MSA60 Configuration Options

[R. L. Kern]

I am new to the external storage array so forgive the basic nature of this request. I am adding a new msa60 array to our existing server (IBM x3455) which already has an Areca RAID card(1221). My questions are regarding the initial setup-
Will I require a P800 smart array card in addition to the areca if we wish to configure the msa60 as JBOD. And will I need the HP array configuration utility running to perform this(i.e. MSA60 JBOD configuration). The reason I ask is that the array config utiility requires server os that we don't have installed(we are using FreeBSD)

thanks in advance for any advice.

[Johan Guldmyr]

Hi,

you need to use a RAID card that the MSA60 supports.

See this for which are supported:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12627_div/12627_div.HTML

If you do not want to install ACU you can try to boot the server on the smartstart CD.

Or maybe this ACU offline CD:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=3683232&prodNameId=3683233&swEnvOID=1005&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-f0790470403f4da3bd94126308

But I am positive that you will need a smart array controller for anything to work.

Downside of not installing the ACU is that if something happens to the array, you will have to reboot the server and boot it on the CD.

In FreeBSD - isn't it possible to 'emulate' linux and get it to run linux binaries? Maybe you can get ACU to run that way?

[Moderator edit: Removed the broken links. Please refer to https://support.hpe.com/]

[Torsten.]

You likely have a real problem, because you don't have a proliant server. Maybe you really need a hp smartarray controller, but you most likely cannot boot from smartstart. In this case, the ORCA (offline config utility) may be your only option.

[R. L. Kern]

Thanks for the input
For the ZFS configuration the drives just need to be recognized individually (JBOD) Which is a waste of a good RAID card, I realize, but such is the desired setup
Therefore, I had hoped I could avoid requiring the smart array card (which I believe is more sophisticated than even my areca 1221x) as its potential will remain untapped in a ZFS arrangment. If I understand correctly the MSA60 (even acting as JBOD) expects to communicate with an array controller rather than just pass through all disks to the OS for individual access. I tried the supported controller link given but it wouldn't open a page for me.
Thanks again for helping me to understand this hybridization I am attempting.

[Johan Guldmyr]

with the smart array you may not be able to disable the raid. you would create an array and in that your lun with a raid level.

[gregersenj]

Its a dumb SAS box, you can put it behind a SCSI controller, and use it as JBOD.

HP support only HP branded controllers.

Cut and paste from the Quick specs:
For HP-UX and Open VMS environments on HP Integrity Servers the MSA60 supports the HP (AH303A) SC44Ge Host Bus Adapter with the addition of the HP StorageWorks Dual Domain I/O Module Option (AG779A). Behind the single external port on the HP (AH303A) SC44Ge Host Bus Adapter 1+3 cascading allows a maximum of 48 drives in an 8U configuration. The HP (AH303A) SC44Ge Host Bust Adapter will only support HP-UX and Open VMS environments and will be available on all rack mounted HP Integrity Servers with PCIe slots.

The addition of the I/O Module with the HP SC44Ge Host Bus Adapter adds support for Multi Initiator JBOD Clusters. It will support HP-UX and Open VMS on selected HP Integrity servers only. The MSA60 with the I/O Module and the HP SC44Ge Host Bus Adapter will not support ProLiant servers. Multi Initiator JBOD clusters are supported with dual port SAS drives only.
Support for HP Serviceguard software on HP-UX with HP-UX 11iv2/11iv3 only.

BR
/jag

[gregersenj]

Correction:

"Its a dumb SAS box, you can put it behind a SCSI controller, and use it as JBOD."

Should be: Its a dumb SAS box, you can put it behind a SAS controller, and use it as JBOD.

BR
/jag

[R. L. Kern]

I am probably misinterpreting your post but...
It sounds like the literature is indicating that it (MSA60) will need to be connected to an itanium(integrity) based server to function as JBOD with that controller.
As I have essentially no experience with that platform, I am going to try the route of using an HP E500 smart array controller first and see if that allows the configuration option I need. The Areca is a SAS controller but I'm understanding that the communication via the 8088 is not standard and in this case a proprietary controller is required. I was misinformed about this particular point and now I am try to unravel this to move forward. Many thank to you folks for the assistance.
RL

[Johan Guldmyr]

good luck =)

[gregersenj]

It will work on other platforms as well.

It was as I wrote cut and past, and only partly.
Just to prove, that it is functional on a SAS controller, as JBOD.

BR
/jag

[R. L. Kern]

I have installed the E500 in place of the areca and the MSA 60 is online and recognized with the ACU only. In other words if you don't create a logical volume in the ACU then then solaris doesn't see the individual drives. i.e. it is not a "pass-through" controller/JBOD arrangement. It can be configured with multiple RAID0 one drive logical volumes but there are potential problems with this in ZFS.
It seems the MSA60 will not allow software RAID/ZFS

[Johan Guldmyr]

According to gregersenj you need to use a SAS controller for that functionality, not a RAID controller like the E500.

[R. L. Kern]

FROM HP WEBSITE E500 overview

The HP Smart Array E500 is HP's first external connect only, entry level PCI Express (PCIe) Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) RAID controller. The full size card has 8 ports (2 x4 mini SAS external connectors) and utilizes DDR2-533 memory. The SA-E500 offers RAID 0, 1 and 0+1 and can be upgraded with the battery-backed write cache (BBWC) module for RAID 5. This low-profile card is ideal for customers needing a low-cost external connect for HP ProLiant servers to tape, JBODs, and intelligent Modular Storage Arrays (MSA).

So did I misinterpret the last line? Is the implication the box dictates the functionality not the array controller card? I took the earlier posts to mean the opposite.

[Johan Guldmyr]

Well, with HP-UX and HP-UX/OpenVMS you also need dual domain io module and the SC44Ge.

For your question: both?

[R. L. Kern]

I tried multiple config options, the E500 would only let me see the individual drives if I made each drive a RAID0. I have tried an LSI 9200-8e connected to the msa60 and it presents each drive individually to the host (HBA) no RAID necessary.
I believe this is a functional limitation of the HP Smart Array E500.
Thanks again for all the advice.
RLK

[Johan Guldmyr]

Sounds great :-)
Are you going to keep using that or go with an hba that hp sells? Is a support thing.. If you run into issues it may be hard to get help from the support.

[R. L. Kern]

Yes at the moment we are using the LSI, mainly because I was unable to find an HP card which would perform that function. The one mentioned earlier in the thread sounded as though it may be a possibility but one paragraph made me think it would only do so on an Integrity server with dual port SAS drives (we are using large SATA drives). At the moment the biggest (SMALL) snag I have run into is that since they were formatted as RAID 0 by the E500, when I destroyed the raid0 array and put in the new LSI card solaris is now using the large hexadecimal target id rather than the sequential decimal numbering common to most ZFS pools.
i.e. instead of c0t1d0, c0t2d0...
I get something like c0t5000C5E0834FE006d0
and despite low-level formatting, array destruction with the hardware card, etc. I cannot shake this tagging. Is this a behavior of solaris 10 when accessing a SAS expander or just something the E500 smart array card wrote to the firmware of the SATA drive ??
Thanks

[Johan Guldmyr]

That is the way the LUN looks like from an AMS2500 in SunOS. That disk comes via fc.

Maybe that's the way it looks when they aren't pure disks.