PowerVault MD3000i hard drive compatibility clarification

Hello ivcubr,

The hard drives for an MD3xxx needs to be on the support matrix to be seen.  There is

Not a way to flash the firmware on the drives if they don’t already have the Dell firmware on them.  All MD3xxx systems will do a check of the hard drives to confirm that they have the correct Dell firmware & if they don’t then they are spun down.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

Thank you for your response, I understand that the hard drives need to be a part of the supported hard drive matrix.

Perhaps my question was more directed towards the use of the hard drive firmware packages that are available for download under the Drivers & Downloads section on the support page for the MD3000i. In specific, I am referring to the following for downloads:

• http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=R1MYY
• http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=568C9
• http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=R291590
• http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=T767W

In the readme files it looks like there would be a process to update the firmware on the hard drives once they are connected to the MD3000i. Is this the correct understanding of this document? If not, what are these packages provided for?

Hello ivcubr,

You can apply the firmware to any of the drives that matches the file.  Any drive that does not already have the Dell firmware on it will not be upgraded and you will get an error stating that can’t upgrade the firmware.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

Thanks for clarifying, so the drives would need to be originally "Dell branded," and these firmware packages are only for upgrading that original firmware?

Is the a place on Dell's website where these can be purchased?

Hello ivcubr,

You are correct in that the packages are used to upgrade the firmware on the HDD’s.  You can use MDSM to upgrade the firmware on your MD3000i.  Here is how we suggest it is best to do firmware upgrades on an MD3000i.

Steps to update the firmware:

1. Ensure you have a tested backup of the data contained on the array
2. It is highly recommended to gather support bundle from the "Support" tab of the MD Storage Manager before performing any firmware upgrade operations. Also recommend getting another support bundle after the upgrade is complete.
3. You must stop all I/O going to the array
4. Load MDSM to verify connectivity, then close MDSM but leave the main management screen open
5. From the main management screen in MDSM use the “upgrade raid controller firmware” on the “devices” screen to upgrade to the latest firmware
6. Verify connectivity through MDSM
7. Update the hard drive firmware if applicable
8. Reboot the stack
   1. Power down the server(s)
   2. Power down the MD3000(i)
   3. Power down any attached storage (MD1000/12xx)
   4. Leave the power off for 2-3 minutes
   5. Power up in reverse order
9. Verify connection to the array and virtual disks and verify that data is presented to each of the connected servers

This update process will take 60-90 minutes but will vary depending on how long the reboots take to complete.

If you don’t need to upgrade your controllers firmware then you can just do the drive firmware.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

Thank you for your response clarifying the firmware update process.

Will the firmware be able to apply to any of those drive models listed in the support matrix? I would be curious if the firmware would work for the same model hard drive that may have shipped with generic firmware and not the original Dell firmware. 

Hi Sam,

Is there anywhere you would recommend looking for these drives? Would searching for the model number of the drive be enough or is there anything else to watch out for?

Do these use the standard hard drive caddy or are they modified to fit the PowerVault's?

Hello ivcubr,

That is correct.  No there is not a place to purchase these drives as the MD3000 is an old system so will need to get the drives from a 3rd party reseller.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hello ivcubr,

It is best to search using the Dell Part#.  When you use the model# you can find drives that are not dell branded drives.  You can check out xbyte, & server supply as they resell HDD for MD3000i.  The drive caddy should come with the drive, & needs to be a Dell branded 3gb drive caddy. The MD3000i only support 3gb drives & not 6gb drive speed.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

Is there a way to look up what the Dell part number would be based on the model number? I did not see the Dell part number in the supported physical disks section.

Hello ivcubr,

There is not a way to use the model# on the drives to ensure that you get a dell drive that will be seen by your MD3000i.  What size drives are you looking to get & I can provide you with the Dell part# for the drives.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

I would be looking for the 2TB size. I believe from the supported drive list there were 6 that were 2TB in size. If you could get me the Dell part number that would be great. Listed below are the 6 I found in the list:

• Hitachi (Ultrastar A7K2000) SATA 2TB 7.2K RPM HUA722020ALA330
• Seagate (Constellation ES) SAS 2TB 7.2K RPM ST32000444SS
• Seagate (Constellation ES) SATA 2TB 7.2K RPM ST32000644NS
• Western Digital (EP500M) SATA 2TB 5.4K RPM WD2002FYPS-18U1B0
• Western Digital (EP500M) SATA 2TB 5.4K RPM WD2002FYPS-18W3B0
• Western Digital (EX500M) SATA 2TB 7.2K RPM WD2003FYYS-18W0B0

Some of these were a mix of SAS/SATA. Would the SATA drives be able to directly plug into the PowerVault backplate or do they need a SATA-to-SAS interposer?

Also, if I recall correctly, 2TB is the largest size the PowerVault MD3000i can handle, correct?

Hello ivcubr,

Here is the Dell part# for the 2TB HDD’s.

Dell Part# 6C10R = Hitachi (Ultrastar A7K2000) SATA 2TB 7.2K RPM HUA722020ALA330

Dell Part# R755K = Seagate (Constellation ES) SAS 2TB 7.2K RPM ST32000444SS

Dell Part# VGY1F = Seagate (Constellation ES) SATA 2TB 7.2K RPM ST32000644NS

Dell Part# J164R = Western Digital (EP500M) SATA 2TB 5.4K RPM WD2002FYPS-18U1B0

Dell Part# 2G4HM = Western Digital (EX500M) SATA 2TB 7.2K RPM WD2003FYYS-18W0B0

As long as the drives come with the carriers, you will have the interposers on the drives to connect them to your MD3000i.  You are correct that 2TB drives are the largest size for an MD3000i.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

Thank you for getting me those Dell part numbers.

I was thinking the backplane for the MD3000i was SAS -or- SATA, not just SAS so I wasn't sure if I would need the interposers since both the SATA/SAS interfaces follow the same form factor. From what I could find online, it looks like the Dell part number for the hard drive caddy with the interposer would be CC852. Can you confirm this is the correct part number?

Also, would there be any additional part numbers that would work and come with the interposer board?