Digital PDFs

AA-Q6WVB-TE

April 1995

91 pages

Original

0.3MB

Document:	StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP User's Guide
Order Number:	AA-Q6WVB-TE
Revision:	0
Pages:	91
Original Filename:

OCR Text

StorageWorks RAID Array 200
Online Management Utility
for OpenVMS AXP
User's Guide
AA–Q6WVB–TE

Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts

Second Printing, April 1995
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should
not be construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation.
Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors that
might appear in this document.
The software, if any, described in this document is furnished under a license and
may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. No
responsibility is assumed for the use or reliability of software or equipment that
is not supplied by Digital Equipment Corporation or its affiliated companies.
Copyright  1995 by Digital Equipment Corporation. All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.
The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:
AXP, OpenVMS, StorageWorks, SWXCR, and the Digital logo.
The following are third-party trademarks:
Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark
of Microsoft Corporation.
Intel, Intel486, and i486 are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their
respective holders.

Contents
Revision Record...................................................................................................................ix
About This Guide ...............................................................................................................xi
1

Installing the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility
for OpenVMS
1.1

Introduction.............................................................................................................1-1

1.2

Before Installing the Utility .....................................................................................1-2

1.3

Contents of Kit ........................................................................................................1-3

1.4 Loading the Utility ..................................................................................................1-6
1.4.1 Systems Running OpenVMS V6.1 .....................................................................1-6
1.4.1.1 Boot Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.1.......................................................1-7
1.4.1.1.1 Identify Devices for OpenVMS V6.1 ..............................................................1-7
1.4.1.1.2 Installing OpenVMS V6.1 ..............................................................................1-8
1.4.1.1.3 Invoking the PSCI Load Procedure .................................................................1-8
1.4.1.2 Data Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.1 .......................................................1-9
1.4.1.3 Extended Command Line Utilities --OpenVMS V6.1.......................................1-10
1.4.2 Systems Running OpenVMS V6.2 ...................................................................1-10
1.4.2.1 Boot Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.2.....................................................1-10
1.4.2.1.1 Initializing a Boot Device for Shadowing .....................................................1-10
1.4.2.1.2 Installing OpenVMS V6.2 ............................................................................1-11
1.4.2.1.3 Invoking the PCSI Load Procedure ...............................................................1-12
1.4.2.2 Data Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.2 .....................................................1-13
1.4.2.2.1 Initializing a Data Device for Shadowing......................................................1-13
1.4.2.2.2 Invoking the PCSI Load Procedure ...............................................................1-13
1.4.2.3 Extended Command Line and GUI -- OpenVMS V6.2.....................................1-14
1.5 Shadowing a Logical RAID Drive .........................................................................1-15
1.5.1 Preparing a Logical RAID Drive as System Drive for
Shadowing -- OpenVMS V6.2 .........................................................................1-16
1.5.2 Preparing a Logical RAID Drive as Data Drive for
Shadowing -- OpenVMS V6.2 .........................................................................1-17

AA–Q6WVB–TE

iii

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility
for OpenVMS Command Line
2.1

Introduction.............................................................................................................2-1

2.2 Monitoring the RAID Subsystem.............................................................................2-2
2.2.1 Invoking a Monitor Process ...............................................................................2-2
2.2.2 Qualifiers for the MONITOR Command............................................................2-3
2.2.3 Events Reported by the Monitor ........................................................................2-7
2.2.4 Adding the MONITOR Command to your System Startup File..........................2-8
2.2.5 Stopping a Monitor process ...............................................................................2-9
2.3 Performing Parity Check and Repair on the RAID Subsystem ...............................2-10
2.3.1 Invoking the Parity Check Utility ...................................................................2-10
2.3.2 Qualifiers for the CHECK Command...............................................................2-11
2.4 Working With Drives ............................................................................................2-14
2.4.1 Understanding Parameters ...............................................................................2-14
2.4.2 Making a Hot Spare Drive ............................................................................... 2-15
2.4.3 Failing a Drive.................................................................................................2-16
2.4.4 Rebuilding a Drive ..........................................................................................2-17
2.4.5 Making a Drive Optimal ..................................................................................2-18
2.5

Viewing Help ........................................................................................................2-18

Command Line Messages
3.1

Introduction.............................................................................................................3-1

3.2

Messages from the Monitor Process ........................................................................3-1

3.3

Messages from the Parity Check Utility.................................................................3-10

3.4

Messages from the Working with Drive Commands .............................................. 3-11

Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility
for OpenVMS Graphical User Interface
4.1

Overview of the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS
Graphical User Interface (GUI)................................................................................4-1

4.2

Accessing the Online Management Utility for OpenVMS GUI ................................4-2

4.3 Using the Online Management GUI .........................................................................4-4
4.3.1 Using the Mouse................................................................................................4-4
4.3.2 Using Windows .................................................................................................4-5
4.3.3 Using Menus .....................................................................................................4-6
4.3.4 Using Help ........................................................................................................4-6
4.3.5 Exiting form the Online Management GUI ........................................................4-6
4.4
iv

Viewing the Subsystem from the Online Management GUI .....................................4-7
AA–Q6WVB–TE

Contents

Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility
for OpenVMS Graphical User Interface (cont)
4.4.1
4.4.2
4.4.3
4.5

Selecting a Subsystem .......................................................................................4-7
Viewing Disk Drives .......................................................................................4-10
Viewing Logical RAID Drives.........................................................................4-14

Printing the Configuration .....................................................................................4-17

Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI
5.1

Maintaining the Subsystem......................................................................................5-1

5.2 Replacing a Failed Drive .........................................................................................5-2
5.2.1 Hot Spare ..........................................................................................................5-3
5.2.2 Hot Swap...........................................................................................................5-3
5.2.3 Marking a Drive as Failed .................................................................................5-4
5.2.3.1 Rebuilding a Drive ............................................................................................5-6
5.2.3.2 Marking a Drive as Optimal ..............................................................................5-8
5.3

Making a Hot Spare.................................................................................................5-9

5.4

Setting Rebuild Rate..............................................................................................5-10

5.5

Viewing the Bad Block Table ................................................................................5-11

5.6

Checking Parity .....................................................................................................5-12

Readers Comment Form ........................................................................ Inside Back Cover

AA–Q6WVB–TE

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

Figures
4-1

The Base Window of the Online Management Utility for OpenVMS GUI, Displaying
a 1-Channel Configuration.......................................................................................4-2

4-2

The Base Window of the Online Management Utility for OpenVMS GUI, Displaying
a 3-Channel Configuration.......................................................................................4-3

4-3

The Adapter Selected Buttons..................................................................................4-7

4-4

The Subsystem Displayed after Selecting EISA Slot 8 .............................................4-8

4-5

The Subsystem Displayed after Selecting PCI Slot 6 ...............................................4-9

4-6

The Disk Drive Matrix for a 1-Channel Controller................................................. 4-10

4-7

The Disk Drive Matrix for a 3-Channel Controller................................................. 4-12

4-8

The Logical Drive Table........................................................................................4-14

4-9

The Print Current Configuration Window ..............................................................4-17

5-1

Fail Drive Confirmation Window ............................................................................5-5

5-2

The Rebuild Drive Confirmation Window ...............................................................5-6

5-3

The Rebuild Progress Window.................................................................................5-7

5-4

The Rebuild Completed Message.............................................................................5-7

5-5

The Make Optimal Confirmation Window...............................................................5-9

5-6

Set Rebuild Rate Window......................................................................................5-10

5-7

The Parity Repair Option Window.........................................................................5-12

5-8

The Parity Progress Window .................................................................................5-13

5-9

Parity Check Completed Message..........................................................................5-13

5-10 Parity Status Report Appears When Parity Check Finishes ....................................5-14
5-11 Parity Errors Detected Message .............................................................................5-14

Tables

1-1

Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.1 Distribution Kit
CD-ROM.................................................................................................................1-4

1-2

Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.1 Upgrade Kit
Floppy Diskette .......................................................................................................1-4

1-3

Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.2 Distribution Kit
CD-ROM.................................................................................................................1-5

1-4

Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.2 Upgrade Kit
Floppy Diskette .......................................................................................................1-5

1-5

Installation Roadmap...............................................................................................1-6

2-1

MONITOR Command Qualifiers.............................................................................2-3
AA–Q6WVB–TE

Contents

Tables (cont.)
2-2

CHECK Command Qualifiers................................................................................2-11

3-1

Monitor Utility Messages .......................................................................................3-1

3-2

Monitor Utility Messages Reported .........................................................................3-4

3-3

Parity Check Utility Messages ...............................................................................3-10

3-4

Work with Drive Command Error Messages..........................................................3-11

4-1

Mouse Functions .....................................................................................................4-4

4-2

Window Elements ...................................................................................................4-5

4-3

Drive Matrix Information ......................................................................................4-11

4-4

Disk Drive Status...................................................................................................4-13

4-5

Logical Drive Table Information ...........................................................................4-15

4-6

Logical Drive Status ..............................................................................................4-16

AA–Q6WVB–TE

vii

Revision Record
This Revision Record provides a concise publication history of this manual. It lists the
manual revision levels, release dates, and reasons for the revisions.

The following revision history lists all revisions of this publication and their effective
dates. The publication part number is included in the Revision Level column, with the
last entry denoting the latest revision. This publication supports StorageWorks RAID
Array 200 Subsystems in the OpenVMS AXP operating system environment.
Revision Level

Date

Summary of Changes

AA–Q6WVA–TE

August 1994

Original release. This release
supports the StorageWorks RAID
Array 200 Online Management
Utility for OpenVMS AXP
command line only.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

April 1995

This release adds supports for the
StorageWorks RAID Array 200
Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS AXP Graphical User
Interface (GUI).

About Figures In This Revision
In this revision of the guide figures displaying 3-channel
controllers do not reflect the current version of the GUI.
Compare these figures with the figures showing
1-channel controllers, to view how the title and menu
bars actually appear on the current version of the GUI.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

About This Guide
This section identifies the audience of this guide and describes the contents
(chapter by chapter) and structure. In addition, this section includes a list of
associated documents and the conventions used in this guide.

The StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS User's Guide
This guide describes how to install the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online
Management Utility for OpenVMS and how to use the RAID Array 200 Online
Management Utility for OpenVMS command line and Graphical User Interface
(GUI).

Intended Audience
This guide supports users of the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystems in
an OpenVMS environment on an AXP system. You should be familiar with
StorageWorks RAID terminology, OpenVMS and the procedures for adding a
device to your system.

Organization
This guide contains the following:
Chapter 1: Installing the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS
Installing the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS
describes features of the utility; lists supported systems and files added to your
system by this installation; loading the utility onto boot devices in systems
running OpenVMS V6.1 and V6.2; loading the utility onto data devices in
systems running OpenVMS V6.1 and V6.2; and preparing a logical RAID drive
(used as a system device or boot device) for shadowing on a system running
OpenVMS V6.2.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

Chapter 2: Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS Command Line
Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS Command
Line discusses monitoring the RAID subsystem through the SWXCR monitor;
and using the command line to perform parity check and repair, and to work with
drives to: make hotspare drives, fail drives, rebuild drives and make drives
optimal.
Chapter 3: Messages
Messages describe the informational, and error messages displayed by the
command line monitor, parity check and work-with-drive processes.
Chapter 4: Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS V6.2
Graphical User Interface (GUI) describes how to access and use the GUI.
Chapter 5: Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI
Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI discusses how to use the GUI to:
replace a failed drive, including: failing, rebuilding and marking a drive optimal;
create a hot spare, set rebuild rate, view bad block table, and check parity.

