Apple Xserve RAID User's guide User's Guide Page 1

User’s Guide Includes hardware setupand expansion, basics of using RAID, and important safety information for Xserve RAID systems Xserve RAID

10 Chapter 1 Unpacking the System The Xserve RAID system is shipped in special packaging to facilitate simple and safe removal from the carton. As

Introducing Xserve RAID 11 5 Remove the protective foam and the two boxes on top of the system. 6 Fold back the plastic covering on the unit and fo

12 Chapter 1 Your System at a Glance—Front PanelDrive modulelock andstatus lightPower supplystatus lightCooling systemstatus lightTemperaturestatu

Introducing Xserve RAID 13 Drive module lock and lock status light The lock secures the drive modules in the system. It can be locked and unlocke

14 Chapter 1 Your System at a Glance—Back PanelOptional batterymodule bay (2) RAID controller moduleand status light (2) Cooling module (2) UPS

Introducing Xserve RAID 15 System identifier button and light The system identifier light turns on if a problem is detected. You can also turn it

16 Chapter 1 Your System at a Glance—Mounting HardwareCEDBA1Shoulder bolts (6 + extras)(M5 x 14mm)Front mounting screws (2)Washers (6 + extras)(M5

Introducing Xserve RAID 17 L-shaped brackets (A1 and A2) Two large L-shaped brackets attach to the front of the four-post rack and support the sy

19 CHAPTER 2 2 Preparing to Install Xserve RAID in a Rack Before you install the system in a rack, carefully consider the placement of the unit in

K Apple Computer, Inc. © 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be copied, in whole or in part

20 Chapter 2 m Lift with a smooth motion; don’t jerk the load up or down.m Keep the system close to your body and at waist level to lessen the load

Preparing to Install Xserve RAID in a Rack 21m For a rack that has multiple devices, you may want to prepare a list of all equipment in the rack and

22 Chapter 2 m If there are devices in the system’s location that use large amounts of power, use surge protectors or power conditions as part of th

23CHAPTER33 Mounting Xserve RAID in a RackThe Xserve RAID system is specifically designed for rack mounting. It is not designed for use as a desktop

24 Chapter 3 The brackets and screws necessary to attach the system to a four-post rack with threaded holes are included with your system. If your r

Mounting Xserve RAID in a Rack 25Note: Several sets of screws are provided with the system. These screws are designed for racks with prethreaded ho

26 Chapter 3 m If your rack is 29 to 36 inches deep, combine the shorter extender with a three-hole lip at the one end (item C in the illustration b

Mounting Xserve RAID in a Rack 27Assemble the Brackets and ExtendersFollow these steps to assemble the brackets and extenders for the depth of your

28 Chapter 3 4 Fit the assembled pieces into the rack so that the extender’s lip is near the rear rail and the lip of bracket A points toward the ou

Mounting Xserve RAID in a Rack 297 Securely fasten two long screws in the top and bottom holes of bracket A on each of the rack’s front rails.8 With

3 Contents Preface About This Guide 71 Introducing Xserve RAID 9 Unpacking the System 10Your System at a Glance—Front Panel 12Your

30 Chapter 3 For a Rack 29 to 36 Inches Deep1 Gather the two brackets (A1 and A2), the two shorter extenders (item C in the illustration below), the

Mounting Xserve RAID in a Rack 312 Join the shorter extender (C) and the flat piece (D) by placing the solid bar (E) between them as shown in the ill

32 Chapter 3 5 Fit the assembled pieces into the rack so that the extender’s lip is near the rear rail and the lip of bracket A points toward the ou

Mounting Xserve RAID in a Rack 338 Securely fasten two long screws in the top and bottom holes of bracket A on each of the rack’s front rails.9 With

34 Chapter 3 Mount the System in the RackWhen the brackets are secured to the rack, you can put the system in the rack.Follow these steps to mount t

Mounting Xserve RAID in a Rack 353 Use the two rack screws to secure the system to the front rail of the rack.You can use the Phillips screwdriver t

36 Chapter 3 Once the system is mounted and secured in the rack, you can connect it to a host server or computer.Note: The user-serviceable parts d

