WARNING: [XYZABC] Cache Battery 0 in controller 1 is Degraded (Non-Critical) [probably harmless]br/------ SYSTEM: PowerEdge R310, SN:XYZABC
Checked Battery status under Main System Chassis-Good. However, battery status for H700 RAID Adapter shows Degrade state. O/p is pasted below.
Name
Battery 0
State
Degraded
Predicted Capacity Status
Ready
Learn State
Due
Next Learn Time
0 hours
Maximum Learn Delay
7 days 0 hours
Learn Mode
Auto
This is PowerEdge R310.
Firmware:
BIOS:
Manufacturer
Dell Inc.
Version
1.8.2
Release Date
08/17/2011
H700 Adapter :
Firmware Version
12.10.2-0004
Driver Version
00.00.04.31-RH1
BMC:
Baseboard Management Controller
1.70
Unified Server Configurator
1.4.0.25344
What is there I can try myself before I contact Dell support? This is just warning so obviously I am not going to call dell support but email them, and that I believe will take 2 days for me to get a response from them..
If you are in the States or Canada, you can call them 24/7 and get a response immediately. Every 90 days, the PERC's initiate a "learning cycle", which completely drains the battery, then recharges it. During this time, write cache is turned off, an warning and error thresholds are tripped for the battery charge. O would give it up to 24 hours; if it hasn't returned to optimal/normal status, then call Support.
If you want to confirm the learning cycle is responsible, the controller log will usually log when this event is going on.
Honestly, playing the odds, upgrading the firmware probably isn't going to "fix" the status, so if you are looking for a single reboot only, then wait for the battery. Just know that it is good preventative maintenance to keep system firmware up to date, as many unexpected drive failures/timeouts, battery degradation, error recovery/foreign configuration handling, memory errors, PCI/CPU errors, etc. can be fixed before they happen.
4/26 is right inline with the 90-day cycle ... I suspect it entered degraded when the learn cycle was supposed to begin, because it couldn't begin; still, I would think, there would be a controller log entry to that effect. I'm also not surewhat time is is for you ... MST, it is not yet 5 hours from the time is listed to start.
And, as Chris said, because the controller is responsible for monitoring and managing the battery, having the controller firmware up to date can be important.
Thanks guys, appreciate your quick helpful replies.
Makes sense what you just said about learn cycle.
I see this in the event log for January.
2189 Fri Jan 27 09:48:32 2012 Storage Service The controller write policy has been changed to Write Back.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2199 Fri Jan 27 09:48:32 2012 Storage Service The virtual disk cache policy has changed.: Virtual Disk 0 (Virtual Disk 0) Controller 1 (PERC H700 Adapter)
2279 Fri Jan 27 09:48:31 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is operating within normal limits: Battery 0 Controller 1
2278 Fri Jan 27 09:07:21 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is below a normal threshold.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2247 Fri Jan 27 09:07:21 2012 Storage Service The controller battery is charging.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2177 Fri Jan 27 09:07:06 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle has completed.: Battery 0 Controller 1
but don't see anything like that today
2238 Thu Apr 26 09:45:04 2012 Storage Service The controller debug log file has been exported.: Controller 1 (PERC H700 Adapter)
2238 Thu Apr 26 09:45:01 2012 Storage Service The controller debug log file has been exported.: Controller 0 (PERC H800 Adapter)
2181 Thu Apr 26 05:41:59 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle will start in 5 hours.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2181 Thu Apr 26 04:07:55 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle will start in 5 hours.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2181 Wed Apr 25 10:42:19 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle will start in 24 hours.: Battery 0 Controller 0
I recently had a dell engineer come and replace battery on PE R310 as server got rebooted abruptly and was using H700 adapter for internal raid. That time I didn't see H700 adapter Battery degraded but support technician said BBU needed replacement after seeing DSET o/p. Makes me wonder if there was a bad batch of batteries :(
On that R310 all firmwares were up to date.