Conventions
This guide uses the following conventions:
Style

Meaning

boldface monospace type
plain monospace type
italic type
screens,

xii

To be input by the user
Screen text
For emphasis, manual titles, utilities, menus,
and filenames

AA–Q6WVB–TE

About this Guide

Figures
In this revision of the guide figures displaying 3-channel controllers do not
reflect the current version of the GUI. Compare these figures with the figures
showing
1-channel controllers, to view how the title and menu bars actually appear on the
current version of the GUI.

Special Notices
This guide uses in the following to emphasize specific information.
WARNING
WARNING indicates the presence of a hazard that
can cause personal injury if the hazard is not
avoided.

CAUTION
CAUTION indicates the presence of a hazard that
might damage hardware or corrupt software.

NOTE
Notes provide additional information.

Related Documentation
Refer to the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystems Controller Installation
and Standalone Configuration Utility User's Guide for information on the
controller and on configuring your subsystem.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

xiii

1
Installing the Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS
This chapter presents information about the systems supported, the kit contents, loading
the online management utility for OpenVMS onto systems running OpenVMS V6.1 and
V6.2, and preparing logical RAID drives on systems running OpenVMS V6.2.

1.1

Introduction
The RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS varies for
systems running OpenVMS V6.1 and V6.2.
The online management utility offers command line and extended command
line utilities for systems running OpenVMS V6.1 and V6.2.
The command line provides:
•

OpenVMS AXP driver for the controller

•

Monitoring

•

Parity check and repair
The extended command line provides the following working-with-drives
commands:

•

Making a hot spare

•

Failing a drive

•

Rebuilding a drive

•

Viewing help

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–1

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

The online management utility offers a Graphical User Interface (GUI) only
for systems running OpenVMS V6.2.
The GUI utility provides:
•

Management of the RAID subsystem

•

Rebuild control (of redundant logical RAID drives)

•

Parity Check
In addition, OpenVMS V6.2 offers the capability to shadow logical RAID
drives.

1.2

Before Installing the Utility
Prior to installing the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS onto your system, you should have completed the following:
•

Run the EISA Configuration Utility (for EISA controllers only)

•

Set controller options and parameters

•

Installed the controller and subsystem

•

Connected the subsystem to the controller

•

Configured logical RAID drives on the subsystem with the standalone
configuration utility
In addition, we recommend that you back up your system before you attempt
to install the utility for OpenVMS

1–2

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility

1.3

Contents of the Kit
The contents of the kit varies for systems running OpenVMS V6.1 and V6.2.
Table 1–1 lists and describes the contents of the online management utility
files on the OpenVMS V6.1 distribution kit CD-ROM.
Table 1–2 lists and describes the contents of the online management utility
files on the OpenVMS 6.1 update kit floppy diskette.
Table 1–3 lists and describes the contents of the online management utility
files on the OpenVMS V6.2 distribution kit CD-ROM.
Table 1–4 lists and describes the contents of the online management utility
files on the OpenVMS V6.2 update kit floppy diskette.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–3

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 1–1 Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.1
Distribution Kit CD-ROM
File

Description

SWXCR_E$STARTUP.COM

Startup command file for auto-configuration

SWXCR_ECONFIG.COM

Utility command file for configuration

DEC$SW$DRDRIVER.EXE

OpenVMS device driver for SWXCR-E

DEC$SW$ICBM_09.EXE

Auto-configuration module for SWXCR-E

SWXCR_EWRITE_3PB.COM

Utility command file for SWXCR-E boot support

SWXCR$MON_INIT.EXE

Initialization executable for status monitor

SWXCR$MONITOR.EXE

Status monitor executable

SWXCR$PCHECK.EXE

Parity check executable

SWXCR$CLD.CLD

Command-line definitions for monitor/check

SWXCR$HELP.HLP

Help text for monitor/check

SWXCR_E.RELEASE_NOTES

Release Notes

Table 1–2 Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.1
Upgrade Kit Floppy Diskette

1–4

File

Description

SWXCR$UTIL.EXE

Executable for extended utilities (working-withdrive commands)

SWXCR$CLD.CLD

Command-line definitions for monitor/check

SWXCR$HELP.HLP

Help text for monitor/check

SWXCR_E.RELEASE_NOTES

Release Notes

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility
Table 1–3 Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.2
Distribution Kit CD-ROM
File

Description

SWXCR_E$STARTUP.COM

Startup command file for auto-configuration

SWXCR_ECONFIG.COM

Utility command file for configuration

DR$INIT.COM

Command file for forced-error initialization
(support for system-disk shadowing)

DR$INIT.EXE

Executable for forced-error initialization (support
for system-disk shadowing)

SWXCR$CLD.CLD

Command-line definitions for monitor/check

SWXCR$HELP.HLP

Help text for monitor/check

SWXCR_E.RELEASE_NOTES

Release Notes

Table 1–4 Online Management Utility Files Contained on the OpenVMS V6.2
Upgrade Kit Floppy Diskette
File

Description

SWXCR$UTIL.EXE

Executable for extended utilities (working-withdrive commands)

SWXCR$MON_INIT.EXE

Initialization executable for status monitor

SWXCR$MONITOR.EXE

Status monitor executable

SWXCR$PCHECK.EXE

Parity check executable

SWXCR$RRATE.EXE

Executable for SET/SHOW rebuild rate

SWXCR$MGR.EXE

Executable for GUI-based status/config utility

SWXCR$MGR.DAT

Resource file for SWXCRMGR.EXE

SWXCR$CLD.CLD

Command-line definitions for monitor/check

SWXCR$HELP.HLP

Help text for monitor/check

SWXCR_E.RELEASE_NOTES

Release Notes

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–5

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

1.4

Loading the Online Management Utility
The procedure for loading the online management utility for OpenVMS AXP
varies depending on the following:
•

Version of OpenVMS (on which you plan to load it)

•

Whether you will load it onto a system disk or data device

•

Whether you will load the command line only, or the command line and
the extended command line utility

See Table 1–5 to determine which section of this chapter to see to load the
online management utilities for OpenVMS.
Table 1-5 Installation Roadmap
To load the utilities onto:

See:

OpenVMS V6.1 Boot Device

Section 1.4.1.1

OpenVMS V6.1 Data Device

Section 1.4.1.2

OpenVMS V6.2 Boot Device

Section 1.4.2.1

OpenVMS V6.2 Data Device

Section 1.4.2.2

Boot device indicates the storage device in your subsystem where you located
the operating system. You boot your system from this device.
Data device indicates a nonbootable storage device in your subsystem. A data
device does not contain your operating system. You cannot boot your system
from this device.

1.4.1 Systems Running OpenVMS V6.1
The online management utility offers only the command line components in
the OpenVMS V6.1 environment.

1–6

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility

1.4.1.1 Boot Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.1
To load the online management utility onto a RAID Array 200 Subsystem used
as an OpenVMS V6.1 boot device, you need to do the following:
•

Identify devices for OpenVMS

•

Install OpenVMS

•

Install the command line utility

•

Optionally, install the extended command line utilities

1.4.1.1.1 Identify Devices for OpenVMS V6.1
To identify devices for OpenVMS V6.1, follow these steps:
1. Refer to the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Controller
Installation and Standalone Configuration Utility User's Guide for
information on installing the RAID controller and configuring a logical
RAID drive.
2. Once the RAID controller’s installation/configuration has been successfully
completed, boot the system from the OpenVMS AXP CD-ROM V6.1
distribution media.
3. To identify devices for OpenVMS, highlight option 2 from the OpenVMS
Installation menu and press the Enter key. A DCL ($) prompt appears.
4. At the DCL ($) prompt, type: $ @[SWXCR_E$KIT]DRCONNECT
Then press the Enter key. OpenVMS displays the following prompt:
Enter the slot number for the SWXCR-Ex controller:
5. Enter the slot number for your controller (displayed when you ran the EISA
Configuration Utility to install the controller) and press the Enter key.
OpenVMS displays the following prompt:
Enter the IRQ for the SWXCR-Ex controller [11]:
6. Press the Enter key to accept 11 as the IRQ, or type another number for the
IRQ (displayed when you ran the EISA Configuration Utility to install the
controller) and press the Enter key.
This completes the device identification for OpenVMS.
7. To return to the OpenVMS Installation menu, type: $ LOGOUT

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–7

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

1.4.1.1.2 Installing OpenVMS V6.1
To install OpenVMS V6.1, choose option 1 from the OpenVMS Installation
menu. Specify the DRAn: as the target installation device. Follow the series of
prompts and provide the appropriate information. When the OpenVMS
installation completes, return to the Installation menu.
NOTE
The DRAn: (n=0-7) (target installation)
device must be a logical RAID drive that you
have previously configured using the
Standalone Utility.

1.4.1.1.3 Invoking the PCSI Load Procedure
To invoke the PCSI load procedure, which loads the online management
utility, follow these steps:
1. Choose option 2 from the Installation menu. A DCL ($) prompt appears.
2. Invoke the PCSI load procedure, type:
$ @[SWXCR_E$KIT]INVOKE_PCSI
The following prompt: Enter target device name:
3. Type the name of the target system disk (DRAn:) and press the Enter key.
PCSI load procedure start messages appear, then PCSI displays the prompt:
Do you want all the default values for this
product? [Yes]
4. Press the Enter key to accept default values. PCSI displays the prompt:
Do you want to view the values? [No]
5. Press the Enter key and PCSI loads the online management utility.
6. Return to the OpenVMS Installation menu when PCSI completes, type:
$ LOGOUT
7. Highlight option 3 and press the Enter key to shut down the system.
8. Reboot the system directly from the DRAn: device.
This completes the installation of the online management utility command line
onto a system disk. Go to Section 1.4.1.3 if you want to load the extended
command line utilities.
1–8

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility

NOTE
If you copy the contents of a system disk to
your subsystem using, for example,
BACKUP/IMAGE, then you must repeat
Steps 5 through 8 listed under the Data
Device Installation section in this chapter
identifying the second disk as the target
device.

