.

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers

User's Guide
maxView Storage Manager
Released
March 2019
Revision History
Revision Revision Details of Change
Date
9 March 2019 maxView Storage Manager v3.01.00
8 January maxView Storage Manager v3.0.0
2019
7 May 2018 Removed "Proprietary and Confidential" markings in footer text.
6 April 2018 maxView Storage Manager v2.06
5 September maxView Storage Manager v2.04
2017
4 May 2017 maxView Storage Manager v2.03
3 September V1.2.0 Maintenance Release. maxView Storage Manager v2.02
2016
2 April 2016 V1.1.0 Maintenance Release. maxView Storage Manager v2.01
1 December First Production release. maxView Storage Manager v2.00
2015

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 2

Contents

Microsemi Adaptec® Product Support.............................................................................................9

Software License Agreement.........................................................................................................10

1 About this Guide........................................................................................................................13

1.1 What You Need to Know Before You Begin.................................................................................................13
1.2 Terminology Used in this Guide..................................................................................................................14
1.3 How to Find More Information...................................................................................................................14

2 Introduction to maxView Storage Manager...............................................................................15

2.1 Getting Started............................................................................................................................................15
2.2 About maxView Storage Manager .............................................................................................................15
2.2.1 About maxView Storage Manager Redfish Server .......................................................................15
2.2.2 About the maxView Storage Manager Web Server......................................................................15
2.3 System Requirements.................................................................................................................................16
2.4 Browser Support.........................................................................................................................................16
2.5 Typical Storage Space Configurations.........................................................................................................17
2.5.1 A Simple Storage Space................................................................................................................17
2.5.2 An Advanced Storage Space.........................................................................................................17
2.5.3 Continuing to Grow Your Storage Space.......................................................................................18

3 Installing maxView Storage Manager.........................................................................................19

3.1 Before You Begin the Installation................................................................................................................19
3.1.1 Gather Installation Information....................................................................................................19
3.1.1.1 Check Network Configuration........................................................................................19
3.1.2 Download the Installation Package..............................................................................................19
3.2 Installing on Windows.................................................................................................................................20
3.3 Installing on Red Hat, Citrix XenServer, CentOS, or SuSE Linux...................................................................21
3.4 Installing on Debian or Ubuntu Linux.........................................................................................................21
3.5 Installing on VMware..................................................................................................................................22
3.6 Running maxView Storage Manager from a Bootable USB Image .............................................................23
3.7 Uninstalling maxView Storage Manager.....................................................................................................23
3.7.1 Uninstalling from Windows..........................................................................................................23
3.7.2 Uninstalling from Red Hat, Citrix XenServer, CentOS, or SuSE Linux............................................24
3.7.3 Uninstalling from Ubuntu Linux....................................................................................................24
3.7.4 Uninstalling from VMware............................................................................................................24

4 Exploring maxView Storage Manager........................................................................................25

4.1 Starting maxView Storage Manager and Logging In ..................................................................................25
4.2 Working in maxView Storage Manager.......................................................................................................25
4.3 Overview of the Main Window...................................................................................................................26
4.3.1 The Enterprise View .....................................................................................................................26
4.3.1.1 What do the Enterprise View Icons Mean? .................................................................28
4.3.2 The Ribbon ...................................................................................................................................29
4.3.3 The Storage Dashboard................................................................................................................29
4.4 Checking System Status from the Main Window........................................................................................30
4.5 Revealing More Device Information ..........................................................................................................31
4.6 Getting Help................................................................................................................................................32

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 4.7 Logging Out of maxView Storage Manager................................................................................................33

5 Building Your Storage Space.......................................................................................................34

5.1 Overview.....................................................................................................................................................34
5.2 Choosing a Management System................................................................................................................34
5.2.1 ‘Local’ or ‘Remote’?......................................................................................................................34
5.2.2 Logging in on the Local System ....................................................................................................35
5.3 Logging into Remote Systems from the Local System.................................................................................35
5.4 Creating Arrays and Logical Drives..............................................................................................................36
5.4.1 Creating a Logical Drive on a New Array ......................................................................................37
5.4.2 Creating a Logical Drive on an Existing Array ...............................................................................40
5.4.3 Partitioning and Formatting Your Logical Drives...........................................................................43
5.4.4 Creating Logical Drives on Other Systems in Your Storage Space.................................................44
5.4.5 Controller Support for 4K Drives..................................................................................................44
5.4.5.1 Creating a Logical Drive..................................................................................................44
5.4.5.2 Moving a Logical Drive ..................................................................................................44
5.4.5.3 Modifying a Logical Drive ..............................................................................................46
5.4.5.4 Assigning Spares at the Array Level................................................................................47
5.4.5.5 Assigning Spares at the Physical Device Level................................................................48

6 Protecting Your Data..................................................................................................................51

6.1 Dedicated Spare or Auto-Replace Spare?...................................................................................................51
6.2 Hot Spare Limitations.................................................................................................................................51
6.3 Assigning a Dedicated Hot Spare ...............................................................................................................52
6.4 Assigning an Auto-Replace Hot Spare.........................................................................................................53
6.5 Removing a Hot Spare.................................................................................................................................55
6.6 Setting the Spare Activation Mode ............................................................................................................57
6.7 Controller Sanitize Lock Freeze/Anti-Freeze ..............................................................................................58
6.7.1 Sanitize Lock Property in Controller Node Properties Tab............................................................59
6.7.2 Physical Device Sanitize Lock Freeze/Anti-Freeze.........................................................................60
6.7.3 Secure Erase Pattern.....................................................................................................................61

7 Modifying Your Storage Space...................................................................................................63

7.1 Understanding Arrays and Logical Drives....................................................................................................63
7.2 Creating and Modifying Logical Drives........................................................................................................63
7.2.1 Including Different-sized Disk Drives in a Logical Drive................................................................64
7.3 Enabling Background Consistency Check....................................................................................................65
7.4 Optimizing Logical Drive Performance........................................................................................................66
7.4.1 Enabling Cache Optimizations......................................................................................................66
7.4.1.1 Enabling Cache Optimization for a Logical Drive............................................................67
7.4.2 Enabling SSD I/O Bypass...............................................................................................................68
7.5 Moving a Logical Drive................................................................................................................................68
7.6 Moving an Array..........................................................................................................................................70
7.7 Modifying an Array.....................................................................................................................................72
7.8 Working with Mirrored Arrays....................................................................................................................73
7.8.1 Creating a Split Mirror Backup .....................................................................................................74
7.8.2 Re-mirroring, Rolling Back, or Reactivating a Split Mirror Backup ...............................................74
7.9 Healing an Array..........................................................................................................................................75
7.10 Changing the RAID Level of a Logical Drive...............................................................................................77
7.11 Increasing the Capacity of a Logical Drive.................................................................................................78
7.12 Changing the Logical Drive Rebuild Priority..............................................................................................79
7.13 Renaming a Logical Drive..........................................................................................................................80
7.14 Deleting an Array or Logical Drive ............................................................................................................80
7.15 Maintaining an Energy-Efficient Storage Space .......................................................................................81

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8 Working with maxCache Devices...............................................................................................83
8.1 maxCache Limitations.................................................................................................................................83
8.2 Creating a maxCache Device.......................................................................................................................83
8.3 Changing the Write Cache Mode ...............................................................................................................85
8.4 Deleting the maxCache Device...................................................................................................................85
8.5 Analyzing maxCache Performance .............................................................................................................86

9 Working with maxCrypto Devices..............................................................................................87

9.1 maxCrypto Initial Setup ..............................................................................................................................87
9.1.1 Managing maxCrypto Accounts ...................................................................................................89
9.1.2 Logging In and Logging Out..........................................................................................................90
9.1.3 Checking maxCrypto Status .........................................................................................................92
9.2 Modifying the maxCrypto Configuration ...................................................................................................93
9.3 Creating an Encrypted Logical Drive...........................................................................................................94
9.4 Converting Plaintext Data to Encrypted Data.............................................................................................95
9.5 Re-Keying a Logical Drive ...........................................................................................................................96
9.6 Clearing the maxCrypto Configuration .......................................................................................................97
9.7 Erasing an Encrypted Logical Drive.............................................................................................................98
9.8 Importing a Foreign Master Key .................................................................................................................99

10 Maintaining Physical Devices.................................................................................................101

10.1 Viewing Device Properties .....................................................................................................................101
10.2 Locating Drives in Your Storage Space....................................................................................................101
10.2.1 Locating Disk Drives..................................................................................................................102
10.2.2 Locating Physical Disks in an Array or Logical Drive..................................................................103
10.2.3 Locating SSDs in the maxCache Device.....................................................................................103
10.3 Working with Physical Device Error Counters.........................................................................................104
10.3.1 Viewing Physical Device Error Counters ..................................................................................105
10.3.2 Clearing Error Counters from a Physical Device........................................................................106
10.3.3 Clearing Error Counters from a Controller................................................................................107
10.4 Working with Failed or Failing Disk Drives..............................................................................................107
10.4.1 Replacing Disk Drives in a Logical Drive....................................................................................107
10.4.2 Setting a Disk Drive to ‘Failed’..................................................................................................108
10.5 Erasing a Disk Drive ................................................................................................................................108
10.5.1 Restricted/Unrestricted Secure Erase.......................................................................................109
10.6 Initializing and Uninitializing Disk Drives................................................................................................109
10.6.1 Uninitializing a Disk Drive.........................................................................................................109
10.6.2 Initializing/Uninitializing all Drives on a Controller .................................................................110
10.7 Setting the Physical Drive Boot Priority..................................................................................................111
10.8 Working with Controllers........................................................................................................................112
10.8.1 Rescanning a Controller............................................................................................................112
10.8.2 Optimizing Controller Performance..........................................................................................113
10.8.3 Changing the Connector Operating Mode................................................................................114
10.9 Updating Controller, Enclosure, and Disk Drive Firmware......................................................................115
10.9.1 Before You Begin.......................................................................................................................115
10.9.2 Updating the Controller Firmware ...........................................................................................115
10.9.3 Updating the Disk Drive Firmware ...........................................................................................119
10.9.4 Updating the Enclosure Firmware ...........................................................................................120

11 Monitoring Status and Activity..............................................................................................122

11.1 Monitoring Options................................................................................................................................122
11.2 Checking Status from the Main Window ...............................................................................................122
11.2.1 Viewing Activity Status in the Event Log...................................................................................122

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 11.2.1.1 What Do the Event Status Icons Mean?.....................................................................123
11.2.2 Viewing Task Status in the Task Log..........................................................................................124
11.2.3 Viewing Component Status in the Storage Dashboard.............................................................124
11.2.3.1 Monitoring Enclosure Status......................................................................................126
11.2.3.2 Viewing SMART Statistics...........................................................................................126
11.2.4 Viewing Storage Space Usage in Chart View............................................................................127
11.3 Notifying Users by Email About Status and Activity ...............................................................................127
11.3.1 Setting Up Email Notifications..................................................................................................128
11.3.2 Sending a Test Message............................................................................................................130
11.3.3 Modifying or Removing an Email Recipient .............................................................................131
11.3.4 Modifying Email Server Settings...............................................................................................132
11.3.5 Disabling Email Notifications....................................................................................................132
11.4 Monitoring Advanced Statistics about Activity in Your Storage Space...................................................133
11.4.1 Setting up Statistics Logging.....................................................................................................133
11.4.2 Viewing Advanced Statistics.....................................................................................................134
11.4.3 Resetting the Statistics Counters..............................................................................................135
11.5 Changing an Operating System's Event Log Setting................................................................................135

12 Managing Your Storage Space................................................................................................137

12.1 Deploying Servers ..................................................................................................................................137
12.1.1 Creating a Server Template File................................................................................................137
12.1.2 Duplicating the Server Template..............................................................................................138
12.2 Managing Remote Systems.....................................................................................................................140
12.2.1 Adding Remote Systems with the Wizard.................................................................................141
12.2.2 Manually Adding a Remote System..........................................................................................141
12.2.3 Removing a Remote System.....................................................................................................141
12.2.4 Changing the Auto-Discovery Settings......................................................................................142
12.3 Clearing the Controller Configuration.....................................................................................................143
12.4 Changing the Web Server Port................................................................................................................144
12.5 Granting Standard Users Admin Privilege...............................................................................................145

13 Solving Problems....................................................................................................................146
13.1 General Troubleshooting Tips.................................................................................................................146
13.2 Identifying a Failed or Failing Component..............................................................................................146
13.3 Recovering from a Disk Drive Failure......................................................................................................147
13.3.1 Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare..............................................................................147
13.3.2 Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spare.......................................................................147
13.3.3 Failure in Multiple Logical Drives Simultaneously....................................................................147
13.3.4 Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Logical Drive..............................................................................148
13.3.5 Forcing a Logical Drive with Multiple Drive Failures Back Online ............................................148
13.4 Rebuilding Logical Drives........................................................................................................................148
13.5 Creating a Support Archive File...............................................................................................................148

Appendix A Silent Installation on Windows and Linux................................................................150

A.1 Completing a Silent Installation................................................................................................................150
A.1.1 Windows Silent Installation........................................................................................................150
A.1.1.1 Switches, Properties, and Values ................................................................................151
A.1.2 Linux Silent Installation..............................................................................................................151
A.2 Example Command Line Installations.......................................................................................................152

Appendix B Using the maxView Plugin for VMware vSphere Web Client...................................153
B.1 Installing the maxView Plugin for vSphere Web Client.............................................................................153
B.2 Starting the maxView Plugin for vSphere Web Client...............................................................................154

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 B.3 Monitoring maxView Resources in vSphere Web Client...........................................................................155

Appendix C Using maxView Storage Manager with HBAs and Non-RAID Mode Controllers
.....................................................................................................................................................158

Appendix D Selecting the Best RAID Level..................................................................................160

D.1 Comparing RAID Levels.............................................................................................................................160
D.2 Non-redundant Logical Drives (RAID 0)....................................................................................................161
D.3 RAID 1 Logical Drives ...............................................................................................................................161
D.4 RAID 1 (ADM) Logical Drives ....................................................................................................................162
D.5 RAID 10 Logical Drives..............................................................................................................................163
D.6 RAID 10 (ADM) Logical Drives ..................................................................................................................163
D.7 RAID 5 Logical Drives................................................................................................................................165
D.8 RAID 50 Logical Drive................................................................................................................................166
D.9 RAID 6 Logical Drives................................................................................................................................167
D.10 RAID 60 Logical Drives............................................................................................................................167

Appendix E Icons At-a-Glance.....................................................................................................168

Appendix F Advanced Statistics Descriptions..............................................................................174

Appendix G Smart Controller Device Status ...............................................................................178

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Tables
Table 1 • Advanced Statistics Descriptions ...........................................................................................................174

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 8

Microsemi Adaptec® Product Support
If you have questions about installing or using your Microsemi Adaptec® product, check this document
first—you will find answers to most of your questions. If you need further assistance, use the support
options listed below. To expedite your service, have your computer in front of you.
Note: Please visit our Support site at start.microsemi.com for the most up to date contact
information.

Self Help and Support in English

• Search the Microsemi Support Knowledgebase (ASK) at ask.microsemi.com for articles,
troubleshooting tips, and frequently asked questions for your product.
• For support through email, submit your question at ask.microsemi.com.
• To contact Technical Support, visit our product support site at start.microsemi.com.

Technische Informationen und Support in Deutsch

• Suchen Sie in der Adaptec Support Knowledgebase (ASK) unter ask-de.microsemi.com nach Artikeln,
Tipps zur Fehlerbehebung und häufig gestellten Fragen zu Ihrem Produkt.
• Support per Email erhalten Sie unter ask-de.microsemi.com.
• Um den Technischen Support zu kontaktieren, besuchen Sie uns bitte unter start.microsemi.com
und klicken Sie auf „Support kontaktieren“, für Auswahlmöglichkeiten.

Техническая поддержка и информация на русском языке

• База знаний Microsemi (ASK) на сайте ask-ru.microsemi.com ask-ru.adaptec.com – статьи, советы
по устранению неисправностей и часто задаваемые вопросы о Вашем продукте.
• Для поддержки по электронной почте отправьте Ваш запрос на сайте ask-ru.microsemi.com
• Для обращения в службу Технической Поддержки, пожалуйста, посетите наш web сайт
start.microsemi.com и используйте ссылку "Contact Support".

日本語での技術情報とサポート
• ask.microsemi.co.jp のMicrosemi Support Knowledgebase (ASK)で、お使いの製品の情報 トラブル
シューティングのヒント、よくある質問を検索してください。
• Eメールでのサポートには ask.microsemi.co.jp から質問を送ってください。
• テクニカルサポートへコンタクトするには、弊社ウェブサイトstart.microsemi.comをご覧になり、"Contact
Support“をクリックして下さい。

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 9

Software License Agreement
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE IS SUBJECT TO THE SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
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Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 10

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Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 11

 provision shall be deemed severable from this Agreement and shall not affect the remainder hereof.
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Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 12

About this Guide

1 About this Guide

maxView Storage Manager™ is a browser-based software application that helps you build a storage
space using Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers, disk drives, and enclosures, and then manage your
stored data, whether you have a single controller installed in a server or multiple controllers, servers,
and enclosures.
This guide describes how to install and use maxView Storage Manager to build and manage direct
attached storage; that is, storage where the controller and disk drives reside inside, or are directly
attached to, the computer accessing them, similar to the basic configurations shown in the figures
below.
Note: This guide focuses on using maxView Storage Manager with Microsemi Smart Storage
Controllers (SmartRAID/SmartHBA/SmartIOC/SmartROC). For information about using maxView
Storage Manager with Microsemi Adaptec Series 8 (legacy) RAID controllers, see How to Find
More Information on page 14.

Server with Smart Storage System running maxView

controller and disk drives Storage Manager

Network
Connection

Server with Smart Storage System running maxView Server with Smart Storage controller Storage enclosures with
controller and disk drives Storage Manager running maView Storage Manager disk drives installed

1.1 What You Need to Know Before You Begin

This guide is written for data storage and IT professionals who want to create a storage space for their
online data. You should be familiar with computer hardware, operating system administration, and
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology.
If you are using maxView Storage Manager as part of a complex storage system, with multiple servers,
enclosures and Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers, you should be familiar with network administration,
have knowledge of Local Area Networks (knowledge of storage area networks (SANs) is not required),
and be familiar with the input/output (I/O) technology of the storage devices on your network, such as
Serial ATA (SATA) or Serial Attached SCSI (SAS).

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 13

About this Guide

1.2 Terminology Used in this Guide

Because this guide provides information that can be used to manage multiple Microsemi Adaptec Smart
Storage Controllers in a variety of configurations, the generic term “storage space” is used to refer to
the controller(s), disk drives, and systems being managed with maxView Storage Manager.
For efficiency, the term “component” or “components” is used when referring generically to the physical
and virtual parts of your storage space, such as systems, disk drives, controllers, and logical drives.
Many of the terms and concepts referred to in this guide are known to computer users by multiple
names. In this guide, this terminology is used:
• Controller (also known as adapter, board, or I/O card)
• Disk drive (also known as hard disk, hard drive, or hard disk drive)
• Solid State Drive (also known as SSD or non-rotating storage media)
• Logical drive (also known as a logical device)
• Array (also known as a storage pool or container)
• System (also known as a server, workstation, or computer)
• Enclosure (also known as a storage enclosure or disk drive enclosure)

1.3 How to Find More Information

You can find more information about your Microsemi Smart Storage Controller, management software,
and utilities by referring to these documents, available for download at start.microsemi.com and the
Microsemi customer portal at www.pmcs.com/myPMC:
• SmartIOC 2100/SmartROC 3100 Installation and User's Guide, SmartIOC 2000 Installation and User's
Guide—Describes how to install drivers and configure the SmartIOC/SmartROC controller for initial
use
• ARCCONF Command Line Utility User's Guide for Smart Storage Controllers, SmartIOC 2000 Command
Line Utility User's Guide—Describes how to use the ARCCONF utility to perform RAID configuration
and storage management tasks from an interactive command line.
• SmartIOC 2100/SmartROC 3100 Software/Firmware Release Notes, SmartIOC 2000
Software/Firmware Release Notes—Provides driver, firmware, and release package information,
and known issues.
• README: maxView Storage Manager & ARCCONF Command Line Utility—Provides product
information, installation notes, and known issues for maxView Storage Manager and ARCCONF
command line utility.
For information about using maxView Storage Manager with Microsemi Adaptec Series 8 (legacy) RAID
controllers, see the maxView Storage Manager User's Guide for Microsemi ARC Controllers
(CDP-00285-06-A).

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2 Introduction to maxView Storage Manager

This section introduces the maxView Storage Manager software, explains the concept of a “storage
space,” and provides a checklist of getting-started tasks.
2.1 Getting Started
The first part of this guide provides the information you need to install, start, and begin to use maxView
Storage Manager. Follow these general steps:
Step 1: Familiarize yourself with the software components of maxView Storage Manager, review the
system requirements, and study the configuration examples that illustrate how to build and grow your
storage space (described in the remainder of this chapter).
Step 2: Install maxView Storage Manager on every system that will be part of your storage space (see
Installing maxView Storage Manager on page 19).
Step 3: Start maxView Storage Manager and explore its graphical user interface (see Exploring maxView
Storage Manager on page 25).
Step 4: Build your storage space (see Building Your Storage Space on page 34).

2.2 About maxView Storage Manager

maxView Storage Manager is a browser-based software application that helps you build a storage space
for your data, using Microsemi Adaptec RAID controllers, disk drives, Solid State Drives (SSDs), and
enclosures.
With maxView Storage Manager, you can group disk drives into arrays and logical drives and build in
redundancy to protect your data and improve system performance. You can also use maxView Storage
Manager to monitor and maintain all the controllers, enclosures, and disk drives in your storage space
from a single location.
The maxView Storage Manager GUI, or graphical user interface, runs on most contemporary Web
browsers (for a list of supported browsers, see Browser Support on page 16). A software stack comprising
a Web server, and Redfish server allows maxView Storage Manager to communicate with the controller(s)
in your storage space and coordinate activity in your system.
A flexible installation model allows you to install all software components on a single machine, or
distribute components on different machines across your network, with the maxView Storage Manager
GUI and Web server on one machine, and the and Redfish server on others.

2.2.1 About maxView Storage Manager Redfish Server

The maxView Storage Manager Redfish Server is an instance of Nodejs. On Windows and Linux systems,
the Redfish Server manages the hardware, which monitors the controllers in your system and provide
notifications to the maxView Storage Manager. The maxView Storage Manager Redfish Server is installed
automatically with the maxView Storage Manager.

2.2.2 About the maxView Storage Manager Web Server

The maxView Storage Manager Web Server is an instance of the open-source Apache Tomcat servlet
container. It runs the maxView Storage Manager Web application, and serves static and dynamic content
to the maxView Storage Manager GUI. The maxView Web Server is installed automatically with the
maxView Storage Manager GUI.

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2.3 System Requirements

To install maxView Storage Manager, each system in your storage space must meet these requirements:
• PC-compatible computer with Intel Pentium processor, or equivalent
• At least 4 GB of RAM
• 350 MB of free disk drive space
• One of these operating systems:
• Microsoft® Windows® Server, Windows SBS, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7
• Red Hat® Enterprise Linux
• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server
• Ubuntu Linux
• CentOS
• Hypervisors:
• VMware vSphere, VMware ESXi
• Citrix XenServer
• Microsoft Hyper-V

See the Release Notes for a complete list of supported operating system versions.
Note: maxView Storage Manager can also be used before an operating system is installed. See
Running maxView Storage Manager from a Bootable USB Image on page 23 for more information.

