SuperTrak EX-Series UM v3.0

SUPERTRAK
EX4650, EX8650,
EX8654, EX8658,
EX16650
USER MANUAL
Version 3.0 SR3
SuperTrak EX Series User Manual
Copyright
© 2009 Promise Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright by Promise Technology, Inc. (Promise Technology). No part of this
manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the expressed,
written permission of Promise Technology.
Trademarks
Promise, and the Promise logo are registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office. All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Important data protection information

You should back up all data before installing any drive controller or storage
peripheral. Promise Technology is not responsible for any loss of data resulting
from the use, disuse or misuse of this or any other Promise Technology product.
Notice
Although Promise Technology has attempted to ensure the accuracy of the
content of this manual, it is possible that this document may contain technical
inaccuracies, typographical, or other errors. Promise Technology assumes no
liability for any error in this publication, and for damages, whether direct, indirect,
incidental, consequential or otherwise, that may result from such error, including,
but not limited to loss of data or profits.
Promise Technology provides this publication “as is” without warranty of any
kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
The published information in the manual is subject to change without notice.
Promise Technology reserves the right to make changes in the product design,
layout, and driver revisions without notification to its users.
This version of the User Manual supersedes all previous versions.
Recommendations
In this Manual, the appearance of products made by other companies, including,
but not limited to software, servers, and physical drives, is for the purpose of
illustration and explanation only. Promise Technology does not recommend,
endorse, prefer, or support any product made by another manufacturer.
ii
Notices
Radio Frequency Interference Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy, and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this
equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged
to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which
the receiver is connected.
• Consult Promise Technology, Inc. or an experienced radio or TV technician
for help.
This device complies with Part 5 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2)
this device must accept any interference received, including interference that
may cause undesired operation.
Caution
Only digital device equipment CERTIFIED CLASS B should be

attached to this equipment and that must have shielded cables.
iii
iv
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
XOR Microprocessor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Hot-Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
WebPAM PRO Management Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Operating System Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Browser Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Key Features and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Chapter 2: Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Unpacking the SuperTrak Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Installing the SuperTrak Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Connecting SuperTrak to a SuperSwap Enclosure . . . . . . . . .14
Connecting SuperTrak to a VTrak JBOD Enclosure . . . . . . . . .14
SAS Connections and ID Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Choosing the Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Creating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Installing the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Installing onto Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Installing onto Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Installing the CLI onto FreeBSD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Installing the CLI onto VMware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Installing WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Utility Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
JRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Internet Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Installing WebPAM PRO onto Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Installing WebPAM PRO onto Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Logging into WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Logging in at the Host PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Logging in over the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Login Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Setting up WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
v
Chapter 3: Installing Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Driver Installation Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Linux and FreeBSD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Windows Server 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
New OS Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Confirming Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Windows Server 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Fedora Core 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Fedora Core 7, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
openSUSE 10.2, 10.3, 10.5, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
SLES 10, 10 SP1, 10 SP2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Miracle Linux 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
FreeBSD 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
vi
Contents
Chapter 3: Installing Drivers, cont.

VMware ESX Server 3.0.2, 3.5.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Existing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

SuperTrak BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Accessing the Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Selecting a Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Viewing Controller Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Managing Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Viewing Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Viewing Physical Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Managing Physical Drive Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Managing Disk Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Viewing Disk Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Viewing Disk Array Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Creating a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Changing Disk Array Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Rebuilding a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Deleting a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Managing Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Viewing Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Viewing Logical Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Creating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Initializing a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Changing Logical Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Deleting a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Managing Spare Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Viewing Spare Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Viewing Spare Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Creating a Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Changing Spare Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Deleting a Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Viewing Background Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Managing the Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Viewing RAM Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Viewing NVRAM Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Clearing the Event Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
vii
Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility, cont.

Working with Time Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Setting the Time Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Synchronizing Time with an Embedded Site . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Using the Miscellaneous Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Making the SAS Ready LED Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Making the SGPIO Backplane Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Working with the Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Logging into WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Logging in at the Host PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Logging in over the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Login Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Accessing the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Using the Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Using Tree View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Using Management View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Choosing a Display Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Viewing the Event Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Saving the Event Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Deleting the Event Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Viewing the Storage Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Logging out of WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Managing Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Viewing User Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Making User Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Making Your Own User Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Changing a User’s Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Changing Your Own Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Creating a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Deleting a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Working with Subsystem/Host Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Viewing Subsystem/Host Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Adding a Subsystem or Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
In-Band versus Out-of-Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Deleting a Subsystem or Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Setting User Privilege . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Updating the Firmware on Multiple Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
viii
Contents
Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO, cont.

Managing Software Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Viewing Service Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Changing Web Server Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Restarting the Tomcat Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Setting up Email Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Setting up Extended SMTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Sending A Test Email Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Setting Event Frame Refresh Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Changing CIM Client Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Changing CIM Server Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Managing the Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Viewing Host Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Setting User Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Refreshing the WebPAM PRO Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Managing the Subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Viewing Subsystem Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Clearing Statistical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Setting an Alias for the Subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Updating the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Checking Subsystem Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Viewing the Runtime Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Saving the Runtime Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Clearing the Runtime Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Viewing the NVRAM Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Saving the NVRAM Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Clearing the NVRAM Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Viewing Current Background Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Making Background Activity Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Running Background Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
Running Media Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
Running PDM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
Viewing Scheduled Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Scheduling an Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Deleting a Scheduled Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Viewing System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Managing the Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Viewing Controllers Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Viewing Controller Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Viewing Controller Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
ix

Managing the Controller, cont.
Making Controller Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
Clearing an Orphan Watermark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Viewing Battery Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Silencing the Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Making Buzzer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Testing the Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Viewing Buzzer Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Managing Enclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Viewing Enclosure Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Managing Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Viewing a List of Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Locating a Physical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Making Global Physical Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Viewing Physical Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Viewing Physical Drive Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Making Physical Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Clearing Stale and PFA Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Viewing the SMART Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Viewing Advanced SMART Log Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Saving Advanced SMART Log Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Making SMART Log Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Managing Disk Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Viewing Disk Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Locating a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Creating a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Creating a Disk Array – Automatic Configuration . . . . . . . . . .158
Creating a Disk Array – Express Configuration . . . . . . . . . . .159
Creating a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration . . . . . . . . . .161
Deleting a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Viewing Disk Array Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Making Disk Array Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Creating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Deleting a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Migrating a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Rebuilding a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Running Media Patrol on a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Running PDM on a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Transitioning a Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Preparing a Disk Array for Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
x
Contents

Managing Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Viewing Information for All Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Locating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Viewing Logical Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Viewing Logical Drive Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Changing Logical Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Initializing a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Running Redundancy Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Viewing the Logical Drive Check Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Managing Spare Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Viewing a List of Spare Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Creating a Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Deleting Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Making Spare Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Running Spare Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
Working with the Logical Drive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Viewing a List of All Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Locating a Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Viewing Individual Logical Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Chapter 6: Management with the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Opening the CLI on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Opening the CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, and VMware . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Table of Supported Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Notes and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
List of Supported Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Chapter 7: Technology Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

Introduction to RAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
RAID 0 – Stripe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228
RAID 1 – Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
RAID 1E – Enhanced Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230
RAID 5 – Block Striping with Distributed Parity . . . . . . . . . . . .231
RAID 6 – Block and Double Parity Stripe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232
RAID 10 – Mirror / Stripe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
RAID 50 – Striped Distributed Parity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234
RAID 60 – Striping of Double Parity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
xi
Chapter 7: Technology Background, cont.

Choosing a RAID Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
RAID 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
RAID 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
RAID 1E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
RAID 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
RAID 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
RAID 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
RAID 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
RAID 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Choosing Stripe Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Choosing Sector Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
2 TB Limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Choosing Cache Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Read Cache Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Write Cache Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Capacity Coercion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247
Hot Spare Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
Partition and Format the Logical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
RAID Level Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
RAID 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
RAID 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
RAID 1E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
RAID 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251
RAID 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251
RAID 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
RAID 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
RAID 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
Ranges of Disk Array Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
Media Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255
Predictive Data Migration (PDM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255
PDM Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255
Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
Drive Failure and Automatic Rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
Automatic Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258
Manual Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258
xii
Contents
Chapter 8: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Problems Reported by SuperTrak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263
Problems Reported in WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Opening WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
What to Look For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Critical & Offline Logical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267
Finding the Failed Drive in SuperBuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267
Finding the Failed Drive in WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
Salvaging Physical Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269
Clearing Stale and PFA Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269
Rebuilding a Disk Array Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Rebuilding a Disk Array Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Rebuilding with WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Rebuilding with SuperBuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271
Recovering from a Blank Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272
Cache Battery Does Not Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272
Chapter 9: Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273

Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273
Pre-Installation (Speed, Device Types, Capacity, Cabling) . .273
Drive Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
Installation Issues (Capacity, Booting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
Post-Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276
Contacting Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277
Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
Disclaimer of other warranties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
Your Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
Returning the Product For Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282
Appendix A: Partition and Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
Appendix B: Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289

Updating SuperTrak BIOS and Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Downloading BIOS and Firmware File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Updating WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
Downloading the WebPAM PRO Update File . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
Installing the WebPAM PRO Update File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
Logging into WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
xiii
Appendix C: Battery Backup Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291

Installing the BBU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
Appendix D: LED Backplane Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295

Schematic Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295
Direct LED Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
Aggregate LED Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
Global LED Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
xiv
Chapter 1: Introduction
• About This Manual, below
• Product Overview (page 2)
• WebPAM PRO Management Software (page 3)
Thank you for purchasing one of Promise Technology’s SuperTrak EX4650,

EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, or EX16650 SAS/SATA RAID Controller card.
About This Manual

This User Manual describes how to setup, use and maintain the SuperTrak RAID
controller. It also describes how to use the Web-Based Promise Array
Management—Professional (WebPAM PRO) RAID management software.
This manual includes a full table of contents, chapter task lists and numerous
cross-references to help you find the specific information you are looking for.
Also included are four levels of notices:
Note
A Note provides helpful information such as hints or alternative

ways of doing a task.
Important
Important calls attention to an essential step or point required to

complete a task. Important items include things often missed.
Caution
A Caution informs you of possible equipment damage or loss of

data and how to avoid them.
Warning
A Warning notifies you of probable equipment damage or loss of

data, or the possibility of physical injury, and how to avoid them.
1
Product Overview
SuperTrak EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, and EX16650 are SAS and
SATA RAID Controller cards. When used with WebPAM PRO software, the
SuperTrak RAID Controllers offer a feature-rich, secure and versatile enterprise-
wide RAID solution. In addition, the SuperTrak EX Series supports RAID
expansion. The resulting RAID environment allows users and administrators to
configure, manage, and monitor everything from single logical drives on local
systems to logical drive networks residing in offsite locations.
The SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller cards support SAS hard drives as well
as 1.5 Gb/s and 3.0 Gb/s SATA hard drives. At its core, the SuperTrak card
provides advanced RAID management functions: creating logical drives,
monitoring them, keeping them online and operating at optimum efficiency.
SuperTrak can also perform many other tasks, such as:
• The SuperTrak EX4650 Controller card supports up to four SAS or SATA
physical drives and RAID levels 0, 1, 1E, 5, 6, and 10. With a SAS expander
you can attach up to 128 drives. This Controller also supports RAID 50 and
60 with a SAS expander.
• The SuperTrak EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, and EX16650 Controller cards
you can directly attach up to 16 SAS or SATA physical drives. With a SAS
expander you can attach up to 256 drives. These Controllers also support
RAID levels 0, 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60.
• Set up a network of SuperTrak RAID servers (all running under different
RAID levels) and monitor those servers from any workstation on the
network.
• Create a series of SuperTrak RAID networks at any number of offsite
locations.
• Monitor and repair SuperTrak RAID logical drives using the Internet from an
offsite location—all without compromising the integrity of secure servers.
XOR Microprocessor
The SuperTrak EX Series Controllers have an onboard microprocessor for XOR
calculations, which off loads the parity calculation workload from the main CPU
and transfers it to the controller card, boosting the performance of the entire
system.
Hot-Swapping
Attached drives can be hot swapped when necessary.
2
WebPAM PRO Management Software

The Web-Based Promise Array Management—Professional (WebPAM PRO)
software offers local and remote management and monitoring of all SuperTrak
logical drives that exist anywhere on a network. Browser-based GUI provides
email notification of all major events or alarms, memory cache management,
drive event logging, logical drive maintenance, rebuild, and access to all
components in the RAID configuration (controller, physical drives, disk arrays,
logical drives, physical drives, and enclosure).
For information on using WebPAM PRO, see “Chapter 5: Management with
WebPAM PRO” on page 109.
Operating System Support

On the Host PC where you install the SuperTrak controller and WebPAM PRO,
Promise Technology recommends:
• Windows Server 2008 (64 bit) with or without Hyper-V
• Windows Server 2008 (32 bit)
• Windows Vista (32 or 64 bit)
• Windows Server 2003 SP1, SP2; R2 (32 or 64 bit)
• Windows XP Professional SP2, SP3 (32 or 64 bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 (32 or 64 bit)
• openSUSE 10.2, 10.3, 11 (32 or 64 bit)
• SLES 10, 10 SP1, 10 SP2 (32 or 64 bit)
• Miracle Linux 4 SP2, 5 (32 or 64 bit)
• Fedora Core 6, 7, 8, 9 (32 or 64 bit)
• Open Source Driver for Linux 2.6 kernel (32 or 64 bit)
SuperTrak management on the following OS is supported only via CLI:
• FreeBSD 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.0 (32 or 64 bit)
SuperTrak management on the following virtualization platform is supported only
via CLI:
• VMware ESX 3.0.2, 3.5 (certification pending)
3
Browser Support
you must have one of the following browsers:
• Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Netscape Navigator
If you do not have one of the above browsers, install the browser first and make it
the default browser. Then install WebPAM PRO.
Key Features and Benefits

The following information offers an overview of the major features of the Promise
SuperTrak EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, and EX16650.
Advanced Design
Features Benefits
Supports PCIe x8 bus Allows maximum data transfers of up to 2 GB/s
motherboards in both directions simultaneously to dramatically
reduce the time to save and retrieve large files.
EX4650 supports: RAID 0, 1,
1E, 5, 6, and 10. RAID 50 and Provides dramatic increase in drive performance
60 with SAS Expander. and/or fault tolerant options. Offers performance
EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, customization and data rebuilds from the BIOS
and EX16650 support: RAID menu.
0, 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60
Supports Serial ATA Burst data transfer rates up to 300 MB/s from
Specification II Serial ATA drives to boost overall system
performance.
Supports Serial Attached Burst data transfer rates up to 300 MB/s from
SCSI Specification SAS drives to boost overall system
performance.
Independent data channels Drives can multiply their data transfer
for SATA and SAS drives performance when striped together and each
drive uses a separate data channel.
Supports multiple logical Up to 32 logical drives per array,
drives on the same physical Up to 128 arrays drives per controller,
drives Up to 256 physical drives per controller,
Up to 256 logical drives per controller.
4
Advanced Design
Features Benefits
Supports online logical drive Add disk drives to the array without affecting
expansion data availability.
Supports online logical drive Change RAID level without affecting data
migration availability.
Utilizes SuperBuild™ Has “Auto Setup” option for quick and easy
automenu from the SuperTrak logical drive builds.
onboard BIOS
Displays status and error Notifies user of possible errors and allows for
checking messages during recovery of mirrored drive logical drives directly
bootup from SuperBuild™.
Supports S.M.A.R.T. Polls status at set intervals, reports through
monitoring and reporting WebPAM PRO.
Employs the latest Promise Fully supports Serial ATA specifications with 150
PCI Express SATA/SAS ASIC and 300 MB/sec timing and CRC error-checking
technology at high speeds.
Automatic background Fault tolerance can be restored automatically
rebuilds without rebooting.
DOS based flash upgrade of Verifies proper file, option to backup existing file.
BIOS and Firmware Download files from Promise website.
Capacity coercion Supports four schemes of capacity coercion.
System reboot not required System boot process continues without
after create, delete, migrate or restarting.
expand logical drive
Compatibility
Features Benefits
Complies with PCI Express Provides highest level of hardware compatibility
Specification 1.0a
Complies with SATA Provides full compatibility with first generation
Specification 1.0a SATA hard drives.
Complies with SATA II: Provides enclosure and drive monitoring
Extensions to SATA 1.0a compatibility.
Specification
Complies with SAS Provides full compatibility with SAS hard drives.
Specification 1.1
5
Compatibility
Features Benefits
Tested compatibility to coexist Improves system performance and minimizes
with motherboards that have system conflicts for new and existing
integrated IDE controllers installations.
Features LBA support Supports drives greater than 137 GB capacity.
Supports BIOS Boot All logical drives attached to the SuperTrak card
Specification appear in the BBS-compliant motherboards
BIOS boot list.
Specifications
• Port Counts and Connectors
EX4650: 4 internal, one SFF-8087
EX8650: 8 internal, two SFF-8087
EX8654: 4 internal, one SFF-8087; 4 external, one SFF-8088
EX8658: 8 external, two SFF-8088
EX16650: 16 internal, four SFF-8087
• Interface: PCI-Express x8 Slot
• I/O Processor
EX4650: 667 MHz
EX8650: 800 MHz
EX8654, EX8658, EX16650: 1.2 GHz
• Memory (DDR-II)
EX4650: 128 MB
EX8650: 256 MB
EX8654, EX8658, EX16650: 512 MB
• Controller card dimensions (HWD):
EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658:
2.69 x 6.63 x 0.75 inches (68.3 x 168.3 x 19.0 mm) “Low profile”
EX16650:
4.37 x 6.63 x 0.75 inches (111.0 x 168.3 x 19.0 mm) “Full height”
• Operating temperatures
Without BBU: 32° to 122°F (0°C to 50°C)
With BBU: 32° to 104°F (0°C to 40°C)
• Operating humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
6
Chapter 2: Installation
• Unpacking the SuperTrak, below
• Installing the SuperTrak Card (page 9)
• Choosing the Physical Drives (page 17)
• Creating a Logical Drive (page 18)
• Installing the CLI (page 23)
• Windows (page 23)
• Linux (page 29)
• Free BSD (page 36)
• VMware (page 37)
• Installing WebPAM PRO (page 38)
• Windows (page 40)
• Linux (page 49)
• Logging into WebPAM PRO (page 58)
• Setting up WebPAM PRO (page 60)
Unpacking the SuperTrak Card

When you receive the SuperTrak EX Series SAS/SATA RAID Controller card, the
package should contain the items listed below:
• SuperTrak EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, or EX16650 Controller card
• Quick Start Guide
• 0.5m (19-inch) SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 multi-lane cable
One (1) for EX4650 and EX8654
Two (2) for EX8650
Four (4) for EX16650
• CD with WebPAM PRO software, Windows and Linux drivers, and
SuperTrak User Manual
If any of the items are missing or appear damaged, please contact your dealer or
distributor immediately.
Warning
The electronic components on the SuperTrak EX Controller cards

are sensitive to damage from Electro-Static Discharge (ESD).
Observe appropriate precautions at all times when handling the
SuperTrak card or its subassemblies.
7
Warning
Before installing the SuperTrak EX Controller card into an existing

system, backup any important or useful data. Failure to follow this
accepted PC practice could result in data loss.
Important
Promise does not recommend multi-lane and fanout cables longer

than 1m (38 inches) because they have not been tested with the
SuperTrak controller.
Important
If your SuperTrak EX16650 card has a battery backup unit (BBU),

follow these requirements to be sure the battery charges properly:
• Ambient operating temperature must not exceed 104°F (40°C)
• Airflow through your PC or server must be at least 200 LFM
Note
The SuperTrak EX Controller cards are PCI Plug-n-Play (PnP)

devices. No changes are necessary in the motherboard CMOS or
BIOS Setup for resources or drive types in most applications.
8
Installing the SuperTrak Card

The SuperTrak EX Controller card fits into any available PCI-Express x8 slot. You
can also plug the SuperTrak card into a PCI-Express x16 slot.
1. Remove the cover of your system.
2. Remove the inside slot cover of an available PCI-Express slot on the
motherboard.
3. Install the SuperTrak card into the open PCI-Express slot.

4. Fasten the SuperTrak card bracket to the system case.
5. Attach one end of a SAS multi-lane cable to a SAS port on the SuperTrak
card.
External SAS multi-lane cables are user-supplied. The external SAS ports
have SFF-8088 connectors.
See Figures 1 through 5.
9
Figure 1. SuperTrak EX4650 card
Activity and Global and

Fault LED Pins Aggregate
LED Pins
SAS Port
Phys 1-4
BBU module
connector
SuperSwap connector
Activity and Global and

Fault LED Pins Aggregate
LED Pins
SAS Ports
Phys 5-8
Phys 1-4
BBU module
connector
SuperSwap connector
10
SuperSwap connector BBU module

connector
Activity and Fault Aggregate
SAS Port: LED Pins LED Pins
Phys 5-8
Global
LED Pins
SAS Port: Phys 1-4
BBU module
connector
Aggregate
SuperSwap connector LED Pins
SAS Ports
Phys 1-4
Phys 5-8
Global
LED Pins
11

Activity and Fault LED Pins
SAS Ports
Phys 13-16
Phys 9-12
Phys 5-8
Phys 1-4
Global and
Aggregate
LED Pins
BBU module SuperSwap
connector connector
6. Attach the other end of the SAS multi-lane cable to a SAS port on your
enclosure’s backplane or to your SAS expander.
For more information, see the user manual for your enclosure or SAS
expander.
7. Optional. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the other SAS ports on the SuperTrak
EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, or 16650 card.
8. Optional. Attach cables from the LED pins on the SuperTrak card to the
LEDs in your PC or enclosure. See Figures 5 through 7.
For more information, see “Appendix D: LED Backplane Connections” on
page 295 and the user manual for your PC or enclosure.
Figure 6. Individual LED pins, EX4650, EX8650, and EX8654
EX8650
EX4650 EX8654
Activity LEDs Fault LEDs

Fault LEDs Activity LEDs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 4 3 2 1
Phys or Drives Phys or Drives
12
For SuperTrak EX8654 and EX8658, note that only the interior SAS Port
Phys have individual LED pins.
Figure 7. Individual LED pins, EX16650
Activity LEDs
Fault LEDs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Phys or Drives
Figure 8. Global and Aggregate LED pins, EX4650 and EX8650
Global LEDs (J2)
+ R G+
+ – – +
Aggregate LEDs (J3)
Figure 9. Global and Aggregate LED pins, EX8654 and EX8658
+
R +
G –
+
Global LEDs Aggregate LEDs
Figure 10. Global and Aggregate LED pins, EX16650
+ +
R –
G –
+ +
Global LEDs Aggregate LEDs
13
Connecting SuperTrak to a SuperSwap Enclosure

If you are using Promise SuperSwap enclosures:
1. Attach SAS fanout cables to the SAS ports of the SuperTrak card.
2. Connect the other ends of the SAS fanout cables to the SuperSwap
enclosure.
3. Connect the 3-to-3 pin management cable (came with the SuperSwap) from
the SuperSwap connector on SuperTrak card to the Management connector
on the back of the SuperSwap housing.
4. Optional. If you are installing multiple SuperSwap 4600s, install a 6-pin
daisy-chain cable from the daisy-chain OUT connector of the first
SuperSwap to the daisy-chain IN connector of the second.
SuperTrak supports up to eight SuperSwap 1600 enclosures or up to two
SuperSwap 4600 enclosures.
Connecting SuperTrak to a VTrak JBOD Enclosure

If you are connecting the SuperTrak card to a single VTrak JBOD enclosure, you
can attach the SAS multi-lane cable to either the circle or diamond port on the
enclosure.
However, if you plan to cascade multiple VTrak JBOD enclosures, you must
attach the SAS multi-lane cable to the circle port on the first enclosure.
Figure 11. Attaching the SAS multi-lane cable to the diamond port
115200
8N1
SuperTrak SAS multi-lane cable VTrak JBOD

Controller (supplied with VTrak) enclosure
14
SAS Connections and ID Numbers

The table below correlates the ranges of Enclosure IDs and Physical Drive IDs,
that appear in the WebPAM PRO interface as a result of the data connections
you make.
SuperTrak SAS Port Enclosure ID Range Drive ID Range
Phys 1-4 Virtual* 1 1 to 128
Phys 1-4 2 to 9 1 to 128
Phys 5-8 10 to 17 129 to 256
Phys 9-12 18 to 25 257 to 384
Phys 13-16 26 to 33 385 to 512
* A virtual enclosure involves physical drives attached directly to the

SuperTrak controller or a connection to an SGPIO backplane.
You can attach up to 128 SAS or SATA drives on each SAS port
using SAS expanders.
The SuperTrak EX8650, EX8654, and EX8658 cards are designed to manage up
to 16 enclosures and up to 256 SAS or SATA disk drives (using SAS expanders).
The SuperTrak EX16650 card is designed to manage up to 32 enclosures and up
to 512 SAS or SATA disk drives (using SAS expanders).
If your system has fewer components, you might be surprised at the way
WebPAM PRO numbers your enclosures and drives. The following scenarios
illustrate some numbering examples.
Scenario 1: Virtual Enclosure – SGPIO
You install the SuperTrak card into an SGPIO enclosure. You attach a SAS data
cable between SAS Port Phys 1-4 and the enclosure’s backplane.
In WebPAM PRO, the SGPIO enclosure appears as Enclosure 1. The drives are
numbered 1 to 128.
If you attached a second SGPIO enclosure to SAS Port Phys 5-8, it would appear
in WebPAM PRO as Enclosure 10. The drives would be numbered 129 to 256.
Scenario 2: Virtual Enclosure – Host PC
You install the SuperTrak card into a Host PC. You attach SAS breakout cables
to SAS Ports Phys 1-4 and Phys 5-8 and a SAS or SATA drive at the drive ends
of each cable.
15
In WebPAM PRO, the Host PC appears as Enclosure 1. The drives on SAS Port
Phys 1-4 are numbered 1 to 4. The drives on SAS Port Phy 5-8 are numbered
129 to 132.
This scenario also applies if you use Promise SuperSwap enclosures.
Scenario 3: External Enclosures – Daisy Chain
You install the SuperTrak card into a Host PC. You attach a SAS data cable
between SAS Port Phys 1-4 and a Promise VTrak J310s 12-drive JBOD
enclosure. You connect a second J310s enclosure to the first in a daisy chain.
In WebPAM PRO, the first JBOD enclosure appears as Enclosure 2. The drives
are numbered 1 to 12. The second JBOD enclosure appears as Enclosure 3. The
drives are numbered 13 to 24.
Scenario 4: External Enclosures – Parallel
You install the SuperTrak card into a Host PC. You attach a SAS data cable
between SAS Port Phys 1-4 and a VTrak J310s enclosure. You attach a SAS
data cable between SAS Port Phys 5-8 and a second J310s enclosure.
In WebPAM PRO, the first JBOD enclosure appears as Enclosure 2. The drives
are numbered 1 to 12. The second JBOD enclosure appears as Enclosure 10.
The drives are numbered 129 to 140.
Scenario 5: SAS Expanders
You install the SuperTrak card into a Host PC. You attach a SAS data cables
between SAS Port Phys 1-4 and Phys 5-8 and two SAS Expanders.
In WebPAM PRO, the first Expander appears as Enclosure 2. The drives are
numbered 1 to 128. The second Expander appears as Enclosure 10. The drives
are numbered 129 to 256.
See “Viewing Enclosure Information” on page 148 and “Locating a Physical
Drive” on page 149 for more information.
16
Choosing the Physical Drives

The SuperTrak EX Controller card supports:
• SAS physical drives
• SATA 3.0-Gb/s physical drives
• SATA 1.5-Gb/s physical drives
• Hard Disk Drives (HDD)
• Solid State Drives (SSD)
For optimal performance, install physical drives of the same model and capacity.
Level Number of Drives Level Number of Drives
RAID 0 1 or more RAID 6 4 to 16*
RAID 1 2 only RAID 10 4 or more**
RAID 1E 3 or more RAID 50 6 or more
RAID 5 3 to 16* RAID 60 8 or more
* Requires SAS expansion

** Requires an even number of drives
The table above shows the number of drives required for each RAID level.
Note
You cannot mix HDDs and SSDs in the same disk array. If you
attempt to create an array with HDDs and SSDs, the Controller will
create two separate disk arrays, each with the specified number of
logical drives.
17
Creating a Logical Drive

You can use the SuperBuild™ Configuration Utility to create a logical drive with
the attached physical drives. Even if you plan to use the WebPAM PRO software
to manage your logical drives, you can still create your first logical drive using the
SuperBuild Utility, as described here.
Note
For an explanation of the logical drive concepts and the choices

you can make when you create your logical drive, see “Chapter 7:
Technology Background” on page 227 of this manual.
1. Boot your system. If this is the first time you have booted with the SuperTrak
card and physical drives installed, the SuperTrak BIOS will display the
following screen.
2. Press the Ctrl-S keys to display the SuperBuild Utility Main Menu.
18
3. Press the arrow keys to highlight Disk Array Management and press Enter.
The Disk Array Management screen appears.
4. Highlight Create Disk Array and press Enter.

The Create Disk Array screen appears.
Use this screen to select the physical drives for your disk array.
5. Press the arrow keys to highlight a physical drive. Then press the spacebar
to select the physical drive.
An asterisk (*) appears at the left of each selected physical drive.
6. Highlight Save Configuration and press Enter.
The Disk Array Management screen appears, showing your new disk array
19
7. Highlight Return to Previous Menu and press Enter.
The Main Menu appears.

8. Highlight Logical Drive Management and press Enter.
The Logical Drive Management screen appears.

9. Highlight Create Logical Drive and press Enter.
The Create Logical Drive Step 1/2 screen appears.

10. Press the arrow keys to highlight a disk array. Then press the spacebar to
choose the disk array.
An asterisk (*) appears at the left of the chosen disk array.
20
11. Highlight Next Step and press Enter.
12. To change the RAID Level, highlight RAID Level and press Enter.
In the popup menu, highlight your choice of RAID Level and press Enter.
The available RAID Levels depend on the number of physical drives you
selected for your disk array.
13. Press the arrow keys to highlight Logical Drive Name. Type a name for your
logical drive and press Enter.
14. To use less than the full physical drive capacity for this logical drive, highlight
Capacity and press Enter.
Press the Delete or Backspace keys to erase the current capacity. Type the
new capacity in MB to allocate to this logical drive.
Later, you can assign the unused capacity to a second logical drive.
15. To change the Stripe Size, highlight Stripe Size and press Enter.
Highlight your choice of 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, or 1024 KB and
press Enter.
16. To change the Sector Size, highlight Sector Size and press Enter.
Use the default 512 B. Only exceptions are logical drives larger than 2 TB on
Windows XP 32-bit. See page 253 for more information.
21
17. To change the Write Cache Policy, highlight Write Cache Policy and press
Enter.
Highlight your choice of Write Through or Write Back and press Enter.
18. To change the Read Cache Policy, highlight Read Cache Policy and press
Enter.
Highlight your choice of None, Read Cache, or Read Ahead and press
Enter.
The Logical Drive Management screen appears with your new logical drive.
At this point you can create additional logical drives, if there is physical drive
space available. To create another logical drive, repeat steps 4 though 18
above.
20. Press the F10 key to exit the SuperBuild utility and press Y to confirm and
restart the computer.
Do not press the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys. Do not press the Esc key.
You have successfully created a new RAID logical drive.
Important
You must partition and format your new logical drive before you
can use it. Use the same method of partitioning and formatting a
logical drive as you would any other fixed disk added to your
computer system.
22
Installing the CLI

The Command Line Interface (CLI) provides rapid setup of disk arrays and logical
drives. You can also manage your SuperTrak system using the CLI.
Installing onto Windows

To install the CLI onto your Windows PC or server:
1. Boot the PC or server, launch Windows, and log in as the Administrator.
If the computer is already running, exit all programs. If you are not logged in
as the Administrator, log out, then log in again as the Administrator.
2. Insert the Software CD into your CD-ROM drive.
The installer window opens automatically.
3. Click the CLI/SNMP button, then click the Install CLI for Windows button.
The first CLI installation dialog box appears.
4. In the Introduction dialog box, click the Next button to proceed with
installation.
Figure 12. Introduction dialog box
The CLI uses the same installer as WebPAM PRO. Even though the dialog
boxes say “WebPAM PRO,” this procedure installs the CLI.
23
5. In the License Agreement dialog box, choose the I accept... option, then
click the Next button.
Figure 13. License Agreement dialog box
24
6. In the Choose Destination Location dialog box, you can:

• Accept the default installation folder (recommended)
• Specify a different installation folder (advanced users)
When you agree with the proposed installation folder, click the Next button.
Figure 14. Choose Destination Location dialog box
25
7. In the Setup type dialog box, check the box if you only want to create
desktop shortcut (right) for the current user.
Leave the box unchecked to create a desktop shortcut for all users.
Click the Next button to continue.
Figure 15. Setup Type dialog box
26
8. In the Ready to Install dialog box, click the Install button to continue.
Figure 16. Ready to Install dialog box
27
9. In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Finish button to exit the installer.
Figure 17. Install Complete dialog box
With the Register Your Product Online box checked, your browser will
open and go directly to the Promise product registration website. Thank
you for taking the time to register.
To open the CLI, click the CLI icon on the desktop (right).
Go to “Chapter 6: Management with the CLI” on page 185 for
information about using this application.
28
Installing onto Linux

Important
Check the SuperTrak Read Me file for any issues pertaining to the
distribution and version of Linux OS running on your PC or server.
For Linux PCs, Promise offers two different binary files:

• WebPAM PRO and CLI – Installs either or both WebPAM PRO and the CLI
• CLI only – Installs only the CLI
Note that both of these binary files open in a terminal window and both files use
the WebPAM PRO installer. The procedure below installs the CLI only. To install
WebPAM PRO, see page 49.
To install the CLI onto your Linux PC or server:
1. Boot the PC or server, log in as root, and launch the Linux GUI.
as root, log out, then log in again as root.
3. Copy the CLI_Installer...linux.bin file from the Software CD \CLI\Linux
directory to the /root directory on your PC.
4. Open a terminal window and type sh followed by one space, the exact name
of the CLI_Installer...linux.bin file, then press Enter.
Note
For silent installation, type sh followed by the exact name of the

CLI_Installer...linux.bin file, followed by -i silent, then press
Enter.
After several moments, the first installation dialog box appears.
29
installation.
30
31
7. When the Choose Install Folder dialog box appears, you can:
• Accept the default installation folder (recommended)
• Specify a different installation folder (advanced users)
Figure 20. Choose Install Folder dialog box
32
8. In the Pre-Installation Summary dialog box, click the Install button to

continue.
Figure 21. Pre-Installation Summary dialog box
33
9. In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Next button to continue.
Figure 22. Install Compete dialog box
34
10. In the Register On-line dialog box, click the Done button to exit the installer
Figure 23. Register On-line dialog box
With the Register Your Product On-line box checked, your browser will open and
go directly to the Promise product registration website. Thank you for taking the
time to register.
Go to the /opt/Promise/WebPAMPRO/Agent/bin directory and type ./cliib to
start the CLI.
Go to “Chapter 6: Management with the CLI” on page 185 for information about
using this application.
35
Installing the CLI onto FreeBSD

PCs running FreeBSD do not support WebPAM PRO, therefore they cannot use
the WebPAM PRO installer. Those systems use a binary file to install the CLI in a
terminal window.
Choose the x64 binary file for a 64-bit OS or the x86 binary file for a 32-bit OS.
To install the CLI onto your FreeBSD PC or server:
1. Boot the PC or server, log in as root.
3. Copy the CLI_Installer...FreeBSD.bin file from the Software CD
\CLI\FreeBSD directory to the /root directory on your PC.
4. Open a terminal window and type
sh CLI_Installer...FreeBSD.bin -i silent
and press Enter.
CLI_Installer...FreeBSD.bin represents the exact name of the CLI binary
file, such as
CLI_Installer_3_11_0000_00_x64FreeBSD.bin, or
CLI_Installer_3_11_0000_00_x86FreeBSD.bin
5. Reboot the PC or server.
After the installation is finished, type cliib with any shell to start the CLI.
36
Installing the CLI onto VMware

