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This appendix provides RAID controller information, and it includes the following sections:
This server supports the RAID controller options and cable requirements shown in Table C-1 .
Note Do not mix controller types in the server.
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SAS 9261-8i |
Yes3 |
2 or 4 SAS4 |
1.When using the nonexpander-style transition card, each controller can support 8 drives. You can install two controllers and two nonexpander transition cards to control 16 drives. 2.When using two expander-style transition card, one controller can control 16 drives. 3.You can mix SAS and SATA drives when using an LSI MegaRAID card. However, you cannot mix SAS and SATA drives within a volume. 4.The number of cables required varies, depending on how many controllers and transition cards are used. See Mixing Drive Types in RAID Groups. |
If the PCIe card that you are installing is a RAID controller card, firmware on the RAID controller must be verified for compatibility with the current Cisco IMC and BIOS versions that are installed on the server. If not compatible, upgrade or downgrade the RAID controller firmware accordingly using the Host Upgrade Utility (HUU) for your firmware release to bring it to a compatible level.
See the HUU guide for your Cisco IMC release for instructions on downloading and using the utility to bring server components to compatible levels: HUU Guides
This server supports installation of two LSI RAID battery backup units (BBUs). The units mount to holders on the chassis wall (see Replacing the RAID Controller Battery Backup Unit).
This BBU provides approximately 72 hours of battery backup for the disk write-back cache DRAM in the case of sudden power loss.
Table C-2 lists the technical capabilities for mixing hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD) types in a RAID group. However, see the best practices recommendations that follow for the best performance.
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The maximum two supported RAID controller cards should be populated in PCIe slots in the following order (see Figure 3-26):
Refer to the following examples for cable routing guidelines:
For more information about transition cards, see Replacing a Modular Drive Bay Assembly.
Figure C-1 shows an example of a server that is using one RAID controller in PCIe slot 3 and a nonexpander transition card to control eight drives in the modular drive bay.
Two RAID cables are required (1 UCSC-RC-1M-C260 and 1 UCSC-RC-P8M-C260).
The blue line is a 0.8m cable (UCSC-RC-P8M-C260) from the RAID controller SAS 0 connector to the nonexpander connector for PORT 1– 4.
The red line is a 1m cable (UCSC-RC-1M-C260) from the RAID controller SAS 1 connector to the nonexpander connector for PORT 5–8.
Figure C-1 RAID Controller Cabling Guidelines, Nonexpander Transition Card
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Figure C-2 shows an example of a server that is using two RAID controllers in PCIe slots 3 and 5 and two nonexpander transition cards to control eight drives in each of the two modular drive bays.
Four RAID cables are required (2 x UCSC-RC-1M-C260 and 2 x UCSC-RC-P8M-C260).
The upper blue line is a 0.8m cable (UCSC-RC-P8M-C260) from the Slot 5 RAID controller SAS 0 connector to the nonexpander connector for PORT 1–4.
The red line is a 1m cable (UCSC-RC-1M-C260) from the Slot 5 RAID controller SAS 1 connector to the nonexpander connector for PORT 5–8.
The violet line is a 1m cable (UCSC-RC-1M-C260) from the Slot 3 RAID controller SAS 0 connector to the nonexpander connector for PORT 1–4.
The lower blue line is a 0.8m cable (UCSC-RC-P8M-C260) from the Slot 3 RAID controller SAS 1 connector to the nonexpander connector for PORT 5–8.
Figure C-2 RAID Controller Cabling Guidelines, Two Nonexpanders and Two Controllers
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Transition cards, nonexpander version |
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Figure C-3 shows an example of a server that is using one RAID controller in PCIe slot 3 and two expander transition cards to control eight drives in each of the two modular drive bays.
Two RAID cables are required (2 x UCSC-RC-P8M-C260).
The upper blue line is a 0.8m cable (UCSC-RC-P8M-C260) from the RAID controller SAS 0 connector to the first expander connector A (for drives 1–8).
The lower blue line is a 0.8m cable (UCSC-RC-P8M-C260) from the RAID controller SAS 1 connector to the second expander connector B (for drives 9–16).
Figure C-3 RAID Controller Cabling Guidelines, Two Expanders and One Controller
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When you replace a RAID controller, the RAID configuration that is stored in the controller is lost. To restore your RAID configuration to your new RAID controller, follow these steps.
Step 1 Replace your RAID controller. See Replacing a PCIe Card in a Motherboard Slot.
Step 2 If this was a full chassis swap, replace all drives into the drive bays, in the same order that they were installed in the old chassis.
Step 3 Reboot the server and watch for the prompt to press F.
Note For newer RAID controllers, you are not prompted to press F. Instead, the RAID configuration is imported automatically. In this case, skip to Step 6.
Step 4 Press F when you see the following on-screen prompt:
Step 5 Press any key (other than C) to continue when you see the following on-screen prompt:
Step 6 Watch the subsequent screens for confirmation that your RAID configuration was imported correctly.
The LSI utilities have help documentation for more information about using the utilities.
For basic information about RAID and for using the utilities for the RAID controller cards, see the
Cisco UCS Servers RAID Guide.
Full LSI documentation is also available:
LSI MegaRAID SAS Software User’s Guide (for LSI MegaRAID)
http://www.lsi.com/DistributionSystem/AssetDocument/80-00156-01_RevH_SAS_SW_UG.pdf