1.4.1.2 Data Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.1
To load the online management utility onto a data device, follow these steps:
1. Boot OpenVMS AXP from your system disk.
2. Log into your system account.
3. Insert the OpenVMS AXP CD V6.1 into your CD-ROM drive.
4. Mount the volume, type: $ MOUNT DEVICE:/OV=ID
where DEVICE is the CD-ROM drive
5. Invoke the PCSI load procedure, type:
$ @DEVICE:[SWXCR_E$KIT]INVOKE_PCSI.COM
where DEVICE is the CD-ROM drive
PCSI displays the following prompt: Enter target devicename:
6. Enter the name of the target system disk (DKn:). PCSI loads the utility.
7. When the PCSI load procedure completes, add the following line to your
system’s startup file to ensure that the system recognizes the controller each
time you boot the system: $ @SYS$MANAGER:SWXCR_E$STARTUP
8. Reboot from the OpenVMS system disk to access the SWXCR DRAn:
devices.
This completes the installation of the online management command line utility
onto a data device. Go to Section 1.4.1.3 if you want to load the extended
command line utilities.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–9

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

1.4.1.3 Extended Command Line Utilities -- OpenVMS V6.1
To load the extended command line utilities onto a RAID Array 200
Subsystem used as either a system disk or data device, follow these steps:
1. Insert the OpenVMS Extended Utilities diskette into your system's floppy
drive.
2. Mount the floppy diskette, type: $ MOUNT/OV=ID DVA0
3. Load the extended command line utilities, type:
$ @DVA0:[SWXCR_E$KIT]INSTALL.COM
The install utility loads the extended utilities.
4. Unmount the floppy diskette and remove it from the floppy drive.
This completes the installation of the online management utility for OpenVMS
V6.1.

1.4.2 Systems Running OpenVMS V6.2
The online management utility offers the command line and Graphical User
Interface (GUI) components in the OpenVMS V6.2 environment.

1.4.2.1 Boot Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.2
To load the online management utility onto a RAID Array 200 Subsystem used
as an OpenVMS V6.2 boot device, you need to do the following:
•

Optionally, initialize device for shadowing, if you plan to shadow it

•

Install OpenVMS 6.2 to a logical RAID drive

•

Install the command line utility component

•

Optionally, install the extended command line and GUI components

1.4.2.1.1 Initializing a Boot Device for Shadowing
OpenVMS offers device shadowing. If you plan to shadow your boot device,
got to Section 1.5 prior to installing OpenVMS V6.2 and the online
management utility onto your boot device.

1–10

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility

1.4.2.1.2 Installing OpenVMS V6.2
To install OpenVMS V6.2 onto a logical RAID drive, follow these steps:
1. Refer to the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem Controller
Installation and Standalone Configuration Utility User's Guide for
information on installing the RAID controller and configuring a logical
RAID drive.
2. Once the RAID controller’s installation/configuration has been successfully
completed, boot the system from the OpenVMS AXP CD-ROM V6.2
distribution media.
3. To install OpenVMS V6.2, choose option 1 from the OpenVMS Installation
menu. Specify DRAn: as the target installation device.
NOTE
The target installation device: DRAn: (n=07) must be a logical RAID drive that you
have previously configured using the
Standalone Utility.

Follow the series of prompts and provide the appropriate information.
4. The OpenVMS installation menu appears when the installation completes.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–11

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

1.4.2.1.3 Invoking the PCSI Load Procedure
Invoke the PCSI load procedure to load the online management utility.
To invoke the PCSI load procedure, follow these steps:

NOTE
When upgrading from OpenVMS 6.1 to
OpenVMS 6.2, select Yes to remove old
SWXCR files, at the install program prompt
to remove previous version.

1. Boot the system from the OpenVMS AXP CD-ROM V6.2 distribution
media, if you have not already done so in Section 1.4.2.1.2.
2. Choose option 4 from the OpenVMS V6.2 Installation menu. A DCL ($)
prompt appears.
3. Invoke the PCSI load procedure, type:
$ @[SWXCR$KIT]INVOKE_PCSI
The following prompt: Enter target device name:
4. Type the name of the target system disk (DRAn:) and press the Enter key.
PCSI load procedure start messages appear, then PCSI displays the prompt:
Do you want all the default values for this
product? [Yes]
5. Press the Enter key to accept default values. PCSI displays the prompt:
Do you want to view the values? [No]
6. Press the Enter key and PCSI loads the online management utility.
7. Return to the OpenVMS Installation menu when PCSI completes, type:
$ LOGOUT
8. Highlight option 5 and press the Enter key to shut down the system.
9. Reboot the system directly from the DRAn: device.
If you plan to load the extended command line and the GUI components of the
utility, go on to Section 1.4.2.3. Otherwise, this completes the installation of
the RAID array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS onto a system
disk.

1–12

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility

1.4.2.2 Data Device Installation -- OpenVMS V6.2
To load the online management utility onto a RAID Array 200 Subsystem used
as an OpenVMS V6.2 data device, you need to do the following:
•

Optionally, initialize device for shadowing, if you plan to shadow it

•

Install the command line utility component

•

Optionally, install the extended command line and GUI components

1.4.2.2.1 Initializing a Data Device for Shadowing
OpenVMS offers device shadowing. If you plan to shadow your data device,
go to Section 1.6 prior to loading data and the online management utility onto
your data device.

1.4.2.2.2 Invoking the PCSI Load Procedure
To load the online management utility command line component onto your
system, follow these steps:
1. Log into your system account.
2. Insert the online management utility floppy diskette into the floppy diskette
drive.
3. Mount the volume, type: $ MOUNT DEVICE:/OV=ID
where DEVICE is the CD-ROM drive
4. Invoke the PCSI load procedure, type:
$ @DEVICE:[SWXCR$KIT]INVOKE_PCSI.COM
where DEVICE is the floppy diskette drive
PCSI displays the following prompt: Enter target devicename:
5. Enter the name of the target system disk (DKn:). PCSI loads the utility.
If you plan to load the extended command line and the GUI components of the
utility, go on to Section 1.4.2.3. Otherwise, this completes the installation of
the RAID array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS onto a data
disk.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–13

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

1.4.2.3 Extended Command Line and GUI -- OpenVMS V6.2
To load the online management utility extended command line and GUI
components onto a RAID Array 200 Subsystem used as either a system disk or
data device, follow these steps:
1. Insert the OpenVMS Extended Utilities diskette into your system's floppy
drive.
2. Mount the floppy diskette, type: $ MOUNT/OV=ID DVA0
3. Load the extended command line utilities, type: $
@DVA0:[SWXCR$KIT]INVOKE_PCSI
The install utility loads the extended utilities.
4. Unmount the floppy diskette and remove it from the floppy drive.
This completes the installation of online management utility for OpenVMS
6.2.

1–14

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility

1.5

Shadowing a Logical RAID Drive
To shadow a logical RAID drive, you must reserve a portion of the drive for
forced-error information. Shadowing uses approximately one 512-byte block
for each 2 Megabytes of disk capacity. Therefore, once shadowed, your drive
will appear to have less than its actual, raw capacity.
Use the DR$INIT utility found on the extended utilities diskette to reserve a
portion of the Logical RAID drive for the forced error information. Back up
the data on any logical RAID drive you intend to prepare for shadowing,
because the DR$INIT utility re-initializes the drive, destroying any data on it.
How you prepare a logical RAID drive for shadowing depends on whether you
plan to use the logical RAID drive as a system or data drive.
To prepare a logical RAID drive used as a system drive for shadowing, see
Section 1.5.1.
To prepare a logical RAID drive used as a data drive for shadowing, after you
load the online management utility for OpenVMS, go to Section 1.5.2.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–15

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

1.5.1 Preparing a Logical RAID Drive as System Drive for
Shadowing -- OpenVMS V6.2
To prepare a Logical RAID drive used as a system drive for shadowing, follow
these steps:
1.

Boot your system from the OpenVMS AXP distribution CD-ROM.

When the system boots, select the Execute DCL commands and
procedures option from the Installation menu.

Invoke the DR$INIT utility, at the DCL prompt, type:
$ @DKxx:[SWXCR$KIT]DR$INIT DRyy:
where DKxx specifies the device name of your CD-ROM
where DRyy specifies the Logical RAID drive on which you will load
your system files.
The utility will destroy any data already on this drive, and prompts you to
go ahead with the procedure.

Specify to continue with this procedure. The utility prompts you for a disk
label.

Enter a disk label (each disk in a shadow set must have the same label)
and press the Enter key. The DR$INIT utility runs.

When the DR$INIT utility completes, logout; at the DCL prompt type:
$ LOGOUT
The installation menu appears.

1–16

Go to Section 1.4.2.1 to complete the online management utility
installation onto an OpenVMS V6.2 boot device.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 1. Installing the Online Management Utility

1.5.2 Preparing a Logical RAID Drive as Data Drive for
Shadowing -- OpenVMS V6.2
Prior to preparing for volume shadowing a logical RAID drive used as a data
device, install the online management utility for OpenVMS as described in
Section 1.4.2.
To prepare a Logical RAID drive used as a data drive for shadowing, follow
these steps:
1.

Boot from your system disk.

Invoke the DR$INIT utility, type:
$ @SYS$MANAGER:DR$INIT DRxx:
where DRxx specifies the Logical RAID drive on which you will load
your system files.
The utility prompts you to reinitialize the drive.

Select yes and press the Enter key to reinitialize the drive. The utility
prompts you for a disk label for this logical RAID drive.

Type a disk label and press the Enter key. The utility initializes the drive.
When the utility completes, you can then use the drive for a shadow set.

Go to Section 1.4.2.2 to complete the online management utility
installation onto an OpenVMS V6.2 data device.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

1–17

2
Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management
Utility for OpenVMS
Command Line
This chapter presents information about invoking the monitor utility and invoking the
parity utility to check and repair the subsystem.

2.1

Introduction
The StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS
AXP Command Line component provides the following functionality to
maintain a RAID Array 200 Subsystem in an OpenVMS V6.1 or V6.2
environment:
•

Monitor to notify you of subsystem status changes

•

Parity Check and Repair to check the consistency of a logical RAID drive

In addition the online management utility provides the following workingwith-drives functionality, if you loaded the extended command line utilities:
•

Making a hot spare drive

•

Failing a drive

•

Making a drive optimal

•

Rebuilding a drive

•

Help

Use these utilities while the RAID subsystem is in use to monitor and maintain
its operation.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–1

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

2.2

Monitoring the RAID Subsystem
The monitor function scans the controller for status and error messages and
reports these messages to you. You must start a monitor process to receive
notification of events that occur on your subsystem, and you must invoke a
separate monitor process for each RAID controller you have on your
subsystem.
Section 2.2.1 describes how to invoke a monitor process.
Section 2.2.2 describes the qualifiers you can use with the monitor process.

2.2.1 Invoking a Monitor Process
A couple of things to remember before invoking a monitor process:
•

The monitor process will scan a controller only if it has at least one logical
RAID drive configured.

•

Mount a logical RAID device prior to invoking a monitor process,
otherwise the monitor process will lock the logical RAID drive and you
can not access that logical RAID drive unless you specify /SYSTEM or
/SHARE as one of the qualifiers with the OpenVMS MOUNT command.

To invoke a monitor process, follow these steps:
1. View your RAID devices, type the OpenVMS show devices command as
follows: $ SHOW DEV DRA
OpenVMS assigns dr as the SWXCR controller name. The SWXCR assigns
each controller it finds a different letter starting with a. Therefore the
operating system assigns the first SWXCR controller it finds the
devicename dra, the second drb, and so on.
2. Type the SWXCR command as follows:
$ SWXCR MONITOR devname/x
where devname specifies the name of your SWXCR controller, and /x
indicates any of the qualifiers listed in Table 2–1 that you want to specify
when invoking this command. You do not need to specify a qualifier.
The MONITOR command creates a separate, detached process -- a monitor
process, called, SWXCR$MON_DRx, where x is the controller letter of the
device specified in the SWXCR MONITOR command. A monitor process
assumes the UIC, privileges, and Mail account of the process that issued the
SWXCR MONITOR command.
2–2

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

OpenVMS does not allow you to create two processes with the same name
within the same UIC group. Therefore, if you attempt to start two monitor
processes for a single controller, the MONITOR command may fail with
the SS$_DUPLNAM status condition.
When the monitor command successfully creates a monitor process,
OpenVMS displays a message, which states the identification of the created
process as in this example:
$ SWXCR MONITOR DRA0/INTERVAL=1
Identification of created monitor process is 000015E.

