topic Re: MSA30-DB basics in Disk Enclosures

MSA30-DB basics

foxofinfinety — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:35:41 GMT

I just got two HP/Compaq MSA30-DB units, both with 12 drives (1 unit 6x 9.1GB + 6x 18GB; 1 Unit 12x 36GB).

I mostly got them for the disks and the SCSI cables, but if I would know how to use them I could use the units as well, but I have not worked with such enclosures before.

From what I get, these are basically just drive enclosures, in the sense that, once connected trough a SCSI controller, the drives work as if they where locally installed in the server, so that the controller can put them in RAID and could, in theory, be used to boot the system from or any other storage that for some reason can't be network based.

But is this correct, and if so how can I use only one of the SCSI interfaces on the I/O module to connect them?

From reading this http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11738_div/11738_div.HTML I found that using both of the connectors I could use controller dublexing for better fault tolerance, but how would I set this up in combination with a Proliant ML370 G3 with a Smart Array 6404/246.

From the same overview, I read that "OS Support: Defined by specific HP array controller or SCSI adapter used; please refer to the QuickSpecs and/or User Guide of the specific array controller or SCSI adapter" if they indeed are just generic storage enclosure that publish the disks on the SCSI bus I would assume this means that they would work with mostly any OS as long as the used SCSI (RAID) Controller works with that OS, so they would also work with Windows Server 2012 on more recent systems.

further I wonder, the EMU monitors the status of the Fans and PSU's, but how do I get that status information?

if I use them, they will likely be used with Windows Server 2003 (32-bit), Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit), Windows Server 2008 (32-bit) or Linux (Debian or Ubuntu Server LTS, still 32-bit with PAE) on a Proliant ML370 G3 or DL380 G3.

Re: MSA30-DB basics

boukari — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:10:11 GMT

Hello,

You can take a look in this manual for how EMU monitor PWR supply Unit and Blower :

http://www.istoragenetworks.com/servermanuals/msa30_manual.pdf

Explanation on page 1-7:

The circuitry in the power supply unit provides protection against overloads, short
circuits, and overheating. The EMU monitors a signal sent from the temperature
sensor in the power supply unit and regulates the speed of the blowers according to
the value of this signal. If the temperature exceeds a preset value, the power supply
unit is shut down.
If one power supply unit fails, the remaining functional unit can provide enough DC
power for a full system. However, if only one power supply unit is operational when
a system is powered up, the disk drives are spun up sequentially rather than
simultaneously.

Regards,

Re: MSA30-DB basics

boukari — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:15:25 GMT

Hello,

This is another documentation , that can be helpfull to determin if Blower/power supply fail and how to replace :

http://www.istoragenetworks.com/servermanuals/msa30_powersupply.pdf

Page 2:

Analyze any failure messages received.
• Check status using HP Command View EVA:
1. In the Navigation pane, select Storage system > Hardware >
Rack > Disk enclosure.
2. In the Content pane, select the Power tab or the Cooling tab
then the appropriate component (1 or 2). The Operational state
should be Failed.
3. To help identify the correct enclosure, click Locate > Locate On
to ﬂash the status indicators on the front of the disk enclosure

Regards,