The VMware virtualization platform does not support WebPAM PRO, therefore
they cannot use the WebPAM PRO installer. Those systems use a binary file to
install the CLI in a terminal window.
Before you begin, download the CLI_Installer...VMware.bin file from the
Promise Support Website to your PC or server.
To install the CLI onto your VMware platform:
1. Boot the PC or server, log in as root.
2. Copy the CLI_Installer...VMware.bin file to the /root directory on your PC.
3. Open a terminal window and type
sh CLI_Installer...VMware.bin -i silent
and press Enter.
CLI_Installer...VMware.bin represents the exact name of the CLI binary file,
such as CLI_Installer_3_11_0000_00_VMware.bin
After the installation is finished, go to the /opt/Promise/WebPAMPRO/Agent/bin
directory and type ./cliib to start the CLI.
37
Installing WebPAM PRO

Web-Based Promise Array Management—Professional (WebPAM PRO)
software provides a browser-based graphic user interface used to monitor and
manage Promise RAID products and their logical drives. Because it works over
your network, it can monitor and control multiple systems.
WebPAM PRO involves four components:
• Utility Server – Enables RAID management over a network
• Agent – Enables the Host PC to communicate with the Utility Server
• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) – A private installation for
WebPAM PRO
• Internet Browser – Comes with your OS
When you install WebPAM PRO on a PC or server, you are installing the Utility
Server, Agent, and JRE.
• Utility Server (page 38)
• Agent (page 38)
• JRE (page 39)
• Internet Browser (page 39)
• Installing WebPAM PRO onto Windows (page 40)
• Installing WebPAM PRO onto Linux (page 49)
Utility Server
The Utility Server can run on the Host PC (where the SuperTrak card is installed),
or on a networked PC, if your WebPAM PRO system includes remote
management over a network. You run the Utility Server by directing your browser
to the IP address of the Host PC.
Agent
The Agent runs on the Host PC (where the SuperTrak card is installed). After you
have logged into the Utility Server through WebPAM PRO, the Utility Server
accesses the Agent on the Host PC. As the user, you do not access the Agent
directly.
Operating System Support
Promise Technology recommends:
• Windows Server 2008 (64 bit) with or without Hyper-V
• Windows Server 2008 (32 bit)
• Windows Vista (32 or 64 bit)
38
• Windows Server 2003 SP1, SP2; R2 (32 or 64 bit)

• Windows XP Professional SP2, SP3 (32 or 64 bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 (32 or 64 bit)
• openSUSE 10.2, 10.3, 11 (32 or 64 bit)
• SLES 10, 10 SP1, 10 SP2 (32 or 64 bit)
• Miracle Linux 4 SP2, 5 (32 or 64 bit)
• Fedora Core 6, 7, 8, 9 (32 or 64 bit)
• Open Source Driver for Linux 2.6 kernel (32 or 64 bit)
Choose one of these operating systems to take full advantage of all the features
of WebPAM PRO.
JRE
The WebPAM PRO installation program installs a private Java Runtime
Environment (JRE) under the same directory where WebPAM PRO is installed.
WebPAM PRO uses this private JRE to avoid incompatibility issues with any
other JREs that may be present on your system.
Internet Browser
Typically an Internet browser comes with your operating system. The WebPAM
PRO installer does not include a browser. For computers that will remotely
monitor and manage the RAID, the browser is the only software required.
Browser Support
Choose the latest version of the following browsers to use with WebPAM PRO:
• Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Netscape Navigator
If you do not have one of the above browsers on the Host PC, install the browser
first and make it the default browser. Then install WebPAM PRO.
Important
Install the SuperTrak driver for your operating system before

installing WebPAM PRO. See “Chapter 3: Installing Drivers” on
page 63 for instructions.
39
Caution
If you have WebPAM or an earlier version of WebPAM PRO on

your PC or server, manually uninstall them before you install
WebPAM PRO from the Software CD.
Go to one of the following procedures:

• “Installing WebPAM PRO onto Windows” on page 40.
• “Installing WebPAM PRO onto Linux” on page 49.
Installing WebPAM PRO onto Windows

To install WebPAM PRO onto your Windows-based PC or server:
1. Boot the PC or server, launch Windows, and log in as the Administrator.
as the Administrator, log out, then log in again as the Administrator.
The installer window opens automatically.
3. Click the WebPAM PRO Software button, then click the Install WebPAM
PRO for Windows button.
The first WebPAM PRO installation dialog box appears.
installation.
40
41
6. In the Setup Type dialog box, choose the option you prefer:
• Typical – Installs the Agent, Server, and CLI. Recommended for most
users.
• Custom – Enables you to choose which components to install. Optional
for advanced users.
42
7. Optional. If you chose the Custom option, the Select Features dialog box
appears. Choose any combination of three options:
• Agent Feature – The Agent is required on the Host PC (where the
SuperTrak card is installed) and for In-band management of
subsystems.
• Server Feature – The Utility Server is required for local or remote
management. If you have a network, install the Server on one of your
networked PCs. If you have only local management, install the Server
on the Host PC (where the SuperTrak card is installed).
• CLI Feature – The Command Line Interface runs on the Host PC
(where the SuperTrak card is installed) and provides local management
only.
Checked items will be installed. Uncheck items you do not want to install.
Figure 27. Custom Setup dialog box
43
8. In the Choose Destination Location dialog box, you can:

• Accept the default installation folder. Recommended for most users.
• Specify a different installation folder. Optional for advanced users.
Figure 28. Choose Destination Location dialog box
44
9. In the WebPAM PRO Server dialog box, check the box to select SSL
security.
External SSL Security – Applies security to all connections involving the
Internet or outside your company firewall.
Security options are invisible to authorized users.
Promise Technology provides a default certificate for the server as well as for
internal data communication. However, in some cases it is better to install
and verify your own certificate for the webserver. And, if possible, verify the
certificate by a certificate authority such as Verisign or Thwate. See your MIS
Administrator for guidance.
Figure 29. WebPAM PRO Server dialog box
Note
If you are only installing the CLI, this dialog box does not appear.
45
10. In the Setup type dialog box, check the box if you only want to
create desktop shortcut (right) for the current user.
Leave the box unchecked to create a desktop shortcut for all
users.
46
11. In the Ready to Install dialog box, click the Install button to continue.
Figure 31. Ready to Install dialog box
47
12. In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Finish button to exit the installer.
Figure 32. Install Complete dialog box
With the Register Your Product Online box checked, your browser will open and
time to register.
This completes the WebPAM PRO installation for Windows. Go to “Logging into
48
Installing WebPAM PRO onto Linux

Important
Check the SuperTrak Read Me file for any issues pertaining to the
distribution and version of Linux OS that you are running.
To install WebPAM PRO onto your Linux-based PC or server:

1. Boot the PC or server, log in as root, and launch the Linux GUI.
3. Go to the WebPAM PRO / Linux directory on the CD-ROM and copy the
WebPAMPRO...Linux.bin file to the root directory.
4. Open a terminal window and type sh followed by the exact name of the
WebPAMPRO...Linux.bin file, then press Enter.
Note
For silent installation, type sh followed by the exact name of the

WebPAMPRO...linux.bin file, followed by -i silent, then press
Enter.
After several moments, the first WebPAM PRO installation dialog box
appears.
installation.
49
50
51
7. In the Choose Install Product dialog box, choose any combination of three
options:
• WebPAM PRO Utility Server – One Server must be installed on the
network, or on the Host PC if there is only local management
• WebPAM PRO Agent – The Agent must be installed on every PC or
Server where a SuperTrak Controller card has been installed
• Inband CLI Only – Installs the Command Line Interface (CLI)
You can install the CLI now or at a later time.
Checked items will be installed. Uncheck items you do not want to install.
Figure 35. Choose Install Product dialog box
52
8. When the Choose Install Folder dialog box appears, you can:
• Accept the default installation folder. Recommended for most users.
• Specify a different installation folder. Optional for advanced users.
Figure 36. Choose Install Folder dialog box
53
9. In the SSL Security Options dialog box, check the box to select SSL security.
External SSL Security – Applies security to all connections involving the
Internet or outside your company firewall.
Security options are invisible to authorized users.
Promise Technology provides a default certificate for the server as well as for
internal data communication. However, in some cases it is better to install
and verify your own certificate for the webserver. And, if possible, verify the
certificate by a certificate authority such as Verisign or Thwate. See your MIS
Administrator for guidance.
Figure 37. SSL Security Options dialog box
Note
If you are only installing the CLI, this dialog box does not appear.
54
10. In the Pre-Installation Summary dialog box, click the Install button to
continue.
Figure 38. Pre-Installation Summary dialog box
55
11. In the Install Complete dialog box, click the Next button to continue.
Figure 39. Install Compete dialog box
56
12. In the Register On-line dialog box, click the Done button to exit the installer
Figure 40. Register On-line dialog box
With the Register Your Product On-line box checked, your browser will open and
time to register.
Note
The first time you install WebPAM PRO on a RedHat Linux

system, the WebPAM PRO icon appears on the desktop but not in
the application menu. Please log out, then log in again, and the
WebPAM PRO icon will thereafter appear in the application menu.
This completes the WebPAM PRO installation for Linux. Go to “Logging into
57
Logging into WebPAM PRO

You can log into WebPAM PRO in either of two ways:
• Logging in at the Host PC (page 58)
• Logging in over the Network (page 58)
Logging in at the Host PC

At the Host PC (where the SuperTrak EX Controller is installed), do one of the
following actions:
• Double-click the WebPAM PRO desktop icon.
• Choose WebPAM PRO in the Windows Programs menu.
• Choose WebPAM PRO in the Linux Applications menu.
• Follow the steps under “Logging in over the Network”.
Logging in over the Network

You can log into WebPAM PRO from any PC with a network connection to the
Host PC (where the SuperTrak EX Controller is installed).
1. Launch your Browser.
2. In the Browser address field, type the information provided below, then press
Enter.
If you selected External SSL Security during installation (Windows, see
page 45; Linux, see page 54), use the Secure Connection. Otherwise, use
the Regular Connection.
Regular Connection
• WebPAM PRO uses an HTTP connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .http://
• Enter the Host PC’s IP address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192.168.10.228
• Enter the Port number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :8080
• Add promise to launch WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . /promise
Together, your entry looks like this:
http://192.168.10.228:8080/promise
Secure Connection
• WebPAM PRO uses a secure HTTP connection . . . . . . . . . . .https://
58

https://192.168.10.228:8443/promise
Notes
• You can enter the Host PC’s network name in place of the IP
address.
• If you are logging in at the Host PC, you can enter localhost
in place of the IP address.
• Whether you select a regular or a secure connection, your
WebPAM PRO user name and password are always secure.
Login Screen
When the opening screen appears:
1. Type administrator in the User Name field.
2. Type password in the Password field.
3. Click the Login button.
The User Name and Password are case sensitive. See Figure 41.
Figure 41. The WebPAM PRO login screen
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Setting up WebPAM PRO

The first time you use WebPAM PRO, you must add the Host PC so that
WebPAM PRO will recognize it. You only need to perform this procedure once.
To add the Host PC:
1. In the Tree, click Subsystem/Host Management.
See Figure 42.
Figure 42. WebPAM PRO initial login screen
Click Subsystem/Host Management
2. Click the Add Subsystem/Host tab.

3. In the Subsystem/Host Port IP address field, type the IP address of the
Host PC where you installed the SuperTrak EX Controller card.
If you are working at the same Host PC where the SuperTrak card is
installed, you can also type 127.0.0.1 in the IP address field.
Entries such as localhost or the Host PC’s network name do not work for this
function.
60
Figure 43. Add Subsystem/Host tab
4. Click the Submit button.

The newly added host appears in the Tree, on the left side of the
WebPAM PRO screen.
This completes the WebPAM PRO installation and initial setup. Go to “Chapter 5:
Management with WebPAM PRO” on page 109 for information about using this
application.
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62
Chapter 3: Installing Drivers
• Driver Installation Media • Fedora Core 6
• Windows (page 64) • New OS Installation (page 75)
• Linux and FreeBSD (page 65) • Existing System (page 75)
• Windows Server 2008 • Fedora Core 7, 8
• New OS Installation (page 66) • New OS Installation (page 76)
• Existing System (page 67) • Existing System (page 76)
• Confirming Driver Installation • openSUSE 10.2, 10.3, 10.5, 11
(page 67) • New OS Installation (page 77)
• Windows Vista • Existing System (page 77)
• New OS Installation (page 68) • SLES 10, 10 SP1, 10 SP2
• Existing System (page 69) • New OS Installation (page 78)
• Confirming Driver Installation • Existing System (page 78)
(page 69)
• Miracle Linux 4
• Windows Server 2003
• New OS Installation (page 80)
• Existing System (page 81)
• FreeBSD 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.0
• Confirming Driver Installation
(page 71)
• Windows XP
• VMware ESX Server 3.0.2, 3.5.0
• Confirming Driver Installation
(page 73)
• Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4.4, 4.5,
4.6, 4.7
Following are installation procedures for the SuperTrak drivers for Windows,
Linux, and FreeBSD included on the software CD.
Download the latest drivers from the Promise Support Website.
The software CD also includes source code files for compiling your own Linux
drivers. Source code files begin with the letters SRC.
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Important
If you are using a Linux distribution for which there are no

compiled drivers, please access the Promise Knowledge Base
and call up Article 10029.
Driver Installation Media

Windows
If your Windows PC does not have a floppy drive, copy the driver file to a CD or a
USB stick, whichever your PC supports.
To prepare a driver diskette, CD, or USB stick for Windows:
1. Insert the software CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Click the Driver button.
3. Click the Driver for Windows button.
4. Click the button for your Windows system:
• XP – Windows SCSIPort Driver
• All other versions – Windows STORPort Driver
5. Insert a blank diskette, a writable CD, or attach a USB memory stick to your
PC.
6. Copy the driver file to the diskette, CD, or USB stick.
Check the driver’s ReadMe file for important information.
64
Linux and FreeBSD

For FreeBSD, start with a diskette. For Linux, choose the medium that works for
your system.
If your Linux PC does not have a floppy drive, copy the driver file to a CD or a
USB stick, whichever your PC supports.
To prepare a driver diskette, CD, or USB stick for Linux:
1. Insert the software CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Click the Driver button.
3. Click the button for your OS:
• Driver for Miracle Linux
• Driver for RedHat / Fedora
• Driver for SUSE
• Driver for FreeBSD
4. Double-click the folder for your OS version.
5. Manually copy the driver .tar.gz file from the folder to your PC’s hard drive.
6. Open a terminal window and untar the driver file. Below is an example:
tar zxvf RH-306010003.tar.gz
7. Insert a blank diskette, a writable CD, or attach a USB memory stick to your
PC.
8. Copy the driver file to the diskette, CD, or USB stick.
Check the driver’s ReadMe file for important information.
65
Windows Server 2008

New OS Installation
The following details the installation of the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller
drivers while installing Windows Server 2008.
1. Start the installation: Boot from the CD-ROM.
2. When the “Where do you want to install Windows?” dialog box appears, click
Load Driver.
3. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into drive A: or attach a USB memory
stick with the SuperTrak driver to the USB port.
4. In the Load Driver dialog box, click the Browse button.
5. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, click the diskette or USB stick, then click
the OK button.
6. In the “Select the driver to be installed” dialog box, highlight Promise
SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller, then click the Next button.
7. When the “Where do you want to install Windows?” dialog box appears
again, in the list of Disks, highlight the Disk representing your logical drive
(the Disk with unallocated space), then click the Next button.
8. Continue the Windows installation.
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Existing System
After installing the SuperTrak EX Series RAID Controller card and rebooting your
system, Windows Server 2008 setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog
box.
1. Choose the Locate and install driver software option and click the Next
button.
The “Found New Hardware – RAID Controller” dialog box displays the
message: “Allow Windows to search online for driver software for your RAID
Controller?”
2. Choose the Don’t search online option.
message: “Insert the disc that came with your RAID Controller.”
3. Insert the driver diskette into the floppy drive and click the Next button.
Windows loads the driver and displays the “Found New Hardware” dialog
box with message: “Windows has finished installing the driver software for
this device Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller.”
4. Click the Close button to finish driver installation.
Confirming Driver Installation

1. Right-click the My Computer icon and choose Manage from the popup
menu.
2. From the left panel, choose Device Manager.
3. Click the + in front of Storage controllers. “Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID
Controller” and “Promise RAID Console” should appear.
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Windows Vista
New OS Installation
drivers while installing Windows Vista.
1. Start the installation: Boot from the CD-ROM.
2. When the “Where do you want to install Windows?” dialog box appears, click
Load Driver.
3. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into drive A: or attach a USB memory
stick with the SuperTrak driver to the USB port.
4. In the Load Driver dialog box, click the Browse button.
5. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, click the diskette or USB stick, then click
the OK button.
6. In the “Select the driver to be installed” dialog box, highlight Promise
SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller, then click the Next button.
7. When the “Where do you want to install Windows?” dialog box appears
again, in the list of Disks, highlight the Disk representing your logical drive
(the Disk with unallocated space), then click the Next button.
8. Continue the Windows installation.
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Existing System
system, Windows Vista setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box.
1. Choose the Locate and install driver software option and click the Next
button.
message: “Allow Windows to search online for driver software for your RAID
Controller?”
2. Choose the Don’t search online option.
message: “Insert the disc that came with your RAID Controller.”
3. Insert the driver diskette into the floppy drive and click the Next button.
Windows loads the driver and displays the “Found New Hardware” dialog
box with message: “Windows has finished installing the driver software for
this device Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller.”
4. Click the Close button to finish driver installation.

menu.
3. Click the + in front of Storage controllers. “Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID
Controller” and “Promise RAID Console” should appear.
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Windows Server 2003

New OS Installation
drivers while installing Windows Server 2003.
1. Start the installation:
• Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows Server 2003
installation diskettes.
• CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message
“Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver” appears.
2. When the Windows Server 2003 Setup window is generated, press S to
specify an Additional Device(s).
3. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into drive A: and press Enter.
4. Choose Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller from the list that
appears on screen, and then press the Enter.
5. The Windows Server 2003 Setup screen will appear again saying “Setup will
load support for the following mass storage devices:” The list will include
“Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller”.
NOTE: If there are any additional devices to be installed, specify them now.
When all devices are specified, continue to the next step.
6. From the Windows Server 2003 Setup screen, press the Enter. Setup will
now load all device files and then continue the Windows Server 2003
installation.
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Existing System
system, Windows Server 2003 setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog
box. Under Windows 2003, “RAID Controller” will be displayed.
1. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive.
2. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key.
3. If using a driver that has not been digitally signed by Microsoft, you will be
asked if you want to continue the installation. Click Continue anyway.
4. When the New Hardware Wizard has finished installing the SuperTrak driver,
click Finish.

menu.
3. Click the + in front of SCSI and RAID controllers. “Promise SuperTrak EX
SAS RAID Controller” and “Promise RAID Console” should appear.
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Windows XP
New OS Installation
drivers while installing Windows XP.
1. Start the installation:
• Floppy Install: Boot the computer with the Windows XP installation
diskettes.
• CD-ROM Install: Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 after the message
“Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver” appears.
2. When the Windows XP Setup window is generated, press S to specify an
Additional Device(s).
3. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into drive A: and press Enter.
4. Choose Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller from the list that
appears on screen, and then press the Enter.
5. The Windows XP Setup screen will appear again saying “Setup will load
support for the following mass storage devices:” The list will include
“Promise SuperTrak EX SAS RAID Controller”.
NOTE: If there are any additional devices to be installed, specify them now.
When all devices are specified, continue to the next step.
6. From the Windows XP Setup screen, press the Enter. Setup will now load all
device files and then continue the Windows XP installation.
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Existing System
system, Windows XP setup will show a “Found New Hardware” dialog box.
1. Insert the SuperTrak driver diskette into the A:\ drive.
2. Choose Install the software automatically and press the Enter key.
3. If using a driver that has not been digitally signed by Microsoft, you will be
asked if you want to continue the installation. Click Continue anyway.
4. When the New Hardware Wizard has finished installing the SuperTrak driver,
click Finish.

menu.
3. Click the + in front of SCSI and RAID controllers. “Promise SuperTrak EX
SAS RAID Controller” and “Promise RAID Console” should appear.
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Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7

New OS Installation
1. Start the RedHat Linux Installation by booting from the install CD.
2. At the “Welcome to Red Hat Linux...” installation screen, a prompt labeled
boot: will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type linux dd and press
Enter.
3. When the Installer asks, “Do you have a driver disk?” click Yes.
4. At the “Insert your driver disk and press OK to continue,” click OK.
At the Devices dialog box, insert the driver diskette or CD, or attach the USB
stick and click OK.
5. Continue with the installation normally.
Note: Check the readme file, included with the downloaded driver files, for
instructions on installing the RAID Console.
Note: The RHEL 5 kernel includes a SuperTrak driver.
Existing System
1. Insert the driver diskette or CD, or attach the USB stick.
2. Log in as root.
3. Type mount -r /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy.
Change this command as needed for a CD or USB stick.
4. Type cd /mnt/floppy
5. Type sh ./install.
6. When the Installer asks, “You are installing a driver on an existing OS. Is it
true (y/n)?” press Y, then press Enter.
7. Type cd /umount /mnt/floppy.
8. Remove the driver diskette, CD, or USB stick.
9. Type reboot to restart the system.
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Fedora Core 6
New OS Installation
1. Start the Fedora Core Installation by booting from the install CD.
2. At the “Welcome to Fedora 6...” installation screen, a prompt labeled boot:
will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type linux dd acpi=off and press
Enter.
stick and click OK.
Note: Include acpi=off in the boot script to ensure proper system startup.
Existing System
2. Log in as root.
Note: Include acpi=off in the boot script to ensure proper system startup.
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Fedora Core 7, 8
New OS Installation
1. Start the Fedora Core Installation by booting from the install CD.
2. At the “Welcome to Fedora...” installation screen, highlight the Install or
upgrade an existing system option, then press the Tab key for edit options.
A prompt labeled boot: will appear at the bottom of the screen.
3. Type linux dd and press Enter.
stick and click OK.
Note: For Fedora Core 7, include acpi=off in the boot script to ensure proper
system startup.
Existing System
2. Log in as root.
Note: For Fedora Core 7, include acpi=off in the boot script to ensure proper
system startup.
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openSUSE 10.2, 10.3, 10.5, 11

New OS Installation
1. Start the SUSE Linux Installation by booting from the install CD.
2. As the system boots, press F6 for the driver diskette, CD, or USB stick.
3. Choose the Yes option.
4. Move the cursor to highlight the Installation option, then press Enter.
5. When the Driver Update Menu pops up, choose your driver diskette, CD, or
USB stick.
Then click OK and click Back to return to the installer.
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
Existing System
2. Log in as root.
3. Type mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy.
4. Type cd /media/floppy
6. Type cd /umount /media/floppy.
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SLES 10, 10 SP1, 10 SP2

New OS Installation
1. Start the SLES Linux Installation by booting from the install CD.
2. As the system boots, press F5 for the driver diskette, CD, or USB stick.
3. Choose the Yes option.
4. Move the cursor to highlight the Installation – ACPI Disabled option, then
press Enter.
5. When the Driver Update Menu pops up, choose your driver diskette, CD, or
USB stick.
Then click OK and click Back to return to the installer.
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
Existing System
2. Log in as root.
3. Type mount /dev/fd0 /media/floppy.
4. Type cd /media/floppy
6. Type cd /umount /media/floppy.
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Miracle Linux 4
New OS Installation
1. Start the Miracle Linux Installation by booting from the install CD.
2. At the “Asianux” installation screen, a prompt labeled boot: will appear at the
bottom of the screen. Type linux dd and press Enter.
4. At the “Insert your driver disk and press OK to continue,” insert the driver
diskette or CD, or attach the USB stick and click OK.
Note: The Miracle Linux 5 kernel includes a SuperTrak driver.
Existing System
2. Log in as root.
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FreeBSD 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.0

New OS Installation
1. Start the FreeBSD Installation by booting from the install CD.
2. When the console menu appears, choose 6. Escape to loader prompt and
press any key except Enter to confirm your choice.
3. Insert the driver diskette.
4. Type the following commands and press Enter:
set currdev=disk0
load /stex.ko
set currdev=cd0
boot
5. Remove the driver diskette and continue the installation.
6. When the installation is finished, DO NOT EXIT.
Press Alt-F4 to switch to another screen.
7. Verify whether a device node exists.
Type the following command and press Enter.
ls /dev/fd0
Option 1. Device Node Exists
1. Type the following commands and press Enter.
mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /cdrom
/cdrom/install
2. After those commands finish, type the following command and press Enter.
umount /cdrom
3. Remove the driver diskette.
4. Press Alt+F1, exit the installation, and reboot your PC.
Option 2. Device Node Does Not Exist
1. Obtain a blank USB device, a disk drive or a memory stick, formatted to FAT
or FAT32 (MSDOS).
2. Copy the files from the driver diskette to the root directory of the USB device.
3. Attach the USB device to the PC.
4. Type the following commands and press Enter.
mount -t msdos /dev/daXsX /cdrom
/cdrom/install
Where /dev/daXs is the device node for the USB device.
80
5. After those commands finish, type the following command and press Enter.
umount /cdrom
6. Remove the USB device.
7. Press Alt+F1, exit the installation, and reboot your PC.
Existing System
2. Log in as root.
5. Type ./load.
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VMware ESX Server 3.0.2, 3.5.0

New OS Installation
1. Download the VMware driver ISO image from the Promise Support Website.
2. Burn the VMware driver ISO image to a CD.
3. Place the driver CD in the CD-ROM drive.
4. Reboot the computer.
5. When prompted for an upgrade or installation method, press Enter for
graphical mode.
6. Specify your language.
7. Select a keyboard type.
8. If your Driver CD successfully loaded, you will be prompted to insert the ESX
Server CD and restart.
9. Continue with the ESX Server installation.
Existing System
1. Download the VMware driver ISO image from the Promise Support Website.
2. Burn the VMware driver ISO image to a CD.
3. Log into the system as the Superuser.
4. Insert the driver CD into the CD-ROM.
If CD does not mount automatically, type the following command and press
Enter:
mount /mnt/cdrom
5. Type the following command and press Enter to install the driver RPM:
rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/VMupdates/RPMS/VMware-esx-
drivers-scsi-stex-<driver version>-i386.rpm
If the installation fails due to conflicts, try installing with the --force option.
6. Type the following commands and press Enter to update the boot file and
regenerate GRUB:
esxcfg-boot -rg
esxcfg-boot -b
If the ESX Server did not install on the SuperTrak EX controller, copy stex.o
From /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/
To /lib/modules/2.4.xxxxx/kernel/drivers/scsi/
7. Reboot ESX Server.
82
8. Remove the CD from the CD-ROM.

Note: If the driver did not load after the server rebooted, try one of the following
actions to make the ESX Server reconfigure its hardware settings:
• Move the SuperTrak EX controller to a different slot.
• Remove the existing SuperTrak EX controller and install a different
SuperTrak EX controller in its place.
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84
Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility
• SuperTrak BIOS (below)
• Accessing the Main Menu (page 88)
• Selecting a Controller (page 89)
• Viewing Controller Information (page 89)
• Managing Physical Drives (page 90)
• Managing Disk Arrays (page 92)
• Managing Logical Drives (page 95)
• Managing Spare Drives (page 99)
• Viewing Background Activity (page 102)
• Managing the Event Log (page 103)
• Working with Time Sync (page 105)
• Using the Miscellaneous Menu (page 106)
SuperTrak BIOS
This section explains the information that you can obtain from the SuperTrak
BIOS.
When the SuperTrak BIOS loads during bootup, the BIOS displays pertinent
information about the RAID logical drives. At this point, press Ctrl-S to enter the
SuperBuild Configuration Utility.
The SuperTrak BIOS screen displays the following information:
• Summary of Controller – The SuperTrak controller model number.
• Version of Single Image – The version number of the image used to update
the firmware on the SuperTrak controller.
• Number of Physical Drives – The number of physical drives attached to
this controller.
• Number of Disk Arrays – The number of disk arrays managed by this
controller.
• Number of Logical Drives – The number of logical drives managed by this
controller.
See Figure 1.
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Figure 1. SuperTrak BIOS screen
If the SuperBuild BIOS detects a Critical logical drive, the BIOS reports the
condition:
Figure 2. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive critical
See “Critical & Offline Logical Drives” on page 267 for information about restoring
an offline logical drive.
86
If the SuperTrak BIOS detects an Offline logical drive, the BIOS reports the
condition and temporarily halts the booting process of the Host PC.
Figure 3. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive offline
See “Critical & Offline Logical Drives” on page 267 for information about restoring
an offline logical drive.
87
Accessing the Main Menu

The opening screen of the SuperBuild utility is the Main Menu.
Figure 4. SuperBuild Main Menu
The Main Menu (above) has nine options:

• Controller Selection – Select which of two SuperTrak controllers you want
to access, if you have two SuperTraks installed in the Host PC
• Controller Information – Memory type and size, Firmware and BIOS
version numbers, and address information that may be helpful for diagnostic
purposes
• Physical Drive Management – A list of physical drives attached to the
SuperTrak controller, their ID (channel) numbers, model numbers, capacity,
and status
• Disk Array Management – A list of disk arrays attached to the SuperTrak
controller, the assigned physical drives, logical drives, capacity, and status
• Logical Drive Management – A list of logical drives plus create and delete
logical drive functions
• Spare Drive Management– A list of hot spare drives, their characteristics
and status
• Background Activity – A list of logical drives, any current background
activity, logical drive status and percentage of activity completed.
Background activities include: Rebuild, Initialize, Synchronize, Migrate, and
Pause/Resume
• Event Log – A list of events stored in RAM (since startup) or non-volatile
RAM (since the log was cleared) for diagnosis
• Time Sync – Enables you to set the time zone and synchronize system time
and date with the embedded site
88
• Miscellaneous – SAS drive LEDs, enclosure management, and buzzer

settings
Selecting a Controller
The SuperBuild Configuration utility supports up to two SuperTrak RAID
Controller cards installed in the same Host PC. Controller selection enables you
to select which of the two SuperTrak controllers the utility accesses.
If you have only one SuperTrak card installed in the Host PC, the SuperTrak is
Controller 1, and no selection is necessary.
If you have two SuperTrak cards installed in the Host PC, take the following
action to select one of them:
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Controller Selection and press Enter.
2. Highlight Controller 1 or Controller 2 and press Enter.
The selected controller (SuperTrak card) displays in the SuperBuild utility.
Viewing Controller Information

The SuperBuild utility displays information about the selected SuperTrak EX
controller.
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Controller Information and press Enter.
The information includes:
Vendor – Promise Technology, Inc.
Model – SuperTrak EX4650, 8650, 8654, EX8658, or EX16650
WWN – World Wide Number of the SuperTrak controller
Memory Type – DDR2 SDRAM
Memory Size – 128 MB, 256 MB, or 512 MB
Single Image Ver – The version number of the image used to update the
firmware on the SuperTrak EX controller.*
Firmware Version – The version number of the firmware currently installed
on the SuperTrak EX controller.*
BIOS Version – The version number of the BIOS currently installed on the
SuperTrak EX controller.*
PCI Func Address – The functional address of the SuperTrak card in the
Host PC. Used for advanced diagnostics
* The BIOS and Firmware are upgradable. See “Downloading BIOS and
Firmware File” on page 289 and See “Updating the Firmware” on
page 132.
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Managing Physical Drives

Physical drive management includes these functions:
• Viewing Physical Drives (page 90)
• Viewing Physical Drive Information (page 90)
• Managing Physical Drive Problems (page 91)
Viewing Physical Drives

To view physical drives:
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Physical Drive Management and press Enter.
ID – The channel number of the SuperTrak controller to which the physical
drive is attached
Model Name – The physical drive manufacturer’s model name for the drive
Capacity – Data capacity of the physical drive
Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding or Dead.
Viewing Physical Drive Information

The SuperBuild utility displays information about the physical (disk) drives
attached to the SuperTrak controller.
2. Highlight the physical drive you want to see and press Enter.
The Physical Drive Information screen displays:
ID – The channel number of the SuperTrak controller to which this physical
drive is attached.
Model Name – The drive manufacturer’s model name.
Serial Number – The drive manufacturer’s serial number.
Firmware Version – The drive’s firmware version number.
Drive Interface – SAS or SATA, 3.0 or 1.5 Gb/s
Protocol – ATA/ATAPI protocol level.
Capacity – Data capacity of the physical drive in GB.
Location – Enclosure refers to the Host PC. Slot refers to the channel
number of the SuperTrak controller.
Configuration – Disk array number and sequence number, Type of spare
drive, or Unconfigured.
Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Stale, or Dead.
90
Managing Physical Drive Problems

Physical drives can develop problems that make them unsuitable for service in a
logical drive. These problems are reflected in the physical drive status:
• PFA – The physical drive has errors resulting in a prediction of failure
• Stale – Caused by obsolete array information on the physical drive
• Offline – The physical drive is present but set to Offline status
• Dead – Physical drive set down by the SuperTrak controller
See “Chapter 8: Troubleshooting” on page 261 for corrective action.
91
Managing Disk Arrays

Disk array management includes these functions:
• Viewing Disk Arrays (page 92)
• Viewing Disk Array Information (page 92)
• Creating a Disk Array (page 93)
• Changing Disk Array Settings (page 94)
• Rebuilding a Disk Array (page 94)
• Deleting a Disk Array (page 94)
Viewing Disk Arrays

The SuperBuild utility displays information about the disk arrays managed by the
SuperTrak controller.
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Disk Array Management and press Enter.
ID – The consecutive number of the disk array in the order it was created,
beginning with 0.
Disk Array Name – The name you assigned to the disk array.
Capacity – Data capacity of the disk array in GB.
Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Degraded, Critical, or
Offline.
Viewing Disk Array Information

To view disk array information:
The Disk Array Management screen displays.
2. Highlight the Disk Array you want to see and press Enter.
The Disk Array Info and Setting screen displays. The information includes:
Disk Array ID – The consecutive number of the disk array in the order it was
created, beginning with 0
Disk Array Name – The name you assigned to the disk array
Capacity (Free) – Total data capacity of the disk array in GB
Capacity (Configurable) – Usable data capacity of the disk array in GB
Number of Physical Drives – Number of physical drives in this disk array
Number of Logical Drives – Number of logical drives in this disk array
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Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Degraded, Critical, or

Offline.
3. Highlight Physical Drives in the Disk Array and press Enter.
The following information displays:
ID – The channel number of the SuperTrak controller to which the physical
drive is attached
Model Name – The physical drive manufacturer’s model name for the drive
Capacity – Data capacity of the physical drive in GB
4. Highlight Logical Drives in the Disk Array and press Enter.
The following information displays:
ID – The consecutive number of the logical drive in the order it was created,
beginning with 0
Logical Drive Name – The user-assigned name for the logical drive
Capacity – Data capacity of the logical drive in GB
Status – Shows one of seven logical drive conditions: OK, Critical, Offline,
Init, Migration, Synchron, and Rebuild.
Creating a Disk Array

2. Highlight Create Disk Array and press Enter.
The Create Disk Array screen displays.
3. Optional. Press the arrow keys to highlight Disk Array Name and press
Enter. Then type a name for this disk array.
4. Press the arrow keys to highlight the physical drives you want to add to this
disk array. Then press the spacebar to select the physical drives.
An asterisk (*) appears at the left of each selected physical drive.
Note that you cannot mix Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives
(SSD) in the same disk array.
The new disk array appears under Disk Array Management. If you have
more physical drives available, you can create additional disk arrays
following the same procedure.
After you have created your disk arrays, Your next action is to create one or
more logical drives. See “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 96.
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Changing Disk Array Settings

To change the name of a disk array:
2. Highlight the Disk Array you want to change and press Enter.
The Disk Array Info and Setting screen displays.
3. Highlight Disk Array Name and press Enter.
4. Press the backspace or delete keys to remove the characters. Then type
new characters.
5. Highlight Save Setting and press Enter.
Rebuilding a Disk Array

See “Rebuilding a Disk Array Automatically” on page 270 and “Rebuilding a Disk
Array Manually” on page 270 for instructions.
Deleting a Disk Array

Warning
When you delete a disk array, you also delete any logical drives
that belong to it, along with the data in those logical drives. Back
up any important data before deleting a disk array.
To delete a disk array:

2. Highlight the disk array you want to delete and press the spacebar to mark
the disk array.
An asterisk (*) appears at the left of the selected disk array.
3. Highlight Delete Selected Disk Arrays and press Enter.
4. Press Y to confirm disk array deletion.
The selected disk array is removed from the list.
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Managing Logical Drives

Logical drive management includes these functions:
• Viewing Logical Drives (page 95)
• Viewing Logical Drive Information (page 95)
• Initializing a Logical Drive (page 97)
• Changing Logical Drive Settings (page 98)
• Deleting a Logical Drive (page 98)
Note
For an explanation of the logical drive concepts and the choices

you can make when you create your logical drive, see “Chapter 7:
Technology Background” on page 227.
For information about logical drive problems, see “Chapter 8:
Troubleshooting” on page 261.
Viewing Logical Drives

To view your logical drives:
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Logical Drive Management and press Enter.
The Logical Drive Management screen displays the following information:
ID – The consecutive number of the logical drive in the order it was created,
beginning with 0
Logical Drive Name – The user-assigned name for the logical drive
Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Initializing,
Synchronizing, Degraded, Critical, or Offline.
Viewing Logical Drive Information

To view logical drive information:
The Logical Drive Management screen displays.
2. Highlight the logical drive you want to see and press Enter.
The Logical Drive Info and Setting screen displays. The information includes:
Logical Drive ID – The consecutive number of the logical drive in the order it
was created, beginning with 0.
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Logical Drive Name – You can change this setting.