2.4 Browser Support

To run the maxView Storage Manager GUI, each system in your storage space must be running one of
these Web browsers:
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 10, 11, or newer
• Microsoft® Edge browser for Windows 10
• Google® Chrome™ 32 or newer
• Mozilla Firefox® 31 or newer

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2.5 Typical Storage Space Configurations

The following examples show typical storage spaces that you can build with maxView Storage Manager.
You can grow your storage space as your requirements change by adding more systems, controllers,
disk drives, and enclosures, and by adding redundant logical drives for protection against data loss.

2.5.1 A Simple Storage Space

This example shows a simple storage space that might be appropriate for a small business. This storage
space includes one RAID controller and three disk drives installed in a server. For data protection, the
disk drives have been used to build a RAID 5 logical drive.

Business and
Customer Data

Server with Smart Storage System running

controller and 3 disk drives maxView Storage Manager

2.5.2 An Advanced Storage Space

This example shows how you can grow your storage space as the requirements of your application
change. On the first server, segments from each disk drive have been used to build two RAID 5 logical
drives. A second server connected to two 12-disk enclosures has been added. The additional storage
space has been used to create two RAID 50 logical drives. The Administrator of this storage space can
create and modify logical drives and monitor both controllers, disk drives, and enclosures from a single
system running the maxView Storage Manager GUI.

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2.5.3 Continuing to Grow Your Storage Space

For more advanced applications, such as high-volume transaction processing in a "cloud" or data center
environment, maxView Storage Manager helps you grow your storage space to include multiple
controllers, storage enclosures, and disk drives in multiple locations.
In this example, multiple systems, servers, disk drives, and enclosures have been added to the storage
space. The Administrator can create and modify logical drives and monitor all the controllers, enclosures,
and disk drives in the storage space from any system running the maxView Storage Manager GUI.

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3 Installing maxView Storage Manager

This section describes how to install and uninstall maxView Storage Manager on the supported operating
systems. It also describes how to run maxView Storage Manager from a bootable USB image, before
the application is installed on an operating system.
Note: To perform a silent installation without messages or user interaction, follow the instructions
in Silent Installation on Windows and Linux on page 150.
Note: VMware users can install the maxView plugin for vSphere Web Client for Windows and
monitor storage resources without using the maxView Storage Manager GUI. For more information,
see Using the maxView Plugin for VMware vSphere Web Client on page 153.

3.1 Before You Begin the Installation

Complete the following steps before you begin the installation.

3.1.1 Gather Installation Information

Prepare the following information:
• Redfish Server port number. The default port is recommended (8081). If the default port is not
available, another port number will be automatically assigned. For more information on the Redfish
Server, see About maxView Storage Manager Redfish Server on page 15.
• maxView Web Server port number. The default port is recommended (8443). If the default port is
not available, another port number will be automatically assigned. For more information on the
Web Server, see About the maxView Storage Manager Web Server on page 15.
Note: You can install maxView Storage Manager over an existing installation if it is no more than
two versions older than the current release. Otherwise, you must remove the old version first,
before beginning a new installation. See Uninstalling maxView Storage Manager on page 23 for
details.
3.1.1.1 Check Network Configuration
Check your network configuration to ensure that it meets the prerequisites for a standard (non-Standalone
Mode) installation:
• Ensure that the system is configured with an IP address.
• Ensure that the OS hostname is per standard.
• Ensure that the hostname-to-IP address mapping is updated in DNS. At minimum, ensure that the
hostname-to-IP mapping is entered in the /etc/hosts file.

3.1.2 Download the Installation Package

Complete these steps to download the installation package for your operating system(s):
1. Open a browser window, then type start.microsemi.com in the address bar.
2. Select your controller family and controller model.
3. Select Storage Manager Downloads, then select the appropriate installer package from the list; for
instance, maxView Storage Manager for Windows x64 or maxView Storage Manager for Linux.
4. Click Download Now and accept the license agreement.
5. When the download completes, extract the package contents to a temporary location on your
machine.
Note: See the Release Notes for a complete list of installer packages for the supported operating
systems.

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3.2 Installing on Windows

This section describes how to install maxView Storage Manager on Windows systems.
Note: You need administrator privileges to install maxView Storage Manager. For details on
verifying privileges, refer to your operating system documentation.
1. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer, then change to the directory where the Windows installer
package is located (see Download the Installation Package on page 19 for details).
2. Double-click the setup program for your operating system version:
Options Description
Windows 64-bit setup_asm_x64.exe
The Installation wizard opens.
3. Click Next to begin the installation.
The License Agreement screen on the Installation wizard appears.
4. Select I accept the terms in the license agreement option, then click Next.
5. Accept or modify the default server ports in the maxView Storage Manager Configuration screen,:
a) Web Server Port: 8443 (default)
b) Redfish Server Port: 8081 (default)

6. To disable remote system management from the GUI, click the Standalone Mode check box.
Note: In Standalone mode, maxView Storage Manager displays the system name as "localhost"
and events as "127.0.0.1/localhost".

7. Click Next, then click OK to verify the Web Server port and the Redfish Server port numbers.
The Direct Attached Storage Setup screen appears on the Installation wizard.
8. Ensure that GUI and/or Redfish Server is selected. Optionally, select CLI Tools. Click Next.

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9. Click Install to begin the installation.

10. Repeat these steps to install maxView Storage Manager on every Windows system that will be part
of your storage space.

When the installation is complete you receive a confirmation message and the maxView Storage Manager
icon is placed on your desktop.

3.3 Installing on Red Hat, Citrix XenServer, CentOS, or SuSE Linux

This section describes how to install maxView Storage Manager on systems running Red Hat Linux,
CentOS, XenServer, or SuSE Linux. For a list of supported Linux operating systems, see System
Requirements on page 16.
1. Open a shell window, then change to the directory where the Linux installer package is located (see
Download the Installation Package on page 19 for details).
2. Run the .bin file for your operating system version (x.xx-xxxxx=version-build number):
Options Description
Linux 64-bit ./StorMan-X.XX-XXXXX.x86_64.bin
3. When prompted for configuration details, enter the following:
Standalone Mode: [default: No]
Note: Standalone Mode disables remote system management from the GUI. maxView Storage
Manager displays the system name as "localhost", and events as "127.0.0.1/localhost".
4. Repeat these steps to install maxView Storage Manager on every Linux system that will be part of
your storage space.
When the installation completes a confirmation message is displayed and the maxView Storage
Manager icon is placed on your desktop.

3.4 Installing on Debian or Ubuntu Linux

This section describes how to install maxView Storage Manager on systems running Debian or Ubuntu
Linux.
1. Open a shell window, then change to the directory where the Linux installer package is located (see
Download the Installation Package on page 19 for details).
2. Install the .deb package for your operating system version (x.xx-xxxxx=version-build number).

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Options Description
Linux 64-bit dpkg -i StorMan-X.XX-XXXXX_amd64.deb
3. When prompted for configuration details, enter the following:
Standalone Mode: [default: No]
Note: Standalone Mode disables remote system management from the GUI. maxView Storage
Manager displays the system name as "localhost", and events as "127.0.0.1/localhost".
4. Repeat these steps to install maxView Storage Manager on every Debian and Ubuntu Linux system
that will be part of your storage space.
5. Before upgrading/re-installing maxView Storage Manager on an existing Ubuntu/Debian installation,
enable the upgrade switch before installing the maxView .deb package:
export maxView_Upgrade=true
dpkg -i StorMan-*.deb

When the installation is complete you receive a confirmation message and the maxView Storage Manager
icon is placed on your desktop.

3.5 Installing on VMware

Use the following procedure to install the .vib files for a VMware ESXi system. Perform the installation
from a remote system running a Telnet/SSH client. Use a terminal emulator to access the ESXi server
remotely.
1. Copy the following files from the installer download location to the /tmp directory on your local
ESXi server (see Download the Installation Package on page 19 for details):
• vmware-esx-provider-arcconf.vib
• vmware-esx-provider-arc-cim-provider.vib
The arcconf.vib is for command line communication.
The arc-cim-provider.vib is for remote management communication.
2. Check for existing installation of arcconf.
esxcli software vib list | grep arcconf
3. Remove the existing arcconf package.
esxcli software vib remove -n arcconf
When the package is removed, you receive the message "Reboot Required: false."
4. Check for an existing installation of arc-cim-provider.
esxcli software vib list | grep arc-cim-provider
5. Remove the existing arc-cim-provider package.
esxcli software vib remove -n arc-cim-provider
When the package is removed, you receive the message "Reboot Required: true."
6. Set the installation acceptance level to either PartnerSupported or CommunitySupported:
esxcli software acceptance set –-level=PartnerSupported
7. Install the arcconf package.
esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/vmware-esx-provider-arcconf.vib
When the package is installed, you receive the message "Reboot Required: false."
8. Install the arc-cim-provider package.
esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/vmware-esx-provider-arc-cim-provider.vib
When the package is installed, you receive the message "Reboot Required: true."
9. Reboot the system.
10. Continue with Managing Remote Systems on page 140 to add a remote system.

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3.6 Running maxView Storage Manager from a Bootable USB Image

Running maxView Storage Manager from a bootable USB image allows you to configure your controller
before you install the operating system. The procedure consists of three basic steps:
1. Download the bootable USB image from the Microsemi web site
2. Create a "live" image on a USB flash drive
Note: We recommend using Rufus bootable USB create (http://rufus.akeo.ie/).

3. Boot from the USB flash drive, login to maxView Storage Manager and configure your controller
The bootable USB image is not a substitute for running maxView Storage Manager as an installed
application. Many of the features and functions described in this guide are not available when you run
maxView Storage Manager from a bootable USB image. Use the bootable USB image only to configure
your controller before you install an operating system.
Note: Before you begin, ensure that your system is set up to boot from a USB drive. Check the
system BIOS to see if the USB drive is included in the boot sequence. (For more information, see
your system's documentation.) You will need a USB drive with at least 2 GB of storage to complete
this task. To run the bootable USB image, the target machine must have at least 4 GB of memory.
To run maxView Storage Manager from a bootable USB image:
1. Download the bootable USB image:
a) Open a browser window, then type start.microsemi.com in the address bar.
b) Select your controller family and controller model.
c) Select Storage Manager Downloads.
d) Download the bootable USB image (zip file archive).
e) Extract the contents of the bootable image archive file to a temporary location.
The archive contains one file: the maxView Storage Manager bootable iso image.

2. Create a "live" image on the USB drive:

a) Run the USB Creator utility setup program at http://rufus.akeo.ie/.
b) Start USB Creator from the Windows All Programs menu.
c) In the Use Existing Live CD field, click Browse, then locate and select the maxView Storage
Manager bootable ISO image.
d) In the Target Device field, select the USB flash drive (e:\, for instance).
e) Click Create Live USB.
3. Insert the USB drive on the machine you want to configure.
The Boot menu opens in a shell window.
4. Select Launch maxView from the menu.
After a minute or so, the maxView Storage Manager login screen opens in a browser window.
Note: If you prefer to configure the controller from the command line, select Launch arcconf
from the Boot menu, then enter root, with no password, for the login credentials.
5. Enter root/root for the login credentials.
6. Continue with Creating Arrays and Logical Drives.

3.7 Uninstalling maxView Storage Manager

To uninstall maxView Storage Manager, follow the instructions for your operating system.
3.7.1 Uninstalling from Windows
To uninstall maxView Storage Manager from a Windows system, use the Add or Remove Programs tool
in the Control Panel. All maxView Storage Manager components are uninstalled.

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When the uninstall process is complete, you receive a confirmation message and the maxView icon is
removed from your desktop.

3.7.2 Uninstalling from Red Hat, Citrix XenServer, CentOS, or SuSE Linux
This section describes how to uninstall maxView Storage Manager from systems running Red Hat,
XenServer, CentOS, SuSE Linux.
Type the command rpm -e StorMan

When the uninstall process is complete, you receive a confirmation message and the maxView icon is
removed from your desktop.

3.7.3 Uninstalling from Ubuntu Linux

This section describes how to uninstall maxView Storage Manager from systems running Ubuntu Linux.
1. Type the command dpkg -r StorMan
2. Type the command to uninstall maxView after the upgrade export maxView_Upgrade=false
dpkg -r storman

When the uninstall process is complete, you receive a confirmation message and the maxView icon is
removed from your desktop.

3.7.4 Uninstalling from VMware

Use the following procedure to remove maxView Storage Manager from a VMware ESXi 5.5 or 6.0
system.
1. Log in with the user name: root
2. List the installed packages:
esxcli software vib list | grep arcconf
esxcli software vib list | grep arc-cim-provider
3. Remove the arcconf package:
esxcli software vib remove -n arcconf
4. Remove the arc-cim-provider package:
esxcli software vib remove -n arc-cim-provider
5. Reboot the system.

To verify that maxView Storage Manager is uninstalled, repeat Step 2. If no results are shown, the
software was uninstalled successfully.

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4 Exploring maxView Storage Manager

This section familiarizes you with the main features of the maxView Storage Manager graphical user
interface. It describes how to start and log into maxView Storage Manager. It also explains how to get
help and log out of maxView Storage Manager when you are finished working with the application.
4.1 Starting maxView Storage Manager and Logging In
The procedure for starting and logging in to maxView Storage Manager is the same for all operating
systems with a graphical desktop. You can login as the Administrator, with full management-level access
to your storage space, or as a Standard user, with restricted access to your storage space (see Working
in maxView Storage Manager on page 25 for more information about access permissions).
1. On the desktop, double-click the maxView Storage Manager desktop icon.
The login window opens in the default browser.

Note: If you do not have an icon for maxView Storage Manager on your desktop, open a
browser window, then type this URL in the address bar and press Return:
https://127.0.0.1:8443/maxview/manager/login.xhtml.

2. For full management-level access to your storage space, enter the Administrator account username
and password for your operating system. For Standard-level access to your storage space, enter
your regular network login credentials. Then click Login.
The maxView Storage Manager main window opens.

4.2 Working in maxView Storage Manager

You can perform most tasks in maxView Storage Manager by:
• Selecting storage components in the Enterprise View (controllers, hard drives, logical drives, and
so on)
• Clicking icons on the ribbon, at the top of the maxView Storage Manager main window
• Working with information in the Storage Dashboard and Chart View
• Checking status in the Event Log and Task Log
If you are logged in as the Administrator, you have full access to manage and modify the components
of your storage space, using all of the features of maxView Storage Manager. If you are logged in as a
Standard user, you have restricted "view-only" access to your storage space, with limited ability to
perform non-destructive operations, as described in the table below.
Note: maxView Storage Manager allows you to give Standard users Administrator privileges. For
details, see Granting Standard Users Admin Privilege on page 145.

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Standard users can: Standard users can't:

Rescan controllers Create arrays and logical drives

Save activity logs Modify arrays and logical drives

Identify physical devices, logical devices, and enclosures Delete arrays and logical drives

Silence alarms Perform data migrations

View component properties on the Storage Dashboard Clear the controller configuration

4.3 Overview of the Main Window

The main window of maxView Storage Manager has three main panels—left, right, and bottom—plus
the ribbon, at the top of the window.
The left panel always shows the Enterprise View. The bottom panel shows the Event Log and Task Log.
The right panel shows the Storage Dashboard and Chart View. Different information appears in the right
panel depending on which component is selected in the Enterprise View.
In example below, a controller is selected in the Enterprise View, and the right panel displays the Storage
Dashboard for the controller, with a chart view of its storage space.

Ribbon

Storage
Dashboard

Enterprise
View

Task Log
Event Log

You can resize the panels and scroll horizontally or vertically as needed, to view more or less information.

4.3.1 The Enterprise View

The Enterprise View is an expandable “tree” that shows the physical and logical components of your
storage space. The Enterprise View lists the local system (the system you're working on) and any remote
systems that you have logged in to from the local system. (See ‘Local’ or ‘Remote’? on page 34 for more
information.) It also lists the maxCache Devices in your system.
Note: maxCache is not supported on all Microsemi Adaptec Smart Storage Controllers. See the
Readme for more information. For more information about maxCache, see Working with maxCache
Devices on page 83.

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Local System

Remote System

Expand a system in the Enterprise View to see its controllers, arrays, logical drives (“devices”), physical
drives, enclosures, and maxCache Devices.
In the figure below, a controller is expanded in the Enterprise View, revealing the physical and logical
devices associated with that controller.

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By selecting a controller
in the Enterprise View...

...the disk drives or

enclosures
and disk drives
connected to it
and the arrays and
logical drives
created with those disk
drives appear
in the Physical and
Logical Devices trees.

You can perform most tasks in maxView Storage Manager by selecting a component in the Enterprise
View, such as a controller or disk drive, then using the related commands on the ribbon, as described
in the section below.

4.3.1.1 What do the Enterprise View Icons Mean?

Icon Description

System with controller and directly attached disk drives or enclosures

Controller

Enclosure

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Icon Description

Logical drive (encrypted)1

maxCache Device (healthy)2

Array (healthy)

Hard disk drive

Solid State Drive (SSD)

SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording)3 drive

Connector or other physical device

4.3.2 The Ribbon

Most tasks in maxView Storage Manager are available from the ribbon, at the top of the main window.
The ribbon replaces toolbars and menus in maxView Storage Manager to help you quickly find the
commands you need to complete a task.

The ribbon is organized into groups of related tasks for Systems, Controllers, Arrays, Logical Devices,
Physical Devices, and maxCache Devices. The Home group (on the left) provides commands for working
with remote systems (see Managing Remote Systems on page 140). Active options on the ribbon vary,
depending on which type of component is selected in the Enterprise View.
For instance, if you select a controller in the Enterprise View, these options are activated:
• Create Logical Drive in the Logical Device group
• Spare Management in the Physical Device group
• Create maxCache Device in maxCache group (if the controller supports maxCache)
• All options in the Controller group

If you select an array in the Enterprise View, options in the Array group are highlighted; selecting a disk
drive highlights options in the Physical Device group; and so on.
For a description of the icons on the ribbon, see Icons At-a-Glance on page 168.

4.3.3 The Storage Dashboard

When you select a component in the Enterprise View, maxView Storage Manager displays detailed
information about that component on the Storage Dashboard. Occupying the largest portion of the
main window in maxView Storage Manager, the Storage Dashboard provides status information, physical

1
A lock in the Enterprise View means that the device is encrypted. For more information, see
Working with maxCrypto Devices on page 87.
2
A green check mark in the Enterprise View means that the device is healthy with no problems or
issues. For more information, see Identifying a Failed or Failing Component on page 146.
3
Not supported on all controllers. See the Readme for more information.

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and logical device properties, resources, usage statistics, and reliability indicators for hard drives and
SSDs. It also provides a chart view of free and used space in your system.

Tabs provide quick access to component

information

Chart view of free

and used space in
your system

For more information about the types of information provided on the Storage Dashboard for each
component in your storage space, see Viewing Component Information and Status in the Storage
Dashboard; also see Revealing More Device Information.

4.4 Checking System Status from the Main Window

maxView Storage Manager includes an Event Log and Task Log for at-a-glance status and activity
information for all managed systems. The Event Log provides status information and messages about
activity (or events) occurring in your storage space. The Task Log provides information about current or
recurring processes in your storage space, such as rebuilding a logical device. Single-click any event or
task to see more information in an easier-to-read format. For more information about the Event Log
and Task Log, see Viewing Activity Status in the Event Log on page 122 and Working with Tasks.

Click this tab to open the Task

Log
Click this tab to open
the Event Log

Warning- and Error-level icons appear next to components in the Enterprise View affected by a failure
or error, creating a trail, or rapid fault isolation, that helps you identify the source of a problem when
it occurs. See Identifying a Failed or Failing Component on page 146 for more information.

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If your storage space includes a drive enclosure with a temperature sensor, temperature, fan, and power
module status is displayed on the Storage Dashboard (see Monitoring Enclosure Status on page 126).
For more information about checking status from the main window, see Monitoring Status and Activity.

4.5 Revealing More Device Information

You can reveal more information about disk drive, array, and logical drive usage in your storage space
(including maxCache Devices) with the Resources view on the Storage Dashboard.
To reveal disk drive usage by logical drive (and vice-versa), select a controller in the Enterprise View,
then open the Resources tab on the Storage Dashboard. As shown in the figures below, you can click a
logical drive to see its member disk drives and spares; similarly, you can click a physical disk to see which
array (if any) it belongs to. In the following figure the disk in Slot 5 belongs to Array A.
Note: Click the Arrow icons, on the right side of the Resources table, to jump to that resource in
the Enterprise View tree.

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Two disk drives plus a dedicated hot

spare comprise the selected logical drive.

4.6 Getting Help

maxView Storage Manager provides online help that includes conceptual information and descriptions
of on-screen items and dialog boxes, in addition to step-by-step instructions for completing tasks.
To open the online help, click the Help button at the upper-right corner of the main window.

Click here to open the

Help window.

For help with a dialog box or wizard, click the question-mark icon, in the lower corner of the dialog box,
for help with that specific procedure.

Click here for help

with this procedure

For help with individual options in the Set Properties dialog box (for controllers, logical drives, and
physical drives), or specific information fields on the Storage Dashboard, mouse over any field or option
name for a brief description of that option.

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4.7 Logging Out of maxView Storage Manager

To log out of maxView Storage Manager:
1. In the Enterprise View, click on the local system.
2. Click the Logout button at the upper-right corner of the main window:

Click here to log

out

You are logged out of maxView Storage Manager and the main window is closed.

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5 Building Your Storage Space

Follow the instructions in this section to choose a management system, log in to each system in your
storage space, and create arrays and logical drives.
Note: Before beginning the tasks in this chapter, ensure that maxView Storage Manager is installed
on every system that will be part of your storage space.

5.1 Overview
To build your storage space, complete these steps:
1. Choose at least one management system (see Choosing a Management System).
2. Start and log in to maxView Storage Manager on the management system (see Starting maxView
Storage Manager and Logging In on page 25).
3. Log in to all other systems from the management system (see Logging into Remote Systems from
the Local System on page 35).
4. Create arrays and logical drives for all systems in your storage space (see Creating Arrays and Logical
Drives).
As your storage requirements change, you can add systems, controllers, and disk drives, then modify
the arrays and logical drives in your storage space by following the instructions in Modifying Your Storage
Space on page 63.

5.2 Choosing a Management System

You must designate at least one system as a management system, a system from which you will manage
the storage on all systems in your storage space.
The management system can be any system on your network that has a video monitor and can run the
maxView Storage Manager GUI and Web server.

5.2.1 ‘Local’ or ‘Remote’?

Whenever you're working in maxView Storage Manager, the system that you're working on is the local
system. All other systems in your storage space are remote systems. ‘Local’ and ‘remote’ are relative
terms, as shown in the following figure—when you are working on system A (local system), system B is
a remote system; when you are working on system B (local system), system A is a remote system.
For the purposes of this guide, the ‘local system’ is the management system.

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A B

Local logged

in to remote

Redfish Server or
maxView Storage CIM Server
Manager

A B

Local logged

in to remote

Redfish Server or
CIM Server maxView Storage
Manager

5.2.2 Logging in on the Local System

To log in on the local system, see Starting maxView Storage Manager and Logging In on page 25.