37CHAPTER44 Connecting Xserve RAID to a Host System and a NetworkXserve RAID provides two groups of up to seven drive modules, each with a dedicated

38 Chapter 4 Installing the Host Bus Adapter Card in the Host SystemThe Apple Fibre Channel PCI Card is a 7-inch PCI card that you can install in th

Connecting Xserve RAID to a Host System and a Network 39Connecting the System to Xserve or a Power Mac G4The fibre channel cables supplied with the A

4 Contents 3 Mounting Xserve RAID in a Rack 23 Getting Ready to Install the System 24Determine the Position for the System in the Rack

40 Chapter 4 3 Connect the HSSDC2 connector at the other end of each cable to the connector on each of the RAID controllers in the Xserve RAID syste

Connecting Xserve RAID to a Host System and a Network 41If the switch or hub doesn’t accept an SFP connector, use a fibre channel cable with a connec

42 Chapter 4 Connecting to a NetworkTo allow remote setup and management of Xserve RAID, you need to make a standard Ethernet connection to a networ

Connecting Xserve RAID to a Host System and a Network 43Connecting Power to the SystemThe final step in preparing the system is connecting a power co

44 Chapter 4 Connecting an Uninterruptible Power SupplyTo protect the system’s operation during an interruption in power, you may want to install an

45CHAPTER55 Using the Xserve RAID SystemAfter you’ve connected to the host system or switch, you can turn on Xserve RAID and use the RAID Admin soft

46 Chapter 5 Turning Off the SystemYou can shut down the Xserve RAID system using the admin software or the power button on the system’s back panel.

Using the Xserve RAID System 47System identifierYellow (solid or blinking)Indicates a hardware error in the system or that someone has turned on the

48 Chapter 5 The system’s two power supplies each have three LEDs that indicate status. These indicators are listed in the table below.If the System

49CHAPTER66 Installing or Replacing ComponentsYour Xserve RAID system is designed so that you can install or exchange drive modules, power supplies,

Contents 5 7 RAID Overview 57 Setting Up the Xserve RAID System 57Installing Xserve RAID Hardware and Software 57About RAID Storage

50 Chapter 6 2 Remove the blank drive module or the drive currently installed.m If there is no drive installed, press the handle of the blank drive

Installing or Replacing Components 514 If the handle is not flush with the front of the system, gently press it. If it still is not flush, pull the mo

52 Chapter 6 5 Hold the new power supply by the handle and carefully slide it into the system until it clicks into place, then push the handle upwar

Installing or Replacing Components 53Follow these steps to replace a cooling module.1 Press the two latches on the front of the cooling module apart

54 Chapter 6 Replacing a RAID Controller ModuleYou must shut down the system before removing a RAID controller module (by unmounting all drives on t

Installing or Replacing Components 553 Push the two latches together to fully seat the module in the system. If the latches have small tabs on the i

56 Chapter 6 2 Remove the packaging from the new battery module. Hold the battery module by the handle and carefully slide it into the system until

57CHAPTER77 RAID OverviewXserve RAID provides a powerful, versatile, and cost-effective answer to the growing storage requirements of graphics and v

58 Chapter 7 m installing the Apple Fibre Channel PCI Card in a host system and connecting it to the Xserve RAID system using fibre channel cablesm c

RAID Overview 59Once you have defined a group of drive modules as a RAID set, the controller groups those drives into “logical disks.” On the Xserve

6 Contents Glossary 81Appendix ASpecifications 83 RAID Controller Specifications 83Fibre Channel PCI Card Specifications 83Apple Dri

60 Chapter 7 RAID LevelsThe Xserve RAID system supports several RAID levels. Each level has a different architecture and provides varying degrees of

RAID Overview 61RAID 3: Parallel transfer with parity on dedicated diskRAID level 3 adds redundant information to a striped set of drives with paral

62 Chapter 7 RAID 30RAID level 30 essentially combines RAID 3’s dedicated parity (reliability) and RAID 0’s striping (performance). RAID 30 requires