RAID Level – Chosen when the logical drive was created.
Stripe Size – Chosen when the logical drive was created.
Sector Size – Chosen when the logical drive was created.
Write Cache Policy – You can change this setting.
Read Cache Policy – You can change this setting.
Disk Array ID – Consecutive number of the disk array to which this logical
drive belongs
Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Initializing,
Synchronizing, Degraded, Critical, or Offline.

You must create a disk array before you can create a logical drive. See “Creating
a Disk Array” on page 93.
To create a logical drive:
2. Highlight Create Logical Drive and press Enter.
3. Press the arrow keys to highlight a disk array. Then press the spacebar to
select the disk array.
Highlight Next Step and press Enter.
The Create Logical Drive Step 2/2 screen displays.
4. Press the arrow keys to highlight the item you want to change, then press
Enter to select the item:
• Logical Drive Name – Optional. Type a name.
• RAID Level – Choose a new RAID level. Your choices depend upon the
number of physical drives in your disk array.
• Capacity – 0 means the full capacity or the remaining capacity of the
disk array will be used for this logical drive.
• Stripe Size – Choose from 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and 1 MB.
64 KB is the default.
• Sector Size – Choose from 512 B, 1 KB, 2 KB, and 4 KB. 512 B is the
default.
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• Write Cache Policy – Choose from Write Back or Write Through.

• Read Cache Policy – Choose from Read Cache, Read Ahead, or No
Cache.
• Axle – RAID 50 and 60 logical drives only. Choose the number of axles
or choose 0 to let the controller decide for you.
At this point you can create additional logical drives, if there is space
remaining on your disk arrays. To create another logical drive, repeat steps 2
though 5 above.
6. Press the F10 key to exit the SuperBuild utility and press Y to confirm and
restart the computer.
Do not press the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys. Do not press the Esc key.
Important
• Promise recommends that you Initialize your logical drives

immediately after you create them.
• You must be partition and format your new logical drives
before your operating system will recognize them.
Initializing a Logical Drive

Promise recommends that you Initialize your logical drives immediately after you
create them. Initialization sets all data bits in the logical drive to zero, removing
any residual data left behind from earlier configurations. You can also perform an
Initialization on an existing logical drive.
Warning
When you initialize a logical drive, you delete all data on the
logical drive. Backup any important data before you initialize a
logical drive!
2. Highlight the logical drive you want to initialize and press Enter.
3. Highlight Initialization Start and press Enter.
A message appears at the bottom of the screen.
4. Choose one of the following actions:
• For a Full Initialization, press F.
• For a Quick Initialization, press Q.
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• To cancel Initialization, press C.

The Initialization begins immediately. If you set Initialization for multiple
logical drives, they will be initialized sequentially. You can monitor
Initialization progress under Background Activity.
Changing Logical Drive Settings

To change logical drive settings:
2. Highlight the logical drive whose settings you want to change and press
Enter.
The Logical Drive Info and Setting screen displays.
• Logical Drive Name – Press the backspace or delete keys to remove
the characters. Then type new characters.
• Write Cache Policy – Choose from Write Back or Write Through.
• Read Cache Policy – Choose from Read Cache, Read Ahead, or No
Cache.
The changes happen immediately.
Deleting a Logical Drive

Warning
When you delete a logical drive, you delete all data on the logical
drive. Backup any important data before you delete a logical drive!
To delete a logical drive:

2. Highlight the logical drive you want to delete and press the spacebar to mark
the logical drive.
An asterisk (*) appears at the left of the selected logical drive.
3. Highlight Delete Selected Logical Drives and press Enter.
4. Press Y to confirm logical drive deletion.
The selected logical drive is removed from the list.
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Managing Spare Drives

Spare drive management includes these functions:
• Viewing Spare Drives (page 99)
• Viewing Spare Drive Information (page 99)
• Creating a Spare Drive (page 99)
• Changing Spare Drive Settings (page 100)
• Deleting a Spare Drive (page 101)
Viewing Spare Drives

To view your spare drives:
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Spare Drive Management and press Enter.
ID – The consecutive number of the spare drive in the order it was created,
beginning with 0
Model Name – The physical drive manufacturer’s model name
Capacity – Data capacity of the physical drive in GB
Viewing Spare Drive Information

To view spare drive information:
The Spare Drive Management screen displays.
2. Highlight the spare drive you want to see and press Enter.
The Spare Drive Info and Setting screen displays. The information includes:
Physical Drive ID – The channel number of the SuperTrak controller to
which the physical drive is attached.
Revertible – Yes or No.
Spare Type – Global or Dedicated.
Disk Array – ID, name, capacity, and status, for spare drives dedicated to
an array
Creating a Spare Drive

For a physical drive to qualify as a spare, the drive must be:
• Unconfigured – Not part of an array
• Functional – Showing OK status
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• Adequate Capacity – Same capacity or greater than the largest drive in your
array
• Same Media Type – HDD or SDD, same as the other physical drives in the
disk array
To create a spare drive:
2. Highlight Assign Spare Drive and press Enter.
The Assign Spare Drive Step 1/2 screen appears.
3. Press the arrow keys to highlight a physical drive. Then press the spacebar
to select the physical drive.
An asterisk (*) appears at the left of the selected physical drive.
Highlight Next Step and press Enter.
The Assign Spare Drive 2/2 screen displays.
• Revertible – Yes or No. A revertible spare drive automatically returns to
its spare drive assignment after the failed physical drive in the disk array
is replaced. Go to step 6.
• Spare Type – Global, can be used by any disk array. Dedicated, can
only be used by the assigned disk array. Go to step 5.
5. Optional. If you chose Dedicated in step 4, press the arrow keys to highlight
a disk array. Then press the spacebar to select the disk array.
Changing Spare Drive Settings

You can change a spare drive’s revertibility and type. To change spare drive
settings:
2. Highlight the spare drive whose settings you want to change and press
Enter.
The Spare Drive Info and Setting screen displays.
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• Revertible – Yes or No. A revertible spare drive automatically returns to

its spare drive assignment after the failed physical drive in the disk array
is replaced. Go to step 5.
• Spare Type – Global, can be used by any disk array. Dedicated, can
only be used by the assigned disk array. Go to step 4.
4. Optional. If you chose Dedicated in step 3, press the arrow keys to highlight
a disk array. Then press the spacebar to select the disk array.
The changes happen immediately.
Deleting a Spare Drive

To delete a spare drive:
2. Highlight the spare drive you want to delete and press the spacebar to mark
the spare drive.
An asterisk (*) appears at the left of the selected spare drive.
3. Highlight Delete Selected Spare Drives and press Enter.
4. Press Y to confirm spare drive deletion.
The selected spare drive is removed from the list.
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Viewing Background Activity

The Background Activity function enables you to monitor background activities
are running on the SuperTrak RAID controller. Information reported includes:
• Device – Disk array or logical drive by ID number
• Type – Synchronization, Initialization, or Rebuilding
• Status – Running or queued (waiting)
• Percentage – Percent completed
The Background Activity screen does not enable you to start, pause, resume, or
cancel any activity. Status of the activity, such as in-progress or paused.
To view background activity, in the Main Menu, highlight Background Activity and
press Enter.
When you are done, highlight Return to Previous Menu and press Enter.
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Managing the Event Log

The event log tracks events related to the SuperTrak controller and includes the
following functions:
• Viewing RAM Events (page 103)
• Viewing NVRAM Events (page 103)
• Clearing the Event Logs (page 104)
Viewing RAM Events

RAM events are also called Runtime events. All recorded events happened since
the last time you booted the Host PC. Displays the 1023 most recent events.
To view NVRAM events:
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Event Log and press Enter.
The Event Log screen displays.
2. Optional. If NVRAM is displayed beside Select Location, highlight Select
Location and press Enter. Then highlight NVRAM and press Enter.
3. Do the following actions to navigate the Event Log screen:
• To move to the next page or screen of events, highlight Next Page and
press Enter.
• To move to the previous page or screen of events, highlight Previous
Page and press Enter.
• To see all the information about an event, highlight the event and press
Enter.
Viewing NVRAM Events

NVRAM events are the most important events. These events are stored in non-
volatile RAM. Displays the 63 most recent events.
To view NVRAM events:
The Event Log screen displays.
2. Optional. If RAM is displayed beside Select Location, highlight Select
Location and press Enter. Then highlight NVRAM and press Enter.
3. Do the following actions to navigate the Event Log screen:
• To move to the next page or screen of events, highlight Next Page and
press Enter.
• To move to the previous page or screen of events, highlight Previous
Page and press Enter.
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• To see all the information about an event, highlight the event and press
Enter.
Clearing the Event Logs

Clearing the event logs remove all of the events from both the RAM and NVRAM
event logs. Note that the RAM log clears every time you boot the Host PC.
The Event Log screen displays. You can clear both logs from the RAM or
NVRAM screen.
2. Highlight Clear All Event Logs and press Enter.
3. Press Y to confirm event log clearing.
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Working with Time Sync

The Time Sync function adds two special features to SuperTrak. These functions
include:
• Setting the Time Zone (page 105)
• Synchronizing Time with an Embedded Site (page 105)
The Time Sync function does not replace or overwrite the regular date and time
settings in the Host PC’s BIOS or OS.
Setting the Time Zone

To set the difference between the current time zone (the time zone in which you
are) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT):
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Time Sync and press Enter.
The Time Sync screen displays.
2. Highlight Current Time Zone and press the + or – key to change the time for
the current time zone.
Each press of the + key increments 15 minutes forward.
Each press of the – key increments 15 minutes backward.
Synchronizing Time with an Embedded Site

This feature requires you to have installed in the Host PC a separate product that
is not part of SuperTrak RAID controller.
To synchronize time with an embedded site:
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Time Sync and press Enter.
The Time Sync screen displays.
2. Highlight Sync Time with Embedded Site and press Enter.
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Using the Miscellaneous Menu

The Miscellaneous menu enables three useful functions on SuperTrak:
• Making the SAS Ready LED Setting (page 106)
• Making the SGPIO Backplane Setting (page 106)
• Working with the Buzzer (page 106)
Making the SAS Ready LED Setting

The LEDs for SAS disk drives stay on continuously to show Ready status, except
when the drive is processing a command. This function enables you to turn the
LEDs off.
To turn the SAS drive LEDs off:
1. In the Main Menu, highlight Miscellaneous and press Enter.
2. Highlight SAS READY LED and press Enter.
3. Highlight your choice and press Enter.
• On – SAS drive LEDs on continuously
• Off – SAS drive LEDs off
Making the SGPIO Backplane Setting

This function enables you to set your SuperTrak card to work your enclosure
management controller through the SGPIO connection.
To choose your enclosure management controller setting:
2. Highlight SGPIO Backplane and press Enter.
• Generic
• AIC
• AMI
• Chenbro
• Direct LED
• Supermicro
Working with the Buzzer

The buzzer sounds to inform you that your RAID system needs attention. But the
buzzer does not specify the condition. When a continuous tone sounds, there are
multiple alarm patterns sounding at the same time.
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When the buzzer sounds, take the following actions:

• Check your disk arrays and logical drives.
• Check the Event Log. See page 103.
To silence the buzzer for the current trigger event, you must disable it.
Also see “Chapter 8: Troubleshooting” on page 261.
Enabling or Disabling the Buzzer
To enable or disable the Buzzer:
2. Highlight Buzzer and press Enter.
• Enable
• Disable
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Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO
• Logging into WebPAM PRO (page 109)
• Accessing the Interface (page 112)
• Managing Users (page 118)
• Working with Subsystem/Host Management (page 122)
• Managing Software Services (page 126)
• Managing the Host (page 130)
• Managing the Subsystem (page 131)
• Managing the Controller (page 142)
• Managing Enclosures (page 148)
• Managing Physical Drives (page 149)
• Managing Disk Arrays (page 156)
• Managing Logical Drives (page 172)
• Managing Spare Drives (page 178)
• Working with the Logical Drive Summary (page 182)
This chapter describes using WebPAM PRO to monitor and manage your RAID
system. This chapter is divided into sections for major WebPAM PRO
components as shown above.

You can log into WebPAM PRO in either of two ways:
• Logging in at the Host PC (page 109)
• Logging in over the Network (page 110)
Logging in at the Host PC

At the Host PC (where the SuperTrak EX Controller is installed), to log into
WebPAM PRO, do one of the following actions:
• Double-click the WebPAM PRO desktop icon.
• Choose WebPAM PRO in the Windows Programs menu or the Linux
Applications menu.
• Follow the steps under “Logging in over the Network” on page 110.
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Logging in over the Network

You can log into WebPAM PRO from any PC with a network connection to the
Host PC (where the SuperTrak EX Controller is installed).
1. Launch your Browser.
2. In the Browser address field, type the information provided below. Then
press Enter.
If you chose External SSL Security during installation (Windows, see
page 45; Linux, see page 54), use the Secure Connection. Otherwise, use
the Regular Connection.
Regular Connection
• WebPAM PRO uses an HTTP connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .http://
http://192.168.10.228:8080/promise
Secure Connection
• WebPAM PRO uses a secure HTTP connection . . . . . . . . . . .https://
https://192.168.10.228:8443/promise
Notes
• You can enter the Host PC’s network name in place of the IP
address.
• If you are logging in at the Host PC, you can enter localhost
in place of the IP address.
• Whether you select a regular or a secure connection, your
login to WebPAM PRO and your user password are always
secure.
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Login Screen
When the opening screen appears:
1. Type administrator in the User Name field.
2. Type password in the Password field.
3. Click the Login button.
The User Name and Password are case sensitive. See Figure 1.
Figure 1. The WebPAM PRO login screen
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Accessing the Interface

WebPAM PRO is browser-based RAID management software with a graphic
user interface. Basic user interface components and functions include:
• Using the Header (page 113)
• Using Tree View (page 113)
• Using Management View (page 114)
• Choosing a Display Language (page 115)
• Viewing the Event Frame (page 115)
• Saving the Event Frame (page 116)
• Deleting the Event Frame (page 116)
• Viewing the Storage Network (page 116)
• Logging out of WebPAM PRO (page 117)
Figure 2. WebPAM PRO interface
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There are four major parts to the WebPAM PRO interface:

• Header (see page 113)
• Tree View (see page 113)
• Management View (see page 114)
• Event Frame (see page 115)
Using the Header

The Header contains the following items:
• Language – To choose a display language, see “Choosing a Display
Language” on page 115.
• Show/Hide Event Frame – To view the Event Frame, see “Viewing the
Event Frame” on page 115.
• Show/Hide Storage Network – To view the Storage Network, see “Viewing
the Storage Network” on page 116.
• Contact Us – Click here for Promise Technology contact information. Or see
“Contacting Technical Support” on page 277.
• Logout – To logout, see “Logging out of WebPAM PRO” on page 117.
Using Tree View

Tree View enables you to navigate around all components of the Host PC (where
the SuperTrak controller card is installed), software management, RAID
controller, enclosure, physical drives, disk arrays, logical drives, and spare
drives. The figure below shows the components of Tree View.
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Figure 3. WebPAM PRO Tree View
Logged-in User
Host PC, where the

SuperTrak card is
installed
The Administrative Tools section is different for the Administrator and Super
Users than for other users. The remainder of the Tree is the same for all users.
Management View displays information according to the item you choose in Tree
View.
Using Management View

Management View—also referred to Management View—provides the actual
user interface with the SuperTrak EX Controller card, including creation,
maintenance, deletion, and monitoring of disk arrays and logical drives.
Function Tabs control specific actions and processes. This View changes
depending on which item you choose in Tree View and which tab you choose in
the Management View itself.
Click the Help button to the right of the tabs in Management View to access
online help for the function that is currently displayed.
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Choosing a Display Language

WebPAM PRO displays in the following languages:
• English • Italian
• Simplified Chinese • Japanese
• Traditional Chinese • Korean
• French • Spanish
• German • Russian
To change the display language:

1. Click the Language dropdown menu in the Header.
2. Highlight the language you prefer.
WebPAM PRO displays in the chosen language.
Viewing the Event Frame

To view the Event Frame, click Show Event Frame in the Header.
To hide the Event Frame, click Hide Event Frame in the Header.
The Event Frame reports all events and stores them in the WebPAM PRO folder
on the hard disk drive of the Host PC.
In the event frame, events are listed and sorted by:
• Host IP – The IP address of the Host PC or subsystem where the event
happened
• WWN – World Wide Number of the Host PC or subsystem where the event
happened
• Device – Disk array, logical drive, physical drive, controller, battery, etc.
• Event ID – The hexadecimal number that identifies the specific type of event
• Severity – See below:
• Information – Information only, no action is required
• Warning – User can decide whether or not action is required
• Minor – Action is needed but the condition is not serious at this time
• Major – Action is needed now
• Critical – Action is needed now and the implications of the condition are
serious
• Fatal – Non-Recoverable error or failure has occurred
• Time – Time and date of the occurrence
• Description – A brief description of the event
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You can also view events by clicking the Subsystems icon in Tree View, then
clicking the Event tab in Management View.
Saving the Event Frame

This function saves a copy of the events from the Event Frame as a text file on
the Host PC’s hard drive.
To save the event log:
1. In the Header, click Show Event Frame.
2. In the Event Frame, click the Save Events button.
3. In the File Download dialog box, click the Save button.
4. In the Save dialog box, name the file, navigate to the folder where you want
to save the log file, and click the Save button.
The event log is saved as a text file on the Host PC’s hard drive.
Deleting the Event Frame

This function deletes the events from the Event Frame and from the WebPAM
PRO database. Deleting the events from this point does not affect events
physically stored in the HBA’s or Subsystem’s RAM or NVRAM.
This function has no effect upon events reported under the Subsystem icon
Events tab. See “Viewing the Runtime Event Log” on page 134 and “Viewing the
NVRAM Event Log” on page 135.
To clear the event log:
1. In the Header, click Show Event Frame.
2. In the Event Frame, click the Delete Events button.
3. In the Confirmation dialog box, type confirm and click the OK button.
Viewing the Storage Network

The Storage Network consists of all the subsystems and host PCs currently
accessible on your network. Use this function to identify the subsystem or host
PC you want to add.
Subsystems and host PCs already added to WebPAM PRO have a + icon beside
them in Tree View.
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Figure 4. The Storage Network appears in Tree View
Added to
WebPAM PRO
Not added yet
To view the Storage Network, click Show Storage Network in the Header. All
networked systems will appear in Tree View.
To hide the Storage Network, click Hide Storage Network in the Header. Only
the networked systems you have added appear in Tree View.
See “Adding a Subsystem or Host” on page 122.
Logging out of WebPAM PRO

There are two ways to log out of WebPAM PRO:
• Close your browser window
• Click Logout in the WebPAM PRO Header
Figure 5. Clicking “Logout” in the Header)
Clicking Logout brings you back to the Login Screen. After logging out, you must
enter your user name and password in order to log in again.
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Managing Users
User Management deals with user accounts. Functions include:
• Viewing User Information (page 118)
• Making User Settings (page 118)
• Making Your Own User Settings (page 119)
• Changing a User’s Password (page 119)
• Changing Your Own Password (page 119)
• Creating a User (page 120)
• Deleting a User (page 120)
Viewing User Information

The view a list of users, their status, access privileges, display name, and email
address:
1. Click the Administrative Tools icon.
2. Click the User Management icon.
The Information tab appears in Management View.
Making User Settings

To change settings of other users:
1. Log into WebPAM PRO as the Administrator or a Super User.
4. Click the Information tab in Management View.
5. In the list of users, click the link of the user whose settings you want to
change.
The Settings screen for the chosen user displays.
6. Enter or change the settings for this user.
• Enable/disable this user
• Display name
• Privilege. See “List of User Privileges” on page 120
The Administrator or Super User can change another user’s password. See
“Changing a User’s Password” on page 119 for more information.
You can also set user privilege under Subsystem/Host Management. See
“Setting User Privilege” on page 124 and “Setting User Rights” on page 130.
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Making Your Own User Settings

To change your own user settings:
1. Log into WebPAM PRO under your own user name.
4. Click the Settings tab in Management View.
5. Enter or change the display name or mail address.
Changing a User’s Password

To change a user’s password:
4. In the list of users, click the link of the user whose settings you want to
change.
The Settings screen for the chosen user displays.
5. Click the Password tab in Management View.
6. Enter the new password in the New Password field.
7. Enter the new password in the Retype Password field.
Changing Your Own Password

To set or change your own password:
1. Log into WebPAM PRO under your own user name.
4. Click the Password tab in Management View.
5. Enter the current password in the Old Password field.
If you do not have a password, leave this field blank.
6. Enter the new password in the New Password field.
7. Enter the new password in the Retype Password field.
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Creating a User
To create a user:
4. Click the Create tab in Management View.
5. Enter a user name in the User Name field.
6. Enter a password for this user in the New Password and Retype Password
fields.
A password is optional. If you do not assign password, tell this user to leave
the password field blank when he/she logs into to WebPAM PRO. Users can
set their own passwords, see “Changing Your Own Password” on page 119.
7. Check the Enabled box to enable this user on this subsystem.
8. Enter a display name in the Display Name field.
A display name is optional but recommended.
9. Choose a privilege level from the Privilege dropdown menu.
For definitions of each privilege level, see the List of User Privileges below.
List of User Privileges
• View – Allows the user to see all status and settings but not to make any
changes
• Maintenance – Allows the user to perform maintenance tasks including
Rebuilding, PDM, Media Patrol, and Redundancy Check.
• Power – Allows the user to create (but not delete) disk arrays and logical
drives, change RAID levels, change stripe size; change settings of
components such as disk arrays, logical drives, physical drives, and the
controller.
• Super – Allows the user full access to all functions including create and
delete users and changing the settings of other users, and delete disk arrays
and logical drives. The default “administrator” account is a Super User.
Deleting a User
There will always be at least one Super User account. You cannot delete the user
account you used to log in. To delete a user:
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4. Click the Delete tab in Management View.
5. Check the box to the left of the user you want to delete.
7. Click OK in the confirmation box.
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Working with Subsystem/Host Management

Subsystem/Host Management includes the following functions:
• Viewing Subsystem/Host Information (page 122)
• Adding a Subsystem or Host (page 122)
• Deleting a Subsystem or Host (page 123)
• Setting User Privilege (page 124)
• Updating the Firmware on Multiple Systems (page 124)
Viewing Subsystem/Host Information

To view the Subsystem/Host List:
1. Click the Administrative Tools icon in Tree View.
2. Click the Subsystem/Host Management icon.
In the Information tab, the following information appears:
• Subsystem/Host IP address
• Management Port IP address
• Health – A green checkmark means OK. A red X indicates a problem
• Model of the RAID controller
• Alias of the RAID controller
• Firmware Version of the RAID controller
• Interface of the RAID controller
• World Wide Number of the RAID controller
If a red X appears under Health, click the Health Information icon to

display a breakdown showing the health of the controller, disk arrays, logical
drives, spare drives, and physical drives.
Adding a Subsystem or Host

To add a subsystem/ or host PC to WebPAM PRO:
4. Click the Add Subsystem/Host tab in Management View.
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5. Do one of the following actions:

• To create an in-band connection: Type the Host PC’s IP address into
the address field.
Choose this option for SuperTrak. Note that entries such as localhost or
the Host PC’s network name do not work for this function.
• To create an out-of-band connection: Type the Subsystem’s
management port IP address into the address field.
The new Subsystem or Host PC is added to Tree View.
In-Band versus Out-of-Band

In-band connection
• The WebPAM PRO Agent is running on the Host PC or server.
• The WebPAM PRO Client/Server is running on any PC on the network.
• Management commands to a subsystem travel through the subsystem's
data ports.
• Multiple subsystems can appear under the same Host PC or server.
Out-of-band connection
• The WebPAM PRO Agent is running on the subsystem.
• The WebPAM PRO Client/Server is running on the same Host PC on the
network.
• Management commands to a subsystem travel through the subsystem's
management port.
• Only one subsystem can appear under a Host PC or server.
Deleting a Subsystem or Host

When you delete a subsystem or host PC, you only remove it from WebPAM
PRO’s list of monitored systems. This action has no effect upon the disk arrays,
logical drives, or data stored on the RAID.
To delete a subsystem or host PC:
4. Click the Delete Subsystem/Host tab in Management View.
5. Check the box to the left of the subsystem or host PC you want to delete.
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7. In the confirmation box, type the word confirm in the field provided.
8. Click the OK button.
Setting User Privilege

To set user privilege:
3. Click the IP address link of the Subsystem or Host you want to access.
4. Beside the name of the user whose privilege you want to change, choose
the privilege level from the Privilege dropdown menu.
For definitions of each privilege level, see “List of User Privileges” on
page 120.
You can also set user privilege under User settings. See “Making User Settings”
on page 118.
Updating the Firmware on Multiple Systems

Cautions
• Before you begin, backup any important or useful data.

• Do NOT power off your PC during the procedure.
Use this function to update the firmware and BIOS on SuperTrak controllers in
multiple Host PCs at the same time.
You must first download the update file and save it to the Host PC. See
“Downloading BIOS and Firmware File” on page 289.
Note that this function does not update the software driver. Install the software
driver file following the procedure for your operating system. See “Chapter 3:
Installing Drivers” on page 63.
You can also update the firmware on:
• An individual SuperTrak controller
• A VTrak JBOD enclosure
See “Updating the Firmware” on page 132.
To update the SuperTrak firmware on multiple Host PCs:
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3. In Management View, click the Multiple Firmware Update tab dropdown

menu and choose Multiple HBA Firmware Update.
4. From the Subsystem/Host List, check the box beside the Host PCs with the
SuperTrak controllers you want to update.
5. Choose the Download Flash File from Local File through HTTP option and
6. Click the Browse button and navigate to the directory where you saved the
update file, then click the update file, and click the Open button.
7. Click the Start button.
When the Flash Image Status shows Flash image completed, the firmware
and BIOS have been updated.
8. Restart the Host PCs.
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Managing Software Services

Software Services include the following functions:
• Viewing Service Status (page 126)
• Changing Web Server Settings (page 126)
• Restarting the Tomcat Server (page 127)
• Setting up Email Service (page 127)
• Setting up Extended SMTP (page 128)
• Setting Event Frame Refresh Time (page 128)
• Changing CIM Client Settings (page 129)
• Changing CIM Server Settings (page 129)
Viewing Service Status

There are two software services: Web Server and Email. There are no user
settings. To view the status of the software services:
2. Click the Software Management icon.
The service name, startup type, and current status appear under the
Service tab.
Changing Web Server Settings

To change the Web Server settings:
3. Click the Web Server tab in Management View.
4. Do one of the following actions:
• For a regular connection:
In the HTTP Port field, type the HTTP port number.
The default is 8080.
• For a secure connection:
Check the Enable SSL box.
In the HTTPS Port field, type the HTTPS port number.
The default is 8443.
5. In the Session Time Out field, enter a time value in minutes.
The range is 1 to 1440 minutes. 15 minutes is the default.
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Session Time Out refers to the amount of time the connection remains active
without any user interaction. After WebPAM PRO reaches the Time Out
interval, you must log in again and begin a new session.
Restarting the Tomcat Server

After you change the Web Server port number, you must restart the Tomcat
server on the Host PC.
Windows
In the Start menu, choose Programs > WebPAM PRO > Server > Restart.
Linux
1. Open a terminal window.
2. Go to the server folder.
cd /opt/Promise/WebPAMPRO/Server
3. Run the restart command:
sh restartPromiseWebPamPro.sh
The system returns:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/ exists.
Shutting down: tomcat OK
Starting: tomcat OK
(Or a similar message)
Setting up Email Service

To change the Email settings:
3. Click the Email tab in Management View.
4. Enter an Email sender address (example: [email protected])
in the field provided.
5. Enter an Email server IP address in the field provided.
6. Enter an Email subject (example: VTrak Status) in the field provided.
7. When you are done, click the Submit button.
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Setting up Extended SMTP

To make Extended SMTP settings:
4. Check the Enable ESMTP box to enable ESMTP.
Uncheck the box to disable ESMTP.
5. Enter ESMTP user name in the field provided.
6. Enter a ESMTP password in the field provided.
Sending A Test Email Message

Before you can send a test message, your email service must be set up as
described in “Setting up Email Service” on page 127.
To send a test email message:
4. Click the Test Email button.
A new window opens.
5. Type the recipient's email address in the field provided.
WebPAM PRO sends a test email message to the address you specified.
Setting Event Frame Refresh Time

To set the refresh time for the Event Frame:
3. Click the Refresh time tab.
4. Choose a time interval from the Event Refresh Time dropdown menu.
The choices are 15, 30, 60, and 300 seconds.
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Changing CIM Client Settings

The CIM client is part of the WebPAM PRO Utility Server. The Utility Server can
be installed on any PC on the network. Only one CIM client and Utility Server
installation is required.
The CIM client works with CIM server. The CIM server is part of the
WebPAMPRO Agent. The Agent must be installed on every host PC where the
HBA RAID controller is installed to enable management over a network.
Under most conditions, there is no need to change CIM settings.
To change settings for the CIM client:
3. Click the CIM Settings tab.
4. Type the user name in the CIM User name field.
The default name is “cim”.
5. Type a password into the CIM User Password field.
The default password is “password”.
Important
If you change CIM client settings, you must make matching CIM
server settings on ALL Host PCs, otherwise WebPAM PRO will be
unable to monitor them.
Be sure you change the CIM server settings on ALL of your Host
PCs to match the CIM client settings.
Changing CIM Server Settings

To change settings for the CIM server:
1. On the Host PC, access the WebPAM PRO agent folder.
• Windows – C:/Program Files/WebPAMPRO/Agent/bin
• Linux – /opt/WebPAMPRO/Agent/bin
2. Open a command prompt, type cimuser --help and press Enter.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.
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Managing the Host

The Host is designated by its IP address:127.0.0.1. Host functions include:
• Viewing Host Information (page 130)
• Setting User Rights (page 130)
• Refreshing the WebPAM PRO Screen (page 130)
Viewing Host Information

To view Host information, click the 127.0.0.1 icon in Tree View. In the
Information tab, the following information appears:
• Management Port IP address (refers to the Host PC)
• Alias of the RAID controller
• Firmware Version of the RAID controller
• Interface of the RAID controller
• World Wide Number of the RAID controller
Setting User Rights

User rights is the same function as user privilege. To set user rights:
1. Click the 127.0.0.1 icon in Tree View.
2. Click the User Rights tab.
3. Beside the name of the user whose privilege you want to change, choose
the privilege level from the Privilege dropdown menu.
For definitions of each privilege level, see “List of User Privileges” on
page 120.
You can also set user privilege under User settings. See “Making User Settings”
on page 118
Refreshing the WebPAM PRO Screen

Unlike clicking browser’s refresh button, this function calls new information from
the RAID controller’s firmware to update the screen. To refresh the screen:
1. Click the 127.0.0.1 icon in Tree View.