The monitor process displays status change messages at OPCOM by
default. You can control where the monitor displays messages by entering
the appropriate qualifier to turn-off messages to OPCOM, or to send
messages via e-mail, or to a log file, as described in Section 2.2.2
Qualifiers for the MONITOR Command.

2.2.2 Qualifiers for the MONITOR Command
The MONITOR command offers the qualifiers listed in Table 2–1. More
detailed descriptions of each of these qualifiers follows Table 2–1.
Table 2–1 MONITOR Command Qualifiers
Qualifier

Syntax

Default

Notification of events to OPCOM

/OPCOM

/OPCOM
/NOOPCOM
Notification of events to log files

/NOLOG
/LOG

/NOLOG

Notification of events to mail

/NOMAIL
/MAIL

/NOMAIL

Frequency of Status Updates
(in minutes)

/INTERVAL = x

/INTERVAL = 5

Repeating notification of events

/NOREPEAT
/REPEAT

/NOREPEAT

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–3

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

/OPCOM
/NOOPCOM
The utility automatically sends notification of subsystem events to OPCOM by
default. Use /NOOPCOM to stop the utility from sending notification of
subsystem events to OPCOM. Use /OPCOM to once again start the utility
sending notification of subsystem events to OPCOM.
/LOG
/NOLOG
Use /LOG if you want the monitor to write notification of subsystem events to
a product-specific log file.
The utility creates a log file in the directory SYS$COMMON:[SWXCR$LOG]
(created by the load utility procedure) with a filename as follows:
SWXCR$MON_'device-name'.LOG
where device-name is the drx device name.
For example, the log file for all dra devices would be:
SYS$COMMON:[SWXCR$LOG]SWXCR$MON_DRA.LOG
By default the monitor does not write notification to a product-specific log file.
/MAIL
/NOMAIL
Use /MAIL if you want the monitor to send notification of subsystem
events through mail to a list of users, or to the system account on
your local node. By default, the monitor process does not send mail.
To send notification of events to a user (or a group of users), enter the SWXCR
MONITOR command with the /MAIL qualifier as follows:
$ SWXCR MONITOR DRA0/MAIL=(node::user[,node::user[,...]])

If you specify the /MAIL qualifier with no user name, the system sends the
mail to the SYSTEM account on your local node.
NOTE
The utility sends Mail from the account of
the user who starts the monitor process.
2–4

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

When you specify notification of event to mail, the utility collects events that
the monitor process encounters during a scan and sends them out in one (or
more) Mail message(s) listed in the order in which the monitor process
encountered them. The number of mail messages the utility sends depends
upon the number of events and the length of the event text.
If you specify the /MAIL qualifier, the SWXCR MONITOR command parses
the mailing list specified, and sends a test message to each user on the list. If
the test message fails (for example, because that user name does not exist) an
error message displays and the monitor process is not created.
An example of the initial test message displays as follows:
From:

ABCDE::SYSTEM "SWXCR DRA Monitor Process from
node ABCDE" 6-APR-1994 3:25:03.56
SYSTEM

To:
CC:
Subj:
SWXCR DRA Event Notification from node ABCDE
This is a test message from SWXCR$MON_DRA, the
StorageWorks SWXCR RAID array subsystem monitor
process. You will be receiving MAIL notification of
events.
An example of a Mail message sent from the SWXCR monitor process
follows:
From:

ABCDE::SYSTEM "SWXCR DRA Monitor Process from
node ABCDE" 6-APR-199413:26:06.58
SYSTEM

To:
CC:
Subj:
SWXCR DRA Event Notification from node ABCDE
The hard disk at channel 0, target 0 has been removed.
Logical RAID drive 0 is degraded.
Logical RAID drive 1 is degraded.
Logical RAID drive 2 is degraded.
The hard disk at channel 0, target 0 is being replaced
by the hard disk at channel 0, target 1. This affects
the status of logical RAID drives 0, 1, and 2.
Logical RAID drive 0 is rebuilding (24% complete).

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–5

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

/INTERVAL
Use /INTERVAL to change the scan frequency interval in minutes. You can
specify a scan frequency of anywhere between 1 and 10 minutes. The monitor
scans the controller for status and error messages at five minute intervals by
default. The monitor may not scan at exactly the specified interval due to
controller activity.
The controller stores a limited number of messages. When the controller
reaches its message capacity, it overwrites older messages. Therefore, if you
specify a relatively short scan interval, the more likely the monitor will see and
report an event. If you specify a longer scan interval, the controller can
overwrite a given event before the monitor can see and report it.
To change the scan frequency, enter the SWXCR MONITOR command with
the /INTERVAL qualifier as follows:
$ SWXCR MONITOR DRA0 /INTERVAL=x

where x is a value of 1 to 10 minutes.
/REPEAT
/NOREPEAT
Use /REPEAT to specify for the monitor to report a recurring event only the
first time or every time it occurs. By default the utility reports an event the first
time it occurs only.
The monitor always reports device errors and hard disk insertion or removal
events only once, even if you start repeat notification of events. Controller
device events are one of these types:

2–6

•

Parity error

•

Hard error

•

Soft error

•

Miscellaneous error

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

2.2.3 Events Reported by the Monitor
Events reported by the monitor include the following subsystem conditions:
•

Logical RAID drive status changed from optimal to degraded.
Because a drive in a logical RAID drive with a redundant RAID level
(RAID 1, RAID 0 + 1, or RAID 5) has a status of failed.

•

Logical RAID drive status changed from optimal or degraded to failed.
Because one disk in a logical RAID drive with a nonredundant level has a
status of failed and the logical RAID drive cannot be accessed, or two or
more drives in a logical RAID Drive with a redundant have a status of
failed and the logical RAID drive cannot be accessed.

•

Controller errors (parity error, hard error, soft error, or miscellaneous
error).

•

Controller failure.

•

A rebuild (or standby rebuild) is in progress (including the percentage
complete and affected logical RAID drives).

The monitor process may not report on events due to the following:
•

The length of time specified by the /INTERVAL qualifier may cause the
monitor to miss events (if too short) or may cause the events to be
overwritten in the buffer (if too long), since the buffer has a limited
capacity.
For example, if you remove a hard disk and replace it with another disk in
the same target and channel, the disk removal event is overwritten by the
disk insertion event with a long scan interval. If you specify a short array
scan interval, it is more likely that both the disk removal and the disk
insertion events are reported.
Refer to Section 2.2.2, Frequency of Status Updates, for detailed
information on this qualifier.

•

A small logical RAID drive was rebuilt.
For example, during a rebuild, the SWXCR monitor process reports on
each of the affected logical RAID drives. If you have a relatively small
logical RAID drive and the array scan interval is relatively long, the
monitor might not report the rebuild of the logical RAID drive because the
rebuild may have started after an array scan operation and completed
before the next array scan. However, the monitor will report the
completion of the rebuild.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–7

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

2.2.4 Adding the MONITOR Command to your System
Startup File
You can add the MONITOR command to your system startup file to
automatically start the monitor process when you boot your system.
To add the Monitor command to your system startup file, follow these steps:
1. Edit Sys$start, type:
EDIT SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM
2. Add a line for each monitor process you want to start, type, for example:
$ @ SYS$MANAGER:SWXCR MON/INTER=3/LOG DRA
$ @ SYS$MANAGER:SWXCR MON/INTER=3/LOG DRB
where the /INTER=3 qualifier determines the number of minutes between
scan intervals ( see Section 2.2.2)
where the /LOG qualifier indicates notification of events to log files ( see
Section 2.2.2)
where, DRA and DRB indicate each of the controllers that you want to
monitor. (You must specify the device name of each controller you want to
monitor.)

2–8

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

2.2.5 Stopping a Monitor Process
To stop end a monitor process, follow these steps:
1. Enter the OpenVMS show system command as follows, type:
$ SHOW SYS

2. Locate the process ID (PID) of the monitor process.
3. Enter the OpenVMS stop command as follows, type:
$ STOP/id=xxx

where xxx is the monitor process PID

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–9

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

2.3

Performing Parity Check and Repair on the RAID Subsystem
Perform a parity check after a power failure or a system crash to verify the
integrity of parity information on logical RAID drives with redundant RAID
levels: RAID 1, RAID 0+1, and RAID 5.
The Parity Check function reads the data from the logical RAID drive and
computes the expected parity information for each series of blocks. It
compares the computed parity to the stored parity information on the drives.
Optionally, you can specify for the check function to repair stored parity
information.
Section 2.3.1 describes how to invoke a check process.
Section 2.3.2 describes the qualifiers you can use with the check process.

2.3.1 Invoking the Parity Check Utility
To invoke the parity check utility, type the SWXCR command as follows:
$ SWXCR CHECK devname/x

2–10

•

where devname specifies the device name for the logical RAID drive on
the controller. For example entering the devicename, dra1, would cause
the utility to check the parity for logical RAID drive 1 on controller a.

•

where /x indicates any of the qualifiers listed in Table 2–2 that you want to
specify when invoking this command. You do not need to specify a
qualifier.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

2.3.2 Qualifiers for the CHECK Command
The CHECK command offers the qualifiers listed in Table 2–2. More detailed
descriptions of each of these qualifiers follows Table 2–2.
Table 2–2 CHECK Command Qualifiers

Qualifier

Syntax

Default

Repairing logical RAID
drive parity

/NOREPAIR
/REPAIR

/NOREPAIR

Notification of bad blocks to
terminal

/NOLOG
/LOG

/NOLOG

Notification of bad blocks to
log or other file

/OUTPUT
/OUTPUT = filename

/NOOUTPUT

/REPAIR
/NOREPAIR
Use /REPAIR if you want the CHECK command to also repair logical RAID
drive parity inconsistencies.
By default the CHECK command does not repair parity inconsistencies.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–11

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

/NOLOG
/LOG
Use /LOG for the utility to display a list of bad blocks found by the check
command to your terminal screen.
By default the utility does not display a list of bad blocks.
Sample output from a parity check process with the /LOG qualifier specified
follows.
Parity check complete.
The following bad blocks were found:
Block
# Bad
Number
Blocks
------------------00000005762
00000000161
0000000992
0000000016
0000001472
0000000016
0000001984
0000000016
0000002176
0000000016
0000002208
0000000016
0000002976
0000000016
0000003680
0000000016
In this case, the utility found bad blocks. The list specifies the logical RAID
drive number, the block number where a bad block was found, and the number
of bad blocks found at that address.

