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Can batteries be replaced on CX500?
We have a Dell branded CX500 system that we received as a hardware transfer from another firm. It is not under warranty or support but functions fine. However the batteries in the power supply no longer hold a charge. Are these batteries field replaceable? Can i get them from somewhere that is not an EMC rep?
Dev Mgr
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February 20th, 2011 20:00
Which batteries? The SPS units, or are you talking about the bios batteries on the SP's themselves?
tripler79
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February 28th, 2011 06:00
There is a separate 1RU power supply unit that feeds the SPS and the arrays. This is a CX400 system that was upgraded to a CX500.
Dev Mgr
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February 28th, 2011 09:00
Let me verify something with you;
- the CX500 has it's own powersupplies in the main chassis (PSU (PowerSupply Unit))
- then there's the 1U SPS (Standby PowerSupply), which is a battery pack to power the CX500 long enough to commit write cache to disk in case of a poweroutage. The CX500 should have 2 of these (each is half the width in the rack, so they still fit in 1U)
If you have another 1U device besides the SPS, it's a specific CX500 part.
So, are you talking about the SPS(es), or about another device in front of the SPS?
tripler79
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February 28th, 2011 09:00
OK, that clarifies terms. I am talking about the Standby power supply not the main chassis. There is nothing else in front of the sps.
Dev Mgr
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February 28th, 2011 12:00
You can replace an SPS (with the system up and running if you're careful not to accidentally pull the wrong powercables while removing the SPS from the rack).
You will take a performance hit as the system disables write cache at one point.
These are the steps:
- verify which SPS is faulted
- take the power cable that going from this SPS to the DPE (CX500 chassis) and move it from the SPS to a PDU (temporarily). > during this moving of the cable the array will destage/disable write cache. You could leave this powercable disconnected, but I prefer to plug it into a powersource (NOT the other SPS) in case the next step accidentally pulls the wrong powercable from the only remaining powersource.
- now you disconnect the serial cable and power cable to the SPS and remove it carefully from the rack (may require unscrewing some things obviously)
- put in the replacement SPS
- plug in the power and serial cable into it and power up the SPS
- move the powercable back from the PDU to the replacement SPS (port closest to the rocker switch)
The SPS will recharge at this point (this could take up to a few hours depending on how empty the battery was). As long as 1 SPS is fully charged and both powersupplies are receiving power, (and some other requirements are met in regards to hardware being funtional), you should have write cache.