2. Click the Refresh tab.
4. Click the OK button in the confirmation box.
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Managing the Subsystem

Subsystem functions include:
• Viewing Subsystem Information (page 131)
• Clearing Statistical Data (page 132)
• Setting an Alias for the Subsystem (page 132)
• Viewing the Runtime Event Log (page 134)
• Saving the Runtime Event Log (page 134)
• Clearing the Runtime Event Log (page 135)
• Viewing the NVRAM Event Log (page 135)
• Saving the NVRAM Event Log (page 136)
• Clearing the NVRAM Event Log (page 136)
• Updating the Firmware (page 132)
• Checking Subsystem Health (page 133)
• Viewing the NVRAM Event Log (page 135)
• Viewing Current Background Activities (page 136)
• Making Background Activity Settings (page 137)
• Running Background Activities (page 138)
• Running Media Patrol (page 138)
• Running PDM (page 138)
• Viewing Scheduled Activities (page 139)
• Scheduling an Activity (page 139)
• Deleting a Scheduled Activity (page 141)
• Viewing System Configuration (page 141)
Viewing Subsystem Information

To view information about a subsystem, click the Subsystem icon in Tree
View. Management View displays the subsystem information.
To view information about the Host PC, users, controllers, schedules, activities,
physical drives, disk arrays, and logical drives, see “Viewing System
Configuration” on page 141.
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Clearing Statistical Data

Use this function to clear the statistical data registers for the controller, physical
drives, and logical drives.
To clear statistical data:
1. In Tree View, click the Subsystem icon.
2. In Management View, click the Information tab.
3. Click the Clear Statistics link.
Setting an Alias for the Subsystem

An alias is optional. To set an alias for this subsystem or host:
2. In Management View, click the Settings tab.
3. Enter a name into the Alias field.
Maximum of 48 characters. Use letters, numbers, one space between
words, and underscore.
Updating the Firmware

Cautions

Use this function to update:

• Firmware and BIOS on a SuperTrak controller card
• Firmware on a VTrak JBOD enclosure
Installing Drivers” on page 63.
You can also update the firmware on the SuperTrak controllers in multiple Host
PCs at the same time. See “Updating the Firmware on Multiple Systems” on
page 124.
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SuperTrak Controller Card

To upgrade the firmware on a SuperTrak Controller Card:
2. From the Firmware Update tab, choose Controller Firmware Update.
3. Choose the Download Flash File from Local File through HTTP option and
4. Click the Browse button.
5. Navigate to the directory where you saved the update file, then click the
update file, and click the Open button.
and BIOS have been updated.
7. Restart the Host PC.
VTrak JBOD Enclosure
To upgrade the firmware on an attached VTrak JBOD enclosure:
2. From the Firmware Update tab, choose JBOD Firmware Update.
3. Click the Browse button.
4. Navigate to the directory where you saved the update file, then click the
update file, and click the Open button.
has been updated.
6. Shut down the Host PC.
7. Power cycle the VTrak enclosures.
Turn OFF both power supply switches. Wait 30 seconds. Turn ON both
power supply switches. Do this action for all attached VTrak enclosures.
8. Boot the Host PC.
Checking Subsystem Health

2. In Management View, click the Health tab.
The health or status of following items is displayed:
• Controller
• Disk Array
• Logical Drive
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• Spare Drive
• Physical Drive
If any item reports other than “OK” click that item in the Tree to investigate
the cause of the problem.
Viewing the Runtime Event Log

Runtime Events lists information about all events recorded since the system was
started. Runtime events are stored in RAM on the RAID controller. These events
are cleared when you reboot your system.
To view runtime events:
2. From the dropdown menu on the Event tab, choose Runtime Events.
The events are listed from newest at the top of the list to oldest at the
bottom.
Severity Definitions
Each event is marked with a level of severity.
serious
Saving the Runtime Event Log

This function saves a copy of the runtime event log as a text file on the Host PC’s
hard drive.
To save the runtime event log:
3. At the bottom of the window, click the Save Event Log button.
A text file of the event log is saved to the Host PC’s hard drive.
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Clearing the Runtime Event Log

This function clears the events from the runtime event log screen and from the
RAM on the RAID controller. This function has no effect upon events reported in
the WebPAM PRO Event Frame. “Viewing the Event Frame” on page 115.
To clear the runtime event log:
3. At the bottom of the window, click the Clear Event Log button.
All events are cleared from the screen and the RAID controller’s RAM.
Viewing the NVRAM Event Log

NVRAM Events lists information about the most recent important or critical
events. NVRAM events are stored in non-volatile memory on the RAID controller.
This information persists even if you reboot your system.
To view runtime events:
2. From the dropdown menu on the Event tab, choose NVRAM Events.
The events are listed from newest at the top of the list to oldest at the
bottom.
Severity Definitions
Each event is marked with a level of severity.
serious
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Saving the NVRAM Event Log

This function saves a copy of the NVRAM event log as a text file on the Host
PC’s hard drive.
To save the NVRAM event log:
3. At the bottom of the window, click the Save Event Log button.
A text file of the event log is saved to the Host PC’s hard drive.
Clearing the NVRAM Event Log

This function clears the events from the NVRAM event log screen and from the
NVRAM on the RAID controller. This function has no effect upon events reported
in the WebPAM PRO Event Frame. “Viewing the Event Frame” on page 115.
To clear the NVRAM event log:
3. At the bottom of the window, click the Clear Event Log button.
All events are cleared from the screen and the RAID controller’s non-volatile
RAM.
Viewing Current Background Activities

To view the current background activities:
1. Click the Subsystem icon in Tree View.
2. Click the Background Activities tab in Management View.
A list of current background activities appears, including:
• Rebuild
• PDM – Predictive Data Migration
• Synchronization
• Redundancy Check
• Migration
• Transition
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• Initialization
• Media Patrol
Making Background Activity Settings

To make settings for background activities:
2. From the dropdown menu on the Background Activities tab, choose
Settings.
3. Click the dropdown menu to choose a priority of Low, Medium, or High for
the following functions:
• Rebuild – Rebuilds the data from a failed drive in a disk array
• Synchronization – Checks the data integrity on disk arrays
• Initialization – Sets all data bits in the logical drive to zero
• Redundancy Check – Checks, reports and can correct data
inconsistencies in logical drives
• Migration – Change RAID level or add physical dries to disk arrays
• PDM – Looks for bad blocks the physical drives of disk arrays
• Transition – Returns a revertible spare drive to spare status
The rates are defined as follows:
• Low – Fewer resources to activity, more to data read/write.
• Medium – Balance of resources to activity and data read/write.
• High – More resources to activity, fewer to data read/write.
4. Highlight the following PDM trigger settings and type a value into the
corresponding field:
• Reassigned Block Threshold – 1 to 512 blocks
• Error Block Threshold – 1 to 1024 blocks
5. Check to enable or uncheck to disable the following functions:
• Media Patrol – Checks the magnetic media on physical drives
• Auto Rebuild – This function applies to conditions when an array goes
Critical but no spare drive is present. When enabled, the disk array will
begin to rebuild as soon as you replace the failed physical drive with an
unconfigured physical drive of equal or greater size.
For conditions when an array goes Critical and a spare drive of
adequate size is present, a rebuild begins automatically. This is a
separate function and always enabled.
6. Click the Submit button to save your settings.
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Running Background Activities

To run a background activity from the Background Activities tab:
2. From the dropdown menu on the Background Activities tab, choose one of
the following activities:
• Media Patrol – See “Running Media Patrol” on page 138
• Rebuild – See “Rebuilding a Disk Array” on page 168
• PDM – See “Running PDM” on page 138
• Transition – See “Transitioning a Disk Array” on page 170
• Initialization – See “Initializing a Logical Drive” on page 175
• Redundancy Check – See “Running Redundancy Check” on page 176
3. In the next screen, make the choices as requested.
Running Media Patrol

Media Patrol checks the magnetic media on physical drives. When it finds the
specified number of bad blocks, it will trigger PDM. See “Making Background
Activity Settings” on page 137 and “Running PDM” on page 138.
You can schedule Media Patrol to run automatically, see “Scheduling an Activity”
on page 139.
To run Media Patrol:
2. From the dropdown menu on the Background Activities tab, choose Start
Media Patrol.
3. In the next screen, click the Start button.
Running PDM
Predictive Data Migration (PDM) migrates data from the suspect physical drive to
a spare disk drive, similar to Rebuilding. But unlike Rebuilding, PDM acts before
the disk drive fails and your Logical Drive goes Critical.
You an also run PDM on a specific disk array, see “Running PDM on a Disk
Array” on page 169.
The target physical drive must be the same media type, HDD or SDD, as the
other physical drives in the disk array.
Also see “Predictive Data Migration (PDM)” on page 255.
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To run PDM:
PDM.
3. In the next screen, choose the Source and Target physical drives.
The suspect physical drive is the Source.
The replacement physical drive is the Target.
Viewing Scheduled Activities

To view scheduled activities for this subsystem:
1. Click the Subsystem icon Tree View.
2. Click the Scheduler tab in Management View.
Scheduling an Activity
To set a scheduled activity for this subsystem:
2. From the dropdown menu on the Scheduler tab, choose Add BGA
Scheduler.
3. Click the option button of the activity you want:
• Media Patrol. See “Running Media Patrol” on page 138
• Redundancy Check. See “Running Redundancy Check” on page 176
• Spare Check. See “Running Spare Check” on page 181
4. In the Scheduler dialog box, check the Enable This Schedule box.
5. Click the option button for the Recurrence Pattern you want:
• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
6. Click the Next button.
7. For a DAILY recurrence pattern, make the following setting:
• Choose a Start Time for the activity, based on a 24-hour clock, from the
dropdown menus.
• Type the number of days between activities, from 1 to 255, into the
Every days field.
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For a WEEKLY recurrence pattern, make the following settings:

dropdown menus.
• Type the number of weeks between activities, from 1 to 52, into the
Every weeks field.
• Check the boxes for the days of the week you want the activity to run.
You can choose from 1 to 7 days.
For a MONTHLY recurrence pattern, make the following settings:
dropdown menus.
• Choose the day of the month:
• Choose a day of the month, 1 to 31, from the dropdown menu. See
the Note below.
• Choose a day of the month, first to last, and day of the week, from
the dropdown menus.
• Check the boxes for the months of the year you want the activity to run.
You can choose from 1 to 12 months.
8. Choose a starting date in the Start From dropdown menus.
The default is today's date.
9. Choose an End On option:
• No end date (recommended).
• End After the specified number of activities. Type the number of
activities, from 1 to 255, into the field provided.
• Until a specified date. Choose an end date from the dropdown menus.
The default is today’s date.
10. For Redundancy Check only:
• Choose the Auto Fix option. This feature attempts to repair the problem
when it finds an error.
• Choose the Pause on Error option. This feature stops the process when
it finds an error
• Check the boxes beside the logical drives (all except RAID 0) to which
this activity will apply.
Note: Each logical drive can have only one scheduled Redundancy
Check.
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Note
For monthly schedules, if you choose a higher number than a

month has days, the activity will occur in the following month. For
example, say you choose day 31. But there are only 30 days in the
month of June. Therefore, the June activity will happen on July 1.
The next activity will happen on July 31.
Deleting a Scheduled Activity

To delete a scheduled activity for this subsystem:
2. From the dropdown menu on the Scheduler tab, choose Delete Schedules.
3. Check the box to the left of the schedule you want to delete.
Viewing System Configuration

To view the configuration of your complete system:
2. Click the Configuration tab in Management View.
The following information is displayed:
• Host Information – WebPAM PRO version, host name and IP address,
OS version, and JVM version
• User List – User name, status, and display name
• Controllers Summary – Alias, model, and operational status
• Scheduled Activities List – Type, recurrence, start time, and
operational status
• Enclosures Summary – ID, type, operational status, and description
• Physical Drive List – Device number, model, type, capacity, location,
operational status, and configuration
• Disk Array List – ID, alias, operational status, configurable capacity,
and free capacity
• Logical Drive List – Device number, alias, RAID level, capacity, ID,
stripe size, sector size, and operational status
• Spare Drive List – ID, operational status, physical drive ID, capacity,
revertibility, type (global or dedicated), and dedicated to array
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Managing the Controller

The RAID controller is the heart of the RAID storage system. Management of
Controllers includes the following functions:
• Viewing Controllers Information (page 142)
• Viewing Controller Information (page 142)
• Viewing Controller Statistics (page 144)
• Making Controller Settings (page 144)
• Clearing an Orphan Watermark (page 145)
• Viewing Battery Information (page 145)
• Silencing the Buzzer (page 146)
• Making Buzzer Settings (page 146)
• Testing the Buzzer (page 146)
• Viewing Buzzer Information (page 147)
Viewing Controllers Information

Controllers information refers to a brief summary about the controller. To view
Controller information:
2. Click the Controllers icon.
The controllers information appears under the Information tab in
Management View. Controllers information includes:
• Controller ID
• Alias, if assigned
• Status of the RAID controller – OK means normal
Viewing Controller Information

Controller information refers to detailed information about the controller. To view
Controller information:
3. Click the Controller icon.
The controller information appears under the Information tab in Management
View. Controller information includes:
• Controller ID (1 or 2)
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• Alias, if assigned*
• Vendor
• Model
• Operational Status
• Power On Time
• Cache Usage (percent)
• Dirty Cache Usage (percent) – Refers to data in the cache that is not yet
saved to a physical drive
• Part number
• Serial number
• Hardware revision number
• WWN – World Wide Number of the controller
• Manufacturing Date
• SCSI protocols supported
• Host Driver Version
• BIOS Version
• Single Image Version
• Single Image Build Date
• The Host driver is installed and updated through your operating system.
You can update the other items automatically. See “Updating the
Firmware” on page 132.
• Advanced controller information includes:
• Memory Type – Controller’s data cache.
• Memory Size
• Flash Type – Stores firmware, software and user configurations.
• Flash Size
• NVRAM Type – Stores parameters, settings and tables.
• NVRAM Size
• Preferred Cache Line Size
• Cache Line Size
• Coercion*
• Coercion Method*
• SMART* – Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting System for physical
drives
Controller information, continued:
• SMART Polling Interval*
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• Write Back Cache Flush Interval*

• Write Through Mode
• Enclosure Polling interval*
• Adaptive Writeback Cache*
Items marked with an asterisk (*) are user adjustable. See “Making
Controller Settings” on page 144.
Viewing Controller Statistics

To view controller statistics:
4. From the dropdown menu on the Information tab, choose Statistics.
Making Controller Settings

To make Controller settings:
5. Make the following settings as needed:
• Optional. Enter a name into the Alias field.
words, and underscore. An alias is not required.
• Check the SMART Log box to enable the Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and
Reporting System (SMART).
• Enter a polling interval (1 to 1440 minutes) in SMART Polling Interval
field.
• Check the Coercion Enabled box to enable disk drive capacity coercion.
• Choose a coercion method from the Coercion Method dropdown menu.
The choices are:
• GBTruncate
• 10GBTruncate
• GRPRounding
• TableRounding
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For more information, see “Capacity Coercion” on page 246.

• Enter a time interval (1 to 12 seconds) in the Write Back Cache Flush
Interval field.
• Enter a time interval (15 to 255 seconds) in the Enclosure Polling
Interval field.
This is the time interval in which the controller polls all of the
components in the enclosure.
• Check the box to enable Adaptive Writeback Cache
• Check the box to enable Forced Read Ahead Cache
For more information, see “Choosing Cache Policy” on page 245.
The changes take effect immediately.
Clearing an Orphan Watermark

An Orphan Watermark condition is the result of a disk drive failure during an
NVRAM RAID level migration on a disk array. The Clear tab remains grayed out
unless this condition is present.
To clear an orphan watermark:
4. Click the Clear tab in Management View.
The change takes effect immediately.
Viewing Battery Information

The RAID controller’s cache backup battery protects data in the cache for up to
72 hours in the event of a power failure.
To view battery information:
4. Click the Battery tab in Management View.
In normal operation, the operational status of the battery shows Fully Charged
with a Reserve Capacity of 100%. If the battery is constantly recharging, its
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reserve capacity drops significantly, or the battery remains discharged, replace

the battery. Also see “Viewing Enclosure Information” on page 148.
Silencing the Buzzer

To silence the buzzer for the current event:
4. Click the Buzzer tab in Management View.
5. Click the Mute button.
The buzzer goes silent but will sound again for future events.
Making Buzzer Settings

To make buzzer settings:
4. From the dropdown menu on the Buzzer tab, choose Settings.
5. Check the Enable Buzzer box to enable the buzzer.
Uncheck the box to disable the buzzer.
6. Click the Submit button
Testing the Buzzer

You must enable the buzzer before you can test it. See “Making Buzzer
Settings,” above.
To test the buzzer:
5. Click the Sound button.
The buzzer sounds a continuous tone.
6. Click the Mute button.
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The buzzer goes silent but remains enabled.
Viewing Buzzer Information

This function refers to the buzzer on the SuperTrak RAID controller card.
To view buzzer information:
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Managing Enclosures
This function of WebPAM PRO does not apply to the SuperTrak RAID controller
card installed in a Host PC, except for one item:
• Viewing Enclosure Information (page 148)
Viewing Enclosure Information

Enclosure information includes:
• Enclosure ID
• Enclosure Type – Virtual
• SEP Firmware Version
• Maximum number of Controllers, Physical Drive Slots, Fans, Blowers,
Temperature Sensors, Power Supply Units, Batteries, and Voltage Sensors.
This information might be useful when contacting Technical Support.
To view Enclosure information:
2. Click the Enclosures icon.
3. Click the Enclosure icon.
The Enclosure information appears on the Information tab.
See the following topics:
• “SAS Connections and ID Numbers” on page 15
• “Viewing Controller Information” on page 142
• “Viewing Battery Information” on page 145
• “Contacting Technical Support” on page 277.
Note
In addition to the SuperTrak EX Series, WebPAM PRO also

supports Promise VTrak RAID Subsystems.
For more information about managing those products with
WebPAM PRO, see the online help or refer to the Subsystem’s
Product Manual.
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Managing Physical Drives

Managing Physical Drives deals with the physical disk drives under the
SuperTrak RAID controller, including the following functions:
• Viewing a List of Physical Drives (page 149)
• Locating a Physical Drive (page 149)
• Making Global Physical Drive Settings (page 150)
• Viewing Physical Drive Information (page 151)
• Viewing Physical Drive Statistics (page 151)
• Making Physical Drive Settings (page 152)
• Clearing Stale and PFA Conditions (page 152)
• Viewing the SMART Log (page 153)
• Viewing Advanced SMART Log Information (page 154)
• Saving Advanced SMART Log Information (page 155)
• Making SMART Log Settings (page 155)
Viewing a List of Physical Drives

To view a list of physical drives in this enclosure:
4. Click the Physical Drives icon.
The list of physical drives appears in Management View.
Click the PD link to view a specific physical drive. See “Viewing Physical
Drive Information” on page 151.
Note that Enclosure and Slot numbers are assigned by the controller and do
not necessarily correspond to the actual physical locations of the disk drives,
especially when the disk drives are installed in an enclosure not designed by
Promise.
Also see “SAS Connections and ID Numbers” on page 15.
Locating a Physical Drive

Virtual or Third Party Enclosures
Support for this feature depends on how your system or enclosure was set up.
Direct-connect systems with individual LED connections and SGPIO enclosures
support individual physical drive LEDs. Other systems or enclosures might or
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might not support them. See “Appendix D: LED Backplane Connections” on

page 295.
To locate a physical drive in the enclosure, click the Locate PDx button. The LED
for the carrier holding the physical drive will blink for one minute.
Promise Enclosures
To locate a physical drive in the VTrak JBOD enclosure, click the Locate PDx
button. The disk status LED will blink for one minute to identify the carrier holding
the physical drive.
Figure 6. VTrak drive carrier LEDs
Disk Status
Power/Activity
Making Global Physical Drive Settings

Global settings apply to all of the physical disk drives installed under the
SuperTrak controller. The functions include:
SATA Drives SAS Drives

• Enable Write Cache • Enable Write Cache
• Enable Read Look Ahead Cache • Enable Read Look Ahead Cache
• Enable Command Queuing • Enable Read Cache
To make global physical drive settings:

5. Click the Global Settings tab in Management View.
6. Check the features you want to enable.
Uncheck any features you want to disable.
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The functions you enable here depend on whether the physical drives
support those functions. See “Viewing Physical Drive Information” on
page 151 to determine which functions a particular drive supports.
Viewing Physical Drive Information

To view physical drive information:
5. Click a Physical Drive icon.
Useful information provided here includes:
• Operational Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Forced
Online, Forced Offline, Transition Running, PDM Running, Media Patrol
Running, Stale, PFA, Offline or Dead.
• Configuration Status – The array to which the drive is assigned or its spare
designation, including Unconfigured, Stale, PFA, Global Spare, Dedicated
Spare, Revertible Global Spare, Revertible Dedicated Spare.
Adjustable Items
• Write Cache – Enabled or disabled as chosen on the Physical Drives
Settings tab.
• Read Look Ahead (Cache) – Enabled or disabled as chosen on the
Physical Drives Settings tab.
• Command Queuing – SATA only. Enabled or disabled.
See “Making Global Physical Drive Settings” on page 150.
Viewing Physical Drive Statistics

To view physical drive statistics:
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Making Physical Drive Settings

The only individual physical drive setting is an alias. An alias is optional. To set
an alias for a physical drive:
7. Type an alias into the Physical Drive Alias field.
words, and underscore.
Clearing Stale and PFA Conditions

The Clear tab only appears when one or both conditions are present.
• Stale – The physical drive contains obsolete disk array information.
• PFA – The physical drive has errors resulting in a prediction of failure.
Be sure you have corrected the condition by a physical drive replacement, rebuild
operation, etc., first. Then clear the condition.
To clear a Stale or PFA status from a physical drive:
6. in Management View, click the Clear tab.
Note
If a physical drive has both a Stale and a PFA condition, click the
Submit button once to clear the Stale condition, then click again
to clear the PFA condition.
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Viewing the SMART Log

To view the SMART Log for a physical drive:
6. in Management View, click the SMART Log tab.
Basic SMART Log Information for SAS Drives:
• Physical Drive ID – Unique ID number of this drive in your VTrak or
SuperTrak system.
• InProgress – Yes or No. Whether a SMART scan is currently in progress on
this drive.
• SMART Support – Yes or No. Whether this drive supports SMART.
• SMART Log Enabled – Yes or No. Whether SMART Logging is enabled on
this drive.
• SMART Health Status – OK is normal. N/A means there was no scan.
• Current Drive Temperature – The drive’s current temperature.
• Drive Trip Temperature – Highest recommended operating temperature for
this drive.
• Max Start Stop Count – Maximum number of times this drive should be
powered up and down.
• Current Start Stop Count – Actual number of times this drive has been
powered up and down.
• Manufactured Year – Calendar year the drive was manufactured.
• Manufactured Week In Year – Week number out of 52 weeks in the year
listed above.
Basic SMART Log Information for SATA Drives:
• Physical Drive ID – Unique ID number of this drive in your VTrak or
SuperTrak system.
• InProgress – Yes or No. Whether a SMART scan is currently in progress on
this drive.
• SMART Support – Yes or No. Whether this drive supports SMART.
• SMART Log Enabled – Yes or No. Whether SMART Logging is enabled on
this drive.
• SMART Health Status – OK is normal. N/A means there was no scan.
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• SCT Status Version – SCT status version number for this drive.
• SCT Version – SCT version number for this drive.
• SCT Support Level – SCT support level for this drive.
• Device State – 0 means active.
• Current Temperature – The drive’s current temperature.
• Power Cycle Min Temperature – Lowest temperature the drive reached
since the last power up.
• Power Cycle Max Temperature – Highest temperature the drive reached
since the last power up.
• Lifetime Min Temperature – Lowest temperature the drive recorded during
its service life.
• Lifetime Max Temperature – Highest temperature the drive recorded during
its service life.
• Under Temperature Limit Count – Number of times SMART found the
drive below recommended operating temperature.
• Over Temperature Limit Count – Number of times SMART found the drive
above recommended operating temperature.
If SMART Logging is disabled, only the first four items in the list are displayed.
SCT stands for SMART Command Transport, a protocol that allows servers using
nearline-ready drives to adapt error recovery timing to match the application.
Viewing Advanced SMART Log Information

To view SMART Log information:
7. Click the Save Advanced SMART Log button.
8. Choose the Open with option.
9. Choose a text editor from the dropdown menu.
Advanced SMART Log information displays on your PC in the text editor.
This information is different for SAS and SATA drives and varies among
different drive models and manufacturers.
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Saving Advanced SMART Log Information

To save SMART Log information as a text file:
7. Click the Save Advanced SMART Log button.
8. Choose the Save File option.
Advanced SMART Log information is saved as a text file on your PC’s desktop.
Making SMART Log Settings

To enable or disable SMART Logging on an individual physical drive:
6. From the dropdown menu on the SMART Log tab, choose Settings.
7. Check the Enable SMART Log box to enable SMART Logging.
Uncheck the box to disable.
SMART Logging is enabled or disabled on this drive according to your
setting.
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Managing Disk Arrays

Disk Array Management includes the following functions:
• Viewing Disk Arrays (page 156)
• Locating a Disk Array (page 156)
• Creating a Disk Array (page 157)
• Deleting a Disk Array (page 163)
• Viewing Disk Array Information (page 163)
• Making Disk Array Settings (page 164)
• Deleting a Logical Drive (page 166)
• Migrating a Disk Array (page 167)
• Rebuilding a Disk Array (page 168)
• Running PDM on a Disk Array (page 169)
• Transitioning a Disk Array (page 170)
• Preparing a Disk Array for Transport (page 171)
Viewing Disk Arrays

To view the disk arrays in this enclosure plus any expanded or cascaded
enclosures:
2. Click the Disk Arrays icon.
A list of disk arrays appears in Management View.
Click the DA link to view a specific disk array. See “Viewing Disk Array
Information” on page 163.
Locating a Disk Array

page 295.
To locate a disk array in the enclosure, click the Locate DAx button. The LEDs
for the carriers holding the physical drives used by the disk array will blink for one
minute.
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Promise Enclosures
To locate a disk array in a VTrak JBOD enclosure, click the Locate DAx button.
The disk status LEDs will blink for one minute to identify the carriers holding the
physical drives used by the disk array.
Disk Status
Power/Activity
Creating a Disk Array

WebPAM PRO provides three methods of creating a disk array:
• Automatic – Creates a default disk array and logical drive based on
unconfigured physical drives in the system. No user choices. If you have
multiple enclosures, multiple disk array/logical drive sets are created. See
“Creating a Disk Array – Automatic Configuration” on page 158.
• Express – You choose the RAID characteristics and type of application.
Creates a disk array and logical drive(s) based on your input. See “Creating
a Disk Array – Express Configuration” on page 159.
• Advanced – You specify all parameters for a new disk array. One logical
drive will be made automatically when you create the disk array. If you
specify less than the total available capacity, you can use the remaining
space to create additional logical drives now or at a later time. See “Creating
a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration” on page 161.
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Creating a Disk Array – Automatic Configuration

The Disk Array – Automatic Configuration option enables you to create a new
disk array following a default set of parameters. One logical drive will be made
automatically when you create the disk array.
If you have multiple enclosures, a separate disk array and logical drive set is
created for each enclosure.
If you have both Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD), two
separate disk array and logical drive sets are created. These two drive types
cannot be mixed in the same disk array.
To create a Disk Array using the Automatic function:
3. From dropdown menu on the Create tab, choose Automatic.
The following parameters display:
• Disk Arrays – The number of physical drives in the disk array, their slot
numbers, configurable capacity, and the number of logical drives to be
created
• Logical Drives – The ID number of the logical drive(s), their RAID level,
capacity, and stripe size
• Spare Drives – The physical drive slot number of the dedicated hot
spare assigned to this disk array. A hot spare drive is created for all
RAID levels except RAID 0, when five or more unconfigured physical
drives are available
4. If you accept these parameters, click the Submit button.
The new disk array appears in the Disk Array List the Information tab.
If you do NOT accept these parameters, use the Advanced option to create
your disk array.
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Creating a Disk Array – Express Configuration

The Disk Array – Express Configuration option enables you to choose the
parameters for a new disk array by specifying the characteristics you want. With
this method, you can create multiple logical drives at the same time you create
your disk array. However, all of the logical drives will be the same.
If you prefer to specific the parameters directly, use the Advanced option to
create your disk array.
If you are uncertain about choosing parameters for your disk array, use the
Automatic option.
If you have both Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD), two
separate disk arrays are created for your HDDs and for your SSDs. Each array
will have the number of logical drives that you specified.
To create a new disk array:
3. From the dropdown menu on the Create tab, choose Express.
4. Check the boxes to choose any one or combination of:
• Redundancy – The array will remain available if a physical drive fails
• Capacity – The greatest possible amount of data capacity
• Performance – The highest possible read/write speed
• Mixing SATA/SAS Drive – Check this box if you want to use both
SATA and SAS drives in the same disk array.
If the box is unchecked, and you have both SATA and SAS drives,
different arrays will be created for each type of drive.
5. In the Number of Logical Drives field, enter the number of logical drives you
want to make from this disk array.
6. From the Application Type menu, choose an application that best describes
your intended use for this disk array:
• File Server
• Video Stream
• Transaction Data
• Transaction Log
• Other
7. Click the Update button.
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Or check the Automatic Update box and updates will occur automatically.
The following parameters display:
• Disk Arrays – The number of physical drives in the disk array, their slot
numbers, configurable capacity, and the number of logical drives to be
created
• Logical Drives – The slot number of the logical drive(s), their RAID
level, capacity, and stripe size
• Spare Drives – The physical drive slot number of the dedicated hot
spare assigned to this disk array (all RAID levels except RAID 0), when
five or more unconfigured physical drives are available
If you accept these parameters, proceed to the next step.
If you do NOT accept these parameters, review and modify your choices in
the previous steps.
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Creating a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration

The Disk Array – Advanced Configuration option enables you to directly specify
all parameters for a new disk array. One logical drive will be made automatically
when you create the disk array. If you specify less than the total available
capacity, you can use the remaining space to create additional logical drives now
or at a later time.
If you are uncertain about choosing parameters for your disk array, use the
Express or Automatic option to create your disk array.
To create a new disk array:
3. From the dropdown menu on the Create tab, choose Advanced.
Step 1 – Disk Array Creation
1. Enter a name for the disk array in the field provided.
2. Check the Enable Media Patrol box if you want to enable Media Patrol.
For more information, see “Media Patrol” on page 255.
3. Check the Enable PDM box if you want to enable PDM.
For more information, see “Predictive Data Migration (PDM)” on page 255.
4. Choose a type of physical drive from the Media Type dropdown menu.
HDD is a hard disk drive. SSD is a solid state drive. You cannot mix HDDs
and SSDs in the same disk array.
5. Highlight physical drives you want in the disk array from the Available list and
press the >> button to move them to the Selected list.
You can also double-click them to move them.
6. When you are done, click the Next button.
Step 2 – Logical Drive Creation
Logical Drive Creation enables you to specify logical drives under the new disk
array. Enter the information for a logical drive, then click the Update button. If
there is free capacity remaining, you can specify another logical drive now or wait
until later. You can create up to 32 logical drives per array.
1. Optional. Type an alias into the field provided.
2. Choose a RAID level for the logical drive from the dropdown menu.
The choice of RAID levels depends the number of physical drives you
selected.
3. RAID 50 and 60 only. Specify the number of axles for your array.
See “RAID 50 Axles” on page 235 or “RAID 60 Axles” on page 238.
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4. Specify a Capacity and the unit of measure (MB, GB, TB).

This value will be the data capacity of the first logical drive in your new disk
array. If you specify less than disk array's maximum capacity, the remainder
will be available for additional logical drives which you can create later.
5. Specify a Stripe size from the dropdown menu.
64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, and 1 MB are available. 64 KB is the default.
6. Specify a Sector size from the dropdown menu.
512 B, 1 KB, 2 KB, and 4 KB are available. 512 B is the default.
7. Specify a Read (cache) Policy from the dropdown menu.
Read Cache, Read Ahead Cache, and No Cache are available. Read Ahead
is the default.
8. Specify a Write (cache) Policy from the dropdown menu.
Write Back and Write Through are available. Write Back is the default.
9. From the Initialization dropdown menu, choose an Initialization policy.
None, Quick, and Full are available. None is the default but is not
recommended. See “Initialization” on page 247.
A new logical drive is displayed under New Logical Drives.
Repeat the above steps to specify additional logical drives as desired.
11. When you are done specifying logical drives, click the Next button.
Step 3 – Summary
The Summary lists the disk array and logical drive information you specified.
To proceed with disk array and logical drive creation, click the Submit button.
Note
This function does not automatically create a hot spare drive. After
the disk array is created, you can create a hot spare drive for it.
For more information, see “Creating a Spare Drive” on page 179.
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Deleting a Disk Array

Warning
that belong to it, along with the data in those logical drives. Back
up any important data before deleting a disk array.
To delete a disk array:

4. Check the box to the left of the disk array you want to delete.
The chosen disk array disappears from the Disk Array List the Information
tab.
Viewing Disk Array Information

To view Disk Array information:
3. Click the Disk Array icon.

The disk array information is shown in Management View.
Disk Array Operational Status
• OK – This is the normal state of a logical drive. When a logical drive is
Functional, it is ready for immediate use. For RAID Levels other than
RAID 0, the logical drive has full redundancy.
• Synchronizing – This condition is temporary. Synchronizing is a
maintenance function that verifies the integrity of data and redundancy in the
logical drive. When a logical drive is Synchronizing, it will function and your
data is available. However, access will be slower due to the synchronizing
operation.
• Critical / Degraded – This condition arises as the result of a physical drive
failure. A degraded logical drive will still function and your data is still
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available. However, the logical drive has lost redundancy (fault tolerance).
You must determine the cause of the problem and correct it.
• Rebuilding – This condition is temporary. When a physical drive has been
replaced, the logical drive automatically begins rebuilding in order to restore
redundancy (fault tolerance). When a logical drive is rebuilding, it will
function and your data is available. However, access will be slower due to
the rebuilding operation.
• Transport Ready – After you perform a successful Prepare for Transport
operation, this condition means you can remove the physical drives of this
disk array and move them to another enclosure or different drive slots. After
you relocate the physical drives, the disk array status will show OK.
Physical Drive Status
• OK – This is the normal state of a physical drive.
• Forced Offline – This drive was forced offline by the user.
• Forced Online – This drive was forced online by the user.
• Transition Running – A Transition is running that involves this physical
drive.
• PDM Running – PDM is running on this physical drive.
• Media Patrol Running – Media Patrol is running on this physical drive.
• Stale – The physical drive contains obsolete disk array information. Click the
Clear tab.
• PFA – The physical drive has errors resulting in a prediction of failure. Click
the Clear tab.
• Offline – This condition arises as the result of a second physical drive
failure. An Offline logical drive is not accessible but some or all of your data
may remain intact. You must determine the cause of the problem and correct
it.
• Dead – The physical drive has failed.
Making Disk Array Settings

To make Disk Array settings:

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5. Optional. Enter an alias in the Disk Array Alias field.

words, and underscore. An alias is optional.
6. To enable Media Patrol support, check the Media Patrol box.
7. To enable PDM support, check the PDM box.

When you create a disk array, you automatically create one logical drive also. If
the initial logical drive used less than the full capacity of the disk array, you can
create additional logical drives from the same disk array. You can create up to 32
logical drives per array.
To create a logical drive:

4. Click the Create LD tab in Management View.
5. Optional. Enter an alias (name) in the Alias field.
6. From the RAID Level dropdown list, choose a RAID level for this logical
drive.
All RAID levels supported by the disk array appear in the list. See “Choosing
a RAID Level” on page 240.
7. Enter a capacity and choose unit of measure (MB, GB, TB).
The default value is the available capacity of the disk array. You can use this
value or any lesser amount.
8. From the Stripe dropdown menu, choose a Stripe size for this logical drive.
The choices are 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and 1 MB. 64 KB is the
default. See “Choosing Stripe Block Size” on page 244.
9. From the Sector dropdown menu, choose a Sector size for this logical drive.
The choices are 512 B, 1 KB, 2 KB, and 4 KB. 512 B is the default. See
“Choosing Sector Size” on page 244.
10. From the Read Policy dropdown menu, choose a Read Cache policy for this
logical drive.
The choices are Read Cache, Read Ahead, and No Cache. Read Ahead is
the default. See “Choosing Cache Policy” on page 245.
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11. From the Write Policy dropdown menu, choose a Write Cache policy for this
logical drive.
The choices are Write Through and Write Back. Write Back is the default. If
you chose No Cache under Read Cache, this setting will be Write Through.
See “Choosing Cache Policy” on page 245.
12. From the Initialization dropdown menu, choose an Initialization policy.
The choices are None, Quick and Full. See “Initialization” on page 247.
13. Click the Update button to enter the logical drive parameters.
14. Review the results. If there is remaining space the disk array, you can create
another logical drive, following the steps above. Each logical drive can have
a different set of parameters.
15. Click the Next button when you are done.
A new window displays with the disk array information and the proposed
logical drives with their parameters.
16. Click the Submit button create the logical drives.
The new logical drive appears in the Logical Drive List the Information tab.
If you created a fault-tolerant logical drive (any RAID level except RAID 0), the
Operational Status of new logical drive will display Synchronizing for several
minutes after creation. You can use the logical drive during this period but read/
write performance could be slower than normal.
Deleting a Logical Drive

Warning
All data the logical drive will be lost. Back up any valuable data
before deleting the logical drive.
To delete a logical drive:


4. Click the Delete LD tab in Management View.
5. Check the box to the left of the logical drive you want to delete.
In the confirmation box, type the word confirm in the field provided.
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The chosen logical disappears from the Logical Drive List the Information
tab.
Migrating a Disk Array

On SuperTrak, RAID level migration is performed on the disk array but it applies
to the logical drives. The action of migrating a disk array means either or both:
• Change its RAID Level
• Increase the number of disk drives (sometimes called expansion)
For a list of Migration options and other important information, see “RAID Level
Migration” on page 248.
To Migrate an existing disk array:

Migration.
5. Highlight physical drives you want in the disk array from the Available list
and press the >> button to move them to the Selected list. You can also
double-click them to move them.
The added drives must be the same media type, HDD or SDD, as the other
physical drives in the disk array.
6. When you are done, click the Next button.
7. Choose a new RAID Level, if desired.
Note: If the source array is RAID 10 and you want the target array to be
RAID 10, you must specify RAID 10 under RAID level.
8. To expand the capacity of one or more logical drives, check the Expand
Capacity box.
9. If you checked the Expand Capacity box, enter a number into the Capacity
field and choose the appropriate unit of measure (MB, GB, TB).
10. Under Capacity Usage, highlight the logical drive whose RAID level you want
to change or whose capacity you want to expand.
The logical drive changes to reflect your choices.
12. Update other logical drives using the same method.
13. When you are done making changes, click the Next button.
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14. Click the Submit button to begin Migration.