5.3 Logging into Remote Systems from the Local System

Once maxView Storage Manager is running on all systems in your storage space, you can log into the
remote systems from the local system.
Once you have logged in to a remote system, it automatically appears in the Enterprise View each time
you start maxView Storage Manager on the local system. You can work with a remote system's controllers,
disk drives, and logical drives as if they were part of your local system.
To log in to a remote system:
1. On the ribbon, in the Home group, click Add System.

The Add System window opens, showing a list of "discovered" systems; that is, systems on your
network that are running the Redfish.
2. Select the systems you want to add to the Enterprise View, then enter the systems' login credentials
(username/password) in the space provided.

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Note: You can add a system manually if you don't see the system in the list. For more
information, see Manually Adding a Remote System .

3. Click Add.
maxView Storage Manager connects to the remote system(s) and adds them to the list of managed
systems in the Enterprise View.

For more information about working with remote systems, see Managing Remote Systems.
5.4 Creating Arrays and Logical Drives
maxView Storage Manager provides a wizard to help you create, or configure, the arrays and logical
drives in your storage space. You can choose from two configuration methods:
• Create logical drive on new array—Helps you set the RAID level for the logical drive, group disk
drives and SSDs, determine logical drive size and other advanced settings.
For instructions, see Creating a Logical Drive on a New Array.

• Create logical drive on existing array—Helps you select an array on which to create the logical drive,
set the RAID level, group disk drives and SSDs, determine logical drive size and configure advanced
settings.
For instructions, see Creating a Logical Drive on an Existing Array

If maxCrypto is enabled, you can create encrypted or plaintext volumes. (For more information, see
Working with maxCrypto Devices on page 87.)
Note:
1. Mixing SAS and SATA drives within the same logical drive is not supported. The wizard does
not allow you to select a combination of SAS and SATA drive types.
2. maxView Storage Manager supports SMR HA4 and SMR DM drives for all RAID levels. However,
mixing SMR and PMR5 drives within the same logical drive is not supported. maxView Storage

4
SMR: Shingled Magnetic Recording. HA: Host Aware (backward compatible with standard HDD).
DM: Device Managed (backward compatible with standard HDD).
5
PMR: Perpendicular Magnetic Recording; standard HDD recording technology.

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Manager displays a warning message if you try to create a logical drive using a combination
of SMR and PMR device types.

5.4.1 Creating a Logical Drive on a New Array

Before you can create a logical drive, you must create an array. Use the On New Array configuration
method to step through the process of creating a logical drive on a new array, setting the RAID level,
and configuring other settings.
To create a logical drive on an existing array, see Creating a Logical Drive on an Existing Array.
By default, maxView Storage Manager uses all available disk space to maximize the capacity of a new
logical drive.
To create a logical drive on a new array:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Create Logical Device.

3. When the wizard opens, select On New Array, then click Next.

4. Select a RAID level for the logical drive, then click Next.

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Note: Not all RAID levels are supported by all controllers. (See the Release Notes for more
information.) See Selecting the Best RAID Level for more information about RAID levels.

5. Select the disk drives you want to include in the logical drive, then click Next. Be sure the drive type
is the same for all drives (SAS or SATA, not mixed), and that you select the right number of drives
for the RAID level you selected.

6. (Optional) In the RAID Attributes panel, customize the logical drive settings.

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You can:
• Enter a name for the logical drive. Names can include any combination of letters, numbers, and
spaces.
• Set the size and unit of measure for the logical drive. (By default, a new logical drive uses all
available disk space.)
• Change the stripe size—the amount of data, in bytes, written per disk in the logical drive. (The
default stripe size usually provides the best performance.)
• Enable or disable controller caching.
• Set the initialization method to Default or Build. The initialization method determines how the
logical drive is prepared for reading and writing, and how long initialization will take:
• Default—Initializes parity blocks in the background while the logical drive is available for
access by the operating system. A lower RAID level results in faster parity initialization.
• Build—Overwrites both the data and parity blocks in the foreground. The logical drive
remains invisible and unavailable to the operating system until the parity initialization
process completes. All parity groups are initialized in parallel, but initialization is faster for
single parity groups (RAID 5). RAID level does not affect performance during Build
initialization.
Note: Not all initialization methods are available for all RAID levels.
• Create an encrypted or plaintext logical drive (for more information, see Working with maxCrypto
Devices on page 87)

7. Click Next, then review the array and logical drive settings.
This example shows a RAID 5 logical drive ready to be created on Array A.

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8. Click Finish.
maxView Storage Manager builds the array and logical drive. Use the Event Log and Task Log to track
build progress.
9. If you have other disk drives or available disk space and want to create additional arrays on the
controller, repeat Steps [2]-[8].
10. Repeat Steps [1]-[9] for each controller in your storage space.
11. Partition and format your logical drives. See Partitioning and Formatting Your Logical Drives on page
43.

5.4.2 Creating a Logical Drive on an Existing Array

After you create an array, you can continue to build your storage space by creating more logical drives
on that array. Use the On Existing Array configuration method to step through the process of creating
a logical drive on an existing array, setting the RAID level, and configuring other settings.
To create a logical drive on a new array, see Creating a Logical Drive on a New Array.
By default, maxView Storage Manager uses all available disk space to maximize the capacity of a new
logical drive.
To create a logical drive on an existing array:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Create Logical Device.

3. When the wizard opens, select On Existing Array, then click Next.

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4. Select the array on which to create the logical drive, then click Next.

5. Select a RAID level for the logical drive, then click Next.

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Note: Not all RAID levels are supported by all controllers. (See the Release Notes for more
information.) See Selecting the Best RAID Level for more information about RAID levels.

6. (Optional) In the RAID Attributes panel, customize the logical drive settings.

You can:
• Enter a name for the logical drive. Names can include any combination of letters, numbers, and
spaces.
• Set the size and unit of measure for the logical drive. (By default, a new logical drive uses all
available disk space.)
• Change the stripe size—the amount of data, in bytes, written per disk in the logical drive. (The
default stripe size usually provides the best performance.)
• Enable or disable controller caching.
• Set the initialization method to Default or Build. The initialization method determines how the
logical drive is prepared for reading and writing, and how long initialization will take:

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• Default—Initializes parity blocks in the background while the logical drive is available for
access by the operating system. A lower RAID level results in faster parity initialization.
• Build—Overwrites both the data and parity blocks in the foreground. The logical drive
remains invisible and unavailable to the operating system until the parity initialization
process completes. All parity groups are initialized in parallel, but initialization is faster for
single parity groups (RAID 5). RAID level does not affect performance during Build
initialization.
Note: Not all initialization methods are available for all RAID levels.
• Create an encrypted or plaintext logical drive (for more information, see Working with maxCrypto
Devices on page 87)

7. Click Next, then review the array and logical drive settings.
This example shows a RAID 5 logical drive ready to be created on Array A.

8. Click Finish.
maxView Storage Manager builds the logical drive on the array. Use the Event Log and Task Log to
track build progress.
9. If you have other disk drives or available disk space and want to create more logical drives on an
existing array, repeat Steps [2]-[8].
10. Repeat Steps [1]-[9] for each controller in your storage space.
11. Partition and format your logical drives. See Partitioning and Formatting Your Logical Drives on page
43.

5.4.3 Partitioning and Formatting Your Logical Drives

The logical drives you create appear as physical disk drives on your operating system. You must partition
and format these logical drives before you can use them to store data.
Note: Logical drives that have not been partitioned and formatted cannot be used to store data.
Refer to your operating system documentation for more information.

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5.4.4 Creating Logical Drives on Other Systems in Your Storage Space

If you installed maxView Storage Manager and Microsemi Adaptec Smart Storage controllers on more
than one system, continue building your storage space as follows:
• From each individual system, log in to maxView Storage Manager and repeat the steps to create
logical drives on new or existing arrays, or
• From your local system (the system you're working on), log in to all other systems in your storage
space as remote systems (see Logging into Remote Systems), then repeat the steps to create logical
drives on new or existing arrays, or
• From your local system, create a server template file and deploy the configuration to the remote
systems in your storage space (see Deploying Servers).
5.4.5 Controller Support for 4K Drives
This section describes how to use the maxView GUI with 4K drives to create and modify logical drives
and spares.

5.4.5.1 Creating a Logical Drive

You can create a logical device using 4K drives. 512-byte drives cannot be mixed with 4K drives. This
can be done by selecting the Device Type as HDD SATA 4K or HDD SAS 4K. This will ensure that only
HDD SATA 4K or HDD SAS 4K devices are displayed.

5.4.5.2 Moving a Logical Drive

A 4K SAS or 4K SATA logical device can be moved to another array of 4K SAS or 4K SATA drives, but
cannot be moved to an array with 512-byte drives.

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• Moving to a new array: all SATA and SAS 4K drives that are available to move to a new array are
listed.

• Moving to an existing array: if the logical device has already been created in a different array using
4K drives, then the user can move a logical device to the existing array of the same block size SAS/SATA
4K drives. Only arrays created using 4K drives will be listed (512-byte arrays will not be listed).

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5.4.5.3 Modifying a Logical Drive

Arrays created using 4K drives can be modified.

• Moving drive(s): you can move a drive from one array to another array that uses the same interface
type. For example, if an array is created using 4K SATA drives, then you can move a drive(s) from
that array to a separate array that also uses 4K SATA drives.

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• Changing drive types: you can change the drive interface type from SAS to SATA or from SATA to
SAS. For example, if an array is created using 4K SAS drives, you can change the drive type to 4K
SATA drives only.

5.4.5.4 Assigning Spares at the Array Level

Spares for 4K logical drives can be assigned at the array level.

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1. Dedicated Hot Spare: If the array/logical device is created using 4K SATA drives, then only the 4K
SATA devices can be assigned as spares.
2. Auto Replace Hot Spare: The process is the same as the Dedicated Hot Spare.

5.4.5.5 Assigning Spares at the Physical Device Level

Spares for 4K logical drives can be assigned at the physical device level.

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• If array/logical device is created with 4K SAS drives, then only logical devices that were created with
4K SAS drives are listed.

Note:
• maxCache cannot be created using 4K SATA drives.
• 512-byte maxCache cannot be assigned to 4K logical devices.
• Drive interface types and drive block sizes cannot be mixed.

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For example, SATA drives and SAS drives of the same block size cannot be mixed; 512-byte
drives and 4K drives of the same interface type cannot be mixed.

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6 Protecting Your Data

In addition to standard RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10), Microsemi Adaptec controllers provide
additional methods of protecting your data, including dedicated and auto-replace hot spare drives.
A hot spare is a disk drive or SSD (Solid State Drive) that automatically replaces any failed drive in a
logical drive, and can subsequently be used to rebuild that logical drive. (For more information, see
Recovering from a Disk Drive Failure on page 147.)

6.1 Dedicated Spare or Auto-Replace Spare?

A dedicated hot spare is assigned to one or more arrays. It will protect any redundant logical drive on
those arrays.
After using a dedicated hot spare to rebuild a failed logical drive, data is moved back to its original
location, using a process called copyback, once the controller detects that the failed drive has been
replaced. Once the data is copied back, the hot spare becomes available again. You must create an array
before you can assign a dedicated hot spare to protect it. To assign a dedicated hot spare, see Assigning
a Dedicated Hot Spare on page 52.
An auto-replace hot spare is assigned to a specific array. It will protect any redundant logical drive on
that array. After using an auto-replace spare to rebuild a failed logical drive, it becomes a permanent
part of the array. You must create an array before you can assign an auto-replace hot spare to protect
it. To assign an auto-replace hot spare, see Assigning an Auto-Replace Hot Spare on page 53.

6.2 Hot Spare Limitations

• Hot spares protect redundant logical drives only. To protect non-redundant logical drives, set the
spare activation mode of the controller to predictive activation.
• You cannot create a hot spare from a disk drive that is already part of an array.
• You should select a disk drive that is at least as big as the smallest disk drive in the array that it
might replace.
• You must designate a SAS hot spare drive for an array comprised of SAS disk drives, and a SATA
hot spare drive for an array comprised of SATA disk drives.
• You can designate a SMR HA6 or SMR DM drive for all hot spare types. A SMR drive cannot protect
a PMR drive, 7 or vice-versa.

6
SMR: Shingled Magnetic Recording. HA: Host Aware (backward compatible with standard HDD).
DM: Device Managed (backward compatible with standard HDD).
7
PMR: Perpendicular Magnetic Recording; standard HDD recording technology.

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6.3 Assigning a Dedicated Hot Spare

A dedicated hot spare is assigned to one or more arrays. It will protect any redundant logical drive on
those arrays.
Note: You must create the array before you can assign a dedicated hot spare to protect it.
To assign a dedicated spare:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, an array on that controller, or a Ready physical drive.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Spare Management.

The Spare Management wizard opens.

3. Select the Dedicated spare type, then click Next.

4. If you selected a physical drive in the Enterprise view, select the arrays you want to protect with a
dedicated spare, then click Next.

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5. If you selected an array in the Enterprise view, select the physical drive(s) you want to dedicate as
hot spares, then click Next. (See Hot Spare Limitations on page 51 for help selecting drives.)

6. Review the summary of dedicated spares and protected arrays, then click Finish.

6.4 Assigning an Auto-Replace Hot Spare

An auto-replace hot spare is assigned to a specific array. After using an auto-replace spare to rebuild a
failed logical drive, it becomes a permanent part of the array.
To assign an auto-replace hot spare to an array:
1. In the Enterprise View, select an array on that controller.
Note: The auto-replace option is not available, if you select an array with a non-redundant
logical device when the controller's "spare activation mode" is set to "failure activation".

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However, when you select a physical device itself, the option is available only if one or more
auto-replace spares already exist. Otherwise, you can just assign Dedicated spares in the
wizard.

2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Spare Management.

The Spare Management wizard opens.

3. Select the Auto-Replace spare type, then click Next.

4. If you selected a controller in the Enterprise view, select the array you want to protect with an
auto-replace spare, then click Next.

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5. Select the physical drive(s) you want to assign as auto-replace hot spares, then click Next. (See Hot
Spare Limitations on page 51 for help selecting drives.)

6. Review the summary of auto-replace spares and protected arrays, then click Finish.

6.5 Removing a Hot Spare

You can remove a dedicated or auto-replace hot spare from an array. Removing the last hot spare from
an array returns the drive to the Ready state.
You may want to remove a hot spare to:
• Make disk drive space available for another array or logical drive.
• Convert an auto-replace hot spare into a dedicated hot spare.
• Remove the ‘hot spare’ designation from a drive that you no longer want to use as a spare.
To remove a hot spare:

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1. In the Enterprise View, select an array or an existing hot spare drive.

2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Spare Management.

The Spare Management wizard opens.

3. Select Un-Assign, then click Next. (Un-Assign is preselected for an existing hot spare.)

4. If you selected a hot spare in the Enterprise view, select the array(s) from which to remove the spare,
then click Next.

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5. If you selected an array in the Enterprise view, select the hot spare(s) to remove from the array,
then click Next.

6. Review the summary of affected hot spares and arrays, then click Finish.
If the spare protects only one array, it is deleted and the drive becomes available for other uses in
your storage space. If the spare protects more than one array, it is removed from the selected array(s)
but continues to protect the other arrays to which it is assigned.

6.6 Setting the Spare Activation Mode

The spare activation mode determines when a hot spare is used to rebuild a failed logical drive. You
can choose to activate a spare when:
• A data drive fails; this is the default mode.
• A data drive reports a predictive failure (SMART) status.

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In normal operations, the firmware starts rebuilding a failed logical drive with a spare only when a data
drive fails. With the predictive failure activation mode, rebuilding can begin before the drive fails,
reducing the likelihood of data loss.
The spare activation mode applies to all arrays on a controller.
To set the spare activation mode:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. Click the Data Protection tab.
4. From the Spare Activation Mode drop-down list, select Failure (default) or Predictive, then click OK.

6.7 Controller Sanitize Lock Freeze/Anti-Freeze

The Sanitize Lock Freeze/Anti-Freeze feature provides the controller level of sanitize lock, which helps
prevent accidental erasing of user data on the disk after initiating a sanitize command. To accomplish
this, you have the option of applying a controller-wide Sanitize Lock Freeze/Anti-Freeze policy. The
freeze and anti-freeze commands will be used to block and unblock the sanitize commands that would
erase user data on the disk.
The sanitize lock feature has three options:
• Freeze: prevents the user from performing any sanitize erase operation.
• Anti-Freeze: locks the freeze command, enabling the user to perform any sanitize erase operation.
• None: enables the user to perform any sanitize erase operation

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This is applicable only to SATA drives which support Sanitize Erase, Freeze, and Anti-Freeze.
To set the Sanitize Lock:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. Click the Data Protection tab.
4. From the Sanitize Lock drop-down list, select one of the three following options: None (default),
Freeze, or Anti-Freeze.

Note:
If the Sanitize Lock is set to any value other than None, the following warning message will be
displayed in the menu header:
Changing the Sanitize Lock will require a reboot to apply the new state to the controller, and
require all physical devices to be power cycled or hot-plugged for the lock state to be applied
to the physical devices.

5. Click OK.

6.7.1 Sanitize Lock Property in Controller Node Properties Tab

The properties of the Sanitize Lock feature are displayed in the controller node properties tab as shown
in the following screen capture.

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The Sanitize Lock property will display the current setting in which the controller is operating.
When the Sanitize Lock property is changed in the Set Properties dialog, the pending Sanitize Lock
property will show the changed value.
When the machine is rebooted, the pending Sanitize Lock value will be "Not Applicable", and the Sanitize
Lock value will be set to the previous pending Sanitize Lock value.

6.7.2 Physical Device Sanitize Lock Freeze/Anti-Freeze

This feature is supported only on SATA drives that are connected to the controller. If the drive supports
the Sanitize Lock Freeze feature, it may or may not support the Sanitize Lock Anti-freeze. Based on the
support bit on the drive, the Sanitize Lock policy can be set from the controller and it will be applied on
the drives that support Sanitize Freeze/Anti-Freeze.

The Sanitize Lock property is dependent upon the following conditions:

• If the drive does not support Sanitize Erase, the Sanitize Lock property is not displayed.
• If the drive supports Sanitize Erase but does not support Freeze/Anti-Freeze, then the Sanitize Lock
property will be listed as "Not Applicable".
• If the controller Sanitize Lock is in the Freeze state, then no Sanitize Erase can be performed.
• If the controller Sanitize Lock is in the Anti-Freeze or None state, then all Sanitize Erase commands
can be performed.

Once the controller Sanitize Lock is in the freeze state, then no Sanitize Erase operations will listed
during the secure erase operation.

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6.7.3 Secure Erase Pattern

If the drive or controller Sanitize Lock is in the freeze state, then all the Sanitize Erase patterns will not
be listed when you click on the Secure Erase ribbon icon in the physical device ribbon group.

Only three secure erases can be performed.

If the drive and controller Sanitize Lock is in Anti-Freeze or None states, then the Sanitize Erase pattern
will be listed.

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Note: When you perform the Sanitize Erase operation, it sets the controller Sanitize Lock to freeze,
and reboots the system, the drive will remember the percentage completion for the Sanitize
Secure Erase after the reboot. The freeze state will be applied only after the Sanitize Erase is
completed and the sanitize erase operation cannot be stopped.

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7 Modifying Your Storage Space

This section provides additional scenarios for creating and modifying arrays and logical drives. It explains
how to check your logical drives for bad or inconsistent data; optimize controller and logical drive
performance; move arrays and logical drives; and perform advanced operations, such as creating a split
mirror backup array.
7.1 Understanding Arrays and Logical Drives
A logical drive is a group of physical disk drives that appears to your operating system as a single drive
that can be used to store data.
The group of physical drives containing the logical drive is called a drive array, or just array. An array
can contain several logical drives, each of a different size.
You can include the same disk drive in two different logical drives by using just a portion of the space
on the disk drive in each, as shown in the following figure.

Three Disk Drives

(500 MB Each)

One RAID 5
Logical Drive
One RAID 1 250 MB 250 MB
Logical Drive

250 MB

250 MB
Available
250 MB
Space 250 MB
250 MB

250 MB

Appears to Operating System

as one 250 MB disk drive 250 MB 250 MB
Appears to Operating System
as one 500 MB disk drive

Disk drive space that has been assigned to a logical drive is called a segment. A segment can include all
or just a portion of a disk drive's space. A disk drive with one segment is part of one logical drive, a disk
drive with two segments is part of two logical drives, and so on. When a logical drive is deleted, the
segments that comprised it revert to available space (or free segments).
A logical drive can include redundancy, depending on its RAID level. (See Selecting the Best RAID Level
for more information.)
You can also protect your logical drives by assigning one or more hot spares to them. (See Protecting
Your Data on page 51 for more information.)

7.2 Creating and Modifying Logical Drives

For basic instructions for creating logical drives, see Building Your Storage Space on page 34.
This section describes additional scenarios for creating logical drives:
• To create a logical drive from different-sized disk drives, see Including Different-sized Disk Drives
in a Logical Drive on page 64.

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• To create a logical drive using available segments of disk drives, see Creating a Logical Drive Using
Available Segments.

7.2.1 Including Different-sized Disk Drives in a Logical Drive

You can combine disk drives of different sizes in the same logical drive. If the logical drive includes
redundancy, however, the size of each segment can be no larger than the size of the smallest disk drive.
(See Selecting the Best RAID Level for more information about redundancy.)
Note: You cannot combine SAS and SATA disk drives and also different block size like 512 bytes
or 4K within the same array or logical drive.
To create a logical drive with disk drives of different sizes, follow the instructions in Creating a Logical
Drive on a New Array. When the wizard displays the RAID Members panel, select different size drives,
as shown in the figure below, then complete the wizard.

When the logical drive is created, check its resources on the Storage Dashboard: it should appear similar
to the next figure, where a RAID 5 logical drive includes two disk drives of one size and one of another.

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RAID5 with different size

disks. No segment is larger
than smallest disk drive
(931.5 GB, in this
example).

7.3 Enabling Background Consistency Check

When background consistency check is enabled, maxView Storage Manager continually and automatically
checks your logical drives for bad or inconsistent data, and then fixes any problems. Enabling consistency
check ensures that you can recover data if a logical drive fails. The scanning process checks physical
drives in fault-tolerant logical drives for bad sectors. It also verifies the consistency of parity data, if
applicable. The available modes are High, Disable, Idle. If you select the Idle mode, you must also specify
a delay value and parallel scan count.
To enable or disable background consistency check:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. Click the Data Protection tab.

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4. In Consistency Check Mode drop-down list, select High, Disabled, or Idle.

5. If you selected the Idle mode, enter the consistency check delay (in seconds) and parallel consistency
check count:
• Consistency Check Delay—Amount of time the controller must be inactive before the consistency
check is started. Enter a value from 0-30. A value of 0 disables the scan.
• Parallel Consistency Check Count—Number of logical drives on which the controller will perform
the consistency check in parallel.

6. Click OK.

7.4 Optimizing Logical Drive Performance

This section describes how to enable controller cache optimizations and SSD I/O bypass acceleration to
improve I/O throughput on the logical drives in your storage space. You can apply cache optimizations
independently on a per controller or per logical drive basis. You can apply I/O bypass acceleration on
arrays comprised of SSDs only.

7.4.1 Enabling Cache Optimizations

Use this option to enable the following cache optimizations on the controllers in your storage space.
You can apply cache optimizations independently on a per controller or per logical drive basis.
Note: You cannot use controller caching and maxCache caching concurrently. Controller caching
is available only if maxCache is not enabled on the controller. For more information about
maxCache, see Working with maxCache Devices on page 83.

