About this guide This guide provides information about: • Installing the IO Accelerator • Downloading and installing the approved driver and utilities • Maintaining the IO Accelerator Abstract The following IO Accelerator models are described in this document: • HP StorageWorks 80GB IO Accelerator for BladeSystem c-Class (80GB IO Accelerator) •...
WARNING! Indicates that failure to follow directions could result in bodily harm or death. CAUTION: Indicates that failure to follow directions could result in damage to equipment or data. IMPORTANT: Provides clarifying information or specific instructions. NOTE: Provides additional information. TIP: Provides helpful hints and shortcuts.
Subscription service HP recommends that you register your product at the Subscriber's Choice for Business website: http://www.hp.com/go/e-updates After registering, you will receive e-mail notification of product enhancements, new driver versions, firmware updates, and other product resources. HP websites For additional information, see the following HP websites: HP BladeSystem technical resources (white papers and support documents): http://www.hp.com/ go/bladesystem/documentation...
1 Introduction Included: • Overview • Required operating environment This document includes information on installing and maintaining your HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator (also referenced as an IO Accelerator). Overview Designed around a revolutionary silicon-based storage architecture known as ioMemory, the HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator is the world’s most advanced NAND flash storage device.
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The amount of free RAM required by the driver depends on the size of the blocks used when writing to the drive. The smaller the blocks, the more RAM required. Here are the guidelines for each 80GB of storage: Average Block Size(bytes) RAM usage (Megabytes) 8,192 4,096...
2 Hardware installation Included: • Installing the HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator • Verifying Hardware Installation Installing the HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator WARNING! To reduce the risk of personal injury from hot surfaces, allow drives and internal system components to cool before touching them. WARNING! Reduce the risk of electric shock by removing all AC power from the system before installing or replacing any non-hot-plug hardware option.
Install the IO Accelerator card as shown below. The following illustration demonstrates installing the IO Accelerator on a full-height server blade. The following illustration demonstrates installing the IO Accelerator on a half-height server blade. Reinstall the server blade access panel and then reinstall the server blade in its operating position in the server blade enclosure.
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NOTE: The HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator does not support boot capability. Because it is a storage device, you may see it listed in the server BIOS Boot Controller Order setup screens. However, it is not currently supported as a boot device. IO Accelerator for BladeSystem c-Class user guide...
3 Linux environments Included: • Installation Requirements • Downloading and installing the driver and utilities • Adding a file system, formatting, and performing multi-disk configuration • Using the Logical Volume Manager • Configuring RAID • Upgrading firmware • Upgrading the driver •...
Download from http://www.hp.com/support; search for product named "HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator" Select the appropriate file(s) for your operating environment, and download the file(s). Installing using the HP installer script Download driver and utility package as described in Downloading and installing the driver and utilities.
Loading the driver To load the driver, please complete the following instructions. Enter the following command to load the driver. modprobe fio-driver NOTE: • If the IO Accelerator firmware is too old, a warning can be seen in the /var/log/mes- sages file.
• Add an entry similar to the following to that file: types = [ “fio”, 4 ] The parameter “4” represents the maximum number of partitions supported by the drive. For the IO Accelerator, this can be any number from 1 upwards. Do NOT set this parameter to 0. Configuring RAID You can configure two or more ioDrives into a RAID array using standard Linux procedures.
Enter the following command (as root) to update the firmware: fio-update-iodrive /usr/share/fusionio/images/iodrive_xxxxx.fff (where xxxxx is the version of the firmware release) Upgrading the firmware will take several minutes. NOTE: The utility detects if the driver is loaded and will not install the firmware. You will get the error “Driver is not in a valid state to have firmware uploaded.”...
Ensure that there are no filesystems or RAID volumes using the IO Accelerator, and then unload the driver modules with this command: modprobe -r fio-driver fio-port This command may fail if you have not unmounted any filesystems or RAID volumes that are using the IO Accelerator devices.
$ chkconfig --del iodrive To re-enable the driver loading in the init script, use the following command: $ chkconfig --add iodrive For further details on the init script see the section Using the ioDrive Init Script. Using the udev script On systems that rely on udev to load drivers, users need to modify an IO Accelerator file to prevent udev from auto-loading the IO Accelerator driver at boot time.