To set Migration priority, see “Making Background Activity Settings” on page 137.
Rebuilding a Disk Array

When you rebuild a disk array, you are actually rebuilding the data onto a
replacement physical drive.
Rebuilding Automatically
Normally, a Critical disk array automatically rebuilds itself using a designated
spare drive. See “Creating a Spare Drive” on page 99 or page 179.
If you do not have a spare drive, the Critical disk array automatically rebuilds
itself as soon as you remove the failed drive and insert a replacement drive. Note
the replacement drive requirements, below.
Rebuilding Manually
Important
The replacement physical drive must be:

• The same media type, HDD or SDD, as the other drives in the
array.
• Equal or larger capacity than the failed drive it replaces.
• Free of any previous configuration data. See “Clearing Stale
and PFA Conditions” on page 152 or page 269.
If the Auto Rebuild function is disabled and no spare drives are available, you
must initiate the procedure.
First, identify and replace the failed physical drive. Then rebuild the disk array as
described below:

If there are multiple disk arrays, choose the icon with the yellow !.
Rebuild.
5. Choose Source physical drive.
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The Source is a remaining functional physical drive in the disk array.

6. Choose the Target physical drive.
The Target is the replacement physical drive.
The Disk Array Background Activity tab shows rebuild progress on the
replacement (target) physical drive. Depending the size of the physical disk
involved, this process will take some time.
To view more information, click the Rebuild on PDx link.
To set Rebuild priority or enable Auto Rebuild, see “Making Background Activity
Settings” on page 137.
Running Media Patrol on a Disk Array

Media Patrol checks the magnetic media on physical drives. When it finds the
specified number of bad blocks, it will trigger PDM. See “Making Background
Activity Settings” on page 137 and “Running PDM” on page 138.
You can schedule Media Patrol to run automatically, see “Scheduling an Activity”
on page 139.
To start Media Patrol:

Media Patrol.
Running PDM on a Disk Array

Predictive Data Migration (PDM) migrates data from the suspect physical drive to
a spare physical drive, similar to Rebuilding. But unlike Rebuilding, PDM acts
before the disk drive fails and your Logical Drive goes Critical.
The target physical drive must be the same media type, HDD or SDD, as the
See “Predictive Data Migration (PDM)” on page 255.
To start PDM:
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PDM.
5. In the next screen, choose the Source and Target physical drives.
The suspect physical drive is the Source.
The replacement physical drive is the Target.
Transitioning a Disk Array

Transition is the process of replacing a revertible spare drive that is currently part
of a disk array with an unconfigured physical drive or a non-revertible spare. The
revertible spare drive returns to its original status. For more information, see
“Transition” on page 256.
In order to run the Transition function:
• The spare drive must be Revertible.
• You must specify an unconfigured physical drive of the same or larger
capacity to replace the revertible spare drive.
• The unconfigured physical drive must be the same media type, HDD or
SDD, as the other physical drives in the disk array.
To run a Transition:
Transition.
3. Choose an unconfigured physical drive from the list of available drives.
After Transition is completed, refresh the screen. The revertible spare drive will
be listed under the Spare Drives icon and the disk array’s operational status
will show OK.
To set Transition priority, see “Making Background Activity Settings” on page 137.
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Preparing a Disk Array for Transport

Important
Before you can use this feature:

• There must be a dedicated spare disk drive assigned to this
disk array.
• The disk array’s Operational Status must be OK.
To prepare a disk array for transport:


4. Click the Transport tab in Management View.
8. After the Transition is complete, move the physical drives comprising the
disk array to their new locations.
9. Click the Refresh button in your Browser.
The drives appear in their new locations and disk array status displays OK.
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Managing Logical Drives

Logical drives are made from disk arrays. In the Tree, you can see a graphic
representation of the logical drives that belong to each array.
You can also see all logical drives in the subsystem under Logical Drive
Summary. See page 182.
Logical drive management includes the following functions:
• Viewing Information for All Logical Drives (page 172)
• Locating a Logical Drive (page 173)
• Viewing Logical Drive Information (page 173)
• Viewing Logical Drive Statistics (page 174)
• Changing Logical Drive Settings (page 174)
• Initializing a Logical Drive (page 175)
• Running Redundancy Check (page 176)
• Viewing the Logical Drive Check Table (page 176)
Viewing Information for All Logical Drives

To view information about all logical drives in a disk array:
4. Click the Logical Drives icon

Logical Drive Status
• OK – This is the normal state of a logical drive. When a logical drive is OK, it
is ready for immediate use. For RAID Levels other than RAID 0 (Striping),
the logical drive has fault tolerance.
• Synchronizing – This condition is temporary. Synchronizing is a
maintenance function that verifies the integrity of data and redundancy in the
logical drive. When a logical drive is Synchronizing, it will function and your
data is available. However, access will be slower due to the synchronizing
operation.
• Critical/Degraded – This condition arises as the result of a physical drive
failure. Or, one of the physical drives was accidently or intentionally
disconnected or pulled from its enclosure. A critical or degraded logical drive
will still function and your data is still available. However, the logical drive
has lost its fault tolerance.
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• Rebuilding – This condition is temporary. When a physical drive has been

replaced, the logical drive automatically begins rebuilding in order to restore
fault tolerance. When a logical drive is rebuilding, it will function and your
data is available. However, access will be slower due to the rebuilding
operation.
For a Degraded or Offline logical drive, see “Critical & Offline Logical Drives” on
page 267.
Locating a Logical Drive

page 295.
To locate a logical drive in the enclosure, click the Locate LDx button. The LEDs
for the carriers holding the physical drives used by the logical drive will blink for
one minute.
Promise Enclosures
To locate a logical drive in the VTrak JBOD enclosure, click the Locate LDx
button. The disk status LEDs will blink for one minute to identify the carriers
holding the physical drives used by the logical drive.
Disk Status
Power/Activity
Viewing Logical Drive Information

To view information for a single logical drive:
173
5. Click the Logical Drive icon.

To specify an Alias or set the Read and Write Policies, click the Settings tab.
Logical Drive Status
See “Logical Drive Status” on page 172.
Logical Drive Synchronization
Synchronization is an automatic procedure applied to logical drives when they
are created. “Yes” means the logical drive was synchronized.
Adjustable Items
• Alias – Optional
• Read Policy
• Write Policy
See “Changing Logical Drive Settings” on page 174.
Viewing Logical Drive Statistics

To view information for a single logical drive:

Changing Logical Drive Settings

To make logical drive settings:

7. Optional. Enter an alias in the Logical Drive Alias field.
174

8. From the Read Policy dropdown menu, choose a Read Cache policy.
The choices are Read Cache, Read Ahead, and No Cache. See “Choosing
Cache Policy” on page 245.
9. From the Write Policy dropdown menu, choose a Write Cache policy.
The choices are Write Back and Write Through. If you chose No Read
Cache, Write policy is automatically Write Through. See “Choosing Cache
Policy” on page 245.
Initializing a Logical Drive

Initialization sets the data bits in the logical drive to zero. The action removes any
residual data left behind from earlier configurations. Initialization is recommended
for new logical drives. You can also initialize an existing logical drive. See
“Initialization” on page 247 for more information.
Warning
When you initialize a logical drive, all the data the logical drive will
be lost. Backup any important data before you initialize a logical
drive.
To initialize a logical drive:

2. Click the Logical Drive Summary icon.
3. Click the icon of the logical drive you want to Initialize.
4. From the dropdown menu on the Background Activities tab, choose
Initialization.
• To choose Quick Initialization, check the box.
• If you checked the Quick Initialization box, enter a value in the Quick
Initialization Size field. This value is the size of the initialization blocks in
MB.
• If you did not choose Quick Initialization, enter a hexidecimal value in
the Initialization Pattern in Hex field or use the default 00000000 value.
To view the progress of the Initialization, click the Background Activities tab.
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To set Initialization priority, see “Making Background Activity Settings” on

page 137.
You can also start Initialization from the Subsystem icon, Background
Activities tab.
Running Redundancy Check

Redundancy Check is a routine maintenance procedure for fault-tolerant disk
arrays (those with redundancy) that ensures all the data matches exactly.
Redundancy Check can also correct inconsistencies. You can also schedule a
Redundancy Check. See “Scheduling an Activity” on page 139.
Redundancy Check a Logical Drive:
3. Click the icon of the logical drive you want to Redundancy Check.
4. From dropdown menu on the Background Activities tab, choose
Redundancy Check.
• To choose Auto Fix, check the box.
This feature attempts to repair the problem when it finds an error.
• To choose Pause On Error, check the box.
This feature stops the process when it finds an error.
If Auto Fix is also checked, the process stops only when it finds a non-
repairable error.
To view the progress of the Redundancy Check, click the Background
Activities tab.
To set Redundancy Check priority, see “Making Background Activity Settings” on
page 137.
You can also start Redundancy check from the Subsystem icon Background
Activities tab
Viewing the Logical Drive Check Table

The Logical Drive Check Table displays errors related to a logical drive. Use this
information to evaluate the integrity of the logical drive and to determine whether
corrective action is needed. To View the tables:
176

6. Click the Check Table tab in Management View.
7. Click the option for the table you want to see.
The default is All tables.
If there are entries, they are listed as follows:
• Entry Number – A number assigned to each block of entry.
• Table Type – Read Check, Write Check or Inconsistent Block (see
below).
• Start Logical Block Address – LBA of the first block for this entry.
• Count – Number of continuous blocks starting from this LBA.
• Read Check Table – Contains a list of read errors for this logical drive.
• Write Check Table – Contains a list of write errors for this logical drive.
• Inconsistent Block Table – Contains a list of inconsistent blocks for
this logical drive.
• Mirror data for RAID Levels 1, 1E, and 10.
• Parity data for RAID Levels 5, 6, 50, and 60.
• Inconsistent blocks are identified by the Redundancy Check.
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Managing Spare Drives

When a physical drive in a disk array fails and a spare drive of the same type and
adequate capacity is available, the disk array will begin to rebuild automatically
using the spare drive.
See “Hot Spare Drive” on page 248 and “Rebuilding a Disk Array Automatically”
on page 270.
Spare drive management includes the following functions:
• Viewing a List of Spare Drives (page 178)
• Creating a Spare Drive (page 179)
• Deleting Spare Drive (page 180)
• Making Spare Drive Settings (page 180)
• Running Spare Check (page 181)
Viewing a List of Spare Drives

To view a list of spare drives:
2. Click the Spare Drives icon.
• ID – The unique ID number assigned to the spare drive.
• Operational Status – OK is normal. Can also show Rebuilding, Transition
Running, PDM Running, or Offline.
• Physical Drive ID – The ID number of the physical drive assigned as a
spare
• Capacity – The data storage capacity of this spare drive.
• Revertible – Yes or No. A revertible spare drive automatically returns to its
spare drive assignment after the failed physical drive in the disk array is
replaced. See “Transition” on page 256 for more information.
• Type – Global, can be used by any disk array. Dedicated, can only be used
by the assigned disk arrays.
• Dedicated to Disk Arrays – For dedicated spares, the disk arrays to which
they are assigned. Global spares show N/A.
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Creating a Spare Drive

Important
• There must be an unconfigured physical drive available to

assign as a spare drive. See “Viewing a List of Physical
Drives” on page 149.
• Be sure the spare drive you choose has capacity equal to or
greater than the smallest physical drive assigned to the disk
array.
• A dedicated spare drive must be the same media type, HDD
or SDD, as the other physical drives in the disk array.
• Free of any previous configuration data. See “Clearing Stale
and PFA Conditions” on page 152 or page 269.
To create a spare drive:

3. Click the Create tab in Management View.
4. Choose a spare type, Global or Dedicated and click the Next button.
5. To make a revertible spare drive, check the Revertible box.
6. To enable Media Patrol on this spare drive, check the Enable Media Patrol
box.
7. Dedicated spare drives only. Choose a type of physical drive from the Media
Type dropdown menu.
HDD is a hard disk drive. SSD is a solid state drive. Physical drive type of the
spare must match the disk array.
8. In the Physical drives field, highlight the physical drive you want to assign as
a spare drive in the Available list and press the >> button to move the drive
to the Selected list.
You can also double-click drives to move them.
9. Dedicated spare drives only. In the Dedicated to Disk Arrays field, highlight
disk array to which you want assign the spare drive from the Available list
and press the >> button to move the array to the Selected list.
You can also double-click arrays to move them.
Your choices are displayed under New Hot Spare Drives.
11. If you agree with the proposed choices, click the Submit button.
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Deleting Spare Drive

Note
If an existing spare drive has the wrong parameters for your

needs, click the Settings tab to change the parameters rather
than delete the spare drive and create a new one.
To delete a spare drive:

4. Check the box to the left of the spare drive you want to delete.
Making Spare Drive Settings

To change spare drive settings:
3. Click the Spare Drive icon.
5. Choose a spare type, Global or Dedicated.
6. To make a revertible spare drive, check the Revertible box.
7. To enable Media Patrol on this spare drive, check the Enable Media Patrol
box.
8. If you chose a Dedicated spare drive, in the Dedicated to Disk Arrays field,
highlight the disk array to which you want assign the spare drive from the
Available list and press the >> button to move them to the Selected list.
You can also double-click array to move it.
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Running Spare Check

Spare Check verifies the operational status of your spare drives. You can also
schedule a Spare Check. See “Scheduling an Activity” on page 139.
To check a spare drive:
3. Click the Spare Check tab in Management View.
4. From the Physical Drive dropdown menu, choose the spare drive you want
to check.
Or choose All to check all the spare drives at the same time.
The results of the Spare Check appear under Spare Check Status in the
Information tab. “Healthy” means normal condition.
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Working with the Logical Drive Summary

The Logical Drive Summary displays a list of all logical drives under the
SuperTrak controller including logical drives in expanded or cascaded
enclosures. This list does not arrange the logical drives under the disk array to
which they belong nor under the enclosure in which they are located.
Logical Drive Summary includes the following functions:
• Viewing a List of All Logical Drives (page 182)
• Locating a Logical Drive (page 182)
• Viewing Individual Logical Drive Information (page 183)
Viewing a List of All Logical Drives

To view a list of all logical drives in all enclosures:
Locating a Logical Drive

page 295.
To locate a logical drive in the enclosure, click the Locate LDx button. The LEDs
for the carriers holding the physical drives used by the logical drive will blink for
one minute.
Promise Enclosures
To locate a logical drive in the VTrak JBOD enclosure, click the Locate LDx
button. The disk status LEDs will blink for one minute to identify the carriers
holding the physical drives used by the logical drive.
Disk Status
Power/Activity
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Viewing Individual Logical Drive Information

The information and location for the logical drive appear in Management
View. See Viewing Logical Drive Information (page 173).
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184
Chapter 6: Management with the CLI
• Opening the CLI on Windows (below)
• Opening the CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, and VMware (page 186)
• Table of Supported Commands (page 187)
• Notes and Conventions (page 189)
• List of Supported Commands (page 190)
SuperTrak EX Controller’s Command Line Interface (CLI) provides rapid setup of

disk arrays and logical drives. You can also manage your SuperTrak system
using the CLI. However, ongoing management is much easier with the
SuperBuild utility or WebPAM PRO.
Opening the CLI on Windows

To open the CLI, click the CLI icon on the desktop (right), or:
1. Go to Start > Run and click the Browse button.
2. Navigate to the C:\Program Files\WebPAMPRO\Agent\bin folder.
3. Click cliib.exe file then click the Open button.
4. Click the OK button in the Run dialog box.
The CLI window opens.
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Opening the CLI on Linux, FreeBSD, and VMware

To open the CLI:
1. Open a terminal window.
2. Go to the /opt/Promise/WebPAMPRO/Agent directory.
3. Type ./startCLI.sh and press Enter.
The CLI runs in the terminal window.
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Table of Supported Commands

Command Action
about View utility information.
array View or edit array information.
Create, edit, or delete a new or existing array.
Create, edit, or delete logical drives in an existing array.
To physically locate an array in an enclosure.
Accept an incomplete array condition.
battery Subsystems only. View battery information or to
recondition a battery.
bbm View or clear the BBM defect list of the specified
configured physical drive.
bga View status of all current background activities.
Enable or disable relevant background activities.
Modify the background task rate for each of the
background tasks.
buzz View buzzer status, enable/disable and turn on/off buzzer.
checktable View logical drive error tables.
config For express or automatic configuration.
For advanced configuration please see the 'array'
command.
ctrl View or edit controller information and settings.
date View or edit system time.
enclosure View or edit enclosure and SEP information and settings.
Locate an enclosure via LEDs.
event View or clear events logs.
export Subsystems only. Export files to remote tftp host.
factorydefaults Restore settings to factory defaults.
init View logical drive initialization status and progress.
Start, stop, pause, or resume an initialization or a quick
initialization.
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Command Action
logdrv View or edit logical drive information and settings.
Locate a logical drive via LEDs.
migrate Start and monitor disk array migration process.
mp View media patrol status and progress.
Start, stop, pause, or resume media patrol.
pdm View PDM status and progress.
Start, stop, pause, or resume PDM process.
phydrv View or edit physical drive information and settings.
Locate a physical drive via LEDs.
ptiflash Update system software and firmware through local host.
rc View redundancy check status and progress.
Start, stop, pause or resume redundancy check.
rb View rebuild status and progress.
Start, stop, pause, or resume a rebuild process.
sc View spare check status. Start spare check.
smart View SMART logs and enable SMART on physical drives.
spare Create or modify hot spare drives.
spath Discover and change subsystem path.
stats View or reset statistics.
subsys View or edit subsystem information and settings.
sync View logical drive synchronization status and progress.
topology View SAS topology, the physical connections and device
information. For products that support multiple enclosures
only.
transit View transition status and progress.
Start, stop, pause, or resume a transition process.
help When used alone will display this menu.
When used in conjunction with a command (example:
help array) it will display help information for that particular
command.
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Command Action
? This can be used in place of the help command or
optionally can be used as a switch for a command
(example: array -?) to provide command usage.
Note: Commands are NOT case sensitive.
Notes and Conventions

Commands and options are NOT case sensitive.
Not all extended keys are supported. However, you can use the backspace and
the left and right arrow keys for command line editing. In addition, the up and
down arrow keys allow scrolling through the command history buffer.
If you need context-sensitive help, type one of the following commands:
• <command> -h
• <command> -?
• help <command>
That action will display full context-sensitive help for the specific command.
Each command when used alone, such as “array” will display a summary of
relevant information. If more information is desired, the -v verbose mode can be
used. This will provide information for all relevant aspects of that command.
Usage terminology is as follows:
• [square braces] depict an optional switch
• <arrow braces> depict user input
• Type " | more" at the end of each command, to display info page by page
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List of Supported Commands

• about (page 190) • migrate (page 210)
• array (page 190) • mp (page 211)
• battery (page 194) • pdm (page 211)
• bbm (page 195) • phydrv (page 212)
• bga (page 195) • ptiflash (page 215)
• buzz (page 198) • rc (page 216)
• checktable (page 198) • rb (page 217)
• config (page 199) • sc (page 218)
• ctrl (page 200) • smart (page 219)
• date (page 203) • spare (page 219)
• enclosure (page 203) • spath (page 221)
• event (page 205) • stats (page 221)
• export (page 206) • subsys (page 222)
• factorydefaults (page 206) • sync (page 223)
• init (page 207) • topology (page 224)
• logdrv (page 209) • transit (page 224)
about
Usage
about
Summary
Displays utility information.
array
Usage
array [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>] [-c <array count>] [-v] array -a add [-s "<list of
array params>"] [-d <DaId>] -p <PdId list> [-c <Ld count>] [-l "<list of Ld
params>"] array -a mod -d <DaId> [-s "<list of array settings>"]
array -a del -d <DaId list>
array -a locate -d <DaId>
array -a accept -d <DaId> [-t <condition type>]
array -a addld -d <DaId> [-c <Ld count>] -l "<list of ld settings>"
array -a delld -l <LdId list>
array -a transport -d <DaId>
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Summary
The array command is the main command for performing advanced configuration
and maintenance tasks on disk arrays.
This command lists, creates, modifies, deletes, and locates disk arrays. It also
adds and deletes logical drives.
Note that you cannot mix Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD)
in the same disk array.
Warning
that belong to it, along with the data they contain.
logical drive.
Back up any important data before deleting a disk array or logical
drive.
Options
-a <action> Specifies the action to perform.
list (Default) Displays a summary of all arrays, a specified
number of arrays, or a specific array.
add Adds/creates an array. This action might also create
logical drives at the same time.
addld Adds/creates a logical drive to an existing array.
delld Deletes a logical drive from an array.
mod Modifies array settings.
del Deletes an array and all its associated logical drives.
locate Locates an array.
accept Accepts the condition of an incomplete array. Currently,
there are two conditions that can cause an array to be
incomplete:
• "Missing Drive: one or more drives missing in the
array
• "Missing NVRAM Watermark
The migration watermark is not found on the
controller but the DDF on the array indicates that
migration is in progress.
When the either of the above conditions occurs, all the
logical drives on the array go offline.
191
You can accept the array in incomplete condition and try

to bring the logical drives online. However, that is a high-
risk and non-revertible operation, and it may result in data
loss. Therefore, it is recommended to clear the condition
first, for example: putting the missing drives back or
roaming the array back to the original controller and wait
until the migration completes.
transport Takes the array and the logical drives on the array offline
to get ready for transport the array to another subsystem.
-d <DA ID> The disk array ID. Valid values are 0-255. Specifies the
desired array ID when creating (add) an array. Specifies
the array ID when listing array information, modifying,
deleting, locating, accepting, adding or deleting a logical
drive. Only one array may be specified.
-p <PD ID list> Specifies physical drives to be used in an array, with -a
add option. PD IDs are specified individually or separated
by comma. Sequential group of physical drives are
specified by placing a ~ between numbers such as 1~6.
This will include physical drives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
-s "<option>=<value> Specifies array settings when creating (add) or modifying
(mod) an array. Options are comma separated.
alias= A user-specified array name. Up to 32 characters, alpha-
numeric characters, blank spaces and underscores.
Beginning and ending blank spaces are discarded.
mediapatrol= Enables or disables Media Patrol for this array.
enable The default is enable.
disable
pdm= Enables or disables PDM for this array.
enable The default is enable.
disable
-l "<option>=<value>" Specifies logical drive settings when adding a logical
drive to an existing array (addld) or during array creation
(add). Options are comma separated.
<LD ID list> Specifies a list of Logical Drive IDs. Requires the -a delld
option.
ID= Assigns a specific ID to an array. Overrides automatic ID
assignment. Valid values are 0-255.
Alias= A user-specified name for the logical drive.
Raid= Specifies logical drive RAID level.
0 Striping.
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1 Mirroring on two drives.

5 Parity, requiring 3 or more drives.
10 Mirroring on even number of drives.
1e Extended mirroring, requiring 2 or more drives.
50 Striping on multiple RAID 5, requiring 6 or more drives.
6 Allow two drive failure, requiring 4 or more drives.
60 Striping on multiple RAID 6, requiring 8 or more drives.
Capacity= Specifies logical drive capacity. Can be specified in
megabytes (mb), gigabytes (gb) or terabytes (tb), up to 2
decimal places. If not specified, all available capacity is
used for this logical drive.
Stripe= Specifies logical drive stripe size. Options include 64KB,
128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and 1024 KB. If not specified,
the default 64KB is used.
Sector= Specifies logical drive sector size. Options include 512 B,
1 KB, 2 KB, and 4 KB. Sector size cannot exceed Stripe
size. Auto-adjusted not to exceed the maximum
supported sector size of the controller. See controller
information on page 200. If not specified, the default
512 B is used.
WritePolicy= Specifies logical drive write policy.
writethru Writes are not cached
writeback Writes are cached
ReadPolicy= Specifies logical drive read policy.
readahead Reads extra data to help reduce read times of sequential
data.
readcache Caches reads the data in case the same request is made
again.
nocache No caching algorithm.
Axle= A member element when creating a RAID10 or RAID50
or RAID60. RAID10 have 2 axles, RAID50 and RAID60
may have up to 16 axles with up to 16 drives per axle.
PreferredCtrlId= Subsystems only. Specifies which controller the LD is
preferred for LUN affinity. Valid value is 1 or 2. If value is
not specified, LUN affinity is auto balanced.
-c <array count> Specifies the number of arrays to give a summary of
when used with the -a list option. For example 'array -a
list -c3' will give a summary for the first 3 arrays on that
controller.
193
<Ld count> Specifies the number of logical drives to be created with

the -a add option. With the -c option, all the logical drives
have same settings but only one -l option=value can be
specified.
-t <condition type> Specifies the type of incomplete condition to accept. If not
specified, it will accept the current incomplete condition
by default.
missingdrive The condition of missing drive in the array.
missingwatermark The condition of missing NVRAM watermark of the array.
-v Verbose mode. Displays all array properties, requires -a list option.
Examples
array -v -c 1
array -a add -s "alias=MyArray,mediapatrol=enable" -p 1,3,5~9
-l "raid=5,capacity=50gb,stripe=256kb,sector=1kb"
array -a add -p 1,3,5~9 -l "raid=5,capacity=50gb,stripe=256kb"
-l "raid=0,capacity=100gb"
array -a mod -d 1 -s "alias=YourArray,mediapatrol=disable"
array -a del -d 3
array -a locate -d 0
array -a addld -d 0 -l "raid=1e,capacity=125gb,stripe=64kb"
array -a delld -l 1
battery
Usage
battery [-a <action>] [-b <batId>]
battery -a recondition -b <batId>
Summary
The battery command displays the status of a battery by the percentage of
charge left.
On subsystems, this command also reconditions the battery. Reconditioning fully
discharges then fully recharge the battery. The battery is reconditioned
automatically once per month.
Options
list (Default) List information for all batteries or a specific
battery.
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recondition Subsystems only. Recondition a specific battery.

-b <battery ID> Specifies which battery in a given enclosure.
1..2
Examples
battery
battery -a recondition -b 1
bbm
Usage
bbm [-a <action>] [-p <PdId>]
bbm -a clear -p <PdId>
Summary
The bbm command displays and clears the Bad Block Map (BBM) for all
configured SATA drives.
Options
list (Default) List the BBM information.
clear Clears the BBM list. For configured SATA drives only.
-p <PdId> Specifies the physical drive id. For the -a list option, the
default is all physical drives. For the -a clear option, you
must specify a physical drive id.
Examples
bbm -p 1
bbm -a clear -p 3
bga
Usage
bga [-a <action>]
bga -a mod -s "<list of settings>"
Summary
The bga command displays all current background activities and makes settings
each background activity.
Options
195
list (Default) Lists current background activities.

mod Makes changes to one of the settings.
-s "<option>=<value>" Specifies which background activity settings to change.
autorebuild= Enable or disables auto-rebuild and auto-transition.
Auto-rebuild will rebuild an array when an unconfigured
drive is inserted into the slot of a dead drive.
Auto-transition will start transitioning on a used revertible
spare in the following condition:
1. When the rebuild has completed using the revertible
spare, and
2. When an unconfigured drive is inserted into the slot of
the dead drive which the was part of the array. or
When a non-revertible spare has been inserted or
created, and is applicable to the array.
This option affects all arrays on the subsystem.
enable
disable
mediapatrol= Verifies the media of the array and/or spares to find bad
blocks on physical disks before you use that block. This
feature is enabled and disabled on an array basis.
enable
disable
ReassignedBlock=Threshold value to trigger PDM, when re-assign map
exceeds the threshold value
1..512
ErrorBlock= Threshold value to trigger PDM, when number of medium
error on the PD exceeds the threshold value.
1..2048
<bg task>=<rate> Background task rates determine what percentage of the
IO load on the controller should be dedicated to the
background task. A lower number will mean the task
takes longer to complete, a higher number will cause the
task to complete faster, all other things being equal.
rebuildrate= Rebuild rate determines the rate at which rebuild will run.
(low=25, medium=50, high=75)
low
medium
high
196
pdmrate= PDM rate determines the rate at which PDM will run.
(low=25, medium=50, high=75)
low
medium
high
transitionrate= Transition rate determines the rate at which transition will
run. (low=25, medium=50, high=75)
low
medium
high
syncrate= Synchronization rate determines the rate at which
synchronization will run. (low=25, medium=50, high=75)
low
medium
high
initrate= Initialization rate determines the rate at which
initialization will run. (low=25, medium=50, high=75)
low
medium
high
rcrate= Redundancy check rate determines the rate at which
redundancy check will run. (low=25, medium=50,
high=75)
low
medium
high
migrationrate= Migration rate determines the rate at which migration will
run. (low=25, medium=50, high=75)
low
medium
high
Examples
bga
bga -a mod -s "autorebuild=enable,rebuildrate=high,syncrate=low"
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buzz
Usage
buzz [-a <action>]
buzz -a list
buzz -a enable
buzz -a disable
buzz -a on
buzz -a off
Summary
The buzz command displays the status of the buzzer, and enables, disables,
turns on or turns off the buzzer.
Options
list (Default) List the status of the buzzer.
enable Enable the buzzer.
disable Disable the buzzer.
on Turn on the buzzer.
off Turn off the buzzer.
checktable
Usage
checktable [-t <tableType>] -l <LdId>
Summary
The checktable command displays the error check tables of a logical drive.
Options
-t <tableType> Specifies which error table to display. The default
displays all tables.
rct Displays the read check table.
wct Displays the write check table.
ibt Displays the inconsistent block table.
-l <LdId> Specifies the logical drive ID.
Examples
checktable -l 10 -t rct
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checktable -l 10
config
Usage
config -a auto
config -a expr [-r y|n] [-c y|n] [-p y|n] [-m y|n] [-s y|n] [-t <AppType>] [-l <NumLd>]
Summary
The config command has two options: Automatic and Express.
Automatic configuration takes all available unconfigured physical drives to create
an optimized disk array following a default set of parameters. There are no
options.
Express configuration takes your input, creates one or two arrays, and spreads
their capacity evenly over all of the logical drives that you specify.
The redundancy option creates redundant logical drives (RAID 1, 10, 1E, 5, 50,
6, or 60).
The capacity option enables optimizes the logical drives for capacity.
The performance option optimizes the logical drives for performance.
If you choose all three options, redundancy gets highest priority and capacity gets
lowest priority.
Note that you cannot combine HDDs and SSDs in the same disk array. If your
system has both type of drives, it will create separate disk array/logical drive sets
for each type of physical drive.
Options
auto Automatic configuration with no options.
Creates an optimized disk array. One or more logical
drives are created automatically.
expr Express configuration. RAID level is dependant on the
options chosen.
-r <y|n> Selects the redundancy option.
-p <y|n> Selects the performance option.
-c <y|n> Selects the capacity option.
-m <y|n> Allows mixing SATA and SAS physical drives in the same
array.
-s <y|n> Includes a spare drive in the array.
Note: Requires 5 or more unconfigured physical drives.
-t <AppType> Specifies the intended application for this array.
199
video Sequential large block reads.

data Random read/write mix, small to medium sized IO.
log Sequential small block write.
other Random read/write mix, small to medium sized IO.
fileserver Random read/write mix, small to medium sized IO.
-l <num of LDs> Specifies how many logical drives to include in the
configuration. Array capacity is divided evenly among the
logical drives.
Examples
config -a auto
config -a expr -ry -p y -c n -sy -t data -l2
ctrl
Usage
ctrl [-a <action>] [-i <ctrlId>] [-c <ctrl count>] [-v]
ctrl -a mod [-i <ctrlId>] -s "<list of settings>"
ctrl -a clear [-i <ctrlId>] [-t <condition type>]
Summary
The ctrl command displays controller information and changes controller settings.
Options
list (Default) Lists controller information.
mod Changes controller settings.
clear Clears controller conditions.
-i <ctrl ID> Specifies the controller ID. For subsystems with dual
controllers, controller ID is required when setting alias of
controller.
-c <ctrl count> Controller count. Required for information on multiple
controllers.
-s "<option>=<value>" Specifies which settings to change.
alias= A user-specified name for the controller.
Up to 48 characters long, alpha- numeric characters,
blank spaces and underscores. The beginning and
ending blank spaces are discarded.
Following setting is shared if there are dual controllers:
200
coercion= Enables or disables disk coercion. Disk coercion will

truncate the size of the physical drives. Makes different
size drives appear to be the same size. For example, a
90.1 GB drive would appear as the same size as an 89.8
GB drive. Important when using drives of different
manufacturers for rebuilds or as hot spares.
enable
disable
coercionmethod= The method of coercion.
GBTruncate Truncates the drive to the nearest 1-billion byte
boundary.
10GBTruncate Truncates the drive to the nearest 10-billion byte
boundary.
GrpRounding Truncates the drive using an intelligent algorithm. Allows
the maximum amount of usable space.
TableRounding Truncates the drive using a pre-defined coercion table.
smart= Enables or disables polling drive SMART status.
enable
disable
smartpollinginterval= Sets the time interval in number of minutes to poll the
drive SMART status.
1..1440
cacheflushinterval= Sets the time interval in seconds to flush the controller
writeback cache.
1..12
migrationstorage= Sets location to store the migration watermark.
ddf Uses the DDF area on the physical drives of the disk
array.
nvram Uses the NVRAM on the controller.
lunaffinity= Subsystems only. Enables or disables LUN affinity,
allowing LD access only to certain controller. For
subsystems with dual controllers.
enable
disable
pollinterval= Sets interval in seconds to poll enclosure SEP
information.
15..255
201
lunmapping= Subsystems only. Chooses WWN based or Slot based

LUN mapping method.
wwn
slot
adaptivewbcache= Enables or disables adaptive writeback cache.
enable Writeback logical drives will change the write policy
based on the availability of protection. If BBU or UPS is
available, the write policy is retained as Writeback,
otherwise the policy is switched to Writethru.
disable The write policy of the writeback logical drives are not
changed irrespective of the availability of BBU or UPS.
hostcacheflushing= Subsystems only. To enable or disable host cache
flushing. When enabled, SYNCHRONIZE CACHE SCSI
command from host is supported.
For high availability products only.
enable
disable
forcedreadahead=Enables or disables forced read ahead caching.
enable
disable
commonwwnn= Enables or disables common WWNN. For subsystems
with dual controllers.
enable All controllers report one common WWNN.
disable Each controller reports its own WWNN.
alua= Subsystems only. Enables or disables asymmetric logical
unit access. Enabling ALUA will enable LUN affinity
automatically.
enable
disable
-t <condition type> Specifies the type of condition to clear.
Valid only when the command action is "clear".
watermark Watermark, the only supported condition for now.
Used with the -a clear option to clear an orphan migration
watermark in the controller NVRAM. This action only
works when migration storage is set to NVRAM prior to
starting migration.
-l Displays the id of the controller on whose serial port the
CLI is running.
-v Verbose mode. Used with the -a list option.
202
Examples
ctrl
ctrl -v
ctrl -l
ctrl -a mod -i 1 -s "alias=ctrl1, coercion=enable"
date
Usage
date
date -a mod [-d <date>] [-t <time>]
Summary
The date command displays the system time and date, and changes these
settings.
Options
list (Default) Displays the current system time.
mod Modifies the current system time.
Not supported for HBA products.
-d <date> Specifies the date in the following format:
yyyy/mm/dd where month's range is 1-12 and day's
range is 1-31.
-t <time> Specifies the time in the following format:
hh:mm:ss where hour range is 0-23, minute and second
range is 0-59.
Examples
date
date -a mod -d 2004/02/25 -t 14:50:05
enclosure
Usage
enclosure [-a <action>] -v
enclosure -a mod [-e <encl id>] -s <list of settings>
enclosure -a locate [-e <encl id>] [-t <FRU type> -f <FRU id>]
203
Summary
The enclosure command provides status and information about the various
components of the enclosure unit. It is also sets temperature threshold values for
JBOD enclosures and displays Vendor Provided Data (VPD).
Options
list (Default) Displays information and status of the
enclosure.
mod Modifies settings. Requires the -s option.
locate Locates an enclosure by flashing its LEDs.
-e <encl id> Enclosure ID. The default value is 1 if unspecified.
For list action, the default is for all enclosures if
unspecified.
-s "<option>=<value>" Specifies the settings to change. Applies to the JBOD
enclosures only.
tempwarning= Enclosure warning theshold temperature, in degrees
Celsius.
10..51
tempcritical= Enclosure critical theshold temperature, in degrees
Celsius.
52..61
ctrltempwarning= Controller warning theshold temperature, in degrees
Celsius.
10..61
ctrltempcritical= Controller critical threshold temperature, in degrees
Celsius.
62..71
-t <FRU type> Specifies which type of FRU to locate. Requires -a locate
option.
ctrl Locates the controller.
cooling Locates the cooling unit. Only works with SAS type
enclosure.
psu Locates the power supply unit. Only works with SAS type
enclosure.
-f <FRU id> Specifies id of FRU to locate. Requires -a locate option.
Valid values are 1 and 2.
-v Verbose mode. Requires -a list option. VPD information
is displayed.
204
Examples
enclosure
enclosure -v
enclosure -a mod -e 10 -s "tempwarning=35, tempcritical=45"
event
Usage
event [-a <action>] [-l <location>] [-i <SeqNo>] [-c <event count>] [-v]
event -a clear [-l <location>]
Summary
The event command displays and clears the RAM and NVRAM event logs.
Options
-a <action> Specified the action to perform.
list Displays the events for the specified location.
RAM events are displayed if no location is specified.
clear Clear events for a specified location.
-l <location> Specifies the location from which to display or clear
events.
ram All events are stored in RAM.
These events are lost after rebooting.
nvram Some events are also stored in NVRAM.
These events remain after rebooting and are a subset of
the RAM events.
-i <sequence ID> Specifies a specific event by its sequence number. This
is a starting point. Requires the -a list option. You can
use the -c option.
-c <event count> Specifies the number of events to retrieve when
displaying events.
-v Verbose mode. Requires the -a list option.
Examples
event
event -v
event -l nvram
event -a clear -lnvram
event -c 200
event -a list -i852 -c200
205
export
Usage
export -t <fileType> [-s <tftpServer>] [-p <port>] -f <fileName>
Summary
The export command exports certain types of configuration files to a remote or
local host.
This command only affects subsystems.
Options
-t <file type> Specifies the type of file to export.
userdb User database file. This file type is not applicable for in-
band and can only be exported to a remote host.
servicereport System service report file. This file is exported to remote
host for embedded and local host for in-band.
-f <file name> Specifies the name of the file to be exported.
-s <TFTP server> Specifies TFTP server’s IP or host name.
Do not specify TFTP server for in-band.
-p <port num> The port number of the TFTP server. Default is 69.
Do not specify port number for in-band.
Examples
export -t userdb -s 192.168.1.1 -f userdb.bin
export -t servicereport -s 192.168.1.1 -f servicereport # for embedded
export -t servicereport -f servicereport # for in-band
factorydefaults
Usage
factorydefaults -a <action> -t <type>
Summary
The factorydefaults command restores factory default settings.
Options
restore Restore the factory default settings.
-t <type> Specifies the type of settings to restore.
all All settings.
allfw All firmware settings.
206
allsw Subsystems only. All software settings.