Option Description

Cache Ratio Sets the global Read:Write cache ratio.

Write Cache Bypass Threshold Sets the write cache block size threshold, above which data is written directly to
the drive.

No Battery Write Cache Enables write caching on controllers without a backup module.

Wait for Cache Room Waits for cache space (if none is available) before completing the request.

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Option Description

Global Physical Devices Write Sets the write cache policy for the physical drives on the controller.
Cache Policy Caution: Enabling drive write caching can improve performance. However,
a power, device, system failure, or dirty shut down may result in data loss
or file-system corruption.

To enable cache optimizations on a controller:

1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

When the Set Properties window opens, click the Cache tab.
3. Adjust cache settings, as needed.

4. Click OK.

7.4.1.1 Enabling Cache Optimization for a Logical Drive

You can enable/disable cache optimization for each logical drive in your storage space:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select a logical drive.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Set Properties.
3. In the Write-Cache Mode drop down-list, select Disabled (Write-Through) or Enabled
(Write-Back).
4. Click OK.

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7.4.2 Enabling SSD I/O Bypass

Use this option to enable I/O Bypass acceleration for logical drives comprised of SSDs only. This option
enables I/O requests to bypass the controller firmware and access SSDs directly. This process accelerates
reads for all RAID levels and writes for RAID 0.
To enable I/O Bypass acceleration:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select an array on the controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Array group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens; the General tab is selected, by default.
3. From the SSD I/O Bypass drop-down, select Enabled or Disabled.

4. Click OK.

7.5 Moving a Logical Drive

maxView Storage Manager allows you to move a single logical drive from one array to another array.
You can choose the following destinations:
• Move Logical Drive To a New Array
• Move Logical Drive To an Existing Array
If you move the logical drive to a new array, the array is created automatically. If you move the logical
drive to an existing array, it must have sufficient space and member disk drives to store the logical drive
data and accommodate the RAID level; for example, three drives, minimum, for a RAID 5.

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Note: Moving a logical drive can be a time-consuming process. All data in the logical drive is
moved onto the new or existing array, and the controller continues to service I/O requests to
other logical drives.
To move a logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a logical drive.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Move Logical Device.

3. When the wizard opens, select To New Array or To Existing Array, then click Next.

4. If you are moving the logical drive to a new array, select the physical drives for the array. Be sure
the drive type is the same for all drives (SAS or SATA, not mixed).

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Note: The drives must have sufficient capacity to store the logical drive data.

5. If you are moving the logical drive to an existing array, expand the Arrays and Logical Devices list,
then select the destination array.

6. Click Next, review the summary information, then click Finish.

maxView Storage Manager moves the logical drive onto the new or existing array. If you moved the
last logical drive on an array, maxView Storage Manager deletes the array and removes it from the
Enterprise View.

7.6 Moving an Array

You can move an array by replacing its physical drives with drives of the same type or different type.
For example, you can replace SAS drives in the array with other SAS drives, or replace SAS drives with
SATA drives. You cannot combine drive types in the same array, however. If you choose to replace SAS

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drives with SATA drives, for example, all drives in the array must be replaced with SATA drives. The
replacement drives must be in the Ready state; that is, not part of any array or assigned as a spare.
Moving an array automatically removes any previously assigned spare drives. Replaced drives in the
array are freed and become Ready drives that can be used in other arrays, logical drives, or as spares.
Note: Moving an array can be a time-consuming process. All data in each logical drive is copied
to the replacement drives, and the controller continues to service I/O requests to other logical
drives.
To move an array:
1. In the Enterprise View, select an array.
2. On the ribbon, in the Array group, click Modify Array.

3. When the wizard opens, select an action, then click Next:

• Select Move Drives to replace array drives with drives of the same type.
• Select Change Drive Type to replace array drives with drives of a different type.

4. Select one or more drives. For Move Drives, the wizard displays only physical devices of the same
type. For Change Drive Type, the wizard displays only physical devices of a different type. The RAID
level determines the number of drives you need to select.

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Note: The drives must have sufficient capacity to hold all of the logical drives in the source
array.

5. Click Next, review the summary information, then click Finish.

7.7 Modifying an Array

maxView Storage Manager allows you to perform different actions to reconfigure an array. You can
choose the following destinations:
• Add Drives To an Array
• Move Drives To an Array
If you add the logical drives, you are expanding the array by adding the data drives. If you move the
logical drive to an existing array, you need to replace the array drives with the drives of the same type.
Note: Moving a logical drive can be a time-consuming process. All data in the logical drive is
moved onto the new or existing array, and the controller continues to service I/O requests to
other logical drives.
To add or remove drives in an array:
1. In the Enterprise View, select an array.
2. On the ribbon, in the Array group, click Modify Array.

3. When the wizard opens, select Add Drive(s) or Move Drive(s), then click Next.

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4. If you are adding the new drives to an array, select the physical drives for the array. Be sure the drive
type is the same for all drives (SAS or SATA, not mixed).

Note: The drives must have sufficient capacity to store the logical drive data.

5. Click Next, review the summary information, then click Finish.

maxView Storage Manager moves the logical drive onto the new or existing array. If you moved the
last logical drive on an array, maxView Storage Manager deletes the array and removes it from the
Enterprise View.

7.8 Working with Mirrored Arrays

maxView Storage Manager allows you to split a mirrored array and then recombine it. This process
entails splitting a RAID 1, RAID 1(ADM), RAID 10, or RAID 10(ADM) array into two identical new arrays
consisting of RAID 0 logical drives. Arrays with other RAID configurations cannot be split.

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7.8.1 Creating a Split Mirror Backup

Use this option to split a mirrored array, consisting of one or more RAID 1, RAID 1(ADM), RAID 10, or
RAID 10(ADM) logical drives, into two arrays: a primary array and a backup array, with these
characteristics:
• The primary array and backup array will contain identical RAID 0 logical drives.
• The primary array continues to be fully accessible to the operating system.
• The backup array is hidden from the operating system and data on the drive is frozen.
Note: You can use the backup array to restore the primary array with its original contents.
See Re-mirroring, Rolling Back, or Reactivating a Split Mirror Backup on page 74.
• The primary array includes the designation "Split Mirror Set Primary" as the device type.
• The backup array includes the designation "Split Mirror Set Backup" as the device type.
If the array is protected by a spare drive, the drive is unassigned after the split.
To create a split mirror backup:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a mirrored array.
2. On the ribbon, in the Array group, click Split Mirror Backup.

3. When prompted to create the backup array, click OK.

7.8.2 Re-mirroring, Rolling Back, or Reactivating a Split Mirror Backup

When you re-mirror a split mirrored array, you recombine the primary array and backup array into a
single array. You can:
• Re-mirror the array and preserve the existing data; the backup array is discarded. This option
re-creates the original mirrored array with the current contents of the primary array.
• Re-mirror the array and roll back to the contents of the backup array; existing data is discarded.
This option re-creates the mirrored array but restores its original contents from the backup array.
You can also reactivate the split mirror backup. This option makes the backup array fully accessible to
the operating system. maxView Storage Manager removes the "Split Mirror Set Backup" designation
and re-designates it as a Data Array.
To re-mirror, roll back, or reactivate a split mirror backup:

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1. In the Enterprise View, select the Split Mirror Set Primary array; that is, an array with an existing
split mirror backup.
Note: Use the Summary tab on the Storage Dashboard to verify the array type.

2. On the ribbon, in the Array group, click Remirror/Activate Backup.

3. When prompted to select a re-mirroring task, choose: Re-mirror array, Re-mirror with
roll-back, or Activate Backup.
Note: Microsemi recommends that you do not perform a re-mirror with roll back if the logical
drive to be rolled back is mounted or in use by the operating system.

4. Click OK.

7.9 Healing an Array

You can use the Heal Array operation to replace failed physical drives in the array with healthy physical
drives. After replacement, the original array and logical drive numbering is unaffected.
The Heal Array operation is part of the Modify Array wizard (see Moving an Array on page 70). It is
available in the wizard only if:
• The array has at least one failed drive.
• The array is not rebuilding to a spare.
• A sufficient number of Ready physical drives of the same type and correct size are available to
replace each failed physical drive in the array.
Note: The correct size is defined as a drive as large as the smallest drive on the array, but
no larger than the smallest spare.

For a RAID 0 volume, the heal operation recreates the volume. For other RAID volume types, the heal
operation rebuilds the volume.
To heal an array:
1. In the Enterprise View, select an array.
2. On the ribbon, in the Array group, click Modify Array.

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3. When the wizard opens, select Heal Array, then click Next.

4. Select one or more drives to replace the failed drives in the array.

Note: The drives must have sufficient capacity to hold all of the logical drives in the array.

5. Click Next, review the summary information, then click Finish.

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7.10 Changing the RAID Level of a Logical Drive

If your storage needs or application requirements change, you can change, or migrate, the RAID level
of your logical drives to another, more suitable, RAID level. You might want to change the RAID level to
add redundancy, further protect your data, or to improve data availability for speedier access. See
Selecting the Best RAID Level for more information.
The following RAID level migrations are supported:
• RAID 0 to RAID 5
• RAID 0 to RAID 10
• RAID 5 to RAID 6
• RAID 6 to RAID 5
• RAID 10 to RAID 5
• RAID 5 to RAID 10
• RAID 1 to RAID 5
To change the RAID level of a logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select the logical drive that you want to migrate.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Expand/Migrate.

The Expand/Migrate Logical Device wizard opens.

3. Click Migrate, then click Next.

4. Select a new RAID level, then click Next. Only valid RAID level options are offered.
5. Select the sub array count for RAID 50 and RAID 60.

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6. Select the logical drive stripe size from the drop-down list.
Note: The default stripe size usually provides the best performance.

7. Click Next.
8. Review the summary of logical drive settings. To make changes, click Back.
9. Click Finish.
The logical drive is reconfigured and migrates to the new RAID level.

7.11 Increasing the Capacity of a Logical Drive

You can add more disk drive space, or expand, a logical drive, to increase its capacity.
The expanded logical drive must have a capacity that is greater than or equal to the original logical drive.
Note: You can expand a logical drive only into the free space of the host array. To add physical
drives in an array, see Modifying an Array on page 72
To increase the capacity of a logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select the logical drive you want to expand.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Expand/Migrate.

The Expand/Migrate Logical Device wizard opens.

3. Click Expand, then click Next.

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4. Enter the new logical drive size in the space provided. It must be greater than or equal to the current
size.
5. Click Next.
6. Review the summary of logical drive settings. To make changes, click Back.
7. Click Finish.
The logical drive is expanded and its capacity is increased to the new size.

7.12 Changing the Logical Drive Rebuild Priority

The Rebuild Priority setting determines the urgency with which the controller treats an internal command
to rebuild a failed logical drive:
• At the low setting, normal system operations take priority over a rebuild.
• At the medium setting, normal system operations and rebuilds get equal priority.
• At the medium high setting, rebuilds get higher priority than normal system operations.
• At the high setting, rebuilds take precedence over all other system operations.
If the logical drive is part of an array with an online spare, rebuilding begins automatically when drive
failure occurs. If the array does not have an online spare, rebuilding begins when the failed physical
drive is replaced. For more information, see Rebuilding Logical Drives on page 148.
To change the rebuild priority:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. In Rebuild Priority Mode drop-down list, select Low, Medium, Medium High, or High. The Rebuild
Priority field is circled in the next figure.

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4. Click OK.

7.13 Renaming a Logical Drive

To change the name of a logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select the logical drive you want to rename.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. In the Logical Device Name field, type the new name, then click OK. Names can include any
combination of letters, numbers, and spaces.
maxView Storage Manager updates the logical drive name and displays the new name in the Enterprise
View.

7.14 Deleting an Array or Logical Drive

When you delete an array or logical drive, it is removed from the Enterprise View and the disk drives
or segments in the logical drive(s) become available to use in a new array or logical drive (see Creating
a Logical Drive Using Available Segments).
Caution: When you delete an array you lose all data on the logical drive(s) within the array, in
addition to the array itself. When you delete a logical drive, you lose all data stored on that logical
drive. Be sure you no longer need the data on the array or logical drive before you delete it.
To delete an array or logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select the array or logical drive you want to delete.
2. On the ribbon, in the Array group or Logical Device group (shown below), click Delete.

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3. When prompted to continue, click Delete to delete the array or logical drive.
Note: If a deleted logical drive is the only logical in the array, the array itself is also deleted.

7.15 Maintaining an Energy-Efficient Storage Space

The power management options in maxView Storage Manager control the power profile of the physical
drives on a controller. They offer a balance between maximum performance and minimum power usage.
To ensure continued operations when temperature thresholds are exceeded, you can enable Survival
mode to throttle dynamic power settings to their minimum values.
To set the power management options for a controller:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. Click the Power Management tab.

4. In the Power Mode drop-down list, select:

• Minimum Power—Set power settings to lowest possible values and reduce power dynamically,
based on workload.

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• Maximum Performance—Set power settings to highest possible values and do not reduce power
dynamically.

5. In the Survival Mode drop-down list, select:

• Enabled—Allows the controller to throttle back dynamic power settings to their minimum values
when temperatures exceed the warning threshold.
Note: Enabling Survival mode allows the server to continue running in more situations,
but may affect performance.
• Disabled—Disables Survival mode.

6. Click OK.

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8 Working with maxCache Devices

Microsemi Adaptec Smart Storage Controllers support an advanced SSD caching technology called
maxCache™. maxCache uses a reserved logical drive, called the maxCache Device, to support read and
redundant write caching for storage connected directly to your controller. The maxCache Device is
comprised of SSDs only.
With maxCache read caching enabled, the system copies frequently read "hot" data to the maxCache
Device for faster retrieval. With maxCache write caching enabled, the maxCache Device is populated
with certain "hot" blocks from the logical drives on the controller. All writes to these hot blocks go
directly to the maxCache Device. The data remain on the maxCache Device until it is full or some other
"hotter" data replaces it.

8.1 maxCache Limitations

• maxCache is not supported on all Microsemi Adaptec Smart Storage Controllers. See the Readme
for more information.
• If the maxCache controller has a green backup module, the super capacitor must be fully charged.
• The minimum size for a cached logical drive is 16 GB.
• The following operations are not available when maxCache is enabled:
• Expand Array/Logical Device
• Move Logical Device
• Replace Array Drives
• Split Mirror
• Heal Array
• Migrate Array

8.2 Creating a maxCache Device

To create a maxCache Device:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system. You can also create
a maxCache device by selecting a logical device node.
2. On the ribbon, in the maxCache group, click Create maxCache.

3. When the wizard opens, select a RAID level for the maxCache Device, then click Next.
See Selecting the Best RAID Level for more information about RAID levels.
4. Select the SSDs that you want to include in the maxCache Device, then click Next. Be sure to select
the right number of SSDs for the RAID level you selected.

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5. Select the data logical drive (16 GB minimum), then click Next.

6. (Optional) In the Cache Attributes panel, customize the maxCache Device settings. You can:
• Set a smaller logical drive size. (By default, the maxCache Device uses up to the maxSize of the
data logical drive.)
• Set the write cache mode to Write-Back (default) or Write-Through.

7. Click Next, then review the logical drive settings.

8. Click Finish, then click OK.
maxView Storage Manager updates the configuration, then adds an array and logical device to the
maxCache Device tree in the Enterprise View.

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8.3 Changing the Write Cache Mode

The write cache mode determines when data is stored on the maxCache Device and when the controller
communicates with the operating system. You can set the Write Cache mode to:
• Write-Through—The controller sends (or writes) the data to the maxCache Device, then sends
confirmation to the operating system that the data was received. Use this setting when performance
is less important than data protection.
• Write-Back—The controller sends confirmation to the operating system that the data was received,
then writes the data to the maxCache Device. Use this setting when performance is more important
than data protection.
To change the maxCache write cache mode:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select a maxCache Device on that controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the maxCache group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. In the Write Cache drop-down list, select Write-Back or Write-Through.
4. Click OK.

8.4 Deleting the maxCache Device

When you delete the maxCache Device, the component SSDs become available and can be used to
create a new logical drive, hot spare, or new maxCache Device.
Caution: Be sure that the maxCache controller is quiescent before deleting the maxCache Device;
otherwise you may lose data.
Note:
Also, the delete maxCache option is available only when the write-cache policy is set to
"write-through" and is the last maxCache logical device in the maxCache array.
To delete the maxCache Device:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select the maxCache Device.
2. On the ribbon, in the maxCache group, click Delete.

3. When prompted, click Delete, then click OK. Click Cancel to cancel the action.

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8.5 Analyzing maxCache Performance

maxView Storage Manager provides advanced usage statistics about the maxCache Devices on your
Microsemi Smart Storage controllers. You can use these statistics to gain a better understanding of how
maxCache is performing in your storage space. Use the Statistics Viewer to view the maxCache statistics;
see Viewing Advanced Statistics on page 134 for more information.

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9 Working with maxCrypto Devices

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers support an advanced controller-based encryption (CBE) technology
called maxCrypto™. It provides an enterprise-class encryption solution that protects sensitive data on
storage connected directly to your controller.
maxCrypto supports two roles for managing encryption services:
• A Crypto Officer (Admin) role that can perform all encryption operations
• A User role with reduced privileges

maxCrypto allows you to selectively encrypt arrays and logical drives, regardless of RAID level; create
storage spaces with mixed encrypted and plaintext volumes; and convert plaintext volumes to encrypted
volumes.
Note: Encryption of non-RAID volumes (such as physical, raw, or pass-through devices) is not
supported. Consequently, HBAs and controllers operating in HBA Mode do not support maxCrypto.

9.1 maxCrypto Initial Setup

Before you can begin using maxCrypto in your storage space, you must complete the initial setup task
to create the Crypto Officer account and configure the initial maxCrypto settings, including the Crypto
Officer login credentials, maxCrypto master encryption key, and other basic information. You must also
accept the maxCrypto Certificate of Use.
To setup maxCrypto:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click maxCrypto Settings.

The Set maxCrypto Configuration window opens; the Initial Setup tab is selected, by default.

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3. In the maxCrypto Mode drop-down, select Enabled to activate maxCrypto. Select Disabled to
deactivate maxCrypto.
4. In the Allow New Plaintext Logical Device(s) drop-down, select Enabled to allow plaintext logical
devices to be created, in addition to encrypted logical devices. Select Disabled to allow only
encrypted logical devices to be created.
Note: To create plaintext logical devices, both maxCrypto Mode and Allow New Plaintext
Logical Device(s) must be enabled.

5. In the Master Key field, enter the maxCrypto master encryption key. The Master Key is a 10-32
character string, comprising all printable ASCII characters.
Caution: Be sure to record the master key and store in a safe place. Once set, the Master Key
cannot be displayed or recovered, only reset. Failure to provide the Master Key may result in
encrypted data being irretrievable.

6. In the Enter Crypto Password field, enter the Crypto Officer password. The password is a 8-16
character string, comprising all printable ASCII characters. It must include at least one uppercase
character, one lowercase character, one numeric, and one special character (#,!,@,...).
7. In the Re-Enter Crypto Password field, re-enter the Crypto Officer password.
8. Click OK.
9. When the maxCrypto Certificate of Use window opens, click Agree to complete the maxCrypto
activation.

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9.1.1 Managing maxCrypto Accounts

After initial setup is complete, the Crypto Officer account is logged in, by default. As the Crypto Officer,
you can perform all account management operations, including configuring the standard User account,
changing passwords, and enabling password recovery options. If you are logged into the standard User
account, you have the ability to perform a limited number of maxCrypto operations, as described in the
table below.

Standard users can: Standard users can't:

Log into maxCrypto Perform initial setup

Lock/Unlock firmware update Recover password

Enter/Re-Enter new password Allow new plaintext logical device(s)

Create encrypted and plaintext logical drives Set/Change master key

Convert plaintext array/logical drive to encrypted data Import master key

Crypto erase array/logical drive Set/Change password recovery question

Clear maxCrypto configuration

To manage maxCrypto accounts:

1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click maxCrypto Settings.

When the Set maxCrypto Configuration window opens, click the Account tab.

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3. In the User Role drop-down, select the Crypto Officer or User account.
4. In the Enter New Password field, enter the password for the account.
The password is a 8-16 character string, comprising all printable ASCII characters. It must include at
least one uppercase character, one lowercase character, one numeric, and one special character
(#,!,@,...).
Note: The first time you enable the User account, this entry defines the initial login credentials
for the account. For an existing account, this entry changes the login credentials.

5. In the Re-Enter New Password field, re-enter the password for the user account.
6. For the Crypto Officer account, set/change the password recovery question and answer:
a) In the Set/Change Password Recovery Question field, enter a recovery question for a forgotten
password.
b) In the Set/Change Password Recovery Answer field, enter the answer to the recovery question.
Note: Password recovery is available only for the Crypto Officer. The recovery qustion/answer
fields are deactivated for the User account.

7. Click OK.

9.1.2 Logging In and Logging Out

You must be logged into maxCrypto to use the encryption features in maxView Storage Manager, from
encrypting a logical drive, to enabling plaintext volumes, to simply changing a maxCrypto password.
After initial setup is complete, the Crypto Officer account is logged in, by default.
To logout of the account (ending the maxCrypto session), simply click the Logout button on the Account
tab or General tab in the Set maxCrypto Configuration window.

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To login back in, or to login to a different account:

1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click maxCrypto Settings.

When the Set maxCrypto Configuration window opens, click the Login tab.

3. In the User Role drop-down, select the Crypto Officer or User account.

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4. In the Password field, enter the password for the user role.
Note: If you're logging in as the Crypto Officer and forgot the password, you can reset the
password by following the steps below.

5. Click OK.

To reset the Crypto Officer password:

1. In the Login tab, select the Crypto Officer user role, as described above.
2. Click Forgot Password.
3. In the Recovery Answer field, enter the answer to the recovery question.
4. Enter a new password for the Crypto Officer account.
The password is a 8-16 character string, comprising all printable ASCII characters. It must include at
least one uppercase character, one lowercase character, one numeric, and one special character
(#,!,@,...).
5. Re-enter the new Crypto Officer password.
6. Click OK.

9.1.3 Checking maxCrypto Status

To check the maxCrypto status, select a controller in the Enterprise view, then click the maxCrypto tab
on the storage dashboard. Before completing the initial setup steps, most maxCrypto properties will be
listed as "Not Configured". After completing the initial setup steps, the main maxCrypto properties will
be Configured, as described in the table below.

Property Description

maxCrypto Status When Enabled, both Encrypted and Plaintext logical devices can be created,
based on the Allow New Plaintext Volumes property. When Disabled, only
Plaintext logical devices can be created.

Allow New Plaintext Volumes When Enabled, both Plaintext and Encrypted logical devices can be created.
When Disabled, only Encrypted logical devices can be created, when maxCrypto
Status is Enabled.

Master Key After Initial setup, Master Key value is displayed as Configured.

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Property Description

Firmware Locked for Update If Unlocked, firmware upgrade is enabled. If Locked, firmware upgrade is dis-
abled.

Number of maxCrypto Logical Total count of the encrypted logical devices.

Devices

Number of maxCrypto Physical Total count of encrypted physical devices.

Devices

Crypto Officer Password After Initial setup, Crypto Officer Password will be displayed as Configured.

Login Status If logged-in as the Crypto Officer (Admin), displays “Logged-in as Crypto”. If
logged in as User, displays “Logged-in as User”. If maxCrypto session timed out,
displays “Timeout”. If maxCrypto is logged-out, displays as “Not Logged In”.

