
Host driver version Displays the version of the host driver (*.sys) files
Hardware
Controller type Displays the controller type
Controller version Displays the controller version
Controller serial number Displays the last six digits of the controller's serial number
Physical PCI information Displays the controller's PCI bus and device numbers
Processor type Displays the controller's processor type and speed
Memory size Displays the size of controller RAM, in bytes (excluding the cache)
BIOS version Displays the version number of the BIOS
Kernel version Displays the version number of the kernel
Monitor version Displays the firmware version
SCSI support Displays the number of SCSI buses available on the controller and the maximum number of SCSI devices that can be attached to each
Cache
Status Displays the status of the cache
Size Displays the size of the cache, in bytes
Clear Disk Write Cache button Clears the disk write cache; only available if cache contains data that must be flushed to containers that currently cannot be accessed, for example, disks that have been removed
Battery Displays the status of the battery
(for controllers that have a battery)
Recondition button For controllers that have a battery, initiates a battery recondition cycle (see the installation guide for your controller for instructions on battery reconditioning)
Container Storage A bar graph that represents all available container storage space (free and partitioned) on the controller
OK button Accepts changes and closes the dialog box
Cancel button Ignores changes and closes the dialog box

  1. Click the Failover tab (Figure 7).

    Figure 7. Controller properties dialog box (Failover tab)

Dialog Box Element Function
Enable automatic failover check box Enables automatic failover to a replacement disk inserted in the same enclosure slot as the disk that fails. The initial display of this check box reflects the current state of the feature. Note that this feature is only supported for drives housed in SAF-TE enclosures.
OK button Accepts changes and closes the dialog box
Cancel button Ignores changes and closes the dialog box

  1. Click the Tasks tab (Figure 8).

    Figure 8. Controller properties dialog box (Tasks tab)

Dialog Box Element Function
Tasks list Displays the following information for any task(s) running on the controller:
  • Task ID. ID number associated with a specific task
  • Function. Type of task running on the controller
  • Percent done. Progress (percentage complete) of the currently running task
  • Container. ID number of the container associated with the task
  • Device. SCSI Device ID (Bus:ID:LUN) of the disk associated with the task
  • State. Status of the task
  • Speed. Task speed setting, which defines the rate of specific tasks to minimize their effect on I/O transactions
Stop button Stops the selected task
Suspend button Suspends the selected task
Resume button Resumes the selected suspended task
Task Speed Resets the selected task's speed
OK button Accepts changes and closes the dialog box
Cancel button Ignores changes and closes the dialog box

Reconditioning the Battery

Note: This section pertains only to controllers that have a battery.

The controller's battery preserves the contents of its nonvolatile cache memory in the event of power loss. Power loss can occur due to sudden interruption of power to the server or whenever the server is powered down for maintenance and upgrade tasks. It is recommended that you recondition the battery every six months to ensure that the battery's capacity is measured correctly and that the battery's full holdover time is maintained.

For more information on reconditioning and maintaining the battery, see the installation guide for your controller.


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