Following are individual Firmware settings:
bga Background activity settings.
ctrl Controller settings.
encl Enclosure settings, including temperature thresholds.
fc Subsystems only. FC port settings.
iscsi Subsystems only. iscsi settings, including node, port,
SLP, and iSNS.
netiscsi Subsystems only. Network settings of iSCSI ports.
netmgmt Subsystems only. Network settings of management
ports.
phydrv Physical drive settings.
sas Subsystems only. SAS host interface port setting.
scsi Subsystems only. Parallel SCSI channel settings.
subsys Subsystem settings.
Following are individual Software settings, which only apply to Subsystems:
bgascheduler Background activity scheduler settings.
service Service startup type settings.
webserver Web server settings.
snmp SNMP settings.
telnet Telnet settings.
email Email settings.
netsend Netsend settings.
cim CIM settings.
user User settings.
Examples
factorydefaults -a restore -t phydrv
factorydefaults -a restore -t all
init
Usage
init [-a <action>] [-l <LdId>]
init -a start -l <LdId> [-q <size>] [-p <pattern>]
init -a stop -l <LdId>
init -a pause -l <LdId>
207
init -a resume -l <LdId>

Summary
The init command starts, stops, pauses, and resumes a logical drive initialization.
A full initialization writes to the entire logical drive space and takes several
minutes, depending on the size of the logical drive.
A quick initialization writes to the first and last few megabytes of the logical drive.
Typically, a quick initialization is completed in moments.
Warning
logical drive. Backup any important data before you initialize a
logical drive!
Options
list Displays a list of the initializations in progress or paused
and their status. The default action.
start Start an initialization.
stop Stop an initialization.
pause Pause an initialization.
resume Resume an initialization.
-l <LD ID> Specifies the logical drive to be initialized.
-q <size> Specifies the amount of data in megabytes (MB) for a
quick initialization.
1..1024
-p <pattern> Specifies the pattern for a full initialization.
The pattern can range from 1 to 128 bytes (HEX string),
and is padded to even number of bytes, such as, fff
padded to 0fff.
Pattern is not supported for quick initialization.
Examples
init
init -a stop -l0
init -a start -l0 -p5a5a0101
208
logdrv
Usage
logdrv [-a <action>] [-l <LdId>] [-c <Ld count>] [-v]
logdrv -a locate -l <LdID>
logdrv -a mod -l <LdId> -s "<list of ld settings>"
Summary
The logdrv command displays information about the logical drives and changes
logical drive settings.
To create a logical drive, see the array command on page 190.
Options
list (Default) Displays a summary of one or more logical
drives.
mod Changes logical drive settings.
locate Locates a logical drive within the enclosure by flashing
drive carrier LEDs.
-l [<LD ID>] Logical drive ID.
-c [<LD count>] Logical drive count. Requires the -a list option.
-s ["<option>=<value>"]Specifies the logical drive settings to change.
alias= A user-specified name for the logical drive.
Up to 32 characters, containing alpha-numeric
characters, blank spaces and underscores. Beginning
and ending blank spaces are discarded.
WritePolicy= Specifies logical drive write policy.
writethru Writes are not cached.
writeback Writes are cached. Note: Cannot be set if ReadPolicy is
set to “nocache.”
ReadPolicy= Specifies logical drive read policy.
readahead Reads extra data to help reduce read times of sequential
data.
readcache Caches reads in the case the same request is made
again.
nocache No caching algorithm.
PreferredCtrlId= Specifies which controller the LD is prefers for LUN
affinity. Valid value is 1 or 2.
-v Verbose mode. Used with -a list.
209
Examples
logdrv
logdrv -v
logdrv -a mod -l0 -s "readpolicy=readahead"
logdrv -a locate -l2
migrate
Usage
migrate [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>]
migrate -a start -d <DaId> -p <PdIds> -l <LdSettings>
Summary
The migrate command expands the capacity of a logical drives (online capacity
expansion) and changes logical drive RAID levels (RAID level migration).
Note that the added drives must be the same media type, HDD or SSD, as the
Options
list (Default) Displays the migration status of specified disk
array. If no array ID specified, all migration statuses are
displayed.
start Starts the migration.
-d <DA ID> Specifies the ID of the array to be migrated.
-p <PD ID list> Specifies the physical drives to be added to the array.
-l "<option>=<value>" Specifies logical drive migration settings.
id= (Required) Specifies the logical drive ID.
capacity= Specifies the new logical drive capacity.
Specify a value only when expanding logical drive
capacity.
raid= Specifies the new RAID level.
Note: When expanding a RAID 10 logical drive, specify
RAID 10 as the target RAID level, otherwise the resulting
logical drive is a RAID 1E.
axle= Specifies the axle number.
Applies to RAID 50 and 60 when the RAID Level is
changed.
stripe= Specifies the new stripe size.
Not currently supported.
210
Examples
migrate -d 1
migrate -a start -d 1 -p 10 -l "id=0,capacity=10gb"
mp
Usage
mp -a <action>
Summary
The mp command activates Media Patrol. Media Patrol searches the physical
drives for media errors. When an error is found, Media Patrol attempts to repair
the error. If it fails to correct the error, Media Patrol attempts to remap the sector.
Note: Sector remapping is not currently supported.
You can start, stop, pause, or resume Media Patrol and monitor its progress and
status.
Options
list (Default) Displays the status and progress of Media
Patrol.
start Starts Media Patrol.
stop Stops Media Patrol.
pause Pauses Media Patrol.
resume Resumes a paused Media Patrol.
Examples
mp
mp -a stop
mp -a resume
pdm
Usage
pdm [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>] [-s <SeqNo>]
pdm -a start -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo> -p <PdId>
pdm -a stop -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
pdm -a pause -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
pdm -a resume -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
211
Summary
The pdm command activates Predictive Data Migration (PDM). PDM replaces a
suspect physical drive, such as a drive with a PFA condition, with a different
drive. The replacement drive can be an unconfigured drive, a global spare, or a
dedicated spare to this disk array.
During PDM, the data on the suspect drive is transferred to the replacement drive
while the logical drive remains online.
After PDM, the replacement drive becomes part of the disk array. The suspect
drive become unconfigured and any PFA condition remains on it.
This command starts, stops, pauses, and resumes a PDM and monitors the
progress of a running PDM.
A PFA drive cannot be used until you clear the PFA condition. To clear the PFA
conditon of a physical drive, please refer to phydrv command on page 212.
Note that the destination drive must be the same media type, HDD or SSD, as
the other physical drives in the disk array.
Options
list (Default) Displays the active and paused PDMs and their
status.
start Starts a manual PDM.
stop Stops a PDM.
pause Pauses a PDM.
resume Resumes a paused PDM.
-d <DA ID> Specifies which disk array on which to perform the PDM.
-s <sequence Num> Specifies the sequence number of the suspect drive.
-p <PD ID> Specifies physical drive ID of the replacement drive.
Examples
pdm
pdm -a start -d0 -s2 -p10
pdm -a stop -d0 -s2
phydrv
Usage
phydrv [-a <action>] [-p <PdId>] [-c <Pd count>] [-v]
phydrv -a mod -p <PdId> -s "<list of settings>"
phydrv -a locate -p <PdId>
212
phydrv -a online -p <PdId>

phydrv -a offline -p <PdId>
phydrv -a clear -t <condition type> -p <PdId>
Summary
The phydrv command displays physical drive information, changes physical drive
settings, locates individual drives, and forces a drive to an online or offline state.
Options
list (Default) Displays all physical drives, their make, model
number, and array they belong to. Their status is also
shown.
mod Modifiies physical drive settings.
locate Flashes the physical drive's LED so you can location it.
online Forces a drive from an Offline to an Online state.
Caution: Do this action only in extreme conditions. It
causes data corruption in most cases.
offline Forces a drive from an Onine to an Offline state.
clear Clears a drive's condition.
-p <PD ID> Specifies the physical drive ID.
-c <count> Specifies number of drives when their ID numbers are
sequential.
-t <condition type> Specifies type of condition to clear. Requires the -a clear
option.
pfa Clears a PFA condition on the drive.
staleconfig Clears a stale configuration on the drive.
-d <drive type> Specifies type of settings to modify. Requires the -a mod
option. Defaults to be all if -d is not specified.
sata SATA related setting(s): writecache, rlacache, and
cmdqueuing.
The SATA settings apply to all SATA physical drives.
sas SAS related setting(s): writecache, rlacache, readcache.
The SAS settings apply to all SAS physical drives.
all Apply to both SATA and SAS drives where is applicable.
-s "<option>=<value>" Specifies which settings to change.
alias= User-specified name, only for configured physical drives.
Up to 32 characters, containing alpha- numeric
characters, blank spaces and underscores. Beginning
and ending blank spaces are discarded.
213
The following global settings are for physical drives that support these features:
writecache= Enables or disables write cache on the physical drive(s).
enable
disable
rlacache= Enables or disables read look ahead cache on the
physical drive(s).
enable
disable
cmdqueuing= Enables or disables command queuing on the physical
drive(s).
enable
disable
temppollint=Drive temperature polling interval in seconds. If value is 0,
polling is disabled. For subsystems with dual controllers.
15..255
mediumerrorthreshold=
Medium error threshold. If the threshold is reached, the
physical drive is marked as dead. The default value is 0,
indicating that physical drive is not marked as dead for
medium errors. For subsystems with dual controllers.
0..4294967294
The following settings are only for SATA drives:
dmamode= For SATA drive only. Attempt to negotiate at the specified
DMA transfer mode. If a DMA transer mode cannot be
negotiate, the next slower mode is attempted until a
mode can be negotiated (udma5, udma4....udma0,
mdma 2.....mdma0).
udma0 Ultra DMA Mode 0
mdma0 Multi DMA Mode 0
speed= Set the speed of physical drive(s).
214
1.5gb 1.5 Gb/s

3gb 3 Gb/s
auto Automatic
The following settings are only for SAS drives:
readcache= Applied to SAS drive only. Enables or disables read
cache on the physical drive(s).
enable
disable
Examples
phydrv
phydrv -v
phydrv -a locate -p 9
phydrv -a mod -s "writecache=enable,rlacache=enable"
phydrv -a offline -p 8
phydrv -a online -p 8
ptiflash
Usage
ptiflash [-a <action>] [-t] [-s <ServerName>] -f <FileName> [-p <PortNum>]
ptiflash -f <FileName>
Summary
The ptiflash command is a flash update utility that installs flash image files on:
• Firmware and BIOS on a SuperTrak controller card
• Firmware on a VTrak JBOD enclosure
Installing Drivers” on page 63
Cautions

215
Options
start (Default) Starts the flash process.
Note: Run only one flash process at a time.
versioninfo Subsystems only. Displays the version and build
information of all the flash images of all controllers or the
specified controller.
-t Subsystems only. Specifies a TFTP server. Required for
embedded subsystems.
-s <servername|ipaddress>
Subsystems only. Specifies the hostname or the IP
address of the TFTP server which contains the flash
image file.
-f <filename> Specifies the filename of the flash image file.
-p <port number> Subsystems only. Specifies the port number of the TFTP
server.
If no port number is given, the default value of 69 is used.
Examples
ptiflash -f fw_multi_20051022.img [for SuperTrak controllers]
ptiflash -t -s 192.168.1.1 -f fw_multi_20031010.img -p 69 [for embedded
Subsystems]
ptiflash -f fw_multi_20031010.img [for in-band Subsystems]
rc
Usage
rc [-a <action>] [-l <LdId>]
rc -a start -l <LdId> [-n] [-p]
rc -a stop -l <LdId>
rc -a pause -l <LdId>
rc -a resume -l <LdId>
Summary
Th rc command starts, stops, pauses and resumes a Redundancy Check and
monitors the progress of a running Redundancy Check.
Options
-a <action> Specifies action to perform.
216
list (Default) Displays active and paused Redundancy

Checks and their status.
start Starts a Redundancy Check.
stop Stops a Redundancy Check.
pause Pauses a Redundancy Check.
resume Resumes a paused Redundancy Check.
-l <Ld ID> Specifies the logical drive ID on which to run the
Redundancy Check.
-n Do not fix inconsistent data. This option causes
Redundancy Check to run without correcting inconsistent
data. All inconsistency errors are reported.
-p Pause on error. This option causes Redundancy Check
to pause when it encounters inconsistent data. The
default is to continue on error.
Examples
rc
rc -a start -l3 -n -p
rc -a start -l3
rc -a stop -l2
rb
Usage
rb [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>] [-s <SeqNo>]
rb -a start -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo> -p <PdId>
rb -a stop -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
rb -a pause -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
rb -a resume -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
Summary
The rb command starts, stops, pauses, and resumes a Rebuild and monitors the
progress of a running Rebuild.
Note that the replacement drive must be the same media type, HDD or SSD, as
Options
-a <action> Specifies action to perform.
list (Default) Displays the running and paused Rebuilds and
their status.
217
start Starts a manual Rebuild.

stop Stops a Rebuild.
pause Pauses a Rebuild.
resume Resumes a paused Rebuild.
-d <DA ID> Specifies which disk array on which to perform the
Rebuild.
-s <sequence Num> Specifies the sequence number of the failed physical
drive. The source drive of the Rebuild.
-p <PD ID> Specifies the ID of the replacement physical drive. The
target drive of the Rebuild.
Examples
rb
rb -a start -d0 -s2 -p10
rb -a stop -d0 -s2
sc
Usage
sc [-a <action>] [-i <SpareId>]
sc -a start [-i <SpareId>]
Summary
The sc command starts a Spare Check and monitors the status of a running
Spare Check.
Options
list (Default) Displays Spare Check status.
start Starts the Spare Check.
-i <Spare ID> Specifies the spare ID on which to run Spare Check.
Valid value range is 0~255.
Examples
sc
sc -a start -i 3
218
smart
Usage
smart [-a <action>] [-p <PdId>]
Summary
The smart command runs the S.M.A.R.T. diagnostic tool for physical drives.
Options
list (Default) Displays the status of the S.M.A.R.T. diagnostic
tool.
enable Enable S.M.A.R.T.
disable Disable S.M.A.R.T.
-p <PdID> Specifies the physical drive ID of the drive running the
S.M.A.R.T. diagnostic tool.
Examples
smart
smart -v
smart -a list -p 1
smart -a enalbe -p 1
spare
Usage
spare [-a <action>]
spare -a list [-i <SpareId>] [-d <DaId>] [-v]
spare -a add [-i <SpareId>] -p <PdId> [-t g|d] [-r y|n] [-d <DaId list>] [-s "<list of
settings>"]
spare -a mod -i <SpareId> [-t g|d] [-r y|n] [-d <DaId list>] [-s "<list of settings>"]
spare -a del -i <SpareId>
Summary
The spare command displays a list of hot spare drives and creates, modifies, and
deletes hot spare drives.
A global hot spare can replace a failed drive from any redundant disk array.
A dedicated hot spare is assigned to one or more redundant disk arrays, and can
only replace a drive that belongs to one of the assigned arrays.
219
A revertible hot spare can be transitioned back to spare status after it replaces a
failed drive in a disk array. See transit on page 224.
The hot spare drive must be of equal or greater size than the drive it replaces.
The spare drive must be the same media type, HDD or SSD, as the other
physical drives in the disk array.
Options
list (Default) Displays a list of hot spare drives.
add Adds new hot spare drives.
mod Changes hot spare drive settings.
del Deletes a hot spare drive.
-i <Spare Id> Specifies the ID of the spare drive.
-p <PD ID> Specifies the ID of the physical drive. Requires the -a add
option to configure a drive as a spare.
-d <DA ID or DA ID List>
Specifies the disk array ID. Requires the -a list option.
Displays a list of global spares and spares dedicated to
this disk array.
When used with other actions, it specifies the disk array
IDs to which this spare is dedicated.
-t <type> Specifies the type of hot spare drive.
g A global hot spare drive.
d A dedicated hot spare drive.
-r <revertible> Specifies whether the spare drive is revertible.
y Yes.
n No.
-s "<option>=<value>" Specifies options for the spare drive.
mediapatrol= Enables or disables Media Patrol.
enable
disable
Examples
spare
spare -a add -p 14 -t g -r y
spare -a mod -i 1 -t d -d 0,1 -s "mediapatrol=disable"
spare -a del -i 0
220
spath
Usage
spath [-a list] [-t <type> -p <path #>] [-c <count>]
spath -a discover
spath -a chgpath [-t <type> -p <path #>]
Summary
The spath command discovers and changes subsystem paths.
Options
-a <action> Which action to perform.
list (Default) Lists the subsystem paths that have been
discovered.
discover Discovers subsystem paths.
chgpath Changes the current subsystem path to the new specified
path.
If -t <type> -p <path #> is not specified, it will list the
current subsystem path.
-t <type> Specifies the type of path.
hba HBA.
subsys Subsystem.
With the -a list option, the default is both HBA and
Subsystem.
With the -a chgpath options, you must specify -t and -p to
change the path.
You cannot use the -t option with the -a discover option.
-p <path number> Specifies the path number of the HBA and subsystem.
The path number starts from 1.
-c <count> Specifies the number of paths to be displayed.
Not currently supported.
Examples
spath
spath -a discover
spath -a chgpath -t subsys -p 1
stats
Usage
stats [-t <type>] [-i <devId>] [-c <Count>]
221
stats -a clear
Summary
The stats command displays statistics of subsytem, controller, enclosure,
physical drives, and logical drives; and resets the statistics count to zero.
Options
list (Default) Displays the statistics.
clear Resets the statistics count to zero.
-t <type> Specifies the device type.
ctrl Controller.
logdrv Logical drive.
phydrv Physical drive.
all All the above options.
-i <devId> Specifies the device ID. Default is the first available
device ID.
-c <Count> Specifies the device count. Default is all devices.
Examples
stats -t logdrv -i 0 -c 5
stats -a list -t all
stats -a clear
subsys
Usage
subsys [-a <action>] [-v]
subsys -a mod -s "<list of settings>"
subsys -a lock [-r] [-t <number of minutes>]
subsys -a unlock [-f]
subsys -a chklock
Summary
The subsys command displays and changes subsystem settings and locks the
subsystem so that only you can make modifications.
Options
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list (Default) Displays information for the specified

subsystem.
mod Modifies subsystem settings.
lock Locks the subsystem so other users cannot apply
changes.
Other users must wait for you to unlock the system or for
your lock to expire.
unlock Clears a subsystem lock.
chklock Checks the status of the lock.
-s "<option>=<value>" Specifies which subsystem settings to change.
alias= User-specified name for the subsystem. Up to 48
characters, alpha-numeric characters, blank spaces and
underscores. Beginning and ending blank spaces are
discarded.
-t <number of mins> Specifies the number minutes to lock the subsystem.
Requires the -a lock option. Default is 30 minutes.
-r Renews the lock timer. Requires the -a lock and -t
<number of mins> options.
-f Specifies a forced unlock. Requires super user privilege.
-v Specifies verbose mode.
Examples
subsys
subsys -v
subsys -a mod -s "alias=MySubsystem"
subsys -a lock -t 60
subsys -a lock -r -t 35
subsys -a unlock
subsys -a chklock
sync
Usage
sync [-a <action>] [-l <LdId>]
Summary
The sync command monitors the progress of background synchronization.
Background synchronization makes logical drive consistent. It starts
automatically when a redundant logical drive is created. But unlike initialization,
background synchronization allows read and write operations on the logical drive.
223
If an initialization starts, the background synchronization pauses until the

initialization has finished.
Since background synchronization is starts, pauses, and resumes automatically,
there is no need for start, stop, pause, or resume functions.
Options
list (Default) Displays the current background
synchronization activities and their status.
-l Specifies the logical drive ID on which background
synchronization is running.
Examples
sync
sync -l3
sync -a list -l3
topology
Usage
topology [-a <action>] [-v]
Summary
The topology command displays enclosure topology, physical connections, and
devices. For products that support multiple enclosures only.
Options
list (Default) Displays topology information.
-v Displays complete information about topology.
Examples
topology
transit
Usage
transit [-a <action>] [-d <DaId>] [-s <SeqNo>]
transit -a start -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo> -p <PdId>
transit -a stop -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
transit -a pause -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>
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transit -a resume -d <DaId> -s <SeqNo>

Summary
The transit command starts, stops, pauses, and resumes a transition and
monitors the progress of a running transition.
Transition is an operation to replace a revertible spare drive currently used in a
disk array with an new physical drive, so the reveritible spare can be restored to
spare drive status. The destination drive can be an unconfigured drive, a non-
revertible global spare, or a non-revertible spare dedicated to the array.
During transition, the data on the revertible spare is transferred to the destination
drive while the disk array remains online. After transition, the destination drive
becomes the part of the array and the revertible spare is a spared drive once
again.
Note that the destination drive must be the same media type, HDD or SSD, as
Options
list (Default) Displays the running and paused transitions
and their status.
start Starts a manual transition.
stop Stops a transition.
pause Pauses a transition.
resume Resumes a paused transition.
-d <DA ID> Specifies the id of disk array which contains the revertible
spare drive.
-s <sequence Num> Specifies the sequence number of the revertible spare
drive in the array.
-p <PD ID> Specifies the physical drive ID of the destination drive.
Examples
transit
transit -a start -d 0 -s 2 -p 10
transit -a stop -d 0 -s 2
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226
Chapter 7: Technology Background
• Introduction to RAID (below)
• Choosing a RAID Level (page 240)
• Choosing Stripe Block Size (page 244)
• Choosing Sector Size (page 244)
• Choosing Cache Policy (page 245)
• Capacity Coercion (page 246)
• Initialization (page 247)
• Hot Spare Drive (page 248)
• Partition and Format the Logical Drive (page 248)
• RAID Level Migration (page 248)
• Media Patrol (page 255)
• Predictive Data Migration (PDM) (page 255)
• Transition (page 256)
Introduction to RAID
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple physical drives to
be combined together in a disk array. Then all or a portion of the disk array is
formed into a logical drive. The operating system sees the logical drive as a
single storage device, and treats it as such.
The RAID software and controller manage all of the individual drives. The
benefits of a RAID can include:
• Higher data transfer rates for increased server performance
• Increased overall storage capacity for a single drive designation (such as, C,
D, E, etc.)
• Data redundancy/fault tolerance for ensuring continuous system operation in
the event of a hard drive failure
Different types of logical drives use different organizational models and have
varying benefits. Also see “Choosing a RAID Level” on page 240. The following
outline breaks down the properties for each type of RAID logical drive:
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RAID 0 – Stripe
When a logical drive is striped, the read and write blocks of data are interleaved
between the sectors of multiple physical drives. Performance is increased, since
the workload is balanced between drives or “members” that form the logical drive.
Identical drives are recommended for performance as well as data storage
efficiency.
Figure 1. RAID 0 Striping interleaves data across multiple drives
Data
Stripe
Physical Drives
The logical drive's data capacity equals the capacity of the smallest physical
drive times the number of physical drives. For example, one 100 GB and three
120 GB drives will form a 400 GB (4 x 100 GB) logical drive instead of 460 GB.
If physical drives of different capacities are used, there will also be unused
capacity on the larger drives.
RAID 0 logical drives on SuperTrak consist of one or more physical drives.
228
RAID 1 – Mirror
When a logical drive is mirrored, identical data is written to a pair of physical
drives, while reads are performed in parallel. The reads are performed using
elevator seek and load balancing techniques where the workload is distributed in
the most efficient manner. Whichever drive is not busy and is positioned closer to
the data will be accessed first.
With RAID 1, if one physical drive fails or has errors, the other mirrored physical
drive continues to function. Moreover, if a spare physical drive is present, the
spare drive will be used as the replacement drive and data will begin to be
mirrored to it from the remaining good drive.
Figure 2. RAID 1 Mirrors identical data to two drives
Data Mirror
Physical Drives
The logical drive’s data capacity equals the smaller physical drive. For example,
a 100 GB physical drive and a 120 GB physical drive have a combined capacity
of 100 GB in a mirrored logical drive.
If physical drives of different capacities are used, there will be unused capacity
on the larger drive.
RAID 1 logical drives on SuperTrak consist of two physical drives.
If you want a mirrored logical drive with more than two physical drives, see
“RAID 1E – Enhanced Mirror” on page 230 and “RAID 10 – Mirror / Stripe” on
page 233.
229
RAID 1E – Enhanced Mirror

RAID 1E offers the security of mirrored data provided by RAID 1 plus the added
capacity of more than two physical drives. It also offers overall increased read/
write performance plus the flexibility of using an odd number of physical drives.
With RAID 1E, each data stripe is mirrored onto two physical drives. If one drive
fails or has errors, the other drives continue to function, providing fault tolerance.
Figure 3. RAID 1E can mirror data over an odd number of drives
Enhanced Data Mirrors
Physical Drives
The advantage of RAID 1E is the ability to use an odd number of physical drives,
unlike RAID 1 and RAID 10. You can also create a RAID 1E Logical Drive with an
even number of physical drives. However, with an even number of drives, you will
obtain somewhat greater security with comparable performance using RAID 10.
RAID 1E logical drives consist of three or more physical drives. You can create
an array with just two physical drives and specify RAID 1E. But the resulting array
will actually be a RAID 1.
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RAID 5 – Block Striping with Distributed Parity

RAID 5 organizes block data and parity data across the physical drives.
Generally, RAID Level 5 tends to exhibit lower random write performance due to
the heavy workload of parity recalculation for each I/O. RAID 5 is generally
considered to be the most versatile RAID level. It works well for file, database,
application and web servers.
Figure 4. RAID 5 stripes all drives with data and parity information
Distributed Parity
Data
Blocks
Physical Drives
The capacity of a RAID 5 logical drive equals the smallest physical drive times
the number of physical drives, minus one. Hence, a RAID 5 logical drive with four
100 GB physical drives will have a capacity of 300 GB. A RAID 5 logical drive
with two 120 GB physical drives and one 100 GB physical drive will have a
capacity of 200 GB.
RAID 5 is generally considered to be the most versatile RAID level.
A RAID 5 on SuperTrak consists of 3 to 16 physical drives.
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RAID 6 – Block and Double Parity Stripe

RAID level 6 stores dual parity data is rotated across the physical drives along
with the block data. A RAID 6 logical drive can continue to accept I/O requests
when any two physical drives fail.
Figure 5. RAID 6 stripes all drives with data and dual parity
Double Distributed (P and Q) Parity

Data
Blocks
physical drives
The total capacity of a RAID 6 logical drive is the smallest physical drive times
the number of physical drives, minus two.
Hence, a RAID 6 logical drive with (7) 100 GB physical drives will have a capacity
of 500 GB. A RAID 6 logical drive with (4) 100 GB physical drives will have a
capacity of 200 GB.
RAID 6 becomes more capacity efficient in terms of physical drives as the
number of physical drives increases.
RAID 6 provides double fault tolerance. Your logical drive remains available
when up to two physical drives fail.
RAID 6 is generally considered to be the safest RAID level.
A RAID 6 on SuperTrak consists of 4 to 16 physical drives.
232
RAID 10 – Mirror / Stripe

Mirror/Stripe combines both of the RAID 0 and RAID 1 logical drive types. RAID
10 is similar though not identical to RAID 0+1. It can increase performance by
reading and writing data in parallel while protecting data with duplication. The
data on one drive pair is mirrored together, then striped over a second drive pair.
Figure 6. RAID 10 takes a data mirror on one drive pair and stripes it over a
second drive pair
Data Stripe
Data
Mirror
Physical Drives
The data capacity RAID 10 logical drive equals the capacity of the smallest
physical drive times the number of physical drives, divided by two.
In some cases, RAID 10 offers double fault tolerance, depending on which
physical drives fail.
RAID 10 arrays require an even number of physical drives and a minimum of
four.
For RAID 10 characteristics with an odd number of physical drives, use RAID 1E.
See page 230.
233
RAID 50 – Striped Distributed Parity

RAID 50 combines both RAID 5 and RAID 0 features. Data is striped across
physical drives as in RAID 0, and it uses distributed parity as in RAID 5. RAID 50
provides data reliability, good overall performance, and supports larger volume
sizes.
Figure 7. RAID 50 is a combination of RAID 5 and RAID 0
Distributed Parity
Axle 1
Data
Stripe
Axle 2
Physical Drives
The data capacity RAID 50 logical drive equals the capacity of the smallest
physical drive times the number of physical drives, minus two.
RAID 50 also provides very high reliability because data is still available even if
multiple physical drives fail (one in each axle). The greater the number of axles,
the greater the number of physical drives that can fail without the RAID 50 logical
drive going offline.
Component Minimum Maximum
Number of Axles 2 16
Physical Drives per Axle 3 16
Physical Drives per Logical Drive 6 256
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RAID 50 Axles
When you create a RAID 50, you must specify the number of axles. An axle
refers to a single RAID 5 logical drive that is striped with other RAID 5 logical
drives to make RAID 50. An axle can have from 3 to 16 physical drives,
depending on the number of physical drives in the logical drive.
The chart below shows RAID 50 logical drives with 6 to 16 physical drives, the
available number of axles, and the resulting distribution of physical drives on
each axle.
RAID 50 Logical Drive
No. of Drives No. of Axles Drives per Axle
6 2 3,3
7 2 3,4
8 2 4,4
9 2 4,5
3 3,3,3
10 2 5,5
3 3,3,4
11 2 5,6
3 3,4,4
12 2 6,6
3 4,4,4
4 3,3,3,3
13 2 6,7
3 4,4,5
4 3,3,3,4
14 2 7,7
3 4,5,5
4 3,3,4,4
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15 2 7,8
3 5,5,5
4 3,4,4,4
5 3,3,3,3,3
16 2 8,8
3 5,5,6
4 4,4,4,4
5 3,3,3,3,4
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RAID 60 – Striping of Double Parity