2–12

The controller transfers data to the disks in multiple-block chunks. In this example, the
number of blocks is 16 (or 8 Kbytes). If a bad block is found, the whole chunk is marked
bad, not just the one bad block. As a result, all errors show a size of 16 blocks.

Note that the numbers in the left column are all divisible by the chunk size (in this case,
16). This is because the controller marks an entire chunk as bad whenever an error is
found. In this example, if block 580 is a bad block, then this represents the chunk from
576-591. If more than one error is found in a chunk, the controller reports that chunk as
bad only once. Note that if a set of bad blocks spans across two chunks (for example, 591592), the controller reports both chunks as bad (block 576 for 32 rather than 16) blocks.
Note also that the list may not be in strict numerical order due to the way commands are
processed by the controller.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

/OUTPUT
/OUTPUT = filename
Use /OUPUT to save a log of bad block information to:
SYS$COMMON:[SWXCR$LOG]SWXCR$DRxn_CHECK.LOG
where x is the controller letter and n is the unit number specified in the
devname parameter of the SWXCR CHECK command.
Use /OUTPUT = filename to save a log of bad block information to the
filename specified.
If you specify both the /LOG and the /OUTPUT qualifiers, then a log the
utility writes a log to the terminal and to the output log file. If the utility
cannot open the specified output file, it writes the log to the terminal instead.
Specifying the /LOG and /OUTPUT=tt: qualifiers produce the same effect.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–13

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

2.4

Working With Drives
If you loaded the extended command line utilities, you can to do the following
with the disk drives in your subsystem from the command line:
•

Make a hot spare drive

•

Fail a drive

•

Rebuild a drive

•

Make a drive optimal

2.4.1 Understanding Parameters
You need to specify the following parameters to issue each of the workingwith-drive-commands. These parameters define the path to the drive that you
want to act upon:

2–14

devicename

The name of your SWXCR controller. The operating system
assigns dr as the SWXCR controller name. The SWXCR
assigns each controller it finds a different letter starting with a.
Therefore the operating system assigns the first SWXCR
controller it finds the devicename dra, the second drb, and so
on.

channel

The SCSI bus by which drives are connected to the controller.
The controller is connected to the system through the EISA or
PCI bus. Enter the channel number to which the drive you
want to act upon is connected to the controller.

target

Each drive connected to the controller has a unique target id
from 0-7. Specify which drive you want to act upon by typing
the target id of that drive.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

2.4.2 Making Hot Spare Drives
Use the swxcr spare command to make a hot spare of any drive not configured
into a drive group. Hot spare drives remain unused in your subsystem unless a
drive fails from a redundant logical RAID drive. In that case, the controller
will rebuild the data from the failed drive onto one of the hot spare drives.
To make a drive a hot spare, type, for example: swxcr spare dra 2 1
where dra is the device name of your first SWXCR controller, 2 is the channel
number to which the physical drive that you want to make a spare is
connected, and 1 is the target id of the same physical drive.
Or, type: swxcr spare
and the SWXCR utility prompts you as follows:
_Device: type the device name of the controller to which the drive that you
want to make a hot spare is connected and press the Enter key.
_Channel: type the channel number to which the physical drive that you
want to make a hot spare is connected and press the Enter key.
_Target: type the target id of the physical drive that you want to make a hot
spare and press the Enter key.
View the monitor process for the SWXCR controller that you specified for
notification of the result of this command.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–15

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

2.4.3 Failing a Drive
Use the swxcr fail command to fail a drive that you want to remove from your
storage enclosure.
WARNING
If you fail:
•

a drive from a RAID 0, or JBOD
nonredundant logical RAID drive
configuration, the data stored on that
drive will no longer be available to the
system

•

more than one drive at a time in a
redundant configuration, your data will
no longer be available to the system

•

the drive on which you stored your
system files, your system will no longer
function

To fail a drive, type, for example: swxcr fail dra 2 1
where dra is the device name of your first SWXCR controller, 2 is the channel
number to which the physical drive that you want to fail is connected, and 1 is
the target id of the same physical drive.
Or, type: swxcr fail
and the SWXCR utility prompts you as follows:
_Device: type the device name of the controller to which the drive that you
want to fail is connected and press the Enter key.
_Channel: type the channel number to which the physical drive that you
want to fail is connected and press the Enter key.
_Target: type the target id of the physical drive that you want to fail and
press the Enter key.
View the monitor process for the SWXCR controller that you specified for
notification of the result of this command.
2–16

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 2. Using the Command Line

2.4.4 Rebuilding a Drive
Use the swxcr rebuild command to rebuild a failed drive, which is part of a
redundant RAID 1, RAID 0+1, or RAID 5 logical RAID drive.
To rebuild a drive, follow these steps:
1. Remove the failed drive from its slot.
2. Insert a drive of equal or greater capacity to the failed drive into the slot
from which you removed the failed drive.
3. Type, for example: swxcr rebuild dra 2 1
where dra is the device name of your first SWXCR controller, 2 is the
channel number to which the physical drive that you want to rebuild is
connected, and 1 is the target id of the same physical drive.
Or, type: swxcr rebuild
and the SWXCR utility prompts you as follows:
_Device: type the device name of the controller to which the drive that you
want to rebuild is connected and press the Enter key.
_Channel: type the channel number to which the physical drive that you
want to rebuild is connected and press the Enter key.
_Target: type the target id of the physical drive that you want to rebuild and
press the Enter key.
View the monitor process for the SWXCR controller that you specified for
notification of the result of this command.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

2–17

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

2.4.5 Making a Drive Optimal
Use the swxcr mkopt command to mark a drive optimal that you replaced in
the system.
NOTE
Use the mkopt command for troubleshooting
purposes only and not to rebuild a degraded
redundant logical RAID drive

To make a drive optimal, type, for example: swxcr mkopt dra 2 1
where dra is the device name of your first SWXCR controller, 2 is the channel
number to which the physical drive that you want to make optimal is
connected, and 1 is the target id of the same physical drive.
Or, type: swxcr mkopt
and the SWXCR utility prompts you as follows:
_Device: type the device name of the controller to which the drive that you
want to make optimal is connected and press the Enter key.
_Channel: type the channel number to which the physical drive that you
want to make optimal is connected and press the Enter key.
_Target: type the target id of the physical drive that you want to make
optimal and press the Enter key.
View the monitor process for the SWXCR controller that you specified for
notification of the result of this command.

2.5

Viewing Help
To get online help using the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online
Management Utility for OpenVMS, type:
swxcr help

2–18

AA–Q6WVB–TE

3
Messages
This chapter presents information about the messages that appear from the command
line and extended command line utilities.

3.1

Introduction
This chapter contains messages that appear as a result of conditions that occur
when running either the monitor or the parity check utilities; or the extended
command line work-with-drives command.
Tables 3–1 and 3–2 list and describe the messages that appear from the
Monitor process.
Table 3–3 lists and describes the messages that result from the parity utility.
Table 3–4 lists and describes the messages that result from the working -withdrive commands.

3.2

Messages from the Monitor Process
Table 3-1 lists messages that result from the monitor utility.
Table 3-1 Monitor Utility Messages
Message

Meaning

Controller checksum error; monitor
process terminated.

The monitor encountered a checksum
error when trying to read the controller
configuration. In this case, the controller
did not return any configuration to use,
so the monitor process will terminate
with a SS$_CTRLERR error. The <ctlrname> is the controller name (for
example, "DRA").

AA–Q6WVB–TE

3–1

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 3-1 Monitor Utility Messages (Cont.)

3–2

Message

Meaning

NVRAM and EEPROM configurations
do not match.

The monitor process determined, when
reading the configuration from
EEPROM on the controller, that the
NVRAM and EEPROM configurations
do not match. The monitor process
was able to continue because
EEPROM configuration was
transferred, but you should run the
standalone utility ??? to resolve this
problem. (It is not clear whether the
EEPROM configuration or the NVRAM
configuration is the correct one). The
<ctlr-name> is the controller name (for
example, "DRA").

NVRAM configuration does not match.

The monitor process determined, when
reading the configuration from
EEPROM on the controller, that the
NVRAM configuration does not match
(possibly due to a device not
responding, and so on). The NVRAM
configuration is transferred and the
monitor process can continue. You
should run the standalone utility ??? to
resolve this problem. The <ctlr-name>
is the controller name (for example,
"DRA").

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 3. Messages
Table 3-1 Monitor Utility Messages (cont.)
Message

Meaning

Replacement table full. Monitor can no
longer report on rebuilds. Monitor
process is terminating!!!

The controller maintains a list of
changes to the configuration caused by
standby replacements. The monitor
process attempts to clear this list after
processing a rebuild start, but it may not
be able to clear the table if the SWXCR
configuration continually changes. While
the monitor makes repeated attempts to
clear the table, it is possible (but highly
unlikely) that the monitor cannot do so.
In this case, the controller can continue
to function, but the monitor process can
no longer correctly report on standby
replacements. Therefore, if the list is full
and the monitor process cannot clear it,
the monitor process will terminate with
an SS$_ABORT status.

The following messages (Table 3-2) are sent by the monitor process through
the reporting mechanisms that you set up (mail, log file, or OPCOM).

AA–Q6WVB–TE

3–3

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 3-2 Monitor Utility Messages Reported
Message
Internal log structures getting full.
OR
Internal log structures are full!

Meaning
The SWXCR controller maintains an
internal log of changes in device states
within a session (power-cycle or reset to
the next power-cycle or reset). This log
is a fixed-size list, and when this list is
full, the monitor process reports the
second message. When the list has less
than three entries left, the monitor
process reports the first message.
If you see either message, shutdown the
system, cycle power, and reboot. This
clears the internal log structure.

The hard disk at channel <chn>,
target <tgt> is being rebuilt. This
affects the status of logical RAID
drive(s) <drive-list>.

3–4

A failed hard disk at the specified
channel and target is being rebuilt.
<chn> is the channel number; <tgt> is
the target ID. The <drive-list> is a list of
logical RAID drives which will be rebuilt
as part of the rebuild of the specified
hard disk.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 3. Messages
Table 3-2 Monitor Utility Messages Reported (cont.)
Message

Meaning

The hard disk at channel <old-chn>,
target <old-tgt> is being replaced by the
hard disk at channel <new-chn>, target
<new-tgt>. This affects the status of
logical RAID drive(s) <drive-list>.

When a hot spare rebuild is in
progress, the monitor reports this
message. It indicates the channel and
target of both the hard disk which
failed and the hot spare hard disk
which is replacing it.
In addition, a list of affected system
drive(s) displays. The <old-chn> is the
channel number of the hard disk being
replaced; <old-tgt> is the target id of
the hard disk being replaced; <newchn> is the channel number of the hot
spare device; <new-tgt> is the target id
of the hot spare device.
The <drive-list> is a list of logical RAID
drive numbers, that are the drives
which have blocks contained on the
disk which is being replaced. Each of
these logical RAID drives will become
critical and will be rebuilt as part of the
rebuild of the hard disk. The monitor
will report on the progress of the
rebuild, including the rebuild of each
logical RAID drive.
If the rebuild is successful, the monitor
reports that each of the logical RAID
drives is now on line. If a rebuild
operation fails, the monitor will report
that the logical RAID drives are still
degraded.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

3–5

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 3-2 Monitor Utility Messages Reported (cont.)
Message

Meaning

Logical RAID drive <drive-num> is
<drive-status>

Monitor is reporting on a logical RAID
drive status. If /NOREPEAT is specified,
only changes in logical RAID drive
status are reported. If /REPEAT is
specified, any changes in status are
reported, and any logical RAID drive
status which is not 'on line' is reported.
<drive-num> is the logical RAID drive
unit number (0 through 7) and <drivestatus> is one of the following:
"Optimal," "Degraded," "Failed," or
"Unknown."