I will wait till the end of day today and give dell support a call but if this status(DEGRADED) is confirmation of BBU being bad, then I don't really wannt to take system down two times being in production. I will want to do firmware update and BBU replacement , both at same time.
Oh, I agree with your note on keeping firmware up 2 date. Right now I don't have any mechanism that tells me that new firmware is available. If there is anything I could use to keep myself updated regarding new package/firmware updates available for a server/Service Tag, I'd be willing to use it. If there is anything like this on Dell site, please let me know. Thanks.
Everything is in good state now. Battery status changed to Ready from DEGRADED.
2358 Thu Apr 26 18:06:14 2012 Storage Service The battery charge cycle is complete.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2358 Thu Apr 26 15:38:46 2012 Storage Service The battery charge cycle is complete.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2279 Thu Apr 26 14:27:24 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is operating within normal limits: Battery 0 Controller 0
2189 Thu Apr 26 14:27:24 2012 Storage Service The controller write policy has been changed to Write Back.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2199 Thu Apr 26 14:27:24 2012 Storage Service The virtual disk cache policy has changed.: Virtual Disk 0 (raid5vol) Controller 0 (PERC H800 Adapter)
2278 Thu Apr 26 14:25:14 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is below a normal threshold.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2247 Thu Apr 26 14:25:14 2012 Storage Service The controller battery is charging.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2177 Thu Apr 26 14:24:59 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle has completed.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2278 Thu Apr 26 14:23:14 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is below a normal threshold.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2188 Thu Apr 26 14:23:14 2012 Storage Service The controller write policy has been changed to Write Through.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2199 Thu Apr 26 14:23:14 2012 Storage Service The virtual disk cache policy has changed.: Virtual Disk 0 (raid5vol) Controller 0 (PERC H800 Adapter)
2279 Thu Apr 26 12:54:06 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is operating within normal limits: Battery 0 Controller 1
2189 Thu Apr 26 12:54:06 2012 Storage Service The controller write policy has been changed to Write Back.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2199 Thu Apr 26 12:54:06 2012 Storage Service The virtual disk cache policy has changed.: Virtual Disk 0 (Virtual Disk 0) Controller 1 (PERC H700 Adapter)
2278 Thu Apr 26 12:16:11 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is below a normal threshold.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2247 Thu Apr 26 12:16:11 2012 Storage Service The controller battery is charging.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2177 Thu Apr 26 12:15:56 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle has completed.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2415 Thu Apr 26 11:45:59 2012 Storage Service Controller battery is discharging: Battery 0 Controller 0
2248 Thu Apr 26 11:45:59 2012 Storage Service The controller battery is executing a Learn cycle.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2176 Thu Apr 26 11:44:54 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle has started.: Battery 0 Controller 0
2278 Thu Apr 26 11:07:11 2012 Storage Service The controller battery charge level is below a normal threshold.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2188 Thu Apr 26 11:07:11 2012 Storage Service The controller write policy has been changed to Write Through.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2199 Thu Apr 26 11:07:11 2012 Storage Service The virtual disk cache policy has changed.: Virtual Disk 0 (Virtual Disk 0) Controller 1 (PERC H700 Adapter)
2415 Thu Apr 26 10:05:26 2012 Storage Service Controller battery is discharging: Battery 0 Controller 1
2248 Thu Apr 26 10:05:26 2012 Storage Service The controller battery is executing a Learn cycle.: Battery 0 Controller 1
2176 Thu Apr 26 10:04:21 2012 Storage Service The controller battery Learn cycle has started.: Battery 0 Controller 1
theflash1932
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16255 Posts
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Posted April 26th, 2012 08:00
If you are in the States or Canada, you can call them 24/7 and get a response immediately. Every 90 days, the PERC's initiate a "learning cycle", which completely drains the battery, then recharges it. During this time, write cache is turned off, an warning and error thresholds are tripped for the battery charge. O would give it up to 24 hours; if it hasn't returned to optimal/normal status, then call Support.
If you want to confirm the learning cycle is responsible, the controller log will usually log when this event is going on.