For the filesystem mounts shown in the example above, the line in the options file would look like: MOUNTS="/mnt/fioa /mnt/iodrive" Driver Unloads Special consideration must be taken during driver unload time. By default, the init script will search for any processes holding open a mounted filesystem and kill them, thus allowing the filesystem to then be unmounted.
The parameter “4” represents the maximum number of partitions supported by the drive. For the IO Accelerator, this can be any number from 1 upwards. Do NOT set this parameter to 0. Continue to setup LVM as desired. Add each of the volume groups with an IO Accelerator in it to the LVM_VGS variable in /etc/sysconfig/iodrive.
# required to enable the AgentX protocol master agentx agentxsocket tcp:localhost:705 # set the port that the agent listens on (defaults to 161) agentaddress 161 # simple access control (some form of access control is required) rocommunity public Configure the HP IO Accelerator fio-snmp-agentx SNMP subagent: Create a fio-snmp-agent.conf file in the directory of the master agent snmpd.conf file (/etc/snmp).
To confirm both the agent and subagent are running: ps –ef | grep snmp The HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator SNMP subagent is now ready to monitor your device. Subagent Log File The HP IO Accelerator subagent can maintain a log file regarding its own activities. This file is separate from the MIB, cpqIODrv.mib, as it includes entries on the subagent’s communications with the master agent including any errors or intermittent issues.
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Execute install.sh script by running the following command: ./install.sh Linux environments...
4 Windows Server environments Included sections: • Uninstalling a previously-installed driver • Downloading and installing the driver and utilities • Identifying IO Accelerator devices • Formatting the IO Accelerator • Adding a file system, formatting, and performing multi-disk configuration • Upgrading firmware •...
Utility filename Description Utility to attach the IO Accelerator to the Operating System. fio-attach.exe Utility to detach the IO Accelerator from the Operating System. fio-detach.exe Utility to perform a low-level format of the IO Accelerator. fio-format.exe Utility to update firmware on the IO Accelerator. fio-update-iodrive.exe Utility to display status of IO Accelerator status.
Log on as an Administrator and open a command prompt window. Enter the following command to detach the IO Accelerator from the Operating System: fio-detach /dev/fct13 Enter the following command to format the IO Accelerator: fio-format /dev/fct13 The system display will look similar to the following: C:\Users\Administrator>...
WARNING! It is extremely important that the power not be turned off during a firmware upgrade, as this could cause device failure. If one is not already in place, consider adding a UPS to the system prior to performing a firmware upgrade. Log on as an Administrator and open a command prompt window.
Accelerator agent requires the Windows SNMP service be active on the computer (see your Windows documentation for details). The Windows install package is available by two methods: Provided with the USB drive with the HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator product or via the web at www.hp.com/support.
5 ioManager for Windows Included sections: • Operating system support • Software installation • Management pane • The following is the ioManager administrator’s console for ioDrives. The following content shows you how to use ioManager to maintain your IO Accelerator at peak performance and troubleshoot any issues with the device.
IO Accelerator management The ioManager console provides a single point of management for all ioDrives installed on the computer. The ioManager interface includes two panes: • The Device Tree pane displays a list of the installed devices on the computer. •...
Drive status The tree also shows the status of each drive—attached, detached, which operation is in progress or if an error condition exists. Drive Normal: Drive is attached to the operating system and available to users. Drive Detached: Drive is not available to the operating system or users. (Results from a Detach operation.) Operation in Progress: Message indicates which operation is executing, the percent complete, and an estimated time for completing the operation.
Detached IO Accelerator after install An IO Accelerator may appear as detached right after installation and the first time you run ioManager. This may indicate that the device has outdated firmware. To confirm this, highlight the device and see if: •...
• IO Accelerator Driver version • ioManager compatible with Driver Version • Firmware version • Manufacture date • Maximum formattable size • Current formatted size • NAND (both the manufacturer and the type (SLC or MLC)) The Information dialog also displays the associated PCIe bus details: •...