The hard disk at channel <chn>,
target <tgt> had a <err-type> error.

A device at the specified channel and
target had one of the specified type of
errors or the device had the specified
number of the specified type of error.
Note that the number of errors is the
increment since the last report of the
specified error type not the total
accumulation of that type of error on
the hard disk. <chn> is the channel
number and <tgt> is the target id.
<count> is the number of errors that
occurred; <err-type> is one of the
following: "parity," "soft," "hard," or
"miscellaneous."

OR
The hard disk at channel <chn>,
target <tgt> had <count> <err-type>
errors

The hard disk at channel <chn>,
target <tgt> is <dev-sts>.

3–6

Monitor is reporting on the status of the
hard disk at the specified channel and
target. Disk status changes are reported
only once, regardless of the
/[NO]REPEAT switch. <chn> is the
channel number and <tgt> is the target
id. <dev-sts> is one of the following:
"failed," a" hot spare," "write only," or
"optimal."

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 3. Messages
Table 3-2 Monitor Utility Messages Reported (cont.)
Message
A new hard disk has been inserted at
channel <chn>, target <tgt>.
OR
The hard disk at channel <chn>, target
<tgt> has been removed.

Meaning
These two messages notify you of
insertion and removal of drives.
<chn> is the channel number and
<tgt> is the target id. These
messages are reported only once,
regardless of the /[NO]REPEAT
switch.

The hard disk at channel <chn>, target
<tgt> is not being automatically replaced
by a hot spare. Please replace the disk
and rebuild it.

The hard disk (whose status will have
already been reported) has failed or
been removed and is not being
automatically replaced by a hot
spare. Your action is required to
replace the drive. <chn> is the
channel number and <tgt> is the
target id.

Logical RAID drive <drive-num> is
rebuilding.

When a logical RAID drive starts
rebuilding, The monitor displays this
message. If /NOREPEAT is specified,
the first message displays. If
/REPEAT is specified, then the
second message displays, and
includes the percent of that disk that
has been rebuilt. <drive-num> is the
logical RAID drive unit number (0
through 7). <percent> is the
percentage complete.

OR
Logical RAID drive <drive-num> is
rebuilding (<percent>% complete).

AA–Q6WVB–TE

3–7

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 3-2 Monitor Utility Messages Reported (cont.)
Message

Meaning

The rebuild (on hard disk at channel
<chn>, target <tgt>) has successfully
completed.

These messages are used to report
on rebuild status. When a hard disk is
rebuilt, the monitor reports on each
affected system drive as it is being
rebuilt. When the disk is completely
rebuilt, or the disk rebuild fails, one of
these messages is used to indicate
the completion status. If possible, the
failure reason is indicated. <chn> is
the channel number and <tgt> is the
target id.

OR
The rebuild (on hard disk at channel
<chn>, target <tgt>) completed with
some errors.
OR
The rebuild (on hard disk at channel
<chn>, target <tgt>) failed because the
new drive failed.
OR
The rebuild (on hard disk at channel
<chn>, target <tgt>) failed because the
source drive failed.
OR
The rebuild (on hard disk at channel
<chn>, target <tgt>) failed because of
bad blocks in the source drive(s).

3–8

Write cache error has occurred.

Some write-data in the controller
cache was not successfully updated
to disk due to disk failure.

Shelf failure on channel <chn>.

A shelf failure occurred on the
specified channel. <chn> is the
channel number. A shelf failure may
indicate that a power failure occurred
on the shelf.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 3. Messages
Table 3-2 Monitor Utility Messages Reported (cont.)
Message

Meaning

Shelf error on channel <chn>.

A shelf error occurred on the
specified channel. <chn> is the
channel number. A shelf error may
indicate that a drive is not seated
properly or that a blower has failed.

Monitor processing terminating. Fatal
error encountered: <err_text>.

The monitor process encountered the
specified fatal error. Your action
depends on the error specified in
<err_text>.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

3–9

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

3.3

Messages from the Parity Check Utility
Table 3–3 lists the messages that result from the SWXCR CHECK command.
Table 3-3 Parity Check Utility Messages
Message

Meaning

The bad block table is full. There may
be more bad blocks on the specified
system drive than those specified
above.

The bad block table is a fixed size. If
too many bad blocks are found, the
table fills up and some bad blocks may
not get reported. This message displays
at the end of the /LOG display.

Invalid logical RAID drive specified.

The unit number specified in the
command line device name does not
correspond to a logical RAID drive. The
following DCL command shows the
valid SWXCR devices: "$ SHOW
DEVICE DR " Select one of the DR
devices shown in this output as input for
the SWXCR CHECK command.

Error in check-consistency command
occurred.

Controller returned unknown status from
the Parity Check command. Status is
unknown.

Parity check cannot be performed on
RAID 0 (nonredundant) logical RAID
drive.

The logical RAID drive specified is a
nonredundant RAID level (for example,
RAID 0) and therefore parity check
cannot be performed.

OR
Parity check cannot be performed on
JBOD (nonredundant) logical RAID
drive.
One or more SCSI disks in this logical
RAID drive has failed.

Parity check cannot be performed
because one or more SCSI disks in the
logical RAID drive is dead; parity
checks can be performed only on
logical RAID drives in the optimal state.
The disk should be replaced and the
logical RAID drive rebuilt.

3–10

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 3. Messages

3.4

Messages from the Working with Drive Commands
The working -with-drive commands described in Chapter 2, Section 2.4, may
display error messages that appear in the following format:
%SWXCR–E–BADCHAN, channel out of range
where the BADCHAN, channel out of range, portion of the message varies
based on the error, and provides unique identification of the error, BADCHAN,
and a description of the error, channel out of range.
Table 3–4 lists the error messages that result from the working with drive
commands (spare, fail, rebuild mkopt):
Table 3–4 Work with Drive Command Error Messages
Message

Meaning

%SWXCR-E-BADCHAN,
channel out of range

The command you entered included a
channel which does not exist for the
controller specified.

%SWXCR-E-BADTARG,
target out of range

The command you entered included a
target which does not exist for the
controller specified.

%SWXCR-E-BADDEV,
invalid device name

The command you entered included a
device which does not exist for the
controller specified.

%SWXCR-E-BADDEV,
device is not an SWXCR

The command you entered specified a
device which cannot be effected by this
command, because it is not a SWXCR
device.

%SWXCR-E-NOSUCHDEV,
no device at channel %d target %d

The command you entered specified a
valid target x and valid channel x but no
device exists there.

SWXCR-E-DRVOPTIMAL,
can't rebuild an OPTIMAL drive

You entered the command to rebuild a
drive with optimal status.

%SWXCR-E-RBLDFAIL,
drive failed during rebuild

There were too many bad blocks
causing the drive to fail during the
rebuild.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

3–11

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 3–4 Work with Drive Command Error Messages (cont.)
Message

3–12

Meaning

%SWXCR-E-RBLDINPROG,
rebuild or parity check already in
progress

You entered the rebuild or parity check
command when either of these were
already in progress for the specified
channel/target.

%SWXCR-E-DNR,
device not ready/not responding

The drive is not responding to a FAIL,
MKOPT, or SPARE command.

Spinning up channel %d target %d

Indicates the specified device is
spinning up.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4
Using the RAID Array 200 Online Management
Utility for OpenVMS
Graphical User Interface
This chapter presents the functionality available for monitoring and maintaining
StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystems with the Online Management Utility
Graphical User Interface (GUI) for OpenVMS V6.2.

4.1

Overview of the RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for
OpenVMS Graphical User Interface (GUI)
The RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS Graphical User
Interface (GUI) provides the following functionality to maintain a RAID Array
200 Subsystem in an OpenVMS V6.2 environment only (the GUI portion of the
utility is not available for systems running OpenVMS V6.1):
•

View the status of the disk drives in the array

•

Match on-screen drive representation to physical drives

•

View drive vendor ID and code revision

•

View the logical drives

•

Check parity of logical drives

•

Create hot spares

•

Set the rebuild rate

•

View bad blocks of a logical drive

•

Manually replace a drive after a disk failure using rebuild (for redundant
configurations), or make optimal (for non-redundant configurations)

This chapter describes the GUI and how to use it to monitor the status of a RAID
Array 200 subsystem. Chapter 5 describes how to use the GUI to manage the
array.
AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–1

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

4.2

Accessing the Online Management Utility for OpenVMS GUI
To start the Online Management GUI, type the following:
RUN DEVICE:[SYS0.SYSCOMMON.SYSEXE]SWXCRMGR.EXE
where DEVICE specifies the name of the drive on which you loaded this GUI
The online management GUI base window appears similar to the one shown in
Figure 4–1 for a 1-channel subsystem, or similar to the one shown in Figure 4–2
for a 3-channel subsystem.
Figure 4–1 The Base Window of the Online Management Utility for OpenVMS
GUI, Displaying a 1–Channel Configuration

4–2

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface
Figure 4–2 The Base Window of the Online Management Utility for OpenVMS
GUI, Displaying a 3–Channel Configuration

The base window displays:
•

Menus

•

A matrix of the disk drives installed in your subsystem

•

A table of the logical drives configured on your subsystem

•

The current function selected

•

The current adapter selected

•

Action buttons

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–3

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

4.3

Using the Online Management GUI
The online management GUI is compliant with the Motif style guidelines. It is a
window and menu driven environment designed to be used with a mouse.

4.3.1 Using the mouse
Table 4–1 describes the functions of each of the mouse buttons for a righthanded, three-button mouse.
Table 4–1 Mouse Functions
To:

Press:

Select an item

Left mouse button
For example, double click on a drive
icon to display drive parameters

Access a menu

Left mouse button
For example, point to a menu button
on the screen, and click the left mouse
button to open the menu and display
its options

4–4

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface

4.3.2 Using Windows
Table 4–2 describes the elements that may appear on the GUI windows.
Table 4–2 Window Elements
Elements

Description

Point to a menu on the screen and click your left mouse button to display menu
items

Title

Displays name of application you accessed, StorageWorks(TM) RAID Array 200
Management Utility for OpenVMS(TM) V1.0.0 Copyright Digital Equipment
Corporation 1994

Resize
corner

Allows you to change window size from any corner of window
NOTE: The contents of the base window are NOT resizeable

Control area

Displays menus

Action
Buttons

Point and click to an action button to start or cancel the selected function, or to
refresh the information displayed in the window

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–5

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

4.3.3 Using Menus
From the online management GUI base window, you can access the following
menus:
•

File

•

Management

•

Help

The File menu provides the following items in the order shown:
Print Configuration
Exit
The Management menu provides the following items in the order shown:
Default Rebuild Rate
Rebuild Drive
Parity Check
Fail Drive
Make Optimal
Make Hot Spare
Bad Block Table
The Help window provides the following items in the order shown:
On Menu Options
About this utility
To view the items on a menu, point to the menu and click your left mouse
button.