User Password If the User account is configured, displays as “Configured”; otherwise, displays
as “Not Configured”.

Crypto Password Unlock Attempts Countdown of Crypto Officer attempts remaining after a failed login.
Remaining Note: After 10 failed login attempts, the Crypto Officer account is locked
for 15 minutes.

User Password Unlock Attempts Countdown of User role attempts remaining after a failed login.
Remaining Note: After 10 failed login attempts, the User account is locked for 15
minutes.

Crypto Officer Password Recovery Displays as “Configured” when Crypto Officer sets the password recovery
Parameters question and answer. Displays as “Not Configured” when Crypto Officer has
not set the password recovery question and answer.

9.2 Modifying the maxCrypto Configuration

To modify the maxCrypto configuration, use the General tab on the Set maxCrypto Configuration window.
If you are logged in as the Crypto Officer, you can:
• Enable/Disable maxCrypto
• Enable/Disable new plaintext volumes
• Lock/Unlock firmware upgrade
• Change the maxCrypto master encryption key
If you are logged in as the maxCrypto User, you can only Lock/Unlock firmware upgrade.
To modify the maxCrypto configuration:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click maxCrypto Settings.

When the Set maxCrypto Configuration window opens, click the General tab.

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3. Adjust the maxCrypto settings, as needed:

• In the maxCrypto field, select Enabled or Disabled to enable/disable the maxCrypto system.
• In the Allow New Plaintext Volumes field, select Enabled to allow plaintext volumes and
encrypted volumes in your storage space. Select Disabled to allow encrypted volumes only
in your storage space.
• In the Firmware Locked for Update field, select Unlocked to allow firmware upgrades. Select
Locked to block firmware upgrades.
• To change the master encryption key, click Change Master Key, then enter the new key in the
Set/Change Master Key field.
The Master Key is a 10-32 character string, comprising all printable ASCII characters.
Caution: Be sure to record the master key and store in a safe place. Once set, the Master
Key cannot be displayed or recovered, only reset. Failure to provide the Master Key may
result in encrypted data being irretrievable.

4. Click OK.

9.3 Creating an Encrypted Logical Drive

Use the Create Logical Device wizard to create encrypted and plaintext logical drives on an existing array
or a new array. See Creating Arrays and Logical Drives on page 36.
When the wizard reaches the RAID Attributes panel, click Create Encrypted Logical(s) to encrypt the
logical device. Un-check the check box to create a plaintext logical device.

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Note:
1. If maxCrypto status is Disabled, only plaintext logical drives can be created.
2. If maxCrypto status is Enabled and Allow New Plaintext Volumes property is Enabled, both
encrypted and plaintext logical drives can be created; the default is encrypted.
Note: You must be logged in to maxCrypto to create plaintext volumes, even if maxCrypto
status and Allow New Plaintext Volumes are both Enabled; see Logging In and Logging
Out on page 90.

3. If maxCrypto status is Enabled and Allow New Plaintext Volumes property is Disabled, only
encrypted logical drives can be created.

9.4 Converting Plaintext Data to Encrypted Data

Use this operation to convert plaintext data to encrypted data. You can convert an unencrypted logical
drive or all unencrypted logical drives on an array. Additionally, you can choose to preserve or discard
the existing data during conversion.
To convert plaintext data:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select a plaintext (unencrypted) logical drive or an
array.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group or Array group, click Set Properties.

When Set Properties window opens, click the maxCrypto tab.

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Note: The User Role and Password fields are enabled only when you are not logged in to
maxCrypto.
3. Click the Convert Plaintext Data to Encrypted Data check box.
4. To preserve the data during conversion, click the Preserve Existing Data check box. Leave it
un-checked to discard the data.
Note: When you convert a plaintext volume to an encrypted volume without preserving
existing data, the old plaintext data remains on disk and is still available if the logical device is
deleted.

5. Click OK.

9.5 Re-Keying a Logical Drive

maxCrypto allows you to re-key a logical drive for added security. The logical drive key is used with the
master key to encrypt the device.
Optionally, you can re-key an array to generate a new key for all encrypted logical drives on the array.
To re-key a logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select an encrypted logical drive or array.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group or Array group, click Set Properties.

When Set Properties window opens, click the maxCrypto tab.

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3. Click the Logical Device(s) Key ReKey check box.

4. Click OK.

9.6 Clearing the maxCrypto Configuration

You can clear the maxCrypto configuration to restore the default maxCrypto settings. Clearing the
maxCrypto configuration resets all keys, passwords, and users, including the maxCrypto Officer account
and User account.
Note: To clear the maxCrypto configuration, ensure that there is no encrypted logical drive
available in your storage space.
To clear the maxCrypto configuration:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Manage Configuration.

The Manage Configuration wizard opens.

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3. Select Clear maxCrypto, then click Next.

4. Review the Summary information, then click Finish.

9.7 Erasing an Encrypted Logical Drive

You can cryptographically erase the data on any encrypted logical drive in the Optimal state. Crypto
erase performs an instant/quick erase. The logical drive remains in the Enterprise View and ready to
store new data.
Optionally, you can cryptographically erase an array, to erase the data on all encrypted logical drives
on the array.
Caution: When you cryptographically erase a logical drive, you lose all data on that drive.
To cryptographically erase a logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select an encrypted logical drive or array.
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group or Array group, click Crypto Erase.

The Crypto Erase Logical Device window opens.

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3. Click Erase.

9.8 Importing a Foreign Master Key

When an encrypted logical drive is moved from another controller, the master key used to encrypt the
logical drive is needed to decrypt it. Use the Import Foreign Master Key option to import the master
key so that the logical drive data can be accessed and managed on the new controller.
To import a foreign master key:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click maxCrypto Settings.

When the Set maxCrypto Configuration window opens, click the General tab.
3. In the Import Foreign Local Master Key field, enter the master key originally used to encrypt the
logical drive.
The Master Key is a 10-32 character string, comprising all printable ASCII characters.

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4. Click OK.

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10 Maintaining Physical Devices

This section describes how to manage the controllers, disk drives, solid state drives, and enclosures in
your storage space.

10.1 Viewing Device Properties

Click on any physical device in the Enterprise View then, on the Storage Dashboard, click the Properties
tab to view version numbers, status, model numbers, features, and other information about the device.
The properties listed vary, depending on which type of device you select. The figure below shows the
properties for a controller. For more information about using the Storage Dashboard to monitor the
components in your storage space, see Viewing Component Status in the Storage Dashboard.

10.2 Locating Drives in Your Storage Space

You can blink the LEDs on disk drives and SSDs to identify where they are physically located in your
storage space. This table describes how to locate specific devices.
Note:
Once any of the device is located, the timeout value will be overwritten with the latest timeout
value for all the located devices.

To Locate... Select...

A disk drive Disk Drive icon:

All disk drives on a controller Controller icon:

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To Locate... Select...

All disk drives included in an Array icon:

array

All disk drives included in a log- Logical Drive icon:

ical drive

All SSDs in the maxCache De- maxCache Device icon:

vice

10.2.1 Locating Disk Drives

To locate an individual disk drive or all physical drives on the controller:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller or an individual drive on the controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Locate.

The Locate Physical Device window opens.

3. From the drop-down list, select the timeout period (1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours).
4. Click the Locate button.
The LED on the disk drive(s) begin to blink.
5. To stop blinking the drive(s) immediately, click Stop.

6. Click Cancel to close the Locate Physical Device window.

The LED(s) continue to blink for the duration of the timeout period.

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10.2.2 Locating Physical Disks in an Array or Logical Drive

To locate all physical disks in an array or logical drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, open the Arrays and Logical Devices tree for a controller, then select an array
or logical drive.
2. On the ribbon, in the Array group or Logical Device group (shown below), click Locate.

The Locate Logical Device window opens and displays a list of the physical disks associated with the
array or logical drive.
3. Select the timeout period (1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours), then click Locate.

The LEDs on the disk drives begin to blink.

4. Click Cancel to close the Locate window.
The LEDs continue to blink for the duration of the timeout period.
5. Click Stop to stop blinking the drives immediately.

10.2.3 Locating SSDs in the maxCache Device

To locate the Solid State Drives (SSDs) in the maxCache Device:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller; then select the maxCache Device on that controller. You
can select the maxCache array or logical device.
2. On the ribbon, in the maxCache group, click Locate.

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The Locate maxCache window opens, displaying a list SSDs comprising the maxCache Device.
3. Select the time-out period from the drop-down list: 1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours.
4. Click the Locate button.

The LEDs on the SSDs begin to flash.

5. Click Stop to stop blinking the SSDs.
6. Click Cancel to close the Locate maxCache window.

10.3 Working with Physical Device Error Counters

This section explains how to view the physical device error counters and how to clear the error counters
from a physical device and a controller.
The clear device error counters feature provides an option to clear the device error counters on the
physical devices. This option is available at the controller level to clear the device error counters on all
the physical devices connected to it and at the physical device level to clear the error counters on the
specific device.

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10.3.1 Viewing Physical Device Error Counters

To view the physical device error counters for a hard drive or SSD, select the drive in the Enterprise
View then, on the Storage Dashboard, click the Error Counters tab. The table below describes the error
counters.

Error Counter Description

Aborted Command Number of times a drive was failed due to aborted commands that could not
be retried successfully.

Bad Target Error Number of times that this drive did something that did not conform to the SCSI
Bus Protocol. It will cause a reset of the SCSI bus that this drive is attached to.

ECC Recovered Read Errors Number of ECC-corrected read errors.

Failed Read Recover Number of times a recover of another physical drive in the logical volume failed
due to a hard read error from this drive.

Failed Write Recover Number of times a recover of this physical drive failed due to an error occurring
on this drive during a write operation.

Format Error Number of times a Format command (used when remapping defects) failed. A
failed remap operation may cause the controller to fail a drive.

Hardware Error Number of times a drive returned a bad hardware status. The drive may be
failed if retries do not work.

Hard Read Error Number of unrecoverable read errors.

Hard Write Error Number of unrecoverable write errors.

Hot-Plug Count Number of times this drive was hot-plugged (removed) from a box.

Media Failure Number of times a drive was failed due to unrecoverable media errors.

Not Ready Error Number of times the drive was failed because it never became ready after the
“spin up” command was issued. If retries or drive spin-ups fail, the drive will
be failed.

Other Timeouts Timeouts other than Data ReQuest Timeouts (DRQ).

Predictive Failure Number of times that the drive returned a predictive failure error.

Retry Recovered Read Error Number of retry-recovered read errors.

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Error Counter Description

Retry Recovered Write Error Number of retry-recovered write errors.

SCSI Bus Fault Number of “bus faults”, which we define as SCSI bus parity errors, overrun/
underrun conditions, etc.

Service Hours Number of service hours since the last power cycle.

Sectors Written Number of sectors written to media.

Sectors Read Number of sectors read from the media. This value will include sectors read
into the on-drive cache buffer only if the drive keeps track of this value. Other-
wise, only sectors requested through the drive interface are counted.

10.3.2 Clearing Error Counters from a Physical Device

Use this option to clear the device error counters of a specific physical device.
To clear the error counters from a physical device:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a physical drive node.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. To clear the device errors, select the Clear Device Error Counter(s) check box.
4. Click OK.

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10.3.3 Clearing Error Counters from a Controller

Use this option to clear the the device error counters of all the physical devices from controller.
To clear the the device errors from a controller:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select a physical drive on the controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. To clear the device errors, select the Clear Device Error Counter(s) check box.
4. Click OK.

10.4 Working with Failed or Failing Disk Drives

This section describes how to use maxView Storage Manager to manage failed or failing disk drives in
your storage space.

10.4.1 Replacing Disk Drives in a Logical Drive

You can replace one or more disk drives in a logical drive. You may want to replace a drive to upgrade
to larger disk drives, or to make disk drive size uniform across the logical drive.
Caution: If another disk drive in the logical drive fails during rebuild (see Rebuilding Logical Drives
on page 148), you may lose data. For help solving disk drive problems, see Recovering from a Disk
Drive Failure.
To replace a disk drive in a logical drive:
1. In the Physical Devices tree in the Enterprise View, find the disk drive you want to replace; note its
size and location (for instance Slot 1 in Enclosure 0).

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2. Set the drive state to failed. (See Setting a Disk Drive to ‘Failed’ on page 108.)
3. Remove and replace the disk drive with one of equal or greater size.
4. Wait for the logical drive to rebuild. (See Rebuilding Logical Drives on page 148.)
5. Repeat these steps for each disk drive you want to replace.

10.4.2 Setting a Disk Drive to ‘Failed’

Before you can remove a disk drive, you should set it to the Failed state to protect your data. To fail a
disk drive (or SSD), use the Force Offline option for physical devices.
You can set a disk drive to the Failed state if:
• The disk drive is not part of a logical drive, or
• The disk drive is part of a redundant, healthy logical drive
Once you force a drive offline, it can be brought online again only after power-cycling the controller.
Caution: You may lose data or damage your disk drive if you remove a disk drive without first
setting it to a failed state.
To set a disk drive to Failed:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller then, in the Physical Devices tree, select the drive you
want to set to Failed.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Devices group, click Force Offline.

The Force Offline window opens.

3. Click Force.
The drive is taken offline and set to the Failed state.
Note: If the drive is part of a healthy logical drive, the drive is degraded and a warning message
is displayed in the Event Log.

10.5 Erasing a Disk Drive

You can use maxView Storage Manager to securely erase existing data on any disk drive or SSD in the
Ready state. Secure erase completely destroys the data on the drive; the data is completely and
irretrievably eradicated.
Optionally, you can choose the erase pattern.
To securely erase a disk drive or SSD:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller then, in the Physical Devices tree, select the drive you
want to erase.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Secure Erase.

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The Secure Erase Physical Device window opens.

3. From the drop-down list, select the erase pattern:
• Zero (default)—Initializes all blocks to zero.
• Random Zero—Initializes block to random value then zero.
• Random Random Zero—Initializes block to random value, next block to random value, then
zero.
• Sanitize Overwrite—(HDD only) Fills every physical sector of the drive with a pattern.
• Sanitize Block Erase—(SSD only) Sets the blocks on the drive to a vendor-specific value, removing
all user data. It provides a very fast, complete, and robust erasure of the solid state device.
• Sanitize Crypto Scramble— (Self-Encrypting Drives (SED) only) Changes the internal encryption
keys that are used for user data, making the data irretrievable. This option is implemented for
both HDD and SSD SED devices.

4. Click Erase to erase the drive.

10.5.1 Restricted/Unrestricted Secure Erase

For the Sanitize erase patterns (Overwrite, Block Erase, Crypto Scramble), the following erase methods
are applicable if your drive supports the method:
• Restricted: the drive will be unusable until the sanitize operation is completed successfully. If a
restricted sanitize operation fails, you are only allowed to start another sanitize operation.
• Unrestricted: the drive will be recoverable in the case that the sanitize erase operation fails. User
data may still be present on the drive. Not all drives support this sanitize method.
For more information about Sanitize erase patterns, see Erasing a Disk Drive on page 108.

10.6 Initializing and Uninitializing Disk Drives

This section describes how to initialize or erase data and meta-data (including logical drive and partition
information) from the disk drives (and SSDs) in your storage space. You can initialize or uninitialize
individual disks, or use the wizard to initialize/uninitialize all disks on a controller.
10.6.1 Uninitializing a Disk Drive
You can uninitialize any disk drive (or SSD) containing Smart Controller configuration metadata.
Uninitializing a disk drive clears the meta-data and reserved space from the drive and removes any OS
partitions; existing data on the drive is destroyed.
Note: Uninitialized drives change from their current state to the Raw state. Raw drives are
compatible with any Host Bus Adapter (HBA), including Microsemi Adaptec RAID controllers
operating in HBA mode, and can be exchanged with drives on the motherboard's SATA interface.
To uninitialize a disk drive:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller; then, in Physical Devices tree, select the disk drive you
want to uninitialize.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Initialize.

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The Initialize/Uninitialize Physical Device window opens.

3. Click the Uninitialize button, then click OK.

4. When prompted, click OK to close the Initialize/Uninitialize Device window.

10.6.2 Initializing/Uninitializing all Drives on a Controller

To initialize or uninitialize all disk drives (or SSDs) on a controller, use the Initialize/Uninitialize Physical
Devices wizard to clear the meta-data on all drives at once.
To initialize or uninitialize drives with the wizard:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Initialize.

The Initialize/Uninitialize Physical Devices wizard opens.

3. Select Initialize or Uninitialize, then click Next.

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4. Select drives on the controller to initialize or uninitialize, then click Next.

5. Review the Summary, then click Finish.

10.7 Setting the Physical Drive Boot Priority

Use this option to set the boot priority of a physical device to Primary, Secondary, Primary and Secondary,
or None (default). A controller can have only one physical (or logical) device as the primary or secondary
boot device. When you select a new physical device as the primary/secondary boot drive, the boot
priority of the existing primary/secondary boot drive is overwritten and set to None.
To set the boot priority of a physical device:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller, then select a physical drive on the controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Physical Device group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

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3. From the Boot Type drop-down list, select Primary, Secondary, Primary and Secondary, or
None.
4. Click OK.

10.8 Working with Controllers

This section describes how to use maxView Storage Manager to manage the controllers in your storage
space:
• To re-scan a controller, see Rescanning a Controller on page 112.
• To optimize controller performance, see Optimizing Controller Performance on page 113.
• To change the operating mode of connectors on the controller , see Changing the Connector
Operating Mode on page 114.

10.8.1 Rescanning a Controller

After you connect a disk drive or remove a Ready (non-failed) disk drive from a controller, maxView
Storage Manager may not recognize the change until it rescans the controller.
To rescan a controller:
1. In the Enterprise View, select the controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Rescan.

The Rescan window opens.

3. Click the Rescan button (on the Rescan window).
maxView Storage Manager scans all the channels or ports on the controller you selected.
4. When the rescan is finished, click Cancel to close the Rescan window.

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10.8.2 Optimizing Controller Performance

You can enable the following performance optimizations on a controller to improve I/O throughput and
ensure optimal performance of the arrays and logical drives in your storage space.
Option Description

Queue Depth Sets the max drive request queue depth for the controller. Valid values are Auto-
matic, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32.

Monitor and Performance Sets the MNP Analysis delay for the controller, in seconds. Set the value to zero
Delay to disable Monitor and Performance Analysis. Default is 60 minutes (3600 seconds).

Elevator Sort Sets the behavior of the drive's write Elevator sort algorithm, a scheduling optimiza-
tion that prioritizes I/O requests such that disk arm and head motion continues in
the same direction. Enabling the elevator sort improves seek times and disabling
the elevator sort improves throughput.

Degraded Performance Opti- For degraded RAID 5 logical drives, enabling this setting directs the controller to
mization attempt to improve performance of large read requests by buffering physical drive
requests. Disabling this setting forces the controller to read from the same drives
multiple times.

Latency Enables Flexible Latency Optimization for HDDs. When latency optimization is en-
abled, the controller detects high-latency I/O requests and applies a cutoff, or
threshold, value, after which it suspends elevator sorting and services the request
right away. You can set the latency optimization to low, medium, high, aggressive
level 1, or aggressive level 2.

To enable/disable performance optimizations on a controller:

1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

When the Set Properties window opens, click the Performance tab.
3. Enable/disable performance optimizations, as needed.

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4. Click OK.

10.8.3 Changing the Connector Operating Mode

Use this option to change the behavior of the connectors on your Microsemi Adaptec Smart Storage
Controller. The connectors on the controller can operate in three modes:
• HBA Mode: exposes physical drives to the operating system
• RAID Mode: exposes only RAID volumes to the operating system
• Mixed Mode: exposes RAID volumes and physical drives to the operating system
By default, products with RAID support are configured to operate in Mixed Mode. Mode options vary,
depending on the configuration of logical and physical devices on the connector. For example, you
cannot switch the connector to HBA mode if the connector is already configured with a RAID volume.
A reboot is required for connector mode changes to take effect.
Note: Changing from Mixed Mode or HBA Mode to RAID Mode removes access to the physical
drives from the operating system.
To change the connector mode on a controller:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

When the Set Properties window opens, click the Connector tab.
3. From the drop-down list, change the connector mode for each port to RAID, HBA, or Mixed.

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4. Click OK.
5. Reboot the server.

10.9 Updating Controller, Enclosure, and Disk Drive Firmware

Note: This task is recommended for advanced users only.
maxView Storage Manager includes a wizard to help you update the firmware on the controllers,
enclosures, and disk drives in your storage space. The wizard updates the firmware for devices of the
same type on the local or a remote system.
For example, if your storage space includes disk drives from two different manufactures, you must
update the firmware for each manufacturer's drives separately, by running the wizard twice. Additionally,
if you have more than one system in your storage space, you must run the wizard for each system
separately.
To update the firmware on the controllers, enclosures, or disk drives in your storage space, review the
prerequisites in Before You Begin on page 115, then follow one of these sets of instructions:
• Updating the Controller Firmware on page 115
• Updating the Disk Drive Firmware on page 119
• Updating the Enclosure Firmware on page 120

10.9.1 Before You Begin

Before you begin, download the latest firmware images from www.adaptec.com, or from your vendor's
support site on the World Wide Web. Controller images come in sets of one or more files and have a
.bin file extension. Disk drive and enclosure image file names vary by manufacturer.

10.9.2 Updating the Controller Firmware

Use the Firmware Update wizard to update the firmware for one or more controllers of the same type
on the local or a remote system.
To update the controller firmware:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click Firmware Update.

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3. When the wizard opens, select Controller, then click Next.

4. Select the controllers you want to update, then click Next.

5. Select flash options for the update, then click Next. Choose Toggle Image to replace the active image
with the backup image.
Note: If you choose Toggle Image, Step [6], Select Files, is skipped.

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6. Click Choose, browse the file system for the firmware update file (typically, a .bin file), click Open
to select the file (the button label may be different on your browser).

7. When the file name appears in the Uploaded Firmware File(s) list, click Next.
8. Review the update summary, then click Finish.

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Caution: Do not power down the controller(s) while the update is in progress!

9. When the update is complete, click OK. Restart the server to activate the new firmware image.

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10.9.3 Updating the Disk Drive Firmware

Use the Firmware Update wizard to update the firmware for one or more disk drives of the same type
on the local or a remote system. The procedure is similar to updating the controller firmware (see
Updating the Controller Firmware on page 115).
To update the disk drive firmware:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click Firmware Update.

3. When the wizard opens, select Disk Drive, then click Next.

4. In the Select Files panel, click Choose, browse the file system for the firmware update file, click Open
to select the file (the button label may be different on your browser).
5. When the file name appears in the Uploaded Firmware File(s) list, click Next.
6. In the Attributes panel, select the Chunk Size, from 1-n, in kilobytes (KB), then click Next.
7. In the Select Devices panel, select the disk drives you want to update, then click Next.
8. Review the update summary, then click Finish.
Caution: Do not power down the controller(s) while the update is in progress!

9. When the update is complete, click OK. Restart the server to activate the new firmware image.

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10.9.4 Updating the Enclosure Firmware

Use the Firmware Update wizard to update the firmware for one or more enclosures or expanders of
the same type on the local or a remote system.
To update the enclosure/expander firmware:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click Firmware Update.