The ioManager will save the contents of the Information Pane to the Clipboard. You can then paste this information as needed into a report or other document. NOTE: The Information Pane displays details onscreen of only a limited number of ioDrives (based on screen real estate).
Attach The Attach operation creates a link so the IO Accelerator interacts with the operating system. In most cases, the operating system driver automatically attaches the installed IO Accelerator(s) at boot time, so you only need to use Attach when you manually detach an IO Accelerator (such as to perform a low-level format).
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If the selected drive is already attached, the Attach Now button will grey-out. Click Attach Now to confirm the operation. Attach will connect the device. The Attach operation’s progress bar will appear in the Device Tree. The bar’s color varies: •...
When you click on Attach Now, ioManager will proceed to connect only the detached devices. Detach Detach disconnects your IO Accelerator from the operating system. Once detached, the device will not be accessible to users or applications. (You will need to use Attach to make it accessible.) You should only need to detach an IO Accelerator to perform a low-level format or a firmware upgrade.
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Click Detach. The ioManager console will ask you to confirm this: Click Detach Now. (If the selected device is already detached, the Detach Now button will grey-out.) Detach will disconnect the device. The Detach operation’s progress bar will appear in the Device Tree.
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Your IO Accelerator comes pre-formatted, so generally it’s not necessary to use this option. However, you would use it if you: • Need to re-format the drive for performance reasons. • Are instructed to do so by HP Customer Support. NOTE: The ioManager performs a low-level format that is different from a format performed by an operating system using standard disk management utilities.
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Click Format Now to perform the format. CAUTION: Formatting an IO Accelerator will destroy any data still on the device. If you have not backed up data to another device, choose Cancel to abort the format. The selected drive(s) will display a blue progress bar as the format occurs showing both the percentage as well as the estimated time remaining to complete the format: When the format completes, the progress bar turns green: Click the X next to the progress bar to close the message.
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The Firmware Update operation lets you upgrade the IO Accelerator’s firmware. You should upgrade the firmware only if: • The Windows System Event Log reports a problem due to out-of-date firmware or • if instructed to do so by HP Customer Support. NOTE: In most cases, if you upgrade the IO Accelerator firmware you will need to upgrade the IO Accelerator driver as well.
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WARNING! Interrupting an update while it is in progress can result in permanent damage to the device. Never use the Windows Task Manager to stop the update. (For this same reason, ioManager disables the Cancel button during the update process.) If the operation fails, it is critical that you restart this operation and complete it successfully before a reboot occurs to prevent damage to the device.
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The selected drive(s) will display a blue progress bar as the update occurs showing both the percentage as well as the estimated time remaining to complete the update: When the firmware update completes, the progress bar turns green: Click the X next to the progress bar to close the message. Use Attach to restore the operating system access to the IO Accelerator.
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The ioManager program checks to see if the selected firmware update is required for the selected device. If the update and the current firmware are the same, ioManager will display this by showing the firmware update and installed version numbers and the equal sign: The ioManager program will grey-out the Update Now button as this update is not required.
6 Utilities Included sections: • fio-attach • fio-beacon • fio-detach • fio-format • fio-status • fio-pci-check (Linux only) • fio-read-lebmap (Linux only) • fio-update-iodrive These command-line utilities provide a number of useful ways to access, test, and manipulate the HP StorageWorks IO Accelerator.
fio-beacon This utility turns on all three LEDs of the specified IO Accelerator for identification. NOTE: This utility is not applicable for the mezzanine format of the IO Accelerator, which has no externally visible LEDs. fio-detach Detaches the board from the OS to facilitate troubleshooting. fio-detach removes the “fiox” block device of a particular IO Accelerator.
fio-status Provides detailed information about the specified or all installed IO Accelerator(s)—either fctx or fiox devices. The fio-status command must run with root privileges and requires that the driver be loaded. If it finds no device, it displays an index number instead. fio-status [-c, —a, —h, —v] <dev>...
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WARNING! It is extremely important that the power not be turned off during a firmware upgrade, as this could cause device failure. If one is not already in place, consider adding a UPS to the system prior to performing a firmware upgrade. TIP: Upgrading the firmware may take 5-10 minutes per device being upgraded.