MSA1000 locking up, slowly dying

[Vague Assumption]

I'm running an MSA1000 SAN powered by a pair of MSA1000 Raid controllers and a single switch6.

The MSA on the left hand side, as seen from the front, is freezing up twice a week. The next time it stops, I'm thinking of taking the partner MSA, the one not 'backed' by the switch6 and substituting it for the troubled MSA on the left.

Will this work okay? Has the partner copied over the configuration of the drives?
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In an MSA, which of the two controllers is normally considered the active, and which the backup? The one on the left or the one on the right, as seen from the front?

When I take an MSA1000 that's been sitting on the bench and plug it into the box, will whatever config was on it be overwritten by the config on the MSA1000 running in the box?

[Johan Guldmyr]

Are you running active/active or active/passive firmware? If A/P I believe it will say standby in the LCD panel at the front.

I would assume that in either case the array configuration is available on both controllers - in both a/a and a/p.

As for overwriting the config I wouldn't think it would write over the config either, would be quite scary to do replacements then. Maybe it's more safe to do a ctrl replacement online then? Is that the advised way to replace the controller to do it online or offline?

[PVD]

I would suggest you log a case with HP support for controller hang issue.

The array configuration is stored in RIS of the disks and not controllers.

If you are running A/P firmware, then controller on the right (when seen from front of the array) also called controller 1 will be active. Unless there was a controller failover.

Regarding plugging a controller in... it depends which slot you are plugging this into and if offfline/online and firmware version on it.
If you are plugging this into left slot (when seen from front) and right controller is active, then there should be no issues and firmwawre from right will be cloned to the left controller.

[Vague Assumption]

This morning the known bad MSA lasted 6 minutes between crashes. I turned the unit off and put in the spare that I'd prepped by running it in the left hand bay (seen from the front). Everything seems okay. I'm glad to know, PVD, that the config is stored on the disks. To me, a Microsoft guy, RIS stands for remote installation services. What does it mean in the context of the MSA? If the config is independent, then I can just go buy a couple of new MSA's.

Thanks for replying.

[Vague Assumption]

Another issue is active/passive. We upgraded to firmware 4.32 many years ago, I think to accomodate multiple Microsoft Clusters running on the same SAN. Would that be active/passive firmware? Our config is so old and I have so little time to investigate the equipment that I would guess that it is.

Thanks again.

[PVD]

RIS = RAID Information Sector. The RAID configuration info is stored on RIS of each drive.

4.32 is A/P version. The latest AP version is 5.40.
Take a look at the compatibility guide on HP.com, if you are planning to upgrade these.
http://www.hp.com/storage/spock

[Vague Assumption]

Thanks, PVD. I'll check it out. For now, the system is stable. I remember was a heck of a thing it was to go from 2.38 to 4.32. That was like 2006, and I still remember it!