Smart Array 6402 Try to enable windows caching on 2003

[Paul Cahill_2]

One of the new options in Windows 2003 is that you can enable write caching (if you are all battery/ups protected)

We've just set up a DL580 G3 on Windows 2003 with 3 x 6402 controllers. One is directly connected to an internal mirror pair the other two to dual channel MSA 30 enclosures.

The check boxes are there in device manager under the policy tab on the logical disks
"Enable write caching"
"Enable Advanced Performance"

We can check them on and save but when we look again the check boxes are off.

Any thoughts? Is windows caching writes? Does the 6402 enable the physical disk's individual write cache?

[Exeter17]

Have you used the ACU to set the caching - I believe its "allow array accelrator".

Or in device manager you can set it on the RAID controller itself.

If you are trying to set it on the drives themselves...I don't know how to day that....

The SA controllers on allows write caching is you put the BBWC module on there - it doesn't care if you have UPS power or not.

[Paul Cahill_2]

The raid controller's cache is enabled. These are new 2003 features that control how windows caches and should in theory enable the disk drives on board cache. Very dangerous if you do not have a UPS etc.

To do this in Windows 2000 you had to use dskcache.exe

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811392

Paul

[Exeter17]

Paul, I see what you mean. However, have you ever been able to get that utility? M$ wants a 245$ support call.

I'd like to turn on disk drive caching on my ML series servers too. I'm using IDE RAID..

[Martin Balaj]

Hi Paul ,i think you cannot enable win caching ,because your HDD's are connected through SA6402 ,not on simple SCSI adapter .SA6402 has own caching system "Array Accelerator" and win2003 are not "compatibile" with it .Sorry for my english .

[Paul Cahill_2]

Brian do you see the same check boxes and are they bevahing the same way with an ide controller?

I was guessing that somehow the SA6402 drivers were turning the facility off again.

For all I know the SA6402 drivers completely control the cache on the SCSI drives and enable/disable for performance or resilience as necessary.

As the machine is being built/tested at the moment we do not have a UPS attached.

It's possible that Windows 2003 is seeing this an not allowing the advanced options.

[kris rombauts]

Paul,

the SmartArray firmware does not allow the "disk cache" setting from within windows 2000 and 2003 to change the controllers cache behavior, you need ACU for that and it's really two different things we talk about here.

The Windows disk cache setting might work on some direct connected disk drives (IDE or SCSI on non raid controller) if the disk f/w allows the disk drive controllers cache to be enabled since some do not allow this to prevent data loss/data corruption.

HTH

Kris

[Paul Cahill_2]

Thanks Kris.

I was beginning to think this was the case. I guess the driver developers just forgot to tell windows 2003 that the logical disk does not support drive caching.