63CHAPTER88 Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID SystemBefore you use the RAID Admin and Disk Utility software to set up your RAID storage, it’

64 Chapter 8 RAID Controllers and Drive ModulesThe Xserve RAID system has two RAID controllers, each of which controls the drive modules on one side

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 65The illustration below provides a graphic representation of all this information. Drive modulesCo

66 Chapter 8 Xserve RAID SchemesA RAID scheme refers to how the storage device’s RAID sets are configured with different RAID levels. You can configur

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 67RAID 1 SchemesYou can use RAID 1 several ways on a four-drive system, depending on how you divide

68 Chapter 8 You can use RAID 3 or 5 with four drive modules only on one Xserve RAID controller.RAID 3 or 5RAID 3 or 5RAID 3 or 5RAID 3 or 5Hot sp

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 69RAID 0+1 and RAID 10 SchemesOn the Xserve RAID system, RAID 0+1 is a stripe of mirrored pairs. An

7 PREFACE About This Guide Congratulations on purchasing Xserve RAID, a breakthrough storage solution that delivers superior capacity, performance,

70 Chapter 8 A System With Seven Drive ModulesYou can use the following RAID levels on an Xserve RAID system with seven drive modules:m RAID 0m RAID

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 71RAID 1 SchemesYou can use RAID 1 several ways, depending on how you divide the drive modules betw

72 Chapter 8 RAID 3 and 5 SchemesYou can use RAID 3 or 5 with or without a drive module designated as a hot spare. You can use RAID 3 or 5 with four

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 73A System With 14 Drive ModulesOn a system with 14 drive modules, you can use these RAID levels.m

74 Chapter 8 RAID 0+1 and RAID 10 SchemesWith seven drive modules on each controller, you can create 0+1 configurations with a hot spare on each cont

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 75RAID 3 and 5 SchemesYou can use RAID 3 or 5 with or without a drive module designated as a hot sp

76 Chapter 8 You can also set up three mirrored pairs and one hot spare with RAID 1 on one controller, and stripe all the drives together on the oth

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 77RAID 30 and 50 SchemesYou can configure two RAID 5 sets using the RAID controller and then use sof

78 Chapter 8 Storage Capacities for Xserve RAID SchemesRAID Level CapacityRAID 0 Total of all drivesRAID 1 Total of one driveRAID 0+1 One-half the t

Planning RAID Storage for the Xserve RAID System 79Xserve RAID Hardware ConnectionsThe Xserve RAID system offers three standard hardware configuratio

80 Chapter 8 Connecting a Four-Drive System to a Host Computer or SwitchYou can connect your Xserve RAID to a host computer using one fibre channel c

81GlossaryCommon RAID TermsArray: A grouping of disk drives; also known as a set. Any number of drives can be configured together to form a RAID arr

83APPENDIXAA SpecificationsRAID Controller Specificationsm 2 gigabit-per-second (Gb/sec.) fibre channel portm Seven independent ATA-100 drive channels

84 Appendix A Apple Drive Module Specificationsm ATA-100m Hot-swappable modules (compatible with Xserve)m Temperature sensorm SMART drive supportDim

Specifications 85m 9-pin D connectorm Pin signals1: (CD) UPS battery low (20%) <from UPS to Xserve RAID>2: Not used3: Not used4: (DTR) han

86 Appendix A Power Supply SpecificationsAC line inputm 450 watt (W) total power capacity for each power supply (system uses a maximum of 450 W tota

87APPENDIXBB Safety, Maintenance, and ErgonomicsImportant Safety InformationFor your own safety and that of your equipment, always take the followin

88 Appendix B Handling Your SystemFollow these guidelines for handling your Xserve RAID system and its components: m When lifting or moving the syst

Safety, Maintenance, and Ergonomics 89m Use a damp, soft, lint-free cloth to clean the exterior. Avoid getting moisture in any openings.m Don’t use

9 CHAPTER 1 1 Introducing Xserve RAID Your new Xserve RAID storage system provides high availability and scalable capacity and performance. Key fea

Communications Regulation Information 91Communications Regulation InformationFCC StatementThis equipment has been tested and found to comply with th