4.3.4 Using Help
To get help while using the online management for OpenVMS GUI base window,
select Help from the Help menu.

4.3.5 Exiting from the Online Management GUI
When you finish using the online management GUI, choose the Exit item from
the File menu. The Exit swxcrmgr window appears. Click OK to exit, or click
Cancel to remain in the utility.
4–6

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface

4.4

Viewing the Subsystem from the Online Management GUI
A subsystem consists of a controller and the storage enclosures attached to it.
The operating condition of a RAID Array 200 subsystem depends upon the status
of each individual disk drive installed in the storage enclosures, and the status of
each of the logical drives configured with those disk drives. You can view the
status of the disk drives and logical drives in each of the storage enclosures
attached to each of your controllers from the base window.
To monitor a subsystem, do the following:
•

Select a controller

•

View the Disk Drives

•

View the Logical Drives

4.4.1 Selecting a Subsystem
The base window lists the controllers installed in your system under Adapter
Selected. The base window displays controllers by the system expansion slot,
[Expansion Board Type] [Slot] [Slot Number], in which you installed them, as
shown in Figure 4–3.
To view a subsystem, click on the slot number of a controller. The base window
then displays the logical drive information for the subsystems connected to the
selected controller (adapter), as shown in Figures 4–4 and 4–5.
Figure 4–3 The Adapter Selected Buttons

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–7

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Figure 4–4 The Subsystem Displayed after Selecting EISA Slot 8

4–8

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface
Figure 4–5 The Subsystem Displayed after Selecting PCI Slot 6

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–9

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

4.4.2 Viewing Disk Drives
The GUI displays disk drives in a disk drive matrix on the base window, similar
to the drive matrixes shown in Figure 4–6 for a 1-channel controller and Figure
4–7 for a 3-channel controller.
The drive matrix displays all of the drives connected to each channel of the
controller installed in the selected slot.
Table 4–3 describes all the information the drive matrix displays, except status.
Table 4–4 describes disk drive status.
Figure 4–6 The Disk Drive Matrix for a 1-Channel Controller

SCSI ID

The drive group
designator. Specifies
Each disk drive in a
the drive group
drive group is numbered
this disk drive is a
from 0 - 7.
member of.

Disk drives, such as hot spares,
which are not configured into a drive group,
do not have drive group
numbers associated with them.

Channel number

This box displays the status
of the disk drive. It also
changes color to indicate
when you have selected
this disk drive.

4–10

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface
Table 4–3 Drive Matrix Information
Element

Description

Channel

Each channel on your controller is an
independent SCSI bus supporting up to 7
devices. Additional channels provide you with
additional disk capacity (see SCSI ID).
The RAID controller can access only one drive
per channel at a time, but can simultaneously
access up to 3-channels at a time. If you have a
3-channel controller, you can divide up the disk
drives in your subsystem on different channels,
and thus increase the subsystem performance
by allowing the controller to simultaneously
access one disk per each channel.
You can configure drive groups on one channel
of a controller, or across channels of a
controller.

SCSI ID

Each drive on the channel (an independent SCSI
bus) must have a unique SCSI ID. You can have
up to 7 disk drives per channel. If you want disk
capacity above seven drives, you need
additional channels.

Disk Drive Icons

Each drive installed in your subsystem(s) is
represented in the drive matrix by a drive icon.
The drive icon displays the status of the drive
(Table 4–4 describes each drive status), and
changes color to indicate when you have
selected this drive.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–11

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 4–3 Drive Matrix Information (cont.)
Element

Description

Drive Group Designator

The drive group designator is a letter that
appears at the top of the drive icon to identify
each drive that belongs to the same drive group.
You can easily determine drives that are not
configured into a drive group, because they do
not have drive group designators.

Drive Number

The drive number appears at the top of the drive
icon. The online management GUI numbers
each drive, so that you can determine easily
how many drives belong to a drive group.
Drives that are not configured into a drive group
do not require a drive number.

Figure 4–7 The Disk Drive Matrix for a 3-Channel Controller

4–12

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface
Table 4–4 Disk Drive Status
Status Code

Status

Description

RDY

Ready

A disk drive installed in your subsystem, but not configured
into a drive group or as a hot spare
All disk drives have this status when you first install the
subsystem

HSP

Hot Spare

A drive that you leave unused in your subsystem in the
event that one of the disks of a logical drive fails
If one of the disks of a logical drive fails, the subsystem
automatically begins using the hot spare drive in place of
the failed drive

OPT

Optimal

A disk drive configured into a drive group
A drive with this status is in good working condition

FLD

Failed

A disk drive configured into a drive group that the
subsystem can not access because of some mechanical or
other type of failure
You need to replace a drive with this status
See Chapter 3 for information on how and when to replace
and rebuild failed drives

WOL

Write Only

A disk drive that the system is rebuilding
The data may not be good on a drive being rebuilt;
therefore, the subsystem can not read data from a disk that
is being rebuilt; the subsystem can only write to it

In addition to the drive information displayed by the drive matrix, you can view
the following information by clicking on a drive icon:
•

Click once on a drive icon to view the vendor ID and code revision of the
physical drive that the icon represents

•

Match a drive icon with the physical drive that it represents; click repeatedly
on a drive icon displayed in the drive matrix, and the green LED of the
physical drive it represents will flash each time you click.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–13

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

4.4.3 Viewing Logical RAID Drives
The GUI displays logical RAID drives in a Logical Drive Table on the base
window, similar to the Logical Drive Table shown in Figure 4–8.
The Logical Drive Table displays all of the drives connected to the channel or
channels of the controller in the selected slot.
Table 4–5 describes all the information the Logical Drive Table displays, except
status. Table 4–6 describes logical drive status.
Figure 4–8 The Logical Drive Table
Drive group on
which the
logical drive
was configured.

Type of RAID
implemented
by the
logical Drive.

Operating condition
of the logical drive.

Logical drive
icon

Logical drive
number/Identifier

4–14

Capacity
of the
logical drive.

Caching method
this logical drive uses.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface
Table 4–5 Logical Drive Table Information
Element

Description

Logical Drive Icon

The GUI represents each logical drive
configured on your subsystem by a logical drive
icon in the Logical Drive Table.

Logical Drive Number

Each logical drive configured on your subsystem
has a unique number/identifier between 0 and 7.
The controller assigns the logical drive number
when you create the logical drive with the
standalone utility.

Drive Group

The Logical Drive Table lists the drive group
used to configure the logical drive. This way,
you can quickly locate in the drive matrix the
drive group associated with a logical drive.

RAID

Indicates the RAID level of the logical drive. The
RAID level determines how the logical drive
stores data.

Size

Indicates the storage capacity of the logical
drive.
The storage capacity of the drive group and the
RAID level used for the logical drive determine
the storage capacity of the logical drive.

Write Policy

Indicates the caching policy selected for this
logical drive, write thru, or write back. See the
StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem
Controller Installation and Standalone
Configuration Utility User's Guide to learn about
the caching options.

Status

The status of the logical drive is dependent upon
the status of the disk drives in the drive group
used to configure the logical drive. See Table 4–
6 for a description of logical drive status.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–15

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Table 4–6 Logical Drive Status
Status

Description

Optimal

All of the disk drives in the drive group associated with this logical drive
have a status of optimal.
The logical drive is in good operating condition.

Degraded

The controller can not access a disk drive in the drive group on which this
logical drive was configured.
This status appears for RAID 5, RAID 0 + 1, and RAID 1 logical drives only,
since these RAID levels have redundancy and can be rebuilt.
See Section 5.2 on replacing a failed drive.

Dead

The controller can not access two or more disk drives in the drive group
associated with a RAID 5, RAID 0 +1, or RAID 1 logical drive. You must
restore data from backup media.
or
The controller can not access a disk drive in the drive group associated with
a RAID 0 logical drive, or JBOD configuration. You replace the failed drive
and restore data from backup media.
See Section 5.2 on replacing a failed drive.

4–16

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 4. Using the Graphical User Interface

4.5

Printing the Configuration
Use the Print Configuration option to output configuration information to a text
file suitable for printing. The file will contain information such as number of
drive groups, and number, type, and size of logical drives.
To Print the Configuration, follow these steps:
1. Select Print Configuration from the File menu. A window appears, similar
to the one shown in Figure 4–9, containing a field for the name of the file to
save the information to. The default is SWXCR.asc, which will appear in the
current directory (/) from where the GUI was invoked.
2. Type a filename in the field (or accept the default), and click OK in the
window. The GUI creates a file for the configuration information.
Figure 4–9 The Print Current Configuration Window

Note
The GUI will overwrite old versions of the file;
therefore, when printing multiple configurations,
make sure to save each one under separate file
names.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

4–17

5
Maintaining the Subsystem
with the GUI
This chapter presents the functionality available for maintaining a StorageWorks RAID
Array 200 Subsystem with the online management utility for OpenVMS GUI under a
system running OpenVMS V6.2.

5.1

Maintaining the Subsystem
The RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS GUI allows you
to do the following to maintain a RAID Array 200 subsystem on a system
running OpenVMS V6.2 (the GUI portion of the utility is not available for
systems running OpenVMS V6.1):
•

Replace failed drives in redundant and nonredundant configurations

•

Create hot spares

•

Set the rebuild rate

•

Check and repair parity for redundant configurations

•

View bad block table

AA–Q6WVB–TE

5–1

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

5.2

Replacing a Failed Drive
One of the major benefits of a RAID subsystem is the capability to continue
accessing the data stored on the subsystem in the event of a single disk failure.
Although redundant RAID configurations can withstand disk failures, most can
withstand only a single disk failure. For many redundant RAID configurations, if
two disks fail at the same time, all the information stored on the logical RAID
drives with which those disks are associated is lost.
If a drive experiences severe enough errors, the controller will automatically fail
the drive. However, if you know or suspect that one of the drives in your storage
enclosure is bad (some hints include a high rate of errors, or degraded system
performance) you will want to replace it with another drive as soon as possible.
Your RAID Array 200 subsystem and RAID Array 200 Online Management for
OpenVMS GUI provides you with the following methods for replacing failed
drives:
•

Hot spare

•

Hot swap

•

Mark as failed/Rebuild (redundant configurations only)

•

Mark as failed/Make optimal (non-redundant configurations only)

Sections 5.2.1 to 5.2.3 describe when and how to use each of the methods for
replacing a failed drive.

5–2

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 5. Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI

5.2.1 Hot Spare
You can use this method to replace a drive if:
•

The drive you want to replace contains only redundant RAID configurations
(RAID 1, 5, 0+1)

•

You defined a hot spare drive

See section 5.3 for information on how to create a hot spare drive.
To replace a drive with a hot spare, remove the bad or suspect drive from the
storage enclosure and the RAID controller automatically begins to recreate the
data stored on the removed disk onto the hot spare drive disk.