3. When the wizard opens, select Enclosure/Expander, then click Next.

4. In the Select Files panel, click Choose, browse the file system for the firmware update file, click Open
to select the file (the button label may be different on your browser).
Note: If the upgrade requires multiple firmware update files, update one file at a time or use
a combined firmware image to complete the upgrade.

5. When the file name appears in the Uploaded Firmware File(s) list, click Next.
6. Select the Chunk Size, from 1-n, in kilobytes (KB).
7. Select the firmware Upgrade Type:
• Firmware—update the firmware image on the expander or enclosure
• Manufacturer—update the manufacturing image (BOOT SEEPROM) on the expander or enclosure
• CPLD—update the CPLD image on the expander or enclosure

8. Select the firmware upgrade Mode:

• Download Microcode Data Only—transfer microcode to the device using one or more write
buffer commands; requires system reset or power cycle to activate.

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• Download Microcode with Offsets and Activate—transfer microcode to the device using one
or more write buffer commands and activate immediately.
• Download Microcode with Offsets, Save and Activate—transfer microcode to the device using
one or more write buffer commands, save to non-volatile storage, then activate.

Note: In this release, maxView Storage Manager supports option 3 only for expander firmware
upgrade: Download Microcode with Offsets, Save and Activate.

9. When you are ready to continue, click Next.

10. In the Select Devices panel, select the enclosure(s) you want to update, then click Next.
11. Review the summary information, then click Finish.
Caution: Do not power down the controller or enclosure(s) while the update is in progress!

12. When the update is complete, click OK. Restart the server to activate the new firmware image, as
needed.

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11 Monitoring Status and Activity

This section describes how maxView Storage Manager helps you monitor status and activity in your
storage space.
11.1 Monitoring Options
maxView Storage Manager provides many ways to monitor the status of your storage space:
• Event Log—The main window of maxView Storage Manager features an event log that provides
at-a-glance status information about activity (or events) occurring in your storage space. All Warning-
and Error-level events are also recorded in your operating system's event log.
See Viewing Activity Status in the Event Log on page 122 and Changing an Operating System's Event
Log Setting on page 135.
• Task Log—The main window also features a task log that provides status information about the
progress of tasks in your storage space, such as the creation of a logical drive.
See Viewing Task Status in the Task Log on page 124.
• Storage Dashboard—Occupying the largest portion of the main window in maxView Storage
Manager, the Storage Dashboard provides complete, at-a-glance, information about the components
of your storage space, including status information, physical and logical device properties, resources,
and reliability indicators for hard drives and SSDs.
See Viewing Component Status in the Storage Dashboard.
• Chart View—Provides a visual representation of free and used space for a system, controller, or
your entire storage space.
See Viewing Storage Space Usage in Chart View on page 127.
• Notifications—You can set maxView Storage Manager to email status notifications in your choice
of format to help you monitor activities in your storage space, such as:
• Changes in the status of physical devices, such as disk drive failures.
• Changes on local or remote systems, such as the creation of a hot spare.
• Changes in temperature in storage enclosures, or that fans or power supplies within an
enclosure have failed.
See Notifying Users by Email About Status and Activity on page 127.
• Advanced Statistics—You can set maxView Storage Manager to log advanced I/O and usage statistics
for the RAID controllers in your system.
See Monitoring Advanced Statistics about Activity in Your Storage Space on page 133.
• Audible Alarm—A series of beeps sounds whenever a serious event occurs on your storage space.
See Working with System Alarms.

11.2 Checking Status from the Main Window

You can view status information and messages about the activity occurring in your storage space by
looking at the event log, status icons, and task log in the main window of maxView Storage Manager.
(You can also view all events for a system in its operating system event log; see Changing an Operating
System's Event Log Setting on page 135.) Using the Storage Dashboard and Chart View, you can also
monitor the physical and logical components of your storage space from the main window, including
summary information and status, physical and logical device properties and resources, and usage and
I/O statistics.

11.2.1 Viewing Activity Status in the Event Log

The Event Log lists activity occurring in your storage space, with the most recent event listed at the top.
Status is indicated by icons (see What Do the Event Status Icons Mean? on page 123) in the left-hand
column, as shown in the figure below.

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You can view events as they occur in the bottom panel of the maxView Storage Manager main window.
The main window displays the last 100 events in your storage space. To view more events, filtered by
device (a controller, for example), open the Event tab on the Storage Dashboard (see Viewing Component
Status in the Storage Dashboard).
Single-click any event to open the Event Log Detail window to see more information in an easier-to-read
format. Use the up and down arrows to view previous or following events.

Single-click to view
event details.

To make it easier to find a specific event, click on the column heads to sort the events. For example,
sorting the events by Severity can help you find specific Error- or Warning-level events quickly.

11.2.1.1 What Do the Event Status Icons Mean?

maxView Storage Manager indicates event status with icons. This table lists the three categories, or
types, of events based on severity.
Icon Status Examples

Information The local system successfully connected to a remote system.

A logical drive was created.
A hot spare was deleted.

Warning A logical drive is in a degraded state.

A disk drive is being rebuilt.
A controller is not responding to an enclosure.

Error A controller has failed.

A logical drive has failed.
A disk drive or hot spare has failed.
An enclosure is overheating.

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Icon Status Examples

Multiple fans or power supplies within an enclosure have failed.

An enclosure is not responding.

Note: All Warning- and Error-level events also cause the audible alarm to sound. See Working
with Controllers on page 112 for more information.
11.2.2 Viewing Task Status in the Task Log
The Task Log shows the status and progress of tasks in your storage space, with the most recent task
listed at the top.
Single-click any task to open the Task Log Detail window to see more information in an easier-to-read
format.

Single-click to view task

details

11.2.3 Viewing Component Status in the Storage Dashboard

The Storage Dashboard provides detailed information about the components of your storage space,
including local and remote systems, controllers, arrays, logical drives, enclosures, disk drives and SSDs,
and maxCache Devices. Occupying the largest portion of the main window in maxView Storage Manager,
the Storage Dashboard organizes component information by category, with a tabs providing one-click
access to summary information and status, properties, resources, and usage statistics.
The information on the Storage Dashboard varies, depending on which component is selected in the
Enterprise View. The figure below shows the Storage Dashboard for a controller. Tabs provide access
to summary information, controller properties, and resources. The Events tab shows filtered events for
the selected device (see Viewing Activity Status in the Event Log on page 122).
Note: For information about Chart View, on the right side of the Storage Dashboard, see Viewing
Storage Space Usage in Chart View on page 127.

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The following table lists the categories and types of information provided on the Storage Dashboard
for each component in your storage space. All top-level nodes in the Enterprise View (System, Controller,
Arrays, Logical Drives, Physical Devices, and so on) include a Summary tab and Events tab.

Component Categories/Tabs Examples

System Summary System name and IP address

Properties Operating system
Number and type of controllers
Alarm status (see Working with System Alarms)
Web Server settings
SMTP settings

Controller Summary Model, key features, manufacturing data, driver and firmware version,
Properties controller mode, and status
Resources Number of physical drives, arrays, logical drives, and status
Connectors Power management features
maxCrypto I2C address for PBSI interface (hex), I2C clock speed and clock stretching
status
maxCache status
maxCrypto status (see Checking maxCrypto Status on page 92)
Health and activity of flash backup module, if present ("Green backup" status)
Connector functional mode
Performance optimizations and other settings
Physical drive assignments by logical device (see Revealing More Device In-
formation on page 31)

Arrays Summary Total size and unused size

Resources Spare rebuild mode
Logical drive RAID level, size, status

Logical drives Summary Raid level, segment and group (RAID 10 only), size, mount point, status
and maxCache Resources Member drives and sizes
Device
Enclosure Summary Enclosure type, vendor, model and status
Resources Fan, power supply, and temperature status (see Monitoring Enclosure Status
Slots on page 126)
Speaker status
Slot allocation and usage

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Component Categories/Tabs Examples

Hard drives and Summary Drive type (hard drive, SSD, SMR), interface type (SAS/SATA), vendor, and
SSDs Resources model
SMART Statistics Drive state (Ready, Optimal, Hot Spare), mount point
Channel number and device ID
Transfer speed
Drive segment allocation
SMART statistics (see Viewing SMART Statistics on page 126)

11.2.3.1 Monitoring Enclosure Status

If your storage space includes an enclosure with an enclosure management device, such as a SCSI
Accessed Fault-Tolerant Enclosure (SAF-TE) processor, maxView Storage Manager displays temperature,
fan, and power module status on the Storage Dashboard, as shown in the figure below.

11.2.3.2 Viewing SMART Statistics

You can use the Storage Dashboard to view various indicators of reliability for the SATA hard drives and
SSDs in your storage space. maxView Storage Manager displays SMART statistics for the drives using
Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology available on most contemporary hard drives and
non-spinning storage devices. You can use this information to verify the health of your hard drives and
SSDs and to predict drive failures.
To view the SMART statistics for a hard drive or SSD, select the drive in the Enterprise View, then click
the SMART tab on the Storage Dashboard. For SSDs, the statistics include wear-level and longevity

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indicators, as shown in next figure. Refer to your drive vendor's data sheet for a description of individual
report items.

SSD wear-level and

longevity indicators

11.2.4 Viewing Storage Space Usage in Chart View

Chart View provides a visual representation of the free and used space for a system, controller, array,
or your entire storage space (all systems and controllers). Located on the right side of the Storage
Dashboard in the maxView main window, Chart View displays a pie chart of storage space usage.
To view storage space usage in Chart View, simply select a component in the Enterprise View (a system,
for instance); the chart view is updated immediately.

11.3 Notifying Users by Email About Status and Activity

You can set up maxView Storage Manager to send email messages (or notifications) to one or more
email addresses when an event occurs on a system, such as the creation of a logical drive or the failure
of a disk drive. Email notifications can help you monitor activity on your entire storage space from any

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location, and are especially useful in storage spaces that include multiple systems running the maxView
Storage Manager only.
Only the users you specify receive email notifications. You can specify which types of events generate
email messages (Error, Informational, Warning). You can also specify if you want to be notified instantly
when an event occurs to ensure that urgent issues receive immediate attention from the right people.
Alternatively, you can specify that you want events “coalesced” and receive only one email message
for each event type.
Follow the instructions in this section to:
• Set up email notifications (see Setting Up Email Notifications on page 128).
• Send a test email (see Sending a Test Message on page 130).
• Modify or remove an email recipient (see Modifying or Removing an Email Recipient on page 131).
• Modify email server settings (see Modifying Email Server Settings on page 132).
• Disable email notifications (see Disabling Email Notifications on page 132)

11.3.1 Setting Up Email Notifications

This section describes how to set up email notifications for one system. If you want to monitor multiple
systems by email, you must complete the tasks in this section for each one separately.
Before you begin, note this information:
• The address of your Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server (host name and domain, or TCP/IP
address)
• The email address of each person who will receive email notifications
To set up email notifications:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

3. When the System settings window opens, click the SMTP tab.
4. Select Enable Email Notifications.
5. Enter the IP address of your SMTP server and the server's port number (or use the default port).

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6. If authentication is enabled on your SMTP server (that is, the server requires authentication details
before it will send messages to users), select Use Secure Mail Server, then enter the SMTP server's
login credentials (username/password) in the space provided.
7. On the System settings window, click the Email tab.
The Email Notifications Manager opens.

8. Click Add Email. When the Add Email window opens, enter the recipient's email address, select the
level of events that will trigger an email notification for that recipient (Error, Error/Warning,
Error/Warning/Informational), then select the notification type—Instant or Coalesced. To include a
support archive file with the email, click Attach Support.zip, then click OK. (For more information
about event levels, see What Do the Event Status Icons Mean? on page 123; for more information
about the support archive file, see Creating a Support Archive File on page 148.)

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Repeat this step to add more email recipients.

Each recipient appears in the Email Notifications Manager, as shown below:

9. When you're done adding email recipients, click OK.

The email recipients and your SMTP server settings are saved.
10. Repeat the steps in this section for each system you want to monitor with email notifications, then
continue by sending test messages to all recipients (see Sending a Test Message on page 130).

11.3.2 Sending a Test Message

To ensure that an email recipient is receiving event notifications, you can send them a test message.
To send a test message:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

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3. When the System settings window opens, click the Email tab.
The Email Notifications Manager opens.
4. Select one or more email addresses to send a test message to. To select all addresses, click the check
box at the top of the list, as shown in the figure below.

5. Click Send Test Email.

If the test is successful, the email recipient(s) receive the test message. If the test fails:
• Ensure that the recipient's email address is correct. (See Modifying or Removing an Email
Recipient on page 131.)
• Ensure that your SMTP server address is correct. (See Modifying Email Server Settings on page
132.)
• Try sending the test message again.

11.3.3 Modifying or Removing an Email Recipient

This section describes how to modify a recipient's email address, change the types of event notifications
the recipient receives, or stop sending email notifications to a recipient from a selected system.
To modify recipient information or to stop sending email notifications to a recipient:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

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3. When the System settings window opens, click the Email tab.
The Email Notifications Manager opens.
4. Select the email recipient you want to modify or remove, then:
• Click Modify Email, change the recipient information, as needed, then click Modify to save your
changes.
Or,
• Click Delete Email to remove the recipient from the notification list.
The changes become effective immediately.
5. Click OK to close the Email Notifications Manager.

11.3.4 Modifying Email Server Settings

You can modify these email server settings, if required:
• Address and port of your SMTP server
• ‘From’ address that will appear in email notifications
• Secure server login credentials
To modify email server settings:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

3. When the System settings window opens, click the SMTP tab.
4. Edit the SMTP server settings as required, then click OK to save your changes.

11.3.5 Disabling Email Notifications

This section describes how to disable email notifications on a selected system.
Note: If you disable email notifications, events continue to be generated but email messages
won't be sent.
To disable email notifications:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

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3. When the System settings window opens, click the SMTP tab.
4. Clear the Enable Email Notifications check box.
5. Click OK to save your changes.

11.4 Monitoring Advanced Statistics about Activity in Your Storage Space

You can set maxView Storage Manager to log advanced I/O and usage statistics about the RAID controllers,
hard drives, SSDs, and logical drives in your storage space, including maxCache caching statistics.
Follow the instructions in this section to:
• Enable statistics logging on a controller (see Setting up Statistics Logging on page 133).
• View the advanced statistics for a controller, hard drive, SSD, logical drive, or maxCache Device
(see Viewing Advanced Statistics on page 134).
• Reset the statistics counters (see Resetting the Statistics Counters on page 135).

11.4.1 Setting up Statistics Logging

To set up statistics logging for the controllers in your storage space:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. In the Advanced Statistics drop-down list, select Enabled.

4. Click OK.

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11.4.2 Viewing Advanced Statistics

Use the Statistics Viewer to view the advanced statistics for the controllers, hard drives, SSDs, logical
drives, and maxCache Devices in your storage space. To view the statistics for a component, select it in
the Enterprise View then, on the Storage Dashboard, click the Advanced Statistics tab. See Advanced
Statistics Descriptions on page 174 for a complete list of Advanced Statistics descriptions.

The statistics listed vary, depending on which type of component you select. The following example
shows the advanced statistics for a controller (on the left) and the maxCache statistics for a logical drive,
including cache hits and misses and a histogram of cache hit distribution.

Controller Statistics

maxCache Statistics
for a Logical Drive

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11.4.3 Resetting the Statistics Counters

In maxView Storage Manager, advanced statistics are cumulative. That is, the statistics continue to
accumulate until you reset the counters for a controller to zero.
To reset the statistics counters for a controller:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select the controller you want to reset.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Set Properties.

The Set Properties window opens.

3. Click the Reset Now button, then click Apply.

The statistics counters are reset.

11.5 Changing an Operating System's Event Log Setting

In addition to the maxView Storage Manager event log, all Warning- and Error-level events on a system
are recorded in its operating system event log. You can select the type of events that are recorded, or
you can disable operating system event logging.
To change or disable operating system event logging on a system:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

The System Settings window opens.

3. In the Save Events to OS Log drop-down list, select the type of events that you want to log, then
click OK.

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4. Restart maxView Storage Manager to apply the new setting.

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12 Managing Your Storage Space

This section describes the advanced features in maxView Storage Manager that help you manage your
storage space. You can:
• Deploy servers with a server template file
• Manage remote systems and auto-discovery tasks with the Remote System wizard
• Clear a controller configuration
• Change the Web Server port
• Grant Standard users Admin Privilege

12.1 Deploying Servers

maxView Storage Manager helps you deploy servers in your storage space without configuring each
server manually. You can select an optimally configured server in your storage space, save its configuration
to a sever template file, then duplicate the configuration on servers throughout your network.
The basic procedure works like this:
1. Choose the system you want to use as the model for other servers in your storage space.
2. Save the configuration to a server template file.
3. Log in to each remote system in your storage space and restore the configuration from the server
template file.
The following sections provide details on each of these steps.

12.1.1 Creating a Server Template File

This procedure saves the configuration of a system that you want to use as a model for other servers
in your storage space. It creates a server template file in XML format, which defines the controller
type(s), operational settings, physical drive size, logical drive size, RAID level, and more. The default
name of the server template file is ControllerConf.xml.
To create a server template file:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click Manage Configuration.

The Manage Configuration wizard opens.

3. Select Save Configuration, then click Next.

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4. Review the Summary information, then click Finish.

5. When the File Download window opens, click Save File, then click OK.
Note: The procedure for downloading and saving the template file may vary, depending on
the Web browser.

6. Continue with Duplicating the Server Template to deploy the same configuration on multiple systems
in your storage space.

12.1.2 Duplicating the Server Template

When you are ready to duplicate the server template on other systems in your storage space, you can
restore the configuration from the server template file.
Keep in mind that:
• The server template file (default, ControllerConf.xml) is editable. For example, you may need
to change the disk drive capacity or logical drive size to accommodate the differences on each
machine.
• Drives from the same vendor with slightly different capacities (147 GB vs. 150 GB, for instance) are
considered interchangeable. If the logical drive capacity changes as a result of the size difference,
it is scaled accordingly. For example, if the new drives have 4% more capacity due to vendor or
model changes, then all logical drives are increased in size by 4%.
To duplicate the server template on another system:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click Manage Configuration.

The Manage Configuration wizard opens.

3. Select Restore Configuration, then click Next.

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4. In the Configuration File panel, click Choose, navigate the file system to your server template file,
then click Open. When the file name appears in the "selected file" area (circled in blue in figure
below), click Upload, wait for the upload to complete, then click Next.

5. In the Restore Options panel, choose a Force option if a controller does not support all of the features
of the template controller, or if the drive capacity on the new system does not match the configuration
in the server template file. The default is Force None. You can choose to:
Options Description
Force All To force deployment of all features
Force Size To force deployment of just the logical drives

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6. To apply the configuration based on SlotID rather than DeviceID, click the Slot ID check box.
7. Click Next, review the summary information, then click Finish.
maxView Storage Manager duplicates the system configuration on the new controller.

12.2 Managing Remote Systems

maxView Storage Manager has a wizard to help you manage the remote systems in your storage space.
The wizard simplifies the process of connecting to remote systems from the local system and adding
them to the Enterprise View.
When you start maxView Storage Manager, an “auto-discovery” task runs in the background, continuously
searching your network for systems running the maxView Redfish server. The wizard presents a list of
discovered systems (see figure below). You can select systems to add to the Enterprise View when you
start maxView Storage Manager; add systems manually if they are not discovered automatically; and
remove systems that you no longer want to manage.

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12.2.1 Adding Remote Systems with the Wizard

For basic instructions for adding remote systems with the wizard, see Logging into Remote Systems
from the Local System. Once you add a system in the wizard, it automatically appears in the Enterprise
View each time you start maxView Storage Manager. You can work with a remote system's controllers,
disk drives, and logical drives as if they were part of your local system.
Note: The wizard adds all selected systems to the Enterprise view even if login fails on some
systems. For those systems, try running the wizard again with different login credentials.
12.2.2 Manually Adding a Remote System
You can add a remote system manually if auto-discovery fails to find the system on your network.
To manually add a remote system:
1. On the ribbon, in the Home group, click Add System.

2. When the Add System window opens, click System Not Present.
The Add System Manually window opens.
3. Enter the system name and login credentials in the space provided. Select the Management Protocol
from the drop-down list and specify the Port number, then click Add.

The window closes and the system appears in the discovered systems list in the Add System window.
4. Select the system, then click Add.
maxView Storage Manager connects to the remote system and adds it to the Enterprise View.

12.2.3 Removing a Remote System

If you no longer want to manage a remote system, you can remove it from the Enterprise View.
Note: Removing a remote system from the Enterprise View does not take it off-line.
To remove a remote system:
1. On the ribbon, in the Home group, click Delete System.

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The Delete System window opens.

2. Select the system(s) you want to remove. To select all systems in the list, click the checkbox at the
top of the window.

3. Click Delete.
maxView Storage Manager removes the remote system(s) from the Enterprise View.

12.2.4 Changing the Auto-Discovery Settings

Auto-discovery, in maxView Storage Manager, is enabled by default. The auto-discovery task runs in
the background each time maxView Storage Manager is started. You can disable auto-discovery if
desired, and configure the auto-discovery settings described below.
To change the auto-discovery settings on a system:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

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The System Settings window opens for that system. The auto-discovery settings appear at the bottom.

3. To enable/disable auto-discovery, select Enable Auto Discovery. (This option toggles between
enabled and disabled.)
4. Update the auto-discovery settings. In the Auto Discovery Interval field, enter the number of seconds
between each auto-discovery check. This number determines how often maxView Storage Manager
checks for changes in remote system resources.
5. Click OK to save the changes.

12.3 Clearing the Controller Configuration

You can clear the configuration of a controller to accommodate changes in your storage space. For
example, you may want to clear a controller if you upgraded your hardware or if you plan to move the
controller to another machine. Clearing the configuration destroys the controller meta-data, including
array and logical device information, partition information, maxCache information, and so on. Once you
clear the controller configuration, your online data is no longer accessible.
Caution: When you clear a controller configuration, you lose all data stored on that controller.
Be sure you no longer need the data on the controller before proceeding.
To clear the controller configuration:
1. In the Enterprise View, select a system, then select a controller on that system.
2. On the ribbon, in the Controller group, click Manage Configuration.

The Manage Configuration wizard opens.

3. Select Clear Configuration, then click Next.

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4. Review the Summary information, then click Finish.

12.4 Changing the Web Server Port

You can change the port used by the maxView Storage Manager Web Server, if needed, to accommodate
changes in your network or IT requirements. The Web Server can use any open port for communication.
The default port is 8443. If you change the port, you must restart maxView Storage Manager for the
change to take effect.
To change the Web Server port:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

When the System Settings window opens, click the Web Server tab.

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3. Enter the new Web Server port. Optionally, click Secured Protocol to enable/disable secure
communication over https.
4. Click Apply.
5. Restart maxView Storage Manager.

12.5 Granting Standard Users Admin Privilege

Normally, Standard users have restricted access to your storage space, with limited ability to perform
non-destructive operations in maxView Storage Manager (see Working in maxView Storage Manager
on page 25). You can grant Standard users Admin Privilege to accommodate changes in your system
policies or IT requirements.
To grant Admin privilege to Standard users:
1. Select the Enterprise View node.
2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click System Settings.

The System Settings window opens.

3. Click the Allow Standard User as Admin check box, then click Apply.
4. Restart the webserver.

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Solving Problems

13 Solving Problems
This section describes how to troubleshoot the components in your storage space.
13.1 General Troubleshooting Tips
If you experience problems installing or using maxView Storage Manager, try these troubleshooting tips
first:
• Ensure that all managed systems are powered on and that you are logged in to any remote systems
that you want to manage. (See Logging into Remote Systems from the Local System on page 35
for more information.)
• Check all cable connections.
• Try uninstalling and reinstalling maxView Storage Manager.
• Check the Release Notes for compatibility issues and known problems.