RAID 60 combines both RAID 6 and RAID 0 features. Data is striped across
disks as in RAID 0, and it uses double distributed parity as in RAID 6. RAID 60
provides data reliability, good overall performance and supports larger volume
sizes.
Figure 8. RAID 60 is a combination of RAID 6 and RAID 0
Double Distributed Parity
Axle 1
Data
Stripes
Axle 2
Physical drives
The total capacity of a RAID 60 logical drive is the smallest physical drive times
the number of physical drives, minus four.
RAID 60 also provides very high reliability because data is still available even if
multiple physical drives fail (two in each axle). The greater the number of axles,
the greater the number of physical drives that can fail without the RAID 60 logical
drive going offline.
Component Minimum Maximum
Number of Axles 2 16
Physical Drives per Axle 4 16
Physical Drives per Logical Drive 8 256
237
RAID 60 Axles
When you create a RAID 60, you must specify the number of axles. An axle
refers to a single RAID 6 logical drive that is striped with other RAID 6 logical
drives to make RAID 60. An axle can have from 4 to 16 physical drives,
depending on the number of physical drives in the logical drive.
The chart below shows RAID 60 logical drives with 8 to 20 physical drives, the
available number of axles, and the resulting distribution of physical drives on
each axle.
8 2 4,4
9 2 4,5
10 2 5,5
11 2 5,6
12 2 6,6
3 4,4,4
13 2 6,7
3 4,4,5
14 2 7,7
3 4,5,5
15 2 7,8
3 5,5,5
16 2 8,8
3 5,5,6
4 4,4,4,4
17 2 8,9
3 5,6,6
4 4,4,4,5
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18 2 9,9
3 6,6,6
4 4,4,5,5
19 2 9,10
3 6,6,7
4 4,5,5,5
20 2 10,10
3 6,7,7
4 5,5,5,5
5 4,4,4,4,4
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Choosing a RAID Level

There are several issues to consider when choosing the RAID Level for your
logical drive. The following discussion summarizes some advantages,
disadvantages and applications for each choice.
RAID 0
Advantages Disadvantages
Implements a striped logical drive, the Not a true RAID because it is not fault-
data is broken down into blocks and tolerant
each block is written to a separate The failure of just one drive will result
physical drive in all data in an logical drive being lost
I/O performance is greatly improved by Should not be used in mission critical
spreading the I/O load across many environments
channels and drives
No parity calculation overhead is
involved
Recommended applications for RAID 0:

• Image Editing
• Pre-Press Applications
• Any application requiring high bandwidth
RAID 1
Simplest RAID storage subsystem Very high physical drive overhead –

design uses only 50% of total capacity
Can increase read performance by
processing data requests in parallel
since the same data resides on two
different drives

• Accounting/Financial
• Payroll
• Any application requiring very high availability
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RAID 1E
Implemented as a mirrored logical Very high physical drive overhead –

drive whose segments are RAID 0 uses only 50% of total capacity
logical drives
High I/O rates are achieved thanks to
multiple stripe segments
Can use an odd number of physical
drives
Recommended Applications for RAID 1E

• Imaging applications
• Database servers
• General fileserver
RAID 5
High Read data transaction rate Physical drive failure has a medium
Medium Write data transaction rate impact on throughput
Good aggregate transfer rate
Most versatile RAID level

• File and Application servers
• WWW, E-mail, and News servers
• Intranet servers
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RAID 6
High Read data transaction rate High physical drive overhead –

Medium Write data transaction rate equivalent of two drives used for parity
Good aggregate transfer rate Slightly lower performance than RAID
5
Safest RAID level

• Accounting/Financial
RAID 10
Implemented as a mirrored logical Very high physical drive overhead –

drive whose segments are RAID 0 uses only 50% of total capacity
logical drives
High I/O rates are achieved thanks to
multiple stripe segments

• Imaging applications
• General fileserver
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RAID 50
High Read data transaction rate Physical drive failure has a moderate
Good write data transaction rate impact on throughput
Very good aggregate transfer rate
Most versatile RAID level

• File and Application Servers
• Transaction Processing
• Office applications with many users accessing small files
RAID 60
High Read data transaction rate High disk overhead – equivalent of two
Medium Write data transaction rate drives used for parity
Good aggregate transfer rate Slightly lower performance than RAID
50
Safest RAID level
Recommended Applications for RAID 60:

• Accounting and Financial
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Choosing Stripe Block Size

You set the stripe block size, also called block size, when you create a logical
drive. With SuperTrak, the choices are 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, and
1024 KB. 64 KB is the default.
Your choice will directly affect performance. There are two issues to consider
when choosing the stripe block size.
• Choose a stripe block size equal to or smaller than the smallest cache buffer
found on any physical drive in your logical drive.
A larger value slows the logical drive down because physical drives with
smaller cache buffers need more time for multiple accesses to fill their
buffers.
• If your data retrieval consists of fixed-size data blocks, such as some
database and video applications, choose that data block size as your stripe
block size.
Generally speaking, email, POS, and webservers prefer smaller stripe block
sizes. Video and database applications prefer larger stripe block sizes.
See “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 96 and “Creating a Logical Drive” on
page 165, and “Creating a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration” on page 161.
Choosing Sector Size

You set the sector size when you create a logical drive. With SuperTrak, the
choices are 512 B, 1 KB, 2 KB, and 4 KB. 512 B is the default.
A sector is the smallest addressable area on a physical drive. Sector Size refers
to the size of sector measured by the number of bytes of data it can hold. The
most common sector size is 512 bytes (512 B). A smaller sector size results in a
more efficient use of a physical drive’s capacity. 512 B is the default sector size
for logical drives on SuperTrak.
The number of usable sectors is limited by the addressing method of the
computer's operating system:
• Windows XP (32-bit) support 10-bit logical bit addressing (LBA), so with 512
B sectors, they can only support up to 2 terabytes (TB) of data storage
capacity. To increase the capacity, you must use larger sectors. See “2 TB
Limitation” on page 245.
• Windows XP (64-bit), Windows Server 2003 and 2008, and Windows Vista
support 64-bit LBA, so they are not affected by this limitation. For these
OSes, always choose the default 512 B sector size.
• Linux operating systems with the 2.4 kernel do not support variable sector
sizes. For these OSes, always choose the default 512 B sector size.
244
• Linux operating systems with the 2.6 kernel support 64-bit LBA. For these
OSes, always choose the default 512 B sector size.
page 165, and “Creating a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration” on page 161.
2 TB Limitation
If your Host PC runs Windows XP (32-bit), and you want to create logical drives
larger than 2 TB, you must choose a sector size larger than 512 B when you
create the logical drive. The table on the next page correlates sector size with
logical drive capacity.
Logical Drive Size Sector Size
8 to 16 TB 4096 bytes (4 KB)
4 to 8 TB 2048 bytes (2 KB)
2 to 4 TB 1024 bytes (1 KB)
0 to 2 TB 512 bytes (512 B)
Also see “Ranges of Disk Array Expansion” on page 253.
Choosing Cache Policy

As it is used with SuperTrak, the term cache refers to any of several kinds of
high-speed, volatile memory that hold data moving from your computer to the
physical drives or vice-versa. Cache is important because it can read and write
data much faster than a physical drive. There are read caches, which hold data
as it is read from a physical drive; and write caches, which hold data as it is
written to a physical drive.
In order to tune the cache for best performance in different applications, user-
adjustable settings are provided. Cache settings are made in conjunction with
logical drives:
• When you create a logical drive. See “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 96
and “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 165, and “Creating a Disk Array –
Advanced Configuration” on page 161.
• On an existing logical drive. See “Changing Logical Drive Settings” on
page 98 or page 174.
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Read Cache Policy

• Read Cache – The read cache is enabled.
• Read Ahead – The read cache and the read-ahead feature are enabled.
Read-ahead anticipates the next read and performs it before the request is
made. Can increase read performance.
• Forced Read Ahead – Continues reading ahead even when the next read
cannot be logically anticipated. Can increase read performance.
• No Cache – The read cache is disabled.
Write Cache Policy

• Write Back – Data is written first to the cache, then to the logical drive.
Better performance. Requires a cache backup battery to protect data in the
cache from a sudden power failure.
• Write Through – Data is written to the cache and the logical drive at the
same time. Safer.
• Adaptive Writeback Cache – Data is written first to the cache, then to the
logical drive. Changes the write cache settings while the cache backup
battery is offline.
When all of the following conditions occur:
• The logical drive write policy is set to Write Back
• The Adaptive Writeback Cache feature is enabled
• The cache backup battery goes offline
The write policy automatically changes to Write Through. When the battery
comes back online, the write policy automatically changes back to Write
Back.
Capacity Coercion
This feature is designed for fault-tolerant logical drives (RAID 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50,
and 60). It is generally recommended to use physical drives of the same size in
your disk arrays. When this is not possible, physical drives of different sizes will
work but the system must adjust for the size differences by reducing or coercing
the capacity of the larger drives to match the smaller ones. With SuperTrak, you
can choose to enable Capacity Coercion and any one of four methods.
Enable Capacity Coercion and choose the Method in the Controller Settings
menu. See “Making Controller Settings” on page 144. The choices are:
• GBTruncate – (Default) Reduces the useful capacity to the nearest
1,000,000,000-byte boundary.
246
• 10GBTruncate – Reduces the useful capacity to the nearest

10,000,000,000-byte boundary.
• GRPRounding – Uses an algorithm to determine how much to truncate.
Results in the maximum amount of usable drive capacity.
• TableRounding – Applies a predefined table to determine how much to
truncate.
Capacity Coercion also affects a replacement drive used in a disk array.
Normally, when an physical drive fails, the replacement drive must be the same
capacity or larger. However, the Capacity Coercion feature permits the
installation of a replacement drive that is slightly smaller (within 1 gigabyte) than
the remaining working drive. For example, the remaining working drives can be
80.5 GB and the replacement drive can be 80.3, since all are rounded down to
80 GB. This permits the smaller drive to be used.
Without Capacity Coercion, the controller will not permit the use of a replacement
physical drive that is slightly smaller than the remaining working drive(s).
Initialization
Initialization is highly recommended for logical drives when they are created from
a disk array. Initialization sets all data bits in the logical drive to zero. The action
is useful because there may be residual data on the logical drives left behind
from earlier configurations. You can also perform an Initialization on an existing
logical drive.
Warning
When you initialize a logical drive, all the data the logical drive will
be lost. Backup any important data before you initialize a logical
drive.
There are three options for logical drive initialization:

• Full – Overwrites all data bits on the logical drive. Can take some time for
larger logical drives
• Quick – Overwrites the data bits on the first and last blocks of logical drive.
Takes only seconds.
• None – No initialization. Not recommended.
page 165, and “Creating a Disk Array – Advanced Configuration” on page 161,
and “Initializing a Logical Drive” on page 175.
247
Hot Spare Drive

A hot spare is a physical drive that is available to a disk array but not actually a
part of it. If you designate a spare drive, SuperTrak will replace a failed physical
drive in a disk array with the hot spare drive automatically. See “Creating a Spare
Drive” on page 99 or page 179.
Compared to the failed drive, the replacement drive must be:
• The same media type, HDD or SDD
• Equal or larger capacity
There are two types of hot spare drive:
• Global – An unassigned physical drive available to any logical drive on the
Host PC.
• Dedicated – An unassigned physical drive that can only be used by a
specified logical drive.
There is another property you can assign to a hot spare drive:
• Revertible – A revertible spare drive will return to spare status when the
failed drive is replace with a new drive. See “Transition” on page 256.
Whenever possible, having a spare drive for your RAID system is good protection
against physical drive failure. Even though the spare drive is assigned to a disk
array, the rebuild operation is said to apply to a logical drive.
If you do not have a spare drive, but the Auto Rebuild function is enabled, the
critical disk array will begin to rebuild as soon as you replace the failed physical
drive with an unconfigured physical drive of equal or greater size. See “Making
Background Activity Settings” on page 137.
Partition and Format the Logical Drive

Like any other type of fixed disk media in your system, a RAID logical drive must
also be partitioned and formatted before use. Use the same method of
partitioning and formatting on an logical drive as you would any other fixed disk.
See “Appendix A: Partition and Format” on page 285.
RAID Level Migration

To migrate a disk array is to do one or both:
• Change its RAID level
• Increase the number of physical drives (sometimes called expansion)
On SuperTrak, RAID level migration is performed on the disk array but it applies
to the logical drives. Migration takes place on an existing Functional disk array
without disturbing the existing data. While the disk array is migrating, you can
248
access the data as before. When migration is complete, your disk array will have
a different RAID level and/or a larger capacity.
In most cases, you must add one or more physical drives during the migration
process. You can never reduce the number of physical drives.
The tables below shows the migration options for a source logical drive according
to its RAID level. The available target RAID levels are shown with their
requirements.
You must use WebPAM PRO to migrate a disk array. See “Migrating a Disk Array”
on page 167.
RAID 0
A RAID 0 source logical drive can migrate to the following target logical drives:
Target Requirements
RAID 0 Add physical drives.
RAID 1 2 physical drives only.

Only a single-drive RAID 0 can migrate to RAID 1 by adding 1
physical drive.
RAID 1E 3 or more physical drives.
RAID 5 3 physical drives minimum, 16 maximum.

RAID 0 must have less than 16 physical drives.
RAID 10 4 physical drives minimum.

Even number of physical drives.
RAID 50 6 physical drives minimum, 16 per axle maximum.
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RAID 1
A RAID 1 Source logical drive can migrate to the following Target logical drives:
Target Requirements
RAID 0 None.
RAID 1E 3 or more physical drives.


RAID 1E
A RAID 1E Source logical drive can migrate to the following Target logical drives:
Target Requirements
RAID 0 None.
RAID 1E Add physical drives.

RAID 1E must have less than 16 physical drives.

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RAID 5
Target Requirements
RAID 0 None.
RAID 1E None.
RAID 5 Add physical drives. 16 maximum.

RAID 6
Target Requirements
RAID 6 Add physical drives. 16 maximum.
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RAID 10
Target Requirements
RAID 0 None.
RAID 1E None.


RAID 10 Add physical drives.

RAID 50
Target Requirements
RAID 0 None.
RAID 1E None.
RAID 5 16 physical drives maximum.


RAID 10 Even number of physical drives.
RAID 50 Add physical drives. 16 per axle maximum.
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RAID 60
Target Requirements

RAID 60 Add physical drives. 16 per axle maximum.
Important
• The Target disk array may require more physical drives than
the Source disk array
• If the Target disk array requires an EVEN number of physical
drives but the Source disk array has an ODD number, ADD a
physical drive as part of the migration process
• You cannot reduce the number of physical drives in your disk
array, even if the Target disk array requires fewer physical
drives than the Source disk array
• RAID 1 (mirroring) works with two drives only. Only a single-
drive RAID 0 disk array can migrate to RAID 1. Other RAID
Levels use too many drives to migrate
• You cannot migrate a disk array when it is Critical or
performing activities such as Synchronizing, Rebuilding, and
PDM
• For RAID 6 or RAID 60, you can only migrate between these
two RAID levels. Destination RAID 60 axles can have up to
16 physical drives. Other limitations might apply
Ranges of Disk Array Expansion

The Windows XP (32-bit) operating systems support a 10-byte LBA format. As a
result, these OSes can only recognize 4 billion addresses. If you create a logical
drive using the default 512 B sector size, the logical drive will be limited to 2 TB of
data, even if there is more space available on your physical drives.
This limitation does not apply to Windows XP (64-bit), 2003 Server, Vista, and
Linux OSes with the 2.6 kernel. Linux OSes with the 2.4 kernel do not support
variable sector sizes, therefore you cannot apply the solution described here to
those OSes.
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Note that once you create your logical drive, you cannot change the size of the
sectors. Nor can you increase the number of address blocks that the OS
recognizes.
You can direct WebPAM PRO to expand a logical drive beyond the maximum
expansion size. When the expansion is finished:
• WebPAM PRO will show the logical drive in the desired size.
• Your operating system might show the logical drive at the maximum size
listed in the table below.
• Additional capacity might appear as unpartitioned and unformatted.
Maximum LD
Current LD Size Sector Size
Expansion Size
8 to 16 TB 16 TB 4096 bytes
up to 2 TB 2 TB 512 bytes
At this point, you have the choice of:

• Format the unpartitioned/unformatted capacity as a second logical drive
• Delete the existing disk array and create a new one in the desired size
Delete and Recreate
If you require a logical drive larger than the maximum expansion size:
1. Backup the data from the current logical drive.
2. Delete the current logical drive.
See “Deleting a Logical Drive” on page 98 or page 166.
3. Create a new logical drive with the desired capacity.
See “Creating a Logical Drive” on page 96 or page 165.
4. Restore the data to the new logical drive.
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Media Patrol
Media Patrol is a routine maintenance procedure that checks the magnetic media
on each physical drive. Media Patrol checks all physical drives assigned to disk
arrays and on spare drives. Media Patrol does not check unconfigured drives.
Unlike Synchronization and Redundancy Check, Media Patrol is concerned with
the condition of the media itself, not the data recorded on the media. If Media
Patrol encounters a critical error, it triggers PDM if PDM is enabled.
You can run Media Patrol:
• From the subsystem. See page 138.
• Directly on a disk array. See page 169.
Predictive Data Migration (PDM)

Predictive Data Migration (PDM) is the migration of data from the suspect
physical drive to a spare drive, similar to Rebuilding a Logical Drive. But unlike
Rebuilding, PDM constantly monitors your physical drives and automatically
copies your data to the spare drive before the suspect drive fails and your Logical
Drive goes Critical. See “Running PDM” on page 138 and “Running PDM on a
Disk Array” on page 169.
After the data is copied from the suspect drive, the controller marks the suspect
drive with a Stale configuration and a PFA error.
You can clear the Stale configuration and PFA error and put the physical drive
back into service. See “Clearing Stale and PFA Conditions” on page 152 or
page 269. In some cases, however, you might remove the physical drive for
repair or replacement.
PDM Triggers
The following actions trigger PDM:
• A physical drive with unhealthy status (see below)
• Media Patrol finds a disk critical error*
• You initiate PDM manually
*PDM also counts the number of media errors reported by Media Patrol.
A physical drive becomes unhealthy when:
• A SMART error is reported
• The bad sector remapping table fills to the specified level
Because data would be lost if written to a bad sector, when a bad sector is
detected, the physical drive creates a map around it. These maps are saved in
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the bad sector remapping table, which has a capacity of 512 reassigned blocks
and 1024 error blocks.
When the table fills to a specified percentage of its capacity, PDM triggers a
migration of data from the suspect drive (the physical drive with the bad sectors)
to a spare drive.
During data migration, you will have access to the logical drive but it will respond
more slowly to read/write tasks because of the additional operation. The time
required for data migration depends on the size of the physical drive.
See “Making Background Activity Settings” on page 137.
Transition
The Transition feature enables you to specify “permanent” spare drives for your
SuperTrak controller. Transition is the process of replacing a revertible spare
drive that is currently part of a disk array with an unconfigured physical drive or a
non-revertible spare. The revertible spare drive returns to its original status.
Transition happens automatically when the following sequence of events takes
place:
• You create a revertible spare drive. “Creating a Spare Drive” on page 179.
• One of the physical drives assigned to your disk array fails and the array
becomes degraded and the logical drive goes critical.
• The SuperTrak controller automatically rebuilds your array to the revertible
spare drive and the array becomes functional again.
• You replace the failed physical drive with a new physical drive of equal or
greater capacity.
• The SuperTrak controller automatically transitions (moves) the data from the
revertible spare to the new physical drive.
• The new physical drive becomes part of the array and the revertible spare
drive returns to its original spare status.
Transition happens manually when you specify a different unconfigured physical
drive to transition (move) the data from the revertible spare drive.
Drive Failure and Automatic Rebuild

In the example below, there is a two-drive RAID 1 disk array.
• The physical drives in channels 1 and 2 belong to the disk array.
• The physical drive in channel 3 is unconfigured.
256
• The physical drive in channel 4 is a revertible spare drive.
The physical drive in channel 2 fails. The disk array becomes degraded and its
logical drives go critical. The SuperTrak controller automatically rebuilds the disk
array using the revertible spare drive, the physical drive in channel 4.
When the rebuild is finished, the disk array and logical drives are OK again.
• The physical drive in channel 2 has failed and is unusable.
Note that there is no spare drive at this moment.
257
Automatic Transition
At this juncture, you would replace the failed drive in channel 2 with a new drive
of the same or greater capacity.
When the SuperTrak controller detects the new drive in channel 2, it will:
• Transition the data from the drive in channel 4 to the drive in channel 2.
• Return the drive in channel 4 to spare status.
When the Transition is finished:
• The physical drive in channel 3 is still unconfigured.
The original configuration is restored.
Manual Transition
Manual transition requires an unassigned physical drive.
The example below is the same two-drive RAID 1 disk array as before.
258
The physical drive in channel 2 fails. The disk array becomes degraded and its
logical drives go critical. The SuperTrak controller automatically rebuilds the disk
array using the spare drive, the physical drive in channel 4.
As we saw in the example of Automatic Transition, if you replace the failed

physical drive in channel 2, the SuperTrak controller would transition the data
from the physical drive in channel 4 to the new drive in channel 2.
But if you wanted to use a different physical drive in your array, such as the
unassigned drive in channel 3, you would run the Transition function manually.
When the Manual Transition is finished:
• The physical drive channel 2 is still failed and unusable.
At this point, after running the Manual Transition, you would replace the failed
drive in channel 2. The replacement drive in channel 2 will remain unconfigured
until you assign it to a disk array or as a spare.
259
260
Chapter 8: Troubleshooting
• Problem Reports from SuperTrak
• Buzzer (page 261)
• LEDs (page 261)
• BIOS (page 263)
• Problems Reported in WebPAM PRO (page 265)
• Critical & Offline Logical Drives (page 267)
• Salvaging Physical Drives (page 269)
• Rebuilding a Disk Array Automatically (page 270)
• Rebuilding a Disk Array Manually (page 270)
• Rebuilding with WebPAM PRO (page 270)
• Rebuilding with SuperBuild (page 271)
• Recovering from a Blank Screen (page 272)
• Cache Battery Does Not Charge (page 272)
Problems Reported by SuperTrak

The SuperTrak EX Controller provides both audible and visual indicators to alert
you to a problem.
Buzzer
The buzzer sounds to inform you that your RAID system needs attention. But the
buzzer does not specify the condition. When a continuous tone sounds, there are
multiple alarm patterns sounding at the same time.
When the buzzer sounds, take the following actions:
• Check your disk arrays and logical drives.
• Check the Event Log. See page 103 or page 115.
LEDs
If your system is configured with Global LEDs or Direct LEDs, they will indicate
when a problem is present. Use the SuperBuild utility or WebPAM PRO to further
diagnose and correct the problem.
261
Global LED Display

Global LEDs glow in response to Logical Drive status.
LED Logical Drive Status
Dark System off

Green Normal
Amber Logical Drive Critical
Red Logical Drive Offline
Direct LED Display

Direct LEDs, glow and blink in response to the SuperTrak’s firmware status.
Fault Activity
Firmware Status
LED LED
OFF OFF No physical drive

ON ON Unconfigured physical drive
OFF ON Configured physical drive – Status OK
ON ON Configured physical drive – Status Not OK
OFF ON Global spare drive – Status OK
ON ON Physical drive – Status Dead
ON ON Stale condition
Blink ON Rebuilding
OFF Blink Activity
Blink ON Locate physical drive
Blink ON Locate logical drive
Blink ON Locate disk array
262
BIOS
The problem is first reported in the SuperTrak BIOS screen when you boot your
PC or server, as shown below.
Figure 1. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive critical
If the SuperTrak BIOS detects an Critical logical drive, the BIOS reports the
condition but allows the booting process of the Host PC to continue.
Choose a Management application:
• Press Ctrl-S at the BIOS screen to open the SuperBuild utility.
• Allow your OS to boot, then open WebPAM PRO.
263
Figure 2. SuperTrak BIOS screen, logical drive offline
If the SuperTrak BIOS detects an Offline logical drive, the BIOS reports the
condition and temporarily halts the booting process of the Host PC.
Choose a Management application:
• Press Ctrl-S to open the SuperBuild utility.
• Press the Space bar, allow your OS to boot, then open WebPAM PRO.
264
Problems Reported in WebPAM PRO

Opening WebPAM PRO
If WebPAM PRO is not running, do the following actions:
1. Open WebPAM PRO.
See “Logging into WebPAM PRO” on page 109 for more information.
3. Click the Enclosures icon and its subordinate icons.
4. Click the Disk Arrays icon and its subordinate icons.
What to Look For

When a logical drive goes critical or offline, WebPAM PRO reports the condition
in the following ways:
• Displays yellow !s red Xs in Tree View (below)
• Sends email messages, per your configuration

• Displays popup messages, per your configuration (below)
265
• Keeps a record in the Event Log (below)
266
Critical & Offline Logical Drives

A fault-tolerant logical drive—RAID 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60—goes critical when
a physical drive is removed or fails. Due to the fault tolerance of the logical drive,
the data is still available and online. However, once the logical drive goes critical,
the logical drive has lost its fault tolerance, and performance may be adversely
affected.
If the fault was caused by a failed physical drive, the failed drive must be
replaced in order for the disk array to rebuild and restore the logical drives on the
array to normal or OK status.
If your fault-tolerant logical drive—RAID 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50, or 60—goes offline,
contact Technical Support. See page 277.
Warning
Take no further corrective action until you have consulted with

Technical Support. See page 277.
A non-fault tolerant logical drive—RAID 0—goes offline when a physical drive is

removed or fails. Since the logical drive is not fault tolerant, the data stored in the
logical drive is no longer accessible.
If one physical drive fails, all of the data on the RAID 0 logical drive is lost. You
must replace the failed drive. Then, if the logical drive had more than one
physical drive, delete the logical drive and re-create it. Restore the data from a
backup source.
Finding the Failed Drive in SuperBuild

To identify a failed physical drive:
The Physical Drive Management screen displays.
2. Compare the list of physical drives on the screen against the actual physical
drives attached to the SuperTrak controller.
267
Figure 3. Physical Drive Management screen
ID 3 is missing
In the example above, there is no physical drive for ID 3. Assuming you

installed a physical drive onto Channel 3 of the SuperTrak controller, this is
the failed physical drive.
3. Shut down the Host PC, open the case, check the power and data
connections to each physical drive, correct any shortcomings, restart the
Host PC and check in SuperBuild again.
Finding the Failed Drive in WebPAM PRO

To locate a failed or missing physical drive:
1. Open WebPAM PRO.
See “Logging into WebPAM PRO” on
page 109 for more information.
6. Examine the list of physical drives.
• If a drive was present but is now
missing, that is the failed drive. Check
the power and data connections. If
those are OK, you must replace the
drive.
• If a drive is marked as PFA or Stale, that
is the problem drive and you might be
able to salvage the drive.
• If a drive is marked as Offline or Dead,
that is the problem drive and you must replace it.
268
Salvaging Physical Drives

Physical drives can develop problems that make them unsuitable for service in a
logical drive. These problems are reflected in the physical drive status:
• PFA – The physical drive has errors resulting in a prediction of failure
• Stale – Caused by obsolete array information on the physical drive
• Offline – The physical drive is present but set to Offline status
• Dead – Physical drive set down by the SuperTrak controller
WebPAM PRO has features to deal with PFA or Stale physical drives. An Offline
or Dead physical drive cannot be salvaged and must be replaced.
Clearing Stale and PFA Conditions

To clear a Stale or PFA status from a physical drive:
1. Open WebPAM PRO.
See “Logging into WebPAM PRO” on page 109 for more information.
7. In Management View, click the Clear tab.
Note
If a physical drive has both a Stale and a PFA condition, click the
Submit button once to clear the Stale condition, then click again
to clear the PFA condition.
269
Rebuilding a Disk Array Automatically

When you rebuild a disk array, you are actually rebuilding the data onto a
replacement physical drive.
Normally, a Critical disk array automatically rebuilds itself using a designated
spare drive. See “Creating a Spare Drive” on page 99 or page 179.
If you do not have a spare drive, the Critical disk array automatically rebuilds
itself as soon as you remove the failed drive and insert a replacement drive. Note
the replacement drive requirements, below.
During the rebuild:
• The alarm sounds two short beeps, repeated
• No warning icon displays over the disk array or logical drive icons
The disk array’s Operational Status as OK, Rebuilding.
You can still read and write data to the logical drive. However, fault tolerance
is lost until the disk array completes the rebuild.
After a successful rebuild:
• The alarm is silent
• The logical drive’s Operational Status is OK
• The rebuilt physical drive Status LED displays steady green
Rebuilding a Disk Array Manually

Important
The replacement physical drive must be:

• The same media type, HDD or SDD, as the other drives in the
array.
• Equal or larger capacity than the failed drive it replaces.
• Free of any previous configuration data. See page 269.
If the Auto Rebuild function is disabled and no spare drives are available, you
must initiate the procedure.
First, identify and replace the failed physical drive. See page 267 or page 268.
Then rebuild the disk array as described below.
Rebuilding with WebPAM PRO

To manually rebuild a disk array in WebPAM PRO:
270

If there are multiple disk arrays, choose the icon with the yellow !.
Rebuild.
5. Choose Source physical drive.
The Source is a remaining functional physical drive in the disk array.
6. Choose the Target physical drive.
The Target is the replacement physical drive.
The Disk Array Background Activity tab shows rebuild progress on the
replacement (target) physical drive. Depending the size of the physical disk
involved, this process will take some time.
To view more information, click the Rebuild on PDx link.
Rebuilding with SuperBuild

To manually rebuild a disk array in the SuperBuild Utility:
2. Highlight the Disk Array with the failed drive and press Enter.
The Disk Array Info and Setting screen displays.
3. Highlight Physical Drives in the Array and press Enter.
Note the ID numbers of the physical drives that are still functional.
4. Highlight Start Manual Rebuild and press Enter.
The Manual Rebuild screen displays.
5. Highlight the Source Sequence Number and press Enter.
Then type the ID number of one of the physical drives you noted in step 3
and press Enter.
6. Highlight the Target Physical Drive ID and press Enter.
Then type the ID number of the new drive and press Enter.
7. Highlight Start Manual Rebuild and press Enter.
The time required for the Rebuild depends on the number and size of your
logical drives. You can monitor the progress of the Rebuild under
Background Activity.
271
Recovering from a Blank Screen

Occasionally, while you are performing a RAID
Internet
management operation using WebPAM PRO, your Explorer
browser screen might go blank.
To recover from a blank browser screen, do one of the Firefox
following actions:
Netscape
• Press the F5 key. Navigator
• Click your browser’s Refresh button (right).
Cache Battery Does Not Charge

The RAID controller’s cache backup battery protects data in the cache for up to
72 hours in the event of a power failure. If the battery is too warm, it will not
accept a charge nor will it discharge to power the cache.
To view battery information:
4. Click the Battery tab in Management View.
In normal operation, the operational status of the battery shows Fully Charged
with a Reserve Capacity of 100%. If it never reaches this condition or remains
discharged, the battery may be too warm.
RAID controllers, like all components inside the Host PC, rely on a flow of air to
carry off heat and maintain optimal temperature. If the air flow is inadequate,
performance can suffer.
Check and correct the following conditions:
• Ambient operating temperature must not exceed 104°F (40°C).
• Be sure the fan outlets, typically at the back of the PC or server, have at
least 6 inches (15 cm) of clearance.
• If you have other PCI devices and available slots, try moving the SuperTrak
and the other devices further apart to increase airflow between them.
• Airflow through your PC or server must be at least 200 LFM.
Measuring and adjusting airflow through a PC or server is very difficult for users
in the field. Contact the manufacturer’s Technical Support for assistance.
272
Chapter 9: Support
• Frequently Asked Questions (below)
• Contacting Technical Support (page 277)
• Limited Warranty (page 280)
• Returning the Product For Repair (page 282)
Frequently Asked Questions

This section lists frequently asked questions involving pre-installation, drive
issues, installation, and post-installation.
Pre-Installation (Speed, Device Types, Capacity, Cabling)

What kind of HDDs can I use for a SuperTrak EX Series logical drive?
You can use any Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or Serial ATA (SATA) hard
disk drive from the compatibility list on the Promise Support Website. Use
matching drives for multiple-drive arrays to maximize capacity usage as well
as performance.
What is the maximum physical drive storage capacity of SuperTrak EX
Series?
The SuperTrak EX4650 supports up to 3.0 TB (four 750 GB physical drives).
The SuperTrak EX8650, EX8654, and EX8658 support up to 6.0 TB (eight
750 GB physical drives).
The SuperTrak EX16650 supports up to 16.0 TB (sixteen 1.0 TB physical
drives).
The SuperTrak EX Series controllers also support up to 128 SAS physical
drives per SAS port using SAS expanders.
Can I use ATAPI devices on the SuperTrak EX Series?
No. The SuperTrak EX Series Controller does not support ATAPI devices.
Will ACPI work with HDDs on the SuperTrak EX Series?
Yes. The SuperTrak EX Series controller supports ACPI S1, S3 and S4
standby modes.
What kind of PCI slots do the SuperTrak EX Series controllers use?
SuperTrak EX Series controllers will work in a PCI-Express x8 slot or x16
slot.
273
How can I change the resources that the SuperTrak uses?

