P2000 MSA G3 Controller B network degraded (but still seems to be working)

[adamdb_uk]

Hi all,

          I've got an odd issue on an old P2000 G3 MSA storage system.  It has 2 controllers both of which are working fine and a number of expansion units (again all working as expected). I noted that it was reporting that controller B's network management port was 'degraded' . Sure enough 'show system' is reporting the system as degraded and I can see a red X against the controller B manangement port.  Show FRUS however says alll subcompoents are in OK state, show controllers again is fine, show cache-parameters is OK,... I can also connect to the system over ssh on both controllers.  What I can't seem to do is connect to the WEBUI on controller B. I've tried restart MC to see if that helps. No. I've also run ping tests from both controllers.

Controller A can ping its gateway with no issues. It can also ping controller B. Controller B however is reporting it cannot or can only intermittently ping the default gateway and it's partner controller A. 

So all a bit odd really. If it was failed I'd expect no access at all, yet I can ssh onto it. 

Both controller are running TS230P006 which I am guessing is pretty old however we had not seen any issues until recently.

My next plan is probably to fail everything onto controller A and then re-seat controller B to see if the issue clears. If not I guess the next step is a new controller but given the issues I've had in the past being sent controllers with way newer firmware and then having the controllers refuse to talk to each other that will be a last resort.

If anyone has seen this type of issue before or has any suggestions it would be most welcome. 

thanks

Ad.

[SUBHAJIT KHANBARMAN_1]

Your plan seems fine but you can also try full power cycle of the MSA by plan a downtime for this activity.

If still issue persists then you can try with single controller by keeping other controller in shutdown state and check if everything working fine or not.

Yes firmware too much old so any unpredictable or odd behavior is expected.

Is this MSA not in HPE support? You can try upgrading latest firmware.

UPGRADE NOTE:
If upgrading from an older version of firmware it may require a multiple step process to get to TS252.
If below TS230 then upgrade to TS230P008 first, then TS240P004, and then TS250P003 before upgrading to TS252P005. If the firmware is between the mentioned versions, it is recommended to follow through the steps as well.

Hope this helps!
Regards
Subhajit

I am an HPE employee

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[Shawn_K]

Hello,

You might try to unplug the network cable from the management port on controller B. Then do a ping to the IP address of the B controller management port just to confirm there is no other device on your network set to the same IP address. Once you confirm there is not a duplicate IP address, reconnect the network cable and test the connection.

Sometime either the network port is not fully connected or the duplicate IP address causes the issue. If that does not correct the problem try switching network cables between the A & B management ports on the controllers just to confirm it is not your network cable or switch ports.

There are lots of fixes for the management ports and management controllers between TS230 and current supported firmware TS252P005. While I understand you have not yet had issues, upgrading to avoid hitting problems already corrected in current firmware should be a consideration worth thinking over. Plus it makes replacing a controller much easier when on current firmware versions!

As mentioned previously there is an upgrade path you will need to follow.

UPGRADE NOTE:
If upgrading from an older version of firmware it may require a multiple step process to get to TS252.
If below TS230 then upgrade to TS230P008 first, then TS240P004, and then TS250P003 before upgrading to TS252P005. If the firmware is between the mentioned versions, it is recommended to follow through the steps as well.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Shawn