13.2 Identifying a Failed or Failing Component

When you receive notice of a Warning- or Error-level event, use maxView Storage Manager's rapid fault
isolation feature to quickly identify the source of the problem.
For instance, in this example, a disk drive has failed. To find the failed disk drive, expand the tree in the
Enterprise View, look for the orange and red warning and error icons, then continue tracing the problem
to its source.

Error is on local system...

...on Controller 2

...affecting two Logical Drives

...and a physical device in Slot 2 in Enclosure 0.

Click Slot 2 to check the device status on the Storage
Dashboard and continue tracing the fault to its source...

...a disk drive failure.

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13.3 Recovering from a Disk Drive Failure

This section describes how to recover when a disk drive or SSD fails:
• If the logical drive is protected by a hot spare, see Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare on
page 147.
• If the logical drive is not protected by a hot spare, see Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot
Spare.
• If there is a disk drive failure in more than one logical drive simultaneously, see Failure in Multiple
Logical Drives Simultaneously on page 147.
• If it is a RAID 0 logical drive, see Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Logical Drive on page 148.
• If multiple disk drives fail within the same logical drive, see Forcing a Logical Drive with Multiple
Drive Failures Back Online on page 148.

13.3.1 Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare

If a disk drive in a logical drive fails and that logical drive is protected by a hot spare, the hot spare is
automatically incorporated into the logical drive and takes over for the failed drive.
For example, if a disk drive fails in a RAID 5 logical drive, the logical drive is automatically rebuilt, with
its data reconstructed using the hot spare in place of the failed drive. You can access the logical drive
while it's rebuilding.
To recover from the failure:
1. Remove and replace the failed disk drive, following the manufacturer's instructions.
2. If the logical drive is protected with a dedicated hot spare, data is moved back to its original location
once the controller detects that the failed drive has been replaced. Once the data is copied back,
the hot spare becomes a permanent part of the array on failure of array. No further action is
necessary.
If the logical drive is protected with an auto-replace hot spare, the spare becomes a permanent part
of the array. You must designate a new hot spare to protect the logical drive(s) on that array.
See Protecting Your Data on page 51 for more information about managing spares.

13.3.2 Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spare

If a disk drive in a logical drive fails when the logical drive is not protected by a hot spare, remove and
replace the failed disk drive. The controller detects the new disk drive and begins to rebuild it. You can
access the logical drive while it's rebuilding.
For example, when one of the disk drives fails in a RAID 1 logical drive, the logical drive is not automatically
rebuilt. The failed disk drive must be removed and replaced before the logical drive can be rebuilt.
If the controller fails to rebuild the logical drive, check that the cables, disk drives, and controllers are
properly installed and connected. Then, if necessary, follow the instructions in Rebuilding Logical Drives.

13.3.3 Failure in Multiple Logical Drives Simultaneously

If a disk drive fails in more than one logical drive at the same time (one failure per logical drive), and
the logical drives have hot spares protecting them, the controller rebuilds the logical drives with these
limitations:
• A hot spare must be at least as big as the smallest disk drive in the array that it might replace.
• Failed disk drives are replaced with hot spares in the order in which they failed. (The logical drive
that includes the disk drive that failed first is rebuilt first, assuming an appropriate hot spare is
available—see the previous bullet.)
Note: If the number of disk drive failures exceeds the number of hot spares, see Failed Disk Drive
Not Protected by a Hot Spare..

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13.3.4 Disk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Logical Drive

Because RAID 0 volumes do not include redundancy, if a disk drive fails in a RAID 0 logical drive, the
data cannot be recovered.
Correct the cause of the failure or replace the failed disk drives. Then, restore your data from backup,
if available. To protect the RAID 0 logical drive, set the spare activation mode to "predictive".

13.3.5 Forcing a Logical Drive with Multiple Drive Failures Back Online
If multiple disk drives fail in the same logical drive, you may be able to recover the data by forcing the
logical drive back online. For instance, if two drives fail in a RAID 5, forcing it online may allow you to
access the data, depending on which disk drives failed.
Caution: This procedure is not guaranteed to successfully recover your logical drive. The surest
way to recover your data is to restore the failed logical drive from backup.
To force a logical drive online:
1. In the Enterprise view, select the failed logical drive (see Identifying a Failed or Failing Component
on page 146).
2. On the ribbon, in the Logical Device group, click Force Online.

3. Click Force, then click OK.

13.4 Rebuilding Logical Drives

A hot-swap rebuild occurs when a controller detects that a failed disk drive in a logical drive has been
removed and then reinserted.
Note: You can use the Heal Array operation as an alternative to a hot-swap rebuild if you have a
sufficient number of Ready physical drives of the same type in your storage space. See Healing
an Array on page 75.
To start a hot-swap rebuild:
1. Following manufacturer's instructions, gently pull the failed disk drive from the server without fully
removing it, then wait for it to spin down fully before continuing.
2. If there is nothing wrong with the disk drive, reinstall it, following manufacturer's instructions.
If necessary, replace the failed disk drive with a new disk drive of equal or larger size.
3. The controller detects the reinserted (or new) disk drive and begins to rebuild the logical drive.

13.5 Creating a Support Archive File

Your support representative might ask you to create a support archive file to help diagnose a problem
with your system. Saved information includes device logs, drive logs, event logs, error logs, controller
logs, history logs, and SMART statistics.
To create the support archive file:
1. In the Enterprise View, select the system on which the problem is occurring. (Look for the orange
or red error icons in the Enterprise View.)

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2. On the ribbon, in the System group, click Archive Management.

The Archive Management window opens.

3. Select the logs you want to save.

4. Click Save.
5. When the File Download window opens, click OK.
6. In the Archive Management window, click Clear All Logs to clear, or Cancel to exit.

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Silent Installation on Windows and Linux

A Silent Installation on Windows and Linux

This appendix describes how to complete a silent installation of maxView Storage Manager on Windows
and Linux systems. A silent installation uses command line parameters to complete an installation
without messages or user interaction.
Note: Silent installation on Linux is supported on Red Hat, CentOS, and SLES only.

A.1 Completing a Silent Installation

This section describes the silent installation process for Windows and Linux.

A.1.1 Windows Silent Installation

To complete a silent installation on Windows:
1. Open a command prompt window, then change to the directory where you downloaded the Windows
setup program (see Downloading the Installer Package for details).
2. Run the silent installation from the command line:
Options Description
Windows 64-bit setup_asm_x64.exe /s /v"/qn <properties>"
where <properties> is one or more of the options listed in Switches, Properties, and Values on page
151.
Separate properties with spaces and enclose all properties after /v in quotes, with NO leading space.
Separate feature names for the ADDLOCAL property with commas.

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A.1.1.1 Switches, Properties, and Values

This section describes the command line options for Windows silent installation. These options are not
supported on Linux.

Switch or Property Description

/s (required) Suppress dialog boxes.

/v (required) Pass command line parameters to the setup program.

/qn Suppress progress bar during installation.

/qb Show progress bar during installation.

/lv* <path> (optional) Generate verbose installation log at <path>.

Example: /lv* c:\pmc.log

INSTALLDIR (optional) Specifies the installation path. If specified, the installation path must be enclosed
in escaped quotation marks.
Example: INSTALLDIR=\"C:\Program Files\Adaptec\maxView
Storage Manager\"
Note: The default installation path is "C:\Program Files\Adaptec\maxView
Storage Manager".

ADDLOCAL (optional) • ALL (default)—Installs the maxView Storage Manager Console (GUI and Redfish
server), and ARCCONF (CLI). If you specify ALL, do not specify any of the follow-
ing values.
• ARCCONF—Installs the Command Line Interface tool (ARCCONF)
• RestfulServer—Installs the maxView Storage Manager Redfish Server
• Console—Installs the maxView Storage Manager GUI
Note: Use commas to separate multiple values.

A.1.2 Linux Silent Installation

To complete a silent installation on Red Hat Linux, CentOS, or SLES:
1. Open a shell window, then change to the directory where you downloaded the Linux installer package
(see Downloading the Installer PackageDownloading the Installer Package for details).
2. Run the silent installation from the command line using one of these commands
(x.xx-xxxxx=version-build number):
Options Description
Linux 64-bit ./StorMan-X.XX-XXXXX.x86_64.bin --silent
Note: Linux systems also support silent upgrade and silent removal. See Example Command
Line Installations on page 152.

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A.2 Example Command Line Installations

This section shows typical command line installations for Windows and Linux. In the Linux examples,
<x.xx>-<xxxxx>=version-build number.
• Normal Windows Installation:
setup_asm_x64.exe /s /v"/qb /lv* c:\pmc.log"

• Install to Specific Location on Windows:

setup_asm_x64.exe /s /v"/qb INSTALLDIR=\"C:\Program Files\Adaptec\maxView Storage
Manager\""

• Install Specific Feature on Windows:

setup_asm_x64.exe /s /v"/qb ADDLOCAL=ARCCONF /lv* c:\pmc.log"

• Normal Linux Installation:

./StorMan-<x.xx>-<xxxxx>.x86_64.bin --silent

• Linux Software Upgrade:

./StorMan-<x.xx>-<xxxxx>.x86_64.bin --upgrade

• Linux uninstallation (removal):

./StorMan-<x.xx>-<xxxxx>.x86_64.bin --remove

Alternative: rpm –e StorMan

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Using the maxView Plugin for VMware vSphere Web Client

B Using the maxView Plugin for VMware vSphere Web Client

The maxView plugin for VMware vSphere Web Client is a monitoring tool that lets you explore your
storage resources directly from the vSphere Web client, without using maxView Storage Manager as a
separate Web GUI. It replicates most of the information on the maxView Storage Manager Dashboard
(see The Storage Dashboard) for the controllers, logical devices, physical devices, enclosures, and systems
(hosts) in your storage space. It offers a vSphere "look and feel" and native navigation.
Note: The maxView plugin is a monitoring tool only. To modify your storage space, such as creating
or deleting a logical drive or designating a hot spare, you must use the maxView Storage Manager
GUI or CLI (ARCCONF).

B.1 Installing the maxView Plugin for vSphere Web Client

Follow the instructions in this section to install the maxView plugin for vSphere Web Client on a Windows
x64 system.
Note: Before you begin, ensure that VMware vSphere Web Client is already installed on the
Windows host. You need administrator privileges to install the maxView plugin.
1. Download the setup program for the maxView vSphere plugin from the Web site (see Downloading
the Installer Package).
2. Double-click the setup program:
Options Description
VMware ESXi 6.0 setup_maxView_VWC6_Plugin_x64.exe
client
VMware ESXi 6.5 setup_maxView_VWC65_Plugin_x64.exe
client
The Installation wizard opens.
3. Click Next to begin the installation, accept the terms in the license agreement, then click Next.
4. Enter the following configuration settings for your VMware ESXi server, then click Next:
a) Hypervisor IP address
b) Hypervisor user name
c) Hypervisor password

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5. In the Features screen, ensure that maxView VWC Plugin is selected. Optionally, select CLI Tools.
Then click Next.

6. Click Install to begin the installation.

When the installation is complete, you receive a confirmation message that the plugin is installed.

B.2 Starting the maxView Plugin for vSphere Web Client

1. Launch the VMware vSphere Web Client: double-click the vSphere desktop icon, then enter your
login credentials.
2. In the Monitoring section on the vSphere Home screen (on the right), click the maxView icon; the
Controller information screen opens.

3. Alternatively, in the Navigation pane (on the left), click vCenter, scroll down to the maxView tree,
then select a resource category, such as Controller, Logical Device, Physical Device, or Enclosure, to
open the information screen for that item.

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B.3 Monitoring maxView Resources in vSphere Web Client

For each maxView resource in your storage space─controller, logical device, physical device, and so
on─you can view summary information about the resource (or "object") and view its related resources,
such as the physical devices in a logical drive, the logical drives on a controller, or the controllers on a
host.
For example, the figure below shows the summary information screen for a logical drive, with expandable
information fields containing general information about the logical drive, its settings, and resources.
(Each expandable field has an arrow next to it.)

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Click on the Related Objects tab (next to the Summary tab) to show the physical devices comprising
the logical drive, the logical drive's controller, or a filtered list of events for that logical drive.

Button bar provides quick access

to related object information

To drill down further, click on any item in the related objects table, below the button bar. For example,
click on a physical device in the table shown below to view summary information for that device, its
related objects, and so on.

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When you're ready to monitor a different resource, click the resource category in the Navigation pane
(on the left). Or click on the History window one or more times (in the upper-left corner of the vSphere
client) to return to the vCenter top-level screen; then select a resource in the maxView tree.

Once you return to the top-level screen or choose a resource in the Navigation pane, the procedure for
viewing the resource summary and drilling down for more detail is identical for all maxView resources
in your storage space.
For more information about the types of information provided on the summary screen and related
objects screens for each maxView resource, see Viewing Component Status in the Storage Dashboard.

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Using maxView Storage Manager with HBAs and Non-RAID Mode Controllers

C Using maxView Storage Manager with HBAs and Non-RAID Mode

Controllers
maxView Storage Manager allows you to manage storage resources on Microsemi Adaptec Host Bus
Adapters (HBAs) and RAID controllers operating in HBA mode (see Changing the Connector Operating
Mode on page 114). In the Enterprise View, maxView Storage Manager displays HBAs and non-RAID
mode controllers in the controller list. Drives on the HBA are surfaced to the OS as Raw devices; that
is, storage devices without Microsemi Adaptec RAID meta-data.
Note: maxView Storage Manager identifies the drive as a Raw device even if it has an OS partition.

Controller 1 is an HBA

...disk drives and SSDs

on the HBA are surfaced
as Raw devices

With HBAs and non-RAID mode controllers, maxView Storage Manager limits access to features that
are not used to configure and maintain RAID volumes (see table below). For example, on the Ribbon,
you can use the options in the Controller group to manage your controller, but not options in the Array
group or Logical Device group (because HBAs don't support logical volumes); similarly, you can use
options in the System group to upgrade the controller firmware, but not the Spare Management option
in the Physical Devices group (because HBAs don't support spares); and so on.

Ribbon Options for HBAs / Non-RAID Mode Controllers

System Group Firmware Update
Controller Group Rescan, Properties (non-RAID mode controllers only)
Array Group None
Logical Device Group None
Physical Devices Group Force Offline, Uninitialize, Locate
maxCache Group None

The Storage Dashboard provides detailed information about the HBAs and non-RAID mode controllers
in your storage space (similar to its function for RAID controllers), including the enclosures, disk drives,
and SSDs connected to them (for more information about the dashboard, see Viewing Component
Status in the Storage Dashboard).

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Tabs on the dashboard provide quick access to summary information, controller properties, resources,
and the connector configuration. The Events tab shows filtered events for the device (see Viewing
Activity Status in the Event Log on page 122).
The following table lists the categories and types of information provided on the Storage Dashboard
for HBAs and connected devices.

Component Categories Examples

Controller Summary Model, WWN, key features, firmware version, controller mode, status, number
Properties and type of physical devices.
Resources Slot, driver version, bus type and speed, number of ports, settings (mostly
disabled)
Connectors
Physical drive assignments by connector, including protocol, state, free and
used space
Connector name, number of devices, functional mode

Physical Devices Summary Physical drive assignments by connector, including protocol, state, free and
(node) used space

Connector Summary Functional mode, number of devices

Enclosure Summary Enclosure type, vendor, model, ID, channel, firmware version, status
Fan, power supply, and temperature status (see Monitoring Enclosure Status
on page 126)
Slot allocation and usage

Hard drives and Summary Drive type (hard drive, SSD), vendor, interface (SAS/SATA), and model
SSDs Resources Block size, total size, rotational speed
SMART Boot type
Firmware version, WWN, transfer speed
Free space, used space, reserved space
SMART statistics (see Viewing SMART Statistics on page 126)

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Selecting the Best RAID Level

D Selecting the Best RAID Level

When you create logical drives in maxView Storage Manager, you can assign a RAID level to protect
your data.
Each RAID level offers a unique combination of performance and redundancy. RAID levels also vary by
the number of disk drives they support.
This section provides a comparison of all the RAID levels supported by maxView Storage Manager, and
provides a basic overview of each to help you select the best level of protection for your storage system.
Note: Not all RAID levels are supported by all controllers. See the Release Notes for supported
RAID levels on specific controller models.

D.1 Comparing RAID Levels

Use this table to select the RAID levels that are most appropriate for the logical drives on your storage
space, based on the number of available disk drives and your requirements for performance and reliability.
RAID Level Redundancy Disk Drive Read Perfor- Write Perfor- Built-in Hot Minimum
Usage mance mance Spare Disk Drives

RAID 0 No 100% *** *** No 2

RAID 1 Yes 50% ** ** No 2

RAID 1(ADM) Yes 33% ** ** No 3

RAID 1E Yes 50% ** ** No 3

RAID 10 Yes 50% ** ** No 4

RAID 10(ADM) Yes 33% ** ** No 6

RAID 5 Yes 67 – 94% *** * No 3

RAID 50 Yes 67 – 94% *** * No 6

RAID 6 Yes 50 – 88% ** * No 4

RAID 60 Yes 50 – 88% ** * No 8

Disk drive usage, read performance, and write performance depend on the number of drives in the
logical drive. In general, the more drives, the better the performance.

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D.2 Non-redundant Logical Drives (RAID 0)

A logical drive with RAID 0 includes one or more disk drives and provides data striping, where data is
distributed evenly across the disk drives in equal-sized sections. However, RAID 0 logical drives do not
maintain redundant data, so they offer no data protection.
Compared to an equal-sized group of independent disks, a RAID 0 logical drives provides improved I/O
performance.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the logical drive. For instance, an
array with two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can create a RAID 0 drive segment of 250
GB, for a total of 1000 GB for the volume, as shown in this figure.

Drive Segment Size

Disk Drive 1 250 GB
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 2 250 GB

Disk Drive 1 1 5 . . . 997

Disk Drive 2 2 6 . . . 998

Disk Drive 3 400 GB

Disk Drive 3 3 7 . . . 999

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4 4 8 . . . 1000

Disk Drive 4 400 GB
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 0 Logical Drive = 1000 GB

D.3 RAID 1 Logical Drives

A RAID 1 logical drive is built from two disk drives, where one disk drive is a mirror of the other (the
same data is stored on each disk drive). Compared to independent disk drives, RAID 1 logical drives
provide improved performance, with up to twice the read rate and an equal write rate of single disks.
However, capacity is only 50 percent of independent disk drives.
If the RAID 1 logical drive is built from different- sized disk drives, the free space, drive segment size is
the size of the smaller disk drive, as shown in this figure.

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Drive Segment Size

(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1 250 GB

Disk Drive 1 1 – 250

Disk Drive 2 400 GB Disk Drive 2 1 – 250

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 1 Logical Drive = 250 GB

D.4 RAID 1 (ADM) Logical Drives

RAID 1 Advanced Data Mirroring, or ADM, is similar to RAID 1, but creates fault tolerance by maintaining
redundant copies of data using three disk drives, rather than two. All three drives contain mirrored
duplicated user data.
If a drive fails, the remaining drives provide backup copies of the files and normal system operations
are not interrupted.

Drive Segment Size (Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 1 250 GB

Disk Drive 1 1 - 250

250 GB
Disk Drive 2
Disk Drive 2 1 - 250

Disk Drive 3 1 - 250 Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 3 400 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 1(ADM) Logical Drive = 250 GB

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D.5 RAID 10 Logical Drives

A RAID 10 logical drive is built from two or more equal-sized RAID 1 logical drives. Data in a RAID 10
logical drive is both striped and mirrored. Mirroring provides data protection, and striping improves
performance.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the logical drive. For instance, an
array with two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can create two mirrored drive segments
of 250 GB, for a total of 500 GB for the logical drive, as shown in this figure.

Drive Segment Size

Disk Drive 1 250 GB
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 2 250 GB

Disk Drive 1 1 3 . . . 499

Disk Drive 2 2 4 . . . 500

Disk Drive 3 400 GB

Disk Drive 3 1 3 . . . 499

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4 2 4 . . . 500

Disk Drive 4 400 GB
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 10 Logical Drive = 500 GB

D.6 RAID 10 (ADM) Logical Drives

RAID 10 Advanced Data Mirroring, or ADM, is similar to RAID 10, but creates fault tolerance by maintaining
redundant copies of data using at least six disk drives. Data is striped across two or more sets of RAID
1 (ADM) drives for rapid access.
If a drive fails, the remaining drives provide backup copies of the files and normal system operations
are not interrupted.

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D.7 RAID 5 Logical Drives

A RAID 5 logical drive is built from a minimum of three disk drives, and uses data striping and parity
data to provide redundancy. Parity data provides data protection, and striping improves performance.
Parity data is an error-correcting redundancy that's used to re-create data if a disk drive fails. In RAID
5 logical drives, parity data (represented by Ps in the next figure) is striped evenly across the disk drives
with the stored data.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the logical drive. For instance, an
array with two 250 GB disk drives and two 400 GB disk drives can contain 750 GB of stored data and
250 GB of parity data, as shown in this figure.

Drive Segment Size

Disk Drive 1 250 GB
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 2 250 GB

Disk Drive 1 1 4 .. . P

Disk Drive 2 2 5 . . . 748

Disk Drive 3 400 GB

Disk Drive 3 3 P . . . 749

Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4 P 6 . . . 750

Disk Drive 4 400 GB
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive RAID 5 Logical Drive = 750 GB plus Parity

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D.8 RAID 50 Logical Drive

A RAID 50 logical drive is built from six to forty-eight disk drives configured as two or more RAID 5 arrays,
and stripes stored data and parity data across all disk drives in both RAID 5 logical drives. (For more
information, see RAID 5 Logical Drives.)
The parity data provides data protection, and striping improves performance. RAID 50 logical drives
also provide high data transfer speeds.
Drive segment size is limited to the size of the smallest disk drive in the logical drive. For example, three
250 GB disk drives and three 400 GB disk drives comprise two equal-sized RAID 5 logical drives with 500
GB of stored data and 250 GB of parity data. The RAID 50 logical drive can therefore contain 1000 GB
(2 x 500 GB) of stored data and 500 GB of parity data.
In this figure, P represents the distributed parity data.

RAID 50
Logical Drive
=
1000 GB
plus Parity

RAID 5 Each RAID 5 Logical Drive has RAID 5

A 500 GB Data Storage B
250 GB Parity Data

1, 5, P 3, P, 9 P, 7, 11 2, 6, P 4, P, 10 P, 8, 12 Total Unused
Space = 150 GB
Drive 1 Drive 2 Drive 3
250 GB 250 GB 250 GB Drive 4 Drive 5 Drive 6
400 GB 400 GB 400 GB

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D.9 RAID 6 Logical Drives

A RAID 6 logical drive—also known as dual drive failure protection—is similar to a RAID 5 logical drive
because it uses data striping and parity data to provide redundancy. However, RAID 6 logical drives
include two independent sets of parity data instead of one. Both sets of parity data are striped separately
across all disk drives in the logical drive.
RAID 6 logical drives provide extra protection for your data because they can recover from two
simultaneous disk drive failures. However, the extra parity calculation slows performance (compared
to RAID 5 logical drives).
RAID 6 logical drives must be built from at least four disk drives. Maximum stripe size depends on the
number of disk drives in the logical drive.