The SuperTrak EX Series Controllers are fully PnP. This means all the
resources that it uses are given to it by the PnP BIOS on the motherboard.
The SuperTrak Series Controller supports IRQ sharing, but this feature only
works when ALL the concerned devices support it. If your motherboard
allows you to control the assignment of these resources, you may be able to
remedy the problem by:
• Changing the IRQ assignments to the PCI slots in the motherboard
BIOS during boot up.
• Reset the configuration data in your CMOS. This is usually an option in
the PnP section of your CMOS.
• Otherwise, switch the SuperTrak Controller card to a different PCI slot.
Drive Issues
Can I add a drive to a SuperTrak EX Series logical drive via hot-swap and
dynamically adjust the array size/configuration?
Yes. The SuperTrak EX Series controller supports online logical drive
expansion and migration. You must use the SuperBuild utility or the
WebPAM PRO software to expand or migrate an existing logical drive.
Do the HDDs on the SuperTrak EX Series have to be the same size?
The physical drives that you use with the SuperTrak EX Series controller do
not have to be the same size. If the sizes differ, the SuperTrak EX Controller
will truncate the large drive so the capacities match. The resulting difference
in drive space is unusable, so avoid using physical drives of significantly
different capacities.
Can I take a drive used in a SuperTrak EX Series logical drive and access it
directly with a different controller, such as the one integrated on the
motherboard?
Yes, but only under certain configurations. First, the other controller must
address the drives as LBA, not CHS.
Second, only the following configurations allow the drive(s) to be accessed
individually on another controller:
• Single-drive RAID 0 (stripe)
• One drive from a RAID 1 (mirror) logical drive
No other array configurations will work for this purpose.
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Chapter 9: Support
I already have an array on a Promise FastTrak controller. Can I move that

array to my new SuperTrak EX Series controller?
No. The SuperTrak EX Series controller supports SNIA Disk Data Format
(DDF), which is not backward compatible with the FastTrak controller.
If I have a problem with one of the drives on the SuperTrak EX Series, how
can I low-level format it to correct the problem?
Do NOT do this! Low-level formatting hard physical drives is not only
unnecessary but it generally does not correct problems commonly
experienced during use.
Errors such as bad sectors or ECC/CRC failure are best remedied by
completely replacing the drive. For this reason, do NOT low-level format the
drives attached to the SuperTrak EX Series controller.
Do I have to install disk management software on my logical drive in order
to access the full storage capacity of drives?
No! Disk management software will only complicate things. The logical drive
should be fully addressable by your OS as it is. Some operating systems
have limits on the sizes of partitions and logical drives that can be defined.
Consult your OS documentation about partitioning larger drives.
What system BIOS setup settings do I use for the drives on the SuperTrak
EX Series?
A BIOS setting is required only if you want to boot your system from the
logical drive on the SuperTrak EX Series controller. After your logical drive is
created, partitioned and formatted, make the change in your BIOS boot
order setting.
How do I partition/format my SuperTrak EX Series RAID logical drive?
The SuperTrak EX Series controller represents the logical drive as a single
physical drive to your system. Therefore, anything that you can do to a single
physical drive you can do to a SuperTrak logical drive.
For example, you should use the FDISK and FORMAT utilities to partition
and format the logical drive. You can format the logical drive with any file
system you wish.
Installation Issues (Capacity, Booting)

How can I change the system boot sequence in order to boot from the
SuperTrak EX Series logical drive?
The boot sequence is controlled by the system BIOS. As far as the system
BIOS is concerned, the SuperTrak EX Controller and defined logical drives
275
are categorized as a SCSI device. This allows you to set the boot sequence
in your BIOS setup utility to boot from SCSI first, rather than IDE.
If there are multiple SCSI add-in controllers in the system, then the boot
sequence among them will be determined exclusively by their PCI slot
priority. PCI slot #1 will be first, slot #2 second, etc. Put the SuperTrak EX
Controller in the PCI-Express slot where it will be accessed ahead of other
SCSI controllers if you want to boot from the logical drive.
How can I change the boot sequence between a PCI SCSI card and the
SuperTrak EX Series RAID logical drive?
Since all PCI-Express are PnP, it is difficult to determine which device is
addressed first. Most motherboard BIOSes have advanced options that
identify devices and allow you to choose which device will be assigned
resources first. Otherwise you may have to physically switch the device
cards on the PCI/PCI-Express/PCI-X slots so that the boot device is in the
highest priority slot number (see previous question).
Post-Installation
Why can’t I see the drives on the SuperTrak EX Series under FDISK?
You have not created a logical drive yet. Without a logical drive, the system
will not recognize the physical drives attached to the SuperTrak EX
Controller.
A physical drive is recognized by the SuperTrak controller but not available
to use in a disk array. How can I make it available?
The physical drive might contain obsolete disk array information. See
“Clearing Stale and PFA Conditions” on page 152 or page 269. This action
clears the obsolete information in order to make the drive available.
Why can’t I run WebPAM PRO in Konqueror?
The Konqueror browser (Linux) does not support WebPAM PRO. Install a
Netscape Navigator or Firefox browser. With that browser as the default,
reinstall WebPAM PRO.
Aren’t the WebPAM PRO icons supposed to be animated?
Yes, they are animated. However, the default setting for Internet Explorer
under Windows 2003 Server does not display animation in the browser. Go
to Internet Options > Advanced and check Play animations in web pages.
276
Chapter 9: Support
Contacting Technical Support

Promise Technical Support provides several support options for Promise users to
access information and updates. We encourage you to use one of our electronic
services, which provide product information updates for the most efficient service
and support.
If you decide to contact us, please have the following information available:
• Product model and serial number
• BIOS and driver version numbers
• A description of the problem / situation
• System configuration information, including: motherboard and CPU type,
hard drive model(s), SAS/SATA/ATA/ATAPI drives & devices, and other
controllers.
Technical Support Services

Promise Online™ Web Site http://www.promise.com/support/
support_eng.asp.
(technical documents, drivers, utilities, etc.)
United States
E-mail Support e-Support On-Line
Fax Support +1 408 228 1100 Attn: Technical Support
Phone Support +1 408 228 1400 option 4
If you wish to write us for Promise Technology, Inc.

support: 580 Cottonwood Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035, USA
The Netherlands
Fax Support +31 0 40 256 9463 Attn: Technical Support
Phone Support +31 0 40 235 2600
If you wish to write us for Promise Technology Europe B.V.

support: Science Park Eindhoven 5542
5692 EL Son, The Netherlands
277
Germany
Fax Technical Support +49 0 2 31 56 76 48 29

Attn: Technical Support
Phone Technical Support +49 0 2 31 56 76 48 10
If you wish to write us for Promise Technology Germany

support: Europaplatz 9
44269 Dortmund, Germany
Italy
Fax Support +39 0 6 367 124 00 Attn: Technical Support
Phone Support +39 0 6 367 126 26
If you wish to write us for Promise Technology Italy

support: Piazza del Popolo 18
00187 Roma, Italia
Taiwan
Phone Support +886 3 578 2395 ext. 8822 or 8823
If you wish to write us for Promise Technology, Inc.

support: 2F, No. 30, Industry E. Rd. IX
Science-based Industrial Park
Hsin-Chu 30075, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
278
Chapter 9: Support
China
Phone Support +86 10 8857 8085 or 8095
If you wish to write us for Promise Technology China – Beijing

support: Room 1205, Tower C
Webok Time Center, No.17
South Zhong Guan Cun Street
Hai Dian District, Beijing 100081, China
Phone Support +86 21 6249 4192, 4193, or 4199
If you wish to write us for Promise Technology China – Shanghai

support: Room 508, Leader Tower
1189 West Wu Ding Road
Jing An District, Shanghai 200042, China
279
Limited Warranty
Promise Technology, Inc. (“Promise”) warrants that this product, from the time of
the delivery of the product to the original end user:
a) all components, except the cache backup battery, for a period of three
(3) years;
b) the cache backup battery, for a period of one (1) year;
c) will conform to Promise’s specifications;
d) will be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use
and service.
This warranty:
a) applies only to products which are new and in cartons on the date of
purchase;
b) is not transferable;
c) is valid only when accompanied by a copy of the original purchase
invoice.
d) Is not valid on spare parts.
This warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from:
a) improper or inadequate maintenance, or unauthorized modification(s),
performed by the end user;
b) operation outside the environmental specifications for the product;
c) accident, misuse, negligence, misapplication, abuse, natural or
personal disaster, or maintenance by anyone other than a Promise or a
Promise-authorized service center.
Disclaimer of other warranties

This warranty covers only parts and labor, and excludes coverage on software
items as expressly set above.
Except as expressly set forth above, Promise DISCLAIMS any warranties,
expressed or implied, by statute or otherwise, regarding the product, including,
without limitation, any warranties for fitness for any purpose, quality,
merchantability, non-infringement, or otherwise. Promise makes no warranty or
representation concerning the suitability of any product for use with any other
item. You assume full responsibility for selecting products and for ensuring that
the products selected are compatible and appropriate for use with other goods
with which they will be used.
280
Chapter 9: Support
Promise DOES NOT WARRANT that any product is free from errors or that it will
interface without problems with your computer system. It is your responsibility to
back up or otherwise save important data before installing any product and
continue to back up your important data regularly.
No other document, statement or representation may be relied on to vary the
terms of this limited warranty.
Promise’s sole responsibility with respect to any product is to do one of the
following:
a) replace the product with a conforming unit of the same or superior
product;
b) repair the product.
Promise shall not be liable for the cost of procuring substitute goods, services,
lost profits, unrealized savings, equipment damage, costs of recovering,
reprogramming, or reproducing of programs or data stored in or used with the
products, or for any other general, special, consequential, indirect, incidental, or
punitive damages, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, notwithstanding the
failure of the essential purpose of the foregoing remedy and regardless of
whether Promise has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Promise
is not an insurer. If you desire insurance against such damage, you must obtain
insurance from another party.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential
damages for consumer products, so the above limitation may not apply to you.
This warranty gives specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that
vary from state to state. This limited warranty is governed by the State of
California.
Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for determining whether the product is appropriate for your
use and will interface with your equipment without malfunction or damage. You
are also responsible for backing up your data before installing any product and
for regularly backing up your data after installing the product. Promise is not liable
for any damage to equipment or data loss resulting from the use of any product.
281
Returning the Product For Repair

If you suspect a product is not working properly, or if you have any questions
about your product, contact our Technical Support Staff through one of our
Technical Services, making sure to provide the following information:
• Product model and serial number (required)
• Return shipping address
• Daytime phone number
• Description of the problem
• Copy of the original purchase invoice
The technician will assist you in determining whether the product requires repair.
If the product needs repair, the Technical Support Department will issue an RMA
(Return Merchandise Authorization) number.
Important
Obtain an RMA number from Technical Support before you return

the product and write the RMA number on the label. The RMA
number is essential for tracking your product and providing the
proper service.
Return ONLY the specific product covered by the warranty (do not ship cables,
manuals, diskettes, etc.), with a copy of your proof of purchase to:
USA and Canada: Promise Technology, Inc.

Customer Service Dept.
Attn.: RMA # ______
47654 Kato Road
Fremont, CA 94538
Other Countries: Return the product to your dealer

or retailer.
Contact them for instructions
before shipping the product.
You must follow the packaging guidelines for returning products:

• Use the original shipping carton and packaging
• Include a summary of the product’s problem(s)
• Write an attention line on the box with the RMA number
• Include a copy of proof of purchase
282
Chapter 9: Support
You are responsible for the cost of insurance and shipment of the product to
Promise. Note that damage incurred due to improper transport or packaging is
not covered under the Limited Warranty.
When repairing returned product(s), Promise may replace defective parts with
new or reconditioned parts, or replace the entire unit with a new or reconditioned
unit. In the event of a replacement, the replacement unit will be under warranty
for the remainder of the original warranty term from purchase date, or 30 days,
whichever is longer.
Promise will pay for standard return shipping charges only. You will be required to
pay for any additional shipping options (such as express shipping).
283
284
Appendix A: Partition and Format
In order for your operating system to recognize and work with the physical drives
attached to your SuperTrak EX Controller card, the drives must be partitioned
and formatted.
• If your drives were previously partitioned and formatted they are ready to use
and you can skip this procedure
• If your drives have not been partitioned and formatted, you must do that job
before you can use them
The actions of partitioning and formatting create a file structure on the physical
drives with which your operating system can work. In the example below, we
show how this is done in Windows. A similar procedure is required for Linux PCs.
However, partitioning and formatting in Linux is not automated, therefore please
refer to your system documentation for the exact procedure.
Note
If you plan to boot your computer from this logical drive, you will
perform partitioning and formatting during the OS installation. The
instructions here are for data logical drives only.
1. From the desktop, right-click the My Computer icon and choose Manage
from the popup menu. The Computer Management window opens.
2. From the left menu, click Disk Management. The Disk Management window
opens with your new logical disk identified as Disk 1. The Initialize Wizard
appears automatically.
285
3. Click the Next button to start the Wizard.

4. In the following windows, choose Disk 1 to Initialize. Do not choose any
disks to Convert. Click the Finish button to Initialize the logical disk.
5. Right-click the Unallocated portion of Disk 1 and choose New Partition...

from the popup menu. The New Partition Wizard appears.
286
Appendix A: Partition and Format
6. Click the Next button to start the wizard.

7. In the following windows, do the following actions. Click Next to move to the
next window.
• Choose Primary Partition
• Specify the maximum available partition size in MB
• Assign the available drive letter of your choice
• Choose Format this partition with the following settings
• File system: NTFS
• Allocation unit size: Default
• Volume label: Enter your choice of name
• Do not check “Perform a quick format” or “Enable file and folder
compression”
8. Review your selections and click Finish. The New Partition Wizard will
disappear while partitioning and formatting begin.
This process will take some time. The Disk Management window displays
the progress.
287
When formatting is complete, your logical disk will appear as a hard drive in
the Disk Management window (above) and the My Computer window
(below).
288
Appendix B: Upgrades
• Updating SuperTrak BIOS and Firmware (page 289)
• Updating WebPAM PRO (page 290)
Updating SuperTrak BIOS and Firmware

Follow this procedure to upgrade the BIOS and Firmware on your SuperTrak
EX4650, EX8650, EX8654, EX8658, or EX16650 Controller card.
The SuperTrak card must be properly installed in your PC or server in order to
perform the update. See “Installing the SuperTrak Card” on page 9 for more
information.
Downloading BIOS and Firmware File

1. Go to the Promise Support Website at http://support.promise.com/.
2. Click Downloads.
3. Click the Select Product popup menu and choose SuperTrak EX4350/
EX8650/EX8654/EX8658/EX16650.
4. Click the Select Category popup menu and choose All.
5. Click the GO button.
The list of available downloads displays. The firmware and BIOS come
together in a single package.
6. Click the package you want. Be sure you choose the latest version.
8. In the Save As dialog box, direct the file to save to a convenient location on
your PC.
9. Continue the update procedure in WebPAM PRO. See “Updating the
Firmware” on page 132.
Important
• After you update your BIOS and Firmware, install the latest
SuperTrak driver for your OS. See “Chapter 3: Installing
Drivers” on page 63.
• If you also plan to update the firmware on a VTrak RAID
subsystem or JBOD enclosure, download the firmware
packages for those products separately.
289
Updating WebPAM PRO

Follow this procedure to upgrade the WebPAM PRO Software on your PC or
server.
Downloading the WebPAM PRO Update File

1. Go to the Promise website http://support.promise.com/.
2. Click Downloads.
3. Click the Select Product popup menu and choose SuperTrak EX4350/
EX8650/EX8654/EX8658/EX16650.
4. Click the Select Category popup menu and choose Utility.
5. Click the GO button.
The list of the current WebPAM PRO software displays. Promise provides
versions of WebPAM PRO software for Windows and Linux. Be sure you
choose the latest version.
6. Click the WebPAM PRO file you want.
8. In the Save As dialog box, direct the software to save to a convenient
location on your PC.
9. Unzip the downloaded WebPAM package.
The result is a single installer file.
Installing the WebPAM PRO Update File

You must manually uninstall the existing version of WebPAM PRO before
installing the new one.
See “Installing WebPAM PRO onto Windows” on page 40 or “Installing WebPAM
PRO onto Linux” on page 49.

The new version of WebPAM PRO has the same login procedure as previous
version. See “Logging into WebPAM PRO” on page 58 or page 109.
290
Appendix C: Battery Backup Unit
The Battery Backup Unit (BBU) maintains power to the cache on the SuperTrak
EX Controller card, when a power failure occurs to the Host PC. The failure could
be due to a problem with the PC’s power supply, a cessation of electrical service,
or an accidental disconnection of the power cable.
When power is interrupted, any data in the controller’s cache is lost. The BBU
maintains power to the cache so that any data stored there is saved until it can be
written to a physical drive.
The BBU is available as a kit, sold separately from the SuperTrak EX Controller
card.
• SuperTrak EX4650 and EX8650 take BBU-Plus II or BBU-Plus III
• SuperTrak EX8654, EX8658, and EX16650 take BBU-Plus III.
Be sure you obtain and install the correct kit for your controller.
The BBU kit includes the following components:
• Battery Assembly – Includes a lithium battery and holder
• Mounting screws (3)
Figure 1. The BBU-Plus III kit
291
Installing the BBU
Warning
The electronic components on the SuperTrak EX Controller cards

are sensitive to damage from Electro-Static Discharge (ESD).
Observe appropriate precautions at all times when handling the
SuperTrak card or its subassemblies.
Warning
Before installing the BBU onto SuperTrak EX Controller card,

backup any important or useful data. Failure to follow this
accepted PC practice could result in data loss.
To install the BBU onto your SuperTrak EX Controller card in the Host PC:
1. Power down your system.
2. Remove the cover of your system.
3. Detach the SAS multi-lane cables from the SuperTrak EX Controller card.
4. Remove the screw holding the SuperTrak EX Controller card to the system
case.
5. Gently pull the SuperTrak EX Controller card out of the PCI-Express slot and
remove it from the system.
6. Place the SuperTrak EX Controller card on an anti-static surface with the
connectors facing up.
7. Attach the BBU module connector on the Battery Assembly to the BBU
module connector on the SuperTrak EX Controller card. See Figure 2.
292
Appendix C: Battery Backup Unit
Figure 2. BBU module connectors on EX4650. Other models are similar
SuperTrak EX Controller Battery Assembly
BBU module
connector
8. From the opposite side of the SuperTrak EX Controller card, insert and snug
the three screws to secure the Battery Assembly.
Figure 3. Three screws secure the Battery Assembly. The EX4650 is
shown. Other models are similar
Back of SuperTrak
EX Controller
Mounting
screw 1 of 3
9. Install the SuperTrak EX Controller card back into its PCI-Express slot.
293
10. Replace the screw holding the SuperTrak EX Controller card to the system
case.
11. Attach the SAS multi-lane cables to the SuperTrak EX Controller card.
12. Replace the cover of your system.
13. Power-up the system and launch WebPAM PRO.
See “Logging into WebPAM PRO” on page 109.
After installation and power-up, a new battery takes several hours to charge.
From that time, it should show Fully Charged. See “Viewing Battery Information”
on page 145.
The BBU module is covered by a one-year warranty. See “Limited Warranty” on
page 280.
294
Appendix D: LED Backplane Connections
• Schematic Diagrams (below)
• Direct LED Display (page 297)
• Aggregate LED Display (page 297)
• Global LED Display (page 298)
Schematic Diagrams
To set up LED configuration for your enclosure or PC, make your backplane
connections as shown below. You can make connections for:
• Aggregate LEDs
• Global LEDs in two colors
• Direct connection – Individual fault and activity LEDs
For SuperTrak EX8654 and EX8658, note that only the interior SAS Ports
have individual LED pins.
For more information, see “Installing the SuperTrak Card” on page 9 and the user
manual for your PC or enclosure.
Figure 1. SuperTrak Aggregate and Global LED backplane connections
Backplane SuperTrak Controller Card
LED activity = Low

1
1 Aggregate
2 LEDs
2 pin pitch 2.54 mm
for header
D-704578362
0Ω 1 2 1
+
2
R Global
3
0Ω 3 4 G LEDs
4
+
LED R+G pin pitch 2.54 mm
for header
Optional resistors for

tuning LED brightness.
295
Backplane SuperTrak Controller Card Backplane
Fault LEDs Fault and Activity LEDs Activity LEDs
3.3 V 3.3 V
LED activity = Low
330 Ω 1 2 2 1 330 Ω
330 Ω 1 2 2 1 330 Ω
330 Ω 1 2 2 1 2 1 330 Ω
4 3
6 5
296
330 Ω 1 2 2 1 330 Ω
8 7
330 Ω 10 9 330 Ω
1 2 2 1
12 11
14 13
330 Ω 1 2 2 1 330 Ω
16 15
330 Ω 1 2 2 1 330 Ω
pin pitch 2.54 mm
for header
330 Ω 1 2 2 1 330 Ω
Figure 2. SuperTrak fault and activity LED connections
For LED status and behavior information, see the tables on the following pages.
Appendix D: LED Backplane Connections
Direct LED Display

Direct LEDs, glow and blink in response to the SuperTrak’s firmware status.
Fault Activity
Firmware Status
LED LED
OFF OFF No physical drive

ON ON Unconfigured physical drive
OFF ON Configured physical drive – Status OK
ON ON Configured physical drive – Status Not OK
OFF ON Global spare drive – Status OK
ON ON Physical drive – Status Dead
ON ON Stale condition
Blink ON Rebuilding
OFF Blink Activity
Blink ON Locate physical drive
Blink ON Locate logical drive
Blink ON Locate disk array
For more information, see:

• “Managing Physical Drives” on page 90 or page 149
• “Managing Disk Arrays” on page 92 or page 156
• “Managing Logical Drives” on page 95 or page 172
• “Managing Spare Drives” on page 99 or page 178
Aggregate LED Display

Aggregate LEDs glow or blink in response to Storage Device (physical drive)
activity.
LED Storage Device Status
OFF No activity
ON Storage device (physical drive) activity
297
Global LED Display

Global LEDs glow in response to Logical Drive status.
LED Logical Drive Status
Dark System off

Green Normal
Amber Logical Drive Critical
Red Logical Drive Offline
When a Global LED glows amber or red, you must diagnose and resolve the
logical drive problem in the SuperBuild BIOS or in WebPAM PRO.
See “Chapter 8: Troubleshooting” on page 261.
298
Index
Numerics not charging 272
10GBTruncate 247 BIOS
2 TB limitation 245 downloading 289
SuperTrak 18, 85
blank browser screen 272
A
block size, see stripe size 244
About This Manual 1
browser screen, blank 272
Adaptive Writeback Cache 145, browser support for WebPAM PRO
246 4, 39
add
buzzer 106, 261
host 122
information 147
subsystem 122
settings 146
Agent, WebPAM PRO 38, 123, silencing 146
129 testing 146
airflow, PC or server 8, 272
alias
controller 144 C
disk array 93, 94, 161 capacity
logical drive 96, 98, 161, 165 disk array 92
physical drive 152 logical drive 96, 162, 165
subsystem 132 physical drive 90
Auto Rebuild enable 137 spare drive 179
axles capacity coercion
RAID 50 235 defined 246
RAID 60 238 settings 144
specify number 97, 161 check table 176
CIM
client settings 129
B
server settings 129
background activity
clear
run 138
event logs 104
settings 137
NVRAM event log 136
view 136
orphan watermark 145
backplane, LED connections 295
runtime event log 135
battery
statistical data 132
backup unit (BBU) 291
CLI
information 145
commands, listed 190
299
CLI, cont. disk array

install capacity 92
FreeBSD 36 create 19, 93
Linux 29 create advanced 161
VMware 37 create automatically 158
Windows 23 create express 159
notes, conventions 189 create manually 161
open 28, 185 delete 94, 163
start 28, 185 expansion 253
Client/Server, WebPAM PRO 123 information 92, 163
connection, in-band versus out-of- list 92
band 123 locate 156
controller migrate 167, 248
alias 144 name or alias 93, 94, 161
information 89, 142 no mixing HDD and SSD 17,
selection 89 93, 100, 158, 159, 161,
settings 144 191, 220
statistics 144 prepare for transport 171
create rebuild 168, 270
disk array 19, 93, 157 run Media Patrol 169
logical drive 20, 96, 165 run PDM 169
spare drive 99, 179 settings 94, 164
user 120 status 93, 163
critical logical drive 267, 270 transitioning 170
view 156
D downloading
dedicated spare drive 248 BIOS 289
degraded logical drive 172 drivers 63
delete firmware 289
disk array 94, 163 WebPAM PRO 290
Event Frame 116 drivers
host 123 downloading 63
logical drive 98, 166 FreeBSD 80
scheduled activity 141 installation media 64
spare drive 101, 180 Miracle Linux 79
subsystem 123 openSUSE Linux 77
user 120 RedHat Linux 74
dimensions, SuperTrak card 6 SuSE SLES Linux 78
Windows Server 2003 70
300
Index
drivers, cont. F
Windows Server 2008 66 FAQs
Windows Vista 68 installation 275
Windows XP 72 physical drives 274
post installation 276
E pre-installation 273
email find failed drive
messages 265 SuperBuild 267
service settings 127 WebPAM PRO 268
status 126 firmware
test 128 downloading 289
enable update 124, 132
Auto Rebuild 137 first-time setup, WebPAM PRO 60
Media Patrol 137 Forced Read Ahead Cache 145,
SMART 144 246
enclosure format logical drive 248, 285
IDs 15 FreeBSD
information 148 installing
JBOD 14, 16 CLI 36
polling interval 145 driver 80
SGPIO 15
SuperSwap 16 G
third party 149, 156, 173, 182 GBTruncate 246
virtual 15, 149, 156, 173, 182 global spare drive 248
VTrak 14, 150, 157, 173, 182 GRPRounding 247
error block threshold setting 137
Event Frame
H
deleting 116
Header 113
refresh time 128
health, subsystem 133
saving 116
host
viewing 115
add 122
event logs
delete 123
clear 104
information 130
SuperBuild 103
hot spare drive 248
expansion 167, 248
ranges of 253
Extended SMTP 128 I
ID numbers and SAS connections
15
in-band versus out-of-band 123
Inconsistent Block Table 177
301
information installing, cont.

battery 145 Windows Vista driver 68
buzzer 147 Windows XP driver 72
controller 142
disk array 92, 163 J
enclosure 148 Java Runtime Environment 39
host 130 JBOD enclosure 14, 16, 150, 157,
logical drive 95, 183 173, 182
logical drives 172, 173
physical drive 90, 151
spare drive 99 L
subsystem 131 language, WebPAM PRO 115
subsystem/host 122 LED behavior and SuperTrak sta-
user 118 tus 262, 297
initialization LED pins
settings 137 backplane 295
initialization, logical drive 97, 162, SuperTrak 12
166, 175, 247 Linux
installing installing
BBU kit 292 drivers 74–79
CLI WebPAM PRO 49
FreeBSD 36 list
Linux 29 disk arrays 92
VMware 37 logical drives 95
Windows 23 physical drives 90, 149
FreeBSD driver 80 scheduled activities 139
Miracle Linux driver 79 spare drives 99, 178
openSUSE Linux driver 77 locate
RedHat Linux driver 74 disk array 156
SuperTrak EX Controller card 9 logical drive 173, 182
SuSE SLES Linux driver 78 physical drive 149
VMware driver 82 logging into WebPAM PRO 58,
WebPAM PRO 109
Linux 49 logging out of WebPAM PRO 117
Windows 40 logical drive
Windows Server 2003 driver 2 TB limitation 245
70 axles 97, 161
Windows Server 2008 driver capacity 21, 96, 162, 165
66 check table 176
create 20, 96, 165
critical 267, 270
302
Index
degraded 172 multi-lane SAS cable 12, 292, 294

delete 98, 166
information 95, 172, 173, 183 N
initialization 97, 162, 166, NVRAM event log
175, 247 clear 136
list 95 save 136
list of all 182 view 135
locate 173, 182
name or alias 21, 96, 98, 161,
165, 174 O
offline 267 offline logical drive 267
partition and format 248, 285 online expansion 167, 248
RAID level 21, 96, 161, 165 orphan watermark, clear 145
read cache policy 22, 97, 98, OS support for WebPAM PRO 3,
162, 165, 175 38
Redundancy Check 176 out-of-band versus in-band 123
sector size 21, 96, 162, 165 overview of SuperTrak 2
settings 98, 174
statistics 174 P
status 95, 96, 172 partition logical drive 248, 285
stripe size 21, 96, 162, 165 password
synchronizing 166, 174 change 119
write cache policy 22, 97, 98, WebPAM PRO 59, 111
162, 166, 175 PCI-Express slot 9, 292
login screen, WebPAM PRO 59, PDM
111 and Media Patrol 255
defined 255
M running on a physical drive 138
maintenance user 120 running on disk array 169
Management View 114 settings 137
Media Patrol triggers 137, 255
and PDM 255 PFA condition 152, 269
defined 255 Phys
enable 137 enclosures 15
run 138 EX16650 12
run on disk array 169 EX4650 10
scheduling 139 EX8650 10
settings 137 EX8654 11
migrate EX8658 11
disk array 167, 248 physical drive ID ranges 15
settings 137
303
physical drive RAID level, cont.

alias 152 RAID 1
capacity 90 applications 240
capacity coercion 144, 246 description 229
configuration status 151 RAID 10
find failed 267, 268 applications 242
global settings 150 description 233
IDs 15 RAID 1E
information 90, 151 applications 241
list 90, 149 description 230
locate 149 RAID 5
management 90 applications 241
operational status 151 description 231
PDM 138, 169 RAID 50
PFA condition 152, 269 applications 243
problems 91, 269 description 234
stale condition 152, 269 RAID 6
statistics 151 applications 242
status 164 description 232
polling interval 145 RAID 60
popup message 265 applications 243
power user 120 description 237
Predictive Data Migration, see recommendations 240
PDM 255 read cache policy
problems defined 246
logical drive 267 logical drive 97, 98, 162, 165
physical drive 91, 269 Read Check Table 177
Product Overview 2 reassigned block threshold setting
137
R rebuild
RAID disk array 168, 270
choosing a RAID level 240 settings 137
introduction to 227 red X 265
VTrak subsystem 148 RedHat, WebPAM PRO icon in ap-
RAID level plication menu 57
logical drive 96, 161, 165 Redundancy Check
migrate 167, 248 run on logical drive 176
RAID 0 scheduling 139
applications 240 settings 137
description 228 refresh interval, Event Frame 128
refresh screen, WebPAM PRO 130
304
Index
returning product for repair 282 settings

revertible spare drive 170, 178, background activities 137
179, 248 buzzer 146
run capacity coercion 144
background activity 138 CIM client 129
Media Patrol 138 CIM server 129
Redundancy Check 176 controller 144
runtime event log disk array 94, 164
clear 135 email service 127
save 134 error block threshold 137
view 134 logical drive 98, 174
other users 118
S physical drives 150, 152
SAS reassigned block threshold
breakout cable 15 137
connections and ID numbers SMART logging 155
15 spare drives 100, 180
data cable 16 user 119
diamond port 14 privileges 124
expanders 15, 16, 17 user privileges 120, 130
fanout cable 14 web server 126
multi-lane cable 9, 12, 14, SGPIO enclosure 15
292, 294 silencing the buzzer 146
phys and port IDs 15 SMART Log
save basic information 153, 154
Event Frame 116 settings 155
NVRAM event log 136 SMART, enable 144
runtime event log 134 Software Management 126
scheduled activities Spare Check
delete 141 running 181
list 139 scheduling 139
scheduling spare drive
Media Patrol 139 capacity 179
Redundancy Check 139 create 99, 179
Spare Check 139 dedicated to array 100, 179
sector size dedicated to disk arrays 178
defined 244 defined 248
logical drive 96, 162, 165 delete 101, 180
information 99
305
spare drive, cont. SuperBuild, cont.

list 99, 178 controller information 89
physical drive ID 99 controller selection 89
revertible 100, 178, 179 enter 18
settings 100, 180 event logs 103
spare check 181 logical drive management 95
status 99, 178 main menu 18, 88
specifications 6 physical drive management 90
stale condition 152, 269 spare drive management 99
statistics Time Sync 105
clear 132 SuperSwap enclosure 14, 16
controller 144 SuperTrak
logical drive 174 Advanced Design 4
physical drive 151 Compatibility 5
status installing 9
disk array 92, 93, 163 LED behavior 262, 297
email 126 LED pins 12
logical drive 93, 95, 96 overview 2
logical drives 172 specifications 6
physical drive 90, 151, 164 unpacking 7
spare drives 99, 178 XOR microprocessor 2
subsystem 133 SuperTrak BIOS 18, 85
web server 126 critical screen 86
Storage Network 116 normal screen 86
stripe size 21 offline screen 87, 264
defined 244 Synchronization
logical drive 96, 162, 165 settings 137
subsystem synchronizing a logical drive 166,
add 122 174
alias 132 system configuration, view 141
delete 123
health 133 T
information 131 TableRounding 247
JBOD 14, 16 technical support, contacting 277
subsystem/host information 122 temperatures, operating 6, 8, 272
super user 120 test email 128
SuperBuild testing the buzzer 146
accessing 85 Time Sync 105
background activity 102 Tomcat server 127
buzzer 106, 261
306
Index
Transition VTrak JBOD 14, 16, 150, 157,

automatic 258 173, 182
defined 256 VTrak JBOD enclosure 133
disk array 170 VTrak RAID subsystem 148
manual 258
settings 137 W
transport, prepare disk array 171 warranty 280
Tree View 113 web server
settings 126
U status 126
update firmware 124, 132 WebPAM PRO
user Agent 38, 123, 129
create 120 alias for subsystem 132
delete 120 background activity
information 118 run 138
interface, WebPAM PRO 112 schedule 139
name in WebPAM PRO 59, settings 137
111 battery information 145
password, change 119 blank screen 272
privileges 120, 124, 130 browser support 4, 39
privileges defined 120 buzzer 146
settings 119 CIM client settings 129
settings of other users 118 CIM server settings 129
Utility Server 38, 129 Client/Server 123
components 38
V controller
view info 142
background activities 136 settings 144
disk array 156 statistics 144
NVRAM event log 135 description 3
runtime event log 134 disk array
scheduled activities 139 auto create 158
system configuration 141 delete 163
view-only user 120 express create 159
virtual enclosure 15 info 163
VMware locate 156
installing manual create 161
CLI 37 Media Patrol 169
drivers 82 migrate 167
307
WebPAM PRO, cont. WebPAM PRO, cont.

disk array, cont. logical drive, cont.
PDM 169 Redundancy Check 176
prepare for transport 171 settings 174
rebuild 168, 270 statistics 174
settings 164 login screen 59, 111
transition 170 Management View 114
display language 115 Media Patrol 138
downloading 290 NVRAM event log 135
email service 127 orphan watermark 145
enclosures 148 OS support 3, 38
Event Frame 115 password 59, 111
event frame refresh 128 password, change 119
extended SMTP 128 PDM 138
External SSL Security option physical drive
45, 54 global settings 150
find failed driive 268 info 151
firmware update 124, 132 locate 149
first-time setup 60 PFA condition 152, 269
Header 113 settings 152
host stale condition 152, 269
add 122 statistics 151
delete 123 refresh screen 130
info 122 Regular connection 58, 110
icon in RedHat application runtime event log 134
menu 57 Secure connection 58, 110
installing session time out setting 127
Linux 49 spare drive
Windows 40 create 179
Java Runtime Environment 39 delete 180
logging in 58, 109 settings 180
logging out 117 spare check 181
logical drive statistical data, clear 132
check table 176 Storage Network 116
create 165 subsystem
delete 166 add 122
info 172, 173, 183 delete 123
initialize 175 health 133
locate 173, 182 info 122
Tomcat Server 127
Tree View 113
308
Index
WebPAM PRO, cont. Windows

user installing
create 120 drivers 66–72
delete 120 WebPAM PRO 40
interface 112 write cache policy
name 59, 111 defined 246
password 119 logical drive 97, 98, 162, 166
privileges 124, 130 Write Check Table 177
settings 118
Utility Server 38, 129 Y
Web Server 126 yellow ! 265
309
310

SuperTrak EX-Series UM v3.0

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SUPERTRAK

Important data protection information

Radio Frequency Interference Statement

Only digital device equipment CERTIFIED CLASS B should be

Chapter 3: Installing Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Chapter 3: Installing Drivers, cont.

Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Chapter 4: SuperBuild™ Utility, cont.

Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO, cont.

Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO, cont.

Chapter 5: Management with WebPAM PRO, cont.

Chapter 6: Management with the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Chapter 7: Technology Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

Chapter 7: Technology Background, cont.

Chapter 8: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Chapter 9: Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273

Appendix A: Partition and Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285

Appendix B: Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289

Appendix C: Battery Backup Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291

Appendix D: LED Backplane Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295

Thank you for purchasing one of Promise Technology’s SuperTrak EX4650,

About This Manual

A Note provides helpful information such as hints or alternative

Important calls attention to an essential step or point required to

A Caution informs you of possible equipment damage or loss of

A Warning notifies you of probable equipment damage or loss of

WebPAM PRO Management Software

Operating System Support

Key Features and Benefits

Unpacking the SuperTrak Card

The electronic components on the SuperTrak EX Controller cards

Before installing the SuperTrak EX Controller card into an existing

Promise does not recommend multi-lane and fanout cables longer

If your SuperTrak EX16650 card has a battery backup unit (BBU),

The SuperTrak EX Controller cards are PCI Plug-n-Play (PnP)

Installing the SuperTrak Card

3. Install the SuperTrak card into the open PCI-Express slot.

Figure 1. SuperTrak EX4650 card

Activity and Global and

Figure 2. SuperTrak EX8650 card

Activity and Global and

Figure 3. SuperTrak EX8654 card

SuperSwap connector BBU module

SAS Port: Phys 1-4

Figure 4. SuperTrak EX8658 card

Figure 5. SuperTrak EX16650 card

Activity LEDs Fault LEDs

Figure 8. Global and Aggregate LED pins, EX4650 and EX8650

Global LEDs (J2)

Figure 9. Global and Aggregate LED pins, EX8654 and EX8658

Global LEDs Aggregate LEDs

Figure 10. Global and Aggregate LED pins, EX16650

Global LEDs Aggregate LEDs

Connecting SuperTrak to a SuperSwap Enclosure

Connecting SuperTrak to a VTrak JBOD Enclosure

SuperTrak SAS multi-lane cable VTrak JBOD

SAS Connections and ID Numbers

SuperTrak SAS Port Enclosure ID Range Drive ID Range