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September 5th, 2006 20:00
Consistency checks with multiple virtual disks
I have set up Scheduled Tasks to run monthly consistency checks on our servers. I have discovered that, among most of our servers with multiple virtual disks, some are capable of running multiple consistency checks concurrently, while others can only run them one at a time. Unfortunately, they don't queue up and run when they can, which would be OK...they have to be launched one at a time.
One server that was
not able to run multiple consistency checks concurrently
was able to do so after upgrading OpenManage Server Administrator and RAID firmware to the latest versions. I don't know which upgrade did the trick, or if both were required.
While RAID firmware and OpenManage upgrades are nice to have, I don't want to make the investment if it's not going to solve a specific problem. Too many other projects, and RAID and OpenManage upgrades require restarts, which requires scheduled downtime.
Does anyone know if current RAID firmware and/or OpenManage upgrades allow concurrent (or queued, sequential) consistency checks on all virtual disks? Or will results vary by RAID controller?
I know...there are other options like pausing the batch file x hours between invocations of AMCLI...using multiple scheduled tasks with staggered start times, etc. Just want to know if upgrading firmware and/or OMSA is another potential fix, as that might actually be a reason to do the upgrade.
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Mark_A_Smith
2 Intern
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827 Posts
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September 6th, 2006 12:00
While I am not able to answer your question about the Cons. checks and firmware - I wanted to try and convince you to go ahead and make the effort to do the firmware and driver upgrades.
Dell has release several Critical updates for the drives on the array controllers. Here is the "fixes" section from the lasted BIOS for the Perc4/DC (pretty important):
Fixes and Enhancements1. Fixed a potential data integrity issue that may occur when accessing RAID 5 or 50 arrays.
2. Fixed an issue that could cause a blue screen or hang when Patrol Read finds a bad block on a RAID array that is configured in a sliced config, which is when 2 or more RAID arrays are created on the same set of physical disks.
3. Fixed possible hang condition, resulting in system lockup and loss of storage access.
countryman7346
9 Posts
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September 8th, 2006 00:00
DPYeilding
80 Posts
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October 3rd, 2006 13:00
If you using the newest version 5.1 of Open Manage with Storage Management, the Open Manage logs will tell you when it begins, completes and if the consistency check fails.
You can manually run a consistency check in Storage Management using these instructions
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/OMSS10UG/vdmgmt.html#323112
If you dont have the newest version of OpenManage you can download it from:
http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/OM_5.1_ManNode_WIN_A00.exe
Make sure you uninstall all previous versions of the openmanage software prior to installing the new version.
If you save the CLI commands below to a batch file than use Windows Task Scheduler they can be run during off peak hours, which is more beneficial.
Instructions on how to run the CLI Commands using Task Scheduler
Go to a command line and run the following command to display the virtual disks and controllers. You do this because in the batch file you will have to specify the controller and virtual disk you would like to scan.
omreport storage controller to display the controller IDs
omreport storage vdisk controller=ID to display the IDs for the virtual disks attached to the controller.
Once you have the information above you will next open notepad and save the file to the root of C as cons_check.bat or a similar name. You will need to create one for each virtual disk you would like to check.
Inside the file you will add the necessary commands to check the consistency on the selected virtual disk and controller.
Example Syntax
For example, to run a check consistency on virtual disk 4 on controller 1, you would enter the text below into the cons_check.bat file and save it.
omconfig storage vdisk action=checkconsistency controller=1 vdisk=4
Once that is complete you will use the Windows Task Scheduler Wizard to run the batch file during off peak hours.
1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Add Scheduled Task.
The Scheduled Task Wizard appears.
2. Click next and follow the onscreen directions. Click Browse and locate the batch file you created above
NOTE: The minimum recommendation for this task is to be run at least once a month
Thank You,
JeffVandervoort
20 Posts
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October 10th, 2006 17:00