Drive Segment Size

Disk Drive 1 250 GB
(Smallest Disk Drive)

Disk Drive 2 250 GB

Disk Drive 1 1 P1 . . . P2

Disk Drive 2 2 P2 . . . 449

Disk Drive 3 400 GB

Disk Drive 3 P1 3 . . . P1
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drive 4 P2 4 . . . 500

Disk Drive 4 400 GB
Unused Space = 150 GB

Disk Drives in Logical Drive Based on the drive segment sizes used:
RAID 6 Logical Drive = 500 GB plus parity
(P1 & P2)

D.10 RAID 60 Logical Drives

Similar to a RAID 50 logical drive (see RAID 50 Logical Drives), a RAID 60 logical drive—also known as
dual drive failure protection—is built from eight disk drives configured as two or more RAID 6 logical
drives, and stripes stored data and two sets of parity data across all disk drives in both RAID 6 logical
drives.
Two sets of parity data provide enhanced data protection, and striping improves performance. RAID 60
logical drives also provide high data transfer speeds.

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Icons At-a-Glance

E Icons At-a-Glance
The following is a complete list of icons used in maxView Storage Manager. It contains the icons on the
ribbon, in the Enterprise View, and on tabs and dialog boxes.
See Overview of the Main Window for more information.

Ribbon Home Icons

Icon Description

Remote system add

Remote system delete

Ribbon System Icons

Icon Description

System settings

Manage configuration (save/restore)

Firmware update

Save archive file

Ribbon Controller Icons

Icon Description

Controller settings

Manage configuration (clear)

Controller rescan

maxCrypto settings

Ribbon Array Icons

Icon Description
Array settings

Array modify

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Icons At-a-Glance

Icon Description
Array split/mirror

Array locate

Array delete

Ribbon Logical Device Icons

Icon Description

Logical drive settings

Logical drive create

Logical drive expand/migrate

Logical drive locate

Logical drive delete

Logical drive force online

Ribbon Physical Device Icons

Icon Description

Physical disk properties

Assign/unassign physical disk as spare

Force physical disk offline

Physical disk secure erase

Physical disk locate

Ribbon maxCache Icons

Icon Description
maxCache Device create

maxCache Device set properties

maxCache Device locate

maxCache Device delete

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Icons At-a-Glance

Icon Description

maxCache Device disable

Enterprise View Icons

Icon Description

Enterprise View

Local or remote system

Controller

Enclosure

Logical disk

Logical disks

Physical disk

Hard disk drive

Solid State drive

SMR drive

Physical disks

Enclosure

Connector or other physical device

Enterprise View Status Icons

Icon Description

Enterprise OK

Enterprise error

Enterprise no access

Enterprise warning

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Icons At-a-Glance

Enterprise View System Icons

Icon Description

System OK

System error

System missing

System no access

System warning

Enterprise View Connector Icons

Icon Description

Connector OK

Connector failed

Connector missing

Connector warning

Enterprise View Controller Icons

Icon Description

Controller OK

Controller failed

Controller missing

Controller warning

Controller encrypted

Enterprise View Enclosure Icons

Icon Description

Enclosure Management OK

Enclosure Management failed

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Icons At-a-Glance

Icon Description

Enclosure missing

Enclosure Management warning

Enterprise View Physical Disk Icons

Icon Description

Physical disk OK

Physical disks OK

Physical disks failure

Physical disks missing

Physical disks warning

Physical disk encrypted

Enterprise View MaxCache Device Icons

Icon Description

maxCache Device error

maxCache Device missing

maxCache Device OK

maxCache Device warning

Tab Icons
Icon Description

Summary

Properties

Resources

Events

Task

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 172

Icons At-a-Glance

Icon Description
maxCrypto

Dialog Box Icons

Icon Description

E-mail notification

Chart

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 173

Advanced Statistics Descriptions

F Advanced Statistics Descriptions

The following table describes the advanced statistics properties by device type.
See Viewing Advanced Statistics on page 134 for more information.
Table 1 • Advanced Statistics Descriptions
Type Property Description Units

Controller Average Dirty Cache The average number of dirty cache lines that are waiting to
Lines be flushed. Dirty cache lines that are in the process of being
flushed are not included in this count. Note that lines in the
read-ahead cache may also be "dirty," so the number of dirty
cache lines may exceed the number of write cache lines.

Controller Free Largest Transfer The average number of consecutive transfer buffer sectors
Buffer Sectors available in the controller's internal pool.

Controller Average Free Total The average number of transfer buffer sectors available in
Transfer Buffer Sectors the controller's internal pool.

Controller Average Free Logical The average number of logical request structures available
Requests in the controller's internal pool.

Controller Average Free Processor The average amount of available processor RAM in kB avail-
RAM in kB able in the controller's internal pool.

Controller Average Locked Stripes The average number of stripes that are locked. In this context,
a stripe is a group of physical sectors across a RAID group
that is busy performing a write operation (other operations
to the same sectors are locked out during this process).

Controller Average Locked Stripes The average number of requests that are stalled waiting to
Waiting access stripes that are locked. A large value indicates random
writes over a small area of a RAID 5 array.

Controller Average Write Cache The average number of 512-byte blocks that there is room
Sectors for in the write cache. Controller cache is currently organized
in 16 kB "lines," so divide this value by 32 to determine the
number of available write cache lines.

Controller Command List Count Number of command lists submitted by the host.

Controller Command List Latency Average command latency in hundredths of milliseconds. Hundredths
of millisec-
onds

Controller Logical Request Count Number of logical requests submitted by the host.

Controller Maximum DMA Trans- The maximum number of DMA transfer (WCXC bus master)
fer Queue Depth requests that have been queued up at any time since perfor-
mance monitoring was started.

Controller Maximum Outstanding Maximum number of outstanding command lists.

Command List

Controller Percent Active Percentage of time (in tenths of a percent) that at least one Tenths of a
logical request is outstanding, including event-notification percent
commands.

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Advanced Statistics Descriptions

Type Property Description Units

Controller Percent Busy Percentage of time (in percent) that the controller's CPU is Percent
not just sitting in the "idle" task. Note that background activ-
ity such as surface analysis is not considered "idle" time.

Controller Percent Time Waiting The percentage of time (in tenths of a percent) that the local Tenths of a
For DMA CPU has been stalled waiting for DMA (WCXC bus master) percent
transfers.

Controller Sample Interval Time since performance monitoring was last cleared, in tenths Tenths of sec-
of seconds. onds

Logical Average Queue Depth Average number of logical read and write requests queued.
Drive

Logical Average Read Latency Average latency for logical read requests in hundredths of Hundredths
Drive milliseconds. of millisec-
onds

Logical Average Write Latency Average latency for logical write requests in hundredths of Hundredths
Drive milliseconds. of millisec-
onds

Logical Cache Hits Number of cache hits (host-generated logical read requests
Drive which could be serviced entirely by the cache without any
disk access).

Logical Cache Misses Number of cache misses.

Drive

Logical Coalesced Requests Number of host requests to this volume that were coalesced
Drive by firmware.

Logical Flush Read Requests Number of read-fill requests issued by the cache flush task.
Drive The flush task generates read requests to make a dirty cache
line completely valid so that it can be flushed in a single write
request.

Logical Flush Write Requests Number of flush requests issued by the cache flush task.
Drive

Logical Logical Reads Number of logical read requests submitted by the host, ex-
Drive cluding requests coalesced by firmware.

Logical Logical Writes Number of logical write requests submitted by the host, ex-
Drive cluding requests coalesced by firmware.

Logical Maximum Read Re- Maximum latency for logical read requests to this volume in
Drive quest Latency hundredths of milliseconds.

Logical Maximum Write Re- Maximum latency for logical write requests to this volume Hundredths
Drive quest Latency in hundredths of milliseconds. of millisec-
onds

Logical Non-Sequential Reads Number of non-consecutive or non-sequential read requests

Drive from the host. A non-sequential request is defined as a logical
request with a starting logical block that is not equal to 1 plus
the ending logical block of the previously received logical re-
quest.

Logical Non-Sequential Writes Number of non-consecutive or non-sequential write requests

Drive from the host. A non-sequential request is defined as a logical
request with a starting logical block that is not equal to 1 plus

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Advanced Statistics Descriptions

Type Property Description Units

the ending logical block of the previously received logical re-

quest.

Logical Posted Writes Number of host write operations that were absorbed by the
Drive posted write cache.

Logical Read Ahead Sector Number of sectors pre-fetched.

Drive Count

Logical Sectors Flushed Total number of sectors in all flush requests issued by the
Drive cache flush task.

Logical Sectors Read Number of logical blocks read from this volume by the host.
Drive Does not include any internally generated read requests (such
as read-ahead, capacity expansion, etc.).

Logical Sectors Written Number of logical blocks written to this volume by the host.
Drive Does not include any internally generated write requests
(such as read-ahead, capacity expansion, etc.).

Logical Unaligned Reads Number of unaligned read requests from the host. An un-
Drive aligned logical request is defined as one that spans multiple
physical drives but has a block count smaller than or equal
to the distribution factor.

Logical Unaligned Writes Number of unaligned write requests from the host. An un-
Drive aligned logical request is defined as one that spans multiple
physical drives but has a block count smaller than or equal
to the distribution factor.

Physical Average Request Laten- Average latency for physical read/write requests in hun- Hundredths
Drive cy dredths of milliseconds. of millisec-
onds

Physical Maximum Queue Maximum number of physical (SCSI) requests in the queue
Drive Depth for this drive, including both those queued up on the drive
and those on the array controller's elevator queue.

Physical Maximum Request La- Maximum latency for physical read/write requests in hun- Hundredths
Drive tency dredths of milliseconds. of millisec-
onds

Physical Maximum Wait Time Maximum amount of time between completion of outstand- Hundredths
Drive Between Completions ing requests (when multiple requests are outstanding), in of millisec-
hundredths of milliseconds. A high value may indicate that onds
the drive is experiencing errors.

Physical Read Requests Number of physical (SCSI) read requests generated from host
Drive and cache read-ahead logical requests (not counting internal
requests such as surface analysis, rebuild, expand, snapshot,
M&P, etc.).

Physical Write Requests Number of physical (SCSI) write requests generated from
Drive host and cache-flush logical requests (not counting internal
requests such as surface analysis, rebuild, expand, snapshot,
M&P, RIS saves, etc.).

Physical Aborted Commands The number of times a drive was failed due to aborted com-
Drive mands that could not be retried successfully.

Physical Medium Errors The number of times a drive was failed due to unrecoverable
Drive media errors.

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Advanced Statistics Descriptions

Type Property Description Units

Physical Parity Errors The total number of times that write memory errors were
Drive detected on transfers to/from cache memory from other
components. This includes parity errors, ECC corrected errors,
and ECC un-corrected errors, depending upon the controller.

Physical Hardware Errors The number of times a drive returned a bad hardware status.
Drive

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Smart Controller Device Status

G Smart Controller Device Status

The following is a complete list of the Smart Controller devices, their status, and their descriptions used
in maxView Storage Manager.

Status Details of an Array

Status Description

Ok The array has all the logical device(s) in optimal state

Has Initializing Logical Device One or more member logical device(s) has RPI in progress

Logical Devices Not Contiguous The logical devices in this array are not in contiguous order. Perform consoli-
date space operation to consolidate all the free space to the end of the array.

Has Failed Physical Device Array has a bad or missing physical device

Has Failed Logical Device One or more logical device(s) in the array has failed

Status Details of a Logical Device

Status Description

Optimal The logical device is healthy and is readily accessible by the host

Queued for Expansion The logical device is queued for expansion

Expanding The logical device is undergoing online capacity expansion

Ready for Recovery The logical device is queued to be recovered from a failed physical device

Recovering The logical device is rebuilding a physical device from fault tolerant data

Wrong Drive Replaced A wrong physical device was replaced

RPI In Progress Rapid parity initialization is currently in progress on this logical device

RPI Queued Rapid parity initialization is currently queued on this logical device. It will
start once other progress tasks are completed.

Unsupported on The Controller Logical device is unsupported on this controller. Host access to this volume
is denied. Logical device can still be deletd/reconfigured with data loss.

Encrypted Logical Device Without Key The encrypted logical device is exported from a foreign controller with
different master key. Please import the foreign master key to access the
logical device.

Encryption Migration The logical device is being migrated between plaintext and ciphertext

Encrypted Logical Device Rekeying The logical device is encrypted and all data is being re-keyed using the
background 'online capacity expansion' transformation task. The cache
memory is being used to keep track of progress.

Encrypted Logical Device With max- The logical device is encrypted, exported from a foreign controller and
Crypto Off cannot be accessed as the controller does not have encryption enabled/
not configured.

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Smart Controller Device Status

Status Description

Encryption Migration Requested The logical device has received a request to migrate from plaintext to ci-
phertext. But this process has not yet started. The plaintext volume is
currently online.

Encrypted Logical Device Rekey Re- The logical device is encrypted and has received a request to re-key all
quested data with a new encryption key

Unknown The status of logical device is unknown

Erase In Progress The logical device is offline and has erase in progress

Ejected The logical device is offline from being ejected. Reinstall the removed
physical devices.

Not Yet Available An expand, shrink, or move operation on the array is in progress. This
logical device will remain in this state until all expand, shrink, or move
operations on this array are completed. All I/O requests sent to the logical
drive in this state will be rejected.

Not Configured The logical device is not yet configured

Interim Recovery The logical device has a bad or missing drive. Logical device is operating
with reduced performance and a further physical drive failure may result
in data loss depending on the fault tolerance. To correct this problem,
check the data and power connections to the physical drives or replace
the failed drive.

Failed The logical device has bad or missing physical device(s).

Disabled From SCSI ID Conflict A conflict with an existing SCSI ID exists. Check all SCSI components to
make sure they all have a unique SCSI ID.

Status Details of a Physical Device

Status Details

Ready The physical device is readily available for RAID configuration

Optimal The physical device is part of an array/logical device

Waiting For Rebuild The physical device is waiting to be rebuilt

Rebuilding The data on the physical device is being rebuilt. The physical deice will be
accessible. But performance will be less than optimal during the rebuilding
process.

Queued For Erase The physical device is currently queued for erase and the will not be
available for use until the erase operation is completed

Erase In Progress The physical device is currently being erased and the will not be available
for use until the erase operation is completed

Erase Completed Erase process has been completed on the physical device and the physical
device is offline. The physical device may now be brought online through
the initialize operation.

Erase Failed The physical device erase process is failed and the is offline. The physical
device may now be brought online through the initialize operation.

Erase Aborted The physical device is offline due to a aborted erase process

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Smart Controller Device Status

Status Details

Predictive Failure This physical device is predicted to fail soon. Backup all the data on the
drive and replace the drive.

Transient Data Drive The physical device is in transition from being a member of an array to
being an unassigned physical device as a result of shrink array/move array
operation

Failed The physical device is bad or missing

Failed Due To Predictive Spare Activa- The physical device has been failed by the controller after completing a
tion predictive spare activation

Unsupported The physical device is not supported by the controller

Not Supported The controller firmware version does not support this physical device.
Replace the physical device with the one supported by the controller.

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Index
A controllers (continued)
maxCrypto properties 92, 125
activity in storage space properties 101
30 rescanning 112
event log 30 updating firmware 115, 119
task log 30
activity on storage space, See monitoring
adapters, See controllers D
Add System wizard 141 dedicated hot spares
archive file 129, 148 51–52, 55
arrays creating 51–52
80 removing 55
deleting 80
deleting logical drives 80
auto-discovery 140 direct attached storage
auto-replace hot spares 51 13
defined 13
B disk drive
115, 119
background consistency check 65 updating firmware 115, 119
boards, See controllers disk drives
bootable USB image 16, 23 38, 63–64, 101, 107–110, 115, 147–148
build method conceptual graphic 63
39, 43 different sizes in same logical drive 63–64
Build 39, 43 failed state 108
Default 39, 43 failure recovery
building storage space 147–148
15, 34, 37, 40, 50, 63, 83 multiple disk drives 147–148
adding maxCache SSD caching 83 multiple logical drives 147
on existing array 40 RAID 0 logical drives 147–148
on new array 37 with hot spare 147
without hot spare 147
C identifying 101
initializing 110
cache optimizations 66 locating 101
cards, See controllers properties 101
components
replacing in logical drives 107
14, 101
secure erasing 108–109
defined 14
uninitializing 109
viewing properties 101
updating firmware 115
Configuration Event Detail window 123
within logical drives 38
configuring 36–37, 40
drives
See also building storage space
101
connector modes 114
identifying 101
controller
locating 101
31, 125, 143
clearing configuration 143
controller connector modes 114 E
controller performance optimization 113
email notifications
controllers
92, 101, 112, 115, 119, 125 122, 127–128, 130–132

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email notifications (continued) G
changing "from" address 128, 131–132
changing SMTP server 128, 131–132 Green Backup status 125
disabling 128, 132
failed test emails 131 H
modifying recipient information 128, 131
recipient addresses 128 hard disk
removing recipients 128, 131 14
setup 128 hard disk drive
SMTP server settings 128 14
test emails 128, 130 hard drive, See disk drive
Email Notifications Manager help 32
122, 127–128, 130 hot spare activation 57
opening 128 hot spares
test emails 128, 130
51–53, 55
enclosure auto-replace 51, 53
115, 120 creating dedicated 51–52
updating firmware 115, 120 limitations 51, 53, 55
enclosures removing 55
31, 101, 125–126, 159
fan status 31, 125–126, 159 I
identifying 101
locating 101 icons
monitoring 31, 125–126, 159 28, 122–123, 129
power status 31, 125–126, 159 Enterprise View 28
status 31 event status icons 122–123, 129
temperature status 31, 125–126, 159 identifying components 101
Enterprise View initializing disk drives 110
26, 28
icons 28 L
event log 30, 122
event log (operating system) 135 local systems 34
events 30 locating drives 101
See also monitoring logging in 25, 34–35
expander logging into remote systems 35
115, 120 logging out 33
updating firmware 115, 120 logical drives
expanding logical drives 78 36–41, 43, 63, 63–65, 77–80, 107–108,
147–148, 161–163, 165–167
build method 39, 43
F
building on existing array 40
failed disk drives building on new array 37
147–148 changing RAID levels 77
multiple logical drives 147 defined 63
RAID 0 logical drives 147–148 deleting 80
without hot spare 147 different-sized disk drives 63–64
failed logical drive disabling background consistency check 65
147–148 enabling background consistency check 65
force online 147–148 expanding 78
firmware 115, 119–120 formatting 40, 43
Firmware Update wizard 115 hot-swap rebuilding 79, 107–108, 148
force online 147–148 increasing capacity 78
formatting logical drives 40, 43 non-redundant 161
options for creating 36

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logical drives (continued) maxCrypto
partitioning 40, 43 87, 89, 92–93, 96–97, 99, 125
RAID 1 161 accounts 89
RAID 1 (ADM) 162 checking status 92, 125
RAID 10 163 configuration 93
RAID 10 (ADM) 163 importing a master key 99
RAID 5 165 re-keying a logical drive 96
RAID 50 166 resetting 97
RAID 6 167 setup 87
RAID 60 167 maxView Storage Manager
rebuild priority 79 15–16, 19, 21, 26, 28–29, 35, 122
rebuilding 147 beginning steps 15
renaming 80 Enterprise View 26
replacing disk drives 107 event log 122
selecting disk drives 38 icons 28
selecting RAID levels 37, 41 introduction 15
Shingled Magnetic Recording device 36 logging into remote systems 35
SMR drive main window overview 26
36 maxCache devices 26
Device Managed (SMR DM) 36 Redfish Server 15, 19
Host Aware (SMR HA) 36 ribbon 29
Host Managed (SMR HM) 36 Ribbon 26
Perpendicular Magnetic Recording device system requirements 16, 21
(PMR) 36 monitoring
30, 101, 122, 122–124, 127–132, 136
M device properties 101
email notifications
main window 122, 127–128, 130–132
26, 33, 122–124, 129 changing "from" address 128, 131–132
event details 123 changing SMTP server 128, 131–132
event log 122 failed test emails 131
Logout button 33 modifying recipient information 128, 131
monitoring activity and status 122 recipient addresses 128
notification types removing recipients 128, 131
122–123, 129 setup 128
event log 122 SMTP server settings 128
event status icons 122–123, 129 test emails 128, 130
overview 26 Email Notifications Manager 122, 127
status icons 122–123, 129 event details 123
Storage Dashboard 124 event log 30, 122
task details 124 options 122
maxCache status icons 122–123, 129
83, 85, 134 Storage Dashboard 124
cache hits and misses 134 task details 124
limitations 83 task log 30
write cache setting 85
write caching 83
maxCache Device
N
83, 85 network requirements 19
creating 83 non-RAID Mode controllers 158–159
deleting 85 non-redundant logical drives 161
selecting a RAID level 83 notification types
selecting SSDs 83 122, 127
maxCache statistics 86, 133–134, 174 email notifications 122, 127

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O ribbon (continued)
overview 29
online help 32 Rescan 112
operating system event log 135 Save support archive 149
operating systems 16, 21 Ribbon 26

P S
partitioning logical drives 40, 43 secure erase 108–109
physical device error counters 105 segments 63
power management 81 Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology
Properties tab 101 (SMART) 127
pure HBAs 158–159 Server Template File 137
Shingled Magnetic Recording device 51, 53, 55
silent installation
R
150–151
RAID switches, properties, and values 150–151
161–163, 165–167 SMART statistics 127
non-redundant logical drives 161 SMR drive
RAID 0 161 51, 53, 55
RAID 1 161 Device Managed (SMR DM) 51, 53, 55
RAID 1 (ADM) 162 Host Aware (SMR HA) 51, 53, 55
RAID 10 163 Host Managed (SMR HM) 51, 53, 55
RAID 10 (ADM) 163 Perpendicular Magnetic Recording device (PMR)
RAID 5 165 51, 53, 55
RAID 50 166 SMTP server 128, 131–132
RAID 6 167 split mirror backup array 74
RAID 60 167 SSD IO Bypass 68
RAID levels statistics counters
37, 41, 77 135
changing 77 resetting 135
selecting 37, 41 statistics logging
RAW drive 109 86, 133–135, 174
RAW state 109 counters 135
reactivating split mirror backup 74 enabling 133
rebuild priority 79 viewing 86, 133–134, 174
rebuilding (defined) 147 Statistics Viewer 86, 133–134, 174
rebuilding logical drives 79, 107–108, 148 status 30–31
Redfish See also monitoring
15, 19 enclosures 31
introduction 15, 19 event log 30
remirroring split mirror backup 74 task log 30
remote systems See also monitoring
34, 141 status icons
adding manually 141
122–123, 129
main window 122–123, 129
removing 141
Storage Dashboard 101, 124
renaming logical drives 80
storage space
rescanning controllers 112
14, 17
Resources View 31, 125
examples 17
ribbon
support archive file 129, 148
29, 35, 77–78, 80, 112, 149
Survival mode 81
Add system 35
system requirements 16, 21
Change logical device name 80
systems
Expand or change logical device 77–78
34, 101

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systems (continued) U
local systems 34
properties 101 uninitializing disk drives 109–110
remote systems 34 updating firmware 115, 119–120

T W
task log 30 write cache 85
temperature status 31, 125–126, 159 write-back 85
terminology 14 write-through 85

Microsemi Smart Storage Controllers User's Guide Revision 9 185

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