5.2.2 Hot Swap
You can use this method to replace a drive if:
•

The drive you want to replace contains only redundant RAID configurations
(RAID 1, 5, 0+1)

•

Your storage enclosure supports hot swaps (StorageWorks storage enclosures
all support hot swap capability)

•

You enabled the Fault Management option when first configuring the
subsystem (see the Controller Installation and Standalone Configuration
Utility User's Guide for information on how to enable this option)

To replace a drive using hot swap, remove the bad or suspect drive from the
storage enclosure, and wait 20 seconds (so the controller recognizes the drive
change) before inserting a new drive in the same slot from which you removed
the bad/suspect drive. The RAID controller automatically begins to recreate the
data stored on the removed disk onto the disk drive inserted into the storage
enclosure in its place.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

5–3

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

5.2.3 Marking a drive as Failed
Use the Mark as Failed option in conjunction with the Rebuild or Mark as
Optimal options to replace a drive if:
•

The hot spare or hot swap options are not supported on your subsystem

•

To replace a drive from a non-redundant configuration (RAID 0, JBOD)

•

To replace a drive, which is logging errors
NOTE
Use caution when failing drives. If the drive you
fail is part of a non-redundant logical RAID drive
(RAID 0 or JBOD), all the data on that logical
RAID drive will be lost. Backup a drive before you
mark it failed.

To replace a drive using Mark as Failed, follow these steps:
1. Select Fail Drive from the Management menu. Fail Drive appears as the
Current Selection at the top of the base window.
2. Click on any drive icon with a status of OPT or WOL, and then click OK.
3. A window appears, as shown if Figure 5–1 for you to confirm that you want
to fail the selected drive. Click OK. The GUI displays FLD status under the
icon for that drive. The amber light on the drive flashes, becomes solid, and
the drive spins down.

5–4

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 5. Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI
Figure 5–1 Fail Drive Confirmation Window

4.
5.

Locate the disk with the solid amber light in the storage enclosure and
remove it.
Insert a replacement disk into the same slot of the storage enclosure from
which you removed the disk that you failed.
If the drive that you failed contained a RAID 1, 5, or 0 + 1 redundant
configuration go to section 5.2.3.1 to rebuild the drive. If the drive you
failed contained RAID 0, or JBOD non-redundant configurations go to
Section 5.2.3.2 to mark the drive optimal and restore data from backup.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

5–5

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

5.2.3.1 Rebuilding a Drive
Use Rebuild a Drive when replacing a failed drive which contained a RAID 1, 5,
or 0 + 1 redundant configuration. The rebuild operation reconstructs the data
which the failed drive had contained onto the replacement drive.
To rebuild a drive, after replacing a drive you failed in the storage enclosure with
a drive in good working order, follow these steps:
1. Select Rebuild Drive from the Management menu. Rebuild Drive appears as
the Current Selection at the top of the base window.
2. Click on the icon of the drive with a status of FLD (failed) that you replaced,
and then click OK. A window appears, similar to the one shown in Figure
5–2, for you to confirm that you want to rebuild the selected drive. Click
OK.
Figure 5–2 The Rebuild Drive Confirmation Window

5–6

A window appears, similar to the one shown in Figure 5–3, with a slider bar
showing the progress of the rebuild on the current logical drive. The
controller rebuilds each logical RAID drive associated with this disk drive.
A message appears, as shown in Figure 5–4 indicating when the controller
finishes rebuilding all of the logical RAID drives. Click OK and the base
window appears.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 5. Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI
Figure 5–3 The Rebuild Progress Window

Figure 5–4 The Rebuild Completed Message

NOTE
The status of the drive changes to WOL (writeonly) during the rebuild. Upon completion of the
rebuild, the status of the drive and all logical
drives associated with it will change to optimal.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

5–7

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

5.2.3.2 Marking a Drive as Optimal
Use the Mark as Optimal option when replacing a failed drive which contained
RAID 0, or JBOD non-redundant configurations. Mark as Optimal spins up a
drive and changes the status of the drive to optimal.
NOTE
Mark as Optimal does not fix any problems with a
drive; it merely makes the system use the drive. If
a drive is prone to fail, it will fail again. Also, data
will not be written to the drive when it is made
optimal. If you find errors with a drive, fail it and
replace it.

You can only mark optimal a drive with a status of FLD. If you have a drive with
a status of WOL, you must first change its status to FLD, before you can mark it
optimal. See Section 5.2.3 to fail a drive.
To make drives with a status of HSP or RDY optimal, you must use the standalone configuration utility. See the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystem
Controller Installation and Standalone Configuration Utility User's Guide.
To make a drive optimal, after replacing a suspect/bad drive in the storage
enclosure with a drive in good working order, follow these steps:
1. Select Make Optimal from the Management menu. Make Optimal appears in
Current Selection at the top of the base window.
2. Click on the icon of the drive with a status of FLD (failed) that you replaced,
and then click OK. A window appears, similar to the one shown in Figure
5–5, for you to confirm that you want to mark the selected drive as optimal.
Click OK. The status of the drive changes to OPT. The amber light on the
drive, lit when the drive is FLD, will go off when the drive becomes optimal.
The status of all the logical drives contained in this drive also change to
optimal.

5–8

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 5. Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI
Figure 5–5 The Make Optimal Confirmation Window

5.3

Making Hot Spares
Make hot spare disk drives on which the RAID controller can automatically start
to rebuild information when a drive fails which contained a RAID 1, 5, or 0 + 1
redundant configuration.
You can make hot spares out of any disk drive, which is not in a drive group. Use
disk drives with capacities equal to or greater than the largest disk capacity of
any drive in a group.
To make a hot spare, follow these steps:
1. Select Make Hot Spare from the Management menu. Make Hot Spare
appears in Current Selection at the top of the base window.
2. Click on any drive icon with a status of RDY (ready), and then click OK.
The drive status changes to HSP (Hot Spare). The controller will now use
this drive as a hot spare, if a drive configured into a drive group fails.
If you decided that you no longer want to use a disk as a hot spare, you can
return its status to ready. To return a hot spare disk to ready status, follow these
steps:
1. Select Make Hot Spare from the Management menu. Make Hot Spare
appears in Current Selection at the top of the base window.
2. Click on any drive icon with a status of HSP (Hot Spare), and then click OK.
The drive status changes to RDY (ready). The drive is now available for you
to use in a drive group, or to remove from the subsystem.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

5–9

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

5.4

Setting Rebuild Rate
Use the Default Rebuild Rate option to select how quickly a rebuild or parity
check will complete.
A rebuild or parity check will slow down system I/O performance and system I/O
will slow down rebuild or parity check performance. Therefore, you can use the
rebuild rate function to raise or lower the priority of a rebuild or parity check and
thus speed up or slow down its performance.
You can assign a rebuild rate value between 0 and 50. The slowest rate is 0 (most
priority is given to I/O and least to the rebuild). The fastest rate is 50 (more
priority given to the rebuild). 50 is the default rebuild rate.
To change the rebuild and parity check rate, follow these steps:
1. Select Default Rebuild Rate from the Management menu. A pop-up window
will appear with the current rebuild rate displayed on a slider bar as shown in
Figure 5–6.
Figure 5–6 Set Rebuild Rate Window

5–10

To exit without changing the rate, click the Cancel button in the pop-up
window. To change the rate, drag the slider bar with the mouse to the value
desired, and then click OK. The base window appears.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 5. Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI

Note that you can change the rebuild rate while a rebuild or parity check is in
progress. If you find that the rebuild or check is taking longer than desired, you
can increase the rebuild rate, or if you find that system I/O performance is
suffering because of the rebuild or check, you can lower the rate.

5.5

Viewing the Bad Block Table
The controller keeps track of two bad block tables, one for rebuild and one for
write-back.
The rebuild bad block table tracks the location of areas on a physical disk which
are inaccessible during a rebuild, or contain incorrect data during a parity check.
The write-back bad block table tracks the location of areas on a physical disk
where the controller encounters errors writing data.
The entries in either bad block table show the logical drive containing the error,
the location (starting logical block address) of the error, and the length (number
of sectors) of the error. Remember this table displays the logical block addresses
for the logical drive, not the physical disk.
The GUI automatically displays the bad block table upon completion of a parity
check/repair if it found errors. At other times, to view the bad block table, follow
these steps:
1. Select Bad Block Table from the Management menu. The Bad Block Table
window appears, as shown in Figure 5–10.
2. Select either Rebuild or Write Back from the button on the right side of the
table. A list will appear (with scroll bar if necessary) showing any errors by
logical drive, starting block, and number of blocks bad.
3. Click OK in the Bad Block Table window to close it when you finish
viewing.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

5–11

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP

5.6

Checking Parity
Run Parity Check to validate parity information for logical drives with parity.
Logical drives on the subsystem with parity include RAID 1, RAID 0 + 1, and
RAID 5 logical drives.
The Parity Check detects any internal inconsistencies between data and parity
information, and optionally makes repairs.
To run Parity Check, follow these steps:
1. Select Parity Check from the Management menu. The Parity Repair Option
Window appears, as shown in Figure 5–7.
Figure 5–7 The Parity Repair Option Window

2.
3.

5–12

Select either the Repair Parity or No Repair mode by clicking on the
appropriate button, and then clicking OK.
Click on the Logical drive for which you want to check parity and click OK.
The Parity Check Progress Window appears, as shown in Figure 5–8,
indicating parity check started, and percent completed.
If the utility detected no errors, when parity check completes, a screen
similar to the one shown in Figure 5–9 appears. Click OK to close the Parity
Check Progress window.
If the utility detects errors, when parity check completes, a bad block table
appears as shown in Figure 5–10.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Chapter 5. Maintaining the Subsystem with the GUI
Figure 5–8 The Parity Progress Window

Figure 5–9 Parity Check Completed Message

AA–Q6WVB–TE

5–13

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for OpenVMS AXP
Figure 5–10 Parity Status Report Appears When Parity Check Completes

Click OK to close the bad block table after viewing it. A Parity Check
Progress window appears, as shown in Figure 5–11.

Figure 5–11 Parity Errors Detected Message

5–14

Click OK to close the Parity Check Progress window.

AA–Q6WVB–TE

Reader’s Comments
Manual Order Number:
________________________
Digital is committed to providing the best products and services. Since our manuals are
important components of our products, we value your comments, corrections, and
suggestions for improvements. Please take a few minutes to fill out and return this form.
Attach additional sheets, if necessary. Thank you.
Manual Rating
Excellent
Accuracy (correct presentation of facts)
[ ]
Completeness (adequate information)
[ ]
Clarity (easy to understand)
[ ]
Organization (logical sequence of information) [ ]
Layout (easy to follow subject matter)
[ ]
Indexing (easy to locate desired information) [ ]

Good
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]

Fair
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]

Poor
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]

Errors Noted (include page, paragraph, table or figure number) __________________
______________________________________________________________________
Most-Liked Features:____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Least-Liked Feature_____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Suggestions for Improvement _____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Return Address:
Digital Equipment Corporation

Name

Phone

Title

Customer Research
Response Center
ATTN: Nan Andrews Amish
334 South Street, SHR3-2/W3

Company
Street Address
Mail Stop

Shrewsbury, MA 01545
City
Country (if other than USA)

State

ZIP